Which we started in the book of Acts last week.
Let's bow our heads in prayer.
We come today to the part where Jesus ascends.
Where he goes on up.
He ascends from earth to heaven.
Last week we looked at the first six verses of the Acts of the Apostle.
And they're completely dominated by the resurrection of Jesus.
In one way, the whole of the book of Acts is working out the implications of the resurrection of Jesus.
In lots of ways, that's what the Christian life is like.
In fact, the life and death and resurrection of Jesus are incomplete without the ascension.
And we celebrate Easter.
We give it a whole weekend.
But very often the ascension just drops off the radar and gets forgotten about.
One of the joys of living in this part of London in the next couple of weeks is Diwali.
It's coming, isn't it?
Your pets, I'm sure, love Diwali.
The fireworks.
The celebration of light.
And where we live, we can hear the fireworks.
But actually, as you look out, you can go into the attic.
And you can see the top half, the top quarter.
The top tenth of the fireworks.
From the skylight in the attic.
And what you see is you hear the sound.
The rocket goes up.
And as it rises to the sky, it reaches the pinnacle and then the explosion.
It explodes.
And you can see the pyrotechnics and all the lights flying out, flowing out from that.
And I think the resurrection is a little bit like the rocket going up.
And the ascension of the Lord Jesus is the explosion.
It is the explosion where all his blessing and all his goodness and all his grace and his greatness suddenly become available for the whole world.
And the ascension, it is key.
It is really key.
So I want to divide the passage in two.
I want us first of all to look at what the ascension means.
And then I kind of want to deal with the second half quickly of the chapter.
The ascension of Jesus means three things.
The first is this, that Jesus is accessible to all of us everywhere.
And for 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead, he has appeared.
He's appeared to individuals, to small groups, to churches.
He even appeared to one group of 500 at one time.
The problem is this.
Verse 8, can you see what Jesus said?
He said to his apostles that you are going to go out and you are going to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
But how can Jesus support the mission to the ends of the earth if he can only appear to one person at a time or a few people at a time?
How can he support the mission to the ends of the earth if his presence is located in a little part of the Middle East?
And the answer is this, he first has to ascend into heaven.
Verse 9, when he said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up.
And a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven, that's the first reference.
While they were gazing into heaven, behold, two men stood by him in white robes.
And they said,
Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
Second reference.
And they said and continued,
Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
This Jesus, who was taken away up from you into heaven, third reference,
will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
It's deliberately repeated and emphasised.
Four times.
I can't remember, I can't think of any other place where Luke beats the drum four times.
Heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven.
Heaven, heaven.
You want you to understand that Jesus has gone to heaven.
And we need to get rid of that really spatial, really silly spatial idea of heaven.
As though heaven is a kind of place.
A thousand metres up in the air, above the surface of the earth.
We need to get rid of that idea.
From the very first verse of the Bible, the Bible takes a very sophisticated view of heaven.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Heaven is something that God has created for him to dwell in.
And heaven and earth interlock and intersect.
Genesis 3, sin comes into our world and the two are not so connected anymore.
There's a difference between the relationship between the heavens and the earth.
There's a separation.
Here's the thing that I want you to grasp this morning.
Heaven is not just up there.
That if I could just get the right kind of jet propulsion, I could make it to where God is.
Or if I could get onto a spiritual elevator, like Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and I could press H,
it would somehow zip me up and the doors would open and I would meet with God and all the saints.
There is still a parallel.
There is still an interlockingness about heaven and earth in our world now.
We do not live in a two-decker universe.
And although they are still separated, heaven and earth,
heaven still permeates and still invades the earth.
I want you to think about it like a Venetian blind.
Do you know those Venetian blinds with the slots?
And so the light shines through?
Heaven is a little bit like that.
At the end of the Bible, we're told when Christ comes again,
heaven will come down and earth and heaven will become one.
It's not a physical place.
Going to heaven does not make Jesus a spiritual space traveler,
zooming to another situation.
Heaven is to be in the presence and the dwelling of God.
And here's the point.
On the day that Jesus ascended into God's presence,
the relationship between heaven and earth changed.
For the first time,
there is a human being,
clothed in flesh,
being raised from the dead.
And he goes to the place of God
so that all the glory and all the forgiveness
and all the goodness of the Lord Jesus
becomes available and acceptable to all of us.
It is wonderful.
And so the mission of the church
is not this grim work of obedience,
you must, you must, you must.
The work of mission demands the living,
joyful presence of Jesus with us.
And the only way that that is going to happen
is for him to be with God.
The only way that that will happen
is for him to ascend from earth to heaven
and pour out his Holy Spirit upon us.
It's why we cannot expect
any more resurrection appearances of Jesus.
During the 40 days
that he was risen from the dead,
Jesus appeared to all sorts of people
in all sorts of places.
But now the cloud comes down.
And again, that should stir memories
and deja vus for us
because do you remember in the book of Exodus
when God rescues his people out of Egypt,
he brought them to the mountain
and he says the presence of God
came down on the mountain
and the cloud came down.
And God called Moses up on the mountain
and for 40 days, 40 days,
Moses is there meeting face to face with God.
The cloud of God comes down
and Jesus goes up.
And all his grace and all his forgiveness
is now available to us all everywhere.
And that's the first thing the ascension means,
that Jesus is accessible to us this morning.
The second thing the ascension means
is that Jesus is now God's king.
The ascension is Jesus' enthronement,
his coronation,
that's how we use the word today.
On the 6th of May, 2023,
King Charles was crowned.
King Charles III
ascended the throne of England.
What does that mean?
That he physically climbed up the steps?
It doesn't mean that.
It means that he took power.
It means that he was installed,
that King Charles was publicly recognized
as sovereign.
We say in the Apostles' Creed, don't we?
The third day,
Jesus rose again from the dead,
he ascended into heaven,
and he sits at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty.
And so do you remember in Luke's gospel,
in chapter 20,
the Sadducees,
they want to make rubbish of the resurrection.
And at the end of that discussion,
Jesus says,
actually go and read your Psalms.
Go and read Psalm 110,
which says,
God says to his sons,
sit at my right hand
until I put all my enemies under your feet.
It's really important.
The resurrection is not just Jesus,
not just God the Father
giving Jesus another chance at life.
It is the beginning of the restoration of everything.
It is the start of a new age.
And in the end,
in the ascension,
it's not just that Jesus becomes accessible to us,
but he takes up his rule
at the right hand of the throne of God.
If you've got your Bible,
just flick over to Acts chapter 2.
It's 10 days later,
after Pentecost,
and the Holy Spirit is falling upon the apostles.
Peter is preaching,
and he's proclaiming the significance of what's happened.
Look down at verse 32 of Acts chapter 2.
This Jesus God raised up.
And of that we are all witnesses,
being therefore exalted at the right hand of God,
and having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit,
he has poured out this
that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
For David did not ascend into the heavens,
and then he quotes Psalm 110,
the Lord said to my Lord,
sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.
Here's the conclusion to the sermon.
Let all the house of Israel know
for certain that God has made him,
that is Jesus,
both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.
Nobody else has been raised from the dead.
Yes, there have been a number of people
who have been resuscitated
back into this life,
but they've all died again.
But nobody else has been raised from the dead
and has ascended
and sits in the glory of his majesty.
And as Jesus ascends,
there is a massive change
because now for the first time,
a human being
ascends into heaven
and sits at God's right hand.
When Jesus came into our world
that first Christmas,
he became
what he eternally was not.
He took on
human flesh.
And now he goes to be with God.
He remains
both fully God
and fully man.
Jesus Christ,
I take it,
that's why a couple of laters
chapters later,
as Simon is being stoned to death,
he looks up to heaven
and heaven is opened
and he sees the glory of God
and Jesus is standing
at the right hand of the Father.
And I think Jesus is standing
at that point
because this is the first Christian
who dies for his faith.
And Jesus wants to take him by the hand
and lead him into heaven
and welcome him.
This is the Christian faith.
This is what Jesus meant
when he said,
all authority
in heaven and earth
has been given to me.
The ascension means
that Jesus is not just accessible
but that he rules.
To quote Rabbi Duncan,
the dust of the earth
now sits on the throne
of the universe.
And thirdly,
the ascension means
that Jesus is appointed
judge of all.
If you look down
at verse 11
of chapter 1.
The angels say,
Man of Galilee,
why do you stand
looking into heaven?
This Jesus
who was taken up
from you into heaven
will come in the same way
as you saw him
go into heaven.
In other words,
it's telling you and I
that the return
of the Lord Jesus,
when he comes again,
it will be visible
and it will be public.
But the coming one comes
because he is the judge
of the living and the dead.
Keep your finger
in Acts chapter 1
and turn to Acts chapter 10
for a moment
and I'd like to show you
how this works itself out.
Acts chapter 10.
It's the apostle Peter
and he is speaking
to a house
that is absolutely
crammed full with people
and he is explaining
to them the wonder
of who Jesus is.
And if in Acts chapter 10
verse 38,
can you see it?
We're told that Jesus
went about doing good
and healing people.
And he speaks
about his crucifixion
on a tree in verse 39
and in verse 40
that God raised him up
and verse 41
we ate and drank with him.
Now here's the question.
Peter,
what is the core
of the message?
What is the one thing
that Jesus told the apostles
to teach us
and to tell us about?
What's the one
most important thing
that Jesus has commanded
you to say?
Verse 42 of Acts 10
and he commanded us.
He told us to preach
to the people
and to testify
that he is the one
appointed by God
to be judge of the living
and the dead.
What did Jesus say
is at the heart
of the message?
Because he is ascended,
he is the judge
of the living
and the dead
right now.
And I don't know
if you think
that's good news or not.
We don't like
to talk about judgment
do we?
But it is good news
because of who it is
that is our judge.
I don't want to be judged
by someone
that doesn't know me
very well.
I don't want to be judged
by someone
who only looks
on the outside
but actually
I don't want
to be judged either
by someone
who looks
on the inside.
I don't want
to be judged
by you
and I don't even
want to judge myself.
But the one
who left heaven
to come
and seek
and save me
when I was lost.
The one
who came
not for the righteous
but for sinners.
The one
who died
on the cross
bearing sins
for my forgiveness.
He's the one
I want to be judged by.
And that is what
Peter says
in the next verse.
He says to him
all the prophets
bear witness
that everyone
who believes in him
receives forgiveness
of sins
through his name.
And that is why
the ascension
is like the top
of that firework
exploding.
The forgiveness
of God
the saving
grace
of Jesus Christ.
Yes he is
judge.
Yes he is
Lord.
Yes he is
ours.
Salvation
comes
through him.
Well let's
get back
to chapter
one
and finish
it off.
I don't know
how you respond
to the Bible
readings.
I hope you don't
just think they're
the filler
in the service.
I hope you're
asking the question
when I read
Acts chapter
one.
Why does
Luke spend
all this
space
on finding
a replacement
for Judas?
If you've
got any
sensitivities
so far
you will know
that there's
been pyrotechnics,
there's been
resurrection
from the dead,
there's been
an ascension
into heaven.
You've got
the promise
of the Holy
Spirit.
In chapter
two verse
one the Holy
Spirit comes.
but in
between that
you've got
verses 12
to 26.
Let me
ask you
this question
in a different
way.
What would
the difference
be?
What would
happen if
we just
skipped it
today?
Would it
make any
difference?
I'm not
talking about
taking scissors
out and
cutting it
out.
I mean
why don't
we just
get on
with the
good
stuff?
Why bore
!
us with
these
details?
Administrative
details?
Why don't
we just
get to
where the
Holy Spirit
comes down?
Why is it
that Luke
is really
careful in
his writing?
He gives
two verses
to the
ascension.
He gives
four verses
to the
coming of
the Holy
Spirit.
He gives
14 verses
to the
choosing of
another
apostle.
Why?
I think
the answer
is something
like this.
that what
we're being
taught here
is that
when Jesus
ascended
into
heaven
he gave
the
world
two
gifts
not
one.
Two
gifts
not
one.
And we
are used
in the
Christian
church
talking
about
the
gift
of
the
Holy
Spirit
when
he
ascended
in
heaven
and
that
is
true
wonderfully
true
and
we'll
deal
with
that
next
week
but
there
is
a
prior
gift
a
first
gift
the
coming
of
the
Holy
Spirit
that's
the
second
gift
but
the
first
gift
is
this
where
is
the
church
that
is
the
gift
it
is
an
apostolic
church
that
has
been
ordered
and
has
been
given
by
Jesus
in
a
particular
form
here
is
the
creation
of
a
new
Israel
a
new
people
of
God
it's
why
there
need
to
be
12
apostles
and I'd
encourage you
this afternoon
to
take this
passage
and read
it
again
there's
some
gory
bits
to
it
but
there
are
two
main
themes
that
Luke
wants
us
to
hold
in
mind
as
we
look
at
it
the
first
theme
is
this
that
the
church
belongs
to
Jesus
it
is
Jesus
church
I
remember
last
week
in
the
very
first
verse
that
in
the
gospel
of
Luke
says
I
dealt
with
all
that
Jesus
began
to
do
and
teach
and
now
in
the
start
of
Acts
he
says
I'm
dealing
with
what
Jesus
continues
to
do
and
teach
after
his
resurrection
and
in
verse
two
he
refers
to
the
fact
that
he
chose
12
disciples
I'm
sure
you
know
that
there's
a
difference
isn't
there
between
disciple
and
apostle
disciple
is
a word
that
refers
to
all
who
follow
Jesus
there
are
120
of
them
gathered
in
Jerusalem
in
verse
15
but
there
is
a
little
group
within
the
disciples
that
Jesus
deliberately
chose
for a
special
responsibility
in
ministry
in
the
gospels
Jesus
spends
a
whole
night
in
prayer
before
he
chooses
them
because
you
cannot
self
appoint
yourself
as
an
apostle
you
can't
choose
to
be
an
apostle
Jesus
chooses
you
and
it's
important
that
their
names
are
listed
in
Luke
6
but
the
fellowship
is
broken
isn't
it
Judas
betrayed
Jesus
for
30
pieces
of
silver
and
in
his
despair
he
did
not
come
back
to
Christ
he
came
in
suicide
!
and
we're
given
some
of
the
lurid
details
in
verses
18
and
19
I
don't
want to
pause
too
long
on
this
but
don't
you
think
that
Judas
is a
remarkable
picture
of
sin
Judas
had
Jesus
the
son
of
God
face
to
face
in
person
he
saw
him
raise
people
from
the
dead
he
saw
him
walk
on
water
he
saw
his
miracles
he
heard
his
teaching
but
Judas
would
rather
have
30
pieces
of
silver
so
that
he
could
have
a
field
with
it
instead
of
the
son
of
God
it's
a
great
picture
isn't
it
of
how
our
hearts
my
heart
and
your
heart
continually
want
the
good
things
that
God
gives
us
but
don't
want
God
himself
and
the
tragedy
is
he
was
willing
to
betray
God
for
his
own
selfish
purposes
and
when
we
do
that
everything
in
our
life
turns
to
dust
in
our
hands
and
our
life
is
taken
away
from
us
on
all
the
fields
that
we
buy
all
the
things
that
we
accumulate
end
up
becoming
our
cemeteries
and
being
buried
with
us
if
Jesus
had
chosen
the
first
twelve
who
is
going
to
choose
the
replacement
here's
the
first
test
to
see
if
the
risen
ascended
Jesus
is
present
and
so
what
do
they
do
down
in
the
last
verses
of the
chapter
they
find
two
guys
who
meet
the
qualifications
and
in
verse
24
they
pray
and
who
do
they
pray
to
they
pray
in
verse
24
to
the
Lord
they
say
you
know
the
hearts
of
all
men
show
us
which
one
of
these
two
you've
chosen
to
take
the
place
in
this
ministry
and
apostleship
and
then
they
roll
the
dice
odds
it's
Matthias
evens
it's
the
other
one
and
Matthias
gets
the
job
and
you
might
think
that
rolling
the
dice
after
a
short
prayer
meeting
might
give
us
a
much
better
chance
with
church
leaders
than
we've
had
historically
and
you may
well
be
right
but
unfortunately
this is
a
one
off
and
the
way
that
we
choose
elders
in
this
church
when
we
have
an
election
it's
not
odds
for
Ollie
Mallet
tails
for
Paul
Felix
and
then
a
best
of
three
best
of
five
that
doesn't
happen
anymore
and
this
is
the
last
time
there's
a
rolling
of
dice
in
scripture
in
the
next
chapter
the
Holy
Spirit
comes
they
never
do
it
is
Jesus
who
is
choosing
the
12th
apostle
it
is
Jesus
church
it
belongs
to
him
and
if
you
are
reading
the
text
sensitively
it
is
very
surprising
that
it
is
Peter
that's
leading
this
group
how
can
Peter
be
the
one
leading
them
to
replace
Judas
yes
Judas
betrayed
Jesus
but
Peter
betrayed
Jesus
three
times
the
point
is
this
it
is
Jesus
church
it
is
not
the
church
of
Peter
and
membership
in
the
church
comes
about
by
belonging
to
Jesus
it
does
not
come
about
by
having
a
spiritual
life
together
you
don't
become
a
member
of
the
church
because
you've
got
spiritual
achievements
or
spiritual
sensitivities
or a
great
track
record
we
all
belong
to
this
church
because
of
the
forgiveness
of our
sins
through
Jesus
Christ
and
some
of
us
came
to
church
this
morning
feeling
an
utter
failure
maybe
you
came
here
feeling
such
a
sense
of
failure
that
you
shouldn't
be
here
well
this
is
exactly
where
you
ought
to
be
and
some
of
us
maybe
came
here
today
actually
thinking
we're
a
bit
of
a
success
and
we
forget
that
we're
a
failure
and
this
is
exactly
the
place
that
you
ought
to
be
because
this
church
is
made up
of
moral
and
spiritual
failures
as a
church
we
know
that
the
only
place
we
can
go
for
freedom
and
restoration
and
forgiveness
is
to
the
risen
and
ascended
Lord
Jesus
and
so
you
see
the
only
difference
between
Peter
and
Judas
is
that
Peter
turned
back
to
the
Lord
Jesus
and
received
the
forgiveness
that
he
offered
while
Judas
refused
to
the
most
basic
sense
of
this
dependence
on
Jesus
is
shown
in
prayer
this
is
a bit
of an
aside
but
while I
was on
sabbatical
I
went
to
lots
of
gather
to
pray
I
think
the
fact
that
it's
not
such
a
priority
for
us
shows
that
we're
far
more
confident
in
our
own
spiritual
abilities
than
Jesus
is
we
are
very
shy
in
London
and
maybe
the
church
here
we're
failing
in
this
area
and
we
need
to
ask
for
his
forgiveness
and
seek
his
face
because
this
church
like
every
true
church
is
Christ
church
and
it
belongs
to him
and
without
him
we
can
do
nothing
it's
not
mine
it's
not
yours
it's
his
secondly
and
finally
it's
Jesus
church
and
it's
an
apostolic
church
it's
really
easy
to
miss
this
and
there
are
twelve
apostles
this
is
the
restoration
of
the
true
Israel
and
the
way
that
Jesus
has
constructed
his
church
is
that
we
are
built
on
the
foundation
of
the
apostles
this
has
all
sorts
of
implications
it
means
this
that
this
church
is
not
a
democracy
the
church
of
Jesus
Christ
is
not
one
vote
one
voice
we
are
the
body
of
Jesus
Christ
we
are
the
bride
of
Jesus
Christ
we
are
the
building
of
God
and
if
you
choose
a
democratic
model
for
your
church
the
church
will
be
choose
a
democratic
model
for
your
church
the
church
will
become
a
model
of
its
people's
desires
or the
desires
of its
culture
the
democratic
church
gives
the
illusion
that
the
church
well
is
about
me
and
my
needs
and
my
agenda
but
it
is
not
it
is
Christ
church
I
don't
know
whether
you
know
but
democracy
voting
has a
very
bad
track
record
in
the
Bible
think
of
the
world
in
Noah's
day
think
of
the
Tower
of
Babel
think
of
the
golden
calf
think
of
the
choice
of
Barabbas
we
don't
elect
Jesus
is
Lord
the
church
is not
ours
it is
his
and
he
has
chosen
to
form
it
and
he
has
chosen
to
create
it
on
the
foundation
of the
apostles
why
what makes
them so
unique
verse 21
the
and
one of
the
one of
the
men
who
have
accompanied
us
during
all
the
time
that
the
Lord
Jesus
went
in
and
out
amongst
!
us
beginning
from
the
baptism
of
John
until
the
day
when
he
is
taken
up
for
us
one
of
these
must
become
a
witness
of
the
resurrection
they're
not
just
witnesses
of
the
resurrection
what
qualified
them
to
be
an
apostle
apart
from
being
chosen
by
Jesus
they'd
seen
his
miracles
heard
him
teach
they'd
been
on
mission
with
him
they'd
been
taught
by
him
and
trained
by
him
because
the
resurrection
by
itself
doesn't
prove
anything
but
if
it
is
this
Jesus
who
is
resurrected
it
makes
a
very
big
difference
it
is
the
same
Jesus
who
told
the
prodigal
son
parable
it
is
the
same
Jesus
that
went
to
Zacchaeus
house
it
is
the
same
and
if
he
rises
from
the
dead
it
is
something
and
that
is
the
way
that
Jesus
set
up
his
church
that
we
rest
on
the
foundation
of
their
testimony
and
I
think
that's
why
in
verses
15
to
7
Peter
is
so
confident
in
the
way
that
he
interprets
the
Old
Testament
where
did
he
get
this
idea
from
where
did
he
get
the
idea
that
the
Bible
must
be
fulfilled
where
did
he
get
the
idea
that
Jesus
is
spoken
about
in
the
Psalms
it
wasn't
the
Holy
Spirit
at
Pentecost
it
wasn't
some
special
insight
that
he
got it
directly
from
Jesus
in
Luke
24
it
has
so
many
implications
for us
let me
draw
just a
couple
as I
close
you
can
spend
lunch
talking
about
the
others
here's
one
implication
it
means
that
if
we're
going
to
be
Christ
church
we
must
!
the
apostles
speak
with
power
and
authority
which
governs
us
today
sometimes
you
hear
and
people
say
Jesus
taught
a
really
simple
message
of
love
and
universal
brotherhood
and
the
apostles
came
along
and
they
muddied
the
waters
and
they
corrupted
things
what
does
Jesus
ever
say
about
homosexuality
they
say
the
apostles
came
and they
changed
the
message
they
hardened
the
message
let
me
say
this
politely
it
is
utter
nonsense
because
this
is
the
church
of
the
risen
and
ascended
Jesus
Christ
and
he
chose
apostles
as
the
authentic
guarantee
of his
message
and
our
love
for
Jesus
is
measured
by
our
trust
in
him
and
the
practice
of
the
apostolic
testimony
That's
one
significant
implication
the
second
is
this
it
means
that
true
apostolic
succession
is not
being able
to trace
whoever laid
hands on
you back
to the
apostle
Peter
it
means
that you
believe
and teach
what the
apostles
believe
and taught
the
Roman
Catholic
teaching
of
we
trace
our
ordination
right back
to the
apostle
Peter
that's
not
what
it's
about
it's
about
do
you
follow
the
teaching
of the
apostles
sometimes
people say
this
I take
the
bible
too
seriously
to take
it
literally
it's
a
really
cute
slogan
but
actually
it's
really
deceptive
the bible
is not
just
a
collection
of
random
facts
it's
poetry
and
prophecy
and
preaching
and
parables
and what
people
mean
when they
say
that
kind
of
thing
is
we
ought
not
to
take
the
apostles
claim
as
factual
or
serious
do you
know
what
happens
when
we
adopt
that
it
means
that
you
and
I
become
the
people
who
decide
what's
in
and
what's
out
it's
like
the
husband
and wife
or
the
husband
who
says
I'm
not
going
to
take
what
my
wife
says
literally
she
asked
for
time
but
she
didn't
really
mean
that
I'll
give
her
money
and
you
begin
to
make
Jesus
in
your
own
image
because
there's
nothing
that
Jesus
can
say
or
the
apostles
can
say
which
you
will
allow
to
contradict
you
and
all
you
hear
from
the
Bible
is
what
you
want
to
hear
I
think
the
reason
why Luke
spent so
much
time
on this
section
of the
choosing
the
apostles
is that
if the
church is
to remain
faithful to
Jesus
Christ
we have
to continue
to build
on the
foundation
of the
apostles
you move
off that
foundation
and you
cease to be
the church
of Jesus
Christ
the risen
and the
ascended
Jesus
wonderfully
and gloriously
continues to
be accessible
to us
and he
loves his
church
and he
cares for
his
church
more than
we could
ever
possibly
imagine
and he
is the
one who
guarantees
our
mission
and he
is the
one who
has given
us the
apostles
as the
foundation
of his
church
and so
let's bow
and pray
to him
to
of his
Thank you.