Why is the Ascension Important?
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Introduction
Introduction
Me - Welcome I am glad to be back with you before we get started let me pray.
We - Before we jump in let me review what we covered so far in this part of the Story Series.
Looking at the crucifixion we saw that Jesus suffered the punishemnt we deserved and that through His work on the cross He opened up access for us to the Father.
When we looked at the resurrection we covered a lot of ground but we saw that it matters becuase, it completes the Gospel, shows that the bond between the triune God is not broken and helped us see how to properly relate to God and each other.
We stopped with this though that the resurrection defines our mission. Through the resurrection Jesus shows us that we all have a purpose in His Kingdom work, and living out that purpose will result in a fruitful and joyful life.
God
Last week we wrapped up with .
49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.”
Jesus said this before He lead them out to the place where He would make his final ascension. From what we can tell Jesus seemed to show up and no one would know where He came from. I am sure that took some getting used to, but they did not have much time becuase this period just lasted for about 40 days. When He would come though he would often talk with them about their mission, their hope and also the One whom He would send, the promised Holy Spirit and that is where we will pick up today, but before we get there lets cover a little ground on why the ascension matters.
Like every part of the Easter Narrative there is too much to info on the ascension to cover in one sermon. However, that does not mean we need to skip over everything! So as I studied the ascension I came across a short list from J.I. Packer’s little book Concise Theology of the importance of the ascension. Even this isn’t complete but it is a great starter list that you can use in your personal study and ministry. So check this out, “The Ascension establishes three facts:”
1. Christ’s Personal Ascendancy ()
says
20 He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—21 far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church,
Ephesi
Through out the NT, we see that Christ is spoken of as sitting at the right hand of God. Being at the right of God He is in the position of power, ruling His Kingdom and waiting until He returns to earth in the final days. Part of this reality is that He went still being fully man and fully God. This is essential to our understanding of how we live life now and how we look to the future. Jesus dying and coming back, with a new body, gives us security that when we trust Him we will also be back fully ourselves, with perfected bodies like His and that is how we will live in eternity. In fact earlier in we see the Holy Spirit in us, “is our down payment of our inheritance.” In other words, His ascendancy is essential to our security.
The next thing Packer wrote is that as a result of the ascension Jesus is Omnipresent
2. Christ’s Spiritual Omnipresence ()
take a look at
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
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.
Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, but He is available to all who know Him or want to know Him. While on earth He modeled this kind of availability. A great example of this is the story of the woman who touches Him in . But physically He took on the limits of man and was not able to be everywhere at once. His ascension makes Him now available to everyone anytime. This is vital in understanding our relationship with Him and His commitment to us to be accessible and to make the Father accessible. This brings us to the third thing Packer said.
Becuase of His ascension there is the fact that Christ has a heavenly ministry for us. We saw this in the last passage we looked at, but take a look at .
3. Christ’s Heavenly Ministry ()
23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us. 25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. 26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—28 so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Because He has ascended He is still ministering to us through His intercession, presence and power. By entering the heavenly sanctuary He prays to the Father on our behalf and He takes care of us.
Part of His heavenly minsitry and what we will focus on today. And that is
Through His ascension He empowers us in the execution of His global plan.
Through His ascension He empowers us in the execution of His global plan.
Turn in your bibles to Acts 1:4-11
As we look at this passage we will see that Jesus simultaneously does two things. Through out this passage He empowers the disciples to do His work both by showing them the plan and through promising the Holy Spirit. The second thing He does is by ascending to heaven He calls them to carry out God’s great salvation plan. So lets look at what He does first.
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
To see how He does this take a look at .
Take a look at verses 4 - 5:
Luke continues his narrative by showing how Jesus’ bodily earthly ministry came to a close today, and how His church is released to act in His name. It is easy to let the ascension of Christ slip our minds as part of the Easter Narrative, but without it we would not understand the Christian life, why we are here and most importantly the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Take a look at verse 4-5. Luke writes,
In Luke continues his narrative by showing how Jesus’ bodily earthly ministry came to a close today, and how His church is released to act in His name. It is easy to let the ascension of Christ slip our minds as part of the Easter Narrative, but without it we would not understand the Christian life, why we are here and most importantly the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Take a look at verse 4-5. Luke writes,
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
“While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem...” apperentyl the 11 had decided to come and go from Jerusalem, Jesus did not want th
Jesus starts His final face to face with the disciples by commanding them not to leave Jerusalem. We saw in He said, “do not leave the city”. Jesus wanted the church to start there, and He makes it clear that they need to stay there. What are they supposed to do? Wait! Think about it for a second. In the past 40 days they have experienced the greatest counter revolution in world history. Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world and lived amongst everyday people, in order to live a life free of rebellion against God and died for our rebellion against the Father, and the Holy Spirit and then after being dead for three days rose from the grave with a new body and taught them some more and now they have to wait. Obviously waiting for good things is sometimes fun. But waiting for a promise like this might be a little harder. They had no idea what to expect. There is one group in particualr that has a hard time waiting and those are the doers. If you are a doer just hearing the word might make you squirm. Guess what many of the disciples were probably doers, but now they have to be waiters. For many of us this is torture, but when the Lord tells us what to do, it is the best thing we can do. They did not know how long they would have to wait they just knew they had to wait for a few days. So what did they do? From the best we can tell according to verse 12 they returned to Jerusalem after Jesus ascended and waited. At this point I am tempted to tell you stories of when we have had to wait and how God used those waiting times to guide us, but that will take too long so all I am going to do is point us to a verse. Take a look at
10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
So often we take that “Be still and know that I am God” part and forget the rest becuase that part fits on a tee shirt and reminds us to be calm, to rest or to have peace in challenging times, but in reality the verse is much greater than that, it refers God’s grand vision. “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Like being still, Jesus telling them to wait is not idle time waisted it is waiting for a purpose, becuase God was about to fulfill His promise. It is a purpose with a grand vision attached, one that will absolutely change them and everyone who receives their message. So as they wait they have to to wait not for something but for Someone. Take a look back at verse 4. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about;” Throughout the Gospel’s Jesus prepares the disciples for this Promise by telling them that He is leaving but He is going to send the Holy Spirit to dwell in them. In He says,
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
John 14:
He also describes the Holy Spirit’s minsitry in saying”
26 “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.
John 15:
Then in 16:8 Jesus says,
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment:
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Reminding them of the promised Holy Spirit
Having reminded them of His promise the disciples then ask Him,
Look at other verses where He promises Holy Spirit and the Spirits role.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
acts
This question may seem a little out of place. Especially in our 21th century mindset, but we have to understand. In the 1st Century Jewish thought the coming of the Holy Spirit was a signal of the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom. Verses like ,
28 After this I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.
were interrupted from a nationalistic perspective. So the coming of the Spirit was a signal for the restoration of Israel to it full glory. The disciples were still focused on the home land, and while they were off in their understanding of His statement Jesus does not rebuke them for desiring restoration, but He does adjust their sights. What they were hoping for was a big deal for Israel and for the World but it was not big enough for God so Jesus shows them what their understanding needs to be.
Jesus starts with reminding them of the Father’s role in His Big plan. He tells them,
Transition – While we might expect them to understand based on His teaching we also see that they do not completely grasp the reality of what is happening here. Take a look at 6 – 7
Transition – While we might expect them to understand based on His teaching we also see that they do not completely grasp the reality of what is happening here. Take a look at 6 – 7
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
6 – 7 In the OT and 1 Century Judaism there is a misunderstanding that is understandable
By saying this Jesus helps them to see that while there is nothing wrong with their question, it not their responsiblity to concern themselves with times. The Father, has complete control over time and how He works in time. He turns them away from focusing on the Time so that they can see what their role is in the Kingdom. They may want to know the time, but He wants them to know the King and His plan. He wants them to see what He has for them so He shares with them a little bit of what will happen when they follow HIm in their role.
6 look at OT verses that show where they are coming from
14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
The answer to their question is the end will come, the restoration, will happen when all ethnic groups hear the good news Jesus Christ.
Transition – After Jesus shows them the Father’s role, Then in verse 8 Jesus shows them why they will be empowered and what they need to do as a result.
Check out verse 8.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
Jesus makes two promises in this passage the first one is that they “will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”. From scripture we see that it is the Father and Son’s responsiblity to send the Spirit to empower them. There is no way we can empower ourselves. Remember what He said in , “will be in you.” So If we are to engage in Kingdom work the Spirit of God literally has to empower us to do it. We have to be obedient to Him, but we cannot live the way He calls us to with out His empowerment.
Before we move to the next promise lets take a look at a brief overview of the power of God. Not just becuase it is fun, but becuase when we recognize that the one with the power we are about to look at is the same One residing in us now we might not take HIm for granted as much and we might actually want to live a little more like He is there! This is a lot of info so if you want to email me I can send you the list of verses. Let’s start with Creation.
17 Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!
Through out scripture the power of God is spoken about in many different ways, but I want to focus on how the power of God is revealed in the work of God and in the person of God. It is shown through His righteous engagement of Histroy and in the way He deals with His people.
God
Another example of God’s power is the Exodus. From the fulfillment of His promises to the Patriarchs, to the Curses, the Splitting of the Sea, the providing for Manna, the Exodus is a display of His power both to Israel and the nations. Moses’ words sum it up well, “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?”
11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?
Our look at HIs power does not stop there though take a look at
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me. Give your strength to your servant; save the son of your female servant.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me. Give your strength to your servant; save the son of your female servant.
10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand.
10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand.
As Nehemiah prays for God’s people after he hears the walls of Jerusalem were torn down. He tells God of HIs great redemption power.
Throughout the Psalms, Wisdom Literature and the Prophets we see the Power of God shown in magnificent ways, but what about the NT. Lets start with Jesus
Check out what the angel said to Mary in
35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Or how His teaching and work were full of authority and power
36 Amazement came over them all, and they were saying to one another, “What is this message? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!”
Luke 4
In Jesus promises
All of this leads up to what we have been talking about the past few weeks. The power of God in the greatest moment in history. Check out
29 Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.
24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.
14 God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
The word power is not used but the power of God is shown in the fact that He raised Jesus up, becuase it was not possible for him to be held by death.
The Epistle show us how God’s power is shown as He,
Guards us -
Strengthens us
Gives us hope
and empowers us for every good work of faith is fulfilled in the power of God
That is just a small list, but I wanted you to see how God uses His power both to reveal Himself and to work in and through His people. He is not a God who leaves us but One who empowers us to live a life full of grace and hope. So when Jesus is promising power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, this is the type of power He is talking about and this is the type of power we have when we come into relationship with our Lord. Jesus doesn’t want them to miss this because, this is what they will need in order to be a part of God’s plan. But like He said in ,
7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.
This brings us to our first blank,
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
The ascension ensures our empowerment. (4-8)
If we are ensured empowerment by His ascension the questions stands what do we need power for. The simple answer is for everything, but for our sermon today I want to focus on one thing it is the other promise Jesus makes in verse 8,
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
You will be my witness, is both a command and a promise as Jesus prepares them for His departure He also prepares them for theirs! He tells them you will be my witnesses, in other words they are being sent out to fulfill what Isaiah wrote in
His desire is to see people come to know Him, grow in Him and for the Kingdom of God, the only true righteous kingdom to expand to every tribe, tongue and nation. In Jesus put it this way,
6 They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches.
10 “Stop your fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
6 he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
It is not enough for them to be concerned with when Israel will be restored, they need to concern themselves with sharing the good news of Jesus Christ starting in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Jesus gives them the power and He gives them a plan He has engaged them in what God is doing. So thinking back to verse 6. The answer to their question is also the last command He gives them while He is on earth, “the end will come, the restoration, will happen when all ethnic groups hear the good news Jesus Christ.”
His desire is to see people come to know Him, grow in Him and for the Kingdom of God, the only true righteous kingdom to expand to every tribe, tongue and nation. In Jesus put it this way,
14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The answer to their question is also the last command He gives them while He is on earth, “the end will come, the restoration, will happen when all ethnic groups hear the good news Jesus Christ.”
8 Transition from God’s earthly plan for the disciples to
That is also another reason why Jesus had to ascend to the righthand of the Father. Becuase
The ascension engages us in God’s great plan. (8-11)
The ascension engages us in God’s great plan. (8-11)
Transition – Completing His final instruction He ascended to the right hand of God.
Take a look at verse 9-11 This passage describes the ascension. It uses rich and beautiful language to describe how Jesus ascended but I want to focus on a couple of things that would have helped the disciples and hopefully us engage in God’s plan. The first one is the way in which Jesus ascends. Look at verse 9
The ascension engages us in God’s great plan. (8-11)
The ascension engages us in God’s great plan. (8-11)
9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
9 the actual ascension – Luke only one to describe it
As we wrap up this passage I want to key in on a couple of things that would have helped the disciples and hopefully us engage in God’s plan. The first one is the way in which Jesus asccends. Take a look at verse 9.
9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
Acts
In my imagination I have always assumed that Jesus kind of shot off into the sky and He was enveloped by a typical large cloud. However Luke doesn’t say that, He just says He was taken up. To barrow the term from Andreas Kostenburger, “Jesus is not a human rocket ship and the cloud is not a rain cloud”. This is a theophany like when Jesus was transfigured in . Yes Jesus did rise, but the cloud would have been a cloud that represented the presence of God. His Shkinnah Glory like we see in the OT. This would have blown away the disciples and is why they kept gazing into heaven. Over the last forty days they have witnessed the death of the Messiah, His resurrection, His frequent appearances and now His return to right hand of the Father. This would have been an incredibly emotional experience. One filled with awe and worship, but they are quickly brought back to reality. Check out what happens next
10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
These two men, who were angels, stood by them and redirected them. They were on a mountain top experience and now they were brought to reality, but that is the way it is in Christian life. They just met with their Savior in a miraculous way. A way that will never be duplicated again, but these two angels call them back not becuase they have done something wrong, but becuase it is now time to focus on what is next, joining in on God’s plan. So the very thing they wanted the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth and the return of their King would happen. While for a few days they had to wait, the time was coming when the Promise would come to empower them and engage them in God’s Kingdom work.
10 transition to the 2 witnessing angels
11 God’s great plan.
What about you? As we have looked at the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus the last few weeks how are you being challenged to start moving forward with Jesus?
You
You see while there are times we have to wait, we do not have to wait for the Holy Spirit. He came into our lives when we recieved Jesus as our Lord and Savior. What does that mean us now? Well for starters it means we have to be willing to ask Him to guide us. Then we need to answer the question, “Are we willing to follow when it comes to the way we do life on campus, at home or at work?” Are we willing to be bold witnesses of Him in life. This doesn't mean we are going around and sharing the gospel with everyone that moves, but it does mean we take opportunities. We engage in relationships with people, we tell people we are praying for them, we sow broadly through acts and words of kindness. There are many things we can do to engage, it just takes a willing and humble heart to do it. One of the ways we can do that now is by praying and supporting our friends.
Commissioning of College Students
So that is what we are going to do today. Fellas if we can make sure to not record this.
This summer several of our students are going to Project Impact or Overseas with different organizations. Students if you would please start making your way up here. For the past several months these students have been gathering with their teams or groups to pray and prepare to spend their summer focused on helping people know and grow in Jesus. Their experiences will all be different, but their goal is the same. So as they go out I wanted to make sure that we as their church send them out the right way. I realize you may not know them so I am going to ask them to introduce themselves and to share their where they are going or what region of the world they are going to and maybe one brief prayer request. After that we will gather around them and pray and I will close us after a few minutes.
Pray