Rabbi Schneider - The Lord Is Our Righteousness
We've been going through the Old Testament, the Tanakh, and identifying where Father God has attached his personal covenant name that he gave the Jewish people, Yahweh, with one of his saving functions that he's doing in and for his people. This so relevant for you and I today because he's the same yesterday, today and forever. And so every time Father God connected his sacred name to a function of salvation, that means that you and I can trust him to do that very thing in your life and in my life today. I really want to encourage you, go get this entire series because it really can transform your life as you make it an emphasis of trust and an emphasis of prayer. I'm telling you, friends, you can trust God to do the things that he said he would do through his sacred names. You can trust him to do those things for you.
Now I'm not gonna go back and review today. Again, this is the final message so I'm gonna get right into it and we're gonna look at a brand new covenant name right now as we look at God's covenant name, Yahweh Tsidkenu, the Lord is our righteousness. We're gonna look at our primary Scripture today in the Book of Jeremiah, chapter number 23, beginning in verse number 5. Hear the Word of God. Yahweh Tsidkenu, we're looking at where this covenant name is revealed and what it means for you and I today. Hear God's Word: Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, Yahweh, our righteousness, or Yahweh Tsidkenu.
So I want you to consider with me that this is, first of all, a messianic prophecy. Father God is revealing here something he's gonna do in the future. And what he's gonna do, he's gonna bring forth a branch. What does a branch mean? It means it's an extension of himself; that Father's the source but he's gonna bring forth from himself a branch. Who is the branch? The branch is Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, who is in and is from the bosom of the Father. And one of the characteristics or the attributes of God's righteous branch who is the Messiah, one of the things that the Messiah does is he becomes, listen now, the righteousness of God's people. And so we read in verse number 6 that his name will be called the Lord our righteousness, or in Hebrew, Yahweh Tsidkenu.
So I want to consider with you for a few moments today on this final broadcast in this series, what does it mean to you practically speaking that Jesus is your righteousness, that Yahweh is your righteousness, that the Lord is our righteousness? What this means, beloved one, is that Jesus stands before Father for you. You see, a lot of times when we think of standing before Father God, we get afraid because we know ourselves. We know the wrong things that we think, the hateful thoughts that we sometimes have, the wrong words that we speak to people. We know all the things wrong with ourselves. And because of that, when we think of standing before Father God, we tend to shrink back sometimes because we're afraid of condemnation because of our sin. But to understand that the Lord is our righteousness, that Yeshua, that Jesus is your righteousness, that he's the one that's standing before Father God in your place, and because you know he's sinless and approved, and because he's standing in your place, you can be assured that you now are gonna be accepted before the Father because you're in Jesus.
In other words, you're in Jesus and it's Jesus that's standing before the Father. And because you're in him, you can be assured of God's favor on your life. One of my favorite verses is this, that it's not by deeds of righteousness which we have done, but it's according to his mercy has he saved us. He that knew no sin, speaking of Jesus, he that knew no sin became sin on our behalf that we could become the righteousness of God. In other words, your sin and my sin was transferred into the body of Jesus on the cross. He took our sin in his own body and died in our place on the cross or on the tree. And because he took our sin in his own body and died in our place and gave us his righteousness instead, we can be confident that we're righteous in God because our righteousness in God is not based on the good works that we've done or how good or bad we've been, but rather our righteousness, beloved, is based on the fact that Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness instead, and that Jesus is our righteousness; that it's not us that's gonna be standing before the Father to determine whether we've been righteous or not or are righteousness in him. But rather, it's Jesus that's standing before the Father in our place. And because we're in him those of us that truly are, we are now deemed as righteous because Jesus is the banner over our lives.
You see, Paul said no man shall be justified by the works of the law. In other words, no one's gonna stand before God and deemed righteous because of just their own works. We're gonna be rewarded for the good things we've done in Jesus when we're his. But we're not righteous for our good works in God because we've done so many bad things as well. The only way that we can stand before God in perfect righteousness is when we're in Jesus, who stands before Father in our place. So Father God, beloved ones, wants you to be confident that you're not condemned before him, but that you're righteous in Christ before him. This is why, I want you to get this, listen to me very carefully. This is why every one of Paul's letters in the New Testament begins the same way. Hear the Word of God. He says, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. If Father God was mad at you, if he was condemning you, if he was judging you, and penalizing you for your sins, why then would every one of Paul letters, Paul's letters begin the same way? Grace and peace to you, from who? From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look in the Book of Colossians, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Look in the Book of Ephesians, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Look in the Book of Philippians, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of Paul's letters begins virtually the same way, because Jesus, Yahweh, is your righteousness. He took your sin in his own body on the tree, it's been removed, and now you stand before the Father righteous in him. And God wants you and I to know this. The Bible says, He that's been perfected in love does not fear, because fear involves punishment. John says this in one of his letters. What does God mean here? When we really understand God's love for us, and because of his love what he's done for us, we're not gonna have the looming fear of judgment and God's wrath over our lives. But if we don't know how much God loves us, and how he really feels about us, and what he's really done for us in Jesus, then we're gonna be afraid and we're gonna have fear, because we're not gonna know that he really loves us. We're gonna be afraid of being judged by him. But instead God says, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants us, beloved, to be assured of his love and to know we're righteous in Messiah Jesus.
Now of course when I speak these words, I'm not speaking these words to the world at large. I'm not condoning sinners, saying just do what you want to do. Keep sinning because God loves you and you don't need to worry about it. I'm not speaking to sinners. I'm speaking to the remnant. I'm speaking to the children of God. I'm speaking to those that are born again. I'm speaking to those that really love God and are seeking to do his will. You might not be perfect, but there's a big yes in your heart. You're falling and stumbling but deep inside there's a big yes in your heart. You're seeking to do his will. You're seeking to overcome. You're giving your life over to him. You're talking to him all the time. I'm speaking to you. God doesn't want you to be afraid of being judged. He wants you to know, you're righteous in his eyes because you're in Jesus, and he loves you, and he wants us to be confident of that. Beloved, one of God's covenant names is Yahweh Tsidkenu. He is the Lord your righteousness. Jesus is standing before the Father for you, and your, your standing is in Jesus. Therefore, you're righteous.
Now the last Hebrew covenant name in this series that I want to review with you or that I want to bring to your attention today is Yahweh Shammah, which means the Lord is there, or the Lord is present. It's actually the last phrase or the last sentence from the Book of Ezekiel. Let's go there together today, the Book of Ezekiel, last sentence in Ezekiel's writing. Ezekiel, beloved, hear the Word of God, chapter number 48, verse 35. It says: The LORD is there, or Yahweh, Shammah, the Lord is here, or the Lord is present. What does this mean practically for you? It means this, no matter where you go, there he is. The Lord is there. That's what Yahweh Shammah means. The Lord is there. What does that mean for you? Wherever you go, there he will be. Think about that. Wherever you go, there he is. Jesus said, I am with you always even to the end of the age.
As I spoke of in last week's broadcast, so many times we're fearful about the future. We're fearful about when we get old. We're fearful about what will our health be. We're fearful about will we run out of money. We're fearful about all these different scenarios that the devil tries to put in our minds. But the Father replaces that today and says to you, My child, I love you, and I am there. In the future, I am there. Whatever it's gonna be, wherever you're gonna go, I will be there. You see, the Lord, beloved, is always present.
And so I want you to know today how complete a salvation we have. We've been looking at the covenant names of God. We began this series two months ago. We began in Exodus, 3, and Exodus, 6, where Father God first revealed his personal name; not just a title, not just that he's God, not just that he's God Almighty, not just that he's the Lord, not just that he's Adonai. But he gave us, beloved, his name. He said to Moses, I am Yahweh. Your forefathers knew me as God. They knew me as God Almighty. They knew I was all-powerful. They knew me as the Creator, as Elohim. But then he said, but by my name, Yahweh, they did not know me. And then from there Father God made a covenant with his people. And he made a covenant to be their Savior. And in that covenant he connected his personal name to the saving attributes that he would do in the lives of his elect. And that's what we've been focusing on over the last two months. I encourage you to really give yourself to this and to incorporate God's covenant names into your prayer life.
So let's review today the covenant names that we've been looking at over the last several months. I began, beloved ones, with Yahweh Yireh, that the Lord will provide, that God is our provider. We looked at Genesis, 22, verse number 14. You know what? Whatever you need in your life, I mean really need, God's gonna be there for you. God's gonna show up. And I want to encourage you, have your antennas up. Pay attention. Look around for God's provision in your life. Be expectant. And that way when he does things in your life, when he provides for your needs, even if it's just an emotional need;, maybe you're really struggling emotionally, you need some encouragement. If you're paying attention, you'll see how God came to you. Maybe it was through a person. Maybe it was through a circumstance. Maybe it was through a dream. Maybe it was through a prophetic word that somebody spoke to you. Whatever the means is, God will provide. He's Yahweh Yireh. He will continue to sustain you and continue to provide for all your needs.
I can say to you, beloved, he's done this in my life and he'll do it in the life of every one of his children. From there we moved into the next Hebrew name of God, Yahweh Rophe, or Yahweh Ropheka, the Lord our healer, from the Book of Exodus, chapter 15, verse 26. I want to encourage you to believe God to be your complete Savior. And some may even have a paradigm. You know what, I'm gonna die, and when I go to heaven then I'll meet God. Then I'll be healed. But Father God is the God of the here and the God of the now. And he's revealed himself in the God of the now as Yahweh Ropheka, the Lord that healeth thee. Whatever your need is, whether it's a healing of your heart, a healing of your mind, a healing of your body, believe God to bring healing to you here and now. I realize that our bodies decay and age. But you know what? God can still supernaturally sustain you and be your healer even as your body is decaying as you grow old.
Listen, I don't understand all there is to understand. I have questions just like many of you do. Why does it seem that this person got healed and that person didn't get healed? Why doesn't God heal everybody right now? I don't have all the answers, but I do know this, God has revealed himself as our healer. And I want to challenge you, don't let what you don't understand about this keep you from what you should understand, do understand, and can understand, and that is this, that God has revealed himself in his covenant name as God, your healer. Believe him to be your complete Savior and to bring healing for you. And then we looked at Yahweh Nissi, the Lord our banner, or the Lord is our victory, from the Book of Exodus, chapter 17. Father wants you and I to believe him that we will be victorious in our life.
You see, we shouldn't think of ourselves as losers. We shouldn't walk around with our head down. The Bible says God has raised us up and seated us with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places; that neither height, or depth, principalities or powers, things present, things past or things to come can ever separate us from the love of God. But know we're more than conquerors through all these things. Why? Because Yahweh is our victory, and the victory of Jesus that conquered the death, conquered the grave, and is seated at the Father's right hand in heaven right now, his victory and his banner of victory is over your life. Believe him for that. Take ahold of him for that. And you know what? His victory will more and more be released in your life and you'll find yourself ascending in the power of the Spirit. And then we looked at Yahweh Macadesh, from Leviticus, chapter 20, verse 8. The Lord is our sanctifier. We are supernaturally being changed. We're being transformed.
As we cooperate with God, we are being changed to look more and more like Jesus. Hopefully when you look at your life today and compare it to where you were a year ago or two years ago, you're a different person. Why? Because God is changing you. He's transforming you. He's Yahweh Macadesh. He's the Lord your sanctifier. This is real and this is truth. And then we looked at, from Judges, chapter 6, that Yahweh as our Savior is our peace. And we saw how Gideon encountered God. He had many questions. He said, Lord, if you're really alive, why, why am I not seeing you more? Where are the miracles? And why are bad things happening? But the Lord came to Gideon supernaturally and he says, I am alive and I am Yahweh Shalom. And I want you to know, beloved ones, Shalom means peace. It means wholeness.
And as you seek God and seek peace, he's gonna bring peace and strength into your life. And hear me when I say to you, when you get strong, you'll be happy and you will have peace. Keep seeking God and you'll find yourself entering in to greater and greater strength and into, beloved ones, more and more peace. From there we looked at the Father God as our shepherd. The Lord revealed himself to us as Yahweh Rohi, the Lord my shepherd. We looked at the 23rd Psalm, and we examined all that meant to us, that Father God is gonna continue to repair our broken hearts, lead us in the right path, and we're going to enjoy his fruit upon our life forever because the Bible says; that his goodness and lovingkindness will literally pursue and overtake us all the days of our life.
And then we looked at the Lord our righteousness, Yahweh Tsidkenu, from the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 23. We talked about that it's Jesus that's standing before God on your behalf. Father looks at you as righteous because Jesus is standing before him in your stead. And then finally today from the Book of Ezekiel, we looked at in Ezekiel, 48, that Yahweh, beloved ones, is there; that Yahweh Shammah will always be there for you. He is gonna be in your future. This is why David said that surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life; that wherever we go, beloved, listen, there Yahweh Shammah will be. He will be there. I want to encourage you today, let's trust God to do for us what he said he would do. Let's trust that Father is what he said he is. Let's open our heart to love. Let's not be afraid to trust him. I just want to pray for you right now.
In Jesus's name, Father, in Yeshua's name, I just speak release to the captives today. Father, I ask you to open the hearts of your people by the Holy Spirit and by your Word to trust you, to believe in you to be for them and to do for them who you said you'd be and what you said you'd do. Father, I want to thank you on behalf of all of us that you love us. And Father, we want to say to you today, we love you too, in Jesus's name.