Substance vs. Substance
Substance vs. Substance
(#275 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
Substance: the real matter of which a person or thing consists; matter which has a specific composition and specific properties.
Examples of Substance
The World: food and drink.
The Kingdom of Heaven: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
The world has its fairy tales, its princes and princesses. Yes, My Kingdom also, but not as the world portrays. My princes serve; “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) My princesses labor; “She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.” (Proverbs 31:27). The world raises its children to “follow their hearts,” while I raise My children to recognize that the unredeemed heart can never be trusted; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). And this, of course, only until I have replaced it with Mine. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26).
My Kingdom has a different substance than the world. In My Kingdom every thought is righteous and, therefore, exudes My Spirit’s power. For the Kingdom of the Almighty is not eating and drinking [flesh], but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) The manifestation of each thought, from the moment it is perceived, creates what is holy and true. So, if your mind still finds itself wrapped in the tentacles of that other world (eating and drinking), you will find that you are often led by emotion, rather than the truth of My Kingdom. True reality is My Kingdom; everything else is a shadow or an illusion. “The Kingdom of the Almighty does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of the Almighty is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21) It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
And so how will you train up (elevate) your mind and the mind of your children to this level of righteous thinking? Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) Your inheritance from Me includes your training. Will you train yourself in the kingdom of flesh (eating and drinking) or let Me train you in the Kingdom of Heaven (righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit)? My training for you begins in My Word. All Scripture is given by inspiration of the Mighty One, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of the Almighty may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
This training is most important in these last days because we were warned long ago that “the truth of Yahweh would be exchanged for lies!” (Romans 1:25) What will you do with your inheritance, and what are you saying to the world by your choices? Are you going to stay a child of the world and heir to its end? You must realize that “an heir, as long as he is a child [immature, ill-equipped], does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all.” (Galatians 4:1) Or will you act like a child of the promise, a true heir, under guardians and stewards (Galatians 4:2), being trained in “instructions in righteousness?” Is your mind ruled by Kingdom substance, spiritual understanding and wisdom? Or, are you still no different from a slave, bound to worldly substance, to eating and drinking? Are you free, or are you still enslaved by your ego, your emotions, feelings, and lustful passions?
I Am not fond of the world and its “fairy tales,” for in it “happiness” is the purpose of life. “My Kingdom is not of this world!” (John 18:36) My Kingdom is a place of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.