Friends, if you would open your Bibles please to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. I want to point out to you a repetition in chapter 4 and chapter 5 of very similar words which comes as an instruction to God's people that I would love for us to take notice of and heed, meaning not only notice but put into practice, because I think it is a timeless instruction, particularly in light of all the events that have played out over the last few weeks with Israel and Hamas and the invasion of Gaza this last weekend or Thursday last week. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 18. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. Got it? And then come down to chapter 5 verse 11. Of course they didn't have chapters and chapter breaks. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. Therefore, encourage one another with these words and encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. See the repetition? Encourage one another. So you have to ask, with what words? What is meant to be the encouragement that we are to take and are to give? Encourage one another with these words. What am I supposed to say that encourages you? And how to encourage you and build you up? And notice then, end of chapter 4, chapter 5 verse 11, what are we instructed to say? What is the encouragement meant to look like? And if you have a look at the context, you'll immediately see the first one, encourage one another with these words, points back to, this is how Jesus is going to come back, coming of the Lord. That is the way Christ is coming back, and the words of what he's going to do when he comes back is meant to be an encouragement, and you're meant to say this, and I'm meant to preach this, and we're meant to teach this, that this return of Christ is an intended encouragement. How about the second one? Chapter five, verse 11. What precedes it? Well, in my Bible, the day of the Lord. Jesus is coming back. Hang on a sec. Encourage one another with these words. This is how Christ will return. This is what the new bodies will look like and so on. Chapter five. repetition. That is, before chapter 4 verse 18, encourage one another with these words, chapter 5 verse 11, a very similar thing. Thus, we are meant to think about heaven often, and we are meant to speak about heaven as a means of encouraging one another. Right? Anybody else want to take a different shot at what this means? It's pretty clear. Therefore, I put it to you, we're meant to think about heaven and the return of Christ. And we're meant to do that, not just for me personally, but to speak about these things intended by the Holy Spirit as an encouragement and commanded by the Holy Spirit that this may be an encouragement for one another. But I'm not sure we do this as often as we should. Thus, I would love for us to think about what will Christ's return look like? What will Christ's return look like? First point, Jesus' return will be sudden, personal, and visible. Sudden. 1 Thessalonians 5, 1-11 deals with the suddenness of it. People will be saying, peace and safety. He'll come like a thief in the night. Like a pregnant woman, birth pains come suddenly. That has happened three times to my wife. It seems like a normal day. And before you know it, she says the words, it's time to go. And you know what those words mean because you've had eight or so months to prepare yourself for the time to go. She has got her bag packed, and when she says it's time to go, boy, is it time to go. That's what Jesus' return will look like. It will be sudden. It will be personal. Chapter four, verse 16. The Lord himself will descend. He's not gonna send an angel alone. He will come personally. Chapter four, verse 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. He will come personally. He's not gonna give this to the archangel Gabriel. He himself will come personally. And thirdly, he will come visibly. Every eye will see. Jesus said so, John 14, 13. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything, you ask me for anything, in my name I will do it, Revelation 22, 20. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Acts 1.11, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who is taking away from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him going to heaven. First point, Jesus' return will be sudden, personal, invisible. I don't know how that's gonna work. We've since discovered the world is round, How on earth does everyone see at the same time? And don't tell me TV. I know you watch TV often, but I'm not convinced that's the answer. But every eye will see. I don't know how that works. I don't think Jesus is gonna make the earth flat that every eye at the same time can see him. But that's what scripture says, that every eye will see. His return will be sudden, personal, and visible. Watch and see how he works this out. Secondly, Jesus will descend from heaven with a commanding cry, the voice of the archangel, and a trumpet blast. Chapter four, verse 16, says so. 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. He won't just come by himself. He'll come announced. He'll come big. He'll come with a voice of command. You might say, well, why? Why like this? One, because he's a king. Two, because he's a victor. He's coming in victory. He's being announced. And with his cry of command, you will see that command does something. We're gonna see that in a moment. With a trumpet blast. 1 Corinthians 15, 52 says this. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. The trumpet blast, the heralding of the king, the cry of command, something happens. Instantly, something happens. We're gonna read, thirdly, that the bodies of the dead saints will be raised new first. And then those who are still alive will be raised, lifted up to meet Jesus in the air. The bodies of the dead. I want you to think about the many bodies that have been buried at sea. You know how that works, you've seen it in the movies. Wrap you in something, tie something heavy, usually a cannonball or something like that. Down you go. And what happens over the months and years and centuries is all your atoms are distributed over the entire liquid surface of this earth. Think about that for a moment. And not just one person, but many. and not just buried at sea, but all of those who've been buried everywhere, that the voice of command and the trumpet blast will reassemble the bodies of the people that have died at sea and everyone who's died instantly. How big is the power of God to do that? Everyone at the same time from everywhere all over this earth, possibly beyond this earth, There's been people who've died in the atmosphere and away from the atmosphere, everyone at the same time reassembled. How big is the power of God to do that? And then those who are still alive, we will instantly be made new, new bodies, we think like Jesus, second body, and we'll Be raised up, we're alive already, but with new bodies, lift off the earth and meet Jesus halfway between stars and planets. We will ascend into the air. I'm not sure about you, but there's been times where I've gone up in a lift, and when you walk into the lift, you'll see the glass outside, and maybe beautiful gardens, and then you press a number. Number means you're either going up or down. But if you're going up and if it's a quick lift you will have an experience of exactly what is described here. You see the earth disappearing and there's very little below you and you start to want to grab onto something. I remember years ago a friend of mine took me in an Alouette helicopter. Alouette is a beautiful helicopter. Its glass canopy goes all the way down to your feet and you've got a little plate where your feet are on and when you ascend in the helicopter it feels like you want to grab onto something but there's open window here and there's a bit he's using over here. You can't grab onto something so you hold onto your chair because you feel like you're being raised up. You will have that experience. You won't have anything to grab onto, but you will be raised. But you'll be raised like those who've died with a new body that is like Jesus' second body. The body he came back and was resurrected from the grave with, which could instantly be with the disciples in a locked room, that could seemingly be here and there, And Yed was physical. Here, touch, see. Yed could eat. Remember, he's a ghost. Give me something to eat. Physical, but exceptional. More than this one. And so, we will all be clothed, given new bodies. 1 Corinthians 15. Behold, I will tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. But we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. Instantly. I want you to think a little bit about that new body that you will have. You know you have five senses, right? Taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight. What you don't have is a sixth sense. Sorry, ladies. You don't have a sixth sense or a seventh or an eighth or a ninth. Because if you had one of those, you would know whether there are angels and demons in this room right now. But in our new bodies, It seems as if we will have more than five, and the ability to move between places. John Piper poses the question, why is this universe so big? Because those who will inherit the earth might mean we will inherit planets as well. How are you going to get there? Not at the speed of light, but instantly. Now that's worth thinking about, and we're encouraged to think about such things as a means of encouraging ourselves and others. We will have these new bodies. I always use the example of this, two hands together. My body, corruptible, getting old, wrinkly, Not as fit as they used to be. This one will be planted and buried at some stage. But this new spirit, made alive and crushed, was dead and Jesus breathed new life into me on the inside. But you have an unholy alliance, an unholy linking up, marriage, between an old body that's getting older and decaying, is prone to sin, and a spirit that is alive to God. And God will unzip in one of two ways, either by death or His return, this old body from this new spirit, and He will give me a new body with a holy marriage for the first time ever. And this body alive to God and the spirit alive to God will be perfectly suited for what is yet to come. zipped up Philippians 3 20 and 21 but our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself what about those who don't know Christ Well, Scripture teaches that they too will get a new body. But they won't have a spirit alive to God, right? But they will receive a new body. Do not marvel at this, John 5, 28. For an hour is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who've done good to the resurrection of life and those who've done evil to the resurrection of judgment, in their new bodies. Why? Because judgment will take place for them physically, in their new body. Acts 24, 15. There will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Matthew 25, 31 through 46. When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations. How big is that gathering? And He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left. And the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food and I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer saying, Lord, When did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer truly and say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Naked and you did not clothe me. Sick and imprisoned and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? was strange or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you. And he will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. It is a real day that is certainly going to happen, Jesus said so. And you've no idea when it's going to happen because otherwise you would be prepared. You remember all the parables about the wisdom of being prepared. But you don't know the day or hour. You don't know when it's gonna happen. Of all the things the father shared with the son, the one thing he kept from him was the day of his return. But there will be a day. And then it will be too late. And therefore, live your life with wisdom now. Make it count. Because this day is certain and is not far away. I have a friend who asked me just last Sunday, previous Sunday, Lance, how do you understand all of these things that are happening in our world? Is this how you see it? And they sent me a timeline. Seven years of tribulation. Return of Christ. You know those charts? I smiled when I saw it. I've seen it many times before. I personally do not believe you need to wait for another single thing to happen. And you will say to me, oh Lance, What about all of these things that need to precede Jesus' return? I would say every one of those things you use to delay your preparation for His return. Thus, I believe all of them are fulfilled already. That the very next thing that happens in the timeline of God's plan for this world and the age to come is His return. All of the signs you're seeing now are written in scripture so that you may know, don't wait, prepare. Because there is a day coming, and if you're thinking, okay, three or four signs left, I haven't seen this, I haven't seen that, it's going to lead to laxity. To taking it easy because, hey, I've still got three or four signs to go. No, no, no. A thief in the night. Peace and safety. Three signs to go, I don't need to do much now. My mom taught us as boys, when the rain had fallen, and the beauty of a rainbow appeared from nowhere, she would teach us. With every rising sun, and particularly the setting sun, and those red suns, which we enjoy in Africa with lots of dust in the air. She would often say these words. I wonder if Jesus' return is today. Often. I wonder if Jesus' return is today. Are you ready? Is everything ready? You will say, Lance, but how do you read this passage or that passage? I would say as signs. That you are able to interpret the signs and know the one who made them is coming back. He will come physically, visibly, and he will come with a great judgment, personally. And then it will be too late to repent. It will be too late to fix. It'll be too late to apologize or make right. Because the trumpet will sound. The cry of command will be given. The angel of God will be there. And just like that, this age is done. Are you ready, is the question. Are you ready? Daniel chapter 12 verse two. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise, note that, those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above. And those who turn me to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. Visible, personal, instant. New physical bodies to judgment or to accolade. Bow with me in prayer, will you? Lord Jesus, you have said, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood is eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Lord Jesus, you have said, and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none of all that you have given me, but raise him up on the last day. Well, this is the will of my Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. This day is real. You said so. It is the last day. And surely, Lord, we've been living in the last days for how long? Cause us, O God, to be expectant, to be busy, to be looking up, knowing that your coming is close. Lord, we hear these words. You told us to read them, to cause thought to flow from these words, that we might have encouragement and encourage each other. God, I thank you for that age and all that is yet to be. No more sin, no more sickness, No more suffering, no more dying, no more pain, no more hardship, no more temptation, no more weakness, no more anger, no more harsh words. We praise you, O God, for that age to come. We thank you too, Lord, that you've said, now to him who is able to keep you and present you blameless, Thank you, Jesus. We love you, O God, for what you've done. We love you for the promises you've made. All of them are true. O God, would you, by your Holy Spirit, in these true words, give us great encouragement to live our life knowing that it counts, knowing that there will be a day when you will separate sheep from goats, And you will judge on the basis of faith in action, what we've done with this life you've given us, how we've lived it for you, or not at all. Help us to be wise, therefore. In your name we pray, amen.