The Day of New Beginnings

How Do We Ascend

 

Much has come over the last couple of years concerning our ascension into God. The Lord has shown us that we are not to relate to Him horizontally, or along a time line. This means we are not to look to God to bring fulfillment some time in the future, but to ascend spiritually until we reach the realm where fulfillment can take place. All our spiritual growth and progress comes in this manner. Now, the question might be asked, “How do we ascend spiritually? There are no magic formulas. There are no secret mechanics that can be applied. Even our diligence to read the Scriptures, pray, and meditate on the Lord, cannot fully get the job done. There is no substitute for the one needful thing. 
 
John 12:
23* And Jesus *answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
 24* "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
 25* "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
 26* "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
 
Jesus is speaking here of the cross. Ironically, like so many other principles in the realm of spirit, we must go the opposite way to get to where we are going. If we want to ascend, we must first descend. Unless we fall into the earth and die, we can’t ascend into the heavens. Jesus said in verse 26, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me.” Where was Jesus going at that particular time? He was on His way to the cross. If we are to be the true servants of the Lord, we must follow Him. 
 
John 13:
33* "Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.'
 
36* ¶ Simon Peter *said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later."
 37* Peter *said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You."
 38* Jesus *answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.
 
Peter was not prepared at that time to follow Jesus. The Lord told him, “You will follow later.” The time would come when the cross was worked into Peter’s life and he would then ascend spiritually to be with the Lord. 
 
John 14:
1* ¶ "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
 2* "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
 3* "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
 4* ¶ "And you know the way where I am going."
 5* Thomas *said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"
 6* Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
 
Jesus told His disciples He was going to prepare a place for them and that where He was they would be also. He was speaking of a spiritual abiding place. In verse four He says, “And you know the way where I am going.” Again, he was speaking of the cross. 
 
Eph. 4:
8* Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN."
 9* (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
 10* He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
 
Before Jesus ascended, He descended. This isn’t just an historical fact, but a spiritual principle that operates continuously in our lives if we allow it. Our walk with God should be a continual process of ascending into Him. We are to move from glory to glory (2nd Cor. 3:18). Each time we ascend higher in the Lord, it’s because we have first descended. We have embraced the cross. 
 
In a sense, we are just now learning what the cross means. We have all had our trials and tribulations, etc., but they are not exactly the same thing as the cross experience the Lord is now applying. He is moving at this time to reveal to us the utter depravity of our flesh natures. There is a dying to self beyond what we have understood in the past. Let’s look at Eph. 4:9 again:
 
9* (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
 
As we open our hearts to the Lord in this realm, He will continually descend into the lower parts of our earth. He will descend to stir up and confront all that is hidden within us. As we yield to the Lord’s descending within us, He will ascend, bringing us up with Him into a higher realm. This is the means by which we vertically arise to sit with Him in heavenly places. 
 
I believe this is the next great step for Christianity. There is an experiencing of the cross that must come to all of God’s people. You can throw a rock today and hit someone preaching about the blessings the Lord wants us to have. Great and glorious doctrines of sonship, of ruling and reigning with Christ, etc. are currently being preached. But the revelation of the cross is always left out. Thus all the revelation being taught becomes error. It’s error because it leads people to have an unrealistic expectation of the Lord. How many Christians today walk disillusioned because God has not done for them what they expected? Christians are constantly being told how God wants to bless them. But more often than not, the blessings never materialize. There is no substitute for His cross operating within us. If we want to ascend to be with Him where He is, to bear the fruit Jesus spoke of in our beginning text, to reap the blessings promised, we must first descend. The cross is death to our flesh natures, but it is righteousness and peace and joy to our spirits (Rom. 14:17).