In Him I Am
Positioned
John 15:5 NIV
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Position: Remaining attached to the vine! And out of the vine, comes every good thing needed for us to sustain, thrive, grow and produce Godly fruit!
Romans 8:35-39 NLT
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, [ neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Seven benefits in God because of our Position:
o Peace with God -Romans 5:1.
o Access to the grace of God -Romans 5:2.
o Favor from God -Romans 5:2.
o A new hope -Romans 5:2.
o Purpose in life -Romans 5:3-4.
o No shame with God -Romans 5:5.
o We are dearly loved by God - Romans 5:5
CONDITION
There is a difference between your “position” as a Christ follower and your “condition” as a Christ follower!
Your condition is your state of mind, it is that inner voice that is always speaking, it is the desire to create happiness, it is your thought life, it is our constant striving.
Often, when we struggle with life’s battles, we tend to try and improve our condition as opposed to remembering our position!
2 Corinthians 4:18
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary (Condition), but what is unseen is eternal.” (Position)
- “Never allow your condition to attempt to influence your position, use your position to change your condition!!!”
- “Bring your conditional level up to your positional level!!”
- “Our condition is something we create; our position is something God creates!”
The outcomes of living our lives based on condition are:
- Loneliness, Insecurities, Low Self-Image, Self-Centered, Self-Absorbed, Prideful, Covetous, Critical
The outcomes of living out of our position (Romans 5):
- Filled with peace, experiencing the grace of God, given access to God, filled with the hope of God, finding life purpose in God, living free of any shame from God, and experiencing the close and personal love of God!!
“Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.”
-Craig Groeschel
Scriptures to begin to drive our conditional thoughts back towards our position:
o Romans 8:5-6 NLT
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are
controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
o Romans 12:2 NLT
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new
person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is
good and pleasing and perfect.
o 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (Our thoughts are teachable and trainable!!!!)
Three steps to align our condition with our position:
1. Change your thinking. (Romans 12:2… Let God transform you by changing the way you think)
2. Stay in community with other believers. (Community can speak into your life and help control negative thoughts that focus on condition over position. Celebrate Recovery is a great example of this, as are small groups!)
3. Confess positional statements to increase your faith. (Romans 10:17… So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.)
“My thoughts are under the power of Christ!”
“My world will be better today because I serve Jesus!”
“I have the same spirit that raised Christ to life living within me!”
“Others need the Jesus in me today!”
“I am chosen by God and my life has value and purpose!”
“I am on the assignment and mission of God!”
“I will share in God’s glory!”
“I set my eyes on the eternal and not the temporary!”