Sunday, October 13, 2019

As A Thief In the Night, So Our Lord Will Return.


As a thief in the night.

Thieves like the cover of darkness, right? Nowadays it seems as if a lot of thieves don't wait for the cover of darkness, but do their evil in the broad daylight. For all that are they are getting bolder, a lot of crimes- thievery among them- are committed at night. It's always better to have a natural shroud covering actions you don't want any witness to. Many thieves will wear dark clothes in order to blend in with the night, and some will even put dark masks on, or cover their faces with dark make up.  A thief in the night is largely unseen especially in the days before motion sensor activated flood lights. Thieves adapt to their surroundings though and will case out places they want to rob. If they notice anti-theft devices set up they will prepare to take them out if the robbery warrants the pay off. Thieves in the night are stealthy and often go completely unnoticed. The only evidence of their having been there is the proof they leave behind by taking the belongings of the one they are robbing.

So, why all this talk of a thief in the night? Because just LIKE a thief in the night- unseen, unnoticed, shrouded in darkness- leaving the victim completely unaware of their working- we read this-

1Th 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 

You read that right. The DAY OF THE LORD COMES as a thief in the night.

That's a far cry from proclaiming 'every eye shall see Him' 'like lightening from the sky shining from east to west' 'with a loud cry, the trump shall sound', thieves do not trumpet their arrival, and they do not shine bright light anywhere. So what does it mean, this analogy? It means, people aren't PREPARED for thieves that sneak in and thwart all the cautious setups to deter them. When lo and behold you've been robbed it often comes as quite the shock because no one knows when a thief may strike. If you knew a robber was coming to your house you would not go to sleep that night, you'd stay awake and scare them off. You would NOT be taken off guard.

But just like a thief, the day of the Lord is going to arrive and the majority of people are going to be taken by surprised, being completely unprepared.

1Th 5:3  For 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. 

As long as our main focus is upon this world, we are not going to be prepared. It is going to be the person who lives and breathes the truth that the day of Lord is coming, who will NOT be taken by surprise. If we are taking comfort in the fact our lives are pretty much predictable- the sun will rise, we will wake up, our daily routine will begin and continue with the occasional unexpected interference, then the sun sets, but by and large we live in familiarity. When sudden destruction does occur, we aren't prepared. Women who are pregnant and nearing their due date, they are expecting the pangs of contractions to hit at any moment, and still when it happens they are unprepared completely- why? Because they don't KNOW exactly when it will happen. Not only that, once true labor begins there is no stopping it. Many a show on tv has depicted women in labor crying out that they aren't ready for it to happen, that they want it to stop, and so on and so forth because of the fear they are filled with. They'll say stuff like, 'I don't want to do this.'  All the while they know there is no stopping what's happening whether they want it to happen or not.

People who are not ready for the LORD to return at any moment, will be shocked, and unable to stop what is happening so they can prepare. It will happen and they will face their own destruction with the knowledge they had a chance to prepare but they chose not to.

1Th 5:4  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 

Those waiting and watching for the Lord's return at any moment, they will not be surprised as if being robbed in the night.

1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 

We are children of God who know that Christ is returning, and we are waiting for His return. There will be no surprise for us. It will be a glorious event, long anticipated that finally happens and only pure joy will fill our hearts.

1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 
1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 

1Th 5:8  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. 

Those of us who are aware of our Savior returning, and live our lives in that expectation must live accordingly. We have to have our lives filled with faith and love, with the hope of salvation.  When we live for here and now we will forever face a multitude of disappointments. When we live for the day of our Lord's return, we recognize the truth that the life we are intended for is in the future world, not this one.

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 
1Th 5:11  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. 

We are appointed to salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord who died for us. It won't matter if we die before our Savior returns if we die in the hope of His return. When Christ returns those who died in that faith will rise up from death and join those living in that faith- and we will all live with our Savior!

We need to COMFORT each other with these words. We need to build up the faith of each other constantly. We have to keep the hope before us always!

All through the grace and love, the will, the mercy of our God! All by Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit sent to comfort us and keep us in the love of God, now and forever!

Amen.

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