This evening, I would encourage you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. I believe it's on page 1147 in the Pew Bibles. I'll read all 18 verses of 1 Thessalonians 4, but we'll specifically be looking at verses 13 through 18 on our comfort of the resurrection. This is the holy and inspired Word of God. Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God's will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen who do not know God. And that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. For the Lord will punish men for all such sins as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God who gives you his Holy Spirit. Now about brotherly love, we do not need to write to you for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia, yet we urge you brothers to do so more and more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands just as we told you so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 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 the 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. Thanks be the Lord for his holy word. Beloved congregation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, have you ever had your heart race in worry over something that you found out later wasn't actually true? Maybe you've sat at home worrying while your husband is out thinking that something must have happened to him because he's still not home. Or maybe you've gotten yourself worked up over a friend's lack of response to your text message and convince yourself that they were no longer interested in being your friend based on the one lack of response within, say, an hour. And in these scenarios, what's going on is that you have an idea of something that is based on what seems to be pretty good evidence. After all, it's already 10 o'clock and my husband is normally home by now. And only later, after the situation resolves itself, do you realize that you had jumped to the wrong conclusions in the first place. Well, the Apostle Paul, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives us a glimpse of a problem that really wasn't a problem after all in the lives of the Thessalonians. And I'm pretty certain that you haven't struggled with the same problem that they did. And yet it's still important for us to study Paul's answer to their problem and then to consider our own problems in light of this text and then finally to see the depths of the comfort which the Bible holds out to us. And so that's where we'll go this evening. First, we'll see the Thessalonians' problem, then our own problem, and finally we'll see the depths of the comfort that the Bible holds out to each and every one of us while we are still alive. But first then, what was their problem? What was their concern or what was it that they were getting so worked up about that Paul needed to address it? Simply, they didn't understand how the dead would be raised up together with the living. For they were worried about the ones who were dying before the Lord Jesus came back. Does it sound like a familiar concern? In many ways, I don't believe that we share that same concern. For I haven't met anyone in my lifetime who has said to me, you know, I think that people who die aren't going to go to heaven because they won't be there to be raised up on the last day with the living. For we no longer encounter people who are genuinely fearful that the first death, their natural death, will prevent them from being resurrected on the final day. But this was the problem that the Thessalonians were so worked up about. Because they believed that the return of Jesus Christ was going to happen very soon, they became deeply troubled when certain members among them believers who had professed their faith in Jesus Christ these believers were starting to die off in their midst wait a minute they asked themselves how can this be? these saints are no longer with us and so when we are standing before the Lord Jesus when He comes back where will those believers be? they will still be in the grave they will be disintegrated they will be in dust for those lost at sea their parts will be scattered throughout the whole ocean. And you see, in order to understand the problem, we have to grasp how immediate, how soon the early church thought that the return of Christ would be. For these Christians firmly believed that it would happen in their lifetime and that's what was animating them. They believed that the Lord had spoken saying it will happen soon and they believed that it would happen very soon. And that's why you will never know what that fully felt like. Because there are nearly 2,000 years separating you from those times in history. And you are conditioned by your history to know that those nearly 2,000 years have gone by since Jesus' ascension. And so a fair amount of time has gone by in our earthly estimation of things. And we will never know the way that these early Christians were approaching this. for they were gravely concerned about those that were being buried. For somehow this idea had crept into their thinking that someone had to be alive in order to be resurrected on the last day. And their immediate frame of reference pointed to their central hope that Jesus was coming back for them very soon. And, as He promised, He is coming back. For that is certainly the truth that we continue to know today only that soon is a different soon than what we as humans can understand. For we do not know the day or the hour of the Lord's return. We do not know the day or the hour or the way in which all time is passing as He waits for His second coming. And so the Thessalonians' misunderstanding of the resurrection is what Paul addresses here in this passage. And that's the primary issue that Paul addresses in this text. And for those here who think, I don't have that problem, so why do we need to hear the answer to this question? Why can't we just move on to the next part of the text? We have to understand that this relates to our whole conception of what it is that takes place after death. And we may meet, and we actually sometimes often will do, people who wonder what will happen when we die. And then it's passages like this that become especially meaningful. And so, boys and girls, Paul is answering a question that really troubled these early Christians. If Jesus is coming back to raise us up with him, then what about my mother who has just died and been buried? Or what about my friend who became very ill and is now dead in a tomb? Will they be raised up too? Tell us. How can they be if their body is starting to decay and return to dust? For don't you need a body in order to be raised up among the living into the heavens with Jesus? And so this early church, fragile, and only just beginning to be established was plagued with this confusion where they thought they were soon to be reunited with Christ, their bridegroom. But their loved ones, these fellow believers, were dying. And they thought that the Lord would return and they eagerly awaited this and it was being disrupted by funerals, the deaths of loved ones. And some who wanted to be there when the Lord Jesus came back were instead being put under the earth and how could this be, they wondered. And see how Paul addresses this church with its concerns in 1 Thessalonians 4. In verse 13 we read, 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. And the first thing that stands out to us is the fact that he is just before this written in verse 9 that about brotherly love we do not need to write to you. But now, on this matter, he doesn't want them to be ignorant. For they were aware of how to love one another. But they were missing something crucial with the resurrection about those who had fallen asleep. For Paul was concerned, as we read, that they would sorrow as those who have no hope for those who have fallen asleep. So don't be ignorant, brothers and sisters. Don't be mistaken on this. For there are many people even today who grieve and sorrow without hope, who could be included in that category that Paul has introduced. Or they may have their hope placed in something other than faith in Jesus Christ and His return and glory. But Paul is saying, you brothers, you do not need to be ignorant nor grieve as those without hope. We should be careful to see further that Paul doesn't forbid them from grieving. For that's a natural response that all of us have to loss. And both Christians and non-believers alike will grieve at the loss of loved ones. It's proper and it's fitting. In the Psalms, we can turn to the Psalms as a fitting how-to on how to grieve. For it's not grieving and sorrow that is the problem. It is doing so in the way of the unbeliever. Doing so without hope or with a false hope. And what are the key ingredients in this passage as Paul addresses this central problem? He says, don't be uninformed. Do not be ignorant. Don't grieve as those who have no hope. And believers, you have hope that is anchored in Christ. From verse 14 it says, 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. Thessalonians, your problem is solved. Your funerals can take place in hope for the coming resurrection. For you do not need to worry about the state of the dead. If they believe in Jesus, they will be resurrected. For God will bring those who sleep in Jesus with Him. It's beautiful, isn't it? For Paul is anchoring what we believe about Jesus in what we can expect for the future. He's saying to you and I, what you believe about Jesus affects everything about what you believe about yourself and your loved ones. And here Paul is calling out to them saying, I know you. You believe that Jesus died and rose again? It's just as certain that God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. That's how firm and convinced he is. They're so intimately connected. And then the Bible continues to make sure that the whole problem, the whole misconception in the minds of the Thessalonians is laid to rest in verse 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. The living and the dead will be raised on the last day. And the coming of the Lord will be accompanied with a great resurrection of the dead and a transformation of the living in the twinkling of an eye. Whereas in the other great passage on the resurrection, as it majestically tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, it says, listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. And when the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Beloved, through the Holy Spirit, Paul goes so far to reassure the church that the dead will be raised incorruptible, that we shall be changed, and that we shall be transformed on that day from a life of dying. We will go to a life of unending and incorruptible life. For the dead and the living will be transformed. All who are in Jesus. Those who sleep and those who are awake. One of the Old Testament believers who looked forward to this very day of resurrection that we also here and now in 2011 look forward to was Job. And in his powerful words spoken in faith before his friends and a sharp and stinging rebuke of Satan, Job speaks with his heart and soul saying in Job chapter 19, I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last He will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed yet in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another. My heart faints within me. The Redeemer of Job, The Redeemer of the Thessalonian church, it is promised, it is foretold that He Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and there will be no mistaking it. But that time will come. And Job will see His Redeemer in His flesh, in His body. And His eyes and our eyes shall behold, and he shall see, and we shall see that this Lord who has redeemed him from all of his sins, and you, you also, each and every one of you will see that same Lord Jesus Christ. For wherever you will be, whether buried in a cemetery or walking on the streets of Escondido, when that day comes, there will be no missing it. And if you've been reared in the church, If you've learned from the Bible, this isn't new news for you. Or if you've studied the Word of God, this may be a familiar sequence already. Or maybe we've learned this already in Sunday school. But don't let it become uninteresting or uninspiring or a place where we no longer put our hope and expectation. For as the readers of Paul's letter to the Thessalonian church read out his divinely inspired words to those believers gathered together in a church service much like ours, we have to understand how these words would have brought them to see the foolishness of their worries and the glory of the Lord that they were serving. Just imagine hearing these words for the first time. Don't worry about those who have died already before Jesus' second coming. For you believe that Jesus died and rose again, which means that you can certainly believe that God will bring with Him those who sleep in Christ. And what's more, O Thessalonians, if you're alive when He comes, you won't miss it either. For there will be an archangel crying out and a trumpet will be blasting and the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the graves will open and the dead will rise first to come before the Lord to await the judgment. O ye of little faith, Paul is saying to his audience, then and now, Believe in this, Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. And you will be raised in glory at the second coming of Christ. What an incredible message. You must never lose sight of this. For when you stop to consider the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead and the coming transformation of the living into bodies which are incorruptible and pure, I want you to remember, even in days of sorrow and days of grieving, that you will go through. The ways in which Paul's words just leap off the page the moment he begins to write about this. You see there how he answers a concern of the Thessalonians and he addresses their problem. Yes, he does. But then he goes on to write in this incredible language all that the Spirit has revealed to him about the way in which it will take place. His thoughts raced in his mind as he penned these incredible words. For sure, a simple answer to their question about those who had fallen asleep would have been sufficient, of course. But the God that we serve and the God that we praise is a lavish God, an abundant God, and it is not just a sufficient answer and a sufficient comfort that is given to his people for all ages in this passage. It is an abundant answer, an abundant comfort to me and to you and to the church of all time. For Paul didn't write, I don't want you to be ignorant about the state of the dead. Don't worry, they will be raised along with the living. That would be his answer in brief, but he goes into this elaborate and incredible detail to describe what will take place. And this truly is an abundance that we should feast on. An abundance here that we should delight in for this is what our lavish God has in store for us. Awaiting us. And yet we may sit back and think we don't have the problem seeing that the dead can be raised along with the living on the last day. We learned that already in Sunday school. That may have been the problem of the Thessalonians but that's not our problem. Well, this is where we transition to the second point then, our problem in light of this text. For the problem that we face today is simply the assumption that all will go to heaven when they die. And yet, there's an unwillingness in our day and age to see that all will be raised on the last day in order to stand before the judgment throne of God, but not all will go to heaven. All will be raised, but not all will go to heaven. For all have sinned, but not all have repented. And Paul, 1 Thessalonians 4, is addressing these words of comfort to believers. He's addressing his words of comfort to those who are in Christ Jesus already by faith in His name. And so the error which faces us in our day is not an error about whether or not the dead will get a chance to be raised on the last day. And the error which faces us in our day is not an error about which of the apostles will be alive when Jesus comes back. For they have all died and are asleep in Jesus as Paul himself is also. Rather, the error that we face in our day is the mistaken belief that all will go to heaven. And is that error present in our midst? Do we harbor this idea in our minds at times? For as Christians in the 21st century, it must be clear to us that we live in a culture that simply says, do good and you will go to heaven. Virtually every other world religion works it out in this way. Do good and you'll go to a better place. And the culture around us reserves hell for the really bad people like Hitler and abortion doctors while sending cats and dogs and ordinary Joes and ordinary good people to heaven. And yet, that's the error which the Word of God confronts so clearly. For only those who see their sins, who call out in faith and in repentance to Jesus Christ and confess His name will be welcomed into heaven at the second coming of Christ. For Paul addresses his words to those who have bowed the knee to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And you, who are walking in faith in the Lord, believing that He has indeed saved you from your sins, you are given these words of comfort and glorious expectation. But if you do not yet believe in Jesus, if you are still holding on to your own goodness, or if you are here in church but not with the right motives in your heart, if your heart is unmoved by a knowledge of your sinfulness in everyday life, If you look back at the last week and think, well, I really don't think I sinned. If you hesitate to profess your faith in Christ in your day-to-day walk because you're not sure that you need to believe this, watch out. Do not be ignorant. Do not ignore the summons of Jesus Christ Himself who says, believe in Me. And pray now or when you are at home for Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to transform your heart into a disciple of the Lord. Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior. For the day is coming and it may come soon when the Lord will return and there will be no opportunity to turn to Him any longer. And the weight of eternity rests upon the souls of all men and women. And the cry of every heart is a recognition that there truly is something beyond this light. And the hardest hearts in the culture around us reject the thought of heaven and hell while fighting the knowledge that there truly is life after death. For that is why people cling to this life so much. For this life is, for those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and fail to place their faith and trust in Him, A life which will be spent outside of the presence of the Lord. An eternity begun in this life in the torment and punishment of hell. An eternity forever in the place of despair. An eternity in the punishment which is rightly the just penalty for sin. And one man who is confronted by this awful but certain truth, that there is a hell reserved for those who remain under the curse of sin was the Philippian jailer in Acts who cried out, what must I do to be saved? And for you and for your loved ones and even for all who remain in unbelief at this time, these words of life which bring us into the kingdom of heaven are these. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. But that's the simple but the solemn belief that the Holy Spirit plants in the heart of every believer. Plants in the hearts of all those whom the Lord saves. For our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth so that He might stand in our place, knowing that every one of us was sinful and depraved from the moment of our birth. He, taking our penalty upon Himself, upon the cross, He hung there bearing the full penalty of our sins and being raised again in the power of God so that we might have life through Him and so that God would be glorified. And the simple but lavish hope that awaits all believers, you who know your sin and know your Savior, that hope is the hope of the resurrection with Jesus Christ. And now there are some in the church today that feel that some Christians just simply spend way too much time thinking about going to heaven when I die. And their critique at times is that some Christians tend to neglect the rest of their Christian life because they're only focused on going to heaven. And yes, we should be ready to acknowledge our place on this earth, in this time while we wait, in this God-ordained season while we have a purpose to fulfill. And it is important what we do in this time. And yet, we must not lose sight of the hope which is held out to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That He has saved you now and He has saved you for an eternity. And so going to heaven when you die is a promise of the Lord Jesus Christ to you. That your faith has made you well and that you may still die. And it may be a brutal path to a painful death. One of great sorrow that you may yet have to endure in the Lord's timing. And we know that many of our loved ones have gone down into the decline of the body with the ache of the soul as it longs to be joined with those who have gone before. And yet, by God's grace, in belief in Jesus' name, you will know that your suffering, the suffering that each one of you here will go through is brief and momentary compared with the life of glory that has been promised to you. For as one writer said, the physical event that we call death remains exactly the same for all men, regardless of whether they have been born again. In this respect, all men are in the same boat, for all must die. It can even happen that the death of a child of the world is more peaceful than the death of an upright child of the Lord. That certainly summarizes our experience, the reality that we see around us. But there are still great times when believers, those who have been set free from their sins and given new life in Christ, still go through such great sorrow and struggle. As Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 so powerfully describes it for us, while we are still in this tent, We groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage, for we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. And yes, we groan, we are burdened, life is hard, Loved ones die in the midst of great suffering. And yet, we have the Spirit as a guarantee and a source of power and strength to live as conquerors even in the midst of the struggle that we are engaged in. Beloved in Christ, behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. Those are the words of Revelation 1.7 which tell us of the great hope which awaits us. And this is why Paul can close our text with these words. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. What encouragement are you lacking? What comfort are you still seeking in this life? Is your comfort found in Christ and in your resurrection? and the way that the Lord has redeemed you from your sins? Can you sing the words of the refrain of when peace like a river and truly sing with comfort and confidence that it is well with my soul because of the goodness of God? Encourage one another with these words. When someone you know is struggling, comfort them. Encourage one another with the coming return of our Lord and infuse every funeral of a believer with the shocking truth that death is swallowed up in victory. Teach your children, parents. Teach them to long for the return of Christ in eager expectation and confident faith in Christ. And show them, parents, by your own example what it is to believe and to look in faith for that coming day. but don't get so muddled in the affairs of this life that you lose sight of the next. For our Lord is coming back and He Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first and those who have been buried will be first into the heavens. And then we who are alive at that time and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet our Lord in the air. And thus the promise is that we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. And by faith in His name, you are promised a complete and full remission of all of your sins. And you are promised a place at the banquet table of our Lord Jesus Christ in glory. A banquet that we already participate in and anticipate every time we partake of the Lord's Supper. This is what we look forward to. And as with Paul, we say, do not be uninformed about this. Encourage one another with these words, that the dead and the living, you who believe, even though you may die before the return of Christ, believe and you will be caught up with Him and you will have everlasting life in His name. And never lose sight of our Lord and Savior's words to all the saints who believe in His name from Revelation 22, where He says and He promises to us who wait, Behold, I am coming quickly. Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus. Let us pray. Our Lord God and Heavenly Father, We praise Your name, Lord, in awe of Your holiness and wonder and in praise of Your mighty goodness and love which You have poured out upon us, Your people. Lord, we thank You that You have taken men and women from every tribe, tongue, and nation throughout this world and gathered them into one body who are being prepared for the glorious resurrection and eternity that will be spent with You, Lord, in glory. We ask that you will comfort us while we wait. That you will give us strength while we persevere, Lord, through this time. While we walk the path of pilgrims who are seeking a land that is not their own, a land that is with you, Lord, in glory. May we never lose sight of the return of our Lord and Savior. And may we be ever comforted by the coming again of our head. And Lord, we ask that you will continue to mold us and renew us in Your image and likeness that others might see the hope that we have and ask, where is this from? Lord, we pray now for those who do not know You and do not know the release from sin and worry and condemnation that is given to those who believe in the name of Christ. Lord, we pray for the souls of the lost. We pray for the hearts of the unbelievers in our midst, in our own families, in our own communities and around the world. Transform them, we pray, while there is still time by your gospel so that they might become renewed in faith and hope in your name. Take away their dead hearts, we pray, Lord, and give them hearts which abound in love and praise of you. Lord, you are at work in our midst. Give us eyes to see and lips to praise your holy name. In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior who is coming, we pray, amen. Thank you.