Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

Perhaps you have seen the plaque which some people have on their bathroom door?

Question: “How long is a minute?”

Answer: “Depends on which side of the bathroom door you are.”

How we look at something depends very much on where we look at it from.

The same principle is true in these drawings.

From the point of view of looking with our eyes, we would say that the two lines on this drawing are different lengths.

If we measure them, we find that they are actually the same length.

Once again, how we look at things makes a significant difference.

This coming Thursday, we will celebrate one of the days of the Christian year.

Because it occurs on a Thursday, we often forget that it happens and so we also forget its importance.

We celebrate especially Christmas but also Easter and so we are quite familiar with them and where they fit into the story of Jesus.

But where does the ascension fit?

The story of the ascension occurs briefly in Luke 24:50-53 and more clearly in Acts 1:1-11.

There are numerous passages which reflect on the theological importance of the event.

We know that three days after Jesus died on the cross, he rose again.

Over the next forty days, he appeared a number of times to his disciples.

He met two of them while walking along the road to Emmaus.

He met the twelve in a room with closed doors and He met a number of them by the sea of Galilee.

After these forty days, Jesus ascended into heaven in their presence and did not appear to them on earth again.

Ten days after this, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the believers on what we call the day of Pentecost.

What the ascension tells us is that Jesus is now in heaven in the presence of God.

Furthermore, we need to recognize that we live in the reality of the ascension.

We are not in the OT time before Jesus came; we are not in the time when Jesus was on earth and we are not in the time after Jesus returns.

We live in the time when Jesus is in heaven.

What does this point of view have to do with our Christian life?

How does it make a difference in how we view ourselves, how we view God and how we live for God?

!

I.             The Ascension Implies Victory

During the Stanley Cup playoffs, many of us sit at the edge of our seats until we know that our team has won.

Then we relax.

Victory gives us a different outlook.

The ascension implies that Jesus was victorious, what an encouragement!

What peace comes with this perspective!

!! A. Jesus Won Over Sin

The way into God’s presence is locked.

There is no way that we can go there because we are filled with sin.

Throughout the Old Testament, God provided a way in which people could approach His temple, but it was very restrictive.

They were to bring sacrifices of animals so that their sins could be atoned for.

Once a year, the high priest was permitted to go into the place called the holy of holies which was the place of God’s presence.

To enter into this place required absolute holiness because anything less would result in immediate death.

When he went, and again I remind you that it was only once a year, he had to make atonement by blood sacrifice first of all for his own sins and then also for the sins of all the people and as their representative, he was then permitted to appear in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.

These rituals represented the limited access to God’s presence because of sin.

The door to the Credit Union is locked in the evening.

At one time, that would have meant that I had to go back during office hours, but not any more.

If I want money after hours, I can simply put my ATM card in the slot and the door opens for me and I can get money from the machine.

We now have a key which opens the locked door.

The fact that Jesus is in heaven means that, unlike in the Old Testament, the door of access to God is now opened.

Hebrews 9:12 explains this when it says, “…he (Jesus) entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”

This is a powerful passage.

There are several things we need to note about it.

First of all we note that Jesus was permitted into the presence of God.

The fact that he entered the holy place, by ascending into heaven meant that the way was opened for access to God.

Furthermore, he did so not once a year, but once for all.

That is, he entered into God’s presence only once but was not required to leave.

This indicates the victory of Jesus through His blood and tells us that because He is now in heaven, his sacrifice on the cross was accepted as the means of eternal salvation.

This tells us that the restrictions have been removed.

The blood of Jesus has given us an access card into God’s presence.

Last week, I saw a news story on Bishop Spong.

He is a retired Episcopal bishop in Newark, but does not believe that Jesus needed to die for our sins.

He thinks that God should just forgive people without the need for blood.

He considers it gross.

If he is right, then it opens the door to all unrighteousness.

Jesus was not permitted into God’s presence because God just decided to forgive.

Hebrews 9:12 tells us that he entered into God’s presence in his ascension because he gained victory over sin by the shedding of his blood.

So the first thing we need to recognize is that because Jesus is now in heaven, victory over sin is assured.

Jesus has been accepted into the presence of God having obtained our salvation!

That is cause for rejoicing!

God has accepted His sacrifice and we can rest in the assurance that by faith in Jesus we have eternal redemption.

It is so sad that so many Christians continue to live in the bondage of legalism and in the fear that their efforts and their life will not be acceptable to God.

The fact that Jesus is in heaven tells us that there is most certainly victory over sin and access into the presence of God!

!! B. Jesus Won Over Death

Have you ever seen Jesus?

If he rose from the dead, why has no one seen Him?

Many wonder if he really gained victory over death.

The ascension explains this.

We know that after Jesus died, he rose again.

For forty days after his resurrection, he appeared to many of his disciples in order to let them know that he was alive.

When he ascended into heaven, he did so in order to show them that he was still alive, was in heaven and would not be seen by them again on earth until the day when he would return.

After the ascension, Jesus was seen again, but not on earth, but rather in heaven.

When Stephen was martyred we read, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

The ascension is part of the resurrection victory.

The empty tomb assures us that Jesus is alive.

The ascension comforts us to know that he is alive in heaven.

Sometimes when we speak of a person becoming a Christian, we speak of it as “having Jesus come into your heart.”

It isn’t wrong to say that, but strictly speaking, it isn’t true.

The truth is that Jesus is in heaven and a much greater reality than “Jesus in your heart” is the perspective from which we operate.

Because Jesus went away, He sent his Holy Spirit.

So it is really the Holy Spirit who comes to live within us.

The greater reality is that God is still present with us, not in a person in one geographical location, but in every believer by His Spirit.

All this is true because Jesus is in heaven.

We live in resurrection victory.

Jesus is alive in heaven but continues his work on earth by His Spirit.

Jesus is in heaven which assures us of victory over sin and death!

!

II.

The Ascension Assures Our Acceptance

            We know that Jesus has gained this victory as a theological fact, but sometimes in the midst of life, we begin to doubt.

When we sin and our conscience bothers us or when Satan attacks us that truth may be lost to us.

More than once, I have wondered if I really was forgiven or if God really accepts me.

When I applied for Employment Insurance a few months ago, I was not sure that the system would understand my situation.

I had felt that God was calling me to complete my ministry and so I resigned from the church.