Luke 24:44-53

Jesus was about to ascend to heaven. He had done so much and the disciple had experienced so much. He had taught profoundly about the Kingdom of God: it is like a mustard seed, or a good Samaritan or a father with two sons � He had healed the sick and walked on water and raised the dead and fed the multitudes. He had cared for his disciples with an abundance of love even when he knew they would betray and abandon him. He had spoken with a Samaritan woman at the well. He ate with sinners. Then he died on the cross for their sins and rose again on the third day.

The disciples had seen and heard all this. For 40 days after his resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples and continued to teach them. I can imagine the pieces were beginning to fall together for the disciples. All those times Jesus had talked about his death and resurrection had not made sense to them before. But now it did. He had died as a sacrifice for their sins and rose again to win them eternal life!

But Jesus was about to leave them physically. He would send his Holy Spirit to be a living presence with them until the end of the age. But Jesus, God in the flesh, would be sitting at the right hand of the Father. What would happen to all that Jesus had done and said? So before he left Jesus said to his disciples, "You are my witnesses." They would pass on the word of truth that Jesus had revealed. They would preach the Good News for the world.

The disciples followed through on Jesus' orders. They preached the Gospel and told of Jesus. Phillip and Peter and Paul and the others spread the word. They proclaimed the Good News beginning in Jerusalem and then to the world. And the people they influenced passed the message on. Then that generation passed the good news on and were Jesus' witnesses.

Then the message came down to us. We have been given the Good News. I know it has changed my life for the better. Has it changed your life? Have the stories of the things Jesus said and did made your life better?

If you can say "yes" then you are his witnesses. Jesus is no longer with us in the flesh. But his Holy Spirit is. And there are so many people in our world who need to hear that Good News and take it to heart. You are his witnesses. If you don't tell any one, then how will they know?

It has been said that the church is only one generation away from oblivion. If any one generation fails to pass on the Gospel then this thing we call the Church will cease to exist. The problem is that most people don't know how to be a witness. I could preach until I am blue in the face and tell you to be his witnesses, but you would not be able to do unless someone tells you how to. That is what I want to do to today. I want to tell you how to be his witnesses.

So what do you have to do to be Jesus' witnesses? First of all, you have to have witnessed something. You can't be a witness to something you did not actually see. If you are called as a witness to a car accident and you were on the other side of town when it happened, you will not be a legitimate witness. Have you ever heard the Good News to Jesus Christ? Have you ever heard or read that Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit?" Have you ever read or heard that Jesus healed the sick or raised the dead? If so say "amen."

That's good but that is still second hand testimony. Have you ever experienced the forgiveness and grace of God? Can you truthfully say "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me?" Can you say "He has lifted me up and given me new life." Can you say that Jesus has changed your life?

If you cannot say you have experience the living Christ in you, then we need to stop right here. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive your sins, then you need to start there. You can't bear witness to something you have not witnessed. You can't represent Jesus unless you know him as your Lord and Savior. You can't tell people about the Good News if you have never experienced it. Jesus died for your sins to give you a new start on life with his help. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Lord and Savior, then you will experience forgiveness of your sins and eternal life and you can bear witness to it.

So to be Jesus' witnesses we have to have witnessed Jesus and the Good News. Second you have to tell the truth. A good witness is one that tells the truth about what they have witnessed. If a witness lies, then their lies will be revealed in cross examination and they will be discredited and no one will believe what they said. I have heard some astounding and extraordinary testimonies.

I have heard people talking about hitting bottom because of drugs or crime or some other sinful behavior. Those are dramatic witnesses. But that doesn't mean your witness is not just as valid. You don't have to exaggerate or amend your testimony to make it sound good. Just stick to the truth.

I never got involved in drugs or crime or other irresponsible behavior when I was young. I could have! I certainly had the opportunities. I was saved much of the pain that my peers went through because of those things. I can't tell you that I got lost in sex or drugs or crime and then was saved. But I can tell you that I was saved from the pain and trouble those things cause. God saved me from those things by giving me the wisdom and strength to say "no" and flee from sin.

Young people this is a lesson for you. You can avoid much of the pain and hardship that comes through sin. I am a witness to tell you that if you will let God, He will enable you to say "no" to addictive, sinful, and dangerous behaviors. Even if you have already made some mistakes and been involved in sin, God can give you the strength to put it behind you. Even if your older friends and role models are involved in those things, you can still resist sin and be spared the pain it will cause you.

Jesus said "You are his witnesses." But first you have to have witnessed something. You have to know the teachings and Jesus and the Good News of his death and resurrection. You also have to experience the truth of that Gospel. You have to have surrendered yourself to God in Christ.

Second you have to tell the truth. Just sincerely tell what you have seen and experienced. Simply describe what God has done for you and in your life.

Jesus has put this important task into your hands. There is a world that desperately needs to know the Good News. It is God's will that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." And you are his witnesses!

Once upon a time there was a man who wanted to see Niagara falls. He lived back when people didn't travel much and most travel was on horseback or on foot. But he had heard how beautiful and magnificent it was. So he set out on the long journey to see the falls for himself. When he was getting close, less than a day's journey away, he could hear a very faint roar. He stopped that night at an inn and was speaking with the owner. He discovered that the innkeeper had lived there his whole life. So he asked the innkeeper, "Is that roar I heard the sound of Niagara falls from a day's journey away. The innkeeper replied, "That is what I have been told." And to the man's amazement he discovered that the innkeeper who had lived only a days journey form Niagara falls his whole life had never gone to see it. Yet he had traveled a long way to witness its power.

Christians are like that sometimes. We live in the same neighborhood with the power of the Almighty God of the universe. Yet we rarely go out of our way to seek that power. We have been redeemed by the power of God but we fail to realize the majesty and the depths of glory that we can realize. Like the innkeeper we are content to live just close enough to hear the roar.

Apparently there were some Christians in Ephasis that fall into this category with the innkeeper. Paul says he has heard of their faith in Jesus so they were saved. Paul also says there are certain things he wants the Ephesian Christians to know. He wanted them to know: "what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe."

Now at this point you are saying to yourselves, "The preacher is going to preach a three point sermon." Aha! Gottcha! When I first started writing this sermon I thought it would be a three point sermon too, but then I started working on what I though was the first point "What is the hope," and I realized something. I realized that what I though were points 2 and 3 were actually explanations of "What is our hope." Paul here is explaining what is the hope in terms of "riches" and "power."

We Christians have hope in the "riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. So what are these riches? They are described as riches "of his glorious inheritance in the saints." The "his" of course is Jesus. "Saints" in the Bible means any Christian believer. "In" the saints could mean among the saints.

So what is Jesus' glorious inheritance among the saints? Eternal life and heaven of course! We don't talk about heaven much anymore. John described it as having golden streets and orchards of eternal fruit and a river of crystal water. Most modern people think of it in terms of near death experiences of a bright light and eternal bliss and peace. But whatever it is, it is something. In fact it's something else! Whatever it is like we are co-heirs of it with Jesus Christ. We have all known people who were too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. Do you remember what the angels said to the disciples after Jesus ascended? "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." We should not spend all our time looking to heaven, but we should also not forget that its promise is our hope. In the face of life's trials we have the hope of eternal bliss with Jesus in heaven!

Paul speaks of our hope in terms of the riches of our glorious inheritance, but he also talks about "the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe." What is "his power." It is the power to speak world into existence. It is the power of Creation. It is the power that said let there be light and there was. It is the power that raised Jesus from the dead and will one day raise all of us who have put our faith in him.

And Paul says this power is immeasurably great! It is beyond anything that we can comprehend. It's ability to create is beyond human comprehension. It is the power that enabled Jesus to die for the sins of the very people who were crucifying him.

And that power is in us who believe! That power of new life, of love, of forgiveness, of creation is in us. Most Christians live their lives as thou they are weak. And on our own we are, that is an important realization. But with Christ living in us we have power beyond all imagination. Power to live, to love, to go on when it seems we can go no further, to do right when all the pressures are for us to do wrong.

Jesus' resurrection and ascension are examples and illustrations of this hope Paul is describing. Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples for forty days. They saw him with their own eyes. He ate with them and they touched him. Yet he appeared and disappeared at will. This is an illustration of our hope for life everlasting.

Jesus' words to his disciples before he departed talk of his abiding power. He said, "you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." He also said, "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." We who believe in Jesus have the hope of that same power to live in us. The Holy Spirit, which was there are creation, lives in us and empowers us to witness for Christ in this world.

Jesus' Ascension itself is also an illustration of this power. Jesus has gone on to heaven before us to prepare a way. He is building us a mansion in glory. And He is already at the right hand of the Father with all things under his feet. Jesus who lives in us is at the helm of the universe piloting until that day when he will return in clouds of glory and judge the world!

That is our hope!

Do you hear that? Off in the distance. It's a roar. Like a mighty waterfall far off in the distance. You're from these parts, tell me is that the riches and power of God in Christ? I and many others have been search a long time for that hope. You mean you have never gone to see for yourself. You have never bothered to journey from the edge of salvation to the center of God's power and glory. You have never sought out the riches and the power of God which is the hope of all who believe?

Do not fail to visit that great hope. Make the spiritual journey. Begin today to plumb the depths of God power and grace. Seek the riches of hope that are your inheritance as a child of God.

Perhaps you are seeking that hope? Jesus is the only way to get there. You must give your life to him and let him forgive your sins and give you this hope. Do it today so that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened and you may know what is the hope to which you have been called!

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Acts 1:1-11

"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child." I personally know the feeling that this African American song expresses. I was seventeen, no longer a child, when my mother died, but I still felt like a motherless child. I was alone in a way I had never been before. One night, about 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning really, I was feeling this aloneness. I needed someone to talk to, to be with, but most of my friends were asleep by that time. My home church kept the sanctuary open at night for people to come there to pray. So I decided to go to God's house and talk to Jesus.

I don't know how long I sat there thinking and praying. After praying for a while I realized that what I needed was a hug. I needed a human touch to reassure me that I was cared for. But I was alone, it was just me in that Chapel...well just me and Jesus. Then I occurred to me, why not ask Jesus for a hug. It seemed a little silly to ask Jesus for a hug, but the need was real and the prayer was heartfelt.

So I asked. As I prayed I could feel Jesus' arms around me. After a few moments I opened my eyes half-afraid I might see some beatific vision. But all that awaited me was the light positioned to shine on the altar cross for late night visitors to see. After looking at the cross for a time I closed my eyes again and the gentle arms were waiting there to embrace me again.

I left that chapel, but the presence I experienced there went with me. Ask me where Jesus is and I will tell you, "He is right here with me. And I know that his love is always here to surround me!"

Where is Jesus now? This is an important question. The answer determines how real a person believes Jesus can be in their life. The answer to this question determines whether someone believes Jesus is able to change lives or not. If Jesus is absent, then he cannot be at work in this world. But if he is here, then he can touch people's lives, bring them hope, and heal them of sicknesses physical and spiritual.

It is appropriate to ask where Jesus is today. Today is Ascension Sunday. After the resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples for forty days. He taught them and healed and even broke bread with them. Then, after forty days, he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the father. But before he left he promised them that the Holy Spirit would come. Last Thursday was the 40th day after Easter so today is the Sunday on which many churches commemorate Christ's Ascension into heaven.

But Christ's Ascension leaves us with the question: "Where is Jesus Now?" The Bible clearly states that Jesus ascended into heaven. The Apostle's Creed includes this truth. And almost every Sunday we say, "He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead." Yet we continue to experience his presence here on Earth. And we say that wherever two or more gather in his name, he is with them. When we gather we proclaimed that the risen Christ is with us. Are those of us who have experienced the reality of Christ's presence crazy or something? Are we deluding ourselves when we say in one breath that Christ is with us and with another that he is on a throne in heaven?

So "Where is Jesus now?" As you might have suspected this is a trick question. There are really two right answers. 1. Jesus is at the right hand of the father. 2. He is also here with us now. Both answers are important to our understanding of Christ as our Savior and Lord.

Jesus ascended to the Father and is at the right hand of God. That means Jesus is in a position of authority over the entire world. Jesus has taken the high ground of the universe. It is from that position of might and strength that he will oversee the defeat of evil. And it is from there that Jesus will rule his eternal kingdom of peace. When Jesus began his ministry he said that he had come to bring release to captives and freedom to the oppressed. Through his death he freed us from the bonds of our own sins. And from his position of authority Jesus will free humanity from all that oppresses it and imprisons it: hatred, greed, prejudice, and so on. Because Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, he is in a position to establish his kingdom.

But Jesus has not left us alone until that day. Ten days after Jesus ascended, he sent the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost God's presence came to the church to stay with it until Christ comes again. And through the Holy Spirit Christ is present with us.

"Where is Jesus Now?" This is not just a question to theologians. It is not one of those questions whose answer has no bearing on our lives. It is an important question with important answers. And these answers define who we are as Christians.

Christ is at the right hand of the Father. And as the angels told the disciples, he will come again. When he comes he will establish a kingdom of peace and truth. And he will defeat all the things that pervert the human soul and destroy the human spirit. And we are the people who await that return, and look for that great day. But we don't just stand there looking at the skies. No, we are about the task of preparing the world for that great day. We are already doing battle with the forces of evil that make war upon God's good.

Christ is yet to come but he is also here now. The same Jesus who walked and talked with the disciples beside the Syrian Sea still walks and talks with us. It is true we do not always sense his presence as strongly as I did when I felt him hug me. But he is still here. Jesus is here and he is doing much the same things he was doing then. Jesus still casts out demons, he still calls the wicked to repentance, he still opposes social structures of prejudice, Jesus still counsels the distraught, and he still heals the sick. You may not see his arms, but they are still here touching and loving people. And the touch of Christ brings hope and peace to a world that is in a hopeless turmoil.

Where is Jesus now? I have given you my answer. Jesus is the Lord of the Universe. He is in heaven sitting on a throne and he awaits the day when he will claim and rule over what is rightfully his. But at the same time, Jesus is here. He is alive and real. He can touch people's lives and change them. He has touched me and changed me many times.

That�s my answer. What�s yours? You have to give your own answer you can't just borrow mine. Your answer is important. It will determine how open you are to the presence of God in Christ.

Where is Jesus now? If you believe that he is dead, then your faith will be dead too. If you believe that he is way off in heaven and not here, you will not look for his work in your life. But if you believe he is alive and well and dwelling among us, then he will be alive and present for you. You will be open to the life transforming love and grace that he brings, and that we all need. Then, like his disciples, you will be able to go into the world and be witnesses to his love and grace.

Believe the truth that Jesus is alive still healing! I beg of you. If you have never given your life to Christ then do that so that Jesus can live in you and give you new life. If you are a Christian, then tell the world that Jesus is here to save lives and he is coming again to eliminate evil.

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One day the worship committee of First United Methodist Church of Somewhere SC was meeting. They were discussing what to do to recognize mother's day. They decided to give a rose to the oldest mother in the congregation, and one to the mother with the most children grandchildren etc. present in church. They also decided to have all the mothers stand. Then someone on the committee got worried. What should we do about Miss. Smith? She never had any children. But she has been teaching the first grade Sunday School class for 30 years. She is like a mother to all of us. We ought to be able to recognize her on mother's day?

The Worship Committee of First Church Somewhere had run right into one of the truths of the Christian faith. In the church, all women are mothers. It doesn't matter whether you have any children or not. Miss. Smith of First Church Somewhere never bore a child, yet she mothered every child who came into her class. In the world's eyes she wasn't a mother to even one child, but in God's eyes she was a mother to hundreds.

To understand this truth you have to understand the church. The church is a family, the family of God. Through baptism we have been adopted as children of God. God is our father and Christ is our brother. And everyone else in the world who has been baptized is our kin. When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were looking for him, what did he say? He said, "Who are my brothers and my mother? Those who do the will of my father are my brothers and sisters and mother." When we are baptized we are joined by the power of the spirit to a new family. In God's eyes, we cease to be John Smith and Jane Doe. And we become John Christian and Jane Christian, children of our Heavenly Father. In this family the older and experienced members have the responsibility of raising and caring for the younger and inexperienced members. In that sense we are all parents to those who are growing in the faith around us. Not just those who are growing physically, but to those who are growing spiritually. In Christ we are all foster fathers and mothers for God's children. So today we honor all women in the church, because in God's eyes you are mothers all.

"Oh that sounds sweet: the preacher says all the women in the church are mothers." You don't understand! It's not sweet. Being a mother is hard. You don't know what you have gotten yourselves into. I don't know about being a mother, but I have had fifteen + years of on the job training on being a father. It's difficult. It's hard work. It's not all cuteness and smiles. It's an awesome responsibility.

I know; being a parent is not easy. People tell me the early years are the easy part. It will get harder now that both my children are teens. More and more I will have to worry about the dangerous effect of the world. The world wants to lure God's children into ways of life that offer no real fulfillment. Into materialism, into drugs, into hatred, into sin. It's easy to immunize them against the diseases of the body. But what about the diseases of the soul.

This is the task all you women, as mother in God's eyes, have signed yourself up for. When a child is baptized, the church makes a promise before God to: live according to the example of Christ, surround that child with love and forgiveness, help them grow and become disciples of Christ. That means taking the responsibility to protect them from the world and to prepare them for the world. Any parent knows that you can't live your child's life for them. There comes a time when the apron strings need to be cut. And when that happens you can't protect a child from the world, you can only pray for them. In the mean time we need to prepare our children in the faith to face the world. We need to help them appropriate and learn how to use the armor of Christ. To train them in spiritual warfare. So that they would not only be safe but may attack the gates of hell with the power that comes only from God.

In the light of this awesome responsibility that Christian mothers have I feel that our passage from Ephesians is appropriate for today. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers." In this passage Paul gives thanks for the faith and love of the Ephesians. Obviously they were a people who had great faith in Jesus. And obviously they were a people who lived out that faith in love for one another. They were a church of Christian mothers and fathers who cared well for God's children.

But Paul knew that the Ephesians faced trouble. So he begins to pray for them. He prays that they receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation. He also prays that the eyes of their hearts be enlightened so that they may know of the hope they have in Christ.

It is important to note what it is he wants them to see. He wants them to see what is their hope and their power. Paul knew that the forces opposed to the Ephesians were greater than they were. The people of the church of Ephesus would be easily crushed by their foes. But Paul also knew that Jesus had ascended into heaven. And that all things, all powers, were subject under him, even the powers which opposed Ephesus. This was their hope. The power of the glorified Christ. The power of God Almighty.

Like Paul, I give thanks for the faith and love of the mothers of the church. I remember the love and nurture of many of them. There was my own mother of course. Her example of faith and devotion had a great effect on me. She is one of the reasons I am a disciple of Christ today. But there were many others. One I remember particularly was Mrs. Melia. Mrs. Melia never had any children; at least not biological ones. But she led two children's choirs and a youth choir. She was a mother to every child in that church who could carry a tune and a good number who couldn't. She helped raise me in the faith. The songs of the faith that she taught me helped me to grow and to fight the spiritual battle that I needed to fight for myself.

I give thanks for Christian mothers, but I also pray for you. You need the insight to know what is true and good. You need the patience to persevere. You need the grace to be forgiving when little hands and feet do what they shouldn't. You need the faith to know that a point comes when you can't do anything and that it is all in the Lord's hands.

I also pray for you to have insight into the power which is our hope. There is a power that can overcome all that threatens our children. The source of this power is the glorified Christ. Don't try to be a Christian mother without it. It is impossible. You can only succeed at being a Christian mother if your source of power is the one who ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God Almighty.

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