"Total Victory in Jesus"
Text: Matt. 26:36-46
Matt. 27:26-34
Matt. 28:1-10 & Eph. 4:7-10
Leslie B. Flynn told a story that illustrates a great truth. An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drain pipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hand from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue. And so it is with Jesus. His nail-pierced hands remind us that he has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences.
I thank God today for the nail-scarred hands that fought the battle for you and that we might be free from the awful penalty of sin...
When Jesus Christ won the battle, He did it fully and completely..
You may be here today walking in defeat, but my Bible says that "we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" and we need not be in defeat as we live our lives...
Christ won the victory over every aspect that you and I battle with as human beings in our Soul, Flesh and our Spirit...
For us to be victorious in our lives, Christ first had to gain victory in every one of these areas while He was here on earth 2,000 years ago...
Every human being created by God has been destined to walk in victory because of the sinless blood that was spilled on Calvary’s cross, and the resurrected body that arose on Easter Sunday...
First, we’re going to see that Christ had
Victory over...
I. THE SOUL AT GETHSEMANE (Matt. 26:36-46)
The Soul of every man is the seat of our emotions...
It is where we "feel" emotional pain, or emotional joy...
It is where we feel joy, rejection, depression, anger, happiness, excitement, and all the other areas associated with emotional feeling...
It is the part of us that knows and understands all of these things...
But most important, it is where our Will is found as well...
Your decision to reject or accept Christ as your Savior is made in your soul
Jesus echoed the feelings of the soul when He said in vs. 38... "My soul is exceeding sorrowful"
As He went back to his disciples and found them sleeping after he had asked them to watch with Him, no doubt He felt the loneliness that accompanies the trial ahead that must be faced alone...
There are times when no matter what words of support or encouragement comes from our loved ones, there is still the loneliness of facing trials seemingly all alone...
Here were the men who had been with Him day after day, not even able to hold their eyes open with the Master on the brink of death...
He knew in His mind what lie ahead in the Cup of Suffering, and battled with His will as any man would facing suffering... Yet He prayed, not my will, but thine be done!
What lie in that cup of suffering?
Pain, suffering, battling the demons of Hell, the tear-stained face of His mother, Mary who loved Him, the look of bewilderment and confusion on the disciples faces who still expected a different kingdom...
There was a part of Jesus searching for another way, but He knew there was no other way...
The betrayal with a kiss by Judas to come, one of His own disciples no doubt was looked at with sorrow as well...
Jesus first had to fight the battle in His soul, and commit His life to the cross and beyond, here in the Garden...
Every emotional feeling of pain, he felt, and gained victory over it, by staying focused on what lie beyond the cross...
Are you bearing some hurt today emotionally? Jesus felt what you feel, and cares...
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Here was a moment of temptation, to give in to His own will, and walk away from it all...
the lazy disciples, the kiss of Judas, the mocking of the crowd, the spear in His side, and the nails in His hands and feet...
But He chose the Father’s will, not His own, and won the victory of the soul, and chose not to be ruled by His emotions...
And because He won the victory in Gethsemane over the domination of the soul, you and I can too...
He not only won victory at Gethsemane, but at Calvary
II. CHRIST WON VICTORY OVER THE FLESH
Matt. 27:26-34
Isa. 53:4,5,10
Here was a man who could have at any moment called 10,000 angels to arrive and take care of business...
We have heard over and over the horrific stories of crucifixion, and the pain and torment it would unleash on the physical body, but we know that...
Every stripe He took should have been ours..
The beatings were meant for us...
The rejection should have been ours...
The thorns should have crushed our heads...
The spear should have been thrust in our side...
No doubt the flesh of Christ was screaming for relief, while Heaven’s host waited at the door for the command that never came...
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Christ died not only for our Salvation, but for our healing as well...
We need to get back to old-fashioned faith and trust in God for healing...
Christ looked for no shortcuts or easy way out... He bore the full penalty of our sin...
When they offered vinegar mixed with gall to ease the pain, He refused to drink it
His death was so violent, that no film could ever capture the picture of pain that He went through for you and I...
Every muscle in His body no doubt was crying out for relief... but He drank every drop of the bitter cup...
One of the most difficult parts for the Lord probably was the fact that He knew that all the power of Heaven was at His disposal, but His love for man kept Him on the cross, not the nails...
We often hear, the Devil made me do it, Or I just couldn’t help myself...
I think the reason we often give in is because we haven’t had our Gethsemane where we got victory over our Will and our feelings...
Christ knew before there could be the victory at Calvary over the flesh, there first had to be victory at Gethsemane over the will...
Well, Jesus proved to me on the cross that we can have victory over the flesh and the desires thereof..
Before we can really live for the Lord, first we have to make up our minds!
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Anything we put in front of our relationship with the Lord is sin..
Next we see
III. RESURRECTION VICTORY OVER THE SPIRIT
The Soul and Spirit of man will live forever throughout eternity...
The Spirit of man is that part of man that relates to the spirit of God or has the capacity to worship Him...
When we become Born Again, our spirit no longer remains in death, but comes alive in Christ...
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Though man originally was created so that the Spirit would have dominion over the flesh or soulish part of us, God never took man’s will, and that dominion was given back to the soulish nature at the fall of man, and ever since then, man has to be saved before he can truly worship God in spirit and in truth...
But when Jesus Christ arose from the Dead, He provided a way for the Spirit to take dominion back once again if we will only accept this fact as reality...
Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
The Spirit of man will live forever in Heaven or Hell, and we must gain victory over the filthiness of our unrengerated spirit to gain access to heaven...
2 Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.Ephes. 4:7-10
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. [8] This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men."
[9] (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? [10] He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
While Jesus body was dead, His sinless spirit was alive and well, and taking care of business in the lower parts of Hell...
Eph. 4:7-10
Satan thought he had Christ exactly where he wanted Him, "in the grave" and defeated...
But down the long corridors of hell strode the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and wrested the keys of death, hell and the grave from Satan...
1 Cor 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 Cor 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Cor 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
His body was fully dead, but His spirit was fully alive!
Here is a letter written to a local adivce column along with the response..
Dear Eutychus:
Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed him back to health. What do you think?
Sincerely, Bewildered.
Dear Bewildered:
Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross, hang him in the sun for 6 hours, run a speak through his heart, embalm him, put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours, and see what happens.
Sincerely, Eutychus
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We need to reckon ourselves dead to sin, but our Spirit man alive to serve God and worship Him!
Jesus had to fight the battle in the Spirit realm in order to bring victory in the physical realm first...
If you ever expect to give your life over to the Lord, you need to expect a spiritual battle against the enemy, but remember, because Jesus fought the enemy and won, we too have been made victorious!
Even Jesus was tempted to worship Satan in the wilderness...
Sin, or the soulish life should no longer have dominion over our lives, but our Spirit man should have dominion over any fleshly desires...
Rom 6:12 Let not (shows we have a choice) sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
We no longer need to obey the desires of the flesh, because he that the Son has set free is free indeed...
The Spirit of Christ could not be held in Hell by the Devil, and neither can yours if you’ll accept this victory in Christ...
Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God...
All the work that Christ accomplished for you will be in vain, unless you reach out in faith and accept it...
1 Cor 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
You must get victory over your will, and decide you want Christ,
You must get victory over your flesh that always looks for the easy way out,
and lastly get victory in the Spirit so that you can rightfully worship God as you were intended to...
