THE POWER OF THE GARDEN PRINCIPLE

2 Peter chapter 3






Today we are walking in: The Power Of The Garden Principle








Job 34:16




If now thou hast understanding, hear H8085 this: hearken to the voice of my words.

























UNDERSTAND







Today we look to the word-UNDERSTAND- H8085 shama`--to hear with attention or interest, listen to understand (language)






















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




Genesis 11:7




Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand H8085 one another's speech.






















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




Nehemiah 8:2




And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear H8085 with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

























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




1 Kings 3:9




Give therefore thy servant an understanding H8085 heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?






Chapter Two


THE POWER OF THE GARDEN PRINCIPLE


BETWEEN the time when Adam and Eve lost the earthly
outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven to satan the pretender and the time when Yahusha Hamachiach appeared announcing its restoration, thousands of years passed. Why did Yah wait so long before reestablishing His Kingdom on Earth? Why did He allow so much time to pass? Why was Hamachiach born in the particular time in history in which He appeared? Why not earlier—or later?


In answering these questions, we must understand first of all that Yah views time and history differently than we humans do because He is bound by neither. From the perspective of eternity, Yah can take all the “time” He needs to accomplish His purposes. Simon Peter, one of Christ’s apostles, put it this way:


But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with Yahuah as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Yahuah is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. KEPHA SHENIY (2 PETER) 3:8-9 את CEPHER.


Second of all, Yah waited until He had guided human history to the place where optimal conditions existed for the earthly arrival of His Son and the announcement of the return of His Kingdom on Earth—what the Bible calls the “fullness” of time:


But when the fulness of the time was come, Elohiym sent forth his Son, who was born of a woman, and subject to the Law, To redeem them את that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. GALATIYM (GALATIANS) 4:4-5 את CEPHER.


In other words, Yahusha Hamachiach came at exactly the right time. Why was the time right? Because when Yahusha appeared announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven was near—that Yah was once again expanding His heavenly government into the earthly sphere—those who heard His words had only to look around them to see a tangible example of the kind of kingdom and the kind of expansion Yah had in mind.


WHEN IN ROME...


Everywhere they turned, the people of Palestine in Yahusha’ day saw the pervasive, mighty hand of Rome directing their everyday lives. The Roman Empire was the most powerful kingdom in history, far outstripping in extent, strength, and splendor all other kingdoms that had preceded it. Furthermore, the kingdom of Rome was the first human kingdom to qualify as an adequate illustration and model, however imperfect, of Yah’s plan for Kingdom expansion.


Earlier empires, such as the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Medo-Persian empires, expanded through the process of invasion, conquest, destruction, and enslavement. Their invading armies would sweep into a region, destroy its army, lay waste to its cities, tear down its infrastructure, and slaughter its people. Most of those who were not killed outright were enslaved and taken away from their own country to the home territory of the conquering power. This is exactly what happened to the Northern Kingdom of Israel when it fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. and to the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 587 B.C. when the Babylonians invaded.


Rome, however, followed a different kingdom-expansion strategy. Instead of wreaking widespread destruction and slaughter in a newly conquered territory, the Romans recognized the wisdom and value of preserving the people and leaving their infrastructure intact. While a Roman occupation army maintained order, Roman citizens and government officials were sent in to establish Roman government in the new territory. Their job was to reproduce the culture and society of Rome, to teach the conquered people to think, act, and live like Romans. Thus, the Roman Empire was the first human kingdom to practice colonization to any significant degree. In so doing, it also became the first human kingdom to illustrate by example the process by which Yah wanted to reproduce the Kingdom and culture of Heaven throughout the earthly realm.


Yahusha Hamachiach Himself certainly acknowledged the legitimacy of Rome’s authority in human government. One day Yahusha’ enemies tried to trap Him with a religiously and politically motivated question, asking Him whether or not it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. His answer surprised them:


“show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Qeycar's. Then says he unto them, Render את therefore unto Qeycar the things which are Qeycar's; and את unto Elohiym the things that are Elohiym's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 22:19-22 את CEPHER.


Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Yahusha, and said unto him, Are you the King of the Yahudiym? Yahusha answered him, Say you this thing of yourself, or did others tell it you of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Yahudiy? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you unto me: what have you done? Yahusha 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 Yahudiym: but now is my Kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Are you a King then? Yahusha answered, You say that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Everyone that is of the Truth hears my voice. Pilate said unto him, What is Truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Yahudiym, and said unto them, I find in him no fault at all. YOCHANON (JOHN) 18:33-38 את CEPHER.


Yah waited to send His Son to the Earth until an earthly kingdom appeared that looked, however imperfectly, like His own, so that when Yahusha preached about the Kingdom, everyone would know what He was talking about. Hamachiach came at the right time, into the right setting, into the right culture, into the right kingdom, and into the right environment because He was preaching exactly what was happening in the world under the Roman Empire.


...DO AS THE ROMANS DO


Another way Yahusha acknowledged the legitimacy of the Roman form of government was demonstrated by the fact that He used a portion of that form as a model for establishing His own government on Earth—His Church.
Whenever the Romans set up their government in a new territory, they sent a procurator, or governor, to rule the province in the name and authority of the emperor. At the time of Yahusha’ public ministry, Pontius Pilate was the procurator of Judea. In addition, the Romans borrowed many ideas of government from the Greeks, modified them, and made them their own. One of these was the idea of a “called-out” assembly of citizens who met democratically over matters of common concern. This was, essentially, the structure of the Roman Senate. The Greek word for this assembly of citizens is ekklesia, which literally means, “called-out ones.” Both the word and the concept would have been familiar to the people of Yahusha’ day—the concept, because they saw it in action regularly in everyday government; and the word, because of its frequent appearance in the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was in common use in Yahusha’ day— where it referred specifically to the children of Yah.


The ekklesia was an arm of government that helped the governor administer the policies of Rome. The job of these citizens was to help ensure that the policies and decrees of Rome passed down to them through the governor were enacted and enforced throughout the region of their jurisdiction.


In English, especially in English-language Bibles, ekklesia is translated as “church.” It was this government agency (not a religious body!) that Yahusha chose as the model for His own ekklesia of “called-out” followers, His government on Earth:


When Yahusha came into the coasts of Qeycaryah Philippi, he asked his Talmidiym, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of A'dam am? And they said, Some say that you are Yahuchanon the Baptizer: some, Eliyahu; and others, Yirmeyahu, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Shim`on Kepha answered and said, You are Ha'mashiach, the Son of the living Elohiym. And Yahusha answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Shim`on Baryonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto you, That you are Kepha, and upon this Rock I will rebuild my called out assembly; and the gates of She'ol shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 16:13-19 את CEPHER.


So Christ’s Body on Earth, His Church, is not a religious body but a governmental body. Yahusha’ commission from His


Father was to announce and reestablish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and to open the doorway into it through His death for the sins of humankind, and through His resurrection. Accordingly, He has commissioned His ekklesia to spread the Kingdom’s influence, culture, and government throughout the world or, in the imagery of Chapter One, to plant Kingdom “gardens” all over the Earth to transform the world into the likeness of Heaven.
Yahusha did not come to Earth to found a religion, and the ekklesia He established was never intended to be a religious body. Yet satan the pretender, desperate to maintain his illegal rulership over the earthly domain, has worked tirelessly over the centuries to reduce Yahusha in the minds of people to a mere religious leader and His Church to a divided and largely ineffective religious institution. Both of these concepts are seriously distorted. Yahusha was not a religious leader; He was a government agent on diplomatic assignment. The Church He established is not a religious institution but a governmental agency charged with publicizing and implementing Kingdom principles and policies throughout the Earth.


Yahusha made this assignment very clear when He said to His followers :


And Yahusha came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Ruach Ha'Qodesh: Teaching them to guard all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amein. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 28:18-20 את CEPHER.


Contrary to popular belief, this command of Yahusha, known historically as the “Great Commission,” is not a religious statement. It is a declaration of government policy. And all of us who are part of His ekklesia, His governmental assembly on Earth, are charged with the responsibility of carrying it out. That is the purpose of the ekklesia. Ours is not a religious crusade. We are government appointees, ambassadors of the King on a diplomatic mission. Like master gardeners, our assignment is to replenish the Earth with Kingdom life, to reclaim, re-fertilize, and re-cultivate land that has been laid waste and made barren by the harsh, evil, and death-dealing rule of the pretender, and to fill it once again with the fresh fragrance and abundant fruitfulness of the Kingdom of Heaven.


A DISTINCTIVE PRESENCE


Wherever the Kingdom of Heaven appears it brings beauty, vitality, and abundant life and fruitfulness. This is in stark contrast to the pretender’s false kingdom, which leaves nothing but death and desolation in its wake. As ambassadors of the King, we have been planted here to change the world, to make a difference by our presence. Most religions of the world, including religious Christianity, focus on getting people ready to leave this world. That is the wrong emphasis. Our mission is not to prepare for departure but to plant Kingdom gardens, to put down roots, and to plan to stick around for a while.


Why would our King place us here with an assignment to fulfill if all we were supposed to do was get ready to leave? No, His plan is to change the world through our influence, or, rather, His influence through us, and to thus transform the Earth from the waste that satan’s dominion has made of it into a lush, abundant “garden” of life and beauty that fully reflects the culture and environment of Heaven. In order to bring our influence to bear, we must be present.


Many of us spend a lot of time praying for the day when we can leave, forgetting all the while that this is not how Yahusha prayed. Yahusha never prayed for our departure. He prayed instead for His Father to prepare us and protect us for what we have been placed on the Earth to do:


I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should guard them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through your Truth: your Word is Truth. As you have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. YOCHANON (JOHN) 17:14-18 את CEPHER.


Yah’s plan is for the Earth to be filled with His glory. And for that to happen, it must be filled with His children, heirs, and citizens of His Kingdom who have seeded the Earth with their influence and manifested His culture. The Earth is the Lord’s, and in His power, His children are going to take it back. Yahusha prays not for their rescue but for their protection from the influence and attacks of the “evil one,” satan the pretender, who will not yield passively to this incursion of Heaven into “his” domain.


As Kingdom citizens, we are in the world but not of it. Our homeland is in another place. We live in one culture but are identified with another culture that should make us a distinctive presence in the world. One reason that Christ’s ekklesia has not made more of an impact in the world is because too many Kingdom citizens have accommodated and adapted to the culture of the world instead of maintaining the culture of our home government. We have neglected our “gardens” and allowed them to become overrun with weeds.


There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are children of the Kingdom of Heaven, and those who are not. Hamachiach Himself made this distinction clear in a teaching story He told about a farmer who planted good seed in his field. At night an enemy came and planted weeds in the midst of the wheat. No one was the wiser until the wheat and the weeds sprouted up together. The farmer told his workers not to pull up the weeds for danger of uprooting the wheat as well. Instead, he allowed both to grow until harvest time, when the weeds were gathered and burned, while the wheat was stored in the granary (see Matt. 13:24-30).


When Yahusha’ disciples asked Him the meaning of the story, He explained it this way:


He answered and said unto them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of A'dam; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the Kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of A'dam shall send forth his angels, and את they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do transgress the Torah; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:37-43 את CEPHER.


As with many of His other stories, Yahusha used here a garden-like analogy to talk about the Kingdom of Heaven. And while the overall meaning of the story relates to the end of this present age, one thing that stands out clearly is the existence in the world of two distinct cultures: Kingdom culture and the culture of the “evil one,” the pretender. Just as wheat and weeds are easy to tell apart, so too is Kingdom culture distinct from worldly culture.


Our lives should leave absolutely no doubt as to which culture we live under. As Kingdom citizens, the world’s culture is not our culture. If we allow the “weeds” of the world to invade our “garden,” it won’t be long before no one can tell the difference.


KINGDOM GARDENS BEAR LASTING FRUIT


The goal of any good gardener is to cultivate plants that produce abundant fruit. Good seed, fertile soil, proper nutrients, sufficient water, and plenty of sunshine are all necessary elements for a productive garden. Kingdom gardens, which should be showcases of Kingdom culture, are distinguished by the presence of the King Himself in the lives of His citizens. Moses, the great Hebrew leader who brought the ancient Israelites out of slavery in Egypt so they could become the chosen people of Yah, understood the importance of the distinctiveness of the Divine Presence. He said to Yah:


“Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people. And he said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said unto him, If your presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and your people have found grace in your sight? is it not in that you go with us? so shall we be separated, I and your people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 33:13-16 את CEPHER.


The power of the Garden Principle derives from the presence of the Gardener. In the “garden” of His children’s lives, the Gardener’s presence is revealed in at least two ways: vibrant life and abundant, lasting fruit, the greatest of which is love. As Yahusha explained to His disciples:


I AM the Vine of Truth, and my Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the Vine, ye are the Netseriym: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my Talmidiym. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye guard my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have guarded my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if את ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his Adonai does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. YOCHANON (JOHN) 15:1-17 א CEPHER.


True Kingdom citizens are distinct from the rest of the world. This is because their lives bear the unmistakable mark of the presence of the true King, who has come to reclaim His earthly domain from the pretender, who seized control thousands of years ago. Life under the pretender’s evil rule is characterized by greed, selfishness, hatred, violence, war, murder, envy, strife, lust, immorality, cruelty, brutality, empty religion, and oppression. The power of the Garden Principle, as exemplified in the lives of Kingdom citizens, brings into being a radically different environment. As we make our way in this world, planting “gardens” as we go, our lives will sow the Earth with seeds of righteousness and holiness. These will grow to produce lasting, life-changing, and world-changing fruit, But the fruit of the Ruach is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law put in place. GALATIYM (GALATIANS) 5:22-23 את CEPHER.


Everyone in the world is looking for the Kingdom of Heaven, even though most of them don’t realize it. People are not looking for religion. Buddhism does not satisfy. Hinduism does not satisfy. Islam does not satisfy. Judaism does not satisfy. “Religious” Christianity does not satisfy. Money and material riches do not satisfy. We were created to rule a garden domain, and we will never be content outside that environment. The King’s Garden Expansion Program is designed to draw many people into His Kingdom from all over the world and to prepare them for Kingdom life and leadership in the “new heaven and...new earth” (Rev. 21:1) that He is already preparing.


IN WORD AND POWER


As I have said many times before, when Yahusha Hamachiach initiated His public ministry, He preached a very simple, straightforward message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17b). This was His mission statement and the only message He preached. In one village where the people tried to keep Him all to themselves, He said, “And he said unto them, I must preach the Kingdom of Elohiym to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. LUQAS (LUKE) 4:43 את CEPHER.


Announcing the arrival of a kingdom is one thing; proving its legitimacy is another. Without the demonstrated power and authority to back them up, the words of even a king are meaningless. A king without power is only a man with a fancy title. The Kingdom of Heaven, however, is more than mere words; the eternal power of Almighty Yah gives it undeniable authority. Paul, a great first-century ambassador of the King, wrote, “For the Kingdom of Elohiym is not in word, but in power. QORINTIYM RI'SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 4:20 את CEPHER.


Consequently, Yahusha came not only with the word of the Kingdom but with its power as well. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He gave sight to the blind. He cast demons out of people—agents of the pretender’s illicit rule— and sent them packing. He even said at one point, “But if I cast out devils by the Ruach Elohiym, then the Kingdom of Elohiym is come unto you. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 12:28 את CEPHER. Everywhere He went, in word and in power, Yahusha demonstrated the authority, legitimacy, and invincibility of His Father’s Kingdom.


One day Yahusha climbed a mountain with Peter, James, and John, His three closest friends among His disciples. They spent the night there, and the three disciples heard the voice of Yah and saw Yahusha revealed in the glory of His true nature as the Son of Yah. This set the stage for a dramatic demonstration of Kingdom power that soon followed:


And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Rabbi, I beseech you, look upon my son: for he is my only child. And, lo, a ruach takes him, and he suddenly cries out; and it tears him that he foams again, and bruising him hardly departs from him. And I besought your Talmidiym to cast him out; and they could not. And Yahusha answering said, O faithless and perverse nation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring your son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tore him. And Yahusha rebuked the unclean ruach, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of Elohiym. But while they wondered everyone at all things which Yahusha did, he said unto his Talmidiym, LUQAS (LUKE) 9:37-43 את CEPHER.


In the healing of this demon-possessed boy, Yahusha demonstrated undeniable Kingdom power—power so irresistible that even the deeply entrenched agent of satan’s government, who had successfully withstood the disciples’ concerted efforts to expel it, had to flee. This little boy had been taken over by another kingdom, an illegal kingdom, but the rightful, legitimate Kingdom arrived and took him back. In the presence of the true King, the representatives of the false king had no choice but to step down and run away. Such is the power of the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the power of the Garden Principle.


KINGDOM POWER FOR GARDEN EXPANSION


One significant element of this story of the demon- possessed boy is the disciples’inability to cast out the demon. Why did they fail? The disciples wanted to know this too. Mark’s account of the same story includes this exchange:


And when he was come into the house, his Talmidiym asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. MARQUS (MARK) 9:28-29 את CEPHER.


Matthew adds lack of faith to the reasons why the disciples failed to drive out the demon (see Matt. 17:19-20). Ultimately, Yahusha’ disciples failed because, although they knew the King, they lacked Kingdom power. They were unable as yet to operate with Kingdom authority the way Yahusha did...and the pretender and his agents responded only to the authority of the rightful King.


In order for Yah’s Kingdom-expansion plan through the propagation of Kingdom “gardens” to succeed, it was necessary for His citizens to possess the authority to act in His name. It was also crucial, however, that they not receive that authority before they were ready. In the case of the demon- possessed boy, it is clear that they were not ready—but that soon changed.


Not long afterward, Yahusha decided to send His disciples on their first “independent” field assignments:


AFTER these things Adonai appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore El-Yahuah of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. LUQAS (LUKE) 10:1-4 את CEPHER, And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The Kingdom of Elohiym is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaves on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the Kingdom of Elohiym is come nigh unto you. LUQAS (LUKE) 10:8-11 את CEPHER, He that hears you hears me; and he that despises you despises me; and he that despises me despises him that sent me. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Adonai, even the devils are subject unto us through your name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the ruachoth are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. LUQAS (LUKE) 10:16-20 את CEPHER).


When the time was right, Yahusha imparted to His disciples His power and authority and then sent them out to do the same things He was doing. He preached that the Kingdom of Yah was near; they preached that the Kingdom of Yah was near. He healed the sick; they healed the sick. He cast out demons; they cast out demons. Only a short time before, the disciples had experienced an embarrassing public failure in trying to evict a demon; but now they discovered that evil spirits submitted to them just as they did to Yahusha. Truly, Hamachiach had given them authority—His authority—in order “to overcome all the power of the enemy.”


Operation of the Garden Principle requires the presence of the Gardener, but it also requires the power of the Gardener. The two go together; they are inseparable. Wherever the Gardener is present, His power is present also, which means that His influence is felt in that place. Apart from the presence and power of Christ, His disciples could do nothing. Accompanied by His presence and power, however, they could do anything He did.


That is how the Garden Principle works. Yah wants to multiply His Garden outposts throughout the world by multiplying His power and presence in the lives of His garden- planters, the Kingdom citizens He has appointed to spread His influence and culture wherever they go. Through delegated authority, the ekklesia is empowered to do the work of the King.


GARDEN IN THE DESERT


The lives and culture of Kingdom citizens should stand out from those of the rest of the world as distinctly as a garden in the middle of a desert. For centuries of desert travelers, nothing has seemed more out of place—or more welcome—than an oasis. Despite outward appearances, life hangs on in the desert, occasionally revealing itself in a flourish of vegetation and vitality, especially where an underground spring bubbles to the surface.


In contrast to the lush beauty, richness, and abundance of the Kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of this world, under the rule of satan the great pretender, is a vast, arid desert, barren, austere, and harsh. The religions and cultures of humankind offer little to nourish the human spirit. Satan, ever the sly deceiver and trickster, lures the people of the world with false promises of hope and happiness that he never delivers. Looking for clarity, prosperity, and freedom, people find only confusion, poverty, and slavery. The things they seek cannot be found in the kingdom of this world, but only in the legitimate Kingdom, Yah’s original “Garden” Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.


Yahusha Hamachiach came to Earth to reclaim the desert and transform it once more into a great garden, the vibrant life and abundance of which reflect the character, nature, and environment of His Father’s heavenly Kingdom. He was an oasis—a garden in the desert—and He planted seeds of life, righteousness, and holiness that sprouted into other oases. These were His ekklesia, His Church, called to plant other gardens in other places just as He had planted them. Those in turn would plant others, and the process would continue until the desert would be supplanted and transformed and only the gardens would remain.


This is the plan of Yah and is as sure and certain as if it has already happened. The Kingdom of Heaven has returned to Earth. The King’s Garden Expansion Program is well underway, moving toward the fulfillment of the words recorded by the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah:


The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Karmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of Yahuah, and the excellency of our Elohiym. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your Elohiym will come with vengeance, even Elohiym with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of Yahuah shall return, and come to Tsiyon with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 35:1-10 את CEPHER.


The power of the Garden Principle is an irresistible power because it is the power of the King, the Master Gardener. That same power lies within the hearts and lives of every Kingdom citizen—the power to plant Kingdom gardens and spread the culture of our King and the influence of His government wherever we go. Like Yahusha’ story of the wheat and the weeds, we live in a world split by two competing and incompatible cultures. One is the evil, corrupting culture of a sly but arrogant usurper squatting illegally on the throne of the earthly domain. The other is the righteous, dynamic, and rich culture of the Owner, the King of the universe, who has invaded enemy territory to reclaim His own.


Many Kingdom citizens are in danger of allowing the “wheat” of their heavenly culture to be choked out and consumed by the “weeds” of the world. As we seek to carry out our King’s Garden Principle, we must understand that we face an opposing culture—and we must be prepared to confront it.