THE GOVERNOR’S CULTURE

Acts chapter 1







Today we are walking in: The Governor’s Culture




Joel 2:28




And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit H7307 upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:





SPIRIT






Today we look to the word-SPIRIT- H7307-RUWACH-wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being:—air, anger, blast, breath,







The Torah Testifies……………………….




Genesis 1:2




And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit H7307 of God moved upon the face of the waters.






Genesis 6:3




And the LORD said, My spirit H7307 shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.





Exodus 28:3




And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit H7307 of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.










The Prophets Proclaim……………………….





Isaiah 31:3




Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit H7307. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.





Ezekiel 2:2




And the spirit H7307 entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.






Haggai 1:14




And the LORD stirred up the spirit H7307 of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit H7307 of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit H7307 of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,









The Writings Witness………………………..




Job 10:12




Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit H7307.





Psalm 34:18




The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. H7307





Proverbs 15:4




A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit H7307.




The Governor’s Culture




Your culture reveals your origin.




The Governor’s Qualities of the King




We should always keep in mind that the culture of the kingdom of heaven is synonymous with the nature of the King. When we talk about the characteristics of the Ruach HaQadesh and his culture, we are talking about the qualities of the King himself. Since the role of a governor is only to represent the king, we should be able to look at a governor’s temperament and the way he acts, and conclude what the king is like. Likewise, since the Ruach HaQadesh reflects the qualities of the heavenly King, his characteristics are the personification of the King’s nature.




This concept is familiar to us from everyday life. If we sit down to eat in a restaurant and the waiter is rude and inattentive, it will negatively reflect our perception of the whole environment of the restaurant. However, if we go into a shoe store and find an extremely knowledgeable and patient salesperson who helps us find exactly what we need, we will have a favorable attitude toward the company he represents. The manner in which a person serves on behalf of another person, business, or institution inevitably contributes to the perception we have of that person, business, or institution.




The King’s Character Determines the State of the Kingdom




A country’s culture may be summed up as its national character. It is the combination of its beliefs, attitudes, values, conventions, practices, and characteristics. In a kingdom, the monarch’s character and characteristics were vastly important because they influenced and often determined the state of the environment over which he ruled. They created what life was like in the kingdom. The wise King Solomon wrote,




Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people. A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment.




When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan.




In other words, when the character of a leader is a certain way, it can affect the experience of his whole country. We see this played out in the history of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, which eventually split into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The character of various kings influenced the people for evil or for good. For example, in the first book of Kings, we read, “Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel..., and he reigned over Israel two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Most High, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.” The epitaph about Jeroboam was that his actions “provoked the Most High, the Yah of Israel, to anger.” Jeroboam had caused the people of Israel to worship idols rather than the Most High, and he had appointed as priest anyone who wanted to be one, rather than appointing only Levites, as Yah had commanded. His son Nadab clearly followed in his footsteps.




We also read in the first book of Kings that another king,




Ahab...did more evil in the eyes of the Most High than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam...but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Most High, the Yah of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.




The things that Jeroboam had done, which had so angered the Most High, Ahab considered trivial, and he did more evil than any of the kings who had preceded him! Evil leadership continued through the line of the kings of Israel, and the people also continued to do evil. The second book of Kings reports that the people experienced only misery as a result: “The Most High had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them.”




In Judah, however, we see the example of King Hezekiah, whom the second book of Kings describes in this way:




He did what was right in the eyes of the Most High, just as his father David had done....Hezekiah trusted in the Most High, the Yah of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Most High and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Most High had given Moses. And the Most High was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.




The book of 2 Kings gives an account of how the Most High delivered the people of Judah from a boastful, vengeful enemy, and how the people listened to Hezekiah when he told them how to deal with the situation. If they hadn’t trusted Hezekiah and his example of faithfulness to the Most High, they would have fallen into their enemy’s trap.




The key to a successful kingdom is the good character of its king. Likewise, the character of the heavenly Governor determines the environment of the kingdom of Yah on earth. Again, his character is exactly the same as the character of the King. He represents the nature and manners of the King in the colony.




The King wants us to understand the nature of his kingdom, so that we can trust it and what it means to live in it. This is one reason why Yahusha kept giving his followers descriptions of what he is like. He would say things such as these:




I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.




I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.




Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.




Yahusha wanted to emphasize his nature because other kings and leaders of his day exhibited the opposite character. For example, his disciples were once disputing about which of them was the greatest and deserved the highest honors. Yahusha used this argument as an occasion to explain the nature of the heavenly kingdom. This is his statement from the book of Matthew:




You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Most High it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.




In this way, and in many other ways, Yahusha kept trying to teach them that the kingdom of Yah was radically different from the kingdom of darkness they had been living under. He wanted to express the qualities and characteristics of the King to thoroughly acquaint them with their benevolent Ruler.




The whole idea of knowing the nature of the King is critical to Yahusha’ statement, “The kingdom of heaven is near.” He is inviting us to become citizens of a specific kingdom, and he wants to reassure us of the nature of this kingdom.




The Qualities of the Ruach HaQadesh: Growing Kingdom Culture




Paul desired to instill the nature of the heavenly kingdom in the lives of its first-century citizens, who were learning what it meant for them to be realigned with the King. In his letter to kingdom citizens in Galatia, he made a list of essential qualities that make up the character of the King:




• Love




• Joy




• Peace




• Patience




• Kindness




• Goodness




• Faithfulness




• Gentleness




• Self-control




Any true manifestation of the kingdom of Yah on earth will have these characteristics. Paul referred to these qualities as “the fruit of the Ruach.” He was saying that, wherever the Governor was, these qualities should be evident, indicating that the culture of the King was present.




Paul used this particular analogy of fruit because fruit doesn’t appear overnight; it develops over time, and he wanted them to know that they would have to cultivate the culture of the King in their lives, under the example and leading of the Governor. First, the Governor teaches us the nature of the original government in heaven. Then he shows us that, because he lives within us, we have this original nature and need to manifest it in our lives.




When you receive the Ruach HaQadesh, you also receive the seed of kingdom nature. You develop this seed by putting into your life the kingdom elements that allow it to grow. For example, an apple tree doesn’t have to “work” to produce its fruit. The seeds of the fruit are within it, and eventually, through a process of maturity, enabled by elements such as the nutrients in the ground and sunlight, what is on the inside of the tree becomes manifested on its branches. The spiritual nutrients that enable the fruit to grow in our lives are maintaining a continual connection with the King, learning the Constitution of the kingdom, which is the Scripture, and yielding to the direction of the Governor in our lives.




Just as apples are a natural outgrowth of apple trees, the fruit of the Ruach becomes a natural development in the life of a kingdom citizen because he is reflecting the nature of his King.




For example, one of the fruits of the Ruach is goodness. It is therefore natural for us to be good if we’re in the kingdom. If we are not good, we are unnatural. The Governor connects us to our original nature, which is true life for us as human beings.




The qualities or fruit of the Ruach embody the King’s culture so that, first of all, we see that it is a culture of love, a culture of joy, and a culture of peace. Imagine a culture filled with all the qualities in the above list! It’s our culture to be faithful—to be loyal to our commitments. It’s our culture to be gentle. We’re never brash or rude with other people. As Yahusha said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” It’s our culture to be self-controlled. We never lose control of our tempers or our desires. No matter what happens in our lives, we still live out and exhibit all these qualities.




When we have the Royal Governor resident within us, therefore, he renovates our lives by enabling us to reflect the nature of the King. He changes our personal culture by giving us a new perspective on life and a new “kingdom educational curriculum”; he causes us to have the mind-set of the King. He retrains us in how to think, how to talk, and how to walk.




Culture Reveals Origin




Your culture should reveal your origin. The way you behave, the way you respond to others, the way you react to problems, and the way you deal with disappointments should all reveal the culture of heaven. The qualities of the Ruach within you define the uniqueness of your nature. Your unique nature then links you to your heavenly heritage.




Earlier, we talked about how people’s distinct mannerisms and traits lead us to instantly recognize what country they are from. You see someone and you say, “That person is an Australian.” The same thing is true for citizens of any country. There are certain things that only Australians would say or do in a certain way. People should have the same experience in regard to those who represent heaven on earth. They should look at our behavior and be able to say, “You come from the heavenly kingdom.” Yahusha said, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” Being in the kingdom is a matter of dynamic change into the nature of the King. If the Governor lives in you, you cannot enjoy living in rebellion against the King. Doing so feels uncomfortable and unnatural.




Culture Clash




When you become realigned with the kingdom of heaven, you essentially now live in two worlds or kingdoms. The invisible kingdom of Yah lives within you through the presence of the Governor. The human kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, is all around you. In addition, remnants of the rebellious nature are still present in your life and need to be rooted out.




We are therefore faced with a choice of which kingdom and its culture we are going to yield to. Paul encouraged the first- century kingdom citizens in Philippi to keep their focus on the heavenly kingdom because “our citizenship is in heaven.” Following his list of the fruit of the Ruach, he told the Galatians, “Those who belong to Hamachiach Yahusha have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Ruach, let us keep in step with the Ruach.” The disciple John encouraged Yahusha’ followers, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” In other words, the power of the Governor within you exponentially exceeds the power of the kingdom of the world around you.




We often experience a clash of these cultures, especially within our own families. Let me illustrate with another example from kingdom and colony. The majority of the people who live in Caribbean nations are black. Many are related because their ancestors came from the same villages in Africa when they were brought to the Caribbean as slaves. People from the same family were often separated, sold to owners in different colonial kingdoms. So you have people who belong to the same family, but depending on what kingdom they fell under, they took on the language and customs of that kingdom so that, today, the descendents of a single family can’t even communicate with one another. They don’t know each other’s language.




While this was a tragic consequence of colonialism, you may have a similar experience when you enter the kingdom of Yah and take on an entirely different culture. Because you exhibit the evidence of a changed life, your own family members—people you grew up with—may no longer understand you or why you act in the way you do. They notice that you’ve changed your language, and your friendships. They see that you’ve stopped doing things that are against the heavenly kingdom. The proof that you are in the kingdom is that you are living the lifestyle of a different culture.




Living by the Ruach




Sometimes, we try to have one foot in the kingdom of heaven and one foot in the kingdom of the world. We want the Governor to look the other way while we behave according to a culture that is foreign to the King’s. Yet Paul wrote to the Galatians,




Live by the Ruach, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Ruach, and the Ruach what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Ruach, you are not under law.







Paul went on to catalog the culture of the rebellious nature:




The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of Yah.




The word inherit here implies living in or experiencing the kingdom. The culture of heaven and the culture of the world are opposites; you cannot experience the kingdom of heaven if you are living according to a foreign culture.




Since the Governor’s role is to convert the citizens to live as the King does, when we act according to the culture of darkness, he rebukes and corrects us. He does this in two ways. First, he uses the internal warning system of our consciences. Second, he reminds us of the teachings of the King. He brings to our minds what is recorded in the Constitution of the kingdom, or the written record of the King’s words and ways, the Scriptures. Paul wrote that we no longer live “under law.” In other words, our trying to follow strict dos and don’ts doesn’t work. Only a changed nature causes us to live as the King lives. And the Governor gives us this new nature and enables us to follow it.




Remember “The Speech from the Throne,” through which the royal governor would read the queen’s will for the Bahamas for the coming year? The Scriptures are a major component of The Speech from the Heavenly Throne, and as we become familiar with them, the Governor teaches and reminds us of the King’s will. He tells us, “You’re planning to do this, but that’s not what the King says is good for you. That’s not written in the Speech from the Throne.” The Ruach HaQadesh will only speak in accordance with what is in the Speech because it’s the King’s mind. And again, our job is to say, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Yahusha said, “The Ruach gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Ruach and they are life.”




You must remember that you are under a new Master Teacher, Yahusha Hamachiach. You are under a new philosophy of life. You are a student of a new curriculum. You are a steward of a new ideology. You have abandoned all other schools and have submitted yourself totally to the kingdom school. And the Governor is your private teacher, enabling you to internalize and manifest the teaching of the King. He is like a royal tutor, instilling the nature of the kingdom into the king’s children. We have to be trained in what it means to be heirs in the heavenly kingdom.




The Governor begins by teaching us to relate to the Creator as our Father again, so that we can call him, “Abba, Father,” just as the King-Son did. This relationship enables us to be remade in the image of our Creator. It is because of the rebellion that we lost our capacity to manifest his nature. That nature has been distorted in us because of our former association with the kingdom of darkness. The Governor has the challenging job of teaching us to be what we were originally created to be.




The qualities or fruit of the Ruach that we have been looking at are not only what the King does; they are what he is. The King doesn’t only act in love; he is love. He doesn’t only demonstrate peace; he is peace. And every aspect of the King’s nature is what we are to be in our essence, as well. This is what Yahusha meant when he said, as recorded in the book of Matthew, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”




Realizing that we are to reflect the nature of our King- Father causes us to watch what we allow to enter the personal culture of our spirits, souls, and bodies. Paul wrote to the kingdom citizens in the city of Corinth, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Ruach HaQadesh, who is in you, whom you have received from Yah? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor Yah with your body.” Paul was saying, in effect, “Don’t you know that your body is the Governor’s mansion? He is holy, and he lives in you; therefore, you need to keep the residence clean for him and in accordance with his nature. Yahusha paid for the redemption of your Ruach, soul, and body, so that the Governor could live within you. Therefore, as steward of the Governor’s mansion, you should honor it by taking care of it.”




Yahusha taught, “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.” The culture of the world enters our lives through our eyes and ears. Whatever we watch on television or the Internet, or read in a book, affects the quality of our inner, personal culture. Whatever we keep listening to influences our lives. We must not allow a destructive culture to invade and destroy our lives and our work for the heavenly kingdom.




Being a kingdom citizen requires that we exist in some degree of tension because we live in the midst of a culture of rebellion and death. Our old culture is fighting with the demands of the new culture. Yet we live here for the purpose of spreading the kingdom of light and pushing back the kingdom of darkness. This is why Yahusha prayed to the Father, just before he died, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it....As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”




Even as we live in this tension, therefore, we live in the reality of the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the heavenly kingdom. Paul wrote to the kingdom citizens living in Ephesus,




You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the Ruach who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, Yah, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Hamachiach even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And Yah raised us up with Hamachiach and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Hamachiach Yahusha....For we are Yah’s workmanship, created in Hamachiach Yahusha to do good works, which Yah prepared in advance for us to do.




Though we live on earth, we are also seated in the heavenly realms with the King who has brought us to live in his heavenly kingdom, and we have all the resources of this kingdom to enable us to live out the culture of the kingdom on earth. Yahusha told his disciples, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”




The Gifts of the Ruach: The Power of Kingdom Culture




When the Ruach was poured out on the day of Pentecost, kingdom citizens were given the Governor’s power, with various kingdom abilities, to promote kingdom culture on earth. These abilities are known as “the gifts of the Ruach.” The fruit has to do with the character of the King. It is the development of the King’s nature within us. The gifts have to do with the power of the King. One is character, the other is ability, but both are necessary for the kingdom life. Some of these abilities are the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, and prophecy. We will take a closer look at these gifts in another teaching. However, we should note here that while character develops over time, ability-power from the Governor can be received immediately after a person realigns with the King and receives the outpouring of the Ruach in his life.




With these gifts of power comes great responsibility. Character is more important than power because it protects our use of that power. It keeps us from using it for the wrong motivations and purposes. It prevents us from using our power to hurt others rather than to help them.




Everyone wants power, and when we are offered it, we don’t often think about the need to regulate it. Many people seek power without realizing how critical it is for them to develop the essential qualities of the kingdom at the same time. It is easier to receive the gifts of the Ruach than it is to develop the fruit of the Ruach. It is easier to obtain the power of Yah than it is to develop the character of Yah. Therefore, we must develop the qualities—such as love, kindness, and self-control—because they will moderate our use of the gifts.




Both the qualities and the gifts are important, therefore, but the qualities are vital because power without character is dangerous. A balance between the two is a challenge for all kingdom citizens. I believe this is why Yahusha spent three-and- a-half years teaching his disciples how to live, how to think, and how to act as kingdom citizens. He trained them first, and then they received the power of the heavenly government through the outpouring of the Ruach at Pentecost. He also told them that, after he had returned to the Father, the Governor would continue to train them because being transformed into the culture of the kingdom is an ongoing, lifelong process.




The Influence of Culture




Ultimately, culture is spread through influence, and the qualities and gifts of the Ruach are the influence of the kingdom on earth. As we allow the Governor to transform our lives into the nature of the King, and as we demonstrate his power, our lives will have an effect on others. This is how the kingdom of heaven will spread on the earth. When Peter explained that the outpouring of the Ruach at Pentecost was the fulfillment of the King’s promise, the impact on the people who had gathered there was powerful:




Those who accepted [Peter’s] message [about the kingdom] were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising Yah and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Most High added to their number daily those who were being saved.




That is quite a picture of cultural transformation! The public impact of the believers’ love, sharing, teaching, and demonstrations of kingdom power, as a reflection of the culture of the kingdom, led to their having favor with all the people who witnessed their new kingdom lifestyle. And the influence of the kingdom of heaven on earth grew daily.




As vice governors under the Royal Governor, we serve as ambassadors of kingdom culture. Kingdom influence will grow from personal commitment to community transformation to national impact to worldwide conversion. But it begins with one person who exchanges the culture of darkness for the kingdom of life and light. With which kingdom are you aligned right now?