It's good to be back with you, even though my schedule doesn't permit me to join you more than the four times a year that I'm privileged to lead the devotional. I do think of you regularly at the noon hour when I'm usually busy with some meeting or another, but I'm so thankful for your prayers. I want to encourage you that the Lord does hear and answer. He puts our prayers in a bottle and you read that in the book of Revelation and then at a certain point he opens that bottle and it comes forth with answers to prayer. I'm privileged to be a pastor, even at my ripe old age, of a mission church in Long Island, New York. It's the Haven Orthodox Presbyterian Church congregation. And it's just a joy. I love pastoral work and everything connected with that service in the kingdom of God. So let's pray. What I want to deal with you today, I'm going to ask a question and deal with it in the few minutes that I have. And the question is, what's Jesus doing now? Let's pray. Our Lord, we are so grateful for the privilege of prayer. We love being reminded that our prayers are to be impregnated with the word of God. You tell us if we ask anything, according to your will, you hear us and your will is your revealed will given in the scriptures. You love it when your children take your promises and bring them back to you. And we do that with every confidence, not just that you'll answer, but that you'll do exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ask or think. And now, Lord, as we consider what is a vast topic of Christ's current work, help us, we pray, to know something of how that bears on our own labors here and encourages us in them. We pray in Jesus' glorious name. Amen. In my Presbyterian tradition, which is a Bible-believing Presbyterian tradition, I think shared by a number of you here, we're not big on holy days. We are jealous to say we only do what the Word of God says in our worship and church life, and I believe that deeply. And therefore, we are, on the one hand, very jealous. to have a high view of the Lord's Day Sabbath, and it's probably the best way to refer to Sunday. It is the Lord's Day, but it's also the Christian Sabbath. And we are very uneasy if people say that we should be observing other quote-unquote holy days. And again, I share that concern. At the same time, we live, at least in the United States of America, where I am, We live in an increasingly ahistorical age. I'd go so far as to say a dangerously ahistorical age. Our culture is very much a culture of feelings. We may not quote Henry Ford, who was the inventor of the automobile, but he said at one point, history's bunk. He was more concerned with things that worked and things that produce things and so on. He didn't like history. And Americans are like that. And that is cutting off the branch on which you are sitting on the tree of life. And you know what that will do to you. And I think for that reason, it's good that without being bound by them, because we don't know the dates, for example, of when Christ was born. we realize that God did operate in history. There was a day in which Christ was born, and in answer to the charge of the atheist, they say there's no God. You say, no, here, come see this Jesus Christ who was miraculously conceived and born, The same thing on what is often called Good Friday. I was moved this year, we had a Good Friday service, something I wasn't accustomed to doing. I was so moved by just reflection on the death of Christ and what that meant and the atonement. Well, there's a solution to man's need for forgiveness to be right with God. Why not remember that day? And of course Easter Sunday that we celebrate really every Sunday with the resurrection of Christ. Well, I'm going to add to that not only Pentecost Sunday, which is this Sunday, but Ascension Day, which was May 29th of this year, Christ really did ascend up into heaven. And what I want to impress upon all of you, and we need to think about this, our world is totally different because of these things that God did on specific days and moments in history, whether it be the birth of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the sending of the Holy Spirit, or as we'll deal with in a moment, the ascension of Christ. Our world is completely different because of these things, and of course the big difference is that the gospel is going into all of the world so that the purpose of Psalm 67 will be fulfilled. God will be merciful to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that his ways might be known among all of the world. And sermonaudio.com is kind of a metaphor for that, with the literally international implications of faithful preaching going into all the world. But anyway, Ascension Day, let's meditate on that a little bit. I'm using the New King James Version. I confess that while that's not the version that's used as much within my own denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, it is my preference for a lot of reasons. And I'm using the New King James Version. Listen to Acts 1 and verses 6 through 11. Therefore, when they had come together, They asked him, speaking to Jesus, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? That was the big focus. They had a misguided view of what the kingdom was, but they knew the focus was the kingdom. And Jesus said to them, it's 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. And of course, he's pointing forward to what would come 10 days later on the day of Pentecost that would inaugurate that. Here's the Ascension. Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. I want you to keep that in mind. The cloud is not just something nebulous. God appeared in clouds, and I'm here, he's in a cloud, but he's disappearing from them. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, and they said, men of Galilee, And it's interesting, Galilee was Galilee of the Gentiles. This was not Jerusalem, the capital for the Jews. Had Jesus ascended in Jerusalem, they may have begun to think of the political kingdom, which was a misguided view. He was among the Gentiles. And men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. And this is very important when you think of all of these quote-unquote holy days, if you're going to use that term, never focus on them without also pointing to the last great day when Christ will come back in judgment. Well, this is the ascension of Christ, and what's he doing now? Well, the answer that's given, and Roman you can read this for yourself, Romans 8, particularly verses 31 to the end of the chapter, especially verse 34, and Hebrews 7, verses 23 to 25, but especially verse 25, the term that's used is interceding. That's the specific language for what Jesus is doing now, he's ruler, he has all authority in heaven and on earth, and we'll come back to that, but his work is done in interceding. And there's all kinds of discussion of what that means. There's kind of a broad view of what interceding is, in which in general, and this is an awesome thought, Jesus presents his whole person and his whole work on behalf of all of his people for all of their benefits all the time. I mean, that's mind-blowing. But that is what is embedded in the text in Romans 8, and to some extent even the text in Hebrews 7 about Jesus interceding. Jesus is presenting his whole person, his whole work all the time for all of his people, that all things might work together for your good, and so that you might be more than a conqueror through him who loved us. It's an interesting phrase. It's the only time it's used in the New Testament. In glory, praise the Lord, we'll be conquerors. No more evil. More than conqueror is God uses even evil things, even hard things, even bad things to further his purposes. But anyway, he is presenting his whole self his whole person, his whole work, all the time, for all of his people, that everything that he's promised to you might be fulfilled. And that's, wow, I mean, that is mind-blowing. But the word intercede specifically means prayer. Jesus is praying for us. And, of course, he does what I just mentioned when he prays, but he's praying. But here's the question. For what? For what is Jesus praying? Now here, I want to challenge your thinking, and I'm not as dogmatic on this as I would be on certain other issues, but I'm pretty close to it. I want to challenge your thinking that what Jesus is doing as he's praying, he is praying for the fullest answer to what he taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer. He is praying for the fullest answer for what he taught us to pray, and I hope he used the Lord's Prayer as a form of prayer, what he taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer. Now, why that conclusion? Well, the parallel to the ascension of Christ in the Old Testament, it's kind of the other side of the coin, is in Daniel 7 and verses 13 and 14. Daniel is watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, notice this, coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the ancient of days, who was the Father, and they brought a near before him. And then to him was given, what does this sound like to you? 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." What Daniel sees is the other side of the coin of what we just read about Christ's ascension. Christ ascends up into heaven in a cloud, the very presence of God. That's the way Acts uses it. Daniel is looking at the other side of the coin, you're in heaven, and Christ comes to the Father, of course it's a prophecy, in the clouds, and the language that's given to him is he's given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him, that is in the fullest extent. What does that sound like to you? It's the same language as the end of the Lord's Prayer that's given, of course, in Matthew chapter 6. And there's some discussion about whether that part for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever is in the original text. I'm not going to get into that. The fact of the matter is it's been a hallowed portion of our Christian faith for many years. There's a whole catechism question that deals with it. And even if it's not in the original text, it is given here in Daniel. His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. And so here's my challenge to you to think about this. And for me, this has been very, very encouraging. I want you to think that Jesus is himself praying what he taught us to pray. with all authority in heaven and on earth to see it brought about, all the time, for all of his people, in any area, until he comes back. And when he does come back, that Lord's prayer will be fulfilled. What do I mean? When Christ returns and ushers in new heavens and new earth, his name is going to be set apart as holy in everything. And while we say this with very great carefulness, I appreciated the emphasis on brokenness of heart instead of anger with what we see in our culture. Even in hell, God's name is going to be hallowed. He's going to be hallowed as the one who is perfectly just, okay? Fullest sense of the word, his name will be hallowed. In the fullest sense of the word, When Christ returned, his kingdom will come. His kingdom is his perfect reign in the hearts of all of his people, men, women, boys, and girls in all of the world. And then, and this is so beautiful, his kingdom come and his will will be done. How does that end? On earth as it is in heaven. We'll always look forward to that. Jesus is praying for that. He has all authority to bring that about. And oh Lord, hasten the day when your will will be done on the earth as it is in heaven, perfectly as the angels do it. And I'd love to add with that, no more possibility of sinning. As Jesus is praying, he is praying now that in the fullest sense of the word, everything that's meant by your daily bread, that it would come to you every day, all the time, for all of his people, everywhere. He is praying that the forgiveness of sins that he secured on the cross would be applied to all of his people, all the time, in justification, when our condemnation's taken away, and also as a father forgives the sins of his children day by day. He prays that way. And he prays also, if I could put it this way, that we would be a forgiving people, because if you're really forgiven, you'll forgive others. We pray that, this is wonderful, that we'll not be led into temptation. And if we are brought into temptation, His grace will deliver us from it. That's necessary if we're going to persevere to the end. And Jesus is praying that way. And I do think it's most accurate to say, and deliver us from the evil one. We're not delivered from evil. Evil is an earthquake, evil is a fire, evil is all kinds of things. We're not delivered from that. But Jesus praying, deliver us from the evil one, which is exactly what he prayed for on earth, Lord, keep them from the evil one. And why will those things be fulfilled? Well, that's what Daniel says, and what I still think is what's in Matthew. because yours is the kingdom, and yours is the power, and yours is the glory. And I think, brothers and sisters, when we think of our prayers framed by, in one way or another, the Lord's Prayer, and here's where the shorter catechism gives you, and the larger catechism, give you tremendous material to flesh out what that petition is, it's wonderful to realize Even when we're not praying the way we should, Jesus is. That heartthrob for prayer that he taught us in how to pray, that's his heartthrob too. And because he has all authority in heaven on earth, he'll fulfill all those things in the fullest possible way. So be encouraged, dear brothers and sisters. What's Christ doing now? He's presenting his whole self all the time, completed work for all of his people in every place. That's glorious. That's why we'll be in glory forever. And specifically, he's interceding, I believe, using his own words that he taught us. And that's why we know when we use that, we're praying according to his will.