This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Ignite the Light Ministries radio and podcast. It is our mission to help listeners develop a deeper relationship with Jesus by sharing what the Bible says and what it means. We aim to encourage and equip you to serve others, share the gospel, and reflect Christ in every aspect of your life. I'm Pastor Wyatt Cudd.
Thank you for tuning in.
So this morning we are going to be back in our Thessalonians series. We're going to be in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Verses 13 through chapter 5, verses Three.
So it's been a while since we've been in our Thessalonians series. I've been away, we did our Uganda, or no, it was, oh gosh, where were we? Pakistan, we did our Pakistan presentation.
So it's been a little bit. I want to give a refresher on what we've been looking at in the book of 1 Thessalonians.
So we've been noting that the Thessalonian church was a strong church. There's a lot of things they got right, a lot of things we can learn from. We've looked at what makes for a strong church. A strong conversion? What makes a strong leader?
What makes a strong people? And what makes a strong love? Then we looked at, okay, well, how do we walk this out? How do we do a model walk that's going to please God? And that is a life that is pure, free of sin.
And this is a life that strives to grow in love more and more. We don't shy away from suffering, persecution, or trials. We don't try to get back at the people that do us wrong. Justice belongs to God. And a life that pleases God Minds their business.
and builds their business with hard work and dedication.
Now this idea of justice belonging to God, we're going to talk about that. this morning.
So we are switching gears just following Paul's train of thought in the book. Uh now we are coming towards the section We talk about the second coming of Jesus. What is that gonna look like? It's a fascinating subject and a glorious hope to us. Jesus is coming back.
He is returning to the earth. He's going to raise the dead. It's important for us to study this, the return of Jesus, because it will not only bring blessing to us. but it's going to launch the most terrifying of judgments. on the world.
So let's jump into it. As always, I'm going to do a clean read-through of the passage to just let the Word of God speak for itself. And then we're going to talk about it.
So starting here at verse 13. Brothers and sisters. We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep. In death.
so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For 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 word, we tell you That we who are still alive Who are left until 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 raise 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 for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words Chapter five Now brothers and sisters, about times and dates, we don't need to write to you.
For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman. Yeah. will not escape.
Alright, so we're going to look at this section of scripture in four sections. There's this concern that the Thessalonians have that Paul is addressing. There's the fact of the matter. Then we see the Lord's return and the day of the Lord.
So the concern that the believers have are or is those who have passed away What's going to happen to them when Christ comes back? Yeah, they're they're worried about this. And we keep in mind that Thessalonians, in their context, are under great persecution. Savage assault from their neighbors and from the Jewish community.
Some of them were dying, perhaps being martyred. And Jesus hasn't returned yet.
So they're wondering what's going to happen to our fallen brothers and sisters.
Now, the Thessalonians, they knew the gospel, they know the gospel as we know it. And they know that Jesus is returning to earth to receive believers to himself. But that's the question: what's going to happen to our fallen brothers and sisters? They were concerned.
Now you notice I say concerned versus curious. They weren't just curious, it was a concern to them. Uh they were worried. I think oftentimes we will approach the end times topics with a curiosity. and not necessarily a concern.
But I do think we should also come to this discussion with a level of concern. And we see in Matthew 24 Jesus tells us that the day and the hour of the second coming is unknown. And he asks, well, who is the faithful and wise servant that's been put in charge of the master's household and other servants? Who is this faithful, wise servant? It should be us.
God has given this person roles and responsibilities to take care of and manage. And Jesus says, verse 46, it will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I truly tell you, he will put him in charge of all of his possessions. Matthew 24, verse 46.
So when Jesus Our master returns. We want him to find us. doing exactly what we're supposed to be doing. We want him to find us taking care of what he has put us in charge of. Contrasting this, Jesus says in verse 48: Suppose that servant is wicked, says to himself, My master is far away, and he beats his fellow servants, he eats and drinks.
With the drunkard all sending disregard to what Jesus has put him in charge of. You'll notice Jesus still calls this person a servant. and this person still addresses his master as master It makes me think of a person who claims to be Christian, but then just kind of goes off and. Lives and does whatever they want. You know, oh, Jesus will forgive me.
I'll just wait, I'll live how I want until he comes back. And that is the wrong mindset. Jesus says, verse 50: The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect. and will cut him to pieces. He will be assigned a place with the hypocrites.
Where there is weeping and gnashing of of teeth. The return of Jesus. See, we should approach it with a level of concern. We want him to come back and find us doing. exactly what it is we're supposed to be doing.
Now, there are some who are very heavy on that doctrine of election. You know, I've made it into the book of life. There's nothing else for me to do. It's Friday night, anyways. And it's like, no, see, the doctrine of election, it's not a justification for us to continue to sin or to lay down on the job God has given us.
The doctrine of election is so that even in our salvation where we're standing before God, I can't take credit as I was smart enough to pick you, Jesus. No. He picked me before the foundations of the earth. Even in that God gets all the credit.
So it's not, it's certainly not good works that get us into heaven, but James says that faith without works. It's dead. If we aren't working from faith, Then our faith is not working. It's not real. Yeah.
So Matthew 24 here, the master of this servant will cut him to pieces and place him with the hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So yes, the return of Jesus, like the Thessalonians, we need to approach this with a level of concern. Am I living in a way that honors my master?
Alright, so jumping in the passage here, verse 13. Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death.
so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. So let us not be uninformed about the resurrection. It is good, church, for us to study and grasp. God's teaching because it will simultaneously be a comfort to us. For God's promises He makes to us, and a challenge to us that pushes us to be more like Jesus.
Second, do not grieve excessively over loved ones who have died before Christ's return. Church, when an unbeliever loses somebody... According to their worldview, this person that they've cared about has simply blipped out of existence, gone forever, poof. They are not real anymore. And the unbeliever rightfully Is wrought with pain and brokenheartedness that they may never recover from.
Death is catastrophic. But we're not like this. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, Because we know he's coming back and we have a glorious hope of eternal life. It's certainly okay for us to grieve when we lose brothers and sisters, but our grief should be more like. They have gone to paradise.
And I will join them soon. That's very different. That's very, very different. It's not like they are gone forever and I cannot bear this. No, they are in paradise.
We will join them soon. Oh, that's more of. That's more of something we can celebrate.
So we can approach death like this because verse 14: We believe that Jesus died and rose again. That's the gospel. And it's not blind faith, it's not a wishful thinking. No, Jesus is a historically verifiable person. That came back from the dead, and all his disciples faithfully went to their death proclaiming he had risen from the dead.
You don't go to your death over a lie. And they did.
Now if I'm trying to get life advice I want to go to a person. Who's lived life? Who has some life experience? I'm not gonna ask a toddler how to organize my Grop IRA. No, that'd be foolish.
You want to get life advice from somebody who has lived life.
Now if I'm trying to get advice on How to approach death. I want to get that advice from someone who's died. And Jesus is the only person who can speak to that. He tells us death is not the end. It's the beginning of eternal fellowship with our Creator, and we should be ready and prepared for it.
We should not worry over the little things. how people see us or how much money we have. With an eternal perspective, the only thing that should concern us. It's how does God see me? Jesus is coming back.
We want him to find us. doing exactly what he has given us to do. Not any less. And I'd also say Not anymore. Not any more than what he's given us either.
Y'all know that story about Martha and Mary? Mary sat at the Lord's feet, listening to Jesus' teaching, while Martha is distracted with all the preparations that need to be made. You know, maybe Martha, maybe she's even trying to go above and beyond for Jesus, but she's concerning herself with more than she needs to. And Jesus says, Martha, You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one. You know, perhaps Martha was going above and beyond so much so that she lost sight.
Of the only thing that matters, how does God see me? I think in this information age we live in Sometimes doing too much is more of a struggle than doing too little.
So moving on to verse 14 here. For 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 word, we tell you. That we who are still alive who are left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not perceive those who have fallen asleep.
So the concern is, will the believers who have died be resurrected with Christ's return? And the fact of the matter is, it's declared with great confidence: yes, those departed believers will return with Jesus. And we're given three proofs to this fact. The first is that the departed believers now with Jesus Face to face are they face to face with him right now? And Scripture is very firm on this.
When we are absent from the body, we are then present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5. We don't have to wonder where they're at. To die is to be immediately in the presence. of God.
Now Paul uses this word sleep. Those who have fallen asleep.
Now he doesn't literally mean sleep or some kind of semi-conscious state. Rather it's a soft word he's using. For death. But it also holds this idea that those who are passed away are now resting. With God, resting from the pains and the trials of this world.
They are resting in the arms of Jesus. No more pain. No more suffering. No more confusion. only deep, satisfying rest with Jesus.
That's the idea that carries with it. And God's bringing them with him when he returns.
So the next point is that the death and resurrection of Jesus is These departed believers, they will return with God when He comes back. And this isn't just an interpretation of what Jesus' death means. This is the word of God. It is God's revelation to us: death is not the end. But rather it's the beginning of something far more beautiful.
This is our blessed assurance in Christ. Amen. Let's look here at the events of the Lord's return. Verse 16. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command.
The Lord will descend from a loud command. The Greek there, it has this military connotation, like a general directing an army. Jesus holds the authority. He is the commander-in-chief. of this universe His command, the voice of the archangel, then the trumpet of God.
Certainly, all attention on heaven and earth will be focused on this. Event. The beginning of the end. Then it says the dead in Christ will rise first. And I believe that it's Christ's love and care for those who have passed.
Through the valley of shadow of death. They will go first to love and care for them.
so that they go first.
Now whether it's casket or curriculum it It's not going to matter. The bodies of the resurrected. The bodies will be resurrected anew. And for those uh Whose souls are already with God, that they'll be reunited with this new. body.
And these bodies are going to be free from the effects of sin. That means physical ailments. Age A desire to sin. Completely gone. It has to be this way.
It has to be this way because God is making our bodies to share eternity with Him. It has to be free from sin and its effects.
Now, those who are still alive will be caught up in the air with the Lord. We receive this same transformation, a new body completely free from sin. Verse 17, it says, So we will be with the Lord forever. Then it says, verse seventeen, will be caught up together. With them in the clouds.
See, this day is going to be a glorious day of reunion with those who are alive and those who have passed. We're going to be reunited with all of our loved ones. Even more wonderful, we're going to be reunited with loved ones whom we never knew and we never met. We're going to be able to meet all of them and have fellowship with them. with Jesus.
What a wonderful day of rejoicing. That's gonna be Then our new life begins. Face to face with God. for eternity. All of this in a blink of an eye.
Man, when that happens, what is your first thoughts going to be? You're caught up in the heaven, you're standing midair, transformed into perfect men and women in the midst of all the saints, all beholding the spectacular glory and majesty of God. What will your first thoughts be? I think mine will be dang. Y'all are all just as short as me now.
My mom told me I was perfect just the way I am. Wow. That was the voice of God, wasn't it? Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Ah now. But imagine if your new resurrected body, like you look in the mirror, and like you don't even recognize yourself. Not a single feature is the same. You got a different hair color, your nose is shaped different, your eyes, your ears, everything is different. You don't even look like you.
Like man, was I really that jacked up looking? Here on Earth God just had to throw the blueprint away and start over? Man, you're looking at your friends, you're like, dang, why didn't y'all say something? No? I could have put a bag on my head.
I had to hurt my witness. Verse 18, it says, Therefore encourage one another with these words.
So we get back to this idea of curiosity versus. Concern. This passage is here to comfort concerns. It's not here just to satisfy our curiosity of what the end is going to look like. God tells us these glorious events so that we can come prepared for them, but we can also comfort one another now.
So we'll have people in our lives that we care about deeply that pass on to be with the Lord. According to this passage, We don't need to feel discouraged. There's no need for an extreme sorrow or crippling grief. There's no need for hopelessness, because we have the most wonderful hope. And Jesus We have the hope that we will live forever with him.
Worship him, serve him. Forever in a new heaven, in a new earth, in community with all of those we love. That is our glorious hope. That's the purpose of this passage right here, is to comfort the Thessalonians and us alike. the glorious hope we have.
So that's the second coming of Jesus.
Now we're going to pivot and we're going to talk about the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is what it's going to look like for the rest of the world. Chapter 5, verse 1. Brothers and sisters, about times and dates, we don't need to write to you. You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman. and they will not escape.
So again, it must be mentioned: we don't know the exact time of when Jesus is coming back. It could be today, it could be next week, it could be centuries from now. We really just don't know. And if anybody claims to know, you church, you give them the stink eye because they are trying to sell you something. We don't know when Jesus is coming back.
But what we do know is it's going to be sudden. It's going to be unseen, unexpected, and when it's gonna happen, nothing else is gonna matter. The day of the Lord is a term frequently used in the Old Testament to reference the day when God will bring every soul under judgment, into judgment. This is frequently referenced through the Old Testament, so let me give you some verses we see in the Old Testament regarding this. Isaiah 2.12.
The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all of the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted. And they will be humbled. Isaiah 13, 9 See, the day of the Lord is coming. A cruel day with wrath and fierce anger to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. Zephaniah 1.14 The great day of the Lord is near and coming quickly.
The cry on that day of the Lord is bitter. The mighty warrior shouts his battle cry. That day will be a day of wrath. A day of distress and anguish. A day of trouble and ruin, of darkness and gloom.
A day of clouds and blackness. Amos 5.18. Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though man fled from a lion.
only to meet a bear. Malachi 4.5. See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
So, this day of the Lord, it's been prophesied throughout the Old Testament. It is going to be a cataclysmic judgment on sinners. The wrath of God will be released.
Now while it's easy to see why we should look forward to Jesus' second coming, I believe we should have a measure of mixed feelings about the day of the Lord. Of course, we look forward to the second coming, but it's going to be a release of God's wrath on sinners.
Now it's certainly necessary, but it's It's going to be a lot. And it points us back to the seriousness Yeah. of sin. God has made it very clear the wages of sin is death. Even in the Old Testament, the Jews would sacrifice animals to cover their sin.
Now only Jesus can cover our sin, but God used this as a device to remind the Jews the seriousness of sin, that the cost is blood and death. And to the unrepentant, this is a terrifying reality. We can't sugarcoat.
Now often the Bible will use that term the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I'm thinking Proverbs. It's a reverence of God. And that's certainly true.
But I think it misses the main point the authors have for using this word fear. They didn't pick this word unintentionally. See, the day of the Lord is coming. And the world should tremble in illegitimate fear, not just reverence. Hey there.
I hope this sermon has enriched your day. If you like this message, I want to personally invite you to join us for Sunday worship. We have two locations in Virginia, Trinity Methodist Church in Concord and Mount Comfort Methodist Church in Appomattox. Come join us Sunday morning at 9.45 and we will help you get connected. As always, I'm Pastor Wyatt Hudd.
Thank you for tuning in.
