Overview
Life cannot be forced: God’s timing, understanding of the things of God, other people’s decisions, ideal circumstances and the wisdom of God all have to develop graciously rather than be pushed into place. In this teaching Rev. Rico Magnelli works through John 6, Acts 1, Luke 16, Luke 10, 2 Corinthians 12 and James 3 to show five things no amount of effort can produce. The crowd tried to take Jesus by force to make him a king and he withdrew. The Pharisees pressed into the kingdom of God and never entered an understanding of it. Martha commanded Jesus to make her sister help her. Paul asked three times for his hindrances to be removed and was given grace instead. Grace, not force, moves us forward.
Transcript
John chapter six, please. What we wanna talk about tonight is that life cannot be forced. The harder we try to make things happen, what we begin to realize is that it doesn’t work, life doesn’t work that way. Life just has to develop graciously. And certainly this is involved in God’s timing, understanding the things of God, trying to get others to do what we want. We can’t force that. We can’t force ideal circumstances. Ideal circumstances cannot be forced. We need to allow grace to gently move us forward in life.
So we’re gonna look at several records and specifically highlighting that we can’t force God’s timing. We can’t force understanding the things of God. We can’t force ideal circumstances. That’s why we have grace to move us forward.
You Cannot Force God’s Timing: The Crowd Who Would Take Jesus by Force to Make Him King
And in this first record in John chapter six, Jesus Christ has just fed thousands of people. And their response is this recorded in verse 14 of John chapter six. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. They knew from Old Testament prophecy that a certain prophet would come into the world and they perceived that this was Jesus Christ. He was the prophet that would come.
And in verse 15, when Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. It wasn’t God’s timing for Jesus Christ to execute the wrath of God and to come forth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And what the people wanted was, oh, this must be the guy that’s gonna rid us of the Romans. But God’s timing was not what the people thought. God’s timing for Jesus Christ to execute God’s wrath that will happen in the future when he comes back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords was not yet. This was a very permeating concept among those in the first century.
Wilt Thou at This Time Restore Again the Kingdom to Israel?
Because you can see it again, look at Acts chapter one. Acts chapter one on the day of the ascension, his followers again bring this concept up. And in Acts chapter one, verse six, when they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? What they wanted was a military Messiah to rid them of the Romans because they were under Roman occupation. And by this time, Jerusalem was saturated with people from all over the world. Very few of the original bloodline were left in Jerusalem and they wanted to get rid of the Romans. But see, you can’t force God’s timing.
God’s timing is God’s timing. And I love Jesus Christ’s response here. And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times, which will be the chronological time, or the seasons, which would refer to the opportune time, which the father hath put in his own power or his own authority.
Waiting on God’s Timing Requires Patience, Not Pressure
Oftentimes, life is a matter of timing and being patient and partnering with God and allowing him to graciously move us along. We can’t force things from God. God will provide when he’s ready. And he’s never going to leave us without, he’s never gonna forsake us. But the point is, is that you can’t force God’s timing in any situation. So it does require patience on our part, because perhaps it isn’t necessarily an issue of something being wrong or right. It could be that all the variables haven’t come together at that point for us to walk into a successful situation. God’s timing cannot be forced. And as we trust him, as we have confidence in him, more and more we see his timing in our lives.
Only God Can Open the Eyes of Our Understanding
Look at this. Look at Luke chapter 16. It’s not possible to force the understanding of the things of God either, can’t be forced. Only God can open the eyes of people’s understanding. People can force their way into the Bible and try to understand it. They can take all the classes and courses and have all the academic degrees, but only God can open the eyes of someone’s understanding to the purity and the clarity of who he is and what he sent his son Jesus Christ for.
Look here in Luke chapter 16, Jesus Christ handling things with the Pharisees. He says in verse 13, no servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Jesus Christ makes a clear dichotomy, a clear distinction. It’s either God or the precious things of this world. Nothing wrong with having things that are valuable in this world, but they should not be above God. God first.
Highly Esteemed Among Men Is an Abomination in the Sight of God
And the Pharisees also who were covetous, that means they were the lovers of money, that’s what that means, heard all these things and they derided him. And he said unto them, ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Wow.
I mean, that sets it pretty clear. What’s highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God. So we always have to be aware of how the world is trying to amalgamate us, make us those chameleons where we just blend into the background of the world, where in the systems of the world is where you’re gonna find those things that are highly esteemed among men. And to God, it’s an abomination. Pretty clear.
Every Man Presseth Into It: Forcing Your Way Into the Kingdom of God
Look what he says in verse 16. The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it. The kingdom of God. That’s referring to an understanding. It’s not a place. It’s an understanding of his care and sovereignty over all time and all things. He is God and nothing and no one can move him from that position. That’s an understanding of the kingdom of God.
And it says, every man presseth into it. And the word presseth means forces. And the every man in the context is referring to the Pharisees and all those who pursue those things that are highly esteemed among men. That’s who it’s talking about. They endeavor to press themselves, force themselves into an understanding of the things of God and it’ll never happen. Understanding the things of God is not an academic pursuit. It’s a heart pursuit. And God can gently bring us that understanding as we pursue him. Tremendous.
You Cannot Force Other People to Do What You Want: Martha and Mary in Luke 10
So we see that life cannot be forced. Certainly God’s timing can’t be forced. Understanding the things of God cannot be forced. What about forcing other people to do what we want? That doesn’t work out too well. Look at Luke, Luke chapter 10. We’re familiar with this record, but we’ll see it from the perspective of forcing somebody to do what we want. Not a good way to live.
In Luke chapter 10 in verse 39. And she, Martha, had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving and came to him, she came to Jesus, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.
Bid her is a command in the Greek grammatical construction here. She’s commanding him to bring this to pass. Commanding people, forcing people to do what you want is not a good way to go.
And Jesus Christ very lovingly handles this situation. Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, meaning she was anxious, preoccupied, too busy doing things and missing God and the word that Jesus Christ was presenting right in front of her. But one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.
Often what happens when God is not involved in service or in what we’re doing, man often seeks others to meet their need and they press upon them and they force getting their need from people. And that’s not a good way to go. We should not be forcing people to do what we want.
Ideal Circumstances Cannot Be Forced: What Nature Shows Us
Look at 2 Corinthians. Another challenge when it comes to forcing the things of life because life cannot be forced. Just look at nature. It’s a tremendous example. It just continues to grow. It’s not forced. It just continues to develop according to the genetic package of whatever plant or animal that God set in motion in Genesis chapter one. It just continues to grow. Life is like that. We can be like that.
Look at 2 Corinthians. Sometimes what happens is we pray to God for the ideal circumstances. Oh God, give me the ideal circumstances. Well, Paul’s gonna pray for the ideal circumstances here. He’s having trouble because he’s doing the work of the Lord and he has these people that keep hindering him. And he’s thinking, well, the ideal circumstance is if I don’t have these people hindering me, I’m gonna be doing a better job. But you can’t force ideal circumstances because it’s not real. No one lives in a constant state of ideal circumstances. That’s not life.
Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh and the Prayer for Ideal Circumstances
So what God gives us is his unmerited divine favor to gently move us forward. When and where our ability is limited, God brings to pass his power through Jesus Christ. It says it right here in 2 Corinthians 12, verse seven. Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, we know that’s referring to people that were hindering his ministry, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, that’s three times, that it might depart from me.
So Paul’s thinking, I can do a much better job if these situations are not in my presence. Ideal circumstances are not necessarily something that we can pray for all the time because we live in a world that has spiritual antagonism. It’s a spiritual competition and the race does not go to the swift. So forcing ideal circumstances is not the way life is lived.
My Grace Is Sufficient for Thee: Strength Made Perfect in Weakness
Because God responds to him this way in verse nine. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, my unmerited divine favor, for my strength, God’s strength that comes by way of that unmerited divine favor, is made perfect in weakness. And that weakness is our inability in whatever situation we’re in to be successful on our own. God can add whatever he needs to add as we go to him, trust him.
And Paul responds beautifully, most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, meaning his weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me, like a tent, just envelop me in that power of Christ. Fantastic. Grace guides us gently forward regardless of the circumstances is my point. It just guides us forward because life cannot be forced. God’s timing can’t be forced. Understanding the things of God cannot be forced. Trying to force people to do what we want does not work out well. It’s better to let them make their own decisions. Let them make up their own mind, love them, and let them exercise their free will.
God’s Wisdom Cannot Be Forced: The Wisdom That Is From Above
And then finally, what cannot be forced is God’s wisdom, what to do, when to do it, and all these wonderful things. Look at James, James please, Hebrews, James chapter three. God’s wisdom cannot be forced. But I tell you what, without God’s wisdom, we walk as blind men. We need God’s wisdom. And God’s wisdom isn’t gonna be found in the things of the world, in the earth. It’s from above, it’s from God, where he provides his eternal and infinite perspective.
James chapter three, verse 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. This verse has helped me so much in my life, I cannot tell you.
Because if it’s from God, the first thing, it’s gonna be pure. Even though it might be mixed with something, it itself is pure. I can have a lot of thoughts running through my mind, but that one pure thought of his wisdom comes in, and it’s different from all the rest. It’s pure, it’s pure.
Then not only that, it’s peaceable. Meaning it’s peaceful. God doesn’t force his wisdom. It’s not like, let me grunt and let me, you know, clench my fists and pray for 10 hours. Nothing wrong with prayer, it’s great. But you’re not gonna force, I’m not gonna force the wisdom of God. It’s peaceful.
Gentle Wisdom Fits Like the Right Nut on the Right Bolt
And it’s also gentle. And this gentle is interesting, because it has to do with the sense of fitting upon. It’s gentle in how it fits. And I liken it unto a nut and a bolt. If you’ve ever put together a nut and a bolt, and you have the wrong nut or the wrong bolt, you’re trying to force those threads, it just does not work. But when you have the right size nut and the right size bolt, no rust, and you put that baby on, it just spins on there. It perfectly fits. That’s what this word gentle means. It’s like, it fits gently. It’s not trying to force a square peg in a round hole. Life isn’t like that, and the wisdom of God’s not like that.
It’s very easy. It’s peaceful. It’s gentle. It’s easy to be entreated, meaning this is easily persuaded. When you get the wisdom of God, you just wanna yield to it because you recognize it. It’s not rigid. It doesn’t force us. It’s very easy to be entreated.
Another characteristic of it, it’s full of mercy. God knows we all need it. It’s full of mercy. There’s no accusation in it. There’s no criticism in it. There’s no judgment in it. It’s full of mercy. How interesting that is.
And not only that, it’s also full of good fruits. So as we receive that wisdom of God, what happens is you can trace that wisdom of God, and it continues to produce fruits. It’s like a tree that branches out with good fruits everywhere from that wisdom, and you can trace it back to the wisdom of God.
Without Partiality and Without Hypocrisy
And then the next category, it’s without partiality. And that means it’s impartial. It doesn’t take sides. The wisdom of God doesn’t need to take sides. It’s the wisdom of God. It’s not my wisdom. It’s not your wisdom. It’s the wisdom of God. It doesn’t need to take sides. It just holds forth what it is. It’s the wisdom of God. There’s no sides to it. He’s always right.
And then finally, the eighth one, there’s eight characteristics here that are noted so beautifully. It’s without hypocrisy. And God knows we all love that. It’s without hypocrisy. That wisdom has no hypocrisy in it. God says what he means, he means what he says. If he says yes, he means yes. If it’s no, he means no. There’s no hypocrisy in this wisdom.
Do Not Let the World Force You Onto a Treadmill
So what do we see about life cannot be forced? So many beautiful things. And so much can be understood in this category. But the world is gonna try to put you on a treadmill to force your finances, to force your health in a certain way, to kind of steer us like cattle into a corral of thinking that they’ve already pre-set up. Don’t allow that to happen. It’s not from God if you’re being forced. Is there something not right? Maybe it’s in our understanding, but perhaps there’s some worldly influences trying to force you into something. Because I can read it myself. You just read it yourself too, what the wisdom of God is.
Living in the Moment to Receive the Wisdom of God
So much of recognizing the things that God presents to us is if we live in the moment, not living in the past or living in the future. Because as we live in the moment, our past has been settled at the cross. Our future was settled at the resurrection. Then we’re best prepared to seize upon God’s wisdom as he communicates it to us. Maybe we read it out of the word. Maybe somebody’s teaching and we recognize the wisdom of God in a specific situation. Maybe we hear it in the manifestation of the spirit. Maybe God talks directly to us. It doesn’t really matter.
His wisdom can come in a variety of ways, but we want that wisdom. We want his timing when all variables are set that he knows about, because his timing allows us to progress through our day because we’re not forcing it. It even helps us in working with people, not trying to get them to do what we want, just love them. Love them and let them make up their own mind.
And as we rely on grace, we do understand life isn’t a constant 24-7, 365 ideal circumstances every day. But what we do have is grace, unmerited divine favor. Even at times when there are obstacles, when there are hindrances, God’s grace will bring us above and beyond our capability and our ability to deal with the situation. And then it allows us to move ahead in life.
Key Takeaways
- Life cannot be forced. Rev. Rico Magnelli names five things no amount of effort can produce: God’s timing, understanding of the things of God, other people’s decisions, ideal circumstances, and the wisdom of God.
- In John 6:15, when Jesus perceived the crowd would take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone, because the timing for him to come forth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords was not yet.
- It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power: the times are the chronological time and the seasons are the opportune time.
- Every man presseth into it in Luke 16:16 means forces, and in context it is the Pharisees and everyone chasing what is highly esteemed among men. Understanding the things of God is not an academic pursuit, it is a heart pursuit.
- Martha’s bid her that she help me is a command in the Greek. Forcing people to do what we want is not a good way to go; it is better to love them and let them exercise their free will.
- The wisdom that is from above has eight characteristics in James 3:17, and gentle means fitting upon, like the right size nut spinning onto the right size bolt instead of forcing the threads.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that life cannot be forced?
It means the things that matter most develop graciously rather than under pressure. Rev. Rico Magnelli names five of them: God’s timing, understanding of the things of God, other people’s decisions, ideal circumstances, and the wisdom of God. None of them can be pushed into place. When and where our own ability is limited, God brings to pass his power through Jesus Christ, which is why grace, not force, is what moves a believer forward.
Why did Jesus withdraw when the crowd wanted to make him a king in John 6?
Because it was not God’s timing. After Jesus fed thousands of people the men said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world, and when Jesus perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. They wanted someone to rid them of the Romans, but for Jesus Christ to execute God’s wrath belongs to the future, when he comes back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
What are the eight characteristics of the wisdom that is from above in James 3:17?
It is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Rev. Rico Magnelli explains gentle as having to do with the sense of fitting upon, like the right size nut spinning onto the right size bolt rather than forcing the threads, and easy to be entreated as easily persuaded, so that you just want to yield to it. There is no accusation, no criticism and no judgment in it.
Scripture References
John 6:14; John 6:15; Acts 1:6; Acts 1:7; Luke 16:13; Luke 16:14; Luke 16:15; Luke 16:16; Luke 10:39; Luke 10:40; Luke 10:41; Luke 10:42; Genesis 1; 2 Corinthians 12:7; 2 Corinthians 12:8; 2 Corinthians 12:9; James 3:17
This text was prepared from the teaching audio. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
