Theme: The
Heavenly Treasure of our Ascended Lord
Dear fellow
redeemed, “Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of
knowledge. Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is
established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant
riches (Proverbs 23:12, 24:3-4).” The riches we follow after today are from
God’s wisdom as recorded in Matthew 6:19-21:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 "For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
With the
coming of Ascension we mark the end of another Easter season in the church
year. Obviously, we always keep the thoughts of Easter close to our hearts
regardless of what time of year it is. But for a while now, we will focus on
other portions of Scripture. Each year around Easter, we take time to study the
all-important and timeless truths which God reveals through His risen Son. Certainly,
when we think of everything that God tells us about the resurrection, we easily
see why we spend several weeks on it.
In his famous
chapter of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul tells us everything we gain through Christ’s
resurrection and everything we lose without it. Through the resurrection:
- · We have God’s grace and forgiveness
- · We have purpose in life
- · We have God’s promise to bless our work in His name
- · We have victory over sin and death
- · We, too, will be raised to life one day
- · We bear the image of Christ, instead of the image of Adam
On the
contrast, without Christ’s resurrection, or if Christ’s resurrection is not
true:
- · Our preaching is in vain
- · Our faith is in vain and empty
- · We are false witnesses
- · We are still dead in our trespasses and sins
- · We will not be raised either
- · And, we are of all men the most pitiable
The
implications of the resurrection are clear, both ways. No one can be neutral on
this topic. Either you believe it or you don’t. This is why we spend so much
time on studying and remembering Christ’s resurrection, because it is the
pinnacle of our Christian faith. But even though Christ is risen, and all of
the fruits of His resurrection apply to us, He is not here in bodily form
today. We might well wonder, what’s the point of the resurrection, of Christ
coming back from the dead, if He’s not here today? As important and fundamental
the resurrection is to our faith, it would mean very little to us without the
rest of God’s Word. This is where other portions of God’s truth, particularly
what we are to be doing now that Christ is risen, enter the scene and fill in
the rest of the details. And the event that starts it all is the Ascension.
As a festival
of the church year, Ascension is not often given the attention and fanfare that
Easter is. With all the weight and authority of Easter still fresh in our
minds, we can imagine why. Any festival or doctrine that follows in its wake is
sure to seem lesser. But most of the problem lies with us. Often we don’t think
much about the Ascension of Christ and what implications it has for our lives
like we do with Easter.
We know well
the effects of denying Easter, but do we think about the effects of denying the
Ascension? Are there any effects? Does it matter what we believe about where
Christ is now or what He is doing? There’s a reasons that the Bible speaks
clearly and definitively about Christ’s ascension, because it matters greatly. Easter
deals with what Christ did, Ascension deals with what He is doing now. You
really can’t have one without the other. In this sense, Easter and Ascension
are very much like Christmas and Epiphany.
Christmas
is the other major festival on the church calendar; really the only thing that
can rival Easter in anticipation and celebration. And much like Ascension,
Epiphany follows behind Christmas and is largely forgotten by many. But what
would the birth of Christ really mean if He was not also made known to the world
as the Savior of all people? That’s precisely what we celebrate on Epiphany and
many are quick to forget it, or at least to take it for granted. But just like
Easter and Ascension, you can’t have one without the other. Take one away or
lose its meaning and significance and the other becomes useless.
So as we think
about Ascension, what exactly is Christ
doing now? When we seek an answer to this question in the Bible, we see a
resounding theme that is presented. Christ is at the right hand of God the Father.
The imagery of being at the right hand of God symbolizes power and authority.
With this thought we understand that Christ has resumed His full power and is
using it to help us out here on earth today.
David
prophesied of this power when He wrote in Psalm 16 of the Messiah: For You will not leave my soul in the grave,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 11 You will show me the
path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are
pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:10-11). There we have the connection again
between the resurrection and the ascension. Christ would not stay in the grave,
but He would be exalted to the right hand of the Father. David wrote again on
this subject in Psalm 110, further describing the work of Christ at the right
hand of God: The LORD said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." The
Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. 6
He shall judge among the nations (Psalm 110:1,5-6).
Peter
continued this theme as he preached about Christ on Pentecost Sunday, even
quoting from Psalm 110 and proving that it was speaking of Christ by saying: “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we
are all witnesses. 33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God,
and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured
out this which you now see and hear. 34 "For David did not ascend into the
heavens, but he says himself: `The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right
hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' 36 "Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:32-26).”
And there’s
many more portions of Scripture that reinforce the importance of Christ’s
ascension, as certainly evidenced by Christ Himself through our two Scripture
readings today. All of these thoughts bring us to the verses of our sermon
text. In this section from Matthew 6 Jesus was not preaching about His
ascension. This sermon came earlier on in His ministry, before the full
realization of His death, resurrection, and ascension were impressed upon the
people. So why do we focus on these simple thoughts on Ascension Sunday of all
days? Why is it important to keep our focus on heavenly treasures? The answer
is that it is precisely the ascension of Jesus that shows us why our focus must
continually be on heaven.
One of the
most profound things that John the Baptist said in witnessing about Jesus being
the Messiah was this, “You yourselves
bear me witness, that I said,`I am not the Christ,' but,`I have been sent
before Him.' 29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of
the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the
bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 "He must
increase, but I must decrease (John 3:29-30).” By these statements, John
clearly portrayed his razor sharp focus on Jesus. Just as the friend of the
groom keeps his focus on the groom during the wedding day, so John kept his
focus on Jesus. His faith led him to follow where Jesus was and what Jesus was
doing, regardless of what obstacles were in the way. There was nothing that was
going to deter John from seeing and focusing on Jesus, even himself, as he
confessed so boldly that he would gladly become insignificant for the sake of
his Savior.
The same
should be true in your life. By faith, you see Jesus with the same intimate friendship
that John did. Faith in Christ leads you to forsake all others, even yourself,
at the sight of Jesus. Gazing upon Jesus and His glory is a powerful thing. It
was so powerful that at the ascension it led the disciples to gaze up into
heaven like aimless fools, dumbfounded at what to do next now that Jesus had
left. God had to send angels down to tell them to get going and start
preaching. The powerful attraction of faith to Jesus is strong in our lives
too. And so, with the knowledge of the ascension, namely that Christ is at the
right hand of the Father in heaven, we shift our focus to heaven, so that we
may continue gazing upon our Savior. When it comes to the things of this world,
we follow the advice of our text: “Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven. 21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The simplest
reason why we accumulate our treasure in heaven is because that’s where Jesus
is. If Jesus wanted to set up an earthly kingdom He could have. But instead, He
taught that His kingdom was not of this world. If Jesus wanted to put a high
priority on earthly wealth, He had every right to; but instead He taught that
the kingdom of God is in the heart. And if Jesus wanted us to lay up treasures
on earth, He would not have ascended into heaven. It is faith in Jesus that
leads us to invest our interests into the same place where He now resides and
reigns, in heaven. Jesus also said, “Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In
My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you
may be also (John 14:1-3).” That’s another insight into what He is doing
now, at the right hand of God. He is preparing heaven by overseeing the work of
His Church through the ministry of His Word. He ascended so that He could do
this. He is in heaven now because that’s His kingdom. What higher calling could
we have than to keep our focus on the same?
But how often
is our focus on heaven? How often do we desire to see the groom like John did?
Do we accumulate treasures in this world or treasures in heaven? Sadly our
focus on heaven is often like our focus on Christ’s ascension – it’s lacking! Jesus means it when He says that “where your treasure is there your heart
will be also.” He has assured us of the power He now wields through His
ascension so that we can have confidence in investing our time in heaven. He
wants you to keep your focus on His spiritual kingdom so that your heart stays
focused on Him. When we get into this we begin to see how vital the ascension
is. The ascension is what keeps us sharp and steady as we use the accomplished
blessings of Easter to stay in the faith. The ascension is a continual reminder
that our treasure resides in heaven, not in anything of this world. But we also
realize that we have greatly discredited and abused this treasure.
When we
examine our hearts we find ourselves lacking in many ways. Not only do we
forget the importance of Christ’s ascension and what it means for our lives
today, we also spend too much time accumulating treasure for this world. It’s
become so common in our affluent society to hasten after wealth that we often
become immune to the inherent danger. We’ve all been desensitized when it comes
to acquiring material possessions that we often don’t think about what problem
they pose to our faith. A quick examination of our time and activities reveals
a major blind spot.
Examine
yourself now when it comes to accumulating treasure. How much time do you spend
in worldly things, the temporary things which Jesus says are destroyed by “moth and rust?” Now, compare that to
the time you spend hastening after heavenly things; acquiring treasure in the
Lord’s Word. If you’re like me, the result is horrendously disproportionate.
I’m not only unequal in my use of time between God and material possessions;
I’m completely out of balance in the wrong direction. And very often, even when
I’m treasuring up the Lord’s Word, my thoughts stray to the things of the
world. I’m putting time in for the Lord on the outside, but my heart betrays me
when I think of the next thing I’d like to buy, or the next show I’d like to
watch, or the next pleasure I’d like to fulfill. Is it the same for you? How
much do you treasure the Lord? How focused are you on Him in heaven?
It’s not hard
to see the way of the world. Just go down the street to Chick-fil-A. For over a
week now, traffic has literally been backed up with people headed for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. Permanent traffic guards are needed to direct people for
orderly flow. People take time to go there; they adjust their busy schedules to
make it happen; it’s important. And all for what? A piece of chicken? It’s not
wrong in and of itself, and the food is good. But how come no one is clamoring
to get to church? How come we have plenty of space in our parking lot and in
our pews? Why aren’t cars backed up on our road, or at any other church for
that matter? Why don’t people care about laying up treasures in heaven? Since
when did chicken become more important?
But you say, “Well, pastor, I’m here on Sunday!” Yes,
you are, and for that we all rejoice together; but remember, even the hypocrite
was present in the synagogue with everyone else. Is Sunday the only day to
invest in heavenly treasures? Can we only view Christ at the right hand of God through
the lense of congregation and sanctuary? How have you invested your time this
week? How much time was spent watching TV, surfing the internet, posting on
facebook, relaxing with friends; or anything else when compared to gaining
treasures through the Word of God? Did you spend more time eating physical food
this week or spiritual food? How often has your Bible been used when compared
to your favorite electronic device? Yes, you’re here today and I’m thankful for
it. But are you with the Lord every day for the majority of the day, or are you
in life’s drive through lane, adjusting and planning your schedule for things
that have an expiration date? When’s the last time you adjusted your busy
schedule to accommodate the Lord? Do you plan your work hours, your school
classes, your hobbies, and your entertainment around time with God? Have you
ever caught yourself saying, I can’t make it to church, or Bible study, or this
particular church project or fellowship activity, because of something else
that’s going on: a job, a sporting event, a social gathering, or a class? Do
you sacrifice your spiritual treasures upon the modern altar of busy schedules?
If we’re
honest with ourselves, then we’d have to confess our faults and our misplaced
priorities. We’re reminded of how God brought the same indictment to His people
through the prophet Jeremiah: “Behold,
you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 "Will you steal, murder,
commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods
whom you do not know, 10 "and then come and stand before Me in this house
which is called by My name, and say,`We are delivered to do all these
abominations '? 11 "Has this house, which is called by My name, become a
den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," says the LORD
(Jeremiah 7:8-11).”
There’s a
connection between God’s house and treasure isn’t there? These words remind us
of when Jesus Himself had to cleanse the temple of God from the merchants who
had turned it into a den of thieves, an action that, as Jeremiah prophesied, was
as wicked as: murder, stealing, committing adultery, and idol worship. Why do
you think Jesus said a few verses after our text, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and possessions (Matthew 6:24).” Substituting God’s word
and will for the things of this world strikes right at the heart of the first
commandment. How many in our day and age have taken up the worship of material
wealth, bowing down at its altar day after day, eventually letting it take the
place of God’s own house? How many of us have fallen victim to the same?
We should
remember that God tells us our own hearts are now His temple and the Holy
Spirit dwells there. Does Jesus need to cleanse your heart like He did
Jerusalem’s temple? How many merchants have desecrated God’s house in your
heart? Is true worship taking place there, even on Sunday’s in this sanctuary?
The answer and
the solution rests in Jesus’ ascension. He says it here in our text: Invest in
treasures in heaven. Make that a priority. Focus on Him, because that’s where
He’s at. The writer to the Hebrews tells us: Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us.
Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on
Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before
Him endured the cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand
of God's throne (Hebrews 12:1-2). There’s the same connection. Jesus laid
down His life for you, He rose again from the dead to destroy death, and now He
sits at God’s right hand. Keep your eyes on Him! Focus on heavenly treasures,
the very purpose of His ascension. But in order to do that, you have
prioritize. Laying up heavenly treasures means that the job, the hobbies, the
classes, even the friends and family will take a back seat to God’s Word. You
cannot serve two masters.
With Jesus in your
place you have more than just the ability to accumulate spiritual wealth. You
also have grace and forgiveness. But grace and forgiveness are not just an
excuse to keep on hastening after whatever you want, much like the Israelites
said to Jeremiah when they did whatever they pleased and said, “We are delivered from all these
abominations!” No, grace and forgiveness are powerful, remember? They are
not an excuse or a hindrance, nor are they a crutch and license to continue in
the greed of your sinful flesh. Grace and forgiveness come from Jesus, in
heaven, at the Father’s right hand, with power and authority.
That’s why we
remember the ascension, because Christ now works on your behalf with that power
and authority. And that’s the only thing that can change your life. That’s why
faith in Jesus is called a “transformation
(Romans 12:2)” and a “regeneration and
renewing (Titus 3:5).” Faith is not stagnant or dead. It is living and powerful
just as our ascended Lord is, and it always looks to Him in heaven. This is
your Ascension treasure. Keep your eyes
focused on that. Amen.
The peace of
God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.
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