All right, 1 Thessalonians chapter
5. Now, you remember that last week
we looked at the Lord's return. The Lord is coming back. And
when he does, his people will ever be with him. And the apostle
tells us, comfort one another with these words. The Lord's
return is comfort to the hearts of God's people. But you know,
the Lord's return also motivates God's people to walk after Christ
and not after this world. Now, I know that when the Lord
returns, we'll ever be with him. I know that. I look forward to
that. But, you know, I don't want to
wait till then to start walking with him. I want to walk with
him now. I want to follow him now. I want to know him now.
I want all that to begin right now. So Paul begins in verse
one of 1 Thessalonians 5. But of the times and seasons,
brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. Now, Paul's
not saying Now, I just told you about the return of Christ, so
we don't have to talk about that ever again. He's not saying that.
He's not saying there's no need for me to cover the same ground
over and over and over again, because there is. There is need
to cover the same truths over and over and over again. We need
to be reminded. We forget, don't we? We need
to be reminded. And each time we hear these truths
taught over and over again, each time we learn a little bit more.
Each time we hear these truths over and over again, we gain
more comfort from them. Paul told the church at Philippi
to write the same things to you. That's not grievous to me, but
for you it's safe. So we do need to cover these
things over and over again. What Paul is saying is you don't
need for me to write to you about the time of the Lord's return.
And there's several reasons for that. First of all, it would
be idle speculation. Paul would spend time, and for
us to spend time, trying to figure out when the Lord's going to
return. It's idle speculation. No matter how much we talk about
it and speculate about it, we'll never know. Because nobody knows. Our Lord made that obvious. He
said, only my Father in Heaven knows the time of His return.
Second of all, there's no need for us to talk about when Christ
will return, because it's not profitable for us. To speculate
about when Christ is going to return is simply not profitable.
It may be interesting to people, but it's not profitable. We spend
our time speculating about things to which there's no answer. We're
wasting time that we could be spending seeking Christ. We're
wasting time that we could be spending worshiping Christ and
finding out more of the person and work of Christ. Third, there's
no need for us to speculate about the time when Christ will return
because that's evidence of being an unbeliever. if we're always
looking for signs of the times. Now, look over Matthew chapter
16. Now, this is very popular in our day, looking for signs
of the times. You know, when does this mean certain events
happen? Does this mean Christ is getting
ready to return? Well, these signs are for unbelievers. Someone
is always looking for signs of the times. That's evidence of
being an unbeliever. Matthew 16, verse 1. The Pharisees
also with the Sadducees came. and tempting desired him that
he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said
unto them, When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather,
for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be foul weather
to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye
can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs
of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto but
the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.
What's the sign of the prophet Jonah? That's the only sign to
be given. What's the sign of the prophet
Jonah? Preaching the gospel. Isn't that what Jonah did? He
came to Nineveh and he preached the gospel. It's the preaching
of the gospel of the death, the burial, and the resurrection
of Christ. So forth, it's not necessary for us to speculate
about the time Christ will return because true believers don't
need to know. We don't need to know anything more than God's
revealed to us in His Word already. You know, it shouldn't change
what we're doing if we knew when the Lord's going to return. Think
about it. If you knew that the Lord's going
to return next month, would you start attending the service more
regularly? Would you start reading the scripture more? If you knew
the Lord's coming back next month, would you start trying to be
more honest, be a better husband, wife, be more kind or whatever?
Would you? Then do that now. The Lord might
return this afternoon. Knowing when he's going to return
shouldn't change what we're doing. The Lord's given us what we ought
to be doing. We'll do it. You know the Lord's coming back.
You just don't know when. And it could be at any moment. Look back at our text at verse
2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night. For 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." Now look
over at Luke chapter 12. You know the Lord's going to
return when the world least expects it. And because they don't expect
it, they're not looking for Him, they'll be unprepared. Luke chapter
12, verse 39. That if the good one of the house
had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched,
and not suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore
ready also, for the Son of man cometh at an hour that you think
not. Now look at verse 43. Blessed
is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so
doing. See, that makes my point from
earlier. It doesn't matter when the Lord's going to return. Just
do what you're supposed to be doing anyway. And blessed is
that servant, when his Lord cometh, he shall find so doing." Now,
the world is going to be surprised when the Lord returns, and it's
going to be destruction upon them. Now, false prophets, they
don't talk about this destruction that's coming. They keep promising
peace, peace, where there is no peace. People who do not know
Christ, they're all the time talking about peace and safety.
But you'll notice it's never in Christ. They never talk about
safety in Christ, peace in Christ. What they're looking for is peace
and safety in material things. And they say, well, you know,
everything's all right. We've got lots of time. And they expect to have
peace and good health for many years. And then suddenly the
Lord is going to return and death and judgment will be upon them.
It's just like a woman who's pregnant. Now, she knows she's
pregnant. She's been pregnant for nine
months. And she knows that baby's coming. She knows it is. But
when labor starts, it seems like it starts without warning, and
we're a little bit alarmed. I remember Jan didn't go into
labor with Savannah. They had scheduled a C-section.
But with Holly, I mean, we knew this baby's coming any moment,
any day. She goes into labor, and we're
a little bit startled. She says, it's time. We've got to go. It
came upon us suddenly. And I imagine that's how it was
in the days of Noah. People watched Noah build that
ark for 120 years. They heard him preach righteousness
for 120 years. And they thought, well, we've
got lots of time. And then the rain started to
fall and they could not escape. There was no peace or safety
outside of that ark, which you know is a picture. There's no
peace or safety outside of Christ. They were taken by surprise.
But brethren, there's no reason for us to be taken by surprise.
We're looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Look
at verse 4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the
day should overtake you as a thief. Now, the natural man's understanding
is darkened. It's darkened to spiritual truth,
to all spiritual things. The natural man doesn't know
God. He doesn't know who God is. He doesn't know the way of
salvation in Christ because he's in darkness. The natural man
cannot see true righteousness. He can't see that righteousness
is in Christ. He can't see that obedience is
in Christ. He thinks it's in his obedience
and he thinks that because he's in darkness. The natural man
doesn't have any true understanding of our Lord's return because
he's in darkness. And look over Ephesians chapter
4. And this is the way every one
of us is before the Lord finds us. We're in darkness and he's
got to give us light. Now this I say, therefore, and
testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other
Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding
darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that is in them because of the blindness, the darkness of their
heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all in cleanness and greediness. That
person's in darkness. But God's not left his people
in darkness. God does not leave believers
in darkness. Look at verse 20. But you have
not so learned Christ. You've not learned that. God's
given you light. God's called his people out of
darkness into the glorious light of his Son. And that light is
found where? In the face of Jesus Christ.
That light is Christ. And we who believe, we've been
called out of darkness into light. So we understand. If you're in
the light, you can see, you understand. Well, now act like you've been
given some light. Don't walk like these Gentiles walk that
don't have any understanding. God's given you some understanding.
Well, act like it. Walk like that. And one of the
ways to do that, one of the ways to show God's given you some
light, is you're looking for our Lord's return. Now look at
verse 6 back in our text, 1 Thessalonians 5. 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." Now
Paul talks about sleeping. He's not talking about the natural
sleeping of our body. He's talking about a lazy, drowsy,
indifferent attitude, a frame of mind towards spiritual things.
You know, when someone is sound asleep, they're unaffected by
what's going on around them. There can be a rainstorm or a
thunderstorm. They're asleep. It doesn't affect
them. Sometimes I'll get up in the morning and ask Janet, Man,
did you hear that thunderstorm last night? No, I didn't hear
anything. She's sound asleep. One time
I got up and she said, Did you hear that storm last night? No. She said, It scared me so much
I got up and turned the TV on. Came downstairs and I thought
there was going to be a tornado. I thought I was going to run up and grab it.
I never heard the first thing. Never knew there could be danger.
I was asleep. That's what Paul is telling us.
Don't be that way towards spiritual things where you're unaffected. God deliver us from ever being
unaffected by the gospel. That's the worst thing I can
think of. Be unaffected by the gospel.
If we're unaffected, it's because we're sleeping. Someone who's
asleep, they're not affected by a softly spoken word of warning.
If there was a tornado coming, she'd have had to yell to wake
me up. If she just whispered, I wouldn't have heard. I hear
now. I'm awake, but when I was asleep, I wouldn't have heard.
Someone who's asleep, they don't care that they set the alarm
wrong and hadn't gone off. They don't care that they're
oversleeping. They're unaware of the time because they're sleepy. Paul says, don't be that way.
Believer, don't be a sluggish sleepyhead. Don't be lukewarm
to the things of Christ. Don't be indifferent about the
gospel. Don't be indifferent about sin
and righteousness. God's forgiven His people of
our sin, but now don't be indifferent about it. Don't be indifferent
about the glory of God. Be active in following the Lord. Be active in seeking the Lord.
If you want a blessing, I'll tell you what would be an awful
good thing to do. Seek the Lord in His Word. Not just, you know,
Sunday morning. All through the week, seek the
Lord in His Word. Spend time in prayer. Be active
in this thing. Seeking the Lord. Asking Him
for a blessing. God's given you light. Now walk in it. And don't
sleep in the light. Now I thought about sleeping
in the light. I can hardly sleep at night. So sleeping in the
daytime is very difficult for me. But there's only a couple
of things I can think of that make you sleep in the day. In
the light. Number one. You're working midnights. Oh,
you're so tired. You've been up working all night.
And I work midnights. And even when I get off that
midnight shift, it's hard for me to sleep in the daylight.
It's just, it's not natural. But you get tired enough, you
can sleep in the daylight. Or secondly, someone who can
sleep in the light because they're just plain lazy. They just sleep
the day away. Sleep in the light. Isn't that
what Samson got in trouble? When he slept, that's when Delilah
cut his hair off. He was asleep. Look at Matthew
chapter 13. Verse 24. Another parable put
he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened
unto a man which sowed good seed in his But while men slept, now
you notice it doesn't say why the Lord slept. While men slept,
his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his
way. Men got in trouble when they slept. So let's set a watch
over ourselves. Don't sleep in the day. God's
given us light. And when Paul talks about being
drunken, he's not talking about drinking too much alcohol. He's
still talking about the frame of our mind. He's talking about
being drunken. inebriated on things of this
world, overindulging on things of this world, things of this
flesh. You can be drunken by the cares of this life. There
are so many cares of this life, but now you can be drunken on
them and spend too much time worrying and fretting about them.
And Paul tells the believer, now you'd be sober. Be serious
about these things. Don't overindulge in the things
of this world. If you do, you'd be spiritually
drunk. Too much of the things of this
flesh and things of this world, it'll affect our walk just as
much as too much alcohol does. You can't walk a straight line.
It affects the believer's walk. It's not straight. Too much of
the things of this world, just like too much alcohol, will affect
our speech. Our speech will become slurred.
We won't be talking about the right things. Too much of the
things of this world will affect our minds. They'll make us make
bad decisions. You know, things that we think
are funny or not funny. I think it has to be the most
miserable thing to be the only sober person in a room full of
drunk people. You know, everything they think
is funny, you think is stupid. You know, everything they think
this is a good decision, you say, that's bad. You're going
to get hurt doing that. You see that because you're the
only sober person there. We can become the same way spiritually. by overindulging and letting
too much of the things of this world get a hold of us. Be temperate
in your use of these things of this world and know this. Don't
let them get a hold of you. You're just passing through.
You're just a pilgrim passing through. And he tells us, Paul
tells us in verse 8, but let us who are of the day be sober. Don't be inebriated on these
things. Be sober. Be serious about these things.
Give serious consideration. to the things of the gospel.
When you find yourself with some time on your hands, be sober
about this. Give some serious consideration
to this. God chose us. Now just spend some time considering
that. He could have passed us by. And if he would have, we
couldn't have complained about it one way. That's what we deserve.
But God chose us. He did not leave us to ourselves.
Then think about this. Christ died for us. Christ shed
his blood to pay for our sin. Now be serious about it. Think
about that. God birthed us again. We've been born again. I'm a
new creature. Now I am what I am by the grace
of God. It's all of God's grace. But
I'm a new creature. Now I'm not what I used to be.
I'm a new creature in Christ. There's not anything, there's
not the first thing good of me. Yet, I'm perfectly righteous
because I'm in the Lord our righteousness. Think about that. And be sober
about this. Be serious about this matter
of giving thanks. Every day, be thankful. Give thanks every day. And be
sober about this. You know, people say, oh, we
have plenty of time left. Well, be sober. We don't have
plenty of time left. Understand the brevity of life.
I don't know when the Lord will return. I don't have the famous
idea. But he's coming for me in not too many years. It'll
be a short time. You'll be surprised how quickly. Frank's not standing here anymore.
He's coming shortly. And be sober about this now.
We're not only pilgrims passing through. We're soldiers behind
enemy lines. I love that movie Band of Brothers.
And those fellas, Janet just cringes every time it's on TV
because she knows I'm watching it. These fellows parachute in
behind enemy lines. Buddy, they were sober. They
were serious about what they were doing. And that's the way
we ought to be. Verse 8, But let us who are of the day be
sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a
helmet the hope of salvation. Now those soldiers on the front
lines, they just don't spend a whole lot of time goofing off
and not being watchful. If they do, they're the ones
that they bury over there. If he's going to live, he's going
to be watchful and serious about what he's doing on those front
lines. And that's what a believer is. You're a soldier on the front
lines. So constantly be on guard. Be
on guard against evil from without, and especially evil from within.
Be watchful. Put on a breastplate of faith
and love. Faith in Christ and love for
Christ. Put that on. It'll protect your heart. It'll
protect your vital organs. faith is and where love comes
from. That breastplate of faith and love will protect your heart.
And put on the helmet of the hope of salvation. A helmet protects
your head. We were on our trip recently.
We saw, you know those guys on those motorcycles? They're sitting
right up. Not one of them had a helmet on. I mean, I never
go to speed limit and they were passing us. I don't know how
fast they were going. Not one of them with a helmet on. I just,
oh my goodness. It just frightens me. Put on
a helmet to protect your head. Your head is where thoughts of
doubt come from. Not where all our thoughts come
from, but where thoughts of doubt always come from our head. We
think, God can't love me. Look at me. I can't be saved. A believer wouldn't do this.
A believer wouldn't think this. God's not doing anything. I can't
be saved. You know what protects your head from that? A good hope. A good hope through grace. Salvation
is in Christ. Not because I deserve it. It's
in Christ. My hope's in him. That'll protect
your head from those thoughts of doubt. Our head can become
swelled with pride very easily, can't it? And that's where Satan
attacks with pride. He attacks in the head. I read
this story about John Bunyan. He preached a sermon one Sunday
and one of his friends told him after service, he said, what
a capital sermon you gave this morning, Mr. Bunyan. And Bunyan
replied, you're too late. The devil already told me before
I got out of the pulpit. You're too late. He attached
with pride in the head. You know what will protect your
head from that? A good hope through grace. Or a good hope of salvation
in Christ. Not because I preached or I served
or I did anything good. That'll humble you. Salvation
by grace. Now that'll humble you and protect
your head from being swelled with pride. Our head needs to
be protected from doctrinal error. The errors of this world in which
we live, they inundate your head. The error of the superstition
of religion. This morning is an awful good example. Protecting
your head from the error of superstition of religion. The error of combining
grace and works. The error of interpreting scripture
with human logic. You don't protect your head from
all that. A good hope through grace. good hope of salvation
in Christ and because of Christ to keep me looking to Christ
and nowhere else. And you take these three principal
graces, faith, hope, and love, the three principal graces, and
you put them on. They'll protect your heart and
they'll protect your head. And be sober about this, verse
9, for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, God's appointed his elect
to salvation. That's God's appointment. But
look over Romans chapter 9. You know, there are some that
have been appointed to wrath and to judgment and to destruction.
But God's appointed his people to salvation, but not everybody.
Here's an example in Romans 9 verse 15. For he saith to Moses, I
will have mercy in whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
in whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that
my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy, and whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? who hath
resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou?
Who do you think you are that replies against God? Shall the
thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus? Hath not the potter houred over
the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour,
and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show
his wrath, and to make his power known, enduring with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction? They were appointed
to destruction. and that he might make known
the riches of his glory, and the vessels of mercy, those he
has appointed unto salvation, which he hath aforeprepared unto
glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also
of the Gentiles." Look over 1 Peter chapter 2. Pharaoh and these other vessels
of dishonor, they are appointed unto destruction, but God has
appointed his people to salvation. Peter says this in 1 Peter 2,
beginning in verse 7, "...unto you therefore which
believe, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is become
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient.
Whereunto also they were appointed." They were appointed to wrath,
appointed to destruction. But you, you're a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should
show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light. God's appointed some to salvation,
and it's because of His goodness and His love. God didn't have
to. He didn't choose us because there
was anything good in us. We were children of wrath even
as others. We deserve this same wrath and destruction even as
others. who is rich in mercy, has appointed us unto salvation.
And that appointment is sure, the most sure thing you've ever
heard is God's appointment of salvation is sure because of
the substitutionary death of Christ. Look at verse 10 in our
text, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him. Now the death of Christ purchase
the salvation of God's elect. And the death of Christ makes
it impossible, utterly impossible, for his people to die eternally.
Because Christ already died for them. They can't die again. Since
Christ died for them, justice is satisfied. Justice is not
going to demand their death. They don't have any sin. Their
sin has been washed away. God's holiness is not going to
demand their death. Their sin is gone under the blood of Christ. So they cannot perish. they must
have everlasting life. And even when the body dies,
they're alive with the Lord. The death of the body doesn't
sever our relationship with Christ, does it? As a matter of fact,
the death of our body makes it better. To be absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord. So, verse 11, wherefore,
comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as
also you do. Now comfort, we're going to end
the same way we ended last week's lesson. Comfort one another. Edify one another with these
words. What words is he talking about? What word did he just
wrote? Christ is coming again. Now we don't know when, but we
know who's coming. Comfort one another. Edify one
another with those words. God's not left you in darkness.
You're God's children. Children of light. Edify one
another with those words. Give thanks for that. That's
God's mercy to us. And edify one another with this.
Warm one another. Now, we're soldiers. And just
like soldiers on the front lines, we've got to watch and be sober.
But our Savior has not left us in that fight alone. Now, He's
not left us alone. He's given us the breastplate
of faith in Christ and love for Christ to protect our vital organs. God's given us the helmet of
faith and hope. in Christ to protect our head.
Now, we're soldiers on the front lines, but comfort one of these
words. Bob, we're going to win a victory.
We're going to have the victory. God's appointed us to salvation. He's appointed it. Salvation
is sure, is by the appointment of Almighty God and the purchase
of the Almighty Son. We're going to have the victory.
Christ died for your sins. What could be more comforting
to your soul than that? Christ died for your sins. Your sin's gone. I mean, now
what can comfort you more than that? Your sin is gone. Christ died for your sins. They're
gone. What love? The love of the Savior. He loves you. How do I know that
He died for your sins? Oh, that's comforting to the
heart of the believer. And comfort one another with this. Edify
one another. Nothing will ever separate us from Christ. Nothing. Whether we wait or sleep, we
live in Christ. God's appointed us to salvation. The doctrine of predestination.
God's appointed His people to salvation. He's appointed His
people to eternal glory. That doesn't make lazy believers,
does it? Well, God's appointed me to this, and no matter what
I do, He's... No, that doesn't make lazy believers. That blessed
truth, God's appointed me to salvation. Oh, that makes a people
who's zealous of good works, out of a thankful heart, makes
us zealous of good works, to live a life of holiness, to comfort
and to edify our brethren, and to look for His return. He's
appointed us to salvation. He's going to return. I can't
wait. Can you? Well, what comfort.
He's going to return. All right. Well, Lord bless it.