When we read about righteous men and women of the Bible, such as King David, Father Abraham, even Rahab (a former prostitute!), we tend to forget their shortcomings and trick ourselves into believing that goodness and perfection determine how close we are to God!
Illustrate the story of Moses at the Red Sea.
When we see how powerfully God worked through the man Moses, we think, “Gee! He must have been a perfect saint! After all, the Bible does say he was the most humble man on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3)!
Yet, in fact, Moses was punished for being Imperfect! He ended up just like the Israelites who wondered 40 years in the desert and died before entering the promised land because of his shortcomings! He was humble, but not without a temper…
Many follow the footsteps of that nation even today, never reaching our promised land because of our lack of faith and our unrighteousness… Don’t you want to be like those who went in and received the promise? Don’t you want to be a conduit of God’s power and Glory? Don’t you want to go down in the annals of the Kingdom of Heaven as a righteous man or woman of God?
We all do! That’s why we’re here this morning. All of us are on a quest: a quest for personal righteousness. Unfortunately, we spend so much time seeking righteousness through attempts at being good and perfect that we give up realizing we can never be what we feel God wants us to be, and we miss the true way of righteousness.
Exod 14:10-16, “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ’Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
CRISIS OF FAITH: Moses had to exercise enough faith to believe that GOD would part the waters if he extended his staff. Moses HAD to raise his staff with everyone watching, and stretch out his hand. Everyone would anticipate something happening, and if nothing happened, Moses would surely have been killed by his own people. “What if I stretch out my hand and nothing happens?”
Have you ever been afraid to stretch out your faith in the presence of unbelievers? Suppose you were driving along and notice a car accident. If God told you to stop and run through a crowd of police to pray over the wounded victims, would you have the faith to follow through with the action, even with the possibility of being arrested?
Have you ever decided NOT to do something you were convicted with all your heart to do because you were afraid that if you did something, then nothing would happen and you would be left before the crowd, looking like a fool?
Moses felt the same pressures you’ve felt, even during this pinnacle moment in his life and ministry, but he HAD to do something. He BELIEVED GOD spoke to him, telling him to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the water. He had a nation of unbelievers watching his every move. He acted on his conviction, raised the staff, showed the people their direction: INTO THE WATER. He obeyed the call of God, The Lord parted the waters with a mighty wind, and the rest is history… How many of us would be checking the weather channel to make sure it would be a good day for river crossing? Let’s see what the weather man says about a windy day…
He had to believe God and ACT on that conviction that GOD would move on their behalf!
He raised his staff toward Heaven, outstretched his hand toward earth, and God did the rest!
THAT’S WHAT MADE MOSES A MAN RENOWN FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
MOSES IS REMEMBERED AS A RIGHTEOUS MAN OF GOD BECAUSE HE ACTED ON HIS CONVICTIONS… At the moment Moses’ faith intermingled with action, inspired by His righteous servant’s faith, GOD took over and made the miracle.
He responded to the righteous man Moses, parted the waters, freed His people and baptized them through water from slavery and into freedom.
That moment in history is the physical evidence to all mankind, that GOD is PRESENT in the company of the righteous! Ps 14:5, “…for God is present in the company of the righteous.”
WILL YOU REPEAT THAT WITH ME?
Do you want to be called the Lord’s righteous? (SAY AMEN!)
TODAY, He wants to deliver the people of Our church to the day of flourishing and the land flowing with milk and honey, which He has promised, but He’s waiting for His people to step out in FAITH AND MOVE on our convictions!
Some people even here have given up and have settled for a comfortable seat in the church, but the righteous man presses on despite what they see around them. Righteousness is faith to see what doesn’t yet exist and strength to do something out of the ordinary based on that faith.
You see, righteousness IS NOT obtained by sitting in church every week. It’s not obtained by being good or trying to be perfect… IT IS a combination of a precious few ingredients that come together with power in the Kingdom of Heaven and in the heart of God.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE KEY ELEMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS as defined to us in the book of James, chapter 2:23-26…
KEY SCRIPTURE: James 2:23-26, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend.
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
I: RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH: What happened in Abraham’s life? What did he believe?
ABRAHAM’S FAITH
Rom 4:18-25, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
THIS WAS THE PROMISE OF GOD.
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?
19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-- since he was about a hundred years old-- and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.
THIS WAS THE CRISIS BEYOND WHICH HE HAD TO BELIEVE!
In order to conquer your doubt, you must strike PAST THE OBSTACLE!
Illustrate: In TaeKwan-Do they teach students to strike PAST the plank to shatter it…
If you strike at the surface, you may end up with a broken hand…
In the same way, your faith must strike beyond the obstacle to break it down! (VS 20…)
20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
INGREDIENT #1: BEING FULLY PERSUADED.
21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."
? What is the Biblical definition of FAITH?
Heb 11:1-2, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.”
23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone,
24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
FAITH is the #1 INGREDIENT in the quest for personal righteousness.
Heb 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Faith is believing. Faith is conviction. Faith is MOTIVATION!
Believing God is step number one in the quest for righteousness, but faith in itself does not develop righteousness as the Word of God defines it.
FAITH IS about KNOWING MORE in your heart THAN YOU KNOW in your head…
Prevailing against doubt.
Rising above self-righteousness that comes through trusting head knowledge that only puffs us up.
Abraham BELIEVED. He didn’t know HOW, he only knew WHO: GOD, who can accomplish ALL THINGS! EVEN THE IMPOSSIBLE! Even in the life of a 100 year old man and a barren womb! Even in YOUR LIFE and YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE TODAY…
On the quest for personal righteousness, you must believe and have faith as a little child.
Jesus said, Luke 18:17, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
For the Kingdom belongs to such with faith as these… Dad said it, I believe it: That’s All, Folks!
FAITH like that must be accompanied by INGREDIENT #2 to develop righteousness in our lives.
II: RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH & ACTIONS:
James 2:24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”
FAITH WITHOUT DEEDS IS DEAD!!!
As you know, attorneys are known for asking their ridiculous questions to discredit people in court. The Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyer’s Journal records one of these events:
Question: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Answer: No.
Question: Did you check for blood pressure?
Answer: No.
Question: Did you check for breathing?
Answer: No
Question: Then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Answer: No
Question: How can you be sure doctor?
Answer: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Question: But couldn’t the patient been alive nevertheless?
Answer: It is possible that the patient could still have been alive and practicing law somewhere.
Just as the body without the brain is dead, faith without is works is dead.
James 2:16-26, “If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.”
You can believe and it will be credited to you as righteousness. But you can also be a self righteous waste of time and space. Unless you activate your righteousness with deeds, you are wasting time, space and air. Move over for someone who will do something!
An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day one of the passengers noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word "Faith," and on the other oar "Works." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man being a well-balanced Christian and glad of the opportunity for testimony, said, "I will show you." So saying, he dropped one oar and plied the other called Works, and they just went around in circles. Then he dropped that oar and plied with the one called Faith, and the little boat went around in circles again---this time the other way around, but still in a circle. After this demonstration the old man picked up Faith and Works, and plying both oars together, sped swiftly over the water, explaining to his inquiring passenger, "You see that is the way it is in the Christian life. Dead works without faith are useless, and ’faith without works is dead’ also, getting you nowhere. But faith and works pulling together make for safety, progress, and blessing.
20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend.
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
ILLUST: ONE SCOOP FROM EMPTY:
The widow woman was one scoop from empty, she had many options that would lead to more failure, but she only had one opportunity that would lead to more flour!!!!!!!! 1 Kings 17:7-16
FAITH PLUS ACTIONS MUST WORK TOGETHER TO DEVELOP PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. These elements INSPIRE GOD to POWERFUL ACTION, and powerful action is THE EVIDENCE OF ACTIVE FAITH.
III: RIGHTEOUSNESS IS EVIDENCED (not by a holy attitude or a faithful pew sitter) BY UNUSUAL FAITH, INSPIRING UNUSUAL ACTIONS AND GOD’S POWERFUL WORKS.
A: STRENGTH. GOD ALWAYS STRENGTHENS THE RIGHTEOUS.
2 Chr 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
B: ATTENTIVENESS. GOD ALWAYS HEARS THE CRY OF HIS RIGHTEOUS.
1 Pet 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
C: PROTECTION. GOD ALWAYS PROTECTS, BLESSES AND MOVES IN THE LIFE OF THE RIGHTEOUS!
Ps 5:11-12, “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”
Is your life evidence of righteousness?
((INSPIRE / ENCOURAGE / MOTIVATE your flock regarding righteousness and the power to overcome the obstacles and defeating spiritual enemies.))
God has a time, a promise and a place for YOU! Maybe you’ve been wondering the desert too long and you’ve forgotten you are a people of promise… TAKE COURAGE!
Activate your faith with action! Moses, with all his faith and vision couldn’t bring the people into Canaan. They had to experience a personal renewal, take faith and press forward!
Righteousness isn’t about being PERFECT.
Isa 64:6-9, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.
8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.”
Righteousness isn’t about being GOOD.
Mark 10:17-18, “As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good-- except God alone.”
Righteousness is about DOING SOMETHING with your convictions. MOVING OUT in FAITH!
WE do the ORDINARY and become SUBJECTS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY! This is what makes SALVATION an act of supreme righteousness: BELIEVING in your heart you are saved by the blood of Jesus alone… ACTING on that belief and CONFESSING with your mouth, you become a NEW CREATION! You do the ordinary, GOD does the EXTRAORDINARY!
The church is supposed to be a hub of activity: a place bustling with busy people...
Church is supposed to be a place where people come together unselfishly to minister, to put our hands to the plow of righteousness, to build and encourage each other and commune together as the disciples did in the upper room after the day of Pentecost...
Church is named by Jesus as a house of prayer...
Time to stand up, take courage and move on our convictions.
The choice is yours… Spend another 40 years in the valley or get up and climb the heights to the promised land: take it by force!
