I’ll Fly Away was written by a man named Albert Brumley who was born in 1905 in Spiro, Oklahoma.  Albert grew up in an impoverished family. As a little child, in order to help pay the bills, he would work along with his siblings and his parents picking cotton just to contribute. When Albert was five years of age, his older brother died of typhoid fever.  He wrote the lyrics to this song while he was in college but he says they were actually born in his heart when he was hurting as a young child. He was longing, not for the blessings of the earth, but for the glory of Heaven. And this is what Albert Brumley wrote. 

Some glad morning, when this life is over, I’ll fly away, to a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away. When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away, like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away. 

My prayer is that God would give us hope for eternity and urgency for today. If there’s one part of our faith that I believe can give us hope for eternity and urgency for today that’s talking about what this song talks about and that is the second coming of Christ when believers will be taken from this earth to dwell with God in heaven. 

Corinthians 15:19 (NLT) And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

The Return: Jesus Is Coming Back For You 

John 14:1-3 (NLT) 1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

“Christians”. In the first century, this was not a term of endearment. You didn’t wear it because it was cool. It was originally a term of derision. Christians were the rebels. They were labeled as the cause of all troubles. Not the selfish jerk emperor. Not the economy. Not the plagues. It was the Christians who were the problem and they needed to be exterminated.

When you wore that label in the first century. It meant you were ready to lay down everything for Jesus.  You would give up your house, your business, and suffer ridicule. You would go to the coliseum. WHY would anyone do any of those things? Because of the promise that there is a place for us in Heaven. They wanted Jesus, Father, and Heaven more than anything this world had to offer.

Maranatha. These early Christians had a code word for when the going got tough. They used this word when they were the outsiders and everyone else blamed them. “Maranatha” – Even so, come Lord Jesus. It’s okay. What I’m suffering is what the world has to offer. But, Jesus is coming and I’m going home.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NLT) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.

Who wouldn’t want to be checking out a cemetery that day? Bodies planted as seeds risen as is God’s original intent! Jesus is coming back for you. That is our eternal hope. 

The Rapture: Living Christ Followers Will Be Snatched Away.  

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (NLT) Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

This is often called the Rapture. The Rapture is a snatching away of believers.  It’s totally biblical, we just read it. However, don’t confuse this snatching away with a particular end-times narrative. Stay humble in your theology, especially about end times.

This isn’t Science Fiction. This is a Supernatural Fact. There is a great surprise coming. I don’t know why all those end-times movies leave piles of clothes lying around, but that would be funny. We could all start to bring extra clothes to church. Someone falls asleep. Well, you get the idea.

It’s exciting that believers will be caught up. It’s terrifying that most will be left behind. This is not a new thing. Enoch walked with God, and then he was just gone. Elijah got a ride out in a whirlwind.  Jesus rode a cloud up to heaven. You have walked this earth in that meat suit for many years, and in a moment it will become something else.

The Reunion: We Will Spend Eternity With Our Father 

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (NLT)  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

Encourage Each Other. We are to remind each other that this life involves pain, bills, divorce, death, criticism and failure. They all have an expiration date. My faith is going to give way to sight. Remember, the wealth you enjoy is not a common earthly experience. You take for granted things that many will never even dream about. 

You share with someone who is struggling in this life. There is a place prepared for you beyond your wildest dreams. A place where God loves you every moment of every day. A place where there is beauty, peace, safety, and love.

We are Going Home. I’ve got a lot of friends there already. People I love and miss.  Every year I better understand the phrase ‘my heart is already home’. It’s like each year a piece of it goes ahead of me to Heaven. 

Hope for Eternity. Urgency for Today.

Are you ready? We are not waiting for anything else to happen. Jesus will return at any moment. Some of you are ready. Your heart is already there. Some of you are not. There is so much to anchor you here.  What about others? They say life is short. For the Christian, it’s not that life is short. It’s that Christ’s return is imminent. We cannot afford to leave words unsaid, deeds undone or hope unshared.