THE RESURRECTION QUESTION - The Dead in Christ
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 April 23, 2023
Introduction:
Last Tuesday morning I came into the office and this was the first headline I saw on my news scroll.
Mississippi Man, declared dead, wakes up in body bag at Funeral Home.
The guys name is Walter Williams and he’s from Lexington, Mississippi…Here’s his picture
(Sow picture)
LEXINGTON, Miss. —
Leaders at a funeral home in Lexington found a person alive and kicking in a body bag.
The man was found at the Porter and Sons Funeral Home, on Yazoo Street.
Walter Williams woke up and surprised many people.
"I asked the coroner what happened, and the only thing he could say is that it's a miracle," Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said.
"I stood there and watched them put him in a body bag and zipped it up," Williams' nephew, Eddie Hester, said.
The coroner said he checked Williams' pulse about 9 p.m. Wednesday and pronounced him dead at his home in Lexington.
"That was at 10:30, and at 2:30, my cousin called me and said, 'Not yet,' and I said, 'What you mean not yet?' He said, 'Daddy still here,'" Hester said.
[Walter’s story reminded me of the 3 older gentlemen who were talking about their funerals and discussing what they’d want their friends and family to say about them…the 1st guy said, “I’d want them to say I was a hard working man that provided for his family.” The 2nd guy said, “I’d want them to say I was a loving husband and father”…and the 3rd guy said, “I’d want them to say…’Look!! He’s still breathing!’”]
Walter’s family was rejoicing because at least for a while he would still be with them. Death is a difficult subject and each of us want to escape it for as long as possible… “Look!! He’s still breathing” is our desire for all those we love.
Scripture describes death like this… “The last enemy to be destroyed.” (1 Cor. 15:26)
The reason death is the last and greatest of our enemies to be destroyed is because nothing separates us from others like death…Nothing here on earth ends a relationship like death. There is no reset button…there is no do-over.
If the relationship is bad when death comes, there’s the pain of never being able to make it right. If the relationship is good, there is the pain of it being gone…that life here isn’t as good anymore. If death comes early then there’s always the wondering of “what could have been,” as if it were stolen.
For those who are left…death is the separation between when we saw them, and when we see them again…or if we will see them again. Death stings…death seems to have the victory.
But it doesn’t for those who are in Christ. And for those who have died in Christ.
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul addresses in our text…He’s writing to believers who have faced the death of a mate, a parent, a child, a friend…and he wants to reassure them and us with:
I. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JESUS RETURNS
Have you ever had someone say to you…“I want to talk to you, but I don’t want to tell you what it’s about right now?”
Yeah! Horrible isn’t it…because you don’t know if it’s good or bad…and when someone does that…it’s usually BAD. The time between that statement and the conversation is terrible because the information you need is withheld…you worry and try to figure it out…the word ignorant doesn’t mean “stupid.” It means uninformed…without the knowledge you need to make wise decisions.
Paul says “Brothers and sisters.” He’s writing to fellow believers, “we do not want you to be uninformed (“ignorant”) about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.” (v. 13)
This information doesn’t remove grief…grief is the result of death…for believers and non-believers alike…but the information he’s going to share gives his brothers and sisters…and us hope…and hope is an essential for faith.
Grief isn’t something you just “get over” or shake off…grief is defined as “intense sorrow, great sadness.”
Author Edgar Jackson properly describes grief:
Grief is a young widow trying to raise her three children, alone. Grief is the man so filled with uncertainty and confusion that he lashes out at the nearest person. Grief is a mother walking daily to a nearby cemetery to stand quietly and alone a few minutes before going about the tasks of the day. Grief is the silent, knife-like terror and sadness that comes a hundred times a day, when you start to speak to someone who is no longer there. Grief is the emptiness that comes when you eat alone after eating with another for many years. Grief is teaching yourself to go to bed without saying good night to the one who has died. Grief is the helpless wishing that things were different when you know they are not and never will be again. Grief is a whole cluster of adjustments, apprehensions, and uncertainties that strike life in its forward progress and make it difficult to redirect the energies of life. -Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong, p. 171
Grief is no joke…it’s hard…and without hope it’s absolutely crippling.
It’s the very reason Paul writes these words in 1 Thessalonians…and it’s the very reason “The Resurrection Question” must be answered with this hope: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.” (v. 14)
David writes in Psalm 30 “weeping will endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Every one of us…all mankind will have our night’s of weeping…but the child of God believes that when Jesus returns “He will wipe away every tear, there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away. he who is seated on the throne will declare…”I am making everything new!.” (Rev. 21:4-5)
The future we anticipate, the hope set before us greatly influences the life we live, now. What we really believe in our heart of hearts will make our grief different from the rest of mankind…because we believe the grief is temporary…we believe its God given…we believe it helps us hope for an eternity where there will be no grief.
Someday in the future…maybe even today, the Father is going to say to Jesus: Now, go collect your bride, the Church. Now is the time, to redeem all of creation and now is the time to reap the harvest of your death, burial and resurrection…Go…Bring your people home.
The Archangel will shout…the trumpet will blow, the eastern sky will rip open…and the Lord, Himself will descend in the same way that he ascended to heaven as his disciples looked on…He will come…but the promise that deals with grief involves whose coming with Him.
II. THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST
Verse 14 tells us “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.” And verse 16 clearly says: “the dead in Christ will rise first…and after that we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
How can Jesus bring with Him those who have fallen asleep and they be raised at the same time?
Scripture answers that question…It’s one we’ll look at often as we approach Easter.
2 Corinthians 5:8 reveals that when a Christian leaves this body they are in the presence of the Lord…our Spirit…the real us leaves this temporary body and is welcomed by Jesus…You don’t have to worry about the location of your family and friends who have died in Christ.
[Vance Havner was one of Wayne Smith’s favorite preacher and writer. Vance Havner tells about being at his wife’s funeral and standing by her casket. People filed by and tried to console him with the words “We are so sorry about your loss…Vance we’re so sorry you’ve lost your wife…after a while he couldn’t take it anymore and responded… “You haven’t lost anything if you know where it is!”]
The greatest hope we have is that when we die in Christ we know exactly where we’ll be and who we’ll be with.
So when Jesus returns…He brings the Spirit of those who belong to Him…so when “The dead in Christ rise first” there will be a reunion of their spirit to an eternal body.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-57
And a split second later “We who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…and so we will be with the Lord forever.” (v.17)
Paul ends our text by saying… “Therefore (because of this truth) encourage one another with these words!” (v. 18)
Remember these words are written to those who are in Christ…These words are to inform believers about what has happened to other Christians and what awaits them. It’s a reunion…a reunion with Jesus and our mates, our parents, our children, our friends…This return and resurrection is our hope. And it makes our grief different from the rest of mankind.
It’s this hope that helps us live lives in anticipation of death…not the fear of it…Those last words of Paul to encourage one another with these words is a challenge for us who are prepared for Christ’s return or our death to not forget why we live.
Let me end with a true story about a ship that sank in 1914 (May 29) after colliding with a Norwegian vessel called the S.S. Storstad…The Empress of Ireland was an Ocean Liner carrying 1,477 people, when it sank 1,012 people died. It’s been called Canada’s Titanic…because it was commissioned and owned by Canadian Pacific steamships.
As the ship began to sink into the cold Atlantic Ocean it was discovered that there were not enough life vests to go around. On the Empress were 167 members of the Salvation army…each of them gave their life vest to individuals who did not have one…all but 8 of them died…and the 8 that were recovered from the sea did not have a life vest on…one of them was asked why they would do this…and his answer was “I can die better than you can.”
Christians can die better than the rest of mankind because of our hope…it’s what makes our hearts cry out…even so, Lord Jesus come back quickly.
Today I would ask…Are you ready? Can you live better than the rest of the world, surrendering your life preserver…because you can die better than the world?
Let’s pray.
