Principles of Position, Lesson 8
Mike Doyle · May 1, 2016
Principles of Position, No. 17
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492653233990

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

We're in lesson eight. Remember what question we were on? I think we're supposed to start on number three. Really? We're going to move fast today. Get to four maybe. You have to be good all the while though. I have been thinking though, and so put your thinking caps on for a minute.

What do we mean by positional truth? It's the eternal truth about us since we have been saved. It never changes. It's in God. I would correct you on one thing. It isn't about us. It's about the Lord Jesus. It's eternal truth about Him. But it's about us because we are in Him. Okay. I can live with that.

It's not his position, it's our position. So what's the big deal about a position, a position of truth? Why is it so important to us? That's where we hang our hats. Not all of you, I've been watching. What is the big deal about position of truth? Let's look at it this way.

Those of you who were in the faith class, and Courtney did a great job with this, when we looked at 11.1, that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and what we discovered was that they were the things of God, and that they were the things that were absolutely true of God.

And it had nothing to do, the essence of faith had nothing to do with us, it had to do with what the things of God were. So now, come down from that, and we learned about the principle of faith, We learned about putting a definite article in front of the word faith, which points to specific truth. And then we finally got to personal faith. And personal faith was to believe in the things of God. So now we have this class on positional truth. So the first step is to know the things of God.

To know the truth. It has absolutely nothing to do with how you feel about it. These truths are true no matter whether you believe them or not, whether you accept them or not, whether you rest in them or not, or whether you experience them and feel wonderful about them or not. They're true.

And most of when we talk about positional truth that Carol was saying, these are things that God has already done and they're true of the Lord Jesus and because we're in Him they are true of us. Here's the problem we've got. We try to look at them experientially. And we look at these things and we say, well there's no way that this can be true of me because my experience is not up to what the Word of God says. So hence, positional truth is really, really important to the believer in order for him to grow. Because we're to grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus.

Guess what that is? Positional truth. So, when we get information from the Word of God about positional truth, we only have one responsibility. What is it? To believe it. The rest of it is the Spirit of God's job to cement that truth in us and us in Christ. But God always starts from a finished position. You understand that? He starts from there. He's not back over here working from a positional standpoint, working to get you in. You're already in.

It seems like before Christ came and died and sacrificed himself, that they used to do it every year, right? And so you could do the sacrifice, like sacrifice the anointing. Oh, you're talking about the Day of Atonement? I don't know, I'm just talking about Jewish people. I think it's the Day of Atonement you're probably talking about. So then, so it's like there's a sacrifice every year, so you can like count up your sins and go, oh, you know, make sure I say that one, you know, because it's coming up again. But... That was not anything new. Turn out the beeper. So, okay, so they, you know, be able to like, think of their sins and plan on doing the sacrifice for them every year, you know, so it didn't require faith, it required like...

God did. Well, yeah, faith and also, but they would see something, you know, they would see the sacrifice, they knew the sacrifice was coming up. I think when Christ came, he did it once, and so it's not like we go like, oh, this next time, or this next time, it's like the only way to do it is through faith because Christ completed it and finished it and there's no more sacrifice because he was like the perfect one.

The Jews always look forward to the promises that God made to them. We look back to what he's already done. So our faith is in accomplished facts. Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking of. And that's where the position and the faith and everything comes in, because it's not going to happen again next year. We're not going to see it. And I engage in this argument a lot. Courtney?

Well, I just, you know, you say, you know, that Jewish economy, they would have the sacrifice once a year. That's why we have the remembrance. That's exactly why we have that, is to remember what he has done. And so we have it here once a month. The brethren do it once every week. But the very point of that is the same thing, to remember what he did. And it gets the pointers back to remember that.

So we have it even more than the Jewish economy. Well, I know, but we don't have the sacrifice. Because Christ was the sacrifice. We have the Lord's Table, which is to remind us of everything, that same sacrifice. And so we have the same thing, but as Mike says, we're looking back to something that's already accomplished, not looking forward to the kingdom or whatever.

Right. So when you spend time in the Word, one of the things that should go through your mind, graciously, What am I reading? Am I reading something that's a position? Or am I reading something that's a condition? It's important to distinguish those two.

And if I have an emotional reaction about some truth, I need to go and find out in the Word of God is the objectivity of what I'm thinking verified in the Word. It's not the other way around. I don't get to come out and say, I really feel good about that truth, so it must be true. The next time one of you is the verification of truth, I'm moving. How you feel about truth doesn't verify its veracity. It's the Word that verifies it.

So I think we could not revisit just a little discussion like that. We should do it more often because it matters how we look at the truth that we're learning. So in this chapter we're talking about completeness in Christ with a subsequent security. So let's go to question three. Where is all that we will ever need for our Christian life? Where is it? In our Source. And who's the Source? The Lord Jesus. Yeah. The point is that there is nothing outside of the Lord Jesus Christ that you'll ever need for your Christian life. Ever. He is ready and willing to show you the completeness that you have in Him If you'll just believe them.

Okay? We're done with that question. It's pretty fast, huh? Alright, question four. Is our completeness based on a promise? If not, explain. She said no. Alright, second part, explain. Got to explain. Okay, I'm still kind of composing this. I didn't go far in my lesson planning.

It's based on fact. It is in the completed past and enduring work of Christ. So Colossians says that in Christ Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead and you're complete in Him. That leaves nothing left. Positional truth. So yeah, you're right. Faith rests upon the Father's scriptural testimony of what He has already done for and with us in Christ. Already done.

Would you say a promise then is something that hasn't happened yet? Like Israel's promise to land. Well, that hasn't happened. When it does happen, it would no longer be a promise. That's right. Promise to bless them if they obeyed Him. Promise to curse them if He didn't. Does He promise to bless us if we obey Him? Then is he going to curse us if we don't? No. We're already blessed. Yeah, see, we're already blessed.

Well, there's something, a mixture, in that we need to grow. Okay. So what is spiritual growth? Conforming to the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit conforming us to the image of Christ. learning how to daily walk in the Spirit? Yeah, it's a learning process. It's a journey from infancy, which is salvation, to resting in our position in Christ. Yeah, it's a journey from a conditional standpoint. The most important part about that journey is to trust God all along the way.

You know, He never, for believers, tells us, here's what I'm doing for you in your present condition. He's always saying, this is what I've already done. Now here's the problem. We dance around as believers and we try all different forms of theology and spiritual growth methods and the reason is because we don't take God at his word. And so then we think, well, there's got to be more than one pathway to spiritual growth. No, there's not. It's the pathway of faith, based on the facts.

And your opinion does not matter in terms of whether it's truth or not. It does matter in terms of whether you're going to grow or not. Because if you don't think that your completeness in Christ is reality, then you're stuck, aren't you? Does that mean the Spirit of God says, well I'm done with you buddy, I'm moving on to her? No, He never stops. Never. He's always conforming us and working us to conform us to the image of Christ. Always. And not only is He doing it, but it's non-stop. I said, that's for sure. So, our being complete is from a completed source.

Maybe that's a good way to look at it. What is essential so that our faith will not lack the confidence to make progress in our spiritual growth? What's the most important part of it? Having the right information? Yeah, having the right information. Without the knowledge of his finished work on the Lord Jesus, our faith lacks the necessary confidence that will make sure progress in our daily growth.

Here's what happens experientially and conditionally. We're not sure what God is telling us because our experience is somewhat different than what he says. If I don't feel good about it or have a case of the warm fuzzies, how can it be true? If it hasn't solved my problem immediately, how can it be true? Why am I going through all of this, whatever I'm going through? God said certain things, but my experience doesn't show it to be true. How can that be? How can his word possibly be?

I was talking to a guy on the phone yesterday, and this is one of those guys that I love to talk to because here's what he does. Well, God, da-da-da-da-da-da, right? So sometimes I say right, sometimes I say wrong. But the issue with him came down to this, was just Romans 8, 28, that does God work all things together for good to those who love him, to those who are called according to his purpose? Does he do that?

And we all nod our head, and he nods his head. But behind the nod is, well, it doesn't seem that way. Or, did I do something wrong? There you go. Yeah, can I trust God and what he's telling me? Because am I alright with him now? You know, the first thing we went through was your righteousness. That's the very first part of this class. Did I somehow get out of that righteousness dance and he's going to teach me a lesson?

Well, there's so much success theology too. Success determines whether you're on the right track or not. But who determines what success is? What is success in the spiritual life? In spiritual life? Yeah. Gosh, to believe, to have the position, to be saved. I would say it's conformity. I was thinking Paul said to live as Christ and die as gain. Yeah, in Philippians, yeah. For me to live as Christ and to die as gain, wow. For me to live as Christ. Now if you're like me, you know, if you look in the mirror you think, there's no way this is ever going to happen. I'm too much of a slub, you know.

But then that's why, see I'm convinced that's why God did it the way he did it. Because you don't get to look at positional truth from a subjective standpoint. It's either true or it isn't. And if it is true, I'm to believe it no matter what it seems like to me. Yeah, I think, you know, going back to all this, it comes down to the facts, what he said. And that's the faith to believe that, what he said. But the underlying that I go down to is, the intimacy with him to trust him and what he said. And I think I think we lack that part a lot of times because if you trust him you know him intimately, you can trust him with what he says.

And I think, you know, because I have a lot of things, you know, where you tell somebody something, and yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree, oh yeah, and they go right off and do something else. And I think that's what we do a lot of times. We read it, we say it, and okay, and we agree, but then we go off and do something else. And why is that?

And I think it's just a lack of trust. I agree. Or the intimate relationship to trust Christ in what he said. Especially when those trials to, I think, show us that, to make us grow. But I think the bedrock is that we don't trust him enough or know him enough to really trust him in all conditions. See, and I think he's aware of that.

And therefore, some of the circumstances or the conditions that you're going to experience in your life is as he puts you through them. You know, I look at it as a I don't know if all of you understand what I mean by a band of brothers. You know, when you find yourself in a difficult situation, you go through it with some guys, like in the military, or I don't know what it is, school, or whatever it is. There's a team. You know, you trust these other guys to do what their job is.

Well, the Lord knows that we are very untrusting, you know, kind of people, and so he puts us through the paces where You know, you have to trust the Lord has come to that. You know, so sometimes when he's working through a situation like that, what he's doing is proving to you that he is trustworthy. He doesn't have to do that, but he does it. Because he knows what Courtney's talking about. I'm not going to trust somebody I don't know. Are you? Will you trust somebody you don't know? The last guy that came to our front door, slammo. By the way, that was me, right?

Hey, Mr. Doe, we'd like about 10 grand of your money to invest it in Blue Sky Incorporated. No problem. Let me go get the book. So, God does. I mean, it's amazing to me that God is so careful to persuade us that He's trustworthy. Because we really don't think he is until he proves himself to be that. Right? We're too skeptical. Because we're too interested in me. I can trust me.

And in a way, I'm just going to be honest, is that some of the things we pray about, like Joe's embolism, oh my gosh, God's going to work that out for good, you know, and build trustworthiness and you know my situation and everybody's situation and it's like we kind of, and Ruth and the pain, it's like we kind of want to pray for it to end, you know, so that we feel better, but it's like, yeah, that's, and not to not feel sympathy, you know, because it is a horrible thing to go through.

Everything that we prayed about this morning, for the people that we prayed for. Not one of those things that God was taking a vacation when it happened. He specifically ordained every one of those things for the spiritual growth of that person. Every single one of them. And for us. That's right, for us to see and watch. It's cool how the Lord works.

Because if you have, like Donna said, success theology mentality, or you have reformed theology, covenant legal mentality, you think that I have to be doing the right things in order for God to bless me. And if I'm screwing up and I'm not obeying, then I had a stroke. What did I do to make that happen? Why did God allow that in my life? Wait a minute, from a positional standpoint, that's a blessing. You know, Malloy was right when he said there is absolutely no tragedy in any Christian's life.

Because if there was, then Romans 8.28 would not be true. Say that? Just for the very fact that we have eternal life, I mean, what else is there?

And the other thing about spiritual growth, one of the really, it takes I think a few years to kind of get this figured out. is that the purpose of spiritual growth is so that you can serve others, not yourself. That your focus is on the Lord Jesus and not your own spiritual growth, which begins to qualify you to serve others. Because what have I got to worry about me?

I've got it covered. I'm positioned in Christ. I don't need to worry about me. I can come and walk alongside of you. So, knowledge is the first thing we need. We need to know what the positions are. We need to know what the facts are, and primarily they're in the epistles, especially Paul's epistles.

And it's interesting, you get to the book of Revelation and you get after chapter 4, he's not talking about Christians anymore, because we're gone. you know? In the Gospels, is he talking about Christians? No, he's not. He's talking about Jews. So there's a specific part of the Word of God that's written to us as believers and all of that is factual. That's your position. Okay? Now what do you mean that the that it's written to the Jews and not to the Gentiles? Well, not to the church. Oh, not to the church. And the four Gospels or the Old Testament, who's the Old Testament written to? Jews. Jews, yeah. The house of Israel. So, okay. Sixth.

Is 2 Corinthians 5-17 really true of us now? Somebody read it. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come. Is that true? Yes. Oh, come on. You all looked the same to me before you were saved. Is it really true? Are you really a new creation? So we just sort of washed you up and dusted you off. Did a little rehab. God says no, Michael. He says I've made you all new. You're all new.

What does new mean? New of a different kind. What's that? New of a different kind. You're new of a different kind. You may, you know, Laban was in here a few weeks ago and he shaved his head. You look new to me. But from external appearances, we all look the same we did the day we were saved, right? So what's new? Holy Spirit living in us. Okay, but I'm still the same then. What's new? The Source. The Source is new. I'm in Christ, positioned, and what I have is newness of life.

Never had that kind of life before, and no human being ever had that kind of life until Pentecost. Nobody had it. So the newness begins in your spirit, permeates through your soul, and eventually you'll get a body that corresponds with the newness of your spirit. But you know what? Positionally it's all true now. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things have passed away. What are those old things? What are those old things? Old man. Old man? Self. Okay. Which is fine. What else? What else has passed away? What? The law. Yeah, I passed out of the realm of legalism. I now live in a new realm called grace. Oh, right. Grace. Okay. I also have been moved out of the tyranny of the influence of Satan.

It doesn't mean he went anywhere. It doesn't mean he's trying to convince me that isn't true. So I'm free from sin, my sin nature. And one has said self, that isn't necessarily true, right? Positionally, we're talking position. Yes, I am free. From self. Because I'm a new creation. So free from condemnation? I'm free from every consequence that Adam suffered. Every consequence. Because of his sin. I'm also free of him. I'm free of sin.

Really? I mean, I used to say to the Lord, I hear, I see this, but how come when the music starts, my feet start moving? How come when the temptation's there, I'm going for it? And the reason was, I didn't believe him. That's the reason I didn't believe Him. I didn't reckon myself in deed and dead unto sin and alive unto God. That's why. And also too, like we talked about before, it's condition. It's like a progressive thing. We might still keep marching or going for it, but then the Holy Spirit is working on kind of working those things out too.

You know, I think maybe the danger would be is that, I think there are some religions that say, oh, you know, you sinned because you didn't believe enough. You know, just to kind of look out for that, because then it kind of turns into like, oh, you did that because you didn't believe enough. It's like, you did that because you're just not... Most of Christian scams And the latest one is this spiritual formation.

You know why that took hold? I don't even know what it is. What is that? Contemplative prayer. Thomas Merton started with him. You know what that is. It's sold on the basis that you're not complete. It's sold on the basis that there's more to spirituality than what you know, and that if you buy their method, you'll become more spiritual. Really? I don't know what the Word of God tells me.

Miles says this, In the Lord Jesus we are altogether new creations, born anew, complete in Him. He, as Laban says, is the eternal source from which our condition is developed. For we are God's own handiwork or workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, born anew, that we may do those things, do those works which God predestined, planned beforehand for us, taking paths which he prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them, living the good life which he prearranged and made ready for us to live. So I've asked this question, I think it was Helen in the class, I asked this question and she fell for it.

I said, when you get to the beam of judgment and God says I'm going to reward you for the works that I was able to do through you, are you going to say back to God, I read this Ephesians thing but I got two more than you talked Or I got one less. Isn't it cool that he already has ordained what he's going to do through us. And we think, oh my goodness, I hope it's more than one a year. You know?

But we are not necessarily going to recognize these things. Sometimes not. Yeah. Yeah. And when the Bhima judgment happens and we get reward, a lot of times we're going to say, I don't remember that. Or he's going to take this little piece and stick it in the fire and you're going to think, oh gee, I thought that was pretty cool. But I think we will remember it because our brains are going to work correctly.

That's right. That's exactly right. So we will remember remarkable things. That's right. That's exactly right. So, I mean, if you're worried about, am I doing enough for the Lord, go back and read Ephesians again. ten, just carefully. And you think, oh gee, I can sit home and watch TV. No, trust me. God will have something for you to do a lot.

What is Bema? The Bema Judgment is when we believers, when the rapture happens, and we go to be with the Lord, and those that have died before us go, and they are a little ahead of us, then there is a judgment. of believers and it has to do with works and rewards. It has nothing to do with sin because sin has already been taken care of. So he is going to reward all believers for what he was able to do through them.

The crowns and those kinds of things. Get a new body and then there is the wedding feast of the Lamb. And we will suffer loss, too, because we'll recognize with this new mind that we have, well, I blew that opportunity, and I blew that one, and I blew that one.

Not for my sake, but for him. But I didn't miss any that he foreordained, and I didn't get one more than he foreordained. I got exactly what he said. Along with that is that last night when J.D. called me and I went back to bed, I don't know if I ever really woke up, my thought hit me is that maybe Joe's work is done. Maybe he's done everything that God foreordained for him to do. And as soon as that happens, the Lord loves us too much to leave us here. He wants us home with him. How do you spell that? B-E-M-A.

I'd always thought that when we become new creatures in Christ, our spirit actually is modified too. Is that true? Do we have a new spirit? Well, we have a spirit that's recreated in Christ. We have a new spirit, and which indwells the Holy Spirit. His indwelling is what makes it new. Do these girls involve an old spirit? No, no, no. So we do have the new spirits involved? Yeah, the only thing that's not new is the person. You're the same person you've always been, that God knew in Christ, you know, created you in Christ. But you're spiritually new, you're soullessly becoming new, and we'll get the new body when we go to the beam of judgment. And then it gets glorified, which is kind of a cool thing. All of you are going to look 18. Except for Bob. Except for Bob. Why is the following statement true?

Even though the work is complete in Christ, there is nothing automatic about our experience of it. Why is that statement true? Would you say that it's our responsibility to believe in the facts and to rest in our position? Yeah, it's our responsibility to trust what God tells us. It's true, the following statement is true, because we're talking about completeness in terms of position, but there's nothing automatic about that completeness becoming experiential in our lives. Automatic from the standpoint of, well I got the position, now the condition lines up with it immediately.

Not true. We're going to grow into what we already are. Okay? Let me read a couple things for you. It is certainly not yet manifest in our condition what we already are in our position. Is that true? Or what we shall be when he appears. So when we go to be with them or he comes to get us, what we're going to be isn't exactly the way we look now. I think we'll be astounded. Yeah, I think you're right about that.

But the resting believer does not rely upon appearances. Neither is he affected one way or the other by his condition. He knows he's accepted and secure on a different basis altogether, that of his position in Christ, the man of God choosing The man of God's choosing. This is not carelessness, but confidence in Him. Shall I read that last part again? He knows, the believer, he is accepted and secure on a different basis altogether, that of his position in Christ, the man of God's choosing. This is not carelessness, but confidence in him.

I think that's what Courtney was talking about earlier. And you're right. Our responsibility is faith. That's it. That's why you have a will. You use your will to believe. We are not only born anew by faith, but we are to live, walk and grow by faith.

To enter intelligently and cooperatively into that which our Father has established for us in Christ. By faith we are to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. It simply means that we are to rest in our position in the Lord Jesus as our life. We are to abide there because we have already been born or established there. So here you are reading the Bible and you get this positional truth that you're a new creature in Christ and you say, okay, I believe it. So the question is, how do I abide there? By faith. So what if my experience discounts what I know to be true? Who cares? I do. I do. I mean, you just keep going along like, you know, just looking at the truth.

Let me put it another way. Let's say that you're not persuaded yet. Let's say that this new creature thing is something you know and you believe, but it isn't, I'm not really persuaded yet. Then you do your own thing. Well, you know, at the very minimum, you get a little nervous. Is it true or isn't it? The answer is yes, it's true. But I haven't been persuaded. Here's a good example.

I think most of us, at least those that were saved as adults, there was a time when we were saved, we were pretty sure about it, but then there was a testing on that faith, right? And through circumstances, the Spirit of God absolutely persuaded you that you were saved. I know that I'm saved.

I don't know about you. Because he didn't persuade me about you. So here comes a new truth, I'm complete in Christ, and I believe it, and okay, and then there's going to be a test. And the test is designed to do what? To persuade you. That is true. You can't be bumped off of it. So I think it's important for us to recognize that when we see a position and we believe in it, there's going to be resistance, there's going to be a test where God is going to prove to us that he isn't kidding about that. That we can trust him no matter what it says.

You know, oh yeah, but I'm worried. Worried? You know, he tells us in Philippians, don't worry about anything. And I'd look at God and say, well it's easy for you to say, you're God. I've been reading your relations a lot in chapter 6. It seems like it's important for a believer, when we do stumble and sin, that we really do do the first-on-one-line prayer.

Confess our sin. Watch the slate clean and start over. Let me ask you this. Was the slate clean before you confessed? I think it was. Position it was. So confession means to say the same thing. Say the same thing as what? That God says. Well, the truth of the matter is, I was acting inconsistent with who I am, who you say I am in my position. Yeah, I'm sinning, and there it is. But I'm trusting you that you're telling me the truth, and I believe you. My mind is aligned with yours. And that's the job of the Holy Spirit, right? Absolutely, it's his job. Say, hey, look at this. Absolutely, it's his job. You know in Galatians 5 it talks about the fruits of the spirit of this, but before that it says, the works of the flesh.

You guys are doing these, anyone who is doing this stuff will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. And there is probably at least one that some of us stumble on and mess up on. I know we confess those. But it just seems like an odd thing. People who do this, I mean, we, you know, in our position, we're... It's back to what Laban said. What's the issue? Source. What's the source of that behavior?

My old man. Your old man. What's your relationship to your old man? I'm dead. To it. To it. What's going to happen to your old man? He's gone. Yeah. Not you. Him. Who are you? It's important to know who you are. You can function out of somebody you're not, which is the old man. That old man is not going to inherit the kingdom. You're already a son, and you're a fully orbed inheritor.

Question nine. What is the full provision for the Christian life and service, and what is the only provision for the self-life? I had Psalm 134, but there is forgiveness for thee that thou may be feared. The fear of the secure believer is relevant trust coupled with hatred of evil. Do you understand that? One of the definitions of holiness is to love the good and hate the evil. The difference between that and what Adam was, being innocent, is he didn't hate the evil. He didn't love the good either. He was just innocent.

Proverbs 8.13, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. And that's the part, part of the part that begins to grow is that you hate that thing, sin and all of that other nonsense.

Titus 2.11, this is one of my favorite verses. For the grace of God has appeared. It's here. Here's what it brought. It brought salvation to all men.

And then, in instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. That's grace. Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires. Grace teaches us that. And it teaches us to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age. Grace banishes all the guesswork, gets rid of it, and gives one assurance. If you're under law, you're still guessing. If you're under grace, you're assured.

Okay, quickly, true or false? The truth of security holds the Christian firm in the midst of the process of growth. True. Okay. Resting in our position in the Lord Jesus has a direct effect upon our condition. True. It certainly is manifested in our condition that we already are in our position. False. That didn't sound so convincing.

Let's close. Wait, wait. What about number 8? What about number 8? We didn't do it. Oh, we didn't, did we? Well, we'll have to start with that next week. I got ahead of myself. You were trying to finish and take all the glory. Yeah, you're right, I was. So we'll do eight and then we'll pick up lesson nine next week. Okay, let's close.

Father, how we thank you for your word. And we thank you for your spirit that leads us into the truth. We ask that we may settle and reckon and just abide in your Son, the Lord Jesus, and the truth contained therein, in spite of whatever the circumstances may be in our life. And we pray in your Son's precious name. Amen.