Pastor Tope Omotoye preached on the second service of Saturday, April 1, at the 23rd Anniversary of the Embassy of God, after the presentation of the Joshua Bible Academy.
Pastor Tope’s Theme: The Mindset of the Righteous
“Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.” (Isaiah 60:21).
Prophet Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament that to be righteous is to fulfill all of God’s requirements. However, this is impossible for man to do.
Psalm 24
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
A person with the qualities mentioned in this psalm may ascend into the hill of the Lord. The people of the Old Testament knew that it was impossible to fulfill all of God’s requirements. But at the same time, the prophecy promises that all the people will have the opportunity to ascend into the hill of the Lord and receive blessings there. This means that only God can make a person righteous.
“Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”(Isaiah 32: 16-17).
The Word of God teaches that the Gospel is the Good News, thanks to which every person can ascend into the holy hill and receive the promised blessings. Jesus came to tell us that everyone can become righteous. We can stand on the holy hill, and we can have a close, personal relationship with God, and not just lift our eyes to the hills, expecting help.
Many Christians consider themselves sinners and do not know that they are righteous. Many do not know that they have already received righteousness through the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the Law so that we could be righteous. Only Jesus was able to fulfill all the requirements of God’s Law (an ordinary, earthly man could not do that), and now we need to believe in the One who has already fulfilled all of God’s requirements.
It is also important to remember and know that simply doing good things does not make us righteous. It is only faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us that makes us righteous. Jesus makes us righteous.
Jesus is our justification (Romans 4:10). “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
All that the prophets dreamed of was given to us. Now, each one of us who believes and accepts Jesus Christ can say of himself: “I am the righteousness of God! I am no longer a sinner!” This is the Good News.
The righteous shall inherit the earth. Abraham believed God, and God called him righteous. The earth belongs to us, the righteous, and this is our heritage from God. God said to Joshua: “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” (Joshua 1: 3). Wherever we go, the land belongs to us, and God is there with us, because that is what He has promised us.
Inheriting the earth is our right from God. But we need some types of knowledge to inherit it. Every righteous person should have his own place of residence (i.e real estate). Poverty has nothing to do with righteousness. The righteous will inherit the earth. If we do not have our own land, then we are having the wrong mindset.
I am the righteousness of God! That is why I will inherit the land forever, and this heritage will be transferred by generation to generation. Every righteous man must have his own land.
It says in Proverbs. 28 that the righteous are bold as a lion. Where does a righteous man derive his courage from? – He knows that God’s attention is directed at him. Righteousness means that we can lawfully stand in the presence of God. In the Old Testament, not even all of the priests had the right to stand in the presence of God. Now, in the New Testament time, we can stand unhindered in the presence of God.
“Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not plunder his resting place; for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity”(Proverbs 24: 15-16).
No matter what the wicked wants to bring upon me – I will be the winner, because I am the righteousness of God.
The Bible says that the righteous will prosper and grow. Because I am the righteousness of God, I will prosper. The path of the righteous is like a shining sun (Proverbs 4:18). All the spheres of my life will be getting better and better, and I will shine!
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord”(Isaiah 54:17).
Nothing can stand against us. God is with us, and God is for us! The Lord gave His life for us, He redeemed us and made us His righteousness, and He helps us so that we may inherit His promises and become victorious. Let us believe in this, because it is by faith that we receive our promises and are fulfilled! Let us live knowing who we are in God.
Be blessed!
From the 23rd Anniversary of the Embassy of God Church
April 1, 2017, Kiev
Press Center of the Embassy of God Church
