Enter the Kingdom

11 min read

Enter the Kingdom: the Christian's joy, prayer, and thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Message from evangelist Judit, Agape Church of Fukuoka, Sunday service of December 7, 2025. English translation of a message given in Japanese, adapted in a pastoral tone for the reader.

Introduction: weeping and rejoicing at the same time

Hallelujah. Praise be to the name of the Lord. On Monday, December 1st, Sister Sharon Corbett, so dearly loved by our Agape Church family in Fukuoka, was called home to be with the Lord Jesus. Her family funeral has already taken place; here, in our church, a memorial service is being held this afternoon at 2pm. Strangely enough, it also falls on a December 7th, the same date in 2018 when my older sister was buried. Every time we send a loved one on to heaven ahead of us, a feeling that is very hard to describe grips our hearts.

There is, of course, the grief of having lost, in this world of the flesh, someone we loved. But there is also, at the same time, a joy beyond measure: the joy of knowing they have finally entered that Kingdom they longed for so much. The heart sways between weeping and praise, and honestly, it's exhausting. And yet, at the end of every tear, something always rises back up: gratitude, wonder at the greatness of grace, and an irresistible urge to praise the name of the Lord. That is how each of my moments of weeping comes to a close.

It is in this tension that we open the Word today. The text is short, and I invite you to read it together with me:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV)

The instruction comes down to three verbs: rejoice, pray, give thanks. Always. Without ceasing. In all circumstances. How can a Christian live that out, especially standing at the edge of a coffin? The answer lies entirely in one word: the Kingdom. Enter the Kingdom. That is what Jesus keeps repeating to us, and that is what we are going to meditate on together.

Outline of the message

1. Weeping with hope: the Christian's tear is not the tear of the hopeless

Yes, we weep. I myself am weeping, right now, as I speak. But my tears are not tears of despair. For Sharon Corbett-sensei, for my older sister, for my father who went before her, I think of each of them at the end of their journey and I say to them inwardly: "Well done. You really did your part. Congratulations." They finished their pilgrimage. God's hand led and kept them through their whole life, and today, having left this flesh behind, they rest for eternity with the Father.

In that glorious Kingdom, with the Lord, forever, there is no more worry, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more pain. Nothing but God's perfect love and joy. Just thinking about it fills me with a joy fit to burst my chest. That is the emotion of a Christian facing the death of a brother or sister in Christ: a mixture, yes, but one in which grace has the final word.

At Christmas, we often sing the carol "Angels We Have Heard on High"; in Japan, we sing "♪ Ame ni wa sakae" ("Glory in the heavens"). It is the third verse that, every year, grips my heart: "You whom the earth has formed, to whom you give life without end, praise today the one who was born." God's only Son, sent into this world, carried all the sin of those who, drawn from the dust, were bound to return to it. He died on the cross to give us eternal life, a life that never runs out. On the third day, he rose again, and he went to prepare a place for us in the Kingdom of heaven.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That is why our tears, in the end, always turn into praise.

2. Always joyful, praying without ceasing, thankful in everything

Go back to the text in Thessalonians. "Rejoice always." This is not a command to fake it. It is possible because we know who God is, and because eternal life is promised to us. "Pray without ceasing." We can pray unceasingly for the Lord's will, saying with Jesus, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," because we believe, and know, that God is good.

"Give thanks in all circumstances." Even when we don't understand what he's doing, even in deep sorrow, we can give thanks, because God is good and eternal life is promised to us. Even though this body is bound to decay and return to dust, the one who drew us out of the dust gives us a life that will never run out. That is why gratitude rises up.

"The grass withers, the flower fades; surely the people are grass. But the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:6-8). Dust though we are, and yet... "What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:4-5). Before the sheer enormity of grace, only one question rises: "Why? Why go this far?" And our hearts overflow.

Remember: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:29-31). There is no reason to be afraid. Whoever acknowledges Jesus before others, Jesus will acknowledge before his Father: "I know you." That is what gives peace in the middle of the waves.

3. The narrow path and the spiritual battle

This joy of the Christian does not unfold in a fairy-tale setting. The present world lies under the sway of the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-2). The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Once you become a child of God through faith in Jesus, you will have to fight, against sin, against your flesh, against your own will, against the devil. You must enter through the narrow gate and walk the narrow road.

Listening to the Spirit's inner voice, choosing accordingly, obeying the Word, letting faith come alive through works, that is the life of a disciple. But take heart: the victory is not yours to win, it belongs to the Lord. "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). When you surrender to him (not to your emotions, not to your own ideas, not to your own methods), it is he who fights the battle, and he grants "more than victory." "With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).

4. Don't let your salvation be stolen from you

The devil, Jesus says, "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). He steals, he kills, he destroys, truly. So don't let yourself be lulled to sleep by slogans like "Satan doesn't exist anymore" or "I believed in Jesus, so I have eternal life and there's nothing left for me to do." Precisely because you have received eternal life, Satan is aiming at you. He prowls around you like a lion, seeking to devour you.

That is why you must hold on to the very end, grip the eternal salvation firmly, grip the Word firmly, live according to the Word, run "so as to win the prize." The death of a true Christian, a saint, is in fact a reward. Not everyone dies "well": for the disciple, dying means hearing the Lord say: "Well done, good servant. Rest now. Come to me." It is a privilege, that of being received as a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven.

5. Entering the Kingdom: the door, then the fruit

It is not enough to think yourself saved through some soft thought or vague emotion, twisting the Bible to keep only what feels reassuring. I think of that person I mentioned before, who after his baptism tried to set himself on fire in the church's baptismal pool: that kind of act does not lead into the Kingdom, quite the opposite.

Believing in your heart that Jesus is the only Son of God, confessing it with your mouth, being baptized, that is the entrance to eternal life. It is absolutely necessary. But it is the entrance. Once you are a child of God, you must bear, in the thoughts of your heart, in the words of your mouth, in living faith and obedience to the Word, the corresponding fruit. Without that, Jesus says, the branch is cut off and thrown into the fire.

We who are gathered here, because God has not yet called us home, still have work to accomplish in this world: training to receive, work of the Lord to carry, battles to fight. Fighting sin, fighting the flesh, fighting the devil, loving God, loving your neighbor as yourself, putting that love into action, staying faithful to the Word. And arriving, every one of us (without exception), all the way into the Kingdom.

Jesus's command is unambiguous: "Enter the Kingdom. Enter the Kingdom absolutely." The battle, here below, is his. When you surrender to him and obey him, he gives you "more than victory." He has already overcome the world. Following him, all the forerunners of the faith have entered, and we will enter after them, each of us, to be reunited in heaven with those we love and to live forever with Jesus.

Key takeaways

  • Christian joy in the face of a brother's death in Christ is not denial: it is a certain hope. We weep, and we praise.
  • "Always joyful, praying without ceasing, thankful in everything" is only possible because God is good and eternal life is promised (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
  • The path of faith is a narrow path. The battle is real, but the victory belongs to the Lord, not to you (John 16:33; Mark 10:27).
  • The devil seeks to steal your salvation. Holding firmly to the Word to the very end is a real command (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8).
  • Baptism and the confession of faith are the door into eternal life, not the finish line. Fruit must be borne (John 15).

Personal application

  • What is the "tear" you're carrying today? Can you, like Judit, let that tear resolve into gratitude toward God?
  • In which specific area can you, this week, obey the three verbs of 1 Thessalonians 5: rejoice, pray, give thanks?
  • Where are you currently fighting a battle relying on yourself rather than on the Lord? How can you hand that battle over to him?
  • Is your life bearing fruit after your baptism, or did you stop at the entrance? What "fruit" does the Spirit want to work in you now?
  • Is there a promise from the Word you need to "grip firmly" today, so that the thief cannot steal it from you?

Verses cited

FAQ

How can we "always rejoice" when we've just lost a loved one?

The Bible does not ask us to hide our sadness. Judit even says that she weeps. Christian joy does not cancel out tears, it moves through them. It comes from the certainty that the person in Christ has entered the Kingdom and that eternal life is promised to you as well. It is that very hope that, at the end of every tear, brings gratitude back up.

Is believing in Jesus enough, or do we have to "do" something more?

Salvation is a gift received by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). But living faith always produces fruit (James 2:26). Baptism and the confession of faith are the door into eternal life; after that, you must walk, fight, obey, love. That doesn't add to salvation: it lives it out.

Can the devil really cause me to lose my salvation?

The sermon insists on staying alert: the devil "steals, kills, destroys" (John 10:10) and prowls like a lion (1 Peter 5:8). He can do nothing against someone who, every day, "grips firmly" to the Word and walks in obedience. Security isn't found in a box checked once, but in perseverance to the very end.

Prayer for the week

Lord, you are a good God. Today, I choose to rejoice in you, even in my tears. I entrust my battles to you, they are too heavy for me, they are sized for you. Help me to grip your Word firmly, to bear fruit right where I am, to not fall asleep. Make me someone who, to the very end, enters your Kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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