Let's pray together. We thank you, Lord, for your.
Word for the life. That it brings us.
Week after. Week, we want to hear from you
and to understand what you have. For us today, so pour out your.
Spirit upon us. Bless us with.
Understanding with resolve to live according to what you teach
us and send us out from this place rejoicing in what we've
heard. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.
So today is Ascension Sunday and we remember this day.
Jesus's. Enthronement in heaven. 40 days
after. Easter the Ascension is a Janus
moment in the. Story of the Bible it is the.
End of 1 chapter, but it is not the end.
Of the story. It ends.
Luke's Gospel we hear at. The end of.
Luke's gospel that Jesus has. Risen and has ascended into
heaven, and Luke closes. It out right there.
But that is not the end. Of the story.
The story continues and in fact in Acts Chapter 1.
Luke tells the story. Again, acts.
As his sequel, he tells he. Opens the.
Sequel with the. Same.
Story He just adds a little bit of.
Color and comedy at the beginning of acts when he tells
it again starting in acts chapter one verse 10 the.
Disciples have just. Seen Jesus lifted up into
heaven, they've lost sight of him.
And then pretty comically, the disciples are gazing into
heaven. And two angels stood there in
white robes, and they said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking into heaven? This Jesus who was.
Taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you
saw him go into heaven. And we should laugh a.
Little bit at the disciples. Standing there with.
The these two guards. From the heavenly host kind of
nudging them, hey guys, hey guys, what are you doing?
They're looking up and and they're saying it is time to get
on with what he has. Told you to do.
There's work to do. Let's go.
It's funny, but it's also I'm afraid.
The way that. We often times conceive of life
after the Ascension. Life after.
Jesus went up into heaven. He's gone.
What do we do now? That same kind of feeling, I
think. It's it's as if.
The ascension was the end. Of the story.
When it's just the end of 1 chapter and as Luke makes this
clear in the rest of. The book of Acts First of all,
there's. Pentecost and the pouring out of
the. Spirit just as Jesus.
Promised and then Jesus. Goes with his people out.
Into the world Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth,
especially in Rome at the end of the book of.
Acts did Jesus. Leave them, No way.
He kept His promise. He went with them.
He was with them always to the ends of the earth, as they went
out to make disciples of all nations.
Now today's sermon is entitled, very cleverly I might add.
What's Jesus up to you? Get it?
Isn't amazing pastoral cleverness?
Always get some. So.
We usually think about the ascension from the angle.
Of the disciples. But Revelation chapter. 5.
Is another angle on the ascension.
It is the heavenly angle of. What?
Happened after Jesus arrived in heaven.
So I want you to turn to Revelation chapter 5.
Thanks to Alex for reading that. That wasn't Spanish.
I didn't take that in school. Thank you for reading to us, and
let's make sense of what we've heard from Revelation chapter 5.
You can find it in the Church Bible on page 967.
And from this angle, from the heavenly angle, we can see.
What? Jesus.
Is up to now and. Also what we are up.
To with him what? We have to do.
After the ascension, and we'll see that in four important ways.
But first, let's read a little bit.
Of what's happening in Revelation.
Chapter 5. John writes.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the
throne, a scroll written within and on the back sealed with 7
seals, and I saw a mighty Angel proclaiming with a loud voice.
Who is worthy? To open the scroll and.
Break its seals. Saint John, in a vision on the
Isle of Patmos, sees the heavenly throne room in all its
splendor. But there's a.
Problem and that. Is that the worshippers were
gathered to celebrate the feast. Of the ascension, but the.
Worship service has. Started and ground.
To a halt. No one.
There was qualified to. Read the lesson.
They'd had hymns. They had.
Prayers. But then it's time to read.
God's Word. No one is.
Qualified, so he says. Verse 3 No one was able to open
the. Scroll or to.
Look into it and we bought this church building in 2021 and the
former owners. Told us a story as we.
Bought it and moved into the building.
A notorious wedding happened here in this building some years
ago apparently the wedding started in the early afternoon,
but the bride wasn't ready, so the band played and played and
played and eventually people started getting up and leaving
and by the time the bride came up in the early evening, most of
the. People had left.
They weren't even here for the ceremony.
That service was stuck. It couldn't go on because they
were waiting on. The bride.
And. This is very.
Similar what we're finding here in Revelation chapter 5 John's
vision is very similar because. They were stuck too.
So verse 4. John bursts into tears.
He began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open
the scroll. Why was John so broken?
Hearted just because the worship service was.
Stuck. Well, it's because in heaven
this is more than a worship. Service this is also.
The command center in heaven there is no separation of church
and state the heavenly throne room is both the national
cathedral and the Pentagon at the same time.
It's simultaneously the place of.
Worship. And the cosmic command center
where God's. Word is read.
And then put into motion. So John wept.
Because the world is. Broken.
And if God's word goes unread, injustice remains.
Cries of distress everywhere. Go.
Unanswered hopes. Dashed the.
Healing of creation remains on hold, and John knew this.
He had this vision on the Isle of Patmos, where?
He. Was himself exiled.
Because of his. Faith.
And it had been some years earlier that Nero that the Rome
had burned in a fire and Nero had blamed the Christians and
there had been martyrdoms in Rome and there were martyrdoms.
All across. The Christian world in that
time. So John felt the brokenness
then? Just as we.
Feel the brokenness of the world today, all of the loneliness.
All. Of the trauma.
The abuse, all of the. Hurts that our congregation.
Feels heart attacks. And strokes and other things
that have affected us, cancer, carjackings and gun violence and
many problems in the city and. We say how?
Long, O Lord, about these things.
And John says how long, O Lord? And the people in this church
service in heaven are saying how long, O Lord?
And they're all saying it because.
God's secret. Plan to remake the.
World The. Plan of new creation putting
the. World to rights is stuck.
On hold with no one to read. God's Word.
And to put it into action, this plan is rolled up in the.
Scriptures sealed with. 7 seals. Who is?
Worthy to open it verse six one of the.
Elders said weep. No more, for behold the lion of
the tribe of. Judah, the root.
Of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its
seven seals in between the throne and the four living
creatures. And among the elders I saw a
lamb standing as though it had been slain.
Now that's the Messiah, Jesus who conquered sin on the cross,
who conquered death on Easter, who became the Neil Armstrong of
heaven on ascension day, the first man to take the throne
over all creation. And then verse 7, his first
action as king. Look at this.
He went and. Took the scroll.
From the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
Jesus's first. Action is very important.
Because this is what got. Israel into trouble?
This is what? Caused the downfall.
Of the people of God, they had the word of God.
But they didn't read it, and they didn't put it in.
To practice this is what. Caused the Babylonian exile, now
we. See Jesus, however, who takes it
to read it. Then and now, the first and
foremost responsibility. For every leader.
In every. Place is to.
Listen to God to meditate on His word night and day, and then to
lead accordingly. God's.
Word is the. Plumb line.
For every CEO, for every. Politician and bureaucrat.
It's the standard for every one of us in all of our vocations,
for we are all made in God's image.
And His word teaches us how to live.
His word teaches us how to lead and.
If we don't live accordingly, things will go wrong.
So he calls all people everywhere to live.
According to his word and in heaven, on that first ascension
day, Jesus the King took possession.
Of the word. With determination to rule all
things accordingly and things began to change for the better
everywhere from that day all the way up until now.
Meanwhile, down on the Mount of Olives.
The disciples are. Standing, looking up into heaven
and the angels are saying hey guys.
Hey, guys. And if.
They could have. Seen what we see from
Revelations angle. They would have.
Known that that. Jesus received the scroll.
He went on to open the seals. He went on to.
Read the word. And to put it in to motion, it's
a chain reaction of mission and healing and justice and truth
and life and love that begin to flow out from this moment, which
begins with the ascension of Jesus into heaven.
But the first? Response is praise and worship.
That's the next thing that happens after hearing the.
Word of God. Everyone begins to celebrate and
look at how they celebrate. In verses 9 and 10, the elders
and others around fell down before him and they sang a new
song. And then in verse 11, myriads of
myriads and thousands of thousands begin to sing a new
song. And then in verse. 12 All
creatures everywhere. Began to sing a new song and
these songs. Tell us what Jesus is up to.
Now and what? We are up.
To with him or what? We should.
Be up to as we join Him in ruling faithfully according to
God's Word as He is making all things new He invites us into.
This to rule. With him and he calls us to join
him in four important. Ways the first.
Of them is on the. Cross Jesus.
Triumphed over sin. So that.
We can now do the same on the cross.
Jesus triumphed over sin so that we can now do the same.
See the new song in verse 9. Worthy.
Are you to take the scroll? And to open its seals, for you
were slain, and your. Blood by your.
Blood you ransomed. People for God. 20 years ago.
A high. Profile Christian.
Author and speaker wrote a book about.
Revelation and he popularized this slogan that says you want
to know Revelation, the Book of Revelation summarized in two.
Words. It's these two, Jesus.
Wins. Jesus wins.
And it's very. Popular for a while.
The problem with it. Is that Jesus already?
Won. Before the book of.
Revelation even begins. It happened on the.
Cross where Jesus? Ransomed.
People for God. That's the new song that
everyone's singing when he arrives in the Ascension.
Sin is rebellion against God, and death is the punishment for
traitors. We all deserve to die because of
our. Disobedience, our sin, our
rebellion against God. But through the the cross,
Jesus. Paid our ransom.
He does this for all who. Repent of their disobedience, of
their rebellion, and put their allegiance in Him on the cross.
Jesus triumphed over sin so that we can do the same.
So one thing that He is up to right now is empowering us in
holiness, empowering us in this fight against sin.
With his help. You can be clean, you can live
according to his word. You can live a.
Godly. Righteous.
And sober life. As it says.
In the prayer book. To the glory.
Of his holy name, so sanctifying us, making us.
His holy people is a huge part of what Jesus is up.
To right now and he invites. Us to be a part.
Of that holiness a second thing that Jesus is doing right now is
he's gathering all kinds of. People all.
Kinds of people into his church. See, as the song continues at
the verse end of verse 9, he ransomed, ransomed people from
every tribe and language and people and nation.
Just. Rescuing Israel would not have
been enough to end Satan's reign of terror.
Over our world he had. To ransom.
All peoples, everywhere. The old creation.
Had failed. A new creation had to begin, and
so only by Jesus becoming King of all nations and all.
Peoples, will this work succeed? So that's what Jesus.
Was up to on the cross and what he continues to do even now see
verse 10 he invites. Our help with this project.
For he made us a Kingdom and priests.
To our God. Extending God's forgiveness and
welcome not only to Jews. But also to.
Gentiles, all the other families and nations of the world, and
our church here is an embassy of the Kingdom of God.
For the people of. Washington, the nations who
come. Here our church is a.
Colony of Heaven. Here to establish.
Heaven on earth. Now, to be clear, we don't do
this mission. Without Jesus.
As he said in the Great Commission, behold, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age.
As we go out on mission, he promises to go.
With us. He promises.
To be a part of our work as a royal priesthood.
But by the same token, Jesus doesn't do this mission without
us, or at least not usually very rarely.
Before his. Crucifixion.
He. Said that it would be better.
If he went away. So that his spirit would be
poured. Out on all of us so that we can
multiply his mission in all the world.
And that's exactly. What he did?
That the power of the Spirit. Now he goes.
Out with us. On mission through sharing the
good news through praying for healing as.
A priesthood of believers. Restoring justice and so on.
This is the. Work that Jesus has.
Given us to do this. Is the work that he is.
Doing now. Through us here.
As an embassy of his Kingdom and we promise to do this every
Sunday at the end of our service.
You know, we gather at the back, the Deacon says go forth into
the world in the power of the Holy Spirit and we say thanks be
to God and that is our agreement that we are going out into.
The world as ambassadors of Jesus.
In the power. Of his spirit.
How long has it been since you told someone about Jesus?
Why are you standing there looking up at heaven?
Go tell someone about the risen King.
There is no better news. For our world today.
That's another thing that Jesus is doing.
Here's a third thing. Jesus is preparing an eternal
dwelling place for us, not. Up there, but right here.
See the end of verse 10. Jesus gathers people.
From every nation to become a Kingdom of priests, and they
shall reign on the earth. Heaven is not our home.
It is not our final destination. The Bible doesn't teach that.
It's a. Staging ground.
For what? Is yet to come the dead in
Christ? Are alive with.
Him now in heaven. But that is not where they will
stay. Nor is it.
Where he will stay, we say. This in the Nicene Creed, every
Sunday he will come again and glory to judge the living and
the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end.
NT right? The theologian likes to put it
this way. Another.
Clever pastor trick. Heaven is important, but it's
not the end of the world. The earth will not be destroyed
at the end of history. Instead, as Jesus says in the
Beatitudes, the meek will inherit.
The Earth. So when Jesus returns, earth and
heaven will be reunited, and the earth will be heavenized, and
Jesus people from every tongue and every nation will dwell in
peace and safety and worship under the benevolent reign of
Jesus the risen King. Therefore, we as Christians
should have a. Very high.
View of creation we should have a high environmentalism, we
should. Care about all the world.
That he has made because it belongs to him and he is coming
back to. Live here, we should take care
of this place. Because it belongs to him 4th
and finally. Jesus has gifts.
And he is. Eager to share?
Look at the new song Song by the myriads in verse. 12 there are.
Seven things that he is given worthy is the Lamb who was
slain. To receive power.
And wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing
and all of creation, all the living things.
Sing this in verse 13. They have.
Four of those. 7 To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,
be blessing and honor and glory and might, forever and ever.
Jesus right now is the King of kings and the.
Lord of Lords. And that means?
He has wealth. And power and wisdom and
blessing beyond our. Wildest.
Dreams that have come to him. He possesses.
These things because. He is the.
King. What does he do with it all?
What any king does. Whether good or evil, he shares
the love with his people. Think of our former president.
Think of our current president handing out pardons to
scoundrels they love. Right.
Do you think? Jesus will treat.
Us scoundrels any different? No, this is what kings do.
Jesus power. Is infinite.
His. Wealth beyond imagination, his
wisdom unparalleled. And he promised I will not.
Leave you as. Orphans.
Rather, he pours out his spirit. And his gifts upon the church.
So that we, his body take. Whatever we need out into the
world as his ambassadors. He supplies his people.
On the front. He blesses us with gifts.
Like Father Christmas in the Narnia.
Stories, right? The gifts that are.
Given at Christmas are not toys. They're tools.
They're. Weapons they are.
For the the. Remaking of Narnia the same way
in. Their true story, This story of.
Heaven and earth being remade. We are a part of the new
creation and Jesus gives us new creation.
Gifts they are. Tools.
For the remaking of the world as His ambassadors in the world.
So what do you need from the Lord to be His?
Ambassador here. Think for a moment of.
What you would like to? Ask him for because Pentecost is
coming next Sunday and it is a very good time to ask him.
For a gift. Let's say you're feeling
especially powerless to represent him.
Maybe you see something? A great evil at work.
Or maybe it's a little evil at work.
Maybe it's at school, maybe somewhere else in the community,
but you. Feel powerless to.
Stand against this thing well. Who has all the power?
The King of Kings, the. Lord of Lords worthy.
Is the Lamb who was slain to receive?
Power. He shares it with his people.
Pentecost is coming. It's a very good time to ask
him. For power.
Or maybe you lack the wisdom to understand His word and to.
Be able to to live. According to it and to tell.
It to other people, well, he has all.
The wisdom in the world. He loves to share it.
With his people. Pentecost is coming.
Ask Him for this too. There's a list of seven things
here. He's got them all in infinite
abundance. Ask Him for all of them, and ask
Him so that you can be His faithful.
Ambassador here. In Washington.
Worthy is. The Lamb who was slain to
receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and
glory and blessing. Ask him for these things.
He is the. Great king who loves.
To give gifts to His people. Let's pray together.
We do ask you. Lord to.
Empower us for this work. Thank you so much for calling
us. To serve with.
You to be. Ambassadors for you.
It's daunting, but thank you that you go with us to.
Pour out your. Blessings, your gifts upon us
scoundrels, make us new like you and use.
Us for your. Glory we pray in Jesus name,
Amen.