The Day Of The Lord Will Come

INTRO.- The day will come. Consider this day, the day of birth. Perhaps your first baby.

ILL.- A man called 911, saying, "My wife is pregnant, and her contractions are only two minutes apart!"

"Is this her first child?" the doctor queries.

"No, of course not!" the man shouts. "This is her husband!"

When that first baby is about to come into the world both mom and dad are nervous. DO YOU REMEMBER?

ILL.- A lady named Barbara Sweed said: One of my husband’s colleagues at General Electric was taking Lamaze classes with his wife in preparation for the birth of their baby. The first evening, couples were asked to introduce themselves and state their occupations. A banker, a lawyer and a psychologist spoke up, and our factory-worker friend began to feel intimidated.

Finally his turn came. Rising to his feet, he said, "Hi! I’m Bill." Looking down at his pregnant wife, he quipped, "I work at GE, and I bring good things to life!"

ILL.- A lady named Billie L. Stahl wrote: Our three small children and I met my husband, a mail carrier, on his route for lunch at a fast-food restaurant. As we waited in line, he put our nine-month-old daughter in his mail bag. She stood up in the pouch and giggled, to the delight of some watching patrons. Carrying our tray to a table, my husband turned to one onlooker and said, "And all this time you thought the stork delivered them!"

That first birth can be something of a startling and shocking time, can it not? Especially, in the days BEFORE ultra-sound when you had no idea whether you were going to get a boy, a girl or maybe even twins like my mother did in Dec. of 1944.

And that surprising time is similar to the day of the Lord, that is, the day when the Lord will come back. It will be startling and shocking to everyone. And totally humbling. Even though we’ve been warned that day will come it will shock all people!

PROP.- Our text tells us specifically how that day will come and to whom.

1- The day will come surprisingly to some

2- The day will come rejoicingly to others

3- The day will come lovingly to God

I. THE DAY WILL COME SURPRISINGLY TO SOME

1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

ILL.- Gene Hunter of Ohio said: There is a full-length mirror in my police station’s weight room, where some officers spend hours flexing their muscles. One day a prankster posted this sign: "Caution: Objects in this mirror may be smaller than they appear."

The idea or principle is this: Most people are not nearly as big as they think they are, spiritually speaking. They are not nearly as big in being a good person as they think they are! Many people have the mistaken idea that if they do just a little good in life then that qualifies them to go to heaven.

ILL.- Here, for example, is the way many people may think. You all know Jerry Lewis, the comedian, who is now 82 years old. The Jerry Lewis telethon for Muscular Dystrophy has been going since 1966. That’s 42 years. His efforts have helped raise about $2 billion dollars for MD.

Here’s the deal: I think many people in our world and particularly in the entertainment industry just think that Jerry Lewis is some kind of saint for what he’s done and if anybody deserves to go to heaven then it’s Jerry Lewis. WRONG!

That’s not how the deal works. That’s not how God works! That’s not His plan. He gets the glory, not us!

Ephesians 2:8-10 "8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

We are not saved by our good works, but if we are saved then we should do good works. ARE YOU NOT MOTIVATED TO DO GOOD IN THIS WORLD? If not, then you need to examine your faith and your conversion!

Jerry Lewis, himself, may some day be shocked to find out that he is not nearly as big in God’s eyes as he thinks he is. And so will many other people.

1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.