1 Valley View Chapel October 24, 2010 Essentials, Part 6 Jesus: Today. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty... Introduction We don t hear much (and consequently don t know much) about the significance of Jesus Ascension from earth back to heaven. But the historic Christian Church regarded it as indispensable for a well-rounded understanding of the basics of the faith. That s why a statement about the Ascension was included in The Apostles Creed, the 1200 year-old document that preserves the essential doctrines of Christianity. In their book The Unnecessary Pastor (I wish the authors had picked another title!) Marva Dawn and Eugene Person sang the praises of Ascension Day: Ascension Day is the perfect church holiday because the world can't steal it. The culture around us has quite ruined Christmas and Easter. Of course, the world owned Christmas as its festival for the restoration of the sun before the early Christians used it to disguise their celebration of Christ's birth. But the world has now stolen it for its consumeristic purposes and has seized Easter for the same idolatry. In my teen years I played clarinet in the high school band for the town Christmas parade at which Santa Claus was flown in by helicopter. Later, I heard, they flew the bunny in for Easter. But the world hasn't got the foggiest notion what to do with someone flying out. Jesus Ascension - when he left the earth to go back to his Father in heaven - took place 40 days after his resurrection and 10 days before Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was outpoured and the Church was born. The record of Christ s Ascension is found in Acts 1:9. Jesus gave the disciples his wellknown parting words of encouragement and challenge in Acts 1:8, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV) The Bible tells us what happened next: After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Acts 1:9 (NIV) So Jesus was taken up but a cloud hid him from their sight. The Ascension tells us where Jesus is right now. I ve got a theory about why so few sermons have been preached about Christ s Ascension. Because the Ascension seems irrelevant. What s it got to do with us? How does Jesus ascension to heaven impact my life today? When Jesus ascended to heaven, he sat down at the Father s right hand. To understand the importance of our Lord s Ascension, we need to understand the
2 importance of the words sat down and right hand. Four times in the book of Hebrews alone the writer says the Christ sat down at God s right hand. Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (NIV) Hebrews 8:1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. (NIV) Hebrews 10:12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (NIV) Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NIV) Why does the writer of Hebrews make such a big deal out of Christ sitting down at the father s right hand? To appreciate the answer, you have to know the purpose of the book of Hebrews. Hebrews was written during a time of intense persecution of the church. Some of the Jewish believers were tempted to return to Judaism to escape persecution. The author urged the people to remain faithful to Christ. The point of the book was to show the superiority of Christ and his new covenant work to angels, Moses, the tabernacle priesthood, and the sacrificial system. The rituals of the old covenant were so inferior to Christ that it would be foolish to return to them (or to go anywhere else). The writer of Hebrews pled with the Jewish believers of 70 A.D. to remain faithful to Christ because Christ finished what the old covenant only started. Sat down Look for a moment at Hebrews 10:11-12, Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (NIV) Under the old covenant, priests always stood when they performed their priestly work. Why? The late New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce gave the answer: The [Old Testament] priests never sat down in the sanctuary; they remained standing throughout the whole performance of their sacred duties. Their sacred duties were never done their sacrifices always had to be repeated.
3 When one priest went off duty at the end of the day, another took his place the next morning because blood sacrifices were offered every morning and every evening. But Christ, called the great high priest in Hebrews 4:14, sat down after he ascended. When he cried out from the cross tetelestai ( It is finished or The debt for sin is paid in full ) it made all further sacrifices unnecessary. The Old Testament officially ended when Jesus gave up his spirit on Calvary s hill. Hebrews 7:27 proclaimed this truth: Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (NIV) Once for all means once for all people and once for all time. When Jesus ascended, he sat down. That s one reason why the Ascension is so important and wonderful. It means that Jesus paid for all my sins past, present, and future - with his blood. And if Jesus paid for all my sins, then I don t have to pay for them. That s called grace. Rob Bell tells a wonderful story about grace in his book Velvet Elvis. I was having breakfast with my dad and my younger son in Grand Rapids. As we were finishing our meal, I noticed that the waitress brought our check, then took it away, and then brought it back again. She placed it on the table, smiled, and said: Somebody in the restaurant paid for your meal. You're all set. And then she walked away. I had the strangest feeling sitting there. The feeling was helplessness. There was nothing I could do. It had been taken care of. To insist on paying would have been pointless. All I could do was trust that what she said was actually true and then live in that which meant getting up and leaving the restaurant. My acceptance of what she said gave me a choice: to live like it was true or to create my own reality in which the bill was not paid. That is our invitation to trust that we don't owe anything. To trust that something has already been done.to trust that grace pays the bill. After Jesus ascended to heaven, he sat down. Grace paid the bill of my sin! No more religious rituals! No more striving to earn points with God! No more wondering about whether I ve done enough good deeds to outweigh my bad deeds! That s grace. But the Bible also calls that freedom. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (NIV) Right hand We might be tempted to think that because Jesus paid for all my sins and that I can t earn forgiveness or eternal life, then I can live pretty much the way I want to. Grace means a get out of jail free card. That might be true if God s Word just said that Jesus sat down after he ascended to heaven. But it s where he sat down that makes all the
4 difference in the world. I counted 19 times in the New Testament where Christ is described as being at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. R.C. Sproul said that the right hand of God is the place of cosmic authority. F.F. Bruce called the right hand of God the place of supremacy in the universe. It is because Christ ascended and sat down at the right hand of his Father that he has the supreme claim of authority on our lives. There is no higher authority in the universe than Christ. Hebrews 1:14 says that the angels in heaven do his bidding without question or complaint. In his blog, Restless and Reformed, Kevin DeYoung posted the following observation on June 10, 2009. Not every Jesus is the real Jesus. There's Republican Jesus who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms. There's Democrat Jesus who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money. There's Therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life's problems, heals our past, tells us how valuable we are and not to be so hard on ourselves. There's Starbucks Jesus who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid, and goes to film festivals. There's Open-minded Jesus who loves everyone all the time no matter what (except for people who are not as open-minded as you). There's Touchdown Jesus who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non- Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls. There's Martyr Jesus a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him. There's Gentle Jesus who was meek and mild, with high cheek bones, flowing hair, and walks around barefoot, wearing a sash. There's Hippie Jesus who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that "all you need is love." There's Yuppie Jesus who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.
5 There's Spirituality Jesus who hates religion, churches, pastors, priests, and doctrine, and would rather have people out in nature, finding "the god within" while listening to ambiguously spiritual music. There's Platitude Jesus good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and bad sermons, inspiring people to believe in themselves. There's Revolutionary Jesus who teaches us to rebel against the status quo, stick it to the man, and blame things on the system. There's Guru Jesus a wise, inspirational teacher who believes in you and helps you find your center. There's Boyfriend Jesus who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love in our secret place. There's Good Example Jesus who shows you how to help people, change the planet, and become a better you. And then there's Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Not just another prophet. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another wonder-worker. He was the one they had been waiting for: the Son of David and Abraham's chosen seed; the one to deliver us from captivity; the goal of the Mosaic law; Yahweh in the flesh; the one to establish God's reign and rule; the one to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, freedom to the prisoners and proclaim Good News to the poor; the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. This Jesus was the Creator come to earth and the beginning of a New Creation. He embodied the covenant, fulfilled the commandments, and reversed the curse. This Jesus is the Christ that God spoke of to the Serpent; the Christ prefigured to Noah in the flood; the Christ promised to Abraham; the Christ prophesied through Balaam before the Moabites; the Christ guaranteed to Moses before he died; the Christ promised to David when he was king; the Christ revealed to Isaiah as a Suffering Servant; the Christ predicted through the Prophets and prepared for through John the Baptist. This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father's Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible. Ladies and gentleman: That is the Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father s throne in heaven. He s not one to be dabbled-in, played with, or marginalized. He s the God of all grace and mercy to be sure; but he s also the cosmic king and the Lord of everything he has made. Louie Giglio made a profound and prophetic observation about the state of the evangelical church in his book Wired for a Life of Worship: "When God is not greatly
6 praised, it's only because we don't think he's that great of a God. When our worship is small, it is because our concept of God is small. When we offer God little-bitty sacrifices, it's because we have somehow reduced him in our hearts to a little-bitty God. Why is The Apostles Creed important? Why is it important that we understand the implications of the words: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty...? Because the great creeds of the Church don t talk about a little-bitty God! They exalt the suffering servant; the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; the high king of heaven above whom there is no other; the Creator of all who deserves and demands unconditional submission from those who were made in his image and owe their next breath to him. Conclusion The godly Indian missionary statesman Samuel Kamaleson illustrated [the difficulty of submission] through a Christian folk story from South India. It opens with a young boy who loved to play marbles. He regularly walked through his neighborhood with a pocketful of his best marbles, hoping to find opponents to play against. One marble in particular, his special blue marble, had won him many matches. During one walk he encountered a young girl who was eating a bag of chocolate candy. Though the boy's first love was marbles, he had a weakness for chocolates. As he stood there interacting with the young girl, his salivary glands and the rumbling in his stomach became uncontrollable, and he thought to himself, I have got to get my hands on those chocolates. Concocting a plan, he asked the girl, "How about I give you all these marbles for those chocolates?" She replied, "Sounds fair to me." He put his hand in his pocket, searching for the distinguishing cracks on the surface of the blue marble. Once he identified the blue marble with his finger tip, he carefully pushed it to the bottom of his pocket and pulled out all the other marbles. As he handed the marbles to the girl in exchange for the chocolate, the boy thought his plan was a success and turned to walk away. As he began to eat the candy, he suddenly turned to the girl and asked, "Hey, did you give me all the chocolates?" Some of us have adopted the same deceptive and defiant attitude as the boy in this story. We want everything the kingdom of God has to offer. We want to have a secure sense of God's presence, we want all our prayers to be answered, we want to "feel close" to Jesus, we want to receive all the blessings that God has made available to his people. In other words, we want it all. But we are unwilling to give up everything for it. Too often there is a "blue marble" in our lives that we seem unwilling to offer to the control of Christ. Until we make a complete surrender to God's will, we ll never experience the joy and peace and purpose that God had in mind for us when he made us and redeemed us. The one who ascended on high and sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven is worthy of total commitment.
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