“BE NOT IN ANXIETY”
I just venture to say a brief word in regard to this scripture, coming to one’s mind as our brother was speaking in relation to the thought of fatherhood. The Lord Jesus here draws attention to the thought of God as Father in the way of care in relation to our circumstances down here, but with a view to setting us free of all anxiety, that we might be marked by that confidence in God Himself known as Father in relation to His care for us.
The Lord’s words are very encouraging to us just now when the nations are in great anxiety as to the question of food. But “be not in anxiety; for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye have need of these things”. Much of our time is taken up often in relation to what is material and that which refers to our circumstances, but I believe the Lord would help us to know the blessedness of relying wholly upon the Father and His care for us, assuring us that the Father’s heart is interested in us and we are to fear nothing. “Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom”, setting us free to devote ourselves to the interests of the Lord Jesus. I just suggest, dear brethren, the peculiar joy and sweetness of knowing God as Father in relation to our circumstances, and learning to bring Him into every detail of our lives. Towards the end of our course here, we shall need to bring God into our circumstances more. We need to be marked by piety, that is, bringing God into everything, for “piety with contentment is great gain”, 1 Tim.6:6. It says of the Lord Jesus that He was “heard because of his piety”, Heb.5:7. We love to think of that blessed, holy, dependent Man, the One who could say prophetically, “Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee”, Ps.16:1. We need to learn God more in this way.
So we are to seek first the kingdom of God, “and all these things shall be added to you”. We are to put first things first, dear brethren; we are to seek the kingdom of God, which is said to be “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit”, Rom.14:17. One would like to encourage the younger brethren on this line to seek first things first. The Lord would help us, setting us at rest in the Father’s love, that we should learn the real blessedness of having complete confidence in God in relation to everything here. The Lord would have us to seek first the kingdom of God, which is over against meat and drink and the natural things which men seek after.
Then He says, “and all these things shall be added to you”. How it would help us if we understood this better, knowing God as in this nearness! One would encourage us all, especially those of the brethren who are being specially tested, for another feature of the kingdom of God is suffering. Paul says to Timothy, “Take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim.2:3) – it stands in relation to the kingdom. The Lord Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my servants had fought”, John 18:36. It is a suffering time for many of our brethren, but we would encourage them to take their share in suffering as good soldiers of Jesus Christ – good ones. Others are suffering and each is to take his share, pleasing the One who has enlisted him.
Then the Lord refers to the thought of “where your treasure is, there also will your heart be”. One would just suggest the thought of having our hearts where our treasure is. Where are our hearts, dear brethren? Our treasure is in heaven. I believe the Lord would serve us to set us completely free of everything here to be simply restful in the consciousness of the Father’s love and the Father’s care, that we might have our minds and affections in heaven. Our treasure is there, the Lord Jesus is in heaven, and we are to be there in our minds and in our affections. “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” – not where your heart is but where your treasure is. We have been encouraged as to the thought of hope, thinking of the blessedness of it coming into our souls as we realise we are linked with that blessed heavenly Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, now in the presence of God. The Lord would lead our hearts more into the realisation of it, that we are to have our hearts there where He is.
Then the Lord Jesus says, “Let your loins be girded about, and lamps burning; and ye like men who wait their own lord whenever he may leave the wedding”. I believe the Lord would bring about these features with us at the present moment. Our loins are to be girded, referring to our lower affections. Our affections are to be girded – they are to be held in relation to Christ where He is – and our lights burning. There would be a testimony that we are heavenly people, we are moving in relation to heaven; not an earthly-minded people but a heavenly-minded people. There is to be a heavenly testimony down here just before our translation. Dear brethren, the Lord would have us in holy expectancy that at any moment we may be ready to leave.
I just suggest the blessedness of this as known and realised now in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is giving us to be impressed more and more with the nearness of our translation to glory; we are going to be with the One we have learnt to love, as Peter says, “whom, having not seen, ye love; on whom though not now looking, but believing, ye exult with joy unspeakable and filled with the glory”, 1 Pet.1:8. That is the kind of people we are to be, rejoicing with joy unspeakable and filled with the glory! We are to be marked by these features, like men who wait for their own lord.
Then it says, “when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those bondmen whom the lord on coming shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that he will gird himself, and make them recline at table, and coming up will serve them”. What an end, dear brethren! The Lord Himself will come forth and serve us, He will gird Himself. May the joy of this be in our hearts at the present time, as we await the moment when we shall see His face and be with Him for ever. This is the heavenly portion of the assembly at the Lord’s return. May we all understand and appreciate the thought of the fatherhood of God, so as to be available to provide the measure of corn in season to our Lord’s household, this being our occupation until He comes.
Given at a meeting for ministry, Croydon,
12 February 1946
E C Muggleton
EDITORS’ NOTE – CORRECTION
We were glad to have our attention drawn to a mistake in a scripture reference on page 7 of the November edition. The quotation from 1 John 1:7 should have read, “the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin” The omission of the little word “us” changed the meaning of the phrase significantly, as only believers (the “us”) can know the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood. We are sorry that this slipped through.
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