Belong to the Day and Avoid Being Surprised at Night!
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Point: Being sons and daughters of the Day, one will avoid being surprised by the coming Day of the Lord, and the wrath of God. Because of one’s status as a child of God, through the salvation obtained by Christ, we have obligations to keep in belonging to Christ.
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.
What will be the sign of your return Lord? When will you return Jesus? What is the real question behind these questions? Will we be secure? Will we be protected from the coming wrath of God?
What is the real concern about wanting to know when Jesus will return? Is the church going to be raptured before the Tribulation or will the church go through the Tribulation? Why has the study of the Day of the Lord been more fascinated with rapture than resurrection?
Security. “Peace and safety”. As the Apostle Paul gently, but sternly, rebukes the Thessalonians, “you do not need anything to be written (or told to you) about the times and seasons” as you know very well, that Jesus’ return “will come just like a thief in the night” (v.1-3).
We have been told, Jesus will return, but do not be concerned about the time, but instead focus on being awake and belonging to the day.
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
Paul says, the Christ follower is not to sleep, but stay awake and be serious! The Greek word for ‘serious’ is nepho [3525] meaning to be sober-minded, watchful, circumspect. Be sober-minded about what? Paul reminds the Thessalonians to be sober-minded about God’s revelation and their salvation in Christ. Because they are in Christ, the Day of the Lord should be no concern; live as you are to live, as you have been taught and encouraged from us.
Are we more interested in knowing and figuring out theories of when Jesus will return, rather than sharing the saving hope of Jesus? Are we tucked away in our closet, with our calender, hoping that January 8th will be Jesus’ return engagement? The point of Paul’s communication here, of this passage, is not about the coming of the Day of the Lord, but how to live as children of the day, of Christ, in light of the coming Day of the Lord.
In the passage 1 Thess 4:13-18, Paul answered the Thessalonians concern about their dead who died before Christ’s return. Paul assures them that they will be resurrected and live with Christ. Paul now is writing to the Thessalonians concerning them, the still living, of how they are to live, while waiting for the return of Jesus, the Day of the Lord.
Do Not Sleep
The Greek word translated ‘sleep’ is ‘katheudo’ [2518]. In this context it means to be spiritually asleep, that is to be careless and unconcerned about sin or the performance of one’s duty. It simply is to be dead.
In the great classic Pilgrims Progress, one of the greatest threats to pilgrim and his companion hopeful, on their journey, was the enemy of sleep.
Let me read to you an excerpt from this great classic
"I then saw in my dream that they went till they came into a certain country, whose air naturally tended to make one drowsy if he came a stranger into it. And here Hopeful began to be very dull and heavy of sleep; wherefore he said unto Christian, "I do now begin to grow so drowsy, that I can scarcely hold up mine eyes; let us lie down here, and take one nap."
CHRISTIAN - "By no means, lest sleeping, we never awake more."
HOPEFUL - “Why, my brother? sleep is sweet to the laboring man: we may be refreshed if we take a nap.”
CHRISTIAN - “Do not you remember that one of the shepherds bid us beware of the Enchanted Ground? He meant by that, that we should beware of sleeping; wherefore let us not sleep as others, but let us watch and be sober.”
HOPEFUL - “I acknowledge myself in fault; and had I been here alone, I had by sleeping, run the danger of death.”
One of the greatest temptations and weapons of the enemy is the weapon of sleep. To slow down production, effectiveness, the best tactic is to lul one to sleep. One can be lulled to sleep by becoming distracted from one’s purpose, spending time and energy on that which is secondary and unimportant; that which is self-centered and not sacrificial.
Jesus says, “Come, follow Me” (Mt 4:19). In fact, the Gospels record Jesus saying, “Follow Me” thirteen times. We know in Scripture that anything repeated more than once, twice, is worth our attention. Scripture reminds us by it’s repetativeness that following Jesus should be our greatest concern. Where do you think our enemy Satan will attack? That which is of our Father’s greatest concern. Paul knew this and encouraged the church to “Follow him, as He followed Jesus” 1 Cor. 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
To not follow Jesus, is to slumber and sit at the feet of death, as Hopeful admits to Christian. Are we sitting at the feet of death in slumber, or sober and alert at the feet of Jesus?
What was the concern of the Thessalonians? When will Jesus come? What are the signs? What does Paul say should instead be their concern? How to live as Christ followers in light of the Day to come. Do not fall spiritually asleep! Stay alert to your spiritual condition and the performance of your duty and responsibilities. Be sober! Continue to love each other as you are doing and sharing the loving Gospel of Jesus. This is what and how people of the day act.
Interesting, that slumber is one of the main themes that we find God address in the book of Proverbs.
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.
Laziness induces deep sleep, and a lazy person will go hungry. The one who keeps commands preserves himself; one who disregards his ways will die.
Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
The Apostle Paul and Peter address the issue of being spiritually asleep as well.
for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.
Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Jesus addresses slumber by stating that the harvest is ready and that we are to be about the Father’s business which is the Harvest of the Lost.
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
He told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.
When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” “Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
Are we asleep? Are you asleep? Have we been distracted from our duty, our responsibility to share the love of Christ to a lost world of souls that will perish and suffer God’s wrath at the coming Day of the Lord?
Jesus’ children are not to be like those who belong to the night, drunk and unaware, upon whom the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, like labor pains coming suddenly and forecfully upon a pregnant women. Do not be caught unawares or be eased into a false sense of “peace and security” as the world around us.
The Thessalonians were the beneficiaries of the Pax Romana, the 200 years of Roman peace and prosperity. They were a ‘free city’, having no Roman garrison and the favor of the Imperial Court because of their loyalty during war, and worship of the Imperial Cult. They benefited and lived the Roman Imperial slogan of “Peace and Security”. Are we living with a false sense of peace and security in this world, not based in and upon the truth and revelation of Jesus Christ? Are we slumbering, have we been slumbering, in a false Pax Americana?
As beneficiaries of living beside and having close ties with the United States, have we fallen asleep because of the ‘peace and security’ provided and enforced by our southern neighbor? Have we been spiritually lulled to sleep because we have become used to the ease and prosperity of a Pax Americana? ....and now it is crumbling, just like the Roman Empire did long ago.
Are we living as children of the Day, or slumbering in the drunken darkness of the night? Those living in darkness are portrayed as sleeping and as being drunk. Sleep and drunkenness are a picture of someone who is not in touch with or in control of his or her own life. When we are asleep, we are pretty much out of touch with the world around us. The drunk has lost control of his or her ability to make wise decisions and to coordinate responses. People who do not live in expectation of Christ’s coming are likened to sleepers and drunks—not really in touch with present or ultimate reality.
But because we live as children of the Day, being sober-minded and alert to the reality of our salvation, and whom our salvation is found in, we can have real peace and security. We have on, and must continue to put on, the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of hope of salvation. We stand ready for the return of our Lord Jesus! Are you standing ready for the return of our Lord Jesus?
He who has accepted, believed, and follows the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, will not suffer the wrath of God, but instead receive eternal life. John 3:16
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
The Day of the Lord is a dreaded day for the unbeliever in Christ, and a day of eager hopeful anticipation for the believer in Christ. It is a day of sudden unexpected arrival, a day of destruction that nobody in the world will escape, dead or alive. A day of God’s judgment for the wicked and non-believers in Jesus. A day of God’s reward for those who believe and follow Jesus. But this time and date of Jesus’ second coming, is not for us to be concerned about as children of the day. Our concern rather is to live as children of the day, awake, alert, and sober as to our status as Jesus’ children, living and doing as He commands and desires us to. Living in and out our salvation, thus encouraging and building one another up in these days upon us. Remember our peace and security is not in the world around us, but in Jesus who brought us our peace and security through His willful birth, death, and resurrection. Do not slumber at the feet of death, but be sober-minded, awake, and alert to our position in Jesus and our work for Him in 2023! Praise be to Jesus! Amen.
Sermon in a Sentence
Belonging to the Day we will not be surprised at night. Jesus encourages us to not slumber and be stolen from like a thief at night, but instead be awake and assured of our salvation at the coming Day of the Lord.