Jesus Exalted (V2)

TJ Girt

Road to the Cross • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented 2 months ago

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Jesus Exalted

Please find in your bibles

the book of Acts

We will be in Chapter 1 V9-11

and

As you have just seen

we are still celebrating the work of Christ

and Holy Week

In fact this is our last sermon in the series

“Road to the Cross”

And so far we have seen

Jesus ride triumphantly into

Jeruselum bring peace

We saw Jesus Pray in the Garden

We saw him bear our sins on that cross in calvary

and we saw him leave the tomb empty

last week as we celebrated His resurrection

This week, we will reach our crescendo

as we will see Jesus ascend into heaven

and take back his place as

the king of kings

and lord or lords

so Please stand as we read the word of God

Acts 1:6–11 CSB

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”

Let us Pray

Illustration

Build things

Builld a house

The plans are done

The foundation is laid

now it is time to build the kingdom

Jesus was a carpenter and a king

The Ascension

Acts 1:9 “After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

After Jesus said these things,

well that’s why we ended up starting our first reading a little bit earlier with verse 6

so we could see what he said

see after Jesus’ resurrection,

he spent 40 days with the disciples appearing to them,

teaching them

discipling them

he spent 40 days appearing to close to 500 people

He spent 40 days diving into the lives even more of the disciples

cause with their previous knowledge they couldn’t see the power of the cross,

but now, with the cross in the background,

all of the things that he spoke of had come to light now,

Jesus is able to teach them with the background of the cross,

and with his resurrection in mind,

teach them of the things that were to come

mainly of the kingdom of God

and they were to build it

he would teach them of the things that they were to do

see Jesus continued discipling his disciples,

or his apostles for those 40 days,

and not only was it special and perfect for him to spend another 40 days discipling them

teaching them

getting them ready for this next phase,

but this next 40 days,

was vital as they were able to see

that Jesus Christ

was a real person

that he had a real body

that he physically had rose from the dead

he ate and drank with them after his resurrection,

he served them

after his resurrection

This was so fundamentally important to them.

It gave Thomas time to really see that Jesus was real.

He gave Peter time to really understand that his denials had been forgiven

it gave them time to process the events that occured

so that

as Jesus ascended into heaven,

as he moved from this world to the next,

he would pass the torch from his earthly ministry

to that of the apostles.

Most people think that the last words of Jesus

come from the mouth of him on the cross

that the last words of Jesus where

it is finished,

or father forgive them,

for what they do,

today, you will be with me in paradise

but in fact,

the last words of Jesus,

during his earthly ministry,

weren’t those at all,

while those were great words to say,

the last words of Jesus didn’t deal with the past tense

no not all

the last words of Jesus were a commandment and a blessing.

The last words of Jesus said

hey it’s time to get to work.

My job here on earth is done

I have healed

I have saved.

I have worked miracles

I have changed lives.

I have provided salvation

I have provided redemption

I have done all these things

but I can only do so much

because I am man in the flesh,

and now that I am going to heaven

and you will be able to do so much more

as you scatter,

as you move out through the world to bring my gospel

to bring my good news to everyone that will listen

folks.

The Ascension is so important to our faith because

it gives us a glimpse of just who Jesus is

a King

building his kingdom

establishing his reign

and offering forgiveness to his people

And now that he said those things

we see thaHit as Jesus was taken up

on what..

on a cloud

we see in the OT

it was a cloud

that led the Israelites through

the wilderness

it was in a cloud that God made his

presence known

it was in a cloud that the

3 disciples witnessed the transfiguration

of Christ into his glory

see whenever God appeared

in His glory

we see it as a cloud

and it was in this cloud

that the son of man

the son of God

returned to His glory

and because he left in this way

We know that we can look up to heaven as a real place

as a place that we cannot see with our

human eyeballs,

but a place that we know is there

we know that when Elisha was up on that mountain,

and his servants eyes opened

they were able to see chariots of fire and angels all around them.

and that is just one example

of the spiritual world that is out there

see We know that there is another level

another spiritual world all around us

that we just cannot see

we know that when Stephen was stoned that he was able to catch a glimpse of heaven,

and he saw Jesus not just sitting

but standing at the right hand of the father at that time,

we know that there is another place after this,

and that is where Jesus went

that place is heaven

that place is a place

that we all long to be

a place with no more sin,

a place with no more suffering

a place with no more shame

a place with no more hurt

Jesus ascended into heaven,

and we can be confident that

we will be there with him one day,

which leads us to our next point

this morning

The Message

Acts 1:10–11 (CSB)

While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”

Acts 1:10 “While he was going, they were gazing into heaven,

mouths probably wide open

awestruck

with no words

no ability to speak

just standing there

in amazement

as Jesus is lifted into heaven

not too fast

not too slow

just at the right speed

i am curious if he waved

but I guess he probably would have

This would have reminded the disciples of

Enoch, Elijah

and of Moses

maybe even of John Wayne riding off

into the sunset

either way, as these men were standing there

our text continues with

just gazing in to the sky

“suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.”

I bet that scared the dickens out of them

These two men that showed up

they must have looked a lot like the 2 angels that spoke to the women last week

in fact we can conclude they were indeed angels

only

instead of being described as wearing dazzling cloths

they are described as wearing all white

much like the transfiguration

much like that picture of glory

We can almost think of them as escorting Jesus into heaven much

like a king would have an escort to His throne

these 2 angels also provide witness that Christ is in fact God

and as these men are there

again, much like they did for the women at the empty grave

they get right to the point

and say

Acts 1:11 “They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.””

MEN of Galilee..

Brothers and sisters

there is no doubt that Jesus is coming back

and here the angles reaffirm what they were already told

by Christ himself

and when he comes back

it will be on a cloud

with power and Glory

and it will be bodily

and it will be visible

This world as we know it

is moving closer and closer to that time

it may not be tomorrow

it may not even be in 100 or 1000 years

but it will happen

because Jesus said so

and when Jesus returns he will judge

and he will rule over the entire earth

so what are we to do

what is the message the angels gave to

the apostles and to us?

well, it isn't to just stand around

gawking at the sky

it’s to get out

get to work

spread the news of hope

of grace

of judgement

because when Jesus comes back it will be too late

So after 40 days

Jesus returned to heaven

and what are we to do?

are we to stand around

no, because I can assure

you, while we are working down here

Jesus is working up there

which brings us to our final point

Now What?

The culmination of the cross

the reassurance of the resurrection

and accuracy of the ascension point to one thing

That Jesus is King

What is so important about the ascension is the fact that

it exalted Jesus back to his rightful place of Glory

back to the right hand of the father

back to his rightful throne

That is why back in John 17:5 “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.”

and now that he is there

now that he is back where he belongs

so to speak

what is he doing now?

He is having a conversation with God the Father about you!

Romans 8:34 “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.”

I have mentioned several times that Jesus

is now sitting at the right hand of father

what does this mean

well, in the jewish understanding,

to sit at the right hand

means that you are in the position of power and authority

over all

See after he “made purification for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high (Heb 1:3)

This sitting down

this placement back to the seat of power and authority

was a welcoming by the father

that he had completed his work of redemption

on earth

think about it

what do we do after we have done something pretty awesome

we sit down in our chair

signifying that the work is over

So now that the work is over

and he has sat down at the right hand of the

father

reclaimed his power and authority

what is he doing with that power and authority

as Romans earlier mentions

he is interceding for us

he is talking to the father about us

he is pleading with the father for us

he is standing up for us

pleading our case

he is ensuring that when we fall

he is there standing

he is ensuring that when we fail

he is there pleading

and when we succeed

he is there telling the father all about it

see our security is found in the fact that Jesus

Christ lives today and is working on our behalf

next to the father

we are connected to God through the son Jesus

Romans 8:37–39“37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because he rose from the dead and is now interceding for us

we have confidence that those of us who believe will never be separated from him and his love

What else is he doing?

He is showing himself to the world, through us!

Colossians 1:18 “He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.”

he is the head of the church

and who is the church

1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”

so we, as bodies of believers are the body that represents Christ on earth

and we are to show the world all that Christ has to offer

grace, mercy, love, deliverance, judgment

and because he is the head of the body

we think how he wants us to think

we go where he wants us to go

and we do what he wants us to do

because we are His witnesses

we are to show the world what he has done for us

so go out, show the world all that Jesus has done for you

live each day as if Jesus is standing right next to you

because as his body and with him as our head

we should treat every moment as if he is!

we are to do for others what Christ did for others

while he was still here

Now that Jesus is gone he is preparing a permanent place for us

John 14:1–3 ““Don’t let your heart 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 am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”

I like to build things

in fact we do some remodeling as well

it takes time to build houses

now I assume if God can create the universe

in 6 days, he could have probably already built a pretty

awesome mansion

however, I am not sure what type of construction is happening up there

and I have no idea what the structure will look like

when its done

in fact we really only have a glimpse

of what heaven will be like

But I do know that Jesus said he is preparing a place for me

and that place

no matter how awesome it is

no matter how trendy it will be

no matter how state of the art

or how traditional it will be

doesnt really matter

what matters is knowing that

this place will be next to the Father

this place will be next to Jesus

and this place will be there forever

and I know that I am going there

and you are welcome there as well

as long as we all understand

that he only way that we can get there

and live there

is through the one who came to get us

John 14:6 “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The keys to that mansion in heaven

are held by Jesus Christ

and the only way we get into it

are through him

and once he is done building this place

after all he is a carpenter

so Im sure the punch list wont be ver long

He is preparing to come back and get us

in the passage we just read

Jesus said that he is coming back to get us

he is coming back to get all of us that believe in

him for salvation

and while we don’t know the hour or the time

for 1 day is like a thousand years and

1,000 years is like one day to the Father

we know that he is coming soon

Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

and on that glorious day when we see Jesus coming in power and glory

from heaven

we will rest assured that eternity is at our finger tips

everlasting life is within our grasp

sin, shame, all the junk that comes along

with this life will be over

and we will rest in his presence

and I assure you

we are a lot closer to that time than we were yesterday

and tomorrow we will be even closer than we were today

and let us continue to have that hope

that when that day gets here

we will meet Jesus face to face

and I pray that it will be on a positive light

because to some of us here will say

Well done, Good and faithful servant

but to others he will say

Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’”

So I pray that each and every one us know Jesus

knows him as their lord and savior

knows that he is in heaven right now

working for us, interceding for us

guiding us

and preparing a place for us

because he will come back for us

Let us pray

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