sober and vigilant

First Thessalonians chapter 5, we are going to continue with this study that we were carrying out of the Second Coming. Sometimes in these times I am torn between Christmas sermons like this and sermons that we have already started but I do not want to lose this thread of this very important teaching about the Second Coming and then we will also have the opportunity to prepare for that Christmas season.

But the Christmas season actually celebrates the First Coming of Jesus as the frail child, the babe in the manger, the long-suffering servant, the crucified servant of God. The Second Coming presents Him as the victorious Christ, amen? who comes on his white horse to look for His Church so to speak to celebrate the Lord's Supper, the Supper of the Lamb. A glorified Christ, a Christ who comes to receive the command and the adoration of all the nations of the Earth.

The Bible says that every eye will see him, it says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In the first time many rejected him, they did not recognize him as the Son of God, in the Second Coming it will be different. Even those who do not want to admit it will have to admit it. Many like us will adore him and celebrate him because we love him and because we know that he is our Savior who gave himself for us on the cross. Others will have to do it out of obligation.

And we are going to see that there will be two classes of people at the Second Coming, those who wait and long for his Second Coming and are prepared for it, and those who have rejected Jesus, and are not prepared for that day that will be a day of wrath for them. We, however, do not have to fear that day because it is a day of celebration and vindication for us.

Chapter 5 First Thessalonians says: "But concerning the times and the occasions" of the times and the occasions, what is the apostle Paul referring to here? It refers to a God who proceeds in history in a systematic way with times and stages, it is like a Great Plan that He has. It is like the facets of a war or a great conflict that the generals have a strategy, they have an objective and they unroll the war according to specific moments, specific interventions, specific battles, conquering one place first after the other.

So it is with the history of salvation, since the beginning of time God has had moments, epochs, facets, specific people, periods that have happened exactly as the Lord has desired, nothing escapes the Lord's planning. And the Bible calls this times and occasions, it talks about discerning the times, discerning the seasons, the moments in history in order to understand what God is doing.

So here when the apostle Paul says: "But about the times and the occasions" he is referring to different moments through God's salvific plan throughout history, he says: "But about the times and the occasions "that God has in His mind planned throughout history "you do not need brothers for me to write to you, because you know perfectly well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." It is interesting that the apostle says: you do not need me to write to you, so why am I writing to you?

Well I think that in part he is being rhetorical, he is assuming: hey you already know that but just in case let me tell you. It is important that in the churches, the believers who are solidly taught, educated, know about God's times, the moments, the history, the things that God has prepared for us. That is why I am taking this time because I feel from the Lord, God calls us precisely to be aware of the Lord's plans.

We have to be educated. If we Pastors do not instruct our Congregation about what the Lord wants to do, we will be surprised when that time of the Lord comes. There are many Christians who have not been adequately instructed about the purposes and plans that God has and that is why many Congregations are being numbed and are being doctrinally deceived at this time, because they are not being indoctrinated, indoctrinated, discipled correctly about the plans of God. Many people live in perfect ignorance about what God has in mind to do throughout history.

The apostle Paul led by the Holy Spirit is here kind of assuming: hey you know. God willing that the day will come when I say: brothers, we must not talk about these things, I know that you are very well educated in it but in any case we are going to talk a little about it to reinforce it because there is never a need to talk about these things so important and so sublime.

"You don't need me to write to you because you know perfectly" and here comes the first strong piece of teaching for this message and for this text, remember that we are studying different texts, okay? Those who have not followed my teaching I believe this is the fourth sermon that I deal with regarding the Second Coming, there are many key texts that you understand and know, and be able to refer to them in your own personal study on this very important subject. And this is one of them. I am going to be visiting other texts, I don't know if it will give me this year but next year, we are going to see how God helps us because it is a doctrine that I feel is the time for us to study it in depth.

Here you have a very interesting piece about the doctrine of the Second Coming, it says: "Because the day of the Lord will come" how? "like a thief in the night." Like a thief in the night. How does a thief come in the night? surprisingly, when it is not expected, right? And one of the things about the Second Coming of the Lord is that it will come, the Bible is full of those references, when humanity is perhaps most unprepared, when they believe that God already forgot about it, when history is more like in power of people, we are more prisoners of time, of space, our efforts, the struggles, humanity will be like, ah, God does not exist, that is a fairy tale, old wives' tales, we do not have to worry about that.

So at that time is when God is going to come, there is going to be a sudden unexpected element of surprise about the Coming of the Lord. So that is very important, it will come like a thief in the night. That is an element that is repeated many times in the Scriptures. If you go to Matthew chapter 25, for example, I'm not going to take too much time to read it, but there is the famous parable of Jesus Christ about the ten virgins. Do you remember that passage? (singing) ♪you will be watching like the ten virgins, and half That night the husband arrived and those who were unprepared, those who were alert, went with him♪.

That idea that these virgins, five wise, five unsuspecting, five foolish and foolish, were waiting for the groom to come, in those days there was no email, there was no telephone, there were no cell phones, it was said: well, the groom is coming, right? let's say from Wooster or from New York and nobody knew, it's like our fields. Sometimes people would arrive at midnight because the car they were traveling in broke down or whatever and the people would arrive, and everyone would turn on the light and prepare the sancocho or whatever at two in the morning because they had not the conveniences we have in our time.

So imagine 2,000 or 3,000 years ago or whatever, the weddings were going to be celebrated, all the people would arrive but they didn't know what time the groom or the bride was going to arrive, whatever it was, for now the groom arrived! and the foolish women were sleeping with their faces, their faces, there was no moment or cream whatever women put on when they sleep (laughs). And then, but five of the girls, of the maidens from the member of the ladies' entourage, I would say, they were waiting, they had their candles ready, they had their oil there, their lamp ready, and when they said, the groom is coming! they psh! they lit their lamp and were ready but there were five who were not ready.

Ah he will come when he comes! don't worry, he's going to come at around nine in the morning because he's going to be traveling at night, he arrived at midnight, he arrived at an unexpected moment and these five unprepared virgins. "Help us! Share us some of your oil" "we're so sorry" they were left with the bow made, the poor things, they couldn't participate. And that's how it's going to happen to a lot of people. There will be a sector of the Church inclusive and a sector of humanity, there will be another sector that will not be prepared when the groom arrives to celebrate the Wedding of the Lamb. What group do you want to belong to? I hope it is the group of the five wise virgins, not the group of the five foolish virgins.

So there is a whole teaching, a vein of teaching in the Bible that says that the Coming of the Lord will be when he is not expected. There is another thing that I cannot stop here either without failing to explain to you, note that the expression is: "The day of the Lord will come." That term the day of the Lord is a term that appears a lot in the Bible, including in the Old Testament several of the prophets speak of the day of the Lord.

This is a very specific term in the scriptures. It refers to Judgment Day, a time of great affliction for mankind. It refers to the consummation, the full realization, the end of time. It refers to the Second Coming. Now it is not about a literal 24-hour day but an era, a time, a period in the history of humanity, it could be months, years, who knows? no one can say for sure but it is titled the day of the Lord, it is like the weather.

Why do they say the day of the Lord? Because it is as if the Lord says: This is my day, today I am going to deal with humanity as I have said that I am going to deal with it throughout history, this is My time. Until now men have done what they wanted, now it's up to Me in other words. That is why I believe that it says the day of the Lord, it is a day in which the Lord will bring humanity to account.

Until now, God has been very gentle and very liberal with man and with humanity, but that day is His day. It is the day of the Lord in which He will define things and call humanity to account, and it will be a time of great affliction, says the Bible. It is the day of God in which he finally settles accounts with humanity, it is up to him to act. Wherever this term appears on the Lord's Day, if you have a good concordance, theology book, or teaching book about the Second Coming, look up this term. Wherever this term appears it refers to a terrible day of great distress at the end of time.

I would like to take the time, and maybe next year I will, to take that doctrine of the Lord's Day and run it through the many texts that are there because they provide pretty coherent teaching about that time. The Great Tribulation is also partly implied there. It is a day of great anguish for humanity, it is a day when nature will revolt and it is a time of great cataclysms, of great signs in the sky, on earth and in the seas, a time of great terror for humanity. You don't want to be at that time without being sure where your eternal destiny lies. You want to be clear about your relationship with Christ.

For the Church this is a time of hope. The Lord Jesus Christ says: when you see these things happening, raise your heads because it is the time of your liberation, okay? But for humanity it will be a time of great, great anguish and that time will come unexpectedly when people least expect it, when they are less prepared, when the nations are involved in their concern for the world, for their things in the world, then that day will come.

It says: "He will come like a thief in the night" verse 3 "that when they say peace and security then sudden destruction will come upon them like the pains of a pregnant woman and they will not escape." A possible scenario is that when peace treaties are made in the nations, there could come a day when it seems as if there will be no more war because there are agreements between the nations and the nations will say like: wow, we already solved the problem of the world war, and when it seems that God is not needed to make peace among men, when they are already like they have lowered their guard, it is God's soccer punch then at that moment.

When humanity is already mature and they believe that they can do without God, it will be the moment of the Second Coming. God loves drama, God is the dramatist par excellence and says: "and they will not escape." There will be no escape. When God determines something, no one can escape.

I've been watching a long documentary about World War I which then led to World War II where the Cold War came out and a number of other things at the turn of the 20th century in 1914, and one of the things that stands out to me is that there were a series of alliances throughout Europe, very powerful alliances between nations, Russia, Germany, the Austrian-Germanic empire, Hungary and other countries, England. All these countries had established a treaty of peace and concord, and cooperation with each other.

And yet when the time came to start the war, the First World War, given a murder that occurred, a young student caused all the disaster of the First World War because the nations were already prepared, everyone was armed to the teeth and many technologies of war had arisen and new weapons and all that, and when that moment arrived nobody really wanted to enter the war but the peace treaties that they had were ironically the things that dragged them along, because when the Austrian-Germanic or rather Austrian empire -Hungarian when they declared war against one of the neighboring countries Serbia and that unleashed a chain that the one that was allied then, on the one hand Russia was allied with this Austrian-Hungarian empire and then declared that it had to enter the war, Germany on the other another part then went to help another of the countries and when he comes to see all the countries were involved in a war.

The United States that did not want to enter the war also had to enter the war. They could not escape because the very machinery of war, their very treaties and alliances dragged them into war, one of the most destructive and terrible wars that humanity has ever experienced. And so it happens. I believe that when the time comes that God says this is the time, no matter how much they want, they will be dragged into suffering, they are going to be dragged into violence, they are going to be dragged to kill each other and destroy each other. The wrath of God is terrible, it is terrible when man rebels against God's purposes they cannot escape. The Lord will laugh at them says Psalm number 2.

Then: "Sudden destruction will come upon them like pains to a pregnant woman and they will not escape." It will be a time of great war, great alliances will be unleashed, the Antichrist and other things that are already prepared in the drama of God will enter into action, they will not be able to escape, they will not be able to resist. Their peace treaties will not work for them.

But how beautiful that the next verse is a verse like a quiet whistle and a cool breeze on that stormy horizon, it says: "But do not be in darkness, brothers, so that day surprises you like a thief." We the children of God dwell in the light. For us that day should not be a surprising, unexpected, surprising, terrible day of judgment, of repentance for what we did not do or did, it should be a day of: wow finally what God has promised has been fulfilled. If we are prepared, that will be the feeling of the children of God.

So it is a Word of comfort. Over and over again through the teachings of the Second Coming there is this idea: for a group of people in humanity it will be a terrible day but you children of God believers in Jesus Christ, those who live says in another passage: those who have lived and have slept or died in Christ Jesus do not have to worry just as we do not have to worry about personal death, if we die if we live we belong to the Lord says the Word. A Christian should not be terrified of death because we are prepared, amen?, we dwell in the light of Christ, we are not in darkness.

Verse 5 says: "For you are all" what? "Children of the light and of the day, we are not of the night nor of the darkness." That is a rich and prevalent theme in Scripture. The children of God dwell in the light, the open, the day of God. Our lives are open to the Lord and open to our brothers. We are people of truth and light. Now where does destruction move, death, the devil, sin? In the darkness, the dark, the hidden, the secret, the subterranean, the subversive, that is where the enemy, like a serpent, moves underground and at ground level to carry out his destructive actions.

Then he says: don't worry, he's going to come like a thief that moves in the darkness, but you don't have to worry because you don't live in the darkness, you live in the light, in the day. He moves in the night, we move in the light. So that's important. "Therefore let us not sleep like the others if we do not watch and be sober."

Before going into that little point there, which is very important, let me tell you something about this light thing because it is a precious subject and it has an ethical and behavioral issue here, and of life that is also very important for us, because I believe that these doctrines They are not just as theoretical and theological merely in their abstract and academic aspect but have implications for life, the day now and the here that we live, how we behave, how we live, what we are.

So even though I don't have much time to talk to you about much more, I want to stop at that point of "we are people of light." You live in the light, you live in the light, I am a man of light, a woman of light, we must live in the light. Look at an interesting passage John 11:9 and 10 where the Lord in the context of Lazarus and his resurrection says: "Answering Jesus said: Doesn't the day have twelve hours? He who walks by day does not stumble because he sees the light of this world, but he who walks at night stumbles because there is no light in him." Because the disciples were afraid that if they were to resurrect Lazarus the Jews who hated Jesus would be there waiting to harm him as in fact they did.

But the Lord said: what does it matter, I move, I live in the light, that is why I am not afraid of those who want to hurt me. And it struck me when I was meditating on that passage a few days ago that when one lives in the light one does not live in fear. When you know that your accounts are clear with God and with your brothers, you don't have to hide from anyone. You do not care that they speak ill of you, that they want to hurt you or that there are demons that want to destroy your life, you dwell in the light and your Heavenly Father covers you.

The woman, the man of God who lives in a clean, clear, simple, pure life, treating others well, living as Christ lived, does not have to fear the things that happen. Affliction comes, pain comes, suffering comes, struggle comes and it doesn't matter because my life is in God's hands. I don't have to fear: oh Lord, what will happen if I die? You are not calm because you live an open life because you are an open letter. The person who fears death and the problems of life is the person who is always scheming, who is always doing hidden things, these people live full of fear.

But the person who lives in the light is calm, even if they come to hurt him, they want to do whatever, he is calm, don't worry; my back is covered by Christ Jesus, whatever they say. I wrote here: "We are people of light and not of darkness. We have to reject everything that resembles darkness. The lie" each of these things could be here for a long time working on them but I am not going to do it.

"Lying, dissimulation, falsehood, hypocrisy, deceit, gossip, gossip, manipulation, malice, machinations, speaking ill of others behind their backs, being calculating, manipulating people , using others for our own purposes." All these things and much more are those that belong to darkness. The son of God is an open letter.

We have to distinguish ourselves by being people who put their lives in our hands and say: I am calm because that person is going to take good care of me, he is not going to put the knife in my back. It won't hurt me. She is not going to do something that is detrimental to my health or my life, she is a good person, of kindness, she is honest, she is clear, her yes is yes, her no is no. That's what brothers mean.

Many people think it is only not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to commit the great sins, no. The ethics of the son of God is that, to be clear. A man, a woman of open light. My brother, my sister, if you or I in any way, you or I are not in that light right now, let us repent, let us ask the Lord: Father, help me to dwell in the light, help me to be an open letter, help me to be a transparent person, who people can see me, turn their backs on me and be calm because they can trust my honesty and my generosity. So I think that's the issue, right? that we are children of the light, since we dwell in the light and not in the darkness, we do not have to fear him who moves in the darkness, nor when the day of darkness arrives.

So in verse 6 Paul says: "Therefore let us not sleep like the rest." There is a second level of practicality and consequence. He then says "as we are of the day let's not sleep" because people do not sleep during the day but sleep at night. Now what is he referring to here? he is referring to: do not become spiritually numb. Don't be too confident about the world and life.

There are people who are so involved in the rush and in the web of life that they have lost awareness of what is happening around them. They are so involved in making money, having a big house, reaching the top of their profession, being recognized and respected by others, accumulating a great name in the world that they get into living life only in sensuality, the money, fame, friends, pleasure, the things of this world, the vanity of this world, giving large amounts of money to have a building named after you at Harvard or creating a foundation to have your name there as so many artists do today.

Today, the artist who does not have a foundation is nobody and there are consultants who are only in charge of consulting with artists, what type of foundation promotes their name, promotes their reputation? Vanity of vanities, everything is vanity says the writer. There are people who are so involved in things in the world that they have gringolas like horses, they only see the world and here.

And the Apostle Paul says: do not be like that, do not be numb. Hence this idea that we be sober. He says: "Therefore let us not sleep like the rest, but let us watch and be sober." That word captivated me because I read it twice in that passage, the word to be sober in verse 8 also says: "let us be sober having put on the breastplate of faith and love" and that word sober captivated me. I looked for it in the original Greek, the word is: nefomen, which means nefomen, it is a Greek term that refers to keeping one's senses clear, seeing reality as it is. See, look sanely at things, not be fooled. Don't get too excited about the cares and fashions of this world.

I have always been fascinated by that word of being sober, of sobriety. It is a mark as I see in the Scripture of the mature Christian sobriety, to be sober. For me, the sober person, as I say, is a person who sees things as they are, the opposite of the person who is drunk with the world. She is so intoxicated with what the world offers. A fashion came out, they have to be the first to buy the latest shoe, the latest dress, the latest earring, whatever, the latest hairstyle, whatever men and women have today.

Nowadays, well, all the men are shaving their chests and backs because they are the first to go there to pay 200 dollars to get a Brazilian wax, I don't know what that is called (laughs) and even in places that are not convenient not even name, the Lord rebukes the devil right?. Or that women have to be like Twiggy, weigh 90 pounds but there go all women even if they don't look good, skinny and undone, and bony because that's all the rage.

And brothers, that type of person is not appropriate, that type of attitude is not appropriate for the children of God. The man of God, the woman of God is always upright. You see it, it doesn't mean that it doesn't fit in one way or another but, that you're not informed but, you're not running after this, running after that, oh what happened! let's go there, oh! that Christ is over here, let's go there, oh that they are doing miracles there we moved there. The son of God stands firm. It's like a big ship that doesn't move easily. Now, if it's one of those little boats, it turns around in a peseta.

But the son of God is a sober person, do you understand? They tell him: oh, look there, this is happening, oh, ok, thank you, that's good, well, I'm going to think about it, I'm going to pray about it; measure things. It is not out there, as they say, flowing behind every wind of doctrine. There are people out there, you know that I don't know, they change fashion or Church like they change shoes or hairstyles, that's terrible. In this time it is like that, there is an effervescence. There is one thing. Today they are Buddhists, tomorrow they are Hindus, the other day they are Pentecostals, then they are Hare Krishna and it is one thing, people are hungry. The children of God sober; they are watching, they have their eyes looking at the times.

Watch and pray because you do not know the day the Lord will come says the apostle Peter. You have to be sober, you have to watch. Sober for me is that, it is a quality of the believer. His enthusiasms are not too extreme and neither are his depressions. There comes someone who looks like the Second Incarnation of Jesus Christ and they are not dazzled, oh, no, they are calm, measuring in the light of the Word. What does the Word say? That sobriety is very important, it is a quality that I love about Christian maturity and one day we are going to explore it more.

Nephomen, says: "Let us not sleep like the others, but let us watch and be" Nephomen, "let us be sober, for those who sleep at night sleep and those who get drunk at night get drunk." In other words, the night is the time to do all the few shameful acts of humanity, yes or no? That's the time when all the ugly things happen, they kill people, they steal from each other, they do all the things you know, it's the night, the darkness, the darkness. The son of God dwells in the open, the light, the clarity of the day.

So he says "but we" there is that contrast, right? here is this group destined for destruction waiting for their moment that God has for them to grab them and trap them in their own foolishness and their own drunkenness of the world, time, space, history. Says: "but we" again that soft breeze, that major tone; "we who are of the day let us be sober" nephomen again, let us be sober, "having clothed ourselves with the breastplate of faith and love, and with the hope of salvation as a helmet."

That is what it calls us to, right? I can't escape something interesting here, by the way, this is a treat for you, right? says: "having clothed ourselves with the breastplate of faith and love and with the hope of salvation as a helmet." We have to be careful many times when the apostle Paul talks about certain things and systematizes them and we sometimes make them more technical than the Lord really wanted.

You know that in chapter 6 of Ephesians he is talking about the breastplate of justice, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the preparation of the Gospel, all these things and we have made of that almost like a technology of the armor of the believer. In this case, note that what instead of saying the shield of faith says the breastplate of faith, exchanges things. It is that the apostle Paul was not really interested in how to make a mantra, a repetitive prayer of the Christian armor, what he wants to say is: look, we protect ourselves with the elements of the Gospel: with the Word of God, faith, the Holy Spirit, the righteousness that we live by, these things. Whether you use it as an armor or as a shield, or as a shoe, it doesn't matter what matters is that you put it on in some way.

We don't have to deify these things. This also happens with the gifts, we say that there are 9 gifts or 11 gifts because that is what it says in First Corinthians chapter 12, in other Roman passages there are other gifts and elsewhere, and there are other gifts that I believe God is being made up today in the 21st century too that were not even in the Bible. God is infinitely creative, we cannot summarize it to a single thing and sometimes we, here I see that, right? like I tell you an extra little to encourage you to be flexible, agile, creative in the way you view the Scriptures, I don't even know if you realize what I'm saying but if you don't give it glory anyway, it's good don't worry okay?.

Then verse 9 says: "For God has not appointed us to wrath." You don't exist for anger, child of God, take a grace pill right now, okay? relax, rest. God loves you, God is happy with you. Unless you are an inveterate scoundrel who is using the Gospel to do his little shame. Now if you are a child of God, you love God, you recognize your sin, you want to do what is right with God, you love the Lord's commandments, you want to be holy, you know that God is faithful, that He is just, He is holy, you believe in His Word even if you are wrong at some point, fall, sin, stumble, if you repent, acknowledge your sin, confess it before God, seek healing, the Lord is well with you, the Lord forgives you.

The Christian life is a life of grace, of forgiveness as long as we want to please the Lord in everything, do you understand me? Because it's not that ok either, thank you thank you so do what you want, don't abuse the Lord's liberality, don't abuse the mercy because it is very dangerous from the Lord. But if you sin because you fell as every human being tends to do, there is restitution for you, there is grace. You are not a child of wrath, you are a child of God, of blessing. God is happy with you, God loves you, right?

When a child makes a mistake, you don't kick him and take him out of the house, you restore him, restore him, forgive him, return him to the bosom of the home. We cannot live with condemnation, no child of God should live under condemnation, under darkness. Oh God is angry with me, oh I have to please God I have to do this so that God is there, no; Dios te ama, that is the default posture of God, His hearth is first of all He loves you and then from there does whatever He does. But if you are right with God, if you love God through Christ Jesus, live confidently, live in the light of the Gospel, live a simple life.

Who will condemn the children of God? It says if God is the one who justifies?, ok? Do you understand what I'm saying, right? So Paul says here: "But we are not children of wrath" God has not set us to wrath. You do not exist to be a prisoner of God's wrath, you exist to be an object of grace, God's mercy through the blood that Christ shed on the cross of Calvary. "God has not appointed us for wrath but for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

What good news is that that despite being like us, God still loves us and has placed us to receive blessings. "Our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep" again the term sleep "we live together with Him" that is what God wants. He is preparing a mansion, a four-bedroom condo and a spaceship for you to soar to the stars when you have nothing to do in eternity prepared for you, God wants to be with you and He wants you to be with Him.

So whether you die or live, or whatever happens in your life, you are safe because you will be together with Christ Jesus in the Celestial Homeland. What security is that brothers. Your retirement plan is secure, inflation does not enter there, recession does not enter there. The Prosecutor Cliff that they are talking about today does not enter there, the machinations of the Democrats or Republicans do not enter there, the machinations of those perverts in Corporate America do not enter there, brothers simply fidelity, love, security, generosity enter there , the grace of your Heavenly Father where it says that the thief does not enter, there is no corruption, there is no decay.

It is yes and amen, your call is sure, your Celestial Homeland, your place in heaven is affirmed, it is sealed. Your retirement plan has no regression or decay. Then he says, "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up just as you do." That is the conclusion of all this, musicians come here please. That is the conclusion.

Hey, the children of God, brothers, we have lost that taste for the Coming, we have lost that consoling aspect of the doctrine of the Second Coming, but that must be on our lips continuously, this idea that: hey, Christ is coming, cheer up, joy. When there is sickness; Christ is coming cheer up, don't worry there is a blessing. You lost the house; don't worry Christ is coming, there is a house that God has prepared for you. Your bank account was reduced more than you thought; It's okay, don't sweat it, God is with you, God is waiting for you there.

Obviously we are not going to be escapists but we are going to use that as a dose of grace and blessing, comfort and hope for our lives. Hallelujah, we have to cheer up, the doctrine of the Second Coming has to gain urgency, reality, and I encourage you, son of God, daughter of God, man woman who is here, whether you are a visitor or whatever: hey, don't be fooled, don't be let yourself get drunk with the love of the world. Don't be like drunks who don't know where they are going, they don't have a logical, sober, sane mind that sees things as they are. Don't kid yourself, be sober, alert, realistic.

God created this world, the fate of this world is in God's hands. You are not a coincidence, you are not a star lost in the universe, there is coherence in your life, there is design in your life. You are a soul created by God taken from the anonymity of the darkness of non-existence to live in this world and to perceive this reality because God has a purpose for you. God brought you out of unconsciousness and turned on that light in this world that walks because He has a purpose for you.

You have to live with that understanding. We don't just live for ourselves, we live because a God created us for a purpose so live that way. Be sober surrender your life to Jesus Christ, trust your life in the hands of the Lord Jesus, live life and see life, interpret life in light of the values and teachings of the Word of God, that is your protection, that It is your care so that when Judgment Day comes, the day of darkness, the day of Tribulation, you say: amen, glory to God, I am safe, I have my spaceship ready, I have my bubble of protection that will not allow let evil come into my life because I am confident, my soul. I do not fear the thief who can kill the body because my soul is safe with the Lord that cannot touch it.

I invite you on this day to clear accounts with God and start your papers in the Kingdom of God. Let's put our heads down right now and we want to make sure that everyone here is clear about Jesus and what lies ahead.

If you have not given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you are merely a religious God fearing person but you have not clearly signed your pact with the Lord I would like to encourage you on this day to give your life to Jesus Christ and say: Lord I want to be of light, I don't want to be merely a historical being, I want to be an eternal being as well. I do not want to be only of time and space, I want to be of eternity, of infinity, of the spirit and I know that only through the Spirit can I achieve that identity and today, Lord Jesus, I invite you to enter my life, and I want you to be my Savior and the guarantor of my eternal destiny so Lord I recognize you as Jesus son of God, savior of humanity and savior of my soul.