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Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. – Matthew 5:5
Last week, we kicked off 2013 with the core intercessory team giving thanks for the past and blessing what is to come in the future. You may listen to that powerful time of prayer offering through this link.
This week, we press onto the second of the 6 messages God gave us as heart preparation for the upcoming year. This message is:
- God will reveal to us new insights in what it means to inherit the earth, opening our eyes to His heart for heaven-earth connection – Matthew 5:5.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19-21 to store up our treasures in heaven and not on earth. For many years, taking this passage “as is” has caused me to feel “out of the game” for storing up treasures in heaven because my golden hours, as a market place Christian, are trapped in the world for creating earthly value. I believe that many others have similar experiences of confusion and frustration – in considering their earthly gains to have no eternal significance and feeling like second class Kingdom citizens compared with those who can do “God’s work” full-time.
But when we look at Matthew 6:19-21 in the context of Jesus’ entire mountain side sermon, in light of Matthew 6:10, 6:32-33, and most notably 5:5, we then can see how God is doing a “new thing” of connecting His heavenly Kingdom to earth. The earth is important to God. So important that He will entrust authority and jurisdiction of the earth only to the meek & gentle – those whose hearts are sensitive to the Master. Understanding this principle will open our eyes to what it means to store treasures in heaven as we labor to create value on earth.
We would like to share 5 points for you to ponder on, hoping that they may provide deeper insights on what it means to inherit the earth. You may also link here to hear the audio message.
- The earth was and still is important to God because He created it as the universe’s epicenter of enjoyment and pleasure (Genesis 1); the earth was and still is God’s intended dwelling place to interact with people for value creation – to be “fruitful and multiply” in earthly things that are useful, enjoyable, and meaningful (including people);
- Genesis 1-2 shows us that God designed the physical domain to be subjected under the confines of time, space, and inefficiency (or unpredictability); He created that environment to enable us to enjoy the pleasures of satisfaction;
- The pleasure of satisfaction comes from a fulfillment of desire in our senses – and desire can only be actualize (made sensible) in the barriers of time, space, and inefficiency;
- Because sin has corrupted our desire, we tend to see the physical limitations that actualizes our desires in a negative light;
- God designed the physical world and all its limitations as a place for us to dwell with Him and enjoy its pleasure; God loves the world and has sent Christ to save it; He will one day completely renew the earth and expand from it into eternity the pleasure of His Kingdom, the splendor of the Lamb and His wife (Revelation 21);
- The earth – the pinnacle of God’s creation and the epicenter of pleasure – will be given to the meek because:
- Meekness is strength and power under control; it is not weakness;
- Meekness is heaven’s value system manifested on earth;
- A heart without meekness will seek to control and hoard the “pleasures of the physical”;
- A meek heart can be entrusted to govern the economies necessary to manage the unlimited demand for pleasure in a physical environment with limitations;
- The key to understanding Matthew 6:19-21 is to see God’s heart for connecting heaven and earth;
- Storing treasures in heaven means to bring about earth’s value creation under heaven’s Kingdom agenda, under heaven’s value systems – such as meekness;
- It is not just about doing the work of ministry; but is about seeking first God’s Kingdom and righteousness in all our work of creating earthly value – as we have been created to do;
- Earthly treasure will decay by moth and rust if they are separated from God’s heavenly will to restore Christ’s earthly Kingdom;
- Like our perishable bodies becoming imperishable when the physical is connected to the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:42-58), so will our physical treasures become imperishable when they connect to the spiritual, when earthly treasures are created for Christ’s Kingdom agenda.
We hope that this message has provided you a clearer view of God’s heart for the earth and how to store up heavenly treasures in our daily work. The content is very rich and we would be glad to hear from you deeper insights through your study and prayer.
