Receiving Jesus opens floodgates within your soul
In order for man to enter into the Kingdom of God, it is necessary for God to enter into man. But there is only one way that can happen. You see, there are essentially floodgates within your soul that must be opened in order for God's love to be poured into your heart.
Floodgates are "the last restraint holding back an outpouring of something powerful or substantial." And there is nothing more powerful or life-changing than the living water of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:38). The floodgates within your soul are opened when you believe in Jesus and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The Apostle John wrote, "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). Have you received Jesus by faith, or are you attempting to be good enough to be accepted by God?
Religion is basically man's attempt to get to God. Receiving Jesus, on the other hand, is the way in which God places His rivers of living water within us. And this supernatural impartation led a former terrorist turned apostle to write, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).
Jesus did everything necessary for our salvation when He died on the cross for our sins. "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). All that remains now my friend is for you to receive Jesus by faith.
Will you turn to the Lord today and repent of your sins, and will you trust Jesus to save your soul? Simply turn away from those things that offend God, and then ask Jesus to wash away your sins. Here is a simple expression of faith that opens the floodgates: "Wash me Jesus with your precious blood."
If you acknowledge that you are a sinner and that Jesus died for your sins on the cross, then simply receive Christ by faith. Receiving Jesus opens floodgates within your soul.
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and teacher who wrote, "The reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much."
Do you realize why Jesus endured six hours of agony on the cross? Apart from the Savior's sacrifice, God's rivers of living water could never enter your heart or mine. But now the floodgates have been opened within the soul of every believer. Thankfully, "God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us" (Romans 5:5).
The Apostle Paul preached, "We tell you the good news ... I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through Him, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses" (Acts 13:32, 38-39).
You see, "The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). The Law has never saved a single soul. We can only be saved by the Gospel. Paul wrote, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).
Believing in Jesus as your Savior is what it means to receive Jesus. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36).
Paul wrote to believers in Ephesus: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
If you are a follower of Christ, your noble deeds are not what saved your soul. You were actually saved on the front end of your relationship with God when you received Jesus by faith. And while your good works did not open the floodgates within your soul, they are certainly the result of your sins being washed away by the blood of Jesus.
Good works always flow from faith, while faith never flows from good works. God's rivers of living water enter your soul when you receive Jesus and rely upon the cross for salvation. And the fruit of the Holy Spirit soon begins to grow once the floodgates have been opened. This wonderful fruit consists of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Are you attempting to earn your way into Heaven? It will never happen. The only way to be saved, redeemed, justified, born again and forgiven is by trusting Jesus to forgive your sins.
Have you been resisting the Holy Spirit? Have you hardened your heart toward God? Paul certainly ran into plenty of unbelief when he preached the Gospel. "Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe" (Acts 28:24).
Have you accepted the truth of the Gospel, or would you currently be classified among those who would not believe? Spending eternity in either Heaven or Hell is the most consequential reality you will ever experience, bar none!
If it helps, perhaps try opening your palms heavenward to represent an open heart toward God. And then pray, "Jesus, I need you. Please forgive my sins. I receive you Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe in you and in your Gospel promise."
When you receive Christ, God's peace will begin to flow into your soul. I am talking about "the peace of God that transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).
Your salvation, however, is not based on feelings, but on Christ's sacrifice on the cross 2000 years ago. Therefore, look outside yourself to receive forgiveness and to find peace with God. Look to the cross and to the One who shed His blood for your salvation.
Believe and receive. And then trust and obey, as a forgiven sinner whose name is "written in the Lamb's book of life," (Revelation 21:27) which is essentially Heaven's reservation book.
So, have you made your reservation in Heaven by receiving Jesus as your Savior?
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
