> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.belonging.house/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Ascension of Jesus is not the end, it's the Point. - URL: https://www.belonging.house/the-ascension-of-jesus-is-not-the/ - Published: 2026-05-18T10:21:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-25T00:49:38.000Z - Description: This is why real Christianity works. - Author: Christ John Otto - Tags: Podcast, #Migrated-1784940061448, #Import 2026-07-25 00:49 The Ascension of Jesus is not the end, it's the Point. 0:00 /200 1× Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedWait in the city until you receive power from on high. Simon Sinek once said that great leaders lead from their "why." I once worked for an art company that gave the staff random directions but never told us what we were doing or why we were doing it. And I recall the directions were always in bits, one task at a time. They never told us what the goal was or why we were doing it. It was very frustrating, and the end goal always suffered because the staff did not know why or what we were doing. Eventually I quit. The Ascension of Jesus is a bit mysterious, and even some of the prayers that are appointed for this day are almost apologetic about the ending of Jesus life on earth. Jesus ascended not to get out of here, but to fully accomplish his mission. His ascension into heaven is just as important as taking on flesh, dying on the cross, and rising from the tomb. Jesus tells us in many places, but most notably in John chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen why he is going to ascend into heaven. He is going away, so that he is no longer limited by the finite restrictions of space and time. He is going away so that we can receive the Holy Spirit. And the disciples are told not to do anything until they receive the Holy Spirit. And this is very important, because the last instructions he gives them are this: “Go into all the world and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” You cannot do this job without the Holy Spirit. This is the "why." The Ascension of Jesus is the reason real Christianity works. And we are given evidence that Jesus himself believed the ascension was the whole point of his mission. In Daniel 7: 13 we are given a cryptic vision. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Throughout his ministry, Jesus refers only to himself as the Son of Man. He is referring to Daniel 7:13. He is the one Daniel saw, and throughout his ministry, Jesus was indicating to us that he is the one who will appear before the Father and he is the one who will receive the nations as his own inheritance. At the beginning of Acts Jesus walks into a cloud, and on the other side he stands before the Ancient of Days. This act of returning to the Father is the ultimate act of victory. Jesus, a man in the flesh, has now entered the realm of the spirit. By being outside time and this created order, he can now be in all places at all times. And because he has lived in this created order, he can rightly judge and understand your human experience. And because Jesus is in the Holy Spirit, and the spirit of Jesus lives in us, by the Holy Spirit we are in him. He is in us. This is the simple but mysterious reason that we are seated with him in heavenly places, and the kingdom of heaven is in our being. It is all by the Person, Presence, and Power of the Holy Spirit. Many Western Christians struggle with this because we have been heavily influenced by Saint Augustine, who did not understand the Holy Spirit. He tried to reconcile his faith with Greek philosophy, and he made the life in the Holy Spirit very hard to understand and impossible to experience. Western Christians ever since got trapped in their heads. He replaced a Person who is living and active and operating with abstract concepts like "grace" and the impersonal bond of love between the Father and Son, and said that your mental agreement is enough. This began the error of trying to define and analyze things that we were created to experience and participate in. And of course, mental agreement and philosophical definitions are not enough, because you cannot experience them. The Holy Spirit is a Person, not a vague concept. So Jesus gave the disciples the direction, wait for power from on high. This power was to make disciples. Jesus said, that if he went away, we would be with him. How? He has gone away, and because the same Spirit of God in him is in us, we are with him. Leanne Payne put it beautifully, No matter how sick or broken you are, there is always a place deep inside of you that is whole. That place is where Jesus is. Graham Cooke put it this way: Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit is in you. And if Jesus is in you, then all the things that Jesus is are in you. So, Jesus Christ is the most powerful person in the Universe. Jesus Christ is the richest person in the Universe. Jesus Christ is the kindest person in the Universe. Jesus Christ is the most loving person in the Universe. And on and on. If you need to be kind, you simply say, "Jesus you are in me, and you are kind. I am not kind, so I am going to get out of the way and let you be kind through me." And then the Kindness of God manifests. And if you are in the Kingdom of God, God is going to give you impossible job descriptions. You are not instructed to figure it out, and do it from a worldly perspective, and then ask God to bless it. Everything in the Kingdom of God is about relationship. Jesus did not ascend into heaven to leave us to our own devices. He ascended into heaven so that through the Holy Spirit he could be not only close but inside us. And this is Christianity. You are not a follower of Jesus trying to read the Bible and figure out what would Jesus do. No. You are a little Christ. If you are born again by water and the Holy Spirit, Jesus has now taken residence inside of you. Jesus is abiding in you, and so you can agree with him. And when you do this, you become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, if you live a life of surrender to him, will live in you. And so Paul will say the mystery is Christ in you the Hope of glory. He says we have the mind of Christ. He says his power is manifested in our weakness. We are woven into the fabric of the Holy Trinity. All of this is possible because Jesus ascended. This is the victory of the Incarnation, the victory of the cross, and the victory of the Resurrection. Heaven is not off out there. Heaven is here, right now. And all the great saints understood this. Many of those who were wonder workers describe "going up" and then coming down with the grace to heal. Others describe the reality that when you are in Jesus you are bigger on the inside than you are on the outside. And many describe having access to the resources of heaven because they are aware of the presence of Jesus in them. It is this Presence, of Jesus in you, that is the life in the Holy Spirit. Jesus went away, ascended on high, and is now seated with the Father. And because of the Holy Spirit we are seated in him and with him. Our calling is to surrender to this reality, Christ in us. Where he is we shall go. And by the Presence of the Holy Spirit, we are given a foretaste and a pledge of it, now. This reality, and this pledge are not for you and your experience. And this is the most important part. John’s gospel describes the work of the Holy Spirit as a flow of water. Jesus ascended so that the whole world could come into his kingdom. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive this flow and you are not intended to become a pond that keeps getting more, but it never goes out. A pond begins to get stagnant. You are called to become a lake and a river. The life giving flow becomes a source of power just like Niagara Falls. The Falls generate so much power that New York City, Toronto, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Chicago all get power from it. All of this is available when we wait on Jesus and sit with him and learn to let the power flow through us. Waiting on God like the disciples did in the upper room is a ministry of active receiving. You are being welcomed into ministry of the Holy Trinity. And when this happens, you are given power from on high to do great things for God. These great things are what God uses to make disciples. And that’s the point. We are being transformed into the image of Jesus so that we can be Jesus on this earth. And when we do this others are drawn and they too want to be like Jesus. Everyone wants a king like Jesus, and this is how it happens. Wait in the city, until you receive power from on high. --- Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedThanks for reading my work. If it encourages you, share it with others, and consider supporting me at buymeacoffee.com/christjohnotto. Follow the link below to find out more. I have written 12 books of theology for artists, just search my name. Shalom.