In Righteousness You Will Be Established

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The last few weeks I have been recording daily communion messages and as I have recorded more frequently God has shown up more. God has an unlimited inexhaustible supply of everything we need and the more we put it to work the more it flows. 

Last week we talked about the idea of being established in love. In Ephesians 3 Paul prayed for the people to be rooted and established in love. To be established is to be firm, fixed, strong, steadfast, etc. A tree that is established is not impacted by a little drought, wind, or heat. It stands firm. 

In Deuteronomy 7 God told the people he gave them a covenant of love. God has established his covenant with us. He has made the covenant commitment to steadfast unfailing love for us. But, we have a part to play in getting his covenant of love established in our hearts, which leads to us becoming more steadfast and immovable. In Psalm 112 it says when our hearts are established in God's love that we have no fear. Perfect love casts out all fear and when fear is removed faith begins to rise up within us causing more bold confident steps of faith. 

As I was thinking more about this concept of being established I read in Proverbs 25 that through righteousness a kings throne is established. Also, in Isaiah 54 it says that we will be established in righteousness. God has not only given us a covenant of love but it is also a covenant of peace. There is a big connection between righteousness and peace. 

One of the ways to establish our hearts in God's covenant of love and peace is through meditation. One of the things to meditate on and establish in our hearts is the righteousness of Jesus. Righteousness means right standing with God or having peace with him. To be right with God means he is with us and for us. The righteousness of Jesus has been given to us as a gift. His righteousness endures forever and never changes. It is not good one moment and bad the next. If we were depending on our own righteousness we would be constantly in and out in our relationship with God, but by establishing his righteousness in our hearts rather than our own, we can become fixed and immovable in our right standing with God. 

In Isaiah 54 it talks about being established in righteousness. Here is what Isaiah 54 says...

The Future Glory of Zion
54 “Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

4 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. ( The other day I recorded a communion meditation for forgetting troubles and painful memories. God can make us forget troubles. Sometimes in life we can have memories that linger and there may be triggers such as words, sounds, smells, etc that cause the memories to get stirred up. If you have any of these types of memories I would encourage you to go through the communion meditation here. )
5 For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
6 The Lord will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.

9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you. ( God's love for you can't be shaken.)

11 “Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones. (God doesn't bricks, he builds with stones. Bricks are all the same and are made by man by conforming to a mold with pressure.)
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be their peace.
14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear. (Being established in our hearts and understanding God's covenant of love and peace means there is nothing to fear.)
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.

There are some amazing promises in Isaiah 54. this would be a good passage of scripture to start meditating. 

We have been given the free gift of the righteousness of Jesus. In Romans 10:3 it says...

The people were ignorant of the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own righteousness and did not submit to their own righteousness. 

1 Peter 5 also talks about being firm and established. Here is what is says in 1 Peter 5: 5-11 AMP...

Serve God Willingly
5 Therefore, I strongly urge the elders among you [pastors, spiritual leaders of the church], as a fellow elder and as an eyewitness [called to testify] of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed: 2 shepherd and guide and protect the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not [motivated] for shameful gain, but with wholehearted enthusiasm; 3 not lording it over those assigned to your care [do not be arrogant or overbearing], but be examples [of Christian living] to the flock [set a pattern of integrity for your congregation]. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror’s] unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, 7 casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. 8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. 11 To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

When our hearts are established in God's love and the righteousness of Jesus we have no fear and faith rises up within us. 

As we take communion it is a reminder that we have been given the righteousness of Jesus and a covenant of love and peace through his sacrifice. Communion is a reminder to let go of our own righteousness and establish the righteousness of Jesus in our hearts. To walk in a new way of life, of right standing with God, steadfast love, peace.