Ascension Day 2018 The Sequel

The ascension of Jesus produced joy because the disciples realized what amazing benefits would come to them when Jesus returned to the Father.... When Jesus ascended, all the promises regarding the Spirit's ministry to the disciples were about to be fulfilled. The disciples accepted His ascension, for they had accepted Jesus' word about the promised One to come. Their doubts and fears were gone. They were convinced of who He was. They knew that He died to forgive them of their sins. They knew He was alive from the dead. In His resurrection, they had hope in victory over death. They trusted Him. For these reasons, Jesus' departure gave the disciples joy. The benefits of the ascension are many: When Jesus ascended and sat down at the Father's right hand, the Father verified the accomplishment of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and confirmed that the final payment for sin had been made. (Heb.10: 11-14) . When Jesus ascended, the intercessory work of Jesus on behalf of His people began. In this ministry, we are assured that we will always have access to the Father forever (1 John 2: 1) . When Jesus ascended, His eternal reign over all enemies began. As Peter wrote, "Now that He has gone into heaven, He is at God's right hand with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him" (1 Pet.3: 22) . Finally, when Jesus ascended, the church was empowered to accomplish its mission. In Ephesians 1: 22-23, writing about Jesus' resurrection and ascension, Paul said, "[God the Father] put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way." Jesus Christ is the King of the universe, and Satan can do nothing about it. Jesus Christ is the King of the universe, and Satan can do nothing about it. What Satan can do is tempt us to forget about Jesus as King. He uses a thousand tricks to do it, but he is after one thing— to eclipse our present awareness of who Jesus is and where He is. In the Book of Acts, Stephen, right before being stoned, looked up into heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. The New Testament points us to this picture so that we will have a settled confidence that Jesus our Savior is the King over all things. Joy, hope, and mission are three consistent responses of the disciples to Christ's resurrection and ascension. In light of these two great events, we see the disciples transformed and mobilized to follow Jesus on His mission. Joy, hope, and mission are three consistent responses of the disciples to Christ's resurrection and ascension. We go forward with hope and joy because the King of the universe promises that He will never leave or forsake us. If we want to experience greater transformation and the joy of following Jesus on mission, we should build our confidence on the finished and sufficient work of Jesus Christ. The resurrection and ascension testify to the completion and perfection of His work.... Excerpted from: The Gospel Project for Adults - God's Story Part 2 About the author: Keith Whitfield lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with his wife and two children. He teaches Christian Theology at Southeastern Seminary. Before joining the faculty at Southeastern, he spent two years teaching and training church planters in Nashville, Tennessee, and five years as a pastor in southeast Virginia. About The CELEBRATION OF ASCENSION DAY of 2018, The Sequel