Sermon in Ishpeming 05.05.2005

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, strengthen and comfort your hearts through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, let us join our hearts in mutual thanks and prayer.

Father, holy and righteous God, our dear Heavenly Father, on this Ascension Day evening, dear Father, we wish to thank Thee that Thou hast granted us grace to gather together around Thy holy and precious Word.

We thank Thee, dear Father, that Thou hast called us to be children of Thy kingdom and to own in our hearts that peace and the precious living hope unto life everlasting in the glory of Heaven.

This, dear Father, Thou hast prepared for us by and through Thy dear Son, He who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Dear Father, we thank Thee that we can, even this evening, put our confidence and trust once again in that word which, through the office of Thy Holy Spirit, proclaims unto us from Thy kingdom here upon this earth.

We pray, dear Father, that Thou would give us ears to hear and hearts to believe.

We ask that Thou would strengthen our weak faith.

And as we gather this evening, dear Father, we especially remember all our brethren, brothers and sisters in faith, wherever they might be in this world, who are endeavoring together with us in unity of the Spirit and in that love which Thou hast revealed unto us by and through Thy dear Son, who gave His life for the remission of sins.

We especially remember those dear brothers and sisters in the countries of Togo and Ecuador, where they are experiencing turmoil, trials, violence, and some even having to flee into neighboring countries for fear of losing their lives.

Protect and guide them.

And most of all, keep them as Thy children, so that should that time come when even they must sacrifice their lives, that they would be found as children of Thy kingdom and be able to enter into eternal peace.

We enclose all those things which do not even come to mind in that prayer that Thy dear Son has taught us.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.

Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And ye are witnesses of these things.

And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.

But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and He blessed them.

And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

The words of the psalmist, remembered by Apostle Paul, often come to mind in our day, that as we believe, so we also speak.

And what is it that we speak?

As Apostle Paul in another place mentioned, that we preach the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

We preach the word of faith.

That faith which has been given unto you and I, brother and sister, as a gift from God.

Through His love and grace, He has given this unto each of us.

Though we are unworthy, unmeriting.

We are sin-fallen creatures and deserving only of eternal punishment and death.

But yet, He loved us.

And He has called us into the fellowship of His kingdom.

Where we have been able to hear the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospel He prepared through His perfect obedience to the Heavenly Father.

The Old Testament prophets foretold His birth, His work, redemption work, His suffering, His death, His resurrection from the grave, and finally, His glorious ascension into heaven.

Where He sits at the right hand of God, our dear Heavenly Father.

We can remember or be reminded of the words of our creed when we say that we believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit as was prophesied, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, was dead, and was buried, but rose again from the grave.

And He ascended into heaven, where He sits in the highest place of honor at the right hand of God, our dear Heavenly Father, from whence He will come once again to judge the living and the dead.

Isn't it a precious matter, brother and sister, that this evening, from God's grace, we can be known as the living children of God?

As Jesus lives, we live by and through Him.

He ascended into heaven as the final work, fulfilling that final prophecy of Him.

And it was also for that purpose that He was glorified, glorified, glorified here upon earth.

And He entered into the glory of that eternal home in heaven.

But when we think of this, that He departed from this sin-corrupt earth and ascended into heaven, it does not mean then that it is a hopeless state here upon this earth.

He gave a promise, and that promise we by faith believe even today.

He promised the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would come to teach in all things.

By faith, we believe that God has preserved for us His holy word, which is contained in the book of all books, the Holy Bible.

And as Apostle John says concerning what has been written, he says in this way concerning the work of the Lord Jesus: He said that many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book.

But these are written that he might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing he might have life through his name.

Having read a little of Luther's writings recently and concerning Ascension Day, in our day it seems as though the significance or the importance or the holiness of Ascension Day has become overshadowed by the cares of this life and the carelessness that is upon even our society here in our homeland, our country.

It is not a small matter.

It is a very holy day.

And the believers of old honored it, respected it, and observed it as a holy day.

Even as we are taught concerning the Sabbath day, it too is a holy day.

It is a day set aside by God, our Heavenly Father, for us that we would meditate and think on those matters which are most important: our souls' salvation.

Luther so simply and preciously explains the third commandment concerning remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

He said we should so fear and love God as not to despise preaching and His word, but deem it holy and willingly hear and learn it.

Even this Ascension Day is a day likened unto the Sabbath, a holy day.

And what better way could we spend our time or consider matters than on this day and concerning that redemption work of the Lord Jesus and the hope we have received by and through Him?

When just before Jesus ascended into heaven, as He had for the previous forty days, gathered and was together with His own, not much is recorded in Scripture concerning what happened during those forty days.

But we know that Jesus appeared only unto His own.

He did not walk with the people of this world, and if He was in their presence, they were not given to see Him.

It was only through eyes of faith and eyes that were given to those who were able to recognize Him.

We have in the Scriptures testimony of this.

For example, when the two were walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joined them and visited with them, but they were not given to see Him as the Lord and Savior.

They only saw Him as a companion who joined them on their journey.

And we are told in Scripture that He taught them, and He taught them according to what the holy prophets foretold.

And then He opened their ears and their hearts and their eyes, and they were able to recognize Him.

So when He was with His own in these final moments before He ascended into heaven, we heard here the words of Jesus.

He said, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me.

We can easily understand that the Scriptures at that time was the Old Testament Scriptures.

The New Testament had not yet been written.

And the Old Testament foretold all these matters that would take place.

They were not able to understand this until Jesus opened their understanding.

As we heard here, He spoke concerning those prophecies, and then we are told He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.

Even in our day, the Scriptures remain closed unless the Holy Spirit opens them.

And when the Holy Spirit opens the Scriptures, they do not speak or interpret many different interpretations and doctrines and understandings.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of God, and we are told that first of all, God is a God of love and He is not the author of confusion.

And when He speaks, His words are true and they are from His great love.

So the Holy Spirit, when it speaks, is the word of God.

It makes alive the word of God which we are able to read and study in the Holy Bible.

It has been throughout all time that it is by the foolishness of preaching that the mysteries of the salvation that God has prepared in the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed.

Apostle testifies that through the foolishness of preaching, and it is only by and through the love and grace of God that one first of all can even hear this preaching of the gospel.

But as Jesus gave the command unto His own to go into all the world and preach the gospel of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, so by faith we believe that this had begun when on Pentecost Sunday they were able to visibly witness the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

And the New Testament era began.

That authorization and command of the Lord Jesus Christ then went into action and it has continued even on to this very day, speaking with one voice the doctrine of salvation for sin-fallen man.

How can a sinner find the hope of everlasting life?

How can he find the way unto eternal peace and rest in the glory of heaven?

Jesus himself says in a very precious way, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added.

Recently, I read a critical article or testimony concerning the believers and how they preach.

As this writer described, something that is wrong when Jesus' words are quoted, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Perhaps there are times when unintentionally instead of saying His righteousness, it has been said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God in its righteousness, and all things shall be added.

But even if it was said in that way, it is still scriptural, for the apostle Paul describes the kingdom of God to be righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

But so are those who have taken on heretical spirits and find only comfort or consolation in finding fault with what the Holy Spirit teaches through God's kingdom here upon this earth.

It is too simple a way, as Luther so preciously explains over and again in his writings, that it is simply and purely by grace and by grace alone.

And we use also those words of the apostle when he says, By grace are you saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God.

There is no room for works.

If one would think that he is able to accomplish something worthy of being acceptable before God, then faith is void.

And the word of God teaches us it is only by and through faith, and it is a gift of God.

So by faith we believe even this Ascension Day, dear brothers and sisters, that our Lord and Savior ascended into heaven according to the promises, the prophecies of old God.

And we also by faith believe that He will return as He said He will come again.

And He will come not as a Lord and a Savior, but He will come as a judge.

He will come to judge each one according to his works and will reward them according to their works, whether they have been good or bad.

Isn't it precious, brother and sister, that even this evening if we are feeling doubtful and fearful that that day is before us, yet we find consolation in these words when Jesus said that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

When He ascended into heaven, yet He did not leave His own without hope or without comfort.

The Holy Spirit yet speaks and it comforts and it yet calls.

We have been called with a holy calling, as Apostle Paul says, and as Luther also says, that we have been called by and through the gospel into this kingdom which is without division and where the Holy Spirit teaches and preaches that living message of the gospel, the forgiveness of sins.

This is the very core, the very essence of the gospel, the gospel of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

This is what Jesus commanded and the power and authority that He gave onto His own.

As we heard in our text here, He said, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And ye are witnesses of these things.

So it is, as Apostle Paul has also written, that this message of the gospel has traveled from faith to faith.

And in one of the other gospels, Jesus mentions that into the far corners of the earth.

Luther also wrote of this.

And perhaps with our own minds we could wonder how could this be accomplished or how is it possible.

And we could say today that this is being accomplished in our day of high technology.

This message is being proclaimed over the internet and is able to reach the far corners of the world.

When we think of this, God in His mysterious ways and with His great wisdom has given even such technology for the furtherance of the message of the gospel.

If there is one sinner, no matter where he would be in this world, who is desiring to find that place where he can receive the assurance of receiving the reward of eternal peace and rest, God is able to draw him or to approach him through His kingdom where he can receive the message of life, where he can receive the forgiveness of sins, and thereby become a child of God and receive the hope of life everlasting.

And again, it is not by any work, but it is the work of God.

As Jesus said, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.

When we think of this doctrine of works which is so prevalent in the world today, what a precious example we have in Scriptures when that one thief on the cross next to Jesus begged for mercy in the final moments of his life.

He was able to hear the message of the gospel.

And we could say that was the last time that Jesus Himself proclaimed that message because moments after He too died the death of the cross.

But that thief did not have any opportunity to do anything to deserve his salvation.

But it was that he was given grace to believe the proclamation of the forgiveness of his sins.

And he was assured, as Jesus said, Today thou will be with me in paradise.

And perhaps you remember, brother and sister, how a certain brother explained this.

That Jesus had not yet ascended into heaven.

He was there on the cross in the form of sinful flesh when He proclaimed this message that today you will be with me in paradise.

That paradise is God's kingdom here upon this earth where that message is proclaimed and where we have security, a place of refuge, a place that we can depend on for all our needs concerning our soul's salvation.

And so this power and authority was given and entrusted unto only the believers, unto the children of God.

And only in His kingdom is this message proclaimed with that power and authority.

Even though outside of God's kingdom words very similar and in fact in some cases identical are proclaimed, they have no effect when the Holy Spirit is not present.

Jesus Himself said, It is the Spirit that quickens or makes alive.

And so unless the Spirit proclaims, brings that, gives life to the message, the message is of no benefit to anyone who would hear it.

So Jesus then, the moment came when Jesus would depart and leave His own.

And we heard here in the last part of our text, He brought them out as far as Bethany and He lifted up His hands and He blessed them.

And it came to pass while He blessed them He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

They were not sorrowing nor were they fearing nor did they feel all had been lost at this moment.

But those eleven disciples, we are told here, that they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.

Very much the same way that those shepherds, those lowly shepherds, when they had heard the good news and they were able to find the Lord Jesus, when they returned to their places of watching, they returned rejoicing and praising God that they had seen their hope of salvation, the Lord Jesus.

Now these disciples saw Him leave, but by faith they believed.

They believed that word that He had proclaimed onto them that they would not be left comfortless, but they were comforted.

They trusted and they believed that what He had promised that He would also fulfill.

And so it did happen as He told them.

And this word of faith began its journey throughout the whole world, calling sinners onto repentance in the believing of the gospel.

This message is old but yet ever new.

And I am sure you, brother and sister, also experience that from time to time in your own journey of faith how warm and how refreshing that message is.

When you can, amidst trials and temptations and sorrows, simply believe that message of the forgiveness of your sins proclaimed in Jesus' name and in His holy and precious blood.

And on this Ascension Day, this message is the same.

It assures even you, poorest and weakest and frailest and doubting and fearing one, that all sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood.

And be of good comfort.

Jesus lives, and by faith we live by and through Him.

And in all confidence of faith we say, even as our dear brother often closes his sermon by saying, Come, Lord Jesus.

We await Thy coming, that great and glorious day when we can leave this world of sin and sorrow and enter into that eternal home of peace and rest.

Be of good comfort.

He is faithful who has called you and will carry you even onto that destination.

In Jesus' name. Amen.