You are worth more than many sparrows, am I?

The Value of Many Sparrows

Mat 10:29-31 v 29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. v 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. v 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

David said in Psalm 8 “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” In other words, “who are we in relation to You, the Great Creator?” Jesus answers this question in a very personal individual way as He spoke to His followers:  “…ye are of more value than many sparrows”. This answers the question, do we have value to the Lord? The answer is an unequivocal yes and it is far more than many sparrows. Man's value in the eyes of God is more than the creatures.

It would be a true statement that everything and everyone has a value attached to it, even when we say something is priceless it is a hyperbole to describe its value in relationship to its possessor, “It means so much me I wouldn’t sell it any cost for it is priceless”. I say it is priceless in relationship to its possessor because to someone else it may have no value at all. I remember seeing a movie where a man had what he referred to as a “priceless” set of coins; when he revealed it to his acquaintance the acquaintance realized these were just ordinary coins. They were only as good as their face value. But to the possessor, he saw a hidden value as he explained these coins reminded him of times spent with his father. A small quarter he was allowed to keep at a ball game when he shared a hot dog with his father. It was priceless to him, the memory that he conferred on that quarter was a fond memory of time he spent with his father and to him that was priceless.

Because of our opening text we know we have value with the Lord and it is indeed more than  many sparrows; in actual fact we are so valuable that God sent His only begotten Son to buy us back (redeem us) when we became lost in sin.  Now, ask yourself this question does Jesus have value to me? Yes? Then following up that question with this question, what is His value to me? Whether or not we realize it we all have a value structure. We already know God has a value structure through the illustration of the sparrows and more importantly through Jesus death on the cross but what may not be apparent is we too have a value structure and God fits into it somewhere. In our hearts God fits into our value gage (just like sparrow gage above). 

Here is what we hear people say all the time: "I paid too much for it" or more to our liking, “I got a fantastic deal”. The buyer knows "it's" worth and he concluded he went over that amount or he came in under that amount. It is because of our value structure and like it or not we are all governed automatically by it. Now, let’s turn our attention to people because they too fit into our value system. There are those we are close to and they hold much greater value than those who are distant. There are, perhaps, some we would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for, a spouse, a child, a weak parent, but what about Christ? Are we willing to give Him everything? Dear desire? Self-will? Our ambitions? Our very lives? Like it or not, Jesus Christ and His call on our lives will fit somewhere in the gage listed at the beginning of this article. Therefore, it should be our lifelong ambition and goal to remove the limits on His worth in our hearts. In scriptural parlance we want to come to the place where we say: “I have found the Pearl of great price and I am willing to sell all to obtain it”

Be careful about making the blanket statement about, “I already surrendered all”. Perhaps you did but it is not a given. In my over 40 years in the Kingdom of God I have found this is a very rare thing. I have seen many over the years chafe at the call of God, get offended at some injustice, hold grudges, be unforgiving, be unwilling to serve and many other indicators that they are not surrendered completely to Him. You may not see the connection, for example, between getting offended and selling out to Christ but believe me it is evidence of an un-surrendered area of their heart. John 6:60-61 “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?” When you drop down just a few verses we read: John 6:66 “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” The direct connection with being offended revealing an unwillingness to pay the price. And the same is true by the other issues mentioned, if you dig deep you will discover a heart not surrendered to Him, they have found the price of following Him and they are not willing to pay it.

How can we know what our value structure is towards God? It begins to be revealed by our own responses, whether verbally or through our actions. It is discerned by what point we say no to God. It begins to be revealed by those areas which we do not approve of God touching. We can understand how much we are willing to pay by how much of our lives we have surrendered to him in trust and then loving obedience. Here are some considerations of what He requires from us:

Mat 10:37-39 v 37 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. v 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. v 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

It is narrowed down to four points

• Mother & Father – In a conflict, does Gods will comes first
• Son & Daughter – do they hold us back from Gods plan?
• Taketh not his Cross – this is huge, not willing to die to self
• Loves his own life more than Christ – insisting on comforts, ease, the good life

Let me conclude by saying God is measured and does not ask more of us than He feels we can offer. The best illustration of this is in the sacrifice that was required of a man-child that was born. If the family was poor then a turtle dove was an acceptable sacrifice because that is all they could give (this was what Mary and Joseph offered for Jesus, they were poor). If they had more means then it was a ram which would have been more costly. However, for the wealthy, those who could afford it, it was a bullock which is the most expensive.  God knows where we are at and the point of this message is that we would learn to grow and offer the ultimate sacrifice, this is the goal at the end of the race not at the beginning. The first and greatest commandment is thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, your mind and strength. He that is not willing to lay down his life for me is not worthy of me he that is not willing to take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

So again, where does God fit in our value system? Is He the Pearl of great price? Is He the treasure found in the field? We know that where a man's treasure is there will his heart be also, so, is Jesus Christ the Pearl of great price or just a good idea and as long as He does not cost me too much.

The Devil Made Me Do It

"Sir, I did it"

From the very start we are on the wrong side of God and after the initial fall the devil has very little to do with it but rather it is our own sinful nature causing all the problems: Psa 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Throughout life man can find it difficult to take responsibility for his/her sinful condition; man generally (with rare exception) will try and move responsibility from themselves to another and try and convince others why it is plausible to blame another. What we frequently hear people say is: "It’s not my fault". I have gathered a few examples of how men and women try and shift the blame from themselves to others. It’s not so much that we are trying to make anyone to look bad, it’s more that unless we are intellectually honest about the truth of our condition there cannot be any remedy. Topping the list is "The Devil made me do it"

The Devil made me do it - Eve started this one:

Gen 3:13 "And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Let me put this in a different perspective. Eve desired something God forbade and she reached out her own hand and took the fruit and with her own mouth she ate it and disobeyed the Lord. The devil and the fruit were not the problem. The Devil did not force her at gunpoint to eat nor did the fruit attack her forcing her to swallow it, no Eve sinned and broke Gods commandment because she desired to do something wrong. Nobody is to blame here but Eve, the Devil did not make her do it.  

It’s My Spouses Fault - Adam started this one:

(Any other person to blame will do)

Gen 3:12 "And the man said [to God], The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Adam blamed his spouse. Adam is faced with a choice, it is his to make. He looked at Eve, considered the commandment of God and still ate the fruit. Eve did not force Adam, Adam sinned of his own free will because if he had a heart to do right he would have refused, presented his wife to the Lord and interceded for her. Instead, he just went along with it and disobeyed.

My ancestry made me do it

"This is the just the way I was born, it's not my fault". My father was a thief, my mother was a drunk, my family line gave me this propensity and it’s not my fault. I doubt in the light of eternity this will carry much weight because we have the power of prayer and the throne of grace.

Peer pressure made me do it

Saul's sin greatly when he offered a sacrifice in 1 Samuel but it is interesting what he says to justify his actions. He said, he forced himself to sin because of the people and because Samuel himself did not come when he was supposed to: 1 Samuel 13:10-13  “And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.  (11)  And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;  (12)  Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.  (13)  And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever." Saul forced himself to sin because of peer pressure; again, no gun to the head Saul did this of his own free will and nobody was at fault but Saul. People do all kinds of horrid things today and justify it because of peer pressure. They violate their own conscience and do things that will haunt them the rest of their lives. The secret to being set free is not to blame others but to take responsibility.

Society made me do it

“It is not your fault, society drove you to it.” This is the famous line used by defense attorneys and mothers. “Johnny is a good boy, he just got in with a bad crowd” The cards were stacked against me from the beginning and I didn’t have a chance. This is where we are at in America right now. We are playing a game of identity politics where everybody is a victim. Nobody is responsible for their own character, if they steal it is because society owes them anyway. If they commit rape or murder it’s not their fault, they were forced down this route by society. This is a falsehood and does not help anyone in the long run. The reality is everyone one has the ability to decide who they will be, they have a choice and when they make their choice to serve their own selfish desires then no one is to blame but themselves. Blaming society never fixed any problem. I am not saying society cannot be cruel, nothing of the kind, what I am saying is what we do in society is all on us. 

What is the honest to goodness answer? George Washington (allegedly) said; "I did it, I cut down the cherry tree". It wasn’t the devil, it wasn’t my spouse or another, it wasn’t my ancestry not peer pressure, it wasn't society that forced me down this road nor was it the environment. I picked up the ax and with my two little hands I did the naughty deed. "I did it and I take full responsibility for my own actions".

Let’s return to our sinful condition for a moment, considering the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, it was as if collectively we said, "Punish Him for me". Trust me, Christ did no sin and He committed no crime, we are all the guilty ones. He was punished for me, that is the cold hard fact and any other confession will not bring remedy to my fallen, wrath stricken condition. Simple honesty and simple confession will bring remedy. There has only been one who was never guilty of sin and He was punished for us all. He was whipped, beaten, humiliated and murdered for our sin, the least we can do is acknowledge it (our sin and His atonement for it). God has required of me personally to acknowledge this, not when I said the sinner prayer at the beginning of my conversion but decades after my salvation and not in the privacy of my prayer closet but I wept secretly in a public place turning my head towards the window while my heart was pricked and tears streamed down my face. Making excuses isn't the secret to true forgiveness and true repentance. It is not the foundation to real healing of our wrong ways and complete deliverance.

This is what God said to His people (paraphrased), “Stop trying to shift the blame and find loopholes, I am merciful God who pardons sins and bring deliverance”. Jeremiah 3:12-13 v 12 “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. v 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.”

Consider that all God wants to do is restore and put us back into right standing with Him. Psa 32:1 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. v 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile [deceit]."

But here is the problem: Psalm 32:3 "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long." There was a period when David was in denial of His sin, perhaps blaming others, and God dealt with him to get an honest confession from him. Some conjecture it was a physical ailment as he talks about his bones being afflicted.

In Prov 28:13 we read "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Psalm 32:4 "For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer." Gods hand was heavy upon this man to get him to confess and confess David did. What is the mind of the Spirit, is it not to bring everyone to a confession of repentance? We are not told of the wrath of God to bring us to repentance but it is the goodness of God that brings true acknowledgment and repentance. Rom 2:4 “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”

Psalm 32:5 "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." Listen, it is really quite simple. 1 John 1:9 "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The idea of this little essay is not to make people feel bad but rather to help them get free; the moment we come to the place of honest confession and say, "It was me, I got angry and lost my temper" or "it was me, I committed that sin" the sooner we will find true mercy and forgiveness.

The Royal Apparel

Est 5:1-2 "1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. 2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre."

After the period of prayer and fasting Esther approaches the king as he sits upon his royal throne facing the entrance, he then he sees Esther appear in it. She presents herself in the court in front of the throne for him to see she wishes audience with him, she is dressed as the queen in all the Royal Apparel.

This brings to mind that how we present ourselves to the King of Kings is very important especially when we desire His favor, there is for us the wearing of “The Royal Apparel”. I want to say something about our own approach to the King of Kings. If we are born-again we are cleansed and made pure by the blood of Jesus and it gives us boldness to enter the throne of grace, clean pure and white. However, as we see, Esther is not just entering clean and white she is wearing the royal apparel which is gold, blue, purple etc. This visit by Esther is not a simple "I wish to visit with you and be in your presence" visit; this is going to be the most serious request any queen can make of her king and it will mean the lives of many.

We will need to spend some time on this royal apparel because there is a beautiful spiritual truth here that relates to a believer as they seek Gods favor. This truth concerning the Royal Apparel is going far beyond basic salvation message and being clothed upon with white robes. There is a beauty that is created by this Royal Apparel and it will cause Esther to find great favor.

In our own experience there is a favor that comes unmerited, it is simply because we are covered in the blood, however, there is a favor that goes beyond this, it is the favor that comes upon an obedient son or daughter who has pleased their father, this is the favor we are addressing as we speak of the Royal Apparel (not only unmerited favor but favor due to great beauty of character). Esther is going to find such favor with the king and as a result he will extend his Royal Scepter to her and offers to her half of the kingdom.

Esther comes to the king in Royal Apparel and in true humility. This act of humility and beauty is going to produce favor which is going to spare not just herself but an entire kingdom. This is not the influence of one who has just experienced salvation but this is the intervention of a mature saint who has been clothed upon with the Royal Apparel. This is not basic garments but they are royal garments.

The Royal Apparel:

These garments produced beauty in Esther and caused her to find favor with the king. We are speaking in typology here as it relates to these garments because God is a Spirit and is impressed with spiritual garments more than earthly ones.

This truth concerning the Royal Apparel is a truth that speaks of the garments the Bride of Christ is clothed with when she takes on the characteristics of Christ. We need to understand that in the natural these are not the garments Esther was born with in the house of Mordecai but rather the garments she was clothed with when she was brought into the royal house. They were provided for her by the king and she was made worthy of these garments during the time of her preparation and so when we build a spiritual truth on these garments it must be understood they are not garments we are born with but rather ones given to us over time by the Holy Spirit.

This truth needs to be embraced by the Bride of Christ if she is to become the Bride without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:25-27), we are not clothed upon with such royal garments simply by being saved we must go through periods of cleansing, purification and preparation. As we submit to the preparations of God in our lives He clothes us with such garments.

On at least one occasion I had my eyes opened in the Spirit and I saw a minister clothed upon with spiritual garments. What I saw was priestly garments of the Zadok priesthood, it was a white robe a white bonnet and the breastplate of judgment and over his head appeared the word "Zadok". I understood by this that this man was a faithful priest in the kingdom of God. So these spiritual garments are very real. Spiritual garments are talked about many places in the Word of God.

• Rev 3:4 "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy."
• Rev 16:15 "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
• Jud 1:23 "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
• Isa 61:3 "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

Let us consider the message in these Royal Garments:

1) Blue – in typology this speaks of the Word of God (Num.15:38-39 – blue was to remind them of the commandments), or even the prophetic word. We are clothed upon with the color blue in our spiritual garments as we walk in obedience to the Word (commands) and allow the Word of God to fill us, to work in us, to do this we need to feed perpetually on the Word of God.

This walking in obedience includes keeping His commandments and walking in his statutes and judgments; they are the Word of God and then we are clothed in blue as we obey His Word. We will see in Verse Two that as a result of this Royal Apparel the king will extend His scepter of favor to her. This is only done to those who walk in His commands and are obedient. The Word will clothe us and the prophetic aspect of the Word will work in us (as we see in Joseph - until his word was fulfilled the Word tried him Psa 105:17-19). I have encountered many a saint over the years whose relationship with the Word of God was causal at best, their obedience to it was tepid. This will not do. Col 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We want to be so clothed with the Word of God in so much that there is a prophetic anointing on what we say. We will want to develop this garment by having a more than superficial relationship with the Word of God. By being clothed in this blue garment it is reflecting that the saint is clothed with the Word of God, they are walking in obedience to it. Jas 1:22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

The idea of having this garment clothe us means also that we have experienced the Word, we have been dealt with by the Word of God and our hearts have been exposed: Heb 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." We can consider Joseph where the Word of the Lord tried him (See Psa 105:17-19) or Mary whose walking in obedience to the Word over her life pierced her own heart (See Luke 2:34-35). Joseph was given a prophetic promise and it caused him to suffer in order to be prepared. We must be willing to pay the price to fulfill the word God has spoken over us. Mary, what a price she paid to fulfill Gods promise and the Word of the Lord over her. Her heart was pierced as many accused her of raising an illegitimate child (the hearts of many were indeed revealed as they pointed the finger and accused an innocent woman). We need to allow the Word to work in us and deal in us in order for us to be clothed with this blue garment that plays a part in finding great favor with the King of Kings.

2) White - this speaks of purity and it too is a garment that should clothe us. There can be two aspects of white garments. This first has to do with being covered with the Blood of Jesus and being clean before God the Father because of the blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. However, this, I feel goes beyond that point to the place where we are more than simply forgiven but that we have been cleansed deeply from unholy desires that are common to the old man. This I believe is a pure heart (moral purity) not just a forgiven one. What is written upon our hearts before we come to know Christ (and residues can remain long after we know Him) are the flaws of the fallen nature that pertain to body, soul and spirit. The desires of the world and the flesh which can, if we are not careful, give license to the devil to come in and manipulate our lives even as a believer.

Believers must not naively think that the devil can have no influence over their lives. In some cases those believers who have serious character flaws can be greatly manipulated by the devil. Peter was not a man who was disobedient or sinful and yet Jesus, speaking to Peter, warned him twice about the devil. Once when He said the devil desires to sift him as wheat and once when he said "Get thee behind Me Satan" and was addressing Peter who inadvertently spoke for the enemy. Let us be wise to this fact and be careful; God wants to so work in us that even our very desires have changed from corruption to holiness. Purity is the antidote, it makes us untouchable by the devil. Jesus, in the Beatitudes, said "Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see as God" (Matt 5). The goal of the Holy Spirit is to erase the sinful desires we were born with and replace it with the laws of God (Writing His laws on the fleshly table of our hearts is what the New Covenant is all about, See Jeremiah 31). The beauty of this truth on purity is that it is a component of the Temple of God, we see this in the Temple of Solomon where God commanded lilies to be represented (See 1 Kings 7 & 2 Chronicles 4), lilies speak of purity and the truth is this that God’s temple (which we are) is a place of purity. God desires purity in His sanctuary, He desires His saints to be pure. God wants to make us pure on the inside and as this work is completed we are clothed upon with these white garments.

We are informed that without holiness no man will see the Lord. Oh, this needs to be our life long quest, our passion. When we speak of purity and holiness they are synonymous. Esther went through a period of cleansing and purification and this made her worthy to wear white garments:

Est 2:8-9 "8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women."

3) The Golden Crown - This speaks of having authority but also of the divine nature. Gold is a material that speaks of divinity and the crown rests over the head (The head governs the whole body). It is a crown which speaks of authority and it is made of gold; those who partake of the divine nature are also crowned with authority.

Out flowing from the working of Hegai the chamberlain (in type, The Holy Spirit) Esther found favor above all the other maidens and as a result she was crowned with the golden crown: Est 2:16-17 "16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." This puts us in mind of the Proverbs 31 woman: Pro 31:29 "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

We must understand this crown was not a right Esther had, it was an honor bestowed upon her because of the favor she found with the king. This favor was obtained because of the meekness and humility she possessed during her time of preparation; she allowed the work to be done, she paid the price required in her preparation, it was an act of submission of her will. I do believe that some Christians feel they have a right to the authority and advantages of the crown without paying the price (The price is simple, in humility and meekness obey the scriptures and allow the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives - this we represented by the Blue and White garments we looked at first).

It is true that we are the heir apparent through Christ and will wear a crown Christ and the grace of God purchased for us but bear in mind what Paul says about the heir apparent: Gal 4:1-2 "1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father." He is under tutors and governors and is no different than the servants, he must submit to them during this time of preparation. This tutelage and govern-ship is where the Word of God works in us and the Holy Spirit makes us surrender areas that might not be pleasing to the Lord. This is where the meekness and humility come in, we can reject His dealings and chafe at it but then the work does not get done and we should not expect to find favor with the King nor wear the crown that endows us with a certain authority.

One of the foundational problems Calvinism has it is declares there is no price for us to pay Jesus paid it all and all we have to do is claim it (we understand this today as Hyper-Grace) They suppose Jesus paid it all and we will not have to pay any price. One little verse deals a fatal blow to this doctrine as Jesus Himself says "buy of Me gold tried in the fire". The message He is conveying is: allow me to take you through trials that you may learn the lessons of overcoming: Rev 3:18  "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." When we begin to think that we are entitled to the throne and the crown with no dealings or outworking of grace in our hearts then we err considerably and will fall short of God plan for our lives. Gods plan is to crown us indeed and make us worthy to wear it.

4) Fine Linen - This would have been part of the Royal Apparel and spiritually we already have the interpretation of this garment. Revelations 19 informs us this is the righteousness of the saints. Rev 19:7-8 "7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." Fine Linen is the righteousness of the saints, this is an imparted righteousness that is a part of their garment. We have some organizations that are so worried about their works being interpreted in connection with their salvation that they down play the works of the saints but this should not be a fear we have; God is looking for us to have righteous works, it is a reflection of the Christ within and should be visible.

Whilst the message is clear, our works will not save us, yet it is incumbent upon us to work the works of God as an indication that He is in us and works through us. In that spirit let me say that this Fine Linen represents just that, the righteous works of the saints. It is what has been worked out in them as the Life of Christ is more fully realized in them. They are not only standing behind the righteousness of Christ (as one who sins but hides to prevent punishment) but rather they have come to the fullness of the stature of Christ, which is the goal. Rom 8:29 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Eph 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

This is a classic truth and very well understood. Imputed versus imparted righteousness. Imputed righteousness is talked about in the book of Romans (Rom 4:3-8) and it is a righteousness that we obtain at salvation when Jesus Christ took all the punishment that we deserved upon Himself and we believed in that sacrifice and accepted it. This form of righteousness was made very real to me on a flight from Chicago Illinois, we had reached altitude when I was aware of the Lord in the plane, He had come to me and I felt the joy of having the Lord with me on the plane. He drew very near to me and I knew it was for me that He had come. Oh the joy of Him being so near but my joy was turned into public weeping (I had to turn my face toward the window to maintain my private weeping) when these words came out of my spirit, I could not restrain them, the Lord willed for me to say it: "Punish Him for my crimes". I could hardly believe this came out but I could not refuse to say it. As I did I realized that Jesus Christ had been beaten tortured and killed for my sins, for me personally. The hardest part was that the penalty I deserved, it was my crime and it was my punishment He took upon Himself and I could go free without wrath, without punishment although I had been the offender. I hid behind the sacrifice Christ bore for me. It was heart breaking and yet it could be no other way.

Imputed Righteousness - This is how we start the journey and is accounted to us, we do nothing to merit it, we simply believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and we receive it. Rom 4:3-8 "3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."  This righteousness is imputed, no works. This is saving grace, it is how we start off in this race. The work of God is to believe (Joh 6:29). However, there is a greater work of righteousness and it is imparted righteousness, this is conveyed through the Bride of Christ.

Imparted Righteousness - this is what is being identified in Revelations 19 and the truth associated with the linen garments of Esther. The Bride, who, like Esther in her fine linen garments has made herself ready and is clothed in the Royal Apparel. She is clothed upon with righteousness that has been imparted to her by the king. She is not simply standing behind the righteous sacrifice of another, she has put away sin and disobedience and stands in the righteous garments provided to her by the king. She has put on righteousness, she possesses this quality and stands in righteousness before the king and all of heaven. Those who make up this bride will be clothed upon with the same righteousness that Christ is clothed with. There is no unrighteousness in her, she is not standing behind the righteousness One, she is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Justification - This same thought is conveyed to us in the Book of Romans where Paul talks about being justified by faith (Rom 5:1 KJV "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"). This thought of justification is twofold, first it is instantaneous then it is also progressive. We are justified by faith without works and yet God wants to so work in us to make us straight and so the work of justification is ongoing. This is best understood by several scriptures:

In Hosea 14 the backsliding nation will return the Lord and say: Hos 14:8 KJV "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found." As it says in verse one, "I will heal their backsliding and I will love them freely. God has brought them back but He has also dealt with the sins that led off the path in the first place. Not just covering for their sin but removing it altogether.

We are told in Isaiah that Jerusalem's iniquity is pardoned and yet there is a further work whereby God deals with her wrong ways. God makes straight in the desert a highway for God, this has a natural application but the spiritual application is the best; the highway of God is in our hearts and the way must be made straight. Isa 40:1-5 KJV 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

5) Purple (See Jdg. 8:26; Lk. 16:19; Jn. 19:1-3) - this color speaks to us of royalty, not just in title but clothed upon with royalty or in other words character, behaving like a king or queen (Esther's behavior was impeccable, obedient to authority, submissive, pleasant, etc...).

The idea that we are the “Kings kids” and can remain His royal children while unchanged by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is not quite true. God wants us to mature in Him to grow up and learn to walk in a way pleasing to Him, to put on the character of Christ. All of the attributes of the Holy Spirit (Fruits of the Spirit) mentioned in Galatians 5 correlate in one fashion or another to the qualities of the Royal Apparel. Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  (23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  (24)  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  (25)  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” We must not remain as babes. Jesus Christ did not suffer, die and resurrect in order to produce a kingdom of babes; He wants true Sons and Daughters. He wants to give us the power to become the sons of God (Joh 1:12).

When we are born again the Father listens to all His children’s prayers but the man or woman of influence such as the modern heroes of faith we read about in our books; those like John Wesley, William Booth, Hudson Taylor, George Whitefield, William Carey, Elizabeth Elliot, Brian J. Bailey and countless others whose lives impacted the nations are men and women who have been refined and polished by the Holy Spirit and they are men and women of great influence in heaven. They were not babes but men and women of great distinction and influence.

We can also add Meekness to this list of Royal Qualities because Esther, we are told, required nothing other than what was provided by the king (Est 2:15). This is beautiful description of meekness, no demands, no criticism, not needy. This is beauty in the eyes of the King. We have confirmation of this in the Psalms: Psa 149:4 "For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation." These garments produced beauty in Esther and caused her to find favor with the king. We are speaking in typology here as it relates to these garments and the believer because God is a Spirit and is impressed with spiritual garments more than earthly ones.

In conclusion to this study on the Royal Apparel we will make this comment. The book of Leviticus was considered a hand book for the priesthood because it showed the way of approach to a holy God. The spirit behind these royal garments can be found in that great book because both these messages, the approach of Esther to Ahasuerus and the approach of the priest to God Himself in Leviticus reveal that God desires to cloth His people with spiritual garments as they approach a holy God. Let us not think, as many do, that we can come just any old way. That is fine for salvation but as we grow and mature in the Lord He expects the bride to make herself ready.