Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The religion of the Jews was
one which was passed down from one generation to the next. This
was accomplished by the teaching of Moses' law, the reading of
the scriptures, and oral accounts of Jehovah's dealings with the
descendants of Abraham. If a man was born a Jew, he was
expected to carry out those same traditions which were mandated
by that law, and was by his birth and continuation in those traditions
considered to be a part of that chosen nation and an inheritor
of the covenant as a result. When the Lord Jesus came, he
turned that religion on its ear and laid an axe to the root of
any notion that any man could expect to be included in the
kingdom of heaven, which he as the Messiah came to establish
by such rote obedience or natural birth. Needless to say, he was
not very well received by the teachers and leaders of that
religion. since the same acts that cut that root struck them
as well, and removed any source of power which they might find
to exert in the name of God, as they perpetuated that religious
tradition. Their traditions had become more
important to them than knowledge of the true and living God, and
they considered that the fear of God could be taught by the
precept of men. The mainstream religion of our
day is not much different than that, as men are taught that
they can pass on true Christianity by the same methods, even causing
themselves to be saved by an act of their own free will. Many
who call themselves Christians believe that they can even hold
God Himself hostage and either permit Him to save them or prevent
Him from doing so by an act of this free will. When these sacrosanct
ideas are challenged, men will often rise up in anger against
any who would dare to tell them that men are born into God's
kingdom, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God. When the Lord met with Nicodemus,
Nicodemus never even got to ask the Lord a question. There was
no need for a question to be asked, because the Lord delivered
a startling message to him which he could not have imagined. Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. John the baptizer, being the
greatest and last of the Old Testament prophets, saw the Messiah
in the flesh and recognized that the ministry of Christ was unlike
any which came before. John answered, saying unto them
all, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than
I cometh, the lachet of whose shoes I'm not worthy to unloose.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. This
is that baptism which the Lord Jesus spoke of when he mentioned
that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence. The Greek word which
is translated as violence here is biazo, which means to be pressed
or forced into. He is saying that this kingdom
of which he is the king is one of power and not words. It is
one of truth and not religion. It is not externally observed
but rather internally manifested. And when he was demanded of the
Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered
them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned. This kingdom is not
inherited by flesh and blood. Rather, the subjects of this
kingdom are those who have been subjected to a force which they
neither could resist, overcome, or deny. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. They are those who have been
born again by the power of the Holy Ghost. Having been the subjects
of violence, they now press into that kingdom with the same violence,
even as Jacob of old wrestled with a man and would not let
go. We see this same violence demonstrated in the blind beggar
Bartimaeus, as he cried out, Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. And many charged him that he
should hold his peace, but he cried out the moral great deal,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. He would not be silent,
though told by the crowd to hush. He cried out the louder with
violence. It is the same violence that gripped the publican and
caused him to say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. The same which
caused the Philippian jailer to cry out, sirs, what must I
do to be saved? And inhabited those men who were
pricked in the heart on the day of Pentecost, crying out, men
and brethren, what shall we do? These were not men simply seeking
out some religious dogma, or desiring to fulfill some ritual,
but are those who would not be denied the thing which they sought.
They testified with Job of old, though he slay me, yet will I
trust in him, and were of the same spirit as the woman who
sought deliverance for her daughter, to whom the Lord declared, I
have not found so great a faith in all of Israel. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.