THE WORK OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places”Isa32:17-18

When we understand and embrace the righteousness of God and get established in it, it will have an effect in our lives. God’s righteousness will produce peace, quietness and assurance forever. It will produce faith and trust toward God. We shall have a strong hope and confidence in God. It produces stability in us.

When you understand how your sins have been dealt with through the blood of Jesus Christ and how God has set us right with Himself forever. Then this righteousness produces calmness and confidence in us.

Imagine if Jesus went to God the Father to ask for anything, do you think that the Father would answer Jesus’ prayer, do you think He would grant Him His request, do you think He would hear His prayer? Would God do it for Jesus? The answer is yes of course? Why would God do it for Jesus? Because Jesus is perfect. Because Jesus is holy. Because Jesus is righteous. Because God loves Jesus. Whatever Jesus asks, because of who Jesus is Jesus would get it.

Why when we pray do we doubt that our prayers will be answered? It’s because of a sin consciousness. It’s because of our self-righteousness, we feel unworthy. But what if when we prayed, we came into the presence of God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, with a full understanding of our righteousness in Him? What if we understood that we have been made the very righteousness of God in Christ (2Cor5:21)? And that when we go to God in prayer in the name of Jesus, it’s as if Jesus Himself is praying. We go in His holiness and righteousness. What if we understood that God loves us just as much as He loves Jesus (Jn17:23)? Wouldn’t this produce confidence, trust and faith in us toward God?

Our prayer produces results when we stand in the righteousness of God and the work of the Cross. This is why the apostle James said this;
“…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Jam5:16

THE SOURCE OF STRONG FAITH


 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Rom10:13-14

In the previous verses Paul has been explaining the fact that God’s righteousness is a faith righteousness and that we get it by faith. We have dealt with this in detail in our previous lessons. Now He continues with a logical conclusion to this. First he makes it obvious that for people to have faith, they need to hear the gospel. For them to hear the gospel, somebody has to preach to them. then he continues;

“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”Rom10:15

This is a very important point. The preachers must be sent. Not everybody preaching has been sent. There are many preachers out there whom God has called but has not sent. When God would have a preacher, He calls them, He anoints them, He teaches, trains and equips them, and then He sends them. However many preachers out there have only been called. Yet they have sent themselves. How do we know them?

This verse tells us that the preachers God has sent “preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things”. It is easy to tell a preacher that God has not sent. They do not preach the good news of peace and bring glad news of good things. They preach wrath and judgment. They preach the law. They have not been taught yet. As Hebrews says they are still babies;

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Heb5:12-14

They are not yet fit to talk. They are still babies. The gospel is good news. Any other news is not gospel. If it’s not good news, it’s not gospel!

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God..” Rom10:13-17

Paul now writes this very famous scripture. However many of us have misinterpreted this scripture. We teach it out of context. The context of this verse is the gospel, the good news of faith righteousness. This is the word of God that this verse is speaking about. In fact in verse 8 calls it the ‘word of faith.’

Not every ‘word of God’ produces faith. The law doesn’t produce faith, and yet it is the word of God. In fact the bible says that the law is not of faith. “And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.” Gal3:12

It is the word of faith righteousness that produces faith in God. When you preach or hear faith righteousness, it produces faith in your heart. It produces trust toward God. This word of faith righteousness is the gospel. Look at this;

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Rom1:16-17.

The gospel is what reveals God’s righteousness unto us. It is what enables us to receive faith righteousness and have faith in God. And the result of this is that the just (those who have faith righteousness) shall live by faith. When we understand our righteousness in Christ, then we are able to live by faith. The just shall live by faith. If you are not living by faith, you have not fully received faith righteousness. Hear the gospel, believe the gospel and it shall produce faith in your heart. Faith will come when you hear the word of God.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” Numbers 23:19-24

Even under the Old Testament when Israel put their trust in God and not in themselves, God did not behold iniquity in them. It doesn’t say that there was no iniquity among them, it says that God did not behold that iniquity. He did not impute it to them when they looked up to him.

All of us still sin and do iniquity. But God does not behold this iniquity and impute it to us. He views us as righteous and holy and perfect. He has already imputed our trespasses unto Jesus and punished Him for them at the Cross. As far as He is concerned we are fully righteous and fully holy. As He says in Hebrews9:12, we have eternal redemption.

Now God is blessing us, and helping us and making us a great nation. God is glorifying Himself and getting His will done through us. He has blessed us and no one can curse us. If Christ be for us, who can be against us? This is the work of righteousness.

NO MORE WRATH OR PUNISHMENT;


“For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.” Isa54:7-8

God promises that with everlasting kindness He will have mercy upon us. That with great mercies He will gather us unto Himself. That he will no longer hide His face from us. This is what righteousness produces. A close intimate relationship with our Father. If you are afraid of God’s wrath, if you do not have a good intimate relationship with God, it’s because you have not understood and embraced His righteousness. You are condemned. You are afraid. Look at this next verse;

“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.” Isa54:9

Did you see that? God Himself promised that He would never ever again be angry with you or rebuke you. God is not angry with you, He will never be.

Imagine if I said to you that God spoke to me that He was going to destroy the earth with a flood like He did in the days of Noah. Most of you would not believe me. Why? Because you remember the promise He made to Noah that He would never destroy the earth again with a flood. In fact some would even point to the rainbow as evidence of God’s promise to never destroy this earth with a flood. You would call me a false prophet.

But if I said to you that God had spoken to me that He is very angry with the church or you because of the numerous sins being committed. Many of you would believe me. Why? Because you are aware of the sins you are committing and the ones others are committing. And yet I would be lying. Any preacher or minister that tells you that God is angry with you or the church because of sins is lying. God Himself swore that He would never be angry or rebuke you. It’s right there in your bible. Look at this next verse;

“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.” Isa54:10

Do you still see mountains out there? Or hills? God promised that even if all of them were taken away, His kindness, covenant of peace and His mercy would never depart from us. Every time you see a mountain or hill, remember that God’s mercy and kindness and peace is still with you.

“In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.” Isa54:14-15

His righteousness is what establishes us and gives us a solid foundation. The righteousness of God makes us rooted and immovable. It enables us to endure and triumph over anything. No fear or terror can overcome us when we have been established in righteousness. Righteousness will produce stability in us.

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.” Isa 54:17

This verse plainly states that our heritage (inheritance) is assurance, victory and success. No weapon fashioned against us will prevail. This is the work of righteousness in us.

THE ESTABLISHED MAN


Psalms 112 describes a righteous man. A man that fears God, a man that delights in God’s Word, an upright man. Lets look at some of what it says;

“Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever.” Psa112:3

This is the work of righteousness and uprightness. It produces blessing and wealth and riches. It is the righteous that inherit the blessing of God.

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.” Psa23:4-6

Remember that after the flesh no man qualifies. All have sinned. This righteousness and holiness is only true of Jesus Christ. It is the reality of the born again believer. This is true of us who have received the righteousness of God in Christ. We are the ones who have clean hands and a pure heart. We are the ones who have received blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of our salvation. Wealth and riches shall be in our houses. Righteousness produces wealth.

“Surely he shall not be moved forever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.”Psa112:6-8

Again we see God promising us that righteousness shall produce boldness and confidence and assurance. When you are righteous and grounded in faith righteousness, you shall be forever established. The prosperity of a righteous man is permanent. You will not be afraid of evil news or bad news. You shall not be afraid. Why? Because your heart has been established in righteousness, because your heart trusts in God. Look at what Jeremiah prophesied;

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jer17:7-8

The man whose heart trusts in God is a blessed man. When your heart learns to trust God you begin to experience the blessing of God and God will prosper you. Faith righteousness is what enables our hearts to trust God. It is what empowers our hearts to have faith in God.

Faith righteousness is the beginning of everything. It is the starting point. When we are established in the righteousness of God, then we can build everything upon it. Our whole lives will have a solid foundation, a solid base from which God can build us into His magnificent house, into His glorious temple. Beloved, it is my prayer that we shall be established in faith righteousness. That we shall know and embrace the righteousness of God.

This is the end of our faith righteousness series.


“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mat6:25-33

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