ELEVATION BY RIGHTEOUSNESS | Pst. Timothy Benedict |

ELEVATION BY RIGHTEOUSNESS - Proverbs 14:35

Behind the making of any nation there are people who made the sacrifice.

Note:

1. Anytime the devil wants to arrest a destiny, he introduces iniquity into that destiny. Sin to a destiny is like a bait the fisherman uses to fish. With the bait the fisherman attracts the fish and removes it from its natural habitat to the place of its destruction. Thus, the devil makes sin attractive to a man with the main intent of arresting destiny.

Rise up and go back to the root anytime you sense that you are derailing from the path of righteousness. 

John 12:4-6 - Judas Iscariot is a classic example of one who was in sin and never stopped to expose or deal with his weakness, and this ended up destroying him. When you want to kill any weakness expose it. If there is compromise or any other sin in your life expose it and it will leave you. This also goes for anger. Be in control of your temper. Anger is not a virtue it derails destinies. Fight it until it dies.

2. What a person does with God today determines where he can be found tomorrow - Matthew 19:28. Note that our value in the sight of God is not the same. The sacrifices we make for God determines the value he places on us. You can't serve God and be reduced or be stranded in life. 

3. Everyone's character is the most powerful prophet of his future. What you do with your nature today determines what becomes of your future. Thus, recognize those things that constitute your weakness and ask God to purge you of them.

What is righteousness?

It is the consistent obedience to divine instructions, irrespective of conditions or circumstances. The readiness to forgo anything in your service to God. 

Example:

Daniel, She'd rack, Mishac and Abednego 

Their qualities:

a. They were selfless - Daniel 2:17. 

b. They maintained originality in the midst of generational conformity - Daniel 1:11. 

c. They were willing to die trusting God - Daniel 3:1.

d. They had their personal conviction and we're ready to die for it - Daniel 3:16.

e. They did not allow their breakthroughs to disconnect them from their source/God - 3:12. 

How God elevated them:

i. God used them to set aside what had been an ancient tradition.

ii. They became the pathway that led their generation to God.

iii. They received unsolicited promotion - Daniel 3:30

Counsel:

i. Defend the cause of God wherever you are found. Don't close your mouth when things are going wrong.

ii. Use what is available to you to preach to people around you. 

Prayer:

Lord help me not to live a life of compromise. I refuse to give in to the demands of the flesh. O Lord God I break the power of the enemy over my life. I receive grace to live in uprightness in Jesus' name. Amen!