Children of the Light
Before you kiddo’s disappear to Children’s Church, I have a question for you. How many of you are scared of the dark? It’s ok to raise your hand, I know two that should go up immediately. I was terrified of the dark as a kid. Still am. Just for kicks, how many adults are willing to admit they are scared of the dark? What is it about the dark that kids are scared of? What makes you scared of the dark? What is it about the light that is comforting? One of the replies I’ve heard is that you can see what’s going on.
Do you ever have the feeling that something is watching you or following you? It’s a creepy feeling. That’s what I feel when I am walking in the dark…outside or inside…more prominently inside. That is the best way for me to explain to you what I feel in the dark. I feel like someone or something is following me. It’s just eerie.
Today in our Scripture, Paul talks about being sons of the day vs. sons of the night or darkness. It’s going to be 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. If you would, please follow along with me.
1 About the times and the seasons: brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that this day would overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We're not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must be sober and put the armor of faith and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.
It is obvious that this Scripture is talking about the Day of the Lord; the Second Coming of Christ. When I scheduled this sermon, I don’t remember doing it on purpose to coincide with the false prophecy of the end of the world on October 21st by Harold Camping. However, more recently, I’ve been asked about the seriousness by various individuals all over about my opinion on October 21st, December 21, 2012 and various other “End of the World” prophesies. My usual response is usually Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about that day or hour…” However, our Scripture here today in 1 Thessalonians is another tool to learn from.
Paul is writing to Thessalonica and in this particular passage, is telling them that they don’t need Paul to write to them about this particular subject. Paul proceeds to explain that The Day of the Lord will come unexpectedly. They are not in the dark that they would be caught up in this. Paul explains that we are sons of the day…sons of the light; not darkness or night.
It is explained that they must not sleep, but remain awake and sober. The people who are asleep, do so at night and those who are drunk, also do so at night.
I’m going to pause here for a second and begin to relate this to our own particular day and age. We all know that The Second Coming of Christ will come at a time when we least expect it. We know that we are not in the dark. The Scriptures tell us we are Children of the Light; that light being Jesus Christ. Because we are indeed children of the light, we will not be caught up in the events of the Second Coming of Christ. We are Christ’s co-heirs; we will be right alongside him; not objects of his wrath.
So what are we to make of the whole sleeping and sober bit? Do we really have to stay awake 24/7? Does this mean we cannot drink? Well, this isn’t to be taken literally. It is not possible to stay awake all the time. The word used here is to be taken in a spiritual sense. We cannot be Spiritually asleep. We need to be spiritually sober. We need to be sure that we are conscious of our spirituality at all times; awake and aware of what’s going on.
We all know what it means to be spiritually awake; coherent, alive and on fire for God. Spiritually sober is like this: alcohol affects our judgment if we drink too much. People when they have had too many drinks do things they would never normally do. Now relate this to a spiritual sense. In a spiritual sense, the world is alcohol…too much of the world and we will do things that we would never do if we were sober. We need to be fully conscious of the outside influences on our lives and not automatically shut down everything we know to be true in the Light of Christ.
Those that are not spiritually awake or sober are the unsaved. These are the people that are so absorbed in everything they ‘think’ to be true that they are lost…they are children of the darkness. They live their entire lives (unless they come to faith) in the darkness that the devil clouds them in.
So, what this means is that just because someone comes up with a misguided plan and date for the end of the world, whether it be last Friday the 21st, or next year on 12/21/12, do not take leave of our senses…be spiritually awake and sober to realize that these are nothing more than mere false prophets attempting to lead people astray.
Paul tells us to put on our armor, something he wrote about to the church in Ephesus, though abbreviated here in 1 Thessalonians. We must be sober, put on our armor of faith and love and the hope of salvation on our heads, so that way we can be clear of our designation of Children of the Light.
We are not to be objects of wrath, but gave us salvation through Christ. God loved each and every one of us equally enough to provide the sacrifice for us.
Now this next part is tricky. Verse 10 talks about whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. Some take this to say that whether we are dead or alive. I contend, after studying the verbage here in the Greek in depth, that Paul is not talking in the sense of being dead or alive, but spiritually awake or asleep.
Sometimes as Christians, we fall asleep. Something happens and we lose our fire or even just get lazy. So, whether or not we are spiritually on fire or lazy, we will gather together to live with Christ at that time. Now, this is not a free pass to do whatever we want and just get spiritually lazy; but look at the next verse here. We have the idea; encourage each other and build each other up.
Right now, I want to share a story with you. I found this on a website called persecution.com; it is a website that is better known as The Voice of the Martyrs. This is the story they report.
A young Christian was forced to choose between faith and family recently when her relatives demanded that she recant her faith. On Sept. 19, 2011, 21-year-old Ying was preparing to leave for classes at an underground seminary when her relatives locked her in the house. They threatened to disown her, beat her and withdraw support — including food —if she continued to attend seminary or church. In addition, they threatened to send her to a remote village with no known Christians if she did not recant her faith. Instead of giving in to their demands, Ying ran away from home and left her family behind.
Ying’s mother died when Ying was young, and her father left her with an aunt and two stepsisters. Although she grew up and lived in a Buddhist family, Ying became interested in Christianity. When she was 20 years old, she overheard an evangelist telling a neighboring family about Christ. Ying approached the evangelist and asked him questions about Christianity. At 20 years old, she became a Christian. Ying began to attend seminary immediately after her conversion. Since leaving her family last month, she has had no means of support. VOM is now helping pay Ying’s seminary fees and living expenses. After she completes seminary, Ying hopes to serve as a missionary to people who have never heard about Christ.
Do you know where this took place? Myanmar. Here are a few facts about that country.
Myanmar (also known as Burma) has a political system that remains under the tight control of the State Peace and Development Council, the military government in place since 1992. Officially, Buddhism is no longer the state religion, but it is actively promoted by the military regime. All those who advocate improved human rights are harassed or imprisoned. After a cyclone devastated much of the country on May 3, 2008, the military junta limited international humanitarian aid to storm victims. Religion: Buddhist 82.90%, Christian 8.70%
The government of Burma continues to discourage, harass and use other, more severe, forms of persecution on any group it considers harmful to the state. Christianity is high on the list, even though the government claims freedom of religion in Burma. A secret memo titled “Program to destroy the Christian religion in Burma” details instructions on how to drive out Christians. It calls for anyone caught evangelizing to be imprisoned. VOM has received widespread reports of churches being burned, forcible conversion of Christians to Buddhism and Christian children being barred from schools. Ethnic Christians, in particular, are singled out for repression because of the government’s goal to create a uniform society of one language, one ethnicity and one religion.This story was put on the website only a month ago.
These are the kinds of things that our missionary is going through. I can’t and won’t know for sure, but there is a strong possibility that this young lady is being ministered to by our missionary. Our support allows that.
Encouragement. Whether abroad or right here within our congregation, it is our duty to help the spiritually lazy awaken. It is our job to carry the light into the darkness. We will be persecuted. We will be tortured, maimed and ridiculed. But we are the Children of the Light; be encouraged by that; take it and use it this week to share that light with someone else. In truth, we have nothing to fear from the dark; because we have the ultimate Light behind us.
Do you ever have the feeling that something is watching you or following you? It’s a creepy feeling. That’s what I feel when I am walking in the dark…outside or inside…more prominently inside. That is the best way for me to explain to you what I feel in the dark. I feel like someone or something is following me. It’s just eerie.
Today in our Scripture, Paul talks about being sons of the day vs. sons of the night or darkness. It’s going to be 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. If you would, please follow along with me.
1 About the times and the seasons: brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that this day would overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We're not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must be sober and put the armor of faith and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.
It is obvious that this Scripture is talking about the Day of the Lord; the Second Coming of Christ. When I scheduled this sermon, I don’t remember doing it on purpose to coincide with the false prophecy of the end of the world on October 21st by Harold Camping. However, more recently, I’ve been asked about the seriousness by various individuals all over about my opinion on October 21st, December 21, 2012 and various other “End of the World” prophesies. My usual response is usually Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about that day or hour…” However, our Scripture here today in 1 Thessalonians is another tool to learn from.
Paul is writing to Thessalonica and in this particular passage, is telling them that they don’t need Paul to write to them about this particular subject. Paul proceeds to explain that The Day of the Lord will come unexpectedly. They are not in the dark that they would be caught up in this. Paul explains that we are sons of the day…sons of the light; not darkness or night.
It is explained that they must not sleep, but remain awake and sober. The people who are asleep, do so at night and those who are drunk, also do so at night.
I’m going to pause here for a second and begin to relate this to our own particular day and age. We all know that The Second Coming of Christ will come at a time when we least expect it. We know that we are not in the dark. The Scriptures tell us we are Children of the Light; that light being Jesus Christ. Because we are indeed children of the light, we will not be caught up in the events of the Second Coming of Christ. We are Christ’s co-heirs; we will be right alongside him; not objects of his wrath.
So what are we to make of the whole sleeping and sober bit? Do we really have to stay awake 24/7? Does this mean we cannot drink? Well, this isn’t to be taken literally. It is not possible to stay awake all the time. The word used here is to be taken in a spiritual sense. We cannot be Spiritually asleep. We need to be spiritually sober. We need to be sure that we are conscious of our spirituality at all times; awake and aware of what’s going on.
We all know what it means to be spiritually awake; coherent, alive and on fire for God. Spiritually sober is like this: alcohol affects our judgment if we drink too much. People when they have had too many drinks do things they would never normally do. Now relate this to a spiritual sense. In a spiritual sense, the world is alcohol…too much of the world and we will do things that we would never do if we were sober. We need to be fully conscious of the outside influences on our lives and not automatically shut down everything we know to be true in the Light of Christ.
Those that are not spiritually awake or sober are the unsaved. These are the people that are so absorbed in everything they ‘think’ to be true that they are lost…they are children of the darkness. They live their entire lives (unless they come to faith) in the darkness that the devil clouds them in.
So, what this means is that just because someone comes up with a misguided plan and date for the end of the world, whether it be last Friday the 21st, or next year on 12/21/12, do not take leave of our senses…be spiritually awake and sober to realize that these are nothing more than mere false prophets attempting to lead people astray.
Paul tells us to put on our armor, something he wrote about to the church in Ephesus, though abbreviated here in 1 Thessalonians. We must be sober, put on our armor of faith and love and the hope of salvation on our heads, so that way we can be clear of our designation of Children of the Light.
We are not to be objects of wrath, but gave us salvation through Christ. God loved each and every one of us equally enough to provide the sacrifice for us.
Now this next part is tricky. Verse 10 talks about whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. Some take this to say that whether we are dead or alive. I contend, after studying the verbage here in the Greek in depth, that Paul is not talking in the sense of being dead or alive, but spiritually awake or asleep.
Sometimes as Christians, we fall asleep. Something happens and we lose our fire or even just get lazy. So, whether or not we are spiritually on fire or lazy, we will gather together to live with Christ at that time. Now, this is not a free pass to do whatever we want and just get spiritually lazy; but look at the next verse here. We have the idea; encourage each other and build each other up.
Right now, I want to share a story with you. I found this on a website called persecution.com; it is a website that is better known as The Voice of the Martyrs. This is the story they report.
A young Christian was forced to choose between faith and family recently when her relatives demanded that she recant her faith. On Sept. 19, 2011, 21-year-old Ying was preparing to leave for classes at an underground seminary when her relatives locked her in the house. They threatened to disown her, beat her and withdraw support — including food —if she continued to attend seminary or church. In addition, they threatened to send her to a remote village with no known Christians if she did not recant her faith. Instead of giving in to their demands, Ying ran away from home and left her family behind.
Ying’s mother died when Ying was young, and her father left her with an aunt and two stepsisters. Although she grew up and lived in a Buddhist family, Ying became interested in Christianity. When she was 20 years old, she overheard an evangelist telling a neighboring family about Christ. Ying approached the evangelist and asked him questions about Christianity. At 20 years old, she became a Christian. Ying began to attend seminary immediately after her conversion. Since leaving her family last month, she has had no means of support. VOM is now helping pay Ying’s seminary fees and living expenses. After she completes seminary, Ying hopes to serve as a missionary to people who have never heard about Christ.
Do you know where this took place? Myanmar. Here are a few facts about that country.
Myanmar (also known as Burma) has a political system that remains under the tight control of the State Peace and Development Council, the military government in place since 1992. Officially, Buddhism is no longer the state religion, but it is actively promoted by the military regime. All those who advocate improved human rights are harassed or imprisoned. After a cyclone devastated much of the country on May 3, 2008, the military junta limited international humanitarian aid to storm victims. Religion: Buddhist 82.90%, Christian 8.70%
The government of Burma continues to discourage, harass and use other, more severe, forms of persecution on any group it considers harmful to the state. Christianity is high on the list, even though the government claims freedom of religion in Burma. A secret memo titled “Program to destroy the Christian religion in Burma” details instructions on how to drive out Christians. It calls for anyone caught evangelizing to be imprisoned. VOM has received widespread reports of churches being burned, forcible conversion of Christians to Buddhism and Christian children being barred from schools. Ethnic Christians, in particular, are singled out for repression because of the government’s goal to create a uniform society of one language, one ethnicity and one religion.This story was put on the website only a month ago.
These are the kinds of things that our missionary is going through. I can’t and won’t know for sure, but there is a strong possibility that this young lady is being ministered to by our missionary. Our support allows that.
Encouragement. Whether abroad or right here within our congregation, it is our duty to help the spiritually lazy awaken. It is our job to carry the light into the darkness. We will be persecuted. We will be tortured, maimed and ridiculed. But we are the Children of the Light; be encouraged by that; take it and use it this week to share that light with someone else. In truth, we have nothing to fear from the dark; because we have the ultimate Light behind us.
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