This is the Truth Network. Forever, yeah. My word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119, verse 89. I'm Stu Everson.
Welcome to this special Wednesday in the Word Leader podcast, where we prepare and equip our leaders of this special Bible study outreach breakfast. Every week to teach through the scriptures. Thirteen Dario locations. There's a men's group meeting and several of the Locations host the women on Thursday morning. Stay tuned.
Be encouraged as we jump into this week's Wednesday in the Word. You may have heard it said before. that for the unbeliever, This earth is the best it's ever gonna be. But for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, This earth, life on this earth, is the worst. It's ever going to be.
This is the closest to heaven. Those who are lost will ever find themselves. And this is the closest to hell that those who are saved. will ever realize We are here at our Wednesday of the Word podcast. I'm Stu Epperson.
Dr. Horn is off this week, a much-needed break. Dr. Date the word Dwayne Carson is with us. To jump in, and it's a good timing because, Dr.
Carson, you actually taught the end. Of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 last week, as we jump into the first 11 verses of chapter 5 this week. How is that, Dr. Carson? Getting people ready for the return of the king.
Is there anything better? I don't think there is, Stu. We call it the blessed hope for the believer. And I love how you've just opened this up. Because as believers, The best is yet to come.
This is the worst we'll ever experience. We go through trials, tribulations, we go through persecution. None of that is going to happen for us. We've got a glorious future in front of us. And either we will die and be present with the Lord for a while, and our bodies will be in the ground and in that sleeping place we talked about with the cemetery.
But if we are alive, I told folks last week I was looking, I'm looking for the upper taker, not the undertaker. I love that. The uppertaker. I love that. And so, whether we die or whether the rapture takes place with the Lord, which is so.
That's the glorious thing. We're going to be with him. Um but as you stated There is a world that is lost, and this is the best it's ever going to be for them because they're headed to an eternity of hell, torment. torture, like it's just unbelievable how to even think about describing it.
So we've we've got some great hope here, but also some tremendous warning before us. Yes, sir. We always like to do a little Review of this past week's message to bring folks up to speed with where we are, and then a preview of what's coming in these 11 verses.
So, our verses for this week. Our chapter five of 1 Thessalonians, verses 1 through 11. Last time we did the end of chapter 4. Where Paul takes us verses thirteen through eighteen, six really important verses. In the context, doctor Carson, you know, There's a mention, a reference.
To Christ's great return in every chapter of this book. But as you get toward the back nine of the book, particularly four and five. It intensifies, and we're right in the teeth of it, right here, right in the middle of it. Uh at the end of four, at the beginning of five. And really, the five is going to look forward.
To this day as the day of the Lord, a great day of judgment for those that don't know him. a great day of comfort in Consummation of glory for those who do. But chapter four, Dr. Carson, which you actually taught in my place at Dario this past week, and you did a great job. I got to watch it on.
on the Facebook channel, which by the way, our Facebook channel, everyone. is basically my name at Stu, but a period between at stew.Epperson. And if you just go to that Facebook page, I probably have. 10 Facebook pages, and half of them are old, or you know how that gets. You lose your password, whatever.
But that's got all the current. Wednesday in the Word live stream messages. All the current podcasts are posted there. We have a Wednesday in the Word. Facebook page as well that we'd love for you to join.
But you know, Dr. Carson, I watched you tu tackle this.
So really Before we get into Chapter 5, these first 11 verses, and the day of the Lord. Dr. Carson, You really spent some time this past week on It was more about bereavement. It was more about these Thessalonian believers. They had heard about the rapture, the return of Christ, and all that, but they had relatives who either had died or were dying.
They're like, oh no, did we miss the day? What happened? What's going to happen to the dead in Christ?
So how would you just summarize? Oh, what what you shared last week as we you know as we wrapped up chapter four, Doc.
Well, as first century, this whole thing is brand new. They're hearing the gospel. They're getting saved. And not only have they heard the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul has made it clear he's coming back.
And there was an X An expectancy that Jesus would return. even there in the first century. And now all of a sudden people have died. Paul, hey, what does that mean? Did they miss out since they died?
What happens to the person who has died? And we want to know what happens when we die. And so, Paul is going to help in this letter to give some explanations. I love how he opened it up. I don't want you to be ignorant.
This is so important to you. Don't you want to know? And so now he walks them through that how that when the rapture takes place, the dead in Christ will not perceive those who who will not the those who are alive will not perceive those who have died, that he's going to bring them out of the ground as well. And again, we've called this the blessed hope of the believer that when you're standing at that cemetery wondering what has happened here, no, there's coming a day when the body, the body will be resurrected. God has a purpose for the body, not just the spirit, because to be absent from the...
body is to be present with the Lord. But one day he's going to have, we're going to have this glorious reunion of our body with our spirit. And then with body, spirit, we'll be with the Lord forever. And it's such comforting words. And that's how he wrapped up chapter four.
He said, comfort one another with this. He makes a transition as we come into chapter five. It's such a good word, and it reminds us that. Paul wasn't trying to set together this conclusive, definitive chart on prophecy. This is the breakdown.
This is the moment of the first trumpet, second trumpet, the bold judgments and all these things. And then the church is gone, and then there's this marriage feast, and then there's this thousand-year reign. He's not getting that technical. He's giving comfort, he's giving encouragement, he's exhorting them. To exhort others.
This is a man who was affectionate for these folks. He over and over again says, I thank God without ceasing. I pray for you day and night. They were on his heart. And these are the last people he would want to have.
Any Whatsoever doubt or confusion about when Christ is going to come back or how Christ is going to come back and what's going to happen to those whose bodies are asleep, but their souls are very much alive with the Lord, and He makes it clear. in these verses.
So Dr. Carson, we come to chapter five. And the goal of this is all for comfort. There's a little bit of a pivot because now he's He's telling them that, you know, about the times and the seasons. And this is significant because a big question.
That everyone wants to know is why, or not why, that's even before this, but they want to know when. When's the Lord going to return? Acts chapter 1, verse 6. The disciples said to Jesus, right? Lord, is this going to be the time of your coming?
And Jesus gently rebukes him and says, Hey, listen. Listen. It's not for you to know the times and the seasons. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you.
So you're not to focus on the ends of times and when. You're to focus on the spreading of the gospel and being witnesses, not the ends of times, but the ends of the earth, which is an important distinction. And then Dr. Carson, you know, in these first 11 verses of chapter five. Coming out of this speaking to bereavement, now he's going to get into judgment.
And there's some sobering language in here. What I'd like to do is, this passage, these 11 verses, are kind of broken down four ways. And I'd like to just to kind of. Let you give a brief commentary on each of these four sections, if you would. As we get into it, and I want to give this backdrop.
You alluded to it. Just moments ago, when you talked about the first century church, these folks had not been to the prophecy conference. They had not read the Left Behind series. They hadn't seen the movies. they they they hadn't met kirk cameron and all the actors yet so they were it so we have we have the hindsight 2020 of 2000 years you know 2020 years plus well and all a I'll Paul didn't have the book of Revelation yet because John's not going to write that for maybe 30 more years before that's going to happen.
So He himself is trying to explain something that he's yet to have all the information. Good.
So, yes, sir.
So, you have basically four sections: you have understanding the times. Paul addresses the win question very you know, front and center, point blank. He doesn't hold any punches. And that's in the first three verses. You know, then you have this this this beautiful A symbolism of a believer as sons of light.
Versus sons of day and sons of light versus children of darkness, comparing them and contrasting them with unbelievers.
So you have that call in these next couple verses, verses four and five. And then you have in these next few verses. you know, six through nine, you have this call to sobriety, this call to Arm yourself to be vigilant. And that carries over into the final little section, verses 9 through 11. where he he you know he gives us a a call, a response.
what our response should be, and then you know, both inwardly. connects it with The beautiful death of Christ and how He died for us, the gospel. is intricate woven into all of this because if there's no Cross and there's no empty tomb. Then there's no return.
So all these things are inextricably connected and eternally bound together as part of what we call our great covenant God and His promises to us.
So, Dr. Carson, he closes with comfort. Let's just jump through these real quick and we'll get out of here, sir.
Okay. You've taught on this passage many times. You've written, you've lectured. And I wanted you to just let's start with these first three verses where he says. You know, he says, I want you to.
I want you to know about You know, the times and the seasons. And he jumps right in with the day of the Lord is going to come. Like a thief in the night. Why that? particular Imagery, a thief in the night, that's pretty strong.
Yeah.
Well, as we come to verse one. but concerning He's made a turn. He didn't go completely away from what he was doing in chapter four about the rapture. But he is making a little bit of a turn. to get more specific now about the return of the Lord.
for the judgment that he's going to be bringing. And this is more for the warning. to the to the lost And here when he says, times and seasons. That was used in the book of Daniel. Daniel talked about it.
What you just referenced in Acts chapter 1, Jesus will reference it. And he says, guys, you have no need that I should write you because bottom line is. We don't know when he's going to return. And there's no need in having all these debates over. I think he's going to return this year.
I think he's going to return 100 years from now. Listen. You need to be ready. That's what he wants them to understand. Jesus was asked by his disciples, and he did not give them an answer.
So who is he to be able to give them an answer? We need to be more focused. On our work that he has given us to do. Than sitting around watching, doing nothing, thinking he's gonna be here. Those who set dates, they're so unbiblical in doing so.
Now Is it a desire? for us to know the future. That answer is yes. We get up every day, want to know the future. We want to know what the weather is going to be.
We want to know what tomorrow's weather is going to be. We want to know what the market's going to do. We have a curiosity about the future.
So it's not wrong to want to know about what the future holds. We we do want to study this. And you talked about prophecy conferences. Boy, through the last, the end of the 20th century, there were so many of them. Because we want to know what are the, what is coming together.
that would tell us Jesus is coming back maybe sooner than we've been expecting. But ultimately, he's telling them. There's no need of getting caught up on this point. Bottom line is, I'm going to tell you what Jesus told me. He's going to come like a thief in the night.
It's going to happen so quick, so unexpectedly. That you Blown away. He would say that it's like the labor pains that a pregnant woman has. I was having lunch with my wife. when all of a sudden June twenty eighth, nineteen ninety She goes, uh-oh.
I go, what's up? And we were on the way to the hospital. She started having labor pains. It just all of a sudden comes upon you. And and and What I would highlight is there is some differences taking place in these verses of as Paul addresses the Thessalonians, for you, that's a big word, and then they.
There's going to be a distinction for those that are saved, those that are lost, and that's how this is starting to play out. Um Okay. Just need to know. He is coming back. Amen.
So it's real important. There's a fine line between. It's like the word contentment. It can swing both ways. You can be content as in.
Laissez-faire, I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to sit around and do nothing. Or you can be content as: hey, I'm perfectly at peace with God. I'm spiritually ambitious growing in the faith. advanced in the gospel, but I am completely at peace and There's in is there's so in terms of God's return, Christ's return.
We are to be We are to want to look for the signs of times. We want to. B Watching, be ever watchful. There's a call to watchfulness all throughout scripture. You can't get around it.
Jesus said it. They all said it. James says, Be patient, establish your hearts. The coming of the Lord draws near. James 5:8.
But, Dr. Carson, to your point, There's a very real sense to which the signs and times are important, but We don't want to go beyond that to where we're prognosticating or writing a book like 88 Reasons Jesus is going to come back in 1988, which was a bestseller. The author was wrong, Christ didn't come back, so he wrote 89 Reasons that Jesus is coming back in 1989. And so that's just going too far. And that's what happened in Thessalonica.
They were so excited about Christ's return.
Some of them were quitting their job. They heard one of the teachers talk about Christ's return in a sermon, and they went to the work the next day and quit their job.
Well, what'd they do?
Well, they moved in with their brother-in-law.
Well, he's working a good job. I'll just live off him. And after a while, that gets old, you know. And so, Paul says, We read that earlier in chapter three and four, where he says, Hey, work with your hands. Live a quiet life.
Don't be a troublemaker. But show your eagerness for Christ's return and your hope by. You know, exerting effort.
So, three rule, three little, little points here, or three little things in these first three verses. Analogies for any or euphemisms or whatever you want to call them for his sudden return, Thief in the Night, which you talked about. No one knows when you know, no one, no, no thief is going to send an advance notice note to say, Hey, we're coming, you know, and he would make sure all the doors were locked if that was the case. That's right. Where's the hide key?
And let us know, and we'll clean you out.
Okay, so the thief in the night is the first one: sudden destruction. Is the next word, and that's pretty cataclysmic. I mean, that's some pretty rough language to describe how bad it's going to be in the apocalypse and the end times, in the judgment of God. And then the third one is a woman in labor pains, which you've very well illustrated. You know, so many can identify with that having been.
married, one thing you don't want to say to your wife in in the delivery room is I feel you're pain. If you're a husband because you're going to feel more pain. You're going to get a black eye from a right cook. You know, my my first child came in ninety right around ninety four. And December 18th, 1994, our little hope was born.
And I remember Bill Clinton was the president right about then. And I remember him saying somewhere that, you know, in his eloquent voice, I feel your pain. I feel your pain. You know, he would say that. And I just wanted to imitate him and say that in that delivery room, but I know.
That wrath would be delivered on me by my wife if I joke that way.
So it's one thing you don't say because that is a major pain, but you know, a baby's coming. You know, it's coming and we're in these birth pangs all around.
So, but the interesting thing is, he says this little phrase, and we'll move on to this next section, Dr. Carson. He says, the world is saying peace and safety. Yeah.
noted that that was very common language in ancient Rome. That you know, they would say when they were in a time of peace, you know, that uh That they would say that. They would say, hey, we're good. They would say, peace and safety.
So the early church in Thessaloniki, you know, in the Greco-Roman, Roman settled Greek area of Thessalonica, they would have heard, you know, they would have seen those words from Paul saying, yeah, that's right. You know, we're in a peacetime. Everyone's saying peace and safety. Right. You know, you know, so, but when in fact, They have no idea.
of the wrath of God. In the day of the Lord. That's going to be. Absolutely unfurled on them. And by the way, the day of the Lord is mentioned.
dozens of times all throughout scripture. As a it's a phrase that represents the entire scope. of the end times judgment.
So in that little phrase, you have. Christ's return, which sets everything off. You have somewhere in there the tribulation. You have somewhere in there the Battle of Armageddon. You have somewhere in there.
The all the different judgments as set forth all throughout Revelation. You have the great white throne judgment there toward the end. And so, but that is a very important thing. The Old Testament prophets refer to it as a very significant. Paul is bringing up a word that even Jesus talked about, the day of the Lord, which, by the way, There's a very real sense.
that up until now it's been the day of man. You know, man has been called to replenish, multiply the earth. You know, the Genesis three. Uh okay. Call of God to man.
And man is supposed to be have dominion over the earth, Psalm 8. And man has boogered it up. Man has fallen into sin. Man has brought down the wrath of God through the flood. And then.
All of these other things that we see now, all this cancer, you can lay it right at the feet of mankind in our sin and our fallenness. And so the day of man is going to come to an end. And the day of the Lord is going to come on the scene. And I'm going to come back to that at the end. But, Dr.
Carson, these next couple verses, verses four and five. Yeah.
You know, he he really calls them and he makes this analogy. What's significant, real quick, and then we'll go to the next section. We I probably went too long on this one, but I want to I don't want anyone to miss this. We want to give more, even more than needed for our teachers that are in any pastors that are listening to this. Teaching through Thessalonians, we wanted this to be a tool and a blessing to you.
Dr. Carson. He talks about Sons of Light Versus Sons are children of darkness. Why that? Contrast by Paul as we're getting into the end times and kind of like Of Setting apart those who are of God and those who are not.
Light and darkness. Talk about that contrast real quick, sir.
Well, as far as the contrast, it's one of the greatest there is. because you can't have the two together. If there's light, you're not gonna have darkness. And and Jesus talked about us being, he was of the light, he's the light.
So we're now children of the light because we belong to him. I always like back in Proverbs chapter 4 that if you're righteous, your walk with the Lord is like the sun rising to noonday. Things get brighter, things get clear for you. But those who walk in darkness, They stumble. And here's what's happening as he addresses this aspect.
The day of the Lord is coming. You put it so well, no longer the day of man. The day of the Lord is coming. They shall not escape. This judgment is going to happen.
He says, but now, brethren, you're different. You're not like those who are caught up in darkness, who can't see, can't. Here's a key point: they can't understand. Their eyes have been blinded by the wicked one. They can't see.
The glorious truth. And so we're sitting here saying, you need to be ready. We could preach a sermon about like the days of Noah. They don't care. They just want their easygoing lives.
And Paul gives a contrast here. You who are saved. He called them brethren, key word. You are sons of the light. You have a better understanding, which does lead to what you say.
You're not going to sit around doing nothing. As sons of light, you understand you need to be light to the world. Yeah, and Jesus, you know, Jesus is, you know, John 8: I am the light of the world. He's the progenitor. of light the first words From the mouth of the Trinity, was let there be light in Genesis chapter 1.
And Dr. Carson, all throughout scripture, you have, of course, Jesus, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. We have his light. I love the Isaiah passage. You know, the children that walked in darkness, they have seen a great light.
And so this is used all throughout the Bible to the point where Christ says to his disciples in the great Sermon on the Mount, you are the light of the world. And so there is this very real sense to this contrast of light and darkness. And he says, and Paul says here, you know, in verse 6, he makes it very clear. He says, look, or verse 5, he says, We are not. Children of darkness, we are not the spawn of darkness, we are sons and daughters of light.
And so, you know, First John talks about that. If you love Him. You will walk in the light as he is in the light. If you walk in the darkness, you're not of the light. And so it's so important.
But then, Doc, in this verses six through eight. He gives a real he gives some real feet. to this This interjection of light, this idea of being sons of light, where he says, Hey, now you're going to put on some armor. You're going to live soberly. You know, you're going to have some sobriety about you that's going to mark you.
Talk about those markers in those couple, those verses there: six through eight. That Paul gives, he says, now, so they might be saying, well, what does that mean?
Well, here you go. Yeah.
Don't you love how practical Paul is? He's getting out of that theological classroom and he's getting down where the rubber meets the road. Therefore, let us not sleep. As others do, but let us watch. The idea again of watch is more than just sitting on a mountain, looking up, hoping that today's the day.
No, watch. with a work in hand. We are to be working while watching. A great example of that is a man by the name of Simeon in the Christmas story, Luke chapter 2, verse 25. Simeon was working.
While he was waiting for the first coming of the Lord. That's our example. We're supposed to be working. while waiting Today I got up with a thought. Perhaps today.
This could be the crowning date. The rapture could take place or I could. Fall asleep in the Lord. Today could be my last day on planet Earth. On the other hand, I need to be working as if I had 100 years in front of me.
And so being sober has a clear. Thinking. That's the idea of the word sober, to be clear thinking about life, not clouded, not misunderstood. That I have this clear thinking about, okay, here's what life is really about. I've been called.
To do a work for the Lord Jesus Christ. From being saved, I now start serving the Lord. Um and then verse eight. He jumps in there and he says, okay. being different.
And he gives us the first time we start getting this idea of the armor of God. He'll really expand on this when he writes into the book of Ephesians. When he writes to the Ephesians, he'll give the whole breakdown of the armor of God. But here we get this first thinking on this. Put on the breastplate of faith.
Now, without faith, it's impossible to please God and love. Jesus said, People will know you're my disciple by your love, one for another. And I like to say that the Time a person needs love the most is when they deserve it the least. And so we're going to put these two characteristics on that this is what marks us. Uh, we have faith, we believe God, we're gonna take steps to do what he's called us to do.
We walk by faith, not sight, and we're gonna love people. And we're going to love people that are unlovely. And then The helmet of the helmet as a helmet, the hope of salvation. And ultimately, we were back to chapter four. Everything about our lives is filled with hope because we know the Lord Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come.
That's so good. You know, Paul's medley of this three-part medley that he sings, it's at the end of 1 Corinthians 13. It's in the first few verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Faith. hope and love.
He brings him right back up here. And it's the intentional. Really? armor clothing Of the believer that sets us apart. And living in the light versus You know, those who are children of darkness, it also makes, it's also that which attracts.
those to Christ and also in some cases repels Because the world doesn't understand that kind of love and they don't get it, but we're here to shine that love. Doc, Paul really brings this to a crescendo in verses. I guess you would say nine through eleven. For this wonderful call to comfort, to encouragement, and the reminder of the gospel. You know, the gospel is ground zero, but it's also.
The steady Truth that sustains us all. Talk about these words of comfort as Paul closes his thoughts here. Verse 9. God did not appoint us to wrath. And While we We're not going to get into a debate, but many who would hold to the pre-trip rapture, this will be one of those verses.
We're not going to be going through this great judgment that the world's going to face during the day of the Lord. But more than that, you know, Romans 8:1, there's no condemnation. God has not appointed us to wrath. We are saved, and as saved people, we're going to one day be in the presence of the Lord. We don't have to continue to worry about this.
I think there's a little bit of component here of the assurance of the salvation. Once you've accepted Jesus, the wrath was poured out on Jesus. He took our place. And that next statement, verse 10, who died for us. He took our place.
I think Stu it was when Charles Spurgeon was dying. Uh someone asked him Sir, what is the gospel to you right now? And he said basically what's in verse 10. For Christ. Died.
For me. Amen.
Wow. Wow. Yeah.
So then, verse 10 is going to wrap up. We should live together with him. That's that's again. The best is yet to come. And verse 11.
Guess what I get to do with this? I get to encourage you. I get to comfort you. The idea of comforting it to encourage, to keep you running the race and to edify. one another, building each other up.
We've got a great work to do for the Lord. We get to do this work. Dr. Falwell was asked one time. Uh what gets you up in the morning?
And he said, I only have one life to live. It soon will pass. Only what's done for Christ will last. And then I was sitting with a gentleman at lunch, and he looked at us and he said, I believe I exist to make the biggest mark for Jesus Christ. You're my lifetime.
Well, that that's the encouragement. Paul's trying to say to these Thessalonians. And he's going to, when we get to next week, he's going to give us all these different things to be doing for each other so that the body of Christ gets built up and lost people get saved. Yeah, it's going to get real practical. And, you know, it's all tethered to the fact that the king is returning.
Therefore, I'm going to pray always. I'm going to rejoice always. I'm going to, in everything, give thanks and all these great admonitions, these great encouragements coming up. Dr. Carson, What a great ending.
And so you have these four sections in this. These 11 verses Okay. And just this this Two kind of closing thoughts I have, and I really would love it if you prayed us out of here and. Pray for all of our wonderful leaders and pastors and those that teach and serve in this ministry, the men and women that serve in Wednesday in the Word and women in the Word. You know, he says comfort, you know, he says, comfort one another with these words at the end of chapter.
four verse eighteen And that word comfort, paracleo, is the word we get, you know, is from the word paraclete, which is another name for the Holy Spirit that we it's introduced to us by Jesus in John 14. He says, another name. Comforter is going to come.
So he brings immense comfort. And he's effectively saying, let the Holy Spirit in you and through you. use this doctrine To bring great comfort for those who've died, you should be comforted in the fact that you're gonna see, you will see them again. if they are in Christ. And then, but he throws in another word here, which I really love: edify.
He says, comfort and edify each other here in verse 11. And that word edify is to build up. It's to strengthen. It's as he says earlier in chapter four, he says, you know. To fill up those things which are lacking in you, you know, in others.
And so, you know, if a discussion of prophecy in Christ's return, the rapture, the millennium, the, you know, whether you're pre-trib, post-trib, or Whether you're pre-wrath or mid-trib, hey, those are good things that Christians are allowed to rigorously debate and discuss, but they should never divide us. Because Paul says we're to comfort and edify.
So, if you're not building people up, then don't then you need to either change your heart and go to God and ask Him for grace. Or go back to this passage because this reminds us that, hey, we're looking forward to him returning. We don't know when. We don't know how it's going to break down. And they, of all people, didn't have.
This, you know, they didn't have fictional novels or prophetic conferences or all the charts and graphs that we have that we put on our walls that we draw up. They didn't have any of that, but they did know this. Jesus Christ ascended, and the angel said, In the same way you've seen the Son of Man taken from you, he will return. And he will return in glory. And this is the next.
great event in history. And This is all possible. Because of what We would call the first day of the Lord. Dr. Carson.
Paul takes us right to the cross. That's that Spurgeon example you gave, that language, Jesus Christ. In my place, where he says, you know, he died. For us. Those few little words there are the greatest expression of Substitutionary atonement.
That's a big sounding word, but that basically means. Friend, you and me, you and I deserve death. Jesus Christ came. And God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God through him the great exchange he died for us And he experienced. The full wrath of God, in a very real sense, the day of the Lord happened.
in that darkness On Golgotha. when the wrath of God was poured out on the Son of God, For the salvation. Of souls of men and women, of the lost sons and daughters. of Adam and Eve, us. And that was the day of the Lord.
Christ endured the judgment of God. For us, so we would not have to. We've been spared. We're forgiven. We're redeemed, Dr.
Carson. We have Everything good ahead of us. We have great hope. And by the way, Tribulation. Yeah, there is a great tribulation described in the scripture.
But guess what? Every day for the believer is a day of tribulation. Even James said, count it all joy when you fall into various multifaceted, multicolored trials. You're going to get trials from a bad health diagnosis as a believer. You're going to get trials from someone who throws, I had someone throw hate on my social media the other day, just evil stuff.
Like, where did that come from? That's a tribulation, but you know what happens? Is it forced me to lean into Jesus? And entrust his grace, because in my weakness. Is he made strong?
And so Dr. Carson The trials are real. The tribulation is in a very real sense here. And yes, there's a future greater tribulation, but guess what? Jesus went through that tribulation in the day of the Lord and the wrath of God on the cross, so we wouldn't have to.
And there's a very real sense that we will, while it could get a lot worse for us before it gets better. We will never experience the wrath of God as believers. And, you know, and look at Israel. What a great picture. How many frogs were in the tents and the in the houses of the Hebrews during those plagues?
How many lice were eating them? How much of their cattle died? How much of their water turned to blood? They were not. How many of their firstborn were struck down?
You know, when there was blood on the mantle. And when they were in God's chosen people, they were completely inoculated. from these those cursed those cursed plagues You know, from the locusts to the darkness to all that stuff, the land of Goshen was spared. Because And we are spared because Jesus Christ, because God did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all.
So the gospel. Is the compelling Reality That says, Jesus took my wrath, he took my beating, he took my bullet. On that cross, he rose from the dead, he conquered death. We are now alive forever with him. And if we don't have that as comfort and as edification, Doc, Like the old preacher said, and I've said it before, if that don't light your fire, you got wet wood.
Yeah.
John will write about Christ being our propitiation. That's a big word. That word literally means.
Someone who is the wrath absorber. And when Paul writes here, God has not appointed us to wrath, it's because that wrath has been taken by Jesus for us. I don't know how, as you just said, I'm listening to you describe my Savior. And I just want to cry out, worthy is the Lamb. I just want to worship him.
And as we wrap up here, the component that Paul is driving to these Thessalonians is your life is to be filled with. Yes, anticipation of the coming of the Lord. But working. be found faithful in witnessing. And work serving for the Lord until that rapture or till your day of being called into his presence by death, we are to be found faithful.
giving everything we got. To the one who gave everything for us. Amen.
Amen.
And you know. We have heaven awaiting us, Dr. Carson. But I just have to go back, and I'm going to probably close my group this week. And, folks, you use whatever kind of analogy God puts on your heart, but.
with this John Pfeiffer said it really well and it's extremely convicting. And I will try to paraphrase what he said. He said, if you could have heaven. And The Ultimate reuniting with all of your relatives. And completely Bodily healed with your super resurrection body from head to toe.
And the indulgence of every one of your senses and all the great stuff you love to do to the max in heaven. If you could have all of that in heaven one day, but No Jesus. Would you take it?
Now think about that, because so often we talk about The Gospel as a ticket. To heaven? As a escape. you know, escape clause to get out of hell. But At the end of the day, What Pfeiffer says and what Paul is saying is Jesus Christ is the personification of heaven He is the essence of heaven.
He is the one. We long to see. We long for our faith to become sight. to to to to put our hand in that nail scarred hand. And to be with him.
And Dr. Carson, he is the blessed hope, and he is the great joy. And so let's not in all this talk of prophecy and end times. He's the one returning. He's the one we are going to see.
And over and over again, Paul says it here in chapter five. He said it in chapter four. We will ever be with the Lord. Jesus said to the thief on the cross: Today you will be with me. In paradise, if we focused our life on being with Jesus, even just today, just if we focused on just hanging out with him, you watch.
His life is going to be hanging out all over you, and you're going to be different because he said it in John 15: when you abide in him, and he abides in you, and his word abides in you. It changes you. Because you recognize that apart from him, I am nothing. He is increasing, I am decreasing. And so we walk with him now.
And we walk with him. Into Glory And the Holy Spirit of God, the third member of the Trinity, is with us, comforting us, caring us, and exalting him in our life. making us more like him. And working out these kinks, we all got these kinks. He's working out.
Hallelujah. We got these struggles, but he is perfecting and working and renewing our mind. As we look forward to and may we comfort and edify others. Doc, you want to close us in prayer, brother? Father, thank you for your word.
It is so encouraging. We have questions. We wonder about the future. We have fears that need to be calmed and your word does that for us. I pray that you'll be with our teachers throughout all these different Darios as Wednesday in the Word is a ministry.
that will help men grow. To know you better and make you known. That is our ultimate desire, Father. We want to know you more. And we want to make you know more.
And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
Amen.
The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12. Thank you, folks, for listening. Please share this podcast with others that just need a little encouragement. And we hope you'll find a group to connect with in a local church first and foremost.
And if you're able to, in addition to that, come to some of our Dario Wednesday of the Word groups or want to start a group, just reach out to us Wednesday. In the word wed, in the word.com is our website. And the Facebook page has all the content as well. Wednesday and the Word. Look up the Facebook page.
You'll find it. Become a member of that group as well as my Facebook page. I've got a few, but the one that this content you can find habitating there is Stu at stew.epperson. Please pray for your pastor. Pray for all of our pastors, all of our leaders.
Pray for Pastor Horne as he's off this week. Pray just a special blessing on him and thank you, Dr. Carson, for filling in. And we will see you next time as we jump into the middle of Hebrews, the middle of this great book, 1 Thessalonians. Hebrews is easier to say and spell than Thessalonians.
Is it one S? Is it two S? Is it one L or two L's? But we're going to get into these beautiful imperatives right in the middle of this chapter, and then we're going to close out. With the beautiful benediction and call of Paul at the end.
Now we'll round out.
So we still have a few more weeks in this great epistle here on our Wednesday in the Word podcast.
