Message on the Ascension of Jesus

1. THE ASCENSION WAS AN ANSWER TO JESUS’ PRAYER
John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Jesus left all the splendor of Heaven to live as a lowly man upon the earth. At His ascension – He returned to His prior glory

2. AT THE ASCENSION JESUS RECEIVED HIS KINGDOM
Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel foresaw the ascension of Christ to the Father (“Ancient of Days”) He saw that at this time Christ would receive a kingdom
Acts 2:30-33 – Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.Peter affirms that Jesus reigns upon David’s throne, being exalted to God’s right hand

3. THE ASCENSION WAS A VICTORY PROCESSION FOR JESUS
Ephesians 4:8 “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”Colossians 2:15 –He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.. At the cross (and subsequent resurrection and ascension), Jesus triumphed over all the forces of evil and making “a public spectacle of them”

4. JESUS ASCENDED IN ORDER TO MAKE ATONEMENT
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.Jesus entered into the true Holy of Holies to offer His own blood to God
Having finished this priestly work, He “sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (priests always did their work standing)


5. JESUS ASCENDED TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR US
John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. If we would have that home, we must follow the “way”. Jesus is the way – John 14:4-6
We are not left “on our own” to find that way . . .

6. JESUS ASCENDED SO THAT HE COULD SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT
John 16:5-7 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. The Spirit (the Helper) guided the apostles into “all truth” (John 16:13) That truth is recorded for us on the pages of the NT

7. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY HIS RETURN
Acts 1:9-11 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Remember John 14:3, Jesus said, if (or, since) I go away, I will come again

8. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS PRE-FIGURES OUR OWN ASCENSION TO MEET HIM WHEN HE RETURNS
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. The faithful dead will be raised to join the faithful living as they ascend into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Remember, John 14:2-3, Jesus will take us back to that place He is preparing for us.




CONCLUSION:
Did you realize that the Bible has so much to say about the ascension? Because of the ascension, we may rest assured: That Jesus made full atonement for our sins. That He is now reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords. That He is preparing a place for us. That He will come to take us back to that heavenly home, at which time we will ascend to meet Him.
Are you ready for that day?

The Amazing Presence of Jesus

Jesus was an amazing man. The Bible clearly teaches us that when he spoke people were in awe at the authority He commanded. His miracles were beyond belief. His compassion for the lost sheep of Israel was without question. His disciples witnessed it all. In that little barn in Bethlehem God became a man. In the tomb that first Easter morning a man shed His humanity and took up His full divinity.

It was one experience to hear the eternal words of the son of man but can you imagine hearing the words of the resurrected son of God. For 40 day after his resurrection Jesus spent time with His followers continuing to enlighten them about the Kingdom of God. Talk about 40 days of purpose.

Jesus had a plan for the personal empowerment of His disciples. The Ascension was strategic because now the Holy Spirit of God could descend into the hearts of every believer. Now the power of God would be personal and effective in His church.

It's Not Over Yet

After Jesus arose from the dead He still had a few things left on His agenda. Jesus was going to make appearances for the sake of the faithful and He still had a few things to set in order before His Ascension. His encounter with Thomas was classic and His words to Peter were penetrating. As Jesus made His preparation to leave the earth realm we are reminded of the eternal plan of God. Jesus was not leaving just to leave. He was leaving because He was thinking empowerment. Jesus knew that His departure would set in motion the coming of the Holy Spirit. Please review the following sequence.

Jesus...Is God...revealed in Old Testament...born of virgin...lives a sinless life...cucified on the cross...dies on the cross...taken off the cross...buried in the tomb...is raised from the dead...on the earth 40 days...Ascends to heaven...sends the Holy Spirit...is coming again!

Sunday's Coming

The enemy thought they had won. The son of God was dead. Crucified and buried on Friday. For some just another Saturday but in heaven the waiting was about over. God's eternal plan was about to have it's greatest event in recorded human history.
The power of God would bring back to life the dead corps of Jesus the Christ. The raising of Jesus from the dead shook the earth and shook mankind.

Every year we celebrate this great victory. Every year He shakes the world and mankind again with the unbelievable claim that Jesus lives. I believe not because I have seen but because through faith I have been transformed by the blood of the lamb.

Sunday is coming again and so will the power of God.

Getting Ready For Easter

Easter is a huge deal for the church because it allows us to focus on the resurrected Savior. We can do that anytime, but when the whole world is focused on it, we can make a greater impact. The resurrection is a not only a great event in the history of the world but a dynamic doctrine that the church must teach on. The resurrection must be made applicable to the everyday lives of people.

Over the next few blogs I will be teaching on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.


Matthew 28:2 "And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."

Do we really need to be reminded about the ongoing battle between the good and evil, light and darkness, God verse the devil. On that first Good Friday when Jesus gave up his Spirit and died the devil thought he had won. All throughout the earthly journey of Jesus angels were always present to attend to the business of the God of Heaven. They were there at His birth, after the temptation, after his time of prayer in the garden but they were absent as He hung on the cross. Even the Father turned away as Jesus became sin for us. But on the the third day the angel descends because the King is back from the dead. One again the host of heaven is present to serve the creator of all things.

More to come...

Making Sure It's For Jesus

I came away this week after hearing 5 different messages at our church conference with these thoughts. 1) We need to make sure that everything we do is for the sake of the gospel and done out of love for our savior Jesus.2) We must remain open to hearing where other leaders coming from and recieve what they say in love. 3) We need to depend on the Holy Spirit completely to speak to the hearts of those in attendance.

Everything must be about Jesus, to glorify Jesus and to grow in Jesus.

It’s not about the downturn or the upturn. It’s about your turn

The tendency during crisis is to panic but for the one who has put there faith in Christ we need to remember who are God is.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats, but many miss the opportunities that are ours for the taking especially during crisis because we don’t understand the mindset of prosperity. Basic Biblical life fundamentals have not been followed and are waiting for people to embrace them in order to prosper.

1. Growth-growth doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of disciplined planning as well as innovative insights. Discipline is key to prospering- Finding ways to keep growing spiritually is vital. We have a tendency to miss the signs of a platitude life.

2. Efficiency- Focus on doing more with less. The keeping up with the Jones has led us down the road to debt. One area in which "living above one's means" has caused negative social effects is that of credit card usage. In the first quarter of 2002, total credit debt was $660 billion. By 2005, the total credit card debt had increased to $735 billion. America's average credit card debt in 2007 was $8400 per household. By the end of 2007, consumer debt in America had risen to $2.5 trillion. According to the Federal Reserve, over 40% of households spend more than they earn

3. Use your Faith- don’t be afraid to step out in faith if God directs.

4. Keeping things right with God- The life blood of a spiritual life is obedience.
Living right before God will bring spiritual prosperity to your life.