Victory in Jesus

2Corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

We sang an old song yesterday in church.  Victory in Jesus.  I'm sure I've only known it about 10 years but it seems like I've known it forever.  The chorus goes like this:

Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.
He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood.
He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him.
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

Every so often words I've known for some time speak volumes, like I've never heard them before.  Worship was great yesterday morning. There was a type of unity.  As we sang this song and sang this chorus several times, I felt my heart come to a point where I thought it would burst.

Yes, there is victory in Jesus.  He is our forever Savior.  He is our Redeemer.  I can personally attest that He did seek me for so many years of my life until I allowed Him to come into my life and into my heart.  That's when the story of Jesus became a reality for me.  I had heard all my life how Jesus died on the cross to save us.  I always thought that just because of that act I was going to heaven.  I didn't believe in hell, really, because how could God cause people He said He loved to live in eternal torment, a life filled with pain and anguish?  But then this was brought to my attention:  If there is no God and no heaven, if there is no hell, then the whole purpose of Jesus' death was absolutely meaningless. Meaningless. This innocent Man died for no reason at all.

Jesus' death on the cross was the price He paid for MY sins. His blood was shed for my redemption. The second part of the chorus tells us that He loved me before I knew Him.  He loves you, whether you know Him or not. He has known you from the foundation of the earth. His love for you goes back that far...the 6,000 years we have an account of and infinitely farther back than that.  And His love for you will continue for eternity as well.

So, it is my responsibility to love Him for what He has done for me. It is our responsibility... If a stranger gave his life to save yours, how would you feel about it?There would be nothing you could do for that person, but wouldn't you, in your heart, be forever grateful?  If it meant being able to spend the rest of your days with your husband/wife/children/family, wouldn't you feel something?

Jesus willingly shed His blood for us. He did not have to do it. He could have disobeyed His Father, but He didn't.  He could have called a legion of angels to come to His aid, but He didn't. He knew from a very young age what His purpose was to be. As He began to study Scripture in the synagogues He began to realize that the words written (in the Old Testament) were speaking of Him and He knew He needed to reveal Himself to as many as would listen. He realized He would be rejected by His own people but others would follow. He knew He was to die even for those who rejected Him--in the hopes that they would one day change their hearts.

Yes, there's victory in Jesus.  By His stripes and by His blood, we are healed. When we receive Christ into our lives...when we openly, verbally confess Him as our Lord and Savior. It cannot simply be that we call ourselves Christians because we're not Jewish or Islam or Buddhist. It cannot simply be because we have always gone to church or are a certain denomination. It cannot simply be because we read the Bible.  It cannot simply be because we believe Jesus lived and died for us. We must receive Him into our lives. Then a change will begin to take place within us as He shows us what is wrong in our lives. Late last night I happened to catch a short part of a program on television. The individual said asking God into your heart will weed out the things that separated you from Him.  That only happens when your turn your heart to Jesus.

Maybe it sounds complicated but it really isn't because if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths, receive Him into our lives, He will begin to make the changes within us. We cannot make these changes in our own strength. They will come from the power of His Holy Spirit that will envelope us when true confession is made. It is then that symbolically, Jesus' blood covers us so that God no longer can see the sinful nature we carry.  Amazing.  That is victory in Jesus!  That is freedom...from sin.

Once years ago I spoke these words:  Lord God, I confess out loud and in my heart that I am a sinner.  I ask that You be my Savior, that You enter into my life and bring about the changes necessary to make me into the person You created me to be.  I ask in Your name that You cover me with Your blood and bring victory into my life.  

He calls each and every one of us.  Maybe He does it daily and we fail to recognize it or reject it.  I'm thankful He does not reject us in our sorry states.  I thank Him that His life centered around the sinner, the adulterer, the thief, the murderer.  He humbled Himself for me...for us.  He didn't turn a cold shoulder against the transgressor.  That demands our thankfulness.

Romans 10:9-10  -  ...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.