November 14-16, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "ENCOURAGING WORDS!

 

SAINTS TRIUMPHANT

November 14-16, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

                                      "ENCOURAGING WORDS!

1.     We will be

2.     With the Lord

3.     Forever!

 

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. {14} 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. {18} Therefore encourage each other with these words."

 

          It can be easy to look at other people, who they are and what they are like and find yourself wishing you were more like them, more happy, more competent, more whatever. Of course the truth is there are no perfect people on earth and the same people we admire and are strong in some areas of life also have weaknesses or difficulties in other areas of life. Take the Thessalonian Christians for instance. As you read and learn about what they were like you can find yourself wishing you were more like them. I mean they took persecution as Christians in stride. No whining. No complaining that they were in the minority. They had joy and confidence in the Lord. And being ready for Jesus to come back. Whoah. I mean, you know what we are like. In Bible Class we will say, “You never know, Jesus may come back tonight.” But do we really believe that? Is there anything in the way we live our lives that would suggest to other people that we really think Jesus might come really, really soon? The Thessalonians did. Big time. I wish I was more like that!

          On the other hand they did have their weak spots. They were worried, very worried, about believers who died before Jesus returned. Were they lost for good? Would they ever see them again? It was causing great angst so God had the Apostle Paul give them some encouraging words that encourage us too. Let’s see why.

          "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.” The Thessalonians did not know what happened to believers in Jesus who died. While sometimes ignorance is bliss, that was not the case here. Instead knowledge would be power to fight fear. Paul points out for believers in Jesus, dying is like falling asleep. We aren’t afraid to fall asleep. It is natural and normal. So is dying since sin came into the world. Death is separation. Sin separated people from God. Sin’s effect is that that now at a certain point in life the body and soul separate. But there is more . Death separates people. That’s the part that hurts no matter what. So when people we know and love die we will grieve. We will be sad. That too is normal and natural. But did you notice how the right knowledge changes the way you grieve? Paul said we are not to grieve like those who have no hope. That means we are to grieve with hope. Hope of what?

          “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.” The hope we have is the life to come. It is not wishful thinking hope. It is patient waiting hope. Here are the facts. Jesus died. Jesus rose again. While death came by sin and death separates, life comes by Jesus and life unites. At a time that God has picked out Jesus will visibly, loudly and with power return to end this sin messed world. He will judge the living and the dead, that is proclaim who is a believer and who is not. He will raise the bodies of all people and believers who have died prior to that return will be reunited with their bodies in a perfected state and any believers still living will also be taken to heaven in a perfected state.

          After telling the facts to the Thessalonian Christians, after giving them the knowledge that had the power to change the way they grieved, Paul wrote “And so.” Now we are Americans. We like to skip over little words like they are unimportant. We are so impatient to get to the end. But in the Bible no words are unimportant. And little words are often very important. Like these. “And so.” “And so” ties what comes next to what you just heard. Because of the facts. Because Jesus died , rose again and will come back. And so. Can you imagine how this went the first time this was read at church to the Thessalonians? Remember they are in angst and anguish because they do not know what would happen to their believing loved ones who had already died. Just imagine if you were one of the Thessalonians and the reader paused. “And so… Yes, get on with it. What? And so…” And then you heard these beautiful words.  WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER!

          Let’s savor them together. First, “WE WILL Be.” How many of you have ever heard the phrase “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Those words were penned by the British poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Many think that he wrote them about romance. Better to have had a love interest and it not work out than to never have that. Hmm. I don’t know about that. Do you know the real reason he wrote it? At the death of a 22 year old friend. That’s it? That’s all you got. Your wife dies and you hear, “At least you had one.” Your child dies and someone says “At least you had a child for a while.” Yuck! What garbage! What grieving without hope. Did you hear the difference Jesus makes? Did you hear the encouraging words? WE WILL BE. God says that. Because of Jesus. Death is no end. It is separation, for a time. But it is not an ending. When a loved one dies it is very common to hear and to say, “I am sorry for your loss.” And there is loss of time with that person for a while and it does hurt. But friends if we could do it perfectly we would hear  and say, “I’m so happy for your gain.” Another one you love that you get to look forward to seeing again. Encouraging words. We. First person, plural. Me and all my loved ones who have already died in the Lord. My mom. My dad. My grandparents. My friends. You take this now. Who is part of WE for you? WILL. It’s going to happen. No American “I hope so.” Christian I know so. Just waiting for it to happen. BE. Exist. Go on. Live. Death separates. Life unites. Jesus is life. In Jesus we will be united, back together with our loved ones. WE WILL BE. And now we pause to remember the members of St. Jacobi who got to go to heaven since our last Saints Triumphant celebration:  Judith Eckert, Mildred Dallmann, Robert Kallin, Moreen Buske, Holly Messinger, Florence Doepke, Kenneth Schultz, and Carl Bavuso. And now think of your loved ones.

          Secondly. WITH THE LORD. Our hearts are tied to those we have seen. We think of people. So much harder to miss the one you haven’t seen—yet. The Lord. Jesus. What will that be like? In the presence of His glory. Finally, fully grasping how loved we are, how he much He values us. No sin. No guilt. No shame. Perfect knowledge in His perfect presence. Able to thank Him in person. Jesus, do you remember when I…Yes, I remember. What stories will He tell? What will it be like to eat with Him and drink with Him? Will the animals all come around? Will He do miracles to delight us? Will we find out that He really liked my off key singing and so it won’t change? Oh my goodness, we could go on and on. There is so much we don’t know but this we do. WITH THE LORD.  That’s heaven.

          Speaking of going on and on. Our last encouraging word. FOREVER. Have you noticed in life how life in the sin filled world is like the carrot in front of the donkey,  always just ahead of you but never finally arrived? We can spend so much time getting ready and so little time enjoying. We get ready for Thanksgiving but then it’s done, or Christmas, or to graduate, and then there is always something else to work for. Heaven isn’t like that. It’s the always enjoying and never working to get ready. It’s the carrot in hand, not out front. And it’s always that way. We don’t have to wait to see our loved ones or for a milestone. We enjoy them, the Lord, the angels, the new heaven and the new earth. A perpetual always. FOREVER.

          Friends, it is Saints Triumphant Sunday. We think of those who have died. We know we will deal with the death of loved ones in the future. God has provided us with some encouraging words. WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER. And now you know what to do next.  Therefore encourage each other with these words." Amen.