The Ascension of Our Lord – Pr. Anderson sermon
Acts 1:1-11 “From Church Militant to Church Triumphant”
May 13, 2026 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Almighty God, who raised up Your dear Son from the lowliness of His earthly state to Your right hand in the heaven, grant that, as we joyfully believe and this day celebrate His ascension, we may even in this present world seek only the things which are eternal, that we may in the end be made partakers of the glory of Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, now and forever. Amen. (The Lutheran Liturgy, companion altar book for The Lutheran Hymnal, p. 126)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 1st chapter of St. Luke’s Acts of the Apostle’s. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who you confess is at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and that His is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever, dear fellow redeemed:
With the joining of a church comes a recruitment some might not have asked for. No matter the age, no matter the length of being a member, joining a church means joining what is called the church militant. Now this can sound exciting, especially to the younger members. With zealous motivation, it might feel like great mountains can be moved and enemies can be vanquished. For some, maybe being a part of the church is to escape those kinds of problems, because how can there be any trouble being on God’s team? To be on God’s team is to make a great declaration, you stand on the side that is against the devil, the world, and your very own sinful flesh. Those enemies, are not happy with this outcome. The church militant is not actively attacking but is actively being attacked. But all is not lost to be on the side that appears that any weight can crush it completely. The church militant is clothed with the greatest defense and that defense is with you always. Marked with the great event of His ascension to the right hand of the Father, Jesus is actively ruling, governing, guiding, and defending the church militant. With this crowning victory, the church militant is certain the fight is almost over, as He transfers His beloved church into the church triumphant to be with Him forever.
This crowning victory is already on display with the Word we hear about this glorious event. In ruling the Kingdom of glory, He has sent messengers to proclaim the great message of His mighty work to save the world He now rules. As St. Luke investigated the facts of the God Man Christ Jesus, He put those facts together into the Gospel about His life. In part two he followed the acts of the apostles and how they shared this Gospel message. Luke takes these works and he addresses it to the common Greek name, Theophilus. With his common name, this Theophilus could be anyone in the church militant. Literally could be anyone as his very name means, “one who loves God or friend of God.” With this literary flavor, dear “ones who love God,” St. Luke writes to you, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. This same Gospel from long ago continues to report the findings of those chosen by God, strengthening the church militant in their fight against their enemies.
As the church militant is continued to be strengthened, this will continue to bolden their losing enemies. For the enemies know they have already lost the war. The cross and empty tomb stand proclaiming victory over them and these signs of victory will remain until the end. This is the icing on the cake as David saw this great event taking place in the spirit when he wrote, The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalm 110:1). Just as the enemies couldn’t stop the cross and grave, they couldn’t stop the ascension. So, their pressure campaign against the militant is to cast as much doubt in the events as possible. This shouldn’t work, but it is still a terrific strategy by them. It worked well even when Jesus was still on earth during His ministry. His own followers fell to the doubts of the cross and grave and even in the moments before His ascension, wondered what was next.
So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” This can be our thoughts if our brain is not keyed in to who the true enemies of this world are. That our true enemies are the world, the devil, and our sinfulness, that we are not against flesh and blood but against the evil spiritual forces that seek to destroy us. The question of Christ’s earthly kingdom reveals how important it is for the Holy Spirit to come so the Gospel message can be continuously preached to the world, changing hearts and strengthening the militant. The devil in these skirmishes with the church militant continues to do what he has always done. He wants to lock Jesus in the past or reduce His ministry. He exclaims, “the cross and tomb are in the rear view, Jesus has left the building. If He would just reign here and now then there wouldn’t be this chaos and your enemies would be destroyed.” The devil ramps up the scary, which does scare us at times, and then as the militant, it can cause us to lash out. And when we lash out at our neighbors and lash out at God, it then appears the devil is winning the war. Witnessing enemies on all sides, David writes the words that are still our hope in the LORD who makes all enemies under His footstool. For, The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
There is no one to be afraid of. The King has taken His seat on His throne in victory and this is confirmed to the church militant by the many witnesses who saw Him in the flesh after He rose from the dead. St. Paul writes, He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). After His glorious resurrection from the dead, the proof of His redemption, over five hundred people were able to see Him alive again with their own eyes. And this not only comforted them from what appeared as the worst week in history, but strengthened this young church to take the Gospel of Holy Week to the nations. They witnessed Jesus Word as truth; the cross was the defeat of all their enemies.
And with their defeat, Jesus’ ascension to heaven prepares the world for what is to come. It prepares the world for the truth in His Word, that He will come again, just as He has gone, for “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.” And keeping His Word to send the Holy Spirit with His ascension, the Holy Spirit works in you to believe these words. With faith you are hearing and seeing the Means of Grace, which is the work of Christ’s kingdom of power and glory in your midst. To be here is to confess, you make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). Forever found in His almighty Word and sacraments.
And the Word and sacraments that you receive here today are the direct result of Jesus’ Word coming to life when He told His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” At the ends of the earth, for the next generation, the same witness goes out. The witness of who Jesus is. How He is your way to the Father as He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He is the way that leads to the truth of the cross. The only death that can bring you victory and new life. A life where you can rejoice, for when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed (2 Thessalonians 1:10). Believed because He ascended and sent you His Spirit. The Spirit who convicts you of your sins, reveals to you your real enemies, and the Spirit who will bring you into the church triumphant. And it truly is the church triumphant because Christ advances the kingdom here and now with the continued proclamation of His cross and resurrection.
And on His throne, the fruit of His labor is witnessing you believe in His Word and living out your faith in His kingdom of peace. A peace the world will never understand, but a peace you cherish knowing you will go from the church militant to the church triumphant. By believing in the cross, the true sign of your victory won for you by Christ over sin, death, and hell, you confess, Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen (Revelation 1:7). And through keeping this church militant eternally safe, you willingly work for the Lord, doing it for His glory. The time for His coming again is short and His return is both sure and imminent. This is why you find joy in His ascension. You know He hasn’t left but is with you here and now. You are already in His kingdom and even if it may not seem so as the church militant, your patience doesn’t go unnoticed. For the King who has given you the victory will grant you His eternal peace. The peace of the church triumphant in whose throngs you will be forever and ever. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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