WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.140 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church Sermon Podcast. 00:04.840 --> 00:08.260 We're so glad you're here, and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.480 --> 00:12.020 builds your faith, and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.580 --> 00:15.160 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.160 --> 00:17.840 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.220 --> 00:20.380 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.220 --> 00:24.040 We are in between sermon series this morning, 00:24.200 --> 00:26.800 which means that I get to preach this morning 00:26.800 --> 00:33.840 on whatever I want to preach on. And so for this morning, I've decided to preach on one of the most 00:33.840 --> 00:39.840 important events in Jesus's life. But even though it's one of the most important events in Jesus's 00:39.840 --> 00:47.120 life, it's an event that often gets overlooked and therefore an event that Christians often know 00:47.120 --> 00:54.020 little about. Let me ask you, if you had to name the top four events in Jesus's life, 00:54.360 --> 01:00.380 which top four events would you include in that list? If I had to list the top four events in 01:00.380 --> 01:07.260 Jesus's life, I think I would list Jesus's incarnation, his crucifixion, his resurrection, 01:07.880 --> 01:15.700 and his ascension. Let me ask you about that fourth one, the ascension. Would that event 01:15.700 --> 01:26.580 have even made your list at all? But in the Bible, the ascension is a big deal, but a big deal that we often neglect in our modern American Christianity. 01:27.380 --> 01:31.460 Think about it. How many sermons have you heard about the ascension? 01:31.880 --> 01:35.520 How many Bible studies have you been in that were about the ascension? 01:35.640 --> 01:40.160 If you were in school right now and you had to write a paper on the ascension, 01:40.700 --> 01:45.260 how many sentences could you write before you ran out of things to say? 01:49.720 --> 01:52.219 And so this morning, we're going to dive deep into what is probably, for most of us, 01:52.220 --> 01:57.559 unexplored territory. 01:57.560 --> 01:59.959 Now, I'm going to do my best this morning to make this as understandable as possible, 01:59.960 --> 02:02.080 but I want to encourage you to make sure you're wide awake so that you can stick with me this morning. 02:02.620 --> 02:06.440 Now, what exactly is the ascension? I know it's possible 02:06.440 --> 02:11.380 that for a lot of us in the room, this might be the first time we've ever even heard the word 02:11.380 --> 02:18.440 ascension before. The ascension is an event that happened in Jesus's life after the crucifixion, 02:18.980 --> 02:26.560 after the resurrection, when Jesus went back up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 02:27.020 --> 02:30.460 The word ascend is not a word that we use that often anymore, 02:30.620 --> 02:33.600 but the word ascend means to go up. 02:34.220 --> 02:37.640 And so that's why it's called Jesus' ascension, 02:38.120 --> 02:41.420 because it's when Jesus went up into heaven. 02:41.940 --> 02:48.560 And I have two goals this morning. My first goal is to help open our eyes to how many 02:48.560 --> 02:54.900 passages there are in the Bible that talk about the ascension. My hope is that from now on, we can 02:54.900 --> 03:02.140 start spotting these ascension passages all over the Bible. How do we spot them? By looking for 03:02.140 --> 03:06.340 passages that talk about Jesus going up or sitting down. 03:06.940 --> 03:13.480 Passages that talk about Jesus going back into heaven or passages that talk about Jesus sitting 03:13.480 --> 03:29.200 down at the right hand of God. By looking for directional words like went up or higher or above or sat down. My second goal this morning is to help us to start thinking about the 03:29.200 --> 03:36.620 rich variety of meaning that we can learn about Jesus from the ascension so that we will not just 03:36.620 --> 03:45.640 be able to spot the ascension in the Bible, but also to begin to actually understand the ascension in the Bible, what it tells us about Jesus, 03:46.120 --> 03:52.740 and how that should impact our daily lives. And really this morning, we're going to just barely 03:52.740 --> 03:57.820 scratch the surface of what we could learn about the ascension. Honestly, this could be an entire 03:57.820 --> 04:03.500 series of sermons, but I'm going to try to restrain myself this morning. So what we're going to do 04:03.500 --> 04:05.700 is we're going to first look at the actual event of the ascension, So what we're going to do is we're going to first look at the 04:05.700 --> 04:10.680 actual event of the ascension, and then we're going to spend most of our time this morning 04:10.680 --> 04:18.380 looking at why the ascension is such a big deal, looking at why the ascension even matters at all. 04:18.780 --> 04:27.840 So turn with me to Luke chapter 24, and we're going to take a look at a verse that describes the end of Jesus's time 04:27.840 --> 04:34.300 here on the earth. By this point in Jesus's life, Jesus had already been crucified, he had already 04:34.300 --> 04:49.140 been resurrected, and now we're going to see him as he gets ascended back up into heaven. Luke chapter 24, one verse, verse 51. Now it came to pass while he blessed them, 04:49.140 --> 04:57.520 while Jesus blessed his disciples, that he was parted for them and carried up into heaven. 04:58.220 --> 05:07.360 There it is. One tiny little verse, but one tiny little verse that is absolutely exploding with meaning. 05:07.920 --> 05:12.720 And as we're going to see, the lessons we can learn from the ascension about who Jesus is 05:12.720 --> 05:19.920 have huge ramifications for our daily Christian lives. Because the fact that Jesus is ascended 05:19.920 --> 05:27.280 has gigantic implications for our understanding of who Jesus is. And those implications, those understandings, 05:27.540 --> 05:31.620 are flushed out by looking at other passages in the Bible 05:31.620 --> 05:35.660 that explain the meaning of this one tiny little verse. 05:36.140 --> 05:39.020 And so that's what we're going to spend the rest of the sermon doing. 05:39.280 --> 05:41.080 We're going to spend the rest of our sermon 05:41.080 --> 05:43.640 looking at six other passages 05:43.640 --> 05:46.780 that help us understand the meaning 05:46.780 --> 05:51.300 behind this one verse. And so what we're going to do for the rest of our time this morning 05:51.300 --> 05:59.720 is we're going to look at six reasons why the ascension matters. Six reasons, six truths that 05:59.720 --> 06:06.500 the ascension teaches us about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. And the key this morning 06:06.500 --> 06:14.460 is to keep in mind the two important motions that are a part of the Ascension. Jesus went up 06:14.460 --> 06:27.200 and Jesus sat down because both of those motions are jam-packed with theological meaning. So why is the ascension important? Why does the ascension 06:27.200 --> 06:34.700 even matter at all? First of all, when Jesus went back up to heaven, he was returning home 06:34.700 --> 06:48.880 as a victorious king after winning a war. Look with me at Psalm 68, beginning in verse 17. This psalm says, the chariots of God, chariots were kind of the tanks 06:48.880 --> 06:57.380 of the ancient armies. The chariots of God are 20,000, even thousands of thousands. The Lord is 06:57.380 --> 07:21.720 among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. You have ascended on high. There it is. You have led Here, we have a picture of a king returning home from war victorious. 07:21.720 --> 07:25.500 And as this king is returning home to his capital city, 07:25.680 --> 07:27.800 there's a huge victory celebration, 07:28.160 --> 07:31.140 whereas people are lining the streets cheering. 07:32.080 --> 07:34.180 Now, in my mind, when I read this passage, 07:34.280 --> 07:36.720 I think about this picture of a parade 07:36.720 --> 07:38.260 that happened in New York City 07:38.260 --> 07:41.480 celebrating the end of World War II 07:41.480 --> 07:44.480 as the American soldiers came home 07:44.480 --> 07:47.620 and marched through the city victorious. 07:48.460 --> 07:55.040 Well, I think what Psalm 68 is telling us is that's basically what happened when Jesus returned 07:55.040 --> 08:07.920 home when he was ascended. That he returned home after successfully completing his own military mission. You see, Jesus had been to Calvary, and on the cross of 08:07.920 --> 08:15.660 Calvary, he had fought the battle of the ages against sin and against Satan and against death. 08:16.160 --> 08:26.520 And when Jesus said on the cross, it is finished, that meant that the victory was won. And so when Jesus Christ went back to heaven, 08:26.780 --> 08:30.580 he ascended back to heaven as our victorious liberator. 08:31.240 --> 08:35.600 Jesus returned to his father as the victorious champion of heaven. 08:36.420 --> 08:39.100 Now, what does any of this mean? 08:39.640 --> 08:42.720 What difference does any of this make for our daily lives? 08:43.300 --> 08:44.559 Here's the difference. 08:44.560 --> 08:45.580 Here's what it means. 08:46.140 --> 08:47.980 Because of this reality, 08:48.440 --> 08:50.760 this reality can help us 08:50.760 --> 08:53.740 when we go through battles in this life. 08:54.260 --> 08:56.360 You see, the Bible says that we are in the middle 08:56.360 --> 08:58.740 of a spiritual battle. 08:58.740 --> 09:03.060 And so as we continue to fight the daily battles 09:03.060 --> 09:04.580 of everyday Christian life, 09:04.960 --> 09:07.680 this ascended reality helps us to 09:07.680 --> 09:15.140 remember that the outcome of the war has already been decided long ago. Our three greatest enemies, 09:15.660 --> 09:22.380 sin, death, and Satan, have already been defeated. And if we have surrendered our lives to King Jesus, 09:22.900 --> 09:26.740 then we have joined Jesus on the winning side of the war. In other words, if we have surrendered our lives to King Jesus, then we have joined Jesus on the winning side of the 09:26.740 --> 09:33.320 war. In other words, if we have defected to King Jesus and crossed over to Jesus' side, then we 09:33.320 --> 09:41.820 have already won, even when it might appear like we're losing some temporary skirmishes 09:41.820 --> 09:46.520 in the meantime. A second truth that we can learn about Jesus from 09:46.520 --> 09:55.760 the ascension is this. The fact that Jesus has sat down means that his priestly work is done. 09:56.340 --> 10:08.920 Look with me in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews. Look with me in Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse 11. Here we see a powerful passage that 10:08.920 --> 10:15.060 helps us understand more about what happened when Jesus was ascended. In verse 11, it says, 10:15.060 --> 10:28.340 and every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man, 10:28.340 --> 10:37.560 Jesus, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 10:37.940 --> 10:46.480 That's the ascension. Did you know that you're not supposed to sit down while you're on the job. You sit down once the 10:46.480 --> 10:54.320 work is done. And so the fact, like Hebrews points out, that Jesus has sat down means that his priestly 10:54.320 --> 11:02.240 work of offering a final sacrifice for our sins is finished. Now this is very different from the 11:02.240 --> 11:07.860 priest of the Old Testament. In fact, that's why this passage in Hebrews makes this comparison 11:07.860 --> 11:12.520 between the priest who had to continually stand 11:12.520 --> 11:15.760 and Jesus who was able to sit down. 11:16.320 --> 11:20.700 You see, the priest of the Old Testament had an endless job. 11:21.500 --> 11:27.900 Like butchers, they had to slaughter thousands and thousands of animals every day, 11:28.340 --> 11:37.160 day after day, day after day, the same sacrifices over and over and over and over again. They had a 11:37.160 --> 11:47.120 job they could never finish. They never reached the day when their job was done. Why? Because their sacrifices were never able to pay for sin 11:47.120 --> 11:56.920 once and for all. But in Jesus's one sacrifice, he did what all the other priests had never been 11:56.920 --> 12:05.180 able to do in their hundreds of thousands or millions of sacrifices. He was able to pay for sin once and for all. 12:05.720 --> 12:12.820 That's why the Bible says that Jesus died for sins once for all. 12:13.600 --> 12:18.880 Now, in the Old Testament temple, there were a lot of pieces of furniture in the temple. 12:19.260 --> 12:21.720 And those pieces of furniture were not there on accident. 12:22.160 --> 12:26.200 Each one of them had important spiritual and theological 12:26.200 --> 12:32.360 significance, symbolism. Well, there was one piece of furniture that you could not find in the Old 12:32.360 --> 12:42.160 Testament temple, and that was a chair for the priest to sit down in. Why was there no chair 12:42.160 --> 13:07.820 for the priest to sit in? Because their job was never done. That's why Hebrews pointed out they had to stay on their feet continually because their work was never done. to sit down in it because he finished the job. His sacrifice was the ultimate sacrifice that paid for 13:07.820 --> 13:16.780 all of our sins once and for all. Now, why does this matter to us? What difference does any of 13:16.780 --> 13:23.460 this make in our daily lives? What this means is that because of what Jesus has done, because of 13:23.460 --> 13:25.240 the ascended reality of Jesus, 13:25.900 --> 13:28.460 there are no more sacrifices that need to be offered. 13:29.220 --> 13:31.380 There's no more incense that needs to be burned. 13:31.800 --> 13:33.820 There are no more candles that need to be lit. 13:34.180 --> 13:36.560 There's no more showbread that needs to be put out. 13:36.560 --> 13:42.840 The only thing needed now is for us to believe and receive 13:42.840 --> 13:48.360 what Jesus has already accomplished for us in his finished work 13:48.360 --> 13:54.780 on the cross. The third truth that we can learn about Jesus from the ascension is this. 13:54.780 --> 14:08.580 The fact that Jesus's seat is positioned so far above everyone else shows us that he has authority over everyone else. Look with me in the book of 14:08.580 --> 14:17.660 Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of his 14:17.660 --> 14:28.640 power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, 14:28.880 --> 14:30.519 that's the resurrection, 14:30.520 --> 14:35.040 and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places, 14:35.600 --> 14:37.099 that's the ascension, 14:37.100 --> 14:43.280 far above all principality and power and might and dominion 14:43.280 --> 14:47.460 and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in 14:47.460 --> 14:58.060 that age which is to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all 14:58.060 --> 15:06.840 things. This passage reminds me of a skyscraper office building. Let's say there's a company that owns an entire 15:06.840 --> 15:15.220 skyscraper office building. Let me ask you, which floor is the boss's office on? Is the boss's 15:15.220 --> 15:22.780 office on the ground floor or on the top floor? The top floor, that's right. When the office that 15:22.780 --> 15:26.700 you're sitting in is on the top floor above everyone else, 15:26.740 --> 15:34.620 that means you are the boss over everyone else who is seated below you. Well, what does it mean then 15:34.620 --> 15:41.380 when the office you are sitting in is so far up, it's all the way up in heaven? What that means 15:41.380 --> 15:46.300 is that you are the boss of everyone and everything because everyone else 15:46.300 --> 15:52.580 in existence is seated below you. Or as this passage says, everything else is under your feet. 15:53.340 --> 16:00.800 You see, the ascension shows us that Jesus is the boss. Jesus is the one who has been given 16:00.800 --> 16:11.360 the ultimate authority over every other kind of authority there is. And that's why Jesus' office is higher than everyone else's office. 16:12.160 --> 16:20.260 You see, the result of the ascension is that Jesus' office is higher than the Oval Office. 16:21.240 --> 16:27.840 Jesus' house is higher than the House of representatives. Jesus's chambers are higher 16:27.840 --> 16:34.040 than the Supreme Court chambers. Jesus's office is higher than your boss's office, 16:34.040 --> 16:40.100 where you lost your job. Jesus's office is higher than the psychologist's office, 16:40.380 --> 16:46.720 where you found out that you have depression or anxiety. Jesus' office is higher than the doctor's office 16:46.720 --> 16:49.760 where you were told that you had six months left to live. 16:50.720 --> 16:54.820 Jesus' office is higher than the office at the mortuary 16:54.820 --> 16:57.140 where you picked out the casket 16:57.140 --> 16:59.020 that your loved one would be buried in. 17:00.180 --> 17:04.160 Jesus' office is not only higher than all other offices, 17:04.160 --> 17:07.860 but his headquarters are higher than all 17:07.860 --> 17:13.240 the other headquarters of all the other religions of the world. You see, Jesus's headquarters are 17:13.240 --> 17:19.460 higher than the religious headquarters in the Vatican. Jesus's headquarters are higher than 17:19.460 --> 17:25.300 the religious headquarters in Mecca. Jesus' headquarters are higher than the religious headquarters in Salt 17:25.300 --> 17:32.700 Lake City. You see, the ascension reminds us that Jesus is seated in a position of power so high 17:32.700 --> 17:40.600 that he is high above all other kinds of authority in existence. Jesus' power is above all the other 17:40.600 --> 17:48.300 powers. Now, this idea of Jesus being higher than everyone else also includes being 17:48.300 --> 17:56.400 higher than his enemies. And that's why this passage also reminds me of the medal award ceremony 17:56.400 --> 18:07.940 at the end of the Olympics. Let me ask you, at the end of the Olympics, when the medals are being handed out, where is the champion positioned 18:07.940 --> 18:16.140 in relation to all the other competitors? Is the champion on the bottom of the podium below 18:16.140 --> 18:23.040 everyone else, or is the champion on the top of the podium above everyone else? The top, right? 18:23.120 --> 18:27.540 The top of the podium above everyone else. Far above all the 18:27.540 --> 18:34.060 other competitors. And that's symbolic. The fact that they stand in the highest spot is a symbol 18:34.060 --> 18:42.160 that they are superior to everyone else. Well, guess what? Jesus is the ultimate Olympic champion. 18:42.720 --> 18:47.440 He is superior to everyone else. He has blown away all of the competition. 18:47.920 --> 18:50.500 And that's why Jesus gets to be positioned 18:50.500 --> 18:54.900 at the top of the tallest award podium in all of existence, 18:55.240 --> 18:56.720 high above all his enemies, 18:57.060 --> 18:58.700 an award podium so tall 18:58.700 --> 19:01.640 that the top of it is up in heaven itself. 19:02.260 --> 19:03.960 And how did Jesus get there? 19:03.960 --> 19:07.480 How did Jesus get to be positioned on the top 19:07.480 --> 19:10.280 of the tallest award podium in all of reality? 19:11.460 --> 19:15.180 By being ascended to the right hand of God. 19:16.020 --> 19:18.180 The next truth that we can learn 19:18.180 --> 19:21.060 from the ascension about who Jesus is, is this. 19:21.820 --> 19:28.220 Because Jesus is sitting down at the right hand of God, he can serve as our great 19:28.220 --> 19:35.380 lawyer who is sitting up in the judge's bench right next to the judge. Look with me at Romans 19:35.380 --> 19:46.860 chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 verse 34. This verse begins by asking a very important question. Here's the question. Who is he who condemns? 19:47.280 --> 19:54.620 What that means is this. Is there anyone who's going to be able to successfully bring a charge 19:54.620 --> 20:09.100 against us in God's heavenly court? That's the question. And the answer is no. Why not? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of 20:09.100 --> 20:16.200 God, that's the ascension, who also makes intercession for us. Let me ask you guys, 20:16.200 --> 20:22.720 in a courtroom, where is the judge seated in comparison to everyone else in a courtroom? 20:23.120 --> 20:26.440 Is a judge seated lower than everyone else in the courtroom or higher than everyone else in a courtroom. Is a judge seated lower than everyone else in the courtroom 20:26.440 --> 20:29.000 or higher than everyone else in the courtroom? 20:29.680 --> 20:31.080 Higher, that's right. 20:31.340 --> 20:35.140 The judge's seat is usually the highest seat in the courtroom. 20:35.700 --> 20:36.659 Well, guess what? 20:36.660 --> 20:38.200 That's where Jesus is seated. 20:38.800 --> 20:41.820 Jesus is seated in the highest seat of all 20:41.820 --> 20:46.800 in the highest courtroom of all courtrooms. In this verse, 20:47.360 --> 20:54.220 the curtains get pulled back and we get a glimpse into the courtroom of heaven. And what do we see 20:54.220 --> 20:59.820 in this glimpse of the courtroom of heaven? We see Jesus sitting up there in the judge's bench 20:59.820 --> 21:08.240 right next to the judge. He is our lawyer sitting next to the judge giving a defense for us. 21:08.840 --> 21:16.420 You see, sitting next to the judge gives Jesus the perfect position to make intercession for us, 21:16.420 --> 21:28.520 as this passage says. Now, what does that mean? What does it mean that Jesus is making intercession for us? Well, to intercede means to plead someone's case 21:28.520 --> 21:35.340 in their defense. And so I think what this verse is saying is that Jesus is like our heavenly 21:35.340 --> 21:41.880 defense attorney who is constantly arguing our case on our behalf to God his Father. 21:42.520 --> 21:47.880 Let me ask you, how would you like to have Jesus Christ as your defense 21:47.880 --> 21:53.480 attorney? I mean, imagine you broke some horrible crime. You did some horrible thing. Imagine it 21:53.480 --> 21:58.160 comes the day for your trial, and you're walking into the trial, and you think, I am dead meat. What 21:58.160 --> 22:05.860 I did was so bad. There's no way out of this. I am in big trouble. But then as you walk into the courtroom, you look up and you're 22:05.860 --> 22:13.080 shocked to see your defense attorney sitting up in the bench with the judge. And it gets 22:13.080 --> 22:18.380 even better. You look closely and you realize that your defense attorney is the judge's son. 22:19.040 --> 22:24.600 And then it gets even better. You realize your defense attorney is Jesus Christ himself. Now at 22:24.600 --> 22:26.000 that point, you'd start feeling 22:26.000 --> 22:31.320 pretty good about your odds, wouldn't you? I mean, every time the prosecuting attorney brings a charge 22:31.320 --> 22:37.040 against us, Jesus gets that charge thrown out of court. Every time an accusation is brought against 22:37.040 --> 22:43.600 us, Jesus, our defense attorney, leans over and speaks to his father, the judge, on our behalf. 22:44.280 --> 22:46.340 Jesus says, oh, oh, don't worry about that crime. 22:46.660 --> 22:48.540 I've already served the time for that one. 22:48.880 --> 22:51.080 Oh, yeah, yeah, we don't need to listen to these guys 22:51.080 --> 22:53.300 because we know that that evidence 22:53.300 --> 22:56.620 has already been ruled as inadmissible. 22:57.220 --> 22:59.360 And so the prosecuting attorney gets frustrated 22:59.360 --> 23:00.460 and tries harder. 23:00.620 --> 23:02.020 Judge, you gotta listen to me. 23:02.380 --> 23:03.860 That Brian, he's done a lot of sin. 23:04.040 --> 23:11.240 He does not deserve to go to heaven. And Jesus leans over to the father and says, you know, the prosecutor is right. 23:12.080 --> 23:18.180 Brian has done a lot of sin. Brian does not deserve to go to heaven, but his sin has already 23:18.180 --> 23:28.140 been taken care of when I died for him. You see, Jesus, our defense attorney, amen. Jesus, our defense attorney, is sitting 23:28.140 --> 23:36.200 up there with the judge, constantly whispering in the judge's ear. In other words, Jesus has the 23:36.200 --> 23:48.340 judge's ear. Did you know it doesn't matter who the prosecuting attorney is if your defense attorney has an in with the judge. And you know what? Jesus has the 23:48.340 --> 23:56.240 biggest in of all time with the highest judge of all. And so if Jesus is our defense attorney in 23:56.240 --> 24:02.040 God's court, then we can rest easy because we already know what the final verdict is going to 24:02.040 --> 24:05.720 be. We already know which way our case is going to end up 24:05.720 --> 24:13.300 in the end. Because of the ascension, Jesus is seated on the judge's bench right next to the 24:13.300 --> 24:19.760 judge at his right hand, constantly making intercession for us, constantly pleading our case 24:19.760 --> 24:27.740 for us. The fifth truth that we can learn about Jesus from the ascension is this. By going up 24:27.740 --> 24:36.060 into heaven, Jesus has paved the way so that we can follow him. Look with me again in the New 24:36.060 --> 24:49.000 Testament at the book of Hebrews. This time, let's look at Hebrews chapter 6, beginning in verse 19. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, 24:49.560 --> 24:51.640 both sure and steadfast, 24:52.240 --> 24:55.580 and which enters the presence behind the veil 24:55.580 --> 24:58.360 where the forerunner, that's Jesus, 24:58.360 --> 25:02.040 has entered for us, even Jesus. 25:02.800 --> 25:08.340 In this passage, we have a very vivid word picture of what happened when Jesus 25:08.340 --> 25:17.100 ascended into heaven. This passage says that Jesus was our forerunner who planted an anchor in heaven 25:17.100 --> 25:28.340 so that we could follow. This word picture reminds me of what happens when you go mountain climbing. When you go mountain climbing, the best climber goes first. 25:28.740 --> 25:35.100 And when they reach the top, they plant an anchor so that the rest of the climbers can follow. 25:35.900 --> 25:40.920 I think that's kind of what this passage means when it calls Jesus our forerunner. 25:41.100 --> 25:48.320 What is a forerunner. What is a forerunner? A forerunner is someone who runs up ahead before everyone else 25:48.320 --> 25:56.080 to make a path for others to follow. In World War II, D-Day was the day that the Allies invaded 25:56.080 --> 26:02.040 Normandy Beach. And there was an elite group of special forces who were called Pathfinders, 26:02.360 --> 26:07.120 who parachuted into enemy territory hours ahead of everyone else. 26:07.480 --> 26:12.860 And once these pathfinders made it to the right location, then they would shine a light straight 26:12.860 --> 26:20.820 up into the air so that the rest of the parachuters would know where to follow. Jesus is our pathfinder 26:20.820 --> 26:27.320 who's gone ahead of us to light up the way. Jesus is our forerunner who went on ahead of 26:27.320 --> 26:34.340 us so that we could also one day follow, so that we could go where Jesus has went, so that we could 26:34.340 --> 26:48.840 join Jesus where he is. The ascension shows us that those of us who believe in Jesus, that when we die, we will go to be where our forerunner already is, way up high 26:48.840 --> 26:57.060 in heaven. Remember what Jesus promised to his followers before he ascended. He promised, 26:57.060 --> 27:10.500 I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, you may be also. Now this morning, we have barely scratched the surface 27:10.500 --> 27:17.060 of what the ascension tells us about Jesus and what it means for our daily lives. But even though 27:17.060 --> 27:27.660 we've just barely scratched the surface, what we've already seen is that when Jesus went up and sat down, it was as a triumphant warrior king 27:27.660 --> 27:34.400 returning victorious from battle. It was as a priest who had finished his work. It was as an 27:34.400 --> 27:41.500 authority who is above all other authorities. It was as an attorney who has the judge's ear. It was 27:41.500 --> 27:48.480 as a forerunner who paved the way for us. And so my hope this morning is that 27:48.480 --> 27:55.780 from this message, we have gained one more important way to think about Jesus. Let me ask you, 27:56.540 --> 28:05.820 what do you envision in your mind's eye when you think about Jesus? What scene do you imagine when you're thinking about Jesus? 28:06.560 --> 28:12.700 Do you envision the scene of the baby lying in the manger? Do you envision the scene of the bloody 28:12.700 --> 28:18.660 corpse hanging on the cross? Do you envision the scene of the resurrected king coming out of the 28:18.660 --> 28:28.580 tomb? And of course, all of those are true and important images of who Jesus is. But let's not forget the image of Jesus 28:28.580 --> 28:34.860 that we have learned about today. The image of where Jesus is right now. The ascended Lord 28:34.860 --> 28:46.900 sitting at the right hand of God in heaven. Now in conclusion this morning, I want us to look at one more, a sixth truth that we can learn about Jesus 28:46.900 --> 28:55.260 from the ascension. And here it is. The fact that Jesus went up into heaven is a reminder that one 28:55.260 --> 29:05.780 day Jesus will come back down from heaven. In other words, Jesus' ascension anticipates his second coming. 29:06.260 --> 29:09.080 Look with me in the New Testament at the book of Acts. 29:09.640 --> 29:12.500 Look with me at Acts chapter 1, verse 9. 29:13.220 --> 29:17.920 This is another passage that describes what happened during Jesus' ascension. 29:17.920 --> 29:19.800 In verse 9, it said, 29:20.240 --> 29:24.200 Now while he had spoken these things, while Jesus had spoken these things, 29:24.640 --> 29:27.120 while they watched, while his disciples watched, 29:27.120 --> 29:30.540 he was taken up, that's the ascension, 29:31.180 --> 29:34.240 and a cloud received him out of their sight. 29:34.840 --> 29:38.620 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, 29:39.220 --> 29:42.580 behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 29:42.960 --> 29:48.020 who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? 29:48.620 --> 29:52.700 This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, 29:53.260 --> 29:58.800 will so come in like manner as you saw him go up into heaven. 29:59.460 --> 30:01.800 As Jesus ascends back up into heaven, 30:02.320 --> 30:05.140 his followers are staring up in amazement, 30:06.640 --> 30:08.719 dumbfounded, looking into the sky. 30:08.720 --> 30:10.840 But then these two angels appear and they let the disciples know 30:10.840 --> 30:14.880 that one day Jesus would come back down 30:14.880 --> 30:18.800 in the same way that they had just seen him go up. 30:19.460 --> 30:20.860 You see, on the day of ascension, 30:21.600 --> 30:24.480 Jesus went up and sat down. 30:26.980 --> 30:28.000 But on the day of ascension, Jesus went up and sat down. But on the day of the second coming, 30:35.960 --> 30:47.900 Jesus will stand up and come down. And when he does, he will rescue his people. He will defeat his enemies, and he will judge the earth in righteousness. And so here's the big question. What will you do to get ready for that day today? 30:49.260 --> 30:52.540 Jesus went up and sat down. 30:53.100 --> 30:57.200 And one day, he will stand up and come down. 30:58.080 --> 31:03.200 This morning, will you step out and come forward? 31:04.040 --> 31:07.080 In just a moment, we're going to have what we call a time of 31:07.080 --> 31:12.260 invitation. Both here and on the All Drive campus, we're going to stand and we're going to sing, 31:12.660 --> 31:19.540 and I'm going to invite you to give your life to Jesus today. Perhaps this morning, as you've been 31:19.540 --> 31:24.320 sitting here, God has laid some decision on your heart. There's something that he's tugging on you 31:24.320 --> 31:25.780 about. Whatever 31:25.780 --> 31:30.180 the decision is, we're going to have people here at the front who would love to help you with whatever 31:30.180 --> 31:36.520 God's doing in your heart. Maybe this morning you've realized that you've never really given 31:36.520 --> 31:41.760 your life to Jesus in the first place, and you know that you need to give your life to Jesus today. 31:42.800 --> 31:47.140 Jesus lived the perfect life for you. He died for your sins. 31:47.600 --> 31:52.480 He came back from the dead for you. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and one day he's 31:52.480 --> 31:57.880 coming back. And the only way to be saved, the only way to be forgiven of our sins, is to believe in 31:57.880 --> 32:02.640 him. And so if you've never done that before, please believe in him today. As soon as we start 32:02.640 --> 32:05.680 singing, step out, come forward, let someone know 32:05.680 --> 32:13.380 about that decision. Maybe today you want to get baptized. Baptism is the way that we let everybody 32:13.380 --> 32:19.180 know that we've already believed in Jesus. When somebody gets baptized, they get dunked under the 32:19.180 --> 32:26.040 water and they get pulled out. And what they're doing is they're putting on a little play. They are symbolically letting everybody know 32:26.040 --> 32:28.940 that they believe that Jesus was alive, 32:29.440 --> 32:31.800 that he got dunked into death, 32:31.800 --> 32:35.580 and then he got pulled out on the third day. 32:36.100 --> 32:38.320 And so if you'd like to find out more about getting baptized, 32:38.320 --> 32:40.920 as soon as we stand and start singing, come forward. 32:40.960 --> 32:42.620 We'd love to talk to you more about baptism. 32:43.180 --> 32:49.580 Maybe you're interested in officially joining this church. Maybe you've been coming for a while, or maybe this is your first 32:49.580 --> 32:53.760 Sunday with us, but you've come to the point where you go, you know what? I've seen everything I need 32:53.760 --> 33:00.440 to see. I want to make this church my official spiritual home and my official faith family. 33:01.020 --> 33:04.780 If that's you, as soon as we start singing, come forward. We'd love to talk to you about joining 33:04.780 --> 33:09.320 the church. Maybe you need to rededicate your life. Maybe you gave your life to Jesus a 33:09.320 --> 33:14.860 long time ago, but something has happened, and at some point along the way, you've drifted, and now 33:14.860 --> 33:22.740 you're far away from God. If that's you, don't wait to come back to him. He's waiting for you right now. 33:23.460 --> 33:26.200 Rededicate your life. Come forward. Let someone know about 33:26.200 --> 33:31.900 that so we can help you with that. Perhaps today you need to come forward and publicly surrender 33:31.900 --> 33:38.460 your life to ministry. Maybe God's been working in your heart and you feel like God is calling 33:38.460 --> 33:45.000 you into ministry in some way to be a pastor or a missionary or a church planner or a church replanner. 33:51.340 --> 33:57.920 God has been doing something big in our church. Within the last year, 18 people have come forward in the worship services at this invitation time to let their church family publicly know 33:57.920 --> 34:03.100 that they feel like God is calling them into ministry. And so if that's you, let us know. We 34:03.100 --> 34:09.200 need to help you take the next steps. Come forward as soon as we start singing. Maybe it's not a decision you need to make today, 34:09.200 --> 34:12.660 but maybe you just need prayer for something that's weighing on your heart. 34:13.100 --> 34:17.260 Maybe something's happening in your life or in the life of someone you care about, and you just need 34:17.260 --> 34:23.300 some prayer. We are a praying church, and we would love to pray with you this morning. And so if you 34:23.300 --> 34:25.460 need prayer, as soon as we stand and sing, 34:25.560 --> 34:27.920 come forward so that someone can pray for you. 34:27.960 --> 34:31.600 Whatever it is, set aside all the objections 34:31.600 --> 34:32.900 that have been holding you back. 34:33.340 --> 34:35.320 Lay down everything that has made you hesitant 34:35.320 --> 34:38.020 and just follow whatever it is 34:38.020 --> 34:40.640 that Jesus wants you to do right now. 34:41.420 --> 34:44.379 Let's pray together. 34:44.380 --> 34:47.520 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that you love us so much. 34:48.780 --> 34:53.360 And that you love us so much that you sent Jesus to do so much for us. 34:53.660 --> 34:56.660 To be born of a virgin for us. 34:57.260 --> 35:00.700 To live a perfect sinless life for us. 35:01.100 --> 35:04.220 To die on the cross for us. 35:04.460 --> 35:09.900 To come back from the dead for us, to die on the cross for us, to come back from the dead for us, to ascend to the right hand 35:09.900 --> 35:16.640 of the Father, where we know that one day he will come back. God, I pray, Lord, if there is any 35:16.640 --> 35:21.500 decision that you want us to make, I pray, God, that you'll give us the grace and the strength 35:21.500 --> 35:26.080 to make that decision today, to stop delaying, to stop procrastinating, 35:26.200 --> 35:31.260 to stop hesitating, but to give in this morning. God, if there's anyone here who needs prayer, 35:31.720 --> 35:36.440 please give them the courage to come forward and get the prayer that they need. Whatever it is, 35:36.440 --> 35:43.500 Lord, help us to follow you in this holy moment. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 35:44.460 --> 36:07.940 Thanks for listening today. We hope you enjoyed this message, and if you did, we would be so In Jesus' name we pray, amen. through salvation, service, or giving. Don't wait. Reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 36:08.220 --> 36:10.520 That's podcast to 88988 36:10.520 --> 36:13.440 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 36:14.100 --> 36:17.200 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 36:17.200 --> 36:19.200 to find even more great resources. 36:19.720 --> 36:21.560 No matter where you are in your journey, 36:22.080 --> 36:23.100 know that we love you. 36:23.360 --> 36:24.540 We're praying for you 36:24.540 --> 36:27.540 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.