Enduring Faith
In the midst of these perilous times, the Holy Spirit is urging us to be occupied with the unseen eternal things instead of preoccupied with what is visible, temporary, and ultimately futile."
- 2 Timothy 3:1 -
Let’s take a deeper look into the required great faith that Yahshua (Jesus) was referring to when He said, “the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). The definition of faith is clearly written in the Word, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (Hebrews 12:1, 2 Corinthians 4:18). In the midst of these perilous times, the Holy Spirit is urging us to be occupied with the unseen eternal things instead of preoccupied with what is visible, temporary, and ultimately futile. The preoccupations with the tangible things of this shaking world frequently lead us into idolatrous distractions that easily sabotage enduring faith. “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts [and cravings]; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever” (1 John 2:16-17) .This builds on the reality that those who are “born again” and living by the Spirit are alive in Yahshua (Jesus), as Messiah said, whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:26) We will just leave these bodies and continue to live never having tasted or experienced death.
“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek [and obey] Him”
- Hebrews 11:6 -
All that is of the Spirit is not seen. Yahshua (Jesus) said, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” because they “walk by faith, not by sight” (John 20;29, 2 Corinthians 5:7). “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (see John 4:24). “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek [and obey] Him” (Hebrews 11:6). The “gospel of the kingdom” of heaven is the message of the good news that there is eternal life in our Savior’s glorious kingdom that awaits the faith filled righteous redeemed (Matthew 24:14). This holy remnant lives by, and in, the Spirit’s power and grace with wholehearted obedience to their beloved Savior who poured out His sacrificial blood to cleanse them of sin, fill them with His indwelling Spirit, and lead them to obedience to His Word and holiness in His sight. They are consumed with a passionate love and desire to bring their God and Savior praise, honor, and glory through their words and deeds. “The called and chosen and faithful” do not live for this world because they are “born again” “new creations”, spiritual beings (Revelation 17:14, John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17). They are continually exchanging the worthless things of this world for the precious eternal King and His Kingdom. As it is written, “ if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman” and represent Yahveh. (Jeremiah 15:19) As it is proclaimed, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who [wholeheartedly] love [and obey] Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
True saving faith can only be attained and maintained by those who are putting to death the desires of the flesh and the world because Yahshua (Jesus) is their heart’s desire and all their hope and faith is in their beloved King and His coming kingdom"
- See Romans 8:13 -
Those who are double minded have a half hearted faith that “denies the power of the Holy Spirit,” to overcome the flesh, the world, and Satan (2 Timothy 3:5). They have not followed our Savior’s basic requirement as He proclaimed, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). True saving faith can only be attained and maintained by those who are vigilantly putting to death the desires of the flesh and the world, because Yahshua (Jesus) is their heart’s desire and all their hope and faith is in their beloved King and His coming kingdom. Messiah is truly their “exceedingly great reward” and their “first and foremost love” of their lives (Genesis 15:1, Revelation 2:4). As Apostle Paul explained, the redeemed righteous remnant follow his example to be “crucified to the world and the world to them” (Galatians 6:14). Our sacrificial Savior poured out His life to save us from our inherited sinful flesh nature, which is an enemy to the Holy Spirit and the crucifixion stake. It is written, “Many live as enemies of the cross of Messiah [Christ] … their mind is set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19). Those who are alive in the Spirit, “put to death the deeds of the flesh and make no provision for its lustful unceasing desires” (See Romans 8:13-14). The redeemed righteous remnant have their hope, joy, and treasures in the heavenly kingdom above and not below in this passing world. Those with a professing shallow faith, who still live in the flesh and the world, will not be able to endure the various trials and sufferings that are already here and will increase in the days ahead. Messiah is giving warning that believing faith must be tried and tested, until it becomes enduring faith through great rejections, trials, hardships, “persecutions, and suffering that are guaranteed to come”, for the true followers of Yahshua (Jesus) on the “narrow path that leads to eternal life” (see 2 Timothy 3:12, Matthew 7:14).
Yahveh God Almighty will judge His people according to the validity of their faith."
Our beloved Redeemer asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find [enduring] faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Yahveh God Almighty will judge His people according to the validity of their faith. We read that “we are saved by faith” but we also read “I will show you my faith by my works” (Ephesians 2:8, James 2:18). James is saying, true faith produces the fruits of the Spirit and the works of the Spirit that lasts eternally. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit” (Galatians 6:7-8). The indwelling Holy Spirit gives us the grace and the power to walk by faith and “endure to the end”. As it is written, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:36-38).
“Faith is the Victory that Overcomes the World”
(1 John 5:4)
Yahshua (Jesus) gave up His life that we could live and we are to give up our fleshy lives in this world so that we can live in the Spirit with Him"
- Galatians 2:20 -
It has been taught throughout many generations that there is going to be a pre-tribulation rapture and the redeemed will bypass the prophesied judgments that are coming. Yahshua (Jesus) made it very clear “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36). So many professing believers have erroneously viewed their stay on earth as a pre-rapture cruise ship, paid in full by our Heavenly Father, who blesses His children with worldly delights to make their lives on earth more enjoyable. Regardless, of whether it is a pre-trib, mid-trib, or a post-trib rapture, the urgent issue is, the majority of those who profess the Holy God and Savior are focused on their daily wants, needs, and preoccupations and are being led by the self nature instead of the Spirit. They are spiritually unprepared for the required endurance as our Savior clearly stated, “the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
His words are the ABC foundation of the true walk of anyone who calls Him Lord and Savior. Yahshua (Jesus) did not give a soft or cheap gospel message, He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me”
- Luke 9:23 -
This is a ploy of Satan and it has produced spiritually weak and unprepared children who did not believe or obey our Savior’s prerequisites to be His true disciples. Yahshua (Jesus) said, "Watch out that no one deceives you” regarding the true walk of those who have believing faith (Matthew 24:4). His words are the ABC foundation of the true walk of anyone who calls Him Lord and Savior. Yahshua (Jesus) did not give a soft or cheap gospel message, He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). To follow in the footsteps of our suffering Savior, the Scriptures clearly emphasizes how much suffering and endurance of trials and hardship will be required for anyone who wants to “walk in the same manner that our Savior walked” (1 John 2:6). Yahshua (Jesus) gave up His life that we could live and we are to give up our fleshy lives in this world so that we can live in the Spirit with Him.
The process of the gospel message is a message that requires three phrases:
Those who are truly “born again” have the Holy Sprit in them who “leads them” into obedience through faith and grace to uphold the commandments and seek and do the will of our God and Savior."
- See John 16:13 -
1. Believing faith: “If anyone is in Messiah [Christ], he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) The old self nature is put to death, our sins were cleansed and forgiven when we repented and prayed for forgiveness with faith in the blood of Yahshua (Jesus) that poured out to pay the penalty for our sins. (Colossians 3:5, Romans 6:23) Our Redeemer bore our sins in His body, His sacrificial blood remains on the heavenly altar always available to cleanse us when we recognize we have sinned and have need for more repentance. (1 Peter 2:24) The Holy Spirit is now in us to convict us of our sins, our Father’s righteousness, and His righteous judgments that are coming on all sin and sinners. (John 16:8) Only those who love Yahveh with all their heart and want to surrender their lives and obey Him, are “born again” of the Spirit. (John 3:3) As it is written, “He gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:32 ) Those who are truly “born again” have the Holy Sprit in them who “leads them” into obedience through faith and grace to uphold the commandments and seek and do the will of our God and Savior. (See John 16:13)
Many professing believers are not maturing regarding all the mandates and requirements that Yahshua (Jesus) defined for us, and have to be embraced and obeyed in order to grow up and follow Him. Therein is the problem why there are so many carnal believers still living for the flesh, still living for the world, because they have never been truly “born again”
- John 3:3 -
Those who stay at the level of just believing faith don’t want to “count the cost” much less to pay the price to follow in the footsteps of our Savior on that “narrow path that few enter.” (Luke 14:27-28, Matthew 7:14) It is too costly and they shrink back and stay in the arena of simple believing faith. Sadly, churches are filled with pews that are occupied primarily with those who profess faith in our God and Savior. They believe in Him, that He died for them, was resurrected, and that they are going to heaven. However, they are not maturing regarding all the mandates and requirements that Yahshua (Jesus) defined for us, and have to be embraced and obeyed in order to grow up and follow Him. Therein is the problem why there are so many carnal believers still living for the flesh, still living for the world, because they have never been truly “born again”. (John 3:3) They remain simple believers without a sincere “hunger and thirst for righteousness” to be filled with more and more truth. Yahshua (Jesus) said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6) They will be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power and victory shouts.
If they were spiritually “born again” “new creations” the indwelling Holy Spirit would be giving them an appetite to grow up at any cost to become like their Savior and “put to death the deeds of the flesh” and its desires for this passing world. (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:13) They would be “bearing the identity and likeness of the Spirit of the Savior,” not going back to “the elementary things of the world” and its lusts and pleasures, because in doing so they would become “an enemy to Yahveh”. (1 Corinthians 15:49, Galatians 4:3, see James 4:4). This would invalidate their faith by grieving and rebelling against the Spirit of truth and satisfying the lusts and the desires of their flesh. (1 Peter 4:1-2) By quenching the Spirit, they have not continued to grow up with “a love for the truth”. (1 Thessalonians 5:19, 2 Thessalonians 2:10) They are not sold out to follow Yahshua (Jesus) at any cost, “to find out what pleases Him”, and to count and recount the cost that they “may know Yahshua (Jesus) and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Ephesians 5:10, Philippians 3:10).
“For to you it has been granted for Messiah’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf”, that suffering is enduring faith"
- Philippians 1:29 -
2. Enduring Faith: Although we have come to salvation with “believing faith”, where we “believed in our heart and confessed [Yahshua/Jesus] with our mouth”, most people who profess to be believers do not go through the whole maturation process. (Romans 10:9) They have believing faith in our Savior and His sacrificial blood and as supernaturally “born again” “new spiritual creations” they must continue to grow up as believers to have “enduring faith” (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, see Hebrews 10:32-39). Yahshua (Jesus) said, “in this life you will have many trials” and it has been written, “For to you it has been granted for Messiah’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf”, that suffering is enduring faith (Philippians 1:29). Those who endure with Him in His sufferings are the ones who are going to know Him in His resurrection power (Philippians 3:10). Obedience is better than life because through that obedience they are dying to their flesh and living more and more united in the Spirit with their beloved Savior. By enduring trials and tribulations, through unwavering faith, they mature into holy disciples who have endured much and are saved. “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews10:36) As Yahshua (Jesus) said, “those who have endured to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
He who has “saving faith”, not just “believing faith”, has gone through the process of “believing faith”, and will have “enduring faith” unto salvation. “Yahveh the Lord knows those who are His”
- 2 Timothy 2:19 -
3. Saving Faith: The issue of “once saved always saved”, in the light of the process of growing up is true, because we are not saved until we have grown up through the process of believing faith, proved by enduring faith through the trials and tribulations, knowing that “God works all things together for good for us” (Romans 8:28). Yahshua (Jesus) is perfecting us through trials as He, Himself was perfected as the suffering Savior (see Hebrews 5:8). We follow in His footsteps in persecutions, hardships, trials, rejection, through difficulties of this “narrow and very hard path” (Matthew 7:13-14). That process has to be understood, that is why Yahshua (Jesus) said if anyone wants to come to Him he has to first “count the cost” (Luke 14:28). The true gospel message is that we are to walk and follow our Savior’s footsteps unto the death of the flesh proclaiming, “I have been crucified with Messiah [Christ]; and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). It is to be Yahshua (Jesus) who lives in us because we have been “crucified to the world and the world to us”, this mean our flesh is put to death as far as its rulership over our lives. (Galatians 6:14) Therein, he who has “saving faith”, not just “believing faith”, has gone through the process of “believing faith”, and will have “enduring faith” unto salvation. “Yahveh the Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19).
We must grow in faith from believing faith to enduring faith in order to have saving faith"
- See John 20:21 -
Our Savior continually emphasized, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). “Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:23-24). There are many who will appear at the very door and be turned away. Yahshua (Jesus) proclaimed,, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you’ (Matthew 25:11-12). “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21).
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness, [breaking His Father’s commandments]’ (Matthew 7:22). We must grow in faith from believing faith to enduring faith in order to have saving faith. Very few people, as our Savior said, will go through all of the entire process to mature unto eternal life with Him in His kingdom (see Luke 13:24). These perilous last days are going to be times of great challenges and testing of our faith. But Yahveh “disciplines those He loves … because the discipline is for our endurance so that we can share in His eternal holiness.” (Hebrews 12:6,10) Enduring faith is evident in those who have gone through the refiner’s fire and come out perfected in the Holy Spirit bearing Yahshua’s identity. Messiah’s crucified saints will be the ones who will be strong and do mighty exploits in the face of great persecution under the coming take over of Satan, the ruler of this world. (Daniel 11:32, 2 Corinthians 4:4) They will not try to save their lives but lose it in the crucifixion process, therefore Yahshua is magnified and exalted in power as the light and the salt of the earth that will bring many to salvation in the darkest hours of this world. (Luke 9:24, Matthew 5:13-16) Life is going to become more and more difficult for the true believers. It will also be the time of great revival, a time of great endurance unto salvation without any obstacles of idolatrous preoccupations and enticing worldly enchantments. Yahshua (Jesus) is raising up a people who will endure unto salvation.
The superficial half hearted believers are called double minded and lukewarm and Yahshua (Jesus) said “the double minded will receive nothing" and they will be “vomited out of His mouth” (See James 1:8 and Revelation 3:16). Woe to anyone who “confesses Him with their lips and their hearts are far away from Him” they will be turned away, as He made it very clear that “many who call Him Lord” will not enter His kingdom (Matthew 15:8, 7:21-23). Sadly, there are so many self-pleasing, self-righteous, world loving believers that have been spoiled rotten on the world because of man-made doctrines and traditions that are deceptive, and appeal to the senses and the flesh’s desire for gratification in this passing world. They are not preparing by watching what all the signs of the times are indicating. “They are the ones who will try and save their lives and they will lose it.” (Luke 9:24)
We need to get our faith so bolstered and have nothing contending for our obedience to Yahshua (Jesus) by making Him our “first love” so that we can withstand anything and everything because we love Him so much (Revelation 2:4). We are “to live for Him”, “die daily” for Him, and if need be, be martyred for Him. Whether we live or die, we are to “do all to the glory of God”. If we have been “crucified to the world and the world to us”, we can truly confess, “To live is Messiah and to die is gain”. The gain is because He has become our all in all and the joy of being with Him eternally supersedes any and all joys of this passing earth. (2 Corinthians 5:15, 1 Corinthians 15:31, Revelation 12:11, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Philippians 1:21)
