tonight my John chapter 1 and let's read just a few of the first few verses there John chapter 1 and we'll probably read about verse 1 to 4 here tonight when you find your place you can stand with me I'll try not to keep you along this evening and we'll get into the Word of God together here tonight John chapter 1 there in verse 1 the Bible says in the beginning was the Word the Word was with God and the Word was God The same was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Let's pray. Father, we come to you tonight. We thank you, Lord, once again for your blessings. Lord, you are far better to us than we deserve, and we just ask for your help tonight as we go through your word. Pray that you'd just help us to behold wondrous things out of it and see some things tonight that would help us in our spiritual walk with you, and maybe even perhaps change our life. Lord, we just pray that you just bless our time together as we go through your word. In this we ask in Jesus' name, amen, amen. All right, you may be seated as we go through the word here tonight. I've entitled this message, Where Do You Live? Where Do You Live? And in John chapter one, verses one to four, We can see, one of the verses that I really major in, there's, I'm gonna really bring all my stuff out, is really there in verse four. And it says, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And so the question tonight was, in essence, really is, where do you live? And our environment, just as well as I do, our environment can play a big role sometimes in our success in life, whether it's spiritual or whatever it is. Our environment play a big role in that. In the right environment, a person can thrive, they can live, they can blossom in the Lord. But in the wrong environment, sometimes it can be poisoning, it can be grievous, it can be toxic to us, you know. And so the question tonight is, where do you live? Where are you at? The very first truth I want us to see tonight, try to save some time is, is I want us to see, let's see your position. Let's see your position. Notice there in verse four, the Bible says in him was life. Now you see the very first word, the Bible says in. Now in is gonna declare a position. Where are you at positionally? In. Are you in the Lord or are you outside of the Lord? because being in the Lord is extremely important. Now listen, being in something is very different than being out of something. And so if you're in the Lord, if you're in the Lord, there's a lot of things you're gonna receive. There's a lot of things that you're gonna get. But if you're outside of the Lord, then there's a lot of things you're gonna miss. There's a lot of things that you're gonna regret. And so understanding tonight where our position is, is extremely important. The Bible says that in him was life. In him was life. Now think about this. Now, we think about a fish. I'll kind of use this as an illustration tonight. We think about a fish. Now a fish in the right environment, a fish in the right position is gonna do well. I mean, a fish belongs in water, does he not? And so a fish that is in the water is gonna do well, but you take a fish out of the water. Then what can he do? His environment is completely changed. And when you take that fish out of where he's supposed to be, you put him now where he's not supposed to be, then what's gonna happen is the fish is gonna suffer, is it not? And so our position is gonna make a big difference in life, being in him. is different than being out of him. And also being in him, as we talked about not too long ago, it's not the same as being at him, it's not the same as being close to him. And so we got in him, we got out of him, we got close to him, we got at him, we got maybe perhaps around him, but all of those things are different than being in him. And the Bible says what we need to do is, the Bible says that where we find life, is that we find it in him. Not close to God, not around God, not outside of God, but in the Lord. And so in him, that is a position. So we ask ourselves, what position are we in? Now, as I said, a fish that is outside of its environment, a fish that is outside of what it needs is not going to do well. We think about a tree also. Now, a tree is usually in the ground, but you take that tree out, and you take it out of the earth, you take it out of the dirt, you take it out of these things that it needs to supply itself with the nutrients and all these things to survive and live, then you pull it, you pluck a tree out, and you just, most of the time, you set it out in the ground, you just lay it there. Because it's not in the ground and not receiving what it needs, and generally speaking, it's going to die, and oftentimes it's going to be a slow death. And so what we wanna do is is make sure that we are understanding our position. Where are we at in life? Where are we living? Are we living inside Christ? Are we living outside of Christ? Where is it that we are living tonight? Because our position in the Lord makes a huge difference. Now we think about a man. Now a man in his right, a man in his right environment, just as a tree and just as a fish, does well. A man in him Does well, but you take a man that's outside of Christ and there's some things that he's going to be missing There's some things that's not going to There's going to be some things that he's not going to be able to enjoy because when a man is in Christ There are a lot of things that he gets to enjoy. There are a lot of things that he that his such as more, you know, we're all loved and we all receive a measure of grace and mercy and those types of things, but I tell you what, we sure can miss out on some peace and we sure can miss out on some joy and we sure can miss out on some other things that we can find, that we find in the Lord. And so we think about a fish when it's outside of its environment, when it's not in where it needs to be, it's gonna hurt, it's gonna suffer. When we think about the tree, where it's not where it's supposed to be, when it's not in its correct environment, it's gonna hurt, it's gonna suffer. and a man will as well. And so we ask ourselves, what is our position tonight? I love this verse, Acts chapter 17, verse 28. And it says, for in him we live. In him we live. Acts 17, 28 says, for in him we live, move, and have our being. And so in him, the Bible says we live. Now a man that's in him lives, but you take a man that's not in him, then what happens to him? He dies. And so just like the fish, you take a man that's not, you take a fish out of its environment of what it needs, then it's going to die. You take a tree out from its environment, there in the ground where it's receiving its life-giving nourishment, you take it out, it's gonna die. Same thing happens with a man. The Bible says, Acts 17, 28, for in him we live. and move and have our being. So our position tonight makes a big difference in our outcome and how we're gonna live and the things that we're gonna do because when we are in the right position, and when we're in the right position, which is in Christ, when we're in the right position, then we are setting ourselves up for a lot of blessings. But when we're not in the right position, then we're gonna miss out on a lot of things. 2 Corinthians 5-17 says this, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new Christian. And praise the Lord for the any man. Praise God for that. I'm thankful that anybody can be saved has a desire to be saved. But the Bible says that therefore, if any man be in Christ, okay? And so your position makes a tremendous difference in life. Are you in Christ? Are you in the Lord? Because when you are in Christ, there are things that you are blessed by and things that you are blessed with. But when you are outside of that, then you miss out on all those things, and so your position tonight is gonna make a big difference. Your environment plays a big role, and so you take the fish out of its normal environment, and you put him out there on the land, and what did he says? Well, in the water he swims around, and he finds the other fish, and he swims around, perhaps, with other schools of fish, and he does whatever fish do down there, and they're doing all that. But you take the fish out, and you plop him up on the land, and what does he do? Well, he doesn't really go anywhere. flops around, does he not? I mean, he just kind of flops around on the bank. He can't swim. He can't do anything. And you know what? Before long, he's going to suffocate and die. So being, so your position makes a big difference. Where are you? Where do you live? Where do you live? Same thing for a tree, as I said, when it's not in the right environment. Now you take a, you can have a tree that's even in the ground, but you take it and put it in a different place. One time years ago, I told y'all, I think this in a sermon a long time ago, I went outside and I found an acorn. and I took it, put it inside, put it in a little styrofoam cup, put it in the windowsill, and you know what? That thing sprouted and started to grow, and I left it there for months. You know how big it got? You know why? Because the environment that it was in was not conducive enough for it to grow like it needed to grow. I kept it in a small little cup. Did it get water? Yes. Did it get sun? Yes. But its environment was so small, that it didn't have enough, there wasn't enough there to, there was enough there to keep it alive, but it wasn't enough there to keep it growing. So your environment makes a big difference. You take it out of its normal environment. Now if I took it out and I went outside and I planted it out there, you know, where it failed, then it would have grew up into, perhaps, it fulfilled its potential and grew up into a massive, you know, a big tree. But what I did was I took it out of its environment, I put it in a little cup, and it stayed that way for a long, long time. And so, our environment. It makes a big difference. So being in Christ, being in him, your position is gonna make a big difference. Your position is where you are presently. That is where you are right now. What is your position? Where do you live? Your position, where you are at presently, and if your position is bad, if your position isn't right, then you will suffer just like the fish and just like the tree, and a continued position will ultimately probably result in death or stifled growth, because in our position makes a big difference. So where do you live tonight? There are lots of people today that are out of position, I might say. Out of position, they're not in the right environment, or they're not in Christ, they're not in the Lord where they need to be. because it is in the Lord. The Bible says it in Acts 17, 28, for in him we live. And there's a lot of people tonight that are starving half to death in their spiritual lives because they are outside of him. Well, there's a lot of people that are lost here tonight because they are outside of Christ. But when we get in where we're supposed to be, when we are in Christ and we are in the right environment, when our position is right, that it helps us in our life. And so we ask ourselves here tonight, where do I live? Where is my position this evening? The second truth is this. Not only where is your position, but let's see your place. Look at verse four. We see the Bible says, we see in verse four, it says in him. So the word in there, that's a position, but him is the actual place. Now I know him as a person, I guess I understand that. but in him is not only, he is our refuge, is he not? He is our shelter, he is our high tower, he is these things. And so the Lord Jesus isn't just a person, yes he is, but he's also a place because we are in him and he is in us, amen? And so we are together, but the Bible shows us right here that we are in him. So your position is important, but not only is your position important, but your place is important. The Bible shows us there that in him, John 1, 4 says, in him was life, in him was life. And as I said, a fish out of water isn't going to be able to find the food that it needs, it isn't gonna be able to find all the other things that it's needed. It's not gonna be able to be productive like it needs to be. Everything that it needs, everything the fish needs is there in the water, and that is the right place for the fish. But where are we at tonight? Where are we at in our life? Are we, is our position right in God? Is our position right in Christ? But not only that, is our place right in Christ? Are we in Christ tonight? Because your place makes a big difference. Now, there's a lot of people that are not in Christ. Their place is out in the world. Their place is out in the world. Their place isn't in Christ. And listen, when your place is not in Christ and your position is outside of Christ, then as I said already, you're going to miss out. There's a lot of things that you're not going to receive like you would. if your position is where it needed to be, and if your place is where it needed to be. But when you are in the right position, and you are in the right place, then what happens is, it produces an environment that is conducive for your spiritual life to grow and be exactly what you need to be. Now, think about this. Now, our body, in essence, it's three essential things, I guess, that it needs. Number one, it would definitely need air. Listen, you can't live but so long without it. That's probably the most important. You can live a few days without water. You can live even longer without anything to eat, without food, but air would be the most, definitely the most important thing that you would need. And so, our body itself, not only being a Chinese being with Body soul and spirit, but we also see that there's three essential things that it need which is air food and water and I'm thankful here tonight that listen even though my body needs those things there's a spiritual side of me that also Needs some things and when the spiritual side of me isn't in the right position When the spiritual side of me isn't in the right place then the spiritual side of me suffers greatly suffers greatly Well, if my body needs air and it needs water and it needs food, then what does my spiritual self need? Well, the Lord Jesus had it covered. The Bible shows us here, and you can jot these verses down. The Bible tells us in John chapter four, verse 10, that Christ is, he gives living water. Living water. And listen, I need water to live, but listen, that is just his physical body, but my spiritual body needs what? Christ says, I give unto you living water. Living water. What'd he tell the lady? He says, you got this water pot. He says, you come down here to draw from the wells of this world. He says, but listen, if you draw from me, then you'll never have to draw from this world again. You'll never have to come back here, but if you draw from me, because I am living water. I give unto thee living water. And so even though sometimes our body may be, the needs may be met in our body, Our spiritual self is not in the right position and it's not in the right place. And so it is Dry without water. We kind of talked about this not too long ago You ever seen a plant that's without that's without water and how it starts to lean over How it starts to die or trees that are without water how they start to lean over and how they start to die I've seen this funny thing the other day It was a meme and it was showing somebody filling up their coffee pot and on the picture beside of it was their plant and their flower that was about to die and it had this face on it. Yeah, the whole idea is that it's dying without the water that it needs. And our spiritual cells, the Bible says, Jesus says, I'm the living water. And listen, when we're not in the right position and when our spiritual life isn't in the right place, then we suffer because Christ is the living water for our spiritual lives and outside of that. When we're not in the right position, not in the right place, then how does that living water flow inside of us? It is not, and when the living water is not flowing to us and it's not flowing out of us then of course we're in a spiritual drought in our life and we're dying but not only that not only just the water but John 6 48 Jesus said that he says it claimed himself to be the bread of life he says I'm the bread of life the true bread of heaven Not only that, we think even back in the book of Matthew, when the Lord Jesus was there in the wilderness with the devil, and when the devil said, make these stones that they may make bread, and Jesus said, men will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So in our physical bodies, what we need is we need air, we need water, we need bread, we need food. The Bible says that Jesus is for our spiritual lives, that he is the water, the living water. But not only that, but he says that I am the true bread from heaven and every man will live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And so not only, so Christ is the living water for us, but he is also the true bread from heaven that a man needs. The word of God that a man needs to live a productive life. To not only to be saturated in his life, but to receive the nourishment that he needs. Not only to receive refreshment from the water that he places to us, but also the nourishment that he gives us through his word. And so God himself, Lord Jesus, in essence, showing us through his word that he can sustain us and take care of us. Then the last thing, of course, as I said, we covered the water, we covered the bread, we covered the food, but what else? Of course, we said the air, which is probably the most important thing that we need. In Genesis chapter two, verse seven, the Bible says that God breathed into man the breath of life. Man became a living soul. And that's why the Bible says, he that has a son has life, and he that has not the son of God has not life. Our Bible tells us, Jesus says, I'm the resurrection and the life. John 10, 28, the Bible says, I give unto them eternal life. John 3, 16, he that believeth in him shall never perish but have everlasting life. But you notice how John 3, 16, it's believeth in him. I give unto them. I am the resurrection and the life. And so we see that everything it is that we need, that our spiritual cells need, God provides. God provides. What I also find interesting is this, and we'll get on down to the next part of this as a third truth, is not only do we see what is our position, not only do we see what is our place, but we see what is our purpose. Because listen, a fish that is in the water pursue its purpose, right? It can do what it was created to do. A tree that is planted in the ground like it's supposed to can do what it was created to do. A man, when he's not in the right place, a man in the right place can do exactly what he's created to do and fulfill the purpose that God has called him on his life, but when he's not in the right position and he's not in the right place, then it makes it very difficult for him to fulfill the purpose that God has called him to. So your position and your place is very important. Now you'll notice there in verse four, we see in, that's the position, we see him, that's the place, but then we see life, that is the purpose. And so we see the purpose, I'm sorry, we see there in verse four, number one, we see the position and the place equals the purpose. You can fulfill your purpose when you're in the right place, and you're in the right position. The Bible shows us there in verse four, in him was life. Now what is that word for life? Well, that word life there in the Greek there is the word that's zoe or zo. And so when you think about that word zoe, it has the idea of life, it has the idea of a sustainer of life. And the great thing about that is that we see that Christ is, he's not just life. which is really good, but it's not just life, but he is the, not just one that gives life, but he is the sustainer of it all. In other words, in Christ, you will find everything that you need. And so he is the sustainer of life, which is where that Greek word, therefore, life is. He is, not only does he just give life, but he is the source of life, the sustainer of life. And so when our position is right, and our place is right, then our purpose is fulfilled in him. And we see that that is, of course, life, but what else is that? So that we can fulfill that which God has called us to do in our life. And what is it that God has called us to do? Now watch this now, verse four. In our position, we see him, our place, we see life, our purpose. So when we're in the right position and we're in the right place and our purpose is fulfilled, And what is that? Notice the Bible says, and the life was light of men. So what is it that God seeks to do through you being in the right position, you being in the right place, which was fulfilling the right purpose, which will then, God will use that as to be the light of men. And so when we will fulfill that, what God has called us to do and God's called us to be, then He can work in us and through us in the right position and in the right place to fulfill us to fulfill that calling and that purpose that God has placed on our life. and use that as to be a life of man. Listen, God uses us, an example, to show to the whole world that in him is life, and that God is sustaining you. God has given you everything that you need in your spiritual life to be sustained spiritually, to be nourished like you need to, to be refreshed like you need to, and to have the purpose in your life fulfilled like it needs to be. And that right there, with God working in that life, working in your life, will also be an example to the whole world that that can be a light to everybody else. Your life will be a light to everybody. Because when you are living for God, and you're in the right position, and you're in the right place, fulfilling the right purpose, then God will use that life right there, God will use the life that he has given you to be an example to everybody else, that he is the sustainer of life. And so, what a blessing that we see here tonight when we think about where do we live? Where do we live? Am I living in Him? As I said, the Bible tells us in the book of Acts, in Him we live and move and have our being. So where do we live? Are we living in Him tonight? Is our position in Christ right? Is our place in Him right? is our purpose being fulfilled. Listen, if we're in him, and if our position's right, as I said, and our place is right, then our purpose is gonna be fulfilled, which will be life, and our life will, in essence, be an example of the Lord Jesus. Notice he says there in verse four, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. The life of Christ in us, shining through us, and living through us, is the light to everybody else. So we ask ourselves, where do we live? And so tonight we say, okay, well, let me examine myself on where's my position and where's my place. And am I fulfilling God's purpose? Because what I wanna do is be an example of life so I can be an example of life of the one who has given me life so that I can be a light to everybody else. God bless. Let's pray tonight. Father, we come to you this evening. Thank you once again, Lord, for your goodness. Lord, I pray tonight that you'd keep us safe as we leave and go home. and that you would just give us a good week. And Lord, just once again, just as we lift up these folks on our prayer page, God, that you'd help them. And Lord, just once again, just all the folks with the hurricane and people that are hurting tonight, we just pray once again for them, God, you just touch them today. And this we pray in Jesus' name, amen.