First Thessalonians. And the title of the message
is, The Comfort of What We Know. The comfort of what we know. The Apostle says in chapter 4,
our text may only be in chapter 5, but I need to go through this
because there's some comfort, there's some knowledge that the
Apostle gives to these saints at Thessalonica that we all need. some knowledge that would comfort
you. And these things, of course,
are reminders. These things God's people know,
but we surely have need to be reminded again of these comforts. We're so easily forgetful. So
easily. I imagine that the moment we
walk out, we shall easily forget. We pray the Holy Spirit would
do this and instill this knowledge in us so that we might be comforted. Look at this in verse 13. He
says, but I would not have you to be ignorant. What is he saying? I want you to know something.
I don't want you to be ignorant about this. I want you to have
this knowledge, and we know why in verse 18, "...wherefore comfort
one another with these words." This was his intent, to give
them knowledge, to impart knowledge to them. concerning some things
here, that they might be comforted. In other words, every one of
us is going to experience what this text is going to be teaching. Every one of us is going to have
some part or fear or trouble that we need to be comforted. Some sorrow is going to happen
in this life, and we need to know some things so that we might
grab a hold of them and take comfort in them. He says, I don't
want you to be ignorant. About what? He says, Brethren,
concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as
others which have no hope." So the first thing he wants to impart
to us is comfort concerning the death of God's saints. Death. Death. Most people abhor the subject
of death. They avoid it. You want to be
the downer at a party? Well, come up and start talking
about death. Nobody wants to talk about that.
Death is a sorrowful thing, true. It's not a joy. It doesn't seem
to be joyous. And definitely for the lost,
it's not. But for the believer, this topic
of death should not cause fear, but should cause us to look beyond
death. When we hear of death, we should
be looking beyond that shadow. What the scripture says, the
shadow of death is for us. And so in desires to impart comfort
by knowledge here, the apostle gave these believers comfort
concerning the departing of saints. He said, "...I would not have
you ignorant of them that are asleep." Notice the term he uses
here. It's not even death. It's sleep. Now friends, there should be
no fear to sleep. Sleep is good. Sleep is necessary. That's what our Lord said about
Lazarus, wasn't it? He said, "...Behold, our friend
Lazarus sleepeth." And what his disciples say, well, that's good.
He's sleeping. He must be getting better. He says, no, he's dead.
That's what I meant by that. He's sleeping. And so for a believer
to go into death is nothing more than sleep. That's all it is. It's the body sleeping. And when the believer dies, he
falls asleep, but yet he does not die. It's important. It's important for you to understand
this, for you to know this within your soul that this is true. Comfort you one another because
we're going to experience the dying of the saints. God's people
will to die. Remember, concerning Lazarus,
that's what the sisters wrote and sent that message to Jesus
and said, Behold, he whom you love is what? Sick. So what does
this mean? God's people can be sick. Does
Christ not know about this? Well, of course He does. Christ
knew the moment that Lazarus fell asleep, He knew that. But
it was for the purpose and glory of God that he fell asleep, that
he died. Believers, we die, we fall asleep,
but the soul does not sleep. And in that account, he tells
them in John, he says this, he says, He that liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Now that's something, isn't it?
There Lazarus was, he was dead. But Christ said, he shall never
die. Now which is true? Which is true? Well, you can bet what Christ
said was true because immediately when he fell asleep, he did not
die. He was transported from that
mortal frame into the very presence of God. To be absent from the
body is what? What is it? To be present with
the Lord. So where's the sorrow? Now, I
know this, you sorrow. He says, I know you're going
to sorrow. Look at that text. He said, them that sleep, that
you sorrow not as others. He knows you're going to sorrow.
He knows you're going to weep. He knows you're going to feel
lost. Our Lord wept at the grave of
His friend. Death is a horrible thing that
sin has brought in. But for the believer, remember,
death has been conquered. Death has been vanquished. Our
Lord Himself proved it when the resurrection of His body and
His ascension into glory. So death is nothing for the believer. It is, as David said, the shadow
of death. It is a dark and cold place for
the body. But for the soul and the spirit,
it is good. It is good. to depart and be
with christ paul said is what are better are better second corinthians five and verse
eighty said we and willing rather to be absent from the body and
to be present with the Lord. Now we are confident about something.
How can you be confident in death? It's going to happen. We're going
to die. The day is closing fast upon
every one of us. Every one of us has a date appointed
of God by which we shall die. The means by which we shall die
is appointed. You remember what he told Peter?
He says that he had told him that they're going to carry you
where you didn't want to go. And John tells us what that meant. He said, this is the way he should
die, glorifying God. So you know this, that the way
we are to glorify God in death is set. It's done. It's fixed. There's no moving
this. But how can we be confident in
death? Because we are confident in Christ. Our confidence is not in ourselves,
but in Christ. Our confidence is in Christ Jesus,
the Lord. Therefore, we are willing rather
to be absent from the body. Isn't it a wonder why we desire
to stay in this body? Have you experienced all the
joys and pleasures and things of this body? Is that all you've
experienced in this body? No, we've experienced great sorrow,
great difficulties, great troubles. Some joys, some comforts, some
things. The best thing we've experienced
in this body is being born again. That's what our sole purpose
has been since we came into this world, is that God had purposed
to save us, to keep us, to bring us to Himself through the preaching
of the Gospel, and to keep us and to encourage one another.
There's some good things that God has done for us in this life.
But how much better is it to depart? It's better. to be present with the Lord.
Our confidence is in Christ that every believer should possess
this confidence that it is better to depart. Paul says, I'm willing. I'm willing to go. Why? Because I'm confident. And
if God give us such confidence, we would be more willing to depart. Why? Because it's far better
It's far better. Now, death of the believer is
sad in our eyes, and we will miss their fellowship, but how
does God view it? How does God view this? This
is some knowledge that we must be comforted by. God views the
death of His saints as what? Precious. Precious in the eyes
of the Lord is what? The death of His saints. Now, to the world, that is morbid. To the world, that is cruel.
To the world... But what is... Why is it precious? Because then His people are truly
free! They're truly free from all their
sin. all their troubles, all their
sorrows, all their tribulations, they're absolutely completely
and utterly free to worship God and enjoy his presence forever.
Now don't you think that's better? God does. God says it's precious
to me. I'm glad when they come to me.
Because then their struggles are over. There's no more for
those. No more troubles for them. They are free from all their
pains, afflictions. They are forever abiding in the
presence and the love and the glory of God. Have you ever had
that sense of His presence? Those moments, and I'm talking
about the fleeting moments when we are able to sense the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ. I lived for those days. I long for those days when he
comes to me and I hear him speak. It's joyful. And when a man,
a believer dies, he experiences that every day in a way that I've not experienced
it yet. I remember my pastor grieving
over the loss of his grandchild. He was five, I believe he was,
when he was taken. The Lord took him home. And he
was encouraged. He said, my grandson knows more
of Christ than I'll ever learn in this lifetime. He's experienced
more of the joys of Christ than I ever have. Precious. Precious. In the sight of the Lord is the
death of his saints. Secondly, he comforts us in this. In his zeal to comfort believers,
he gives them comfort concerning a truth. He says this in He says this, verse 14, "...for
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
which are asleep in Jesus God will bring with Him." In other
words, now he begins to talk about the resurrection. "...and
is zealed to comfort us concerning death, it is of necessity that
he speak of the coming resurrection." The resurrection. He said, God
will bring them with Him. And that's something. God will
bring... Why? Because they're there now.
And when He comes again, He will bring them with Him. For what purpose? So that they
and their bodies should be reunited. You see that? He's going to bring
them, but there's a resurrection coming in which they will come
and receive that glorified body. In verse 15 he says, "...for
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent
them which are asleep." For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with the shout and the voice of the archangel and 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." I like this language Paul uses. He said,
we which are alive and remain. Do you not see that he was expecting
Christ to come back in his time? He was expecting him. He said,
look, we're not going to bother those people that have already
gone home. We're not going to encumber their resurrection,
but when Christ comes again, those of us who are still here,
we're going to be caught up with them. Have you ever thought about
that, that you might be one of those? That there is a group
of saved people that will go by a by-road. They'll take another
path. They won't go through the veil
of death. Christ in love will snap them
from the mouth of the monster of death. Isn't that good that
there's going to be some that won't taste this physical death?
Have you ever thought that you might be one of them? Paul did. He said, we which are
alive and remain. Should not this be our attitude
then? I know we are, of most people,
more skeptical than anybody else. But listen to the language of
our enemies. They said this, and Peter, he
said, where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of creation. Now, is this our attitude toward
His coming? Well, he's just not going to
come in my lifetime. Well, perhaps not. But should
that be our attitude? No, we should be on the edge
of our seat waiting for him to come. Why? Because he promised
to come. He promised to come. He did not
let us know when he was coming, but he did let us know he is
coming. And He's going to come at a time
when men will not expect it. But this should not be our attitude. We as believers in Christ, hear
of His coming, we should be excited. We should be excited for Him
to come back. Would it not be great if He came right now? Wouldn't that not be great? If
the heavens were rent at this moment, And the dead in Christ
should rise up and we should be caught up in an instant with
them transformed without going through death. What a blessing
that would be. Isn't that what John said? Even
so, come now, Lord Jesus. Oh, if we would live in this
light, if we would live in this knowledge, we should escape so
much difficulty so much trouble so much sorrow if we would just
now come okay you didn't come then how about now we should
come now or just scrap all my plans and
come now I don't need any more plans and so concerning his coming
he goes in chapter five look at this he said but of the times
and seasons brethren you have no need that i write into you
why paul but this is something you know he said for you yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the lord shall come as a thief
in the night for when they shall say peace and safety sudden destruction
cometh upon them as a travail of a woman with child and they
shall not escape But you, brethren, are not in the darkness that
that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children
of light and the children of day. We are not of the night
nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep,
as do others, but let us watch. and be sober." So now He's going
to give us some things concerning the resurrection that we should
know. That we should know. Things that are needful. There's
some things that are needful that you should know. You should
know death is nothing to a believer. It is just a a vessel by which
we are ushered into the presence of God. You should know that,
and that should comfort you. You should know this, that He's
coming, and that all of us shall arise together, and none of us
shall be lost. All of the saints of God shall
worship God, and not one seat shall be missing, empty, not
one. This should comfort you. But
what is not needful for you to know is when. It is not needful
for you to know. There are things about heaven
that we have revealed to us, and they're kind of difficult
to understand, aren't they? Heaven. God uses pictures and
things that we know to describe something we really don't know.
We don't know what bliss is. We don't know what glory is.
And we've got pictures of glory, we've got ideas of glory, but
to experience the glory, experience the joy, we really don't have
any clue. We've got little pictures. God
gives us these things in our heart and we know them, but we
can't really describe them. We really can't. When I talk
about the presence of Christ, I struggle because I can't really
convey that to you unless you've experienced it yourself, unless
you know what it is. Same thing is true about heaven.
We know some things about heaven. But really, we don't know much. We don't know much. We know that's
our inheritance. Whatever it is in the glory and
beauty and joy, it's infinitely better than what we ever could
picture it to be. But there's some things about these things
that God does not allow us to know. You remember what Paul,
when he ascended to the third heaven, the Lord forbid him to
write certain things that he heard. It was not lawful for
him to write the things. Why? Because it was not good
for you to know that. Same thing happened to John.
He heard some thunders, and he was about to write, and he said,
No, you don't write that. They don't need to know that.
So there's some things about this we don't need to know. If
we needed to know, God would have told us. But all we need
to know is right here. All we need to know is right
here. And I'm thinking, this always crosses my mind when I
think about things we don't need to know. I imagine if God revealed
these things to us, surely we'd all jump off a cliff. We'd all
just want to end it immediately and go home. So there's some things that God
prevents us from doing. Prevents us from knowing and
this one thing that we don't know here Paul says is his return
when he comes again We don't know when that is go to Matthew
chapter 24 our Lord speaks of his of his coming here in Matthew
chapter 24 and verse 32 Now, this whole chapter, we can
see it's intermingled with some events that were going to take
place. The destruction of Jerusalem is intermingled here, as well
as His second coming. He says in verse 32, now the
parable of the fig tree. Hear it, learn it. When His branches
yet tender, He put forth leaves. And what do you know? You know
it's summer. You can tell. There's some evidence
here that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall
see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door. Verily I say unto you, this generation
shall not pass away till these things be fulfilled. These things
are the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. These things are
the gathering of the elect through the preaching of the gospel.
This dispensation of grace. All of these things Jesus mentions
here are going to be fulfilled before He comes again. And many
of these things He mentions have already been fulfilled. And He tells them heaven and
earth is going to pass away, but My words won't. In other words,
this is true. You mark this down. My words don't pass away. But
of the day and hour knoweth no man, not even the angels of heaven,
but My Father only. Jesus said, you know, the fig
tree produces its figs near the summer. And He said, these things,
The resurrection and ascension of Christ, the calling of the
elect, the destruction of Jerusalem. Now how long ago was the destruction
of Jerusalem? 2,000 years. Death of Christ, 2,000
years. The calling of the Gentiles,
that came in. That was 2,000 years ago. What is this telling us? It's
saying the leaves. You can see the leaves. You know
what? Summer's near. When you see these things and
they've already come to pass, what do you know? The end is
near. The end is near. How near? Well, it's nearer today
than it was yesterday. That's what I know. I know the
end is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is what will happen at our
Lord's coming. He will come with a shout, and all the dead in
Christ shall rise first, and the believers that are alive
and remain shall be caught up with Him. We know this. All the
while, those looking on, those who are outside of Christ, we
know this. Those who are outside of Christ
will be looking on, and they will see these events. And the righteous shall be brought
up into eternal glory, and those outside of Christ shall be forever
swept away into everlasting judgment. That's what our Lord tells us
in verse 40 of Matthew, 40 and 41. He said there'll be two in the
field, one taken, the other left. Two women grinding in the mill,
one shall be taken, the other left. In other words, there's
going to be a great separation in that day. You know that? You
believer, you know when He comes that's going to happen? There's
going to be a great separation of men. All men will be separated. And the Apostle tells us in our
text, he says, how is He going to come? We know this, He's going
to come as a thief in the night, as a thief in the night. What does a thief do? I like
the Lord's language because it's very simple for us. We don't
need to be complex. A thief comes to steal. He comes
in the middle of the night, trying to be unannounced. He didn't
tell you he's coming. He just comes, surprises, and
takes, and he goes out. And this is what the coming of
Christ will do to those who do not believe. Now this we know. I don't know when he's coming. When he's coming, he's going
to come as a thief. And he's coming as a thief to take away
from those that do not believe. Isn't that what he said about
that servant who had one talent? He said, take that talent, take
that even that he hath, and give it to him that hath then. He will come in a moment when
they think not, and He will rob them of all that they trusted
in. That's what He's going to do
for them. He's going to rob the lost of all they trusted. The
rich man, rich man that's been in hell for over 2,000 years
now, remember what he said, Father Abraham, You see, he trusted
in his kinship with Abraham. He trusted in his obedience to
the law of Moses. He trusted in the fact that he
was a Jew. And you know what his death did?
It took all that away. It robbed him of all that he
trusted in. You remember what's going to
happen to those that are not the sheep of Christ, but those
who are outside of Christ. When they are separated on his
left hand, he shall say, Depart from me. You cursed into everlasting
darkness, prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was
hungered, you gave me no meat. I was thirsty, you gave me no
drink. I was a stranger, you took me not in. Naked, you clothed
me. Not sick and in prison, you visited me not. Listen to their
response. Then shall they answer unto him,
Lord, when saw we thee in hunger, or thirst, or stranger, or naked,
or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you? We did that. And what is he going to do? He's going to take that away.
And he answered them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch
as you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.
And these shall go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life. Now, considering this, that men
die, that you must die, that you must and Christ will come
again and judge all men, are you trusting in yourself? Now, I want you to be clear.
If you're not trusting in Christ, you're trusting in yourself. If you're not trusting in Christ,
you're trusting in yourself, and when He comes again, it will
not be blissful for those outside of Christ. It will not be a joy. He will take what you had, what
you thought you had. Verse 3 of our text says, For
when they saw, say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction
shall come upon them. As a woman as trevail upon a
woman with child they shall not escape for any man that tells me that
he's made his peace with God I know he hasn't because if you made your peace
with God you have no peace with God the only one who made peace
with God is Christ I have peace with God because Christ made
peace with God for me This is like a fool who has been convicted
of a crime bragging about his lawyer. What good is a lawyer if you've
already been sentenced, if you've already been convicted, if you've
already been found guilty? What do you need a lawyer for? These are the men that Isaiah
spoke of. He said, I've made a covenant with death and with
hell. We are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through it shall not come unto me I've made lies my
refuge, and falsehood have I hid myself." When that day comes,
he says, I've disannulled your covenant. I've disannulled your
covenant with death and agreement with hell. And when that overflowing
scourge shall pass, it shall trod you down. It shall be, as Paul said, like
a woman in travail. You know, when a woman gives
pain, where does the pain come from? It comes from within, doesn't
it? Within her own self. That's where the pain originates,
with a woman in travail. And so it is with a man in hell. All of his pain originates from
his own self, his own sin, his own guilt. And next thing we know about
Christ coming for the lost, He said they won't escape. How many
men have escaped justice in this world? How many men who really
are guilty of crimes escaped justice? Let me tell you this,
be assured they've not escaped anything. God, the just judge,
will judge all men justly. Be assured that none will escape
the justice of God, not one sin will go unpunished. John Gill says the escape is
impossible. The rocks and hills and mountains
shall not be able to cover them from the judgment seat of Christ. This is something we can be assured
of with Christ's coming, that those outside of Christ who will
not bow the knee to Him and confess Him to be Lord and believe on
Him alone, it shall come as a thief and a knight. But here's your
comfort. Go back to your text. lecture text in first Thessalonians,
but here is your comfort. Now that's what's going to happen
to them when he comes. I know that. I know when he's coming.
When he comes, that's exactly what's going to happen to the
lost. They're going to be taken as a thief and a knight. But,
verse 4, you, brethren. Are not in darkness that that
day should overtake you as a thief you got that God Christ when
he's coming again He's not coming to rob you of anything Matter
of fact, he's coming to give you everything See the difference
Why we are not in darkness see I'm not when he comes again We're
not going to be surprised as to what he's going to give us.
We know that We know what we have in Christ. What do you have
in Christ? I have eternal life. A crown of righteousness which
the righteous judge shall give me at that day. What Paul said. True. I know this. I know when
he comes again it's not going to be a thief. He's not coming
to rob me. He's coming to give me everything. Why? Because I am his child. Isn't that what he says? You
are not in darkness? This is not going to take you
as a thief? Why? You are all children of
light. Father's been separated from
his child for a long time. He promises his child when he
returns he's going to give them something. And there his child
stands waiting for the return of his dad. Now, how do you suppose
that his child is going... the attitude of the child? Is
it anger? Is it sorrow? No. When His Father returns, He's
expecting to get something. He's excited. This should be
our attitude. Why? We are children of light,
adopted sons, eternally adopted sons, chosen sons, purchased
sons. And this sonship has been applied
to our hearts, and we know we are sons. Why? The Spirit of
God has entered into our hearts and given us this faith in Christ
that we possess, this hope that we have in Him. We need to be comforted that
we are His children. And therefore, as we walk, what
is Paul said, therefore let us not sleep as do others, let us
watch and be sober. We are not like those blind walking
and groping in the dark. And we see that he is coming
not to rob us, but rather to confirm and complete what he's
already started. He that hath begun a good work
in you. Now what should you expect? shall
perform it unto the day he comes back. The day of Jesus Christ. He's going to complete that work.
He didn't steal anything from us. For it was His righteousness. He gave us His righteousness.
He pardoned our sins. He shed His blood for us. And
when He comes again, He's going to give us only the eternal goodness
and glory that He has accomplished for us. That's what you should
expect. We believe, have joy and peace
from God our Father because then we are kept. You can expect that.
You know what? You're going to be kept until
He comes. How many fear they're going to be lost? How many times have I feared?
How many times do I doubt? And yet, if I would just believe
His Word. Jude tells us that we are preserved. Preserved. Guarded. Didn't they say that the Lord
is our high tower? Our high tower. What does that
mean? Nobody can get to you. Jesus said, no man shall pluck
them out of my hand. I give unto them eternal life. That's why nobody can do it.
I give it to them. They're not going to perish.
You're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed. Believer, we have been saved,
we are being saved, and we shall be saved. And one day we'll fully
know what that means. We'll experience all that that
entails. When? When He comes. When He
comes. You are the children of light,
not of darkness. So then, in conclusion, what
do we know? We know death is sleep. We know it's precious
in the eyes of God. Why? Because then the believer
is transported into the very presence of God. Yet we know
something more. We know that there's coming a time when He's
coming back. And all those, all of us, are going to be gathered
together. All of us. brought into the kingdom and
we're going to enjoy this now what we know about the lost this
thing will take them as a thief in a night they don't take away
everything they thought they trusted him but we who trust
in christ alone is not going to be a thief to us he's going
to give us what he promised therefore comfort one another
with these words may god help us to be watchful children hoping,
rejoicing in Christ's coming. Pray God bless us.