Revival of Righteousness

September 19, 2010

Proverbs 14:34

Righteousness – acting rightly, being upright – basically do what is right.

“ Do the Right Thing” .

It is possible to be righteous.

Focus on doing what is right before God. If you leave man to himself he cannot do what is right. You need a Godly influence to do what is right.

Rom 3:21,22 – God’ s standard of righteousness can be kept. Jesus is the example.

Even when we walk into impossible situations, we can make the right choice. Joseph walked uprightly before God. Joseph did what was right when Potiphar’ s wife tried to seduce him. He ran. He ended up in jail based on a lie. So you might say, what is the use of doing the right thing? God is always there to pick you up when you walk uprightly before Him. God never deserts us.

God does rightly out of His holiness. God requires us to do the right thing as well since he commands us to be holy as He is holy. When we move away from the righteousness of God we have problems. Sin has distorted what the right thing is.

“Fear God and keep His commandments"

Ecclesiastes 12:13

“ Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace (reproach) to any people” - Proverbs 14:34

If America was really based on the righteousness of God, slavery would never have been a part of its history.
We hinder ourselves from having God’ s righteousness played out in our lives when we sin. Romans 1:16,17 tells us that sin hinders us from receiving the blessing of God’s righteousness.

A Revival of Righteousness is a renewed commitment to God’s standard of what is right. Are you ready to be revived in the righteousness of God?

Pastor Pete

A Little Mercy Goes a Long Way

 September 5, 2010

Lamentations 3:19 – 24

The prophet Jeremiah laments his situation to God. In verse 1, he says that he has seen affliction. His situation has affected him physically and emotionally. Verses 1-20 describe how Jeremiah feels. He feels like he is in a dark place. When he thinks about it, his “ soul is downcast within him” (v20). He is depressed. But then he calls to mind the faithfulness of God.

 

We can remember the different ages and stages of our lives. We also remember the difficult or painful experiences in our lives. Sin has had an impact on our lives. Even when we have done everything right, because we live in a sinful world. It seems that our path is blocked. Sometimes things happen that are unfair.

 

But God calls us to consciously remember and because of this we can have hope. Remembrance can bring pain but it can also bring hope. The fact that I can remember is a good thing.

 

What are we called to remember?

1. The Lord’s Great Love. God is Love. God is a God of Love, “because of His great love, we are not consumed” (v22). We experience mercy, forgiveness, and grace because of His love. 
2. His Compassion never fails v.22

God’ s Love and Compassion are new every morning (v23). So we can say “Lord I thank you and I am looking forward to something fresh, something new” - Everyday something new.

 

God is faithful – He’s already provided.

The faithlessness of people seems to overshadow the light of God.

• Since God is light we can decide to make Him our portion (v24)
• Since He is faithful we can decide to wait for him (v24)
• Since He Is faithful we can hope in Him. “ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him” (v25)

In Summary

We can remember the stuff in the past but we don’t have to let it control us. We can pray, Lord renew me, refresh me- give me a new perspective. To be revived is to be renewed, refreshed. It is to have a New Focus, a Refreshed Focus. To be revived is to look forward to spiritual growth. A Fresh Outlook.

Pastor Pete