Marks Of A Mighty Church (Part 4) Series

Marks of a Mighty Church (Part 4)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 9/6/2015

A novice preacher auditioned at a small country church. He was a little nervous, and about ten minutes into his sermon his mind went blank. But he recalled what his homiletics professor taught him to do in a situation like that—simply, repeat your last statement, with emphasis. This avoids awkward silences and helps jog your memory. So stepping to the side of the pulpit, the preacher repeated himself, “Behold, I come quickly.” Still his mind was blank. So he walked briskly to the other side of the pulpit and repeated again, “Behold I come quickly.” Just then, he tripped over a microphone cord, stumbled down the steps, and fell into the lap of a little old lady in the front row. The young preacher turned bright red and apologized sheepishly. “That’s alright, young man,” said the little old lady. “It was my fault. You told me three times that you were coming.”

Jesus has likewise assured us more than once that he’s coming. The Second Coming of Christ was something to which the Thessalonian church eagerly looked forward. The church in Thessalonica was an exemplary church. In chapter 4, Paul praises the church for avoiding lust, adopting love, and applauding labor. In chapters 2-3, he describes them as a scriptural church, a suffering church, and a strong church. And back in chapter 1, Paul praises them for being an energetic church, an elect church, an evangelistic church, and an expectant church. They were an expectant church because they were eagerly “looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven” (1 Thessalonians 1:10 NLT).

The second half of chapter 4 and the first half of chapter 5 expand on that idea. Paul explains what exactly the Thessalonians had to look forward to, and what Mighty Churches of every generation can still look forward to today. Let’s read this passage together.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT)

In this passage, Paul identifies four elements of the Second Coming that mighty Christians can anticipate. First, a mighty church can anticipate Christ’s return.

• RETURN

I ran across this news from Austin, Texas recently:

The headline read: MAN EXPERIENCES HEART ATTACK AFTER THE RAPTURE. Herbert Washington, whom co-workers at Significant Plastics Inc. say was unduly concerned with the rapture and the second coming of Christ, suffered a serious heart attack when co-workers pretended they’d been caught away without him.

Last Tuesday, they laid work outfits on their chairs and hid in a supply room, and when Herbert came back from the restroom, he thought the rapture had occurred. The janitor, an outspoken Muslim, pretended to have witnessed everyone disappear and ran around the office feigning panic. Herbert fell to the ground clutching his heart and screaming, "I knew you’d forget me, Jesus!” The poor guy underwent bypass surgery and is recovering well. His wife says he’s reading his Bible more than ever.

While it may make for entertaining movies and heart-stopping pranks, the reality is—the Bible never speaks of a secret rapture where faithful Christians disappear while unbelievers are left behind. Rather, Paul tells us, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God” (4:16 NLT). Revelations adds, “Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him” (Revelation 1:7 NLT).

Just imagine you are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the game you want to see or meal you want to eat, when suddenly a sound unlike any you’ve ever heard fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don’t know, but you want to know. So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren’t the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open, and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the clouds.