Message - Signed,Sealed, and Delivered - By Randy Nelsen

 Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

By Randy Nelsen

Have you ever gone to the mailbox and found that the letter you deposited the day before is still sitting there, in the box? Don't you hate that. You start to get mad and then you suddenly realize that the letter is missing something very important, a stamp. Stamps are very important, because without a stamp the letter is not certified. You can put the letter in the mailbox as many times as you want but  without the stamp the mailman is not going to pick it up and deliver it the proper address and  intended destination. You might be thinking, so what!Whats the point, why i am wasting your time talking about stamps and mailboxes. There is an important lesson here if we just stop and take a closer look. You see, our life is like a letter, and we are like the envelopes that these letters carry.

What i am saying is that each one of us has a story, and we carry that story within us. We also are all going somewhere.The question is where is your life headed and if I read your letter, what would your letter say. Sometimes the envelope can look really nice but there is no letter inside. That is like a person who does not know the salvation of Jesus Christ, they are just like an empty envelope with no stamp. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,  he puts a stamp on the envelope of our Heart. The stamp is his seal of authenticity. If we don't have the Lords stamp or seal then we can't go to place that we want to, and that place is heaven. In medieval times, the King would stamp all letters or documents that belonged to or came from him. In order for a letter to be considered genuine, the letter must be sealed with the kings signet ring. The king would take his signet ring, and hot wax from a candle would be dripped over the opening of the letter or document. The king would then take his signet ring and press it into the hot wax or seal he engraving of his ring would leave the impression of the royal rings mark on the seal, this was like a personal signature.Likewise when we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts he presses his signet ring bearing his mark into the wax or clay. We are the clay, and we bear the mark of our King Jesus Christ. 

Job 38:14 says this It is changed like the signet-clay; and all things stand forth as in a garment: The Hebrew word used for seal is ( חוֹתָם chotham) This Hebrew word  means seal or signet ring. The Lord has taken his signet or signature ring and marked us that we belong to him. Ephesians 4:30 says this And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption. All genuine believers who have chosen to accept Jesus Christ as lord and savior and follow him have been sealed up for the day of redemption. In other words God has put his stamp of authenticity on them. He is in the process of delivering them to be with him.Jesus is like a  perfect spiritual mailman, Jesus always sends us to the right place.He is the one who delivers us from to deliver us from sin, and take us to heaven. The word deliver is also very important to understand. here are some definitions of the word deliver.

1: to set free deliver us from evil — Matthew 6:13(Authorized Version)>2a : to take and hand over to or leave for another : convey <deliver a package> b : hand over, surrender <delivered the prisoners to the sheriff> <delivered themselves over to God>5

: to send (something aimed or guided) to an intended target or destination deliver nuclear warheads> <delivered a fastball>

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deliver

 

Jesus Christ is our Deliverer from all sorts of things. He sets us free and delivers us from the chains of addiction.He delivers us from temptation. He delivers us from the power of the accuser Satan, in other words he has given us Victory in his name Jesus Christ.He also delivers us from our past, many people are chained to their past and it is Jesus Christ who sets a person from the guilt, shame and regret of their past life. If you are just an empty letter there is a simple solution accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior and he will set his seal upon you, He will mark you as his own. The beautiful thing about accepting the lord is that he begins to write a whole new life story within your heart.2 Corinthians  says this   You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 
2 Corinthians 3:3
Finally in closing the book of Ephesians  says this 
 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