No One Home

No One Home
By: Bobby Sullivan

Click the link below to watch the Service:
https://www.facebook.com/icbridgewater/videos/216012546484846/ 

Hebrews 9:26 “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  I now get eternal life because of what he did and I accepted as fact!    THIS IS REVELATION, THIS IS RESTORATION.   We have been crucified with Christ. That selfish, pitiful excuse for a life as been set free from the bondage of sin! We are a new creation! You are seated in Christ Jesus far above the cares of the world! I live by faith and in faith from Jesus to rule and reign with him.

1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.” “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”  Faith is not about a  moral salvation doing good for mankind! Its about having faith that we died in out sins and raised in a newness of life.  Born again…again.  My righteousness is a filthy rags without HIM.  I am seated with him in heavenly places. The cross took us to where we could not go ourselves!!!  He didn’t come to give you moral lessons of good behavior! He came to liberate you and free you from performance driven religion!  HE IS MY RIGHTEOUSNESS!! HE WILL IMPUTE AND IMPART it into you. 

1 Corinthians 15:19-20  “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

(NLT)“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.” We have a living breathing relationship restored into union with God himself!

Im not a lonely servant but a child of God! 

John 19:30 “When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!”  (Paid In Full!!!) Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.”   HE triumphed over the devil on the cross. You have never lived an unloved moment! No more sacrifices! NO more religious ceremonies. The cross was the path to eternal victory!  He set us free by conquest! 

Revelation 21:6 “And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.’”

Is it finished or is it done? He finished everything for your freedom but he is not done until he is done. 

John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 

Do you know anything about the following Hebrew tradition?

John 20:7 tells us that the napkin that was placed over the face of Jesus was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin. Is that significant? Absolutely!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the master and servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table until the master was finished. If the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, “I’m done.”

But if the master got up from the table, folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table because the servant knew that the folded napkin meant, “I’m not finished yet.” The folded napkin meant, “I’m coming back!”

This is done but Im not finished! .

He just folded the napkin.  I will still be working towards a specific end.

Jesus is alive and at work today bringing  into manifestation His new creation!!!

WHAT IS HE STILL DOING IN 2020?

1. He’s Still Restoring Lives
   John 20:16 “Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him…Master.”  Mary was messed up and miserable but Jesus restored her! Cosmic redemption is taking place, but before he ascended he had to stop to see hurting Mary. The defeated devil may have been in the deterioration business but Jesus is and  ( IS STILL) in the restoration business! HE is the restoration Master!

Listen to Marks Account: Who was the very first person Jesus appeared to after the resurrection? Was it is friends, a preacher, the ones who put him to death? NO! Go to Mark 16: 9-11. It was Mary from Magdola. Magdalene isnt her last name by the way. It says, “she went and reported it to those who had been with him (friends), as they grieved and wept. 11. And when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, [they did not believe].

I find it strange that Jesus told them he would rise on the third day but when Mary said she saw him they didn’t believe. Which makes me wonder…why then Mary? Why was she the first?

How many of you know it is easy to quote promises until we face a situation that contradicts them.

What Jesus said really didn’t matter to them because he died. Which leads me to another question, “Does death have the final say?” In order to know why Mary of Magdalene was to be the first to see him on Sunday you have to go back to Friday.

Go back to Mark 15:46-47…They went to a borrowed tomb which meant, This was not the final resting place! It was borrowed, rented, temporary. Vs 47 says, And Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of Jesus were observing where he was laid.” Because she was the last one to see him on Friday meant she was the first one to see him on Sunday! Faith has the ability to see on Sunday… when you face fear on Friday! However, because she faced fear and dealt with it, that gave her faith to experience what was coming on Sunday!!!

You can’t experience Resurrection until you witness death. You can’t fix what you will not face! In the midst of this crisis, don’t fix your faith on the fear of death. Fix your faith on the future!!

Mark 16:7 “…tell his disciples (and Peter) that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him,…”

Why Peter? Because even after the 3 denials, Peter was still important and worth restoring as well. There is no creation not worth the effort to stop on the journey

Jesus is still restoring lives! No hole to deep, no wall to big, no obstacle so wide, no wound to open that Jesus can’t fix! You may be desperate, depressed and discouraged and doubting, there is no distance that Jesus cant cover!! 

2. He’s Still Walking Through Locked Doors

John 20:26 “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”

He still walks through your walls and through your shut doors and says , PEEKA BOO! PEACE!

I personally think he has the keys to every locked door, safe, room, both at home and your hotel. 

3. He’s Still Performing Miracles

John 21:6 “And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”  Jesus makes a breakfast for them. Intimacy!

John 20: 30 “There are also many other signs and miracles which Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book.”

We are all candidates for miracles! 

4. He’s Still Pouring Out His Spirit

Acts 2:32-33 “This Jesus God has raised up, …and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”  

JOHN 20:21-22 “Then Jesus said to them peace to you! Just as the Father has sent me forth, so I am sending you. And having said this, He breathed on them and said, “ Receive the Holy Spirit.” 

5. He’s Still Healing The Sick

Acts 3:16  “…faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” 

6. He Still Has The Keys

Revelation 1:18  “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

Revelation 3:7  “He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” 

7. He’s Coming Back Again

Revelation 22:12-13 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”  

John 6:28-29 “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” For some people that really is work!  

The gospel is too complicated for some people. It is not that hard! 

Romans 10:9 “…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.” 

He Restores

Walks through Locked Doors

Performs Miracles

Pours Out his Spirit

Heals the sick

Has the keys

Coming back

He is coming back with the keys to locked doors to heal the sick by performing miracles, pouring out his spirit and restoring all things.