Citizenship Is Not Membership!!!!

 Luke 16

We are walking in today:  Citizenship Is Not Membership!!!!

Witness fellow throughout the Bible: H7453 rea`--fellow, fellow-citizen
 

Judges 7:22 - And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, H7453 even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.


The Torah  ...............
 Exodus 2:13 - And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? H7453

The prophets  ..................
 Zechariah 3:8 - Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows H7453 that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

The writings  ...........................
 Judges 7:14 - And his fellow H7453 answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

Judges 7:13 - And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, H7453 and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

Luke 16:16, 31 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

16 Up to the time of Yochanan there were the Torah and the Prophets. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is pushing to get in.
31 But he replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moshe and the Prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone rises from the dead!’”

UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP

Citizenship is not membership. Religions function on membership, while nations and kingdoms function on citizenship. Citizenship is the most valuable asset of a nation and is not easily given because of its power and impact.

People are attracted to a nation that appears to promise a better life than the one they are living where they are. Some people even become desperate enough to do anything they have to do to become a part of that nation.

Citizenship is necessary for the validity and legitimacy of any nation. Not only that, but citizenship is the most sacred privilege of a nation. So the concept of citizenship is critical to understanding the nature of the Kingdom of heaven. As I’ve said before, all governments and kingdoms operate on governing laws and principles.

THE POWER AND PRIVILEGE OF CITIZENSHIP

As a sacred privilege, citizenship is the most precious gift that any nation can give. That’s why there are laws to protect people from it and protect it from people. Apart from native-born citizens, citizenship is neither awarded lightly nor obtained easily. And it shouldn’t be. Citizenship is too precious a treasure to hand out indiscriminately like handbills.

When it comes to matters of citizenship, the Kingdom of God is no different from any other country. Remember, the Kingdom of God is not a religion. It is a government with a country. Heaven is that country, and  Christ is its King. Referring to Christ, the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah wrote:

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders….Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever… (Isaiah 9:6-7, emphasis added).

Like any other country, the Kingdom of God has the principle of citizenship. And, like the example of America above, once people know about the Kingdom, and once they understand what it is and what it has to offer, they clamor to get in. This is what Yeshua was referring to when He said:

The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it (Luke 16:16).

Why then, someone might ask, do we not see people clamoring to get into the churches? Why does the church as a whole seem to have so little impact on our culture? The reason is simple—and sad. Most pastors don’t understand the Kingdom, so they don’t preach it or teach it.

Consequently, most of the people in the churches don’t understand the Kingdom either, so they don’t model Kingdom living. My experience has been that once people know about the Kingdom and see it modeled, they want it!

Such is the power of the lure of citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

BECOMING A KINGDOM CITIZEN

All nations, including kingdoms, have citizens. And all nations require immigration status. The Kingdom of God is no different. Every Kingdom citizen today is a naturalized citizen. We emigrated from a foreign country—a “dominion of darkness” where we as a race had been “exiled” ever since Adam’s rebellion in the garden of Eden.

Col. 1:13

13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.

At that time, the human race lost citizenship in heaven. We lost our citizenship because we lost our Kingdom, and we lost our Kingdom because we lost our property—our territory. Don’t forget that without territory, there is no kingdom; and without a kingdom, there can be no kingdom citizenship.

When Christ began His public ministry, He announced that the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived. That was the only message He preached. He brought back to earth the Kingdom we lost at Eden and gave us access to it again.

We enter the Kingdom of heaven through the process that Yeshua called being “born again” changing our mind and turning from our rebellion against God, placing our trust in Yeshua for the forgiveness of our rebellion, and acknowledging Him as Lord (Owner) of our lives. This “new birth” gets us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

John 3:3

3 “Yes, indeed,” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

When we become citizens of God’s Kingdom, it means that we voluntarily align ourselves with a new government and a new country, embracing its language, its ideals, and its values. The Kingdom constitution is explicit regarding our citizenship:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household Ephesians 2:19.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body Philippians 3:20.

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves Colossians 1:12-13

Not only does the new birth make us citizens of Heaven, but our citizenship begins immediately. We are Kingdom citizens right now. Why is this so important?

Here’s why: Religion postpones citizenship to the future. Religious leaders tell their people, “You will be a citizen…someday. You will be in the Kingdom…you will have joy later…you will be a full citizen. But not today. Not yet. The Kingdom has not yet come.”

You can never appropriate what you postpone. That’s what you call “locking up the Kingdom of God” to those who want to get in. It is for this reason that I am convinced that the greatest enemy of the Kingdom is religion.

Religion keeps pushing the Kingdom away from people: “You can’t get in now; you can’t experience it now; you can’t benefit from it now; wait until later.” And so the people suffer.

DUAL CITIZENSHIP

If you were to visit the Bahamas and happened to lose all your money or face some other crisis, all you would have to do is turn to your country’s embassy and they would help you. That’s what they are there for. One of the responsibilities of any government is to take care of its citizens, whether at home or abroad.

In a very real sense, that’s what the church is (or what it is supposed to be): an embassy! The church is not a religious place. When Yeshua established His ecclesia, He did not have a religious institution in mind.

His purpose was to set up an embassy of His Kingdom—a place where Kingdom citizens (new and old) could receive aid, be trained in the ways, laws, language, and customs of the Kingdom, and be equipped with the Kingdom resources they need for effective life in the Kingdom colony on earth.

All Kingdom citizens are simultaneously citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven as well as citizens of the earthly nation of their birth or their naturalization. We don’t give up our earthly citizenship when we become citizens of the Kingdom.
And in the same way, we don’t have to be in Heaven to benefit from heavenly jurisdiction. Our citizenship is constant, and the Kingdom government exercises jurisdiction over us wherever we are.

My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place (John 18:36).

Speaking as one king to another, Yeshua acknowledged His kingship.

He did not say. He said, “My kingdom is not of this world”; He did not say, “My kingdom is not in this world.” He said, “My kingdom is from another place”; He did not say, “My kingdom is not in this place.” As the official representative of the emperor, Pilate possessed kingly authority in Judea.

In fact, He stated plainly to Pilate:

You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37b).

INVISIBLE CITIZENSHIP

The Kingdom of Heaven is invisible does not mean that it has no impact. Yeshua taught this truth about the Kingdom more than once. On one occasion He illustrated it this way:

What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough (Luke 13:20-21).

The Kingdom of God is invisible. We cannot detect it simply by observation. And if the Kingdom of God resides within its citizens, this means that all Kingdom citizens are invisible also.

We bear no physical or outward signs that broadcast to the world, “I’m a Kingdom citizen!” Our citizenship must become known in other ways.

Our language and our behavior should make that known to them. In other words, they should recognize us by our distinct culture.

Culture is a product of the language, ideals, and values of a people or a nation. Even though people cannot recognize us as Kingdom citizens by our outward appearance, our distinctive language, ideals, and values should give us away.

Our culture should reflect and reveal our citizenship as being here but not from here, as being in the world but not of the world.

PRINCIPLES

1. Citizenship is the most sacred privilege of a nation.

2. Citizenship is the most precious gift that any nation can give.


3. Like any other country, the Kingdom of God has the principle of citizenship.

4. Every Kingdom citizen today is a naturalized citizen.

5. The new birth makes us naturalized citizens of the Kingdom.

6. Not only does the new birth make us citizens of heaven, but our citizenship begins immediately. We are Kingdom citizens right now. Our citizenship is a present reality.

7. Religion postpones citizenship to the future.

8. You can never appropriate what you postpone.

9. All Kingdom citizens carry dual citizenship.

10. All colonial governments and citizens are invisible.

11. The Kingdom of God is invisible.

12. All Kingdom citizens are invisible also.

13. Our culture should reflect and reveal our citizenship as being here but not from here, as being in the world but not of the world.

Shema Selah the Kingdom of the Most High is an invisible kingdom!!!  It is at hand but not of this world!!!  https://www.facebook.com/fiveam.prayer/videos/1561703873907723/?l=2602505812965302125