Our Value System
Righteousness based upon what is
valuable and our needs being met
Righteousness based upon what is
valuable and our needs being met
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matt 5:20-22 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matt 6:24-25 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;
or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body
than raiment?
Matt 6:30-33 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is
cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have
need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you.
Here is a look at the core of the system of righteousness of the disciple. First note that He
says to seek first His Kingdom AND righteousness. The key here to having our needs met is to
find the righteousness of the Kingdom! Hello! You don’t get your needs met by pursuing things,
but God and His value system. What is truly valuable? Why are the words value and valuable so
closely related? Our value system is connected with what we hold as valuable.
Now, back up a few verses. He speaks to the issue of where our valuables are, where our
treasure is. Don’t lay up treasure on earth. A person’s values are going to be connected to his
valuables. Your heart, the core of your righteousness is going to be connected to your treasure.
You simply can’t live in the real world for money and bills and things and expect that your
righteousness is going to be in order.
What you work for is what will become your master, your determiner of your values. So
it’s useless to talk with someone about simply behaving God when their master and treasure is
misplaced. Our idols determine our righteousness. So before we can really speak to a person’s
values, obedience and religious convictions, we must address who they are serving. This will
focus squarely on their needs.
This is why Jesus met people’s needs. He was showing them the core and power of
righteousness. He was showing the world that the very center of our needs is where God must
meet us before we can even have a desire developed to obey Him.
In the Old Testament, Israel was led to a place where God would supply their needs.
They lived in a desert place so God could show them His care for them. Their lot in life was
coupled with faith. When they doubted God, they sinned. The reason they couldn’t go into the
promise land was their lack of faith. Without this faith they would not pursue the righteousness
necessary.
This my friend is why righteousness is by faith. It is not a faith that is disconnected from
daily living. It is not a faith that is divorced from how we act. It is a fantasy land faith that says,
“I believe that Jesus existed, therefore I’m going to heaven.” God uses faith to establish himself
as our Master - the One who cares for our needs!
PURITY THROUGH FAITH IN GOD’S LOVE
Jesus made it clear that the pure in heart would see God. He spoke about going and not
continuing in sin. He spoke about what defiles us. However, to further this discussion I would
like to depart from the Gospels and share what the Lord gave me from Corinthians on this
subject. The direction for these verses comes from John 6 where the people asked Jesus what
they must do to work the works of God. Jesus said the work of God is to believe Him. The
following commentary works then to encourage to purity upon the foundation of faith in God’s
love.
2 Cor 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living
God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be
my people.
A Prayer
"Will You be my God? May I count myself as one of Yours? Above all of the peoples on the earth,
You who are the Power, the Wisdom, and the Love of the ages, I want to know as one of Yours. Though
You govern the nations, set the boundaries of the earth's depths and heights, declare the light from the
darkness for all mankind, yet You have chosen Your elect to be called Your own. May I find the
treasures of Your Word and Spirit to find the strength of soul, the faith, and the courageous selflessness
to remain in Your household? I have read of You, that as my God, I would not need to worry about my
life. You would meet my needs and protect all that is mine, for all I have You have given to me. May I
have the integrity to hold all that I have as Yours? May my foolish carnal self not keep You from holding
me who so often seems unable to be held. You have spoken in my ear when I was afraid, unholy, and
filled with arrogance that You are with me in the battles of life. You sent Your servant to tell me in the
courtrooms of men that this is the day that the Lord has made. Lord, fill me with that youthful, often long
lost resolve, that I will do Your will, speak Your Word no matter what the cost. Here in Your Word You
have said not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. You have called men Your temple. You will dwell
in me, walk in me, and be my God. It is not merely that I choose You as my God. You have declared
Yourself to be my God. There is no other god that will uphold my soul, my fearful heart, or my
despairing and imperfect life like You. As my God You will give Yourself to me with every promise that
any man has ever received. Because this is so, You have said, "Be separate." My reason to be pure, to be
faithful and to serve You fully is that You have promised to be my God, my divine welfare and well
being. There is no treasure on earth so rich, even in the eyes of men, as to know the blessing of You
walking with me through life's many challenges and fears. How fully may my soul rest when I know that
You are with me. How foolish to think that though I am so often so unfaithful, that You will change Your
nature. Though I easily waver as the sea driven by the wind, and though Your Word says that I am not to
be storm tossed in my soul, none the less You will keep me in those dark nights when I am weak. My
present and my future are not resting in my soul's ability to be spotless, but in Your gracious wisdom to
remain faithful. Cause me know, but to cease from taking for granted, the tender heart by which You will
not quench the smoking flax of my soul, nor the bruised reed of my failures when I have doubted, fled,
and even denied your faithful honor. How great is the safety of those whom You father, to those who
have discovered the secret power of holiness."
2 Cor 6:17
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you,
The leper, unclean by divine decree, came to Jesus and was received. The woman caught in the
act of adultry, Mary Magdalene filled with demons, the Samaritan women with 5 husbands and more
unmarried mates, all were received by Jesus. When you have come to Jesus you are not the unclean thing.
He will receive you. He saw multitudes of diseased and sinful people. They came to Him and He healed
them all. We so easily wonder when such a thing would be said again, "And He healed them all." But in
heaven it is said of the entire population - He healed them all. There is a place in the perfect and
perfected will of God where the divine agenda is to heal all who come to Him. If we were to dedicate
ourselves to the separate life, if we were to truly 'come out' from among the deadly influences of the
world so that God may look at us and say, "That's like Me," then He would again heal them all. The
disciples were given power over every sickness and over all devils. Note - the disciples were. It doesn't
say, Christians were, people who were born again were, or those who had prayed a sinner's prayer were,
but His disciples were given power. The first thing Jesus did with those who were His disciples was to
call them to come out from their ordinary lives. There was to be the supernatural element of their walk
without which there could be no victory of the Kingdom of God. But with this supernatural walk there
had to be the vessel prepared for it. We dare today to talk even little of it for we are so unprepared. There
is so much disappointment, dashed hope, and confused confession of faith today because God's people
are trying to hold new wine in old wineskins, trying to put a new patch on an old garment. They are
trying to put power in a christian, into someone with a certified document of an event, instead of into a
disciple. Only disciples can carry the power and anointing of God. These are they of Azuza street history
who sought God in their garages, dingy buildings, late night prayer vigils who were disciples - those who
took Jesus' words at face value. They were those who forsook everything. - You can't discourage
someone who's lost it all with threats of financial collapse, with loss of reputation, or with loss of
material things. - The first thing that the disciples did was to put down their nets and follow Jesus. The
heart of the supernatural experience is the death of the natural life. We simply can't have it both ways.
2 Cor 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty.
If the Lord Almighty is my joy, what have I to fear? If He has received me, me...He will be a
Father to me, and I His son. When I consider my children, they are the greatest source of heartbreak,
desire, and value to me. There is none who can break my heart like my children. When I see them
hurting, my heart breaks. When I see them fearful, my heart aches within. When they cry, they tear at my
heart. How much more my Father in heaven? Such a One I do not want to disappoint. Before I knew Him
as my Father, I feared His punishment when I failed Him. As I see Him as my loving Parent whose heart
breaks when my heart breaks, I do not want to cause Him pain. My Father loves me far more than I may
think He could hate me. Yet how often we think that our Father hates us. One of my most painful
memories is as a very small child my father knelt down before he left for work. I can still see him across
the dining room, the morning light still dim. He extended his hands but I wouldn't come to Him. I
remember the time he asked for half of my bubble gum but I wouldn't give it to him. Then the worst of
all...as a young pastor I looked at my dad in the back yard of the parsonage and said, "You never loved
me." I don't remember the reason, but I remember well the times he reached out to me for my love, for
my selfless sharing with him, and I returned to him nothing but my doubt. Doubt that God loves us, that
our heavenly Father who loves with unfailing compassion and mercy will be there to help us, is so
foolish. All He asks from us is a morsel compared to what He gives us. All He asks is for an embrace and
for faith that He loves us. "Believe Me. That's all I ask. When you truly believe Me, all the rest will take
care of itself." So, if God has become my joy, what loss do I have to fear? I will always have my treasure
if my treasure is in heaven. His Kingdom is here with me now. I have nothing that I can lose that really
matters. To fear is to declare, to have revealed to me, that I still hold to what is of no value compared to
God. I will always have Him. If He is my treasure then all of His promises will be freely held in my heart.
If He is not my treasure, then I have no guarantees that He will secure my "stuff." He is after my heart
and will go to any lengths to secure it. He will withhold my finances, my houses, my hobbies, my job,
and even my health, if I love my life more than I love Him. He is after my love for Him. He will not take
me beyond what I can withstand, not allow more than my soul can bare, but He will take desperate steps
to secure my hold to Him, for eternity hangs in the balance. He means to take to heaven only those who
love Him with all of the heart, soul, mind and body. "Thou shalt love......"
John 6:26
These things we know about this situation. The crowd wanted to use force to make Jesus their
king. Yet Jesus also showed us that they sought Him simply because they wanted their belly's full. There
may or may not be a connection between these two observations. However, we can see clearly that there
are times when people seek Jesus for the wrong reasons. When they find heaven's answer to their search
they are turned away in disappointment, for their motivations are wrong.
John 6:27
The response to this verse finds the question, "What are you laboring so hard for?" We can spend
our lives on things that do not bring truly important results. At the end of our days we will then suffer a
great loss, for life holds no second chances when it comes to its end.
There is a link between the earthly life and the spiritual lilfe. There is that which we labor for in
the earthly life that we consider valuable. It determines our values, for our righteousness is goal oriented.
What principles we have we do embrace because we believe that they will enable us to attain what is
determined to be of value. Some men may cheat, lie, steal, embezzle, extort because their principles will
supposedly cause them to attain their valued priorities.
We labor for earthly things for this life. Jesus showed the 5,000 that He can meet their earthly
needs. But His miracle was to point to a greater need - eternal life. Jesus would use faith for miracles in
the natural life to help establish faith for miracles for eternal life.
He said to labor for the meat that sustains eternal life. He has been sealed, or authorized by the
Father, to grant this meat. The disciple's journey was therefore to be a supernatural journey. How do we
attain the food that sustains eternal life? How does a person dedicate their life to something truly worth
living for? We may know that we are to labor for the bread of heaven and for the principles of eternal
life. But how? How do we bring ourselves into an effective work? There are so many distractions,
temptations, and deceptions.
John 6:29
We are always looking for something that we can do. The answer Jesus gives tends to throw us
off of our running track. The work of God is a work of faith. Learning what that means can make critical
and profound changes in how we order our lives. We can know this for sure. Whatever the work of God
is as far as our action is concerned, it begins with believing in Jesus. It is a believing that affects our
actions, labors and pursuits.
It's not long before we find that believing in Jesus is work. We plunge ourselves into the
wrestling in our souls with what really is true. There are the obstacles - storms, sicknesses, devils,
persecutions, losses, attacks, fears and life needs that are threatened. God answering those needs is about
more than the material. Him giving you peace in the storms of life is all about His faithfulness for eternal
life. Learn to believe in the natural with your eyes on the eternal. Don't you think that if God has shown
us that the natural is tied to the supernatural, that if the eternal is tied to the temporal, that He is going to
grant you peace in the storm that you might know that He will also carry you home one day?
Believing for the bread that sustains is a sure thing, as the following verses reveal. He is the bread of life.
To partake of that bread is the challenge. How? Believing is the work of God. But how can you believe
on Him when you are not experiencing His promises of peace in the storm? How can you believe on Him
when He healed the sick, and you're still sick? How can you believe on Him when you're life is filled
with unrighteousness, when you ask and do not receive, when the devils are still tormenting? Temporal
life constantly challenges eternal life. Yet Jesus portrayed the power of eternal life in a temporal world.
He healed sick people, raised dead people. drove out demons, and challenged earthly values.
When discipleship is reduced to an event instead of a journey, to a meeting instead of a mission,
then we also find ourselves reducing salvation to forgiveness instead of holiness. Forgiveness is a part of
holiness, but holiness is not a part of forgiveness. You can't be holy without forgiveness, but you can be
forgiven without being holy. You may or may not agree with that, but the truth is many people agree with
it in their lives without agreeing with it in their doctrines. And that is what the journey of a supernatural
discipleship challenges. You see, we have separted out the holy part, the sanctified part from the
forgiveness part of the meat of eternal life, of believing in Jesus. We think that the meat only implies
we're forgiven, and that holiness is an optional part of the meal. But the power of faith includes the
power to be holy by that faith. It is the power to remain in the character of Christ when the storm arises.
You don't complain, criticize, become depressed and despairing, live in fear and low self esteem. Those
things are incompatible with the power to live a holy life. The meat of eternal life includes power over
sin. It satisfies the soul to the place where you don't have to sin when the lights go out. You're no longer
being sustained by earthly bread, but heavenly. Your soul becomes full and you aren't hungering and
thirsting. The meat of eternal life will sustain the temporal and the eternal. It is greater than the fading
bread of the earth. We are partaking of the bread of the Presence.
When my little grandson sees me walk into the room, he smiles and runs over, looks up and lifts
his hands to me. He wants me to pick him up in my arms. I pick him up and bounce him up and down and
the smile on his face, the laughter, is the gold. My heat is delighted to give him joy. So we come to our
Father with hands raised as we call out to Him to lift us up and grant to us the joys of life.
Descipleship 2
Cornerstone Magazine
Living Life on Purpose
Living Life on Purpose
