First Thessalonians chapter 5, I think I might have had in the bulletin about reading the whole chapter, but we'll read just the first 11 verses of this chapter and our text taken from the first six verses that we read. in God's providence, in what we're up to in the series on Thessalonians. This is very apt for the first Lords that have 2025 as well. This one, likewise, as you see, it speaks of the times and the seasons. And we'll see, it very much is worthwhile us having this at the beginning of another year. Let's read then the first 11 verses of 1 Thessalonians 5. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, we have no need that I write unto you for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord. So come up as a thief in the night for when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction come up upon them as travel upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God had not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also ye do. Amen. Thus far we read in God's holy and inspired word. Beloved covenant people of God, Paul having, you remember last time at the end of chapter four, he had addressed that error that arisen in the Thessalonian congregation, that error that said, It's only as we're alive and waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus that we'll experience that coming again. And Paul said, no, that's not true at all. You've misunderstood. We won't miss out on anything if we die before Jesus comes again. In fact, it will be a glorious time. And he went on to then outline and give further instruction and encouragement with regards to that coming of the Lord Jesus and that day of glory with the trump of the angel and that mighty command that caused the resurrection. And so we looked at that last time. Especially notice that he addresses the second coming of Jesus Christ. And it's referred to in what we look at tonight in those first six verses. In verse two, it's referred to as the day of the Lord. And we ought to be fairly familiar with that expression, the day of the Lord. All through the Old Testament, when you look at the Old Testament scriptures, When it speaks of the day of the Lord, it's actually looking forward and the prophets are looking forward toward the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and then everything in between and then the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's all in together, as it were. And so right now, in a sense, we're living right in the middle of the day of the Lord right now. Jesus has come. He's died. He's risen to heaven. He's given his promise to his bride. He's gone to prepare everything. and he's going to come shortly to take his church, his bride, to be with him. But, of course, now moving into the New Testament Scriptures, now when we hear that expression, day of the Lord, that's coming, it's referring exclusively, really, to that second coming of Jesus Christ, when he will come again on the clouds of heaven, and that's what we looked at last time in the end of chapter four. So, We're looking at the day of the Lord. And remember that last time we saw that there was that graphic difference between the resurrection of those who didn't believe in Jesus Christ, that it would be a resurrection to damnation. as compared to the glorious resurrection of those who had died in the faith, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, that their bodies would be raised, and they would be raised in glory, they would meet with, then join with their souls that Jesus brings with them, and then those who remain will be caught up together in the air and to ever be with the Lord. But Paul is then drawing our attention to the fact that just as there is that huge difference at the last day, That means that there's also, right now, a big difference between believers and unbelievers, or there ought to be. There really should be a big difference between the very way in which we live. As he reminds them of this important, this life-altering truth, he comes to this conclusion, and the conclusion is really what we need to start with. That's verse 6. Therefore, he says, on the basis of these things, therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but rather, here's what we are to be, this is the way we are to live our lives, let us watch and be sober. You can see a graphically different way of living. On the one hand, sleeping, on the other hand, watching and being sober. in God's providence, of course, as I've already mentioned. I mean, this is something we need to be reminded of all the time, but it's something very important to be reminded again of at the beginning of another year. This is how we are to live in this way, to watch and be sober. And therefore we take up our text under that theme, be watchful and sober. Three different ways, first of all, where to be watchful and sober for the Lord's coming. Secondly, to avoid destruction. And thirdly, with great blessing. Be watchful and sober. Paul's central message, as I've said, his conclusion in verse six is those words. Watch, be sober. But if I was to ask you, what does that mean? What does Paul mean that we're to be doing? What does it mean to watch and be sober? Do you have a clear idea? Well, let's dive into it a bit more and unpack it and see what's being spoken about here. Because if we don't really know, it's a bit hard to follow and do what Paul tells us to do, unless we understand. To watch here means more than just to observe. Sometimes we can plonk ourselves down on a bench on a footpath and watch the world go by, can't we? And go, ooh, look at that person. We're kind of watching, but it's not really what's being spoken of here. This watching is the word, for example, used in 1 Peter 5 verse 8, where Peter is warning about Satan. And he says, be sober, and here's the word, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, is a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. Imagine if someone comes along to you on the street and says, watch out, there's a lion wandering around here. Okay, would you sort of just sit down on the bench and go, oh dear, there's a lion, you know. Not at all. You'd be there going, whoa! You'd be high alert, watching every single little movement. What's going on? Where's the lion? That's the idea of watch. Be vigilant. Watching very, very carefully. It certainly is the opposite, and that's the idea here. This word in the Greek actually means not to be asleep, but it has a completely opposite effect. It's the opposite of being dopey, nodding off or snoring. It's to be wide awake. Has anybody of you seen meerkats? Certainly if you've been to Australia Zoo, you've probably seen them. You may have seen them in video. They're the mongoose-like creatures that live in southern Africa. Well, the meerkats, they have a sentry. So, whenever there's a group of them, the sentry gets up on the highest point, and he stands up on his hiding legs, and he's sitting there just constantly looking around and watching. Doesn't he? Doesn't do anything else. That's his job. He's just looking, and his eyes are moving, and his head's moving, and if there's any threat, immediately calls on the whole group of them, dash for cover. So, that there, that's a kind of a picture to us of what we're being called to do. Watch. Be vigilant. But there's more than watching. We're also called here to be sober. And once again, like the first word means not asleep, this word means not drunk. So it's telling us that we're not to be drunk or affected by alcohol, but it's not literally meaning alcohol. There's certainly a warning there against that, but that's not its primary meaning. It means... Literally, as it says, to be sober. Some people mix that up. Some people think that sober actually means being somber. They sound the same, but they're actually quite different. Like somber has the idea of, you know, someone who's just stern looking all the time, a stick in the mud, no fun kind of person. But that's not what sober means. Sober has a couple of different aspects to it. First, It means because we're not affected by alcohol, that our thinking is to be crystal clear, sharp in what we're thinking about. So it calls us to have very clear thinking about everything that we're doing. So it ties in with being vigilant. But this is a vigilance of mind to truly understand what's going on around about us, to be logical in all the faculties of our mind. But it also means this, so that's the one aspect of sharp, clear, logical thinking about things. But just the same as the drunk, we know how horrible drunks can be, raucous, obnoxious, laughing and supposedly having fun in a totally inappropriate way and causing all sorts of distress to people. And even at times when they don't like what's going on, becoming angry and violent very easily. All of those things are exactly the sorts of things that we need to be right away from. The total opposite of that. In other words, the Christian is to have always a quiet and a calm and considered and gracious response to everything that's happening to them in life. Sharp, clear thinking, so we understand what's going on, and then a considered and calm response to all those things. How do we do that? Well, this watching and being sober arises out of all that Paul has just been saying in the previous five verses. And that's why he then says, therefore, watch and be sober. So let's go back and work our way through what Paul has been saying here. He says that the Thessalonians, and I hope that we also, he said that they already know the times and the seasons, and because they already know, he says, I don't need to write to you about this, I don't need to now go through everything about the times and everything about the seasons in order for you to know this, because you already know it, and particularly, and he's going to come to that then, you know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. What's he talking about with times and seasons? The words here, In fact, both of them can be translated times. So you could in fact say, but brethren, you have no need that I write to you about the times and the times. They're both Greek words meaning time, but they're two different words. The one has the idea of the continual succession of moments, the ticking of the clock that goes forward. And so he's saying, you already know that this whole world has a certain time, and it's continually travelling, and it's moving forward, and there is a time that's ticking down until Jesus comes again. So, you know that it's all moving forward, and we're growing closer and closer to when Jesus comes again. So, you know the times in that way, that succession of moments and using up the time. The second one is the idea of appointed times. And so what Paul is saying here is, you also know this, that God has appointed certain things that he will achieve in time. He will do this, and it's completed, where it's ticked off. And then he's going to do that, and that's ticked off. And we see that in the history of the Bible. There's the time of the creation and the time of the fall. And then there's the time of the patriarchs and everything God would reveal there. and then there's the time of going into Egypt and then there's the time of being brought out and the whole wilderness wanderings and then there's coming into Canaan the time of the judges and then there's the time of the kings and they're all appointed times that everything has its part to play all bringing it forward to the time when Jesus Christ would come. when Christ comes in his perfect appointed time. And then there's the time of the apostles, and then there's the time of the growth of the New Testament church. And we know also, if you want to abbreviate it, Middle Ages, Reformation, development since then, and the gospel has gone out into all the world. All the appointed times. If we as Christians, if we're vigilant, we've got our eyes open, we're seeing, we see what the word of God says, we actually see and go, wow, This is all the amazing work of God. I know the times, the movement toward history and the end of it, and I see the appointed times, and I see what God is doing. And Paul has no need to write to us about those things. We should know them, we should see them, and stand in awe of what God is doing. We understand, therefore, that God always planned to show forth his glory. and he planned to do it in the way of creating man and then through the deep dark way of man's rebellion and sin and then the revelation of all of his glory and grace in the sending forth of his son to redeem a people to himself and bring them to glory forever with him. We know all that. When he has finished all the work that he plans to do and all the appointed times have been completed, then the end of the world will come and everything but everything will be shown to have worked that perfect plan and decree. Why are we to watch carefully and vigilantly and to know each season or each appointed time as they come and go in God's timeline? Well, it's because we're the recipients of God's grace and truth. He's woken us up and made us alive and made us to be a part of it, inserted us into those things to be active participants in his appointed times. We are, as Paul says, we are children of the light. We are children of the day. We have been brought into the light of his marvelous kingdom, which is now active and vibrant and growing. And we are therefore to be actively living in the midst of that. He has powerfully come and rescued us out of spiritual death, out of the darkness, out of the ignorance, out of being all in the way in which the world is sleeping in spiritual death. And he's brought us to be alive. And he says, I've woken you up. Be awake. Be awake, live, have a wondrous life in what I have given to you. So this reason, first of all, if you are the children of light, of life, of wisdom, of glory, then live that way. Be alert, think like that, have that understanding. lay hold upon these things and then be full of wonderment, amazement, thankfulness to God, praising him for everything that he's doing and that he is rapidly bringing to pass his perfect plan in time. But it's not only where we've come from but who we are and what we are becoming by God's grace and in his perfect working of these times and seasons by the saving power. We are watching and we're to be alert and vigilant and seeing as time passes for what God is working in us and what God is working through us and to be then responding and that's the idea of being sober, be responding as appropriate way as individuals and as church as a whole were to be responding to what is happening nationally, in the world, in the society, in the things that are going on around about us, then we ought to be responding out of the beautiful truth of the Word of God working through us and then appropriately with what God is doing. As church, we are not only recipients of grace and stand amazed at the salvation we've received, But we are also to be the pillar and ground of the truth. We're meant to be as a city set on a hill that is shining and saying, this is the wonder of what God is doing. This is what this world is all about. We live out of God's grace in those times and those seasons so as to witness to God and to be a part of his active incoming kingdom. We're to be just like Chronicles speaks about, about the sons of Issachar. It says that they understood the times so they knew what Israel should do and that's for us now in the New Testament where to be the sons of the Lord who understand the times and then know what the church should be doing and how we should be living but then there's after that where to be watchful and sober for a second reason and that's a serious warning that Paul issues here too and that's to avoid destruction. God says to us here, you know, you know. In fact, it says you know perfectly. And the idea of this is you have come to that understanding and it's impressed upon your souls. This is something you know to the depth of your being. You know perfectly well that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. And as we see that, we ought to notice that immediately Paul clarifies that He then goes on to say, but you, brethren, because you're children of the day and the children of light, that day is not going to overcome you as a thief in the night. It's coming like a thief in the night, but not for you. It's not going to be like that. Let's come to that in just a tick. But he says the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. Can you picture that? Can you imagine that? The illustration that's being given to us here by God. Here are these people. They're in their house where they've got all their valuables and possessions and things that they hold as precious. And they're asleep, sound asleep perhaps. They're even in a bit of a drunken stupor because they've had way too much alcohol, so they're drunken and asleep. But they know nothing therefore of the vicious criminal who's breaking into their place. And he comes in and he knows that he wants all their stuff. The only way he's going to get that is by overcoming them. But these people are drunken, stupid. And therefore they know absolutely nothing about the fact that this thief has broken in and he's coming in and creeping in. And the only thing they know is when the club or knife comes down upon them. And it's too late. That's the picture that is given to us. A thief in the night. Well, that's just the picture. A picture of utter ruination, utter destruction and everything gone. But it's a spiritual picture. The truth that it illustrates is there are so many people living now, living physically, day by day, and they are purposefully oblivious to the truth that is all around them. Some of the stuff that we were looking at this morning, the fact that we're surrounded by God's creation, we're living in his history. The fact that the whole history of the world points to the times and the seasons that God is working and what he's working towards. That's the truth. And it's coming and it's coming rapidly. The day of the Lord is coming. It may come for us because we're still on earth when the Lord comes on the clouds of glory. But it may come for us tonight. The Lord may come for any one of us tonight. There are thousands of people that die every day. Here is the sadness of the darkness and the blindness of sin. That sin means that such people they cannot see. that time is rushing on to the coming of Jesus Christ. And they will never perceive that rapid counting down of time. They will never perceive those appointed times of God, all of which are pointing to God's eternal purpose that indicate the coming of the great king and the judge. They will be unaware of that sudden destruction that's bearing down upon them and that destruction they deserve for all their rebellion against the Holy God. Instead, what will they be saying? Peace and safety. Everything's wonderful. You know, we're doing so well for ourselves. We're wonderful as a human race. Look at all the technology we're developing. We are just making ourselves better and better. Look at us, we're such a tolerant people. We now tolerate all sorts of sexual perversions and strange gender ideology because we're making ourselves into a better and better people. Isn't it wonderful? We will accept all kinds of horrible immorality. And this is bringing to us peace and safety. We are safe with all the things that we're doing. We're doing all sorts of things to try and protect ourselves from climate change. Isn't that wonderful? We're going to preserve the Earth. We're going to move to Mars. We will be our own saviors. We're such clever people and we're reaching for the stars. But that's not the story at all. That's to be drunk. That's to be asleep. It's to be in darkness and ignorance, in wickedness and lies. And they do not see that so much of their thinking and their attitudes and their actions and what they're about leads to the utter destruction of individuals and families and societies. Just as Paul says, a pregnant woman who's going along and she feels perfectly well, one minute, next minute, the birth pains start. And she goes from feeling just fine to half an hour later, waters broken, doubled over with tons of pain wracking her as birth truly kicks in. Well, Paul says, so it will be for them. Sudden, horrible realization of the truth, but all too late. The day of the Lord has come as a thief in the night. When the Lord comes, when the Lord comes, Maybe in the last day or it can be for us personally. It can be the traffic accident on the way home from worship. It can be disease, it can be old age. If we are asleep spiritually, that we are not awake, that we have not heard the truth of God's word as it's come to us and says, wake up, there is a God and you have to do with him. And you need the covering of your sins in the blood of Jesus Christ, the saviour, if we are asleep and thinking, oh, no, I'm living the life, it's OK. Then Jesus will come, he will take us from this life and we'll stand before him and he will say to us. What have you done with your life? All the signs that I gave you, all the truth of who I am, of your dire need of salvation, of having your sins covered to be made righteous before me. And so have your relationship restored with the living God. All those things were right there before you. And what were you doing? Sleeping, sleeping in the night of your lives and the darkness that you preferred over the truth. drunken in your folly and pursuit of personal pleasure and fulfillment, instead of living the light and truth of what this world is. And instead of repenting and seeking God and life and forgiveness and His truth, you have hard-heartedly pursued death. And now death has come upon us. They're serious things, aren't they? These are matters of life and death, and these things are ruined. These are not minor things, as in this life, like bankruptcy, or your house burning down, or having your leg amputated, not minor little things like that. This will be to lose life itself for eternity. As Jesus said in Luke 17 verse 33, whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. If we're pursuing selfishly after life and all of our pleasures and what we want, then we lose it. But if we lose our life, we come before God and say, I am hardly bereft of anything, and yet I know there is mercy in you. We cast ourselves upon him, he will never turn any away. We will find life, life forever, for eternity in Him. Brethren, may it not be that there are any here who are asleep in that sense, with no concern for their eternal well-being. You notice the seriousness of what Paul says there. He says that they will not escape. They shall not escape. End of verse 3. It's really emphasised in the words here in the Greek. And so the words actually mean there is no chance that they will ever escape. There is no possibility of that. But may it be that instead, here tonight, for each one of us who are here tonight, May it be that it's true, as Paul says here, but you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of the light, children of the day, not of the night or of darkness. May that be true of each one of us here. In contrast, contrast with that sober warning that is given to us here, Notice that in fact watching and being sober is associated with great blessing. The blessings which Paul indicates here are not so easily seen. Perhaps you're not seeing them at the moment, but let's think about this. First of all, think about this. We are the children of the light and the children of the day. God has blessed us by his wonderful grace and made us awake. We are now awake, alive. We're not asleep. A person that's asleep, a person that, as we're looking at this morning, spiritually dead, they can't respond to, they can't see, they can't know. But we do. Be thankful to God. What an amazing blessing that that is, that we are awake, we are alive, we hear, we see spiritually. Maybe we don't see as much as we'd like to do, maybe we still are struggling, and that's true in lots of ways, but we see and we hear. Oh be so thankful to God. God has graciously opened our spiritual eyes and ears and now we have the ability to even grow further and to know more of his truth. Those in the dark cannot grow in knowledge, they cannot see nor hear. The more we know of the truth of the Bible and of God and of our Saviour, then we know more and more of what it means to really live in Him. And it causes us to then even have a greater hunger and a greater thirst of knowing even more to grow in Him. In fact, we realise right now, oh, look, I'm so slow. I know so little and I want to know so much more. Remember what Jesus said to his disciples? He said, oh, fools, slow hearted bully. And if we really examine our hearts, we say, well, that's me. I'm a fool. And I'm so slow of heart to believe all the beautiful truth that God lays before me and gives to me. But we have a wonderful saviour who's so patient with us. He knows we're little children and he patiently continues to teach us and lead us. And we can understand more each Lord's Day as we have the word given to us again and again. Every time we come personally to open the scriptures and God speaks to us as to the children of the light and the children of the day so that we can know more of him and grow more in that beautiful truth. It fills us then with a desire to know more. We anticipate and we say, Lord, fill me up more with that knowledge and make me to grow. This knowledge, in fact, then makes us to eagerly anticipate the coming of the Lord Jesus, doesn't it? because right now we're so impeded by our sin and our corruption and our lack of understanding. But when he comes, because we know he's coming, because we know that time is marching on, we see it, we expect it, we want him to come because we realize Whether it is that we are alive when he comes and we rise to meet him in the air, or whether he comes again on the clouds of heaven with us and our bodies rise and we're resurrected from the dead, we will be at that time made perfect in holiness and righteousness. What does that mean? Well, it means I'm never ever going to be slowed down, hampered, held back by sin, and all of its corruption on my thinking and my mind. I am then going to be perfectly vigilant, perfectly alert, thinking clearly, understanding and seeing as I ought to see, and I'm going to be growing, as it were, exponentially in the knowledge of God and all the beauty of His truth and filling our heart to overflow. Imagine, no sin, perfect love and obedience and a knowledge of God and His works that fills our mind and heart with His love, with His grace, with His truth, with an awe and a wonder and a worship. You see, it would be exactly the opposite to what it speaks of here. It says that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night And then it says that that day will overtake them. And the idea of overtake them is like the thief creeping up and leaping upon them and grabbing them and apprehending them. But for us, instead of the day of the Lord coming and we're not expecting it, it apprehends us. We're going to see the day coming. and we're going to be eagerly anticipating it, and when it comes, we're going to apprehend the day. We're going to be leaping up on it and saying, yes, it's here. How wondrous. That blessing will be to the uttermost, the fullness of what Jesus has worked and purchased for his people with his own blood. Our King and Redeemer, will at that time bring all of his work and everything he's been doing to its perfection. That's the appointed time, the day of the Lord coming, the final appointed time, the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle when everything will be completed. He will come to receive his bride, his church to himself, present her spotless, and then enter into the fullness of covenant life forever. that glory of God, the fullness of life, salvation brought to its perfection in Jesus, that's the day of the Lord that we so long for. Do you see the importance then of what we began with? Paul's conclusion of verse six, therefore he's saying, if all of this is true, if it's true about the day of the Lord, if this is who we are, children of the day, children of the light, and this is what it means for us, Then, as children of the light, let us be those who are watching, vigilantly understanding everything that has happened in history and vigilantly understanding what is happening and what's coming to pass, and then being sober, having a calm and considerate and gracious response to everything that God is bringing and saying, here it comes. We will see the signs that Jesus is pointing out in Mark, Matthew 24 and other places. And we will, just like he said, you'll see pictures just like you see the fig tree and you know that summer's here. You're going to see the signs and you're going to know, no, no, no, I'm coming. And we will be expecting him and anticipating him. Right now, we're to be doing that. In this way, knowing and seeing Jesus coming, we'll be rejoicing and living the fullness of the Christian life in him, day by day. Amen. Let's stand to pray. O Lord, our God, These things do fill our hearts with amazement and anticipation. We pray, Lord, as we do know these things, as you bring them home to our hearts, that we may anticipate the day of the Lord, that it will not overtake us as a thief in the night, but rather we will expect it, anticipate it, and therefore what manner of people ought we so to be Lord, people who watch and are sober, bless us with your grace so that we may be just those people with a delight in our Savior, all that he is doing and all that he is coming to do. We pray it in his great name. Amen.