1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to 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.  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.  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.  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.  Therefore encourage each other with these words. 

"I will come again" should resound continuously in the spiritual ears of every believer.  For sure, Christ is coming again for all the world to see; but for Christians, He is coming to receive us into his household, for we through the Spirit are one with him and the Father, part of the family of God.  Jesus said, “My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.  May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  (John 17:20-23)  His scarred hands will reveal to us the price He paid for our admittance into the eternal presence of God.  No man or woman after he or she sees the resurrected Jesus and fully comprehends the price He paid for our salvation will ever again dispute God's love for mankind.  We know we have a Savior who went to the cross to pay a debt He did not owe to gain admittance into heaven for his chosen ones on a path that previously was eternally blocked to us because of our sin and shame.  Jesus shed his precious blood, washing us whiter than snow as a complete fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."  (Isaiah 1:18)  Therefore, when we face the death of a loved one or our own demise we do not grieve without hope.  Christians who are left behind continue the Lord's work until He comes or takes us home, knowing the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.  (Titus 2:11-14) 

Either at death or at his second coming, we will understand Christ's meaning when He said a seed must die before it can bring forth fruit.  Just as an earthly seed dies before it brings forth new life, the terrestrial must die before it can become celestial.  How many of us could imagine an acorn developing into a mature 400 year old red oak with ponderous limbs weighing over a thousand pounds if we had no knowledge of what a tree is?   I am sure none of us could describe adequately such a marvelous process and product from such a small seed.  In spiritual terms, we cannot imagine or appreciate what we will become in heaven beyond the vail of tears at death.  When Paul wrote about life in the flesh compared to when we see Christ he wrote these words: Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  (1 Corinthians 13:8-12 NKJV)   On the other side we will be magnificent, beautiful, glorious, lovely entities IN CHRIST.  Our beauty will be beyond description.  We should encourage each other with these words, with this divine knowledge.  A seed must die before it can become a magnificent plant.  A human body, a fleshly seed, must die before it can develop into God's intended glorious celestial being.  At that time in our new bodies, all our tears will be wiped away, all our anxieties will cease.  We will understand all things for we will be home with our Abba Father God.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  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.”  (Revelation 21:3-4)

 

Dear breakfast companions, Christ will come the second time in all of his glory to the world and to those who await his glorious appearing, but in reality his abiding Spirit comes constantly to us who are LIVING IN HIM with our spiritual ears tuned to hear his voice.  Jesus abides richly in us, and regardless of our circumstances we are never outside of his presence or beyond his comfort and his guidance.  He has taken up abode in us: He walks with us and talks with us.  When anxieties press in on us to the point of exasperation, He is there.  His voice tells us to believe, to take another step in faith.  He tells us we are God's chosen children, dear to our Father, no longer lost in the insignificance of this world.  He reminds us Christ won the victory for us at the cross, and HE who is in us is greater than anything in the world.  He speaks the Word to us, telling us we are more than conquerors through Christ our Lord and our Redeemer.  Therefore, we can go forward each day confidently facing whatever the day brings, knowing we are strong in the Lord and the power of his might.  Our lives are no longer our own.  We have yielded control to our Lord.  Consequently, He encourages us to take no thought for tomorrow; instead, to rest today IN Jesus for He is our Day of Rest.  We are no longer full of doubt and fear about the future because we know who holds the future.  As Paul said, To live is Christ and to die is gain.  (Philippians 1:21)  So brothers and sisters in the Lord, know that Christ is in you and you are in him.  "I will come again" is your faith promise from Jesus: your minute by minute experience.  He comes: again and again.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Praise him today!  Let praises continually be upon your lips.  I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.  I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.  (Psalm 34:1-4 NKJV)