An Obedient Church

Introduction

Well, good morning!

There’s nothing quite like the Lord’s Day…the gathering of His people…the reading of His Word…the lifting of our voices as we worship together. Guys, this is what God designed to build us up as believers. And I’m just humbled to be a part of God’s family…specifically a part of First Baptist Church…and I hope you feel the same this morning.

Listen, before we get started into our sermon this morning. I want you to reflect on our mission verse for just a moment. This command that Jesus gives in Matthew 28, this is what we’re meant to be and this is what we’re meant to do as a church. This is what our mission should be…this is where all of our attention and all of focus should be placed…We’re called to make disciples. We’re called to care about Jesus’s glory…and guys, we do that through the church, the church that He’s called us to, by advancing His kingdom. We’re called to be obedient. And the reason for that…the reason we’re obedient…it all hinges on a word that the early church clung too...”Maranatha” (Mar-ra-na-tha) And the word “Maranatha,” it means - “our Lord, come”! We’re obedient because as believers, we understand the sureness and the seriousness of Jesus’s return…and we wanna be found ready when He does. And listen, because of our hope in Jesus’s return, as we discussed last week…and because of our understanding of Jesus’s return…because we understand what happens at His return…it motivates us to obedience in the Great Commission. You understand?

And so, as we recite our passage this morning, I want you to think about this command and your obedience to it. Are you a disciple-maker because ultimately you believe Jesus is coming soon and because you understand the seriousness of when He does?

If you’re ready, I’ll get us started…you finish us up:

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

[Prayer]

Alrighty, if you have your Bibles and I hope that you do, open ‘em up with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 this morning.

If you were with us last week, we finished up chapter 4 and we began looking at the hope we have in Jesus’s promised return for the church. We talked about how its this hope that really allows us to face our culture and face whatever circumstances this world throws at us. It’s the hope in Jesus’s promise that gets us through the trials we face. But listen, Jesus’s return, it also helps us to become an obedient church. This promise, it shows us why we should be obedient and it motivates us to do what it is Jesus has commanded.

Listen, from the beginning of Scripture…Genesis to Revelation…all of it’s showing us that God’s carrying out a very definite plan…it’s showing us that since the beginning of time, all of history, its been planned out by God and all of it, it all points to Jesus…In the Old Testament, the promise was that Jesus was coming. In the gospel accounts, that promise, it was fulfilled…Jesus had come, He had did everything that was promised. In the epistles, we see that Jesus is coming again. But listen, out of everything God promises, the second coming of Jesus, it’s the most mentioned event in all the Bible. Out of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, the return of Christ is mentioned 318 times. The return of Christ, was meant to give us hope and it was meant to motivate us.

In Revelation chapter 20, John says:

Revelation 20:11–15 (ESV)

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Guys, this is the depiction that John gives just after the return of Christ. This is what Christ will do. And in that passage, there’s two things, two sets of books…and the subject matter in those books, it proves to be significant in providing the basis for either your salvation or your damnation. John’s point, it couldn’t be any clearer…in these books, you’ll find a complete record of all human sin…every wicked deed, every impure thought, every evil intention…And nothing we do, nothing will allow us to escape the attention of an omniscient God. At Jesus’s return, He will bring judgement…and guys, the content of these books, they’ll provide the evidence necessary for a just verdict. To be acquitted, your name, it has to be in the book of life. And the only way that can happen, it’s trusting in Christ alone for salvation.

For many of us, we foolishly think that God’s not keeping a detailed record of our lives. Like He’s just gonna ignore it, and some how its all gonna work out in the end. The author of Hebrews writes: “No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews 4:13). God sees our actions and He’ll hold us accountable for them.

And so, why’s the return of Christ so important? Well, because as an unbeliever, the judgement of Christ, it means your damnation if you don’t place your faith and trust in Christ and let His work on the cross bring you atonement. It means in the end, at His return, you’ll get exactly what it is your heart wanted.

But as a believer, it’s important because we know the surety and the seriousness of His return…and it should motivate us to obediently carry out the Great Commission because in the end, we don’t want our friends and our family and those around us to suffer. Guys, God’s message about the future, it must influence how we live our present circumstances today. That’s the main idea this morning.

And so, if you’re there with me, let’s stand as we read the first eleven verses together. It says this:

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 (ESV)

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 has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, as we dig into this theology revolving around the return of Christ, I want you to see three things. Number 1, the return of Christ is sure…number 2, the return of Christ is sudden…and then finally, the return of Christ is serious.

And so, with that, let’s jump into the first point this morning.

I. The Return of Christ is Sure (vv. 1-2)

The return of Christ is sure.

Look back at verse 1 with me again. Paul writes, “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”

In His earthly ministry, Jesus taught about His second coming. He said in Mark 13, verses 32 through 33 and Acts 1, verses 6 through 8…Jesus said that He’d come back but that no man knew the day or the hour. And now here’s Paul saying the church needed no reminder about this theology. They were fully aware of it.

Now, to understand the context here…last week, Paul was addressing a very real concern these Thessalonians had about death and what happens after death. In their culture, there was no teaching on resurrection or people having their physical bodies after life. Death was a transition into a spiritual resting place. There was no life after death. And so, Paul wrote what he did in chapter 4 to respond to that.

Here in chapter 5, Paul addresses another concern they had…when will Jesus return? He says, “Now concerning the times and the seasons...” Those two words, “times and seasons,” they’re referring to length of time and sequence of events. Based on how Paul responds here, these Thessalonians, they were concerned about being prepared for the return of Christ.

But listen, Paul continues by saying, “Concerning those things, you have no reason for anything to be written to you.”

The Thessalonians, they’re like, “Paul, we’d like to hear more about the timing of Jesus’s return.” But I love Paul’s response here…”Jesus’s teaching is suffice.” Jesus already told His disciples, “I’m coming…and I’m coming like a thief in the night.” His disciples asked the very same question in Matthew 24:3. And that was Jesus’s response. “No man knows the hour…not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” That’s verse 36 of Matthew 24.

Listen, here’s a tip for you…when Jesus tells you that even he doesn’t know something, it’s probably sensible to drop trying to figure it out ourselves, right? Now for the record, Jesus is God…and there’s a ton more about that passage we could talk about and I do believe Jesus in His glorified state absolutely knows the time and the day. But guys, He says that He’s coming back like a thief in the night. I don’t know about you…but I don’t know of many people who’ve been robbed and were expecting it. I’ve never heard of any stories where there are people waiting up at night for their robbers to come. Jesus even uses that same example in Matthew 24. If you could predict exactly when thieves would come, it’d be pointless for them to try and break into your home.

That’s why Paul brings it back to what’s important. He says, “You yourselves, you’re fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” The day of the Lord, that’s just another way to talk about Jesus’s return. But listen, Paul’s saying, the Lord’s return, it’s inevitable…it’s gonna happen…you can take that truth to the bank. He will come back. But listen, he’s also reminding them, it’s unpredictable. Paul makes that very clear here.

And so, what’s all this mean for us? Guys, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve had people come up to me and tell me that they want me to preach about the end times and learn about all the prophecies and signs and literally everything that these Thessalonians were asking Paul about. And those things aren’t necessarily bad, right? I love talking about eschatology. I love studying Scripture, trying to figure out where I fall when it comes to the return of Christ. And you should absolutely read it and study it and learn about it. But listen, you shouldn’t become so consumed with it that it either one, it causes you to create a divide between your brothers and sisters…or two, where the events of His returns becomes more important than His return itself.

Guys, there’s about six major views on the return of Christ…all of which are grounded in Scripture. And all of which are believed by very godly men. I’ll be honest, I don’t fall into a Pre-Trib, Pre-Mill theology for the return of Christ. I don’t believe the church’ll be raptured before the Anti-Christ comes. I hold more to an All-Mill theology…where it’s believed we’re all living in the millennial period right now. And again, there’s just way too much to discuss here. But listen, I say all that because people have left this church because I don’t believe like them with a piece of theology that Jesus says Himself, that no man will understand. Revelation wasn’t written to give us the answers to our questions on the end times. John wrote Revelation to give the churches being persecuted at that time, hope. That’s the reason for Revelation…to show the churches of that day that Christ had already won…so don’t lose heart. Now, of course God inspired that piece of writing and He uses it for us today. But again, to understand it you have to understand context.

And I wanna say this as well because I think it’s important. There’s certain theologies we need to be grounded on, right…but then there’s secondary one’s where we need to demonstrate grace and humility. I might not believe in a Pre-Trib, Pre-Mil end time scenario, but by golly I’m willing to change my theology mid-air.

The point of everything Paul’s saying here, it’s that we shouldn’t get so wrapped up in all the details that we lose focus on the main thing…which is that Jesus is coming back. It’s a sure thing. And because it’s a sure thing, we need to just focus on the present and what He’s called us to do now. Because if He’s definitely coming back, I don’t want to be found not doing what He’s commanded when He does. You understand? That’s Paul’s point here.

The return of Christ is sure. And so, we need to obediently follow Him and advance His kingdom in preparation of that return. That’s the first thing.

II. The Return of Christ is Sudden (vv. 3-6)

The second thing Paul tells these Thessalonians, is that the return of Christ is sudden.

Look at verse 3 with me again. First Paul says its gonna come like a thief in the night…and then he writes, “3 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.”

And so listen, Paul’s saying that the world, its gonna have this false sense of peace and security. Outside of the thief coming at night because again, thieves don’t announce their arrival or give some kind of advance notice…outside of that, he gives the analogy of labor pains. For a pregnant woman, labor pains, they come unexpectedly. We can’t predict exactly when those pains’ll come. The woman’s fine one moment and then the next, there’s this baby trying to come out of her. It happens unexpectedly.

And listen, just a side note here…Paul’s speaking about how it’ll be for the unbeliever and he refers to Jesus’s return as sudden destruction. Again, they’ll have this sense of peace and security and then all of a sudden, destruction. And listen, it really doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, it’s gonna happen. Paul’s words here, they’re serious. That’s why he concludes with them by saying, “For them, they won’t escape.”

Guys, in our world…there’s really no anticipation of a reckoning with God at the end. For unbelievers there’s no real belief in a returning Savior who’ll judge the living and the dead. Many in our western world, they have confidence in a scientific understanding of the world. Scientists tells us that 6 billion years from now, give or take a few, our world, its gonna implode on itself. Listen, there’s no sense of urgency in 6 billion years. Even all the talks about climate change and whats supposedly going on in our world today doesn’t predict the total and sudden destruction of our world. And so, for that reason, unbelievers, they build this false sense of security.

But look at verse 4 again. Paul writes, “4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”

And so, while the return of Jesus might be sudden…for the believer, it doesn’t surprise us. Pay attention to the pronouns Paul uses here where he changes between “you” and “they.”…They say peace and safety. They shall not escape…but listen, you, you won’t be overtaken. You’re son’s of light. You’re not in the dark. You’re not going to be surprised.

Listen, Paul uses those terms “children of light” and “children of day” to remind us of our identity in Christ. We live based on our relationship with Jesus. Through the salvation He purchased, we’re removed from the kingdom of darkness and restored to the kingdom of light. We understand how the world began…we know God’s original intentions for the garden and the blessing He gave us through His creation…we understand it’s distorted because of sin…and listen, we understand where it’s all headed because of that. It’s not a secret to us. And listen, while the return of Christ might be sudden, Paul’s saying our security, its in knowing that regardless we’re gonna be with Jesus.

And listen, because we understand this truth…Paul’s saying, understanding the times and the seasons, that’s not what prepares us for the return of Christ. He’s saying, it’s understanding you’re children of light…its staying awake, its staying sober…or in other words, it’s preparing for the return of Christ by pursuing godliness and obediently following His commands. Being watchful, being ready…it means we devote ourselves to sanctification. We’re not watchful for signs of the timing, instead we’re living a life in anticipation of Jesus’s return.

And so, understanding that the return of Christ will be sudden, understanding that it can happen at any time…we’re to devote ourselves to godliness and obedience. That’s the second thing.

III. The Return of Christ is Serious (vv. 7-11)

The third and final thing we see here, its that the return of Christ is serious.

Look at verse 7 again. Paul says, “7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 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.”

And so, as far as preparation is concerned…Paul says we’re to be alert…ready for the coming of Christ. We’re not to be careless with Jesus’s return. He says, “Put on the breastplate of faith and love.”…which is similar to what he writes to the Ephesians in chapter 6 of that letter. A breastplate, its meant to cover your vital organs…its meant to guard the heart. Listen, we might easily fall into sin, but we’ll never fall into righteousness on our own…and so for that reason, we have to guard our hearts. We have to do what’s right…obediently follow Jesus and His commands. And listen, when we put on this breastplate…when we guard our vital organs…the enemy has no access to us because we’re walking in the Spirit…in the will of God. But guys, the moment we step out of that will, the moment we start walking in the flesh, doing what we wanna do, watch out…because that’s when Satan attacks. And so, we patiently wait for the return of Christ, knowing its coming by guarding ourselves.

And we do this also by putting on the helmet of salvation. The helmet, its meant to protect our head, right? When Satan attacks, that’s what he’s going for. He wants to cause doubts. He wants us to question who we are and who God is. That’s exactly what he did to Eve in the garden, right? And so, we put on the helmet of salvation, remembering that our salvation is so much more than some prayer we say…it’s the sure work of Christ in our lives. And we live this earthly life, waiting for Jesus to come back, remembering that we’re His.

Paul continues, “9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

As Christians, Jesus is our substitute. He paid the full account of our bill. He took on the consequences of our sin. And so, what Paul’s saying here…this world, this is as bad as it’ll ever get for us. Because when we die and when we’re fully restored to a new world, we’ll be with Jesus. And so, the return of Christ for the believer, its a serious thing because that’s what we all want. We wanna see creation restored and we wanna see a world where there’s no pain, and no sorrow, and no death, no sickness, no suffering…we want a world where Jesus walks with us like Adam and Eve…which we’ll get. That’s all part of Jesus’s return…to create a new heavens and new earth. An earth that’s perfect…an earth where we get to experience a life that God always intended.

I had someone tell me the other day that they felt guilty because they didn’t wanna leave this world. They loved Jesus but they desired this world. Guys, that’s okay…we have to remember that we were made from the earth…and that the earth was made for us…and so, of course we desire that. In the beginning, that’s what God wanted. He wanted us to desire His creation…which is why in the last several chapters of Revelation (I encourage you to go and read it) we see Him restore this earth…He restores all of creation for us…and He dwells with us. And guys, that’s a serious thing for us as Christians. That’s a big deal.

But guys, pay attention to Paul’s words here. He says, “God hasn’t destined us for wrath.” Meaning, that for others…they’ll experience wrath if they too don’t turn to Jesus. It’s serious. At the return of Christ…that’s it. There’s no turning back…those that are His…they’ll received a perfected, glorified body and they’ll dwell with Him in this newly restored earth forever…and those that aren’t, they’ll be judged and they’ll be thrown into the Lake of Fire. That’s it. Those we love. Those we care about. Those that we’ve watched grow up. Our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, our children, grandchild, parents, brothers, sisters…all of ‘em. If they don’t know Jesus at His return…there’s no turning back.

And guys, here’s the deal. We can debate all the different signs and times and seasons that we think are all pointing to Jesus’s return being soon…but guys the reality is, we’ll never know. The only thing we can be sure about, its that with every day, we’re certainly a lot closer.

At every point in church history, believers have felt the time was near. The early the church was persecuted…and they would argue that all the signs and times were absolutely there. If you fast forward to the Reformation…protestants were being burned at the stake for their beliefs. I mean even just 80 years ago…World War II. The things Hilter did in persecuting people. Guys, we can look back in history and at every age, there’s reason to believe that Jesus was coming soon.

Paul’s point here…quit caring most about the signs Jesus never meant for you to understand. Quit trying to pinpoint when the return of Christ will be…and just prepare yourself and those around you for when He does. Because it’ll be like a thief in the night…it’ll be like labor pains. It’ll come out of no where…And listen, when that time comes, while we have security as followers of Jesus…the last thing I want on my mind is knowing that I could’ve done something for the person across the street. It’s knowing that I could’ve shared the thing that was most important…the thing that gives life and restoration.

Guys, the return of Christ…it’s gonna be very much like the flood in Noah’s day. When Jesus returns, the door to that ark, it’s closed…and it’s closed forever.

And so, as a church…knowing that, we just focus on what He’s commanded us to do…we do it all in anticipation, waiting for Him to return as an obedient church.

Closing

And so listen, as you reflect on this passage this morning, would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?

I wanna ask you one question this morning…Do you care about the return of Christ?

Listen, as a believer…caring about the return of Christ, it means you care about your responsibility, the mission Jesus gave you…because ultimately you understand how both are connected. It doesn’t mean you don’t study what’s given to us in books like Revelation, it doesn’t mean you just don’t study about the signs at all…it just means you care most about Jesus’s return, what He promises us, and the souls of those around you. You care about the Great Commission…because you understand the seriousness of the events that follow Jesus’s return. He gave us these future events, not only for us to have hope…but to motivate us. And so, do you care about His return?

Maybe even now, where you’re at…or maybe you just need to slip out and come to these steps this morning…you just need to repent. Ask God to put in your heart whats most important. Ask Him to give you desires that honor and glorify Him.

Or…if you’re unbeliever here this morning…again, do you care about the return of Christ? Listen, you might not believe…but the fact that there’s verifiable proof that Jesus existed and died and rose again…the fact that there’s verifiable proof, it should really cause you to question the accuracy of this particular promise of His return. Because for you, it doesn’t mean that everything’s just gonna work out. It means you’re gonna be cast into a fiery hell for all eternity. And listen, that’s not God fault. You rebelled, just like all of us. You chose to turn from the goodness of God, just like the Bible tells us. And because He’s just and fair and loving…He’s gonna give you what you want…an eternity separated from His goodness. And God, He’s the only source of good. And just like everyone else here this morning, God’s giving you a chance to hear the good news…He’s giving you a chance to respond. Because He loves you…because He created you and handcrafted you, He wants a relationship with you. That’s exactly why He sent Jesus to be our substitute…Jesus became like us, lived a perfect life…He died in our place. That’s what the cross was all about. He died so that we wouldn’t have to experience the penalty of sin. And when He died, He conquered death. And with His resurrection, He purchased our own resurrection. And guys, that’s why He’s coming back. He wants to fully restore us…He wants to restore His creation. He wants that perfect relationship with His people. And the reason He hasn’t come back yet…it’s so that you can hear that message and respond to it. The Bible tells us that if we want that gift of life…all we have to do is repent and believe. All we have to do is turn to Jesus, ask Him for forgiveness, believe in the work He did…and allow Him to lead us and fill us. And friend, when you do that…you too can find hope in His future promise.

And so listen, if that’s you this morning…would you turn to Jesus? Would you give Him your life? Allow Him to change it and lead it? Listen, you can do that right where you’re at. God knows your heart…you can ask Him to forgive you, to fill you…right there. Or, I’m gonna be down front and you can come talk to me…I’ll be more than happy to pray with you and lead you in that. But would you just respond?

And so, whoever you are this morning…whatever you’re struggling with…whatever the Spirit’s placing on your heart…you take these next several minutes and just respond to whatever that is…and we’ll close in just a moment.

[Prayer]