Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
September 6, 2011

Read Ephesians 1:13-14

“In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

God wants you to be assured of his presence and power and of your future with him. What kind of father would want their child to spend their days wondering whether or not they belonged to the family? And yet so much religion is built on the false notion that you cannot know where you stand with God.  Clearly we see here in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that the opposite is true. Part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to give us assurance of eternal life.

According to Paul, the Holy Spirit comes in at the moment of belief and seals us with himself as the guarantee of our inheritance. If salvation were something that could be earned by our own goodness then surely it would be arrogant to say “I know I have eternal life.” How conceited Paul would have been to say, “There is laid up for a me a crown…”, had he thought he had earned a place in heaven. But when we understand that salvation is purely a gift of God received by simple childlike faith and there is nothing we can do to earn it, then it is no longer conceit but faith that motivates our assurance. In the same way my children can be assured that they will always have a place in my heart because I love them, we are assured that our father in heaven will not remove his Holy Spirit from us. We have an assurance based on God’s goodness, not our own delusions of righteousness.

Friend, today are you toiling beneath the merciless heat of fear? Have you become so aware of your own inadequacies that you wonder if there is a place for you in God’s family? Let’s settle your doubts with one simple question: Where is your faith resting? If you are trusting in your own integrity or goodness to get you into heaven, then be very afraid for you are very lost. But if you have placed your faith in Christ alone and are walking with him by faith, then listen to the voice of the Spirit deep within. Hear him say as Jesus often said to his disciples, “Fear not for I am with you. I am all the assurance you need. I am.”

You may be wondering if you will have a job at the end of the day, or if you will have a house at the end of the storm. But one thing you can be sure of. In him you have all you will ever need now and forever. So rest in him today.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)