The Comfort of Christ Return - Part 2

Last week we had part one of this sermon that I preached a few months back. This week we will pick up where we left off.

3.) The Mystery of the Rapture

Look back to 1 Thessalonians 4:17

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

There are going to be millions of saints still living when Jesus comes. When the shout comes, they will be changed before you can blink your eyes, and will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord. We call this glorious event the rapture.

The word rapture itself is not found in the bible. Rapture is from a Latin word that means "to seize" or "to catch away". It can mean, for example, "to seize with force", as in John 6:15 when the crowd was about to seize the Lord Jesus and make Him a king.

When the rapture comes, you and I are going to be seized by force. That force is our Lord, and neither the grave nor gravity will be able to hold us down.

This word can also mean to take someone from one place and put him in another place. Paul used the word when he described being "caught up" into the third heaven in II Corinthians 12:2. In the rapture, we are going to be taken from this place and put into another place.

Another possible meaning of this word is to "deliver from danger". The church is going to be taken out of this world into a safe haven when the horrors of the tribulation take place on earth.

The bible calls this a mystery. In the first part of I Corinthians 15:51 Paul says, "Behold I show you a mystery". The bible says in II Peter 1:4 that we are partakers of the divine nature. If you are heaven born, you will be heaven bound.

If the Lord Jesus Christ lives in you, you will share in the majesty of His return, the miracle of our resurrection and the mystery of the rapture.

But that's not all!!!!

4.) The Marvel of our Reunion

The rapture also means a marvelous reunion with those who have gone before. Verse 17 of our text in I Thessalonians 4 says, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

The Thessalonian believers were worrying about their loved ones who had died in Jesus. Paul put those fears to rest forever. There is going to be a reunion, a glorious homecoming in the sky someday.

Conclusion

In closing let's look at another truth concerning the rapture. It's that little phrase in verse 17 "to meet the Lord"

Do you ever think about meeting the Lord? Paul is not talking about a casual meeting here. It's a technical word that would be used to speak of going out to meet a returning ambassador or welcoming a returning dignitary, going out with an entourage to greet him.

Jesus is the King, and we are going to meet Him because He is returning. We are His ambassadors. One of these days soon, we are going to give an account of our lives to Him. What a challenge the Second Coming of Jesus should be to us!

Are you ready for Jesus Christ return? Are you ready for the rapture? Are you saved? As a Christian, are you ready to say, "Lord Jesus, I have loved you, I have served you, I have witnessed, I have been faithful."

Mark 8:38 says, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Are you ashamed of Jesus? Have you confessed Him as Lord?

Romans 9:33 says "Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed."

The fact that Jesus is coming back soon, and that we'll be going out to meet Him, should be a challenge to all of us as His people.

We can rely on the certainty of Jesus coming. We can rest in the comfort of Christ return. Jesus is coming back for His own! Be Ye Ready!!!!!!!!

See You In The Word,

Janetta