Ascension Day Sermon
Acts 1
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Ephesians 4
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
In Acts 1 v 6-11 the account is given of the Lord Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It starts off with the disciples asking the Lord whether He would now restore the kingdom of Israel. Their minds were far from the actual issue that the Lord Jesus was busy with. In the same way, Christians can still be affected by the old way of thinking. The Lord Jesus has not touched it and Christians are bound by their own perceptions.
In Ephesians 4 v 8-13, it is written that the Lord Jesus became poor, like a man, and suffered with no place to put his head. He humbled Himself to the lowest degree and drank that cup of each person’s sin. He had to descend to a terrible death. Jesus came to be with us, forgive us and remove our sin. He grappled with our sin and overcame it and said “it is finished”. The demons were conquered by the Lord Jesus as well. In Colossians 2 v 15, it says that He disarmed the authorities, principalities and powers. Sin should have no power over you because the Lord Jesus conquered it. If Satan tempts you one day, cast your eyes to heaven and see the Lord Jesus there interceding for you. He is not just sitting at the right hand of the Father doing nothing, He is interceding for you. It will only take one look at what He is doing for you and you will be delivered from that sin and you won’t continue with it. It will cut you to the heart.
If the Lord Jesus ascended then it also means that He descended. In 1 Peter 3 v 19, the Lord Jesus descended into Hades and preached to the disobedient angels. His victory was proclaimed to every soul. At services in Donnybrook, the people came weeping and confessing their sin, affected by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, Esau desired his blessing and wept. You will weep more when you see what you have lost.
After forty days, the Lord Jesus showed how mightily He had conquered. It is written that He ascended on high. He went through the forces of the air and lead captives in His train. Who were these captives? Satan, death and sin were taken captive. This is the greatest day because of the Lord Jesus’ victory. One can only bow and worship Him. He then gave gifts to men to prophecy, evangelise, be teachers etc. In Ephesians 4 v 13,14 , it speaks about the whole measure of Christ. May the Gospel go forth and may His people become strong in the Lord.