Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning we are going to go back to a series we took a little break from called “What do we believe”.

Do you know what is behind what we believe?

Our Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths (SOFET) of PAONL states this:

We Believe

in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal future return to this earth in power and glory to rule a thousand years.

in the Blessed Hope–the Rapture of the Church–at Christ’s coming.

the only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ.

This morning we are going to spend time talking about the Blessed Hope

Talk about the hymn the Solid Rock

Our beliefs need to be understood well by our congregation.

We need to be able to define and defend our faith

We need to be able to take our stand

OUR BLESSED HOPE

Introduction:

We have talked about the lack of hope in our society before this morning.

I believe that we can all agree on the fact that this world does not offer hope.

In fact, when you consider the death, diseases, natural disasters, evil, and all the other negative things that fill our world, there is just not a lot of room for hope.

Hope is a powerful thing.

· G. K. Chesterton said, “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.”

· Emily Dickinson, in one of her poems said, “Hope is a thing with feathers, That perches in the soul.”

· O. S. Marden said, “There is no medicine like hope . .

.”

· Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman philosopher wrote, “Hope is the dream of a waking man.”

· Martin Luther said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.”

The dictionary defines Hope:“to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true, especially something that seems possible or likely.”

Hope, from the world’s viewpoint is just what that definition describes.

The world sees hope as a wish or a desire.

Hope, as the world sees it, is a longing for something that may or may not take place.

The Bible teaches us that biblical is hope something entirely different than the wishful thinking of the world.

Listen to the words of

Paul talks about Hope as well.

Take 1 Cor.

13:13

The world says that hope is merely a fond wish or desire.

The words used for hope in the Bible, on the other hand, tell an entirely different story.

They teach us that biblical hope is

“A deep settled confidence that God will keep His promises!”

Biblical hope is a “joyful, confident expectation”.

In the face of the hopelessness that grips our world, there is one group of people that possesses genuine hope.

Can you tell me who that is?

The believer has hope!

I do not know what tomorrow will bring my way.

It may bring:

death

disease

disaster

sorrow

pain

hardship

blessing

joy

happiness.

I may not know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know for sure that tomorrow might bring Jesus

The hope of the believer is wrapped up in the second coming of Jesus Christ.

He’s coming, He said He would, He’s coming back again.

O Praise His holy name, He’s coming back again!

He is coming and His return brings us hope for all our tomorrows.

I want to talk to you from this familiar passage about Our Blessed Hope.

As Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers, he offers hope to a people who thought all hope was gone.

Today, I know that there are people who feel hope is gone or lost and they feel empty inside.

Let’s examine the areas of life where we have hope in our Lord.

We have Hope of a Resurrection

The Thessalonians had heard about the coming of the Lord.

But, they thought that believers had to be alive until the coming of the Lord or they would somehow miss the resurrection and the rapture.

They thought their departed loved ones, who had died and been buried, were gone forever.

Paul writes to them to let them know there is hope for those who have gone on to be with Jesus.

In these verses, Paul speaks about the saints who have gone on before.

He lets us know what their situation is right now.

In telling us about those who have left earth for Heaven, he gives us all hope.

The Departed And Their Condition

“asleep and sleep” Not soul sleep.

A euphemism for death.

Their bodies are asleep, but their spirits live on!

Here “sleep” implies rest.

That much is true, the redeemed are resting from the burdens and trials of this life,

The Departed And Their Location

In verse 14 Paul tells us that God will bring the dead in Christ with Him when He comes.

If He is going to bring them with Him, then they must be with Him ahead of time.

Don’t worry about those who have gone on before!

They are with the Lord but they will be back.

They are coming with Him!

The Departed And Their Inclusion

The fear of the Thessalonians.

Paul tells them not to worry.

When Jesus comes, the dead in Christ will be raised fist.

“Will not prevent” in verse 15 means that we will “not precede them”.

We are all going in the first resurrection, but they will be raised and translated first!

Can you just imagine what it would be like near a cemetery when this happens?

I believe it would be a great place to be at the resurrection

WE HAVE THE HOPE OF RAPTURE

The urgency is felt whenever we talk about the blessed hope.

We need to be ready becauae we do not know when it will happen and it will happen quickly.

Take a look at scripture:

It Will Be Sudden

“Caught up” – “to snatch away, or to seize by force.”

When Jesus comes, it will be a sudden event.

One moment we will be living life as normal, the next moment we will be with Him in the air,

It Will Be Selective

Take a look at the word “We”.

Jesus isn’t coming for everyone.

He is coming for only for those who have been saved by the grace of God.

Many will expect to go, but they will not make the trip.