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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1. This morning we're 
going to focus on the doctrine of the ascension of our Lord 
Jesus Christ into heaven. The Bible teaches us very clearly 
that Jesus died and that he rose from the dead and then he ascended 
on high and sits now at the right hand of his father where he rules 
and reigns over all things, where he must reign until all of his 
enemies are made his footstool. So the doctrine of the ascension 
of Jesus Christ is associated with his current session, with 
his reign and rule over all things for the good of the Church. And 
specifically Acts chapter 1 verses 9 to 11 unfold or give us some 
of the particulars of the ascension. We'll make several observations 
on that particular passage and then we'll make some application. 
But I'll just read beginning in Acts chapter 1 at verse 1. The former account I made, O 
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until 
the day in which he was taken up after he, through the Holy 
Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, 
to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by 
many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days 
and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being 
assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart 
from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, 
he said, you have heard from me. For John truly baptized with 
water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many 
days from now. Therefore, when they had come 
together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore 
the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, It is not 
for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his 
own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit 
has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem 
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. 
Now when he had spoken these things while they watched, he 
was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while 
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, 
two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of 
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, 
who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like 
manner as you saw him go into heaven. Amen. Let us pray. Our God and our Father, we thank 
you for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for his victory 
over death, his victory over the grave. And we thank you for 
his ascension on high and his current session from your right 
hand. Our God, we pray that you would just encourage our hearts 
and build us up in our most holy faith as we continue to observe 
this glorious truth that Jesus Christ is at your right hand. 
God, we look forward to the second coming of Jesus when he will 
come. the glory of His Father with all of His holy angels, 
when He will take vengeance on those who do not know Him, and 
when He will be marveled at by all those who have believed in 
Him. God, how we thank You for Your grace and how we thank You 
for Your Gospel, how we thank You for the Holy Scriptures, 
and we pray even now that Your Spirit would guide us and instruct 
us and lead us into all truth and into a fresh appreciation 
of this glorious truth concerning Christ's ascension on high. We 
pray now that you would forgive us for all of our sins, that 
you would cleanse us afresh in the blood of Jesus Christ. And 
now we thank you, God, that if we confess our sins, you are 
faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness. And we pray in Jesus' most glorious 
name. Amen. It's important that you 
understand in Acts 1, verse 1, the former account I made, O 
Theophilus. Now Luke is the one who wrote 
the book of Acts. Luke, of course, wrote the gospel 
that bears his name, the gospel according to Luke. Notice in 
verse 1, he says, the former account I made, O Theophilus, 
of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. So in the Gospel 
according to Luke, he wrote all that Jesus began both to do and 
teach. The book of Acts records what 
Jesus continues to do and teach. As he said in Matthew 28, he 
said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to 
me. And it is on that basis for which 
the Great Commission is then given. And the same pattern is 
demonstrated here in Acts chapter 1. He commissions his church. Notice in verse 8. But you shall 
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. He's speaking 
about the day of Pentecost, that prophesied event when the Spirit 
would come in an unmatched or unparalleled way to the church 
to baptize it with fresh authority and power from on high. so that 
they would be equipped to go and do the task that Jesus had 
given them. He says, and you shall be witnesses 
to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the 
end of the earth. Now, on what basis can we do 
this? Well, precisely because of the 
truth of verses 9 to 11. Because Jesus was taken up. Because 
Jesus ascended on high. Because Jesus sat down at the 
right hand of his father. It is upon that basis, or upon 
that foundation, that the church can therefore go into Jerusalem, 
Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. Because her 
Lord has ascended, her Lord is enthroned, her Lord is governor 
over the nations, and the Lord has instructed his people to 
go and to testify, to call men to repentance, to call men to 
faith. Now there are five observations 
with reference to the ascension that I want to make this morning. 
And the first is quite simple. The ascension was visible. The ascension was visible. Remember at the incarnation. A lot of doctrine this morning. 
The incarnation is when God the second person, the Lord Jesus, 
came into this world and he took on the flesh of man. That is 
the incarnation. Will that self-same Jesus, having 
risen from the dead, being glorified, then ascended visibly into heaven? The text is conspicuous. There 
are a lot of people who deny the historicity of this event. That's why we need to get it 
in our minds that it was a historical incident, that it actually took 
place, that it wasn't just some religious fable or myth. or story 
that was designed to instruct us in summa theorial truth, but 
it was grounded in history. It is actually, or it has actually 
occurred. The text is conspicuous. Now 
when he had spoken these things while they watched, Luke wants 
us to understand they saw this. They observed this. This is tangible. This isn't the stuff of myth 
or fables. This is the stuff of historically 
verified history. He was taken up and a cloud received 
him out of their sight. They're watching him rise up. They're watching him being taken 
up. to the point where he is enveloped 
in a cloud and they no longer can see him. If you were to go 
outside today, there's only so far that your human eye can penetrate. And the same thing was true on 
that particular day. And while they looked steadfastly 
toward heaven as he went up, This was not just a bunch of 
men who got together and conjured up a religious myth. This is 
historically reliable, accurate narrative that Luke has given 
to us. Albert Barnes says it was of 
importance to state that circumstance, the fact that they watched, the 
fact that he went from their sight, and to state it distinctly. It is not affirmed in the New 
Testament that they saw him rise from the dead, because the evidence 
of that fact could be better established by their seeing him 
after he was risen. But the truth of his ascension 
to heaven could not be confirmed in that matter. Hence, it was 
so arranged that he should ascend in open day and in the presence 
of his apostles, and that not when they were asleep or were 
inattentive to what was occurring, but when they were engaged in 
a conversation that would fix the attention, and even when 
they were looking upon him. Again, if you've done any reading 
in New Testament theology, you'll realize that there are certain 
key events in the life of Christ that are under constant attack. The virgin birth of Christ, the 
very incarnation of Christ. his substitutionary and atoning 
death, his resurrection and his ascension. It is absolutely crucial 
that as God's people we have a handle on what New Testament 
theology teaches with reference to this truth. Notice secondly, 
the ascension was bodily. The ascension was bodily. Christ rose from the dead in 
his body. He wasn't a phantom. He wasn't 
a spirit. He wasn't simply an apparition. He wasn't a religious thought. 
He wasn't a fabled creature. He was the risen Jesus Christ. In Luke, another, the same book, 
or the same author, writing in Luke 24, you can turn there. 
Luke 24, beginning in verse 36. Again, there are those who say, 
well, you know, the history of it, or the fact of it, that's 
really not that important. It's the idea. It's the religious 
connotation. The religious connotation and 
the idea mean nothing apart from the historically accurate truth. Peter says in his epistle, we 
did not devise or we have not followed cunningly devised fables. If you're here simply because 
Christianity produces some decent life truths or some good consequences 
or it provides a context for a religious point of view, you're 
in the wrong place. We take this Bible seriously. 
And it doesn't matter what the neo-orthodox have said. It doesn't 
matter what the God-haters have said. It doesn't matter what 
those who try to strip away the Bible's authority by saying, 
well, it's not so much the narrative or the history, but it's the 
idea behind it. Hogwash. It's garbage. The Scripture is trustworthy 
in all that it affirms. The Bible is accurate. The Bible 
is that means by which we have everlasting life, because it 
reveals to us the Lord Jesus. And the facts associated with 
Jesus' redemptive work cannot be thrown out. They cannot be 
discarded. We don't come and pick and choose 
what we'll have in the Bible. Oh, we like this, but we don't 
like this. We like the idea, we like the 
consequences, but the truth behind it, yeah, not so much. It's not 
our right, it's not our prerogative. Notice in Luke chapter 24, beginning 
in verse 36. Now as they said these things, 
Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, peace 
to you. But they were terrified and frightened 
and supposed they had seen a spirit. Luke's a good historian here. 
Remember in Matthew's gospel, after the resurrection of Christ, 
it tells us the disciples were gathered and some doubted? Why did the New Testament authors 
do this? Because they're telling us the 
truth. Lying men would not present doubting 
men. Lying men would not present questioning 
or frightened or fearful men. Liars usually take great pains 
to smooth out the text so that there is no hint of the sorts 
of things that we find here. I suggest that as you read your 
Bible, as you see the doubts and you see the fright, this 
is not an indicator that there's a problem with the text or the 
truth of it, but rather it simply is an illustration of the truth 
of it. Perfect example, the fall of 
King David of Israel. How many of us, if we were writing 
the life history of our hero, would include his fall into adultery 
and murder? Doesn't do much for our hero 
when we report all those sordid details, does it? You see, the 
book of the Bible is very clear. David, as great a man as he was, 
isn't the one to whom we are looking. Solomon raised up in 
eminence and in glory and had a wonderful reign and was led 
astray at the end of his life by a thousand wives. Why? Because we're looking for someone 
greater than Solomon. Jesus, in verse 37, they were 
terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit, 
and he said to them, Why are you in trouble, and why do doubts 
arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, 
that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit 
does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. When he had 
said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while 
they still did not believe for joy and marvel, he said to them, 
have you any food here? So they gave him a piece of broiled 
fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate in their presence. A phantom, a spirit, a ghost 
doesn't eat fish and honeycomb. Not that I've ever asked them, 
but I just know that that's the case. Spirit beings don't eat 
physical food, but the risen Christ, to confirm or highlight 
that the body that went into the tomb is the body that came 
out of the tomb, albeit glorified, albeit empowered, albeit wondrous, 
is nevertheless continuous with the same Christ. His ascension 
was bodily. Luke takes pains to tell us that 
he appeared to them many times over forty days, according to 
Acts 1 and verse 3, to whom he also presented himself alive 
after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 
forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom 
of God. was visible. His ascension was 
bodily, and thirdly, his ascension was glorious. The cloud enveloped 
him. F. F. Bruce comments on the cloud. The cloud in each case, talking 
about this cloud that we see conspicuously in the Old Testament 
as well. He says, the cloud in each case 
is to be understood as the cloud which envelops the glory of God, 
called the Shekinah glory. That cloud which, resting above 
the Mosaic tabernacle and filling Solomon's temple, was the visible 
token to Israel that the divine glory had taken up residence 
there. It's no accident. In terms of 
redemptive history, that as they are looking upon Jesus Christ 
being taken up into heaven, He is enveloped in a cloud. He is 
surrounded by this glorious demonstration of God's presence. God's power, 
God's excellence, God's magnificence. Remember Matthew 17 in verse 
5. Matthew 17, the account of Jesus 
in the Mount of Transfiguration. In Matthew 17, we read in verse 
5, while He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed 
them. And suddenly a voice came out 
of the cloud saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well 
pleased hear him. So in his life, this glory cloud 
enveloped him. At his ascension, this glory 
cloud enveloped him. Talking about his reign and his 
kingdom and his power, he says to the high priest that you will 
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, demonstrating 
the power and the magnificence of his kingdom. Christ's ascension 
was glorious. A fourth observation is that 
the Ascension set the pattern for the Second Coming. Now, believe 
it or not, there are those who deny there is a future coming 
of Christ. They say that the Bible does 
not specify, or does not teach, that Jesus will physically come 
in glory to judge the living and the dead. Well, that's simply 
not accurate. The Bible tells us that he is 
coming again. The Bible tells us that he will 
come and he will divide the sheep and the goats and he will render 
judgment upon those who have rejected him and he will take 
his beloved and he will bring them into his eternal presence 
and they will be with him forever and ever and ever. It's amazing, 
isn't it? So love that psalm that was read 
at the outset of worship. Seventy or eighty years, we count 
a long, prosperous, happy life. Seventy or eighty years are a 
drop in the bucket. I love that statement. I love 
that stanza. When we've been there ten thousand 
years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing 
God's praise than when we first begun. I was just talking to 
someone recently, and when I was a kid, six million dollars was 
a lot of money. There's an old show called The 
Bionic Man, the six million dollar man. This guy got in a crash, 
he wrecked his spaceship, he was an astronaut, and they put 
him back together. They made him bigger and better 
and stronger. All these things, and it was six million bucks. 
I remember back then thinking six million dollars, I mean a 
million dollars, right? And the ones who are older than 
me would probably say, I remember when half a million dollars was 
a lot of dough. Nowadays, when kids start thinking 
about money, and they start thinking about taxes, and they start thinking 
about IRAs, and RRSPs, and all those things, and calculating 
inflation and all that, they say, a million bucks? That wouldn't 
make it! I sometimes think that with that 
fourth stanza. When we've been there ten thousand 
years, In some ways, I think we need to inflate that language. 
When we've been there 10 million years, shining as the sun, we've 
no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. The 
Bible tells us very clearly that Christ will come again. That 
Christ will take his people to be with him where he is. The 
Bible pictures a new Jerusalem where all of his people have 
his name emblazoned on their foreheads and there is no more 
curse And rivers come from the throne for the healing of the 
nations. And the people of God praise 
and worship Him. Why anybody in their right mind 
would want to deny a second coming of Jesus Christ? I mean, one, 
it's completely contrary to the scripture. And two, you've got 
to be crazy. Hopefully there are those days, 
brethren, when that thought alone gets you out of your bed. We have trials and we have difficulties 
and we have heartache and pain in this world. But what is Christ's 
word to us? Be of good cheer. I've overcome 
the world. And that second coming will be 
a visible and glorious display of that. I submit the ascension 
sets the pattern for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in verse 11 in Acts 1, 
who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into 
heaven? I think the implication is, go 
get about your work. You've seen him go, now you go. You've seen him ascend, now get 
about the task that he has committed to you. Oh yeah, we can look 
up in our daily activities. We can keep an eye on earth and 
an eye on heaven for certain. But here the angels say, he is 
going to come back. This same Jesus who was taken 
up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you 
saw him go into heaven. He will so come in like manner. How did he go? Visibly. There will be a day when our 
eyes will see him. I love the way John says this 
in 1 John 3. When we see him, we will be like 
him. Not that we'll be deity, but 
I think we'll be like him in terms of no more sin. When we 
see him, we will be like him. partakers of the spirit in completion. And John says everyone who has 
this hope in him purifies himself as he is pure. He will come in 
like manner. He went visibly, he will return 
visibly. He went bodily, he will return 
bodily. You know, when we read these 
statements in the New Testament, when it says that all authority 
has been given to me in heaven and on earth, people say, well, 
what's new? Jesus was always God. Didn't he always possess 
authority as God? The unique thing is the incarnation. The unique thing is the messianic 
reign. The unique thing is that God 
or the Lord Jesus is both God and man dwelling at the right 
hand of his Father on high. His coming will be visible, it 
will be bodily, and it will be glorious. It will be glorious. The New Testament celebrates 
this fact repeatedly. Titus 2. We referred to this 
the other night on our Wednesday night Bible study. We're in the 
book of Titus. We noted how the Apostle Paul, 
in just verses 1-4 of Titus 1, basically sets forth the themes 
that he will deal with in the entirety of the epistle. Notice 
in chapter 1, verse 2, he says, "...in hope of eternal life, 
which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began." He speaks 
of eternal life. He speaks of the hope of eternal 
life. He speaks of that blessing that 
Christ's people enjoy. And then a few times in the epistle, 
he talks about Jesus' return. Notice in chapter 2, verse 11. He says, for the grace of God 
that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that 
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
righteously and godly in the present age. Now notice, looking 
for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and 
Savior, Jesus Christ. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that wonderful, the way 
he expresses it? The blessed hope and glorious 
appearing. That's what the angels told those 
disciples, isn't it? He will come in like manner. 
He went visibly. He went bodily. He went gloriously. The Bible says He will come back 
in like manner. Notice in verse 14, ascribing 
praise to this God and Savior. who gave himself for us, that 
he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself 
his own special people, zealous for good works." In Hebrews chapter 
9, these are just a few specimen passages to show us the glory 
of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the future. Hebrews 
9, 27. And as it is appointed for men 
to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered 
once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for 
Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Don't you love that statement 
here? Who eagerly wait for Him. Do you eagerly wait for Jesus? Your life marked by an eagerness? I fear at times, brethren, eagerness 
is not even in our vocabulary. We look at eagerness in the New 
Testament. There's several wonderful illustrations. 
Paul writes to the Roman church, to the church in Rome, and he 
says, I am eager to come and preach the gospel to you who 
are in Rome. And here we are told that there 
are those who have benefited from the first coming of Jesus 
Christ, from His cross work, from His atonement, from His 
sacrifice on our behalf. He was offered once to bear the 
sins of many, verse 28. To those who eagerly wait for 
Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. As those who understand the visible, 
bodily, glorious ascension and coming of our Lord Jesus, let 
us be eager. Let us be eager. And fifthly, 
and finally, in terms of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. His ascension resulted in enthronement. His ascension resulted in enthronement. Enthronement, kids, means he 
was enthroned. He sat down on the throne. And the Bible gives us the time 
as to when he did that. Notice in Acts 2. In Acts 2. Verse 29. The whole context here 
in Acts 2 is Peter's preaching concerning the person and work 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can see that all the way 
back in verse 16 of chapter 2. But this is what was spoken by 
the prophet Joel. The Holy Spirit had come upon 
the church on the day of Pentecost. People began to speak in tongues. 
It was an amazing time of the glory of God manifest. Some people 
misinterpreted. They said, oh, they're speaking 
in tongues because they're drunk. Peter says, we're not drunk. 
This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. Joel said in the 
latter days, in the last days, God would send his spirit a powerful 
way and this would be the demonstration. It's almost as if the reversal 
of Babel. At Babel, God confounded their 
tongue. At Pentecost, He brings them 
back together through the redemptive work of Jesus. And then he begins 
to open up the doctrine concerning Christ. In verse 22, men of Israel 
hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you 
by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through him in 
your midst as you yourselves also know. He goes on to declare 
that Jesus died. He died, yes, because godless 
men nailed him to a cross, but the ultimate reason was the predetermined 
plan of his father. His father had ordained this. 
His father had orchestrated it. His father had decreed it in 
order to save his people from their sins. Your salvation is 
not happenstance. Your salvation isn't sort of 
a corollary. God decreed the very purpose 
for the redemption of sinners to be the Lord Jesus Christ in 
his death. He goes on to highlight that 
Jesus was risen, or Jesus rose from the dead. And he quotes 
the scripture. And then in verse 29 he says, 
men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch 
David. That he is both dead and buried, 
and his tomb is with us to this day. What he's saying is, David 
wrote Psalm 16, but he wasn't writing about himself. David, 
under the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote Psalm 16, but he 
was writing about his son. He was writing about his king. 
He was writing about his Lord. Notice in verse 30. Therefore, being a prophet, and 
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit 
of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the 
Christ to sit on his throne. This is a reference to 2 Samuel 
7. Second Samuel 7, David wants to build a house for God because 
David's hands are bloody from battle, God says, no, David, 
you're not going to build a house for me. I'm going to build a 
house for you. I'm going to establish a Davidic 
dynasty, and there is one who will come from your line that 
will be king of kings, that will be lord of lords, that will sit 
upon your throne, and that will exercise sovereignty in control 
over all things. Notice when David spoke, or notice 
when Peter applies this. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning 
the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in 
Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has 
raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted 
to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father 
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you 
now see and hear. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
The resurrection led to the ascension. The ascension led obviously to 
his exaltation to the right hand of God the Father. Peter's implication, 
or Peter's application, according to verse 36. Therefore, he says, 
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this 
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. John Calvin, 
commenting on Acts 1.9, says, Carried up into heaven, therefore, 
he withdrew his bodily presence from our sight, not to cease 
to be present with believers still on their earthly pilgrimage, 
but to rule heaven and earth with a more immediate power. 
By his ascension he fulfilled what he had promised, that he 
would be with us even to the end of the world. Praise God. The angel said, why do you gaze 
up in the sky? He isn't gone. He hasn't departed. He hasn't deserted you. He hasn't 
left you. He has taken his rightful place 
at his Father's right hand. It is from that place he governs 
the nations. It is from that place he governs 
church. You see in the book of Acts, 
Christ is right there with them. The book of Revelation, what 
do we find? Christ in the midst of his lampstands. Christ from that vantage point 
at the right hand of God Most High rules in the midst of his 
friends and in the midst of his enemies. Well, we learn first 
with reference to the ascension and the individual Christian, 
those of you who have trusted in the Lord, those of you who 
have believed the gospel, do you realize that the ascension 
has practical implications for your life? You say, well, what 
is it? Holiness, godliness, righteousness, 
and a biblical-mindedness. Colossians 3.1, it says, If then 
you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, 
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind 
on things above, not on things on the earth. For you die, and 
your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our 
life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 
Paul will issue several commands to the Colossians on how they 
are to live godly in this lower world. Chapter 3, verse 12. Therefore, as the elect of God, 
holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, 
meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving 
one another. If anyone has a complaint against 
another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put 
on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace 
of God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in 
one body, and be thankful. you realize that our interpersonal 
relationships right here, right now, whether in the church or 
at home, are vitally connected to Christ at the right hand of 
his Father. That's where our minds need to 
be. So that if someone sins against 
us, and we actually need to bear with them, we receive the power, 
the grace, the strength, and the aid, not because we're good, 
but because Jesus is at the right hand of his Father. When it comes 
to that command that for whatever reason is so difficult for each 
of us. Verse 14. But above all these 
things put on love. Why is this so hard? Why is it 
so difficult to esteem others as better than ourselves? I actually 
think I know the answer. We're proud, we're arrogant, 
we're selfish, and we're wicked. Put that in your pipe of self-esteem 
and smoke it. How do we gain strength to kill 
the pride? To kill the selfishness? to actually 
look at someone and say, I'm going to care more about them 
today than me. You're going to do it because 
you're setting your mind at the right hand of God where Jesus 
is. There's no magic. There's no 
potion. There's no incantation. If you 
just say this, then you'll go, I love everybody. Now, you've 
got to employ your mind. And I like to call it a biblical-mindedness, 
because quite frankly, spiritual-mindedness could be just about anything 
today. Christos evidence a spiritual-mindedness. Wake up! Evidences of spiritual 
mindedness. Let's take our minds and immerse 
them, dare I say baptize them, in the scriptures. That's where 
strength and power and ability comes from. You struggling with 
loving your wife? Put your mind on Christ. You wives struggling with submitting 
to your own husbands as unto the Lord, get your mind on Christ. Isn't that the apostles' whole 
emphasis here? That's how verses 1-4 start, 
if then you are raised with Christ. Starting with believers, you've 
been saved, you've believed on the Lord Jesus, so there's been 
a transaction that's happened. You have been raised with Him. 
Seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the 
right hand of God. Set your mind on things above. So that means when you're supposed 
to love your brother, or you're supposed to love your wife, or 
you're supposed to love your kid, or kid, you're supposed 
to love your parent, you say, how would they do it in heaven? 
You'd kill your pride, you'd kill your selfishness, and you'd 
kill your desire to be first. You'd put them first. This is 
what would Jesus do with a vengeance. This is what does Jesus command. Secondly, the ascension and the 
church ought to promote joy. I don't feel too happy. Past 
Jesus, let me have it. The blood of Jesus Christ, His 
Son, cleanses us from all sin. Be happy. Church ought to be 
happy. Church ought to be joyful. The 
church is the place we get to come and meet with Jesus. Oh 
yes, we meet with Him in our closets. We meet with Him at 
the family altar. But there is something Not something. God has sanctioned the church 
as the place where his presence dwells especially. I realize 
we live in an anti-church age. I realize there's a lot of mavericks 
out there. I realize that there's a lot of bad talk about the church. It ain't biblical. You want something instructive, 
read John Calvin on the church. You think he's hardcore on predestination? Read him on the church. The church 
could use a great big dose of that type of ecclesiology today. The church is God's place. The church is the apple of his 
eye. Pastors are instructed, take 
heed to yourselves and all the flock among which the Holy Spirit 
has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased 
with his own blood. Yes, individuals were purchased, 
and yes, we can rejoice in that. But speaking collectively, that 
place that Jesus died for, not that place in terms of 45592 
Wellington Avenue, but the people of God, He died for them. They are the apple of his eye. 
The church is his prized possession. When we as husbands are told 
how to deal with our wives, not deal with them, which sounds 
pretty brutal, doesn't it? One man preached a series of 
sermons on husband and wife relationships, how to get along with each other. 
That just doesn't sound good, man. There certainly ought to 
be more of an aspiration in our Christian marriages than just 
getting along. But when we are pointed, or when 
we as men are instructed on how to love our wives, what's the 
grand illustration? Look at Jesus and His church. 
Look at Jesus and His church. She sins against Him all the 
time. But He doesn't cut her off. She 
sins against him all the time. But he loves her. He washes her. He cares for her. He tends to 
her. He has sacrificed himself for 
her. I've got to tell you, any time 
that it starts to well up in you to have an anti-church mentality, 
go read Paul in Ephesians 5 and ask yourself, am I being like 
Jesus? Jesus loves his church. The Ascension 
and the Church ought to promote joy. The Ascension and the Church 
ought to promote evangelism and missionary zeal. That's the whole 
point in Matthew 28, 18 to 20. That's the whole point here. 
He tells them, go do this. Be my witnesses. First in Jerusalem, 
Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth. What are 
you going to do, Lord? I'm going to ascend on high. 
I'm going to sit at my Father's right hand. And from that vantage 
point, I am going to rule and reign and orchestrate. I'm going 
to, according to Ephesians 4, give gifts to men. I'm going 
to raise up pastors. I'm going to raise up evangelists. 
I'm going to give them as gifts to the church so that they may 
preach They may teach, they may call sinners to repentance and 
faith, and they may be a means for the edification of the church. 
Jesus says, I'm going to sit at my Father's right hand, and 
from that place I'm going to rule, reign, govern, and orchestrate 
the entirety of evangelistic and missionary enterprise. A third observation, the third 
application, is the ascension and our posterity. The ascension 
and our posterity. The end of Psalm 22 speaks of 
this. Psalm 22, you'll know, is a psalm 
of the cross. The first half is the death of 
Jesus. The psalm begins with that cry 
of dereliction that Jesus took up on the cross. My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me? There is a defining, or there 
is a definitive turning point in the psalm. And I would liken 
this or I would parallel this with the resurrection and the 
ascension of Jesus Christ. And one of the things that the 
psalm ends with is a reference to a posterity. Verse 30. A posterity 
shall serve him. It will be recounted of the Lord 
to the next generation. They will come and declare his 
righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done 
this. Now, I submit it takes great 
faith to believe this. It takes faith when we look at 
giants in the land. It takes faith when we see many 
assaults against our beloved churches. But the Bible says 
it, and our job, our role, our task is to be faithful. We are to instruct our children. 
We are to point them to the cross. We are to show them the empty 
tomb. We are to point them to that 
throne on high where Christ is. A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord 
to the next generation. They will come and declare His 
righteousness to a people who will be bored that He has done 
this. That's what we need to be doing. 
How many times do we talk about Christ? I'm not asking you. I did five 
times on Tuesday. Check off my calendar. Listen 
to what I'm saying. What do our kids hear more from 
us? Our grumbling and our complaining or our love for Jesus? What do 
our co-workers hear more? Our grumbling and our complaining 
or our love for Jesus? What do our wives and our husbands 
know more? Our grumbling and our complaining 
or our love for Jesus? What do the brethren know more 
of? Have you ever met someone and you found out they were a 
Christian, you've known them for a long time, and you go, wow, 
I never knew you were a Christian. How many times could that have 
been said of us? Wow, I didn't know you were a Christian. I'm not saying we need to be 
obnoxious for Jesus. I'm not saying that when your 
workmate has his arm in, you know, farm machinery, you tell 
him the gospel. Because he might lose his arm. 
And that's not godly, to promote the loss of an arm. That's not 
what I'm talking about. But somewhere in our daily conversation, 
in our daily conduct, in our daily walk, we must lose something 
of Jesus. The text that we were going to 
look at this morning, that God willing we'll take up next week, 
is Colossians 2, 6 and 7. If that means anything, it certainly 
means Christ is special to us. And then finally, the Ascension 
and the Gospel. Gospel simply means good news. The Gospel is a historical message 
according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The gospel isn't simply a 
good feeling. The gospel isn't a myth. It isn't 
a fable. It is a historical message with 
Jesus Christ at its center. The gospel is Christ came into 
this world, sinners to save. He did this through his perfect 
life and his obedience to the law of God at every step of the 
way. He did this through his sacrifice 
at Calvary. He died so that others may live. I was in the United States Air 
Force, and I trained in the military police, and there was an accompanying 
squadron, and they were called para-rescue. You may have heard 
of these people. They're the guys that when a 
pilot or something, someone goes down behind enemy lines, para-rescue 
goes there and gives them medical aid and then brings them out 
of there. They're the guys with the knives, 
they're the guys with the guns, and they're the guys with the 
MDs, medical doctor degree. These dudes are hardcore. Their 
motto is, that others may live. I used to think that was nuts. Why would you guys do 2,000 push-ups 
a day, learn how to jump out of helicopters, learn how to 
do medical science, that others may live? Now, I'm not saying everybody 
in that organization or the organization itself was modeled after Jesus, 
but certainly that is his model. He came that others may live. He came and lived perfectly and 
died as a sacrifice and rose again so that sinners like you 
and me. And if you don't know what a 
sinner is, just look in the mirror. And then take God's mirror, his 
Ten Commandments, to point it on you or shine it on you. Look 
at yourself, look at the law. Okay, have I had other gods before 
me? Yes, I have. Have I been an idolater? Yes, 
I have. You know, when Christians come out and they say you're 
a sinner, it's not because they're not. Hopefully, they know better than 
you that they are. Have you taken his name in vain? 
Have you broken his day? Have you not honored a parent 
or father, mother, an authority? Have you murdered? Have you committed 
adultery? Have you stolen? Have you lied? Have you coveted? 
You look in that mirror with the law of God, and you are guilty, 
vile, and helpless. Sinners. It doesn't do any good 
to try to argue against it, any more than if you were holding 
a smoking gun, and the guy was dead, and the cops came, what 
is good? No, you're done. You're holding the smoking gun. 
You are guilty. Everybody knows it. God especially. For you to try to say, well, 
I really didn't mean it, or I really didn't do it, or I really... 
Come on. Let's be honest. Christ came that sinners may. 
You're a sinner. The ascension is great news for 
you. Jesus is in a position of authority 
to deceive you. We talk a lot today about receiving 
Jesus into my heart. The good news is that He's at 
the right hand of His Father, willing and able to receive you. Not based on words. Don't leave 
here saying, well, I was just going to clean up my act. I'm 
going to go walk in Jesus. No, you're not. There's only 
one way of salvation, and it's by faith in Christ. You look 
to Him. You believe on Him. When the 
Bible says, you will be saved by Him. Well, that's so easy. Yeah, it's so easy, but it's 
so hard. Because that means we can't be selfish, or proud, or 
arrogant anymore. Those are hard things to die 
in the center. But you look, and you will live. And He will give you help. He 
will give you aid. He will give you power. He will 
give you His Spirit. so that you may daily, by his 
grace, seek to put those things to death, not in order to be 
saved, but because you have been saved and you want to walk in 
him. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for the Holy Scriptures. We thank you for this doctrine, 
the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray that you'd 
help us to set our mind to your right hand where Christ is. And 
I pray, Father in heaven, that you would just help us to receive 
grace and power and strength and help in order to walk in 
Christ and able to do what the Bible calls us to do, not because 
we need to be saved, but because by your grace you have saved 
us. And we pray, Father, that you would forgive us for our 
sins, forgive us that we don't always think about or talk about 
or love Jesus the way we should. God, certainly when one has shown 
us such mercy and such kindness, we ought to respond with great 
love and great worship and great adoration. Make us to be like 
that woman who was forgiven much, so she loved much. And we ask 
through Christ our Lord. Amen.