a good thing to add to your emergency kit

Watchman Nee was discouraged. Each morning he would concentrate on acting dead to sin all day and acting more alive to God. At the end of the day he would examine how he had done–not so well. He spent 40 days fasting and praying to try to understand. He gave up and broke his fast with some grapefruit. Then the Lord asked him, ” Do you really want the answer?” He was a bit peevish but did ask to be shown how to live in the promise of dead to sin and alive to God. God said, “You can’t kill dead people!” You see, he was already dead to sin and alive to God, even though he didn’t feel it. because he’d been buried with Jesus and raised again by baptism. He began to claim it, picture it, and rest in his position in Christ and let Christ live His life through his yielded body members.

The central Scripture for positional truth is 2 Corinthians 5.17. Others that define and describe positional truth include John 17.20-23; 1 Corinthians 12.13; Galatians 3.27-28; Ephesians 2.4-6, 10; Colossians 3.1-4.

I.     Benefits of positional truth.

a..          I have Jesus’ righteousness and may approach the holy throne (2 Corinthians 5.21).

b.           I am already immortal (1 John 5.11-12).

c.            I am set aside for God’s service, a cleansed and useful tool in His hands (Hebrews 10.10).

d.            I am a new creation, a butterfly not a worm anymore           (2 Corinthians 5.17).

e.             I am no longer a slave to sin, if I cry out to God and let Him live through me then sin can not make me do anything. (Romans 8.1).

f.              I am joint heir with Jesus. God gave me His own son, how will He not,with Him, freely give me all things? (Romans 8.16-17a).

g.              I am of infinite worth, have infinite strength, and am eternally security. So I may chill, rejoice, and grab all that God has prepared to do through me today. (Romans 8.38-39).

h.              I am destined to be like Christ (Ephesians 1.4-5).

i.                I am redeemed, I belong to Him, who can steal God’s property? Will a strong man allow his to be taken by enemies? Who is stronger than God?  (Ephesians 1:7).

j.               I have a wonderful new body awaiting me (1 Thessalonians 4.13-18).

k.               I have spiritual blessings (Ephesians 3.1-6).

l.                  I belong to the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12.13,27 with Ephesians 1.21-23).

m.                I have a plan for my life and am now the right one for the job (Ephesians 2.10).

n.                  I have grace for each trial or task (2 Timothy 2.1).

o.                  I have all that I need to live the Christian life (Romans 6.1-11).

II.    What Positional truth is not.

a..   It is not an experience, or emotion, although it may lead to these as we gratefully think about what we have been given.

b..   It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity, I don’t have to maintain it or build it.

c.   It is not related to human merit or ability.

d..   It is not changeable by man, or angels.

e..   It is not obtained gradually while you grow in grace; it is obtained completely at salvation,yet my ability to remember,appreciate, picture and act in it increases over time.

f.   It is not known apart from knowledge of the Word of God, Jesus Christ Himself.

g.   It is not our possession because of what we do or fail to do; it is ours because of what God has done.

6.     Some applications:

a.   I will say to myself each morning when I wake up,” I am a new creation in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5.17).

b.   I will affirm that ” I am dead to sin and alive to God” and work at picturing how dead people respond to sin and how lively things respond to life opportunities. (Romans 6.11).

c.  I will move my body members according to this growing picture, refusing to compare or condemn myself but to increase my ability to get out of God’s way and let him live through me. He has