Word@Work Luke362 - Luke 24:50-53
Published: Mon, 05/23/11
Word@Work from BeaconLight
JOYFUL DEPARTURE
Luke 24:50-53 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (NIV)
Joy is a rare commodity. It is not just a happy emotion; joy is the overwhelming gladness which stems from everything being right and expresses its energy in worship and godly activity. It is the natural condition of heaven.
The ascension of Jesus was not a sad departure because, at last, the disciples had understood God's plan. They saw how the words and work of Jesus exactly fulfilled the prophetic Scriptures, and believed that the church would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry on the gospel work. So when Jesus blessed them and went up through the clouds, they knew their commissioning was complete (Acts 1:7-9). Instead of grief at His going, they were joyful because they knew that it was absolutely right.
Their worship was full of joy too, and it did not fade when they went back into the city. They were sure that nothing was amiss with God's plan and accepted the responsibility of spreading the gospel. Until then they did not understand what God was doing, or how Jesus was a part of the Divine strategy. Now they knew. True, they would have to wait for the Holy Spirit to give them boldness, and they did not really know how all that would come about. But they now trusted the words of Jesus, their own observation of Him and the Scriptures which explained what God was doing. Far from everything being lost, they knew there was everything to strive for and look forward to.
Perhaps the church needs to recover this tripod of truth: firstly, learn how to understand what the Bible says about Jesus; secondly, how to trust Jesus personally and dynamically with the Spirit's help; and thirdly how to interpret personal experience in the light of our living relationship with Christ and the explanations of the Scriptures. In the same way that a tripod is a secure structure, so these three doctrinal elements keep Christian believers secure and joyful. Remove any one, and the believer becomes unstable in heart or mind or both. So stay true to the Scriptures, believe that the Lord will stay true to you and measure the rightness of your experiences and circumstances by what He says rather than what you think. That sort of security will enable you to keep productive in the hard times, endure persecution, witness with boldness, be ready to answer questions about your faith and to worship with joy. And may God bless you as you live that great adventure with Him until He comes again.
Prayer: Sovereign Lord. Thank You for the joy which comes from knowing the truth, and for the assurance that You do all things well. Please forgive me when I doubt Your love, and worry instead of trusting You. I want to be a truly joyful Christian and so I ask You to refill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can move ahead in my Christian life with confidence, and be productive for the sake of Your kingdom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
Joy is a rare commodity. It is not just a happy emotion; joy is the overwhelming gladness which stems from everything being right and expresses its energy in worship and godly activity. It is the natural condition of heaven.
The ascension of Jesus was not a sad departure because, at last, the disciples had understood God's plan. They saw how the words and work of Jesus exactly fulfilled the prophetic Scriptures, and believed that the church would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry on the gospel work. So when Jesus blessed them and went up through the clouds, they knew their commissioning was complete (Acts 1:7-9). Instead of grief at His going, they were joyful because they knew that it was absolutely right.
Their worship was full of joy too, and it did not fade when they went back into the city. They were sure that nothing was amiss with God's plan and accepted the responsibility of spreading the gospel. Until then they did not understand what God was doing, or how Jesus was a part of the Divine strategy. Now they knew. True, they would have to wait for the Holy Spirit to give them boldness, and they did not really know how all that would come about. But they now trusted the words of Jesus, their own observation of Him and the Scriptures which explained what God was doing. Far from everything being lost, they knew there was everything to strive for and look forward to.
Perhaps the church needs to recover this tripod of truth: firstly, learn how to understand what the Bible says about Jesus; secondly, how to trust Jesus personally and dynamically with the Spirit's help; and thirdly how to interpret personal experience in the light of our living relationship with Christ and the explanations of the Scriptures. In the same way that a tripod is a secure structure, so these three doctrinal elements keep Christian believers secure and joyful. Remove any one, and the believer becomes unstable in heart or mind or both. So stay true to the Scriptures, believe that the Lord will stay true to you and measure the rightness of your experiences and circumstances by what He says rather than what you think. That sort of security will enable you to keep productive in the hard times, endure persecution, witness with boldness, be ready to answer questions about your faith and to worship with joy. And may God bless you as you live that great adventure with Him until He comes again.
Prayer: Sovereign Lord. Thank You for the joy which comes from knowing the truth, and for the assurance that You do all things well. Please forgive me when I doubt Your love, and worry instead of trusting You. I want to be a truly joyful Christian and so I ask You to refill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can move ahead in my Christian life with confidence, and be productive for the sake of Your kingdom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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