Lessons from the Ascension - Part Two

This will be part two of my two-part message drawn from the ascension of the Lord Jesus as Luke records in Acts chapter one. So, let’s turn our attention to that text:

“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 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.”

 

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. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 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.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.”

 

Last week we focused on three points found in this short text. The first point was this: Luke wrote his gospel and his history of the early church from eyewitness accounts and other research. Scoffers want us to doubt the veracity of Luke’s accounts – as well as the rest of the Bible – because Satan knows that God's infallible word from Genesis through Revelation is, as St Paul tells us – “able to give us wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

 

The second point we looked at last week was this: Jesus WILL return to earth. That’s good news for some, but very bad news for most. And finally, last week, point number three: God does not work according to OUR expectations. He works whatever He works to bring forth His will and His kingdom. His will, of course, is the eternal salvation of souls who will be part of His Kingdom forever.

 

Which now brings us to today’s message and two more points found in this short text from Acts. We begin first with verse 10 – “And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 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 Greek verb translated in this text as ‘gazing intently’ also can be rendered as ‘they were fastening their eyes’ on the sky as Jesus ascended.

 

Some might think they were gazing so intently because they were watching yet another miracle of the Lord. But I’m not so sure that’s the reason.

 

The apostles were not strangers to His miracles. They’d witnessed His feeding thousands with only a few loaves and fish. They saw Him raise Lazarus from the dead. They saw Him walk on water, heal lepers, deaf mutes, and paralytics. And, of course, they saw Him after His resurrection. And now – Jesus defied gravity and disappeared into the clouds.

 

So, I don’t think they were stunned to see Jesus defy gravity and ascend into the clouds. I believe there was much more going on in their minds as they watched Him leave them, because much more would have gone in in MY mind. I would have stared into the sky and thought: He’s gone.

 

He. Is. Gone.

 

Perhaps they’d been hoping – even if it was unconsciously – that Jesus hadn’t meant what they thought He meant when He told them: (John 13:33, 36) Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’ . . . . Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”

 

He also told them: (John 16:5-6) “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.”

 

I think sorrow and grief and pain filled their hearts because they lost Him – again. This time . . . for the rest of their lives?

 

They loved Jesus. Let me say that again for emphasis – they loved Jesus. But now He was gone. and I think they thought what I would have thought: “What do I do now? How can I go on without Him? I cannot bear the thought of not being with Him.”

 

As I pondered this scene, my mind brought me to another ‘farewell’ scene that Luke records for us later in Acts. Its poignancy reminded me of what was likely happening to the apostles at the Ascension.

 

St Paul and his missionary companions were traveling toward Jerusalem to be there in time for the Feast of Pentecost. Because he was hurrying to be there, he decided to avoid visiting Ephesus where, earlier, he’d stayed for about two years and developed many close friends among that church. So, when the ship they’d been sailing on docked at Miletus, Paul sent a message to the church at Ephesus, asking the elders to meet with him at Miletus. When they arrived, here’s what happened:

 

(Acts 20:36-21:1) “When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship. When we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara . . . .”

 

The Greek word translated into English for ‘parted’ means, “to tear oneself away.’ And it is THIS scene that is not only analogous to the scene on Mount Olive, but it is also applicable to us in the 21^st century.

 

Do you know of Christians who’ve lost a beloved spouse, or very close friend with who they’d spent years and years together, enjoying their companionship, their counsel, their emotional intimacy. Many of you here know what I am talking about. And then suddenly – they’re gone. Death has torn them away. The grave has ripped them from your life.

 

If that’s happened to you, then perhaps some of you at that time also said to yourself: “What do I do now? Where do I go?”  And perhaps even more to the point, you may have asked yourself, “WHY should I go and do?”

 

Those questions are quite normal for the grieving heart. And that’s also why this text in Acts is so very applicable to us in 2024. Most of us know from experience that after a time, the raw emotions become less enflamed, and what most mourners eventually want to do is more than just ‘move on.’  They want to successfully move on. But to do that – to successfully move on with life – the mourner first must find the answer to the question: “How do I move on?”

 

A quick and what might seem to some in the midst of their grief an insensitive answer might sound something like, “Get closer to Jesus.”

 

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. That answer is the right answer. And what might seem to some as an insensitive answer is, actually, a profoundly significant answer.

 

Listen, we all know life is neither simple nor superficial. And so, what I want to try to do at this moment is attempt to answer that question, “HOW does the grieving heart draw closer to Christ?” After all, it is never God's plan nor His desire for us to remain in grief. The prophet Hosea told his grieving nation: (Hosea 6:3) “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.” And from prison, St Paul wrote words to encourage his readers – including us in 2024: (Philippians 3:13-14) “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

Press on. One foot in front of the other. And then the other. And then the other. But now let me give you a flawless recipe how to fail in pressing on: Do it on your own. Do it without God's supernatural help to put one foot in front of the other. Remember the Lord’s counsel to His disciples: (John 15:4-5, NIV) “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Now listen to His counsel through Solomon – and I paraphrase: (Proverbs 3:5-6): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and not on your own understanding. In all your ways, call on Him, and He will direct your path.”

 

And now Jeremiah (33:3) “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.”

 

How do we press on when we don’t know what to do or where to go – or even WHY to press on? We press on – successfully press on – when we do so with and through the Lord’s supernatural help. No one should expect grief to dissipate quickly. But we surely CAN cope better with and through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives in us. And so, by His supernatural strength we keep seeking; We keep trusting; We keep walking with our Savior.

Which now brings us to the second point number of today’s message: That they – even in their grief –  “Shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And, by the way, Ashwood Meadows is included in that “remotest part of the earth” text.

I think it instructive that we focus attention now on what the Lord told His disciples to do after He was gone. He gave them WORK to do even in the midst of their grief. I believe He gave them that work for at least two purposes. First: To get them focused AWAY from themselves and onto others. As He once told them: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

 

And the second reason: To win souls for the Kingdom. As He had told them once before, (John 4:35-36) “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” 

 

It was also the Psalmist who wrote (126:5-6): Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

If you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know I often urge all of us to not only be bold in our witness for Christ, but also to walk the talk that we talk. I’ve reminded all of us of the importance, for example, of bowing our heads at the table before we begin eating – whether at a restaurant out in town, or in the dining room.

 

Consider this: If we’re afraid or ashamed about thanking the Lord publicly for our food when it is NOT dangerous to be a Christian, then how will we act when it IS dangerous to be a true follower of Christ?

 

The other way we share our faith with others is by LIVING our faith before them. For example, we avoid gossip, telling or laughing at off-color jokes, we won’t lie, or look for faults in others, and we will be quick to forgive those who offend us.

 

These are all ways to be faithful witnesses for Christ in our own spheres of influence among our families, friends, and acquaintances, especially here in this Peyton Place called Ashwood Meadows.

 

But there is one method of sharing Christ with others that I do not speak about often enough. To that end, let me remind us of two of the Lord’s parables, one which follows the other. You’ll find them in Matthew 25:14-41. Because of time, the text is too long to read now in its entirety, so I will summarize the parables:

 

In the first one, a man went on a journey and entrusted his slaves with his possessions. He gave one slave five talents – meaning, ‘money.’ To another he gave two, and to another, one. If you remember the story, the ones who received the five and the two talents traded with them and earned more money for their master. But the one who’d received the one piece of money buried it in the ground. When the master returned, he praised the first two slaves, but the third received his wrath for wasting what was entrusted to him.

 

The Lord immediately followed that parable with the one about the final judgement of the sheep and the goats. The sheep were those who took care of those who were sick, and lonely, and imprisoned, and hungry, and naked. The goats, on the other hand, were those who did NOT take care of others.

 

Both groups were confused. They did not remember when they’d seen the Lord hungry or sick or naked and in need. And the Lord answered them – and I again paraphrase: ‘When you did it for others, you did it for Me. When you did NOT do it for others, you did NOT do it for Me.’ And then Jesus concluded with this very sobering word: “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus was serious when He warned us about using – or ignoring – the various gifts He’s given us – gifts of time, talent, or treasure. And Christians also know that each of the gifts He’s given us are ultimately intended for the sake of HIS Kingdom. But sometimes we don’t know how or where to use those gifts – including His gifts of finances.

 

I’m sure many of you are already sending money to various Christian organizations. But there might be those here who would like to support Christian ministries, but do not know where to find reputable ones. That’s why I’ve prepared in a separate handout with a list of some ministries for your consideration. Whether it’s five dollars a month or a hundred dollars each month, every Christ-centered organization can use our support.

St Therese of Avila died in 1582, but what she said here reverberates across the centuries and into 2024:

 

“Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes . . .. Christ has no body now but yours.”

 

PLEASE!  I implore you. Do not bury what the Lord has given you. Offer it to Him as the young boy offered Jesus his few fish and pieces of bread. No one wants to face God at the Judgment and have to explain why we used what He gave us on ourselves and our pleasures when souls in need were left alone.

 

As I preached last week, Jesus is LORD. And He will return someday for His own. But on that note, If Jesus is not Lord of everything in our life – including our time, talents, AND treasure, then He is truly not Lord of our life at all.