MPC 26th December 2004.December 26 - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 - "Great Expectations"
Stuart Atkinson MPC 26th December 2004.
We've all got out own little idosyncratic sayings. I've got two sayings that I use regularly. You might be able to relate to these. The first one is this - you can never find anything. Particularly applies to me because I lose everything. Doesn't matter if it's the sticky tape or the car, I can lose it. I've lost three mobile phones in three years. In fact the last phone I lost, I found after only I ran over it with the car. You can never find anything. Second saying - and Cathy usually says it for me right after I say the first one. She says, yes, and nothing ever works. Nothing ever works. The stapler jams, the computer freezes, the printer won't print, the alarm doesn't go off when you've got an exam. Nothing ever works.
Now you might think I need counselling, and you might be right, but my theory is that it's all about wrong expectations. I expect that I will find things straight away. I expect that things will work first time, every time. A whole lot of grief is caused by wrong expectations. Am I right? I mean, I expect that I'll get ten jobs done on Saturday and finish only one. I expect the holiday I'm about to take will be perfect. The weather will be great, I'll relax. Someone else will cook and clean up. There'll be no arguments. I've never had that holiday. I never will. The expectations are too great. You've probably experienced the same sort of thing. Maybe yesterday. You expected a surround sound home theatre for Christmas, and all you got was an electric sander. Wrong expectations are a killer.
Wrong expectations are especially devastating when it comes to what you expect as a Christian. If you expect certain things from being a Christian, and they turn out differently, it's hard. You'll start having doubts. You might lose hope. Wrong expectations will chip away at the truth of the gospel as your expectations go unmet. So it's important to have the right expectations.
And as we've heard, Timothy's been sent to find out how the Thessalonians are going. The report's a glowing one, except for the news that there are some wrong expectations that need to be set right. The Thessalonians have somehow gotten hold of the idea that dying shouldn't be a part of the Christian experience. Seems they're expecting to live until Jesus returns. But the problem is Jesus hasn't come back yet. And there were some who had died. And it wasn't what they'd expected. And it's hard dealing with these expectations when they're not met. It's causing some doubts. Should Christian expectations be any different from the rest when it comes to death?
Despite how the Thessalonians have turned from idols to serve God, despite putting up with persecution and having to resist temptation, despite being different from the rest in just about every way, when it comes to death it seems they're no different from the rest. You live, you die, it's over. And what's more, Jesus hasn't returned and they thought he might have by now.
The rest are living however they please and they're getting away with it. And it's hard.
Well, Paul can see how these wrong expectations are chipping away at the truth of the gospel. They're doing harm. Causing doubts. Causing wrong thinking. Which inevitably leads to wrong action. The wrong expectations need to be replaced by right ones which lead to right action.
The first thing Paul wants to correct is their wrong expectations about death. And so he says, first thing, don't worry about the dead in Christ, they're going to live. They're not the dead dead, they're the living dead. They're just asleep. Waiting for Jesus to come and wake them up. How do we know that? It's there in verse 14. Because Jesus died and rose again those who die in Christ will too. Verse 14:
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
This isn't a hope based on someone's opinion or strong feeling, but one that's based on the central gospel truth that Jesus died and rose again. That's why we can be so sure. God demonstrated his love for us - that Jesus died, and he demonstrated his power in raising Jesus. And so those who are in Christ have a sure hope that they'll be raised too. In the same way that Jesus rose, God will raise those who have fallen asleep in him. Nothing more certain than that, Paul says.
In fact in 4:15 as Paul writes, and I can feel comfortable telling you this because I got my college results this week - they tell me I passed Greek - so I can tell you that he uses the strongest possible negative construction you can have in Greek. To make his point. The emphatic negative. There in chapter 4 verse 15:
According 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 (never ever ever emphatic negative), will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
In other words, it's not whether you're alive or dead, that matters. It's whether or not you're in Christ. That's what matters. Keep following along. Verse 16:
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.
This is the right expectation. That if you live with Christ as Lord, and if you die with Christ as Lord, whether you're alive or dead when he comes, together with the rest who are in Christ, you'll get to be with him forever.
And Paul says in verse 18, therefore encourage each other with these words. You're not like the rest, who have no hope when they die. Because Christ was raised and he's coming back.
And the point is back up in verse 13 that if you have a wrong expectation about those who fall asleep, you'll grieve just like the rest. Who don't have hope. Verse 13:
Brothers, 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.
Christian grief, that is, in relation to those who die in Christ, is to be different. Because it's not a hopeless grief like the rest.
Don't get me wrong, it's still grief. Death is always tragic. It always causes grief. And there's always ignorance involved. We ask why? Why that person? Why at that time? We're ignorant about those things. But we need not be completely ignorant. We know something. There's something we can be certain about. Something that we oughtn't be ignorant about that makes death for Christians different from the rest. The difference is a certainty, it's a right expectation about their future. It's not hopeless. Far from it. Which makes a difference to how we live. Makes a difference to how we grieve.
I went to a funeral in 1999 of a friend. His name was Tony. 19 years old. Tony fell off a motor bike. He didn't think he was hurt too badly, but felt pretty bad later on in the day. Went to hospital. Didn't make it to the next day. An absolute tragedy. For Tony, his family, friends, his girlfiend. But I remember at his funeral, his pastor's first words were so encouraging. He said, Tony was a person who was in Christ. Who lived with Jesus as Lord. And even though we grieve today, even though he died, we know that Tony's not dead, he's alive.
Tony's death was a tragedy. But it wasn't a hopeless tragedy. If I've understood Paul properly, he's saying exactly what Tony's minister said at the funeral - Tony's not dead, he's alive. So we grieve differently.
And as we grieve differently, Christians should stand out. People should see the hope we have in Christ. They'll see the hopelessness of being without him. We're to be different from the rest in the way we grieve.
The second thing Paul wants to correct about the Thessalonians is their expectation about Jesus' return. When Jesus comes, and you will know this he says, 5:2, The day of the Lord. It'll come like a thief in the night. A thief wants to deprive you of what you have. He wants to deceive you. And so you need to be on guard. You need to be alert. You won't know when it comes. The only thing you do know about when it will be is that you can't know when. And as soon as you have some expectation about when it will be, not only will it be a wrong expectation, but it will lead to wrong living. And from what Paul says here, it seems it's particularly dangerous to have a wrong attitude towards the day of the Lord.
Again, here's the use of the emphatic negative in verse 3 of chapter 5.
While people are saying, "Peace and Safety", destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
There is no chance that they will escape. Previously Paul was talking about the living dead. The dead who died in Christ. Who'll live when Jesus comes. Well, now it's the dead living that are on view. The ones who are alive who think they'll somehow avoid the day of the Lord. Who think that it won't come. Who think they're safe. But they're wrong. Just as surely as you'll live if you're in Christ, you'll suffer destruction if you're not when he comes. Jesus will return as surely as labor pains on a pregnant woman. You don't know when, but you know it'll happen.
It's funny, even with modern technology, they can't tell you when your baby will come. I mean they can try. They can give you a rough guess. They gave Cathy and I about four rough guesses for Liam. But you can't tell when it will come. All you know is that it's inevitable at some stage.
Now I think there's actually two issues here. One is that those who seem to be living defiantly against God just seem to get away with it. They oppose God and his people with arrogance. They're selfish with their time. Their money. They look after number one. Each day judgment doesn't come is another feather in their cap. As you read through the Psalms, this comes up again and again. Why do the unrighteous prosper? But Paul's offering an assurance here, I think. Don't worry about them, he's saying. Don't be sucked in like they've been. Suddenly they'll be destroyed. So don't be jealous. Be ready.
Which is the second issue. Be ready yourself. Keep awake, the time to sleep is when you're dead. But until then, you need to be watching how you live. You need to be living as though Jesus will come back soon. Read it with me from verse 4.
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
Here's a great reminder for the Thessalonians, and for anyone who's been changed by the gospel. It's not normal for you if you're a Christian to behave in a way that 's characterised by the night. By the darkness. So you need to behave like what you are. As you wait for Jesus to return. You need to act like someone who's a son of the day. Adopted by God. And that way the thief won't catch you off guard.
Paul talks about the armour that will keep you safe as you defend yourself against attack. From verse 8. Wear the defensive armour of faith and love. While you're working hard at those, it's harder to be distracted. And put on a helmet. It's the helmet of the hope of salvation. Put on those things, encourage one another, verse 10, with the good news of Christ's death for you to bring you salvation. Read it with me. This is kind of Paul's summary for the section. Verse 10: He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
It's important to have the right expectations. If we're going to be built up in faith, if we're not going to be led astray. So build each other up in these. Verse 11: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
We know Jesus is coming back. So keep reminding each other about the right expectation, that when he comes, whether you're alive or dead, when he does, if you're in Christ, then together with the others who've died in Christ and with the living, you'll be with Him forever. That's what we do as we meet together. We encourage one another by singing and as we hear from His Word and as we meet at other times. We encourage each other with the right expectation of Jesus' return, so we live rightly until He does.