...from the desk of Rande Wayne Smith D.Min., Th.M., M.Div.

The Apostles’ Creed - 7

… HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, AND SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY

Hebrews 12:1-3
As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.

Think of what he went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners! So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up.

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion to His glory and our edification.  Amen.

I believe that Jesus ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty! I believe that. How many of you do? … Most of you just said it! Well, what does it mean?

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve talked about Jesus’ birth, and death, and resurrection … exciting stuff! Well, just in case the ascension and enthronement seems somewhat irrelevant or anticlimactic … let me explain why it counts, why it matters, and why when you think about Jesus being at the right hand of God the Father that you shouldn’t celebrate enthusiastically that He reigns. Jesus is not just sitting on His duff waiting for the world to run down. He’s serving and ministering on your behalf right now.

#1 … Jesus is on the throne and He’s our mediator. He’s representing us.

Let me begin by explaining to you the role of the High Priest in the O.T. The High Priest played an active part in bringing people into an acceptable relationship with God. The theological term for this is … atonement. Atonement means that there has been reconciliation between God and humanity. It means that something has been done to purge away or cover our sins.

It’s spelled out clearly in Leviticus 16. The Day of Atonement was the most important fast day in Judaism. The High Priest had to go through elaborate rituals just to get ready for the ceremony … washings … purifications … the right kind of garments. There were special sacrifices. A male goat was killed and its’ blood taken into the Most Holy Place. This was the part of the Temple where God’s presence dwelt literally. And nobody was allowed in there except for the High Priest on the 10th day of the 7th month of the year.

It’s hard for us to imagine just how solemn this ceremony was. And if the High Priest messed anything up in the Most Holy Place, God would strike him dead. In fact, that’s why they tied a rope around his waist before he went in. Because if something happened to him, nobody could go in after him … he’d have to be dragged out.

So the High Priest performs the sacrifice, says his prayers, interceding for the people, and then comes back out. He then takes a second goat, lays his hands on it, symbolically transferring the sins of the people onto that “scapegoat”, at which time that goat is led off into the wilderness, never to return, symbolizing the removal of sin from God’s people.

And then, when all that is done the High Priest goes over to his chair and sits down. And that meant that atonement for sin had been made. But guess what … tomorrow was coming, and with it new sins. So everyone had to wait out the calendar for the next Day of Atonement to roll around and the High Priest would have to do it all over again.

But we have a higher High Priest who made a better sacrifice. Not the blood of goats … but His own blood, and therefore won for us a permanent Atonement. In fact, in this final Atonement, there’s no more provision for sin that ever needs to be made, no more sacrifices need to be offered. Jesus, our High Priest, has sat down in His chair … and “it is finished!” Game, set, match. Walk off grand slam homerun. It’s over … no more work … except what Jesus is doing for us in Heaven right now.

Think about this … Jesus right now, in Heaven, is on His throne, and incredibly as it sounds … is serving you.

In Romans 8, one of the great chapters in Scripture, the Apostle Paul talks about the struggles and difficulties that God’s people go through. It’s an ongoing thing. There’s trouble, and hardship, and persecution … coming right at us. And we wonder if these things can separate us from God? Paul says they can’t.

“Who will accuse God’s chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty! Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us!” Present participle … He’s pleading with God right now. Jesus is interceding at this very moment … for you.

“Jesus lives on forever, and his work as priest does not pass on to someone else. And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.”

“Jesus lives forever to plead with God for (you).” Do you hear that? Jesus lives to pray! I have a t-shirt that says, “To live is to run.” I’ve seen others: “to live is to fish,” “to live is to shop.” Jesus lives to pray! “Can’t wait to wake up tomorrow morning and do some more praying. I should get up from my throne and stretch my legs … but dang, this pleading to God is too much fun!” I’m exaggerating, of course, but just what do these passages mean? Is Jesus begging God all day to do stuff for us?

There’s some art in the ancient Roman catacombs that depict Jesus before God, begging, and pleading, and sweating drops of blood, just like in Gethsemane, trying to get His apparently reluctant Father to do something on behalf of His children here on earth.

Well, the ancient followers of Jesus in Rome got a lot of things right, but not that. Jesus isn’t begging and pleading, trying to get God to do something for us. No, His very presence, alive forever, on the throne, at the right hand of God, is in itself intercession for our need.

Here’s how it works. In The Revelation we read that Jesus emerges, and He looks like a Lamb that “appeared to have been killed.” I take that to mean that Jesus, in His glorified body, still bears the marks of His crucifixion, and I think He’ll have those forever … scars in His hands, feet, and side, to show the sacrifice He made for us.

So, it’s a constant reminder to the Father. Every time He glances to His right and sees His Son there, He sees a Lamb that was killed. And forever, the reality of that sacrifice is real in Heaven. It’s right before the Father’s eyes, that atonement, once and for all, for sin has been made.

And therefore there’s no other sacrifice, and no judgment or condemnation for sin, which needs to be made for God’s people. Because right there is Jesus, the once and for all sacrifice … His blood for our sins.

When the High Priest finished all the sacrificing, and interceding, and laying his hands on the goat, and all the rest … there was one other thing that he did. He appeared before the people and blessed them.

“May the LORD bless you and take care of you; May the LORD be kind and gracious to you; May the LORD look on you with favor and give you peace.”

Translated means, “May the Lord be good to you. May the joy and satisfaction of God be yours. May God turn His face toward you. May the gaze of His pleasure and His care and concern always rest on you. May you never escape the view of the Father. May He always have His face turned right toward you. May He be pleased with you and concerned about your situation in such a way that you experience His peace, His shalom, which is an all encompassing sense of well-being, because you’re rightly related to Him. And when you’re rightly related to God everything else takes care of itself.

That was the prayer of blessing that the High Priest proclaimed over the people. And Jesus, by virtue of the fact that He lives forever, and is seated at the right hand of God, a lamb who has been killed, our High Priest, our mediator, our representative … every time God sees Him (which is always), these are the things that are communicated. And by virtue of Jesus’ presence the blessing of God rests on us.

So, what do we do in response? “Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.” That’s what we do. We approach the throne that Jesus is sitting on with confidence, with boldness, because the help and grace and mercy we need is there and is available. That’s the good ministry that our enthroned Savior is providing for us today.

Secondly, Jesus is not just our mediator, He’s our monarch. He’s our Lord, and our King, and He’s leading us. After all, He’s in the throne room of Heaven.

Think about this, in a board room where is the seat of power? … It’s normally at the end of the table. But more accurately, the seat of power in a board room is wherever the chairman sits. He can sit in any chair and wherever that chair is, that’s the center of attention. Okay, where’s the second seat of power? … It’s not beside the chairman. It’s actually right across from the chairman where they can have face-to-face conversation. But that’s in a board room.

What about in a throne room? Where’s the seat of power? … Well obviously it’s the center throne. That’s the seat of power, but where’s the second seat of power? It’s at the sovereign’s right hand. That’s the place of privilege. The King sits down, and the heir apparent sits right beside him, at his right hand.

Well, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, the Father. God says to Jesus, “Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet.”

Scripture says, “(God) raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world. Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next.”

Now it’s not surprising that this is where God wants Jesus, but have you ever thought how this relates to you? “God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. The church is Christ’s body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.”

Paul says, “In our union with Christ Jesus (God) raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world.”

So, if the Son is at the right hand of the Father, who is at the right hand of the Son? … Not us. We don’t sit at the right hand of Jesus Christ. We are the right hand of Jesus Christ. He’s the head … we’re the body. We’re spiritually connected.

I put a trampoline in my garage, and start jumping up and down. And I jump so high that my head crashes through the ceiling. And there I’m stuck, hanging by my neck, with my arms and legs thrashing around. (You’re enjoying this image, aren’t you?) So I call to Kathy, “come and help me, I’m stuck!” And she yells back, “where are you?” Where am I? In the garage or in the attic? I’m in both, right? I’m in both places at the same time.

And that’s exactly the way it is for those of us who are with Christ. He’s the head … we’re the body. He’s exalted on high. No, we’re not exalted yet. He’s up there … and we’re down here. But we’re with Him.

This is the restoration of all things to the way it was meant to be.

In Genesis, we read, “When God created the universe,” the world, and everything in it; He put a man and a woman in the Garden and He “blessed them, and said, ‘Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge.” You are to rule everything.

The Psalmist talks about God’s creation of human beings and says, “You made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor. You appointed them rulers over everything you made.”

Of course we blew it. We threw it all away when we fell into sin. Actually, we became slaves to sin, and worldliness. But now, with Christ, the restoration of all things to the way they were meant to be is underway. It’s not just Jesus who is sitting on the throne … He’s the head … we’re the rest of His body. We’re the extension of Him. We are with Him while He reigns.

Do you understand what that means for us? It means power. It means authority. Jesus said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples.” Bring them in under my rule.

Jesus said, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me … to the ends of the earth.”

Paul writes, “When I came to you, I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not delivered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God’s Spirit.”

Scripture says, “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. “We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God.”

“God’s divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the one who called us to share in his own glory and goodness.”

This is our time. Now is when God’s people march out to do battle with the spiritual forces, and extend the reign of Jesus throughout the world. It’s about power, and we have it … because our head, Jesus Christ, sits on the throne. And no one will ever take Him down, again.

We just continue to do on earth what Jesus did while He was here … because we’re His body, and we’re empowered because He is the King on the throne.

One last thing about Jesus Christ sitting on the throne at the right hand of Father … He’s our motivator, He’s our inspiration. (song … “Open The Eyes Of My Heart”)

What are we wishing for when we sing, “Open the eyes of my heart”? Why do we want to see Jesus, high and lifted up?

We are, by nature as human beings, mimics and imitators. We’re shaped by our surroundings. If you have a hero or particularly compelling person in your life it isn’t long before you begin to pick up their mannerisms, their gestures, their way of speaking, their vocabulary.

If you’re a person who spends most of the time in the world, you begin to live in its’ vision and its’ values and its’ morals. That’s the way we are. It’s part of the developmental nature of human beings. What we see has a shaping influence upon us.

So when we say, “open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you. I want to see you high and lifted up” … what we’re saying, or at least what I’m desiring is to get a vision of my hero, so that I can become more like Him.

“All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.”

We see the whole picture of who Jesus is. And as we gaze upon it … it transforms us and shapes us.

Francis of Assisi was born into a family of power and privilege, but he turned his back on all of that and took a vow of poverty. Because he looked at his hero, Jesus, and he saw someone who cast aside the glories of Heaven, and came as a humble human servant. Francis said, “I want to be like Him.”

Father Damien was a Dutchman who had a great ministry going on. But because of what he saw in Jesus he moved to a leper colony in Hawaii. He gave his life to working among lepers, even contracting leprosy himself. Why did he do that? Because he saw in his hero, Jesus, someone who was willing, not only to heal lepers from a distance, but to come and live among them.

Jim Elliot, cast aside a promising career in the U.S. and went to minister to Auca Indians in Ecuador. And he took spears into his chest from them, but he did it because he saw in Jesus one who was willing to lay down His life to make God’s enemies His friends.

Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake for their faith, because they saw that believing the truth about Jesus, and declaring it boldly was worth any price. We have an awesome King on the throne, and His glories need to be made known.

I read last week about Henry Martin. He was a missionary who lived back in the late 1700’s/early 1800’s. This man was top in his class in Cambridge. He was an accomplished artist. He was the apprentice to Charles Simeon, one of the greatest English preachers of his day. And besides that, he was in love with a girl he met early in life.

But he took all of that and laid it aside, became a linguist, and traveled to Calcutta, translating the N.T. into the Indian tongue. And in the midst of hardship, and hostile conditions, and constant ill health, he contracted tuberculosis, and he died at 31. Why did he do that? Because he saw in Jesus someone who was willing to die in His early 30’s for the glory of God.

The glory of God inspired all of them. The love of Christ compelled them. They couldn’t do anything but follow Jesus in this way.

“As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.

“Think of what he went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners! So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up.”

Let’s do just that. Think about Jesus, and what He did with His life. Fix your eyes on Him, and as you do, you will begin being transformed by Him, doing the same things He did. That’s the way followers of Jesus work.

I don’t know what hardship you’re struggling with today, but I know you’re struggling, because we all are. But the one bedrock truth, the one foundational fact, the one thing we bank on in the midst of our pain is that Jesus Christ sits on His throne. And His reign demands a response. We cannot just sit here.

“You that are righteous, be glad and rejoice because of what the LORD has done. You that obey him, shout for joy!”

“Sing a new song to him, play the harp with skill, and shout for joy!”

“Worship the LORD with joy; come before him with happy songs!”

“Come, let us bow down and worship him; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”

“Take up your cross every day, and follow (Jesus).”

The King of kings is on His throne. The ascension has happened. Our God reigns!

MARANA THA