REIGNING BY RIGHTEOUSNESS

REIGNING BY RIGHTEOUSNESS

²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.{2 Corinthians 5:21}

Having known that we are trees of righteousness planted by God and established to last forever, we must of necessity also know the reason for which we have been made righteous. Why was it necessary for God to establish us in righteousness? Could He not have left us with our dwindling and unstable self -righteousness? Why should He give us the gift of righteousness? Well I know you think it’s just for you to make heaven. But why haven’t you gone to heaven. You have been established in righteousness but you are still here. If the righteousness gift was just for you to go to heaven then God should have taken you to heaven immediately you had faith in God and became righteous. Let me show you why you are still here on this side of eternity.

¹⁷ For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.){Romans 5:17}

The verse above just provided the long awaited answer. It says we received abundant grace and the gift of righteousness so that we can REIGN IN LIFE. Take note, it didn’t say reign in heaven. It says to reign in life, not after death or after rapture. It is to reign here and now on earth. It takes kings to reign. Therefore you were made righteous so that you can reign as a king in life. Sin consciousness has made us slaves for so many years but not any more.

 Now you know that righteousness has been given to us so that we can become kings. We are no longer slaves to fear but kings to reign in life. Now we can approach God without a sense of guilt, fear or inferiority complex. It is by righteousness that kings reign. Now is the time for kings to reign in righteousness. You ought to be reigning not shrinking away in fear. You have been established in righteousness and you must reign.

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. {Isaiah 32:1}

You have to realize that you are a king and are supposed to rule over a kingdom. Find your throne and reign. Your throne has been established in righteousness. It was God’s desire to establish your throne in righteousness. God needed to give you righteousness first so that your throne can be established.

¹² It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. {Proverb 16:12}

⁵ Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.{Proverbs 25:5}

The foundation of any throne is righteousness and justice. Even God’s throne is found on righteousness and justice. He therefore has made us kings and also established our thrones in righteousness and justice.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before you. {Psalms 89:14}

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
    let the distant shores rejoice.
² Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. {Psalms 97:1-2}

Dear friends God is reigning in righteousness and we his children cannot afford to do otherwise. There is no excuse to give. That feeling of condemnation and disqualification that has incapacitated so many must now be replaced with the righteousness consciousness and a royal mentality. God has given us the gift of righteousness so we can reign with it. We don’t reign by self -righteousness but by Christ’s righteousness. Christ has been made unto us wisdom and righteousness so that we can reign by Him. This is what Christ Jesus who is both our wisdom and righteousness said about our kingship:

By me kings reign
    and rulers issue decrees that are just;
¹⁶ by me princes govern,
    and nobles—all who rule on earth.{Proverbs 8:15-16}

³⁰ But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption {1Corinthians 1:30}

Did you notice that it is by Him; that is by His righteousness that we will reign? It is those who receive abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness that will reign in life. You have received both of them but why are you not reigning? You still feel you are not holy enough to reign. Are you not aware that you have been chosen to reign? You are pure in His eyes and he has set you apart to reign.

⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;{1 Peter 2:9}

Have you seen the word royal priesthood? You are not just chosen to be king but also to be priest. All of heaven is waiting for you to reign. You now have a right to access the Father’s presence any time and make a demand. He gave you all authority in heaven and on earth so that you can reign. He gave you His name "Jesus" to reign with. He said to cast out devils and heal the sick in His name. The mandate to rule and have dominion over Satan, sin, sicknesses and diseases has been given to us. We should be looking for the sick to heal and the oppressed to set free. No demon should feel free around you. Cast it out! 

What Jesus would have done if He were physically present we can also do by the authority in His name. The world is the way it is because kings have refused to reign. Change in political leadership from one government to another cannot change the world. We have allowed people who are not yet established in righteousness to rule over us when the bible says a throne is established in righteousness. Until we who are righteous sit on those thrones, there cannot be justice in the world. We are the ones who should rule every sphere of society and saturate the world with kingdom principles. The kingdoms of the earth is ours to take charge of.

¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth {Rev 5:10}

The church is the last hope for humanity. Secular governments have failed and will keep failing. God is counting on us to disciple nations and rule over them. Every nation of the world has been given to us to discipline. We are to teach them the truth and principles of the kingdom. We hold the keys of the kingdom in our hands now and we have authority to shut and open any door as we desire. Heaven is waiting on us to make righteous decrees and establish kingdom laws on earth. Heaven is set to back us up if we would be bold enough to make decrees.

¹⁹ And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.{Matthew 16:19}

We are to flood the earth with righteousness and justice. Every country of the world should be ruled in righteousness and justice and that cannot be done by unrighteous unbelievers. We are to turn many to righteousness and bring them into the kingdom. Every sector of society should have people who have been turned to righteousness. We must turn many to Christ. There should be no unrighteous person in leadership because his throne is not founded on righteousness. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink. We must lead many to righteousness, impact them with the Holy Ghost and establish peace on the earth.

¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. {Romans 14:7}

I dare you to locate a sphere of society that you will reign over as king to lead many to righteousness and establish kingdom principles. The whole world is groaning in pain waiting for the sons of God to be revealed. The righteous kings are hiding while creation earnestly expects them to manifest. We are the deliverers who shall come up on mount Zion. We are to shine as light in the world and give savour to the earth.

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. {Matthew 13:43}

 ³ Those who are wise^[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. {Daniel 12:3}

¹⁴ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.{Matthew 5:14-16}

The world is supposed to receive light from us. We are to give direction to them. They are walking in darkness and will keep stumbling until we show them the way. We are made kings so we can give direction to a lost world. They are to see our good works and glorify our father in heaven. Just the way the people of a country rejoice when their president does a lot of good works so is the entire world supposed to rejoice when the righteous rules. The heathen will see our good works and glorify God. They will turn to God and live in righteousness. This is the reason why God established us in righteousness. To reign and do good works. We are created anew in Christ Jesus for good works. We are God’s masterpiece created anew unto good works.

¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago {Ephesians 2:10 NLT}

What are the good things He recreated us for and planned for us to do?.....check out next week's article 

TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD PART 2

 TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD PART 2

Now let’s take a look at another hero of faith; the man after God’s heart, David the son of Jesse.

Have you heard of the sure mercies of David? How God entered into a covenant relationship with Him?

³ Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you, to give you all the unfailing mercies and love that I had for King David {Isaiah 55:3TLB}

I was shocked to see a man with a lot of shortcomings as David listed among the heroes of faith.

If you read your bible, you would have known that this man was not only a murderer but also an adulterer. He killed a man and took his wife. Let’s see the story:

  The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had many cattle and sheep, ³ while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. 

 ⁴ One day a visitor arrived at the rich man's home. The rich man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared a meal for his guest.”

⁵ David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die! ⁶ For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”

⁷ “You are that man,” Nathan said to David. “And this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul. ⁸ I gave you his kingdom and his wives; I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much. ⁹ Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife! 

 

 ¹⁰ Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah's wife. ¹¹ I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble on you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man; and he will have intercourse with them in broad daylight. ¹² You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.’”

¹³ “I have sinned against the Lord,” David said.

Nathan replied, “The Lord forgives you; you will not die. ¹⁴ But because you have shown such contempt for the Lord in doing this, your child will die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went home.{2samuel 12:1-15 GNT}

God forgave David and pardoned his sins. God how could you pardon such grievous sins? My answer; true relationship. In fact do you read the book of psalms? Do you sing the hymns of David in your church? How could you? Are you not aware that they were written by a murderer and adulterer? The problem we have with God is not our shortcomings, it is the lack of true relationship.

 If God could forgive David, then you can also be forgiven. Just because of true relationship, God even had to enter into a covenant with David. Let’s hear what God said to David:

¹⁹ In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants,
    “I have given help to a famous soldier;
    I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.
²⁰ I have made my servant David king
    by anointing him with holy oil.
²¹ My strength will always be with him,
    my power will make him strong.
²² His enemies will never succeed against him;
    the wicked will not defeat him.
²³ I will crush his foes
    and kill everyone who hates him.

 
²⁴ I will love him and be loyal to him;
    I will make him always victorious.
²⁵ I will extend his kingdom
    from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River.
²⁶ He will say to me,
    ‘You are my father and my God;
    you are my protector and savior.’
²⁷ I will make him my first-born son,
    the greatest of all kings.

 
²⁸ I will always keep my promise to him,
    and my covenant with him will last forever.
²⁹ His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky;
    a descendant of his will always be king.

³⁰ “But if his descendants disobey my law
    and do not live according to my commands,
³¹ if they disregard my instructions
    and do not keep my commandments,
³² then I will punish them for their sins;
    I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

 
³³ But I will not stop loving David
    or fail to keep my promise to him.
³⁴ I will not break my covenant with him
    or take back even one promise I made him.

³⁵ “Once and for all I have promised by my holy name:
    I will never lie to David.
³⁶ He will always have descendants,
    and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.
³⁷ It will be as permanent as the moon,
    that faithful witness in the sky.”{Psalms 89:19-37 GNT}

Now if God can make such a covenant with David, He can also make one with you. Just be sincere in your relationship with Him. Don’t prove to be self- righteous. Acknowledge your weaknesses and let His strength be perfected in your weaknesses because when you are weak, then you are strong.

⁹ But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me. ¹⁰ I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. {2Corinthians 12:9-10 GNT}

Are you aware that the prostitute rehab escaped the destruction that came upon those who didn’t trust God? Note that it is because of her faith that she was listed among the heroes of faith. Not only that she was listed among the faith heroes but also had her name written in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. You will see that in Matthew chapter 1 verse 5.

If unqualified people of old enjoyed sure mercies, you too who have accepted Christ can enjoy much more unfailing mercies and loving kindness if you can just humble yourself before God believing that He is your righteousness. Acknowledge your shortcomings and allow Him perfect His strength in your weaknesses. He will not stop loving you.Enjoy a faith and love relationship with God today.