We are exhorted to “put on the whole armor of God so that we will be able to stand against the whiles of the devil and having done all to stand.” The armor of God is described as “the breastplate of righteousness” (right standing and right doing), “the helmet of salvation,” (which incorporates our justification, sanctification, and glorification through faith in Christ Jesus) “the belt of truth,” (professing and practicing sound doctrine which is the moral law of Christ) “the foot wear of the gospel of peace,” (living, proclaiming and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God that results in peace within ourselves and offers peace to others who choose to believe) above all we are exhorted to take up “the shield of faith” (trust and reliance upon Christ for salvation, also translated faithfulness) “whereby we will be able to quench all of the fiery missiles of the evil one,” and to “take “the sword of the Spirit” which is the word of God.” We are also told to “pray with all manner of prayer and supplication in the Spirit and to that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” In another place we are exhorted to “endure hardships (internal and external pressures) like a good soldier.” So we see that as Christian believers we face an enemy within and an enemy without and that we will have to preserver and endure in faith and patience in the midst of this warfare.


Now the place of our power and peace in the midst of this fierce warfare in which we are engaged is the kingdom of heaven, within. More precisely, it is the King within, who is Jesus Christ the victorious and conquering risen Lord of Heaven and earth in the person and power of the Holy Spirit. “The kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” “The kingdom of heaven allows pressure and those who press into it, take it by force.” “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us therefore wake up and strengthen the things that remain.” The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If we indeed are lacking any of these attributes and qualities of character, then we must press in and take them by force, we must arise from our spiritual lethargy and strengthen these eternal realities in our lives. We must by faith begin and continue to draw from the kingdom and the power within. “Jesus said, “This is that which overcomes the world, even your faith.” And, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!”


My Christian brothers and sisters, our faith has been sorely tried and it will continue to be until Jesus Christ returns with His fiery angels in the eastern skies over Jerusalem and catches us up in the air to be with Him forever. But make no mistake my brothers and sisters, until that time our temptations, tests, trials, and tribulations will increase as we see that day approaching because Satan has come down with great wrath, knowing that his time is short. We have seen several of our trusted Christian leaders fall as well as some of our beloved Christian institutions dissolve. We have seen our families ravaged with sickness, death, and sin. We have experienced our own short comings and moral failings in abundance.

We have faced and do face pressures from within and pressures from without in this very hour. As a matter of statistical fact, there were more Christians persecuted and martyred for their faith in the twentieth century than in all the previous centuries combined since the birth of the church! I believe that the 20th century will pale in comparison to the 21st century in this demonic trend. But do not despair my friends because this persecution will be in the midst of the greatest spiritual revival that the world has ever seen “for where sin abounds grace abounds much more!”

It is time and past time for us to pursue God and His unshakable kingdom like never before. This is the time for faithful perseverance and patience endurance. This is the time to “press in and take the kingdom of heaven by force.” This is the time to “keep our bodies under all subjection and to run the race and finish our course.” This is the time to “fight the good fight of faith being fully clothed in the armor of God.” This is the time to “awake from our spiritual slumber and come to the light.” This is the time to “put off sin and put of Christ.” This is the time to “cast off the works of darkness and be clothed in the armor of light.” This is the time to be “quick to forgive, quick to receive forgiveness, and quick to repent.” This is the time to “give no place to the devil.” This is the time for covert prayer, fasting, and giving like never before. This is the time to “pursue and perfect holiness in reverence of God.” This is the time to be sold out for Jesus Christ and His kingdom, to become radical revolutionaries for the cause of Christ. This is the time to be passionate for the salvation of souls. This is the time to evangelize, evangelize, evangelize!


“The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great price that a man found in a field and he sold everything that he had so that he might purchase that field and obtain the pearl.”


My fellow Christian believers, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we all have a choice to make in this hour, to be overcome by negative circumstance and desperate situations orchestrated by self, Satan, and sin or to be overcomers through repentance from works that lead to death and faith towards God. I don’t know about you, but “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” This of course is also my prayer for you, Amen.