If you would, please stand as we say together our memory Scripture for this quarter:
Matthew 6:31-33
“Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
And our memory refresher Scripture is …
Isaiah 53:5-6
“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
“All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Please open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Does anyone remember hearing about a thing called Hurricane Florence (HF)?
First Florence was out in the Atlantic as a tropical storm on September 1.
Florence reached hurricane strength soon thereafter and by September 5 it had become a Cat 4 hurricane and was headed toward North Carolina.
Early weather forecasts showed HF hitting the coast and then following the coast northward.
When HF finally did make landfall and moved ashore it was down to a Cat 1 hurricane but was moving slowly and leaving huge amounts of rain.
HF then passed inland and turned north leaving much destruction in its path.
So, why on earth are we talking about HF today? Well, if anyone had any contact to new outlets during that time period they would have been inundated with stories about the storm itself, preparations for the storm, evacuation plans, states of emergency, etc.
It was non-stop and rightfully so. It was a big event!
In many cases it was either get out of the area or risk death!
Do you want to hear another warning of something even bigger than HF?
Let’s look into that in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
(Prayer)
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
The Day Of The LORD - what is “the day of the LORD”?
The Day of The LORD is always a day of reckoning, a day of settling accounts.
There is not only one “Day of The LORD” there have been several in the Bible.
When a Day of The LORD occurs all the collective will of humanity is set aside and the LORD exerts His will with no further discourse or rebuttal.
The first Day of The LORD is recounted in Genesis 6-8, the Flood.
We all know about settling accounts, don’t we? Does April 15th ring a bell? That is the day of reckoning for our taxes …
When you get to the checkout at the grocery store you have to “settle accounts” before you can take your food home. That is a time of reckoning.
When the nation of Israel was in full rebellion against the LORD He fulfilled what He had promised. He settled accounts with them and allowed the Assyrians and Babylonians to take them into captivity. That was a day of reckoning, a Day of The LORD.
When the LORD was through using the Babylonians to discipline those from the southern Kingdom of Judah He had a day of reckoning with them as described in Isaiah 13. That to was a Day of The LORD.
In Isaiah we find a dual prophecy against Babylon and against the entire earth when the LORD returns.
Isaiah 13:6-13 NLT
“Scream in terror, for the day of the LORD has arrived - the time for the Almighty to destroy. Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts, and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor.
“They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear. For see, the day of the LORD is coming - the terrible day of His fury and fierce anger.
“The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.
“I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty. I will make people scarcer than gold - more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.
“For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the LORD of Heaven’s Armies displays His wrath in the day of His fierce anger.”
The day of the LORD is a day when everything that is in opposition to the Lord is shown to be futile and the LORD has His way and nothing can stand in His way!
The day of the LORD is not something to be trifled with.
The day of the LORD is not something to be ignored!
When we think back to Hurricane Florence (HF) we can see that there were all kinds of warnings. There were warnings on TV and warnings on the radio and warnings in the newspapers and warnings on the internet and people going from house to house warning of the storm that was on its way.
They were saying, “Get in your car or on a bus or on a plane and get out of here. Go as far inland as you can or you may very well die.”
People were even warned that once the projected full force of the storm hit there would be no one to call for rescue and even if you could still make a call no one would come.
In the same way the LORD has warned us over and over in His Holy Word that something is coming that far exceeds the terror of HF and that terror is for those who have failed to heed His warnings. That is the day of the LORD.
Now, most of the people in our society are clueless about what is in the Bible.
You hear used to hear people complaining about the government taking down the Ten Commandments in court houses and government buildings and school but most of these protesters would not be able to tell you what the Ten Commandments actually are.
Now if people don’t know something as basic as the Ten Commandments they certainly don’t know about The day of the LORD.
So, if they don’t read the Bible how will they know?
I think we all know how they should know, don’t we?
Let’s go back to the illustration of Hurricane Florence (HF).
Suppose the weather people knew all about HF and the destruction it would bring but they decided, “I’m not going to talk about it or tell anyone unless they ask me about it.”
That would amount to murder, wouldn’t it? I mean, here comes this terrible storm with winds would possibly be reaching over 100-150 MPH and torrential rain and flooding and storm surges that could reach 10-15 feet above the normal sea levels and the meteorologists decide not to tell anyone unless they’re asked?
That would amount to murder.
Maybe the meteorologists might think it would make people feel uncomfortable if they were told.
Maybe the weather man might think people would mock him and make fun of him so he just keeps it to himself. That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it??
Or, imagine that you found out about the coming storm and you just decided not to tell anyone because it was a private matter. Your neighbors could die, your co-workers could die, your family could die but it’s up to them to discover the weather forecast for themselves.
That would be just plain crazy!
The point to all of this is that any normal person who knows disaster is coming would warn everyone they could, right?
Well, since we’re all here in church today and since the Lord has made it clear that the Day of The LORD, a day of reckoning, is coming and since we are hopefully normal people we would want to let people know that they are in danger, right???
Now, there are at least a couple of differences between HF and The day of the LORD.
One is that if you are not ready for HF it can kill your body but not your soul.
However, if you are not ready for The day of the LORD you will lose both your body and your soul in hell.
That should cause a panic in our hearts because unlike the predictability of an approaching hurricane we do not know when The day of the LORD will take place.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
That is what is being said for those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior, “They will not escape.” Our family members, friends, neighbor, co-workers, strangers … if they don’t know the Lord when Christ returns, “they will not escape!”
But for those who do know Jesus Christ as their Savior there will be no need for escape. Thank You Jesus for we will be safe in His arms! PTL!
And, also, we should not be surprised by the day of the LORD, the return of Christ. Why?
1 Thessalonians 5:4 NIV
“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.”
Well, if Jesus is coming unannounced like a thief in the night why wouldn’t we be surprised?
We should not be surprised because we should be watching and waiting for Him.
Imagine that you find a package on your front porch that you were not expecting, you’d be surprised right?
On the other hand if you had ordered the item that arrived in the package you wouldn’t be surprised at all when you spotted it on the porch, you would just be pleased.
You would not be surprised because you would have been looking out for it to arrive day after day after day.
That is why we, as Christians, should not be surprised when Christ returns.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 NLT says,
“But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
“So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
“For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:10 AMP says it this way …
"[Christ] died [willingly] for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ’s appearing [on the Day of the LORD]], we might live together with Him and share His eternal life.”
With hurricane Florence the meteorologist were charged with spreading the word so that people would not have to endure the wrath of the storm but could escape and live.
With the return of Christ we Christians are charged with spreading the Word so that people will not have to endure the wrath of God but they might find safety in Him and have eternal life!
Christians will not have to endure the wrath of God on the day of the LORD but will be welcomed into eternal life.
We who are aware of that need to be about the business of letting others know.
What are we to be letting the whole world know?
We need to let them know that 2,000 years ago there was another Day of The LORD, another day of reckoning.
On that day Jesus Christ, the one and only begotten Son of God, took all of the sin of the world upon Himself. God the Father took all of the sin that had accumulated since Adam and Eve sinned and all of sin that would accumulate until the end of this earth and placed it upon His son. And Jesus bled and died as the perfect sacrifice for your sins and for mine.
It was a day of reckoning. It was a day when the accounts were settled. It was a day when the wrath of God was deflected from us onto His Son, Jesus Christ.
The sacrifice was done. The sin debt was paid for all sin for all time.
But the payment for my sin was not applied until the day when I repented of my sin and turned away from my sinful life and asked Jesus to forgive me. Right then and there that payment made 2,000 years ago was transferred to my account and I was forgiven and made into a child of God.
The moment before I gave my life to Christ this would have been my situation if the Day of the LORD had happened right then and there …. “THEY WILL NOT ESCAPE.”
1 Thessalonians 5:3 NIV
“While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
And yet, the moment after I gave my life to Christ this was my situation should the Day of the LORD had happened right then and there … “WE CAN LIVE WITH HIM FOREVER!”
1 Thessalonians 5:10 NLT
“Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever.”
How many people do you know that are in this (1 Thessalonians 5:3) condition?
Shouldn’t we tell them so that they can be here? (1 Thessalonians 5:10)
One of the pastors that Pastor Karenlee likes to watch on Sunday mornings before church is Michael Yousef. His advice is that you take the time to sit down with a person and explain the way of salvation so that it is understood and then not to mention it again but to live it out in front of them and to make it a matter of unending, urgent prayer.
Another person I heard or read advised people to tell their unsaved friends and family once a year.
These are both good ideas but the best idea is to pray fervently for the unsaved people in your life and to speak when the Holy Spirit tells you to speak and to stop when the Holy Spirit tells you to stop.
Just as certainly as hurricane Florence was bearing down on the east coast earlier this month the Day of the LORD is coming and it will be a day of reckoning.
If you are unsaved you can have your day of reckoning today and it can be a day of rejoicing in finding that Jesus has paid the debt for your sin and the account has been settled.
Final comments … Possible invitation … Prayer … Dismissal …
