Running To Win

Dave McAlister: Let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. We who run the race of the Christian life know that Jesus is sitting even now at God's right hand.

His ascension into Heaven opened its gates for us. Why is the ascension important? Surprisingly, it was the key to founding the church, the body of Christ. Stay with us. From The Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Pastor Lutzer, we've stood together on the Mount of Olives and looked into the sky.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: And you know, Dave, we did that because Jesus said that as I am going into Heaven, I shall come again. And isn't it interesting that in Zechariah we read that his feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the East? So Jesus is coming back in glory to the Mount of Olives.

And when he returns in glory, he is going to bring justice and righteousness to the world and it will be done accurately.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: After this message, I'm going to be sharing with you some startling information about what Karl Marx predicted the future looked like, a very different future than that predicted by Jesus Christ. And we're also going to make available for you a brand new book entitled, Marx and Moody.

I have to tell you that I co-authored this book, and I believe that this book will help you to understand the culture, the conditions of the 1800s, two different solutions, and actually two very different legacies. So you stay tuned.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: During the past several weeks, I have been speaking on the topic, Christ among other gods.

Science, as we know, has made many strides in the last decades. We have explored outer space, we have even explored inner space.

We know lots about the human body. But there is one area in which science, of course, by definition, cannot do much research. And that is on the topic of what happens after death.

Oh, I know that there is such a thing as near-death experiences, but being near Chicago might not be the same as being in Chicago.

Near-death experiences are subject to different kinds of interpretation and we should not build a theory of life after death upon those fleeting moments.

Perhaps it is because death closes us off, and we walk behind that curtain where no one can peer or look. Perhaps it is because of that that in all the other religions of the world, very little, if anything, is said about where the founders of those religions now are or what they are doing.

I don't think that any Muslim would necessarily claim to know what Muhammad was doing or what Buddha was doing if you're a Buddhist, or what Zoroaster was doing or is doing today.

And yet, in the case of Christianity, it is very different because if you were here last week, you know, we spoke about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and gave strong evidence that indeed he was raised.

In previous messages, we stressed the deity of Jesus Christ, and so it should not come as a surprise that the Bible tells us where Jesus Christ went after he was raised from the dead and where he is today.

And we'll see that the implications of the ascension for you and for me are absolutely awesome.

Well, take your Bibles and turn to Acts chapter one. Acts chapter one, where we have an account of the ascension. We have several of those in the New Testament. But we look at Acts chapter one, where Jesus Christ led the disciples to the Mount of Olives, and there he was taken up into Heaven in their presence.

Chapter one, verse nine. "And after he had said these things, he was lifted up, and while they were looking on, a cloud received him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, and they also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into Heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into Heaven.'"

And that, by the way, is going to be the topic for next week's message. The return of Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice that there are two things that happened. First of all, there was physical movement on the part of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ's body was being lifted into the sky, and the Bible says that he was received by the clouds. And he disappeared.

Scientists have sometimes objected to this account, saying that it was based on a pre-Copernican understanding of the universe. Where you have Heaven above, and then you have the Earth, and then you have the Hell beneath.

And they've pointed out that if you're in Australia, going up might mean to someone in the Middle East, going down. And that when Jesus was raised into Heaven, that is an entirely different direction that Heaven would be if you were on the other side of the Earth.

But of course, that's not really the point, is it? Heaven is a place. It is the place where God dwells, where he is localized, even though we know that God fills the whole universe. Still there is a place where his glory resides in a particular way.

But it is not only a place, it is also a state. It is a different kind of relationship, a different kind of reality. We don't know where it is.

Who knows, maybe after Jesus Christ left the Mount of Olives, he may not have continued on on that same path, he may have gone off in a different direction. We do not know.

But the bottom line is that Jesus Christ was changing the nature of reality for himself. He was moving from the visible to the invisible, from the material to the immaterial, and from the finite to the eternal.

Now, I want you to know today that the ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven permanently changed the character of Heaven forever. It's absolutely unbelievable.

You see, Jesus Christ, so far as we know, is the first man who ever entered into Heaven with a resurrected human body. The first man.

Oh, you say, "Well, what about the saints in the Old Testament?" Well, when they died, their body was taken and put into the grave. And then their spirit went to Sheol, possibly their spirit went to Heaven as well. But their bodies are still in the grave. They have not yet been resurrected. The resurrection is still future.

I know that there's the story of Enoch, and also Elijah, and we don't know what happened to their body. Those could be exceptions.

But one thing we do know is that the arrival of Jesus Christ in Heaven certainly is the first time that Jesus arrived in Heaven as the God-man. That we know.

He was in Heaven before as God, because he was indeed filling the universe with his glory.

But this is the first time that the angels observed directly in Heaven, deity and humanity, joined together in one person forever. They must have been absolutely astounded when they saw Christ arrive.

And to think that he is going to be a man forever, having assumed a human nature in Bethlehem, which continues throughout all the generations, surely must have evoked their wonder and their worship.

Well, what I'd like to do today is to give you three different rights that the ascension of Jesus Christ proved for the Lord. What are those?

First of all, the ascension proved his right of ownership. His right of ownership. Actually, I need to tell you, he owns Heaven.

When Christ ascended into Heaven, there was no mediator there to open the door for him. When Christ ascended into Heaven, it was not because he was granted special mercy that he might be able to enter.

When Jesus ascended into Heaven, he was coming home because he had come from Heaven. And he said, "Oh Father, glorify Thou me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." This was the entrance of a man who came to the Heaven that he had created, of all things.

As it says in the book of Colossians, "For by Him were all things created, both which are in Heaven and which are on Earth." The Creator was coming back to a place which he had created.

Scientists tell us that the universe is infinite. I can't argue with them, I don't know whether it is or not, but this much I do know, is that Jesus is more infinite than the universe, if you can think of it that way. Because I don't believe that God would have ever created a universe that was as great as he himself is.

And here he is now localized in a body, coming back to his creation, to that special place where the glory of God shines more brightly.

He was coming back as Creator, but he was also coming back now as Savior. You see, he had finished the work which the Father had given him to do.

And it says in the book of Hebrews, "Having purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." His work on Earth was done.

And the scripture tells us that we should look to Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high.

He had a right to enter into Heaven as Creator, as God. Now he enters into Heaven also as Savior. He had a natural right because of his deity, but now he has an earned right because of his humanity and the fulfillment of the will of God for his life.

No wonder, no wonder the angels must have been astounded as they saw him come in. And they must have fallen on their face and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, for the whole Earth is filled with His glory."

He ascended into Heaven because he owns Heaven and owns the universe. It was a mark of ownership.

Secondly, the ascension also was a mark of headship. A mark of headship. You see, when Jesus ascended into Heaven, he became the head of his church.

Turn to the book of Ephesians chapter one, where we can see this most clearly. Ephesians chapter one, where Paul is speaking about Christ at the right hand of God the Father, and he says in verse 20.

Talking about the strength which we have, he says, "Which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come." Paul did not want to leave any stone unturned. He didn't want to leave out any possibility that this could be misinterpreted.

That he has dominion over every name, and not only in this world, but also in the one to come. And he has put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. Isn't this exciting?

When Jesus Christ came to redeem us and became one with us, he had to become related to us before he could redeem us. When that happened.

The Bible says that God wanted to bring many sons into glory, many sons and daughters. And so Jesus Christ, you see, became one of us so that he could redeem us, so that he could take us to Heaven with him eventually, and that he could form a new thing on the Earth that we call the church.

And and that this new thing that is called the church was formed by Christ, and he remains its head. And therefore, as its head, he gives us strength. We derive our strength from him. The Bible says that without him we can do nothing. But we are joined to him, inseparably united to him.

We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. And he directs us through his word as he is the head of the church. So he strengthens us, he unites us.

The fact that you are united to Jesus Christ and I'm united to Christ means that we are related to one another and that we are actually joined as one in that body. He represents us.

It says in the book of Hebrews that he is our high priest who stands in the presence of God. And Paul says that the reason that Satan can have no sense of condemnation over us, the reason that we need not be dragged back into those former sins that condemn us, is because he says, "It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again and is now on the right hand of the throne of God who also maketh intercession for us."

And that's why Charles Wesley wrote, "Five bleeding wounds he bears received on Calvary. They pour effectual prayers. They strongly plead for me. Forgive him, oh, forgive they cry, nor let that ransom'd sinner die."

The presence of Jesus Christ in Heaven today as your representative, as your attorney. We have an advocate, the Bible says, Jesus Christ the righteous, means that God the Father indeed will accomplish the redemption which God the Son purchased and that Jesus is a constant reminder that his people are already there in Heaven with him because he is our representative head.

He represents us. You know, it's possible for you to live in Chicago and to win a court case in Los Angeles because you have an attorney there. The very same way, we can live here on the Earth and we can win every single court case against us in Heaven because we have an advocate who stands in for us and whose sacrifice on the cross is a guarantee of our acceptance in the presence of a holy God.

He strengthens us, he unites us, he represents us. May I say also that he accompanies us? As I was preparing this message, I said, I sure hope that the people don't get the impression that Jesus is somewhere there in Heaven detached from what is going on here on Earth. No.

By his spirit, you know that he is present with us. But even the Jesus who is localized in the body, as we think about him as being a man, he is with us as well.

For example, when Stephen was being stoned outside of the city of Jerusalem, you find that the heavens opened and Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father. Now, you know that Jesus is always pictured in the New Testament as seated at the right hand of God the Father. And only in this one instance does it say he was standing.

It's almost as if he was on tiptoe, saying, "Stephen, remain faithful. Don't let those stones cause you discouragement because the moment you die, I am here to receive you. I am here to welcome you."

And then I think of the Apostle Paul on the way to Damascus and Jesus appears to him and says, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And in effect, Christ is saying, "Don't you realize that when you take those Christians and you put them in prison, and when you're causing havoc among the church and they are going through pain, I feel the pain of my people? Saul, why are you hurting me?"

I want you to know today that Jesus Christ walks with you through that pain. Though he is in Heaven, his body is in Heaven, he is here by his spirit, and he is watching us every moment and knows all about us and our need.

The ascension of Jesus Christ was proof of his headship. And as I mentioned a moment ago, it was also proof of ownership. But thirdly, it was proof of kingship. Kingship.

Look at Ephesians chapter one again, the passage that we read, and sometimes we read these passages all too quickly because there is so much in them. Notice what the Apostle Paul says in verse 21, "When Christ ascended, it was far above all rule and authority." Not just above, but far above.

Says in the book of Hebrews that he passed through the heavens. What is it that the writers of the New Testament are trying to convey? Is it a matter of distance? No, it's not the distance that is important. It is the dominion that Jesus Christ has.

It is a matter of triumph. It isn't just a matter of traveling. What he's trying to say to us is that Jesus Christ is thoroughly and completely above everything else that exists.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: My dear friend, remember when Jesus was standing before Pilate and Pilate said, "I have power to crucify you, I have power to release you." And Jesus said this, "You would have no power at all against me unless it were given to you from above." And that is still true today.

Karl Marx rules much of the world from the grave, but he does not have power, he did not have power unless it was granted to him by God. God allowed him to do what he did. And he did an awful lot of damage.

At the end of the Communist Manifesto, it says this, that communists openly declare that their ends can only be attained by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. "Let the ruling class tremble at the Communist revolution." It means the overthrow of the family, the overthrow of ownership, the overthrow of truth.

All of that is made clear and that's exactly what has happened in some of the countries of the world. We're offering to you a very special book entitled Marx and Moody. And I'll tell you why. Both Karl Marx and Moody were contemporaries for 46 years on this planet. They looked at the same kind of social conditions and they had two very different answers. But Moody also was involved in a lot of social improvement.

For a gift of any amount, you can receive this book. Here's what you do, go to RTWoffer.com. That's RTWoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Now friends, if you want to understand culture, if you want to understand the Gospel, if you want to understand how D.L. Moody spent his life preaching the Gospel, but also helping the poor, simply go to RTWoffer.com. That's RTWoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Let me give you that contact info again, RTWoffer.com.

Dave McAlister: It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

Running to Win is proud that our listeners are among the most sharp-eyed readers of the Bible you'll ever find. They come up with really interesting questions, like this one from Desmond, who asks.

Guest (Male): After Jesus is resurrected in Matthew, it's recorded that some people who were dead were also resurrected. My question is, what happened to those people?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, Desmond, your guess is as good as mine. The Bible doesn't tell us what happened to these people. All that we can do is to assume that which is reasonable, namely that they died again. And if you think that that is very unusual, it is, but it did happen to Lazarus. He was resurrected by Christ and then, of course, I'm sure that he died after that.

Now, if you ask the question, why these strange resurrections, we can't answer that either. It's something that God simply chose to do as kind of further proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But in the end, they also had to die and someday they will be permanently resurrected with their permanent bodies, which they do not yet have, and they shall be resurrected along with the rest of us to everlasting life.

Dave McAlister: Thank you, Desmond, for that sharp-eyed question. And thank you, Pastor Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, you can, by going to our website at RTWoffer.com and clicking on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337.

Dave McAlister: You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life.

Christ ascended to bring many sons and daughters to glory. His ascension was step one in creating the church, the body of Christ, left on Earth to bear witness to him. Next time on Running to Win, why the ascension of Jesus is critical for a believer's eternal destiny. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAlister. Running to Win is sponsored by The Moody Church.