The Continuing Story of Christmas: Part 2

We're going back now, probably close to 200 years, C.H. Spurgeon was a prominent pastor in Great Britain.

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And in the 1800s, he would often preach. He was kind of the premier preacher there in Great Britain.

And he would be invited to go to places, and he would preach in locations without amplification.

They didn't have the benefit of microphones and speakers.

And so he had to communicate with just the gifts that God had given to him to emphasize and to just punctuate the morning with his ability to articulate the scriptures.

Well, in one location where he was, he was invited to this massive agricultural hall.

And as was his custom, he would kind of check out the acoustics of the place.

And in that particular agricultural hall, it needed some renovation.

So up in the rafters was a guy who was working on the ceiling or the roof and trying to help make sure that the things were patched up and ready for the venue that would be taking place later on in the week.

And he went and just said one phrase.

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And the truth, spoken by John the Baptist, so overcame this worker that he left immediately and gave his life to the Lamb.

The power of the Word of God.

And the power of the Lamb to accomplish his work in the hearts of people.

This morning, it is my desire.

I'm just going to put all my cards on the table.

It is my desire this morning as we work through 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, the first 11 verses,

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

that we become familiar with the Lamb.

And that through understanding the Lamb,

that it will fill our hearts not only with worship,

but it will lead us to deeper praise of the Lamb.

As I think about the Lamb,

and I think about that phrase spoken by John the Baptist,

it has its roots in the past.

Going all the way back to the very beginnings,

we see that Cain and Abel offered two different sacrifices.

Cain's was unacceptable,

and Abel's was acceptable because he offered a spotless lamb.

It was the lamb that was accepted as a sacrifice to God.

Moving a few more chapters,

we find that Noah and his family,

having gotten off the ark,

and having experienced rescue through the ark,

through the flood,

now offer some sacrifices to God.

The sacrifice of a lamb that helped to remind them of the covenant promise of God.

This promise of God that he would never bring a flood.

This kind of destruction on the earth again.

And they commemorated that promise,

and that recognition of who God was by sacrificing a lamb.

Moving forward to the time of Abraham,

and Abraham having waited years and years and years for the promised son, Isaac,

and then being told by God to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.

And as he's about to plunge the dagger into his son,

God says,

I provided a lamb.

I provided a sacrifice.

A replacement for Isaac.

A way for redemption.

A way for escape.

Through the lamb.

Generations would come and go,

and the children of Israel would find themselves in Egypt.

They would find themselves as slaves there in Egypt.

And as God unleashes the plagues on the Egyptians,

he comes to the end where there is going to be a firstborn son from every household that will be destroyed.

Save those who put the blood of the lamb across their doorposts.

And beginning what we would come to know,

and what would be commemorated as the Passover.

This time of passing over and saving those who put their trust in the lamb.

And the sacrificial system,

which would require the price of a lamb,

who through the lamb you would be able to come,

and you would make your way to Jesus,

to God in heaven,

and you would ask for forgiveness.

Generations more would come and go,

and John the Baptist would commemorate the ministry of Jesus through that statement,

Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And then Jesus' ministry would begin,

and for 30 years he would talk about the redemption that would come through the lamb.

Peter would mention this in his little letter.

He would talk about the precious blood of Christ,

the redemption that came through the lamb.

Fast forward all the way to the end,

into Revelation,

and we see in Revelation chapter 5 a scene that is portrayed for us.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

The coming of the king,

the coming of the one who would exact judgment on the earth,

who would unleash the wrath of God's fury on those who were wicked.

And the only one who was worthy to open the scroll was the lamb.

The lamb from the beginning to end.

And so we come to our passage this morning in 1 Thessalonians.

We pick up where we left off last week,

and we recognize that there is continuity throughout the scripture from start to finish.

And as we worked our way through the passage,

I want to just touch on these things to catch any of you up who were not here last week,

so that you can kind of get in the flow of our study.

We opened up to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5,

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

and we read that first phrase.

The first phrase beginning there in verse 1 now,

concerning the times and the seasons, brothers.

And we came to realize that Christmas is not just locked away in Bethlehem.

It's not just locked away with the angels and the shepherds and Mary and Joseph

making their way to this anonymous little town,

and the wise men that happen to show up,

and who knows exactly how much further down the road.

But Christmas is actually encompassing an event.

And we saw this last week.

It says,

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers.

Paul uses two words to help connect us to some chronology.

The first is the word chronos,

which helps us recognize the transpiring of hours and days and calendar.

Whereas the next word we come to is the word seasons or kairos.

It's the word that helps us summarize events or periods of time.

Things that fit together as one unit.

And we're forced to ask ourselves the question,

Okay, so is this something that we are anticipating yet to come,

or is this something that has already happened?

Well, we look at the language here,

and we look at verse 2,

and we try to get some clues as to whether or not this is a future event or a past event.

And Paul says,

For you know and are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

This all fits in the context of chapter 4 as well.

And you back up to chapter 4, verse 13,

and you get some more clues.

It says,

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those things,

about those who are asleep,

that you may not grieve as others who have no hope.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so, through Jesus,

God will bring those who have fallen asleep.

So there's our answer, right?

We're talking about future events.

We're talking about things that are yet to come.

But then I messed everything up

as we were looking at these future events

in the anticipation of what the prophets thought was going to happen.

How they summarized these events that would take place

in terms of the Messiah's coming.

And then the angels,

what was their understanding about the prophecies of the Old Testament?

And how did the apostles see things?

And we got to understand that the first coming,

Christmas actually sets the context

for everything that is about to follow.

That what Jesus accomplished,

what the Lamb has done for His people,

for the people of Israel,

and also for the nations,

actually guarantees

what we have to anticipate

in terms of Jesus' future coming.

It helps us to order

and recognize

the things that Jesus did do

in accomplishing and fulfilling His promises

and what we can expect to happen

well into the future.

We saw that Christmas is connected

to future events.

But then we moved on a little further.

And we got to explore this loaded word

that comes next.

It says,

Now, concerning the times and the seasons,

brothers.

We saw that that was an important word

for us to begin to understand.

Because for us,

living here in the 21st century,

we make some assumptions.

We begin to say,

Well, that must be talking about Christians.

And we understand

that there are certain truths,

and I want to walk us through

four truths about the Lamb

and four truths about

the promises of God

in the Old Testament

that help to order our understanding

in relationship

to the coming of the Lamb.

The first truth that we find right here

is that Israel and the church

are unified but distinct.

Israel and the church

are unified but distinct.

All of that is encapsulated

in this one little word,

the word brothers.

Paul uses this word 20 times

in this little letter.

He uses this word

for a couple of reasons.

One is to help emphasize

his relationship to them.

They were special to him.

He had an affection for them.

It just explodes

out of the pages

of 1 Thessalonians.

Paul's interest

and his desire

for these people.

And so he calls them brothers

time and time and time again.

This little letter

uses the word brothers

more times

or concentrated more times

than any other New Testament book.

because Paul wants to stress

his relationship

to these people.

But he also wants

to help emphasize

their relationship

to one another.

He wants them to recognize

that although

they may come

from different backgrounds,

that they are

in actuality

united

because of the work

of Christ

in their life.

although they are

distinct as people,

their heritage

may be different.

They are unified

by the working

of Christ

in their life

to make them part

of one

unified body.

Paul wants them

to recognize

especially those

who are Jewish

to understand

that although

God has made them

distinct

through Christ

he has

brought them

together.

If you were to go

to Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

and I would just

let me just encourage you

turn with me

to Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

we can see this

for ourselves.

Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

beginning

in verse 11.

We'll begin to understand

why the Jews

were so

interested

in the heritage

that they had

through Abraham.

Here's what it says.

Therefore

remember that

at one time

you Gentiles

in the flesh

called the uncircumcision

by what is called

the circumcision

which is made

in the flesh

by hands.

Remember that

you were

at that time

separated

from Christ

alienated

from the

commonwealth

of Israel

and strangers

to the covenants

of promise

having no hope

and without God

in the world.

So if you're a Jew

and you're part

of Abraham

what is your thought?

You're thinking

hey

God has blessed me.

Hey

I get to enjoy

God's favor.

Hey

I'm not

one of those

people

one of those

Jews

or one of those

Gentiles

who as

Paul

describes it

well

have a lot

of strikes

against them.

They are

alienated

from Israel.

They're

strangers

from the

covenants.

They have

no hope

and they are

without God.

so in

one sense

of the word

they were

right.

Everything

that they had

in their

Jewishness

they got

to enjoy

because God

had made

them a covenant

people.

But those

who were

outside

of the covenant

of promise

were not able

to enjoy

the blessing

of being

called the

people

of God.

So there's

no wonder

why

when Paul

begins to

share the

gospel

all over

Asia

and Macedonia

the Jews

initially

received

the gospel

with great

zeal

and interest.

Wow

the Messiah

has come

look what

he has

accomplished

for me.

But once

the Gentiles

began to

embrace

the gospel

for themselves

now the

Jews

became jealous

and because

of their

jealousy

they expelled

Paul

and they

came against

Paul

and sought

to push

him out

of every

town

in which

he was

sharing

the gospel.

Things

in Thessalonica

were no

different.

The hostility

of this

location

was intense.

We've got

to see it

over the

past several

weeks

of going

through

this little

letter.

And so

it was

of utmost

important

for the

apostle Paul

to emphasize

the unity

that this

church had

with one

another

and it

was a

unity

that they

had

because

of faith

in Jesus

Christ.

Notice

if you're

still in

Ephesians

what Jesus

did to

eliminate

the division.

Now in

verse 14

of Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

For he

himself

is our

peace

who has

made us

both one

and has

broken

down

in his

flesh

the dividing

wall of

hostility

by abolishing

the law

of commandments

expressed in

ordinances

that he

might create

in himself

one new

man

in place

of the

two

thus

making

peace.

You see

the lamb?

You see

what Jesus

accomplished?

Jesus

as the

seed

of Abraham

Jesus

as the

offspring

of David

comes

and now

breaks down

the hostility

because he

fulfilled

the law

and brings

the two

together

in

himself

now

creating

one

new man

from the

two.

Although

we recognize

there is still

distinctiveness

that we looked

at a bit

last week

in Romans

Romans 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

Paul is

coming against

some of the

natural

questions

that would

come up.

He says

has God

neglected

the promises

to Israel?

Certainly

not.

And as we

see in

Revelation

God has

a continuing

and enduring

desire

to uphold

and to

favor

the people

of Israel.

But those

of us

who are

Gentiles

which probably

includes

all of us

in this

room

if you

have come

to faith

in Jesus

Christ

you now

get to

enjoy

the benefits

of being

a son

the benefits

of being

a daughter

because

of faith

in Jesus

Christ.

All of the

promises

that God

gave to

Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

and Moses

and David

can be

yours

through faith

in Jesus

Christ.

We have

been adopted

into the

family.

We have

been grafted

into this

amazing tree

that Paul

talks about

in the book

of Romans.

there is

now unity

that God

has created

because of

Jesus Christ

and his

finished work

on the

cross

because

of the

lamb.

We can

rejoice

in the

work

of the

lamb

for us.

Israel

and the

church

are unified

but distinct.

We turn

then to

the next

few verses

in 1

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

Thessalonians

chapter 5.

we look

at Christmas

in the

future.

We're

evaluating

this truth

about

Israel

and the

church

being

distinct

but unified

and then

we turn

to this

second

truth

that we

find in

verses 2

and 3.

for you

yourselves

are fully

aware

that the

day of

the

Lord

will

come

like a

thief

in the

night

while people

are saying

there is

peace and

security

then sudden

destruction

will come

upon them

as labor

pains come

upon a

pregnant

woman

and they

will not

escape.

the second

truth is

that God's

wrath will

be poured

out on

unbelievers.

Now where

do you get

that Andrew?

Well

notice this

statement

given by

the people

who are

looking around

at the

circumstances

and wondering

what's about

to happen.

What do

they say?

It says

in verse 3

while people

are saying

there is

peace

and security

then

sudden

destruction

will come.

Now isn't

that an

interesting

question?

You're

looking around

they seem

to look at

the world

now by

the way

they're not

looking at

the world

and saying

oh there's

no conflict

oh there's

no war

because as

sin continues

to increase

those things

will also

increase.

It has

nothing to do

with what's

happening around

them.

It has

everything to

do with

an anticipation

of judgment

that has

not yet

come.

That's why

they say

hey

peace and

security

we're doing

really good

look what

we're getting

away with

things are

going pretty

well for us

God doesn't

really care

and maybe

God doesn't

actually

exist.

very interesting

observation

by those

who are in

the world

who say

hey

there's

peace and

security in

the world

which

points

to the

fact

that

unbelievers

expect

judgment

to come

they expect

judgment to

come because

it is

hardwired

into their

very conscience

it's hardwired

into every

individual

that walks

this earth

because God

has wired

it into

them

if you look

at Romans

Romans 2:14

chapter 2

verse 14

and 16

I may have

put this

on a slide

maybe not

let me read

it for you

here we go

for when

the Gentiles

who do not

have the law

by nature

do what the

law requires

they show

that the work

of the law

is written

on their

hearts

while their

conscience

also bears

witness

and their

conflicting

thoughts

accuse

or even

excuse

them

on that

day

when according

to my

gospel

God judges

the secrets

of men

by Jesus

Christ

one of the

greatest

resources

that we

have

in our

gospel

testimony

is that

hired

wired

into

every

person

who

walks

this

earth

is

a

recognition

however

broken

however

insufficient

there is

still

a sense

of morality

there is

a broken

moral compass

in every

individual

that God

has put

there

and that's

why

people

in the

last days

are asking

themselves

this question

where is

God

I guess

I guess

I can just

do what

I want

to do

because

judgment

hasn't

come

yet

God's

wrath

will be

poured out

on

unbelievers

when is

this going

to happen

when will

his wrath

be poured

out

will it

happen

in eternity

in hell

or is

there some

aspect of

his wrath

that is

going to

be poured

out

here

in this

day and

age

I want

to help

us understand

that people

understand that

there is a

demand for

justice

they recognize

that God

will exact

judgment

on them

there is a

demand

for justice

that they

recognize

but where is

the place

of justice

where will

it happen

will it be

something

visible

or will

it be

something

that we

don't get

to see

what to see

is the

testimony of

scripture

is there

is a

future

element

an eternal

element

of judgment

because of

sin

that God

will sentence

us to hell

apart from

him

forever

but there

is also

coming a

day

when judgment

will be poured

out on

the wicked

here

on the

earth

that has

been the

testimony of

God

since the

very beginning

look at

Adam and

Eve

expelled

from

the garden

you look at

Noah and

the flood

that came

on the

earth

and

extinguished

all

living

creatures

you look at

Sodom and

Gomorrah

and the fire

and brimstone

that God

brought on

the earth

to judge

the people

living in

those cities

you look at

those from

Pharaoh's army

who pursued

the Israelites

across the

Red Sea

all drowned

in the

Red Sea

God gives

deliverance

to his

people

the place

of God's

vengeance

is consistently

visible

earthly

and terrible

and as we

look at the

Old Testament

we see

the very

same things

and reiterated

again by

Jesus Christ

and helping

to set

the expectation

for what

that future

day will

look like

and it

always involves

a physical

component

an earthly

component

but why

does there

seem to be

a delay

why is there

a delay

in justice

why is God

prolonged

and pushed

out

this day

of wrath

it is

coming

and I want

to point

us to

a couple

of verses

in 2nd

Peter

that help

us to

recognize

a similar

passage

that helps

us see

and draw

out some

of the same

points

2nd Peter

chapter 3

verses 3

and 4

says

know this

first of all

that scoffers

will come

in the last

days with

scoffing

following their

own sinful

desires

they will

say

get this

where

is the

promise

of his

coming

forever

since the

fathers fell

asleep

all things

are continuing

as they were

from the beginning

of creation

you see it there

peace and safety

God's not coming

after all

everything is fine

there's no

judgment

you tell me

that God

is a God

of justice

and he's a God

of sovereignty

but where is he

that's what the

scoffers will say

but moving on

the Lord is not

slow to fulfill

his promise

as some

count slowness

but is patient

towards you

not wishing

that any

should perish

but that all

should reach

repentance

the reason

for delay

is because

God

desires

salvation

he prolongs

judgment

because

of a heart

of mercy

he prolongs

justice

that he will

have on

this earth

because of

a desire

to lead

us

into

repentance

but

the day

will come

the day

of the Lord

will come

like a thief

that should

sound very

familiar

taken

right out

of 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

and then

the heavens

will pass away

with a roar

and the heavenly

bodies will be

burned up

and dissolved

and the earth

and the works

that are done

on it

will be

exposed

this earthly

component

that is coming

to bear

on this

world

that God

will

judge

the earth

and it is

coming

like a thief

in the night

a couple

of days

ago

maybe you've

had this

experience

maybe not

a couple

of days

ago

I was

at the

gas station

filling up

I pulled

into the slot

and the gas

price was

$1.29

$2.29

it's like

okay

well

it's not

as good

as a few

days ago

but hey

I can

or maybe

it was

$2.29

you guys

are saying

wow

where is

that gas

station

I want

to find

that

yes

it was

$2.29

I don't

want to

get your

hopes up

too much

okay

so

$2.29

I'm

filling up

and then

I look

at the

sign

again

and

it says

$2.16

I'm like

$2.29

which price

did I pay

I looked

at the

receipt

I paid

$2.29

and so

I walked

into the

store

and said

hey

$2.29

it says

$2.16

out there

right now

and it

didn't

switch

for me

when I

was in

the

middle

of

pumping

he said

I'm

sorry

I missed

out

on

$2.16

I thought

at least

$1.50

that's

nothing

he can

just

hand

that

over

to me

and I

feel

like

I

got

something

the point

is this

how does

this

relate

Jesus

is coming

like a

thief in

the night

and you

may not

be ready

and if

you

aren't

ready

there is

no

refund

there is

no

refund

for

those

who

miss

the

coming

of

the

day

of

the

Lord

that's

why

Paul

moves

on

through

this

passage

he's

speaking

to

those

who are

living

in the

light

who've

been

called

by the

lamb

into

salvation

be

ready

don't

miss

it

anticipate

the

coming

of

Christ

come

into

a

relationship

with

him

so

you

don't

miss

that

future

reuniting

that

will

happen

on

that

day

which

now

leads

us

into

our

next

point

this

third

truth

the

truth

that

God

keeps

his

promises

we

find

that

here

in

our

the

next

several

verses

it

says

beginning

in

verse

four

but

you

are

not

in

darkness

brothers

for

that

day

to

surprise

you

like

a

thief

for

you

are

all

children

of

light

children

of

the

day

we

are

not

children

of

the

night

or

children

of

darkness

so

then

let

us

not

sleep

as

others

do

but

let

us

keep

awake

and

be

sober

Paul

is

talking

to

a

group

of

individuals

who

have

experienced

the

joy

of

having

been

brought

into

salvation

and

because

of

what

they

know

about

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

just

like

we

saw

in

chapter

four

there

is

now

a

new

anticipation

an

anticipation

of

his

future

coming

and

it

needs

to

reorient

everything

about

our

perspective

it

needs

to

transform

our

way

of

life

it

needs

to

reorder

our

priorities

it

needs

to

help

us

as

Paul

says

to

walk

circumspectly

not as

fools

but as

wise

redeeming

the time

because

the days

are evil

those

who

are

in

the

light

will

live

as

those

who

are

alert

those

who

are

ready

those

who

are

looking

and

anticipating

this

future

coming

of

Messiah

just

like

Simeon

and

Anna

that

we'll

look

at

briefly

next

week

this

feeling

of

expectation

he's

coming

I want

to get

myself

ready

for

this

I want

to be

ready

for

when

he

comes

and

the

promise

of what

Christ

has

accomplished

for

this

people

will

set

for

them

an

expectation

that's

what

we

see

in

verses

4

and

5

and

6

several

years

ago

when

Sarah

and I

got

married

and I

don't

recommend

this

by the

way

but

here's

what

I

did

on

our

honeymoon

I

put

together

a

list

of

letters

I

didn't

even

tell

her

where

we

were

going

I

just

said

pack

with

certain

things

and

kind

of

gave

her

a

list

she

didn't

know

what

was

going

to

happen

I

had

a

letter

set

aside

for

every

day

and

on

that

letter

was

kind

of

the

location

and

some

of

the

activities

that

we

could

do

in

each

of

those

places

and

so

she

had

kind

of

an

expectation

of

hey

there's

certain

number

of

letters

certain

number

of

days

I

guess

there's

a

promise

at least

of

hope

for

what

is

to

come

and

hopefully

based

upon

knowing

me

and

deciding

to marry

me

there was

a

confidence

at least

in

my

character

of being

able to

come

through

with the

promise

of a

honeymoon

and not

just

we're going

to San

Jose

in a

similar

fashion

God

has given

promises

to us

that are

connected

to promises

given in

the past

and because

of his

ability to

accomplish

and fulfill

those

promises

through

Jesus

Christ

we can

anticipate

that he

will come

clean

and come

through

to fulfill

promises

for us

in the

future

I think

I have

four promises

here

I want to

just punch

through

really quickly

for you

what I want

you to

recognize

is that

God gives

a promise

to a

specific

group of

people

and then

he blows

it up

and expands

upon it

in the

New Testament

through

Jesus

Christ

that he

hasn't

replaced

that promise

he hasn't

nullified

that promise

he hasn't

disqualified

that promise

but he

builds

upon that

promise

and strengthens

it to

now welcome

in a whole

new group

of people

for example

his promise

to Abraham

in Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

he says

this

I will

make you

a great

nation

and I

will bless

you and

make your

name great

so that

you will

be a

blessing

I

will