What is Our Destiny?
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· 15 viewsThe believer in Jesus Christ is not left to wonder what will be his or her destiny. The Scripture are very clear on this subject. Our destiny is salvation.
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Please turn in your Bible to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 as we consider What is Our Destiny?
There are many in this world who pay money to hear what their destiny will be. People read their horoscope in the News Paper to determine if they’re going to have a good day or not. People hire a medium to consult with the dead to learn about their future. King Saul paid money to hear about his destiny, only to learn that he was going to die the next day in battle. And die he did.
The believer in Jesus Christ is not left to wonder what will be his or her destiny. The Scripture are very clear on this subject. Our destiny is salvation.
As we reflect on this passage, we will continue with the distinction between The Family and The Strangers, and we will look at the prophetic day of destiny, the destiny of Strangers, the destiny of Family, and the ramifications of our destiny.
Let’s read our text together:
Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining 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 up one another, just as you also are doing.
Let’s look at:
The Prophetic Day of Destiny
The Prophetic Day of Destiny
When This Day Will Occur
When This Day Will Occur
Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
Times – elapsed time
Epochs – character or quality of the time period
What This Day Will Be
What This Day Will Be
For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
This Day Will Be:
A day of judgment
A day of national deliverance for Israel – day of salvation
A day of wrath upon God’s enemies
Descriptive of the Tribulation Period
Descriptive of the Tribulation Period
Revelation chapters 6-19 details this elongated day
The Destiny of The Strangers
The Destiny of The Strangers
While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
The Characteristic of This Time
The Characteristic of This Time
Delusion of Peace
Delusion of Safety
The Outcome of Delusion
The Outcome of Delusion
The outcome is that the pending destruction that is about to come will be hidden from the minds of The Strangers which inhabit the earth.
The Destruction will be:
Unexpected
Sudden
Painful
The Destiny of The Family
The Destiny of The Family
The Family Does Not Belong to the Darkness
The Family Does Not Belong to the Darkness
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;
The realm of wickedness includes both intellectual and moral darkness. Intellectually, strangers have a darkened understanding, and an ignorance of impending doom.
Morally, they have an indifference to sin. The old hymn says:
The whole world was once in the darkness of sin — the Light of the World is Jesus ...
John writes:
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
Sadly, as Jesus told Nicodemus:
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
There’s an old song from the late 70’s which states: “We belong to the night.” And that is the sad truth for those who are strangers to God. But we are not strangers, we’re family!
The Family Belongs to the Light
The Family Belongs to the Light
for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
The Exhortation for the Family:
The Exhortation for the Family:
so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
Note that:
Believers should live free of moral laxity
“Let us not sleep”
Note next that:
Believers should give attention to spiritual priorities
“Let us be alert”
Note next that:
Believers should practice self-control
“Let us be sober”
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
When believers fall asleep on duty they open themselves up to Satanic attacks
These attacks often take the form described by John as:
The lust of the flesh
The lust of the eyes
The pride of life
For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.
Sleeping and drunkenness naturally take place in the night hours
But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Put on:
Breastplate of faith & love
Helmet of hope of salvation
Pauline triad of faith, hope, and love
Strengthening for present trials and doubts
1 and 2 Thessalonians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Distinctiveness of Believers’ Behavior
Faith provides a defense against temptation, because all sin results from a lack of trust in God. For example, worry is the failure to believe that God will act in love on behalf of His people; lying substitutes man’s selfish plans for God’s sovereign purposes; adultery denies God’s wisdom in instituting the monogamous marriage bond. Thus, faith is an impenetrable breastplate, providing sure protection against temptation. But to put it on, believers must study and meditate on the rich depths of God’s nature as revealed in Scripture, and then translate that knowledge into action in their lives.
The Family Does Not Participate in the Day of the Lord
The Family Does Not Participate in the Day of the Lord
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The negative reason for non-participation – “Not destined for wrath”
Believers will not be present on earth at the time of the day of the Lord for they will have been previously raptured.
There will be those who become believers during the Tribulation, but they will not be the subjects of God’s wrath.
They will, however, be the subjects of Satan’s wrath.
The positive reason for non-participation – Destined “to obtain salvation”
Salvation is not an item we purchase, but a gift we receive.
The procurement of The Family’s salvation is through the death of Jesus
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
The Family will live together with Christ
The Ramifications of Our Destiny
The Ramifications of Our Destiny
Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
Note that:
We Are to Encourage One Another
Though, as an elder of this church I am to be engaged in encouraging you in your growth in Christ, the work of encouragement is not limited to me or the other elders. We are all to be engaged in encouraging one another.
Not only that, but:
We Are to Build up One Another
Again, this is the work of the entire body of Christ, and not just the church leadership. That being said, the leadership is certainly responsible for training the church as to how to both encourage one another and build up one another.
Today, we’ve continued to focus on the distinction between the family and strangers, or as our passage puts it, between the darkness and light. Those who are in the light, are in Christ. They have embraced the message of the cross and the empty tomb, which states that salvation is through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, and rose triumphantly from the grave.
But before embracing that message, we were once in darkness. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were alienated from God — which means that we were strangers. But then the Holy Spirit awakened us from spiritual death. He brought us out of the darkness and into the light. He delivered us from the domain of Satan, and transferred us into the kingdom of Christ.
All of this is accomplished through the work of Christ, but it is received by faith. And this faith is not a passive faith, but an active faith, a faith that works!
So, let us remain awake, be alert, be self-controlled, and cloth ourselves with the armor of God so that we can stand firm against the attacks of the enemy.
Let’s pray.
O Father,
I thank you that we who have been adopted into Your family will not have to experience the wrath which You will one day pour out on Your enemies. I thank that Jesus willing absorbed Your wrath that was our due as He hung on the cross of suffering.
I pray that Your Spirit would enable us to remain awake, alert, and sober so that we would not fall victim to Satan and his attacks.
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This morning, as we transition from the sermon to the celebration of the Lord’s Table, I want to remind again that our text state that Jesus died for us. He died so that we might become family.
The celebration of communion is for those who are members of the family — not of Britton BBC, but of the Universal Church which is also called the family of God.
Paul wrote these words to the troubled church in Corinth:
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
I’m going to ask Derek to give thanks for the bread.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Let’s eat this together in remembrance of Him.
I’m going to as Phil to give thanks for the bread.
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Let’s drink this cup together in remembrance of Him.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Let’s stand together and dismiss in prayer.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.