Three guiding lights for the Church
Luke 24:44-53
The story of the Ascension of Jesus Christ is a wonderful piece of history, but what relevance does have to us in 21st Century Britain.
May I answer my own question by telling you a story?
Story: Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a Christian who used to pray this prayer every morning:
"Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is."
One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him.
The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to the Christian.
The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus.
But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep.
He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?"
He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?"
The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?"
(I have lost the souce but it is from Sermon Central.com)
The relevence of the Ascension of Jesus is simply this
He has now departed this earth and has left us to get on with the business of telling others the Gospel
Our Gospel reading for Ascension Day focuses on Jesus’ Great Commission to his disciples to preach the Good News and we see similar words in the beginning of the book of Acts
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
Why is that so important?
Well, how many of us would be here today if Peter had gone off fishing and Martha had gone back to housework and their friends had been too preoccupied to tell others about Christ.
Yet as we sit in this wonderful 12th Century Church this evening – the longevity of the building reminds us of the 800 years (at least) of unbroken Christian worship in Magdalen – but not just worship but witness to the resurrected and ascended Jesus in their lives
I would like to focus on a short passage from our Gospel reading this evening because it shows us three guiding lights for the Church
The passage from Luke 24 is this:
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
There are - to my way of thinking - three guiding lights that we can take from this passage
1. The first guiding light is a biblical theology (Lk 24;45-46)
Jesus opened up their minds to Scripture
As the Church, we need to know that Jesus and his ministry are rooted in the OT.
Jesus death on the Cross wasn’t an “unhappy chance”.
It was in the plan of God from the day that sin entered the world back in Genesis 3.
We need to become familiar with the Word of God.
Why – because we don’t base our Gospel on reason but rather God’s revelation in the scripture.
Bible Study is important because it is GOD’S REVELATION to his people.
Notice the emphasis – God’s REVELATION to his people. And we ignore it at our peril
2. The second guiding light is that the Church needs an evangelistic programme (Lk 24:47-48)
Jesus gave his Church a single Commission – to preach the Good News to all people everywhere
If we claim Jesus is Lord of our lives, we can hardly not want to do what he tells us to do.
But our motivation for preaching the Good News is not because we have to but because we WANT to. In gratitude for what God has done for us
Story: Victor Shepherd tells the story of a missionary surgeon he met who was rather gruff and to the point.
On one occasion the surgeon was speaking to a small group of university students about his work in the
Gaza Strip.
He was telling us that we North American "fat cats"
Knew nothing about gratitude. Nothing!
On one occasion he had stopped a peasant hovel to see a woman on whom he had performed surgery.
She and her husband were dirt poor.
Their livestock supply consisted of one Angora rabbit and two chickens.
For income the woman combed the hair out of the rabbit, spun the hair into yarn and sold it.
For food she and her husband ate the eggs from the chickens.
The woman insisted that the missionary surgeon stay for lunch.
He accepted the invitation and said he would be back for lunch after he had gone down the road to
see another postoperative patient.
An hour and a half later he was back. He peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat.
He saw one rabbit and two chickens.
The woman had given up her entire livestock supply--her income, her food, everything.
He concluded his story by reminding us that we knew nothing of gratitude. He wept unashamedly.
The woman in Gaza was so grateful that she gave her whole livelihood to feed the missionary doctor out of gratitude
I wonder if I am grateful enough to God for my salvation that I will go out and tell others about the new life Jesus offers
3. The third guiding light is a spiritual dynamic (Lk 22:49)
Why is the Ascension so important?
Because when Jesus went to the Father, he sent his Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us - the Church in its witness
If we were left to our own devices, we’d get nowhere.
That’s why we need the power of the Holy Spirit as was sent at Pentecost almost 2000 years - as recorded in Acts 2.
Story: Richard Daly was mayor of Chicago for 21 years (1955-1976).
He was known as a rather forbidding guy to work for.
One day one of Mayor Daly’s speech writers came in and asked for a pay rise.
Mayor Daly responded in his usual smug way.
He said “I’m not going to give you a raise. You are getting paid more than enough already.
It should be enough for you that you are working for a great American hero like me.”
And that was the end of it...or so the mayor thought.
Two weeks later Mayor Daly was on his way to give a speech to a convention of veterans.
The speech was going to receive nationwide attention.
Now one other thing Mayor Daly was famous for was not reading his speeches until he got up to deliver them.
So there he stood before a vast throng of veterans and nationwide press coverage. He began to describe the plight of the veterans.
“I’m concerned for you. I have a heart for you. I am deeply convinced that this country needs to take care of its veterans.
So, today I am proposing a seventeen point plan that includes the city, state and federal government, to care for the veterans of this country.”
Now by this time everyone, including Mayor Daly, was on the edge of their seat to hear what the proposal was.
He turned the page and saw only these words:
“You’re on your own now, you great American hero.”
Jesus, in contrast, gave his Holy Spirit – so we should NEVER be alone.
Jesus promises that God will never drop you in it!.
Let us make it our prayer this evening to spend time in prayer with Him – and to look for opportunities to share our faith with those who do not know Him.
May I leave you with some words from St Paul this evening
So then my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us …offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship you should offer (Rom 12.1 TEV)
Amen
