Hebrews 11:40 (NKJV) God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
God reveals His truth progressively (i.e. progressive revelation) throughout the Bible. We read about all the events in the Old Testament and how God honored the Abrahamic covenant when Jesus came as the Messiah to fulfill the promise. Then we read about the establishment of the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ, which speaks to us of the perfect love of God when Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. It is an unconditional love and that we are no longer slaves of sin but children of the living God. As children of the living God, we should be confident that the Lord is with us no matter what we go through in this life and that He will never leave, abandon or forsake us. It also gives us faith that whatever the Lord has promised us will come to pass in His time.
We may think that poor family backgrounds, lack of academic, professional or athletic achievements, possessions or even looks, are the reasons for our insecurities. But the real root of rejection is spiritual which happened when Adam and Eve were chased out of the Garden because of their sins. Therefore, nothing in this world will be able to resolve the rejection or insecurity issues in our lives because the final acceptance has to be by God Himself.
During the good times in our lives, we might not sense the need for God’s acceptance or to have our identity in Jesus Christ. However, it will surface when we are at the lowest point in our lives and especially, at our deathbed. The real test of whether we have our identities secured in Christ is when we are all alone, abandoned, forgotten, betrayed and ignored by loved ones and friends. The other test comes when we face the fear of death, will we be able to lift up our heads to face God’s judgment with confidence?
Ephesians 1:6-7 (NKJV) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
We can only be justified by faith in Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross of Calvary. We can only be confident that we can face God on the Day of Judgment not because of our good works but because of the blood of Jesus Christ, which has cleansed us from all our sins! Jesus is the lifter of our heads and will grant us the confidence to face God at the judgment seat of Christ. Christians will not be at the great white throne judgment as we are seated with the Holy Spirit and declared accepted in the Beloved because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ that bought forgiveness for our sins. Once we know this truth, then we will come to a position of rest because we have obtained the ultimate acceptance and it is by God the Maker Himself. If God is for us, then who can be against us and what can men do to us?
Our identity in Christ and the security that we have found in Him are the best things that God has provided for us and this is the best position for us.
Sermon Series: You Are in the Hall of Faith! (Part 2)
神为我们预备了更美的事
希伯来书 11:40 因为 神给我们预备了更美的事，叫他们若不与我们同得，就不能完全。
随着经卷的展开，神在圣经中的真理渐次显现（即渐进的启示）。我们读过旧约中所有的事件，当耶稣以弥赛亚的身份降世完成应许，我们看到了神如何信守与亚伯拉罕立下的盟约。然后我们读到新的约是藉着耶稣基督的宝血被建立，这告诉我们神的爱是完全的，耶稣在我们还作罪人的时候就为我们死。这是无条件的爱，我们不再是罪的奴仆，而是活神的儿女。作为活神的儿女，我们应有这样的确信，无论我们这一生经历什么，神都与我们同在，祂永远不会撇下，遗弃或丢弃我们。这也使我们相信，凡神所应许我们的，都必在祂的时间里成就。
我们可能会认为寒微的出身，或缺乏学历、专业、运动方面的成就，缺乏资财甚至连长相都是我们没有安全感的原因。但被拒绝的真正根源是属灵上的，当亚当和夏娃因为他们的罪而被赶出伊甸园的时候，就产生了拒绝。因此，这个世界上没有任何东西能够解决我们生活中的被拒绝感或没有安全感的问题，因为最终的接纳必须由神亲手完成。
在我们生命中的顺境时，我们可能感觉不到自己需要神的接纳或是需要在耶稣基督里的身份。然而，当我们处于人生的最低谷时这需要就显露出来，尤其是当生命接近终点时。真正考验我们在基督里的身份是否稳固，是当我们孤身一人，以及被我们所爱的人和朋友遗弃、遗忘、背叛和忽视的时候。另一个考验是当我们面对死亡的恐惧时，我们能否抬起头来，满怀信心地面对神的审判？
以弗所书 1:6-7 使他荣耀的恩典得着称赞；这恩典是他在爱子里所赐给我们的。 我们藉这爱子的血得蒙救赎，过犯得以赦免，乃是照他丰富的恩典。
只有相信耶稣在加略山十字架上的救赎工作，我们才能称义。我们才能有信心在审判日面对神，不是因为我们的好行为，而是靠着耶稣基督的宝血，洗净我们所有的罪！耶稣是叫我们的头抬起来的，赐给我们信心在基督的审判台前去面对神。基督徒不会受到白色大宝座的审判，因我们与圣灵一起坐席，宣告被爱子所接纳，耶稣基督流出的宝血已为我们的罪换取了饶恕。一旦我们知道这个真理，我们就会得到安息，因为我们已经获得最终的接纳，就是被创造主亲自接纳。神若帮助我们，谁能敌挡我们呢？人能够拿我们怎么样呢？
我们在基督里的身份以及我们在祂身上所找到的安全感，是神赐给我们最美之物，这就是我们最好的位置。
讲章系列：你在信心的殿中！（第二部分）