11/13/22 1 Thess. 5:1-11 “He’s Coming Back!”

11 Nov 11/13/22 1 Thess. 5:1-11 “He’s Coming Back!”

11/13/22     1 Thess. 5:1-11       “He’s Coming Back!”

How many people here today are good at keeping secrets?  I know that there must be some of you who really struggle with this.  I know of a family somewhere; let’s say a fictitious family, who had one member who just couldn’t keep a secret no matter what.  When she was young, all a person had to do was ask her and she would tell you.  As she got a little older, she got a little better but she would still spill the beans if she was really questioned.  Of course, this made all kinds of problems for Christmas and birthdays.  But the family worked around it and all was well.  Maybe you know someone like that.  I get entrusted with many secrets because I’m a pastor.  I don’t have any problem with that.  But I do know of a pastor who had a terrible time keeping secrets.  I don’t know how they are doing today but this person was one of the best pastors except for this one little flaw.  I think you all know, and this is no secret, that I love God.  I think that there is no life without Him.  You will never convince me otherwise.  I also think that God keeps secrets from us.  I think that the Bible only tells a small portion of the story.  God keeps the rest of the story from us because we don’t need to know.  One of the big secrets He keeps is the hour and day that Jesus will return.  We are going to take a look at this today and hopefully you will come to realize that you really don’t need to know this.

Last week, we talked about a hard subject, tithing.  Today we will talk about an equally hard topic but for different reasons.  I think that there are a couple of positions about the end times that are prominent today and they are both, in some ways, in error.  There is the first camp of people who think that every time there is a little flare up in the Middle East, we have the fulfillment of another prophecy and the end is just around the corner.  We all know these types of people.  They tell us that this prophecy has been fulfilled here and this one over there and still another one back here again.  If it were up to them, they would scare us into salvation.  This might be ok in some circumstances as I think you should get your salvation from whatever way works.

At the other extreme are the people who just don’t care.  They say that Jesus has been going to come back for 2000 years and He hasn’t shown up yet.  Surely, He won’t be coming back yet and if He is as loving as you say, then He will warn us.  Then I can get ready.  I have lots of time yet.

I think that both these types of people are wrong but I don’t want to offend anyone listening.  What I mean to say is “look at what the Bible says!”  Paul is telling us in our reading and we can read about this in other places, we will not know in advance when Jesus will return.  We have been given some signs but we will never know the exact time.  When you hear about one of these crackpots telling us that the end of the world is coming on Dec. 23, 2022, disregard whatever they say.  They don’t know any more about God’s time table than I do or the man on the moon.  All I know for sure is that Jesus is coming back.  This is a promise.

Now, we all know that we will not know the time but there are signs.  In other places in the Bible we are told that there will be wars, earthquakes and famines.  There will be lots of terrible things that happen that are signs that the end is near.  This type of thing has been going on for centuries where people think they have it so bad that it must be the end times.  I’m not going to say that our times today are the end times.  They may be or they may not be.  I don’t know and I won’t know until it happens.

One of the things that Satan wants us to do is get so tied up in these types of discussions that we forget why we are here.  People get into arguments about this.  Denominations get into arguments about this.  People will tell me that I must not believe in Jesus because I don’t think we are in the end times.  People get downright nasty about this topic.

All I know for sure is that we have a job to do.  We need to be leading as many people as possible to Christ.  I wish there was a way that I could go out and reach thousands of people today with the promise of eternal life.  I think that we, as churches, have become very laid back in our evangelism.  We seem to think that if people want Jesus bad enough then they can tune into our broadcast.  Guess what?  These people need a reason to want Jesus in the first place and it is our job to show them the reasons.  If anybody has any ideas on how to reach the many, many people who don’t know Jesus, then let me know.  We should be thinking along those lines.

Along these same complacent lines, Paul tells us that people will think only of their own peace and safety.  He is referring to the people who think they know Christ but don’t.  He is thinking of the people who put their faith in other things like our government.  He is thinking of the many people who don’t give God a second thought.

When Jesus comes back, and no one will know when, these complacent people will be left behind to face the wrath of God.  They have had many, many chances and they refuse to listen.  Our country is full of these people.  Remember that it isn’t enough to believe in Jesus because even Satan believes in Jesus and I know Satan won’t be in heaven.  You have to accept Jesus into your heart.  You have to surrender so that you can have the greatest life possible.  If there is someone who is complacent today, ask Jesus to live in your heart.  I’m not going to go into all the bad things that will happen to you if you don’t because I just don’t have time today.  Our God is a just God and it is your choice and your choice alone as to whether you will follow Him or not.  Paul is saying that once Jesus comes back, all bets are off.  It is too late.  This saddens me a lot because I know many people who won’t make it.

As we move along, I would like to point out that the term ‘day of the Lord’ is mentioned many times in the Bible.  The day of the Lord is talked about by Paul, Peter, Isaiah, Luke, Amos and Joel.  As a matter of fact, it is talked about 25 times in the Bible.  And each time the Bible talks about the day of the Lord it is similar.  There will be judgment.  And of course, there will be love.

As Christians, we do not live in the darkness.  We have given up the darkness so that we can live in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We know what it feels like to have the love of Jesus in us at all times.  We know where we have to turn when bad things happen to us.  Jesus will take care of us all the time.  We know this.

Unfortunately, the world that we live in is full of darkness.  I would like to remind us of what happened a little over 20 years ago when those complete cowards attacked the World Trade Center.  They represent not darkness but complete blackness.  This blackness is all over the world and even in our own country as we find more and more home-grown cowards who attack the innocent.  Satan is the cause of all these school shootings.  Then in this darkness our own leaders will now tell us that we have to accept these perverted people because they are misguided or their so-called religion tells them to do this.  We have to be inclusive.  When it comes to sin, we don’t have to be inclusive at all.  We live in this darkness and we are in trouble.

And this is only the tip of the dark, dark iceberg.  I think of all the children throughout the world who don’t have enough to eat.  I think of all the pain and suffering everywhere.  Then I think of how this country sends food abroad, only to have it fall into the hands of corrupt governments and the starving get nothing.  And our own government thinks that this is ok.  We live in a terrible darkness.

And if that isn’t bad enough, we have darkness right here in our own area.  When people move into the area, they want to know right away what the night life in the area is like.  We have children telling us how much they like to party.  Most of the time, these kids don’t even know what that means, but it won’t be long before they find out.  We think that it’s ok that we can force our children to be sexually mutilated for life.  We are guilty when we teach our children that divorce is not only ok but good.  We are guilty when we deny them the chance to come to Sunday school but instead take them to a softball tournament.  We teach them that homosexuality is good when the life expectancy of a homosexual male is 20 years less than the general population.  There is something wrong here.  We live in a dark world right here in this area.

Sometimes people get a little upset with me because I talk about some of these things.  People don’t want to hear just how close they are to the darkness.  Maybe they are actually living in the darkness and this is the only hour of light they get.  I’m sorry that I have to talk about these terrible things but it is my job to show you what kind of world we live in.  Hopefully you will realize that it is not me who is being offensive.  It is our world and our condition that is offensive.

We are people of the light.  We are people of God.  Paul is telling us to be awake and not be like our neighbors who sleep.  We are to keep alert and on the lookout.  We are not to fall into the ways of the world.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is so easy to fall into the ways of the world.

That’s because you live in Satan’s world.  He is very good at handing you candy.  He is very good at deceiving you at every point.  After all, what is the big deal about beer companies sponsoring all our sports events or having liquor ads on the sports page so that all kids, all kids can associate beer and sports together?  Or what is the big deal about turning on a TV show that is full of murder and half naked people?  Have you ever seen the commercial for insurance where the guy rides on the blind spot on your car so you can’t see?  He causes the accident and he calls himself mayhem or chaos.  This is the devil as he leads you astray.  This is a great commercial because it shows you just what evil can do.

The good part is that you don’t need this stuff.  God doesn’t want to pour out His wrath on you or anyone.  You have already been saved by the blood of Jesus.  All these terrible things are going around us and you don’t have to worry.  You need to try to stay out of the devil’s snare but if you do get caught in it, you have a place to turn.  Jesus loves you and will not let you perish.  We all have jobs to do and some of them are pretty nasty, especially when we have to face the devil.  This can be scary and dangerous.  But just keep in mind that he has lost the war.  Jesus won.  Satan lost.  It is that simple.  All you have to do when you get cornered by the devil is call out to Jesus.  If you command Satan out of your life in the name of Jesus, he has to leave.  He has to obey Jesus.  He has no choice.  Jesus is his boss.  As I said, even Satan believes in Jesus.  He hates me at this very moment for reminding you of this.

Satan is a beaten, low-down scoundrel who has no power in your life.  Your power comes from Jesus.  There is nothing the darkness can do to you if you grab on to Jesus and don’t let go.  You were made for Jesus and not for darkness.  There will be no darkness at all when you get to heaven, not even shadows.  There will be light everywhere and you will love it.

We are called to encourage each other like I’m trying to do this today.  This means we are to try to help out our friends, neighbors and family when they are threatened.  Any threat you can think of comes from the darkness.  Expose it so that all will see the falseness that lies in the darkness.  Tell all you know that the light is the way of the living.

Marc Axelrod tells an old story of St. Francis of Assissi who was a Franciscan monk who lived centuries ago.  He spent time each day reading his Bible and then praying.  One day he decided to work in the vegetable garden and someone came up and said, “Hey Francis.  What would you do if I told you that Jesus was coming back tomorrow?”  Francis thought about this for about a second and said, “I think I would probably turn around and go back to work in my garden.”

If you think about that for a moment you might say, “What a dummy!  Jesus is coming back and all you are worried about is your vegetables.  Snap out of it!  Jesus is coming back!”

But if we reflect on this a bit more, I think what St. Francis might be saying is, “Look.  If Jesus comes back tomorrow, I’ve nothing to worry about.  I live a life of faith, hope and love every single day.  I read my Bible.  I pray.  I don’t live a life of moral indifference or decay.  I don’t go out and get plastered every night.  I don’t use drugs.  I don’t follow the ways of this immoral country and world.  When Christ comes back, I’ll be ready.”

So, I ask you today, are you ready?  If Jesus came back tonight, would He discover that you have been faithful to Him on a daily basis?  Or would you be in a panic because you weren’t expecting Him so soon.  One of these days He will be back.  He will be back because He loves you, all of you.  Go to Him daily in your Bible.  Go to Him daily in your prayer.  Try to love Him back the way He loves you.  Jesus wants to be your friend, your best friend.  Go to Him.  You will never regret it.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.