The Ascension

Amen, let's pray together. Father, we thank you so much for your love toward us when we are so unworthy. We are grateful, Lord, for how it is you have supplied all of our needs. But most importantly, Lord, we are grateful for the great need of salvation that we so desperately need. And you've saved us from our sin, you've given us forgiveness, and you've offered us your grace and mercy, and we are grateful. Today, Lord, we have the opportunity to study your word once again. Please open our hearts and minds to be able to behold your beauty.

In Jesus' name, amen. Today is a historical day, for we cover the last paragraph in Luke's gospel. I didn't say we'd finish the last paragraph in Luke's gospel, I said we'd cover the last paragraph in Luke's gospel. Yes, we're going to finish the gospel today. It's been many, many years since we began this series looking at the life of Jesus Christ, our Lord. What a marvelous study to be able to peer into the history of our world and to realize the beauty of Christ, his coming, all the things that he accomplished.

And we have had the privilege over the last eight, nine years or so, I've lost track how many years it's been, but it's been a great study. And I hope that you've learned a lot concerning the life of our Lord. Today, we bring it to a conclusion as we look at a portion of scripture that only Luke himself records.

In fact, he records it twice. He records it at the end of his gospel, and he begins the book of Acts with the same encounter. It's called the ascension. And so many times we don't spend enough study on the ascension of Christ. Now, we're going to see this morning why this event is so important to us as believers, why it's a crucial event in the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. One author said it this way, Luke's gospel began with the story of the Lord Jesus Christ's arrival on earth and ends with his departure from it.

His life began with condescension and ended with ascension. It began with incarnation and ended with exaltation. It began with expectation and ended with consummation. It began with the Son of God being born of a virgin and descending to earth and ended with the Son of God being born from the dead and ascending to heaven. It began with hope unrealized and ended with hope fully realized. It began with a promise and ended with a fulfillment and a new promise. It began with the praise of Mary, Zacharias, Simeon, and Anna and the angels in anticipation of the Messiah's arrival and ended with the worship and praise of those who witnessed the Messiah's departure.

A lot of things that happened at the beginning happened at the end. And this becomes a crucial climax to our Lord's ministry here on earth. Let me read to you the verses.

Verse number 50, Luke chapter 24. And he led them out as far as Bethany and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came about that while he was blessing them, he parted from them. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising God. So much to cover in just a few short verses. But what you see is how uneventful the writer describes the enormous event of the ascension. With very simple words like the birth of Christ, like the resurrection of Christ.

Very simple words, but they are monumental times. We will look this morning with you at three points. Number one is the place of the ascension.

Number two is the parting of the ascension. And then number three is the praise surrounding the ascension.

Luke chapter 24 is the last chapter. It began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And you would think that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, all would be made well, but it wasn't with the 12. So you quickly move in the first few verses of Luke 24, speaking of the resurrection of the Messiah to the confusion and the depression of the 12 and other disciples who followed Jesus.

That was the emotion of those who were the believers. There was confusion and then there was depression. And there were these two men walking on the road to Emmaus, some seven miles from Jerusalem. And Jesus shows up and asks a question. So you go from the resurrection to the depression and confusion to a question that Jesus asks these men. Why are you so downcast? What are you talking about? And from that question comes an explanation as to why they are the way they are. From that explanation comes an illumination that Jesus illumines their hearts and minds to everything that the prophets had said concerning Jesus.

That illumination led to the revelation of who Jesus is. That revelation led to the jubilation of those two men and ultimately the 12, because once your mind is illuminated to the revelation of Jesus Christ, the overarching emotion is jubilation. And that jubilation led to the instruction that Jesus would give to his men there in Luke 24, telling them once again about all the things that the prophets had said. That instruction led to the commission that he gave them, that they were to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

He gave them the exact message they were to give. And that instruction and that commission led to the provision that he would give them when they would be clothed with power from on high. And that provision now leads us to the ascension, which leads us to the adoration that these men would experience because of what they now know about Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the context of Luke chapter 24. And so when you come to this place, this place called Bethany, now you begin to understand what is taking place.

They go to Bethany, the Bible says, he led them out as far as Bethany. Okay. It doesn't mean that they went exactly to Bethany because Bethany is two miles from Jerusalem. If you leave the Eastern gate of the old city of Jerusalem, descend down the Kidron Valley and then ascend up the Mount of Olives on the back side of the Mount of Olives. Once you begin your descent, you will go to a place called Bethany, some two miles from Jerusalem. But they didn't go all the way to Bethany because the translation really is in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

And we know that from Acts account because Acts tells us that they would leave where they were from on this occasion and they would go a Sabbath day's journey back to Jerusalem. How far is a Sabbath day's journey? It's six-tenths of a mile. It's 3,000 feet. Therefore, once you leave Jerusalem and begin to ascend the Mount of Olives and then begin to descend on the back side, you'd be about 3,000 feet away. So somewhere on the Mount of Olives, on the back side of the Mount of Olives is the event that takes place, this ascension in the area surrounding in the vicinity of Bethany.

Now, we don't know that the commission that Jesus gave last week or in the earlier verses, we talked about the last two weeks, if it was at this time that he gave that commission and then led them to this place in the vicinity of Bethany and then the ascension took place. We don't know that because the Bible doesn't tell us. We know that the great commission of Matthew 28 was given on a mountain in Galilee. And so maybe in Luke 24, that is the exact same commission just given to us from Luke's perspective to give us all the more detail concerning that commission.

We don't know that for certain. But what we do know is that on this day, Jesus would ascend into heaven and that place was in the vicinity of Bethany and it was on the Mount of Olives. We know that from Acts' account. Turn with me to the book of Acts, the first chapter.

It says this, the first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach. Now, Luke refers Theophilus back to his gospel, the first letter that he wrote until the day when he was taken up after he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom he had chosen.

OK, so he takes Theophilus back to the first letter he wrote them and how it ended. And that's how he's going to begin this epistle to these. He also presented himself alive after suffering by many convincing proofs appearing to them over a period of 40 days and speaking of things concerning the kingdom of God. Now, you have to understand the implications of that. Luke is telling us about these 40 days because it's been 40 days since the resurrection. And during those 40 days, he speaks to them about things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

That is so important. Why? Because he doesn't talk to them about their marriage. He doesn't talk to them about their families. He doesn't talk to them about their relationships. He doesn't talk to them about depression, emotions. He doesn't talk to them about anything except the kingdom of heaven. Because my friends, once you have a perspective on the kingdom of heaven, all those other things take care of themselves. That's why Jesus said, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.

You see, the problem with us is that we got it all backwards. We want to talk about our families and our marriages, our emotions, our work, our finances. And Jesus says, you need to know about the kingdom of heaven.

He's going to prepare his men for something. He's going to prepare them to be his witnesses. And so he's going to tell them about the most valuable thing there is, his kingdom. He's the king. He has a kingdom. And therefore they need to spread that good news, the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. And so he spends 40 days talking to them about things pertaining to the kingdom of God. That is just so important to understand. And this sets their hearts ablaze. Because once they understand the kingdom, read the book of Acts, there is no depression in the life of the apostles, only excitation.

Even amidst persecution, there is no sadness because it's all about the kingdom. It's all about their king. Their perspective had changed. Everything was different now.

While they were on earth and Jesus spoke to them about things pertaining to the kingdom, they couldn't get out of their selfish attitude. It overwhelmed them. It consumed them. They became downcast. They became depressed. Even after the resurrection, they couldn't handle it. But once they saw the risen Lord and once they understand the Old Testament, once they knew the Bible and knew what it said, everything changed for them. See, the problem is not our circumstances. The problem is we don't know what the Bible says concerning Jesus and what he has to say about our circumstances.

And once we know that, everything changes. It's all from a heavenly perspective. It's all from a perspective that God wants us to have. But when we look at it from our perspective, things are different.

And so once we get a glimpse of the glory of God and his kingdom, everything else will fall into place. Keep the perspective in order. And so he spends 40 days talking to them about things pertaining to the kingdom. And gathering together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised. What was that? That they be clothed with power from on high. You heard of me, for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Not many days from now. Okay? So it's going to come. The time would be exactly 10 days. We know that because we have Acts chapter 2. So when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? You see, is now the time? After spending 40 days talking about the kingdom and all that it means, they want to know, is now the time? They are so ecstatic about the kingdom. They are so enamored with the kingdom. They are so on fire for the king and his kingdom.

Is it now, Lord? Is it now, Lord? And that's how they live their lives. Jesus said it wasn't now, but that's how they live their lives. They lived as if every day would be the coming of the king and his kingdom. Again, it was all about perspective. It was all about how they saw Christ. They looked every day, anticipating the coming of the king and his kingdom. And it moved them to minister for their king. It moved them to handle persecution and affliction. It moved them to live for the glory of the king.

And Jesus says to them, it's not for you to know the times or epochs, which the father has fixed by his own authority, but you shall 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. So he gives them, again, their responsibility. The Bible tells us, after he'd said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky, while he was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. And they also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?

This Jesus, who has been taking up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven, literally, physically, bodily, personally. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. So now we know from both accounts that Luke gives us, his gospel and the book of Acts, that they were in the vicinity of Bethany, but they were still on the Mount of Olives. Because the Mount of Olives plays a important part in the life of our Lord.

All during his ministry, we know about Bethany, because that was where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived, and Jesus was there on many occasions. And so it was a home away from home, because really, Capernaum was his home in the Galilee, but Bethany was like his home in the area of Jerusalem. And yet the Mount of Olives plays a major part in the life of Christ. Just as you look at the last week of his life, they would leave the city, they would go to the Mount of Olives, they would go to where it was dark, and that's where they would sleep.

It would be there on the Mount of Olives that Jesus would give that great Olivet discourse, Matthew 24 and 25, about the coming king and his kingdom. It would be there where he'd pray to his father, sweat great drops of blood. It would be there he would be arrested and taken to the house of Caiaphas. So we know that it plays a major part in the ministry of Christ. It also plays a part in the future of Christ, because Zechariah 14.4 says these words, in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

One day he's going to come back to the Mount of Olives. But notice this, and you must understand this, that in Acts account chapter one, Luke does not say that he will descend to the Mount of Olives.

He says he will come back in the same manner in which he left. And there are many people who believe that when Jesus comes again, he comes down to the Mount of Olives. They are all wrong, because Jesus didn't say that. It says he will come back in the same manner in which he left. It doesn't say he's going to come back to the same place in which he left. You gotta understand that. Why is that important? Because he will come to the Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14.4. He will split the Mount of Olives, but we know exactly where he's going to descend, because the Old Testament tells us.

In Isaiah chapter 63, Isaiah chapter 34, Amos chapter 1, Jeremiah chapter 49, we know that he descends in Bozrah, which is the ancient capital city of Edom. We know that from Revelation chapter 12, because Israel flees to the wilderness, and the wilderness is always Edom and Moab in the Old Testament, and Bozrah is the ancient capital of Edom, and exactly 200 miles from the valley of Megiddo is the ancient capital of Edom, which is Bozrah, and Revelation 14 says that the blood will flow for exactly 200 miles up to the horse's bridle during the great battle of the Lord.

People say, well, wait a minute. We thought the battle was in Armageddon. It is not. Again, the Bible doesn't say that there's a battle in Armageddon. It says in Revelation chapter 16, this specific phrase that the armies of the east gather together in the valley called Har-Megiddon. It does not say there's ever a battle in the valley of Megiddo. It says they gather there. You got to remember what the Bible says.

In order to put two and two together, you must read exactly what the Bible says, and so they gather there, but the battle doesn't begin there.

The battle begins in Bozrah, some 200 miles south, so if you read Revelation 14, Revelation 12, if you read Revelation 16, and you understand the Old Testament, Jeremiah 63, Jeremiah 34, Habakkuk chapter 3, Micah chapter 2, Amos chapter 1, then you know that the Lord will descend at Bozrah because that's where Israel will be in the wilderness. According to Revelation chapter 12, he will make his way up to Jerusalem. He will stand on the Mount of Olives because every conqueror, listen, every conqueror of Jerusalem rode his horse to the top of the Mount of Olives and raised his sword in victory over Jerusalem, and so the Messiah will do the exact same thing.

He will end up at the Mount of Olives. He will split that mount, and he will establish his kingdom in the world, so this plays a very significant part, so you must read the text. He will descend. He will come back in the same manner in which he left. He left physically. He'll come back physically. He left personally. He'll come back personally. He left literally. He will come back literally, and he will be here again. That plays a big part in the attitude of the apostles, so you have the place, and then you have the parting.

Then you have his ascension, and it's spoken of so simply in Scripture. Bible tells us in Luke chapter 24, he lifted up his hands and blessed them, and it came about that while he was blessing them, he parted from them, and what did Jesus say? Did he say, God bless you? Was that his blessing? No, it's more than that. He pledged to them a blessing, literally is what it says, and the pledge that he blesses them with is the pledge probably that he promised them the coming Spirit of God, his love, his grace, his mercy, that he would be with them forever.

He would lift his hands to bless his men, and as he's blessing them, he is departing from them, but he's reaffirming his promises. Maybe it was the promises of John 14 to 17. Maybe it was the promises that he gave them of things pertaining to the kingdom for those 40 days, but he blessed them. He pledged a blessing to them based on what he's already given to them, and he ascends up into heaven. Now think about this. When Jesus was resurrected, they had already witnessed a resurrection. They witnessed Lazarus's resurrection, right?

They witnessed Jairus's daughter's resurrection. They also witnessed the widow's son and Nain's resurrection. They actually saw three resurrections. You'd think they would get Jesus's resurrection, right? They didn't get it until afterwards, but they'd never seen an ascension before. They'd never seen this. That's why they would look intently, gazing into the heavens as Luke records in Acts chapter 1. We just read a few minutes ago. They looked intently. They had never seen this before, a man defying the laws of gravity, just rising up before them, going up into the heavens.

They had never witnessed anything like this before. This was all new to them, and they stood gazing into the heavens, and two men in white apparel asked them a question. Men, why do you stand gazing into the heavens? What are you looking at? What are you looking for? Don't you know that this same Jesus will come again exactly as he left you? Remember, Enoch and Elijah were the only two men that ascended into heaven quite rapidly, might I add. God took them into glory. So they knew about Enoch, and they would know about Elijah because they could read the Old Testament.

But to see what was happening with Jesus was remarkable. But the Bible doesn't go into great detail. It just simply doesn't even explain to us the ascension like it didn't explain to us the resurrection. It just states it plainly. This is what took place, and Jesus rises before them, blessing them as he goes, that they might understand the beauty of all that he is. And then notice it says this, and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.

What was it that gave them great joy, great joy? Remember the birth of Christ when the angel said, we bring good news of great joy. That's how his arrival began, good news of great joy. And now they return to Jerusalem with great joy. What was it that gave these men the joy that would spring from their hearts for the rest of their ministry, that would allow these men to suffer and die for their Messiah and do it willingly without grumbling, without complaining, without bellyaching? There is no complaint among the apostles in the book of Acts because they had great joy, great joy, great joy, number one, because of the person of Christ, who he is.

They've seen him alive. They spent 40 days with him, talking to him about things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and they are able to understand his character. His nature. Now the Old Testament in their minds has fully been realized. Now they get it. So not only is there joy because of his person, but there's joy because of his promise that he's going to come again. He will arrive again. They do not know when he's going to come. They just have the promise that he's going to come. And so because of that promise of his coming again, because of the fulfillment of the promise of prophecy, that now they completely understand there is great joy.

There's promise because of his person. He is the God of joy. There's joy because of the promises that he himself has fulfilled. There's joy because of the practice in which they engaged. What was that? They returned to Jerusalem. They did exactly what he said. By the way, there's never joy in disobedience. There's always joy in obedience. A lot of times people come to me and say, oh, I had no joy. My first question is, how are you being disobedient to the Lord?

Because there's never joy in disobedience, but there's always joy in obedience. That's why the Lord said in John 13, 17, if you do these things, blessed are you. You're blessed. You're joyous because you've obeyed me. And these men obeyed. Having understood the person of Christ, having understood the promises of Christ, it's easy to live for Christ. See? So their practice brought them joy because they lived in obedience to the son of God. And then there was joy because of their perception, their perception.

Now they understand. Now they get it. Once you get Jesus, once you understand the plans and promises and purposes of Christ, once you begin to grasp all that he's done, your perception changes. And once the perception changes, your attitude changes. Remember way back in the book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk was asking God, what is he doing? Why are you going to destroy your people with the wicked Chaldeans? Why are you going to do that? That's chapter one of Habakkuk. In chapter two, God explains to him exactly what he's doing.

In chapter three, Habakkuk is filled with joy, not because his circumstances changed, because they did not change, but his perception of God changed. That caused joy. You see, my friends, you don't need your circumstances to change for you to have joy. All you need is a proper perspective on your circumstances. And once you have that, there is joy. And these men went back to Jerusalem, not with joy, but with great joy. I don't want you to have joy at Christmas. I want you to have great joy. I don't want you to have joy at Thanksgiving.

I want you to have great joy. We don't need joy. We need great joy. And these men had great joy because of the person of Christ, because of the promises of Christ, because of their perception about the Christ, because of their practice of obedience to the Christ. That's where joy is found. And these men experienced it. And this is the praise of these men. Now, before we leave, I say, wow, it's only 10 o'clock. How can we leave so early? Just hold on a second.

There are some invocations here of the ascension that we need to grasp. Okay? So let me give them to you.

There are 12 of them, and I will give them to you in 12 minutes. Okay. That's the plan because we must finish Luke's gospel today. Number one implication is this.

The ascension affirms the completion of his mission. It affirms the completion of his mission. Remember, he came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to die for man. On the cross, he said, it is finished. The work of redemption was done. But yet the mission that he came to accomplish was not yet done. And that's why he would rise again. And that's why he would spend 40 days with his men, teaching them about things pertaining to the kingdom. And now it was done. Now it was complete. And now he would sit down at the right hand of God, the father.

Remember that in the Holy of Holies, there are no seats because the priests would never sit because the work of sacrifice was never complete. But now the one sacrifice that would atone for man's sins completely is done. Now he ascends up into glory. And now he sits down according to Hebrews 10 verse number 12 at the right hand of God, the father. He can now sit because the work is over. The completion of his mission is done. So the ascension affirms the completion of his mission. Number two, the ascension affirms the culmination, listen, the culmination of his limitations.

The culmination of his limitations. Remember, when he became a man, Philippians chapter two, he laid aside some of his divine attributes because he never ceased being God. He was always God. But when he became a man, he set aside the attribute of omnipresence and localized himself. He set aside omnipotence and only took up his power when he chose to. He set aside omniscience and only took up his all-knowing attribute when he wanted to. You see, he laid them all aside. He became a man. And so now the culmination of all those limitations is over.

But he came to earth. He came to earth and became a man. He leaves earth always as the God man. Always. He left heaven as God. He came to earth, became a man. He leaves as the God man forever. That's why there's one mediator between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus our Lord. That's why in Revelation 22, he says, I am of the root and offspring of David. I am the source of David's life and line. And I am the son of David's life and line. And I will always be the source and the son of David's life and line for all eternity.

He is now the God man for all eternity. But all those limitations are all over now. So the ascension affirms the culmination of those limitations. It affirms the exaltation of Christ as Lord of all. It affirms the exaltation of Christ as Lord of all. Ephesians 1 verse number 19. And what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe these are in accordance with the working of his strength of his might, which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

And he put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. The ascension is the affirmation of his exaltation as Lord of all. Next, the ascension is the affirmation of the transmission of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, unless I leave, I cannot send another comforter, another of the same kind, not another of a different kind, another of the same kind, the Holy Spirit.

And so once he leaves, the Holy Spirit now comes. And the New Testament writers speak of that. So the ascension is crucial for the Spirit of God to come and to indwell you and me. So those men were clothed with power from on high. They were indwelt by the Spirit of God. Thus began the church age through the coming of the Spirit of God, the hearts of man. The ascension is an affirmation of the preparation of your heavenly home. The preparation of your heavenly home. Jesus said, let not your heart be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me. For in my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. And I now go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you into myself. For where I am there, you will be also. The ascension is the affirmation of the preparation of your heavenly home. Now, how long did it take the Lord to create the universe, the world, and everything in it? Six days, right? Just spoke a word, boom.

It's been 2,000 years since he left. How long do you think it takes him to prepare a home for you and me? A matter of seconds, right? Nanoseconds. And yet, he is going to great length to prepare a dwelling place for you. And the ascension is the affirmation that that preparation has begun and the Lord will take us home to be with him. The ascension is an affirmation of the continuation of his commission. Acts chapter 1, all the things that Jesus began to do and to teach, but he gave them a commission.

And this ascension is an affirmation of the continuation of that commission because he told them, you'll be clothed with power from on high. And when you are, you will now be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world. And that ministry has continued on. The work of redemption is completed, but the work of proclamation continues on because Christ commissioned his men to take the gospel to the world. And the ascension is that which affirms that. Next, the ascension affirms the realization of the headship of Christ.

We read that in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 19 to 22. Christ is the head of his church. This is the realization that Christ is the head, that we are his body and he is over us. Next, the ascension is the affirmation of the destruction of Satan's work. It's the affirmation of the destruction of Satan's work. 1 John 3, 8, the son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. Hebrews chapter 2, verse number 14. Since then the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

And the ascension is an affirmation of the destruction of Satan's hold on man. Man's complete fear of death has been removed because of the resurrection and the ascension and glorification of Jesus Christ our Lord. The ascension is the affirmation of the impartation of spiritual gifts. It says over in the book of Ephesians, the fourth chapter, these words, to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives and he gave gifts to men.

His ascension is the affirmation of the impartation of spiritual gifts to you and me. That is, he ascended on high, he gave gifts to men. Ephesians 4 goes on to explain, he gave gifted men to the church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, and he gave spiritual gifts to men because he is the head of his own body, the church, that they may function among themselves for the glory of the king. So the ascension is the affirmation of the impartation of spiritual gifts to men.

Three more, three minutes, we're right on track. The ascension is the affirmation of the inauguration of his priestly ministry. The inauguration of his priestly ministry, his ascension, marked the inauguration as our merciful and faithful high priest, according to Hebrews 4 verse number 15, where he begs us to come boldly before the throne of grace. We now have an advocate, 1 John 2 verse number 1, who stands as our defense in heaven because of his ascension. He is our high priest. Next, the ascension is the affirmation of the revelation of his return.

The ascension is the affirmation of the revelation of his return. That is, this same Jesus will come again in the same manner in which he left. And lastly, right on time, and that is, the ascension is the affirmation of the celebration of those who love the Lord Jesus. This is what causes us to celebrate. God has been so good. He has ascended up into heaven. He has sat down at the right hand of God, the father. The work is complete. He intercedes for you and me. He is our advocate. His ascension granted us gifts that we can be used to encourage and to motivate and assimilate one another to love and good deeds as we gather together.

His ascension tells me that he's coming again. And in the meantime, he is preparing a place for me, preparing a place for you so that when we go to heaven, we will be with him in a very special place designed specifically by him for us. And this is our celebration. This is what motivates us. This is where our joy comes from, the complete work of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let me pray with you.

Father, thank you for today. Thank you for a chance to be in your word. Thank you for the gospel of Luke and the things you've taught us over all these years about Jesus Christ, our Lord. We thank you for his preeminence. We thank you, Lord, for his ministry among us. We thank you for the life you live. But more importantly, we thank you for his death, his burial, his resurrection, and of course, his coming again, that one day we will behold his face and we will see him and we will be like him for we will see him as he is.

In Jesus' name, amen.