Los Alamos Church of Christ
Drawing Closer
To God
The Place
Called Faith
Christ On the
Throne
When I was a kid my favorite religious holiday was… Christmas; nothing unique there. All kids love the gifts and Christmas trees and opening presents. Consequently, most kids like the story of the Incarnation; God becoming baby Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-20
This is how the birth
of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy
Spirit. Because Joseph her husband
was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in
mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in
her is from the Holy Spirit."
Who could have conceived of the Holy Spirit conceiving a child with a young woman?
God loved us so much that he sent his Son to become one of us. Jesus, the Word, who was involved in the creation of the Universe, did not hold on to his godness. Instead he humbled himself and became one of us. The Incarnation is amazing.
As a kid my favorite holiday was Christmas.
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As I became a teenager my joy with the Incarnation shifted to the reality of the Crucifixion.
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As a young, almost teenager, I was convicted of my sins. I remember being at a Gospel Meeting at the Durant Avenue Church of Christ in Charleston, South Carolina. I remember the feeling of sinfulness. I knew I was wrong. So, on October 20, 1965, during the Gospel Meeting I was moved to be baptized.
I knew that Jesus died upon the cross to provide forgiveness of my sins. I knew Acts chapter 2.
Acts 2:36-40 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."
Jesus died on the cross to provide forgiveness for my sins. So, I repented and I was baptized to receive that forgiveness.
As a teen I was thankful for the Crucifixion because it meant the forgiveness of my sins.
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As I became a man grown, my thinking shifted from the Crucifixion, as the most significant event, to Easter.
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Maybe, as I got older, I began to see the complexity of the world. As a teenager, I never doubted. My faith was solid. But as a man grown, on occasions, the creepy crawly doubts would move in. There are many things in the world that are hard to explain. People in the world suffer. I hit up against things which would open the door to the creepy crawlies. I struggled to put together this God I loved, and who loved me, with a world full of questions. The competing voices would on occasion open the door to doubts.
Because of this, the Resurrection became paramount. My faith became based in Easter. I resonate with Thomas in John chapter 20.
John 20:24-29
Now Thomas (called
Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We
have seen the Lord!" But he said to
them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the
nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later his disciples were in the
house again, and Thomas was with them.
Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
"Peace be with you!" Then he said
to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my
side. Stop doubting and
believe." Thomas said to him, "My
Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told
him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have believed."
I am blessed because I have not seen and yet I believe. It is because of what happened in the Resurrection that I believe! The Resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. It is why Christianity exists.
Last year we talked about the power for faith in the Resurrection. I preached 10 sermons on Resurrection. These sermons are the center of my faith. My faith lies in the evidence surrounding the resurrection.
-My faith lies in an empty tomb…
-My faith lies in Jews dropping the Sabbath and worshipping on Sunday.
-My faith lies in all the OT Symbols such as, animal sacrifice, the Passover, the Temple, which were dropped because of the Resurrection. Jesus is our sacrifice and Passover Lamb and our Temple!
-My faith lies in Jesus Christ. Jesus was declared the Messiah even though he died on a cross.
-My faith lies in how the cross became the symbol of Christianity; what?
-My faith lies in the spread of Christianity. It grew from a 120 Jews in an upper room, to a force all across the Roman Empire. It changed the world.
As a man grown, when my faith grows weak, I turn to Easter. Easter replaced the Crucifixion in my thinking as the event of Christianity.
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Now, as I am a middle aged man… okay, I am on the other side of middle age, another event in the life of Christ is becoming more significant.
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We don't give enough credit to the Ascension. If you read the New Testament, carefully, it is the Ascension which changed the thinking of the early disciples. The Resurrection convinced them Jesus was the Messiah, but it was the Ascension that convinced them Jesus was The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The writers of the New Testament repeatedly point to Christ returning to heaven as the event of Christianity.
Acts 1:3-11 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
The disciples were impressed with the Resurrection, but the Ascension elevated Jesus to Power! In the next chapter that power comes down from heaven and changes everything. Listen to what happens in the Acts 2 in Peter's Pentecost sermon.
Acts 2:22-24,
32-36 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of
Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's
set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to
death by nailing him to the
cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him
from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on
him... 32 God has raised this Jesus
to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has
received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you
now see and hear. For David did not
ascend to heaven, and yet he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' Therefore let all Israel be assured of
this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ."
Jesus didn't just become one of us in the Incarnation. Jesus didn't just die on a cross for my sins. Jesus wasn't just brought back to life again. It was in the Ascension that Jesus was recognized to be who he is! It is the Ascension that proves Jesus to be the All-powerful Lord of the Universe!
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I know today is Easter, which means we are celebrating the Resurrection, but the Ascension doesn't have a holiday. I am going to steal a little bit of Easter and use it on the Ascension. As a man past middle age man, here is why the Ascension is significant to me.
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Christ is on the Throne! Christ is on the Throne in power. Christ is on the Throne in power to work through me!
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that,
who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for
us.
Ephesians
1:18-20 I pray also
that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the
hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the
saints, and his incomparably great power
for us who believe. That power
is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
realms,
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
-Because Christ is on the throne I have confidence in his mercy.
-Because Christ is on the throne my heart is protected by his grace.
-Because Christ is on the throne I have been given incomparable power.
-Because Christ is on the throne Jesus is interceding for me.
-Because Christ is on the throne I keep my eyes fixed on he who perfects my faith.
It is Christ on the throne who intersects with my every day.
I appreciate Christmas because I know, Jesus knows, what it is like to be me. I appreciate the Crucifixion, without it I die in my sins. I place my faith in the Resurrection. But all that points me to a Living Jesus who rules my life from the Throne of Grace! The Ascension to the right hand of the throne of God is the event of Christianity!
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Let me close with one more beautiful passage of Christ on the throne.
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Philippians 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (The Incarnation) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! (The Crucifixion) Therefore God exalted him (The Resurrection) to the highest place (The Ascension) and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
One day we will stand before the Throne of Jesus. One day we will confess Jesus is Lord. One day we will know Jesus is Lord. The question is… "When will that day be?" Will you do it during this life, as I did on October 20, 1965 or will it be on the day when we all stand before the Throne?
I don't offer an invitation with every sermon. But this morning, I would invite you to consider your life. Having the power of Christ in your life is an amazing thing. If you want God to draw close to you, you must draw close to the Throne. Drawing closer begins in understanding the Incarnation. God became man. Drawing closer continues in knowing that his death is for your sins. Drawing closer grows into baptism which reenacts the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Drawing closer reaches maturity in a life of intersection with the Throne.
Easter in early church history was a day of baptisms. People would wait until Easter to join the Lord in his death and resurrection. There is no better day to be baptized than on Easter Sunday. We can do it today. If you would like to be baptized then just let me know while we sing this song…
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