Teacher’s Copy The word “positioning” is more of a modern term.
It is a geographic
JRM Family Camp 2018
Theme: The Year of God’s Positioning
Small Group Lesson 1
Title: God’s Positioning System
Text: You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand
firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and
the LORD will be with you. 2 Chronicles 20:17
Brief Background:
In 2 Chronicles 20, the Moabites, Ammonites, Meunites and others
attack Judah. Judah was being invaded by a confederacy of nations.
They were hopelessly outnumbered. There were no human
solutions. They became dismayed and terrified. Their plight was
overwhelming. Judah was weak militarily. King Jehoshaphat and his
people set their hearts to seek the Lord, pray, and to fast. “The Spirit
of God came in the midst of the congregation…saying, Be not afraid
nor dismayed…for the battle is not yours, but God’s (20:14-15).
Jahaziel prophesies the deliverance of Judah—Judah’s attackers
war among and destroy themselves.
Think: (1) What kind of battle are you facing today? Is it financial
battle, spiritual battle, relational battle, or physical battle? What God
is telling, and teaching you about it?
(2) In the midst of a problem where is your focus? On the problem?
On the Lord? On yourself? What are some good ways to fix your
eyes on the Lord?
I. The word “position” in 2 Chronicles 20:17
It means to stand still, and to station yourself. It is a Divine military
command – a warfare order to stand still. A strategic position to do
nothing but to wait upon God and see His salvation. A supernatural
kind of battle where God is personally engaged; giving an assurance
to His people that they will be victorious by His power.
Words & Ideas associated to the term: “Position”
*set yourself, to establish, station yourself, plant, status, task,
function, calling, appointment, placement, engagement, administer,
deliver, wait, fix, encounter.
term denoting a certain location. Literally, it also refers to posture.
Spiritually, it is used to designate our position or stand in Jesus. It is
also used as a means of promotion. While in the OT, the modern
churches sometimes imply the word “positioning” as (God’s) planting.
Hence, it is used interchangeably (in Jer., Isa., Eze.); “to establish” in
its effect.
II. What are your best Position in facing your invincible enemy?
1. Position yourself in humility by merely praying, and relying in the
Promises of God. Watch God’s work. (2 Chro. 20:3-9)
2. Position yourself to defeat the enemy. God will fight your battle.
(2 Chro. 20:16)
3. Position yourself in God’s abiding presence. (2 Chro. 20:17d)
4. Position yourself to praise God in spite of your circumstances, and
through your circumstances. (2 Chro. 20:21-23)
God is positioning King Jehoshaphat and the Israelites into His
presence where they can witness the power of God by simply waiting
upon God without struggling. We can be confident in a time of crisis if
we let our great need drive us to prayer and faith in our great God.
III. The Year of Positioning
This year is a season of God’s Appointment and repositioning of His
people. God is drawing us into His presence in a greater way for at
least three purposes:
1.) To know who we really are in Him. – The Object of His
Sovereignty
2) To know who He really is, in all His majesty. – Faithful, Good,
and Merciful
3) To know our real purpose. – Positioned in Christ, Planted in
His Kingdom
IV. JRM –Positioned by God as His Army
The enemy may contend our faith in different forms, but God has
positioned us to win the battle. We are confident that we will be
thriving in the face of many difficulties and trials. Our best position is
to pray and fast. God is able to preserve His army because the seed
of His Word has been planted into our hearts. The spoken Word of
Christ is both spirit and life.
JRM- Positioned by God as His Planting
God’s Presence is an assurance of God’s Protection System. God is
drawing us closer to His Presence for us to make sure of our calling,
and purpose. Sometimes God has to reposition us to make the
places that got crooked to be straight! Also, God is starting to
position us where He wants us to be. If you are seeking God to be
what He wants you to be, you will feel His hand gently turning you
spiritually. When God wins the battle – there is always a bountiful
blessing. God will grow you in a place where the enemy has been
uprooted, and His children are being planted.
The kind of God’s repositioning could be spiritual, geographical,
economic, social (relational), and vocational (career wise).
a.) How do you get God to position you in His venture of
planting?
Humility and Repentance
You acknowledge sin and repent of it. “If my people which are called
by my name shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face,
and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin, and heal their land (2 Chro. 7:14).” Judah and
Jerusalem were suffering from a “heart problem.” Jehoshaphat had
also a character flaw of making wrongful alliances with the godless
King Ahab, but he was a man who followed the Lord and brought
spiritual reform to the nation (2 Chro. 19:4-11). He called a national
prayer meeting and encouraged the people to trust God in the face of
this overwhelming crisis. They did it, and literally won the war by
prayer alone, without swinging a single sword!
b.) How will you know where God has planted you?
Seek God as revealed in His Word
You need to search and calibrate yourself and find out exactly where
you are planted. Ask God and He shall show you. Remember, you
need to be first positioned if God is going to give you a visitation. And
ask yourself if you are indeed planted in good soil? In Ezekiel 19:13-
14 shows you the disadvantages of been planted in the wrong place.
If you are planted in a dry and thirsty ground, you have no fruit, the
devourer works against you and you lose the rights of divine
authority. And if one is not establish well sooner or later is to be
uprooted.
c.) How God positions in His own Choice?
In His Manifest Presence
When God appoints His servants, he has given them the full package
of the things of need the child of God may later seek. Any man or
woman of God is full packaged by God with an anointing that meets
the needs of those who come to him or her. And no man or woman
of God sends himself or herself to the Fields of God. (1 Samuel 9:1-
6) God appoints and sends them. These men and women of God
have no will to choose the place where they shall put up their places
of worship rather God is the one assigning and giving them locations.
Such places that are ordained of God are marked with the manifest
works of the Spirit of God and Presence of God.
V. How to respond to God’s System of Positioning?
1. Stay at the RIGHT place, time, and people. (see Jer. 16:1,2) You
cannot be watered well if you’re not planted in a specific field of the
Lord. A good plant remains planted and is taken good care of unlike
a wild plant.
You need to change you location to change your position. When you
CHANGE YOUR position other people will change. The people you
surround yourself with are important to your faith. Association
determines your faith. You will need to leave some of your
associates, friends and relatives. (Pro. 27:8) You need to change a
number of environments: mental, psychological, physical, spiritual,
etc.
“Your personal responsibility is to establish your sacred enclosure,
hence, to be responsible in your daily walk with God.” - BVAJ
2. Live a life of obedience. When a man acts in obedience to God’s
word there is a blessing for it – Gen. 12:4, Deut. 6:24, Isa. 1:19 . For
a blessing to go into operation, you must live a life of obedience. Our
obedience of God should be coupled by our faith in God and in His
Word. Essential to our spiritual stability is to be grounded in God’s
Word (Psalms 1).
3. Position yourself for Fruitfulness. The word of God says in the
book of 2 Samuel 7:10, “Moreover I will appoint a Place for my
people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of
their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of
wickedness afflict them any more.” God is a God of Order. When he
plants, it’s because He has a good reason over the Plant. God’s
heart is focused on growth, bearing of fruit and after a good harvest
of all He has planted.
When one is divinely connected to the Source (God) and gets
planted, such a person will be planted in God’s House. God is
against backwardness, retrogression and immaturity. As the book of
Psalm 92:13 says, “those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God.” We need to learn that the
positioning of the child of God in the right place and right time will
show productiveness and growth in life. Bloom where God has
planted you.
VI. Group Discussion: (Share your thoughts)
1. Can you share a “battle” God has won for you?
2. Agree or disagree? The enemy will challenge your position in
Christ to abort and discredit the intended purpose of God in
your life?
3. Are all Christians need to be positioned by God? Why?
4. What “kingdom values” we need to enhance for us to be
thriving and productive in God’s kingdom?
Title: God’s Unstoppable Goodness
Small Group Lesson 2
Text: “ I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never
stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that
they will never turn away from me.” – (Jeremiah 32:40)
I.Think: Do you ever grow impatient with those who are out for
themselves and often do so well, while those who want to please
God suffer? (see Jer. 12:1-2) Do you sometimes feel God is unfair?
-Commit your frustrations to the Lord.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” – Eleanor
Roosevelt
I. Introduction:
Are you desperate today in some area of your life? Do you have
questions where there are no answers but God? If you are
desperate, you are in the prime place to shift into the goodness of
God. Your impossibility opens the way for the possibilities of God –
the very God who is greater than the universe and greater than every
obstacle you may be facing. Desperation opens the way for the
goodness of God.
“I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled” -Jeremiah 1:12
Then the Lord said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you,
and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion” (Exodus 33:19).
II. What Blocks God’s Goodness in Our Lives?
1) Unbelief
If we aren’t believing or living His Word, we can miss out on His
goodness to us!
-“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
- Jeremiah 32:27
- Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one
will perish by following their example of disobedience. (Heb. 4:11)
2) Fear
-Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow,
and the LORD will be with you. 2 Chronicles 20:17
- Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you
are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table
before me in the presence of my enemies…. (Ps. 23:4-5)
3) Pride
-Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant… (Jer. 13:15)
-If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my
eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the LORD’s
flock will be taken captive. (Jer. 13:17).
4) Greed, Immorality, & Idolatry
“…because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. 26 I will
pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen your
adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution! I have
seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you,
Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?” (Jer. 13:25-27)
III. If God is good why evil things happen to good
people?
When things are going bad that does not mean God has stopped
doing good. Questions about human suffering, life’s uncertainties,
and natural catastrophes remain a mystery to many. Theodicy
means the defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence in view of
the existence of evil; therefore God is inherently Sovereign. He never
caused evil, and not panicky of the realities of evil as a result of the
fall. God’s promise is not merely divine propaganda, designed to
pacify or calm us in times of distress. A future and hope are truly ours
(Jer. 29:11). Yet the promise of grace and renewal is never very far
from the word of judgment. He is not merely punitive but seeks our
highest good in His own Just and Righteous terms. He cannot
completely be HOLY and loving alone without being divinely Just. In
His compassion God will restore, and it is demonstrated through the
death of Jesus Christ which is the Justice of God. He holds out the
hope of a great reversal, a time which the nations will learn from the
people of God how to fear and follow Him.
IV. How to Position yourself in God’s Goodness
We are living in a sinking sand world. The best refuge to position our
self is in the goodness zone of God. He is loving, kind, gentle, and
gracious.
The prophetic ‘sighs and whys’ (Ah Sovereign Lord) are all too
familiar. But in the midst of chaos or personal trials, hold on to God’s
promise: “I will never stop doing good to them”
a. Maximize every Opportunity
Do not take every God-given opportunity for granted. Capitalize the
moment, exploit, assume, produce, and deliver until your capacity
and potential is being maximize to the fullest. (Eccle. 9:10)
“It is not just a matter of your gift, talent, intelligence, and
preparations, but your time of opportunity.” – Dr. Billy Graham.
b. Face your Adversary
Do not retreat. Attact the enemy in its strategic position. God will fight
for you if you fight His cause. Adversity has Advantages. You can
walk at your war zone with your head still held high. (2 Chro. 20:17,
Ps. 35:1, 2 Tim. 4:7)
c. Don’t Quit Dreaming
If you know your position in God you will align your life according to
His purpose, and plans. Fulfilling the vision and dreams of God
would be unnegotiable to you if you believe He has appointed you to
realize it. So keep on discovering, learning, and innovating. (Isa.
32:8)
V. Group Discussion: (Share your thoughts)
1. If God is Sovereign in good times and bad times; do you
agree that His punishment over Israel is a deterrent move of
God? Why?
2. What are the common misconceptions regarding the
goodness of God? And what would be your biblical
explanation to straighten it?
3. Try to imagine, can you describe the face (feeling) of a loving
God rejoicing over our blessing and fortune? When was the
last moment you are most satisfied for being right with God?
4. How to remain in the “goodness zone” of God?
Small Group Lesson 3
Title: God’s Strategic Appointment
Text: I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them
in this land with all my heart and soul. (Jer. 32:41)
Brief Background
Jeremiah was the son of a priest (Jer. 1:1). Jeremiah was a prophet
in Judea. Jeremiah began his ministry about a century after Isaiah.
He began his work during the reign of King Josiah, and he continued
right on through the Babylonian captivity. He is the one who
predicted the seventy years’ captivity in Babylon.
“I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer.1:5b)
The name Jeremiah means God exalts, or God sends, or God
APPOINTS.
I. Comment on this: Israel’s Mission
God called Israel to be His people for the sake of His world. Israel
was a particular people, called into a particular relationship (the
covenant), for the sake of the whole world (all nations).
Think: What changes have taken place in your community about
which you feel partly guilty, partly powerless? Why do we lack
courageous prophetic interpretations of contemporary events today?
1. God’s Universal Appointment
What was the original mandate of God to man?
You are Appointed to Rule (Authority)
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth
upon the earth. - Gen. 1:28
As a matter of fact, man was blessed from the beginning, but he lost
it through sin. What he was blessed with was cursed when he was
banished out of the Garden of Eden. Before you come to Jesus, all
the positions and possessions you have is cursed. It is Jesus that
lifts up this curse for the blessing and restoration.
2. God’s Selective Appointment
What was the calling of God for Israel?
1.) Light for the Gentiles – Isa. 49:6b
“I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to
the ends of the earth.”
2.) Treasured Possession – Exo. 19:5 Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
“…then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession” surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matt. 28:18-20)
3.) A holy nation – Exo. 19:6 …”and a holy nation”
“Our highest position in earth is to become a child of God, and our
4.) Kingdom of priest – Exo. 19:6 highest achievement is to become a servant of God.” - BVAJ
“Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests”
II. Reasons for not Fulfilling God’s Appointment:
3. God’s Redemptive Appointment 1. Failure to recognize life’s Purpose–no sense of purpose, destiny,
What is the highest calling of God for sinners? and meaning.
The central message of the bible is about the love of God. God’s call 2. Complacent – Indifferent, lack of concern, satisfied, mediocre,
to all sinners is to accept His salvation. lazy.
3. No vision – ignorance of Truth, no fresh revelation of God & His
The Similarity of Jeremiah and Jesus Appointment cause.
Jeremiah Jesus Christ 4. Earth bound not heaven bound - humanism, materialism,
1. Self-appointed pluralism.
prophets Jer. 29:27 Jn. 8:53 5. Lack of Fervor – without passion, not Spirit-filled, powerless,
2. Wept over the city of lifeless.
Jerusalem Jer. 23:17 Lk. 19:41 6. Disobedient to Jesus Christ’ Great Commission - lack of
3. Mocked by their compassion
enemies & brethren Jer. 20:7 Lk. 18:31,32 Appointed with every Spiritual blessing
4. Conspired against to We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly
places in Christ (Ephe. 1:3). The question is, are we positioned to
secretly be killed Jer. 18:23 Jn. 11:53
receive them? Nobody else can do your assignment! He begins to
5. Considered traitor Jer. 2:8.26 Lk. 23:2,5 give us revelations of his purpose. Every believer is supernaturally
6. Rejected by his empowered and gifted by the Lord of the Harvest to fully see that His
people Jer. 11:21 Lk. 4:16-30 plants flourish and bear much fruit. The indwelling power of the Holy
7. Led as a lamb to one Spirit will move us to do greater things and supernatural exploits to
slaughter Jer. 11:19 Isa. 53:7 advance the kingdom of God, and to harvest more souls. God is
8. Innocent blood Jer. 26:15 Matt. 27:4 most glorified when the lost people are transported into His kingdom
of light. The goodness of God will cause us to be relevant in our
The Bible's greatest wonder has to be Jesus Christ and His way of society and a blessing to next generation.
redemption. The book of Jeremiah holds many Messianic prophecies
Group discussion: (Share your thoughts)
that show a beautiful picture of the coming Savior and His Kingdom.
1. What do you learn from the life and message of Jeremiah?
The scathing rebukes and the condemnation preached by Jeremiah
Do you think serving the Lord was a pleasant task for
is overshadowed by the consolation and promises from God
Jeremiah? Would you have liked his job?
concerning the coming Messiah.
2. Is it possible that God’s good purpose for you be aborted, or
4.God’s Apostolic Appointment forfeited? If yes, give some example in the bible.
What is the Great Commission of Jesus to the end-time Church? 3. If in the time of Jeremiah he depicted the death of the coming
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth of the Messiah; in your time what would be your best action or
has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, position would you commit after the resurrection of Jesus?
baptizing them in a the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy