Signed, Sealed & Delivered

Oftentimes we are in a state of waiting. Waiting for the next opportunity to open up, the next promotion at work, the next paycheck, the next "better" season of life. We praise Him when the going is good. We plead with the Father and tell Him we will forever sing His praises if He will just send those blessings down upon us. We only like to praise Him for what He has already done in expectation that our praise will have a good return of yet another one of those fruitful God given blessings. Yes, there is blessing in a life of praising God, but when will we realize the grandest blessing has already been bestowed upon us? What's the old saying? "The blessings come down when the praises go up!" Don't you see the blessings have already come down upon us in Christ Jesus? Don't you understand that God sent His spotless Son to save you? Every single spiritual blessing is ours as believers in Christ, because we are In Christ Jesus.

Paul states in Ephesians 1:3 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God no longer looks at the flawed sinner we are, but at the perfection of who Christ is IN us. It is for this reason, we get to experience the spiritual blessings we do not deserve. There are three ways to experience spiritual blessings. We are chosen. We are redeemed. We are sealed.

In Ephesians 1:4-6 Paul states, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."

God predestined us, and unfortunately we all chose sin first over Him. I'm so thankful for a Father who followed alongside of me patiently, lovingly, faithfully. With expectancy He waited for my adoption to go through. See God chose me. He chooses each and every one of you. He will adopt each and every one of you whom chooses to be in Christ Jesus, into His Sonship- His kingdom as a child of God. He is the Father and we are the Royal Sons and Daughters of the King. Praise God. Notice the run on sentence in versus 4-6. Our blessings are bestowed by Him and they keep going, no room for a break. They are continuous and continually blessing us whether we realize it or not. We are to send praises to Him at all times.

Ephesians 1:7 Paul states, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."

He sent His Son to redeem you. There was separation. A dark saddened separation from God that started in the garden. There was a debt to be paid. He paid it. Therefore you and I, we are able to receive the spiritual blessings from God. God's grace is sufficient. He sent His blessing to us to save us, long before we even existed on this earth. He chose us before the creation of the world. We understand and feel the magnitude of this adoption when we finally choose Him. We have redemption in Christ in accordance with God's grace.

Galatians 4:7 "Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then heir of God through Christ."

You aren't a slave anymore! You are free in Him! He chose you my friend and He sent His Son to redeem you.

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13-14 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory."

You know those old wax stamps they used long before the sticky glue on the back of the envelopes? The ones where you sealed your family crest before you sent your valuable mail on to its secured destination? That wax is like the Holy Spirit- He seals us. He seals us for delivery into the Promised Land if we only choose Him. The Holy Spirit seals us. Say it with me- "the Holy Spirit has sealed me for His secured destination." That's His stamp on your life. He is in you. The Holy Spirit is God's deposit (v.14) into ourselves to save us, to lead us, to guide us. Every single spiritual blessing is chosen by God, redeemed by Christ Jesus and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Every blessing you could wish for is in Christ Jesus.

So to link this all back together.... do you know what God's purpose in all of this is?

Do you understand the purpose of grace? We are chosen, redeemed and sealed to be the welcomed participants in a life full of praise. We were made for praise. No matter where we are, because we are already receiving the Spiritual Blessings bestowed upon us through the descending and ascending Son, we are to praise Him.

I've had a realization today. How blessed a people we are. Though I cannot begin to understand the magnitude of the grief facing us over the span of our lives, we must praise Him. He will continue to show grace to those who love Him and to those whom He knows will one day be His chosen child. Praise Him. Praise Him. Praise Him for His greatest blessing has already been bestowed upon us. When will we understand that there is immeasurably more awaiting us than our current relationship with Him? We can never know Him enough, love Him enough or need Him enough. Keep praying, keep reading and striving to be more like Him. His grace is sufficient and remember you've already been chosen, redeemed and sealed.