18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hell and of Death.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
There was some business that had to be taken care of on behalf of man. Man's sin debt had to be paid in full and all of man's sins were placed on Jesus on the cross. The sky grew dark and God had to turn away and take his presence away from his son. Then the Bible tells us that he gave up the ghost, or his spirit left his body. Many do not realize where Jesus spent those three days, but we get the answer straight from the mouth of Jesus himself above. Jesus said, "For three days and three nights he would be in the heart of the earth."
There he would break the authority of Satan for good for all mankind. There the keys and authority that Satan had stolen would be taken back and man would now have his position with God fully restored. Though we do not have details of all three days that Jesus spent in hell Paul's Epistles gives us an idea of what took place. Colossians 2:15 tells us that he spoiled principalities and powers and made a public show of them openly. Some devil stomping took place for those three days. Then on that third day, when the Father said, "That's long enough", the power of God was released and Jesus was raised to life by the Spirit of Life.
Thinking about this will cause you to rejoice in the Lord and all that he has done. He literally went to hell with the sins of the whole world and dropped off those sins in hell. They are still there today and they are marked "paid in full". When the enemy tries to bring up your past sins and tries to condemn you with the past, just remind him that they are sitting in hell even now, paid for forever! That is why God can look at a person in Christ and see them as righteous! The price really has been paid completely! Your old sins do exist today, they exist in the center of the earth where Jesus dropped them off never to be counted against you again! So, what is left for you? Enjoy the victory that was purchased for you!
Romans 6:9 NKJV
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.The dominion that God gave to Adam and Eve in the beginning is now given back to man once again. Once you are 'in Christ', as Paul liked to say so often, death and the kingdom of darkness no longer have dominion over you! You now have the ability to bind and to loose on the earth again. You now have the power that is in Christ. This is not something you will get one day, but it is something you have now!
Life is now a Victory Parade:
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory]
Jesus, our Great King, the King of kings is leading the way in this great procession as the Reigning Champion. Today we have great parades for Super Bowl champions and World Series champions. The team generally leads the parade and then they are followed up by marching bands, cheerleaders and others that were some part of that team or those that just join in on all of the celebration! What is their job? Just fall in line and celebrate that there has been a victory to celebrate.
Our job as believers, as part of this procession or parade, is to get in line and start acting like the victory has been won! Waving to all with a big smile on our face and proclaiming the victory that was won for us by our Jesus. We would not look right in this procession with a frown on our face, or a long sad look on our face. Those in this parade would probably not be whining and complaining, instead there would be a joy and rejoicing in this parade.
The Amplified Bible says that we are actually trophies of Christ victory! Believers are seen in the eyes of God as trophies. He has shined you up and placed you in this world as a display of his victory! No one hides a trophy but he puts that trophy out where all can see it. We are called to shine in this dark world and everything has been done for us by Jesus to set us apart as victorious!
Victory smells good! Make sure you are giving off the right aroma everywhere you go! The Bible tells us here that when we spread the knowledge of what Jesus has done for us it will actually smell good and be attractive to those that hear it. It stinks to give off an aroma of defeat, complaining, whining and murmuring. Those actually have no place in a believer! Giving off the right aroma can draw people to you. Giving off a foul aroma can drive people away.
The gospel smells good. It is called the good news! When we proclaim the gospel properly it will draw others. And my oh my do we have some good news for the world around us!
Part of your Walking in the Reign is taking your place in Christ victory parade and proclaiming that victory to all those around you! Every where you go in this life you are taking His victory parade with you! Let the world around you know that if they are tired of living in defeat they can join you in this victorious life simply by getting into Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17- if any man be 'in Christ', he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come!
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