The Second Ascension Of Jesus – Part 6 of 7

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for being here today. We are toward the end of a great sermon series called “The Resurrection: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.” So, thank you so much for sticking it out with us.

If you have yet to see or hear any of those other sermons in this series, please check them out in a card up here. They’ve been awesome. We’ve had a great time going through the core of our faith and what we believe.

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose. And what happened? What did He do during that period? That’s what we’re diving into. And so, today, we are talking about “The Second Ascension of Jesus Christ.” Yes, the second Ascension.

Last week we talked about the first Ascension. And so, if you missed that, please check it out. It’s a great sermon. You can watch it on a card right here—the first Ascension of Jesus. Today we are talking about the second Ascension. We’ve already gone through hell. Hell is a place.

We went through, “The Three Days to Rise,” and “The First Ascension.” Now the second Ascension. And next week we’re going to wrap it up with talking about heaven. So, I hope you’ve had a happy Easter. There’s no coincidence that this has landed over Easter. We’re talking about Jesus and rising from the dead and all this great stuff. That’s what we celebrate during this time of Easter. So, let’s dive in.

After Jesus rose from the dead and completed His first Ascension, remember during that time of rising from the dead when He rose, He was in transit because He said, “Don’t embrace me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” That was the first Ascension.

The second Ascension comes later, about 40 days later to be precise because, after that first Ascension, He remained on the earth for 40 days. We know this because we go to Acts 1:3, which says, “After His suffering, He showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.”

There we go, 40 days Jesus was here. During this time, He appeared to His disciples and showed them that He had risen from the dead. Jesus was very busy. Think about this from the time He died until His second Ascension. Here’s what He did. Let’s just go through some of the highlights. It’s like a highlight reel.

All right, during this period, He died for your sins. All right, where is this? Get your Bibles. He died for your sins, 1 Corinthians 15:3, “For when I received, I passed on to you of as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” He died for your sins.

He suffered and He took your punishment. He went into the pit. We talked about this, Sheol, Gahanna, Hades, and this Purgatory place that we talked about. He went there and suffered for us. He took authority over that. He went into the paradise side of the realm of the dead. Then He ascended into Heaven.

We talked about this during the “Three Days to Rise.” So, check out that video right here. We know about this because of Acts 2:22-36. We talked about this and then of course Psalm 16. So those Verses are very good. We talked about them.

So, He died for your sins, went into the pit, took your punishment, defeated Satan, overcame that authority, took the authority of the realm of the dead, ferried the saints into Heaven, Psalm 68:18.

Let’s go there quickly. Psalm 68:18, “Ferried the saints into Heaven.” It says, “When you ascended on high, you lead captives in your train, you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious that you owe Yahweh, God might dwell there.”

Okay, ferried the saints into Heaven. Also rose from the dead, completed His Ascension, right, destroyed the paradise half, Abraham’s bosom or Abraham’s side of the realm of the Dead, okay, then made it possible for believers to go straight to Heaven when they die.

We now go to Heaven when we die, we don’t go to the paradise side and wait. He also made it possible for us to receive the Holy Spirit. Wow, that’s what He did during that period. That’s an incredible amount. That is pretty much everything.

That is the reason that I can speak to you with authority because of is not my authority, it’s with the authority of the Holy Spirit given to me by Jesus under the authority of God in Heaven. I can understand this because I have the gift of the Holy Spirit. You do too if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

The Holy Spirit is within you. You can read and interpret the Bible. You can develop that gift and strengthen it just like anything else. He spent time over those 40 days while He was here on Earth teaching His followers how to live.

When He left them after the second Ascension, He was telling them this whole time before He died, before He was crucified, He was telling them, “Hey, there is going to be a time when I am not here.” And although this was from age 30 to age 33, they’re thinking like, “Yeah, there’s going to be a time. I mean, we live to be like 60, so we got a long time.”

And He’s like, “You guys, I am leaving in three years.” He didn’t tell them this, but He knew. He’s like, “I’m leaving.” And then, yes, He’ll come back for 40 days, but then He’s leaving. So He had to make sure they were ready.

They knew they were like, “Whoa, we have received a gift. We got Jesus back. Now we know He’s leaving. We need to learn all we can from Him.” Forty days later, He taught his followers how to live when He left. He gave them instructions. He said, “Hey, stay in Jerusalem until you are baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

We see this in Acts 1:4-5. So, let’s go there, Acts 1:4-5. “Okay, on one occasion while he was eating with them, He gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”

Interestingly, once they got baptized with the Holy Spirit, Jesus, of course, commanded them to go out. Those that didn’t go out, guess what? He made them go out. He gave them persecution and then they scattered, just like how in the Old Testament He said, “Hey, go out and be fruitful and increase in number, and tell other people about me, subdue the Earth and rule over it.” And they didn’t.

Instead, they stayed in this little city they wanted to build, and then they built this Tower and He confused their language, then they all scattered doing what He wanted them to do in the first place, and the city remained incomplete, so they called that City Babel.

Huh, He does these many times in the New Testament with James and the big mega-church. They weren’t going out, so God allowed persecution to come, then they fled and now they’re going out. God’s going to make you do what He wanted you to do, what He told you to do. Jonah didn’t listen. God says “Go to Nineveh,” but Jonah doesn’t go to Nineveh.

Well, it goes in the opposite direction, into the Mediterranean Sea, into a fish. The fish swims all the way where he is supposed to go and barfs him up, Jonah then goes to Nineveh. Bottom line, whatever God wants you to do, you’re going to do, whether you do it the easy way or the hard way is up to you.

Jesus told these people, “Stay in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit, then go out.” They didn’t go out, they got persecuted, then they went out. It’s going to happen. Now, what’s going on is a little side track there, but that’s okay, it’s important to listen to God.

He gave them instructions. Later on, He breathed the Holy Spirit into them, John 20:22, “And with that, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Now, does that mean that God has to breathe on us to receive the Holy Spirit? It’s a very good question.

They had the power to do all kinds of things. Remember, Jesus said, “Hey, you will do many things and more,” talking to His disciples, referring to us. We can do these things. What are you talking about? I can raise someone from the dead, I can heal a broken arm, I can fix a situation, I can make the blind see and the deaf hear, we can, it’s still here.

God has given us this authority. Jesus breathed this onto the disciples, and they were able to go out and do it immediately. We can receive this. We have this power of the Holy Spirit within us. We just need to bring it up and have it overflow within us so that we will be so filled with the Spirit that His power flows out of us and into others to heal them raise them or do whatever God wants us to do.

For some of us, the power is so strong in us and our power is preaching and leading others to Christ. For others, it might be the power is so powerful in you that you can heal, raise the dead, whatever your gift of the Spirit is, prophesy, speak in tongues, it’s all gifts of the Spirit. You can do this.

They received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We can still be baptized in the Holy Spirit. It’s incredible. You have the Holy Spirit in you. Stir Him up within you. Remember, we’ve talked about this before when you become a Christian, it’s like squirting the chocolate into the milk, and it’s sitting down there.

Then when you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it’s like all that was stirred up and now the milk is full chocolatey. He’s not just sitting in there at the bottom anymore, He is all full. Pretty cool.

That was Jesus’s mission after death: “Was to come back and teach the people how to live, to breathe on them the Holy Spirit, and instruct them on what they should do, to go out there, preach to all nations.” That’s the Great Commission after His death and resurrection. That’s what He did.

He made it possible for believers, for you and me, to die and then go straight to Heaven. He got rid of the paradise side of the realm of the Dead, we no longer had to die and then go there, now we just die and go straight to Heaven. Amazing. Once that task was complete, Jesus ascended into Heaven for a second time.

Where is this? Well, that’s in Luke, so let’s go there. Luke 24:50-53: “When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into Heaven. Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they stayed continually at the temple praising God.”

Pretty awesome. let’s go to Matthew 28:19. Remember when Jesus ascended into Heaven the second time, He gave them instructions? He said, Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”

So, He told them that. Well, now wait a minute, in Luke, it said they stayed continually at the temple praising God. Matthew, says to go out and preach the gospel, and that’s why persecution ended up coming because they stayed. Jesus had to scatter them and get them out there, raising the body of Christ. And of course, He promised He didn’t just leave us.

So, Jesus did three things there while He was here for 40 days. He taught us how to live, He breathed the Holy Spirit onto us. Remember, He made it possible for us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

He said to us, “Go out there, do as I have done, preach the good news, teach the whole world about me.” That’s what Jesus has said. And then He says, “Go out there and do it everywhere,” and He leaves them with a promise, saying, “I will return someday.”

So, let’s go to Acts 1:9-11, “After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and in a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white Stood Beside them.”

Wait a minute, Stood Beside them like here, wow, as they’re looking up intently watching and the cloud hid Jesus then two men came, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “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.”

What does that mean, He’ll come back. Yeah, in the same way, out of the clouds and down to Earth, and that is what would we call the second coming of Christ. Some people who become a little wise uh, something or smart Alex say, “Oh, Second Coming, well, Jesus was here and He died and then He rose again, oh, that’s the second coming. So, the second coming already happened.”

No, that’s not it because He’s still here. His body was still here in the Tomb. He never left, I mean, His Spirit left, but this second Ascension pulled Jesus out. His body was not here, we don’t have His bones anywhere buried, no, He ascended into Heaven, and now He’s gone.

So, He was here once He died, rose again, roamed the Earth, and left, that was the first time. That was His first coming. The second coming will be when He comes out of the clouds like these two men promised.

Jesus left us with a promise; “He is coming back.” The second Ascension of Jesus was physical and spiritual all in one. The first Ascension of Jesus was completely spiritual, meaning that while He was ascending the first time, His body was here on Earth lying in the Tomb. He rose again, or not again, He rose from the dead, okay, He’s walking around on Earth while the spiritual Ascension is still taking place, He’s still in transit.

That is why He said, “Hey, do not hold on to me, do not embrace me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, instead go and tell my brothers that I am ascending to the Father, to my God and your God.” He was ascending then. The second Ascension was physical and spiritual in one.

He was walking around the Earth, wandering the Earth, not wandering, He had a purpose, He had an intention, and he was wandering around the Earth for 40 days, teaching his disciples what to do, instructing them, telling them, encouraging them, building them up, preparing them, saying, “Get out there, here’s the Holy Spirit, go do this, do these many signs and wonders and healings, and preach the good news and suffer in my name, and be strong in your faith.”

He was doing that with a body that had already died, think about that, Jesus is walking around for 40 days, and He could have said, “Hey, go ahead, put your hand on my side, go ahead, put your finger through, look at that, isn’t that cool, you know, look at my feet, put your hand in those holes,” He could have been doing that, he could have been walking around like a magic act.

He was walking around Earth in a body that came back from the dead, unbelievable, and so this second Ascension took the body up to Heaven with Him, why? Well, why is it then when we die we get a new body?

Well, just like Paul says when he makes fun of the people, he laughs at them. He says, “Hey, when you put a seed in the earth, it does not grow a seed, it dies and decays and grows into a new body, a new thing.”

Just like how Jesus, when He died, went into the tomb and came out with a new body, but it was still Him, why? Because Jesus is God. So when He was here on Earth, his heavenly body and earthly body were an anomaly, something strange, it’s incredible. He was here and there at the same time.

For me, when I get to Heaven, what am I going to look like? This body that you see right here, you’re not seeing me, this is not who I am, it is, this is my casket or my cell, I’m in a prison that is rotting away every day, this body gets weaker, my back hurts, my neck, I got all kinds of problems.

I mean, I got to maintain it, I got to put lotion on in the winter because it’s so dry and my skin splits the hair, it’s going to start falling out someday. I mean, we got all these issues, this body is dying, this mortal form is weak, I am a spirit, that spirit is living inside of this body right now, you are a spirit, this body will die, it will get planted in the earth, my spirit will go to Heaven someday, this body might rise and it becomes one with my new heavenly body.

But when I get to Heaven, either way, I will be a new form. There are different theories, of course, all time, there are always different theories, we’re not going to talk about that right now, we’re going to save that for next week, but I’ll give you a little teaser.

Some people say, “Hey, when I go to Heaven, I’m just going to be a floating spirit for so long, I mean, I’ll be a form, but I’ll be like a mist, and then when this, the resurrection of the dead happens, my body will be reunited with my spirit, and I’ll be in my prime in Heaven.”

So me, I hope that what you’re seeing right now, this is my prime, I’m real good, yeah, that this might be me in Heaven, who knows, maybe my prime is a few years from now, maybe it was a few years ago, who knows, but the point is when we get into Heaven, we will have a new body, we will have our spirit be in Heaven with Jesus, and Jesus made that possible by dying, so what is our mission right now while we’re here on Earth? It’s the “Great Commission.”

We are to go out and preach the good news to as many people as possible and bring them to Christ, do you feel a little bashful about that, do not be ashamed of the Gospel, it has the power to bring Salvation to all who hear it, take this and be happy about it, be not ashamed, take authority, speak with authority, use these words, bring more people to Jesus, and if you feel a little scared or you don’t know what to say.

Remember Moses, he didn’t want to speak either, he even said no and let Aaron come with me, and God said fine, take him with you, but you’re still going. Tell other people about Jesus, go do it, and if you don’t want to, then guess what, click the share button on one of these sermons. Don’t just click share but maybe click share and send it as a text message or as a messenger message or something to someone specifically.

That’s still sharing Jesus, and when they ask you a question, hey watch the sermon or watch more, or you can defer, that’s the beauty of the content that we have now, but the point is God gave you this command, and as a believer in Jesus, as a Christian, it is a purpose of yours, it is a calling that is on your life to get out there and share the good news to help other people know Jesus more and build a better relationship with Him.

Encourage them to read their Bible, to pray, guess what, you got to be doing the same thing, read your Bible, I guarantee you the more you read this the more you’re going to want to read it, the more you pray to God the more you’re going to want to pray, the more you watch and learn through these sermons the more you’re going to want to watch and learn through these sermons, it’s something that just it becomes an excellent addiction.

let your addiction be for the Lord, let your fire burn for the Lord, let your zeal be for the Lord, and be zealous for God. let’s pray, Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the sermon series, thank you for all you did for us during your death and resurrection and your Ascension and everything that you made possible for us to do by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I pray that more and more people will become baptized in the Holy Spirit that we can go out and do signs and wonders and miracles in Your name and that we will always remember to give the glory to You, that we will preach in Your name, that we would prophesy in Your name, that we would do miracles in Your name, that we would heal the sick, raise the dead, heal the lame, give sight to the blind, a hearing to the deaf, words to the mute.

That we would give all of these people an anointing in the name of Jesus. Baptize them in the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, let Him come upon them right now and fill them up like something so powerful that they feel it from their toes bubbling up inside of them and spilling over like their cup is just running over let them be hot and be burning on fire for You.

let them go out there and be bright and salty making disciples of all Nations being bold and courageous in Jesus’ name, amen. Get out there and live every single day for God, and don’t be afraid of dying.

God doesn’t want you to die for Him, He wants you to live for Him, you can do so much more in many years. Yes, of course, you might die, and through your death maybe a lot would happen, it could be a very powerful story, trust God, it’s His plan, get out there and live for Him, and come back next week as we wrap this up and talk about heaven, have a great week and God bless.