Howdy. So one of the things that you know in thinking about first
Thessalonians 5 and one of the things that stands out is this idea of being
ready because Jesus is coming and one of the things that always stood out to me
about that was what it was that I was always worried about being ready for as
a child and for me that was whenever dad came home. See there are different stages
of life where at different times you might not be sure what to expect when
dad gets home. You see whenever you're really really little and you're excited
that dad's gonna get there because you can play you can go do things together
it's gonna be great but then you get older and you start realizing that the
trouble that you've caused isn't quite as cute as when you were a little kid and
then you start to think well dad's getting home oh no what was I supposed
to get done before he got here. So you're starting to think okay is this when I
needed to have my room clean is this whenever I needed to get the laundry
done or help mom with some dishes and so of course you know at that point you're
trying to last minute make sure that everything gets put away as quickly as
you can and you never knew how quickly you could get the toys in the box you
didn't realize that you could shove all the laundry into the machine really
really quickly and you also realize that you know maybe those dishes if I at
least put them in the sink and then at least looks like I'm partway done with
it right or even more than that is also asking is there any reason why I might
be in trouble when he gets home because that's never a good thing so of course
I'm thinking to myself well is there anything I did to my sister that I know
I'm gonna be in trouble for when he gets here and so then the whole time I'm
kind of wrecking my brain thinking oh no was there anything and then pausing and
saying well maybe if she did something to me then it'll all balance out and it'll
be okay so then of course you have to go back and make sure that you tease your
sister and get her to end up doing something to you before your dad gets
there he's on his way okay how can I tease my sister just enough the thing is
is that whenever we think about being ready for the arrival of our father is
that also oftentimes we miss out on the reason why that comes up so much with
Jesus is this idea of being held accountable being held to a standard of
saying what is it that I'm going to be expected to do when Jesus returns and
one of the things that we talked about last week is that you know with it is
whenever we think about how we live out our lives today we're thinking about
what I do with my body my mind my spirit everything that we do with ourselves is
a testimony to who God is and so last week in the first Thessalonians passage
we were talking about things like sexual immorality which is a very difficult
topic but more than anything was trying to focus on the fact that what we do
with ourselves including our body matters to God because everything is a
gift from God but even more than that is that there were people that had passed
away that were like before Jesus had come back again and people wondered well
Jesus hasn't come back yet what's gonna happen to those who already died and so
Paul is trying to point out to them that when Jesus comes back the dead will rise
along with us and the thing with this is in looking at the passage that we have
from chapter 5 is that it's really coming out of this idea of not to be
distracted and not to be so drawn by everything else that we miss out on what
God is calling us to today how many opportunities are there in our lives
today not only to serve God but also to speak of his salvation to others but
we're so distracted with every hobby every idea everything that can end up
pulling us away but you see even more than that is that we can oftentimes take
what we think about for the end times and we can end up coming up with all
sorts of ideas about it so I wanted to make sure I explained a few things here
you see passages like this are oftentimes taken to come up with many
different ideas about what's gonna happen when Jesus returns now a lot of
these you may have seen different books different movies and the like we grew
up in this fundamentalist Christian home and it was funny my sister sent me a
meme and was like you know why is it that you know fundamentalist Christian
children have all these different emotional issues and it's like shows all
of the books the Frank Peretti series and the left behind series and anything
and everything in between and it's like every single moment is there something
else that we were supposed to be afraid of as a child I was told don't get a
credit card that's probably the mark of the beast we were told at one point to
be careful about microchipping your dog that that somehow was leading down that
path or cell phones that cell phones were going to be the the end times of
everything no matter what happened I even had to be careful about what cartoons
that I watched at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came up oh that got banned
after about a year I would oftentimes try to hide whatever new cartoon I was
watching because I was always afraid it was gonna become another one that got
banned shortly thereafter because you'd be amazed at how much speculation there
is that whatever's about to happen is somehow the beginning of the end of the
world but you see there are four main schools of thought that come up in
regard to the end times I just want to try explain them quickly because they
help to kind of show a bit about some of our strengths and our weaknesses about
what we think and what we know regarding Christ coming back again so for
example historic pre-millennialism that was one of the main schools of thought
that has existed since Jesus had risen up into heaven and people were waiting
for his coming this idea says that the second coming of Jesus is gonna come
after the tribulation so it's this idea that the world is going to get worse and
worse we're going to go through a lot of suffering and then Jesus is gonna come
back and inaugurate his reign he's gonna have this thousand-year reign that's
going to make everything better and then all things will be made new the heavens
and the earth and everything else that's historic however less than about two
centuries ago there was a different way of thinking called dispensational
pre-millennialism this is the idea that the rapture and the second coming were
not the same thing the rapture would take all the Christians away then you'd
have the tribulation then you'd have a second coming and then the millennial
rule so with that that's become very very popular in today's American and some
you know other countries way of thinking but that way of looking at it has
become actually what it is in the last two centuries but another way of looking
at the end times happened also same time but go back and forth between
pre-millennial and post-millennial post-millennial is the idea that the
events that are listed in scripture the things that we were looking for already
happened so for example the idea of you know the fall of Jerusalem and looking
at Nero as being you know potentially the Antichrist at the time and you know
Antiochus Epiphanes IV and everything else is looking at events that happen
in scripture as something historical that has already occurred and then with
that looking that the millennium the reign of Jesus will happen in this world
that it's going to become a place that's going to be better and better the way
that God desired and then everything will be made new with the second coming
but a similar one to that is a millennial everything in scripture is
connected to events that happen throughout history there's not just one
single person that we look back and say that is the Antichrist but rather any
one and everyone who rejects Christ or denies his lordship is the Antichrist
there have been all sorts of speculations from Nero to the Pope to any sort of
leaders that we've had in the last century all sorts of speculation but on
millennial it's not saying that there is no millennium but rather is the idea
that when Jesus said on the cross it is finished that that was the beginning of
his reign when Jesus said it is finished that was the beginning so not to be a
literal thousand years but rather an extended period of time and that someday
he will come again now as you're looking at these different things it might end up
being kind of like oh great my eyes are crossing and I'm not sure what in the
world about any of this and why does anybody care sometimes but what's
amazing about each one of these is that they end up affecting how a church
considers its place in the world and what its purpose and mission is supposed
to be see when we look at the first three verses of first Thessalonians 5 and
it shows what are the things that we actually know notice it says 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 what ends up
happening among the Thessalonians is to create this idea that they were safe
and secure in the Roman Empire that they lived in at that time that things were
okay that as long as they were living in a sense of security and that everything
was going the way it needed to that was the point that was the goal but the
problem was is that they were getting so complacent they were getting to a point
of thinking that nothing that they did really mattered anymore they were just
going back to their everyday life so as we end up seeing this we end up seeing
there is peace and security but then sudden destruction will come upon them
because oftentimes isn't it the times whenever destruction happens around us
whenever something goes wrong when we're the most likely to wonder did Jesus
forget me did Jesus lose track of me why is it that he has not come back for me
yet we end up seeing over here this whole idea that we come up with all sorts
of ideas on theology based on something where Paul was just telling people stay
focused on Christ and whatever may come he has not forgotten you see that's one
of things about this is that all these different philosophies and ideas on
things they end up having different strengths and weaknesses now some of
the strengths and weaknesses are a little bit clearer than others so for
example whenever we look at the premillennial point of view it's a way
of looking at specifically what is happening in the world around us and
realizing that we are living in the world that Jesus spoke of the things that
happened around us but also the things that happen in us and through us matter
in the scheme of what God's plan is but here's the downside of it see the way
that we oftentimes look at it is this idea of I'm waiting for all these signs
to happen and then I know that I'm going to get what it was that I wanted from
God we look at world events and it's like we're counting off little check
marks little checkboxes and so instead of pausing and saying what am I supposed
to be doing in the world oftentimes it can become like a spectator sport this
idea of just waiting and pointing and seeing hey I see everything happening
around me well it's great and then not asking how am I supposed to be a part of
Christ's kingdom in it with all the things that happen over in the Middle
East today is that so many people are just pointing and staring and saying oh
hey see this is another thing off of the end time so don't worry Jesus is
coming back for us soon but then the very same people forget that we're still
supposed to be bringing the gospel to everybody over there this isn't something
where the Jewish community somehow doesn't need to have the message of Christ
they need the message of Christ like we do as do all of those around them who
are their enemies as well by spending so much time apart from it what we end up
doing is we turn people into numbers or characters on a page instead of knowing
that each and every one of them is meant to be heard to hear the gospel post
millennial the strength about that one is the idea that the work that we do in
this world on to God can actually make a difference what we're doing here and
now is meant to be a part of the kingdom of God this is why it was so popular at
times like the Gilded Age the the roaring 20s and the like is the idea that
if we're making the world better isn't that something that God would be happy
with downside is that it ends up making everything about God's transformation
about our efforts and it ends up making us into the ones who are instituting
God's kingdom instead of Christ doing so but on the Amillennial side which a lot
of Lutherans fall into the strength of it is realizing that God's work and God's
will God's kingdom is meant to be lived out today this isn't something where we
just look for the world to come no we're meant to live out who we are in Christ
today he is changing the world today through us we are his kingdom at the
downside we're the ones who get complacent like the Thessalonians and
it's not just Lutherans there are other churches that do the same thing we get so
caught up in taking everything from Scripture and just making symbolism out
of it that we stop focusing on what Christ is calling us to in our world today
we somehow don't seem to think that the stories and the scriptures in there
actually affect our lives today we so easily get caught up in the imagery that
we forget about the reality see that's the thing about this each one has its
own strength and its own weakness the question is what do we actually know
from all of these together well in conclusion stay alert and sober for the
record all you Lutherans yes you are still allowed to have your beer it's
okay but rather is to be able to say are you actually focused on what Christ has
called us to today do you actually believe that he is coming again for you
for me for us are you actually looking toward what he is on his way to restore
because the thing is is that what whichever of those boxes may be right
and it's probably somewhere in between Jesus is coming back so we follow him
today we put it off so often you know like we make sure it's like well okay
we baptized our kids and we confirmed our teenagers and well I mean they're
probably gonna just get distracted for the next 10 15 years but hopefully
they'll come back when they have their own kids and it'll be alright instead of
realizing that wherever we are each and every day now is the day to follow Christ
but more than that is that all people need Jesus and his grace today whatever
may be happening whether we're thinking about things that are happening
overseas or even in our own nation today it's so easy to just pick certain
people as either the enemy or certain people as well that's that's the real
mission field over there it's everyone everyone is meant to hear the gospel and
if we have missed any particular people group then that means our job is not done
but third and finally is that we can be filled today with hope for tomorrow see
that's the whole point of what Paul was even writing this about this wasn't
trying to give you a secret clue if you could figure out when the end of the
world is coming that specifically said in in first Thessalonians 5 you're not
gonna know the day of the time that's not for you this is not why I'm writing
this to you but rather is that there are times when we see the world around us
falling apart we see the struggles we see so much that needs to be changed but
when those things happen that doesn't need to take away our hope we haven't
been lost by God he is still working in this world through us and he is still
yet to come so for this day for today what is God calling you to do how is he
calling you to live out the gospel and how is he causing you to share with
others thanks be to God