Acts 1. Again, we're looking
at verse 9 of Acts 1. Acts 1 and verse 9. This morning, again, we'll be
dealing with the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse
9 of Acts 1, we read, And when he had spoken these
things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received
him out of their sight." Now, last week, concerning the ascension
of Christ, we looked at this ascension by asking two questions.
Where did Christ go when He ascended and what is He doing there now? We saw that Jesus Christ, as
the Scriptures have said, He has ascended into heaven and
is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Mark
16, 19 tells us that when He had spoken unto them, He was
received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. We saw last week that sitting
on the right hand of God that Jesus Christ, who came down from
heaven, went back to the place where He was before. And now
He is seated on the right hand of God, meaning, All power is
given to Him. All power in heaven and in earth
is given unto the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and He is seated
and working all things after the counsel of His own will. This means that He has been given
power over all things. And therefore, we've asked the
question, what is He doing? What is he doing there at the
right hand of God? Well, he's working all things after the
counsel of his own will to save his people. Everything is moving. Everything is moving along in
history just the way the Lord planned and purposed and is moving
it. And he's doing this for the salvation
of his people. I was reading the history of
the city of Philippi. And I was reading how Philip,
the father of Alexander the Great, had conquered that city, and
they named that city after him. And you read about all the things
that happened to make that city so great. Why did God allow Philip
to make that city? What was the purpose? Because
God had a church that He was going to place there, and God
was going to call His people out of that city. So we can see
that all things moved so that God would save His people. One
day you were wandering in your sin, and I was wandering in my
sin, and one day we heard the Gospel. How did that happen?
All the earth moved for that purpose. for us to hear the Gospel. And what He's doing there now
also is interceding for us on our behalf. He is pleading our
cause because we still have sin and have need of an intercessor.
And that's what we saw last week that He was doing. This leads
me to my next question. I was going to do two this morning,
but I don't think I'm going to do two. I'm going to do one.
We'll just do one question. The question I have is this morning,
how should the ascension of Christ give us great comfort? How should
the ascension of Christ give us great comfort? Now, we as
believers are much like sheep. We're easily startled and equally
ignorant. We're easily startled and equally
ignorant. Now, we as believers, we're like
sheep, we don't know much. My friends, I don't know much,
but I do know this. I do know the voice of the shepherd. I do know the voice of the shepherd.
I know the voice of Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep. And
He has said, and He has written His Word for this purpose, that
He might give us comfort. This is His will that we be comforted. This is a matter and a subject
that is close to His heart. Our comfort. What did He say? Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,
saith who? The Lord. The Lord said, Comfort
ye My people. Therefore, God has given us His
Word. He has given us pastors and teachers to preach the gospel
of peace unto us who believe so that we might have comfort.
So then we read of Jesus leaving the earth and ascending into
heaven. How can this comfort us? Think about those apostles.
There He was. He died. They were sad. He came back. They were happy.
And now He's going away again. Sad. Our emotions, they run the
gambit, don't they? But the Lord Jesus Christ, He
went away so that we might have comfort. How then does this comfort
us? Let me first ask you this, do
you need comfort? See, if you don't need comfort, it's not
going to work for you. It's not going to do anything for you.
Only those that need comfort can be comforted by this. You
know, I can preach the most eloquent, comforting message, but if you
don't need comfort, it's not going to do anything for you.
If you're fine, if everything's okay with you and everything's
going good with you, you don't need comfort. My friend, I need
comfort. I need assurance. And I need
it every day. You see, and this is what God
has sent pastors for, is to preach the Word of God so that we might
have comfort. Now, a person needing comfort,
needing assurance, a person that feels distant from Christ and
longs for His presence, these are the type of people that need
comfort. Do you at times feel distant from your Lord? Do you
at times feel the need of His presence and you long for Him
to come, even right now, like John? Even so, come now, Lord
Jesus. I know we do. We do believe.
And therefore, this ascension, this ascension of Christ, it
should not cause us sadness, but should cause us great comfort.
It should cause us great comfort. First of all, it testified of
the acceptance of Christ's offering on our behalf. That's the main
reason this thing gives us comfort, the ascension of Christ. His
acceptance, the acceptance of His sacrifice on the great day
of atonement, when the high priest went into the Holy of Holies
to make the atonement, it was said by some that they had bells
on and that they would in there be doing the work. And as long
as the people heard the bells, They were somewhat comforted.
But when He stopped, imagine the fear went into their hearts. The atonement was being made.
What if He died in there? What if He didn't make the atonement
for us? There was always that hinge of
doubt in their hearts, causing them not to be comforted. And
all the while He was in there working, they were fearful and
afraid. When was it that they were comforted?
When He came out. when He came out and proclaimed,
Atonement has been made. Then they were happy and they
were comforted when He came out from behind the veil. Well, the
same of the type is true of the real. When Jesus Christ entered
into that holy place offering Himself and offering His own
blood, we know that the apostles even were fearful. They didn't
understand. It wasn't until Christ came forth
that they understood the atonement had been made. The atonement
had been made. His death was a vicarious one. He, as our High Priest, offered
Himself as our sacrifice and entered into the heavens with
His own blood. And God, by His resurrection and ascension, manifests
to every human to every man on the face of his earth that has
ever lived, that Jesus Christ is the only hope for sinners. And that God says, I am satisfied
with His death. I'm satisfied. Flip over to Hebrews
chapter 10. You know this very well, Hebrews
chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
11. It says, "...and every high priest
standeth daily, ministering, often offertimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sin. Ah, but this man, after he had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right
hand of God, and from henceforth, expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool, for by his one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified." These high priests. They did
this year after year after year, day after day after day, week
after week after week. They never sat down. Never. They were always busy, always
working. So the people were in constant
fear, weren't they? It was hard to comfort them when
the sacrifices were never enough. But we who have been saved are
to take comfort that our High Priest entered in one time, and
by His one offering and sacrifice, He no longer stood, but He sat
down. He sat down. He sat down, meaning that all
is accomplished. He has perfected forever those
who are sanctified. Not for a day He perfected us.
Not for a week He perfects us. Not year by year He perfects
us. He once for all has perfected
everyone that is sanctified. You that believe, take comfort.
He's ascended into heaven and God has manifest to you and to
me that our sacrifice is accepted. Jesus Christ, the sacrifice,
is accepted. Our perfections are not in ourselves,
not in our works, and not in our obedience. But our acceptance
with God rests safely in Christ and Him crucified. And therefore,
because He's ascended, we are saved. Saved. Saved. Glory, I'm saved. Through Jesus Christ has showed
us that He is satisfied. Living, He loved me. Dying, He
saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far
away. Rising, He justified freely. How long? Forever. Forever. And one day is coming, O glorious
day. Sinner, God is satisfied only
in Christ. And we who are in Christ by faith
may have great comfort, because He is ascended, He manifests
that He is accepted, and therefore we are accepted in Him. That
should bring us great comfort. That should bring us great comfort.
Number two, because He has sent the Spirit. This is another reason
for our comfort. Because He has sent His Spirit.
If you go to John chapter 16, John chapter 16 verse 7. Lord Jesus Christ, preparing
His disciples for the events coming, His death, He tells them
this great and comforting truth in verse 7 of John 16. He said,
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you
that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
Him unto you, the Comforter." Now, this going away speaks of
two things. It speaks of His going away to
death, and it also speaks of His going away in His ascension. It speaks of both things. If
He had not died, there would have been no atonement for us.
There would have been no acceptance with God for us. And thus, the
Spirit of God would have no purpose to come. If there was no atonement,
there would be no reason for the Spirit of God to come and
convince us of sin. Why would that be so if there
was no atonement? Wouldn't that be a torment to
know our sin and know there was no hope? There'd be no reason
for the Spirit of God to come, because there would have been
no remission for sins. But because He did come, and
He did go away at the death of the cross, He also purposed to
send His Spirit into the world to regenerate His elect and give
them life and faith. But the Holy Spirit was not poured
out till when? You see, it wasn't poured out
at His death, was it? It wasn't given at His death.
It wasn't even given at His resurrection. It was not till He ascended into
the heavens and was seated on the right hand of God that He
poured out His Spirit. Acts 2.32, Peter says this, this
Jesus God hath raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God, exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, have shed forth
this which you now see and hear." Peter, preaching on the day of
Pentecost, tells them that Christ, the Lord Jesus, when He ascended
as the Mediator, He received the promise of the Spirit from
the Father by right. By right. He earned that right
to ask of the Father the Spirit of God. And what did he do with
the Spirit of God? He poured it out into the world. He sent forth His Spirit into
the world. He shed Him into the world. And
Jesus, we know, is the fountain for sin and uncleanness. It says
that in Zechariah 13, verse 1. He says, in that day, I will
send unto the house of David and unto the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He said, I will open a fountain
for unrighteousness and uncleanness, for sin. You see, Jesus Christ is the
fountain open for sin, but the Spirit is the water poured forth
from the fountain. The Spirit is the water poured
forth. Jesus said at one of the feasts,
He says, "...he that believeth on Me," as the Scripture has
said, "...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
And John says, "...this spake he of the Spirit." You see, when
God the Father sends His Spirit into our hearts and quickens
us and gives us life and faith, that Spirit of God dwells in
us and it pours out of us. It pours out of us because of
the fountainhead, Christ. It was not given. It was expedient
that Christ go away. It was expedient that Christ
rise up to be with the Father so the Spirit could come unto
us. Why is this important? Why is this matter of the Spirit
important for our comfort? Because if God had not sent His
Spirit, there would be no new birth. Salvation is totally the work
of God, the work of a triune God. God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father chose a people
in eternity. Without election, there would
be no salvation. God the Father chose a people.
And just as importantly, Christ came and redeemed those people. Without redemption, there would
have been no salvation. And my friend, God the Holy Spirit
comes and gives life and faith to the sinner's heart and keeps
us in the faith all of our lives. Without the work of the Spirit,
there would be no salvation. There would be no quickening,
no faith, no life. Praise God for spiritual life
given by the Sovereign Spirit Himself. Jesus said, as the wind
bloweth where it listeth, so you hear the sound of it, but
you can't tell where it's coming and where it's going. So is everyone
that is born of the Spirit of God. No one's born apart from
the Spirit. No one. No one. Praise God for spiritual
life and faith. Glory to the risen Christ who
sent His intercessor for us, His Holy Spirit, to save sinners,
and open our eyes which were blinded, to heal our broken hearts
which were broken for sin, and to release us from the captivity
of sin, Satan, the flesh, and the world. Well, how does He
do this? By one means. this that we are
doing right now. The preaching of the gospel is
the only way God saves sinners. The only way. There is no other
way. There is no other way that a
person can come to life and faith in Christ but by the gospel.
Now, I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit can't use anybody
He chooses. He can use a man or a jackass.
It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, does it? But
I'll tell you, it doesn't matter who it is, but whoever it is,
they will speak the truth. They will speak the Gospel if
it will be used of the Spirit of God. They will speak the truth.
A jackass spoke the truth to Balaam, didn't he? Balaam, that false prophet. And
even Balaam, who determined in his heart to curse Israel, could
not do it. God made him praise and give
blessing to Israel. God can use anyone He wants to,
but I'll tell you what, He will not use anyone apart from the
truth of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit has been poured
out and He will not even speak of Himself. Not even speak of
Himself. Although the Spirit of God is
worthy of our praise, isn't He? He's worthy of our adoration.
He's worthy of our worship. He Himself is God. Yes. But when the Spirit speaks, He
will only speak of Christ. Jesus said, He'll take that and
He'll reveal Me. He'll glorify Me when He comes. He will not glorify Himself.
Jesus tells us plainly in John 16, verse 8, He starts to tell
us plainly the work of this Spirit. To reprove the world of sin,
of righteousness and judgment. He'll reprove the world of sin because they did not believe
on Christ. Unbelief, my friend, is the crowning jewel of all
sin. It is the damning sin not to
believe in Christ. And when the Spirit of God comes,
you know He doesn't reveal to a sinner, first of all, the love
of God. What does He reveal first? Sin. Sin. You see, Jesus Christ
came into the world not to save the righteous, but to call sinners
to repentance. The first thing He reveals to
us is our sin. And then He reveals the righteousness
of God at the same time. You can't really see sin without
seeing the righteousness of God, can you? You can't know sin unless
you know righteousness. Unless you can see God is holy,
you can't see what sin is. We can judge each other, but
that doesn't do us any good. You can look at me and say, well,
I'm better than that preacher. Well, you are. There's no doubt about
that. But you'll never see righteousness
here. You'll see it only in God and in Christ. You'll see the
righteousness of God and judgment. Oh, you remember when you found
out you were a sinner? that God was righteous and judgment
was coming? I remember. I remember. But I also remember when He revealed
to me that my sin was placed on Jesus Christ. He revealed to me that I needed
faith in Christ. He revealed to me that my righteousness
was summed up in Christ. He revealed to me that judgment
is passed because God meted out His justice on Christ. That's
what the Spirit of God reveals to us. Faith in Him, righteousness
by Him, and judgment by Him. This is the comfort of the Spirit
that is given by the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the
truth He preaches, Jesus Christ crucified for our sin, Jesus
Christ raised for our justification. And lastly, the Spirit of God
who is sent to us of Christ, He also keeps us. This should
give us great comfort. It keeps us in the faith. 1 Peter
1, verse 5 says, "...who are kept," speaking of the elect
of God, "...who are kept by the power of God," how? "...through
faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time." Is not our faith a gift of the
Spirit of God? Yes. It's a gift of the Spirit
of God. We don't have faith by nature.
Man can't produce it. You can't muster it. You can't
work it up. You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can't
do it. God's got to give it. Well, does He give it once? Have
you had faith one time? No, my friend, faith is a constant,
constant gift of the Spirit of God. He ever gives faith to belief. You see, the reason that I now
believe is by the Spirit of God. You see, I don't keep myself
in the faith. I am kept in the faith. You are kept in the faith
by the Spirit of Christ, by the Spirit of God, by grace. And
we will be kept in the Spirit till He comes again and reveals
to us salvation in its fullness and entirety. You see, Jesus
Christ When He died, He accomplished salvation. When the Spirit came,
He applied salvation. But yet, have we fully realized
salvation? Do you know the fullness of salvation
yet? Paul said, I have not attained.
I don't have that full knowledge yet. But salvation is ready to
be revealed. Ready to be revealed at the last
time. And He lives in us. He lives
in our heart and continually teaches us of Christ, continually
furnishes us and guides with faith and guides us and gives
us fullness of assurance. In Romans it says, the Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit. Does His Spirit bear
witness with yours? Do you have a witness in your
heart that you know the Son of God? How will you know that? How does
He bear witness? Well, in the previous thing,
He says, Are you led by the Spirit of God? Does He lead you? Does
He lead you into all truth? Do you have the Spirit of God
in you? Does He testify with your spirit? Has the risen, ascended Christ
sent His Spirit into your heart, crying, Abba, Father? then our salvation is sure and
take comfort because the Lord Jesus Christ is ascended. Is
that not a comfort to your heart? It is to mine. It is to mine. I need it every day to see His
risen, ascended Christ who sent His Spirit to us to give us comfort. I pray you are.