Ascension Faith

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(This talk was given on: 20th May 2001)

David, what a character. What a complex man. What a king! He was the second greatest king of Israel.

From an early age, David's faith was evident and fairly strong. How else could he have faced up to Goliath? I would say that that was faith in the extreme. And after his victory, he went back to being a shepherd to the king and playing music and writing psalms. For a long time, he was content to be a sheep in his Father's flock, knowing and basking in the Shepherd's love.

Samuel had anointed David, to be king after Saul died. Saul was impressed by David and had him work for him as his musician and as a soldier. Eventually though, Saul was jealous of David and tried to kill him. David fled to the Philistines and others who did not like Saul joined him. At one point, David was hiding in a cave at En-Gedi (by the Dead Sea), when Saul entered the cave to relieve himself. David had the opportunity to kill king Saul and take the throne, but he didn't, because his character was so strong. He was a man after God's heart.

David was also able to penetrate Saul's encampment, as we heard from the reading, and take his spear as the king lay sleeping. And when Abishai, Joab's brother, was ready to kill him, David restrained him: "No! Don't kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord's anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die in battle or of old age. But the Lord forbid that I should kill the one He has anointed."

Here was such faith in God that he could not commit what he felt would be a crime against God's anointed. And this faith in God acted with great power in David for, relegating punishment to God, David was able to remove hatred and vengeance from himself, and enabled him to keep God's Law: "Thou shalt not kill." The process of coming to trust in God is often called "the leap of faith." That's because there's a tremendous jump involved when a person disregards everything his mind and his senses tell him, and trusts in the promises of God.

The Bible has many examples of that kind of faith. One is the account of which I made mention earlier, of his battle with Goliath. Saul needed somebody who was willing to fight this man mountain. I bet that if you could've walked through those Israelites there that day you would have found the same sort of faith that a lot of us Xians show today, including myself. I bet that if you asked any of them, "Do you believe in God?" you would have got an, "Of course I do!" And if you asked "Do you believe that God is all powerful?" then you would have heard, "Of course I believe God is all powerful!" And I'd like to bet if you then asked, "Are you ready to trust in God and go fight Goliath?" you'd have got an, "Are you mad or what?" Because I feel sure that I would have answered in that way.

David refused to kill Saul on numerous occasions, even though his mind and senses were telling him, probably screaming out to him to slay Saul. And when Saul finally died in battle, David's lament for him was not one of exultation in an enemy's defeat, nor did he make any reference to Saul's enmity and jealousy; but he knew his destiny and returned to Judah where he was made king. That 'leap of faith' and whole-hearted trust in God allowed David to do that. Anything less and I believe that the book of Samuel would have been totally different to the one we read today.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Ever since I first heard of your strong…….(read passage).

Who knows what Thursday is? Not Keith or maybe Sue. If you think you know, stick your hand in the air, don't call out.

Right, this Thursday is Ascension Day. The 24th of May.

I want to put a question to you now.

If you could choose just one thing that you think would make you perfectly happy forever, what would it be? If there was one condition of mind or one item you could hold that would help you meet everyday problems full on, what would it be? The first thing that probably comes to mind, or at least the first to enter my mind was money. I read in the paper this Friday of a man who won £6 million on the lottery in 1995. He was saying how he was sick and tired of his lavish lifestyle. He's selling his £1.8 million mansion, his fleet of cars, his £100,000 helicopter. He's realised that with all his wealth he still hasn't found true happiness, but that it's brought with it a heightened sense of misery. Do you ever think that a windfall such as that would meet all my desires, set me up for life? Well, I don't believe it would help for long. Wealthy people prove that you can have all the money you need in the world and still be miserable.

What about education? With a lot emphasis placed on higher education today, you might be thinking that if only I had better qualifications, Btec's or HND's or a PhD...then I could be happy and successful in life. But, even those people with the most brilliant and academic minds can still be some of the most unhappy.

How about having a few more friends? We all feel lonely sometimes. "If only I had a few friends always with me." But, we've all heard the phrase, 'You can be surrounded by friends but still feel alone.'

So what's the answer? I believe that Paul knew. He prayed the prayer I read earlier, that all of us would come to know the answer. I believe that the answer is to have an 'Ascension faith.' This evening, I would like us to consider this question... with this Thursday being Ascension day.

"IS OURS AN ASCENSION FAITH?"

What is Ascension faith? Well, I believe it's two things:

I. It's a faith that knows God has done everything to save us.

II. It's a faith that knows God can do absolutely anything to serve us.

Is ours an ascension faith? I'll bet you've never thought about it, I certainly hadn't until I started preparing for this talk. I suppose I've only ever thought of Ascension day as an event that happens between Easter and Pentecost. I suppose I've always thought of it as a 'nice story' about Jesus going from earth to Heaven. But I know now that the Ascension was more than just a 'beam me up Scotty' story. I believe it's the ultimate proof that Jesus has done everything He needed to do to save us.

When Paul prayed that God "may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him...to know the hope to which He has called you," I believe he was talking about the Ascension. That event was the capping off of Jesus' entire work of redemption. It meant that every single i had been dotted and every t been crossed in the plan of salvation. Jesus was going back to heaven as a triumphant king returning from battle. He'd been victorious. And I believe that that victory belongs to everyone who trusts in Him!

I don't think that we make as much of Ascension day as we might. I believe that Christ's Ascension is the rock-solid assurance that we are saved. Nothing, and no one is ever going to be able to condemn us.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth and birthday of our Lord Jesus. Good Friday is the day we meditate on the sacrifice with which Jesus bought us our freedom and forgiveness through dying on the cross. On Easter day we celebrate Jesus being raised from the dead as proof that God had accepted the sacrifice He had made for us on the cross. But I don't believe that that was the end. I really believe that the Ascension completed the divine plan. Today we remind ourselves that our Saviour is at the Right Hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf.

And that should be a comfort to us. Because, if you're anything like me, there are times when I find it difficult to accept that I'm forgiven. My conscience nags me, condemns me. There are people, even Xians, who would want me to question whether I'm really saved. But that's the time we should be remembering the ascension. That's when we should be remembering that Jesus is right now, right this minute, pleading for us with the Father. He's saying, “Father, forgive them because of My sacrifice on the cross. I paid for their sins, and You have already accepted it.”

Is ours an ascension faith? It is, if only we can believe and trust in the fact that God has done everything He needs to save us.

I really believe that the power of the ascension is there for us in our daily lives. I believe that it allows us to tackle our daily problems head on and to be able to walk victoriously. An ascension faith realises that not only has God done everything to save us, but as I said earlier, it's a faith that knows God can do anything to serve us.

Like me, you probably believe that all the major decisions affecting our lives are taken either in Whitehall or the White House by men in influential positions. But, having an ascension faith reminds us that Jesus is in control; that throughout history, He ruled and rules. He is the Alpha and the Omega. God has placed Jesus in control of His world. Is ours an ascension faith?

When we find ourselves in trouble, do we feel helpless? Or do we have an ascension faith? Do we actually think about, and remember that Jesus is working for us, interceding on our behalf?

Is ours an Ascension faith? It should be, and it can be. I believe that because of the Ascension, God has already defeated all our enemies - sin, death and satan. Can we then trust Him with all our other life problems? Yes we can! As Paul said in Romans 8: 31-32, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else" God is in control of His world, for the good of His children. I don't believe that Jesus went up to heaven just to get away from us. He did it to show that the same loving Saviour who died for us on the cross is now the one who now holds all authority in heaven and on earth!

So, back to the question I asked earlier. What do we need most? Isn't it an Ascension faith? The battle has already been fought and won, God sent Jesus into this world to die for us. He was buried, raised to life and ascended into heaven where He sits at the Father's right hand. and we are made conquerors through Jesus Christ!

As the hymn says:

'Christ above all glory seated, King triumphant strong to save.

Dying Thou hast death defeated, buried Thou hast spoiled the grave.

Thou art gone where now is given what no mortal might could gain,

On the eternal throne of heaven in Thy Father's power to reign.

Before I finish I'd like to read this meditation on Christ and the ascension, the author is anonymous.

Why Did He Have To Go?

Why did He have to go? Why did He have to leave us here and return to the skies above?

He had to go, His Work was done on this Earth. Prophecy Fulfilled, destiny accomplished, His Ascension was His Reward for a work well done.

He glorified His Father while on this earth. It was now time for the Father to glorify Him in return and restore Him to the majesty and honour of the seat on the right hand of the Father.

He was in the world but not of this world. He did not belong here, He belonged in the presence of the Father, like it was in the beginning and shall be forever.

For a while, He was with us in the flesh but as He ascended the Holy Spirit descended, and though not with us, He is within us, dwelling in our hearts. A closer fellowship like never before.

May God grant each of us to remember that. And may God give us each an Ascension faith! AMEN.

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By Mike Ogden