I’m reminded in there of the song we sang, Hosanna, I see the king of Glory coming in the skies. I mean, this whole thing of God’s ascension and what Charmin just read for us. Is from Daniel chapter seven. I’m gonna be looking, uh, in the sermon from Acts chapter eight or chapter one, the first 11 verses. So invite you to turn your Bibles as we begin here. And by the way, I know usually you have a children’s message, but it’s just Jason and I and Jason’s in agreement that it’s just gonna be, we’re gonna go on without a, a children’s message here today. But I had it all set. And here’s kind of the story I wanted to tell. There’s a 4-year-old. Granddaughter and one Saturday morning came bounding down the stairs and announced to her grandfather, grandpa, I can say the, the entire alphabet. And so the grandpa invited her to sit up in her chair and she did, and she kind of, you know, clears her throat like with Broadway flare. And she rattles off A, B, C, D, E, FG, and she stopped. And so while the grandfather applauded her and kissed her on the head, but then asked her sweetheart, what comes after G? And she shrugged her shoulders and said, well, nothing, grandpa. That’s all there is. And in her 4-year-old mind, the alphabet ended. At that letter G and for her mission accomplished, she didn’t realize that there were yet 19 more letters that would give shape to every word that she would speak or write for the rest of her life. And that childhood story, it kind of mirrors a, a spiritual moment in, in grownup history or in biblical history. What we’re gonna be looking at in Acts chapter one, where Jesus disciples thought that the story had reached its conclusion, its finale. I mean, they had watched their Messiah live and heal and even raise the dead, and then he died and miracle of miracles, he rose again. Now, certainly now the curtain was about to fall. The Romans would be defeated and shown the door, and Israel would be given the throne. Jesus disciples believed they were at the letter Z, when in reality they were just pausing at the letter G, not even halfway through God’s redemptive alphabet. Here’s how the Bible records. It Acts one, six, then they gathered around him, that’s Jesus, and asked them, Lord, at this time, are you gonna restore the kingdom to Israel? Even after 40 post resurrection days of kingdom tutoring that Jesus did with his disciples. I mean, they still didn’t get it. And the picture in my mind is if I was Jesus hearing that, I’d be like, oh, and guys, I gotta go. And you still don’t get it. But Jesus’ response is way better than mine. And he just, he reframes their expectations and perhaps he fra, he reframes our expectations as well. He said, 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’ll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Jesus left so we could go. The ascension of Jesus. It’s not an epilogue. It’s actually a, a hinge that then swings wide open the door for the Holy Spirit to propel gospel witness to every tribe, tongue, and nation. And so today we’re gonna pack three truths that are kind of tucked away in these first 11 verses of the Book of Acts. Choose that. Turn sky gazing believers into spirit-filled witnesses. We’re looking at Jesus ascension, the first point being that Jesus left to confirm the story. In other words, Jesus’ ascension, it secures our faith in a living reigning savior. Even yet today. There are four gospels in the New Testament. One of them was written by a doctor named Luke, and it was written to a man named Theophilus. Well, the Book of Acts is written also by Luke, also written for Theophilus, and it’s really a continuation of Luke’s gospel. And Luke opens his second volume with a physician’s precision. He writes in my former book, Theophilus. I wrote all about that, all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven. That’s the ascension. After giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God. Notice how Luke insisted on many convincing proofs. You see, Christianity it, it doesn’t ask us. To make a leap into the dark. Rather, it invites us to step into the light of historical evidence and eyewitness accounts in the ascension, it’s the, it’s the crowning of these proofs. It’s like the last first hand sighting of Jesus on earth before he returns yet to come for us. When every eye will see him. And centuries earlier, God gave the prophet Daniel this vision Red Forest by Sharman. And a part of that reads in my vision at night, I looked and before me was one like a son of man. Does that title sound familiar? Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, power, or glory and sovereign power. It reminds me of the end of the Lord’s prayer authority, glory and sovereign power. All nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will never pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. The ascension in Acts one is really Daniel chapter seven in real time. And Jesus’ ascension, his upward journey. It’s not an exit, it’s an enthronement. Heaven’s, clouds are not vapor. They’re more like a, a royal motorcade. Escorting the victorious son of man to the father’s right hand. And Luke’s Eyewitness News, it’s like snapping the final piece of a puzzle into an ancient promise, prophecy, fulfilled, faith confirmed. And as a pastoral aside, if I may, if you or someone you know of might be skeptical about Jesus’ resurrection and, and his ascension, I want you to know that your, your doubts. Our welcome here is not unusual. We’re asking you to believe something pretty big, but listen to me now. Don’t settle for half of the alphabet. Don’t leave with your doubts. Examine the evidence. Empty tomb, transform disciples, explosive church growth under persecution and the ascension. It anchors it all. To all who do believe in Jesus when culture mocks your faith as fairytale. Remember this our story. It’s rooted in eyewitness testimony and sealed by a heavenly coronation. We don’t follow a memory. We serve a living reigning king who one day will return again to judge the living and the dead. Jesus left to confirm the story. Second. Jesus left to empower the mission. The Holy Spirit then and today transforms spectators into spirit anointed witnesses. Imagine buying the most advanced electric car available zero to 60 in 2.2 seconds. I don’t know what it is now, but then never charging the battery. Nice driveway ornament. It’s a garage brick. It’s terrible transportation. And the, the disciples, they didn’t need more information. They needed power. And Jesus promised and delivered exactly that. He says, do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my father promised. In a few days you’ll be baptized with the Holy Spirit and you’ll receive power. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses, and this is why Jesus departure matters for us. Let’s rewind to Jesus’ upper room, farewell to his disciples. It was the night, just a few weeks earlier, but it was the night that he was betrayed. He said, very truly, I tell you, it is for your good. I’m going away unless I go away. The advocate will not come to you. But if I go. I will send him to you, and this is Jesus’ strategic move. One. Localized Messiah can heal crowds in Galilee, but multiplied spirit in dwelt. Believers can reach hospital wards and refugee camps, boardrooms, classrooms, playgrounds on every continent simultaneously. Jesus leaving his ascension unlocks and releases his witness presence everywhere. Think of it like a, a rocket launch. That fiery first stage rumbles and thunders and slowly lifts that payload beyond earth’s gravity, and then it drops away so that the satellite can fulfill its orbiting mission. Well, Jesus earthly ministry.

That’s, that’s stage one powerfully lifting humanity out of sins, gravity, and the ascension. That’s like the, the separation stage. And then Pentecost, we’re gonna look at it in two weeks. Pentecost ignites stage two. The, the, the church in spirit, empowered orbit, broadcasting the gospel around the planet 24 7. And we, today, we live post Pentecost, unlike the 12, we’re not waiting for the spirit. We’re walking in the spirit. So when you greet guests at the door with genuine warmth, that’s the spirit witnessing through hospitality. Walking in the spirit is when Victory singles team up as they’re gonna do this Wednesday with Feed My Starving Children to prepare Mana Pack meals, delivering life sustaining food to the world’s most vulnerable. When a retired believer spends a quiet afternoon with a lonely neighbor opening the Bible to share words of hope, praying with them, that’s the spirit bearing witness through seasoned compassion. And I see it here at Victory and this Memorial Day weekend. It gives us opportunity to reflect, I think, even deeper. For Indeed. Freedom is never free. Every barbecue or every open church door, each child laughing in the safety of a backyard, it whispers of a hidden cost, lives laid down. So that others could live. That’s what we remember this weekend. Yet even the bravest soldier sacrifice is but a shadow of a hill called Calvary, where the sinless son of God willingly gave up his life and signed a blank check with his own blood. Jesus himself said greater love has no one than this. That someone laid down his life for his friends and then Jesus did just that and he did it for you and for others. Jesus volunteered for the front line against sin and death and the devil, and he absorbed the shrapnel meant for us and his empty tomb. It’s like the victory banner that God hoists over humanity, declaring every repentant heart forgiven and eternally free. And that freedom, it’s not meant to be stockpiled, it’s meant to be shared. The same love that rescued us now commissions us to go share that story. So this weekend let grill, smoke and fireworks become reminders that our mission has the aroma of Christ’s sacrifice and shines and explodes like his resurrection light, and spend your freedom and liberty on justice and generosity and love of neighbor so that people can see a living picture of the gospel.

Not a perfect picture, but a living one. Speak Jesus’ name with spirit fueled courage. Inviting weary souls into the freedom that Jesus alone can give for after all, isn’t the greatest way to honor the one who died and rose again is to carry his message to those who still need to hear that his love was and is and always will be for them just as it is for you. For us here at Victory, that word translated in our text power. It’s the word, it’s like dynamite, dunamis, and it’s this, it’s the same power that emboldened these common fishermen to be worldwide witnesses. Some even before Caesars. And that’s the power is still pulses here in the veins of retirees at Mesa. In college, students in Tempe and in preschool moms here in the East Valley, Jesus left so that we could go with power that outlast any kind of earthly battery. Jesus left to confirm the story. He left to empower the mission, and finally Jesus left to guarantee the kingdom. Because you see our future is secure so that our mission then can be bold. You know, the disciples pre ascension question, it kind of drips with some, a nationalistic hope. Hey, Lord, are you at this time gonna restore the kingdom to Israel? You see, they wanted Jesus to crush Rome and crown Jerusalem and Jesus. He redirects, basically saying, Hey, the timeline, that’s the father’s business. Your business is to witness. Now he doesn’t hold back on kingdom language. In fact, he deepens it. He had said to his disciples earlier, don’t be afraid. Little flock for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. It reminds me of what Charmin Red Forest earlier from Daniel, but the holy people of the most high will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever. And it’s like an exclamation point. Yes. Forever and ever from this, we’re given two priceless truths. First, the kingdom is God’s gift. It’s not our own creation. We labor. Yes, but the kingdom arrives because the father. Is pleased to give it. And second, the kingdom is forever. If you think about it, in the grand scope of human history, political empires rise and fall. Assyria, Babylon, Rome, even American democracy, temporary Christ’s reign, eternal. Because of this, it means we can have a fearless witness, and this makes a difference for us not just Sunday morning, but Monday afternoons because insecurity can muzzle witness. If we fear losing cultural influence or personal approval, we can grow silent. But when we realize and remember the kingdom cannot be shaken and it’s given and it’s secure, then I can afford. To have risky, awkward conversations. I can sacrifice generously. I don’t even have to fear loss of reputation. In other words, our inheritance, it’s guaranteed and reserved, but our assignment, it’s urgent. And in our text, Luke invites us to respond to this angelic nudge. They’re looking intently into the sky. Mena Galilee, the angels said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus will come back in the same way You’ve seen him go into heaven paraphrasing it. Stop staring at the departure rate gate and run to your mission gate.

And we live between Jesus ascension and Jesus return. Kind of between Daniel fulfilled and yet Daniel yet to be consummated, and the interval in which we live, it’s tailor made and designed for witness. My own personal call in the ministry made this pivot. I got to spend in my young twenties, a uh, four months from Christmas to Easter visiting my parents who were missionaries in Cameroon at the time. And during those months, I mean, they changed the course of my life. God unmistakably, tugged on my heart, called me to full-time ministry, so I returned to the states, convinced I’d finished college, head to seminary, and eventually returned to Central Africa as a missionary. And God used that initial vision to push me through my undergraduate studies into seminary. But midway in my second year, God redirected my compass and listening to several influential speakers. For me, I began to see my own country, the United States, as a vast mission field. And it is, isn’t it? And my understanding of pastor suddenly merged with missionary. So for me, when graduation came and a church plant opportunity in southern California opened up, the decision was obvious. Yes, Lord. Send me to the mission field, to the front line picture again in our text, Jesus disciples mouths open, perhaps eyes skyward, heart thumping. He disappears. The clouds swallows their teacher. Maybe dust settles, silence falls, then sandals shuffle and someone clears their throats and said, well, I guess it’s back to Jerusalem. And they pivot. And that pivot changed human history and we stand at that same pivot moment ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit. We know the risen king and we carry an unshakeable hope. And people in Mesa, Gilbert, Apache, queen Creek, our zip codes, they’re waiting just as they are in South Africa and Thailand and Myanmar, as well as in 55 plus parks and in senior living facilities just down the street.

So my question for all of us here today for you. Will you pivot? Will you go? Will you pray Spirit? Give me one name. Just one. Someone to love, to serve, to invite to tell, and will you trust that the God who handed you the kingdom will also grant you the courage and the words to share. Remember that angelic promise, this same Jesus will come back and he will. On that day, our witnessing will cease. Our worship will crescendo and the alphabet will resolve into one eternal word. J-E-S-U-S. Jesus left, so we could go. Join me. Let’s go. Let’s pray. Lord Jesus enthroned above, yet present within. Thank you for ascending so that the Holy Spirit could descend. And in doing so, then ignite us with holy boldness to carry your name from our living rooms to the ends of the earth and across the street, wherever you lead us. And come quickly, king Jesus, and find us faithful in the going. I ask in your precious name and for your sake, amen.