[Sermon Archive] - [Weekly Devotional Guide]

This Week's Sermon THE THIRD SUNDAY of the END TIME 16 November 2008 "Ready to Live with Him" 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 LSB Series A Vicar Gerald D. Heinecke Soli Deo Gloria!

Do you ever feel jittery and nervous as you anticipate something? I often find myself nervous while I am waiting. Maybe you feel nervous as you wait for a sporting event, the results of a medical test, the birth of a child, a first date, or a new class that you are taking or teaching. Today, all three of our texts deal with waiting. In the Old Testament lesson Zephaniah warns that the day of the Lord is near. In the Gospel lesson the servants wait, with their master's money in hand, for their master to return in which they will give an accounting for how they handled the master's property. Then in our epistle text we are forewarned that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Are you worried? Are you anxious? Are you ready to give an accounting?

Paul then says in that same epistle text, "You are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness." These are very contrasting statements as we think about the Lord coming like a thief in the night, but then we are reminded that we are not of the night. Paul says we are not of the night, we are of the day. How do these two verses reconcile with each other? Is there surprise? Is there worry? Are we ready? The Answer:

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." I just did not get this passage as I grew up. I didn't even understand its full implications in my first couple years of seminary. It took me getting married and my wife having two children to understand this passage.

Being a child and growing up is one thing, but having children really helps you understand the Bible and casts it into a new light. I understood the idea of the due date and that a woman gave birth on the due date. I thought I was prepared for childbirth; after all, I'd seen it on tv. I knew what was coming. Wow, was I in for a shock when our boys were born.

It was a good thing I did those pre-natal classes with my wife, because it was a little shocking how different giving birth was in real life. Labor is hard. I'm glad I wasn't actually going through all the pain. If I had to give birth to our babies, there would be no babies. But the one interesting thing about labor is what caught my eye here in our text, once full blown labor has started it can't be stopped. Through amazing technology today the beginning stages of labor can be paused but they will eventually come again. The only way for the pregnant woman to stop her labor pains is to give birth to the baby.

Judgment day will come just as hard labor does, without any prior warning. But here again is the troubling problem, are we ready? The Lord is coming. It may be today. When He comes how will you respond? Will you be worried about your salvation? What will God say to you? Will you hear a greeting like the one servant did in the Gospel lesson, "you wicked and slothful servant...cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Or "Will you cry aloud when the day of the Lord comes upon you? Will you be in distress, walking like the blind because you have sinned against the Lord?" as Zephaniah prophesied in our Old Testament lesson.

The day is surely drawing near when Jesus, God's anointed, in all His power shall appear as judge whom God appointed. This is what we sang in our hymn of the day. Jesus is coming as judge. How will you base your case? How will you show your innocence? You can base your case on what the world says or for that matter what the world doesn't say or you can base it on what the Word says. The world today says your innocence is found in yourself. It is found in what I do. It is found in what I do? Are you kidding? Have you seen what I do? Am I perfect? Even if I try to count my good works, my good works do not erase what my sins have done.

You and I are not getting to heaven by what we do. The word of God is clear. If you are not perfect you do not pass go, you do not collect $200, you do not go to heaven. The greatest people on earth are not getting to heaven by what they do. Your pastor, the district president, the president of this synod, even the greatest theologian of the Lutheran church, Martin Luther himself, no one will get to heaven but what he does You cannot decide to follow Jesus. You cannot decide to do good works. You cannot come to faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot save yourself. So how can I possibly say that we are ready to live with him?

I can say it easily. Instead of listening to the world, listen to what the Word says, You are not in darkness brothers...for you are all children of light, children of the day...since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. These are words from Paul's mouth to our ears. The Lord does come like a thief in the night, but because we are in him we are ready. Christ's work makes us ready. The Holy Spirit working in our lives through the Word and Sacraments makes us ready.

I love to watch the history channel and The Learning Channel, especially when they talk about how medieval weapons and armor are made. The hours and hours that go into making one suit of armor is incredible. The craftsmanship that goes into a piece of armor takes years to master. Now think about the armor of God placed around you: the loving care put into the armor, the time put into the armor, the death put into creating your armor. How is the breast plate of faith and love and the helmet of our hope of salvation put on? It is not put on by us, but by the grace of our Lord and Savior. That's the beauty of it, we need not worry if we put it on right. We don't need to worry if there is a gap in our armor.

Our armor against Satan is solid. There is no holes in what Jesus has done for us. We are ready for the day of the Lord because God has made us ready through Christ. Christ's death on the cross makes us ready. We are ready because our eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit. We have been placed in the light of the day in the full glory of God's holy Word. We are prepared, being regularly fed by the eating and drinking of the Lord's body and blood. We have the armor of God bestowed on us in our Baptism.

This is why whether we are awake or asleep we have confidence on the day of the Lord, because it does not depend on us. We are ready because Jesus makes us ready. We are not destined for the wrath that Zephaniah prophesies because we do not even try to take some of the credit for our salvation but rather our hope of salvation, our faith, and love are all found in Jesus Christ alone. Every bit of our Christianity is found in his death, his resurrection, and his promise that he has won salvation for us.

With these encouraging words then Paul reminds us to "encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." How do we encourage others? How do we build one another up? How do we help them to be ready? We do this through our daily lives. Building one another up is the most important thing we do amongst our fellow Christians. Some do not always understand the doctrine and practice of the Lutheran church. It is important that we continue to teach and learn. We can help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to learn what the Word teaches; we especially are to help those who may not know of the love of Christ or who have fallen away from the church. You are vital in this part because it is you who your friends see every day. They witness Christ at work in you.

Encourage one another through word and song. Remember hymns such as the one we sang for the hymn of the day. My Savior paid the debt I owe, and for my sin was smitten; within the book of life I know my name has now been written. I will not doubt, for I am free, and Satan cannot threaten me; there is no condemnation.

May Christ our intercessor be and through His blood and merit read from His book that we are free with all who life inherit. Then we shall see Him face to face, with all His saints in that blest place which He has purchased for us. Hymns like these encourage us, they also build each of us up. It is with great joy that I sing these hymns loudly because they do help me to profess my faith and they do bring comfort and joy.

Our daily lives are filled with opportunities to help others. Here are just a couple examples I have noticed of building one another up: the Immanuel youth group took the afternoon a couple weeks ago to help a family in the church clean up their yard for the fall, and I have seen a full basket of non-perishable goods next to the office as people donate food to fill the local food pantries. There have been many people who have helped with the campus ministry, donating time, dinner, resources so that we may continue to reach out to our college students. Also, certainly not the least, are all the people who have donated time, money, and expertise in the renovation of our beautiful sanctuary and the celebration of Immanuel's 150th anniversary. These people don't need my recognition of the work they have done, but works like these are seen by people and they point people to Christ. There are so many other opportunities out there, and many others that I have not mentioned but are certainly God-pleasing. God knows they are doing good works.

We do good works because of our love for our Savior. We do them not to become children of the light, but because we are children of the light. We can do them because God has destined us for salvation. It was earned for us by Jesus death on the cross. It is given to us through our Baptism. It is renewed constantly in our hearing of the Word and in the administration of the sacraments as we eat his body and blood, and remember our Baptism daily.

We are ready to live with him. Whether we are awake now or we go to sleep in our graves, we are ready. Do not fear the coming of the Lord. Yes it will come like labor pains, like a thief in the night, when you least expect it. But oh joy of joys, by His Son God has made us His, He has made us children of the day. Through our baptism, through the sacrament of Holy Communion, through His Word, He has clothed us in the armor necessary to protect us from the evil one. You will not be in distress and anguish, you will not see devastation. Come Lord Jesus, You have made us ready for your triumphant return.