Seize the Moment – Day 455
Come Under Right Authority!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 15.
Jesus made it very clear that living your life with great faith is to live your life under authority.
Under whose authority do you live your life?
Pharaoh gives us an interesting insight into the human condition—we only submit to the authority of that which we recognize. Listen to the first interaction between Moses and Pharaoh in Exodus 5:1-2,
And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
It will take many more exchanges and ten horrific plagues to convince Pharaoh of his error in judgment about God’s authority over him, and until that time, there would be significant loss of life and a great devastation to the Egyptian land and way of life.
It would take a great and divine compulsion for Pharaoh’s heart to relinquish control. Because this LORD that Pharaoh did not know about nor would recognize as having any authority over his sovereign rule of Egypt would demonstrate His ultimate sovereignty and absolute power over all things, with or without Pharaoh’s approval.
The same is true in our own lives!
Seize the moment and accept God’s sovereign rule of your life today—take on the yoke of Jesus Christ and come under the authority of God. His desire is for you to be free of Pharaoh, both from being one and from being under one. Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light.
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Seize the Moment – Day 454
Excuses! Excuses!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 14.
I remember when I first experienced God’s call upon my life to be a pastor. I had a list of excuses including bad choices from my past that I felt disqualified me, ongoing struggles in my life, and the biggest one of all, my glaring inability to sing. Excuses, excuses!
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had joined a long list of people that spans thousands of years of history. What is the common denominator of this list of people? People who were called by God, but who made excuses of why they weren’t qualified, if not found reasons for why they were disqualified.
In Exodus 4:10-13, Moses made excuses to God on why he can’t be the right guy for the job:
Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.”
Audaciously, this conversation came after God had given Moses three supernatural signs of God’s endorsement: 1) the staff turning into a serpent; 2) his hand having leprosy and then being cleansed of it; and 3) turning water from the Nile into blood.
Moses tried to convince God that he was disqualified, but God wasn’t buying it, because God has a whole different way of seeing things.
Are you currently making excuses on why God can’t use you to do something?
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Live Like a Champion – Week 24
“The Promise of an Anointing!”
1 John 2:20 (NAS95)
Last week, we learned that when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are sealed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of promise. This promise of a seal secures you in two things: 1) your identity as a child of God, and 2) your eternal life with God.
We are signed, sealed, and delivered in the Trinitarian fellowship of God because God has called us to be a part of His team to go into the world and represent Him—we are Image Bearers, ambassadors of Jesus Christ, messengers of His Gospel, ministers of reconciliation. People see God’s love in and through us because it is the Holy Spirit who verifies us as God’s Image Bearers. We are authenticated by the Holy Spirit, sealed for this purpose and anointed to do this very work.
We are now a part of God’s rescue mission and this week’s promise is an essential part of God’s plan of salvation. The play of the week is “The Promise of an Anointing!” The memory verse for this promise is 1 John 2:20, “You have an anointing from the Holy One.”
Let’s look at this promise in the context of 1 John 2:20-27:
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
To summarize, when you are anointed it means you are consecrated or set apart (chosen) as a person for a special work of God. Literally, you are declared holy by God. The anointing means that you have the presence and power of the Holy Spirit “abiding” in you. According to Peter in 2 Peter 1:3, the anointing is “His divine power [that] has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”
And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
- “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12).
- “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18).
- “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:25-26).
- “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).
- “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-8).
- “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:13-15).
This is Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the One who sees to the fulfillment of Jesus’ promises for God’s glory. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he stated in Philippians 2:13-16,
It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Why are you anointed with the Holy Spirit? TO MAKE YOU BECOME… It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that fulfills in and through us the promise of Jesus Christ to all who follow Him! God is the means by which we can partner with Him to do His will for His glory! All glory to God!
Church, the question is not whether or not you are anointed, because it is impossible for you to be His Church apart from this promise! As a member of the Body of Christ, you are His anointed!
The question is whether or not you are walking in the anointing and experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit in you!
You can listen to this message from Pastor Jerry here:
Or you can watch the video by clicking Here.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Ex 30:25.
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Seize the Moment – Day 452
What makes a hymn a hymn?
Ephesians 5:18b-19 (NLT)
“Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” (NLT)
Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are all sung in praise of God. The difference depends on where they have been taken from, their music and words, and the instruments accompanying them.
Last week, we learned that Isaac Watts began writing in the 17th century hymns and spiritual songs because his father’s church was tired of just singing the Psalms. But we were encouraged to do this all the way back to the 1st century church.
A Psalm is a song that is taken from the Book of Psalms and was accompanied by stringed instruments and percussion instruments.
Hymns are formal and traditional songs sung by the congregation that normally have four-part harmony written out for them. Many times, the lyrics were written out and then sung to classical music, traditional cultural songs and even using the melodies of songs that were sung in the local taverns. (How scandalous is that?)
Spiritual songs are normally described as the inspired and spontaneous songs given by the Holy Spirit Himself. They are influenced by different cultural and musical styles.
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Seize the Moment – Day 451
Friend of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, June 11.
What do you call your friends?
Exodus 3 tells the famous story of God’s call of Moses at the burning bush. This is a magnificent story which captures a dynamic dialogue between God and Moses. Verses 13-15 highlights a significant exchange in the conversation:
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”
Wow! God reveals His personal name to Moses. This was unparalleled at this time in human history, but this would become the normative pattern of Moses’ relationship with God. In Exodus 33:11, the Bible explains, “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”
God invites Moses to be His friend and to go on His behalf to rescue His people from slavery and oppression.
Are you a friend of God?
Jesus followed His Father’s example in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Seize the moment and answer Jesus’ invitation to be His friend and to go on His behalf to rescue His people from slavery and oppression.
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Seize the Moment – Day 450
The Formative Years of a Hero!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 10.
Exodus 2 introduces us to Moses! Moses is the most revered man in Jewish history and one of the most honored men in the Bible. Moses was a hero!
Just as Exodus 1 sets the stage for the great deliverance of God’s people, Exodus 2 gives the back story of the hero who would deliver His people from slavery. Just as Exodus 1 covers nearly 400 years of Israel’s history, Exodus 2 covers nearly 80 years of Moses’s history.
The first forty years of Moses’ life includes his dramatic rescue as a baby placed in the wicker basket on the Nile River to escape Pharaoh’s murderous edicts (verses 1-9), his being brought into Pharaoh’s household to be raised as a prince of Egypt (verse 10), and his murder of an Egyptian and subsequent fleeing from Pharaoh’s wrath into the wilderness (verses 11-15). The second forty years captures Moses’ life as a shepherd in the land of Midian and has a family (verses 15-22).
The most important thing to realize about Moses is that he was formed by God’s passion to rescue His people. Listen to Exodus 2:23-25,
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
God’s answer was Moses! Moses was formed into the man God could use to rescue His people through these 80 years of life experiences.
Seize the moment and trust God as He uses all of your life experiences to form your character for God’s purposes and glory!
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Seize the Moment – Day 449
The Power of Fear!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 9.
Fear is a powerful motiving force!
I know this from personal experience. For example, when I was in the US Army Airborne School, I had moments of fear that I would not be landing in the airplane that I was flying in. But, as a 19-year old West Point Cadet, my fear of the power of those in authority over me was greater than my fear of death.
What do you fear?
Fear can be used for good or evil. Egypt used it for evil to enslave the growing nation of Israel after the deaths of Joseph and his brothers. Listen to the new Pharaoh leverage fear in Exodus 1:8-10,
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”
Pharaoh used fear to get his people to agree to enslaving a whole ethnic group of people. Furthermore, the Pharaoh’s intensifying fear of the Hebrews caused him to command the murder of every male baby. He commanded the midwives do this in verse 16, but watch how they respond in verse 17, “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.”
These women defied Pharaoh’s evil order. They put their own lives at risk and faced the most powerful person in their world. Why? Because there fear of God was greater than the fear of their own death!
Seize the moment and put God first in every area of your life. The fear of the Lord has the power to cast out all fear!
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Seize the Moment – Day 448
A Happy Ending!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 8.
I love it when stories have happy endings!
Joseph’s life was epic; it was filled with great suffering, but every step of the way Joseph trusted God’s providence, especially with the ending of his story.
After Joseph’s father died, Joseph’s brothers became insecure about how Joseph would treat them. In many ways, they saw their father as their safety blanket, but it was in this dramatic moment that Joseph demonstrated that the forgiveness he had previously given his brothers in Genesis 45:4-15 was genuine.
Listen to Joseph speak to his brothers in Genesis 50:19-21,
“Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph gives God all the glory for anything good that has come from his life, including how God used those worst moments of his life.
Genesis ends with Joseph’s death in Egypt, but his final request to his brothers sets up the reader for the next book, the book of the Exodus. On his death bed, Joseph asked to be buried in the Promised Land with his father. Little did Joseph know that even though his story was coming to a happy ending, the epic story of the nation of Israel was about to dive deep into a very long and dark valley, as it would take over 400 years for Joseph’s request to be fulfilled by Moses (Exodus 13:19).
Seize the moment and trust God for the happy ending of your story and trust God for the ongoing epic story of His creation!
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Seize the Moment – Day 447
Blessings and Curses!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 7.
Genesis 49 records the scene of Israel calling his twelve sons to his death bed so that he can bless them. Verse 28 summarizes, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.”
The phrase that is revealing is that each one received, “the blessing appropriate to him.”
When you read this chapter you realize that for some of the sons this was a moment of honor and for others this was a moment of shame. Whereas Judah and Joseph were given a lion’s share of Israel’s good fortune, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi received curses. It must have been a painful moment as these three were remembered by their father for their worst moment of life.
Can you imagine being remembered forever for the worst decision of your life? What horror!
The thought of that, for me, is deeply disturbing and it causes me to stop and ponder. Just like Jesus’ teaching about the goats and the sheep in Matthew 25:31-46 when the sheep are blessed and the goats are cursed based on the actions of their lives.
Can you imagine your eternity being based on the actions of your life? We all fall short of the glory of God!
Thank you God that eternal life is found in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. As Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (cf. John 3:14-18).
Seize the moment and choose blessings through a life of faith in Jesus Christ. Life and death, blessings and curses, are before us every day.
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Live Like a Champion – Week 23
The Promise of a Seal!
Ephesians 1:13c (NAS95)
Two weeks ago we celebrated Pentecost Sunday and the birth of the Church through the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which historically occurred fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection in order to further and more deeply imbed God’s salvific work through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit with God’s work through Israel. We discussed the ancient and biblical doctrine of salvation and the importance of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for eternal life. The Holy Spirit is an essential part of your salvation and today we are going to learn more.
The play of the week is “The Promise of a Seal!” The memory verse for this promise is Ephesians 1:13c, “You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
The sealing happens when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you have not yet received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are still dead in your sins and your spirit has not yet been quickened to life through this indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in you. As Paul said in Romans 8:9-11,
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
To understand today’s memory verse, let’s study the context of Paul’s words from Ephesians 1:3-14,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Amen! Let’s unpack this to reinforce the work of God in our salvation and what Paul is communicating to us about the partnership between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God the Father is the great architect of God’s plan to create and redeem creation (Ephesians 1:3-6).
- The Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
- The Father chose us before the foundation of the world.
- In love, the Father predestined us and adopted us to be His children. He willed it and it was done!
- The Father freely bestows His grace on us; He lavishes the riches of His grace on us.
- God the Son makes the provision with His crucified and resurrected body to fulfill God’s plan (Ephesians 1:7-12).
- It is in the Son and through the Son that the Father blesses us and adopts us.
- The Son is the grace freely bestowed on us.
- It is through the Son’s shed blood on the Cross that we have redemption, the forgiveness of our trespasses.
- The Son is the one who makes known the wisdom and insight of the mystery of God’s will.
- The Son is summing up all things, in heaven and on earth.
- The Son grants us access to our inheritance.
- God the Holy Spirit is the promised pledge, the seal, of God’s plan (Ephesians 1:13-14).
- The Holy Spirit seals us in Christ as the pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
What does it mean that the Holy Spirit seals us?
Here is a simple explanation of what a seal meant in Bible times. We all know that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Matthew 27:66 describes, “And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.” The seal they set on the stone “refers to pressing wax or clay between the stone and the tomb entrance and then stamping it with an imperial insignia.”[1] The seal on the tomb meant that if you rolled the stone away, you would incur the wrath of the Roman government. The stone blocked the way as it was heavy and cumbersome, but it was the power behind the seal that prevented people from removing the stone.
First, the promise of a seal secures our identity in Christ!
Think of all the software that’s out there that does facial recognition or thumbprint recognition. In the context of that image, it’s as if, when our identity is checked, the Holy Spirit’s presence in us allows us to be identified as Christ-like, and not as merely ourselves. We have the thumbprint of Christ in us because we have the Holy Spirit. Holiness is the Holy Spirit in you—God abiding in you—not that you are doing certain things, but that holy activities are flowing from God’s holy presence in you!
In 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
“For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”
The Holy Spirit in our lives is like the seal on milk or drinks, like the seal on medicine. You know it is what it is promised to be when it is sealed. If you find something not sealed, you question whether it is what it says it is or wonder whether it has been tampered with.
This is why we cannot live the Christian life apart from the seal of the Holy Spirit. Just as the gifts of the Spirit demonstrate our ministry, the fruit of the Spirit authenticates that we are in Christ Jesus.
Second, the promise of a seal secures your eternal life with God!
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
When you think of the Holy Spirit, you can think of the mail or a carrier service you trust. We seal, address, and stamp a letter for the USPS expecting it to get to the address it was intended. It is a federal crime to tamper with the mail or impede its rightful delivery. A seal is a sign of both ownership and authorship! When something is sealed, you know who it came from and that they authored it.
The good news is that the Holy Spirit never misses a delivery! The seal of the Holy Spirit allows us to live with the security of God’s grace and love towards us in Christ Jesus! God is the author and finisher!
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Our security in Christ is because of the promise of the seal, which happens at our conversion, when we enter into eternal life. We are safe in God! Not from bombs, gunmen, cancer, financial woes, family heartache, accidents, betrayals, or any other messes that occur by living in a broken world, but we are securely embraced by God through His redemption plan for His creation.
We are not only invited and welcomed into a relationship with the Triune God, but the triumphant work of the Holy Spirit is to authenticate God’s presence in our lives by putting His seal on us. We are now a part of God’s redemption plan and how we live our lives matters in God’s plan.
The blood of Jesus Christ has covered all of our sins for eternity (the payment is made!) and the Holy Spirit has sealed us for eternity (the guarantee is given!). It is done!
Why? Because the Holy Spirit as the seal of God’s promise proves we belong to God as His children and authenticates us as His approved representatives to the world. As Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 5:17-20,
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
The Holy Spirit is the visible sign that we belong to God. And we are sent by God to do His will; we are under His authority! The Holy Spirit is the sign—the seal—of the authority and power by which we are authorized, and through which we are empowered, to accomplish God’s will. We are bound together with God and with one another as the body of Christ through the seal of the Holy Spirit.
Over the next two weeks, we are going to learn that the promise of the seal of God goes hand in hand with God’s promises of anointing and power in the Christian life. As we progress in the sanctification process, we have greater awareness and access to the Holy Spirit as He is activated within us, more and more.
While it is important that we feel secure in God’s love because of the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we must know that our security is so that we can go out into the world and shine God’s light and love with anointing and power as His ambassadors—we are His messengers, His image bearers!
You can listen to this message from Pastor Jerry here:
Or you can watch the video by clicking Here.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Mt 27:66.
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