Walking in Your Sleep!

Walking in Your Sleep! 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Introduction: Several years have passed since Brenda and I were parents of a young child. But memories of certain events ultimately stand out in our minds. When our daughter became a little older, she developed sleeping disorder called somnambulism. It is more commonly known as sleep walking. Most of the time when her sleep walking episodes took place little harm was done. We would just lead her back to bed without waking her up. One night while on vacation at the beach we were staying in a high-rise condominium. We were dead tired from the trip, so we decided to turn in a little early. Our daughter was in a room just off the hallway. Just as soon as she dosed off, I heard her feet hit the floor. She was not sleep walking she was sleep running. I barely caught her before she opened the outside door to the condo. After that we learned to sleep with one eye open and barricaded the door with a chair wedged under the door handle.

The Thessalonians had a similar problem. Paul admonishes them not to spiritually sleepwalk. He warned them that judgement day is coming, and he wanted them to be prepared. Unlike the rapture that is described in the previous chapter, this event will not unite but divide. Jesus Christ both unites and divides. Those who have trusted Him as Saviour are united in Christ as God's children. All Christians in the church age are united both Jew and Gentile to His body and "all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). When Jesus Christ returns in the air, we shall be "caught up together" (1 Thes. 4:17) never to be separated again.

Christ is also a divider. "So there was a division among the people because of Him" (John 7:43 ) So there was a division among the people because of Him.; 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.; 10:19).

Faith in Jesus Christ not only unites us to other believers; it also separates us spiritually from the rest of the world. Jesus said, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:16).

There is a difference between believers who are looking for the Lord's return and the people of the world; it is this theme that Paul developed in this section.

Paul wanted to encourage the Thessalonian believers to live holy lives in a pagan environment. He did this by pointing out the contrasts between believers and unbelievers. (Jesus called it the broad road and the narrow road)

I. The Contrast of Spiritual Knowledge /Ignorance (1 Thes. 5:1-2) 1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. Three phrases in these verses need careful consideration.

1. "Times and seasons." This phrase is found only three times in the Bible and refers primarily to God's plans for Israel. This is the way Daniel stated it when God gave him understanding of the king's dream (Dan. 2:21). Our Lord's use of the phrase in Acts 1:7 indicates that times and seasons relate primarily to Israel.

a. God has a definite plan for the nations of the world (Acts 17:26), and Israel is the key nation.

b. Dr. A.T. Pierson used to say, "History is His story." (Quite a contrast to Napoleon's definition: "History is a set of lies agreed upon.")

c. God has ordained times and seasons for the nations on earth, particularly Israel; and all of this will culminate in a terrible time called "the Day of the Lord."

2. "The Day of the Lord." In the Bible, the word day can refer to a twenty-four-hour period, or to a longer time during which God accomplishes some special purpose. In Genesis 2:3 the word means twenty-four hours, but in Genesis 2:4 it describes the entire week of Creation.

a. The Day of the Lord is that time when God will judge the world and punish the nations. At the same time, God will prepare Israel for the return of Jesus Christ to the earth to establish His kingdom. Read Amos 5:18ff; Joel 2:1ff; Zephaniah 1:14-18; and Isaiah 2:12-21 for a description of this great period.

b. Another term for this period is "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7). Many prophetic students also call it the Tribulation and point to Revelation 6-19 as the Scripture that most vividly describes this event.

3. "Thief in the night" Our Lord used this image in His own teaching (Matt. 24:42-43; Luke 12:35-40).

a. It describes the suddenness and the surprise involved in the coming of the Day of the Lord.

b. In Revelation 3:3; 16:15, He used this image to warn believers not to be caught napping.

c. Since we do not know when the Lord will return for His people, we must live in a constant attitude of watching and waiting, while we are busy working and witnessing.

4. If we put these three concepts together, we discover that the coming of Christ for the church is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

5. And there is a period of intense suffering called the great Tribulation on the earth following this Rapture of the church.

6. The "times and seasons" that relate to Israel and the nations do not apply to the church or affect the truth of the Lord's coming for the church.

7. He may come at any time, and this will usher in the Day of the Lord.

II. The Contrast of Spiritual Anticipation and Shock (1 Thes. 5:3-5) 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

1. A False Peace—The unsaved will be enjoying a time of false peace and security just before these cataclysmic events occur. Note carefully the contrast between "they" and "you" (or "us") throughout this entire section, "they" referring to the unsaved. They will say, "Peace and safety!" but we will say, "Jesus is coming, and judgment is coming!"

2. The world is caught by surprise because men will not hear God's Word or heed God's warning. God warned that the Flood was coming, yet only eight people believed and were saved (1 Peter 3:20). Lot warned his family that the city would be destroyed, but they would not listen (Gen. 19:12-14). Jesus warned His generation that Jerusalem would be destroyed (Luke 21:19ff), and this warning enabled believers to escape; but many others perished in the siege.

3. Jesus used the Flood and the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples (Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-30). People in those days were going about their regular daily activities—eating, drinking, getting married—and never considering that judgment was around the corner.

4. No "signs" must be fulfilled before He can return for His church.

5. Christians are "sons of the light" and therefore are not "in the dark" when it comes to future events. Unbelievers ridicule the idea of Christ's return. "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming?'" (2 Peter 3:3-4)

6. God does not follow our calendar. "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8).

7. Paul compared the coming judgment to "travail upon a woman with child" (1 Thes. 5:3).

8. The Prophet Isaiah described the coming "Day of the Lord" (Isa. 13:6-13). The early part of this Day of the Lord was called "the beginning of sorrows" by the Lord Jesus (Matt. 24:8); and the Greek word translated "sorrows" actually means "birth pangs."

9. Live in expectation of the light of His return, "with eternity's values in view."

10. There is a difference between being ready to. go to heaven and being ready to meet the Lord.

11. Anyone who has trusted Christ for salvation is ready to go to heaven.

12. Are you ready to meet the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ? "And now, little children, abide in Him; that when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming" (1 John 2:28).

13. Believers who are looking and living in the expectation of the Lord's return will enjoy a better life than Christians who compromise with the world. Take time now to review to examine your heart.

III. The Contrast of Sobriety and Drunkenness (1 Thes. 5:6-8) 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

1. To be sober-minded means to be alert, to live with your eyes open, to be sane and steady. Paul pictured two groups of people: one group was drunk and asleep, while the other group was awake and alert. Danger was coming, but the drunken sleepers were unaware of it.

i. The alert crowd was ready and unafraid.

ii. The "sons of the day" we should not live like the darkness. "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering [immorality] and wantonness [indecency], not in strife and envying" (Rom. 13:12-13).

iii. In other words, because "the day" is approaching, it is time to wake up, clean up, and dress up and fess up. Put on "the breastplate of faith and love: and for a helmet, the hope of salvation" (1 Thes. 5:8).

iv. Only the "armor of light" (Rom. 13:12) will protect us in these last days before our Lord returns.

v. The sober-minded believer is calm but not complacent, is not frustrated and afraid. He does not lose heart when he experiences the difficulties of life

vi. Outlook determines outcome; and when your outlook is the uplook, then your outcome is secure.

2. The unsaved people of the world are like drunken men, living in a false paradise and enjoying a false security. When the Holy Spirit filled the first Christians at Pentecost, the unsaved people accused the Christians of being drunk (Acts 2:13). In reality, it is the unsaved who are living like drunken men.

i. The sword of God's wrath hangs over the world; yet people live godless lives, empty lives, and rarely if ever give any thought to eternal matters.

3. The unsaved fix their minds on the things of this world, while dedicated believers set their attention on things above (Col. 3:1-3).

i. Hope of salvation means "the hope that salvation gives to us." There are actually three tenses to salvation: (1) past—I have been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin; (2) present—I am being saved from the power and pollution of sin; (3) future—I shall be saved from the very presence of sin when Christ returns. The blessed hope of our Lord's return is the "hope of salvation."

ii. Unsaved people are without hope (Eph. 2:12). This helps explain why they live as they do: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!" But, for the unsaved crowd, living in its drunkenness, the coming of Jesus Christ will mean the end of light and the beginning of eternal darkness.

IV. The Contrast of Salvation and Judgment (1 Thes. 5:9-11) 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

i. Believers do not have to fear future judgment because it is not part of God's appointed plan for us. Christians have always gone through tribulation, since this is a part of dedicated Christian living (John 15:18-27; 16:33). But they will not go through the Tribulation that is appointed for the godless world.

Invitation:

Many believers have such a comfortable situation here on earth that they rarely think about going to heaven and meeting the Lord. They forget that they must one day stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It helps to hold us up and build us up when we recall that Jesus is coming again.

If you have never trusted Him, then your future is judgment. You needn't be ignorant, for God's Word gives you the truth. You needn't be unprepared, for today you can trust Christ and be born again. Why should you live for the cheap sinful experiences of the world when you can enjoy the riches of salvation in Christ?

If you are not saved, then you have an appointment with judgment. And it may come sooner than you expect, for it is "appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27).

Why not make an "appointment" with Christ, meet Him personally, and trust Him to save you? "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13).

Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) - New Testament - New Testament, Volume 2.