Imagine stepping out of a time machine into the year 1900, carrying with you not billions of dollars, but simply the average resources of a middle-class person today. No robber baron fortune, no Vanderbilt mansion, just your $70k salary, your smartphone with internet and AI access, your climate control, and your modern conveniences. What would life look like?
(Yes, I know about value, inflation, etc, and yes, this is a ridiculous thought experiment. But it will have meaning so just bear with me.)
Ok, so your life right now, picked up and moved back 125 years ago, here is what it would be like…
In 1900, $70,000 would translate into roughly $2.7 million per year in today’s money. That’s not middle-class at all; it would have placed you firmly among the wealthiest of the wealthy.
The average household income at the time was about $450 a year. With your $70,000 you would be about 150 times richer than the average family. To put it another way: you would be living in a way the vast majority of humanity couldn’t even dream of.
Yes, you -- with your measly, unflattering, low, and unappreciative salary -- would have had enough resources to change the lives of every person you know. But that’s not all…
Now, add the non-monetary resources you’d carry with you:
This would make you a walking Library of Alexandria, a research institute, a stock market terminal, and a personal secretary rolled into one. The most powerful universities of 1900 couldn’t touch what you could summon in seconds.
In 1900, the wealthy escaped summer heat by going to the seaside or mountain retreats. You, however, could sit coolly in any city tenement while the elites sweltered in silk suits.
Cholera, typhoid, and waterborne diseases plagued cities. You would have a practically divine immunity to the filth of the era.
With internet access and AI interpretation, you’d know more about germs, nutrition, and preventive medicine than most practicing doctors of the time.
With these unimaginable luxuries, you would be revered greater than even the greatest of kings. Super-human doesn’t even begin to describe your life in the eyes of those watching.
The wealthiest Americans in 1900 -- the Rockefellers, Carnegies, Vanderbilts -- lived in sprawling mansions with dozens of servants. They had private rail cars, horse-drawn carriages, and perhaps early automobiles. But they lacked:
Meanwhile, you -- an "average" person today -- could:
Your daily life would outshine the luxuries of the Gilded Age elite. The most powerful men of 1900 couldn’t binge-watch films, look up obscure scientific data, or call a friend across the globe in seconds. Sure, they may still own more property than you do (and have more money), but you have access to things they’d gladly trade their holdings for: real power.
If you lived in 1900 with what you have now, you would be an emperor in all but name. Wealth in that era was measured in land, labor, and raw opulence, but even the richest barons couldn’t rival your access to knowledge, health, convenience, and control over your environment.
Your “average” life today would be regarded as miraculous, possibly magical in 1900. The great irony? The things that would awe the Vanderbilts, like your phone or your air conditioning, are the very things modern people take for granted. Everyone has a phone. Everyone has access to a near infinite library of knowledge. Everyone can reach out to nearly anyone else on the planet in a matter of seconds.
The fact that everyone has access to this power means that no one uses it.
So the punchline is this: to live an average life today is to surpass the luxury of kings and industrial titans of a century ago. Our ancestors could barely imagine the power we hold in our pockets, yet we call it ordinary.
What does this impossible dramatization mean for you?
This same blindness extends to something infinitely greater than money and comfort: the wealth of the Kingdom of God.
Thousands of years ago, Abba promised His people abundance if they walked in His ways:
Deuteronomy 28:1 28 “If you listen closely to what Adonai your God says, observing and obeying all his mitzvot which I am giving you today, Adonai your God will raise you high above all the nations on earth; 2 and all the following blessings will be yours in abundance…”
Now, you may be thinking of abundance in the same terms as the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts thought of it. Stuff, things, more stuff, more things -- you know how it goes. We ourselves spend countless hours and days collecting stuff and things, and sometimes even allow that to run in front of nearly everything we do in our lives.
But, despite how we currently live our lives, this abundance isn’t about money or comfort. Stepping out of our own ways of thinking and reading this in Kingdom terms, “blessings in abundance” really can’t mean money and an easy life. How do I know that? Easy: Yeshua lived a life of blessings in abundance -- and it was not based on money and most certainly not on ease.
A life of blessing comes from doing what Abba says, nothing more, nothing less.
Isaiah foresaw a time when God’s people absorbed this understanding and it literally changed the world:
Isaiah 60 “Arise, shine [Yerushalayim], for your light has come, the glory of Adonai has risen over you. 2 For although darkness covers the earth and thick darkness the peoples; on you Adonai will rise; over you will be seen his glory. Imagine stepping out of a time machine into the year 1900, carrying with you not billions of dollars, but simply the average resources of a middle-class person today. No robber baron fortune, no Vanderbilt mansion, just your $70k salary, your smartphone with internet and AI access, your climate control, and your modern conveniences. What would life look like? 4 Raise your eyes and look around: they are all assembling and coming to you; your sons are coming from far off, your daughters being carried on their nurses’ hips. 5 Then you will see and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with delight; for the riches of the seas will be brought to you, the wealth of nations will come to you.”
For this to happen it means the people must be living according to Abba’s ways. Jeremiah gives us the background as to how this can possibly come to be:
Jeremiah 31:33 “I will put My Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
This same sentiment was echoed by the writer of Hebrews:
Hebrews 8:10 “‘For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,’
says Adonai: ‘I will put my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.’
So important, even, that they wrote it twice:
Hebrews 10:15 And the Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “ ‘This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days,’ says Adonai: ‘I will put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds . . . ,’ 17 he then adds, “ ‘And their sins and their wickednesses I will remember no more.’ ”
Obedience brings light into the earth. First, the light has to shine in our own selves and that is done when everything we say, think, and do is in alignment with His Word. This is not simply mechanical obedience, but a willful wanting to honor our God. We choose to surrender our own desires in favor of His because we trust that His Ways are so much better than ours. And, of course, they are. The amazing thing is that in this surrender, things change. By allowing His ways to become deeply embedded into every fiber of our being, we can literally change the world.
So how do we get there? Well, it most certainly isn’t through anything you can do on your own. It’s through Yeshua that these promises are secured and expanded. And it’s through His Spirit that we become transformed. We are no longer only a physical nation but a royal priesthood drawn from every tribe and tongue, entrusted with Kingdom resources beyond imagining.
Now I’m not sharing anything groundbreaking or brand new. This is exactly what we all know to be 100% true -- just maybe not fully true today.
The same Spirit is available to everyone so, guess what: no one uses it. Kingdom authority is on offer for anyone that gives their life over to Abba, but rarely do we walk in it.
Just as we take modern technology for granted, we often ignore or even surrender the authority Yeshua has given us. Why?
Daily distractions tend to crowd out eternal priorities. While we desperately want to be able to commit the fullness of our lives to Kingdom purposes, the reality is that we have way too many other things that draw our time and attention. And when that happens we tend to bear little to no fruit:
Mark 4:18 “Others are sown among thorns -- they hear the message; 19 but the worries of the world, the deceitful glamour of wealth and all the other kinds of desires push in and choke the message, so that it produces nothing.”
Distraction, worry, and busyness are not neutral, they choke out the fruitfulness of God’s Word in our lives.
We treat “Kingdom authority” like a metaphor rather than a present reality. It’s easy to separate the world in which we live with the Kingdom we wish were here. But the Kingdom is not deferred, it’s here right now:
Luke 17:20 The P’rushim asked Yeshua when the Kingdom of God would come. “The Kingdom of God,” he answered, “does not come with visible signs; 21 nor will people be able to say, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or, ‘Over there!’ Because, you see, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
The Kingdom is here. It’s people. It’s you. It’s me.
Healing, forgiving, and proclaiming truth feels costly, so it is easy to step back. There are so many things that could go wrong if we were to try and do what Yeshua said
John 14:12 “Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father.”
But what if you speak healing over someone and they aren’t healed? If you're like most people, you feel like a fraud and are embarrassed. So it becomes so much easier to never say a word. But it is in that exact moment of doing the works He said to do that your faith and trust are tested. What then happens when what we believe is not quite as robust as we had hoped.
I think this may be the greatest issue of all. It seems easier to believe in our weakness than in His Spirit working through us. I mean, who are we that we should step into the place of authority that has been secured by Yeshua Himself?
Even as Peter was literally walking upon the water, this mammoth weight called doubt fell upon him:
Matthew 14:31 “Immediately Yeshua reached out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, ‘Such little trust! Why did you doubt?’”
Doubt limits the authority of faith. Trust unlocks the impossible.
Matthew 21:21 Yeshua said to them, “Yes! I tell you, if you have trust and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree; but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ it will happen.”
We have access to the greatest power man has ever seen and yet we live like spiritual paupers, even while holding the inheritance of Heaven an arm’s length away.
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This is one of the biggest reasons why we are commanded to rehearse the coming of our King -- to live as though the greatest Man of all is dwelling among us. This isn't a metaphor, it’s an expression of what our daily lives should be.
The Feast of Sukkot points to what is coming, the day God Himself dwells among His people:
Revelation 21:3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, ‘See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and He Himself, God-with-them, will be their God.’
Sukkot is both a remembrance and a rehearsal. It reminds us of the wilderness, when Israel dwelled in temporary shelters, utterly dependent on God. And it points forward to the day when Messiah returns, when we will dwell with Him in joy and peace.
Isaiah describes this final picture as well:
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain Adonai-Tzva’ot
will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food and superb wines,
delicious, rich food and superb, elegant wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the veil which covers the face of all peoples,
the veil enshrouding all the nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever.
Adonai Elohim will wipe away
the tears from every face,
and he will remove from all the earth
the disgrace his people suffer.
For Adonai has spoken.
This is the destiny of the Kingdom: abundance, healing, and dwelling with God Himself. And the Spirit has already pitched His tent in us as the down payment of that reality:
John 14:22 Y’hudah (not the one from K’riot) said to him, “What has happened, Lord, that you are about to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Yeshua answered him, “If someone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Someone who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words -- and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me. 25 I have told you these things while I am still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
While we can fantasize about our incredible impact if we could somehow beat inflation (i.e., win the lottery) and carry along 100+ years of technological advancement, we know for certain that there is no way to teleport back 125 years to show off this profound super-power. But if we project this forward we see something completely different.
If an “average” modern life would outshine Rockefeller’s fortune, how much more does our life in Yeshua already surpass the riches of this world? We are heirs of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. The question is whether we will recognize it, believe it, and live like it’s true.
Kingdom wealth is not ordinary. Every relationship you have is eternal currency. Spend love freely. Live as though your authority in Yeshua is real -- because it is.
For soon the Feast will be fulfilled, and we will dwell with Him face-to-face. Until then, we are not waiting in poverty. We are already rich.
The Spirit of God is wanting to move mightily throughout the earth. And it does so through us. Through you. Through me.
Or it doesn’t.
The most powerful force on earth rests upon a willing soul.
The Hebrew word הנני (hineni) appears simple, but its meaning pierces to the very heart of faith.
Formed from hineh (“behold!”) and ani (“I”), it literally says, “Behold me.” It is not the cool acknowledgment of attendance, it is the trembling readiness of the soul standing fully open before God.
When a prophet, patriarch, or servant says hineni, they are declaring something much deeper than “I’m here.” They are saying, “I withhold nothing. My attention, my will, my life -- all are Yours.”
In the ancient Near Eastern world, such a statement was the language of loyalty and submission before a sovereign. To say hineni was to step into covenant posture -- to stand at attention before the voice that holds your destiny.
In Hebrew grammar, hineni is a combination of the interjection hineh (“look!” or “behold!”) with the first-person singular pronoun ani (“I”). The form binds together the act of revelation (hineh) and self-offering (ani).
Thus hineni is not merely a word; it is an event -- the meeting point where divine summons and human surrender converge.
Every time hineni appears in Scripture, something changes. The world bends slightly toward redemption, because someone says, “Here I am.”
When God called, “Avraham!” the patriarch replied, “Hineni.” It was the same word he later used to his son Isaac -- a perfect reflection of his character. His readiness toward God mirrored his tenderness toward others.
In saying hineni, Abraham didn’t yet know the command would lead him to Mount Moriah; obedience came before understanding. Faith spoke first, reason followed later.
This moment reveals the heart of trust -- the kind that doesn’t negotiate outcomes but simply answers, “Behold me.”
Jacob’s two hineni moments (Genesis 31:11; 46:2) frame his transformation from grasping trickster to humble patriarch. In his first, he hears God in a dream, learning that divine vision can invade even his sleep. In his second, as an old man, he yields his life’s course to God’s plan, saying hineni before descending into Egypt.
His hineni is the yes of a man who has wrestled long enough to realize that blessing comes through surrender, not striving.
At the burning bush, Moses hears his name twice -- “Moshe! Moshe!” -- an expression of intimacy and urgency. His hineni unlocks one of the greatest missions in human history.
Yet Moses’ hineni was not born of confidence but curiosity: he turned aside to see. God calls most often to those who are willing to turn aside from routine. In that pause of wonder, heaven speaks.
Moses’ hineni teaches that readiness is not perfection -- it’s availability. God equips the called, not the qualified.
In the dim lamp-light of the tabernacle, young Samuel hears his name and answers hineni before he knows the voice is YHVH’s. His heart responds before his theology catches up.
As Eli teaches him to say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening,” the boy becomes a prophet.
Samuel’s hineni shows that spiritual maturity begins with attentiveness -- a posture of listening before acting.
In his vision of God’s throne, Isaiah overhears heaven ask, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” His response, “Hineni! Shelacheni!” -- “Here I am! Send me!” -- is pure volunteering.
Unlike Abraham or Moses, Isaiah is not being tested or summoned by name; he steps forward unprompted. His hineni is the offering of a purified heart, made willing through repentance.
This is the mature hineni -- not just obedience or surrender, but eagerness to partner with God’s mission.
Centuries later, in Acts 9, a humble disciple named Ananias hears the Lord call his name in a vision. “Here I am, Lord,” he says -- even as he learns he must approach Saul, the persecutor of believers.
His hineni carries no assurance of safety, only faith. Through his obedience, the man who once breathed threats becomes the Apostle Paul.
Ananias’ hineni reminds us that divine assignments often look dangerous. Courage is born not from fearlessness, but from faith that answers anyway.
Each hineni in Scripture marks a decisive intersection between heaven and earth. It is the moment when God’s will seeks a willing partner. And every time someone answers, history shifts.
This same call rests upon us.
The Spirit still whispers names in the quiet, still asks, “Whom shall I send?” The invitation is not for the perfect, but for the present -- those who will stop, listen, and say hineni.
To say hineni is to:
In a world where distraction and doubt choke the Word, hineni becomes the anthem of the awakened. It is the posture that revives Kingdom authority and releases Kingdom power.
You cannot say hineni and stay the same. To behold God is to be transformed by what you behold.
When you answer, “Here I am,” you stand where Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and even Ananias once stood -- between heaven’s question and earth’s need.
The Feast of Sukkot reminds us that the dwelling of God is not a distant dream but a present reality. The Spirit has already pitched His tent in us.
To live hineni is to let that indwelling become visible -- to live as the tabernacle through which God’s light shines into the world.
When you wake in the morning and whisper hineni, you’re saying:
“Abba, I’m yours. Interrupt me. Use me. Reveal Yourself through me today.”
And that is how the Kingdom advances -- not by might, not by wealth, but by willing souls who say, “Behold me.”