Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] There are three special words that every dad says often.
[00:00:04] Or at least that they should say often.
[00:00:07] My dad said them regularly to me as a child, and now I regularly say them to my children.
[00:00:14] These three words mean a lot to you as a kid, especially when they come from dad.
[00:00:20] When you hear them, everything can change in just a moment. And it's not just what is said, but how it's said that makes all the difference.
[00:00:31] Of course, those three special words I'm speaking of are.
[00:00:36] All right, that's enough.
[00:00:40] I'm sure I'm not the only dad who's had to say those words more than a few times.
[00:00:45] When we moved our youngest daughter out of the nursery into her older sister's bedroom, they were quite happy about that arrangement.
[00:00:53] So happy, in fact, that they would stay up late, past their bedtime, talking and giggling and sometimes even getting out of bed to play together.
[00:01:02] So each night before we put them to bed, we would remind them of the rules and warn them of the consequences of disobedience.
[00:01:11] Needless to say, it took them a little while to figure out that bedtime actually meant bedtime.
[00:01:17] So when I heard them making noise, I would get up and go to their room.
[00:01:23] Now, I could have let my heavy footsteps on the floor give some kind of advance warning, but if any of you dads are like me, you prefer the element of surprise.
[00:01:35] So when I heard them making noise, I would sneak up to that door like a ninja, and I would put my ear up against that door and listen.
[00:01:44] And at just the right moment, I would throw that door open and say, all right, that's enough.
[00:01:52] I have to admit, I'm being honest, I was a little satisfied by that look of sheer panic in their eyes, because at that moment, they knew they had been caught and that playtime was over.
[00:02:08] And after being lovingly disciplined over and over, they don't do that anymore like they used to.
[00:02:15] Eventually, they learned that they could not get away with their disobedience forever. That at any moment, Mommy or Daddy would show up and they would face the consequences for their actions.
[00:02:27] And in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, the apostle Paul says that in a sense, that's what it's going to be like when Jesus returns.
[00:02:35] Chapter 5 begins by continuing the topic. At the end of chapter four, Paul is still talking about the second coming of Christ, but his focus shifts here from teaching about the what of the second coming to the when of the second coming. In chapter four, verses 13 through 18, Paul tells us what will happen when Jesus returns. In chapter five, verses one through eleven. He tells us when Jesus will return, or at least what it will be like when Jesus returns. And as he does that, Paul speaks about what it will be like on that day for believers and for unbelievers. He does a lot of comparing and contrasting in these verses. And essentially what he says is that unlike the unbelieving world, the church is ready for the second coming.
[00:03:24] So you could say that the big idea of what Paul teaches us here at the beginning of chapter five is Christians are ready for anything.
[00:03:35] What we'll see in these verses is that Christians are ready for anything because of what we know, because of who we are, and because of where we're going first. Christians are ready for anything because of what we know. Paul writes in verse one now, concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. Paul signals to his readers that he's shifting from describing the what of the second coming to the when by using this phrase, the times and the seasons.
[00:04:07] That pair of words occurs only one other time in the New Testament, and it's in Acts chapter one, right before Jesus ascends to heaven. His disciples basically ask him if now that he's risen from the dead, if the end times have come. And Jesus responds by saying this, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
[00:04:32] This is the first time of many times in this section that Paul appears to intentionally refer to Jesus own teaching about his second coming. Just as Jesus told his disciples that they didn't need to know the exact timing of the end, so Paul here says his disciples don't need to know or have anything written to them. The reason why is because they already know everything that they need to know.
[00:04:58] Paul writes in verse two, for you yourselves are fully aware. Or it could say you fully know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
[00:05:10] The day of the Lord refers to judgment Day. It's the day when everything that Paul described at the end of chapter four will happen. It's the day when Jesus will return from heaven in victory and judge the living and the dead. Everyone who has put their faith in Jesus Christ, who will be saved from the wrath of God, and everyone who has not will face the consequences for their sins.
[00:05:36] Paul says the Thessalonians already know full well that that day will come like a thief in the night. Paul uses the same metaphor as Jesus uses in Matthew chapter 24. Jesus is teaching about his second coming. And he says in verse 43 but know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
[00:06:03] And Jesus says something similar to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3. 3 Remember then, what you received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
[00:06:23] Now, if we're not careful, we can quickly get sideways about what Paul and Jesus mean when they say he will come like a thief in the night. What it does not mean is that he will come secretly or invisibly.
[00:06:38] That's one of the errors of the heretical group called the Jehovah's Witnesses. In their early days, the Jehovah's Witnesses made a bunch of wrong predictions of when Christ would return.
[00:06:50] So they finally just settled on saying that he came back invisibly and in secret in 1914.
[00:06:56] But Jesus himself clearly teaches in places like Luke 17:24, that his return will be visible as visible, he says, as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will be the Son of Man in his day. And Paul said back in chapter four, verse 16, that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. There is nothing secretive about that at all.
[00:07:36] So when Paul and Jesus say that Christ will come like a thief in the night, they mean something other than it will be sneaky.
[00:07:45] Fortunately, we don't have to wonder what they mean, because they tell us.
[00:07:49] Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24. He tells us the point in the very next verse. In verse 44, he says, Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
[00:08:05] Likewise here in First Thessalonians 5, 4, Paul says, but you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
[00:08:16] So what they mean by saying Jesus will come back like a thief in the night is that his return will be unexpected. It will be surprising. It will be unpredictable. In other words, Jesus isn't sending out save the dates for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
[00:08:31] We know that he's coming, but we don't know when he's coming.
[00:08:35] So in many ways it will be like the flood in the days of Noah.
[00:08:40] Paul writes in chapter five, verse three, while people are saying there's peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them. People will be seemingly living in safety and then all of a sudden, without warning, Jesus will return and judgment will come upon them. In Luke 17, Jesus directly compares the suddenness and inescapability of his coming to the judgment that happened in the days of Noah and at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here in first Thessalonians, Paul compares it to a pregnant woman about to give birth. He says, while people are saying there's peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape.
[00:09:31] Pregnant women know that around the nine month mark their baby could come at any moment, but they do not know the exact moment when their water will break or labor will begin. It happens suddenly, just like it did with my wife. One moment she's up here at the women's gathering playing the keyboard, the next moment she's starting to go into labor. It happens suddenly and there's no escaping it. Once a woman begins full blown labor, there is no putting it off until next week. That's what Paul is communicating here, that the second coming will be like, it will be sudden and it will be inescapable.
[00:10:07] But there's a difference between what that experience will be like for the church and for the unbelieving world.
[00:10:15] That's why Paul says in verse four, but you, that is you, the church in Thessalonica, you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. One of the main differences between how that experience of Judgment Day will be different from for the world and for Christians is that Christians know to expect it. We are fully aware, we fully know that it will come suddenly and without warning. So we're ready for it. It shouldn't catch us off guard like it will the rest of the world. That's living with a false sense of security. They don't know Jesus is coming back to judge the world. So they keep calm and carry on in their sinful ways, unaware that at any moment Christ could return and condemn them to hell forever.
[00:11:06] And that is the scary reality for unbelievers.
[00:11:10] Listen, it's one thing to be out driving on the road in the middle of the night in bad weather and all of a sudden your phone goes berserk and about gives you a heart attack to warn you that there's a tornado in the area. If you know about it, you can do something about it. You can turn the car around, you can immediately seek shelter.
[00:11:29] But it's a whole other thing to be out driving out in A storm in the middle of the night and your phone's dead, and so you have absolutely no idea that an F5 tornado is headed straight towards you.
[00:11:46] Brothers and sisters, we know that the unbelievers around us are in grave danger.
[00:11:54] They're in spiritual darkness.
[00:11:55] Their phones are dead.
[00:11:57] Who's going to warn them to flee from the wrath to come?
[00:12:03] Because the danger they're in is far worse than being out on the road with a deadly tornado coming.
[00:12:10] They're out on the wide path of destruction that leads to eternal death.
[00:12:16] So we've got to tell them.
[00:12:17] It doesn't make sense to me that people say it's unloving to talk to the lost about the wrath of God or about sin and hell and judgment.
[00:12:27] We would never say it's unloving for the National Weather Service to warn people about tornadoes and tell them to seek shelter immediately.
[00:12:35] We would never say it's unloving for a doctor to warn their patient that they have cancer and tell them to immediately seek treatment.
[00:12:44] So why do we think it's unloving to warn sinners that they are in eternal danger and to tell them to seek immediate salvation in Christ?
[00:12:55] What's unloving is to know the tornado is coming and not send the alert. To know the patient is dying and not send them to treatment. To know that our lost neighbors are guilty of sin and not send them to Christ where they can be forgiven.
[00:13:11] Since we are not in the dark, let us not remain silent about the light of the world.
[00:13:19] Because we're not just telling people about God's wrath. We're telling them about God's love, about God's grace, about God's mercy that is available to every single person on the planet through faith in Jesus Christ. It's not our job to make them believe it. It's our responsibility to lovingly warn them, to make it known to them what we already know, that we are all sinners who deserve God's wrath, but that Jesus died on the cross for our sins to save us from hell and let them know that Jesus is coming back at any moment. And when he does, there will be no escaping his judgment. So everyone should repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before it's too late. And if you're here today and you've never done that, then I urge you to do so right now. And if you are here and you've already done that, then I urge you to warn others if they get the tornado warning and stay out on the road that's up to them. It's not our job to turn their car around since we know Christ is coming back. It's simply our job to tell them bothers.
[00:14:32] It's your responsibility to warn your family. You can't save your kids, but you can do everything in your power to make sure that they are trained up in the way that they should go. You can teach them the gospel and pray for their souls. You can keep those commitments that we just made up there moments ago. You can get them in context where they will be constantly exposed to the Gospel and the truth of scripture. The like Sunday morning worship and Awana and Ashland students. Are you doing everything you can to make sure your kids know the gospel?
[00:15:10] If you ask them today how do you get to heaven?
[00:15:14] What would they say?
[00:15:16] If you're not sure, let me encourage you to make a point today on the way home to ask that question.
[00:15:22] Get in the Word with them. Make it a priority to spend time one on one reading the Bible with them and praying together.
[00:15:29] Because when Jesus comes back, he is not going to hold you accountable for whether or not your kids believe the gospel, but he will hold you accountable for whether or not you made it known to them.
[00:15:41] Since we know that Jesus is coming back, we should always be ready to make it known to those who are still in the dark about it. The unbelieving world around us is not ready for the coming of Christ.
[00:15:54] But Christians are ready because of what we know.
[00:15:57] And in the next verses we see that we are ready for anything because of who we are.
[00:16:03] Look with me. Beginning in verse 5, Paul continues his argument that unlike the unbelieving world, the church is ready and prepared for Christ's return.
[00:16:13] Verse 5 For or because you are all children of light Children of the day in these next verses, Paul is going to use the categories of day and night, light and darkness to compare and contrast the church and the world. He calls believers children of light, children of the day. That's who we are in Christ.
[00:16:35] Jesus is the light of the world, and he calls his followers out of darkness into his marvelous light. So by faith in Jesus, we're adopted into God's family and we become children of light. That's our identity. We are not, Paul says of the night or of the darkness. That's who the unbelievers are, and their lives are categorized by the sorts of behaviors we would expect of nighttime.
[00:17:02] Paul writes in verse 6 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.
[00:17:15] Once again, Paul borrows language Jesus used when talking about his Second Coming, specifically the metaphorical language of spiritual drunkenness and sleep.
[00:17:27] In Luke 21, verses 34 through 36, Jesus talks about both. He says, but watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness. That's spiritual drunkenness. And cares of this life and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap, for it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man. And in Mark 13:32, 37, he uses the same words over and over again. He says, 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. It is like a man going on a journey when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows are in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to all. Stay awake.
[00:18:44] Here in First Thessalonians, chapter 5, Paul says that unbelievers, children of darkness, are characterized by two behaviors in particular, sleeping and getting drunk.
[00:18:57] Now, when Paul talks about sleeping here in these verses, he's not using that word in the same way that he did at the end of chapter four, or as he will use it in just a few verses later in chapter five, verse ten. In those verses, Paul uses sleep as a euphemism or a substitute for physical death.
[00:19:19] Here in these verses, Paul uses sleep in the same way as Jesus did, as a euphemism for spiritual death. Death for spiritual unconsciousness, we could say, or being spiritually indifferent or uninformed. He uses the word drunk in a similar way as a reference to being spiritually unfocused or unaware.
[00:19:42] Sure, we can all think of examples of people who sleep the day away or who get drunk at a tailgate. But these behaviors most commonly occur at night. So it makes sense that the children of the night are characterized by being spiritually out of it, by being spiritually asleep and drunk. Unbelievers don't know what's going on spiritually. They haven't got a clue.
[00:20:04] They're like a drunk passed out in bed snoring.
[00:20:08] In contrast, Paul and Jesus say that believers are to keep awake and be sober. We are to be spiritually alert. We're to be prepared. Our minds are to be sharp and focused. We're to be self controlled and on guardians. We're to be ready for anything that might come our way. That's why we're dressed for action like a soldier.
[00:20:31] Look at what Paul says in verse eight.
[00:20:34] 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.
[00:20:45] So in stark contrast to the unbelieving world, that's like a drunk passed out in bed, Christians are like fully armored soldiers on the battlefield, ready to fight to the death.
[00:20:59] As you read these words, you might be reminded of what Paul wrote at the end of Ephesians in chapter six, where he gives a very detailed description of the full armor of God.
[00:21:10] What we have here is not merely some kind of abbreviated list.
[00:21:16] Like this is just the light version of of the armor. Or that Paul spent more time thinking about it and came up with a cooler list for the Ephesians. That's not the case.
[00:21:25] Paul is doing something very intentional by referring to these specific virtues and these specific pieces of armor.
[00:21:35] First, Paul is referring back to the same trio of Christian virtues he mentioned at the start of the letter. In the first verses of this letter, Paul says that they gave thanks to God for the Thessalonians in their prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:21:59] Faith, love, hope. The same virtues mentioned here. Secondly, these pieces of armor are the same ones mentioned in Isaiah 59, 17.
[00:22:09] In chapter 59, Isaiah Prophesies of what the Lord will be wearing when he comes back for judgment.
[00:22:18] And he says that the Lord put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. Paul appears to be making a connection here to how the Lord will be dressed and how believers how we will be dressed when he comes. Because we are united to Christ, we will be suited up in armor just like him, just like we are children of light by virtue of being united to Jesus, the Light of the world.
[00:22:48] So we will be dressed in his righteousness alone. By faith in him, we are spiritually protected and ready to fight the good fight of faith.
[00:23:03] So when Paul commands us in these verses to keep awake and be sober, he's merely telling us to be who we are.
[00:23:14] Since By God's grace through faith, you are in Christ who is the light of the world.
[00:23:21] Then let your light shine as children of light, since you are in Christ, who is the commander of the armies of heaven, then fight the good fight as Christian soldiers. His commands are based on our condition. That's what we should be doing when Jesus comes back.
[00:23:41] Have you ever thought about what you'll be doing when he returns?
[00:23:45] It's a topic we probably don't think enough about, because if we did, it would probably change a lot about how we live our daily lives.
[00:23:53] Given that the average American now spends just as many hours sleeping as they spend looking at a screen, it's more than likely he will find you in bed or staring at your phone. Or in bed staring at your phone.
[00:24:09] I don't know about you, but that's not what I want to be doing when he comes back.
[00:24:13] There's nothing wrong with getting a good night's rest. Remember, when Paul says keep awake, he's speaking spiritually, not physically. But do you really want Jesus to come back and find you acting like a child of darkness?
[00:24:27] To find you just wasting time scrolling on your phone or screaming at your spouse, or looking at porn, or complaining about your job or worrying about the future, or getting literally drunk?
[00:24:42] Wouldn't it be so much better if when he returns, we were busy with good works instead? If as children of light, we were busy shining the light of Christ and fighting the good fight of faith?
[00:24:55] Wouldn't it be so much better if he came back right now and found us worshiping him?
[00:25:00] Or if he came back tomorrow and found you working hard to provide for your family, or reading your Bible and praying, or on a mission trip sharing the gospel and serving church planters, or taking to a meal to a new mom in your church, or visiting a member of your BFG at the hospital, or making VBS decorations, or fighting sin and putting it to death in your life?
[00:25:23] Because that's the kind of good works I see this church doing all the time.
[00:25:29] Because that's just who we are as a church. That's who we are in Christ. Because of who we are, we're always busy with our Lord's work. So it's not just that Christians are ready for Christ's return, that's true. But more than that, we're always ready for every good work. Sometimes even spontaneously. Like when you show up here on Christmas Eve for a candlelight service.
[00:25:52] Instead of getting to do that, you end up pushing out half a foot of freezing cold water from this building or when you drop everything to immediately fill up a meal train for a family in need.
[00:26:03] This church is always busy being the church and ready to pitch in and do whatever's needed, no matter what, because that's just who we are.
[00:26:14] So by God's grace, when Jesus returns, that's probably what he'll find us doing.
[00:26:19] He'll find us being the church. And if that's true, then that means we won't have to be ashamed or embarrassed by what we're doing when he comes back. We'll be ready because of who we are.
[00:26:30] And lastly, we'll be ready because of where we're going.
[00:26:34] Look with me at verses 9 and 10.
[00:26:37] Paul writes, 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.
[00:26:56] Paul argues that at the end of the day, the reason the church is ready for the Second Coming is because of the Gospel.
[00:27:03] Christians are not destined for wrath.
[00:27:07] They are not destined for death.
[00:27:10] They are destined for salvation, for life with Christ. That's where we're going. We're going to be with Jesus.
[00:27:21] And that's true whether or not we're alive when he returns. That's what Paul means by saying whether we are awake or asleep. Here he switches back to how he used those words at the end of chapter four. He's saying, whether Christians are alive or dead at the Second Coming, it doesn't matter. We will all live with Christ forever. He died so that by faith we might live. He suffered the wrath of God on the cross for our salvation, so that we would be saved from God's wrath. That is the Gospel. That is the good news. And that good news is not just for our eternal life. It's for our everyday life, no matter what happens.
[00:28:05] That's why one theologian calls these verses a text for when the doctor says it's cancer.
[00:28:13] That's why I've said Christians are ready for anything. Not just that. We're ready for the Second Coming. We're ready for anything because we know that Jesus is coming back for us. Because we are his children of light, because we are going to be with him forever, then we are ready for anything that comes our way, even suffering, even sorrow, even death.
[00:28:37] So if a doctor comes to you and says you've got some terrible diagnosis, then in that moment you cling to this promise right here.
[00:28:49] You do not let fear or despair enter your heart because it is covered by the breastplates of, of faith and Love you, do not let doubt fill your mind because it is covered with the helmet of the hope of this salvation. That 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 we might live with Him. Brothers and sisters, that is where we are going. And nothing can stop us from getting there.
[00:29:34] No one can stand in Jesus way. The grave is not your home. Hell is not your final destination. If you live by faith in Christ now, you will live by sight of Christ forever.
[00:29:49] Guaranteed.
[00:29:56] The good news that we are going to be with Jesus forever makes us ready for anything.
[00:30:03] But even though that's true, that doesn't deny the fact that sometimes the battle is hard, sometimes the struggle is real.
[00:30:14] Sometimes we get knocked down by trials or temptations.
[00:30:19] Sometimes we can feel all alone and burdened beyond our strength.
[00:30:25] As a matter of fact, you might be feeling that way right now.
[00:30:29] You might be feeling like you're not ready for much of anything.
[00:30:33] And that is why we need one another.
[00:30:38] Look at verse 11 where Paul writes, therefore.
[00:30:42] Or it could say in conclusion, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
[00:30:53] These final commands remind us that we are ready for anything together on our own. No, we won't make it. But praise God, he has not left us alone. We have the church.
[00:31:08] We have each other to encourage us and build us up.
[00:31:12] When we are cowering in the face of temptations, we have the family of God standing by our side to fill us with courage.
[00:31:23] When the roof of our faith is caving in under the weight of trials. We have the church, which Paul calls the pillar and buttress of the truth, to support us.
[00:31:35] And the primary way that we encourage and build one another up is with the gospel. We remind ourselves that Jesus is coming back for us, that we are God's children of light, that we're going to be with him forever. And as we do, we strengthen one another to get back out there and keep going.
[00:31:55] And every week we do just that right here in our Sunday morning worship gathering. Because it's here in this worship gathering where we hear the gospel through the preaching of God's word, where we sing the Gospel through songs, where we see the Gospel displayed in the Lord's Supper and baptism, and where we pray and give so that the Gospel will go forth to the ends of the earth.
[00:32:23] The Gospel is displayed here, heard here, sung here every Sunday. So that means one of the best ways that we can encourage one another and build one up with the Gospel on a weekly basis is by gathering for corporate worship every single Sunday.
[00:32:41] That's why the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 24 through 25.
[00:32:47] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
[00:32:53] Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day drawing near. Did you catch that phrase at the end?
[00:33:05] And all the more as you see the day drawing near. What day? The day of the Lord. The second coming. The same day we've been talking about here in First Thessalonians, Chapter 5. So the author of Hebrews is in effect telling us something similar to what Paul tells us in First Thessalonians, chapter 5. 11. He's saying, Since Jesus is coming back, we need to encourage one another to finish strong.
[00:33:32] The difference is, in Hebrews, we're given a specific way that we can encourage one another. And the way we're told to encourage one another is by not neglecting to meet together.
[00:33:44] The author of Hebrews uses meeting together and encouraging one another interchangeably. He could have just said, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but meeting together. But instead he says, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. That means we are encouraging one another just by gathering together for worship each Sunday morning.
[00:34:10] Think about it. I know some of you work at Chick Fil A where you're surrounded by a bunch of Christians all the time. But for most of you, that's not the case.
[00:34:19] Most of you are at jobs or in schools where there are very few Christians, if any. You might be the only Christian at your job or only one of the few in your class. So throughout your whole week, you feel like the oddball. You feel like the odd man out. All day, every day. You are surrounded by unbelievers who deny the gospel by their words and their works.
[00:34:43] And it's easy to get discouraged in that kind of environment, isn't it?
[00:34:49] But then each week, you come in here on Sunday morning and you're surrounded by hundreds of people loudly singing gospel truths, by hundreds of people nodding their heads in agreement to the truth of God's word.
[00:35:09] And it encourages you, does it not?
[00:35:12] It encourages you when you see a person who's just had a miscarriage, who's lost their job, or who's lost a loved one, and they're still here on Sunday morning, believing the same gospel as you, still clinging to Jesus. That encourages you. Dads as you look around and you see other fathers that, you know have their kids in just as many activities as you have your kids in, and they're still making it a priority on Sunday morning to be here with their entire family. It encourages you. And it's supposed to. That's how it's supposed to work. And that kind of encouragement can't ever come through a podcast or a live stream. It just can't. It only comes from being physically present, from being able to look in every direction and see and hear and. And smell and even touch the body of Christ.
[00:36:07] So each week that you come in here and you're spiritually prepared and focused, you will leave encouraged and built up, ready to face whatever comes your way. This week, you're ready for anything, because once again, you've been reminded of what you know, of who you are and where you're going.
[00:36:29] Unlike the unbelieving world, you know that Jesus is coming back for you, that you are God's child, and that you're going to be with him forever.
[00:36:40] So you're ready for anything.
[00:36:44] That's the difference between the church and the world.
[00:36:46] The sinful world around us is up late, past its bedtime, playing and giggling over sin and breaking all the rules.
[00:36:54] And at any moment, our heavenly Father will throw open the door of heaven and say, all right, that's enough.
[00:37:01] And the Lord Jesus himself will descend from heaven to judge the world.
[00:37:08] But because Christians are ready for anything, we have no reason to panic.
[00:37:14] Rather, we can look forward to that day and even say, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
