The Second Coming of Christ: Reasons to Rejoice

down from verse 17 through 20. First Thessalonians chapter 2, starting at verse 17. Paul writes, "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." Paul writing here saying, "Hey, we're not able to be with you right now because he is writing from Corinth." But he says, "But I longed to see your face." Verse 18, he says, "Therefore we wanted to come to you, even I, Paul, time and again. But Satan hindered us." And he doesn't say exactly how so, but he says, Satan hindered us. And then these last two verses here, "For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For you are our glory and joy." Let's pray there. Father, thank you for your word today. We look forward to your second coming. We pray that you would help us to be ready. We thank you for your word that reminds us of these things, that we might be ready for your imminent return. We give you praise and thanks today. And we just open our Bibles with open hearts to hear what your spirit would say to us in Jesus' name. And everyone said, amen. Well, we're in a five-part series through the book of 1 Thessalonians looking at one chapter at a time, these five different chapters, and Paul emphasizes through this whole book the second coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, I pointed out last week that he ends every chapter in 1 Thessalonians with some reference to the second coming of Jesus. So I've given you in advance the outline. Last week we talked about how we will be delivered from God's wrath. Today we're going to talk about reasons to rejoice at the second coming of Christ. Chapter three, he emphasizes loving others while waiting for his return. Chapter four, we want to be ready for the rapture. And chapter five is about spirit, soul, and body transformation. Now I laid out for you last week from the Bible several references for the fact that Jesus is coming again. I quoted Jesus himself. Jesus said he was coming again. Paul wrote that he was coming again. Peter wrote that he was coming again. John wrote that he was coming again. Many of the early church fathers of Christianity wrote that Jesus is coming again. In fact, I even quoted a survey from Pew Research that a slight majority of Americans, a cross-section of Americans, not just even church-going Americans, 55% believe that Jesus is coming again. And the Bible says that he could come in any moment, that he comes like a thief in the night. That's not a dark analogy. It's just saying like a thief doesn't announce himself. We have to be ready because Jesus is not going to say, I'm coming. He's telling us all through the Bible I'm coming again. We have to be always ready. He comes like a thief in the night. In Hebrews 9, 28, it says, "So Christ was sacrificed

once to take away the sins of many people, and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." And so last week in chapter one, we looked at verse 10, how we have been delivered from God's wrath. We talked about how that is both a personal wrath and a global wrath that is coming upon the earth. Personally, we escape the punishment that we each deserve when we put our faith and trust in what Jesus did on the cross. He took on the punishment intended for us so that we wouldn't have to suffer. But also there's a global wrath that is coming upon the earth. Revelation 6 to 18 outlines it all. For a God rejecting Christ forsaking world, God will pour out his judgment. But why is it we say that we will be delivered from his wrath? Well, for one reason, in Luke 17, Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Lot and Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. And what did Lot and Noah have in common? They were two righteous men living in an unrighteous time. And yet what did God do? God took Noah and his family out before he brought the judgment of the flood. And God took Lot and his family out before he brought the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone. And thus in that parallel, Jesus says, "So it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, where God will rescue his bride, the church, before the great and dreadful day of God's wrath that comes upon the earth." So both personal and global wrath, he has rescued us from, delivered us from. And then here in chapter 2, Paul says, "Now there's another aspect to the second coming of Jesus, and it gives us reasons to rejoice." for what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? You can underline those three words, hope, joy, and crown. Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming for you are our glory and joy? So we emphasize these three things here. Why do we have reasons to rejoice? Number one, because the second coming of Jesus Christ gives us hope. That's the first word He talks about here, gives us hope. And why does the second coming of Jesus give us hope? The answer is because it means we will be rescued from a dark world and taken to the glorious kingdom of heaven. And who doesn't want that? Unless, of course, like I said, last week you haven't lived long enough and you're like, don't come yet to have a chance to get married enough kids. And you know, well, look, it's going to be so much better in heaven. It's going to be everything that you think is good on earth. Your best day on earth will be your worst day in heaven. If there is a worst day, there's not really a worst day, but you get the analogy. Everything is going to be superior. So this is why we have hope because it's a new and better day for

all of us when we understand that we're going to a better place that has been prepared for us. You know, you look in Revelation chapter 21, heaven is a place of no-mose. No-mose? Yeah. Revelation 21, no more suffering, no more pain, no more death, no more crying, no more sorrow. Everything will be made new. So when we think about this and the second coming of Christ, oh, how it brings us much hope. This is why Paul would write to Titus in Titus 2.13, we are looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We all need hope. Hope is a necessary element in life. Hopelessness is one of the most paralyzing things a person can go through. We all need hope. Hope is like the air we breathe. If you don't have it, you'll suffocate and die. To kind of illustrate the importance of hope, there was a scientific study done in 1957 by a biologist and geneticist at Johns Hopkins University. His name was Dr. Kurt Richter. And Dr. Richter took glass cylinders, filled them with water, not all the way up, but filled them enough with water. And then into these glass cylinders, he put wild rats, and they just had to tread water. The water level wasn't high enough that they could escape. It was all scientifically controlled. Water temperature was the same in each of these glass cylinders, but he puts these wild rats into the water filled with these glass cylinders filled with water. By the way, yes, I'm going to tell you in advance, animals die in the course of this experiment. Don't send me emails, okay? They were rats. All right, get over it. Rats. So he documented how long the rats would survive before they would give up and drown. And he did it over and over again. And he found that on average, the rats would tread water for 16 minutes, and then they'd give up and they would drown. And Dr. Richter believed that they didn't give up because they could no longer tread water, but that they had no optimistic outlook. They were already resigned to the fact that there was no hope. And so that's why they gave up treading water. In order to prove this theory, he kept reintroducing rats. And again, on average, at 16 minutes under the same controlled environment, they would give up and they would drown. But on one occasion, Dr. Richter decided at the 16-minute mark, when he introduced a new set of rats to the water at the 16-minute mark, he plucked them out, dried them off, and fed them. And then he reintroduced them to the same controlled environment back into the cylinders filled with water. And he watched. And this time, they didn't tread water for 16 minutes. They didn't even tread water for 16 hours. They tread water for three full days.

And it was all because hope was introduced to them. And friends, if that can be said of rats, it can surely be said of you and me. That when we have hope infused into our lives, it allows us to keep going. That's why we look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus. because they're going to be sometimes in the course of your life. the difficulties of life will make you feel like stop treading water and give up. But the good news is when we keep our eyes heavenward, realizing, okay, Christ is coming again, it gives us hope. Jesus talked in Luke chapter 21 about his second coming, and he says in Luke 21, that there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars, on the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Jesus says at that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, and when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near. That's why Jesus says, keep looking up, because that's your hope, knowing that Jesus is coming again. There are a lot of people in this world who are hopeless, people in great despair or going through bankruptcy or contemplating taking their lives or dealing with the loss of a loved one, grief or shame and broken relationships or physical pain, emotional pain. I mean, you name it, people go through all kinds of things

in the course of life, and it can really contribute to a sense of hopelessness. I read this quote a long time ago by Brad Delp. Brad Delp used to be the lead singer for the rock group, Boston, and he took his own life several years ago, and he had pinned a note on his shirt that he had written in French. Mr. Brad Delp, je un am solitaire. Mr. Brad Delp, I am a lonely soul. There are a lot of people like that, and I'm telling you, we all need hope, but not the kind of hope that the world offers. The hope that we need is a hope that is found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is our hope. And when we come to the place of humbling ourselves and trusting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and we understand how much He loves us and He forgives us of our sins, I mean, you talk about the most hopeful feeling to know that God loves you and He forgives you of your sins when you trust Jesus, that is a hope-filled life. And Romans chapter 15, verse 13, it says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

And so when we trust Christ, it brings us great hope, and then we look forward to a second coming. Now look, when you trust Christ, that doesn't mean you will never have another hopeless day in your life, but what it does mean is, as Hebrews 6, verse 19 says, "That His hope becomes an anchor for my life, firm and secure, so that I can get through any day because I know that the Lord is for me and He is with me and He loves me and He's forgiven me." And so when we come to know Jesus, that's the beginning of real hope. And when we look forward to the second coming of Jesus, that's what sustains us in life with hope. This world is dark, but Jesus is coming again. This world is filled with bad news, but Jesus is coming again. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but Jesus is coming again. And it just helps us to tread water a little bit longer, everybody, just like those rats. We can say to ourselves, you know, this world looks dark, but Jesus is coming again. Just keep treading water.

It's what gives us hope in this life. Secondly, the second coming of Christ brings us joy. That's the other word that He uses here in this verse. He uses the word joy twice in these verses and the word rejoicing along with it. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? And then in verse 20, for you are our glory and joy. Now, we know that joy is not commonly a word that most people use. I mean, you know, the world typically will use the word happiness instead of joy, joy is kind of a Christian word, right? I mean, it does appear 123 times in the Bible. That doesn't even count other forms of the word joy, like joyous, joyful, rejoicing. Just the word joy is 123 times in the Bible. And people who don't normally use the word will use it at Christmas time. You know, they'll sing joy to the world or they have, you know, Christmas cards that say joy on it or decorations. But the world typically will use the word happiness. And yet happiness is very different from joy because happiness is very superficial, it is circumstantial, it is temporal. Your happiness, my happiness is kind of based on whatever the day is going like. Happiness is like the weather. Some days they're sunny, some days they're cloudy. But it'll change if it's a sunny day, get ready, the clouds are coming.

The sun will come out tomorrow, right? And if it's cloudy, don't worry. The sun will come out at some point. That's the way life is when you look at happiness. It's very circumstantial. If you have money in the bank, your marriage is good, your kids are behaving, you have a good job. You live in a nice neighborhood. You tend to be happy. The moment any of those fall apart, you tend to lose your happiness. Whereas joy is a constant, because joy is not based on circumstances. Joy is based on a relationship. The real source of joy in life is Jesus, just like the real source of hope in life is Jesus. And when we know Jesus as Lord and Savior, He brings to us not a giddiness. When we talk about joy, it's not this superficial kind of emotional giddiness. The word joy in the New Testament Greek is kara. And listen, it means calm delight. I like that. Calm delight. 'Cause it's not this emotional giddiness of the moment. It's just, I've got this calm delight. I've got this abiding piece of the Lord, even in the midst of a very difficult thing you might be going through. So it's not just sitting around laughing and cutting up

and telling jokes. That's not joy, but it is knowing this. I have this calm delight because my spirit is calm in the Lord. I know that He's in control and that He loves me. And so in that, I have joy. And Jesus would even say in John 15, 11, these things I have spoken to you so that in me, you might have joy and that your joy might be to the fullest. So Jesus Himself knew the world doesn't offer this kind of joy that I offer you. That's why He says to us, I want you to have my joy and that you would know my joy to the fullest because it's this abiding calm delight knowing and trusting the Lord in any and every situation. The last time that joy is used in the Bible is in the book of Jude in verse 24, where it says to Him who was able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. To Him, to the only God our Savior. Be glory, imagine, see power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages now and forever more. So, Jude even highlights the fact that in the presence of the Lord, there will be great joy last time it's used in the whole of the Bible.

We need more joy, but it only comes when we get more of the Lord in our lives. The last one has to do with a crown of rejoicing. So, at the second coming of Jesus, it gives us hope, it gives us joy. And what does He mean here by this crown of rejoicing? By the way, notice how Paul writes here with great affection for the church at Thessalonica 'cause he says, you are all these things to me. He says, you are my hope and joy in the crown of rejoicing. But when he speaks here about enjoying all these things at the coming of Jesus Christ, it means that we all can enjoy this kind of hope, joy and crown of rejoicing. Now, there are several crowns that are mentioned in the Bible that we will receive who know Christ. Talks about the crown of life, talks here about the crown of rejoicing. Paul also mentions the crown of righteousness. His very last letter that he pens before he is beheaded for his faith. In Second Timothy chapter four, verse eight, Paul says this, there is now in store for me the crown of righteousness, that the Lord the righteous judge shall bestow upon me and not for me only, but for all who long for his appearing. What a great verse, Second Timothy four eight. He talks about a crown of righteousness.

He says, I'm gonna get a crown of righteousness. He says, but not me only, for all who long for Christ appearing. It's a picture of one day standing before the presence of the Lord and the Lord crowns us. Consider this, he crowns us, why? Because we all belong to his royal family. So he crowns believers with a crown of righteousness. Now, don't get too attached to it because in Revelation chapter four, it says we lay our crowns at his feet. So as soon as he puts a crown in our head, you know what our action is gonna be? Like unworthy, you are worthy as our king, as our Lord, as our savior. And we cast our crowns before him at his throne. But yet it is still this idea that when we gather together around the Lord in the presence of the Lord Jesus, there will be this wonderful crowning moment and the wonderful crowning moment. in this glorious reunion. That's the crown of rejoicing that he's talking about. He's looking forward to this time when Jesus returns that we shall all be together. We shall all be together. Probably one of the top five questions I've gotten over my years in ministry from people is, will I know my loved one when I get to heaven? If my loved one or my friend knew Jesus, will I also be able to recognize him or her

when I get to heaven? Will they recognize me? And the answer to that is a resounding yes, and I'm gonna give you three reasons, okay? Because this is all part of when Jesus comes again, crown of rejoicing, we're all gonna be together. We're all gonna be together and we will recognize each other. First point, number one, the reason why it is safe to say we will know each other is because First Corinthians 13, Paul writes, for now, living here, we know in part, but then, when we're with the Lord, we shall know fully even as we are fully known, right? So he says to us, which we understand, presently, we know very little. We know very little humanly speaking, but when we are in the presence of the Lord, he will open our minds to understand things. We will know fully even as we are fully known. Some of the things that seem mysterious to us now, where we have no answers for, we're always asking why God this and why God that, you won't have any questions when you get to heaven because it'll all be instantaneously understood and known. So if, because Paul tells us there in First Corinthians 13, we will know fully then, as we are fully known, and we can recognize each other now, even though we only know in part, then certainly we will know each other then

because we will know fully even as we are fully known, okay? So we will know each other. Also, a second reason is this. When Jesus appeared to his disciples in his glorified body, he was recognizable. They recognized him. His glorified body was not distorted in some way that they couldn't tell who he was. He bore the resemblance of his physical body in his glorified body. And first John three, verse two says, "We shall be like him when we see him as he is." Meaning, we will get a glorified body just like Jesus presently has a glorified body. And when we do, we will still be recognizable. Now, don't worry 'cause if some of you are thinking, I don't really like how I look in the mirror right now. I don't, I was hoping for a new and improved. Everything will be new and improved, okay? It'll be a new and improved version of you that is still recognizable, okay? Some people go to great efforts on earth to try to get a new and improved face and they become unrecognizable. But you will get new and improved everything in heaven and still be recognizable, okay? Just as Jesus was. Here's the third reason. You remember on the amount of transfiguration? And Jesus took Peter, James and John

up on the amount of transfiguration with him and who appeared with Jesus up there, Moses and Elijah. Now, Moses and Elijah didn't have their glorified bodies yet. They were just still in spirit form. But remember Peter recognized them because he wanted to build three shelters, one for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah. He wanted to kind of preserve the moment. How did he recognize Moses and Elijah? He had never met them. They died centuries before Peter was even born. The answer is because when we are with the Lord, even people we have never met will be recognizable. So certainly that means the people we have met will be recognizable. I look forward to going to heaven and you won't have to ask. You won't have to whisper to somebody. Is that John the Baptist? Who is that dude? You're gonna know. You're gonna know who Obadiah is. You may not know where his book is in the Bible. You better find out quick before you see him. He's gonna ask you, did you like my book? You're gonna be, ah, I don't even know you had a book, did you? Please don't tell him you went to Cornerstone Chapel. In other words, we're gonna know even as we're fully known. So look, this is all part of rejoicing. We have reasons to rejoice because the second coming

of Jesus means hope, means joy, and means one day just gonna be a glorious reunion when we get that crown of rejoicing that we will lay at the feet of Jesus. This is a good and wonderful future that he has in store for us, for all who believe. There's this, I'll close with this. There's this great old hymn of our faith when we all get to heaven. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see... Amen, and amen. Father, thank you for your word today, and we look forward to the second coming of Jesus. May our hearts be ready as we continue to just lift up our heads and look up 'cause our redemption is near. Thank you, Lord, for the hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. These are reasons for us to rejoice. You're coming again, Lord. Find us faithful and ready and watching for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. We love you and praise you together. It's in your name, we pray these things, and everybody said, amen and amen. God bless you, everybody. Have a great day. (applause) You

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