TITLE: This Same Jesus
TEXT: Acts 1:6-12
INTRO: After His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days. During that time, He was seen by over 500 people Then, He led his Disciples out to the Mount of Olives and, as they watched, He ascended up into Heaven.
I. THE PLACE WHERE HE ASCENDED (v.12)
A. It Was on the Mount of Olives
1. They had often gone there & Jesus had taught there
2. It was there He prayed, before His crucifixion
3. This time, He ascends back to Heaven, while the
Disciples watch in amazement
# In our Easter Drama, at Halesford, "The Cry of Christ,"
there was an ascension scene, where the actor
portraying Jesus was raised up, by cables. There were
gasps and shouts from the audience, when that
happened.
B. He Will Come Again to the Same Place
(Zech.14:4) "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west..."
II. THE PROMISE THAT WAS GIVEN (v.11c)
A. Some Claim He Has Already Come
1. With destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD
2. Emperor Constantine...converted to Christianity
3. Christianity became the official religion of
the Roman Empire
4. The Gospel was preached around the world
5. With the advancement of civilization & culture, or
6. When a person dies
B. He Has Not Returned Yet, But He is Coming Again
1. NT refers to Second Coming 321 times
2. He promised (Joh 14:3) "... I will come again..."
C. His Coming Will be in Two Phases
1. Before the Tribulation....to Rapture His Saints
(1 Thes. 4:16) "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first"
2. Following the Tribulation
(Mat.24:29-30) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
III. THE PERSON WHO IS COMING AGAIN (v.11b)
A. Not Another Jesus
1. Some believe He was a man, but not God
2. Some believe He was God, but not Man
3. Some cults teach He was a god, but not same as God
4. Others say He was a man who became God
5. Many believe He was a good teacher, or a myth
B. The One Who is Coming Again is:
1. Same Jesus...born in Bethlehem,
2. Same Jesus...turned water into wine
3. Same Jesus...walked on the water,
3. Same Jesus...blind to see, deaf to hear, lame to walk
4. Same Jesus...raised Lazarus from the dead,
5. Same Jesus...died on Calvary's cross for our sins,
6. Same Jesus...rose from the dead & ascended...
C. He Will be Recognizable
-Visible and in the same body
(1 John 1:1) "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life"
D. We Shall Know Him
1. Mary recognized Him, at the tomb,
when He called her name
2. Two men on the Emmaus road recognized Him,
when He broke bread at the table.
3. Thomas knew Him and believed,
when he saw the scars in His hands, feet, & side
4. We shall know Him when we see him:
"I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side I shall stand,
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nails in His hand."
CONCL: A businessman had to run to his office & took his young son along with him. The boy waited on the steps while his Dad went inside to do his work. His Father became so engrossed with his business that he forgot about his son waiting outside. Leaving the building by a different door, he went home alone. Several hours later the family sat down to dinner, but the son was not present. Then the father remembered where he left his son. Hurrying back to his place of work, he found his son, tired and hungry, waiting as he had been instructed to do. “I knew that you would come, father,” he said, “you said you would.”
If He came here today would you be ready?
Do you know for sure that He’s your Lord?
By accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
You will live with the King forevermore!
Amen
