Message: "The Blessed Hope"
1 Thess. 4:13-18
The late Evangelist D.L. Moody once made this statement: "One day you will hear that D.L. Moody is dead, but don’t you believe a word of it. For on that day I will be more alive than I ever have been."
As we gather today to pay our final respects to Eva Mae Paul, we must cast our gaze on the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus Christ, and take comfort and have confidence in the words we read in the Bible...
In this portion of scripture that we just read, the Thessalonian people were wondering what was happening to those loved ones who had died. There was a fear that they would never see them again, and that they would miss out on the return of Jesus Christ...
Paul spoke those powerful words that we hear so often concerning the Hope that we as Christians have...
I want to briefly look at three different aspects of this Hope today, realizing that we can take comfort in the words of the Bible on occasions like this...
Paul said in vs. 13 that he wanted them to know that those who had fallen asleep in Christ would rise again one day in victory over the sting of death, hell and the grave...
I believe that Paul was telling them that this Hope is
I. A Confident Hope
As Christians of course we are going to grieve the loss of our loved ones because there is that sense of loss and brokenness of fellowship that was enjoyed...
There was a confidence and an assurance that God had everything in control...
Paul said that though we may feel sorrow, we don’t feel sorrow as the world feels it, because we will see our loved ones again in a land far greater than the one we tread on now...
Christianity draws the sting of Hopelessness from sorrow, though it cannot destroy that sorrow...
We must grieve, but we must also Hope! 1 Cor. 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
This is the confidence that you and I have who love God, and that is that one day we will see those who have passed on in the Lord...
This is the Hope that fills the heart of a grandchild for the departed grandmother... this is the hope that so many of you feel today for that loved one waiting on the hills of glory till we arrive there...
This world cannot give this Confident Hope that only comes through a knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior...
We must know today that there is more to this life than what we can see with our physical eyes, or touch with our hands, or hear with our ears.
There is an eternity that each one of us needs to be prepared for, and God has given us this life to get ready for either an endless heaven, or an endless hell.
In this world, I believe that as Christians, we can still have a confidence and assurance that God is in control, and nothing happens to us that does not sift through His loving hands first.
While things seem so unstable all around us, and in places around the world, Jesus Christ is still the same, yesterday, and forever.
Not only is this a Confident Hope, but it is also
II. A Continual Hope
1 John 2:28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
John was telling the church to continue in the Lord until His coming...
"Keep on serving God, don’t give up! Don’t lose hope! Don’t let anything hinder or distract you on your journey to heaven!
There is a song that we used to sing in church that says,
"I wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now, gotta make it to heaven somehow, though the Devil tempt me and he tries to turn me around"
Philip. 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
One thing that death does is bring every one of us to a realization of how mortal and temporary our lives really are...
Today is a day that you can make up your mind that you are going to continue in this blessed Hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ while not allowing anything, or anyone to keep you back from giving your all to Him...
This is a race that must be run to the end with endurance and effort and determination, and yes even a little bit of blood, sweat and tears at times...
We may at times feel a bit battered and bruised, and beaten by the storms of life, but my mind goes to a song that says, "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ, one glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase, so bravely run the race, till we see Christ."
The only time we can give up, is when we go up! vs. 16, 17
Continue in the Hope that you know and become better, instead of bitter!
Not only do we have a Hope that is Confident, and a Hope that is Continual, but we also have
III. A Hope That is Comforting
A child of God who was seriously ill and lacked assurance of
salvation said to his physician, "Doctor, although I’m a Christian, I’m afraid to die. Exactly what happens to us in the hour of death?" The surgeon, who was also a believer, thought for a moment and then replied, "I’m afraid I can’t give you an exact answer to that question!" As he walked across the room to leave, he desperately wished he could say something comforting. Pausing briefly before opening the door, he heard the sound of scratching and whining on the
other side. Suddenly he realized that he had left his car window open and his little dog had jumped out. With the patient’s permission he let in his pet poodle who leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. In a flash the doctor’s mind was awakened to a scriptural truth he had never before put into words. Turning to the sick man, he said, "Did you see how my dog acted? He’s never been in this room before. He had no idea what was inside; yet when I opened the door,
he sprang in without fear, for he knew his master was here! As
Christians we have not been told about the glories that await us on the other side of death. But one thing we do know; our Master is there, and that is enough!
Paul tells the Thessalonians in vs. 18 to stop worrying about your loved ones, and comfort yourselves with these beautiful words...
One day the mighty trumpet of God will sound, and the dead will burst from their graves before you and I even leave the ground, then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the Air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
What a comfort! What a joy!
This world cannot offer any answer that can comfort the soul in a time like this....
Christians need to remember 2 Cor. 5:8 "That to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
Victor Hugo once wrote: When I go down to the grave I can say, like so many others: I have finished my work, but I cannot say I have finished my life. My day’s work will begin the next morning. My tomb is not a blind alley. It is a
thoroughfare. It closes in the twilight to open in the dawn.
The glory that awaits the Christian is truly a comforting thought...
Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
While the world mocks the Christian we can say we’ve read the end of the book, and "we win". Even in death, we win! Don’t lose hope!
True comfort comes through knowing Jesus Christ as savior and Lord...
One day we will all as individuals stand before our Creator God and give an account for what we have done with Jesus Christ...
We cannot have the comfort of Christianity until we know the Christ of Christianity....
Are you sure today of your Salvation?
