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Righteous Living Today 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, (18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (7:1) Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” We are learning how to be changed into the image of Christ. (Eze 41:4) There is a measuring going on today to see who can come into the Holy place. It is not a place of being useful or important, but of “Pleasing the Lord.” There is a difference between holiness and righteousness. Holiness has to do with our relationship with God. Righteousness has to do with our relationship with people. But they do overlap. God requires righteousness of every person who will come to the new world that Peter talks about. The same standard is required for all. It is not based on works of the flesh, but works of the spirit which include telling the truth; being kind, honorable, faithful; keeping our vows, and refraining from stealing --- i.e. faithfulness and integrity. That is righteousness. God will not tolerate unrighteousness in His Kingdom. We have lost most of this righteousness today. Almost all of these failures are apparent by what comes out of our heart and mouth. Do we keep our vows? When we say something, do we do it, even though it may be painful and inconvenient? A person who will not keep his vows has no integrity. You cannot work with a person who says one thing and does another. We have learned to tolerate this, but God does not. We know that some people are weak – these are the ones who will have to be saved by pulling them out of the fire.God’s Kingdom is not made up of the weak and compromising. Today, vows mean nothing. People want to take vows before the church and God, but they don’t want to live by them. They are a part of the system but not a part of the Kingdom. Even those who do not serve the Lord still take time to make vows, often with little intention of keeping them. Listen to them: “For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” Love is more than two bodies getting married. It is not an end-all of our life. It is two people getting married. We must not marry based on what our bodies tell us. It takes time to get to know someone – spirit to spirit. There is no such thing as love at first sight. Flesh lives – just the right touch can bring feelings alive that were dormant. Flesh attracts flesh! “For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” No one today makes you say those things. Couples are not forced to make these vows today. Instead you decided you wanted to take an oath before God, but what happens down the road? You will be tested. This life is serious business. God never has said “Do or say whatever you want, I don’t care.” Look around you, get out of your security for a day and find out what is happening out there. God was crucified on Calvary and so were all the righteous & the unrighteous. Everyone is crucified. That is why Paul said, “The world is crucified to me and I am crucified to the world.” When you try to lift the curse off the earth and off your life and make this a happy little home, the only way to do that is to betray your integrity by betraying those who trust in you, as well as by lying, conniving and breaking all the rules so you can be happy. People like that are not builders of God’s Kingdom, they are a calamity. Why? Because they leave everyone else to pick up after them. They are emotional infants. This nation must have people of integrity. What they say they will do. And they won’t scheme and plot to get out of it. INTEGRITY – is a synonym for “faithfulness.” It means you can be counted on. If you don’t want to be counted on then you don’t belong in the Kingdom. We must be accountable one to another. No man is an island. When a nation gets to where everything is ridiculous and there is nothing you can do about it, it is decadent. A new President won’t be able to change things. We are in decadence – there is no integrity. Instead, we have depravity, debauchery, self-indulgence, and excess. In the name of Jesus “endure hardness as a good soldier of the cross.” And that’s exactly what it means. There are times when it is extremely difficult to keep what you have said or committed to. But if you don’t, and you can’t be depended on, then God will not respect you (Ecc. 5:2,4) Those who do not keep their word experience life as a series of shambles (disasters). God is looking for upright people who take the joys and sorrows of life and keep on going. Family and friends can depend on you. This is righteousness. And God requires it of everyone. If we get out of any situation by breaking our word then we will answer to God for it. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness first! And as increasing judgments come upon this land the righteous will shine forth. -Pr. Steve June Newsletter 2004 | Righteous Living Today | Maturing the Home - A Message for Fathers Pastor's Journal - June 2003 | Choose to be Chosen | Partakers: With Whom and of What? part 3 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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