You know that Zach Williams song that Billy just sang quickly became one of my favorite songs of all time the first time that I heard it. At the lowest point in my life, when I crashed and burned in ministry 14 years ago and hurt my family as much as they had ever been hurt Jesus never gave up on me, lifted me up from the ashes, carried my soul from death to life, and this story became my rescue story. I think that there are a lot of people sitting in a lot of churches today who like me are struggling to see the story as that. That is why we are doing this series that we are wrapping up today called Route 66. Before we jump back in and do that there’s something that we want you to know if you are brand new. It goes like this. We are privileged to have you with us and you are safe and welcome here regardless of how your story reads or what you believe. So special welcome and shout to you if you are brand new (and as always to all of our online friends old and new out there too.)
As we jump back into this journey through the 66 books of the Bible let’s review a little bit so we are all on the same page as we finish this up today. As you might imagine, we started with the beginning, in the beginning, with creation and talked about how God started creation with the end in mind, with us in mind. Creation itself points to how much each of us matter to God. Then we talked about the moment in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sin and all that that moment unleashed in the story. From that moment the story became a rescue story. God starts the rescue mission with one man Abraham and a chosen people Israel. Despite all of their sin, disobedience and mistakes we see God never giving up on them for the next 2000+ years until he finally sends a messiah, a king. The problem is that this king, Jesus, is not the kind of king anyone was expecting. His own people reject him and crucify him. In that moment this rescue story becomes the story of not just the people of Israel but each of us too. All people are now saved by grace through faith in Jesus and have direct access to God himself. Jesus is resurrected from the dead and before returning to be with his father hands the mission off to his followers primarily 12 imperfect people. The message of rescue is now for all nations. The church steps up beside Israel to be a shining light to all nations, to spread the message of the king, and to be known above everything else by the way the people in it love other people. That’s what life in this chapter of the story that we are living in today is supposed to be and what Pete talked about last week. We just sang it again today, if we’re going to be known for something let it be love.
Which brings us to today, the final chapter, the end of the story. Now, I said before that this part of the story is another place where we tend to get most confused. Not only that, it’s the place where us church people tend to get most weird too. So two things right out of the gate. We are not going to get strange and weird. We are not going to look for the antichrist under every rock, try to predict dates and times, and look for ways to find 666 with Hitler, current or former presidents, and famous people. We are also not going to agree on everything and that’s okay. It’s actually one of the things I love the most about this place. If you disagree that’s okay. We Christians seem to argue and divide over the dumbest stuff. So let’s just agree that we are all hopeless without Jesus and that we are all saved by grace through faith in Jesus and just talk about the rest. I don’t understand all this stuff. I mean Creation alone blows my mind. When I get to heaven I want to watch the movie. I have lots of questions...like God why cats? Even if you love cats you get the point. So here we sit in the church age, trying our best to spread the message of the king in the story and leading with love. What happens next? Let’s jump back in and see...
If you brought a Bible today we are going to start in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 today. If you don’t have a Bible they are back on the back tables that you can grab right now if you would like if you close or on you can always grab one on your way out. As always you can hit our app or the YouVersion app too. Or you can ignore all of that and read along with me on the screens. So here we go, 1 Thessalonians 4 starting with verse 13...
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
So, let’s get a little context here as we jump into this. Paul is writing this letter to people in the church in Thessalonica a city in Greece both Jews and Greeks who have put their faith in Jesus. Paul himself has been forced out of the city and life has continued to go from bad to worse for these people. He is writing this letter to bring some hope and encouragement to people who are trying hard to hang on to their faith but are going through some really tough stuff in life. Does that sound familiar? In some way or another sounds like every single one of us here today. So, Paul says here you go, when the going gets tough, remember, this is not the end of the story. A trumpet is going to sound, an angel is going to scream, Jesus is going to appear, dead believers in Jesus bodies are going to rise from their graves be united with their spirits in the sky, we are going to fly up and join them and from that moment forever be with Jesus. What was written as an encouragement for them really should be an encouragement for us too. Is it? So, here’s the question that I want us to start with today as we start down the back stretch in the story...
DOES THE STORY SCARE ME OR ENCOURAGE ME? Here’s why I ask the question. I grew up in church scared to death of this moment in the story. The Bible actually describes this moment a few different ways. Paul says in chapter 5 that this day will come like a thief in the night, like labor pains on a pregnant woman.
ILLUST> A few weeks ago I asked my buddy Yemi where his awesome wife Abby was on a Sunday morning. She was pregnant and not feeling well. About 2 hours later he was texting me this. Little Zion makes an appearance. At about the exact same time I heard about a couple that started dating on Bachelor in Paradise and ended up getting married. Don’t worry, someone told me about it, my daughters watch it. I don’t recommend that by the way. Anyway, the wife, Jade just had a baby in their master bedroom closet.
So Paul says look it’s going to come out of nowhere and happen fast. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 24 that none of us can really know when it will happen, the angels don’t know, Jesus doesn’t know, only the Father knows. So if your friend tells you an angel or Jesus told him that it’s happening this week don’t believe him. So, I didn’t know a lot about this as a kid growing up in church but what I did know freaked me out. What if I am not ready when Jesus comes back? What if I cuss and Jesus comes back before I confess? I’m hosed. I lived in fear and then, when I was in 5th grade, I went to church on Sunday night and saw this. This pushed me over teh edge. Watch this. ******ROLL A THIEF IN THE NIGHT CLIP**************
The movie was called A Thief in the Night. Then as if that was not enough, my Christian School decided to show it in chapel a few weeks later. I was terrified. What really creeped me out more than the movie was the theme song. I couldn’t get the lyric out of mind. “There’s no time to change your mind, how could you have been so blind, the Father spoke, the demons dined, the Son has come and you’ve been left behind.” I grew up scared of God, feeling like I never measured up, and believing I was always on the verge of being left behind. I had a whole lot to learn about this thing called grace. See, if we have put our faith in Jesus this next chapter in the story shouldn’t scare us. It should encourage us as Paul suggests to us here. I’m just being honest, it took me a while to get there.
So, here’s the thing. We argue about a lot of things in church but Jesus appearing again to rescue his church is generally not a topic of great debate. We generally agree that Jesus is coming back someday with the spirits of those who believe in him that already...like my dad, my buddy Robert, Craig McConnell, my buddy Dave...you’ve got your list too. Their bodies will rise out of the grave and join their spirits, we will join them, and we will all be given new bodies and go to be with Jesus forever.
ILLUST> But what does that really mean and what’s that body going to look like? I don’t know and I don’t know anyone who can say with certainty. I heard about a television preacher who said we won’t have faces. I don’t know where he is getting that. That’s not in the Bible. I’m telling you Christians are weird. Yes, you will have a face, and hopefully it will be better, right. I’m not talking about me, I’m talking about some of you. All kinds of questions about this stuff. What about people who were in shipwrecks and were eaten by sharks? Great question. Here’s another one. Should I donate my body to science? Should I donate my organs? I don’t want to get to heaven and think you know I probably should have held on to my eyes. Got a feeling some emails are coming my way.
Answer… I don’t know. Here’s what I do know. In church world we call this reappearance by Jesus the rapture. Some people complain about that because the word rapture is not in the Bible. That’s because we are not reading the Latin version. The word rapturo is there and it means to grasp, seize, or take suddenly. So just like the word Trinity the concept is there even if the word isn’t. Jesus reappears to take his church away. There really isn’t much debate about that. The debate is all about when that is going to happen. Let’s talk about that for just a second before we move on. If you are anything like me and you learn visually I think that this chart I made might help you.
ILLUST> So right now we are living in the church age the 2000+ years and counting after the cross and resurrection of Jesus. As we move forward we are moving toward a 7 year period of Tribulation or trouble. We will talk more about that in just a few minutes. There are a few different thoughts on when the rapture will occur and arguments to be made for each. We don’t argue about this stuff around here but my guess is that all of our staff and elders might not agree. Again, it’s okay breathe. I will tell you that I tend to land here. It doesn’t mean that you should, it is just where I do. You need to study this stuff for yourself but here’s why l lean this way. The Tribulation is unpacked in Revelation chapters 6-19. There is no mention of the church in those chapters. We are told that during the Tribulation things get really dark really fast. Despite all of our faults if you take the church and the Holy Spirit in us out of the world the world gets really dark really fast. There is also a mention that there will be some believers in Jesus, not many who enter the 1,000 year reign in the flesh. That could only be people who have placed their faith in Jesus during the Tribulation. If the rapture doesn’t happen until the end they will all have new resurrected bodies like Jesus.
So, sure on what not sure when or how. Having said that there is pretty much universal agreement that there will be 7 years of Tribulation before Jesus returns again. It is referred to in Daniel chapter 9 in the Old Testament and flushed out in Revelation chapters 6-19. Study that for all the wild details. In short, let’s look at the diagram again. The antichrist will conquer every nation, establish a world order, 666 will be required to buy and sell, ½ of the world’s population will die, and he will focus on destroying Israel. I will let you study that on your own, so we get to the end of the 7 years and then this happens….Revelation 19 verse 11...one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible...
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.
Jesus returns just as he said he would in power and we are with him. It is said we are dressed in white, not my best color but I am down with that. Now, think about the contrast from the first time this King came on the scene. We said two weeks ago that he didn’t come in a way that anyone expected and came with an entirely different perspective, born in a manger as an unheard of servant king. He would ultimately ride into Jerusalem for the last time to be crucified on a small donkey. What’s that about? Well, not only was it predicted hundreds of years before in the OT, kings rode in to cities in that day on donkey’s to indicate that they coming in peace. This time Jesus comes to bring war. Baby Jesus has left the manger. The first coming of Jesus was to remove condemnation, this time is different. Here’s what I am getting to…
THE SECOND COMING IS TO REMOVE EVIL ONCE AND FOR ALL. Jesus comes first to die on a cross and remove our condemnation, he returns to destroy and remove evil once and for all. He first rode in a donkey, he returns on a white horse, with us with him, and Jesus has a tat on his leg. You know how much I love that. Don’t judge me. Let me go ahead and give it to you. glindsey@livetorescue.com. Kings rode horses into war. So Jesus comes on a white horse to make war against evil not people. This moment in the story also suggests why every Christian out there ought to be a Denver Broncos fan. Jesus rides in on a Bronco not a Seahawk. It’s in the Bible. You ought to read it. Can you tell I am ready for football season?
So, let’s go back to the chart and unpack where we are in the story. So Jesus returns and goes to war with Satan and his armies. The antichrist and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. Satan is bound for 1,000 years and we reign with Jesus on the earth in our glorified bodies. At the end of the 1,000 years Satan is released for a short time and gathers armies to fight against Jesus. The armies get vaporized, Evil is defeated, and Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire for Eternity. Hades is emptied of it’s dead and thrown into the Lake of Fire with death. Jesus takes his place on the Great White Throne and the dead of Hades are judged and any whose name is not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life is sentenced to spend eternity apart from God which is really sad. Then this happens Revelation 21:1-5...
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!
A new and perfect heaven and earth comes down to replace the old. If you are an environmentalist you should really be looking forward to this. Jesus goes green. God comes down to live with his people. Remember before the rebellion and crash God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden in the cool of the day. Finally, this rescue mission to redeem and restore creation to what it once was that has taken thousands of years is now complete. There is no more cancer, disease, car wrecks divorce, depression, death, miscarriage, all the things that have wrecked our lives are gone forever. Everything is made new. The Bible ends with this, the very last verse Jesus says “yes, I am coming soon” and to that John writes...Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. It’s a great prayer but here we are 2,000 years later and that still hasn’t happened. I don’t know about you but when I hear soon I’m thinking like Tuesday. Obviously, most of us have a different definition of soon than Jesus. What’s up with that? Peter helps us understand it in 2 Peter 3. Listen to this verse 8…
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
God has been and continues to be patient not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. This is the most incredible rescue story that has ever been told in the history of the world. Having said that this remains true for every single one of us sitting here today...
WHAT THIS STORY WILL BE IS REALLY UP TO ME? The question remains. Will this rescue story be what Billy sang earlier...my rescue story? We get to choose. God did not go through all the trouble of unpacking all these details of the rest of the story to scare us. It’s not a threat. It’s intended to give us hope, to help us hang on when times get tough. Yes, I’m coming back for you, but in the meantime you can hold onto this. I will never leave you or forsake you, nothing can or will ever separate you from my love. In this world you will have trouble. I have overcome the world and I will see you through.
So my guess is that this series leaves us thinking about a few things. Some of us as we sit here and think through this today cannot help but think about friends, family members, people we love that we have lost that we don’t think believed in Jesus. Here is what I want to remind you about that. You don’t know what was going on in their hearts and minds and what kind of wrestling match they may have been having with Jesus. So hang on to what you don’t really know about them and more importantly what you do know about God. He has proven that he is a patient, kind, loving, good, just, fair, compassionate God of second, third, fourth, and tenth chances throughout the story.
Let’s talk for a minute about two more things. First, is this story your rescue story? If not, it can be. Romans 10 says that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. There’s no pressure but you need to know that you are one decision away from the life, hope, and endurance you came in here looking for. The last piece that I hope that we are all wrestling with today is this...the friends, family, and people all around us that haven’t yet bumped into Jesus. How many people are there that I refuse to invite, that I say continue to say no for because I assume that’s what they will say even though I have no idea what God may be doing in their life? What can I do to give people around me an opportunity to make this story their rescue story?
So, I want to end this series where we started it. Let’s take a few minutes to turn down the noise in our lives and sit in the whole story again now that we have walked through it. As we do that, as we remember how amazing, vast, mind-blowing and incomprehensible the story really is. I really hope that you will remind yourself of this. The most unbelievable part of the story is this. God would do it all again a hundred billion times. He loves you that much. That will never change. Throughout it all you were on his mind. He will never give up on you or leave you behind. This story has always been your story. Let me pray for us.
