KINGDOM FAITH IS TESTED FAITH

Hebrews chapter 11















Today we are walking in: Kingdom Faith Is Tested 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 THREE

KINGDOM FAITH IS TESTED FAITH

“Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding onto.”

Kingdom

faith is tested faith, and tested faith is mature

faith. Remember, our faith is only as strong as the

tests it survives. You do not believe until you have to. The strength of

our faith determines how well we function in and enjoy the fullness

of Kingdom life. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of Yah, and

Kingdom economy never su

in

secure. Whenever we invest our currency (faith) in Kingdom

economy, we are always investing in a “bull market.”

It is one thing to talk big about faith, but quite another to invest

our faith—to “put our money where our mouth is”—during times of

stress and testing. That is when our true level of maturity is

revealed. Our maturity is measured by how we handle pressure,

stress, and times of confusion and upheaval. Immature people

collapse under stress. They give up under pressure. They quit when

things get tough. How mature are you?

The key to e

expected and the unexpected. For most people, dealing with the

expected is not too di

what about the unexpected? When something unexpected happens

suddenly, how do you react? Your response to the unexpected is a

telltale sign of what you are made of. Mature people prepare for the

unexpected. They expect the unexpected and plan ahead for it.

Immature people do not and usually su

refuge, but the simple keep going and su

Maturity and success are related. Success is measured by your

ability to maintain personal balance in times of turmoil. I have a little

saying that I have lived by for many years: “Since I’m not worrying,

you can worry for me.” There are enough people worrying about

everything already, so why join them? Mature people maintain

personal balance even during times of turmoil. Maintaining balance

means believing what Yah said more than believing what we see.

Remember, appearances can be deceiving. In any situation, we have

to see through Yah’s eyes before we know the truth. And to see we

must use the eyes of faith. The greatest revelations in life, as well as

the greatest opportunities for growth, always come during

unexpected crises and times of testing. That is when Yah reveals

Himself to us in fresh new ways. Because we need to handle new

environments, He gives us new faith. But we have to exercise the

faith we have.

Tests mold us and help us grow into mature, balanced individuals.

Maturity is measured by your capacity to respond e

and chaos. How do you handle chaos? What do you do when

suddenly everything collapses around you? Your actions in that

moment will reveal how mature you are. We can always tell a

person’s maturity by how he or she handles pressure. To put it

another way, we never truly know a person until we observe his or

her behavior under stress. Pressure not only reveals maturity; it also

reveals character. Can you rise to the occasion of the unexpected,

the chaotic, even the tragic? Does your faith stand

under the tests of life? Or does your world have to remain neat,

orderly, and unru

dread the tests; they will make you strong. All you have to do is

stand

and balance.

One encouragement we have for standing

fact that we are citizens of a Kingdom which can never be thrown

down or displaced. The Kingdom of Yah is an eternal Kingdom thatwill still be standing in all its power and glory ages after the last

human government has crumbled to dust. Let us take heart from the

words of Scripture: “Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom that

cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship Yah acceptably

with reverence and awe, for our ‘Yah is a consuming

29).

The country of Heaven and the government it represents cannot

be shaken. Sometimes we forget what this Kingdom has already

been through, and that it has been through worse things than we see

it going through in our lifetime. Throughout the ages many human

empires and governments have tried to destroy Yah’s Kingdom.

They have persecuted and killed Yah’s people; banned and burned

Yah’s book, the Bible; outlawed the teaching of Yah’s Word; and in

many other ways tried to undermine, distort, and discredit the

Kingdom of Yah. Yet one by one every one of those regimes have

fallen and disappeared from the face of the earth while the Kingdom

of Yah still stands

everything we could imagine and still emerges victorious—and

always will. Every generation sees new powers or governments arise

to challenge the sovereignty of Yah; we see them in our world

today. This is to be expected because satan never gives up. But the

Kingdom of Yah will outlast them all, so we have every reason to be

con

Successful living in a world full of daily challenges calls for tough

people who know how to endure. Kingdom faith builds endurance,

not by avoiding or escaping tests and hardship, but by facing them

down in the power of Yah’s spirit. The Word of Yah makes a clear

link between faith and endurance through testing:

We ought always to thank Yah for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing

more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. Therefore, among

Yah’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you

are enduring.

All this is evidence that Yah’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the

Kingdom of Yah, for which you are su

The Christian believers in the city of Thessalonica were

undergoing “persecutions and trials.” They were “su

said, for the Kingdom of Yah. And what was the result of their

su

abandoning their faith? Hardly. On the contrary, they were

“enduring.” Their faith was “growing more and more,” and their

love for one another was increasing. All of this was taking place in

the midst of trials and persecutions. These believers were developing

a reputation for faith and perseverance. Wouldn’t it be great for

people to know you not for what you avoided, but for what you

made it through? Whenever we endure trials with grace and

con

and inspire others to endure the tests they are facing. Even more,

our endurance points them to Yahusha, in whose strength we endure.

Kingdom faith equips us to endure trials and becomes stronger

with every test we survive. That is the nature of Kingdom faith; it

thrives in the crucible of crisis. We cannot escape the trials and tests

of life, but we can prevail over them through the presence and

power of the Most High. And we can experience inner peace at the sametime. Yahusha said, “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).

People generally aren’t impressed by our faith during good times.

Anyone can believe when things are going well. They are watching

to see what we do when the going gets tough. Can you shine for

Yahusha wherever you are no matter what’s happening in your life?

I will always remember the day years ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma,

when I had lunch with Corrie ten Boom. Miss ten Boom and other

members of her family, working out of her father’s watch and clock

shop in their native Holland, were instrumental in hiding Jews from

the Nazis in World War II and helping them get out of the country.

Eventually they were captured by the Germans and sent to

concentration camps. Corrie’s father and her sister Betsie both died

in the camps. Before Betsie’s death, however, she and Corrie spread

the light of the love and grace of Hamachiach among the women with

whom they were imprisoned at the Ravensbruck concentration

camp. Using a small Bible Corrie had successfully smuggled past the

guards, they held nightly Bible readings and prayer meetings in

their barracks. The light of the truth of Heaven shone in a place that

was hell on earth, and lives were changed eternally.

Released from Ravensbruck by a “clerical error” a month before

all other women prisoners her age were sent to the gas chambers,

Corrie spent the rest of her long life traveling the world, teaching

and testifying to the grace and love of Yah. She used to say, “There

is no pit so deep that Yah’s love is not deeper still.”1 She should

know; she lived it. Her faith was tested as never before at

Ravensbruck—Betsie’s too—and they prevailed.

Corrie wrote a book about her experiences called The Hiding Place,

which later was made into a

blessed privilege of sharing lunch with this extraordinary woman.

She was 87 at the time and still going strong for the Most High. During

the meal I asked her, “Miss ten Boom, if you could tell a young man

something to help him, what would you tell me?”Her answer changed my life. “Myles,” she said, “just remember to

grow where you are planted.” That’s what I have done ever since. I

established Bahamas Faith ministries in 1980, and nearly 30 years

later I’m still here. People come and go, which is normal, but I’m

still here. And some of the people laboring with me at BFM have

been here from the beginning. Grow where you are planted. Bloom

wherever Yah has placed you. Through the years at BFM we have

endured all sorts of storms, persecution, and trials. Why? Because

we are planted. We are not here because things go well or poorly for

us. We are here because Yah planted us. Grow where you are

planted. Paul commended the Thessalonians: “…among Yah’s

churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the

persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thess. 1:4). Think about

the trials you have faced in the past, or the ones you may be going

through now. Would Paul boast about your perseverance and faith?

More importantly would Yah?

Paul also said that when our faith stands up to testing, we are

“counted worthy of the Kingdom of Yah” (2 Thess. 1:5b). Our

worthiness for Yah’s Kingdom is tied to our ability to endure

hardship, to persevere under trials. With this in mind, we should

welcome tests when they come, not because the tests are fun—they

usually are not—but because we know that they are helping us grow

to maturity and the fullness of Kingdom life. James, the half-brother

of Yahusha, put it this way:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that

the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must

be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4).

Every time you go through a period of hardship, strength and

maturity are being developed in you. In other words, your

circumstance is losing, and you are winning in the process. We

rarely grow in good times. You can tell when Yah is ready for

another jump in your life by the tests He allows to come your way.

He takes you through a little tough period because He’s getting

ready to raise you to another level. So stand up to whatever lifetosses your way, face it in faith, and come out victorious and

stronger on the other side. Imagine what people will be able to say

about you, and even better, about the Yah who strengthens you.

People around you are watching to see what kind of faith you

have and what kind of Yah you serve. If all you have are “good”

stories to tell, then they may conclude that Yah is nothing more

than a celestial santa Claus. But when they watch you go through

hell and come out smiling and with no scent of smoke, they will say,

“I want that kind of Yah.” It is not what we escape, but what we

endure that gains us respect with both a watching world and the

Kingdom of Yah.Biblical Heroes of Faith who Passed the Test

If you are wondering whether you have what it takes to be a

person of strong faith, or whether your questionable past may

disqualify you, consider these biblical

They were ordinary people like you and me, and with the exception

of one (Yahusha) they all failed in one way or another—some

spectacularly—yet went on to victory, proving their worthiness for

the Kingdom of Yah.

Moses killed an Egyptian. Moses murdered a man in cold blood

when he saw him beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. In

consequence, Moses had to

years in the desert raising sheep. Moses was Yah’s chosen deliverer

of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Was Moses’ rash action a

setback for Yah’s plan? Perhaps, but it was nothing that took Yah

by surprise. And Moses’ 40 years in exile served to build his

character and maturity so that when he returned to Egypt he was

prepared for the task Yah had called him to do. Moses passed the

test.

Abraham slept with his wife’s handmaid. Yah had promised

Abraham a son by his wife Sarah, but after many years of waiting,

they decided to “help Yah.” Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar, became

pregnant by Abraham and gave him a son, Ishmael. Yet Yah

renewed His promise to Abraham for a son by Sarah, and Abraham

believed Yah. When Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90, Sarah gave

birth to Isaac. Abraham passed the test.

Joshua had to face Jericho. How could anyone succeed Moses? Yet

that is just the challenge that Joshua faced. In order to encourage

Joshua, Yah promised to be with him and lead him and the people

of Israel to victory. Shortly after Moses died, Joshua led the people

across the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. Yah miraculously

parted the waters of the river, just as He had done at the Red sea for

Moses, so the people could cross on dry ground. Sometimes Yahworks a miracle to encourage us to keep going. Think of that as a

bonus. More often than not, we have to

Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan with con

worshiping and praising Yah. As soon as they reached the other

side, they had to face the walled city of Jericho. Joshua may have

thought they were going to get some rest, but Yah led them straight

from one test into another. We can come through every test Yah

allows to come our way and guess what? There will be another test

up ahead. So if you keep trying to run away from tests, you will be

running for the rest of your life. Joshua believed Yah, and the walls

of Jericho fell. Joshua passed the test.

Daniel spent a night in a lion’s den. Daniel was a man of Yah who

believed in Yah, had faith in Yah, and obeyed Yah even at the

threat of death from a pagan king. Yet he went into the lions’ den

and came out alive, healthy, and with no teeth marks. Our faith

doesn’t protect us from tests; it takes us into them. Yah wants to

prove that the faith He gave us through His Word is stronger than

any circumstances that can come against us. Being a Kingdom

citizen does not give us immunity from tests and trials. As a matter

of fact, Kingdom citizenship increases tests and trials, to prove that

what we have is pure gold. Daniel passed the test.

David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and had her husband,

Uriah, one of his best generals, killed in an e

the Bible says that David was a man after Yah’s own heart. Why?

Because despite his great

of those strengths was that he loved Yah with all his heart. When

confronted with his sin, David confessed, repented, and received

Yah’s forgiveness. In balance, David’s life was one of faith,

integrity, and righteousness. David passed the test.

Job lost everything. Yah allowed satan to test Job because satan

insisted that Job’s faith would last only as long as Yah continued to

bless him. Yah knew better so He allowed satan to take away

everything Job had. While Job maintained his claim of

righteousness and openly questioned why he was made to su

never once cursed Yah or abandoned his faith. In the end, Yah gavehim back twice as much as he had had in the beginning. Job passed

the test.

Yahusha was betrayed by one of his best friends. It is always the people

closest to us who hurt us the most. You cannot betray someone who

doesn’t trust you. Betrayal is possible only when trust is involved.

Judas, one of Yahusha’ twelve disciples and closest followers, betrayed

Him to His enemies. Did Yahusha quit? No. But Judas committed

suicide. Yahusha even predicted he would do it. Shouldn’t Yahusha have

felt guilty? No. Yahusha said to Judas, in e

I’m not taking responsibility for your decision.” And He kept on

going. You may lose the best friend in your life, but you’ve got to

get up and keep going. Yahusha passed the test.

Paul was responsible for the deaths of many followers of Hamachiach.

Before becoming a believer himself, Paul passionately sought to

stamp out the message of Hamachiach and everyone who believed it. Yet

Yah touched Paul and called Paul to be a missionary, and in

response to that call Paul became, next to Hamachiach Himself, the

greatest force for the Gospel of Hamachiach in history. Paul passed the

test.

Peter denied Yahusha. Even though he rashly promised that he

wouldn’t, when the test came, Peter gave in to fear and denied

knowing Yahusha. After His resurrection, Yahusha restored Peter, and he

never denied his Most High again. From then until the end of his life,

Peter boldly proclaimed Hamachiach, even dying because of his faith in

Hamachiach. Peter passed the test.

John was exiled on the island of Patmos. The last of the original

twelve apostles of Yahusha, John was exiled to Patmos by the Roman

emperor because of his faith and testimony for Hamachiach. While

worshiping there one Most High’s Day, John received a series of divinely

inspired visions that became the Book of Revelation. John passed

the test.

Our faith is quali

the Kingdom through persecution, perseverance, trials, and tests. So

do well on your tests and give Yah a reason to put you on display.Don’t believe Yah because of what He does for you, and don’t put

Yah down because of what He didn’t do for you. Believe Yah

because of who He is to you.Fighting the Good Fight

In his

young man with these words:

But you, man of Yah,

Yahliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good

eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of

many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:11-12).

As we saw earlier, our

our belief system. If satan can get us to stop believing, to stop

trusting in Yah, he has won. If you allow satan to tamper with your

belief system he will destroy your life. That’s why Paul says, “Fight

the good

hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of

Hamachiach.” Faith is where the real

The desire to live a life of faith guarantees that tests and trials will

come. Kingdom faith is both public and private. It is private in the

sense that it involves for each of us our personal love relationship

with Yah. It is public in the sense that we confess our faith publicly

before others and go “on record” as believers. Paul urged Timothy

to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you

made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Timothy’s faith in Hamachiach was a matter of public record. He was on

the spot as a man of faith, and his faith was sure to be tested.

Anytime we make a public confession of our faith, we position

ourselves for testing. Yah will allow our confession to be tested so

that we ourselves, as well as the rest of the world, will know the

genuineness of our faith. If you confess how good Yah has been to

your business, get ready for a test to come with regard to your

business. Some challenge, some setback, some reversal may come,

and Yah is urging you, “Keep on believing. Don’t quit just becausethings are a little tough. You trust Me when things are good. Trust

Me now during the hard times. Hold fast to the confession you made

in public.”

You believe and testify that Yah will supply all your needs. What

if He doesn’t, and your money runs out? Can you keep on believing?

Can you put up with an empty purse for a little while and never lose

your con

at your situation con

challenge of the test? Can you still turn on the stove and put on an

empty pot believing that Yah will

faith, and everything will be

and you will be all right. The Most High will bring you through. The Yah

we serve is not Yah only of the good times but of the bad times as

well. So when you make confession before people, get ready for the

test. Faith confession will always attract the test of that faith.Believe Until You Win

Paul learned from

faith. Toward the end of his life he was able to declare to Timothy:

I have fought the good

for me the crown of righteousness, which the Most High, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that

day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Faith is a

crown of righteousness—waiting at the end for all who pass the test.

The race is to believe to the end, and the

win. My friends, listen to me. It is not about how big you talk today.

The question is, will you still be believing ten years from now? Can

you endure the challenges, trials, and hardships that make you

worthy of the Kingdom of Yah and still keep a positive attitude?

A complaining citizen is an immature citizen. Maturity means

being willing to accept the bad along with the good, knowing that

the bad can toughen us and make us better. The popular saying, “no

pain, no gain,” certainly is true of the Kingdom of Yah. So is the

phrase, “no trials, no crown.” This doesn’t mean we have to go

through trials in order to get to Heaven. The word crown has to do

with rewards, not salvation. Our

Kingdom of Yah as His co-regents is determined largely by the

proving of our faith, by the tests we survive. This is a Kingdom

principle: the more you overcome, the more you will rule over.

Perseverance under pressure prepares you for promotion.

As believers we are all kings and queens destined for dominion,

but in order to wear our crowns we have to go through some times

of testing. So whenever you face trials, just remind yourself, “I’m

working on my crown!” I am expanding the size of my rulership

domain. Stand

your head as an award for your faithfulness. A reward is what you

receive when you do something; an award is what you receive whenyou

righteousness.

Learn to welcome tough circumstances as dear friends that have

arrived to make you better and prepare you for your award. James

tells us to look at trials that way, and so does Peter:

Praise be to the Yah and Father of our Most High Yahusha Hamachiach! In His great mercy He has given us new

birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Yahusha Hamachiach from the dead, and into an

inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are

shielded by Yah’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last

time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to su

all 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 1:3-7).

Trials endured purify our faith. They burn away the dross—the

false, petty, and misguided thoughts, ideas, and beliefs that so easily

become attached to our faith in the daily course of life. There is

something about trials that clears our vision so that we can see what

is truly important in life. They help us reorient our priorities. They

help us remember that things are only things and never last anyway.

Only that which is of Heaven will last, and that is where our focus

needs to be.

Trials are the common lot of humankind. We all face them, and

we cannot escape them, so the best thing we can do is let them work

in our favor to build in us character and maturity. We have to

the good

overcome every circumstance. Our reward is waiting but we have to

work for it. We have to endure the tests. Victory will come, but

usually not right away. A delayed answer is still an answer; a

delayed victory is still a victory.

That is the point Yahusha was making in His story about a widow

and an unjust judge.Then Yahusha told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give

up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared Yah nor cared about men.

And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice

against my adversary.’

For some time he refused. But

about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she

won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”

And the Most High said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not Yah bring about justice for

His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them o

will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He

faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)

Do you ever feel like Yah is putting you o

learned over the years to trust that when Yah delays His answer, it

is either because He is waiting for the right time, or because He has

something better in store than what I asked for. Sometimes it is

both. All of us know the feeling of longing and frustration that come

in knowing what we desire and seeing it just beyond our reach. Or

we pray and wonder why the pressure doesn’t let up. Then we

ourselves asking, “Most High, why are You taking so long to bring this

about?” That’s when we need to remember that we work for Him;

He is in charge, and He knows exactly what He is doing. He will not

delay forever, and when His answer comes, we will understand that

it came at exactly the right time and in just the right way to bring us

to maturity and to bring glory to His name.

Many believers are always seeking “breakthroughs.” They get

depressed and go to a “breakthrough conference.” They want to lick

a problem in their life and start reading breakthrough books. And all

the time there may be nothing for them to break through except

their blood pressure. Most of the time our breakthroughs come as

the result of steady, persistent, persevering faith, facing down the

tests and trials of life as they come. All the while our faith and

maturity grow until one day we suddenly realize that thebreakthrough we sought so passionately long ago has come so

gradually that we did not even notice it.

If Yah seems to be delaying something in your life, don’t fret over

it; just keep on trusting Him. He may be trying to develop your faith

by holding o

that area. Then when He sees in you the faith and maturity He’s

looking for, He says, “OK, now you can have it.”

Trials and tests are part of the daily life of a Kingdom citizen.

Anyone who teaches or believes otherwise contradicts the Word of

Yah. Still, it is amazing how many people leave the church or

abandon the faith because they have been taught that children of

Yah never have trials—that they are never broke, that they are

never sick, that life is easy and trouble-free—but have found daily

reality to be quite di

Christians is a lie. Kingdom faith is not faith that escapes trials, but

faith that is built by, endures, and overcomes trials. Kingdom faith is

tested faith, because the only way to build and strengthen true faith

is through testing.

It is the tests we survive that make us worthy of the Kingdom of

Yah. Luke 18:8 promises that Yah will see to it that we get justice

and get it quickly. Quickly doesn’t necessarily mean today or

tomorrow morning. Quickly means when the time is right. When the

right time arrives, BAM! Breakthrough will come overnight. Real

breakthrough is when Yah’s timing comes and we are not even

expecting it. We pray for six weeks or six months or six years, and

then all of a sudden Yah brings it about in six minutes. That’s the

way Yah works. His timing may not always be our timing, but His

timing is never late.

Yahusha’ question is an important one for us today: “When the Son of

Man comes, will He

looking for. Not a big house or a fancy car or a lot of money in the

bank, but faith. Not people who are always after miracles, signs, and

wonders, but people of faith.The

the end reward is great. As the writer of Hebrews tells us:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw o

that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race

marked out for us. Let us

joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the

throne of Yah. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not

grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Victory is in the air. Breakthrough is coming. Kingdom faith is

tested faith. So run the race;

faith. And remember, the race is to believe to the end, and the

is to believe until you win.

Kingdom Principles

The key to e

Success is measured by your ability to maintain personal balance in times of turmoil.

Maturity is measured by your capacity to respond e

Your faith is quali

Faith confession will always attract the test of that faith.

The more you overcome, the more you will rule over; perseverance under pressure prepares you

for promotion.