The Forgotten Act Of Christ

so if you read your bulletin this evening I named my sermon The Forgotten Act of Christ it almost sounds like something you'd hear on television doesn't it something you'd hear on the History Channel tonight on the History Channel newly discovered ancient manuscripts lost for nearly 2,000 years might hold clues about the life of Jesus which scholars are calling The Forgotten Act of Christ. That's things we think about when you hear a statement such as The Forgotten Act of Christ. Maybe even a novel you see on a bookshelf in the airport when you're walking through The Forgotten Act of Christ. Ooh, maybe you want to grab that and read it on your plane. But all kidding aside, I believe this title perfectly sums up The Ascension. How so? In the life of the church, we celebrate certain days that are important in the life of Christ. We celebrate His incarnation at Christmas, and as we should. Think about it. The second person of the Trinity would become like us in body and soul to redeem a people for Himself. That's something to celebrate. In the springtime, we have a whole week set aside. From Sunday, the triumphal entry, to Friday, the crucifixion, death, and burial, to Sunday again, the resurrection of Christ. Fifty days later, we celebrate Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes on the church. So we have Christmas. We have Easter. We have Pentecost. But what's missing? Why is the ascension not a day celebrated? Why is this day the forgotten act of Christ? I thought about it the last couple of weeks. I thought, hmm, the ascension. That's kind of hard to talk to people about. You know, if somebody comes to you and says, where's Jesus? You say, well, he's in heaven. And they say, well, I thought heaven was for dead people. I thought Christ rose from the dead. Why is he in heaven? And you're like, oh yeah, he did rise from the dead. But 40 days later, a cloud came and took him to heaven. And you could see their faces. Oh, really? It's something hard to talk about, isn't it? The ascension of Christ. Maybe we forget about the ascension because we don't exchange gifts. Or it doesn't land on a Sunday. Look around you. Think of how many American Christians today are sitting in a church hearing about the ascension of Christ. Probably not much. Our text this evening is from the book of Acts, chapter 1. As we've heard Pastor Gordon go through Acts, one thing that keeps coming up is that this book is a missionary book. It's a mission that will start in a room and then go to Jerusalem and then to all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the world. But tonight, we will learn that if Christ does not ascend, none of this is possible. There is no book of Acts if there's no ascension of Christ. If Christ did not ascend, He's not sitting at the right hand of God. If Christ did not ascend, He does not send His Holy Spirit. And ultimately, if Christ doesn't go up, He doesn't come back down to get us. The ascension of Christ moves along redemptive history by completing Christ's exaltation, By sending the Holy Spirit and by eventually bringing us home. I want to show us how important the ascension is for the church and for every one of us who are in Christ, the benefits we receive. If we go back to Acts chapter 1, we read in verse 3, He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. We see 11 of the apostles and many disciples have been with Jesus for 40 days. They've seen Him. They've touched Him. They've eaten with Him. They're still learning from their Lord. And we get to verse 6. So when they had come together, they asked Him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And I love verse 9. And when He said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Luke makes a point of two things in that one verse that we should hold on to. He wants to know that their eyes were squarely on Jesus. And he wants us to know that it was the cloud that took him. At first glance, you read verse 9, and you're like, eh, okay, I get it. The cloud took him. But no, there's so much in that one verse that explains the ascension. If you and I are standing and talking to somebody and they start lifting up, we might get scared and run away. But they stand there and watch all the way as he goes until he disappears. Two things that Luke wants us to know. First, that this really happened. that it says the apostles' eyes are locked on Jesus. This wasn't in their imagination. This wasn't because they had all this trauma in their lives because of the resurrection and they're getting locked in doors and they made this story up. No. Luke is telling us that everyone there could give an account, could give a testimony of exactly what they saw. And second, the cloud that took Jesus up wasn't a normal cloud. It wasn't a cloud that rain would come out of. It wasn't a cloud that would give us shade on a hot day. Luke had written about this cloud once before in his gospel. Luke wrote about this in Luke chapter 9, at the transfiguration of Christ. Remember the transfiguration? Jesus takes three disciples, Peter, James, and John, up the mountain. And they're getting tired. It's late. They're falling asleep. And Moses and Elijah show up and talk to Jesus about his exodus that's coming in Jerusalem. And Peter wakes up, it says. And this is what he says. Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, here we go, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him. These two clouds are one and the same. The glory cloud of God. The Shekinah glory. The Holy Spirit inspiring Luke to write this wants us to know that this cloud, the glory cloud of God, is what took him up into heaven. You can see that in our text. The cloud is doing the action of the verb. It's the cloud that took Jesus up. And in verse 11, we saw that in the very same way that Christ went up, He will come back on the clouds of glory. This cloud was throughout the whole Old Testament. When God wanted to make His presence known, He showed up in a cloud. When God wanted to move the redemptive history along, He brought the cloud. Think of the Exodus story. The cloud that led them by day in the wilderness. Think of Mount Sinai. When this cloud descended on the mountain and it shook. And yet Moses went up and talked to God. Or this cloud that filled the tent of meeting. Filled the tabernacle. And again, moving along in redemptive history, remember the temple that Solomon built. And when the priest put the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place, this is what we read in 1 Kings. And when the priest came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. The glory of God. This cloud that was so prominent in the Old Testament is the very same cloud that took Jesus to heaven. As one pastor said, Jesus' cloud ascent is the visible symbol that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him because He fulfilled all righteousness. That's a fact. It was 100% true. Jesus' ascent was a visible symbol that God said, this is my son, he has completed the task. Come on up and receive your reward. And now that Christ has ascended into heaven, what are the benefits for his people? Why did he have to go, you might be saying? Haven't we all thought, wouldn't it be nice if Jesus was here with us? We wouldn't have fights in the church, we'd know exactly what he was talking about. Or when we're hurt, we can go to Jesus and he can tell us it's okay. How awesome would it be to have Christ here with us? But like I said earlier, beloved, without the ascension, without Christ sitting at the right hand of God, He does not send the Holy Spirit. And ultimately, He doesn't come back for us. So I want to look at each one of these to help us understand why the ascension is so important to the church and to teach us that each one of these benefits are for every single person in Christ. First, Christ is our victorious King. Scripture actually gives us a glimpse of what happened right after he ascended into heaven. Daniel chapter 7. I want to read it to you. This is exactly what happened right after he went to heaven. Daniel chapter 7 writes, 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. 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. That is what happened when Christ ascended. He went to heaven and was seated at the right hand of God the Father. He is ruling all things right now. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that he will reign until he puts all enemies under his feet. Nothing visible or invisible right now is not under Christ's rule and authority. is not under Christ's kingship. And remember, beloved, this king is for you in every way. When things happen in our lives, remember who's king, who's sitting on the throne. Not only is this king true God, as we read in the Heidelberg, but it says he's also true man. There's a man sitting on the throne in heaven. A man who understands what it's like to be us. And that should give us hope. Hebrews, the book of Hebrews, the writer writes, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who is in every respect, has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. I don't think we ponder on that enough. I don't think we spend time meditating that there's a human sitting on the throne of heaven. He went up bodily. If he did not go up as a man, he could not come back as a man. If Christ still doesn't have the nail prints in his hands and feet, if he still doesn't have the hole in his side, he's no longer our brother. And if he's no longer our brother, we're not saved. You know, I might have said this before from this pulpit, but it's so important that I want to say it again. It's a quote from Charles Spurgeon. He writes this, The thought that there beats a heart in heaven that is always loving us. That there moves a tongue in heaven that always pleads for us. That there's an arm in heaven that always fights for us. And that there's a foot in heaven that will swiftly run to our defense. Without the ascension, none of that is true. Without Christ, our elder brother and king, sitting at the right hand of God, none of that is true. We do not have a helper in heaven to hear our cause. That's why the ascension is so important. That's why this should not be the forgotten act of Christ. Second, another benefit of the ascension is that he sent the Holy Spirit. If we go back to our text in Acts, we read in verses 4 and 5, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father which he said, you heard from me for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. And this is the first time that Jesus has told his disciples about the sending of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of John, this is a theme that comes out in the end. In John chapter 14, he tells his disciples, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. It's a promise. He said He would do it. We could hold on to that. Again, in John 14, Jesus says, 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. If Christ does not go to heaven, beloved, the Spirit does not come down, and the book of Acts does not happen. Think about it. Think about the power of the Holy Spirit that moved the church from Jerusalem to the ends of the world. Without the ascension, that doesn't happen. Where do you think the apostles got their boldness and strength to proclaim the gospel? Come on, they were hiding in a room with locked doors. No, the Holy Spirit gave them that boldness and that strength. Heidelberg Catechism, question 65. It is by faith alone that we share in Christ and all of his blessings. Where does that faith come from? Answer, the Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the Holy Gospel and confirms it through our use of the holy sacraments. Who does that? The Holy Spirit does that. the Holy Spirit applies all the benefits that Christ earned for us. Without the ascension, without the sending of the Holy Spirit, nothing happens. The preaching has no power. It's pointless. That's why the ascension is so important. Third, a benefit I believe we all think about all the time, and as I hope we do, the return of Christ. If there's no ascension, if he doesn't go up, he doesn't come back down. Returning to our text in Acts in verse 10, And while they were gazing into the heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes 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. When Christ returns, he will come back the same way that he left. But when he comes back, guess what? We go up to meet him in the clouds. We finally need to get rid of this body of death that we've been carrying around. And we get our resurrected bodies, which was a promise of Christ when He rose. The Apostle Paul tells us this in 1 Thessalonians. 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 raise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. That's a blessing. That's a benefit of the ascension. He will return. He promised us that. And what can we do with that? We can encourage one another. When it looks like everything is going wrong, and it looks like the world is spinning out of control, we could tell each other, Christ will return. He promised us. He will come back, and He will take us home. That's a sure thing. That's what Scripture calls the blessed hope. It gives us hope to know that He will come back. Jesus promised his disciples that if he left, he would return. Going back to John chapter 14, Jesus tells his disciples, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. 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? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, And I will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also. Guess what? That does not happen if he does not ascend. It doesn't. That's why the ascension of Christ is so important. I love it. The ascension of Christ. the ascension of Christ moves along redemptive history by completing Christ's exaltation, by sending the Spirit, and eventually bringing us home. Those are the benefits of the ascension. My prayer is that our lives, the ascension is no longer the forgotten act of Christ, but something that we hold on to. Something that we share. Something that we encourage one another with. For we know all of them, all the benefits are for us in Christ. And he will return. He is our king on the throne. And he sent us his Holy Spirit as a down payment for that. Beloved, remember, Christ loves you. He ascended for us and for His church. Let us pray. Father God, of all the things that we're thankful for, Lord, we are so thankful You sent Your Son. Not only did He become like one of us, to know the stresses, the temptations, what it is to be a human. But he did so perfectly to pay a price we could never pay on the cross, to pay for sin. And he promised that if he left, he would come back. Lord, help us to hold on to that promise. Help us to encourage one another with that promise. Help us to remember the ascension and all the benefits that have come along with it. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.