Fulfilling Our Nation’s Destiny–Part
2–by Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Last week our focus was on the truth
that the fulfillment of our nation’s destiny lies within the hearts of our
nation’s believers. God’s justice is dispensed based on what is happening in
the hearts of His people and not on what is happening in the hearts of
others. Believers are the
representatives within each nation who carry the destiny that God sees for our
nation.
Proverbs
14:34 declares, “Righteousness exalts a nation.” Righteousness that exalts a
nation is not righteousness as determined by man. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary,
righteousness has been imputed to those who have accepted Him as Lord and
Savior. (Romans 4: 22-25): Speaking of Abraham, Paul writes, “And therefore “it was accounted to him for
righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake
alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be
imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised
because of our justification.” To impute is to assign, to empower,
to allot. When we accept Jesus as our
Lord and Savior, God assigns righteous to us and empowers us to live
righteously in Him.
Righteous living is seen in those who honor God by following His ways. (John 14:15) Jesus said, “If you love me,
keep my commandments.” Through our
imputed righteousness in Jesus Christ, we are to live lives that honor Him. Not
only does righteous living honor God, but righteous living also brings blessing
into our lives. Many blessings come to us because, through the power of the
Holy Spirit in our lives, we are able to make better choices. God’s Holy Word has given us a road map to
attaining the heart attitude for righteous living. Joshua, Chapter Five, is only one of many
passages of scripture that outline the heart attitude for righteous
living—righteous living that exalts a nation.
In Joshua 5, the Israelites had followed the Ark of the Covenant
across the Jordan River near Jericho.
The conquering of the Promised Land was both historical and
spiritual. The battles represent
spiritual battles we must all overcome in order to walk fully in the promises
of God in this life. Israel came out of
Egypt with a slave mentality, wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and
developed into a nation empowered to fulfill God’s destiny for them. God prepared them spiritually for the battles
ahead. The first step was consecration.
All those who had left Egypt had entered into a covenant with
Jehovah through circumcision. However,
all those who had left Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, had died in the
wilderness. Although they were God’s
chosen, the new generation had not yet entered into the covenant and had to be
circumcised as a sign of their consecration unto the Lord. Consecration comes as we embrace what God has
prepared for us and choose to walk with Him in covenant. Consecration goes hand in hand with biblical
regeneration.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).
Regenerated people can testify that things are different now. We have received
a new power and pattern for living. Regeneration and consecration bring with
them new life, and new desires and new goals.
In the New Covenant, the sign of consecration is baptism. In
believer’s baptism, those who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior,
enter into the baptismal waters to declare their decision to leave the old life
behind and enter into a new life consecrated to our heavenly Father. (Romans 6:4)
It is in that new life consecrated to God that we will become more
than conquerors in the chaotic world around us. It is
there that believers will, through righteous living and intercession, fulfill
the destiny that God sees for our nation. When we believers humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn
from our wicked ways, God will forgive our sin and heal our land. (2 Chronicles
7:14.)
Father, we pray for Your guidance to walk in the righteousness that
You have imputed to us. We covenant with
You to leave our old lives of defeat and discouragement behind and to walk victoriously in Jesus Christ. Father, through Your
grace, the righteousness of Your people will exalt our nation. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment