Hungering and Thirsting
For Righteousness
Cont., page 7
EXHORTATION
In the opening of this writing, as well as in
section two, we noted that Peter charged:
.
. . what sort of people must [to bind]
you be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening [quickening]
the coming of the day of God . . . ?
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new
earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for
these things, be diligent to be found by
Him in peace, spotless and blameless
. . .” (2 Peter 3:11-14).
And again, this is not spotless and
blameless by the blood, but by our affirming and obligated actions, especially
at this time when we look for the coming of Immanuel.
We have just considered the testimony
of the Bride; and in section two regarding the fulfilling Bride, we noted the
clear necessity of the Elijah preparing her for Immanuel’s coming. In this final section that is an
exhortation in the pursuit of righteousness, first and briefly let us consider
further this Elijah work. This will
be followed with further exhortation by quoting a number of Scripture passages
that are highly relevant for our lives before Immanuel’s coming.
In Luke 1:17, we read the words of the
angel, Gabriel, regarding the birth of John the Baptist, the foreshadowing Elijah. To Zacharias, he declared:
It is he who will go
as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the insight of the righteous, so as to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord.
There is no question that before the
coming of Immanuel, there must be a very specific work that calls not only a
people to righteousness, but the nations as well. This is something licentious and
deceived Christians entirely miss as they falsely proclaim “Jesus’s
coming.” They do not see the
absolute necessity of a purifying work beforehand, preparing the way—a
people and the nations—for Immanuel.
In section two we also noted, and needs
to be repeated here, that the Elijah, even as indicated by Gabriel, will come
as a refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap.
In Malachi 3:2-3 we read:
But who can endure
the day of his coming? And who can
stand when he appears? For he is
like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of
silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and
silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.
This is the Bride of the Lamb, who
makes herself ready (Revelation 19:7) under
the refining work of the Elijah.
But, when looking at what the Scriptures say regarding the Elijah and
this work, there is something else we find that makes our pursuit of
righteousness all the more significant.
Addressed in Response
to Authority, page 2 titled
“Elijah,” we read the message
given by Peter after the lame man was healed at the gate Beautiful. Acts 3 provides this account. Also, addressed in page one of The Great Tribulation,
we see that this event is a testimony of the latter rain. Thus, in verses 19-23 we read a most
important proclamation by Peter:
“Repent therefore and
return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and
that He may send Jesus, the Messiah appointed for whom heaven must receive
until the period of restoration of all
things, about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from
ancient time. Moses said, ‘The Lord
God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to him you
shall give heed in everything he says to you. And it shall be that every soul that
does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed out of the people.’ ”
As you can see, this is a very serious
warning. If the prophet is not
heeded, then one will be utterly destroyed out of the people. But, this is not the only time when like grave and serious warnings are made. In Romans 11:22, Paul warns those in the
church to look at the Jews and to take heed:
Behold then the
kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's
kindness, if you continue in His
kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
And Hebrews 10:26-27 gives no less
warning, and in fact an even more sober warning:
For if we go on
sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the
fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
And regarding being cut off, this is
indeed the fate of the first 2,000 years of the church! Zechariah 13:8 clearly tells us that they too have been cut off and died. Remember, the kingdom of heaven is on
the earth, and if you die you sleep and are not in the kingdom that is
here. But, what Paul and the writer
of Hebrews warned, as well as the stated consequence for those who do not heed
the prophet, Elijah, are effected even while one is alive, and are far more
impacting.
So many times we hear in churches that
salvation is all by grace and there is nothing one can do to be worthy of
it. But that is a GREAT and
deceptive lie that compromises one’s spiritual walk and invites sin; and as we
have read, thereupon can negate one’s place in the kingdom of heaven. To put it in other words, it deceives
people and brings shame to the gospel.
John stated this obligation and required distinction on one’s part best
when he wrote:
By this the children
of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone
who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not
love his brother [1 John 3:10].
Therefore, all who are wise and fear
God, as one should so do, will do exactly what the Scriptures warn (2
Corinthians 13:5):
Test
yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!
Let it be understood that the only
message that will bring Immanuel back to this earth, is a call to
righteousness, to righteous behavior, performing deeds in keeping with
repentance as John the Baptist heralded.
This is clearly the Elijah message, and
nothing short of this will prepare His way.
In the remainder of this closing
section, let us comb the Scriptures
further to see how they truly exhort us to live our lives. Here we
will primarily let the Scriptures speak for themselves, which is always a good
practice. Most of these compelling
Scripture passages have not been addressed heretofore in this writing, but are
exceptionally worthy to be noted.
Frankly, these are passages that most people, including preachers and
teachers, ignore or simply pass over.
With today’s careless living, these are the forgotten scriptures. But frankly, thereupon they are the most
important.
You will want to read each one of these passages
very carefully and with sincere contemplation, reflection, and personal
application, even judgment. And,
you should mark this entire section/page as a valuable reference source to
return to for Scriptures to live by, and to refer others to. We will examine seven areas: being worthy, the world, righteousness,
our words, correction in righteousness, endurance, and
God’s choice of the lowly.
WORTHY
With all the erroneous emphasis on
grace, grace, grace, grace—to the extent of
licentiousness—people fail to see the necessity to be regarded as worthy
of that grace. Here we read:
Only conduct
yourselves in a manner worthy of the
gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will
hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving
together for the faith of the gospel [Philippians 1:27].
For this reason also,
since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask
that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom
and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God [Colossians 1:9-10].
.
. . just as you know how we were
exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his
own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory [1
Thessalonians 2:11-12].
This [persecution and
afflictions] is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will
be considered worthy of the kingdom
of God, for which indeed you are suffering [2 Thessalonians 1:5].
To this end also we
pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and
the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be
glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the
Lord Jesus Christ [2 Thessalonians 1:11-12].
“But you have a few
people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who
overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name
from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before
His angels” (Revelation 3:4-5).
THE
WORLD
Christians
today commit harlotry with the world in all manner of ways: in speech, in dress, in pursuits, in
entertainment and music, in attitudes, in holidays, in regard to feminism, in
divorce, in what is focused on, and more.
They fail to see their grave error.
But the Scriptures warn:
And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so
that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable
and perfect [Romans 12:2].
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is
this: . . . to keep oneself unstained by the
world [James 1:27].
Do not love the world
nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not
from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the
will of God lives forever [1 John 2:15-17].
And worthy of being repeated here, we
read this fateful warning:
You adulteresses, do
you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God [James
4:4]!
And equally worthy to repeat, women are
instructed:
Let not your
behavior be the external braiding of the hair and putting on gold jewelry
or putting on worldly garments, but
let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a
gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God [1 Peter 3:3-4].
Likewise,
I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly,
not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by
means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness [1
Timothy 2:9-10].
RIGHTEOUSNESS
The scriptures concerning pursuing righteousness
and putting away sin are replete.
The kingdom of heaven we have received is, as we have noted, the kingdom
of righteousness. It is not the
kingdom of feel goodies. It is not
the kingdom of make money. It is
not the kingdom of doing your own will.
It is not the kingdom of self-indulgence. It is not the kingdom of worldliness. It is not the kingdom of a loose
tongue. It is not the kingdom of
selfishness. It is not the kingdom
of whatever I want to do. It is not
the kingdom of no self-control. It is not the kingdom of
lawlessness. It is not even the
kingdom of religiosity. But rather,
it is the kingdom that follows and fulfills the following:
.
. . and having been freed from sin, you
became slaves of righteousness. I
am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members
as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present
your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you
were free in regard to righteousness.
Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which
you are now ashamed? For the
outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and
enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the
outcome, eternal life. For the
wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord [Romans 6:18-23].
Be
diligent to present yourself
approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately
handling the word of truth. But
avoid profane empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their
talk will spread like gangrene.
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus men
who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already
taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God
stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and,
"Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from
wickedness." Now
in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels
of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor,
sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work [2 Tim. 2:15-21].
He Himself bore our
sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed [1
Peter 2:24].
.
. . that each of you know how to possess
his own vessel in sanctification and honor . . . [1 Thessalonians 4:4].
As obedient children,
do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but
like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because
it is written, "you shall be holy, for I am holy." If you address as Father
the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves
in fear during the time of your stay on earth [1 Peter 1:14-17].
“How can you believe,
when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is
from the one and only God?” (John
5:44.)
By this we know that
we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know
Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been
perfected. By this we know that we
are in Him: the
one who says he abides in Him is obligated to walk in the same manner as He
walked [1 John 2:3-6].
And though mentioned earlier, these concluding
three passages regarding righteousness are more than worthy to be repeated:
.
. . what sort of people must [to bind]
you be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening [quickening]
the coming of the day of God . . . ?
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new
earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for
these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless
. . . [2 Peter
3:11-14].
For the grace of God
has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness
and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present
age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great
God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every
lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession,
zealous for good deeds. These
things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you [Titus 2:11-15].
And everyone who has this
hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is
pure. Everyone who practices sin
also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to
take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins [i.e., it
is unacceptable for them to sin]; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices
righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin
is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this
purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin,
because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of
God. By this the children of God
and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice
righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother [1 John 3:3-10].
OUR WORDS
Most people wholly fail in one way or another by
not guarding their tongues—in worldliness, in crudeness, in lack of
self-control, in gossip, in not speaking the truth, in criticalness, in
unfulfilled commitments, and so on.
James says that “the tongue
is a fire, the very world of iniquity, . . . set among our members as that
which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is
set on fire by hell” (James 3:6).
Thus, the Scriptures are most clear concerning our responsibility over
it:
O Timothy, guard what
has been entrusted to you, avoiding profane empty chatter and the opposing
arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge" [1 Timothy 6:20].
And this was repeated in Paul’s next
letter to Timothy:
But avoid profane empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness
[2 Timothy 2:16].
If anyone thinks
himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his
own heart, this man's religion is worthless [James 1:26].
For,
the one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
He must turn away from evil and do good; he
must seek peace and pursue it [1 Peter 3:10-11].
Let
your speech/words always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that
you will know how you should respond to each person [Colossians 4:6].
Let
no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good
for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace
to those who hear [Ephesians 4:29].
With [the tongue] we
bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the
likeness of God, from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to
be this way [James 3:9-10].
And one of the most profound and clear warnings there
is, is this issued by the One who will judge all men:
“But I tell you that every careless/idle word that people speak, they shall give an
accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be
justified, and by your words you will be condemned” [Matthew 12:36-37].
CORRECTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
Concerning correction in righteousness, there are
three options: correct ourselves, man correct us, or God correct us. We will look at all three of these. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read:
All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
discipline/instruction in righteousness.
Since the kingdom is the place where
“righteousness dwells,” and Yahshua said that the kingdom of God is within us
(Luke 17:21), then righteousness should and must be evidenced in and through
our lives. If it is not, then there
is real cause to question if indeed the kingdom truly resides within us. Herein should be the highest goal of and
expectation from the believer: to serve
God, and for righteousness to be
evidenced in and through our life.
In regard to righteousness and our obligation to
purify ourselves, to perform deeds consistent with repentance, we have already
noted the instruction of Yahshua.
He said that if your hand causes
you to stumble, cut it off. If your
foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. He then adds
that salt is good, and we are to have
salt in ourselves. And if we do
not apply this salt, then we will be salted with fire (Mark 9:43-50). Furthermore we read:
For this reason many
among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we
would not be judged [1 Corinthians 11:30-31].
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he
will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for
every good work. Now flee from
youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who
call on the Lord from a pure heart [2 Timothy 2:21-22].
For it is time for
judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it
begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the
gospel of God [1 Peter 4:17]?
In this regard, if we fail to effect these changes
in ourselves, then others are to correct us, and of course God does likewise
Himself. Regarding the latter, we
read of His response as our Father:
You have not yet
resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you
have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons: “my son, do not regard lightly the
discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom
the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline
that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all
have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected
them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and
live? For they disciplined us for a
short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that
we may share His holiness. For the
moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [Hebrews
12:4-11].
And in like regard, we find in Psalms 7:11 an
affirming and most interesting and revealing passage:
God is a righteous
judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
But, this can equally be translated:
God judges the
righteous, and God is angry every day.
Looking at the state of the church
today, God has every reason to be angry every day regarding the righteous. Then like unto Hebrews 12:4-11, verse 12
of Psalms 7 adds:
If a man does not
repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.
Likewise, there is an obligation, a responsibility,
on the part of godly leaders to instruct, judge, and correct the people and
individuals for wrong behavior—something that is not only severely
lacking today, but the wrong behavior is both approved
and even encouraged. But it is
written:
We are destroying
speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and
we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are
ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete [2
Corinthians 10:5-6].
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of
Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and
His kingdom: . . . reprove, rebuke, exhort, with
great patience and instruction [2 Timothy 4:1-2].
For
the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for
discipline are the way of life [Proverbs 6:23].
And concerning the Elijah who prepares the way for
Immanuel, we have read:
But who can endure
the day of his coming? And who can
stand when he appears? For he is
like a refiner's fire and like
fullers' soap. He will sit as a
smelter and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine
them like gold and silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in
righteousness {Malachi 3:2-3}.
“Moses said, ‘The
Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to him
you shall give heed in everything he says to you. And it shall be that every soul that
does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed out of the people’ ”
[Acts 3:22-23].
And finally, we read regarding Immanuel’s coming:
Let the rivers clap
their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before Yahweh, for He is
coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the
peoples with equity [Psalm 98:8-9].
ENDURANCE
The matter of endurance is added here because of
the absolute necessity of persevering in doing what is right. There is no substitute for
perseverance/endurance!
“By your endurance
you will gain your souls” [Luke 21:19].
“But the one who
endures to the end, he will be saved” [Matthew 24:13].
Consider it all joy,
my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of
your faith produces endurance. And
let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing [James 1:2-4].
For you have need of
endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was
promised. For yet in a very little
while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by
faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him [Hebrews
10:36-38].
Therefore, since we
have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every
encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God [Hebrews 12:1-2].
And not only this,
but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about
perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and
hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within
our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us [Romans 5:3-5].
Here are two favorite passages, both wholly worthy
of being memorized and applied to your daily life (as are so many of these
passages).
Therefore, those also
who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful
Creator in doing what is right [1 Peter 4:19].
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply
moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control,
and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are
increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ [2 Peter 1:5-8].
There are many other passages having to do with
perseverance, and you can look them up on your own.
THOSE WHO ARE NOT
We close with a most important recognition, goal,
and right attitude if one wants to be chosen of and used by God: humility and lowliness. First, here is a most interesting,
significant, but also humorous testimony.
It is from Luke 3:1-2, and is the testimony regarding John the
Baptist. This passage is laid out
here item by item so you can see each one as individually set forth:
Now in the fifteenth
year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the
region of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was
tetrarch of Abilene,
in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias,
in the wilderness.
The irony and the great way of Yahweh is evident. Here
you have seven men who are of high esteem among men. But, also in Luke, the One who came as a
servant and not to be served said this:
“You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows
your hearts; for that which is highly
esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).
So, here we read of seven men who are
highly esteemed among men. BUT, who
was it that God went to? John, a nobody,
in the wilderness—a man who did not wear the fine clothing of those in
palaces, but wore camel skins and ate grasshoppers and wild honey and resided
in the wilderness, desiring to do nothing but the will of God.
In like regard, to whom did Yahweh go
who would bear His son? A palace queen? No, a common woman of humble state who called herself Yahweh’s
bondslave. And where was
this Son of God born? In a palace? No, in a barn, with livestock. And to whom did the angels go to herald
His birth? To the
elite? No,
to common shepherds.
The purpose in pointing all of this out
is not to show the humble circumstances of all of these, but to show that which
Yahweh God desires and even chooses:
humility and lowliness. It
is not the flamboyant mega churches that please God. They too are the “highly esteemed among
men” that are “detestable in the sight of God.” It is not the chambers of man’s
government or the board rooms of successful men, in
the eyes of men. Obviously, what is
desirable to God is a Mary, who when used is humbled, and proclaims, “He has
had regard for the humble state of His bondslave.”
In affirmation of this choice, in 1 Corinthians
1:27-29 we read:
God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of
the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the
world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may
nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.
Thus, Yahshua repeatedly proclaimed:
“For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”
[Luke 14:11, 18:14].
Whether it be a man or a
woman, God seeks those who will humble themselves before Him and in the eyes of
men, and like His Son, will take the place of a servant. Let women be godly women who know their
calling and role as a woman. And
let men be godly men, who submit to Yahshua and lead in righteousness and
humility. And let both lay their
lives down for others, regarding others as more important than themselves.
Do nothing from
selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as
more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal
interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in
yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form
of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men
[Philippians 2:3-7].
The sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O
God, You will not despise [Psalms 51:17].
But He gives a
greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” [James 4:6].
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand
of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time [1 Peter 5:6].
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