PENTECOST 24 – Nov. 15, 2020 – 1 Thess. 5:1-11
“BE SOBER, AWAKE”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 1 Thess. 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We are nearing the end of the Church Year, and during this time we are encouraged to think about the End Times, the return of the Lord Jesus in glory, the destruction of this present world, and the creation of new heavens and a new earth! We are to remember that we are nearing the end of this present age.
- The reason for this encouragement and warning is that there are dangers associated with the Last Day. In our text we read that “sudden destruction” will come upon those who are have not reconciled with God, and that “they will not escape.”
- Jesus warns us that: “The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” [Mt. 13:41,42] He also taught that the unprofitable servant would be cast into “outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” as we heard in the Gospel reading. [Mt. 25:30]
- Jesus’ warnings, and the teaching of the rest of Scripture in regard to these matters, should not be construed to mean that God delights in this! Just the opposite. You remember Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks, but you refused.” [Luke 13:34] God’s desire is to gather us back to Himself!
- This same appeal is being made to us this morning, and to all people. In our text the Apostle urges us to take these things seriously, so that throughout our lives here in this world we remain “SOBER AND AWAKE.” One of the reasons for this is that:
I. The Day Of The Lord Comes Unexpectedly
Text: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
A. People Will Be Thinking That All Is Well And Good
Text: “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then suddenly destruction will come upon them.”
B. Sudden Destruction Will Erupt, And There Will Be No Escape
Text: “Suddenly destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
Statement: This is somewhat surprising, that the destruction of the Last Day will intrude upon what appears to be times of great prosperity and well-being. We know that the Scripture indicates that the spiritual condition of mankind will be dismally deteriorating in the last times. And perhaps we get confused, thinking that everything will be horrible. Not so, at least as far as the wicked and unbelieving are concerned. They will think it is a matter of “business as usual.” However, as the apostle asserts of us: “But you are not in the darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.”
Application: This is the advantage of being “children of light, children of the day!” There are many things that can distract us – as it does the people who are in the darkness. Jesus speaks of this in the parable of the seed, the seed that “fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” [Luke 8:14] Think of that – things which permeate our lives and thoughts and concerns, “riches and the pleasures of life.” But by God’s grace and His informing Word, we are spared being choked out by these things! Not so the wicked and unbelieving. They remain in the dark – and yet they think that they are living high!
God wants us, and all people to be spared. But there is no question that:
II. The Day Of The Lord Will Catch The Unbelieving With Punishment
A. Including Those Who Are Complacent
Old Testament Lesson [Zeph. 1]: “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do ill.’”
B. Including Those Who Are Immoral
Old Testament Lesson [Zeph. 1]: “I will punish . . . those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud.”
C. Including Those Who Are Rebelliously Ignorant Of God’s Love
Gospel Lesson [Matt. 25]: “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. . . . And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.”
Statement: Perhaps these things do not seem so evil to us – to doubt whether God is really intimately involved in our affairs, or play the game of life by the world’s rules, or to be indecisive about how we use what God has entrusted to us. But these evils are all centered in the greatest evil of all – unbelief, rejection of God’s loving care for us and His great generosity toward us. And this yields a way of life that is evil, corrupt from the heart outward.
Application: The fact that these things don’t seem all that evil to us is the evidence that we may be in greater danger than we supposed. So the warning of our text, and the other readings, and many other places in Holy Scripture. We must be warned, for it is not all that difficult for us to slip under the influence of our sinful and cynical nature. This is the principle lesson we are to learn from Holy Scripture, lest we, like so many people whose lives are described in the Bible, fall away from faith and trust in God, and lose their spiritual sobriety!
But it need not be so, and in our text the Apostle gives us wise advice.
III. We Are To Stand, Sober And Awake, In The Armor Of God
A. We Are To Utilize The Breastplate Of Faith And Love
Text: “Having put on the breastplate of faith and love.”
B. We Are To Use The Helmet Of Salvation
Text: “Put on for a helmet the hope of salvation.”
C. Rejoicing In God’s Salvation, We Also Rejoice To Live With Him
Text: “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.”
D. And Within The Life Of The Church, We Are Encouraging One Another
Text: “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
Statement: So you see that the encouragement to remain “SOBER, AND AWAKE,” is the encouragement to be and remain a Christian: having faith in Christ, and living in love, rejoicing always in God’s salvation, blessed to be living with Christ now and forever, and encouraging all of God’s people to do the same!
Application: So in spite of the dangers coming, and the sudden destruction that will come unexpectedly on the many, the unbelievers, we are blessed to live in optimism and joy that is centered in God’s love and salvation. We live with Him, with God, each and every day, and so we will also live with Him forever – when we leave this life, or when all of this present world comes to an end on the Last Day.
Conclusion: So do not let this slip away from you! Again, the danger is “the cares and riches and pleasures of life,” which may lead us to conclude that “there is only peace and security.” In this way we may fall off the wagon and become intoxicated with the things of this world – even though this world is in fact passing away!
The good and gracious will of God is that we hallow His Name, and that His kingdom come – that we remain “SOBER AND AWAKE” and that His church continue to grow through our faithfulness and encouragement of one another.
We need this perhaps even more when there is so much trouble in the world around us, and we may be tempted to settle for the comforts of this world.
May God grant us the true joys and the true comfort – that of His eternal kingdom, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.