The Ascension
Promise
Jesus’
disciples were just standing there, staring up into the sky. And for good reason! Jesus had just lifted up off of the ground
right in front of their eyes and had slowly floated in midair up into the
clouds and out of their sight! For the forty
days after his resurrection from the dead Jesus had been appearing to his
chosen following at various times in different places, teaching them,
instructing them, warning them, preparing them.
But now he was gone. And these
men who had been with Jesus for the past three years learning from their Lord
would never see his face again until the glories of Paradise in heaven.
And I
would imagine that they had to be a little worried about that. Who wouldn’t be! They were now going to be sent out into the
world on their own without Jesus by their side.
They would have to face persecution, difficulties, attacks, questions,
and situations without the Lord walking them through those dilemmas step by
step and hand in hand. They were being
pushed from the nest, so to speak, whether they wanted to try flying on their
own or not.
If I
were in that situation, I might wonder if I would be “out of sight, out of mind”
to my Lord. He was on his heavenly
throne, after all, ruling and reigning over the whole world! He had more pressing matters to attend to
than me. He had more important things to
deal with than be right by my side.
Whether these original disciples had any of those thoughts is not
known. Because suddenly a couple angels
appeared next to them and said, “What are you doing looking up into the
sky? Go back to Jerusalem and wait there
for the Lord to give you the gift that he promised. There’s no reason to keep looking up into the
sky here. He’s not coming back - not yet
anyway. Remember the words that he said.” And the gospel writer Luke says that “They worshiped him and returned to
Jerusalem with great joy. And they
stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:52-53). The disciples were actually filled with joy! Not because Jesus had left but because they
remembered the blessing he had given them before he ascended: “Surely I am with you always to the very
end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). They
may not have been able to see Jesus anymore, but he would always see them. They may not always remember everything that
Jesus had taught them, but he would always remember them. It was not “out of sight, out of mind” when
it came to their Lord. They were never
out of his sight; they were never out of his mind.
And that
proved true throughout the rest of their lives, didn’t it? As those disciples went out into the world
and spread the Good News about the cross and the tomb, Jesus went with
them. Not physically and visibly, but
powerfully nonetheless. He gave them the
ability to perform some incredible miracles; he delivered them in some
astounding ways from violence and false imprisonments; he gave special
revelations to a few of them; dreams and visions to others; and powerful words
of God to them all. It was undeniable
that Jesus had gone up from this earth and had left this world behind. But he had not left his disciples. In fact, he had gone into heaven for them, he was reigning on the throne for them, he was demonstrating his power
for them. Just as he does for you today. Jesus is in heaven for you. He does not have more pressing matters to
attend to. He does not have more
important issues to deal with. You are
his number one priority and he will continue to be with you every step of the
way. You may not be able to see him; but
he sees you. You may not be able to remember
him all of the time; but he remembers you.
You’re never “out of sight, out of mind” to your Lord. If only we were as faithful to the Lord as he
is to us…
Out of Sight,
Out of Mind
We’re OK
in here. We’re faithful for now as we
sit in church on a Sunday morning. Because
for the most part as long as we are listening to the sermon or singing the
hymns or bowing our heads in prayer or confessing our faith or involved with
Bible study and Sunday school afterwards, we are able to concentrate on our
Lord and we are filled with the joy and excitement that his Word produces. But then it’s over. And later this afternoon we’re back at home
doing something else. And then Monday
hits and the grind of another week begins.
And we’re caught up in the schedules and the appointments and the
tasks. And all of the sudden we’re right
back here next week and we’ve hardly thought about our Lord at all since last
Sunday. Sadly, it’s sometimes out of
sight, out of mind when it comes to our Lord.
Be
honest with me: did you realize it was the celebration of Jesus’ ascension into
heaven this last Thursday? Did it even
cross your minds? How many times during
these next seven days are you actually going to call to mind Jesus’ ascension
after you leave this building? Will it
ever work its way into your thoughts at all or will you kind of forget about
most of the stuff we went through this morning until maybe next Sunday? I’ll be honest with you: I might not think
of Christ’s ascension for the rest of this week either. Other than editing my sermon so that I can
put it on our website, what we are worshiping the Lord for here today might not
ever make its way into my thoughts.
After I get home this afternoon and change into something a little less
formal, my mind will move onto other things.
It’s an “out of sight, out of mind” thing for me too! If I’m not reading God’s Word, hearing it,
seeing it, or experiencing it in some way, I tend to forget about it completely. I get occupied with different jobs and tasks
and responsibilities and I don’t always involve the Lord in those parts of my
life. That doesn’t mean that we have to
constantly think about Jesus’ ascension into heaven (or any other event of
Jesus’ life) all of the time every day.
But it does mean that we should consider the Lord and his Word at least
a little bit throughout the week! God’s
Word shouldn’t just be a part of our lives; God’s Word should be our lives!
Similar Promise Years Before
It’s
nothing new. 1500 years before Jesus’
ascended into heaven, another group of people who had proved themselves forgetful
and distracted and susceptible to the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome,
were waiting on the eastern edge of the land of Israel, looking to cross the
Jordan River for the very first time.
And as their aging leader, Moses, stood before them, he offered these
comforting words of the Lord to the nation - the last words Moses ever spoke in
Scripture: “There is no one like the God
of Jeshurun [= the upright one, the nation of Israel], who rides on the heavens
to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting
arms. He will drive out your enemy before
you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’ So Israel
will live in safety alone; Jacob’s spring is secure in a land of grain and new
wine, where the heavens drop dew.
Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is
like you, a people saved by the Lord? He
is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.”
Moses
spoke these words to a people that had not been faithful to the Lord the entire
time. In fact, just the opposite! The Israelites had not always remembered what
he had done for them. The Israelites had
not always called to mind the Lord and his Word as they carried out their day
to day duties. But the Lord’s promises
to them would not change. And Moses
wanted them to know that although Moses himself would not be able to go into
the Promised Land with them, and although they would be facing enemies of
various kinds for many, many years, and although the Lord would not be leading
them in a pillar of fire by night and a column of clouds by day as he had been
for the past 40 years in the desert, the Lord himself was not going to leave
them. He would be their refuge, their
helper, their shield, and their sword.
He would ride on the heavens to help them and ascend the clouds in his
majesty. He would be there for them
wherever they would go and even though they would not be able to see him in
clouds and fire and smoke as they had in the past, he would be right there. He would be right there for them. And they wouldn’t
have anything to worry about for the rest of their lives.
Never Out of
Sight
That’s
about the same promise that the disciples received on the day of Jesus’
ascension, isn’t it? They wouldn’t be
able to see Jesus anymore, they wouldn’t be able to personally be led by him
anymore, they wouldn’t be able to experience the might of his physical presence
anymore, but he would still be there. He
would be there for them. And they
wouldn’t have anything to worry about for the rest of their lives.
Neither
do you. Even if the Lord and his Word is
“out of sight, out of mind” for you at times, you are never “out of sight, out
of mind” to him. Because although he is
in heaven, he is looking directly at you!
There is never a point in your life where you are not within his line of
sight! I know that it sounds a little
strange and maybe a little unnerving that the Lord is looking at you all of the
time every day, but he is. He doesn’t
take his eyes off you. He is so
concerned about your well-being that he is going to watch you at all times to
make sure that nothing happens to you beyond his control. And everything that does happen, he will work
it out for your best interests. And he
never turns his back. He never gets
distracted. He never leaves you alone
for even a second to attend to something else or someone else. You are his life. So there is nothing else he wants to look at.
Never Out of
Mind
Which
means that you are always on his mind as well.
Have you ever had a song stuck in your head and you can’t seem to get it
out? You find yourself humming it and
singing it and whatever you do you can’t get it out of your mind? You are the melody in the mind of
Christ. And he doesn’t want to get you
out! He’s thinking about you constantly:
what he can do for you, how he will do it, and when it will be best. Everything he does is directed toward you: his
control over the forces of nature, the evils that he allows to occur in this
world, the minute details he directs that no one else knows about… all of these
things are integrated into his overall plan for you. Just as it always has been.
When he
decided to create this universe in the span of six days, it would be thousands
of years before you even existed; but you were already on his mind. When Adam and Eve sinned for the very first
time in that Garden and God promised to send his Son to crush Satan’s head and
save all people from their sins, you had not yet committed a sin yourself; but
you were already on his mind. When Jesus
personally came to this earth and lived among human beings, suffered
persecution, underwent temptations, and dealt with difficulties and attacks throughout
his life, you were not there causing him pain; but you were on his mind. When he felt the metal tipped whips rip into
his back, when he felt the thorns press down into his skull, when he felt the
nails puncture his hands and feet, you were not there to help him, you were not
there to comfort him; but you were on his mind.
When he rose from the dead, when he appeared to his followers, when he
ascended into heaven, it would be another 2000 or so years before you even knew
who he was; but you were on his mind through it all.
You’ve
always been on his mind. And you always
will be on his mind. He will continue to
“ride on the heavens to help you and on
the clouds in his majesty. [Because] the
eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms… Who is like you, a people saved by the
Lord? He is your shield and helper and
your glorious sword.” Who is like
you in this world? No one! There is no one like you because you are a
child of God. You are special to
him. You are precious to him. And that will never change no matter where
you go or what you do or who you are.
Out of his sight? Never! Out of his mind? You can’t be!
Because you are his. And there is
no one else on the face of this earth he cares about more.
Amen.
“He appeared in a
body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the
nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” - 1 Tim. 3:16
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