Mighty Wind TV Podcast (audio)
Crowned In His Righteousness
Crowned In His Righteousness
Date of Service 6/27/24
When we do things his way, we will literally walk as those that are right with Christ. He paid the price for us, so then basically when we say, you know, we are the righteousness of God, it's because he's already paid the price, he went to the cross, he shed his blood, he forgave us of our sins, and he called us his own, so now we are the righteousness of God, if you keep on, keeping on, if you keep your eyes on Jesus and not allow what you see to move you, and you keep your eyes on the promises, then you see the fulfillment of those promises, and that's where we are at. We are seeing the fulfillment of God's promises over our lives, and it's beautiful. It's beautiful to see God's increase, God's crowning, and I really believe he is just begun. This is just the beginning, it's the beginning of God's, of God's showering, his goodness, and the path, our paths, literally being dripped with his abundance. Amen? Hey, when you place a crown on somebody, you are calling them forth, you are investing in what God has already spoken over their lives. I mean, that's what you should be doing. You should be speaking what God has spoken, what God is revealing, right? And so you know that we're all crowned in his kingdom, right? We are crowned. And we're going to go through some of these scriptures here today, because I thought how fitting would it be, but to continue on the theme about being crowned and arising and shining for his glory, what is to crown? But to declare or to acknowledge someone as having achieved something, a position, or that they are becoming someone, Psalm 103, and specifically I want to read to you verse 4, but then I'm going to go back and read a portion of Scripture from Psalm 103. But first, I'm going to look at verse 4, who, but we're referring to he, that he redeems our life from destruction and he crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies. He crowns us, he's already crowned us, right, and his word says, with loving kindness, his loving kindness, and his tender mercies. We serve a God that is continually pouring out his loving kindness upon us and his tender mercies. Let's start at verse 1 of Psalm 103 and verse 1, this is what it says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name, amen, and forget not all of his benefits. We can't forget, Church of God, sometimes you know what it can be easy to forget, but when we put our hearts and our minds, and we become focused on what his word says, we will not forget, actually we're instructed, it says, and forget not, forget not all of his what, benefits, benefits. The Lord has blessings, his promises are yes and amen. He has benefits, it says, who forgives all of your iniquities, that's a benefit, that's a blessing, that he forgives us, and we need his forgiveness every single day, and it has nothing to do with our age, but we need his forgiveness all the time, will we be willing to also offer that to others because we need to, right? So he forgives, yeah he forgets not all of his benefits, who forgives all of our iniquities, means our sins, he forgives our sins, and he heals us of all our diseases. This is the Word of God, this is the promise of God. You don't base the promise of God based on your circumstance, or what you see, what's in your life currently right now. We say no, if that is different from what the Word of God says, we go with this, we go with the Word, we stand on the Word, he said in his Word he heals all, say all, our diseases. And then our verse four, which is the main verse here, and it goes with the theme of what we've learned this week, who redeems your life from destruction, stop right there. He redeems, he has purchased, he redeems, he's redeemed, he's bought us back, he redeemed your life, so he's redeemed my life. From what, from destruction, from destruction. We were on a destructive course without Jesus, every single one of us were, but it says he redeems your life from destruction, and he surrounds you with loving kindness and tender mercies. I want you to see yourself crowned, I want you to see that you are crowned, you are crowned with God's loving kindness, you are crowned with his tender mercies, and then look at verse five, it says, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles up, he's renewing our youth, and he renews our youth like the eagles, amen? Glory to God, glory to God, say glory to God, I receive this, it's mine, God's Word is true, I receive it all, amen, turn your Bibles to 2 Timothy and chapter 4, because again, there's a crowning that's spoken of in this scripture here, and verse eight, 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 only to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. The crown of righteousness, I want to talk to you for a moment about the crown of righteousness. Crown of righteousness, so righteousness, we are right because of Christ in us, in other words, righteousness means that we are in right standing because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. So we are righteous in the Lord, not because of our works, because our works the Bible says are like filthy rags, so we can't achieve righteousness based on our efforts, our merits, right, we can't our efforts, we can't achieve righteousness, it is Christ's righteousness in us, he paid the price for us, so then basically when we say, you know, we are the righteousness of God, it's because he's already paid the price, he went to the cross, he shed his blood, he forgave us of our sins, and he called us his own, so now we are the righteousness of God, he sees us as the righteousness of God, which means he sees us in right standing with Christ. We are in right standing with Christ, because we're the righteousness of God, right? So I wanted to make sure that we all understood about that word, righteousness, because it's really, really important, amen? So when we look at verse 8, it says, what do we, what's laid up for us, but the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give unto us on that day, right? And of course he already has called us his righteousness, but there's a crown, think about the crowns, the crowns that we will be receiving, crowns that we've received now, both in the natural but also in the spiritual, but the crowns that we will be receiving. Now, stay at Second Timothy 4, and I want you to just go to look at verse 1. I want to read this whole portion of Scripture from 1 to 8, so we can read it all in context. Are we ready? Verse 1? Okay, so it says, "I charge you therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word, church, preach the word. Believers in Christ, preach the word. Preach the word. Be ready. We are not crowned so that we can just look good. Be ready. Be ready in season and out of season. Always be ready. How do we always be ready? Because we're always in this word. We let this word always be in us. Therefore, the Spirit of God will quicken you and you will be ready." Amen? It says, "Convinced rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. We are called. Convince rebuke, exhort. We're to speak truth, even sometimes when truth hurts, for we're to speak truth in love. For the time will come when they will not endure our sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves. Teachers, they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. Itching ears, a time will come. They will not endure sound doctrine. Did you read that in verse 3? They will not endure sound doctrine. It's giving us here a warning. He's saying, "I want you to preach the word. I want you to be ready in season and out of season and it has nothing to do with your age." So at all ages, if you're a Christian, he's speaking to Christians. Believers. Believers in Jesus Christ. Be ready. Have the word of God within you because there is and still is now, of course, and always will be. But those that fall away because they're itching ears, they want to hear what they want to hear. They don't want to come into alignment and be the righteousness of God. So God has promised us a crown of righteousness, right? Although he has promised us that when we do things his way, we will literally walk as those that are right with Christ. But you got to do it his way. We got to walk his walk. We got to talk his word. We got to be who he calls us to be, right? As children of the Most High God, as men and women of the Most High God, because we do live in a culture where there is not sound doctrine and people don't want to hear sound doctrine. They have itching ears and they want to hear what they want to hear. That is not of God. That is not church. That's a cult. And we can't be okay with that. And we have to be able to see the difference and be able to say, "Oh, that's not of God." At every age, those that have children and grandchildren, please teach your children. At every age, please teach them right from wrong. At every age, teach them to discern, teach them to question, teach them to ask the questions. Well, what do you think about that? This is not teaching them to be judgmental. It's teaching them how to judge rightly. It's so important that we teach them how to judge rightly in a world that's mixed with compromise and yet still calls it Christianity, right? So we have such a responsibility, a beautiful responsibility, right? To do this very thing. Preach the word verse two. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. And we are seeing that already. We see many, not enduring sound. They don't want to hear the sound doctrine. But according to their own desires, who's desire, not God's desire, it's according to their own desires, right? It says here that because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves, teachers. Yeah, teachers, false teachers. They will heap up for themselves, people that will say what they want to hear. That's contrary to the word of God. And we have to learn what truly is of God and what isn't. And you do know if you just open your word and continue reading it, but verse five, but you. Look at what it says, verse five. I want you to really focus on verse five for a moment, but you, he's talking to all of us, but you arise and shine by the club, house of glory, Christians, but you be watchful in all things, and you be watchful, be attentive, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry, be watchful in all things, endure afflictions. Well, why would he just throw that in there? This is be watchful, then he says, do the work of evangelist, and he says, fulfill your ministry, but right in the middle, he says, endure afflictions. Yes, because if you're going to stand as one that is ready and preaching the word in ready, in season and out of season, you will have opposition and you will have those that will not want to hear you. And as a matter of fact, they're going to try to make it difficult for you. They'll try to oppose you, they'll call you all manner of all words, all names, you know, they'll try to hurt you. That's the goal because they want you to be quiet. They want you to stop saying truth, but you can't be of those that shrink back. You will not compromise. We will not compromise. We will not be like those teachers that they're trying to find a teacher that's just because they have itching ears. They're going to find someone that agrees with them even though it's not of God. They're out there. There's plenty of them. There's plenty of them that are not preaching truth. They're just preaching culture. They don't want to step on toes. They see it as stepping on toes, which is already off the bat that's wrong. The focus is not whether you are or whether you're not stepping on toes. The focus is, are you willing to give the pure Word of God? And are you willing to be led by the Spirit of God and give forth the truth, regardless of what people, if they like it or not, you're going to be faithful. We got to be faithful to speak truth. Did it say preach the Word? Yes. And are we going to do that? Are we going to be ready in season and out of season? Are we going to be ready in season and out of season? Are we already ready in season and out of season? Yes. Do we continue to learn more all the time? Yeah, every single day. Is there any difference between age? Like I'm older than you. We're all older than you guys, right? Is God speaking differently to us than He's speaking to you? No. We're all to be ready in season and out of season. Continually learning the Word of God. Continually sharpening that sword. And as that sword gets sharper and sharper and sharper, then you will see that double-edged sword, it cuts, but it also heals. That sword cuts. The Word of God can cut, but it will heal. It only cuts to divide that which is not of God. It only cuts to remove that which is not of Him in the first place. And so if we are people that are unoffendable with unoffendable hearts, then we can actually receive the cutting and saying, "Lord, I thank you because you're my healer. I thank you. You didn't want that for me because that was going to lead me to destruction. I don't want to be led to destruction. I want to be led to the goodness of God. I thank you that you are good. I thank you that your loving kindness is upon me. Matter of fact, you're crowning me. We're crowned with your goodness. You're loving kindness, but I got to do it your way. I get to do it your way. Amen? So verse 6, "For I am already being poured out. I'm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight." Come on, verse 7, let's say verse 7 together. I mean, we could sing it, but I think we'll just say it. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Let's do it again. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. That's what we want to say on that day. That's what we want to continue to say now that I am fighting the fight. Amen? That I will finish the race. Amen? That I will keep the faith. Amen? Then that day will come when we say it is done. Thank you, Lord, for receiving me into your kingdom. Hallelujah, right? We're going to keep on keeping on. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Verse 8, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness." Wow, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, he's the righteous judge, he sees it all. He will give to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Thank you, Father. Now, I'm just going to quickly go through some of these other scriptures with you. I want you to see how many times this is mentioned, crowning and being crowned and God's reference to being crowned in the Word. This is not the only place. These are not the only places, but these are some of the places. So in Jeremiah 23 and verse 5, it says that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness, a king shall reign and prosper. Thank you, Jesus. You are our king. In Matthew 5, we read about being crowned with his righteousness, not ours, and so it's Matthew 5, verse 20. Matthew 5, verse 20. It says, "But I warn you, unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers and the religious laws and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of a God." And so, you know, here, because he's saying, "Your righteousness cannot be like the scribes in the Pharisees," which they just thought it was their good works. They thought it was their good efforts, their strong work ethic, their memorization of the Word of God, their ability to do and obey the law. And they thought that that was going to enter, cause them to enter into the kingdom and be crowned with a crown of righteousness, but they missed it. We have to remember, it is God's ability. It is his efforts on our lives. And so when we are crowned, we're crowned with whose righteousness are we crowned with? His, right? We're crowned with his. And not only are we crowned, but in Isaiah 61 and verse 10, we're also covered. We're crowned. We see the crown. I want you to see the crown of God on your head. We're crowned with many crowns and lots of different crowns. But we're covered as well with his garments. We are robed with him. We are robed. A king is not going to just have a crown on his head, but he will be also robed with garments of righteousness, right? And so when Isaiah 61 and verse 10, it says, "We will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in God." Hallelujah. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God." For he has clothed me with garments of salvation. What are you clothed with but garments of salvation? You've been saved. You wear that. You wear that as a robe. You wear that as a garment. You literally, Joseph, had a coat of many colors that his father gave him, right? But we have been clothed with garments here. It says garments of salvation. And not only that, we're also covered with the robe of what? Righteousness, which is what we've been speaking about all morning long. We literally have been clothed and we have been covered. You're covered. You're covered with the righteousness of God. You're crowned with the righteousness of God. Do we see the theme? Do we see the thread? God says, "I see you as I am." This is who he is. But he sees us as he is the great I am. Right? And so, we have to see ourselves as he sees us because of him, because of his goodness, because of his mercy, because of his loving kindness, because of his blood that was shed for us. As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, as a bride adorns herself with jewels. Pretty beautiful in his sight. Amen? When we looked at James 1 and 12, we read about there's a crowning that comes after testing. You're going through a difficulty. You're going through a testing. I want you to know that there's a crown that you receive after the testing. So, James 1 and 12 says, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation. Blessed, happy, joyful, full of God's promises. Blessed is the man. Blessed is the person who endures temptation. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life. He will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. You endured because you love him. You continue to endure because you love him. And there's a crown of life that is promised to all of us. Amen? You know, in Matthew 27 and 29, they mocked our King, King Jesus. They mocked him, but Jesus prevailed. When we read Matthew 27 and 29, it says that they twisted together a crown of thorns. What a mockery. And they put that crown of thorns on his head, bleeding, horrendous, horrendous pain. You know, they put a staff in his right hand and they knelt before him to mock him. Look at the world. How vindictive, how full of hatred, how full of just murder. Murder is spirits, right? So they twisted this crown together. This is what they did for Jesus. They twisted that crown of thorns together. They placed it upon his head. They put a staff in his hand, right? And then they knelt, they knelt before him and they mocked him. That means they were full of pride and they were ridiculing him. They were making fun. They were making fun, right? Oh, Lord, they would say, Hail, hail the King of the Jews. Hail, hail the King of the Jews. That King, the only King, King Jesus, that at first was mocked, but yet then they could not deny that he was not only the King of the Jews, but he's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords for all people, for all time, all time, right? And so the mockery that Jesus endured turned into the most beautiful honor that anyone could ever even speak of. So when you have endured mockery for the crown that you wear, that you're a child of God, just know that there's a beautiful honoring that is also just about ready to happen, but you just keep on walking the walk. You keep on giving God your very best in spite of and regardless of what comes your way, right? It's important that we remember this. In Hebrews 2-9, after suffering, there's a crown with glory and honor. Hebrews 2-9, that we see Jesus who suffered death, crowned, crowned with glory and honor that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. And he did that. He tasted death. It's just a very beautiful way of saying how he took that price for us and bled for the forgiveness of our sins. And then we have in Revelation 6 and 1 and 2 that Jesus was crowned our conquering king. Now I say, when the lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a loud voice like thunder, "Come and see!" And I looked and behold a white horse and he who sat on it, he says here, "There was a crown given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer." And we are crowned in his righteousness and we're robed in him, right? And so we too serve the conquering king. We go out conquering, continually conquering so are our lives. We're to represent him. He represents us. We represent him. So we too have the same mentality that we're conquerors, that we wear these crowns, both visible and invisible. We wear those crowns with God's goodness, God's mercy. Amen? No matter what. Because we are conquerors in him. And the other thing that's so beautiful is that God-given crown never fades. It doesn't fade away. 1 Peter 5, 4. 1 Peter 5, 4, and when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. It doesn't fade away. Like earthly crowns, temporal crowns, they may fade away, they may break, they get old, they rust, right? But the crown that he is putting upon us, the crown of life, the crown of righteousness, it will never fade away. That's the gift of God for us. Amen? Yes. Thank you, Jesus. And in Psalm 65, and I'm going to end with this scripture, Psalm 6511, is that we are crowned in abundance in everything. And I started off our year with this scripture for those of you that were there, Psalm 6511. We started off this year with this word, this scripture, Psalm 6511, because the Lord gave me this scripture. He gave me the scripture for our church. And he said that this is a year of God's abundance. And I'm going to read it to you in the scripture and it says, you crown the year with your goodness and your path drips with abundance. So he crowns us, he crowns us not just this year, but I know it was specific that God is doing a new thing this year, crowning us with his goodness. It's God's goodness. And our paths, in other words, where you walk, it's what is dripping with abundance. And we have seen this, we have seen this scripture come to pass in so many lives this year already, because when God says this is what I'm doing this year, okay, you get to know that you grab hold of the promise of God in faith, right? By faith, we please him by faith. And so we grab hold of that promise, right? And so when we grab hold of that promise of which this was a promise, we grab hold of it, right? We know that we're going to see that very, that very thing come to pass. But first, we're going to probably see the opposite. First, we're going to probably see the opposition. First, we're going to probably see all the contention, the temptation, just the division and all that, right? But if you keep on keeping on, if you keep your eyes on Jesus and not allow what you see to move you, and you keep your eyes on the promises, then you see the fulfillment of those promises. And that's where we are at. We are seeing the fulfillment of God's promises over our lives, and it's beautiful. It's beautiful to see God's increase, God's crowning. And I really believe He has just begun. This is just the beginning. It's the beginning of God's, of God's showering His goodness and the path, our paths, literally being dripped with His abundance. Amen? Amen. How many of you are receiving this word today? You are crowned, we are all crowned, and we are robed. We are all robed with God's beauty, His goodness, His faithfulness. Amen? Thank you. I thank you for your word. I thank you that you teach us, Lord God, our identity, Lord, is who you've called us to be. So these words that we have used, Father, there's just a good word, pictures to know, Lord God, that you crowned us, although you are going to literally crown us one day. But I thank you, Lord God, that these words that are spoken, Lord God, they remind us of who we are. We will walk with our head held high. We will walk, Lord, knowing that we are dorned. We are clothed. We are robed with your goodness, with your mercy, with your loving kindness, with God's goodness day by day by day, morning by night, morning. Lord, I thank you, Father God. Morning day and night, Lord God, we are literally filled with your goodness, and we will not shrink back, but we will preach the word. We will not allow the world's standards to change or to lessen our stance. We will walk with God's goodness. We will walk with the heart of God, and we will fulfill your calling. We will fulfill the ministries that you've given us in Jesus' name. Amen? Amen. of God. Amen. Amen. of God. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]