Matthew 11:12 – Kingdom of heaven What Does it Take to Reach It?

We seek to serve God, not just to say that we are Christians, or because we attend church, but we serve God, because our desire is to reach the kingdom of heaven through Christ Jesus.

After all, what is serving? According to the dictionary, serving means working for someone.

We can understand that when we serve God, we are making ourselves available to work for the growth of the kingdom of the heavens, making the will of God be established on earth, bringing into existence the purposes of God.

Serving God means being willing to do his will and his will. It means killing self and living God’s will. Said the apostle Paul: (Galatians 2:20) I am already crucified with Christ; and I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Serving God is linked to renouncing our wills, mortifying our desires, so that God’s will is fully carried out in our lives. God gave up his own son, that whoever believed in him might not perish but have eternal life. Jesus Christ surrenders to the Father’s purpose of interim, Jesus Christ stands as the true example of the faithful servant, obedient and fearing his master.

When talking about the path that leads to salvation, we can observe that the Lord Jesus Christ himself defines himself as the only way to reach salvation. John 14:6 Jesus said unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. 

Jesus Christ describes himself as three very important pillars for reaching the kingdom of heaven. Within these three pillars we will describe each one and understand how it becomes possible to achieve salvation through Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ said He is the way.

Path means: means of achieving a result; direction. 

Then we will understand that Jesus Christ is the only direction we must take so that we can achieve our salvation. Only Jesus Christ can make the church achieve its result, which is salvation.

Jesus Christ said he is the truth.

Truth means: circumstance, object or fact; reality.

There is no other truth than what Jesus leaves us recorded in the scriptures, Jesus Christ is yes, and will always be the only truth. Everything he reported in the scriptures has been fulfilled in our day.

(Matthew 24: 6-7) You will hear about wars and rumors of wars, but don’t be afraid. It is necessary for such things to happen, but it is not the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many places. (Luke 12:53) The father will be divided against the son, and the son against the father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Each verse quoted above, has already been fulfilled, in our days. When we believe in this truth that is the word of God, we are walking on the right path so that we can reach our salvation. 

John 8:32 – And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Many human theories and their knowledge are indeed true, but there is only one truth capable of freeing people from sin, destruction and evil dominion.

This truth is found only in Jesus Christ, and through the word of God.

The scriptures testify to the truth that is able to deliver man from sin, the world, and demonic power. It is no longer necessary to reveal “truths” to complete the gospel of Christ, or to make it more suitable, for the gospel of Christ is the perfect truth.

The saving truth is revealed from God, only by his spirit and does not come from a person or human wisdom.

When we recognize Jesus Christ as the only truth, we achieve liberation from the evil dominion, from oppositions, from everything that can lead us away from God.

John 12:26 – Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be. He who serves me, my Father will honor him. Faith in Jesus Christ is involved with personal commitment then keeping those teachings and being where He is. Following Christ includes denying yourself and taking up your cross. Mark 8:34 – Then he called the crowd and the disciples and said: “If anyone wants to accompany me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

The cross is the symbol of suffering, death, shame, mockery, rejection, and personal renunciation. Every Christian, when he decides to deny himself and take up his cross, makes the decision to fight sin to the end, makes the decision to fight Satan and the powers of darkness to extend the kingdom of God. 

He is determined to face the hostility of the opponent and the evil hordes and face the persecution that arises resist the false teachers who distort the truths of the Gospel.

to reach the kingdom of heaven it is necessary that we will leave to live for our wills and live for the will and will of God.

Jesus Christ said he is life.

Jesus Christ conquered death! Unfortunately sin separates us from God saw there bringing death and only through Jesus Christ, we can be resurrected and reach life eternal.

 When someone raises their hands and accepts Jesus Christ as lord and savior of their life, they begin to live in a new life full and full of peace. 

John 11:25,26 – Jesus said to him: I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, though he is dead, will live; And whoever lives, and believes in me, will never die. Do you believe this?

Through this verse above and we understand that Physical death is not a tragic end, on the contrary, it is the passport to eternal and abundant life, and communion with God. “Will live” is referring to the resurrection; “never die” means that the believer will have a new, immortal and incorruptible body that cannot die or deteriorate.

To reach the kingdom of heaven it is necessary to allow the word of God to come, like a seed sown in our hearts, to germinate, grow and produce fruit.

Luke 8:15 And that which fell on good ground, these are they who, hearing the word, keep it in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with perseverance.

When the word of God finds a place in our hearts, we begin to understand God’s purposes for our lives.

From then on, step-by-step, we began to produce fruits worthy of repentance, that is, through our lives people are impacted by the power of God, we become instruments of God, because the seed that was planted fell into a fertile land.

The kingdom of heaven requires perseverance.

Reaching the kingdom of heaven requires determination and purpose. Matthew 11:12 – From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force seize it.

The word of God teaches us in this verse that only those who strive can take possession of the Kingdom of God. And those, moved by God, resolve to break the practices of Sin and the immorality of the world and become followers of Christ and walk according to his word and his righteous paths.

Belonging to the kingdom of God and enjoying all its blessings requires sincere and constant effort. It is, in fact, a fight of faith, combined with an immense desire to resist Satan, sin and the evil society in which we live.

Those who live at the will of the world, neglecting the word of God, those who have little spiritual hunger, and those who pray will rarely ever know the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is for people bold in faith.

Elijah Genesis 39:9 – No one in this house is above me. He has denied me nothing, except you, because you are his wife. How could I then commit something so wicked and sin against God? “

God calls people like Nathan to the kingdom.

2 Samuel 12:7 – Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have anointed him king of Israel, and delivered him out of the hand of Saul.

God calls people like Elijah to the kingdom.

1 Kings 18:21 – Elijah addressed the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” The people, however, did not respond.

God calls to the kingdom, people like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego

Daniel 3:16-18 –Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego replied to the king: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we need not defend ourselves before you.

If we are thrown into the the burning furnace, the God we worship can deliver us, and he will deliver us out of his hand, O king.

But if he does not deliver us, know, O king, that we will not worship his gods nor worship the image of gold that you had erected”.

God calls people like Mordecai to the kingdom.

Esther 3:4,5 – Day after day they spoke to him, but he did not pay attention to them and said he was a Jew. So they told Haman everything to see if Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated.

When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself, he was very angry.

God calls for the kingdom, people like Peter and John

Acts  19.20 – 4:..But Peter and John replied, “Judgeyourselves whether it is right in God’s sightobey you rather than God

For we can not help talk about what we saw and heard”.

God calls people like Stephen to the kingdom.

Acts 6:8 – Stephen, a man full of the grace and power of God, performed great wonders and signs among the people.

God calls people like Paul to the kingdom.

Philippians 3:13,14 – Brethren, I do not think that I have already achieved it myself, but I do one thing: forgetting the things that are behind and moving on to those that lie ahead,proceed

Itowards the target, in order to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

God calls people like Deborah to the kingdom.

Judges 4:9 – Deborah said, “All right, I’ll go with you. But know that because of the way you act, the honor will not be yours; for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went to Kedes with Barak,

God calls to the kingdom, people like Ruth.

Ruth 1:16-18 – Ruth, however, replied: “Do not insist that I leave you and accompany her no more. Wherever you go I will go, where you will I stay! Your people will be my people and your God will be my God!

Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely, if anything but death separates me from you!”

When Naomi saw that Ruth was indeed determined to accompany her, she pressed no further.

God calls people like Esther to the kingdom.

Esther 4:16 – “Go gather all the Jews who are in Shushan, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days and three nights. My maids and I will fast like you. After that I will go to the king, even if it is against the law. If I have to die, I will die.”

God calls people like Mary to the kingdom.

Luke 1:26-35 – In the sixth month God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, city of Galilee,

to a virgin promised in marriage to a certain man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

The angel, approaching her, said, “Rejoice, blessed one! The Lord is with you!”

Mary was disturbed by these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.

But the angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; you have been blessed by God!

You will become pregnant and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God he will give him the throne of his father David,

and he will reign over Jacob’s people forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Mary asked the angel, “How will this happen if I am a virgin?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So he that is to be born will be called holy, Son of God

God calls people like Hannah to the kingdom.

Luke 2:36-38 – There was the prophetess Hannah, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. married

and then remained a widow until the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple: she worshiped God fasting and praying day and night.

Having arrived there at that very moment, she thanked God and spoke about the boy to all who they waited for the redemption of Jerusalem.

God calls people like Lydia to the kingdom.

Acts 16:14,15 – One of those who heard was a God-fearing woman named Lydia, a seller of purple cloth from the city of Thyatira. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

Having been baptized, as well as those in her household, she nvido, saying, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And convinced us.

If you want to reach the kingdom of heaven, exhale in people like those mentioned above, because each one of them was bold before the presence of God, all denied the flesh, renounced their wills, mortified their desires, and renounced their lives to live according to the will of God.

We can conclude that we were called to populate the kingdom of heaven, we are not here on this earth by chance, we came with a purpose, a call from God in our lives.

God wants us to come fulfill His call for our lives, and that through our lives we become able to reach others for the kingdom.

May we, from today, reach the greatest number of people, telling them that Jesus Christ heals, saves, frees and takes to heaven, because this word is faithful and true.