Will you please turn to the book of Acts? Acts chapter 1. We will read from Acts 1:6-9.
They therefore, when they were come together, asked Him, saying, Lord, dost Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
And He said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority.
But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And when He had said these things, as they were looking, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
The book of Revelation, chapter 5. We will read from Revelation 5:6-14.
And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.
And He came, and He taketh it out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne.
And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.
And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever.
And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee that Thou art also pleased with Thy beloved Son. We are glad that we may declare Him today, that we may consider Him today. Our Father, we ask that Thou wilt reveal Thy Son afresh to us, that we may see Him as Thou dost see Him, that we may bow down and worship. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
We have been considering the life of our Lord Jesus for quite a long time, and I believe that even in eternity we will still be considering Him. This morning we come to that point of His life which is His ascension.
In the days of our Lord in the flesh, on earth—these days of His humiliation—He who emptied Himself took the form of a slave. Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto the Father, even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
So His life on earth was a life of humility. He refused the glory that Satan offered Him at the time of His temptation. He refused to be crowned king by the people whom He had fed. He lived a life of humiliation. He was rejected. He was crucified.
The cross is the sign of the Son of Man. It is a sign of humiliation. But thank God, to our Lord Jesus the cross is the beginning of His glorification. This is the hour for which He came.
After He was crucified, He was buried for three days, and on the third day He was raised from the dead. Brothers and sisters, resurrection is glory. Death is always a shame, but resurrection is always glorious.
Our Lord took upon Himself a glorious body, a spiritual body, and in that body He appeared to His disciples for forty days. During those forty days, we mentioned before how He taught them further concerning the kingdom of God.
Now He was teaching them in a new environment. I believe that it made it much easier for His disciples to understand the real nature of the kingdom of God, which is spiritual and heavenly.
He established a new relationship with His own: not merely being external, alongside them, but inwardly dwelling—He in us, and we in Him.
He gave us a new commandment: to go to the end of the earth, to disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all the things that He taught us. And He promised that He would be with us until the completion of the age.
At the end of the forty days, He led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, and there He ascended into heaven.
It is but right for Him to ascend to heaven. He who descended, He who came from heaven, now returned to heaven. He who came from the bosom of the Father now returns to the Father’s bosom.
During that last conversation with His disciples in the upper room, in John 14:28, He told them, “If ye loved Me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father.” Again, in John 16:28, He said, “I came out from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father.”
He who humbled Himself, who accomplished all the work that the Father commanded Him to do, had the right to return to heaven.
In the four Gospels, the fact of His ascension is there, but only two Gospels give us the scene of His ascension.
Matthew tells us that He gathered His disciples, gave them the commandment, and then said, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” As King, He never leaves us. He is with us as we go forth to disciple all nations.
In the Gospel of John, there is no account of the ascension, because as the Son of God He is eternal. Time and space do not affect Him.
Only two Gospels give us the scene of His ascension. In Mark 16, we find that after He had spoken with them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. In Luke, as He was blessing them, He was parted from them, and a cloud received Him.
In Acts 1, we find that He was taken up, and a cloud received Him. You know, the disciples were looking up. They saw that He was ascending, and then suddenly a cloud came, and they could see Him no more.
Brothers and sisters, how do we know that our Lord reached heaven? You remember the story of Elijah. Elijah was taken up to heaven, and yet the sons of the prophets did not believe it. They said to Elisha, “Let us go out and search the mountains and valleys. Maybe the Lord took him and cast him somewhere.” They did not believe that he had been taken up to heaven.
So, brothers and sisters, I think it is but right for us to ask the question. They saw Him going up; a cloud received Him. But where? Did He arrive in heaven? How do we know? Is there any proof?
Thank God, there is. Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, one hundred and twenty disciples were gathered together in the upper room. Suddenly there came a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and the Holy Spirit came. They were baptized into one body.
When this report went out and people gathered around them, Peter stood up and told them what had happened. In Acts 2:33, he says:
Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.
Then in Acts 2:36, he said:
Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
Now, brothers and sisters, the coming down of the Holy Spirit is the proof that our Lord has arrived in heaven, because after He arrived in heaven, He received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit came down.
Not only that, but again, in Revelation 5, John was taken up in the Spirit to heaven. There he saw the scene. Revelation 5 is a scene of the ascension of our Lord Jesus. It is, as it were, a replay of that ascension.
Here is a Lamb standing, as though slain. In the original, it is “a Lamb standing.” How can a Lamb slain stand? There is resurrection.
Here you find the Lamb, our Lord Jesus, standing before the throne of God, surrounded by the living creatures and the elders. There He came and took the book in His hand because He is worthy. Then you find the whole of heaven bursting forth in praise: thousands upon thousands of angels, and then the whole creation bursting into praise and worship.
This is a scene of the ascension of our Lord Jesus. Thank God, our Lord Jesus was not only raised from the dead, but He ascended to heaven.
What does ascension mean to our Lord Jesus? First, in ascension our Lord Jesus returned to the glory that He had with the Father from eternity.
John 17:5:
And now, Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
There is the glory of Deity. Our Lord Jesus, being the eternal Son of God, He and His eternal Father and the eternal Spirit share the glory of Deity.
Even before the world was, before there was time, before there was anything, there you find our Lord Jesus sharing with His eternal Father the glory of God.
He is worthy to be worshipped and to be honored. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. He is God.
And yet one day, He emptied Himself of all that glory. He could not empty Himself of His Deity, because He is God. Even when He came upon this earth, He was still God. That is what He is. He could not empty Himself of that.
But He did empty Himself of the glory that belongs to God. He came to this earth, becoming a man, a humble man.
He was not omnipresent. When He was in Jerusalem, He was not in Nazareth. He was not omniscient. He said that no one knows that day, neither the Son, but only the Father. He was not omnipotent. He could do nothing by Himself.
He emptied Himself of the worship of the angels and of the worship of creation. He laid that glory down in the days of His life.
But now the work is done. He returned to His Father, to the glory that He shared with His Father from eternity—the glory of God. There again He is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, almighty. He is worthy to receive all the praises and worship of the angelic hosts and all creation.
So in His ascension, we find that He is returning to the glory that He had with His Father from eternity as the Son of God.
Second, in ascension He entered into the glory that the Father gave Him as the Son of Man.
There is a glory that God ordained for man. When God created man, He created man in His own image. There is a glory connected with that creation.
Man is to fulfill God’s purpose: to subdue all things and bring all things back to the feet of God. Man is to receive dominion, to rule and reign for God.
And yet, in the fall, man forfeited his right. Man lost his glory.
But there was a Man, a second Man. Our Lord Jesus came into this world as a Man, a perfect Man. As a Man, He walked humbly before God, obedient to God in all things.
He pleased God throughout His whole life. Never, for once, for any moment, did He rebel against His Father. He submitted Himself to His Father with complete humility.
He walked on this earth full of grace and truth, and He obeyed His Father even unto death. He went to the cross to accomplish the work of redemption. As a Man, He is qualified by the Father.
So in His ascension, He entered into the glory that the Father gave Him.
John 17:24:
Father, I desire that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.
You know, there is a glory that belongs to our Lord Jesus. It is not given to Him; it belongs to Him. It is His birthright. That is the glory of the Son.
But there is another glory that is given to Him as the Son of Man, because He fulfilled all that God ordained for man. So He entered into glory as the Son of Man.
When our Lord Jesus returned to heaven, He entered into a double glory. When He came out, He left one glory; but when He returned, He had two glories. He is worthy to be worshipped and adored.
Third, in His ascension He received His inheritance. Psalm 2:8:
Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance,
And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.
In connection with Revelation 5, you find that at His ascension He asks of the One who sits upon the throne, and there He is given that book. Now, that book is the title deed of the universe.
In other words, when God created the universe, He created it for His Son. As in Hebrews 1, we find that He is made heir of all things.
God, loving His Son, created all things to give all things to His Son as His inheritance. But unfortunately, because of fallen man, that inheritance was challenged.
Satan usurped the earth. He became the god of this world, the prince of this world. Why? Because he deceived man and robbed him of it.
But our Lord Jesus, as the second Man, came to the fight. There you find that He recovered, through His work of redemption, all things. He reconciled all things by the blood of the cross unto God.
So there you find that He received from God the title deed of the universe.
Now, brothers and sisters, Satan usurped the earth, but he did not have the right—the title deed. The title deed is forever in the hand of God. God has the universe because it belongs to Him.
But now you find the Son, our Lord Jesus, because of the victory on Calvary, is worthy to take that book and open the seals. That is to say, to execute God’s will and bring all things back to God, that He may inherit all things.
It is not only a legal right to Him; it is a moral right to Him. Morally, He is worthy to inherit all things. So Psalm 2:8 is fulfilled in Revelation 5.
Fourthly, His ascension proves that His work of redemption is finished. You know, our Lord Jesus on Calvary’s cross cried, “It is finished.” But how do we know it is finished? How do we know that what He said is true?
We know it is true because He ascended up to heaven and was made to sit at the right hand of God.
Psalm 110:1:
The Lord saith unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
Now, we know that when you sit down, the work is done. When you are working, you stand and walk. But after the work is done, then you sit down.
So here you find that God said to our Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Thine enemies as the footstool of Thy feet.” The Lord today sits at the right hand of the Father. His work of redemption is done.
You know, the priests who served in the temple stood. But after the work was done, then they could sit down. So it is a proof that His work of redemption is accepted—fully accepted—by the Father. It is finished.
Fifth, in His ascension He was anointed by God as the King of kings and the great High Priest.
Psalm 2:6:
Yet I have set My King
Upon My holy hill of Zion.
This refers to the ascension of our Lord Jesus. When our Lord Jesus ascended up to heaven, God said, “I have set My King upon Zion, the hill of My holiness.”
In Acts 2, we already mentioned that God has made Him Lord and Christ. So, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is King, anointed King by God in Zion. He is given all power in heaven and earth. He is to rule and reign forever. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
It is the psalmist’s admonition that the kings of this earth shall kiss the Son.
He is not only anointed as King; He is also anointed as the great High Priest. Psalm 110 again, verse 4:
The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent:
Thou art a priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.
Our Lord Jesus, in His ascension, was anointed as the great High Priest, ever living, making intercession for us, to save to the uttermost those who approach God through Him.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He was the Apostle of our confession. God sent Him on a mission, and He fulfilled that mission. Now He has ascended up to heaven, and in heaven God has anointed Him as the great High Priest.
The picture is in Psalm 133:
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
That ran down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard;
That came down upon the skirt of his garments;
Like the dew of Hermon,
That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion:
For there the Lord commanded the blessing,
Even life for evermore.
When our Lord Jesus ascended on high, the Father anointed Him. He poured oil upon His head.
This speaks of Aaron, because Aaron is a type of Christ. When Aaron was set apart as high priest, he was anointed with oil profusely. The oil flowed down to his beard, down all over his garments, until the hem of his garment.
Now, this is the picture. Here you find our Lord Jesus ascended on high, and God poured the Spirit upon Him. The Spirit comes down upon the beard, and then it goes through all the garments—the whole body—until the hem of the garment.
In other words, everyone who belongs to the body of Christ is anointed with oil. We are all made priests unto God. Every believer is a priest. We are born again to serve Christ under our great High Priest, our Lord Jesus.
And not only that, but you find the second parallel: like the dew of Hermon that descended on the mountains of Zion. Zion always speaks of royalty, or kingship.
When our Lord Jesus ascended and was anointed as King upon Mount Zion, that dew, which speaks of life, came down upon Mount Zion, filling Zion with the freshness of life.
That is to say, when He was anointed King, we also were made kings unto God. He is the King of kings, and we are kings to rule for God—to rule in life, in abundant life.
So, brothers and sisters, our Lord’s ascension means a great deal. It is the natural sequel of His whole life.
Now the question is: What does His ascension mean to us?
First, His ascension is the descent of the Holy Spirit. Because He goes, He says, “I go, and I will ask of My Father, and He will give you the promise of the Holy Spirit. If I do not go, another Comforter will not come; but if I go, then I will send Him to you.”
He will be with you just as I am, and He will be in you, which I could not be when I was in the flesh. So, brothers and sisters, as our Lord Jesus ascended up to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit upon this earth.
In the Holy Spirit, we were all baptized into one body.
When the Lord was on earth, He taught and did many things in that body of flesh which He took from Mary the virgin. And now He has ascended on high as Head over all things.
By the coming of the Holy Spirit, by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, our Lord takes upon Himself a mystical body, a spiritual body—the body of Christ, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.
So, brothers and sisters, His ascension means so much to us, because with His ascension we are baptized in the Spirit into one body. We are His body.
And in this body, He continues to teach and to do—not only in the book of Acts, but even today.
How glorious it is. If He did not ascend, the Holy Spirit would not come; and if the Holy Spirit did not come, we would not become one body. But thank God, we are one body, the body of Christ. What a privilege. How glorious it is.
And now our Head, Christ, is to continue to speak to us, in us, and for us; and to act in us and through us. What a responsibility.
Second, His ascension means so much to us because we now have a great High Priest.
Brothers and sisters, because He was the Apostle of God, we have a confession. We have a faith to believe, a salvation to trust. But because He is now our great High Priest, we are able to live the Christian life.
The whole book of Hebrews gives us only one message, and that message is that our Lord Jesus is our great High Priest. Without Him, we cannot live the Christian life.
We are saved because He went to the cross. But after we are saved, how can we live day by day a life that is like Christ? How can we continue? How can we persevere? How can we grow? How can we be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ, if our Lord Jesus is not our great High Priest?
You know, the children of Israel depended upon the priesthood for their life before God. Without a priesthood, how could they commune with God? How could they live a godly life?
But today, brothers and sisters, it is because our Lord Jesus today is our great High Priest that we live.
In Hebrews 7:25, it says:
He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Wherefore also He is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through Him.
Our Lord is living forever. There He represents us before God, and He is interceding unceasingly for us.
He knows every one of us. He sympathizes with every one of us. He knows what is going on with you. He loves you, and He is able to bring you into conformity to His image.
Brothers and sisters, this is the present ministry of our Lord Jesus in heaven. His ministry on earth as the Apostle is finished. He sits down now, but He is not there sitting leisurely. He is there working as our great High Priest, never ceasing to intercede and stand with us before God.
And while He is doing that, something happens on earth in you and in me. What happens? The Holy Spirit works in you.
You know, sometimes we think the high priesthood of our Lord Jesus is too vague, too abstract. Are we enjoying the good of His high priesthood today? We are. But how?
He is in heaven; we are here. He is praying for us, but how do we know His prayers are answered? He is concerned for us, but how do we know that His concern is effective in our daily life?
Brothers and sisters, if you only see that the Holy Spirit represents Him in you and me: as He prays before the Father, the Holy Spirit works in you and in me.
The Holy Spirit reminds us, warns us, restrains us, constrains us, convicts us, and reveals to us.
As our Lord Jesus prayed for Peter, Peter did not know what was going to happen. He thought he loved the Lord; he would die for the Lord. He even boasted that other disciples might stumble, but he would go to death with the Lord. He was sure. He was sincere.
He did not know what was going to happen, but the Lord knew. The Lord knew that there was a flaw in his life, and because of that flaw, God allowed Satan to test him, so that he might be purified.
The Lord knew that he would deny Him three times. So the Lord said, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren.”
Humanly speaking, his faith would fail. It was certain to fail. How can you deny the Lord three times and maintain your faith? But the Lord said, “I have prayed for you. When you are recovered, strengthen your brethren.”
Peter did not appreciate the prayer of our Lord Jesus for him. Maybe he thought, “Well, pray for others, not for me. I do not need that.” But the Lord knew.
It was through the intercession of our Lord Jesus that Peter’s faith did not fall away. He was recovered. Now, this is but one instance.
Brothers and sisters, countless times, numberless times, day by day, the Lord knows you. He has numbered even your hairs.
How He cares for you. He knows what is coming to you, every detail of your life, and He has prayed for you. He is interceding for you.
Today you are still here, not because you are so strong or so steady. You are here because He has prayed for you. It is the intercessory work of our Lord Jesus that enables us to continue even to this day.
Many things have happened of which we are not conscious. Many things that happen, we are conscious of, and we know it is He. Without Him, we simply cannot go on.
That is the present ministry of our Lord Jesus. How we need to come to Him and look to our High Priest, that He may save us to the uttermost.
Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit represents our Lord Jesus in you and me, to deliver us and to bring us into conformity to the image of our Lord Jesus. This is what we receive in His ascension.
Not only that: His ascension is our ascension.
In Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 4:
But God, being rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,
Even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
And raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, He has not only quickened us; He has also raised us up together with Him.
His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. His ascension is our ascension.
Are we quickened? Thank God, we are. Are we raised from the dead? Thank God, we are. Are we now seated with Him in the heavenlies? Are we?
Physically, we are on earth, but spiritually, we are in the heavenlies. We are seated with Him in the heavenly realm. There is a realm called the heavenlies, and we are seated with Christ.
In other words, brothers and sisters, His ascension made us a heavenly people. We are no longer an earthly people. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our life is hid with Christ in God.
Nothing can separate us. There is nothing in heaven or earth, now or ever, that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
We are now living in the heavenlies. Brothers and sisters, are we living in the heavenlies? Do we mind the things above, or are we still minded by earthly things?
Ephesians 1:3:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
We are in the heavenlies, and God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. What an inheritance we have. The riches of Christ are all ours.
And we sit there. That is to say, we enjoy all that our Lord Jesus has done for us. All the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies are ours. Nothing is lacking. What an inheritance we have.
But at the same time, the heavenlies are not only the place where we stay. Brothers and sisters, remember: where is our home? Exactly. This is where we stay.
If we stay in the heavenlies, then we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. But there is another side.
The other side is that in the heavenlies begins our ministry—real ministry. There is a spiritual warfare to which we are called.
In Ephesians 6, we are told that our warfare is not against flesh and blood. Our warfare is against principalities, authorities, powers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places.
You know, what happens on earth is only a shadow. People are shadowboxing on earth. Nothing is real there. The real battle is in the heavenlies. The heavenlies decide what is going to happen.
Let me use an illustration. The first battle that the children of Israel fought after they came out of Egypt was against Amalek. When they were in the wilderness, Amalek came and fought against them.
Moses left Joshua to lead the people to fight against Amalek. But how was the battle fought? Moses went to the hill. When his hands were up, Joshua overcame Amalek; but when his hands were tired and came down, Joshua was defeated by Amalek.
Finally, you remember, they let Moses sit on a stone, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, so that his hands remained up until Amalek was completely defeated. That was how the battle was fought.
Now, in the same way, all the battles on earth are fought in the heavenlies. The real issue is: Will God’s purpose prevail? Can God’s will be carried out? That is decided in the heavenlies, not on earth.
So far as our Lord is concerned, He has overcome. On Calvary’s cross, He gave the enemy a fatal blow, a decisive victory over His enemy.
Therefore, in Colossians 2, it says that He stripped off from Himself the principalities and the powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Our Lord has overcome. He has defeated His enemy and given him a fatal blow. He has crushed the head of the serpent. But you know, even when the serpent’s head is crushed, the tail is still moving.
So that is where we come in, brothers and sisters. As the body of Christ, as those who are in the heavenlies, we are to apply the victory of Christ over all things until all things are brought under the feet of our Lord Jesus.
What a responsibility. There is a privilege in the heavenlies: we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. That is the privilege. But with the privilege, there is a responsibility.
We are responsible to stand, to withstand, and to stand.
In Ephesians 6:13:
Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
The words “having done all” have a footnote. It means to carry through and put into execution all that God’s purpose calls for, in spite of opposition.
To carry through and put into execution all that God’s purpose calls for, in spite of opposition. There is opposition, no doubt, but the will of God must be carried through and put into execution. All that God’s purpose calls for must be done.
Brothers and sisters, this is the ministry of the church.
The church has a ministry to complete that which our Lord Jesus has laid as a foundation. We are to declare His victory over every issue, everything in our lives.
There is opposition to the will of God, and we are to claim the victory of Christ over every issue in our lives, every area of our lives—within us and around us. Brothers and sisters, the victory of Christ is carried through. Glorious. What a ministry.
And, of course, basically it has to be done through prayer. So prayer is the ministry of the church.
Brothers and sisters, these are what we receive through the ascension of our Lord Jesus. All I can say is, “Glory.” Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thy Son has not only come into this world, but it is right for Him to return to the glory that He had with Thee even before the foundation of the world, because He has accomplished His work.
O our Father, we do praise and thank Thee for what His ascension means to Him. And we do praise and thank Thee for what it means to us.
Father, make us worthy of it. Enable us to live in the heavenlies, not only to enjoy all that He has done for us, but also to join with Him in this work that needs to be finished.
O come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. In Thy precious name. Amen.