HOW TO BECOME A CITIZEN

Genesis chapter 4













Today we are walking in: How To Become A Citizen







Today we look to the word SCEPTRE-H7626-shebet- from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; a scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan: correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.








The Torah Testifies………………………….





Genesis 49:10




The sceptre H7626 shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.






Numbers 24:17




I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre H7626 shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.









The Prophets Proclaim…………………………





Ezekiel 19:4




And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre H7626 to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.





Amos 1:5




I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre H7626 from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.








The Writings witness……………………………..





Esther 8:4




Then the king held out the golden sceptre H7626 toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,





Psalm 45:6




Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre H7626 of thy kingdom is a right sceptre H7626.










The Principle and Power of Kingdom Citizenship: Keys to Experiencing Heaven on Earth by Myles Munroe






The Responsibility Of Government




The hostility toward the kingdom concept is very common, and I do not find it hard to understand. Just think of the domineering kings throughout human history. The quality of a kingdom depends on the character of the king, and if the king is corrupt, his kingdom will be corrupt as well.




Some parts of the Old Testament read like history textbooks, with lists of kings and their wars and what happened to them. Once in a while, a good king came along who reigned over a period of peace and harmony, but such rulers are rare. Most of the time, the people lived in the midst of upheaval and tumult, all because of their bad kings.




More than once, the Most High spoke through His prophets to correct royal abuses, and in general He tended to include these instructions:




*A king must fear the Most High.




*A king must not gather wealth to himself.




*Rather, a king must use his wealth to take care of the poor.




*In other words, a king must be benevolent toward his people, even loving.




Of course most kings have ignored the advice of the King of kings, carrying out their own schemes, making the same mistakes over and over. But their failure does not change the act that love is the foundation of a sound throne. The requirements for a good kingdom hinge on the disposition of the king, on his character and integrity.




Unrighteous kings, on the other hand, oppress their people. This is why we have proverbs like this one: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2). The quality of a kingdom comes down to a question of authority and how it gets exercised.




Authority




A powerful leader forces people to do what he wants. Oppressive power controls people, restricts them, masters them by means of fear of punishment. The people groan. Authority, especially divine authority, is not the same as raw power. Authority is powerful, but it is not absolute. True authority is derived from the Most High Himself.




I can think of seven qualities of true authority, and every one of them applies to a good king who exercises his governing responsibilities well:





A person of authority fears the Most High and submits to Him. A leader’s personal submission to the Most High ensures that authority will not be exercised abusively. For example, a pastor who fears the Most High and submits to Him will never take advantage of a woman or a child sexually, even though he is stronger and more powerful than they are. He fears One who is greater than he is, and he submits to His commandments.




2. A person of authority has high morals and personal discipline. Fear of the Most High leads to a morally upright, ordered lifestyle.




3. People eulate a person of authority. People admire and want to imitate that kind of lifestyle. This makes leadership easier. A good example of this use of authority is parenthood. The model of the parents’ good behavior becomes a standard for the child’s behavior.




4. A person of authority does not seek to benefit from someone else’s success. He or she will rejoice about someone’s success, but the person in authority will not infringe on it for personal profit.




5. A person of authority does not use other people to promote him/herself. Similarly, the authority figure will not try to ride on the coattails of someone else's success, using it to improve public perception of his or her effectiveness.




6. A person of authority does not expect anything from other people except their own success. People should not have to support a leader financially or in any other regard.




7. A person of authority wants the people under him to become great. He wants people to achieve more than he has. Yahusha Himself said, “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Abba.” (John 14:12)




When the person in authority is a king, all of the citizens benefit. The people in his kingdom do not need to waste time or effort defending themselves from his abuses and exploitations. The people are happy to serve his government. The entire nation rejoices and flourishes.




Governments Protect Their Citizens




It is a fact of citizenship that all reputable governments, whether they are kingdoms or some other form of government, protect their citizens from harm. Even when people are not within the borders of the country, their government takes responsibility for their welfare.




When two American missionaries were detained in an Asian country, the US Navy moved ships into the nearest port. Military helicopters were mobilized. Diplomatic messages flew back and forth. It became a matter of international urgency, even a potential cause of war--simply because they were American citizens and they were in trouble in a foreign land. When one young Israeli soldier was captured by the Palestinians, the “incident” drew worldwide concern as it escalated tension between the two governments. The government of Israel, concerned for his welfare, negotiated for five long years before they could arrange for his release, at great expense and increased risk.




If this is true of governments in general, how much more is it true in the all-powerful, love-motivated Kingdom of the Most High? When Kingdom citizens are under attack, the King rises up to defend them. Why else, for instance, would He have spoken to saul on the road to Damascus in the way He did: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Saul did not know he was persecuting the Most High. He was pursuing individual believers, not thinking that their King would rise to their defence against him. The King was taking it personally.




A King Is Responsible For Citizens’ Welfare




A good king is personally responsible for the welfare of every citizen. This is not the case in a democracy. In a democracy, the leaders--the president or prime minister, the congressmen, the state or small town government, the city mayor or district councils--non of the lose any sleep if some of their citizens can’t pay their light bill. When the electric company cuts off the power to those people’s homes, the president still goes to sleep at night in his nice bed without worrying about those citizens. It is every man for himself, for better or for worse.




This cannot happen in a kingdom, because the king’s reputation is tied to his people’s welfare. He becomes personally embarrassed when any of his citizens are broke. He does not want them to have to ask for bread and water, because it makes him look negligent. It is as if they are telling the world that he had failed in his responsibilities, he has forgotten his promises, and he does not have the resources in the first place.




Have you ever wondered about Yahusha’s famous teaching about not worrying about personal provision? Read this with the Kingdom in mind:
Matthew 6:25-33 King James Version (KJV) 25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.




You see, Yahusha was almost in disbelief that anybody in His Kingdom would worry about such things. He needs to remind people that He is more than able to provide everything you need. Their fretfulness sends a message that they do not believe He wants to do it. They should not be so worried, because they are citizens of the Kingdom.




He invites everyone to the most important benefits to their Kingdom citizenship:
Matthew 11:28-30 King James Version (KJV) 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.




The King considers your welfare His responsibility. In the Kingdom, the King has a personal interest in your mortgage payment. I do not know how He does it, but He takes a concern in every citizen, personally. He visits each one of us and lives with us, following through with every provision that we need. He knows what each one of us is feeling. He can figure out our biggest needs. He is doing it right now, and He does it day and night.




In the Kingdom, the King is bound by His own laws to take care of His citizens. How many times in the Bible do we read something like this? “Here’s what I will do, because I promised to take care of you.” Even when He feels exasperated with His people, He feeds them and guides them as a shepherd guides his sheep.




Abraham knew about this when he tried to persuade the Most High not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because his nephew Lot lived there. He knew that the Kingdom constitution (Scripture) said that the Most High would never destroy the righteous with the wicked. So he kept coming back to the Most High: “If you can find fifty rightous people in the city, you cannot destroy it...fourty, thirty….” He went down to ten people but even that small number could not be found. At least he bought enough time to get Lot and his wife and daughters out of harm’s way before the rest of the wicked city was destroyed by a firestorm. (Genesis 18:22-33; 19:1-29)




I wonder how many people in each of our families could be saved if we knew our constitutional rights? The Bible says, “The seed of the righteous will be delivered” (Proverbs 11:21). That means we can claim our children for the Kingdom, even if at present they are wandering far away like the Prodigal Son.




Protection On Foreign Soil




I made a point in the previous teaching describing the power of a passport. A passport-carrying citizen has immunity from all sorts of problems when he or she is away from home.




With a passport, you have the authorization to “pass the port.” A port refers not only to the place where ships dock, but also the airport, the customs booth along the highway, or in the case of a Kingdom citizen, the “port” of Heaven. Your passport enables you to move from on jurisdiction to another with freedom.

Because the passport is actually the property of the government of that citizen, the entire power of that government lies at the passport-holder’s disposal. Most of the time, people take their passports for granted. But when they have a problem on foreign soil, suddenly they do not.




For a Kingdom citizen, this means that you have the full protection of Heaven regardless of what happens around you. You can always be sure that your government and your King are looking after your safety as well as your every provision.




The Kingdom takes care of its own in the here and now, not just in the future, by and by. Yes, Kingdom citizenship carries with it a guarantee of Heaven, but in the meantime you get a personal security escort from the King and his angels.




You have citizenship, so you have a passport that list all of the promises and provisions of your government. You do not have to go home to your country (Heaven) to be blessed. You do not even need to be in Heaven to experience freedom from pressure and problems. You can have it all right now.




Until I knew about the way the Kingdom works, I never could understand that Yahusha meant when He said this: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42).




Now I understand that Yahusha was making a threat. In essence, He was saying, “If you dare touch one of my citizens, you had better commit suicide before I arrive to deal with you.” Anyone who tries to hurt a Kingdom citizen triggers the King’s anger.

Deep in the Kingdom constitution (2 Chronicles 16:9), you can find this line:




For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.




If your heart is right before Him, He is watching over you. When you think you are alone, stuck in traffic with all the other drivers acting like they are crazy, you have got all of Heaven watching to make sure you are okay.




You can also count on this one:

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (Psalm 91:11).




Don’t wonder why citizens of the Kingdom can go anywhere with confidence and peace; it is because they do not have to worry about taking care of themselves.




The government of the Kingdom takes care of its citizens when their earthly governments turn against them. Daniel’s earthly government put him in a lion’s den, but the Most High’s government put the lions to sleep (Daniel 6). Paul’s earthly government locked him up in a Philippian prison, but the Most High’s government sent an earthquake to set him free (Acts 16). Your government may fire you from your job, but the Kigndom government will pay your bills while you are unemployed. The government of Heaven exercised diving power on behalf of its citizens.




The Most High interrupts evil activities all the time. You don’t know about it, because nothing happens to you after all, and you do not know something got interrupted. When Saul was breathing murderous threats against the Kingdom citizens in Damascus, he definitely got interrupted. I wonder if those citizens even knew they had been first targeted and then preserved. That is something to think about.




“Father, Do Not Take Them Out Of The World…”




Now even a child knows that we are not living in Heaven yet. Regardless of how many times the King protects his own, citizens of the Kingdom do suffer persecution, mishaps, illnesses, financial hardship, hunger and more.




During the first century, believers in Yahusha got driven out of town and killed. They had their houses burned down because they believed in Yahusha. As time went on, the Roman Empire clashed with the Kingdom again and again. Believers were brutally murdered. It is still happeing in some places around the world.




No wonder the early Church prayed, “Come quickly, Lord Yahudha!” (Revelation 22:12, 20). If you were living under those conditions, you would want Maschiach to come right away too.




Yahusha prayed to His Abba on behalf of believers, but He did not pray that they would escape every hardship. Instead, He prayed:

John 17:15-18 King James Version (KJV)

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

In our time, we have built a belief system that is afraid of tough times. We want relief from the pressure. We forget that we too have been sent into the world; we are colonists of the Kingdom, sent to subdue and dominate the evil one, one victory at a time. In the midst of the battles, it must be possible to be kept free in our spirits from the clutches of evil, even as we may suffer in our bodies, because Yahusha prayed for us to be kept from the evil one. Therefore it is possible to live right to the end of life, preserved from the evil one’s impact and influence. It is possible to brush aside fear of evil, because we know that our King is stronger than anything the evil one can throw at us.




Our King has obligated Himself to provide total defensive coverage to His citizens. He wins every time. He never leaves us to our own devices, although we often think we are on our own. Remember when Yahusha was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. His disciples were with Him. Peter grabbed a sword because he thought, “Most High needs help!”




And he cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 18). Yahusah took time to heal it. Peter should not have done that. Shortly afterward, Yahusha stood before Pilate and He explained,

John 18:36 King James Version (KJV)

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.




Yahusha did not call His disciples or the messengers to deliver Him, because the whole reason He had to come to the Earth was to suffer and die on that crucifixion stake. Yahusha was a king to the end, exercising his kingly dominion by not interfering with the plan of the Most High, and giving generations of believers courage to face whatever they had to for the sake of the Kingdom.




Citizens’ Authority




Following from all that we have discussed in this teaching, we can see that the government of the Most High invents its citizens with divine authority. The King gave it to them. He takes a measure of His own absolute authority and He bestows it on the people who live under His authority.




Unless the King gives it, the transfer cannot occur. He considers His responsibility to apportion His powerful authority to the ones to whom He has given assignments. This authority brings with it all of the strength, the stagties, and the wisdom necessary to fulfill the King’s assignments.




Yahusha’s coming to Earth signaled a new level of the transfer of Kingdom authority. He started with His twelve disciples:

Matthew 10:1 King James Version (KJV)

10 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Later He spoke of the authority He was giving to all believers: Here's how the Message version of Scripture puts it:




See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in the Most High’s authority over you and presence with you. (Luke 10:19, The Message)




He gives His citizens authorization to destroy the works of the evil one. In this way, the King enlarges His Kingdom. He extends the purpose for which He came to Earth to His colonist-citizens: “For this purpose the Son of the Most High was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). From the time we become citizens of the Kingdom, it is our job, too and we need the appropriate divine authority to do it. He gives his citizens authority to go to the root of problems--the evil ruler of the world.




Yahusha was going to be leaving the Earth for the time being. But, as He told His disciples, He was not going to leave them orphans (John 14:18). He was sending His Spirit to swell in them, and subsequently in us. Through His Spirit and in His authorivice name, we would be able to overcome the world (John 16).




This heavenly authority is the foundation of all the benefits and privileges that come with citizenship in the Kingdom. The government of the Kingdom takes responsibility for granting it to each of its citizens, and the key to retaining it is righteousness on the part of the citizens. We have described how important it is to remain in right legal standing with the government if you expect to stay out of trouble; people who break the law lose certain privileges. But upright citizens do not have anything to worry about. Quite naturally, they can enjoy the benefits and privileges that come with their citizenship, without begging or bargaining for them.




We will see more how this works in the next session of this series.