[Gary Antion] You have probably been eating something like this for the last several days. I think this was the one that was lightly salted – matzo, it’s called. Did you know that matzo does not contain the word bread in it, but that matzo came to be understood to be bread? The word for bread is not in there. It’s lechem – it’s not in there. Matzo came to be known as, and sometimes some people translate it sweetness, dryness. It has to do with being unleavened, though – that which was made quickly or without leaven. But the word bread is not in there. But if you look it up in the dictionary…I’ve tried finding it every which way, but they won’t tell me that. But matzat, which is the plural for matzo, matzo just merely means unleavened. And it came to mean unleavened bread because what else do you do? They did this in haste. They baked it in haste. It can mean an unleavened cake. It can mean unleavened bread – just so you’re aware. But we’ve been eating this for this time.

It comes in various forms, it comes in Streit’s Egg Matzo. It comes in Triscuits. It comes in a Seder matzo – flour and water only. By the way, Jews have a tradition of what you eat – for Passover night – the Seder – that first night. You know what they do? It can’t be Streit’s Egg Matzo – it’s a little sweeter, sometimes made with apple cider – this one is – it makes it a little sweeter. It can’t be that way – has to be just the dry…just a whole wheat and flour and maybe just a little bit of salt – maybe not even salt. Streit’s Egg and Onion – probably a favorite among the people…. My daughter found some and we had Egg and Onion with a lot with butter on it. So however you had it, you probably had a variety. It comes in thin, whole wheat, lightly salted, unsalted, egg and onion, oats, rye, dark chocolate covered, white chocolate covered, mint chocolate covered, comes in matzo crackers. It comes gluten free. It comes organic and it comes yolk free – plus all the other ones that you can buy. We found one – Triscuits with yam and brown rice – doesn’t taste very good, but it’s okay.

But we love to eat our matzo. We put our jam on it, peanut butter on it. We can dip it. We can butter it up. We can put dips on it and so on. But why do you do that? When you eat it, what are you thinking of? Just how good it tastes? Some people love unleavened bread. My granddaughters can’t wait for the Days of Unleavened Bread! My daughter, Susie, still loves to lather them with butter and eat that egg and onion matzo with butter on it. They just love that. They don’t get the normal bread. They don’t like the butter as much as they like these – to butter these crackers.

But why? Look at Exodus 13:9, we read this regarding eating unleavened bread, it shall be eaten seven days and going on, verse 9:

Exodus 13:9 – “And it shall be for a sign to you upon your hand and for a memorial between your eyes – God’s law, God’s way – that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth.”

Do you think about every time you put this into your mouth? You’re actually putting in the law of God? You’re saying to yourself, “Obey the law, keep the law, follow the law” – God’s law, which is also translated as righteousness. What are all God’s commandments?

Psalm 119:172 – All Your commandments are righteousness. (As we heard in the sermonette.)

We are to be coming out of sin and we are to be…. If you just come out of sin – “I’m not sinning anymore” – well, what are you doing? We need to be doing righteousness. When you eat that unleavened bread, you should be thinking, “Am I keeping righteousness in my life? Am I having righteousness in my life?”

Now that bread can also be called the bread of affliction – that’s found in Deuteronomy 16:3 – I’m not going to go there – the bread of affliction, because it reminded them of their trials in Egypt. But they also, after that first day, were allowed to eat the sweeter bread because they were free. So only on that Passover night they remembered that they were slaves in Egypt and all the troubles they went through in being a slave. But once they left Egypt – once they were on their way out – they were happy. So then it was okay to have what they call rich man’s matzo, which would be more the egg and onion, or the matzo that has additional items to it. Even some salt was considered rich man’s. I had a piece this morning – lightly salted matzo. It’s called rich man’s matzo – ashirah matzo. Why? Because it had additional flavors to it. Some say it even the normal matzo would taste sweeter than bread that was made out of sourdough, so they would call that sweetness too.

But what should you be thinking of when you eat this bread? You should be thinking of righteousness. You think of a lot of things: “I’m putting Christ into me. I’m putting Christ’s way to me – God’s way, God’s law. I’m putting God’s righteousness in me.” But what kind of righteousness should we have? Well, I gave it away! God’s righteousness! You don’t want your own righteousness.

Let’s ask ourselves, “What is righteousness anyway?” Because these days help us to realize the need to have righteousness in our lives. This Feast reminds us of that – that we need righteousness in our lives. What does righteousness mean? Righteousness is the character or quality of being right or just. I have an article from Nelson’s Illustrated Dictionary. It puts it this way under the title Righteousness: Holy and upright living – I’m quoting – in accordance with God’s standard. The word righteousness comes from a root word that means straightness…this person is straight…it refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept; God’s character is the definition and source of all righteousness.”

Now there are two main words that are used for righteousness. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word is tsedeq and in the New Testament its dikaiosune. You can abbreviate it dikia. It means righteous or righteousness in the New Testament – the main words for it. So righteousness – the need to be right – the quality of character that is right – and right with God.

Now let’s take a look at the need. Why do we need righteousness anyway? Why do we need to have this in our lives? “Come on, we know this, Mr. Antion.” 1 John 5:17. Now we know the normal definition of sin is, sin is the transgression of the law – 1 John 3:4 – if you had your memory scriptures – you’d know that one.

1 John 5:17 – All unrighteousness is sin…. What are we supposed to be putting out of our life? Unrighteousness! What should we be putting into our lives? Righteousness – that God’s law may be in your mouth. God’s righteousness.

I was just reading through some of the scriptures this morning, just sitting down and reflecting and Proverbs jumped out at me all types of places where it said righteous. We sang the first song, a number of times when they were singing righteous, righteousness. God wants His people to be righteous – but how? Romans 3:23 tells us:

Romans 3:23 – All have sinned and come short of the glory of God…. All have sinned, so we did not have righteousness in our lives, but there is a dire need for us to have it.

Zephaniah – I’m not going to read that one either – 2:3 tells us we need to seek for righteousness. But I am going to read Matthew 5, because Jesus Christ’s instruction on the Sermon on the Mount is very important for us to understand. Matthew 5:6 – He says:

Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? When you’re really hungry on the Day of Atonement, what do you tend to notice? If you drive to church, or drive by…”I never noticed that hamburger stand before. I’ve never noticed that pizza place.” You notice all these places when you’re hungry. Are you hungry for righteousness? Do you notice where righteousness is? Are you one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Notice verse 10:

Matthew 5:10 – Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake - because they’re doing the right thing.

You know what they’ll tell you? You can’t be a politician in the world today – can’t be a politician. If you’re too honest, people won’t vote for you. They don’t want to vote for you if you do the right thing. They want to vote for you if you do their thing. Righteousness – blessed are you when you’re doing righteousness. If you’re persecuted for it, God says, “Good for you! You chose to do the right thing.” Righteousness. Verse 20 is even more interesting:

Matthew 5:20 – “For I say to you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

How righteous were the scribes and Pharisees? Why they counted up every little leaf of mint to tithe on – to make sure they tithed right. Matthew 23. How diligent were they? Well, you wouldn’t dare eat with unwashed hands up to your elbows several times. Oh, and you wouldn’t do this, and you wouldn’t do that. And Jesus Christ was accused, remember, walking through the grain fields picking some…. His disciples were hungry, so they picked some grain and ate it. And they were accused of reaping. There’s a difference between picking something as you walk through a field and reaping it, where you have to get out all your paraphernalia and equipment and go to work at reaping. They weren’t doing that. But they were upset about it. Not eating with washed hands…wash them properly. That was their righteousness, but Jesus Christ said, “If your righteousness does not exceed them….” Does that mean we have to be even more finicky?

I remember one fellow – I think I maybe mentioned this to you at church – he said at the beginning of the sermonette – just out from college, giving a sermonette – and before the Days of Unleavened Bread – “Now brethren, you know, as we search for unleavened bread – search for leavening – do you know how many times you’ve sat with your favorite novel or book, and how you may be eating a sandwich, or eating crackers, or something, and how they dribbled?” He said, “I go through my books. I open them all and dump them.” I said, “That works for you if you have six books, ten books, but if you have a whole library full of books, how do you remember which one? Do you have to go through the whole library dumping and opening every one, letting whatever crumbs fall out?” You can’t do that. You and I know that you can’t get out every bit of leaven that’s in your home. You’ll never be able to, unless you destroy all your chairs, destroy your kitchen, rip up your floor boards. If you have wood flooring, rip them up, because in those grooves, there is probably something in there. Destroy your car, because you can’t get every little piece out of there. And I mean, I do diligence – try to get my car done. I do diligence at home, but I can’t get every single thing up. I’m sure there’s something in there. But God has lessons for us to learn.

What kind of righteousness must you have if you’re going to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? Ephesians 6:17 – just to show you there is a need to have righteousness in our lives.

Ephesians 6:17 – And the helmet of salvation – part of our very garments that we’re supposed to wear as Christians – take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.

So, if the Word of God is supposed to be in us, where does the Word of God contain the law of God. But go back to verse 14:

Ephesians 6:14 – Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth – which is God’s Word, but also – having on – what? – the breastplate of righteousness.

So God wants us to have righteousness right next to our hearts. Put on that breastplate of righteousness. Romans 6:16 tells us – same chapter that Mr. Phelps was in – Romans 6:16 – that it’s a choice we have to make. Life is all about choices. You know, choose which way you’ll go - life or death, blessing or cursing. Life is always a choice.

Romans 6:16 – Don’t you know that to whomsoever you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin to death or of obedience to righteousness.

So we have a choice – the way of sin or the way of righteousness. Which way do we want to go? You want to go the way of righteousness. But what kind of righteousness? You see the reason you can exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is not because you will be more particular than they are. It will be because you have the right kind of righteousness. A righteousness of your own will not cut it. A righteousness of your own devising will not make it – a righteousness that you decide what righteousness is. That’s what Adam and Eve tried to do – remember? “We will decide what’s right and wrong for us” – your own righteousness. Or a super righteousness, because Ecclesiastes tells us, “Don’t be righteous overmuch.” Ecclesiastes 7:16 – don’t be righteous overmuch. Some people are so righteous, they’re self-righteous. If it’s a righteousness that stems from you, and is about you and your ideas, it won’t work. Job 1:1 and 8 – Job was a righteous man – a very righteous man. God said so. A lot of people want to say, “Oh no, he was a self-righteous man, but how did he get his righteousness? What did he depend on for his righteousness? There are some people that are very strong willed. There are some people who have very strong will power.

Job 1:1 – There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, one that feared God and hated evil – upright, righteous. Notice Verse 8:

Job 1:8 – And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and hates evil?”

Here was a righteous man, but how was he righteous? Job 27, skip ahead, many other places but Verse 6 he says this when he’s under fire:

Job 27:6 – My righteousness I hold fast, and I will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. “I’m righteous” – my righteousness.

If it’s your righteousness, you know what God calls that? Isaiah 64:6 – so many filthy rags. If it’s the righteousness you can create, of and by yourself, it’s so many filthy rags. Now the law of God is good and right and wonderful, but the law of God cannot make you righteous. The law of God spells out the standard of righteousness, but it cannot make you righteous. First of all, can you keep it? God says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The first time you slip and stumble, what happens to you? You’re a goner. You’re a goner – the wages of sin is death.

If you can’t go the way of law, the law can’t justify you. Breaking it yesterday, keeping it today does not make yesterday. Okay, it merely means, “I didn’t mean to do that.” But the point is, does living right today make up for the sin of yesterday? No. The sin of yesterday must be repented of and have God’s forgiveness. And that’s His righteousness. And as you go on to live it, you can’t live God’s way without His Spirit. Didn’t Paul say the carnal mind is enmity against God – is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be? Your own righteousness will not cut it – your own view of righteousness, your own addition. Some people make additions to the law of God. “Well, God says do this, but I’m going to do more. I’m going to do this. I’m going to add this to it. I’m going to do this more. This is what I think we should do.” Sorry, what you think we should do doesn’t cut it. It’s what God says to do. It’s God’s Word which is the law and the Word of truth – the Word that guides us in our lives.

I’d like you to turn with me to Ezekiel 33 – another example here - Ezekiel 33:12-13. He says:

Ezekiel 33:12 – “Therefore you, son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression – first time he slips, gone – as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turns from his wickedness, neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ First time you slip and stumble, you’ve had it. If it’s a righteousness of your own, you’re a goner.

Ezekiel 33:13 – “Wherefore when I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live, if he trusted his own righteousness – Get it? His own righteousness – and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered, but for his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die for it.”

Your own righteousness will not cut it. Romans 10:3-6 – notice what the apostle Paul says about this. And by the way, the apostle Paul declared himself – regarding the law – to be blameless. He had good willpower. But he said, “All that is counted as dung.” I’ll read that to you in a moment. Romans 10 – Paul knew what he was talking about, Verse 3:

Romans 10:3 – For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness…. See self-righteousness doesn’t make it with God. Self-righteousness will not save you. Self-righteousness will not get you into God’s kingdom, because it’s you doing it yourself. Job had to learn that lesson, right? God took him to task – “Where were you when I made this? Where were you when I did this? You think you’re so good by yourself. You understand My law and My ways, but you’re doing it by yourself.”

Romans 10:3 – For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law – the outcome of the law – for righteousness to everyone that believes.

So it has to be through Jesus Christ. It has to be through God’s power, God’s might, God’s righteousness, not our own.

Romans 10:5 – For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law that “The man which does those things shall live in them.”

“Okay, as long as I’m keeping the law, I’m righteous. The moment I slip and stumble, what happens to me? I’m a goner, unless I’ve got Christ’s righteousness – God’s righteousness – because God will give me the strength to live His way. And when I slip and stumble, He’ll forgive me. But if I’m only doing it by the law, I’m sunk first time I sin. Forget it! I’m out of here.”

Romans 10:6 – But the righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wise, saying, “Not in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend to heaven,’ that is to bring Christ down from above.” You don’t have to. Christ’s righteousness can be in you. You can have God righteousness.

In Philippians 3:6 we read this – Paul said:

Philippians 3:6 – Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. I was a good guy, of and by myself, I did it all.

Philippians 3:7 – But what things were gain to me I counted loss for Christ, yes and doubtless I count all things for loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them as dung (pile of manure) that I may win Christ.

Philippians 3:9 – And be found in Him not having my own righteousness which is of the law – all I can do by myself – but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

I believe in God. I trust in God. I trust in His strength and help so that I can have God righteousness in me, not my own. The strength and the power to walk in God’s ways comes from Him, not from us. We don’t have it in us inherently.

Romans 8:7 – …the carnal mind is enmity against God…. To be in the flesh, you cannot please God.

How can you be righteous? Without God’s spirit you cannot have God righteousness. Look at Luke 18. This is classic parable given by Jesus Christ.

Luke 18:9 – And He spoke this parable to certain ones which trusted in themselves that they were righteous – here’s another side to the self-righteousness – that is, “When I feel I’m really good, I look for all of you who are bad. I’m good, they’re not.” He trusted in himself that he was righteous – and despised others.

The ugliness of self-righteousness is being judgmental – is looking down on others – and notice he gives this example:

V-10 – “Two men went into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself – he did pray with himself because God wasn’t hearing him – ‘God, I thank You that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even as this publican.” “I’m not bad like they are. I’m a really good guy, God. Don’t you recognize me?”

V-12 – “I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all I possess.”

I gave a sermon once, during the Days of Unleavened Bread several years ago – over twenty years ago – in which I started out: What do you do with a person who fasts twice a week, who tithed everything he had? He prayed regularly – and stood and prayed diligently – attended Sabbath services. He obeyed God’s law flawlessly. What would you think of such a man? I said “Jesus called him hypocrite.” Hypocrites! It’s what he did all by himself. So he said, “I don’t do this. I give tithes of all I possess.”

V-13 – “And the publican standing afar off would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven but smote his breast saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone that exalts himself shall be abased and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.”

But the point being, one trusted himself that he was righteous. That set him up to do the things that he did. So, how is your righteousness? What kind of righteousness should you have? What kind of right living? To quote again from this article, it goes on to say, “Therefore, man must have God’s righteousness imputed or transferred to him. You must have the righteousness of God. To obey those laws was to act righteously, because such obedience maintained the covenant relationship between God and His people.”

You need God in you in order to have the proper righteousness. Now God is righteous. And did you know that one of God’s very names – His compound names with JHVH – one of His very names is God Our Righteousness. It’s JHVH-Psidkenu. And it’s the root word for righteousness. And it means “the Lord our Righteousness.”

How can you be righteous? How can you be Godly-righteous during these days of Unleavened Bread, so that you’re not just eating this thing – lathering it up with butter and peanut butter and whatever else you put on – jam. By the way, it goes really good…if you’ve ever had clotted cream…. Have you ever got that from England? We had clotted cream that we got from Jungle Jim’s. …put some clotted cream on it, and then put some strawberry jam on it, and it tastes like scone – like they have over in England. Have some tea with it, if you’re a tea drinker. It’s wonderful!

But is that all it’s about – just lathering this up with your favorite topping and eating it down? Is that all it’s about? Or is it the picture, God righteousness being in us?

Matthew 6:33…. By the way, since one of His names is God Our Righteousness, when He comes back to this earth – Jesus Christ – you want that scripture…. (Jeremiah 23:6 is where he says Yhvh-Psidkenu.) When Jesus Christ comes back to this earth, you know what He’s going to have on him? A belt of righteousness – Isaiah 11:5. He’s coming back with a belt of righteousness. So that’s the source of our righteousness. We can go to God for it. God has the righteousness. God has the strength. He has the power.

And how does that happen anyway? Because it’s God in you that does it. We’ll see that. What does it mean for you and me? God is the source where we can go to receive God righteousness, not our own. Matthew 6:33 – isn’t it interesting the scripture we quote so many times about our hope in life:

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and – your righteousness, and righteousness – no – and His righteousness.” You seek for God’s righteousness.

Where does He lead you when you’re converted? What’s that famous psalm – Psalm 23 – He leads us in the paths of righteousness. God wants you to walk uprightly. He wants you to walk correctly. He wants you to walk in accordance with His standard – not contrary to it – but you can’t do it by yourself. Did you know that the kingdom of God is not in meat or drink or in matzo, but the kingdom of God is in righteousness – Romans 14:17. Do you know that – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – we can only have that righteousness through God – through Jesus Christ, who is the very Son of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – For He has made Him – talking about Christ. God has made Him – Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. That we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Philippians 2:5 – how does this come about? Because once you’re baptized you receive God’s Holy Spirit. What does God’s Holy Spirit do for you? God’s Holy Spirit gives you the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ generates the righteousness of God.

Philippians 2:5 – Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13 – For it is God which works in you – that’s righteousness – God’s righteousness in you – for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.

Now watching O’Reilly last night, he had something on faith – talking to different people – and how there really isn’t a Satan. That’s only an allegory. And the whole Old Testament is filled with stories that are unbelievable. Those can’t be right. After all, Jonah and the whale, how can that be? He was talking to a Baptist, and the Baptist was saying, “Well, I do believe that’s right.” The rabbi was saying, “Well, there are things out there…I believe in heaven and hell.” Come on Mr. Rabbi, where do you get heaven and hell out of the Old Testament? Where do you get that? Where do you see the immortal soul in the Old Testament? You know what the Bible says – if you know. Mr. O’Reilly says, “Well, I wonder if I can be saved – I hope I can be saved – if I don’t believe some of that stuff.” And the Baptist guy says, “Well, if you just have faith in Jesus, you’ll be saved.” Well, that’s different from Paul who said, “I’ve got to watch myself, fight myself, keep myself in check lest, after I preached to others, I be a castaway.” Where is “fight the good fight.” Where’s “overcome to the end?” Oh, we don’t want to think of those things! It’s an absolute. And he’s writing something about Killing Jesus, in which he’s going to say that Jesus came and gave these parables – he doesn’t even know what the Old Testament says – he doesn’t know that Jesus was the God of the Old Testament – doesn’t know any of that. What a shame. They just sit…these are intelligent, bright, smart men, but he does not understand.

You have an understanding of God’s Word, through His Spirit working with you and in you, that far exceeds some of these brains. Here’s this rabbi – been there for years – what does he know about it? Nothing. He doesn’t even know what his religion should teach. And here’s the Baptist man…well, yeah, he’s trying to stand up for…well, the Bible teaches this and we should follow the Bible…well, Jonah and the whale…. If you say that’s just an allegory, then what about Jesus being born of a virgin – a virgin birth? Well, that’s New Testament, and of course Mr. O’Reilly has his pressure way of trying to run things, and the Baptist guy was trying to hold his own as much as he could.

God wants you to remain upright. And the way you can do it is having God in you – to give you strength and righteousness – His righteousness. The apostle Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, but it’s not really me anymore. The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” – Galatians 2:20. “I’m not living my own way anymore, I’m living God’s way.” That’s what Paul said – “I’m trying to do it His way, not my way.” You know, Frank Sinatra did it his way. You remember the song, I Did It My Way. God doesn’t want you to do it your way. He wants you to do it His way. Your way is the way that ends in death, right?

Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to a man that the ends thereof are the ways of death.

But God’s righteousness leads you to life. The righteousness of God leads us to life. Many scriptures on that that you can find – in the Proverbs and other areas – I can share one with you.

Proverbs 12:28 – Righteousness leads to life.

Let’s look at Romans 3:21-22. So what do we do? What do we need to do? We need to trust in God more. We need to study His Word. His Word is the Word of righteousness and, in fact, corrects us. 2 Timothy 3 says the Word of God is profitable for what? …for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, for correction in righteousness – the Word of God.

What is in our mouths? What ought to be in our mouths during the Days of Unleavened Bread and throughout our lifetime? The way of God, the law of God, the Word of God. What should we be talking about in the morning, and in the afternoon, and in the evening, and what should we be teaching our children? The law of God, the way of God, the way of righteousness. Because people say, “Why are your children so good? Why do they sit here at this restaurant…?” And we have had people come up to others in a restaurant and commend them for how their children sat there and didn’t make a ruckus, because they were well trained. They were taught respect. They were taught honor. They were taught the right thing. And those same kids can cavort and play on a playground as well as anybody. But in a restaurant, no. They sat. They didn’t make everybody in the restaurant miserable by their loudness, nor by the way they threw their food around, nor how they ate their food, which sometimes can be disgusting – more goes on the outside of their faces. I know the difference in babies, but I’m talking about children. I’m talking about children.

Romans 3 – God wants us to have the righteousness that comes from Him.

Romans 3:21 – But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested – that is, without the God law alone – if you try and do it with just the law alone – you can’t have God righteousness – you have your own – being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ to all and upon them that believe for there is no difference.

So if you believe in God, and you trust in Him, and you look to Him, and you pray, and you study, and you ask Him for His righteousness, you can have God’s righteousness. If you stay close to God, you study His Word, you understand what righteousness is. If you have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in you – richly being filled with it – you have God’s righteousness in you.

1 John 3:7 – is it enough to just believe – just believe in righteousness? “I just believe I can have righteousness.”

1 John 3:7 – Little children, let no man deceive you. He that does righteousness is righteous, even as He – God – is righteous.

Don’t be deceived. It isn’t a matter of just something…”Oh, God’s going to sweep me away if I sit here on my hammock and think righteousness, righteousness, righteousness. God’s going to give me righteousness and that’s all I have to.” God says you have to do something. Your life should reflect the righteousness of God in you by the righteousness that you I. But it’s not counting every little leaf, saying, “Here’s one tenth.” “I’ll give eleven percent, twelve percent – not going to give ten.” It’s not trying to be so finicky about things that you cause people to be in pain. It’s not being judgmental. It’s righteousness from God. That’s what it is. Notice verse 10:

1 John 3:10 – In this the children of God are manifest – are shown – God’s children are openly shown, how – and the children of the devil: whosoever does not righteousness is not of God – if you don’t do righteousness – that is, God’s righteousness – you’re not of God – neither is he that loves not his brother.

So God wants us to have His righteousness, not our own. What’s the effect of that righteousness? Peace. And God says, “Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord” and talks about righteousness. Righteousness exalts a nation. Sin takes it down.

Let me read to you over in Daniel 12:3. What do you do with that righteousness anyway? You live it, you practice it, you ask God for it, you remember it. You’re reminded during seven days, as you put it in your mouth, that God’s law would be in your life, but not by you and your strength alone. But notice over in Daniel 12:3. We read what we’re supposed to be doing with the righteousness that we have with our understanding, with our knowledge of God’s way.

Daniel 12:3 – They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.

What do you think the Beyond Today program is about? What do you think the Good News magazine is about? What do you think your example, in any area you go in, is all about? It’s bringing the righteousness of God to their attention. And if you turn people to that righteousness, God says you are going to shine as the stars forever and ever. God doesn’t want us just to keep it. “I’ve got righteousness. I’m righteous, I’ve got it.” He wants us to turn others to righteousness by how we live. Also we need to be turning our children that way. It is interesting – in Deuteronomy 4:8 – He talks about the blessings of the country that follows His way, and the blessings of the people that follow His way, and what others will say about it. Deuteronomy 4 – it’s also in chapter 6 – says the same thing.

Deuteronomy 4:8 – What nation is there so great – when they have God’s laws, the nations are going to look and say - what nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I have set before you this day.

Why are these people so good? When they came down to accredit us at Ambassador College, they had an accrediting team from various colleges all around the area. They could not believe the demeanor, the attitude, the hope and the purpose our students had. They wanted to take some of them home with them! Said, “Can we clone this person?” – that used to pick them up every day – just by his demeanor, his attitude, his honor and his respect. He said, “How do you get these students to be so happy?” And I jokingly said, “Well we command them!” That really wasn’t how they get to be that way. They had God’s Spirit – most of them. They had God’s law, God’s way. They had God’s righteousness that brought them joy and happiness. It brought them purpose. It brought them meaning in life.

So he said, What nation is there so great as these so righteous as these laws – this way which I set before you this day?

Deuteronomy 4:9 – Only take heed to yourself and keep yourself diligently lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life, but teach them to your sons and your son’s sons.

Is that righteousness in your mouth? If it’s in your mouth, what should come out of your mouth? Righteousness. Teach your children the way of righteousness. Teach them godliness. Teach them proper behavior and respect for one another, to adults and to each other. Teach them to share and to give. Teach them to be gracious and to be thankful. Teach them to love others. Teach them not to look on others…look at those bad people over there. No, don’t teach them that. Don’t teach them to condemn. Teach them to love. Teach them to care. Oh yes, teach them to be aware of strangers, but teach them to love. Teach them to care. Teach them to be thoughtful. They won’t learn it when they become adults. I know of many adults who are not thoughtful – sad. They’ve got spirit, they’re not thoughtful. Are you? Are your children? You have a wonderful opportunity.

Deuteronomy 4:10 – Especially the day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, “Gather the people together and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth and that they may teach their children.”

What did they get on Horeb? The Ten Commandments. Teach them God’s way, rather than teaching them every single word, which is fine too – every single “and” and “the.” Teach them the meaning of the Ten Commandments. Teach them why those are good laws, and why they’re good for them, and why they’re good for others. Teach them.

There’s a warning – one more scripture after this – there is a warning in 2 Peter 2. We have to make sure that we keep God’s righteousness in our lives. We’ve seen that the Kingdom of God is about righteousness – that God wants you to have His righteousness – to be there.

2 Peter 2:21 – For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness – be better never to know the way of righteousness – and after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

Be better never to know the way of righteousness than once you know it, to turn away. So God gives that warning to us. Don’t forsake the righteousness of God in your life. Unleavened Bread only lasts for seven days. God’s righteousness should last for every day and throughout your life to the Kingdom of God.

Finally, as we walk in righteousness, the righteousness of God, we will have a blessing – Revelation 22 – when it’s all said and done, at the end. This chapter kind of summarizes what’s been happening and is a warning from everything else in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 22:11 – “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still – this person is set in his ways. This person is not going to change. He that is going to go the unjust way, let him be unjust – and he which is filthy, let him be filthy – so he’s not going to change from his filthiness. He’s stuck in that way. He’s become filthy – and let him that is righteous, let him be righteous still – the righteousness of God in you will sustain you to the end – he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

With that righteousness in your life that has been maintained, Verse 14:

Revelation 22:14 – Blessed are they that do His commandments – and what are His commandments? All His commandments are righteousness – blessed are they that do His righteousness – Psalm 119:172 – that they may have right to the Tree of Life and they enter in through the gates into the city.

Blessed are you when you have God’s righteousness in your life. May we remember to ask God for His righteousness and practice that God righteousness – not only during the Days of Unleavened Bread but throughout our lives.