This cannon fired birds, with great force, into the windshields of passenger jets to insure designs and materials were up to par. They were glad to let the railway borrow their cannon to test the train windshields. Just before the test run, British Railways sent someone out to buy a dead chicken for ammunition. The cannon was loaded, aimed, and fired at the windshield. The bird smashed through the windshield, broke the engineer’s chair, and made a large dent in the rear wall! The people at British Railways were furious! They called The British Airways demanding an explanation. British Airways investigated the situation and said, “No problem, next time you buy a chicken, make sure it isn’t frozen!”
Obviously those people had not prepared well for the test. If they had, they would have known not to thrust a frozen chicken into that cannon.
Preparation is a major part of life.
Illus: One of the things the Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts of America do a good job of teaching is that one should always “Be Prepared!”
We, as Christians, need to adopt the motto of the scouts, as we live in a very unique time. Christ could return for His church during our generation. It does not take a rocket scientist to tell us that something major is going to have to happen soon! Yes, all the indicators point to that fact!
Paul gives us three things in our text to consider regarding our being prepared for Christ’s return. Look at 1 Thess. 5:1-11. We read, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 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. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 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. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” As we look for Christ to return any day, we should:
I. BE PREPARED
Perhaps someone is asking, “Preacher, when do you think He will come back?” The answer to that question is simple...SOON!
However, while we recognize the Lord’s return is soon, we have to be careful about setting dates the way some have done in the past.
Illus: A tourist was driving through West Texas and stopped at a gas station. He observed a piece of rope dangling from a sign. The sign stated, “Weather Forecaster.” The man asked the owner of the station, “How can you possibly tell the weather with a piece of rope?” The owner of the station said, “It’s simple...
• When the rope swings back and forth, it is windy.
• When it gets wet, it is raining.
• When it is frozen stiff, it is snowing.
• And when it is gone...TORNADO!”
And it is just that simple--all the indicators are telling us that Christ is coming soon for His church!
Why should we BE PREPARED! BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY WHEN CHRIST WILL COME! Yet some, in our day as in Paul’s, will still set dates.
Illus: Every now and then we hear of people who have worked out an amazing prophetic formula and have discovered the exact day that Jesus is coming back.
What is more amazing than the formulas is the fact that many thousands of people have believed those amazing “prophetic” formulas! For example,
Illus: Edgar Whisenant sold 4.3 million copies of his book proclaiming “88 Reasons For The Rapture In 1988! Then, when his predictions did not come true, he wrote another book predicting Christ’s coming in 1989--it only sold 30,000 copies...
Some of the most gullible people on planet earth are those who claim to be saved! It is obvious God did not want anyone to know when Jesus was going to return. Why?
Illus: Probably because if people knew when He was to come back they would “Eat, drink, and be merry” and then, just before He was to return, everyone would fall down and repent of their sins and get right with God.
Our all-wise God concealed the time when His precious Son would return for His church. Jesus said, Matt. 24:36, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Nevertheless, that still does not keep foolish men from establishing dates.
Illus: The Jehovah Witnesses have predicted that Christ would return in 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, and 1975.
The only way they can predict His coming for a certain year and be accurate is to predict it every year, and one of these years they will be correct.
The Bible does not give us any magic formulas to work out to find out when He will return. The only thing we know for sure about His return is that no man knows when it will be! We just need to live each day as if it were the day He would return!
We do not know when HE WILL RETURN, but WE DO KNOW HOW.
A. CHRIST WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
Illus: Listen, I know how every burglary in this country could be stopped. There is a way for us to have a zero crime rate when it comes to burglary. How? Have our legislators pass a law that before a thief can break into a house and steal anything, HE MUST TELL THE VICTIM WHEN HE IS GOING TO COME. Then, if everyone knows when the thief is coming, everyone can BE PREPARED to stop him before he gets started.
Listen, as good as a plan as this, this is not my plan. It is actually Jesus’ plan. He said, Matt. 24:43-44, “But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
We do not know WHEN CHRIST WILL RETURN, but we do know HOW HE WILL COME. Paul said, 1 Thess. 5:2, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
Notice, it says He will come “...as a thief...” It did not say He would be a thief! You see, a thief takes that which is not his. When Jesus comes, He will take only that which belongs to Him.
• He can look across this congregation and know everyone who belongs to Him.
• He can look at a football stadium full of people and He knows everyone that belongs to Him.
We do not know the time or the season that Christ will come back, but He will come back “...as a thief...” when people are not expecting Him. Paul wanted to make sure they understood that, so he used another analogy to drive the point home. He also said...
B. CHRIST WILL COME AS A WOMAN IN LABOR
A mother knows that a birth is coming, but she does not know exactly when it will take place. She must be PREPARED.
Illus: A mother can go to a doctor and based upon certain information he can estimate when the mother will deliver, but it is just a guess. The only thing of which that mother can be sure is that a birth is going to take place and she had better get ready. A pregnant woman may be...
• Shopping, but she had better be prepared.
• Vacationing, but she had better be prepared.
• Sleeping, but she had better be prepared.
Look at 1 Thess. 5:3. We read, “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 point the Lord was making in those two analogies is that the LORD IS COMING BACK! We do not know when, but we had better be PREPARED. We do not know WHEN, but we know HOW. As a THIEF and as a MOTHER TO BE. Paul cautions the Thessalonians to BE PREPARED. Also, he cautions them to...
II. BE PURE
Look at verses 4-8. We read, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 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.” Paul suggests if we are going to live our Christian life looking for the Lord to return at any time, we should be PURE. HOW DO WE DO THAT?
A. BY LIVING IN THE LIGHT
In verses 4-8 Paul asserts that those who know the Lord are children of the light, not of darkness. We read, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 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.”
Night has always been considered to be the time of evil. More than any other time, evil occurs then.
Illus: This is why prostitutes are referred to as “Ladies of the NIGHT!”
Illus: This is why parents who love their children require them to be in the safety of their home before it is late at night.
You have heard the old saying, “Nothing good happens after midnight.”
It should not surprise you, if your child is allowed out after midnight, that you should receive a call from the police station or from the emergency room because of some bad thing that has happened.
Because evil prevails at night many good parents do not allow their children to watch television at all, or at least not after 9 o’clock at night. Why? It is then that all kinds of crime and immorality are broadcast on television. Night has always been a time when evil was rampant.
Notice the difference between God’s crowd and the devil’s crowd. In verse 6, God’s Word speaks of the devil’s crowd as “asleep,” but of His children as being children of light that are ALERT!
We keep ourselves PURE by not walking in darkness. We also keep ourselves pure...
B. BY EXERCISING SELF CONTROL
Look at verse 8. We read, “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.” Notice, he begins with the words, “But let us...” This is in comparison to others. We are different from those who walk in darkness who can not see the danger around them. They exercise no self control whatsoever, but WE DO EXERCISE SELF CONTROL!
Illus: In a department store a young husband was minding the baby while his wife was making a purchase. The baby was wailing loudly, but the father seemed to be quite unperturbed as he quietly said, “Easy now, Albert. Then he murmured, “Keep your temper.” A woman passing by remarked, “I must congratulate you! You seem to know just how to speak to a baby. You speak so gentle to little Albert.” “This is not Albert...MY name is Albert!”
We, as the children of God, must learn how to control ourselves. We often have to remind ourselves that we can not give in to our own feelings, ambitions, and desires. WE ARE DIFFERENT!
As we look for His glorious return we have to BE PREPARED, BE PURE and EXERCISE SELF CONTROL. We also must...
III. BE HOPEFUL
Every day we see Christians across this nation living the Christian life, still they have NO HOPE. Many are fighting battles with depression--just like sinners do. What is wrong? One problem is that the world gets a hold on them and they start conforming to the lost world. They want too much.
Illus: A survey was done of families where dad and mom have to hold a job to make ends meet. They were asked, “Why do both of you work?” The answer was one we are all familiar with, “We both have to work to be able to afford the essentials of life.” Then the survey went a bit further and analyzed what they meant by “essentials.” Once this was done it was discovered why both had to work. It was discovered that in the day when mom stayed home and trained the children on what father made the “essentials” were different. In fact, it was found that mom would be able to stay home today if they did not insist on:
• Wearing name-brand clothes.
• Eating out all the time.
• Wasting gas running around town.
• Spending so much money on toys.
• Taking expensive vacations.
• Buying and having to maintain expensive homes and cars.
The things of the world have a choke-hold on the American people. “Things have become more important to us than God. All of our joy is in things.
Illus: A person can get a brand new car and he is like the man who has just gotten a “fix.” For a while he is happy as he can be, but then the feeling begins wearing off and he has to find something else that will pick him up. He needs another “fix,” just like the drug addict on the prowl, trying to find something that will calm him down for a few hours or a few days.
This is how many live their lives. The world has them “hooked.” Listen, we who are children of the light are to be “hooked” on the Lord Jesus. As we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have it made.
Illus: Remember when Noah and his family were in the ark during the flood? That was one rough boat ride! But listen, every day Noah and his family were in that ark, regardless of how rough it was, they were ten thousand times better off than those outside of the ark.
We have our “rough days,” but we are ten thousand times better off than those who are walking in darkness no matter how much of this world’s goods they have. Without Christ the lost world has no hope whatsoever. They are only one heartbeat away from a Christless eternity. THEY HAVE NO HOPE!
We who know the Lord live knowing that Christ may come at any time and take us to be with Him in heaven for eternity. When it comes to OUR HOPE, let me show you two things.
A. FIRST, SALVATION IMPLIES THERE WAS SOMETHING TO BE SAVED FROM!
Look at verse 9. We read, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” God has appointed His salvation to save everyone. But listen, those who receive His wrath are those who have rejected His appointment. That is, THEY HAVE REJECTED THE INVITATION OF THE REAL CHRIST AND NOW THEY HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE FALSE CHRIST, THE ANTI-CHRIST!
Men and women will suffer the wrath of God, not because a cruel God has predestined them to be lost, but because they would keep the appointment of salvation He made for them.
2 Peter 3:9 says, “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.” We have HOPE today because we serve a God Who wants us to abide with Him for eternity.
When is that appointment? If you are lost, it is now. All you have to do is cry out to God and ask Him to forgive you for the sins you committed against Him. Repent of your sins. We have HOPE, BECAUSE SALVATION IMPLIES WE HAVE BEEN SAVED FROM SOMETHING.
B. WE HAVE HOPE BECAUSE SALVATION MEANS WE HAVE BEEN SAVED FOR SOMETHING.
Look at verse 10. We read, “Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” This verse of scripture is simply stating that CHRIST DIED that we MIGHT LIVE.
This is why we are HOPEFUL!
Conclusion/Summary:
ARE YOU PREPARED? This message is so comforting that Paul concluded with these words. Look at verse 18. We read, “Wherefore comfort one another WITH THESE WORDS.”
I. BE PREPARED.
II. BE PURE.
III. BE HOPEFUL.
