King Forever!
Sermon
Sermons On The Gospel Readings
Series I, Cycle B
Norman Rockwell has a painting titled Lift Up Thine Eyes. Shown in his painting is the magnificent entrance to an urban cathedral. Vaulted high above its carved gothic doors are statues of the prophets, apostles, and martyrs. And right in the center is Jesus Christ, sitting on a throne at the right hand of God. On the sidewalk below the cathedral move the busy throngs of people amidst the noise and fumes of cars and taxis. The pastor of the church has just finished changing the public bulletin board. The sign, written for edification of the passers-by, reads: "Lift Up Thine Eyes!" The irony, of course, is in the scene below. Each person in the passing crowd is caught up with his own thoughts. No one looks up. Most appear gloomy, harried, and depressed. They hurry on with eyes glued to the pavement. Some are lugging their briefcases like millstones.
What a picture of modern life! And today, God's word paints much the same kind of painting for you who have taken time out from counting the cracks in your sidewalks to come into the Church and lift up thine eyes.
In the text Jesus alludes to his resurrection and his return to the right hand of God (John 6:62). The faithful disciples of Jesus struggled to understand that he had the "words of eternal life" and that he was "the Holy One of God." Forty days after the resurrection, the disciples lifted up their eyes to see Jesus lifted up into heaven and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were "continually in the temple blessing God" (Luke 24:53). I wonder: Can you and I glimpse the ascension the same way the apostles did on that hillside near Bethany? Can the ascension make the same difference to us that it made to them? Can we lift up our eyes, witness Christ at the right hand of God, and return to our homes rejoicing and praising God for his salvation? Lift up thine eyes and let's see!
Affirmation
One way to view the ascension is as an affirmation. It's a compliment! In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus' last statement is a transfer of responsibility. The Lord says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." This statement is sometimes referred to as the great commission. Now, a king might commission an artist to do a sculpture or a painting. A church might commission an architect to do a cathedral. But who ever heard of God Almighty giving a commission to a man? Yet this is exactly part of what the ascension means. From the cross Jesus said, "It is finished." His work done, Jesus packed up and ascended to heaven. He left. But before he left, he looked to his disciples as he looks to us today, and he said, "Now it is your turn. I commission you to make disciples. Go to work!"
There is an old legend about our Lord's return to heaven. He walked through the gates of Paradise and a group of angels stopped him and inquired, "From whence have you come?" Jesus said, "I've come from preaching the gospel on earth, from dying on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, from resurrecting, and from commissioning my disciples to carry on my ministry." The angels were astonished at Christ's doings, and one of them said, "You gave mere men such an important task? What if they fail you?" Jesus leveled his eyes at the inquiring angel and said, "No. No. They won't fail me. They won't." See what trust the Lord has in you and me that he commissions us to carry on his work? It's a compliment, a divine affirmation! We must not let him down!
Acquittal
Lift up thine eyes! See the ascension? What does it mean? It's an affirmation. It is also the sign of your acquittal. Listen to what Saint Paul wrote about the ascension in Romans 8:34. "Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us." Paul was pointing out something that might not be so obvious to us today. What do you think it means when scripture says that Christ is at the right hand of God? It means that he shares God's majesty, God's power and authority. But it means something more! In the ancient world when a king judged one of his subjects who had been brought before him for trial, he sat on his throne with a scribe on each side. If the prisoner were pardoned, the scribe on the right side of the king registered it in his record. But if the prisoner were sentenced, the king turned to the scribe on his left and he wrote the name on his ledger. Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The ascension means that Christ is on the forgiving side of God! It means that one day when you as a Christian stand to be judged, the Lord will intercede for you. He will say, "This is one of my faithful disciples. Calvary was for him. Justice is done." And you will be acquitted.
Lift up thine eyes to the ascension! What do you see? It is an affirmation and an acquittal. But it is also a sign of authority.
Authority
Let me ask you an interesting question. What is the highest point in Washington, D.C.? Is it the Washington Monument? No. Is it the Capitol? No. Washington Cathedral is the highest point in our nation's capital. Divine authority rises higher than any mortal's memorial or any law maker's citadel. The same is true of the universe. In Daniel 7:9 the prophet gets a vision of the throne of God. And he sees a man come and take his seat. Who is that man? Is it Caesar? No. Is it Alexander? No. Is it Napoleon? No. Could it be Adolf Hitler? No. It is Jesus Christ! He sits on the throne and is given power and dominion and authority to be King forever!
What does it mean to you and me today that Jesus is King forever? What does it mean that Christ is given ultimate authority? It means that we should make him in our lives right now what he is in the universe, King of kings and Lord of lords! As a minister I am finding out what it means to live under the authority of Christ. People say, "I want my loved one's funeral this way. It was his last will." And quite often that last will is not in line with the Lord's will. That's when I have to say that the Lord's throne, his authority, outranks that of the deceased. I've had to do the same thing with marriage vows, membership vows, and baptisms. It doesn't matter so much what we want on our authority as it matters what Christ wills himself! He rules the world; we do not!
If we are going to take our faith seriously, we have to take the ascension seriously. Heaven's throne is not up for grabs. Nor is it vacant! Jesus sits there with God. And he is a living, willing ruler. He has plans. And as Christians we are responsible for living under his Lordship, under his authority. He is the King. We are the subjects.
Each Sunday we pray the Lord's Prayer. Do we pray it sincerely when we say, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? Do you want God's will for your marriage, for your business? Do you want God's will for your financial life? Does America want God's will for its salvation, its political life?
When George Handel wrote the Messiah it became an immediate sensation. The "Hallelujah Chorus" was and still is the highlight. And it has become customary for the audience to stand during the performance of the chorus. When King George II of England attended the Messiah, he sat listening with great joy. Then, when the "Hallelujah Chorus" was sung, these words of truth filled the theatre. "Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." When the king heard this truth, he rose and removed his crown and bowed his head saying, "Jesus is Lord; I am His subject." God's authority is supreme! Is God supreme in your life? Is Jesus your Lord? Do you bow to him? Have you stood and removed your crown to him? The Bible says that there shall come a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10). It's not a question of will you bow. It is a question of when. Will you bow now while salvation is offered by grace through faith? Or will you bow as a conquered rebel to be judged by the King?
Assurance
Lift up thine eyes! That's the Word of God to you this day! Lift up thine eyes and behold the ascended Christ. He is a symbol of affirmation, acquittal, and authority. And he is one final thing. He is a symbol of assurance!
I asked a Christian this week, "How are you doing?" The plaintive reply was, "Well, Pastor Crotts, under the circumstances I'm doing fair, I guess." My only reply was, "Under the circumstances? What in heaven's name are you doing under the circumstances? You ought to be on top of them! Jesus rules the world. You work for him. Get out from under things and get on top!"
Under the circumstances! Crime -- 23,000 murders last year. Divorce -- nearly forty percent of all marriages ending in a divorce. War -- Afghanistan, Northen Ireland, terrorism, the Mid-East. Under the circumstances! Live porno shows in town, political graft, inflation, spiraling taxes, the energy crisis, over-population, famine, nuclear proliferation, cancer, sleepy little nations awakening to measure their muscle in megatons! Under the circumstances we ought to be depressed. But wait a minute. Who's in charge here? Look at heaven's throne. God Almighty rules. He's got the whole world in his hands. He's got you and me and baby in his hands. He's on top of it all. He is able. And we can crawl out from under the circumstances, we can crawl out of our churches, our little stained glass fox holes, we can quit talking like cynics, pessimists, and get on top of things. God rules! Hallelujah! I saw a bumper sticker on a car. There amidst the depravity of humanity, the bad news of sin, the sticker said, "Rise above it!" That's God's Word to you today in the ascension. "Rise above it!" Get out from under the circumstances. The news is not all bad, get on top. That is where God is!
During World War II a delightful Christian English lady kept a personal diary. It tells of her husband's death in the war effort. It tells of food rationing and the horrible bombing of London. It tells of her children's evacuation to the countryside. One night during the bombings the woman confessed that she woke up and could not get back to sleep. She kept thinking of Hitler, invasion, and the S.S. troops. She trembled until she suddenly thought, "Where is Alexander the Great who gobbled up the world? Where is Caesar's dogmatic rule upheld on the tips of spears? Where is Napoleon? They are all in their graves and come to nought," she wrote. "And that is where Hitler will be, too. The same God reigns!" And she rolled over, laughed, and went back to sleep! The Mid-East, terrorism, crime, abortion -- is this what your eyes are upon? Are you gazing at the world, and glancing at Christ? Rise above it! Lift up your eyes and see! The same God still reigns. Be assured!
What An Exit!
You must admit that Jesus knew how to make a stage exit dramatically. Sir Lawrence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud could make a grand Shakespearean exit. But only Christ in his ascension could leave the stage of God's drama of salvation in such a way as to leave his apostles throughout history feeling affirmed, acquitted, under authority, and assured.
In Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta there is a magnificent ascension window over the Lord's table in the chancel. Every time you worship in the place you are reminded of Christ's rise to power and glory. The architects of the church house wanted always to remind worshipers of where the Lord is. The text today wants to do the same thing for you. Is there an ascension window in your mind? Lift up thine eyes! Where is Jesus? Where are you in relation to him? Brothers and sisters, is it faith? Is it faith?
What a picture of modern life! And today, God's word paints much the same kind of painting for you who have taken time out from counting the cracks in your sidewalks to come into the Church and lift up thine eyes.
In the text Jesus alludes to his resurrection and his return to the right hand of God (John 6:62). The faithful disciples of Jesus struggled to understand that he had the "words of eternal life" and that he was "the Holy One of God." Forty days after the resurrection, the disciples lifted up their eyes to see Jesus lifted up into heaven and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were "continually in the temple blessing God" (Luke 24:53). I wonder: Can you and I glimpse the ascension the same way the apostles did on that hillside near Bethany? Can the ascension make the same difference to us that it made to them? Can we lift up our eyes, witness Christ at the right hand of God, and return to our homes rejoicing and praising God for his salvation? Lift up thine eyes and let's see!
Affirmation
One way to view the ascension is as an affirmation. It's a compliment! In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus' last statement is a transfer of responsibility. The Lord says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." This statement is sometimes referred to as the great commission. Now, a king might commission an artist to do a sculpture or a painting. A church might commission an architect to do a cathedral. But who ever heard of God Almighty giving a commission to a man? Yet this is exactly part of what the ascension means. From the cross Jesus said, "It is finished." His work done, Jesus packed up and ascended to heaven. He left. But before he left, he looked to his disciples as he looks to us today, and he said, "Now it is your turn. I commission you to make disciples. Go to work!"
There is an old legend about our Lord's return to heaven. He walked through the gates of Paradise and a group of angels stopped him and inquired, "From whence have you come?" Jesus said, "I've come from preaching the gospel on earth, from dying on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, from resurrecting, and from commissioning my disciples to carry on my ministry." The angels were astonished at Christ's doings, and one of them said, "You gave mere men such an important task? What if they fail you?" Jesus leveled his eyes at the inquiring angel and said, "No. No. They won't fail me. They won't." See what trust the Lord has in you and me that he commissions us to carry on his work? It's a compliment, a divine affirmation! We must not let him down!
Acquittal
Lift up thine eyes! See the ascension? What does it mean? It's an affirmation. It is also the sign of your acquittal. Listen to what Saint Paul wrote about the ascension in Romans 8:34. "Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us." Paul was pointing out something that might not be so obvious to us today. What do you think it means when scripture says that Christ is at the right hand of God? It means that he shares God's majesty, God's power and authority. But it means something more! In the ancient world when a king judged one of his subjects who had been brought before him for trial, he sat on his throne with a scribe on each side. If the prisoner were pardoned, the scribe on the right side of the king registered it in his record. But if the prisoner were sentenced, the king turned to the scribe on his left and he wrote the name on his ledger. Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The ascension means that Christ is on the forgiving side of God! It means that one day when you as a Christian stand to be judged, the Lord will intercede for you. He will say, "This is one of my faithful disciples. Calvary was for him. Justice is done." And you will be acquitted.
Lift up thine eyes to the ascension! What do you see? It is an affirmation and an acquittal. But it is also a sign of authority.
Authority
Let me ask you an interesting question. What is the highest point in Washington, D.C.? Is it the Washington Monument? No. Is it the Capitol? No. Washington Cathedral is the highest point in our nation's capital. Divine authority rises higher than any mortal's memorial or any law maker's citadel. The same is true of the universe. In Daniel 7:9 the prophet gets a vision of the throne of God. And he sees a man come and take his seat. Who is that man? Is it Caesar? No. Is it Alexander? No. Is it Napoleon? No. Could it be Adolf Hitler? No. It is Jesus Christ! He sits on the throne and is given power and dominion and authority to be King forever!
What does it mean to you and me today that Jesus is King forever? What does it mean that Christ is given ultimate authority? It means that we should make him in our lives right now what he is in the universe, King of kings and Lord of lords! As a minister I am finding out what it means to live under the authority of Christ. People say, "I want my loved one's funeral this way. It was his last will." And quite often that last will is not in line with the Lord's will. That's when I have to say that the Lord's throne, his authority, outranks that of the deceased. I've had to do the same thing with marriage vows, membership vows, and baptisms. It doesn't matter so much what we want on our authority as it matters what Christ wills himself! He rules the world; we do not!
If we are going to take our faith seriously, we have to take the ascension seriously. Heaven's throne is not up for grabs. Nor is it vacant! Jesus sits there with God. And he is a living, willing ruler. He has plans. And as Christians we are responsible for living under his Lordship, under his authority. He is the King. We are the subjects.
Each Sunday we pray the Lord's Prayer. Do we pray it sincerely when we say, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? Do you want God's will for your marriage, for your business? Do you want God's will for your financial life? Does America want God's will for its salvation, its political life?
When George Handel wrote the Messiah it became an immediate sensation. The "Hallelujah Chorus" was and still is the highlight. And it has become customary for the audience to stand during the performance of the chorus. When King George II of England attended the Messiah, he sat listening with great joy. Then, when the "Hallelujah Chorus" was sung, these words of truth filled the theatre. "Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." When the king heard this truth, he rose and removed his crown and bowed his head saying, "Jesus is Lord; I am His subject." God's authority is supreme! Is God supreme in your life? Is Jesus your Lord? Do you bow to him? Have you stood and removed your crown to him? The Bible says that there shall come a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10). It's not a question of will you bow. It is a question of when. Will you bow now while salvation is offered by grace through faith? Or will you bow as a conquered rebel to be judged by the King?
Assurance
Lift up thine eyes! That's the Word of God to you this day! Lift up thine eyes and behold the ascended Christ. He is a symbol of affirmation, acquittal, and authority. And he is one final thing. He is a symbol of assurance!
I asked a Christian this week, "How are you doing?" The plaintive reply was, "Well, Pastor Crotts, under the circumstances I'm doing fair, I guess." My only reply was, "Under the circumstances? What in heaven's name are you doing under the circumstances? You ought to be on top of them! Jesus rules the world. You work for him. Get out from under things and get on top!"
Under the circumstances! Crime -- 23,000 murders last year. Divorce -- nearly forty percent of all marriages ending in a divorce. War -- Afghanistan, Northen Ireland, terrorism, the Mid-East. Under the circumstances! Live porno shows in town, political graft, inflation, spiraling taxes, the energy crisis, over-population, famine, nuclear proliferation, cancer, sleepy little nations awakening to measure their muscle in megatons! Under the circumstances we ought to be depressed. But wait a minute. Who's in charge here? Look at heaven's throne. God Almighty rules. He's got the whole world in his hands. He's got you and me and baby in his hands. He's on top of it all. He is able. And we can crawl out from under the circumstances, we can crawl out of our churches, our little stained glass fox holes, we can quit talking like cynics, pessimists, and get on top of things. God rules! Hallelujah! I saw a bumper sticker on a car. There amidst the depravity of humanity, the bad news of sin, the sticker said, "Rise above it!" That's God's Word to you today in the ascension. "Rise above it!" Get out from under the circumstances. The news is not all bad, get on top. That is where God is!
During World War II a delightful Christian English lady kept a personal diary. It tells of her husband's death in the war effort. It tells of food rationing and the horrible bombing of London. It tells of her children's evacuation to the countryside. One night during the bombings the woman confessed that she woke up and could not get back to sleep. She kept thinking of Hitler, invasion, and the S.S. troops. She trembled until she suddenly thought, "Where is Alexander the Great who gobbled up the world? Where is Caesar's dogmatic rule upheld on the tips of spears? Where is Napoleon? They are all in their graves and come to nought," she wrote. "And that is where Hitler will be, too. The same God reigns!" And she rolled over, laughed, and went back to sleep! The Mid-East, terrorism, crime, abortion -- is this what your eyes are upon? Are you gazing at the world, and glancing at Christ? Rise above it! Lift up your eyes and see! The same God still reigns. Be assured!
What An Exit!
You must admit that Jesus knew how to make a stage exit dramatically. Sir Lawrence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud could make a grand Shakespearean exit. But only Christ in his ascension could leave the stage of God's drama of salvation in such a way as to leave his apostles throughout history feeling affirmed, acquitted, under authority, and assured.
In Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta there is a magnificent ascension window over the Lord's table in the chancel. Every time you worship in the place you are reminded of Christ's rise to power and glory. The architects of the church house wanted always to remind worshipers of where the Lord is. The text today wants to do the same thing for you. Is there an ascension window in your mind? Lift up thine eyes! Where is Jesus? Where are you in relation to him? Brothers and sisters, is it faith? Is it faith?
