Good Enough

People don’t mind Jesus, as long as He keeps His distance from their good works. But as soon as you start telling people that they will never be good enough for Him, you poke a hornet’s nest. As soon as you start pointing out that our own righteousness is an illusion, you find yourself fighting against the same spirit which fought against Christ during His ministry.

Last night, the Spirit showed me how our knee-jerk reaction to rampant sin in our midst is typically to focus on teaching righteousness. But He said that is the wrong response and the wrong direction. The right response to rampant sin in our midst is to preach Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, because it is only He Who can save us from sin. We must direct people’s minds to Jesus as Messiah, because it is only He Who can impart true righteousness in us. It may not make sense to many in the church that the answer to rampant sin in our midst is to preach Jesus Christ, instead of focusing on what the Bible teaches about righteousness, but what we must understand is that the only righteousness that God accepts is that which is in His Son. Thus, true righteousness can only be properly understood in the context of Jesus Christ within you.

Last night, the Spirit asked me, “What is the difference between the righteousness of a Muslim and your righteousness? If you both teach that idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder are sinful? If you both practice righteousness in that regard?” What He wanted to communicate was that a Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist can all practice the same righteousness as a Christian, but the delineating factor between a Christian and all others, is Jesus Christ. The foundation of righteousness in a Christian is the righteousness of Christ manifesting itself through a surrendered vessel. It is not necessarily what we “do right,” but more so Who we have within us. The only way we can ever be “good enough” for God, is to become one with His Son. God’s favor rests only upon His Son, Jesus Christ. True righteousness is only found in Him.

Unless your righteousness comes from Christ within you, unless it is you bending yourself to His Spirit at work within you, your righteousness is rags. Satan doesn’t mind us preaching righteousness, but what he cannot bear is for us to preach Jesus Christ. Because it is not our righteousness which frees us from enslavement to Satan—only Jesus Christ can do that. What we must understand is that the Antichrist spirit is religious. Essentially, it is religion “in the place of” Christ. It puts itself in His stead. It opposes and exalts itself over the truth of God in Christ, seating itself in God’s temple, proclaiming to be God—God without a cross. We must understand this in the days to come, or we will believe the lie because it will be shown that we love our own righteousness more than our Lord’s. It’s time to wake up little flock.

(2 Thess 2:4) He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

(1 John 2:22,23) Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

(1 Cor 1:26-30) Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God; our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

(Posted on Facebook 12/21/2020 Talitha Koum)