Ready Or Not He Will Come

As a child I really enjoyed playing... hide and go seek.

I loved it ...no matter if ...I was the one hiding ... trying not to get caught, ... or if I was the one seeking; ......who was trying to catch those hiding... unexpectedly.

Although I have not played in quite some time, ......I do remember ... that the seeker, ......was called ...the "It".

And ... The "It" ......would close their eyes ...and count to 20 ...... giving time ... for the others to hide.

As you were hiding ... you could hear the count, "One Mississippi ... Two Mississippi" ......All the Way ......To 20 Mississippi.

Then you would heed the cry, ....... Ready or not here I come."

Now...Four things ...were always certain ...in the game:

(1 Finger) - The "It" was surely coming

(2nd Finger) - The "It" ... was coming ... when they were good and ready ....and not before

(3rd Finger) - The "It" was coming .... whether you were ready or not

(4th Finger) - And If you were not ready, .... then you ... would pay the consequences.

Little did I realize as a child ...how much this game of hide and seek ......paralleled the return ...... The Second Coming ... of Jesus Christ. (Long Pause)

Paul exhorted the church at Thessalonica ... and us today ... the importance ...of being ready.

Hear Paul's words to the believers gathered in Thessalonica.

BIBLE "Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well of that the day." END (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)

Beloved ... The return ... the Second Coming of Jesus Christ ... is one of the most repeated teachings ... in all of Scripture.

Paul was well aware of Christ's return ... and he shared ... this truth ... to the believers gathered in Thessalonica.

As a matter of fact, ... Paul told them ... that he should not have to remind them about this truth ... again.

Christ would return ... the fact is obvious ... it is a certainty. (Pause)

It is much like the story of a tourist driving through West Texas ... who stopped at a gas station.

He observed a piece of rope dangling from a sign labeled ... "Weather Forecaster."

The tourist was curious and asked ......... "How can you possibly tell the weather ... with a piece of rope?"

"It's simple, Sonny," ... was the droll answer.

"When the rope swings back and forth, ... it's windy.

When it gets wet, ... it's raining.

When it's frozen stiff, ... and it has white stuff on it ... well ... it is snowing, And when it's gone... tornado!"

There are simply some things ... that ... should be obvious ... without even asking.

And ... The return of Jesus Christ ... is one of those things.

The Scriptures inform us that the Messiah will return how? "...as a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

The question is not ...... "If Jesus will return?" ... but "When he will return?"

And ... Paul answers this question ... with a very clear response, ... "No one knows."

Paul explains this ... by describing the time of Jesus return ... as ... A thief in the night.

Just as a thief plans his entry at an uncertain time ... that is ... when least expected ..., so it will be ... with the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus Himself ... proclaims this truth ... as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (Slow) BIBLE "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." END (Matthew 24:35)

Later in the Gospel Jesus shares this warning) (Slow) BIBLE "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him." END (Matthew 24:44)

Paul in our reading this morning continues with these words:

BIBLE "When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! ?But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness." END (1 Thessalonians 5:3-5)

Paul often refers to the Second Coming of Christ as the ... "Day of the Lord."

Throughout scripture ... the "Day of the Lord" was the designation of that latter time ... when God would pour out His wrath ... on the ungodly.

After Jesus returns, ... He will begin to pour out His judgments ... upon them; ... in a time which is often referred to as ... the "Great Tribulation."