2025 ITEROF Message Eight

Scripture reading:

Matt. 5:20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Phil. 3:9 And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith.

I. The Father’s kingdom is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, that is, the reality of the church life today, and it is also the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age—Matt. 5:3; 13:43: (Monday)

A. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also—Matt. 6:21.

B. No one can serve two masters:You cannot serve God and mammon—Matt. 6:24:

1. 1. The center of the universal struggle is whether man will worship God or mammon—Matt. 4:9-10; 6:24.
   2. Being delivered from mammon is the most basic and fundamental condition for serving God—Matt. 6:21, 24; Luke 16:13; Heb. 13:5.

——————————————————————————————————————

C. “Do not be anxious for your life… for all these things the Gentiles are eagerly seeking… do not be anxious for tomorrow”—Matt. 6:25a, 32a, 34a. (Tuesday)

——————————————————————————————————————

D. The kingdom people should never live in tomorrow but only in today—Matt. 6:34. (Wednesday)

E. Concerning our living, we have the heavenly Father Himself caring for us; when He cares for our material needs, He dispenses His element into us—Matt. 6:32-33; John 16:27a; Eph. 1:3.

——————————————————————————————————————

II. The Father’s righteousness is the righteousness manifested by keeping the new law of the kingdom; this righteousness is the Christ lived out by the kingdom people—Matt. 5:20: (Thursday)

A. Righteousness is the outward expression of Christ as the life-giving Spirit living in us—2 Cor. 3:9, 18; 1 Cor. 15:45b.

B. Righteousness is a matter of the kingdom of God—Matt. 6:33:

1. Righteousness is of God for His administration and is therefore related to God’s dominion and rule—Psa. 89:14; Isa. 32:1.

2. Righteousness first brings in the image of God and then establishes the kingdom of God—Rom. 8:4, 29; 14:17.

C. To be right with God in our being means that our inner man is transparent and as pure as crystal—1 Cor. 15:34; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rev. 21:11.

——————————————————————————————————————

D. There are two aspects of Christ becoming the righteousness of the believers—Rom. 3:24-26; James 2:24; Matt. 5:20: (Friday)

1. 1. 1. The best robe typifies Christ as the righteousness given by God to the believers, covering them outwardly as their objective righteousness before God—Luke 15:22-23.
      2. The fatted calf typifies Christ as the righteousness given by God to the believers as their supply of life, enabling them to live out God in Christ as their subjective righteousness—Luke 15:22-23.

——————————————————————————————————————

E. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—2 Tim. 4:8a. (Saturday)

OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING

Reading the verses in each day.

Reading the main points in the outlines.

Pray-reading the verses:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own evil—Matt. 6:33-34.

And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith—Phil. 3:9.

Word of Appetizer

What are the Father’s kingdom and the Father’s righteousness?
The Father’s kingdom is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, that is, the reality of the church life today, and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age.
The Father’s righteousness is the righteousness that is manifested by fulfilling the new law of the kingdom (Matt. 5:20). This righteousness is the Christ who is lived out by the kingdom people.

Spiritual Burden

To serve God, our heart must be single. We cannot serve God and mammon (riches) at the same time. “Do not be anxious for your life…for all these things the Gentiles are anxiously seeking…do not be anxious for tomorrow.” The kingdom people should never live in tomorrow but should live only in today. In the divine life and in the divine nature, there is no anxiety. The life of God is a life of enjoyment, rest, comfort, and satisfaction.

The Father’s righteousness is the righteousness that is manifested by fulfilling the new law of the kingdom. This righteousness is the Christ who is lived out by the kingdom people.

Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting

The Revelation of the Truth

The Father’s kingdom is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, that is, the reality of the church life today, and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age.
The Father’s righteousness is the righteousness that is manifested by fulfilling the new law of the kingdom (Matt. 5:20). This righteousness is the Christ who is lived out by the kingdom people.

The Experience of Life

Our heart is certain to follow our treasure. In some way or other, wherever our treasure is, there our heart will be also. Our human life is a life of anxiety, a life constituted with anxiety.
The Spirit is the essence of God, living, operating, and acting within us. Righteousness is the outward expression of God’s essence as God’s image to express Him. When the divine essence is written into us, there is surely a particular kind of expression. This expression is righteousness.

Practice and Application

To serve God, our heart must be single. We cannot serve God and mammon (riches) at the same time. Being delivered from mammon is the most basic and elementary condition for serving God.
In our work to maintain our living by fulfilling our human duty, we should not do anything out of anxiety, because we have the divine life, which is without anxiety. The kingdom people should never live in tomorrow but should live only in today.
To be right with God in our being means that our inward being is transparent, as pure as crystal; that is, our inward being is in God’s mind and will. To be righteous in this way is to become the righteousness of God in Christ.

PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK

Day 1

T1 Do Not Lay Up for Yourselves Treasures on the Earth, but Lay Up for Yourselves Treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:19-20)

(What does it mean to lay up treasures in heaven?)

T2 Our Two Eyes Can Only Look at One Thing at a Time (Matt. 6:21-23)

(Please illustrate that if we are to have a single eye, we must lay up our treasure in one place.)

Day 2

T1 The Constitution Decreed by the Lord Jesus on the Mountain Is for the Sons of God, and It Is Based on the Father’s Life and Nature (Matt. 5:48)

(Please illustrate that without God’s life and nature, no one can satisfy the requirements of the kingdom of the heavens.)

T2 As Long as One Is a Living Person, Anxiety Is Unavoidable (Matt. 6:25-26)

(Please illustrate from experience that in the divine life and divine nature, there is no anxiety.)

Day 3

T1 Learn to Give and Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:22, 34)

(Please illustrate from experience that today’s world is full of anxiety, but the people of the kingdom should not be anxious about anything.)

T2 All Who Grow in Life Are Diligent and Striving (Matt. 6:32, 34)

(Why do both laziness and anxiety delay our growth in life?)

Day 4

T1 The Father’s Righteousness Is the Righteousness That Comes from Obeying the New Law of the Kingdom, Which Is Christ Lived Out by the People of the Kingdom (Matt. 6:33; 2 Cor. 5:21)

(Please illustrate that righteousness is God’s procedure, God’s way, and God’s method.)

T2 Because God Loved the World and at the Same Time Is Righteous, He Sent the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21)

(Please illustrate that in the Lord Jesus, God manifested His love and also His righteousness.)

Day 5

T1 Christ Became Righteousness from God to the Believers (1 Cor. 1:30)

(Please illustrate the two aspects of Christ becoming righteousness from God to the believers.)

T2 There Are Three Parables in Luke 15 (Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30)

(Why would we have to admit that God is unrighteous if Luke 15 only had the part about the prodigal son?)

Day 6

T1 The Diadem Symbolizes Glory and Is Given as a Reward to the Overcomers Who Run the Race, Apart from the Lord’s Salvation (2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Cor. 9:25)

(What is meant by “the diadem of righteousness.”)

T2 Paul Was Confident That the Lord Would Save Him into His Heavenly Kingdom (2 Tim. 4:8)

(Please illustrate that the heavenly kingdom is a reward for the overcoming saints, equivalent to the diadem of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4:8, serving as an encouragement for believers to run the heavenly race.)