Empowered by Faith: Embracing the Ascension's Promise

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In Luke chapter nine, in the record of the transfiguration, remember Jesus took Peter and James and John with him, and he went up to a mountain to pray. And in the context of that, verse 30, two men, Moses, Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, and they were talking with Jesus. And what did they talk about? Well, they spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. [00:54:52]

And in John chapter 20, when Mary Magdalene meets Jesus in the garden post-resurrection and falls at his feet and grabs him, Jesus, you remember, says, Mary, don't hang on to me like that. I have not yet ascended to my Father. I'm not staying here. I'm in a transition at the moment, but I am moving forward. [02:03:36]

He is in every sense their leader, and it surely was very meaningful to them that their final view of their beloved master is a picture of him with his hands raised in blessing upon them. You see, there's another reason that without the transition, that would not have been the final view. [02:54:40]

And so Jesus very decisively and very wonderfully leaves them in no doubt that he is at the end, he's at the end, he's at the beginning. It is the end of the beginning, it's the beginning of the end. It's the end of all that Jesus has begun to do and teach, as Luke says in his second volume. [04:41:44]

It's now over to them to take the news of repentance and faith to all the nations and there to begin this evangelism program as we saw last time beginning in Jerusalem. But he wants his disciples to understand they will no longer be able to see him and talk with him as before. [05:07:12]

There you have the ascension in a sentence, and I say to you again that it is an ongoing matter of wonder to me that at the most pivotal points in Christianity, the scriptures are so cryptic. There is no elaboration. For example, the birth of Jesus, what do we have? A sentence. [05:55:40]

There must be something to this notion that we walk by faith and not by sight, don't you think? You see, nobody is going to be argued into the incarnation. If you're here today expecting some slick argument that will convince you of a resurrected Christ, I have long since run out of slick arguments. [07:26:48]

And when we think of the ascension of Jesus, however we try and grapple with that, we dare not miss the significant point, namely that we are now faced with the absence of his physical presence, but we now enjoy the availability of his spiritual presence, as do all who call on him everywhere. [12:36:39]

Their reaction to his departure: number one, worship. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him. They knew, as we know, that worship is due to God alone. To worship anyone or anything other than God is idolatry. [13:36:00]

Their reaction is worship, praise, obedience, and joy. Actually, there's an adjective there at the end of verse 52: great joy, not the bewilderment of joy that is mentioned in verse 41, while they still do not believe it because of joy and amazement, that strange emotional reaction. [16:03:36]

And the gospel begins in the temple and ends in the temple. Go back to chapters one and two, and there's a whole crowd of people there, and they are anticipating the advent of this Lord and Savior and King. They're living in hope on the advent of a Savior. [19:59:31]

We have a story to tell to the nations that will turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and gladness, a story of love and light, for the darkness will turn to the dawning and the dawning to noonday bright, and Christ's great kingdom will come on earth, a kingdom of love and light. [21:00:48]

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