Luke 24
50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
Acts 4
1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
The scripture in Luke says Jesus lifted up his hands and blessed them and while doing so he ascended into heaven. He had humbled himself and now this was a glorious day of exaltation to the right hand of the throne of God.
The disciples worshipped, praised and adored Him on that day. Do we do the same?
They went back from that mountain filled with great joy. What is your heart full of? Criticism and moaning or thankfulness and joy? He can do for you what He’s done for others.
What do you need today? Put aside your needs for better health or wealth and see your need of Him and the blessing that He knows you need today. He wants to teach us the way of blessing.
He was on a mountain which he knew very well. He often went there with the disciples, those chosen to be around him as He ministered on earth. It was a place of prayer, earnest prayer to God. Here He fully submitted to God although it went against His holy nature to do so (to take on the sins of the whole world). Here he obeyed God and followed the way to the cross. He surrendered His will here. This mountain was the platform from which He showered great blessing on the disciples and then ascended into heaven.
We have gathered on this “mountain” today. Is it a place of earnest prayer for us? Is there close fellowship among us? Are there barriers and criticism between you and those Christians God has put around you? Maybe you are in closer fellowship with those in the world. Your heart is more one with others on a different “side”.
Do we know the full surrender of being on this mountain? Do we daily deny our appetites, physical needs, our own will, our own understanding for the good of the church and the gospel? Where is that self-denial in your life? Maybe we allow a freedom in our lives which a younger or weaker Christian becomes influenced by and we should give it up for their sake (e.g. certain movies, ways of speaking, activities). Shouldn’t you shut your mouth?
Paul knew mountains and self-denial. Romans 16:17 Some cause divisions and put stumbling blocks in your way. He knew the way of blessing. For the sake of his calling and the gospel he denied himself. 1Cor.9v19 He made himself a slave to all to win them to the Lord for the sake of the gospel.
You are building a trustworthy platform for yourself from which you will launched into eternity. Is the true nature of Christ in yours? i.e. sincere, earnest, daily seeking of God in prayer, true fellowship with those around us, full surrender to God, self-denial.
The Lord raised His hands and blessed the disciples.
Acts 3:26 God raised up His servant to bless you and turn you from wickedness. Is this too hard for you to confess your sins? This is the blessing we should pray for to get the greatest joy – to know our sin and repent of it. All other blessings come after repentance. To know you are right with God with no wrong thing in your heart.
Matt 5 The Beatitudes. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Then streams of blessings will flow through your life into the lives of others.