Faith or Fear: Blessing or Cursing Part Two

Fresh Manna© by Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org

Isaiah 61:10 “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.”

Do you think you have ever been judgmental about someone or their situation? Do you think you have ever washed away your own judgment because you know the intent of your own heart and consequently justified your own actions? Every human being on this earth is guilty of judging others and being lenient on themselves. I have heard people say countless times, “That isn’t what I meant to say” or “I didn’t meant to do that – that was not my heart’s intent.” We act like our hearts our so pure at times. No, we want them to be. We will work toward having pure hearts. We will seek God for His help in having pure hearts and rightly motivated words and actions but, we will still blow it! In our own strength, walking truly righteous is impossible.

“Well thanks Pastor Tim, do you have anything comforting to say to me?” Yes I do. What is comforting is this – God gives us righteousness as a gift that we cannot earn. God’s has chosen to see us righteous through our faith in what Jesus provided for us – a righteousness by faith – even when we really aren’t.

I’ll say that a different way. Imagine you are on your way to work in a fresh white blouse or shirt. You are drinking coffee as you drive and spill some down your shirt. You are now a mess. That should be what happens to us when we sin. We become a mess. But Jesus, by the sacrifice of His life for our sins cleanses us as long as we sincerely repent and work toward change. His blood shed for us now covers us like a robe. If we put on a white robe, it wouldn’t matter what was underneath. The robe would be all that is seen. Jesus has provided us with a robe of righteousness – a covering for our sin. In today’s Fresh Manna verse, Isaiah said it like this: “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10) This gift to those that believe is a robe that covers our sins so that in God’s eyes He sees our righteousness – not our unrighteousness – despite those sinful things we’ve done.

Noah experienced this “righteousness by faith.” Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” This verse says that Noah – because he believed and responded to and trusted God, became an “heir” – and “heir of righteousness by faith.” Heirs receive things. Heirs by faith receive things from God! You are an heir through your faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 4:7 says, “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

If you are a student of Gods’ Word, you realize that God has promised us great things – now and in the world to come. Why can we hope for and believe that God will do what He promises He will do for us in this lifetime? Because we deserve it? Because our hearts are so pure? Because we are always so holy and never sin? NO! If that was the case, we’d have nothing. We hope and believe because we have been made righteous by faith in Jesus and that presents us to God AS IF WE HAD NO SIN and AS IF ARE HEARTS WERE PURE, and AS IF WE WERE HOLY. We couldn’t do that for ourselves. God does that for us. It is imputed to us. Impute means to assign to or ascribe to. Righteousness was imputed to us! Romans 4:8 says, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

Abraham had righteousness imputed to Him. Romans 4:20-22 says, “Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what God had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

And so what about us? Jesus became our righteousness. He made us righteous not through our own actions but through this gift of righteousness to us! 2 Cor 5:21 “God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God.

“So Pastor Tim, why are you telling us about this righteousness?” I am telling you about it because it is the reason we are can believe for God’s promised blessings that I began to share with you yesterday.

I’ll again end today reminding you with a repeated glimpse of those blessings. And then next week, I am going to show you what God absolutely positively wants for you. His promises will never be yours because you could be good enough to earn them. They will become yours because of your righteousness through faith. It eliminates your pride or boasting of being good enough to deserve God’s help and blessing. It takes away your excuses from being a failure and unworthy to deserve God’s help and blessing.

Gen 49:25 “…25 By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”

Next week: the motherload of His promised blessing to those who will believe!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org