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 video in this series, we covered the first attribute on the List of Kingdom Preparedness, that being: Hearing. We saw that hearing is in fact the first attribute one acquires, prior to even beginning their walk with the Most High. You see, in order to begin your walk, you must first hear. And what you are in fact hearing when you are first called is Yah’s message; it is he who is really calling anyone to repentance; to the path of righteousness. But we are also told that:
27 My sheep listen to my voice. . . .
—John 10
In order to hear the voice of Yah, and I mean truly hear—which boils down to listening intently and being able to recognize not only the voice of the one speaking, but also comprehend the message—one has to actually be Yeshua’s sheep to begin with. That is why many who hear the same message you heard when you were first called actually end up rejecting it, because they are not his sheep. It does not get any clearer than that, though it is at times a hard fact to swallow.
But hearing must continue to be in the possession of any true servant of Yah in order to be properly fit for the Kingdom, as Yah will continue to send you messages throughout your life to keep you on the path of righteousness, guide you farther along it, and correct your course in the event you stray slightly from the path. Now, even though many are called through the first attribute of hearing (and many do hear initially) Yeshua informs us that:
14 . . . Many are called, but few are chosen.
—Matthew 22
The reason for this is, the many who hear initially—those who successfully acquire the first attribute in other words—fail to acquire the other four attributes. Having all five attributes on this list will easily qualify any servant of Yah for entrance into his glorious Kingdom. But not going beyond the first attribute automatically disqualifies you. So once you’ve acquired attribute 1, you must immediately take possession of the second attribute on the list, and that attribute is:
Part 2: Obedience
You see, John 10:27 opens with Yeshua’s sheep hearing his voice:
27 My sheep listen to my voice. . . .
—John 10
But the picture is completed with the rest of his statement:
27 . . . I know them, and they follow me.
—John 10
“I know them,” Yeshua says. Let’s start with that clause. What does Yeshua mean when he says his sheep not only listen to his voice, but he knows them? During his Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua was illustrating to his listeners the process of judgment, essentially breaking down the qualifications for having the right to enter the kingdom. In his discourse he said:
22 Many will say to Me on that day, “Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?”
23 And I will declare to them. . . .”
—Matthew 7
And here he quotes Psalm 6 verse 8.
23 “. . . I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
—Matthew 7
So Yeshua says, in the judgment, when it is determined who will enter the kingdom of heaven, he will declare to many, “I never knew you.” Why? Because he does not care to know anyone who practices lawlessness. And lawlessness is disobedience. Yeshua is looking for hearers and doers.
28 But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of Elohim and obey it.”
—Luke 11
Now looking at John 10 verse 27, we get a clear understanding of what is being said:
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
—John 10
Yeshua’s sheep listen to his voice, being “hearers.” And he knows them, since they are not lawless, or disobedient, and this is cemented by the statement, “they follow me.” This makes them “doers”; those who “obey.” His sheep, therefore, possess both the first and second attribute on the Kingdom Preparedness List. The second attribute, like the first, must be in our possession for our entire walk with Yah, or else we will miss the mark and lose out on the kingdom. The minute you stop obeying Yah, is the minute you open yourself up to punishment:
13 I am Yah your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk upright.
14 “However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands, 15 and if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands, 16 I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—
—Leviticus 26
You can read about those sudden terrors in the rest of chapter 26 of the book of Leviticus. You see, disobeying Yah, or turning against him, causes him to turn against us, and he unleashes a slow and steady barrage of punishment, depending on how long we remain wayward. But this punishment is merely a method of correction:
5 Thus you are to know in your heart that Yah your Elohim was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.
6 So obey the commands of Yah your Elohim by walking in his ways and fearing him.
—Deuteronomy 8
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
—Revelation 3
And let’s face it, Yah and Yeshua love the people of Israel, so we can clearly see that love being doled out on the rebellious, wayward, disobedient sons and daughters of Jacob even to this day. But he only inflicts this method of correction for so long. When the disobedience matures into full blown sin, fully embodying the servant he is attempting to bring to repentance, then all hope is lost, and correction is set aside for the full penalty of disobedience:
15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
—James 1
In other words, continuing in disobedience eventually marks you for death. And we’re not talking some ethereal, spiritual punishment that is so far in the future it is not possible to conceive now. No, we’re talking a painful death, in this life. One that will have family, friends, enemies, or what have you, gathering at a six-foot rectangular pit they’ve dug to bury you in. That kind of death.
And if you think this is all fun and games, keep treading along the path of unrighteousness and pushing the date you’re planning to fully obey Yah farther and farther into the future. I tell you that you are marking yourself for, not only punishment, but eventual death besides. Evidence of this scenario is found time and again in Scripture, yet we fail to take note of it. One important event that highlights this point is found in the book of Joshua.
Following the death of Moses, and the appointment of Joshua as leader of Israel, the time of the Jordan River crossing finally arrived. After Israel crossed the river, with accompanying miracles and ceremony, instructions were thereafter given by Yah for the Israelites to take Jericho. Within these specific set of instructions was this directive:
18 Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel.
19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to Yah and must be brought into his treasury.
—Joshua 6
This was an implicit and extremely important command, the details of which were also prophetic. As the story goes, we are told in verse one of the very next chapter of Joshua:
1 But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for Yah. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so Yah was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
—Joshua 7
So this act of disobedience, though committed by one man, is counted against the entire nation of Israel as disobedience, because whenever Israel is gathered together, particularly under Yah’s headship, the nation is treated as a whole unit; one body. Following the fall of Jericho, the next town on the list to be conquered was Ai (AY-ee). Continuing we read:
2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.”
—Joshua 7
This was a complete reversal from the evil report given by the ten spies from the previous generation, who, along with Caleb and Joshua, were sent to spy out the land of the giants and gave an evil report as recorded in Numbers 13 verse 32. Now the prospect of conquering a town seemed so simple, given the appearance of the enemy. But Scripture records that:
4 . . . about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai.
5 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
—Joshua 7
You see, Yah promised back in Leviticus chapter 26, which we touched on, that he would punish his children for disobedience. In verse 17 of that very chapter Yah states that, as a result of disobedience:
17 I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies. . . .
—Leviticus 26
That is why we see the three thousand Israelites being soundly defeated by the “few” warriors of Ai. But this did not cause the guilty party to step forward, confess his sin, and turn back to the Most High Yah. In fact, the rebellion and disobedience continued, and the sin of greed festered in Achan’s heart. Meanwhile:
6 Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of Yah until evening.
—Joshua 7
And thus did Joshua plead with Yah over this rousing defeat.
10 But Yah said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?
11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings.
—Joshua 7
So the initial disobedience was punished, but the punishment was merely a correction that was to lead to repentance. But because Israel did not repent, nor did Achan, the full penalty for sin must be poured out, that being death. Continuing we read:
12 This is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.
13 “Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what Yah, the Elohim of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for Yah. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.
—Joshua 7
Bear in mind that this story contains the blueprint for Israel’s victory over its many enemies. The reason we are being marginalized, brutalized, and destroyed by our enemies is summed up right here. And the answer to this problem is also given in the preceding verses. We must cease from our disobedience and do the things we are commanded to do, which are laid out in the Scriptures. But, getting back to our story, Yah then gave instructions on how Israel was to rid itself of the disobedient party.
14 “In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and Yah will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and Yah will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and Yah will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come forward one by one.
15 The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of Yah and has done a horrible thing in Israel.”
16 Early the next morning Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before Yah, and the tribe of Judah was singled out.
17 Then the clans of Judah came forward, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of Zerah came forward, and the family of Zabdi was singled out.
18 Every member of Zabdi’s family was brought forward person by person, and Achan was singled out.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to Yah, the Elohim of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against Yah, the Elohim of Israel.
21 Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon, 200 silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
22 So Joshua sent some men to make a search. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there, just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest.
23 They took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites. Then they laid them on the ground in the presence of Yah.
24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor.
25 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? Yah will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies.
26 They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. This is why the place has been called the Valley of Achor [meaning trouble] ever since. So Yah was no longer angry.
—Joshua 7
Again, this is to demonstrate that Yah does not play when it comes to punishing disobedience. So to obey what you have heard from the mouth of Yah, via his messengers, is wisdom and life. This is attribute 2 complimenting attribute 1 on the List of Kingdom Preparedness. One must immediately follow the other. And know that these must work in unison throughout your entire walk with the Most High. You cannot lose either of these attributes, for if you do, it will lead to punishment, and, eventually, death.
There are many other stories that demonstrate this very principle, not least is the story of King Saul, wherein he disobeyed Yah’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites. That act of disobedience in fact cost him the throne of Israel, as recorded in First Samuel chapter 15. Continuing in disobedience later cost him his life.
So once you have acquired the second attribute of obedience, by actually putting into practice the instructions you’ve heard from Yah during the acquisition of the first attribute, then you can move on to the third 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, my sheep hear my voice
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TESTIMONIALS
Wow! This video clearly contradicts the heretical teaching of Calvinism (perpetual forgiveness and unconditional salvation) which is so pervasive in the modern Christian denominations and many of the Messianic ones also. This is so refreshing to see the Torah teachings and lessons of OUR History intertwined so flawlessly that it ("the truth") makes it's own case. Be blessed!
—Cleophus C.
