Futility is the curse of uselessness which causes life to have no meaning. Man works and sweats all his life to reach a place where he has amassed money and possessions or a certain reputation and prominence that he wants in life, only to find that the whole thing is like ashes in his mouth; he does not want it after all. It has been said that success is getting what we want, and happiness is wanting it after we get it. How many successful people are unhappy because they do not really want what they finally achieve? That is a tragedy. We are looking for a real meaning to our lives; we want to be loosed from futility and walk with God, fulfilling a purpose.
For the first time, perhaps in many, many centuries, God’s people as a whole are able to tune in to God’s will and purpose for their lives. This is what gives meaning to our existence. We know who we are, why we are here, and what we are supposed to do. To be linked with the Lord like that is fantastic! There should be nothing of futility upon us, yet Satan is trying to prolong that spirit of futility, while God is trying to bring forth the awareness of His eternal purpose. Rebellion can cause the spirit of futility to take over in a person’s heart, and allow Satan to enter in until that person is ready to destroy himself. On the other hand, if we are truly submissive to the will of God in our lives, then God’s purpose and plan can begin to come forth until there is more than just a human desire to live; it becomes a delight to do the will of the Lord.
I am looking for great joy, everlasting joy to be crowning the remnant as they move into Zion. That spirit of futility must give way to the supreme joyfulness we will have in doing the will of the Lord together. Up to this time, it has been a mingled state, with futility and joy coexisting within us; but we shall be delivered from the futility and come into the full joy that the Lord has for us.
Our Scripture is taken from the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 6:9–13. “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ ” (The margin reads, “the evil one.”) “ ‘For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.’ ”
In this day we are concerned about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God does not present to us a vague idea for the future, but a very living reality to be entered into with all our hearts. We want to be the expression of God’s Kingdom in the world now. This is our destiny. When the disciples voiced their desire to be taught how to pray, Jesus said, “This is the way to pray.” This prayer affords a key which some of us have probably missed many times.
God’s purpose and plan are to be the great cry and prayer of our hearts. He says, “This is the way you are to pray, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ ” Jesus was concerned about the will of God, about the plan and purpose God had in His heart before a world was ever created. If we want God to bless us, this will be the beginning of our prayer.
The chapter ends: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33. The basis of the Lord’s Prayer is “ ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.’ ” When we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, then we have the promise that the other things will be added. Then we can come with the petition: “ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ ”
You must understand that God’s provision for you is to enable you to accomplish His plan and His purpose. If you do not seek first His Kingdom, you do not have the promise of the other things being added to you. If you want the abundance, you must come by the route of dedication. The key to abundance is dedication. There is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Proverbs 11:24b. If you would save your life, you must lose it. Jesus said, “If you lose your life for My sake, you will find it” (Matthew 16:25). If you are dedicated to the Kingdom, the Lord will add many blessings to you. That is the message of the sixth chapter of Matthew.
After giving the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus goes on to give these admonitions: “Do not lay up treasures on earth, but lay up your treasures in heaven. You cannot serve God and mammon. Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall drink, and for your body, as to what you shall put on; just look at the birds of the air. By worry and anxiety you cannot add one cubit to your life; but if you seek first the Kingdom, everything else is added to you.”
Notice the promise of Psalm 91: Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him.… With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Psalm 91:14, 16. You are to set your love upon the Lord; and because you love Him, because He is first and you seek first His Kingdom, the other things are added to you.
Some say that the prayer in Matthew 6 should not be called the Lord’s Prayer, but rather the Disciples’ Prayer, because Jesus gave this prayer to the disciples. I think it should he called the Kingdom Prayer, because it is the prayer for the Kingdom.
When you can truly say, “ ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,’ ” then you can say, “ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ ” This does not mean that you are hungry and need some bread today. It literally means, “Give us our bread for the coming day.” In other words, you are laying hold of the provision so that you are never without. You are continually eating from a provision you have appropriated, which God has delivered to you.
The prayer begins with God’s purposes being uppermost in our minds, and then it comes down to God meeting our need by His provision for us. From there it continues, “ ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ ” (the evil one). We are coming to grips with this matter of living, with life itself.
Men can be overwhelmed with temptation. They can be led into an encounter with the wicked one that is destructive. All over the world this is taking place. When a man is dedicated to the Kingdom, God translates him out of the dominion of Satan and into the Kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13). He is taken out of the jurisdiction of Satan and is brought into the great authority of God’s Kingdom.
Christ is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). Even though we want the Kingdom, we cannot enter into it, for we are not worthy; so we look to Him to cancel our unworthiness, to forgive us our debts. Luke 11:4 reads, “ ‘And forgive us our sins.…’ ” Why does it say “debts” in the passage in Matthew? Matthew goes beyond the matter of sin, and includes our entire inadequacy and insufficiency as His children and as citizens of His Kingdom. We recognize where we fall short and are aware that we do not have what it takes; but we have this attitude within us: although we lack, we are forgiving toward our brother wherein he lacks and fails to be adequate in his dealings and relationships with us. We also look to God to forgive us where we have failed in our relationship to Him. For this reason we keep emphasizing grace instead of legalism.
Legalism has an exacting concept of what we must do. It tends to be very unforgiving, self-righteous and pharisaical in what it demands of another. But this must not be true of us, for Jesus said, “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14, 15. The prayer has made the complete circle, from our crying out for the purposes of God, to the provision for our need, covering even our failures, and then on to our deep problems as expressed in verse 13: “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
The eighth chapter of Romans follows the same principles set forth in the Kingdom Prayer. Although this chapter of Romans deals with the manifestation of the sons of God who come to deliver all creation from its subjection to futility, Paul also says, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. The great purpose and plan of God is His Kingdom coming forth. This Scripture is saying, “Because you love Him, because you are called to fulfill a purpose in His Kingdom and to do His will in the earth, He causes everything to work together for good toward you.”
You may be persecuted; you may be fired from your job because you read the Bible; it may seem as if those who lie and cheat get the promotions, and you do not; none of that matters. You have something going for you. It is not just time, nor is it just the laws of cause and effect. It is not certain mental attitudes. The fact is that you love God; you have been called according to His purpose; and you are going to fulfill a place in His Kingdom. For this reason He causes everything to work together for good towards you.
If we want to see His purpose established in the earth and His Kingdom come forth, we must have faith that what He is doing in our lives is bringing us into that fulfillment. Everything that is happening to us, God is using to bring about the fulfillment of His purpose. David said, I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13. He was saying, in effect, “The futility upon the earth would have overwhelmed my soul and overcome me, except that I believed to see the goodness of the Lord, even when all hell seemed to be breaking loose against me. He will turn even that for my good.”
Satan may be allowed to test you, but God will cause it to work together for His good and yours, accomplishing His purpose as you live for Him. God will make all things work together for your good because you love Him and because you are called according to His eternal purpose and chosen for His Kingdom. All that He is doing in your life will be turned around for His glory and His praise and for your good.
For whom He foreknew (in His plan and purpose), He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Romans 8:29. Verse 31: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? This is the same thought as is expressed in the prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Paul is emphasizing again the laying hold of the eternal purpose of God, as well as God’s great provision for us. The next verse confirms this: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Verse 32. He will freely give us everything—bread for today, deliverance from temptation, and authority to overcome the wicked one—because we believe this word, because we know that we are called according to His purpose and that He foreknew us and loved us. It is this tuning in to our relationship to the eternal Kingdom of God that opens the door for everything we need.
You may wish you could humble yourself so that you might be worthy of all God has for you. No one will be worthy. Again and again you will be praying for the Lord to forgive your debts. You may be believing to overcome sin. That is fine; I am not arguing against that; but if you believe that a human being can in any way be adequate, you are wrong. You will never be completely adequate. You will always be crying out to the Lord because you are not sufficient. The Apostle Paul recognized this, for he wrote, Who is sufficient for these things? 2 Corinthians 2:16b. Who can measure up to what God really wants? You cannot do it, but you can cry to the Lord to forgive you as you are forgiving toward those who have failed you. One thing you can count on: God loves you; His provision is great; He will freely give you all things; and you can be in tune with His Kingdom.
If you take any other attitude than God’s will be done, you will limit yourself. If you pray for money so you can pay your bills, why should God answer you? That is a very poor reason for the Lord to answer your prayer. There are many people who love God and who are praying yet they have never had as much as you have. They are praying for just enough corn to make a tortilla, or for just enough wheat to make a little loaf of bread. You are living in the lap of luxury, in the greatest economy of the world at the present time. You have been living well, and now you feel that God ought to honor you when you pray for a new car, or money to pay your debts. Give the Lord a better reason than that for lavishing love and blessing upon you. Maybe you want money so that you can do good things for your family, or so that when you die there will be plenty of money to leave them in your will. Give God a better reason than that.
Suppose I give you a good reason: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8. Again the focus is on the Kingdom, on the purposes of God, and on your dedication to abound in every good work. If you have that vision, He will lay His abundance in your hand, because this is a good reason. If you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you. Then God will lay upon you all His abundance, and you will use it for His glory; you will not hold on to it for yourself.
The whole universe does not end with you. Do not look upon yourself egotistically, with absorbing self-centeredness. You must be tuned in with the Kingdom, and your first concern must be, “O Father, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven!” As this attitude begins to take hold of your spirit, then you can pray for bread and have reason to believe that God will richly supply. When the purposes of God are uppermost in your heart, the provision of God is unlimited in its flow toward you. This is a basic truth. If you live selfishly, you are strangling with selfishness the very blessings that the Lord has for you. You cannot make it that way. Do not be fearful in heart.
God is able to supply all our needs, but this is not our main concern. We are concerned about this dedication to the Kingdom of God that He is putting in our hearts. He issued His decrees before the foundation of the world, and we are to dedicate ourselves to seeing them come to pass.
The book of Haggai tells us what happens when we are not really in tune with what God is doing in the earth. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ’ ” (The people said it was not the time for the restoration.) Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” It is always time for the people who are self-centered to build something for themselves. What about building for the Lord first? Are we going to be in tune with the Kingdom, or are we going to be in tune with our own selfishness?
Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands,” Haggai 1:2–11. That is the way it will be until we are in tune with the Kingdom and the restoration, and until we put away all selfishness.
There are people who sacrifice and give right down to their last dollar, and God will bless them for it. The blessing may not be obvious at first, but it will come. There are others who, year after year, decide they cannot afford to give until their finances are better. The truth is they really cannot afford to do what they are doing. They are putting their own needs ahead of their dedication to the Kingdom, and they never will feel they can afford to give to the Lord. They are strangling the very lifeline of blessing that could come to them. They are putting their money in a bag with holes. They may bring it home and think they have something, but God will blow on it; He will blow it away! It will do them no good at all.
Many ministers preach, “You tithe because it is commanded in the Scriptures, and you must obey God; there is also a promise.” I do not like to see tithing put on that basis. I like to see it based on the priority of what God should have. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled.… Proverbs 3:9, 10. This is a principle of the Kingdom. Many things prosper when God is first. The Kingdom of God must also be the first concern and absolute dedication of every enterprise. More than anything else, the Lord is concerned about the quality and the dedication of all those involved.
Selfishness is one of the first things God deals with. You have to be related in the whole of your being to the Kingdom of God. You must seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; then the other things are added to you. It cannot be any other way. You cannot give God the leftovers, as men have done in the past, and expect to have God’s best. He asks that first you come and give Him your best—and sometimes that is your all—but you give Him that first.
Elijah understood this principle. He came to the widow who was gathering a few sticks to make two little loaves as her last meal, for then she expected to die. The prophet said, “Make me a cake first.” It sounded very selfish; but he knew that if the widow would seek God first, He would take care of her. She never did stop scraping the bottom of the barrel, for there was always a little flour remaining. The oil did not fail either. There were always a few more drops, enough to make one more little cake; and then there was still a little bit left over. It never failed. Throughout the famine the widow was sustained miraculously, because she was in tune with God’s provision. The widow, with no one to support her, gave God her little first; and God blessed her back again (1 Kings 17:10–16).
“ ‘Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ ” We are saying, in effect, “Let this earth—my heart, the whole of what I am—be submissive to God. Let my life—everything I am, everything I have—be lived wholly and completely for God!” Then we can turn and say, “Give me my bread, Father. I need the bread. Do not deliver me over to temptation, but deliver me from the wicked one.”
Satan really has a heyday with those who are just on the margin of dedication. But he cannot really touch those whose spirits are completely dedicated to the Lord. Even though he seems to assault as if to destroy them, he cannot succeed. To the extent that you are dedicated to live for Christ and His Kingdom, to that extent you will know the immunities, the abundant provision, and the wonderful purpose God has for your life. When you open your heart to believe that and to walk in it, it will always work for you.
Do not hold back from walking in this word because your brother is not walking in it. That is beside the point. This is a personal matter between you and the King of glory. “Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.” When you learn how to follow Him in this way, you will cease to be oppressed by the spirit of futility. You must strive for just one thing: to do what God wants you to do in the Kingdom, to be what He wants you to be. You cannot be on an ego trip. Your only desire must be to serve the Lord. When this is worked in your life, your life takes on meaning. It is enriched and its fullness exalts you to be seated in the very heavenlies with Him (Ephesians 2:6). You do not want God to blow on everything you have and on everything you do; you want Him to breathe on it.