Word of Salvation – Vol.23 No.25 – March 1977

 

As Jesus Went, So Shall He Return

 

Sermon by Rev. P. J. Berghouse on Acts 1:11

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:1-14

Psalter Hymnal: 132; 152 (law); 125 (off); 446 (after Sermon); 469; 366

 

Congregation, Beloved of the Lord, Young People, Boys and Girls,

In a world in which most people are desperately looking for a ‘way-out’ for something to ‘save them from the mess’ WE TOO are faced with the question: “In which direction are YOU looking for your ‘Saviour’?”

“On WHAT have you set your HOPE for a way out of your problems?”

Where IS your Saviour?
Somewhere in a STRONGHOLD safe-deposit in the bank?
Can your Salvation be found in the BOOKS on your shelf?
Many people think that ‘EDUCATION’ will help them solve their problems in life.
Others look to their parents; or a friend perhaps, hoping to find a shoulder-to-cry-on.

Now, ALL these things and people are good to make life a bit more comfortable.  But they ALL have one failure in common; Every one of them belongs to this CREATED world and therefore can NOT give EVERLASTING relief from sorrow.  Even IF….. they comfort you till the day you die, AFTER that you stand before the Judgement seat of God, only to find that all your hopes and trusts were MIS-directed!

When on the other hand your SAVIOUR is found to be in heaven; when you have your hope and trust set on the One who REPRESENTS you before that judgement seat; THEN you will find that the ‘Peace of heaven’ ALREADY influences your life while you are still on earth!

Some people think that it is SILLY to talk about heaven in this way.  Such talk is all TOO VAGUE for their liking.  They call it a “Pie-in-the-sky religion”.  They are more willing to put their trust in the things they can SEE, than in the things UNseen.

Such people treat their SPIRITUAL life, just like a child treats a toy:

They are not satisfied until they can pull it to pieces to see what the ‘inside’ looks like.  And when the springs and things are scattered all around them they give you a triumphant grin, as if they want to say: “See, I have SOLVED all the mysteries…. I was mystified, as to how a dead thing like that could MOVE; but it is simple all these gadgets USED to make it tick!”  And then – the inevitable: “Dad, can YOU please put it together again???”

Young people,
Are YOU inclined to……. “wanting to pull the mysteries of heaven to pieces” JUST to see what it is like on the inside?  RATHER than to ENJOY the gifts-from-heaven….. IN THEIR WORKING CONDITION????  ONE of the Gifts is Christ’s ASCENSION into heaven.  Let us see what this Gift tells us about GOD, about Jesus Christ, and about YOU and ME!

HOW would you REACT, if all of a sudden someone was lifted from the ground by some INVISIBLE POWER, and kept on going until he was out- of-sight????

Would you not be curious and excited?  I am sure, that many people would come and look, and keep on looking – in AMAZEMENT.

Well, when Jesus went back to heaven,….. only the disciples were there.
And THEY stood there….. LOOKING!
And they kept on looking
….they kept on WONDERING…….

They had seen some mighty miracles:
they had seen DEAD people being brought back to life;
but they had NEVER seen anything like THIS!
“What on earth, was the meaning of Jesus
being lifted up into heaven like THIS???”

THEN the ANGELS came, as God’s messengers, to explain this gift from heaven called ‘Ascension’.  Yes, they told the disciples the Gospel of Ascension Day………!!
“WHY do you stand there…. looking?
“THIS Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will RETURN in just the same way!”

HERE then is the meaning of Ascension:
Jesus indeed went to heaven;
and He SHALL return!
Ascension means an END as well as a BEGINNING.

It is the end of Jesus’ life-on-earth (in the physical sense that is!)
And it means the beginning of Jesus’ WORK in heaven.

Ascension Day, therefore was really the beginning of THAT period of time, that will end when Jesus shall return!  Unless you keep THESE two things in mind, you WILL be just like the disciples that day: standing there, staring and startled!  Unless you accept the Gospel Message of the angels, you will NEVER be able to ENJOY the Gift, which God gave to His people on Ascension Day.

Technically speaking, you may pull it to pieces.  You may THINK that you understand some of the Mysteries involved; but you will NEVER be able to make it work – you will never be able to ENJOY the outworking of it because ONLY GOD the Father can make it work!

Today, through God’s Word, the angels are here, and they tell us: “DON’T BE STARTLED…. but EXPECT!”  Let us then listen to the angels, as they bring us the Gospel:

            “AS JESUS WENT, SO SHALL HE RETURN”

…and we hear:
1).  The Ascension leads to the Return, and…
2)  The Return CROWNS the Ascension.

First: The Ascension LEADS TO the Return!

As far as many people are concerned, Christ finished – not only His WORK but also His LIFE on Good Friday!  AFTER THAT…… the CHRISTIANS take over…… It is up to THEM to carry on the work of ‘Peace-among-men’ that Christ had started.  The SPIRIT of Christ lives on in His people; but He Himself died on the cross, and THAT was it!

Consider, however, how the Angels tell the story:

“This Jesus who HAS BEEN TAKEN UP from you into heaven.”

You see, the stress is on what SOME ONE ELSE did TO Jesus.  Other passages in the Bible show that Jesus Himself was taking an ACTIVE part in His Ascension.  But HERE it is looked at from another side:……!  Not so much – Jesus WENT up.
But even more The Father TOOK Jesus up to Himself!

Here again we see the emphasis the Bible places on the fact that
it is GOD who works;
HE is busy saving His people.

Thus, in the context of the History as it unfolds throughout the ages, we see GOD’S mighty acts gradually being uncovered.  And in THIS context, the Ascension is the ‘Greatest-but-one’ event in history.

THE greatest moment in all of History is described in 1Corinthians 15:
“Jesus shall deliver up the kingdom to GOD, even the Father….. that GOD shall be all and in all!”
Yes, THEN sings EACH SOUL: “How GREAT THOU ART..!”

But THAT climax can never be reached UNLESS Christ had been TAKEN up first by the Father.  By doing this, GOD the Father showed that HE is satisfied with ALL that Jesus did during His life on earth.  God the Creator, is satisfied that Jesus, the Second Adam, faithfully and satisfactorily fulfilled all the demands made upon man in the Covenant of Works.

Yes, God is so satisfied with what Jesus did that He is willing to give the PROMISED LIFE, to ALL who believe in Jesus as the Second Adam.

And at the SAME TIME, God is satisfied, that the sufferings of Jesus, the Saviour, were sufficient to pay the WHOLE PENALTY, which fell on man for NOT keeping the Covenant of Works.

God the Father had given TWO tasks to His Son Jesus: ONE was to BE, and remain OBEDIENT under ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.  The OTHER was to bear the consequences of man’s REBELLION, JESUS fulfilled these two tasks completely and satisfactorily; and THEREFORE, the Father took Jesus BACK into heaven!

The Gospel of Ascension is that GOD is Satisfied; and SO, the stage is set for the RETURN of the Lord on the clouds – just as the disciples had seen Him go, SO He shall come again!

Thus, the fact that Jesus was taken up INTO HEAVEN is of great comfort and encouragement for the believers; for heaven is the place where GOD is always ACTIVE!  It is a place of PEACE, yes!, but within that peace Jesus can WORK…… UNDISTURBED on the salvation of His people.

As our Lord Himself put it; HE is preparing a place for us!  The New Jerusalem does not ‘grow’ on this earth it will come DOWN out of Heaven!

THIS Brothers and Sisters, Young People, Boys and Girls.
THIS is where Ascension leads:
The new EARTH and the new HEAVEN,
WHERE there shall be RIGHTEOUSNESS in everything!

And, what is more, Ascension assures us that all this is GOD’S WORK!  In whatever WE do, we can be no more – but are doing NO LESS either – than being INSTRUMENTS in God’s hands.

Oh, how we LOVE to talk about God being at work IN us.  That indeed is a great COMFORT to all who struggle with their shortcomings!

But our Lord also works THROUGH us.
THAT indeed is a great CHALLENGE.

For, the first requirement for being ‘fit-for-the-Master’s use’ is TOTAL SURRENDER…… ALL our thinking; all our studying, our schoolwork, our home- work, our work for others, etc. may now all be done in the framework – NOT of how do I get any better by it; BUT… .my Master is in Heaven, and I may fulfil the mandate HE has given me.  I may do HIS work!

Young people,
does YOUR life and work give an indication, that YOU are an instrument in Jesus’ hands???  Is our life-style, SO much determined by the coming-again of our Lord, that the world can notice that we ARE different?

Whereas the world lives on in rebellion against its Maker; do WE show our joyful OBEDIENCE to Him?  We, who are partakers in the RESURRECTION of Christ, being raised to a new life-of-fellowship with Him, do we really mean business, in our fight against the devil, the world, and our own flesh?

Is it, that we are quite satisfied, to let the world wallow in the smut of permissiveness; – are we quite satisfied to let the government ENCOURAGE down- grading practices amongst the citizens – AS LONG AS WE can be sure that Christ is preparing a place for US????

Have we no RESPONSIBILITY placed upon us by our ASCENDED LORD?  Does His Ascension not lead to His RETURN WHEN HE SHALL JUDGE THE NATIONS????

Yes, there is both comfort and challenge in heaven’s Gift of Ascension Day!

Secondly let us consider that…

THE RETURN OF CHRIST CROWNS HIS ASCENSION

Jesus had been taken away from His disciples.  THAT must have been a severe blow to them.

BUT….. so says the angel: “Jesus will come again in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

We have seen that His being taken up, was an expression of God’s approval, over the work He had done on earth.  So also the RETURN of our Lord, can only take place because God is satisfied with the work done IN HEAVEN!…….!  Jesus will NOT return until every place is perfectly prepared!  And also on earth history shall have run its full course!

Ah, you see, WE might often wonder – WHAT-on-earth is going to happen next?  WE tend to give up in dismay, when we see the world crack up all around us!  But the Gospel of Ascension tells us: “Fear NOT THE LORD is at work; and one day God the Father shall say: WELL DONE IT IS FINISHED!”  THIS is what God PROMISES us, that this SHALL happen.  Is there then any reason for us to fear otherwise???

At the same time, Christ’s return CROWNS His Ascension in that He will return….. IN PERSON!

Some people are happy to think that it is no more than an IDEA.

Time and again, you can hear people talk about certain ‘Christian IDEALS’ such as honesty, love, kindness, and other such things.

The trouble is of course, that IDEAS develop in the human mind; and IDEALS are things which humans STRIVE for.  But Christianity is NOT about things thought up by man; IT is all about a PERSON who shall RETURN!  It is about JESUS CHRIST, the Saviour of the world, who’s work on earth AND IN HEAVEN, is perfectly acceptable as far as the Creator is concerned!

No, Christianity is NOT a ‘Pie in the sky’ at all!  Christ’s return shall be like His Ascension: but THEN…. EVERYBODY shall see Him.  The eyes of ALL shall be opened to the fact that JESUS is the KEY FIGURE in the whole of creation.  Everything and everyone shall be judged – according to their relationship to HIM.  Those who believe in Him, shall be judged as belonging TO Him; those who kept on rejecting Him shall be judged in line with the Covenant of Works, which they have broken – thus deserving condemnation.

WHY then would you continue to stand there – STARING up into heaven – PUZZLED about the mysteries of GOD’s great works – TRYING to work out, how on earth all this is possible???

Ah, indeed, you are LOOKING in the RIGHT DIRECTION!  Your Saviour is NOT to be found anywhere on earth.  He…. has gone to heaven GOD took Him away from you; NOT to ‘withhold’ Him from you BUT rather to RETURN Him to you as…
THE PERFECTOR OF YOUR SALVATION…..!

As He went, SO shall He return!

WHAT a Gospel..!
WHAT a challenge..!

Amen.