"The Gilded Age" 2

June 28, 2017

From the teaching Governments, Kingdoms, and Citizenship 2

First, I just wanted to mention that it was such a blessing for my family and I to have visited with the Saints at House of Israel of London last week. We were truly lifted up by the Almighty and the fellowship of the brethren. You all have a wonderful opportunity there to be equipped and serve. We are also thankful that we get to be a part of it in the world of cyberspace and want to thank all of you for your prayers and hospitality.

So last week, Marcus continued with part two of the teaching Governments, Kingdoms, and Citizenship and this verse came to mind: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" Joshua 24:15.

The ancient world was a very blatantly religious world, but nowadays, it appears that modern man is blatantly atheist. This misconception leads us to believe that there are some of us that don't serve any god, but we are creatures created to worship. We can choose to worship The Almighty or the other alternative is that we worship ourselves. So in reality, all of us are in someone's service. For those of us that desire to be and are in the service of the Creator of heaven and earth, we probably had to trudge our way through the world of religion only to end up on the other side of it to find the truth. Once religion is shed, and this is most likely a lifelong task, Father can bring us into a place where we can really grow in spiritual maturity.

One of the hardest things that I've come to realize is my identity as a child of the Most High God and my citizenship in His kingdom. I shared last week that I've had a revelation about walking in the Spirit of YeHoVaH that has transformed my walk. It's not like I haven't heard time and time again about walking in the Spirit, but I didn't really have ears to hear then like I heard it a month ago. I remember a verse from a song, "30 years as a pagan has my mind trained". Wow! How true those words rang to me when I heard them. I was a pagan, a Christian pagan, a Messianic pagan too. When we walk with one foot in the world and one in what we'd like to call a place of "truth in Messiah", we are nothing more than pagans. Letting go of old habits and mindsets that are deeply ingrained are truly difficult. Is it more difficult because we try to address it in the strength of our flesh? I really think this is the case. When Father revealed to me that I was not moving forward in my walk because He desired me to know what it is to truly allow His Spirit to lead me, I was shaken. All this time, I thought I was good because I kept the Sabbath and observed His Feasts and Holy days. My family started tithing according biblical instruction and I tried to be a "good" person, but my growth slowed and I could tell. I also knew that I was not diligent in areas that I knew He was calling me to adjust. That is nothing but a recipe for disaster and man did it hit me. I can remember being in tears when I received this revelation and then looking up from crying. The first thing I saw was a box of tissues right in front of me with the word "home" written on it. Father was telling me He wanted me home; to come to Him in a way I had not known before. I immediately tried to bring up all the things that were wrong that I wanted to fix, but the Spirit spoke to me to let Him fix it. I was instantly calmed. I don't have to fix anything or anyone, all I have to do is resist when my flesh tries to jump in the driver's seat and allow the Spirit of the Most High to really lead me and have a real LIVE relationship with Him. A relationship that is live, ongoing, present, and authentic. Not a religious relationship or one made for TV, but a relationship that is real.

As citizens of His kingdom, we all are to be in a place where He is in the driver's seat of our lives. We all know that this is a challenge and a requirement. Romans 8:14 identifies the sons of God as those that are lead by His Spirit. Like Joshua state in Joshua 24:15, we have to choose this day who we are going to serve. Do you serve yourself, all the gods, governments, and kingdoms of this earth or do you desire to serve Him? To serve Him, we must put His will above all. When we pride ourselves on being good, law abiding citizens of The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Nigeria, or any other nation, yet the laws of His kingdom we view as optional, there is something wrong with that. He is supreme above all and worthy to be worshipped and praised. In serving Him, we serve our fellow citizens in the kingdom and those that are not part of the kingdom. By saying this I mean that when we are lead by the Spirit of the Most High and walk in the example of Yeshua, we exemplify to non believers what is looks like to walk in step and have a relationship with the Most High. When we share of His goodness and the hope that is to come, we serve them. We also must remember that we need to be invested in allowing Him to mature us so that what comes forth through us is from Him. We can do good things and do this and that, but if it's not from Him, we are giving of ourselves and He wants us to be a vessel for HIM. This is our challenge as citizens of The Kingdom of YeHoVaH.

In closing, I want to remind us of the title of this post, "The Gilded Age" because it highlights the illusion that we all face. There is an illusion that our citizenship of the country of our nationality is what's most important; there's an illusion that we have truth based on our religious affiliation or lack thereof. I used the word 'gilded' to emphasize that this illusion is thinly painted with a layer of gold. It's pretty on the outside, but that ain't gold underneath honey! It's essentially a veneer and what lies beneath is a mindset that attempts to tie us to the kingdoms of this world and their agenda. It wants us to walk by sight and this flesh. It exalts the natural and logic and reason over the Spirit. It wants to strip us of the understanding of what it means and looks like to walk in the steps of our Messiah in exchange for the articles of "Global Citizenship". Yeshua told us in Matthew 7:13-14 that few will find that narrow gate that leads to life, so that tells you who runs this global kingdom that desires our allegiance and adherence. Additionally, let us not fool ourselves into thinking that keeping Sabbath and Feasts means we are in the right camp. Father is calling all of us to come up another level. Whatever He has been urging us to do, we need to intentionally take steps toward it to realize the growth He wants to see in us. If we are willingly walking in rebellion, we can't claim to be a son or daughter in that moment. Let's get out our citizenship handbook, the Bible, and put it to use while allowing the Spirit of the Most High to take His rightful place in every thought and action.