I invite you to open your Bibles this evening to Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. First letter to the Thessalonians. It comes immediately after Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians. We're going to turn to chapter 5 in that letter found on page 1,257 in the Pew Bible. 1, 2, 5, 7. Paul opened this letter with thanksgiving to God for this church. It was one of his earliest church plants. This is one of Paul's earliest letters. And he thanks God because the gospel came to them not only in word, but with power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. They heard, they believed, and then Paul got ushered out of town. But they were known among the nations for their faith in God. And for how they turned to God from their idols to serve the living and the true God and to wait for His Son from heaven. They were well situated in the Christian faith. And yet even so, they had become troubled as they waited. Just five years after Paul and Sideless planted the church, they were troubled with waiting. Only 20 years after the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, resurrected, and ascended, they were having trouble waiting. While they waited for Christ's return, life was often difficult. The church was being persecuted. How long would they have to suffer? Believing friends and family members were dying. Would they miss out if they weren't alive when Christ came back? Some struggled with a lack of assurance. Had they missed His coming? Was He coming at all? Others weren't struggling at all, especially against sin. They were living like their unbelieving neighbors. Some were mooching off those who were more industrious, waiting for the end to come. No use exerting yourself. Was this the way to wait for Jesus? Too earthly-minded to be any heavenly good and too heavenly-minded to be any earthly good? And so Paul wrote this letter. Timothy reported on their struggles and he wrote this letter and he wrote a second to strengthen their faith in Christ and to encourage them to even greater love for one another and to help anchor their hope on the coming of Jesus that they would find stability and motivation to carry on even though it was hard to wait. He wanted to anchor them securely to the day of the Lord. The day when the Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven. They would fix their eyes on that goal. To keep their bearings. To keep their direction. And to press on. And here we are tonight. Nearly 2,000 years later and we're still waiting. Perhaps you can resonate with some of the Thessalonians. It's hard to wait. What do we need to strengthen our faith and to encourage even greater love as we wait for Jesus to come? And I'm convinced that we need exactly what the Thessalonians needed, what the saints of every age have needed, and that is to have our eyes fixed on the day of the Lord. Remember where we're going. Remember what it's all about. And from our text this evening, from chapter 5, the first 11 verses, is we're going to be reminded about the day of the Lord. It's secret certainty. It's secret certainty. It's dual destiny. And it's present practicality. Hear now the word of God from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, his first letter, chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. 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 sane, 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, get 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. 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 up one another, just as you are doing. Here ends the reading of God's Word. Well, Paul begins by impressing upon the saints what they already knew. No new revelations here. The day of the Lord is certain to come. Its timing, however, remains a secret. we also need to know that the day of the Lord will come. It's not a question of if. Only a question of when. And that's the answer we would like to have, is when. Well, the Old Testament records many previews for this day, many judgments in the history of the world, none greater than the flood that was given at the time of Noah. But all those are previews for the day of the Lord, the prophet Joel calls the great and magnificent day of the Lord. When God himself will come and judge all men. When Paul had been in Thessalonica, he had warned them about this day. He had warned them and then he had offered them the gospel promise that if they would repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they'd be saved from the wrath to come. That has been and continues to be the Christian message. Wrath is coming. Jesus can save. And right after he was ushered out of Thessalonica, very shortly after we find him in Athens, Acts chapter 17, and Paul does the same thing. He warns the Athenians that wrath is coming. You need to repent and believe. He explained to them how in times past, before God sent his son into the world, God overlooked sin. Now, in our nature, we'd like to think that means he doesn't care about it. That's not what it means. he overlooked sin in that he held back his judgment. He didn't judge it for what it deserved. He held back until the day when his Son would come into the world, take upon himself flesh, and earn the right in the flesh to judge all men living and dead. And so Paul announced to them, he says, Now, now that Christ has come, God has determined today when he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. Of course, we know today that that man is Jesus Christ, as we confessed in the Creed tonight, the God-man. Jesus said of himself in chapter 5 of John's Gospel, he said, the Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Jesus understood full well while he was on this earth that that's what he had come to secure. Not only the salvation of his people, but the authority and the power to judge all men. And so when Jesus came, God set a date, so to speak. The day of the Lord is on His calendar. And it will come. And Paul's purpose in these first five verses of this chapter is to make it clear to them that this is not news. And I hope to you tonight, this is not news. Even so, I suspect that you, like I, need to have this reminder, for this world is a busy place. It seems so complicated and endearing. It's so easy to drop our eyes from the expectation of that day and be busy with life in this world. That day will come. It is certain. But we cannot know when. Of course, the Thessalonians were curious when. Just as we're curious, when? We want to know. We think somehow that'd be good for us. We think for just a moment longer, we'll realize that it's not so good for us. Because if it were up to us, we'd put everything on hold until we knew we had to be back in time before God showed up. We'd be off doing our own thing until the appointment came. God doesn't give us that freedom. He lets us know that it's coming in His time. Before and after His death and resurrection, Jesus was asked by His disciples, is this the time? Or when is the time? How will we know? And what was His answer? Acts chapter 1. Lord, they asked, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Is this the time? It looks right to us. Seems like the right time. And Jesus answered them and He said the same thing He would say to us. It's not for you to know. It's not for you to know the times and the seasons the Father has fixed by His own authority. It's not for you to know. It's a secret thing that belongs to God. He's shared it with no one. He's shared it with no man. He's shared it with no angel. Jesus said that not even the Son knows the day. But only the Father knows that day. It will come. But it will come like a thief in the night. It'll come like a thief of the night who does not announce his schedule. That's his secret. And he knows and he plans to come when you least expect it. It will come, Paul says, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman. Now, I have no experience with labor pain. But I've witnessed a few. And I think every mother here would agree that they come, when they come, and they do come, they come without warning. and there's not a thing you can do to stop it. That's how the coming day of the Lord will be. While people are saying there is peace and security, then, Paul says, at that very moment, when they least expect it, when they think everything is just A-OK, then, sudden destruction will come upon them, and they will not escape. These are not new ideas. Jesus has been taught throughout the Old Testament. Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 24, where he spent extensive time talking about how the end would come. He said there, concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Could it be any clearer? The day of the Lord is certain to come. But until it does, we have to wait for it. And we struggle with the Thessalonians with the fact that people continue to die. How do we relate our death and this coming? The author to the Hebrews reminds us that it's appointed for man to die once and then comes the judgment. He doesn't allow space for anything in between. And that's not because a day or an hour or a century or a millennium won't pass between our death and the coming of Christ. It's because nothing will change in our relationship with God from the moment we die until the time that Christ comes. No matter the span, there are no second chances. Your relationship to God when you die remains unchanged until the day of the Lord. Your death seals the deal. Or as another preacher said, he says, as the tree falls, so will it lie until the coming of the day of the Lord when it's harvested. So if we have trouble conceiving of the day of the Lord, which is really hard for us to grasp, that it's going to come at a time we least expect it. For many of us, at least in the history of the world thus far, death has come sooner. And all the encouragements and all the warnings that Paul has for us in this text tonight apply right now. No man knows his time. This could be your last night on earth. The deal could be sealed today. Paul comes to us as the church and he says, Now the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, but he offers this assurance that when it comes, Because we are not of the night, we won't be surprised in the same way. He's not saying that we'll have an inside scoop about when the Lord's going to come. He's not saying that it won't be when we least expect it. He's saying that when it comes, we won't be undone. We won't be overborn because we know who's coming. We'll see Him for who He is. We'll recognize Him as our Lord. We will embrace Him. So even though it will sneak up on us, it will not overrun us. And that's a great word of encouragement for us. And it's an encouragement that leads us into the second point that Paul's getting to in this text. The second thing we need to remember about the day of the Lord, and that is what I've called its dual destiny. By that I mean that the coming of the day of the Lord establishes, confirms, finalizes, fulfills the destiny of two different kinds of people. The one act brings two results. The Lord Jesus Christ will come to judge all men, the living and the dead. And when he does, he will usher in the fulfillment of what God has destined for each and every person according to what group the Lord will see them in. At his coming, Jesus Christ will separate all people into two groups. Some he will set on his right, others on his left. It will be like separating sheep from goats, wheat from tares, sons from strangers, friends from enemies. It will be that clear. It will be that decisive. Those he declares righteous will be saved. those that are left in their sin will be damned. And Paul wrote this letter to the church, to those who, by faith in Christ, trust that they're at their right hand, that they are sheep, wheat, sons, friends, righteous in Christ and saved. But he uses this language of these two groups with the picture of darkness and light to help us understand where we stand. the apostle john said that god is light and in him there is no darkness at all that's that's a picture to help us understand something about the holiness of god it's beyond our ability to grasp or imagine but what he what john is saying that in light will have nothing to do with darkness you can't bring darkness into light it's extinguished it's done and that is how god is his holiness is perfect and righteous and just. In Him there is no evil at all, no imperfection, no sin, no partiality. We, on the other hand, children of Adam, are darkness by nature. By nature we are unwilling and unable to come into the presence of God. And therefore we deserve His wrath and this is what we will receive unless God intervenes to save. Paul wrote to those for whom God has intervened. He wrote to those whom God has set apart, has called them brothers in the Lord who are children of light, children of day. You see what he's saying here. You've been moved out of darkness into light. And he wrote to assure us that we belong to the day. We belong to the light. Not because of anything we have done, but because of what God has done. Consider verse 9, a beautiful expression of the Gospel. There Paul writes, For God has not destined us to wrath, but He has destined us to obtain salvation. He's not destined us to wrath, but to obtain salvation. Salvation that He accomplished through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that we might live with Him. There you have it. That's how we've been moved. from darkness to light. He has destined his children of light to inherit eternal life in Jesus Christ. Now he mixes his metaphors here as he says, whether we are awake or asleep, meaning here what he meant in chapter 4, whether we are alive when he comes or whether we are in the grave when he comes. It doesn't matter. He's destined his children of light to inherit eternal life in Christ. It's ours. And Paul makes it clear that God has set us apart from all others who are of the night or of the darkness, he says, and who will remain in darkness because God has destined them to wrath. This is hard teaching. No one likes to hear it. We don't understand it. But God has destined some to be saved and some to remain in the sin that's their own. If you're trusting Jesus Christ for your salvation, if you consider yourself and know yourself to be of the light, you will remember with Paul in Ephesians chapter 5 that at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. And you will confess with Paul from Colossians chapter 1 that it is God the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness. and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. That's the hope of the gospel. That's what's been given to God's people. That's how we know that we belong to the light. We're children of the light, children of the day. You see, Jesus meant what He said, whoever is not with me is against me. There is no neutral. There is no wait and see. If you're not with me, you are against me, Jesus says. You are either trusting Jesus Christ alone to save you, or you are not. Right now, in this place, at this time, you are one or the other. Now, if you're trusting Jesus Christ, you can be confident that in the day of the Lord, you will inherit life. Eternal life. body and soul. If you're not trusting in Jesus Christ, this text comes as a warning that on the day of the Lord you will receive the full measure of God's wrath against your sin. That's how it stands. Unless in this life, before death or His return, you will acknowledge to God that you too are a sinner, you deserve His wrath, And you will trust that Jesus Christ has faced that wrath for you and satisfied righteousness for you and He's done it in your place. Right now is the day of salvation. Right now the Lord is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance right now. Right now will not last forever. The day of the Lord will come. Whether through death or the return of Christ, it will come and it will be too late. That's it. The deal is sealed. So with Paul and with the word of God, I implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. If you are not, know where you stand. Know where you're headed. Know what Christ offers to you if you will repent and believe and be saved. The day of the Lord is certain to come, when we least expect it. The Lord Jesus Christ will come to confirm the eternal destinies of children of light and those who are still in the night. That will be then. But what about now? What about now? What good is that to us now, Paul? Well, we're told in Scripture that the day of the Lord is nearer to us now than when we first believe. It's getting closer, but it's still not here yet. We have a hard time with that. And because it's not here yet, some do say, as we heard on Sunday, that it's pie in the sky, by and by. It's just out there somewhere, who cares? We are so detached from here and now that it really doesn't matter. That's not what this message is about. The day of the Lord doesn't leave us to ourselves to do whatever we want in the meantime. In verse 6, Paul reminds us that God has given us here and now responsibility. So then he said, let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. Now, Paul is speaking in figures here. He's not just concerned that we stay awake and that we don't drink. He's using a picture. He helps us understand his meaning with a proverb in verse 7. He says there, what's generally true, and it may be especially true tonight on New Year's Eve, that those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. Generally true. It helps us understand that in the same way that night, time, the darkness encourages us to sleep and drunkenness. The darkness of unbelief encourages indifference and indulgence in every aspect of life. That's the picture Paul wants to paint for us. Those in darkness who are of the night or of the darkness live in a way that is indifferent. Sleeping. Indifferent to what God would have you do. He doesn't care. All the while indulging. Getting drunk. Being intoxicated. Having all that you want that you want. Indifferent to God. Full of myself. That's what darkness brings. That's how darkness lives. This is not the life for Christians, Paul says. You're not of darkness. They don't sleep like others do. You're children of light. Live like those who live in the light. And what's that look like? Well, he doesn't spell it out for us, but I will. He implies it, and I'll just spell it out for you. He wants us to think of another proverb. Generally true. I think you'll agree. Those who stay awake, generally stay awake in the daytime. And those who are sober, generally sober in the daytime. Okay, general truth. In the same way that daylight, being in the light, encourages us to keep awake and to stay sober. The light of faith encourages us to be attentive and restraining at the same time. In every aspect of life. These are big picture directions. In contrast to those who are in darkness, if we belong to the day, we will live in a way that is attentive to what God wants. Not asleep to it, attentive. All the while restraining what it is that we want. Being sober. Not giving in to those inclinations, those urges, those needs. That's the picture. Those who live in darkness are asleep to God and full of themselves. And those who live in the light are awake to God and restrained in their own desire. So here we are, New Year's Eve. Perhaps some of you still make New Year's resolutions. If you belong to the day, this would be a good one. It's one that would actually be practical every single day. Every circumstance in life. We'll just modify this slightly. So then, let me not sleep as others do, but let me keep awake and be sober. Let me be attentive to what God wants me to do and restrain what I want to do. Jesus said it best in his very own prayer. He says, not my will, but thy will be done. Now that's a New Year's resolution that you won't forget. You might forget to do because God knows what we need to admit with the trash heaps of our broken resolutions tells us about ourselves that willpower is not enough, folks. this isn't about me being a better me, a stronger Christian, a more committed guy, being more mindful, more everything. You don't know me like I know me, but you know you. How's that working? It doesn't work. The Christian life requires us to be attentive and restrained, that we stay awake and be sober, but it requires more in order for us to even begin to pursue that. It requires what Paul in Ephesians chapter 6 calls the whole armor of God. What he simply alludes to very briefly in verse 8 as something that we already have, something that we have already put on, something that equips us for this life. There we read, but since we belong to the day, let us be sober. Having put on, already, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. It's the image of a warrior. It's the image of someone fit for battle. And it's a way of reminding us that in this life, as we wait for the day of the Lord, we are called to wait actively, militantly, energetically, knowing that there will be opposition, There will be difficulty. There will be a fight. And if we don't press the metaphor too much, which is very easy to do, just step back for just a moment, focus on the fact that this armor of God serves to guard our hearts, the breastplate of faith and love, and to guard our minds, hope as a helmet. Does that call to mind any promises in Scripture? Philippians chapter 4. As we entrust ourselves to God in prayer and consider all the truth and goodness and righteousness and promises that He's given us in His Word and do what we can to press on towards the prize, the peace of God which passes understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. God is the one who provides this protection. Now, we didn't read the beginning of this letter, but this is exactly how Paul started his letter to the church there. He remembered them before God for their work of faith, for their labor of love, and for the steadfast hope they have in the Lord Jesus Christ, for their faith, love, and hope. He thanked God for that. He wasn't thanking God because they were doing so well. He was thanking God because God had given so much. he thanked God for the very things God had already given them those things that he gives to all his children of light those things that we have already put on in Christ that we might live this life that we're called to faith, love, and hope you've heard those before a little different order here faith, that trusts in Christ for salvation body and soul and life and death that hangs on to him no matter what love, that sacrifices for the benefit of others around us just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. And hope. Hope is last here in this list tonight because Paul's main intention is that we would have our hope fixed, not on the here and now, but on the then and there when Jesus comes again on the day of the Lord. That we would know that our hope is firmly attached to His coming. All that we hope for, all that we trust for, all that we have been promised will be fulfilled that day. It's this armor, this armor that God gives that guards and guides us in our active waiting for the day of the Lord. Even though, and especially when, life is difficult and the church is persecuted. When believing family and friends are still dying, when we struggle ourselves with a lack of assurance and we grow weary of the fight against sin. God has equipped us with His very own armor and He motivates us with the day of the Lord set before us, which will certainly come at a time we can't know that will seal our destiny. That's what Paul wants us to have in mind tonight. That's what the Word of God wants us to have in mind tonight. And with that in mind, and I pray that you can hold on to that at least for a little while, I'll close with what is, strictly speaking, Paul's only command of this text. The only thing he points his finger and says, do this. With this command, Paul reminds us that we do not wait for the day of the Lord alone. This is not a private enterprise. Who wait as the church? The children of light. Children of the day. Whom God binds together in faith. Who God works together through love to build up His body. Before whom God has set the hope of Christ's return. Therefore, Paul says in verse 11, Therefore, in light of the day of the Lord, in light of its coming, in light of the fact that you look for it as children of light, Therefore, encourage one another And build up one another Just as you are doing People of God, we start a new year on tomorrow We've been reminded where we're going in the long run And been encouraged for the short run God gives us all we need and we look forward to all that He's promised in the coming of Christ and we do that together as the body of Christ in this place. Let's encourage one another in these things and build up one another in these things. Let's pray. Our God and our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You that You who have determined the end from the beginning have let us know the end. The end of it. All. From the Lord Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh to secure our salvation and to secure His standing as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. When He will come to set all things right, to separate His sheep from the goats, to secure the eternal destinies of all men living and dead. You've told us the end of the story. Help us, Father, to live this page in our life, this day, this hour, as those who look forward to that day, not only alone, but together as the body of Christ. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.