A Good Position Does Not Always Mean A Good Condition

WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH

PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN

SERMON TITLE: A GOOD POSITION DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN A GOOD CONDITION

“For God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18

TEXT VERSE: Luke 22:54-62 “Then took they him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off. (55) And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. (56) But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. (57) And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. (58) And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, man, I am not. (59) And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. (60) And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. (61) And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. (62) And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (63) And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him.

I want you to notice that Peter was a disciple of Jesus Christ. I want to turn your attention to verse 54 where it says that Peter followed afar off. I want to preach to you this morning on: “A good position does not always mean a good condition.” There’s a lot of Christians in the world today that are like Peter. They are what we call a disciple for Jesus Christ. They’ve been saved by Christ, they’ve been on fire for God. They remember the blessings of God and the work of God, but something has happened in their life and they’ve begun to follow Jesus afar off. That’s where a lot of Christians are at today. Just because you’re seated in the house of God and just because you go to church every once in a while and just because you’re letter is at some church somewhere, does not mean that you’re in the condition that you’re supposed to be in with the Lord Jesus. There’s a lot of people more worried about what position their in, instead of what condition their in. You might have everything right on the outside. it might be going well for you. You may have all the things your body desires but I have news for you. I wonder what kind of condition you’re in on the inside this morning. The Bible says that the Kingdom of God is within us. If everything is right on the inside then their will be turmoil on the outside. Because if you’re here and you’re saved the Bible said we’re pilgrams and strangers passing through. This world is not our home. Too many Christians worried about what position their in instead of what condition their souls are in. They like looking at things on the outside. They like looking at the worldly things. The Bible says that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the inward appearance. God knows what kind of condition you’re in. Peter was pretty close to the Lord. He’s the one that said, Lord I’ll go with you all the way. I’ll never deny you. But when it came time to take Jesus Christ to get ready to crucify him, I want you to know that the very one that said I will never deny you, denied him. He denied him three times. He was right there in the midst of Jesus and his position was good but his condition was backslid. You say that the disciples back then couldn’t be backslid? Yes they could. Most of the Christians then and today are living their life in a backslid condition. Their not walking close to the Lord. Their going about with things in this world and their walking afar off. Fred taught this morning in Sunday School on this same scripture except in Matthew and John. There were three things in John 18 that I noticed about Peter. Number one it says that Peter stood without. It said that because he was in a position that he thought was good but when Jesus looked at him, he was in the wrong condition. He was standing without. Number two it says that he was standing with them. Who did he stand with? The mockers and the sinner, the ungodly, the ones that hated Jesus. There’s a lot of Christians in the world today that are standing among sinners today. Number three it says he stood and warmed himself. Christians will get in what they think is a comfort zone and they’ll get out there with sinners and they think God can’t see them, they get comfortable out in the world but I’m telling you their walking afar off. A good position does not always mean a good condition. You can come to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening, every Wednesday night but that does not mean you’re where you need to be with God. When you get to where you need to be with God....God will change you’re life.