Worship

Christ is Coming!

Pastor JonAlden Pedersen

About this time of year two years ago my good friend called me to ask me if I was ready for Judgement Day. You see, he consumes a lot of knowledge, both good and evil, constantly online and follows Christians who post their thoughts on when the world is going to end. They calculate our proximity to the end by applying apocalyptic scriptures such as Daniel, or Zecheriah, or Revelation to current events. Apparently, the week that he called, there was a particular constellation in the sky that matched up with something said Revelation which to him was a clear sign that the world would end that very week. He also pointed to the increased turmoil going on in the Middle East as proof that it was all going to end. Since the stars were aligned and Israel was at war, my dear friend was convinced that Christ would return, and the world would end in just a couple of days…

Well… two years later there is no need for me to point out to him that he was incorrect. Yet the whole situation was valuable to me because it taught me two things:  #1 no matter how apparent it might be, no matter how figuratively, literally, or literalistically you interpret Revelation or Zecheriah or any of the other apocalyptic writings, no matter how badly you want to know, no one except the Father will ever truly know when the Day of the Lord – or Judgement Day – will be. #2: While my friend was wrong to predict the exact day or even week, he was 100% right to be aware of, watching, and preparing for the end. Ultimately, that is exactly what God wants us to know through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. Christ is coming… and we need to be prepared every day and be reminded that we belong to the day.

The spreading of the Gospel from the time of the Ascension has always included the return of Christ. That return is the hope that fuels discipleship. It emboldened the first Christians to follow their King, walking in the Way even to death, because they knew their Lord Jesus already ruled. Whether they saw him coming on the clouds before they died or immediately after mattered not—the Resurrection was already theirs. In chapter 5 Paul is still building that same kingdom hope by urging the Thessalonians to be ready every single day. To prepare for the kingdom of heaven by living as a citizen of it. From the Ascension until this very moment the kingdom has been coming. In this time of grace the Lord has given his children ample opportunity to repent and turn to his Son. And thanks be to God, brothers and sisters, that is exactly what you have been doing. Week after week you cry, “Lord, have mercy!” You receive the very body and blood that unite us to him and to one another. You have been baptized. You keep returning to the Word, confessing your sins, and receiving the forgiveness Christ freely gives through his means of grace. In that, you stand right where the Thessalonians stood—children of the day, already claimed, still watching.

And just as Paul warned the Thessalonians about those in the night, those in the dark, we must all be warned about those unbelievers today… so that as that clock ticks and His Kingdom comes, we might not be led astray when Jesus descends from those clouds as that last trumpet sounds.

You see, as that clock is ticking and we are living in a time of grace, it seems more and more the world is living in the opposite time, it is trading grace for judgement. People not only disregard God’s Word, not taking the time to consider it (even though it’s never been easier to study it), but through their own consumption of the knowledge of good and evil, humanity is chartering its own course, judging for themselves what is worthy and unworthy. Praising those images online that match their ethos and chastising the rest. The hope for the world rests not in Christ, but in its own prince, who crowns its own intellect supreme over the mind of its Creator. The goal of this world, from its princes eyes, is to lull its inhabitants into a false sense of ‘peace and safety’ until they become entirely consumed with their own fleshly desires. And Paul warns the Thessalonians and us that when that clock runs out, destruction will come upon them suddenly, and any sense of peace and safety that will or will not have been achieved… will not matter.

The problem lies in this: there are so many people unconcerned and uninformed about these crucial words of Paul! They neglect the gift of grace in Jesus, the wisdom of Word. They argue, “Well where do we see God in the world right now? With all the unrest across the globe?” The answer is right here, right in front of us, in the Words that the Holy Spirit led Paul and the Apostles to write. In the people who carry the Message of Christ. God has chosen to reveal himself in the Means of Grace, and invites us to distribute them. His Spirit is living in the people who are being conformed into the likeness of the Son of God, who is the image of God. Yet all the while kingdom comes, the dark struggle across the globe to pursue peace and safety. They pursue engineering their own kingdom with their own ruler made in their own image. Their pursuits are in vain. They are looking for perfect peace and safety in places that will only hasten their destruction. It’s as if the world forgot the one thing that unified us all in the first place two thousand years ago, but many have not forgotten, many have heard and have hardened. They are not motivated by the grace of Jesus. The only thing that inspires the dark is their own drunken, selfish, and misguided knowledge of good and evil.

So listen to Paul when he tells us to not be like them! Don’t become like those drunken by a false understanding of what peace and safety is, but be alert and self-controlled. Understand what matters during these last days: repentance-both from the evil you have done and the good you think you have done and trust that Christ Jesus forgave your sins by his suffering and death, it is this gospel message that prevails.

But how often do we lose focus of that Gospel? How soon do we let those in darkness distract us from the light of the world? Or how slow are we to let that light shine through us to our friends, to our family, to our neighbors, even to ourselves in this room? Instead of being ready for when that final trumpet sounds, when that thief in the night comes, we distract ourselves into this false sense of what matters. Will you and those you love be surprised when that clock runs out or will you be ready? Will you be like those who are asleep? Those who are drunk? Or will you be alert and self-controlled? Will you be prepared every day?

If at any point so far, you have started wondering whether or not you are actually ready for the Day of the Lord: do not be afraid, but hear Paul’s words to the Christians in Thessalonica, and God’s Word for you in verse 9 and 10: “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together through him.” Let the truth of God permeate: Christ suffered wrath for us that we may be sure that we do, through God’s own election, belong to the day.

The Father appointed the Son to suffer wrath for us. He suffered the wrath of men as he was abandoned by his own disciples, and as he was mocked by others who claimed “peace and safety” were on their side. He suffered the wrath the Evil One caused as he paid for the sins from the beginning of time until now, and has to suffer through the rejection of man still today by seeds of doubt planted by the devil. Above all, he suffered the very wrath of God as he was forsaken and separated from his Father, drinking the cup stored up from both your sin and mine. This is how we know that ultimately the Gospel will prevail. Jesus endured wrath so that those who know him never have to fear that wrath, but miraculously can expect heaven, knowing that our Father gives us this gift with joy.

Therefore, as the world continues to spiral into a mess of its own making, as the darkness and the children of darkness try to dissuade you from this gospel truth you are reminded of week after week, continue to focus and point others to the Light of the World by being children of the light. Remember that the only one who knows when the clock will run out is God, and right now that clock is running for those in unbelief. If you will be concerned about anything outside these walls, be concerned for them, the ones who do not guard themselves with faith, love, and the hope of salvation. Yes brothers and sisters, you are prepared for the Day of the Lord, but who do you know that isn’t? Use the times we are in to not join in judging with those in the dark, but by sharing the hope you have with them, waking them up to join you in waiting for the Coming of Christ.

If you’re not sure where to start, then begin here, just as we do every week. Build each other up through continual study of the Word, and discuss what you learned or what stuck with you to your loved ones. Encourage those members who haven’t been regularly worshiping that now is the time to start up again, to gather again, to focus on what really matters again.

The exact date or hour or week is not what really matters. Don’t distract yourself with these theories like my good friend, but to emulate his urgency. Be prepared for the Day of the Lord and make progressive steps forward in preparing others for the Day of the Lord, invite them to be children of the day, children of the light, followers of Christ, confident in their place in heaven, convinced in this truth: Surely, Christ is coming soon! Amen.