Sunday, September 24, 2017 - The Value of Righteous Living!
Pastor Roger Marcos
Sept. 24, 2017
For in Him We Live and Move and have Our Being.
How Much Do You Think You're Worth? I'm not talking about your net worth; I'm talking about your self-Worth.
Don't Ever Confuse Your Valuables with your Value as a Person. What's your Value? Ask yourself, ‘Who Owns Me?’
The Bible says, “You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him-be free now from all these earthly prides and fears.” (1 Corinthians 7:23 TLB)
You have been bought and paid for by Christ. You belong to Jesus. How much does that make you worth?
The Value of Righteous Living are based on God and the work of Jesus Christ. The most important Christian value is for a Christian to just value God more than anything, anybody, or any idea.
the evidence of these values come through deeds and actions. So the VALUES OF RIGHTEOUS LIVING include hope, righteousness, love, and putting God first in our lives LIKE humility, godliness, having God first in our lives means continuously seeking His righteousness and totally relying on Him.
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed-a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:17
TEXT: King Solomon Says; 34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to {any} people. (NAS) Proverbs 14:34
What Makes a Nation Great? Great Nation Speaks of Righteousness, Righteousness exalts a nation as our text clearly stated. This word exalted has reference not to material things, but to moral character.
What Is Righteousness?
The word righteousness is defined as: “the character or quality of being right or just”
It is the rendering to all their due, whether to God or man. A righteous person and a righteous nation will have both a vertical and a horizontal dimension. Righteousness means to be upright, to be a person of integrity.
So the only way a nation can be righteous is for the people who make up the nation to be righteous people.. Most of all, Christ expects us to live righteously. Now let’s look.
I. THE VALUE OF RIGHTEOUS LIVING ON NOAH’S TIME
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Mat. 24:38-39
A. Noah’s life Depend On God. Gen 6:5The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every “INTENT” of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:8-9 But Noah FOUND “Grace in the eyes of the Lord” 9Noah was just a man, PERFECT in his generations and Noah walked with God.
God’s Word says: “Noah walked with the true God.” What did that mean? Noah obeyed his God so closely and loved him so dearly. Thousands of years later, the Bible said of Noah: “Through [his] faith he condemned the world.” Hebrews 11:7. What can we today learn from his faith?
B. Noah’s Righteousness Demonstrate Obedience.
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7.
Gen 6:22Thus Noah, DID; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
While every living substance was destroyed upon the face of the ground, righteous Noah and his family were saved.
How Valuable Is Righteousness? Those who were saved could tell us or we can read
In the Scripture:
James 2:23 ...."Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. (Explain!)
Genesis 19 the two City. Explain why?
POINTS OF INTEREST FROM THE STORY OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
God was mercifully willing to spare the cities for the sake of a few righteous people, but none lived there. The Bible tells us all the inhabitants were depraved.
One of the reasons God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was because he did not want the Jews to be influenced by this evil. As the Creator of all things, God has the divine right to destroy evil as he sees fit.
Lot and his family were spared, but his future sons-in-laws were destroyed because they thought Lot was joking about God's wrath. Millions of people today think God and sin are things to joke about. God does exist, and he does punish unrepentant sinners.
The Bible clearly states that the fire and sulfur, or brimstone, rained down "from the Lord out of the heavens" (Genesis 19:24, NIV)
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[a] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah-from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities-and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
II. THE VALUE OF RIGHTEOUS LIVING TODAY
22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. Rom. 3:22
Living Righteously
Righteousness is right actions proceeding from right character. God is a righteous God and all throughout history God has been looking for men and women who will do right and obey His commands. The principle of righteousness if found throughout the Bible in every dispensation.
How Can a Believer live a Righteous life today!
As demonstrated in the past, righteous living is still of great value. The value of righteousness today is seen in the fact that:
A. Righteousness Gives Us Access to God. When we do right, living according to the Gospel of Christ, God’s eyes are over us; his ears are open to our prayers.
1 Peter 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
Proverbs 15:9The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but He loves him who follows righteousness.
FLOOD
The New Testament repeats the truth taught in Genesis that only eight people survived the global Flood (1 Peter 3:20). Every person outside the Ark when the Flood began perished. How many people in all lost their lives at that time? The Bible does not reveal how many people were on Earth when the Flood started, so we can only offer educated guesses about the pre-Flood population.
Some people believe the population was relatively low. The Bible explains that people were extremely corrupt and violent prior to the Flood. It is not hard to imagine the world being filled with wars, diseases, and other factors that would keep the population in check.
Only Righteousness Will Be Crowned.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
IF we love Doing Right - then We Will LOVE going to heaven!
Conclusion:
Righteous living amidst wickedness, is the only thing that will mean anything eternally!
to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water. 1Peter 3:20
We will either die the death of the righteous or the death of the wicked.
Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'
The Choice Is Ours. For our sake we must DO what the Bible says and BE what it Makes us!
The Lord, paid us from His death, and thank God for His unspeakable gift.
WE-WE-WE LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY - While We Have Been Given the Chance!
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them. JN. 3:36
Jesus Is Waiting!