Rev. Don Campbell
Matthew 24
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019
“THE BIG THREE”
“The Big Three” used to refer to the three dominate carmakers in American: Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. The big three of our title are three things the Scriptures tell us that prepare us for the second coming of Christ which we explored yesterday as recorded in Mark 13.
Matthew’s account varies some from Mark’s, but they are in complete harmony. Therefore, we will consider some inspired commentary about the Lord’s second coming: “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 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. 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 of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).
Paul says the same thing about the second coming as did Jesus—it will be at an unexpected time. He also calls believers to stay awake, just as did Jesus. Paul goes further, telling us what it means to be awake. It has nothing to do with discerning signs or pursing this theory or that theory. It involves three things: faith, love, and hope.
Bring it on home, brother Paul: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5).
Ponder these thoughts: We stand in grace by faith. Because we stand in God’s grace, we rejoice in the hope of glory. Because of the love poured into our hearts, we are empowered to love the unlovable. We love because he first loved us, not because others are worthy of our love: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:18-20).
If we stand in grace, live in hope, and love as he loved, we are ready for his coming whenever it may be.
CONNECTIONS
1. In speaking of the big three, Paul says that the greatest is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Is it also the hardest?
2. We often use the word “hope” to refer to no more than a wish. For example, I might say, “I hope to win the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.” The chances of that are 1 in 1.7 billion, so I really don’t have any real hope. What does Paul say about the surety of our hope in Colossians 1:21-23?
