Welcome back! Did you know today is called Ascension Day? Not by everyone, but it’s the day that marks the ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to heaven, from whence He will one day return “just as they’d seen him go.” You can read the story in Acts 1.
Don’t you just love the book of Acts? Seriously, there’s something so gripping about that book that every time I return to it I get excited, I feel the Spirit in me go into a kind of frenzy to see what awaits. So, here we go…
Acts 1:2-5
After his (Jesus’) suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:9-12
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.”
And then Acts 1:7
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”
Ooh, where do we start? So many things in these few verses to see. For 40 days Jesus proved He was indeed alive. He is our Lord and Savior. What He’s done for us has set us free. And brought us back into full relationship with the Father.
He spent these days talking about the kingdom of God. The greatest place ever and one day to be on earth.
“But wait,” He said. “Do not leave Jerusalem”
The gift is coming. The best gift ever is coming.
“in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Yes, that day is coming, but first we’re on this one. After He had said this, he was taken up, before their very eyes, then hidden by a cloud.
We know where He is today because our Scriptures tell us in Ephesians 1 where God has Him. Verses 20-21
Ephesians 1:20-21
…when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
And He will one day, come back. Because He is very much alive. He’s very active in our lives. He rules over everything. He’s holding it all together for His people. And He’s at the gates. So close. Closer than your next breath close. One day we will see it. One day we will know it is all true. Hold onto your faith.
The Affirmation of Faith, well, there are multiple versions of it, but the one we most often use in our church is number 881 in our hymnals.
I believe in God the Father Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord
Who was…. Crucified, dead and buried
The third day He rose from the dead
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.
From thence he shall come…
I believe in the Holy Spirit…
The communion of saints
The forgiveness of sins
The resurrection of the body
And the life everlasting
Back to Acts 1:10-12
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.”
“Why do you stand here looking into the sky?”
He’s going to come back.
“in the same way you have seen him go”
Is His return the thing you are most looking forward to?
If it’s not, grow your faith. It is all true. He is coming.
“This same Jesus.”
If it is, keep growing your faith. Keep reading, keep praying, keep studying. It is all true. He is going to return. He ‘will come back.’
Live with a hopeful expectation kind of outlook. He could come at any time. We will not be disappointed. He is going to come back.