Sermon Tone Analysis

What do you live for?

That is why the Scriptures say, "When He ascended to the heights, He led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to His people."

For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

Notice that it says "He ascended."

This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.

INTRODUCTION

And the same One who descended is the One who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that He might fill the entire universe with Himself.

INTRODUCTION

Well, good morning Southpointe!!

This morning, I have a very important question for us to answer.

1-31-1971    8:15 a.m.

Good morning, Southpointe, I hope you had a great fourth weekend!!

What get you out of bed in the morning?

I mean what makes your blood pump?

What gets you excited?

What do you think the most about?

Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

What would you say the greatest passion of your life is?

what gives you the most pleasure?

The most purpose?

What raises your life above the mere level of existence?

I am glad to be back with you!!

And we are very excited about the upcoming Summerblock buster series.

Because everybody lives for someone or something.

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.)

But this morning I want to discuss something that on my heart.

[]

A poll was taken and people were asked the question, “ What is your life’s passion?

70% had no idea.

So let’s get started!!

70% had no idea.

It seems like a lot of people are enduring instead of enjoying their life.

When you read and study, you will find some of the most diverse interpretations of this unusual passage.

It seems like a lot of people are enduring instead of enjoying their life.

It is a passage concerning our Lord’s ascension into heaven, and the phrase “leading captivity captive” [],

and then from heaven bestowing grace gifts upon His church and upon men [, ].

Now next Sunday we shall speak of those grace gifts that the Lord Jesus from heaven bestows upon men.

But this Lord’s Day we are speaking of that unusual phrase:  “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive” [].

I shall present two interpretations of that passage, and then the third shall be my own.

And their favorite day of the week is someday.

Someday things are going to get better.

some day their ship will come in.

Someday their prince will come.

Some they are going to find that perfect relationship.

First, it is thought by many who are reverently, deeply committed to the love of and interpretation of the Word of God, it is thought by many of those devout men that this refers to the liberation of the Old Testament saints from sheol, from hades; that when the Lord entered heaven, when He was raised from the dead and ascended up into heaven, that He carried with Him all of the Old Testament saints who heretofore had been waiting in sheol, in hades, for the atonement of Christ.

And they say that’s what this means, “When He ascended up on high, when He went up to glory, He led captivity captive” [].

Now I present what they mean by that interpretation.

The passage is a quotation from :  “Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive.”

And they say that this psalm written by David refers to some unknown victory of David when he liberated the captives that the enemies had taken from Israel and brought them back in triumph to their homes.

And they refer to this, “Thou hast led captivity,” they refer to that word “captivity” as referring to a multitude of captives.

They were captive, a multitude of them, and David liberated them and brought them back in triumph to Israel [].

94% of that people that responded to that survey said: “ They were enduring the present while waiting for something better to happen.

Then they quote also the passage in , in the song of Deborah and Barak:  “Arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive”; that is, the Israelites were captives of the Midianites—and Barak liberated the Israelites—who were the captors of Israel, and he led the multitude that was captive, he led them in freedom, in captivity back to Israel and to freedom.

So looking upon this passage, they interpret that word “captivity” to refer to a multitude of captives that Jesus freed [].

I read this story: it was about a older gentleman that was talking to a young law student and asked him about his future plans.

Now, they say that those captives that Jesus freed and took up with Him into glory when He ascended, those captives were the Old Testament saints—those who had died before the atonement of Christ [].

Now look at their reasoning.

One: there is no doubt but that now, when a saved man dies, his spirit, his soul goes directly to Paradise, to God.

That is very plainly presented in the New Testament.

One, when Jesus died He said to the malefactor on the cross, “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise” []; not in sheol, and not in hades, but up there where God is, where I am going.

Second, in the twelfth chapter of the second Corinthian letter, Paul says that he went up to the third heaven, that he went up to Paradise []; he did not go to sheol, he did not go to the grave, he did not go to hades, he went up to Paradise, up to the third heaven in the presence of God [, ].

So we know that when a saved man dies today, he goes directly to God, to Paradise, where Jesus is [].

The old man said to younger man, “Tell me abut your plans after law school?”

That is seen in the fifth chapter of the second Corinthian letter, when Paul says, “If we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord” [].

It’s also seen in the first chapter of the Philippian letter, where Paul says, “For I would choose to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better” [].

Now there’s no doubt—I am repeating—but that now when a saved person dies, he goes directly to God; he goes directly to heaven; he goes directly to Paradise.

But when you turn to the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, these scholars say, it was not so:  they went to sheol, they went to hades, they went to a waiting place for the atonement of Christ.

And they point out these passages.

When Joseph supposedly was killed, and his evil brothers took his coat of many colors and bathed it in the blood of a goat, and then brought it to his father, to Israel, and said, “Your son apparently is dead” [], Jacob said, “I will go down to sheol, unto my son, mourning for him” [].

It is found again—now these are just typical passages I’m citing—it is found again in Job, who because of his misery, Job cried, “O that God would hide me in sheol” [].

It is found again in these passages—and they are multiplied:

The student said, “Well I would like to get a job with a good firm and make some money.”

when Abraham died, the Old Testament said he was “gathered unto his fathers” [].When Ishmael died he was “gathered unto his fathers” [].When Jacob died he was “gathered unto his fathers” [].When Joseph died he was gathered unto his fathers [; ].

When David died he “slept with his fathers,” with his people [].And when Solomon died he slept with his people [].

And the older man said, Ok, that sounds good.

Then what?

So they say in the Old Testament that the Old Testament saints, when they died, they went to a waiting place, in sheol, in hades, awaiting for the great atonement of our Lord.

Well at some point I would like to get married.

And the older man said, “ I hope you do son.

after that then what?

Well I would like to raise my kids and put them in a good school and make enough money for a second home.

The older man said,” Then what?

The younger man said, “Well then I would like to make enough money to eventually slow down and maybe take more vacations with the family.

The older man said, then what?

The younger man said, “Well i would hope that my children would get married and give me grandchildren.

And I heard that grandchildren are a lot of fun.

And the older man said, Yes they are but then what?

The younger one said, I would like to travel the world if my health hold out.

The older man said that good, but then what?

The younger one said, I will pass my money on to my children and then die I guess.

And the older man said, And then what?

That is the big question.

Then What?

What happens after we leave this life?

Well, there’s a thing called eternity that goes on forever.

That is why they call it eternity.

Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset but Eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.

In the book of Philippians, we have a record of man who gave a lot of though to this.

A man who had his priorities in order.

A man who lived life to its fullest and it was a man who was not afraid to die.