Joshua Haldeman grew up on the prairies of Saskatchewan. When the domino effect of the Great Depression hit Canada, Haldeman lost his 5,000-acre farm and had to start from scratch. He tried his hand at chiropractic medicine and politics. Then Haldeman discovered his passion, flying airplanes. In 1950, Haldeman uprooted his family and moved halfway around the world to South Africa, a place he had never even been before. With the help of his wife, Winifred, and their children, he disassembled his 1948 single-engine airplane. The airplane was packed into crates. shipped to South Africa and reassembled by the family once it got there. A few years later, Joshua and Winifred Haldeman embarked on a 30,000 mile trip, a flight from Africa to Australia and back. They are believed to be the only private pilots to have ever made that flight in a single-engine airplane. As a comparison point, Charles Lindbergh's legendary transatlantic flight in 1927 was only 3,600 miles. 27 years later, the Haldimands flew more than eight times as far. Few people have heard of Joshua and Winifred Haldeman, but I bet you've heard of their grandson, Elon Musk. Musk's entrepreneurial exploits are well documented. He has turned the automotive and aerospace industries upside down. at SpaceX headquarters, there are two giant posters of Mars. One shows a cold, barren planet. The other looks a lot like Earth. The second poster represents Musk's life purpose, colonizing Mars. Now, how does someone even conceptualize colonizing a planet in the non science fiction sense. Well, dreams are not conceived in a vacuum. One of Musk's biographers noted, throughout his childhood, Elon heard many stories about his grandfather's exploits and sat through countless slideshows that documented his travels. Those stories were the seedbed of Musk's imagination. Those stories are the shoulders that he stood on. Do you have stories that serve as the seedbed for your life's drive and purpose? Maybe you don't have a spectacular set of grandparents like Joshua and Winifred Haldeman. that every believer in this room should be able to answer yes, Scripture is to serve that purpose for us. But let's be honest, we don't use Scripture in the same way that Elon Musk has been driven by the stories of his grandparents. I'm positive that it was a constant reminder of his grandfather's exploits that has given Elon Musk his driving purpose. You know what? We have so much more. We have the truth through many narratives of God's word. We also have God's indwelling spirit to keep it alive, to keep it dynamic, to keep it propelling us. We have truthful stories and a supernatural driving force within us. But we must purposefully keep them fresh in front of us in our thinking. When our lives are filled with unusual challenge, we need to intentionally refresh ourselves with God's truth, like what we find in today's passage. You see, the Apostle Paul wrote it because the believers in Thessalonica were under some very severe persecution. They were suffering at the hands of unbelievers because of their faith in Christ. The Apostle Paul does not give them any new truth, something they did not already know, but he gives them powerful motivation by reminding them of truth which Paul says they previously knew full well. But the sense is that they were losing their sense of inspiration from it. And you know, I probably won't tell you anything new today, that you didn't already know, but I want to remind you of it because it is easy for us to lose our motivation if we do not stay focused on it. Paul sought to accomplish two things to his original readers, the Thessalonians in our passage today. Number one, he wanted to press them on to live godly lives. And number two, he wanted to encourage them in light of their current suffering. I hope that this will be as timely for you as it must have been for them. Now, Paul does this in a most fascinating manner. First, he reminds them about the coming day of the Lord. God is not gonna remain silent forever. He is about to break his silence. Wicked men and women, including those who may be persecuting you, will suffer God's wrath. Second, Paul moves quickly from metaphor to metaphor, establishing a very strict contrast. Day and night, awake and sleeping, sober and drunkenness. And through these metaphors, he shows the difference between believers and such wicked people as their persecutors. He will even state very clearly near the end of our passage today what their opponents will receive and what believers will be spared from. Now, before we read our passage, there is something very important that you need to be keyed into. Make sure you notice how Paul draws strict contrast Do this by paying attention to the pronouns in this passage. Observe how he switches back and forth between you, we, they, and them. I don't know how many years I've been studying this passage, and only until recently have they caught my eye. Something so obvious, they've been there the whole time. All through this passage, Paul builds a stark contrast between us and them. He describes how each group, believers and unbelievers, will experience the day of the Lord. So let's turn to our passage right now. 1 Thessalonians 5, beginning with verse one. Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 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. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet of the helmet of hope of salvation. 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. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. You may recall from last week's passage, the verses just before this one that I just read in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18, that Paul was comforting believers. who feared that their loved ones who had died would somehow miss out on the blessings of the coming kingdom of Christ's return. Paul assured them, however, that there would be a glorious reunion prior to the establishment of the kingdom. The dead in Christ would rise first, then those who were alive would be transformed. both groups would be snatched up together to meet the Lord in the air. This doctrine of the rapture of the church was meant to give encouragement to those who were grieving the loss of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, starting with verse one of our passage today, Paul takes a turn, not 180-degree shift to an unrelated topic, but a 90 degree turn to a different side of the same matter, the end times. Paul was no longer discussing the details of the rapture. Now he's moving to an event that unbelievers will have to face. Last week's passage focused on what will happen to Christians The very next passage, the one that we just now read, our passage for today, deals with what unbelievers will go through. And so we see a general contrast between these two passages last week's and this week's. Let me take you back now to verse one. Chapter five, 1 Thessalonians chapter five, verse one again. Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. Concerning the question of when, and concerning the question of what life will be like, times and seasons, you have no need for anything to be written to you. Why? Well, verse two gives us the answer. He's about to remind them of something they are fully aware of. Verse two, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Now, this day of the Lord that he mentions here is a day of sudden destruction. What kind of day is that? What does the Bible mean when it uses terminology day of the Lord? Well, first, let's recognize that he's not talking about a 24-hour period. The word day is used in a much broader sense. It means a specified period of time, like when you tell your kids, you know, back in my day, But this is a future day. And this day, or this period of time, will be when God is going to break his silence on all the wickedness that is and has been in the world. He's gonna judge this world. The Bible calls that the day of the Lord. and it's described all through scripture. Listen to what Joel says in Joel chapter two, verse one. It says, blow a trumpet in Zion, sound an alarm on my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble. For the day of the Lord is coming, it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Like blackness, there is spread upon the mountain a great and powerful people, their feet, there like has never been before, nor will ever be again after them through the years of all generations." Jeremiah said in Jeremiah chapter 30, verse 7, says, Alas, that day is so great, there is none like it. It is a time of distress for Jacob, yet he shall be saved out of it." What a time that must be. As Jeremiah said, there is nothing that can be compared with it. Daniel said in Daniel chapter 12 verse 1, he says this, at that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book." And the Lord Jesus, when Jesus was giving that lesson on prophecy on the Mount of Olives, he said this, Matthew 24, 21, for there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world till now, no, and never will be." So Jesus is saying there's not gonna be any time, no time compared with this time known as the great tribulation. In the book of Revelation, chapter 6, we hear of men who are literally praying for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. Revelation 6, verse 17, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? Now think about it. Think what Joel said. Joel said, tremble, because a day of darkness and gloom is coming. Jeremiah said, nothing to be compared with it. Daniel said, it's a time of trouble. There's never been a time like this since there was a nation. Jesus's words were, great tribulation. Never has there been a time like this, never. Will there be a time like this? And in the book of Revelation, men at that time are praying for rocks and mountains to fall on them. They're going underground because the great day of wrath has come. All of this will come about suddenly, unexpectedly, as a thief in the night. It comes abruptly. with great surprise. Because to the unbeliever there is no warning. The day of the Lord will be a day of catastrophic destruction. As verse three goes on to say. And here is one of the places where the pronouns that Paul is using is extremely important to notice, verse three. While people are saying there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. To reinforce the fact that the catastrophic and sudden destruction will be for unbelievers rather than for believers, Paul shifts his pronouns from you, they, he's not referring to believers who have been raptured to heaven, but to unbelievers who remain on the earth. At first, they will place their confidence in the false promise of peace and safety. And this is probably what the Antichrist will make them believe that he is giving to them after the chaos that the disappearance of so many believers will create. But while they're waving their banners of blind devotion and shouting slogans of unquestioned loyalty, destruction will come upon them. suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. The wrath of God that has been building up for thousands of years will suddenly break forth. Just as a pregnant woman cannot escape her labor pains, no one who is on this planet will escape this judgment and destruction. It is so absolute that Paul used one of the strongest expressions in the Greek language, ume, They shall not, by no means, escape. Every human being that is alive at that time and has not trusted Christ will face this terrible day of God's wrath. Listen up, Thessalonians. And every Christian who suffers for your belief in Christ God has not turned a blind eye to you. His wrath will come, and it is a sure thing. Genuine believers will be blessed, and unbelievers will suffer the wrath of God. Because of this, the way A believer is to behave, in the meantime, matters greatly to God. The next verses to the end of our passage today will focus on the believer's behavior in light of the coming day of the Lord, in light of the believer knowing this is going to happen. Verse four transitions us over to the subject of what believers are to do with their understanding of end times prophecy. We're not in the dark. We've been enlightened. We've been given understanding. We are not ignorant of what will happen. So what are we to do with this knowledge? But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. But as for you, brothers, Paul now shifts the focus from unbelievers. What I just said was not about you, but as for you, Notice that he brings believers back into the picture now. This coming surprise of pain and destruction doesn't have to do with you, but this does. No Christian should be surprised at what is happening. Paul, I can no longer have any confidence in the election system of America. or the legal and justice system of our country, or that our freedom of speech is just falling by the wayside. You and I can take the Bible, the Word of God, along with today's news broadcasts, and we can put them side by side. And then we can say, I know what's going on. Christians are the only ones who can make sense out of the situation that we are in. We're not in darkness, and we will not be overtaken as a thief might do. But don't allow this understanding that we have but others do not have to be a source of pride This is meant to light a fire under our feet. We are not to be asleep at the switch. Paul used several metaphors in this passage, so I thought I might use a few of my own there. Verses five and six. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not sleep as others do. Let us keep awake and be sober. When a person is asleep, he's not alert. He's not involved in what's going on around him. When a believer is spiritually asleep, He or she is oblivious and uninvolved in the work of God around them. They're slumbering. Now, since we have understanding, we ought to be awake. I mean, we need to be living, living expectantly with eternity's values in view and keeping with the urgency of the times. Listen, our understanding of the times is to be a revelry that wakes us up. I believe that God's alarm clock is going off all around us. And God is saying, it's time to wake up, get up, get dressed, go out, stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not sleep. So many people come to church on Sunday morning all across this nation of ours and they feel that they have done God a favor. You can almost read a sign that's hanging around their neck. Please don't disturb. No, let an understanding of what is happening today jostle us. Christians cannot be indifferent to the reality of the Lord's return and the signs that we see happening. We must not be asleep on the job. Now, the word for asleep here, in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 6, is kathudomain. This is not the same word that Paul used in the previous chapter, in chapter 4. when he used this word sleep as a euphemism for death. That Greek word was koimao. This word, kathudomen, means spiritual lethargy and insensitivity. Christians are not to be lethargic or insensitive about the Lord's return. If you're one of the many churchgoers who is attempting to simply cruise along, placing your spiritual development on some sort of autopilot, not using your spiritual gifts to minister to others, then you are in sheer defiance to this scripture. If you have some understanding that we are in the last days, but you remain half-hearted or sluggish about getting up every day and trying to discover what the jobs are that God has for you in that day, then you're turning your back on God. In a nutshell, here is what it means to be awake. every day, not just once, all through the day. I need to prayerfully ask, Lord, please show me where you are at work and asking me to join you. And then do it. Be alert. Be awake. Live in light of his return. Now keeping with his contrasts, Paul pictures two groups of people. One group is drunk and asleep, and the other group is sober and alert. Verses seven and eight. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 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. Because the day of the Lord is approaching quickly, it's time to wake up, clean up, and dress up. And this verse tells us what we are to put on as our dressing. It's not just street clothes. We have some armor to put on. Our Christian life is a battle. We need to be prepared and fully engage ourselves. There is to be no sitting idly by. We need to get ready for combat, and we have to protect ourselves. There are two specific areas he tells us that we need to guard. One is our heart, and the other is our head. Faith and love are to guard our heart. The way we are to live is to be growing in faith. We need to get a bulldog grip on the eternal truths of God, the unshakable, the inerrant, infallible word of God. Get a lock on the promises and assurances of God. We're going to need it. Also grow in love. Grow in faith and grow in love. Set your sights on being able to love others no matter what they do to you or how they treat you. Love your friends and your family more diligently. Love the lost, love strangers with Christ's love. grow in your expressing love to others. That's the breastplate. What about the helmet? It's called the hope of salvation. Wait a minute, Pastor. A hope of salvation? I thought that you're supposed to know if you're saved. Well, hope of salvation does not mean the hope that at last you will be saved from hell. Paul knew that the Thessalonian believers were already saved from eternal damnation. In 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 4, Paul acknowledged that they were chosen by God. And then he was certain that he and they would meet Christ in the air. Saw that last week, 1 Thessalonians 4, 17. So Paul is knowing they're believers, they have salvation. So what does it mean? Hope of salvation means the hope that salvation gives to you. You know, when you're saved, you have a whole new set of hope. But specifically, what does Paul speak of here? as this hope that salvation gives to us. Well, the very next word shows Paul is about to answer that. Verse nine begins with the word for. There's no other way to understand what for means here, but that he is connecting the very next thought with what he just said. The hope that salvation brings is to obtain deliverance from this wrath that he has been discussing. Verse nine. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We're not destined for wrath. but to obtain salvation from it. We're heading for securing deliverance. And please notice that Paul writes the phrase, to obtain salvation in the future tense. This obtaining salvation is yet in the future that he is speaking of here, just as the very frightful coming into the day is. coming of the Lord's day. Every believer has already obtained being declared righteous. We've already obtained the declaration of not guilty. Our sentence to eternal damnation has already been removed through faith in Jesus by his atoning work on the cross. Paul is not writing about that salvation in this verse. That salvation is past tense. No. This speaks of a future salvation from a future day of wrath. Paul is still using contrast, us versus them, we, they. They, the wicked ones, are destined for wrath. They will finally get what they deserve. But we, who are persecuted for our faith, are destined for deliverance. Verse 10. who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him." Whether we're awake or asleep? Now this word, asleep, is the very same word he used back in verse six. That's why I pointed out to you what that Greek word was and what it means. Kathudomen. It means spiritual lethargy and insensitivity. So whether we are being spiritually lethargic or alert, we will be with the Lord forever. Even sluggish believers will be delivered from the wrath. They will escape God's wrath, whether they are watchful or not. They will be with the Lord forever, even though they will not have the same rewards in glory. So that's not really a positive thing. Verse 11. Therefore encourage one another, and build one another up. just as you are doing. The Apostle Paul doesn't conclude with a panicked warning, the end is near, get ready for the tribulation. Instead he urges his readers to build each other up with good news. What good news? The only good news that it could be, that it could mean. News that the wicked will be punished. But God has not appointed believers for this wrath. either in hell or a seven-year tribulation. Rather, he has appointed us to be rescued, to live with Christ forever. Now, in light of Paul's encouraging but sobering words in 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 1 through 11, regarding the return of Christ and the alarming conditions of our present world, Let me share with you two pieces of counsel, one for the children of light, the other for the children of darkness. First, to believers. Don't be indifferent because your future is secure. There's still work to be done today. We should do more than harbor a sense of anticipation we should harness a sense of urgency. Our knowledge of prophecy must produce in us a desire to live for Christ and a passion to rouse others from their spiritual slumber. I think that every person who knows about the future and has a balanced view of it should be intensely concerned about their use of the time that we have left. I'm asking you to get up every day and encourage yourself with what God has called you to be and do. I am asking you to be alert and sober. I am asking that you and we as a church will be asking God every day to show us where he is at work and asking us to join him in this ever-darkening world, and then to actively seek to join him in it. Jesus is coming. His return is imminent. Second to unbelievers. Don't be fooled, because the day seems calm. The Bible is clear, there is a storm that is coming. And without Christ as your Savior, there is no escape. Chuck Swindoll tells a story from one of his mentors about a Long Island man who ordered an extremely sensitive barometer from a respected company. When the instrument arrived at his home, he was disappointed to discover that the indicating needle appeared to be stuck, pointing to the sector marked hurricane. After shaking the barometer vigorously several times, never a good idea with a sensitive mechanism, The new owner wrote a scathing letter to the store, and on the following morning on the way to his office in New York, mailed it. That evening, he returned to Long Island to find not only the barometer missing, but his house as well. The needle of the instrument had been pointed correctly. There was a hurricane. Today you might feel like everything is wonderful. Today you might feel like everything is going your way. Your health is good. You have a healthy savings account in the bank. Your life is very pleasant. But this does not change the fact that the needle of God's prophetic barometer is pointed on hurricane. There's a storm coming. It may come today. It may not come until next year. Perhaps it will be delayed further. But whether you face wrath in this world or the world to come, Christ alone is the only one who can rescue you from the coming wrath. Why not place all of your trust in him? Believers, let's do what he asks us to do. Let's make the best use of our time. Unbeliever, put your trust in him. His death on the cross, your faith in that will save you. Let's pray.