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After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11

 

May 14th is Ascension Day. It marks the day that Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after His resurrection on Easter. Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday. Perhaps that’s why we pay so little attention to it in the American Church. But I want us to consider some of the things that Christ’s ascension set into motion.

 

When Christ ascended into heaven, His Father glorified Him and allowed Him to return to the seat of power at His right hand. Notice what we read in John 7:37-39: On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Christ’s ascension and glorification opened the door for the Holy Spirit to be poured out at Pentecost, a celebration that occurred ten days after Christ’s ascension.

 

The second thing Christ’s ascension accomplished for mankind was to ensure that we would have the daily benefit of His intercessions. Listen to what Hebrews 7:25 declares: Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. What a powerful promise God has given us in Christ. We don’t have to wonder if our salvation is complete, because Hebrews 7:25 tells us he is able to save completely those who come to God through him. How does Jesus achieve this for you and me? The last part of the verse tells us: because he always lives to intercede for them. Jesus intercedes on our behalf before His Father. His daily prayers remind God that we are believers in Christ and because of that we are in right standing with God.

 

Though there are probably many more benefits mankind has derived from Christ’s ascension into glory, the last one I want to list comes from Acts 1:11b: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Jesus Christ is coming back one day soon. What good news for those who believe in him! What good news for those who are ready to meet Him! 

 

Are you ready to meet Him? Will He find you at work when He returns? Will He find you spreading the truth of the gospel and sharing Christ’s love with all those around you? Will your work prepare others for the Kingdom of God and help to increase the harvest? I pray we can all answer, “Yes,” to all these questions.

 

Wishing you a joyous end to school & a summer full of blessings,

Pastor Dave