Peace and Safety!

Well, good afternoon, everyone. It's nice to see you all and welcome to some of the guests out of town. Nice to see you and I really appreciate all that the brethren do for the well-functioning of the church. There are a lot of brethren that serve one another, that go out of their way loving one another, giving, and through it suffering and even though they still serve. And so I want to thank you all. And this is a maybe different way of introducing my sermon, but it is in first place a thank you for your service that you all do. We are grateful for the congregation we have. We prize you all dearly, really dearly. And the peace and joy and the loving brethren relationship that we have in the church is something that is very precious in the sight of God. But we do have an enemy. We do have an adversary that hates it. And he is looking for any opportunity to spoil it. We need to be watchful because it has not always been so that there has been peace and love in the congregation. There has been times where things were a little rough. You all know it. And our adversary would love to create another situation like that any moment and typically suddenly when you and I don't expect it. I often pray that we as a congregation may not be caught unawares and fall into prey of sadness amongst ourselves. Let's just put it that way. Paul had great gratitude for what the brethren in Thessalonica did. And you can read that gratitude in the second Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 3 through 5. I'm not going to go through it now, but it just shows that Paul was very grateful for the loving care that a number of the brethren in Thessalonica had for one another. But interesting brethren is there were some issues in the society of the Thessalonians that were very similar to the society today. Particularly one of them was that of sexual promiscuity. And it might be an understatement if I say this society today is rampant with sexual promiscuity and let's call it just liberalism away from God's law. And so Paul in his first epistle to the Thessalonians addressed a couple of issues, but one of them was that sexual promiscuity. But then I also was aware that a number of brethren were looking for crushes coming and so are we today. So in that sense there are a lot of similarities. And then later in first Thessalonians he gives us a warning, particularly referring to the time of the end. But today I want to look at that briefly and show you that we are in similar situations as described there by Paul. But I want to focus on the issue of being caught unawares.

And that is particularly dangerous when things are going well. And that's why I mentioned at the beginning I'm very grateful that we have a loving, caring, serving congregation. But let us not be distracted because that's a blessing and we have an enemy that wants to destroy that. And so my question today, I want to take a few points which Paul emphasized in Thessalonians and put them into a couple of headings of specific things you and I can do not to be caught unawares. Now we know that Christ Himself, referring to the time of the end, and if you turn with me to Matthew 24, starting in verse 36, he was basically warning the brethren, or at least the disciples at that time, they were within, that no man knows the day or the hour of his return. And then he goes into a point about Noah when everything was apparently seemingly going well and then there was sudden destruction because it was even referred on the sermonette that suddenly things happened. And then towards the end of that section in verse 42 he says, watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. And indeed, we have to be very conscientious because none of us knows when Christ's coming.

And then verse 44 says, therefore you also be ready because Christ's coming at an hour that you do not expect. And then it goes a bit further and says, and then some servants will start saying, well, the Lord is delaying His coming and get distracted.

Now I understand the theme is talking about Christ's coming, but again, I'm going to look at that in a little bit more detail, but again, I want to reiterate that I want to extract from it a principle for our daily lives. And so let's look at what Paul is actually saying to the Thessalonians. And basically, in a sense, we're going to do a little bit of exegesis out of chapter five of first Thessalonians. Not saying that we're going to be there all the time, but we will look at a number of verses out of chapter five of first Thessalonians.

And in verses one and two he says, but concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. We do know that we are in that season, but no one knows the exact day or the hour. But how does a thief in the night come? Well, a thief in the night comes by surprise, by catching you and a ways not prepared, not watching, not alert.

And that is the point that I want to extract today, that we have to be alert all the time in our lives and in our Christian lives. And as us brethren in the church, we have to be alert all the time. I'm going to give you some examples from when I lived in South Africa. At that time, I clearly remember there was a period there was a lot what we used to call hijacking. Now that's not saying hijack, that's different. There was car robbing or stealing with the driver in there and maybe killing the driver and taking the car because life was five cents, but the car was a lot more than five cents.

So there's no care about the life. And the point was don't move, move slowly, don't make sudden moves because then they think you're going to take a gun or something like that and just walk away and let them take it because your life was more important. I remember that company I worked for, they even had training. Company sponsored training at IBM. How are you to be precautious about the situation that we lived in? But there was one thing that I remember vividly. I mean, we went through ski pad training, driving your car and turning it 180 degrees in a split second, using the handbrake and things like that.

We had to go through those trainings and things like that. But one thing I remember vividly amongst all the others and many others I remember, but that one is that they said, be alert. If you see some movement of something that's suspicious around you, make them aware that you are aware that they're there because they'd rather go to another softer target where somebody else is not aware.

I've got two specific examples in my life. One, that I wasn't aware. Another one, that my daughter was aware. One was, I was driving down a hill and we were in a situation of a lot of traffic and so you would start and stop and start and stop and you don't get that a lot in this country, but you got to other countries. When you got to these areas of traffic jams, you got a lot of salesmen walking between the cars and selling things and whatever it is.

But you also have unsavory characters walking between the cars and seeing for an opportunity. In one of those situations, I was for some reason adjusting my rear view mirror on the side. My son was sitting next to me and you're probably seeing by the hand gestures that adjusting the rear view mirror and my son sitting next to me, that there we drove on the left, not on the right because the gestures are pointing in the opposite direction. But anyway, so as we did that, my son also looked and in the middle between my son and I, in those days we had what we call a hand-free car kit that you put in your cell phone, right in the middle between my son and I, and all we heard was an explosion and next thing I looked, the cell phone was gone.

Those guys were so quick with a spark plug in one movement they hit the window next to where my son was and in the same movement the hand grabbed the phone and they ran. By the time we noticed the phone was gone and he put his hand in front of my son's face and he didn't even see it because it was so quick we distracted. Now the moral of the lesson is we have to be aware. The other example is one of my daughters, she's here today and she was going down a hill as well in the traffic and I had explained to my children, you got to be aware and so she saw an unsavory character kind of looking at the window and she kind of made maybe not hand motions but she made him aware that she was aware that he was there and so he then decided to move to a softer target one or two cars in front and next thing you saw he hit that car in front, broke the window and stole that lady's purse.

So yeah is a lesson that things are going okay, you're in the car, everything is normal and while suddenly sudden destruction in a sense, peace and safety and then sudden destruction. And the point is that we have to be aware that when things are going well, we usually get distracted, we don't watch, we're not as alert as we should be.

Quite often we tend to forget God, we tend to neglect gratitude towards God and for all that he gives us and we focus on self, I'm good, I'm okay, I'm happy, everything, we focus on self and we unintentionally become unawares of what's going around us. Typically today, oh you're sitting and playing on your cell phone and next thing somebody can do something against you, you are unaware of what's going around, young people be careful because days are going to come that you have to be watching your surrounds because not everybody around you is nice, nice, nice towards you, beware. And the point is and as we read in first p. 5 verse 8, the enemy your adversary is like a roaring lion waiting to see when he can strike and get you, particularly, particularly when you and I are one of God's called and selected ones, he hates you, in fact he hates God, he hates you because you're following God because and pawns of his, unbeknown, will hate you because you're following God. And you see, so when you and I are distracted, Satan will somehow incite situations that could potentially threaten you, your well-being, your life, and things like that. And so as I read, continue reading in first Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 3, for when they say peace and safety. Now I know it's talking about the time of the end and brethren today I found in this country there are some people that are having the feeling that hey, there's going to be peace and safety and we've got to be careful. Not everybody feels that granted, but it says they say, some people say, peace and safety, and then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. So indeed, brethren, I don't want to minimize that it is talking about the end time and you and I are living in the end time and we have to be careful and we have to stay close to God. And the principles that I'm going to mention apply both in the greater context, but I want to focus in a way to kind of turn it in a little bit more of a personal way to you and I to our personal lives.

For instance, as brethren in the church, when things are going well, suddenly something can happen. That will disrupt everything. Or in your family, things can go in well and suddenly something can happen, disrupts all that happiness. And that's what the point that I want to emphasize today. Be careful when things are going well, be careful because the lion, the roaring lion is there looking for an opportunity to upset you and I, to upset the apple cart, as they say, and create a bad situation out of a good one. And so as we read now in verse four and five of First Thessalonians five, but you brethren are not in darkness. You know, as you and I brethren are not in the world. A number of people in the world are thinking that way, but you and I are not in the world. We are in God's church. You and I need to be conscious that things are happening around us, that somehow it's going to get real bad and apparently may get kind of apparently good, but it will going to get real bad. And it says because, verse five, you're all sons of light. In other words, you're all in God's church. You know the truth. And you're not of the world. And then in verse six, therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. We got to be alert all the time so that we are not caught unawares in any trapping of Satan, of course, talking about the society, but in our lives as well. We got to understand that we got to be careful because Satan wants destroyers. Let's just turn briefly to look 21 again. This is talking about the context of the time of the end. Luke 21 verse 34, take heed to yourselves. Let your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, cares of this life, and the day came on you unexpectedly. The point here that we got to be watching is ourselves.

We're not told the to watch other people or criticize others. We told you to watch to watch me, myself, and I. That's what we're told to watch.

Because it says, for it will come suddenly. Verse 36 says, watch therefore and pray always.

Yes, in this context that we may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to be with Christ at the second coming. It was then to stand before the Son of Man, in other words, be with Christ at the second coming.

Brethren, spiritually, we should not be sleeping.

God does not want you and I to go through suffering. God loves you. God loves us. We are his children. He cares for us.

But we have to be sober and vigilant and praying all the time that we are not caught and away.

And so my question is, what must we do from a practical point of view? Because God loves you. God loves us. But there is a certain accountability on our side of what we must do. Besides just watching and watching ourselves, what is it that practically we can do so that we are not caught by our own self, you know, being drawn in by ourselves and incited by Satan to go the wrong way? And in fact, if we go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 8, well, in fact, in verse 7 says, don't sleep and don't get drunk. In other words, be alert. But verse 8 says, but let us let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love. It was putting on the protection around our chests. Whatever that protection is, could be a shield of faith, could be whatever protection of faith and love. And as a helmet, the hope of salvation. And yeah, they are basically two areas of the body that are focused. One is around the heart, protecting, shielding your body, your heart, your life, and protecting your mind. What goes into your mind? And so they are two points of focus in front of your chest, which is basically with faith and love, and in a mind which is the hope of salvation. If you turn with me very briefly, obviously keep your finger on 1 Thessalonians 5, because we'll come back to it. But in Ephesians chapter 6 talks about the armor of God. And you see a little starts that section in verse 10 and 11. But in verse 13 says, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand in the evil day. That is the day of sudden destruction, the day when things are just going to go, boom! And everything was going so well, and poom! There's chaos. So you may be able to stand in that evil day, and having done all, to stand. In other words, stay firm, stand, stay fast. Stand therefore, having girded waste of truth, so keep to the truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness. You see again, emphasizing that breastplate of righteousness. What is righteousness? All that commandments are righteousness. God's law is love. It's righteousness. And so it ties in with Ephesians, I'll be a part of 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 8, where it said, breastplate of faith and love. Because God's law is love, is righteousness. We got to have that. We got to stick to the truth. We got to put that around us. And how can we do that with love towards others? One of the key important things, please remember brethren, is humility. Is humility.

In James chapter 3 verse 13, talks about the meekness of wisdom. You've heard me talk about the meekness of wisdom before. It is so important, and really meditating that section of scripture, the meekness of wisdom. James 3 verse 13 and the next few verses. Meekness is a combination, let's call it, of humility and gentleness. I would call it maybe be moldable, teachable, meek, time. A person that has got a lot of gentleness.

And there's a lot of wisdom in that. And so for us to show love towards others in difficult situations, there's got to be meekness and humility. There's got to be a lot of that. And then continuing to read in Ephesians chapter 6, it says in verse 16, above all, taking the shield of faith. You see that again, a shield protects your chest, your front of your body, protects you from those fiery darts, those doubts of Satan, because there'll be many doubts that Satan will throw at you, and that shield will protect you from that, that uncertainty and doubt. I also remember the days that I used to be a salesman. They used to say one of the sales techniques is fad. You probably have never heard the word fad, F-U-D, but that's called fear, uncertainty, and doubt. You know, you create fear, uncertainty, and doubt on the competitors' products, and you lift up the value of your products. And that's what Satan does, creates fear and uncertainty, doubt about God and his principles, and that is one of the, quote unquote, selling techniques of Satan against us. So brethren, we got to have faith, absolute trust in God. Why? Because God loves you. God gave his only son for you and I, and there's nothing bigger that he could have done that. And whatever he started, he will finish it, unless you walk away from him. He will never leave or depart from you. So brethren, God is with you, but don't you walk away from him. We mustn't. So we got to put on this truth and faith and outgoing concern, which starts with humility. And then in verse 17, and take the helmet of salvation. And what is that? It's the hope of salvation, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 8, the hope of salvation. What is that? It's keep in mind the big goal.

You and I have to keep in mind the big goal. What is the big goal? The big goal is that you and I are going to be in God's family. That you and I are going to be the very children of God, albeit a lot inferior than him, of course, but will have the same type of glory.

And that transcends our mental capability because what God's got in plan and in mind for you is well beyond what you and I can imagine. And we have to just hold on to that. And that is a helmet that protects our brain, our thinking, that hope.

And then continue in verse 9 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. God wants to give you of the very best. Of the very best. God has predestined you to be blessed by him.

God has predestined you to be greatly blessed by him. Don't ever doubt that. Don't ever doubt it. And so our target to be children in the kingdom is one that we must never forget. And therefore we have to be always alert, watchful, and overcoming, because that's the goal he has for us. And so the first practical point and you and I can do is to actually put on God's defense, be close to God, have that armor of God all the time, being very close to God and trusting him. And he will, quote unquote, bat for you as much as you are also doing your part. The second point that I want to emphasize is that you and I can always choose how to react. You and I can always choose how to react.

You know, you know, Deuteronomy 30 verse 19 says, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life that you and your children may live. As we heard in the sermon, there are consequences. And we want to do what's right so that our children have the correct consequences as well. And so we always have the option to choose the right action. Just like Christ had to choose the correct action for us. What was his correct action for us? He had to suffer for us. He had to come and die for us. So whether we are alive or we are already asleep, he wants the best for us ultimately. And that's where we read in verse 10, Christ who died for us, that whatever we, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. That is the ultimate goal. That is the ultimate goal. And so just like Christ had to do what? Think about it. When he was maltreated, when he was smacked, he did not hit back. He did not hit back. He chose the correct reaction. He chose the correct reaction. He returned good for our evil. And we ourselves need to encourage and edify others, help others when they are, when people do bad towards us, we got to do good. That's God's loving action. Look at verse 11, they for comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. And so he complements them, but we have to do good. Look at verse 15, a little bit further down in verse 15. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is both good for yourselves and for all.

You know, things are going well, but one day bang, things go wrong. We can choose how we react. Do we react in a way just like a little flame in a dry forest causes a huge forest fire? Or do we just hold back and react in a loving kind way, like pouring water on that fire, and we just calm it down. We got to do good for evil. In fact, Romans 12, verse 17 to 21 talks about, hey, vengeance belongs to God. Don't do evil for evil, but do good for evil. And if possible, live at peace with everyone. If possible, you know what you and I do every bit possible to do your part and leave the rest to God.

And so if we do that, if we look at this positively, we'll only have joy. And that's why it says in verse 16, rejoice always, because we are looking at positively.

And so the second point is we need to always understand that you and I can choose how to react. The third positive point of what we can do, we need to be praying, continuously praying, praying without seizing and giving God thanks. And that's what it says in verse 17 and 18, pray without seizing in everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. God wants you and I, whatever situation you are to be praying without seizing. Now you're walking in and there is a situation that is happening and pray right there. Now it doesn't mean suddenly you stop and get on your knees and do a big act. No, but privately, silently pray that God will give you the right words, that God will give you the right, correct, emotional return to be positive, to be good instead of evil. And therefore, in a sense, we are walking with God. You see, we're walking with God, spiritually speaking, because we're constantly in prayer with Him and asking Him to help us. Now, do I always think that God is a good person? Do I always do that? No, I wish I did. But I have to remember myself all the time, this is what we need to be doing. And giving thanks, we just finished Thanksgiving. We need to be thanked, give thanks all the time for this is God's will in Christ for us. So our gratitude, being grateful, is very important to God and it is His will that we are grateful. Now, if we are grateful, how can we be critical? You see, as we pray and we ask for God's help, and we are grateful, we are changing our mindset. And that leads it to the next point. We have to allow God's Holy Spirit to lead us. And verse 19 says, do not quench the Spirit. And that is the fourth point, allow God's Holy Spirit to lead you. How do you and I quench the Spirit?

Regrettably, I have to admit that I have at times quenched the Spirit. I have had at times a little thought in my conscience, George say this or encourage somebody on this or whatever it is. And I say, oh, well, maybe that's not necessary or whatever it is. And then later on, I regret it because I should have listened to that preaching on my conscience. We should God's Holy Spirit, preaching my conscience. You probably can say the same thing about yourself. We all at times, in our weakness, at times quench the Spirit and we shouldn't. We really need to make sure that we're not quenching God's Spirit. You see, God's Holy Spirit guides us. Just look at Romans 8 verse 14 briefly, Romans 8, 14. It says, let's just read it. Romans 8, 14 says God's Spirit guides us, 8, 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Are we led by God's Holy Spirit? That means, again, that we got to listen to that preaching of our conscience. We got to listen to those little inklings that touch our hearts, how tiny it may be, but it's godly. And we got to listen to that. We got to listen to that because it says those that are led by God's Spirit, they are the sons of God. Remember that God's Spirit never forces you, never dominates you. It just points you in the right direction. It says, George, think about this. Or George, go this way. Or George, say this, but it's your choice and my choice to pick it up and do it.

You see God's Holy Spirit, then, as we do that, it flows like a river. You have scriptures in John that says God's Spirit, it's like living water because it comes into us and comes out of us in words that are positive, that are encouraging, or in actions that encourage others and build a positive ambiance, let's call it that, or environment. And so we need to be attentive to God's Holy Spirit. We need to put into practice that, and as more as we put into practice, the more as we obey God, the more He gives us of His Holy Spirit because God gives us the Spirit who doesn't obey Him. Acts 5 verse 32, right? God gives His Spirit who does obey Him, and the more you obey, the more you put in practice, the more of God's Holy Spirit you have, and the more it flows out of you and out of me, out of us, as living water to give life, to be encouraging, to be positive to others. And then, continuing in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 20, we see, do not despise prophecies. Now, quite often we think, well, prophecy is foretelling the future, but prophecies in this context, I believe it also means proper discussions and conversations, a discourse emanating from you and I, which is encouraging, uplifting, inspiring, and for instance, anybody, a man or a woman, a brethren in the church, in the conversation you are of the church, or before church, or in our lives, we can have conversations that are professing, or teaching, or instructing good Christian principles which are uplifting and encouraging to one another. And so, it does not necessarily have to mean that you are standing behind the podium and preaching, no, but it is that don't despise those positive words of encouragement in our Christian fellowship that uplift one another. Test all things, hold fast, what is good. In other words, you and I need to examine ourselves. We need to say, how am I doing? I'm not saying examine the other person, criticize the other person. So and so did this, so and so did that. Okay, they're not perfect. I'm not perfect either. How am I doing? Examine myself, not the other person. How am I reacting? And that's what we need to do. And as we do that, and then we are being focusing in abstaining from any appearance of evil, as it should say, appearance, it doesn't mean abstain from every form of evil, because I mean, that is a weak translation, because obviously, we should not do any evil. We should not break God's law. So it's not just get well abstained. No, we should abstain from appearance of evil. Obviously, we can't do evil, but we should abstain even from the appearance of evil. For instance, a minister should not counsel a young lady or even an other lady by himself privately, he should have somebody within to avoid the appearance of evil. That's just one example, you see. So particularly also with young people, even if a boy or a girl, you got to be careful today, you got to abstain any appearance of evil. So in this context of verses 20 through 22, we have a situation that what do we have? We got to discern, we got to see, we got to distinguish between good and bad and do what's right, and do what's right.

And so brethren, we got to hold fast to what is good. We know, for instance, in Titus 1 verse 9 says, avoid deviating from sound doctrine, hold on to what is good. And so what is it that you and I positively can do to prevent being caught up in a spiritual trap, which could be caused by our own ego or incited by Satan, but what positive, encouraging, uplifting steps you and I can do to help others and help ourselves not to be entrapped when things suddenly could really go bad. And if we don't react the right way, could even get worse. And I've highlighted five points. There's others based here from 1 Thessalonians 5. I've kind of grouped them into five groups. One is stay close to God by putting on God's armor, have the right weapons of defense, always choose to react the right way, always be praying and being grateful for what you and I have, allow God's Holy Spirit to lead you and discern and keep what is godly. And so, brethren, as I conclude, I just want to read a few verses here in 1 Thessalonians 5, starting in verse 23. Now, brethren, brethren, ye are in Dallas, and those of you listening in by the webcast, may the God of peace himself sanctify you, make you separate and different from the world, completely. And may your whole spirit, that means the spirit of man in man, your all way of thinking and mind, and your life, that means your soul, your life, and your physical body, everything you and I do, be preserved blameless. In everything you do, you think, you say, you act with all your energy, let's make sure we are preserved blameless, so that we can be at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he who calls you, which is the Father, he has called you to be his children. He loves you, he wants you there. He is faithful, who will also do it. He will do it. He will not leave you standing by. He says, I'll never leave or forsake you. He will do it, and you will be in the kingdom, provided you don't walk away.

Brethren, this is such a loving, gracious, kindness, outgoing concern from God for you and I. And in verse 28 says, verse 28, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, brethren. Amen.