Gauging Your Grief-1

GAUGING YOUR GRIEF-I—1Thessalonians 4:13—15:11

Grief Set Free—Grief Relief—Grief as a Gauge of Godliness

Need:

Grief over the loss of other brothers & sisters in Christ can be a gauge of your relationship with God.

Paul explained that Grief, for the Thessalonian Christians, was qualitatively different from that of unbelievers.

Grief is a gauge/measure of spirituality.

How is grief a gauge of spirituality?

1—Grief is a gauge of godliness when...

It CHALLENGES OTHERS(:13)

Explanation:(:13)

:13—“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.”

*The way Christians grieve offers a challenge to those without Christ & those who’s faith is nominal!

“Uninformed/Ignorant”—??????—To be ignorant, not to know; Not to understand, unknown; To err or sin through mistake, to be wrong.

—Christians can be either informed or ignorant. Removal of ignorance directly influences the manner in which one grieves. It directly influences one’s grasp of the eternal nature of those who have died professing Christ.

“Asleep”—??????—To cause to sleep, put to sleep; Metaph.—To still, calm, quiet—To fall asleep, to sleep—To die.

“Grieve/Sorrow”—?????—To make sorrowful; To affect with sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow; To grieve, offend; To make one uneasy, cause him a scruple.

“The rest”—

—People are ultimately classed in two categories....Christians & “the rest”(non-Christians). Christians have hope. Non-Christians have no hope.

*The true challenge—Directed toward those without hope.

“Who have no hope”—No eternal assurance

—Christians are called to & sustained in a grief that is cushioned & tempered by “hope” which the world does not have apart from mere pretense.

Argumentation:

1Pet. 3:14-16—“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness & reverence; & keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

*Grief forces us to “give an account for the hope tha is in” us!

Illustration:

Lawns/Well-landscaped-kept/CHALLENGE to OTHERS

Work ethic/CHALLENGE to OTHERS

Christian funeral/Character is one of remembrance as well as eternal joy/A CHALLENGE to OTHERS without it!

RA Racer meet/Design is a CHALLENGE to OTHERS

Application:

?Your grief offer a CHALLENGE to others?

?How is your grief a gauge of godliness?

2—Grief is a gauge of godliness when...

It Emulates RESURRECTION(:14)

Explanation:(:14) Logical/Obvious

:14—“For if we believe that Jesus died & rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

“Bring with”—In like manner as He.

Argumentation:

1Jn. 3:2-3—“Beloved, now we are children of God, & it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

1Cor. 15:12-19—“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; & if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; & if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

Illustration:

Our new car/Ordered it knowing that all others would be made the same/Manufacturer EMULATEs designers communications-recomendations/EMULATES RESURRECTION—Reality of current(living) conditions

Application:

?Your grief EMULATE Jesus?

?How is your grief a gauge of godliness?

3—Grief is a gauge of godliness when...

It Produces IRRESISTIBILITY(:15-17)

Explanation:(:15-17) Dispensates/Orders/Dispenses/Is Irresistible

:15—“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, & remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

“Precede/Prevent”—?????—To come before, precede, anticipate; To come to, arrive at; To reach, attain to.

:16—“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, & with the trumpet of God; & the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

“Shout”—???????—An order, command, spec. a stimulating cry, either that by which animals are roused & urged on by man, as horses by charioteers, hounds by hunters, etc., or that by which a signal is given to men, e.g. to rowers by the master of a ship, to soldiers by a commander (with a loud summons, a trumpet call).