We've received quite a few words lately about this being a time of God purifying and cleansing us...from the inside out. Now this is really a good thing!
The more we allow Him to come in and purify as needed, the more He can do through us...amen!
Now WHO doesn't want to walk in more Kingdom authority and power! Be encouraged as you walk out a powerful year in the Lord. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
In the month of December, God was leading us all to go deeper in Him, because this month of January will be a time of consecration and setting apart for God's work in 2019. Then in February, we will watch God fling wide the doors of opportunity for us as we have been prepared with a new and fresh anointing that was cultivated through our tears in December 2018 and our purification in January 2019.
On December 25, Christmas morning, God woke me up with His overwhelming presence and a blanket of covering and He said the word, "Righteousness." I knew that the whole month of weeping and tears, as in the valley of Baca (Psalm 84), had been Him setting me up to understand how this key was going to be important in 2019. He began to speak to me about putting on His righteousness and standing in this for the new year, and encouraging others to do the same.
Righteousness: The Key We All Can Access
The Word tells us that our faith is credited as righteousness. Righteousness is right standing with God that we did not earn, it is a gift that comes from Him. We receive it at salvation according to Romans 6:4-5 (NASB), "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection."
In our death, burial and resurrection in Christ, we are united with Him and His righteousness. This is a key we all have access to when we spiritually discern this truth and examine it from a spiritual perspective.
In Romans 4:2-5 (NIV), the Word says: "If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." (Photo via Unsplash)
This righteousness is a free gift we have been given by our own death, burial and resurrection in Christ Jesus and is a key to helping us walk in power in 2019. The Apostle Paul knew about this righteousness and speaks to this truth in Philippians 3:7-9 (NIV), "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith."
Seeing Through the Eyes of Christ
This kind of righteousness is based on being right because of what Christ did for us already. The Apostle Paul tells us that what was important was that he "be found in Him" which is a Greek word "heurisko," which means to see as Christ sees or perceives as Christ perceives. This means that Paul wants to SEE through the eyes of Christ how Christ operated in righteousness and how he too could apply this truth. This is a spiritually discerned truth, it is not something the natural world knows or even understands. The Apostle Paul wants to SEE, as in union with Christ by faith, how his Lord and Savior Christ Jesus walked in righteousness on this earth.
In Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV), the Apostle Paul says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus."
The gift of righteousness manifesting on Earth through us is something we are to attain to. This gift is so powerful that Jesus mentioned it in Matthew 5:20 (NIV), "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
This means our righteousness must exceed that of law-givers themselves. We must supersede the earthly manifestation of righteousness first with a spiritual manifestation. So, how can we do this? This powerful key of the Kingdom of Heaven is made available to us who believe by faith we have received it. As we walk in righteousness we carry this supernatural Kingdom key that opens pathways to follow God, and we help others beyond the mockery we all receive from the world. The world is always looking to condemn and judge behavior and the function of righteousness or right standing from the perspective of act only. However, the heavenlies view righteousness as a gift that when worn by the recipient will produce an effect of Kingdom righteousness on Earth through acts of righteousness.
In other words, Christ changes us to BE righteous so we can DO righteous acts. The earth looks only to the doing part and is quick to be used of the enemy to condemn Christians and attack those who are spiritual. Those who walk in the righteousness of Christ will walk in a royalty of Heaven that will empower them to do the will of God and stand firm in face of the enemy's schemes, all because by faith we WEAR His righteousness in our hearts.
How Does Christ Supplies Our Need for Righteousness?
The enemy is always there to supplant lies of the past or make our failures stand out to us or others. This causes us to strive to fix our issues, only to find out that we have no power to sustain because we don't know His righteousness first. Righteousness is His power by faith.
How does Christ supply our need for this righteousness? The Word tells us He gives us the breastplate of righteousness: "Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14 NASB). (Photo via Pixabay)
He also gives us the "robe of righteousness" according to Isaiah 61:10 (NASB), "I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
We are also told when we learn to walk in His righteousness on Earth and have acts of righteousness that flow from being righteous in Him, that He gives us the crown of righteousness when we pass on to be with Him. This is in 2 Timothy 4:8 (NASB), "...in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."
In summary, righteousness by faith is the heavenly key we all need for 2019. The enemy wants to keep you down and you must fight with the breastplate of righteousness or the robe of righteousness that you did not earn, but was freely given to you by your death, burial and resurrection in Christ. Don't delay, ask God to open your eyes to SEE supernaturally as Christ wants you to see and perceive these truths that are spiritually discerned. I believe God wants to open your eyes now to this truth. This Kingdom key will sustain you throughout the year and bring you peace and power to attain to the goals He has personally given you for 2019. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Dr. Candice Smithyman
Founder, Dream Mentors Transformational Life Coaching Institute
Email: click here
Website: www.dreammentors.org
Dr. Candice Smithyman is the founder of Dream Mentors International, a Biblical life counseling and coaching educational organization that teaches and trains educators and coaches in the specialty of life coaching. She is also founder of the Glory Road Show, where she hosts weekly interviews which are seen on Faith USA, internet TV, Facebook, and her YOUTUBE channel. Her ministry website is available at candicesmithyman.com and dreammentors.org, where people people can become credentialed Biblical or transformational life coaches and receive Biblical and transformational life coaching for every area of their life. She is also co-founder of Freedom Destiny Church in Orange Park, Florida.
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