Lordsretrnsrm
LIVING FOR THE LORD’S RETURN
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
According to a poll by George Gallup, "Religion in America," Leadership, FAll, 1987, The belief that Jesus Christ will return to earth someday is held by 62 percent of all Americans, but that’s probably where the similarity of belief ends. What that will be like is highly discussed among Christians with very different ideas. There are in fact at least 5 major perspectives among studious Christians as to the order and type of events surrounding the 2nd Coming of Jesus and the end of the world. The 5 major views of eschatology are: Pre-Millenialism, Post-Millenialism, and Amillenialism, with 3 sub variations of pre-millenialism which include pre-trib, mid-trib, and post-tribulation theories. If you work at trying to figure it all out, it can be enough to make your head spin. I like the student who said he believed in Pan-Millenialism. When asked what that view believes, he said, “It’ll all pan out in the end.”
Everybody should do a little reading in theology so I want to recommend an author to you: Charles Schultz. In a Peanuts Cartoon Lucy is in a room with Linus. Lucy is looks out a window and she wonders: "Boy, look at it rain . . . what if it floods the whole world?"
Linus says: "It will never do that. In the 9th chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow."
Lucy replies: "You’ve taken a great load off my mind."
Linus says: "Sound theology has a way of doing that!"
Apparently Thessalonians had a theology problem. Some were worried that those Christians who had died wouldn’t be around for the Lord’s return and would therefore miss Him. Apparently they still were influenced by their former pagan philosophy that death is the end and the great separator and that they would not see their loved ones again.
Sound theology does bring peace. People today are still plagued by unsound theology even when it comes to the afterlife. One of the common modern misconceptions regarding the afterlife is the idea that when we die we become angels. Not so. Angels are created beings as we are. But they have a different experience than the descendants of Adam. In fact, the Bible says we are for a little while lower than the angels, but that in eternity we will exist in a position above angels and will judge them. The Bible says that in eternity humans are like the angels in this respect that they neither marry or are given in marriage. This is the only aspect in which Jesus said we would be like angels. The Bible records that angels are messengers that move between heaven and earth, but for believers in Christ, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” and in this passage 4:18 says, “And so we will be with the Lord forever.” After death believers in Christ will not be traveling back and forth between heaven and earth as angels are able to do now.
In the midst of confusing and incorrect ideas about life after death Paul has some straightforward things to say to these young Christians for their education and encouragement. We need the same perspective for living today in light of the Lord’s return. We need to (1) Look forward to the Resurrection Reunion, (2) Stay Ready In Faith, and (3) Live Together in Hope.
I. Look Forward to the Resurrection Reunion
“First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.” 4.13-14 Mess.
For pagans in those days death ended all. They talked about an eternal sleep from which no one would awaken. Ancient letters to those who lost friends to death were always hopeless-- sometimes inspiring things would be said but never to give hope to those who were left alive.
In a tremendous contrast that is nothing like the philosophy of the day Paul says by God’s inspiration: We do not “grieve like the rest of men, who have no 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. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left 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.”
As an old spiritual phrases it, there’s gonna be a great meeting in the air!
--Our resurrection is tied to the fact of Jesus’ resurrection...His resurrection is one of the best attested and documented facts in all of history. We stake everything on Him being who the Bible says He is. And the same Lord says we’re going to rise with Him. Rapturo is the Latin translation of the word “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air when He comes.
Larry Michael tells of visiting an elderly woman who had lived through much adversity, but had also outlived the doctor who had described her condition as terminal many years earlier. She
had a contagious confidence in the Lord. One day the pastor began speaking with Mrs. Blackburn about death, and she responded that - although she was not afraid of death - she preferred to concentrate on the Bible's promises of Christ's return. "I'm not looking for the undertaker," she exclaimed confidently. "I'm looking for the Uppertaker!" (Michael is Pastor of Baptist Church, Vevay, IN)
[Not only is there a reunion in the aird, there’s also a re-constitution in the resurrection.]
There are several miraculous experiences in all of this: rising,, eternity w/God and I think--reconstituting bodies. This used to bother me. Scientific concepts of the 90’s along with their popularization Jurassic Park style have helped me imagine God reconstructing body from dna--don’t need to find every destroyed molecule to reassemble the body. [cp. Ezek. 37- dry bones coming together, flesh growing, and breathing new life.]
Even in Jesus’ day some people didn’t believe in supernatural things. In response to their rational, naturalistic, theologically liberal Sadducees who did not believe in the realm of the supernatural, Jesus said:
And regarding your speculation on whether the dead are raised or not, don’t you read your Bibles? The grammar is clear: God says, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.’ The living God defines himself not as the God of dead men, but of the living.” [Mt 22.31-32, Mess.]
A grave is not the end of life for a Christian. We will not be worm food nor will we be pushing up daisies. Christians are going to reunite with the Lord in the air and like Him we will be flying without wings! Why meet in the air? Because it’s the way He left earth and He will return in the same way as the angels said to His disciples when He left, AND because it demonstrates the complete victory and Lordship of Jesus. The enemy of our souls is called the Prince of the Power of the Air. Jesus ascended victoriously through that realm untouched and He will return the same way.
Christians of the first century were so filled with the idea that Jesus is coming again that they used a new greeting among themselves - “Maranatha,” an Aramaic word meaning “Lord, come.” Don DeWelt, one of my college professors used to say something similar when someone greeted him saying, “Good morning Bro. DeWelt. How are you this morning?” He would respond, “Happy on my way.” It’s the title of his autobiography.
When we are living for the Lord’s return, we have hope, excitement, and enthusiasm for living; There’s always something worth getting up for because of our hope for the future.
“In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” [Romans 5:5, The Message]
Joseph Stowell told about the problem at Shepherd's Home. This institution in Union Grove, Wisconsin was established to provide loving home for the mentally impaired. Many children have been nurtured in Christian love through this home. Many have also come to know Christ as Savior. They have also learned about the soon return of Jesus Christ. This is a teaching the children of Shepherd's Home have taken seriously. And that is the problem - Each day the children run to the window to see if this is the day Jesus will return. They just can't keep their windows clean!
We need this kind of anticipation for the resurrection reunion with our Lord, and we need to...
II. Stay Ready In Faith
“That day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “All is well; everything is quiet and peaceful.” [1 Thessalonians 5.2-3, Living Bible]
“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” [1 Thessalonians 5:6]
--Robert Murray McCheyne, the godly Presbyterian preacher, used to ask people: "Do you think Jesus Christ will return today?" Most of them would reply, "No, not today." Then McCheyne would say, "Then, my friend, you had better be ready; for He is coming at such an hour as ye think not" (Luke 12:40).
Need to be always ready because we don’t know when it will be. [Have not yet “arrived.” e.g. ‘overconfidence’ for athletics-- last church softball game beating the season’s undefeated team.]
Stay ready in faith --not complacent, unconcerned, [“peace & safety”] and careless [“sleepy” & “drunk”].
[cp. servant who began to beat fellow servants & get drunk-- taking careless pleasure for self]
[caught up in pleasure rather than sober/serious preparation for eternity]
illus: Shakelton’s men ready
While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge
icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through.
His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!" They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, 'The boss may come today.'"
“So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God, as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God.” [2 Peter 3:11-12, New Century Version]
Whenever we read about the 2nd coming in the Bible it is never to give us the date but always to encourage us to live the Christian life in a way that is pleasing to God.
“Service not speculation is the proper response to the 2nd Coming.”
We may say that we won't be in a fatal car accident today or that we won't have a tree fall on us, or we won't be killed in adrive-by shooting, or that we won't feel that pressure in the chest before a heart attack---BUT, all these things have already happened to somebody today. It could happen to us.
We've got to ready in faith, (look forward to the reunion) and...
III. Live Together In Hope
“Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.” [1 Thessalonians 5.10-11, The Message]
Paul wrote to Corinthians that if we only have hope only in this life we are of all men most miserable. The Message phrases it: “If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot.
Our hope is so much more than that. It's not limited to the present--to the physical and temporary. It's eternal.
"If life on earth is not a road to heaven," someone has said, "then it is a treadmill, a merry-go-round minus the merry."
Life takes on new meaning because 9t doesn't matter so much what happens to us now. We've got eternity to look forward to. This understanding can motivate tremendous living now.
In the early church when there would be an epidemic most people would leave the populated areas so as not to get the disease. But it was largely Christians who stayed behind risking their lives and even dying for the sake of others. They knew that if they died they would be in heaven. They would be with Jesus. This type of ministry made for powerful evangelism.
["...part of Life Is Beautiful's greatest success; it does not lose sight of its intentions, and Benigni never lapses in his spokesmanship for resilience, optimism, and an almost wildly indulged capacity to hope."]
[“You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.”] [Ephesians 4:3, The Message]
Hope for the future [of rescue] is more prominent for those who don’t have pleasant nests [cp. mother eagle.] As in ‘Dives’ [rich man] “he had his good things” on earth. Lay up treasures in heaven so you look forward to it. If we’ve had it too good, we don’t want to leave. It may be a reason for getting old and breaking down--to help us want to go to heaven. Those who have so limited their experience on earth [damaged relationships--no family; lost body parts] even though saved from sin have greater longing for the perfection of heaven.
No matter how good we have it here, heaven is better! Encourage each other with this. Hope for this--not more material--it doesn’t satisfy, anyway.
Heb. 10:25 “more as days approaches” “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
illus: tutoring for boy in hospital
The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind." The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn’t accomplished much. But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live." Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?" Bits and Pieces, July 1991.