Sleep in Jesus

I recently was asked to take a funeral, have a message at the graveside, and you always try to have a little word of comfort for those that are left. Never quite saw these passages lined up this way, so just something I enjoy for myself. So 1 Thessalonians chapter four, I'll already refer to a couple of these passages that have already been referred to, but I'll just look at them a little bit different.

Look at verse number 13, this expression. I'm thinking of the reasons for this expression. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. Here it is. That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

That's a tremendous statement. That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. So then my mind started to go over that expression.

Why would that be said to believers? And then a few things started to pop into my mind. Now, of course, in the media context, it's wonderful, the truth of the rapture. That's not really where my mind is, but it's tremendous to think of what will happen at the rapture, that we're together and we're with the Lord, and so on and so forth.

What I want you to notice is this. I want you to look at verse 13 again. And here's my first reason.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. I want you to think of that verb for a minute. Then you come down to verse number 14 and you get it again.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus. There's the verb again. And then we come to the end of verse number 15.

Unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. Same verb. Now, the interesting thing about that verb, and maybe you know this, is what's known as the voice.

It's who is doing the action. And it's really God has put these people to sleep. That is a tremendous truth.

So, sometimes we can get occupied with the accident that took them, the sickness that overcame them. But what the Word of God does is the Word of God takes us behind the scene. And really, God just used the accident.

God just used the sickness. Now, if we were in this meeting today and all of a sudden you saw a mother and a child was maybe being a little fussy or something. And the mother put the child in her arms and started to rock the child.

Or as I used to do, I used to kind of pat their bum and rock them, you know. My oldest daughter liked that rhythm, you know. Very gentle, of course.

And you know, just within a few minutes, you could see that child, you could feel that child just starting to relax. And then before long, I had achieved my purpose. She was sleeping.

That's how the Word of God looks at the death of a believer. You couldn't say that about a non-believer. But that's what the Word of God looks.

So there is a truth that I can lay hold upon. And I appreciate what my brother said. I've never had someone die close to me.

Yes, there would be that desire to want them back. I understand that. But I'm thinking of this in relation, in general terms.

When we hear of believers passing, we might think it's before their time. We might think, like I said, it was an accident. How can we get along without them? But I know God knows what He's doing.

And God has a time. And God has a way. And what this little truth is teaching me is this.

God is the one that has put them to sleep. And you know the reason. You always put someone to sleep with the idea of waking them up.

Well, there comes in the lovely truth of the rapture and the resurrection. So the Lord Jesus does know what He's doing. Let's go to John 14 for a second.

John chapter 14 for another little gem that I enjoyed. John 14. There's a little expression that is probably not emphasized enough.

This is teaching about the Spirit of God. John 14. Look at what we read here.

John 14 and verse number 16. Now, there's a lot of truth in these couple of verses about the Spirit of God, but we're just going to zero in on one little expression. John 14 and verse 16.

The Lord Jesus is speaking. He says, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter. Notice.

That He may abide with you forever. Forever. Sometimes people think, you know, that we have the Spirit of God for life.

And that's it. Do you know what I simply appreciate from this little expression? When it comes time for me to die, I will not die alone. I got the Spirit of God right with me.

Forever. It's not that He's going to, Okay, Scott, it's now time for you to leave earth. I'm going to leave you now before you die, but I'm going to meet you back in heaven.

Not at all. He's right there. I might be completely oblivious to people around me, trying to comfort me, but the Word of God assures me that the Spirit of God that came and dwelt with me, sealed me upon the moment of conversion.

Ephesians chapter 1. The Word of God tells me He's with me forever. Not a wonderful truth. I was thinking just recently, I was enjoying the verse in Acts chapter 9. I'll just read it to you.

Then had the churches wrestled all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified and walked in the fear of the Lord. Listen. And in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, there is a comfort that the Spirit of God, because of Him indwelling in us, He is able to administer to one of His own.

A comfort. So the Spirit of God is able to comfort. Now let's go to Luke 16.

You might think this is a little far out, this one here, Luke 16, but, well, if you don't appreciate this way, fine. Just don't tell me because I want to appreciate this. You're not going to take my little sermon from me, okay? Luke chapter 16.

What is said about this beggar, Lazarus. I think it's, I'm going to claim it for myself, so I hope you can too. Luke chapter 16, and look at verse number 22.

And it came to pass that the beggar died. Here's what I'm after. Sorry, here's some pages turning.

Luke 16, verse 22. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Now, I'm a simple person, okay? I simply say, if that happened to one of God's own in the Word of God, why can't that happen to me? I'm important to God, you know.

I don't know whether you think that way, or you are too. I'm a firm believer that we all have guardian angels. Firm believer.

Hebrews chapter 1, we've got the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord can't fly around without them to fear the Lord, and so on and so forth. I believe I have more than one guardian angel. I think we all do.

Now, what do those angels do when it's time for me to leave earth and go to heaven? I just simply look at this little passage, and they just transport me. I've got the Spirit of God, keep it in mind now. And they just transport me from earth right into the presence of the Lord.

That's quite a different way of looking at death, isn't it? The passing of a loved one. One that is saved, that belongs to God. So that's a tremendous truth.

Now, let's look at Acts chapter 7, which you probably know what I'm looking at here, but this is another lovely truth. Actually, Brother Eric brought this to my mind yesterday when he made a comment about the passing of his dear wife. And I've heard this said by many people talking about the passing of a loved one when they were in the hospital or wherever they were.

And I believe this is another thing that we can claim. Acts chapter 7, of course, Stephen is being stoned to death. And look at what is happening here.

Unbeknownst to the people that were around him on the earth, verse number 55, Acts 7, verse 55. But he being full of the Holy Ghost, notice, looked up steadfast, not to heaven, into heaven, and saw the glory of God. Here it is.

And Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. You know, we've been hearing a lot about the Gospel of John over the weekend.

Do you know what is very remarkable to notice in the Gospel of John? The amount of times the Lord Jesus lifted up His eyes, He doesn't say to heaven. Into heaven. You and I look toward heaven.

We look to heaven. And I can look up at that blue, and that's about all I see. But unique to the Lord Jesus, He could just go right through all of that barrier, and He could look right into the very presence of God.

Well, here is something that was uniquely given to this man, Stephen. He's just about to die, and he just lifts up his eyes, and what a sight it must have been as he looked past the clouds, past everything, and he looked right up into heaven. How does the Gospel of Mark chapter 16 end? It ends with the Lord Jesus, we're told, that He sat down on the right hand of God in heaven.

Now he notices the Lord Jesus is standing. Why? I think standing to greet Him. I think that's tremendous.

You know, when you stop to consider just how precious you and I are, I have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. It's not like Christ is in heaven, and here comes another one of His own, and He goes, oh, there's another one I died for. I'm just too busy to acknowledge it.

Not at all. I think when a believer, one of His own, is passing through the article of death, and they're coming up from earth, the soul and the spirit, and they're coming into heaven, I think it's tremendous to think that the Lord Jesus actually gets off His seat. And as it were, He moves forward to greet them as they come into heaven.

I mean, do we believe this? I believe it. Or do we just think it's going to be some dark, hazy, gloomy, all kinds of fear associated with it? I don't believe it for a minute. Not when I look into the Word of God.

And what a sight it must have been for this man. It didn't mean nothing to him what these people were doing to him now. He saw His Savior.

How many times I've heard people say, I go back to what my dear brother said, she made a comment, I think I just saw the hand of Jesus. Now we might sit here and go, oh, maybe that was the mind just... I wouldn't say that. Keep in mind, I've got the Spirit of God within me.

That He's able to give comfort. And it's almost... You think of that sun 93 million miles away. What a distance.

And God, by the Spirit of God, is able to just open up a channel. Right through. Right into glory.

Almost give you a little sight of just moments where you're about to enter. Isn't that tremendous? Oh, I think that is just tremendous. Now let's go to 2 Corinthians 5, where my brother just finished reading.

2 Corinthians 5. It's amazing to know what the Spirit of God does with words. And He kind of does a little play on words here. And I hope you'll enjoy it the way I've enjoyed it.

2 Corinthians 5. And let's look at verse number 6. There's a lot of interesting stuff just prior to it. But, of course, we have the verse 5. We have the link with the earnest, the Spirit of God, the promise, the guarantee. But we'll pick up at verse 6. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 6. Therefore, we are always confident knowing that... Now this is one word in the Greek language.

Whilst we are at home. That's one word in the Greek language. And the Spirit of God is going to use that throughout this passage.

So let's read it again. And knowing that whilst we are at home in the body. So if I was to look at you for a minute, and you were to look at me, I am very comfortable in this house.

I'm now 49. I've been living in this house for 49 years. This feels right to me.

This feels like home. I wouldn't know what to do if all of a sudden my soul and spirit were outside there. I'd look back at my body and go, I need my home.

That's just how real it is, right? We feel comfortable. Well, keep on reading. Look what he says.

For whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent. That's the opposite of the word we just... away from home. We are absent, away from the Lord.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body. To be away from home, from the body.

And to be present. There's the word. And to be present.

And to be at home with the Lord. Now listen. You say, well, what's heaven going to be like? Am I going to feel strange? Well, do you feel strange in your body? Am I going to look around when I get to heaven and go, where am I? Do you feel in your body of where am I? You feel right.

You feel at home. Do you know what the Word of God teaches? When I step from earth and leave this tabernacle, and I step into heaven, I'm home. This is home.

This is right. This is not strange to me. This is home.

My eternal home. What makes it home? With the Lord. Wonderful to be with the Lord, isn't it? Don't we enjoy Him daily? I was just enjoying that recently.

I just thought to myself, maybe these very simple things you appreciate as you get older, isn't it wonderful just to walk with your Savior daily? That's wonderful. You know, I was thinking there was something going through my mind and a temptation to do something. And I thought to myself, that is not worth losing communion with my Lord.

It's not worth it. The joy, the peace, that comes from just walking with the Savior. Isn't it wonderful in a corporate level, just to be gathered to the Lord's name? We enjoyed that this morning.

I hope you did too. We had a lovely Bible study here, and there was poor Denimus. You know, Thomas.

He had a whole week to think about it. He'd missed something. I hope this is the way we come to the assembly gatherings.

Not just on a Sunday, but even midweek. I'm very alarmed here. This is a little rabbit hole here.

I'm very alarmed at how some people are treating midweek meetings as if they're at a different level than a Sunday morning meeting. Listen, dear brother and sister. The Lord is there.

They're all the same. They're all the same. And what a privilege it is collectively just to meet with Him.

But you know, it's going to be something when I get to heaven. You ever sometimes wonder, well, with all the billions and billions and billions of Christians in heaven, I mean, I'll be lucky if I got a seat way up in the corner and occasionally the Lord might wave at me and go, Oh, hi, Scott. There you are.

I know you're here, but I just don't have time to talk to you. Not at all. Do you know what that word with means? Right at the side.

With. And I will have for all of eternity, all to myself, the Son of God. The one who died for me.

Isn't that wonderful? So I trust as you allow your mind to go over that expression, we sorrow not as there is sorrow. We all know that. But may this be a comfort to those that have lost recently lost a loved one.

It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't an accident. The Spirit of God, the angels, the comfort into the presence, the sight that was given.

And you know what? They're at home. They're not missing the body they left on earth. They are at home with their Lord.