Reading The Entire Book of 1st Thessalonians in 1 Hour (And The Rapture)

In this day and age, the Christian, we believers should be marked out as a different, uh, type of people in the world in which you and I live in. We should be the most loving. You know the drill. We should be the most gracious, the most forgiving, uh, the most kind. Uh, but at the same time, we should be the ones that are also being the, the salt and the light. Uh, and it means that we have a full or rounded, uh, Christian walk that we are, uh, not only studying the Bible, but we actually get up and we live out the word of God.

And so when I say tonight, Christian, is that you? We're going to be looking at some key things. And before we dive into that, uh, I want you to consider this. Jude 1. Jude 1:3 and 4 says this: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." Why does he change? Why does he pivot to that argument? Verse four tells us, "For or because certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turned the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." That's a great end-time warning.

Number two, 1 Peter 4:7. 1 Peter 4:7. "But the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers." Prayer, not only contending for the faith, we should be people marked by prayer, communication ongoing, connected to our God.

And then 1 Thessalonians 5, and we'll come back to this at the end of tonight. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4. Paul said to the, to the believers in Thessalonica, "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you'll have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief of the night. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness." Notice the contrast. The believer is in the light. They, them, those, they're in the darkness. So that this day should overtake you as a thief.

Isn't that a great word? In other words, everything that you're reading right now is that we are to be a, a people that are sticking to the word of God. We should be a people in prayer, and that we should be a people that are not surprised by the day and the age in which we live in. We should be as the sons of the Bible tells us in the Old Testament, that they discerned the seasons and they knew what Israel ought to do. That's a good thing for you and I to do. Look around the world. Look around our community. Look around our life, the, uh, this culture, our nation, and we should know what to do next as believers. Amen to that. God's given us, uh, the roadmap.

So, we're going to do this the best we can. And if we do, if we finish tonight, it'll probably be, it will certainly be a world's record in this church, for me anyway. And it is this. So, remember, Christian, is that you? And so, I want this to be very encouraging. Watch how this works. Christian, is that you hopeful? The Christian is to be hopeful. Right now, more than ever, people are losing hope. Look at the polls that are out there politically. People are scared. People are nervous. People are questioning so much, and that is an open door for you and I as believers. So watch this as we consider number one: In the age in which you and I live in, you and I should be encouraged, and this message tonight, I hope five points will cause you and I to do and to be exactly that. Write down in your notes: hopeful. And then when I think of the word hopeful, by the way, I always look at it this way in my head: hope-filled. I like that.

1 Thessalonians chapter 1. We start in chapter 1 because why should I be hopeful? Now, watch this. We're going to hear a lot tonight. You may or may not recognize it, but you're going to hear a lot tonight about the doctrine in the Bible of the rapture. Now, you're going to watch for it. You got to watch for it because strangely enough, why in the world is the rapture an issue that people think should be up for debate? I find it remarkable when it's something that Jesus Christ himself introduced in his teaching in John chapter 14. Why do people tonight, today, why do people argue and debate even if there is a rapture? I've come to this conclusion a long time ago. Satan doesn't want you to be excited about Jesus coming back. You want to know why? It will energize your life and you will be filled with hope. And Satan doesn't want that. And so there's a lot of false teachings out there and a lot of false accusations and misrepresentations about the rapture of the church. But I'm going to ask you to watch these five chapters tonight and look in each of the chapters that Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers. In each of the chapters, I'll point them out to you. He points out a word of hope that is inside the chapter and predominantly ends each chapter with this infusion of hope. And he is, he's, he's expecting you to catch it. So, let's catch it.

"Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Watch. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for all for you all for for you all for you all. He was from the south making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father. Verse four, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God." I love that. That means God picked you. God picked me. "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. Verse six, and you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction." That's powerful. The Thessalonians believed that what Paul and his team were preaching must be real because of their argumentation. Number one, and then what they went through by way of affliction. In other words, they didn't change their story when they were under attack. They stuck with it with joy of the Holy Spirit. "So that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything." Wow. They had a very powerful witness. "For they themselves declared concerning us what manner of entry we had to you. And how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Here it comes. Verse 10. And to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, here it comes, who delivers us from the what?" Wrath to come. Mark it in your notes. The word wrath in the Greek language is not the word for hell. It's not hell. Jesus didn't, look, he's talking to the believers who have already been saved. He gives them verse 10 and he tells them, "I've a really great infusion of hope for you. I'm blessed by you. I'm blessed by your witness, church." That is, you are waiting for his son from heaven. What son? The one he raised from the dead. The one and only Jesus who delivers us from the indignation, wrath, judgment, the vengeance. The word means all that. That little word wrath means all of those things. God's vengeance, God's wrath, God's judgment. Again, it's not referring to hell. That's a different word. It's referring to the day that God will pour out his anger upon a Christ-rejecting world. In other words, the world will get what it wants. What is that? A world without God. And God is just going to turn them over. And that is the great day of his wrath. And that is the tribulation period. And then it escalates on up to the last portion of the tribulation period. But Paul is saying, "Cheer up. Be filled with hope. God is going to deliver you through Jesus Christ from the wrath to come." Can I hear an amen? Church, things are going to get rough. Life is like that. There could be world wars. There could be, who? It doesn't matter. That doesn't mean that God's abandoned you. The fact of the matter is when he says here specifically, you follow the Lord, you keep looking for him, you maintain your witness, and know this: your walk with Jesus Christ, you can be filled with hope because you can rest assured of this. For the believer who dies before the rapture, you go to heaven. Praise the Lord. If you are around at the time of the rapture, you're going up. Praise the Lord. This doctrine is so beautiful and so encouraging, but people want to push back on it. And yet, I'm just throwing this out to you. Use it in your arguments. Use it in your witnessing. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, before the chapter ends, verse 10, God announces in his word, "I'm going to deliver my people. There's a day coming that I'm going to deliver them from wrath." Just keep watching. Just keep waiting. That fills my heart with hope. Why? Because, you know, some people say, "Well, pastor, people have been saying this for 2,000 years." What's your point? In fact, you're making my point. He didn't come a thousand years ago. He didn't come 1500 years ago. Here we are in the 21st century. God's word never fails. It could be tonight. Just because it didn't happen doesn't mean it's not going to happen. Because it didn't happen. It means we're that much closer. So come, Lord Jesus, come. Come tonight. That is my hope.

Number two is this: Christian, is that you? Not only filled with hope, but perseverance. The Christian will persevere. We will suffer. Look, you guys, I've been hearing it. You guys have been complaining. By the way, my phone is complaining on your app. You know, you know your weather app. Have you noticed we're being lied to? Have you caught on to this? Every day our phones say, "Warning, danger, extreme heat." Have you seen that? It's summer. What was today? 93, 90, 93, 94 degrees. You know what? It happens every year. And oh no, God forbid, but it's going to start cooling down in the fall. What are they going to do with their little warning? Panic, panic, panic. People, listen. The world is trying to rob you and terrify you. And then perseverance. We can handle a little rough weather. Okay? We can handle some sweat. We can handle some rough times. Right now, all the big debate in the nation, and if not the world, is because we're still at war with Iran. Uh, everything's going to go catastrophic in the election in November. Why? Because we're still at war with Iran. You guys, it's been February, and it's been more time off than there has been war on. But people start talking, and then it causes you to recoil or to somehow throw in the towel. We must never quit as Christians. We must never give up.

Number one, we don't have the authority to quit. Who do you think you are? Are you a Christian? Yes. But I'm going to give up. You can't. You do not have the authority over your life. "I can't take it. I'm going to kill myself." Are you a Christian? Yes. Well, then killing yourselves is off the table because you don't have the authority to do that. You belong to Jesus. So, what's next? Suck it up and let's link arms and move together forward until we see the Lord Jesus. We must persevere. And we can't let somebody criticize us or give you a bad post or a bad Yelp. We're not flowers, and we're not snowflakes. We are Christians galvanized by the Holy Spirit of God to live a life for His glory. And listen again, Satan doesn't want people in your life or in this world to realize that they too can have hope and they too can learn how to persevere, because it's all worth it.

So now we go to chapter 2. Look at us go. First Thessalonians chapter 2. "For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. I like that. But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, for nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God, uh, to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ." Don't you love this guy? I love Paul. He could have rolled into town in a black donkey, tinted windows, and got out and said, "I'm Paul the Apostle." I mean, people would have freaked out. This is Paul. This is the guy. He didn't do that. He didn't do that. He did everything possible so that nobody could bring some reproach against the ministry or against his life as a bad witness. I love it.

"Verse 7. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children so affectionately longing for you. We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God." Have you noticed that recurring statement, by the way? The gospel of God. The gospel of God over and over again. It's beautiful. "But also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil, for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to, uh, be a burden to any of you. We preached to you the gospel of God, you are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe. As you know how we exhorted and and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory."

Next, um, next slide, right? We're going to verse 20. It says 1 to 20. Am I losing my mind? "For this reason, we also think I am losing my mind. For for this reason, uh, we also thank God without ceasing. Uh, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it were in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches." That means they followed in the footsteps of the churches before them, "of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. And having persecuted us, they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved. Verse 17. Uh, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore, we wanted to come to you, even I, Paul, time and again, but Satan hindered us. Here it is. Verse 19. For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? Verse 20, for you are our glory and joy."

He's already told them in chapter one that Christ is coming to spare you from the wrath. So what you want to do is live in such a way that you are looking to persevere because you constantly have this hope before you that the crown of rejoicing is all of us coming together at some point where this journey terminates, and that is when Christ appears. You will see that 1 Thessalonians is all about Christ coming for his church, and 2 Thessalonians is about the second thing, and that is Christ's second coming to the earth itself in his kingly return. Perseverance, having things difficult in life, doesn't mean, again, as I said, God abandoned you. God can only take. Listen, it's precious. He takes things that would normally destroy anybody, including ourselves. But because you belong to Him, God will work these things out as you stay close and as He keeps you close. It's a work in tandem. You know, He hangs on to you, and you hang on to Him. That we get through to the end. And God will perfect and sanctify your life in Christ Jesus for you and I all the way through. It's so rough. It's so hard. Listen, I can tell you right now, churches all, well, I don't know about all churches, but I can tell you about the pastors that I know of other churches in America, same thing happening here. Is people are nervous, people are being stressed, Christians, and people are being challenged like never before. And, and financially, there's difficult times. The body, each home, the price it costs for you to run your, uh, electricity or water or whatever it might be. All these prices are going up. And I know people want to conveniently blame it on the war, but that doesn't work. That doesn't actually work. There's other situations going on here. That said, "Oh no, what's going to happen?" I don't know. But I know one thing for sure. I, I can tell you what, what is not going to happen. What's not going to happen is that Jesus is not going to fail you. He's not going to fail me. No matter what happens. Well, what if we're all just, you know, starving? Well, we're not going to starve because He says, "My people will never be seen baking bread." Did you know that? Well, listen. Could you imagine what if we had to come together and all live in the courtyard with tents? Oh, I'd love to camp, you might say. No, but what if, what if the bottom fell out? Does that put an end to God's church? No. No. In fact, if you think about it, the church always shines in the most difficult times. Why? Because she has learned how to persevere. It's a wonderful thing. But know this, that verse, verse 17. You can tie it right back to verse, uh, 13 of, uh, excuse me, tie it back to verse 10 of chapter 1, and you'll see a thread. Chapter 1, verse 10, ties right into the perseverance of chapter 2, verse 19.

Number three, Christian, is that you encouraged? Look at you, Christian. Is that you? I see somebody encouraged over there. Is that you? And the Christian is responding, "Yes, it is. Yes, it is." Last week, uh, pastor, uh, Joe did his mom's funeral, as she passed and went, went into glory, right? And so, it was a beautiful service, and people were rejoicing, and all. It was different than the service of me doing my mom. I did my mom's funeral. Four weeks before my mom passed away, she was born again. Yeah. Four weeks. And, uh, prior to that, uh, my mom, she had her faith in what she could do for both God and the church because she was born and raised, uh, in the Catholic religion. She was raised by nuns in an orphanage in Hawaii. And, um, it was all about what you do for God, what you do for God, and what you don't do. Make sure you don't do this, don't do this, but make sure you do this and the other. It was all based upon her works, but she had no assurance of salvation. And my daughter, uh, Rebecca, we showed my, my mom, uh, alongside her deathbed. Frankly, it turned out to be her deathbed, the Jesus film. Remember the Jesus film? And my mom saw the Jesus film, and at the end, there's that moment where Alexander Scourby, the narrator, uh, says, "If you'd like to accept the Lord Jesus Christ," and I remember pausing. It was a VHS. Remember those? For the young people who don't know what I'm talking about, it's a very high-tech piece of equipment. And I paused it and asked my mom something to the effect of, "What do you want to do?" And my mom said, "I have been," she had her statue of Mary, and she said, "I've been praying to Mary for years, and I'm, I've only gotten worse." And I remember this. I remember we were, my daughter and I, were on our knees alongside her bed. I remember reaching over and taking the statue of Mary, and I set that statue down. By the way, the Bible says don't pray to statues. Did you know that? Paul, Paul says to the Corinthians, don't pray to statues. I set Mary down. And, well, you know what I mean. I set that idol down. It's not Mary. Mary's fantastic. The statues are not good. And I told my mom, "You, you need to pray, but you need to understand this about your salvation, about your faith, because you don't have it." You know, listen, when you love your family or anybody for that matter, and it's, and you're down to the wire, you don't play games. You don't play games with them. You don't pat them on the back and say, "Dad, do you believe in God?" "Yes." "Oh, great. Okay, good." That's to make you feel better. You need to go for the spiritual throat, friend. If your dad says, and he's dying, "I believe in God." Ask him, "How did you do that? What's His name? What did He do for you? Who's Jesus? What's the cross about?" If they can't answer that, they're not saved. This is critically important. Critically important.

And so from God doing a work in the Thessalonians in the area of having this hope and having this perseverance that's instilled within us, the third thing is that we are encouraged, and that's in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. And watch for the encouragement. Christian, is that you encouraged? And the answer is yes, it is. "Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, that no one should be shaken by these afflictions." Remember that. "For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For in fact, we told you before when we were with you, that is physically with them in Thessalonica, that we would suffer tribulation." That's difficulties of life, not the tribulation. "Just as it happened, and you know. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to you, I mean, sorry, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter, Satan, had tempted you and our labor might be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also, uh, see you. Therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress, we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God for you? For all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God. Verse 10, night and day, praying exceedingly that we may see your face and, uh, perfect what is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and the Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you. Here it is. Verse 13. So that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."

Watch this. You said, "Well, Jack, wait a minute. Isn't that the second coming?" No, it is not. And we'll see it in a moment. Remember this in your head. Jesus Christ, the Bible says, is coming back with all his saints. You say, "Well, doesn't that mean us?" It depends on the context. What are you talking about? Because the Bible tells us, as we'll read tonight, and your question will be answered. When Christ comes to rapture the church, does the Bible say, first of all, that those who have died in Jesus Christ will precede us being raptured? It says that. Keep that in mind. The Bible says we will join them in the air. That's pretty cool. So this, now we build this case of why we, the Christian, should be people that are hopeful, people that are persevering, and and encouraged, because when He comes back, there's this consistency. He's going to deliver us from the wrath, which is His indignation, because Jesus took that on the cross for us. We've been forgiven, and that we are excited about seeing Him. So we conduct ourselves, living a life that is worthy of His name. And that what's going on here right now is that there is a sense of this verse 13 announcing that there's going to be this remarkable reunion. Christ is coming, and those who have died in Christ will be coming with Him for the generation that sees Him. Catch us up. I say us. I hope it's us. When He re-, when He receives us unto Himself, we will join them in the air. We'll see this in a moment, but it's encouraging for sure.

Number four, Christian, is that you anticipating? Okay, now hang on to your seats. According to the Bible, every child of God, if you're going to heaven, you are anticipating seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that? I, I don't mean to be, I'm not being legalistic. I'm not being mean or rude, but the fact of the matter is, the Christian is supposed to be excited and waiting and looking for Jesus. That said, I, we all understand, especially if you're young. If you're young and you're a Christian, you love the Lord, but you have thoughts like these: "I just want to be married before He comes back." Are you sure? "Oh, I would like to, I would like to just, I mean, I just got my degree. I'd like to start my career." We understand that you worked hard to get it. But trust the Bible. When God comes to pick us up, it will be so amazing. You will not say, "You know, I don't know." You will be more than pleased. You're not going to have any regrets. But I have found this to be rather, um, a great indicator either of a, of a Christian's maturity or their understanding of the Bible when they say, "I can't wait to see Jesus." Above all things. Here's why.

1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 1. "Finally, then, brethren, we urge you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more." When you read the words "abound more and more," we could have a little cartoon right there of Tigger. Remember Tigger in Winnie the Pooh? That's how you're supposed to live. If you don't know who Tigger is, you need to go look at Tigger's life. And that's the Christian life. He doesn't even, it's, in fact, the world is falling apart, and Tigger is so happy about everything, and he's not worried about anything. And Winnie the Pooh is trying to instruct him on stuff, and Eeyore is trying to bring him down. It's never going to work. "We're all going to die. We never should have gotten out of bed." Remember Eeyore? And then Tigger's bouncing on his tail, going, "What's up? It's a great day." It's amazing. "Abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God. For you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification." Wow. What does that mean? That means that God is in you every day making you more like Jesus. That you should abstain from sexual immorality. We're learning about that on Sundays in Proverbs. The word is, you know, guys, you Sunday guys, you're experts in this. That you should abstain from porneia. Is that word that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel, that's your body parts. I don't need to talk about it. Sanctify your body parts. And honor, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all, such as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore, he who rejects this does not reject man, but God who has also given us his Holy Spirit." Meaning the Spirit of God lives in you. He is the down payment, the guarantee of your redemption. In other words, to listen, for the believer, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. When Christ comes, the Holy Spirit will deposit you into the hands of Jesus, so to speak. He is the, um, the Holy Spirit's the one that places you and I on layaway. Remember layaway, anybody? It's a, it's a purchased possession on a promise, and it's been set aside until the one who technically owns it, which is the one that made the promise, will come and pick it up. Wow. The Holy Spirit's your guarantee that Jesus is going to pick you up. I'm happy about that. That is so encouraging to me. I just absolutely love that. And it causes anticipation.

And so, but concerning, uh, brotherly love, verse 9, "Uh, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. And indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more, that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business." Oh, they didn't have the internet in those days. "And to work with your own hands." No more laziness. "As we command you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside," that's the non-believer, "and that you may lack nothing." Isn't that great?

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren. Don't be dumb. The word ignorant is, do not be uninformed. The word ignorant is where we get the word ignoramus. You can know it, but you refuse to know it. Like if there's an encyclopedia right here and I never open it, I'm an ignoramus. That's the actual word. We have the word agnostic comes from ignoramus. You can know, but you refuse to know. That's an agnostic. An agnostic says, 'I believe in God. I just don't care to know Him.' Wow. I do not want you to be an ignoramus, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep." Whenever Christians are spoken about having passed or died, the Bible refers to them as having fallen asleep. Isn't that beautiful? Their body, they look, they look dead. I mean, their body is dead, but they're gone. They're not in the body. "Concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him. Here they come. Those who sleep in Jesus." You see that? Remember we read that a little while ago in the previous chapter. Uh, verse 15. "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." Their bodies will rise first. If there's anything that we could add to this carefully, it would be their bodies will rise first because He's bringing those saints with Him. Remember I told you about my mom, her body is in the ground. She's with Jesus right now tonight. When He comes, He brings her with Him, but her body is going to be resurrected out of the ground. That's, yes.

"Verse 17. Then watch this. Then." That's a time stamp. Then it means a lot. Then time. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be what?" Caught up. The word rapture in Latin. Anybody have a Latin Bible? If you have a Latin Bible and you turn to this chapter, verse, it's the word rapture. The word rapture is not in the Bible. Have you ever heard that before? Just when somebody does that, give them a sanctified laugh. Just somehow you just have to chuckle. See, you're so cute. That's so cute. But it's not in the Bible. The word rapture. You're exactly right. It's not in the English Bible. It's not even in the Greek Bible. It's in the Latin Bible because Latin's different than Greek, and Greek's different than Russian, and Russian's different than English. The word for English is two words, "caught up." The, the Greek word is harpazo. Funny word, huh? Harpazo. Latin, rapture. So when people say it's not in the Bible, well, the word Bible's not in the Bible. The word Trinity is not in the Bible, but there's the Trinity. You ever think of that? But rapture is in the Latin Bible. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be raptured together with them in the clouds. Notice this. To meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words." Why are we arguing about it then? Why? Why are we arguing about it? Think about it. Why do we argue? This church doesn't believe in the rapture. This church believes in a half rapture. This church, no, really. Only certain saints are going to go out. What kind of a deal is that? Well, pastor, what if somebody's sinning when the rapture happens? That will probably be you. Because listen, do you realize how often we sin without even knowing that we're sinning? For example, for example, you know how big of a sin you committed today? I'm going to tell you. Did you today go visit orphans? You just sinned. It's called the sin of omission. The Bible commands us if we have true religion, we will visit the widows in their affliction, and we will go to the orphans. Did you visit any widows today? If you didn't, we need to ask God to forgive us. That, that's quite humbling, isn't it? There's the sins of commission, which we do. You shouldn't have that thought, or you shouldn't have said that, or gone that fast, or whatever. That's not me. I didn't drive today, so I'm good. That's today. And then there's the sins of omission when God says, "Go do this," and I, and I didn't do it. You see how much we need the grace of God and the power of God in our lives.

Well, what a beautiful thing though. Look at verse 18 says, "So comfort one another with these words." I am, I will never get in an argument with people over the rapture. I'll tell them, "Why are you arguing about this when the Bible says we're supposed to be excited about you?" "Excited? I believe the rapture is coming at the end of the tribulation period." Oh, okay. Where's the hope? Where's the blessed hope? How do you get us delivered from the wrath to come when that is the wrath to come? How do you get us to not be surprised when the Bible tells us that the rapture can happen at any moment? Amen. Without a warning. Well, what prophecies have to be fulfilled before the rapture? Answer: None. That's why Paul the Apostle said in this chapter 4, "We who are alive and remain." Isn't that wild? 2,000 years ago, Paul said, "We who are alive and remain." Who's he talking about? Himself. He was living as though Christ could come back today in his day, because they didn't know. Neither do you and I. It could be today. Well, what if it's not? Could be tomorrow. What if it's not? Could be the day after. You live your life like that. I tell you what, man. Living a life in the anticipation of meeting Jesus. That is the most beautiful motive to walk with the Lord. Because you know what? I want to, I want to talk to just the guys for one second. Women, just tune out. You know how to do that. You know how to tune us out. Go ahead. So, guys, here's the deal. A little while ago, I mentioned the word sexual immorality, which is the word porneia, which means any and all forms of sexual immorality. If it's sexual outside of the confines of God's, uh, given order, God's gift of marriage, it's porneia. Okay? There's no fudging. There's no sanding off the edges. That's what it, that's what it means. Okay? That said, I'm only talking to the guys. Guys, you can go ahead and put a, a device on your app on your phone that sets off a fire alarm or a sprinkler system if you look at porn. If you have to do that, I guess you have to do that. Uh, share your codes with everybody, and it, and it warns your friends, you know, "Oh, he's being tempted. Pray for him." If you have to do that, I guess you have to do that. You know what's better? To live in loving anticipation that Jesus could come back so you won't go near those things, because you know what it hurts the heart of God. Do you lose your salvation? No. No, you don't. But you hurt the heart of God. Legalism says, "Put up guard rails, put up barricades, put up explosive devices. If you click on that website, your, your computer screen will blow up in your face." Okay, if that's what you need to do, but could you imagine if the motive is love? Which one would you want in your life? Could you imagine your wife telling you, "So, here's the deal, babe. It's Monday. I got to go back to work. Now, I want you to call all my co-workers and have them check on me to make sure I'm not messing around back in the copier room somewhere. So you make sure you call on my friends to keep me on the on the straight and narrow. See you tonight." Would that break your heart? Think about it better this way. And young people, you're going to get married. Make sure you marry somebody who loves Jesus more than you. You want to know why? When they get that job, or they've got to do a sales convention in Chicago, and they're gone for a week, and you don't know if they're true or not. How you going to know? There's only one way to know. Do they love God more? Do they love God more than you? That's the man, that's the woman you want. They love God more than you. Because if they love God more than you, they will walk in what is called the fear of the Lord. And that's the kind of man, and that's the kind of woman you want. This is very important. That's all free marriage counseling, but it matters. Let me tell you, it matters. If you anticipate Jesus Christ walking through this door, so to speak, at any moment, how are you going to live, folks? I love it. He loves us so much. The Bible says that when He comes, we do not want to be ashamed at His coming. Doesn't mean you're not going up. Yeah, but it doesn't mean you're not going up. It just means you're going to go up ashamed. Said, man, what's with him? Look how red his face is as we're going up through the clouds. Can you imagine? Hey, I'm just kidding. But, but it's biblical what I just said. I just said it kind of a weird way.

But number five, if I finish this chapter, it will be a world's record here. Can you believe this? Chapter 5, fifth chapter of the book, 1 Thessalonians. Paul wrote this letter to them four weeks after he left. Four weeks after he left, I'm sorry. He was there four weeks, three to four weeks he was there. And he wrote this first epistle to them within a year after he left because false teachers began to come in among them and tell them, "You missed it. You know that thing Paul was talking about? You missed it. Too bad for you." And they began to become fearful. They began to, they thought, "Oh my goodness, all of our watching and waiting and being ready was for nothing." That's what, uh, false teachers will do to you. By the way, let me say this. Um, C.S. Lewis famously said that there are those who say that the Christian can be so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good. He said, "I reject that. The Christians who look for the return of Jesus Christ, they are so heavenly-minded that they are earthly good." I like that. If heaven awaits you and you know that Christ is coming, or you could drop dead today, you want to be out and about for God's glory. Think about that. The problem is, we're so earthly-minded, as he pointed out, Lewis, that we're no heavenly good.

Number five, watching, waiting, ready. Wow. Chapter 5, verse 1. Chapter 5, verse 1 says, "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you." That is a mind-blower translation. You guys, nobody knows the day or the hour. But concerning the times and the seasons, you're not going to need to get a text from me. You're not going to need to read the paper or get a, a notification. This is amazing. If you know your Bible, you can kind of sense things are up. Human trafficking, just that alone, where you read the book of Revelation and it says that those who inherit hell are the cowards. And it goes down the list. And those who trafficked in the souls, it uses the word traffic. And those who trafficked in the souls of men, people, that is a time and season indicator. Global disruption, crazy things, loss of love for one another. Jesus said that in the end, lawlessness will be so prevalent that men's hearts will grow cold toward one another. No brotherly love. You know, there was a day in the world, not just America, in the world, where people would help a stranger. Although, what is that kid's name? 16-year-old Ryder. Ryder. I saw him on the news tonight. You've probably seen him on YouTube, fingernail clips. He's going to the White House. Trump said, "That's it. This guy is getting a citizen's award." 16-year-old kid, 16-year-old lifeguard in Santa Cruz with all the storms. You know, we've got these hurricanes off the coast, and the, and the beaches are just insane right now. Deadly. And that little kid was in the water. He was going to die. And Ryder, 16 years old, he went in. It's a miracle he didn't die, let alone the kid. And you watch it. I'm telling you, you watch it. I watched it today. I just, I just thought, "What am I watching? Am I watching? Am I going to watch two people die?" That kid would not stop going after that little kid. He got that little kid, and it took everything to get him to shore because the ocean was sucking them out, and the waves were huge, and they're getting beat to death. You know what that guy did? He rescued that kid, and he rescued four other people that day. 16 years old. And Trump said, "That's it. That guy's a hero. Get him to the White House." No greater love than a man has, and he lays down his life for his friends. The only thing better than that is a man laying, woman laying down their life for a stranger, because to God, nobody's a stranger, right? Where was I? Oh, two. It's okay. We're still verse two. "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. Listen. They shall not escape. They, not you. They shall not escape." This is important. They shall not escape. Who shall not escape? Those

who are not tuned in. Those who are not paying attention. Everything's fine. Everything's safe. Everything's great. They're walking in the darkness, folks. They don't understand.

But you, brethren, are not in the darkness so that this day overtakes you as a thief. You are all sons of light, SONS OF THE DAY. WE ARE not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let US WATCH AND BE SOBER. >> AMEN. >> SOBER. This word sober means spiritually vigilant. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Here it is, verse n. For God did not appoint US TO WRATH. >> THAT'S A rapture verse, folks. But to obtain salvation through OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. WAIT A MINUTE. I THOUGHT WE HAD SALVATION ALREADY. We do. But when is your salvation consummated? When is it finalized? When you meet Jesus, it's all done. The total absolute salvation. Look, we're saved and we are in route to finally being safe. >> When does that happen? When the believer either dies or when Christ shows up. We're safe. >> Isn't that good? I love that. It's so beautiful.

Verse 10, who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, living or dead, we should live together with him. Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are also doing. And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you and uh and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. Uh he's actually talking about their spiritual leaders.

Verse 13. And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Uh now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly. Comfort the faint-hearted. Uphold the weak. Be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone. In other words, knock it off with your revenge. Stop that. But always pursue what is good. both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit that is the Holy Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. Hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who calls you his faithful, who also will do it. He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all. We just did it tonight. the whole brethren, the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. And God's people said, >> "Amen." >> Amen. Amen. Real quick. Almost done. [applause] Almost done. Very, very quickly.

1 John 3:2. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and is not yet been revealed what we shall be like, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him. For we for we see him uh for we shall see him as he is. For everyone who has this hope purifies himself just as he is pure. How beautiful is that? Uh Philippians 3:20. For our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for the savior the lord Jesus who will transform our lowly body. This is the rapture event that it may be uh conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able to even to subdue all things to himself.

John 14 Jesus speaking. Jesus introduced the doctrine of the rapture. Here it is. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. And if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Revelation 3:10. Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on it. Right?

And finally, this 1 Thessalonians 4 17 and 18. You read it tonight. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. So, [applause] the alarm went off. We're done. Really, it just did right there. Amazing.

Lord, tonight we could say, "Can you wait till after uh the shaved ice or the hot dogs or whatever." But when we stop to realize that your Bible makes an announcement to us, that eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the minds of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love him. The very next verse, but God has shown them to us, for he has given us the mind of Christ. Lord, we can't wait to see you. >> We've we've never met you personally, physically, obviously. And what a mystery it must seem to a non-believer. And I get it. I remember when I did not believe. It seems nuts that we'd be excited and love one who've never met. But the truth is, we've read so much about you. We have fallen in love with you. And if that wasn't enough, you've worked so much in our lives. We cannot deny it. We're not the same people we used to be.

So, Father God, we pray tonight. If there's a man, woman, boy, or girl in this place does that does not have this assurance of eternal life and joy and excitement for your coming that they would settle that with you tonight. That they would rest in believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins and rose again from the grave. And he'll save anyone who trusts him for that to bring our sins to you, Lord. is the message of the gospel. And so, Lord, may we come to you always day by day, very aware that your Holy Spirit not only dwells within us, but the spirit of God is stirring us up, excited to scan the heavens, to be looking ahead. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. All God's people said, "Let's all stand together, church."

You know, um, how about this? I'm going to leave this with you. Um, so the closest thing that God can give to us in this world that resembles our relationship with him is that of marriage. It's a model. That's why marriage is often so difficult because it's the dying of two people becoming one. If one person wants to remain themselves, your marriage is going to be tough. It's all about living for the other person. It's the ultimate ministry. That's why the Bible says if a man doesn't have his home, his family, and his home in order, he cannot pastor a church. The home comes first. No home life, no church life. And let's be honest, you're going to go home soon to your real life. It's not here.

So Lisa and I 47 years of marriage. That's great. Yeah. Listen, but but okay, but wait, I have to Thank you. But here's the thing. Even today, Even today. Well, what time are you going to be home? Well, what time are you going to be home? Well, you know, we haven't seen each other much lately. You say, "Oh, come on. 47 years. What What's there left to see? Because it's love. It's that's the opposite way. You should not think like that because listen, because it's been a love thing. Ups and downs and warts and all. That's life. Just like a church, ups and downs, warts and all. It's a relationship. But but you're more yourself when you're together than when you're apart. Why? Because you become one. That's the model with Jesus. It's like when Lord, when are you coming? Are you coming home tonight? It's been a while, Jesus. And I can almost sense his anticipation. I wonder if in some way, and I mean this reverently, he's almost saying to you and I, you know, is it tonight? I can't wait. If it is, I can't wait. Is it this morning? I can't wait. He looks with anticipation. He's waiting for the father to say, as it were in a Galilean wedding, "Go get your bride." I hope he comes tonight. God bless you.