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Suggest something at least for one or two readings to see what the brethren think of it. It seems in the hymns that have been before us, both in the prayer meeting and in this meeting, the Lord's coming was brought before us, but particularly with an emphasis on the Lord's guidance in our time down here.
We have often remarked from time to time on how near the Lord's return is.
And I believe Scripture brings that before us too, but also lays emphasis on the moral state that is in keeping with what we know in that respect.
I wonder if the 5th chapter of First Thessalonians would be acceptable, at least for perhaps one or two readings.
Sorry, brother. Clem, say that again.
I had to say.
Thinking of reading the entire chapter. I think it would be nice to read the entire chapter. There are some very good exhortations toward the end that perhaps we don't need to dwell on because they're pretty clear, but I think it'd be nice to read the whole chapter.
First Thessalonians chapter 5, beginning at verse one.
But of the time.
And the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you for yourself. Know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, Or when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that they should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of life 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 a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to us, 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. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you.
And are over you and the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exalt you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, Comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good.
Both among yourselves and to all men, rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesizing. Prove all things, Hold fast that which is good. Abstained from all appearance of evil.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless, until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful with the that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with, be with you. Amen.
Just to mention a little background for this, which is familiar, I'm sure, to many of us, and that is that we know that when Paul went to Thessalonica, as is recorded in the book of the Act, he stayed there only a relatively short time.
Three Sabbath days, it says. And so he wasn't there for more than three or four weeks. But when he left, he left believers behind. He left an assembly and they went on, but they had difficulties because they were not perhaps well grounded in some things, although Paul had taught them many things and they got a little bit confused about some things concerning the Lord's coming and so.
In both epistles to the Thessalonians, in every chapter the Lord's coming is brought in in some way. Sometimes it is coming for us, sometimes it is appearing. But Paul seeks to correct some of the difficulties that they had and some of the questions, but also impresses on them, as we have in this chapter. What is in keeping with those who have that blessed hope before them?
And that, perhaps, is what has laid emphasis on here in the beginning, isn't it?
One thing that they hadn't been taught to differentiate between was, as you say, the Lord's coming for his Saints and the Lord's coming with his Saints. That what we refer to so often as the rapture and has been mentioned the appearing. And this caused a bit of consternation because in the first chapter when it says they turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, what they really were waiting for and expecting was the Lord to come back and set up the Kingdom.
And in the interim, as they were waiting, some of their number died, some of them passed on. And so they wondered, have they missed out on the Kingdom? Have they missed out on the Lord coming back to establish things according to his righteousness? And so the apostle Paul writes these epistles to, as it were, leave nothing unexplained as to an event that was going to take place between the Lord's, the death of the Saints and the Lord's coming back with his Saints.
And so if we were to back up in the 4th chapter, we would find he spells this out very clearly. He says they haven't missed out. They're asleep in Jesus. Their body is asleep in the grave. They've been laid to rest. But they're waiting for an event, the same event rather than that we're waiting for this morning. They're waiting for the Lord to come and to call the dead in Christ to be with themselves, we to rise to be with him, and then he's going to come back with his Saints.
But if we don't understand the order of those events, we're going to be confused too. And not only so, but there isn't going to be the proper character of those who are waiting for these two events. I say waiting for these two events because the two things are part of our whole. We often speak of the Lord's coming for his Saints, the rapture, as the proper hope of the believer, and certainly that is true.
But when the apostle Paul writes to Titus, he brings the two things together.
He says, looking for that blessed hope, that's the hope of hearing the shout at any moment, what Paul spells out in the end of the fourth chapter of First Thessalonians. But he doesn't stop there, he says, and the glorious appearing we're that's part of our hope too. All speaks of all those that love his appearing. And so it's all part of our hope, but we need to keep it in the proper perspective. And so having taken that up in the end of the fourth chapter.
Now he goes on to speak of another event, and what we have in the beginning of this 5th chapter is not the Lord's coming for His Saints, but the Lords coming with His Saints.
If you if you look at the 4th chapter, the 14th verse, I think it becomes clear that he's speaking in verse 14 of chapter four of the Lord's coming.
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In his appearing at the end of the tribulation period and then 15 through 18 is a parenthesis in which he explained how those that have died in faith in Christ will be with the Lord to be able to accompany him when he comes back in power and glory at the end of the tribulation period to establish his Kingdom. So.
It says in verse 14 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him in his appearing at the end of the tribulation, How do they get to be with him if they have died? So verses 15 through 18 explain how those will be raised and be with the Lord.
The rapture which takes place, we believe, before those seven years of tribulation.
To begin.
So it's looked at as one coming, isn't it? The second coming is 1 Coming, but it does have its two distinct parts.
If you read the 14th verse of chapter 4 at the end of it says them also with sleep in Jesus will God bring with him and then if you skip the ( 15 to 18, he connects that in verse one of chapter 5, but of the times and the season spread and whatever he speaks of times and seasons, he's Speaking of something that takes place here on earth.
There are no times and seasons in heaven.
So of the times and the seasons, brethren, it says when he comes back, verse 14, he God will bring with him. How do they get there? Well, Bob, let's just explain 15 to 18 explains that. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you for yourselves. Know perfectly that the day of the Lord, day of the Lord is not the rapture. That's the day when he will come back and set things right down here, the day of the Lord.
Umm, so cometh as a thief in the night. We're not looking for him. You don't look for a thief. Uh, we're looking for him. That's the rapture. But when he comes back, as he'll come back as a thief in the night, they won't be expecting him and looking for him. The world won't, and he'll come as a thief. So we're not looking for him as a thief. We're looking for him as a savior.
Another fourteen and four fo uh yeah, 14 and four is Zachariah. And that's where.
Uh, the Lord Jesus?
His feet stand on the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Olives. This is as as his coming we have here in chapter 5. So Mount of Olives split wide open an earthquake or whatever it is, the Lord works there and uh, causes a great valley going east and West.
And that is?
Shortly before.
The someone in the room, one of the remnants, will see the nail prints in his hands.
And, uh, that will be the conversion of the nation of Israel, the time of the conversion when you, you will get Isaiah 53, uh, when they confess he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our people's appointment with his stripes were healed all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way.
We appropriate now for ourselves Isaiah 53. Yeah. But it's really for Israel is right. And they see him. They realize he was wounded for our transgression. What what a day that will be of awakening for that nation. Yeah.
Jim quoted it, but I'd like us to go back again and read it in chapter one of First Thessalonians.
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Uh, middle of verse 9.
For Setonians 1, the middle of verse 9.
Ye turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus. Mr. Darby translates the end of it. Our deliverer from the coming wrath.
Just like to again give emphasis that maybe already it seems like some of the details that we've taken up in this reading meeting might seem a little difficult to understand, might seem at first glance to be a little bit of a fine point, but it's not intended to be. So for us, this statement here were. And this letter was written to new believers, those who had only been saved, perhaps a matter of weeks.
Receive this letter and so don't let us this morning be afraid and say, well, I can't understand this or that aspect of what's said. He starts the chapter 5 and he says, you know perfectly well you who've been saved just a matter of weeks. And in this first end of this first chapter is something to me very important. A person in their sins has their idols. Now these here have physical idols that probably could be seen.
In Thessalonica, but a person's life is characterized by idolatry until they come to the Lord Jesus. But the minute we come to the Lord Jesus as Savior, our whole life changes. And he says now what is characterize their life? They've been saved a few weeks to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven.
And so our lives here this morning, we have these two things, the serving of the living and true God, in contrast to the dead idol. And we sit here this morning in anticipation and waiting for the sun from heaven, who is our deliverer from the wrath that is shortly to fall upon this this world.
And what does it do for us practically?
It changes the true proper appreciation and expectation of the Lord's coming for us will totally affect our daily life. It's not just something about what people call prophecy. Even this is not actually prophecy, but the anticipation of the Lord's coming is not just, well, it is an event, but it's more than that to us. It is the anticipation and the waiting of seeing Him.
Who's going to call us? Who's going to come and take us home to be with himself? And so as we take up the chapter, please, let's treat it as, can I say, simple instructions for us, even if we are a new believer.
Lord's coming should be connected without every aid our everyday life and our unique writer in this book pointed out very nicely. We'll find that after in this book in connection with the lowest economy, but each one has a little bit different character to it a rather rate of risk averse in chapter one. Let's just look at it one more time in chapter one there in verse 10 you step 10 and to wait.
For his Son from heaven will be raised from the dead, even Jesus, which deliver us from the wrath to come. For the first in connection to the Lord's coming is the ways we're waiting for it coming. What a blessed hope that we have been reminded whether you would say yes to this or reminded you have that lesser flow to wait for his son. And then when we'll go to the second chapter, we'll find that in verse 19.
It raised that question about daily now is that for what is our home? Ah, do we ever ask ourselves that question? We often get so occupied with the cares of this world and then we get so occupied with my own problem that we forget here what is our home or joy or ground of rejoicing, and then it goes on here.
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Are not even be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ as his coming. Oh, we need to be reminded, don't we and then when we go to the third chapter that we are reminded about the fact that he's going to be coming in verse 13.
A lot of hard there the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his things and again we'd be reminded that obvious we have to be taken out of this scene in order to be able to come back without bless the Lord and you know it's good to raise all of these principles because this world, especially Christendom often gets all mixed up. Let's let's go on chapter 4 then it reminded us about the Lord's coming in regard to those.
Who have already uh, uh, uh, asleep. Those who are with Jesus. Oh, how precious. You know, this morning when our brother mentioned that our brother, uh, one of our brother is uh, getting close towards the end of his pilgrimage. And I saw tears in various quantize. Yes, the Lord gave us natural affections, but you know that that is our blessed hope is to be with the Lord and the CLDR brother going before us now into our chapter chapter 5.
Here there is a theme to that as well, isn't it? We know about waiting for the Lord to come in. We know about the plastic hope. We know about coming coming with him and we know about those who have gone before. Now this chapter again is back to us about our practical work in the in verse 23 it says and the peace and the very God of peace will sanctify.
You holy?
And then they pray. Notice here the order. He's praying for your whole spirit and soul and body. You know, we often talk about body, soul and spirit because we're so self-centered here in praying for your, for your spirit first, your spirit and soul and body. What is your spirit and soul and body's focus here? The apostle was praying that you may be preserved.
Blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a verse in Proverbs 29 that says where there is no vision, the people perish, or I think Mr. Darby translates it, or at least has a footnote, The people cast off restraint. And brethren, if we don't have this hope that we've been speaking out before our souls, if we're not looking for something beyond the horizons of this world, we're going to get discouraged. And not only are we going to get discouraged, but there isn't going to be that proper moral character.
That is to be exhibited in our lives in a practical way, as those who are going on to something else, something far better. You turn on the news, you read a newspaper and the events of this world show that things are not getting better in this world. Man is trying to set things right today by peace packs and and negotiations and summits and lining up with the United States and the allied forces and this kind of thing.
They're trying to make peace by introducing democracy into corners of the world where it's never been introduced before. Is this going to solve the world's problems? Are things getting better? Regards This World notes, and Scripture teaches us that it will never get better until the King of Righteousness rises with healing in his wings and the Prince of Peace comes back to reign and has his rightful place. Then, and only then, will there be righteousness and equity.
Exhibited in this world. But if we don't have this before our souls, we're gonna get discouraged. There's many zealous Christians today who don't understand the difference between the Lord's coming for his Saints and the Lord's coming with his Saints. And what are they doing? They're out zealously lobbying for the betterment of this world, rising up against governments and all this kind of thing. And you've heard this before. You know what I'm Speaking of. But it's because that that through misteaching or misguidance.
They've lost sight or they don't understand the truth of the Lord's coming and how his brother Bob said it's in two parts. And so if we can keep this before us where there is no vision, the people perish. But brethren, how can we go on in a world where things are deteriorating economically, morally, politically in every sphere of society? How can we go on quietly for the Lord? Oh, it's to realize that he's going to take us out very soon. It's to look up every day and say perhaps today the Lord is coming.
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It's to live in the good of that and then to realize that there is a glorious appearing when He and only He will set things right. This turns to a verse in 3rd John. I think it's helpful in this regard. I might just say this too, that in John's Gospel chapter 14, the Lord simply said to the disciples to encourage them before he left them in this sad world alone. He gave them many things for their comfort, but one of the things he said to encourage them was.
I will come again and receive it unto myself. But he doesn't develop it there. He just leaves it there for their encouragement. But it's interesting that John develops this a little further in First John chapter 3 and verse 2.
Beloved now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Now John here takes us beyond just the Lord coming for us. It's true. When He comes for us, we're going to get bodies of glory like unto His body of glory, and there's going to be an instantaneous change, and we're going to rise to meet the Lord. We get that from first Corinthians 15 and so on. But here he says, when he shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
But he's saying his brethren, there's a day when the Lord Jesus is going to appear in this world and we're going to appear with him. And it says in Thessalonians, he's coming to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all those that are about him in that game. That is when the world looks gone and they see the believers, they're going to see a perfect reflection of Christ in that, in the in the church, in the believer, not only going to be with Christ, we're going to be like him. And then he says.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. And what I take from this in a simple way, brethren, is that in the measure in which you and I have both the coming of the Lord for his Saints, and his appearing with His Saints before our souls. Not just as a mere doctrine, good to be doctrinally correct and accurate when we enumerate these this truth from Scripture, but when we have this hope as a reality in our souls from day-to-day.
And we're living in the good of it. What is going to be the result? It's going to have a practical purifying effect on your life and mind if we get up every morning with the realization that the Lord may come today.
If we get up every morning with that thought and with the realization that there's a day coming when he's going to appear back in this world and we're going to be with him, I believe it will make a difference in our conduct, in our relationships, in our reactions, in our testimony to this world. Every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure.
Because the passage that says every eye shall see him, not of the rapture.
Right at the Rapture, we'll be gone, we'll be missing, but he won't be seen until he comes back with us. Then so on. The one in in first part of His coming, they don't see us go and they don't see him. The second part of his coming, they'll see both him and us.
What we speak about this morning is not the view of the world.
The view of the world is given to us in verses 2:00 and 3:00.
They say the day of the Lord, or can I say we would see about the world. The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.
People don't appreciate thieves.
Nobody wants the thief to come to their house at night, but that's the attitude of the world in which we live. The thought of the coming of the Lord to this earth again is an unwanted, unappreciated and undesired thought among men.
He was gone. We're thankful he lived here. He left some examples, but the bottom line is we didn't want him. He left and that's just the way we'd like it to remain. So his coming for those who are of this world is will be like a thief, an unwanted person who comes in the middle of their night. And the present attitude of the world is in verse 3.
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They shall say peace and safety. The world doesn't look at things today and say it's hopeless. It'll never get better. But man wise men of the world are using every energy and every means that their disposal to try to make this world.
A place of peace and a place of safety.
But what's going to happen to such verse? The end of verse 3?
Sudden destruction cometh upon them. The coming of the Lord is going to give God's estimate of the state of things in the world, which is such a state of disorder in the rejection of His Son, that He has pronounced judgment upon it. And the coming of the Lord is going to begin. The day of the Lord is going to begin with the execution of this judgment.
Of which no man will escape, as he says in the end of verse three, they shall not escape. Now when we see that side of it, what attitude do we want to have ourselves? The Lord, when He comes, is going to bring judgment. The man of the world is not going to escape it. Am I going to live my daily life right alongside with him with the same attitudes, the same interest, the same desire?
And say, well, yes, we'll do all we can for peace and safety and let's hope things are better tomorrow and next week. Not if I'm on the Lord's side, not if my spirit and my soul is with the Lord. I say to that man, judgment is coming. You need to flee. So the alarms of the Savior, the deliverer to be saved from the wrath to come. Or is my neighbor my work associate someday if they could.
Say, why didn't you tell me? Why did you act just like I acted as it were, living the same kind of life with the same kind of intentions and interest in talking about the same hopes and expectations?
All connected only with this world. Or why didn't you warn me to flee from the wrath to come? The difference between Abraham.
And lots stand out as examples of what you're saying on and they're different attitudes. Abraham dwelt with God on the mountain and these current pieces of Thessalonians I believe were in a similar state of Seoul. Their affection for Christ was great. I believe rather than we're living in a time though when we can easily.
Umm re replace.
Affection for Christ with occupation, with kind and seasons. Uh, if we look at the Lord as coming as a bridegroom, coming for the bride, we think about a bride waiting for her bridegroom.
The great thing for her is she's going to be united to her loved one. And if we saw a bride getting taken up with, well, what the times in there. There's some signs showing that my wedding day is getting close. I see the the the flowers of blooming springs come and that isn't this wonderful. That should not take the place of what her real heart is looking for, to be united to her loved one.
And that's what Price wants from us and that's what our attitude could be. And how good to have that affection. Then we'll be like Abraham, who understood and interpreted the signs and see, uh, around him, Lot didn't properly know how to interpret things. He was saved as by fire as as it were. And so I think it's important for us, umm.
Not just to be occupied with the times and seasons. That's important to know the heavenly hall and guard the Lord, but let us never uh, neglect Lord a heart for Christ. It it it comes out in in verse, Umm, umm.
16 of chapter 4 it says for the Lord himself.
That is his person. He himself is coming. That's the great thing. Not as a thief in the night.
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I like that, Doug, because we get the Lord Jesus Christ before us both in the rapture and in the appearing, don't we? In the rapture it's the blessed hope of being united to the One who is our Bridegroom. And we find in not this epistle, but the third chapter of the 2nd epistle that His desire to have us with Him.
Exceeds ours to be there. But then when it comes to His appearing, we know Paul could say in Second Timothy four, He could speak of a crown of righteousness. And not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. Why do we love His appearing? Because He will have His rightful place. He will be given that place of glory and exaltation publicly.
That we trust He has today at the Father's. I shouldn't say that that he has today at the Father's right hand and that we trust He has in our hearts. But in that day He will be given that place publicly. And we love His appearing for that reason. But then it takes us back, doesn't it, to the little book that's mentioned at the end of Revelation 10, I believe, where John was told to eat the little book, no doubt bringing judgment before us.
And when he ate it, it made his mouth sweet as honey. It wasn't his mouth sweet as honey for the reason we've just given.
The Lord Jesus Christ is being given his rightful place, but then it makes his belly bitter. Why? Oh, because of the awful judgments that have to fall on this poor world in order for all that to come about. There's no other way. When they judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. And so I believe that's what's brought before us that twofold aspect in this chapter. Yes. Is there joy in looking forward to his appearing? Yes, there is.
And we see, we will see him in his glory.
But then what an awful thing to contemplate what this poor world has to go through. As we've just heard, they're trying in every way possible now to achieve what they never will. It'll only come when the Lord Jesus has his place. And so there's a moral state that is important for those who know all these things ahead of time.
Our president thinks that he's a Christian, I believe, but he thinks that democracy is the ideal government.
A government of the people, for the people, by the people. That's about as far away removed from the Bible as you can get. The ideal government is one man rule and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't want that. They don't want that. They want to do it themselves. They want to do it themselves and.
That is, that is going to come to failure, of course, and that's why.
That's one of the reasons I don't vote because.
We're not going to set the world right. We are guilty. By we, I mean the world is guilty of rejecting, committing the greatest sin that man has ever committed, rejecting the only righteous ruler, and that's the Lord Jesus. We will not have this man to reign over us. That's what they said, and that's the attitude of everyone that is unsaved.
They want to do it themselves and that's going to fail. And we don't. If we're intelligent in our pathway, we walk down here as strangers and pilgrims, not as citizens of this earth, but as citizens of heaven. And the, the, the one that's going to rain and do it righteously is our precious Lord Jesus. And we wait for that moment when that will take place. And it'll go on for 1000 years.
The EV everything is going to be set right in the millennial day by one man, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Men aren't going to do it. They're going to go through the worst tribulation this world has ever seen before that comes to pass. But we belong to the heavenly state, and to get involved in these things is just to take the level of land can do it.
And he can't do it. He can't do it not without the Lord. And uh, God is going to have one man sit on the throne and rule in righteousness. And we'll be part of that. We'll all rule with him. I'd like to make a comment on this expression in our verse the Day of the Lord. But before I do that, I'd like to just give a little illustration in connection with what brother Bill said in to loving his appearing.
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And looking forward to the full exaltation of Christ here in this world, where they cast him out and spit in his face and set away with him, crucify him. It might be a bit of a feeble illustration, but perhaps it will help when the president of the United States or the Prime Minister of Canada is elected to office and his picture is splashed across the pages of the press. Who rejoices with him at his side? His wife. Why is she there at his side?
Not because she was elected to office, but because of her relationship to the one who is. And she rejoices that her husband has been elevated to this place of prominence, that he has a place in the as head of the nation or whatever it might be. And so she rejoices in that all through the election, she's been looking forward to the time when the ballots will be counted and she'll stand by her husband as he is.
As he's proclaimed the winner.
Now that may be a feeble illustration because there's no balance to be counted, rather than if I can speak reverently and put it that way.
With full assurance, we know that God's man is going to have his rightful place.
Lot of things I don't understand about the Bible, but I do know the end of the story. I know that God's man is going to be exalted.
And I know another thing too. I'm going to be at his side. You know, it's interesting. In the end of the fourth chapter, he says. And so shall we ever be with the Lord?
Just think about that little expression. When He's in the Father's house, we're with him. When he comes back to reign, we're with Him. We're going to be ever with the Lord. And so we rejoice to think not so much of our position, but to think of that day when He's going to be exalted. You walk down the street of Lawrenceville or Allendale or any other town or city in the world today, you hear the name of the Lord taken in vain. You see on every hand that.
He he he's still the son of the drunkard, the on the lips of the cursor he still rejected. Does it rejoice your heart to think there's a day coming when that will no longer be so? And if it is so, it will be judged immediately. Sin will be judged morning by morning. And so I just say that in connection with what brother Bill is so good to keep in mind that Christ is going to have his full exaltation and wonder of wonders, we're going to be associated with him.
But I would like to make a little comment or two on this expression, the day of the Lord. It's an expression I grew up hearing in the meetings and perhaps and perhaps still don't fully understand it, but to put it very simply, the day of the Lord is a day when his rights will be outwardly owned and executed here in this world. It's in contrast. Just go back to First Corinthians chapter 4 for a moment, in contrast to what we have.
In First Corinthians chapter 4.
And verse 3.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man if you notice your margin. And this is the way Mr. Darby translates it. Man's day. Now this is man's day. God is allowing man to a certain extent to have his way. Today. Man is exerting his rights. And I believe that the final climax of man's history of sin.
It's what it says the king shall do according to his own will. Unbridled self will and the assertion of man's rights will be the final climax to man's history of sin. The verse I quoted is in connection with the man of sin in the coming day. But don't we see things heading up that way today? Human rights are glorified today. It's ingrained in our students the minute they step into the public school system that no one's to tell us what to do.
We're taught to rebel against authority and to assert our own rights.
I would like to just say this too, that in man's day, outwardly it seems like man is having his way, but we want to be very clear that God is behind the scenes. But Chuck was talking about how he doesn't vote. And what gives me confidence in not going to the ballot box on Election Day is that the most high rule is in the kingdoms of men. And set us up whomsoever He will in the kingdoms of men, the basis of men in the kingdoms of men.
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God is in control. The man in power in the United States or Canada or any other country in this world today is there because God is in control. God set him there. All there may have been secondary means elections or in some countries military coups or whatever it might have been, but God is in control. And brethren, if we can keep that before our souls, that the powers that be, even in man's day, are ordained of God, then that gives me confidence.
To bow and say, Lord, whoever you put in power, I'm content to go on and to pray as Timothy was told to pray for those in power. Timothy wasn't told to lobby against the government. And who was in power when Timothy was told to pray for kings and those in authority, Probably one of the worst tyrants that ever reigned in this world, the emperor Nero, was he to go out and lobby against what was going on? No, he was to pray. And I believe if Christians would spend more of their time and energy praying for those in authority.
It would have a lot more effect, it would do a lot more good than rising up and lobbying against them and joining coalitions and all that kind of thing. But I simply want to point out that even though this is man's day, outwardly God is still in control. But there is a day when the Lord Jesus will have his rightful place in this world. It isn't now. Now we see, not yet, all things put under him. And brethren, I trust there's no thought even in corners of our hearts this morning.
As to this being the reigning time, this is not the reigning time. Paul said would that we reign, but this is not the reigning time. The reigning time is coming. What we are to do is to have him reign in our hearts alone and own Him, Lord of our life. But this is not the reigning time. But let's go on realizing the day of the Lord is coming. It's going to be a surprise for this world, but it is a day when his rights are going to be asserted and God is going to be finally satisfied.
Laodicea, the period just before the return of Christ and, uh, it, the word means the people speak. It's the time when man is having his day and he's going to see in the end that his leaving God out of his life and not, uh, submitting to God and his word and his ways is going to be fatal. But.
If only we would judge ourselves. And I'm Speaking of our the very people who are I'm speaking to now.
All of us need to be very much.
Thinking about what my part is in label darceanism, am I guilty of having my own opinion about things that are personal instead of reading the word of God and having him direct me and give me wisdom as a where to go, what to do, and what and how to do it?
When the Lord Jesus came into this world, and John's Gospel particularly, he said in the very beginning of his ministry, I am the light of the world.
And so when the Lord Jesus came into this world, a brilliance of light came into the world to shine upon men.
Man in himself with darkness, he wasn't just in the dark, but he says when concerning the Lord Jesus and John one the darkness comprehended it not.
The state of man was he was darkness itself. And so when the Lord Jesus shined upon him and exposed what was in his heart, it exposed the fact that he was darkness itself. But there were those who by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Responded to the Lord Jesus, and that darkness was changed to light when the Lord Jesus on the day of his death.
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Was cast out and crucified.
Night descended upon this world, and this world lives in the darkness of night.
And it has done so from the day of the death of the Lord Jesus. We live in a World of Darkness and night. And so here in our chapter what he's saying to his brethren in verse four, he says, brethren, ye brethren are not in the darkness, that the day should overtake you.
They as people and we'll look at it in a moment. We're not in the darkness. It was night around them.
But they had a life that the world did not have.
So that the thief would not overtake them. What is man? He loves darkness. He doesn't mind that he lives in a World of Darkness. It says the men love darkness. Why? Because their deeds are evil. If it's dark as it were, physically outside and I'm going to rob something, I think I have a better chance of getting away with it. And so if I'm going to live according to the desires of my flesh.
And I'm not seeing well, so much the better. I have a sense of maybe I'll get away with it. And so as a consequence, this world, it really loves the darkness because its deeds are evil. But with respect to us, he says, brethren, you're not of the darkness. He says in verse five, your children of light and children of the day, our proper.
Place is to wait for the day because we're children of the day, we're not children of the night. We don't look for darkness to hide evil. We by nature, by new birth, we enjoy the light. We would rather be in a place of light than in a place of darkness. And Peter speaks of it in the in his second first chapter of the 2nd letter. He says let the day star.
Arise in your heart. In other words, the day of the dawn is almost approaching, he says of the new day, the day when the Lord comes. And then when the Lord comes and sets up his Kingdom, it will be a day of righteousness. It will be a day of the brilliance of the noonday sun again on this earth. But what about us? I'd just like to turn for one moment to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and see our portion in the midst of this night.
As we await for the day, he says to us.
Concerning those who don't accept the gospel, 2nd Corinthians 4. Three. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not. Satan is busy keeping it dark, so that man won't see and believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. Now verse six is what's happened to us. God commanded the light to shine out of darkness as it were. We were in the midst of this darkness, but God shined his light as Paul saw it or saw on in the road of the act. It was the brightness greater than the noonday sun that shone in his soul that day of his salvation.
Has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. We have the treasure of the glory of the light of God. God is opened up heaven for us because it's dark down here that we might see the full brightness of the heavens for our souls by faith and that we might be occupied with that and say, oh Lord.
How wonderful to see him in his glory at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Eternal light in his presence, and we carry in us that light. And consequently in Ephesians chapter 5, what about this Dark World? What does it see by the Lord's? Not here the Lord Paul said to the Ephesians Saints in chapter five. He said, you, ye are the light of the world. What light does the darkness have in your daily life around you? What light do the people have?
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You, you. You are the light that this world presently has.
Tremendous responsibility to one of us live in our daily lives as we await the coming of the Lord. You are the light in your community. You are the light in your school. You are the light at work.
We belong to an entirely different world, he said. Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. We belong to a Heavenly St. Our citizenship is in heaven.
Recently my my physician, my doctor handed handed out a paper that they want to update their files and one of the statements was.
Your present occupation, Your present employer, I wrote down the Lord Jesus Christ.
They might think I'm nuts, but that's what I wrote. And that's, that's where we belong. That's where we belong. So we're children of day and children of the light for two reasons. Is it fair to say that on the one hand, as we've just heard, we see in the face of the Lord Jesus all the light of God's glory? And in that sense we are called to reflect that light here in this world which is dark.
So then there's a day coming when the Lord will have his rightful place. That will be day for this world. It's night now, but there's a day coming. And when He comes and that day dawns, we will be associated with Him. And so, as was being brought out earlier, we don't by grace seek to straighten things out now. We're not of the darkness. We're not part of this particular situation.
But there is a day when we will live and reign with Christ.
Evangelical world is trying to set things right.
Did wrong. MMM.
So our responsibility is to point souls to Christ. The world's under judgment. Someone has said the ship is going down. What are we to do? We're to point people to Christ, point people to the way out, point them to the light. And again, if Christians would spend their more energy propagating the gospel and praying for the good seed of its own would be a lot more desirable, a lot more according to the word of God. And it would be perhaps a lot more results as to souls being saved as the gospel goes out. But we are here to point people to that other world, to Christ, tell them how they can become the children of light.
Separation is almost a lost word in vocabularies, but umm, that's where we're to be a separated people.
We'll find 2 with our Christian walk when we get into difficulties, when we feel that we're in a trial of some sort. Often if we look at our our own walk closely, we will find that we have forgotten. We have forgotten about the soon return of our blessed Savior.
Just a little story time is gone, but appreciated reading about John Wesley and.
He was passing one of the great Manor homes in Britain and he stopped and had a little chat with the gardener. And the gardener took him on a tour of that beautiful mansion. And after they were done the tour and they returned to the gate of that grand home, John Wesley turned to the gardener and he said, I too have a liking for these things, but there's another world and brethren, there is another world. We're going on to something far better. And then the Lord Jesus, as we've been saying, is going to come back and straighten things out.
As regards to what he sees is righteous.
208 M #208.
Nsnoise.
170 versus 5 and six. Tis thy heavenly bride and Spirit, Jesus Lord, that bid thee come. 170 verses 5 and six, and somehow would seem fitting to stand up for it.
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As I have me.