From a conference - February 2011 Watch a 4 minute Video clip here
The Righteousness of God:
The reason why many Christians never attain to the righteousness of God is because they are satisfied with their external righteousness (that of the Law). The righteousness of the Law can distinguish between right and wrong (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) but brings death. The righteousness of God, however, listens to the promptings of the Holy Spirit (the tree of life). Jesus died for a lot more than to just forgive our sins. To glorify God is to finish the work He gave us to do on earth (John 17:4).
The righteousness of God:
o Is seen in Jesus' one-line autobiography: "I came from heaven never to do what I want to do but only what My Father wants Me to do" (John 6:38).Chooses the profitable things from among all the lawful things we could do (1 Corinthians 6:12).Leads us to never please ourselves (Romans 15:3).Makes others know that we are willing to be disturbed at any time, even when it's not convenient for us (e.g. Jesus spent time with Nicodemus in the middle of the night - John 3:2).Is that where we cannot do whatever we want, whenever we want. In other words, our time is not always "opportune" (John 7:6).Never expects anything of anyone and has no inward complaint against anyone. Jesus didn't expect anyone to offer Him even a place to sleep for the night (John 7:53-8:2).May make us leave a place of outward revival, when humanly speaking that doesn't make sense (Luke 4:40-44; 1 Corinthians 2:14-15).Leads us from being immature children of God (Romans 8:16) to become mature sons (and daughters) of God - those who are not only born of the Spirit but led by the Spirit as well (Romans 8:14).Is willing to be "interrupted" by God when we're busy doing something else.Leads us to continuously peel away the layers of selfishness within us - like we would peel away the layers of an onion.Is to have the same attitude as Jesus had in every circumstance and towards every person (Philippians 2:5) - one that is free from selfishness and pride (v3);Leads us to always put ourselves first in the matter of judgment (I Peter 4:17).
Entering God's Rest:
Most Christians would read a will written by a millionaire father more carefully than they would the Bible - because they love money more than they love God! If we grumble or have unbelief in our heart, then we believe in a "giant" Devil and a "grasshopper" Jesus (Numbers 13:33). To enter into God's rest is to conquer all the giants in our flesh. For that you need to see Jesus as Almighty and the Devil as a "grasshopper". A gospel that stops at "Christ can forgive us our sins" is not really "good news" - for it leaves us enslaved to our sins. The apostles constantly said they were witnesses of Christ's resurrection - not of His crucifixion! We need to proclaim the resurrection power of Christ each time we speak about the cross. The fear of death is greater than every other fear in man. Jesus made it possible for us to be free from every fear when He took away the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). We can be completely free from all fear because "as Jesus is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17-18). God cannot make us holy if He does not give us the freedom to obey Him or disobey Him. He did not make man to be a robot. The angel who came to Cornelius couldn't preach the gospel to him because he (the angel) hadn't experienced it himself (Acts 10). For that, God needed Peter. We are not permitted by God to preach about anything that we have not experienced. The devil couldn't tempt Adam and Eve during their first day (the Sabbath day when they walked with God). If we walk in the presence of God, temptation loses its power. "There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God - a place where sin cannot molest."
Loving Christ and His Church
The love of Christ: Is seen in Gethsemane when He said to the Father that He was willing to have His eternal fellowship with the Father broken for three hours on the cross for our sake. This was the cup He dreaded to drink.Is seen on the Cross where He experienced Hell (being forsaken by God for three hours) for our sake. Is seen in His giving Himself up for the Church (Ephesians 5:25). Is seen in the fact that He never offered His Father that which cost Him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). The Cross will not mean much to us if we don't see the dreadfulness of our sins. Money will mean more to us than God if we think we have been forgiven little. The inconveniences we face in serving the Lord will become insignificant when we compare them with the "inconvenience" Christ suffered on the Cross for us. Jesus is looking for those who will love Him and His Body with this type of love.
