Today I want to challenge you about beliefs. Beliefs as followers of Jesus Christ. Your beliefs, my beliefs, our beliefs. Discussable yes, but yet non-negotiable points of our faith upon which we stand, and for which we stand and must be ready to die.
These
beliefs are vitally important and applying them day to day in our lives makes us different from the rest of the world. Did you get that? The daily living out of our beliefs makes us DIFFERENT from the rest of all other people on earth! Let that sink in for a minute. We live by a faith that no one can see, yet, one of which we are absolutely certain. "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:12
It is why the author of Hebrews writes in 1:13 "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not
receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a
distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth."
So, let's look at some of our primary beliefs; those things that make us uniquely different from the rest of the people on the earth. Among other
things, we believe
- In the full humanity and deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, death on the cross for our sins, bodily resurrection and ascension, present ministry of intercession for believers, and his personal and visible return in power and glory – Jesus WILL COME BACK
- That the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God and as 2 Timothy says is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, so that the man of God will be equipped for service
- That salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, not by works, and that Jesus is THE way and THE truth and THE life and no one comes to the Father except through Him
- The Holy Spirit is a person and is God, and He illuminates so that we can see and know, and then He indwells us so that we can live holy lives
- The church is a body of
believers, baptized in the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, and gifted to do the work God has called each of us to do, going and telling, proclaiming His salvation and teaching until He comes again
Let me offer up
this passage from 1 Thessalonians 4 and then comment a bit about these beliefs
and why they are important.
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. 14 For since we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring
with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore
encourage one another with these words.
VERSE
13
Have
you ever been to the funeral of someone who staked everything they were and all that they had on things in this life? How about a funeral for someone who believed as surely as they lived that the best part of life was still to come? Did you notice any difference?
In the first instance, where there was no hope of things to come, sadness and even bitterness or anger prevail, with things heard like "oh how sad", "what a tragedy", "this is a great loss", and there is much weeping, wailing, blaming others
or even God. There is lamenting, crying out, questions of why, or may be even just resignation. In other words, NO HOPE.
But, when someone dies with a certain hope of things to come it is much different. To be sure there is sadness, but the difference is palpable. Comments heard are often counter-intuitive, such as "now they stand before Jesus" and "oh what joy must they have now". There is mourning and tears and sadness, BUT also a related joy, fond memories, stories of faith and
courage. In other words HOPE.
Romans
8 tells us – “it is in this hope that we were saved. And this is not hope that is seen for who
hopes for what he sees? But if we hope
for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience”
LESSON
– we do not mourn as without hope. We
know that we will see them again on that day when the Lord takes us home too or
returns in glory. We rest in and believe and apply this truth in our own lives.
VERSE
14
Do
you see it? Paul states it for us, but
if you or I do not believe what it says then the rest means nothing and is
senseless – “since we believe that Jesus died and rose again” – so I have to ask right here, do you believe
that?
If not, go in a quiet room, by yourself, and ask God to make it clear, to open your eyes, to illuminate your spirit, and then confess your unworthiness, repent of your ways and believe!
Once that is settled, now we know, Paul says, that God will bring with Jesus those who have
fallen asleep, or died already.
LESSON –
know what you believe and believe what you know, and LIVE IT!
VERSES 15 –
17
This word
from Paul is even more specifically important because he says “this we declare
to you by a word from the Lord” – now ALL of Paul’s written words to these
churches and people are from the Lord, so if he goes out of his way to say it,
this must be important, and in this case he DECLARES it!
Then we
have the most long awaited event in all of Christianity – the announcing and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in victory.
By the way,
in case anyone ever tries to tell you differently, or even that Jesus has
returned but secretly as some will try to do, this second coming will not be
some simple, regional or local announcement with a bit of a blast on the horn
and then news will spread. This will be SPECTACULAR
and loud and visible and known world wide all at once without any mistake. Jesus Himself affirms this when he says in Matthew
24 – “…as the lightening comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so
will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
And then at
the end, a key for us – the dead IN CHRIST will rise first and those of us who
are alive will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air
and then always be with Him!!!!!!!!
LESSON - Let this glorious, amazing truth season every day as you face the ups and downs of life.
VERSE 18
Paul calls
on us all, as I am doing right now tonight, to encourage each other with these
especially privileged words. I leave you with these open ended questions -
Do you believe these things?
If so, what difference is it making?
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