As people of the kingdom of God, we should not store up for ourselves treasures on earth but store up treasures in heaven, and we should not be anxious for our needs but do our duty to give, trusting in our heavenly Father to provide for all our needs. Amen!
May the Lord have mercy on us and renew our mind; our mindset, the way we think, and our concepts and opinions need to be renewed in the word of God.
We believers in Christ are not like the rest of the people in the world; they may do things in a certain way to ensure their wealth is increasing and maintained, and they may think in a certain way when it comes to money, but we are not like this.
We are people of the kingdom of God, and our constitution in the kingdom is not related to what we should do to get more money or prosperity; rather, our real prosperity, joy, and treasure are in heaven, where we are in Christ hidden in God, and Christ is our life and our everything.
The more we enjoy the Lord in His Word, the more we open to Him in our fellowship with Him, the more He changes the way we think.
Without realizing it, we are being “marinated” and “soaked” in the way of living and thinking of those around us, the society we live in, our friends, the university we attend, and the workplace we are in.
The flood of dissoluteness in the world, to which all men adhere and are swept by, is going on as we speak; without us knowing it, it is by default that we think in a certain way, do certain things, and speak particular things, even as the rest of the others around us do.
But when we come to the word of God, when we contact the living and eternal One who is expressed through His word and speaks to us both through the Scriptures, through the environment, through the saints, and through the Spirit in our spirit, we are being transformed.
The way we deal with our money, the way we take to accumulate wealth or offer our material riches, and the way we deal with the things we own or should own, all this is being renewed by our being in the Word of God and allowing the Lord to speak to us.
The Lord’s presence, His speaking, His instant and living word, His fresh message, changes us, shapes us, transforms us, and makes us into a particular kind of person – not just a man but a God-man.
We are being conformed to the image of Christ, the Firstborn Son of God, the One who lives in us and whom we enjoy, and we are not like the ones around us.
If they do certain things, if they are anxious about their living and the things they want to have, and if they pursue after the material riches, we will not do the same, because we are kingdom people, those who live according to the divine life and nature in our spirit.
We need to Store up Treasures in Heaven and not be Anxious about our Needs but Trust our Heavenly Father
In Matt. 6:19-21 the Lord Jesus told us not to store up treasures for ourselves on the earth but in heaven; on earth, there’s the moth and rust who consume our treasures, and thieves dig through and steal, but there are no such things in heaven.
As kingdom people, the people of the kingdom of God, we should not store up for ourselves treasures on earth but treasures in heaven.
This means that, instead of accumulating wealth and riches for ourselves on earth, we should do our duty to give material things to the poor (Matt. 19:21) and to care for the needy saints (Acts 2:45; 4:34-35; 11:29; Rom. 15:26) and for the Lord’s servants (Phil. 4:16-17).
Where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. If our treasure is here on earth, our heart will not be with the Lord but with our treasures.
If we accumulate things for ourselves here on earth, we will be occupied with thinking about them, how to increase our wealth, how to protect it, and how to manage it.
But if we send our riches in heaven, if we deposit our money in the heavenly bank, we store up treasures in heaven.
How can we do this? Before our material riches can go to heaven by our giving to the ones in need, our heart needs to be in heaven first; we need to set our mind on the spirit and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
We shouldn’t be anxious about anything but rather, we should trust in our heavenly Father, knowing that He is able to care for all our needs.
The Gentiles are anxiously seeking what to eat, what to drink, what to be clothed with, but we have a heavenly Father who knows we need all these things, so we should trust Him.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work but just stay at home and trust God to give us everything; rather, we do our duty to work, earn a living, and give, trusting in the Lord to provide for our needs.
In the matter of giving we need to deal with anxiety; it is not the material riches that are the problem, but our anxiety.
The gear that makes the whole world turn is anxiety; what makes every society seek to have more and more things and riches is anxiety.
Because we are anxious for the future, we want to save up our money and deposit it in the bank instead of giving it to the Lord.
Of course, the Lord doesn’t want us to drop out of school or quit our job and live like a bird, free from anxiety; rather, while we study, while we work, we need to cast all our cares upon the Lord and simply not be anxious but trust our heavenly Father for all things.
Our seeking should not be to get more things, to increase our bank account, to boost our savings, or to accumulate more wealth, but to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.
When we feel that anxiety comes in, we need to learn to cast all our cares and anxious thoughts on the Lord, for it matters to Him concerning us (1 Pet. 5:7); furthermore, we should do our duty to give one with the Lord, trusting our heavenly Father for all things.
Though the whole world is anxious about their living, their food, their clothing, their drink, their shelter, their transportation, their entertainment, etc, our only care and seeking are not for these things but for God’s kingdom.
When we seek first the kingdom of God, though we may be in lack outwardly, we are not anxious but rather, we trust our heavenly Father for all things.
Lord Jesus, we cast all our cares upon You, for it matters to You concerning us. We choose not to be anxious, Lord, but to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting in You for all things. Amen, Lord, we trust in You for all our needs. We choose to store up treasures in heaven, not on earth, for our heart is in heaven! We love You, dear Lord Jesus, and we set our mind and our whole heart on You! We trust our heavenly Father for all things, for He knows that we need; we simply seek Your kingdom, dear Lord, and we do our duty to give, trusting in You for all things. Hallelujah, our heavenly Father cares for us, He knows what we need, and He richly provides for us as we store up treasures in heaven and seek first the kingdom of God!
Doing our Duty to Give according to the Divine Nature and Store up Treasures in Heaven with No Anxiety
![Because of this, I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of heaven. They do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are you not of more value than they? Who among you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? And why are you anxious concerning clothing? Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin [thread.] But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. And if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is [here] today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, [will He] not much more [clothe] you, you of little faith? Matt. 6:25-30](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Because-of-this-I-say-to-you-Do-not-be-anxious-for-your-life-what-you-should-eat-or-what-you-should-drink-683x1024.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Because of this, I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of heaven. They do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are you not of more value than they? Who among you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? And why are you anxious concerning clothing? Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin [thread.] But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. And if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is [here] today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, [will He] not much more [clothe] you, you of little faith? Matt. 6:25-30")
As believers in Christ, we are people of the kingdom of God, and the constitution of the kingdom of God is clearly laid out in Matt. 5-7, where we see the decree of the kingdom of the heavens.
All that is mentioned in Matt. 5-7 can be lived out by the divine life and nature in our spirit; when we live according to the divine nature and express the divine life, we live the kingdom life.
When we live according to the divine life and not according to our human life, we will give according to the life and nature of our heavenly Father.
In the life of God in our spirit, there is no anxiety.
It is wrong to have anxiety, for anxiety doesn’t belong to the divine life; instead of being anxious, we should do our duty to work, labor with our hands, and give.
We need to do our duty to give according to the divine nature in us, thus storing up treasures in heaven and having no anxiety.
People in the world aspire and dream of being a millionaire; we should not aspire to be millionaires but to be rich in heaven.
Instead of storing up treasures for ourselves here on earth, we need to send them in heaven by giving and having no anxiety.
We may study and graduate, have a good degree, and get a good job; instead of storing up riches for ourselves and aspiring to have more and more and more, we should simply enjoy the Lord and learn to give according to the divine nature of our heavenly Father.
Why would we be anxious about what to eat?
The birds of heaven don’t worry about their food, and even though man tries very hard to feed them, it is God who takes care of their food.
Why would we be anxious about our stature, trying to be taller or thinner? It is God who causes us to grow and who arranges all things, and He made us the way we are – which is fine.
Why would be anxious about clothing, even about getting nicer clothes and better garments? Look at the lilies of the field who don’t toil nor spin thread, but they are clothed in a glorious way by our heavenly Father.
If God so cares for the birds and so arrays the grass of the field, who are not as precious as we are in His eyes, why would we worry and be anxious about these things (Matt. 6:28-30)?
The people in the world anxiously seek to have things and riches and wealth; we, however, should simply trust our heavenly Father, for He knows all things, and He cares for all our needs.
If we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, He will simply add to us all the things we need.
We shouldn’t be anxious for tomorrow – let tomorrow be anxious for itself; we should simply enjoy the Lord today, seek His kingdom today, and do our duty to give according to the Father’s nature, and the Lord will care for all our needs.
Our life is more than food, and our body is more than clothing; both our life and our body were brought into existence by God, not by anxiety, and He is able to care for us.
If we earn a certain amount from our job, our seeking should still be for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and we need to be doing our duty to give according to the heavenly nature of God in us, not being anxious for anything.
Thank You Lord for imparting Your life and nature into us. We want to live by Your life and nature. We do not trust in ourselves but in You; You are able to care for all our needs. We want to be those who labor and work to gain an income, and we want to do our duty to give according to the life and nature of our heavenly Father. Amen, Lord, our aspiration is not to be a millionaire but to be free from anxiety as we give for the needs of the saints, the needs of the church, and the support of those serving the Lord full-time! Grant us to be good givers according to the life and nature of our Father, trusting in Him for all things, and not being anxious in anything!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, and portions from, Life-study of Matthew, msg. 22 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Material offerings and the Lord’s Move Today, week 5, entitled, Principles of Material Offerings (3).
- Hymns on this topic:
– Cast all thy care, and not a part, / The great things and the small; / The Lord’s all-loving, mighty heart / Has room and thought for all. / Yes, He will ponder every care, / Consider each detail; / Thyself, thy burden, let Him bear; / He will not, cannot, fail. (Hymns #696)
– Be not anxious for the morrow, / Jesus said; / Why should we its trials borrow? / Trust instead! / For each hour of need or sorrow, / Grace He gives, and daily bread. / Thus our treasures safe investing / In His care, / Kept in His pavilion resting, / May we dare / Still to trust, thru faith’s deep testing, / Sure, God will His ways declare. (Hymns #700)
– Seek the coming of His kingdom; / Seek the souls around to win them, / Seek to Jesus Christ to bring them: / Seek this first. / Seek this first, His promise trying; / It is sure, all need supplying. / Heavenly things, on Him relying, / Seek ye first. (Hymns #667)
About aGodMan
Amen. Thank You Father for Your Kingdom now and is to come. Thank You for taking care of us all. Thank You for keeping us under Your care. Thank You for giving us the riches of Egypt and the unrighteousness mammon. Thank You for renewing our mind to become truly a kingdom people in life and nature and in experience.