Hello Doves.  This is something I recently wrote as one of my writings that I send out to those I love.  I wanted to share it with you so that you can send it as you feel lead.
 
Thank you and many blessings to all of you.  Jesus is almost here!!!
 
 

The Gift of “The Guarantee”

 

Do you ever wonder about your eternal destiny?  Are you completely certain of your resting place after death?  Do you fear that maybe you might not be good enough for Heaven?  When you take the time to think of death, does it scare you, because you are unsure of what exists afterwards?  I have been exactly there, and it is not a good feeling.  It’s both surreal and unreal and very scary.  It’s the one thing that reminds us that we are finite and not in control of everything.  It reminds us of that one thing that is certain and for sure – we will die and something will happen to us afterwards.

 

Did you know that we can know what will happen to us afterwards?  We can actually know for sure, and we can actually be at peace all the days of our lives on this earth.  I will even go so far as to say that we can be excited about death and what awaits us!  We can have a guarantee of our eternal future!  Just to focus on that word, “guarantee”, for a moment, let’s look at the definition.  In Webster’s original dictionary published in 1828, “guarantee” is defined as “to warrant; to make sure; to undertake to ensure to another, at all events, as claims, rights or possessions.”  In short, it means to “make sure” or “ensure”.

 

Before moving forward and discussing more about our guarantee, and to complete this message in its fullness, we must briefly discuss both Heaven and Hell first.  They are both real, and they are both extreme.  As taken from the pure and infallible Word of God (which is where Heaven and Hell have both been originated and explained), Heaven is described as a place where we will dwell with God as our Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and be presented “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24); a place where “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4); a place that is so wonderful that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9); a place where we will need no sun or moon to shine, because “the glory of God illuminates it and the Lamb (Jesus) is our light” (Revelation 21:23); a place of complete righteousness where “nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it” (Revelation 21:27); and a place of immense beauty where “the walls will be made of pure diamond and the city of pure gold - clear as glass and the foundation will be filled with precious stones” (Revelation 21:18-21).  It is truly a place we cannot comprehend.

 

Hell, on the other hand, is quite the opposite.  Hell is a place of total darkness and separation from God.  Have you ever truly thought about what separation from God really means?  First of all, it’s important to acknowledge that everything good that you know on this earth and that is in your own life today is from God.  The Bible says that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17); this means EVERY good thing, tangible and intangible.  This includes your marriage, your friendships, your job, the tasty food you eat, your pets, the beautiful flowers, the sunset, the shining stars, the pristine beaches, the awesome mountains, the whiteness of snow, the air you breathe, etc., etc., but most importantly, the love you give, the love you receive, and the love you so desire.  To be absent from God means to be absent from all that is good – to be absent from love.  To be absent from God means to be present with evil, hatred, darkness, torture, fire, and confinement with no escape, all in a place where evil rules and there is no good at all.  The Bible goes so far as to explain Hell as “a place of outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30), a place where “their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night” (Revelation 14:11); a place “where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44; a place of “the blackest of darkness” (Jude 1:13); “a place of everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9); and there are many, many more.

 

So, after hearing these explanations, which do you choose?  No brainer, right?  Well, while it seems that we can simply just choose, there is more to the story.  We must choose God’s way; not our ideas or beliefs about choosing.  God gives us one very clear way to enter into His Heavenly Kingdom and live there in a state of glory with Him for all of eternity!!  He gives us a way to understand eternity, His expectations, and our options.  If you choose His way, there is a guarantee available to you now while you live on this earth – a guarantee that you WILL be with Him in Heaven.  This guarantee deposits a peace in your spirit now that will allow you to set aside your fears about death and will cause you to look forward to your afterlife with Him.  Are you comprehending this?  Isn’t this what every single human being longs to have?  A guarantee of peace, love, beauty, happiness, and joy that lasts forever and ever and ever and forever.  Please understand that you can actually have a guarantee of this.  Keep reading …

 

First of all, where do we get more information about this “guarantee”?  From the same place that we get our information about life, death, Heaven, and Hell – the perfect and holy Word of God, the Bible.  Directly from God’s Word, He tells us about our guarantee:

·         “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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”  (Ephesians 1:13-14)

·         “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”  (2Corinthians 1:21)

·         “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (2Corintians  5:5)

 

So, do you see, it is the Holy Spirit who “seals” us and is the very “guarantee” that we belong to God.  Who is He, this Holy Spirit?  He is Jesus Christ, and He is God!  Remember that Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God our Father are one as explained in my last paper.  In essence, Jesus is the answer!  Jesus is the guarantee!  The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, deposited in you, will seal you and provide you with a guarantee that you belong to God the Father!!  And when we belong to God, nothing can separate us from Him (Romans 8:38-39).  When we belong to God, we are His, and our afterlife, which is our permanent life, will be with Him for all of eternity in the place He has prepared just for us, which is Heaven!!   Knowing this provides peace in this life that surpasses all understanding!

 

So now you may be asking, “How do I get this guarantee”?  First, there are questions that must be answered.  Do you believe you are a sinner in need of a Savior?  Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is?  Do you believe He is God and He is the Holy Spirit?  Do you believe He is the one way and the only way to God?  Do you believe that the gruesome death He died on the cross was to pay your individual sin debt completely in full?  Do you believe that faith in Him, His death, and His resurrection will cleanse you of all sin and make you presentable to the Father as His child?  These are the things you must believe with all your heart, and when you do, you will speak them with your mouth.  Romans 10:8-11 explains very clearly how this profession works as well as the end result.  When you believe this in your heart, you are in essence surrendering your life to Jesus, to His control, and His ways. >From there, you move forward with Jesus by His Holy Spirit.  This Holy Spirit is actually Jesus in spirit living in you changing you, guiding you, teaching you, and loving you.  And as stated in the scriptures bulleted above, this is the guarantee.  This Holy Spirit seals you and provides the guarantee that you belong to God!

 

Before I close, it is impressed strongly upon my heart that you know and understand that not only is the Holy Spirit the guarantee of your redemption and inheritance, it is also a requirement.  The Bible is very clear that you must have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, or be born again of the spirit, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus stated in John 3:5, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless once is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”, and just before this in John 3:3, He states, “…Most assuredly I say to you, unless one I born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  This is true, and it is final, just as Jesus spoke.

 

And finally, I leave you with something I recently experienced with the death of a dear loved one in my family.  This experience was not only proof to me and others that our afterlife is real, but it was also a gift from God Almighty that our loved one went to be with Him!  This loved one of mine had professed her belief in Jesus as her Savior, and she had spent several months listening to the Word of God prior to her death.  She asked Jesus to forgive her and believed that He did so through His blood that he shed on the cross for her, and she spoke these words as her profession of faith.  As she lay dying and completely unconscious, she took her final breath, and then one single tear rolled from her eye.  Then, one by one, each of her arms lifted and reached into the air.  She reached out her hands to the angels who came into the room to get her.  They took her to meet her Savior, Jesus, and she is now there with Him in her Heavenly home where she will be forever and ever.