All right open up your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 1 Acts chapter 1 verses 6 through 11 will be our text and We are looking at the ascension of Jesus Christ. The ascension being when he rose, not from the grave, that's the resurrection. After he rose from the grave and spent 40 days on this earth, most of that with the disciples, he then met with them and there was a great crowd gathered and he ascended up into the air. He rose up in the air and went into heaven. And so I began preaching on this last week, so this is kind of technically part two, but we're going to continue. I'll do just a bit of review over last week, and then we will continue with this message. So Acts chapter one, verse six, let's read that text now. When they, therefore, were come together, and this is the disciples primarily, the 11 minus Judas, who had killed himself, but the 11, and then there are others too there, I believe. They asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. 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 ye have seen him go into heaven. Let's pray. Dear heavenly Father, O Lord, we come before your throne of grace again seeking your blessing upon this service. And here now, upon the reading of your word and the other passages from your word that we shall read, I pray for your Holy Spirit, O Lord, to direct our thoughts and teach us from these passages about the ascension of our Savior and what this means for us. Lord, just speak to our hearts. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. All right, so what can we learn about the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ? Last week, I brought out a couple of points. First of all, we can know that he went to a place. When he left here, he didn't just disappear and not be anywhere. He went to a place, and we call that place heaven. So he didn't just disappear to never be seen again And he disappeared or he as he rose up rather He did so in the sight of the disciples so that they could see this and witness it So it wouldn't be like one day they they wake up and they start looking for Jesus and he's he's not there He's gone to heaven. No, they actually saw him rise up in the air and that again was for their benefit in for hours and The point being, heaven is a real place. There are some theologians and preachers who say today that heaven's not a real place. And I just don't get that. They haven't, in my opinion, studied the scriptures well enough because the scriptures are very clear about heaven being a real place. And Jesus went to this place. And he went there for a purpose. And then the second point last week was that when he ascended into heaven, he received there glory and honor that he had not had before. that he had not had before as the human, the God-man. When he took on humanity, the scriptures teach us that he left behind, essentially, his glory and took upon himself a time of humility, a time where he was humbled, a time where he experienced what we experience, for instance. But even more than that, he experienced ridicule, he experienced rejection. He experienced pain and suffering and death even. And so that time, scholars refer that to the time of his humility. Now in heaven, he has gone into a time of exaltation, where he is being given honor and glory. So when Jesus went into heaven, this was a very momentous occasion, and it was something prophesied in the Old Testament about him receiving this honor and glory, and so thus it is fulfillment of that. And so, He, now in his resurrection body, He is experiencing great exultation. One of the passages I referred to is from Revelations, for instance, where the angels and other created beings are singing to him around the throne, singing that he is the Lamb and that he is worthy. And so he now receives that honor and glory that he didn't really receive here on this earth, with the possible exception of a few people. Now, going along with that, we will move into the new territory for this morning. Going along with that, not only did he receive honor and glory as the God-man that he did not have while on earth, he also received there an authority that he did not have while on this earth. He had a certain measure of authority here, certainly, but really, truly, it was the authority of his father, and he did whatever the father bade him to do. But now in heaven, he has ascended to be at the right hand of the Father, meaning he has assumed an authority there wherein he is reigning as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And so he has an authority there now, a complete and full authority that he didn't have while he was on this earth in his human form. Remember in our text, the disciples asked Jesus then, are you now going to establish the kingdom? Now you have to read that understanding how they were thinking about this kingdom. They like all the other jews expected the messiah to come and to physically reign over the nation of israel Again and restore israel as a physical nation uh, and and uh in the glory of that And so that's what they were looking for. But that's not why jesus came and that was never in Indeed was never the plan for jesus. He came uh to establish a spiritual kingdom All right? But the disciples didn't understand that, and it's understandable why they didn't understand it. But now, after the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit comes to them, then they will begin to understand some things. Jesus, to reply to them in our text, told them it wasn't for them to know the times or the seasons. And I believe this is because they simply were not ready to understand the spiritual nature of His reign. Having received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven, then I think they began to understand better what this spiritual kingdom was all about. Now the Old Testament had prophesied that the Messiah would indeed sit at the right hand of God. Turn now to Psalm 110, verse one. Psalm 110, verse one. This psalm, it was quoted in some scriptures and acts that I read last week. And one of those I'll read again this morning. But Psalm 110, first of all, verse one. This is a psalm of David. And in this psalm, the very opening lines of this psalm, he says, the Lord said unto my Lord. Now I want you to notice, look in your Bibles, you should see this. If the Bible you have doesn't show it this way, then you probably need a different Bible. But the King James certainly will show this. The first Lord, the Lord, if you'll notice, is in all caps, okay? Whenever you see that in the scriptures, that is Lord taken from the Hebrew word Jehovah or Yahweh is another way to say that. And so that represents, that is the great name of God that he gave to his people of himself. So the Lord, in all caps, said unto my Lord. Now this Lord comes from the Hebrew word Adon. Another version of that is Adonai. That's another name for God. And it means sovereign. It means someone who reigns or rules. So David said here in this Psalm, the Lord, Jehovah, said unto my Lord, Adon, or sovereign, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." So this is the father saying to the son, sit at my right hand. The right hand of God was perceived in the scriptures, the Old Testament, as being a position of authority and power. And so that's what God is saying here. We saw this last week Acts chapter 2 turn back there. We're gonna read a few verses from it Acts chapter 2. We'll start reading at verse 32 So this is the father saying to the son Sit here upon this throne to reign till I make your enemies your footstool. I So as you turn to that passage in Acts what we should understand is Jesus is raining now there are some people because of their eschatology who will tell you that Jesus doesn't rain now that that won't happen until the thousand-year rain as they believe Until that occurs But the scriptures teach that is the moment Jesus ascended into heaven And the father said sit at my right hand and he said at the father's right hand he began to reign Okay, so he is reigning as king of kings and lord of lords even now and has been ever since and will forever Okay into all eternity In acts chapter 2 we're going to break into peter's sermon on the day of pentecost Look down to verse 32 And in the midst of this, he had been speaking of Jesus, and how that he had been crucified. And then in verse 32, he says, this Jesus, hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted. I used this passage last week to show that he was being exalted now, being given honor and glory, but also being at the right hand of God exalted, And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he shed forth this, which you now see and hear what Peter's saying is, he, Jesus, as King of kings and Lord of lords, have poured out the Holy Spirit on believers on that day of Pentecost. And so he's telling the people who are listening to him this that you've seen happen here today Is because happening because jesus sits at the right hand of the father and he is exercising his authority He goes on and says Uh for david is not ascended into the heavens But he saith himself the lord said unto my lord sit down my right hand that's quoting from psalm 110 until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ, both King and Messiah. That's what God has done with Jesus Christ. Now, in a sense, Jesus had earned that position because he had come to this earth and he had lived a perfect life. And he had obeyed the father in his every command. And he had served faithfully and truly father God during his time on this earth. So in a sense, he's earned this position and this authority in his human body. As the son of God, he's always been subject to the father. Okay, he's always shared the glory of the father and the authority and power of the father went in heaven But now in his human body on earth he's earned in that human body now resurrected and glorified The authority to reign as king of kings and lord of lords We find further confirmation of this in Hebrews Hebrews chapter 1 in verse 3 It says there who being the brightness of his glory, again, this is speaking of Jesus, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. So Jesus, after he had paid the price, he had purged our sins, arose into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Now this is a very dramatic and visual way of showing that Jesus had completed the work of the redemption of his people and had now assumed his rightful place as the king of his people. But it also signifies even more than that. Not only is he the king of his people, he is also the king of the entire universe. Go to Ephesians chapter one now, verse 19. Ephesians chapter one, verse 19. So Jesus reigns not just as the king of his people, that's a big deal. He's our king. Those who are believers in Christ, those who have been born again, those who are given eternal life by God, are the people and the subjects of Jesus in his spiritual kingdom. And he reigns over us, and we see him as our king. But he also reigns over all other authorities and powers, okay? Look at Ephesians 1 verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power? which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and sat him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. You see, there are several references to this in the scriptures, particularly in the New Testament, about how this had been done. Now sitting there, note verse 21, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." And what we've done is come full circle. We've established that he is king of his people, but as this scripture tells us, he's also a king over all authorities. Every power is subject to Christ. Now I wanna take, put my thoughts on pause here, or my notes here on pause, and relate that to our present day. We've been going through something for us that is unprecedented, this whole COVID-19 thing. And no matter what you think about this, and let me tell you, and let me urge you to understand, that even within our church, there's a broad spectrum of understanding about what this is and what's going on and how we should respond to this, okay? And that's why I emphasize we need to be respectful of everyone's thoughts on this. But regardless of that, what we can know for sure, in other words, no matter what we think about it, this COVID-19, one thing we all must agree on is this. It is not greater than God. God is in control. Our world got turned upside down about two months or so ago, okay? Things are going on now that I never dreamed would be happening. I never dreamed we would shut down school for something like this. I never dreamed that we would be in a position where we as a congregation of believers would And it was my decision, would have to think that it was best for us not to meet for a time, at least until we understood more about what was going on. And I assure you, that was a difficult decision for me to make. At the time, I thought it was in the absolute best interest of all of us. One thing, though, all this may be turned upside down, But one thing we can all know is God is in charge, and this thing will not defeat God, and God will take care of his people, and he will bless us. That doesn't mean we won't get sick. That doesn't mean there will be some people who may die from this, obviously, who are believers. What it does mean is God is still in charge and he's in control. And the reason we can say that is because Christ reigns now on that throne. And nobody has your best interest, and when I say your, I say if you're a believer in Christ, nobody has your best interest in hand and to heart better than the Lord Jesus Christ. He has proved that with his death on the cross. He has proved that in his resurrection. He has proven that because he did ascend into heaven and because he does reign now. So though things may be scary and things may be different and we may have questions about this or that or the other, and we may have uncertainties about things, what we should know is we are under the absolute perfect watch care of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to God that we are. Praise be to God. He reigns even now. Peter speaks, so we've seen Peter speak on the day of Pentecost. We've seen what Paul has had to say. We go back to Peter now in 1 Peter 3, verse 22, where he says, referring to Jesus, who is gone into heaven, and he is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." Note that angels, authorities, and powers are subject unto Christ now. Paul, in his own allusion to Psalm 110, says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15 speaks much about the resurrection of the dead. It speaks much about the fact that these mortal bodies must die and must be raised to immortality. It speaks about all of that. And it says in the midst of that chapter, 1 Corinthians 15 verses 24 and 25, then cometh the end. when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. You see, Jesus, reigning now, is in the process of putting all of his enemies under his feet. And when that occurs, and that will happen when he's ready for it to happen. It could have happened a thousand years ago if he had so wanted, if God had so desired. It will happen at the time appointed. And when that time comes, all other authorities being put away and put down, leaving only Jesus as the only authority. And we're gonna clarify that a little bit in a moment. but leaving Jesus, he will then present his kingdom to the father. That day is coming, and that day will come, and that day will absolutely occur when Jesus has put all of his enemies away. The scriptures tell us the last enemy is death. When death is finally done away with and there will be no more dying, that will mark the time when Jesus has put down all other authorities and powers, and he alone reigns. Now when I say he alone reigns, he reigns now above all, and there are none of these authorities and powers that can challenge him, but they are permitted to have authority and power for a time for the purposes of God, okay? But that will be brought to an end. Now in the first known expression of his power and authority, We see him pouring out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. We've already referred to this. In Acts chapter two again, verse 33, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this which ye now see and hear. So referring to what was going on that very day on the day of Pentecost the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon on the believers Paul Peter rather is saying Jesus has he is he is Making use of this authority and power that he has I say it is the first known expression of this I don't know if Jesus did anything in those ten days were not told in the scriptures and But what we do know is, 10 days after he ascended, the day of Pentecost occurs, the Holy Spirit is poured out, as he had promised to them that he would do, that he would send the Holy Spirit, that happened, and that is an absolute expression of his power. So Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, born into this world as a virgin, as the God-Man, did not have this authority at first. Everything he did while on this earth was done through the authority given to him by the Father, miracles, healings, casting out demons. But now he has been given the name above all names and the authority that goes with that. He is indeed risen to the right hand of God. He indeed now reigns from heaven and is in absolute control. And we can count on that, we can believe on that. And we can follow him as our sovereign king. He is Messiah, yes, he is our savior. He is too our king. And let us give unto him the glory and the exaltation due his name because he is king. And let us give unto him the respect that is due that name as we follow him as our king. We are subject to different authorities and powers. We have local authorities, we have state authorities, we have national federal authorities in this nation we live in. And we should be respective of those authorities. and obedient to those authorities, unless they go against God and His word. But we should be obedient to them and show a certain respect. But above all, we must be obedient and respectful to our King of Kings and our Lord of Lords. Glory be to His name. Glory to his name. And I urge you to believe on the name of Jesus. Believe that he has saved your soul. Believe that he died on the cross for your sins. Believe that he died to do so and then that he rose again and then that he ascended into heaven and that he reigns as king of kings and lord of lords. Believe him and follow him. I think it's important in these times that we're living in right now that we demonstrate to the world around us that we believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, our actions during this time, there's gonna be a bigger spotlight shining on them probably than ever before. Let's make certain that we demonstrate faith and obedience in these difficult times. Let's make certain that the very actions that we take The very words that we speak are consistent with following the Lord Jesus Christ, his commandments, his directions to us. Let's trust in him. We're going to close there. We didn't get done. We'll resume this next Sunday, if the Lord is willing. We're going to close with that thought. I urge you now, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in his name. Let's all, let's have a word of prayer and then we'll stand. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this blessed opportunity to be here together today. And we, oh Lord, just want to be obedient as we recognize the authority of our Lord and Savior, and as we recognize His reign in heaven even now. And may we trust you, O Lord, and follow you. And may others see that we trust and follow you. I pray for those here this morning who need to make a profession of faith in Christ as their Savior, that they would soon do so, that they would soon follow our Lord in baptism and in joining the church. And I pray for those of us who have done so, and pray, Lord, that we might walk faithfully with you. I pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.