Holy Violence: Matthew 11:1-24 - Matthew: Kingdom of God Revolution

You're listening to the road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.

Holy violence is a fierce bay that overcomes obstacles.

Charles Spurgeon said this.

Such a man or woman must be honest and be violent because there are so many adversaries to oppose you.

That if you're not violent, we shall never be able to overcome them.

So agree with that.

And I'm amazed, truly amazed, how many Christians buckle under adverse circumstances.

We have Jesus.

We have his Holy Spirit.

We have the power of prayer.

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We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.

Turn your Bibles to one of the most controversial passages in the Bible.

This is really a controversial passage because of the different interpretations of it.

But this is where we find ourselves as we march through the book of Matthew.

So it's Matthew 11.

This is the chapter we're in, and I want to start with what I believe is the key verse, and then break it down with what I believe it means, and then I want to look at the context.

How many of you know that anytime you come to a controversial passage in Scripture, the biggest mistake you can make is to camp on that one verse.

Because every text, listen to this, jot this down, every text has a context.

Every text has a context.

So when you come to something that seems difficult, doesn't seem to make sense.

And there's a lot of them, and I could go through dozens of these kind of verses that are in the Bible.

You don't just take that one verse and camp on that one verse and preach from that one.

First of all, you look at the context of the text, then you compare it to the rest of scripture, and then you come to a conclusion that should be theologically and practically accurate to what Jesus or the prophet or whoever wrote that passage means.

Well, Matthew 11, 12 is in a context.

But first I want to talk about the text, and then we'll look at the context.

The text is this, it's verse 12.

And from the days of John the Baptist, Jesus speaking, until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Now let me give you a paraphrase translation from another Bible.

From the moment John stepped onto the scene until now, the rim, okay, that would be the fourth-dimensional rim of heaven's kingdom is bursting forth, and passionate people have taken hold of its power.

Now, Thomas Watson was a highly esteemed 17th-century Puritan nonconformist preacher.

And in 1669, and you can get this, I have this book, and I've read it several times.

I'm actually rereading it now.

The book is called Heaven Taken by Storm, written in 1669.

Now it's been retranslated into modern language.

It's not hard to read.

But that book has largely and strongly influenced me.

Such that I'm just going to begin to touch on what this passage means today.

But I'm going to make it a part two next week.

But it's not going to be me speaking.

I've asked Victor Marks to speak next week.

So Victor's going to speak on heaven taken by storm or holy violence, part two.

Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary, which is my wife's favorite dictionary, because it actually has the meanings of the words as they were meant, not how we've reframed them in the 21st century.

By the way, it's about that big and about that thick.

You could drill a hole in it and make a boat anchor if you ever needed to.

Anyways, huge.

Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary defines violence as, quote, urged or driven with force.

I like this definition.

Urged or driven with force, as of a violent wind or a violent stream.

Vehement.

Forceful, extreme.

Here's the word I like, fierce.

We're talking about fierce faith.

The Greek word here is beastus.

Beastith.

It means energetic or forceful.

Now here's what's interesting.

The root of beastis, beast, is the same root for Acts 2.2, when the wind came at Pentecost.

So when that fierce wind came at Pentecost, that forceful wind, some translations that you have say violent wind, right?

Some of you, your translation say violent wind came.

It's the same word here.

I'm going to use the word fierce.

Here's what I believe he's saying in the verse.

He's saying that since John the Baptist came with his forceful, fierce, i.e., even violent message of the kingdom of God, okay, there has been a forceful reaction.

In other words, the kingdom suffers violence.

So there's been a move by the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Scribes against John.

Then John, in response to this force, has only gotten more forceful, only stronger.

So he has, it said, the violent, take it by force.

There has been a holy, fierce violence within him that has come forth against the forceful violence of demonic powers, religious powers, political powers against him.

Then Jesus comes on the scene.

Jesus begins to proclaim the kingdom, heal the sick, cast out demons, set the captives free.

Guess what?

The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Jews and the scribes, not really the Romans at all.

But the religious community forcefully is coming against Jesus, and then his strength has only become more intense, more forceful, more fierce.

And so there is this, there is this proclamation and demonstration happening partly because of the force of the enemy.

Amazing principle here.

That the people of God do their greatest exploits when there is the greatest opposition.

That's why some have said that the growth of the church has been through the blood of the martyrs.

That's why the Chinese church and the Sub-Sahara Church and many churches in North Africa and even in South and Latin America have become so strong.

Malaysia, too, where there's been a strong reaction to the gospel, and all it's done is strengthen the church.

And so Jesus is giving us an example of what is a kingdom principle that fierce faith.

Fierce faith is the only way.

Listen, fierce faith is the only way that the kingdom of God goes forth.

With fierce people, forceful people, loving people.

Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Your neighbors have it.

The force is love.

It's a love force.

Church, it's a love force.

It's loving our neighbors.

But there's also a fierce anointing that comes upon people who will not bow down to idols.

Great example is Moses.

You know, Moses with his rod in the midst of Pharaoh.

So here's a guy that just runs for his life 40 years before, and God meets him in a burning bush, transforms, and he becomes a fierce worshiper and warrior of the Lord.

And he comes.

And so Pharaoh with his magicians, his demonic magicians, is able to do the same signs and wonders as Moses.

But instead of getting discouraged, Moses comes stronger and stronger and eventually wins a day.

David comes as a worshiper, young man, probably 13 years old, and he sees Goliath and he sees the kind of person he is, and something within him rises up and says, I am not going to acquiesce to the taunts of this giant, and neither should any of you.

And so he becomes a man who not only suffers violence, but takes the kingdom by force.

And we could go on and on.

I think of William Wilberforce.

And for 25 years he labors in Parliament in Great Britain to take out and to finish out and to completely stop the slave trade.

And it's just one set back after another.

The kingdom suffers violence.

But it says the violent take it by force.

And Wilbur Force would not give in.

And the Clampton sect would not give in.

And eventually they won the day.

So let's look at the context.

Look at Matthew 11 with me.

And I want to look at the context of what Jesus is saying about what I'm calling holy, holy violence or fierce faith.

Now it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding his twelve disciples.

So you remember last week he sent out his disciples to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom that he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Now, church, this is the main mission of Jesus preaching and teaching.

The signs and wonders follow the power of proclamation.

It is the main purpose of the church.

The main thing that the church does is preach and teach, and the signs and wonders should follow.

So when we think about this idea of fierce faith and suffering violence and the violent taking it by force, everybody look at me.

It's this idea that God actually uses our tongue.

He actually uses us as we speak faith, as we share our faith, as we love people, as we encourage people.

Whenever you say a kind word, a gentle word, a love word, there's a release of force and fierceness that pushes back darkness.

And when John had heard these things in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?

So it seems like John is having his doubts.

You know, he's the guy who had who had baptized Jesus.

He had said that this is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

He had noted that, but probably what we believe is that Jesus wasn't exactly doing it the way he thought he should.

And so he's having these doubts about the ministry of Christ.

Verse 4.

Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things which you hear and see.

The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.

The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.

Here's what's happening is that as Jesus is coming with a fierce faith.

And with that fierce faith, there is a word and deed aspect to the gospel, always will be.

At the road, we believe in word and deed.

We believe in proclamation and demonstration.

So it's not just words, words, words.

Most of the church has a lot of words, but we don't have the works that follow.

And so God's called us to be a word and works church, a word and deed church, a proclamation and demonstration church.

And then he says this, I think it's interesting.

He says, those who are not offended because of me.

We can just expect it, church.

Expect that as you live the kingdom, there's going to be people who are offended by your message.

Wherever you are at home, watching this, say offended right now.

Offended.

You're going to offend people.

Matter of fact, if you're not offending a few people from time to time, then you might not be saying enough about the kingdom of God.

And they departed.

Jesus began to say, verse 7 to the multitudes concerning John.

What did you, this is so interesting.

What did you go out to see in the wilderness?

A reed shaken in the wind?

Wow.

Thomas Watson writes of this verse.

John the Baptist was no inconsistent man, fluctuating in his mind and being shaken as a reed from one opinion to another.

He was no reuben, unstable as water, but he was fixed and resolute in religion, and a prison could make no alteration to him.

This is that violent faith.

Who'd you go out into the wilderness to see?

Just somebody who just compromises when things don't go though, just kind of goes with the winds of the culture?

A reed bent in the wind?

Matter of fact, no.

He had this fierce faith.

And that's actually what drew them to him was because of the resolute conviction of the kingdom that drew him.

Verse 8.

But what did you go out to see?

A man clothed in soft garments?

Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses.

Verse 8 is speaking of the status quo.

Were you looking for someone who's just like the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Scribe who just lives in soft clothing?

He wore camel's hair.

Leather belt! By the way, this is a leather belt.

But we're talking about a leather belt.

As you guys know, I hunt, so I've shot a few big game animals in my lifetime, and I guess it's not that hard to make because I've had so many of my friends do it, but you take that skin and you skin it and you dry it and then you oil it, and that becomes the belt.

That was his kind of belt.

This guy smelled like the wilderness.

He's a true wilderness man.

The very opposite of everything they had seen in religion at that time, a violent and fierce faith.

But what did you go out to see?

A prophet?

Verse 9, yes, I say, and more than a prophet.

For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.

Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women, there is not risen one greater than John the Baptist.

But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Jesus is saying, We look at this example of John, but in actuality, all of you, by humbling yourself before the Lord, can be greater than John the Baptist.

And men and women here in the 21st century, God is raising up young people, middle-aged people, older people who will stand strong for the kingdom of God.

And just as John came, God wants us to come proclaiming a message that sets the captives free.

And from the days of John the Baptist, so this is the context, until now the kingdom of heaven does suffer violence, and the violent take it by force.

So it is this fierce faith.

Here's some of the words that were given in different commentaries for violent, the violence mentioned here.

Fierce faith, keen enthusiasm, boldness, vibrant faith, dynamic spirit anointed.

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and you're willing to receive it.

He is Elijah who is to come.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

But to what should I liken this generation?

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying, We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.

We mourn to you, and you did not lament.

For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they said he has a demon.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look, a glutton and a wine bibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but wisdom is justified by your children.

John is like Elijah.

We know Elijah was a man who came against authorities and power, against Jezebel and Ahab.

There was a fierce faith about Elijah that John now, John's the last of the Old Testament prophets, even though he's found in the New Testament.

He's the last of the Old Testament prophets.

He's the bridge from the law to the grace of Christ.

And Christ is calling us out to be Elijah's to our generation.

I mean, we're here today in the situation that we're in because I believe God is building Elijah's.

We mourned you and you did not lament.

His point is that you're trying all that you can culturally to make us like you.

We're not going to do that.

We're not going to dance to your tune.

We're not going to mourn to your flutes.

Rather, whatever you say, because in John's case, they're saying, look, he came eating, he came neither eating nor drinking.

You say he's got a demon.

Then I came eating and drinking, and you say I'm a glutton.

Have any of you tried to satisfy the world with your Christianity?

Impossible.

Impossible.

Our politicians do it all the time, trying to acquiesce to the crowd, changing.

I love when they go down south and they suddenly eat pork rinds.

Or go to a barbecue.

And they're from Delaware somewhere, you know.

Give me a break.

So politicians, his point is, politicians do that, the Pharisees do that, the Sadducees do that.

John didn't do that.

I don't do that.

So we suffer violence.

But God's saying, men and women, God wants us to have a fierce faith, a violent, holy faith.

Then he began to rebuke the cities in which most of the mighty works had been done because they did not repent.

Woe to you, Korazun, woe to you, Besseda, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down.

To Hades.

For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.

Wow.

Incredible passage.

Okay, at that time there were three cities.

They were called the Evangelical Triangle.

Called the Evangelical Triangle.

And this evangelical triangle was Khorazan, Bethsaeda, and Capernaum.

They were all kind of a stone's throw from each other right there on the shores.

Northern We haven't found exactly where Bethsaeda was.

I believe it was the northern side of the Sea of Galilee.

Corazon was near there, Capernaum was near there, and it's called the Evangelical Triangle because 80% of Jesus' ministry was there.

And yet they did not repent.

And I just say, America, beware.

If there's a nation today that has had the gospel preached to you, it's the United States of America.

And yet here's what's interesting: when you look at what's happening in China with the house church movement, we look at what's happening in Malaysia, where there's a strong Muslim influence.

When we look at what's happening in Indonesia, when we look at what's happening in aspects of Latin and South America, when you look at what's happening in North Africa and into the Middle East, the believers with very little information that are choosing to believe, it's amazing.

The kingdom of God revolution is truly shifting nations and shifting cultures all over the world.

And I see it here.

Even in our midst with young people that have grown up in Christian homes.

I mean, it's amazing to me.

This is the thing that's fascinating as a pastor and a counselor and a leader.

How many young people I see who grew up, now it wasn't perfect because you didn't have Jesus as your dad and you didn't have the Virgin Mary as your mother, so they weren't perfect, but grew up in Christian homes where at least the gospel was preached and the Bible was read on a regular basis, who then chose drugs and sex and emeralds.

I mean totally rebelled against it.

Then I meet these young people, and we've got some in our church who've been sex trafficked.

They had no gospel at all.

They come to know Jesus at 24, 25, and they're radically saved.

Radically transformed.

And I go, are you kidding me?

It is amazing what happens when you become too familiar with the gospel.

Listen, and it's too easy.

It's too easy.

I pray that in the years to come the gospel will become too hard.

Too hard.

I believe that's what we see in Psalm 2.

Joel 2 and Acts 2.

So besides reading Esther this week, you should read Joel 2, Acts 2, and Psalm 2.

Psalm 2 is the current, is the current reaction of the world today.

Why do the nations rage?

Joel 2 and Acts 2 is the response of a spirit-anointed church to Psalm 2.

You say in Korazan, Besseda, and Capernaum, there's greater judgment upon you because you had the gospel preached, you saw the signs and wonders, you did not repent.

It's better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for you.

And that should be a wake-up call to all of us.

So let me give you three thoughts and then I'm gonna, we're gonna go into worship.

Holy violence.

What is holy violence?

Let me give you three thoughts.

Number one, it's a fierce faith.

Number one, it's a fierce faith.

A heart that is pressing in with extreme passion for Jesus and his kingdom.

A heart that is pressing in with extreme passion for Jesus and his kingdom.

For those that have heard the gospel ad nauseum and they haven't pressed in to the kingdom, I mean, I really feel sad for them.

And that's a little bit of my background.

You guys know that I grew up Lutheran.

I was baptized at six weeks old.

I went through confirmation class.

It meant nothing to me.

And then when I was when I was 19, the University of Georgia, that's when I came into a personal faith in Christ.

And I pressed in for the first time.

Jesus says of the same Luke's version of the Matthew 11, 12 verse is this the law of Moses and the revelation of the prophets have prepared you for the arrival of the kingdom rims announced by John.

And now, when this wonderful news of God's kingdom rim is preached, people's hearts burn with extreme passion to press in and receive it.

It's contending.

Listen, it's contending for the things of God.

It's pressing into the kingdom.

That's what we're gonna do Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night at 6 p.m.

We're gonna contend.

At the road, we do not have boring prayer meetings.

Amen.

Not allowed.

That's an oxymoron.

Boring prayer meetings.

How many have been to boring prayer meetings?

Okay, a lot of them.

Okay, I know.

I know.

But not at this church.

So I'd rather go from six to seven and really go after it than six to nine and we're falling asleep.

So we're gonna go from six to seven and we're gonna go after it.

We're contending, we're pressing in with extreme passion for Jesus and his kingdom.

Number two.

Number two, holy violence is a fierce faith that overcomes obstacles.

Charles Spurgeon said this such a man or woman must be earnest and be violent because there are so many adversaries to oppose you that if you're not violent, we shall never be able to overcome them.

So agree with that.

And I'm amazed, truly amazed, how many Christians buckle under adverse circumstances.

I mean, we have Jesus, we have his Holy Spirit, we have the power of prayer.

Again, three days Esther Fast, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, let's come.

There are obstacles, and I want to say this to you viewers that listen, if you need a miracle, come Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night and we'll pray for you.

We'll pray for any situation and we'll take time during that time to pray about any situation, whether it be financial, whether it be physical, whether it be emotional, mental, whatever, we're here for you.

We're gonna be here in the sanctuary making it happen.

And jot this down, this is the first time I've announced this on May 7th.

Everybody write down May 7th.

May 7th is the national day of prayer.

So Donald Trump has called for a National Day of Prayer today because of the situation with the pandemic.

But the National Day of Prayer is every year.

It's always the first Thursday of every uh May.

There's a National Day of Prayer, and we're calling in Colorado Springs for 24-hour National Day of Prayer.

Let me explain kind of where this came from.

About four months ago, I had a dream.

And in the dream, I saw a cityscape.

And you guys have seen pictures where it looks dark with the buildings and then it's light behind it.

I saw the cityscape, and it was a city, and in my in my sense at that time was, oh, it's Colorado Springs or Denver.

That's what I thought about.

It was Colorado Springs in the dream.

And then there were these clouds rolling in above the buildings, and the Lord said, ominous times are coming.

This is four months ago.

Ominous times are coming.

I shared this with some of my leadership team, and I shared it with Lou Engel and others.

Ominous times are coming.

And then written, not at first, but then written across the bottom in white letters was 2 Chronicles 7.14.

2 Chronicles 7.14.

So turn in your Bibles, because I think most of you know it, but in case that's a new verse for you, look at 2 Chronicles 7.14.

2 Chronicles 7.14 says this if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven.

I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.

So on May 7th, we're going to go into 24-hour prayer.

We're going to call it the 24-hour National Day of Prayer War Room.

And we're going to go from midnight to midnight on that day, May 7th.

And I know it's a work day because it's a Thursday, but we'll talk more about the details of that.

And we're going to take every hour, there'll be worship and prayer every hour here at the facility.

In the 1920s, a young missionary wrote a poem.

It's called Stick with Your Work.

I don't know how many of you have heard this.

This is the first time I heard it was this week.

Stick with your work.

Let me read it to you because I think it speaks of fierce faith.

Do not flinch because the lion roars.

Do not stop to stone the devil's dogs.

Do not fool away your time chasing the devil's rabbits.

Do your work.

Let liars lie, let sectarians quarrel, let critics malign.

Let enemies accuse, let the devil do his worst.

But see to it, nothing hinders you from fulfilling with joy the work God has given you to do.

He has not commanded you to be admired or esteemed.

He has never hidden you to defend your character.

He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood about yourself, which Satan's or God's servants may start to peddle, or to track down every rumor that threatens your reputation.

If you do these things, you will do nothing else.

You will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord.

Keep at your work.

Let your aim be as steady as a star.

You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, and slandered, wounded and rejected, misunderstood or assigned impure motives.

You may be abused by foes and forsaken by friends, and despised and rejected of men, but see to it with steadfast determination and unfaltering zeal that you pursue the great purpose of your life and object of your being.

Until at last you can say, I have finished the work which God has given me to do.

You've been listening to The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.

We hope you have been blessed by today's message.

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