Luke 12:29-34
“And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after:and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after:and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The scriptures are beautiful for the application of them is manifold. We have studied these same scriptures in light of trusting God for our needs and they do address that. Yet “The Will of the Father” for our lives can also be discerned from these versus. Once the decision to accept Christ has been made, then that which is before us is a life lived by completely different values. A making new of our value system and security base is what likes ahead. An analogy that scripture uses is the purifying of gold. Though none of us are goldsmith’s we understand that the purification process is through intense heat. Through that process the dross is separated from the gold, and being lighter makes its way to the top. Once there the goldsmith removes the dross with its impurities. What remains then, is pure gold. How does the goldsmith know that the heat has done its job; that the gold is now pure? When the goldsmith can see the reflection of his face in the gold. The Lord is likened to our goldsmith, do we reflect Him?
For our faith to grow it must be tried. Exercise is another analogy. This exercise is more like boot camp. It darn near kills you and that’s the point of it. It must weaken self will and develop a new obedience to a higher calling. The upward high calling of Christ as Paul writes in Philippians 3:14 ” I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The word press here is ” dioko” which has two meanings depending on how it is used. One means to be continuously persecuted and it’s second usage is to press hard after something in order to obtain. We can make application of both meanings. We are to persecute diligently any thought, deed or word that “exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ in us” and press hard after ” for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
This is the mind set Christ speaks of when he says “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Fear not little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Fear not, Phoebe means just that and it is where we get the word Phobia. The next interesting definition is “good pleasure.” In the phrase “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give” it stresses not only the “intent but the absolute willingness to do it” and or the “enjoyment of taking pleasure in it.”However He is after something more real, something that is eternal. When I read these scriptures there is a deeper truth being shared. I read a life that is completely abandoned to God. In financial terms all emotional asserts, hopes, dreams, securities, and ambition are 100% invested with God. “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heaven that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The purpose of the trials is to show us the vanity of being attached to this world’s value system and living for it, as opposed to the Kingdom God. There is nothing here that I am looking for. My sense of security and value comes from becoming evermore God’s son. The trials and challenges make me depend more and more upon Him and His Word. I look to my Father to provide for me. Even in NOT PROVIDING He is providing me the opportunity to press into Him through prayer, fasting and scripture reading. Did not Paul go days without food and shelter?
To develop a faith that says like Job, “though he slay me yet will I trust Him” is to be fully surrendered. To have no care of self, which is our greatest stumbling block. For though, now is difficult, it will be beautiful. I use to think that something was wrong with me and that was why I struggled so. However as the years have burned away the dross I see a Christ likeness emerging; bringing joy, hope and confidence that nothing in this world can give. It’s more than worth it, so take heart hermanos and hermanas ( brothers and sisters), God is at work.
Father God,
Though what has been shared is true, it is not easy. In fact life can be extremely beyond belief with difficulty, setbacks and challenges. We struggle because our faith is young and not equal to the challenges we face. Help us to dive into your Word whereby our faith can grow. As our faith matures our trials become smaller. Help us to do what we can to expose our self to Your teaching, prayer and fellowship. The rest is in your hands. Thank you and Amen
Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur