Titus 2:11-13 "THE BEST IS JUST AHEAD" 5-4-13
Today I want to bring a few thoughts to do with the believers blessed hope.
* Listen as I read today's text found in;
Titus 2:11-13
11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; --
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These verses teach us that God's grace should cause us to make a determined effort to deny ungodliness and worldly lust and to live sober-minded, to maintain self control, not to yield to the old man; we that are saved should never think that we are beyond the many temptations of the world and that our old sinful nature is now gone.
We need to ask God to forgive us of our sins every day, not to save us again but to cleanse us of our daily sins.
~ Think of it this way, we take a bath every day to wash the day's grime away, so we ought to be cleansed of our sins daily as well.
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* Some one might say, brother Brown, I don't sin now that I'm saved, but we are told that John did, and also Paul said twice in Romans 7: that "sin dwelt in him" --
>>17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
>>20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
* Listen to John ~ Notice; John says "we, us, ourselves, our, 14 times, John included himself.
>>1 John 1: 8- 10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
~ I don't believe John had to be saved again, salvation is a one time settled bible fact, God has some children that are obedient and some of His children are not so obedient.
* Why would God chasten His children if we never sinned?
>>Hebrews 12: 5-8 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
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Our walk with Christ after we're saved will determine what reward we'll receive at the Judgment seat of Christ just after the rapture, you've heard me say many times, that I believe what we do for Jesus now, on this side of the rapture will have a Hugh baring on what He'll allow us to do for Him yonder on the other side of the rapture.
>>Ecclesiastes 11: 9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
>> 1 Corinthians 3: 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
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~ We that are saved are here in this world but we're not of this world, we're only sojourners, we're only here for a short time, this world is not our home.
Let's just keep looking up brothers and sisters in Christ, the best is just ahead.
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Also this amazing grace here in our text teaches us to look for that blessed hope.
~ Jesus is coming again and it will be the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, notice Jesus is referred to as GOD.
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* Paul never said that the Lords coming was surely in his life time, as he points out here in;
>>1st. Cor 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
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* We that are saved are looking forward to that glorious day.
II Tim 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
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* Turn in your Bible to 1st Thess. 4:
Before we continue with our thought to do with the rapture let me say that 1st. Thessalonians is said to be the earliest written epistle of the New Testament.
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians from Corinth, Thessalonica was a Roman colony at that time.
~ Timothy had been in Thessalonica for some time, and he saw and knew about the many problems they were having, so he comes to Paul in Corinth and reports to Paul about their many problems, and so this is primarily what caused Paul to write this epistle of 1st. Thessalonians.
Timothy informed Paul how the Thessalonian believers were worried about their friends and loved ones that had already passed away; it seems they were uncertain as to their salvation because of their passing before Jesus returned.
~ In Paul's letter he wants to reassure those who were concerned about the death of some of their fellow believers, Paul wants to encourage the Thessalonian Christians to work and to be busy for Jesus until He does returns.
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* Listen; all five chapters of the 1st. Thessalonian epistle tell about the promised return of Christ, in this letter Paul greatly emphasized Jesus return, he wanted these Thessalonians to rest assured that Jesus was coming back and then the dead in Christ would be raised alive and well.
~~Let me say, Paul, at the end of his life, was still looking for His coming.
Paul believed that the Lord Jesus could come in his lifetime, but he didn't say that He would, but that He could come.
~ The Lords coming is imminent, when we say that the coming of Christ is imminent, we mean that it is approaching or that it is the next event on God's Prophetic calendar, that it could be any time, that it is a certainty.
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* Listen as I give you the verses to do with His coming in each chapter of 1st. Thessalonians. There are 5.
1. 1st. Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
2. 1 Thessalonians 2:19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
3. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
4. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,* (dead in Christ) that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
5. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; * and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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* In Paul's epistles we find other references to the rapture.
>>2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 -- Philippians 3:20-21-- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17-- 1 Corinthians 15:51-52--
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* Listen as I read 1st. Thessalonians 4:13-18 -- in these verses we find the rapture.
13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall 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. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
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~These scriptures fully explain to these troubled Thessalonians exactly what they were worried about.
~~ Listen; the word "RAPTURE" is not found in the Bible, but verse 17 speaks of it, although it's not the same word, it means exactly the same thing.
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~~ Listen; 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: --
I certainly don't know anything about the Greek language; I found all this putting this together.
However I do know a little Greek; he works down at Pete's in Easley.
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The Greek word translated as "caught up" is har-pa-zo. It means "to catch up or grasp hastily, to snatch up, to lift, to transport, or to rapture."
The word, "Rapture" means the same as caught up.
* Listen as I read these verses once more;
>>13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
~ Paul calls these saved Thessalonians "brethren" and he don't want them to be ignorant of the fact that the believers that are asleep in Christ will be raised from their grave at the rapture of the Church, he tells them not to be sorrowful, that these that are asleep in Christ are not like the lost, the deceased sinners have no hope.
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14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Jesus will bring the spirits of the saints back with Him at the rapture and their spirit will unit with their raised glorified body. Remember when the saints died their spirit; their soul goes to where the Lord is, in Paradise.
* Listen, when saved people die their spirit goes immediately to be with the Lord in Paradise, which is in the 3rd heaven according to 2nd Cor.12:2.
Normally their body is buried in a grave, listen, when the Lord gives the shout, "come up hither" as we read in Rev.4:1-- and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither--
~~ Then the bodies of the saints that have been asleep in Christ will come out of the grave in a split second, in the twinkling of an eye.
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>> 1 Corinthians 15: 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
What this means is that there will be saved people alive on earth when the rapture happens.--we shall not all sleep--
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>>52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, --- and we shall be changed.
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At the last trump: This is not the last trumpet of Revelation 11:15 to do with the 7 trumpet judgments, but the last trumpet of 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
This trumpet is to do with the end of the present age. -- Church age--
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Two groups are seen in verse 52- The dead shall be raised incorruptible, --- and we shall be changed:
The term dead refers to those who have died in Christ. --- The term we refer to those who are still living at the time of the Rapture.
~ The word "rapture" implies an immediate translation of believers, including the change of their bodies into a glorified state.
Before any of us can go into His presence, we'll have to be changed.
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* This is the same as we read in 1st. Thess. 4:15
15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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~In other words, the saints that will be alive at the rapture will in no way hinder the saints that have died and gone on, we'll all receive our new bodies at the same instant, the dead saints and the saints that are still alive make up the Church, the Church is one body and it will leave as one body.
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* Listen; as I read verse 16
16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, (I believe the shout from Christ will be "come up hither") with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
* Notice, it's the Lords voice that will be like the voice of an archangel. It is the commanding voice of authority.
* It is the same voice which was heard when He raised Lazarus from the dead.
>> John 11:43- 44 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
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~Have you ever noticed that Lazarus was bound hand and foot when he comes to the door of the tomb? -- We know he came to the door because Jesus told the people to Loose him, and let him go.
~ I personally believe that Lazarus was brought to the door by the Supernatural power of God, because he couldn't walk, he was bound hand and foot.
And neither could he see because we're told -- his face was bound about with a napkin.
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* Once again; in 1st Thess 4:16
16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
~ Every body don't agree as to what this verse is saying, but it seems to me that the voice of the Lord Jesus will shout aloud with great authority the command to "come up hither" -- His shout will be as mighty as an archangel, and His voice will thunder as loudly as "the trump of God"
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* John the Revelator saw in his vision practically the same thing as he sees the glorified Christ.
>>Rev. 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, -- notice the trumpet voice.
12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.
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I don't believe any angel will have a part in this glorious occasion.
-- 16-c-- and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
* Listen; when the Lord calls out His Church "the dead in Christ," meaning, them that are buried in the grave, shall rise first. -- Understand that this will happen so fast the natural eye would never notice it.
~~Just say that if you or I should be standing at our loved ones grave side and the shout from the Lord to come up hither goes forth, the bodies of the saints will come forth united with their spirit that the Lord will bring with Him. They will be glorified bodies, not the old corrupt bodies that were buried. *** The souls in hell will not receive glorified bodies to go to the lake of fire in.
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17 Then * we which are alive and remain shall 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.
Should we be standing at the loved ones grave side, remember they'll raised first, by the time their glorified body is changed, suddenly we which are alive and remain will be changed as well, we'll all be the same, we'll all have our glorified bodies. It'll all happen faster than you can blink your eye.
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>>Philippians 3: 20-21 For our conversation* (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
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Let's not forget that Paul is writing this epistle to the troubled saints in Thessalonica, but it's for us as well. So Paul tells the Thessalonians in verse 18.
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18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
~What a blessing and comfort these words truly are.
