The Model Life: Alertness, Part 4

Take your Bible and turn to 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 as we continue to look at the day of the Lord and what it means to Live a life of alertness as a as a model person in the kingdom of God It's a great study as we begin to understand more of what God has for us concerning his coming again, such an important passage of of Scripture and so Paul tells us that the model life is one about being alert Being sober-minded being being vigilant you know the Bible says that we need to be alert to the assaults of sin and Unrighteousness need to be alert to the attacks of Satan In fact Peter says it this way be on the alert first Peter 5 8 be vigilant Be be sober minded because your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion Seeking who may be may devour we need to be awake and and alert to that and The Lord would say something very similar in in Matthew's gospel

In fact, he would say this Matthew chapter 24 verse number 42 therefore be on the alert for you Do not know which day your Lord is coming But be sure of this that if you had heard of or excuse me that if the head of the house Had known at what time of the night the thief was coming he would Have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into For this reason you also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour when you do not think you will Verse 13 of chapter 25 be on the alert then for you do not know the day nor the hour Then in Mark's gospel the 13th chapter take heed keep on the alert for you do not know when the appointed time will come It's like a man away on a journey who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge Assigning to each one his task also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert Therefore beyond the alert for you do not know when the master of the house is coming Whether in the evening at midnight or when the rooster crows or in the morning in Case he should come suddenly and find you asleep What I say to you I say to all beyond the alert So many of us are affected by the stupefying effects of sin That we are not awake

We are not vigilant We are not alert but the model life is defined by alertness being awake as to the the activity of Satan the assaults of sin and the arrival of Christ Coming again That is just so important for us to grasp and so Paul begins in First Thessalonians chapter 5 by saying this is how you remain alert Number one you need to be reminded of certain things number two need to be responsible number three You need to be refreshed and number four you need to be Reliable that takes us to the 11 verses of first Thessalonians chapter 5 So he says you need to be reminded of several things number one He says in verse number one now as to the times and epics brethren You have no need of anything to be written to you But you need to be reminded of the times why because the time of Christ's coming is Unknowable and Unchangeable it's unknowable because no one knows a day nor the hour it's unchangeable because acts 1 7 tells us that the Lord has fixed a Specific time for his arrival

So it's an unchangeable time Although it's an unknowable time He moves from the time to the term the day of the Lord first to for you yourselves No, farewell that the day of the Lord will come

That's the term the day of the Lord the day of the Lord is a term that is unmistakable and Unforgettable, it's unmistakable because it's reiterated over and over again 19 times in the Old Testament four times in the New Testament, but not only is it Unmistakable, it's unforgettable because Christ says in Matthew 24 verse number 21 There has never been a day like it nor will there be a day like it after it comes because it is so Unforgettable then he moves to the thief and he says this For the you know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night thief comes unexpectedly the thief comes suddenly so the arrival of the thief is Unpredictable and yet it's unquestionable because in 2nd Peter 3 10 and Matthew 24 in the book of Revelation it talks about the fact that the Lord will come like a thief in the night and then he says this number for Reminder of the terror of the Lord when he says while they are saying peace and safety Then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child and they will not escape the terror will be Unimaginable and Unpreventable that's what we talked about Last time but it's one more I want to add to this reminder and that is what we call the thrill of the day of the Lord See, well, how could there be thrill when it's all about gloominess and darkness and in death and disaster and in earthquakes and demonic activity Where is the thrill and all that? Will cry Paul says this through the pen of the Lord But you brethren are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief But you brethren There is a thrill in this whole day of the Lord activity that you need to understand It's a thrill that that sometimes we lose sight of amidst all the terror of the judgment of the Lord So, let me point it out to you in four specific ways What the thrill of the day of the Lord is that we need to be reminded of? The first is this that the power of God is going to be displayed The power of God will be displayed unlike at any other time in the history of the world Few with us on Resurrection Sunday We talked about Revelation 1 verse number 8 where it says that the Lord is the Almighty the Pantocrator nine times

It's used in the book of Revelation ten times in the New Testament But nine in the book of Revelation because that's when the almighty power of God is put on display the most in fact If you want to know and understand the power of God just read the book of Revelation because it's it's quite displayed in Magnificent ways In fact, let me show you it says this in Revelation 15 Revelation chapter 15 verse number 3 and they sing the song of Moses the bondservant of God and The song of the Lamb saying great and marvelous are your works

Oh Lord God the Almighty Righteous and true are your ways king of the nations The song of Moses is simply the the the new song it's the same as the song of the Lamb It's a song of a soul made new

It's a song that redemption sings And it's all about the judgment of God the almighty power of God and notice what it says that God's mighty power in his ways Are faithful and they are true That's very important because you go to Revelation 16 and it says this in verse number four then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters and they became blood and I heard the angel the water saying Righteous are you who are and who were Oh Holy One? Because you judged these things for they poured out the blood of the Saints and prophets and you have given them blood to drink They deserve it and I heard the altar saying yes Lord God the Almighty true and righteous are Your judgments again

God's judgments are true God's judgments are righteous Why is that important a few weeks ago? We took you all took you all the way back to the book of Isaiah the 29th chapter which says that God's righteousness is seen in his judgments we took you to Psalm 9 where it says that God's Judgments display his righteous character The best way to know God is through the judgments of God That's what the Old Testament teaches us So when you read the book of Revelation, the judgments are God are faithful They are true

They are righteous all together that's what is keep being said over and over and over again and Then over in Revelation chapter 19, it says how hallelujah verse number one salvation and glory and power belong to our God because his judgments are true and righteous for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality and he has avenged the blood of His bondservants

So again, the Almighty God has power who demonstrate it righteously and justly that's the way God works and so what happens is that when you understand the day of the Lord and the thrill of that day The world will finally begin to see and understand the almighty power of God Because this power is on display We know that through salvation because we have been transferred from darkness into light We are children of the light We are not children of the of the night

We are children of the day We're born again, but we've been transferred into God's kingdom We've experienced the power of God in salvation We understand God's power But the world does not think about it when Christ was was on earth He displayed power over demons He displayed power over disease He displayed power over the depths of the sea but people didn't Understand his power They didn't believe in his power They thought it was great for a time, but they didn't understand the message behind the power One day all the world will see the power of God on display

That's the thrill of the day of the Lord That's the thrill of us coming again

That's what we need to be reminded of There is great thrill in knowing that Christ is going to come again His power will be displayed and after his power is displayed then his Preeminence is declared his preeminence is declared Let me read to you what What Isaiah says in Isaiah 45 It says look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else I have sworn by myself The word has gone out of my mouth and righteousness and shall not return That unto me every knee shall bow every tongue shall swear Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength Even to him shall men come and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory Zechariah 14 verse number 9 and the Lord shall be king over all the earth in that day Shall there be one Lord in his name one Revelation 11 15 and the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven Saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of us Christ and he shall reign forevermore revelation 19 16 He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written king of kings and lord of lords I read you those verses because you need to know what the Bible says Revelation 1 verse number 7

It says that this one who is faithful and true is the key is the is the Is the ruler of the kings of the earth? His preeminence will finally and ultimately Be demonstrated and declared for all the world to see so that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father that that's why it's such a Thrilling thing because the world will finally see and know what we know And although they won't be saved they will all bow before him because he's the preeminent one He's the king of all kings and Lord of all lords

That's why the day of the Lord is so thrilling So not only is the power of God displayed and the preeminence of God Declared But know this that the people of God Israel Will be delivered That's why this is so thrilling Listen to these verses. I'm gonna read several of them to you Ezekiel 37 25 to 28 and they shall dwell in the land that I have given it to Jacob my servant Wearing your fathers have dwelt and they shall dwell therein Even they and their children and their children's children forever and my servant David shall be their prince Forever moreover. I will make a covenant of peace with them

It shall be an everlasting covenant with them and I will be their God They shall be my people and the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel When my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forever Then in Joel chapter 2 verse number 32 and it shall come to pass That whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be delivered for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord has said and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call Zechariah 12 verse number 10 and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and Shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn Zechariah 13 verse number 1 in that day there shall be a Fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness Romans 11 25 for I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery Lest you should be wise in your own conceits that blindness is in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in and so all Israel shall be saved as It is written there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away in godliness from Jacob For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins God is going to deliver his people Israel

There's going to be the salvation of Israel I read you those verses because the Bible is filled with verses concerning Israel's ultimate deliverance you need to understand this and that that's that's what leads us to our our fourth point in terms of the thrill of the day of the Lord and Christ coming again of what we need to be reminded of is not only will the power of God be Displayed and and the person or the pre-announce of Christ be declared and the people of God be be delivered But the promises of God listen carefully the promises of God will finally Be done This is so important The promises of God will finally be done if you got your Bible turn with me to the book of Zechariah the book of Zechariah So I'm going to give you a lot of verses

We're going to read through a lot of things here We're going to look at a lot of different aspects of it So so hold on tight you might not be able to take all the notes you want to take down That's okay listen carefully you can always listen to it tomorrow I just download it on our website And you can get take you can stop it where you want to stop it You can stop me where you want to stop me and take your notes, okay, but this is just very very important I want you to grasp this because this is the the thrill of the day of the Lord Amidst all the terror amidst all the the the tragedy amidst all the the horrific things that are going to happen There's a great thrill behind all this

It's the motive of the Lord because he wants to display his power He wants to declare his preeminence He wants to deliver his people Israel That's what he wants to do, and that's thrilling to us, but he also wants to show you that all of his promises Will be done the book of Zechariah Zechariah's name means God remembers Okay, and Tim had mentioned earlier you see when God remembers

It's not because he forgot It's not because he's absent-minded No For God to remember something simply means that he is going to fulfill his Promises he's going to act on behalf of his people And in the book of Zechariah is summed up in the very first chapter in the very first verse Listen to what it says Zechariah 1 1 in the eighth month of the second year of Darius the word of the Lord came to Zechariah whose name means God remembers the prophet Is that right a prophet the son of Barakaya the son of Edu Edu

Okay, very important Barakaya his father Edu his grandfather Barakaya his name means God will bless His grandfather's name means at the appointed time So the sum of the book is this God will bless at the appointed time That's why God remembers God remembers to bless at the appointed time God fulfills his promise at the appointed time Isn't that great? See you we forget about this that God in his promises are always fulfilled at the proper appointed time Never too late Never too early Just on time That's how God functions And the whole world runs on his timetable

He's in charge of everything so the book of Zechariah Is quoted to our alluded to 41 times in the New Testament You probably didn't know that did you? 41 times and I told you a couple of weeks ago There's a phrase It's an eschatological phrase that goes with the Day of the Lord

It's called in that day in that day is used a hundred and Fifteen times in the Bible seven of those times in the New Testament The rest are in the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah 43 times Isaiah refers to the phrase in that day now Why do I give you those numbers? Because the repetition of the phrase is very very important to understand how it all comes together If it's a phrase that describes the Messiah's arrival the deliverance of evil of Israel The the day of the Lord you need to understand what it means when God says in that day this is going to happen So turn to Zechariah chapter 12 Zechariah chapter 12 Because in Zechariah 12 13 and 14 the phrase in that day occurs 16 times 16 times God wants you to know that there's gonna there's gonna There's something that's gonna happen in that day Israel will be delivered Israel will be saved the King will come the King will reign and there's another phrase that goes along with that in that day in the phrase is by God saying I Will Okay, because he wants you to know that everything about the end is under his control Everything about the end is not under the control of your EV vehicle Okay, or whether or not you use this amount of emissions that stem from your car None of that has to do with the end of the world God has everything to do with the end of the world because he controls the end right? He's in charge of the end He knows how it all comes together You can recycle everything you want

It makes no difference It's not gonna change anything God's in charge of everything Please understand that and God has a plan He's faithful to fulfill it That's why I love the phrase in Revelation We talked about last week in Resurrection Sunday He's faithful Witness he's faithful and true Revelation 3 14 He's faithful and true Revelation 19 verse number 6 He is a faithful God He is true to his word

He is true to his promises So he says in the end of Zechariah. I will do this I will do that in that day. I'm in charge So look at it with me for a minute Revelation 12 verse 2 behold I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the people around God says I will do that He says in verse 3 it will come about that in that day There's the phrase that I will make Jeremiah a heavy stone for all the people verse 4 in that day declares the Lord I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness Okay, doesn't necessarily mean that they're gonna be horses horses stand for power stand for strength so all those who have power and all those who are in charge of power are gonna be struck with Bewilderment and madness God says I'm gonna do that. I'm in charge He says in verse number 4 in that day declares the Lord I will strike every horse with bewilderment and the rider with madness But I will watch over the house of Judah and I will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness Notice the contrast I will do something specifically for Israel I will watch over them in that day, but I will strike everyone else with with blindness He says down in verse number 6 in that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fire pot among the pieces of wood and the flaming torch among the Sheaves so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples God's gonna do something so unique in the villages of Israel during the tribulation that God's gonna make them a fire pot They're gonna be on fire for the Lord and it cannot be defeated because God's in charge He says in verse number 8 in that day

The Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem and The one who was feeble among them in that day Verse number 9 and in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem verse 10 I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication verse 13 chapter 13 verse number 1 in that day a Fountain will be open for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and purity Verse 2 it will come about that in that day declares the Lord of Hosts that I will cut off the names of the idols From the land and they will no longer be remembered and I will also Remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land verse 4 It will also come about that in that day The prophets will each be ashamed Verse number 7 and I will turn my hand against the little ones verse number 9 and I will bring the third part through the fire Verse number 9 and I will answer them and I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is my God So important chapter 14 verse number 2 for I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle That's that's Revelation chapter 16

God gathers all the nations together So why does God do that God uses Satan as his instrument but God is doing this God God's in charge of all this No one else is it says then the Lord will go forth verse 3 and Fight against those nations as when he fights on the day of battle in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives verse 6 in that day There will be no light the Illuminati's will dwindle verse 8 and in that day Living waters will flow out of Jerusalem verse number 9 and the Lord will be king over all the earth in that day Notice he will be king over all the earth in that day verse number 12 of chapter 14 Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet and their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongue will rot in Their mouth it will come about in that day That a great panic from the Lord will fall on them and they will seize one another's hand and the hand of one will be lifted up against another How does God do all that this speaks a word and they're incinerated they melt Verse 20 in that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses Holy to the Lord and in the last verse of Zechariah It says and there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day He makes it very clear that there's coming a day It's that day that in that day a phrase used so much in the Old Testament

It's all about the day of the Lord It's all about the salvation of Israel

It's all about the arrival of the Messiah This is all gonna happen in that day and God says I'm gonna do this. I'm in charge of all this I run this, you know, that that's the great thrill of the day of the Lord. I Know that things just don't happen by chance. I know the things That war is not going to break out Because God's in charge and God's gonna work it all out after the council of his will What am I afraid of I'm afraid of nothing because God's in charge of everything That is just so important Go back to Zechariah 14 verse number 9 It says and the Lord will be King over all the earth in that day The Lord will be the only one and his name the only one. I Thought about that and I wrote down these verses

That's the fulfillment of Daniel 244 Daniel 7 13 and 14 Isaiah 11 1 to 10 Jeremiah 23 5 and 6 Luke 1 31 to 33 Ezekiel 20 33 to 44 Psalm 2 verse number 8 Revelation 11 15 and Revelation 22 4 and 6 That one verse is the fulfillment of all that That's exactly what's gonna get in that day

The Lord will be King over all the earth Turn with me to the book of Isaiah Isaiah chapter 4 remember that phrase in that day is used 43 times in the book of Isaiah alone It says in verse number 2 in that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful now What's the branch of the Lord? Well go back to Zechariah chapter 6 if your fingers still in Zechariah if it's not well I should have told you to keep it there Zechariah chapter 6 verse number 12 says behold a man whose name is branch

Who's that whose name is branch? That's the Messiah Hebrew it's net seer It's a shoot that stems from the root of Jesse It's a title for the Messiah Behold a man whose name is branch for he will branch out from where he is and he will build the temple of the Lord So Zechariah tells us that that the branch the Messiah is going to build the temple of the Lord

Why is that important? That's important because Israel the Jewish nation says that they are going to build the next temple And I told you this before that that before the year 2000 at the Temple Institute in Jerusalem So all the rabbis taught that the Messiah will come and build the third temple But in the year 2000 they changed their tune and said no the Messiah is not gonna do it we're gonna build the third temple and they went full bore into making sure all the The outfits for the priests were were done and all the the ornaments for inside the temple were complete and they're all done Everything's done

It's all ready for the Messiah But they say they're gonna build the third temple and they're right But I won't be for the Messiah It will be for the anti-messiah Because in Revelation 11 John sees a temple and God says measure the temple Well, what temple is there because when John wrote in 96 AD? There was no temple on the Temple Mount because it was destroyed in 70 AD So where's the temple? There's one in the tribulational period who builds it Israel builds it And that's what the abomination takes place Daniel 9 24 to 27 and fulfilled in Matthew chapter 24 as Christ prophesied and so You have this branches beside building it

What's temple is it? This is the fourth temple This is the temple that Messiah builds Very clear the Messiah is gonna build the temple That he said it twice It says yes It is He who will build the temple of the Lord So Zechariah reiterates it the Messiah is gonna build the temple of the Lord Yes He's going to build the temple of the Lord Why because there's so much confusion about who's gonna build the temple Well, it's gonna be the Lord

It will be the fourth temple, but he's gonna build it and it says and He will bear The honor and sit and rule on his throne Thus he will be a priest on his throne and the council of peace will be between the two offices That's a remarkable statement Why because that is use economy

There is no king who is a priest There are kings who are prophets and prophets who are priests But no kings who are priests because every time a king tried to perform priestly duty God disciplined him why because this was gonna have one king priest and that's the Messiah and Therefore there will be peace between the two offices because the Messiah himself is a king and the Messiah himself is a priest so go back to Isaiah chapter 4 and Isaiah says this he says in that day the branch the Messiah of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the Earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel It will come about that he was left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy everyone who was recorded for life in Jerusalem when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and Purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning Then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her Assemblies a cloud by day even smoke and the brightness of a flaming fire by night For over all the glory will be a canopy

There will be a shelter There will be a tabernacle there will be a succoth To give shade from the heat by day and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain

Why is that important? We'll go back to Zechariah 14 Did I tell you to keep your finger there I should've told you keep your finger there Zechariah 14 verse number 16, then it will come about that any who are left Of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the king the Lord of hosts and to celebrate the feast of booths or the feast of Tabernacles Do you know that during the millennial reign of Christ? There will be three Feasts that are celebrated the feast of the new year the feast of Passover and the feast of booths Israel celebrates the feast of booths today They go out in their backyard once a year for a week

They build thatched Roofs sleep under them

They use palm trees and they use all kinds of different paraphernalia and they sleep outside as a reminder of their wilderness wanderings and How the Lord dwelt among them during their wilderness wanderings So they do it in anticipation the fact that one day God will dwell among them permanently Until that time they celebrate the feast of booths or the feast of tabernacles or sucketh as it's called So during the millennial reign of Christ, they're gonna celebrate this Why because it's a realization of a promise made true a promise that's done The Messiah is there So when Isaiah 4 talks about this canopy over Jerusalem, that's like shade

It's like a tabernacle It's it's like a booth It's like protection for Israel and he reads Zechariah 14 He realized they're gonna celebrate this once a year in the millennial kingdom with Christ himself It's a realization that everything's come true But that's why they're gonna celebrate Passover in the millennial kingdom not because they're sacrificing the Lord again Not because the symbol wasn't met the symbol was it's all about a reminder It's all about a reminder of the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world Remember his apocalyptic name

He's the lamb of God He was the lamb that was slain and all throughout eternity He'll be remembered as the lamb that was slain So, why do you celebrate Passover during the millennial reign of Christ upon the earth? Because it's a constant reminder that the reason you are saved is because of the lamb The reason you're in heaven is because of the lamb Worthy is the land that was slain to receive glory and honor and praise

It's all about the lamb of God And so the Lord has all this mapped out because the promises all must be fulfilled Everything he said is true I love Listen to these verses Isaiah Isaiah 41 talking about Israel thou art my servant. I have chosen thee and not cast thee away. I Have chosen thee and not cast thee away Israel is God's elect listen carefully to what I'm going to say if you believe in a replacement theology You destroy the doctrine of election And you can't do that Because Israel is God's elect. I have chosen you I have not forsaken you that would mean that God chose you and could forsake you So if you believe in replacement theology, then your doctrine of election hangs on a very weak thread Because that means God can forsake you but God doesn't forsake us

Does he not at all? He says of Israel

You are my elect. I have chosen you and not cast thee away Isaiah 41 17 I the Lord will hear them. I the God of Israel will not forsake them Isaiah 44 21 for thou art my servant. I have formed thee thou art my servant Oh Israel thou shalt not be forgotten of me Isaiah 49 15. I will not forget thee behold I have engraven you on the palms of my hands Isaiah 54 verse number 7 for a small moment Have I forsaken thee but with great mercies? I will gather thee And a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness Will I have I have mercy on thee sayeth the Lord my Redeemer Isaiah 62 verse number 4 thou shalt no more be term forsaken Neither shall thy land any more be term desolate But thou shalt be called Hephzibah and thy land Beulah for the Lord delighteth in thee and thy land shall be Married God made a promise He made an unconditional irrevocable unilateral promise to Abraham and to David to Abraham to his son Isaac to his son Jacob the same promise it's a Unconditional promise that no matter what you do I'm still gonna keep it because the promise is not based on you

It's based completely on me So if I believe in a replacement theology that is for those of you don't know that the church replaces Israel That all the promises given to Israel are now fulfilled in the church That's called replacement theology if I believe in that not only did I do I deny the doctrine of election? But I also deny the faithfulness of Almighty God the promises of God that God is not faithful That God does not keep his promises to Israel That means he didn't keep his promises to you either then That's not true That's true at all God says I have not forsaken me You are my chosen

You are my elect. I have not forsaken you I will redeem you. I will deliver you God made that promise He will keep that promise in the book of Zechariah proves that And that's why we are thrilled with the day of the Lord why because the power of God is on display the preeminence of God is Completely declared and the people of God Israel are delivered from their sins And the promises of God They're done They're complete They come to fruition Just like he said See we can we can believe God We can count on God We don't doubt him

Why because all of his words are faithful And true He said this in psalm Psalm 105 He has remembered his covenant forever verse 8 The word which he commanded to a thousand generations the covenant which he made with abraham And his oath with isaac And he confirmed it to jacob for a statute to israel as an ever Lasting Covenant What's everlasting if it doesn't last very long If it can be cut off because you disobeyed it's an everlasting covenant Saying to you I will give the land of canaan as a portion of your inheritance the land promise the nation promise the seed promise Way back in justice chapter 12 god gave that Unconditional irrevocable unilateral promise to abraham

It's going to happen In psalm 105 he reiterates it over and over again This is an everlasting covenant It does not depend upon you It totally depends upon me and me alone and then psalm 89 Psalm 89 verse number 8

It says oh lord god of hosts who is like you almighty lord your faithfulness also surrounds you It says in verse number 30 Or verse 27, excuse me I also will make him my firstborn the highest of the kings of the earth My loving kindness I will keep for him forever and my covenant shall be confirmed to him So I will establish his descendants forever and his throne as the days of heaven If his sons forsake my law And do not walk in my judgments if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments which israel Didn't do Then I will punish their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes which god did do but I will not break off My loving kindness from him Nor deal falsely in my faithfulness my covenant. I will not violate nor will I alter the utterance of my lips Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to david His descendants shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me It shall be established forever like the moon and the witness in the sky is faithful That's god's covenant to david the davidic covenant That there will be a king That rules in the land on earth from a throne on zion in jerusalem That's going to happen Exactly as he said That's what's so thrilling about the day of the lord

It brings our everything to an end It brings everything to to to the to the fruition of all that god has promised That's that's why i'll say to you again

The end of the matter is better than the beginning, right? Because the end is what it's all about It's all about the messiah coming again And the fulfillment of all of his promises That he has given to israel And so paul says back to first thessalonians chapter 5 these words But you brethren Are not in darkness the day would overtake you like a thief For you are all sons of light and sons of day We are not of night nor of darkness So then let us not sleep as others do but let us be alert And sober For those who sleep do they're sleeping at night and those who get drunk get drunk at night But since we are of this day or of the day, excuse me Let us be sober having put on the breastplate of faith and love as a helmet the hope of salvation For god has not destined us for wrath But for obtaining salvation through our lord

Jesus christ Who died for us so whether we are awake or asleep? Whether we live together with him or we will live together with him Therefore encourage one another and build up one another just as you also are doing Paul is very clear God has not destined us to wrath But because of the terror of the lord we persuade men Because the promises of god we we we persuade men we explain to them the truth We want them to know that jesus christ is coming again

That's why we need to be reminded of not just the time and the seasons or epics not just of the the term the day of the lord and not just The thief christ will come like a thief in the night and not just the terror of the lord But the thrill of the day of the lord because you see You don't have to go through the day of the lord

You can be saved from all that You can be born again And that's the that's the message That that's the good news that's what paul says but brethren you're not of the night you're of the day Brethren you you you had the light of the world within you you were light Not darkness And therefore you had this hope And you believe in it and you follow it we extend that hope to others We want them to see it We want them to believe in it

We want them to receive the gift of eternal life Which begs the question have you received the gift of eternal life Are you in the light So that you will experience the the wrath of almighty god That you have been set free from all that Because you've given your life to jesus christ our lord That's just so important That's my prayer for you That you would know christ as lord and savior And that you would experience the thrill of this day because of what god has promised Because he is preeminent

He is all powerful and he will deliver his people Israel, that's pretty good Father, thank you for today Lord you are great We we just scratched the surface of the day of the lord and The phrase in that day and all that you're going to do But lord, you are true to your word We know that We don't doubt that We're not afraid of the future You hold the future you are the future And our future is with you And I pray that everyone in the room would know that That none would leave without making sure that christ is lord of their life So they can be like those in first thessalonians 5 brethren children of the light children of the day Children who are alert sober Vigilant and wide awake knowing About the coming of christ And all that it entails Thank you lord in jesus name