Sermon in Minneapolis 21.05.2009

May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God, our Father, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with each and every one of us this hour and always. Let us join our hearts in prayer and thanksgiving.

Dear Heavenly Father, we humbly draw an eye on to you in prayer, desiring to uplift our hearts, to thank and praise you for all of the good gifts you have given unto us. You have blessed us with so great abundance that we do not even comprehend all of those things. You have blessed us in body and soul. You have blessed us with temporal goods and a secure homeland. And you have, above all, given us that wonderful blessing to be your child and enjoy peace with thee by faith.

Father, we ask that you would bless our services this evening for the honor and glory of your name and the edification of your congregation. Uplift, refresh, and strengthen each of your children. Give us power to believe. And grant us to experience once again that as your children we are able to endeavor. Take one more step on this narrow way of life in this ever-worsening world. All of this may I ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I shall read for our mutual study for this ascension service from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The first 11 verses. We heard these words read in Jesus' name as follows:

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up. After that, he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 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, but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And when he had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up, and the cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Amen.

So this text from the first chapter of the Acts, as Luke has recorded for us, describes the ascension of our Lord and Master up into the glory of heaven. We celebrate this ascension day as, in the time frame as it happened in the life of Jesus and his apostles and followers, 40 days after Easter, after his resurrection from the dead.

It, of course, speaks to us of the very basic reason and goal of our faith. Why are we believing? Why have people at any time or age throughout this world believed? God has given on to us spirit and soul and body. God has given us the most important thing. And our bodies are earthly and only for this time. But the spirit and soul are eternal. God wants, God wants, once when we are called home to the glory of heaven, gives us a new, incorruptible body. God wants, and we are able then to rejoice forever in glory.

So we believe and we hope for that life which is to come, that we will one day also be able to be in the glory of heaven. And not have to suffer with sin and corruption in this stubborn old portion. Having to drag it along as you probably experienced, as I did even this evening in coming to services, that the old portion is often rebellious and difficult, almost like an untrainable animal, only because you have the Holy Spirit of God in your hearts, which is a good teacher, the best teacher. It leads and it guides us. Directs our footsteps.

And as Jesus said of that Comforter, that it will lead you into all truth. It takes from the Father and from our Savior and reveals unto us His good will. And when we are obedient to that voice, it keeps us in the fellowship of the children of God, in the fellowship of the kingdom of God traveling on this way, which will take us home, where faith is then changed into seeing.

And that is why when we experience here this love of God, we experience how God has given us the greatest of gifts and kindle the love in our hearts toward Him and the love toward those who are also born of Him. And that love we take with us to eternity. Faith and hope are once left behind, but love is eternal.

Luke begins this treatise, as he calls it, he describes his gospel writing as a treatise. And he's writing it to a very specific person. And we can see from his introduction to this writing that he has a very specific intent also. He wrote the gospel from those notes and conversations which he obviously had with the other followers of Jesus with his mother Mary being part of the throng of the disciples and those following Jesus.

He was able to hear and see and believe that herein is the Son of God. Or as Peter expressed it, Lord, we believe that Thou, that You have the words of eternal life. You are the Son of God.

So, Luke captured and wrote and has been preserved for our day, for all believers of all times, the life of our Lord and Master, our Savior. And then this second writing of his captures the work of the apostles, of the believers, of the dawn of the New Testament time, and how God worked through them to begin that work of the gospel, which has continued to this day.

Luke writes, the former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles, whom he had chosen, whom also he showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days in speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

All four of the gospel writers describe these commandments of Jesus. John captures it in this way, when Jesus first appeared onto his own, when they were behind locked doors, then that same day at evening, in other words, this is Easter evening, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in their midst, and saith unto them, peace be unto you.

When he had so said, he showed them, unto them, his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto you. As my father hath sent me, even so send I you.

When he had said this, he breathed on them and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.

So the instructions of Jesus were very clear, very straightforward, that this is his commandment, his message for the spread of his gospel, for the salvation of souls. He didn't take it with him to heaven, but he gave it on to his own.

And in making it so explicit, as John records of it, that he breathed on them. He wanted to make sure that this empowerment, this authority, giving of the Holy Ghost is not something that would be forgotten, but would be impressed upon their minds so they would understand that so he has given, and so he authorizes his own to preach.

And he didn't give those keys to the kingdom as they are often called to just one of them. Not just to Peter, or not just to the disciples, but to the whole throng.

John doesn't enumerate how many of them were gathered there. The only number that is even close to even this text in this first chapter where the disciples when they returned to Jerusalem, Luke mentions there was about 120 people gathered there.

He writes in the 15th verse, in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said the number of names together were about 120.

So Luke wants to make sure Theophilus understood and that we understand that it wasn't just the 11 disciples who were left after the 12th Judas Iscariot betrayed his Lord, but there were a great throng of those who gathered.

And so from that inference, we can guess that those were also the ones who were with Jesus at this point when he ascended up into heaven. But it is an inference, there is no direct indication of the exact throng of the believers who saw him arise.

What Paul records or writes for us in his letter to the Corinthians about those who saw Jesus after his resurrection. When he is describing how I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you and which also you have received and wherein ye stand, by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, lest you have believed in vain.

And then he describes how I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

And then he begins to enumerate for the Corinthians the multiple times that Christ appeared unto his own. And then he was seen of Cephas, in other words, Peter, one of them, of the twelve, in other words, the rest of the apostles.

After that he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also as one born out of due time.

Paul wanted to make sure that the resurrection of our Lord and Master from the grave, from overcoming sin, death, and hell wasn't just in the eyes and in the mouths of a few witnesses, witnesses, but that they would all understand that this was an occurrence that repeatedly happened and repeatedly left those who could testify of its truth, of its veracity, who believed and therefore saw him.

And that is partly also, I believe, why Luke here records in this first chapter of the Acts, that there was 120 brethren there who were gathered in Jerusalem waiting for the promise as they had been instructed to await for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

And so he wrote, he showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

So Jesus not only appeared onto his own to comfort and reassure them, but he also spoke of their part, their role, their mission in the kingdom of God.

And as John records, when they were there on the shores of the sea of Tiberias, when the disciples had been fishing, Jesus used even that very simple little example from life to teach and to remind and to bring out once again what is the greatest force and power in our lives and what is it that he desires we would do.

After they had dined, Jesus saith unto Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? And he saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee, saith unto him, feed my lambs.

He saith unto him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, feed my sheep.

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.

Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep.

Love is the greatest of powers. Only love overcomes. Only love is able to overcome those things that arise from the heart of man. Hatred, anger, even bitterness, even contempt, love towards him who has forgiven us our ten thousand talent debt.

We have been forgiven so much that kindles in our hearts love towards God and the love towards our brothers and sisters. And if we allow that love of God to work within us, it then gives us strength and power to forgive and to forget.

It's so important, dear brothers and sisters, that when we are or when we find ourselves in those positions, as it happens again and again, because we are so sin corrupt and even evil, that we need to ask and beg for the gospel and we need to wash one another's feet.

It's often been said that when Jesus wiped the feet of his disciples with that towel, it symbolizes, represents a towel of forgetfulness that we are given power by God through the gospel to forget how dirty those feet were when I started to wash them.

But when they are washed in the gospel, they become clean.

And you recall, dear brothers and sisters, that when Peter wasn't going to let Jesus wash his feet, Jesus told him, unless I wash your feet, you have no part in me.

So then Peter almost went like the other side to be overly spiritual. He said, Lord, not only my feet, but my head and my hands also.

And Jesus said, he who is clean need not but that his feet be washed and clean throughout.

We cannot make a perfect confession. We cannot even demand of one another that how well do you understand and are you really penitent enough? Do you really comprehend how deeply you have hurt me?

Isn't it a good thing, dear brothers and sisters, that that is not given in to our power to search, to date, or to seek for? That is God's.

Our job, our office is to preach the gospel, wash one another's feet with that gospel, and therein we are cleaned.

The enemy is defeated. He would desire to break the love, to cause offense, and see one another as only faulty travelers.

He is a diligent adversary, and he constantly works to try to destroy the love of the children of God, to cause us to not believe that such and such brother or sister is a child of God, his believing correctly.

It is truly a dangerous, dangerous attack when he can so destroy and break the love between the brothers and sisters in faith.

Love is the greatest of powers because it overcame. Christ loved us so much that he overcame all on our behalf.

And only by believing can we be partakers of the power of that resurrection and the power of that love and have a small portion of it for our own so that we receive strength to serve.

Serve one another. Even if we serve as he taught, even with just a glass of water in the name of a disciple, you won't be left without a reward.

So Jesus taught. And so he promised his own that the Holy Ghost would come upon them and that Comforter would lead them into all truth, lead and guide their footsteps.

And so it has led and guided the children of God to this day. And so we rejoice that we can be partakers of the power and the partakers of that baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And being assembled together with them, commanded them they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

He didn't tell them the exact number of days they would have to wait. Ended up being ten days to Pentecost.

But that baptism of the Holy Ghost empowered the children of God to begin to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. It emboldened them. It gave them the strength to confess and to preach of those good things that God had done for them in allowing them to believe their sins forgiven.

And it doesn't mean that the children of God didn't have the Holy Spirit before Pentecost. Of course they did. From the first human care on until the very last day that there are believers here on this earth, the children of God will have the Holy Spirit.

But Pentecost signified the beginning of the work of the New Testament congregation. When God sent the Holy Spirit in the form, a visible form as flames of fires on their heads so that they begin to speak of the marvelous works of God in many different languages and tongues.

The next verse is rather amazing to think how the followers of Jesus were so earthly as you and I are. And they were so patriotic. They had such a great love for their own nation and their fatherland.

One of their greatest desires was that the nation of Israel could once again be a free and independent nation and be freed from the shackles of the power of the Roman Empire.

And throughout that time, even before Jesus and after, there were amongst the Jewish people those who rose up in rebellion against the Roman conquerors.

And we see that same similar reaction when these followers of Jesus here, when they are at the point when their Lord is leaving them, rising up into heaven, they ask, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Doesn't it speak volumes to us also as sin corrupt, earthly human beings, having this heavenly treasure in us, but nevertheless we have to admit it is in an earthen vessel.

But we are just as they are. They were. We also have a great love of our homeland and our nation and wish only the best for it.

May God bless and protect and keep it as a free and independent nation so that we could continue to gather freely to worship.

It didn't happen that way for the apostles, for these believers at the dawn of the New Testament time. Many, many of them suffered the death of martyrdom for their confession of faith.

And some aspects of the Roman Empire were a great benefit for the spread of the gospel because the Roman armies were there securing that empire.

There was power and authority in those governments so that they would punish evildoers. And it created a freedom of movement for the travel of the gospel people.

But it also eventually turned into a government that martyred thousands of the children of God who left this world through death of martyrdom into the glory of heaven.

So the disciples, these followers of Jesus, were also very earthly. And so we are, we admit, of the same make as they were.

And Jesus didn't rebuke them for their desiring, for their earthliness. But he simply says, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.

All those things will happen in God's time, and not in man's time. God's love.

But then he returns to what is most important. You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. You should be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Witnesses of Jesus, those following in his footsteps and speaking of those good things that God has done unto them.

And so it happened when Pentecost came that Peter in his sermon said, this is that which is spoken by the prophet Joel, that you come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

So the disciples witnessed to the people around them that it was this Jesus whom they had crucified, whom God had chosen, and set as an eternal sacrifice for sin, so that they also could be partakers of the peace of God.

And so the disciples, when they looked and watched Jesus rise up into heaven, they didn't want to leave that place. So wonderful was the sight, heart.

And so firmly and concretely did it get left in their minds that this is the purpose of leaving, that one day we also will be able to rise up into glory.

Perhaps you brothers and sisters have experienced such when we've been at the services of the children of God, when God has refreshed and warmed our hearts with his goodness.

It feels that here it is so good to be. Why would we leave? But of course we have to go back to our everyday lives.

And so here it took two angels to come to tell these disciples. 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 a like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

When the angels come to take a tired traveler home, it is often a departure that happens without a lot of fanfare or celebration. It is an event that we nevertheless praise and thank God for when another tired traveler can lay down the staff and pick up the crown.

But one day Christ will come again into this world as the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, when we are those who are still here upon this earth, we are changed in a twinkling of an eye as the Apostle writes of it.

And we are able to rise up to be with him in glory.

But when he comes a second time, he no longer comes as a forgiving and merciful savior, but as a judge, to judge both the living and the dead, those who are alive and those who have died before.

But your calling, dear brothers and sisters, is not one that you would have to fear, that you have to appear before such a judge, but rather you have been judged already here in time with grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

And so you are already here while living partakers of eternal life. Your sins are forgiven, you have peace with God, and you will not hear those words that call the people of this world to a judgment, but rather you will hear the best of invitations. Come, ye blessed of my Father, to inherit that kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundations of the earth.

This is our calling, and that is why we have believed to this day, and that is why we make those promises to continue to endeavor in faith, to be faithful unto him.

When we are faithful in little, we are also faithful in much. And if we are unjust in little, we are unjust in much.

So as sinful, failing travelers, dear brothers and sisters, you can nevertheless lift up your hearts and believe that your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and blood, unto peace, freedom, and joy.

This grace will carry you until God calls you home.

I also ask for my own soul and heart, can I blame my many sins and doubts for you? I desire to believe together with you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. Amen.