Righteousness Exalts A Nation by Apostle Femi Lazarus: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

God Is a God of Righteousness and Justice

There is something very important to see about God.

Psalm 97:1-2 The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice. Clouds and darkness surround Him, and righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne. Some renderings use the word justice in place of judgment. This tells us that anywhere the throne of God is truly established, there is righteousness: things are done rightly. God is a God of righteousness, and He is a God of justice.

Psalm 82:1-4 God stands in the congregation of the mighty and judges among the gods, asking, "How long will you judge unjustly and accept the person of the wicked?" See how much it bothers God that there is unjust judgment. As a nation, God can be asking, "How long will you accept wicked people?" It is what you accept that will be served to you. Then He says, "Defend the poor and the fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy."

Poverty Is Often the Fruit of Injustice

Every poor person on the street who cannot afford their basic needs is a concern to God, and if it is a concern to God, it should be a concern to you, and to a noble church. The church must have systems that cater for the needy.

This runs light years ahead of much of our research. God is telling us that a major reason there are poor people is injustice. Systems have been carved so that, because of information they do not have access to, people become victims. Those who have information can build systems that put those without it at a disadvantage. Suppose I run a bank, and my friends and I know we are about to list certain shares; before we let the public in, we quietly carve out our own quota. By the time thousands rush in, what we hold has skyrocketed while they struggle for years. God calls that injustice. You must learn to trace where the money goes in your country.

Proverbs 19:17 He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord. God takes it as though you have lent to Him, and He repays more. When I was a child, my father would put money in my hand to keep, and he always paid it back, and paid back more, so I liked to lend to him. Would you not like to lend to someone who gives you back more? If you cannot give to the poor, it means you do not trust God.

God Wants Justice More Than Religious Noise

Amos 5 God laments over religion that ignores justice. He says He cannot stand our religious meetings and is fed up with our conferences and conventions, our pretentious slogans and fundraising schemes and image-making, and our noisy ego music. What He wants is justice and fairness, rivers of it. That is all He wants.

Once there is injustice in the land, people begin to doubt God. Many who now call themselves atheists began by asking, "If there is a God, why is this happening?" And too many Christians respond only by fighting and arguing. It is a lack of intelligence to try to win every argument with insult; when people switch from conversation to emotions, that is where their intelligence ends.

The method of God on earth is His children. God will no more come down from heaven to bankroll everyone struggling than He will come down to preach the gospel. When there is justice, something shifts in the earth. This itself is revival. That thing you no longer wear is another person's prayer point.

Psalm 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne; mercy and truth go before His face. Anywhere God is enthroned, there will be justice.

Wickedness Dressed in Church Clothes

Sometimes injustice is refusing to pay people a living wage while profiting from their sweat. Many Christians are wickedly unkind. There are homes, even homes of clergy, where the house help may not sit on a chair but must sit on the floor.

Revelation 3:17 There are poor rich people; they have, but they are wretched. Jesus said to one such church that though the record says they are rich, in truth they are wretched and naked. There are people whose lives carry no eternal value, nothing done for posterity, nothing beyond themselves. Do not excuse wickedness in the name of speaking in tongues. Some of the most tongue-speaking people are the most wicked. Go and be kind. Kindness starts there.

If you want national transformation, pay attention to righteousness and justice. Do not sit in the congregation of the wicked. If a person is wicked toward people and then gives that money in church, the money is cursed. Stealing is not made good because they never gave you your share.

Righteousness Is the Qualifier

No matter how intelligent or smart you think you are, if you are not a righteous person, you are not the one God will use to change systems, because you are as defiled and polluted as the rest; you are simply a church thief while others go to the club. Many people say, "God, trust me with this." But can you handle people's entitlements without it getting to your head?

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. This is why the church cannot be absent from the solution to national development; it must be on the front line. You can find good people anywhere, but the righteous, those in right standing with God, are found in the church. If they multiply, the nation is exalted.

Not Every Prosperous Nation Is Righteous

It is not every nation doing well that is righteous. I once dreamt about the foundation of a nation I was to visit; it was built on gold, but under the gold I saw blood, and my spirit rejected it. When I later passed through, everything looked colourful and beautiful, but I said, this is the blood of men. Consider what is happening in Congo, the divisions in South Africa, the exploitation in parts of Nigeria. Some nations have simply mastered good public relations.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 The world runs on the principle that it is dog eat dog, but we do not live or fight our battles that way. We do not use the method of unrighteousness to build, and we do not build wealth at the expense of lives. A righteous nation is not known by tall buildings and skyscrapers; you cannot eat skyscrapers. The most important thing to God, righteousness, must be the most important thing to you. If this nation is not being exalted the way it should, something is wrong with all of us. Do not be quick to point at the leaders while some club before they pay their staff.

How the Devil Uses Unrighteousness

Zechariah 3:1-2 Zechariah saw Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan at his right hand to resist him. The devil had something on him and used it to accuse him, for he is the accuser of the brethren. The devil uses the information of our unrighteousness as legal tender against us.

This is why leaders who have the power to end certain things will not end them: someone has something on them. Systems of power will not let people climb until there is something that can be used on them. If you are righteous, you are too powerful for them, because there is nothing to bargain with. So do not merely be a Christian. Be clean. Do not do life with people who change their convictions every time they become comfortable.

The proof that there is truly a move of God in the land is that there is a rise of righteousness. Do not party with ungodly men. If any amount can buy your vote, you are a wicked person, and you cannot then bring a tithe from vote-selling money and escape God's judgment. Call home and tell your parents not to sell their votes. Nature does not punish evil; it punishes the weak. We will not be weak.

Righteousness in Every Sector

Your heaven on earth is not just about a church service; it should be felt in every sector by believers the devil has nothing on. A Christian police officer does not take a bribe. Once, when road safety officers stopped us roughly, I could stand my ground and correct them because my vehicle had everything complete: fire extinguisher, licence, the lot. When you do not have your complete things, they have something on you, and you cannot solve the problems of the land. At the highest levels of power, information is not gathered to kill anyone; it is gathered for blackmail. This is one reason nations go to war and innocent men die. Know the game.

How the world perceives our country is not decided by the president visitors meet at the airport; it is decided by people like you and me. Be kind. In banks, some straighten their faces at people; some nurses show no care while someone is dying; some ushers still receive people based on mood, pouring their frustration on others. People are already frustrated by life; should they meet you and meet only more frustration?

A Prayer for a Flood of Righteousness

Lord, Nigeria needs righteous men, Africa needs righteous men, and every nation needs righteous men. Let there be a flood of righteousness. Help us to do right in whatever You have called us to do. Help me to be an instrument of righteousness in expressing Your kingdom, and give me the act of kindness again, toward friends, family, parents, and strangers. Sin is a reproach to any people. In Jesus' name.

This is the civilian version of the message, and it is as far as it can go openly. There is a deeper curriculum for when the doors are closed, because we must deliberately prepare for the transformation we want to see, rather than waiting for it to happen by chance. My heart is heavy for this country, and I believe God will heal our land.