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).
“Archangel”—??????????—Archangel, or chief of the angels.
“Trumpet of God”—Harbinger/Announcement of God’s action.
1Cor. 15:51-53—“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, & the dead will be raised imperishable, & we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, & this mortal must put on immortality.”
At a later time(End of the Tribulation) a similar action will occur.....
Mat. 24:29-31—““But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, & the powers of the heavens will be shaken, & then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, & then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, & they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power & great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET & THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
:17—“Then we who are alive & remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, & thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
“Caught up”—??????—To seize, carry off by force; To seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly; To snatch out or away.
*An Irresistible/Involuntary event—We will have no power over whether we are taken or not. That will have been determined by our acceptance or the lack thereof of Jesus as Lord.
“In the Air”—Headed for heaven
“Always”—???????—At all times, always, ever.
Argumentation:
Right of way/passage—They have lived their lives in Christ fully until death. We who are alive & remain thus must rightly take second place.
You concerned about possibly missing the rapture—heaven... Rev. 3:5, 10—“‘He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; & I will not erase his name from the book of life, & I will confess his name before My Father, & before His angels.”....“‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.”
1Cor. 15:20-25—“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God & Father, when He has abolished all rule & all authority & power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.”
Illustration:
Atlanta I-85 traffic/In right or wrong lane/Your direction & speed PRODUCES IRRESISTIBILITY!
In the current of a river as an actual part of water/Go where current takes us/Boat on surface can’t do this/PRODUCES IRRESISTIBILITY
Weed eater/Line all curled up around spool/Starts spinning & naturally extends to cut/PRODUCES IRRESISTIBILITY
Our dogs/Excited & bark/Their tails naturally extend straight out/PRODUCES IRRESISTIBILITY
Application:
?Your grief make God’s order IRRESISTIBLE to others?
?How is your grief a gauge of godliness?
4—Grief is a gauge of godliness when...
It ERADICATES FEAR(:18)
Explanation:(:18)
:18—“Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
“Comfort”—?????????—To call to one’s side, call for, summon; To address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.
Argumentation:
1Jn. 4:16-18—“And we have come to know & have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, & the one who abides in love abides in God, & God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, & the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
Illustration:
Matthew mowing/Afraid of wasp nest on elephant ears/Wasp & hornet killer/Matthew no longer afraid to mow that part of the yard/ERADICATES FEAR
Application:
?Your grief ERADICATE fear in others?
?How is your grief a gauge of godliness?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Grief is a gauge of godliness when it...
CHALLENGES OTHERS(:13)
EMULATES RESURRECTION(:14)
PRODUCES IRRESISTIBILITY(:15-17)
ERADICATES FEAR(:18)
Presented 03/07/04am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
