Blessed Assurance

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God. Let us draw near with a true heart in full blessed Assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider on another in order to stir up love and good words, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some. But exhorting one another and so much the more as you se the Day approaching!

In our lives we find that in order to maintain certain elements, we must have various types of insurance. We have insurance for life and insurance for death. We have insurance for our health and we have insurance for various types of sickness. We have insurance for our automobiles. One in case we are in an accident and one in case our car is stolen or vandalized. We have insurance on our homes and property. So just in case it is burnt down or blown down or broken into. Our monies are insured, our loans are insured. Every aspect of our life can be insured for a fee. This insurance can take weeks and months to take effect, and can be canceled in a matter of seconds. This insurance has stipulations and circumstances that can cause it to be revoked, nullified, or non-existent. But this morning we are going to converse for a little while about something called Assurance!

You see insurance is man made, but Assurance is God obtained. Insurance is revocable, where as Assurance is undeniable. Insurance is costly but Assurance is free. Insurance has limitations, where as Assurance is limitless! Blessed Assurance!

When the author of this scripture penned the words, he was simply letting us know that we have an assurance because the death of Jesus supercedes anything and everything and the salvation it provided is obtainable by anyone. Once we accept the gift of salvation, nothing can remove it. Once we are in the hands of God, nothing or no one can take us out of his hands. No matter what, we are his......Blessed Assurance.

The song writer of the old familiar hymn Blessed Assurance, was a woman named Fanny J. Crosby who understood the importance of having faith in God regardless of the circumstance at hand. The opening statement is an exhortation of one who has a personal relationship for she says, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Think about this, She is confident in the fact that the one who God sent to reconcile us to him, belongs to her! Isn’t that awesome! Jesus, the king of the Jews, Jesus, the bright and morning star, Jesus the miracle man! Jesus, who walked on the water, fed a multitude with a couple fish and a few loaves of bread. Jesus, the one who gave sight to the blind and caused the lame to walk and the dumb to talk! Jesus, the protector, letigater, and resurector! Jesus the gift God gave to us!

And since we know Jesus to be all that and a bag of chips, why can’t we be like this Psalmist and understand that this person who God gave to us is ours, and since he is Lord of Lord, and all knees will bow and tongue confess that he is just that, wouldn’t it make sense for us to recognize that our situation our circumstance our trial our problem is merely a meager imposition, and the one who calmed a raging sea can surely calm the mild winds that blow in our lives----BLESSED ASSURANCE!

Now when Fanny wrote the next phrase, you can actually feel the level of the joy she received from the knowledge "O what a foretaste of glory divine!" She is excited that God in his loving kindness and glorious grace and marvelous mercy loved us so much that he wanted to secure the opportunity for his children to have an avenue, a path, a way to glory!

Isn’t that wonderful! Our past cannot preclude us from obtaining the glory of God! Our sinful nature does not guarantee we will be locked out of the kingdom. Our parents transgression will not deter us from entering into the gates of heaven!

Some one is sitting here thinking "HUH?" Being saved doesn’t mean I will never do wrong anymore? Being saved doesn’t mean that the things I did yesterday will not cause God turn away from me? God gave us this Blessed Assurance so that we may have life and have it abundantly! Not to condemn us for our past but instead to offer us an opportunity for a brighter future! Blessed Assurance!