The New Normal: The Ascension

Things will never be the same. times have changed, and changed fast. There is no going back to the way things used to be. Who am I talking about us or the disciples?

1. Reexamination of your Assignment

Its not for us to know what God is doing and when He’s going to do it.

Fixed. There is a fixed date.

Power

witnesses- Exegete v.8. Jerusalem is not home base, Samaria is not common folk, end of the earth is the unknown.

2. Accepting the departure normalcy

There is no time to waste looking and gazing toward heaven for Jesus. Its not that the angel didn’t want them to expect Jesus, otherwise they wouldn't have said hes coming back. The angels rhetoric was to awaken the disciples to the reality that the Jesus the knew was now gone.

He had to leave, it was better for them. (the point of the Ascension)

Forgetting those things (Phil 3:13) this was Israels problem in the wilderness. They were upset at Moses for setting them free.

We would rather remain in toxic familiarity that to venture into wholistic uncertainty.

3. Living in Anticipation

The angels said, this Jesus. will come in just the same way.

Jesus is coming back and Its going to get better.

The text lets us know that after this final appearance and subsequent disappearance that the disciples are now faced with an ultimatum. They can do what Jesus told them to do or then can go back to life as normal before Jesus. They go back to the upper room but they aren't going back into the room to cry, they are going back to wait.