You Better Be Ready! Series

“YOU BETTER BE READY!” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

FBCF – 3/22/26

Jon Daniels

INTRO – We are constantly getting ready for something – getting ready to eat, go to work, go to school, go to bed, go turkey hunting, go to a party or go on a date. Most of us are gathering our documentation & receipts right now to get ready to file our taxes. Students study to get ready to take a test. Athletes practice to get ready to play in a game. Firefighters train to get ready to fight a fire. National Guardsmen drill to get ready to be deployed. Preachers study to get ready to preach a sermon. Readiness is simply an integral part of our everyday lives.

And readiness for the return of Jesus should be an integral part of our Christian lives. MacArthur: “…Christ taught that we should be expectant & ready for Him to return at any time; & He also taught us to be prepared & stay faithful even if He tarries longer that we suppose. So true readiness for Christ’s return involves both expectancy & patient endurance.” (The Second Coming, p. 17)

Bible makes it clear that the return of Jesus IS going to happen & we must be ready:

- Matthew 24:36 – “…no one knows the date and hour when the end will be—not even the angels. No, nor even God’s Son. Only the Father knows.” (TLB)

- Matthew 24:44 – “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (NIV)

- Revelation 1:7 – “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.”

- Hebrews 9:27-28 – “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.”

- John 14:1-3 – “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again & will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

- Acts 1:11 – “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Simple illus: You get home from work. Your kid has a school function that you & your wife need to go to. But you left something at your office. You tell your wife, “I’ve got to run to the office. So be ready to go when I get back.”

Jesus was crucified, buried, & rose again, then had to leave & go to the Father. But He clearly told His followers, “Yall be ready to go when I get back!” That’s what we’re talking about today.

EXPLANATION – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (p. 987)

Paul answered the question about those believers who have died before the Rapture happens. Assured the church that those who have died will enjoy all of the excitement & blessings of the return of Jesus that those who are still alive will enjoy. Now turns his attention to the question: “When will this happen?” There have always been questions about the timing of His return, but Jesus clearly said that only God the Father knows this. It’s His responsibility to work out the time & details of the return of Jesus – It’s our responsibility to be ready for the return of Jesus. Our application point is the same as our sermon title – Simply put:

APPLICATION – You better be ready!

SECURITY FOR THE CHRIST-FOLLOWER – v .1, 4 – MSG – “I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead & make an appointment any more than a burglar would.” Don’t recommend The Message for serious Bible study, but it is fun to read it sometimes just to get a different perspective.

There’s security for us as Christ-followers in the simple, beautiful, amazing knowledge that Jesus is coming again. That’s enough for us to know. It’s ok to study & speculate on the details & times & events, but bottom line for us is that our Savior is coming back to get us soon. It’s more important that you live w/ an urgency for the Gospel & telling lost people about Jesus than spend your time trying to figure out what the 7-headed 10-horned beast in Rev. 13 is going to look like or what the locusts really are in Rev. 9. We ought to live our lives focused on what Jesus wants us to do right now & that is to make disciples. He will get here when He gets here.