The word I have from the Lord to you is this.
The Lord came on me strongly this past week, telling me:
“I want my people to really believe that they are righteous.”
“And behave accordingly because they are so prone to guilt,”
“so prone to condemnation.”
“Even when they pray, it is kind of like a begging spirit.”
“They don't use the words ‘I beg you, Father.’”
“But it's like a begging spirit, a pauper spirit and”
“not with a sonship spirit.”
Friend, listen carefully.
In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, when Jesus
shared this parable, do you remember how the father
treated the two sons?
The son that was most immoral, the son that left home,
that rebelled against him, was the son that
received the most favor.
But the son that stayed at home and even said:
“I never broke any of your commandments”
was the son that didn’t seem to receive any favor.
In fact, he didn't even feel loved.
Now listen carefully.
Why?
Because the father was treating the first (prodigal) son
based on the Man at His right hand.
Our heavenly Father is treating the prodigal son
as if it is Jesus.
It is a picture of you and I.
So whose righteousness do you believe?
Well, the prodigal son believed in the righteousness of Jesus,
the fatted calf that was sacrificed.
Right?
Because of that, Jesus becomes the measure.
The father treated him as if he was Jesus.
Now the oldest son.
He boasted in his own goodness.
So the father says:
“Okay, I'll treat you based on your righteousness.”
“Whatever level of righteousness you have, I will”
“treat you based on that.”
Which is not much.
And the father treated him based on his righteousness,
which is something he wanted.
“You never gave me. I kept all your commandments.”
He was boasting in his righteousness whereas
the prodigal son did not boast in his righteousness.
He rested in the father's love and it’s a picture of
how God treats us today.
So sometimes we are confused.
Because we feel like:
“Today I don't deserve any blessings because”
“my thought life has gone haywire and I'm thinking”
“all kinds of bad thoughts.”
Or maybe you had a quarrel with your wife and now,
the missus is not talking to you.
But you have a preaching assignment and you're
very anointed for that particular session.
And you're confused because:
“Why did God anoint me when I don't deserve it?”
Now, God did not anoint you because you had a fight.
God anointed you so that you know that it's got nothing
to do with your performance.
And it's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.
Now, once you realize that, does it make you want to go back
to the missus and set things right?
Yes!
Amen.
It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
It was different under the law.
Under the law, you have to do right.
You have to repent first.
Right?
And then the goodness of God comes on you.
But today, Jesus looked at the fishermen and
gave them a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fishes.
And then the fishermen fell before Jesus and said:
“Depart from me for I am a sinful man.”
So did the repentance come first or the goodness come first?
No, the goodness of God given to him came first.
It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
But the challenge is this.
When the Lord came on me just this past week and
told me: “I want my people to really take their place.”
“To know that this righteousness that they have right now—"
“they cannot lose it.”
“And I want them to come to Me with a great sense”
“of being at home, being at peace.”
Like the Bible says in Romans 5:1.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God.”
When you come to God, you're not in a hurry
to run off somewhere.
Like when you sit down with your friend in a cafe,
you can talk for two, three hours and still wish you had more time
when you say goodbye.
Why?
You are at home.
You are at peace with your friend.
Likewise, for God, He wants us to be
in His presence but many believers go into
His presence, afraid that they might think something wrong
in His presence.
Or say something wrong Or they don't feel at home.
So when it comes to God, they throw their requests
real fast so that they can run out.
And they are more at home, at peace away from—
though it is a false peace— away from God's presence.
Why?
Because they don't have this sense that the
righteousness of God is coming to him.
And God doesn't see you any other way but as righteous.
Always.
Yet it is not your own righteousness but it is
the gift of righteousness.
Christ is your righteousness.
And you are clothed with Him.
So God treats the prodigal son and you according to
how Jesus is.
It is Jesus' righteousness that He measures you by.
And if that is so, there's nothing that He won't give us.
There's nothing that He will withhold from us because if it
is measured by Jesus’ obedience, if it is measured by
Jesus’ righteousness, friend, then we have access
to all His blessings.
Amen.
Believers are not receiving because they don't
believe in their hearts that they are righteous.
Or they know in their heads but they act like God is
still measuring them because of a mistake they made just now
or a sinful thought they had this morning.
So they think God is measuring them by that, as though
there is a mixed reaction from God.
And for that reason, they're not able to receive.
That is serious, my friend.
Look up here in Proverbs 17.
“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns”
“the righteous are both an abomination to the Lord.”
So if you justify yourself when you're a sinner—
You say:
“I'm okay. And I don't sin that much.”
And you're justifying yourself.
Like Paul says: “They being ignorant of God's righteousness,”
“going about to establish their own righteousness”?
That's an abomination.
But this is also an abomination.
“He who condemns the righteous.”
Now we think this in terms of people condemning believers
because believers are the righteous ones today.
Those who have received the gift of righteousness.
But if you condemn yourself… you are also righteous!
If you condemn yourself, it's an abomination.
Why don't we preach on this even more?
Amen.
It’s not humility to treat yourself like you're a sinner.
Now hypocrisy is pretending to be what you are not.
If you are a sinner and you pretend to be righteous,
that's hypocrisy because you are not righteous.
You're a sinner.
You have not put your trust in Christ.
You're not born again.
But if you are born again and you are righteous
and you act like you're a sinner, you are still pretending
to be what you are not!
That's hypocrisy!
Hypocrisy today is not acting like you are righteous—for the believer—
because you are righteous!
You should be praying bold prayers.
Amen.
You got to believe that your prayers avail much because the
Bible says: “The prayers of a righteous man availeth much.”
So a person who justifies himself when he is a sinner
is an abomination.
But a believer who condemns other believers,
or condemns himself, when both are righteous,
is also an abomination!
And friend, look at this word here “wicked.”
“Rasha.” (in the Hebrew) Do you see the word “condemn”?
It is the same word!
The same spelling!
In the Hebrew.
Look at the Hebrew for the word “rasha.”
“Wicked” or “condemn” are the same word!
The word “rasha”— reading from right to left—
“Resh”, “shin”, “ayin”.
Okay?
It is “rasha.”
The words “wicked” and “condemn” is
the same word!
The pronunciation is a bit different because
the dots and dashes make it different.
“Wicked” is pronounced as “ra-sha.”
and “condemn” is pronounced as “ra-sheh.”
But it’s the same spelling!
In other words, condemnation is wicked.
“He who condemns the righteous are both alike”
“an abomination to the Lord.”
You got to agree with God!
Just like what Amos the prophet says:
“How can two walk together except they be agreed.”
God pronounces you righteous!
What are you pronouncing about yourself?
God declares you righteous!
Say: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ!”
I find it makes a world of a difference between
saying: “By His stripes, I am healed.”
“By His stripes, I am healed”
and saying:
“I am the righteousness of God in Christ and”
“by His stripes, I am healed.”
Or saying: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ”
and then coming to God in prayer.
It's like a new dimension!
It brings you to a new level.
Amen.
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