November 12, 2023 – 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

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Hope Lutheran Church
Manhattan, Kansas
November 12, 2023
1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Just feeling like you’re unprepared for something can be pretty horrible

• My vicar year – when I was doing my year-long internship to be a pastor – from the first day I got there in Georgia, I was in charge of organizing a pretty big event: The Fall Festival
  
  • The Fall Festival was one of the big outreach events the church there did every year and there was a lot involved
    
    • A bouncy house, pony rides, cotton candy, a raffle drawing, tractor rides, tons of food. All these different fun activities for kids and their families
      
    • And then there was also organizing all the volunteers from church that we needed to pull off something like this
      
  • I remember the night before the event, I could barely sleep. And it’s not because things weren’t ready. They were. Everything was set to go days beforehand. I was prepared. I was ready
    
    • In the logical part of my brain, I knew that. But the other part of my brain still wondered if I’d done everything to make sure things were ready
      
  • We’ve all been there before, haven’t we? We’ve all had times when we felt like we weren’t really ready and prepared for something big and important
    
  • If we can feel that way about different things we do in our lives and jobs, as you heard our lessons today from Isaiah, Paul, and Jesus and they all told us about the importance of waking up, being ready for the day when Jesus will come again, was there a part of you that wondered “Am I ready? Am I really ready for the day when Jesus will come back?”
    

Paul’s words to the Thessalonians want to assure you that…
You Are Ready For Christ To Return. So…
  1) Don’t Be Uptight (v. 1–2)
  2) Don’t Be Up At Night (v. 3, 6–7)
  3) Live In The Light (v. 4–5, 8–11)

1) Don’t Be Uptight
Paul starts this way: Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we don’t need to write, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

• When it comes to being ready for the Day of the Lord, this is one end of the spectrum. It’s actually possible to be too uptight and worried about it. How?
  
  • How many Christians do you know who nervously watch the news, try to name the times and dates, all because they want to figure out when Christ will return? Or think they need to play a part in the return of Christ?
    
  • Some people are completely obsessed with it
    
    • There are entire books about it. YouTube videos and blogs where people claim they’ve cracked the code of the Bible and figured out the exact time, date, and location of when Christ will come
      
    • There’s an entire Wikipedia page completely devoted to listing some of the most famous examples of people who have done this kind of thing
      
  • Looking through those examples, I couldn’t help but wonder – How many Christians have been misled, maybe even misled into darkness and uncertainty because they were fixated on something Jesus told us there’s no way for us to figure it out?
    
    • How many feel anxious and worried and scared because they’re uptight about trying to figure out the day when Jesus will return?
      
• Here’s the point – There is no way for human beings to figure out this secret mystery of God. No one ever has and no one ever will
  
  • And all it can do is leave people stumbling around in the darkness. All it can do is leave them nervous, anxious, and uptight about the Day of the Lord. So don’t be uptight about the Day of the Lord
    

2) Don’t Be Up At Night (v. 3, 6–7)
Paul goes on: So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night

• If being uptight is one end of the spectrum when it comes to the Day of the Lord, what Paul talks about here is the opposite end. It’s living like the Day of the Lord will never come. It’s not caring about it all. It’s being up at night
  
  • And Paul says it’s a lot like living life spiritually asleep or spiritually drunk 
    
  • Those are pretty good ways to describe a life that doesn’t think the Day of the Lord will ever come, aren't they? Because what happens when someone’s sleepy?
    
    • It’s almost impossible for them to give their full attention to anything
      
    • They’re easily frustrated by things that normally are small problems
      
  • And what happens when someone’s drunk?
    
    • They get distracted by things incredibly quickly
      
    • They do whatever they feel in the moment
      
    • They put their guard down in ways that can cause hurt
      
• Some people go through life spiritually asleep, spiritually drunk. They don’t care about the day of the Lord. They paying no attention at all to it
  
  • And Paul tells us what is coming for those who have that attitude:
    

While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape

• You might picture it this way – It’s like there are people out having a street party. And not far off in the distance, a truck’s coming, speeding down the road. But the people at the street party are drinking. Some of them are starting to find places to sit down because they’re losing balance. They have no idea what’s coming. And they will not escape destruction
  

• We’re tempted to fall into either one of those spectrums – uptight about the Day of the Lord or up at night, completely ignoring the Day of the Lord
  
  • So instead, the Spirit guides us to a godly response to the Day of the Lord
    
  • Paul reminds you and me of who we are, where we’re going, and what that means for us as we wait and look forward to the Day of the Lord
    

3) Live In The Light (v. 4–5, 8–11)
God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him

• This world can be a dark place. And there’s always the temptation for us to slip into the darkness – to be uptight about the Day of the Lord or be up at night before the Day of the Lord
  
  • So what did God do? He sent his Son into the darkness of this world
    
    • He sent his Son to people like you and me who always want to go back into the dark. Jesus came once before and his light – THE light – shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it
      
    • And he’s coming again. And when he comes back, everyone is going to see that light, whether they’re ready for it or not
      
    • But because of what Jesus has done – because he died for our spiritual sleepiness, drunkenness, our uptightness – becasue he brought light into the world – that means the Day of the Lord is our day too. The Day of our Salvation. We don’t have to be worried about it. We look forward to it
      
• It reminds me of one of my first memories from when I was 3 or 4 years old
  
  • I woke up in the middle of the night in my dark room and was scared. I don’t know why I was scared, I just know I was scared to the point I didn’t even want to move. I was tight and paralyzed with fear. And so I cried
    
  • I remember eventually a light turned on in the hallway outside my room. And I knew that light meant mom or dad was coming to make things better
    
    • Jesus is that light for us. His light is shining, even when there might be darkness around us. And the darkness of this world can’t overcome his light. His light assures us that he’s always there and someday he is coming with something greater than anything we can imagine
      
• And as we go through life right now, he makes sure we know we aren’t alone. He gives us armor to protect us
  
  • Faith and love serve as your breastplate to guard your heart
    
    • Faith God put in you so you can believe everything he’s done for you
      
    • Love God showed to you time and time again, asking for nothing in return
      
  • And hope serves as a helmet to guard your mind
    
    • Hope that promises you of the glorious eternity that awaits you in heaven
      
• Those are God’s promises for each of us that we can count on. And until Jesus returns, he says we live as children of the light who let our light shine
  

You are all children of the light and children of the day... Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing

• You notice how Paul says it there?
  
  • He doesn’t say we were children of the light or will be children of the light
    
  • This is real right now. Each of us is a child of the light. We’ve been made children of the light and now we let that light shine to the people around us
    
    • But maybe you think you don’t have much to offer as far as light goes. Maybe you think you don’t have enough light to make a difference
      
    • What did Paul say? He said, “Encourage one another and build each other up.” And the Greek is even more personal. It says to do this in a one-on-one kind of way. So, what if you could be light to just one person?
      
  • And so then when they look at you, they see someone they can go to when they start realizing how dark this world can be. You tell them why you’re able to have hope and confidence. You encourage them and build them up. You show them the breastplate, the helmet God wants to give them
    
  • And maybe what happens next is that people, they see our church and can’t help but notice that this is a place where we come together to shine the light of Christ
    
  • And they see our ELC and it’s same thing. It’s the core value of our ELC - Shining the light of Christ’s love through loving commitment
    
• And what’s the source of the light that we give to the world? 
  
  • It’s not light we produce on our own. It’s the light of Jesus we reflect 
    
    • It’s like the relationship between the sun and moon. The sun shines brightly and perfectly for everyone to see. The moon reflects that light. And it does its best work when everything else is darkest
      
    • Jesus was the light of the world, and now he has made us to reflect his light to others. Shining for others to see. And in a world that’s uptight or up at night, just one light in the darkness can make all the difference
      

Jesus came once before. He’ll be back. And you’re ready for that day when he’ll return. Until then, let us look to him and his light. Let us live, not uptight, not up at night, but in the light as children of the light. Amen

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