WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 If we've never met, my name is Greg Hampton. 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:05.040 I'm one of the pastors here at the house, and 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.480 I would love to meet you, buy you a coffee or 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:09.380 a soda or something like that, hear your story. 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:12.140 I like to talk about Jesus. We'd love to hear 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:15.099 your background, how you ended up here at the 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:17.760 house, and if there's any way that we can help 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:21.239 or serve you. And we are in a series called the 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.230 Nicene Creed. This series... I mean, the pastor 00:00:24.230 --> 00:00:26.809 joke is that this series has been 1 ,600 years 00:00:26.809 --> 00:00:30.789 in the making. Because... But here's the deal. 00:00:30.910 --> 00:00:33.450 A couple weeks back, Gary got up here and preached, 00:00:33.590 --> 00:00:36.049 and he gave some pastor jokes, and y 'all laughed 00:00:36.049 --> 00:00:41.549 at him. Y 'all laughed. So when I give pastor 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:44.409 jokes, I expect you give me what you gave Gary. 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:50.369 Exactly. So some would say this series has been 00:00:50.369 --> 00:00:55.049 1 ,600 years in the making. There, see? Don't 00:00:55.049 --> 00:00:58.170 you feel better? Don't you feel better laughing? 00:00:59.609 --> 00:01:02.210 All right, finish this phrase for me. What goes 00:01:02.210 --> 00:01:06.500 up must... come down. Today's section of the 00:01:06.500 --> 00:01:09.239 Nicene Creed is the what goes up must come down 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:13.400 section. It says he ascended into heaven and 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:16.519 is seated at the right hand of the Father. He 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.359 will come again in glory to judge the living 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:22.280 and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:26.420 He ascended and he will return. What goes up 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:31.500 must come down. And any of us who call ourselves 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:36.040 Christians, our beliefs about Jesus don't stop 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:40.459 with his ministry. The beliefs that we have about 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:42.859 Jesus don't stop with his resurrection. The beliefs 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:45.760 that we have about Jesus do not stop with his 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:50.879 ascension. Our beliefs about Jesus continue and 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:55.500 extend into the future. The creed reminds us 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:58.260 that we don't just believe in what Jesus is. 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:04.459 did, we believe in what Jesus will someday do. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:09.699 And that belief is meant to shape how we live 00:02:09.699 --> 00:02:14.189 with that hope in the meantime. All right, so 00:02:14.189 --> 00:02:17.610 let's open our Bibles and see where that takes 00:02:17.610 --> 00:02:20.189 us. We're going to be in the book of Acts. It 00:02:20.189 --> 00:02:22.169 goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. 00:02:22.550 --> 00:02:24.349 So if you see any of those, you know you're in 00:02:24.349 --> 00:02:26.569 the right neighborhood. There's Bibles on the 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:28.449 tables. There's also Bibles in the lobby. You're 00:02:28.449 --> 00:02:30.590 welcome to take one of those home if you don't 00:02:30.590 --> 00:02:33.409 have one. Otherwise, the U version, there's tons 00:02:33.409 --> 00:02:36.389 of versions of the Bible that are on digital 00:02:36.389 --> 00:02:41.050 app stores. And we have a tradition of giving 00:02:41.050 --> 00:02:43.370 the scriptures our full attention when read in 00:02:43.370 --> 00:02:46.169 the context of a sermon. And you can do that 00:02:46.169 --> 00:02:47.909 any way that you're most comfortable with. But 00:02:47.909 --> 00:02:49.710 if you'd like to stand with me, you're also welcome 00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:57.310 to do that. Acts chapter 1, starting in verse 00:02:57.310 --> 00:03:03.110 6. So when they had come together, they asked 00:03:03.110 --> 00:03:05.810 him, Lord, is this the time when you will restore 00:03:05.810 --> 00:03:10.000 the kingdom to Israel? He replied, it is not 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.039 for you to know the times or periods that the 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:14.599 Father has set by his own authority, but you 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:16.719 will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:19.879 upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:22.300 and Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth. 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:25.560 When he had said this, as they were watching, 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.680 he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of 00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:32.400 their sight. While he was going, and they were 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.280 gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.280 white robes stood by them. They said, Men of 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:41.479 Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:45.379 This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:48.300 heaven, will come in the same way as you saw 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:53.840 him go into heaven. Let us pray. God of every 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:57.500 tongue, every tribe, every color, every nation, 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:01.620 we thank you that the scriptures have persisted 00:04:01.620 --> 00:04:05.000 throughout the millennia. That we still have 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:07.960 them to read, to consider, to learn from. And 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:10.060 whatever you have to teach us today, I pray that 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:12.979 it would stick. That it would become a part of 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:15.699 the framework of our faith. As our faith becomes 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:18.480 stronger, as we become more like your son, Jesus. 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:29.339 Amen. You may have a seat. What goes up has promised 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:34.319 to come back. Now, some people get a little hung 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:38.160 up on what that return means or what that return 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.639 will look like. But outside of the apocalyptic 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:44.420 vision from John in the book of Revelation, we 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:47.319 don't have all that many passages that tell us 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.319 what it would look like or even speak to it directly. 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:52.639 We have the angel saying that he will return 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.480 the same way that he left. We have Paul mentioning 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.319 being caught up in the clouds. And we have Jesus 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:01.160 saying that only the Father knows when this... 00:05:01.629 --> 00:05:07.069 might happen. So, will he descend? The angel 00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:08.730 said, he'll descend, he'll come back the same 00:05:08.730 --> 00:05:10.730 way he left. Does that mean that he'll descend 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:14.490 on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem? Does it 00:05:14.490 --> 00:05:17.329 mean that he'll come down on a literal cloud? 00:05:18.670 --> 00:05:21.490 Does it mean that faithful followers of his will 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:24.649 be standing around watching and see it happen? 00:05:25.009 --> 00:05:31.370 We do not know the specifics. And even though 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:34.569 the scriptures say that every eye will see this 00:05:34.569 --> 00:05:37.629 happen, we do not know if that is literal or 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:39.930 figurative. Is it physical? Is it spiritual? 00:05:39.970 --> 00:05:42.529 Because if he descends onto the Mount of Olives 00:05:42.529 --> 00:05:46.029 the same exact way that he left, I don't know 00:05:46.029 --> 00:05:48.230 if you noticed or not, but we here in this room 00:05:48.230 --> 00:05:52.889 cannot see the Mount of Olives from here. And 00:05:52.889 --> 00:05:55.750 I think that our eyes would be counted in the 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:59.310 context of every eye. We'll see. Of course, I 00:05:59.310 --> 00:06:00.689 suppose someone could be standing there live 00:06:00.689 --> 00:06:03.709 streaming it, and therefore everyone could see 00:06:03.709 --> 00:06:06.550 it all at once. Or will every part of the world 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:10.129 just miraculously see him at once because his 00:06:10.129 --> 00:06:13.490 presence will be omnipresent? But then when you 00:06:13.490 --> 00:06:15.649 read the scriptures about him coming back, he 00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:18.490 will come back with a bodily form. And we think, 00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:21.009 oh, well, a bodily form exists in one place in 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:23.850 one time. See, the creed doesn't try to explain 00:06:23.850 --> 00:06:27.589 all the details. The creed is trying to remind 00:06:27.589 --> 00:06:30.550 us that we don't only have past beliefs about 00:06:30.550 --> 00:06:34.050 Jesus, but that we have a future hope of his 00:06:34.050 --> 00:06:39.430 return. Of course, that hope can be clouded by 00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:43.050 our definition of terms. The creed says that 00:06:43.050 --> 00:06:48.129 he will return to do what? To judge the living 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:53.089 and the dead. Maybe the concept of judgment makes 00:06:53.089 --> 00:06:57.089 some of us nervous. Because we hear judgment, 00:06:57.290 --> 00:07:04.170 we think of Judge Judy. She's kind of harsh. 00:07:04.430 --> 00:07:06.889 Y 'all, you know this. There's a TikTok trend 00:07:06.889 --> 00:07:09.810 right now. I don't watch TikTok. I'm old, so 00:07:09.810 --> 00:07:11.889 I see the TikTok videos after they made it to 00:07:11.889 --> 00:07:13.389 Instagram and then finally made it to Facebook. 00:07:15.949 --> 00:07:18.050 Thanks. You're keeping up that Gary energy. I 00:07:18.050 --> 00:07:23.620 appreciate that. There's this new trend where 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:26.319 people will like be in really bad lighting so 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:28.899 their face is really stark and they're mouthing 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:32.860 the words to Judge Judy. And it's really funny. 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:36.519 It's really, really funny because she's so, she's 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:39.360 just poking people as hard as she possibly can. 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:42.000 When we hear judgment, we think of things like 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.720 that. We think of punishment. We think of things 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:48.439 like prison. But listen to what the theologian 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:50.839 N .T. Wright. has to say about this. He says, 00:07:50.860 --> 00:07:53.620 the word judgment carries negative overtones 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:55.560 for many people in our world, but the ancient 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.279 Jews and the early Christians saw God's judgment 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:02.639 as a wonderful thing, something to be celebrated, 00:08:02.819 --> 00:08:06.939 longed for, yearned over. It meant that the one 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:13.339 true God would set the world right, would straighten 00:08:13.339 --> 00:08:19.990 it out, would bring justice and peace once. And 00:08:19.990 --> 00:08:23.449 for all. I remember when I was a kid, I don't 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:25.629 remember how old I was, maybe my dad could tell 00:08:25.629 --> 00:08:29.350 me, because my dad took us on a trip to go to 00:08:29.350 --> 00:08:32.429 a Cubs game in Chicago. And back in those days, 00:08:32.450 --> 00:08:36.649 we had a 1982 Buick LeSabre. And we were on the 00:08:36.649 --> 00:08:39.509 highways and we hit one of these exits where 00:08:39.509 --> 00:08:43.639 it was like one of those long... slow right turns 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:47.080 that got you onto the next highway. And I remember 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:49.039 my dad driving and he goes, hey, watch this. 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:54.120 And he let go of the wheel while we were on the 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:59.820 ramp. And it just stayed on the ramp. Because 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:05.500 the alignment was so bad on this Buick at that 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:08.179 time. That he knew he could let go and it would 00:09:08.179 --> 00:09:14.799 just keep curving to the right. Biblical judgment 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:18.500 is a mechanic fixing the alignment on an 82 Buick. 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:22.679 It's putting on new tires if they've been worn 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:27.320 down from the alignment being bad. It's fixing 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:31.120 the suspension if the tires won't sit level anymore. 00:09:32.460 --> 00:09:35.750 It's making... that Buick like it just rolled 00:09:35.750 --> 00:09:41.590 off the line. Judgment is making what has gone 00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:50.169 wrong right. And if that is how you learn to 00:09:50.169 --> 00:09:54.450 think about judgment, first of all, you'll see 00:09:54.450 --> 00:09:57.169 that almost nothing we call justice or judgment 00:09:57.169 --> 00:10:02.950 today lives up to that kind of judgment. And 00:10:02.950 --> 00:10:07.059 then, If you go back and you read the Gospels 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:10.259 and you look at the way that Jesus taught, the 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:13.039 way that he healed and confronted and forgave, 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:19.740 he was already setting things right. He said, 00:10:19.779 --> 00:10:25.240 you have heard it said, but I say. He was judging 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:28.940 what was broken and working to restore it to 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:33.110 what it was meant. Judgment is not something 00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:38.230 to fear. Judgment is something to eagerly await. 00:10:46.090 --> 00:10:49.730 Now, another important part about studying something 00:10:49.730 --> 00:10:58.289 like the creed is admitting that the creed is 00:10:58.289 --> 00:11:04.360 not Talking about things that we know. The creed 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:09.360 is talking about things that we believe. See, 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:13.799 the creed... Anyone sitting in this room has 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:16.059 been brought up in a very modern environment 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:18.860 where you need to know things for sure. Facts 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:22.059 must be facts. They must be provable. The creed 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:25.279 isn't a statement of facts, though. The creed 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.240 isn't telling us what we... No, the creed is 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:32.559 reminding us of what we believe. And there was 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:37.480 great wisdom in the framers and authors of the 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:40.480 creed to choose to have a statement that says, 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:44.600 I believe, instead of saying, I know. It doesn't 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:48.259 say, I know that God the Father is creator of 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:51.259 heaven and earth. It says, I believe in God the 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:55.600 Father, creator of heaven and earth. Glenn Packham 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.460 said this about the creed. and belief. It doesn't 00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:02.559 say, I know. It says, I believe. And I believe 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:07.399 requires a posture of humility. It's not subjectivity 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.899 and it's not certainty. It's the humility of 00:12:10.899 --> 00:12:14.519 saying, I believe. He goes on and he says, when 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:16.679 Jesus says in the gospels that you have to have 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:19.340 faith of a child, he's not talking about naivete. 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:24.279 The faith of a child is not naivete. It is humility. 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:28.139 So when we say the words of the creed, we say 00:12:28.139 --> 00:12:31.659 them with humility. We are entering the great 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:35.100 mystery of the faith. We're saying that I cannot 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:41.940 define you, but I can confess you. It reminds 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:44.539 me of a quote from another author, Madeline L 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:47.000 'Engle. You probably know her from A Wrinkle 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.539 in Time. But in a book called The Rock That Is 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:53.559 Higher, she said, Faith is for the part of the 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:57.320 story that superficially isn't believable. Virgin 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:02.399 births, miracles, resurrections, it's unrealistic. 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:08.460 That's childish. Or is it maybe not so much childish 00:13:08.460 --> 00:13:13.879 as child -hearted? The framers of the creed were 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:16.620 wise enough to piece together ideas that answered 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:19.379 the heresies of their day, and they were humble 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:24.690 enough. Childlike enough to say we do not know, 00:13:24.850 --> 00:13:32.470 but we believe. And the difference matters. Because 00:13:32.470 --> 00:13:36.690 reason tells me that there is no such thing as 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:41.529 a kingdom that can have no end. Every kingdom 00:13:41.529 --> 00:13:45.090 on earth has fallen, yes? Every kingdom, every 00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:48.220 empire on earth. that currently will not have 00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:51.860 the level of power that it has had. Egypt, Babylon, 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:55.659 Rome, Britain, by some measures, America is already 00:13:55.659 --> 00:14:01.440 failing. Empires are like milk. They have an 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:06.379 expiration date. Milk is good until it's not. 00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:15.179 Because when it turns, it turns. Reason. Facts 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:19.379 alone, logic, they all tell me that Jesus will 00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:23.620 not return. Because it's been 2 ,000 years, and 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:25.940 the people that wrote these scriptures thought 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:30.179 Jesus was coming back in their lifetime. Reason 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:34.799 alone, logic alone, leads me to believe something 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:39.080 else. And even if Jesus does return, history 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:41.460 has proved to me that there is no such thing 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:47.809 as a kingdom that has no end. It is faith that 00:14:47.809 --> 00:14:50.549 tells me that Jesus will make all things new. 00:14:51.149 --> 00:14:54.830 It is faith that tells me that Jesus will set 00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:58.429 all things right. It is faith that tells me that 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:03.090 the goodness of his kingdom will have no end. 00:15:04.889 --> 00:15:10.330 It is faith that tells me that what goes up will 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:16.460 come back down. So what do we do with that? Well, 00:15:16.460 --> 00:15:19.899 first of all, we don't stare at the sky waiting 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:25.279 for the clouds to open. And we don't sit around 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:29.620 waiting to die and go to heaven. Again, N .T. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:31.960 Wright said, the good news is not that we get 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:35.039 to go to heaven when we die, but that heaven's 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:39.879 rule has begun on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:41.700 taught his disciples something really important 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:43.659 that we've been praying at the end of every service 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:46.080 for the last couple of months. He said, your 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:52.350 will be done on earth as it is in heaven. They 00:15:52.350 --> 00:15:55.649 were meant to act out in the world what they 00:15:55.649 --> 00:16:01.149 believed was the reality of heaven. Immediately. 00:16:04.210 --> 00:16:06.809 They were not supposed to sit on their hands 00:16:06.809 --> 00:16:10.250 and wait for Jesus' return so that he could do 00:16:10.250 --> 00:16:14.629 all the work. They were meant to act out what 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:18.899 they believed that future reality would be. And 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:22.580 what that future reality is currently presently 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:30.059 being now in heaven. And so we, we are meant 00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:34.220 to live the kingdom that is already beginning. 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:39.559 That is already broken in. With a child being 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:50.539 born in a lowly, humble manger. So every act 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:57.799 of mercy, every hand that we hold, every injustice 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:01.879 confronted, every wrong made right, every table 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:05.180 flipped and every table set to feed the hungry, 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:10.460 these are the signs that the kingdom has already 00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:15.539 broken in. They are the signs that we are approaching 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.779 the day that Jesus will make all things right. 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:26.180 There are different eschatological concepts. 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.180 Eschatology is the theological structure of end 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:33.460 times. Some people believe that it all has to 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:35.500 get worse and worse and worse and worse and worse 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:40.180 before Jesus comes back. I'm in the camp where 00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:42.019 Jesus is telling us we're supposed to be trying 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:48.119 to make it better. How about when he returns, 00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:57.000 he has less work to do? That we act out what 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:03.259 we believe. That we, when we pray, thy kingdom 00:18:03.259 --> 00:18:08.420 come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:16.480 That we mean it. Because if we believe that Jesus 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:21.099 will return, that should and that will shape 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:27.069 how we live with that hope. every day until we 00:18:27.069 --> 00:18:38.069 see him. Amen? Let us pray. Jesus, we eagerly 00:18:38.069 --> 00:18:42.430 await your return. There are days where I see 00:18:42.430 --> 00:18:44.490 what is happening in the world and the only words 00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:49.349 I have are, come Lord Jesus, come. Your Holy 00:18:49.349 --> 00:18:54.420 Spirit reminds us. That those are the moments 00:18:54.420 --> 00:19:01.579 that you are asking us to act, to care, to hold 00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:06.740 hands, to set tables. Amen.