November 29, 2013
Secure
By Skip Heitzig

Maybe you heard a while back about the guy who stole the keys to the Tower of London. That’s the fortress where England keeps the priceless Crown Jewels. A spokesperson admitted that their “robust” security procedures were not up to “the expected standards” in this case, but that the Crown Jewels were not at risk. However, it makes you wonder!

Our security as believers in Jesus Christ is more than “robust,” it’s guaranteed. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).

In Ephesians 1, Paul writes, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (vv. 13-14).

In ancient times, the imprint of a seal on a possession signified its ownership. You’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit, which implies God’s ownership and His ability to keep you. You’re secure because you’re in Christ.

The seal of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee that means you’re going to heaven. It’s a “done deal.” If you’re in Christ, if you’ve responded by accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, you’re His.

The word guarantee literally means down payment or first installment. Until you get to heaven, God has given you a down payment, and that’s the Holy Spirit living in you. Remember when you received Christ and got that sense of purpose and joy? For me, even today knowing God, and having that sense of ownership that His Holy Spirit is living and abiding in me, is better than anything I ever experienced as a heathen.

Yes, you’re going to heaven, but as a guarantee, as a down payment, God has given you the Spirit. When a young couple buys a home, they put a down payment on it of a certain percentage. That is a first installment to the mortgage company, a guarantee that the couple promises to pay regularly over the life of the loan.

The joy, the hope, and the purpose that you have now from the Holy Spirit living inside you is a very tiny foretaste of what heaven is going to be like. It’s the down payment; it’s just the beginning!

So, you don’t have to be worried about your security. It’s assured. The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is God’s guarantee.

Copyright © 2013 by Connection Communications. All rights reserved.

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