Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”
For the past several months the Lord has been having me look at the science of physics as it relates
to prayer, faith and intercession. Physics is the science of
matter and energy and their interactions. It is the study of nature in the broadest sense. (all physics definitions
are from the physics classroom http://www.physicsclassroom.com)
What I'm going to touch on is the area of physics called “Kinetics”, which is the study of motion. The motion of objects can be described by words - words such as distance, speed,
velocity acceleration, and displacement. These are mathematical quantities, which are used to describe the motion of
objects.
- Displacement is defined as a quality, which refers to "how far out of place an object
is"; it is the object's change in position.
According to Isaac Newton's first law of motion: An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an
object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced
force.
Now remember we are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven forcefully advancing!
A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction
with another object. Whenever there is an interaction between two objects, there is a force acting on each of the
objects. When the interaction ceases, the two objects no longer experience a force. Forces only exist as
a result of an interaction.
Motion can also be approached from the perspective of work and energy. In physics,
work is defined as: a force acting upon an object to cause a displacement. There are three key words in this
definition - force, displacement, and cause. In order for a force to qualify as having done work on an object, there
must be a displacement and the force must cause the displacement. There are several good examples of work which can
be observed in everyday life - a horse pulling a plow through the fields, a person pushing a grocery cart down the aisle of
a grocery store, a freshman lifting a backpack full of books upon her shoulder, a weightlifter lifting a barbell above his
head, etc. In each case described here there is a force exerted upon an object to cause that object to be displaced.
To Do Work, Forces Must Cause Displacements
In studying the Hebrew definition of the word, "word", I found that there is always motion,
velocity and advancement when the Lord speaks forth his word. In Greek it is the word "Rhema" and in Hebrew
the word for "word" is Dabar. This word has a dual meaning. It indicates the word spoken but can
also represent the action that is produced out of the spoken word. The prophetic word or the word from the Lord "Dabar"
means to "get behind and drive forward to completion".
Dabar: as a noun means: word; matter; something. It is also the Word,
which creates, as God created the world by His word (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 48:13; Psalms 33:9).
The root of the name Deborah, is Dabar. Deborah means "bee" and comes from the root word: Dabar from its sense of orderly motion.
The Dabar of the Lord carries with it the ability to accomplish what it is sent out to
do.
Isaiah 55:11 ~ Young's literal translation: “So is My word (Dabar) that goeth out of My mouth,
It turneth not back unto Me empty (void), But hath done that which I desired, And prosperously effected that [for]
which I sent it.”
And my amplified version:
Isaiah 55:11 “so shall my word (Dabar - to speak, declare, converse, command, promise,
warn, threaten, sing) be that goes out from (to go out, come out, exit, go forth, to go forth (to a place) to go forward,
proceed to (or toward something) to come or go forth (with purpose or for result) my mouth; it shall not return to me empty,
(Void: vainly, emptily, in empty condition, empty), but it shall accomplish (to do, fashion, make, to do, work,
make, produce, effect, act with effect, to produce, to acquire (property), to appoint, ordain, institute, to bring about,
to be done) that which I purpose, (Please: to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with) and shall succeed (to
rush, to advance, prosper, make progress, succeed, be profitable, to make prosperous, bring to successful issue, cause to
prosper) in the thing for which I sent it.”
When the Lord speaks a word to us it is a word of demonstration and carries with it the momentum, and velocity in order to cause
displacement in the natural order.
Some examples of displacement:
In the book of Joshua chapters 5-6 we read about The fall of Jericho in 1400 BC: The Lord gave Joshua the Battle plan and when it was executed the walls of the city fell:
Joshua 6:20 “So the
people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout, and
[Jericho's] wall fell down in its place, so that the [Israelites] went up into the city, every man straight before him, and
they took the city. The walls of the city fell! DISPLACEMENT FOLLOWED OBEYING THE WORD OF THE LORD!
When Jesus died on the cross, the end of his life was punctuated by a severe earthquake on April 11, 32
AD, following a strange three-hour darkness covering the land, "...Jesus
cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to
bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen
asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were
filled with awe, and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" (Matt. 27:50-54)
A second great earthquake occurred on Easter morning according to Matt. 28:2 at the time of the resurrection.
Matthew 28:2 “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel
of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.”
JESUS' DEATH AND RESURRECTION CAUSED the utmost DISPLACEMENT . . . that
of the kingdom of darkness.
Colossians 2:15 "He disarmed the rulers and
authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him through the cross."
An earthquake is a trembling or a shaking movement of the Earth's surface. Earthquakes typically
result from the shifting of the earth's plates resulting from the movement of faults. This is
displacement!!
Another "providential" earthquake recorded in the Bible was the Lord's means of releasing Paul
and Silas from jail in Philippi, as recorded in Acts 16. This is one of my favorite passages of scripture.
Paul and Silas are:
Attacked by the crowd; beaten with rods on their bare backs with many blows; thrown in prison;
put in the inner prison; and put in the stocks.
Under these circumstances they had every right to complain, get discouraged, feel like giving
up. They are beaten, sore, bleeding, hurting, and sitting in the deepest darkness with their feet in shackles! These
are leg irons. So, not only were their circumstances seemingly hopeless they couldn't get out of them if they wanted
to.
Instead of crying and complaining they were praising the Lord:
Acts 16: 25 “About midnight Paul and
Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, “
They were filled with praise!! They kept their eyes on the Lord, not their circumstances.
Not only that, but the other prisoners were listening to their praise!
The breakthrough comes when: Acts 16:26 “and suddenly there was a great earthquake,
so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's
bonds were unfastened.”
The foundations of their bondage were shook loose and not only did Paul and Silas get set free
but EVERYONE'S BONDS WERE UNFASTENED!!
It is important to note that in Numbers 14 when the 10 spies gave the bad report that the meaning of the Hebrew word murmur that is used in that scripture actually
means: to abide or dwell (see Num 14). I believe that if we agree with the natural circumstance we will never change them; and if we grumble against the
circumstances we will only empower them to remain the same and we will abide there!! The breakthrough comes when we praise
God no matter what is going on around us!
Give thanks in ALL circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus!
Paul and Silas got more than a double portion for the kingdom of God as not only did they get
set free, but also all the prisoners were released and the Jailer and his whole family got saved!!
The Believers Pray for Boldness
Another earthquake took place when the believers prayed for boldness: Acts 4:29-31 “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to
your servants 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed
through the name of your holy servant Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they
were gathered together was shaken,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Also, the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai was also accompanied by a frightening earthquake
(Exodus 19:16-18).
THE LAW IS CALLED THE "DABAR OF THE LORD" AND THE GIVING OF IT TO MOSES CAUSED
DISPLACEMENT!
So, I would like to end with this scripture: Haggai 2:6-7 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more,
in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I
will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.
And we say: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, in earth as it is in heaven”!