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THE CHURCH IN THE SKY �1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 TONY LLOYD LEWIS 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. This morning I want to preach on the matter, THE CHURCH IN THE SKY. To those of you who have loved ones who now reside in the presence of the Lord. For those whose loved ones have preceded them in death, those who are no longer sojourners on this planet called earth, I want to share with you some words of comfort and hope that the apostle Paul shared with church in the ancient city of Thessalonica and share with you on this thought:. � There are at least three qualities about this meeting I would like for us to ponder, remember and hide within the depths of our hearts.� They will help when those times come and they will come you will experience sadness and sorrow of departure. � The three qualities about this meeting� of the Church in the Sky is that it will be a � SELECTIVE MEETING SUDDEN MEETING SHOUTING MEETING � I want to invite you to come walk with me back through the corridors of time and zoom our spiritual cameras in on these principles the apostle shares with these suffering and mourning saints. � In this fourth chapter of First Thessalonians the apostle deals with the questions and concerns the believers in Thessalonica had in regards to the death of their love ones. They wanted to know what will happen to believers who died waiting on the return of the Lord.� Paul eases the burdens of their hearts by describing a great end time meeting. There are three principles concerning this meeting that I want to share with you this morning.� First of all it will be Selective Meeting, secondly it will be a Sudden Meeting, and thirdly it will be a Shouting Meeting. � SELECTIVE MEETING ?�THE MEETING IS BY INVITATION ONLY. ?�The first and most important person at this meeting will be the Host, the Lord Jesus Himself. ?�Second, Sleeping Saints will be at this meeting. ?�Thirdly, Serving Saints will be at this meeting. ?�The Announcing Clerk Archangel Michael will be there. ?�The Gifted Gabriel and his legendary horn will be there. ?�Charter member saints will be there. ?�Saints in the New Membership Class will be there. ?�Those who have accepted God's Righteous Remedy will be there ?�Those who have a Sure Salvation will be there. ?�Those who have washed their garments in the Blood of the Lamb. ?�The poor in spirit will be at the meeting. ?�The meek will be at the meeting ?�The pure in heart will be at the meeting. ?�The peacemakers they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. � I WANT TO BE AT THAT MEETING OF THE CHURCH IN THE SKY. I want to be at the meeting when all the saints get home after separating the right from the wrong I want to be at the meeting around the throne. � I WANT TO BE AT THE MEETING WHEN . . . ?�Earth-bound saints become heaven bound saints. ?�Terrestrial saints become Celestial saints. ?�Walking saints become caught up saints. ?�Crying saints will have all their tears wiped away. ?�Struggling saints become Victorious saints. ?�Battle wounded saints Conquering saints. ?�War Weary saints become Triumphant Saints. ?�Time bound saints become Timeless saints � I WANT TO BE AT THE MEETING OF THECHURCH IN THE SKY when all the saints get home after separating the right from the wrong I want to be at the meeting around the throne. � SUDDEN MEETING The second characteristic about this meeting is that it will be a Sudden Meeting.� It will happen on this wise . . .� The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. � ?�This meeting can't be crashed.� ?�You can't get ready for the meeting at meeting time. ?�The hour of examination cannot be the hour of preparation. ?�Young people when the teacher puts the test on your desk, it test time, not study time. � IF ONE IS NOT READY WHEN� . . . ?�Michael the archangel shouts, it's too late then ?�Gabriel sounds the trump of God, it too late then. ?�The Lord Himself descends from heaven, then this is one meeting you won't be at. � SHOUTING MEETING The third reason why I want to be at this meeting is because its going to be a shouting meeting.� The reason why it will be a shouting meeting is because Jesus will be there.� And not only will Jesus be there but, no more will be there also.� � THIS MEETING WILL BE FULL OF NO MORES . . .� there will be no more ?�Aches and Pain ?�Agony and Affliction ?�Grief and Torment ?�Sadness and Suffering ?�Agony and Despair ?�Gloom and Doom ?�Depression and Distress ?�Heartaches and Sorrow ?�Aids ?�Cancer ?�High Blood Pressure ?�Diabetes ?�Stress and Strain ?�Heart Aches ?�Head Aches ?�Back Aches ?�Blindness ?�Hearing Loss ?�Colds and Flu ?�Brain Tumors ?�No More Wheel Chairs ?�No More Crutches and Canes ?�Death and Dying ?�Tombs and Graves � The reason we can shout is because Jesus took the sting out of death.� He� took victory from the grave.� Right after the Calvary Event Death and Grave had a meeting.� Death said to Grave, Look Grave I have done my job. I have killed Jesus, now it's your turn to hold Him. � Grave said to Death, "I've got Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, surely I can hold Jesus. ?�Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ?�Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh ?�Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel ?�Moses, Joshua, and Caleb ?�Sampson, Gideon, and Ehud ?�Samuel, Saul, and David ?�Ezra, Nehemiah, and Job ?�Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel ?�Daniel, Hosea, and Joel ?�Meshack, Shadrach, and Abednego ?�Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah ?�Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk ?�Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah I Even Got Old Man Malachi, Surely I Can Hold Jesus. � BUT EARLY SUNDAY MORNING . . . ?�While the Dew Was Still on the Roses. ?�While Dusk Was Still Giving Way to Dawn. ?�While Night Was Still Giving Way to Day. ?�While Night Stars Were Giving to the Morning Star. ?�While the Moon Was Giving Way to the Sun. ?�Jesus, My Rock in a Weary Land. ?�Jesus, My Shelter in a Time of Storm ?�Jesus, My Bread When I Am Hungry. ?�Jesus, My Water When I Am Thirsty ?�Jesus, My Battle Axe in Time of War. ?�Jesus, My Lily of the Valley. ?�Jesus, the Rose of Sharon ?�Jesus, the Wisdom of Solomon. ?�Jesus, the Courage of Joshua. ?�Jesus, the Strength of Sampson. ?�He Rose with All Power in His Hands