Monday, September 17, 2012

In Jesus' Name - Is All Righteousness (Part 3 of 3)

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU. The Lord Is Righteousness.
 
 
In the tabernacle in the wilderness near Mt. Sinai was a room
called The Holy of Holies and in this room was a golden box with a golden lid
which had two golden angels atop it.
This box and lid are known to us as The Ark of The Covenant and The Mercy Seat.
The Ark is made of acacia wood and overlaid inside and out with solid gold.
The Mercy Seat is created from one solid sheet of gold; both the lid and the angels
were hammered into shape from one sheet of gold. It was not broken in two, nor
were the angels created separately and set atop: it was solid gold.
 
Inside the Ark were three items: the pot of manna,
Aaron's rod, and the Ten Commandments
written by the finger of God into two tablets of stone.
Each item represented a period of time
in which God's people were disobedient and sinned against Him.
The manna was a symbol of when they rejected God's provision.
Aaron's rod was a symbol for when they rejected God's authority.
Tablets of stone, with
ten commandments emblazoned across them by God's finger,
symbolized their rejection of God's right standards for living.
 
 

      Why do you think that God would allow or even want these 3 items in the Ark? After all, they represented events in which God's people had deliberately sinned against God's Word. And not just God's written Word either, they had sinned against God's spoken Word, also. Exodus 10:23-28 God would speak to Moses and Moses would relay God's Word to God's people, with the expectation that they would listen to Him, for they had said that they would. But, again, they did not. The people were told to gather the manna for six days, and on the sixth day they could gather enough for two days and it wouldn't rot, which it did not. And some obeyed.
     But some went out on the seventh day and there was no provision from God, for this was God's day to rest. The seventh day of the week is the day which God had ordained as a day of rest. And to instill this command within His people, He made no provision for them. Their disobedience was made apparent when they left their homes and tried to collect the manna that had not fallen that day. We are no better.
     God's day of rest was created for God by God Himself as a Day of Rest. Though God does not grow weary, people do. And He set the seventh day aside for Himself and as an example to all people that even they need to rest in God's Presence at least every seven days. This is why the sabbath day is holy: for God is Present: JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. "Be still and know that IAM GOD: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10. "For thus sayeth The Lord GOD, The Holy One of Israel; "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and you would not....And therefore will The Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for The Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are they that wait for The Lord." Isaiah 30: 15, 18.
     "Until The Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. .. And the work of Righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And My people shall dwell in a peaeable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. .." Isaiah 32:15, 17-18 In Jesus' Name is ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. The seventh day of the week was set apart from the other six days to rest in God, to be quiet before The Lord. Resting in The Lord brings us to a place of repentance and salvation in Him. Waiting on The Lord reminds us to be patient and thoughtful  in our ways before God. Confidence is Faith; it is the knowledge that what has been said is so and will be. Waiting on God and having Faith in His Word is our strength. And it is this strength that enables us to move forward when we work for The Lord.
     But God's people would not. Therefore, as stated in Isaiah 30:18 The Lord waits for us to return to Him, that we may receive His grace, praise His holy Name, receive His mercy and then be judged. Those who wait on God are blessed. As God's called people, we are blessed. For we wait on the return of His Son, Jesus Christ. Who, in the twinkling of an eye, will return and take His people home with Him. But there was a time when we, too, did not listen. And I am thankful, very thankful, that I live in a time of grace. For had I lived back in the day of Moses, I would surely have been stoned for my wicked ways. But now, I live in the Age of Grace; for Christ was crucified for my sins. And for your sins.


    
     Every body sins. "For ALL HAVE SINNED and COME SHORT of the glory of GOD." Romans 3:23. Nobody is perfect. Nobody is good enough. Nobody is worthy under their own glory. Nobody can buy or purchase their entrance into the glory of GOD. Nobody means me. Nobody means you. It does not say "Some", nor does it says "Most": God's Word tells us that ALL have sinned.
     "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. How 'bout that? How many people do you know would be willing to take the place of a murderous lying thief? Would you? Would you die for the worst sinner you can think of? Jesus did. He died for us. All of us.
     Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Because sin is in this world, it is also in us. But Jesus died for us, so we wouldn't have to die in our sins. We just have to believe that this is true. We didn't see it happen and we have yet to see Jesus face to face; that's why it's called 'faith'. Hebrews 11:1 "FAITH is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED FOR, the EVIDENCE of things not seen." See? Faith has substance, it has matter, therefore faith matters. And it doesn't take much faith to believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and that God's Word is faithful and true. It takes more faith to move mountains than it does to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Lord of our lives and the Savior of our souls. "For He (GOD) has made Him (JESUS) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the Righteousness of GOD in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.
    Romans 10:9-11 "If you confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your hearts that GOD has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, we believe unto Righteousness; and with our mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed." Whosoever means me. John 3:16 says 'whosoever believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life'. Whosoever means me. You and I are the 'whosoever' when it comes to making a statement of faith in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
     With our mouth means to speak it out loud. With our heart means to believe it whole-heartedly, not just whenever we feel like it; not just one day  out of the week; not just at the holidays, or the Holy Days. Whole-hearted Faith. As The Word says, in the paragraph preceding, "with the heart we believe unto Righteousness." Our righteousness in and of ourselves is dirty, filthy rags; but the Righteousness of Christ within us when we believe that GOD has raised Jesus from the dead is clean and pure; it is this Righteousness which makes it possible not only for us to see God, but for God to see us.
     Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved." There that word is again: whosoever. You are that whosoever. I was that whosoever. I called upon The Name of The Lord to save me, and He did. I am crucified with Christ because I believe that He was crucified for me, and that GOD raised Him from the dead that all, including me, would be raised with Him. This promise is for everyone, even you.
     To call on God's name is to seek His face and ask for His forgiveness on your sinful ways. There was a time when I thought that some of the things I did were okay. But the closer I have become to God, I have been made aware and realized that many of the things I thought were passable in my life, are actually impossible in God's righteousness and God's holiness. And while I knew that some other things were definitely sin, I thought that as long as I didn't do them, I was okay. But I was not. Sin affects every part of a person, even if they are believing that they are not participating in it. Jesus says that if you even think about doing something wrong, you and I are already guilty of that sin. For with our hearts we believe, therefore our hearts have sinned when we think sinful thoughts, too.
     Watching people sin (movies, peep shows, adult TV shows/movies, MA ratings on games). Reading about people's sinful ways (romance/soft porn books/stories, tabloids, celeb watch, etc). Hearing people talk about their sin or participating in sin while they speak(gossip, back-stabbing, booty-watching, flirting with or without the intention of following up on where flirting leads, two-faced conversation, etc). These are offensive to me. Foul language is foul all the time, whether you give it ratings or not. It hurts my ears; it hurts my heart and my soul. And I will, have no doubt on this matter, speak up and tell you so.
      No, I am not speaking from a 'holier than thou' pulpit. I am speaking from been there, done that stance. Having lived that lifestyle and now living a righteous life in Christ, I make it a point to allow The Holy Spirit of God to work through me and sanctify me and make me holy, because I want to see GOD one of these days and Stay with Him in all eternity. I have set myself apart from livng a sinful sin-filled lifestyle. And sanctification means that I am being made holy by God's Holy Spirit for God's pleasure and God's purpose.
     This is the life and the lifestyle I preach from this pulpit wherein God has placed me. "You must be born again," Jesus told Nicodemus, a Pharisee. "How can I?" asked Nicodemus, "I am old. How can I enter my mother's womb again?" Jesus reply? "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And then He proceeded to tell Nicodemus what I have shared here with you. Nicodemus was a whosoever, too.

How do you call on Jesus' Name for salvation? Like this. and remember, this is just an example, because God wants to hear from you from your heart with your voice:

Oh Lord my God, I have sinned and gone against Your Word and  Your Will for my life. I have lived in sin and walked in sin and my sins are all over me. Lord, search me and try me. Reveal the areas in my life where I have sinned against You. Show me me and show me You. Oh Lord God, don't let me leave this world without You. Show me me and show me You. Lord God, reveal Yourself to me. Show me in my life where You want me to be. Show me in Your Word who I am to You and who You want me to be. Show me, Lord, Who You are. Forgive me, Father God, for all my wicked ways and the wickedness of my heart, and my mouth and my mind. Cover me, Lord, with Your precious blood, which flowed from out of Your body onto me, cover my unrighteousness with Your Righteousness, Lord God, and take away my sins. Come into my heart and be The Lord of my life and The Savior of my soul. Make me to know You in all Your ways. These things I ask Lord and give You all the glory and honor and praise for, in Jesus' Name. Your Beautiful, Marvelous, Wonderful Name. Thank You, Lord, for saving a wretch like me. Thank You, Lord, for choosing to die in my place and washing away my sins. Make me holy, Lord God, send me Your Holy Spirit, that I may begin to walk the paths of Righteousness which You have placed me on. Amen.

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU. The Lord Is My Righteousness.

In Jesus' Name is All Righteousness. In Jesus' Name is All P:ower. In Jesus' Name is All Healing. In Jesus' Name is All Wisdom. In Jesus' Name is All Forgiveness. In Jesus' Name is All Strength. In Jesus' Name is Creator of All. In Jesus' Name is All Peace.


 HOLY HOLY HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY

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