(Act 1:1-11)  NT p. 112 or 1337

1:1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning

1:2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

1:3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

1:4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me;

1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"

1:7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

1:9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

1:10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.

1:11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

INTRODUCTION:

I'm constantly amazed the God called ME into the ministry. If nothing else it goes to prove that God has a great sense of humor. You see, I still think one of the main reasons God called me into the ministry is so I could make up for all the stuff I did as a kid. I wasn't rotten or mean. I wasn't a thug or anything. I just liked to have fun and got into a lot of mischief.

When I was in High School my friends and I used to play sort of a rude little game. I say sort of because it was just sort of street theater. And we did it just to get a reaction from people. We would all go to the Mall. And then one of us would find a spot, stand there and look up. Then another one of us would join the first one and then another and so on until we had all of us looking up. Sometimes, we'd point. Sometimes we'd talk about how big it was or say things, "Would you look at that." We'd try to see if we could gather a crowd or get other people to look up, also. People are curious and most people looked. Some of them didn't see anything and just sort of gave us one of those "Crazy kids" growls or looks and went on their way.

Sometimes though, people would stop and look. Sometimes they would come over to where we were standing to see if they could see it from our perspective. If they still didn't see anything, they'd usually shrug their shoulders and go on or shoot us a dirty look and go on. Very seldom though did anyone stop and ask us what we were looking at.

The passage from Acts describes Jesus last earthly encounter with the Disciples. They were gathered on the Mt. of Olives. Jesus gave them final instructions, answered final questions and then a cloud descended and lifted Jesus up and took Him out of site. The Disciples stood there wide eyed and confused. They didn't know what to think. They were still looking up when two angels came and asked them: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

The Disciples saw Jesus Ascend in a cloud. And they had to be thinking themselves, "Why?" and "Now what?"

I. PRELUDE:

A. I guess you could answer the "Why?" question by saying that the Ascension was the Prelude to the Symphony known as Pentecost. The Disciple's final questions could be seen as the warm up. The instruments being tuned and tested. And Jesus' final instructions could be seen as the conductor's tapping of the baton, and the first note in the Prelude.

Without the Ascension, there could be no Pentecost. While Jesus was here on earth, He was limited. He could only be in one place at a time. He had a world view of ministry but if He remained that ministry would be localized as it had been for the three years prior to his death and resurrection. In order to carry out and fulfill the world view, Jesus had to leave.

Had Jesus remained, the Disciples would have tried to go back to the way things had always been, Jesus teaching, them following. They never would have ventured out on their own. They never would have had the courage or the faith to do what Jesus called them to do. They would have been too dependent on the physical Jesus. They didn't understand it at the time, but Jesus could only be with everyone of His followers at the same time by leaving.

B. So, Jesus went home. And he went out in style. No ladder like in Jacob's dream. No horse drawn carriage. No chauffeur driven limousine. God didn't even send a chariot of fire like He did for Elijah. No, none of that was good enough for the Son of God. Just like when God lead the Israelites in the wilderness and when He was with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, God wrapped Himself in a cloud and came to take His beloved Son home.

That was the Prelude to Pentecost. It was just the beginning. And when Jesus left, he left instructions, too. He told the Disciples to wait and to anticipate what God was about to do. Jesus promised that the Disciples wouldn't be alone for long. All they had to do was wait.

II. PURPOSE:

A. And the purpose, well, Jesus spelled that out over and over again for the Disciples. He told them what the purpose was when He called them and now one last time He reminded them of that call and their purpose: To "go and make disciples of all nations." You have to admit, that's a pretty tall order.

The Disciples had to have felt like the little boy who loved Superman. He had superman sheets and pillowcases. He had Superman wall paper. He had Superman curtains. He had Superman Pjs and Superman underwear. When they asked him what he wanted for his birthday, the only thing he asked for was a Superman cape.

His mother found the right kind of material. She measured and cut and sewed a Superman cape. Then she put it in a box and wrapped it in Superman paper. Mom, even saved it until all the other presents were opened. The little boy was ecstatic. He could hardly wait. He put on the cape and ran outside. Mom and Dad laughed as they watched him running around the yard, cape flying behind. Every now and then he would leap into the air.

About five minutes later the little boy came stomping in, crumpled up the cape and threw it on the floor and said: "This thing don't work. I still can't fly."

B. The Disciples had to have felt a little of that frustration. They knew what they were supposed to do, what they were called to do but they had no clue how to go about it. They felt powerless and weak. There was no cape to help them fly. That's why Jesus told them to wait and to anticipate.

They had no idea what or who they were waiting for. It was sort of like trying to share the excitement of Christmas Eve with someone who had absolutely no experience of Christmas.

Jesus told them: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

They had no idea what that really meant but they were obedient and waited.

CONCLUSION:

The TV show Superman always began with the words, "Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in single bound. Look! Up In The Sky! It's a Bird! It's A Plane! No, it's Superman."

We're not called to look for Superman, but we are called to "Look Up." We're not called to stand and stare at the sky like the Disciples, but we are called to "Look Up."

We're called to "Look Up" and keep our eyes focused on God. We're called to "Look Up" and keep our lives focused on the call to make disciples. We're called to "Look Up" and keep our hearts centered in our relationship with God through Christ.

We've heard the Prelude, we've even been a part of Symphony known as Pentecost. Today we come to Christ's table to be fed and renewed so that we CAN "Look Up" and help others "Look Up" as well.

1.

2.

3.

4.