March, 2007
“The Great Lift Off”
Luke 24:50-53
Acts 1:6-11
INTRODUCTION: We think of the Ascension as a cosmological event, a space flight, a transfer of a person from earth to heaven; but that is not what it meant to the early church. It meant the TRANSFER of RESPONSIBILITY from Jesus to his disciples. It was not so much of a COSMOLOGICAL EVENT as it was a COMMISSIONING EVENT. The mission that Jesus had--including the power he did it with was now being transferred to his disciples. Jesus told the disciples in John 14:12 about this long before Ascension Day when He told Philip, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father.” Not only does Jesus give us so much, but He asks much of us.
About 30 years ago I stood at the “traditional site” in the Holy Land where this even is said to have taken place. It was hard to picture this in my mind--a person being lifted up into the heavens and being received into a cloud. It never seemed very real to me at the time. We stood there, we heard the guide tell us--yet what did it mean really to me? Today is Ascension Sunday. We hear the account once again, but what does it mean to us or how does it affect our lives? We see lift offs into space all the time on TV, but what about this particular lift off by the resurrected Savior?
1. Jesus Finished His Earthly Ministry: Even before the crucifixion Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gaveth me to do” (John 17:4). Later on the cross, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). On the Ascension day Jesus led his disciples out to Bethany and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. It was not a sad day, for he had completed his work on earth and he gave hope to these disciples who had followed him throughout his earthly ministry. While he was blessing them, he was lifted up into heaven and a cloud received him. His disciples were watching him intently the entire time. It was not as if they were looking off in some other direction and he disappeared on them. They were watching all the time. They saw it happen with their own eyes. These were the people who were to be witnesses of this event in Jerusalem and in everywhere else they went throughout the world. Luke’s account tells us that they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. It was not a sad time because Jesus gave them a blessing and a hope for their future on earth. Before he left the disciples asked him, “Are you going to restore the kingdom now? What’s going to happen now?” Jesus told them, “Don’t worry about that. There are other things to think about now. He is saying, “Don’t worry about the times or dates set by the Father--he will take care of that.” How many times do we spend all of our energy trying to figure out things. How will this happen? What about the end times? What about the tribulation? What about the antichrist? Some people spend all of their energy trying to find out where Cain got his wife.
On the TV show, Becker, Linda, the one receptionist, before she explains anything is always saying, “Well, here’s the thing” and she goes on to explain something. Jesus is saying to us, today as well as to his disciples then, “Here’s the thing--don’t worry about things you don’t have any control over--I have a job for you to do that you can handle and I’m going to help you do it successfully.”
2. Jesus’ Continued Ministry: What happened to Jesus as he lifted off and was received into a cloud. How do the blessings of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection survive the span of time and place in history? Is he still working? How do we know that he arrived where he was headed? What is he doing now that effects us today?
There are all kinds of scriptures that tell us where he is and what his continued ministry is today.
Romans 8:34 tells us “...Christ Jesus who died, more than that who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
Mark 16:19 says “so after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God.”
Later Stephen in Acts 7:56 said, “I see heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.”
There are several scriptures that tell us he is seated on the RIGHT hand of God. This is significant because the right hand indicates a place of AUTHORITY.
Hebrews 7:25 tells us “therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them.”
Forty days had gone by from the time of the resurrection to the Ascension which marked the termination of his life on earth. He was at his new post of duty--seated at the right hand of God to make intercession for us as we continue to carry out his work on earth.
We know that he arrived also because he told his disciples something else that would happen after he left.
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” (The Holy Spirit)
John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth, which proceedth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”
John 16:7 says “Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient (advantageous) for you that I go away for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
We know that 10 days after the Ascension on the Day of Pentecost, the Promised Comforter--the Holy Spirit came and empowered the disciples for their continued ministry.
3. The Transition to the Disciples Commission: After this experience how did the disciples make the transition back to real life. Here they are standing gazing into the heavens. “Wow!! Awesome!! As Gomer Pyle would say, “Well, Golly!!”
As they were standing there awestruck, two angels appeared to them and asked, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go.”
They already knew what they were to do--they had been instructed to go back to Jerusalem to wait for the promise. They weren’t equipped properly yet.
The purpose of the Holy Sprit was not to just make them feel good about their religion--”to sing and shout and dance about in their own little group.” They had a MISSION to fulfill in the world around them. There were hurting and suffering people all around them just as there are today. It was their commission to reach out and to touch lives. They were to become the hands and feet of Jesus in their world. We also have this same mission but sometimes we say, “Let George do it.” I don’t WANT to or I CAN’t be expected to do that. I don’t know HOW.
Jesus was not worried that they COULDN’T do the job at hand because that problem was going to be taken care of in a few days--the Holy Spirit would empower them to handle the tasks as they came up. Most of the time our FEARS tell us we can’t do the job.
Today Jesus is not so concerned that we CAN’T carry out His work in the world either--He can use all of us--young, old, short, tall, educated, uneducated just as He did this very diverse group of disciples because they were EQUIPPED with power from on high.
When you are tempted to say “I CAN’T” that is really saying “I DON’T WANT TO”. All of us have different talents and abilities PLUS we have the AVAILABILITY of the EMPOWERMENT of the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus worried about transferring His mission on earth to this little band of disciples or to us today, I think it would have been when he hears us saying, “I DON’T WANT TO. I’M TOO BUSY. I’VE GOT OTHER THINGS TO DO. OR I’LL DO IT LATER. CAN’T DO IT NOW.”
He is saying to us, “Why are you standing with your hands in your pockets looking around aimlessly.”
Jesus had a great deal of faith in these followers in spite of their failures and inconsistencies and lack of “KNOW HOW.” He saw their “DOWN TIME” when they were not very productive and the times when they blew it again and again--but he also saw their HEARTS. There was a DESIRE to follow Him--a desire to learn more about him and they showed an AVAILABILITY as well as ABILITY. We know this because we see what happened in their lives after the day of Pentecost. We see the various ways in which these people served and carried out his mission in the early church. They didn’t know at the time of the Ascension what their ministry would be as laypeople in the early church. They probably didn’t have the slightest idea. But they had to find out. We must find out what God wants us to do by asking Him--then by stepping out in little “faith steps.” You say, “I THINK the Lord is telling me to do this today.” Go ahead and do it...if it is wrong He will redirect you.
Today, how is your AVAILABILITY? Are you WILLING to do whatever He asks you to do? Will you honestly say, “Lord, I’ll do whatever you tell me to do and I’ll be quick about it? “
Allow Him to speak to you as He did the disciples--to work out His plan and purpose in your every day lives. You will find that your journey of faith will be exciting and productive. What does the Great Lift Off mean to you today? How has it changed you?
Shall we pray:
