Hebrews 11: 1 “Now faith is
confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” NIV Bible
I remember
as a teenager the great evangelist Billy Graham coming to Sydney, Australia in
1979. He was interviewed on TV which went well until Billy indicated that he
knew with absolute certainty that he would go to heaven.
My memory
was that the journalist appeared annoyed and even incredulous by such an
affirmation. After all how could Billy make such a claim?
I assume the
interviewer mistakenly thought Billy was boasting about his own goodness but he
wasn’t he was boasting in the saving power of Jesus. As the verse says he was
confident in what he hoped for.
For us who
follow Jesus we also experience the dead set unshakeable certainty that one day we too will be with Jesus in
heaven.
Why? Because
we trust NOT
in our own goodness, beauty, effort or comparisons with others, No we TRUST ONLY in Jesus, fully human, yet fully God, seated in
power next to God, having defeated death he proved he could forgive our
rejection of Him and bring us to heaven where He rules in majesty.
Sometimes when
life gets tough or we take pride in our money and lifestyle, we lose sight of
this and we can feel like this is not true, maybe we are not saved, maybe it is
not real, maybe our sin is too great, maybe there is no heaven, maybe we do
okay without God? These are some of the
doubts and prideful thoughts that can wage war against our faith.
BE ENCOURAGED; despite our roller coaster emotions
the Holy Spirit assures us in our inner being that we are beloved of the Most
High God as He has placed His Spirit within us which “testifies with our Spirit
that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16
That is the
best assurance ever because THE SPIRIT OF GOD CANNOT LIE !! 1 John 5:6
BE ENCOURAGED because as the Apostle John explains
when we truly believe by the grace of God our lives will show 5 clear signs;
1. Our belief, we acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God and is the
Saviour of the world and His Spirit lives in us. I John 5:13 – 16
2. Our spiritual need, we are realistic about sin. We are sinners and need
forgiveness. 1 John 1: 8,9
3. Our obedience, we choose to obey God and His commands because we truly love
Him. 1 John 2: 3- 6
4. Our love, we [want and work towards the best] or love our fellow
believers, really, all the time, even when they are hard to love. By God’s
grace alone. 1 John 4; 7-11
5. Our rejection, we reject all the lusts of the world and the prides of life
that have been put there by Satan in order to lead us astray, away from the
truth and love of God. 1 John 2; 15 – 17
As believers we walk the narrow plank with the absolute certainty that
Jesus is real and our path leads to heaven, our lives are far from perfect but
as we grow in Christ our lives will be increasingly marked by the Spirit of God
in us. Does mine and your life display the marks of God ? Lets talk to God about it.
