THE PRINCIPLE AND POWER OF KINGDOM CITIZENSHIP

Matthew chapter 4













Today we are walking in: The Principle And Power Of Kingdom Citizenship













Today we look to the word- AMBASSADOR- H6735- tsiyr- ambassador, hinge, messenger, pain, pang, sorrow











The Torah testifies……..




**************










The Prophets proclaim……..




Obadiah 1:1




The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador H6735 is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.










The Writings witness………………




Proverbs 13:17




A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador H6735 is health.






CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF KINGDOMS

The pursuit of power is one of the most significant motivations of the human heart. The passionate desire to manage one’s circumstances and environment seems to be built into the entire human race.

To the best of their ability, people work hard to control and improve their surroundings. Within any culture, people learn the “rules of the road” so that they can either follow them— or break them. Even acts of rebellion or aggression, whether isolated to a single individual or initiated by an organized army of soldiers, can trace their origin to this desire to control and dominate.

Young children cry and squabble to get the things they need and want. When a boy climbs his first tree, he is seeking to conquer new territory. When a girl picks a bouquet of flowers, she is trying to create something beautiful. As children mature, they gain knowledge about the world around them, and they put that know-how to use, striving not only to survive but to thrive.

This innate urge to manage the prevailing circumstances causes people to band together to accomplish things. Starting with family units, people organize themselves into towns, cities, geographical regions, and nations. They identify themselves as residents and citizens of the places where they live and work. Together, they share resources, face challenges, and train their children to do the same.

In a true kingdom, every single thing becomes part of the king’s personal property. Where did this pursuit of power come from? Why does this trait manifest itself so consistently over the centuries, regardless of the color of a person’s skin, gender, age and maturity, education level, skills, economic situation, or family of origin? I am convinced that it is because the whole human race, individually and collectively, was created to exercise management over its prevailing circumstances. And in order to understand ourselves better and to identify how we fit into the big picture, we must first understand the concept of kingdoms and how kingdoms work.

All Kings Have Territory— and Extend It.

Anything called a kingdom is a place where someone called a king has dominion over something. No king can have dominion unless he can claim ownership over territory. For centuries, kings vied for territory all over Europe. They could call themselves kings or lords because they owned vast acreages of land, and whatever was in the land became their property (their kingdom). Every field of barley, road, and river, every fox and tree and rat belonged to them.

Whenever one king grew strong enough to invade another king’s property, he could extend his holdings. The greatness of his kingdom was measured by the amount of land he possessed.

Kings formed armies of soldiers to protect their territory and to invade neighboring regions. The armies were funded by the resources of the king, and in the same way the farmers who worked the land depended on the king’s generosity, even as they turned over most of their crops and livestock to him.

Nothing in the experience of modern governments equips us to understand this. The president of the United States does not own the whole country. The prime minister of England does not own the country he governs, and neither does the Queen. But in a true kingdom, every single thing becomes part of the king’s personal property, every mountain, all of the roads, the animals and plants, the food and the water. No king can claim rulership unless he possesses some territory, which makes all kings products of their property.

The glory of a kingdom is determined by the size of the king’s territory. That is why kings love to expand their kingdoms. The history of kingdoms is a story of expansion. A king must have territory. He must have something to rule. He must be wealthy and strong and decisive. And he must desire to be the king. No part-time or reluctant kings need apply for the job. The king embodies the essence of his kingdom. The kingdom issues forth from him. His relative permanence instills confidence. May I suggest that your president or prime minister does not embody your country? He is not permanent enough. In fact, he has a part-time job. That’s right. A democracy or a republic is not the same as a kingdom. If you are looking for stability and consistency, you do not want to put your faith in somebody who will be in charge for only four years or so. Your mortgage has twenty-five or thirty years on it. Wouldn’t you like someone to be in charge at least longer than your mortgage?

The king is the center of a kingdom. He is the heart of it. People have to obey a king. He is the sovereign, and you do not argue with him or vote him out of office. We know what it is like to disagree with our elected officials. In fact, we tend to disagree quite loudly, and we broadcast it on the news. But disagreement with a king puts you in peril for your life. You do not have to like what he says, but you have to obey if you expect to stick around.

A kingdom can be good, bad or, most of the time, a little of both. Why did the kingdom model turn out to be such a typical form of government?

Rediscovering the First Country

The things we can see and experience turn out to be the evidence of unseen governing influences, yet little do we know what we are dealing with. We see both beauty and ugliness, joy and suffering, harmony and conflict. “That’s just life,” we say. In reality, we have two worlds on one planet. The Earth is the name of the planet, and the two worlds that contend with each other are actual kingdoms—the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.

The kingdom of darkness has a ruler, and he stands in opposition to the ruler of the kingdom of light. HaSatan is one of the names people have given to the prince of darkness. The word “prince” means simply ruler, first or fundamental ruler. On the other side, people call the Son of The Most High “the light of the world” or the ruler of the heavenly government.

Did you know that in Hebrew the word for “darkness” is the same as the word for “ignorance”? Similarly, the word for “knowledge” in Hebrew and Greek is the same as the word for “light.” So when we talk about the world or kingdom of darkness and the world of light or Kingdom of The Most High, we are not talking about light bulbs on or light bulbs off. We are talking about ignorance and knowledge. The prince of darkness is the prince of ignorance. He rules by your ignorance. Wherever you are ignorant, he can gain a foothold. Because of these two unseen kingdoms, we are living in a world that is always tense with ongoing territorial conflicts of interest.

We are living in a world that is always tense with ongoing territorial conflicts of interest.

The way I see it is this: the ruler of the kingdom of light created the physical place called the Earth in order to extend the Kingdom of Heaven. He created it so that the people He was about to create would have something to rule over on His behalf. I believe that the Earth was formed so that human beings could exercise co-rulership, so that they could become regents for the King in Heaven. I also believe that Heaven is a real place, and that it is the first real country, the original one, and that all other kingdoms since the beginning of time have been mere shadows of the Kingdom (which I distinguish with an uppercase K because it belongs to The Most High).

In many ways, we can say that The Most High was setting up a colony on earth, much as strong and wealthy countries have colonized parts of the earth. This heavenly colonization effort is still a work in progress. Most of what we see around us is the evidence of numerous conflicts between the colony of the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. We will be learning how this works in this series.

Substitute Kingdoms

When you serve under a king in a kingdom, you have the power to dominate your territory and to manage your assignment.

What happens, however, if you lose your position? By nature, you are still a manager. Now you have been deprived of what you were managing. You have no purpose anymore.

When that happens—and it happens all the time—people latch onto whatever makes them feel comfortable and at least partially in charge of the challenges around them.

One of the biggest fallbacks is—you guessed it—religion. If you cannot change your situation and you are trying hard to reconcile yourself to it, religion does a great job of helping. It makes you happy in your poverty, content in your illness, satisfied in your depression, and almost peaceful in your frustration.

It works because it tells you that everything will be all right by and by. Your life will improve later. Religion tells you that Heaven is your destination, and all you have to do is hold out until you die. Religion postpones your reality to the future. It makes itself very attractive because it helps you accept things as they are when you feel you have lost control over your circumstances.

I am mentioning religion because I do not want you to get off on the wrong track about the Kingdom. Religion is not the same as the Kingdom I am talking about. It is a substitute. I know that both “Kingdom of The Most High” and “Kingdom of Heaven” sound religious, but the Kingdom is something higher than any religion in the world.

If the Kingdom of The Most High is not the same as religion, what is it? Let’s put together what we know already and see what we come up with. We have determined that a kingdom involves a king having dominion over actual territory, and that the original territory, or the first country, of the Kingdom of The Most High is Heaven. So a kingdom is a government and the Kingdom of The Most High is The Most High’s government.

To that I added the fact that a king’s decisions affect his territory and its citizens. A king is sovereign. He does not need to consult anyone else or get their votes. In other words, his will can become law. If he is a wicked, self-serving king, his expressed will can mean that the citizens will suffer. Just think what happened when people did not obey the expressed will of ancient kings. One moment he could be lavishing a fortune on them and the next moment he could say, “off with their heads!” For better or for worse then, a king’s decisions and decrees produce the quality of life of his subjects. Over time, the king’s declarations produce a culture for the citizens of the kingdom.

It may be a culture of fear and poverty or it may be a culture of freedom and peace.

What Is a Kingdom?

By basic definition, then, any kingdom can be defined as follows:

A kingdom is the governing influence of a king over a territory, impacting that territory with his will, his purpose, and his intent, producing a culture and a moral standard for his citizens.

A kingdom is definitely a governmental system, but a kingdom is not a democracy or a republic. The king’s word is law, and he does not need to share his power with other branches of government. He is the government. He is the sole and final authority. He is the law, the court, the judge, the cabinet, the congress, and the parliament. He is the head of state, the president, and the prime minister. And he does not have to worry about term limits. Nobody votes for or against him, because in a kingdom, nobody votes. Referendums are unheard of in a kingdom.

From our national culture as well as from our religious culture, we sometimes get the notion that we can exercise our vote for or against one of the King’s laws or decisions. But it doesn’t work that way!

The king has influence over his territory and he rules over it. This means that he rules over the people who dwell there, the ones who are the citizens of his territory. He looks after them. He organizes them to function as a society.

Now most of you have been raised in countries that are considered democracies or republics.

Even in countries with a king or queen, like England, the governing power and authority does not reside solely in that one person. It can be very difficult for most of us to wrap our minds around the concept of living as a citizen of a kingdom. Our idea of the kingdom concept is insufficient, to say the least. From our national culture as well as from our religious culture, we sometimes get the notion that we can exercise our vote for or against one of the King’s laws or decisions. But it doesn’t work that way! Even when highly respected religious leaders vote, for example, to promote a practicing homosexual into a position of high authority, they cannot change the moral standard of the King or His true Kingdom. The King of the original country (Heaven) is The Most High, and He is the highest King of them all.

Characteristics of a Kingdom

All kingdoms share specific characteristics. As you read through this list, you will find yourself nodding in agreement, “Yes, I knew that….” It seems so obvious when you see the facts.

How could we have missed it for so long? We will be discussing this series. Here are the characteristics of a kingdom, any kingdom, whether an earthly one or the heavenly one:


All kingdoms have a king. Kings are born into kingship, not nominated and elected.


All kingdoms have a lord, which means an owner. The lord and king are the same.


The king’s power is absolute in a true kingdom.


All kingdoms have territory. The king must have a domain.


The king personally owns everything in his domain.


The king is never voted out of power in a kingdom.


All kingdoms are a country, a nation, and they are different from each other.


All kingdoms have a constitution, a covenant that the king makes with his own citizens.


All kingdoms consist of a group of people who identify themselves with a sovereign.


All kingdoms have laws. Laws are the strict principles by which the citizens must live.


All kingdoms have citizens. Citizenship entails certain responsibilities and it bestows specific rights and privileges.


All kingdoms have royal privileges to which the citizens can have access through royal favor.


All kingdoms have a principle of royal favor.


All kingdoms have a code of ethics.


All kingdoms have common wealth, which is why they are often called a “commonwealth”; the citizens have access to the same supply of wealth.


Along the same lines, all kingdoms discourage private ownership.


All kingdoms have a culture. This has to do with their lifestyle, clothing, values and morals, food, and even the way people respond to problems.


All kingdoms have an economy.


All kingdoms have a taxation system.


All kingdoms have a principle of giving to the king. Citizens never come before their king empty-handed.


All kingdoms have an army. (The soldiers are not civilians or ordinary citizens. In the Kingdom of The Most High, you cannot see the army because it consists of angels.)


The king’s presence is the same as the king’s authority. The king’s name is the essence of his authority.


All kingdoms have delegated authority.


A king embodies the government of his kingdom. The government is not divided into branches or departments.


All kingdoms have an educational system.


All kingdoms have administration and organization.


All kingdoms have a principle of glory, related to the sovereign king. The citizenry represents its king’s glory.


Similarly, all kingdoms have a principle of worship, directed toward the king but beneficial to the worshippers.


All kingdoms have principles of reputation and provision. (This means that, for the sake of his reputation, the king must meet the needs of his citizens.)


All kingdoms have a principle of decree. (Kings do not need to debate proposed laws, and their decrees cannot be changed.)


Kings can choose their own citizens. Without knowing the big picture, most of us get involved in all of our rituals and we forget about our relationship with our Creator. We think that everything begins and ends with us.

People are looking for qualities such as these. They would like a new economy. They would like to live under different laws. They want to experience royal favor and privileges. This is the kind of kingdom we are all seeking. Even though all of us will remain subject to the restrictions of whatever country and municipality we belong to as long as we are alive on the planet Earth, we retain an instinctive passion for something bigger and better, some kind of kingdom of light and goodness.

The Big Picture

If you do not understand the big picture of what The Most High intended for the earth and its citizens, you cannot understand your small part of the whole story. What did The Most High really want to accomplish when He created countless solar systems, millions of planets, and billions of stars? What was He thinking about when He made one of those solar systems with all the planets. What was His intent when he chose the third planet from that solar system’s sun and put life on that planet? And what was He thinking about when He decided to put a piece of Himself into a “dirt suit” on that planet, creating something called man? What was He thinking about; what was He after?

Meantime, here on earth, what is the point of staying alive? Are we born just to make a living, reproduce by having a child or two, and eventually die? Without knowing the big picture, most of us get involved in all of our rituals and we forget about our relationship with our Creator. We think that everything begins and ends with us. We are always scrambling to stay on top. Our lives never seem to have very much meaning.

If, however, you understand that the created universe stems from a parallel universe called Heaven, and that the Creator is a King who is always extending His territory, you can begin to recognize that you are part of a family business. In fact, being part of that family business gives you significance.

The Kingdom is a family business and our Father wants to extend His business into foreign territories. He wants His kids like you and me to run the Earth Department for Him.

All human beings are searching for some kind of significance, and their search manifests itself in many ways. All religions attempt to answer the Big Picture questions. All the conflicts between religions come from the competing searches. It is not just the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Muslims, the Christians, and the other major or minor religions; even the agnostics and the atheists are part of the same search.

The search is not bad, but as we know very well, the search often becomes its own answer. We stop searching and make the means the end. We get defensive about our own version of the search and protective of our particular rituals. We set ourselves apart as members of our own particular group. We miss the fact that there is more.

We are the King’s kids. The King has been inviting us to realize that we are His children and to become full citizens of the biggest, richest, most glorious Kingdom we can imagine, and we have not heard His invitation. Instead, we have been fooling around like a mischievous child in some vacant lot, trying to change it into a playground.

The Kingdom is a family business and our Father wants to extend His business into foreign territories. He wants His kids like you and me to run the Earth Department for Him. His intention was to have the Earth Department look a lot like the Headquarters. He wants to extend His experience from the invisible world to the visible world through his family members.

He wants His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

This study will tell you what you want to know if you want to become part of the most important family business of all time.

THE PROCESS OF ENTERING THE KINGDOM PART 2

Matthew chapter 6
















Today we are walking in: The Process of Entering The Kingdom Part 2










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





Genesis 25:33




And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright H8435 unto Jacob.













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



Isaiah 66:9




Shall I bring to the birth H8435, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.











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



Ecclesiastes 6:3




If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth H8435 is better than he.













ENTERING THE KINGDOM




The number one goal of all humanity should be to enter the Kingdom. But what does it mean to enter the Kingdom? This is a very important question because most of us have been taught that entering the Kingdom means dying and going to Heaven. This is not true. Whenever Yahusha uses the word enter with reference to the Kingdom, He is not referring to dying and going anywhere. He is talking about entering into the lifestyle of the Kingdom. When you enter the Kingdom you begin to experience the life of the country.




To enter also means to pursue and attain citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. Citizenship inherits everything in the Kingdom. When you become a citizen, you have privileges and rights to everything in the constitution.




So make the Kingdom of Heaven your priority and get into it.




For better understanding of entering the Kingdom, let’s consider three statements that Yahusha made. First, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). Yahusha did not say, “Unless you die, you will not enter,” but “unless you change and become like little children you will not enter.” Why did He use the simile of little children? Because children simply submit to their environment. They go along with whatever they see. In innocence a child will play with a snake or move toward a flame because the child doesn’t know any better. The child simply submits to the environment and assumes everything is safe.




When Yahusha said we should become like little children, He was saying that when we come into the Kingdom we should just live like we’re in it. Accept it on childlike faith. Submit to its influence, its mandate, its values, its morals, its standards, its dictates. Obey its laws and follow its principles.




The difference between a child and an adult is that a child obeys and an adult negotiates. Yahusha is saying, “Be like a child. Don’t try to negotiate with me. If I tell you to stop sinning, stop sinning. It’s that simple.”




Yahusha’ second statement is one He spoke to a rich young man who asked Him what to do to receive eternal life: “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments” (Matt. 19:17b). If you want to go to the United States and enjoy their good American life, you must abide by the American law or else you may end up cooling your heels in their nice American jail. By the same token, if you want to enter Kingdom living and experience Kingdom lifestyle you must obey Kingdom laws. Otherwise you may find yourself cut off from Kingdom resources and bowing under Kingdom judgment.




Yahusha made the third statement right after the rich young man went away sad because he was unable to part with his wealth in order to follow Yahusha: “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 19:23b). Here Yahusha is not talking about initial entrance into the Kingdom. He’s talking about experiencing it. Why? Because in the Kingdom, the King owns everything. If you come into the Kingdom through the new birth in Hamachiach but do not surrender your mindset of ownership, you will be unable to experience the fullness of Kingdom life because you are trying to hoard instead of releasing.




Kingdom citizenship can be prevented by religion. In fact, according to Yahusha, religion is the most dangerous opponent to Kingdom citizenship. Yahusha had many run-ins with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day; because they, by their own actions, were keeping many people out of the Kingdom.




Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matt. 23:13).




Religion can prevent Kingdom life because religion pretends to be a substitute. Anyone who thinks the substitute is the real thing will miss out on the real thing. Unfortunately, there are many people trapped in “religious” Christianity who believe that what they have is all there is, yet they know next to nothing about the Kingdom. They cannot enter into something they know nothing about.




Once when I was leading a conference and a pastor came up to me and said, “So, you’re the Kingdom preacher, huh?”




I replied, “And you’re not?




He became very quiet. Finally, he asked, “What do you mean?”




“Come,” I said, “let’s sit down and have a cup of tea.” We sat down together and I took my Bible and began showing him Scripture after Scripture about the Kingdom. He wept. Then he asked if I would join him after the evening session. I agreed.




At 2 o’clock in the morning he was still asking me questions. “Where did you learn all this?”




“From the same book you use, that Bible right in front of you.”




“Well, how come no one ever showed me?” I said, “Yah only shows you what you want to see. Religion blinds you.”




He fell on his knees before me. “Pray for me,” he said. “I want forgiveness. I’ve been a pastor for 37 years and I’ve been preaching the wrong message. Pray for me.”




I laid my hands on him and prayed for him. He got up, went to the book table and bought one of everything. He said, “I’m starting over.”




“No,” I said, “you are finally entering yourself.”




Watch out for religion. It can keep you from experiencing the fullness of Kingdom life.




THE PROCESS TO CITIZENSHIP




Yahusha explained the process of acquiring Kingdom citizenship during a dead-of-night meeting with a leading Pharisee named Nicodemus. Their conversation is recorded in the Gospel of chapter 3. This is the only place in the Bible where the words born again are found, and Yahusha uses those words in describing to Nicodemus the process of becoming a Kingdom citizen.




Nicodemus had heard Yahusha teach numerous times and so had certainly heard Him speak about the Kingdom. But Nicodemus did not understand the teaching even though he was a highly educated expert in the Jewish law. Nevertheless, he was intrigued by both Yahusha’ manner and message and wanted to know more. So he came secretly by night to inquire of Yahusha.




Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Yahusha at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from Yah. For no one could perform the miraculous signs You are doing if Yah were not with Him.”




In reply Yahusha declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of Yah unless he is born again.”




“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!




Yahusha answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of Yah unless he is born of water and the Ruach. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Ruach gives birth to Ruach. You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘ You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Ruach” (John 3:1-8).




Here was Nicodemus, a respected religious leader, asking Yahusha, an itinerant rabbi from Galilee, how to enter the Kingdom of Yah. Nicodemus would never have asked such a question or sought such a thing as the Kingdom unless he had found his strict religious observances unsatisfying. Yahusha’ teachings on the Kingdom had stirred in Nicodemus a hunger for more than he was experiencing. He was at the top of the Judaic religious ladder and knew he was not where he wanted to be. He wanted to be in Yahusha’ country. He wanted to know how to become a citizen of the Kingdom of Yah.




Let’s look closely at Yahusha’ answer, because so often we have misunderstood His words. He said, “No one can see the kingdom of Yah unless he is born again.” The Greek word for see in this verse means “to experience, or to understand.” Yahusha was telling Nicodemus, “You can neither understand nor experience Kingdom life unless you are born into the country.” This is not a religious statement.




I was born in the United States; I didn’t have to become a citizen. I was a citizen by birth. Anyone not born in the United States who wants to become a citizen has to go through a long and complicated process. In this regard, Yah’s Kingdom operates a little differently from other countries. Yah’s Kingdom has no citizenship “process.” Either you’re born again or you aren’t. Once you are born again, your citizenship “process” is instantaneous.




Upon hearing the necessity of being born again, Nicodemus asked a very logical question: “How can a man be born when he is old?” Did Nicodemus misunderstand Yahusha? No. His question proves it. This is an important point. Yahusha literally told Nicodemus that he had to be born again the way he was born the first time. There was no spiritual or theological confusion. Yahusha said, “The way you become a citizen of My country is the same way you become a citizen in any other country. You have to be born into citizenship.”




“OK,” Nicodemus answered, “but I’m an old man. Do I have to go back and be a baby again and enter a woman’s womb and be born all over?” Another logical question because he had heard a logical answer. Nicodemus understood Yahusha’ reference to being born again as referring to a natural birth, and he was correct. There are no illegal immigrants in the Kingdom of Yah, and no illegitimate children, either. Every Kingdom citizen is a bona fide native-born citizen.




But how can this be? Like Nicodemus, none of us can reverse time, become babies again, and return to our mother’s womb for rebirth. If birth into the Kingdom of Yah is a natural birth, how does it happen?




Yahusha said, “No one can enter the Kingdom of Yah unless he is born of water and the Ruach. This is good news for every one of us! No matter who or where we are, Yah has made special governmental arrangements for us literally to be born citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven legally. Flesh gives birth to flesh, He says. In the same way we were born physically, the Ruach gives birth to Ruach. Yahusha says, “I have made arrangements for my country to give you a new birth spiritually.” That’s why He says we must be born again. He’s talking about citizenship rights.




Natural citizenship is a result of natural birth. And so the Kingdom of Heaven is a “super natural” otherworldly Kingdom, which is why heavenly Kingdom citizenship requires heavenly Kingdom spiritual birth. Yahusha has made arrangements for every one of us to be born spiritually and to achieve supernatural citizenship in the Kingdom of Yah. When? Now. If you are born again, you are a Kingdom citizen right now, and all the rights, benefits, and privileges of citizenship are yours right now.




RECEIVING THE NEW BIRTH




If you have not been born again, that is the step you must take before you can become a Kingdom citizen and receive eternal life. This is why Yahusha came. He came not only as the one who announced the coming of the Kingdom, but also as the one through whom we gain entrance to the Kingdom: “For Yah so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).




Receiving the new birth is not a difficult process.




1.Acknowledge that you are a sinner in rebellion against Yah: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Yah” (Rom. 3:23).




2.Understand that the penalty for sin is eternal death: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yah is eternal life in Hamachiach Yahusha our Most High” (Rom. 6:23).




3.Believe that Yahusha Hamachiach died for your sins so that you might be forgiven: “But Yah demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Hamachiach died for us” (Rom. 5:8).




4.Confess your sins to Yah: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). To confess your sins means to agree with Yah regarding your sins.




5.Repent of your sins: “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). To repent means to make a clean break with sin, a 180-degree reversal of direction.




6.Confess Hamachiach as your Savior and Most High and give Him control of your life: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Yahusha is Most High,’ and believe in your heart that Yah raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom. 10:9-10).




THE SECRET OF CONCEPTION




When I was born in the United States, one of the first things they did was put ink on my foot and pressed it onto a piece of paper. That footprint, along with my name and official registration, was filed at the hospital and a copy sent to the registrar general downtown as a record that mine was a registered birth in the United States. If anyone wants to know where I was born, all he has to do is check the registry. Most other countries follow a similar procedure.




Conception is a secret process invisible to the naked eye. When you and I were conceived, nobody was watching, probably, except Yah. In other words, when the process of birth began, it was secret. Yahusha said that the new birth is like the wind; no one can see it. Likewise, citizenship is not a visual reality but a disposition.




In John 3:8 Yahusha says, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Ruach.” When you give your life or surrender your life to the King and He gives you a new birth, no one sees that. It may happen at an altar, in the back of a car, at home, at school; wherever you receive Hamachiach, the process is invisible. The new birth involves believing, and no one can see you believing. Belief, like conception, is invisible.




Sometimes the new birth is accompanied by a feeling and sometimes it isn’t. Everybody is different, so everybody’s response to the new birth will be different. Feeling something is not the point. The point is that spiritual conception took place and internal change is underway. When a woman conceives, her clothes don’t change. She doesn’t even realize until some time later that something is going on.




The same thing happens spiritually. When you’re born again, you surrender to Hamachiach. Some weeks later it suddenly dawns on you that you don’t enjoy sin anymore. That’s change. That’s a sign of the new birth. You have been born again. That’s why it’s impossible now for you to sin and feel the same way about it as you once did.




In fact, sin eventually becomes a terror to you. Why? Because that is not your nature anymore. You’ve been born from above. And your Kingdom citizenship began the moment you were born again.




PRINCIPLES




1.Unless you know how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, everything else about the Kingdom is meaningless.




2.Yahusha never said, “Seek Me first.” He said, “Seek first the Kingdom.”




3.The most important priority of people on earth is the Kingdom of Heaven.




4.When we have the Kingdom, that is enough.




5.Yah’s desire is for you to enter and experience the Kingdom right now.




6.When you enter the Kingdom, you begin to experience the life of the country.




7.Kingdom citizenship can be prevented by religion.




8.You can neither understand nor experience Kingdom life unless you are born into the country.




9.Once you are born again, your citizenship “process” is instantaneous.




10.Yah has made special governmental arrangements for us literally to be born citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven legally.




11.The new birth involves believing, and no one can see you believing. Belief, like conception, is invisible.




12.Your Kingdom citizenship began the moment you were born again.

THE PROCESS OF ENTERING THE KINGDOM

Matthew chapter 6










Today we are walking in: The Process Of Entering The Kingdom










Today we look to the word ENTER--H935 bow' -- Come, Bring, In, Enter, Go, Carry, Down, Pass, Out









The Torah testifies.........……




Deuteronomy 23:2

A bastard shall not enter H935 into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.












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




Jeremiah 17:25

Then shall there enter H935 into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.













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




Psalms 45:15

With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter H935 into the king's palace.







“He who sells fruit never advertises the tree.”




THE PROCESS OF ENTERING THE KINGDOM




The most important part of the Kingdom experience is the process of entering the Kingdom. Unless you know how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, everything else about the Kingdom is meaningless. What do you do to enter the Kingdom of Yah, and how does it work? To answer these two questions, let me begin with an illustration.




The number one industry in the Bahamas is tourism. Every year the tiny island nation of 300,000 people hosts over 5 million tourists. This means that tourists outnumber residents by a factor of almost 17 to 1. Tourism alone brings in over $1 billion of revenue each year. Theirs is the most successful tourism nation in our entire region of the Caribbean. No other country in the region receives the number of tourists that they receive in these small islands.




Why is the Bahamas so successful? To get more to the point, why don’t people around the world come to Yahusha and to the Kingdom of Yah the way they go to the Bahamas? Why aren’t there 5 million people coming into the church every year? Why are they more excited about going to the Bahamas than coming to Yah? Why are they willing to spend an average of $200 per night per room, excluding taxes, for an average of about $1,500 a week for a couple? Why would they give that kind of money to them? What brings them there?




The reason for their success, the reason why they have 5 million tourists coming to the Bahamas every year, is because they do not advertise or promote the prime minister. If you want people to come to your country, you don’t advertise the government. You don’t brag about how good the prime minister is, or the president. People do not visit the Bahamas because of their prime minister.




SELL THE COUNTRY!




Why is this so important? It goes back to what Yahusha said in Matthew 6:33, that we should seek first the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah. The Kingdom is Yah’s greatest priority and Yahusha said there are some great benefits that will be added free to all who set their minds to seek the Kingdom above all other priorities.




I think it is highly significant that before Yahusha invited us to enter the Kingdom, He told us about its benefits. He said, “Why do you worry about what you will eat or drink or wear?” He dealt first with our primary interests, the things that drive us through life from day to day. He said, “Your heavenly Father knows you need food, water, clothing, and shelter. He knows exactly what you are after, your every need and every desire of your heart. Don’t worry, all of those things are in His Kingdom.”




I’m going to step out on a theological limb here, so please listen very carefully: Yahusha never said, “Seek Me first.” He said, “Seek first the Kingdom.” If we put our prime minister’s photograph, biography, and personal profile on all of our tourism advertisements, no one will come to the Bahamas. That’s not to say anything against the prime minister, but that is not what the tourists are interested in. They don’t want to know about the government or the political leadership; they want to know about the country. If we want to attract tourists to the Bahamas, we need to tell them and show them things about our country that will whet their appetite and stir up in them the desire to come visit.




Yahusha never told us to seek Him first. And yet the church, for the better part of its 2,000-year history, has done precisely that. The church continuously has preached about the King, and taught about the King, and bragged about the King, and told people how they should love the King, and give their hearts to the King, and follow the King, and serve the King, and live for the King. And while all of this is true, it is probably not the best place to start, because in all the talk and attention given to the King, very little focus has been given to the Kingdom He reigns over.




If you want to attract people to your country, you have to show them how and why your country is better than theirs; prove to them that they can get benefits in your country that they cannot get in their own. The church keeps talking only about Yahusha and not about the Kingdom (which is what He told us to talk about), and then wonders why so few people are interested.




There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world and they all need Yahusha. But they are not interested. Hindus worldwide number 600 million and counting, and they all need Yahusha. But they are not interested. Why? Because people aren’t interested in the head of state. Tell them about the country. Get them excited about the country and its benefits. Then, when they ask how to get in, tell them about Yahusha. Tell them that the King is the doorway into the country. Then they will be interested in the King.




They don’t advertise the Bahamas with pictures or information about the prime minister or other public officials. Quite often their promotional materials show no people at all, just sun, blue tropical waters, white sand, green coconut palm trees, and beautiful red hibiscus in December! Can you imagine how enticing an image that is for Canadians or northern Americans snowed in by four-foot drifts? That’s why they go there. That’s why one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the Bahamas right now is external owners of property. People all over the world want to live there. Why? It’s not because of the prime minister; he’ll be replaced in a few years.




People want to move there because here is better than where they are—beach living with an average temperature of 75 degrees year-round. They sell them on an ocean filled with pure, fresh, clean fish and no pollution. They sell them on warm hospitality and good-looking people with positive attitudes. They don’t sell them the prime minister. Here’s the bottom line. The secret to attracting visitors or investors or new citizens is to promise them the lifestyle, the benefits, and the environment of the country.




This is why people are not coming to Yah. We keep trying to sell them on the leader. Yahusha never preached Himself to the multitudes. He preached the Kingdom of Heaven. He taught the Kingdom of Heaven. He used every example and word-picture He could to show the people what the Kingdom is like. On one occasion He compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast a king gave for his son (see Matt. 22:1-14). Try to imagine what a feast like that would be like: landscaped grounds, full, beautiful trees, gold carpets, silver walls, silver spoons, golden goblets, all the food you can eat, grapes, wine, cheese, fresh meat! Wow! If that’s what the Kingdom of Heaven is like, don’t you want to go there? I know I do! That’s selling the country.




Yahusha Hamachiach is not the Kingdom; He is the King. He is also the Door into the Kingdom. Anyone who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven must go in through the Door, which is Yahusha. But you don’t draw people to your country by talking about the port of entry. You draw them by selling them on what lies beyond the port of entry—the country’s benefits and quality of life—by stirring up such a hunger and desire for the country that they will do anything to get in.




Yahusha said, “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of Yah is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it” (Luke 16:16). Why aren’t people forcing their way into Christianity? They don’t want Christianity because Christianity is built on a door, not on the Kingdom beyond the door. Muslims don’t want Yahusha. They are satisfied with Muhammad and Allah. But talk to them about the Kingdom of Heaven and its riches, abundance, prosperity, and joy, as well as a Personal Yah who loves them, and compare that to the barren austerity in which most Muslims live, and you may get a listening ear.




People really are not looking for Yahusha. We keep telling them they are but they are not. They are looking for things. They are looking for a good life. But open their eyes to the reality of the Kingdom and their focus will change. Who wouldn’t trade the rat race pursuit of things for a Kingdom that guarantees all those things free and without frustration? That’s what Yahusha meant when He said people were forcing their way into the Kingdom of Yah. Once a person understands what the Kingdom is, and the riches, benefits, and joys it affords, he or she will do anything to get in, even risk life and limb. Why is it that more and more Muslims are converting to Hamachiach even though they know it may cost them their lives? Because they have discovered the Kingdom of Heaven and have realized that no price is too great to pay to enter it.




THE PRIORITY OF YAH FOR HUMANKIND




According to Yahusha, the most important priority for people on earth is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is the most important thing on earth. It is the treasure, the pearl, the yeast, the light, and the salt of the earth. The Kingdom is everything. Yahusha nailed this point home with two related parables:




The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it (Matthew 13:44-46).




Yahusha said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure that is so precious and so valuable that it is worth giving up everything else just to possess it. Throughout the ages countless people have left their homes and families, traveled all over the world, endured incredible hardship, and risked death and disaster daily, drawn by the lure of treasure and riches. It is amazing how much people are willing to risk on even the smallest chance of striking pay dirt.




Yahusha said that’s the way we are supposed to be about the Kingdom. We are supposed to pursue it even to and through the point of personal danger because once we enter it we’ve got it made. If we are willing to take such chances for earthly treasure that will eventually pass away, how much more willing should we be to risk everything for the sake of gaining the Kingdom.




Likewise, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a precious pearl that a merchant found and then sold everything he had to buy it. That’s how precious the Kingdom is. It is worth any price. Apparently the merchant had nothing left after buying the pearl except the pearl, and that was enough. So it is with the Kingdom. When we have the Kingdom, that is enough. Everything is in the Kingdom. We don’t need anything else.




“THE PRIORITY OF YAHUSHA




Yahusha’ only priority on earth was the Kingdom of Heaven. He taught us that the Kingdom should be our highest priority also, even in our prayers:




This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).




Notice that Yahusha says that this is how we should pray. We should pray for Yah’s Kingdom to come on earth. We should pray for His will to be done. He never says that we should pray for Him to come. Yet that is just what the church has prayed for centuries. Yahusha will return one day and it will be a blessed day when He does, but that is not how He told us to pray. The focus of our prayers should be that the Kingdom of Heaven should come, that the influence of Heaven’s government should permeate the nations and cultures of the earth like yeast in dough.




In Luke’s account of Yahusha’ last supper with His disciples the night before He was crucified, Yahusha says at one point, “I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on Me” (Luke 22:29). That is a political statement. Every government, when appointing ambassadors, uses the word “confer.




Yahusha conferred the Kingdom on us. The Kingdom is Yahusha’ top priority and it must be ours as well.




Religion postpones the Kingdom to a future experience, which is why you don’t hear much about the Kingdom in religion. You cannot appropriate what you postpone. If you say the Kingdom is coming later, you can never experience it now. However, Yah’s desire is for you to enter and experience the Kingdom right now.

SERVICE: THE HEART OF KINGDOM CULTURE PART 2

Matthew chapter 6







Today we are walking in: Service: The Heart of Kingdom Culture Part 2










Today we look to the word- INHERITANCE- yerushah H3425-something occupied; a conquest; also a patrimony:—heritage, inheritance, possession.









The Torah testifies………………….




Leviticus 25:46




And ye shall take them as an inheritance H3425 for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.







The Prophets Proclaim………………..




Isaiah 47:6




I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, H5159 and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.







The Writings witness…………………




Ecclesiastes 7:11




Wisdom is good with an inheritance: H5159 and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.




THE LIFE OF A SHEEP




The Kingdom of Heaven is our inheritance. It is our past as well as our future. And the principle of humble service plays a central role to our entering in. Yahusha told of the day at the end of time when He will sit on His throne of glory with all the nations gathered before Him for judgment. There will be only two groups of people: the “sheep,” or the righteous, at His right hand, and the “goats,” or the unrighteous, at His left.




Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave “Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in. I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me” (Matthew 25:34-36).




Notice that the inheritance of the righteous is not Heaven but the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember that the Kingdom of Heaven is a country with a government and influence on the earth. It is yeast that is making its way through the minds and cultures of humankind. The Kingdom is not new but has existed since creation, waiting to be populated by the righteous. The time has come, and Yahusha says to them, “Come, take your inheritance.




Then Yahusha describes the character of the righteous that sets them apart from the unrighteous, the character of service and a servant heart. It is practical service: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, tending the sick, and visiting the imprisoned. Notice also that Yahusha views all of these actions of compassion as being performed for Him: “I was hungry…I was thirsty…I was a stranger…I needed clothes…I was sick…I was in prison.”




Characteristically, the righteous servants respond with humility (not false modesty):

Then the righteous will answer Him, “Most High, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit You?”




The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:37-40).




Humble service is so natural and so second nature to those with a servant heart that they do not think of themselves as having done anything special or of particular merit. If asked about their actions they would say, “It is the least I could do.” True servants have no ulterior motives. They are not out to get noticed nor do they seek to use their service as a steppingstone to some greater or higher position. True servants live to serve and are delighted to do so.




Yahusha so identifies with the hungry, thirsty, sick, destitute, downtrodden, and castoffs of the world that He regards acts of kindness and compassion done for them as being done for Him. In other words, whenever we serve the needy, we serve the King.




This is a mind-set that all of us who are Kingdom citizens need to develop. No person is beneath our dignity, unworthy of our compassion or beyond the reach of our love. We need to learn to look into the faces of other people and see the face of our King looking back at us. Regardless what our job, career, or profession, we have an assignment from our King to serve Him by serving others. That’s why it is wrong for us to focus just on getting a paycheck or raising our standard of living. The paychecks will come, and so will greater prosperity, as long as we keep our focus where it ought to be: advancing the influence of the Kingdom by serving others in the King’s name.




We are ambassadors of the King on a Kingdom mission. This understanding will ennoble any job, any undertaking, no matter how menial, unimportant, or even thankless it may seem from the human perspective. In the Kingdom of Heaven, no service is menial, unimportant, or thankless because the Kingdom is built on service.




THE LIFE OF A GOAT




Contrast all of this with the actions and attitude of the unrighteous, the “goats” at Yahusha’ left hand.




Then He will say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.”




They also will answer, “Most High, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help You?”

He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.




Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:41-46).




From the Kingdom perspective, every person is either a sheep or a goat, either righteous or unrighteous, either a Kingdom citizen or an alien. It is important to note that the “goats” that the King addresses are not necessarily “bad” people. They may possess very high ethical and moral standards. In fact, they may very well be religious people. After all, they address the King as “Most High.” And they seem genuinely surprised at the King’s charge that they did nothing for Him: “Most High, when did we see You in need and not help You?” Implied in their question is the excuse, “Most High, if we had only known it was You, we would have acted differently.” That’s the whole point—and the fundamental difference between the sheep and the goats.




Unrighteous service is always calculated, always motivated by self-interest: “How will this benefit me in the long run?” Will it make you look good in front of your peers? Will it win you the praise of men? Will it bring you to the attention of the rich and powerful who can help you rise higher?




Righteous servants don’t care about any of that. They treat everyone the same: rich or poor, strong or weak, lovely or unlovely, lovable or unlovable. To all they show the same love, demonstrate the same compassion and extend the same respect. Why? Because righteous servants are not after personal gain. All they are after is to obey and honor their King, whom they love with all their heart.




Serving others will not earn us a right standing with Yah. Righteous service is a by-product of a right standing with Yah. Right standing comes first and then service grows out of it. The ministry of righteous service is true Kingdom work. Apparently neither the sheep nor the goats recognized Yahusha when He came to them in the guise of the broken, hurting, and needy. For the righteous it did not matter; they served lovingly and faithfully anyway, as serving their King.




Giving the Kingdom life to people can be an unconscious thing. The righteous asked, “Most High, when did we see You and do all these things for You?” For them it wasn’t serving, it was life. Yah wants us to serve for no other reason than our love for Him and for other people. Some people serve because they want promotion. Some people serve because they want recognition. Some people serve because they want the applause of men. Some people serve because they want to gain some political, social, or economic advantage. The King wants our hearts to be so service-oriented that we serve without even thinking about it. Unconscious love is the best love in the world.




If you sit down and scheme as to whether or why to help a person, you are acting like a goat. Sheep ask, “How can I help?” while goats ask, “What’s in it for me?” As Kingdom citizens, we should delight in the opportunity to serve. After all, we serve a King who came to earth to serve rather than be served, and when we serve willingly and joyfully in His name we do a very Kingly thing.




SERVICE REFLECTS THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF THE KINGDOM




Feed the hungry. Slake the thirsty. Welcome the stranger. Clothe the naked. Tend the sick. Visit the prisoner (or the infirm, bedridden or shut-in, as well as those who are psychologically or emotionally bound). These represent the very heart and soul of practical Kingdom life in this world. And yet these are the very same needs that most people fret and sweat and labor for all their lives. Can you see why Hamachiach told us not to worry about these things? These things are the common currency, the lingua franca of the Kingdom. If we are actively pursuing Kingdom life, we live with these things every day. The King provides “all these things” to us so that we can be His instruments in providing them to others.




Service is not always easy. Some people are irritable, ungrateful, unlovely, and unlikable and would just as soon bite your head off as look at you. Sometimes people become so withdrawn and inwardly focused by the assaults of life that they seem to have no room in their heart or their perspective for anything other than themselves and their own personal grievances and complaints. Nevertheless, this does not excuse us from serving them with the same smile, the same love, and the same gentle and patient Ruach we would give to others in need who were less difficult. After all, they too are created in the image of Yah.




Our eyes need to be alert to spot the strangers around us. I don’t mean just people we don’t know but also people who are strangers in society, people who are socially awkward or eccentric or painfully shy or lonely, people who may simply need a friend. It’s always easier to care for people we know or like or who are most like us or who come from the same side of the tracks or who walk in the same socio-economic circles as we. But our calling as Kingdom citizens is to serve anyone and everyone with a need who crosses our path. We need to learn to regard such encounters not as random and unconnected events but as divine appointments providing us with the opportunity to share the love of Yah and introduce another person to His Kingdom.




What about new people at work? Do you welcome the new “strangers” in your office with a handshake and a smile? Do you try to set them at ease and help them get settled in or do you ignore them in resentment or fear that their arrival may mean your own job is in jeopardy?




Feed the hungry, satisfy the thirsty, clothe the naked; all of these evoke the image of people who lack the most basic human needs. Yahusha said that the poor are with us always and that we can do something good for them anytime we choose (see Mark 14:7). The problem is that most of the time most of us choose to do nothing. Even worse, the poor are so ever-present that even if we do not turn our heads, we soon become so accustomed to their presence that we no longer see them, not even when we are looking right at them.




As Kingdom citizens positioned in righteousness, we have access to infinite provision for meeting the needs of the destitute. There is no excuse for us to turn our heads, pretend the poor are not there and blithely continue to consume Heaven’s resources on our own greed and selfish desires.




Tend the sick. This one is a natural for those Kingdom citizens who are health-care professionals. Just be careful that you are not so professional that you lose the human touch. Even those of us who are not professionals in the health-care field can still tend the sick and hasten their healing by praying for them and by encouraging them through visits, phone calls, cards, child care, providing meals, and other such personal involvement.




Visit the prisoner. Prison inmates need ministry too. They need to experience the understanding and compassion of people who truly care about them and are willing to see them as people created in Yah’s image and not just social misfits and outcasts.

There are other kinds of prisons too. Many people are imprisoned in their own homes because of fear, anxiety, or infirmity due to a body that is frail from sickness or no longer functions properly. These are often the forgotten ones in society: lonely, frightened, and depressed.




All of these needy ones are the kinds of people Yahusha most identified with. He associated with them because He loved them and because society, even the religious society, refused to do so. He is our King and sets our example. As He did we are to do also. That is what it means to be a Kingdom citizen. Service reflects the very nature and character of the Kingdom.




Service is powerful. In fact, service is the Kingdom’s greatest ministry to humankind. When people of the world see Kingdom citizens in action, in humble yet joyful service, they see firsthand what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Kingdom culture is so vastly different from worldly culture that seeing it on display in the lives of its citizens stirs up curiosity and even hunger for it in the hearts and minds of people who are outside the Kingdom. And this is just what Yah intends to happen. Hunger leads to inquiry and inquiry results in new Kingdom citizens.




True and faithful service also attracts the King’s blessing. He says, “Because you serve Me well, I am going to give you the Kingdom. I will take care of your whole life. I will feed you, clothe you, provide a house and a car, and bless you with everything else you need to continue serving Me faithfully. Because of your faithfulness, I will give you the whole country.”




Faithful service guarantees the Kingdom inheritance. Full access to the Kingdom and its resources is reserved for those who get their priorities right and put the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah ahead of their own desires, ambition, and comfort. There is nothing we can give up for the sake of the Kingdom that the King will not return to us multiplied many times over.




Service is the highest manifestation of Kingdom culture. The heart of the Kingdom of Heaven is the love of Yah and service is Yah’s love in action from one human heart to another. And since Yah is love, service is also the King’s nature in action. It is when we are busy feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, tending the sick, and visiting the prisoner that we are most like our King.




THE MOTIVATIONS FOR YAHLY SERVICE




There are two things that make the King’s nature unique. One is love. Yah doesn’t have love, and He doesn’t give love. Yah is love. Love is His very nature. Love means a commitment and dedication to meet another person’s needs above our own. It is this kind of love that took Yahusha to the Cross to die for us while we were still sinners, still in rebellion against Yah. He did not wait for us to ask Him to die. He did it before we ever even knew to ask. He met our needs above His own.




Second, Yah’s nature is caring. To care means to anticipate a need and meet it; planning to meet a need before it even arises. This is the nature of the King.

Because of the loving and caring nature of Yah, we as Kingdom citizens must always render service out of passion and not out of a desire or expectation of pay or any other kind of public or private acknowledgment. We must serve because we love it and because we love the King in whose name we serve. A popular aphorism says, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” While that is certainly true, especially in the Kingdom, the Kingdom dynamic goes even farther: “Do what you love, whether the money follows or not.” If you love living for the King and tending to His priorities, He will see to it that you never lack a thing.




Our service also must be motivated by love and not the limelight. Most of the work of service, including the most difficult work, takes place in secret, far from the public eye and the news media. If you thirst for the limelight, you will find the path of Kingdom service a very difficult road. Set your mind right now not to worry about the limelight. The King sees what you do in secret and His judgment is the only one that matters. So serve the King with a whole and undivided heart. Don’t work for limelight. Work because you love Yah and because you love people.




Kingdom service proceeds from the revelation of the value of every human being as a unique creation in the image of Yah. It is very difficult to sustain a humble servant’s heart over the long term if you cannot see the image of Yah in the face of every person you meet. Every person is entitled to basic dignity and respect. Remember, when you serve the needy, you serve the King.




Kingdom service is a calling, not a career. Careers are specialized according to education, preparation, and inclination, but every Kingdom citizen is called to be a servant. And that calling is for a lifetime. You can retire from a career, but you can’t retire from a call. You can’t retire from being yourself.




Service is the manifestation of the gifts Yah has given you. Work your gift, don’t waste it. And the Bible says your gift will make room for you in the world.




PRINCIPLES




1.Yah’s intent for us as Kingdom citizens is that we take on the culture of Heaven so that in whatever we do or say it will be evident that we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven.




2.The Kingdom of Heaven is our inheritance.




3.The government of Yah will last forever. His Kingdom is eternal.




4.We have a calling and a responsibility to influence earthly culture with the culture of Heaven.




5.Kingdom culture is a culture of servanthood.




6.In the Kingdom, you serve your way to greatness.




7.True servants live to serve and are delighted to do so.




8.Whenever we serve the needy, we serve the King.




9.Righteous service is a by-product of a right standing with Yah.




10.Our calling as Kingdom citizens is to serve anyone and everyone with a need who crosses our path.




11.Service reflects the very nature and character of the Kingdom.




12.Kingdom service is a calling, not a career.

SERVICE: THE HEART OF THE KINGDOM

Matthew chapter 6













Today we are walking in: Service: The Heart Of The Kingdom










Today we look to the word- AMBASSADOR- H6735- tsiyr- ambassador, hinge, messenger, pain, pang, sorrow











The Torah testifies……..




**************










The Prophets proclaim……..




Obadiah 1:1




The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador H6735 is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.










The Writings witness………………




Proverbs 13:17




A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador H6735 is health.










“A stingy man with much wealth is a danger to a world of poor men.”





“SERVICE: THE HEART OF KINGDOM CULTURE




From the beginning, Yah’s original purpose and plan was to rule the earth from Heaven through His family of humankind. He created man for this very reason. Man’s original purpose was to dominate the earth through Kingdom influence. Yah’s strategy for accomplishing this was to establish a colony of Heaven on earth. His intention was to influence the earth from Heaven so that the earth would begin to take on the culture of Heaven. In this manner, the influence of the invisible heavenly Kingdom would permeate, fill, and cover the visible physical earthly realm.




A kingdom, as we have already seen, is the governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his will, his intent and his purpose, manifesting that impact through the development of a culture that is manifested in its citizens. In other words, every kingdom manifests itself in the lifestyle and culture of its people. This means that every citizen of a kingdom is supposed to take on the nature of the king. That is why, for example, they speak British English in the Bahamas. They call it the “King’s English” because their lifestyle and culture reflect the influence of the British crown.




Yah’s intent for us as Kingdom citizens is that we take on the culture of Heaven so that in whatever we do or say it will be evident that we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why we don’t use foul language or lie or cheat or practice deceit or give way to jealousy or hatred. Those things are not part of Heaven’s culture and therefore are foreign to us. As Kingdom citizens we are from Yah’s country and both our language and our lifestyle should reflect that.




Remember, the Kingdom of Yah is not a religion. It is an actual country with its own government, laws, culture, and citizenry. And unlike earthly kingdoms of men, the Kingdom of Heaven is an eternal Kingdom. The Old Testament prophet Daniel said of Yah, “How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation” (Dan. 4:3). Even the oldest nations on earth have been organized states for less than 2,000 years. That may be a long time from man’s perspective but it is merely a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. An eternal Kingdom needs to be taken seriously. The Kingdom of Heaven will still be around after every kingdom of man has fallen to dust.




Yah’s Kingdom will endure from generation to generation. This means that there is a place in the Kingdom not only for us but also for our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all other generations of our descendents until the end of time. If the Kingdom dies with us as far as our family is concerned, then we will have failed our King. Yah is always looking for more citizens for His Kingdom, and if we fail in our generation, who will introduce future generations to the Kingdom?




The Kingdom of Heaven is our inheritance. Again, from the words of Daniel, “The saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever” (Dan. 7:18). Saints is another word for Kingdom citizens. We are destined to possess the Kingdom that Yahusha Hamachiach came to earth to announce and establish.




As I have mentioned before, Hamachiach did not bring a religion but a Kingdom, a royal government. Christianity is a religion, which is why it doesn’t work. You can practice a religion but you can’t practice citizenship. This is why some folks are good on Sunday and a mess on Monday. They’re practicing religion. But you can’t practice citizenship. Being a Kingdom citizen is a 24-hour-a-day reality, which is just what Yah wants. He doesn’t want members, but citizens. He wants people on earth who are citizens of a country from another place. That is why as Kingdom citizens we are in the world but not of the world.




In bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, Hamachiach was restoring what man lost in the Garden of Eden. Yet somewhere along the way we missed the point and substituted a religion for the Kingdom. Yahusha said, “Blessed are the poor in Ruach, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:3). “Poor in Ruach” means spiritually bankrupt, spiritually destitute and in great spiritual need. Yahusha said that the Kingdom of Heaven is reserved for those who recognize their spiritual poverty. If you are spiritually empty, no religion, including institutionalized, man-centered Christianity, can fill your emptiness. You will never be satisfied until you receive the Kingdom.




This is why Yahusha was so insistent that we seek first the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah and trust Him to provide all the things that we need for daily life. The enemy likes nothing more than to distract us into pursuing things because it keeps our attention away from the Kingdom and our Kingdom destiny.




THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN HAS A DISTINCTIVE CULTURE




Yahusha always talked about the Kingdom. It was His only message. One time He said, “The kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Matt. 13:33). This parable is a statement about Kingdom influence. One thing about yeast, once you add it to your dough you cannot remove it. It’s there for good. And although it works slowly at first, eventually the yeast permeates the entire batch of dough.




In the same way, now that the Kingdom of Heaven is on earth, it will never depart. And like yeast, the Kingdom is growing and will continue to grow until it thoroughly covers and saturates the earth. Although human governments come and go, the government of Yah will last forever. His Kingdom is eternal.




The presence of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth divides all the people on earth into two groups: those who are Kingdom citizens and those who are not. This is a critical distinction. Our purpose as Kingdom citizens is to work with the King to increase the size of the first group and decrease the size of the second group. We have a calling and a responsibility to influence earthly culture with the culture of Heaven. For this very reason, the King has given us Kingdom authority—the keys of the Kingdom—so that we can fulfill our calling as ministers of reconciliation.




Every country has a culture. Culture is the manifestation of the nature of the government in the lifestyle, customs, and morals of the people. In other words, every country has unique qualities of character, customs, traditions, and social mores that distinguish it from other countries. In practical terms this means that when you enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the new birth in Hamachiach, you become a Kingdom citizen and the culture of the Kingdom should begin to manifest in your life, your speech, and your behavior.




When you return to work, your boss and your co-workers should notice such a difference in your manner and behavior that it will prompt them to ask you what has changed about you. That is when you can say, “Yes, something is different. I have changed countries and am now a citizen of a different government. I am in this world but not of it. My citizenship is from another place.”




Kingdom culture is distinctly different from the cultures of any earthly country. The Kingdom operates under different principles and laws than those of the world and thus produces a distinctive culture that stands out in the world. One of the clearest distinctives of Kingdom culture is that it is a culture characterized by service. The cultures of the world manifest an every-man-for-himself approach to life and success. Kingdom culture, however, measures success by service and self-giving. Kingdom culture is a culture of servanthood.




A CULTURE OF SERVANTHOOD




Yahusha modeled consistently in word and deed the character quality of servanthood. He also taught it as a fundamental principle of Kingdom life. One of His most explicit teachings on the subject came in response to a request he received from the mother of James and John, two of His closest disciples.




Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Yahusha with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.




“What is it you want?” he asked.




She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”




“You don’t know what you are asking,” Yahusha said to them.” Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”




“We can,” they answered.




Yahusha said to them, “You will indeed drink from My cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father” (Matthew 20:20-23).




This woman was like all loving mothers; she wanted the best for her boys. She wanted them to be great men, men of authority in the Kingdom that Yahusha was establishing. She hoped to persuade Yahusha to promote her sons to positions of greatness and power. Her problem lay in the fact that she approached the matter from the attitude and value system of the world. She did not yet understand the dynamics of the Kingdom. She did not understand that the values, standards, principles, and priorities of the Kingdom were very different from those in the world.




Yahusha’ response was less than she (and her sons) had hoped. He said that the positions on either side of Him in the Kingdom were not His to give. Those choices were for His Father to make.




Understandably, Yahusha’ other disciples were upset over all of this, which gave Yahusha the opportunity to teach them all about greatness from the Kingdom perspective.




When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Yahusha called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:24-28).




Yahusha said that in the Kingdom, you don’t find greatness by seeking titles or position. Greatness in the Kingdom does not come by advancing over your co-workers and then lording your elevation over them. In the Kingdom, you serve your way to greatness. You don’t connive your way to greatness. The mother of James and John sought greatness for her sons by association instead of dedication. She hoped to exploit her sons’ “inner track” to Yahusha for their advantage. After all, that is how the world operates. You get ahead according to who you know.




But Yahusha nipped that idea in the bud. He said, “In My Kingdom you don’t achieve greatness by who you associate with but rather by how well you serve others.” His own life was the perfect example. Yahusha, even though He was the Son of Yah, came to serve, not to be served. What was appropriate for Him is certainly appropriate for us. The road to greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven leads through the valley of humble service.




Yahusha said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” In this context, the word first means the first one people always call on. In other words, the one who is the most important, the one who is most valuable, the one who everyone calls first is the one with the reputation for working the hardest.




If people are always calling on you or turning to you, that’s a good sign. However, if you are the one they always avoid, perhaps it is time for you to reexamine your attitude, habits, and work ethic. No one ever becomes great by avoiding the hard jobs and the tough decisions. And if you do not have the Ruach of service and hard work, it will not be only people avoiding you. Prosperity will avoid you as well.




Being a servant does not mean that you become subservient. It means that you find what you have and you give it to the world. You serve your gift to the world. That’s what makes you great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF ADDITION PART 2

Matthew chapter 6










Today we are walking in: The Kingdom Principle of Addition Part 2










Today we look to the word OBEY --H8085 - shâmaʻ, shaw-mah'; a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, attentively, call gather together, carefully, certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, make a proclaimation, publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.









The Torah testifies.........……



Genesis 27:13

And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.





Exodus 23:22

But if thou shalt indeed obey H8085 his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.





Deuteronomy 13:4




Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.










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



Joshua 24:24

And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey H8085.




Nehemiah 9:17




And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.




Jeremiah 7:23




But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.









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



Joshua 24:24




And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.





Job 36:11

If they obey H8085 and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.





Psalm 18:44




As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.










THE ADDITION PRINCIPLE




The Kingdom principle of addition is founded on four significant truths that are uniquely characteristic of kingdoms. All four relate to the relationship that exists between the King and His citizens.




1. All that is needed for sustenance and life is the obligation of the king.




In a democracy, every citizen has to earn his own living and make his own way. The government tries to create an environment in which every citizen can succeed but takes no direct responsibility for the care and welfare of its citizens at a personal level. Success levels among citizens vary due to education, motivation, opportunity, and a host of other factors. This is why every democratic society has rich people, poor people, and those in between.




Compare this to a kingdom, where the care and welfare of every citizen is the direct and personal responsibility of the king. This doesn’t mean, of course, that the king personally visits every citizen and takes care of every need single-handedly—a wise king delegates those responsibilities—but it does mean that the buck stops with him. Anything that any citizen lacks reflects poorly on the king and on the quality of his rule.




A king, therefore, has a vested interest in making sure all his citizens prosper, because prosperous citizens make for a prosperous kingdom. And a prosperous kingdom brings glory to the king. In fact, a king is obligated to take care of his citizens because he owns everything in his kingdom and they will have nothing unless he gives it to them. Consequently, and unlike a democracy, there are no poor people in a kingdom. Nobody is poor because nobody owns anything. But all citizens have equal access to the king’s assets.




I am speaking, of course, of an ideal kingdom, a perfect kingdom with a perfect, omnipotent and benevolent king who always and in every situation works for the good and greater welfare of his citizens. Clearly, no such kingdom can be found among today’s earthly governments. Only the Kingdom of Heaven and its divine King meet these criteria. And He has promised to meet the needs and protect the welfare of His people.




2. Provisions for life are the responsibility of the king and not the citizen.




Democracies are built on the principles of capitalism and free and open markets. Every person in a democracy is free to make his or her own way, free to seek and enjoy the good life. In fact, they are obligated to because no one will do it for them. Yet for many, including many believers, making their own way isn’t working. The daily rat race really drags them down. Every day is a struggle, money is always in short supply, and they see no end in sight to these circumstances. Common wisdom says, “Go for your piece of the pie,” but the pie is so small that there seems not to be enough for everybody to get some. Consequently, most people live and die never having tasted anything but crumbs.




This is the system we live in on earth, but Yahusha says, “That’s all wrong! You are Kingdom citizens. Provision for life is not your responsibility; it’s mine. So stop worrying about all this stuff. Let Me take care of it! I know it’s tough to break away from the system because the system is built for dependency. Nevertheless, let go of the system. Learn to depend on Me.”




Some of you may wonder if I am advising you to become irresponsible. Not at all. I’m actually encouraging you to become more responsible by trusting the King. It takes more responsibility to live in the Kingdom than to live in the system of the world.




3. Kingdom favor is the unearned provision of the king.




The Kingdom of Heaven does not operate on a system of wages and earnings. This is a good thing, because none of us could ever earn our way into Heaven. Eternal life is unavailable to us, completely out of our reach, unless it is given (added) to us as a gift. And this is exactly what Yah has done: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yah is eternal life in Hamachiach Yahusha our Most High” (Rom. 6:23).




The gift of Yah’s unearned provision is called favor. He gives because He chooses to, not because we deserve it. Favor is the system upon which the Kingdom of Heaven operates. Nothing we receive in the Kingdom do we receive because we worked for it. Anything we work for constitutes earnings, not additions. Additions always come to us unearned.




Yet still we work and fret and labor and sweat to secure the things we need and want and wonder why the Kingdom of Heaven is not “working” for us. The answer is very simple: the Kingdom does not operate on works; it operates on favor. We cannot expect the Kingdom’s provisions to come our way until we learn to operate by the Kingdom’s system.




4. Man was never designed to pursue personal provisions but the influence of Heaven on earth.




Our purpose on earth as Kingdom citizens and ambassadors is to spread the awareness and the influence of Yah’s Kingdom throughout the earth. Pursuing provision was never part of Yah’s master plan for us. That’s why Yahusha said, “Don’t worry about food or drink or clothing, because your heavenly Father knows you need these things.” When we are about our Kingdom purpose, our King will supply all the provisions we need to do the job.




The “Most High’s Prayer” (or “Model Prayer”) recorded in Matthew 6:9-13, which Yahusha used to teach His disciples how to pray, contains only one phrase related to provision: “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). This phrase serves to reorient our hearts and minds to the One who is our true Source and Provider. The real focus of our prayers should be, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matt. 6:9-10). In other words, we should pray (and work) for the influence of the Kingdom to advance throughout the earth and let the King handle all the logistics. Yah’s desire is that we not live for things, but live for His influence.




KINGDOM PROVISION AND PURPOSE




Provision is a by-product of obedience. It is not a wage paid for work performed or for services rendered. Yahusha promised that if we seek the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah that all the provisions we need for life will be added to us. Everything necessary for us to live righteously as Kingdom citizens will be provided. But our heart and mind, our will and desire, must be inclined toward consistent obedience to the King.




This kind of obedience involves much more than simple adherence to external rules and regulations or mere outward behavioral changes. You can obey on the outside and still possess a rebellious, disobedient heart. This is a very old problem, extending as far back as the Garden of Eden. In fact, the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah records this complaint of Yah about His people: “The Most High says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men’” (Isa. 29:13). As far as Yah is concerned, external obedience with a disobedient heart is not obedience at all.




Obedience that releases Kingdom provision begins in the heart and manifests in our outward lives. In other words, true external obedience is the result of an obedient heart. False external obedience is nothing more than a calculated ploy to manipulate Yah into giving us what we want, and it will fail every time. This is why many believers are perplexed today. They go to worship, they read their Bible, they pray, they give their tithe and their time, and yet nothing seems to be working. The Kingdom storehouse is still shut to them. The reason? They are not living right. Their hearts are not clean and pure before Yah. Despite their outward display of righteousness, their hearts are out of alignment with the Kingdom government.




In the Bible, abundant provision and prosperity clearly are linked to obedience to Yah. Shortly before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, Moses gave then this charge and promise from Yah:




Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Most High your Yah, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Most High your Yah will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Most High your Yah: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out” (Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NKJV).




When we obey the Most High with our whole heart, His blessings will “overtake” us. This means that when Yah’s blessings come to us, they will be more than we know what to do with. To be blessed in the fruit of our body and the produce of our ground means that Yah will bless and guard our investments. The increase in our herds means that the accumulations of our wealth will be multiplied. Everywhere we go, wherever we turn and in whatever we touch we will be blessed.




Success, favor, and influence for the Kingdom will expand at every turn.




If we obey Yah’s commands from our heart, the provisions of the Kingdom will overtake us.




In addition to the issue of obedience in the Kingdom, is the issue of ownership. The principle of provision and prosperity in the Kingdom is access, not ownership or pursuit. Wealth in the Kingdom of Yah is defined not as having things stored up but rather having access to things that are stored up. When we avidly and anxiously pursue things such as food, water, clothing, housing, and the like, we imply that we believe these things are scarce, and unless we fight alongside everybody else we will not get our piece of the pie.




There is no lack of anything in the Kingdom of Yah; no shortages and no rationing. On the contrary, there are boundless amounts of everything. The King owns everything; we own nothing. Because the King owns everything, He can give anything in any amount to any of His children anytime He wants to. The principle of provision and addition involves being in the position through right living to have access to as much as we need of anything that we need to carry out our assignment from Yah.




Look at it this way. Imagine that your father is a billionaire and he says to you, “I will give you a choice. I will either set up a $1 million account for you to live on that is exclusively yours or, in lieu of your own account, I will give you complete and unlimited access to everything I have.” Which would you choose: $1 million that is yours free and clear or free access to billions? It’s a no-brainer! And yet when it comes to matters of the Kingdom of Yah, many of us pass on unlimited access in favor of getting and hoarding our little piece of the pie. Does that make any sense? True wealth is found not in an abundance of possessions but in unlimited access to infinite resources.




We need access to such resources because man was not created to work for provision but for purpose. And what is our purpose? To spread the knowledge and influence of the Kingdom of Heaven over all the earth. Success in such an assignment requires adequate daily provision. Just as no wise general will send his troops onto the battlefield without making sure they have all the equipment and provisions they need to accomplish their mission, neither will Yah send us forth to fulfill our purpose without providing us with the resources to carry it out. So whenever and wherever we go to work we should be motivated not by the promise of a paycheck but by the calling of our King to spread His Kingdom throughout the world, starting in our own workplace.




Man was created to work out his assignment, not work for a living. This doesn’t mean we stop working; it means we change our reason for working. Working for a paycheck can inspire only so far and for only so long. But to go to work every day knowing that we are living for a higher purpose—an eternal purpose—can place our work in a whole new light.




In the Kingdom, assignment determines access. What does that mean? It’s very simple. Whatever you were born to do is how rich you are. If you are trying to get rich so you can say you are richer than everybody else, your pursuit will end up killing you (or make you so miserable you will wish you were dead). If you are committed to your Kingdom purpose, however, Yah will prosper you to whatever degree necessary for you to succeed. In the Kingdom of Yah, your assignment determines your access to the provisions of the King.




It is far more important to find our assignment than to pursue things because the things that come into our lives come to help us fulfill our Yah-given assignment. If Yah has given you a $10 billion assignment, pursue that assignment faithfully and He will give you the $10 billion. We do not receive wealth for ourselves but for carrying out our assignment. That’s why Yahusha told us not to worry about things. Pursue the Kingdom assignment first and the things will be added.




Therefore, in the Kingdom, purpose attracts provision. Whenever a king makes an assignment, he makes full provision for its completion. When Nehemiah received permission from the king of Persia to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls, the king gave him a letter authorizing him to utilize whatever of the king’s resources were necessary, whether wood from the king’s forests or stone from the king’s quarries or tar from the king’s tar pits. Nehemiah embarked on his task confident that he had everything he needed to succeed.




The King of Heaven is the same way. Yah will never assign us something that He does not give us the provisions to complete. Our part is to pursue the end—the assignment; Yah’s part is to supply the means. This is why establishing our priorities is so important. Priority with purpose produces provision.




PROVISION IS TIED TO PURPOSE




When Yahusha wanted to explain to His followers the proper attitude they should take toward provision and the pursuit of things, He chose an example from nature:




Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:25-27)




After encouraging His followers not to worry about daily needs, Yahusha then said that life is more than working for food and other necessities. If all we live for is the next paycheck and making ends meet, then we are missing out on life. He also said that the body is more than just a display rack for fancy clothes. In effect, Yahusha is saying to us, “Your body really wasn’t made to wear clothes. I created your body so that I could come into the earth through you and establish My Kingdom on earth. I want to fulfill an assignment through you, and the clothing you wear is completely immaterial except as they relate to that assignment.”




To drive home the point that it is needless to worry, Yahusha directs their attention to the birds. Birds do not sow seed, they do not reap a harvest and they do not store up food in a barn, and yet they never go hungry because Yah feeds them. First, they do not sow. In other words, birds do not work to live. They live to be birds. Second, they do not reap. Birds do not collect a paycheck. They don’t need to because Yah has already given them everything they need to fulfill their purpose of being birds. Third, they do not store up. Birds do not hoard. They do not become obsessed or stressed out over making sure they have enough for tomorrow or next week or next year. They simply take what they receive each day and are perfectly content. Have you ever heard of a bird with heart trouble or high blood pressure or cancer? I haven’t.




A bird doesn’t try to be a horse. It doesn’t try to be a fish or a monkey or a human. A bird simply preoccupies itself with being a bird. It has no desire to be anything else. It is perfectly content to fulfill its purpose as a bird. Yah created the bird to be that way and He gives the bird everything it needs to be a bird. Yah created the tree in which the bird builds its nest. He provided the twigs the bird gathers to put in the nest as well as the cotton plants from which the bird collects padding for its nest. Yah made the leaves for shading the nest. And He made the wind that enables the bird to fly to its nest and lay its eggs.




The bird has everything it needs to be a perfect bird, and Yah takes care of it. However, if you climbed onto the roof of your house and jumped off in an effort to fly, you would immediately regret your decision! If the fall didn’t kill you, your stay in the hospital would provide you ample time to reconsider your actions. Why couldn’t you fly like a bird? Because flying is not your purpose. Yah’s promise to add “all these things” does not include things to make you bird-like. Provision is tied to purpose. Just as Yah gives the birds everything they need to be birds, He will give us everything we need to fulfill our purpose as Kingdom citizens and royal children of the King.




When we set out to seek the Kingdom and righteousness of Yah, we don’t need to concern ourselves about provisions for the journey because the provisions come with the territory. All we have to do is work at being a Kingdom ambassador, and everything we need for executing that office will be provided for us.




PRINCIPLES




1.The Kingdom principle of addition operates on obedience—faithful observance of Kingdom law and clean living.




2.The rewards of the Kingdom on Yah’s part require right living on our part.




3.In a kingdom, the care and welfare of every citizen is the direct and personal responsibility of the king.




4.All citizens have equal access to the king’s assets.




5.The Kingdom does not operate on works; it operates on favor.




6.When we are about our Kingdom purpose, our King will supply all the provisions we need to do the job.




7.Yah’s desire is that we not live for things but live for His influence.




8.Provision is a by-product of obedience.




9.When we obey the Most High with our whole heart, His blessings will “overtake” us.




10.The principle of provision and prosperity in the Kingdom is access, not ownership or pursuit.




11.True wealth is found not in an abundance of possessions, but in unlimited access to infinite resources.




12.In the Kingdom, assignment determines access.




13.Our part is to pursue the end—the assignment. Yah’s part is to supply the means.




14.Provision is tied to purpose.