{"id":18873,"date":"2003-11-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-11-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/positional-truth\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T08:53:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T13:53:57","slug":"positional-truth","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/positional-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Positional Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[90],"series_event":[559],"sermon_service_type":[],"speaker":[152],"class_list":["post-18873","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-romans","series_event-topical-mcgowan","speaker-dr-jim-mcgowan","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Positional Truth","sermon_date":"20031130","sermon_month":"11","sermon_year":"2003","sermon_notes":"","sermon_slides":"","sermon_mp3":21774,"sermon_id":"","series_or_event":559,"service_type":false,"speaker":152,"books_of_the_bible":90,"chapter_and_verse":"8:16-17","sermon_transcript":"Jim McGowan\r\n\r\nPositional Truth\r\n\r\nSugar Land Bible Church, November 20, 2003\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s not fair, I\u2019m supposed to get up and preach after that; that was fantastic.\u00a0 I know we\u2019re a very conservative church and I hope that you\u2019re going to agree with me but I just have to say glory to God, that was wonderful, thank you so much.\u00a0 I just am so blessed and I want to just say before everyone here how blessed I am to be here this morning, and how privileged I am [can't understand word].\u00a0 What I want to say is this: I want everyone to know how much I appreciate all of the things that are done at this church.\u00a0 Look at the ornamentation around here.\u00a0 Look at the song preparation up front.\u00a0 Think about the teachers that are back there waiting impatiently for me to finish so that the children can be dismissed.\u00a0 All of these things that are done and it\u2019s all behind the scenes and it happens every week.\u00a0 No one is looking for any favor, no one is looking for any outward expression of thanks but I just want to take this moment just to tell you all how much I appreciate each and every one of\u00a0 you.\u00a0 And not just that but those of you that are here today because it would be very easy to be missing when the main pastor is not here.\u00a0 Now having said that, I am to tell you at this point in time that all of the children are going to be meeting downstairs for Jr. Church is room 111, so parents, please make a note of that; you children will not be going upstairs this morning, they\u2019ll be in room 111.\u00a0 Having said that, all of the children that are dismissed for Junior Church may do so now.\u00a0 If you\u2019d like to get up and go you may go.\u00a0 Have you all taken time to just watch them as they leave?\u00a0 They are just precious, just precious!\u00a0 They can\u2019t wait to get back to their class.\u00a0 I wish my adult Sunday School people were that way.\u00a0 [Laughter] \u00a0Again, that\u2019s going to be room 111 so at the end of the service that\u2019s where you\u2019ll pick your children up.\u00a0 No one will be upstairs.\r\n\r\nIf you haven\u2019t noticed I\u2019m not pastor Mark, I\u2019m not pastor Jay, they both fled the coup, they\u2019re out on vacation so earlier when Ed mentioned the fact that we\u2019re taking up staff love gifts, since they\u2019re gone if you\u2019d just like to make your check out to Jim McGowan, that last name is M-c-G-o-w-a-n.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Now that was a joke\u2026 that was a joke!\r\n\r\nI am very glad you\u2019re here this morning and I would like to speak with you this morning about what I\u2019m calling positional truth.\u00a0 For many the holiday season is like a tsunami and everyone knows what a tsunami is, right\u2014a tidal wave!\u00a0 This time of year it\u2019s like a tsunami that\u2019s building up offshore and as it grows bigger and bigger so does the anxiety of what it will do once it makes landfall.\u00a0 Sadly, although this time of the year is supposed to be a time of great joy and happiness studies tell us that at no other time of the year do so many people seek help from psychologists and psychiatrists.\u00a0 But ironically studies also show that psychiatrists have the highest suicide rate of any profession.\u00a0 So one wonders if the medicine is perhaps worse than the disease.\u00a0 During what is supposed to be a time of great celebration too often we find sadness, frustration, and anxiety abounding in the world.\r\n\r\nBut what is even worse is the fact that this state of confusion is not limited to unbelievers.\u00a0 In many cases it is the condition of God\u2019s own children.\u00a0 Why is this so?\u00a0 Well, there may be many contributing factors to this sad state of affairs.\u00a0 I would like to suggest that the main reason we as believers do not consistently enjoy the victory which Christ won for us can be traced back to an imperfect understanding and contemplation of this thing called positional truth.\u00a0 This doctrinal deficiency therefore is catastrophic because positional truth is the basis for and the foundation of victory in every area of our Christian life.\u00a0 If the structural integrity of our personal spiritual foundation is\u00a0 unknown or in doubt in times of turmoil our confidence in it will be shaken.\u00a0 So you can see that positional truth is critical.\r\n\r\nNow before I can go further let me clarify for you what I mean by the expression \u201cpositional truth.\u201d\u00a0 I didn\u2019t invent this phrase, it doesn\u2019t originate with me.\u00a0 The phrase \u201cpositional truth\u201d actually refers to the historic orthodox Christian doctrine of justification and sanctification, and specifically how these doctrines relate and apply in the Christian life.\u00a0 Now I know someone out there the blood just rushed from their face because they\u2019re afraid that I\u2019m going to bore them with an comprehensive teaching on the issues of justification and sanctification.\u00a0\u00a0 Let me reassure you that\u2019s not the case.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have time for that this morning so let me do this.\u00a0 Let me just give you a brief definition, if I may, of justification and sanctification.\u00a0 And then we\u2019ll move forward.\r\n\r\nWhat I\u2019m referring to with regard to the term justification is the fact that we were once for all, and the emphasis is that expression, once for all<\/u> declared to be justified before God.\u00a0 And this occurred at the very moment we received Christ as our Savior.\u00a0 And what I\u2019m referring to with regard to our sanctification is the act which began at the moment of our justification and is in fact dependent upon it.\u00a0 Sanctification is that act whereby we were once for all, and again the emphasis is on the once for all<\/u> sanctified or set apart unto God.\r\n\r\nSo with this as a working definition we can now biblically say that positionally we have been justified and positionally we have been sanctified.\u00a0 In God\u2019s mind we are declared righteous and in God\u2019s mind we have been set apart to Him.\u00a0 It is an established fact!\u00a0 In other words, whereas we were at one time enemies of God previously, through the new birth we are now positionally related to and belong to God, eternally.\u00a0 We\u2019re once justified always justified!\u00a0 And once sanctified always sanctified!\r\n\r\nWhile it is generally true that most evangelicals, and that would be you and I, we\u2019re familiar with the concepts of justification and sanctification, unfortunately too often we\u2019re not familiar with where that takes us.\u00a0 In other words, we understand something about positional truth but we don\u2019t realize where that naturally should lead us, and that is to the corresponding concept or what I call identification truth.\u00a0 Identification truth deals with our relationship and our participation with the Lord Jesus in His death unto sin and His resurrection unto God.\u00a0 Identification truth teaches us that when we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior we were born into Him as our life in that instant\u00adaneous moment of time all that our Savior is and all that our Savior has became ours.\u00a0 This is a mindboggling concept!\u00a0\u00a0 And so much so that about all that the new believer can initially grasp or even hope to grasp of this truth and understand it is the aspect of this truth as it relates to our justification.\r\n\r\nWhat I mean is this, that the moment I\u2019m born again somehow in some wonderful miraculous way the Holy Spirit reveals to my spirit that Christ\u2019s righteousness is now my righteousness.\u00a0 But as important and as significant as justification is let me just say that that was only the beginning of an incalculable and unlimited number of awe inspiring wonders into which we are to enter, both in this life and throughout eternity.\u00a0 Discovering what the Word of God has to say about these wonders is what identification truth is actually all about.\u00a0 Identification truth was an important topic to the Apostle Paul, in fact, he specifically addresses it in Romans 8:17 where he declared that we\u2019re not merely children of God by virtue of the new birth, and that\u2019s a lot, and that\u2019s a good thing, but he didn\u2019t stop there, he went on and said that we are also heirs\u2026 heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.\u00a0 [Romans 8:16- 17, \u201cThe Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,\u00a0\u00a0 [17] and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.\u201d]\r\n\r\nWhat Paul is setting forth here in this particular verse is that by virtue of our new position in Christ, and again, that position is one of justification and sanctification; that\u2019s our new position.\u00a0 By virtue of that new position all the necessary resources of life and godliness are held in trust for us \u201cin Christ.\u201d\u00a0 And these resources for life and godliness become a reality in our condition as we mature step by step in faith.\r\n\r\nNow before Paul arrived at his conclusion here in Romans 8:17 it\u2019s important to note that first of\u00a0 all he teaches positional truth to the Romans.\u00a0 And this can be seen especially in the foundational chapters of the Book of Romans, specifically chapters 1-5.\u00a0 And I encourage you to go back and read through those.\u00a0\u00a0 After he presents positional truth in the first five chapters and then once he satisfies that the Romans understood that teaching, Paul then moves into the wealth of identification truth and we find that in Romans chapters 6-8.\u00a0 What this means for us is that like the Romans we must first be firmly established in positional truth concerning Christ dying for our sins and rising again for our justification.\u00a0 And THEN and only then \u00a0are we prepared to appreciate our new position and enter into the benefits of our having died and risen with Him.\r\n\r\nSince the order is so important the question we should ask is how do we become firmly established in positional truth?\u00a0 And perhaps the best answer to that question is just to let the Word of God speak for itself.\u00a0 In Romans chapter 6, we\u2019re going to spend some time there, Romans 6:5, notice what Paul says here.\u00a0 He says, \u201cFor if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.\u201d\u00a0 Paul is saying here that for us to be reborn, newly created in the risen life of the Savior God had to free us from the penalty of sin and the nature of the fallen Adam.\r\n\r\nBut how was this realized?\u00a0 God accomplished this by placing us \u201cin Christ\u201d on the cross, by identifying each one of us with Him.\u00a0 This means that when Christ died unto the realm and reign and principle of sin we too died unto sin \u201cin Him.\u201d\u00a0 He was identified with our sin in order that we might become identified with His righteousness.\u00a0 Now we know that that\u2019s true because Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, \u201cFor God hath made Him\u201d Christ, \u201cto be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.\u201d\r\n\r\nWe also know that the Lord Jesus rose again once He had paid in full the wages of sin, therefore through our identification with Him in His death not only were we freed from both the penalty and\u00a0 power of sin but we also arose with Him in His resurrection.\u00a0 Romans 6:8 declares, \u201cNow if we have died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with Him.\u201d\u00a0 Not only did the Lord Jesus die unto the power of sin and the reign of sin but according to Hebrews 7:16 he rose again in the power of an endless life.\u00a0 [Hebrews 7:16, \u201cWho is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.\u201d\u00a0 KJV]\u00a0 Since we are identified with Him on the cross we too died unto sins tyrannical dominion.\u00a0 Since we are identified with Him on the cross we can boldly claim with Paul that we have been buried with Christ through spiritual baptism into death in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so we too might \u201cwalk in newness of life.\u201d\u00a0 [Romans 6:4, \u201cTherefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.\u201d]\r\n\r\nNotice that Paul first establishes the fact of our identification with Christ.\u00a0 In Romans 6:3 he says \u201cKnow ye not, that all who were identified with the Lord Jesus were identified into His death.\u201d\u00a0 In verse 6 he says, \u201cknowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, [in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;\u201d]\u00a0 Once the facts are understood Paul then, and only then, admonishes the Romans to exercise faith.\u00a0 This is vitally important because we see in Romans 6:11 that God, speaking through Paul, commands you and me, in the light of our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, He commands us to consider, to reckon, to evaluate ourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. \u00a0\u00a0[Romans 6:11, \u201cLikewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d KJV]\r\n\r\nGod\u2019s command that we consider ourselves by faith to be dead to sin but alive to God would be utterly impossible if this were not already factually so.\u00a0 Nor could He ever call upon us to consecrate ourselves to Him as alive from the dead, as He does in Romans 6:13, if He had not already made us new creations in the risen Christ.\u00a0 [Romans 6:13, Neither yield ye your members as<\/em> instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as<\/em> instruments of righteousness unto God.\u201d KJV] But it\u2019s true and certain as our identification with the Lord Jesus is if we are not fully aware of the biblical facts we derive little benefit from them in our daily life.\u00a0 And let\u2019s face it, that\u2019s where we need them.\u00a0 To be fully aware of the biblical\u00a0 facts concerning our identification with the Lord Jesus means that we reckon upon a positional fact.\u00a0 We meditate on, we reflect upon our position in Christ.\u00a0 That is to say we see it clearly, we believe it, we count upon it and we receive and appropriate the practicality or the practical reality of it.\u00a0 And we do all of this with thanksgiving!\r\n\r\nThe result of our reckoning concerning our position is that according to Colossians 2:7 we will be \u201cRooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.\u201d\u00a0 [KJV]\u00a0 As the Holy Spirit reveals to us the positional truth concerning the Lord Jesus\u2019 death unto sin and our identification with Him in that death and resurrection by faith in the facts we acknowledge our position, that is we reckon ourselves likewise to have died unto sin and to be forever alive unto God in Christ.\u00a0 [Romans 6:11, \u201cLikewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d\u00a0 KJV]\r\n\r\nThe blessed result of our reckoning is that our eternal position \u201cin Christ\u201d over time becomes our experiential condition.\u00a0 Now I hope that didn\u2019t just fly over everybody\u2019s head.\u00a0 I want to say that again, listen to this: as we count ourselves, are the blessed result of our reckoning, when we reckon ourselves and understand the positional truth the blessing of that is that our eternal position\u00a0 in Christ and everything that means to us becomes over time our experiential condition.\u00a0 As we count ourselves to have died to sin on the cross \u201cin Him\u201d the effect of the cross is applied by the Spirit to our sinful self life.\u00a0 By virtue of our reckoning self is crucified; it\u2019s held in the place of death and we are led into sacrificial paths for His glory.\u00a0 As self is thus dealt with by the cross our condition begins to progressively reflect the facts of our position in Christ.\r\n\r\nNow earlier I said that positional truth is the basis of victory for every sphere of our Christian life.\u00a0 But in fact, all life and growth, both physical and spiritual, is based upon this principle of position.\u00a0 For physical birth we entered into our human family position; it is from this human family position that we derive certain human characteristics and abilities.\u00a0 Just as we are the product of our physical natural birth even so now we are the product of our new spiritual birth for through our new birth we have entered our eternal family position, which is the source from which we derive all of our spiritual characteristics and abilities.\r\n\r\nWhen we were born again the risen Lord Jesus became the source of our Christian life.\u00a0 When we were born again we were positioned before the Father \u201cin Christ\u201d the One in whom we live and move and have our being.\u00a0 [Acts 17:28, \u201cfor in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, \u2018For we also are His children.\u201d\u2019] We are now His workmanship created in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 [Ephesians 2:10, \u201cFor we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.\u201d]\r\n\r\nThe Father, in redeeming and recreating us also raised us up with Christ and has seated us with Him in the heavenly places.\u00a0\u00a0 [Ephesians 2:6, \u201cand raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.\u201d]\u00a0 That is our position brothers and sisters, and it is perfect, it is eternal, it is established in the Father\u2019s presence.\u00a0 When we received the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior the Holy Spirit caused us to be born into Him.\u00a0 This is the eternal position into which every believer has been placed, whether he is aware of it or not.\u00a0 However, it is only the one who comes to see his position in the Lord Jesus who also begins to experience the benefit of all that he is in Him.\r\n\r\nIn other words, our daily condition\u00a0 is developed from the source of our eternal position.\u00a0 Our condition is what we are in our daily Christian walk as we develop from infancy to maturity.\u00a0 And while our new position remains unchangeable and constant our condition is variable.\u00a0 Now if you\u2019re just not sure that that\u2019s true I encourage you to (husbands) ask your wife about that.\u00a0 I believe you will find out that they will agree that\u00a0 your daily walk with the Lord is variable.\u00a0 Someone laugh, some smile, someone do something\u2026 my goodness gracious, we have the sword of Damocles hanging over us this morning.\r\n\r\nAgain let me say our position is unchangeable, it\u2019s constant but our daily condition is variable.\u00a0 Although it is true that the exercise of faith based up our eternal position positively affects our daily condition in no way does our condition affect our heavenly position.\u00a0 Did you hear that?\u00a0 Did you understand that?\u00a0 Paul makes this clear when he writes in Colossians 3:1, \u201cSince then you have been raised up with Christ\u201d there\u2019s your position, \u201ckeep seeking the things above,\u201d that\u2019s your condition, \u201cwhere Christ is seated at the right hand of God.\u201d\u00a0 Based upon your position your condition is developed.\u00a0 A balanced understanding of the differences between position and condition is vital and\u00a0 yet sadly, in most cases, the believer is more focused upon his condition than his position.\r\n\r\nThis is the reason for so much failure and stagnation in the body of Christ.\u00a0 When the believer does not realize his position in the Lord Jesus and he doesn\u2019t realize how to abide in Christ as his very life, there can only be one result.\u00a0 He will continually struggle in vain with his un-Christ-like condition rather than rest in His Christ centered position.\u00a0 And this is so because when we concentrate on our condition we\u2019re not living by faith, we\u2019re living by feelings and appearances.\u00a0 The inevitable result is that as we focus on our condition we become increasingly self-conscious, self-centered, and self-absorbed.\u00a0 In contrast, John the Baptist, in [can't understand word] concerning the Son of God in John 3:30, where he said, \u201cHe must increase, but I must decrease.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhen we center our focus on our condition our daily life\u2019s mission statement becomes He must decrease and I must increase.\u00a0 On the other hand, when we focus upon and rest in our heavenly position \u201cin Christ\u201d there will be continual growth and Christ will be more and more manifested in our condition for as we with open face behold the glory of the Lord we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even<\/em> as by the Spirit of the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 3:18, \u201cBut we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even<\/em> as by the Spirit of the Lord.\u201d KJV]\r\n\r\nIf then we are to grow and become fruitful and if we ae to experience victory in our condition our faith must be anchored in the finished work of our position in Christ.\u00a0 A spiritual fact-centered faith in our position in Christ before the Father is the only means of experiencing that finished work in the growth of our daily condition.\u00a0 I want to remind you that every true believer has been positioned forever in the risen Lord by spiritual birth, BUT ONLY the believer who knows grows.\u00a0 It is faith in the facts of our position that gives us the daily benefits of growth in our condition.\u00a0 If the believer is not clearly aware of the specific truths of the Word he cannot exercise the necessary faith for grown and service.\u00a0 He can only speak out his own insufficient resources that are based in the realm of self.\r\n\r\nBut once we as believers become aware of the specific truths of the Word concerning our position in Christ we must then take our position.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to know, and this is the hard part, for we take our position not by toiling and struggling to get into it but simply by accepting that we are already positioned in the Lord Jesus.\u00a0 We abide in Him by resting in the fact that we have been in the risen position ever since our new birth.\u00a0 As we come to realize this truth and as we come to stand in our standing \u201cin Him\u201d we begin to experience the daily benefits of our life that his hid with Christ in God.\u00a0 As we come to realize this truth the attitude of our heart becomes I see my position in the Lord Jesus and I abide there, I rest in Him not only as my Savior but as my life.\r\n\r\nSo faith in our position then brings growth in our condition.\u00a0 In Ephesians 1:17-18 you\u2019ll remember that Paul prayed this for the Ephesians.\u00a0 He said, \u201cthat the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. [18] I pray that<\/em> the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,\u201d [19, \u201c and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are<\/em> in accordance with the working of the strength of His might [20] which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,<\/em> [21] far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.\u201d]\r\n\r\nPaul also said in verse 3, \u201cBlessed be God, \u2026who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places<\/em> in Christ.\u201d\u00a0 [Ephesians 1:3, \u201cBlessed be<\/em> the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places<\/em> in Christ\u201d]\r\n\r\nFrom these verses and others we can see that our heavenly Father intends for us to know and understand that He has already<\/u> provided for us in Christ our life everything\u2026 everything required for our Christian life, both in time and eternity.\u00a0 Based upon the fact that the provision has been made we are then admonished to do in faith what our Father has already done in fact.\u00a0 At the cross He freed us from the reign of sin; He freed us from self.\u00a0 In the resurrection He united us to the risen Lord Jesus.\u00a0 By faith in the work of the cross the old man is put off.\u00a0 By faith in our heavenly position \u201cin Christ\u201d the new man is put on.\u00a0 Walking in this reality frees us to dwell within the very source of every spiritual blessing with which our father has blessed us.\r\n\r\nLet me conclude at this point and the way I would like to do that is I would like to just ask you to examine yourself this morning.\u00a0 Just do a little introspection right now.\u00a0 Is your condition consistently matching\u00a0 your position?\u00a0 Let me help you in your examination.\u00a0 Let me give you four questions that you can ask\u00a0 yourself that will help you decide if you\u2019re where you ought to be.\r\n\r\nQuestion number one, ask\u00a0 yourself, do I truly see and understand my position\u2026 do I TRULY see and understand my position, my identification with Christ in having died unto the dominion of sin and been made alive unto God in Him.\r\n\r\nQuestion number two, am I honest with myself?\u00a0 Am I honest concerning my need to be separated in my condition from self and unto Christ.\r\n\r\nThe third question, am I consistently exercising faith in the completed work of my position by reckoning upon the fact of my death and resurrection in Christ<\/u>?\r\n\r\nAnd finally, am I confident that on the basis of my faith the Holy Spirit will translate the truth of my position into my daily condition?\r\n\r\nNow I\u2019m not going to ask for a show of hands on this but I\u2019m going to be honest with you and tell you that as I ask myself these questions I find that I come up lacking.\u00a0 Therefore as I ministered this message to you this morning I\u2019m in fact ministering this message to myself.\u00a0 And I can tell you right now that I don\u2019t reflect enough on my position in Christ, and because of my lack of understanding, because of my lack of commitment to do so I vacillate in my condition.\u00a0 As you in your heart this morning honestly<\/u> answer these questions you may find, as I, that your condition does not consistently match your position as it should.\u00a0 If this is the case let me encourage you to ask the Father\u2026 are you ready, right now, this very moment, I want you to ask the Father right where you are, ask Him to begin to reveal to your spirit the reality of your position in Christ and while you\u2019re at it, thank Him for helping you to daily walk in the light of your eternal position.\u00a0 And I can promise you that if you\u2019re sincere in your asking He will answer your heart\u2019s cry and you will discover that your condition will begin to reflect your position more and more each day.\r\n\r\nNow the message this morning obviously has been directed towards believers.\u00a0 But there may be those present who have not yet trusted in Christ.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want you to feel slighted if you\u2019re here and you don\u2019t know the Lord and if you fall into this category this morning, and you know who you are because\u00a0 you know whether or not you have accepted God\u2019s free gift of eternal life in Christ, if you haven\u2019t done that I would like to invite you to seek out one of the members of Sugar Land Bible Church, they will be thrilled and happy to talk to you about how to become a Christian and what it means to have new life in Christ.\r\n\r\nWill you pray with me.\u00a0 Lord, I just want to come before You this morning and before my brothers and sisters in Christ I want to confess to You that I focus too much on my condition, that I vacillate, Father, in my walk, that I\u2019m not the man of God that I should be.\u00a0 And Father, I also ask You right now to just help me to begin to make my position in Christ of more value, of more importance.\u00a0 Help me to make it a focus in my life, Father, and Lord, I just confess to you that I trust that as I do so You will translate that into my daily walk with You, my condition.\u00a0\u00a0 And Father, I want to pray for all those that are present here this morning, I want to thank\u00a0 You again, Father, for bringing them because it is a divine appointment, no one is here by mistake, and I ask, Father, that You will take the Word that I have delivered this morning and that You would use it in the hearts and lives of each one of these individuals, that Father, they might see the truth of it, that they might live the reality if it and that they might see victory in their life, Father, because of it.\u00a0 Help us, Father, this week to walk in our position and we pray these things and thank You so much.\u00a0 In Christ\u2019s name, Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t