The Blessing of the First, The Warning of the Second- LBC

Introduction:

Thank you for joining us on this wonderful day!

We are looking forward to seeing your children present some Christmas songs and Bible verses here in just a moment.

I am going to be brief this morning but would like to share with you two phrases that I hope you will remember.

Please open your Bible to 1 Thessalonians 5. If you do not have a Bible with you in front of you in the pew is a Bible you can use. In that Bible if you will turn to page 834.

While you turn there, I will tell you that around this time of the time of the year, we do our best to emphasize that this time of the year is not just a time of giving and receiving presents although that is a wonderful thing…

Or going shopping and dealing with large crowds of people

But Christmas is about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a special time of year… and in my opinion there is no time in our year quite like Christmas time.

It is in this time that we remember the first time the Lord came to this earth being robed in flesh.

It is the blessing of the first.

The Lord’s first coming is:

I. The Blessing of the First

The Bible tells us in the book of Isaiah 9:6 “6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

In the second chapter of Luke we read beginning in verse 11, “11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

John tells us of the Savior Jesus Christ in John 1:14 “14 And the Word [Jesus] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

This precious baby that was born of Mary, conceived of the Holy Ghost — came and interrupted all of humanity— God being robed in flesh.

God became man without ceasing to be God.

It is the pivotal moment of all humanity.

In fact our entire calendar of human history revolves around this event…

The phrase Anno Domini or you might know it as the abbreviation AD means in the year of our Lord.

This is the blessing of the first…. The Lord’s first coming...

The Bible tell us in John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God loves us—- God loves you my friend there is no doubt about it…

It you ever doubted for one minute that God loves you—- just look at the cross behind me…

This precious innocent baby would grow into a man. He would live the life you and I could not live—- that is a perfect life, a sinless life.

As John the Baptist declared pointing Him out “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

The Lamb—- which was commanded to be killed in the passover pointed all men to the Lamb of God - the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was by the blood applied to the lintels and side posts.

And as God passed through Egypt that night and when He saw the blood applied those inside were spared the judgment of death upon the firstborn male.

But yet over 1500 years later, Jesus the Christ, — the only begotten Son of God the Father— was not spared.

He was sacrificed, just as that spotless Lamb had pictured over 1500 years earlier.

Which is why John declared Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away from the sin of the world.

My friend this is the blessing of the first… The blessing of the first coming of the Lord.

Just as that angel of the Lord declared, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

You my friend, by Jesus Christs’ death burial and resurrection can have eternal life, you can be forgiven of all of your sins.

You might say, how so?

Romans 10:9–10 “9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

But that brings us to this verse here in 1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 “1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

Let’s pray

My friend can I declare to you emphatically this morning, that just as Jesus Christ came, just as He lived, just as He died and was buried and rose out that grave, just as He ascended back up into Heaven, He is coming again.

We have the Blessing of the First Coming of the Lord

But I want you to know:

II. The Warning of the Second Coming of the Lord.

Acts 17:30–32 “30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. 32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked:…”

When Jesus the Christ comes again, He will come to judge and to make war. (Revelation 19:11) That period on this earth preceding the Lord’s return is known as the day of the Lord.

This is what is spoken about here in our text.

There are six features of this warning to come:

It will come secretly, “as a thief in the night.”

It will come unexpectedly, “while people are saying peace and safety.

It will come suddenly.

It will be a time of destruction like no other time this world has ever experienced.

It will be inevitable. The Bible describes it as the labor pains of a women.

It will be irreversible.

It will be inescapable. The Bible tells us that those of that day will not escape.

As I close this morning would you consider the blessing of the first the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ there is that we celebrate around Christmas time.

But also please could I implore you to consider the warning of the second. There is coming a time of judgment for all of humanity, which will culminate with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ his second coming.

This is the warning of the second. There is not a more relevant message that I could speak to you about this morning.

My friend the greatest need of every man is to repent of sin and receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Realizing that you are a sinner realizing that Jesus Christ paid for by sin debt on the cross of Calvary he shed his blood, he died, he was buried and he rose again and is alive in heaven… preparing for his second return.

And then doing exactly as the Bible says repent of your sin and trust in Jesus, the Christ as your savior, understanding that he paid for your sin debt.

Would you receive the blessing of the first and would you this morning hear the warning of the second? Let’s pray.