The Day of the Lord
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Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-11
Title: the Day of the Lord
Introduction: Last Sunday we looked at the rapture of the church. Paul gave comfort to those who had lost believing loved ones to death. He taught them about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to resurrect the dead in Christ and to bring the church together with him in the clouds.
He continues with prophecy as he enters the next chapter and speaks to them about the day of the Lord. This "day of the Lord" is different from the rapture but immediately follows the return of Jesus for the church. It is the "times and seasons" which Jesus had spoken of in Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
The disciples had asked about the Kingdom which we know as the Millenial Kingdom - Acts1:6 ¶ When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
That reign of the Lord Jesus will be after the tribulation period which we see detailed in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 6: 1 ¶ And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Re 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Re 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Re 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Re 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Re 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Re 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Peter spoke about this day of the Lord.
II Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
note: Why hasn't this day come yet upon this wicked world? Because God is seeking to save as many as possible from the day of His wrath and from hell.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
So, what would Paul have us to learn about this "DAY OF THE LORD?
I. You can bet your soul that this day is coming.
1 ¶ But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
exp. The coming of Jesus like a thief will be completely unexpected.
A. You may not feel like He is coming.
exp. Many people will doubt that He is returning.
II Peter 3: 3 ¶ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
ill. The town crier used to walk the streets and say, "9:00 and all's well." If they were expecting an enemy invasion they would be alert. But the town criers voice could soon lull them into a false sense of security unless others in the community spoke to keep them vigilant.
exp. Our generation cries out 2,000 years and all's well.
ill. Friends of ours in Dundee had their home broken into by a thief. You'll not be suprised to hear that the thief didn't text ahead of time. He didn't leave any advance notice whatsoever of his coming. They were upstairs and quite comfortable while he came UNEXPECTEDLY.
app. God's Word cries out against that FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY!
B. You may be assured that He will come.
"...know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh...."
def. know perfectly ='s to perceive accurately.
exp. They didn't just know that he WAS coming they knew HOW he was coming.
ill. Jesus told a story (parable - earthly story with a heavenly meaning) of a man who was robbed during the night. He pointed out that...
Luke 12: 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
app. Your house is not going to get robbed. If you are here when this takes place, your soul is going to be judged with Hellish judgment on earth after the rapture of the church. IT IS COMING.
II. You can not escape this day when it comes.
A. You will feel like you can.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,
ill.
· Atheists - "There is no God. So stop worrying and enjoy life."
· Evolution: "Evolution recreated in the lab." Liars - they made a computer simulation of their theory and ran it until it brought out a product that has similarities to earth.
· Religion: "Your ok. God accepts you. Love is what matters. Tolerance to all people. Equality. All roads lead to Heaven.
· Government "We can solve your problems. We can provide peace. We can provide security. Just trust us with your future."
· Medicine "Anti aging. Getting old gracefully. State assisted suicide. etc."
app. The world had better get ready. There has never been a time in human history where "peace and safety" has been so loudly proclaimed.
B. Your pain will awaken your heart to the certainty of the time.
as travail upon a woman with child;
exp. The conceived child is ready to be born. Nothing can stop it. The heavy labor is here and that child is making his preparation to escape the womb. You aren't going to talk to the baby and say, "Now son, you just be patient, maybe next year." The pain says, "There is no waiting I will be born.
ill. Jennifer West went on holiday with her husband and some friends inWI. She awoke feeling awful having stomache cramps. They had to go to the hospital with fears that she had a cyst. What she had was "Robbie." She didn't know she was pregant until the baby came. (The article went on to discuss how this woman could be pregnant and not know it.)
app. Our world is like a mother who doesn't know that she is pregant until the pain comes. That pain will be their first realization that they have conceived the wrath of God.
C. You will find no way out.
and they shall not escape.
exp. They will try but they won't be able to escape the wrath of God.
Revelation 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
ill. I've had people say to me, "This is Hell."
app. Friends these days will be Hell on earth. They will be days of awful judgment that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies but God wouldn't either.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
III. You are one of two types of people anticipating this day.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
exp. Paul is writing to believers. They are called "brethren." They are "children of the light....children of the day...." But there are also those who are "of the night....of darkness."
question: What is your status today?
exp. Day and light have to do with truth and purity. Night and darkness have to do with sin and impurity. They are easily distinguished the one from the other.
ill. dipping water out of the middle of the lake in the boundary waters and drinking it.
ill. David Livingstone "I have drunk water swarming with insects, thick with mud, putrid from rhinoceros' urine and buffalo's dung, and no stinted draught of it either, and yet felt no inconvenience from it."
question: Do we have any problem distinguishing which of these is pure?
app. We are one of two types of people looking ahead to that day. We are either made pure with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ or we are full of the filth that demands God's judgment.
IV. You must get ready for this day.
6 ¶ Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
exp. The world is asleep. (This is not speaking of sleep like in the last chapter where it spoke of a believer's death.) The world is not conscious of what is taking place around them in preparation for this day of the Lord. But we are to be soberly alert because that day is coming.
question: Will we be here on this day? I don't believe we will be. The Lord Jesus will return for his church and the day of the Lord will soon begin. Paul has just emphasized their comfort is the rapture of the church. So, what can we do in preparation for this day of judgment.
A. Realize Christ's returning for the church soon - be ready.
B. Realize the day of the Lord is coming soon. - help others get ready.
question: In eternity....
Does it matter who wins the football match?
How good I am at video games?
How knowledgable I am of current pop culture or the latest songs?
How much money I make?
What kind of house I live in and what cars I drive?
question: So, what matters....
What have I done this week that lasts for eternity?
How is my walk with the Lord?
Is there sin in my life?
Who do I need to tell about Jesus?
ill. Witnessing in Kirkcaldy. If I hadn't gone there Peter and Stephen would not have had an opportunity to think and talk about Jesus. None of those who received the flyer would have had that opportunity to think about Jesus.
app. Are you working in light of the soon coming of Christ in the rapture and the day of the Lord?
V. Your life shows your preparedness for this day.
A. If your life is full of sin - you are not ready.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
exp. Those that are of the night are in CARELESS and they are controlled by sin.
ill. Our community would be shocked to see the events of the 1:00 AM pub culture performed in the streets at 1:00 PM. Every pub in every community would be closed because of the horror to our society. But, the wicked don't operate that way. They come out under cover of darkness.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
exp. If you can live in sin and be careless about the return of Christ, you aren't ready. You don't care about church. You don't care about Bible reading. You don't care about dealing with your sin. AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHERE YOU STAND. YOU STAND WITH YOUR FEET OVER THE FIRES OF GOD'S WRATH.
B. If you life is full of Christ - you are ready.
1. The faith of Jesus.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith
exp. We face the end days with faith. That is the ability to go forward with confidence in God and His Word.
app. We don't have to panic this morning because this judgment is coming and our world is getting ready to be cast into hell. We rest in the precious promises of God.
2. The love of Jesus.
and love;
exp. We face the end days with a right relationship with God and others by love.
note: Someone that loves perfectly doesn't sin.
Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
exp. That is why love confronts sin, it doesn't condone it. If you truly love someone you will confront them. If you truly love God, you are right toward him. If you truly love others, you are right towards them.
app. We ought to love this world even though they are anti-Christ.
3. The hope of Jesus.
and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
exp. Beleivers do not have to fear this day. God has saved us from hell and the power of sin. He will soon save us from the presence of sin and this day of His wrath.
app. Are you ready for that day? If the truths we are looking at today DON'T BOTHER YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE LIVING IN SIN. You are not ready. If you are right with God and others, you are ready. Anyone can get ready for this day, it is your choice.
VI. You won't be mistaken on this day.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
exp. God isn't going to make a mistake. He is very careful when it comes to judging the wicked.
ill. Remember the death angel that came to Egypt. God had every jewish home put the blood on the doorpost to guard them from his wrath. When he saw the blood he passed over.
app. If you have the blood of Jesus Christ, be assured, God has not appointed you to wrath. He isn't going to miss you in the rapture or judge you in the day of the Lord.
Unbeliever, he isn't going to get you wrong either.
Conclusion:
Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
We're not setting dates this morning. We're looking at WHAT IT IS not specifically when it is. The Day of the Lord is coming soon. There is no doubt about it. Are you ready?
You can bet your soul that this day is coming.
You can not escape this day when it comes.
You are one of two types of people anticipating this day. Light/darkness
You must get ready for this day.
Your life shows your preparedness for this day.
You won't be mistaken on this day.
II Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
