Brown's Daily Word 5-6-08

Good Morning,
It is one of the glorious days the Lord has made. Spring has fully sprung here in beautiful New York. You can see the countless flowers with magnificent colors all around us. The crab apple tree overshadows the parsonage with bountiful bloom displaying the splendor of our Savior and King. The daffodils and tulips and forsythias on the parsonage grounds are just passing their peak. Praise the Lord for the manifold witness to the splendor and majesty of our Lord and God. How great is indeed our God. If you had looked at your diary last Friday, May 1, (that would have been six weeks after Easter), you might have seen the heading "Ascension Day". Then, it might not be there because Ascension Day is one of the neglected feast days of the Christian church. The BBC (in Britain) does its best by broadcasting a special service. Many European countries celebrate Ascension Day with a bank holiday. Perhaps because Ascension Day falls on a weekday it does not get the attention it truly deserves. It is full of significance concerning the historical life of Jesus when on Earth - and his continuing ministry for us in heaven. As a weekday event it reminds us that Christianity is not just something for Sunday - it’s an experience for every day. For the Christian the secular cannot be separated from the sacred.Although the Ascension occupies a place on the church’s calendar it is far from being prominent in Christian thought. It seems overshadowed by Good Friday and outshone by the glory of Easter morning. The gospel writer Luke is renowned as a careful historian. When he recorded the birth of Jesus he rooted the event in its historical setting within the Roman Empire. He continued that same precision at the end of our Lord’s earthly ministry by recalling the place of the Ascension at Bethany. He also dates the event at 40 days after the Resurrection on Easter Day. He emphasized the presence of eyewitnesses. The Ascension took place, he wrote, "before their very eyes" (Acts 1:9). Yes, the Ascension was a real event in history. Some people are puzzled as to why Jesus waited around on Earth 40 days after his resurrection, but that period is no accident. Jesus had endured the Devil’s temptation for 40 days in the wilderness at the beginning of his public ministry, but now the tables were turned. In the post-ascension period Jesus triumphantly paraded his victory over the Devil and all his works. During this time, the conqueror of death displayed his supremacy before his faithful followers so that they might share in the joy of his victory. But there was also another reason. Those 40 days of his appearing after the resurrection were of immense value to the believers, for they established the reality of his lordship. A single sighting of the risen Christ may have been open to question, but the continuous encounters that the disciples had with him would remove the doubts of even the most skeptical among them and assure them of his power and authority. The Ascension must always remain a mystery in the sense that it’s beyond the scope of human experience. It draws us into the realm of the supernatural. It happened very simply and very quickly. The Master and his followers were gathered on the slopes of Olivet. When Jesus had delivered his farewell message to the disciples, he lifted up his nail-scarred hands in blessing. Then, his body commenced to rise supernaturally, and a cloud bore him out of their sight. What a fitting end to his earthly ministry! The resurrection of Jesus had signaled the ending of a chapter in his earthly life. Things could never be the same again and it was essential that there should be a clear-cut event to bring the chapter to a close. It’s true that Jesus had been making a series of appearances to his followers, but those could not go on forever. It would be odd if they should grow less frequent until finally they petered out; that would only cause confusion, chaos, and even loss of faith. No, there had to be a day dividing the time, when the Jesus of Earth would become the Christ of heaven. The Ascension was the only fitting conclusion to the life of Jesus on Earth. God is not the author of confusion. The disciples who witnessed the Ascension saw it as an ending. It was the day when their faith in a flesh and blood person, depending on a physical presence, was ended. Now they were linked to someone who was independent of space and time. Yet, the ending of the earthly chapter also meant a new beginning. Luke tells us that the disciples did not leave the scene broken-hearted. They had a definite promise of the soon-to-be-given Holy Spirit. The disciples knew that the Ascension was the completion of the cycle that had begun with the incarnation. Jesus himself had predicted, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father" (John 16:28). This gave them great assurance because their dearest friend was in heaven.
The resurrection and the Ascension cannot be separated. They form two parts of the one continuous movement resulting in the glorification of Jesus. When Jesus met Mary Magdalene in the garden he told her to tell his disciples, "I am ascending", as if the process had already begun with the resurrection and would be completed when he was finally received into his Father’s presence. The resurrection and the Ascension are milestones in the process whereby Jesus, crucified, risen and ascended, finally entered into the glory of God. Luke’s account of the Ascension places us in the shoes of the disciples. There they are with eyes uplifted, as Luke records the scene so vividly, "gazing into heaven as he went" and all too soon the ascending Savior disappeared from their sight. Then Mark takes up the story. He writes from the viewpoint of our Lord’s destination. Through the inspiration given to him we are allowed to share the secrets of heaven itself. Only the Holy Spirit could have revealed the scene to Mark, "Jesus was received into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (16:19). What a homecoming! The crown of thorns was changed into a crown of glory!
Many a hero has been welcomed back into his hometown with bands blaring - the round the world yachtsman, the newly elected prime minister, or the president. But that is nothing when compared to the glory of the welcome given to the ascended Lord Jesus. Is that some speculation on my part? No, it’s not! Psalm 24 is a foretelling or anticipation of the grandeur of the spectacle associated with the homecoming of the Son of God. The scene defies adequate description. As the conqueror neared the celestial city the heavenly heralds cried out in preparation for his arrival, "Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in." The proclamation prompts the enquiry, "Who is the Lord of glory?" The reply declares Christ’s right to the title, "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle" (7-10). Yes, Jesus had triumphed over Satan, the world, death and hell. His resurrection and Ascension proved he was the victor, and truly that "He is the Lord of glory." The apostle Peter confirmed this, saying, "Jesus Christ … has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand - with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him" (1 Peter 3:22). This proves that Christ had finished the work of redemption that the Father had given him to do. The Day of Ascension from earth became the Coronation Day for Jesus in Heaven. Now we have to ask ourselves the question, have we acknowledged him as our Lord and King? Have we knelt before him in glad allegiance?
When we see pictures on television of a State banquet, the chief guest is seated at the right hand of the Sovereign or the President. Like honor was afforded to the Lord Jesus, but the fact that he is seated there does not imply that his ministry is ended -- far from it. Although the Ascension closed his public ministry, it opened a new age of the Spirit. That is why we celebrate Pentecost. We might even say that the Ascension represents the final liberation of Jesus from all limitations of space and time, so that he is free to be lovingly and powerfully present with every believer in every place, in every age. Christ the King is with me and in me by His Spirit every minute of every day wherever I go. This is beautifully summarized in the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn, "He ever lives above, for me to intercede; his all-redeeming love, his precious blood to plead; his blood atones for all our race, and sprinkles now the throne of grace." Hallelujah! What a Savior! Yet, we each have a responsibility to live holy lives, but if we sin we have a means of cleansing and forgiveness. The Ascension of Jesus makes it possible for him to be close to each and every one of us if only we allow him in every part of our lives. As the disciples gaze heaven-ward in awe and wonder, two men in dazzling apparel appeared. They were just like those that stood by the graveyard on Easter morning. According to Luke's account, they announced to the disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking unto heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). It would be an over-simplification to say that the Lord’s Second Coming will be like a film of the Ascension played backwards, to return on the same spot, wearing the same clothes. Although his coming will be in person, it won’t be in private, for "every eye will see him" (Rev 1:7). He ascended alone, but he will return in the company of millions of the redeemed from all ages (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The Ascension testifies to the fact of our Lord’s return, "He will come." The disciples were not told that they themselves would see the coming again of Christ. The timeline is left open, and it is both futile and unprofitable to speculate as to when his return will occur. Jesus told his disciples that not even he knew the day or the hour when the Son of Man would come (Mark 13:22). But the certainty of his return is clear. It gives assurance that God is working out his purposes for his whole creation and that, when he is ready, our Lord will return just as surely as he ascended. The all-important, practical call of the Ascension is that we are ready for his return. Someone once said, "If I am always ready, I shall be ready when Jesus comes." The secret is to keep short accounts with God and our fellow men. In other words, if something breaks our fellowship then we must immediately put it right. We have to ask ourselves the question, "Are we redeeming the time until Jesus returns? Are we fulfilling the ministries he had given to the church?" We have been placed where we are for a purpose. The angelic beings asked the disciples, "Why do you stand here looking into the sky?" It was the Earth, not the sky, which they should be occupied with, as witnesses, not as stargazers! Our calling is not upwards in nostalgia, but outwards in compassion to a lost world that needs Jesus. It’s been well said that: "At the Ascension Jesus left the Here for the Everywhere; He left the Time for the Eternal; He left the First Century to fill All the Centuries."


In Jesus, our Savior,
Brown
A Sudanese Christian boy has his knees and feet nailed to a board and he is left to die. When rescued he says he forgives the man who did this because Jesus was also nailed and forgave him.
A Vietnamese pastor is sentenced to two years in prison. When he is offered an early release, he declines stating that he has a group of new Believers in the prison he has to disciple.
A Colombian missionary is kidnapped and told she only has two hours to live. She tells her captors that if she only has two hours to live, she wants to spend it telling them about Jesus.
The persecution of Christians around the world is a tragic reality. Our brothers and sisters are beaten and tortured simply for their faith in Jesus Christ. And some pay with the ultimate price.