The Bible says:
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.”
Proverbs 11:30 NKJV
The fruit of righteousness is what produces a tree of life. In other words righteousness is what makes a believer to bring in the harvest of souls into God’s Kingdom. The tree of life in a believer has the ability to produce more than is ever perceived. It is a gift that keeps giving.
But a Christian suffers if he is not living righteously before God. The enemy gets the advantage over him, and he will exploit that advantage to bring him down.
A believer in Christ who does not live righteously, will always limit the power of God in his life. His spiritual growth is slow; and he is vulnerable in succumbing to the views and opinions of the world around him, instead of holding on to the truth in God’s word.
Most importantly his prayer life produces little fruit, because the lifestyle of faith is not in him. That’s why unrighteous people often struggle to forgive others. It takes faith to forgive and live in forgiveness.
There are many homes that are being destroyed daily in the world today, because of the lack of forgiveness, which stems from the absence of righteous living at the home. Unrighteous couples can’t live in forgiveness towards one another. Their inability to forgive one another, creates anger and bitterness in them to destroy their homes.
But by living righteously before God, you (as a covenant child of God) has the access into the grace of God, so as to receive spiritual and inner strength in forgiving people. That’s how you’re able to tap into the enormous power, which is available to you from God’s presence.
Living righteously is therefore a lifestyle choice decision that you make. It’s a matter of choice, just as living a dubious lifestyle is a matter of choice also. God is not involved in making any of these two choices of life for you. You will have to make the decision to live righteously before God.
And for every choices that you make in life, there are always consequences. However the truth is that you are a winner in Christ Jesus, if you’re living righteously. Righteousness will exalt you. It will give you the peace of God (Romans 5:1-2), which no one can ever give or take away from to you.
Being rooted in righteousness
The Prophet Isaiah once spoke by the Spirit of God that:
“You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God’s will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”
Isaiah 54:14 AMPC
Being established in righteousness will position you in constant fellowship with God. It will take the devilish thoughts of oppression or destruction, fear and terror far away from you. By being established in righteousness, you will be positioned to do exploits in all of your endeavors. Righteousness will bring the prosperity of the Lord right to your doorstep. It will promote you and lift you high above those who oppose you.
Israel as a nation at the time that Isaiah made this prophecy was far from God. Everyone lived in their own ways. God’s people had forgotten at the time that, living righteously in obedience to God was what made them prosperous. So when they sinned against God, their own sins brought them oppression, destruction, fear and terror.
But God offered them a pathway back into the blessing, through these words of the Prophet Isaiah. It was important that they returned back into righteous fellowship with God. They had to be established in it because, this was the only way forward for them as a nation.
And for any backsliding nation today, this is the pathway which God has ordained for prosperity. The Bible says again that:
“Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.”
Proverbs 14:34 NKJV
A nation is only strong because of the righteous people who are living in it. The Lord once told Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
… “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty righteous (upright and in right standing with God), I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Genesis 18:26 AMPC
There are all kinds of catastrophic events taking place daily all over the world. This bears testament to these words by the Prophet Isaiah. The absence of righteousness is what is bringing destruction, calamities, oppression, fear and terror across the world today.
The Righteous God who created the universe can only uphold all of His creations in righteousness and holiness. There is no other way out of it. God will never allow the devil to take over His world. The universe belongs to God, and He can do anything that He wants with it. But it’s only the people who are living righteously before Him, who do have the ability to move God’s hand, in bringing His purpose for the world to come to pass.
Righteousness will keep any city or community strong. It’s the people of God who are living righteously before Him, that makes any city or nation strong. It’s not the economy, government policies and social issues that makes a city or nation strong. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah proves this to us.
Righteousness is what prospers any community on earth today. But a community that refuses to turn against sin within it, will be judged by their own actions; because sin is what is polluting the world that He created. Judgment is always the product of our actions in life. If you choose to live righteously, you will escape being judged.
Fear is what breeds unrighteousness
Righteousness will make your relationship with your Heavenly Father so real and so secured, to the extent that the supernatural becomes normal to you. Righteousness will cause you to be bold in approaching God at anytime and for anything. It will remove every limit on God in your life.
Fear based living on the other hand is the fruit of unrighteousness. It will establish those who live by it, in the thoughts of the works of the devil. A fear dominated life is controlled by the devil. But perfect love casts out the fear (1 John 4:18). By being justified by faith, you’re established in righteousness (Romans 5:1-2).
Righteousness will bring you the peace of God, which the world can never give to you. It will cause the peace of God to garrison over your soul, right in the midst of the turbulence going on in the world around you.
Being established in righteousness according to what, the Prophet Isaiah said in the above scriptures text, will bring you this spiritual benefit – “you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”
Being possessed with the thoughts of evil is never part of the lifestyle of anyone, who is established in righteousness. Thoughts of fear, anger, hatred are examples of the evil thoughts; which hinders the fruit of righteousness in the life of a believer.
James, the younger brother to Jesus said:
“Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”
James 1:20 NLT
The Contemporary English Translation puts it in this way:
“If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things God wants done.”
James 1:20 CEV
In other words evil thoughts (including anger) will hinder your ability, to do the good things of God in the world around you. They will prevent you from getting souls saved, healing the sick, setting the captives free, ministering to the widows and the orphans around you. Those evil thoughts from the devil will push your righteousness into the background of your life. They will prevent the fruit of righteousness from shining through your life. They will prevent the anointing of God from flowing through you.
That’s exactly what happens to every person, who is tolerating the thoughts of evil in his life. His immediate response to the sights of evil reveals what is on his heart.
But a heart that is established in righteousness sees nothing new in what the devil does. A righteous man is never moved by evil. He is not surprised by anything that the devil does. The Bible says:
“Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.”
Psalms 112:6-8 NKJV
A righteous man will always respond to evil with the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16). That’s what makes your righteousness to shine against the works of darkness around you. The fear of terror or destruction will overshadow righteousness in your life, if you are giving room to the thoughts of them.
The scriptures says again as you are being established in righteousness:
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
God will uphold you with the righteousness of Christ, that you are established in. You should never be surprised by anything that the devil does around you. There is nothing new in everything that he does:
“You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.”
Psalm 91:5-7 NIV
Remove the limits
A believer who is not established in righteousness will constantly limit God. Your prayer becomes ineffective when you are limiting God. The absence of righteousness in your life, places a natural fix on God’s supernatural to help you in life. You will begin to limit God.
That’s when Christians often says things like – “I can’t afford that” or “I am not worthy of healing”, “I just need a little of this” and the list goes on and on. And this was exactly what happened to the Israelites in the wilderness, as they journeyed to the promised land. The scriptures says:
“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,”
Psalms 78:40-42 NKJV
They limited God, despite the fact that they had seen His miracles among them, from Egypt up to the very borders of the promised land. And there are many Christians today in the spiritual wilderness of life, who are limiting God’s ability to prosper them in their dry places.
The children of Israel forgot who they were, as God’s special people. They forgot because they were not established in the understanding, of who they were in their right standing before God. God was with them. They had His presence in the clouds and fire with them, yet they limited Him.
Many Christians do have the presence of God in them, but they often limit Him with their actions of faith. They often will make confessions based on the scriptures, but their actions shows exactly the opposite of what they are confessing. That’s why their righteousness is not shining to get them out of their spiritual wilderness.
When the spies that Moses sent out to spy the promised land returned with a negative report; the Israelites forgot who they were (Numbers 13). They responded in fear, just as certain people will respond to evil reports today. Fear dominated heart will always respond to evil reports, as the Israelites did in the wilderness.
The Bible says it in their own words:
“There we saw the giants ( the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Numbers 13:33 NKJV
They saw themselves in the natural, while righteousness saw them in the spiritual realm. A Christian can’t walk in constant victories over the enemy, if he is not established in righteousness. The children of Israel saw themselves as “grasshoppers”; even when God saw their enemies as the real grasshoppers.
They were unable to stand up in confronting their enemies. Their enemies chased them because of the false image, that the devil had caused them to create with their own words about themselves.
Never forget that you are God’s child and friend
Righteousness consciousness will make you a friend of God. Abraham was established in righteousness as he walked by faith before God. The Bible says of him:
“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
Genesis 15:6 NKJV
Abraham’s faith was mixed with his action of obedience to God. That’s how righteousness was imputed to him (James 2:21). You are not righteous just because you have faith in God. Your faith needs to be mixed with the action of your obedience to God. Have you constantly been living in obedience to God? You see, by being established in righteousness, Abraham became a friend of God.
James reminded us that:
“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.”
James 2:23 NKJV
A friend is someone you can count on at anytime for anything. You have free access to your friend, and you can talk about anything with that friend. That was the relationship that righteousness caused Abraham to develop with God. He was able to have constant fellowship with God. And that’s what righteousness will do for you. It gives you the boldness to talk with your Father and Friend, who lives in you about anything.
In this Ministry we don’t consult with flesh and blood about anything. We always take pleasure in going to God through prayer. That’s how we are able to do what we are doing. When we all recognize that God is our Father and our Friend, we are able to accomplish everything we all want to get done. And God has always responded to us in this ministry when we pray, even about the little things.
We can see from the scriptures that, God could not hide the plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah from Abraham (Genesis 18:16-33). He saw the relationship with Abraham as being very special. That’s what friends do to one another. Friends will always communicate with one another about their plans. That’s what God did with Abraham.
The Bible also tells us that Rahab was a prostitute; but she became a friend of God by acting on what she believed about God’s people. She became so blessed in her relationship with God, to the extent that she became a direct human ancestor of our Savior, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).
The Bible says of the action of faith which made her righteous, as she developed friendship with God’s people:
“In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?”
James 2:25 NIV
Rahab developed a close relationship with God by associating with God’s people. And you probably do have certain people around you right now, who just like to associate with you; because you are living righteously before God. They can see the light of righteousness shinning through you. And that’s why they just like being your friend, even though they are not saved. Eventually such people often end up experiencing the grace of God to save them, as they associate with you. They are in fact drawing from the anointing over your life by association.
This was exactly what Rahab did. She was not ashamed of leaving the world around her, so as to be joined with God’s people. That action of her faith made her righteous before God. She dropped her own people and god, to befriend the God of Israel and His people. Her righteousness promoted the anointing for greatness over her life, through whom the Savior came to the earth.
Being established in righteousness will cause you also to develop this kind of relationship with God. You can talk with God about anything in your life, even as you are fellowshipping with Him. Your fellowshipping with Him will become a way of life to you. Righteousness will cause you to go boldly before God always about anything; knowing fully well that He will speak back to you. Are you established in righteousness?
This piece has actually helped my heart this morning. God bless the author. Righteousness gives us access to the throne room all the time. It produces results in our prayers. I should check my heart each time my owayees or ministry becomes ineffective.