I'm Coming Out of This!

I’m Coming Out of This! Matt. 28:1-7 Jesus was alone when they placed Him in a tomb borrowed from Joseph of Arimathea. No one was around! He was in isolation; a Holy Ghost Quarantine! But I’m glad that it wasn’t like a COVID-19’ 14 days with no guarantees. No, Jesus came out of His grave condition in was just three days! • His flesh was trapped in an embalmed and mummified state, But his SPIRIT free! Jesus knew that the mission before Him was not going to be accomplished by might, nor by power, but ONLY by the Spirit of God! This was a fight for eternal life! Yes, this fight; this wrestling match for the redemption of mankind could not be accomplished by mere flesh and blood… BUT it would be won only by the power of God in the Spirit of Jesus Christ! For you see: • It is only in a disembodied state that the keys to death, hell, and the grave could be repossessed! Ephesians 4:10 tells us: 1. Jesus descended into the earth, 2. Next- He descended into the pits of hell 3. Then- He ASCENDED into heaven! APPLICATION: You have to go down before you can go up! YES! We wouldn’t know healing unless we were once sick. We wouldn’t know anything about joy unless we were acquainted with sorrow! Jesus went down before he went up! This concept; this kingdom principle doesn’t disprove “Newton’s Law of Gravity”. To the contrary, it disambiguates, it demystifies Brother Newton’s law by revealing the life, death, and burial of Jesus Christ! What goes up has to come down, BUT WHEN JESUS IS FACTORED INTO THE EQUATION-HE ALWAYS STARTS UP and HE ALWAYS ENDS UP!! Jesus was UP in the beginning! He was UP in the cosmos when the world was called out of chaos! Gen. 1:2 tells us that “...the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Yes, He was UP! BUT after He brought clarity from chaos… folk had to go “messing stuff up!” APPLICATION: Isn’t it strange how God gives us blessings and we find a way to mess it up? Yes- We mess up our resources, relationships, and revelation because flesh gets in the way!! Jesus was UP and went down! He went down the first time to show us his love (John 3:16). But then – Ephesians informs us that— He goes down to another level in order to show us the fullness of his power!! • It was “some power” that wondered through the womb of a virgin • It was “some power” that could turn water into wine. • It was “some power” that healed the sick. • It was “some power” that spoke to the winds and the waves, “peace, be still”. • It was “some power” that was surrounded by 5000 broke and hungry folk; but His power turned a scarcity of food! Two fish and five loaves of bread were turned into a neighborhood fish fry! Not only that; He sent a boy home with a “to-go plate”! • It was “some power” that healed a child with an unclean spirit! • It was “some power” that protected a little boy from South-Central Los Angeles, who grew up with what looked like NO father, No money, and No future. IT was “some power” that revealed to this same boy a Heavenly Father; Jehovah-Jireh; and soul on fire! I wish you would touch your neighbor (if they don’t have COVID-19) and tell them “That’s some power”! BUT IT WAS THE FULLNESS OF HIS POWER… wonder working power that stayed on a cross when He could have come down! • It was the fullness of His power that carried our sins in His body on the cross! • It was in the fullness of His power that enabled the weight of our sin to crush His flesh, but not his Spirit!! Yes! Sin may have crushed his arteries, but it did not crush his anointing. In fact, the more they pressed Him, the more the oil (anointing) came out! …. (Hymn) “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins….” • Sin put nails in His hands, but birthed healing from his heart! • Sin put a question of God veracity in His mouth when he said, “My God, my God. Why has thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) ◦ But this question gave way to victory in the Spirit when He said, “It - is – finished!” (John 19:30) Beloved, it was the fullness of His power that after the virus of sin dominated the earth; His disciples implemented social distancing. They put Him in an isolated tomb and washed their hands of Him!!— AND That’s when the earth began to shake! The earth was shaking not because of tectonic movement, but it was an aftershock from Satan being body-slammed by Jesus! AND Jesus took the keys to death and the grave! You know, it’s just like God to not allow a good shaking to be wastes… His power, His full power used the shaking of the earth to roll the stone away!!! If God would license my imagination today, I believe there was a sound with this quake! IT was the soundtrack of Jesus coming out of the grave! He wanted “the world to know; he had to let it show…” [“I’m Coming Out”. Diana Ross] HIS FULL POWER was on display as the angel told the women, “He’s not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Go quickly and tell the disciples that he is risen!! (Matt. 28:6) Beloved, COVID-19 may have us isolated and shut-in…. but I heard the Lord say, “ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and GOD will heal their land. (2 Chron. 7:14) Give your neighbor a “COVID-19 - high-five” and tell them “I’m Coming Out of This!”