Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
At Faith Presbyterian Church we are seeking to exalt Jesus Christ the King and to exhibit and extend his Kingdom through worship, community, and mission.
Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
Acts 1:1-11; The Ascension of Jesus
Jason Sterling May 4, 2025 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL Bulletin
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If you have a copy of God's Word, turn with me this morning the book of Acts. I'll explain in a moment. You're like how did we get to Acts? I'll explain that in just a second. But Acts, chapter 1, we have been studying this year, in 2025, the gospel of Luke. In the last couple of weeks we've been walking through Jesus's life and, of course, the last couple of weeks in light of Easter and the week after, we looked at stories around the resurrection. And this morning we come to our final series, or our final sermon in the series. Next week we'll start our summer series on the book of Psalms, but this morning we're looking at the ascension of Jesus. Jesus has died, he's been buried, he rose again and this morning, as we're going to see, he ascends into heaven. So why are we looking at the book of Acts? Well, in short, acts and Luke go together. The book of Acts is written by Luke, it's considered the gospel of Luke, part two, and at the end of Luke it's a very small summary, a short summary of the ascension. The book of Acts opens with a much fuller, detailed description of the ascension. So I want us to look at Acts 1 and that account of the ascension.
Speaker 1:This morning, follow along with me as I read. Please note, you'll see the second there after the comma, o Theophilus. You're going to say who in the world is Theophilus? Theophilus appears to be someone who is investigating Christianity and Luke is writing to him in order to convince him that Jesus is real and that Jesus is alive and that Jesus is at work. So with that in mind, follow along with me. You'll see it printed in your bulletin. It also will be on the screen behind me this morning.
Speaker 1:This is God's Word. In the first book, o Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up. After he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, 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. And while staying with them, 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. So when they had come together, they asked him Lord, will you at this time, restore the kingdom to Israel. And 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 in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. 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. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said men of Galilee, why do you look? 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. This is the word of the Lord. Let me pray, let's ask for the Spirit's help as we look at this passage this morning. Please bow with me, father. We bring lots into this room this morning and I have one prayer, and that is that, through your spirit, that every person here, those listening in the overflow room, would have a powerful encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we want, that's our prayer. Would you come and do that? Only you can do that. We're asking for that this morning in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:So the ascension of Jesus is something that we don't talk about, or I don't think we talk about nearly as much the church in general don't talk about, or I don't think we talk about nearly as much the church in general or focus on nearly as much as we should. But it is a really big deal and our creeds say that the ascension is one of the core or critical aspects to Christianity. Think about the Apostles' Creed. We do that here at the church as we come to the table often and I'll say Christian, what do you believe? And I won't go through all of it, but at some point in the creed we say suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, was buried the third day. He rose again from the dead. Then he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. One of the things that is critical to your Christian faith is the fact that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Why is that such a big deal? Why is that so important? Or, like we often like to ask here what does the ascension have to do with you on a Tuesday afternoon in 2025? I hope to answer that question this morning.
Speaker 1:The ascension, as we're going to see in this passage, matters because it means that Jesus is still at work. Number one, secondly, that Jesus is always with you. And then, lastly, jesus is your advocate. The ascension means that Jesus is still at work, he is always with you and he is your advocate. Let's look at all of those this morning in turn. Let's start with number one Jesus is still at work. Look at verses 1 and 2 there In my gospel. So in the gospel of Luke I dealt. Luke is saying with all Jesus began to do and teach. Luke is saying with all Jesus began to do and teach. In other words, the book of Acts is about what Jesus continued to do and teach.
Speaker 1:The ascension is not the end of Jesus' ministry. Rather, it is a signal that a new phase of ministry is beginning. That a new phase of ministry is beginning Now, through the Holy Spirit. Jesus will continue his work through the Spirit until he comes again. And when we think about the ascension, I think we quickly move past this fact. The ascension means that right now. Think about this with me. This is a little mind-blowing. You really think about it. But the ascension means that right now, a real human being body, skin, blood flowing through his veins, hair, eyebrows, resurrected body, of course is seated next to God, the Father Almighty. I've heard someone describe it this way. If we were in heaven, we think about it this way. If you were to stick your finger out, you would not hit air, you would hit Jesus's chest. The point is that a real person right now is on a throne, ruling this world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Right now, not in the future. Right now, that means that Jesus is ruling over the cell of your home, that he's ruling over your singleness, that he's ruling over your children and your marriage and your family and your future and whatever situation you find yourself in, your work situation.
Speaker 1:And the disciples obviously didn't completely get this phase of Jesus' ministry, and you see that very clearly. Look at verse 6. Lord, will you, at this time, restore the kingdom to Israel? And so the disciples are thinking this is it, it's over, this is the end. And, as we've seen before we saw it last week the disciples misunderstood the nature of the kingdom that Jesus was bringing into the world and they needed to have their expectations adjusted. And that's what Jesus does. He adjusts their expectations. Look at verse 6. Jesus does. He adjusts their expectations. Look at verse 6.
Speaker 1:It indicates that the disciples are expecting Jesus to restore a physical kingdom to the nation of Israel, that he's going to overthrow the Romans. Well, look at verse 8. Jesus says you're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. In other words, I'm going to restore the world, but it's primarily going to be a spiritual restoration, not physical. I will indeed make this world right again. Of course Jesus he's going to do that. But his kingdom is different than our kingdoms. It will not be through violence and war and strength of arms, but instead Jesus brings his kingdom through forgiveness and humility, love and sacrifice.
Speaker 1:They expected that and you see it again that it seems as if they're thinking ethnic Israel will be restored. And look at what he says in verse 8. You will be my witnesses basically all over the world. The kingdom that I'm bringing is a restoration and healing of every nation, tribe and tongue, and they expected again you see it in verse 6, that it was going to come immediately. At this time, are you going to restore.
Speaker 1:And then, verse 7, jesus says that's not for you to know. Only God knows. The father knows the time of the restoration. Until that time Jesus comes, until he comes again, he ministers through the Holy Spirit. And so then the question is so, what? What does this have to do with you today, and why does that matter? It matters because we think of the ascension, and I think we're really good I'm really good at focusing on the things that Jesus has done the birth and the miracles and the death and his resurrection. We talk about those things a lot and we often have this view that Jesus is somehow up in heaven and he's twiddling his thumbs or pacing, just waiting on the Father to give him the signal and say okay, it's time.
Speaker 1:And we might not say that out loud, but our lives reflect. That's what we believe, because it's reflected, is it not, in our prayerlessness. It's reflected in the fact that we carry with us consuming fear and anxiety and stress and worry about our life. It shows up that we don't believe Jesus is still at work. It shows up in the fact that we often give up on people. We give up on our family members and on our friends and on our children we say things like well, I know he says he's never going to do this again, but you don't know him. I know him and he is going to do it again. He's never going to change that person. We might say, no, there's no way they ever become a Christian. Or we do it to ourselves. Maybe we're stuck and we say I've struggled with this for so long and we start to think, well, this is it, this is just the way it is and I will never change this particular area in my life. Friends, I don't care if you're 30, 60, or 80.
Speaker 1:The ascension means that God is still at work through his spirit in your life and he wants to change you and he's in the business of changing you, making you more into the image of God and into the image of Jesus. It also shows up with the way we give up on our city, the way we give up on the world. If we've given up on our world, if we've given up on our city, it shows and it's proof that we have forgotten the ascension, because the ascension means that Jesus is still at it, that he's still ministering, that he is still at it, that he's still ministering, that he is still at work in your life, in your family and in this world. So that's the first thing and that's why it matters. Jesus is still at work and so we have great hope. Secondly, jesus is always with you. Look at verse 8. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
Speaker 1:Very interesting story around the resurrection in John, chapter 20. Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb. She finds the empty tomb. She sees Jesus and she runs over to Jesus and she grabs him and Jesus responds to her and says don't hold on to me, because I haven't returned to the father. And that phrase don't hold on to me means literally to cling tightly. So the picture is Mary Magdalene, when she sees the resurrected Jesus, goes and she is literally holding him so tight she is squeezing the life out of him. That's the picture. Why? Why is she holding him so tightly? Because she's afraid of losing him and she wants him to stay on this earth just as he is. And Jesus responds and says and she wants him to stay on this earth just as he is.
Speaker 1:And Jesus responds and says Mary, let go of me so that I can come into your heart, so that you'll never lose me, so that you'll have the ultimate relationship and fellowship with me, and so that I will be with you always, to the end of time. And it's why Jesus says things Maybe you've heard these things in the Bible, in John 16, 7. When he says things like it's better that I go away, for if I don't go away, then the Holy Spirit will not come. You see, we are tempted to think. I'm tempted to think that it would be so much better if Jesus were still here on earth. It would be so much better if I could just go to Jerusalem and if I could hear Jesus preach and see all the miracles and be with all the people there in the first century that are believing in Jesus. That is not true, because that would mean that Jesus could only minister at one place at one time. The Spirit is better because it means that Jesus can be everywhere. He can be present in the heart of every believer through his spirit, and so the question, then, that we're asking is okay what difference does that make in your life? This morning, let me answer that question through an illustration.
Speaker 1:Remember 2018,. You might be familiar with this story. It captured the world. The youth Thai soccer team got trapped in a cave. You remember this. So it's 12 boys and they have a coach who was around 25 years old and they are at this soccer tournament and they are at this soccer tournament and they are exploring in these caves. Well, a monsoon hits, floods the caves and for nine days no one knows if they're alive, and it's pitch dark. They're on this mud shelf, all 12 of them, 13 of them huddled around trying to survive, hoping that the water does not continue to rise. Days later, the British divers find them. They're expecting the worst. They're expecting there's no way in their minds that someone survives this. And all 13 of them were alive. And as they are talking about this and as they have been rescued, the boys on the team start to describe kind of what happened inside the cave and they described essentially how their coach never left them. They were terrified and he would reassure them. They were hungry and what little he had to eat he would share with them. They were feeling abandoned and he would assure them someone is searching for us, someone is coming, and it's the coach's unwavering presence. The soccer team said that was their lifeline. It did not change the circumstances, it didn't remove the darkness, food didn't magically appear, but it was the fateful presence of this coach that sustained them in this very hopeless, dire situation.
Speaker 1:Friends, the ascension means that, through the Holy Spirit, jesus is looking out for you. That Jesus, in your darkest nights, in your most painful struggle, that, even walking through the valley of the shadow of death and your moments of greatest fear, jesus is not watching from a distance. Jesus dwells within you and he holds you tight and he will be with you and he will never let you go. You see why the ascension matters. You believe that, again, it might not change all your circumstances, but that will sustain you in your darkest hour. Lastly, jesus is your advocate. So we've seen here that Jesus is always with you. The ascension means that. It also means that Jesus, lastly, is your advocate.
Speaker 1:Look at verses 9 through 11. This is really amazing. If you have been checked out, I want you to engage in this moment, okay, so hang with me. Put your thinking cap on. If you do, we'll find something really amazing here. You ready? So let's dig into this last point the Hebrew word for yeah. Anytime you start out with that, you're like I'm out. No, but hang with me here, because this really stood out to me this week. The Bible's amazing, because this really stood out to me this week the Bible's amazing.
Speaker 1:The Hebrew word for burnt offering actually means ascension and in the Old Testament, smoke from the burnt offerings, from the sacrifices. When they would sin, the people would go and they would offer these sacrifices and the burnt offering and the smoke would arise. Leviticus 1.9 says as a pleasing, soothing aroma to the Lord. God was receiving the substitute of the animal in your place. Why do we need a substitute? Why did the people in the Old Testament need a substitute? Because of sin. We have a debt that we owe God, and so they would place these animals on these burnt offerings and they would sacrifice them as in an effort to renew their relationship with God.
Speaker 1:The ascension is Jesus's way of saying I am the ultimate fulfillment of the burnt offerings, I'm the ultimate sacrifice and I will be raised up and I will ascend as a soothing aroma to God. On the cross Jesus's life. He was completely consumed and then he rose again. He ascends up to God as a soothing aroma to God and he sits down and that is a huge deal. That Jesus is seated, because that means it is finished. That was Jesus by sitting means it is over. I am the once and for all. I am the great high priest who is atoned once and for all for your sin and restored your relationship with God. The ascension then means that Jesus, in real flesh and blood, is sitting next to God, and one of the things that he is doing is he is being your advocate. He is interceding for you as the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 7 25,. He lives. He always lives to intercede for you.
Speaker 1:Think about an advocate, a defender, someone who represents you. Today, we would think of a lawyer. When you hire a lawyer, you're getting someone to come and stand for you in a courtroom, someone who will represent you before the judge, someone who will speak on your behalf. They represent you. The ascension means that Jesus is representing you. He is your advocate before the throne of God. Okay, what does that mean? What does that actually look like? Keller describes it like this. I've always appreciated this. We tend to think it looks this way I mess up.
Speaker 1:Jesus goes before the Father and says well, jason's done it again. He's messed up again. Will you please forgive him one more time, will you please just give him one more chance? And we picture the father begrudgingly saying well, okay, I guess I'll do that. Friends, jesus is not just pleading for you, but he is actually your lawyer.
Speaker 1:And if you've got a good lawyer, they don't just go to the judge and say, please let him off. Now what do they do? They make a case for you. And here's the case. Jesus says look at my hands and feet, look at what I've done for my people. The case is, I died on a cross and I paid the debt for their sin and for Jason's sin in full. And therefore Jesus says you know Jason well, he did it again. But I'm not asking for mercy because I've paid this debt and it would be unjust for you to take two payments for the same debt. So I want full acquittal, I'm asking for justice. You see the difference? It's an indestructible case. Jesus says look at what I've done Now accept them in me. And that means that if you are a Christian this morning, friends, the verdict, the only verdict that really matters, is in on you. If Jesus is your advocate Romans 8.34,. Who then is the one who condemns? Listen to this, look this up later. Who then is the one who condemns? You know what it says? No one, because Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God interceding for you.
Speaker 1:This is the time of year when students are trying out for different sports teams for the fall. My daughter, eva, tried out for the eighth grade basketball team last week and if you've experienced tryouts personally, or if you have had a child experience tryouts, you know that it's the most gospel-centered thing in the world. Kidding, it's the most anti-gospel thing in the world, isn't it? I mean, in these tryouts you know they're making cuts and so the pressure is turned all the way up and it feels like every moment, every play, every free throw, every shot makes all the difference in the world. You've got the coaches with their clipboards, you've got a number. They're watching you and in that moment you feel like that one mistake and you don't make the team. That it's up to you. It's a very weighty thing. It's a very weighty thing. And then on Thursday they're having tryouts. They walk in, the coach grabs the team and pulls them together all the girls that are trying out and said this is the team. All of you made it. You're on the team Today. We are simply going to practice.
Speaker 1:What do you think the girls did then? They took a deep sigh of relief, they relaxed, they played free, they were free to make a mistake, to try new things. They had fun, they had freedom, they had joy, they took risk, they tried Eurosteps, they tried new things. Why? Because the verdict was in, the pressure was off, and that is what it feels like with Jesus. That is what life with Jesus is like when Jesus is your advocate. The ultimate verdict, the only verdict that matters, is in on you and you are free. Who is there to condemn you? No one. Now do you see why the ascension is such a big deal? Now do you see why it's so good? Because it gives you hope for your life, because it means that in our world, because Jesus is still at work, it gives you peace and sustains you, because you're not alone in this world and, lastly, it gives you freedom and joy and confidence, because the verdict is in and Jesus loves you and he is defending and he is your advocate before God.
Speaker 1:The ascension, friends, is good news indeed. Amen, let's pray. Father, thank you for sending Jesus to live for us, die for us, rise again for us, but also to ascend for us. Would you forgive us for the ways that we neglect the ascension, for the ways that we live like we're all alone ways we live, like you're no longer at work and for looking in so many other places for life and to give us favorable verdicts. We have nowhere to look but you, and I pray that through your spirit you would help us to have a new appreciation for the fact that you are now raised and ascended and seated at the right hand of God. We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.