Sunday, July 3, 2022 AM

To worship together this morning. We'll get started with a few announcements. Come back this evening. We're gonna have a special time to celebrate Sunnyside's 70th birthday tonight. So come back, we'll have some brief remarks from some people, but then most of it's just gonna be spent in fellowship, and I'm sure there will be food and drink shared among all of us.

Looking ahead to the rest of this week, our meal at 545 on Wednesday, and then at 6 .30, prayer and children's choir after that. Looking ahead to this Saturday, for you ladies in the church, the Words of Life Women's Retreat is gonna be here at the church from 9 a .m. to 4 p .m. this Saturday, July 9th.

A few more announcements. Some of you may have heard Linda Peeler. A lot of you, if you're acquainted with her, she was a member here for a long time. She and her husband Claude, their kids came through here as well.

If you knew the Renfros, sister of Jack Renfro, obviously Jeanette as well, but she passed away this past Monday. Her funeral and visitation is gonna be this week, the Asa Smith Funeral Home in Harrah.

The visitation's gonna be Monday, the 4th of July, tomorrow, from 2 to 4 p .m. there at the funeral home, and then the funeral itself will be on Tuesday, July 5th at 10 a .m. there at that time. Also, Ryan Mounts has been put forth, after consideration for some time with the elders, put forth as an official candidate for an elder within the church.

So what we're gonna do is, over the course of the next two weeks, please pray for Ryan during this period of time, and if you have any questions regarding that, candidacy, please talk to any of the elders about that.

And then after that period of time, he'll be put forth officially, unless there are any major concerns, which I can't foresee any of that, but put forth as an elder. All right, any other announcements before we get started this morning?

Our fighter verse for this week comes from the book of Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 10. The name of the Lord is a fortified tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. We're gonna have a time to prepare our hearts for worship this morning in prayer, and at the conclusion of that, Brian will come up and open us.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. May we be reminded this morning through our times of singing praises to you and the opening of your word and the teaching from it, speaking scripture, that truly your name is hallowed.

It is holy. We are to be a people who are holy priests, one sharing the gospel. Put that passion in each of us, Lord. May we not pass a day where we haven't thought of you and thought of you often and thought of what we are to do as believers.

Father, this morning I just pray for your hand upon this service. Make our hearts and our minds and our souls sensitive to all you have for us today. We do look forward to this evening as we celebrate these many years of seeking you and being your church.

And it is you who build this church. May our hands find the work to do. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen. Would you stand with me for our call to worship? We're continuing in Psalms chapter 78.

Today we're reading verses 46 and 50, or 46 through 50. Read with me together. He gave their labor to the locusts. He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost. He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.

He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. He made a path for his anger. He did not spare them from death, but he gave their lives over to the plague.

So if you would, turn to your Psalms for worship hymnal, page 78G, we just read. We'll be singing verse 34. I'd just like to read this hymn this morning. Take my soul and sing. Inhale him as thy matchless king.

Now we sing, who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die. Goes to Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16.

Isaiah 28, 16. For says the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone. Whoever believes will not act hastily. Also, it's the measuring line. Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters will overflow the hiding place.

Your covenant with death will be annulled. Your covenant with Sheol will not stand. When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it. As often as it goes out, it will take you.

For morning by morning, day and by night, it will be a terror just to, for the bed is too short to stretch out on and the covering so narrow, it will be a nightmare to sleep in it. For the Lord will rise up as Mount Parizum.

He will be angry as the valley of Gibeon that he may do his work. His for do not be mockers, lest your bonds be made strong. For I've heard from the Lord God of hosts, a destruction determined, give ear and hear my voice, listen and hear my speech.

Does the plow man keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods? When he has leveled it's surface, the black cummin plant the wheat in rows, the barley in the appointed place and the spelt in its place.

For he instructs him in right judgment, his God teaches him. For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin. But the black cummin is beaten. Bread flour must be ground, therefore he does not thresh it forever, break it with his cartwheel or crush it with his horseman.

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. Would you pray with me? I thank you for your sovereignty. And we know Lord that you are altogether powerful, that you are sovereign over all things and that you are altogether good.

We thank you Lord that you watch over us as your people and you provide for us. And you've provided for us your son, Jesus Christ, our greatest blessing. And by him we are reconciled to you, a holy God.

And it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. You may be seated.

Our next song is in our little black hymnals, hymns modern ancient, page 104. If you've been here on Sunday nights, you've been enjoying the series on the kingdom of heaven, brother Michael's been preaching.

And much of that's been emphasized on expecting the bridegroom that cometh in the weddings, supper meals, wedding feast of the lamb and getting ready for that. So as we walk each day here on the earth, walking in faith in the Lord, hopefully we are looking forward to his return and eternity in heaven.

Sing with us together, rejoice, rejoice believers. Rejoice, rejoice believers. Back with a handout for the lyrics of Orrin Jordan's Stormy Banks. The final chorus, ladies, if you would do the echo.

Lord, father, we come before you today and we thank you for your faithfulness that you have shown season after season and year after year and decade after decade. Generation after generation and century upon century and millennia upon millennia, you have shown yourself to be faithful and good and true and just and holy and merciful.

We give you praise. We know that we can trust you. You have displayed your glory and your love and your light in your son, Jesus Christ. You have given us your son and we know that with him you will freely give us all things.

So we ask you today that as we bow the knee together to the truths of your word, as we rejoicingly submit to the scepter of Christ authority in our lives, this clear and everlasting word, we ask that you would, by the power of your Holy Spirit, bless our hearts with the grace of the amen that we would truly, from the heart, give an amen to the truth of your text.

We would rejoice in your word. We ask that you would have your way in us, that as your will has been declared in heaven, it will be accomplished in our lives here upon earth. We thank you for hearing our prayers for the sake of your son, Jesus.

It's in his name that we pray, amen. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Acts chapter one. And we'll be reading once more verses one through 11. As we examine this introduction to the book of Acts, the king in his kingdom.

It has been somewhat surprising to me in studying this passage, the significant themes that we encounter here, the doctrines that are so vital, the biblical truths that are going to be echoed time and again throughout the rest of the book of Acts.

Themes such as the kingdom of God and how it is anticipated in the old covenant and brought about in the new covenant. And the relationship of the two covenants together. This is a very important theme.

It's full of themes that we need to study and understand and it takes a while to begin to wrap our heads around. Also, the theme of the doctrine of Christ. Who is Jesus? That he is God's son. That he is both fully man and fully God.

That he lived in our place and for our sake died on the cross in our place and for our sake was raised from the dead the third day and has ascended to the right hand of the father. And that we anticipate his return.

This is most central to everything. And then of course the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as we see the Christians in the life of the church and in everything that has come since the book of Acts. And so we encounter these themes and we've taken our time to do our best to understand them, to hear from the word of God, to see the trajectory from the Old Testament into the new as interpreted and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

We remember that the purpose of the book of Acts is the same as the gospel of Luke as Luke is the author of them both and he is writing to his patron Theophilus. And he wants Theophilus to be well established in the things that he has been taught by going through an orderly account of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Not only in his birth and his life and his death and resurrection, but also here in the book of Acts, his ascended reign. How is it that Christ still reigns and shows his authority in this world today by the power of his Holy Spirit in the lives of his people?

And so here at the very beginning of the book of Acts, we're looking at the king in his kingdom. I invite you to stand with me as I read Acts chapter one, verses one through 11. This is the word of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit through his servant Luke.

The former account I made of Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which he said, you have heard from me for John truly baptized with water, but you should be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

Now, when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. So what time is it? What time is it?

Common enough question. Why are we always asking what time it is? Because we need to know what we're supposed to be doing. We don't keep track of the time. Suddenly we've discovered that we have run out of time to do what we wanted to have time to do.

We're always asking what time it is. We instinctively know that there are certain times in which we do certain things. This is the problem with babies. They don't run by the established clock, right? 3 .30 is not mealtime in the morning, right?

3 .30 in the morning is not time to get up. But we know that our lives are run by that clock. We're always asking what time it is. And so we're gonna be doing different things in the day. We do different things in the different parts of the week.

It's Sunday, so we're gathering here on the first day of the week, rejoicing in the Lord's resurrection from the dead and celebrating Him today. We know that we do different things. We pay bills at certain times in the month.

And we know that there's different seasons in the year. And we do different things depending on what season it is. And we reflect upon the fact that, and are grateful to the Lord that in 1952 on June 30th, Sunnyside Baptist Church began and gathered together and they were officially started.

As we reflect upon that, we also are aware of the fact that it is no longer 1952. It's not even 82. It's not the early 2000s. This is the 2022nd year of our Lord Jesus Christ. And though the times have changed, Jesus Christ was the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And we give Him the praise for that. But we're concerned about time and we need to know what time it is. Knowing what time it is helps us to know where we are in the story. Knowing what time it is helps us to understand what the agenda ought to be.

If we know what time it is, we know what we're supposed to be doing. And Jesus was always telling people what time it was, especially in His parables. The kingdom of heaven is like. We tell stories once upon a time.

Well, Jesus wasn't saying anything too different from that when He was saying the kingdom of heaven is like. He's telling them what time it is. One of the stories He told, and there's variants on it, but one of the stories He told starts off this way.

The kingdom of heaven is like, or we can say once upon a time, once upon a time, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive unto himself a kingdom and to return. Dearly beloved, this is the time in which we live.

We live in the time when the noblest of all, Jesus Christ, has gone into a far country to receive to Him all authority in heaven and on earth. And He will return. This is the text that we're looking at now here in Acts chapter one, verses nine through 11.

Two important events. Two mountains of momentous truth, and we live in the valley between them. There is the ascension of Christ and there is the return of Christ, and we live between them. This is the time in which we live.

Let's look at verses nine through 11 again to remind ourselves. Now, when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight and He went up toward heaven as He went up.

Behold, two men, a wide user of Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will so come. Well, the kingdom is all about so far. We looked at the kingdom presented in the first three verses. We've considered the progress of the kingdom.

The kingdom can only progress according to the provision made by the king. But here in the last three verses, we see the preeminence of the king. We see that Christ is exalted and magnified above all, and that even in His like manner, He will return.

And in light of all that He has commissioned His apostles to do, and in light of what He expects His people to be about, and in proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to the uttermost parts of the earth, as we recognize our neediness in this commission, we are to recall that the sufficiency of the kingdom is all about the supremacy of the king.

How will this kingdom advance? How will things progress? How will the desires of heaven become the realities on earth? How will this come to pass except by the supremacy of our reigning Lord? So we look at the preeminence of the king, the fact that He is higher than all, the first of all, the most important of all.

And we see this truth emphasized here in verses nine through 11, the preeminence of the king. And there's simply two events that we need to take note of and consider that between these two mountains, we live in this valley of time between the ascension of the king and the return of the king.

So first of all, the ascension of the king. We recognize the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, that He presented Himself to His followers by many infallible proofs. The most undeniable fact in all of history, which anchors history so that it remains history, is the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

That is the foundational historical fact of all history. Given that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, that He died once, but He's alive forevermore, that the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

The question should be asked with the faith of a child, well, then where is He? He rose from the dead to die no more, well, where is He? And the scriptures tell us at the end of the Gospel of Luke and here at the beginning of the Book of Acts, attended by many other passages in the Bible, we are told that Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of the living God, having been raised from the dead, has also ascended to heaven to be seated at the right hand of God, enthroned on high with all authority.

That's where He is now. Now there's two parts to this. Part of it is that there is a separation. Once upon a time, a nobleman went to a far country. Do you see the theme of apparent separation and distance in the text?

He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. He was taken up. He was taken away. The end of the Gospel of Luke says that He was parted from them. There was a separation. Now Jesus had been preparing His followers for just this moment.

He assured them that He was going to prepare a place for them. He was assuring them that He had to go away, that it would be better for them, but He would not leave them orphans and He promised them another helper, another comforter, the Holy Spirit.

And that's indeed in our text. He's told them, you need to go back to Jerusalem. You need to stay there and wait there for the promise from the Father, the other comforter, the other helper who's going to come as power from on high for you.

There is a genuine separation here as Christ visibly and bodily and historically ascends and is parted from His apostles. But that's not the main point. The main point is that He is going up, going up.

Why up? Why could it just not be that He was among His disciples, He said what He had to say, and then He just disappeared? Why must He ascend up? What's the point? The necessary metaphor is still with us today.

How you fly your flags matters. Whose flag is on top matters. Isn't it correct that there's laws and customs which emphasize that the federal flag must fly higher than the state flag? I'm looking to see which one of you is from Texas because you're already gonna tell me, yes, but in Texas, we can fly them at equal height.

I love Texans. Texas is Oklahoma's big brother and we're just always in competition. It's a healthy competition, it's a good thing. When I was in college, I would welcome all the freshmen because I was an RA and most people came in and says, hi, my name is and I'm from, but the Texans all came in and says, hi, I'm from Texas and my name is.

But it matters how you fly the flags. There has to be some flag higher than the others to show what? Dominance, dominion, a hierarchy of authority. When Solomon built the temple and his palace, the temple was built on the threshing floor of Arunah, higher than the site that Solomon selected for his palace.

So that in the temple, in the holy of holies was the Ark of the Covenant and upon the Ark of the Covenant was a seat, a chair, a place where God was understood to be enthroned called the mercy seat. And even as the visions of heaven show God enthroned in heaven, surrounded by his angelic beings of glory, so also the pattern, the type upon the earth, the Ark of the Covenant in between the cherubim was the throne, the mercy seat of God.

And that was elevated above Solomon's throne. He built a staircase that went from his throne, his palace up to God's palace and God's throne called the temple. Who was ascendant? Who was higher up? Who was in charge?

The higher the throne is, the more dominion that throne has over other dominions. And seeing that Jesus Christ has received all authority in heaven and on earth, it makes sense that his throne is above all other thrones ascendant to the highest degree.

And this is the necessity for the building of the faith of the apostles and us, that we recognize that when Jesus, having completed his work here upon earth, when he left, it was not simply a departure, but an ascension.

He went up because his throne is above all. He ascended to be seated, to take possession of his kingdom. Psalm 115 verse three says, our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases, right? That's a good thing that God does whatever he desires and all he desires is good.

And Isaiah, the Lord says, heaven is my throne and earth, my footstool. Where is the house that you will build me? And where is the place of my rest? Truly man is unable to build an exalted enough throne for God.

However we may try, however sincere we may be, there's no possible way to actually construct the throne upon which God should magnificently reign. Heaven is my throne, he says, and earth is my footstool.

I'm so glad he says heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. This means that he has not abandoned us. His reign has an impact here among us. So the question lingers, where is the house that you will build me and where is the place of my rest?

This of course will be answered by the true son of David who builds the true temple. As we consider what happens here in Acts, we see Christ ascending, we see him separated, yes, but coronated, he is taken up to the throne of God where he sits down and all authority has been given to him and every knee will bow before Christ who is Lord of all.

There's a hierarchy, there's a hierarchy and Christ is Lord, Christ is King, Christ has the authority. And then every other hierarchy that exists in a human experience, scripture tells us Christ is at the head of every single chain of authority.

And those who have authority and exercise a stewardship within a hierarchy, whether it be the family or the church or the state, they do not govern and steward their authority well unless they acknowledge the kingship of Christ and submit to his authority.

We see the elevation of Christ in the ascension but we are also told of his divine glory for he was carried up into heaven Luke tells us and the gospel of Luke in chapter 24 but also here in Acts one, it says he was received by a cloud.

These two ideas hang together, these two ideas hang together and we can see a preview of this glorification in Luke chapter nine. In Luke chapter nine, Jesus has gone up a mountain with some of his disciples and in verse 28, we read, now it came to pass after about eight days after these sayings that he took Peter, John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

As he prayed, the appearance of his face was altered and his robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with him who were Moses and Elijah who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep and when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Then it happened as they were parting from him that Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here and let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.

But they kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. What goes on here? We remember the cloud that overtook the tabernacle when it was built and consecrated and none could go near.

We remember the cloud that overtook the temple as Solomon finished and consecrated and none could go near. And here we find the cloud enveloping the one who says, I am the temple, destroy this body and in three days I will raise it up.

And in the Shekinah glory cloud, it is declared that Jesus Christ is the greatest of all. The disciples are frightened, understandably. And whereas Peter is once again talking before he's thinking and he sees Elijah and Moses and Jesus of Nazareth, he thinks the glory of Christ is on par with Moses.

Indeed, on par with Elijah. But God makes it clear when the glory cloud envelops Christ and his apostles, that Jesus is superior to Moses and Elijah. God says, hear him, hear him. And when they can finally open their eyes, they see Jesus himself alone.

So Jesus Christ is not an option among many or even an option among few. There was one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. There was one savior. He is the way, the truth and the life and none can come to the father except through him.

He's the only begotten son of the father full of grace and truth. The uniqueness of Christ is emphasized in this divine glory being revealed here in his ascension. Glory is a word that signifies weight.

It also signifies light, but it also signifies weight. Going back to Solomon when he built the temple and he built his palace, ensuring that the throne of God was elevated, ascended above his own throne.

He also constructed the two palaces, the temple and his own. He constructed them in different weights, sharing the same construction materials of the cedars from Lebanon and stonework, incorporating the same art style as in the temple and in the palace.

Nevertheless, in the temple, Solomon covered everything with gold in contrast to his own house. The temple was far heavier, far, far more glorious than the palace and the throne room and the throne where Solomon did his ruling business.

If one were to go to the throne room of God, if one were to go to the temple, one would find a much more weighty, far more glorious place of ruling than Solomon. And when we see Christ glorified as he goes up to heaven and the Shekinah glory cloud receives him out of their sight, we are to remember that this weightiness about Christ is not dead weight, but compelling weight.

And we often think of weight as that which goes down and stays still, but theologically, the more glorious, the more weighty, the more ascendant, the more high and the more compelling force it is. And so what we find here is the disciples standing up and looking as Jesus of Nazareth, as the Christ is taken from their view by the cloud and they're still trying to see if they can catch a glimpse of him.

And the angels come and say, why are you standing still gazing up? What were his instructions? Go back to Jerusalem, stay there for the power of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and then you're gonna go. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth.

So why are you standing still? This glory is not for standing still looking up, this glory is for compelling us to go forth here below. This is a glory that puts us on the move, not a glory that keeps us still.

And as we read through the book of Acts, we're gonna find the weightiness of Christ at work. As the church moves forward with the battle cry, Jesus is Lord, over and against the most common phrase in political culture, Caesar is Lord.

No, no, no, no, Jesus is Lord. And we find in the book of Acts, this gospel of the kingdom as a wrecking ball, crashing through the structures of second temple Judaism and the Roman empire, making an impact in cities and upon islands and among individual lives, such as Saul of Tarsus.

And we're going to see how the weightiness of Christ, the glory of Christ becomes the new center around which everything must revolve. Everything since Christ's life, death and resurrection and ascension, everything has been in orbit around him.

He's the glorious second Adam, son of God, son of man, king of kings. Everything is a relationship to him. His weightiness is such that he puts all things in motion and God has put all things into motion to reconcile all things by the blood of his cross so that Christ will have preeminence in all things.

So we see the elevation of Christ, his majestic elevation. We also see his divine glory, but we also see the fulfillment of prophecy when we read what happens here in the ascension of Christ. For the fact that Christ would ascend and be received by a cloud into heaven to be enthroned is not a new idea here in the end of the gospel of Luke or the beginning of the book of Acts.

That's not a new idea. We can go back to Daniel chapter seven, verses 13 through 14, where Daniel says, I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man, Jesus's favorite title for himself, one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.

And he came to the ancient of days. In other words, here we read in the book of Acts, here's the son of man, the king of the kingdom, and he ascends up to where a cloud takes him from the view of the apostles.

Well, what happens on the other side of the cloud? Where did he go? Daniel seven is telling us. What happens next? After he's taken up by the cloud, they can no longer see him. Now we check in to see the rest of the story.

He came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away and his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed.

And of course, we see this again in Revelation five, verses six through 10. And I looked and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures in the midst of the elder stood a lamb as though it had been slain.

The lamb of God slain for the sins of the world, yet here he is resurrected and ascended and he comes to the throne. Having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth.

Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And this is good news because the question has been, who is worthy? Who is worthy in all of creation to come and take this scroll?

And none was found so that John the apostle was weeping because none was found worthy. But wait, see the lamb of God, he is worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals. Verse seven, then he came and took the scroll to the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, a new song saying, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people in the nation and have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth.

Are we? The throne room, the throne room. Who's there? Who's reigning? Christ is reigning. He's been given all authority. He's the one who is reigning. This is the fulfillment of the vision that Daniel saw in Daniel chapter seven.

He's the one who was worthy to come and take the scroll. He's the one who was worthy to rule. And look, Jacob's ladder is still in place. Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Who will build a house fitted for me?

Who's gonna bridge that gap? Who's gonna build something big enough to encompass heaven's throne even to earth as a footstool? Who's gonna bridge that gap? The one mediator bridges that gap. There is a ladder from heaven to earth.

Jacob saw it, the angels ascending and descending on it. Jesus of Nazareth told Nathaniel, you will see angels ascending and descending upon the son of man. He's saying, I'm Jacob's ladder. He's the one who mediates between heaven and earth.

And look here. He's enthroned in heaven. He says, my kingdom is not of this world. But look, his kingdom is in this world. Verse 10, you have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth.

Why? Because you have made us this way. See, your authority is mediated in our lives and your kingdom, your kingship and your priesthood are mediated through us. You have made us this way. And so heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool and Christ is Jacob's ladder.

Jacob's stairway. Of course, the question is asked again in another way in the Old Testament in Psalm 24. This is all anticipated, Jesus' ascension. In Psalm 24, the question is, who may ascend to the hill of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place? That's the question. Who may go up the hill of the Lord? Who may ascend even to the heights of Mount Moriah? Who can go to the highest place and enter into the holiness of God there in the temple?

That's the question. And then there's this announcement in verses seven through 10 because the worthy one has been found. Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.