Living Right with God - Ephesians 6:14

Vanessa little gremlins in the sound system of the humidity guitar chords or something like that be a lot of different things but Good to be in God's house. Can you imagine that day when our Lord returns an awesome event next to the Lord Death burial and Resurrection when he returns and you thought about that before we get to the message this morning. I want you to think about with me. First of all, what's going to be like for you where you going to be going to be done? Then you might be under the hood of a car or truck working change the plugs out on something if you if you might be doing that you might be teaching a class school. Let Me Take You somebody's post may be your nurse that you work in the medical field you be taking somebody's pulse imagine that for just a second you be taking somebody's pulse and bone that person's nurse is gone August 2nd, but you should be taking somebody's post. And the person who supposed you taken could be gone.

Do you know the if you don't know the Lord you be still standing there taking that post nothing but just a bunch of thin air? Where you going to be when the Lord returns are you prepared? And then the second question is do the people you love, you know, and love the most, you know, you can if they know Jesus as your lord and savior. So if you have two older children, you know, I believe that I believe it's different ages the kids come to the Lord, you know, something's at different ages all kinds of people come to work and do your children know the Lord to a place, you know, you're going but you know, they're going to go. Do you know that you know, they have a testimony. I pray that price they're hard. Those are awesome questions weighty questions for us this morning had nothing to do with the message this morning, but I just wanted to ask you that do you know where you going to be whenever the Lord returned? Amen is chapter 6 we've been in a series on the armor of God and it's been very fruitful for she's been very very fruitful forest. And Paul has gone to Great Lengths. He's gotten to the certain place in the book of Ephesians at his he's talked about our relationship to the Lord. My favorite part was true about the blessings of Salvation back in Chapter 2 and 3 button chapter 5. He's just finished up talking about our relationship husbands to wives. He's talked about servant and how and how we should behave with one of Weather in just living in the powers-that-be. Guess you're certain place. You're at the end of the message of his the letter with fusions and he feels compressed to impress upon this great conflict this great battle and I look recession verse 10 chapter 6, finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might and put on the full armor of God that shoot so you'll be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. We preach the whole message on that be able to stand in this world for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against Powers against the world forces of Darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in Heavenly places. Therefore take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything be able to stand firm verse 14 stand firm therefore and then the armor describe heading your loins with truth and heading put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace in addition to all taking up the shield of Faith which with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil in and take the helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God and we can't forget you put all these things on look what he says vs. 18th and with all prayer and petition prayer at all times in the spirit and with this in view be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the same we seeing Paul's we seeing Paul's letter but especially here at the end of the letters intensity with which he tried see righteous is deep intensity about this conflict of the Christian. It's almost at The Human Experience, but it's not The Human Experience. It's the Christian experience the general population's unsafe population. They don't know the conflict of the Christian knows Christian, who is Phil knows got you were at war with much of what is going on in the world today. And so there's a conflict for us as we are born again Christians and we know what we're called to do. We hear the sermon to preach we read in the rich were convicted in our hearts about certain a certain pattern of Life After The Life of Christ J & T's as pulse is a Peterson and First Finger be holy for I am Holy God it said and we feel the weight of that is so we know that there is a struggle that is involved here. So we great intensity. He talks about this conflict and the imagery that we were mentioned herein will masonry bit later is actually out of Isaiah. The image was probably referring to is some imagery that comes out of a Heavenly Warrior and out of Isaiah 57, Isaiah 59 weather and 17 and there's a picture of a heavenly Enso Paul surely as with that Jewish background of his and and the understanding of God in an Old Testament Warrior contact and now being changed between two Roman soldiers and looking at him with all these pieces of armor. God is impressed upon him by the Holy Spirit these pieces of armor that we've been addressing one after the other. He says putting on you all remember the loins girded with truth. What are the three greatest truth? We're reviewing a little bit today truth. The first truth remember that there's a God remember that was a great point in the message last week. The reality of that. There is a God and the second the second truth was the Gospel of Jesus Christ that God loved us and then you remember the third truth the third truth that we gird ourselves that we pressed in this world in is that that has implications for life. If you're truly a born-again believer of God and you believe all those other for these all these things then it affects your life and how you live there, but it's a man. Okay. That's the truth that we've been guarded with the second piece of armor. He talks about now in verse 14 It hasn't put on the breastplate of righteousness. What are the things you need to remember about that breastplate of righteousness? Is that protected the vital organs are protected the heart protected stock goes to these different things. He makes really good illustration when he talks about the place that we live the place that we feel the place that were convicted him in Greek and Roman thinking culture. That's where we are moved in our vows in the bowels of armor seen her in her side, but something luge great great illustration stuff, but he says that we're protected by this breastplate of righteousness. And so we have to look at the turnout at least have to consider the terminology of what it means to be righteous. What would his righteousness are we exactly talking about? What righteousness are we talkin about in the overall context its first of all its righteousness is Bali before God self-righteousness. Our own righteousness doesn't do us any good does it lot of people try to live in their own self-righteousness? Why do this this this and this and I feel like it if I And I'm going to get to go to heaven. I'll get to be with God most world religions. They probably all world religions outside of Christianity Christianity blue do this to some form another what I do the Christian faith knows nothing of that. We do not save ourselves. We accept the Salvation that's offered to buy that conviction conviction, but the only righteousness just going to stand us up before God is the righteousness that God is going to adhere to and he is going to recognize so who's talking about God's own personal righteousness. Is he talking about the righteousness that comes through Christ? Is he talking about the the new status that we have the righteousness cuz you see there's a righteousness that we possess when we are saved is it that righteousness are as it's a new nature of righteousness that we have. Where's the ethical power of that righteousness? It's not based on anything of us in the world. So it has to be the ethical power of God in the righteousness that he in part was Paul thinking about legal jurisprudence. I practice all week. So, you know how hard it is to say jurisprudence. It's hard to say jurisprudence. It's even harder to preach and say jurisprudence. Is he talking about in the Roman Greco thinking of jurisprudence in the Hebrew or the Greek or is he talking about a whole new cosmic way that we can't even begin to understand that away. Animal jump out of operation for just a second at 2 to save this one little thank you. But you know, did you think what happens on a scale when you got saved somewhere someway somehow in some Cosmic way that we can't even fathom when you place your faith in Christ. God makes everything right? And that's really what this whole sermons about. How do we how can you be right with God one of the things that has led me in and help me to stand for the pulpit for so many years now is the fact the knowledge that there are people that are coming in together to hear God's word preach then get right with God and it has absolutely nothing to do with me or the church or how good you can be or what color your skin or any of that junk it has everything to do with who God is and if you know it or not.

righteousness when we look at the The breakdown of the word righteousness in the Hebrew and Greek. There's a lot of wonderful implications if we had we really do need to look at them. But you know in the Hebrew is described, especially as straightness Justice. It's called honesty and other places it's somebody who is genuine. It's also referred to as there's different aspects of shakes at me. But in a growing cultural context in the Hebrew it became to know the righteousness that we knows is fully fleshed-out and later New Testament scriptures its flesh down in the sense of fairness or faithfulness and God's faithfulness to do what he said he would do especially in regards to Covenant God's people is not my faithfulness. Not yours in the world final fleshing out. If I'm Giselle and its final description in God's faithfulness to do and carry out when he said he would do it because that bass is more of the weight that basis of weight through the Lion's Share of the way and what and what and who God is and I Are Who We Are Cuz I know who I am and who and what I am is going to fail but God's righteousness is never going to fail. Aren't you glad that when you go out when you came to know God, I'm just make this is your Calhoun paraphrase here, but aren't you glad that you came to know God he looked at you and said, oh my goodness child and you need some righteous and I'm just going to give you back some of your righteousness is very best work you have and this is what you're going to go on aren't you? Glad that God didn't say that but in his scripture, he tells us that he important to you and we're going to talk about two words imputation impartation being party to you a righteousness. They can only come from God you got God's righteousness.

Well, it's looking a forensic way in this is really the body of the message right here are four different ways. We want to look at this one of us in Romans chapter 3 and there's a little bit of a discourse here. You can turn over if you want to be here for just a second for this point. If we looking at forensic term and we looking Romans chapter 3 verse 26 then what is the advantage does as you have or what benefit of circumcision great in every respect first if they were entrusted with the actual words of God what then if they did not believe their unbelief will not notify the faithfulness of God. Will it run it? God must be proven true though. Every person found to be a liar. She there again is God's right righteousness his faithfulness as it is written so that you are justified in your words and Prevail when you are judged, But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God what shall we say The God Who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous. Is he I'm speaking from a human Viewpoint far from it for otherwise, how will God judge the world but it through my life by the truth of God abounds into Glory. Why am I also being judged as a center and why not say just as we are slammed usually reported and some climate we say let's do evil that good may come of it. Now that's been a very popular that's actually been a very popular thought throughout history history has more good can come people have actually thought and talked dad. Their condemnation is Desert verse 9 chapter 3 verse 9. What are we better than that? I'm not at all for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin as it is written. There is no one righteous. There is no righteous person. No not even one and so in this concept of righteousness when you look at Romans chapters 1 2 and 3 with Paul does he goes to Great Lengths in those chapters? That's a very rich areas theology study. But what he's doing is he cuts it he's cutting everybody down to the same level and Romans chapter 323 were my very favorite verses. This is how I begin my conversation with someone when I'm leaving them to Lourdes and fallen short of the glory of God and you know, when you're witnessing to someone that's something that they can kind of get a hold on you stand Impulse emphasis there in Romans 3 later and 9/10. There's not one who is righteous and that's you know, that's one thing I do. There was no locks. I knew there was a whole lot that I didn't I didn't do anything when I came down with Lord, but I didn't know that I was not righteous. I was not making it I would not doing what I needed to do. My mind wasn't right. My life wasn't right. My morals were not right. And we've talked about this is just a little bit earlier. There is the ever-so-slight effort or desire. I better clean my life up before I come to God and you can't do that. That's a mistake. You can't clean your life becomes a God that leads down to work since and self-righteousness and Damnation because when you get before God, you showed him your righteousness. Guess what the Bible says, they are as filthy rags your very best one two, and three to make sure we're all on the same page that it's not by works that hold this course. I just shared with you in this first point here. image first point go back to my notes Here. This righteousness is not of work and this is good news for us as flight. Number one a forensic. Look number to is righteous has is a gift. We're just going to use my short verse for that. But in Romans 3:24, it says being justified as a gift by his grace through the Redemption which is in Christ Jesus when we think about righteous Invasion the second thing we want to know it's not only sitting out of worst. The number to that it is a gift the righteousness that says the righteousness that has been imparted to you to you that righteousness is a gift from God and we all know what a gift is. The Greek word Doreen means to give to someone but you know, we have these little cultural anomalies in the western world. That way if somebody gives you a gift for you, did you give him a gift back if you anticipate it all going to give you a Christmas time? What time is it Christmas time? You have friends? Maybe you're just making sure it wasn't going to get again and show husbands and wives you heard. They were giving us. Yeah, go ahead and get anybody had that conversation. I hear you laugh. And you know, it's true. Because they get this is not the way it is with God. This is not the way this was going to get tickets for the gift that God gives us a real gift. This is a great comfort to you because there is nothing you do. You cannot you can't learn you can't treat you can't call her snot and didn't you this gift. It's a real gift and it is a gift that leads to sin that passage right there Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by his grace to Redemption the Greek word Apollo church. This means they release a gift releases us its face filter ology comes from and talking about the salvation is individual I Redemption Come to this place we place in Christ. It is a gift of God. It's not a word Point number one point. Number two in forensic. Luke says that it is also a gift. Do you know of this gift? Most of you and the room I think most of you as Christians we were you know, what a real this real gift is have you received that gift? Yeah, usually, you know, if you got any gift I used to use this as an illustration most, you know, if you got married or not, right? Doing that. I just walked in the door to the house one day and Brenda. Was there a conscious decision we got so it was an act. It was actually we knew and it happened but I won't ask you a question, you know, if you have the gift of Salvation or not. Do you fully understand that it's a gift. It's not something that you have learned. Have you accepted that gift? I really tried really hard to think of an illustration. Where are somebody maybe I tried to offer me a gift but I didn't take it but I can think of it every time anybody that you know from the time. I was a child till now.

But a lot of you have been offered a gift. So maybe when she was a friend at work and you're having lunch and you're having problems never telling you about will listen, this is how me and my husband just tell me and my wife are life really changed whenever we got faith in Christ. And you know, he thought maybe you should just exists exactly this way, but this is what you meant got offered us this free gift of Salvation Army accepted it. Can you accept a date gift? This is a forensic look at Point. Never to that righteousness is a gift from God. That gift is offered to you. Remember that that great Dreadful - missing at the beginning the message that day is coming. you need to accept that gift before that day comes forensic. Number three is righteousness is my declaration and my studies, you know, I had forgotten that I forgot and I knew this preach about it around and about it but sisters Romans 3 and 21, but now apart from the law of the righteousness of God has been revealed being witnessed by the law of the prophets, but the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe This righteousness is by decoration. I mentioned at the beginning of the message that Somehow I don't know how I've confessed you. I don't know how but somehow when we place our faith in Christ. You're convicted in your heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and you place your faith in Christ somewhere somehow by declaration by God's holy word is declared that through your faith in Christ Jesus. You are now Stave and righteous it so number one is declaration through faith. Now the only parallel line thing for us is Christian. God makes that declaration you what is Jesus do and every instance you see in the gospel. And so he called somebody calls him publicly. List goes to the heart of who we are as bad as I think in our denomination, but when we when we when we ask people to walk whenever we ask foods to make a public profession of faith and see if they're done when they walk down the aisle and represent them to the congregation and they say you don't save that. The person has been said they were just saying maybe they were saved years ago, but they're just now making a public or some form of a public declaration. This is at the heart of who we are and is very very new testament many many times you seem to help these people make that declaration. They were say maybe in my office but they profess it publicly to the congregation that baptistry right there. That's New Testament that's been down in the water with you that's down in the water in the New Testament with John the Baptist Jesus making that public profession of Faith. It's declared. Bridgeport number three is that alright sources is by declaration in those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. There's one more forensic. Look we want to take care of and this is Romans 5 and 10 Aroma Spa vacations for when we were enemies. We were reconciled to God. I knew that I knew that I knew that I was at war with God.

For rent for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by faith brother by the death of his son much more being reconciled. We shall be saved by his life and not only so but we also enjoy and God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received atonement. The last forensic was Declaration for those who place their faith, but this is a declaration on the basis of Christ to Tony. How did you stand up and say oh God. I want to be safe. I believe in you in my heart of hearts. And in that Sinners prayers that I prayed I prayed and I was confessing faith in someone's life who was righteous who was perfect who had given himself in place for my life is a with Jesus Christ and so his his a toning work. I'm trying to think of a parallel here for us help illustrate this point but you don't when you get shaky and so lord. It's because of the church. I know now from this point forward. I'll be staying institutional preaches and teaches a gospel station or my wife cuz she's a really good one port. I know them to be safe cuz I'm really close to my wife and we and we pray together everything. I've never prayed and asked you to my heartbeat. She does all the time. She's going to want to get to work. So I'm coming, coming Declaration of anything. She's done or transverse lie. He is done. It's on the atoning work of God's son Jesus Christ. He is the one Who died for me and I for you? I hear these testimonies what I say. Hi, tell me that when you were saying. Well, we were going through a funny time at that particular time. There was his dog and his cat has red bird landed on this blue dog. And by the end of the New Testament knows nothing of that.

Have you heard that testimony?

I have a little story to go with my testimony about a man coming by the house, but he had nothing is my salvation other than he told me the truth. There was a point in my head between my two ears when I was praying and thinking about my life and thinking about how I need to clean my life up and I knew I couldn't do it and I said to myself and nanoseconds we came to that place that prayer works as I give you my life. I was a hell for a second. It was a longest nanosecond of my life. stop But you can have it.

When I realized I couldn't I can't just to save myself. I could do was nothing I could do to help myself. I was 24 years old and already he's wanting to leave myself leave this body leave this world. Annette nanosecond

I place my faith in what God son Jesus and his atoning work it done. So this righteous is not by this righteous Sisters by Declaration of those who place their faith, but it's also by Declaration on the basis of Christ atoning death and his work another word that we might use a forensic we would like to take a look at it really quickly is expediate and it means to extinguish the guilt and curd Webster's Dictionary to extinguish the guilt that was incurred. Oh that old life that I used to live. distinguish that distinguish that sinful man that I was he

he killed it. He was crucified it is gone. A brand new man was born.

My high school classmates. I know many of wondered how my Calhoun how can you get up in front of other people preach got worse because somebody you knew is dead. Brand new it's been born again. That's not any of us do anything for the Lord everybody say man. A closing scripture for this concept of righteous breastplate that we enjoy comes out of 2nd Corinthians chapter 6. Call Sasha Baptist Ministries little bit of the word Apache cheer, but it's all good 2nd Corinthians 6 and 1 Paul says and working. Together with him. We also urge you to receive the grace of God to not receive the grace of God in vain for he says that a favorable time I listened to you and on the day of salvation home now. It's a favorable time but whole now is the day of salvation getting no reason for taking offense at anything to the ministry would not be discredited but in everything commending ourselves that's going to be the last to closing points are the pay attention. It says in everything we committed ourselves. He's talking about the ministry as Servants of God and much Ginger is in afflictions in hardships and difficulties invading San imprisonment in mob attacks in Labor's and sleeplessness and hunger in. Knowledge and patience and kindness in the Holy Spirit. In genuine love in the word of Truth and in the power of God by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand. and for the left power saying is we committed ourselves to ministry as we were able to dedicate ourselves to all these he talks about these trials. We also talked about these wonderful good things. One of the things that was that helped. I'll do this together with the weapons of righteousness one for the right hand and one for the left you remember how we said this concept of Truth could possibly be the the gurning up for the Lay's to be three faster than truth the reality of God the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then how to fix your life when we look at righteousness. The righteous breastplate perhaps has two things and that is when you got the Holiness the righteousness of God was imparted to you. Okay, and so it's not anything you've done it's not it and how good you are but the only way that we're going to be able to be to be able to go be with God one day guys. Is it we've gotten God's righteousness. That was some party to you. Okay, that's your positional salvation when you got saved but now it's Christmas at the end of story goodness know the rest of the story is now God is righteousness is impunity. What does that mean? I hate those words. What are you talking about?

now to the process of sanctification And you're faced with a challenge. Let's just take a lost. Let's just pulled off the wall and you have this moment you're going down life here and you're being the holy spirit's walking with you. The old man said but you still have the old nature is still the old nature in the new nature. Is there going down the road and the Temptation comes up. And in this instance you go ahead and you submit you die to self and you submit and you don't lust after that thing that comes before your eyes. Where did that righteousness come from? Such a good person on that day. You just a good ol boys. Are you just a good old girl and you've done with no no. No, it was the righteousness of God in the person of the Holy Spirit convicting you of what you do say or think or not to say anything and that my friends is how God gets to Victory and we get to be the humble servant to serve him. Somebody save me. And that's how come I can say with full confidence every time you see me mess up. That's my Calhoun and the devil. And every time I do something and it's good and it's right and it it anyway and Tim's to brush against. What is God's really that's God who gets the glory for that. Not me. God gets the glory for that. Have you received that righteousness and you place your faith in Christ the Holy Spirit. I don't think I've ever done that. It's okay. Don't be afraid don't be sure. Just meant we're going to have what's called an invitation will happens when we do it so much. We just look like salmon going Upstream. You know Baptist. We just know how did we just do it just like this, you know what that is. Well, we'll all stand up here in a minute and Jen may have been leaders. And if the Lord is convicting you about being saved and you want that right usage and you said I don't want that it has something to do with God rubbing ask anything from you yet again here throwing here with us. And and and do God's Mission God's work, but we do want you to have his Jesus if you