Well, before we turn again to
the Lord in prayer, let me direct your attention for a short while
this evening to verses in that portion of Scripture that we
read, turning again to 1 Thessalonians in chapter 5. And I want to read
verses 6, 7, and 8. 1 Thessalonians 5, 6, 7, 8 Therefore let us not sleep as
do others, but let us watch and be sober. 9 For they that sleep
sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in
the night. 10 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. I want then to say
something with regards to the believer awake and armed at Christ
appearing. The believer, as we see him here,
awake and armed at the appearing or the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. One then who is readily looking
and watching and waiting for that day. Observe then the opening
word of the text, here in verse 6, Therefore let us not sleep
as do others. He is drawing a conclusion from
things that he has said in the previous verses. And at the end
of chapter 4, as we saw in the reading, he speaks of the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he continues here at the
beginning of chapter 5. And with regards to that coming
of the Lord Jesus, he makes it clear that the time of that appearing
is unknown. Of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. Ye are not to know the actual
time of that day and that hour, knoweth no man, says the Lord
Jesus. No, not the angels which are
in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." It was when the
fullness of the time was come that God sent forth His Son made
of a woman made under the law. That was His first coming. And
so also with regards to that coming again in power and glory,
that also is in the hands of the Father. And the only thing
we can say is that the Scripture makes it clear that it will be
sudden. As we see in verse 2, "...yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a feat,
in the night. And as that day comes, it will
usher in, of course, the Great Day of Judgment. The books are
to be opened, and the Father has committed all that judgment
into the hands of His Son. And so the day is going to be
terrible for those who are in unbelief, those who are not found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 3, 4, 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."
Terrible then for unbelievers is that day going to be. But
how different for the child of God, for those who are believers,
those who are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who
are ready. and those who are prepared for
that day. As he says at verse 4, 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. Very different then besides what we read in verse
4, rather in verse 3, concerning those who are unbelievers. And then, in the words that I've
read for us to consider tonight, we have, as it were, a very practical
exhortation. He applies the words that he's
just spoken. 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 consider these two very simple basic points
with regard to the exhortation. The call to be awake, and the
call to be armed, awake and armed. We must be those who are awake
and alert, those who are watching and waiting. And as those who
are watching, we can think of the duties of the watchmen. There were those in Israel, of
course, we think particularly of Jerusalem, a walled city,
there would be watchmen who were set upon the walls that they
might be looking out in order that they could give warning
should there be any approaching danger. And that Image with that
figure is taken up in Isaiah 62, 6 where God says through
the prophet, I have set watchmen upon my walls, O Jerusalem, which
shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that make mention
of the Lord keep not silence, or the duty of the watchmen.
They're there to give warning at the approach of danger and
if they fail, why the blood of the people will
be required of the watchman's hands. But if they do issue the
alarm, and none take any account of that, well, they've acquitted
themselves. And of course, the imagery that
we have there in Isaiah 62 is speaking of God's servants, God's
prophets, or God's ministers, God's preachers we might say,
are to sound an alarm. But it's interesting, it's not
only that the watchmen are there to warn, because in that verse
that we just referred to, Isaiah 62 6, there's an alternative reading
in the margin, at the end of that verse. It says, Ye that
are the Lord's remembrances. That's a more literal rendering,
apparently, of the Hebrew, Ye that are the Lord's remembrances,
keep not silence. So the watchmen are not only
those who are toward the inhabitants of the city, but spiritual watchmen
are those who will also be calling upon the name of God, seeking
the Lord's face in prayer. And now, when we think of being
awake, alert, watching, and waiting, isn't that time and again in
Scripture associated with the duty of prayer. Colossians 4.2,
continue in prayer, he says, and watch in the sign with thanksgiving. We're to pray but we're to watch.
What do we watch for? Well, one thing we're to be watching
for if we're praying is that we might see the return of our
prayers. If we're praying in faith, we know that we're not
beating the air, we're not uttering words in vain that God is hearing
us and God is able to answer us. Nothing's impossible with
Him. We should be expecting then the
return of our prayers, continuing in prayer, watching in the signs,
says Paul to those Colossians with thanksgiving. And now that's
true with regards to the coming of Christ. in Mark 13.33, watch
and pray for you know not when that time is. All we have to
pray in the light of the coming of the day of the Lord that will
come so suddenly, so unexpectedly. It should be that that is moving
us constantly to be in that attitude of prayer. And we can think about
the Lord so solemnly reminds his own disciples in the garden
of Gethsemane when he takes those favored three with him a little
further from the others and asks them to watch and pray with him
and they grow weary and they begin to sleep and the Lord comes
to them and finds them so sleepy and what does he say? Watch ye
and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The Spirit truly
is readily, but the flesh is weak. And we live to prove the
truth of the Lord's words. How weak our flesh is, how we
do grow so weary, that all that our spirit might be readily. We must be spiritually awake
then, that's what it means to be readily, to be spiritually
awake. And it's interesting, looking
at the context here, because in this sixth verse we have the
word watch, let us watch. And then later, in verse 10,
we have the same words, but it's translated in our authorised
version as wake. Read of the Lord Jesus Christ
who died for us that whether we wake, or sleep, We should
live together with Him. Wake or sleep here, of course,
is referring to being alive, physically alive, or being dead. Whether we live, whether we die,
we are the Lords. He died for us, that whether we live or die,
we should live together with Him. But the thing I observe
is that it's the same word that is there in the wake. that we
have as watch back in the sixth verse. And if we're truly awake,
if we're spiritually lively, we will be those who are watchful. We have these exhortations time
and time again. Why are they given? Because we're
prone to be unwatchful. We're prone to sleep. 1 Corinthians
6.13, watch ye, says the Apostle, stand fast in the faith, quit
you like men, be strong. Aren't believers those who are
soldiers? Aren't believers those who have
to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life? Oh, they need then to be strong
and from where will that strength come? Only from the Lord. In
themselves they know that they are all weakness. All that strength
must come to them by the grace of God. And how the Lord looks,
how the Lord beholds his people and expects that they will be
in that attitude. There in the Revelation, Revelation
16, 15, Behold, I come as a thief, he says. Blessed is he that watches. It is a blessed thing if we're
those then who are watching. Oh, we must be those then who
are spiritually awake and alert. Let us not sleep as do others,
but let us watch, he says. And then he adds this, and be
sober. For they that sleep, sleep in
the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. Evil practices we know are associated
with the night season, with the time of darkness. We made some
reference to that last Thursday evening and referred to the words
of the wise man there in Proverbs chapter 7 concerning that young
man who goes the way of the harlot's house under cover of darkness. Everyone that doeth evil hateth
the light, neither cometh to the light. lest his deeds should
be made manifest. Lest his deeds should be revealed. Well, what is that that reveals
sin? It's the light. It's the light
of the Word of God. And think of those words that
we find in the book of the Prophet Ezekiel, there in Ezekiel 8, and verse 12. Then said he unto
me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house
of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The Lord seeth
us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth. We know that the Lord
Jesus Christ in His glorified state as we see Him there in
Revelation 1, has eyes as a flaming fire. All those burning those
penetrating, those all-seeing and all-searching eyes of the
Lord. Sin, then, is associated with
darkness. But, says the Apostle, they that
sleep, sleep in the night. They that be drunken are drunken
in the night. Believers are children of the
light, children of the day, and not of the night, nor of darkness.
But see how he goes on here in verse 6 and verse 7 to speak
against drunkenness. Drunkenness. Again, isn't such
normally associated with the night season, the darkness, excessive
drinking? And what he's saying really is
the all-important thing in the life of the child of God is that
there should be that due moderation in all things. Moderation especially
in view of the Lord's return. Paul to the Philippians says,
let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at
hand. What is moderation there? Well, we're not taken up unduly
with the things of this world. are those things that are seen,
but the temporal things. We live our lives in the light
of that. The unseen things are the eternal
things. We're to hold the things of this
world very loosely. We're to be moderate in all things.
Again, the words of the Lord Jesus, He says, take heed to
yourselves. lest at any time your hearts
be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of
this life, and so that day come upon you unaware." So, taken
up with the cares of this present life, that that day of the Lord
catches us utterly unaware. We're not looking, we're not
waiting for the Lord's appearing. Here then we see how the believer
is to be one who is very much awake. But not only awake, also
armed. He goes on in verse 8, 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. Now, you know, of course, that
previously in the epistle to the Ephesians we have a much
fuller account of that armor that the Lord God has provided
for his people. That passage at the end of Ephesians, in chapter 6 verse 11, "...put
on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil." For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world. Again, the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, he
says, 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." And it all leads up to this, all
of this is to this end, praying always, with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, and watching thereunto, with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints or the watching in prayer and then he makes that
very personal request when he speaks of prayers 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. He's a true watchman
He wants to make known the mystery of the gospel, he says, for which
I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly
as I ought to speak. It's a familiar word. Well, here,
at the end of 1 Thessalonians, we also have this reference to
the armour. But it's just two particular
parts that are spoken of here, and I just want us for a little
while to think of these two parts, the breastplates. Let us who are of the day be
sober, putting on the breastplates of faith and love. Now the breastplate is there
to protect the heart and other vital organs. The spiritual arm of it. It is there to protect the heart. And how is it spoken of? It's
spoken of as the breastplate of faith. Putting on the breastplate
of faith. Now, we read there in Ephesians
6.14 of the breastplate of righteousness. It's that righteousness which
is associated with faith. It's that righteousness then
which we think of in terms of the believer's experience of
his justification. Now, this apostle Paul writes
extensively, of course, in his epistles of that doctrine, the
doctrine of justification. We have it quite clearly in the
epistles of the Romans, but we see it also elsewhere. It's there
in Philippians. Particularly we think of that
verse Philippians 3.9 where Paul speaks so personally. His desire to be found in him,
to be found in Christ. Not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. The breastplate of faith. The
breastplates of righteousness. And what is that righteousness?
Well, when the Lord deals with his people, of course, they become partakers of a new
nature. There's an inward work. They're
partakers of the divine nature. There's that that is wrought
within them. But I do like those words. I
think the theology in those words that we just sang in the hymn
270 verse 2, is so right. Hart says, Righteousness within
thee rooted may appear to take thy part, but let righteousness
impute it, be the breastplate of thy heart. What is this breastplate
of faith? It's the breastplate of righteousness. It's what's imputed. It's the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. that that he wrought
in his life by his obedience, by his honoring and magnifying
God's law in every one of its precepts. He accomplished a righteousness
which is imputed to his people just as their sin is imputed
to him and he bears the punishment in their room and in their stead.
So there is that blessed exchange. What does he give them? He takes
upon Him their sin, and He puts upon them His righteousness. And that's what we need to be
so very much aware of. That great doctrine of justification
in the righteousness of Christ. Revelation 19a to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." That's the Lord's
righteousness, the breastplates of faith, the breastplates of
righteousness. But then also here we have the
breastplates of love, putting on the breastplate of faith and
love. Where there is that justifying
faith, Let us not forget it is a work in grace. It's a work
in grace, as we're told in Galatians 5.6, faith which worketh by love. And so, there's not only a work
of justification, there's also a work of sanctification. There's
also that dying to self, that mortifying the deeds of the body,
and living. the believer's heart, you see.
The Lord Jesus Christ is that One who comes by His Spirit and
dwells in the hearts of His people. And therefore when they come
before the Lord, when they come before Him with their prayers,
are they not such as are wholehearted in their seekings? Are they not
those who are sincere? They don't come to Him with a
divided heart. Well, what does Paul say there
in Colossians 3? If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above where Christ is. Set not your
affections on things of the earth, but on things above. The heart
goes after those things that are in heaven where the Lord
Jesus is. And this is how the believer
comes before God then. He has on that breastplate of
righteousness by faith, but he also has that breastplate of
love. His heart constantly going out
to the Lord. And as he loves the Lord, so
he loves the Lord's people. And as he comes to the Lord in
his prayers, he doesn't just pray for himself, he prays for
the saints of God. There is the evidence that his
faith is the genuine saving faith of God's elect. But besides the
breastplate, we also have here the helmet. And for a helmet,
the hope of salvation. Now the helmet is that that protects
the head. Though our head needs to be protected. We read again in Paul's epistles
of that important principle of a sound mind. A sound mind. What is a sound mind? Well, it's
that mind that is well-versed in the great verities of the
faith, the great truths of the everlasting gospel, all that
doctrine that is laid before us here in the Word of God. But
here we read this is the helmet of the hope, the hope of salvation. So if The breastplate is identified
with the graces of faith and love. Here is the helmet that
is associated with the grace of hope. And I like the remark
of Gill. John Gill says, hope is an erector
of the head in times of difficulty, afflictions and distress. Hope, the helmet of the hope
of salvation, is the erector of the head, when we would be
discouraged, downhearted, in the midst of afflictions, where
there is that that is difficult and distressing to us. The psalmist
says, now shall mine head be lifted up, lifted up above mine
enemies round about me. God himself, of course, is revealed
to us as the God of hope. In Romans 15.13, the God of hope,
Paul says, Fill you with all joy and peace in believing that
ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Isn't that hope one of the fruits
of the Spirit Himself? He must come and minister that
hope to us. And how important it is when
it comes to our prayers. Oh, in prayer we We seek to enter
in to that within the veil, wither Christ our forerunner is gone.
That's where we seek to come, into the very presence of God,
to the throne of Christ. And what do we read in Hebrews
6.19? Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, and which entereth in to that within the veil. We pray and it's not without
hope when we pray. Hope is not just wishful thinking.
No, it's much more than that. It's the sister grace of faith.
All when we come we're to believe that God is, and that God is
the rewarder of all the diligently seeking. We have great hope then
as we come to God tonight with our prayers. Oh, the Lord grant
that we might be those then who are very much awake, alert, spiritually
alert, and armed as we come before God. We have a righteousness
to plead, not of our own doing, but that righteousness and blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the Lord bless these words
to us for His name's sake. Now, before we pray, let us sing
our second praise.