Called to Hope

Disclaimer: unedited & uncited transcript, please contact Pastor Tommy 

Good morning, Castleton Church family. I hope it is well with your soul this Sunday. I'm glad we are together to sit under God's word together. I'm very thankful to have been able to take part in the core class that we started on Wednesday. Thank you to Nicholas, for leading us so well in that first one, helping us to... We're learning to read our Bibles better together, to be good stewards of God's word. And that was a very fruitful time. If you missed out on that first one, it's not too late to jump on the train. You can find the class and the materials online. And certainly on Wednesday, we'd love for you to join with us as we go on this journey together.

This morning, we're going to continue our series through 1 Thessalonians. Our text is 1 Thessalonians, chapter four, verses 13 through 18, 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verses 13 through 18. This is what God's word says, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do, who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep."

"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words."

Brothers and sisters, this is the word of the Lord. Let's begin our time in the word with a word of prayer. Father, we need your help. Your help for it to be well in our souls, for us to face the many difficulties of this life, the reality of death, our own deaths, the deaths of those we love. Lord, in our flesh, we don't have the strength to face those things with joy. And yet, with your help, by your spirit and with your word, we know we can have that hope in our heart that Jesus will come back. Instill that in us now, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

"I do not believe in life after death. As soon as our brain stops receiving blood, we go. And after that, there will be nothing. No punishment for bad things you did. No rewards for the utterly wonderful." Those are the words of a man named George Blake, passed away the day after Christmas this year, this last year. He's noteworthy for being the most prolific double agent in US history. That is a person, a spy, someone like out of a James Bond thriller that did harm to the United States, more so than any other spy. He gave over a thousands of documents to our adversaries that led to the deaths of many Americans.

You might ask, how could someone do something so evil like that, betraying their own countrymen and friends? Well, the answer comes from the way he thought of life after death. There's no life after death. And that means there is no judgment. And that means, well, the morality really doesn't matter now, does it? It may seem like living as if there's nothing after this life might be a good strategy. It might let you live without guilt. And yet, let me submit to you that doing so has an unintended consequence that I don't think many like Mr. Blake consider until it's far too late.

A life that ends when your mortal body ends in this world is not only free from morality, it's free from hope. I mean, think about it, if you are just a biological organism, a living clock that is winding down, and one day will stop ticking. It really doesn't matter what you do, true, but it really, there's nothing for you to look forward to. You might as well live it up now, because this is as good as it ever is going to get. It's a pretty hopeless way to go through life. It's such a contrast to the way that Christians are supposed to think about their life in this world, because of what they think about their life in the world to come.

We've reached that point in 1 Thessalonians, where the Apostle Paul turns to the great virtue of hope. He's been showing the Thessalonians Christians, what it is God wants of them, what he wants for all Christians, really, to grow, yes, in holiness, to grow in love. And this week, to grow in hope. The way he'll do that is by showing that the return and resurrection of Jesus gives Christians hope. Yes, even in death.

There was a problem in the Thessalonian church. They were operating with sketchy info about what would happen on the final day of judgment. And that sketchy info was allowing for gaps to be filled in by cultural assumptions. They lived in a day that was very pessimistic about death. Certainly, most people did believe in an afterlife, but they didn't have much hope for those who entered it.

We have a very popular grave inscription found in Thessalonica that reads like this, "I was not, and I was. I am not. And I care not." That was such a popular inscription that just the abbreviation for it was all that was needed to be written on graves for people to understand what was being said, this very pessimistic, fatalistic view of death.

One Greek writer, Theocratus, he said it this way, he says hopes are for the living. Without hope are the dead. In a culture like that, in a milieu like that, you can understand how a young church who had their discipleship process interrupted would enter into trouble. You can see verse 13, Paul tells us what it is he hopes to do within them here. Second half of verse 13, "That you may not grieve as others do, who have no hope." This end is a passage to instill hope in the hearts of grieving Christians, Christians who see other brothers and sisters pass from this world through death and are left wondering what does that mean for them. To that very place, Paul gives three reasons. Three reasons that we should hope in the face of death when a Christian dies. They are as follows.

First, you should have hope because dead Christians are not gone, but will return with Jesus. We'll see that in verse 14, that Christians are not gone, but will return with Jesus. Second, dead Christians will not miss out, but we'll be raised by Jesus. Dead Christians won't miss out, they'll be raised by Jesus, in 15 through 16. Then finally, all Christians will be together with Jesus forever. All Christians will be together with Jesus forever. That's what we see in verse 17.

Let's begin with that first section. Dead Christians are not gone, but will return with Jesus. Verse 14 starts off with what we call a creed, that's just a short summary for the faith that the believers affirm together. In verse 14, "For, since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

Paul starts with something that the Thessalonians knew, that was not in dispute. Jesus surely died and he surely rose again. They had no trouble with that point. There was something they would have regularly said together in their worship gatherings. But he wants to go further than that. He wants to teach them of something that maybe they only had very sketchy information about, that is that not only did Jesus die and rise again, he will come back. And his coming back will, along with him, bring with him all the dead Christians that have ever lived. That's what the second half of the verse says, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Very important as you study this passage this morning, as well as the first part of chapter five, to understand there are two types of Christians that Paul is going to describe, dead Christians and living Christians. Those two types of Christians are described in different ways. Sometimes they call it the living and the dead. Other times they're called the sleeping and those that are awake. Now, there's a reason for that.

Sleep was a common euphemism, a kind way of describing death back in those days. You can walk through your Old Testament and find the same thing, where sleep is a way of describing death. It's partly just because of the way a dead person looks. And they're not going anywhere. They're still. Their eyes generally are closed. They look peaceful as if they're sleeping. But it carries with it for a Christian something beyond that, sleep is a temporary state. You laid down to go to bed and you expect to get up, maybe woken up by an alarm or maybe you wake up on your own, but you expect to get back up. So, it is for a Christian, when they think of another Christian that has died. We don't believe that they are gone. We just believe that they are somewhere else for a while. They are in the presence of Jesus. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Now, somehow, the Thessalonians had missed this part of their discipleship. They had some confusion of what happened to Christians after they died. So, Paul spells it out for them. They will come back with Jesus when Jesus comes back for his second coming. And there are many implications for this. But of the most basic, is the most comforting. It means for Christians, between Christians, there's really no such thing as a goodbye. There are only, see you laters.

I love watching as little children play that game that surely goes back to the earliest days of humanity, Peekaboo. You know Peekaboo, right? Maybe we play with your grandkids. You hide your face from them for a moment. And then you all at once reveal it and go Peekaboo to reveal that giant grin on that little child's face. Now, Peekaboo is a game that has a short lifespan. You can't play it with your 14-year old grandchild, right? There's a reason for that. Because as we mature, we come to understand things. Our brains develop, and we realize that when objects are hidden, that does not mean that they cease to exist. Now, something is possible for something just to go somewhere else for a short period of time.

So, two, is there is a spiritual maturing that must happen. You understand, as a Christian, that just because you don't see Jesus with your physical eyes doesn't mean he doesn't exist. But it's a little harder with people that you have spent time with in the flesh, that you have hugged, that you have looked in the eye, when you're forced to say see you later to them. It can feel like they are gone. But if they are in fact not gone, if they are in fact just somewhere else. And if their time away from us is in fact, very short in light of eternity, then you can understand how the description of someone sleeping makes sense.

One commentator put it this way, it wouldn't be wrong to say, it says if a dead Christian is just someone taking a nap in another room. With that room, it's being heaven itself. They'll be back before you know it.

I love the way D.L Moody thought of himself in this way. Before his death, he said, "One day you'll hear that D.L moody has died. Do not believe it for a second. I will be more alive in that moment than I have ever been. I will have simply left the earthly tent of this body for our far better heavenly dwelling."

When a Christian dies, they don't cease to exist. They just go somewhere else for a while. And that place is a good place. They go to the very presence of Jesus in heaven. Their existence is one of joy, even if it is one that is temporary, waiting for the day where they will return. And as we'll see in a second, receive a resurrection body.

So, Christians that are dead are not gone. And one day they will return with Jesus. But there's a further question to the Thessalonians mind. Okay. It's one thing to say, the Christians are going to come back, but are they going to be at some sort of disadvantage? Are they going to miss out on all the good stuff? And that's what brings us to our second point.

Dead Christians won't miss out, but we'll be raised by Jesus in verses 15 through 16. Verse 15 reads, "For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with a voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."

It's been said that timing is everything. I've been told by those who know such things that when it comes to consignment sales, those places where parents go to buy all sorts of clothes and strollers, and things for their kids, I've been told that the good stuff gets taken in the first few rounds. That getting there early is the key to getting the good deals. All that means that if you show up late, well, you are going to have the leftovers. You're not going to find much worth of value.

There was a similar fear of missing out, going on with the Thessalonians Christians for, on behalf of the dead, the Christians that had already died from their midst. They worried that as the kingdom of God was finally consummated, as the eternal state finally arrived, that those who had died would somehow be second-class citizens. That all the good seats for the kingdom would be taken. So, they'd end up in the nosebleeds. Maybe they thought the resurrection process would take a long time. Who knows?

But it's clear that Paul's point is to assure them that dead Christians won't miss out on anything. He goes out of his way to tell them that we who are alive, that is saying Christians alive when Jesus comes back, won't precede. And then at the very end, he tells them that the resurrection will happen first. All of this is to get straight in their heads the order of the events. They will be resurrected before the good stuff starts happening.

Well, after that, Paul goes into the nitty gritty details of what the second coming will be. You might say like an agenda of what will happen when Jesus returns. And this isn't the only passage in the Bible that talks about this, but it is the most detailed one. So, it's worth us following the steps that Jesus described for Jesus's second coming. There are three main ones.

First, in verse 16, we're told that Jesus will begin descending from heaven. That the same way Jesus left, ascending to heaven, it's the same way he will come back. The Lord will descend. That's what kicks all this off. That is the main event. But attached to that as the second step, his coming will be accompanied by great announcements. There are three noises that are described, three sounds that will be the prelude to his arrival, announcing to everyone, "Here is the King." There is a commanding shout that is described probably from Jesus himself. The word used there is the type of word used to describe a military commander barking out orders to his troops or a trainer barking out instructions to an animal. There will be the voice of an archangel. Those highest tier of God's servants, those angelic beings, the greatest of them, will let out a cry to announce the coming of his Lord. There will be the trumpet of God sounded.

Think back to Sinai. As God's people were coming for their first meeting with God, they heard the great and terrible sound of the trumpet of God. And it caused great reverence and fear among them. That same trumpet sounds to declare, "Here is your God." As Jesus descends to the earth. All the three of these sounds are announcements that the king of the earth has finally arrived.

There is a third step. The one Paul has been driving to, the dead Christians will be resurrected. We're not told how they are resurrected. I think it's right to infer that their resurrection comes from that first sound, that authoritative commanding shout they hear coming from the lips of Jesus. Jesus told us to expect something like this in his earthly ministry, back in John 5:25, he described this day and he said this. He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who hear will live." Jesus goes on to describe the resurrection from the dead as the authoritative son speaks, commands the dead to come back to life. The Lord Jesus himself will say, "Arise." And every single one of his sheep that has ever laid down to sleep, every single one will hear their masters command and joyfully stand up out of their graves.

All of this is meant, let's not miss the big point of this, to tell us that Christians who have died, won't miss out on anything. Jesus is going to make sure they are resurrected, that they are in glorified, resurrected bodies as the good stuff begins.

Well, but what is the good stuff? What is the thing that's worth fearing missing out on? That's what we see in our final point in verse 17, the final step in this process. All Christians will be together with Jesus forever. All Christians will be with Jesus together with Jesus forever.

The last stage is for the dead, newly resurrected, and the living, newly transformed to be caught up to the Lord Jesus and begin their eternal fellowship with him, to be with him forever. Now, before I get more into the details of that, it's worth pausing here to interact with one of the most popular interpretations of this passage.

Many Bible believing, gospel preaching Christians believe that this is describing the secret rapture of the church. Often, this view is often described as a dispensational pre-millennialism. The idea is that Jesus, in this moment, secretly arrives and resurrects the dead Christians, and catches up or snatches, raptures the living Christians, and brings them up to the clouds. And then from there, they head to heaven while the rest of the earth is left unaware, to enter into the seven years of tribulation and all the chaos that will ensue.

Now, again, there are many Bible believing, genuine believers, who I love dearly, who understand this passage and other ones in the Bible as teaching this. So, I want to be respectful as I disagree with that. And let me be clear. I see this as one of those third tier issues that members of our church should be free to disagree with each other on as long as we do so respectfully. But with that said, I don't think that that is what this passage is teaching. And in fact, there two reasons that I think the text as we pay careful attention to it right here, would show us that that is not what Paul has in mind. So, let me point out those two reasons.

First, is the way that Jesus's arrival is announced, does not suggest anything of secrecy. There are trumpets, angelic heralds, a shout from Jesus himself. And if we go by earthly analogies, a king that is heralded, trumpeted, who gives an authoritative cry is not exactly being subtle. I think it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that the vast majority of the world would be understood to have no clue what is occurring at this moment. It suggests public proclamation that everyone would hear.

Second reason, is it Jesus, as far as I could tell, he is not leaving. He is arriving on earth. Jesus is not coming to take people away. He is coming to meet people, and then to continue descending down onto the earth. I think it's helpful to understand this, that there are several reasons why we should understand the text that way. Well, one is that there was a very common Greek custom of how you would greet dignitaries. The idea was that someone important like a king or a governor was coming to your city, you would send out an honored, welcome party, to go outside of the city to meet that dignitary. And then you would escort them into the city as the throngs would cheer them on. That was a very well-known pattern for showing honor to someone of great importance in that day.

Though, and it's telling that the word used to describe these welcome parties and this greeting is the same exact word that Paul uses to describe us meeting Jesus in the air. The word is upon apantesis, and it's used very consistently that way in Greek literature. But as important as that is, I don't know about you, I like to see parallels in the Bible specifically. And there are two that I think just very briefly convinced me that this is what Paul has in mind. We see this exact same usage the two other times, the only two other times, this is used in the New Testament. One is in Acts 28:15. Paul is on his way to Rome, and the Christians who hear about it, send out a welcome party to meet him.

Let's read it together, Acts 28:15, "And the brothers there when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage." And straight from there, what do they do? They go back into Rome. See the pattern. They come out. They meet. And then they go in.

Same sort of thing is happening in Matthew chapter 25, verse six, the virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. And then there's that command that comes, "Come out and meet him." And the virgins that are ready, come out to meet him. And then just a few verses later, they go in together into the wedding ceremony, the reception, the wedding reception. So again, you see the pattern, you go out, you meet and you enter in.

So, what is it that Paul is teaching here? Well, I think what Christians have understood as far back as 8,400, is correct, that he is here teaching that Christian will make up the welcome party as joy does come to the world. As the words that we sing are finally true, joy to the world the Lord has come, let earth receive her king. That we will have the great joy of meeting Jesus and escorting him to this earth that he will remake into a new heavens and a new earth.

This is not a new idea. All the way back in the 400s, one of the church fathers named John Chrysostom, he was a bishop in Constantinople. He had this to say, "For as when this king ceremoniously entered a city, certain dignitaries and city rulers, and many others were confident toward the sovereign. They would go out to the city to meet him. But the guilty and the condemned criminals would be guarded within, awaiting the sentence which the king would deliver. In the same way when the Lord comes, those who are confident toward him will meet him in the midst of the air. But the condemned who are conscious of having committed many sins, will wait below for their judge."

So, brothers and sisters, the good news is that we will get to be part of the welcome party, whether we are alive at the moment Jesus comes back, or whether we have died and await the resurrection. That we together will meet Jesus in the air. And that as a giant welcome party, made up of every Christian that has ever put their trust in Jesus. We will walk with him as he takes those first steps on this earth as the king that has come back to rule. Joy of joys, we will be with Jesus. And Just catch the best part of all, we will be with him together for ever. Our joy will go on and on. Jesus himself will be our joy. Our fellowship will never again be broken. There'll be no more goodbyes, no more heartbreak, no more anticipation of one day having that moment or seeing Jesus face to face, because that moment is finally here.

I hope just thinking about that, stirs your heart this morning. I hope as it stirs your heart, it helps you to hope, because unless Jesus comes back within our lifetimes, each one of us will still have to face death.

There are many ways that we can apply this passage to us. Let me give you a few that I think are most helpful for us this morning. First, have you noticed that the tone of this passage, this prophetic passage talking about the second coming is a tone of encouragement. I fear that far too often, as we talk about prophecy, and the times and seasons, and thinking about when Jesus will come back, our tone is something very different. Very often our tone is of fear, even a sort of resignation. Could you speak about the Lord's return in such a way that it builds up, that it kindles the flame of hope within the heart of another believer? Ask yourself, "Am I passing the tone test? The way I talk about Jesus coming back, am I encouraging others or am I discouraging them?"

I think the most directly, there's a word here for us as we grieve someone that we love that has been lost in Christ. Sometimes as Christians give the impression that we are immune to grief. That because of the resurrection, because we will see other Christians, that we don't feel it when someone dies. And friends, this is not true. It is a hard thing to say, "See you later." Even knowing that it's not forever. God's made us in such a way that we are relational. We grow close to each other. And when those relational ties are severed, even for a time, we feel it. Maybe even this morning, you find yourself in some stage of grief. Maybe you've lost someone over this last year. Maybe you're worried about losing someone and having preemptive grief.

Please, whatever you get from this passage, don't get that you are forbidden from grieving. That is not true. You're not told here not to grieve. You're told in the midst of your grief, that you should be able to find hope. And one way you do that is by remembering you're not really saying goodbye to someone who dies in Christ. You're really saying, "I'll see you later."

Now, it is a long slow road to grieve. Please be patient with yourself and give God time to begin to heal your wounds, as you try and instill this hope in your own heart.

Now, there's a call here to us as a community to be the sort of people that help each other in our grieving. That last verse, verse 18, "Encourage one another with these words." There's a ministry for every member of our church to be the way that God wraps his arms around us when we lose someone that we love in Christ. I love the way you do this, church. I've watched the way that you have propped up your brothers and sisters in Christ, as they grieve the loss of spouses and parents, and even children. Continue doing that. Continue reminding them of the hope they have in Jesus.

Let me just give you an exhortation to make you more effective in that mercy ministry toward the grieving. Sometimes in our best efforts, we unintentionally cause more harm than we know possible. We should never give the impression that we are trying to cork up someone's grief. It's much better to take the posture that mostly, this means coming alongside and weeping with those who weep. Very often, the best thing you can do is just sit there silently, to be present, to hug, to pray.

The second one, just remember to be patient. Grief is usually measured in months and years, not in days and hours. It may be a long time before someone in their grief is ready to hear the theological reasons why they should have hope. Be patient, but also be ready because there will come a point where every believer that the spirit inhabits our heart will yearn for yes, this truth that will stir our hope. The truth that the dead in Christ are not gone. They're just somewhere else. And just as surely as Jesus rose from the dead, he's coming back and he's bringing them with him. And on that day, you need to be ready to tell them that they have not said goodbye forever. They've just said, "See you later." So, be ready for that.

Now, that's only possible, if you get used to talking about death. It should not be a taboo thing for Christians to speak of death. And in fact, we of the most in society should be those who are able to speak truthfully and even soberly about the reality of death.

Parents, I know sometimes it can feel like it will be emotionally too difficult to talk about death with their kids. But let me encourage you exactly the opposite. Begin to teach them that this life doesn't go on forever. Teach them of the hope of heaven, of what happens to believers when they die. Do so while the grief is not upon them. It will help their hearts to be strengthened. And when they are forced to deal with grief, they will be in a much better place emotionally.

One book I just recommend to you, there's a book by Lauren Chandler, called Goodbye to Goodbyes. It's intended to help children to understand this very thing we've been talking about, the hope of resurrection, life for Christians, and how that helps you in the midst of your grief. I highly recommend that book to you.

Let me just say to all of us who are married, one of the chief reasons God has for us to be knit together in marriage is to prepare each other for the day in which we will say, "See you later." To prepare for the day when one of us will die. Talk about the reality of death, not because you want to be morbid, but because you need to build that spiritual maturity. And it only happens when you become fluent in speaking of death. And yes, the hope in death, the resurrection of Jesus. Talk about the fact that your marriage won't be forever, that you'll walk for a time in this world together, but that you will be together forever with that great throng around Jesus.

Now, if you are listening to this sermon this morning, and you're not a Christian, I wonder if you've thought much about what happens after you die. Maybe you haven't been able to stop thinking about it with the reality of the coronavirus pandemic, that has forced many of us to reckon with the fact that our lives won't go on forever. Friend, it is a hopeless way to live, to imagine that there is nothing except the biological impulses going on in your brain until one day they stop.

The Bible teaches that you are in a sense going to live forever. That all of us made in the image of God, well, either spend eternity with God and right relationship with him or eternity under conscious punishment in hell, away from his presence. That means, friend, that you might be much worse off than you ever imagined, if what the Bible says is true. But the good news is far better than you ever had any hope to imagine, because that same God sent his son, Jesus, to die, to rise again, and to give hope to people like you and I, who have no reason to look forward to our death. Jesus bore the penalty our sins deserved when he died on the cross. And in so doing, he absorbed the punishment that each and every one of us would surely face, if we face God on own merit. Because of that, Jesus can bring us into right relationship with God and he can even offer us a life that goes on forever, as he would call it eternal life

Friend, you can look forward to your death, not with dread, but even with a sense of anticipation, if you will trust Jesus to save you from your sins. And if you'll trust Jesus to give you eternal life. You can do that today. Don't walk through this life, living hopeless another day. Put your trust in Jesus.

To all of us who find ourselves as those who have hope in the day coming to the resurrection, let's remember how good it is that we really don't say goodbye to other Christians, that we just say, "See you later." That one day we will be reunited and with them, with Jesus forever.

I once had the privilege of going to the funeral of an elderly pastor. He had been on staff. He had retired from normal pastoring duties, had been working as a part-time visitation pastor for some time. I loved picking his brain about how best to walk alongside the hurting. It's just a wealth of information.

One day he came home from visiting. And his wife was preparing dinner and she said it would be a little while before it was ready. So he said, "Okay, I'm going to head upstairs and take a little nap." And at his funeral, his wife said he went upstairs and laid down to sleep. And then he woke up in heaven.

I remember talking with his wife after the worst of the grief had passed. And with a smile, she spoke of that moment of how peaceful it was that he passed to be in the place of Jesus, see the face of Jesus with no fear at all. And she spoke so kindly, and so hopefully, of the fact that one day she would see her husband again, that they would spend eternity with Jesus forever.

Brothers and sisters, that is the hope that each and every one of us should have for our own deaths and for the deaths of those that we love so dearly in Christ, a living hope. A hope that can't be snatched from us by anything in this world.

So, brothers and sisters take heart. Remember that Jesus is surely coming back, that he is surely bringing the dead in Christ with him. And that they will be raised to enjoy his presence forever with all Christians, living or dead. That is our common future in Christ.

Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for the living hope we have. Would you now grant us, even if we find ourselves in the midst of grief, would you grant us a sense of peace and joy in the hope we have. Let us long for that day when you return. We pray in your mighty name. Amen.