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Sermons

"HOPE FOR THE FUTURE"
EPISTLE SCRIPTURE TEXT
I THESSALONIANS 4:13-18

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 28, 2008
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

SCRIPTURE LESSON: 13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

MESSAGE: Throughout the entire Advent Season 2008, I've been deliberately focusing my sermon messages upon one and only one topic: HOPE. We've considered the hope that God's people of old carried with them for centuries. We've seen how that hope grew, waxing and nearing until it was ultimately fulfilled in the coming, the advent, of Jesus Christ. We've rejoiced in the fact that Jesus' coming provides hope for our lives, right here and right now, in this world. And now, there's one more aspect of the Christian hope which we need to explore. We're no longer hoping for Jesus to come the first time - He's already done that. As believers in Him we have a new hope, a hope even bigger and brighter than the great hope held by God's faithful people of the past. We are looking forward to His second coming. The Christian hope today is for the return of Christ - for the fruition of His Kingdom. We're possessed of a magnificent hope - for the future.

While on this earth the first time, Jesus taught a great deal about the nature of His second coming. The knowledge He provided on this subject is quite different from the information God had revealed through the prophets of old regarding Jesus' first coming. Jesus made it plain that His second advent would be quite different from His first coming to earth. Of primary importance is the fact that God isn't be giving out the date in advance. The first time around, if they had really tried to analyze the prophecies of God, Jewish scholars could have zeroed in upon the "when" of Jesus' arrival. But not for advent number two. Though the disciples of Jesus plied Him often with questions, trying to pin Him down as to the "when" of His second coming, He refused to reveal this information. Despite the fact that He was the Son of God, He even claimed not to have personal knowledge of this particular data. To quote Mark 13:32: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

As to the location of His second coming, everyone, of course, expects that Jesus, initially at least, should return to the geographic center of God's concern from of old, the city of Jerusalem. But Jesus completely removed "place" as an issue. Though He might or might not actually begin at Jerusalem -- no one knows for sure -- His second coming will immediately become obvious to all humanity, from pole to pole and west to east. Again quoting from Mark 13, "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven."
His nature, too, will be completely different in the second coming. There won't be a "babe in a manger" this time. Jesus won't be a brother human walking and talking with and among the masses of humanity. That's all been done already -- and God doesn't do sequels.

In His first coming, Jesus' assigned role from the Father was that of Savior. As such, He provided opportunity for all who would to be included, with Him, in the family of God. The terms and conditions of that inclusion are few and simple -- just accept Him, Jesus, as personal Savior.

That was then. But the future appearance of Jesus, His second coming, will be, to use a contemporary metaphor, a brand-new ball game. Let's hear it from Matthew's gospel, chapter 25 and verses 31 through 33: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left."

When Jesus comes the second time, His assigned role from God will be that of Judge. He will judge the earth and all therein. He will judge you; He will judge me.

Whenever we talk about the final judgment, people conjure up all sorts of strange ideas and superstitions. We see courtrooms in the sky, with Satan as prosecuting attorney, St. Peter for the defense, and a jury box full of angels. None of that sort of thing makes any sense from a Scriptural point of view. For you see, there won't be a courtroom scene, nor a trial, short or long. The judgment that Jesus brings will be over and done with the moment He appears. The verdict will already be in, for the world as a whole as well as for each of us individually.

Hear again a part of our text, I Thessalonians 4, verses 16 and 17, this time using the New Revised Standard Version: "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

This particular text is used as the basis for what a lot of Christians term "the rapture." The past decade or so saw the sale of millions upon millions of copies of the "Left Behind" series of books, all of which were fictional accounts of what might happen to those who "missed out" on the rapture - because they failed to put their faith in Jesus before "the rapture" occurred. I personally have read all twelve of those books, and I much enjoyed them - as Christian fiction.

However, there's a problem in focusing upon what might, or might not, happen to those "left behind" after "the rapture." Such a focus gets everyone thinking negatively about the second coming of Christ: "God's going to punish all those who don't believe in Jesus." "God's going to cast millions into hell." "God's going to send earthquakes and floods and famines to destroy the earth." And while every one of those statements is partial Biblical truth, it leaves out the positive - the tremendous hope, for believers, regarding Christ's return.

To more clearly hear the Christian hope for the future, let's consider the words of the apostle John as he wrote down what God revealed to him in a magnificent vision of things to come for God's faithful people: 'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."'

Think of it: No sadness. No pain. No tears. No death. And God living with and among us. I can't begin to imagine all that we'll do, together with God, during even the first 10,000 years there. But I'm certainly looking forward to finding out!

Hope - for the future. And an unlimited future for which to hope. For those who dare to believe in Jesus, it's a superlative prospect.

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand!"

In Jesus, there's unlimited HOPE - for the future! Amen.

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