Sermon: 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11 The Day of the Lord

Today is an important day. Not only is it Remembrance Sunday, but it also falls on the centenary of the Armistice. One hundred years ago, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent, and the World War was finished. And so today is an important day, as we look back on that momentous day.

But we don’t just look back and remember past days - we also look forward to days that are coming in the future. This is the time of year when you start to get your new diary (has anyone got a 2019 diary yet?). And when you get your new diary, you go through it to write in all sorts of important days.

You write in your family birthdays, so that you don’t forget them. You might write in wedding anniversaries - not that you would forget that day! You might write in when your holidays are, looking forward to particular days. But there’s one day that we can’t write in. We know it will happen some day, we just don’t know when. We’re talking about the day of the Lord, when Jesus will return to the earth.

Last week, we were reminded of the hope that we have because of Jesus - that those who have died trusting in Jesus will be raised when Jesus returns. Today, we see what the day of the Lord means for those of us who are alive and waiting for him. So let’s look at what the Bible says about the return of the Lord Jesus:

‘Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.’ (1-2)

The return of Jesus is described as the day of the Lord. That’s a phrase that is used lots of times in the Old Testament, pointing to God’s victory over his enemies, bringing judgement to the earth and triumph for his people. But do you see how the DAY is described? It will come like a thief in the night.

Now, I hope this doesn’t happen, but imagine someone breaks into your house tonight. Do you think they would have texted to say they were planning to drop round tonight at 2.30am? Would they ring to check if it was ok to rob you? No, the thief in the night goes for surprise. It’s sudden, unexpected. You’re lying in bed, all is well, just turning over for your second sleep, when the window breaks and the burglar is in.

And the day of the Lord will be like that. Sudden, unexpected: ‘While people are saying, “Peace and safety”, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.’ (3)

Jesus’ return will be sudden. A pregnant woman might have the bag packed for the hospital, but she doesn’t know when those labour pains will kick in. And once they do, that’s it. You can’t say to the baby, ok, hang on a wee while, I want to finish watching this film!

The day of the Lord will be sudden. ‘They’ will be caught out, not expecting it. You see, Paul is writing to the Christians in Thessalonica. He writes about ‘they’ and ‘them’ - someone else, not the people reading the letter. They think they’re ok, but they’re not. No escape.

The day of the Lord is sudden, but for the Christian, it will not be surprising. We might not know the exact date. We can’t write it in our diary. We can’t put it on the calendar in the kitchen. But we know it is coming.

Do you see the contrast in verse 4? Verse 3 is all they and them, ‘But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.’ (4-5)

Has anyone ever been to a surprise party? I remember we had one when my granny was turning 80. Mum and dad had arranged it. All our family and granny’s friends were all in the function room, keeping quiet. Granny walked in, and got the shock of her life! It really was a surprise. She was in the dark, she didn’t know it was happening. but we knew!

And we, Paul says, aren’t in the dark about the day of the Lord. We know that Jesus is going to return. We’ll not be caught out, or shocked at the sudden surprise.

Do you see how Paul describes the Christians? ‘You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.’ We belong to the light, not the darkness. We are children of the day, we are connected to the day of the Lord. So for us, the day of the Lord will be sudden, but not surprising.

Have you heard the phrase where two things are as different as day and night? They’re so different, there’s no comparison, they’ve nothing in common. From verse 6, Paul continues the day and night theme. Here’s how the children of the day are to live. It’s completely different from those in darkness, because we are watching for the day.

Have you ever experienced jet lag? It’s when you fly far enough around the world to get into a different time zone. Your body thinks it’s midnight and needs to sleep, but it’s only 2pm in the afternoon. Or you waken at 3 am, thinking it’s morning time. Verse 6 is a bit like that. ‘So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.’

Those in darkness think it’s night, and do night time things - sleep or get drunk. But for the Christian, we are in the day time. How could we do night time things when the day is here? ‘But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.’ (8)

The night time can be a scary time. Paul says we’re to be alert, not distracted. We’re to guard our heart and our mind - the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation guarding our head. This is God’s armour, the God-given protection we need for every day between this day and that day.

Perhaps you look at the world, and see the way things are going, and you wonder what this world is coming to? One hundred years on from the war to end all wars, and yet wars continue to be fought. The freedom fought for continues to need defending. The darkness seems to get darker. but God wants us to hold on, and keep alert. We already have the day of the Lord in our hearts, and the dawn will break. Jesus will return suddenly, and your endurance and hardship will be worth it.

The hope of salvation keeps us going. This is what we’re waiting for - what we can already be sure of. Verse 9: ‘For 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.’

In Jesus, we already know the verdict. We know how the story ends. We can be sure that our destiny is not wrath, but salvation. Jesus died to make it happen. That’s how the helmet of the hope of salvation works. We know where we’re going. And that changes how we live each day. Even when we slip (and we all do), we have the assurance that Jesus died for us, and he has destined us for life with him.

We have a future with Jesus, secured by his blood, already in promise, and one day made final and complete. No wonder we watch and wait for that day with eager anticipation! We don’t know when it will be. We can’t write it in our diary that on a certain day, Jesus will return. But over the top of each day, we should write - maybe today. Today could be the day of the Lord.

The day of the Lord will be sudden but for the Christian it will not be surprising. So keep alert, watching for his arrival. And as we wait, we’re to encourage each other, and build each other up as we watch and wait for the return of Jesus.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 11th November 2018.

Sermon: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 Good Grief

When I was growing up, my heart was set on becoming a journalist. So all my work experience was in local newspapers. My subjects for A-Level and my university were all geared towards journalism. And then, in the summer before I started university, God ambushed me with the call to ministry.

For the three years of my course, I was fighting against God’s call. And I had my reasons all stacked up. I didn’t think I would be able to preach (maybe you think that too!); I didn’t really like hospitals and medical stuff; and I definitely wouldn’t be able to be do funerals. As you can see, God won out in the end, and here I am. And when I was ordained as Curate, I had a few weeks to work with the rector before he headed off on holidays. We’d be able to do any funerals together. Well, there were none. And then the morning he was heading off on holiday, probably just as he was getting onto the plane, the local undertaker rang to say that I was about to do my first funeral.

When it comes to death and dying and what happens next, there are lots of questions. Questions that you might think, but have never said out loud. And as time goes on, and you encounter loss - whether sudden or expected - the questions are still there, and never really answered.

It seems that the Thessalonian Christians had questions too. You see, so far, we’ve heard all about the things that they knew. Last week, we saw that they knew how to live to please God, by loving one another. But there were some things they weren’t quite sure about. And it’s understandable. Paul and the team had only been in Thessalonica a short time. He had shared as much as he could, but he wasn’t able to tell them everything. That’s why he prays that he’ll be able to get back to see them. It’s why he sent Timothy to see them.

And now Timothy has returned to Paul, bringing the good news of their continuing faith, but also bringing news of their uncertainty about death. It seems that some of the Christians in Thessalonica had died in the short time since Paul’s visit. And that leads to the question - what happens to them when they die? Will they miss out on the excitement of the return of Jesus? Are they gone forever or will we see them again?

Those are the questions that Paul is answering as he writes this section of the letter. And in verse 13, we see his purpose in writing these verses: ‘Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.’

Paul’s purpose is to provide information, so that they won’t be ignorant (without knowledge); but more than that, he wants to provide inspiration. We don’t want you to be ignorant, so we’ll tell you what the story really is. And we don’t want you to grieve like other people, who have no hope.

He is’t saying that Christians shouldn’t grieve. He’s saying that we shouldn’t grieve like other people, who don’t have the hope that we do. We mourn and grieve - but we don’t do it in the same way as other people. The answer is to have ‘good grief’ or hope-filled grief.

Rather than speculating about what may or may not happen, Paul grounds everything that he says in objective fact. He points to what has already happened to the Lord Jesus: ‘We believe that Jesus died and rose again.’ (14) That shouldn’t come as a surprise to you - we say that every week in the creed, whichever creed we use. It’s the basis of our Holy Communion service, as we reflect on all that Jesus did - he died on the cross, and he rose again to new life.

This is what we believe as Christians. But it also leads us to believe something else: ‘and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.’ (14)

Because Jesus died and rose again, it means that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. Did you notice how Paul describes these believers? They have ‘fallen asleep’ - verse 13 and here in verse 14. To die as a Christian is like falling asleep - with the understanding that the one sleeping will waken again. And they have ‘fallen asleep in him.’ They are in Christ - united to him, with him - which is why God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. When the believer dies, their soul is immediately with the Lord in what we call heaven; their body is laid in the ground, sleeping, awaiting the resurrection to new life.

To be in Jesus is to be with Jesus - to go where he goes and to stay where he stays. It’s a bit like getting onto a bus. Where the driver takes the bus, you go too. Where he goes, you go. And the hope that we have is that Jesus is going to return.

Now, sometimes, we use that word hope in a wishful thinking, not sure if this really will happen kind of way. I hope it’s a nice day tomorrow. I hope my team win. I hope I get a space at the hospital car park. But the hope that we have - the hope of Jesus’ return to this earth - this isn’t like those wishful thinking, maybe possibly kind of hopes. No, this hope of Jesus’ return is absolutely certain. It’s sure enough to build your life upon. It means that you don’t have to grieve like people who have no hope.

And in verse 15, we see what our hope is. ‘According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.’ Those who have died, trusting in Christ, aren’t going to miss out; they’re not going to be second class citizens; they’re not going to be at the back of the queue. And we, who are left, who are alive when Jesus returns - we aren’t going to precede them.

So what will it be like? Verse 16 shows the events of that day: ‘For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.’ When Jesus returns, we’re not going to miss it - he will be accompanied by these sounds - a loud command, an archangel’s voice, and the trumpet of God. All announcing his return. All heralding his coming.

And what will happen when Jesus returns? ‘and the dead in Christ will rise first.’ (16). When Jesus returns, those who have died in Christ will rise from their graves. Do you remember when Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave in John 11, and he calls to him, ‘Lazarus, come out’? A famous preacher said that he used the name of Lazarus, otherwise everyone in the tomb would have arisen. But that’s what will happen on the last day, when Jesus returns.

Then, the next bit in verse 17. ‘After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.’

All believers, whether they have died or whether they are living, will meet the Lord. And it’s not just a passing glance, or a brief encounter - we will be with the Lord for ever. Maybe over the halfterm holiday, you’ve gone to visit family. You’ve spent a day or two with them, but the time comes when you have to return home again. School or work is back tomorrow. Or maybe over the summer holiday you spent the whole two months with family, and it was great, but even then, the time comes to leave them. When that day comes, when we see the Lord, we will be with him for ever. There’ll never come a time when we have to depart. We’ll never again be absent from him.

This is good grief; or hope-filled grief. When a loved one dies, of course we miss them; of course we mourn for them. But as Christians, we have this cure and certain hope - we will see them again, and we will be with them again - because we will be with the Lord Jesus. For ever.

This is the Christian hope, rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus - that we too will share in his resurrection, his victory over death. We will be with him.

And the application of this morning’s passage is straightforward. Sometimes, it can be hard to know what to do with a passage; what God is calling us to do in response to his word. This morning, though, it’s easy to know what to do. Paul tells us in verse 18. In light of all that we’ve heard, here’s how to do it: ‘Therefore encourage each other with these words.’

There is encouragement in these words, in this passage of Scripture. And so we can remind each other about the hope that we have in Jesus.

The grieving process can be different for everybody; some seem can mourn for a long time, others for a shorter time. But in the message of Jesus, we have the words to share, the hope to bring, the encouragement that we need to have hope-filled grief. And it’s this hope that means that I could deal with the medical stuff, and lead funeral services, and even try to preach. And it’s this hope that we can hold on to in difficult days, when we lose a loved one, or when we face our own death - as we’ll say later on in the Communion prayer:

Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 4th November 2018.