The Secret of Violence

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he term “spiritual violence” captures the intensity with which the last days’ generation will pursue God. They will seek God with their entire being, denying themselves and

throwing off all entangling sins, in order to run the race with pas- sion, purity, and perseverance. “‘The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force’” (Matthew 11:12).

This is the hour to seek God with violent abandonment! The signs of the times are clear; Christ’s return is imminent; we sense an urgency in the Spirit; it’s time to awaken from our slumber and chase down the kingdom of God like never before.

Genuine faith seeks God earnestly. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). True faith understands not only that God exists, but that He rewards us according to the intensity of our pursuit of Him. God chasers reveal their faith by the way they run. Men and women of faith cannot be distracted or detoured from their objective because they firmly believe that God is going to reward their pursuit. And they’re right!

Spiritual violence begins in the secret place. It all starts with how you apply yourself to the disciplines of prayer—adoration,

Secrets of the Secret Place

gazing, fasting, reading, study, meditation, listening, absorption of truth. This is where violence starts. I say “absorption of truth” rather than “memorization” because it’s possible to memorize Scripture without it ever penetrating your spirit, changing your lifestyle, and becoming integrated into the language of your dia- logue with God and man.

One of the most violent things you’ll ever do is wrestle down all the competing elements in your calendar and consistently carve out the time to shut yourself into the secret place. In the busy seasons, it can seem as though a thousand other voices are clamoring for your attention. Which voice will rule, the voice of incompleted tasks or the gentle voice that beckons you to the secret place? Swing your sword against the encroaching tentacles that seek to overgrow your secret life with God. Get alone with God, O man of violence! Kiss the Son, O woman of violence!

It will also require violence to provide your body with suf- ficient rest so that, when you get to the secret place, you’re not constantly falling asleep. This is the violence we exercise the evening before so that the next morning is secured. Everybody has his or her turn at falling asleep when alone with God; that’s part of our humanity, and God understands it. However, the man of violence and wisdom will enact whatever measures are neces- sary to be alert and engaged on a regular basis in this the most delightful portion of the day.

It’s easy to confuse natural zeal with spiritual violence. Some people display incredible zeal for God—in the way they worship or share their faith or attend Bible studies. But if it’s a natural zeal, it’s a zeal that lasts only as long as others are watching. When that person is alone with God, the zeal fizzles, and the intense level of activity suddenly collapses. Natural zeal must be exchanged for true spiritual fervency—a zeal that is energized by an inward, holy fire that burns even when no one is looking.

God has given us one discipline which is an extraordinary gift, a powerful tool providentially designed by God to intensify the violence of our pursuit. I am speaking of fasting. Fasting, when combined with prayer, is one of the most direct and efficient ways

The Secret of Violence

to accelerate the pace of your race, especially if you’re feeling a little sluggish in your spirit.

Oh, what an awesome little gift this fasting thing is! It’s prob- ably one of the most under-rated, under-employed, misunderstood gifts of grace. There is no spiritual merit in fasting; it doesn’t earn extra points with God. But it does tenderize your spirit, sensitize your hearing, and accelerate the pace of divine flow in and through your life. For those committed to exploring spiritual violence, fasting is a true friend.

Solomon wrote, “Seek [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures…He stores up sound wisdom for the up- right” (Proverbs 2:4, 7). The imagery portrays godly wisdom as hidden treasure stored up deep within a mountain, and to gain this treasure you must go mining fiercely for it. Furthermore, the Scripture says, “He gives wisdom to the wise” (Daniel 2:21). It’s not the foolish who get wisdom but the wise. The wise get more wisdom added to their life because they’re smart enough to seek God fervently.

Jesus doesn’t respond to all believers alike. He responds dif- ferently to those who seek more diligently. We see this in the way He handled the Twelve. Peter, James, and John were invited into some of Jesus’ most intimate and awesome moments, while the other disciples were not included. The difference, I believe, is that the others held back somewhat in their hearts toward the Lord, while Peter, James, and John pursued Jesus harder. Some of the disciples doubted Jesus, even after the resurrection (Matthew 28:17), and that reservation of spirit robbed them of the greatest levels of intimacy. Those who had more were given more.

I’m writing these things, dear friends, to inspire you toward your Lord. Run after Him! Seek Him with all your heart! As you seek Him harder He’ll draw you closer than ever before. Jesus didn’t favor Peter, James, and John because of their personalities or gift mix; He favored them because they favored Him. “‘For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him’” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Secrets of the Secret Place

The Lord is not a respecter of persons. He rewards equally all those who seek Him fervently—which is why some don’t enter into much in God. As He looks upon the moderate zeal with which they seek Him, if He were to give them the power and glory they requested, He would be violating all those who have sought Him with so much more intensity. 1 Corinthians 9:24 reveals that we run our race in the presence of the other saints: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” God honors our race as compared to how others have run throughout church history. (This is the principle of 2 Corinthians 8:8.) Folks, we have some serious competition here. I do not mean that we compare our attainments with one another in a carnal way, but I mean that we allow the swiftness of other runners to inspire us toward greater pursuits in God.

I get inspired when I read the stories of the great Christian runners of history. I was so stirred in my spirit when I read the story of how Francis of Assisi pursued God in his early twenties. One of his companions tells the story of how Francis crawled out of bed after he thought his companion was asleep. He knelt on the floor, and for the better part of the night prayed one single sentence: “My God and my all.” Then he caught a little bit of sleep and awoke with the others. Such an intense pace!

I once read of a Chinese prisoner who fasted for 76 days from both food and water, praying for the salvation of his fellow prison- ers who abused him the entire time. At the end of the 76 days, he arose in supernatural strength and authority, preached to his cellmates, and all fifteen of them repented on the spot. Wow!

I heard of some Chinese believers who were together on a 21-day fast because they hadn’t seen anyone raised from the dead in three weeks, and they thought something was wrong.

And the stories go on an on. Oh, I love to be inspired by the pace of others!

As you read the following, which is a page from John Wesley’s diary, you will see a man who allowed nothing to daunt his pursuit of the high calling of God:

The Secret of Violence

Sunday Morning, May 5. Preached in St. Ann’s. Was asked not to come back anymore.

Sunday p.m., May 5. Preached at St. John’s. Deacons said “Get out and stay out.”

Sunday a.m., May 12. Preached at St. Jude’s. Can’t go back there either.

Sunday p.m., May 12. Preached at St. George’s. Kicked out again.

Sunday a.m., May 19. Preached at St. somebody else’s. Deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.

Sunday p.m., May 19. Preached on the street. Kicked off the street.

Sunday a.m., May 26. Preached in meadow, chased out of meadow as bull was turned loose during the service.

Sunday a.m., June 2. Preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway.

Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service. Preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.

Go after God! No one else can hinder your race. It doesn’t matter how other people might not recognize your ministry, pursue God! Choirs of saints are cheering you from the bannis- ters of heaven. “We finished the course by God’s grace,” they’re crying, “You can, too!”

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Secrets of the Secret Place

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Дата добавления: 2015-10-23