Beecher Island Sunday School Sermon
August 5, 2018
Acts 1: 4-11
by Hunter Irvine
+ Open in prayer.
= Acts 1: 4-11 reading by Zach
+ In Sunday school, we learned we can be joyful that Jesus died for our sins.
We can be joyful that Jesus was resurrected!
And we learned the apostles were joyful after seeing Jesus ascend into heaven, as is recorded at the conclusion of the book of Luke.
The ascension of Jesus is a Biblical doctrine preserved in the Nicene Creed. However, I hardly hear Christians talk about it, and I do not remember ever hearing a sermon on the topic. For me, the event raises a big question:
If Jesus loves us, why did He leave?
He was only with people for 33 years.
Think of all the time of human history, and yet God was with humanity for only 33 years. That does not seem very loving.
After Jesus was resurrected, Luke states He remained in the world interacting with people for 40 days. But then after 40 days came the ascension.
If you love someone, you do not want to leave them.
And if you love someone and they leave, you are sad.
Five years ago, I started teaching Bible in Appalachia. I was thinking about this the other day, because I arrived at the small Christian school on August 1st, only a few days before school started. Leaving Denver was one of the hardest things I have ever done, because there are people in Denver whom I love. I am like an uncle to two kids, and I was heartbroken I had to leave them. As much as I wanted to teach Bible, it was one of the hardest times of my life.
Then when I returned to Denver two years later, there was much joy. The first thing I did with those two kids I love so much was head out on one of those boats you peddle with your feet. I had never done that before, and it was an ideal day to be outside in Denver, yet it was a truly joyful day for me for the one reason that I was back with my two buddies.
Why did Jesus leave us alone? As a follower of Jesus I have always had His word, yet He has not been on earth in the flesh to look in the eyes.
My Dad is a special man, and he attends a special church in Virginia, where he has been a member ever since he turned to Christ, being influenced for Christ at that church.
One Sunday, he was going down the Sunday school hall, and he saw a group of young children coming towards him. They were young, around three years old, and they were carrying a blanket which had a baby doll on it. The teacher for the children was standing a bit behind them. These cute little kids approached my dad and asked, “Have you seen Jesus? We are looking for Jesus!”
My dad responded, “Well I have not seen Him today. What is going on?”
“This person cannot walk. We need to find Jesus because He can help this person walk! We want him to walk.”
Dad said, “You are correct; Jesus can make him walk. You keep looking, and I am sure that you will find Jesus.”
“Yes, we are going to keep looking. We are not going to stop looking. We want this person to walk.”
And away the little band of young children went down the hall.
It is not only children looking for Jesus. There have been times in my life when circumstances were so crummy that I wanted to see Jesus in the flesh.
Yet His ascension into heaven was not a desertion.
+ Carefully reading the text, we learn that Jesus did not leave us alone!
After Jesus left, He baptized His disciples with the Holy Spirit.
= John 1:33 “I [John the Baptist] would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
We Christians believe in the triune God, who is three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is three Persons being One. Thus the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, thus Christ remains with a believer in the most personal of ways.
When a person believes in Jesus, she or he has been cleansed of sin because of Christ’s atonement, and she or he is justified before God (Romans 5:1). Thus that person is baptized with the Spirit of Christ, who indwells a person’s heart.
Paul stated in I Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
Thus begins “sanctification,” being made more like Jesus, who is holy. The Holy Spirit works to improve the heart of a person.
The Holy Spirit enables us to become more like Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is the One who can enable us to live in communion with God every single day!!!
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at every minute. He is not only with you when in church. The Holy Spirit is with you every minute of every day!
The Holy Spirit enables us to continue to seek forgiveness, recognizing our wrong doings and relying on Him to do what is good.
The Holy Spirit enables us to forgive!
My parents are divorced, and one of the toughest things I ever did was forgive my parents. I was enabled by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit helps us to interpret Scripture.
When I served in my first ministry position in Grand Junction, Colorado, many years ago, I read a book where the person emphasized how critical it is to have the Holy Spirit assist you when you are working to interpret Scripture. Knowing that and living according has been a key to my Bible studying all these years.
Really and truly, Christianity is a relationship with God. We cannot see the Holy Spirit, which is the hard part, especially when circumstances are crummy. Yet He is there for the person who is willing to open up to Him.
God the Holy Spirit is with us! Joy can result!!
Fellowship with the Holy Spirit brings joy!
I add we can be joyful Jesus is going to return!!
Sometime after I got started writing the sermon for this passage, I realized it would be too much for me to cover both the Holy Spirit and the Second Coming of Christ in a single sermon. I will give a teaching on the later another day.
Yet I proclaim here, Jesus is coming back!
One day we will be with our heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, in full!!! That is a continued reason to have joy.
+ Invitation: If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you can today. I invite you to receive Christ now.
He did ascend into heaven.
He is on His throne in heaven.
Jesus will come again!
Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone. He was the substitute for the wages of sins, which is spiritual death. Then He was resurrected. If you believe in Jesus, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and you will have eternal life in Christ.
