Righteousness - Part 1

Righteousness

42:55 - Definition - “Righteousness” - from Strong’s - “just” (as in: to be just) - the quality of being right. Broadly the word suggests conformity to the revealed will of God in every aspect.

43:20 - So I’m standing here in the will of God because Jesus died and I’ve said yes. I’m right because He said so. I’m not right because I said so. I’m right because He said so. And I just said, OK! That’s so simple. ➡ And I’m going to prove that over and over scripturally.

43:45 - The quality of being right - apart from your mess ups and failures. You are going to find that sin never knocked God off the throne. You’re going to find that He never lost His peace and joy. He remains the same.

44:20 - Love doesn’t get hurt. When God hurts He hurts FOR you. You can’t hurt God like we get hurt by others. He can be grieved for you because He is missing your companionship. You’re missing the great things He has set in place for your life. God doesn’t get hurt BY you.

45:25 - The trap of a works mentality - We are so used to earning everything, that it makes it hard when someone just wants to bless you. We’re trapped by a works mentality. We don’t deserve what God has done for us. But we have to receive it.

46:00 - Receive His first love - When you realize the kind of love He has for you it changes you. All you want to do is talk about Him.

Genesis 3 - Righteousness from the Beginning - Creation & The Fall

46:15 - Genesis...

46:20 - God wasn’t traumatized by our sin - Grace abounded much more - God was not moved by sin. God didn’t fall off the throne and have a heart attack. In fact in Rom 5 the Bible says that where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. You can’t outdo God. The more lost a person is, the more the love of God is flowing. God is not getting repulsed, He’s releasing love. Even when we are in the gutter, God’s love is wanting to pick up and wash off and set free.

47:10 - Sin draws out of God who God really is. He crushes sin to save what sin is trying to crush.

47:20 - Preaching to lift you up.

48:05 - Adam & Eve - Created - Genesis 3 - God created man in His own image. He breathed into man and raised him up out of the dust.

48:30 - Common objection - Why did God do all of this in the first place if He knew they would just fall and mess it up? Little finite minds trying to find problems with Almighty God. God knows what He’s doing.

48:45 - Satan falls. Tried to rise above God.

49:25 - God will reveal His wisdom through the church - God didn’t forbid temptation. Ephesians 3:10 explains it like this that God would manifest His wisdom to the powers and principalities through the church.

49:40 - He’s looking for a people that won’t eat the fruit. He’s looking for a people that won’t believe the lie. He’s looking for a people to prove - to show as right - the judgement of God - the eternal character of who He is - that He can redeem what is fallen - that His love is unchanging and unfailing. God can deliver us from the muck and mire. He can take the slave ring out.

50:25 - He’s going to reveal His manifest wisdom to the powers of darkness - “Take that!” Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.

50:45 - Adam & Eve - The fall - God gave them one commandment.

51:00 - Back to innocence - Man was created completely innocent. Stripped away through sin. God is taking us back to innocence. Righteousness will heal you, deliver you, bring strength. It’s the power of God for salvation to all that believe.

➡ 51:35 - Righteousness is revealed in the gospel. Why are we having this talk about righteousness this morning? If we don’t see the righteousness, we won’t know what we are believing in and we won’t receive the grace to be transformed.

The Futility of a Works Mentality

51:45 - Satan wants you in a works mentality - Rather than just knowing who you are - And what satan is after is your identity. He doesn’t want you to know that you are a son or a daughter. He wants you to prove that you are a son or a daughter. He wants you to do something. But you are a son or daughter by faith. You’re saved by grace.

52:15 - Temptation of Christ - Stone / bread - Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. At His baptism - “This is My beloved Son.” Jesus was saying to the devil, I don’t have to do a thing. I’m a Son because God said I’m a Son.

53:00 - You are a son because because He said you’re a son. Ok - I’m a son. Accept it.

53:10 - Satan is after your identity. He’s trying to get you to prove that you are holy, to prove that you’re committed, to prove all of these things - to reveal that you’re weak - to reveal that you can’t - so that he can condemn you and get you to throw away your confidence, your hope and your faith.

53:30 - No flesh will glory in the presence of God so why are we trying to do this in the flesh?

53:40 - Humility receives - Pride resists - Humility will wear righteousness. Pride will resist righteousness because you are still trying to be something in and of your own strength. You’re still trying to do something to prove what you are.

The Fruitfulness of a Secure Identity

54:15 - Foreman calls Dan (cont.) - I’ve been watching your life and I don’t understand. I see what your co-workers are doing to you because of your faith but you never change. If they did that to me I be ready to choke someone. I know you’re going to tell me it’s Jesus but I need to understand. “Have you got a minute?” He was watching me.

55:10 - Secure identity - There was something about my identity that was not determined by the way life was going.

55:30 - Every day at work I was looking through the single eye of God. You couldn’t touch me. Jesus had a hold of me in identity.

55:45 - Affirmation - It’s only healthy when you don’t need it. Motivation for serving - for God and His glory.

56:20 - Twisted motives for serving - to receive. You are doing it for you. Righteousness won’t allow you to go there. I’m already affirmed.

The Fall (cont.)

57:10 - Adam & Eve - The fall - Adam and Eve ate from the tree. God said don’t eat from it. Satan takes what God says and starts tempting with it. Voice of suggestion. Twists God’s word. Satan’s a liar, deceiver.

58:20 - Be careful if someone portrays God apart from His word. Defining God through their experiences. You know God through His word.

59:20 - Righteous is a must for intimacy - Without righteousness your faith life will be crippled. You won’t know whether God is hearing you or not. When you know that you are righteous, you know that God is listening. You know that God is in you and speaking through you. You have confidence before God.

59:40 - Confidence before God.

Running & Hiding from God

59:55 - Adam & Eve - Run & hide because of sin-consciousness - The first time that you see righteousness is in Gen. 3. They ate from the tree and their eyes were opened. Knowledge of good and evil was upon their souls. Now God comes. They ran and hid because of sin-consciousness.

1:00:30 - Run & hide - Even today - This happens even today when God comes into a service. Some people want to run and hide. Not ready to face Him because we don’t understand Him. We’ve got the wrong perception of God.

1:01:00 - The joy of a clear conscience - Interceding. Purify us. Nothing hidden. The greatest joy is knowing that you’re righteous - going to bed with a clear conscience before God. Not everybody can do that because we are not receiving the righteousness of God.

1:02:20 - Hidden sin. Repent. Come out of denial. Faith gets real with God. Purity will get real with God. You might not need to share it with the whole church. Get alone with God.

The Fall (cont.)

1:03:35 - Adam & Eve - Self-justifying response - God called to Adam. Where are you? God knew where Adam was but He want to give Adam the chance to come out. Wanted him to say, “I’m here and I really messed up bad.” Instead, “It was the woman you gave me…” Sin causes you to center around you - to protect you. He was saying to God, “If you hadn’t given me the woman, I wouldn’t have eaten the tree.”

1:04:35 - Adam & Eve - God’s response - Because you heeded the voice of your wife instead of me… God pronounced the harvest of their sin.

1:04:45 - God prophesies. Seed. You will bruise his heel - The best you’ll do to Him is batter His flesh. But He will crush your head - crush your authority - your highest place of power.

1:05:25 - [Recording skips forward a little…]

1:06:15 - He talks to the man. Talks to the woman.

Removing Sin-consciousness

1:06:20 - v.21 - Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. - This stuff is in the Bible for a reason. The Lord made tunics of skin and clothed them. God is prophetically demonstrating righteousness to come through His Son. They were wearing fig leaves after sin. They had to try to cover up. Sin tries to hide and cover up. The fig leaves would have reminded them of sin - made them sin-conscious.

1:07:30 - I can’t have them sin-conscious. I’ll give them clothes. I’ll make them with my own hands. Of course God shed blood to make those animal skins. So there is atonement. ➡ But I want you to see the righteous judgement of God.

1:07:45 - I’ll put these skins on them so that every time they look down they’ll see these skins and instead of remembering the day they sinned they’ll remember the day that I came and was still a Father. They will remember the day I forgave them - the day I said there was still a future - that nothing is over - I’m still God.

1:08:10 - God has been righteous from the beginning (Genesis). Sin has not changed God - righteousness right from the beginning. You don’t have to go far in the Bible before you run into the righteous judgement of God - the way He sees believers as righteous.

Reject Sin-Consciousness -

Embrace Righteousness-Consciousness

1:08:20 - He doesn’t want you wearing sin and sin-consciousness.

1:08:30 - Accepting sinner identity - you set yourself up to keep sinning. You expect to sin. It’s who I am. “We’re never going to be perfect.” You’re saying that the gospel is not strong enough to change us - to deliver us. Allowing ourselves to miss the mark. We expect to fail. I am wearied by that mentality.

1:09:30 - I’m not damned to sin. I’m wearing a robe of righteousness. I am a son of God. Righteous-consciousness destroys sin-consciousness and the fruit of righteousness is holiness - Rom. 6. The birthing forth of righteousness is holiness.

1:09:55 - The more that I am confessing to be right with God, the more that i’m receiving His love, the more that I’m convicted to live by His Spirit. His grace transforms me and gives me the ability to rise above the flesh and be led by the Spirit. And those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.

1:10:25 - Gen. 3 - God didn’t let His kids stay in sin-consciousness.

1:10:30 - Wake up every day seeing yourself in that robe of righteousness. You’ll rejoice. Thank You that you made me right.

1:10:50 - Circumstances may not be going well but what does that have to do with who you are in His sight? You are letting things other than truth dominate your identity. But He has said that you are right with Me.

Ps. 85 - No Turning Back

1:11:10 - Ps 85:6-8… Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. - The gospel gives you the right to be changed. It sanctifies you.

1:11:45 - 1 Cor. 1:30 - But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: - Wisdom - Jesus has become the wisdom of God for us. I look at my life through Jesus Christ - that’s the wisdom of God.

1:12:20 - Don’t let anybody cheat you out of this.

1:13:00 - Sanctification - Nothing in the middle - In the beginning… Let there be light - separated the light from darkness. Nothing in the middle - that’s sanctification. You can’t live in the light and in the dark - that’s the grey zone.

1:14:00 - Too many Christians are greyed out. They have no power, no joy, no impact.

1:14:35 - Redemption - brought back to original value. Back in the garden before they ate from the tree. As if you never sinned.

1:15:10 - Sin after salvation - Not looking for a way to sin and get away with it. What to do if you slip up - example - 1 John 1. That's how you handle it when you mess up.

1:15:55 - But you get into trouble when you think about it and mess up any way. Then you put your conscience through hell. Where do you find repentance? You violated your purity. Now you are in a war with your conscience. Abstain from evil. It’s a trap. It’s a snake in the tree of your righteousness - saying, "It's OK. God knows. God will forgive you. God loves you any way." It's a trap.

1:17:00 - Trapped in sin & Resisting help. Trying to help them get free. “I’m fine the way I am. Hey, God still love me.” You're right. He does. But look what it’s doing to you. And that’s what God cares about. He wants to make you into who He made you to be.

1:17:36 - Ps. 85 v.6b - let them not turn again to folly. - Why? Because we're sanctified. We're Christians now. It's not a small thing to say that I'm a Christian. It's not a life insurance kind of thing.

1:17:45 - Motives in becoming a Christian - Salvation as a fire insurance policy. Selfish motive. Not just so that you can go to heaven and avoid hell. You pray it so that you can become like Jesus and impact your world - because you’ve been separated from God and you want to get right with God. Otherwise it’s selfish.

1:18:05 - You don’t come to God just because your life is a wreck and you want Him to answer your prayer. Or when a selfish prayer is not answered you’ll get frustrated and give up.