David knew before what we know now. . . .

For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 
Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:25–38)

If anyone doubts the power of God to reveal truth and the future, this is one fine example that He knew then and that He gave David that certainty — hundreds of years before Jesus came, was crucified, and rose again.

Yesterday I read the story of a woman recently widowed. She had three children. Her only inheritance was $20,000 and all she had. However, hearing of God's promises to take care of those who trust Him, particularly with their care when in need, she gave the entire sum to Him. Her pastor, although he told her to trust God, was a bit horrified. Yet within a few months, the woman received a call about a relative she didn’t know she had. He died and left her enough to take care of her and family for the rest of their lives.

I have a similar story about not having any money. An annual rental was due and I could not pay it. God surprised me with an order for a pet portrait from a person I’d never met and she sent the money with her order — just a few dollars more than the rental bill! I painted the portrait of her dog, mailed it to her, and have never worried about money since then. God has taken care of me.

This is the power of God. He meets our needs even before we experience them. And it also builds faith in Him. As the words above say, my sin is the reason He died and yet His love makes me safe from all threats and the recipient of His greatest gift — Himself and the incredible care of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, You are always with me, assuring me and putting my needs on Your calendar so that they are met when they come up. Forgive me for ever worrying or fretting about anything. You already know what the future holds and You have already provided whatever I will need. You are amazing!

Holy Spirit is my Guarantee . . .

 

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. (Ephesians 1:13–14)

Years ago, my friend Pat bought me a wax stick-candle and a metal stamp with my initial on it. I could use it on envelopes or documents like a legal seal, normally used to mark a legal document or guarantee the document's authenticity. Each one is unique to the government agency, corporation or notary that uses it to show that the document is validly executed, acknowledged or witnessed.

In ancient times, kings and other nobles sealed documents and other items to guarantee them. Breaking a seal would be like a slap in the face of whoever it represented. Daniel 6:17 tells how a stone was laid on the mouth of the lion’s den, and the king sealed it with his signet and the signet of his leaders to seal Daniel’s fate. In the same way, those who crucified Jesus sealed His tomb with a stone in an attempt to guarantee He stayed in there. Neither seal was effective!

When I was saved, God sealed me to guarantee my fate also, not with a stone but with the Holy Spirit. In another legal term, He is the down payment or first installment on my inheritance. Because of this Seal, God brings salvation, conviction, guidance, strength and can equip me to serve God.

He also provides assurance of my salvation and His ministry to me includes letting my emotions know when I’ve disobeyed God: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30) because He lives in me and when He grieves, I feel it!

The positive work of the Spirit is to guarantee that my salvation is sacred and secure; I am an authentic member of God’s Kingdom and family. His possession was purchased with the blood of Christ and is God’s guarantee that He will keep all the promises He has made. The Spirit is also the source of faith, for in Him I just ‘know’ that God is real, true, and with me at all times.

Lord, again I praise You for the Spirit who assures me of all that You are and do and who enables faith and obedience. I also rejoice in the imagery of a seal. You have guaranteed your promises to me with this wonderful down payment. May I not grieve or quench You with selfishness but be filled with the Spirit and walk in Your will each day.

HAVE A LOOK at the story of Esther noting what role the signet ring played in what happened to Haman in chapter 3 and to Mordecai in chapter 8.

 

Sealed by God

Years ago a friend gave me a wax candle shaped like a flat pencil and a SEAL with my initials on it. The idea is ancient; melt the wax in a blob on a document and stamp it with the seal to confirm or guarantee my approval or identification with that document.

This practice is common in the OT but does have a different inference. For example, Isaiah 8:13–16 says:

“But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken. Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.”

The prophet makes an important statement about the place of God in their lives and what He will do with their enemies. Then he says to seal this teaching to His people.

Later in Isaiah 29:11, he says that God has closed the minds of His disobedient people so that “The vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

This verse shows the power of God to put His stamp of approval on people, and to deal with unbelief by sealing minds so they cannot discern what He says or will do, or what He wants from them. He says in Daniel 12:9. “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.” No one can understand unless God unseals His words.

In the NT, the first use of this term is the human sealing of Jesus’ tomb — which did not stop Him from rising from the dead. In speaking of Himself, Jesus said in John 3:33, “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” Human effort to stop or cover up the resurrection was a failure. Those who believe it happened do know without a doubt that whatever God says and does is true. His seal verifies it!

 This seal is deeply marked in the hearts of God’s people. He verifies what He has done, not with wax and a stamp but with the power of the Holy Spirit:

2 Corinthians 1:22. God “who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Ephesians 1:13. “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.”

Ephesians 4:30. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

2 Timothy 2:19. “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.’ ”

In the very end of days, John’s vision includes a scroll that is sealed. Only Jesus Christ is “worthy to open it” and when He does, judgments pour forth. This section in Revelation 5 to 7 is not pretty but there is hope. The God who sealed judgment and is releasing it says in Revelation 7:3, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

And that happens, just before the Lamb opens the seventh seal. Then there is silence in heaven for about half an hour and those without the mark are judged. Satan is thrown “into the pit, and (God) shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” Then John is told in Revelation 22:10, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Jesus told His disciples that they could bind or release — making our power in prayer a picture of God’s power to seal. His seal can bind and release, yet also marks and protects His people. To know that I am sealed or marked as His child is a vital part of living by faith. His seal is truth stamped on my heart by the Holy Spirit as He speaks to me in Scripture and in the experiences of life. To know that He can open bound hearts to see and believe truth is important when I pray for seemingly oblivious people who have little or no understanding of what Jesus Christ has done for them. God as the One who seals and deepens my faith in Him and the faith of others.