The Coming of the Lord (Part 6 of 6)

Devotional

Day 1: Rescued from the Burning House Unseen

When we sleep through smoke and flames, we deny our need for rescue. Salvation begins not with self-improvement plans, but with smelling the acrid truth: without Christ, we’re unconscious in a collapsing world. The gospel isn’t a life-enhancement strategy—it’s firefighters breaking down doors while we insist everything’s fine. True freedom comes when we stop negotiating with the fire and grab the outstretched hand. [00:55]

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”
(Ephesians 2:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What “smoke alarms” in your life have you been ignoring? How might acknowledging the heat of your spiritual blindness kindle fresh gratitude for Christ’s rescue?

Day 2: Helmet of Hope in the Fiery Storm

Salvation’s helmet isn’t a decorative accessory—it’s battle gear for minds under siege. When shame hisses, “How can you call yourself a Christian?” the answer isn’t self-defense, but defiance: “My head is covered by blood-bought hope.” This isn’t positive thinking; it’s wartime strategy. The cross disarmed the accuser, so we fight lies not with our résumé, but with Christ’s finished record. [09:51]

“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.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: Which accusing thought most often cracks your peace? How would gripping Christ’s “It is finished” today change your posture toward that attack?

Day 3: Edifying with Nails, Nets, and New Bones

Church isn’t a spiritual buffet—it’s a construction site where we’re all hardhats. To “edify” means resetting fractured souls like bones, minding gaps in each other’s nets, hammering truth into shaky frames. This isn’t the pastor’s job; it’s the plumber’s smile, the widow’s note, the teen’s awkward “How can I pray?” Real encouragement isn’t pep talks—it’s handing someone the nails while they rebuild. [13:54]

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:11, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your circle feels “dragged through a hayfield” this week? What specific tool (a verse, a chore, a listening ear) could you bring to their construction site today?

Day 4: Psalm 46 in a Midnight Phone Call

Scripture isn’t just personal devotions—it’s emergency equipment for others’ crises. When the 2 AM call comes, you won’t reach for theological treatises, but for psalms worn smooth by daily handling. God’s words are scalpels, not paperweights. Memorizing them isn’t about spiritual brownie points; it’s stocking the ambulance so when someone’s world quakes, you can strap them to unshakable promises. [19:30]

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.”
(Psalm 46:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: Which verse have you neglected to “stock” that might steady someone this week? How could turning scripture into a shared lifeline deepen both your faith and theirs?

Day 5: Finding Yourself by Losing Your Mirror

Identity isn’t discovered in self-analysis, but in forgetting your reflection. Like Peter walking on water, we sink when we stare at our flaws. But when we fixate on Christ—the author of salvation, the anchor of hope—we stop trying to “find ourselves” and start being found. His face, not our fickle feelings, becomes the compass. The more we study Him, the less we obsess over our spiritual acne. [23:16]

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
(Colossians 3:1-3, ESV)

Reflection: What mirror have you been carrying—guilt, comparison, insecurity? How might laying it down to gaze at Christ’s finished work recalibrate your heart today?

Sermon Summary

Paul begins with the hard fact that nobody gives thanks for rescue until they understand the danger. The picture of a man asleep in a burning house exposes the human predicament: sinners may insist that nothing is wrong because they do not see the flames. God’s wrath gives the gospel its urgency, for the Bible does not merely suggest that Jesus might improve a person’s life. God appoints his people not to wrath but to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ’s death stands at the center of that salvation. Paul says that Christ died for his people so that, awake or asleep, they may live together with him. Salvation is not automatic simply because Jesus died; God appoints, and sinners must personally receive Christ, acknowledge their predicament, and ask for mercy. Christianity rests not on who a believer is or what a believer does, but on who Jesus is and what he has done.

Paul presses this truth against the tyranny of performance. The shifting, sinking sands of feelings, Bible-reading records, religious effort, or Christian activity cannot bear the weight of eternity. Christ’s blood and righteousness alone provide solid ground when guilt rises, rebellion presses in, and the devil fires ugly thoughts into the mind. The helmet of salvation guards the head by reminding the believer that sin no longer reigns, even though it remains, and that Christ has defeated the devil at the cross.

Verse 11 then brings the great practical implication: encourage one another and build each other up. The word oikodomeo carries the pictures of constructing a sound building, mending nets, and resetting broken bones so that healing and growth may proceed. Encouragement is not a thin exchange of “Fine, fine, good, fine,” but the ordinary ministry of Christ’s body to battered, discouraged, misunderstood people.

God’s Word supplies the material for that ministry. Psalm 46 becomes more than private reading when its promise of refuge and strength is brought to somebody facing terrible news. Paul insists that personal and pastoral needs finally require theological answers, because Christian counsel means skillfully understanding and applying Scripture to real longings, fears, and wounds. The coming King is the crucified and risen Savior, and boldness for his return lies not in who believers are, but in who he is.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Salvation begins with a real predicament God’s wrath makes clear that sin is not a minor inconvenience or a spiritual lack of fulfillment. Salvation becomes precious when a person sees that self-rescue is impossible and that judgment is deserved. Christ comes not merely to add comfort to life, but to save sinners from the danger they could never escape. [02:23]
2. Christ’s work is the solid ground Paul places assurance outside the believer’s changing moods, uneven obedience, and weak performance. Christ’s death and righteousness answer guilt more deeply than religious activity ever can. The cross provides the only plea that will stand when sin, fear, guilt, and shame press hard. [07:05]
3. The helmet guards a troubled mind Salvation does not mean that hateful, fearful, or strange thoughts never enter the mind. Christ’s victory means that such thoughts do not define the believer’s standing before God. The helmet of salvation turns the mind away from self-inspection and back toward the finished work of Jesus. [10:45]
4. Encourage one another with Scripture Paul makes mutual encouragement the church’s ordinary work, not the specialty of a small religious elite. God’s Word gives substance to comfort because it brings God’s own refuge, strength, faithfulness, and promises into another person’s trouble. Scripture read privately becomes bread for others when it is remembered and spoken at the right time.

## [18:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:55] - The Burning House and Human Predicament
[02:23] - Appointed to Salvation, Not Wrath
[04:00] - Christ Must Be Personally Received
[04:52] - Salvation Through Christ’s Death
[06:09] - The Shifting Sands of Performance
[09:38] - Wearing the Helmet of Salvation
[12:07] - Safe in Christ’s Eternal Love
[13:27] - Encourage and Build One Another Up
[18:24] - Encouragement Through God’s Word
[22:30] - The Coming King and True Boldness

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
“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.” [02:23] [04:52]

1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” [13:27] [18:24]

Ephesians 6:17
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” [09:38] [10:45]

Psalm 46:1-2
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains

Sermon Clips

“It is a dreadful tyranny to seek to live a Christian life based on who I am and what I do. Cuz who I am is wretched and what I do is worse. And if I take the performance of the last few days and base my hope of heaven on my performance, what solid ground is that to face eternity with? Not a lot.” [00:07:26]

“It is on the basis of the fact that God has intervened in our lives, shown us our predicament, brought us to himself through the power of his Son, died for our sins, raised for our justification, sent his Spirit to live within our lives that we are able to say, ‘I understand it now. My Christianity is based not upon who I am or upon what I do, but it is based upon who Jesus is and what he has done.’ And there's all the difference in the world.” [00:06:53]

“I'm having dreadful heinous thoughts because while sin no longer reigns in my life, it remains. And because you, stinko, devil-o, are around with your hordes and your fiendish schemes and your fiery darts and your devilish thoughts. But here's my answer. Yes, I had the thought. But the ground of my salvation is in what Jesus has done upon the cross. He defeated you at the cross, he died for my sins, he deals with that thought, and I look not to my own performance, but I look away to Jesus Christ.” [00:10:58]

“The Bible says, ‘Listen. You're in deep trouble. And I've got good news for you.’ God, he says, ‘didn't appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.’” [00:03:25]

“The coming king is our crucified and risen savior. Therefore, we've got nothing to fear. And the ultimate reason for boldness on the day when he comes doesn't lie in who we are, but lies in who he is.” [00:22:40]

“The ground of our salvation is what Jesus has done upon the cross. The evidence of it is the outworking of it in our lives. I wonder do you understand that?” [00:09:26]

“And yet many of us have lived another week relying on the shifting, sinking sands of our own performance or our own feelings. So we determine how well we're doing in relationship to God on the basis of how we happen to be feeling. Or how well we've been reading our Bible. Or how many people we may have witnessed to.” [00:06:13]

“It's the way that God has decided to communicate to you and declare his love and guidance and faithfulness to you in your life. Therefore, it's imperative that you hear him speak to you on a daily basis. And also, it is the source of your instruction and edification in the lives of other people. So, we are to encourage one another with the word of God.” [00:18:47]

“And the life that we now enter into is on the basis of his death. And the life into which we are brought is a life lived together with him. That's verse 10. He died for us so that what? Whether we're awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” [00:05:29]

“And there is no possible way of getting yourself out of it. There is only one way to come out of it, and that is as a result of the intervening work of God, who in his great mercy has appointed you to salvation. Which you will notice you received through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [00:02:10]

“It is the only relationship in all of life that is eternal in its dimensions. Neither marriage, nor parenthood, nor childhood, nor sibling uh relationships will last in the way that our relationship with the Lord Jesus will last.” [00:13:02]

“On the basis of his death. He died for us, he says. Now Paul doesn't work out the whole doctrine of the atonement here. He does it elsewhere. But when we compare scripture with scripture, we understand that Paul's clear emphasis is this, that the death of Jesus was on our behalf and it was for our benefit.” [00:04:54]

“What do you need to do? You need to come to him personally, acknowledge your predicament, and ask him by his mercy and his goodness to remove you from your predicament.” [00:04:17]

“But if it had been the other way around that I was sound asleep and the house was burning around me and I was in danger and I was unaware of my predicament, I may just the same have said, ‘I don't need rescued.’ And the man would have said, ‘Don't you smell that burning? Don't you see those flames? Don't you see your predicament?’ And you said, ‘Oh goodness gracious, yes I do. Save me.’” [00:01:34]

“What do you do as a believer when sin comes into your life? What do you do as a believer when you are confronted by your guilt and by your proneness for rebellion and the pressing urgency towards disinterest in the things of God? To where do we run? There is only one place to where to which we might run. Only one person to whom we might run.” [00:08:37]

Ask a question about this sermon

Alistair Begg This sermon · AI assistant

What is the basis of our salvation?

How should believers respond while awaiting Christ's return?

What is the role of mutual encouragement among believers?