It seemed like yesterday when I last wrote to you and yet it is not. One week had come and passed by and we are one week nearer to Christmas and a new year and of course, one day nearer to our home-coming; home-coming to eternity. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.

This week I want to share with you my thoughts on the importance of a seal. In the times of the Roman Empire, all nobility wears a signet ring, which doubled up as both a form of signature and of authority. If one were to purchase something and had no money on him to pay for the goods, all the person who wore the signet ring had to do was to imprint the ring on a piece or parchment or cloth and it would be a good "IOU" value for money and the creditor would be guaranteed repayment. All he had to do was to present the IOU and the master will clear all the debts owed.

A potter often puts his mark on his works by placing his seal on the creation and if he is a skilful potter, that seal would have raised its market value. So you see, the seal spoke of an endorsement and marks the said article that it is good and the master will claim the whole when the ripe moment comes along. Now the Bible speaks of us Christians being sealed with the Holy Spirit as a promise and as a guarantee of the rich inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.

In Ephesians 1: 13 -14 we read,

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

You see, Christians are stamped or sealed with the Holy Spirit the moment they received Jesus into their hearts and because of that seal, whenever God looks at a Christian, He no longer sees us as who we used to be but who we are now; as children of the Most High God. God does not see us as sinful people but as righteous sons and daughters of His. Because of that Seal, God the Father sees us as He sees Christ, righteous and holy and He loves us as He loves Jesus. What a position we have, what awesome privileges we enjoy.

Also we are told in Romans 8: 14 - 17 that since we have received the Spirit of adoption we can cry out, "Abba, Father" and be intimate as in a father-child relationship.

15 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are cons of God.

16 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba Father."

17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

18 and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

By giving us positions of sonship, we now stand to inherit an inheritance from God Himself and this speaks volume at a time like this. We have a rich inheritance and this is not just spiritual but material as well. Inheritance can also be in the form of good health - trouble free of sicknesses and diseases.

"Abba" is a Hebrew term for daddy and it speaks of intimacy. It is also one of the few words left untranslated from the original Hebrew and Greek to point out to us that God desires an intimate relationship with each one of us. He does not want to deal with us on a Creator-creature level but as a Father-son/ daughter relationship. Which father does not want his children to be close to him? And during times of difficulties, all the more, we want our children to be with us close by; God is longing for us to be close to Him, share our thoughts, desires with Him. He is not One Whom we run to like a vending machine dispensing food or drink; put in the correct number of prayer points, press the correct button and out comes what we want to get. No. God is not like that. He longs to have us run to Him, look Him straight in His eyes and tell Him our deepest thoughts and emotions. When we do that, it touches His heart and He will pour out His love towards us. Which father does not give to his child what he needs? God does not hold back any good things we need. He is a rich God. Remember that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

We should also note that once something has been sealed, it is impossible to break that seal. Jesus' tomb was sealed with the seal of the Roman Governor of Jerusalem after His body was laid in the cave. Should anyone be found to have broken the seal, the guilty party would be punished with death. Well, God broke the seal on Easter morning so that the world can see that Jesus is risen - the price for sin had been paid for and that the way back to Him is now made available. So, my friends, once we received Jesus into our hearts, we are destined for Heaven. Even when we sinned against God, His love for us does not change and it cannot negate our position in Christ. But does that give us the excuse to sin more; knowing that God does not hold our sins against us? Well, lets put it this way, when Jesus died 2000 years ago, your sins were all future. You were a sinner and yet He loves us and cared enough to die for us. Knowing the extent of His love for us, I am sure we will not want to sin against Him.

Another reason for the Seal is that the Holy Spirit is a down payment, a guarantee for eternity. When Jesus comes back for His Bride, the Church, only those with the seal will be taken home with Him. Those who do not possess the seal, or who have not been sealed with the Holy Spirit, will be left behind and go through a rough and tough people of 7 years called the Tribulation years. These are going to be terrible hard and cruel times. In fact the Book of Revelations, the last book in the Bible, speaks in volumes of the agony of those who go through those horrific years. If you find the current times difficult, imagine the Tribulation years; they will be many many times worse.

But praise God. Christians who have the Holy Spirit (and here I am referring to those who are truly born again believers and not those who join the local church but have never received Jesus into their hearts) will not have to go through those seven years. Can God allow those whom He had sealed with the Holy Spirit go through those terrible times? For 2000 years, God has been nurturing the Bride for Christ so that there would be a Wedding Feast in Heaven when Jesus comes back for the Church. Will He allow the Church to be soiled by the Anti-Christ? (because in those seven years, the Anti-Christ will rule over the world). God will not allow that to happen.

I submit to you that the Day will come when Christ returns at the sound of the Heavenly Trumpet and He will call out with a loud voice, "Come" and all those of us who are Believers (including those who have passed on before us) will be transformed into our Heavenly bodies and will rise up to meet Him in mid-air and then we will be in Heaven with Him for eternity. And there will be a Wedding Feast (Revelations speaks of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb of God) and we will all be present at the feast - we get to eat (and this is good news to some of us who loves eating).

So my friends, if you have yet to make that decision to receive Jesus into your life, think of the blessings that will be yours when you too become a Child of God. You too can call God "Abba, Father" and enjoy the same Father-son/ daughter relationship that we do now and the good news is that our homecoming to Heaven is just round the corner. It may be sooner than you think. It may even happen at this very moment. Nobody knows the exact timing but we can tell the season of its happening by looking and recognizing the events that take place around us. The Bible speaks of these signs in many places (Matthew chapters 24 and 25; Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21) and a lot of the signs prophesied in those chapters have already come to past.

Why not take the time and pray this prayer and receive Jesus into your heart.
Abba, Daddy God, thank You that You love me so much You sent Jesus into this world to die for the sins of the world and especially for dying for my sins. I acknowledge my sins and my need for a Savior. Come into my life, Lord Jesus, forgive my sins and give me eternal life, life that is spent with You now and in eternity.
I thank you that I am now a child of God, a joint-heir with Christ of the riches of Your blessings and of the inheritance that is ours. Thank You that by dying on the Cross, Jesus became a curse for me so that I can receive Your blessings.
Thank You that I am greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected.
I thank You in Jesus' most wonderful and precious Name.
Amen.

The first century Christians used a term to encourage each other of the coming return of the Lord Jesus Christ. They greet each other, "Maranatha" which means "Come quickly, we await You".

Shalom, Maranatha.

Best regards,
Andrew L W Lee

Dated : 28 October 2001