But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33
This is one of my favorite verses, we used it in our wedding even. And it says it all, however most people do not get it to know the truth in it. Because most do not understand what it means to seek the Kingdom of God, and to be righteous in it. I have been on both sides of this so I get it. The majority of the people will never find the Kingdom or narrow path, but instead remain in their sinful life thinking they are good the way they are.
Yesterday the Lord showed me,and has been for weeks now, how we think we are good the way we are. Maybe we had a small time with the Lord and made some changes and then reverted back to, or started to follow a religion and its doctrine and or the bible. This is what most people do, and most of them have changed some. Many were drug addicts or alcoholics and are no more. They have been set free from that particular sin, but still practice others.
I hear so many different doctrines, but it is not about doctrine, because your doctrine is what keeps you in sin. Knowing and obeying the Lord is the only way to the Father. We are to disciple the nations to the Lord, not to our own way of understanding. Because our way, no matter how many times you read the bible and study, it will not lead you to the Father.
The Lord has shown me many times how he works, and did again this morning, showing me my past 20 years of journey to get to where I am today. It all started with the worst time in my life, which in hindsight was the best time. I was reminded of how the Lord made my circumstances to be soooooo difficult. It broke me down completely. It made me seriously seek for relief, seeking for it in the Lord. But at the same time setting me up for my future. A lot of the things I suffered at the same time spared me further suffering later on in life. For example I lost my career as an investment advisor and lost all my income. While at the same time going through a nasty divorce and major problems with my daughters and our lack of relationship. It was hell on earth to go through. But if I had not lost my career, I would have been paying seriously high alimony as well as child support. As it worked out instead of like $5,000 plus a month, it ended up a little over $1,000 and ended when the girls were 18. See how this works out for your good, although when dealing with it it seems too much and wrong?
Also if the girls were in my life, I’d still be in Iowa. No young kids like I have now, and no living on the ocean in Paradise. Probably still broke as my ex had no control over her spending (nor was I very good with it).
The point is this. When going through it all you think why poor little old me. And most religious people look at you like you are a REALLY bad person if you are going through all this. And yes I was really bad, but actually no worse than most I knew.
The Lord has shown me that when you start to go his “way” you will be going against the other people. They are going one direction and you are going completely the opposite, even religious people. And none of them get it. They are all in the world and remain in it, getting fat like the rest, taking drugs like the rest, sinning like the rest, mental problems like the rest, financial problems like the rest… And at first you have these same problems because you also were in the world.
But as you start following the Lord, and he takes you completely in a different direction than before, the people do not get it. For a simple example, when the Lord told me to stop watching TV, especially sports. My dad told me I was hearing a demon. It made no sense to him nor does it even today, some 10 plus years later. And it does not to anyone else who has not heard the Lord tell them this. But to those of us who heard him and obeyed, we understand why. We understand how those things form your mind and they are NOT of God. Even if it is a religious program it is not of God.
So many things the Lord tied all together this morning for me, too many to write about. So jumping to another point. He showed me how this works out. He showed me the conversations I had with a guy in the past few months, and how his religious beliefs are getting in the way of his working out of salvation. How he argues with the truth, throwing doctrine or verses at me, which actually support what I said, yet in his mind they support his position. And how I always tell him, do not believe me, question everything. But take it to the Lord, not to men.
We really need to seek truth in the Lord, he is the truth no one else is.
So next point, the Lord brought up the rich young ruler again. And how he had kept the laws since childhood, so was a pretty “good Man” in theory. But how the Lord said, “if you want to be perfect, go sell all you have and give it to the poor, and then come follow me.” And he went away sad. The simple point is you cannot be made perfect apart from following the Lord, doing whatever he tells you to do. The reason the men teachers tell you that you will never be perfect is because they have not gone to the Lord and asked what they still lack and then do as the Lord tells them. Instead they try a little harder to stop that sin they cannot shake, and read their bibles more. But it does not work.
I went to the Lord, he showed me what to do, and I did it. It is that simple (yet extremely difficult because in doing his will you go completely against the way of the world and it is soooo foreign it makes no sense).
So the next point. The Lord showed me how what the so-called educated tell us, and how it is sooo wrong against the truth. First take the point above about the men teachers, they push bibles and church gatherings based on men teachers. And they tell you that you will always sin, and they sin daily. Their mouth is telling me this, not mine. And if you tell them you have been set free from sin, they call you a liar, or try to make you feel stupid. But they also say they are not practicing sin, only sinning. But a question, which is how did they come to this conclusion? Because this is the truth the Lord has shown me.
If there are only 10 commandments, and no one practices all ten. I know very few people who killed anyone, and do not know anyone who kills men daily, do you? And I do not know anyone who steals daily. And most religious people go to church weekly. And most do not covet the neighbors’ goods or wives. But if they do in their minds they are practicing it.
That is the point, we narrow down the sins to a few, and then they tell you they sin daily. So how are they not practicing or still in bondage to sin? Obviously they are lying to themselves and to you.
But regardless, when you come to know the Lord as your savior, he does set you free from all sins, and his Spirit keeps you free from it. As long as you listen and obey. If he tells you to sell all you have and give it to the poor and come follow him. Then you have to do it no matter how crazy that sounds. He cannot perfect you unless you hear and obey everything he says. Keeping something back will be the one thing which keeps you worldly and out of his Kingdom. Because if it is something the Lord knows is keeping you from understanding the truth in Him, and he tells you what to do. There is a reason behind it. Who are you to say no or walk away from it, and then still expect to be in the Kingdom of God and be saved? The Lord does not work that way, although the religions have you believing it does.
So all these people will be coming against you, throwing out bible verses, telling about what this or that preacher said. Trying to get you to see their lies as truth. Do not fall for it, always seek the truth in the Lord. He is the truth and no one else.
And as always you will know the truth by the fruit you bear. As an example, the Lord reminded me about two things today. First about my dad and his health, where a doctor tried to put him on additional meds, which I said no and that my goal was to get him off meds. And he told me in an upsetting way “you will NEVER get him off any meds.”
Now he is the one with the degree and supposed to know the human body and how it works much better than me being a doctor. But now some 2 years later, he is off all but two meds, down from 8 if I remember correctly. His diabetes and blood pressure issues are gone as is his lung or breathing issues. His weight is down around 75 pounds, and although still in a wheelchair, he is very healthy for an 82 year old. His recent blood results are almost perfect for any age.
The second example the Lord reminded me of was coaching basketball up in Minnesota. The year before I coached they won maybe 30% of their games and no tournament championships. The year after I coached same results. The year I coached we won around 80% of our games and the same amount of tournaments, and were within a few points of the championship game. The real point is the other coaches had degrees to coach, I did not.
So the simple point, who understands things better and is getting better results? The ones with the degrees or the one without who seek the truth? And then practice the truth? My personal experience is those who are the smartest with the worldly teachings are the dumbest in how it works out. If you do not question everything you are being taught and challenge the lies, they will suck you in. I have been sucked into believing the lie, born into the catholic church. And then by the real grace of God, I was set free from it in his truth because I seeked for his truth. I seeked first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. And the fruit from it is the best fruit. More and more, as satan gets his lies deeper into the world and the minds of men, the fruit from the education of the world is getting worse and worse. Yet they do not see it. If they do see your fruit they say it is because you are white or because you are lucky, or any other excuse they can come up with. But it is not because you hear and obey the Lord.
The Lord has given me ‘the everything’ else part in all aspects of my life. But he cannot do that if you do not obey in all aspects of your life. I cannot adequately explain this to you, but receiving ‘the everything’ else is because of his truth. You cannot do the things he teaches you and not have worldly success. If you eat what he shows you to eat of course you will have good physical health. If you believe what he tells you to believe in, of course you will have excellent mental health. If you are honest and work hard because he tells you to, and always seeking wisdom to do things right and at the highest level with discipline, which he expects. Then of course you will have wealth. If you treat your spouse and kids with respect and receive the same because they also know the Lord, then of course you will have a great family relationship.
The list goes on, but this is why you get “the everything” else and why your fruit you are bearing is excellent fruit. And also why you cannot have “the everything” else if you do not hear and obey. You may have success in certain areas of life, yet lack in others leaving you empty. The true Kingdom of God