RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR RECONCILATION

Matthew chapter 6










Today we are walking in: Righteousness For Reconciliation




Today we look to the word RIGHTEOUSNESS--H6663 tsadaq -- Justify, Righteous, Just, Justice, Cleansed, Clear Ourselves, Righteousness








The Torah testifies.........……




Deuteronomy 6:25

And it shall be our righteousness H6663, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.











The prophets proclaim..................






Isaiah 54:17

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness H6663 is of me, saith the Lord.













The writings bear witness............




Proverbs 11:5

The righteousness H6663 of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.







RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR RECONCILIATION




The fundamental and universal need of every human being on earth is righteousness. Yah’s Word makes it clear that none of us are righteous in and of ourselves:




The fool says in his heart, “There is no Yah.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Most High looks down from Heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek Yah. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 14:1-3).




Sin and moral corruption are universal, a legacy of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Furthermore, there is nothing any of us can do to make ourselves righteous: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isa. 64:6). Unless righteousness comes to us from an outside source, we have no hope of entering the Kingdom of Yah.




Fortunately for our sake, Yah Himself has provided the righteousness we all so desperately need: “For in the gospel a righteousness from Yah is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Rom. 1:17). The word gospel means “good news.” Yahusha came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. As this verse from Paul’s letter to the Romans indicates, the gospel of the Kingdom had within it a “righteousness from Yah” that is appropriated by faith. Faith in Hamachiach and in His death on the crucifixion stake to remove our sin and moral corruption activates the righteousness of Yah and applies it to our lives. So when we come into right positioning with Yah’s government in the Kingdom, it is not our righteousness but His in which we stand.




“The righteous will live by faith.” This means that they believe the Word of the Kingdom government. Our righteousness comes from Yah. He is saying to us, “Look, either you can position yourself (which is what religion tries to do) or you can allow Me to position you. Religion is weak and useless; it avails nothing. Only in My Kingdom can you find righteousness. You could not save yourself so I saved you. You could not clean up your own mess so I cleaned it up for you. Through the blood of My Son I washed away your sin and moral defilement. It is I who put you back into right alignment with My government.




I am the one who restored your right standing. You are in the right position because I put you there.”




To put an even finer point on it, Yahusha Hamachiach Himself is our righteousness. It is through Him that the righteousness of Yah becomes our own:




It is because of Him [Yah] that you are in Hamachiach Yahusha, who has become for us wisdom from Yah—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Most High” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).




Yahusha became for us our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. We owe everything to Him. That is why we have no right or reason to boast in ourselves or in our own goodness. We should boast in the Most High alone, who has brought us back into right positioning with Himself and given us access to the Kingdom of Yah and all its riches, resources, and privileges. From our position of righteousness, which we have from Him, we can confidently anticipate that He will meet and supply all our needs. Religion will never do this.




People outside the Kingdom use religion to try to establish a righteousness of their own making because they are ignorant of the righteousness that is available from Yah. Paul expressed it this way:




Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from Yah and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to Yah’s righteousness. Hamachiach is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes (Romans 10:3-4).




Hamachiach is the end of the law. He is the end of all of the rituals and laws people try to keep. He is the end of all of our self-effort to become righteous. He is the end of all our attempts to relate to Yah on our own terms. For everyone who believes—everyone who trusts and submits their lives to Him—Yahusha becomes their righteousness. This is why we all need Yahusha in our lives. Only through Him can we become rightly positioned with Yah.




The righteousness we receive in Hamachiach is not for ourselves alone. When we become rightly positioned with the government of Yah, He commissions us to spread the word of His righteousness to others so they too may become rightly positioned with Him. This commission is called the ministry of reconciliation:




Therefore, if anyone is in Hamachiach, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from Yah, who reconciled us to Himself through Hamachiach and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that Yah was in Hamachiach reconciling the world to Himself in Hamachiach, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Hamachiach’s ambassadors, as though Yah were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Hamachiach’s behalf: Be reconciled to Yah. Yah made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of Yah (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).




To reconcile means “to restore a broken relationship, remove an estrangement, or bring back into balance.” All of these describe what happens when we become the righteousness of Yah in Hamachiach: our broken relationship with Yah is restored, the wall of separation between us is removed, and our lives are brought back into the balance Yah originally intended. We are placed in right positioning. And from that right and secure place we are prepared and equipped to carry the message of the Kingdom to others so they too can be reconciled to Yah. This is the good news of the Kingdom!




PRINCIPLES




1.Our pursuit of righteousness places us in the right positioning to receive all the rights, resources, blessings, and privileges of the Kingdom that are ours as Kingdom citizens.




2.Purity of heart is a critical, indispensable key to abundant Kingdom life.




3.The prosperity of the righteous is an ongoing blessing from Yah that spans generations.




4.Right positioning places us under the protection of the King.




5.The key to righteousness is knowledge of the law.




6.Knowledge of the Bible, our Kingdom constitution, is also the key to effective citizenship in the Kingdom.




7.The Bible is the constitution of the Kingdom of Yah and the source of righteousness for its citizens.




8.Positioning places us under proper authority in the Kingdom.




9.Righteous positioning, which is based on obedience, is so important that it is the standard of measure in the Kingdom of Yah.




10.Our righteousness comes from Yah.




11.Yahusha Hamachiach Himself is our righteousness.




12.When we become rightly positioned with the government of Yah, He commissions us to spread the word of His righteousness to others so they too may become rightly positioned with Him.

RIGHTEOUS POSITIONING

Matthew chapter 6













Today we are walking in: Righteous Positioning










Today we look to the word RIGHTEOUSNESS--H6663 tsadaq -- Justify, Righteous, Just, Justice, Cleansed, Clear Ourselves, Righteousness








The Torah testifies.........……




Deuteronomy 6:25

And it shall be our righteousness H6663, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.











The prophets proclaim..................






Isaiah 54:17

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness H6663 is of me, saith the Lord.













The writings bear witness............




Proverbs 11:5

The righteousness H6663 of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.







“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.”—Sandra Carey




RIGHTEOUS POSITIONING: THE KEY TO ABUNDANT KINGDOM LIVING




Most people’s lives today are out of alignment with the government of Yah’s Kingdom. Unfortunately, this is also true of many Kingdom citizens. Why? Because instead of pursuing Yah’s priorities of the Kingdom and righteousness, we pursue things. No matter how hard we try or how great our desire, the qualities we truly want most in life—peace, quietness, confidence, and joy—always seem to elude our grasp. This is because we have bought into the deception that those qualities can be acquired through the things we possess.




Our lives are out of alignment because we are focused on possessions rather than on position. For many believers today a great disconnect exists between the promises of the Kingdom and the personal realities of daily experience. Many of us live beyond our means, spending more money than we make. We buy cars too expensive for our budget, houses we can’t make the payments on, and designer clothes we can’t afford, all in the interests of keeping up with (or showing up) our neighbors. We are neck-deep in debt and always seem to end up with too much month left at the end of the money.




What’s the problem? We are obsessed with things. Food is a thing. Water is a thing. A house is a thing. A car is a thing. Money is a thing. All of these are just things, and our pursuit of things is destroying us. Our obsession with things is a hunger we will never satisfy. It will gnaw away at us relentlessly so that the more we get, the hungrier we become. As long as we pursue things, we will never know true peace, contentment, or joy. Somehow we must be delivered from our slavery to things. Deliverance is found in only one place: in pursuit of the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah.




It is a matter of exchanging one hunger for another. Our hunger for things will never be satisfied. But Yahusha said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt. 5:6). How hungry are you? What are you hungry for? Is your hunger for the Kingdom greater than your hunger for things? Do you thirst for righteousness more than you thirst for material prosperity? King David of Israel wrote, “Delight yourself in the Most High and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). If the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah are your chief desire and delight, He will take care of everything else.




When Yahusha said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” He used infinitives, which mean continuing action. If you say, “I’m hungry,” or “I’m thirsty,” you are referring to a temporary condition that will be satisfied once you have some food or drink. If, however, you say, “I hunger,” or “I thirst,” you are speaking of continuous desires: you continue to be hungry and you continue to be thirsty.




Imagine being stranded in the desert under the baking sun without food or water. After a couple of days (maybe less), the only thing on your mind is the desire to satisfy your hunger and thirst. Nothing else matters. You are willing to sacrifice anything, give up anything, part with anything, do anything to fill the greatest craving in your heart. Yahusha said that this is the kind of all-consuming desire you should have for the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah. An ancient Hebrew psalmist expressed such desire this way: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O Yah. My soul thirsts for Yah, for the living Yah. When can I go and meet with Yah?” (Ps. 42:1-2).




THE DIVINE DISPOSITION




A continuing hunger and thirst for righteousness positions us to enter into the fullness of Kingdom life. Remember that righteousness is a legal term that means to be in alignment with authority; to be in right standing with the governing power. The key to maintaining that right standing is obedience to the laws of that government. In a kingdom, since the king’s word is law, righteousness means fulfilling the king’s requirements. Our pursuit of righteousness places us in the right positioning to receive all the rights, resources, blessings, and privileges of the Kingdom that are ours as Kingdom citizens.




In this positioning there is a part we play and a part that Yah plays. Our part is to obey the laws of the government, thus keeping ourselves in alignment. Yah’s part is to open up to us the resources of Heaven. It is a very simple dynamic. We obey, Yah opens; we disobey, He closes. As long as we obey the law, we have access. As soon as we disobey—get out of alignment—that access shuts down. This explains why so many believers struggle from day to day, pinching pennies, trying to make ends meet but never seem to have enough, with no peace, joy, or contentment. They are out of alignment with their government and their access to Kingdom resources has been shut off.




Whenever this happens, it is always due to sin, which is breaking the law. The literal meaning of the Greek word for sin in the New Testament is to “miss the mark.” It is an archery term that refers to falling short of the target. Sin interrupts our communication with Yah and shuts down the flow of His resources to us. As the psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Most High will not hear” (Ps. 66:18 NKJV). Iniquity is another word for sin but refers specifically to invisible sin, such as greed, envy, lust, and hatred, and is worse than physical sin. Invisible sin is secret sin, which gives rise to visible sins of action.




Righteous positioning means keeping our hearts pure—clean and uncorrupted by iniquity. If we harbor no secret sins in our heart, there will be nothing to give rise to visible sins. Purity of heart is a critical, indispensable key to abundant Kingdom life. Yahusha said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see Yah” (Matt. 5:8). Literally, this means that the pure in heart will see Yah in everything. The word heart in this verse means “mind.” If our minds are pure, we will see Yah in everything and in everyone. This is the answer to the problem of greed, or lust, or jealousy, or any kind of impure or improper thought or attitude.




What a challenge to live at such a level in our world today! But that is just the challenge that the King calls His citizens to take up, a challenge that we can meet successfully in His mighty power. But we must choose the path of righteousness and be in the right positioning with regard to our King’s requirements. We must be in the position to receive His favor.




THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS




I told you in the previous teaching that righteousness is its own reward, but that does not mean that it is the only reward. Righteousness bears abundant fruit in our lives. One of these is a Ruach of generosity, along with the means and capacity to give generously. Yahusha said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b), and Paul reminds us that, “Yah loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7b).




Generosity is a character trait of the righteous, of those who are positioned properly with the government of Yah. After all, if we own nothing and are merely stewards of Yah’s property, there is no reason why we cannot give freely. And if we are heirs to the Kingdom of Yah and all its riches, which are infinite, we can give with no fear of running out.




David, in another of his psalms, contrasts the righteous and the wicked: “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the Most High blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off” (Ps. 37:21-22). Righteousness is aligning ourselves with Yah’s character and nature. In this way we grow to become like Him, and He is a giver. Because Yah is a giver, when we get into right positioning with Him, He will give us more than we know what to do with. And because we are becoming like Him, we cannot help but become generous givers also.




The prosperity of the righteous is an ongoing blessing from Yah that spans generations. A few verses later in the same psalm, David writes, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed” (Ps. 37:25-26). Yah never forsakes the righteous or their children. He always provides for them. The fruit of the righteous extends even beyond their lifetime to bless their children. Righteous living will bear the fruit in our lives of an inheritance we can leave to our descendents. We should be so blessed that our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins should inherit a multiplied blessing, all because we lived our life rightly positioned with Yah’s government. That is the kind of fruit He wants to give us.




Right positioning places us under the protection of the King, who will preserve us even when the wicked are destroyed: “For the Most High loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever” (Ps. 37:28-29). Ultimately, the real estate of the Kingdom is reserved for the righteous, for those who are lined up with the Kingdom government. The destiny and prosperity of the ancient Israelites were intimately connected to the land. Even today, the only true material wealth of any lasting value, particularly as an inheritance to pass on, is real estate. A fancy house doesn’t matter. A fancy car doesn’t matter. The best designer label clothes don’t matter. These things rust, rot, and fall apart. If you want to leave your children and grandchildren a valuable legacy, leave them land, not things. Leave them also the legacy of your example of not laying up treasures on earth, which pass away, but treasures in Heaven, which last forever (see Matt. 6:19-20).




Not only will the righteous inherit land to dwell in forever, but that land will be covered by a peace and security that the world knows nothing about: “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest” (Isa. 32:17-18). What an incredible threefold promise!




First, if we are righteous, we will enjoy the fruit of peace. Why? Because we are not living for the pursuit of things anymore. Our insatiable hunger for things robs us of peace. Peace in this sense means the absence of frustration and worry. Does that describe your life? Are you at peace?




Second, peace will produce the corollary effect of quietness, or calm disposition, even in trouble. Nothing will disturb us. Do you have a calm, quiet disposition no matter what happens?




Third, peace also produces confidence—total trust and faith in the care, provision, and protection of Yah’s government. This means that we can go to sleep at night free of worry, fear, and uncertainty because we know that our King has us covered. Do you have that kind of confidence on an ongoing basis?




“Peaceful dwelling places.” “Secure homes.” “Undisturbed places of rest.” Who wouldn’t give anything they had for that kind of peace and security! Yet this is the guaranteed inheritance of the righteous!




Unlike religion, which focuses on externals, life in the Kingdom of Yah focuses on inner transformation that manifests in external ways. As Paul reminded the believers in Rome, “For the kingdom of Yah is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Ruach HaQadesh, because anyone who serves Hamachiach in this way is pleasing to Yah and approved by men” (Rom. 14:17-18). Here we have another amazing promise. One of the fruits of right positioning is that we please Yah and receive the approval of other people.




Pleasing Yah should be our focus rather than pleasing people, because when we are pleasing to Yah, He causes the approval of people to fall upon us. People approving of us does not necessarily mean they will like us. It may be simply that they see a righteous and honorable quality to our lives that they cannot help but respect, and a calm and joyous demeanor in the way we face everyday life that they cannot help but admire and envy. Our righteousness brings pleasure to Yah and elicits, however grudgingly, the respect and approval of people.




Righteousness, then, is the primary key to Kingdom living.




KNOW YOUR CONSTITUTION




Knowledge is the key to everything in life, and it is no different with righteousness. The key to righteousness is knowledge of the law. How can we obey the law if we don’t know it? That is why it is so important for us to study the laws of the government under whose authority we live. As Kingdom citizens we live under the King’s government, and His Word is law. Since the Bible is the written code of law for the Kingdom of Yah, it is incumbent upon us as citizens to read it, study it, and know it. We need to know the laws of our Kingdom so we can stay in sync with them and in right positioning with the King. Moreover, knowledge of the Bible will also help us come to know the King Himself—His heart and mind and will and ways and thoughts—which is even more important.




Knowledge of the Bible, our Kingdom constitution, is also the key to effective citizenship in the Kingdom. Most people in any given nation do not know most of the laws of their country. Ignorance of one’s constitution is dangerous in at least two ways. First, ignorance of the law can lead to inadvertent violation of the law, resulting in legal penalties and loss of alignment with the government (unrighteousness). How can we obey what we don’t know to obey? Second, ignorance of the law usually means also ignorance of one’s rights under the law. If we don’t know what our citizen rights are, how can we claim them? So ignorance of the law means that we lose twice.




The same thing is true in the Kingdom of Yah. If we don’t know our constitution, the Word of Yah, we will not be able to obey it or claim our constitutional rights as Kingdom citizens. In fact, the Bible itself states that it exists for the specific purpose of training us for Kingdom living: “All scripture is Yah-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16). Yah gave us His Word so we can learn how to live in His Kingdom. Righteous living does not come naturally, even for Kingdom citizens. We must train our minds so we can walk in the things of Yah and discipline our bodies to do the right thing. If we know what to do every day, we will know also how to do it right. The Bible is the constitution of the Kingdom of Yah and the source of righteousness for its citizens.




Let’s take this one step further. Knowledge of the constitution and principles of the Kingdom is vital for us as Kingdom citizens, but just as vital is our need to stand boldly and firmly for them before the world. The people of the world are looking for the Kingdom, but how will they learn of it if we keep silent? King David understood this, which is why he wrote:




I desire to do your will, O my Yah; your law is within my heart. I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as You know, O Most High. I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly (Psalm 40:8-10.




Remember, now, David was not a priest; he was the king. His was the world of politics, warfare, government and administration. David undoubtedly met regularly with the ministers, administrators, and other lower-level officials of his kingdom to conduct the regular affairs of kingdom life and operation. In addition, as king he no doubt received from time to time official delegations from other kingdoms in the region. Yet, according to these verses, David never hesitated, even on these official occasions, to speak of righteousness and the faithfulness and salvation of Yah. They were as much a part of his life and his rule as breathing.




Many people insist that we should never mix faith and politics. Such a concept would have been completely foreign to David. He was a man after Yah’s own heart and he never shrank back from telling anyone within earshot of the glories, mercy, love, power, and majesty of the Most High. There were also certain things he simply would not do out of love and obedience to his Yah. He would make his position plain to everyone and then say, “Here is where I stand.”




What we need today is believing politicians and CEOs and managers and supervisors and employees who will stand up for righteousness and say, “Here is where I stand!” We need people who will say, “I will not cheat, I will not lie, I will not cut corners, I will not accept bribes, I will not take kickbacks, I will not pad invoices, I will not steal time from my employer, because all of these things violate my higher law, the law of Heaven.”




We need people who will say, “I will pursue honor, honesty, integrity, and excellence in everything I do because these keep me in right positioning with my King.” If you get fired for your stand, so what? Yah has you covered. He honors, protects, and rewards the righteous. Yahusha said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:10). Stand up for righteousness and Yah will bless you with the whole Kingdom.




POSITIONING IS ESSENTIAL FOR KINGDOM LIFE




Positioning places us under proper authority in the Kingdom. This concept is so important that even Yahusha had to get into position before He began His public ministry. One day Yahusha came to the Jordan River, where the prophet John the Baptist was baptizing people for repentance (renouncing and turning away) of sin. Yahusha stepped into the water to be baptized.




But John tried to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Yahusha replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented (Matthew 3:14-15).




As the Son of Yah, Yahusha was without sin and did not need to be baptized for repentance of sin. And John clearly recognized Yahusha as being greater than he. Why then did Yahusha say, “Let it be so now” in order “to fulfill all righteousness”? In essence, He was saying to John, “This is not a matter of greatness, but a matter of positioning. According to the law of the Most High, you are the one with authority on earth right now. I have to get under you. It’s not a matter of what you think or who I am, but a matter of my positioning. I have to be in alignment with My Father, and you, John, are the alignment. I have to get under you in order for Me to be under Myself.”




If Yahusha Hamachiach, who was Yah in the flesh, had to submit to the authority He established, who are we to think that we don’t? Our protection is submission to Kingdom authority, positioning ourselves in alignment to the Word and will of the King.




Yahusha’ decision to position Himself by being baptized by John was obviously the right decision, as is borne out by what happened next:




As soon as Yahusha was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and He saw the Ruach of Yah descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from Heaven said, “This is My Son, whom, I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).




Remember, righteousness is pleasing to Yah, and righteousness means positioning ourselves under His authority.




Righteous positioning, which is based on obedience, is so important that it is the standard of measure in the Kingdom of Yah. So important, in fact, as to prompt Yahusha to issue this warning:




Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19-20).




Greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven is measured by the standard of obedience to the King’s commands, which are the law. Those who obey are called great while those who disobey are called least. In the eyes of the people of Yahusha’ day (as well as in their own eyes), the Pharisees and teachers of the law were “great” because they were committed to exact observance of the Hebrew law. Strictly speaking, no one was more obedient to the letter of the law than the Pharisees and teachers of the law.




The problem, however, was that these leaders approached the law and righteousness from a religious mind-set. They were seeking righteousness according to their own merit. They thought that strict obedience to the law in every minute detail would earn them favor with Yah. In truth, however, they were never aligned with Yah’s law. They were never in tune with His heart and mind. They were out of position because they sought righteousness through religion.




Religion will never line us up with Yah. Yahusha did not bring a religion when He came. He brought the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven had come to earth. We don’t become righteous by lining up with religion. We become righteous by positioning ourselves according to the laws and principles of the Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn’t matter how many rituals we perform, how many worship services we attend or how often we go to prayer meeting; without deliberate and conscious aligning of ourselves with Kingdom authority, all the rest means nothing. Except our righteousness exceeds that of religion and man-made tradition, we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.




Religion doesn’t work. We see it in the lives of believers all the time. Believers who are trapped in the “religion” of institutionalized Christianity, with all of its man-made trappings and having “a form of Godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5), do not position themselves according to the principles of the Kingdom. Consequently, they do not enjoy the fruits and benefits of Kingdom life. This is why so many believers are broke, destitute, and struggling, and living with the same fears, worries, and sicknesses as the rest of the world.




It is time for all of us who are believers to get real with Yah and do what He says. He has promised that if we will obey His laws and pursue righteous positioning with Him, He will add everything else to us.

THE POWER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew chapter 6













Today we are walking in: The Power Of Righteousness







Today we look to the word- RIGHTEOUS-H6662 tsaddiyq--just, lawful, righteous






The Torah Testifies………….




Genesis 18:25




That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous H6662 with the wicked: and that the righteous H6662 should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?






The prophets proclaim..................






Ezra 9:15




O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: H6662 for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.









The writings bear witness.............






1 Kings 8:32




Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, H6662 to give him according to his righteousness.







Correct alignment with truth principles guarantees success in life.




THE POWER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS




One of humankind’s greatest struggles is determining what is most important in life. Each of us must at some point decide what we are living for if our lives are to have focus and a sense of purpose. Compounding the challenge is the fact that we live in a culture that regards truth as relative and life as meaningless. If life is an evolutionary accident, then there is no such thing as absolute truth or morality and no high and exalted purpose for human existence. Consequently, many people give up on life and, if they don’t commit suicide first, retreat into a mind-set of cynicism, hopelessness, and despair.




At the same time, there are many people who yearn for a simpler life free of the stress, struggles, and hectic pace of our high-speed, high-tech, multiple-option, anything-goes society. With so many choices, how do you choose the best, the most important? How do you make sure that you are spending your life on the things that really count?




Over the last few years or so my life has become very simple. That does not mean I am not busy. My life is quite full. I rarely have an empty schedule. Yet, in spite of my “busyness,” my life is simple because I have spent the last few years learning to live according Yah’s priorities. The world offers a “grab bag” of possibilities to choose from, but as mentioned previously, Yahusha reduces the issues of life to two things: the Kingdom of Yah and the righteousness of Yah. That’s it. Everything else in life is a byproduct.




When I first understood this, it changed my life. It is amazing how simple life becomes when you realize that you need to focus only on two things. Even a busy life can be simple when it has been stripped of everything distracting and counterproductive to the pursuit of Yah’s Kingdom and righteousness.




As we have already seen, the command to seek first the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah comes with a corollary promise that “all these things” the world strives for will be given, or added, to us. Think about this: anything you work for was not added. Added means you receive something you did not work for. Yah blesses most of us with the health and ability to work for the things we need to support ourselves and our families but, as I’ve said before, we should never live for those things. If our priority is focused on the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah, He will add all the rest to us. He wants to give us many things that we did not and even cannot work for. But the key to this life of favor and blessing is to seek, to pursue, to walk in the righteousness of Yah.




DEFINING RIGHTEOUSNESS




Yah’s Kingdom and Yah’s righteousness. Both are equally important and, as you heard earlier, both are inseparable. A kingdom always reflects the nature of its king. Righteousness begets righteousness and unrighteousness begets unrighteousness. Righteousness is the nature and defining characteristic of the Kingdom of Yah. As I mentioned briefly in the last teaching, the Hebrew word for kingdom, mamlakah, means “dominion and royal government.” We are to seek first the mamlakah of Yah. This takes in many things: Yah’s government, rulership, and dominion over the earth, His jurisdiction and executed will, the influence of Heaven on earth, Yah’s administration, and His impact on the earth. So the first thing we are supposed to do—the first issue of our lives—is to get under Yah’s government.




Let me put it another way: seek Yah’s citizenship. Joining a religion won’t solve your problems. Neither will joining a fraternity or a lodge. The only way to solve our greatest problems and satisfy our greatest needs is to place ourselves under the Kingdom on earth.




With the Kingdom of Yah comes His righteousness. We cannot inhabit His Kingdom without it. What does it mean to be righteous? I touched on it a little in the last teaching but now it is time to dig deeper. Righteousness, or the lack of it, affects our whole life. It is too important a principle to pass over lightly.




The basic New Testament Greek word for “righteous” is dikaios, a powerful word that means “those who are upright, just, righteous, conforming to Yah’s laws.” It also carries the quality of being without prejudice or partiality. A related word, dikaiosune, means “righteousness” or “uprightness.” In the Old Testament, two related Hebrew words, sedeq and sedaqah, carry the meaning, righteousness. They are relational words, just as righteousness has to do with man’s relationship to Yah. Sedeq and sedaqah are legal terms signifying justice in conformity with the legal corpus (the Law; see Deut. 16:20), the judicial process (see Jer. 22:3), the justice of the king as judge (see 1 Kings 10:9; Ps. 119:121; Prov. 8:15), and also the source of justice, Yah Himself. Legal corpus means the body of law that runs a country.




Heaven is a country; an invisible country, but a country nonetheless. The government of Heaven is under the authority of the King of Glory, the Most High of Hosts, the Yah of the universe who created the earth and put humankind here as His vice-regents. We were created to be local kings ruling under the jurisdiction of the universal King.




As I said before, righteousness is a legal word, not a religious word. It has to do with citizens’ relationship with their government, and that relationship is based on the citizens obeying the laws of the country so they do not come into conflict with government authority and jeopardize their citizenship privileges. Every country demands righteousness, whether it is a republic, a democracy, a communist state, or a kingdom, because righteousness simply means to be in conformity with the laws of the country.




In the Bible, the word righteousness almost always is linked in close proximity to the word justice, which means “rights.” Righteousness is always related to justice because righteousness is a prerequisite for justice. Every country operates under a written constitution of some kind. A constitution is a contract with the people that lays out the laws and rights that will govern the nation. It spells out what the government expects from the citizens and what the citizens can expect from the government. Furthermore, it specifies the penalties for violating the law as well as the legal recourses available for those whose rights have been violated to receive justice.




Like the nations of the earth, the Kingdom of Yah also has a constitution—the Bible. Unlike many earthly nations where the people write the constitution, in the Kingdom of Yah the King Himself wrote the constitution. In a kingdom, the king’s word is law. The citizens cannot debate it, challenge it, or change it. So in relation to the Kingdom of Yah, all of us stand either in alignment or out of alignment with Kingdom law, the Word of Yah. We are either righteous or unrighteous. It is a matter of positioning.




Righteousness means right positioning with the government. It is when a person takes up citizenship in a country and pledges to obey its laws. Those are simple requirements. When Yahusha said, “Seek first the Kingdom of Yah and His righteousness, He was saying, “Seek to become a citizen of the Kingdom of Yah and then stay in alignment with the government’s law. If you do those two things—citizenship and obedience to the laws—then everything you need will be added to you.” What could be simpler?




TWO PRIORITIES FOR MAN




So, there are two priorities for us: Kingdom and righteousness. Kingdom is the horizontal dimension that deals with power: rulership, dominion and control. It is kingship. Righteousness, on the other hand, is the vertical dimension that deals with position: relationship, right standing, disposition, and authority. It is priesthood. There is no dichotomy in the mind of Yah between priest and king.




Righteous citizens are law-abiding citizens. Citizen relates to kingship; it is the power part. Law-abiding relates to priesthood; it is the positioning part. As citizens of the Kingdom of Yah, we are both kings and priests: “To Him who loved us…and has made us kings and priests to His Yah and Father…” (Rev. 1:5b-6 NKJV); “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to Yah…” (1 Pet. 2:9a). There are no schizophrenics in the Kingdom of Yah. We are all kings and priests together.




Righteousness is our relationship with the government. Kingdom is our disposition with the government. It is our right to rule. So, Kingdom is rulership. Kingdom is dominion. Righteousness is our right standing within that dominion. The purpose of a priest is to keep people related to Yah. As Kingdom citizens we are each our own priest. We are supposed to “work out” our own salvation (Phil. 2:12). We are supposed to protect our own selves by not disobeying the law.




Let me put it another way. Returning to our driving analogy from the last teaching, every time you stop at a red light you are a priest. As long as you stop at the red light, you have the right for no police officer to arrest you. By choosing to obey the law, you are acting as your own priest, maintaining your right alignment with the government.




Priesthood is the vertical dimension and kingship is the horizontal dimension. If you keep the vertical clear, the horizontal will be clear. As long as you are an effective priest, you will be an effective king. Righteousness, therefore, is the key. For this reason, righteousness is more important than kingship. Kingdom makes you a citizen, but righteousness gives you access to all the rights, resources and privileges of citizenship. Get yourself out of alignment with the government and those rights and privileges can be suspended, just as they are for citizens of a nation who are in prison for crimes they committed. They are still citizens but they no longer enjoy the full rights and freedoms of citizens who are not incarcerated.




This explains why many born-again Kingdom citizens struggle with basic needs from day to day and do not experience the fullness of Kingdom living. They are not taking proper care to stay in right standing with their government. By violating the laws and principles of the Kingdom, they cut themselves off from access to its resources. Righteousness, then, is the key to abundant Kingdom living.




The key to success in a kingdom is for the citizens to maintain right relationship with the government. This is righteousness. At the same time, the government is responsible for the rights and well-being of the citizens. Citizens benefit from their righteous relationship by qualifying to make demands on the government. Righteousness gives you power. If you are keeping the law, then all the rights of the constitution are yours. Citizens have rights. Righteous citizens can demand what is rightfully theirs. That is why it is a legal term.




Our two priorities are to seek Kingdom citizenship and the relationship that puts us in a position to demand things from the Kingdom. And the Kingdom government is responsible and obligated to the citizen. Righteousness gives us rights and rights activate the government to act on our behalf.




To clarify further, let’s summarize the relationship between Kingdom and righteousness this way:




The kingdom places us in citizenship; righteousness places in us relationship.




Kingdom gives us rights to government benefits; righteousness gives us access to government benefits.




Kingdom makes us legal; righteousness maintains our legal status.




Righteousness is manifested in holiness.




Holiness is not a doctrine; it is a result. Yahusha never taught on holiness. He taught on the Kingdom and righteousness. Living holy simply means you are obeying all the Kingdom laws. If you are righteous, you don’t have to “do” holiness; it is a by-product of right standing. Holiness is a manifestation of righteousness. Food, clothing, and rituals don’t make you holy. Holiness is based on relationship, and relationship comes from righteousness.




POWER KEYS TO KINGDOM LIFE




Where does the power in righteousness come from? It comes from the King, who passes it down to us. The New Testament Book of Hebrews attests to this:

But about the Son he says, “Your throne, Oh Yah, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore Yah, your Yah, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Hebrews 1:8-9).




A scepter is the symbol of a king’s royal authority. If the king extends the scepter to you, it means you may enter his presence for an audience. If he does not, you must remain outside. In ancient times this was a matter of life or death. The Book of Esther describes how the king of Persia would extend his scepter for those he granted permission to enter. Anyone who entered the king’s presence without the extended scepter was killed on the spot. Even Queen Esther risked death if she entered the king’s presence without his scepter extended to her.




The scepter was a visible symbol of the king’s power. When the King extends His scepter to us, we may enter and everything in the Kingdom becomes ours. The passage says, “righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.” This means that our authority in the Kingdom of Yah is righteousness. As long as we stay lined up with the government’s laws, we have power with the government. Yah gives us power to ask for anything we need. He hands it to us.




Righteousness is also the standard by which the King dispenses judgment:

He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the peoples with justice (Psalm 9:8).




Yah will judge the world as to whether the governments of the earth are lined up with Heaven.




And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for Yah Himself is judge (Psalm 50:6)




If we remain lined up, Yah gives us our rights.




Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You (Psalm 89:14).




The foundation for our exercising the authority of Yah is our relationship with Yah. Once we are lined up with Yah, He will lavish His faithfulness and love upon us. Talk about getting your needs met! Yah says, “Get into right position with me, and I’ll overload you.”




Here are seven more power keys. The power of righteousness is:




1.Governmental obligation. When you are in right standing with the King, He is obligated to take care of your life.




2.Governmental protection. When you are in right standing with the King, He is obligated to protect you.




3.Governmental support. When you are in right standing with the King, He is obligated to support your life, to uphold you in everything.




4.Governmental provisions. When you are in right standing with the King, He provides you with everything you need.




5.Governmental commitment. When you are in right standing with the King, the King is committed to take care of you.




6.Governmental responsibility. When you are under a King’s authority and are in right relationship with that King, the King has a place of responsibility toward you.




7. Righteousness activates the government. When you are in right standing with the King, you activate the entire machine of the government. The government is focused upon you. It does everything for you. “For the eyes of the Most High range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him…” (2 Chron. 16:9). Yah’s eyes are on the righteous. Our righteousness activates the government. His own nature and promises obligate Him to act.




What a powerful list!




CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE PURSUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS




If you want to know how an appliance works, you turn to the owners’ manual prepared by the manufacturer. If you want to understand the principles under which a nation or a kingdom operates, you examine its constitution. The pursuit of righteousness is the fundamental operating principle for citizens of the Kingdom of Yah. There is no better way to learn how to conduct that pursuit than by consulting and following the Kingdom constitution, the Bible. Let’s examine some of the constitutional principles that help us understand, apply, and exercise righteousness.




Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death (Proverbs 11:4).




Do you want long life? Then live for righteousness. Don’t live for wealth. The pursuit of righteousness may bring wealth your way, but as a by-product. Righteousness is its own reward. Living for righteousness will deliver you from the death of your business, the death of your marriage, the death of your investments, the death of your finances, the death of your health. If you are lined up with Yah, He will deliver you.




The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness (Proverbs 11:5).




Blameless means clean living that is above reproach. You stop for red lights. You are honest in all your dealings, even when no one would know if you weren’t. You seek to obey Yah every minute of every day. Righteousness will clear the path ahead of you so that nothing stands between you and full, abundant living. If righteousness is its own reward, then wickedness is its own curse. The wicked may seem to prosper for a time, but eventually their own wickedness will destroy them.

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires (Proverbs 11:6).




Righteousness is true freedom; freedom to live as Yah meant for you to live: happy, healthy, abundant, prosperous, and master of your circumstances. Unrighteousness is bondage that will shackle you to your baser lusts and desires.

In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality (Proverbs 12:28).




When you are lined up with Yah, you cannot die! Righteousness makes you immortal to enjoy the Kingdom and its benefits forever! How’s that for destiny?!

Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner (Proverbs 13:6).




Alignment with Yah and His Word places you under His protection. Living with integrity will build you a good reputation that will hold you in good stead when you come under attack from the unscrupulous. A wicked man, however, eventually will be undone by his own wickedness.

Better is little with righteousness than much gain with injustice (Proverbs 16:8).




I’d rather be right with Yah than be right with the world. In fact, James 4:4 states that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of Yah. The world as a whole opposes Yah and everything He stands for. That is why the world needs to be told about the Kingdom. Be satisfied and faithful with the little you may have now because, if you are righteous, Yah will add more that you did not have to work or scheme or connive for. Unjust gain is a dead end.




Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs 14:34).




Righteousness is not only personal but also corporate. Personal righteousness can exist without corporate righteousness, but there is no corporate righteousness without personal righteousness. It takes righteous people to create a righteous nation, and diligence on their part to keep the nation righteous. Every law enacted and every bill passed should be measured against and brought into alignment with the standard of Yah’s Word. Otherwise, unrighteousness will result. We see this happening all over the world, particularly in the historically “Christian” West. Every misaligned law or other action at the national level leads the nation farther down the path of disgrace, dissension, disillusionment, disintegration and, eventually, dissolution. None of us as Kingdom citizens can afford to be satisfied merely with our own private righteousness. We must be alert, vigilant, engaged and even militant in pressing for righteousness at the corporate and national levels. Otherwise we risk bringing the judgment of Yah down on our nations.




The Most High detests the way of the wicked but He loves those who pursue righteousness (Proverbs 15:9).




Notice that the Most High detests the way of the wicked. Yah loves wicked people, but He hates their wicked ways. He wants to change their hearts so they will pursue righteousness instead of wickedness. Remember, all of us once were wicked in Yah’s sight until we were transformed through the blood of Hamachiach, brought into right standing with Yah, and made citizens of His Kingdom. Not only does Yah love the righteous, He loves those who want to do right. He will move Heaven and earth to help an honest seeker of righteousness find it.




The Most High has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Most High; I have not done evil by turning from my Yah. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from His decrees. I have been blameless before Him and have kept myself from sin. The Most High has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight (Psalm 18:20-24).




This is without doubt one of the finest descriptions in the Bible of practical righteousness—righteousness as it is lived out from day to day. David, future king of Israel, describes the righteous life as a life of obedience to the Word and ways of Yah. Righteousness brings reward and the link between the two is obedience. Reward is that which is added. It is not something we work for. If we are righteous, “all these things” will be added to us. We will receive our reward, both in this life and in the life to come.




The Most High is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:1-3).




Why does the Most High take care of us? Why does He give us green pastures and quiet waters? Why does He restore our soul and lead us in paths of righteousness? For the sake of His name. For the sake of His reputation. He is saying to us, “Do right, please, so I can protect My Name. Do right, so I can take care of you and show Myself to be a good and benevolent King. Don’t call me ‘Most High’ and then not do what I say. Let me show the world how a Kingdom citizen lives: in peace, prosperity, abundance, and security.”




Vindicate me in your righteousness, O Most High my Yah; do not let them gloat over me (Psalm 35:24).




The word vindicate means “to deliver or avenge, to justify or defend, to free from allegation or blame.” Righteousness sets us up for the Most High to defend us from unjustified accusation and attack. No matter what you may be going through on your job or elsewhere, no matter what pressure you may be under to compromise your integrity, honor, or principles, just stay aligned with Yah and He will come to your defense. You may feel as though everybody is conspiring against you. Don’t worry about it. Even if you are the only righteous person there, Yah can vindicate you. Whatever you are going through, Yah says, “I will give the answer. I’m going to do this Myself. You just remain righteous. Stay lined up with My government.”




He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor (Proverbs 21:21).




The world pursues prosperity and the good life but rarely finds them. Kingdom citizens, however, are to pursue righteousness. We are never to pursue prosperity. There is no “prosperity gospel” in the Kingdom.




Prosperity is a by-product of righteous living. Live righteously and what happens? You will find prosperity. You will find the good life and the abundant life. You will find honor in the eyes of Yah and men. You won’t have to pursue them to procure them. All these things you will find simply by putting all your energy into one thing: the pursuit of righteousness.




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.




The zeal of the Most High Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:7).




This verse refers to Yahusha Hamachiach, who came to restore man back to his relationship with the Kingdom of Yah. His is the Kingdom that will last forever and be characterized by justice and righteousness. A just and righteous King will always give His citizens their rights based upon their being and remaining aligned to the principles and laws of His Kingdom.




…with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth…(Isaiah 11:4).




This verse says that poverty is solved by righteousness. If a poor man becomes righteous—lined up with the Kingdom—his poverty is gone. To judge means to give rights. In other words, poverty is really a result of disposition.




I was born in the low part of my country. My only reason for coming out of whatever I was in is my relationship with Yah. Nothing else explains it. Righteousness is the solution to poverty. This means that unrighteousness is the cause of poverty. Let me hasten to add, however, that often it is the unrighteousness of those who oppress and take advantage of the poor that helps perpetuate poverty. Unrighteousness affects not only us but also all those who are within our sphere of influence. Even under oppressive conditions, however, the transformed mind-set of a Kingdom citizen who is poor can manifest in changed external circumstances. The King takes care of His righteous citizens no matter where they are or what their condition.




A king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice (Isaiah 32:1).




Every leader, political or otherwise, should take this verse to heart. Alignment with Heaven’s government is the key to the success of any country. For a king to reign in righteousness he must be lined up with the government of Heaven. This is how any nation prospers. All judges should judge everything according to the Word of Yah. All of our morals, policies and values should conform to Yah’s laws. Otherwise, the nation will be unrighteous and on the road to disaster.




In every nation today there is a crying need for righteous Kingdom citizens to be active in the political arena, not only as voters but also as candidates and office holders. The only way for justice to prevail for every citizen of a nation is for that nation to be governed by principles of righteousness laid out in the Word of Yah. And the only way for righteousness to govern a nation is for righteous citizens to wield their influence and example at every level of government.




The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever (Isaiah 32:17).




There it is. When you are righteous, you fly your flag. When you are righteous you keep the company you work for afloat. When you are righteous, you keep the home at peace. When you are righteous, you bring peace to a company because you work there.




This is why the Bible says that as long as Joseph was with Pharaoh, Egypt prospered. When Daniel was with Nebuchadnezzar, the country prospered. Because you are in that school, the school is blessed. Don’t ever make light of your influence on where you are because righteousness brings peace.




Peace, quietness, confidence. Don’t you love those words? Don’t you wish they were the norm for your life? Quietness means that you are calm in any storm and nobody understands why. Quietness means that you are in a position of total control in the middle of a crisis because you know the government of Heaven is above every earthly government. Quietness means you don’t start talking loudly when everybody else does. People get all hyper, concerned, and frustrated while you remain calm. Why? You’re not under their government. Confidence means you have complete trust in your government. You trust your government to take care of you. Who can say that about any governments on earth?




For the kingdom of Yah is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).




Anyone who serves Hamachiach in this way, by obeying the laws and principles of righteousness, will receive the approval of Yah and man. No one will attack you for doing well. If they do attack you, it is because they do not understand you. In this sick, corrupt, sin-ridden world, righteous living is a mystery to many, even a reason for suspicion. That is why we must always be careful to live upright with honor, honesty, and integrity, so no one will have an excuse to attack us or to defame the name of our King. Live righteously, and joy will fill your days, in spite of what happens around you. The joy of the Most High is not subject to the ways of the world or the whims of circumstance because it originates in another place.




The Kingdom of Yah operates on righteousness. Righteousness is the scepter of Yah’s throne. It aligns us with the Kingdom government and gives us access to Kingdom benefits. Righteousness guarantees that we will receive all the rights that are ours under Kingdom law. And its results are treasures the world craves: peace, quietness, confidence—and joy unspeakable.




PRINCIPLES




1.Yahusha reduced the issues of life to two things: (1) the Kingdom of Yah and (2) the righteousness of Yah.




2.Righteousness simply means to be in conformity with the laws of the country.




3.Righteousness means right positioning with the government.




4.Kingdom is the horizontal dimension that deals with power: rulership, dominion, and control. It is kingship.




5.Righteousness is the vertical dimension that deals with position: relationship, right standing, disposition, and authority. It is priesthood.




6.Righteousness is our relationship with the government. Kingdom is our disposition with the government.




7.Righteousness is the key to abundant Kingdom living.




8.Holiness is a manifestation of righteousness.




9.The pursuit of righteousness is the fundamental operating principle for citizens of the Kingdom of Yah.




10.Righteousness is its own reward.




11.Righteousness is not only personal but also corporate.




12.Righteousness brings reward and the link between the two is obedience.




13.Righteousness is the solution to poverty.




14. Righteousness guarantees that we will receive all the rights that are ours under Kingdom law.

THE DIVINE PRIORITY MANDATE

Matthew chapter 6










Today we are walking in: The Divine Priority Mandate







Today we look to the word-FIND- H4672 matsa'--to find, secure, acquire, get (thing sought), to find (what is lost), to meet, encounter, to find (a condition), to be discovered, be detected










The Torah Testifies.............................




Deuteronomy 4:29




But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find H4672 him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.










The prophets proclaim...............…




Jeremiah 29:13




And ye shall seek me, and find H4672 me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.








The writings bear witness.............




Ruth 2:2




And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find H4672 grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.







“Whatever you prioritize you will pursue.”





THE DIVINE PRIORITY MANDATE




Yahusha Hamachiach came to earth to inaugurate a Kingdom, not establish a religion. First, He announced the Kingdom: “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17). Then He taught about the Kingdom wherever He went: “The kingdom of Heaven is like….” He identified the Kingdom of Yah as the first priority of man: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33, emphasis added).




Only those who seek the Kingdom of Yah will find it, and with the seeking comes the understanding of the Kingdom and how it operates. Yahusha told His closest followers, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven has been given to you…” (Matt. 13:11a). When we understand how the Kingdom operates, we will understand how to live in the Kingdom and experience its fullness in our lives.




Our first priority—the principal and most important activity of our life—is to seek the Kingdom of Yah. But how do we do that? What does it mean to seek Yah’s Kingdom? How can we find the Kingdom of Yah if we don’t know how to look for it or what to look for? Yah will never demand from us what He does not supply. He will never instruct us to do something that He doesn’t show us how to do.




Even more important, He wants us to seek and find His Kingdom. He gave us this promise: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Finding Yah is the same as finding His Kingdom because the two are inseparable. And Yahusha assures us: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).




With these scriptural truths and assurances in mind, let’s take a closer look at our divine priority mandate, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” A mandate is a command issued by a ruler. Yahusha’ charge to us to seek first the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah is a command, not a suggestion. If we claim to be His followers and call Him Most High, we must obey Him. Otherwise, He is not our Most High, we will never find the Kingdom and never experience the fulfillment of our life purpose.




THE DIVINE COMMAND: “SEEK”




The first part of the divine priority is what we can call the divine command: seek. To seek means to pursue with vigor and determination. The idea is that of a diligent, unceasing search until the object of the search is found. In Luke 15 Yahusha tells of a man with 100 sheep who lost one, and of a woman with 10 silver coins who lost one, and how both of them searched diligently and did not give up until they recovered that which was lost. This is what it means to seek. We are to pursue the Kingdom of Yah with determination and vigor.




To seek also means to study. Students seek knowledge and understanding. In the same way, Kingdom citizens must be students of the Kingdom and of its constitution, the Bible. Psalm 1:2 says that the blessed man delights in the law of the Most High and meditates on it day and night. Paul, New Testament ambassador of the King, counsels us to, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to Yah, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15 NKJV). The Greek word for “be diligent” is spoudazo, which also means “study” or “labor.” Seeking the Kingdom means studying it with diligence. Only by committed and rigorous study can the secrets of the Kingdom and the Word of Yah become known to us. As we study, the Spirit of Yah will open our minds to understand.




Seeking also means to explore. Human explorers through the ages traveled the globe seeking new lands, new peoples, new horizons. Exploring carries the element of high adventure, and the Kingdom of Yah is indeed an adventure. We must explore the Kingdom; we must explore its power, its laws, its government, its culture, its society, its commands, its economy, its taxation—everything. The Kingdom of Yah is so vast that we could spend the rest of our lives exploring it yet only scratch the surface.




Another critical aspect of seeking is understanding. We could pursue something, seeking it diligently, yet not understand it when we found it. Without understanding, the search is not complete. Nothing is truly ours until we understand it. Until we understand the Kingdom we cannot properly teach it, pass it on or fully realize its benefits and blessings. Once we understand for ourselves, then the promises of the Kingdom will begin manifesting in our lives.




Closely related to study and understanding, to seek also means to learn. Learning is more than mental knowledge of facts and information; the knowledge must be reproducible in practical terms. This means demonstrating the ability to perform the action learned as well as teach it to someone else so that they learn it also.




Seeking often involves taking the time to consider, to sit and ponder something in an effort to understand. This is similar, of course, to meditation. Some things require deep thought and analysis before they become comprehensible. The psalmist said, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:3-4)




Yahusha said, “Why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matt. 6:28-29 NKJV). We need to take the Word of Yah and consider it, ponder it, chew on it, memorize it, and the more we do so the more we will comprehend.




When we seek something, we have a desire to know. Who pursues something he has no interest in? Who takes the time to ponder something that means nothing to him? If we desire to know the Kingdom and its ways, the King will make sure our desire is satisfied. Yahusha said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt. 5:6).




Not only should we desire the Kingdom, we should have a passion for the Kingdom! What are you passionate about? What gets your blood going in the morning? What infuses your life with purpose? Everyone is passionate about something. If you are not passionate about the Kingdom of Yah, then you are focused on the wrong thing.




Anything worth seeking is worth pursuing with diligent dedication. Diligence always involves discipline. If we want to seek the Kingdom it may mean disciplining ourselves to turn off the TV so we can study the Word of Yah. It may mean rearranging our schedule in order to have more time to pray. It may mean reordering our time priorities to ensure we get enough sleep so that we’re not “too tired” to gather with other believers for worship. Seeking the Kingdom is deliberate and proactive. We will never stumble on it by accident. We must plan for it.




Finally, to seek the Kingdom means to become preoccupied with the Kingdom. If we are seeking the Kingdom, that means we are thinking about it all day long. It possesses us. Everywhere we go and with everything we do and say we are focused on the Kingdom. We evaluate every decision in light of how it will affect our pursuit of the Kingdom. Our every thought, word, motive, and action is “Kingdom First!”




THE DIVINE PRIORITY: “FIRST”




If the Divine Command is to seek the Kingdom of Yah, the Divine Priority is that we must seek it first. Seeking the Kingdom first means that we pursue it as the principal thing, the first thing above and before and beyond all other things. First means that the Kingdom of Yah is more important to us than anything else. It means that we place the highest value of all on the Kingdom and stand ready to sacrifice anything and everything else for its sake. First means that we establish the Kingdom as our primary interest. All other priorities in life are secondary to the priority of the Kingdom and so far below it as to be almost nonexistent by comparison.




Kingdom first does not mean first among many but first and only. When Yah told the Israelites, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exod. 20:3), He was not saying, “As long as you worship Me first and foremost, you can have other gods.” What He meant was that they were never to bring any other gods before His face or into His presence. Yah claimed exclusive rights to their worship, love, and devotion. The “Kingdom First!” priority is just as exclusive.




Seeking the Kingdom of Yah first means considering the interests of the Kingdom before making decisions—when and where we go to school, who we marry, what job we accept, how we spend our money. Before deciding on these and other issues, we need to ask the question, “Is this in line with the Kingdom of Yah?” Every day we are bombarded with opportunities to compromise our morality, honesty, integrity, and character. Your boss asks you to do something dishonest at work. Your boyfriend or girlfriend tries to talk you into an immoral relationship. You are tempted to cheat on your taxes.




Learn to ask yourself, “Will this be pleasing to the Kingdom?” It’s not worth violating the principles of the Kingdom for the sake of expediency or to avoid offending someone or rocking the boat. Developing the habit of considering the Kingdom first will help you avoid a lot of mistakes and bad decisions.




THE DIVINE OBJECT: “THE KINGDOM OF YAH”




It is one thing to know how to seek the Kingdom of Yah but quite another to understand that Kingdom and the principles under which it operates.




Few people in the world today live in a true kingdom, particularly in the West, so almost no one knows what kingdom life is really like. Consequently, Kingdom language in the Bible often can seem confusing or alien to modern readers. If the Kingdom priority is so important, we had better know what the Kingdom is and how it functions.




So what is the Kingdom? Simply stated, the Kingdom is Yah’s government. It is His rulership and dominion over Heaven and earth. In practical terms it refers to His universal jurisdiction and executed will over all creation.




When Yahusha said we are to seek first the Kingdom of Yah, He was telling us to seek first the ownership of Yah, He was telling us to seek first the ownership of Yah over ourselves and everything we have in life.




The word kingdom also means to have influence over a territory. When we seek first the Kingdom of Yah we are seeking His influence to be extended over the entire world in our private life, our business life, our marriage life, our relationships, our sexual life, and all other dimensions of life.




Part of this influence has to do with administration. In the Kingdom of Yah we are under the administration of Heaven. This means that Yah, the King, becomes our reference point for everything. His will becomes our will, His ways become our ways, His culture becomes our culture, His society becomes our society, and His interests become our interests. As Kingdom citizens and children of the King through Hamachiach, we become ambassadors on earth of His heavenly Kingdom.




Influence also means impact. Kings and queens impact the land and the lives of the people over whom they rule.




Americans, by the way they live, prove that they are not under a political earthly kingdom. The islands of the Bahamas were under British rule far longer than were the American colonies. Consequently, Britain’s impact on Bahamian life, law, and culture has been more substantial and more enduring. And that influence is reflected in our daily lives.




This raises an important point: we can tell which kingdom we are in by the way we live. If we claim to believe and follow the King, our lives will reflect the influence of His government and administration. Other people who are not in the Kingdom will wonder, and perhaps even ask, why we are so different. It is because we are under a different administration from that of the world; a different government, a different culture, and a different law.




Yahusha said, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matt. 7:16-18). This means that others can tell what kind of tree we are by what we produce in our lives. Our lives are supposed to manifest the fruit—the influence—of the Kingdom of Yah so that anybody can look at us and tell where our allegiance lies.




In the Bible, the Hebrew word for “kingdom” is mamlakah; the New Testament Greek word is basileia. Both words carry the same general range of meaning: king, sovereignty, dominion, control, reign, rulership, and royal power. Considering all of these terms and characteristics, we can define a kingdom, then, as:




The governing influence of a king over his territory (domain), impacting it with his personal will, purpose and intent, producing a culture, values, morals and lifestyle that reflect the king’s desire and nature for his citizens.




This describes perfectly the Kingdom of Yah, which is the Kingdom that Yahusha commanded us to “seek first.” And it is in the seeking of this Kingdom—not in religion—that we will receive from the King “all these things,” all the daily needs of life that the rest of the world toils and labors and frets and worries and strives and scrambles for. No religion has such a guarantee as the Kingdom guarantee.




THE DIVINE POSITION: YAH’S RIGHTEOUSNESS




In addition to seeking first the Kingdom of Yah, we are to seek also His righteousness. This is not a first and second priority but two parts of one complete whole. Yah’s Kingdom cannot be separated from His righteousness. A kingdom always reflects the nature and character of the king. Yah is righteous and therefore His Kingdom is also righteous.




Only righteous people will enter the Kingdom. The problem is that none of us are righteous on our own. As David, psalmist and king of Israel wrote, “The Most High looks down from Heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek Yah. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Ps. 14:2-3). When we are born again through the new birth by repentance of sin and faith in Hamachiach, Yah imputes righteousness to us. He declares us righteous on the basis of the righteousness of His Son and we gain entrance into the Kingdom.




The Gospels calls this transaction justification. Justification is a legal term, not a religious term. It means to declare someone innocent just as if that person had never committed an offense. When we are justified in Hamachiach, we receive a royal pardon from the King. He naturalizes us as citizens of His Kingdom and all the rights, privileges, and resources of the Kingdom become ours. But we also come under the government and administration of the Kingdom and are accountable to the King.




Seeking the righteousness of Yah is extremely important because His righteousness protects us. It keeps us under the Kingdom covering. And once we are under the Kingdom covering, all the additions—“all these things”—become automatic.




Like justification, the word righteous is a legal term. It means “right positioning, to be in correct alignment with the ruling standard.” To be righteous means that we do not violate the laws of the government. A righteous person is in right standing with authority. Right standing carries with it the even deeper element of being in fellowship with that authority. As long as we abide by the laws and standards of government, we have nothing to fear. Our conscience is clear. The moment we break the law, however, our fellowship and right standing with the ruling authority is broken. We are no longer righteous.




As an example, imagine driving down the road in your car. As long as you observe the speed limit and make no moving violations, you have nothing to worry about. Penalty and punishment are the farthest things from your mind. Suppose, however, that you accidentally travel through a red light. Now what happens?




Immediately you check your mirrors to see if the police are coming after you. You broke the law. You’re guilty and you know it and you hope no one saw you. But your guilt creates tension in your mind because you know you are now out of alignment with the ruling standard.




This analogy perfectly describes the dilemma faced by the human race. None of us are righteous. We are all out of alignment with the ruling standard, with Yah’s standard. Why? Because when Adam sinned, his sinfulness passed to every succeeding generation, corrupting the entire race of man. Sin is rebellion against Yah’s Kingly authority. If we want to enter the Kingdom of Yah, our right standing with Yah must be restored. This is why Yahusha Hamachiach came to earth, not only to announce the coming of the Kingdom but also so that through His sinless death we could be made righteous in Him. Yahusha came and died so we could enter the Kingdom.




If you want to be righteous, you’ve got to submit, not to religion, but to Yahusha Hamachiach, the King who gave His blood for you. His blood cleanses the stain of rebellion and removes your guilt. He puts you back in right standing with Himself. You start driving on His side of the street. You start eating what He eats and drinking what He drinks. You begin conforming your life to His in every way possible because you are under His Kingdom. You are righteous.




Yah has committed Himself to you because you now are in right relationship with Him. To be righteous means that you are legal, lawful, in sync with the government. Nothing stands between you and the law. Therefore, you need not fear authority. If you keep the laws of Yah, He will protect you. Stay in the law and everything you need will come to you. The Bible says that even the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous (see Prov. 13:22). And who are the righteous? Those who are within the law.




PRINCIPLES




1.Our first priority—the principal and most important activity of our life—is to seek the Kingdom of Yah.




2.If we desire to know the Kingdom and its ways, the King will make sure our desire is satisfied.




3.Seeking the Kingdom is deliberate and proactive.




4.Kingdom first does not mean first among many, but first and only.




5.When Yahusha said we are to seek first the Kingdom of Yah, He was telling us to seek first the ownership of Yah over ourselves and everything we have in life.




6.We can tell which kingdom we are in by the way we live.




7.Only righteous people will enter the Kingdom.




8.When we are justified in Hamachiach, we receive a royal pardon from the King.




9.The word righteous means “right positioning, to be in correct alignment with the ruling standard.”




10.None of us are righteous.




11.Yahusha came and died so we could enter the Kingdom.

THE EXCLUSIVENESS OF DIVINE PRIORITY

Matthew chapter 6













Today we are walking in: The Exclusiveness Of Divine Priority







Today we look to the word-SEEK-H1245 baqash--to seek, require, desire, exact, request, to find, to seek to secure, to seek the face, to desire, demand














The Torah testifies...............




Genesis 37:15




And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest H1245 thou?










The prophets proclaim..................




Zephaniah 2:3




Seek H1245 ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek H1245 righteousness, seek H1245 meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.









The writings bear witness..........................




Ruth 3:1




Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek H1245 rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?







“You were not created to work for things but to manage things.”




THE EXCLUSIVENESS OF THE DIVINE PRIORITY




When Yahusha said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear,” and “Seek first [Yah’s] kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” He caused a spiritual earthquake. He turned human culture and society on their ears. With those brief words, Yahusha neatly stripped us of everything we think is important. Food, drink, clothing, shelter, cars, money, luxuries; these are the things we live for. These are the things that we get out of bed and go to work for every day. These are the things that make up the objects of most of our prayers. And it is the pursuit of these things that drives human culture and the economies of nations.




Yet, these are the very things Yahusha said we should not live for. In fact, He told us not even to worry about them. He stripped away all of our confusing, energy-draining, deceptive, distracting, misleading and misplaced priorities and left us with one simple focus: seeking the Kingdom of Yah. In so doing, He also gave us the key to a simpler, more fulfilling life. Pursuing one central priority in life instead of ten or twenty secondary ones—what could be simpler?




Furthermore, Yahusha says that when we make the Kingdom of Yah our one priority, all these other things that we have spent our lives pursuing will turn around and pursue us! They will chase us down! This is a fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Yah.




Seek first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).




This is one of the simplest statements in the Bible, yet one of the least obeyed. We are possessed by our quest for things and for the good life, while Yah is looking for Kingdom-possessed people. All who seek and gain the Kingdom of Yah also gain access to all its riches and resources. Why settle for a scrap here and there that we are able to eke out on our own when the fullness of the Kingdom with its abundant provision is available to us?




Kingdom-possessed people do not live just to make a living; they live for the Kingdom. Kingdom-possessed people do not work just to get a paycheck; they work for the Kingdom.




Kingdom-possessed people do not strive day in and day out to meet their needs; they strive continually for the Kingdom. As Kingdom citizens and children of Yah, they know that all these things already belong to them. Kingdom-possessed people understand that their lives are not for the pursuit of selfish gain but for seeking opportunities to introduce others to the Kingdom.




For Kingdom-possessed people, all of life is about the Kingdom of Yah. To be Kingdom-possessed means to have the Kingdom of Yah as our sole priority, for the Kingdom priority demands an exclusive claim on our lives. Yahusha said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both Yah and money” (Matt. 6:24).




By our Manufacturer’s design, we are not equipped to serve two masters. One will always take precedence over the other. There is room in our hearts for one and only one top priority, and Yahusha said that top priority must be the Kingdom of Yah. This is why He said we are to seek first Yah’s Kingdom and righteousness.




The Kingdom of Yah is so vast that our pursuit of it will fill us to capacity so that we have no room for other priorities. It also will satisfy us so completely that we have no need of other priorities. All the priorities that we recognize as essential or beneficial to life will be satisfied when we set our hearts to seek first the Kingdom of Yah. This is His promise to us. But He requires our exclusive allegiance. He demands from us our whole heart, our undivided loyalty.




THE PERIL OF DIVIDED LOYALTY




The gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven was the only message Yahusha preached, and at every opportunity He reiterated its exclusive nature. The Kingdom priority is exclusive with regard to the cost it exacts from us:




As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Yahusha replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:57-58).




How often do we make commitments to Yah or someone else without first considering what it will cost us in time, energy, money, or inconvenience? We make a promise without realizing what we are getting ourselves into. Later, when we find the requirements to be more than we bargained for, we bail out and end up feeling guilty and defeated because of our failure to follow through.




Like many of us, the man in this passage made a rash promise to follow Yahusha wherever He went. No doubt the man was enthusiastic and sincere, but he had not thought through the implications of his promise. Recognizing this, Yahusha tested the depth of the man’s commitment. He wanted to see how far this man truly was willing to go. Essentially, Yahusha said, “The foxes and the birds have homes but I don’t. I’m homeless; and if you follow Me you will be homeless too. You will no longer enjoy the creature comforts you are used to. Are you ready for that?”




We are not told how the man responded, but that is not important. What is important to understand is that although seeking first the Kingdom of Yah results in the most fulfilling and rewarding life possible, that does not mean it is always easy. The cost of seeking the Kingdom is great. What does the King demand from us? Everything. But the rewards are well worth the cost.




As King and Most High of the universe, Yah owns everything. This means that we own nothing. So it shouldn’t be hard for us to let go of things that don’t belong to us anyway. And because Yah owns everything, He can at any time release for our use anything He wishes. But we must first freely give Him everything we have and everything we are.




Many people follow Yahusha or “seek” the Kingdom of Yah for what they hope to get out of it. This is the exact opposite of the correct motivation, according to Yahusha. The Kingdom of Yah is not a “bless me” club. We do not follow Yah to get Him to pay our bills. We follow Him because He is our King and our heavenly Father. It is in the context of this relationship, and when our priority is right, that He takes care of us and provides for our needs. But seeking the Kingdom comes first. Let me assure you, if you get to the point where you are willing to strip yourself of everything for the sake of Yah’s Kingdom, you are on your way to the greatest life you could ever live!




The Kingdom priority is exclusive also with regard to our relationships, particularly with family:




He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Most High, first let me go and bury my father.” Yahusha said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of Yah” (Luke 9:59-60).




Yahusha called a man who appeared to be willing to follow Him but the man wanted to wait until after he buried his father. This does not mean necessarily that his father was already dead. The man felt bound by his social, legal, and moral obligation to care for his parents. In Hebrew culture, to dishonor one’s parents was a gross sin exceeded only by the sin of dishonoring Yah. Honoring one’s parents is so important that Yah established it as the fifth commandment. Only the commandment to honor Yah is more important.




Notice how Yahusha responded to the man’s request. He said, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of Yah.” Yahusha was not being dismissive of the fifth commandment or insensitive to the man’s sense of duty and responsibility. He was simply saying that no priority takes precedence over the priority of the Kingdom of Yah. The Kingdom is more important than family, friends, career, or personal ambitions. Nothing is more important than the Kingdom.




To honor Yah means to obey Him. So to postpone or turn aside from the direct call of Yah in favor of one’s family was to commit a greater sin. Yah’s promise to provide “all these things” when we seek first His Kingdom includes caring for the family we may have to leave behind in order to follow Yah’s call. If we take care of the Kingdom, the King will take care of our family.




As Yahusha continued down the road, a third man spoke to Him:




Still another said, “I will follow you, Most High; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Yahusha replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of Yah” (Luke 9:61-62).




Like the second man, this man wanted to follow Yahusha, but later, on his own terms, after taking leave of his family. Yahusha’ response revealed the divided nature of the man’s heart. The man wanted to follow Yahusha but his whole heart was not in it. He would follow, but would keep looking back to what he left behind. Those who are “fit for service in the kingdom of Yah” have laid aside all other priorities in life except for the Kingdom priority.




These two encounters reveal that the Kingdom priority takes precedence even over the demands and expectations of the family relationship. Both men who spoke to Yahusha had the same problem: divided loyalty.




They wanted to go with Yahusha and they wanted to stay home. Conflicting priorities pulled them in two directions. Their divided loyalty is revealed in how they responded to Yahusha. In both cases, they said, “Most High, first…” In the dynamic of the Kingdom of Yah, those two words never go together; they are incompatible.




The word Most High means owner or master. We cannot call Hamachiach “Most High,” and then say, “But first let me do such and such.” If He is Most High, there is no “first;” there is only “yes.” Either He owns us or He does not. Either He is our Master or He is not. The Kingdom priority does not allow for divided loyalty. It makes an exclusive claim on our lives.




THE TEST OF KINGDOM PRIORITY




Nowhere in the Bible is the exclusive claim of the Kingdom priority illustrated more clearly than in Yahusha’ encounter with a wealthy young man of influence and authority. Commonly known as the “rich young ruler,” he approached Yahusha one day with a very important question:




A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call Me good?” Yahusha answered. “No one is good—except Yah alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.




When Yahusha heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth (Luke 18:18-23).




By all the common standards of his day, this ruler who approached Yahusha was an exemplary young man. He was wealthy (believed generally to be a sign of Yah’s favor), law-abiding and upright in all his behavior; the kind of person that anyone would like to be associated with. He was even religiously devout, careful to observe and obey all the commandments.




Yahusha, however, saw what no one else would have noticed. He observed that the man was trying to serve two masters: Yah and money. This is why He told the man, “You still lack one thing.” We could do a thousand different things and still miss the most important thing. Success in the wrong assignment is failure. By any worldly measure, this man was successful. Yet he was a failure in Yahusha’ eyes because he had neglected the most important thing. His heart was divided. He was not a Kingdom-possessed man because his wealth stood in the way. Consequently, Yahusha told him, “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.” The Kingdom priority claims our all. It demands that we be completely stripped of everything before we start. There is no room in the Kingdom of Yah for a spirit of ownership.




This was precisely the young man’s problem. He believed and assumed that all his wealth belonged to him. Despite his claim to piety and his careful observance of the commandments, money was his true Yah. His heart was divided between his wealth and his desire to follow Yah, and when it came down to a choice, he chose his wealth. This is clear from his response to Yahusha’ demand: “he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.” In the end, he was unwilling to surrender his earthly treasure for treasure in Heaven. He was bound by a spirit of ownership. He failed the test of Kingdom priority.




A spirit of ownership is perhaps the greatest external sign that someone is not in the Kingdom or not yet walking in the priority of Kingdom first. As long as we continue to believe that we own our house, the car in our driveway, the clothes in our closet, the food in our refrigerator, or anything else we “possess,” we are not walking in the Kingdom priority. We are not truly seeking first the Kingdom of Yah. If Yah cannot ask for and take from us anything He wants anytime He wants without us putting up a fight, then He is not our Most High, no matter what we claim.




THE PERIL OF A SPIRIT OF OWNERSHIP




The rich young ruler went away from Yahusha sad because the price of entering the Kingdom of Yah and gaining treasure in Heaven was more than he was willing to pay. This prompted Yahusha to reiterate further to His followers the peril of a spirit of ownership:




Yahusha looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of Yah! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Yah.” Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Yahusha replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with Yah” (Luke 18:24-27).




Wealth, or more specifically, the spirit of ownership, is a hindrance to a person entering the Kingdom of Yah. The word enter, as Yahusha used it in this passage, means to “experience the true effect of.” In other words, it is hard for a rich man to experience the true effect of what Kingdom living is like because his wealth is his prison. He is so trapped by the pursuit of things that he has no time to pursue the first thing. He has become a prisoner of his own passions.




Yahusha then shocked His listeners with His statement that a camel could go through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man could enter the Kingdom of Heaven. His listeners, entrenched in the belief that wealth was a sign of Yah’s favor, asked, “Who then can be saved?” What they were really asking was, “If it is difficult for the rich (the Yah-favored) to enter the Kingdom of Yah, then what hope is there for the rest of us?” Yahusha assured them that what was impossible in the eyes of men was possible with Yah.




When Yahusha spoke of “the eye of a needle” He did not have a sewing needle in mind. In that part of the world, both then and now, the eye of a needle refers also to two wooden posts planted vertically in the ground close enough together so that a camel can squeeze between them only with difficulty. Because of the sand and the dryness of that desert environment, camels can become very dirty very quickly. The eye of a needle is used to help clean dirty camels.




First, the camel driver leads the camel between the two posts until the animal’s sides are stuck against them. Thus immobilized, the camel remains still while it receives a bath. Afterward, the driver carefully draws the still-wet camel the rest of the way through the eye of the needle. With this analogy, Yahusha was saying that although it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, it is not impossible. A spirit of ownership can keep us out, but Yah can help us let go of that spirit.




NOTHING WE GIVE UP FOR THE KINGDOM IS EVER LOST




One reason we should be able to give up the spirit of ownership is because nothing we give up for the Kingdom of Yah is ever lost. On the contrary, it is multiplied and returned to us. This too is a fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Yah. Consider this exchange between Peter and Yahusha:




Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Yahusha said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of Yah will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:28-30).




After the bombshell Yahusha dropped about the difficulty of rich people entering the Kingdom of Yah, Peter may have been feeling a little uncertain about his own status. So he reminded Yahusha that he and the rest of Yahusha disciples had left everything in order to follow Him. This may have been Peter’s not-so-subtle way of asking, “What’s in it for us?”




Yahusha’ answer reveals that the exclusive nature of the Kingdom priority is not as risky or as outrageous as it may seem at first. In essence, Yahusha says that no one who gives up everything for the Kingdom of Yah has really lost anything, because they will receive many times as much in this age, not to mention eternal life in the age to come. Nothing that we give up for the sake of the Kingdom of Yah do we lose. Nothing. The King will return it to us with more besides.




If your priority is to have a nice house, and you live and work day in and day out for that house and the mortgage, and that house is the focus of your life, Yah may let you have it, but you will miss the fullness of what He wants for you. He says, “If you exchange your priority for Mine—if you give up your priority of a house and take up my priority of the Kingdom—I’ll not only give you a house, but I’ll give you many houses!”




Whatever we give to the King for the sake of His Kingdom, He will multiply and return to us. The more we give, the more we will receive, not for our own lusts or greedy desires, but so we can seek His Kingdom even more, and help others to do so as well.




Yahusha said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The Kingdom priority is exclusive but it is not limited. Yah wants you to have “all these things;” He just doesn’t want them to have you. So forsake everything for the sake of Yah’s Kingdom. Give Him your all and He will give you “all these things.”




PRINCIPLES




1.Yah is looking for Kingdom-possessed people.




2.For Kingdom-possessed people, all of life is about the Kingdom of Yah.




3.The Kingdom priority demands an exclusive claim on our lives.




4.The Kingdom priority is exclusive with regard to the cost it exacts from us.




5.The Kingdom of Yah is not a “bless me” club.




6.The Kingdom priority is exclusive with regard to our relationships, particularly with family.




7.Nothing is more important than the Kingdom.




8.If we take care of the Kingdom, the King will take care of our family.




9.There is no room in the Kingdom of Yah for a spirit of ownership.




10.Nothing we give up for the Kingdom of Yah is ever lost. On the contrary, it is multiplied and returned to us.




11.The Kingdom priority is exclusive but it is not limited.