I agree to all of you in the Blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ our text for this morning's message is taken from first Thessalonians 4 13 to 18. today is Resurrection Sunday churches all over the world are commemorating the resurrection of Christ the resurrection is the very hope that we Christians cling onto as we leave our lives in this temporal world without the resurrection there would be no worship service this morning there will be no church here or anywhere else in this world without the resurrection even if there is a worship service we will be like thousands of religions that worship a dead human matter but praise be to God that our lord Jesus was risen on the third day and we worship a risen savior there are two things that our lord Jesus had done for our salvation he died on the cross to save us from our sins and he was risen from the dead with the power of eternal salvation the crucifixion and the resurrection the cross and the empty tomb these are the two things that preachers who preach again and again the title of our message is the significance of Christ death and Resurrection allow me to give you a brief background of this passage oftentimes we say we are living in the last days but what are the events of the end times soon the world will enter into a period known as the tribulation it is a Time whereby the world will experience great hardship calamities disasters pestilences famines Wars persecutions and sufferings and then the second coming of Christ will occur where Jesus the King of Kings and the Lords of Lords will return to this earth to establish his Millennial Kingdom and followed by the great whitetron judgment where the unbelievers will be judged by God and cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire and God will destroy this present Earth which has been tainted with sin and he will create the new heavens and the new Earth where the Believers will dwell with him forever and ever in the New Jerusalem just before the tribulation there will be this event known as the resurrection and rapture Jesus will come in the clouds the Believers who are dead and buried in the graves will rise first and be United with their souls in a glorified body then those believers who are still alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and they shall be with him forever and ever when Jesus comes in the clouds if you are a believer and you have already died your body will be resurrected to be United with your soul in a glorified body if you are still alive you will be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus in the air so all Christians would either be Resurrected or be raptured this is the Blessed hope taught by the Apostle Paul here in first Thessalonians 4 13 to 18 and First Corinthians 15 51-53 as well as taught by our lord Jesus himself in John 14. of all the end times events perhaps the resurrection and rapture seem to generate the greatest interest and discussion many books have been written about this topic because people have many questions about the resurrection and rapture the Christians at thessalonica also had their questions and the Apostle Paul had to answer them Paul's answer were not only Doctrine but pastoral because his main concern was not to give a detailed description of the resurrection and Rapture which the Bible tells us is a mystery but his main concern was to comfort the Thessalonians as he said in verse 18 wherefore Comfort one another with these words you see the Thessalonians were very concerned about the resurrection and rapture they were very troubled and confused because firstly they were afraid that they had missed the rapture at this point in time they were being persecuted and since they were experiencing intense persecution they thought this could well be the tribulation and if they were still remaining on this Earth that would mean they had missed the rapture secondly there were also some false teachers who were teaching the Believers that the tribulation or the day of the Lord had already occurred that was why Paul had to explain to the Believers in second Thessalonians 2 verse 3 let no man deceive you by any means for that day the tribulation shall not come except there come a falling away first and that the man of sinned be revealed the son of perdition the Antichrist so the persecution they were suffering was not associated with the tribulation it was simply the persecution that all believers like you and me would expect to face second Timothy 3 verse 12 says yeah and all that will leave Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution dear friends perhaps like the Thessalonians you are concerned are you afraid of death when you die what will happen to your body and where is your soul if Jesus comes in the clouds will your body still remain in the grave if you are still alive when Jesus comes in the clouds will you be caught up to meet him in the air on Good Friday churches all over the world commemorates the death of Christ on Resurrection Sunday they commemorate the resurrection of Christ what has Christ's death and Resurrection got to do with us this is what we want to learn from today's passage in first Thessalonians 4 13 to 18. the significance of Christ's death and Resurrection firstly Christ death transforms the believer's death into sleep let us begin with verse 13. but I would not have you to be ignorant Brethren concerning them which are asleep that is sorrow not even as others which have no hope when our loved ones die sorrow is a normal emotional feeling they will come upon us it is a sorrow that is caused by the pain of separation and loneliness a dear sister told me that in the morning in the afternoon she feels all right she had just lost her husband but when evening comes when the sun sets that is when my heart is gripped with sorrow how true it is a normal emotional feeling our lord Jesus himself wept over the death of Lazarus Paul urged the Romans to weep with them that weep Romans 12 15. Paul did not forbid the Believers to weep and grieve over the death of their loved ones it is natural it is spontaneous but he did not want them to grieve like those who have no hope who are those who have no hope the unbelievers according to Ephesians 2 verse 2. the unbelievers were without Christ they were aliens and strangers of the Covenant of God's promise they were without God in this world and they had no hope for the unbelievers when a loved one dies when the coffin is closed there is this most awful and finer farewell whereby it cannot be comforted there will be no hope of reunioned we shall never meet again for the Believers it is different we will never say a final farewell with each other our separation at death is only temporal because in the Sweet By and By we shall meet again on that beautiful Shore of Heaven though we will still be sorrowful we will still be crying but it will not be a sorrow like those who have no hope in a certain Christian funeral service someone said to the bereaved husband I'm so sorry that you have lost your wife the husband replied no I didn't lose her you cannot lose something when you know where it is and I know where she is my wife is in heaven she is with the Lord the word asleep is a reference to those believers who have died Jesus used the same expression in John 11 11 to 13. our friend Lazarus sleepeth but I go that I may awake him out of sleep Dan said his disciples Lord if he sleep he shall do well how be it Jesus spoke of his death but they thought that he has spoken of taking of rest in sleep so the word sleep can mean normal sleep as in rest or death depending on the context but here in first Thessalonians chapter 4 it means death it is important to know that whenever the word sleep refers to death in the Bible it applies only to the body and never to the soul there's this false teaching that the soul of the debt goes into a state of conscious or unconscious existence in the afterlife they call it Soul sleep there's no such thing taught in the Bible second Corinthians 5 verse it says we are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord what is absent from the body and what is present with the Lord the soul when the believer dies the body is dead and buried but the soul is alive and goes immediately to be with the Lord if he has trusted Jesus Christ when the unbeliever dies the soul or spirit also leaves the body but Goes to Hell awaiting for the great white drone judgment there's no such thing as Soul sleeps the present tense participle of the word asleep tells us that there are people who would continually fall asleep or continually die so in a sense the Thessalonians were very concerned what would happen to their unbelieving brethren who have passed away and are still continually passing away this may be the same question you would ask what about our loved ones friends and church members who have gone before us and others are still passing away continually as a pastor I have to be ready to preach in season and out of season this is commanded in the Bible and the message I have to always be prepared to preach at all times is a funeral message it's not a worthy message or a Home dedication message because people do not get married all of a sudden or move into a new house suddenly but people do suddenly die and they will continually die every day and we do not know when it will be Alton it could be today it could be tomorrow are you prepared are you afraid of death indeed death is frightening and how can it not be the wages of sin is death and he disappointed unto man wants to die and after this the judgment can you fathom standing before an all-powerful holy and just God in the horror of your sins sins that you are committed in the dark sins that you have done no one knows God knows sins that are in the deepest recesses of your hearts when you stand in the horror of your sins it is most terrifying but look at the first part of verse 14 for if we believe that Jesus died in other words since we believe that Jesus died or the fact that we believe that Jesus died what has the death of Christ got to do with us well Christ died and satisfied the demands of God's righteousness Holiness and Justice by paying the penalty of our sins by virtue of Christ's atoning sacrifice God hath made him to be sin for us he's perfect but God made him to Bear our sins who knew no sinned that we might be made the righteousness of God in him second Corinthians 5 21 Jesus Took upon himself on the cross of Calvary when he died your sins and my sins notice it is interesting that the metaphor of sleep is only use of us Paul did not use the metaphor or sleep to refer to Jesus he simply said this Jesus died in a sense Jesus died so that you and I do not need to fear death and death is now applied to ask Christians asleep the body goes to sleep Christ experience the full Wrath of death in all his dimensions when he bore our sins on the cross his death transforms the deaf of all the Believers into sleep T.E Wilson the missionary who went to Africa said this allow me to quote him death has been changed to sleep by the work of Christ it is an app metaphor in which the whole concept of death is transformed Christ made sleep the name of death in the language of the church how wonderful when we see a believer who trusted the Lord Jesus Christ away we know that that believer's soul is with the Lord but the body goes to sleep that is our language Christ's death indeed has transformed the believer's death into sleep our second point is Christ's Resurrection is the source of the believer's Resurrection look at the second part of verse 14 for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also we sleep in Jesus will God bring with him Jesus died and shared his Precious Blood on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for our sins and his resurrection proof that the father had accepted his sacrifice enabling him to be the justifier of our faith the resurrection of Christ proved that he had conquered sin and death if Jesus remained in the grave his body that will mean that sin and death was not conquered he is the source of our Resurrection home that is why Jesus was able to say because I live ye shall live also the resurrection of Christ is extremely important
if you have your Bibles please turn with me to First Corinthians 15 13 to 20 which was our responsive reading allow me to read for you first Corinthians 15 verse 13 to 20. but if there be no resurrection of the Dead then is Christ not reasoned and if Christ be not risen then our preaching is then and your faith is also then yeah and we have found false weaknesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up if so be that the dead rise not for if the dead rise not then is Christ not raised and if Christ be not raised your faith is in vained ye are yet in your sins then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them the slept have you ever considered this question what if Christ was not raised from the dead would that make any difference to your faith could you still go on being a Christian some people may be wondering what has the resurrection of Christ got to do with my faith or about me being a Christian a British agnostic one set let us not discuss the other miracles let us not discuss the other matters but let us discuss the resurrection of Christ because if the resurrection is true then all the other Miracles are easily explained but if the resurrection is not true then all the other miracles do not matter dear friends the foundation of the Christians faith rise and form on the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ firstly Paul said and if Christ be not reasoned then is our preaching veined if Christ was not raised from the dead then there's no such thing as resurrection power and our preaching is nothing but empty words with no meaning if our preaching is meaningless I submit to you you're coming to church this morning to worship God to listen to the word of God is also vain meaningless secondly Paul says if Christ be not reasoned your faith is also vain faith is only as good as the object in which we place our faith if you and I put our faith in Jesus Christ and Christ was not risen from the dead then he's the dead savior and a dead savior cannot give life faith in such a gospel is truly vain it is meaningless that is why Paul says your faith will be in vained thirdly Paul says yeah and we are found false weaknesses of Christ because we have testified of God that he has raised up Christ whom he raised not up if so be that the dead rise not the apostles claimed to have sinned the Risen Savior and if Christ was not raised from the dead then every person who claimed to have sinned the Risen Christ every person who preached the Risen Christ would be a liar so if you deny the resurrection you are actually saying that the apostles and every other leader in the New Testament Church is a liar and the worst thing is that this apostles were lying against God because they claim God did something but in reality he didn't and if the apostles and the New Testament writers had so blatantly lied about Christ's Resurrection why should we believe them when they say that the Bible was divinely inspired and preserved why would we believe them when they say that the Bible is truly the word of God can you see how the entire Bible stands and fall based on the validity of Christ's Resurrection fourthly Paul says and if Christ be not raised your faith is vain yet I.E in your sins of all the consequences perhaps this will be the worst because if Christ was not raised from the dead then the power of sin is sovereign in our lives the purpose of trusting in Christ is for the forgiveness of sin right because from sin we need this salvation we need to be saved from sin if the power of the Resurrection is the very thing that says us free from the bondage of sin but there's no Resurrection then there's no power of the Resurrection sin will be sovereign you and I will be still under the penalty of sins Believers will be no better than the most wicked and unbelieving pagan Doom for Eternal damnation fifthly Paul says then they also which are asleep in Christ are perished the word perish means to die to be destroyed or to be lost it is the opposite of having everlasting life remember John 3 16 says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life if Christ was not raised from the dead we will perish we will be lost because there's no living savior if Jesus cannot defeat death how can we if Jesus did not defeat death then no man will ever defeat death will still have dominion finally Paul says if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable we profess to believe in a savior who says to us in my father's house are many mentions I go to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself we believe that our sins are forgiven we have eternal life and yet Christ was not raised from the dead what would happen he did not defeat sin and death he was just a man we would be the most miserable people on the face of this Earth because we are believing in a myth we are believing a lie but the Apostle Paul says in verse 20 but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them the slept Christ is risen from the dead and all our preaching is not in vain but profitable Christ is risen from the dead all our faith is not in vained but our faith is fixed on the one who says I am the resurrection and the life Christ is risen from the dead all the testimonies of the Apostles are true everything they said it's true think about this when Jesus was crucified he died he was buried the disciples were so fearful they went into hiding but when he rose again from the dead all of a sudden they were transformed into a group of strong and courageous men they went around testifying preaching the Risen Savior they were arrested persecuted martyred people do not die to preserve a lie right no one will do that not the apostles not anyone on the face of this Earth people are willing to die to preserve the truth they saw the Risen Savior they believe in him and that was why they were transformed into a group of courageous men the Apostle Paul likewise God appeared to him on the road to Damascus all of a sudden he was transformed from being a persecutor of the church to one of the greatest preacher of the church all that happened when Christ was risen from the dead Christ is reasoned and our sins are forgiven and death has been conquered Christ is reasoned and we Christians are not the most miserable people on the face of this Earth our future is most wonderful because we serve a risen savior today tomorrow next week next month next year our future is wonderful no matter what kind of adversities circumstances situations may come into our lives we are not afraid because of Our Risen Savior we are able to say and sing because he lives we can face tomorrow right we just a moment ago did sing the song but do we really understand it believe in it he's a risen savior he lives and that is why we can face tomorrow our future is wonderful before the Israelites harvested their crops they must first bring a representative sample called the first fruits to the priests to be offered to the Lord you can read about that in Leviticus 23 verse 10. the full crop could not be harvested until the first fruits were offered before all the Believers could resurrect Jesus Christ must first be Resurrected if Jesus did not resurrect then the Harvest resurrection of all the Believers would not take place but Jesus Christ was the first fruit he rose again from the dead following that you have the resurrection Harvest of all the Believers Christ will not forget the bodies of those who trusted in him their souls already with him but their bodies are buried and he will come for them that is why back to our texts in first Thessalonians 4 14 even so them also which sleep in Christ will God bring with him verse 15 for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord this message was not based on Paul's own speculation or opinion but it was given to him by the Lord himself 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 the word prevent means precede in other words when the Lord Jesus comes in the clouds those who are still alive shall not proceed they shall not go before those who had already died verse 16 when for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the trauma of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first in other words the dead Believers whose bodies are buried in the graves their souls are with the Lord their bodies will be risen from the graves first to meet their souls in a glorified body and then verse 17 went on to say 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 if you and I are still alive when Jesus comes in the clouds we will be raptured after the dead in Christ are reasoned and then together with the resurrected believers we will meet the Lord in the air and be with him forever and ever this is a most comforting and wonderful promise that is the reason why Paul says wherefore Comfort one another with these words one of the duties of a pastor is to teach and preach in such a way that the people his members will be prepared for death we will all face death unless we are raptured our loved ones friends and relatives will die and we have to walk through that audio we have to be prepared to face death how can we ever be prepared to face death unless we look to the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruit the one who died and rose again from the dead on the third day Christ's death has transformed the believer's death into sleep that is why death is no longer frightening to us when we draw our last breath our souls immediately go to be with the Lord and our bodies go to sleep in the grave awaiting for the resurrection today there is this modern idea to view the funeral service as a celebration of life this is very popular especially in the Western world like Australia even some profess believers talk about the funeral service as a celebration of life they move from the hope of the Resurrection to the celebration of life dear friends our celebration is not in the death it is in the resurrection what is there to celebrate when our loved one is an unbeliever what is there to celebrate when our loved one is awaiting the great white Throne judgment when our loved ones will be lost for all eternity will be tormented in the Lake of Fire a million upon a million years it will still not come to an end what is there to celebrate when in the Sweet By and By we will never meet again if you are an unbeliever please do not reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ you may have rejected the gospel of Christ in past years in the past but when the gospel is preached to you let not your hearts be hardened the sin that will send you to eternal hell is the sin of unbelief do not Harden your heart believe in the only savior who can save you only Jesus saves he is the one who died on the cross shedding his Precious Blood without the shedding of blood there's no remission of sins he was buried but on the third day he rose again from the dead the resurrection of Christ prove that he is satisfied God's demands of righteousness Holiness and justice he paid the penalty of our sins if you are a believer then there's cause for celebration because of this blessed hope of the Resurrection yes death may not on our doors our bodies may be buried in the graves there may be this sorrow amongst our living loved ones and friends but it is not a sorrow like those who have no hope because we shall meet again on that beautiful show of Heaven our souls will be with the Lord Jesus immediately while our bodies go to sleep awaiting for the resurrection all this is possible only because of the significance of Christ's death and Resurrection this is why Christ's death and Resurrection is so precious to us Christ's death transforms the believer's death into sleep Christ Resurrection is the source of our Resurrection if Jesus did not Rise Again from the dead we will not rise likewise but praise be to God he is a risen savior on the third day he rose again from the dead a blessed Resurrection Sunday to all of you let us pray Father in heaven with Andy for this Resurrection Sunday we attendee for the choir that has presented the song items with Andy for this opportunity that we can have to worship thee it is only possible because of the resurrection of Christ without the resurrection there will be no worship service even if there's one we will be worshiping a dead human matter but the truth is that our lord Jesus was risen from the dead and we worship and serve a risen savior oh Lord and because he lives we can face tomorrow and because he lives we will live also what a blessed and wonderful promise thou has given to us in the Bible that the one who may believe in Jesus died and he rose again and he will come for us in the clouds whereby if we are still alive we will be raptured to meet him in the air but we will not appreciate those who have gone before us our church members our aunties and uncles their bodies are buried they would be raised first and then together we will be with the Lord forever and ever O Lord this is the most wonderful promise that we cling onto as we leave our days on this life in this world so help us that we remember the significance of Christ's death and Resurrection and we live our lives Clinging On to the Risen Savior this we pray in Jesus name amen
I agree to all of you in the Blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning's message is taken from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Today is Resurrection Sunday. Churches all over the world are commemorating the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection is the very hope that we Christians cling onto as we live our lives in this temporal world. Without the resurrection, there would be no worship service this morning. There would be no church here or anywhere else in this world. Without the resurrection, even if there is a worship service, we would be like thousands of religions that worship a dead human matter. But praise be to God that our Lord Jesus was risen on the third day, and we worship a risen Savior.
There are two things that our Lord Jesus had done for our salvation: He died on the cross to save us from our sins, and He was risen from the dead with the power of eternal salvation. The crucifixion and the resurrection, the cross and the empty tomb, these are the two things that preachers preach again and again. The title of our message is "The Significance of Christ's Death and Resurrection." Allow me to give you a brief background of this passage.
Oftentimes, we say we are living in the last days, but what are the events of the end times? Soon, the world will enter into a period known as the tribulation. It is a time whereby the world will experience great hardship, calamities, disasters, pestilences, famines, wars, persecutions, and sufferings. And then, the second coming of Christ will occur, where Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, will return to this earth to establish His Millennial Kingdom. And followed by the Great White Throne judgment, where the unbelievers will be judged by God and cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire. And God will destroy this present Earth, which has been tainted with sin, and He will create the new heavens and the new Earth where the believers will dwell with Him forever and ever in the New Jerusalem.
Just before the tribulation, there will be this event known as the resurrection and rapture. Jesus will come in the clouds. The believers who are dead and buried in the graves will rise first and be united with their souls in a glorified body. Then, those believers who are still alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and they shall be with Him forever and ever. When Jesus comes in the clouds, if you are a believer and you have already died, your body will be resurrected to be united with your soul in a glorified body. If you are still alive, you will be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. So all Christians would either be resurrected or be raptured. This is the blessed hope taught by the Apostle Paul here in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, as well as taught by our Lord Jesus Himself in John 14.
Of all the end times events, perhaps the resurrection and rapture seem to generate the greatest interest and discussion. Many books have been written about this topic because people have many questions about the resurrection and rapture. The Christians at Thessalonica also had their questions, and the Apostle Paul had to answer them. Paul's answers were not only doctrine but pastoral because his main concern was not to give a detailed description of the resurrection and rapture, which the Bible tells us is a mystery, but his main concern was to comfort the Thessalonians, as he said in verse 18, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
You see, the Thessalonians were very concerned about the resurrection and rapture. They were very troubled and confused because, firstly, they were afraid that they had missed the rapture. At this point in time, they were being persecuted, and since they were experiencing intense persecution, they thought this could well be the tribulation. And if they were still remaining on this Earth, that would mean they had missed the rapture. Secondly, there were also some false teachers who were teaching the believers that the tribulation or the day of the Lord had already occurred. That was why Paul had to explain to the believers in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day – the tribulation – shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." – the Antichrist.
So, the persecution they were suffering was not associated with the tribulation. It was simply the persecution that all believers, like you and me, would expect to face. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Dear friends, perhaps like the Thessalonians, you are concerned. Are you afraid of death? When you die, what will happen to your body and where is your soul? If Jesus comes in the clouds, will your body still remain in the grave? If you are still alive when Jesus comes in the clouds, will you be caught up to meet Him in the air?
On Good Friday, churches all over the world commemorated the death of Christ. On Resurrection Sunday, they commemorated the resurrection of Christ. What has Christ's death and resurrection got to do with us? This is what we want to learn from today's passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
The significance of Christ's death and resurrection: Firstly, Christ's death transforms the believer's death into sleep. Let us begin with verse 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."
When our loved ones die, sorrow is a normal emotional feeling that will come upon us. It is a sorrow that is caused by the pain of separation and loneliness. A dear sister
told me that in the morning, in the afternoon, she feels all right. She had just lost her husband. But when evening comes, when the sun sets, that is when my heart is gripped with sorrow. How true it is, a normal emotional feeling. Our Lord Jesus Himself wept over the death of Lazarus. Paul urged the Romans to "weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). Paul did not forbid the believers to weep and grieve over the death of their loved ones. It is natural, it is spontaneous. But he did not want them to grieve like those who have no hope.
Who are those who have no hope? The unbelievers. According to Ephesians 2:12, the unbelievers were without Christ. They were aliens and strangers of the covenant of God's promise. They were without God in this world, and they had no hope. For the unbelievers, when a loved one dies, when the coffin is closed, there is this most awful and final farewell whereby it cannot be comforted. There will be no hope of reunioned. We shall never meet again. For the believers, it is different. We will never say a final farewell with each other. Our separation at death is only temporal because in the Sweet By and By, we shall meet again on that beautiful shore of heaven.
Though we will still be sorrowful, we will still be crying, but it will not be a sorrow like those who have no hope. In a certain Christian funeral service, someone said to the bereaved husband, "I'm so sorry that you have lost your wife." The husband replied, "No, I didn't lose her. You cannot lose something when you know where it is. And I know where she is. My wife is in heaven. She is with the Lord."
The word "asleep" is a reference to those believers who have died. Jesus used the same expression in John 11:11-13. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep." So, the word "sleep" can mean normal sleep as in rest or death depending on the context. But here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, it means death.
It is important to know that whenever the word "sleep" refers to death in the Bible, it applies only to the body and never to the soul. There is this false teaching that the soul of the dead goes into a state of conscious or unconscious existence in the afterlife. They call it soul sleep. There is no such thing taught in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." What is absent from the body and what is present with the Lord? The soul. When the believer dies, the body is dead and buried, but the soul is alive and goes immediately to be with the Lord if he has trusted Jesus Christ. When the unbeliever dies, the soul or spirit also leaves the body but goes to Hell, awaiting the Great White Throne judgment. There is no such thing as soul sleep.
The present tense participle of the word "asleep" tells us that there are people who would continually fall asleep or continually die. So, in a sense, the Thessalonians were very concerned. What would happen to their unbelieving brethren who have passed away and are still continually passing away? This may be the same question you would ask. What about our loved ones, friends, and church members who have gone before us, and others are still passing away continually?
As a pastor, I have to be ready to preach in season and out of season. This is commanded in the Bible. And the message I have to always be prepared to preach at all times is a funeral message. It is not a wedding message or a home dedication message because people do not get married all of a sudden or move into a new house suddenly. But people do suddenly die, and they will continually die every day, and we do not know when it will be. Are you prepared? Are you afraid of death?
- and we do not know when it will be Alton it could be today it could be tomorrow are you prepared
Indeed, death is frightening, and how can it not be? The wages of sin is death, and it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment. Can you fathom standing before an all-powerful, holy, and just God in the horror of your sins? Sins that you have committed in the dark, sins that you have done no one knows but God knows, sins that are in the deepest recesses of your hearts? When you stand in the horror of your sins, it is most terrifying.
But look at the first part of verse 14, "For if we believe that Jesus died." In other words, since we believe that Jesus died, or the fact that we believe that Jesus died, what has the death of Christ got to do with us? Well, Christ died and satisfied the demands of God's righteousness, holiness, and justice by paying the penalty of our sins. By virtue of Christ's atoning sacrifice, God hath made him to be sin for us,
- he's perfect but God made him to Bear our sins
… He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus took upon Himself on the cross of Calvary when He died your sins and my sins. Notice it is interesting that the metaphor of sleep is only used of us. Paul did not use the metaphor of sleep to refer to Jesus. He simply said, "This Jesus died."
In a sense, Jesus died so that you and I do not need to fear death. And death is now applied to us Christians as sleep. The body goes to sleep. Christ experienced the full wrath of death in all its dimensions when He bore our sins on the cross. His death transforms the death of all believers into sleep. T.E. Wilson, the missionary who went to Africa, said this, allow me to quote him, "Death has been changed to sleep by the work of Christ. It is an apt metaphor in which the whole concept of death is transformed. Christ made 'sleep' the name of death in the language of the church." How wonderful when we see a believer who trusted the Lord Jesus Christ away. We know that that believer's soul is with the Lord, but the body goes to sleep. That is our language. Christ's death indeed has transformed the believer's death into sleep.
Our second point is Christ's resurrection is the source of the believer's resurrection. Look at the second part of verse 14, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." Jesus died and shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for our sins, and His resurrection proved that the Father had accepted His sacrifice, enabling Him to be the justifier of our faith. The resurrection of Christ proved that He had conquered sin and death. If Jesus remained in the grave, His body, that would mean that sin and death were not conquered. He is the source of our resurrection hope. That is why Jesus was able to say, "Because I live, ye shall live also." The resurrection of Christ is extremely important.
If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to First Corinthians 15:13-20, which was our responsive reading. Allow me to read for you First Corinthians 15, verses 13 to 20.
"But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept."
Have you ever considered this question: what if Christ was not raised from the dead? Would that make any difference to your faith? Could you still go on being a Christian? Some people may be wondering, what has the resurrection of Christ got to do with my faith or about me being a Christian? A British agnostic once said, "Let us not discuss the other miracles; let us not discuss the other matters, but let us discuss the resurrection of Christ. Because if the resurrection is true, then all the other miracles are easily explained. But if the resurrection is not true, then all the other miracles do not matter."
Dear friends, the foundation of the Christian's faith rises and falls on the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Firstly, Paul said, "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain." If Christ was not raised from the dead, then there's no such thing as resurrection power, and our preaching is nothing but empty words with no meaning. If our preaching is meaningless, I submit to you, your coming to church this morning to worship God, to listen to the word of God, is also vain, meaningless.
Secondly, Paul says, "And if Christ be not risen, your faith is also vain." Faith is only as good as the object in which we place our faith. If you and I put our faith in Jesus Christ, and Christ was not risen from the dead, then he's a dead Savior, and a dead Savior cannot give life. Faith in such a gospel is truly vain, it is meaningless. That is why Paul says, your faith will be in vain.
Thirdly, Paul says, "Yea, and we are found false witnesses of Christ, because we have testified of God that he has raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not." The apostles claimed to have seen the risen Savior. And if Christ was not raised from the dead, then every person who claimed to have seen the risen Christ, every person who preached the risen Christ, would be a liar. So, if you deny the resurrection, you are actually saying that the apostles and every other leader in the New Testament Church is a liar. And the worst thing is that these apostles were lying against God because they claimed God did something, but in reality, he didn't. And if the apostles and the New Testament writers had so blatantly lied about Christ's resurrection, why should we believe them when they say that the Bible was divinely inspired and preserved? Why would we believe them when they say that the Bible is truly the word of God? Can you see how the entire Bible stands and falls based on the validity of Christ's resurrection?
Fourthly, Paul says, "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." Of all the consequences, perhaps this will be the worst, because if Christ was not raised from the dead, then the power of sin is sovereign in our lives. The purpose of trusting in Christ is for the forgiveness of sin, right? Because from sin, we need salvation. We need to be saved from sin. If the power of the resurrection is the very thing that sets us free from the bondage of sin, but there's no resurrection, then there's no power of the resurrection. Sin will be sovereign. You and I will still be under the penalty of sins. Believers will be no better than the most wicked and unbelieving pagan, doomed for eternal damnation.
Fifthly, Paul says, "Then they also which are asleep in Christ are perished." The word 'perish' means to die, to be destroyed, or to be lost. It is the opposite of having everlasting life. Remember John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." If Christ was not raised from the dead, we will perish, we will be lost, because there's no living Savior. If Jesus cannot defeat death, how can we? If Jesus did not defeat death, then no man will ever defeat death. Death will still have dominion.
Finally, Paul says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." We profess to believe in a Savior who says to us, "In my Father's house are many mansions: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself." We believe that our sins are forgiven, we have eternal life. And yet, if Christ was not raised from the dead, what would happen? He did not defeat sin and death; he was just a man. We would be the most miserable people on the face of this earth because we are believing in a myth, we are believing a lie.
But the Apostle Paul says in verse 20, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept." Christ is risen from the dead, and all our preaching is not in vain, but profitable. Christ is risen from the dead, all our faith is not in vain, but our faith is fixed on the one who says, "I am the resurrection, and the life." Christ is risen from the dead, all the testimonies of the apostles are true, everything they said is true.
Think about this: when Jesus was crucified, he died, he was buried. The disciples were so fearful, they went into hiding. But when he rose again from the dead, all of a sudden, they were transformed into a group of strong and courageous men. They went around testifying, preaching the risen Savior. They were arrested, persecuted, martyred. People do not die to preserve a lie, right? No one will do that, not the apostles, not anyone on the face of this earth. People are willing to die to preserve the truth. They saw the risen Savior, they believed in him, and that was why they were transformed into a group of courageous men.
The Apostle Paul likewise, God appeared to him on the road to Damascus. All of a sudden, he was transformed from being a persecutor of the church to one of the greatest preachers of the church. All that happened when Christ was risen from the dead. Christ is risen, and our sins are forgiven, and death has been conquered.
Christ is risen, and we Christians are not the most miserable people on the face of this earth. Our future is most wonderful because we serve a risen Savior.
Today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, our future is wonderful. No matter what kind of adversities, circumstances, situations may come into our lives, we are not afraid because of our risen Savior. We are able to say and sing, "Because he lives, we can face tomorrow." Right? We just a moment ago did sing the song, but do we really understand it, believe in it? He's a risen Savior, he lives, and that is why we can face tomorrow. Our future is wonderful.
Before the Israelites harvested their crops, they must first bring a representative sample called the first fruits to the priests to be offered to the Lord. You can read about that in Leviticus 23, verse 10. The full crop could not be harvested until the first fruits were offered. Before all the believers could resurrect, Jesus Christ must first be resurrected. If Jesus did not resurrect, then the harvest resurrection of all the believers would not take place. But Jesus Christ was the first fruit. He rose again from the dead. Following that, you have the resurrection harvest of all the believers. Christ will not forget the bodies of those who trusted in him. Their souls are already with him, but their bodies are buried, and he will come for them.
That is why, back to our text in First Thessalonians 4:14, "Even so them also which sleep in Christ Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
- this we say unto you by the word of the Lord this message was not based on Paul's own speculation or opinion but it was given to him by the Lord himself 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 the word prevent means precede in other words when the Lord Jesus comes in the clouds those who are still alive shall not proceed they shall not go before those who had already died verse 16 when for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the trauma of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first in other words the dead Believers whose bodies are buried in the graves their souls are with the Lord their bodies will be risen from the graves first to meet their souls in a glorified body and then verse 17 went on to say 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
… that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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."
If you and I are still alive when Jesus comes in the clouds, we will be raptured after the dead in Christ are raised. And then, together with the resurrected believers, we will meet the Lord in the air and be with him forever and ever. This is a most comforting and wonderful promise. That is the reason why Paul says, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
One of the duties of a pastor is to teach and preach in such a way that the people, his members, will be prepared for death. We will all face death. Unless we are raptured, our loved ones, friends, and relatives will die, and we have to walk through that ordeal. We have to be prepared to face death. How can we ever be prepared to face death unless we look to the Lord Jesus Christ, the first fruit, the one who died and rose again from the dead on the third day?
Christ's death has transformed the believer's death into sleep. That is why death is no longer frightening to us. When we draw our last breath, our souls immediately go to be with the Lord, and our bodies go to sleep in the grave, awaiting for the resurrection.
Today, there is this modern idea to view the funeral service as a celebration of life. This is very popular, especially in the Western world, like Australia. Even some professing believers talk about the funeral service as a celebration of life. They move from the hope of the resurrection to the celebration of life. Dear friends, our celebration is not in death; it is in the resurrection. What is there to celebrate when our loved one is an unbeliever? What is there to celebrate when our loved one is awaiting the Great White Throne judgment, when our loved ones will be lost for all eternity, will be tormented in the Lake of Fire? A million upon a million years, it will still not come to an end. What is there to celebrate when in the sweet by and by, we will never meet again?
If you are an unbeliever, please do not reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You may have rejected the gospel of Christ in past years, in the past, but when the gospel is preached to you, let not your hearts be hardened. The sin that will send you to eternal hell is the sin of unbelief. Do not harden your heart. Believe in the only Savior who can save you. Only Jesus saves. He is the one who died on the cross, shedding his precious blood. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. He was buried, but on the third day, he rose again from the dead. The resurrection of Christ proves that he has satisfied God's demands of righteousness, holiness, and justice. He paid the penalty of our sins.
If you are a believer, then there's cause for celebration because of this blessed hope of the resurrection. Yes, death may knock on our doors. Our bodies may be buried in the graves. There may be this sorrow among our living loved ones and friends. But it is not a sorrow like those who have no hope because we shall meet again on that beautiful shore of heaven. Our souls will be with the Lord Jesus immediately, while our bodies go to sleep, awaiting for the resurrection.
All this is possible only because of the significance of Christ's death and resurrection. This is why Christ's death and resurrection are so precious to us. Christ's death transforms the believer's death into sleep. Christ's resurrection is the source of our resurrection. If Jesus did not rise again from the dead, we will not rise likewise. But praise be to God, he is a risen Savior. On the third day, he rose again from the dead. A blessed Resurrection Sunday to all of you.
Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for this resurrection Sunday. We thank you for the choir that has presented the song items. We thank you for this opportunity that we can have to worship thee. It is only possible because of the resurrection of Christ. Without the resurrection, there will be no worship service. Even if there's one, we will be worshiping a dead human. But the truth is that our Lord Jesus was risen from the dead, and we worship and serve a risen Savior. Oh Lord, and because he lives, we can face tomorrow. And because he lives, we will live also. What a blessed and wonderful promise thou has given to us in the Bible, that the one who may believe in Jesus died, and he rose again, and he will come for us in the clouds, whereby if we are still alive, we will be raptured to meet him in the air. But we will not forget those who have gone before us, our church members, our aunties and uncles. Their bodies are buried; they would be raised first, and then together, we will be with the Lord forever and ever. Oh Lord, this is the most wonderful promise that we cling onto as we live our days on this life, in this world. So help us that we remember the significance of Christ's death and resurrection, and we live our lives clinging on to the risen Savior. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.