2020.05.24 I'll Fly Away
Notes
Transcript
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
The Word of God for the people of God
THANKS BE TO GOD
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 “You are witnesses of these things.
49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising God.
The Word of God for the people of God
THANKS BE TO GOD
I’ll Fly Away
I’ll Fly Away
Ascension Sunday - Why does it matter and what did he tell them?
How does someone get to Heaven? [non-rhetorical]
I can hear you trying to elaborate on how to GAIN Heaven … how to attain PERMISSION, if you will. That’s not my question, though.
How does someone GET TO Heaven? How do we get there from here? How would you write out instructions to actually arrive in Heaven?
All of our instructions would have to share at least one item in common. The only way we know to get to Heaven involves death!
But Jesus already did that, and it “didn’t take”!
In all seriousness, the fact that Jesus Christ is still alive is the most important tenet of the Christian faith! If we lose that belief, ALL of Christianity crumbles.
Paul wrote that if Christ is not alive, our faith is pointless, our preaching is void and we are to be the most pitied people on Earth!
Before he departs, though, Jesus gives his disciples instructions:
They want to know the timeline for his Kingdom, Jesus tells them:
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
In other words, the timeline is not your concern, so don’t be concerned about it.
He takes them to Bethany (about 2 miles East of Jerusalem).
He tells them to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
Then, you’ll leave Jerusalem to spread the Gospel across the world.
Then, he floats up into the sky.
I always love the visual of that scene that Luke paints in Acts.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Graphic of guys staring into sky
<kiddie voice> “Whatcha doin’?”
Probably thinking, “Did we just see what I think we just saw?”
Once they’re rattled back to reality,
52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising God.
So he leaves them standing with their mouths agape, and when they come back to reality, they walk back the 2 miles to Jerusalem. Imagine the conversation on THAT walk! Imagine how manic they were after having experienced the Ascension.
And they return to Jerusalem and wait. For what?
Well, they’re waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them … you’ll have to wait till next week to find out about Pentecost!
But for this week, the disciples are left with great hope, and so should we be.
The Ascension means “We serve a risen savior, he’s in the world today” - It means I can participate in Christ’s death by my sin and depravity — but it also means I can participate in His LIFE! There are lots of gods and lots of apostles of various gods available in the world…but none other can take you to an empty tomb! The greatest religious leaders throughout all of history all died. Only one picked that life back up again…and OFFERS IT TO YOU!
I serve a risen savior - He’s in the world today!
And the Ascension sets the stage for Pentecost! The disciples were told to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to fall upon them, and then to scatter throughout the world to spread the Gospel once that happened. Pentecost is next week. Are you ready for the Holy Spirit? Are you ready to then GO?!
I don’t want to blow next week’s message, the Ascension gives us hope because it allows us to participate in Christ’s death AND LIFE; and the Ascension reminds us that the Holy Spirit will send us outward to share the good news of that death and life.
Now … let me return to my question earlier… How do you get to Heaven? The path that humans hope to take always involves death. You know people, heck … you may even BE one of those people, who are terrified of death.
I used to be, too. Until I came to know Jesus personally. Until I realized he loved me and wanted to give me eternal life for submitting my earthly life to him. Today, I have some fear about the means of my death … nobody wants to die in a lot of pain or torment, but as a Christian, I’m not afraid of death itself.
The mystery of faith: Christ has died • Christ is risen • Christ will come again ~ and in between the resurrection and his return,
"He ascended into heaven
And sitteth at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty”
And because he is alive today, I have the hope of receiving his life for all of eternity. I’ve been given confidence by the Holy Spirit that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and I live in that confidence rather than the fear of death I used to have.
Who in your life needs to hear about God’s love and hope today? Maybe you’re just the one God wants to tell them. Maybe they’ll hear it from you unlike they’d hear it from anyone else. Who is it … and are you prepared for the moment?
YOU — serve a risen savior, who’s in the world today.
Who are you gonna tell about him?
