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CHAPTER 11
THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!
We are embarking on a new era. Actually an old one, we are just making the swing back
again; like a clock coming back to 12:00. We are coming to the point where more
righteousness, dedication, selflessness and commitment are required by the people of God.
This is to prepare us for the coming days ahead. Only a righteous life will be able to “endure
to the end.” Only a righteous life will sustain us and see us through. God is so faithful! First
He saves us or “calls us”, and then He prepares and equips us. Next He works in us to
accomplish it “for it is God working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil 2:
13), by the power of the Holy Spirit that He has sent to us.
We are clothed with robes of righteousness, “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will
exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with
a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride
adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). WE have the righteousness of Christ, “This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22),
but we want to SEE the righteousness that we have come forth through us experientially.
We want to have His holiness, His love, His faith, His truthfulness, His courage and His
strength flowing forth through our lives.
We have been given the following promise in Matt 5, “those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness shall be filled.” Filled with what? Filled with His righteousness. God sees our
pursuit for righteousness, and He knows the intentions of our hearts. He hears our cries for
this righteousness. There is an old song that says, “One occupation, one job to do, seeking
Thy kingdom, following You.” Every born-again Christian should have a deep, burning desire
to become holy, pure and pleasing in His sight, fully surrendered to Him.
We say, yes and a-men! I agree with this, but then fear sets in. We fear what will be
required of us? Perhaps we fear failure or perhaps we fear giving up what we hold on to as
most dear. We fear the crushing, uprooting, pruning, purging of our lives from ALL evil. We
limit ourselves by our fears, keeping us from entering into all that God has planned for us.
In order to have His righteousness flowing through us, we have to surrender our will to Him.
Our will has to be broken; even as a beautiful stallion full of potential to become a champion
must be broken. He is otherwise useless to his owner, until his will is broken and yielded to
that of his master’s. He must no longer kick, buck or fight, but instead YIELD to his master’s
control over every area of his entire life.
We struggle, resist and withhold; when instead we must come with a broken spirit and a
contrite heart. THEN, Jesus can come in and be seated on the rightful throne of our hearts.
We need to remember that we are HIS temple, but it seems that most of us are still on the
throne. He is the King and Lord, Who rightfully belongs on that throne instead of us in order
to rule.
Here is what happens when either self or Jesus rules from the throne. If Jesus rules our
thoughts, then our thoughts determine our actions. Our actions make our habits and our
habits form HIS character in us. If self rules our thoughts, then our thoughts determine our
actions. Our actions make our habits and our habits form our character. Which would you
rather have?
Surrender the throne of your heart to His rulership and His will. It is like transferring
ownership. You know what a will is. It is a document drawn up that states where all your
possessions will go, after you die. We are to see ourselves as dead, buried with Christ,
having our WILL (all our desires and all that we have) transferred or willed over to Jesus.
There is a table spread out before the King. On this table there is ham, turkey, prime rib,
crab, shrimp, lobster, wine and bread (not to mention all the desserts). You come up with
your sack lunch. The King (Jesus) says to you, “What do you have in your sack lunch?” You
tell Him, “I have ½ of a dried-up peanut butter sandwich, 3 prunes and a box of stale
raisins.” The King says to you, “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you give Me your sack lunch and
I will share with you all that is Mine on My table. We will share it together. Now Isn’t That A
Trade? And yet, we literally STOP God from operating in our lives. He owns the cattle on a
thousand hills! We stop Him from giving and sharing with us because we won’t let go of our
peanut butter sandwiches. How ridiculous is that?
He takes what we have and combines it with what He possesses. He takes our diseases
and gives us healing. He takes our bank accounts and opens the windows of heaven,
providing we are walking in the principles of His Word, in obedience. He takes the sorrows
we carry and gives us His joy. He takes our burdens and carries them Himself. We can’t
out give or out-do our God! He’s too wonderful and too great! You can’t lose! We really
have nothing to give to Him anyway; because all that we have, He gave to us in the first
place.
We must realize (KNOW) that we have already been crucified with Christ and that the old
self is DEAD! We are now NEW creatures in Christ Jesus, with new natures. The
transformation has already occurred. We are FREE from sin, the flesh and the devil. We
must do what the Scripture says in Romans 6, RECKONING ourselves as dead to sin,
realizing that we have been raised up to newness of life! When we can see this, with our
mind, heart and understanding, then we can truly say, “I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). We
can then say, “SURELY Lord, THY will be done!” When you can say that, then the struggle
is OVER. The old man (our old nature) is defeated. The worry inside of us stops. The pain
of dying to our desire stops, because we are only given over to ONE desire; that of doing
His will in us and through us.
At that point, the righteousness of Christ comes forth and we find ourselves changing. Our
responses are godly. Our actions are loving. No longer do we find that we defend
ourselves because, what’s there to defend? We are DEAD. We don’t react as though we
were alive to our old nature, because now we are ALIVE to the Spirit of God living within us.
The incredible benefit of all of this is that life then becomes a JOY to live. We have perfect
peace inside! Peace not as the world has, but as He gives to us in the midst of every
circumstance, because we are the beloved of the Father. External things don’t seem to
bother us anymore. We just yield the problem to our Father and go on. Rich or poor doesn’t
matter anymore as we see that all the material blessings we have or want are only
temporary. They can be lost overnight. Our joy then is to do the will of the Father who
sends us to do His bidding. It is exciting because we never know what He is going to have
us do next.
Jesus came 1st to rule over the mind, spirit and heart of man. That is why it says, “The
kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) (after He has taken control of our lives). When
you are surrendered to God’s will and His righteousness is flowing out through you, nothing in
the exterior matters. The house could fall in. Plans that get changed or disrupted don’t
disappoint us. We have learned how to flow with the circumstances, instead of resisting
them or trying to manipulate them to our advantage.
Then the revelation (the light bulb that turns on in our minds) illuminates our understanding
and we realize that the “Kingdom of Heaven is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy
Ghost.” Living in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost is the best and most joyous
place a daughter of the King can possibly live in.
I am finding that the only way I can live and experience this is to be continually in prayer, in
the Word and in fellowship with the Lord daily. If I miss these disciplines for very long; I lose
sight of all this. If I get too caught up with this world (in whatever manner this may be)
perhaps with my favorite projects, hobbies or shopping, turning my thought and emphasis on
these things of the world, I lose sight of the IMPORTANT! God must be our First Priority!
We must be continually in prayer and in His Word. It is important that we turn away from our
fleshly desires and refocus our thoughts and actions on the things of God. I can express my
love to Him each day as I clean my house, meditate on His Word, praise Him verbally
throughout the day, sing to Him, and thank Him continually for everything that He has done
and is doing for me. These actions are forms of fellowshipping and communing with God.
As I read His Word and pray, He then begins to change me to the point where my desire is
to do His will. Joy, peace and righteousness automatically flow out again.
He is so patient with us isn’t He? What a fool I am to get all caught up with the things of this
world! He is waiting for me to come to Him, offering myself to Him completely. As I yield to
God, He does such incredible things in my life. He is able to do far more than we can ask or
think. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20). Praise His Wonderful Name.
THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!
We are embarking on a new era. Actually an old one, we are just making the swing back
again; like a clock coming back to 12:00. We are coming to the point where more
righteousness, dedication, selflessness and commitment are required by the people of God.
This is to prepare us for the coming days ahead. Only a righteous life will be able to “endure
to the end.” Only a righteous life will sustain us and see us through. God is so faithful! First
He saves us or “calls us”, and then He prepares and equips us. Next He works in us to
accomplish it “for it is God working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil 2:
13), by the power of the Holy Spirit that He has sent to us.
We are clothed with robes of righteousness, “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will
exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with
a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride
adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). WE have the righteousness of Christ, “This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22),
but we want to SEE the righteousness that we have come forth through us experientially.
We want to have His holiness, His love, His faith, His truthfulness, His courage and His
strength flowing forth through our lives.
We have been given the following promise in Matt 5, “those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness shall be filled.” Filled with what? Filled with His righteousness. God sees our
pursuit for righteousness, and He knows the intentions of our hearts. He hears our cries for
this righteousness. There is an old song that says, “One occupation, one job to do, seeking
Thy kingdom, following You.” Every born-again Christian should have a deep, burning desire
to become holy, pure and pleasing in His sight, fully surrendered to Him.
We say, yes and a-men! I agree with this, but then fear sets in. We fear what will be
required of us? Perhaps we fear failure or perhaps we fear giving up what we hold on to as
most dear. We fear the crushing, uprooting, pruning, purging of our lives from ALL evil. We
limit ourselves by our fears, keeping us from entering into all that God has planned for us.
In order to have His righteousness flowing through us, we have to surrender our will to Him.
Our will has to be broken; even as a beautiful stallion full of potential to become a champion
must be broken. He is otherwise useless to his owner, until his will is broken and yielded to
that of his master’s. He must no longer kick, buck or fight, but instead YIELD to his master’s
control over every area of his entire life.
We struggle, resist and withhold; when instead we must come with a broken spirit and a
contrite heart. THEN, Jesus can come in and be seated on the rightful throne of our hearts.
We need to remember that we are HIS temple, but it seems that most of us are still on the
throne. He is the King and Lord, Who rightfully belongs on that throne instead of us in order
to rule.
Here is what happens when either self or Jesus rules from the throne. If Jesus rules our
thoughts, then our thoughts determine our actions. Our actions make our habits and our
habits form HIS character in us. If self rules our thoughts, then our thoughts determine our
actions. Our actions make our habits and our habits form our character. Which would you
rather have?
Surrender the throne of your heart to His rulership and His will. It is like transferring
ownership. You know what a will is. It is a document drawn up that states where all your
possessions will go, after you die. We are to see ourselves as dead, buried with Christ,
having our WILL (all our desires and all that we have) transferred or willed over to Jesus.
There is a table spread out before the King. On this table there is ham, turkey, prime rib,
crab, shrimp, lobster, wine and bread (not to mention all the desserts). You come up with
your sack lunch. The King (Jesus) says to you, “What do you have in your sack lunch?” You
tell Him, “I have ½ of a dried-up peanut butter sandwich, 3 prunes and a box of stale
raisins.” The King says to you, “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you give Me your sack lunch and
I will share with you all that is Mine on My table. We will share it together. Now Isn’t That A
Trade? And yet, we literally STOP God from operating in our lives. He owns the cattle on a
thousand hills! We stop Him from giving and sharing with us because we won’t let go of our
peanut butter sandwiches. How ridiculous is that?
He takes what we have and combines it with what He possesses. He takes our diseases
and gives us healing. He takes our bank accounts and opens the windows of heaven,
providing we are walking in the principles of His Word, in obedience. He takes the sorrows
we carry and gives us His joy. He takes our burdens and carries them Himself. We can’t
out give or out-do our God! He’s too wonderful and too great! You can’t lose! We really
have nothing to give to Him anyway; because all that we have, He gave to us in the first
place.
We must realize (KNOW) that we have already been crucified with Christ and that the old
self is DEAD! We are now NEW creatures in Christ Jesus, with new natures. The
transformation has already occurred. We are FREE from sin, the flesh and the devil. We
must do what the Scripture says in Romans 6, RECKONING ourselves as dead to sin,
realizing that we have been raised up to newness of life! When we can see this, with our
mind, heart and understanding, then we can truly say, “I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). We
can then say, “SURELY Lord, THY will be done!” When you can say that, then the struggle
is OVER. The old man (our old nature) is defeated. The worry inside of us stops. The pain
of dying to our desire stops, because we are only given over to ONE desire; that of doing
His will in us and through us.
At that point, the righteousness of Christ comes forth and we find ourselves changing. Our
responses are godly. Our actions are loving. No longer do we find that we defend
ourselves because, what’s there to defend? We are DEAD. We don’t react as though we
were alive to our old nature, because now we are ALIVE to the Spirit of God living within us.
The incredible benefit of all of this is that life then becomes a JOY to live. We have perfect
peace inside! Peace not as the world has, but as He gives to us in the midst of every
circumstance, because we are the beloved of the Father. External things don’t seem to
bother us anymore. We just yield the problem to our Father and go on. Rich or poor doesn’t
matter anymore as we see that all the material blessings we have or want are only
temporary. They can be lost overnight. Our joy then is to do the will of the Father who
sends us to do His bidding. It is exciting because we never know what He is going to have
us do next.
Jesus came 1st to rule over the mind, spirit and heart of man. That is why it says, “The
kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) (after He has taken control of our lives). When
you are surrendered to God’s will and His righteousness is flowing out through you, nothing in
the exterior matters. The house could fall in. Plans that get changed or disrupted don’t
disappoint us. We have learned how to flow with the circumstances, instead of resisting
them or trying to manipulate them to our advantage.
Then the revelation (the light bulb that turns on in our minds) illuminates our understanding
and we realize that the “Kingdom of Heaven is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy
Ghost.” Living in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost is the best and most joyous
place a daughter of the King can possibly live in.
I am finding that the only way I can live and experience this is to be continually in prayer, in
the Word and in fellowship with the Lord daily. If I miss these disciplines for very long; I lose
sight of all this. If I get too caught up with this world (in whatever manner this may be)
perhaps with my favorite projects, hobbies or shopping, turning my thought and emphasis on
these things of the world, I lose sight of the IMPORTANT! God must be our First Priority!
We must be continually in prayer and in His Word. It is important that we turn away from our
fleshly desires and refocus our thoughts and actions on the things of God. I can express my
love to Him each day as I clean my house, meditate on His Word, praise Him verbally
throughout the day, sing to Him, and thank Him continually for everything that He has done
and is doing for me. These actions are forms of fellowshipping and communing with God.
As I read His Word and pray, He then begins to change me to the point where my desire is
to do His will. Joy, peace and righteousness automatically flow out again.
He is so patient with us isn’t He? What a fool I am to get all caught up with the things of this
world! He is waiting for me to come to Him, offering myself to Him completely. As I yield to
God, He does such incredible things in my life. He is able to do far more than we can ask or
think. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20). Praise His Wonderful Name.
| Women for the Lord www.WomenfortheLord.com "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10 |
