Let us turn again to God's Word
in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and I'll read for our text the words
from verse 4 through to verse 8 1 Thessalonians 4 sorry 1 Thessalonians 5 I should say
and reading from verse 4 through to verse 8 But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are
all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are
not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as
do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep,
sleep in the night, and they that be drunken, are drunken
in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober. putting
on the breastplate of faith and love and for an helmet the hope
of salvation. Taking then these words here
in this 5th chapter of 1 Thessalonians verses 4 through to 8 and we
see how the apostle is really making a deduction in verse 6
he says therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us
watch and be sober. It's clearly a connection with
what he's been saying in the previous verses and we see how
at the beginning of the chapter he is speaking of the times and
the seasons or that that he's connected with the coming again
of the Lord Jesus at the end of chapter 4 he mentions that
blessed prospect there at verse 16 the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel 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 and then that exhortation wherefore
comfort one another with these words and so it continues but
of the times and the seasons brethren you have no need that
I write unto you for yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night there's no need really for him
to say when the time or the season is going to come because it's
not known. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ himself at the end of the gospel when he speaks
of his second coming in Matthew chapter 24 and there at verse
36 He says, Of that day and hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But then he says again, right
to verse 44, Therefore be ye also readily, for in such an
hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Verse 46, Blessed
is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so
doing. Oh, God's people then are to
be those who are at all times looking and watching and waiting
for that blessed appearing of the Lord. It's going to be sudden.
He will come at an unexpected time. As he says here in the
second verse, that day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night. You don't know when the thief
is going to come. Secrecy is his great device. He catches one by surprise. It's going to be sudden, it's
going to be unexpected, it's going to be terrible for those
who are in a graceless condition, those who are still dead in trespasses
and sins, in unbelief. Verse 3, when they shall say
peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them
as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. And doesn't Paul go on to speak
somewhat more of this in the second epistle to the Thessalonians. And there in the opening chapter,
verse 7, he says, To you who are troubled, rest with us when
the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of his power. all for the unbelieving,
how awful, how terrible, how dreadful it will be. But believers are different.
They are to be those who are ready. And so he says here at
verse 4, But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day
should overtake you as a thief. It's not that the believer knows,
but the believer is always ready. We are the children of light,
the children of the day. We are not in we're not of the
nights nor of darkness and then he says therefore and he makes
this deduction therefore let us not sleep as do others but
let us watch and be sober for they that sleep sleep in the
night and they that be drunken are drunken in the night but
let us who are of the day be sober putting on the breastplate
of faith and love and for an helmet the hope of salvation
and so as we come to consider this portion of scripture tonight
i want to say something with regards to the believer and his
readiness his preparedness for that glorious day of the lord's
return and observing two very simple matters really two facts
they are those who are awake And as our awake, there are also
those who are armed. And I just want us to consider
that simple division of the subject matter. The readiness of the
believer. Therefore let us not sleep as
do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep,
sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in
the night. Here we can observe these two
things with regards to believers that child of God is one who
is spiritually watchful. But he's not only spiritually
watchful, he's also one who is morally alert. Let's just think
of those two things for a little while. First of all, to be watchful
in a spiritual sense. We have this word, don't we,
in verse 6, that they're to watch. Let us watch and be sober. and it's an interesting word.
We can think of the Lord Jesus there in the garden of Gethsemane
as he anticipates that that lies before him and he knew or we
knew that the hour would come when he must accomplish that
great work, purpose from the foundation of the world that
Tremendous work that he had undertaken in the eternal covenant and he
would be obedient and obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. And he is there in the garden
and he's gone aside from the main body of the disciples and
he's taken those favoured three, Peter and the brothers James
and John with him. And we're told how he speaks
to them. My soul is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death. Tarry ye here, he says, and watch
with me. What a word it was. A word in
some ways of invitation. We might even say a word of command.
Here is Christ in all the agonies of his soul. and he says to these
favoured men, tarry ye here and watch with me. Or to be watching
with the Lord, watching out for the Lord, looking for his appearing. It's interesting because it's
the same word that we have as watch in verse 6 that then appears
in verse 10. But in verse 10 it's rendered
with a different word, it's rendered wake. We read of him who died
for us that whether we wake or sleep we should live together
with him. You see the significance then
of this watching, it's a mark of those who are awake, but what
is it to be awake? Well to be awake really is to
be alive. They're spiritually alive these
people who are awake and they're watching and over against that
Wakefulness we read of those who are asleep. Whether we wake or sleep. And the sleep here is clearly
to be understood in terms of those who are dead. And isn't that what we have back
in chapter 4 and verses 15 following? This we say unto you by the word
of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming
of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. To be
asleep is to be dead over against those who are alive. 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. 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. We see then the significance
of the word that we have in verse 6 which is rendered watch. It
has reference to those who are awake, those who are living in
contrast to those who are dead. And the believer is one who is
alive. The believer is one who is in possession of new life. He's been born again by the Spirit
of God. He's one who is therefore awake
to spiritual things. And that wakefulness is seen
in that he is watching. He's watching, he's looking,
he's expecting something. Now this is of course not anyone's
natural condition. That's why we have that exhortation
in Ephesians, in Ephesians 5 and verse 14, wherefore he said,
Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, Christ shall give
thee light. You might say, what's the point
of addressing such a word to those who are dead? But so it
is. That's what the word is saying.
It's an exhortation to those who are sleepy, they're in such
a deathly condition, and they're caught to awaken, but it's a
mighty call, it's an effectual call. It's that call that brings
with it a quickening, because remember what we have previously
in that Ephesian epistle. Those words are found, as I said,
in verse 14 of chapter 5, but remember the language there in
Ephesians 2. You have to quicken. who were dead in trespasses and
sins, wherein in time past ye walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in
the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath. even as
others. That's what we were. But where
there is that work of God, that efficacious grace, that quickening
by the Holy Ghost, there's that new life and the evidence of
that life. What are men in their fallen
nature? Well, they're those, alas, who feel themselves to be so
secure and in that security they are in a careless condition isn't
that what we have in the third verse or when the Lord comes
you see they shall say peace and safety
then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman
with child and they shall not escape." What an awful condition. Our men like to think there's
peace, and safety, and security, always. Think of the ministry
of the Prophet Jeremiah, the day in which he lived, and the
many false prophets. And though the people loved the
message of the false prophets, God's judgment was to come and
it was coming very soon Jeremiah is ministering at the time when
the Babylonians fall upon Judah and Jerusalem and all the fenced
cities are destroyed and the people are removed into exile
the judgment has come and yet as that man is ministering he
has to rebuke those false prophets and the folly of those who were
the followers of such prophets I have healed also the hurt of
my people, he says, saying, peace, peace. When there is no peace,
or when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh upon them. All the suddenness, you see,
of the Lord's appearing. But the believer is so different. because the believer is one who
is alive and is awake and is watchful. These are the marks
of those who are the people of God. He's aware, the child of
God. He's aware of spiritual things.
He's aware of the reality of God. He's very much aware of
what he is himself, that sense of his sin. He's aware of his
heart's awful state, uncleanness, hardness. Oh, the apostle, the great apostle. who certainly knew a remarkable
experience of the grace of God. That man, Saul of Tarsus, how
remarkable was his conversion. And it's a pattern to them that
you don't have to believe he writes there in 1st Timothy chapter
1, as I've said many a time. It's not that we're all going
to have the same experience as a man like that. He was called
to do a great work. He was the apostle to the Gentiles.
But there are principles in that man's experience in his conversion
in which we see him as a pattern. And what does Paul say concerning
himself, how aware he was of his awful state as a sinner?
I know that in me that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good
thing. Oh we know he was full of all
uncleanness, he was undone in himself, he had that that realization,
that sense of his great need. And now such a one is very much
awake to the word of God. You know how these apostles,
they write these various epistles and yet it's all the word of
God. So There's no real jarring between
Paul and James. Some might like to say well there
is some jarring because Paul is the great champion of justification
by faith and yet doesn't James have a lot to say about the importance
of works. These men don't really contradict
one another. Think of the words of James when
he says that we're to be doers of the words and not hear us
only. We're not to hear God's Word
and go our way and to forget what manner of men we are. We're to be watchful and aware.
If we're rightly hearing the Word of God, we'll be awake. He are all the children of light
and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of
darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as
to others, but let us watch and be sober, he says. We're awake
to God, we're awake to the Word of God, but not only awake to
God as He comes and as He speaks to us by His Spirit in His Word,
but we're also, I trust, awake to some of the ways of God. That
great 107th Psalm that speaks so much concerning the providences
of God, His dealings with His people. And you know it concludes
in some of His wise will observe these things and as we observe
we'll understand the loving kindness of the Lord and the Lord is one
who deals with his people we see it time and time again
in the language of that 107th Psalm and the words that we have
there at verse 25. He commandeth and raiseth the
stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount
up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths. Their soul
is melted because of trouble. They will to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry
unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their
distresses. He maketh the storm the calm, so that the waves thereof
are still, then are they glad, because they be quiet. And so
He bringeth them unto their desired haven. And do so is wise, and
we'll observe these things. Do we observe? It's not just
God's dealings in the natural realm, in providence. It's God's
spiritual dealings with His people, how God deals with us. Oh, we
mount up to heaven. And then we sink down to the
depths. Our soul melted. We reel to and fro. We stagger.
We can't understand God, His ways. That's such a mysterious
thing. And we're brought to that place where all we can do is
cry unto the Lord in trouble. And then what does He do? He
answers. He brings us out of every distress. He makes a storm
of calm. And He brings us ultimately to
that desired haven. That's the ways of the Lord.
Ought to be those then who are spiritually watchful. Watching
the Lord's hand in His providence is with us. The Lord is dealing
with us all times, in every part of our lives, every minute detail
of our lives. We have to seek to discern the
Lord's hand and what the Lord is doing, what the Lord is saying,
and now we need to compare spiritual things with spiritual things
as we read there in first Corinthians chapter 2 we bring the ways of
God and his dealings with us we bring everything to this book
to the touchstone of God's words with those then who are alive
and awake and watchful we're not sleeping as do others but
let us watch and the sober says the apostle but then with regards
to these believers who are so much awake they're also morally
alert not just spiritually awake but also morally alert all sorts of sins are associated
with the night and the time of darkness. And that's what we
have here, of course, in these verses 6 and 7. Therefore let
us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For
they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night. Debaucheries and all manner of
sin associated with the night. And remember how the wise man
speaks of all sorts of morals really look at the
language that we have there in the seventh chapter of the
book where he speaks of the strange
woman the harlot What does he say? At the window of my house
I looked through my casement, and behold among the simple ones
I discerned among the youths a young man, void of understanding,
passing through the street, near her corner, and he went the way
to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black
and dark night, and behold there met him a woman with the attire
of an harlot, and subtle of heart. And so it goes on. You know the
passage, I'm sure. But there he speaks, you see,
of those things that are associated with the twilight, the evening,
the black and dark night. All manner of wicked things that
people think are covered by the darkness. No one to see, no one
to know. But of course, God is omniscience. The day and the night are alike
to him. Nothing he's hid from me is all-seeing, all-searching
eyes. But you see, these who are asleep,
or they're blissfully unaware, they don't like the idea of a
God who sees them. They don't want to come to a
God who will examine them. Everyone that doeth evil hateth
the light, says the Lord. Neither cometh to the light,
lest his deed should be reproved, nor the folly of those who sleep.
Here we read that with watching there is sobriety. Let us watch,
it says, and be sober. Again at verse 8, let us who
are of the day be sober. Now what is this sobriety? Well,
the word that's used literally means to abstain from strong
drink, or to abstain from wine. To abstain from wine. What does he go on to say? In the end of verse 7, they that
be drunken are drunken in the night. All manner of moral evil,
drunkenness, debauchery, all those fleshly sins are associated
with the time of darkness. But it is interesting that this
word sober has that basic meaning to be abstinence, to abstain
from wine. The believer, you see, is one
who knows moderation. That's the mark of the child
of God, is it not? It's moderation. Philippians
4, 5, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord
is at hand. Moderation, no excess. Excess is dangerous. And so the
believer seeks to be moderate in all his habits. Again look
at the language that we have in Luke, Luke 21.34 because it speaks of the time
of the Lord's coming and again it speaks of the importance of
that moderation. Luke 21.34, take heed to yourselves, let at any time
your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and
cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares. All we have to be ever watchful
and sober looking, waiting for that blessed day, the appearing
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that glory of His second coming. He will come again And so believers
are not to be immersed in the things of this world. All the
things that are seen, they are temporal things. Says Paul, the
unseen things, they are the eternal things. The believer is not to
be preoccupied with those things of time and of sense. Again, look at the language that
we have there in Peter in Paul's second letter to Timothy he says
in chapter 2 verse 4 no man that warred hath entangled himself
with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath
chosen him to be a soldier. Now that hymn that we just sang
that second hymn very much speaks of the believer and his warfare
and how he serves under Christ who is the captain of salvation.
No man that woreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this
life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Now that really brings us to
the second point that I want to deal with. The child of God with regards
to the Lord's coming again is not only awake and alert and
watching and waiting he's also armed and that's what we see
here at verse 7 let us who are of the day be sober he says putting
on the breastplate of faith and love and for an helmet the hope
of salvation oh there's a spiritual warfare whilst we're in this
present evil world there's a conflict There's a conflict with Satan
himself, that great adversary of souls, that one who is the
prince of the power of the air. The whole world lies in the wicked
one. There's a warfare then with Satan,
with sin, with that sin in our all nature, that sin that is
in self. What a conflict the believer
is involved in. and now the Lord there in the
garden addresses his disciples as we saw he tells them to watch
but he says watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation
oh there's a tempting devil there's a tempting devil what is the
believer to do he's to watch he's not to be ignorant of Satan's
devices. He is to be aware of this great
foe and the subtlety of his temptations. What is he to do then? How is
he to overcome? Watch and pray says the Lord.
What is the point of the armour? Well, we have that portion of
course, that familiar portion in Ephesians chapter 6, the end
of the chapter, that reminds us of the provision that God
has made for his people. There is an armor. What does
Paul say concerning the armor, the various
parts of the armor, but all leading up really to one thing at the
end? In Ephesians chapter 6, Verse 13, he says, Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand
therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having
on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield
of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and
the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. This is all
the armour, all the parts of the armour. And then it concludes,
praying. It's one of those hymns, isn't
it? I think it has the line, concerning the armour, each piece
put on with prayer. That's how the believer is armed.
It's God's armour, it's God's provision. Praying. praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me,"
says Paul. He wants their prayer. "...and
for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel." Oh,
how the Apostle, time and again, wants an interest in the prayers
of the saints of God. He feels his great need of their
prayers. And why is that? Because he has
this charge to preach the Gospel. He's involved in the conflict. He says much the same to the
Colossians. Here in Colossians 4.2, continuing prayer. and watch
in the sign with thanksgiving with all praying also for us
that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery
of Christ for which I am also in bonds. He wants the Lord to
open doors and then to open his lips to give him a door of utterance
so he might boldly declare that message of the Gospel, the importance
of prayer. But here we see two particular
aspects of the armour that we must take account of. With the
put on he says the breastplate of faith and love. Now what does the breastplate
do? Well It's there, of course, to
lend protection to the heart and to the vital organs of the
body, the breastplates. Now, the believer certainly needs
to keep his heart. The wise man again says, keep
thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues
of life. Or what is the state of our hearts when we come before
God, when we come into a service like this? Are we wholehearted
in our desires towards Him? Are our affections really set
on things above where Christ is, at God's right hand, or do
we simply wait? We want the end of the service
really. We like the social aspect, nothing
wrong with that in a sense, and I speak to myself as well as
to any of you, It's nice, isn't it, to be together, to talk with
one another, but is that our priority? Or is our real priority
the Word of God and the ministry of the Word of God? Is our heart
set upon that above all other things, spiritual desires? Or we have to keep the heart?
There's that comforting word, isn't there, in that first general
epistle of John, if our hearts condemn us, John says, God is
greater than our hearts and knoweth all things. We can come to God
and we can make our confessions to him and say to him quite plainly
what our heart is. Often it's a divided heart. We're
not always wholehearted, are we? and then we have to bring
that acceptable sacrifice to God and he delights in it, a
broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, God never despises that.
Or what of the state of our hearts? Here we have the breastplate,
but what is this breastplate? It's a breastplate of faith,
it says. A breastplate of faith. The important
thing with faith is always the object. That's the vital thing,
isn't it? Faith is likened to looking. Looking onto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, looking only, looking away onto Jesus. And the eye never sees itself,
does it? We might see a reflection of
our eye in a mirror, but we never really see our eye. Our eyes
look out of our bodies. And so faith is objective in
that sense. It's a looking onto Jesus. But interestingly, you may have
observed when we just read those words at the end of Ephesians
6 therefore calls it the breastplate of righteousness. It's the breastplate
of faith, and it's the breastplate of righteousness. And it reminds
us, doesn't it, of that great truth of justification by faith. Or the breastplate, you see.
It's the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that is imputed
to the people of God. The words of Joseph Hart, Righteousness
within the root, it may appear to take thy part, but let righteousness
impute it, be the breastplate of thy heart. How we need that
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a protection
it is against all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Christ's righteousness. But dear, it's not only a breastplate
of faith, It's also a breastplate of love. And we read of faith
which worketh by love. And so in a sense it's not just
a breastplate of that righteousness imputed, it's the breastplate
of that faith that worketh by love. There'll be that evidence of good works. which glorify our Father which
is in heaven and there be that measure of sanctification faith
which worketh by love I will show thee my faith by my work
says James or the reality of his faith and that it's true
faith seen by those works the breastplate of faith and love
and an helmet the hope of salvation. How the believer oftentimes may
be one who is very much dismayed, cast down in his mind or how
we think about situations and these situations probably torment
us in a way we anticipate things we think things are going to
get blacker and darker our minds and sometimes in the midst of
the night we awake and we can't catch our sleep and we lie there
and you know how it is how these things they grow and they grow
and they grow and it just seems impossible our poor minds but
there's a helmet you see And the helmet is there for those
who are dismayed and burdened and troubled and cast down. And
what is this helmet? It's the hope of salvation. The hope of salvation. What a
grace is that of hope. Remember how the psalmist three
times there in Psalms 42 and 43 addresses his soul. Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted with
him? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the house
of my countenance and my God. It's worth reading those verses,
Psalm 42, 5 and 11, then again in Psalm 43, 5, and there are
some differences in the wording. you just compare the words and
see what comfort can be drawn from what the psalmist is saying
as that little soliloquy with his own soul. Why art thou cast
out? Why art thou disquieted? His
hope, his hope must be in God. And now God brings us to that.
Not only so, It says, Paul, that tribulation worketh patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope. That's where it all leads to.
And that hope that make us not ashamed. He says, because the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. Or the psalmist says,
now shall mine head be lifted up, above mine enemies round
about me how is the head lifted up because there's a helmet and
it's a helmet of hope and we have to look to the Lord and
we have to trust in the Lord and we have to believe that the
Lord will yet fulfill that blessed hope and what is it ultimately? isn't that great hope that the
Lord himself will yet come again in power and glory that's his
promise that's his promise and remember those words that we
have at the end of the fourth chapter where he speaks so specifically
of the Lord's coming he doesn't want them to be ignorant concerning
those believers who are asleep those believers who have died
that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope he says We
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say by the word of
the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of
the Lord shall not prevent, and it's the old-fashioned meaning
of that word as we see it many times in the A.V. It's those
who go before. It's a word that of course changed
in its meaning over the years. We think of preventers as something
to stop a thing, but the literal meaning here is to be before. We which are alive and remain
under the coming of the Lord shall not go before them which
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with
the trump of God. And these who are dead in Christ,
they're going to rise first. and then the living are going
to 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. Oh, what a blessed hope. And he says, wherefore
comfort one another with these words. Oh, this is our comfort.
We're looking, we're watching, we're those who are awake, we're
those who are alert, and we're armed we're engaged in a great
warfare but we know there is one who has vanquished all the
powers of darkness and it will surely be demonstrated in that
great and that blessed day but ye brethren are not in darkness
that day should overtake you as a thief you are all the children
of light and the children of the day we are not of the night
nor of darkness Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but
let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in
the night, and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night. But
let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain. Salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.