Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It
Is To Men As They Are
"Preach The Word"
Spiritual
Awareness
Text: 1Thess. 5:1-11.
Introduction:
When a person is groggy or sleepy, they are not as alert as to what as
going on around them. It
seems that God’s people have spiritually gone to sleep and need to hear
the trumpet call of the Word of God to a sudden reveille.
There is so much at stake, the church cannot afford to be in a state of
insensibility, apathy, or indifference.
Satan would love for us to live in a daze, but God’s desire is
that we be fully alert and wide awake to face the times in which we live.
If a person’s house were on fire, and he paid no attention to the
smoke that would be building up in the house, he would be sure to lose
everything that he worked for much of his life.
The Apostle Paul in Chapter 5 steps far beyond where he was in the last
part of Chapter 4. In verses
13-18 he wrote about the coming of the Lord Jesus for His church.
Though the word “rapture” is not in the Bible, the teaching of
it is. To “rapture” means “to suddenly snatch out.”
In fact, you do not find the word “Trinity” in the Bible, but
the teaching of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost being a “Trinity” is found
throughout the Bible. Just
because a word is not found, that does not mean the teaching the word
represents is not in the Scriptures.
In the phrase “the Day of the Lord” —we are projected far beyond
the time Paul was living in or even the day in which we live to a time
that is yet future.
In this chapter there is both the practical and the prophetic.
The practical deals with the here and now; the prophetic deals with
things that will be fulfilled in the future. The Schofield Reference Bible
identifies this chapter in its heading of Chapter 5, “The model walk and
the day of Jehovah.”
What is coming in the future should affect the way that we live in the
present. Coming shadows
provoke present concerns and considerations.
I. Be Aware Of Our Place
1 Thessalonians 5:1 says, “But of the times and the
seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.”
“Times” speaks of ages. We get our word “chronology” from this world.
“Seasons” speaks of events. They
knew something of “times and dates.”
Paul had already given instructions to them about the future.
We do not need to know when the exact time of the coming of the Lord
will be.
A. We Are In The Last Days
They began when the coming of Jesus in the incarnation.
We are in the last days of the “church age.” The rapture of the church will close out the last days.
Then, Israel will be center stage again.
B. We Are In Perilous Days.
“Perilous days” refer to times of danger. These are dangerous days
in which we live. Paul
spoke of it in 2 Timothy:
2 Timothy
3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For
men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural
affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures
more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away.
Though we are in “perilous days”, “better
days” are coming as sure as there is a God in heaven.
C. We Are In Expectant Days
Because of the times and seasons, we are looking for
Jesus to come in the near future.
Illustration:
McCheyne, the Scottish preacher, once said to some
friends, "Do you think Christ will come tonight?'
One after another they said, "I think not."
When all had given this answer, he solemnly repeated
this text: "The Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not."
There must be a spiritual awareness about the place we
are into today. We may be
that generation that will be alive when Jesus comes.
Be Aware Of
Our Place
II. Be
Aware Of A Particular Day
1 Thes. 5:2
says, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night.”
Never is the Lord Jesus compared in character to a thief, but He will
come so unexpected and suddenly. The
pure and holy Christ will come as a thief in the sense that no man knows
the day or the hour of his coming. He
will just come when the time He has appointed arrives.
I believe when that last person that makes up the church is saved, then
we will see the Lord Jesus. It
will probably be right after the last part of the body of Christ is added.
What is the day of the Lord?
When does it begin? It
commences right after the rapture of the church and ends with the
conclusion of the 1,000 year earthly millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in
those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be
delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the
LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near,
it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day
of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 15 That day is a
day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and
desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick
darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and
against the high towers. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they
shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and
their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 18
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the
day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire
of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that
dwell in the land.
Zephaniah
3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with
all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The LORD hath taken away thy
judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the
LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
The day of the Lord will involve both blessing and judgment.
It will involves blessing for Israel, and judgment on the Gentiles
nations who have rebelled against God and hated the Jews.
The Day of the Lord involves Chapters 6-19 of the Book of Revelation.
Be Aware Of Our Place
Be Aware Of A Particular Day
III. Be Aware Of Power To Deceive
1 Thess. 5:3 says, “ 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.” The
man of sin, the Antichrist, will have the world
convinced that he has all the answers and that everything will be
alright. He is like the Satan
who energizes him, he is a liar.
One of the evidences that we are in the last days of the last days is
that people so easily embrace lies, especially in the realm of spiritual
things.
Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect
I know those verses are in the context of the
tribulation period. But, as
we get nearer to the coming of the Lord, there will be more and more
deception as we approach His coming.
A. Don’t Be Deceived About the Way To Heaven
B. Don’t Be Deceived About The Word of God
C. Don’t Be Deceived About The Worthlessness of
Religion Without God
Be Aware Of Our Place
Be Aware Of A Particular Day
Be Aware Of Power To Deceive
IV. Be Aware Of A Placing
1 Thes. 5:4-7
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. [6]
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
[7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night.
God’s dear
children are in the light.
A.
Light Brings Awareness
It is hard to
see what you need to see in the dark.
In the dark people sleep or are drunken.
We are in the light
B.
Light Dispels Fears
When you
realize you are in light, there is a sense of security.
C.
Light Inspires Faithfulness
(v.6)
“Watch”
and “be sober.”
Because we are in the light, it puts a compulsion within us to do the will of God and be faithful to him.
Be Aware Of
Our Place
Be Aware Of A
Particular Day
Be Aware Of
Power To Deceive
Be Aware Of A
Plucking
V.
Be Aware Of A Plan (v.8)
1 Thes. 5:8 says, “ But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting
on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of
salvation.”
We are to be “sober.” It
can have two meanings.
First, to abstain from wine. Secondly, it can refer to discreet living.
Manifesting a sound spiritual mindedness. There should be self discipline
in light of the events that are coming.
You just are not wise to “run wild” when it is evident Jesus is
coming.
Paul speaks of two pieces of equipment the Roman soldier wore.
A. To
Have A Breastplate
It covered
the soldier from his neck to his waist, protecting his vital organs.
Both faith
and love work together. The
idea is protection.
Faith in the
Lord protects inwardly.
Love for
others protects us outwardly.
It is
impossible to sever faith and love.
B. To
Have A Helmet
That is the hope of salvation. The
helmet protects the mind. The
mind is Satan’s battlefield. Being saved is not just wishful thinking;
it is a reality and a blessed assurance.
A. Doubts arise in the mind
B. Disbelief arises in the mind.
Be Aware Of Our Place
Be Aware Of A Particular Day
Be Aware Of Power To Deceive
Be Aware Of A Plucking
Be Aware Of A Plan (v.8)
VI. Be
Aware Of A Possession
1 Thes. 5:9
Those who are appointed unto wrath are those who will not accept Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord.
The word “appointed” means “to ordain, purpose, or set forth.”
God has a bigger part is our salvation and our coming to Christ
than we want to give Him credit for in life.
Many would say here from this verse that you have obtained salvation
because God “appointed you” to salvation.
One thing is for sure, if you are saved by God’s grace, you can
clearly and confidently say, “I am one of God’s appointed.”
I am saved today mainly because of the part God played in my salvation.
He gave me the desire to come to Him, then, He gave me the faith to
trust Jesus Christ God’s Son as my Savior.
Explain it however you may when it comes to sovereignty and free will,
but it is God who does the calling and the saving.
I know “whosoever will may come” but not everyone “will.” That
is why we can safely say, the lost are the “whosoever won’ts” and
the saved are the “whosoever wills.”
Be Aware Of
Our Place
Be Aware Of A
Particular Day
Be Aware Of
Power To Deceive
Be Aware Of A
Plucking
Be Aware Of A
Plan (v.8)
Be Aware Of A
Possession
VII. Be
Aware Of A Prospect
1 Thess. 5:10-11 says, “Who died for us, that, whether we wake or
sleep, we should live together with him. [11] Wherefore comfort yourselves
together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
A. There Can Be Relaxation
We know that whether we live or die, we will live together with Him.
That’s better than a sleeping pill at night!
I heard about a fellow who was so afraid he would die, that He did not
want to go to sleep because He was afraid he might not wake up.
B. There Can Be Edification
“Edify” means “to build a house.”
You are not only to build your life but to build one another’s
lives.
Paul urges them to continue edifying one another. They were already
doing so, he just did not want them to stop or let up in building up the
brethren.
Conclusion:
Let’s be not live in ignorance or be asleep, let’s walk as those who
have been plucked out of darkness and brought into light.
A Sermon By Dr. Tom Walker
Site created by Tom Walker