The message of repentance is being dropped today like a hot potato. It's too judgmental. It's too critical. I heard one pastor of a large church say on national television that he never mentions the word sin. He never mentions the words.
sinners or Or repentance. He claims it's too negative. And you need to stay positive. Let me tell you, he is at odds. with Jesus.
Jesus says, proclaim this in my name. Repentance. from sin and forgiveness. Today on Wisdom for the Heart. Stephen Davey walks you through the final moments of Jesus' earthly ministry.
and the life-changing truth of his ascension. you'll learn why Jesus had to return to heaven. and what it means for your future. and what he's called you to do in the meantime. If you've ever felt uncertain about your purpose, This message is for you.
Stay with us as Stephen opens Luke 24. and remind you that Jesus went up for now. but he's coming back. A man in our church sent me just two days ago this. Humorous illustration one Easter Sunday morning.
A woman was on her way to church when her car broke down. And not wanting to miss the special service at her church, she got on her phone and ordered an Uber to pick her up. The car arrived and she jumped into the back seat. There was no conversation between them. The driver was listening to his car radio.
They rode in silence for about 15 minutes when she asked him a question. He didn't hear her because of the radio.
So she leaned forward and and tapped him on his shoulder her needle. Let out a scream and swerved into the other lane, almost hit another car, pulled over and slammed on the brakes, and they skidded to the curb. The driver sat there for a minute gathering himself from apparent shock. She said apologetically, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that tapping you on the shoulder would would scare you like that.
He shook his head and he said, No, ma'am, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just this is my first day driving an Uber. For the past 25 years, I worked for a funeral home and drove the hearse. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Okay. I guess getting a tap on the shoulder would be an unexpected surprise. Yeah.
Well, I couldn't help but think, you know, for these disciples we've been following and studying. They have been surprised, haven't they? They were not expecting a dead man to rise. Frankly, we're shocked. We watched together as we've studied How he miraculously appeared in their midst, suddenly behind locked doors.
and for the next several weeks would appear to to hundreds of people Now we arrive where Jesus is about to deliver his last recorded. Words Luke records from him. before he physically ascends To heaven.
So, I invite your attention to where that takes place. We're in the last chapter, in the last few verses. of Luke chapter 24.
Now Luke compresses hours of time. into these final ten verses.
So to help us study through it, let me arrange. What happens here into three chapters? I'll entitle the first chapter, The Gospel Proclamation. Here are the final words of the Lord. Recorded in Luke's Gospel.
Verse 44 of chapter 24. Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you. That everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must. Be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
and said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise. From the dead.
Now, stop there for a moment. Get the emphasis here from the Lord. The Lord is anchoring their confidence and their assurance. Once again, not on their experience. But on his word.
These are the words that I spoke to you. It's been written about me throughout the entire Old Testament. He opens their mind to understand the scriptures. Thus it is written. Let me tell you, beloved, the proclamation of the gospel.
didn't begin with a resurrection. It began. with the Old Testament.
So go back to the scriptures, just as the Lord did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. What does the word of God say?
Now if Jesus were preaching today, it'd be a biblical message. It'd be tied to a text of Old Testament scripture. That's all there was. At this point, He'd have no problem preaching today in a New Testament church. from an Old Testament text.
Jesus says, here, the law, the prophets, the psalms, they spoke of me. They were fulfilled in me, they were illustrated by me, they glorified me.
Now, there's something else implied here. The Lord doesn't want his disciples to base their assurance, again, on what they've seen, what they've experienced. Jesus doesn't say here, Now men, remember, I walked on the water. You saw it. Remember how I fed the 5,000.
How amazing was that? Remember how I appeared. Behind those locked doors.
Now, Thomas isn't going to go off and write his memoirs about I saw the nail prints in his hand. Peter isn't going to write a book entitled The Morning I Had Breakfast with Jesus. Jesus anchors their faith to the word. Notice verse 46 again, and he said to them, thus it is. written.
As if to say, you know, whether you see me or not. Yeah.
Thus it is written that I would suffer. And on the third day rise. Listen, you and I, and the reason I'm making this point. is we have the same foundation for our faith. and our confidence and our assurance today.
that he gave to them. He pressed on them. He preached, he taught. The Word of God. That is our proclamation.
Today. That isn't everything we proclaim today. We don't simply expound on Revelation. We actually press For a response based upon That revelation. Jesus goes on to say here.
And that Thus, it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. And that. Repentance for the forgiveness of sins. should be proclaimed in his name. Repentance and forgiveness of sin.
How many churches We'll talk about the resurrection today, but nothing about sin. and the Savior who redeems us. Who forgives us? Repenting is agreeing with God that what you're doing is sinful. It's wrong.
Confessing it. And then turning away from it. I like to say pointing your toes in the right direction. You're going to stumble, fail, and fall, but the direction of your life has completely changed. The message of repentance is being dropped today like a hot potato.
It's too judgmental. It's too critical. I heard one pastor of a large Church says on national television that he never mentions the word sin. He never mentions the words sinners or or Repentance. He claims it's too negative.
And you need to stay positive. Let me tell you, he is at odds. with Jesus. Jesus says, proclaim this in my name. Repentance.
from sin and forgiveness. This, by the way. is not a suggestion. It is a an ultimatum. The gospel we deliver is not an option.
It isn't a hey if you like it. If you want to try it now, you're in trouble. You're a sinner. You need a Savior. This is personal.
It's a verdict that demands a decision. What have you decided? In your own life.
Now let's move into chapter two. I only have three chapters in this sermon, so relax. Hold your applause. We'll call chapter 2 the Great Commission.
Now Jesus delivers the scope. Of the proclamation, verse 47 again, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name.
Now, notice to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these. things.
Now these words parallel the book of Acts. Chapter 1. Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and The book of Acts. He wrote them to the same man named Theophilus. Uh a statesman.
who had come to faith. And Luke in chapter one of Acts gives a little more of an expanded account. He writes in verse eight, But you will receive power When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, Jesus says, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
So this is a global proclamation. And this amazes me. This encourages me. Jesus is about to ascend back to heaven, and he's leaving this global, this great commission. in their hands.
Regardless of their track record. Regardless of their lack of experience, regardless of their lack of Education. They weren't trained rabbis. They weren't teachers. They were calloused.
Fishermen And in there too is a crooked tax collector. Imagine today Jesus would go to a Get a couple of guys from a motorcycle gang who hated the government and lived off the grid. He'd go to the outer banks and choose some callous fishermen who. Who'd spent their life on the sea? He'd travel over to the IRS administration office.
And he'd hire a man who'd been cheating people out of their taxes year after year. You're the one I want. And you say, Jesus. You're going to leave it. with them.
What's amazing to me is he did, and he's left it with you. And me. Today So, don't miss the promise. Jesus informs them here. They're going to be empowered and enabled by a divine person.
The Holy Spirit. And in the New Testament dispensation, he will descend and indwell every believer. You and me To enable us to fulfill this great commission, the disciples were told to wait for a person who would provide them with. The power. Which means that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not a luxury for super Christians.
He is a necessity for every ordinary Christian. Like you and me.
So Jesus tells his disciples, after I go up, The Holy Spirit's going to come down, and through the divine power of this divine person, here's what's going to happen: verse 8 again. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem. Notice Jesus does not say, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will begin witnessing. He's not telling them what they will do, although they will do that. He's telling them who they are.
You will become. Witnesses. That's your occupation. Most of our problems today center around the fact that we've forgotten who we are. The church at large today is ineffective, not because it isn't being heard.
Christians are noisier than ever. Making noise and making progress are two different things. Jesus is telling them to adopt a brand new perspective on life. This is who they R. Harnack, the church historian, once wrote that the early church advanced by means of what he called informal missionaries.
Every believer understood. That's why they were left on the planet. The term informal missionaries was actually coined by Justin Martyr in the second century, and he would write about the fact that the progress of the church was made possible because the disciples understood these final words of Christ. This was what they did because this was who they were.
Now the word witness will be used by Luke. Nearly thirty times In the book of Acts, and that word sweeps us into the drama. of a courtroom. where everything depends On the testimony. of the witness.
In this analogy, the believer is not the one on trial. Jesus Christ is on trial. Before the world. And you're called to be a witness to the authenticity of Jesus Christ in you. The defense attorney would be the Holy Spirit.
The prosecutor would be Satan in the kingdom of darkness. And the world is the jury. They're going to decide on the basis of your testimony as to the truth of Jesus Christ. If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence displayed in that courtroom to find you guilty? Or would people have to think he he's he's a Christian?
She? We're called to be witnesses.
Now, in the courtroom drama, At least from what I've learned from watching Matlog. One of the things that a prosecuting attorney tries to do is discredit the testimony of the witness. Why do you do that? You discredit the character of the witna.
So who they are He's going to try to show or she doesn't match up with what they are saying.
So, make no mistake, how the witness is living outside the courtroom has a direct bearing on the effectiveness of their testimony inside the courtroom. And an effective witness is powerful not only because of the way they live. But the fact that how they live validates what they're saying.
Now back here in Luke's account Jesus says that The witness is needed. He said, you're not only going to be. Witnesses Not only in Jerusalem, but to the nations. I love that. Proclaim.
This to the nations. And keep in mind Beloved, these disciples had never been outside their home country. That little tiny region. They they knew nothing of The world at large. Except what they'd heard.
That'd be like telling you and me to Be prepared to take the gospel to Alaska. Or Mongolia, places I've never been. Go to Turkey. Or to the Sudan, to Cuba. To Hawaii.
I'll sign up for that one, by the way. I've never been there. Don't miss the fact though that Jesus says start in Jerusalem, that's where you live, hardest place to witness, is at home. Hardest people to talk to are people who know you. It's easier to talk to a stranger about Jesus on a bus.
Or an airplane. Then your neighbor. It's easier to pray before a meal at a restaurant you'll never go back to. than before a client. You're trying to get to sign a contract.
Start there, Jesus says. And then surrender to the Holy Spirit if he leaves you there. Or takes you somewhere else.
Now in our case, I'm amazed. We have the opportunity of proclaiming the gospel, living as witnesses before our world. The nations have come here. Haven't they? I called Larry Hoxey yesterday was directing our ESL English as a second language program here at the Shepherd's Church.
This semester they've had to open up more rooms and They have people from 58 nations.
So, they've opened more classrooms and they've just invited everybody on the waiting list. Emptied the waiting list. They have nearly 400 people coming to classes. As part of it, they're going to read the Bible, they're going to hear the Bible read, the gospel story told. They're going to be introduced to Christians, and they've never met a Christian before.
Let me read you some of the countries represented. Not all of them, just a few: Algeria, Argentina, Bolaris, Brazil, Burma. China, Colombia, Congo. Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France. Honduras, Hong Kong.
India I ran Israel, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia. Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, and twenty-five more. But the question It's where is your Jerusalem? That cubicle. That neighborhood.
That's sharp. Where has God placed you? This is who you are. And because of who you are, This is how you live. And then this is how you Speak.
Jesus is telling his disciples to get ready. to go somewhere they They've never been before. To be willing to do something they've never done before. to be prepared to reach somebody they've never noticed before. I remember talking to a man in our church.
who went on an impact trip. sponsored by our church to a South American country and to work with a church on a building project. He had tears in his eyes as he said to me, My wife and I are going to enroll In learning the language, so we can be effective when we go back. We can't wait to go back next year. I said, that's great.
Tell me about your trip. I thought it must have been, you know, magnificent. He said, well, we had to use public transportation. The buses weren't air conditioned, they're packed, people sitting on the roof, the windows were open, the dust was so thick we had to pull our shirts up over our noses to breathe. When we got to the camp, we would sleep at night with the sound of gunfire nearby.
We didn't have any running water. No indoor plumbing. Nearly every member of our team suffered at least a two-day bout with nausea and diarrhea, and we can't wait to go back. I said, you want to go back. How about Hawaii?
I'll go there with you, huh? I can't wait. Where's your Jerusalem? This is our gospel proclamation. This is our great commission.
Now, the third chapter in this final moment with his disciples, we will entitle it. The glorious Ascension. Luke finishes. His gospel account by writing here in verse 50, and he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. Note this, while he blessed them.
He parted from them. and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him. and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Luke adds this to his expanded account in Acts. Chapter 1. And while they were gazing into heaven, As he went. Behold, two men stood by them in white robes. There's these two angels again.
They've been busy. 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. Imagine The Lord is blessing them as He A sentence. Up Up And away.
By the way, he does not shed his humanity. in his glorified body. He has retained his flesh. And blood He's still fully Divine and fully human. Think about that.
What author Provoked my thinking when he wrote, There is now a human being on the throne of the universe. Isn't that great? When he ascended into heaven, he did not cease to be human, though he remains the second person of the Trinity. Eternally God the Son, yet 33 years earlier, he'd taken on flesh. Blood Hands and feet.
He is now and forever. One of us A human being On the throne. And at the same time, the King of kings and lord of lords.
Now how significant is it? That Jesus ascends to heaven.
Well If Jesus doesn't go up, the Spirit won't descend to empower us. John 16 records where Jesus said, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. If I do not go away, get this. The helper will not come to you. But if I go I will send him.
To you. If Jesus doesn't ascend, The Spirit of God does not descend. And if the Spirit of God does not descend, get this, the church. will never be created. The church will never be created.
We know the church was created by the Holy Spirit's power in Acts chapter 2. And from then on he dwells every one of us who are followers of Christ. Here's another. If Jesus doesn't ascend and the Spirit descends, spiritual growth will be impossible. Wherein dwell by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual growth is another term for spiritual fruit, and spiritual fruit is the product. of the Holy Spirit. You don't grow Spiritual fruit. Those attributes of that cluster. You bear it.
He produces it. I got to tell you about this past week, Dave Burgraff and his son Andy. Both professors at Shepherd Seminary. drove me to Frisco, Texas. Our Shepherds 360 church conference coming up this October.
The theme is. perseverance. And when I thought of this theme of perseverance, I couldn't help but think of Chuck Swindall. who's persevered. Many of you know him, listen to him.
He's persevered with integrity. Enjoy. Since he can't travel, He's 90 years old. Blind See it just a little bit out of one eye. He readily agreed.
to be interviewed if we could make it there.
So Andy and Dave agreed to drive me. 40 hours. Round trip. I mean, that's like the tribulation for them to be with me for 40 hours. Two days there and two days back.
But I gotta tell you, they introduced me to some special new things to me, like Freddy's Smash Burgers. I mean, it was fine dining all the way to Texas, let me tell you. And I I never Yeah. Buckies. Gas station.
Bucky's gas station. I've never seen a bathroom. Like Bucky's. I mean a hundred urinals. And 100 stalls, and everything is spotlessly clean.
This is more information than you wanted to know, I'm sure. Bucky's the beaver. I mean, it's a world. I was stunned. I bought my wife a Bucky's coffee mug.
Little beaver right on it. I mean she was so thrilled. I should have saved it for our anniversary. She actually liked it. We finally arrived.
And what a privilege to interview this man. who had influenced so many, including my own life. Before taping, we talked for about an hour. By the way, he's everything you would imagine. Humble.
Gracious. And joyful. I told him about how as a college student, I had stumbled across his radio program as I mopped the floor of a flower shop near the college campus. And we figured out together that he he would have been about in his early forties. I didn't know who he was.
But I was tired of listening to the music Nobody was there. The shop was closed. I turned the dial and I heard this guy preaching. And I told him, I said, and you did something I'd never heard before. You laughed.
In the pulpit. When I was raised, I mean, laughing in church was like denying the Trinity. You you didn't laugh. And I said, I want to thank you for persevering. With joy and he leaned forward and he said, Hey, you remember the You remember the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
It develops the fruit, right? And it's love, but then what comes next? Joy.
So how can, he said, how can we be glum? And gloomy. With the Spirit of God.
Now he went on to admit life Wasn't easy. In fact, he told me he'd almost quit the ministry. over discouragement just 10 years earlier when he was 80. He retired when he was eighty nine, ninety. But his wife encouraged him.
There they are in their 80s to keep going. His son-in-law told Dave. And Andy later that since his 80th birthday, his ministry has produced. Another thirty bucks. I hope to have this kind of joy.
When I'm 90. And I can. And you can too, with the same Holy Spirit. working in us.
Now, some fruit will be more difficult than others, as it were, based on how we're wired and put together. But the Spirit of God is in all of us. who are redeemed.
Well, there are more promises attached here to the Lord's ascension. Let me give you another one: if Jesus hadn't ascended in heaven and ready for us after all. Jesus said to his disciples in John 14, I'm going away to prepare a place. For you.
So heaven is ready and waiting. For every believer, the moment they die... Their spirit goes to be with Christ in heaven immediately. The body waits. For that rapture.
Here's another. If he hadn't ascended. then he is not interceding. For us. Think about it.
If Jesus didn't ascend, he's not up there acting as our high priest, our mediator. Our intercessor. The Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Romans 8:34, listen to this. Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that.
Who was raised, who indeed is interceding for us. Jesus promised, I'd go to prepare a place for you. What else?
Well, let me give you another. If Jesus doesn't go up, then Jesus isn't coming back down. For us one day. I go to a prepare place for you and If I go. You could render that and I will.
and prepare a place for you. I will come again. and will take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be. Also Beloved, your hope. of heaven.
Isn't just in his crucifixion. Isn't just in his resurrection. It includes His ascension. Every promise must Come. True.
And they all will. I close with this. A young man had been raised In a home With An alcoholic abusive father. When he had friends over from school as a teenager, he'd. He'd take his drunken father out to the barn, they lived on a farm, and he'd tie him up.
And then he'd drive his father's car around behind the silo and tell his friends his dad was away on a business trip. He later would write: If there was anybody that I hated. It was my father. You went on to university? He met some Christians.
He didn't believe the gospel, but took up the challenge to study. And everything he uncovered changed his mind. God opened his eyes and heart, and he trusted Christ. Years later, he would write that the Spirit of God began doing a work in me, producing spiritual fruit. After a year and a half, he said, I was able to look at my father with pity.
Pity. Instead of hatred, And I even told my father. That I love them.
Well, after six months into one of his university years, he had an accident and was sent home to the farm to recuperate, lying on a bed, couldn't move. One day his father came into his room, he was sober. He was thoughtful. And he said, I don't understand how you can tell somebody like me. That you love me.
And with that the door opened. He was able to share the gospel once again with his father, who now listened. And then he told his dad, you know, a year ago, I hated you. But Jesus Christ has changed my life. And the risen Savior.
has sent His Spirit who indwells me that because of him I can love you. Josh McDowell writes. Within a few minutes my father knelt down beside my bed, and pray to receive Jesus Christ. as a saviour. He writes about that event in his book entitled The Resurrection Factor.
This is the transforming ministry of the Holy Spirit who indwells Him, indwells you, indwells me, enabling us. to deliver this gospel proclamation. to live as witnesses and to anticipate His return, for he indeed went up, up and away, but he's coming back down. It might be today.
So let's live. In light of That. Day. Jesus returned to heaven. But his mission is now your mission.
Thanks for joining us today on Wisdom for the Heart with Stephen Davey. Today's lesson concludes Stephen's series entitled This changes everything. That means that this series is also the last day that you can get the C D set of this series at 50% off. If you'd like to add this teaching to your library of Christian resources, Visit wisdomonline.org or call 866. 48 Bible.
That's wisdomonline.org or 866-455. 48 Bible. The series you're looking for is called This Changes Everything. Make sure to get yours today. Then join us next time on Wisdom for the Heart.
