God's Blood Covenant - Part 8 - Secure In Christ

If you’ve ever felt like your faith is real but your confidence is fragile, this message is a reset. We talk about the New Covenant not as a vague comfort, but as a concrete promise that establishes your position in Christ and your security in Christ even when life feels unstable, grief is loud, or your self-image is shaky. 

We start by defining “position” and why it determines what we are, whose we are, and what we do. Then we go straight to the heart of the gospel identity shift: reckoning the old self dead and learning to live from the truth that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Along the way we unpack the freedom that comes with being forgiven, redeemed, and justified by faith, plus the peace with God that follows when you stop relating to Him through guilt. 

From there, we lean into belonging and prayer. Scripture paints a stunning picture: you’re seen and heard by your Heavenly Father, Jesus intercedes for you, and you can approach God with freedom and confidence. We also connect identity to mission, because being “salt and light” and an ambassador of reconciliation is not pressure, it’s overflow from union with Jesus. Finally, we talk through assurance of salvation, eternal security, and spiritual warfare basics like resisting the devil and standing firm with the armor of God. 

If you’re ready to stop living uncertain and start living anchored, listen through the end for a simple, sincere prayer to be found in Christ. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs steadiness, and leave a review telling us what promise you’re choosing to believe this week.

Transcript

Welcome And Series Framing

Lynne 0:00

You are listening to Higher Realm with Lynne Little. Our program highlights strategies forf living through life's difficulties and finding your path to healing. We tackle issues particular to those who have experienced painful loss in any form. Lynne is the founder and president of LynneL Little Ministries and the author of Missing Lisa, A Parent Grieves, and Finding God in Death and Life, A Passage Through Grief. Now, here's Lynne. Hello, and welcome to the eighth episode of God's Blood Covenant. Last week we discussed that the spiritual antidote to a low or uncertain self-image is to begin to find our identity in the expression in Christ. We mentioned four factors of living in union with Jesus, encapsulating our rights under the new covenant, in our identity, our position, our security, and all the benefits. Today we will establish what God has promised to us regarding our position and security under the new covenant. So let's begin with the concept of position. A position is where someone or something is located or has been placed. In the New Covenant, our position in Christ, as well as the permanence of it, is clearly established. Our position determines what we are, whose we are, and what we do. Now what we are can be summed up in a word. What do I mean by that? The overriding position we hold is that of dead men. We are to reckon or consider our old self as dead, and our spirits as resurrected in Christ. Our old life, previously dead to God because of sin, is buried, and we are raised to walk in a new life with him, as stated in Romans 6:4. "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead, through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Paul elaborates on this perspective in Galatians 2: 20." I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." This death and resurrection marks a decided shift in position from our former selves. Again, Colossians 3: 3 states, "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Romans :6 11 echoes this. When we receive the revelation of what it means to be dead to self and harbored permanently in Christ, we will be freed once and for all of having to entertain, fret about, or even consider the things that come against us. After all, what or who can hurt a dead person? This is freedom at scale. In theory, this is terrific. But the process of living this way takes time and practice. We will explore this topic further in upcoming episodes. We see then that our highest position involves a complete transformation out of self and into the image and likeness of the Lord. Other advantages of what we are in Christ include being redeemed and forgiven of all of our sins, according to Colossians 1 14. The privilege of being seated in the heavenly places with the Lord Jesus. Remember, as his body, we are where he is, in the Spirit, according to Ephesians 2.6. Finally, Romans 5.1 tells us that we have been justified through faith. In other words, just as if I did never sinned. As a result, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Next, let's look at whose we are. Our position is that of people who are seen and heard at all times by our loving Heavenly Father. Did you know that Jesus is constantly praying for us? It is written in Romans 8.34 that Jesus makes intercession for us. How do you think you would fare if the Son of God made you his special prayer project? Pretty well, I would imagine. Incredibly, he already has. Again, as stated in Hebrews 7, 25. "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he, Jesus, always lives to make intercession for them." In Christ, we are also given total access to pray to God and can approach God with freedom. Through Christ we have a direct line of approach to God through the Holy Spirit, according to Ephesians 2:18. Ephesians 3.12 states, "in Him and through faith in Him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence." A similar promise is found in Hebrews 4:16. "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need." Jesus told us that we can ask the Father to meet our needs. John 16, 23 reads, "In that day, (which by the way is the day that we're living in now,) you will no longer ask me anything. But very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." Wow. Our access to the Father through Jesus is unprecedented in the history of mankind. It is eternal and reflects our position as favored sons and daughters. And finally, what we do is defined in our position in Christ. We are to be salt and light in the earth, according to Matthew 5, 13, and 14. We can only do what we do because of our standing in Christ. He has made us to be ministers of reconciliation and ambassadors to the world. Second Corinthians 5, 18 through 20 reads, "all this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." God views us as Jesus, co-workers in ministry, as mentioned in First Corinthians three, nine and second Corinthians six, one. And to sum up our position, this final incredible statement found in First John four, seventeen. "Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as he is (referring to Jesus), so are we in this world." Startling statement, but not too surprising, since we are one with him. Friends, we represent him in every capacity he intended, as his body and situated In Him. We carry his name, his love and mercy, his authority, and his mission. The last category to mention today is the certainty of our security in Christ. The concept presented in First Corinthians six twenty that we are not our own, but rather individuals who have been brought with a price and belong to our Father, hook, line, and sinker is curiously liberating. The person who might find this off-putting has not yet been initiated into the wondrous privileges of being in Christ. Remaining in Christ represents the ultimate in security. We have security in the knowledge that we are held in the everlasting arms. We have the security of dominion over the works of the enemy in our lives because of who we are, as those who have been given the right to wield the name of Jesus. And we are also secure in our eternal destiny. God will never stop loving us. The word underscores this fact in the following verses. Romans 8, 38 and 39. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, either the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." He has promised in Hebrews 13:5 to never leave or forsake us. Romans 8, verses 1 and 2 tells us that those in Christ Jesus are no longer under divine judgment, guilt, or punishment for their sins. In Christ, we are forever free from estrangement or distance from God because of sin nature. The permanence of our belonging to Him is elucidated in John ten, twenty-eight and thirty. "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand." Think of it. Both the Father and Son are committed to the keeping of us. And we've also been established, anointed, and sealed by God as his children. Ephesians 6:10 promises that "we are strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might," and that we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us," according to Philippians 4.13. When we are in Christ, we are considered to be more than conquerors through him that loved us, as mentioned in Romans 8.37. Colossians 1.13 tells us that "we have been permanently delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of Jesus". James 4:7 tells us that we can "resist the devil and he will flee from us." Flee means to run from as in terror. Jesus tells us in Luke 10, 19 through 20, "Behold, I've given you power or authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." God has provisioned us with spiritual weapons and spiritual armor that are mighty through God to destroy enemy strongholds. Ephesians 6.11 tells us to "put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." 2 Corinthians 10, 4 and 5 describes this. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. And finally, we are secure in the knowledge that we know the outcome of a life lived in Christ. Romans 8 28 promises: "we are assured that all things will work together for our good to those of us who love God." We also rejoice that our names are written in heaven, according to Luke 10, 20. And Jesus gave us his personal assurance as well in John 14, 2 through 4. "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also." When someone first shared with me that I could have a fresh start through Jesus, and free benefits to boot, I was tempted to ask, what's the catch? It seemed too good to be true. Words like, whosoever will, or if anyone, or all men, were so inclusive. It was in stark contrast to the exclusivism of the world's way of doing things. I soon learned that in Christ everyone belongs. When I did come to Christ, it wasn't long before I noticed that I had a new outlook. It resembled the feeling of being freshly scrubbed and freed from ties I never knew held me. I knew I belonged somewhere and with someone. The word talks about being accepted in the beloved. I inherited a huge extended family of like-minded people. And there was also a presence that I was certain would remain with me forever. And there was so much more. The scriptures began to open to me. In them I discovered a rich inheritance that included healing, prosperity, purpose, and more ethereal components such as joy and peace. And as these treasures came to light, with them came an ongoing recognition that the benefits were there for the asking. I learned that through the exercise of faith, every promise could become a reality. So why is it relevant to learn who we are in Christ? If we are told through the scriptures that we have an inheritance, wouldn't it make sense to find out all that belongs to us? 2 Peter 1:3 tells us "his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness." Won't you take the time today to be found in Christ? He is so easy to get to know. All it takes is a simple, sincere prayer. Repeat this prayer after me in sincerity. Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus. I believe He died on the cross to pay the price for my sins. I believe He rose again on the third day. Jesus come into my heart and into my life. Forgive me of my sins and make me brand new. I confess you as my Lord and my Savior. Amen. If you pray, write to us, Lynnelittle Ministries at gmail.com. Next week, we will delve into the benefits that are available to us in Christ. Have a blessed week. Thank you so much for listening. Lynnelittle Ministries is a 501. C3, whose mission is to assist those who have suffered loss and to help them discover hope, peace, and restoration. For books, resources, or to make a tax deductible donation, go to lynnelittle.org.