Revive Us - Part 3
Revive Us as Our Righteousness
Jeremiah 23:6
One of the finest steamers to float Lake Champlain in Vermont, USA was the steamer "Champlain.’’ Cheer after cheer went up when she slid from her moorings on the dry-dock into the waters of the lake. Her machinery was perfect, her crew well trained, and the passengers on her for her maiden voyage were enthusiastic. Then suddenly something seemed to be wrong with the steamer’s engine’s machinery and a stop was ordered so that the fault might be found and fixed. The captain ordered them to let down the anchor because there was a strong wind blowing and she was drifting rapidly towards the rocks. The captain shouted again, "Down with the anchor." and the sailors responded that the order had been previously obeyed. The anchor was down, but she continued to drift. At last, the fault in the engine was found and the engine started which prevented the new steamer ending up on the rocks. It was soon discovered that while the anchor had been cast out, the chain was three feet too short to touch the bottom of the lake. Yes they had an anchor that would do the job, but it fell short of what was required to secure the boat safely.
I remember reading that account and thinking to myself that that was a picture of the lives of many people - drifting in a storm of sin unaware that the anchor they are trusting in falls tragically short of what they need it to do. If the truth be known, they have with no anchor to keep them from being blown into the rocks of God’s righteous wrath and His necessary judgment.
You see my friend, despite the proliferation of self worship that so vainly defines the landscape of so much of our humanistic psychology, motivational training and even some popular preaching, and despite the denial that society is engaging in on a massive scale, the truth is that every one of us has the same basic problem. Our hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful within us. We cry out against tyranny, but in our hearts we are all tyrants. We shake our fists at perverts, but there is not a one of us whose hearts are not perverse. We scoff at hypocrites, while each and every one of us masks the hypocrisy within us. And the truth is worse than that - unchecked, our minds consider us to be gods in a world obliged to meet our needs, accommodate our perspectives, cater to our preferences and pad our lives with acts of kindness and grace.
Anyone acquainted with the nature of mankind in general, or the tendency of his own heart in particular, will recognize that self-righteousness is an idol that looms ever present and large, and that must be continually dethroned, denied and defeated.
You see my friend, in your Bible, self-righteousness is contrasted to true righteousness. There are the righteous, and the self righteous. Now listen to this - there is nothing wrong with your desire to be righteous. That is part of the God-shape you came with. I would even suggest to you that there may be a link between God being too holy to tolerate sin in His presence and your and my not finding it easy to recognize our own sin in our lives. The difference is that while God’s position is always an expression of His perfect righteousness, ours is often a reflection of our sinfulness and deceitfulness.
Our wickedness is an abomination to God, our lukewarmness is nauseating and righteousness is as filthy rags. It is not looking good for the home team.
You see, the problem is that man must have a genuine righteousness or God cannot accept him. Man must have a perfect obedience, or God cannot reward him.
We are busy with a mini series entitled "Revive Us." We looked first at "Revive Us Again." Last week we looked at "Revive Us as Our Shepherd." This week I am excited to talk with you about "Revive Us as Our Righteousness."
Please open your Bibles with me to the book of Jeremiah and the 23rd chapter.
We are looking at the names of God on our 2007 theme banner. Let me remind you, if I may, why that is important.
As we saw last week, Psalm 9:10 reveals a profound truth when it teaches us that "For those who know Your name will put their trust in You."
Why are we looking at these names? Because there is an anointing released into your life when you know God by name and call upon Him by that name. That is why the people who refer to God as ‘the Man up there’ get nothing. Try walking into the White House and saying to the President, ‘Hey Pres, give me a hundred dollars.’ He’s not your daddy. He’s not going to give you anything. But when you know God - when you truly know God by name - you will put your trust in Him.
Now watch this - when you read your Bible and you come across a name of God that is preceded by the word in your English Bible ‘Lord’ in small caps like that - you are looking at a covenant name of God. What is a covenant name? Good question! A covenant name of God is a name or expression of revelation of God that He commits Himself to you with in an eternal covenant. He will not break that covenant. It is as sure as Jesus blood is sure. By the way - you cannot break the covenant either. You can break yourself on the covenant, but you cannot break the covenant.
O.K. Let’s look at our Bibles for a moment. Jeremiah 23:6
The Hebrew for "the Lord our Righteousness" sounds like this: - "Yahweh Tsidkenu." Say that with me if you will - "Yahweh Tsidkenu." One more time - "Yahweh Tsidkenu."
Read - Pray!
Let me tell you a little about the meaning of that name and the situation into which God spoke that name.
What does this covenant name "Yahweh Tsidkenu" mean? The root word is ’Tsedek’ which means ’righteousness’. It originally meant to be ‘stiff’ or ‘straight.’ The Hebrew word has in mind the measure or line or straightness that God by nature is, and by judicial expectation requires of man. In other words, it is the standard or quality of measurement God uses to judge us with. That is why it is no wonder that the Bible says ‘there is none that is righteous, no not one.’
Let me tell you a little about the situation into which God revealed Himself as "Yahweh Tsidkenu." Despite the fact that God revealed Himself as the perfect measure of righteousness and truth, the people were anything but righteous and walking in the truth. In fact, they were so given to sin that they were about to be hauled off into exile and captivity because of their constant and longstanding sin, idolatry, and unfaithfulness to the Lord. Why, then, would God reveal Himself as "Yahweh Tsidkenu"?
Let me give you four pillars of truth to understand "Yahweh Tsidkenu."
1. The Prerequisite of Righteousness
Have you not ever heard that God is a God of perfect holiness - holy in His character, holy in His laws, holy in His dwelling place? "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel," says the book of Leviticus, "and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’" (Leviticus 19:2)
"He is a holy God," says Joshua (Jos 24:19).
"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." (Heb 12:14).
What is God’s primary characteristic? It is Holiness.
Holiness finds expression in what two essential qualities? Perfect Love and Perfect Justice.
And that is what God not only expects - but what His righteousness requires from us. The law of God requires not only that we be without sin, but also that we be completely obedient to holiness - that we actually love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and beings, and that we actually love our neighbors as ourselves. How many of you know that that is not going to happen?
Pan out from us and back in to Christ. The righteousness model that Christ demonstrated is the standard of righteousness that God will accept.
In other words, that is . . .
The Prerequisite of Righteousness
How many of you know you can’t get there?
That brings us to the second pillar of understanding we need to have.
2. The Position of Righteousness
Now watch this - God never gloats over our sin; He grieves. Why? Because He loves us, and He knows the damage that comes to us through our sin. Sin always promises you what it cannot deliver. It offers pleasure but produces pain. It offers freedom but produces failure. It offers riches but produces rags. It offers delight but produces death. God knows that - and that is why He always provides a way out of our temptation. Not only does God provide a way out of temptation, He always provides a way back from our sin. God always has a plan to bring us back to where His blessings can again flow in our lives.
What is that plan? It is our position of righteousness. There are two types of righteousness spoken of in the Bible, even though the Bible does not use these terms - Positional Righteousness and Possessional Righteousness. Positional Righteousness is righteousness that is not my own - it is given to me. Possessonal Righteousness is righteousness that I commit to - possess by my choices and my behavior. Theologians call this Imputed Righteousness and Imparted Righteousness. When we say "Yahweh Tsidkenu" we are talking about Positional Righteousness.
We are sometimes so busy trying to get righteousness thinking that then God will give us righteousness. If we could get it, He would not need to give it.
Rom. 3:21-22 "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe."
2 Cor. 5:21 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Not only do you have righteousness - you become righteousness.
Not only do you have ‘tsideknu’ - you become ‘tsidkenu.’
"May be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." Philippians 3:9
How do you get that righteousness? By believing.
"With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Romans 10:10
You are clothed in His righteousness. Wear it. Prepare it. Declare. Share it.
The Prerequisite of Righteousness
The Position of Righteousness
3. The Privileges of Righteousness
Develop a righteousness consciousness.
You get to employ the power and authority of God
Command demons, sickness, serpents,
"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day." Proverbs 4:18
You get to destroy the plans and purposes of the enemy
Gideon
You get to enjoy the promises and protection of the Righteous
The Bible is full of promises to ‘the righteous.’
God is with the righteous.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
The Lord sustains the righteous.
The righteous will rejoice.
The righteous will be glad.
The righteous will not be destroyed.
The righteous shall inherit the land.
Then they (the un-righteous) will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
The list goes on and on and on.
The Prerequisite of Righteousness
The Position of Righteousness
The Privileges of Righteousness
4. The Practice of Righteousness
Now watch this - righteousness is what you are - but the test of being is doing. I can tell what you are by what you do. You do not need to tell me what you are. I can see.
"If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness." (Rom.8:10).
1 John 3:7 "Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous."
The Prerequisite of Righteousness
The Position of Righteousness
The Privileges of Righteousness
The Practice of Righteousness
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