We are Witnesses Pt. 3 RD

Introduction

A. Openning Illustration

i. Places have memories

One saying that has always stuck with me from my time studying the Old Testament with Dr. Abner Chou at TMU is that, in scripture “places have memories” [pause for emphasis] “Places have memories” That was his unique way of saying that geographical locations in the Bible are mentioned for a reason and that the events that occur in those places have a significance that informs our understanding of future events that happen in those same places.

ii. Temple Mount Example For example when Abraham takes his son to sacrifice him on a mountain top in the land of Moriah. If you are familiar with the story of Genesis 22, before the father, Abraham, sacrifices his only son whom he loves — that’s the language of the text, God provides a substitute for Abraham to sacrifice in Isaac’s place. The very next and only time we find Moriah mentioned is in 2 Chronicles 3, where Solomon begins to build the Temple on this very mountain — the place where God provided a substitute for Isaac is the very place where all of Isaac’s offspring would make substitutionary sacrifices for their sin for hundreds of years. You see “places have memories.”

iii. The Davidic Defeat One such place that we find ourselves at in Acts 1, is the Mount of Olives. This is a mountain top that is east of the city of Jerusalem as you travel on the way to Bethany which is on the southeastern slope of the mount. And it is a very significant mountain. The first time we find ourselves at the mount of olives is in 2 Samuel 15:30. It’s at this point in 2 Samuel that David has lost his kingdom. His son, Absolom had usurped his throne and David left the city barefoot and ashamed, weeping when he arrived on the Mount of Olives.

The first David fled his city to the Mount of Olives. And if we skip forward to the last king in the Davidic line before the exile into Babylon, what do you think we find? We find Zedekiah, in Jeremiah 39, fleeing the city by night, in shame and secret, east toward the Jordan Valley. And when you try to escape the city of Jerusalem east toward the Jordan, what Mountain do you find yourself traveling over? The Mount of Olives. You see, places have memories. And the Mount of Olives, is the place where the Davidic King is forced to run away from his city.

iv. The Davidic Victory

That is, until the New David comes. In Jesus’ darkest hour, when He is tempted most, when He goes out to pray before he is arrested, tried, and crucified, where does He go? The Garden of Gethsemane, which is on the…Mount of Olives. Even when facing what lies ahead of him with great anguish and despair, what does the Son pray. Not My will but Yours be done. He does not flee. He turns and faces His betrayer. He returns to His city to die for His people. And it is on this mountain we find ourselves again in Acts 1. The mountain that once marked his ancestor’s defeat and retreat has been transformed into the site of His victorious ascension into glory and the site at which He will return in conquest. And this moment at the Mount of Olives, motivates the Apostles to mirror their savior and return to His city to carry out His mission.

B. Main Point That is what I want to show you today. That this moment on the mount motivated the apostles, and should motivate us to carry out our mission as witnesses of the Risen and Ascendent King.

To put it simply: The main point in our text today is that: We are witnesses motivated by the ascension to proclaim Christ as King.

[pause for emphasis]

Reading

Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word

Transition

Today I want us to see 3 motivations from the Ascension at the Mount of Olives, as well as the Apostle’s response to the Ascended Lord.

1. The Ascension Proclaims Christ's Glory - vs 9

First in verse 9 we see that Christ’s Ascension Proclaims His Glory.

[pause for emphasis]

Christ’s Ascension Proclaims His Glory

Read with me starting in verse 9,

Acts 1:9 ESV

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.

When Jesus is lifted up, He is lifted up where? Into heaven.

He went to heaven no longer bound by history, no longer bound by this Creation, but transcending it. He was lifted up. This itself is pure supernatural power. It’s not every day that you see a person escalate, no wires, no invisible blocks, no green screens. He is no longer bound by the space or the laws of physicality. He transcends the rules of creation, fully demonstrating that He is the Ruler of creation.

To emphasize this fact, notice that a cloud took Him. This word cloud is used a few times by Luke. The top instance that comes to mind is the transfiguration. There in Luke 9, on the mountain, Peter, James, and John beheld Jesus in all His glory. In verse 34, Luke records, Luke 9:34–35 “34 While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” This isn’t just some nice pillowy cloud to carries Jesus to heaven. It is the cloud of the glory of God that the disciples beheld at the transfiguration.

This reality is underscored by Luke’s next usage of this word cloud in Luke 21. As Jesus is teaching them from the same mountain of His ascension, the Mount of Olives, He says this in Luke 21:27 “27 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

In this declaration in Luke 21, Jesus gives us the direct allusion to the moment that the cloud points to — the prophecy of the Son of Man in Daniel chapter 7.

Turn with me to Daniel chapter 7, and listen as I read verses 13 and 14, Dan 7:13-14

Daniel 7:13 LSB

13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And came near before Him.

Stop there. So Daniel beholds the clouds of heaven, and who comes with the clouds? The Son of Man. This is exactly what Jesus is talking about in Luke 21. But here, the Son of Man is not descending to earth, He is coming before the Ancient of Days, before the throne of His Father. Verse 14,

Daniel 7:14 LSB

14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not be taken away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

He was given dominion — the right to rule, as Solomon writes in Psalm 72, from the River Jordan to the Ends of the earth.

He was given glory, the glory the Apostles got a foretaste of at the Transfiguration. This is the glory that John beheld of His vision of the Son of Man in Revelation 1.

He was given an everlasting kingdom, authority to reign not just over Israel, but over all peoples, tribes and nations. This is the title deed, the scroll, that the Lamb receives in Revelation 5. When He takes it from His Father, John records that the living creatures and the 24 elders worshipped the Lamb, Rev 5:9

Revelation 5:9 ESV

9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

And here is what I am getting at. When Christ ascended into heaven, He ascended into heaven to this glorious moment — to the moment that Daniel prophesied— to the moment where the Son of Man is carried into the throne room of His Father by the clouds and declared to be the final and glorious ruler — the King of Kings over all creation.

He is the Son of Man — the culmination of the seed of the Woman — the new Adam. And yet He is also the glorious Son of God, the Lion of the trube of Judah, worthy to receive dominion and glory and a kingdom because as the angel says to John in Revelation 5:5, He has overcome. He is the living One, who was dead, and behold is now alive forever and ever.

He is the Lord Jesus Christ. And when He ascended, He ascended into glory, to receive dominion over all creation as its King.

Beholding the glorious transcendence of Christ in this moment so transformed the Apostles and the church that it became a key in their Christology. Just one chapter later, in Acts 2, Peter declares of the risen Christ that He is exalted to the right hand of God.

In Acts 5, when the Apostles were instructed by the High Priest to cease teaching in the name of Jesus, Peter replied, Acts 5:29-31

Acts 5:29–31 ESV

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Peter later writes in his first letter, that Christ is 1 Peter 3:22 “22 at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

Paul writes in Philippians 2 that the Father, highly exalted the Son, and bestowed on Him the name at which every knee will bow. In Ephesians 1 Paul writes, that the Father raised Christ from the dead and then seated Him at His right hand, Ephesians 1:21 “21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

The writer of Hebrews refers multiple times to the exaltation of Christ as a defining aspect of His role as High Priest. In Hebrews 4:14 He writes that we have a great High Priest “…who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” And later he writes in Hebrews 8 and Hebrews 12, that we have such a high priest, who after offering His sacrifice for sins for all time, after accomplishing His work of atonement, sat down victoriously at the right hand of God.

Pithy Summary

Dear saints, we serve the exalted and ascended Christ — the everlasting King of Glory, the Lamb who was Worthy of all rule, and glory and dominion.

This King, who will have dominion over all creation has commanded you to glorify Him by being His witness to the very ends of the earth that belong to Him.

Is He worthy to receive blessing and honor and glory? He is.

Is He worthy of your loving obedience to be His witness? He is.

2. The Ascension Positions Christ's Care

Transition

So then the Ascension Proclaims Christ’s Glory and the second motivation we find at the mount of Olives is that the Ascension Positions Christ’s Care.

Look down with me at verse 10,

Acts 1:10 ESV

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

As we see here at the beginning of the verse, as Jesus was carried up into heaven, the Apostles were left gazing into heaven as He went. Which brings us to the question of why did Jesus have to leave. This is an excellent question that the disciples surely wondered in this moment. This word looking indicates this long gaze as if the apostles were transfixed by the sight of Christ and the feeling of loosing Him. Why didn’t He stick around and keep teaching them and eating with them and ministering with them? And one of the answers to that question is what we saw last week — verse 7, the Father has fixed the time at which Christ would dwell on earth and rule and reign with us, and that time in His sovereign wisdom and love is not now.

In verse 3, we have another reason for why Jesus departed into heaven. He departed so that He could send the Holy Spirit which He promised. That promise was made during the Last Supper in John 16:5-7

John 16:5–7 ESV

5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

If He did not go, they would not receive the promise of the Spirit of God who would dwell in each of God’s redeemed, instructing us in His truth and empowering us in our witness. According to our Savior, His departure was for our good, for our advantage. It is better to be alive now, that it would have been to be alive in Galilee when Jesus was there. And I can think of two main reasons for this. How much does Christ care for you from heaven? He gifted you the very Spirit of God as your Comforter, as your Helper, as your Advocate to live within you as well as empower you to live out the Christian life.

But there is one more facet of the diamond of Christ’s care for you after His ascension. During the advent season Pastor Dave taught a whole message on this reality. When Christ ascended into heaven, he took on His most pastoral ministry for all the sheep of His flock — namely the ministry of intercession. Christ ascended into heaven to be a constant intercessor for us believers for every single sin, struggle, and failure. He is there interceding. You might feel like no one is praying for you. That you are on your own. That no one really sees and understands what a difficult situation you are in. Jesus your Shepherd sees you. And, think of this glorious truth. He is praying for you know to the Father. Every answer to His prayer is yes for He and His Father are One.

You might be here thinking, there is no way I can stay faithful. There is no way I can stop falling and failing. I’m just constantly not living up to that name of Christian. I’m constantly falling short and I’m so discouraged. Listen as I read from the source of this truth, Hebrews 7:25

Hebrews 7:25 LSB

25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

If you remember from Dave’s sermon, that therefore in verse 25 is there to point to the reality that unlike all the High Priests who came before and then were buried in the ground, Jesus is Risen. He is alive. He is a high priest who as the author of Hebrews puts it, “holds His priesthood permanently.” For this reason — since He is our forever High Priest — He is able to save forever His redeemed — those who draw near to be reconciled to the Father through faith in His Son. And how is Jesus able to save forever — to save to the uttermost — we who draw near? Because He always lives to make intercession for us.

Now the question arises, why do we need this intercession? Is the atonement of Christ on the Cross not enough? Was that work left unfinished for Christ then to complete in heaven? The answer is that the intercession is Christ’s moment by moment application of the atoning work He finished on the cross. It is for this reason that there is no, man, woman, or satan himself who can bring a charge saying that one of God’s elect is condemned for their sin. These are the words of Paul in Romans 8:33–34 “33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because He constantly intercedes on our behalf — pointing to His redeeming work on the cross, asking for our forgiveness and the Father joyfully answering Jesus’ every prayer for you with a yes. Listen to how Calvin explains it, “Christ turns the Father’s eyes to His own righteousness, to avert His gaze from our sins. He so reconciles the Father’s heart to us that by His intercession He prepares a way and access for us to the Father’s throne.” As Gavin Ortlund puts it, “Our sinning goes to the uttermost. But his saving goes to the uttermost. And his saving always outpaces and overwhelms our sinning, because he always lives to intercede for us.

Oh dear church, so much of what hinders our effectiveness and our motivation for serving Christ is the never ending presence of sin. Our daily struggle with this body of death can lead to so much dispair that you cannot even fathom what it feels like to be used by Christ to continue His ministry.

Dear saints, just pause and think about this simple reality. Jesus is praying for you. Jesus is the most magnificent source of strength and comfort and peace.

Gospel Application

Dear friend if you long to be loved and cared like this, if you long to worship the One True God who came to serve and not be serve, who truly loves and cares for you, come to Him.

Turn from the weariness and the heavy labor you of trying to be good enough, of trying to survive. Follow Him and He will give you rest.

Turn from worshipping the false gods of this world, turn from serving the gods of your sinful desires, and serve the One who died for your sins.

Turn from your endless pursuits of never-satisfying pleasure. Come to the Risen Christ, all who are thirsty, and find the eternal life that is His alone to Give. Come and drink His living waters and be truly satisfied.

Pithy Summary

Oh dear church, anchor your heart on the care of Christ. May Christ’s intercession bring you so much hope, so much peace, so much comfort that you are so unburdened, like Bunyan’s Pilgrim, of the guilt and shame of your sin to be obedient to your mission of being a witness to Christ your King to end of the earth.

3. The Ascension Promises Christ's Return - vs. 11

Transition

After seeing that the ascension positions Christ’s Care, in verse 1 we find that the Ascension Promises Christ’s Return.

Let me read beginning at verse 10

Acts 1:10–11 ESV

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.”

A. Two Witnesses in White

First, why two men in white robes? On the basis of two or three witnesses a matter is proven.

These men in white robes are clothed in the same garb as those who belong in the throne room of the Almighty who’s robe was as Daniel records in his vision was white as snow were witnesses from the throne room that Christ was lifted up into attesting to the reality of Christ’s ascendent glory, as well as His return — they say at the end of verse 11, “He will come in the same way that you saw him go.”

B. In the Same Way

I want to zero in on that last phrase there — “in the same way.” He will come in the same cloud of glory that took Him, with similar majesty and glory, with vindication and victory. Jesus Himself proclaimed this reality while on trial before the High Priest, Matthew 26:64 “64 Jesus said to him, “You yourself said it; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” In the Olivet discourse, Mark records Christ’s words, Mark 13:24–27 “24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.”

He is coming in the same way, on the heavenly clouds of glory to gather His elect, as Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 “16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

C. The Prophets and the Mount of Olives

And He is coming in the same way in the clouds, and He is coming in the same way to the Mount of Olives.

i. Ezekiel’s Vision of Glory

You see, when I was laying out the Old Testament background of the Mount of Olives I left out 3 key Mount of Olive moments from the Prophets.

In Ezekiel 11, the prophet beholds a vision of the cloud of God’s glory departing from the Temple — a just punishment for Israel’s false worship of the sun and of idols within the very house of God. We see this moment in Ezekiel 11:23 “23 The glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.” Notice that the glory of Yahweh stands on the mountain. That’s an important detail. So then due to their spiritual adultery, God no longer dwelled with His people. This reality led to the destruction of the Temple and the deportation of the people at the hand of the Babylonians. And there is no moment recorded in Old Testament history, or Rabbinic tradition of the glory of the Lord returning to fill the Temple when it was rebuilt.

However, Ezekiel prophecies of a moment when this glory of the Lord will return. If you are in Ezekiel with me, turn to Ezekiel 43. If you are familiar with the book of Ezekiel you will know that this chapter falls within the prophecies of Israel’s restoration with chapters 40-43 describing the Angel of the Lord measuring the Temple to be rebuilt. And in Ezekiel 43, we see the prophecy of the glory of the Lord returning to the Temple, Ezekiel 43:1–5 “1 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing toward the east; 2 and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. 3 And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to bring the city to ruin. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. 4 And the glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. 5 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house.”

Where is the glory of God coming from? The east, from the mount of Olives.

ii. Zechariah’s Vision of Victory

And this is exactly we see from the prophet Zechariah.

Turn with me to Zechariah 14 (repeat).

Zechariah 14 begins by prophesying of the worst day in all of Israel’s history. In verses 1 and 2 we see every single nation across the world surround, seige, and conquer Jerusalem. The city falls and half of the citizens are sent off in exile. There is death and destruction every where with no one to help, no ally to come to their aid. The entire world is rallied against Israel to completely wipe them off the face of the earth, and this time, it looks like that satanic plot might just work.

But then we get to verse 3, where Zechariah writes, Zechariah 14:3 “3 Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, as the day when He fights on a day of battle.” Yahweh will fight for His people. Take every single past battle that God has faught for His people — think of Jericho, or the Ten Plagues, or the sudden death of 185,000 Assyrians, combine all of these moments together and you get this day. When all hope is lost, when the night of their suffering is the darkest it will ever be, the Light of the World pierces the darkness to save His people, think Gandalf at Helm’s deep but 5 billion times better — verse 4,

Zechariah 14:4 “4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”

Notice it, His feet, the feet of Yahweh, the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, will stand on that day, on that mount of Olives and he will split it in two with the power of His bodily presence on earth again.

Places have memories. And the Mount of Olives has one constant memory. It’s the place of defeat. It’s the place of rejection. But Jesus completely transforms that Mountain to a Place of Resolve, returning from the Garden of Gethsemane to face His death on the cross. It is a place of transcendent glory, where He ascended into heaven to receive the title deed to rule over all Creation. And it will be the place of His salvation, when He returns to save Israel, place every enemy of His under His footstool and establish His reign to the ends of the earth.

This epic moment is what the angels were pointing to when they said “Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”

Pithy Summary

Christ’s ascension promises His climactic and glorious return. Come quickly Lord Jesus, Amen?

4. The Ascension Propels the Apostle's Response - vs 11

Transition

The Last motivation from the Mount of Olives is that Christ’s Ascension Propel’s His Mission. Look back with me at the angel’s question in verse 11, Acts 1:10-11

Acts 1:11 ESV

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.”

A. Angelic Question

For forty days up until this moment Jesus had been appearing and then departing at a moment’s notice, and then reappearing again. But now that period was over. His departure was final. In these three verses, Luke records that the disciples visibly saw Christ depart. He had gone and the two men ask their question, “why do you stand looking into heaven.”

Their question kills me. These angels just keep appearing to Jesus followers at the most awesome and shocking of moments and they ask such blunt questions. Like at the empty tomb, the men ask the women, “why do you seek the living One among the dead.” And then here they are standing next to the disciples who just beheld the Savior whom they loved and had just eaten a meal with, lift up from the ground and ascend to heaven in the cloud of glory, and the angels ask, “why do you stand looking into heaven.”

So when the angels ask their question, it acts as a wake up call intending them to snap out of it. You aren’t loosing him. You have seen him go, you will see him come. But between then and now, get to work.

John Stott sums up this point so well,

“it was the earth not the sky which was to be their preoccupation. Their calling was to be witnesses not stargazers. The vision they were to cultivate was not upwards in nostalgia to the heaven which had received Jesus, but outwards in compassion to a lost world which needed him.”

B. Return from the Mount of Olives — verse 12

Here is the angel’s point for them and for us. If you are truly followers of this Jesus, the glorious Son of God, the sympathetic great High Priest, the conquering King set to return, then you can’t just stand around. If you know who this Jesus is, then get to work. You shall be His witnesses to Jerusalem first, and then to the ends of the earth. And that is exactly what we see for the rest of the book of Acts. That is exactly what we see in the very next verse.

Acts 1:12 “12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.”

Up until this point, it is as if Luke has us zoomed in on Jesus and the disciples. We just know that they are on the Mount of Olives because of what he wrote in Luke 24. But in verse 12, it’s like the drone shot in a movies, where the camera zooms out from the top of the mountain and we see the disciples walking down the Mount of Olives on their way to Jerusalem, as their King had commanded and commissioned them to do. They don’t run away like David did. They enter the city of their King, as He did before the cross and as He will do when He comes again.

Pithy Summary

And here is the point I want us to see. The ascension motivated the Apostles to carry out their mission and their immediate and unified response, and our response must be the same.

Conclusion

Synopsis

We too are witnesses who are motivated by the ascension to proclaim Christ as King to the ends of the earth.

He is the Son of God, ascended to the glory of His Father’s right hand — worthy of our loving obedience to His commission.

He is the Great High Priest, ascended to Throne of Grace where He always lives to care for us with His intercession.

And He is the Returning King who will come on the clouds and sit foot on that very mountain of Olives and we must live every day in light of His imminent return

5. The Ascension Previews Our Exaltation

Dear saints, I told you I have four motivations from the Mount of Olives, but I want to finish this morning with one more. Christ's Ascension is a Preview of Our Exaltation.

A. St. Paul’s Illustration

I began our preaching in Acts with an illustration about St. Paul’s cathedral in London. It’s only fitting that I finish by illustrating this final motivation with one.

In the years after the completion of St. Paul’s, the church in London would gather up all of the orphans in the city, scrub them down, clothe them in brightly colored clothes and lead these orphans through the gray and dreary Streets of London to Saint Paul's Cathedral.

When they got to Saint Paul's Cathedral these orphans would form a choir and they would sing hymns inside of St. Paul’s. If you've ever seen a picture or even been there you'll know that there is an enormous Dome on top that just captures the sound inside and it reverberates around and around and around. William Blake wrote a poem about this very practice of gathering the orphans and leading them to Saint Paul's and in the poem he pictures this Army of brightly colored children as a river flowing through London and their voices in Saint Paul's as representing the children themselves ascending to the Lord Jesus, the lowest in society ascending to be with Christ.

B. Adopted to Ascend

We too were once orphans, lost, homeless and fatherless. But we have been adopted as Sons and Daughters through Christ and given the Spirit by whom we cry out to the God of the Universe, Abba Father.

We too were once orphans clothed in the filthy rags of our own righteousness, but we have been clothed in the pure white linen washed in the blood of the Lamb.

And one day, we who were once orphans, will be lifted up from our suffering to life —to true life — to eternal life where we will be caught up together in the clouds to meet with our Lord in the air to from there-after, always be with Jesus.

We were adopted to ascend to the glory of our King.