THE INFLUENCE OF
JESUS, ETERNAL LIFE
1 Thessalonians
4:13-18, 5:1-11
V:13. "But I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others
which have no hope."
A. The God we serve
is one of understanding.
1. If we true
meaning of “death”, we need not be
afraid
2. Those who
don't understand the work of Jesus on the cross are cannot
understand His promise.
B. Those who don't
know Jesus, lack hope beyond the present world.
1. Death brings sorrow when you don't
understand that it is part of God's plan for
us.
2. Those who died in Christ, Jesus are
enjoying another life with Christ.
V:14. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."
A. The requirement
for hope is knowledge of God's Word.
1. The foundation
of hope is the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
a. Those who
died in Jesus are in a quiet and calm disposition.
b. They are experiencing no pain or
sorrow.
2. Just as Jesus
died and was raised again, so do those who died with faith in Jesus.
B. If we believe in
Jesus, we must also believe in His second coming.
1. At His second
coming the Lord will bring the spirit of the dead in Christ with
Him.
2. Believers share
Christ’s Destiny: heaven.
V:15. "For this we say unto you by the word of the
Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep."
A. Death before the
second coming of the Lord does not change the of hope of the
resurrection.
1. Those who are
alive during the second coming have no advantage over those who
as died in Christ.
2. If we are
living when the Lord comes we must be living in Him.
b. The Lord is coming
back for the living and for the dead in Christ.
1. Those who are
alive when Christ comes again are not honored above those
who are asleep
in Christ.
V:16. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the arch angel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first."
A. The Lord has a
plan for the rapture of His Church.
1. The Lord Jesus
will show Himself with the full power of heaven.
2. Jesus will come
with a shout, a cry of excitement.
3 .He will come
with an arch angel (Chief angel). Judge 9, Rev 12:7, Dan 8:16
a. The arch
angels could be Gabriel, Michael or one of the seven mentioned in
Rev 12:7 .
4. He will come
with music; the sound of a trumpet
5. It will be an
occasion for great joy.
B. The dead in Christ
will be raised first.
1. They were first
to enter the spiritual realm in faith and therefore first to be
raised.
V:17. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord."
A. This second coming
of Christ will be miracle before our eyes.
1. Those who are
alive will be changed to be able to rise into the air with Christ.
2. Out of these
earthly bodies will be resurrected bodies that can be suspended in
air. 1 Cor 15:52 .
3. The forces of
nature that hold us to the ground will be dissolved in the
resurrection.
a. A
supernatural flight will take place to lift us in to the heavens.
b. There will
be no need for spacesuits, spaceships or rocket boosters, just the
power of
the Lord.
B. This new position
in with Christ will be eternal.
a. Our eternal
hope rests with our faith in God's Word.
b. Jesus will
assemble all believers to Himself at one time.
V:18. "Wherefore comfort one another with these
words."
A. Faith in the
promises of Jesus should bring us comfort in troubling times.
1. Life is full
of trials and tribulations.
2. Our grief and
sorrow give way to the peace and joy of the Lord.
B. Jesus
paved the way for eternal life with Him.
1. This is not our home. We are just
passing through.
2. Our time on earth is preparation for
heaven.
Chapter
5
V:1.
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write
unto you."
A. We live in the time and the season for the
second coming of Christ.
1. Christ commissioned the Church to take
the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
2. The Gospel started in Jerusalem
a. The Gospel has moved out to the
ends of the earth.
b. Missionaries and electronic media
have taken the Gospel to many places.
3. Computers
can quickly translate the Bible into any known language.
a. People around the world can read the
Bible in their own language.
B. God is not limited
by time or circumstances.
1. He moves
according to His plan.
2. Wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and
major weather disasters are all signs
that the end is
near. Mat 24:6-8
3. All of these
signs are present in today's environment around the world.
V:2. "For that you may know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
A. The second coming
of Christ will be unexpected.
1. The work of
the Lord in the Church will not be complete until He comes back.
2. We know that
there is much work to be done.
3. We can see the
suffering all around us.
B. We are charged to
spread the Word, which will draw His elect to Him.
1. We should be
busy while expecting His immediate return.
2. Just as Jesus
came to save the lost, we have an immense and present work in
spreading the
Word to the lost.
V:3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape."
A. It is easy to be
complacent when our situation is calm and peaceful.
1. It is easy to
forget that Jesus will return when you are satisfied with yourself.
B. Day in and day,
out we exist.
1. As yet another
sun rises and falls and Christ, and Christ still has yet to come, it
becomes
less and less present in our minds that Christ is on his way
2. As sure as woman
delivering a baby will have birth pains, Christ is coming
back.
C. The
"they" in this verse are those who will not believe in Christ.
1. Their
destruction is certain, but the time is not made known.
V:4. "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that
day should overtake you as a thief."
A. Believers have the
Word of God and never dwell in the dark.
1. We do not know
when Christ will return.
a. We do know
is that He is coming.
B. We must wait with
faith that Jesus’ return.
1. We must live
as though His return is immediate.
2. We should
always maintain fellowship with Jesus, perfecting ourselves in
preparation
for His return.
V:5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of
the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."
A. We belong to Jesus
and therefore are Children of the King.
1. We are the
family of Jesus. He will not leave us in the dark.
2. We have His
Word in print so that we can know His will for ourselves.
B. Darkness is a
choice: we choose darkness when we choose not to study His Word or
or not to
believe in His Word.
1. To be in the
dark is to be ignorant of His Word.
2. God has gifted
us with spiritual eyes to “see” His second coming.
C. Through the power
of the Holy Spirit we have a omnipresent teacher, always
available to
aid in our understanding.
V:6. "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let
us watch and be sober."
A. We have a an
obligation to be constantly aware of the Lord's coming.
1. We have a
responsibility to be work toward the Lord's coming.
B. The word
"watch" is to be awake.
1. We should
actively anticipate of His return.
C. The word
"sober" means to refrain from abuse of wine.
1. We should not
abuse the privilege of our salvation by acting as if this is
our home.
2. We should not
forget that Jesus’ return could be in
the next moment.
V:7. "For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they
that be drunken are drunken in the night."
A. Night and day are
made for each other.
1. Christians should
work during in the day, and sleep during the night.
2. All of our work should
be dedicated unto the Lord.
3. The Lord gave us
the night to rest.
4. The night's rest
is our time of rejuvenating before the next day’s work.
B. Those who dwell in
darkness do not know when to rest.
1. They are drunk
in the complacency of the belief that time is on their side.
2. When they work,
their work is not unto the Lord.
a. The Lord
has no need to give them rest because there is no work time in them.
b. They worry
and have no peace because their focus is on the world.
C. People who dwell
in the darkness are satisfied being in the dark because they don't
know the joy of
the light.
V:8. "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting
on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of
salvation."
A. Because we are
Children of the day, we are commanded to wait for the
second coming of
the Lord.
B. The wait is secure
and sure in our faith.
1. If we love the
Lord, we will in continuously anticipate of His return.
2. Faith in the
Lord keeps us on course and protects us from ways of the world.
C. Salvation is a
free gift.
1. During our
time on earth, active faith feeds the hope in our hearts.
2. Because we are grateful for this free
gift, we serve the Lord with gladness.
V:9. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."
A. Salvation is by
appointment of the Lord.
1. Jesus’ death
on the cross was by appointment of the Lord for us.
B. Not every person
has been appointed by God.
2. Through grace,
he appointed some of us to salvation.
3. He appointed
some to wrath.
C. Only God knows why
some are appointed to salvation, and some to wrath.
1. We must rejoice in our appointment.
V:10. "Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with him."
A. Jesus is the
reason for our salvation.
1. We should be
constantly mindful of the position we have in Jesus.
2. We should be
grateful for the grace of God that falls fresh on us during each
moment of our
lives.
3. We belong to
Jesus.
a. Our lives
are permanently tied to Jesus.
b. He is our
keeper.
4. He keeps us
whether living or dead.
B. In Jesus we never
die
1. Even when we
are dead to this world, we are alive in Jesus.
2. We have
eternal life with Jesus.
V:11."Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify
one another, even as also ye do."
A. Given our eternal
hope is in Jesus, we should encourage and uplift each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment