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Jesus Ascended Into Heaven

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Acts 1:8-9

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

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After rising again, Jesus stayed in this world for 40 days. During this time, Jesus appeared to as many people as possible.

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And told them many things about the Kingdom of God. Jesus knew that he would be taken up to heaven soon so Jesus diligently preached for the people who were going to be left behind.

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Today also, the disciples gathered around Jesus. Jesus told them something special. "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. Soon, the Holy Spirit will be sent as a gift."

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This important saying was one of the last words told to the disciples. But the disciples did not understand what exactly it meant.

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On the day of the ascension, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives with his disciples. The disciples asked, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" The disciples still thought that Jesus was going to save Israel from Rome that is why they asked this ridiculous question.

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Jesus answered to their question. "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

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Jesus was telling them ahead that the Holy Spirit would come after his ascension and use the apostles in preaching the gospel throughout the world. But the apostles did not understand this at that time.

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After these words, in front of his beloved apostles, Jesus was taken up into heaven. The disciples saw Jesus being taken up into heaven. Jesus went up to heaven and the clouds hid him from their sight.

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While the apostles were blankly staring up into heaven, two angels wearing white clothes appeared beside them. The disciples were in a daze confused by the things happening to them.

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The angels said to the disciples. "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

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Only then, the disciples understood a little about the saying of Jesus. The disciples came down from the mountain and followed the words of Jesus. They did not leave Jerusalem and went upstairs to the room, where they were staying.

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The apostles gathered were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. Except Judas Iscariot, the traitor, all the eleven apostles did not leave Jerusalem and followed the words of Jesus.

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As time passed by, more and more people gathered in that room. They followed the words of Jesus and waited for the Holy Spirit. Within a few days, 120 people were gathered and were praying together.

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Jesus, who has been taken into heaven, promised us two things. First, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit and that promise was kept 10 days after Jesus was taken up into heaven. We received salvation and we are living as believers through the help of this Holy Spirit.

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The other promise left is Jesus coming back to this world in the same way as he went up. This promise will surely be fulfilled also. So for us to greet Jesus without shame when he comes back, we should work hard to tell about Jesus to more people.

(You can change the conclusion of this sermon best suiting to your listeners of this sermon. We want to make it clear that the provided conclusion is only a sample conclusion provided by CTM.)