Falling asleep

Last Sunday in my teaching, I said that when we die, it is like "falling asleep".

And who is afraid of falling asleep?

Let me clarify.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:14, we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him."

Where are these people who have fallen asleep? Where are they?

If you look in the very next chapter, 1 Thessalonians 5:10 says, "He died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him."

Those who have fallen asleep are living with Christ as surely as we here are living with Christ. Whether awake or asleep, we live with Christ.

Remember that famous statement by D.L. Moody?

"One day you will hear that D. L. Moody of Northfield, Massachusetts, is dead. Don't you believe it! In that day I will be more alive than I have ever been before."

But how can you say that they're sleeping if they're alive?

Let me quote:

"Actually, not to put too fine a point on it, they are not sleeping; their bodies are sleeping. The Bible is very clear that the moment we die, we are consciously present with the Lord. We don't go into some long, spiritual coma. Our bodies are asleep the way you see them in a casket, for example.

Believer's bodies are, you might say, incubating. They are dormant just like the lily bulbs that are under the ground out in our gardens, waiting to come to life. But the spirits of those who have fallen asleep are alert at this moment and enjoying the company of the Lord. Take heart in that and do not grieve. Don't think they'll miss a thing, for they are consciously with the Lord.

Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Paul said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." God will see to it that those who have fallen asleep will not miss out on Jesus' Second Coming. In fact, in a manner of speaking, they get first dibs! They get to be first in line"

Look at what it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord will certainly not"—that's one of the strongest negatives in the whole New Testament (will "absolutely, certainly not")—precede those who have fallen asleep." They'll go first; we'll come after them.

Take heart in knowing what will happen when Jesus comes back. 

As Paul writes in verse 18, "Be encouraged."  This world is not our home.