Latest / HBCWestminster / 5.15.22 Luke 24:50-53 Pastor Danny Gardner

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5.15.22 Luke 24:50-53 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  if you're able to stand in honor of God's word, as I read Luke chapter 24, verses 50 to 53, one more time in the Gospel of Luke. It says this, Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple blessing God. Would you pray with me?
• 0:31
  We thank you and praise you, Heavenly Father, for your eternal word. Lord, we know that the grass will one day wither and the flowers will one day fall, but your word remains forever. And in this we rejoice because it means that in an ever-changing, an unstable world, we know where we can put our trust. We ask that you bless the hearing and preaching of your word this morning as we open one more time to Luke's gospel. And it's in Jesus' name we pray.
• 1:04
  and amen amen thank you church well we have reached the end of what has been a more than better than two and a half year journey we began our study in the gospel of luke in november of 2019 and it occurred to me recently that better than 50 of our church membership was not here when we began the gospel of luke two sundays ago we ended with a simple question do you know the risen lord
• 1:34
  Have you had an encounter with Jesus? Have you repented of your sin and been forgiven in his name? And if so, having been fully convinced, are you now following the example of Cleopas and his friend who would take part in the Great Commission by sharing with others the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord? You know, most Sunday mornings, the woman who greets you at the door is my wife, Hallie.
• 2:03
  By the looks of her, you would probably assume that she grew up in a stereotypical God-fearing home. You would probably assume that she was homeschooled, that she attended Awana and memorized all of the verses, that her dad was probably on full-time staff at her church, but none of those things were true of her. In fact, the truth is that those are probably as far from reality as you can imagine. Hallie was raised by her stepdad and mom, who loved her dearly.
• 2:31
  but who provided her with a slightly different upbringing than what we are providing to our three sons. Hallie's parents were bikers. And I don't mean the high-dollar, only-on-a-sunny-weekend-credit-card kind of bikers that some upper-middle-class couples pretend to be. I mean biker gang kind of bikers. Drugs and alcohol were rampant in her childhood home. Her mom, Hallie Jokes, would throw tattoo parties rather than Tupperware parties.
• 3:01
  And don't get me wrong, Hallie's parents loved her. They were great, and they cared for her. And in fact, they welcomed me with open arms into their family. Her stepdad George, George Arnold, was a big dude. He had long hair that he often put in a ponytail and a big ZZ Top beard. He had tattoos, and in fact, most of the pictures I ever saw of him, and when Hallie was saying, you know, I'm going to have to introduce yourself.
• 3:31
  I've introduced myself to your dad one day. How's that going to go? Let me show you some pictures. Any picture I ever saw of him was on a motorcycle, typically a chopped motorcycle with the big ape hanger handlebars, right? These big ones like this. Big dude, most of the time with his shirt off, big beard, wrap around sunglasses. She told me a story one time of her stepdad, George, deciding one day to attend church. He said, I'm going to try it. And he had been invited by many people over the years. So he showed up at this church and it doesn't matter which one.
• 4:02
  But he attended the church, and on his way out, was getting ready to leave, he jumped in his old truck, which had trouble starting. And so he popped the hood in the church parking lot, and he stood there, now head down under the hood of his truck, trying to get his truck to start as people from the church, as they were dismissed, were walking past him and not willing to help. When he came home, he finally got his truck started. He came home, and Hallie...
• 4:31
  talked to him about his experience that day. He said, I will never attend church again. And she said, well, why? And he said, because those people don't want to help guys like me. To my knowledge, he never did attend church. The only other time that we could recall that he actually stepped foot inside of a church building was this day. There she is. That is my bride on our wedding day, April 3rd, 1999. There is her stepdad.
• 5:01
  George, who walked her down the aisle. That was the only time we could recall that he ever again attended a church. It was for our wedding. You know, the church has a reputation. It's a reputation that we're aware of. It's a reputation that has been developed over time and a reputation which may not always be fair, but which nevertheless exists. The church has a reputation of condemnation rather than grace. A reputation of being harsh.
• 5:34
  rather than being merciful, of being judgmental rather than forgiving. And like I said, I don't think this reputation is totally fair, but it does exist. And so it demands an answer to this question. Does the church, do we always represent the Lord Jesus the way He wants to be represented? When we began our study two and a half years ago, we said that the gospel
• 6:05
  is the best news for the worst people. Not a single amen on that. I'm going to say it again and give you guys another try, okay? The gospel is the best news for the worst people. Amen. If that's true, then why is it, church, and this is baffling to me, why is it that sometimes the worst people feel like the gospel isn't for them? Before us this morning, we have the ascension of Christ.
• 6:35
  Luke's gospel began with Christ coming from heaven to earth in the form of a baby. It ends with his departure from earth back to heaven in the form of a glorified Savior. And this fitting conclusion reminds us of the beginning of the book. It is the exclamation point at the end of the story. It reminds us of the book's overarching theme, that the gospel really is the best news for the worst people.
• 7:05
  So I would ask you to return with me to the very beginning. Turn to the left 24 pages and allow me to use chapter 1 and verse 1 as kind of a line of remembrance, a review of what we've studied the last 30 months. It says,
• 7:35
  Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you've been taught. You'll recall if you were with us two and a half years ago that Luke...
• 8:01
  The gospel's author was a doctor. In fact, Colossians chapter 4 and verse 14 calls him Luke, the beloved physician. But when you hear the word doctor, don't think of a wealthy luxury car kind of doctor. Physicians in the ancient world were very frequently hired by those wealthy luxury car drivers to attend to their personal physical needs. In fact, some physicians in the ancient world may have even been slaves.
• 8:30
  of those to whom they offered medical care it may be possible that dr luke was under the employ of theophilus that he was loaned out to the apostle paul for the purpose of caring for that great missionary to the gentiles in fact theophilus himself was a gentile perhaps he was a convert and a spiritual son of the apostle paul it was likely that the apostle paul shared the gospel with theophilus whoever that man was
• 9:00
  Theophilus became a believer. Paul begins to disciple him, decides to go on this missionary journey. And so Theophilus says, not without my doctor, you won't. And so sends his Dr. Luke on all of these missionary journeys with the Apostle Paul. Don't forget that Paul did suffer from severe health issues throughout his life. At times, these health issues even hindered his ministry.
• 9:30
  Galatians chapter 4 and verse 13. The Apostle Paul says, you know that it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first. Paul actually didn't have any intention of stopping in those churches in Galatia. He wasn't planning on stopping in Galatia. He was planning on traveling through Galatia and going to other places. But because of this bodily ailment, he got stuck. Because he was stuck.
• 9:55
  He began to preach the Gospels. He planted churches in that region of Galatia. He says, and if possible, you would have gouged out your own eyes and given them to me. And so the assumption that is often made, and I think it's a good one, is that the Apostle Paul suffered from some kind of eye infirmity to the point that it hindered his ministry. The Apostle Paul was going blind. He couldn't see.
• 10:20
  And so these churches in Galatia loved him so dearly that he says, you would have even cut out your own eyes if it were possible and given them to me so the gospel could continue. Perhaps Theophilus sent his own private doctor to accompany the apostle in order to guarantee that he had the best medical care available as he made disciples as he planted churches.
• 10:51
  We also see in this introduction to Luke that the book was dedicated to this man, Theophilus, and so was therefore most likely funded by Theophilus. Not only did Theophilus send his doctor, he probably supported the Apostle Paul and that whole missionary journey. If you've ever wondered, who was it that paid for all of that stuff? It was likely this guy. So let's talk for a minute about him. Who was this guy? You know, Scripture never says who he was.
• 11:21
  In fact, Theophilus was almost certainly not even his actual name. It was a pseudonym so that he could retain his anonymity. The only two things we know about him is that his chosen name, Theophilus, means God-lover. No better name than that. God-lover. The other thing we know is that he was willing to sacrifice his own money and even his own health for the sake of the gospel.
• 11:48
  The life of Theophilus reminds me of one of my favorite songs. It's a song we used to sing when I was young. In fact, I haven't heard it in decades. If you're younger than 30, I guarantee you have not sung this song. But it says, make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, make me a servant, make me a servant, make me a servant today. And beloved church, let us make that our heartfelt.
• 12:20
  prayer lord make us servants make us like theophilus who consider money and health secondary to getting the gospel out amen he was a doctor but not only that luke was a gentile in fact luke was the only non-jewish writer of any new testament book and you may think well who cares i mean today in today's church everybody's a gentile
• 12:45
  Almost the entire New Testament church is comprised of Gentiles. And so why would it be a big deal that one of the New Testament authors is a Gentile? Luke's intention was to convince his readers, all of them, no matter their ethnicity or their station in life, or even the severity of their sin, to convince them to believe in Jesus. And where Matthew was written primarily for Jews and marked for Romans, the Lord's goal in the Gospel of Luke...
• 13:13
  was to present jesus as the savior for all to all mankind regardless of your genealogy it does not matter and so the lord strategically intentionally chose a gentile to write it in fact if you combine luke's two books which are the gospel of luke and the acts luke and acts combined then a gentile wrote more than any other new testament author isn't that interesting
• 13:44
  The Apostle Paul wrote 13 of the 27 New Testament books, and so in terms of number of books, he wrote the most, but some of those books were short. Philemon is less than a page long. If you look at the number of verses and the number of words that Luke wrote in Luke and Acts, then his number of words total more than the Apostle Paul's. In fact, Luke wrote a quarter of the New Testament, written by a Gentile.
• 14:15
  Finally, you'll recall that Luke was a humble man. Perhaps the most admirable quality of the book's author is that he was content to remain in the background. Nowhere in his books does he ever refer to himself by name, not once. He chronicled 30 years in the life of Jesus, then he chronicled another 30 years of church history. And nowhere does he seek to receive credit. The entire New Testament only mentions his name three times and never at his own hand. His desire...
• 14:47
  was to remain in humble anonymity to allow the majesty of Christ to shine through his writing. And again, church, let's make that our desire. Humble anonymity. What if we get to the end of our lives and nobody remembers our names, but they remember the name of the Lord Jesus? Is that not a life well lived?
• 15:13
  Who cares what legacy we live if it is not a legacy of Jesus? Who cares what we build with our lives if it is not for his namesake and for his glory? Man, I would love for my tombstone one day not to have my name on it. What a glorious thing that would be. This man preached the scriptures. This man proclaimed the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And beyond that, who cares who he was?
• 15:45
  That was Luke's wholehearted desire that no honor that is due to the Lord would go to him instead. Well, that's who he was. What was the book's theme? There's one little word in verse 1 that I want to point out. It is the word accomplished. Accomplished. Do you guys all see it? Chapter 1 and verse 1. Accomplished. He said many had undertaken to write a gospel account, a history of Jesus.
• 16:16
  These, with the exceptions of Matthew, Mark, and John, have all been lost. But Luke set out to write more than a mere biography of Jesus. His desire was to communicate what Christ accomplished. The Greek word for accomplished is an intensive compound word indicating a complete fulfillment of a task. That task in this case was the redemptive plan of God begun in Genesis.
• 16:45
  culminating in his incarnation. In other words, every single thing that Christ set out to do church, he did. Every prophecy was fulfilled. Every law was appeased. Every punishment was paid. Christ accomplished salvation for his people. He accomplished the absorption of the wrath of God. He accomplished victory over death.
• 17:12
  He accomplished victory over the devil, victory over hell, victory over the world, victory over every temptation. And the ascension of Christ is the ultimate mission accomplished. Done. You've completed what I sent you to do. And so let's go back now to Luke 24 with that in mind. The ascension is the exclamation point. The ascension is the declaration of an accomplished mission.
• 17:43
  We pick up in verse 50 and it says, then he led them out as far as Bethany. Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. In a matter consistent with the rest of the gospel, Luke very simply states an event which is beyond human comprehension. With a mere six words.
• 18:13
  He says, and he just disappeared from their midst. He just raised into heaven. You're like, I've never seen anything like that before. And Luke just says, he blessed them, and then he ascended up into heaven. His language is almost underwhelming as he tells his readers that Christ suddenly ascended into heaven from which he came. The text says that Christ blessed his followers. The word for blessed is another compound word, eulogio.
• 18:45
  Eulogio means to speak well of. And in fact, you hear the word logos in there. Word, eulogio, logos. He spoke kindness. He spoke blessing over them. He prayed for them. And don't be confused. His blessing was no mystical act. It wasn't speaking theoretical and vague.
• 19:07
  Rather, he was speaking over them the very promises of God which were theirs because of their faith in him. Promises which would, as sure as the sun rises each morning, come to pass. The Apostle Paul describes some of these blessings in Ephesians chapter 1. And church, I would encourage you this afternoon or this evening, around the dinner table, maybe in your connect homes,
• 19:34
  Read Ephesians chapter 1 together and just read out loud the promises of God given to us in Christ Jesus. Notice the apostle says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ. Amen. We are a blessed people because we are in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And then he goes on for the remainder of the chapter and he just starts to list them.
• 20:03
  You want to know what a blessed people you are? Read Ephesians chapter 1. You've been chosen, he says. You've been predestined. You've been redeemed. Your minds and hearts have been illumined. You are now co-heirs with Christ. You're sealed with the Holy Spirit. Are those not great blessings? Those are pretty good. I got a better amen from 8 a.m. There were a third as many of you. Half of them were asleep.
• 20:36
  The apostle Paul again gives a series of blessings in Romans chapter 5. Romans 5 verses 1 to 11. Through Christ, he says, we have peace with God. What a great promise that is. We've declared war on him, and yet he declares peace over us. That's pretty good. Because of our faith in Jesus, it says we have access to God's throne. We have access. Because of the blood of Jesus, you and I can approach the throne of grace with confidence.
• 21:06
  anytime we want and church that is not an invitation given to anybody else we in christ have this access to heaven's throne we have joy in suffering it is common to the human experience to suffer everybody on earth suffers but we are the only ones who can rejoice in our sufferings amen boy did that ever come screaming home to us in 2020 we live in a desperate and lost and hopeless
• 21:35
  world everybody suffers we are the only ones who can rejoice in it the love of god romans 5 says has been poured out into our hearts and not only that we have reconciliation with the father what a great series of promises the lord jesus blessed his
• 21:56
  by reminding them that heaven awaits, that the Holy Spirit would guide and teach and direct them. He reminded them that they're loved, that mercy has been showered down from heaven's throne. He reminded them that God listens when they pray and God will answer their prayers with power and grace. That's a blessed people. And church, here's some great news. You guys ready for some good news? If you've been zoning out, zone back in. Snap back in for just a second. There's some great news. Did you know that Christ...
• 22:27
  is still blessing his followers this way he still speaks kindness over us he still prays for us romans chapter 8 and verse 34 christ jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of god who indeed is doing what what is he doing right now
• 22:50
  interceding that means praying for you and i praying for someone else that's what interceding means jesus right now is seated at the right hand of the heavenly father whispering into his ear your name is that crazy he is praying for you this blessing is still being poured out from him for us and this text continues saying that while
• 23:18
  he was blessing them it seems to indicate that he did not stop as he's rising up into heaven he's still speaking you can hear his words now getting fainter and fainter and fainter as he's getting higher and higher and higher while he was blessing them he was carried up into heaven john macarthur words it well he says never has so little been said about so monumental an event this was huge
• 23:46
  And it's one verse long. You can imagine Christ's disciples being staggered, not able to believe their eyes. He was with them a moment before and then gone. And so they're all standing there looking up, mouths agape. In the book of Acts, it's recorded that Jesus' friends just stood there gazing up into the heavens. And in that moment, angels appeared to them saying, men of Galilee.
• 24:16
  Why do you stand looking into heaven? What a funny question that is. What are you guys looking at? You know, angels just show up. Like, what are you looking at? Like, didn't you see what just happened? I've never seen anything like that before. He was speaking, and in the middle of his prayer, and all of a sudden he's up there, and so they're just standing there. Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking up? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him.
• 24:47
  go into heaven the same way that you saw him go is the same way that he will return now their statement gives i think maybe some clues regarding what christ's return will be like there is no specific detail here in verse 50 about where the ascension happened it just says he went out with them as far as bethany bethany was a small village to the east of jerusalem
• 25:16
  It was near the Mount of Olives, perhaps on the other side, the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. We know that Jesus and his apostles frequented the Mount of Olives. They were very familiar with it. And so it's presumed that perhaps Jesus ascended from the top of the Mount of Olives. In addition, the Old Testament prophetic book Zechariah, in your Old Testaments, in describing the Lord's return one day, says this. It actually describes his return.
• 25:46
  It says, on that day, that is the day of the Lord or the day of the Lord's return, Jesus' feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east. On the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall move northward, the other half southward. On that day, living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea, that is the Dead Sea, half of them to the western sea.
• 26:16
  that is the mediterranean so zechariah prophesies on the day that jesus comes back he will come back and his foot will step onto the mount of olives and as soon as he steps on the mount of olives that mountain will crack and be torn in two and the dead sea which lies to its east will no longer be dead it will begin to flow out again through that ravine that he has made through jerusalem and out
• 26:46
  to the Mediterranean Sea. And so the thought is, well, if that's where he's going to come back and step is on the Mount of Olives, then maybe it was from that spot that the Lord also ascended. If you come to Jerusalem with me someday, in fact, you can come next year. I don't know if you guys have heard. Next year, 2023 in March, Lord willing, we will stand on the Temple Mount. We will look across the Kidron Valley.
• 27:14
  and see the mount of olives in the distance there it is if you're there today that's what it looks like that's the mount of olives bethany would be on the other side of the mount of olives at the top of the mount of olives there is a small church with a little silver dome do you guys see that that is the church of the ascension next to the church of the ascension they have built the ascension bell tower it is a very high tower it dominates the skyline it's meant to remind its visitors
• 27:44
  To look up. You're meant to stand at the base of the tower and look up. Look up at this spire. Look up at this steeple of this church. Look up. Cast your gaze into heaven because that is the place from which the Lord will one day return. Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking up? Jesus will one day return. There's the ascension. Let's go back now to verse 51 and look at the apostles.
• 28:15
  Or verse 52, look at the apostles response. It says, and they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple blessing God. They worshiped with joy and then they met together to bless the Lord. They worshiped with joy and then they met together to bless the Lord. All their doubts and fears were gone. All of their questions were finally answered. They were finally fully convinced that Christ was the crucified and risen Messiah.
• 28:45
  Their training was finally complete. They were finally ready to preach the gospel to all nations. And then it says that they met together. In fact, the word that's used there in verse 53, you see, was continually. They met continually in the temple, blessing God. You know, I am a firm believer that one of the greatest gifts the Lord Jesus left for his church is his church.
• 29:17
  His church is one of the greatest blessings that the Lord Jesus left for his church. The assembling of the New Testament saints as a body began that day. They met regularly. In fact, the book of Acts says they often met every day to sing, to preach, to pray, to take communion, to encourage one another. They met regularly.
• 29:46
  consistently to do all of the same things that we do 2 000 years later we're still doing it acts chapter 2 and verse 42 and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching to the scriptures to the fellowship to one another to the breaking of bread that's communion and to the prayers to praying with and for one another hebrews chapter 10 and verse 24 let us consider how to stir up one another to love
• 30:15
  and good works not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as we see the day drawing near the encouragement to us as new testament saints is to continue to gather together all the time meet with one another as often as possible and this is why not only do we meet on sundays but we meet again on wednesdays because seven days is way too long can i get an amen
• 30:45
  This is why we open our homes to one another once a month. For connect, this is why. The best way, honestly, church, to do that, to connect with one another, is to meet in a connect home. That's why we call them that. Get together with other believers. Eat with one another. Take communion together. We're doing all of the same things that Acts 2 and verse 42 says that very first generation of believers did. Well, what did the ascension of Christ accomplish? It was the ultimate.
• 31:15
  mission accomplished because it marked the completion of the work of salvation. What Christ came from heaven to do, to seek and to save that which was lost, he had done. But it also marked the end of Christ's physical limitations. When Christ came from heaven to earth, he limited himself. He bound himself to a human body. But when he ascended, those limitations erased. The ascension also signaled
• 31:46
  the sending of the holy spirit which also happens in acts chapter 2. at one point while jesus was preaching during the passion week he promised that the holy spirit would come that the holy spirit would not only indwell his disciples even you and i but would empower his disciples to accomplish the great commission the ascension also marked the beginning of a new work for jesus jesus said in john chapter 14
• 32:16
  That his father's house has a whole bunch of rooms. Do you remember that? And he says, when I go, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will also come again and will take you to myself. That where I am, you may be also. He says, I'm going right now. I'm leaving to get heaven ready for all of you. Why would I leave to get heaven ready for all of you if I wasn't planning on coming back and getting all of you? Do you see what he says?
• 32:47
  I'm going to prepare a place. That is what the Lord Jesus is doing even now, preparing a place for you and praying for you. The ascension also marked the passing of the work of evangelism to Jesus' followers. Consider this for a moment, church, and with this we are finished. The work of Christ is finished. Amen? It's finished. But the work of Christ is also unfinished.
• 33:20
  It is finished in terms of the work of redemption. Redemption is done. Atonement is done. Sin has been paid for. It is finished. It is complete. Once for all, the work of redemption is finished. And so in that way, the work of Christ is also finished. But the work of proclamation continues. And in that way, the work of Christ is not yet finished.
• 33:51
  left off to carry the gospel to carry the good news of jesus christ where he is not yet named it's up to you and i to continue the evangelism which christ began to declare the best news even for the worst people to represent christ the way that he intends and to be the church that devotes herself to the teachings of scripture to prayer to the communion
• 34:21
  and to the fellowship of the saints. And Lord, we pray one more time, Lord, a blessing over the hearing, the preaching of your work as inspired to Luke. And Lord, what a journey this has been. What a joy it has been to, for the past two and a half years, open this gospel together every Sunday morning. And God, I pray that the gospel would not fall on deaf ears.
• 34:51
  Lord, it is the best news for the worst people. And the best news about that best news is that we are the worst people. Lord, we may think it's the biker gangs. We may think it's the ZZ Top beards and the tattoos. It's not. God, the worst people is us. And so, Lord, we thank you and we praise you and we rejoice that the gospel was able to penetrate our hard hearts. That we ourselves could be saved.
• 35:18
  And Lord, I pray that we would be faithful ambassadors of Christ to a lost and dying world who needs hope. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.