Running To Win

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Believers in Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that seal is a down payment on the gift of eternal life yet to come. As God's property, we're on the road toward a future kingdom, and the Holy Spirit makes this real to all who are born again. Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Pastor Lutzer, does the sealing of the Spirit mean a believer can never be lost?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, yes, I certainly interpret it that way. And you know, when you think of redemption, isn't God generous? He gives us so many gifts, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of adoption, and we are known as sons and daughters of the Almighty. And he spared not his beloved son that he might redeem us. We ought to always be people who worship, to worship a generous God and to remind ourselves that we are the beneficiaries of his undeserved grace. So even as you listen today, let your heart be blessed. And I trust that when the message is over, you will worship and give thanks to God for all that he has given to us so freely in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for the blessed Holy Spirit of God. Oh yes, the devil can tamper. But you're sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, you will arrive. But let's talk about reality. Here I am in Florida, maybe 10 12 years ago. And at the table at which I am eating is the wife of a man who committed suicide. Now he was a teacher in a Bible college in Canada. I had met him only once. And he was having a great impact on the students. And in her purse was the note that he had written, his suicide note.

In her purse, it was a photocopy. She said, this is what he left me. And I read it. And basically, as I recall, it says, I'm taking the easy way out. He had had a the diagnosis of a very painful disease, and he didn't want to go through the pain. Now let me say this about suicide. It is always wrong. It is always murder. It is putting a period where there should be a comma. If you are contemplating any such thing, go for help because that is one thing you do not have to do. You do not have to be plagued with thoughts of self-destruction.

And many people, most maybe, who who think that this is going to be their way out, they discover as the soliloquy says in Shakespeare in death what dreams may come in the sleep of death when we have shuffled off this mortal coil. But nonetheless, because this man gave every indication that he was a believer, that he had trusted Christ as Savior, I believe that he was sealed with the Holy Spirit. And I expect that his wife is going to meet him someday on the other side. The sealing of the Spirit, you belong to God and your God's property.

And he is committing to bring you all the way home. Now there's something else in this text, and it'll bless us even more. And that is it is proof. It is it is like a pledge that there is more blessing to follow. It's a pledge. Now your Bibles are open. You'll notice it says, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee guarantee. That's the word that I'm looking for of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. The word guarantee in Greek is It is the guarantee.

You know, the King James translated this earnest. But modern translations don't translate it earnest because most people think that earnest just means sincerity. They don't understand the concept of earnest money. All right, I was maybe 10 12 years old. My father was going to buy a combine from a neighbor. And they discussed it, and my father took $50 out of his pocket and gave it to the neighbor, and they shook hands. What that meant was that there was more money to come. Now the cost of the combine was $600. If you know anything about machinery today, you know two things.

Number one, this was a long time ago. And number two, you should know that the combine was already well used. In fact, between you and me, it ended up being a piece of junk. But that's beside the point. The point is that my father gave $50 as a down payment. And that meant that there was more money to come. And because he was an honest man, there was more money to come. And the amount was given to the man later. Now Pastor Wiersbe in discussing this uses this illustration. Did my father say, well, let me give you 20 watermelons, and then I'll give you the money later?

No, when you give earnest, you give actually that which there is going to be more of. More money is coming because you're going to use money. That's the agreement. Now think about it this way. In Oriental times, in fact, what they would do is actually have two transactions, two earnests, if you please. Let's suppose I were buying some property, and I were to give to this person say $50 with the understanding I was purchasing a plot of land that would cost 1,000, the 950 would come later. They in turn, the owner, the present owner who was selling it to me, would then take a pouch of the grain, of the ground, the dirt, and he would give me a pouch of the dirt of the land signifying that there was more land to come as the deal was worked out.

The Holy Spirit is an earnest. And God says that what you have in the Spirit you are going to get more of. And as one theologian put it, that what we experienced today is very small, imperceptible in comparison to what we will someday experience. But the Holy Spirit is a pledge that there is more to follow. The Bible says that eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man all the things that God has prepared for them that love him. And that actually begins in this life, not to mention the life to come.

How can I put this to you? Let me say very clearly that today we have the shadow. But the substance is on its way. Today we get the drop. But we're going to inherit an ocean. We get the flower. But in that day we'll get the garden. Today we have the condo, tomorrow the mansion. And God is going to show his grace to us. And the Holy Spirit of God is God's down payment. That would be a good way to translate our bond down payment, though it has another meaning as I'll mention in a moment.

It is God's down payment. There's more to follow. Don't you sometimes wish you had a new body? Well, it's coming. Don't you wish that you had relationships that were intimate and fulfilling and well, that's coming too. Don't you wish that you had fellowship with God without any sin coming between you and God? Can you even imagine that? I heard Johnny Erikson Tada one day say, and you remember she's the quadriplegic that has blessed millions. She said, the real reason I look forward to heaven is not because I can park my wheelchair in the heavenly vestibule and run to Jesus.

The real reason is that forever in direct fellowship with God without a mediator, without sin ever coming between us. All of that And the spirit is the earnest. Now I've saved the best till last. Like the wine that Jesus made in the second chapter of the Gospel of John, we saved the best till last. That word it is used today in Greek for engagement ring. Young man loves a woman. He gives her an engagement ring. What is an engagement ring? It is a pledge that marriage is coming. It is an agreement that you are going to be marrying the man who gave it to you.

The Holy Spirit of God is a pledge that someday we will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb. And we'll be married to Jesus in intimacy, in purity and holiness, and in relationship. And Jesus says, before that happens, I'm giving you the Spirit as the earnest. It's the down payment. Unbelievable blessings are on the way. Can you just imagine for a moment what it's going to be like there at the marriage supper of the Lamb? You know, the Bible says that the bride is going to be there, and then special guests. I believe that those special guests are the Old Testament saints.

This works itself out in schemes of prophecy which I happened to accept. And so can you imagine roll after roll after roll? Here they all march in, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all the believers of the Old Testament. And then of course, sitting down also, all the believers of the New Testament file after file, rank after rank, all there at the marriage supper of the Lamb. And Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is the down payment. He's the earnest. My translation says the guarantee that there's so much more to follow. Remember the little girl who was reading about Jesus and then dreamt about him and said to her mother after going through this picture book in the evening, oh mother, I had a dream about Jesus.

And he's so much better than the pictures. Let me say today that it's so much better than the pictures. And the Holy Spirit is the guarantee, the pledge. More is on the way. Now how do we reckon with this today? First of all, let me give a word of warning. Don't assume that you have the seal of the Spirit. Don't assume that you have it unless you are absolutely sure that you do. I think that many people who believe that they are Christians will discover that they aren't because they kind of assumed it. I was brought up in the church.

I was baptized. I'm a nice person and on and on the list goes. Don't assume that. Don't assume it unless you know it. Uh you remember by the way, when I was a student in Dallas, I remember that there was a woman sitting somewhere in some kind of a meeting. I don't have a clear recollection of it, but she would take her coat and she would lay it over the chair so that the person could be behind it could see the label, Neiman Marcus. Now I don't know that I have enough money to walk through a Neiman Marcus store, much less purchase something.

But somebody said a friend of hers said she didn't buy it at Neiman Marcus. She got a label from somewhere, and she sewed it in. Now that's the kind of thing I could afford from Neiman Marcus. Put the label in. You know, there are plenty of people who say, well, you know, I've got the label, but are they the genuine article? Have they been sealed by the Holy Spirit? Remember I told you when we came back from Greece that there was a sign at a store that said genuine fake jewelry. I'm serious. I said, Rebecca, you have to take a picture of that one.

Genuine fake jewelry. Somebody said, no, no, no, it's it's that's a good legitimate sign because first of all, you've got the real thing. Then you've got fake jewelry. And sometimes that fake jewelry is actually pretty good, but it's cheaper. But then you have the fake of the fake jewelry. And from there on, I guess it goes downhill. So this is genuine fake jewelry. There may be those today you're listening to this, and you are a genuine fake. You don't have the ceiling of the Spirit. You know, one of the ways in which you know is two.

Number one, what have you believed? Have you savingly believed on Jesus? Have you acknowledged your sinfulness and recognized that he's the only Savior who can save you, and you embrace that for yourself? And then secondly, and here is it's back to the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8 it says, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Do you have within you the witness of the Spirit that you are a child of God? The deep, settled conviction brought to you by the Spirit who connects with our spirit and says, you belong to God.

So if you've never trusted Christ as Savior, you may do that. I encourage you to because that's the way you receive it. You'll notice right here in the text, it's always best just to look at the text actually. It says, in him also, when you heard the word of truth, which is what you're doing today, you're hearing the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in him. That's what is required. Now there's something else, and that is this. And again, I am speaking now to the believers. If you know that your future is absolutely secure, if you know that in the end you are going to be with God forever, the trials, the temptations, the heartaches, a long life's journey are manageable because you can put up with anything almost if you know for sure where you're ultimately going.

Because for the Christian there is no permanent tragedy. There are tragedies, but they're not permanent because eternity is coming, and the Holy Spirit has sealed us and given us that seal that we belong to the Almighty, and we belong to him forever. Robert Robinson was a man who lived in England during the 17th century. As a kid he grew up in the gangs. He was not a very nice child. And at about the age of 17 he went to hear an evangelist by the name of Whitfield preach, one of the greatest preachers of all time.

And the boy went there to scoff. Robinson went there to thought these poor sick souls, just to think they actually believe this stuff. But while he was there, the Holy Spirit showed him his sin and his need, and he believed in Jesus and eventually became a pastor of a rather large church in England. But he wrote a song that we have often sung. It's come thou fount of every blessing. Tune my heart to sing thy praise. Have you ever come to Moody Church and your heart isn't singing the praise of God, and God has to tune it?

But the reason that we're choosing this song to end with today is because really of the last stanza I think it is where he talks about the fact that we are such a debtor to grace. And then he says this, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Aren't you prone to wander? You love Jesus, but you wander. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh take and seal it. Seal it with thy courts above. Now I'm sure that Robinson already knew that for those who believe in Christ, their hearts are already sealed.

It was an affirmation of the fact that even in our wandering and God always likes to discipline his sheep to bring them back, even in our wandering we belong to God. By the way, I was going to mention for those of you listening who say, well, you know, if you think for sure that you're going to heaven, you're going to live like the devil. Remember what I said about the engagement ring. Do you imagine a young woman receiving an engagement ring from somebody who died to save her? And after she receives it, she says, I know he's trustworthy.

I know he's going to marry me. Now I'm going to sleep around. I don't think so. Listen, when you come to Christ, he not only forgives you, but he actually changes your desire and implants within you a love. And that's why Robinson could write those words, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart. Oh take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. How marvelous God is to us. Life is hard, but eternity is on its way. Will you join me as we pray together and then as we sing together? Our father, we want to thank you today that we have been sealed by the promised Holy Spirit.

We thank you that it is a sign of ownership. It is a sign of security and a pledge that there's more to follow. Help us to rejoice in that. Come tune our hearts to sing praises to you for all that you've done. And for those who have not yet believed in Christ, who do not have the witness of the Spirit, we ask today, Lord, that you'll help them to see the beauty of Jesus and why they need him so desperately. We pray in his name. Amen.

Dave McAllister: My friend, as I mentioned before this message began, I trust that you will worship the Lord. I trust that you will give him thanks for his boundless mercies toward us. He certainly has not treated us the way we have treated him. And therefore we must give him praise and thank God for the blessed Holy Spirit, this gift to us, even as we navigate this very confusing world. I'm holding in my hands a letter that we receive from a Russian-speaking listener. He says, today on the way to work, I told God that I don't know what to do and how to get back to him.

And right away I received an answer from God through your program Running to Win. The Lord lives and never forgets about us. Tears are falling. May the Lord bless you all. Running to Win, yes, is in Russian thanks to many people who have invested in this ministry. If you're like Rebecca and me, you pray about many opportunities for you to invest in various excellent ministries. Would you consider Running to Win? Would you pray about it? This is a very important season for us because at the end of this month it's the end of our fiscal year, but thankfully also it is our matching gift campaign.

That means that every gift that you give will be doubled. What an opportunity to make this investment. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy because I want to give you some contact info so that you can investigate and pray about the possibility of helping us. Go to rtwoffer.com. rtwoffer is all one word. rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now because this is very critical, I'm giving you that contact info again. You can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337 or go to your computer, type in rtwoffer.com.

Guest (Male): Time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Jeff listens to Running to Win on KLCV in Lincoln, Nebraska. He has this question today. If Jesus is God, how can he not know when he will return?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, Jeff, you know, you've asked a very interesting question and one that theologians have puzzled about for quite some time when Jesus makes the statement that not even the son of man knows when he's going to return. The mystery, I think, is solved when we think of the union of the two natures, the fact that Jesus was God and man. It's very clear that Jesus often did not use his attributes as God. You see, there he is, for example, on Jacob's well, Jesus being weary with his journey. Well, how can God be tired? Well, the answer is God is never tired.

But Jesus as man was tired. And I have no doubt that Jesus as man also limited his knowledge. Now he could know if he wanted to know. In fact, there is some evidence in the New Testament that sometimes Jesus was omniscient. He could know what people were thinking in their hearts and their statements to that effect. But at the same time, Jesus, though he was the God-man, lived as man. So he voluntarily limited his knowledge. He did not always depend on what he was as God living as man. But nonetheless, one person with two natures, God a very God.

Dave McAllister: Thank you, Jeff, for that question. Thank you, Dr. Lutzer, for that answer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Ever felt wounded inside when someone said an unkind word to you? What if God felt wounded when you sinned? In fact, he does feel wounded. And the Bible calls this grieving the Holy Spirit. Next time on Running to Win, we learn how to avoid this grieving as we hear about the gift of sensitivity.

Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.