20 Ascension Service

Where is He now?

Christ Jesus ascended to heaven to be near us. Tonight marks 40 days since his resurrection and we gather to focus on what it means that he has “ascended to be near us.”

Luke 24:44-53 New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension of Jesus

⁵⁰When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵²Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

See His Power for You!

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Ascension Worship
Ephesians 1:15-23

Reassured, Refocused, Rejoicing

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Ascension Day Worship

Reassured by the Rule of Christ – Esther 6

The account about Esther is just an absolutely amazing account. It all happened when most of the Jews were still in exile after Nebuchadnezzar had taken them to Babylon. Well, the Persians defeated the Babylonians and were the ones in power. King Xerxes was the Persian king and at a large party that he was hosting asked his wife Queen Vashti to come so he could show her beauty off to all the people, but she refused to come. This made him quite upset and because they were afraid this was going to cause all the women to start disobeying their husbands, he banished Queen Vashti and went in search of a new wife. Well, it just so happened that after a sort of contest that a woman named Esther pleased him and won his favor so she became the Queen, although King Xerxes didn’t realize that she was a Jew.

Later, the king promoted this man named Haman who was full of himself to a high position in this government and he expected everyone to bow down to him. But a certain Jew named Mordecai refused to do so. Mordecai happened to be Esther’s cousin. Haman became so upset that he didn’t just want to have Mordecai killed but wanted the whole nation of the Jews to be exterminated. So, he requested that the king issue the order to have a certain people in their kingdom killed, not telling the king what people group it was. The king agreed. Haman was delighted and set out to erect the execution device.

In the meantime, one night the king couldn’t sleep, so he had his records read to him. In his records, he was reminded about a time when Mordecai a Jew had uncovered a plot and saved the king’s life. So, King Xerxes wanted to honor him. He found out that Haman just so happened to be outside his chambers and so he brought Haman in and asked him what should be done for the man the king delights to honor. Haman, thinking he meant him, suggested that he be paraded around and honored. The king says, “That’s a great idea, go and do this for Mordecai the Jew.” Haman was devastated, but went out and did it. In the meantime, Haman had been invited by Queen Esther to a banquet with her and the king. She held the banquet to request that the king not exterminate her people. Haman came to the banquet and the king asked her what she wanted, she revealed about how Haman planned to exterminate her people. The king became furious left the room, while he’s gone Haman stays to plead with Queen Esther for his life and he trips and falls on the couch she is lying on and just then the king happens to walk in, thinks he’s trying to molest her and immediately orders that Haman be put to death on the execution device he had made for Mordecai.

Wow! But here’s the lesson. We often go through life scratching our head, confused, and frustrated because life doesn’t seem to be working the way that we want or expect. We face difficulties, sickness, disappointments and problems. We wonder, “Lord, what are you doing?” Why this? Why now? What’s going on? And sinfully we forget who’s in charge.

But at Jesus’ ascension we’re reminded of an awesome truth: Jesus ascended to the right hand of God. That means Jesus, the one who became man, lived, died, and rose for you, is now sitting in the position of ALL authority and all power and is ruling ALL things for the good of His people, for the good of you and me. No, we won’t always know it or see it or understand it, but He is and He will continue guide all things to bring you to your eternal home. Jesus’ ascension reassures us of the rule of Christ. A lesson from Esther chapter 6: (read lesson)

Refocused by Being Raised with Christ – Colossians 3:1-4

Who are you? If you were asked that question, what would you respond? When you look in the mirror what do you see? What is your identity? Who are you? What would you say?

Well, as Christians we have lost our original identity. Having been born in this world we had an identity and it wasn’t a good one. God says that a sinful parent plus a sinful parent equals a sinful child. You and I were born into this world in sin, dead in our trespasses and sin, hostile to God, God’s enemies, worthless in God’s sight. By nature we had a horrid identity completely corrupted by sin.

But God did something. He sent Jesus who became human like us, identified with us in every way except He had a perfect identity. He sent Jesus who identified with our sin by taking it upon Himself and dying for our sin on the cross. Then Jesus left that sin in the grave and gloriously rose from the dead. Then gloriously ascended to the right hand of God, the place of all power and glory.

Then God did something wonderful for you. He gave you a totally new identity. How so? He killed you. You died. You see, when God worked faith in your heart He connected you to everything Christ did for you. Jesus’ death became your death to sin. Jesus’ resurrection became your resurrection to new life. Jesus’ ascension into heaven became your ascension into heaven. When God worked faith in your heart He clothed you with Jesus so that you are now hidden with Christ in God.

We sometimes see pictures of ourselves and cringe or say that was a terrible picture! So, in life, if try to find our identity in ourselves, we’ll always cringe because we see our failures, our sins, our struggles. But when you look away from yourself and look to Christ you see your new identity, you see your identity as God sees it, you are perfect for Jesus was perfect for you, you have a place in glory for Jesus ascended for you! You see, your life, your peace in life, your contentment in life, your joy in life, has nothing to do with how you look, but it has everything to do with where you look.

So what do you picture with Jesus’ Ascension? Picture your new identity. In God’s sight you’re no longer a sinner, you’re a saint who since Jesus ascended into glory you too will appear with Christ in the glory of heaven. Set your mind on that, refocus on the reality that you’ve been raised with Christ! A lesson from Colossians chapter 3: (read lesson)

Rejoicing because of Christ – Luke 24:44-53

There are just so many things in life that can tear us down. What other people say about us can tear us down, the comments people make can make us feel horrible, the sarcastic replies can ruminate in our heads. Not only that, but we can also be reminded of past sins and failures that burden us with guilt. Not only that but we can so easily be frustrated by things in life that don’t turn out the way we want or expect or hope for. There’s a lot in life that can tear us down.

But the disciples weren’t much different than us, were they? They too faced a life of ridicule because of their faith in Jesus. They, too, had done some pretty horrible things – they abandoned Jesus in the Garden, didn’t believe his promise to rise from the dead, were full of fear.

But here they are rejoicing. Here they are worshipping God, praising him, and with great joy. How come? First, He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures- they saw God’s incredible faithfulness in keeping every promise. Then he led them out to the vicinity of Bethany and lifted up his hands to bless them, showing them the nail scarred hands – the proof that he died on the cross for all their sins and was now alive blessing them. And finally, they saw Jesus powerfully rise up into the sky – reminding them that this Jesus is God with all the power as God.

Those are all reason for you and I to rejoice too. Rejoice! God has given you and me the record of his faithful love for us in the Bible- there we have all we need for all peace and joy. Rejoice! Jesus hands are still up blessing us and reminding us constantly of his hands that were nailed to the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins. Rejoice! That same Jesus who powerfully rose into the sky is the one who is still in control and will remain in control and guide all things with His power to bring us home to heaven. Those are more than enough reason to rejoice always. A lesson from the Gospel of Luke chapter 24: (read text)

What makes the difference?

Ascension, 7th Sunday of Easter
Acts 7:54-60

To Him who loved us and freed us from our sins by His own blood and made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. In the name of Jesus, our risen and ascended Lord, dear friends in Christ,
It’s kind of scary when you think about it, isn’t it? He was a young man who grew up in a God-fearing family. His parents taught him to know God’s Word, the Bible. They told him about how God promised to send a mighty hero to rescue them. Day after day they taught him what God wants His people to do – to do good to those around them and to love God. He grew more and more in his knowledge and insight. In fact, he decided to dedicate his entire life to learning God’s Word and teaching it to others. People all over looked at him and said, “This is what a believer should look like.” Who is he? You met him in our text this morning. His name was Saul and he was helping people… murder Stephen. And we’re told right after this text that not only was he giving approval to Stephen’s death, but then began to destroy the church, dragging men and women off to prison.
This text is a sobering reminder, isn’t it? And it’s not just because it reminds us that people can be so full of hate and violence that they can essentially lynch another human being, we get those reminders all over our world. It’s also not just that we’re reminded that there may come a time when we will have to lose our life because of our faith. No, what makes this terrifying is that someone who has grown up hearing God’s Word and being very religious could still end up being a Saul. So, what makes the difference? What is it that makes the difference between a Stephen and a Saul? Saul knew a lot about God, talked a lot about God, but couldn’t be further from the true God. But Stephen was different. So what made the difference?
Stephen wasn’t a teacher or a preacher, we don’t know that he sat at the feet of great teachers or not, he was simply a believer and was chosen to hand out food to poor widows. He helped and he served. And wherever he went he shared his faith. In fact, Saul probably would have done the same things, but with one difference: Stephen told people about Jesus. Saul didn’t really know Jesus. Yes, Saul looked forward to a promised deliverer. But the savior he was looking for was nothing like Jesus. He was looking for a Savior who would come and help the good people like him and destroy all the bad and evil people. He wasn’t looking for a Savior who would actually die for the evil people! And that’s why Stephen is where he is in our text. He was arrested by the Jewish rulers, accused of blasphemy, and then he gave speech and all the while we’re told that his face shone like that of an angel and it’s almost like the people were caught in a trance while Stephen traced God’s faithfulness from the time of Abraham and ended his speech calling all the Jewish rulers to repent because they had betrayed and murdered God’s promised Savior when they killed Jesus. But they didn’t react the way that he had hoped. “When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him…covered their ears and yelling at the top of their voices they rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.”
You see, Stephen was full of true Christian love. And it wasn’t so much the fact that he had helped out poor widows in giving them food or said nice things to people. You know, Saul probably did very similar things. But we’re reminded here of an important truth: the best measure of love isn’t so much how you treat those who need you, but it’s actually how you treat those who hurt and hate you. Did you notice what Stephen did? “While they were stoning him…he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” He prayed for them. Really?
So, how do you know if you have authentic Christian love? It’s not just looking at how you try to find ways to help those who are in need, or at how you faithfully work to provide for your family, or at how you cook meals or take care of your children, or at how you try to be nice to your spouse. Rather, look at how you treat those who hurt you – and don’t just think about those who are critical of your faith and values or those who persecute and kill Christians. The truth is, you don’t have to look too far to find those who hurt you. Maybe we’re ready to just lay into that lazy coworker who makes our work even harder and give them a piece of our mind. Or that same child whom I think I’m so good at taking care of and yet there are times when I’m ready to lose my temper with? Or my spouse whom I think I’m so good at loving and yet our marriage is full of times when I think our marriage exists to satisfy MY wants, MY needs, what I think is best for ME. I’d sure like to think I look like a Stephen, but all too often I think I’m more like Saul. Saul was lashing out at his enemies while Stephen was praying for those who were hurting him. Which are you more like? Which am I?
So what’s the difference? What made the difference between Saul and Stephen? They both talked a lot about God, they both read the same Bible, the same Old Testament. What’s the difference? Notice Stephen’s prayer once again, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Sound familiar? That’s very similar to another prayer that someone else prayed while people were putting Him to death. While Jesus was on the cross He prayed for forgiveness for those who were putting Him to death. That’s who made the difference, Jesus made the difference. And just before Stephen was killed what did he see? Not just heaven, not just God’s glory, not just paradise, he saw Jesus, Jesus with the nail holes in his hands, nail holes that Jesus has kept in His risen and glorified body as proof that He went to a cross and died for us. That’s the God that Saul didn’t know. A God who loves us so much He didn’t come to crush sinners; rather, He came to be crushed by us and for us. God doesn’t love you because you love Him; he loves us even when we hate Him, even when we hate others. He loves us even when we’re Sauls!
There’s a ton of people in the world and many who attend churches who when asked why they think they’ll go to heaven will respond by saying, “I’m a pretty good person, I’ve done a lot of good things, I’m better than most.” Saul would have said the same thing. But the real difference between Stephen and Saul doesn’t come from who we are or what we’ve done, it comes from Jesus. We live our lives, we try to fight temptation, we try to stay rooted in God’s Word, we try to do those things God wants us to be doing, but the reality is, we still fail so much. There are days when we look a whole lot more like Saul than Stephen. So what do we need? Stephen “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” See Jesus. See that you have a Savior in heaven who died to take your sins away. See that you have a Savior who took all your bad on Himself. See that you have a Savior in heaven who lives to watch over you. See Jesus, and you’ll see the difference that He makes as He leads you to live in His love.
In a way this text is terrible, it’s terrible to see a Christian die for his faith! But it’s an important reminder. As we live our Christian lives, sometimes it will look as if God is failing you or like His promises don’t really apply to your situation in life. You know, Stephen loved Jesus, believed in Him, but Jesus didn’t send an angel to stop the stones, no one came to raise Stephen from the dead. God didn’t do anything to intervene and stop it.
And you’ll see that in your own life, too. You do selflessly care for your children, and they take you for granted. You do put your spouse first, and they just take and take. You do share your faith, and you get rejected too. And God doesn’t seem to do anything! I think there’s one more reason Jesus showed himself to Stephen. It was as if to remind him: Stephen, don’t forget your goal. Stephen, this pain isn’t going to last forever. Stephen, I know it looks like I’ve failed you, but I haven’t. Do you see the difference that makes? While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. We don’t live our lives as if saying, “If I do this or that, God will love me.” Rather we say, “I know that God loves, and this is the difference it makes: since I know Jesus will receive my spirit in the end, I’m not afraid –even of death.”
There are some days when I feel like a Saul. Maybe you do, too. But this isn’t the last we hear of Saul. One chapter later, Saul becomes a man who starts talking about the truth and living Christian love. Do you know what made the difference? He saw Jesus. When you feel like a Saul, go back to that same Jesus. You’ll see that He loves even Sauls, He gives you the peace to die like Stephens, and more than anything, He gives you the love to live like Jesus. And that makes all the difference. Amen

Picture It!

Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11 – A Picture of True Power

A question people often ask of themselves, of their lives is, “What am I doing with my life? Is my life important? Is it meaningful?” Perhaps it’s at the time of a graduation or job change or a move. Well, the disciples had a similar thought. Here we are 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The disciples had seen Jesus die, had seen Jesus rise from the dead, had seen all the work that Jesus did to rescue sinful humans like you and me. But they still didn’t quite get it. Notice what they asked Jesus, “Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They were looking for a political, earthly kingdom. And if Jesus set up an earthly kingdom, you know what that would mean for them? That’d mean that they’d be His right hand men! Talk about power, talk about meaning in life, talk about importance! Right?

Wrong. And Jesus dismisses their thoughts right away, “It is not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set by his own authority.” In other words, Jesus was telling them to forget about all this earthly power stuff! That’s not what’s important! That’s not what life’s all about.

You and I are often a lot like those disciples, aren’t we? We can so easily get this picture stuck in our minds that having a meaningful, important life has to do with earthly successes, earthly power, earthly importance. We picture making lots of money or having a lot of cool stuff or having some sort of influence or power over other people or things is what makes life meaningful, important. But that idea is just as sinful as the disciples idea here. And the reason is because all those things will go away. When we die, it’s not going to make any difference how successful we were on earth or if we had power or if we had the latest cool stuff.

What does make life meaningful, important, powerful? Jesus told his disciples, ‘It is not for you to know the time and dates…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.” The disciples were going to be powerful, their lives were going to make huge differences, because they were going to do eternal things. They were going to be influencing people in the greatest way possible by telling people about their Savior, by connecting people to Jesus, and through their work God would lead people to faith and people were going to end up in heaven. That’s power! That’s meaning!

And that’s your power too. The most powerful thing in all the earth is the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. The gospel, the message about Jesus- what He’s done to save people with His death and resurrection – takes people from death to life, from unbelief to faith. Having the gospel, knowing God’s Word, reading it, sharing it, being reminded of your peace with God, your forgiveness of sins, the fact that the all-powerful God is with you to help you, guide, you through whatever – that’s powerful! True power!

When you picture Jesus’ ascension, picture true power. The power of the gospel that God has entrusted to you and to me that makes an eternal difference in our lives and in the lives of those God places into our lives. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-4 – A Picture Hidden in You

A huge problem plaguing our world in this digital age and age of information is identity theft. In fact, yesterday I received an email from Thrivent encouraging me to enroll in identity theft protection. Identity theft protection agencies thrive on these horror stories of people who have lost their credit rating, lost their savings, lost their retirement due to identity theft. So now many places are asking for a picture ID to make sure you really are who you say you are.

Then God did something wonderful for you. He didn’t just steal your identity, He gave you a totally new identity. How so? He killed you. You died. You see, when God worked faith in your heart He connected you to everything Christ did for you. Jesus’ death became your death to sin. Jesus’ resurrection became your resurrection to new life. Jesus’ ascension into heaven became your ascension into heaven. When God worked faith in your heart He clothed you with Jesus so that you are now hidden with Christ in God.

We sometimes see pictures of ourselves and cringe or say that was a terrible picture! So in life, if try to find our identity in ourselves, we’ll always cringe because we see our failures, our sins, our struggles. But when you look away from yourself and look to Christ you see your new identity, you see your identity as God sees it, you are perfect for Jesus was perfect for you, you have a place in glory for Jesus ascended for you! You see, your life, your peace in life, your contentment in life, your joy in life, has nothing to do with how you look, it has everything to do with where you look.

Luke 24:44-53 – A Picture to Remember

Pictures can be good reminders. We save pictures to give us reminders of special times in the past. We take them with our phone, save them in photo albums, make slideshows with them. Well, on Ascension Day Jesus gave His disciples and us an awesome picture to remember. After Jesus reminded the disciples of how He fulfilled all the Scriptures and how they are going to be witnesses of everything that He did and said. He took them out to the vicinity of Bethany, the Mt. of Olives Acts tells us.

That’s an important little detail because over in the vicinity of Bethany you can actually get a good panaromic picture of the city of Jerusalem. The disciples would have been able to see just about all the major spots of Holy Week: the garden of Gethsemane, the court where Jesus stood on trial, the place where Jesus died, the empty tomb. Seeing those could have easily reminded them of everything Jesus had done to save them and us.

And then Jesus lifted up His hands to bless them. And, of course, what would they have seen on His hands? The nail marks! The proof that He went to the cross to save them, forgive them. Then He powerfully ascended into the sky, showing that He has all power as the risen and ascended Lord of all.

What a picture to remember! Think about how that would have helped the disciples! Think about how that picture helps you in your life!

Feeling weak or alone? Picture Jesus powerfully ascend up into the sky! Feeling horrible about some sin that you committed, conscience troubling you? See the nail marks in Jesus hands, see the place where he suffered and died and rose and be assured that your sins are forgiven in full and completely! Feeling frustrated about how things are happening in your life or turning out? See Jesus’ hands still up in blessing today, remember that Jesus still rules all things for your benefit! That’s a picture to remember!

Look at His Power!

Ascension Day
Ephesians 1:16-23

To Him who loved us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father, to Him, be glory and power forever and ever, Amen! In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ,

A little while back I learned something about the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA that I didn’t know. It was built in the 1930s. Now if you know anything about work safety in the 1930s – it wasn’t anything like what we see today. At this time it was estimated that you should figure 1 fatality for every 1 million dollars spent. The project was estimated at costing around 30 million dollars. Well, the project got underway and it was going slow and there were more and more delays. Then the engineer, designer, project manager, had a novel idea: he spent 130,000 dollars to make a safety net underneath the workers on the bridge. After that, apparently the bridge was completed 25% faster than before and ended below budget with only a few fatalities. The workers could work more freely, more confidently, more daringly knowing that they weren’t on their own to die if they fell, there was a net below them to catch them.

Well, what about us? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a security net for our lives? So many things in life can fill us with fear, with intimidation, with hesitancy as we think about the future or as we consider going forward in life.

In our text, God, through the inspired apostle Paul tells us about our “security net” for our lives. Now think about the situation: Paul wrote to Christians who lived around the city of Ephesus in modern day Turkey. Think about what was going on at this time. Paul is in house arrest in Rome for faithfully spreading the Gospel, the Roman empire was not in much favor of the Christian Church, the Roman emperor Nero was in charge and would be the one to begin nationwide persecutions of Christians, the church in Ephesus is where Paul spent 3 years of his ministry and now the congregation is at risk from the pagan mystery religions all around them and also false teachers right in their midst. Wow!

Now, given all that, notice what Paul says in our text. He prays for the Ephesians and essentially prays for 4 things: 1. That they may know God better. 2. That they might know the hope to which God has called them, 3. That they might know the glorious inheritance that is theirs as members of God’s kingdom and as his treasured possessions, and 4. that they might understand and experience God’s incomparably great power for those who believe.

After this Paul expands on this power, this mighty strength of God that works on behalf of those who believe in Jesus. The clearest demonstration of God’s power worked in his mighty strength was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Although Jesus remained God – even when he took on human flesh- he humbled himself and became obedient to God, obedient even to death on the cross. When Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross on Good Friday there was no life in that corpse. Then God used His incomparably great power to raise Jesus’ body back to life. Then 40 days later, on Ascension Day, Jesus demonstrated His power by ascending visibly before the disciples, showing them and us that He was going to ascend to His throne at the “right hand of God.” Not a specific location, but a ruling position that is “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.” He is above every title that can be given, not only now, but in the future. And God has placed all things under His feet and He rules all things in the best interest of His Church, His people.

Wow! Those are some amazing and profound truths! But do we always grasp them? Do our lives reflect them? Or do we live our lives as if we are one of those workers on the Golden Gate Bridge doing a balancing act, afraid of falling off the edge, afraid of plunging into disaster? Afraid that the world is going to come unglued and everything fall apart or afraid that our lives are going to fall all apart. And it makes sense to have such a fear, right? I mean, all we have to do is look at the big picture of our world: disasters of every kind, a world seemingly more and more opposed to God, governments promoting immoral behavior, people abducting and kidnapping women for 10 years, etc, etc. We look at the little picture, our lives: we face our own problems, health trouble, financial trouble, bracing ourselves for what’s going to come around the corner at us next. And forget about sharing our faith! Or standing up for what is right! Afraid to talk freely with anyone about our faith in God, afraid to start a spiritual conversation with someone. We so often live our lives like we are on the defensive, like we are the under-dogs in life.

But why? Why do we do such things? Because we doubt what God tells us, we forget who’s really in control, we have a lack of trust in what God tells us about who our Savior is and what He’s doing for us!

So what does God do? He draws our attention back to Him. Back to His Words- I’m not making this stuff up! First, He shows us his incomparably great power that raised Jesus back from the dead- why was he dead? Because of our sins. Because of our lack of trust in him. Why did God raise Jesus from the dead? For our justification- to prove to us that our sins are forgiven – even those of doubting and failing to trust him.

Then, God directs our attention to Jesus’ incomparably great power for us, active in our lives! We need to understand this absolutely vital reality: Jesus rules far above all things and He does so for the good of His Church. Jesus didn’t ascend powerfully into heaven in order to sit down in an easy chair, he ascended to be very active ruling all things. Jesus stands far above all ruler, authority, power, and dominion. Someone may be a president, a CEO, a King, but Jesus has a title higher than them all. Jesus rules not only now in the present time, but also in the future, and will continue to rule till the end of time no matter what. And Jesus rules all things not just for the sake of ruling all things, but for the good of His Church. All things are under his feet and he is the head of the church. He guides and rules all things for the good of His people, His body. He only does things that are good for His body. For you! And Jesus’ purpose? He rules all things in order to bring His people to heaven. You already know the outcome of your life- heaven!

Are we always going to see it? Are we always going to know exactly how Jesus is working things for us? No. Sometimes He gives us glimpses: like when something bad happens that turns out for the good, or when our faith is challenged it causes us to dig into God’s Word more. Many times we may not see HOW Jesus is guiding this for the good of His Church, we just have to trust that He is. But one day, it will all make sense, one day we will see just how Jesus was ruling all things for the good of His Church, when he takes us to heaven, we’ll see the power of our risen and ascended Lord.

So no matter what, no matter if you live or die, if you’re sick or healthy, if your life seems to go forward or seems to go backward, no matter what atrocious or awesome thing you hear in the news, trust that your Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus remains in control of all things, guiding, directing, ruling, and reigning for the good of His people, for you, to bring you into His eternal kingdom.

Look at Jesus’ incomparably great power for you, look at Him, your safety net that rests securely under your life, and live confidently knowing that! Amen.

Live as Lived In, Love as Loved!

7^th Sunday of Easter

To Him who loved us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood, to Him be power and glory forever and ever, Amen! In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ, air is an essential component of our lives, isn’t it? We need air to live and to breathe. Air is all around us and we enjoy it. But air can also cause problems especially when it is mixed with something. For example, about this time of year many people suffer because the air carries pollen and allergens, if you’re driving on the road and you drive by a dead skunk- the air isn’t very pleasant smelling. And yet there are times when air can be quite pleasing. For example just after a fresh rain the air is clean and crisp, or when the air carries a pleasing aroma of some fragrance or flower. I went to school in the same town as a Nestle Chocolate factory. I remember every now and then when the wind was right I could smell the sweet smell of chocolate- almost like just drinking it in. Those pleasing smells permeated the air.

In a way there is an “air” or atmosphere that exists in every home, in every family. This atmosphere can be very warm and sweet and pleasing or it can be foul or stale or cold. What is in the air of your family? The key fragrance that makes any home pleasing and enjoyable is love. Now this love is not just any kind of love or love defined by human standards, rather, this is the love of the One who created love, who is love’s author, it is God’s love. So how can we ensure that our homes remain sweet smelling and fragrant and filled with true love?

God gives us the answer in 1 John. “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” God wants us to realize who we are: people in whom He lives. People in whom God the Holy Spirit lives. Now, this isn’t just some pious wish or some happy thought – it is the fact. Through faith God’s Spirit lives inside of you. He has made His home in your heart. But really? How can we be sure? “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.” Our faith rests on historical facts, it is not some giant leap or wishy-washy hope. So the very fact that you acknowledge and confess that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior is proof that God does live in you. God tells us, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). God lives in us and He does things in our lives: He causes us to be loving and caring to other people- that’s evidence that God lives in you. An unbeliever in whom God does not live, can only do everything for selfish reasons. But notice what else that means: If you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and Savior, then you’ll act like it. You can’t say, “Jesus is Lord, my Savior, He is the world to me, and He lives in me” and then go out and act totally differently. That’d be like a husband who promises and vows to his wife that he’ll be faithful to her to death and then goes out and cheats on her. Your confession and your actions can’t be inconsistent. Yet so often they are, aren’t they?

Even in Christian families, so many problems can occur. Brothers and sisters can have disagreements and get into fights. Husbands and wives can get into sharp arguments and word wars. Parents can lose patience with their children and let anger out in words or actions. Children can disobey their parents and purposefully ignore them. All these things can cloud the air within a family and make it hard to breathe and hard to live. Even though we know God lives in us, each one of us too easily forgets that and acts out with selfishness that results in anger and pain. And we all know all too well how difficult it is to live in a home when sinfulness pollutes the air.

Yet what’s astounding, though, is that even though our hearts still wreak with sinfulness and selfishness, our hearts are un-breathable and unlivable because of sin, that in spite of who we are, God chooses to remain in us, to live in us, to make His home in our hearts! He continually, day after day, never stops living inside of us. Why? In order to make the air of our lives and the air of our homes clean with His presence. You see, it’s realizing that God lives in us that motivates us to live like Him. If you realize that God is living in you, will you want to say that hurtful, angry word? If you realize that God is living in you, will you want to ignore your parents? If you realize that God is living in you, won’t you want to be kind and compassionate, loving and caring? Live as lived in!

You see, the fact that God lives in us changes our outlook on life and our attitude with those who are our family. It is this love of God that changes us. Do we want more breathable air in our homes? Do we want an atmosphere of love to live in? Then we don’t look to ourselves, rather, we look to the source of true love, the author of love itself, we look to God’s love. “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” If we want love to grow in our homes and in our lives, we look to God’s love. The more we know and learn and appreciate about God and His love, the more we’ll reflect that love in our lives. Take a married couple for example. The longer a husband and wife live together and share things together, the closer they get. They get this mutual understanding and begin to know what the other is thinking before words are even spoken. We have this same intimacy with God as we live in His Word and grow closer to Him. As we immerse our lives in Him we begin to think His thoughts and His ways, which are always loving and good.

“In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Love and fear are opposites. Think about God’s love for you in Christ where He shows you how valuable you are to Him. If you are afraid because Judgment Day scares you it’s because of sin. Perhaps there’s some sin that is still pestering you, a sin that keeps you up at night, a sin that you’ve tried over and over to forget, a sin that the devil never lets you forget, it is sin or sins like that that give you fear when you consider Judgment Day. “Will God on that final day hold me accountable for that shameful thing I did, that careless word, the lack of love I showed, the failure I’ve committed in the family God’s given me…will God on that final day single me out and call my name and convict me of my failure before the whole human race and heavenly host? Will he?” If those fears are present in our hearts the reason is not because of God but because a lack of trust in Jesus’ blood. Do you think Jesus lied when He said, “It is finished”? Do you think God is kidding when He says He bought you with something more precious than this world has ever seen, Jesus own blood? Wondering if Jesus has or has not paid for your sins is actually robbing God of glory. Jesus’ sacrifice was fully sufficient, was fully capable, was more than enough to wipe your sins- every one of them- completely away! Jesus died on the cross, Jesus rose from the dead and because of that God says, “Your sins are forgiven completely, you are no longer guilty, I’ve forgiven and forgotten your sins, I’ve removed them as far as the east is from the west, I don’t see your sins because you stand before me looking like my perfect Son Jesus, heaven is your eternal home, your free gift.” Because of God’s love you stand before God looking like Jesus, then there’s absolutely no reason to be afraid on Judgment Day.

That’s the key: properly valuing Christ’s blood gives you the most confidence and the best assurance in life ever. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter what atrocities you’ve committed and shameful acts you’ve done in the past, Jesus has paid for them all with His blood, His life and death. Be at peace! Live in response to that!

One way to live in response to God’s love is in parenting. Children need to know that their parents love them unconditionally. There’s a security blanket that covers them and removes fear from their lives. If children grow up in a household with no security and they don’t know that their parents love them unconditionally, they will live in fear. They’ll always be waiting for the blow to fall on them. That’s tough air to breathe in! Now parents have the awesome privilege in life to be God to their children. In all that a parent does in interacting with their children they follow God’s pattern. God doesn’t let us run rampant in our sins, He gives us His laws to protect and bless us. God disciplines us when we disobey with painful consequences of our sins so that we learn to keep away from them. God loves us unconditionally. His love for us will never run out or be used up. He longs for our eternal good.

If we want our lives to be filled with peace in the face of fear, with love for other human beings, with love especially for those God has chosen to place closely around us, then we focus not so much on us, but on God, not so much on how we could be showing others love better, but on how God has shown us love perfectly. Finally, “we love because He first loved us.” Our love for each other is a response to the love God has shown us. As we focus on God’s love we learn some amazing things about His love: It’s giving- it gives us His most important “possession”- God loved us so He gave up His own Son. There are no boundaries to God’s love, no limits, no steps He won’t go through for us. God’s love is so great that He’s willing to endure pain for the ones He loves. God’s love is unconditional – it isn’t our response to His love that moves Him to love us- He loves us because He loves us. God’s love begins not with us, but in Him, He chooses to love us in spite of who we are, in spite of the fact that we were His enemies. God’s love is patient, kind, it rejoices in truth, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, it doesn’t envy or boast or be prideful or self-seeking or easily angered. So let us love each other as we are loved.

God has picked us dirty, rotten, filthy specimens for His home. God has chosen to perfectly love us with a selfless, limitless, boundless, giving, and unconditional love. Focus on that. Think about those things. And live in response. Then the air of your family and your home will be permeated with sweet, fragrant, and pleasing love. Live as lived in, love as loved.