This five-attribute kingdom preparedness list is the only list true believers need in these last days to prepare for and survive any situation, test or trial, and time of trouble. It will also ready them for the Kingdom of Yah.
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In our last two videos in this series, we covered the first and second attributes on the List of Kingdom Preparedness, that being Hearing and Obedience. We learned that after you acquire the attribute of hearing, which includes a specific set of instructions from Yah, via his messengers, one must acquire the second attribute of obedience by putting into practice the things they heard. This is basically hearing and obeying.
One thing you have to understand is that the order of this list is critical to completing this walk. You cannot acquire attributes out of order in other words. For instance, how can you obey what you have not heard from Yah? If you are obeying the words of an enemy, that would mark you as one that is not Yeshua’s sheep, for you would be hearing the voice of a stranger.
5 “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
—John 10
So it is critical to hear Yah’s direction and follow it, rather than leap headlong into following words you think are from Yah. Remember, everything must line up with Scripture, the law and the prophets, according to Isaiah 8 verse 20. So you must continue to familiarize yourself with all of Yah’s instructions by reading Scripture daily. This will cause you to know what to obey, and you will be able to know when Yah is speaking to you.
Obedience is basically the training ground for everything that follows on the list. By obeying what you have been instructed by Yah—putting into practice things that are actually conducive to your spiritual growth, physical health, expansion of understanding, and overall wellbeing as recorded in his Word—you are in fact cultivating a being who will be fully fit for service in the kingdom. And complete obedience to Yah will allow him to fill you with his Spirit:
32 “We are witnesses of these things and so is the Set Apart Spirit, who is given by Elohim to those who obey him.”
—Acts 5
So, once you have acquired the first and second attributes on the List of Kingdom Preparedness by hearing Yah’s call and subsequent instructions (which you will get by reading his Word), and you obey them, then you must immediately take possession of the third attribute on the list, and that attribute is:
Part 3: Faith
After you have heard the call, received instruction, and begun to obey, then you must be ready to exercise faith in both what you have been told, and in the being who told it to you. The five attributes on this list are in fact relationship builders. They are numbered steps one is to take in order to cement a proper relationship with the Most High and his son. As you make your way through the list acquiring attributes, putting the older ones into practice will make acquiring the new ones much easier. For instance, truly hearing and obeying automatically begins to grow faith in the servants of Yah.
Continuing to hear Yah’s instructions and obeying them will cause him to fill you with his Spirit, and your faith will begin to increase. But faith has to be exercised by the believer through continuous practice. Yah’s instructions will at times require it, as we see with our ancestor, Abraham, who exercised great faith early on and continued to do so throughout his life.
1 Now Yah said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing. . . .
4 So Abram went forth as Yah had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.
—Genesis 12
Many of you who are comfortable in your current life circumstances—be they jobs, or careers, the town or city you grew up in, or the belief system you hold to—would find it hard to just up and leave if a directive like this came from the Most High. Abraham—though he had many souls in his care—did not hesitate to walk out the instruction of Yah. He simply picked up and left, taking everything and everyone with him. Period. This in itself is a show of great faith. The very first verse in this story tells us that.
“Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house,” Yah told Abraham, meaning that he, like many of us, was in a comfort zone, being accustomed to familiar surroundings from birth, as well as familiar faces and many shoulders he could lean on. It takes faith to leave those surroundings and head out for unknown territory sight unseen simply because Yah says to do so. But because it is Yah saying it, we should automatically trust in him and set out to do as he commands.
You first have to build a relationship with Yah through hearing and obedience in smaller matters before you can graduate to a leap of faith the likes of which Abraham experienced here. Many feel that when they come into this walk they need to jump straight to complex teachings and practices in grandiose fashion before mastering the simple tasks Yah has set before them, like honoring mother and father, or not lying for one week, then two, and so on. Faith starts small and grows over time. Yeshua himself said:
28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
—Mark 4
Like faith, a corn stalk starts as a mere seed, then grows into a tall plant that finally bears fruit. So your faith must start small and grow in size and strength over time. The illustration of corn here is interesting also, because corn is a hungry plant. It has to be fertilized well throughout its growth. This means our faith has to be fed substantially also, through practice via circumstances that allow our faith to grow. Corn also needs full sun, which, to our faith, is the light of the Word. Receiving instruction by reading Scripture and putting those instructions into practice (attributes 1 and 2) is our direct sunlight.
130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
—Psalm 119
Corn, which is primarily pollinated by wind, also needs to be well-watered. Wind and water represent the Spirit of Yah, who we receive through obedience and belief in Yeshua:
8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone born of the Spirit.”
—John 3
39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.
—John 7
The Spirit of course increases our faith exponentially as we continue to exercise that faith throughout our walk. But the Spirit cannot be obtained without obedience and a degree of faith already in place. And once you have acquired attributes 1 and 2 and thereafter take possession of attribute 3, which is faith, know that your faith will almost immediately and continually be tested.
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
—James 1
Consequently, however, some who have their faith tested following the acquisition of attribute 3 are often knocked completely off course and are led into avenues of fear and doubt because of that testing. This, in effect, strips them of all three attributes, leaving them with no option but to start from the beginning, or feel that they have to abandon the path to the Kingdom altogether. But even when we are going through times of testing and trial, which are only in place to build our faith, it is Yah who says to us:
10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your Elohim. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
—Isaiah 41
He is ever with those of his who are tested, strengthening them, and upholding them with his righteous right hand. There is no need to look around for help from others, or for any whom you hope will lend support, for Yah is with you during your trial, but you have to believe that by exercising the faith that is within you. To not do so is to invite doubt, which gives way to fear. We get a perfect illustration of this in Matthew chapter 14:
22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.
23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Yeshua spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said to Him, “Master, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Yeshua.
30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Master, save me!”
31 Immediately Yeshua stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
—Matthew 14
When doubt is allowed to set in, fear can quickly consume the servants of Yah, and all faith vanishes, taking with it the other attributes. In such cases, faith must be awakened, and renewed, through practice. Remember that the first two traits listed for those who will be cast into the lake of fire are fearfulness and unbelief:
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
—Revelation 21
So being fearful and doubtful have no place in the true servants of Yah. Taking hold of attribute 3 will do away with fear and doubt, however. This is the attribute that will be called on heavily for those who will face perilous times ahead, therefore it is wise to cultivate faith in times of ease. While many unbelievers are buying up gold and silver, and storing provisions in bunkers, or outright building bomb shelters in preparation of expected disasters on the horizon, these fearful souls do not know that these things will not, and cannot, save them from what is coming.
24 What the wicked fears will come upon him. . . .
—Proverbs 10
There are lots of examples of faith being exercised by past servants of Yah in Scripture, even those that tie into the experiences many of us will face in the days ahead. Not least is the story of The prophet Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, whom the Babylonians renamed in honor of their pagan deities.
The story of these Hebrew men, from the tribe of Judah, matches the experience of all Hebrews who have been scattered to distant lands. In America, we, like those Hebrews of ancient Babylon, have been renamed by our captors and overlords, and forced to adopt their language.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians.
—Daniel 1
As the story goes, Daniel and his three friends are raised to high positions in the king’s court after Daniel is given the details of a complex dream and its interpretation from Yah, to the king’s delight. Following that dream, which involved a large statue that represented four successive kingdoms, the king decides to erect a large golden statue in the plain of Dura in Babylon province, which everyone in the Kingdom is ordered to bow down and worship upon hearing various instruments being played.
6 “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”
7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
—Daniel 3
This causes certain Babylonians to bring charges against Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who refused to bow down and worship anyone but Yah.
12 “ . . . These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your deities or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
—Daniel 3
Of course this enraged the king, who immediately ordered the three Hebrew men to be brought before him. After he questioned them about their refusal to worship the statue, he reminded them of the penalty for their disobedience, which meant a cruel death: being burned alive in a fiery furnace. The king, who had never encountered men the likes of these three, wanted to know what power could save them from his hands. The three Hebrews exhibited great faith and were brave in the face of that impending death, defiant even. And they answered the king, saying:
16 . . . “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17 “If it be so, our Elohim whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your deities or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
—Daniel 3
This enraged the king so greatly that he gave immediate orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was usually heated. Then he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up the three Hebrews so they could be easily thrown into the blazing furnace. While fulfilling this order, the men who threw the three Hebrews into the furnace were burned up by the terrible heat, but the three boys fell in the middle of the furnace still tied up. Suddenly, the three Hebrews were joined by another powerful being, who protected them.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of Elohim!”
—Daniel 3
This is the level of faith that we must reach in order to survive even the worst of perils we are forced to face. But like the Hebrew men of this story, we must also be ready to say, “But even if Yah does not deliver us, let it be known that we will not serve or worship another.” That level of faith can only be achieved by listening to the instructions of Yah, obeying those instructions daily, and exercising faith in the smallest matters by relying completely on Yah, until he pushes the limits of your faith through circumstances that will allow for the growth and expansion of that faith.
With the indwelling of the Set Apart Spirit, you will see your faith grow, putting you in a position to acquire the fourth of five attributes on our Kingdom Preparedness List, which we will cover in our next scripture study video in this five-part series. Shalom!
Keywords: hearing the voice of Yah, listen, hear, listening to the voice of Yah, checklist, prepare, obedience, attributes, disobedience, hear and obey, faith, doubt, fear, fiery furnace, fear of the wicked
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