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Monday, March 4, 2024
CREATING A KINGDOM CULTURE
Proverbs chapter 8
Today we are walking in: Creating A Kingdom Culture
Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 24:7 ×ת CEPHER
KINGDOM
Today we look to the word-KINGDOM- H4467 mamlâkâh, (mam-law-kaw') -dominion, (abstractly) the estate (rule) or (concretely) the country (realm):—kingdom, king's, reign, royal
The Torah testifies...............
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Yashar'el. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 19:6 ×ת CEPHER
Numbers 32:33
And Mosheh gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Re'uven, and unto half the tribe of Menashsheh the son of Yoceph, the kingdom of Ciychon king of the Emoriym, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 32:33 ×ת CEPHER
Deuteronomy 17:18
And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this Torah in a cepher out of that which is before the priests the Leviyiym: DEVARIYM (DEUTERONOMY) 17:18 ×ת CEPHER
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Samuel 10:18
And said unto the children of Yashar'el, Thus says Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el, I brought up Yashar'el out of Mitsrayim, and delivered you out of the hand of the Mitsriym, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: SHEMU'EL RI'SHON (1 SAMUEL) 10:18 ×ת CEPHER
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Yahuah Tseva'oth will perform this. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 9:7 ×ת CEPHER
Jeremiah 18:9
And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; YIRMEYAHU (JEREMIAH) 18:9 ×ת CEPHER
The writings bear witness...........................
1 Kings 9:5
Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom upon Yashar'el forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Yashar'el. MELEKIYM RI'SHON (1 KINGS) 9:5 ×ת CEPHER
1 Chronicles 17:11
And it shall come to pass, when your days be expired that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you, which shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:11 ×ת CEPHER
Psalm 145:13
Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahuah is true in his word, and holy in all his works. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 145:13 ×ת CEPHER
Chapter Seven
CREATING A KINGDOM CULTURE
Yah’S big idea has three simple goals: to reclaim the Earth for the Kingdom of Heaven, create a Kingdom culture on the Earth, and, as a result, produce a Kingdom community throughout the Earth. As I said in teaching One, all kingdoms seek to expand, usually through either outright conquest or colonization. In the beginning, Yah established a colony of Heaven on the Earth and placed the first two humans, Adam and Eve, in charge of it. His intent was that they and their descendants would rule the Earth according to His standards and principles and be fruitful and multiply until the entire planet was filled with His people manifesting His glory.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve proved unwilling to live under Yah’s supreme rule and declared their independence by doing the one thing He told them not to: They ate of the fruit from the tree in the center of the Garden. In other words, Adam and Eve rebelled against their King. However, their experiment in independence and self-rule was a disastrous and utter failure. Human history has demonstrated time and time again that as a race we are manifestly incapable of governing ourselves effectively apart from the Spirit and principles of Yah. Yah, of course, knew this from the start, which is why, in the wake of man’s rebellion, He set into motion His plan to reclaim, or recolonize, the planet, a plan He established even before the foundations of the Earth were laid. (See Proverbs 8:22-31; Revelation 13:8.)
Recolonization is an unfamiliar concept because it is extremely rare for a colony, once it has declared its independence from a kingdom, to later change its mind and desire to return to colonial status. Yah, however, initiated the recolonization of Earth for two reasons: because His sovereign will and intent will never be thwarted, and because our survival as a race depends on it.
You will recall that a kingdom is the governing authority of a king over his territory—he impacts it with his will, purpose, and intent, producing a citizenry who reflect the king’s morals, values, and lifestyle. In this respect, a kingdom is completely opposite of a republic. In a republic, no one is required to act or think exactly like the president or to take on the president’s nature or values. Citizens of a true kingdom, however, are required to take on the king’s personal values, morals, and nature. Kingdom citizens are expected to exhibit the lifestyle and culture of the king.
This is why living in a kingdom is much more challenging than living in a democracy. In a democracy your individuality is protected. You can safeguard it. You can be yourself and make it a point of pride. In a kingdom, there is only one “self” to be, and that is the king. Anyone who does not take on the king’s nature, his moral standards, or his personal values is regarded as a rebel. Remember that in a kingdom the king’s word and will are law, and anyone who challenges that authority is guilty of rebellion against the government.
REVERSING ADAM’S FAILURE
In the Bible, rebellion against Yah is called sin. This is exactly what Adam and Eve were guilty of in the Garden of Eden. Their deliberate defiance of Yah’s prohibition against eating the fruit of the tree in the center of the Garden was an act of open rebellion. In so doing they were exercising their free will, the freedom to choose that Yah had given them. Before free will can truly exist, there must also be a component of choice, because free will is only possible where there is an alternative. So the tree in the center of the Garden, and Yah’s prohibition against eating its fruit, provided Adam and Eve with the capacity to use a gift that Yah had given them. Unfortunately, they used it in the wrong way; they could freely have chosen to obey Yah rather than disobey.
Adam and Eve declared rebellion against the government of Heaven, and the Bible calls it sin. In fact, the Bible speaks in some instances of sin, singular, and in others, of sins, plural, and there is a difference. Sin is the singular act of rebellion, while sins are the manifestations of that one act. Rebelling against the Kingdom is sin; sins are the day-to-day actions that constitute rebel-like behavior. The declaration of independence of the Adamic race from the Kingdom of Yah was an act of rebellion that has caused all of us, like Adam, to go our own way.
This personal independence is the number one tenet of capitalism and democratic republics. The thing Yah hates is the very thing we magnify. The thing that Yah says is our condemnation is the very thing we regard as our highest achievement. As independent individuals we can do whatever we like and pursue our own happiness and joy at our own expense. We take great pride in “doing our own thing”; whereas Yah says, “That’s the very problem with the world.” It’s a paradox. This is why it is very difficult to live in the Kingdom of Yah and live at the same time in a democracy under a capitalistic system. It is hard to strike a balance between the two, because the principles by which they operate are diametrically opposed to each other. It is for this reason that many believers do not manifest Kingdom culture and values in their lives the way they should. In their struggle between the Kingdom and the world, the world usually wins.
Yahusha Hamachiach came to Earth to put an end to our sin of rebellion, and, through His blood, to cleanse us of our sins, the rebellious behavior that was the inevitable consequence of our sin. Hamachiach came as a “second Adam” to reverse the consequences of the first Adam’s failure. The apostle Paul explained it this way:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 5:12 את CEPHER. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 5:18-19 את CEPHER
For as in A'dam all die, even so in Mashiach shall all be made alive. QORINTIYM RI'SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 15:22 את CEPHER.
And so it is written, The first man A'dam was made a living soul; the last A'dam was made a quickening ruach. QORINTIYM RI'SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 15:45 את CEPHER.
Hamachiach came to announce the return of the Kingdom of Heaven and to give us access through the sin-cleansing power of His blood. But He also, through His Spirit, placed in us the capacity to manifest Kingdom culture and values in our everyday life so that, as we go about our daily affairs, we can transform our little corner of the world into a thriving garden of His Kingdom.
KNOWN BY OUR CULTURE
Isaiah 45:18 says that Yah formed the Earth to be inhabited. He planted citizens of His heavenly country here as immigrants on Earth, so they could turn it into a conclave of Heaven. We are the immigrants. We live on the Earth but are not from the Earth. You and I were sent here by our Father out of His own womb. He made us as spiritual beings like Himself, then clothed us in an “earth suit” made from the dust of the ground, to fit us for inhabiting this physical world. We live here but we are not from here. Our homeland is Heaven, and as immigrants, our lives here, both individually and collectively, should reflect unmistakably the culture of our homeland.
Our culture as Kingdom citizens should be just as distinct and obvious as that of San Francisco’s Chinatown. The inhabitants of Chinatown live in the United States, and may even be American citizens, but everything about them—their language, their dress, their food, their customs—shows that their origin is from another place. Walk into Chinatown, and suddenly you can’t find a hot dog anywhere. Nobody is speaking English. These things are foreign to their culture. Chinatown is not an official “town,” but a community created by a group of people who share a common and distinct culture. It is not necessary to travel halfway around the world to learn what life is like in China. All you have to do is visit Chinatown, and you will “see” China, because it is a “garden” of the Chinese homeland that has bloomed in the West.
In the same way, people should be able to walk into our presence or our homes or our churches and feel like they have walked into another country. They should be able to tell immediately by our language, dress, manners, attitude, and behavior that we are not of this world. Our culture should stand out so clearly that no one can mistake it.
Life with Yahusha was always this way, which is why He attracted so much attention. People either loved Him or hated Him, accepted Him or rejected Him, but no one ignored Him. Everywhere He went He brought Kingdom culture. Throngs of people surrounded Him because He showed them the power, quality, nature, and irresistible appeal of a culture that could make them victors in life rather than victims—and then He told them how to get it.
One of the biggest struggles Yahusha’ disciples faced was learning how to shift their thinking and their behavior from the worldly culture of their birth to the Kingdom culture they had entered when they answered Yahusha’ call to follow Him. Every day He challenged their behavior, beliefs, values, thoughts, perceptions, assumptions, and expectations. They had to learn, for example, that what the world calls a “miracle” is everyday activity in the Kingdom of Heaven.
When Yahusha heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Yahusha went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his Talmidiym came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food. But Yahusha said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fish. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to his Talmidiym, and the Talmidiym to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 14:13-21 את CEPHER.
Culture reflects government. In the world’s culture, some people go hungry. Some people are poor or sick or lacking some of the basic necessities for a high quality of life. Inequities abound, and injustice is rampant. Not in Kingdom culture. Wherever Yahusha went, sick people were made well— because there is no sickness in the Kingdom. Hungry people were fed and satisfied—because there is no hunger or lack of any kind in the Kingdom.
When 5,000 people in a remote place needed to be fed, Yahusha did the natural thing (from the Kingdom perspective)— He fed them. His disciples wanted to send the people away to buy food because they were approaching the situation from a point of view of lack. Yahusha, however, knew there was no lack because He had unlimited access to the unlimited resources of His Father’s Kingdom.
When Yahusha took those five loaves and two fish from His disciples, He took them out of an agrarian and fishing economy subsumed under Rome—and into Kingdom-ism. Once inside that new economy, the very atoms in that fish and bread began to behave differently. They began to split and reproduce. Nuclear scientists know that once you split one atom, every other atom can split itself. It is called multiplication. Yahusha performed the first atomic act with bread and fish, because in the Kingdom you can actually hand out atoms. What we call a miracle was simply normal activity in the Kingdom. And it should be normal activity for all who manifest Kingdom culture.
As Kingdom citizens, we should be known by our culture, and that culture should change the lives of everyone around us. Sickness, poverty, lack, hunger, fear, discouragement, defeat, curses, greed, lust, envy, jealousy, hatred, violence— none of these exist where Kingdom living prevails. The reason is simple: Kingdom culture reflects the life and environment of Heaven. None of those things are found in Heaven, so they should not be found in Heaven’s culture on Earth. Is it any wonder, then, why people in the world would be irresistibly attracted to a community that manifests such a culture?
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE
The ultimate goal of Yah’s Garden Expansion Program is to reproduce on Earth the culture of His heavenly Kingdom—its fundamental principles as well as its language, lifestyle, values, and morals—with the end result of producing an earthly community that looks and acts like Heaven. Culture is the way of life that a people grow into. It is also defined as the conditions under which or within which living things grow. Culture is the inherent lifestyle manifested in the behavior of a distinct people. Again, Chinatown is a prime example. It may exist physically in America, but its culture is distinctly Chinese. The culture of Chinatown is a manifestation of the original homeland of the people who live and work there.
In addition, culture is the total life of a people passed on to their descendants. Culture is an extremely powerful thing. Its roots grow deep, and its influence reaches far. This is why a group of people bound together by culture can live for generations in a country not their own and still maintain their distinct identity. Culture encompasses the totality of life: dress, food, drink, customs, manners, etiquette, protocol, attitudes toward children and the elderly, religious beliefs, ethical and moral values, social norms, and both public and private behavior.
If we are manifesting Kingdom culture in our lives, people who meet us should be able to say, “I think I just entered Heaven. You don’t lie, you don’t cheat, you don’t steal, you don’t sleep around, you’ve been married to the same person for 30 years; what’s up with you? Where are you from? Why are you so different?” When people outside the Kingdom look at Kingdom citizens or a Kingdom community, they should see a culture distinctly different—and much more attractive—than their own.
But exactly how does culture manifest? Culture reveals itself in at least 16 specific ways. Let’s take a look.
1. VALUES
Every culture manifests itself in values. Values can be defined simply as those things that a society regards as valuable and worth protecting, preserving, and passing on. For example, if a society values divorce, there will be many divorces. In the Kingdom of Heaven, however, divorce is not a value, so it is not supposed to occur. In much of Western society, gay rights and same-sex marriage are fast approaching the status of values and may, before long, enjoy the full protection of the law. These things carry no value in the Kingdom of Heaven, however, because they go against our King’s standards.
Some churches and denominational groups have started lowering their standard of values in order to attract more people. Surrendering to political correctness and social pressures, they are adjusting their theology and their doctrine to accommodate personal perversion and give it dignity. The Bible says that those who do such things have no inheritance in the Kingdom of Yah. In contrast, the Kingdom of Yah never lowers its standards of value to accommodate anyone’s personal preferences. Instead, it challenges people to adjust their preferences to come into alignment with the Kingdom’s standards. In effect, the King has said, “Here are the standards for life in My Kingdom. Compliance is mandatory; otherwise, you don’t come in.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is not some fly-by-night religion. It is a serious government with serious power. The King will not put up with those who claim to live in His Kingdom yet refuse to obey His laws. He will not tolerate rebellion in the ranks. In ancient Israel, the sin of one person was enough to bring Yah’s judgment upon the entire community, and the entire community had to come together as one to remove the offender from their society. When a man named Achan took some of the spoils from the destruction of Jericho for himself in violation of Yah’s command, Yah withdrew His protection, and the Israelites were defeated in their next battle. It was only after Achan was exposed and confessed his sin, and after the community stoned him to death along with his family, that Yah’s preserving presence and power returned to Israel. (See Joshua 7.)
When the church in Corinth tolerated sexual immorality within its ranks, the apostle Paul minced no words:
IT is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the other nations, that one should have his father's woman. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that has done this deed might be taken away from among you. QORINTIYM RI'SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 5:1-2 את CEPHER .I wrote unto you in a cepher not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such one do not eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them את that are within? But them that are without Elohiym judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. QORINTIYM RI'SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 5:9-13 את CEPHER
Kingdom culture manifests in Yahly values that are never surrendered, compromised, or watered down at any time for any reason under any circumstances.
2. PRIORITIES
Culture reveals itself also in the life priorities of those who live in the culture. In Western society, for example, priority is given to making money and acquiring wealth and possessions. Capitalism and consumerism are the Yahs of greed, as many people consume their lives pursuing the almighty dollar (or pound or franc or peso). Yet Yahusha said:
No man can serve two above all: for either he will hate the one, and את love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve Elohiym and mammon. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:24 את CEPHER.
He then went on to describe the priorities of His Kingdom and its culture:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the other nations seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of Elohiym, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:31-34 את CEPHER.
In Kingdom culture, the King’s priorities are the citizen’s priorities. Like Yahusha, who said, “I do only what I see My Father doing,” Kingdom citizens have no priorities of their own, but only those given to them by the King. He has promised that if we give priority to His Kingdom and His righteousness, He will give priority to our needs.
3. BEHAVIORS
All of us reveal our culture by our behavior. The respect (or lack of respect) that we show toward parents, teachers, law enforcement, and other authority figures speaks volumes about our culture. So do the degree and tolerance level given to such behaviors as public drunkenness, gambling, carousing, lewdness, and the like. Outward behavior gives expression to the content of the heart. Unhealthy behavior is always a sign of an unhealthy culture.
Kingdom behavior is defined by commands such as:
Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which Yahuah Elohayka gives you. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 20:12 את CEPHER.
CHILDREN, obey your parents in Yahuah: for this is right. EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 6:1 את CEPHER.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Ruach Ha'Qodesh of Elohiym, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Elohiym for Mashiach's sake has forgiven you. EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 4:29-32 את CEPHER.
Sober, wholesome, upright, disciplined, and responsible behavior seems to be a vanishing commodity in our increasingly “anything goes” society, but such behavior is the expected norm in the culture of the Kingdom.
4. STANDARDS
Every culture has standards of conduct that determine how people treat one another. Worldly culture as a whole operates by a standard that is essentially selfish, putting one’s own welfare ahead of all others. Many people concentrate on grabbing for their own piece of the pie, using and discarding other people in their scramble for the top. It’s dog-eat-dog and every man for himself.
Not in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom operates by a completely different, even opposite standard, which Yahusha demonstrated in both word and example. The night before He was crucified, Yahusha shared a final Passover meal with His disciples. Before the meal, He took off His outer clothing, wrapped a towel around His waist like a servant, and proceeded to wash the dirty, smelly feet of His disciples. This was a task normally relegated to the lowest of slaves. Afterward, He explained what He had done:
So after he had washed את their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Rabbi and Yahuah: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Yahuah and Rabbi, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Amein, Amein, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his adoniy; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. YOCHANON (JOHN) 13:12-17 את CEPHER.
On another occasion, when the disciples were arguing
about which of them was the greatest, Yahusha set them straight:
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and said unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. MARQUS (MARK) 9:35 את CEPHER.
The standard of conduct for greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven is not self-promotion but servanthood.
5. CELEBRATIONS
Another distinguishing feature of a culture is found in the celebrations it observes. Whatever we celebrate, we elevate. In other words, we show what is most important to us by the things we give special attention to. I repeat: Whatever we celebrate, we elevate. Whatever we elevate, we worship. Whatever we ignore, we destroy. If your nation, state, or community celebrates “Gay Pride Day” every year with a parade, it says a lot about your culture. If you celebrate annually the anniversary of the legalization of abortion, it says a lot about your culture.
Yah gave the ancient Israelites seven festivals to celebrate throughout the year in commemoration of events such as His deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt (Passover), and His care, preservation, and provision for them in the wilderness (Feast of Tabernacles). Kingdom culture celebrates significant events in the life of Yah’s people.
6. MORALITY
One of the clearest indicators of the nature and health of a culture is the moral climate it encourages. For example, a society that winks at or ignores prostitution, adultery, pornography, homosexual behavior, cohabitation, out-of- wedlock pregnancies, and abortion is a society on the road to destruction.
All of these things are diametrically opposed to the moral standards of the Kingdom of Heaven. Kingdom culture says:
You shall not kill. You shall not break wedlock. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not lust after your neighbor's house, you shall not lust after your neighbor's woman, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 20:13-17 את CEPHER.
Kingdom culture also says:
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becomes the qodeshiym; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Mashiach and of Elohiym. EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 5:3-5 את CEPHER.
When Kingdom citizens live according to these moral standards, they will stand out to such a degree that the world cannot help but take notice.
7. RELATIONSHIPS
People reveal their culture by their relationships: who and what they relate to as a nation, as well as the nature and character of their personal and interpersonal relationships. In the arena of international politics, for example, a nation reveals its culture by who it makes alliances with and why. A country that aligns itself with a terrorist state or repressive regime reveals that it has a culture sympathetic to terrorism, or at least a culture that places trade agreements and economic benefits above human rights, dignity, and worth.
Interpersonal relationships in a worldly culture often are characterized by superficiality and self-centeredness, with people looking out for their personal interests first and valuing other people only as commodities for filling emotional, sexual, or professional needs.
Kingdom culture always puts others ahead of self and puts love over all. When asked to identify the greatest commandment of all, Yahusha said:
“Yahusha said unto him, You shall love את Yahuah Elohayka with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Torah and the prophets. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 22:37-40 את CEPHER.
Unconditional, unselfish love is the single greatest distinguishing factor of Kingdom culture. As Yahusha instructed His disciples:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my Talmidiym, if ye have love one to another. YOCHANON (JOHN) 13:34-35 את CEPHER.
And the apostle Paul adds this counsel:
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. PHILIPPIYM (PHILIPPIANS) 2:3-4 את CEPHER.
These Kingdom principles of love, humility, and selfless regard for others apply to every human relationship without exception or limitation.
8. ETHICS
The character of a nation’s culture also is revealed in the ethical standards it practices. These may be quite different from the “official” standards established by law for ethical behavior. Many corrupt and unethical governments have given lip service to the highest ethical standards, even as their leaders victimized the people and plundered the treasury for their own enrichment. Corruption as the moral fabric of a culture guarantees the poverty of a nation, not only economically, but morally and spiritually as well.
On a more personal level, actions such as padding the books, failure to deliver what was promised, and taking advantage of people’s ignorance or inexperience by charging them more for goods or services because you know they will never know the difference—all of these are unethical practices symptomatic of worldly culture; they have no place in the life or behavior of a Kingdom citizen.
Kingdom culture means treating everyone with fairness, equality, dignity, and worth. It means doing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. It means not taking unfair advantage of someone even when the opportunity arises. It means being honest in all of one’s dealings and being true to one’s word, even to personal detriment.
9. SOCIAL NORMS
Social norms are behaviors that a society accepts as normal; and they are reliable revealers of culture. In the Bahamas, for example, many people accept the practice of “sweethearting” as a normal activity. “Sweethearting” means that a husband or wife has another lover, or “sweetheart,” on the side. Americans call it “having an affair,” but whatever terminology is used, we are still talking about infidelity— adultery. Calling it an “affair” or “sweethearting” dresses it up and makes the whole thing sound more like a great romantic adventure than the terrible affront and sin that it is, both to Yah and to one’s spouse. Any society that accepts unholy behavior as social norms will be an unholy society and will manifest an unholy culture.
What are the social norms for the Kingdom of Heaven? For one thing, Kingdom culture says, “Be faithful to your spouse.” The apostle Paul provides a good list of others:
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of Elohiym in Mashiach Yahusha concerning you. Quench not the Ruach. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. TASLONIQIYM RI'SHON (1 THESSALONIANS) 5:15-22 א CEPHER.
10. ATTITUDES
Culture reveals itself also in the attitude of the people. There are certain countries you can visit where the people are very warm and friendly, are appreciative of visitors, and go out of their way to make them feel welcome. I love visiting places like that. At the other end of the spectrum are those countries where the people in general are rude, arrogant, or superior in their demeanor, where even people in the “service” industries, such as hotels and restaurants, act as though they are insulted by your presence and they are doing you a favor by serving you.
No one should ever feel unwelcome when they enter a place where Kingdom culture is present. On the contrary, they should feel as though they have entered Heaven itself. This is why the Bible says, “Let love prevail among you.” That is the culture of Heaven. “Let forgiveness prevail among you.” That is the culture of Heaven. “Let joy unspeakable prevail among you.” That is the culture of Heaven. “Let the peace that passes understanding prevail among you.” That is the culture of Heaven.
11. DRESS
Another distinctive feature of cultural identity is dress or style of dress. Many people reveal their culture by the kind or cut of clothing they wear. In contemporary Western society it has become commonplace for people, especially young women, to dress in a sexually provocative manner, parading around in public wearing clothes that emphasize—and often barely cover —their breasts and genitalia. This is regarded as acceptable by an increasing number of people in society, including growing numbers of believers who claim to be living as Kingdom citizens. “Everybody does it,” they say, or, “That’s just the way it is.”
To those folks I say, “Well, you’re not ‘everybody.’ They are from another culture; you are from the Kingdom of Heaven, and Kingdom culture says, ‘Dress modestly. Dress according to the way you want to be addressed; the way you want to be treated. If you want to be respected, dress respectfully. If you want to be taken seriously, dress accordingly.’” This applies to men as much as to women. If you want to advance in your career or profession, dress for the job you want, not the job you have.
An old proverb says, “Clothes make the man (or woman).” As Kingdom citizens and royal children, we represent our heavenly Father, the King. We should always dress in a manner that honors Him and accurately reflects our status as members of the royal family.
12. FOOD
Distinctive cultures have distinctive foods. In the Bahamas we have peas and rice and conch salad. America has hot dogs and barbecue. What food distinguishes Kingdom culture? The “food” of the will and Word of Yah.“Yahusha said unto them, My food is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. YOCHANON (JOHN) 4:34 את CEPHER. He also said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 5:6 את CEPHER. The psalmist says But his delight is in the Torah of Yahuah; and in his Torah he meditates day and night. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 1:2 את CEPHER. Like a healthy, fruitful tree, such a person will prosper in everything he does. Kingdom culture is characterized by a love and a hunger for the Word of Yah, and Kingdom citizens feast on its riches.
13. RESPONSE
Culture is revealed in the way people respond to each other, particularly to provocation or mistreatment. The world says, “You hit me; I’ll hit you back. Slap me, and I’ll slug you. Wound me, and I’ll kill you. Betray me, and I will get my revenge.”
Kingdom culture is completely different. We do not have to respond in kind to provocation or mistreatment, because our King Himself defends His people. As Paul reminds us:
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Yahuah. Therefore, if your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 12:19-21 את CEPHER.
Yahusha made it very clear that responding in love no matter how we are treated marks us as citizens of the Kingdom:
Ye have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the judgment, and take away your coat, let him have your cloke also. And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two. Give to him that asks of you, and from him that would borrow of you turn not away. Ye have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 5:38-45 את CEPHER.
Response is a choice, even when responding to provocation or mistreatment, and Kingdom culture always chooses to respond in love.
14. DRINK
As with food, culture reveals itself by what people drink. For example, beer drinking is part of German culture, just as it is in Ireland. In the Bahamas we drink tea every day, a holdover from our British colonial days. Kingdom culture thrives on drinking the “living water” of Hamachiach, as He spoke of one day to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well outside the village of Sychar:
“Yahusha answered and said unto her, If you knew the gift of Elohiym, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said unto him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then have you that living water? Are you greater than our father Ya`aqov, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Yahusha answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. YOCHANON (JOHN) 4:10-14 את CEPHER.
15. WHATEVER IS PERMITTED
Culture manifests in what the people permit. We reveal much about ourselves by what we are willing to tolerate. Years ago I visited Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and the host pastor deliberately drove me through the city’s “red-light district” so I could see firsthand some of the challenges that he and other Kingdom leaders in that country faced. As soon as we hit the area, I immediately sensed demonic powers in the air. We passed blocks and blocks of storefronts with completely naked women advertising their “wares.” People can walk along and “shop” for the one they want, and it is all entirely legal. No wonder that country is a cesspool of immorality.
What we permit reveals our culture. As Kingdom citizens we are not on this Earth to permit immorality, depravity, and corruption. We are here to plant a new culture, the King’s culture, a culture of holiness, righteousness, and justice. We are here to reproduce “gardens” of the Kingdom of Heaven wherever we are and to fill the Earth with the fragrance of His presence and glory. We are here to transform the culture of the world by bringing the values, morals, and standards of Yah’s Kingdom and culture to bear in our neighborhoods, communities, and nations.
16. WHATEVER IS ACCEPTED
Finally, culture is revealed by what the people are willing to accept. Permitting something is one thing, but accepting it is another. Acceptance develops from permission. Once something has been permitted long enough, it becomes familiar enough that people no longer question it or resist it. It has become accepted. This is why Kingdom citizens must be always alert and absolutely uncompromising when it comes to Kingdom culture and standards. All it takes is one small concession, one tiny step of compromise, to begin sliding down the slippery slope to immorality, corruption, and destruction. For this reason, we must be careful and faithful to heed the Bible’s counsel to stand firm.
FROM CULTURE TO COMMUNITY
The ultimate goal of creating Kingdom culture is to produce a Kingdom community—a community of citizens who look and act just like they do in the home country. When the Bahamas was still under British colonial rule, we were called the Royal Community. Everything we did had to be just like the queen or the king. Even our land was called Royal Crown Land. Everything was royal. The whole community belonged to the kingdom.
Community means essentially that individuality is gone and everybody lives and works for the good of everybody else. Western society, with its emphasis on independence and individualism, has largely lost touch with the concept of community, and this has affected many churches and believers. The time has come for Kingdom citizens to rediscover and reclaim community as an essential part of Kingdom life. This is critical to the successful reproduction of Kingdom gardens throughout the Earth. After all, a Kingdom community is a Kingdom garden.
Saturday, March 2, 2024
UNDERSTANDING HOW THE KINGDOM KEYS WORK
Matthew chapter 16
Today we are walking in: Understanding How Kingdom Keys Work
Matthew 16:19
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
KEY
Today we look to the word-KEY- H4668 maphteach--key, opening instrument
The Torah testifies...............
****
The prophets proclaim..................
Isaiah 22:22
And the key H4668 of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The writings bear witness...........................
Judges 3:25
And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, H4668 and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
UNDERSTANDING HOW THE KINGDOM KEYS WORK
Please turn your bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 16. I am very excited about this series. This afternoon we are going to continue on the series about the kingdom. Our subject this afternoon is the power of Kingdom right's and kingdom keys. We're going to be looking at understanding how the kingdom keys work. What this is all about is about understanding this powerful statement made by Yahusha. We are talking about the most important message on earth and that is the message about the kingdom of heaven. The original reason why The Most High Yah created the heavens and the earth is because he wanted the Kingdom of Heaven to influence, control and to manage earth. The Most High Yah is a very systematic The Most High Yah, he's a very practical The Most High Yah, but most importantly The Most High Yah is very predictable and that statement does not come across too easy for religious minds. I was taught to think that The Most High Yah moves in mysterious ways and what that did to me was it left me always guessing what The Most High Yah was going to do next, then how he was going to do it, and how I will know if he did it and The Most High Yah was in most cases a secret society almost. It was as if you could not depend on The Most High Yah to do things in a predictable way. But the very fact that The Most High Yah created the heavens and the earth and the universe to function on predictable laws, laws like gravity and the laws that we have been using, the laws of life, the way things grow and the way things function. The plants, the animals, they are predictable. You can tell what a bird is going to do and you can predict how a seed is going to become a plant. Things are predictable, so The Most High Yah is not a secretive The Most High Yah. Everything in the earth is based on law, based on systems and is based on functional, predictable principles. So as we approach this I wanted to get our attitudes right about The Most High Yah. The power of Kingdom keys. I want to begin by reading from the book of Matthew. Let's look at this briefly. Yahusha is about two ask one of the most important questions in life. Matthew chapter 16 and the question was about who he was and he asked his personal disciples, whom do people say I am and in Matthew 16 they answered. Verse 14 says, some say you are John the Baptist, others say you are Elijah come back and still others even say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said but who do you say I am. Peter answered you are the Hamachiach. Not a Hamachiach but The Hamachiach. You are the Son of the Living The Most High Yah which is the term that is designated only for the Anointed Messiah. So Peter is saying as a Jew, being a Jew, he being trained to expect the Messiah, Peter has come to the conclusion that this man who was standing before him was the man that he was taught about all his life in the synagogue. So Peter says you are the one we've been looking for and waiting for. You are the hope of Israel and the hope of the world. Yahusha answered and said to him, blessed are you Simon son of Jonah for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by my father who is in heaven. This is an important statement. The question is, what is “this”? What was he referring to? He's referring to the words that Peter said. Peter said you are the Hamachiach, you are the Son, the expected Messiah, The Anointed One. Yahusha said this statement that you have made was revealed to you by my Father. Then he says, Peter you are a, can I use the word pebble. The word petros means little rock, little stone. The word Petros means little rock, it means pebble. He says and you have spoken a petra and petra means a big boulder or mountain. So Hamachiach uses two words here. He says you are Peter, you are Petros and upon this Petra this big boulder that you made, the statement you made, I'm going to build my church. Write the word church down in your notes for a moment. The word church that he uses here is a Greek word. It's the word ecclessia. E-C-C-L-E-S-S-I-A, ecclessia. Upon this stone, this statement I'm going to build my ecclessia. Now the word ecclessia is important here because the word ecclessia is referring to a governmental term. The word church is not a religious term. The word ecclessia is a word that the Greeks invented or signified to mean a group of senators or a political grouping that was picked out by the democratic government. Remember the Greeks invented democracy. The concept of democracy was invented by the Greeks. The Greeks never applied it; they just developed the idea. But when the Romans over ran the Greek Empire the Romans took the Greek thought, their philosophy, and the Romans developed the thought. That's how Caesar developed such a powerful government. The Romans took the concept of Greek political thought and they applied it. So the Romans were called the practical leaders. They were the ones who put into practice what other's theorized about. In developing their system of government they developed what they call the Senate. The word Senate that we use today comes from the Roman form of government which was the Greek form of democracy. So every democracy has to have a Senate. Now I want to stress that during the Roman Empire the Senate was like the cabinet. Is that clear? In other words, the way we have it today, we’ve got the house of assembly or the house of Congress and then we’ve got the Senate and we have these houses. In the Roman Empire they didn't have all these houses. He has that one house and it was called the Senate. The Senate was the power house. These were individuals that were hand-picked by the Emperor, the King, Caesar. The concept of the government was to handpick these individuals who will be the ones to receive the mind of the Emperor, the thoughts of the Emperor, the desires of the Emperor, the passion, and the intent of the Emperor. So they had to stay with the Emperor. Is that clear? They had to talk to him and he had to give them information about what he wanted in the kingdom. The Senators job then, which is then called ecclessia which we translate as church, that job was to take the mind of the king and make it legal or should I say to make it legislation that could be implemented in the kingdom. This is important because the word ecclessia is a political term. We translate it from Greek into English as Church. So the word Church itself is non religious, it's political. When I first sat in class in college and began to take the Greek New Testament class I had problems because when we got to this section and we began to read from the original Greek language and began to read the meaning of ecclessia, being brought up in a religious environment, the word Church to me was only religious. But here I was reading it from the original text and it was referring to a political group. That's why Yahusha had to use terms like this, “upon this statement I will build my ecclessia.” “My” implies that there were others. Is that clear? If I say this is my dress that means there are some other dresses around but this one is mine. So Hamachiach couldn't couldn't say upon this rock I will build the ecclessia. He could have said that but it wouldn't have been correct because there were other ecclessia’s. He was saying, look the same way Caesar is a lord, I am a lord and Caesar has built his ecclessia on the belief that he is the Lord and the son of a The Most High Yah. Remember the belief of the Romans was a polytheistic belief and it was believed by the people just like in Pharaoh’s time that the leader was some special divine gift. So the concept was that the Caesars were really gifts of The Most High Yah and they really began to believe that themselves. So Hamachiach was saying, look the same way that Caesar is Lord of his government and has created his Senate, his ecclessia, his cabinet, I will also build my cabinet on the fact that I am the Hamachiach, I am the Lord of Lords, I am the Son of the Living The Most High Yah. He said the statement you made, Peter, is what I'm going to build my government on. Now what is church then? Let's try to use a term that you understand. Remember now the word ecclessia is in reference to this group that became called the Senate, which was the cabinet. So in the Bahamas for example, who is the cabinet? The cabinet is the most powerful group in the Bahamas. They are more powerful than Parliament. Now they are members of parliament but they are more powerful. The most powerful group in a parliamentary democracy system is the group called the cabinet. Now who picks the cabinet? You don't vote for the cabinet, do you? In a democracy the people do not vote for the cabinet. The cabinet in America and the democracy there's a cabinet. You don't vote for the cabinet. All cabinets are hand-picked. That's the same group called ecclessia. That's why the only person that can fire a cabinet member is the President or the Prime Minister because they appointed them, they picked them. Remember you can vote for representatives but you can't vote for cabinet members. They are picked, they are chosen. That's important because you remember one time that his disciples were having a little scuffle and Hamachiach overheard this little argument about power and he said, you didn't choose me. That was a political statement. He says I chose you, you didn't choose me. In other words, you can’t determine who's in this cabinet. See, they began to compete, who should be number one, who should be number two. Hamachiach says look, I'm the one who chose who was who. This is the ecclessia here. Now in this chapter he's driving at home, he's saying look, I'm about to establish my government. That's what I came with my shoulders laden with and I'm going to set it up. He said now here's how I'm going to set it up. I'm going to use the same principles that Caesar used. That's why I came at this time, so you can understand my words. I came at the right time so every word I speak can be properly defined. When the fullness of time came The Most High Yah sent forth his son. The timing was perfect. He came during a government that was just set up like the government of The Most High Yah. So he said I'm going to build my ecclessia upon the fact that I am the Hamachiach from the Living The Most High Yah, and then he says, the gates of hell cannot stop the growth of my government. That’s what that statement means. The gates should not prevail against it, against who? My ecclessia. What is the word ecclessia in English? Church! So according to Yahusha he never created a religion, he created a political force. A cabinet minister has the power in the country because he sits with the leader and when they meet the house doesn't meet with them. The cabinet meets on day 3 that is not when the house meets. The cabinet meetings are private. This is important. This is the same concept used by Yahusha. The cabinet is a secret meeting. What goes on in the cabinet, the house of assembly doesn't know. Did you know that? It's a private group because the cabinet is the group that gets the mind of the leader and they carry out the intentions of the leader and they inform the house of what they're going to do. See, what the cabinet minister knows the other members of assembly and the house doesn't know. What the Senate of Rome knew, the other people in the Empire didn't know because only they had the privilege to be with Caesar personally and he gave them his ideas of what he wanted. Now therefore the ecclessia is a secret group that has secret information. Let's read the Bible now he said upon this rock I tell you I'm going to build my Senate, my cabinet, my administrators who will carry out my wishes, and my will. Are you still with me? So the cabinet's job is to take the will of the king and to execute it in the Empire and make sure it gets done. Listen carefully, that is why Prime Ministers and Presidents fire cabinet ministers. One of the main reasons they get fired is because of lack of effective working. Now one of the main things that you measure a cabinet for is what? How well they execute their ministry. Why is it called ministry? Because they are responsible for ministering to the entire empire. If they do not execute their ministry effectively then the king or the prime minister or the president calls them in and says you will no longer be a cabinet minister, you will not be put into position to administer my kingdom for me. So basically a cabinet minister gets fired for one or two reasons. One, Ineffective and insufficient work or two, perceived disagreement with the king. Now study the Bible, when Peter was in a cabinet meeting one day and Peter disagreed with the king, the King didn't think twice, he put him out of the meeting. He told him immediately, you are full of another spirit.. See, you cannot stay with the king and have a different opinion. This gets deep. So that's why Hamachiach said either you are with or you are against me. Either you are in this cabinet or you are not. Now a lot of times you don't understand how politics work. One time Yahusha said in Luke 16 the kingdom of The Most High Yah is like a man who owned a business and he gave management to a manager and the manager mismanaged the Masters resources and the master did what? The master called him in to give an account and then it says the master decided to fire him. That's in Luke. He’s talking about me and you. I believe a lot of preachers have been fired and don’t even know it yet. If you aren’t preaching what he told you to preach, after 20 years of him trying to correct you, you are fired a long time ago. You are just coming on the job you aren’t hired. Hamachiach says he will fire people and it was not for sin. It was for mismanagement. They have a law, it's almost an unwritten law, it's called collective responsibility, this is very important to remember. Now what that means in government is that once the cabinet secret meeting is held and the information is exchanged in that meeting, you cannot tell anybody anything different. In other words, you cannot give your personal opinion after the meeting. Whatever the leader says you have to say even if you have a little problem with it in the meeting. It's called collective responsibility. That is as old as Rome. Now why is that important? Once Yahusha tells you something, like fornication is sin, you can't come out later and say you know I don't like or agree with that. You’re fired! If you’re in a meeting and the King says homosexuality is an abomination, that's between you and the cabinet. You can't come out in public and say something different than what he said to you in the meeting. So you can't decide, “I disagree with The Most High Yah.” You can't disagree with The Most High Yah and still be in the government. So when you read the Bible, Hamachiach says you’re either with me or you are you against me. Either you are in my cabinet or you are not in my cabinet and guess what he says, you didn't choose me, I chose you, so if I fire you, you’re fired! So that’s how the kingdom works. Now for most of you, for the first time, with this understanding of the ecclessia being a government cabinet with a private secret privilege, the next statement makes sense. Let's read it now. He says, upon this statement I'm gonna build my cabinet and the gates of Hell can not stop it. Verse 19 and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed. Then he warned them. This is the private cabinet warning. He says, do not tell anyone that I am the Hamachiach. And I want to add a word, “yet”. In other words, this is a private meeting right now. We don't want Rome to panic. Now he says about keys. Let's talk a little bit about keys. In Luke chapter 11 he says, woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away the key to the knowledge for yourselves, you have not entered and you have hindered those who were entering. Now let's go back to Matthew for a moment. He told his cabinet, his ecclessia, his group of hand-picked chosen people, he said I will give to you the keys of the kingdom. I will give to who? You? So who has the keys of the kingdom? Only this group of people called his ecclessia, his what? Church. What did he give the Church? Keys of The Kingdom. Not to the Kingdom but of the Kingdom. Only this group. Now according to him this is the cabinet, so you can’t tell everybody about the keys. It has been given to you to know the secret keys he says. Which means that you are supposed to be operating on a level that blows people's minds. You're supposed to be having access to a power that mystifies the people you work with. You're supposed to be living at a certain level of life where you are tapping into resources that people can't explain how you get it. Only this group has this. No wonder why you know the early church was a mystery because I'm sure Caesar was sure he locked Peter up. I know I locked him up, I put chains on the brother, I put soldiers to guard him. I know those chains work. Then Peter walked out. So Peter was tapping into a power that was a secret key. He had the key to a secret power that can unlock the chain Caesar locked up. So when the Bible says whatever you bind, heaven binds and whatever you loose heaven loose, so all of a sudden if somebody binds something, you loose it. They bind something else, you loose it. They say, hey where are you getting your power from? Secret keys. I got a key and every time you lock something, I unlock it. So the cabinet of the United States government has what? Information. Bottom line. He gave them what? Information. The power of a cabinet is information. They have knowledge of things no one else has. So the knowledge in a cabinet is its power. You see the crisis that has hit the United States and President-Elect Biden has been choosing and meeting with his cabinet and his security team and then he comes out and makes a speech. He doesn't tell you anything they talked about. He makes a nice little speech and then he leaves. He is saying I'm not telling you anything, right? That's a secret meeting. Let me tell you something. The Most High Yah loves you so much. The Most High Yah has brought you into his secret circle. You are in the cabinet. One thing you need to know is that religious people are not political. You know all the terms you read in the Bible, terms like: “come boldly into the throne room of The Most High Yah.” You can't just walk in the throne room if you aren't qualified but he says, once you get the blood of Yahusha on you and and you've been forgiven, once you've got your sins covered then you are in the cabinet. You can walk right in the cabinet building, in the inner circle. Then he doesn't just say come in and stand. He says come and sit with me in heavenly places. So you don’t have to worry right now with what is going on in the world right now. Whether you are going to keep your job, whether you're going to have money, whether you’re going to have food. Can you imagine a government that can't feed its cabinet? I put it to you, if anybody's going to eat in this country, it can be assured it will be the ones who are in the cabinet because they need to be able to think and concentrate on the business of government, not how to pay a light bill. The disciples started worrying about food and clothes and the king says wait a minute, you're in my cabinet. That's why he told the disciples, why do you worry about what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, how you will live. Didn't you get the message? If you seek first my kingdom and it’s righteousness, once you get in the cabinet, he says all these things come with the job! So the most important thing you want to do, especially during this dark moment in history in our world right now, is to make sure that you aren't in the House of Representatives. Now I rest my case. See, I believe a lot of people who dress up like religious people, they are in the House of Reps. They look right, dress right, they all robed up but they're not in the cabinet. My job, my passion right now is to move y'all out of the House of Assembly. See everybody is assembling. All kinds of churches are meeting but Hamachiach says but only those who are in the inner circle. You’ve got to understand the kingdom. Only that group he gave the knowledge of the keys. Now I'm going to show you who the Assemblies are. See here Luke 11 verse 52 is the assembly. Woe to you who are assembling. They are the House of Assembly. Always meeting every weekend somewhere. Experts in what? The law. In other words, they know this book. Oh, they preach it, they can speak it out and they can get you movin. He says you are experts in the laws of The Most High Yah he says, but woe to you because you have taken away the key to the knowledge you yourselves have not entered into the kingdom and you have hindered those who are wanting to enter. Now I don't know about you but it gets me a little angry. I want you to forgive me, if in times past, in any way, if I hindered you from entering into the privileges of the inner circle. Because my job as a cabinet minister of the government of The Most High Yah is to make sure every single citizen is in the cabinet. Now that's a strange government. He said upon this rock I will build my ecclessia. That means anybody who has entered the kingdom the way that he prescribed, they are all cabinet ministers. Let's take a look at something else. The next verse verse woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites, you shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces, you yourself do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying. He said you shut the door in their face. Now watch this Luke 11:52 words of a cabinet language. Woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away the key to knowledge, you yourselves have not entered and you have hindered those who are entering. Once again he calls it the key to what? Knowledge. I want to emphasize that. Isaiah 33 verse 6 says, he will be the sure foundation for your time, speaking of the Messiah, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. Now notice what he says, Hamachiach will be filled with. Can you list them? He said when the Messiah comes there are 3 things he is going to be filled with. What is it? Salvation. Okay you get wholeness then what? Wisdom which is application. Then He has what? Knowledge. He said, now these three things are the most important things that he is coming with. Do you know what every Prime Minister and every president wants to do for his or her country are those things right there. They want to save the people from all their problems, want to make sure to get food and clothes and water, lights and everything. That's salvation. Salvation means wholeness. They want to make sure that the citizen is whole and complete. That's the goal. Then the government's job is to educate the citizen concerning his rights. That's the knowledge part. Then he is to make sure he protects the citizens rights to apply that knowledge to himself. That's the wisdom. So the government's job is to make sure you have all your needs met, that salvation. Then to teach you how to keep them met by giving you the knowledge of your constitution, so you can have all your rights protected, that's the knowledge and the wisdom. Is this making sense? So you are a Bahamian citizen for example. The government provides lights for you. That's their job as part of the salvation of the country. So you have lights. What happens? Let’s say your lights go off. What do you do? You sit in the house and you say what? My light is off, so you are in darkness. Watch this. You're in darkness in the house and you sit down and you say I don't know what's wrong, I don't know why my light is off, I don't know what happened, I don't know who turned it off, I don't know why it's still off. It’s been off for the last three weeks and I've been sitting here in the darkness and no one has come to turn it on and I don't know why nobody comes and turns the light on and I don't know what's wrong, I don't know why it's off. So you sit there in darkness for three weeks and then I come along to visit you and I say, what are you doing in this house all these days? And you say well the lights went off and I don't know why and I can't turn them on and I don't know why they went off and I don't know who's keeping them off. I don't know why no one turned them on. I don't understand. So you sit there. I know this sounds funny but it's exactly how most people are living. So I say, first of all have you checked your meter or your fuse box? See, now I start giving what? Information. Then your answer, I didn't know we had a fuse box. It’s funny but this is how Christians are. They don't know what's in the Bible. I say yeah there's a box in this house and it looks a certain way. So we look around in the dark a little bit and I feel this thing. Oh yeah here it is. I said now do you know that you have fuses. You say what are fuses? I am confused about this fuse. So now you didn’t even know you had a box, now you don't know what's in the box. This is how we are spiritually. We could be sitting in the midst of our answers, loaded with questions living in the darkness. So I say yes it has switches here. Let me try one and I try it and the lights come on and you go “praise the Lord”!!!! How long have you been living in darkness? Three weeks. Some folks for years, some folks all they’re so called saved life. What brought the lights on? Knowledge. You know the lights were there all along but knowledge turned them on. He shall be a rich store of what? Knowledge. Now what do you do with knowledge? You've apply it and it becomes what? Wisdom. Look at the last line. The fear of the Lord is the key to what? To the treasure. What treasure? He's rich with three treasures: salvation, knowledge and wisdom and he says the key to getting to the treasure is what? Submission to him. Let him teach you his ways. So the way you get the key is to get the knowledge that he has so you can tap into the treasure that is yours, so you don't live in darkness. I'm talking about spiritual stuff. Now your life is a mess. You didn't know that as a citizen you have the right to go to the clinic down the street for free health care provided by the government? You have been sick all these years. Do you know the government has a right to take care of you? You didn’t know you could go to the hospital and they have to serve you free of charge? It's a part of the program for the government. He says you need to get this treasure. Isaiah 22 and I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David, when he opens no one shuts and when he shuts no one opens. He says, look when Hamachiach comes he's gonna give you some keys and the key will be the keys to the house of David. Now this term house of David is shown up all through scripture, referring to the rights of the kingdom throne of The Most High Yah. You know one of the titles given to Yahusha was the son of David. Which means a term referring to the Royal position of his Kingship. He will give you the keys to the King's Authority. That's what that means. And it will be where? Upon his shoulders. This is exactly the problem with many believers today. We have a big bunch of “keys” called “Scriptures” that most of us don’t know how to use. We have the keys, but we don’t know which key unlocks which lock. It’s like having all of this information but not knowing how to use it, having all of this power available to us but not knowing how to apply it. Knowledge of the Word of The Most High Yah is important, but insufficient by itself for effective living as a believer. This is because most believers lack a proper Kingdom mind-set. Life in the Kingdom is really about returning to the governing authority of The Most High Yah in the earth and learning how to live and function in that authority. Part of understanding the Kingdom is learning how to use the keys of the Kingdom. The key to keys is not having keys. The key to keys is knowledge, knowing what the keys are for and how to use them. On another occasion Yahashua told His “cabinet”: The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of The Most High Yah has been given to you inLuke 8 verse 10. The Kingdom of heaven is not a secret society, but its keys have to be learned. A secret is anything you don’t know, especially if somebody else does. My Father has given you the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom. I will teach you how to use the keys. Knowledge leads to understanding. Once we know the principles behind keys, we can understand how they work in the Kingdom. There are several principles that define the properties of keys. 1. Keys represent authority. If you possess a key to a place, it means you have authority in that place. 2. Keys represent access. A key gives you instant access to everything that key opens. The secret is in knowing what the key opens. The keys of the Kingdom of Heaven give us immediate access to all the resources of heaven. But we have to know how to use them. So often we limit ourselves by trusting or believing only in what we can see with our eyes or reason out with our minds. A Kingdom mind-set completely changes our perspective. 3. Keys represent ownership. Possession of a key gives you de facto ownership of whatever that key opens. Therefore, when you possess the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, you have ownership of heaven on earth. Yahashua said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” In other words, you own on earth whatever is going on in Heaven. This means that you should never judge how your life is going simply by your circumstances. 4. Keys represent control. If you possess the key to something, you control it. You control when it opens, when it closes, and who gets access to it. A key helps you control time. In other words, you decide whether to open it up at 8:00 or 10:00 or 6:00 or whenever. This gives you control over when something comes. If you need something now, you operate a key. One day the Hebrew prophet Elijah met a poor widow gathering sticks at the town gate. This was during a severe drought. He asked her for a drink of water and a piece of bread.
As surely as the Lord your The Most High Yah lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the The Most High Yah of Israel says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah 1 Kings chapter 17 verse 12. The truth of the widow’s circumstances was that she and her son were about to starve. Elijah approaches and makes a bold, some might even say selfish, request: “I know you don’t have much, but feed me first and then yourself and your son. Trust in the Lord; He will take care of you.” This was not selfishness. Elijah was offering the woman a key. Once she took it, she had control. By faith and obedience she unlocked heaven’s larder and brought down for herself and her family supernatural provision that sustained them until the drought ended. Her entire life and mind-set shifted from the circumstances of want and privation to a Kingdom perspective of unlimited abundance. Keys represent authorization. Are you still with me? This is similar to number 1. Authorization means to be given the authority to act in the name or in the stead of whoever gave you the authority. By giving us the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Yahashua gives us the authority to influence Heaven. He has authorized us to act in His name and on His authority to request whatever we wish that is in accordance with His will and purpose. 6. Keys represent power. Whoever gives you keys gives you power at the same time. This is similar to control. You have control power over whatever you possess the keys for. If you know how to use the keys, whatever they unlock is at your disposal. When Yahashua gave us the keys to the kingdom, He gave us power in Heaven. Whatever we bind on earth affects Heaven; whatever we loose on earth affects Heaven; whatever we close on earth, Heaven closes. Do we really have that much power as Kingdom citizens? Yes. The King does not want us to live as victims of the earth’s system, so He has given us the ability to tap into a realm that is invisible but absolutely real and can literally affect the physical earth. This is why Hamachiach was able to live an abundant life in times of crisis. He had power from Heaven. And He has given that power to us.7. Keys represent freedom. When you have keys, you are free to go in and out. You are free to lock and unlock, to open and close. The keys of the Kingdom give us freedom from fear and all the other limiting emotions of an earthly system. I used to wonder why Yahashua was so carefree, so calm, and so in control no matter what was happening around Him. It was because He had the key of freedom. Freedom comes in knowing the truth. Truth alone is not what sets you free. What sets you free is the truth you know. The keys of the Kingdom can bring you into the knowledge of the truth.
Today we are walking in: Understanding How Kingdom Keys Work
Matthew 16:19
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
KEY
Today we look to the word-KEY- H4668 maphteach--key, opening instrument
The Torah testifies...............
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The prophets proclaim..................
Isaiah 22:22
And the key H4668 of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The writings bear witness...........................
Judges 3:25
And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, H4668 and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
UNDERSTANDING HOW THE KINGDOM KEYS WORK
Please turn your bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 16. I am very excited about this series. This afternoon we are going to continue on the series about the kingdom. Our subject this afternoon is the power of Kingdom right's and kingdom keys. We're going to be looking at understanding how the kingdom keys work. What this is all about is about understanding this powerful statement made by Yahusha. We are talking about the most important message on earth and that is the message about the kingdom of heaven. The original reason why The Most High Yah created the heavens and the earth is because he wanted the Kingdom of Heaven to influence, control and to manage earth. The Most High Yah is a very systematic The Most High Yah, he's a very practical The Most High Yah, but most importantly The Most High Yah is very predictable and that statement does not come across too easy for religious minds. I was taught to think that The Most High Yah moves in mysterious ways and what that did to me was it left me always guessing what The Most High Yah was going to do next, then how he was going to do it, and how I will know if he did it and The Most High Yah was in most cases a secret society almost. It was as if you could not depend on The Most High Yah to do things in a predictable way. But the very fact that The Most High Yah created the heavens and the earth and the universe to function on predictable laws, laws like gravity and the laws that we have been using, the laws of life, the way things grow and the way things function. The plants, the animals, they are predictable. You can tell what a bird is going to do and you can predict how a seed is going to become a plant. Things are predictable, so The Most High Yah is not a secretive The Most High Yah. Everything in the earth is based on law, based on systems and is based on functional, predictable principles. So as we approach this I wanted to get our attitudes right about The Most High Yah. The power of Kingdom keys. I want to begin by reading from the book of Matthew. Let's look at this briefly. Yahusha is about two ask one of the most important questions in life. Matthew chapter 16 and the question was about who he was and he asked his personal disciples, whom do people say I am and in Matthew 16 they answered. Verse 14 says, some say you are John the Baptist, others say you are Elijah come back and still others even say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said but who do you say I am. Peter answered you are the Hamachiach. Not a Hamachiach but The Hamachiach. You are the Son of the Living The Most High Yah which is the term that is designated only for the Anointed Messiah. So Peter is saying as a Jew, being a Jew, he being trained to expect the Messiah, Peter has come to the conclusion that this man who was standing before him was the man that he was taught about all his life in the synagogue. So Peter says you are the one we've been looking for and waiting for. You are the hope of Israel and the hope of the world. Yahusha answered and said to him, blessed are you Simon son of Jonah for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by my father who is in heaven. This is an important statement. The question is, what is “this”? What was he referring to? He's referring to the words that Peter said. Peter said you are the Hamachiach, you are the Son, the expected Messiah, The Anointed One. Yahusha said this statement that you have made was revealed to you by my Father. Then he says, Peter you are a, can I use the word pebble. The word petros means little rock, little stone. The word Petros means little rock, it means pebble. He says and you have spoken a petra and petra means a big boulder or mountain. So Hamachiach uses two words here. He says you are Peter, you are Petros and upon this Petra this big boulder that you made, the statement you made, I'm going to build my church. Write the word church down in your notes for a moment. The word church that he uses here is a Greek word. It's the word ecclessia. E-C-C-L-E-S-S-I-A, ecclessia. Upon this stone, this statement I'm going to build my ecclessia. Now the word ecclessia is important here because the word ecclessia is referring to a governmental term. The word church is not a religious term. The word ecclessia is a word that the Greeks invented or signified to mean a group of senators or a political grouping that was picked out by the democratic government. Remember the Greeks invented democracy. The concept of democracy was invented by the Greeks. The Greeks never applied it; they just developed the idea. But when the Romans over ran the Greek Empire the Romans took the Greek thought, their philosophy, and the Romans developed the thought. That's how Caesar developed such a powerful government. The Romans took the concept of Greek political thought and they applied it. So the Romans were called the practical leaders. They were the ones who put into practice what other's theorized about. In developing their system of government they developed what they call the Senate. The word Senate that we use today comes from the Roman form of government which was the Greek form of democracy. So every democracy has to have a Senate. Now I want to stress that during the Roman Empire the Senate was like the cabinet. Is that clear? In other words, the way we have it today, we’ve got the house of assembly or the house of Congress and then we’ve got the Senate and we have these houses. In the Roman Empire they didn't have all these houses. He has that one house and it was called the Senate. The Senate was the power house. These were individuals that were hand-picked by the Emperor, the King, Caesar. The concept of the government was to handpick these individuals who will be the ones to receive the mind of the Emperor, the thoughts of the Emperor, the desires of the Emperor, the passion, and the intent of the Emperor. So they had to stay with the Emperor. Is that clear? They had to talk to him and he had to give them information about what he wanted in the kingdom. The Senators job then, which is then called ecclessia which we translate as church, that job was to take the mind of the king and make it legal or should I say to make it legislation that could be implemented in the kingdom. This is important because the word ecclessia is a political term. We translate it from Greek into English as Church. So the word Church itself is non religious, it's political. When I first sat in class in college and began to take the Greek New Testament class I had problems because when we got to this section and we began to read from the original Greek language and began to read the meaning of ecclessia, being brought up in a religious environment, the word Church to me was only religious. But here I was reading it from the original text and it was referring to a political group. That's why Yahusha had to use terms like this, “upon this statement I will build my ecclessia.” “My” implies that there were others. Is that clear? If I say this is my dress that means there are some other dresses around but this one is mine. So Hamachiach couldn't couldn't say upon this rock I will build the ecclessia. He could have said that but it wouldn't have been correct because there were other ecclessia’s. He was saying, look the same way Caesar is a lord, I am a lord and Caesar has built his ecclessia on the belief that he is the Lord and the son of a The Most High Yah. Remember the belief of the Romans was a polytheistic belief and it was believed by the people just like in Pharaoh’s time that the leader was some special divine gift. So the concept was that the Caesars were really gifts of The Most High Yah and they really began to believe that themselves. So Hamachiach was saying, look the same way that Caesar is Lord of his government and has created his Senate, his ecclessia, his cabinet, I will also build my cabinet on the fact that I am the Hamachiach, I am the Lord of Lords, I am the Son of the Living The Most High Yah. He said the statement you made, Peter, is what I'm going to build my government on. Now what is church then? Let's try to use a term that you understand. Remember now the word ecclessia is in reference to this group that became called the Senate, which was the cabinet. So in the Bahamas for example, who is the cabinet? The cabinet is the most powerful group in the Bahamas. They are more powerful than Parliament. Now they are members of parliament but they are more powerful. The most powerful group in a parliamentary democracy system is the group called the cabinet. Now who picks the cabinet? You don't vote for the cabinet, do you? In a democracy the people do not vote for the cabinet. The cabinet in America and the democracy there's a cabinet. You don't vote for the cabinet. All cabinets are hand-picked. That's the same group called ecclessia. That's why the only person that can fire a cabinet member is the President or the Prime Minister because they appointed them, they picked them. Remember you can vote for representatives but you can't vote for cabinet members. They are picked, they are chosen. That's important because you remember one time that his disciples were having a little scuffle and Hamachiach overheard this little argument about power and he said, you didn't choose me. That was a political statement. He says I chose you, you didn't choose me. In other words, you can’t determine who's in this cabinet. See, they began to compete, who should be number one, who should be number two. Hamachiach says look, I'm the one who chose who was who. This is the ecclessia here. Now in this chapter he's driving at home, he's saying look, I'm about to establish my government. That's what I came with my shoulders laden with and I'm going to set it up. He said now here's how I'm going to set it up. I'm going to use the same principles that Caesar used. That's why I came at this time, so you can understand my words. I came at the right time so every word I speak can be properly defined. When the fullness of time came The Most High Yah sent forth his son. The timing was perfect. He came during a government that was just set up like the government of The Most High Yah. So he said I'm going to build my ecclessia upon the fact that I am the Hamachiach from the Living The Most High Yah, and then he says, the gates of hell cannot stop the growth of my government. That’s what that statement means. The gates should not prevail against it, against who? My ecclessia. What is the word ecclessia in English? Church! So according to Yahusha he never created a religion, he created a political force. A cabinet minister has the power in the country because he sits with the leader and when they meet the house doesn't meet with them. The cabinet meets on day 3 that is not when the house meets. The cabinet meetings are private. This is important. This is the same concept used by Yahusha. The cabinet is a secret meeting. What goes on in the cabinet, the house of assembly doesn't know. Did you know that? It's a private group because the cabinet is the group that gets the mind of the leader and they carry out the intentions of the leader and they inform the house of what they're going to do. See, what the cabinet minister knows the other members of assembly and the house doesn't know. What the Senate of Rome knew, the other people in the Empire didn't know because only they had the privilege to be with Caesar personally and he gave them his ideas of what he wanted. Now therefore the ecclessia is a secret group that has secret information. Let's read the Bible now he said upon this rock I tell you I'm going to build my Senate, my cabinet, my administrators who will carry out my wishes, and my will. Are you still with me? So the cabinet's job is to take the will of the king and to execute it in the Empire and make sure it gets done. Listen carefully, that is why Prime Ministers and Presidents fire cabinet ministers. One of the main reasons they get fired is because of lack of effective working. Now one of the main things that you measure a cabinet for is what? How well they execute their ministry. Why is it called ministry? Because they are responsible for ministering to the entire empire. If they do not execute their ministry effectively then the king or the prime minister or the president calls them in and says you will no longer be a cabinet minister, you will not be put into position to administer my kingdom for me. So basically a cabinet minister gets fired for one or two reasons. One, Ineffective and insufficient work or two, perceived disagreement with the king. Now study the Bible, when Peter was in a cabinet meeting one day and Peter disagreed with the king, the King didn't think twice, he put him out of the meeting. He told him immediately, you are full of another spirit.. See, you cannot stay with the king and have a different opinion. This gets deep. So that's why Hamachiach said either you are with or you are against me. Either you are in this cabinet or you are not. Now a lot of times you don't understand how politics work. One time Yahusha said in Luke 16 the kingdom of The Most High Yah is like a man who owned a business and he gave management to a manager and the manager mismanaged the Masters resources and the master did what? The master called him in to give an account and then it says the master decided to fire him. That's in Luke. He’s talking about me and you. I believe a lot of preachers have been fired and don’t even know it yet. If you aren’t preaching what he told you to preach, after 20 years of him trying to correct you, you are fired a long time ago. You are just coming on the job you aren’t hired. Hamachiach says he will fire people and it was not for sin. It was for mismanagement. They have a law, it's almost an unwritten law, it's called collective responsibility, this is very important to remember. Now what that means in government is that once the cabinet secret meeting is held and the information is exchanged in that meeting, you cannot tell anybody anything different. In other words, you cannot give your personal opinion after the meeting. Whatever the leader says you have to say even if you have a little problem with it in the meeting. It's called collective responsibility. That is as old as Rome. Now why is that important? Once Yahusha tells you something, like fornication is sin, you can't come out later and say you know I don't like or agree with that. You’re fired! If you’re in a meeting and the King says homosexuality is an abomination, that's between you and the cabinet. You can't come out in public and say something different than what he said to you in the meeting. So you can't decide, “I disagree with The Most High Yah.” You can't disagree with The Most High Yah and still be in the government. So when you read the Bible, Hamachiach says you’re either with me or you are you against me. Either you are in my cabinet or you are not in my cabinet and guess what he says, you didn't choose me, I chose you, so if I fire you, you’re fired! So that’s how the kingdom works. Now for most of you, for the first time, with this understanding of the ecclessia being a government cabinet with a private secret privilege, the next statement makes sense. Let's read it now. He says, upon this statement I'm gonna build my cabinet and the gates of Hell can not stop it. Verse 19 and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed. Then he warned them. This is the private cabinet warning. He says, do not tell anyone that I am the Hamachiach. And I want to add a word, “yet”. In other words, this is a private meeting right now. We don't want Rome to panic. Now he says about keys. Let's talk a little bit about keys. In Luke chapter 11 he says, woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away the key to the knowledge for yourselves, you have not entered and you have hindered those who were entering. Now let's go back to Matthew for a moment. He told his cabinet, his ecclessia, his group of hand-picked chosen people, he said I will give to you the keys of the kingdom. I will give to who? You? So who has the keys of the kingdom? Only this group of people called his ecclessia, his what? Church. What did he give the Church? Keys of The Kingdom. Not to the Kingdom but of the Kingdom. Only this group. Now according to him this is the cabinet, so you can’t tell everybody about the keys. It has been given to you to know the secret keys he says. Which means that you are supposed to be operating on a level that blows people's minds. You're supposed to be having access to a power that mystifies the people you work with. You're supposed to be living at a certain level of life where you are tapping into resources that people can't explain how you get it. Only this group has this. No wonder why you know the early church was a mystery because I'm sure Caesar was sure he locked Peter up. I know I locked him up, I put chains on the brother, I put soldiers to guard him. I know those chains work. Then Peter walked out. So Peter was tapping into a power that was a secret key. He had the key to a secret power that can unlock the chain Caesar locked up. So when the Bible says whatever you bind, heaven binds and whatever you loose heaven loose, so all of a sudden if somebody binds something, you loose it. They bind something else, you loose it. They say, hey where are you getting your power from? Secret keys. I got a key and every time you lock something, I unlock it. So the cabinet of the United States government has what? Information. Bottom line. He gave them what? Information. The power of a cabinet is information. They have knowledge of things no one else has. So the knowledge in a cabinet is its power. You see the crisis that has hit the United States and President-Elect Biden has been choosing and meeting with his cabinet and his security team and then he comes out and makes a speech. He doesn't tell you anything they talked about. He makes a nice little speech and then he leaves. He is saying I'm not telling you anything, right? That's a secret meeting. Let me tell you something. The Most High Yah loves you so much. The Most High Yah has brought you into his secret circle. You are in the cabinet. One thing you need to know is that religious people are not political. You know all the terms you read in the Bible, terms like: “come boldly into the throne room of The Most High Yah.” You can't just walk in the throne room if you aren't qualified but he says, once you get the blood of Yahusha on you and and you've been forgiven, once you've got your sins covered then you are in the cabinet. You can walk right in the cabinet building, in the inner circle. Then he doesn't just say come in and stand. He says come and sit with me in heavenly places. So you don’t have to worry right now with what is going on in the world right now. Whether you are going to keep your job, whether you're going to have money, whether you’re going to have food. Can you imagine a government that can't feed its cabinet? I put it to you, if anybody's going to eat in this country, it can be assured it will be the ones who are in the cabinet because they need to be able to think and concentrate on the business of government, not how to pay a light bill. The disciples started worrying about food and clothes and the king says wait a minute, you're in my cabinet. That's why he told the disciples, why do you worry about what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, how you will live. Didn't you get the message? If you seek first my kingdom and it’s righteousness, once you get in the cabinet, he says all these things come with the job! So the most important thing you want to do, especially during this dark moment in history in our world right now, is to make sure that you aren't in the House of Representatives. Now I rest my case. See, I believe a lot of people who dress up like religious people, they are in the House of Reps. They look right, dress right, they all robed up but they're not in the cabinet. My job, my passion right now is to move y'all out of the House of Assembly. See everybody is assembling. All kinds of churches are meeting but Hamachiach says but only those who are in the inner circle. You’ve got to understand the kingdom. Only that group he gave the knowledge of the keys. Now I'm going to show you who the Assemblies are. See here Luke 11 verse 52 is the assembly. Woe to you who are assembling. They are the House of Assembly. Always meeting every weekend somewhere. Experts in what? The law. In other words, they know this book. Oh, they preach it, they can speak it out and they can get you movin. He says you are experts in the laws of The Most High Yah he says, but woe to you because you have taken away the key to the knowledge you yourselves have not entered into the kingdom and you have hindered those who are wanting to enter. Now I don't know about you but it gets me a little angry. I want you to forgive me, if in times past, in any way, if I hindered you from entering into the privileges of the inner circle. Because my job as a cabinet minister of the government of The Most High Yah is to make sure every single citizen is in the cabinet. Now that's a strange government. He said upon this rock I will build my ecclessia. That means anybody who has entered the kingdom the way that he prescribed, they are all cabinet ministers. Let's take a look at something else. The next verse verse woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites, you shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces, you yourself do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying. He said you shut the door in their face. Now watch this Luke 11:52 words of a cabinet language. Woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away the key to knowledge, you yourselves have not entered and you have hindered those who are entering. Once again he calls it the key to what? Knowledge. I want to emphasize that. Isaiah 33 verse 6 says, he will be the sure foundation for your time, speaking of the Messiah, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. Now notice what he says, Hamachiach will be filled with. Can you list them? He said when the Messiah comes there are 3 things he is going to be filled with. What is it? Salvation. Okay you get wholeness then what? Wisdom which is application. Then He has what? Knowledge. He said, now these three things are the most important things that he is coming with. Do you know what every Prime Minister and every president wants to do for his or her country are those things right there. They want to save the people from all their problems, want to make sure to get food and clothes and water, lights and everything. That's salvation. Salvation means wholeness. They want to make sure that the citizen is whole and complete. That's the goal. Then the government's job is to educate the citizen concerning his rights. That's the knowledge part. Then he is to make sure he protects the citizens rights to apply that knowledge to himself. That's the wisdom. So the government's job is to make sure you have all your needs met, that salvation. Then to teach you how to keep them met by giving you the knowledge of your constitution, so you can have all your rights protected, that's the knowledge and the wisdom. Is this making sense? So you are a Bahamian citizen for example. The government provides lights for you. That's their job as part of the salvation of the country. So you have lights. What happens? Let’s say your lights go off. What do you do? You sit in the house and you say what? My light is off, so you are in darkness. Watch this. You're in darkness in the house and you sit down and you say I don't know what's wrong, I don't know why my light is off, I don't know what happened, I don't know who turned it off, I don't know why it's still off. It’s been off for the last three weeks and I've been sitting here in the darkness and no one has come to turn it on and I don't know why nobody comes and turns the light on and I don't know what's wrong, I don't know why it's off. So you sit there in darkness for three weeks and then I come along to visit you and I say, what are you doing in this house all these days? And you say well the lights went off and I don't know why and I can't turn them on and I don't know why they went off and I don't know who's keeping them off. I don't know why no one turned them on. I don't understand. So you sit there. I know this sounds funny but it's exactly how most people are living. So I say, first of all have you checked your meter or your fuse box? See, now I start giving what? Information. Then your answer, I didn't know we had a fuse box. It’s funny but this is how Christians are. They don't know what's in the Bible. I say yeah there's a box in this house and it looks a certain way. So we look around in the dark a little bit and I feel this thing. Oh yeah here it is. I said now do you know that you have fuses. You say what are fuses? I am confused about this fuse. So now you didn’t even know you had a box, now you don't know what's in the box. This is how we are spiritually. We could be sitting in the midst of our answers, loaded with questions living in the darkness. So I say yes it has switches here. Let me try one and I try it and the lights come on and you go “praise the Lord”!!!! How long have you been living in darkness? Three weeks. Some folks for years, some folks all they’re so called saved life. What brought the lights on? Knowledge. You know the lights were there all along but knowledge turned them on. He shall be a rich store of what? Knowledge. Now what do you do with knowledge? You've apply it and it becomes what? Wisdom. Look at the last line. The fear of the Lord is the key to what? To the treasure. What treasure? He's rich with three treasures: salvation, knowledge and wisdom and he says the key to getting to the treasure is what? Submission to him. Let him teach you his ways. So the way you get the key is to get the knowledge that he has so you can tap into the treasure that is yours, so you don't live in darkness. I'm talking about spiritual stuff. Now your life is a mess. You didn't know that as a citizen you have the right to go to the clinic down the street for free health care provided by the government? You have been sick all these years. Do you know the government has a right to take care of you? You didn’t know you could go to the hospital and they have to serve you free of charge? It's a part of the program for the government. He says you need to get this treasure. Isaiah 22 and I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David, when he opens no one shuts and when he shuts no one opens. He says, look when Hamachiach comes he's gonna give you some keys and the key will be the keys to the house of David. Now this term house of David is shown up all through scripture, referring to the rights of the kingdom throne of The Most High Yah. You know one of the titles given to Yahusha was the son of David. Which means a term referring to the Royal position of his Kingship. He will give you the keys to the King's Authority. That's what that means. And it will be where? Upon his shoulders. This is exactly the problem with many believers today. We have a big bunch of “keys” called “Scriptures” that most of us don’t know how to use. We have the keys, but we don’t know which key unlocks which lock. It’s like having all of this information but not knowing how to use it, having all of this power available to us but not knowing how to apply it. Knowledge of the Word of The Most High Yah is important, but insufficient by itself for effective living as a believer. This is because most believers lack a proper Kingdom mind-set. Life in the Kingdom is really about returning to the governing authority of The Most High Yah in the earth and learning how to live and function in that authority. Part of understanding the Kingdom is learning how to use the keys of the Kingdom. The key to keys is not having keys. The key to keys is knowledge, knowing what the keys are for and how to use them. On another occasion Yahashua told His “cabinet”: The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of The Most High Yah has been given to you inLuke 8 verse 10. The Kingdom of heaven is not a secret society, but its keys have to be learned. A secret is anything you don’t know, especially if somebody else does. My Father has given you the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom. I will teach you how to use the keys. Knowledge leads to understanding. Once we know the principles behind keys, we can understand how they work in the Kingdom. There are several principles that define the properties of keys. 1. Keys represent authority. If you possess a key to a place, it means you have authority in that place. 2. Keys represent access. A key gives you instant access to everything that key opens. The secret is in knowing what the key opens. The keys of the Kingdom of Heaven give us immediate access to all the resources of heaven. But we have to know how to use them. So often we limit ourselves by trusting or believing only in what we can see with our eyes or reason out with our minds. A Kingdom mind-set completely changes our perspective. 3. Keys represent ownership. Possession of a key gives you de facto ownership of whatever that key opens. Therefore, when you possess the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, you have ownership of heaven on earth. Yahashua said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” In other words, you own on earth whatever is going on in Heaven. This means that you should never judge how your life is going simply by your circumstances. 4. Keys represent control. If you possess the key to something, you control it. You control when it opens, when it closes, and who gets access to it. A key helps you control time. In other words, you decide whether to open it up at 8:00 or 10:00 or 6:00 or whenever. This gives you control over when something comes. If you need something now, you operate a key. One day the Hebrew prophet Elijah met a poor widow gathering sticks at the town gate. This was during a severe drought. He asked her for a drink of water and a piece of bread.
As surely as the Lord your The Most High Yah lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the The Most High Yah of Israel says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah 1 Kings chapter 17 verse 12. The truth of the widow’s circumstances was that she and her son were about to starve. Elijah approaches and makes a bold, some might even say selfish, request: “I know you don’t have much, but feed me first and then yourself and your son. Trust in the Lord; He will take care of you.” This was not selfishness. Elijah was offering the woman a key. Once she took it, she had control. By faith and obedience she unlocked heaven’s larder and brought down for herself and her family supernatural provision that sustained them until the drought ended. Her entire life and mind-set shifted from the circumstances of want and privation to a Kingdom perspective of unlimited abundance. Keys represent authorization. Are you still with me? This is similar to number 1. Authorization means to be given the authority to act in the name or in the stead of whoever gave you the authority. By giving us the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Yahashua gives us the authority to influence Heaven. He has authorized us to act in His name and on His authority to request whatever we wish that is in accordance with His will and purpose. 6. Keys represent power. Whoever gives you keys gives you power at the same time. This is similar to control. You have control power over whatever you possess the keys for. If you know how to use the keys, whatever they unlock is at your disposal. When Yahashua gave us the keys to the kingdom, He gave us power in Heaven. Whatever we bind on earth affects Heaven; whatever we loose on earth affects Heaven; whatever we close on earth, Heaven closes. Do we really have that much power as Kingdom citizens? Yes. The King does not want us to live as victims of the earth’s system, so He has given us the ability to tap into a realm that is invisible but absolutely real and can literally affect the physical earth. This is why Hamachiach was able to live an abundant life in times of crisis. He had power from Heaven. And He has given that power to us.7. Keys represent freedom. When you have keys, you are free to go in and out. You are free to lock and unlock, to open and close. The keys of the Kingdom give us freedom from fear and all the other limiting emotions of an earthly system. I used to wonder why Yahashua was so carefree, so calm, and so in control no matter what was happening around Him. It was because He had the key of freedom. Freedom comes in knowing the truth. Truth alone is not what sets you free. What sets you free is the truth you know. The keys of the Kingdom can bring you into the knowledge of the truth.
Friday, March 1, 2024
UNDERSTANDING GARDEN INFLUENCE
Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: Understanding Garden Influence
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 Six
UNDERSTANDING GARDEN INFLUENCE
BY now it should be abundantly clear that the Kingdom of
Heaven is not a religion and has nothing at all to do with religion. In Eden, the original Kingdom Garden on Earth, there was no religion. There was no worship in the sense that we usually understand the word. Adam and Eve enjoyed full, open, and transparent fellowship and interaction with their Creator in a mutual relationship of pure love with absolutely no guilt, shame, or fear. Their disobedience broke that relationship, and humanity’s efforts to restore it on their own without divine assistance gave rise to religion.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the sovereign rulership of the King (Yah) over a territory (Earth). He impacts it with His will, purposes, and intent, producing a citizenry of people (ekklesia —the Church) who express a culture reflecting the nature and lifestyle of the King. Therefore, as we have seen, the Kingdom of Heaven is a real, literal country, although invisible to physical eyes because it is spiritual in nature. As King of Heaven, Yah’s big idea was to extend the influence of His heavenly country over and throughout the Earth. So we are really talking about two things here: Yah’s country and its influence.
In reading the four Gospels of the New Testament— Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—it becomes immediately clear that Yahusha used two similar but different phrases to refer to the country of the King and the influence of the King. Sometimes He referred to the “Kingdom of Heaven,” and at other times to the “Kingdom of Yah.” Although it is common to use these phrases interchangeably, there is an important difference in focus. The phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” refers to the literal place, the “headquarters” country of Yah. “Kingdom of Yah,” on the other hand, refers to the King’s influence wherever it extends, but especially its extension into the earthly realm. Another way to explain the distinction is to say that while we can go to the Kingdom of Heaven, we can bring the Kingdom of Yah to the Earth. Heaven is the place; the Kingdom of Yah is the influence. That is why Yahusha said, “The kingdom of Yah is within you” (Luke 17:21b). Wherever the Kingdom of Yah is, the Kingdom of Heaven has influence. So wherever we go as Kingdom citizens, the influence of the King should go along.
The most powerful expression of any nation is its culture: its values, morals, customs, codes of conduct, standards of living, modes of dress, food, and dietary practices, etc. A strong and rich culture can wield an influence far beyond its geographical boundaries. France is a good example. Historically, French culture has a high and proud heritage with truly worldwide influence, particularly in the areas of language and the culinary arts. Many English words—“croissant” for example—either were borrowed directly from the French or are of French origin or derivation. French cooking is deservedly famous around the world and so influential that even to this day most of the terminology used in Western cooking is French (such as sauté). One reason French culture has had such tremendous influence is because Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” was the most powerful monarch in European history. The culture of his kingdom spread not only throughout Europe, but also to all nations worldwide that were originally colonized by European nations. So, even though the kingdom of Louis XIVis long gone, the influence of its culture remains.
Yah is after the same result for His Kingdom culture and influence on the Earth. He wants people all over the world to see the evidence of His Kingdom in the values and lifestyles of His citizens and to be drawn to that influence.
IRRESISTIBLE INFLUENCE
There are two kinds of influence: the influence of the moment, which spreads rapidly and then disappears just as quickly; and lasting influence, which grows more slowly, but succeeds through persistence and permeation. Momentary or fleeting influence includes such fads as fashion, hairstyles, and the latest “popular” books, which are here today and gone tomorrow. These superficial influences, and others like them, may make a big stir in society for a time, but they generally lack the depth and substance to effect any significant changes in the culture. Influence that lasts operates more subtly and works from the inside out, altering external appearances and behavior by changing internal values, beliefs, and mindsets.
Kingdom influence is of the second type. It operates gradually, based on eternal, unchanging principles of Yah and according to a timetable that encompasses millennia. Yah literally has all the time in the universe to fulfill His plan. Consider this: at least 4,000 years passed from the time Adam and Eve lost the kingdom in Eden until Hamachiach announced its return. More than 2,000 years have elapsed since Yahusha walked the Earth, and Yah’s ultimate plan has still not yet reached completion. But throughout all that time, His influence has been growing and expanding gradually and sometimes almost invisibly, permeating human culture. And none of the efforts of either humans or the pretender can stop it.
Ultimately, the influence of Yah’s Kingdom is irresistible. This does not mean that everyone eventually will enter the Kingdom, but it does mean that someday everyone will acknowledge the reality, authority, and absolute supremacy of the Kingdom of Heaven. The apostle Paul stated plainly that the day will come when:
That at the name of Yahusha every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Yahuah is Yahusha Ha'Mashiach, to the glory of Elohiym the Father. PHILIPPIYM (PHILIPPIANS) 2:10-11 את CEPHER.
The word Lord means “owner” and is a term properly applied to a king. Hamachiach is the King of an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent Kingdom, and one day everyone will confess that this is so, even those who have rejected His Kingdom.
The subtle yet irresistible nature of the Kingdom was the subject of several of Yahusha’ parables, or teaching stories:
And he said, So is the Kingdom of Elohiym, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how. For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the grain, after that the full head of grain. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come. MARQUS (MARK) 4:26-29 את CEPHER.
As with the mysterious way of seeds in the Earth, the Kingdom of Yah grows silently and invisibly, until one day, like the harvest-ready grain, the evidence of its presence is there for all to see.
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:31-32 את CEPHER.
The Kingdom of Heaven is so subtle and unassuming in its growth that many people ignore it or dismiss it altogether as completely inconsequential. Eventually, however, it will grow to be revealed to everyone as it really is: the greatest Kingdom of all, next to which the kingdoms of man are nothing.
Another parable spoke he unto them; The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:33 את CEPHER.
Anyone who spends any amount of time in the kitchen knows what yeast is and what it does (knowing how it does what it does is another matter). Yeast is one of the most powerful influencing agents in the world, and it exists for one reason: to infect whatever it is mixed into with its presence and influence. Yahusha’ comparison of the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast makes us think right away about impact.
While people caught up in religion think about leaving the Earth, Kingdom citizens focus on transforming it the way yeast transforms a batch of dough. Yeast is not about giving up or giving in. It is about taking over. Yeast does not abandon dough; it affects it. Yeast never becomes dough. Instead, dough becomes what bakers call “yeast dough.” Dough is weaker than yeast, and as the yeast works its way through, the dough gradually but irresistibly takes on characteristics created by the yeast.
Yeast has not finished its job until it has “worked all through the dough.” In the same way, Hamachiach is not coming back to an Earth that is not “worked all through” with the influence of His Kingdom. He wants our courts, our parliaments, our congresses, our legislatures, and our executive mansions at all levels to be thoroughly overtaken by His government influence. He wants our schools and our workplaces to be totally infected by Kingdom culture. He wants every home, every marriage, and every family to be completely possessed by Kingdom impact. The King is not interested in partial measures; He is coming to take back the entire planet. In fact, Yahusha specifically stated, “And this Besorah of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 24:14 את CEPHER. Kingdom business, therefore, has nothing to do with abandoning Earth. We are in the business of influencing the Earth, of spreading gardens of Kingdom culture and government throughout the world. Hamachiach has promised that if we preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, He will make sure that the whole world hears the message.
PETITIONING THE GOVERNMENT
In previous teachings we have already talked about the Kingdom prayer Yahusha taught His disciples to pray, but we need to keep returning to it because it is also His Garden expansion prayer:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who established yeshu`ah in the heavens, Exalted is your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as in the heavens. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:9-10 את CEPHER.
“On earth as it is in heaven”: that is our number one prayer. We should not pray for rapture. We should not pray for retreat. We should not pray for rescue. We should pray for revolution. Every time we pray for Yah to take us out of the world, we are praying the wrong prayer. Instead, we should pray for Heaven to come to Earth—for His Garden to spread until it fills the planet.
One of the words for prayer in the New Testament also means “petition.” A petition is a legal act. It is used to address a government. Often, when we read the word prayer in the New Testament, it is talking about petitioning. You only petition government. For many believers, prayer does not work the way it should because they have made it a religious exercise of pleading for a favor rather than a legal act of asserting their rights and privileges as Kingdom citizens. Prayer is business with the government of Yah. It is where we bring a legal claim to legitimate government authority and demand the government’s response.
Becoming a Kingdom citizen through faith in Hamachiach and through the cleansing of our sins by His blood gives us complete access to all the rights, resources, and privileges of the Kingdom. When we petition the King properly (in the right spirit of humility and in accordance with His will), we are only asking for what He has already promised. This is why, even in humility, we can ask with boldness and confidence, which is what the writer of the Book of Hebrews had in mind when he wrote,
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. IVRIYM (HEBREWS) 4:16 את CEPHER.
Yahusha’ prayer shows us not only what we should ask for, but also the manner in which we should petition the government. First, He says we must address our petition to the right Person: “Our Father in heaven.” Yah the Father is the King who is ruling in Heaven, and we are His citizens in His Garden outpost on Earth who are petitioning for an audience.
Second, we must pay proper respect when addressing the King: “hallowed be Your name.” To hallow Yah’s name means to render utmost respect and reverence to His name, because His name is identified with His reputation. And because Yah is very jealous of His reputation, He is also jealous of His name. This is why He commanded the Israelites, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your Yah, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name” (Exod. 20:7). This goes far beyond merely using Yah’s name as a curse word. It also includes such things as misrepresenting Him before others and claiming openly to be a believer while living like the devil. To hallow Yah’s name means to fear Him with a holy fear, to be so overwhelmed by Him that we constantly acknowledge the awesomeness of His power and want to make sure that He never thinks we take Him for granted. Why do you hallow the King? Because He holds the power of life and death. When we petition the government, we must first show proper respect to the government.
Third, our petition should always reflect not our own will, but the will of the King, for the will of the King is law: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Remember, this is Yahusha instructing His disciples how to pray. In other words, the King Himself is telling us what to ask Him for. He says nothing about cars or clothes or food. Instead, He says, “Petition for My government influence to come to Earth, for My intentions, purposes, culture, lifestyle, and will to be done on Earth just as they are in Heaven.”
PRAYING FOR YEAST
When we focus our hearts and minds to pray for Heaven to come to Earth, then the next part of Yahusha’ Garden-expansion prayer makes more sense: “Give us this day our daily bread. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:11 את CEPHER.
The meaning should be clear: When we tend to Yah’s business, He will tend to ours. This connection between praying for Heaven to come to Earth and receiving our daily bread ties in directly to what Yahusha says a few verses later: “But seek ye first the Kingdom of Elohiym, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:33 את CEPHER.
“All these things” refers to our everyday needs. “Daily bread” certainly refers to food, but it is also much more than that. The ancient Jews often used the word bread as an idiom that meant everything necessary for life. In essence, Yahusha was saying, “If you pray for My government to come to Earth in your job, in your business, in your home, in your community, in your government, in your schools—in every arena of life—I will meet every need you have.”
This promised provision of daily bread can be linked to yeast and its influence. As we pray for Yah’s Kingdom to come, He gives us daily bread—the yeast of His influence—to help us bring about His Kingdomexpansion on Earth.
If you are one of those people who have trouble praying because you never know what to pray for, I have just destroyed your last excuse. You don’t have to pray long as long as you pray right. Take the time every day—at your bedside when you first get up, while in the shower, while getting dressed, while driving to work, or whatever—to pray simply, “Lord, let Your Kingdom come and let Your will be done in my life today as it is in Heaven.” Start praying that prayer, and look for opportunities that Yah gives you for fulfilling it. Tend to Yah’s business this way, and watch how He starts tending to yours.
Even Yahusha’ prayer for His followers in John chapter 17 is a “yeast” prayer:
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) 17:15-18 את CEPHER.
Just as yeast is not of the dough but comes from outside and infects it, so Kingdom citizens are not of the world but of a Kingdom from outside the world, and they infect the world with that Kingdom’s culture. In effect, Yahusha was praying, “Father, don’t take My ‘yeast’ out of the dough. Protect them from the evil one so that they will be free to permeate the dough thoroughly.”
Whatever business, profession, or career you are in, you are the King’s yeast wherever you are, and if you set your heart and your prayers right, He will prosper you. But you must have the right attitude. Rather than saying, “I am in business for myself for my own profit,” learn to say, “I am in His business for His influence.”
Yahusha prayed that we not be taken out of the world system.
He wants us right in the middle of it: the economic system, the political system, the cultural system, the social system, the entertainment system, the sports system, the investment system, and the health system. We cannot “yeast” the dough if we are not in the dough.
Many believers say, “I want a Christian job with a Christian boss in a Christian workplace.” While there certainly are believers whom the Lord has called to such positions, He calls most of us to bloom and prosper right where we are, in the middle of the finance field, the hotel field, the food industry, education, or government, because there is a whole lot of dough out there with a whole lot of needs. He wants us to infect the hospitality industry, banking, business, politics, sports. We are not here to escape; we are here to reshape. Our prayer should be, “Lord, prosper me, not for my sake but for Yours, so I can infect my world with Your Kingdom. Let me be yeast for You.” If you pray that kind of prayer, and truly mean it, Yah will prosper your work.
MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
One of the reasons for the significant power of the Garden influence is its unmistakable appeal. The Kingdom message draws people like a magnet. Even people who have no idea of what they are looking for, or if they are even looking for anything, the moment they hear about the Kingdom they say, “That’s it!” Most people intuitively recognize true and priceless value when they see it. Yahusha emphasized the supreme value of the Kingdom in two brief parables:
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:44-46 את CEPHER.
These parables speak of two different types of people and their responses to the Kingdom. The man in the first parable is like most of the people in the world, either searching aimlessly for something they don’t know or simply going through life unaware of the priceless treasure at their feet until they stumble upon it (seemingly) by accident. This man may have heard a rumor of treasure in the field and gone looking for it, or he may simply have been crossing the field and came upon the treasure unexpectedly. Either way, the moment he found it, he knew it was what he had been seeking all his life. He immediately recognized its priceless value and that it was worth any price he had to pay to obtain it. Accordingly, he sold everything he had and bought the field. The Kingdom of Heaven is far more valuable than anything this world has to offer.
In the second parable, the merchant knew what he was looking for: fine pearls. Finding one of “great value,” he knew right away that in beauty and worth, it far outstripped any other pearl he had ever found, and he too sold everything he had in order to buy it.
Many people know they are searching for something, for some sense of meaning and purpose to life, and some even have at least a vague idea of what they want. They sample different religions, try out various philosophies, and comb through the world’s wisdom literature looking for answers and searching for truth. Upon discovering the Kingdom (or being discovered by it), they know intuitively that here, finally, is the answer to all their questions and the end of their long quest.
No matter who we are or where we are from, the Kingdom of Heaven is the only thing we are truly searching for and the only thing we truly need, because the Kingdom gives us access to all the riches of Heaven and all the resources of eternity.
The appeal of the Kingdom of Heaven is so magnetic, in fact, that it draws in people of every nation, culture, and language group, including many who, although attracted to the obvious benefits of Kingdom life, never understand the principles behind it or reach the place of true faith to embrace it. These, as in Yahusha’ parable of the wheat and the weeds, will in time be separated out from true Kingdom citizens. The King’s invitation is wide open, of truly global scope, but not everyone will accept it. As Yahusha made clear, many are called, but few are chosen.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:47-50 את CEPHER.
As with the wheat and weeds that grow together until the harvest, good “fish” and bad “fish” will mingle together in the “sea” of the world until the day when the Kingdom of Heaven draws them all in with its all-encompassing net. Then all who have responded to the King’s invitation will be welcomed into the fullness of Kingdom life, while those who have not will be separated out forever.
Yahusha told another parable with a similar point, but one which also reveals more of the abundance that awaits those who accept the King’s invitation:
The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he said unto him, Friend, how came you in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 22:2-14 את CEPHER.
Entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven is open to all, for the King excludes no one from His invitation. Yahusha said,
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yahusha stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. YOCHANON (JOHN) 7:37-38 את CEPHER.
He also promised, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am the א (Aleph) and the ת (Tav), the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:6 את CEPHER. The invigorating waters of Kingdom life are offered to all without cost or exclusion, yet many will exclude themselves by refusing to drink.
The drawing power of the Kingdom is so great and so all- encompassing that ultimately no one will be able to resist its attraction. Everyone will be drawn: either to liberation and life for those who believe, or to judgment and death for those who do not. Either way, no one will escape the magnetic attraction of the Kingdom of Heaven—or the just judgments of its righteous and holy King.
KINGDOM COMMUNITY AND CULTURE STOPPED
The ultimate power and goal of Garden influence is to develop a heavenly culture on Earth that produces a Kingdom community. Yah wants to invade Earth with Heaven, to infuse Earth with Heaven’s culture until Earth begins to look just like Heaven. His desire is to build a heavenly community on Earth through the cultivation of His Kingdom culture here. This is exemplified both in the prayer of Yahusha: “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as in the heavens. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:10 את CEPHER, and in the plan of Yah from the beginning: “And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:26 את CEPHER.
Yah doesn’t want a religion. He doesn’t want a weekend ceremony. He isn’t looking for a group of weird people dressed in weird clothes saying weird things. Yah wants a holy community of whole and complete citizens, a community that represents and reflects Heaven on Earth, and He wants to do it through cultivating His Kingdom’s culture on Earth through the lives and influence of His people.
Today we are walking in: Understanding Garden Influence
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 Six
UNDERSTANDING GARDEN INFLUENCE
BY now it should be abundantly clear that the Kingdom of
Heaven is not a religion and has nothing at all to do with religion. In Eden, the original Kingdom Garden on Earth, there was no religion. There was no worship in the sense that we usually understand the word. Adam and Eve enjoyed full, open, and transparent fellowship and interaction with their Creator in a mutual relationship of pure love with absolutely no guilt, shame, or fear. Their disobedience broke that relationship, and humanity’s efforts to restore it on their own without divine assistance gave rise to religion.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the sovereign rulership of the King (Yah) over a territory (Earth). He impacts it with His will, purposes, and intent, producing a citizenry of people (ekklesia —the Church) who express a culture reflecting the nature and lifestyle of the King. Therefore, as we have seen, the Kingdom of Heaven is a real, literal country, although invisible to physical eyes because it is spiritual in nature. As King of Heaven, Yah’s big idea was to extend the influence of His heavenly country over and throughout the Earth. So we are really talking about two things here: Yah’s country and its influence.
In reading the four Gospels of the New Testament— Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—it becomes immediately clear that Yahusha used two similar but different phrases to refer to the country of the King and the influence of the King. Sometimes He referred to the “Kingdom of Heaven,” and at other times to the “Kingdom of Yah.” Although it is common to use these phrases interchangeably, there is an important difference in focus. The phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” refers to the literal place, the “headquarters” country of Yah. “Kingdom of Yah,” on the other hand, refers to the King’s influence wherever it extends, but especially its extension into the earthly realm. Another way to explain the distinction is to say that while we can go to the Kingdom of Heaven, we can bring the Kingdom of Yah to the Earth. Heaven is the place; the Kingdom of Yah is the influence. That is why Yahusha said, “The kingdom of Yah is within you” (Luke 17:21b). Wherever the Kingdom of Yah is, the Kingdom of Heaven has influence. So wherever we go as Kingdom citizens, the influence of the King should go along.
The most powerful expression of any nation is its culture: its values, morals, customs, codes of conduct, standards of living, modes of dress, food, and dietary practices, etc. A strong and rich culture can wield an influence far beyond its geographical boundaries. France is a good example. Historically, French culture has a high and proud heritage with truly worldwide influence, particularly in the areas of language and the culinary arts. Many English words—“croissant” for example—either were borrowed directly from the French or are of French origin or derivation. French cooking is deservedly famous around the world and so influential that even to this day most of the terminology used in Western cooking is French (such as sauté). One reason French culture has had such tremendous influence is because Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” was the most powerful monarch in European history. The culture of his kingdom spread not only throughout Europe, but also to all nations worldwide that were originally colonized by European nations. So, even though the kingdom of Louis XIVis long gone, the influence of its culture remains.
Yah is after the same result for His Kingdom culture and influence on the Earth. He wants people all over the world to see the evidence of His Kingdom in the values and lifestyles of His citizens and to be drawn to that influence.
IRRESISTIBLE INFLUENCE
There are two kinds of influence: the influence of the moment, which spreads rapidly and then disappears just as quickly; and lasting influence, which grows more slowly, but succeeds through persistence and permeation. Momentary or fleeting influence includes such fads as fashion, hairstyles, and the latest “popular” books, which are here today and gone tomorrow. These superficial influences, and others like them, may make a big stir in society for a time, but they generally lack the depth and substance to effect any significant changes in the culture. Influence that lasts operates more subtly and works from the inside out, altering external appearances and behavior by changing internal values, beliefs, and mindsets.
Kingdom influence is of the second type. It operates gradually, based on eternal, unchanging principles of Yah and according to a timetable that encompasses millennia. Yah literally has all the time in the universe to fulfill His plan. Consider this: at least 4,000 years passed from the time Adam and Eve lost the kingdom in Eden until Hamachiach announced its return. More than 2,000 years have elapsed since Yahusha walked the Earth, and Yah’s ultimate plan has still not yet reached completion. But throughout all that time, His influence has been growing and expanding gradually and sometimes almost invisibly, permeating human culture. And none of the efforts of either humans or the pretender can stop it.
Ultimately, the influence of Yah’s Kingdom is irresistible. This does not mean that everyone eventually will enter the Kingdom, but it does mean that someday everyone will acknowledge the reality, authority, and absolute supremacy of the Kingdom of Heaven. The apostle Paul stated plainly that the day will come when:
That at the name of Yahusha every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Yahuah is Yahusha Ha'Mashiach, to the glory of Elohiym the Father. PHILIPPIYM (PHILIPPIANS) 2:10-11 את CEPHER.
The word Lord means “owner” and is a term properly applied to a king. Hamachiach is the King of an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent Kingdom, and one day everyone will confess that this is so, even those who have rejected His Kingdom.
The subtle yet irresistible nature of the Kingdom was the subject of several of Yahusha’ parables, or teaching stories:
And he said, So is the Kingdom of Elohiym, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how. For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the grain, after that the full head of grain. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come. MARQUS (MARK) 4:26-29 את CEPHER.
As with the mysterious way of seeds in the Earth, the Kingdom of Yah grows silently and invisibly, until one day, like the harvest-ready grain, the evidence of its presence is there for all to see.
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:31-32 את CEPHER.
The Kingdom of Heaven is so subtle and unassuming in its growth that many people ignore it or dismiss it altogether as completely inconsequential. Eventually, however, it will grow to be revealed to everyone as it really is: the greatest Kingdom of all, next to which the kingdoms of man are nothing.
Another parable spoke he unto them; The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:33 את CEPHER.
Anyone who spends any amount of time in the kitchen knows what yeast is and what it does (knowing how it does what it does is another matter). Yeast is one of the most powerful influencing agents in the world, and it exists for one reason: to infect whatever it is mixed into with its presence and influence. Yahusha’ comparison of the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast makes us think right away about impact.
While people caught up in religion think about leaving the Earth, Kingdom citizens focus on transforming it the way yeast transforms a batch of dough. Yeast is not about giving up or giving in. It is about taking over. Yeast does not abandon dough; it affects it. Yeast never becomes dough. Instead, dough becomes what bakers call “yeast dough.” Dough is weaker than yeast, and as the yeast works its way through, the dough gradually but irresistibly takes on characteristics created by the yeast.
Yeast has not finished its job until it has “worked all through the dough.” In the same way, Hamachiach is not coming back to an Earth that is not “worked all through” with the influence of His Kingdom. He wants our courts, our parliaments, our congresses, our legislatures, and our executive mansions at all levels to be thoroughly overtaken by His government influence. He wants our schools and our workplaces to be totally infected by Kingdom culture. He wants every home, every marriage, and every family to be completely possessed by Kingdom impact. The King is not interested in partial measures; He is coming to take back the entire planet. In fact, Yahusha specifically stated, “And this Besorah of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 24:14 את CEPHER. Kingdom business, therefore, has nothing to do with abandoning Earth. We are in the business of influencing the Earth, of spreading gardens of Kingdom culture and government throughout the world. Hamachiach has promised that if we preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, He will make sure that the whole world hears the message.
PETITIONING THE GOVERNMENT
In previous teachings we have already talked about the Kingdom prayer Yahusha taught His disciples to pray, but we need to keep returning to it because it is also His Garden expansion prayer:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who established yeshu`ah in the heavens, Exalted is your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as in the heavens. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:9-10 את CEPHER.
“On earth as it is in heaven”: that is our number one prayer. We should not pray for rapture. We should not pray for retreat. We should not pray for rescue. We should pray for revolution. Every time we pray for Yah to take us out of the world, we are praying the wrong prayer. Instead, we should pray for Heaven to come to Earth—for His Garden to spread until it fills the planet.
One of the words for prayer in the New Testament also means “petition.” A petition is a legal act. It is used to address a government. Often, when we read the word prayer in the New Testament, it is talking about petitioning. You only petition government. For many believers, prayer does not work the way it should because they have made it a religious exercise of pleading for a favor rather than a legal act of asserting their rights and privileges as Kingdom citizens. Prayer is business with the government of Yah. It is where we bring a legal claim to legitimate government authority and demand the government’s response.
Becoming a Kingdom citizen through faith in Hamachiach and through the cleansing of our sins by His blood gives us complete access to all the rights, resources, and privileges of the Kingdom. When we petition the King properly (in the right spirit of humility and in accordance with His will), we are only asking for what He has already promised. This is why, even in humility, we can ask with boldness and confidence, which is what the writer of the Book of Hebrews had in mind when he wrote,
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. IVRIYM (HEBREWS) 4:16 את CEPHER.
Yahusha’ prayer shows us not only what we should ask for, but also the manner in which we should petition the government. First, He says we must address our petition to the right Person: “Our Father in heaven.” Yah the Father is the King who is ruling in Heaven, and we are His citizens in His Garden outpost on Earth who are petitioning for an audience.
Second, we must pay proper respect when addressing the King: “hallowed be Your name.” To hallow Yah’s name means to render utmost respect and reverence to His name, because His name is identified with His reputation. And because Yah is very jealous of His reputation, He is also jealous of His name. This is why He commanded the Israelites, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your Yah, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name” (Exod. 20:7). This goes far beyond merely using Yah’s name as a curse word. It also includes such things as misrepresenting Him before others and claiming openly to be a believer while living like the devil. To hallow Yah’s name means to fear Him with a holy fear, to be so overwhelmed by Him that we constantly acknowledge the awesomeness of His power and want to make sure that He never thinks we take Him for granted. Why do you hallow the King? Because He holds the power of life and death. When we petition the government, we must first show proper respect to the government.
Third, our petition should always reflect not our own will, but the will of the King, for the will of the King is law: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Remember, this is Yahusha instructing His disciples how to pray. In other words, the King Himself is telling us what to ask Him for. He says nothing about cars or clothes or food. Instead, He says, “Petition for My government influence to come to Earth, for My intentions, purposes, culture, lifestyle, and will to be done on Earth just as they are in Heaven.”
PRAYING FOR YEAST
When we focus our hearts and minds to pray for Heaven to come to Earth, then the next part of Yahusha’ Garden-expansion prayer makes more sense: “Give us this day our daily bread. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:11 את CEPHER.
The meaning should be clear: When we tend to Yah’s business, He will tend to ours. This connection between praying for Heaven to come to Earth and receiving our daily bread ties in directly to what Yahusha says a few verses later: “But seek ye first the Kingdom of Elohiym, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:33 את CEPHER.
“All these things” refers to our everyday needs. “Daily bread” certainly refers to food, but it is also much more than that. The ancient Jews often used the word bread as an idiom that meant everything necessary for life. In essence, Yahusha was saying, “If you pray for My government to come to Earth in your job, in your business, in your home, in your community, in your government, in your schools—in every arena of life—I will meet every need you have.”
This promised provision of daily bread can be linked to yeast and its influence. As we pray for Yah’s Kingdom to come, He gives us daily bread—the yeast of His influence—to help us bring about His Kingdomexpansion on Earth.
If you are one of those people who have trouble praying because you never know what to pray for, I have just destroyed your last excuse. You don’t have to pray long as long as you pray right. Take the time every day—at your bedside when you first get up, while in the shower, while getting dressed, while driving to work, or whatever—to pray simply, “Lord, let Your Kingdom come and let Your will be done in my life today as it is in Heaven.” Start praying that prayer, and look for opportunities that Yah gives you for fulfilling it. Tend to Yah’s business this way, and watch how He starts tending to yours.
Even Yahusha’ prayer for His followers in John chapter 17 is a “yeast” prayer:
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) 17:15-18 את CEPHER.
Just as yeast is not of the dough but comes from outside and infects it, so Kingdom citizens are not of the world but of a Kingdom from outside the world, and they infect the world with that Kingdom’s culture. In effect, Yahusha was praying, “Father, don’t take My ‘yeast’ out of the dough. Protect them from the evil one so that they will be free to permeate the dough thoroughly.”
Whatever business, profession, or career you are in, you are the King’s yeast wherever you are, and if you set your heart and your prayers right, He will prosper you. But you must have the right attitude. Rather than saying, “I am in business for myself for my own profit,” learn to say, “I am in His business for His influence.”
Yahusha prayed that we not be taken out of the world system.
He wants us right in the middle of it: the economic system, the political system, the cultural system, the social system, the entertainment system, the sports system, the investment system, and the health system. We cannot “yeast” the dough if we are not in the dough.
Many believers say, “I want a Christian job with a Christian boss in a Christian workplace.” While there certainly are believers whom the Lord has called to such positions, He calls most of us to bloom and prosper right where we are, in the middle of the finance field, the hotel field, the food industry, education, or government, because there is a whole lot of dough out there with a whole lot of needs. He wants us to infect the hospitality industry, banking, business, politics, sports. We are not here to escape; we are here to reshape. Our prayer should be, “Lord, prosper me, not for my sake but for Yours, so I can infect my world with Your Kingdom. Let me be yeast for You.” If you pray that kind of prayer, and truly mean it, Yah will prosper your work.
MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
One of the reasons for the significant power of the Garden influence is its unmistakable appeal. The Kingdom message draws people like a magnet. Even people who have no idea of what they are looking for, or if they are even looking for anything, the moment they hear about the Kingdom they say, “That’s it!” Most people intuitively recognize true and priceless value when they see it. Yahusha emphasized the supreme value of the Kingdom in two brief parables:
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:44-46 את CEPHER.
These parables speak of two different types of people and their responses to the Kingdom. The man in the first parable is like most of the people in the world, either searching aimlessly for something they don’t know or simply going through life unaware of the priceless treasure at their feet until they stumble upon it (seemingly) by accident. This man may have heard a rumor of treasure in the field and gone looking for it, or he may simply have been crossing the field and came upon the treasure unexpectedly. Either way, the moment he found it, he knew it was what he had been seeking all his life. He immediately recognized its priceless value and that it was worth any price he had to pay to obtain it. Accordingly, he sold everything he had and bought the field. The Kingdom of Heaven is far more valuable than anything this world has to offer.
In the second parable, the merchant knew what he was looking for: fine pearls. Finding one of “great value,” he knew right away that in beauty and worth, it far outstripped any other pearl he had ever found, and he too sold everything he had in order to buy it.
Many people know they are searching for something, for some sense of meaning and purpose to life, and some even have at least a vague idea of what they want. They sample different religions, try out various philosophies, and comb through the world’s wisdom literature looking for answers and searching for truth. Upon discovering the Kingdom (or being discovered by it), they know intuitively that here, finally, is the answer to all their questions and the end of their long quest.
No matter who we are or where we are from, the Kingdom of Heaven is the only thing we are truly searching for and the only thing we truly need, because the Kingdom gives us access to all the riches of Heaven and all the resources of eternity.
The appeal of the Kingdom of Heaven is so magnetic, in fact, that it draws in people of every nation, culture, and language group, including many who, although attracted to the obvious benefits of Kingdom life, never understand the principles behind it or reach the place of true faith to embrace it. These, as in Yahusha’ parable of the wheat and the weeds, will in time be separated out from true Kingdom citizens. The King’s invitation is wide open, of truly global scope, but not everyone will accept it. As Yahusha made clear, many are called, but few are chosen.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 13:47-50 את CEPHER.
As with the wheat and weeds that grow together until the harvest, good “fish” and bad “fish” will mingle together in the “sea” of the world until the day when the Kingdom of Heaven draws them all in with its all-encompassing net. Then all who have responded to the King’s invitation will be welcomed into the fullness of Kingdom life, while those who have not will be separated out forever.
Yahusha told another parable with a similar point, but one which also reveals more of the abundance that awaits those who accept the King’s invitation:
The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he said unto him, Friend, how came you in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 22:2-14 את CEPHER.
Entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven is open to all, for the King excludes no one from His invitation. Yahusha said,
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yahusha stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. YOCHANON (JOHN) 7:37-38 את CEPHER.
He also promised, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am the א (Aleph) and the ת (Tav), the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:6 את CEPHER. The invigorating waters of Kingdom life are offered to all without cost or exclusion, yet many will exclude themselves by refusing to drink.
The drawing power of the Kingdom is so great and so all- encompassing that ultimately no one will be able to resist its attraction. Everyone will be drawn: either to liberation and life for those who believe, or to judgment and death for those who do not. Either way, no one will escape the magnetic attraction of the Kingdom of Heaven—or the just judgments of its righteous and holy King.
KINGDOM COMMUNITY AND CULTURE STOPPED
The ultimate power and goal of Garden influence is to develop a heavenly culture on Earth that produces a Kingdom community. Yah wants to invade Earth with Heaven, to infuse Earth with Heaven’s culture until Earth begins to look just like Heaven. His desire is to build a heavenly community on Earth through the cultivation of His Kingdom culture here. This is exemplified both in the prayer of Yahusha: “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as in the heavens. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 6:10 את CEPHER, and in the plan of Yah from the beginning: “And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:26 את CEPHER.
Yah doesn’t want a religion. He doesn’t want a weekend ceremony. He isn’t looking for a group of weird people dressed in weird clothes saying weird things. Yah wants a holy community of whole and complete citizens, a community that represents and reflects Heaven on Earth, and He wants to do it through cultivating His Kingdom’s culture on Earth through the lives and influence of His people.
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