The Model Life: Alertness, Part 7

In the 19th century, there was a Danish religious philosopher named Søren Kierkegaard. He said a lot of things that we would not accept nor agree with. But one thing he did say would spark a lot of interest in the church today.

He said these words, too often in the church, people adopt an attitude of theater. Imagining the preacher is an actor and they as critics, praising and blaming his performances. Actually, he says, the people are the actors on the stage of life.

The preacher is merely the prompter reminding them of their lost lines. He hits on a nerve. Now, we know you're not actors.

We know you're children of the living God. And yet it is true that the essence of our gathering together is to remind us of our responsibility to live and honor the Lord. All that to be said is that when you think about it, my responsibility is to remind you of what you're supposed to be doing.

Have you ever thought of this way that the Bible is a book of reminders? The Bible is a book of repetition. The Bible is a book of reiteration. Because the Bible says the same thing over and over and over again.

It's come from different authors. It's come by way of different illustrations and historical situations. But everything in the Bible is the same.

Every book of the Bible is literally the same thing. It's just come at from a different perspective. It's all about a Redeemer.

His name is the Messiah, the King of Israel. He is coming. He's coming to die.

And after he dies, he's going to rise again. And then he's going to come back again instead of his kingdom. Everything in the Bible is about that.

So all the authors just keep pointing to the same person who's going to do the same thing that they all say he's going to do because it's all inspired by God. And so the Bible is a book of repetition, a book of reiteration, a book of reminders. And I think it's imperative that the preacher reiterate over and over again the same thing.

That's what the preachers of the Bible did. It's what Jesus did. It's what Paul did.

It's what Peter did. It's what Malachi did. It's what the psalmist did.

They just kept reminding the people of where they were and what happened and where they need to be going and what they need to be doing. So Kierkegaard hit on a nerve in the church. There's so many times we just come to watch and listen and then pass criticism on what we see or don't see instead of coming to listen to what it is that we need to be reminded of.

And to follow through on that truth and to live it out. That is just so incredibly important. And Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5, where we're at, is giving by way of reminder of the day of the Lord.

He's going to remind them as to the time of that day. He's going to remind them in terms of the term of that day. He's going to remind them in terms of the terror of that day.

He's going to remind them as to the thief who comes in that day. He reminds them though of the thrill of that day. And we need to understand that thrill.

That's where we have paused. We've been here for a couple of weeks. And we'll be here for a couple of more because I'm in no hurry.

After all, I'm not going anywhere. And I'm going to be here next week, Lord willing. And the week after that, Lord willing, until he comes again.

But the bottom line is there's this great thrill behind everything about the coming of the King. So I want you to be able to train the children sitting next to you about the second coming. I want you to teach them about salvation first and the second coming second.

That's the order you teach your children. You teach them about what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ and to live for the glory of his kingdom. And then you tell them that this King is coming again because that is the emphasis of the scriptures in the New Testament.

And so we as parents likewise need to fill the hearts and minds of our children about the coming of that day. Listen, if you want your discouragement to disappear, you must stay focused on the coming of the King, because that's where the world's going. And we need to understand that.

And so we need to be reminded and let me remind you so you can tell it to your children and explain to them about the day of Christ, the day of the Lord and the day of God. Because it encapsules everything about the coming of the King. The day of Christ is about the rapture of the church and the reward to the Christian.

That's the day of Christ. That's what Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 to 18. Then he goes on to the day of the Lord because the day of the Lord follows the day of Christ.

And the day of Christ is about the retribution of sinners and the redemption of Israel. So just make sure you got it. That the day of Christ is about the rapture of the church and the reward for the Christian.

And then the day of the Lord is about the retribution of sinners and the redemption of Israel. And then comes the day of God. And the day of God is all about the righteousness that dwells forever because the ruling one reigns forever.

All of his enemies are subdued and you dwell in perfect righteousness. And that is the thrill behind the coming of the King. We are looking and longing and hastening the coming of the day of God.

If you got your Bible, turn to 2 Peter chapter 3 with me if you would please. This is good for your children as you sit there and you open your Bible that they learn that they need to open their Bibles to hear what God has to say, that they might listen to the living and abiding word of God. That is just so incredibly important.

And so Peter says it this way in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse number 10, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up. And since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people are you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God? So you see the contrast between the day of the Lord and the day of God. But notice what he says.

He says, as you live your life and you're anticipating and you're alert to all that's going to come, note this. What sort of people are you to be? Listen carefully. This is not a question.

This is an exclamation. Peter's not saying what sort of people are you to be in light of all this? That's the question. No, that's not the question.

It's an exclamation. Now, you need to understand this because the phrase what manner of people or what manner of person ought you to be is one phrase in the original language. It's from the Greek word patepen.

So he says these words, what other generational, what otherworldly, what other dimension of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? In other words, until the day of God, which is the end where righteousness dwells, there's a certain kind of person you need to be. You need to be the kind of person that's from another dimension, that's from another world. That's what patepen means.

So let me illustrate it for you. Mark chapter 4, verse number 41. The disciples are on the boat and there's a great storm, right? They wake up the Lord and he calms the sea, becomes like glass.

And the phrase the disciples give is what manner of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey him? Same phrase. What otherworldly kind of man is this? What kind of man from another dimension is this that even the winds and the waves obey him? In other words, he's not from this dimension. He's not from this world that our Lord was not because he came down from above.

What otherworldly kind of person is this that even the winds and the waves obey him? Wow, what a statement. So Peter says the same thing because Peter was on the boat. He was on the boat that day.

And so he's going to say, what manner of people ought you to be? What other kind of worldly dimension ought you to exemplify because you're not from this world? You're heavenly citizens living in holy conduct and godliness. And then how about this one? The Bible says in first John chapter 3, verse number 1, and John the apostle who was also on the boat with Peter and the other disciples said this, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. What other kind of dimensional love is this that we should be called the children of God? Remember in John's gospel, John always refers to himself as to the disciple whom Jesus loved.

He never calls himself by name. And that's because John was so overwhelmed by the fact that he was loved by the living God, he could not even speak his name. So he was the disciple whom Jesus loved.

So now when he writes first John chapter 3, he says, oh, what manner of love is this? What otherworldly kind of love is this? It's from another dimension. It's not from the natural dimension. It's from a supernatural dimension.

It's not from an earthly perspective. It's from a heavenly perspective because there's nothing on earth that can compare to the love that God has for his children. So he says, oh, what manner of love is this the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God.

Peter comes right on the heels of John and right on the heels of his experience on the Sea of Galilee and says, ah, what otherworldly kind of people ought you to be? It's an exclamation. You're from a different world. And then he says this.

He says, in holy conduct and God is first of all, looking for and hastening the coming day of God. Looking is a word of alertness, a watchfulness of soberness, awakeness, hastening deals with anticipation. And we have told you that the model life is characterized not just by abstinence in First Thessalonians 4, 1 to 8, not just by aspiration in First Thessalonians 4, 9 to 12, but by anticipation in First Thessalonians 4, verses 11 to 18, and then alertness in First Thessalonians 5, 1 to 11.

That's the model life. The model life is all about the coming of the king. Our whole lives are encompassed by the arrival of the Messiah.

He's going to come again. And so we live in the realm of another dimension, living in holy conduct and godliness, looking and hastening the day of God. The day of God is the day of eternity.

Look at verse number 18, to him be the glory, 1 Peter 3, 2 Peter 3, excuse me, to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. That's the day of God where righteousness dwells. That's the thrill of the day of the Lord.

That's the thrill of the day of Christ. That's the thrill behind the coming of Christ. It's all about the day of eternity where righteousness dwells.

There is no more pain. There is no more sorrow. There is no more sadness.

There is no more loss. It's all about the glory of the king. It's about where righteousness dwells forever and ever and ever.

And that's what is the thrill behind everything that encompasses the coming of the king, the day of Christ, the day of the Lord, and ultimately the day of God. So Peter says these words in verse number nine, and they're important words, because you need to teach your children that the coming of Christ is a sure event. He is coming, and the veracity of God is at stake.

There is a fixed time in which he's going to arrive. And you say, but it's been 2,000 years. 2,000 years.

We talked to you a couple of weeks ago about how Israel was so apathetic because it's only been 400 years since they heard anything from a prophet or an angel or from God. Now it's been 2,000 years. What is taking God so long? Why does he wait so long? Remember, there's no clocks in heaven.

There's no calendars in heaven. There's nothing in heaven because it exists outside the realm of time. So Peter would say earlier in verse number eight, but do you not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.

So in 2,000 years, it's been like two days in heaven. Not very long at all. But still we ask, well, why is the Lord not here yet? What is he waiting on? When things are bad around you and you're thinking, wow, Lord Jesus, come quickly, and we greet one another with Maranatha.

Did anybody do that by the way today? Did anybody greet one another with Maranatha? I was greeted by one person today who said, Maranatha, Pastor. Did you do that? Did you forget already from two weeks ago? That's how the early church greeted one another, because they were so enamored with the coming of Christ, they could not wait for him to arrive. And yet so many times we just become so lethargic and complacent and apathetic to the coming of the King, and yet that is the sunum bonum of motivation in the life of the believer.

It's everything. Everything. That's why you need to know all you can about the second coming of the Messiah.

And so Peter says this, "'The Lord is not slow about his promises, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.'" Here's your answer as to why the Lord has not come yet. Our God is a patient God, a long-suffering God, and He is waiting. He is waiting for that last person in the church age to come to saving faith.

Like it was in the days of Noah, 1 Peter chapter 3, Peter would talk about the patience of the Lord for 120 years, and he waited for 120 years because it took Moses that long to build a boat with his boys. But on top of that, he was a preacher of righteousness, praying for people to come to saving grace. But the patience of the Lord ran out, for He will not always strive with man, but He is a patient God.

In fact, back in Exodus chapter 34, when God spoke to Moses and declared to him His glory, in verse number 6, He said, "'Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "'The Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth.'" That's how He characterizes Himself, a God of compassion, mercy, a God of long-suffering, a God of patience. And then over in the Psalms, Psalm 145, verse number 8, "'The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and great in loving kindness. "'The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.'" Joel, in chapter 2, verse number 13, says, "'Rend your heart and not your garments.

"'Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, "'abounding in loving kindness and relenting of evil.'" Paul said in Romans 2, verse number 4, "'Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, "'not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?'' Chapter 9, verse number 22, "'What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, "'endured with much patience, vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? "'And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, "'which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, "'but also from among the Gentiles.'" It's all about the patience of God. The fact that Christ is going to come again is a sure event. It's ironclad.

It's been fixed by the Father's authority, Acts 1, verse number 7. And although it's been 2,000 years, and although we don't think of it as Christ coming in my lifetime, you've got to realize that He could come at any moment to take His church home to be with Him. And the day of Christ will happen, then the day of the Lord will happen, and then the day of God will come. It's all been mapped out in the sovereign plan of the living God.

But He's patient because He's looking for the salvation of lost souls. In Luke, He said, "'I came to seek and save that which was lost.'" Over in the book of Isaiah, the 45th chapter, the Lord says these words, He says, "'Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.

I have sworn by Myself, the Word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance to Me.'" So He cries, "'Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.'" Paul says in Acts 17 that God is declaring that all men everywhere should repent. Why? Because He has a fixed day in which the righteous judge will pass judgment. That's why Paul says over in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse number 4, He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

That's God's desire. That's very important. That's the heart of God.

1 Timothy 2, verse 4 says that God desires all men to be saved. It doesn't say that God decreed all men to be saved because the Greek word is Thelema. And Thelema is the will of desire.

Okay? It's like Matthew chapter 6, "'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'" And the will there is the will of desire, not the will of decree. Because God's decree happens as He has appointed it to happen. Nothing can thwart His plans.

But God has a desire. And He says, so when you pray, you pray this way, "'Lord, I desire that Your will be done right here on earth as Your desire is accomplished in heaven.'" Because in heaven, God's desire is always accomplished. And so the prayer is the longing for whatever has happening in heaven, which is your ultimate desire, may it happen here on earth, because we know that you desire that same thing to happen here.

It's the will of desire. So God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. It does not mean that He has decreed all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

That's very important to understand that. Because not everybody's going to be saved. Not everybody's going to give their life to Christ.

But it doesn't diminish the desire of God. God's decree never diminishes His desire. The heart of God is that all men be saved.

Exodus chapter 34, Ezekiel, excuse me, chapter 34, God says, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He doesn't. So when you come to 2 Peter chapter 3, verse number 9, Peter says these words, he says, "'The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing or not willing for any of you to perish, but for all of you to come to repentance.'" Now, that word willing there is boulamai.

That's the decree of God. That's different than 1 Timothy 2, 4, which is thelema, the desire of the will. This is the desire of His decree.

God has a decree that all the elect will be saved. But during this church age, as the gospel goes forth, there are many people yet to believe the gospel. And so our prayer is that they would be saved, that they would come to know Christ.

Think about it this way. You are asking the Lord to do what His ultimate desire is that man be saved. And maybe you're here today and you have a loved one.

Maybe that loved one is sitting next to you. Maybe you're going to have lunch today with that loved one. Maybe you're going to spend some time with that loved one in days to come.

And you know that they're not saved. And your prayer request is, oh, Lord God, I know that you desire all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. I know that you are patient and you are longsuffering with this one who does not know you.

Lord Jesus, save them. Save them from their sin. You can't save them.

You can't. You are the vehicle. You are the vessel by which the Word of God has been displayed and declared.

Don't take upon the responsibility of saving them. Take upon the responsibility of speaking to them about the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and let God do what God does. Because God saves man.

And therefore, you pray and you ask the Lord. This is why God hasn't come yet. There are people even in our church that are not saved.

They're not giving their life to Christ. And this is a message of a plea to you that you would come to Christ today, that you would give your life to the Lord today and not wait another day. Because the only reason the day of the Lord has not been enacted and the only reason the day of Christ has not come, the rapture of the church and the reward for Christians is because in this church age, the time from Pentecost and Acts chapter 2 until Jesus comes again, the rapture of the church, the church age, God is still saving people.

He's completing his bride. And if you're here today and never giving your life to Christ, you know what the Lord says? He says, come unto me, all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.

Christ invites you to come to be a partaker of his salvation, his grace, his mercy. He wants you to have that. And if you're here today, know this, that the day of Christ is coming.

It inaugurates the day of the Lord, which inaugurates the day of God, the day of eternity. It's all going to come on a fixed schedule, just like when Jesus came the first time. In the fullness of time, Galatians 4.4, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who are under the law.

Wow, what a statement. It says that at the right moment, in the fullness of time, when everything had come to a point where it was the perfect time for the son of man to come in his incarnation, he sent forth his son. It was the right time.

It was the perfect time. It was a precise time. It was an excellent time.

But the time that the father is fixed by his own authority, Acts 1.7, it's a time that has not yet arrived. And so what do we do? We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes, right? We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes, because we know he's going to come again. But until that day, there's hope, there's opportunity for you to give your life to Christ.

And my prayer is that that would be you today. When you talk to your children, you talk to them about the saving grace of God. Why? Because the Lord's coming again.

And because he's going to begin coming again, I want you to know him. I want you to love him. I want you to serve him and honor him and glorify his name.

And so God is not slow, as some may count slowness, but he is patient. He is long suffering. He's long suffering with your husband as to why he's not saved, your spouse as to why she's not saved, your children as to why they're not saved.

This is the patience of God on display. And God, at the great preacher that he is, offers the invitation. That's even at the book, the end of the book of Revelation, very last chapter, he extends an invitation.

He says, the spirit and the bride say, come. Who's the bride? That's the church. And let the one who hears say, come.

And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. Come.

He offers this divine invitation at the very end of the book of Revelation, because the heart of God is on display. Yes, he's going to bring retribution on all those who do not believe in his name, but he wants his desire to be fulfilled. And that's why it's the desire of his heart that you be saved.

Are you? Do you know Christ as Lord and Savior? Are you born again? Have you experienced new life in Christ? We gathered together today on the first Sunday of the month of June to celebrate the Lord's death. He came that we might live because he died for us. Have you experienced that life? That's the essence of our celebration.

That's why we spend time around the Lord's table, asking the Lord and thanking the Lord for all that he has done in saving us from our sin. That we might be able to say, as John said, oh, what otherworldly kind of love is this? The Father has bestowed upon me that I should be called a child of God. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today, and we're grateful. And although our time is short, the opportunity you give us is great. And our prayer, Lord, is that as we partake of the Lord's table, it would be that one element that would help us understand that we proclaim your death until you come again, because people need to be saved.

You came to save the lost. You came to die for the sins of man. For that, we are grateful.

We partake of the Lord's table with great thankfulness. In Jesus' name, amen.