Skip to content Faithful Followers: The Hope That Changes Everything Jun 8 · 53 min ...more
Faithful Followers: The Hope That Changes Everything
June 8, 2025 · 53 min
Pastor Jeff emphasizes the hope that the Gospel provides, particularly in the face of death. He shares the powerful story of Todd Beamer, who faced his own demise with unwavering faith and hope in eternal life with Christ. By unpacking Scripture from First Thessalonians, he encourages believers to grieve differently, trust confidently in Christ's resurrection, and live with expectancy for His return. Ultimately, Pastor Jeff urges everyone to embrace this living hope, as it fundamentally transforms how we navigate life's challenges and encourages us to share this hope relentlessly with others. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub
Series BRAVE Church June 8, 2025 · 53 min · BRAVE Church
Pastor Jeff emphasizes the hope that the Gospel provides, particularly in the face of death. He shares the powerful story of Todd Beamer, who faced his own demise with unwavering faith and hope in eternal life with Christ. By unpacking Scripture from First Thessalonians, he encourages believers to grieve differently, trust confidently in Christ's resurrection, and live with expectancy for His return. Ultimately, Pastor Jeff urges everyone to embrace this living hope, as it fundamentally transforms how we navigate life's challenges and encourages us to share this hope relentlessly with others. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub ...more Show the full description Show less Pastor Jeff emphasizes the hope that the Gospel provides, particularly in the face of death. He shares the powerful story of Todd Beamer, who faced his own demise with unwavering faith and hope in eternal life with Christ. By unpacking Scripture from First Thessalonians, he encourages believers to grieve differently, trust confidently in Christ's resurrection, and live with expectancy for His return. Ultimately, Pastor Jeff urges everyone to embrace this living hope, as it fundamentally transforms how we navigate life's challenges and encourages us to share this hope relentlessly with others. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub
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Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
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0:00 Well, morning. Would you help me welcome all of our brave campuses that are worshiping with us this morning? So great to be with all of you. Just a couple quick announcements. Next week is Father's Day. I will be doing a0:11 special Father's Day message the same way I did this year on Mother's Day. So fathers look forward to seeing all of you next week for that. Also, you heard it mentioned for high 5 this week, I just wanna encourage0:23 you, continually keep that in your prayers. And then would you join me in prayer? Our heart would be to launch Brave Academy in Westminster this year. We need about 25 to 30 students to really make that0:35 viable. Would you please join me? We always trust how the Lord leads. We hold everything with an open hand, but we're trusting that there are those students there and that parents can take a step of faith and that we're0:45 gonna get there. But let's pray for the Westminster Brave Academy to be launched this fall. And with that, let's continue our worship as we go before the Lord and get ready to hear his living and his active word among0:55 us. Will you pray with me? Our father in heaven, we give you all the glory, honor, and praise. What a privilege it is to worship with your saints in your house on this very day. We celebrate you. You are the king of1:06 kings. You are the Lord of lords. You are our savior, and we love you, and we thank you, Jesus, for all you're doing. Lord, we do pray specifically this week for high 5 on all of our campuses. Lord, that you would touch1:18 each and every 1 of those children, that you'd be with each and every 1 of our volunteers, Lord, that you would give us energy to serve well, Lord, that you would keep us from distraction, Lord, that you would help us
1:29 forgive 1 another, love 1 another so the gospel can go forth. And Lord, we pray that there would be seeds of the gospel sown. There will be seeds of the gospel that are watered, and there will be a harvest of those who
1:40 come to know you this week. Lord, we also pray for Brave Academy. We thank you for what you've done in the last 2 years and what you're doing here in Englewood. Lord, our prayer is for your will to be done in
1:50 Westminster. Lord, show us what you're doing. We pray for 25 to 30 students. We pray for families that are gonna get involved in that school. And Lord, we just give you praise, glory, and honor for all you're doing
2:01 there. We trust your good hand. And now Lord, we come before you because we are excited to hear your living and active word, Lord, because we as a people believe that every time Your word is faithfully and accurately
2:12 proclaimed that You are speaking. So our prayer for each and every 1 of us this morning is speak Lord for we are ready to hear. And so now for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak
2:23 directly to you, who will believe what he tells you, and who will by faith put into practice what he shows you. Will you agree with me very loudly this morning by saying the word amen.
2:35 Amen. On September eleventh of 2001 on United flight 93, 1 of the passengers was named Todd Beamer. For those of you that were
2:46 alive, you remember what happened on that historic day as 4 planes were hijacked and United flight 93 was 1 of the planes that were hijacked. And as news began to spread and
2:58 people on the plane began to figure out what was going on, Todd Beamer picked up 1 of the earphones and ended up talking to a gal, a GTE operator named Lisa Jefferson. And during the course of
3:10 their short conversation that only lasted for a few minutes, they recited the Lord's prayer together. And then Todd from memory quoted Psalm 23. And after that,
3:22 he mouthed these words which were the last words that anybody would ever hear him mouth, and prior to that, I should say that he told them, tell my wife that I love her and tell my 2 boys that I love them. And then,
3:34 they heard these words. Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll. And that was the last words that he ever had because that plane went down a little after 10 o'clock in the morning in Pennsylvania and with
3:46 no survivors whatsoever. But what is it that could cause a person to say goodbye to his wife that he loved and and and 2 kids and and know that he was gonna be okay.
3:58 His wife Lisa later said at his funeral and subsequent to his funeral, my husband Todd loved Jesus. He believed in eternal life. He's home now.
4:11 See, there's a hope that changes everything. Todd Beamer had that hope. The gospel gives us hope. If you have the hope of the gospel,
4:23 that hope will change everything about the way that you live in this life and what you focus on. And today I wanna talk to you about that hope. I wanna talk to you about the hope that changes everything.
4:35 And we're gonna be doing that this morning by taking a look in first Thessalonians chapter 4, first Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. And I'm gonna read that, and then we'll unpack 4 truths, 4 ways that you
4:47 will be changed if you have that eternal hope in Christ Jesus. Hear what he says. He says, but we do not want you to be uninformed brethren about those who
4:58 are asleep so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
5:11 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 not proceed those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from
5:22 heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them
5:34 in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort 1 another with these words. And here as Paul writes to this
5:46 Thessalonian church, this church that he has helped start with the gospel, this church that's very young, only months old. He has written to them telling them about the way that they love well,
5:58 the way that they're doing things well, the way that they've been unified well, the way they've been sharing the gospel well. He tells them to avoid sexual immorality. He tells them to love 1 another. And then he tells
6:09 them, this is where you can anchor your hope. This is where you can anchor your hope. And if you get this, this will change everything. Here's why. Because there's nothing in this life that you can anchor your hope to
6:20 that will satisfy you at the deepest levels of your life. Your hope cannot be found in a relationship. It can't be found in your spouse. It can't be found in your kids. It can't be found in your parents. It can't be
6:32 found in your job, it can't be found in your bank account, it can't be found in your ability to travel and do things, it can't be found in your hedonistic activities. There's nothing in this life that will give you the
6:43 hope that I'm talking about. Only Jesus Christ can do that. And so as we talk about this hope that changes everything, Paul then dives into what he wants them to
6:54 understand about this hope that only Jesus gives. And the first thing you're gonna notice if you have this hope is that you'll grieve differently. You will grieve
7:06 differently, and here's why, because death is not the end. You'll grieve differently because death is not the end. He says, but I do not want you to be uninformed, brethren. I don't want you to be ignorant of this. I
7:17 want you to understand about those who are asleep. This word asleep means dead. That's what it means. Now, really quickly, we need to understand what happens when a person dies. When a person dies, your body stays
7:28 here on the earth. Your soul immediately leaves. It either leaves to be with Jesus forever because second Corinthians 5 8 says, to be apart from the body is to be with Christ.
7:41 If you're in Christ, if you've repented of your sins, if you've trusted Jesus for your salvation, the very moment you breathe your last breath, the very moment you go, your body will remain, your soul goes
7:52 immediately to be with Jesus. If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, your body stays here, your soul immediately goes to hell. And there is no crossing
8:04 over that chasm. Once you're gone, you're gone. Once you're there, you're there. And here's how long you're there, forever. So he says, I don't want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those
8:16 who have fallen asleep. I don't want you to be ignorant of this. Here's what he says, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. Friends, I wanna tell
8:28 you something. 1 of the most difficult things to do as a pastor is to go to the funeral of a non believing person. It's so hard when you when you go to a funeral and there's somebody that's
8:39 died and the family's trying to make sense out of it, but they don't know the Lord and they don't know what's going on with their child or a loved 1 or a mom, they don't know what's happening, they can't explain what's
8:50 happening, they try to throw platitudes on it, they try to talk about the good the person did, they try to talk about how the good outweighed the bad, they make statements like this, They're in a better place now.
9:00 They're looking down on us, all that stuff. But when they don't know the Lord, they're immediately in hell. And it's grieving. And people that don't know the Lord, they grieve, but they do it without hope.
9:12 They do it knowing I don't know if I'll ever see them again. They do it not understanding. Now Christians, we grieve, but we grieve as those who have hope. So let me make this clear. Christians, we do a poor job of
9:24 grieving as a whole. We we tend to get to the backside. Well, we still have hope. You still grieve. Do you understand? I've watched well meaning Christians at funerals when people are
9:36 grieving and the pain is fresh, try to quote scripture in hope that the pain will go away. Even the best scriptures, even if you know, the pain won't go away. We know in all things that God works together
9:48 for the good of those who love Him and those who have been called according to His purpose. Yes, I know that, but it doesn't take the pain away. It's okay to grieve if you're a Christian. If I lost my wife or my children
9:59 or my mom or my dad, I would grieve. It's okay to grieve, but I will grieve as those who have a hope. And here's the difference. When you're grieving some for someone who knows the Lord, it's still hopeful.
10:11 If my wife precedes me in death, I'll grieve, but I'll grieve with 1 that has hope because there was a man that pursued her a lot earlier than me, that she's been more in love with than
10:21 me from the time that I've met her and she still pursues more than me and she can go be with him anytime that he calls her home. Doesn't mean I won't grieve. Doesn't mean you can't say, well, Jeff, don't you understand
10:32 she's in a better place? I know all that and I'll still grieve, but I'll grieve with hope. And as Christians, we can always grieve with hope because we know this for certainty. If Jesus
10:44 Christ is our Lord and savior, our best days are always ahead of us. Did you know that? So we grieve, but we grieve as those who have hope. So he tells the Thessalonian church, death is not the
10:56 end. Don't want you to be uninformed. This is true. And think about this. I mean, there's so many scriptures in the Bible. Even when we grieve, God is the God of all comfort. Second Corinthians chapter 1 and
11:08 verse 3 says, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Some of you are grieving and you
11:20 need the Lord to show you mercy and be the God of all comfort, and He promises to do that. Psalm 3four 18 says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are
11:32 crushed in spirit. You remember the story in Jesus' life when he goes to 1 of his best friend's house, Lazarus, but he goes there knowing Lazarus is already dead. As a matter of fact, he's been dead for 4 days by the
11:43 time Jesus arrives, and his sisters come out to meet him, Martha specifically, and says, where are you? Had you been here? My brother would still be living. And Jesus said to her in
11:55 John chapter 11 verse 22, even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. So Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. And she said, I know he
12:07 will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. And Jesus said to her these words, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies.
12:19 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? If you're in Jesus, you'll never die. You'll never
12:31 die. I mean, isn't that good news? As a Christian, you don't ever die. Means the moment you breathe, you're less. Your soul's immediately in the presence of Jesus and you're as alive as you've ever been in I mean, you're
12:42 more alive than you've ever been. So it's okay to have some anxiety about how you might die. Like, we don't know how we're gonna die, but you shouldn't have any anxiety that you're going to die.
12:54 I can have anxiety about how I'm gonna die. I mean, I'd love to die like with my feet up at the age of 95, maybe watching a Broncos game and just going to sleep or something. That'd be great. I don't know how I'm going.
13:06 I know that when I go, it'll be the goal of my faith. Do you know what I'm saying? And so, shouldn't sit around and be anxious about when's my time all of your days were ordained before 1 of them came to be.
13:18 God knows exactly when you're coming and how you're coming. But what you can know for certain is as a believer, you will never die. You'll be alive as you've ever been the moment that you
13:30 breathe your last breath. And so we grieve, but we grieve differently. I can tell you as a pastor, now that we've been here for 15 years nearly, there's several
13:42 people I've pastor over the last 15 years that are already in the presence of the Lord. Some that I officiated their funeral, some I was with them in the hospital when they went home to be with the Lord. Some I talked to
13:51 the day before they went home to be with the Lord. Some I talked to on the phone the day before they went home to be with the Lord, I always tell them, hey, you're gonna go soon when Jesus calls you, go see him. Tell him
14:00 tell him to pray for me some more because I need his help. Right? I mean, go have fun with Jesus. Right? I've seen that and I've grieved some people that I really, really love. Some of you remember when we did Bandomere
14:11 a few years ago, Matt Matt Pate, my good friend that died of ALS about 2 weeks after Bandomere, he gave his testimony that day. He's in the presence of Jesus. I know it by faith that he is. Right? And so this is what he
14:22 said. We grieve, but we grieve differently because we're living for something different. We're living for someone different, and that changes everything. And there's been
14:34 stories throughout church history that highlight all this. 1 that 1 of my favorites is Horatio Spafford. Some of you may be familiar with him. He was a senior partner in a law firm and a real estate investor in
14:46 Chicago in the 18 hundreds. And in 8 in in the early 18 seventies, his 4 year old son died of scarlet fever. And then on October tenth of 18
14:58 71, there was the great Chicago fire and it totally ruined him in every way financially. So with his 4 surviving girls and his wife, Anna, he decided, let's get some peace.
15:10 And so he sent his wife and his 4 daughters, aged 11, 9, 5, and 2, overseas to Europe on a ship, but the ship never made it. The ship
15:22 shipwrecked there. His wife was the only 1 to survive and sent a telegram back to him with 2 words, saved alone. What was really important in this man's life was not just what he did for a living, but
15:33 he was also an elder in his Presbyterian church, and he was a friend of DL Moody, the great evangelist. And so he decided he would go see his wife, and on the way to see his wife,
15:45 the captain notified him on that trip, right when he was over the very waters where the ship had shipwrecked and all 4 of his daughters had died. And it was right there on that water where he pinned the
15:57 words to this very famous hymn called, it is well with my soul. Listen to what he writes after losing his 4 year old son, his 4
16:09 girls, and has nothing left of his business. When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot thou has taught me
16:20 to say, it is well. It is well with my soul. Though Satan should buff it, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded
16:32 my helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for my soul. And then the third verse, which is my favorite. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in
16:44 part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. It is well. It is well with
16:56 my soul. How can he do that? Because he has the hope that changes everything. His hope is in Jesus Christ. His hope is in the fact that he's gonna see his son and his daughters again. His hope
17:08 is in the fact that his best days are ahead. His hope is in the gospel. And friends, I persuade you. I I beg you. I earnestly plead from this pulpit all the time. I'm not asking you to join Brave Church. I'm not
17:20 asking you to get in the cadre. I'm not asking you to serve. Those are all great things. I'm pleading with you. Please, please, please believe that God the father sent his son to be the savior of the world. That Jesus
17:30 came for you, that he died on a cross for you, that he shed his blood for all your sin. That 3 days later he rose from the dead, he's as alive as he's ever been, and what you're sensing in your heart is his beckoning to
17:42 you, hey, come to me because I'm the only 1 that can give you life. Will you turn from your sin and turn to me? If you do, you'll have a hope that changes everything. Amen. That's what the gospel
17:54 does. The hope changes everything. We grieve differently because death is not the end. Let me give you a second thing that you'll do differently. You'll trust confidently. You'll trust confidently
18:05 because Christ's resurrection guarantees ours. Christ's resurrection guarantees are the fact that Jesus rose from the dead means we can too. It's amazing to me how many people think they're going to heaven
18:17 they don't believe anybody's ever conquered death. Well, how are you gonna get there? I don't know. I guess when I die, I go. How how are you gonna get there? The only reason I'm gonna get there is because Christ
18:25 overcame death, and I'm in Christ. That's the only hope I have. That's why Jesus Christ is the only hope of the world. No religion's gonna save you on judgment day. No good works are gonna save you on
18:37 judgment day. No good intentions are gonna save you on judgment day. Church attendance will not save you on judgment day. Philanthropy and giving money will not save you on judgment day. Only Christ's death and
18:48 resurrection from the grave can save you on judgment day. And if you believe that, you will trust him differently, and you will trust him confidently. Your hope will be built on nothing less than
19:00 Jesus' blood and righteousness. Amen? Notice what he says. He says, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again. He's making the assumption. Since we believe Jesus died and rose again.
19:12 Here's my question. Do you really believe that Jesus died and rose again? I'm not saying, do you have any questions? I'm not saying, do you have any doubts? I'm not saying, you know, 100 percent
19:24 certainty. There's nothing in life we know with 100 percent certainty. Just by show of hands, how many ate breakfast this morning? How many are 100 percent certain there was nothing in that breakfast that could harm you?
19:35 I mean, there's no proof. I can tell you that there probably was something bad in there. Listen, here's what we know. We we base everything on evidence. Evidence. There's so much
19:47 evidence to show that Jesus Christ historically lived. There's so much evidence to show that the the bible testifies as to who he is, and even historians of the day testify the same thing. There is so much evidence to
19:58 show that Jesus Christ died on the cross. There's so much evidence to show that he rose from the dead, and if you try to prove the bible wrong or that Jesus didn't rise from the dead, you'll be the first person in human
20:07 history to ever do it, and everybody that's ever tried with an open heart and an open mind has been converted to Christ. So go for it. Amen? The evidence is there. The
20:19 evidence is there. Scared disciples who are afraid of being killed, transformed, and giving their very life to share the message that the God they believe in had actually risen from the dead. Right?
20:31 And this is how you trust differently. And the reason you trust differently is because you know the gospel. I mean, you remember the apostle Paul, he said to the Philippian church, he's like, I don't know whether I'm
20:40 gonna come see you or whether I'm not gonna make it out of here, but what difference does it make? In Philippians 1 21, he says, because for me to live is Christ and to die is
20:52 gain. Paul's whole method was I'm gonna share the gospel, share the gospel, share the gospel. And if I get killed sharing the gospel, well, that's the goal of my faith. I mean, that's who I
21:04 am. And we know that when someone dies, they immediately go to be with Jesus. We know a soul goes to be with Jesus. Remember the thief on the cross? The 1 until almost the very last moment of his life was mocking
21:16 Jesus, making fun of him, and then he had a change of heart. So he we've we we deserve to be here. He's done nothing wrong. And he looks at Jesus said, Lord, which is calling him the Lord, you're my king. Lord, remember
21:28 me when you come into your kingdom. And what does Jesus say? Truly, truly, I tell you, today, you'll be with me in paradise. Not tomorrow, not the next day, not after I rise from
21:39 that. Today, we're going home. When you die, that's where you go. You'll trust confidently. Like if you could live your life not worrying about death or what could go wrong or what could happen, and you say it
21:51 doesn't really matter. You would live differently. And why should we do that? Because Colossians 3 3 says, for you have already died and your life is now hidden with Christ and God. When Christ who is your life appears
22:01 and you will also appear with him in glory. Trust confidently. You already have your eternity taken care of. Everything is secure for you. What's the worst thing that can happen?
22:13 You can die, and here's how bad that is. The moment you do, you'll be more alive and more happy than you've ever been in your entire life in the presence of the 1 that you say that you serve and that you love. Amen?
22:24 Amen. It's not a bad day if you know Jesus when you die. I tell people all the time, you know, even even when people are in hospice and I'm talking to them and they're gonna miss their family and I understand all the
22:35 human element. I I tell them this. When you get to heaven, you won't even think about them. You'll be so enthralled with Jesus and the worship of him and the glories that are to
22:47 come. You won't have energy to think about anything here. It's that good. If God took us to heaven for 25 seconds, none of us would wanna come back. None of us. That's how
22:59 good it is. And yet, Paul wasn't just some guy that was like wanting to murder himself. I can't wait to go. That's not what he did. He was living for Jesus the whole time saying that my hope is still
23:10 future. Yes, the gospel's past. God forgives your sins once and for all. Yes, the gospel's present. God's sanctifying us, getting us ready. But yes, the gospel is future. And the biggest part of the
23:22 gospel, future. Eternity, future. The biggest part of the gospel you're gonna live is in the future. Amen? And that's why the resurrection of Jesus is so important. He says this in first Corinthians 15 17, and if
23:33 Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still dead in your sins. If Jesus Christ didn't rise from the dead, there is no way to heaven. There's nobody that's overcome death. We're done. That's why you
23:44 say, well, pastor, what about all the other religions? All the other religions need to turn and give their heart to Jesus. I'm not promoting a religion. I'm promoting the God man Jesus Christ. That's who I'm proclaiming
23:54 to you regardless of what religion you've hung onto. There's no religion that can save you. Only Jesus Christ can. Amen? Amen. Amen. But notice what he says in Romans 8 11, but if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from
24:06 the dead dwells in you, which the spirit of God dwells in every single born again believer, Then he says this, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal mortal bodies through his spirit
24:17 who dwells in you. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is inside every single born again believer, and in the same way Jesus got up out of the grave, so will you. Ain't that awesome? Yes.
24:29 And you do nothing to earn it. It's a gift that you can have through repentance and faith just by receiving the gift that God has given to us. And when you live this way, when you
24:41 realize, hey, the future is really what I'm living for and I can trust God completely, you live totally differently. There was a man named Jim Elliott that's a graduate of Wheaton College. And in
24:53 the 19 fifties, because the gospel was so powerful in his life, even though he had a chance to be very successful in the business world, he was a very successful athlete, felt the call of God to go to the Auca Indians in
25:04 Ecuador. And he went with 4 4 of his other friends, Nate Saint, Ed McCulley, Pete Fleming, and Roger Uderin. And this Auca Indian tribe was known really for
25:16 3 important things. 1, extremely violent. Extremely violent. 1 of the highest homicide rates of any culture that they had ever studied. Number 2, they lived extremely
25:27 isolated. They never went outside of their own group of people. And number 3, they didn't trust outsiders. And because of the light of the cross and because he realized if somebody doesn't go share the
25:39 gospel with them, they can't be saved. I already know Christ. My future's secure even though I'm married. I'm gonna go and I'm gonna share the gospel with this people group. And for a period of time, they flew airplanes
25:50 over this group, they dropped gifts, they tried to do everything they could to encourage these people that they loved them, that they wanted to bless them, that they wanted to do everything to show them that there was a
26:01 better way. And yet on January eighth, 19 56, at the age of 28, he and his 4 friends got out of a plane to go meet some of these people and
26:13 all 5 of them were speared to death right on the shore. And there were a lot of people back home that were saying, what an idiot. Why would you give your life for that? You could have been successful in business. You
26:25 could have been a successful athlete, but you know what Jim Elliott was quoted saying before he died? He is no fool if he would give the thing he cannot keep to buy the thing
26:36 he could never lose. His wife and some of the wives of these men ended up getting back down in the village later befriended some of them. Some of their very killers became Christians. Hundreds in the village
26:48 became Christians, and they even established a church in that village because of their bravery. See, when you know Jesus, you'll live differently. When you realize your life is not your own, you'll live
27:00 differently. When you realize you've been given everything for life and godliness so you can share the gospel, you'll live differently. I remember when I was in college and I was a senior, I was going to some of these
27:10 different camps and people were trying to convince me about doing ministry. And I went to this 1 camp, it was in Indianapolis. It was called this life options camp. And I remember I was at this thing and they were
27:19 talking about all this radical stuff. I didn't grow up in a Bible church. I didn't know I was supposed to serve Jesus like that. I thought that was for the radicals out there. And this guy had the audacity during 1 of
27:29 his talks to say, hey, I wanna know what you're gonna do with your life, and I had all sorts of things I was gonna do with my life. And he's like, whatever you're thinking about, you're thinking about doctor,
27:36 businessman, or whatever, here's what you should do. He worked for Campus Crusade for Christ. He goes, find out what a Campus Crusade for Christ person makes annually, take that for your salary, give all the rest of the
27:46 way to missions, and if you still love your job, then you're called to it. And I was like, man, that's ridiculous. Do you know why? Because all I cared about was being rich, and I
27:58 just kept pounding my heart and pounding my heart and pounding my heart to a place where I remember just going to the church I grew up in sitting right in the front 1 day, telling the Lord, Lord, I don't care if I make
28:08 any money. I don't care what I do. I don't care what you do with my life. If you want me to to New Guinea and be a missionary, I'll leave on a plane today. And I felt the peace of the Lord like I've never felt the peace
28:15 of the Lord in my life from then until now where God just ministered to me in that moment. Friends, I wanna tell you something as a Christian, your life is not your own. You're not just breathing so you can be a
28:27 good guy or a good gal. Your life is for Christ. And if you trust Him completely, here's the question, Lord, how can I use my life, my resources, my intellect, my talents, my influence all
28:39 for your glory? Because when I meet you, I wanna know I have something to offer you because you offered me everything. That's what it means to trust him completely. So when you know the gospel and you have the hope that
28:49 changes everything, you'll grieve differently. You'll trust differently. Then you'll do this too. You'll live expectantly. You'll live expectantly. You're gonna live
29:01 different. And the reason you'll live expectantly is because Jesus Christ is coming soon. Can I just tell you He's coming soon? I mean, it's really interesting because I'm not getting into the times and dates. We will
29:12 when we get into chapter 5, Great Bible scholars and Christians and friends of mine, we all believe a little different on things and you know, they're wrong, but that's okay. And we'll talk about all that. But the point
29:23 is, I don't think he's really getting into timeframes. I think he's talking about where our hope is. But think about what it's gonna be like when Jesus Christ comes back. He he tells us what it's gonna be like. Jesus
29:32 tells us in Matthew chapter 24 what it's gonna be like on a global scale when he's ready to come back. He says this in verse verse 21 of chapter 24 of Matthew. He says, for there will be a great tribulation such as not
29:43 occurred since the beginning of the world until now nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no 1 would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. Then he goes on to
29:55 talk about this for in verse 24, for false Christ and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead if possible even the elect. And then Jesus said this, behold, I have told you in
30:07 advance. What does Jesus say? It's gonna get really really bad. And I'm telling you before it gets really really bad that it's gonna get really really bad on a global scale. And he talks about what all those things
30:18 are. If you're interested in this, I did a whole series on this called the Alpha and Omega series. It's on our website. You can go through the whole book of Revelation with me and study it. But for today's purposes, just
30:28 know this, it's gonna get really bad before Jesus gets back. Now, when I talk about end times, let's make sure we're clear on the timeframe. End times is from the time Jesus Christ rose from the dead until he's coming
30:39 back. So are we living in the end times? Yeah. You've always been living in the end times. Every 1 of us lives in the end times. But here's what g here's what the word of God tells us the end times are gonna be like.
30:51 This is what it's gonna be like right before Jesus comes back. So just listen to this. See if any of this resonates, if you've ever seen any of this in our culture, if you see it increasing or decreasing. Here's what
31:03 Paul writes to Timothy in second Timothy chapter 3 verse 1, but realize this that in the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be what? Lovers of
31:14 self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents. Could we pause there just for a second?
31:27 I mean, I'm only 55 and I watch things that kids do now and I think if I would have done that when I was their age, I would have been put out. And some of you that are older than me said they wouldn't even have made it
31:38 that long. I mean, you you know what I'm talking about? There's just no authority, no respect for parents. You might have seen some of that. Ungrateful. You see anybody ungrateful, unholy, unloving,
31:50 irreconcilable? Anybody see any malicious gossips without self control, brutal, haters of the good, treacherous, reckless, conceited? How about this 1?
32:02 Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. How about this 1? Holding a form of godliness, although they've denied its power, avoid such men as these.
32:14 And then as Paul drops down, we get to verse 13, here's what he says, just so you're not, you know, thinking that he's making this up, but evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being
32:23 deceived. It's gonna be bad, and then it's gonna get even worse. So when you say it's bad out there, I would say it is and it's gonna get worse. Now, I'm not saying that because
32:35 I'm not an optimist, I'm an optimist. I tend to like post millennial people that believe that the world's gonna be in a place of complete bliss for a long period of time, and then Jesus is gonna look down and say, my
32:46 bride's ready for me and here I come. I love that view, and I love post millennials because they fight for what's right. I love it. They're just wrong. They're wrong. It's going to go from bad to worse. It's going to get
32:58 worse. We can say, thank goodness we got a president in there that aligns more with biblical values. Donald Trump is just a tourniquet for 1 what's bleeding out. Someday, there is coming a world dictator that will rule
33:09 the world. If you watch our culture, the world is crying out for a 1 world order. The world is crying out for 1 system of finances. The world is crying out for 1 government. The world is crying out for
33:21 everybody to be equal. It is setting itself up to do exactly what the bible says it's gonna set itself up to do. It's happening right before your eyes. So does that mean Jesus is coming back in our lifetime? He
33:33 might. I could totally see that happening. Could it be the next generation? I could totally see that happen. I don't think it's very long that we have. But if our goal is the gospel, then we're not concerned. But for
33:44 most of us, it's like, well, I don't want that, you know, gotta get to college, and I gotta get married, and I gotta have kids, and I gotta get a job, and I gotta get my finances together. I gotta get my retirement set
33:53 up. I gotta get everything squared, then I gotta make sure I'm taking care of my kids. I gotta get them set up, taken care of so that by the time I'm 90, I'm ready. Friends, be ready today. Amen. Be
34:05 ready today. Because if you live expectantly, he begins to tell us what we will see. He says in verse 15, for we say this to you by word of the Lord. That means Jesus told us
34:17 this, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not proceed those who have fallen asleep. Right now, we're the ones who are alive and remain. We may be, we may not be. But here's what I would
34:27 tell you. We will not proceed anybody that's already died. If you have a mom, a dad, a child, a friend, a boss, an employee, a coworker, a neighbor who died in Christ, died
34:39 knowing Christ, they will not proceed the glory of the resurrection before you. Right? They they won't. You're you're not gonna miss out and they're not gonna miss out.
34:51 Here's what he says. He says he says this, those who are alive and remain in the coming Lord will not proceed those who have fallen asleep. Those who are dead are still going to enjoy all the blessings of everything you
35:01 are. And let me just say this, when we talk about this, we're talking about the resurrection of the body. Talk to too many Christians that are like, think 1 day we'll be like floating around, we'll have wings, we'll have
35:10 this. You'll have a body. It's the resurrection of the body. When Jesus rose from the dead, he arose in a body. You'll have a body. It'll be a resurrected, glorified,
35:23 unable to get sick, beautiful, wonderful body. I mean, I think I'm gonna look like Thor in 1 of those movies or Fabio O'Hare. Mean, I don't know but it's gonna be incredible. You'd be like, pastor Jeff. I'm like, praise
35:34 God for the resurrection. Right? I mean, it'll be good and it won't spoil or perish and we won't know how to sin. We won't know how to do anything wrong. We believe in the resurrection of the dead. But here's what
35:45 happens. Remember? To be apart from the bodies to be with Christ, so your soul is with Christ. Everybody we know who's died, their soul is with Christ, their soul is with Christ, their soul is with Christ. He's going to
35:54 bring them back at the rapture. When he comes in the clouds, he's bringing those souls back and their resurrected bodies are gonna be reunited with their souls. Okay? And this is what he's gonna go on to tell us. You
36:06 say, how do you know that? Because the Bible's gonna tell us in the next verses. Listen. He says, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God,
36:15 and the dead in Christ will rise first. That's those who have already perished. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we
36:27 shall always be with the Lord. So let's just walk through these events. Right? I mean, what's he say is gonna happen? Well, here's some things that are gonna happen. The Lord himself is coming. Jesus is coming.
36:39 When he ascended to heaven, the angel said in the same way you saw him go, he's gonna come. When Jesus comes, it's too late to repent. He's gonna come in a flash in the twinkling of an eye. So the Lord is going to come
36:51 and how's he gonna come? The Lord will descend from heaven with a shout. Now, a lot of people believe in a secret and silent rapture. I do not. And the reason is I think the bible
37:02 was pretty secret and silent about the secret and silent rapture. And some people that believe in a secret silent rapture and many friends of mine do and that's fine, point to this passage. And I'm like, okay, let's take
37:14 a look at it. If the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, how loud will that be? Even if I descended from heaven with a shout, somebody hear it. If the Lord's coming, the whole world's gonna know.
37:26 With the voice of an archangel, it could be the archangel or an archangel in the original language, it's it's it's an Arthros. It doesn't have a article there, so it could be an angel. We don't know which archangel it
37:36 is. Could be Michael. We don't know. But Jesus is coming back with a shout. The the archangel, whoever that is, Michael or whoever, is coming back with his voice and check out. And with the trumpet ofShow more
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