Dead End or Doorway?

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Death is not a deadend but a doorway because God's word gives us the comfort of His promises and His family

Notes
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Series: Easter

Title: Dead End or Door Way?

Text:
ATTN
Dead ends are no fun! I was called to visit a family late one night. One of the members was experiencing some real trauma and I was trying to get there as quickly as possible. That was before the days of GPS and the map I was using showed that if I just went down this road I would get there. I knew I should be getting close but as I was driving along I came to a dead end sign. You see, they were repairing the bridge on this little two lane road and I could not go any further. The bad thing was that I could literally look across the bridge and see the neighborhood I was headed for, but, instead of getting there, I had to retrace my steps and it took me another thirty minutes to reach their home. Dead ends are no fun!
Dead ends are no fun! I was called to visit a family late one night. One of the members was experiencing some real trauma and I was trying to get there as quickly as possible. That was before the days of GPS and the map I was using showed that if I just went down this road I would get there. I knew I should be getting close but as I was driving along I came to a dead end sign. You see, they were repairing the bridge on this little two lane road and I could not go any further. The bad thing was that I could literally look across the bridge and see the neighborhood I was headed for, but, instead of getting there, I had to retrace my steps and it took me another thirty minutes to reach their home. Dead ends are no fun!
They’re no fun when you’re driving, yes, but they can become very destructive when you feel like you’ve reached a dead end in your life. So let me just ask you: On this Resurrection Sunday, do any of you feel like you’ve reached a dead end? You might say “Yes, Rusty . . .
· They’ve repo’d my car and I’m about to lose my house. My finances are like a huge dead end sign in my life
· We’ve tried and retried to put our marriage back together but my husband just told me he’s leaving. Home is no long my get away, it’s my dead end.
· I thought I’d said my last “yes” to crack or booze or porn, but I just keep failing. I’m in an endless loop of losing that never seems to stop. I’m at a dead end.
· Or maybe it’s not that dramatic. Maybe you are one of those people who, from all appearances, seem to have it all together. You’ve got a great job, a good family, a good home, great health, but on the inside there is this deep emptiness that just won’t go away, and you’re afraid that it will never get any better. You’re at an absolute dead end.
Well, if that’s you, I want you to know something: It’s Easter and I’ve got some great news for you, so listen up and don’t miss what I’m about to say: Listen! Easter turns dead ends into doorways!
And that is often true, especially for those of us who belong to Christ: What we often think are dead ends, really become doorways. Nowhere is that more true than when we talk about our last enemy, the defeated foe we know as death. It seems like a dead end: It seems so cold; it seems so dark, it seems so final and, when it comes into your life, it seems overwhelming. That’s why it is so important that you and I understand what the Bible teaches about it.
Now let me just talk to our younger listeners today. I know when you hear anyone talk about death, it seems very unreal to you. Hey! It did to me too when I was a younger man. But I’ve been in ministry for many years now. I’ve watched parents bury children. I’ve even conducted the funeral of a very young child, so whether you want to admit it or not, death is a topic that is no respecter of persons or even of age. None of us is promised tomorrow. That’s the bad news, but here’s the good news. Listen! Death is not a dead end, it really is a doorway.
Let’s go to church on this Easter morning and hear about it:
BACK
That’s right, Death is not a dead end, it really is a doorway.
And I know what you might be thinking right now. “Ok Rusty, that’s great, but why are you preaching about death. It’s Easter, for crying out loud!” Well, you’re right, this is not a funeral and it is Easter, and because it’s Easter, I want to talk to you not about death, but about what FOLLOWS death. I want to talk to you about the practical impact of Easter on all of us and I want to do it from a passage of Scripture that you often hear in graveyards at funerals. It’s 1 Thess 4:13-18
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
.
Now our text begins with a kind of “heads up” by the Apostle Paul. He says, “Heads up, Thessalonians! Don’t miss this!” He writes: But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. The reason that Paul spoke about people who had “no hope” is because there were plenty of people in that day who, when it came to the whole topic of death, literally had no hope. One Greek non-Christian of that day wrote . . . against such things (as death) one can do nothing. Therefore comfort ye one another. Now when you really understand what this guy is saying, it’s pretty bleak. He is saying, in essence, “Death is bad; Death is final; there’s nothing you can do about it, but, hey—hope you feel better.” The Thessalonian culture was really hopeless when it came to death.
Now our text begins with a kind of “heads up” by the Apostle Paul. He says, “Heads up, Thessalonians! Don’t miss this!” He writes: But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. The reason that Paul spoke about people who had “no hope” is because there were plenty of people in that day who, when it came to the whole topic of death, literally had no hope. One Greek non-Christian of that day wrote . . . against such things (as death) one can do nothing. Therefore comfort ye one another. Now when you really understand what this guy is saying, it’s pretty bleak. He is saying, in essence, “Death is bad; Death is final; there’s nothing you can do about it, but, hey—hope you feel better.” The Thessalonian culture was really hopeless when it came to death.
And that culture was reflected in the church. The church had a sense of hopelessness too. You see, they had been taught that, if you died before Christ returned, you were essentially out of luck. For some reason they thought that you would only go to heaven if you were alive to see Jesus actually return. That’s why Paul writes what he does. He goes on to say,
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
And I know that when you hear these words, if you have done much study about the second coming of Christ, your mind immediately begins to think about what the modern church has called “the rapture.” The rapture is the teaching that Christians will be removed from the earth during the tribulation period and then return with Christ to the earth after that period is over. (By the way, if what I just said went over your head, it’s ok. We’re not going to really talk about the rapture anyway.) As a matter of fact, if you get too caught up in “the rapture” from this passage, you may miss the primary truth Paul is trying to teach in this passage. Basically, Paul is saying to us through these verses: “Have hope! Death is not a dead end, it is a doorway!”
NEED
Now I believe that all of us today need to really get our hearts around this truth. That’s because death is a personal reality. If you haven’t had the experience of walking away from the graveyard having left someone there who was very dear to you, you will. Here’s what I have found: It’s really hard to learn the theology of heaven when you’re going through the grief of losing a loved one. Your emotions are too raw and your mind is too confused. No, the time to deeply internalize the truth of heaven is before you get in the middle of grief! Listen to what Paul is saying because death is or will become a personal reality.
But it’s more than that: Death is also a powerful opportunity. As a pastor, I have found that I can have the most effective ministry to a family in the middle of death. Hey when you’re doing a wedding in many cases you are just the “officiant.” When you’re doing a funeral, especially if you knew the person, you become much more than that. By the way, it’s not just pastors who can minister comfort at a time of death. These verses tell us to comfort one another with these words.
And it goes even further than that. As a follower of Christ, the death of a believer gives us the opportunity to give a testimony to the world. Yes, we sorrow at funerals because we suffer loss like anyone else, but we do not sorrow as others who have no hope. We understand that, because of Christ’s resurrection, death is not a dead end it is a doorway.
TRANS:
But maybe you are a believer this morning who has gone through a death of someone you dearly loved and you feel broken this morning. Perhaps you would even say, “Rusty, I’d like to have that kind of testimony to the world, but I am so hurting and broken over what has happened, I just don’t feel like I can do it. How is it possible for me “not to sorrow like the world?” Well these verses tell us where this sorrow-changing hope comes from. We do not sorrow like the world because we have the comfort of:

In the middle of death, Christians have the comfort of promises.

D1: PROMISES
EXP
Now these familiar verses give us at least four promises that turn the dead end of death into a doorway of hope. First there is the promise ABOUT THE DEAD.

The promise about the dead.

Paul says, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep. Now I hope you realize that the “sleep” spoken of here is not the kind induced by Ambien or Tylenol PM. No this is the good old “dirt nap.” When this passage speaks of sleeping it is speaking of death.
Now before the fulfillment of this promise is given you have the condition for it’s fulfillment. V14 begins, For if we believe that Jesus dies and rose again. Interpretation: If we really believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He rose from the dead—that is the condition to receive the fulfillment of the promise.
And what is that fulfillment? You see it down in v14. It says that For if we believe that Jesus dies and rose again even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. Interpretation: Those believers who die before Jesus returns will be risen from the dead just like Jesus was and return with Him. Now to you and me that is not anything new. This is the promise we have heard all of our lives, but that was not the case with the Thessalonians! They thought that if you died as a believer, you were dead forever. Paul is telling them that they will see their dead loved ones again. This was incredibly good news. They had God’s promise about the dead.

The promise about the resurrection.

But there is another promise given here. There is a promise ABOUT THE RESURRECTION. This promise begins with the descent of the Lord. V15 says For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. That phrase the “coming of the Lord” is a single word in Greek that is loaded with theological meaning. It is the word Parousia. If you were to transport it into our culture, the picture presented by this word would be that of a “state visit.” In those days, a visit by the king or royal official was an occasion of great pomp and magnificent celebrations. Speeches praising the visitor would be made. Rich donations would be made in their honor to the local temple. Games of celebration would be held; statues would be erected and dedicated; buildings might even be constructed and money might be minted to commemorate the event. It was the visit of an earthly king.
But Paul’s “Parousia” isn’t for an earthly king. It speaks of the King of Kings. Notice v 16 says, for the Lord HIMSELF will descend from heaven with a shout . . . And it will not be some quiet coming. No! there will be noise! It says that there will be a shout. It isn’t just a random shriek that is spoken of here. It is a shout of command.
If you want to know what is spoken of here, picture a barraks on Paris Island in the middle of boot camp. It’s 4 am in the morning. Everything is quiet except for the quiet snoring of a hundred fresh recruits sleeping off a twenty mile march the night before. All of a sudden, the lights pop on and a gruff voice shouts with command. “Attenhut. Fall in!” Immediately one hundred recruits jump up from a dead sleep and race to the aisle at the end of their bed and stand at attention in their scivies. That’s the picture. It’s a shout of command.
And there’s even more noise. It says and with the trumpet of God. The command is accompanied by a trumpet blast. Wow! I’ve been in band for many years and I’ve heard some loud trumpets, but I’ve never heard a trumpet like God’s trumpet. The Phillips paraphrase renders this verse like this . . . One word of command, one shout from the archangel, one blast from the trumpet of God and the Lord himself will come down from Heaven!’ O, there will be a descent and there will be some noise,
But, there is also going to be a resurrection. V16 again says
1 Thessalonians 4:16 NKJV
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 NKJV
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air . . .
This resurrection of the dead will come first then those who are alive will rise and then it says we will be “caught up together.” By the way, that’s where the term, “rapture” comes from. It means “to be caught up together.” The word, rapture, is derived from the Latin rapere which means to seize—to take by force and remove rapidly. God is going to call us to attention and literally snatch us up. What precious promises! There is a promise about the dead—they will not be left behind; there is a promise about the resurrection—both the dead and the living will be caught up together to meet the Lord. O, but there’s another promise.

The promise about victory.

There’s the promise of VICTORY. V17 says,
1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
I think that the way Paul puts this here is significant. He says that we will meet the Lord “in the air.” Air in the Scripture is often referred to as the realm in which Satan rules. For instance, in Ephesians he is called the “Prince of the power of the air.”
Ephesians 2:1–2 NKJV
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
The spirit that now motivates those who are living in rebellion against God comes from Satan who is “the prince of the power of the air.” Some writers suggest that this “meeting in the air” entails the final battle when Christ, whom Revelation describes as having a face like the sun with eyes of fire and a battle sword coming from His mouth, gathers His saints and in one single, eternal command declares the destruction of Satan. We have the promise of victory!

The promise about the future.

says, And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. The spirit that now motivates those who are living in rebellion against God comes from Satan who is “the prince of the power of the air.” Some writers suggest that this “meeting in the air” entails the final battle when Christ, whom Revelation describes as having a face like the sun with eyes of fire and a battle sword coming from His mouth, gathers His saints and in one single, eternal command declares the destruction of Satan. We have the promise of victory!
And because we have the promise about the dead and the promise about the resurrection and the promise about victory, we have the promise for the FUTURE. V17 concludes, And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Don’t miss what that verse just said. Listen! Ever since I gave my heart to Christ, in a sense I’ve been with the Lord. I’ve sensed His presence and talked with Him in prayer. I’ve worshiped Him here with you and there were moments it seemed like I could almost glimpse His face. But, when the trumpet sounds and the command is shouted and I am changed in the twinkling of an eye, then I will see Him face to face. Then I will not just momentarily sense a taste of His presence, I will be actually in His presence and (don’t miss it!) THUS!!!!! I will always be with the Lord.
APP
Listen, Christian, you’ve got some promises to hang on to!! And all of us need to hear these promises today.

We need these promises because of the walk we all must take.

We must know these things because of the walk we all must take. And many of you know about that walk. There will come that day when you have to take the hardest walk of your life. It’s away from that funeral tent where you just left your loved one and you don’t know what to do. In those moments, you need to remember these promises about the dead about the resurrection about the victory and about the future. We must remember because of the walk we all must take.

We need these promises because of the victory we all will win.

And we need to remember because of the victory we all will win. Listen, I know it seems like everywhere you turn Satan is winning. The morals are declining; churches are dying; cheaters are winning; liars are believed and believers are lied about. But there is a day coming when the shout of command will be given and we will meet the Lord in the air where Satan will be conquered and we will reign with Christ in great victory.
And, by the way, that victory isn’t just limited to the future. Paul says in tells us that the same power that God exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead is the same power that is available to you and me to live our lives today. Hey, not only does the resurrection transform death from a dead end to a doorway, the resurrection turns the dead ends of life into doorways. Addictions can be beaten; relationships can be healed; fears can be conquered. The resurrection turns the dead ends of death AND life into doorways.

We need these promises because of the future we all will share.

We must remember these promises because of the walk we must take and the victory we will win, but here the biggest reason to remember these verses: It’s because of the future we will share. THUS we will always be with the Lord.
ILL
Pic - Corrina
There was a movie that came out several years ago entitled Corrina, Corrina. It told the story of a jingle writer named Manny Singer and his young daughter Molly. They are both devasted after their loving wife and mother has passed away. It is very difficult and Manny can’t keep it all together around the house and he can’t take adequate care of his daughter, Molly, so they hire a housekeeper named Corrina (who is played by Whoopi Goldberg), to help them around the house.
One of the early scenes in that movie is very poignant. Deliverymen arrive with furniture that Mrs. Singer had ordered prior to her death. The deliverymen ask for Mrs. Singer and, not able to bring himself to say the truth, Mr. Singer says, "She's in the bathtub right now." Immediately Molly runs anxiously to the bathroom to see if her mother is there. Of course this is devastating to Mr. Singer and to Molly both.
Later in the movie, Molly is lying in the grass with Corrina beside a dress that belonged to her mother. Corrina is trying to console her and make her feel better. She tells her, "You know what I think, Molly? I think your mom is looking down at you from heaven right now. And if you look really close, I'll bet you'll see she's waving."
Manny overhears this and pulls Corrina aside. "Corrina, uh, I really appreciate everything you're doing here. And whatever you believe in is fine. Your heaven is fine for you. Molly's mother was an atheist and so am I, and I don't want you telling her she's somewhere she isn't. Okay?"
Corrina says, "Yes, sure Mr. Singer. I'll just continue to tell Molly that her mother is in the bathtub!"
Wow! That’s the only option you have apart from Christ. Your best hope is to find your dead loved one in the bathtub. Now, friend, that’s a deadend! It is the promises of this passage that make death a doorway and not a dead end.
TRANS
How is it possible not to sorrow like the world? You have the comfort of Scriptures! This passage provides the comfort of promises and then it gives the comfort of:

In the middle of death, Christians have the comfort of family.

D2 – FAMILY
EXP
1 Thess
1 Thessalonians 4:18 NKJV
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
V18 draws this passage to a close with this admonition: Therefore (that is, because what I’ve just told you about the resurrection of the dead, when you experience death) comfort one another . . . This is why Paul wrote this passage: so that the family of God, when they were going through the difficult times of death, could bring comfort to one another.
What a tragedy that, so often, we miss that opportunity! Instead of bringing comfort, sometimes the things we say and do bring more distress. So how can you and I as followers of Jesus bring comfort to one another during times of grief? Well, we must develop deep relationships with believers. This is true because, in moments of crisis, those relationships matter.
ILL
As you know, I have recently lost both of my parents. It was an ordeal as you can imagine and an ordeal which many of you have also experienced. Now we all handle those moments differently. As an introvert, my tendency is to withdraw and seek solitude and quietness. Some of you may have wondered why I didn’t immediately let people know when these things happened. To be honest, I dreaded personal contact.
So you can imagine that I was drained by the visitation before the funeral. To be honest, I thought I would be too, but I have to tell you that seeing you guys and hearing your words of comfort brought a strength to me that I didn’t even think was possible.
There were also many cards of encouragement. One really stood out to me. It came from a man who was a teenager in a church my father and mother pastored way back in the 70’s. He wrote:
Though we would seek an exception to the rule, poet Robert Frost reminds us that ‘Nothing gold can stay.’ ‘Gold’ is an apt label for the life and legacy of Roger Russell. I know of no man for whom I have retained a greater respect over the years. I grieve with you as you have recently been forced to release your hold on such gold. Our good God promises that you will retrieve it. Love you, man. God bless Roger and Ruth Russell
And then he signed his name and included a Bible reference. Know what it was? It was this text: .
EXP
That’s why this text tells us to comfort one another WITH THESE WORDS. Just showing up would not be much comfort if we did not have the promises we talked about earlier. It is the truth of the resurrection that brings comfort. Our job with one another is to tell each other the truth about heaven, not as some theoretical exercise or as some philosophical answer. It is to tell each other the truth about heaven from a heart that genuinely anticipates going there. THOSE words of truth spoken with a real conviction of the heart can bring comfort.
APP
And your caring can go beyond words. You can do tangible things to help others who go through grief. On my FB page, I have included several steps you can take to help someone going through the terrible time of grief. I won’t take the time to read them to you, but please take the time to read them for yourself. Be that person who brings comfort through your action and through your words.
I tell you, This is a powerful text. It is powerful because of its promises and because of its comfort. It tells us that Easter isn’t just a day on the calendar; it is a promise that truly brings hope? Why? Because the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and then THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE . . .!
VIS
Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church and the author of The Purpose Driven Life, together with his wife, Kay, went through a devastating loss when their twenty-seven-year-old son Matthew took his own life after battling depression and mental illness for years.
About a year after this tragedy, Rick said, "I've often been asked, 'How have you made it? How have you kept going in your pain?' And I've often replied, 'The answer is Easter.'
"You see, the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus happened over three days. Friday was the day of suffering and pain and agony. Saturday was the day of doubt and confusion and misery. But Easter—that Sunday—was the day of hope and joy and victory.
"And here's the fact of life: you will face these three days over and over and over in your lifetime. And when you do, you'll find yourself asking—as I did—three fundamental questions. Number one, 'What do I do in my days of pain?' Two, 'How do I get through my days of doubt and confusion?' Three, 'How do I get to the days of joy and victory?'
"The answer is Easter. The answer … is Easter."
In the final analysis it is His resurrection that assures our resurrection. It is Easter that tells us that Death is not a dead end, it is a doorway!
The song says it like this
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer, One day the stone rolled away from the door; Then He arose, over death He had conquered; Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming, One day the skies with His glory will shine; Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing; Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away; Rising, He justified freely forever: One day He’s coming—O glorious day!
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