One day the trumpet will sound for his coming. One day the skies with his glories will shine. Then note the next phrase, wonderful day, my beloved ones bring me. Now, 1 Thessalonians chapter four. 1 Thessalonians chapter four. You can read it with verse 13 through verse 18. 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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 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. 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 him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. There was a well-known series that came out in the late 90s, early 2000s, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins entitled Left Behind. The horror of the tribulation was depicted in that as unbelievers will face the horrors of the tribulation because they remain behind or they are left behind on earth after Jesus Christ comes for his own. Now as I talk about the return of Jesus Christ there are some who snicker. There are some who kind of have this little smile like you believe that? You really believe that Jesus Christ is going to come back? Well either he is or he is a liar. Would you be willing to say that Jesus Christ is a liar? He said in John chapter 14 verses 1 through 3 that he is coming back. The promise is made again in Acts chapter 1 and verse 11. The promises are all throughout the Scripture that Jesus Christ is coming again. And it could be today. We know it's going to be one day as we sang, but it could be today. Well, the Thessalonian believers to whom this letter is being written by the Apostle Paul, they didn't know what had happened to their loved ones who had died before them. These Thessalonian believers are young believers, babes in Christ, maybe two to three, maybe four months old in Christ. And they are not yet fully informed about what the rapture is all about. So we see here that Ivan Todd of this message left behind. And you may be saying, well, wait a second. We know that those who are left behind are those who will endure the tribulation. But the phrase left behind only occurs twice in the Bible. In the New Testament, right here in chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians, and in two verses, the passage we read this morning. He said, well, I don't see the phrase left behind here. Well, it's meant by a word that is used here. Look at verse 15. We say this, this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain, look at the word remain there and I go to verse 17, then we which are alive and remain, look at that word remain, those who remain or are left behind are believers alive at His coming. The word remain there means left behind. Paul is telling this church at Thessalonica, you've been left behind. You see, they're thinking, wow, our loved ones, they're gonna miss the rapture, they're gonna miss the coming of the Lord. And we have the advantage over them. He's writing them and saying to them, wait a second, you're the ones who've been left behind. They've gone on before. You have been left behind. Think about that every time you go to the funeral of a believer. You need to realize, I've been left behind. They've gone before me. Do you think that would change perhaps the grieving process a little bit? As you think of a believer who you've lost? If you would realize, I've been left behind. I believe every Christian should realize that someday he or she will be reunited with saints who have gone before. And we need to realize that, in fact, Paul says in verse 18, take these words and comfort one another with them. So what we're going to see in verses 13 to 18 is something whereby you may comfort Other believers. We saw in verses 1-12 instructions concerning Christians who are awake, that is, who have not yet died. We saw in verses 1-8 that we are to make progress in Christian living. And in verses 9-12, make progress in Christian loving. Now, in verses 13-18, we see instructions concerning Christians who are asleep. I use the term asleep because that's the term Paul uses in this passage. And in the Greek, you know what it means? Asleep. That's exactly what the word is. He is talking about Christians who are asleep. He's not talking about those who are bored with a message in church this morning. He's talking about Christians who have died. And it's no mistake that this follows what Paul said about loving your brother, verse 9, and loving honor in verse 11. Remember we looked at that last week, verse 11, that you studied to be quiet, to do your own business, to work with your own hands as we commanded you? You see, some might be tempted not to work because Christ's return is imminent. That is, it could happen, it could take place at any time. Listen, if you knew that Jesus Christ was gonna come today, what would you do? If you knew he was gonna come a week from now, and you knew this, I dare say that a lot of you would quit your jobs and finally you would get busy doing what you know you should be doing for the Lord. But Jesus makes it very plain, I come as a thief in the night. In other words, the thief does not announce his coming, the thief comes when you least expect him. And today believers are not expecting the Lord Jesus Christ to come as a whole. How do I know that? By the way, believers live. Remember the instructions given in verses 1 through 12 have to do with Christian living and making progress. You look at Christianity today, and for the most part, Christians are not living a life that shows that they are expecting Jesus Christ's return at any moment. Some are tempted not to work because Christ's return is imminent. We are told that His coming could be at any time. And yet we're also told, occupy till I come. Do business until I come. So yes, I live as if He could come today, but I keep working as if it could never be in my lifetime. But I live as if it could be today. I see this attitude in Christians in general when it comes to better government. They say, oh, this world is just going down. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just waiting for Jesus to return. That is the wrong mentality to have. You are stopping work, saying, well, it's just so bad I can't do anything about this election. I'm not even going to vote. A lot of evangelicals have that kind of an attitude. And as a fundamentalist believer, I don't. I work for better government. I work. I vote. And you ought to as well. Because it may not happen in our lifetime that Jesus returns. Occupy till I come. Be involved in business for me. I want you to see in verse 13, the blessed hope. Paul uses that word at the very end of that verse. He talks about believers and unbelievers. Unbelievers being those which have no hope. There may be somebody seated before me this morning. You have no hope. If you were to die today, you have no hope as to where you would spend eternity. You are without hope this morning. And you have no hope concerning your loved ones who have died before you. You're hopeless. May I say this to you? You can leave here this morning with hope. Hope, not this kind of hope, but an eager anticipation type hope. But here we see the blessed hope because Paul, in writing to Timothy, to Titus, says this in Titus 2.13, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am looking forward to the blessed hope. That is the hope that every believer truly has. Two things about this blessed hope. Number one, it's an understanding hope. Note that Paul desires his brothers not to be ignorant. Ignorant about what? Those or them which are asleep. It is the unsaved man who is ignorant about those who are asleep. But sometimes even a believer can be ignorant about what has taken place. Maybe there's some here who are ignorant about what has happened to those who have died before us. ignorant that loved ones who died will miss the coming of Jesus, the coming that is mentioned at the end of every chapter. Go to chapter 1 and verse 10. We wait for His Son from heaven. Look at the end of chapter 2, verse 19, the last part. Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? Look at the end of chapter 3. Look at verse 13. to establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." So you see that the coming is mentioned at the end of each chapter. What has happened then to believers who have died before I have? The reality is They have actually gone on ahead. We've been left behind. And they will not miss the rapture, but will actually be the ones to first experience the rapture. You say, what's this term rapture? It's a term you won't find in your Bible. It's a term that we have come up with that describes what we're reading here in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 to 18. And I'll give you a little bit of etymology about that later on. But notice the Apostle Paul says in verse 13, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. Them which are asleep is in a passive voice, which means them which have been put to sleep. Well, who puts a believer to sleep? Look at verse 14. Them also which sleep in or through Jesus. Death for the believer is Jesus putting that body to sleep. And that's how a Christian can look at it. As violent as the death may be, It is Jesus putting that believer to sleep. Think about Stephen when he was stoned in Acts chapter 7. The Bible says, then he fell asleep when he died. That's how it's described for every believer. In fact, the picture is that of a parent gently and quietly putting a child to sleep. Well, we know it's not the soul that sleeps. I don't believe in soul sleep. The Bible does not teach that the soul sleeps. Listen to what it says in 2 Corinthians 5.8. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. So it's quite evident that it's the body that sleeps, it's not the soul. Philippians 1.23, For I am in a strait betwixt two, the apostle Paul said, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. In other words, right at this moment I could be with Christ if I died. but the body which we can see Jesus puts to sleep again verse 14 them also which were put to sleep in Jesus the implication is someone is sleeping and the implication of somebody sleeping is that eventually they're going to they're gonna wake up that's the picture of the believer you see that body lying in the casket the body of a believer The body is asleep. The soul is with God, the verses we just used, but the body is asleep. That body, you see, will awaken. You say, man, now you're really talking really weird stuff. I'm talking what the Bible teaches. The Bible is what says every man will rise from the dead. Think about that word sleep, or us sleep there in verse 13. We get our word cemetery from that. In fact, the etymology in the dictionary, if you were to look up the word cemetery in the dictionary, you know what it's going to say? To put to sleep. Look it up. It has to do with sleep. For a Christian's body to be buried rather than cremated preaches belief that same body is only asleep. You've perhaps heard me say, I don't believe a believer ought to be cremated. I think a believer who has the hope of the resurrection should never request for his body to be cremated. I'm not saying it's a sin or anything, I'm just saying I think it communicates the wrong message. Because I have the hope of resurrection. That God is not done with this body. It is going to awaken one day. It preaches the belief that this same body is going to be raised. The believer's body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, is not like that of an animal when it dies. It'll be raised. I think cremation preaches paganism. It does not preach the hope that the believer has. So this is an understanding hope. Paul says, I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. The second thing about this blessed hope, it's a unique hope. It's a unique hope because there's two types of grieving that you'll note at a funeral. Number one, there are those who sorrow without hope. I've been to many funerals and I know you probably have too and the thing that you normally hear as just a simple cliche is, well, he, she is in a better place. How do you know? How do you know? Is that based upon truth? Very often it's based upon ignorance or it's based upon this kind of hope. It's mouthed to make yourself feel better with no assurance. Think back to the time that Paul was writing this letter. The Greek and Roman philosophy of that time gave absolutely no hope for the dead. A man by the name of Aeschylus, who lived 400 years before Christ, said this, of a man once dead, there is no resurrection. Another man by the name of Theocritus said, hopes are among the living, the dead are without hope. And then they have found this inscription on a sepulcher in the city of Thessalonica that dates back to around Bible times. You want to hear this? After death, there is no revival. After the grave, no meeting of those who have loved each other on earth. Isn't it interesting that Paul is writing a letter to the church whose people may have seen that very inscription. They had no hope. Folks, there are those who sorrow without hope. Because the Apostle Paul says that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. So that's one type of grieving, those who sorrow without hope. There are also those who sorrow with hope. Paul is not desiring that they not grieve, but that they do not grieve as those who have no hope. The fact that believers hope like no others makes it a unique hope. Paul is writing to cure their sorrows by removing their ignorance. There are eight graves in Bueller, Kansas of people I personally know that I plan to see again. My dad passed away in 1999. I plan to see him again. My mom passed away in 2006. I plan to see her again. My grandmother in 2000. My grandfather in 1991. My great-grandfather in 1976. My great-grandmother before him. My great-grandpa Bergen, my grandmother's father, whom I met when I was just a little boy. I remember meeting him because we would walk in and he'd always give us black licorice. I hate black licorice. One day I plan to tell him that. And my great-grandma Bergen, they died one day apart. I plan to see them again. My grandpa Ayersman, buried in Sterling, Kansas, 1959. My grandma Ayersman, buried beside him in Sterling, Kansas, died in 1976. My sister-in-law, Kelly Unruh, killed in a house explosion, summer of 2014. And her two boys with her, Spencer and Riley, I plan to see them again. You know what? I have hope. in every situation, my loved ones who have died. Now think about your loved ones, folks, who died in Christ. If you too are a believer, you will see them again. We have that hope. But let's pause on that word hope for just a second because hope communicates This, I hope so. There is no assurance with the word hope. That's why I believe Paul goes into the next verse in verse 14, and now he no longer uses the word hope. He uses a word that has to do with faith. So the next thing I want you to see is the believer's faith. Note what he says in verse 14. I'll emphasize these words. For if we believe, That's faith, folks. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. The implication is believe there as well. If you believe that Jesus died and rose again, you should also believe that those who sleep in Jesus, God is going to bring with Him. If you believe the one, you have to believe the other. You see, our hope is not a wishing with crossed fingers. Our hope is not baseless. Faith is the basis of our hope. In fact, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for. My hope is based upon faith in Jesus Christ. Notice the Apostle Paul says, if we believe. That's in the present tense. And the word if has the idea of since. Let me read it that way. Since we are believing that Jesus died and rose again, then we ought also to believe that those who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. A continual faith. The hope of the last part of verse 13 is based upon the faith of verse 14. So here's the believer's faith. First of all, in the gospel. The gospel. Because the apostle Paul says that Jesus died and rose again. How do you define the gospel? Go right to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 sometime, read verses three and four that says Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. And Paul is saying that is the gospel. So this is the very definition of the gospel, that Jesus died and rose again. So if you believe, you have faith in the gospel, even so you can believe, have faith, the guarantee about those who also believe the gospel our sleep in Jesus. And that's the second point, the guarantee. The phrase even so equates the last part of verse 14 with the first part of verse 14. If you believe the premise that Jesus died and rose again, then you must believe the conclusion that His children will rise again, that God will bring with Jesus those who sleep in Jesus. Just as certain as the resurrection of Jesus Christ, so is the resurrection of believers. Jesus gave this guarantee to His disciples in John 14, 19. He said this, because I live, ye shall live also. Because I live, ye shall live also. Back here to verse 14, it's interesting that Paul uses the phrase, Jesus died. Isn't it interesting that Paul doesn't say Jesus fell asleep? Jesus died. It is not said that Jesus fell asleep, but rather that he died because his death transformed the believer's death into sleep with a future awakening. And notice it says, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. In Jesus is literally through Jesus. Who is included among those who sleep through Jesus? Through Jesus, by His atoning work on the cross, death simply becomes sleep. But this includes more than those of us after the Day of Pentecost who look back on His atoning work, but it includes everybody since the Day of Pentecost whose faith is in Christ. But it also includes those who look forward to His death on the cross. I believe this includes Old Testament as well as New Testament saints. They too were saved by the blood of Jesus Christ as they by faith anticipated His death. them also, which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him? A man once said to his friend, I hear you lost your wife. I'm very sorry. The man replied, no, I didn't lose her. You can't lose something when you know where it is. And I know where she is. I have not lost my wife. Well, that brings us to this question. How is God going to bring with Him, that is with Jesus, from heaven those who are asleep when their sleeping bodies are here on the earth? How can that happen? Well, what we believe about that is based upon, thirdly, the breathed word of God. the breathed word of God. Paul says in verse 15, for this we say unto you, by what? By the word of the Lord. There's a verse in the Bible that talks about the inspiration of scripture. It's a well-known passage, it's 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. It says this, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. But it says all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Many of you already know that that literally means that all scripture is God-breathed. All scripture is God breathed. That's why I call this the breathed word of God. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. In other words, where is Paul getting this information? Where does this idea come from that Jesus Christ is going to come, the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them, but we will come after them. Where does he get this information? He says, this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. Folks, our faith is based upon what the Lord said. It is based upon what Jesus said in John 14, 3. I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also. Jesus said that. I believe it. That's faith. And in Acts chapter 1 verse 11, Jesus said this, through the two men who appeared in white apparel, this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. This same Jesus. I find that interesting, that they say this same Jesus. I can say this same body, which one day may lie in the grave, will be resurrected. I can say that the same body of my loved ones I've seen in the casket before they were buried, that same body will rise from the grave. What Paul writes here, the Holy Spirit gave to him in accordance with the promise of Jesus in John 16, 13 when he said, and he will show you things to come. Speaking of the Holy Spirit. Verse 15 begins with the word of the Lord, verse 18 ends with comfort one another with these words. It begins with the word of God. It ends with the word of God. You know, in the early months of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines, fleeing the island of Corregidor in what seemed to be utter defeat. But when he reached Australia, he sent back this word. I will return. And he kept that promise. Because three years later, he made this historic statement. Do you remember this? I have returned. Jesus made a promise. I will return. And more than being just a mere man who may or may not keep his promise, he is the son of God who cannot lie. said, I will return. And one day, he will say, when the trumpet sounds, the voice of the archangel, I have returned. And that could be today. Listen, are you ignorant of what happens after death? Or do you have a blessed hope, an understanding hope that looks forward to Christ's return, a hope that is unique from that of the world, the world which has no hope? Is your hope just wishful thinking? Or is it based upon truth, the truth that Jesus died, was buried and rose again? That's the gospel. Have you believed the gospel? That's more than just agreeing and that's more than just having intellectual assent. The devils do that much. I'm talking about the belief that put your full faith and trust, your dependence in Jesus Christ for what he did for you on the cross. And then having believed the gospel, do you doubt the concluding guarantee that those who sleep in Jesus Christ will one day come with him when he returns? Do you really believe that Jesus is going to return? Your lifestyle indicates it. What is the foundation of your faith? Is it what I say? Is the foundation of your faith what some other pastor says? Is the foundation of your faith what some church teaches? Or is your foundation truly the word of God? You see, folks, our hope is based upon faith. Our faith is based upon the word of God. You see the progression and the points that we've made this morning. The believer's hope in verse 13, it's a blessed hope. The believer's faith in verse 14. And then the breathed word of God in verses 15 to 18. I have a hope. Not only that I will rise again, I have hope that I will be here and alive when Jesus Christ returns. And I also have a hope and faith that I will one day see those who have gone before. And we'll address those in the verses next week. Trump sounds. The dead in Christ rise first. Then we which are alive and are left behind. Shall be caught up together with them in the air to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. Father, we find comfort ourselves in these words. May we now use them to actively comfort others who perhaps in a time of grief forget what you have said. May we truly remember what you have said in this passage. by inspiration of the Apostle Paul, written for us, that you are soon to return. You've made the promise. Lord, I pray that we would live now in accordance with that promise, believing it, preparing for it, occupying until you come. Lord, I pray that our lives would reflect our belief, our faith in what you have said, that we might not be ashamed at your coming. We read that those who have this hope purify themselves even as he is pure. Lord, may we live lives that are pure, dedicated to you, surrender to you for your glory. And I pray that if there's one here this morning who does not know Christ as Savior, they don't have this hope. except a crossing the fingers type hope. Lord, I pray that they would realize that today they can have that assurance. They can know for sure that their sins are forgiven and that they're on their way to heaven. I pray this in Jesus' name. With your heads bowed and with your eyes closed, two questions I'd like to leave with you.