God Bless you this week. I hope you have had a wonderful time of late.
Loves Living Word Ministries UK has been blessed. God always puts the right people just at the right time in your way. Praise God for His blessings and faithfulness. Sometimes we may have to start out not knowing where things will lead us. We have to use our faith and just trust in what God and what your spirit confirms regarding moving in a certain direction. It may seem like it is so far out of reach and crazy to many. You may come up against opposition even from people you don’t expect. You may find that you have no help from anyone, and wonder why? You may find that people are present and watching yet they do nothing to help the vision come into being and again wonder why? Never ever get discouraged; God is the one who will elevate and make it happen NEVER man. Man can aid in the process but primarily it is God who is the source. Some of the time you will find people will have nothing good to say about the vision especially if you are young in the Lord. Don’t let this deter you from what God has shared with you. Go forward with God in Faith even if you don’t know your next step. God does and if you have faith in Him; He will bring exactly what you need just in time. This is living by Faith and as God is a God of Faith and we as His children of Righteousness are to live by faith as said in Romans 1:17. Living by faith is believing in things that are not seen, this is sometimes difficult to do when you have only had a word from the Lord and things have not seemed to move anywhere for a long time. Be assured if you are walking in Gods ways, things are without doubt moving behind the scenes in the spirit realm making way for it to manifest down in this realm. God hears your worship, your prayer and he knows your heart. He sees faithfulness over billions of unfaithful and scripture says we are to walk by faith and not by sight. Even in your darkest hour God has his hands on you always, no matter what you do or ever could do. So hold on to that vision or that burden in your heart, take small steps every day moving forwards towards that goal. Even if it is just spending time with the LORD. The more you spend time with him the more you get to know him. There is no greater than that! Be blessed this weekend and know that God rewards those who are faithful to Him, be assured that He does see and will bloom those seeds you have sown. Don’t grow weary, forge forward in Faith and Victory because the battle has already been won. It was done over 2000 years ago and its yours for the taking if you are in Christ. Reach out to Him today, release your fears and worries and hold on to your hats because God is about to do tremendous things with those who reverently and worshipfully fear him. Amen.
This week We are continuing with the series on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
This is the New living translation we have studied. But Lets take a look at the New King James Version because it explains things a bit better:
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Today will are going to continue our study of “Love always protects” ( as said in the New Living Translation and in the New King James Version it says “Love bears all things”
We are going to study in a different direction today, we are going to study what the Greek and English words of the scripture and see in depth what the words in scripture actually mean this expands the scripture tremendously and we shall see through Holy Spirits choice of wording how important each individual word the Holy Spirit and its author uses.
Firstly lets take a look at the Greek word for both Protects and Bears:
Protect and bear means in the Greek Stego and it means to:
1. deck, thatch, to cover ( as in your home or something)
to protect or keep by covering, to preserve
2. by covering to keep off something which threatens, to bear up against, hold out against, and so endure, bear, forbear
Here we see that The Holy Ghost is saying that when Love protects all things or Love bears up all things He is saying that Love covers, protects, preserves.
This shows that Love is powerful as we have already seen in previous blogs.
Lets take a look at what the word covers actually means.
Cover in the English dictionary means: To hide, To clothe, to protect, to screen
So Love Hides us, clothes us, protects us and screens us. That’s powerful!
To be hidden from what? The enemy and his strategies and the darts of the evil one, as said in Ephesians 6:6
Lets take a look at Psalm 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise him.”
And Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Psalms 144:2 ”He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”
In the Old testament and the times of the prophet Samuel; David who was King of Israel sang many beautiful songs to the lord, on this occasion the Lord had just delivered him from the hands of ALL his enemies its says and from the hand of Saul the previous King.
In 2 Samuel 22:31 it says David sang "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is truth. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him".
The lord wants to shield you from anything you are facing or with ever face. He is the only one who can shield you from sickness, poverty, strife etc. all these things do not come from God but the evil one. Praise God we can be hidden and shielded from such things. This is why its so important to be faithful to him so He can cover you. Love hides us/shields us through our FAITH in HIM
LOVE Clothes
Clothe in English Dictionary literally means: to invest, to cover
1. We are to put on, to wear. Provide with clothes or put clothes on
2. To furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors
Love clothes us with what? This is an interesting one, We are clothed in Gods glory firstly;
Psalms 3:3 “ But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”
Peter a disciple who walked with Christ wrote to believers through the Holy Spirit, he talked about hanging on in Christ he encouraged us though hard times. He said this:
1 Peter 4:14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ( this has happened to billions of us who love and walk with Christ)! Why the world doesn’t understand what it cant yet see!. YET!
When we accept Christ His glory comes to live inside us by the Holy Spirit but when we pray and worship him it calls the glory, His glory upon ( which means inside) us. Many times in the bible has the glory of the Lord come upon people. In the Old testament the glory of God used to come down from heaven either dwelling in the temple as in 1 Kings 8:10 when Solomon finished the temple. Gods glory came down on mount Sinai with Moses in Exodus 24:15-18 His spirit came on many people, this is how the bible was written but it wasn’t permanent as it is in our covenant with him. Now in the New testament we have a precious gift. The Holy Spirit coming to live on the inside of us as we have seen in previous blogs. This means his glory is in and upon us.
In Acts 1:4,8, Jesus instructed His disciples not to go forth preaching and teaching until they received "the promise of the Father," which was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5:5 says “ Now hope does not disappoint, because the LOVE of GOD had been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us".
So LOVE clothes us with His glory, and when in Christ His glory lives in us.
In Ephesians The apostle Paul shared one of the most important messages against spiritual warfare He said this.
Ephesians 6:11 “ Put on the whole Armour of God so you can withstand the wiles and deceit of the devil” it carries on to say “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities ( fallen angels/demons) against Powers (fallen angels and demons) against the rulers of darkness, against spiritual host of wickedness in high places ( spirits ruling the air /atmosphere).
When we are in Christ as you have learnt last week you are given the gift of righteousness. When you are walking in his ways and not sinning you are not exposed to the enemy and his demons and therefore you are fully clothed with the full armour of God. As soon as you step out of his protection ( armour) then you are wide open to the enemy and his attacks. Don’t get me wrong even with the full armour the enemy will attack but as the scripture says stand you will be able to do so and it wont do too much damage. Paul and the Holy Spirit emphasised the word against each time they mentioned a demonic rank.
The “Against” in the scripture is taken from the word Pros and this means a forward position or face to face. So basically He was saying that we come “face to face with” and then he listed the rank of demons. Each as despicable and foul as each other. Starting with the highest rank first. Praise God He has given u the armour to be able to withstand and defeat coming face to face with such evil spirits!
Lets take a quick look at what “The armour of God” is. This is full armour to help you against the trickery and deceit ( whiles) of the devil. God is so Good He keeps on giving, Freely. Its says “put on”
Meaning to apply, to clothe, to add, to produce.
We are clothed with The Helmet of Salvation ( when you accept Christ/ Eternal salvation, but also being saved here in this life on earth too) The Helmet protects your mind as you re new it to the word of God and you keep out the attacks of the enemy. He attacks your mind, thought processes. The Helmet Paul was talking about was a Roman Helmet. It was very extravagant, beautiful and shiny. Nothing could pierce it as it was solid! You knew The Roman soldier was coming a long way off Because of the Red elivated centre pice. JUST as the darkone knows someone who is sealed with the HOLY GHOST! Ephesians 2:8-10
Jesus is our Savoir meaning “ one who rescues us from evil”
Save in English Dictionary means: to bring SAFE out of evil, to rescue, to bring out of danger, To protect (there is that word again in conjunction with the meaning of the word Cover) (Love covers which we are studying!) Love covers protects and preserves. Save also means To preserve (again the same word as earlier).
In Greek means Sozo = to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction To make whole, To heal.
Salvation in English dictionary means: protected from harm, risk, loss destruction.
Lets take a look at the route word in Greek: Salvation means Soteria
This means deliverance, preservation, safety, healing,
Salvation is so much more than your eternal place in Heaven. Jesus knows the struggles was face whilst here on earth. it’s a fallen world, Cursed, That’s why He came back. To Save us. A Free Gift of LOVE. He gave us the Helmet of Salvation which cannot be pierced, no demon is getting in. When you know who you are in Christ, you are confident about your Salvation. This means you will be walking powerfully in the reality of your salvation. And I guarantee people will notice this! Just as you would notice the extravagant and beautiful helmet the Roman soldier wore!
We are Clothed with The Breast plate of Righteousness ( your legal position in Christ now you are saved) PURE, in Right standing with God no matter what!) 2 Corinthians 5:21 We learnt about Righteousness last week, lets share a small amount more here! When you know you are forgiven and in right standing with God once again. Redeemed from the curse and no longer separated from him; there is something that is noticeably different about you. You will walk with your chest out and head held high. No condemnation that the world and people try to bring you. A Roman soldiers armour the breast plate was huge and Bright, imagine the sun shining off it as they walked, It would blind their enemies. Walk in the brightness and boldness of your position in Christ. This is a little of what the breast plate of Righteousness brings in, Read last weeks blog!
We are Clothed with The Sword of the Spirit ( this is Gods word, His word is creative Power, it is God talking to us, Hebrews 4:12 says “its alive and powerful“.When you use this things change and happen in this realm and the spirit realm. IT IS SO POWERFUL. it’s a book of LIVING seeds. Hence the Ministry name LOVES LIVING WORD MINISTRIES . Seeds do what? They grow if fed, watered and given light. They need to be put in good moist fertile soil. Gods word if you attend to it and study it does just that. It provides you with a solid ground in your life. Spirit Soul and Body.. It is the very thing the enemy ( devil) has tried to get people to dis believe from the very beginning. The word of God is what nations have been built on although as we are now at the end of an era of grace. Satan has made sure that the word of God is not central in many nations. The word of God stands forever whether he did this or not. Heaven and earth shall pass away scripture says but the word of God shall stand forever. Why? Because Gods word cannot be moved, changed, broken or destroyed. HE IS LIFE itself, HE IS LOVE itself. He spoke and the world came into being. He spoke and the trees and the flowers sprouted. He made us speaking spirits just as He is. WHY? Because if we speak His word into being there is POWER and things will change. Circumstances will change. Proverbs 4:20 " Attend to my words, incline your ear to my saying, for they are LIFE to those that find them and health to ALL their flesh". Gods word is LIFE.
We are clothed with The Loin Belt of Truth. This is walking in the truth, Gods word is the TRUTH. Instead of walking in the deception that is upon the world, Gods light is shining! Without being fixed in his word and walking in this truth, without having your loins girt with the truth as scripture says, It is impossible for all the other armour to stand in place. The belt holds the sword, the shield is attached to it, the breast place and the belt are attached and lance at the back. Its the major piece that keeps all the others in place! John 8:31-32 Jesus said "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” Walk and live in His truth, have your Loins gurt with the truth.!
Free in English dictionary means: Not bound, ( with the curse you are bound to the enemy as his power of you) Free also means at liberty ( freedom)
Jesus also said in John 16:25 that "the spirit of truth will come". ( he was talking to his disciples and preparing them for when he was about to leave this world) God gift to you, Loves clothes us in Truth.
We are clothed with The Shield of faith ( Faith is given as we have seen by God, scripture says we all have a measure of faith. It is up to us to grow in that faith. God lives by Faith and we are made in his image so we too are to live by faith “ the Just shall live by faith” Hebrew 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped the evidence of things not seen" So when things in this world are not happening as Gods word says it should be we are clothed in the shield of Faith. God Hides you with this shield of faith from the fiery darts of the evil one as we saw earlier. For it was by faith that you are saved scripture says. Faith will see you through and shield you from a terrible report from the doctor, Faith in God can change that bad report around. Faith can change any circumstance around and is essential to a persons life and walk with God. He operates by Faith as must we. A Romans soldiers sheild was very large like a door shape covering much of the soldier, it was made put of many layers of thick leather when bound together made a very hard surface. this however needed to be oiled daily by the soldier other wise it would grow brittle and then it would be broken in battle. Just as we need to be oiled by the Holy Spirit daily otherwise our faith would become broken in time! Walk in the re newed faith of God as you oil yourself in the Holy Spirit daily! Nothing will penetrate!
We are clothed in the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace. The rest of the armour of God will not work properly without shoes. You cannot go into battle without them. Imagine a soldier going on the front line today without shoes? Would he get far? I don’t think so. He would be vulnerable. The shoes of the Gospel of peace are what we now wear when in Christ. He gives us His peace “ Peace I give unto you and Peace I leave with you” as we have already seen in previous blogs and we are able in peace to go and share the gospel with the world as we are meant to. Able to stand against the enemy who will and does try to come up against in you any form He can. We go and share the Gospel not for ourselves, we don’t benefit we are already saved. We Know where we are going after this life and we have the tools down here to get by supernaturally and miraculously against all odds; full of Gods blessings and promises fulfilled! We go to share the gospel, so that everyone has a choice and the opportunity to get set free, saved and experience their walk with their maker instead of separation and the chains/bound that they are in ( unkowningly) at times without him! This is for them alone and their destiny, there is nothing greater than knowing you have helped in share the Gospel “The TRUTH” and peoples lives are set free from the clutches of evil and its destruction of the enemy. ( look around how many messed up people are there)? It doesn’t have to be that way!!!
GOD says that He wishes ALL to come to know TRUTH 1 Timothy 2:4 and that He wishes NON should perish in scripture.( read the bible and find that scripture) If that is Gods will and we have been given a mandate to help them then Praise God what a JOB! I have to say there is nothing better, Your Supernatural, All Powerful, Heavenly, Almighty and Holy God trusts you to go in His name and share the Gospel. Talk about job satisfaction! Its awesome!!!! Being shod (wearing footwear/Clothed) with the Gospel of Peace. Ephesians 6:14-18
To have a healthy walk with God it requires that we have true peace and knowledge with our Lord; we should be “walking” away from the things of the past, problems, people who do harm and “walking” or in my case RUNNING towards the Father. You have the peace of God over circumstances in your life and anything the enemy ( devil) throws your way.
This has been a brief look into the armour of God there is so much more we could have shared here. Have a study for yourself and find out about the armour of God. Without you are not armed as God intended you to be!
1 Corinthians 13:7
“Love always Protects or Loves always Bears up in all things”
The Holy Spirit says Love protects all things or Love bears up all things He is saying that Love covers, protects, preserves as we are studying the meaning of the word protects and bears up.
We are given by the LOVE of God another powerful weapon to CLOTHE ( cover) ourselves with!!
The garment of Praise.
What is Praise?
In English Dictionary it means: To Glorify, to assign value to, to speak highly of, to commend, To extol (to lift up)
The enemy cannot be around a faith believing child of God who is singing and praising their heavenly Father. This is one of the ways that Gods glory and anointing is stirred up and becomes very strong from within and upon. This is why as a corporate body we are to come and worship Father together so we can be unified in spirit as scripture says and the anointing and power of God will grow stronger. The more you worship and praise the more the glory of God rises from within you and others. Many people have been set free by just worshipping and praising God from many different situations, Sickness, addictions, abuse of any kind, a broken heart, The list goes on, The power of God breaks any bondage ( sin or problem) It is too powerful for any demon to stay in its presence. God wants us in the midst of any trail or tribulation that you are facing to Praise him through it. I guarantee that if you take your mind off the circumstance and praise and worship God ( put on the garment of Praise) then that situation is about to and will change. There is POWER In the GARMENT OF PRAISE. However in the natural world, it’s the last thing you would do when you are hurting, faced with terrible circumstances, In fact what normally happens is that people magnify the PROBLEM by talking about it to whoever will listen then they who listened pass that information on to others and they discuss it. ( all this is bringing it about in the atmosphere) our words are powerful, our word is a seed, just as we are, we came from a seed, in fact you will find everything is a seed. So instead of sowing the problem we are to sow the answer which is Gods word and we are to praise Him for who He is. The ALMIGHTY GOD, The ALL POWERFUL ALL KNOWING ALL PRESENT GOD. We are to Love him scripture says that “He loved us first”. You will love him if He has helped you get out of terrible circumstances. Some people havnt been through that ands still love him for who He is. He is PURE LOVE and HOLY and wants to be with you. Don’t walk by! Get to know Him. You will be so glad you did. Things will never be the same again and you will be in the truth not the lie so many are in.
Praising God and Jesus is no doubt like screeching to any demon including the enemy ( the devil). He is the fallen angel who wanted to be magnified, praised, worshipped. We already know he wanted what and who God is and that could never be. He even said to Jesus when He went through the 40 days and nights temptation in the wilderness; I will give you all this ( he showed him all the kingdoms) if you will just bow down and worship me” There is Power in Praise and worship. What did Jesus DO? He came back in response to the enemy and said IT IS WRITTEN and He spoke Gods word which is power and what did satan do? He had to flee! The enemy only has power if you give him it, once you are born again. SO its important to stay with the FULL armour of God on!
In the Old testament David knew the power of Praise He wrote a lot of the psalms in the bible and they are so powerful.
Psalms 103 starts with “Bless the lord oh my soul all that is within me bless his Holy Name” Bless The Lord oh My soul who forgets not His benefits, Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your disease. who redeems my life from destruction, Who crowns me with loving Kindness and tender mercies; who satisfies my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles”
David was declaring that His soul ( his mind will and emotions/feelings) would praise The Almighty God our Father.
You may not feel like praising God when all Hell is breaking loose. But you have the choice, The soul realm is not the pilot of your life if you are born again and you can praise Him with all you have. When you do what David did Your soul realm( mind will emotions) will change. And so will the circumstance.
Same as the story of Paul and Silas in the New Testament of Acts 16.
Paul an apostle of Christ and Silas had preached and taught in Phillipi and done nothing other than this and casting unclean spirits out of people. They had been imprisoned for this, (there was such opposition in the early church just as there is in the end of the church era today!) They were chained in the prison, they were about to be killed the next day. It was their darkest hour scripture says ( how many dark hours have you had?) I have had my fair share that’s for sure ( bedridden without the use of my body and a child running around with no help from anyone was probably one of the worst!) They knew the power of praise and at their darkest hour they started to praise God in the jail cell. Imagine what the other prisoners must have been thinking? There is these two preachers of “the way” singing and praising God whilst in chains ready to be killed the next day. Do you know what happened when they did this? The Glory and power of God showed up. There was a great earthquake scripture says the whole jail shook and immediately the doors flung open and the chains unfastened! The Jailer who was guarding them had been asleep and woke up to find the doors open. He panicked as you would and he was about to kill himself because he thought all the prisoners had escaped. ( as a roman soldier, it would have been better to die by himself then have them kill him which they would have done) He drew His sword and Paul shouted do not harm yourself!!! We are all here!
( Paul and Silas had an opportunity to escape but they didn’t. In fact the soldier saw the power of what praising God had done and trembling with fear he asked Paul and Silas “sirs what I must do to be saved”? they said believe “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.”
This is the power of Praise, It will set people free. The jailer and his household all got born again and saved through Paul and Silas praising God at their darkest hour. They didn’t despair or give up and say that is it then. Were finished.! They didn’t give up, they looked to God who is the ONLY answer in such circumstances. We face them all the time ( illness, accidents, job losses and the rest) NEVER EVER GIVE UP! You give up, the enemy has won and you will be under the lie. Jesus already stripped him of his power and if you are in Christ you have the power of him too!
Put on (CLOTHE/COVER) The GARMENT OF PRAISE instead a powerful and precious tool your heavenly Father has given you! Love has you covered!
As we saw earlier To Clothe also means “ To Furnish with Power and Authority”
Furnish In English Dictionary means To supply, To equip, to provide
Then we have “with Power and authority“.
Power in Greek means Dunamis. It means- strength, power, ability EXPLOSIVE kind!
inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth power for performing miracles
moral power and excellence of soul, the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth. Power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts.
Authority in Greek means Exousia. It means Authority power of choice, liberty physical and mental power. The ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises. The power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege), the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
So we see that LOVE clothes (Covers) us with all these things and on top we are Furnished with EXPLOSIVE POWER and AUTHORITY. Have a good read at the word meanings of both and you will see what you possess when you live and walk in love. When you abide in Gods LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:7
“Love always Protects or Loves always Bears up in all things”
We have been studying the meaning of the word cover which is what both Protect and bear means. We have seen that Gods and His love Hides/shields, it covers, and now lets take a brief look at protects. Its says Gods love always protects.
Protect in the English Dictionary means to: to shield from danger, to defend, to guard and to strengthen.
This is what Gods love does for you, this is what Love does period. You are to do this for people too.
When a person is sharing the gospel of Christ they are trying to protect you from the evil one and the lie and destruction operating in this world. We discussed this earlier.
Protection is what you provide for your family and children if you are decent and a healthy fully functioning family. God is your Father and all he has ever wanted to do is to protect you. He wants to guide and protect you throughout your life. This is part of his job as your dad! You must see him as your Father because that is who is. But He is unable to fully protect you until you come to him and see the truth. He is also unable to fully protect you as we have seen if you are out of his will and not wearing the full armour of God.
Here is just a few protection scriptures from the Psalms in the Old Testament alone; there are hundreds in the bible.
In the psalms it says “The angel of the Lord encamps around those the reverently and worshipfully fear him”
Proverbs 18:10 “ The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”
This is a song we sing when in worship!
Psalm 121:2 “ My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:3 “He will not let your foot slip, he who watches over you will not slumber.”
Psalm 121:7 “ The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life”
Psalm 121:8 “ The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore.”
Psalms 91 is a powerful Psalm this should be said daily: have a read for yourself it covers so much. I speak this Psalm a lot!
We are in a better covenant now than the people of the old testament, we are now in His Covenant of LOVE so how much are those who are his children protected! We have many more gifts than the people in the old testament had. We have His precious spirit on the inside of us.
“Greater is He that is in me than He that is of the world” it says in 1 John 4:4
In The Gospels talking to His disciples Jesus said in I will send you another, He was referring to the Holy Spirit who is now in all who believe in Christ , they receive that precious gift when you accept him into your heart as we have seen in previous blogs, Jesus calls him your Comforter, Protector, Helper, advocate, intercessor, guide.
He is there to keep you safe from trouble, harm, the wrong path, wrong decisions, illness and anything you can think of. He will always be by your side and is always ready to guide and protect you. Just like a decent Father or mother does. He is more than a father and mother though. He is like a warring soldier armed and ready and has his Angels at our every side ready to step in as said in Psalm 91 “ for He shall give His angels charge over you to accompany and defend you in all of your ways” did that say ALL! Yes it did. Not just some ALL your ways.
God wont let you down condemn you, judge you, abandon you, this is the nature of the enemy. GODS LOVE IS PURE AND HOLY AND PERFECT. He see’s you that way too when you come to know Christ and walk in his ways. God is right there to defend you. This is His protection.
To defend someone you are maintaining them from attack as it says in the English dictionary. It also says to prohibit, to forbid, to ward off, to resist.
Love does all those things, so we see how important Love really is when the Holy Spirit shared this in 1 Corinthians 13:7 “Loves always Protects” “Loves always bears up” You are completely under His wings and in his arms if you operate in love.
Operating in LOVE is what the enemy can not win against, it defeats his intentions and obliterates his evil. Its so important that you walk in love towards others. You have seen its power.
Gods love “Bears up against all things” and Gods Love “Protects all things!” Nothing can stand against it.
Be Blessed this weekend and we shall continue with the end of the series of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 next week. We almost there!
To all of you who wish to have a deeper walk and knowledge of God Love say this prayer:
The apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit wrote this in the New testament in Ephesians. If you say this prayer daily the next 6 months your life will have changed for the better and You will be strengthened beyond your wildest dreams, How do I know? I have done it for years. It works. Don’t knock it till you try it!
Personalise this beautiful prayer to you and whoever you wish to add:
Ephesians 3:16-19 “I pray that out of his glorious riches that he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. “
In Jesus Christ Holy Name
Amen
If you have been touched by any of the teachings from
LOVES LIVING WORD MINISTRIES UK then please get in touch. I would love to hear from you. Support LOVES LIVING WORD MINISTRIES UK become a follower. Want to donate to the Ministry please Contact me and I will show you how.
Question is, Are you ready for the TRUTH?
God Loves you, I love you, Walk in His Love, Accept His gift.
Time is short.
Love Lisa
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheShekinahLove
1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God".
Saturday 16 July 2011
Friday 8 July 2011
08/07/11 Gift of RIGHTEOUSNESS in continuation from last message!
Hello and God Bless you this fine week of July 2011. How have you been? I hope you have had a wonderful week. Full of new revelation with the LORD! You know, we often find ourselves backed into a corner with no where to turn for the best. No ways seems the right way. When you have a relationship with the Lord, Your Heavenly Father is waiting to direct your path. He is waiting to say “ This way my child, this way”. Just as a decent parent does to their own child. They would direct their child’s path. Helping them avoid any pit falls if possible. Even if there was a pitfall, a decent parent is right there picking up the pieces rebuilding, restoring, encouraging, with a no matter what attitude. Children often make mistakes in their childhood. It’s a process of learning; learning what is wrong and what is right. This is the process of LIFE And GROWTH! Adults are not exempt they too make mistakes but its what you do with them that counts! They either learn from their mistakes and make a point of never going down that route again and if they are WISE they not only learn from any mistakes made and they use the experience to help others do the same! Or they stay the same and continue to make the same type of mistakes time after time denying there is a problem to themselves and blaming others. This is a serious deception! Great news is where the LIGHT of GOD is deception or misleading intentions will be brought into the LIGHT! If you know the Lord as your savoir, you will know that you no longer have to be backed into a corner with anything. You no longer have to except circumstances as they are and in fact you can reach out and receive precious help and direction from the best of the best. The King of Kings! With Jesus and His love by your side you can have your path rebuilt, restored, encouraged and no matter how many times you make a mistake He is ALWAYS faithful to forgive and move on quickly. He loves you no matter what you could ever do. His son died for you so that you could know this very FACT! He is waiting to help you or direct your path away from bad times or mistakes into pure love and protecting. He will be there if you hit any pit falls or if you choose go your way rather than His that wont stop him from staying with you, holding you, lifting you if you fell. Instead of being backed into a corner as we sometimes find ourselves lean on Him, we don’t know it all in fact I think you will find the more you think you know the less you actually do! And you will be amazed at the level of care you receive. God bless you this week In Jesus Christ Name.
This week we will have a little look at what Righteousness means. This is in continuation of last weeks blog. Once we have completed this we will then go on to finish 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and the series on Receive Gods free gift of LOVE! It has been important in looking at Truth and what this is and now taking a look at RIGHTEOUSNESS. Which is this weeks subject.
In the Old Covenant, righteousness had to be attained through keeping the law perfectly see Deuteronomy 6:25. From the amplified bible.
“ And it will be accounted as righteousness ( conformity to Gods will in word, thought and action) for us if we are watchful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us”
It was the righteousness of man because it was to be attained through man’s effort. No one succeeded in the near 2000 years. It was the blood of animals that covered the sins of men until Christ came.
Approximately 600 years before our Savoir (Jesus) was born in Bethlehem, Jeremiah the prophet predicted in Jeremiah 23:5-6
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King ( Jesus) shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS".
In the New Covenant, which is the covenant we are in now with Christ. That is anyone who has accepted Him as their Lord and savour. It is a covenant of LOVE, HIS righteousness is included in this gift of love look at Romans 5:17 ( amplified bible)
“ For if because of one mans trespass (Adams lapse, offence) death reigned through that one ( through satan gaining control), How much more surely will those who receive God’s over-flowing grace ( unmerited favour) and the free gift of righteousness ( putting them into right standing with himself) reign as kings in life through the one man Jesus Christ ( the Messiah , The Anointed ).
Righteousness ( pureness) is a precious and wonderful Gift just like the gift of love God gave us, Just like the gift of Salvation from eternal death and separation from God, just like the Holy Spirit and His gifts as we have seen in previous blogs.
Jesus said in Mathew 5:6 “ Blessed, fortunate, happy, and spiritually prosperous ( in state in which the born again child of GOD enjoys HIS favour and salvation) are those who hunger or thirst for righteousness ( uprightness and right standing with God) for they shall be completely satisfied.”
Righteousness is more than just a gift it is for our own benefit to be blessed happy spiritually prosperous, to be completely satisfied! Thank you LORD!
It is not something that we can earn. We are no longer in the old covenant, we are in the New covenant a Covenant of LOVE! We are given the righteousness of God because Jesus kept the law and gave us His righteousness see Romans 10:3-4 and Phil 3:9. It is given by grace ( un merited favour) and received by faith.
What is Righteousness?
English Dictionary definition is:
Characterized by uprightness or morality ( good Character and Morals) : a righteous observance of the law ( observing and upholding what is right in accordance with Gods will).
There are two types of Righteousness; Biblical Righteousness as in your position in Christ. Righteousness is attained by faith in Christ. It is probably one of the most important revelations you can have knowing who you are once you have accepted Christ. Lets take a look at
Romans 3:20-25
“ For no person will be justified ( Made righteous, acquitted) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law ( old covenant)
For (the real function of) the law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin ( Not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance faith and holy character).
But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the law, although it attested by the law and the prophets.
Namely the righteousness of God which comes from believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ ( the messiah) ( and it is meant) for all who believe. For there is no distinction.
Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honour and glory which God bestows and receives.
All are Justified made right and in right standing with God freely and gratuitously by his Grace ( his unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus.
Whom God put forward ( before the eyes of all) as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood ( cleansing and life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation to be received through FAITH. This was to show Gods righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment."
This passage of scripture written by the Holy Spirit through Paul the apostle is probably one of the most important scripture passages you can read. It shows you exactly what Righteousness was obtained by and that was Christ. And anyone who believe in Him through FAITH is then made righteous and free from separation from God and in right standing with him again. SIN is GONE FOREVER! Praise His HOLY NAME!
We do not have to obtain righteousness like the old testament prophets and people did under the law. Instead we are given this precious gift FREELY for all who chose to accept Jesus into their heart and life.
You have then been made:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”
Romans 5:1 (Amplified bible) I have been justified (Declared Righteous).
“Therefore, since we have been justified ( declared righteous and given right standing with God) through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
Jesus imparts His Spirit, The Holy Spirit to you as a gift when you accept Christ
Romans 8:9-10
“ But you are not living a life of flesh, you are living the life of the spirit, if the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you ( directs and controls you) But if anyone does not possess the HOLY SPIRIT of CHRIST, He is none of His( he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God)
But if CHRIST LIVES IN YOU( Then although) your natural body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, The spirit is ALIVE because of the RIGHTEOUSNESS (that He imputes to you)
Romans 8:15 says this. “For the spirit you have now received is not a spirit to slavery to put you once more into bondage to fear but you received the spirit of adoption by which we cry Abba Father” ( you are you Fathers child now) He loves you and has so many gifts to give you. This scripture really did set me free!
And having Christ’s spirit living in you, so you too are now righteous whether you feel it or not. You are Righteous no matter what you do or behave like as it is a legal position that you are now in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:30
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption”
This is one major important facts to understand when you first come to Christ. That no matter what you have done or how you see yourself or how others say you are. It will not change the TRUTH that you are now NEW and RIGHTEOUS and NO ONE can take that away from you. No one can say you have no right to stand in Gods presence. You do and God says that you being righteous can come boldly to him in Prayer and guess what? He is Faithful to answer you as well. AND HE WILL! Hebrews 4:16
The other type of righteousness is the “Righteousness by nature and character“.
Remember that no matter what YOU are already Righteous when you accept Christ into your life. This is Your legal position in HIM
However, As a Child of God you are expected to behave in a good and moral way. This is nothing out of the ordinary anyway as Gods children behave well anyway. It is foreign to them to behave badly towards others or the world. This is what we have seen regards good people in the world and bad people. We know that the bad ones are from their father the devil and what makes them so is their own free will of choice in behaving that way. A child of God automatically loves to walk in a righteous way. Praise God! Just a NOAH did back in the old testament see Genesis 6:9, Just as LOT did in the old testament 2 Peter 2:7-8
But for some people, who were not of righteous ( moral) Character naturally they may find this difficult to do. To behave in such a way. This is where Gods spirit enables the person to do so, this is where the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS is so important.
This is just part of being Gods child. You are NOT righteous in position because of your works but because of Faith In Christ. Jesus put you in right standing with almighty God and in doing so gave you a position as righteous.
But when you behave and conduct yourself right, you are Righteous in deed and character, being moralistically good and pure and holy and God loves this so much. Why? Because this is how HE is.
Lets see Hebrews 1:8-9 “But as to the Son, he says to Him Your throne O God is forever and ever and the sceptre ( ruling power or authority) of Your kingdom is a sceptre ( ruling power or authority) of righteousness
You have loved righteousness and you have hated lawlessness" ( injustice and iniquity)
Jesus spoke to many when He did the sermon on the mount. He talked about Food and clothing and such things and said this: Mathew 6:33
“ Seek first of all HIS KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and then all these things will be added onto you”
Two things we are to do FIRST, seek All His kingdom and all His righteousness, Then when we have done so Jesus said to us that all the other things will be added unto us.
What things?
All of Gods promises, God promises, Health, Prosperity in all things, all of them are yours for the taking once you are His child. You are now an heir to the throne and a joint heir with Christ Romans 8:17
One of the seven redemptive names of God is Jehovah Tzidkenu “ The Lord is Righteousness”
He adores people who behave in a righteous way as we shall see here:
Psalm 11:7 "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright."
Psalm 146:8-9 "The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down."
In Psalm 34, we see that He hears the cries of those who are righteous:
Psalm 34:15-17 "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry, The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles."
God upholds those who are righteous:
Psalm 37:17 "For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous."
Another definition of righteousness is:
Acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous ( PURE).
Morally right or justifiable and Righteous indignation. ( You can be righteous and still have indignation for wrong doing) just Like Jesus did in JOHN 2:13-17. Jesus went into the temple in Jerusalem. The temple is his Fathers House. Bit like a church today except back then they did not have the choice to be born again and have the Holy Spirit come live inside them as we can today and in doing so you then became the temple of the God Praise God one of His Gifts!. Instead back then people only had a building to go and be with God. The Holy House was there for the good of the people, for their benefit for the people to be with God and worship etc but instead of respecting this and Gods HOLY presence the people were buying and selling. Instead of using Gods Holy Temple with respect, reverence and holy they infiltrated it with worldly, lustful stuff. They were stealing from the poor doing dirty deals and such ( to make a profit from money, wheeling and dealing etc) Instead of using the place to worship and pray ( have a relationship with God) in his holy temple the people used it like a market with no respect and spreading evil rather than goodness. Jesus is and was the ultimate of Righteous and yet in his Righteousness He could not let the badness continue in his Father’s temple so he cleared them all out. He shooed them all out telling them why and showing them it was wrong and unacceptable. This did not make him unrighteous, This was Justified. Anything that is bad needs addressing. Its how is done that counts. Jesus showed in His holiness that although He is Holy and righteous if something was a insulting or disgraceful to God then it was address and dealt with. Justifiably!!! Righteous people are NOT push over’s just seekers of Truth, who walk in the light and truth and NO OTHER!
As we have just seen The righteousness of God is given to all believers once you have accepted Christ in to your life and heart, it was attained through Jesus keeping the law sinless. (Our sacrifice/attonement) It is given by the Grace of God ( un merited favour and mercy/love) and received by your own faith. It not doing Gods law, as they did in the old testament and failed it is a gift given when you accept Christ into your heart and life. You are in right standing LEGALLY with God. How good is that! That sorts the sin problem out once and for all, so even though Adam and Eve messed up through satan tempting them and doing it. We are redeemed, brought back, but brought back by the one and only one who could CHRIST JESUS.
Jesus paid the price once and for all as we see here in
2 Corinthians 5:21 “Him who knew no sin God made to become sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” ( Righteousness of God in Christ) This is the actual nature of GOD that He has given to us ( His spirit coming to LIVE in US)
God loves us and wanted to redeem ( bring us back to him and He did so through sending his Son to die for us as we have already seen in previous blogs) Jesus had never sinned and yet had the whole weight of mans sin put on him and He actually had to become sin itself in order to save us from the enemy satan’s camp! Aren’t you glad He did this? I am, Because Him doing so enables me to stand in my Fathers presence washed clean from sin that I did in this life ( being born into sin and through my own free will ) and now I am able to come boldly to him sinless, forgiven, righteous ( Gods nature abiding in me) instead of sinful and unclean as I was born thanks to Adam, Eve and my free will!
(When we hear of the word sin we think of something terrible when in actually fact we have been learning in this series that sin is the smaller things too like how you behave or think, your actions towards others, not walking in love holding a grudge etc.
This means you are able to stand in Gods presence without guilt or feeling inferior. This makes you pure once again, makes all of us pure and able to be with God just as He intended us to be all along. Satan lost as we have already seen in previous blogs; we have learnt already what his intentions are in John 10:10
Jesus said “ satan comes but to kill steal and destroy but I have come that you might have life and have it in all its fullness” (That’s all of Gods promises) God won! God Our Heavenly Father got His precious mankind back should they want to have a relationship with him. Should they want to receive the free gift of love. His LOVE.
Gods “free gift of righteousness” and LOVE is part of your Heavenly Fathers AGAPE ( unconditional) love for you! Yet people think He doesn’t care and is this God causing all the problems people face today. WRONG! He is the one who wants to help you sort them out and I can tell you from personal experience they go back GENERATIONS. Well before you were born! God is the all powerful God and He can and will sort this out for you if you will put your faith and trust in him; lean on him and not your own understanding. It takes faith and sometimes patience. But with God you cannot and WILL NOT FAIL!
When Jesus rose from the dead by Gods power, He was the first born from among the dead scripture says in Colossians 1:18, When we accept Christ we too are re born we have already seen this, Justice was served by God and He was Justified in spirit 1 Timothy 3:16 and He was made alive in spirit 1 Peter 3:18
In Colossians 1:13-22 Paul an apostle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ says
“ The father has delivered us out of the control and the dominion of darkness has transferred us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have our redemption through his blood which is the forgiveness of our sins"
Then in verse 21-22 it say “ and although you at one time were estranged and alienated from him and were hostile in attitude of mind in your wicked ways yet now has Christ reconciled you to God in the body of his flesh through death in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His Fathers presence”
|Once in Christ you are now Justified ( Righteous) and alive in spirit again! ( no Longer dormant/separated from God )
So when Jesus enters into your heart and life; You become a new creation just like He did, You become Justified and alive in Spirit also, What a gift!
2 Corinthians 5:17 “ Therefore if any person is in Christ he is a New creation; the old has passed away behold, the fresh and the new has come but these things are of GOD who reconciled us to himself through Christ.”
How do you become New? The only way is through CHRIST. There is no other way to salvation ( meaning to be saved/ set free/ bought back/)Your spirit is the part that has been renewed, It is re born/ re awakened to Gods spirit. We have seen this in previous blogs;
Scripture says that you are a NEW CREATION, that means old things are passed away.
That is your spirit, past and who you where before. (so even if a very bad person comes to Christ, Repents (meaning turns away from his/her badness) and asks for forgiveness it is done to them! ( this is Gods love). That which they did previously is GONE FOREVER ( any mistakes, badness, wrongdoing) and they have now become RIGHTEOUS in GODS sight! Their spirit that was once dormant is now a NEW SPIRIT (a New creation). Which basically means “ A New species of being that never existed before”. They are now made alive in spirit and are now justified in spirit like Christ was.
I can understand how that is confusing to some as you are still the same. You feel no different, act no different, look no different. What has happened is in the spirit realm; and unless you have been given that ability by God you are unable to see into this realm but it doesn’t alter the FACT it has happened! The Holy Spirit who now lives in you will confirm things to you in many different, beautiful and supernatural ways! After all He is the Spirit of TRUTH as we saw last week. ( reminder:- there is also a deceiver, the enemy who accommodates anyone wishing to delve into the spirit realm so PLEASE do not go down that route. You are wide open to the most horrific, satanic attack that could quite well destroy you and He is just waiting for someone to delve into it through private readings from so called Psychics and the like! The bible is full of stores of people oppressed and possessed by demons, Spirits of divination ( Foretelling Future events etc) This is the TRUTH and people have no CLUE about it. Some deny it exists, other brush it under the carpet and others embrace it some with caution and intrigue; while others with open arms. Do an exercise ; Count up on your telly the amount of stuff relating to the supernatural and I think you will be absolutely astounded at the amount that is on telly, so much of it is being feed to your children, the wrong stuff, witch craft spells and the like. It is real make no mistake!
The spirit realm is like this: Just as you can not see the wind, you can feel it and hear it. The spirit realm is REAL, you may not be able to see it, sense it or hear it however it is there and it is where you end up after this life!. We have already learnt that God is a spirit and he breathed His breath into Adam the first ever made human being. Genesis 1.
John a disciple of Jesus Christ was translated to the spirit realm as was many other different men of faith. (Search the bible with a concordance and see how many people went to the spirit realm or saw in the spirit realm it should be an interesting study) It is a place that is just as real as you and me. Many people are in for a shock and I have had many people call me all sorts because I have seen into the realm myself. It should be settled if the bible, the oldest book of all time talks about it but instead the world system today tries to hide the fact that it is a reality and makes out people who talk about such things are NUTS! Again a DECEPTION of the enemy! BIGTIME! People find it difficult to believe unless they actually see for themselves. Jesus said “blessed are they that believe and have not seen” in Mark 8:31
We Know that your spirit is eternal, (meaning it lives on) and when you accept Christ into your heart it has now become NEW. Re Born, Your body is still the same and so is your mind and your emotions. Scriptures says you are to renew these things by Gods word and in doing so it then will line up with Your NEW SPIRIT, God spirit residing in you. You have to feed your spirit man as you do you physical body and mind.
Its pointless in renewing yourself to the world and its junk, why? Its poison to your spirit instead the word of God is its food and just as a seed grows when fed and watered with food and light so to will your spirit grow and grow strong. Just as Jesus did. Scripture says “Jesus grew strong in the spirit from a child onwards” in Luke 2:40
Your old life style will want to hang on to you and want you to do as you did before but instead the NEW spirit inside of you draws you closer to God and what is the TRUTH. So when you accept Christ You are new Creation and You are now in right standing with GOD almighty; where as before accepting Christ into your life and heart you were separated from him as we have seen in previous blogs.
Having become a New creation in Christ Jesus you are now automatically Righteous you are now in legal position of right standing with Almighty God.
Romans 5:1 I have been justified.
"Therefore, since we have been justified ( made righteous/pure) through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
So we see that the gift of biblical Righteousness is so that man can once again fellowship with God. This has always been Gods primary Goal for mankind ever since satan stole all rights from mankind through deception with eve back in Genesis 3.
Another definition of righteousness is: that which is in accord with the nature and will of God.
God wants you to be free from sin guilt condemnation, the enemy wants guilt and condemnation to eat you up. (that’s if you are good character) as their are many who are of their own father the enemy who simply don’t care at all and have no guilt shame or feelings on the matter!(we have seen this in previous blogs).
You can walk free of guilt and shame no matter what you have done or will ever do. People who are now in Christ Jesus still miss it sometimes, they make mistakes. But God is faithful, and will help you sort this out. His nature is in you. It will direct you
Romans 8:1-4
“Therefore there is NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus ( the law of our NEW BEING) has freed me from the law of sin and death."
For God has done what the law could not do ( its power) being weakened by the Flesh( entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit).
Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin ( god) condemned sin in the flesh ( subdued overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice)
So that the righteous and just requirement of the law might be fully met in us.
Lets take a look at the scripture from 2 weeks ago referring to TRUTH and in conjunction with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “ Loves does not delight in evil but rejoices in TRUTH”
1 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”
Lets continue with the end of the scripture, which says All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for instruction in righteousness.
So we can see that scripture is given for your benefit in Righteousness. It is instruction in how to behave in a righteous way. But it also most importantly shows you that once you are in Christ you are given the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS which is part of who God is. “Jehovah Tzidkenu The Lord my Righteousness.”
For it is not by works that you are saved lets look at Ephesians 2:8-10
“ For it is by FREE grace that you are saved through faith and this is not of yourselves but it is a GIFT of GOD, Not by works ( what you have done for God) lest any man should boast.
For we are Gods own handiwork ( his workmanship) recreated in Christ Jesus ( born anew) that we may do good works which God predestined for us ( taking paths which He prepared ahead of time), that we should walk in them ( living a good life which He prearranged and made ready for us)
Who ever you are God has given a window of opportunity. 2000 years window that is drawing to a close very soon indeed. Just like Noah back in the old testament. God gave people 120 years while Noah (a preacher of righteousness) as scripture says built The Ark. He told all who listened to him about the flood as God told him. Do you know how many actually listened? There were 8 people in the Ark. 8 people who survived. 8 righteous people. Don’t make the same mistake as the people who died in the flood did. Receive Gods free grace into your life. You don’t know it all in fact you know very little indeed. The things of this earth and all going to pass away. They will be no more soon enough. The world is reliant on the economy and its governments systems, what will you do when this falls? And it will, look at the news now! The bible is very clear as are the signs happening all over the world right now in what will happen to this world and its people who are not in CHRIST.
God loves you, How many more times do you need to hear that? Accept Gods free gift of LOVE. His word says God wishes that NON should perish but all should come to know He has a plan and purpose for your life. He predestined this before you were born. It is no coincidence you are reading this now. Even if you are with Christ and you have fallen away a little . That’s ok. God is calling you back right now. He wants you to call to him and spend more time with him. He loves you. He has much for you do for him and his Kingdom.
Question is are you ready for the TRUTH? And are you ready to WALK in the TRUTH?
God bless you this fine weekend. Be blessed. We will finish of the series of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 next week.
God loves you, Jesus Loves you, The Truth shall set you Free.
Love Lisa
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheShekinahLove
1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God".
This week we will have a little look at what Righteousness means. This is in continuation of last weeks blog. Once we have completed this we will then go on to finish 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and the series on Receive Gods free gift of LOVE! It has been important in looking at Truth and what this is and now taking a look at RIGHTEOUSNESS. Which is this weeks subject.
In the Old Covenant, righteousness had to be attained through keeping the law perfectly see Deuteronomy 6:25. From the amplified bible.
“ And it will be accounted as righteousness ( conformity to Gods will in word, thought and action) for us if we are watchful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us”
It was the righteousness of man because it was to be attained through man’s effort. No one succeeded in the near 2000 years. It was the blood of animals that covered the sins of men until Christ came.
Approximately 600 years before our Savoir (Jesus) was born in Bethlehem, Jeremiah the prophet predicted in Jeremiah 23:5-6
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King ( Jesus) shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS".
In the New Covenant, which is the covenant we are in now with Christ. That is anyone who has accepted Him as their Lord and savour. It is a covenant of LOVE, HIS righteousness is included in this gift of love look at Romans 5:17 ( amplified bible)
“ For if because of one mans trespass (Adams lapse, offence) death reigned through that one ( through satan gaining control), How much more surely will those who receive God’s over-flowing grace ( unmerited favour) and the free gift of righteousness ( putting them into right standing with himself) reign as kings in life through the one man Jesus Christ ( the Messiah , The Anointed ).
Righteousness ( pureness) is a precious and wonderful Gift just like the gift of love God gave us, Just like the gift of Salvation from eternal death and separation from God, just like the Holy Spirit and His gifts as we have seen in previous blogs.
Jesus said in Mathew 5:6 “ Blessed, fortunate, happy, and spiritually prosperous ( in state in which the born again child of GOD enjoys HIS favour and salvation) are those who hunger or thirst for righteousness ( uprightness and right standing with God) for they shall be completely satisfied.”
Righteousness is more than just a gift it is for our own benefit to be blessed happy spiritually prosperous, to be completely satisfied! Thank you LORD!
It is not something that we can earn. We are no longer in the old covenant, we are in the New covenant a Covenant of LOVE! We are given the righteousness of God because Jesus kept the law and gave us His righteousness see Romans 10:3-4 and Phil 3:9. It is given by grace ( un merited favour) and received by faith.
What is Righteousness?
English Dictionary definition is:
Characterized by uprightness or morality ( good Character and Morals) : a righteous observance of the law ( observing and upholding what is right in accordance with Gods will).
There are two types of Righteousness; Biblical Righteousness as in your position in Christ. Righteousness is attained by faith in Christ. It is probably one of the most important revelations you can have knowing who you are once you have accepted Christ. Lets take a look at
Romans 3:20-25
“ For no person will be justified ( Made righteous, acquitted) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law ( old covenant)
For (the real function of) the law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin ( Not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance faith and holy character).
But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the law, although it attested by the law and the prophets.
Namely the righteousness of God which comes from believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ ( the messiah) ( and it is meant) for all who believe. For there is no distinction.
Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honour and glory which God bestows and receives.
All are Justified made right and in right standing with God freely and gratuitously by his Grace ( his unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus.
Whom God put forward ( before the eyes of all) as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood ( cleansing and life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation to be received through FAITH. This was to show Gods righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment."
This passage of scripture written by the Holy Spirit through Paul the apostle is probably one of the most important scripture passages you can read. It shows you exactly what Righteousness was obtained by and that was Christ. And anyone who believe in Him through FAITH is then made righteous and free from separation from God and in right standing with him again. SIN is GONE FOREVER! Praise His HOLY NAME!
We do not have to obtain righteousness like the old testament prophets and people did under the law. Instead we are given this precious gift FREELY for all who chose to accept Jesus into their heart and life.
You have then been made:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”
Romans 5:1 (Amplified bible) I have been justified (Declared Righteous).
“Therefore, since we have been justified ( declared righteous and given right standing with God) through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
Jesus imparts His Spirit, The Holy Spirit to you as a gift when you accept Christ
Romans 8:9-10
“ But you are not living a life of flesh, you are living the life of the spirit, if the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you ( directs and controls you) But if anyone does not possess the HOLY SPIRIT of CHRIST, He is none of His( he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God)
But if CHRIST LIVES IN YOU( Then although) your natural body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, The spirit is ALIVE because of the RIGHTEOUSNESS (that He imputes to you)
Romans 8:15 says this. “For the spirit you have now received is not a spirit to slavery to put you once more into bondage to fear but you received the spirit of adoption by which we cry Abba Father” ( you are you Fathers child now) He loves you and has so many gifts to give you. This scripture really did set me free!
And having Christ’s spirit living in you, so you too are now righteous whether you feel it or not. You are Righteous no matter what you do or behave like as it is a legal position that you are now in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:30
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption”
This is one major important facts to understand when you first come to Christ. That no matter what you have done or how you see yourself or how others say you are. It will not change the TRUTH that you are now NEW and RIGHTEOUS and NO ONE can take that away from you. No one can say you have no right to stand in Gods presence. You do and God says that you being righteous can come boldly to him in Prayer and guess what? He is Faithful to answer you as well. AND HE WILL! Hebrews 4:16
The other type of righteousness is the “Righteousness by nature and character“.
Remember that no matter what YOU are already Righteous when you accept Christ into your life. This is Your legal position in HIM
However, As a Child of God you are expected to behave in a good and moral way. This is nothing out of the ordinary anyway as Gods children behave well anyway. It is foreign to them to behave badly towards others or the world. This is what we have seen regards good people in the world and bad people. We know that the bad ones are from their father the devil and what makes them so is their own free will of choice in behaving that way. A child of God automatically loves to walk in a righteous way. Praise God! Just a NOAH did back in the old testament see Genesis 6:9, Just as LOT did in the old testament 2 Peter 2:7-8
But for some people, who were not of righteous ( moral) Character naturally they may find this difficult to do. To behave in such a way. This is where Gods spirit enables the person to do so, this is where the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS is so important.
This is just part of being Gods child. You are NOT righteous in position because of your works but because of Faith In Christ. Jesus put you in right standing with almighty God and in doing so gave you a position as righteous.
But when you behave and conduct yourself right, you are Righteous in deed and character, being moralistically good and pure and holy and God loves this so much. Why? Because this is how HE is.
Lets see Hebrews 1:8-9 “But as to the Son, he says to Him Your throne O God is forever and ever and the sceptre ( ruling power or authority) of Your kingdom is a sceptre ( ruling power or authority) of righteousness
You have loved righteousness and you have hated lawlessness" ( injustice and iniquity)
Jesus spoke to many when He did the sermon on the mount. He talked about Food and clothing and such things and said this: Mathew 6:33
“ Seek first of all HIS KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and then all these things will be added onto you”
Two things we are to do FIRST, seek All His kingdom and all His righteousness, Then when we have done so Jesus said to us that all the other things will be added unto us.
What things?
All of Gods promises, God promises, Health, Prosperity in all things, all of them are yours for the taking once you are His child. You are now an heir to the throne and a joint heir with Christ Romans 8:17
One of the seven redemptive names of God is Jehovah Tzidkenu “ The Lord is Righteousness”
He adores people who behave in a righteous way as we shall see here:
Psalm 11:7 "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright."
Psalm 146:8-9 "The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down."
In Psalm 34, we see that He hears the cries of those who are righteous:
Psalm 34:15-17 "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry, The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles."
God upholds those who are righteous:
Psalm 37:17 "For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous."
Another definition of righteousness is:
Acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous ( PURE).
Morally right or justifiable and Righteous indignation. ( You can be righteous and still have indignation for wrong doing) just Like Jesus did in JOHN 2:13-17. Jesus went into the temple in Jerusalem. The temple is his Fathers House. Bit like a church today except back then they did not have the choice to be born again and have the Holy Spirit come live inside them as we can today and in doing so you then became the temple of the God Praise God one of His Gifts!. Instead back then people only had a building to go and be with God. The Holy House was there for the good of the people, for their benefit for the people to be with God and worship etc but instead of respecting this and Gods HOLY presence the people were buying and selling. Instead of using Gods Holy Temple with respect, reverence and holy they infiltrated it with worldly, lustful stuff. They were stealing from the poor doing dirty deals and such ( to make a profit from money, wheeling and dealing etc) Instead of using the place to worship and pray ( have a relationship with God) in his holy temple the people used it like a market with no respect and spreading evil rather than goodness. Jesus is and was the ultimate of Righteous and yet in his Righteousness He could not let the badness continue in his Father’s temple so he cleared them all out. He shooed them all out telling them why and showing them it was wrong and unacceptable. This did not make him unrighteous, This was Justified. Anything that is bad needs addressing. Its how is done that counts. Jesus showed in His holiness that although He is Holy and righteous if something was a insulting or disgraceful to God then it was address and dealt with. Justifiably!!! Righteous people are NOT push over’s just seekers of Truth, who walk in the light and truth and NO OTHER!
As we have just seen The righteousness of God is given to all believers once you have accepted Christ in to your life and heart, it was attained through Jesus keeping the law sinless. (Our sacrifice/attonement) It is given by the Grace of God ( un merited favour and mercy/love) and received by your own faith. It not doing Gods law, as they did in the old testament and failed it is a gift given when you accept Christ into your heart and life. You are in right standing LEGALLY with God. How good is that! That sorts the sin problem out once and for all, so even though Adam and Eve messed up through satan tempting them and doing it. We are redeemed, brought back, but brought back by the one and only one who could CHRIST JESUS.
Jesus paid the price once and for all as we see here in
2 Corinthians 5:21 “Him who knew no sin God made to become sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” ( Righteousness of God in Christ) This is the actual nature of GOD that He has given to us ( His spirit coming to LIVE in US)
God loves us and wanted to redeem ( bring us back to him and He did so through sending his Son to die for us as we have already seen in previous blogs) Jesus had never sinned and yet had the whole weight of mans sin put on him and He actually had to become sin itself in order to save us from the enemy satan’s camp! Aren’t you glad He did this? I am, Because Him doing so enables me to stand in my Fathers presence washed clean from sin that I did in this life ( being born into sin and through my own free will ) and now I am able to come boldly to him sinless, forgiven, righteous ( Gods nature abiding in me) instead of sinful and unclean as I was born thanks to Adam, Eve and my free will!
(When we hear of the word sin we think of something terrible when in actually fact we have been learning in this series that sin is the smaller things too like how you behave or think, your actions towards others, not walking in love holding a grudge etc.
This means you are able to stand in Gods presence without guilt or feeling inferior. This makes you pure once again, makes all of us pure and able to be with God just as He intended us to be all along. Satan lost as we have already seen in previous blogs; we have learnt already what his intentions are in John 10:10
Jesus said “ satan comes but to kill steal and destroy but I have come that you might have life and have it in all its fullness” (That’s all of Gods promises) God won! God Our Heavenly Father got His precious mankind back should they want to have a relationship with him. Should they want to receive the free gift of love. His LOVE.
Gods “free gift of righteousness” and LOVE is part of your Heavenly Fathers AGAPE ( unconditional) love for you! Yet people think He doesn’t care and is this God causing all the problems people face today. WRONG! He is the one who wants to help you sort them out and I can tell you from personal experience they go back GENERATIONS. Well before you were born! God is the all powerful God and He can and will sort this out for you if you will put your faith and trust in him; lean on him and not your own understanding. It takes faith and sometimes patience. But with God you cannot and WILL NOT FAIL!
When Jesus rose from the dead by Gods power, He was the first born from among the dead scripture says in Colossians 1:18, When we accept Christ we too are re born we have already seen this, Justice was served by God and He was Justified in spirit 1 Timothy 3:16 and He was made alive in spirit 1 Peter 3:18
In Colossians 1:13-22 Paul an apostle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ says
“ The father has delivered us out of the control and the dominion of darkness has transferred us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have our redemption through his blood which is the forgiveness of our sins"
Then in verse 21-22 it say “ and although you at one time were estranged and alienated from him and were hostile in attitude of mind in your wicked ways yet now has Christ reconciled you to God in the body of his flesh through death in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His Fathers presence”
|Once in Christ you are now Justified ( Righteous) and alive in spirit again! ( no Longer dormant/separated from God )
So when Jesus enters into your heart and life; You become a new creation just like He did, You become Justified and alive in Spirit also, What a gift!
2 Corinthians 5:17 “ Therefore if any person is in Christ he is a New creation; the old has passed away behold, the fresh and the new has come but these things are of GOD who reconciled us to himself through Christ.”
How do you become New? The only way is through CHRIST. There is no other way to salvation ( meaning to be saved/ set free/ bought back/)Your spirit is the part that has been renewed, It is re born/ re awakened to Gods spirit. We have seen this in previous blogs;
Scripture says that you are a NEW CREATION, that means old things are passed away.
That is your spirit, past and who you where before. (so even if a very bad person comes to Christ, Repents (meaning turns away from his/her badness) and asks for forgiveness it is done to them! ( this is Gods love). That which they did previously is GONE FOREVER ( any mistakes, badness, wrongdoing) and they have now become RIGHTEOUS in GODS sight! Their spirit that was once dormant is now a NEW SPIRIT (a New creation). Which basically means “ A New species of being that never existed before”. They are now made alive in spirit and are now justified in spirit like Christ was.
I can understand how that is confusing to some as you are still the same. You feel no different, act no different, look no different. What has happened is in the spirit realm; and unless you have been given that ability by God you are unable to see into this realm but it doesn’t alter the FACT it has happened! The Holy Spirit who now lives in you will confirm things to you in many different, beautiful and supernatural ways! After all He is the Spirit of TRUTH as we saw last week. ( reminder:- there is also a deceiver, the enemy who accommodates anyone wishing to delve into the spirit realm so PLEASE do not go down that route. You are wide open to the most horrific, satanic attack that could quite well destroy you and He is just waiting for someone to delve into it through private readings from so called Psychics and the like! The bible is full of stores of people oppressed and possessed by demons, Spirits of divination ( Foretelling Future events etc) This is the TRUTH and people have no CLUE about it. Some deny it exists, other brush it under the carpet and others embrace it some with caution and intrigue; while others with open arms. Do an exercise ; Count up on your telly the amount of stuff relating to the supernatural and I think you will be absolutely astounded at the amount that is on telly, so much of it is being feed to your children, the wrong stuff, witch craft spells and the like. It is real make no mistake!
The spirit realm is like this: Just as you can not see the wind, you can feel it and hear it. The spirit realm is REAL, you may not be able to see it, sense it or hear it however it is there and it is where you end up after this life!. We have already learnt that God is a spirit and he breathed His breath into Adam the first ever made human being. Genesis 1.
John a disciple of Jesus Christ was translated to the spirit realm as was many other different men of faith. (Search the bible with a concordance and see how many people went to the spirit realm or saw in the spirit realm it should be an interesting study) It is a place that is just as real as you and me. Many people are in for a shock and I have had many people call me all sorts because I have seen into the realm myself. It should be settled if the bible, the oldest book of all time talks about it but instead the world system today tries to hide the fact that it is a reality and makes out people who talk about such things are NUTS! Again a DECEPTION of the enemy! BIGTIME! People find it difficult to believe unless they actually see for themselves. Jesus said “blessed are they that believe and have not seen” in Mark 8:31
We Know that your spirit is eternal, (meaning it lives on) and when you accept Christ into your heart it has now become NEW. Re Born, Your body is still the same and so is your mind and your emotions. Scriptures says you are to renew these things by Gods word and in doing so it then will line up with Your NEW SPIRIT, God spirit residing in you. You have to feed your spirit man as you do you physical body and mind.
Its pointless in renewing yourself to the world and its junk, why? Its poison to your spirit instead the word of God is its food and just as a seed grows when fed and watered with food and light so to will your spirit grow and grow strong. Just as Jesus did. Scripture says “Jesus grew strong in the spirit from a child onwards” in Luke 2:40
Your old life style will want to hang on to you and want you to do as you did before but instead the NEW spirit inside of you draws you closer to God and what is the TRUTH. So when you accept Christ You are new Creation and You are now in right standing with GOD almighty; where as before accepting Christ into your life and heart you were separated from him as we have seen in previous blogs.
Having become a New creation in Christ Jesus you are now automatically Righteous you are now in legal position of right standing with Almighty God.
Romans 5:1 I have been justified.
"Therefore, since we have been justified ( made righteous/pure) through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
So we see that the gift of biblical Righteousness is so that man can once again fellowship with God. This has always been Gods primary Goal for mankind ever since satan stole all rights from mankind through deception with eve back in Genesis 3.
Another definition of righteousness is: that which is in accord with the nature and will of God.
God wants you to be free from sin guilt condemnation, the enemy wants guilt and condemnation to eat you up. (that’s if you are good character) as their are many who are of their own father the enemy who simply don’t care at all and have no guilt shame or feelings on the matter!(we have seen this in previous blogs).
You can walk free of guilt and shame no matter what you have done or will ever do. People who are now in Christ Jesus still miss it sometimes, they make mistakes. But God is faithful, and will help you sort this out. His nature is in you. It will direct you
Romans 8:1-4
“Therefore there is NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus ( the law of our NEW BEING) has freed me from the law of sin and death."
For God has done what the law could not do ( its power) being weakened by the Flesh( entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit).
Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin ( god) condemned sin in the flesh ( subdued overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice)
So that the righteous and just requirement of the law might be fully met in us.
Lets take a look at the scripture from 2 weeks ago referring to TRUTH and in conjunction with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “ Loves does not delight in evil but rejoices in TRUTH”
1 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”
Lets continue with the end of the scripture, which says All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for instruction in righteousness.
So we can see that scripture is given for your benefit in Righteousness. It is instruction in how to behave in a righteous way. But it also most importantly shows you that once you are in Christ you are given the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS which is part of who God is. “Jehovah Tzidkenu The Lord my Righteousness.”
For it is not by works that you are saved lets look at Ephesians 2:8-10
“ For it is by FREE grace that you are saved through faith and this is not of yourselves but it is a GIFT of GOD, Not by works ( what you have done for God) lest any man should boast.
For we are Gods own handiwork ( his workmanship) recreated in Christ Jesus ( born anew) that we may do good works which God predestined for us ( taking paths which He prepared ahead of time), that we should walk in them ( living a good life which He prearranged and made ready for us)
Who ever you are God has given a window of opportunity. 2000 years window that is drawing to a close very soon indeed. Just like Noah back in the old testament. God gave people 120 years while Noah (a preacher of righteousness) as scripture says built The Ark. He told all who listened to him about the flood as God told him. Do you know how many actually listened? There were 8 people in the Ark. 8 people who survived. 8 righteous people. Don’t make the same mistake as the people who died in the flood did. Receive Gods free grace into your life. You don’t know it all in fact you know very little indeed. The things of this earth and all going to pass away. They will be no more soon enough. The world is reliant on the economy and its governments systems, what will you do when this falls? And it will, look at the news now! The bible is very clear as are the signs happening all over the world right now in what will happen to this world and its people who are not in CHRIST.
God loves you, How many more times do you need to hear that? Accept Gods free gift of LOVE. His word says God wishes that NON should perish but all should come to know He has a plan and purpose for your life. He predestined this before you were born. It is no coincidence you are reading this now. Even if you are with Christ and you have fallen away a little . That’s ok. God is calling you back right now. He wants you to call to him and spend more time with him. He loves you. He has much for you do for him and his Kingdom.
Question is are you ready for the TRUTH? And are you ready to WALK in the TRUTH?
God bless you this fine weekend. Be blessed. We will finish of the series of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 next week.
God loves you, Jesus Loves you, The Truth shall set you Free.
Love Lisa
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheShekinahLove
1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God".
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