The Truth for Tumultuous Times
1 Thess 4:13-18
13 But 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.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For 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.
16 For 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:
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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Introduction: Good morning and welcome to New Bethel. I want to begin the message today with the observation that there has never, at least in my memory been a time like the one we are living in. It is a tumultuous time to say the least! It is a time marked by chaos in almost every part of our lives. Social, civil, societal, religious, political, governmental and spiritual chaos reigns supreme. The God of this world is sowing chaos everywhere. This should not be looked upon as something thing new but in fact it is a very old thing. Satan began sowing the seeds of discord and disharmony in the Garden of Eden and he shows no signs of slowing down. It should come as no surprise that the believers in the church at Thessalonica were experiencing some of the same feelings as we are today. As always we are exhorted to look to God’s Word for help and comfort in times like these. Listen to what Jesus had to say about the times we are living in:
Matthew 24: 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Of all their concerns one thing in particular seems to have been an issue for these believers…let’s look at our text to see the reason for their:
I. The Distress of the Saved – vs 13-14
a. The cause v. 13
They were “uniformed” which is what the word ignorant means. A great deal of what upsets believers today is caused by misinformation or a lack of information. Unfortunately many believers spend more time on social media than they do in the Word and this contributes the uncertainty of the times we live in.
b. The concerns
“…concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope…”
The word “sorrow” means to grieve. The lack of information about those who had died was the source of their concern. He admonishes them to not behave like those who were lost and unsaved.
c. The correction – v 14
What we believe determines how we behave. Paul declares that their loved ones who have died in the Lord are not lost or annihilated, they are with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
II. The Disposition of the Saints v. 15
Paul wants to set the record straight about what happens to those who die in Christ.
a. His authority
There is no higher authority than the Word of the Lord.
VOICE OF AUTHORITY
When I was serving with YWAM in the summer of 1982, we played a concert at a school in Amsterdam. As the concert ended, the students began to come up to us and talking with us, and believe it or not, some even asked for our autographs. At that moment a tall, thin, man with a flat-top and a long flowing beard stepped to the microphone and with a very authoritative voice said in Dutch "Un zitten!" ("sit down" in English). Without hesitation every student returned to their seats and you could have heard a pin drop. He had the voice of authority.
Paul understood that we have no authority of our own. All authority is vested in the Word of the Lord.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
b. His assurance
The greatest miracle of all time is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If we believe in the resurrection then we can believe that Jesus is bringing our loved ones with Him when he returns for us.
“…that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep…”
III. The Decent of the Savior vs 16-18
Jude 1:14 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,”
a. The Parousia of Christ
The Savior, the Lord Himself will descend, not Gabriel or the Archangel Michael or one of the patriarchs like Abraham but Jesus the resurrected Lord will lead the way!
The Greek word parousia (pronounced pair-oo-see-ah) is a noun that means "a coming" or "a presence." As it is used in the New Testament, it can refer to any individual’s coming or presence to a specific place or to be with specific people.
Most importantly, however, if you were to do a search of the Greek New Testament, you would find that primarily this word refers to the Coming of the Lord Jesus.
b. The Prelude
The return of Christ will accompanied by sights, signs and sounds.
“…with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God…”
The Greek word means a shout of command or encouragement, such as a captain gives to his soldiers…
Presumably this command comes from the voice of archangel and is the signal to marshal all the angels in a great host…
1 Cor 15:52 …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.
This is the “last” sounding of the trumpet ever by God and is the signal for the dead in Christ to rise. This may be the same trumpet sounded in:
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
The Last Stanza of “I Am a Soldier”
I am a soldier.
Even death cannot destroy me.
For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him.
I am a soldier in the army and I’m marching, claiming victory.
I will not give up.
I will not turn around.
I am a soldier marching, heaven bound.
~author unknown~
c. The Protocol
Just as Lazarus heard the voice of Christ and walked out of the tomb, all the dead in Christ will rise at the “shout” or command of God.
The death and resurrection of Jesus are the center of Paul's proclamation of the Gospel. It is by means of Christ's death and resurrection that the two evils introduced into the world at the time of the Fall are overcome. Christ's death on the cross is God's solution to the problem of sin, and Christ's resurrection from the grave is God's solution to the problem of death.
Ligonier
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.
There is to be gathering in the heavens. Christ first, then the resurrected dead in Christ and finally the living in Christ.
Paul closes with the promise “that so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Never to be parted from Jesus ever again, never to be parted from our Christian family and friends again. He finishes with an exhortation to comfort each other “…with these words.”
Conclusion: 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Rev. and Mrs. R. Porteous were taken prisoners by Chinese
communist bandits in 1931, and led to a lonely spot on top of a hill where
they were to be executed. The leader said, “This is the place.” The
executioner took a long knife from its holder and raised it above the necks of
the courgeous couple. Certain death seemed imminent. However, instead of
cringing and begging for mercy, the couple began to sing. The bandits stared
open-mouthed as they heard this hymn.
Face to face with Christ, my Savior, Face to face-what will it be?
When with rapture I behold him, Jesus Christ who died for me.
These two were ready for death and thought that would be their last song.
But, no order was given for their execution. The executioner returned the
knife to its place, and the couple was released.
What do we learn? We learn that death does not have the last word for the believer in Christ.
We learn that our righteous dead are not lost; they are with Jesus waiting for the command to return with Him in the clouds of glory.
We learn that the Romans 3:18 “…that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
We learn that this tumultuous life we live is not the end for us, it is just the beginning!
Finally, we learn that the one thing that all those we meet in the clouds have one thing in common; Jesus! Do you know Him today?
