God will never forsake us, so we do not need to worry about anything. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord told us that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all that we need will be added to us (6:33). What does added mean? For example, suppose you go to a fabric store to buy some fabric, and the storeowner “adds” a calendar to you. You did not buy the calendar, but because you bought the fabric, the storeowner gives you a calendar as something added to you. Then if you buy more fabric, he will give you yet another calendar as another item added to you. The Lord said that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, what we would eat, drink, and be clothed with will all be added to us. Regrettably, however, we always reject the “fabric” and care only for the “calendar.” We do not recognize or appreciate the “fabric.” We care only for the “calendar.” Actually, what do we have to worry about? We did not create the earth, neither did we invent sunlight and rain. We have not caused one grain of rice to grow. All these things were created and done by God. Since God was able to create all these things, can He not send all these things to us for our enjoyment? Perhaps some people will then ask, “Does this mean that we do not need to do anything but that we can simply wait for God to send all these thing to us?” We should realize that no one who fears God would say such a word.
Before God we should disregard material things. Many people have disregarded material enjoyment for the sake of God and His kingdom, yet eventually God granted them a great deal of material enjoyment. The God whom we serve never fails. Even though sometimes He puts us through trials, we still have to properly praise and thank Him for our relationship with Him. Today many Christians do not know the God who created all things; rather, they treasure all the things that He created. Paul said that he counted all things as refuse. God has also never treasured all these things. However, we have a treasure in us that Paul referred to as being something excellent. God is the excellent One! Christ is the excellent One! Such a One lives in us! How glorious this is!
We must know, acknowledge, receive, and believe that this glorious God is living in us. Without such faith, we cannot talk about any spiritual experience. A person may think that it is a spiritual experience to pray earnestly for the Lord to preserve his son, who is going on a trip, and then the Lord keeps his son from danger. This person would be very joyful after having such a “spiritual experience.” Indeed, a Christian should have this kind of experience, but this cannot be counted as a real spiritual experience.
The first step of a genuine spiritual experience is the belief that God dwells in us. We should prostrate ourselves in worship to God and lift up our hearts to praise Him, saying, “O God of glory, although You are the Lord of the universe, You live in me. Although You are on the throne, You are also in me. I praise You because You want to fill me unto Your fullness. What a glory this is!” A Christian who is up to standard should have this kind of praise. The reason why we are not released and have no peace is that we have not seen, and we have neglected the fact, that the God of glory is living in us. Without faith it is impossible to see and receive this.
Some people say that our teaching is too high and too deep and that if we were to change our teaching a little, more people would listen to us. However, if we do not release such messages, the God of glory in us will not be pleased, because this is His intention revealed in the Scriptures. If we really know that the God of glory is living in us, and if we have fellowship with Him, all our problems, such as those related to sins, the world, hardships, food, clothing, housing, and transportation will pass away. The God of glory, the One of peerless worth in the universe, is living in us. How great this is!
Observe how great and wonderful this universe is. It is God who created such a great and wonderful universe, and now this God of creation is living in us. He is truly the One of peerless worth. Is gold precious? Yes it is. It was created by God. The God who created gold is indwelling us. He is not only our Lord, our Father, and our God; He is also living in us, and we are being filled unto all His fullness. If we see this, our entire being will be changed.
Many years ago in Chefoo during the fellowship in a love feast, a brother who had just been saved saw the preciousness of the glorious God living in him. After this he did not care that the distribution of his family’s inheritance was taking place; he simply gave up everything. This is the personality of a Christian. This was due solely to the fact that he saw and believed that the God of glory was dwelling in him. Faith is the first step.
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