Go back with me to Acts chapter
1. We're going to be in Acts, but it's Acts chapter 1. The conference was such a blessing
to me. It was just such a blessing to
me. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed sitting there listening
to the gospel preached. And there were so many things
that Brother David and Brother Mike brought out that just touched
my heart. It just touched my heart. And
one of those things was Sunday morning, during Brother Mike's
message, he was preaching from Psalm 24, and he quoted a phrase a few
times, and the very first time he quoted it, It just hit me. Something hit me. I entered into
it like I never had before. I've known this for years, but
for the first time I entered into this. And the Lord blessed
this to my heart during studying it this week. And if He will
overrule my feebleness and my weakness and my exhaustion, I
pray He'll bless it to me again right now. Here's what Brother Mike quoted.
He said, this same Jesus He said it six or eight times. I don't
know if you remember hearing him say that. This same Jesus. You know, we're clinging to a
person. I say that often, but I entered
into it. I entered into it this week.
We are clinging to a person. I'm not clinging to the fact
that I know the five points of Calvinism and I believe them.
I know them and I believe them and my hope is not built on that. It's not built on that. We are clinging to a person. Now there are five glorious things
about this person that we are clinging to. There's a reason
that we're clinging to a person. five exact reasons. The first one is his birth. It's his birth. The Old Testament,
you know, the Old Testament law was written and the New Testament
was being written when he came. But that Old Testament law has
proven to us that we have sinned against God, right? We know that. We sinned against God. And it's
proven to us that God must punish sin. Right? We know that. And it's proven to us that unless
somebody stands between us and God, unless there's a mediator
between us and God, we're going to die in our sins. Right? We
know that. Now you know that I'm a sinner,
don't you? You know I'm a sinner. You know that I cannot stand
for you. I cannot mediate for you. And I know that you cannot stand
for me. One of you might say, well, I'll
stand for you. I'll stand for you." And I would
appreciate that. That would be very sweet. But
what would happen is as soon as you turned and faced God,
God would kill you for your own sins. And now I don't have a
mediator anymore. And then right after that, God's
going to kill me for my own sins. Okay? That's all there is to
it. The relationship between God and man is a hopeless relationship. Absolutely hopeless. You know
what I mean when I say that? God is absolutely holy. God can
have nothing to do with sin. It cannot be in His presence
and He must punish it. And I am nothing but sin from
the crown of my head to the sole of my foot. So my relationship
to God is hopeless. It's hopeless for every one of
us. No sinner can stand for himself and no sinner can stand for another
sinner. Period. So our God did something. He did something out of love.
He did it because he is love. He did it because he is mercy,
and he is kind. And as I say this, maybe we can
enter into what this is saying. He is compassion. He is forgiveness. So God became a sinless man. That's what he did. It was the
only hope God became a sinless man. God had to punish all men. So God became a man. All right. A sinless man who could actually
stand between man and God was able to stand there and not suffer
God's wrath for his own sin. He had none. He knew no sin. He was worthy. And because there
was no sin on Him, period, and He did not have to pay the debt
of His own sin, because there was no sin on Him, there was
room for Him to put my sin on Him. Okay? And as soon as God saw my sin
on Him, God killed Him. And when God killed him, God
killed my sin. That's what happened. We are clinging to a person. We're clinging to his birth.
Had he not been born, there is no hope. Okay? We're clinging
to his birth and then we're clinging to his death. That's the second
Great event, great thing about this person that we're clinging
to. We're clinging to his birth. We're clinging to his death.
The third one is his resurrection. He is life. He's our life. He that hath the Son hath life. If he right now is dead, if he
right now is still in the tomb, I can have no life. Period. I have no one who can bring me
back to God. If he is still dead, I cannot
live, I cannot move, I cannot have any being. None. I died in him. I did not rise
until he rose. I rose in him. Right? My life is in Him. So I'm clinging to a person.
I'm clinging to a person. What is life without Him? There
is no life without Him. I need a living Lord. That's
what I need. A Lord that has risen. I need
a living Savior that has satisfied God's wrath against me. and is
interceding for me right now. I need a living Savior that is
making peace with God for me right now. That's what I need.
Right now. We're clinging to His birth.
We're clinging to His death. We're clinging to His resurrection.
Okay, now. That's the intro. Now picture Acts chapter 1 with
me. The disciples were with the Lord
walking up into a mountain. Verse 12 says that this mountain
was called Olivet. Then returned they unto Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, the Mount of Olives. That's where
they went, okay? The Mount of Olives. Can you
picture how happy they were? Can you picture how relieved
they were? We're going through John on Sunday
nights. We're going through the book
of John. And with chapter after chapter, it's almost like the
same story, isn't it? They're bringing him before the
council. They hate every miracle he performs. They're trying to
catch him. They're trying to incarcerate
him. They want him dead. They want
him dead. After all the soldiers constantly trying to take him
and they finally did. And after all the lawyers and
the judges, they brought him before these councils. And after
the conviction, you know, they were awaiting his trial. He went
before pilot and they're all the disciples are all talking
about it. awaiting his trial, you know,
they've got to let him go. They don't have anything on him.
Pilate said, I find no fault with this man. So they're thinking
they got to let him go. They have to. And then the sentence
comes in. Oh, no. They found him guilty. He's been convicted. After all the torture they led
him away, we know what the soldiers did to him. After having to look at a man
that they almost couldn't recognize as their Lord, After seeing his visage, this
man, his visage so marred, they had to put a sign above him telling
everybody who he was. That's how marred he was. Put
a sign above him so they'll know who this is. After the crucifixion, after
watching him bow his head, and they saw him give up his ghost, And after watching them, pull
the nails back out of his dead body. And after seeing them, take him
down off that cross. And they put him in that tomb.
And after seeing them, seal up that tomb and station guards
in front of that tomb. Here he is. There he is. This same Jesus. The same one. This same Jesus. And now, after all that, after
the heartbreak, the absolute heartbreak, and the fear, and
the worry, and the, they can't eat until the trial's over, and
the trial didn't go well, and we still can't eat. Now our Lord
is gone. Now they're walking with Him. And they're asking him all kinds
of questions. And he's telling them all kinds of things. All kinds of things about the
kingdom. Verse 3 says, to whom also he
showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs
being seen of them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining
to the kingdom of God. He was telling them the secrets
of the kingdom of God. And then right after that they
started writing. He told them all kinds of things.
And they said, Lord, what are you going to do now? What's next? In verse 6, when they therefore
were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt thou
at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Are you going
to restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said in verse 7, It is
not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father
hath put in His own power. That's not for you to know. Don't
worry about it. Don't worry about what's coming
next. Don't dwell on prophecy and don't dwell on prediction.
You go tell men and women about what I've already done. You go
tell them what I have already done. You tell them that my birth
into humanity has been accomplished. You tell them God became a man.
You tell them that my death has been accomplished. You tell them
I was made sin. I was made sin. And I suffered God's wrath for
my own people. All of the chosen of God the
Father. You tell them that my resurrection
has been accomplished. That's what I want you to go
and tell them. You tell them I condemned sin in the flesh. And it was not possible for the
grave to hold me or any of the souls that God the Spirit put
in me any longer." You go tell them that. In verse 8, he said,
you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come
unto you, and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and
all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
He said, you're going to be a witness unto me. or witness unto me. Now, I hope the Lord will let
us enter into this. Verse 9 says, And when he had
spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and
a cloud received him out of their sight. While he was sitting there
telling them. How glorious is that? How glorious is that? Look at Luke 24. Luke 24 verse
50 says, and he led them out as far as
to Bethany." Now, Bethany is on the eastern side of the Mount
of Olives. That's where it's located, okay?
He led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his
hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he
blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. He lifted up His pierced hands, and He showed them His hands,
and He showed God His hands. And it says He blessed them. And what that means is He prayed
for them. And it means He professed His
love for them. He blessed them. And while he
was telling them, he's standing there telling them, I love you.
I love you. And I'm going to see you soon. The Lord bless thee and keep
thee. The Lord make his face shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee and give thee peace. While He was blessing them and
professing His love to them and His covenant to them, He was
saying, I promise, Thomas, I promise. Peter, it's okay. I know what you did. It's okay.
I promise. I love you, but you're not. While he was blessing them, his
body started to rise from the ground. And he rose up just above them,
telling them, I love you all. I do. I love you. Fear not. And he rose up past the olives,
past all the olive branches. And they stood there and watched
him rise up into midair farther and farther in the sky until
a cloud came in like a chariot and whisked him away to glory. I love that. I can't help it. That's my Lord. I love that. Birth accomplished. Death accomplished. Resurrection
accomplished. And right then and there, ascension
accomplished. That's the fourth great thing
that we cling to this person for. He said in John 14, I'm going
to prepare a place for you. That's why I'm going. He said
in John 16, it's expedient for you that I go away. I must. We're clinging to the fact that
our Savior, the God-man, has ascended into glory for the purpose
of preparing a place for us. Why is He there and we're here?
He's preparing a place for us. And I tell you, our eyes haven't
seen and our ears haven't heard the things that God has prepared
for them that love Him. There was an old preacher named
Roland Hill. Most of you have heard this,
but Roland Hill had a dream. And it was just a dream. It didn't
mean anything. It was just a dream. But he said that he dreamed one
night that he died and went to heaven. And he said, when I got
there, I heard the most glorious singing an ear could ever hear. Angels tongues. And he said,
I went to where the singing was, and there was a sea of people,
a huge choir singing the most beautiful song ever heard. And he said, I thought, man,
I wish I could sing in that choir. Oh, I'd love to sing with them
in that choir." And he said he looked up and he saw way up at
the top one empty chair. So he went to the stairs and
he climbed up and up and up and he made it all the way to the
top. And in that one empty chair was a plaque. It said, reserved
for Roland Hill. He said, I'm going to prepare
a place for you. I must go away. This same Jesus
is right now preparing a place for us. Us. All those that He chose and
called and redeemed to be in us. Us. Now there is one more
glorious event that God's believers are looking to. and hoping in,
and trusting in, and waiting on. It hasn't happened yet. Everything
that we think of concerning our Lord is usually in the past.
You know, they experienced all that stuff. The Apostles. Peter
got to experience all that stuff first hand. This one hasn't happened
yet. Just like the Old Testament,
they were saying, He's coming. He's coming. Well, He's coming
back. This one hasn't happened yet.
Look back over in Acts chapter 1 verse 10 says, And while they looked steadfastly
toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus. which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you
have seen him go into heaven." We are clinging to the return
of a person. We are clinging to the return
of a person. This same Jesus. I'm telling you this same Jesus. God sent two angels right here,
two messengers, to tell us this same person is coming back. The same person. The same one
Peter got to touch, and John got to touch, and Thomas got
to touch. The same person is coming back. Charles Spurgeon said about this
verse right here, he said, I appreciate the description the more. They
said this same Jesus, and he said, I appreciate the description
the more. Because it came from those who
knew him. He was seen of angels. That's
what 1st Timothy 3.16 says. He was seen of angels. Two angels
went with the Lord when he met with Abraham in the door of his
tent. back in Genesis. You remember that? Three men
came. One was the Lord. Two angels went with him. It
might have been the same two angels. I don't know. But two
angels went with him. And they heard the Lord say,
Abraham, I'm going to bless you. I'm going to send you a son.
And I'm going to bless all nations of the earth through that son. In him. They said this same Jesus,
this loving, giving, kind one that met with Abraham, the angels that did his bidding
all throughout the Old Testament, Daniel, over in the book of Daniel. Daniel was crying and he was
weeping and he was suffering and he was begging for his sin
and for the sin of his people. And it says, the command came
from the throne. You fly swiftly and you get to
him as fast as you can. And you ease his pain. You give
him my answer. Daniel said, before I was even
finished praying, I was touched by the angel Gabriel. He said,
the command came forth. Go fast. Help him fast. They're
saying this same Jesus. The very same one. the ones that
all gathered together to announce His birth. You remember that?
The wise men, they came and announced it, and then all of a sudden,
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward
men. What they were saying right there
is, Earth, you have no idea what's just come to you. We've known
Him in glory. I'm telling you, peace has just
landed on your planet. He's the Prince of Peace. You
don't know how kind He is. You don't know how compassionate
He is. The ones that ministered to Him after His temptation,
the ones that rolled away the stone and watched Him walk out
of His own tomb, have now just watched with those men of Galilee
They watched him ascend right back up to the same throne that
they watched him leave to come accomplish his work. And they
saw it just like the men of Galilee saw it. There he went, right
back up. And they said through experience,
this same Jesus, we have known him since he created us. This
same Jesus, the one you know, through his word, the Jesus that
we know through this word, the one who had compassion on the
multitudes. He saw the multitudes. He had
compassion on them. The one who was kind and tender
and forgiving and loving and merciful. They said, Lord, he
whom thou lovest is sick. They said this same Jesus. The
one who was willing to touch lepers and heal blind men and
raise the dead, this same Jesus, the one that we are coming to
know. Every time we come here, we learn
a little bit more about him. The one we're learning more about,
the one who is the same yesterday. This is what the angel said.
I'm telling you, I knew him yesterday and he's the same. He's the same yesterday, today,
forever. This same Jesus, the one that
the scripture said would come the first time. is the same one
who's going to come again. Turn with me over to Zechariah
14. It's the second to the last book
of the Old Testament. Malachi is right after it. This is an amazing verse of scripture.
I just adore how precise the Word of God is. The Old Testament kept saying
somebody's coming. The New Testament says He is
coming again. Zechariah 14, look at verse four. And his feet shall stand in that
day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on
the east. That's where Bethany is. And
the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the
east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley,
and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north." At
that moment, our Lord ascended up to glory. And half of it toward
the south. In our text, the next verse says,
they all went right back down the mountain and waited for the
Holy Ghost. They said he's going to be standing
on the Mount of Olives, which is right over there next to Jerusalem.
He's going to be on the east side. Is the word not glorious? They
said this is the one who's coming. And it's this same Jesus who
is coming again. He's coming back. Go back with
me to Acts chapter 1. Verse 9 says, And when he had spoken these
things while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received
him out of their sight. He didn't disappear. He didn't
just slowly dissolve or vanish like smoke into thin air. They
saw his physical body rise up and he rode a cloud away. That's
what they saw, his physical body. Now look at the middle of verse
11, Acts chapter one, the middle of verse 11 says, this same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like
manner as you have seen him go into heaven. He did not go up in His Spirit. He went up in His person. He
is coming back down in person. He's coming in person. He was
taken up in the clouds. He's going to descend in the
clouds. He will not be a hazy spiritual figure. I used to when
I was young, I used to envision heaven and it looked like this. I was kind of smoky white, not
solid white, and I just floated like this. And I went past people
and sometimes I accidentally went through people. That is
not what it's going to be like. That's not what our Lord is going
to be like. This same Jesus is literally, actually coming back
and he's going to literally, actually call you to himself. You're going to hear his voice. Go with me to Matthew 24. We're
almost finished. Go to Matthew 24. Matthew 24 verse 23 says, And if any man shall say unto
you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. What he is saying
is, I'm not going to come down to this world and be here and
then spread the word. Okay? If any man shall say unto
you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, for there shall
arise false Christ and false prophets and shall show great
signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall
deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he's in the
desert, He's back in Israel. He's in the Middle East. He said,
don't go over there. Go not forth. Behold, he's in
the secret chambers. He's in the Vatican over in Rome. He said, believe it not. For
as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto
the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever
the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."
What he's saying is, you won't have to come find me. I will
come get you. Don't worry about it. Don't go
looking. It's going to come upon you so fast. I'm coming to you. Verse 29, Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory. And He shall send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
His elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the
other. This same Jesus is going to come
back just like He went up. Exactly like He went up. Go over
to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation 1 verse 7 says, Behold, He cometh with clouds. The final great event that we're
all clinging to Christ for. It says, Behold, He cometh with
clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced
Him. The very ones who hung Him on
that cross The very ones who beat Him, mocked Him, spit on
Him, they are going to see Him come back. And it says in verse 7, all kindreds
of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. Now for the redeemed, for the
redeemed, for the ones that He blessed, for the ones that He
came for. Go over to 1 Thessalonians chapter
4. Last place we'll turn. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Verse 13 says, I would not have
you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this
we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And so, or there, shall we ever
be with the Lord." Comfort one another with these words. The
same one who said, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands.
The same one who said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And
if I go, I will come back and receive you to myself. The same
one who said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. This same Jesus is the one who's
coming back. And when he comes, he's going
to call each one of his sheep by name. And he's going to say,
Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. This same Jesus is
coming back. You know what we say to that?
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come. All right, let's stand together.