Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – “. . . Like a Thief in t...

Transcript

Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – “. . . Like a Thief in t... · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Thieves don't announce their arrival. They slip in when we
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: least expect it. But Jesus says, if we knew when
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: the thief was coming, we'd keep watch and not let
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: our houses be overtaken. So here's the question, are you prepared?
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Are you alert to the signs? Today? On Insight for Living,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: chuckwyn Dall explores the crucial difference between two coming biblical events.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: In this study, we'll discover why Christ's return brings relief
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: for believers, but the day of the Lord will come
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: unexpectedly for those who are not prepared.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Within each one of us is an insatiable curiosity to
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: know the future. What will happen to the economy? Well,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: our children grow up healthy and strong and stable. Will
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: my job proved to be all I hoped it would be?
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Oh to be able to pull back the curtain of
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: time and take a peek into the mysteries of tomorrow.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Because that curiosity is so powerful, we're often drawn to
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: prophecy passages like the ones in First Thessalonians, and we
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: are intrigued by modern day prophets who link current events
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: with scriptures and then cry out with conviction, behold the future.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: This is not new, as we will see from the
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: passage we're studying today. So if you have your Bible handy,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: please turn with me to first Thessalonians, chapter five, and
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: let's read together verses one through eleven. I'll begin reading
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: here at first Thessalonians five, verse one. Now, as to
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: of anything to be written to you, for you yourselves
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: know full well that the day of the Lord will
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: come just like a thief in the night. While they
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: are saying peace and safety. Then destruction will come upon
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: them suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: For you are all sons of light and sons of day.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: We are not of night nor of darkness. So then
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: let us not sleep as others do, but let us
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: be alert and sober, for those who sleep do their
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: at night. But since we are of the day, let
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: us be sober. Having put on the breastplate of faith
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation,
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: for God has not destined us for wrath, but for
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us,
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another and build
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: up one another, just as you.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: Also are doing.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: You are listening to Insight for Living to dig deeper
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: into First Thessalonians on your own, be sure to purchase
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: our Searching the Scripture's Bible Study workbook by going to
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: insight dot org slash offer Chuck title today's message. Like
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: a thief in the night.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Fresh out of seminary, I decided that the Lord was
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: really leading me to work alongside a man under whom
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: I had studied for the previous four years, and I
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: remained on at the Little Church in North Dallas for
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: an extended period of time, working with a man whose
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: name is a familiar name in many theological circles, certainly
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: in the realm of the prophetic word, Dwight Pentecost. It
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: was my privilege to be his assistant for two and
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: a half years full time, and even prior to that,
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: to be under his ministry in the church as well
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: as at Dallas Seminary, where I studied for the four years,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: and I learned to respect the way he handled the scriptures,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: and certainly have thought on many occasions how much I
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: do admire his style, his scholarship, and his incredible gift
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: with the subject of prophecy. Being his assistant allowed me
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: to work behind the scenes, and as the staff of
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: a church often has the privilege of doing, I was
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: able to ask tough questions and to probe a little
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: into some subjects that were of great concern to me
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: as a young minister, and to also ask about his
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: feelings on certain things. For example, I watched the church
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: in which we pastored together grow, and I watched the
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: crowds swell when he would announce a prophetic series, and
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: then I would watch the same congregation decrease in size
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: as we would get to other subjects of equal and,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: in my estimation, on occasion, of even greater significance than
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: what had been preached on.
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: And yet the crowd was not there.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: I asked him, Doctor Pentecost, how does it feel to
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: know that, obviously people are coming to hear about prophecy,
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: and yet on other occasions the interest is not as great,
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: he said, Chuck. It concerns me a lot. He says,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: For example, when I am I'm a guest preacher in
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: another part of the country, and I'm there for half
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: a week, I can announce a subject on a Monday
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: that would be of what one would call a sensational nature,
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: such as will the Church go through the tribulation or
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: the coming world dictator? Or the United States in prophecy?
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: Or who is Antichrist? Or just the one word title armageddon.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: And he says, I'll tell you they'll come early and
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: the place will be full. You can almost predict it.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: But if I announce on that night, that tomorrow night,
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: I'll speak on the lordship of Jesus Christ or the
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: love and mercy of God, says, you can almost hear
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: your echo in the place. Troubles me a lot.
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: He's right.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: There's something within all of us that longs to know
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: about the future. We have what I call a curiosity
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: itch concerning tomorrow, and the public invariably responds to the
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: prophetic themes, even when one does not wish to be sensational.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: There's something about the subject of prophecy that causes the
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: itch inside of us to be scratched. However, the public
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: doesn't want to be duped. Prophets have the public respect
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: until the public discovers that he's a phony. I thought
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: about that and smiled, in fact, when I read this
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: notice that appeared in a local newspaper.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Some time ago.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: Due to unforeseen circumstances, no clairvoyant meeting tonight until further notice.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: I thought, now, whoever followed that group would have every
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: reason not to follow it any longer if they don't
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: know what's coming up. A sensible and accurate study of
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: prophecy is one thing. Fakery is something else that helps
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: no one. We as Christians are to be informed and
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: stable in our knowledge of the future, but to become
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: extreme and dogmatic at every point, I think not. I'm
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: grateful for the balanced training I received from that fine man.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: You see, the interest in the future is nothing new.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: Babylonians and Egyptians, and Romans and Greeks alike all had
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: their seers, their priests of prophecy. They all had those
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: people around them, those leaders did who could tell them,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: or at least convince them that they knew the future.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: People will pay great sums of money to read about
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: their tomorrow even in the horoscope charts that appear in
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: about thirteen hundred of our eighteen hundred daily newspapers in America,
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: these charts appear. Did you know that thirty years ago
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: it would be hard to find one hundred such columns
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: in these newspapers of ours. James Montgomery Boyce says that
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: if you think it's big in America, you ought to
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: go to Europe. He writes, according to one estimate, there
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: is a fortune teller for every one hundred and twenty
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: citizens in Paris. There are over two thousand mediums in
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: the city of Zurich, Switzerland alone. That's a good one
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: for trivial pursuit. By the way, if you need that
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: sometime now. Some of it remains a mystery. This is
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: a very important point. Do not allow your curiosity about
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: the future to force you into areas that are to
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: remain a mystery. Be just as comfortable with great gaps
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: of uncertainty as you are with absolute realms of certainty.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: I have a little motto that I live by when
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: it comes to prophecy, Having trained under that very capable man.
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: Those who leave little room for mystery leave a lot
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: of room for mistakes. But for some reason, we're troubled
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: by mystery. The mystery of it all heightens my curiosity
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: all the more. I find myself very comfortable when I
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: come to passages of scripture that don't answer everything. Look,
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: for example, at Matthew twenty four, beginning at verse three,
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Jesus is on the mount of volleys. He is with
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: his group of disciples, and as usual, they're asking questions.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: He has been dropping little tidbits of information about tomorrow,
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: and it's just enough to scratch their itches. And so
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: they get alone with him Matthew twenty four to three,
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: and they say privately to him, tell us when will
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: these things be? And what will be the sign of
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: your coming? And what of the end of the age?
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Isn't that interesting? Here were the men who served Christ faithfully,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: who sat at his feet, who learned from him as
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: his assistant, who discovered great chunks of information, new vistas
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: of truth, who at the end or toward the end
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: of his ministry, were still saying, tell us more, could
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: you give us a hint about the end of the age.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: I think they were really hoping he would set a date.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: My wife was listening to a radio program some time
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: ago and she said, to my surprise, this rather faithful man.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: I say, rather faithful because of what she just found
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: out on the airs. She says, up until this point,
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: I had such great respect for him. But then I
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: e virtually set a date concerning Christ's coming, and I
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: immediately got concerned. You don't have to set dates to
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: be a prophetic student. In fact, if you set dates,
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: you prove you're a poor one. At the very end
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: of Jesus' time on earth, just seconds before he was
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: whisked off the Earth and taken back to Heaven in
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: bodily form, Acts chapter one, verse six, he made a
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: statement to this same group of disciples verse six, Chapter one.
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: When they had come together, they were asking, Lord, is
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: There they are again, is this the time? Is it
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: going to happen?
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: Now?
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Next verse hope you have your pencil ready, he said
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: to them, market it is not for you to know.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: The times are.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: The epochs put in today's vernacular. Don't set dates. He
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: may not come for one hundred years. He may come
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: in the next one hundred seconds. We believe in his
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: imminent return. We believe it could be at any moment,
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: but it may not be for dozens of years. It
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: is not for us to know those times which the
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: Father has fixed by his own authority. However, we can't
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: help being curious. The reason for that is what is revealed.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: You don't need to turn to it. I'll quote it
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: for you. It's revealed an Ecclesiastes three to eleven. God
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: has put eternity in our hearts. That distinguishes us from animals,
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: from the fowls of the air and the fish of
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: the sea. None of them have eternity in their hearts,
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: but in our hearts is an itch to know about tomorrow.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: We want to know about God's plan. We want to
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: have light come from the vertical onto our world. We
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: want to see where we're going, and we want it
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: as specific as we can get it. I do too,
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: I would love to know the future. The older my
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: children get, the more I wish I knew the future.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: I would love to see ahead of them the pitfalls
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: and prepare them all the more for the pitfalls. I
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: would love to know my day of death so that
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I can live it up every day until it happens.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Since I don't know it I'm going to do that,
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: and that's just the way I solve that problem. But
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: not everyone has that kind of bright tomorrow. For some
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: there is dreadful destruction on the horizon. That isn't a
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: sensational statement.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: That's a biblical statement.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: For some, there is a time of terrible tribulation. Turned
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: from Acts one to First Thessalonians chapter five, allow me
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: for a moment to set the stage. Last time we
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: saw something very bright and beautiful. We saw in First
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Thessalonians four, verses thirteen to eighteen, truth concerning Christ's coming
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: for his own It was great. We all felt like cheering.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: If you were like me, you sang all the way
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: back to your house. You were thrilled to read. Himself
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: of the archangel, with the trumpet of God. And the
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: dead in Christ shall rise first, and we who are
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: And thus shall we ever be with the Lord. Comfort
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: one another with these words. Let those words put their
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: arms around you and encourage you. When you're in the valley.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: Those words will put a mountain in your valley. They'll
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: give you a reason to go on. Ultimately, we face
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: a very bright tomorrow. Christ is coming. That's a marvelous truth,
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: and we count on it, and it's comforting to us.
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: The Thessalonian believers were concerned about a couple of things.
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: However.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: Not only were they concerned about their dead Christian friends
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: and family members being missed when Christ came back, but
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: they were concerned about whether they might be going into
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: a period of tribulation because suffering has begun to happen. Now,
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: First Thessalonians four answers the first concern. First Thessalonians five
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: answers the second. And Paul is about to show them
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: that that day of the Lord, which is different from
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: the day of Christ.
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: As I understand the scriptures, the day of Christ is
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: a relief.
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: The day of the Lord is a dread. The day
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: of Christ is a removal from this earth and all
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: its toil. The day of the Lord is in fact
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: an inescapable time of horrible affliction, catastrophic judgment. Now, if
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: all the saints are taken off the earth, it doesn't
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: take a graduate degree to know who's left on the earth.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: And the unsaved that are left that people this earth
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: will be plunged into a time of dreadful judge. My
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: position is the Church will not go through this tribulation.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: There are some very fine men and women who don't
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: agree with that and.
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: Teach that we will go through tribulation.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: They're wrong, but that's fine. It's interesting to think right
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: now they're saying the same thing about me. He's wrong,
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: But I want to tell you the other side. Passages
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: like this give me hope and help in believing like
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: I do. The Day of the Lord is coming Verses
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: one and two. The Day of the Lord relates to
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: the unbeliever verse three. And the Day of the Lord
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: has some things to say to the believer Verses four
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: through eleven. Look at the coming of the day. Not
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: to worry, says Paul. Now as to the times and
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: be written to you. I take it that he says that,
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: because when he was with them, he covered the bases sufficiently.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: He said to them, while he was among them, here
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: is God's plan, and he spelled it out for them
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: to understand it. And they grasped it as best they
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: could in his brief ministry among them. Then he left,
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: and he's told them all that he knew to tell them,
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: and they had heard all that he had to say.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: So he says, for me to write this to you
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: really is superfluous. I've covered the bases verse two. You
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: already know this that the day of the Lord will
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: come just like a thief in the night. Right away,
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: I know I've come across something different than chapter four.
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: Like a thief in the night. We toward the end
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: of chapter four.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: We read verse sixteen, the Lord himself will descend with
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: a shout with the voice of the archangel and the
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: trump of God. Does that sound like a thief in
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: the night. I've never heard of a thief getting in
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: a van, putting speakers on top of the van, putting
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: his brother in there with him, and going into the
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: neighborhood in bright daylight, saying over the loud speaker, you
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: people that live at fourteen fourteen, elm, We're gonna rip
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: you off at ten o'clock tonight. My brother's gonna blow
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: a trumpet, my sister's gonna scream, and I'm gonna come
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: inside your house and take your goods.
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: You kidding. Thieves don't do that.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Thieves come when you least expect him. No announcement, no trumpet,
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: no screams. They slide in and out, just like a thief,
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: no announcement. We have friends in our church, several of them.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: And while I'm thinking of one particular couple that happened
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: to be away for a period of time, and while away,
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: they were invaded by thieves. Their bedroom was a shambles
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: as this or these people invaded and pour the place up,
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: getting their belongings that were precious to them, some of
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: them irreplaceable. And of course, along with the feeling of
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: rage that comes over you, is this horrible feeling of shock.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: Why because it's not expected.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: You.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Even if you have been invaded by a thief, you
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: will never forget the shock of finding that they actually
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: chose your home to rob. There's no knowledge of it.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: Chapter four, Verses thirteen to eighteen. There is an awareness,
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: there is a knowledge. There is a fourth telling along
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: with a fore telling.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: It's coming.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: You will hear and you will see, and it will
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: be for you, my child, count on it.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: It's comforting.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: But verse three, while they note the pronoun different from you,
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: Verse four but you now, while they are saying peace, safety,
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: then destruction will come upon them.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: Suddenly.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: I was listening to KBC Talk Show, one of our
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: radio programs here in the Los Angeles basin, and I
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: was interested to hear the police chief of Los Angeles
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: being interviewed. I missed the previous interview with the fire
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: department chief in Los Angele. Interestingly, both of them had
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: the same subject. It was preparing for an earthquake, and
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: both of them. I heard the chief of police say it.
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: I hadn't heard the fireman say it, but both of
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: them apparently had said the same thing.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: The toughest thing in.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: The world is to convince people in Los Angeles that
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: we are facing it.
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: It's coming.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: Now, that's not the best news in the world to
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: share with you at this moment, but it's coming. And
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: he said, if we could just convince people that it's coming,
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: we could make great strides in getting ready for it. Theesuys,
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: you wouldn't believe the people who have lived through them
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: and tell all their horror stories about them still to
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: this day, yawning as if Wow, who us worried.
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: About something like that? This is the scene, not.
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: An earthquake, but a catastrophic judgment. Shalom, peace man, Relax.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: We've got this world where we want it. Christians are gone. Finally,
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: we've got things like we want it. We've got the
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: answer man.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: On the throne. Take it easy, and then destruction.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Bob Thomas writes, at the moment that tranquility seemingly reaches
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: its peak, destruction will come on them suddenly. The word
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: means utter and hopeless ruin, the loss of everything worthwhile,
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: quoting from Milligan, causing the victims to despair of life
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: itself without being totally annihilated, they are assigned to.
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: Pain is certainly involved.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: It'll be a scary moment when the world is depleted
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: of goodness, nothing but hopeless ruin remains. You're listening to
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Insight for Living chuckswin dall Is teaching from First Thessalonians,
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Chapter five. He titled today's message like a Thief in
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: the Night. If you'd like to listen to Chuck's sermon again,
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: you can find it on our convenient mobile app. Also,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: did you realize that Insight for Living has an interactive
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: Bible study workbook for First Thessalonians. It's called Contagious Christianity.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: You're invited to purchase the Searching the Scripture's Workbook by
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: calling us at eight hundred seven seven to two eighty
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: eight eighty eight. If you prefer to listen rather than read,
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: you'll find the complete collection of twelve CDs and MP
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: threes available at insight dot org slash offer. These recordings
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: contain Chuck's entire message from the introduction to his closing prayer.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: If one of our personal goals is to become contagious Christians,
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: then it follows that laughter would become a familiar sound
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: coming from our household. Listeners often tell us how much
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: they joy hearing Chuck laugh, so Insight for Living has
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: pulled together a collection of Chuck's funniest anecdotes and illustrations.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: This trio of CDs is just called laughter. Whether you're
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: commuting in the car or out on a walk, you
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: may just catch the contagious joy bug from Chuck. You'll
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: likely find yourself laughing out loud. To purchase the three
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: CD collection, visit insight dot org slash offer. Thanks for
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: remembering that Chuck's Bible teaching is made available on the radio,
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: are mobile app and on the internet because of faithful
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: friends like you who give voluntary donations. To send a
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: contribution in the mail, write to us at Insight for Living,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: post Office box five thousand, Frisco, Texas, seven five three four.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: You can also call eight hundred seven seven to two
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: eighty eight eighty eight or visit insight dot org slash donate.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuckswndall warns us against
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: two dangerous extremes for those awaiting the return of Christ Friday.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: On Insight for Living. The preceding message Like a Thief
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: in the Night was copyrighted in nineteen eighty four, nineteen
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: eighty five, nineteen ninety three, two thousand and three, and
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, and the sound recording was copyrighted in
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty four by Charles R. Swindahl Incorporated. All rights
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: is strictly prohibited