And everyone will know

 22 "Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

 25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.^[c] 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

 28 "And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. 30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32 But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!

 33 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The fields that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be farmed. 35 And when I bring you back, people will say, 'This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people!' 36 Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.

 37 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel's prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock. 38 They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem's streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 36:22-38)

In our image, after our likeness

'And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like God, past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral disposition of his soul, commonly called original righteousness (Ec 7:29). As the new creation is only a restoration of this image, the history of the one throws light on the other; and we are informed that it is renewed after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.' (JFB, Gen 1:26-27)

'...put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator' (Colossians 3:10)

'...put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.' (Ephesians 4:24)

 

A Righteous Revolution Pt. 10

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24)

A Righteous Revolution Pt. 9

Do not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.

But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace.

The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous.

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

But the wicked will perish:

The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,

they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously;

those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,

but those he curses will be cut off.

If the LORD delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm;

though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

For the LORD loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,

but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

the righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks what is just.

The law of his God is in his heart;

his feet do not slip.

The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

seeking their very lives;

but the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

Wait for the LORD

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I have seen a wicked and ruthless man

flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

but he soon passed away and was no more;

though I looked for him, he could not be found.

Consider the blameless, observe the upright;

there is a future for the man of peace.

But all sinners will be destroyed;

the future of the wicked will be cut off.

The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The LORD helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

(Psalm 37:1-40)

A Righteous Revolution Pt. 8

I've blogged on different portions of Isaiah 6 before - with different revelation each time but when I was running tonight, & praying about a righteous revolution, God spoke to me again, bringing together what had previously been two separate lines of thought.

(December 10, 2007)
Isaiah 6:1 says, 'In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.'
We know that in the times of the Old Testament when a King would send his men into war, after they defeated their enemy, the King would walk through the battle ground and take for his men the spoils. But the greatest recognition for the King that he had been victorious was signified when he would have a piece of the defeated King's robe cut off and then sewn onto the bottom or the end of his own. So for a King, in Old Testament times, the length of his robe would therefore be a sign or an indication of his greatness i.e. the longer his robe, the move victories he had won and the more powerful a King he was.
The temple of the OT was a place where the people would come to offer sacrifices because of their sin, because of their defeatedness. It was a place where they would bring their failure, their insecurity, and their inadequacy. Not much has changed over the years. For us, the new Israel, the temple of the church is still a place where we bring our brokenness. As we attend every week, our failure, our fear, our insecurity, and our sin all follow us through the door. But then came the revelation; 'the train of His robe filled the temple'. We worship a God of Victory, a King who has defeated the power of sin. And if that piece of cloth is sewn to the train of His robe, and if His robe fills the temple...our temple...us, then everything we bring is covered, everything we bring into the temple is defeated. We are covered by the robe of the King who has conquered death! The train of his Robe signifies Christs defeat over the enemy. His Blood seals our redemption and our righteousness (past, present & future) in His name.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Here's the second thought.
'In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isaiah 6:1-3)

The first 5 words of verse 3 in my opinion is the revolution, the Righteous Revolution.
'And one called to another'
Our focus should rightfully be on the Holiness of God, but if we can get a revelation of the Righteousness of Christ in us (the train of His robe fills our temple), the next step is for 'one to call to another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" There's no revolution if we spend all of our time singing worship songs to Jesus yet watch the people around us go to hell at the same time. What greater worship can we offer God than to draw the people around us to see the Holiness of God, to call their attention to the Glory of the Lord of Hosts

'And the train of his robe filled the temple...And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!".

That's a Righteous Revolution.

A Righteous Revolution Pt. 7

Love.
'God's love does not conflict with His holiness and righteousness. On the contrary, the nature of God's holiness and righteousness demands that He be a God of love. His holiness is the absolute uniqueness and infinite value of His glory. His righteousness is His unswerving commitment always to honor and display that glory. And His all-sufficient glory is honored and displayed most by His working for us rather than our working for Him. And this is love.'
(Piper, Brothers, we are not professionals)

A Righteous Revolution Pt. 6

Riughteousness.
The actions and positive results of a sound relationship within a local community or between God and a person or His people. Translators have employed “righteousness” in rendering several biblical words into English: sedaqah, sedeq, in Hebrew; and dikaiosune and euthutes in Greek. “Righteousness” in the original languages denotes far more than in English usage; indeed, biblical righteousness is generally at odds with current English usage. We understand righteousness to mean “uprightness” in the sense of “adherence or conformity to an established norm.” In biblical usage righteousness is rooted in covenants and relationships. For biblical authors, righteousness is the fulfillment of the terms of a covenant between God and humanity or between humans in the full range of human relationships.
(Holman)