“Christ’s Advent—Our
Encouragement”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
SCRIPTURE INTRO:
We’re spending these four
Sundays of Advent
looking at four
great New Testament passages on Christ’s Second Coming.
It’s been the practice of the
church through the centuries
to prepare for our
celebration of Christ’s first coming to
by studying and
reflecting on his second coming in glory at end of age.
Just as the Old Testament
believers were made holy and happy
by looking forward
to Christ’s coming,
so we are made holy
and happy as we look forward to him.
INTRO: A Baptist, a Pentecostal, and a Presbyterian were
arguing
about who would be
raised first on the Last Day.
Baptist: It’s bound to be the Baptists who will be
raised first.
Just look at how lively we are in our
worship—we’re always shouting, “Amen!”
Pentecostal: If liveliness in worship is the standard,
then Pentecostals
are going to be
raised first. Not only do we shout
“Amen”—
we speak in tongues and dance in the aisles.
Presbyterian: You’re both wrong, Bible says that
Presbyterians will be raised first.
It’s right here in 1 Thessalonians 4. “The dead in Christ will rise first!”
Christians have lots of
disagreements about the Second Coming and end times.
Many, many books have been written defending
this or that view
What it often comes down to
is a chronology of how things
are going to work
out in the last days, exactly what certain details mean.
This passage itself is often
pulled out and used to argue for particular views.
I’ve used this passage before to support my
particular end times views.
Those kinds of debates have
their place.
Important for a number of
reasons.
But need to step back from
them at times and ask—
Why does the Bible tell us that Jesus is
coming again?
Reason is clear: So that Christians will have a lively hope in
Jesus’ second coming.
Because a lively hope in
his return is good for you.
It has a number of positive spiritual effects
in your life.
It changes and matures you in a number of
ways.
What we are going to see in
this passage, is that it changes your view of death.
The way you view death in
general.
The way you approach
people who are facing death or grieving.
The way you yourself deal with death when it
strikes someone you love.
And ultimately, the way you think of your
own death.
We’re a young
congregation.
In my years here I have only done two
funerals for church members.
But as a body, we have many appointments
with death in our future.
There will be funerals in this congregation.
Death will strike us more as the years go
by.
This passage shows us that in
the face of death,
firm belief in
Jesus’ Second Coming will give you three things:
1. Permission to grieve
2. Reason to hope
3. A way to live
Want to give credit where
credit is due.
Sermon by Dr. Tim Keller on
this passage a great help to me.
I’ll be mentioning some of his insights as
we go along.
MP#1
In the face of death, a firm belief in Jesus’ Second Coming gives
you
permission to grieve.
Paul was writing to
Christians who were grieving the loss of loved ones.
The Thessalonians were former pagans, not
converted Jews.
So coming from a pagan
outlook about death into Christian faith.
Death of fellow believers
troubled them, didn’t know how to handle it.
How did this fit with this new teaching
about Jesus Christ?
Particularly the promise
of his coming. Were
the dead going to miss out?
Paul writes to them:
“We do
not want you to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.”
Paul doesn’t say: Since you have hope ,
don’t grieve.
Don’t grieve without hope. Grieve hopefully.
Right to grieve. Christians grieve, but they grieve with hope.
The Bible doesn’t teach us to
keep a stiff upper lip.
The best example of all is
Jesus himself in John 11 at the grave of Lazarus.
Martha seems to have been the more
analytical sister.
To her Jesus spoke theological truth. “I am the resurrection and the life.”
But when he
came to Mary, who was clearly the more emotional of the two.
She was weeping. And when he saw her weeping, Jesus wept.
And then there is an amazing
statement, covered up in most translations,
Says that when Jesus came
to Lazarus’ tomb he was “deeply moved.”
That word literally means “shaking with
rage.” embrimaomai
Why was Jesus weeping and
shaking with rage.
Only one answer. Death is wrong. It’s an abnormality.
The Fall of Adam and Eve into
sin brought death to the human race.
That’s part of the brokenness. That’s part of the curse.
Jesus was grieved when Lazarus died—grief
expressed with tears and anger.
This is so different from the
ways people often face death in our day.
There seems to be, in both Christian and
non-Christian circles,
an embarrassment
over grief. Shouldn’t
go on for too long, too intense.
You need to get over it and
move ahead with your life.
In some Christian circles
it’s treated like a lack of faith if you grieve too much.
Death should only be a
celebration.
There shouldn’t be much crying out and
certainly not any anger.
And you shouldn’t grieve for too long. You should move on.
After all your
loved one is with the Lord.
Don’t you believe that? He’s in a better place, you know.
Once years ago, not in this
church, heard someone criticize a widow,
who they thought
was grieving too long and too much.
But look at Jesus, even
knowing Lazarus about to be raised—
weeping and shaking
with rage.
And Job, when his children
killed, crying out, tearing clothes,
putting dust on his
head, and sitting in the dirt for days.
But the Bible says that in all this Job did not sin.
We see other believers in deep grief over
death Joseph, David, Hezekiah.
It is no sin for Christians
to grieve at death. It’s not a lack of
faith.
It’s an affirmation that death is not
good.
That
it’s an enemy and abnormality.
Coming of
Christ necessary to deal with death.
How do unbelievers in our
culture face death?
Americans more and more
embracing views of eastern religions for comfort.
Death is natural. Death is a part of life.
Nothing to be afraid of. Embrace death. It’s just the circle of life.
I like the Lion King. I liked the movie.
Saw the Broadway version, wonderful.
But you know that one of the messages about
death is that it’s natural.
Simba, when we die, become fertilizer for grass that the
antelopes eat.
Certainly true of animals, but also applied
to people. Supposed to
comfort.
There’s no comfort in the
circle of life.
Means you are no different from a bug. Not destined for eternity.
Jesus didn’t say, “Mary and
Martha, Lazarus is just part of the circle of life.”
Instead he wept and shook with rage in his
deep grief at the tomb.
But not bare grief. It was hopeful grief. That’s the extreme balance.
Even though grief recognizes
rightly that death is not normal,
grief alone leads
to despair. As Paul says, you have to
grieve with hope.
Have to take hope, unique
Christian hope, and rub it deep into your grief.
MP#2
A firm belief in Jesus’ Second Coming gives you reason to hope.
Paul says do not grieve like
the rest of men who have no hope.
Other religions have hope in
death.
Make claims about what will happen to you.
But the Christian hope is a
unique hope.
The hope that Christ gives us by his coming
is so much greater than
the hopes that all
the other religions of the world—
that Paul can sat
that these are not hope at all.
Three things about Christ’s coming in this passage that gives reason to hope.
You need to take these and rub them into
your grief.
1. Christ’s
coming will bring a world of love.
Did you notice how much of
Paul’s emphasis in the passage
is on being with
people. Talks about
being together, with one another.
All of this comes to its
fulfillment in the Second Coming.
Jesus comes and he brings with him those who
have fallen asleep.
And we who are alive at his
coming are caught up together and meet the Lord—
and so we are with
the Lord forever.
That is what we have to look
forward to—
a world in which we
are together and know and love and are known and loved.
No weirdness. No awkwardness. No manipulation and agendas.
No need to hid yourself or be guarded in any
way.
Think of being in the company
of your absolutely best friends—
who know you and
love you, and who you know and love.
And you have had a meal and a
glass of wine together
and you are
unguarded and free, and conversation is flowing,
and you know their
love and they know yours.
Take all sin out of the
picture. Multiply that to perfection,
for all eternity.
That’s what our hope is. Together. With Christ. Forever.
What a hope that is to rub
into your grief.
2. Christ’s
coming will bring a glorious life.
We covered this last Sunday
in Titus 2.
But you see it from a different angle in
this passage.
Paul says that God will bring
with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
So the souls of believers who are now in
heaven
will accompany
Jesus as he returns.
And the dead in Christ will
rise—their bodies will be raised in glory.
And these believers, now risen and glorious,
souls and bodies reunited,
will ascend with
believers who are still alive and glorified to meet Lord in air.
And then
what? Paul sort of leaves you hanging.
Do we then go on up into heaven. Living in the clouds ?
Some have thought that.
But the key is the word “meet”
which was used in a particular way.
It was used for people
who went out of a city to meet a conquering king,
who was coming into
the city. apanthsiõ
To meet him meant to get into
his entourage and accompany him,
to participate in
his victory parade, to share in his glory.
We’re not going to be caught up
and taken out of this world,
but caught up and
taken back in.
Back to this world but with
Jesus, glorified and into a world made glorious.
Remember Jesus after he rose. He wasn’t a spirit.
He ate fish with his disciples, said touch
me.
Our future is not to float in
the clouds.
It’s to walk and hug and eat and sing.
But in realms and to degrees of such deep
satisfaction cannot imagine.
What a hope that is to rub
into your grief.
3. Christ’s
coming is our certain future.
Hope in the Bible is not a
fond wish. It’s a certain future.
It’s the school boy waiting for summer
vacation. It is coming.
But many Christians have this
struggle.
They believe Jesus is coming, believe in all
these great things—
but they wonder if
they are going to make it—if going to be good enough.
Ironically, sometimes
unbelievers are happier than Christians in face of death.
Because they say: Don’t know what is going to happen, eat,
drink, be merry.
Christian is tormenting
himself—will I make it?
All the insecurity that self-righteousness
brings robs of hope. Verse 9:
God did not appoint us to
suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What a great assurance. Is your trust in Jesus Christ?
Then the certainly of your future does not
depend on your performance—
but on Christ. God has not appointed you to suffer
wrath.
What a hope that is to rub
into your grief. Assurance
of the future.
MP#3
A firm belief in Jesus’ Second Coming gives you a way to live.
We live in a world shadowed
by death, but we keep an eye on the Second Coming.
As we do, two qualities that develop in
believers, should cultivate.
Should be
self-controlled people and encouraging people.
Paul says that for some
people, coming of Christ like a thief in the night.
Unexpected, nasty
surprise. A time
of great loss.
But Paul says, you brothers
are not in darkness,
so that this day
should surprise you like a thief.
In other words, even before
the light of Jesus’ second coming shines like day—
you ought to live
as a daylight person.
You ought to live right now
as if the daylight of Jesus’ coming
has already started
to shine into this dark world.
You ought to live as if He
has already appeared in clouds
and you have been
raised and are going out to meet Him.
Paul says that a person who
lives like that will be alert and self-controlled.
The opposite is a person who is asleep and
drunk.
Self-controlled person is
putting on faith and love as a breastplate,
and the hope of
salvation as a helmet.
Shows us what this
self-control means—
deliberately taking
Gospel truths and promises, applying them to your life.
Thinking
through the faith, and living it out, growing as a believer.
Fighting against sin and fighting to do good.
What Paul seems to be saying
is that the key to self-control for Christian,
is to develop a
vivid expectation of Christ’s coming—
and the glory that
will be ours. Live as if that day has
dawned.
Will give
you strength in fight of Christian life.
Read once about family always
wanted to go to
Read all they could about the canyon, hiking
it.
Then they started training. Months before, hiked hills,
carried backpacks.
What was it that kept them
focused?
Hiked the hills of neighborhood, imagined, hiking beautiful
More they trained, the more enjoyable their
real hike would be.
Has to be an eye to that
future hope—helps us to be self controlled and alert.
not sleepy and
drunk, when Jesus comes.
Self-controlled people can
become grim people.
But did you notice that twice, in this
passage—be encouraging people.
“Therefore, encourage each other with these
words.”
“Therefore encourage one another and build
each other up.”
Our dealings with each other
as Christians should be to encourage each other.
We
have this weekly rhythm of church life that God has ordained.
We have this community of believers.
Our dealings with each other
should be to encourage.
Paul says that the context of that should be
our vivid expectation
of Christ’s
return.
Go back to the family getting
ready for
Can imagine that while
they are training, up and down same hills.
One might say—this is getting so old, this
is so hard, I feel so dumb.
Someone else says—Yes, but the
Remember those beautiful
picture, sense of accomplishment—
who cares what
neighbors think—it’s going to be worth it.
It puts encouragement in a
different light.
We’re all going somewhere together. Going to meet Lord in the
air.
Join his victory procession back into this
world.
Great things, glorious
things—let’s get ready together.
If we could only see that, so many of
little, petty things that bother wouldn’t.
But remember the context of
the passage—need for particular encouragement.
Believers losing loves
ones. This is about dealing with death.
Christ’s second coming ought
to make us people who can encourage
each other in the
face of deep grief, grief that makes most speechless.
We will have something to
say—true and comforting.
Donald Barnhouse’s
wife died in her 30s, leaving three young children.
On way to funeral, truck passed, cast shadow
over car.
Asked: Children, would you rather be hit by truck or
by shadow of truck.
Shadow. Why? Because it can’t hurt you.
Your mother was only struck by the shadow of
death. Can’t hurt her.
She is with the Lord, and we
will see her again.
Only believers can say those sorts of
things.
May our hope in his coming
be just as deep, that we may comfort one another.
CONC: Jesus came once and he is coming again—
this time to
destroy the last enemy—death.
So let us grieve with hope—
and be
self-controlled, encouraging people,
as we await his
coming.