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.