Monday, March 31, 2025
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
Hebrews chapter 11
Today we are walking in: Where Is Your Faith?
Proverbs 20:6
Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful H529 man who can find?
FAITH
Today we look to the word FAITH-- H529- emuwn--faithfulness, trusting, faithful
The Torah testifies...............
Deuteronomy 32:20
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith H529
The prophets proclaim..................
Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith H529.
The writings bear witness............
*******
CHAPTER ONE
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
“Faith makes all things possible…love makes all things easy.”
Life
is full of mysteries. Questions on the nature and meaning of
life are universal in every culture and in every generation.
Everyone ponders the purpose of life to one degree or another. Like
our ancestors before us we stare into the starlit night sky in awed
wonderment at the majesty of the heavens and ask, “Where did I
come from? Why am I here?” We share a common bond with the
psalmist of old who wrote: “When I consider Your heavens, the work
of Your
what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care
for him?” (Ps. 8:3-4). We gaze into the face of a newborn baby and
marvel at the mystery and magni
mystery
expressed it well: “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of
a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a
man with a maiden” (Prov. 30:18-19). Mystery surrounds us. Mystery
is part of what makes life worth living.
Many people don’t see it that way, however. They want life
broken into bite-size pieces for easy consumption. Uncomfortable
with mystery, they want the meaning of life distilled into diagrams
and bullet points with no confusion, no uncertainty, and nothing left
to chance. Unfortunately, they are bound to be disappointed
because life simply isn’t like that.If we want to build ful
meaning, we must be willing to embrace mystery. We must accept
the fact that we will never know everything we would like to know.
Some things will always be out of our reach, some issues perpetually
beyond our understanding. This means we must approach life with a
healthy dose of humility and admit that we do not—and cannot—
know it all. Our attitude must be like that of David, the poet-king of
ancient Israel, who wrote, “My heart is not proud, O Most High, my eyes are
not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too
wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned
child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel,
put your hope in the Most High both now and forevermore” (Ps. 131:1-3).
Humility and faith will help us deal with the mysteries of life.The Mysteries of Life
What do you do when life hits you on the blind side? How do you
react when the unexpected happens? Imagine what you would think
if your newly married spouse dies. Your father takes his life. Your
mother turns out not to be your biological mother of 30 years. Your
sister is a prostitute. Your father reveals his secret homosexual
lifestyle. Your new house burns down. Your healthy child suddenly
dies, or your
savings and investment in a company or institution is lost. Your
family members die in a plane crash leaving infants to care for. How
do you ever explain or understand these tragedies?
There are questions in life we can never answer. Some people insist
on knowing the answers to everything. They assume that no area of
knowledge is beyond human understanding. Consequently, when
something stumps them, they become depressed. Our insatiable
pursuit of knowledge and understanding is perfectly natural—to a
point. After all, our Creator designed us to be curious about
ourselves and the world we live in. The key is to keep everything in
proper perspective. Part of that perspective is acknowledging that
there are some things we simply will never understand.
People sometimes ask me why I never seem to be depressed or
frustrated. One reason is because I realized 30 years ago that there
are some questions I will never be able to answer. I search out
whatever answers I can, accept the fact that some things elude me
(and probably always will), and move on. There are some questions
we will never be able to answer. Acknowledging this truth makes
life so much easier.
There are things in life we can never explain. Some things we see or
experience in life defy rational explanation. Just accept them. You
will enjoy life more. Psychiatric wards are full of people who
cracked under the strain of trying to explain the unexplainable.Settle in your mind now that there are some things you will never
be able to explain. Otherwise, you will be depressed all the time.
There are things in life we can never change. Today I enjoy life no
matter what happens because 30 years ago I realized that there are
some things that I cannot change, so it is useless to try. It’s been
said that 90 percent of life consists of things we cannot change.
Most of us live frustrated lives because we spend all our time
fretting and worrying about the 90 percent of life we cannot change
instead of focusing on the 10 percent we can change. Weeping,
worrying, and wailing about the unfairness of life will change
nothing except, perhaps, your blood pressure, so don’t fall into that
trap.
There are things in life we cannot control. Some people are obsessed
with control; they have to micromanage every aspect of life, not
only for themselves, but also for everyone around them. We all
know someone like this: a boss, a parent, a child, a spouse. Most of
us have witnessed or experienced the devastating e
domineering personality can have on the lives of others.
Ultimately, however, none of us can control what anyone else
does, not even those closest to us. We can teach them our values,
make known our wishes, and even “lay down the law,” but in the
end they make their own choices and bear responsibility for those
choices. And we do the same. Maybe your spouse has decided to
leave you. You can beg, bargain, cry, cajole, and even pray, but if he
or she is determined to leave, there is nothing you can do. Perhaps a
sibling or a son or daughter is abusing drugs. You can rant, rave,
preach, and pester, but you really have little control over the
choices he or she makes. Let’s face it; there are some things in life
we cannot control, no matter how much we wish it were otherwise.
Accept this fact.
There are things in life we cannot stop. If you are standing on a
railroad track with a train coming toward you at full speed, you
have two choices: get out of the way or get run over. Life is like that
sometimes. Some things that come at you are unstoppable, so you
must learn how to make arrangements for them to pass you by. Ifyou try to stand in the way and stop it like a person facing down a
speeding train with his hand raised, it will continue on to where it is
going, and you will be destroyed in the process.
There are things in life for which we are not responsible. No matter
how well we raise our children, they still may make unwise
decisions or foolish mistakes that carry severe consequences. No
matter how carefully we prepare for the contingencies of life—
completely unexpected quarter and knock it down. Sometimes we
do our best and bad things still happen. We are not responsible for
those things. We are responsible only for how we respond to those
things and for what we do with the time and resources we have.
There are things in life we cannot exceed. Some people don’t know
their limits, while others refuse to accept any limitations. Such an
attitude is both arrogant and foolish. All of us have limits, and we
will be much happier when we acknowledge those limits. One of my
favorite statements in life that has kept me at peace is: “I don’t
know” That is one of the most powerful and empowering statements
any of us can make in life.
A prayer written many years ago by American pastor and
theologian Reinhold Niebuhr captures perfectly the attitude we
should take toward the mysteries of life. The
is very familiar to most of us, but the second part is just as apropos:
Yah grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot
change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to
know the di
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this lifeand supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.1Facing Life Successfully
With so much mystery and uncertainty in life, how can we have
any hope of facing life with con
success in life when so much is hidden from us? The secret of
success is knowledge. This is just as true for life as for any other
endeavor. The key to successful living lies in knowing four things.
First, we must know our limitations. The Bible says that if we
believe we are more than we are, then we lack wisdom and are
worse o
eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov. 26:12). The
original Hebrew word for fool here literally means “stupid” or
“silly.” In other words, the stupidest people in the world are those
who think too highly of themselves. Everyone has limitations, and if
we are wise, we will recognize our own. We have to know where
the line is drawn, where we have to stop. We must know when we
have gone as far as we can go.
Yah never expects us to move beyond our limitations on our own.
Anything He asks of us, however, He will empower us to
accomplish, even if it seems impossible from our vantage point. We
have limitations, but Yah does not: “For nothing is impossible with
Yah” (Luke 1:37). Knowing our limitations frees us to walk and live
in Yah’s in
we tap into His limitlessness.
Second, we must know what we are responsible for. For example, we
are each responsible for the decisions we make every day. Many
people today like to play the “blame game” by refusing to accept
responsibility for their own choices and actions. Instead, they claim
to be victims of their environment, their upbringing, or the behavior
of other people. This game is as old as Eden, where Adam and Eve
blamed each other for their own disobedience to Yah. In all
honesty, we cannot blame anyone but ourselves for the decisions we
make and the consequences they bring. Not only are we responsiblefor our decisions, we are responsible also for how we respond to the
adversities that life sometimes throws our way. We often have little
control over what happens to us, but we do control the way
adversity a
Third, we must know what we are not responsible for. This is just as
important as the previous point. Just as we are responsible for some
things, we are not responsible for other things. For example,
although we bear responsibility for our own actions, we are not
responsible for the actions of others. Our free will is under our
control, but the free will of others is not. Even Yah Himself is not
responsible for our free will. He will do everything He can to
in
Yahusha Hamachiach died on the cross for us. He freely gave His life for us,
shedding His blood so that we could be forgiven of our sins and
become eternal citizens of the Kingdom of His Father. Then He rose
from the dead as a guarantee that all who turn to Him will receive
eternal life. Yahusha did all of this—yet He still cannot save us without
our permission. He knows His limitation; it is self-imposed.
Violating our free will is a line He will not cross. There are some
things we are not responsible for, and successful living means
knowing where those boundaries are.
Fourth, we must know what we cannot do. Basically, this sums up
the other three. Success in life means learning not to walk in guilt
over circumstances or consequences that are beyond our control.
Many parents waste year after year blaming themselves for the
foolish decisions of their adult children. And how many of us get
caught up in the “if onlys” of regret, often over matters we could not
have changed then any more than we could change them now.
That’s no way to live. We cannot keep blaming ourselves for things
we cannot change. Contentment and success in life come when we
acknowledge that there are some things we cannot do. Our greatest
point of weakness is when we arrive at the wall of our limitation.What’s Your Motive?
Once we acknowledge the mysteries and unknowns of life and
accept the fact of our own limitations, what are we left with? How
do we live successfully under such conditions? There is only one
way: faith. It is my conviction that mankind was created and designed to
live by this essential principle called faith. It is belief in the unseen and
hope for the unknown that energizes the human spirit. Our Creator, the
King of the universe, is looking for strong faith on the part of the
people He created in His own image. Whenever He
strengthens it even more: “For the eyes of the Most High range throughout
the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him”
(2 Chron. 16:9a). At one point, Yahusha Himself asked, “When the Son
of Man comes, will He
looking for strong faith. It is interesting to note that He did not expect
to
education, or traditions, but faith. Perhaps He sees faith as the most
important component on planet Earth.
Your faith is only as strong as the tests it survives. How strong are
you? Strength must be tested before it can be considered reliable.
You are only as strong as what you can lift, so never brag about
your own strength unless you have tested it
On one of my many trips around the world, I sat next to a middle-
aged gentleman on the plane. After settling in for the 11-hour
to London, I asked him what he did as a profession. He said. “I am a
test driver and pilot.” I was immediately intrigued and dove into an
enlightening conversation that became a college course in the art
and science of machine testing. He proceeded to educate me on the
purposes, preparations, skills, and thrills involved in his work. Then
I asked him the big question: “Why is it necessary to test a new car
or aircraft engine?” His answer changed my life! He stated that
every credible manufacturer invests in testing their products in
order to guarantee its performance and to verify their claims
regarding the product. He said testing was necessary to establish themeasure of trust you can promise the customer. In essence, testing is
a prerequisite for trust. Simply put, tests verify claims.
Many believers walk around daily making claims and praising and
worshiping Yah—testifying to how good He is and how much He
has blessed them—but their faith has never truly been tested. It is
easy to say, “Yah is good” when things are going well, but what
about the bad times? What about the times when you can’t pay your
rent or your light bill, or when you lose your job? Under those
circumstances can you still say, “Yah is good”? Just as He did with
Job, Yah allows our faith to be tested so we can see how strong we
are. Yah had blessed Job greatly, yet He allowed satan to strip Job
of everything he had—family, wealth, health—to see whether Job’s
faith would stand the test. If you say, “I believe Yah,” get ready,
because Yah will allow the testing of your belief so that you and
others will see whether or not it is true. His purpose is not to
humiliate you or to catch you in a lie, but to help you grow because
He knows that untested faith is not valid faith and never amounts to
much.
The testing of our faith serves not only to show the strength of our
faith but also to reveal the motive behind our faith. If you say, “I
trust in Yah,” why do you trust in Yah? Is it because of who He is or
because of what you hope to get out of it? Satan accused Job of
following Yah only because Yah had blessed him, so Yah allowed
Job to be tested. He wanted to reveal the motive behind Job’s faith,
to reveal whether or not Job would continue to follow Yah even
after he lost everything. In the Kingdom of Yah, as in any country,
your belief in the nation’s constitutional promises and privileges can only
be veri
system. The testing of your faith in the Kingdom of Yah occurs through
circumstances which provide an opportunity for you to validate your
belief in the political, economic, social, and cultural system of Heaven on
earth.The Power of Motive and Faith
Have you ever watched a report on a tragic murder or horri
incident and wondered why the
authorities would be “what was the motive?” This is because the
most powerful force for human behavior is motive! Everything we
do is generated by some motive. What is motive? Motive is the
hidden reason or desire that initiates, sustains, and justi
action. All human action, no matter what we claim to the contrary,
is a product of a motive. Motive is internally justi
matter of fact, the absence of motive is a sign of death. Life itself
depends on motivation to give it meaning. Where there is no
motivation, there is no passion or energy. We all do everything for a
reason. It is motive that moves us. We are victims of our motives,
and we protect them from exposure.
Why is motive so important to the subject of faith? Motive is
birthed by our beliefs and convictions.
What is your motive for following Yah? The answer to that
question lies at the very heart of life. What motivated you to
acknowledge Yahusha Hamachiach as your Most High and to enter His Kingdom?
These are important questions because they test the motive of your
faith. The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel opens with an account of
Yahusha feeding a crowd of 5,000 people with only
and two
His disciples sailed their boat to the other side of the sea of Galilee.
Later that night He joined them in the boat by walking to them on
the water. The next day, the crowd who had been fed so
miraculously the day before went looking for Yahusha but could not
Once the crowd realized that neither Yahusha nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats
and went to Capernaum in search of Yahusha.When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get
here?”
Yahusha answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous
signs but because you ate the loaves and had your
food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him Yah the Father has
placed His seal of approval (John 6:24-27).
The people were looking for Yahusha not because of who He was but
for what He could do for them. He could feed them; He could heal
their bodies; He could cast demons out of their lives. Their motives
were self-serving, and Yahusha knew it. He told them, in e
why you’re here. You aren’t looking for Me; you’re looking for a
blessing. You’re looking for more free
conceals and reveals the quality and nature of your faith.
Don’t we love it when Yah blesses us? And He has promised to
bless us. He has promised to add things to us. But blessings should
not be our motive for following Yahusha. What if He doesn’t bless
today? What if He doesn’t add anything today? What then? Do we
turn away and go somewhere else? Or do we continue to follow
Yahusha even when we’re not being blessed? What’s our motive? This
is the question of Kingdom faith: “Can you follow the light even in the
dark?”
Yahusha said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that
endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” In other
words, we should not waste our faith on things that can go away in
the morning. Instead, we should place our trust in the “son of Man,”
upon whom “Yah the Father has placed His seal of approval.” The
only thing in life that is sealed and secure is Hamachiach. He is the only
trustworthy and reliable object of our faith—not His blessings, His
provision, or His healings, but Yahusha Hamachiach Himself. Even the
blessings of Yah are temporary, and thus we should place no faith in
them.Faith in Hamachiach: the Work of Yah
Like the crowd that sought out Yahusha in Capernaum so long ago,
many people today follow Him only for His blessings. You may trust
in Yah because He heals people, but will you still trust Him when
He doesn’t heal someone and that person dies? You trust Yah to
provide your rent money, but will you still trust Him when the rent
is due and the money is not there? You trust Yah to protect your
children, but will you still trust Him when one of them starts doing
drugs or gets in trouble with the law? Where is your faith? Is it in
Hamachiach or in what He can do for you? In the Kingdom of Yah our faith
is more in the nature of Yah than the products of Yah.
Yahusha’ response to the crowd that day must have ru
feathers because they followed up with some challenging questions:
Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works Yah requires?”
Yahusha answered, “The work of Yah is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
So they asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?
What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them
bread from heaven to eat.’”
Yahusha said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven,
but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of Yah is He who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:28-33).
The people were confused. In essence they said to Yahusha, “Well, if
we are not supposed to follow You for bread or
we can get from You, then what are we supposed to do?”
“Simple,” Yahusha replied. “Believe on the One the Father sent.” In
other words, don’t believe on the bread, don’t believe on the
don’t believe on the miracles. Don’t put your faith in the activities of
Yah because He may not act in the way you expect. This does not meanHe is unfaithful or untrustworthy. It simply means that His purpose
and will are not always completely visible from our limited vantage
point. Yah’s purpose is always greater than any of our personal
perspectives or circumstances. This is one reason why He calls us to
trust in Him and not His works. He is shifting our motivation from
things to Him and His nature because things change. Things
deteriorate. Things rust and break and fade away and are consumed.
Things are temporary and therefore unworthy of our trust. Only Yah
Jehovah and His Hamachiach are eternal, and only that which is placed in
His care will last.
The people around Yahusha that day tried to compare their
experience with bread and
the desert, when manna (bread) came down from Heaven to feed
them. Apparently they were trying to convince Yahusha that they
followed Moses because of the miracles: manna, liberation from
Egyptian slavery, the parting of the Red sea. Yahusha countered by
reminding them that the manna did not come from Moses but from
Yah. It is dangerous to trust in miracles because miracles are
temporary. The mortgage payment is temporary. The car payment is
temporary. We never know what Yah is thinking unless He chooses
to reveal His thoughts. He can provide the mortgage payment or car
payment, or He can test us to see if we can still be at peace in Him
even if we miss a payment.
This is why Yahusha tells us to put our faith not in the things of Yah but
in the Yah of the things. He says, “It is My Father who gives you the
true bread from heaven. For the bread of Yah is He who comes
down from heaven and gives life to the world.” There are two kinds
of bread being discussed here. First is the “bread” of blessings, such
as manna or the bread the people ate that Yahusha provided. The
second kind of bread is the “true bread” or “bread of Yah” that
came down from Heaven. Both the bread of blessing and the true
bread come from the same place—Heaven—but the bread of
blessing is temporary. We are not supposed to become satis
it. The purpose of the bread of blessing is to whet our appetite for
the true bread. And what is the nature of the true bread? Theprinciple of this discourse with the people is to teach us that the Source is
always more important than the resource and the Manufacturer more
important than the product. This is critical because the resource is
dispensable, but the Source is permanent. We should never put our faith
in the resource but in the Source. Yahusha explains,
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Yahusha declared, “I am the bread of life.
He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But as
I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe” (John 6:34-36).
In the Kingdom of Yah the issue is not how much faith you have, but
where your faith is placed. Are you following Yahusha Hamachiach, or are you
following signs and wonders and prosperity? Is your faith in Yahusha
Hamachiach the “bread of life,” or are you satis
blessing? Are you seeking to satisfy your spirit or merely trying to
in the One who satis
faith on the bread and not the Baker. The principle of Kingdom faith is
to trust the Source and not the resource.
Make no mistake about it: the Kingdom of Yah will meet our
every need, absolutely. But it is for this very reason that we are not
to trust in those things that will meet our needs but in the King who
provides them. As Kingdom citizens, our business is to trust, obey,
and serve the king; His business is to take care of us. This is what
Yahusha meant when He said,
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we
wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them. But seek
as well (Matthew 6:31-33).
We don’t follow Yah for what we can get from Him. Kingdom
faith is faith in the king, not the king’s favor. It is faith in Him, not
His gifts.Faith in the Midst of Hardship
Living in the beautiful islands of the Bahamas in the Caribbean all
my life, I have enjoyed the pleasure of the crystal clear ocean,
abundant sea food, the perfect annual average temperature of 75
degrees, the economic and political stability that makes our nation
the envy of many, and the warm spirit of our people that drew over
where life is like a dream every day is also in the path of the annual
hurricane or cyclone track. During my life in these beautiful islands,
we have had to endure many major hurricanes that test not only the
durability of nature, structures, and people, but most importantly,
the trust we have in our governing system to guide and protect us
through these horri
not just for good times, but also for di
child and even today as an adult, our family gathering together,
riveted to the radio, listening to minute-by-minute reports of the
storms provided by the government national Radio Broadcasting
Corporation. As the 130 mph winds howled and the trees fell all
around us, our roof would shake, and the crash of thunder and
lightning would make us wonder if we would survive.
Our entire con
building codes which were warranted to protect us and ensure our
survival. The government building codes of our country were
determined by our location in the hurricane and whether we obeyed
the code, building our foundation and structure in accordance with
it; if so, then the government guaranteed the houses would stand the
test of any storm. I am pleased to report at the writing of this
manuscript that we have never had a house structure collapse on us
during a major storm. In essence, the government codes build the
nation for the inevitable tests. Our obedience to the codes brings us
peace and con
The spiritual-supernatural country of the Kingdom of Heaven with
its established colony on earth is no di
its citizens and establish building codes for the community of the
Kingdom which are designed for the storms of life. Many Kingdom
citizens assume that if they are going through di
means they do not have enough faith. Not so. Kingdom faith does
not remove us from hardship; it preserves and protects us through
hardship. Once again, the key is where we place our faith not how
much faith we have. On one occasion the King of Heaven addressed
this very issue of faith in the building code of His Kingdom:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone
who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built
his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27).
The concept of tests, trials, and storms in the life of the Kingdom
citizen on earth is not one that should be foreign and unexpected
but rather anticipated with con
embraces storms and proves its worth in trials. The King of the
Kingdom in relating this concept said to His citizens on another
occasion:
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Another governmental promise assures the Kingdom citizen,
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of
the enemy; nothing will harm you (Luke 10:19).
Has anyone ever asked you, “Well, if Yah is so good, why is this
happening to you?” Yahusha answers that question right here. Perhaps
you have questioned why you are facing di
wondered if the King of the Kingdom knows your circumstances.
Our relationship with Yah has nothing to do with what happens to
us as it relates to trials, tests, challenges, and assumeddisappointments. The Most High doesn’t spare us from the hardships of
life just because we are citizens of the Kingdom. On the contrary, He
allows trials for the purpose of testing, strengthening, and purifying
our faith. Learning to persevere through hardship molds and
matures our character.
If you
Daniel. How would you feel if you were in Daniel’s place and had
just been told that because of your faithful obedience to Yah you
were going to be thrown into a den full of hungry lions? Maybe
Daniel prayed for deliverance and expected an angel to come. No
angel showed up. Perhaps Daniel then thought that he would be
translated supernaturally to safety, vanishing before the very eyes of
King Darius and his court. No vanishing took place.
As they led Daniel in chains toward the lion’s den, he may have
thought that Yah would catch him halfway down the hall, loosen
his chains, and set him free. It didn’t happen. By the time he heard
the growling of the lions, Daniel may have begun to wonder where
Yah was. When he was thrown into the den and surrounded by
hungry lions, he found out where Yah was—right there in the den
with him! Yah had sent an angel ahead of Daniel to shut the lions’
mouths, so that no harm would come to his servant. He saved
Daniel, but not until Daniel had faced the trial of the lions’ den
without knowing the outcome beforehand. Where was Yah? Daniel
had to shift his trust from the works of Yah to Yah Himself. (For the
full story, see Daniel chapter 6.)
Daniel’s quality of Kingdom faith is very rare today in the religious
community as many of our contemporary doctrines and belief systems
promote a shallow version of faith that focuses more on “avoidance
faith” than enduring and overcoming faith. It is a faith built on avoiding
troubles, trials, and tests rather than facing, enduring, and overcoming
these temporary opportunities to prove the eternal power of our
Kingdom. We need the faith of Daniel to be restored to our world today.
The same was true for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who
had to endure a
and discovered that Yah was with them in the chapter 3). This story of these three young Hebrew professionals
should serve as a source of great encouragement and an outstanding
example of true Kingdom faith. Let’s recount some of the details of
their encounter with the government of another Kingdom and see
the superiority of the currency of their faith as it activated the
economy of Yah in their favor:
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court o
the royal family and the nobility—young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing
aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and quali
the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king
assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for
three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief o
gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael,
Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego (Daniel 1:3-7).
Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court
(Daniel 2:49).
…So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my Yahs or worship the image of gold I
have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn,
kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if
you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what Yah will
be able to rescue you from my hand?”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to
defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the Yah we
serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He
does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your Yahs or worship the image of
gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:13-18).
The amazing thing about the faith of these young Kingdom
citizens was their expression of belief that even if Yah did notrescue them, the integrity of the Kingdom of Yah remained intact.
This is true Kingdom faith and must be restored in our daily lives in
the Kingdom. We need faith that is stable even when our
expectation of Yah’s strategy is miscalculated, faith that is willing to
be burned in the
ambassador, the apostle Peter said,
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to su
kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes
even though re
when Yahusha Hamachiach is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7).
The more your faith is tested, the more your Kingdom con
grows. This is also true in the experience of the hurricanes in the
Caribbean where I live. Every time we survive a major hurricane,
the less fear and trauma we have in facing the next one until we
come to see them as a normal part of life in our region and actually
appreciate the bene
remove structures not built to government code, destroy rotten
trees, cleanse pollutants in the air, and inspire new growth and new
beginnings.
In the city of Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten, thrown into
prison, and locked into stocks for preaching the Gospel of Hamachiach.
Instead of whining and bemoaning their circumstances, they
worshiped and sang hymns to Yah right there in the prison. Yah
sent an earthquake that released all the prisoners. As a result, the
jailer was converted to Hamachiach along with his entire family (see Acts
16:16-34).
If our faith is in Yah, it doesn’t matter what happens around us
because Yah is stable. He never shifts or moves. He is the same
yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8). Yahusha said, “Eat My
‘drink’ the blessings of life; drink Me. If you do, you will have life” (see
John 6:53-57). When our faith is in Him, we can endure anything
because we trust in His power, not our own, and because He will
not allow us to be tested beyond our ability to endure: “Notemptation has seized you except what is common to man. And Yah is
faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can
stand up under it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
How strong are you? You are as strong as whatever your faith
survives. Kingdom faith will always be tested; that’s how it grows
strong. Just as muscles develop strength the more they are used, so
too our faith gets stronger the more we exercise it. The greatest tests
of faith—and therefore the greatest potential for growth—come
during times of hardship. So if you trust in the Most High, get ready for
the tests. Examination day is coming. If you were to lose a job or a
house, or if your child were sick and continued prayer produced no
observable results, would you still believe in Yah’s omniscient goodness?
Would you still be con
in the a
In the Kingdom of Yah, many citizens only follow the King for the
good times and the good things. In fact the majority of the people I
have encountered in the Christian religious community seem to
have a relationship with Yah based on how they can bene
personally, rather than living as a citizen in a country with
responsibilities, obligations, and commitments to obey the laws,
maintain community, and function according to the principles of
Kingdom society. Many religious believers treat Yah as a genie in a
bottle whom they manipulate to meet their private wishes. This was
the attitude of the people in the village of Capernaum when Yahusha
visited them after providing them with free bread and
revisit that encounter:
Yahusha answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous
signs but because you ate the loaves and had your
food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him Yah the Father has
placed His seal of approval.” Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works Yah
requires?” Yahusha answered, “The work of Yah is this: to believe in the one He has sent” (John
6:26-29).
His assessment of their motive for following Him was for what
they could get from Him. They had no concept of Kingdom
citizenship and their obligation to serve the Kingdom despite of any
condition. The King’s statement, “do not work for bread that spoils”
implies that belief in Yah should not be motivated by the positive
bene
and nature of the benevolent King who loves His citizens. Consider
these words as Yahusha continues His discourse:
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers
ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,
which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyoneeats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My
world (John 6:47-51).
He was testing the quality and object of their faith and correcting
their misplaced focus.
Many of the people in Capernaum with Yahusha that day failed the
faith test. After all, the call to Kingdom faith is a call to rise to
challenges, overcome obstacles, and triumph over hardships, and
many people simply are unwilling to pay the price. This certainly
was true of many in Capernaum who were put o
eat His
On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. “You do not want
to leave too, do you?” Yahusha asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered Him, “Most High, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We
believe and know that You are the Holy One of Yah” (John 6:60,66-69).
Why did the people consider Yahusha’ words a “hard teaching?”
Because they realized He was calling them to follow Him with no
guarantees of
and Him alone; calling them to follow Him without knowing
outcomes in advance, content to leave the future in His hands.
Once again Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrated this
kind of faith when they stood before King Nebuchadnezzar,
threatened with death in a
king’s command to worship a great idol he had built. The arrogant
king demanded to know what Yah could rescue them from his hand:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to
defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the Yah we
serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He
does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your Yahs or worship the image of
gold you have set up (Daniel 3:16-18).That’s Kingdom faith: faith that trusts Yah whether He blesses or
not, whether He delivers or not, whether He heals or not. Kingdom
faith trusts Hamachiach no matter what because it knows that He has the
“words of eternal life,” and has discovered the same truth expressed
by King David who wrote, “Because Your love is better than life, my
lips will glorify You” (Ps. 63:3).
In the Kingdom of Yah when you don’t know what to do, trust Yah!
In another psalm, David declared, “The Most High is my rock, my fortress,
and my deliverer; my Yah is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my
shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps. 18:2). If you
are anchored on the rock, the storm doesn’t matter. If your trust is
in the living Yah, you are going to win no matter what happens
around you. Many of Yahusha’ disciples turned back from following
Him. Many today have done the same. Why? They were “
sandwich” disciples. They turned back because Yahusha took away
their
They didn’t want Him. He took away the gifts and gave them the
Giver. They didn’t want Him. He took away salvation and gave
them the Savior. They didn’t want Him. He took away the blessings
and gave them the Blesser. They didn’t want Him. In a kingdom, the
king is more important than the kingdom, for it is from him that the
Kingdom derives its legitimacy. The Kingdom does not make the king a
king, but the king makes the Kingdom a kingdom.
We are not here on earth just to get
change the world by feeding others the living bread. Where is your
faith? Is it in the works of Yah or in the Yah who works? Are you a
“
answer will determine whether your faith fails the test or stands
Here in the Bahamas where we enjoy the beauty and quality of
life of this tropical paradise, the government cannot guarantee
immunity from hurricanes, storms, or other natural disasters, but it
does guarantee protection, provision, resources, and restoration
where necessary. The country and colony of the Kingdom of Heaven
on earth is no di
guarantees they will come. Yahusha said,
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone
who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27).
Kingdom faith is not afraid of storms, tests, and trials because
citizens have built according to the construction code of the
heavenly government and have ensured that their foundation is the
unmovable rock of the integrity of the King’s Word, character, and
promises. Kingdom faith is anchored on the rock of Yahusha Hamachiach.
Kingdom faith is faith that faces the storm and still stands
the storm has passed. Where is your faith?
Kingdom Principles
Your faith is only as strong as the tests it survives.
The question of Kingdom faith: “Can you follow the light even in the dark?”
In the Kingdom of Yah, the issue is not how much faith you have, but where your faith is placed.
The principle of Kingdom faith is to trust the Source and not the resource.
In the Kingdom of Yah, when you don’t know what to do, trust Yah!
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