Joy and Peace
Do you know the difference between your standing and your state? If you don’t, you need to. Knowing the difference is critical to your Christian walk and growth. So pay attention!
Your standing is your position in heaven before God. It is determined by how God sees you.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:3, 4 KJV)
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (II Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
Your standing is eternal and unchangeable. It is a gift of grace provided to all who look to Jesus for salvation and not to themselves. As long as you are in Christ, this is how God sees you. Your standing is not based on your behavior. That means your behavior does not change your standing. It is solely a result of God’s love and grace.
Your state, however, is your condition on earth before men. It is determined by how you see God.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27 NKJV)
For we walk by faith, not by sight. (II Corinthians 5:7 NKJV)
Your state is temporal and changeable. It is a function of your circumstances and your faith. And your faith is a function of how you see God at any moment.
As long as you are in this body and on this earth, your state will be affected by your faith. See God as He is, in whatever circumstance you find yourself, and you will experience joy and peace. Fail to see Him, or see Him as He is not, and you will experience fear and condemnation.
Circumstances change. And often not in the way we would choose. In an instant, you can go from having the time of your life to being in the midst of the greatest battle you ever faced. It only takes one temptation, one person, one trial, for your feelings and behavior to go south. I know what I am talking about. I’ve been there.
Circumstances change, but your standing does not. The key to victorious living, therefore, is to remember that your standing before God is determined by how God has chosen to see you in Jesus; and that God does not permit your standing before Him in heaven to be affected by your state before men on earth. In Jesus, you are forever the righteousness of God in Christ. In Jesus, your are always holy and blameless in God’s sight.
So, when your earthly condition is out of alignment with your heavenly position, what should you do? Take your eyes off your temporal state and get them focused on your eternal standing.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Corinthians 4:17, 18 NKJV)
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4 NKJV)
Child of God, this is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. Start focusing on your standing and not on your state. Start relying on your heavenly position and stop dwelling on your earthly condition. Then joy and peace will be yours, regardless of the circumstance. Not sometimes. Always.
A Moment of Grace 
I am blessed with thy words n hungry for more…Glory be to Jehovah God!
What a breakfast i just got this morning thanks Bishop God bless you for sure he will increase you
Great and powerful, thank you so much Bishop.
“Take your eyes off your temporal state and get them focused on your eternal standing.” I needed to hear this loud and clear and I thank God for speaking through you….I am indeed encouraged in the Lord as I get to “know who I am” more and more in Christ as I continue to walk in power and victory! Amen
Awesome perspective. I will surely meditate on this. Thanks Bishop.
Awesome! Thanks Alot Daddy! Ive Been Edified By this Powerful Power Packed Message!