27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

We rejoice greatly having received the free gift of salvation. As we look at Scriptures we see how much of this is initiated, planned and executed by the Lord. I see how little is required of us, but I do not want to underemphasis also the part required of us. A sheep is one who believes and who follows.  A true disciple of Christ follows Christ; a false disciple of Christ does not follow Christ.  Obedience is a sign of whether someone is a believer or not.  For someone who has no desire to follow Christ, that person is not a Christian. For someone who has committed themselves to Jesus, he has been given the Holy Spirit from above. It is the working of the Spirit that changes our desires to obey and follow the Lord. Notice I said, desires, for we struggle with our old nature too and fall and fail and sin, but take notice of the words that follow, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

This is a lasting relationship. It is secure; it is eternal; it is of God. Jesus promised a foretaste of the life which is the very life of God. He promised, that if they accept Him as Master and Lord, they became members of His flock. They would know the splendor and magnificence of the life of God. It is eternal life! Yes, it is the foretaste of heaven, but it starts on this earth in relationship with Jesus. That is true for us as well. God has taken from us the fear of the consequences of hell. We shall not perish. There is no condemnation. John 3:17,"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." We are free from sin. We are free from guilt. Our salvation was paid for on the cross. Jesus took our sin and gave us His forgiveness.  We will not perish.

Satan cannot take us away from the Son. Satan cannot take us away from the Father. He can discourage us, tempt us, cause us to fall, cause us to sin, cause us to suffer, cause us to be persecuted, martyred, and tortured, but cannot snatch our souls from the protection of God Himself.  This is as the hymn writer, Fanny Crosby puts it; "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine". From the very day she wrote them, Crosby’s words have provided comfort for millions of Christians in the face of fear, persecution, sorrow, and doubt.

Despite all the trials that may come, we know that we serve a Savior who came to bring the Kingdom of God on earth, and as we serve Him, we participate in and belong to that Kingdom. We each play our own part in that “glorious foretaste” of what is still to come. We belong to Christ and His Kingdom. What an assurance this is!

Live in confidence of the truth of this verse.  You start in His hand. You will end in His hand. Trust Him daily. Obey His words. The God of the Bible teaches us of His protection and presence in the midst of a world crashing to disaster.

A new Christian was confiding with a mature believer about a period of darkness and doubt he was going through, "In the meeting yesterday I was filled with the joy of salvation, and I thought I would never be in the dark again. But now it's all gone, and I'm in the depths. What's the matter with me?" 

His friend responded, “Did you ever pass through a tunnel?"

“Certainly, I have."

“When you were in the tunnel did you think the sun had been blotted out of the sky? Were you distressed when you were in the dark tunnel?

“ No I knew I'd be out in the light again.”

The divine fact is, that no matter how I feel, as a mature Christian, one who learns early that feelings are not based on truth. Truth is in the fact of salvation.  Our feelings and emotions change. Enthusiasm is often controlled by the changing events and circumstances around us, but you and I may have a settled assurance about our relationship to the Lord because of what Jesus has done and what the Bible says.

Application:  Continue walking in the assurance of this truth.

Prayer:  Gracious Father, You extend Your mercy continually and Your mercies are new every morning.   Help me to not feed my own feelings, but live freely by trusting your truth.   

Dale