We're pausing in our Covenant Theology series, and this summer we'll be back in the Psalms.
So next week we'll be in Psalm 139, and then we'll continue where we left off last summer in Psalm 9 and onward.
So we have a special little message today unrelated to Covenant Theology or the Psalms,
and it's a message of comfort.
It's a message for those that will face death and dying.
So hear these words, 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18.
As I read this, I read it believing that this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear and sufficient word.
It's God's very own word for you, His people.
When I'm done reading, I'll say this is the word of the Lord.
If you receive it that way, you can say thanks be to God.
1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep,
that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus,
God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. You may be seated.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Let's pray.
Lord, may your word go forth like the rain.
May it bring refreshment to those who are in a desert.
May it bring food to those who are hungry.
May your word wash over each one of us,
making us more like your Son, Jesus Christ.
For your glory we ask. Amen.
There was an old preacher,
and he confessed that his goal was simply to preach,
as never to preach again,
and as a dying man to dying men.
That's been my prayer as I think about each of you this week
in preparing for this message.
There's nothing more important we could think about
for the next 30 to 40 minutes
than your life and the life to come.
John Flabel,
I told you a little bit about his life and biography back in the fall,
so I won't repeat that now,
but he was a faithful Puritan minister
at the height of persecution in the 1600s.
Listen to his words on this topic.
Neglecting to prepare yourself for death
is not brave but foolish,
like going blindly into war.
If you're wise,
you will use your life
to prepare for your death.
That's the end of Flabel's quote.
To prepare for death in a time of peace
without physical persecution
is a discipline.
In persecution,
preparation for death
is a daily requirement.
This was the case for the church
in Thessalonica.
It was planted by Paul.
We read of this in Acts 17.
It's that story of when
the Judaizers of Thessalonica,
who were among the most fierce
and the most aggressive,
they chased him,
and he had to be lowered out the window
of Jason's home.
Do you remember that story?
Christians in Thessalonica
were hunted down.
They were often hurt.
Thinking about death
was routine.
That's what it meant
to follow Christ.
John Gill commented on
this church in Thessalonica.
Those who had not been
directly attacked
or persecuted
would have had someone
close to them
removed from the church
by violence
through the rage
and fury
of their persecutors
for whom their surviving friends
were pressed with sorrow
and grief.
Think of a church like ours.
If only one of our members,
one of our regular
brothers and sisters
with whom we are used
to fellowshipping every week
is all of a sudden removed
because of persecution,
we would grieve this.
We would grieve it
most likely
for years and years.
The clinical definition
of grief
is anguish
experienced
after significant loss.
Each of us
has experienced
significant loss.
Grief often includes
physiological distress,
separation anxiety,
confusion,
yearning,
obsessive dwelling
on the past,
and apprehension
about the future.
So beloved congregation
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the message I want to bring
to you today is
how do we as Christians
comfort one another?
That's what Paul
is doing with these words
to the church
in Thessalonica.
That's what I pray
the Holy Spirit
will do among us.
Teach us
how to comfort
one another.
Christians need comforting,
don't we?
So I've got five ways
in which I think
we can learn
to do this from Paul.
The first is that
we recognize
Christians must grieve
to.
Christians must grieve
to.
When you have
the opportunity,
we should hear this story
from one another.
When have you felt
the burn
of pain
and grief?
I see three things
in verse 13.
The first is this.
Grief
over a loss
is not a sin.
It's a necessity.
To grieve loss
is not a sin.
It is a necessity.
Look at verse 13
again with me.
We don't want you
to be ignorant brothers
concerning those
who have fallen asleep
so you don't grieve
like the rest
who have no hope.
He's implying
that Christians
do grieve
but we grieve
differently.
John Flavel
acknowledged this as well.
To bury a child,
any child,
must needs
rend the heart
of a tender parent.
A child is part
of the parent
made up
in another skin.
To lay a son
in the grave,
a son who would
continue the name
and support the family,
this is a very
great affliction.
How could a Christian
not grieve
great loss?
It's not a sin
to grieve
because Jesus grieved.
In John 11, 33,
we saw this.
Jesus,
as he's approaching
the tomb of Lazarus,
he sees Mary,
Martha,
and the Jews
weeping.
And Jesus,
our sinless God
in the flesh,
he groaned
in the spirit
and he was troubled.
Ecclesiastes 3, 4,
can be paraphrased
as the ancient
Hebrew paraphrase
gave it,
there is
a time
to weep
for those
that sleep.
But God
doesn't waste
the grief.
He uses it.
Flavel pointed out,
God often uses
a person's grief
to get your attention.
God could continue
stripping a person
of all he cares about
until he is finally
willing and ready
to face
his own death
as well.
I know some of you
are grieving.
Some of you
had loss
very recently.
The Lord wants you
to think about
your own life
and yes,
even your own death
because there is
a time for Christians
to grieve
painful loss.
You must grieve
but you must grieve
differently.
Second observation
on verse 13.
Without hope,
your grief
will paralyze you.
Here's why
you must grieve
differently.
To not grieve
differently than the world,
it's devastating.
Hopeless grief
degenerates your nerves.
It numbs your soul.
It holds your mind
hostage.
And grief
can paralyze you.
Have you experienced
something like that?
In verse 13,
Paul writes,
don't grieve
like the rest
who have no hope.
They have no hope
of ever seeing
their friends anymore.
The thought of that friend
must be entirely
lost to them.
They will never meet,
see,
or enjoy
those loved ones
that they lost
outside of Christ.
Christ.
And this would drive
the church
in the ancient world
to extravagant actions.
One commentator said
it would make them
do bizarre things
that we would see
now as culturally
crazy,
you know,
like downright madness,
furious transports.
We get a glimpse
of this also
in the pagan world
in Deuteronomy 14.1.
Part of the civil law
for national Israel
was to not grieve
over the dead
the same way
the pagan nations do.
That verse says
that you are the children
of the Lord your God.
Do not cut yourselves
or shave the front
of your heads
for the dead.
That's what the pagans do.
But you're children of God.
You grieve differently.
Humans can be driven
to those extreme actions
because
death is so real.
No one can deny
the reality of death.
And our conscience
can be pricked
when we see that so close.
That's why the western world
has tried to sanitize death
is because we don't want
to have to deal
with our conscience.
John Flavel wrote
your conscience
is either your best of friends
or your worst of enemies
because it indicates
to your body
in this life
what destiny
you are headed to
for eternity.
So without hope
grief
will paralyze you.
But the third observation
in verse 13
is that
there is
a medicine
for this pain.
The balm
for grief
is truth.
The balm
or ointment
for grief
is truth.
Notice what he says
at the very beginning
of verse 13.
Here's why
we don't want you
to be ignorant.
You need to treat
that burning pain
of grief
with the right
ointment.
The only ointment
that can soothe.
And that's truth
from the word
of God.
Spurgeon said,
Oh, there is
in contemplating Christ
a balm
for every wound.
Well, how do you
get this medicine?
How do you get that?
That's the fourth
observation
on verse 13.
As your soul
receives the truth
from God's word,
it leaves a residual
effect on the pain
and that's hope.
He says,
don't be ignorant
as those who have
no hope.
Instead,
through the truth
of God's word
washing over us,
what we're left with
is a hope
that's different
than what the world
can offer.
So if you
are suffering now
and you are grieving,
you must grieve.
You don't grieve
like the world,
though.
What you do
is you put yourself
like you are now
under God's word.
You let God's word
wash over you
as truth.
The residual effect
as you go home again
after the service,
you will have more hope
than someone
outside of Christ.
Psalm 34,
verse 18 says
that the Lord
is near
to the brokenhearted
and he saves those
who are crushed
in spirit.
If you are crushed
in spirit,
if you feel like
your heart is broken
and you are grieving,
the Lord is for you
and he is near you.
So Christians
must grieve too.
The second way
that we ought
to comfort one another
in grief
is to remind
one another
of what we believe.
Remind one another
of what we believe.
What is that truth
that gives Christians
hope?
Notice how Paul
gets right to it.
Here is the crux
of the matter.
In verse 14,
he says,
for if we believe
that Jesus died
and rose again.
I want to point out
to you in verse 14
two things.
First,
what the Lord Jesus
secured
and secondly,
for whom he secured
this.
So first,
what did our Lord Jesus
secure?
He secured
eternal life.
He says,
for if we believe
that Jesus died
and rose again,
even so God
will bring with him
those who have
fallen asleep
in Christ.
Your eternal state
and mine,
it hinges on that
one little word,
if.
First John 2.23
says,
no one who denies
the Son
has the Father.
Whoever confesses
the Son
has the Father
also,
you must believe
in Jesus Christ
savingly
to have the hope
of the gospel.
We confess this
with the Apostles' Creed.
We believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ
who for us
and for our salvation
came down
and was made flesh
and entered humanity
and suffered
and rose the third day.
Why did Jesus do this?
To secure eternal life.
He didn't need it.
He secured eternal life
for you
who believe in him.
Octavius Winslow
pointed out,
Christ did this
because he took
your cup of grief,
your cup of the curse,
and he pressed it
to his lips
and he drank it
to the dregs,
every last drop.
Then the Lord Jesus
filled it
with his sweet,
pardoning,
sympathizing love
and he gives it
back to you
to drink
and to drink
forever.
That's what the Lord
accomplished.
He secured
eternal life
by coming to earth,
dying,
and being risen again.
Now for whom
did he accomplish this?
There's still
the condition,
if you believe.
Even so,
God will bring with him
those who have
fallen asleep.
Notice the next two words.
Those who have
fallen asleep
in Christ Jesus.
There is nothing
more certain
or more comfortable,
one commentator
pointed out,
there's nothing
that we should
more firmly believe
than this.
If you die
in Christ,
you are secure
in Christ
forevermore.
1 Corinthians 15
verse 21
gives clarity.
For since death
came by man,
Adam,
the resurrection
of the dead
also comes
by man,
Jesus Christ,
the last Adam.
Jesus Christ
secured
eternal life
for all
who believe
in him
as Lord and Savior.
He secured
this now,
applying it to you
by the Holy Spirit
while you are alive
so that when you die
and go to sleep
in Christ,
you can know
forever
your soul
is in him.
You are united
from him
that will never
be undone.
how can this
truth be balm?
How can this
give us hope
and comfort
and how can it
be medicine
for our suffering
soul?
John Flavel
preached a sermon
and the title
of the sermon
I think answers
that question.
It was a funeral
sermon entitled
The Balm
of the Covenant.
That's the covenant
of grace
applied to the
bleeding wounds
of afflicted
saints.
And in this sermon
he tells the
widow
who lost
her husband
this is a
sovereign balm
the blessing
of the Holy Spirit
on you
for your wounded
spirit
who are groaning
under the strokes
of God.
Here's the promise
that same moment
that your soul
came to Jesus
in faith
had passed
from death
to life
that soul
is no longer
under the law
condemning unto death
but it's under
the grace
that Christ
secured forever.
So you and I
have the opportunity
every time we
think about our death
every time we think
about resting
in Christ
we have the chance
to prepare
for that eternal
state
what comes after
this life.
Did you notice
how the apostle
Paul calls
death
falling asleep
if you're in Christ?
If you're in Christ
to die
is simply
to fall
asleep.
Every night
that we lay
our heads down
on the pillow
we are practicing
for our death.
We fall asleep
in Christ
we trust
that he will bring
his own
back to life
with him.
John Gill
pointed out
what do death
and falling asleep
have in common?
In both death
and sleep
there is no
exercise of the senses
the persons
are at rest
and both
rise again.
Both death
and sleep
are common
to all men
and they are
proper
and peculiar
to the body
only.
That's why
you can have
a dream
while your body
sleeps.
It's a wonderful
analogy
that the Lord
has given us
and even wiring us
and he makes you
sleep
not just once a month
he makes you sleep
every day
learning to rest
in him
practicing for your own
death one day.
Well let's remind
ourselves next
this is our third way
to comfort one another
remind one another
by the word
of the Lord
how it all
ends.
So having said
that there's only hope
for those in Christ
he reminds us
next of how
this all ends
and this is another
way that we comfort
one another.
Look at verse 15
for we tell you
by the word
of the Lord
that we who are
alive
who are left
until the coming
of the Lord
will in no way
precede those
who have fallen
asleep.
He says that
if you're in Christ
now and you're
still alive
this is how
it's going to end
for you
and what about
those who are
already dead
when Christ returns?
Well this is how
it will end
for them.
Verse 16
the Lord himself
will descend
from heaven
with a shout
with the voice
of the archangel
and with God's
trumpet.
This is imagery
of war.
it's a cry
of command
coming from
heaven
with the Lord
Jesus Christ
in his glorified
body
descending
coming to take
what's his
which is the
whole world
as the supreme
authority
and it's a command
to all his
soldiers
living and
dead
and the voice
of the archangel
that's the general
of the angelic
army
and with the
sound
of the trumpet
this is imagery
of a Jewish
shofar
which was the
trumpet made
out of a ram's
horn
that was used
when the
walls of Jericho
come tumbling
down
and the first
Yeshua
is calling the
people to take
the land
Jesus Christ
will be coming
back leading
the army
taking the land
taking the whole
world
that is his
own
this is how
it all
ends
in Luke 12
verse 49
Jesus said
in his own
words
I came
to throw
fire on the
earth
and I wish
it were
already
kindled
the Lord
Jesus
with the
gospel
in his
first coming
is gracious
he's inaugurating
the kingdom
of heaven
on earth
and this
fire will
spread
throughout
the world
it's the
fire of
the gospel
it's the
image of
the Holy
Spirit
hovering over
the church
as they
gather in
his name
until every
one of the
nations
peoples and
tribes are
gathered
under
Jesus
their
king
and as
one
generation
passes
and their
bodies
are buried
they're being
prepared for
that great
day
when the
fire
of the
heavenly
kingdom
will consume
the whole
earth
the new
heavens
and the
new
earth
are brought
down
by the
Lord
Jesus
himself
with the
host of
the angels
armies
with all
of those
who had
died in
Christ
being risen
and all
those who
are still
living
when he
returns
being
transformed
and brought
with him
this is how
it all
ends
this should
comfort
us who
mourn
now
Jesus
ascended
into heaven
we read
in our
creed
he is
seated
at the
father's
right hand
and he
will come
again
to judge
the living
and the
dead
his first
coming
was gracious
calling all
to repent
and his
second
coming
is a
time for
his
kingdom
to be
here
constantly
where every
knee
will bow
to king
Jesus
one way
or the
other
remind one
another
by the
word of
God
how this
all ends
the fourth
way we
comfort one
another is
we think
of him
with whom
all believers
will be
think
of him
with whom
all believers
will be
verse 16
we read
that the
dead
in Christ
will rise
first
there are
Christians
who have
been tossed
over ships
there are
Christians
who have
been burned
alive at
the stake
their bodies
were consumed
by the fire
there are others
who have been
buried in the
dirt
and turned
to dust
their bodies
have been
eaten up
by worms
the Lord
Jesus says
that when
he comes
those who
died in
him
will rise
the one
who created
you
who formed
you and
me
and this
whole world
out of
nothing
he will
recreate
each one
of us
he will
join
body
to soul
that's the
only way
we can be
with him
the Lord
Jesus
died
and his
own body
was resurrected
and his
own body
ascended
to the
right hand
of the
father
this mystery
is explained
at least
as much as
God wants us
to know
for now
in 1
Corinthians
15
42
notice how
Paul explains
this
you're welcome
to turn
there
I'll read
it for
us
1
Corinthians
15
starting
at 42
the body
is sown
perishable
it's the
image of
our body
once the
soul has
left it
being put
into the
earth
into the
dirt
perishable
but it
is raised
imperishable
the body
God will
raise to
life
when he
comes again
will not
perish
it is
sown
in
dishonor
a funeral
is a picture
of what
our sin
deserves
it's the
curse
that we're
under
that we've
piled onto
with our
own sinning
but that
same body
because it's
united to
Christ
by his
work
will be
raised
in glory
the body
is sown
in weakness
but it
will be
raised
in power
so if
you die
in Christ
your soul
will be
separated
from your
body
until the
second coming
of Christ
but you
can look
forward to
that day
that great
reunion
your body
will be
transformed
so that
you can
be with
the Lord
body
and soul
and what
about those
who are
still alive
when Christ
returns
we read
in verse
17 of
our sermon
text
then we
who are
alive
who are
left
will be
caught up
together
with them
in the
clouds
to meet
the Lord
in the
air
the phrase
in the
air
is used
throughout
the Bible
and the
Old Testament
as not
the seventh
heaven
or the
highest
of heaven
but that
place
between
heaven
and earth
it's the
mediating
presence
of Christ
in the
air
it means
the
presence
of the
Lord
where he's
bringing
heaven
and earth
together
and there's
going to be
a great
reunion
of all
those
who
died
in
Christ
and all
those
who are
now
still
living
in
Christ
1 Corinthians
15
51
says
behold
I tell
you
a mystery
we will
not all
sleep
but we
will
all
be
changed
in a
moment
in the
twinkling
of an
eye
the last
trumpet
will
sound
the dead
will be
raised
incorruptible
and we
will be
changed
this perishable
body must
become
imperishable
and this
mortal body
must put on
immortality
the Lord
will transform
all of us
those who
died in
him
those who
are still
living in
him
at his
second
coming
the reason
he will
transform
our bodies
is so that
we can be
with him
in his
glory
John
Flavel
explained this
mystery this
way
your body
must be
refined
it must be
cast into
a new
mold
or else
that new
wine
of heavenly
glory
would break
it is not
union with
Christ
infinitely more
desirable
than union
of your soul
with this
body
oh cherish
your union
with him
then shall
your souls
be happy
when your
bodies drop
off from
them at
death
and what's
more
your soul
and your
body
shall be
happy in
him
in that
great
resurrection
at the
second
and final
coming
of our
Lord
look at
verse 17
think of
him
with whom
all believers
will be
verse 17
we have
this glorious
promise
in this
way
so
we
will be
with
the
Lord
forever
we
will be
with
the
Lord
forever
Romans
6 5
says
if we
have
become
united
with him
in the
likeness
of his
death
we
also
will be
part
of his
resurrection
that's
how we
will be
with the
Lord
forever
we're
with the
Lord
now
spiritually
one day
we will
be with
the
Lord
body
and soul
the new
heavens
the new
earth
forever
whatever
what
greater
comfort
could
a person
ask
for
this
is the
high
part
of our
passage
it's
the
Lord
Jesus
himself
your
savior
your
creator
your
good
shepherd
you are
with
him
for all
eternity
but that's
not where
he ends
this thought
because you
and I are
still here
in the
church
we're still
in this
life
in these
bodies
and we
long for
that day
that we'll
be with
our
Lord
forever
but now
what do we
do while
we grieve
while our
flesh is
weak
and he
ends with
verse 18
comfort
one another
with these
words
comfort
one another
to
comfort
is to
lessen a
friend's
sadness
or sorrow
it's to
minister
comfort
to give
someone a
pleasant
feeling
or being
relaxed
more free
from pain
it's to
restore
a cheerful
outlook
to strengthen
by inspiring
them with
hope
and how
is it
that the
Lord
does this
well he
does it
through the
church
we are
part of
ministering
such
comfort
to one
another
and how
do we
comfort
one another
with
these
words
if it's
man's
words to
one another
it brings
no hope
but from
God
who alone
has the
words of
eternal
life
through
his
people
the
church
there
is
great
comfort
Jesus
said in
Mark 13
verse 31
heaven and
earth will
pass away
but my
words shall
never pass
away
we take the
word of God
that shall not
pass away
and we
minister God's
word to
one another
the Holy
Spirit takes
our humble
attempts at
comforting one
another from
God's word
and he
blesses
that
Psalm 55
verse 22
says cast
your burden
on the
Lord and
he will
sustain
you
he will
never
permit the
righteous
to be
moved
comfort one
another with
these words
we all need
comfort from
one another
we come to
the church
we want to
hear from
God and
God ministers
and he
speaks to
the church
through the
church
hasn't that
been true in
your experience
you're so
blessed every
time you
leave and
you just
never know
where the
Lord's gonna
minister to
you but it
happens as
you're setting
up an element
of the service
in the meal
just passing in
the hallway
we listen to
one another
we minister
to one another
just as we
prepare for
death as a
discipline now
we also need
to be prepared
for persecution
and for more
serious grieving
within this body
we need to be
equipped to
minister and to
comfort within
this body
we don't know
what the Lord
will bring
I'm reminded
every time I
read of another
part of the
world or another
time in Christian
history how much
persecution little
churches like ours
seeking to be
faithful to God's
word have
endured
one last example
from John
Flavel's life
during the
the reign in
England when it
was prohibited to
minister from
God's word to
one another
you had to use a
book of common
prayer and be
regulated by the
government
pastors like
John Flavel
spent time in
prison then
there was a
five mile act
where they had
to be five miles
away from the
village where
there was an
official parish
because it was
outlawed to
minister God's
word to comfort
one another
and John Flavel
was not popular
his opponents
made an effigy
of him and
burned it as a
protest against
puritanism and
the free ministry
of the word
on another
occasion his
congregation would
meet him in a
field just to
minister the word
of the Lord to
one another and
worship with
freedom of
conscience
there the city
of darts is on
the mouth of
the ocean and
these rivers bring
that salty water
in and so there
was one island
called the
south stone rock
and this is an
estuary in
England and here
the sailors would
come and they
would they would
put their ships
and they would
march out and the
people from the
village would
join while the
tide would blow
they would take
their little boats
onto this rock
and they would
hold a worship
service where they
couldn't be
persecuted and
then as the tide
would rise that
same little island
would get buried
by the water
John Flavel took
the truth of the
gospel and he put
it as a question
and answer for
these simple
sailors it was
called a catechism
for sailors and
listen to his
words on death
ministering this
comfort to men
like that
to die is to
pass through a
raging maritime
tempest that
strips the ship
of its worldly
cargo and though
all earthly things
fail at death
yet neither the
soul nor its
well-grounded
hopes can fail
the anchor of a
believer's hope
is firm and
sure amen
Jesus Christ is
the anchor of
every believer
well Satan wants
to attack you in
your grief
he wants to
accuse God to
you in your
grief as you
suffer loss you
can feel empty
bruised deserted
and spiritually
parched and
Jesus says to
you you who
mourn in him
are blessed
Matthew 5
4 how can a
person mourning
be blessed
Jesus says
because you
shall be
comforted
Christ comforts
you in your
grief he
fills you who
are empty
he brings water
to you who are
in a desert
I love how
John Newton
the same pastor
who composed the
lyrics to amazing
grace he put it
this way in a
poem see the
streams of living
water springing
from eternal
love well supply
thy sons and
daughters and
all fear of
want remove
who can faint
while such a
river ever flows
their thirst to
assuage grace
which like the
Lord the giver
never fails from
age to age
so church
comfort one
another with
this all you
who are in
our Lord Jesus
Christ all your
loved ones who
die in our
Lord Jesus
Christ and
the whole
church who
is united in
the Lord Jesus
Christ from
all generations
all peoples
nations tribes
and tongues will
be with the
Lord forever
comfort one
another in this
truth let's
pray
Lord now we
receive your
truth by
faith
we believe
help our
unbelief
we do pray
Lord for those
who are still
grieving
those who have
suffered great
loss
we pray that
the truth
that we are
secure in
Jesus Christ
and that the
anchor of our
hope will not
fail we pray
that that truth
once again today
Lord will stir
up in our
hearts a hope
in you for
your glory we
ask amen