THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF ADDITION

Matthew chapter 6
















Today we are walking in: The Kingdom Principle of Addition













Today we look to the word-GIVE- H5414 nathan-- to give, grant, permit, ascribe, dedicate, pay wages, entrust, give over, deliver up, yield produce, report








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




Deuteronomy 3:18




And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given H5414 you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war.













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




Isaiah 40:29




He giveth H5414 power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.








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



Psalm 84:11




For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give H5414 grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.










“Hard work can make you a living, but submission to principles adds to your life.”





THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF ADDITION




A long time ago while boarding an airplane I happened to catch one of the flight attendants in a yawn. (I’m glad it wasn’t the pilot!) “Good afternoon,” I said to her. “How are you doing today?”




“I’m tired,” she answered.




“Why are you tired?”




“I have two jobs.”




“Why do you need two jobs?” I asked.




She replied, “I have to pay my bills. I like the finer things of life.”




“So, you’re sleepy?”




“Yes,” she said. “I go right from this job to my other job.”




“So when do you sleep?”




“Oh, every once in a while,” she answered. “Whenever I can.”




“Here was a person who was always running after things. Why? Because she liked “the finer things of life.” Between working two jobs and trying to grab sleep whenever possible, when did she have time to enjoy them? This flight attendant was a young woman but she already looked old, tired, and worn out. Her ceaseless pursuit of things was aging her prematurely.




Sadly, she’s not alone. Most of the people in our modern, consumer-driven culture are in the same situation. Because of their unremitting obsession with things they are perpetually tired, distracted, depressed, irritable and, if not sick already, prime candidates for stress-and anxiety-induced illness. The pursuit of things is detrimental to our health.




Yahusha said it was never meant to be this way. He said that we are not supposed to work for food or water or clothing or any of the other things we need on a regular basis. Those things are supposed to come to us in the natural course of living our lives according to Yah’s design and intention. The reason they do not is because we do not understand the Kingdom of Yah or how it works. Dispelling that misunderstanding and demonstrating how to find fulfillment without frustration is the purpose of this series.




We must understand the Kingdom of Yah in order to avoid the mistake of seeking it merely for its benefits. The Kingdom is not a tool for us to use to get things from Yah. That is not the purpose of the Kingdom. Sometimes we treat faith as if it were a lottery, that if we play it just right we will win the big jackpot. It is easy to abuse the Kingdom message the same way. Blessings and provision are a real, natural, and vital part of Kingdom life, but if we are not careful we will end up making them the object of our faith rather than its natural by-product.




Throughout this series I have told about how “all these things” will be added to those who seek first the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah. We can call this the Kingdom Principle of Addition. It is appropriate now to examine this principle of addition in greater depth. In doing so, we will better understand the King’s plan for His citizens’ provision.




THE TWO PRIORITIES OF YAH




As mentioned previously, when Yahusha came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, He neatly reduced all the issues, concerns, and strivings of humankind into two simple but profound priorities: (1) to seek the Kingdom of Yah and (2) to seek the righteousness of Yah. These two priorities are all-important; everything else is secondary. With that simple message Yahusha destroyed every reason most of us have for going to work. He stripped away the very things that motivate us to get out of bed in the morning. Instead of working to live we are supposed to work for the Kingdom. Instead of living for work we are supposed to live for righteousness. If we do these things, Yahusha promised, Yah will add everything else to us. They will come to us without our having to work or worry over them.




This is the Kingdom way of thinking and living. Yet, we are so thoroughly programmed to concern ourselves every day with our own provision that it is hard to learn to think another way. Yah wants to supply our needs, but as long as we insist on taking charge of it ourselves, we tie His hands. To put it another way, as long as we insist on doing it ourselves, we will never open the door to the abundant things of the Kingdom of Heaven. Self-sufficiency and self-effort are the wrong keys. As we saw in the previous teaching, disposition (Kingdom citizenship) and position (righteousness) are the keys that will open that door. If you want the Kingdom principle of addition to work for you, make sure first of all that you have become a Kingdom citizen through the new birth by faith in Hamachiach and, second of all, that you are living in alignment with Kingdom law. If those two things are in place, the King will add everything else to your life.




The Kingdom principle of addition operates on obedience: faithful observance of Kingdom law and clean living. These are the same standards Yah has always required of His people. Consider these words that Moses spoke to the ancient Israelites:




You will again obey the Most High and follow all His commands I am giving you today. Then the Most High your Yah will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Most High will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as He delighted in your fathers, if you obey the Most High your Yah and keep His commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Most High your Yah with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 30:8-10).




The Israelites were east of the Jordan River, ready to cross over and take possession of Canaan, the land Yah had promised to them as far back as Abraham. They have spent the last 40 years as nomads in the desert, during which time the oldest generation of them, those who were already adults when they left Egypt, have died off due to their rebellion against Yah. Now Yah is renewing His promise to this new generation, which is why Moses said, “You will again obey the Most High,” and “The Most High will again delight in you.” Yah’s renewed promise is to make them prosperous in everything they do: in their work, family life, and in their harvests. In short, Yah promises to provide for them in every way. His stipulation: that they obey His commands and love Him whole-heartedly.




The same stipulation applies to us today. We cannot expect Yah to add things to us if we are living in sin. That is why many of us fret and sweat just to pay our bills every month. We’re not living right. Our lives are out of alignment with Yah’s government. The rewards of the Kingdom on Yah’s part require right living on our part.




Worship alone is not enough. Neither is praying. Right living means making a deliberate, clean break with sin, accompanied by confession if necessary, and a resolute, careful determination to live every day in obedience to the laws of Yah. It means laying aside dishonesty, immorality, coarse or foul language, gossip, slander, backbiting, backstabbing, envy, jealousy, pride, selfish ambition, and lying. Right living means taking up a humble Ruach of submission and service to Yah in which we first love Yah with all our heart and then love our neighbor as ourselves.




THE DIVINE STRATEGY FOR PROVISION




In order to unlock Yah’s divine strategy for provision, we must first somehow break out of our traditional mind-set that says that unless we sweat and labor and strive and concentrate all our energy on our daily needs, they will not be met. Maybe that’s the way you feel. Perhaps you are struggling with this whole idea of seeking first the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah and leaving everything else to Him. All this does not mean that you don’t work to support your family; it means that you don’t obsess over meeting your needs. Instead, you seek to obey Yah in your daily life and trust Him to provide as He has promised.




Yah wants to pay your bills. He knows you need food and water and shelter. He wants you to have a nice house that is suitable for your family. He wants you to have a car. He wants you to have a bike. Yah wants to give you the desires of your heart. As a matter of fact, He wants to fulfill your highest dreams because He is the one who put those dreams in your heart. What He does not want is for you to put your dreams and desires ahead of Him. That’s why Yahusha says that all these things will be added to you.




But what exactly does “added” mean? When Yah adds to your life it means:




1.Things will be attracted to you. They will be added like a magnet.




2.Things will find you. You won’t have to chase them or hunt them down.




3.Things will come to your life. They may appear suddenly and unexpectedly and often from an unexpected source or direction.




4.Things will come without stress. Some people are so tired from working for what they want that when they finally get it they are too stressed out to enjoy it. That’s nothing but foolishness. Life is to be savored and enjoyed, not stressed over. When Yah adds to your life He will add it without stress.




5.Things will be given as a favor and reward, like a gift, not as something you earned.




6.Things will come without struggle. You won’t have to fight or compete or play “keep up with the Joneses.” When it comes, it will be effortless on your part.




7.Things will be seen as natural. When something is added to your life it will come naturally, as if it was inevitable.




8. Things will be given to you as needed. Remember, Yah adds things not for your personal benefit or selfish use alone but for fulfilling His purpose. If you don’t really need something, don’t be surprised if you do not receive it until you do need it.




9.Things will not be pursued. If you are pursuing the Kingdom and righteousness, you won’t have time to pursue other things as your highest priority. That’s why Yah will give them to you.




10.Things will not be your source. Things are commodities, tools, resources to be used to advance Yah’s Kingdom on earth. Don’t look to them as your source of happiness or self-worth or fulfillment. Yah is your source. Look to Him.