The day of the Lord will come

1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. ² For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. ³ 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.⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; ⁵ for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; ⁶ so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. ⁸ 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. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

¹² But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, ¹³ and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. ¹⁴ We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. ¹⁶ Rejoice always; ¹⁷ pray without ceasing; ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit; ²⁰ do not despise prophetic utterances. ²¹ But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; ²² abstain from every form of evil.

²³ 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. ²⁴ Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. ²⁵ Brethren, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

I want to begin today with a couple of verses from the middle of today’s text:   We request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,  and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.      These verses seemed timely and appropriate since October is set aside as pastor appreciation month, a time when congregations make an extra effort to do things and express their appreciation for their pastors and leaders. This is a good thing and I would encourage you to do that for your own pastor. What I would encourage you even more though is to take this time, designated by someone, perhaps the greeting card industry, to not only show your appreciation, but to truly make it a practice, a part of every day and every month. Esteem them very highly every day, throughout the year. Pray for them, encourage them, and exhort them. In our culture we complain about our political leaders. We complain about our workplace leaders and perhaps some of our complaints may be justified. May that not be our attitude or our practice concerning those in the church. If there is a lack or a need, rather than complain, may we intervene and intercede, doing our part. I encourage you in this time of pastoral appreciation to appreciate and esteem those who diligently labor among you. Don’t stop at the end of this designated time, but rather begin to make it a part and a practice for a lifetime.       

Today’s text begins:   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.    Jesus Himself says:     “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be…Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour  your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:36-44)     If Jesus Himself says that He doesn’t know the timing of His return, I don’t know why so many people focus so much on the time of His return. Surly we should look forward to Jesus return, but it should be with anticipation and excitement. It should not be so that we can plan our schedules and prioritize our lives knowing when the appointment will be. In Luke 12, Jesus tells a story of a man who focused on attaining wealth and preparing for his future here on earth. The story ends with verse 20, when God says:   ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’    None of us know the day or hour of Christ’s return. Neither are any of us guaranteed even one more hour in this life.  

How then should we live? We should live each day to the fullest, treasuring all that we have been given, both things and people. We should not though live it to the fullest as those who are self centered and self seeking. We should not live simply to please ourselves and satisfy our own desires. To live to the fullest is to live as the fulfillment of God’s will and plan for our lives. Today’s text says:  so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober…For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Therefore encourage one another and build up one another.        Because our future is secure in Christ, we should not worry about or focus on the future. Instead we should live each day, alert and sober, paying attention to what God has for us for this day, loving, encouraging and building up others in Christ. Jesus Christ has taken care of our past through the cross. He has forgiven our sins, redeemed, reconciled and restored us. He has also provided for our future, granting us eternal life in heaven, in the presence of He and the Father. All that is left for us is to live each day to the fullest, walking in the fulfillment of His will.  

What does that look like? Paul says:   Live in peace with one another. admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.    That seems like a good place to begin.

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. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen