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Sermon Notes
The Ascension: Why It Is So Important
I. HE ROSE BODILY, THE PREVIEW OF OURS (Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 John 3:2)
- A real, provable body. Forty days, many proofs. Not a vision, not a ghost.
- Firstfruits. The first sheaf that guarantees the rest of the harvest is coming.
- “We shall be like Him.” Whatever happened to His body previews what happens to yours.
II. HE ASCENDED, AND IT IS NOT OPTIONAL (John 16:7; Romans 8:10-11)
- “It is to your advantage that I go away.” He left in the flesh so His presence could multiply.
- He wanted to send His Holy Spirit
- On earth, one place at a time. Ascended, available to every believer, everywhere, at once.
- More than nearness beside us. The Spirit alive within us, a taste of what is still to come.
III. HE IS SEATED, THE HAND OF POWER (Acts 2:33, 36; Psalm 110:1; Ephesians 1:20-22; Hebrews 10:11-12)
- The right hand. The seat of power and authority, far above every rule and name.
- Seated, not standing. Every priest stood because the work was never finished. Christ sat down.
- The throne is the Father's receipt for the cry from the cross: IT IS FINISHED
IV. AND WE ARE SEATED WITH HIM (Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 3:1-3; Hebrews 4:16; Acts 1:8)
- Seated, not “will seat.” Already, not someday.
- Confidence in prayer.
- A standing given through Christ
- Security. A life hidden with Christ that cannot be reached to be undone.
- Sent out. He is Lord
- We are His embassy, carrying His reign into the world.
Reflection/Application Questions
- The ascension “the most forgotten act” in the story of Jesus. Before this week, how much thought had you given to it? Why do you think this part of the story tends to get skipped?
- Jesus’s resurrected body was physical and provable, not a ghost or a vision. Why does the physical reality of His resurrection matter for what we believe about our own future?
- Read Ephesians 2:6. What does it mean to you that you are already “seated with Him” right now, not someday? How would truly believing this change the way you approach God today?
- The ascension made Jesus available to “everyone who believes, everywhere, at once” through the Spirit, rather than in one place at a time. How does this truth shape how you think about His presence in your daily life?
- “Seated means finished.” Where in your life are you still trying to earn a standing with God that Christ has already secured? What would it look like this week to rest in “It is finished” rather than keep performing?
- Jesus reigns now, and His seated people are His “embassy on the ground.” What is one specific way you could carry the reality of His reign into a relationship, situation, or place this week?
Time of Response
Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE
What does this reveal about God?
What does this reveal about you in relation to God?
What do you need to do about it?
The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)
I am no longer my own,
but Yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine,
and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
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How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?
One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:
The S.O.A.P.S. Method
S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.
O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.
A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?
P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.
S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.
- Inductive Bible Study:
- Observation (what does the passage say?)
- What is happening in the passage?
- Who is involved in the passage?
- What happened before and after the passage.
- Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
- Interpretation (what does it mean?)
- What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
- What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
- Application (how does it apply to my life?)
- What does the passage say about God?
- What does the passage say about me and to me?
- What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?
How do I talk with God?
WAYS TO PRAY
One Way to talk with God is to:
Pause.
Rejoice.
Ask.
Yield.
ANOTHER OPTION
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication: Requests
