Jesus Ascends, our mission begins.

Introduction

Good morning LaFayette Baptist Family. It is so good to be here with you all today and celebrate this Lord’s day with you all, singing hymns to Him, learning of Him, and reading His Word, and praying together. Our passage today will be from Acts 1, Acts 1:6-11, please go ahead and turn there in your bible’s. In a few moments it will be on the screen for us to read from the screen together as well.

While you are doing that, have you ever considered what it must be like to be a member of a commercial airplane flight crew? Just like any other job, their jobs are high stress and have multiple part and their job starts well before we (the passengers) get to see them. When we first get to see them, their job is what? Usually assisting the passengers with boarding the airplane and safety checks and tutorials. After all the passengers get on and are buckled up, what comes next? And no, I don’t mean waiting on the runway! Hopefully the plain get’s a clear go to take the runway, start slow the speed up and wooosh! Ascend to the sky. Do you notice what happens when that ascent process begins? Everyone is instructed to take a seat and remain in their seat (for safety) until cleared to move from that point, they then begin the next part of their job which usually involves seeing to the comfort and hospitality of the passengers. This makes me think much of the disciples, that they were to wait, but they knew what and when to do the next part of their job. This part is metaphorically where we all are on as believers, as Jesus had Ascended and the Holy Spirit is within us, now our mission and commissioning to share Jesus with others has begun (and continues). This brings us to today’s main idea and sermon title, Jesus Ascends, our mission begins.

Scripture

If you would all please rise for the reading of God’s Word today. The words to the scripture will be on the screen, please read along with me as we are reading. When I am done I will say “this is The Word of The Lord” if you will all please respond with “Thanks be to God.” First, let’s pray Father God, thank You for this day and this place where we can know, grow, listen, and mediate on Your Word. Your Word is a precious gift to us, help us not take lightly or in vain, or ignore it. We ask this day as we are about to read Your Word together, that You refine us with it. Help us see You in every sentence, in every Word. Take any distraction away from us as we are about to do this. Make our attention and focus be squarely on You. May the richness of Your Mercy and Grace fill our hearts and minds during this time together. We look expectantly towards what You are going to show us about Yourself and what this means to each of this. May You be glorified in us and through us today. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen.6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” This is the Word of the Lord (thanks be to God), thank you, Please be seated.

Context

We continue this week where we left off of this past week in our Journey through the Book of Acts together. Again, we will be in this book for a while, so please go ahead this week begin reading this book if you haven’t already. Also, remember to look into the context of the book before you begin it, it if you need any help with that, (finding a resource) just let me know and I’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Last week, we looked at the beginning of the chapter; especially noticing how Jesus’ message was continued in this book and it continues today even in our own hearts and lives and faiths. We remembered and observed that Jesus is Alive, as God He will always be alive forevermore, but also how Jesus provided undeniable proof to the doubters of His time. We also stood back and heard about how sometimes God tells us to wait on things and why He does this. All of that was with the main idea that that The good work, the good work of God had only just begun.

This week we pick back up on the second half of sort of recap of the ending of the Gospel of Luke (Luke of Course being the author of both the Gospel of Luke and this Book). In this ending we see the closing days and hours of Jesus’ past ministry on Earth. So, this book begins just after the crucifixion of Christ and to the ascension of Jesus back into Heaven; the time period between these two events being 40 days. Be sure during your reading on your own and through the message today to watch out for some of the key themes throughout this book, which was of course, “believers empowered by the Holy spirit witnessing about Jesus Christ, the establishment of The Church, the trueness of Christ, and the fulfillment and extension of God’s promises.”[1]

As we also discussed, this book is very unique in it’s purpose and genera. In itself, it stands as a historical record of what was happening to the apostles, The Church, and believers everywhere during the earliest years of the Christian Faith. Now, initially Acts was for the person Theophilus. However, for all of history this book has stood as a reliable source for what happened in those days and what culture was like, even secular historians turn to this book to help them understand the events and cultures of the 1st century. So, watch out for things that seem similar and things that seem different, look for the timeless message that is in every story and do your best to apply to Your own faith lives, Your own thoughts, and even the thoughts and actions of our church and church family. With those things in mind, let’s dive into this week’s text.

Message

Our first point, The Father knows His plan

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

This is a passage that needs careful thought and carful study. In fact, after time in study and prayer, I realized that my initial interpretation of these verses was wrong. What was wrong with my interpretation, was that I looked at this verse and applied things that were true in the gospel accounts, namely that the Apostles didn’t understand what Jesus was teaching and were once again asking or wanting something that Jesus wasn’t even speaking about. In this case in particular, a free Israel from Rome. I thought that this must have been what they were asking about and Jesus was rebuking them, but if you look at the language and the demeanor of Jesus this was the case. Here it said, “He (Jesus said to them), not that he rebuked them as He had in the past.

Remember what happened in Luke 24, Jesus opened their minds and made them understand the scriptures and the message that Jesus was teaching fully. Let me read that section for you., Luke 24 starting in verse 44. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for[c] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” So, at this time the apostles now had better understanding and it would have been a natural and sensible question for them to ask in the presence of the resurrected Messiah. They wanted to know, was this the time, because all the prophets and all the teachings seemed to point towards a yes.

Jesus though, reminds them and teaches them something. The Theologian Hamilton comments that, “He (Jesus) redirects their question to the more important issue that focuses the disciples on a different idea of time. The disciples are thinking in regard to the consummation, the final establishment of the kingdom. They are also likely thinking of a decisive event. But Jesus directs them away from a specific day and instead focuses on the situation that exists as a result of his resurrection. The kingdom is being restored and will continue to be restored through the coming of the promised Holy Spirit, who will empower the disciples. The restoration begins now.”[2] So, what are we looking at here, we see Jesus redirect them onto something that is much better than just a restored earthly kingdom. Jesus directs them towards thinking about the Heavenly kingdom, that belongs to God. He tells them that the Father has plans to grow and prosper His kingdom, and that they (and we today) are to play a part in that. It’s not for us to know what the plans are (again remember how last week we spoke about how we aren’t able to even comprehend these things because we are small beings but God is an infinite beings, using the example of how we simplify even the most explainable things like coming to a stop in a car.

So, it is not for us to know every little detail. Know this brothers and sisters, you will never be able to handle or understand everything that comes your way. This can be with both big things and small things. God though, God though. He can and He does and will for You, for all of His children. He knows the plan, and it cannot fail, it never will. We will experience hard and difficult times, yes this is a must for all of His children, however we can rest at peace knowing that God is control and all we have to do is what He reveals to us. You can’t win every battle, God wins every battle for You. Turn to Him in all places and all things and He will see you through, He is tried and true.

A second point, The Spirit Empowers our mission

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Remember how the apostles were told to wait? Remember when they were told not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the gift from The Father. This is why, they were waiting for something very special from God, in fact they were waiting for God Himself. We know this to be the Holy Spirit, who is both God and lives within all believers everywhere. With Him, all things are possible. Know this too, with Him you also have a target on your back.

Why is this? It’s because there is a very real, very active, and very powerful enemy (Satan) out there who is trying to keep you away from your mission, trying to keep you off of task. Satan’s goal, his aim to keep us from forgetting the mission, which is to not only know but hugely to share the message with God with others. Despite all of his (Satan’s) power though, it fails in comparison to the power that rests within God, that rests within you, whenever you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, from that very moment to the rest of your life comes power. No, not like superman or batman or spiderman, but rather is different and comes with a commission and is much more real and has a much greater purpose. “This commission lays an obligation on all Christians and comes as a gift with a promise. It concerns a person, a power, and a program—the person of Jesus, on whose authority the church acts and who is the object of its witness; the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the necessary piece for the mission; and a program that begins at Jerusalem, moves out to “all Judea and Samaria,” and extends “to the ends of the earth.”[3]Says Longenecker.

So, the moment you become a believer, you are told to learn of Him (of God) and the simple truths of your faith and then take this message and share it with others. NO EXCEPTIONS. Now, this doesn’t mean that everyone has the means or ability to go far away, but it does mean that if God provides the way and tells you to, then you must. It also doesn’t mean that the only legitimate missions or evangelism happens far away. Jesus said in his message here that we are to go both near and far. We may not all be able to go far away, but we can and should participate nearby or support and encourage those that do.

Know this, not everyone is what we would think about as an evangelism or discipleship rockstar. You might think of those people as the sort of “face” of the operation. But the face needs more than just itself to work and survive. It needs people who pray, people who can teach more than just the basics, it needs people who are hospitable, it needs people who can encourage. I could go on forever and ever, but to put it short, it needs everyone because it is really a team sport and not an individual sport to do missions and evangelism and descipleship. Sure, you may have people, individuals who are really good at the approaching/talking to part, for example sake let’s say at the sport bowling, but no matter how good you are, a team can score many more points than you can on your own. Some people may be able to swim really far and really fast, but they won’t get near as far as a swimming team can. You know, those people with that gift can should and that’s a good thing when they do, but we can be even better together.

What I mean is, we all have a part to play, what’s your part? Are you doing it? If not, why not? And is that something you need to repent of? If you don’t know what your part is, ask The Lord honestly and He will answer you. Then share that with the church. He will not only answer you, He will empower and equip you to do that. So, are you ready? Believe in the Lord Jesus and what He can and will do through you, because He will do it, He is calling You believer for a specific purpose, to minister to the world in one way or another, let’s work together and do that good work.

Another point, The Son was lifted up

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Jesus then, teaching his disciples on this important idea, was taken up or ascended. Where did he go? Back up to be at the right hand of God the Father, He was going back Home. Not just His home, but our home as well, the heavenly places. This Jesus, who is God but came to the world as a tiny baby and went and lived the perfect life (not sinning even once, as opposed to each and every day or our probably multiple times every day or even every hour) and was sacrificed on the cross to pay for our sins to God who then came back after his death for 40 days was now gone. The text says that the cloud took Him away from their sight, and a cloud in these sense and word usually refers to some sort of manifestation of God’s presence such as the Israelites saw in the wilderness or in the tabernacle.

From this same Jesus, who had now ascended we find our worth, our reason, our everything in life. Only let the risen Lord define you and your life. No amount of money, no amount of valor, no amount of good deeds, no amount of comfort, or “just doing things right” matters even a little bit if it wasn’t all for God’s means and surrendering to being some part of God’s mission and commission for us while here on earth….. One of the smartest and profound things I’ve ever heard in my life is, “We are here because of and for God (for his service and pleasure), and the sooner we realize that, the better and happier we will be in life.

How do we serve and please Him? By our worship, by our praise, and by pointing others towards Jesus for repentance and forgiveness of sins that hearts and minds will changed, and souls would be saved all to God’s glory. Make this what your life is about. Throw away anything that makes you either not want to do it or not care for it. The glory of God should always be on our mind, is it for you? What action steps do you need to take? When was the last time that you prayed for iHs glory or to be content with His glory? Those are powerful prayers. Do this brothers and sisters and perceive what the ascended Lord has in store.

The next point, The Son will come back

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

These sets of verses almost seem to speak for themselves. While looking up in amazement and wonder and Jesus being carried up, 2 men (who know to be messengers/angels) addressed the group. To put it simply, they said, “Why are you standing there? Didn’t he just tell you what to do? Didn’t He just tell you what was next? Don’t you know that He will return? Now is the time to go and wait, you know the place, in Jerusalem. Wait for the thing that He spoke of (The Holy Spirit) then go and take this message everywhere that you can and further.

When I read these verses, I was reminded of set of verses in the Book Revelations in chapter 1, it is addressed to the churches in Asia and says, “4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail[b] on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” So, he will return (as Jesus taught earlier in these verses that we will not know when because only the Father knows) in the same way he left, on a cloud. This also reminded me of a Christian song that came out some 8 years ago, called the Lion and the Lamb by Big Daddy Weave. This song begins, “He’s coming on the cloud, kings and kingdom’s will bow down. And every chain will break, as broken hearts declare His praise; for who can stop the Lord Almighty? Our God is the lion, the lion of Judah, he’s roaring with power, and fighting our battles, and every knee will bow before Him. Our God is the lamb, the lamb that was slain. For the sins of the world, His blood breaks the chains. And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb, Every knee will bow before Him.

Yes believer this is a truth, and one that we get to look forward to very much; but, don’t get distracted by this as all to often believers do. The master will return, but in the meantime let’s not forget what he left us to do, to go and share the Good News and build the Holy Church from now until the moment He returns. The Son will come back, for now, there is much to do!

Conclusion

Beloved, why do we wait and why do we fear? We already know that The Father knows His plan, turn from your own and seek and follow His instead, better yet, make His plan your plan. Know this, that The Spirit Empowers our mission which is always to share the good news and advance the kingdom of God as we are directed. This is because we each know that The Son was lifted up both on the cross the pay for our sins and to heaven as God. God, though Jesus The Son will come backwhich means that we saw that Jesus Ascends, our mission begins. The good news didn’t end with Jesus death or even His leaving earth after the 40 days, it lives on and has prospered and it is our job to steward what resources and gifts we have been given all for the work of kingdom. For you and for us, what do you think that might be? Pray about this.

To the non-believer or the unsure, friend, I am speaking to you right now. I know that you know that there is a God. You know that You know there is a God. There is only one and only way to Him. All other ways are false and are leading you to something sinister. The only way is trough accepting the sacrifice and placing your faith in the Lord Jesus to pay for your sins and be made pure and clean and whole again before God so you may stand uncondemn before Him. Accept this today.

Let’s conclude, brothers and sisters, I love you all. Let’s pray. Father God, thank you for this message and this mission. May we ever grow to know and understand on You. Make us understand Your love for us more and more that we can grow in love to You and share You with those that you place around that Your kingdom and your glory might be known more and more. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen.

[1]ESV Study Bible Page 2074 [2]Hamilton, James M., Jr., and Brian J. Vickers. John–Acts. Edited by Iain M. Duguid et al., vol. IX, Crossway, 2019, p. 337. [3]Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition), edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 10, Zondervan, 2007, pp. 718–19.