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The Ascension of Christ part 5
June 4, 2019
Up to that point, they were a people that when they got in a jam, they would wait on Jesus to come walking on water. They would remain until Jesus came down from the Mountain of Transfiguration. Then there came a time that Jesus is going to ascend to the Father and sit at the Father's right hand. The church has got to go on and walk and live by faith.
What does the Bible say? In Acts Chapter 1, as they gathered there at Bethany, they know this is going to be a marked day. It will be an event where they are not going to see Jesus as they have seen Him for the last forty days. He's been appearing; He's been vanishing. On the day of the Ascension, the Bible says, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight." A cloud received Him out of their sight. A cloud received Him out of their sight. He's gone. He's gone. But you know what they're going to do by faith? They're going to leave that place where He ascended and go to Jerusalem and tarry and wait for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That group of people knew what it was to be His disciples. They knew what it was to follow Him. The day that Matthew was called, Jesus said, "Follow me." The day of his calling, Peter said, "I'm going to forsake all and follow you. I will sail the boat and follow you for 3½ years." They were a people that had walked by sight, but now after those forty days He taught them, He trained them, He got them to a different place. You're going to have to walk by faith and not by sight. I see that group of followers with great joy! They went back to Jerusalem because they knew it was not over. It was not over! How? Because not many days hence Jesus is going to send the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost is going to be with you and in you. Now, it is "for we walk by faith and not by sight, for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast."
Hebrews Chapter 11 says this: by faith Abel; by faith Enoch; but without faith, it is impossible to please Him for He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; by faith, Noah; and by faith, Abraham. I see this, and I know their accomplishments in the Old Testament. But I'm not in the Old Testament -- I'm in the New Testament. Grace Dispensation. I know if we walk by sight, we are going to fail. We begin to look at budgets and thousands of dollars to go across to India, dollars to build this, dollars to do that. So I know if I walk by sight I'm going to fail, but Lord helps me to walk by faith. So I know Hebrews 11 says: by faith Abel; by faith Enoch; by faith Noah; by faith Abraham; but then I turn to the New Testament. I know there's not a chapter in the New Testament that says by faith Peter; by faith Steven; by faith Philip; by faith Paul; but I think there could be. By faith, Peter preached after the baptism of the Holy Ghost. In Acts Chapter 3, by faith, he went to the temple at the hour of prayer. He looked down at that lame man and said, "silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" By faith, that man being crippled his ankle bones receiving strength immediately, began to rise, he began to shout, and he began to rejoice. By faith, Steven, first in the list in Acts Chapter 6, was a man full of the Holy Ghost, wisdom, and faith. We are going to put him over this business to take care of the widows, but he far exceeded taking care of just a budget. Glory to God. Standing before the Sanhedrin court, He began to preach to them, Jesus Christ. They didn't like it. They gnashed on him with their teeth and began to stone him – praise God – but by faith, his face began to shine. He looked up. He said, "I see Jesus standing at the Father's right hand." I know Hebrews says by faith Abraham, and by faith Enoch; and by faith Noah. I know we can't find it, but I believe it could be there, by faith Philip. In Acts, having that great revival, Peter and John came down, laid their hands on those that hadn't received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and they received the Holy Ghost. By faith, the Holy Ghost began to deal with Philip to leave Samaria and go into the wilderness. The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, was leading Him to convert a Eunuch from Ethiopia.
I've often said, and you've probably often heard it, that the book of Acts has no formal conclusion. All right? It's because God is still moving. There's no "the end" in the book of Acts, and that is why we believe we must evangelize. That is why we must believe. We've got to keep on preaching. That's why we must keep on pastoring that church in Ohio and Oklahoma. Keep pastoring that church in Indiana, keep pastoring that church in Kentucky; keep going and pastoring that church in Virginia. If we are going to do anything for the Lord Jesus Christ, it is going to be because we are not walking by sight. We have faith that Jesus Christ was born, He lived, He died, He resurrected, Jesus showed himself alive for forty days, He ascended, and He sits at the Father's right hand. By faith, I believe that we can still be filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and we can still work the works of Christ in this day! He ascended, and He sits at the Father's right hand! He had forty days to train them, to teach them, and prepare them. Don't walk by sight; we must walk by faith.
The Bible says: "And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight." Now, I'm going to tell you how ignorant I was on this verse until a few days ago. You see Jesus ascended, and a cloud received Him. I always thought that the cloud was just a rogue cloud, a stray cloud that just happened to be right there when Jesus [ascended]. I don't believe that anymore. There's more to that cloud! In the Old Testament, God was in the cloud. Right? He took not away from the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night before the people, so God was in the cloud in the Old Testament. How many believe that? He led them. God was in that cloud. Even in 1 Kings 8:11, "So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord." After the sacrifice, oh my, the glory of the Lord filled the house, and specifically, the Bible says, "…so the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud." That is the Old Testament. Do we have any New Testament references of God being in a cloud? Listen to this. At the Transfiguration, "And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them, and His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.' For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my beloved Son: hear him." Can I say that again? "There was a cloud that overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, hear Him.'" So I don't think that was a rogue cloud. I don't believe that it was a stray cloud. When that cloud appeared, when Jesus ascended -- I believe there was more. I think the Father sent the Son, and the Bible said that Jesus was taken and received in the cloud. Do you know who received Jesus in that cloud? It was the Father! Hallelujah! The Father received the restoration of the glory of God! The Bible tells us after the Lord had spoken unto them. He was received up into Heaven and sat on the right hand of God. Do you know where He is at right now? He's sitting at the right hand of God.
Jesus is right where we need Him to be, at the right hand of the Father. He is right where we need Him to be. Thank God for the omnipresence of Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus is right where we need Him to be. No one has painted this picture of Jesus being at the right hand of God more beautifully or more powerfully than Charles Spurgeon. I want you to imagine in your mind, and I want to read to you a few of his words.
There's a great courtroom, and God, the Judge Himself, is seated. Satan is our accuser, and he has all kinds of things to say against you. Let's face it. Someone who wants to accuse you or any of us for not shaping up to the law of God wouldn't find it too hard. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. So I want you to imagine that there is this prosecuting attorney, our enemy, and he grabs his papers, and he begins to stride around the courtroom, and he's making his case before the Almighty God. He's making his case against you. Here's what Spurgeon writes. Spurgeon writes these words:
"We stand before the judgment bar of God. Satan rises—that old accuser—He has gathered together the evidence of our guilt and the reasons we must be condemned. I think I hear him say that we were born in sin, that we were shaped in iniquity, that we have a corrupt nature, and that we deserve to be lost. Then, with maliciousness, he will allege that we have transgressed in this way and that way, when we were young, he will follow our career from youth to adult life, even down to old age —He will clench his arguments by appealing to our unbelief that though we profess to be believers, we have doubted the promises and could not, therefore, truly be children of God! Well, might well tremble when such a case is made, and the grounds for judgment against us are so malicious."
Then Spurgeon says:
"Our eternity rises. He takes His brief in his hands, and he begins to plead. Listen to what he says and see how all opinions in the court are turned at once! 'I confess,' He says, 'that every word spoken by the last accuser is true. My client pleads guilty to every charge, but I have a full pardon signed by God's own hand, purchased by My blood.' And stripping Himself, He shows His hands and his side."
The disciples rejoiced because they knew that Jesus was right where they most needed Him to be, at the right hand of the Father, right next to God in Heaven above.
I have a strong and perfect plea.
My Savior, Christ, whose Name is Love
He's always there to plead for me.
My name is printed on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven, He stands.
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
Praise God!
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
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