Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share THE NEXT BIG THING -- I THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
THE NEXT BIG THING -- I THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
The next great event on God’s timeline for this world is the resurrection and rapture, or catching up of the saved. This message deals with that event. In Titus 2:13 Paul calls it our “blessed hope.” So, the thought of the rapture should not frighten us, but it should give us great comfort (I Thessalonians 4:18). The Lord's coming has been the hope of believers since the first century. In Acts 1:6 the Lord’s disciples asked Him, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” In vs. 7 Jesus told them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (This is not something you need to worry about.) Then, in vs. 8 He said, “. . . ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . ” This goes along with last week’s message. We can get so caught up thinking about getting caught up that we don’t get caught up in our purpose here and now. Now, concerning the coming of Christ I Thessalonians 4:16-17 tells us: “ . . . the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) 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.” . The “last days” will culminate with the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in two stages: First, He comes in the air for His saints. Then He comes (to earth) with His saints. But we know that not everyone has this hope. Not everyone who hears this message will believe it to be truthful or hopeful. Some scoff at the idea of Jesus coming again. And, God’s Word tells us that's the spirit that will prevail in the last days -- II Peter 3:1-4. Kevin Philips, a left-wing political strategist, writing against Christian influence in government ranked people who believe the Bible as “hucksters” and likened them to the Shiite ayatollahs. But this is still a Baptist church, and we believe (as all true Baptists do) that the Bible is the authority in matters of faith and practice. And, we come here to open our Bibles and hear what God has to say to His people. There are many indications that we are living in the last days. There is the desire of many to promote globalism in this world. We are hearing talk of a global currency, and we already have the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and many other such “global” institutions. Things we could only imagine 40-50 years ago are being proposed today in real life. Today we can have comfort because we know God is in control and everything is right on course. And our hope is based on what we learn from God's Word, which is our “more sure word of prophecy” (II Peter 1:19). I don't care what the politicians say. I don't care what the media says. I don't care what those who don't know the Bible say. They are not going to stop Jesus from returning, and they are not going to derail God’s plan. What I care about is, what does the Bible say? And that's what we're going to examine in this message. We see:
I. THE PROMISE OF THE RAPTURE.
II. THE PROSPECT (HOPE) OF THE RAPTURE -- Vv. 16b-17.
III. THE PREPARATION FOR THE RAPTURE.
View all episodes
By JWHThe next great event on God’s timeline for this world is the resurrection and rapture, or catching up of the saved. This message deals with that event. In Titus 2:13 Paul calls it our “blessed hope.” So, the thought of the rapture should not frighten us, but it should give us great comfort (I Thessalonians 4:18). The Lord's coming has been the hope of believers since the first century. In Acts 1:6 the Lord’s disciples asked Him, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” In vs. 7 Jesus told them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (This is not something you need to worry about.) Then, in vs. 8 He said, “. . . ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . ” This goes along with last week’s message. We can get so caught up thinking about getting caught up that we don’t get caught up in our purpose here and now. Now, concerning the coming of Christ I Thessalonians 4:16-17 tells us: “ . . . the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) 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.” . The “last days” will culminate with the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in two stages: First, He comes in the air for His saints. Then He comes (to earth) with His saints. But we know that not everyone has this hope. Not everyone who hears this message will believe it to be truthful or hopeful. Some scoff at the idea of Jesus coming again. And, God’s Word tells us that's the spirit that will prevail in the last days -- II Peter 3:1-4. Kevin Philips, a left-wing political strategist, writing against Christian influence in government ranked people who believe the Bible as “hucksters” and likened them to the Shiite ayatollahs. But this is still a Baptist church, and we believe (as all true Baptists do) that the Bible is the authority in matters of faith and practice. And, we come here to open our Bibles and hear what God has to say to His people. There are many indications that we are living in the last days. There is the desire of many to promote globalism in this world. We are hearing talk of a global currency, and we already have the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and many other such “global” institutions. Things we could only imagine 40-50 years ago are being proposed today in real life. Today we can have comfort because we know God is in control and everything is right on course. And our hope is based on what we learn from God's Word, which is our “more sure word of prophecy” (II Peter 1:19). I don't care what the politicians say. I don't care what the media says. I don't care what those who don't know the Bible say. They are not going to stop Jesus from returning, and they are not going to derail God’s plan. What I care about is, what does the Bible say? And that's what we're going to examine in this message. We see:
I. THE PROMISE OF THE RAPTURE.
II. THE PROSPECT (HOPE) OF THE RAPTURE -- Vv. 16b-17.
III. THE PREPARATION FOR THE RAPTURE.