{"id":61,"date":"2010-05-16T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2010-05-16T16:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=61"},"modified":"2017-03-29T10:09:45","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T17:09:45","slug":"jesus-goes-home-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/16\/jesus-goes-home-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Goes Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 1: 1-11 | Ascension Sunday | May 16, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most everyone knows December 25th.\u00a0 The celebration of our Savior’s birth.\u00a0 God gave us his Son.\u00a0 The Son came to be our brother.\u00a0 As our brother, he \u00a0saved us.\u00a0 So we celebrate Christmas.<\/p>\n

What about last Thursday?\u00a0 Did you celebrate that day?\u00a0 \u00a0Did you give thanks to God for what happened 40 days after Jesus rose from his grave?\u00a0 Early Christians did maybe even before they celebrated Christmas.\u00a0\u00a0 Two of the church fathers speak of celebrating the feast of Christ’s Ascension as early as 68 AD, in the lifetime of those who witnessed Jesus ascension.<\/p>\n

What did they know that maybe we have forgotten?\u00a0 What is it about Jesus’ Ascension that makes it so important , that offers so much to the believing heart?\u00a0 You might have missed Thursday, so let’s talk about that today.<\/p>\n

Jesus Goes Home…
\n<\/strong>I.\u00a0 After 40 remarkable days (1-5)
\nII.\u00a0 His Kingdom is ready to expand (6-9)
\nIII.\u00a0 We can celebrate (9-11)<\/p>\n

1 <\/span><\/strong>In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2<\/sup><\/strong> until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen<\/span>.\u00a0 Luke the physician and careful historian wrote the books of Acts.\u00a0 His first book was the gospel of Luke. No doubt he interviewed the apostles and others who saw and heard Jesus.\u00a0 Here Luke begins by talking about what must have been a very special time for his apostles – a remarkable 40 days.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The past three years Jesus was with them every step of the way to give that direction.\u00a0\u00a0 Go here.\u00a0 Go there.\u00a0 Here’s what I want you to do.\u00a0 Here’s what I want you to share. Here’s what I want you to believe.<\/p>\n

But now what?\u00a0 Where do we go from here? Back to what we were doing before?\u00a0 What can we expect now?\u00a0 Should we be quiet? Should we speak up? \u00a0We still have many enemies among our own people.\u00a0 \u00a0Now what? \u00a0Jesus told them.<\/p>\n

The first thing they needed is what every Christian needs.\u00a0 A rock solid assurance that after Jesus bled and died on that cross, he rose. \u00a0He lives.\u00a0 He is my Savior.\u00a0 I am a forgiven child of God. How do I know?\u00a0 He lives.\u00a0\u00a0 He lives to silence all my fears. \u00a0Each of us needs that rock solid assurance.<\/p>\n

But our Lord knows how quickly doubts can creep into our faith \u00a0including the faith of these men .\u00a0 Is he really alive?\u00a0 I know we saw him, but maybe… After all he died so terribly.<\/em> Jesus gave these men and now us every reason to believe He is risen during those forty remarkable days<\/strong>.\u00a0 3<\/sup><\/span><\/strong> He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.<\/span> He assured them, taught them and gave them direction. So His Kingdom is ready to expand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Well not quite yet. <\/strong> 4<\/sup><\/span><\/strong> And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, \u201cyou heard from me; 5<\/sup><\/strong> for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.\u201d<\/span> There is a famous expression in the military.\u00a0 Hurry up and wait.<\/em> The higher ups get you going with a great sense of urgency.\u00a0 But next thing you know it, you’re sitting and waiting.\u00a0 Hurry up and wait.<\/p>\n

Knowing Peter, he was probably ready to get going.\u00a0 Of course, he wasn’t so sure what he would say or do when he arrived.\u00a0 That’s important.\u00a0 We can be moved, touched, fired up for Jesus.\u00a0 I would love to see that here.\u00a0 But enthusiasm can only carry us so far.\u00a0 Zeal without knowledge is trouble.\u00a0 So wait, Jesus told his apostles.\u00a0 Wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit comes.<\/p>\n

And for good reason. 6<\/sup><\/span><\/strong> So when they had come together, they asked him, \u201cLord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel<\/span>?\u201d\u00a0 Here I think of General George Washington when the revolution against King George of England\u00a0 was won.\u00a0 Some asked: General, do you want to be our King<\/em>?\u00a0 They\u00a0 failed to see what the revolution was about.<\/p>\n

Well time and again Jesus had taught them about the kingdom of God.\u00a0 But they still didn’t understand.\u00a0 He wasn’t talking about the kingdom of Israel, that Israel would be a nation once more.\u00a0 He wasn’t talking about some ruler compelling people to obey him.\u00a0 The kingdom of God is about people who willingly follow the Lord because the grace of God has touched their hearts.<\/p>\n

And besides they were thinking too small.\u00a0 \u00a0It’s citizens would not just be the children of Abraham.\u00a0 Listen.\u00a0 8<\/sup><\/span><\/strong> But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.\u201d <\/span>These men were thinking too small. Are we?\u00a0 For the Kingdom of God is about expansion.\u00a0 It’s not about sitting on our hands and keeping Jesus to ourselves. \u00a0It’s about bringing more and more to know this King who loved us so much that he suffered and died for us.<\/p>\n

But wait, Jesus said. Wait for the Holy Spirit. Then they would be ready.\u00a0\u00a0 His kingdom, his Church, would be ready to expand.\u00a0 For the Spirit would baptize them with power. \u00a0\u00a0A power to recal<\/strong>l, to remember what Jesus said and did.\u00a0 We have the result here.\u00a0 These inspired accounts.<\/p>\n

Then a power to understand<\/strong> the gospel. You can see that still escaped them even at this late date.\u00a0 They were still struggling with false notions. The Spirit would give them a power of understanding. And \u00a0finally he would give his Church the power to witnes<\/strong>s.\u00a0 The power to tell what we his people know in our hearts is true.<\/p>\n

But did you say you’re leaving, Jesus?\u00a0 You can’t stay with us and help us do all this?\u00a0 You can’t stay with us and help us face the trouble you said is coming our way? <\/em><\/p>\n

They had to know this day was coming.\u00a0 They just didn’t know when.\u00a0 But now it was time for Jesus to leave them, for Jesus to go home.<\/strong> They did not realize it but they would.\u00a0 We can celebrate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

9<\/sup><\/span><\/strong> 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<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remember the scene. It was during the Iraq War. President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and stood with this banner behind him. \u00a0Mission accomplished.\u00a0 He lived to regret that banner and his flamboyant arrival.\u00a0 \u00a0There was still much to be done. Sadly, many more to be sacrificed.<\/p>\n

But the fact that we can say he ascended into heaven means this.\u00a0 Mission accomplished.\u00a0 What the Son of God came to do for each of us is a done deal.\u00a0 The punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed<\/span>.\u00a0 We have peace with God through faith in Him. So Jesus goes home and we can celebrate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You also can know that you have a friend in high places.\u00a0 I worked for a man that became an Admiral in the Coast Guard. From talking to my friends, I learned that if I would stayed in, he would have watched out for my career.\u00a0 That’s what he did for others.<\/p>\n

But that’s nothing compared to what we have.\u00a0 We sing, what a friend we have in Jesus<\/em>. We do.\u00a0 \u00a0He ascended into heaven.\u00a0 So you and I have a friend before our Father in heaven.\u00a0 The Bible says he intercedes for us.\u00a0 In other words, he goes to bat for us\u00a0 He makes sure your prayers do not fall on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

And this you can know. \u00a0When this life draws to a close, it will not end in darkness. No, you will fall asleep in Jesus only to awake to something else. \u00a0For what does our ascended Lord say? In my Father’s house are many rooms if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. <\/span> (Jn 14:2)\u00a0 Jesus goes home and we can celebrate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

… a cloud took him out of their sight. 10<\/sup><\/strong> And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11<\/sup><\/strong> and said, \u201cMen 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<\/span>.\u201d Ever noticed how angels showed up at very important times?\u00a0 When the virgin Mary became pregnant with Jesus,\u00a0 when Jesus was born, when he was tempted, later as he anguishes in the Garden of Gethsemane.\u00a0 Then on Easter morning angels tell\u00a0 the women \u00a0why Jesus body was gone. He is risen.<\/p>\n

Well here these men stand gawking up in the sky.\u00a0 Jesus is gone and here we are left behind.<\/em> Left behind in this world which brings tears to our eyes and pain to our hearts. But thanks to the angels, we are left with this.\u00a0\u00a0 One day if we are not already in heaven, we are going to look up into the sky and see Jesus. Then we will celebrate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And until we see him, remember.\u00a0 Remember when things do not go well.\u00a0 Remember when you feel that there is no God, at least not one who cares about you.\u00a0 Remember the picture of Jesus as he ascended.\u00a0 It was painted above the altar of my church in Milwaukee.\u00a0 Jesus ascending.\u00a0 But not with his back turned.\u00a0 And not looking somewhere else.\u00a0 Rather his hands were lifted up in blessing and not just to these men.\u00a0 But his church.\u00a0 His hands were lifted up in blessing for you..\u00a0 Happy Ascension<\/strong>.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acts 1: 1-11 | Ascension Sunday | May 16, 2010 Most everyone knows December 25th.\u00a0 The celebration of our Savior’s birth.\u00a0 God gave us his Son.\u00a0 The Son came to be our brother.\u00a0 As our brother, he \u00a0saved us.\u00a0 So we celebrate Christmas. What about last Thursday?\u00a0 Did you celebrate that day?\u00a0 \u00a0Did you give thanks to God for what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}