Practical Implications of Day of the Lord

Context and Purpose of the Digression on the Day of the Lord

0:03 Once again this morning, our attention will be focused upon 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5.

0:14 Now just a brief word of explanation for the benefit of those who are visiting with us. We have been conducting for several years now, Sunday mornings, a verse-by-verse study of 1 Thessalonians. And in the course of our study, when we came to verse 4 of the 5th chapter, in which the Apostle very clearly intimates that the people of God, the brethren, shall be present when the day of the Lord comes, I found it necessary to digress for several Lord's Day mornings, because there has been in vogue for some time a teaching that the people of God will not be around when the day of the Lord comes, that they will have escaped the scene some seven or three and a half years prior to the day of the Lord. And so we looked into it. We looked into scripture to examine whether or not this teaching will stand a close scrutiny of the word of God. And so for the past three Lord's Day mornings, we have considered principle number one, there is but one second coming of Jesus Christ, there is but one second advent, and the day of the Lord, the day of Christ, the day of God, the great day, all of those terms are used interchangeably in scripture, to describe that one great climactic event of judgment and of mercy,

1:41 when Jesus Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, comes forth from that position in power and in great glory. Then we spent a morning considering the second principle of scripture, that the second coming will usher in a general resurrection and judgment, and we looked at a number of portions of scripture, that seem to teach this, and then thirdly, that the second coming of Christ ushers in eternity. And if there are any other events to come between the second coming of Christ, resurrection, judgment, and eternity, then time, the only infallible interpreter of prophecy, will disclose that. But certainly the prophetic materials do not warrant this dogmatic splitting apart by anywhere from 7 to 1,007 plus years, these great events. Now, in the course of our study, I made several references to the fact that I would, at some time, turn to the passages that have been used to support this theory, Revelation 20 in particular, and several others. And yet, in the interest of edification, I do not believe it would take me another five or six Lord's Day mornings,

Returning to 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5: Practical Godliness and the Day of the Lord

3:03 to lay the proper backdrop for a consideration of those portions. And whether I'll do this in an open session on a Sunday night in a couple of weeks, or whether we'll have a free-for-all over at the Parsonage, I'm not quite sure, but I assure you that my promise to throw things open for discussion and debate, if necessary, on these matters will be kept. But in the light of the edification of the entire flock and the needs of hungry sheep, I do not believe it will take me another five or six Lord's Day mornings, and I do not believe that it would be in the interest of edification to continue on with this digression. So, we're coming back this morning to where we left for several weeks, to chapter 5, and in particular, verses 4 and 5. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day, we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Now, the general subject before us in the fourth and fifth chapters is that of practical godliness.

4:15 The Apostle introduced this section by saying that he was writing to them to instruct them how to abound in a walk that was pleasing unto God. And so he dealt with the subject of sexual purity, the sanctity of work, brotherly love. And then when he came to chapter 4 and verse 13, he had to deal with this subject of a worldly emotional reaction to death, which was resident in some of the Thessalonians. They were sorrowing like the world when their loved ones died.

4:51 And so to correct that sinful emotional reaction to death, he instructs them concerning the facts of the death of loved ones, and in so doing introduces the subject of the second coming of Christ but the subject proper of chapter 4 verses 13 to 18 is not the second coming of Christ directly the subject is as he announces it now concerning them that fell asleep that's his subject and the second coming of Christ is introduced and only so much of it in chapter 4 as will meet the needs of that subject and so he tells them when the Lord comes back rather than being second-rate citizens those who are dead will be the first object of his concern they will be raised up first we who alive and remain shall be caught up together with them we'll meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with him now having introduced the subject of the second coming he now deals with that subject proper particularly as it relates to the times and the seasons and that brings us then into chapter 5 but of the times and the seasons brethren ye have no need that I will not be with you I write unto you for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night for when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape

Instruction vs. Exhortation: The Apostle's Two-Fold Approach

6:20 I'm sorry now I trust the connection between these two sections is clear to us in chapter 4 he addresses himself to an area of ignorance I don't want you to be ignorant so he gives them facts in chapter 5 he is addressing himself to an area not of ignorance for they know perfectly well that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night so he is not so much giving them new facts but he is going to exhort them to make proper use of that which they already know and so that two-fold pattern is found throughout the length and breadth of scripture and the length and breadth of the Bible must be constantly recognized in the life of the child of God some of your problems are due to ignorance and the way you solve them is not by being exhorted but by being instructed some of our problems are not due to ignorance we know all we need to know but we're not putting into practice what we know therefore we need not more instruction but we need exhortation and so the apostle at the end of the fourth chapter instructs and now throughout this fifth chapter the first eleven verses he exhorts both with reference to the general subject of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ now we've already studied what this day will mean

7:47 as far as the times and seasons are concerned he says it will be with suddenness and if you know that he says you know all you really need to know you know perfectly the day of the Lord will come with suddenness now in its coming with suddenness it will be to the unconverted and unwanted and destructive suddenness verse three for when they say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them but though it will come suddenly for the children of God it will not be an unwanted or destructive suddenness for he says in verse four but ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief now as we think our way through this section beginning with verse four the practical implications of the day of the Lord to the child of God there is a two-fold division of this section I think it's obvious by the usage of the different words he says in verse four but ye brethren are verse five ye are verse six therefore let us not sleep verse eight but let us who are of the day be sober he states something concerning what they are with relationship to the return of Christ that deals with their character then he gives an exhortation which directs them

Defining 'Of the Night and Of the Darkness'

9:16 concerning what they should be that's their conduct and again that's a pattern found throughout scripture because a Christian is something he should be something in his conduct because of what God has wrought in his basic character he should express that in every way for widening circles in his practical conduct all right all that review introduction setting the table now let's take a knife and fork and begin to dig into these two verses but ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief ye are all the children of light and the children of the day we are not of the night nor of darkness our first consideration this morning is this what is it to be of the night and of the darkness you see the reason why the day of the Lord will not come as an unwanted event to the child of God the reason it will not come with sudden destruction according to the apostle here is because the children of God are not in darkness well what does it mean then to be in darkness or as he says later on in verse 5 we are not of the night nor of darkness this is a very rich figure

10:46 living in the 20th century with electric lights and all other kinds of lights it's difficult for us to appreciate this biblical figure of darkness imagine what it was like to hear a noise in the middle of the night and think a parlor might be there and have no flashlight to grab and shine on them or have no light to switch and you know something's over there in the dark and by the time you run to get your little torch and light it or your little kerosene lamp he's gone just in little ways like this imagine what it's like when the kids cry out in the middle of the night and we keep a flashlight we don't like to wake up my wife keeps a flashlight by her nightstand and if ever I see a light flashing around on the ceiling or floor I know one of the kids is is stirring all of the ways that we just take for granted this ability to immediately dispel darkness and the effects of night because of the blessing I wonder sometimes of the electric light bulb but now try to project yourself backward into a culture and in a society where when that sun went down for all intents and purposes it was black night and so the whole concept of darkness is that which is foreboding you can't see objects in their true perspective with the electric light you can at two o'clock in the morning you can see a chair as a chair but without it you know you can't see you know something's there and it's metal and you're not quite sure

12:14 things are not seen in their proper relationship there's exposure to unseen dangers imagine a man walking at night with no light he could be just inches away from a precipice over which he could drop and destroy himself and be utterly ignorant of it the whole concept of darkness is couched in a non-electric light bulb culture and it's out of that culture and out of that setting that the Holy Spirit has used again and again the figure of darkness to describe the state of unregenerate mankind but what does it mean? well let me suggest two or three things that are the specific characteristics of those who are of the night and of the darkness first of all it is a state of ignorance with regards to God's truth the word of God is perfect called light the entrance of thy words gives light darkness is the absence of light and wherever the truth of God that body of divine revelation has not shed its healing illuminating beams there can be nothing but moral and spiritual darkness this of course was the picture of the entire world at the coming of Christ there were the shadowy forms

13:44 and outlines of the truth of God in the old covenant when the Lord Jesus came we read in the fourth chapter of Matthew that he came as one who would shed light upon those who sat in darkness and I read now from Matthew 4 in verse 16 the people which sat in darkness saw great light and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light was shed on them and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light was shed on them and to them which sat in the region and so the light that came in the person and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ was the light of truth for he was truth incarnate without light men cannot see objects in their true perspective without the light of divine revelation people can't see things as they are they see distortions and without the light of divine revelation man doesn't know who he is he doesn't know who God is he doesn't know what sin is he doesn't know what redemption is he doesn't know what forgiveness is he doesn't know what regeneration is he knows none of these things well if men then are in that state of darkness that is ignorant of the truth of God it's no wonder that the day of the Lord will come upon them as a thief in the night

15:10 they have no biblical perspective of history they say according to 2 Peter all things continue as they have before them from the beginning you old pranks talking about a climax of history a culmination of history in the day of the Lord bon voyage Grandpappy talked about that you see they try to interpret history without the light of divine revelation and what happens? darkness they can't distinguish what God is doing sin, no such thing oh we've got some psychological maladjustments and we've got a few psychic joints that are out of place but there is no God who's given a law which we have willfully and deliberately broken none of them we've just got some hang-ups that our forebearers kind of twisted our conscience in a certain shape and we're trying to bend it in a different shape and we've got tensions and problems darkness darkness darkness why? the light of the truth and so the day of the Lord that is revealed in Holy Scripture they have no concern to prepare themselves for the day of the Lord a day that will mean the catching to himself of all of his people who long for their completed redemption where they do not even consider the truth of redemption no light darkness ignorance

Darkness as Separation from God and Rebellion to His Law

16:38 that's what it means to be of the darkness to be in a state of ignorance with regard to the truth of God and though that is the stated settled condition of the world of unregenerate men dear child of God so often it is in measure our condition for any facet of light which I try to interpret through any other eyes but the eyes of Scripture to that extent I'm in darkness I'm in darkness for darkness is the absence of the illuminating truth of God not only is it that but it's also a stage of separation and alienation from the person of God ignorance of the truth of God ignorance of the truth of God separation and alienation from God's person Scripture tells us in 1 John 1 that God is light not only is His truth light but He Himself is light therefore to be separated from vital communion with Him is to be in a realm of darkness the psalmist often prayed lift up the light of Thy countenance in Thy light we shall see see light when we consider what our Lord used as one of the most recurring figures

18:06 for eternal judgment it makes more sense I trust cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness depart from me the source of all light into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth as one has said hell has for its entirety the tensest flame the separation of the soul from God the source of all light His glorious person this is what we are by nature in darkness a state of ignorance with regard to His truth of separation and alienation with regard to His person again it's no wonder then that the day of the Lord will come as an unwanted intrusion upon the world of unregenerate men for there is no heart to seek His person there is no delight in His communion for scripture says there's none that understand it there's none that seeketh after God and then in the third place this state of darkness is one in which there is indifference and rebellion to the law of God scripture often speaks of darkness as that state that is evil the state that is contrary to the holy precepts of the Lord Ephesians chapter 5

19:36 could begin almost anywhere but in verse 3 he names these specific sins of uncleanness and covetousness filthiness foolish talking etc then he gives the reasons as to why the children of God should never be characterized by these sins verse 8 for ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of the light verse 11 and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them for it's a shame to speak of those things that are done of them in secret you see here there is an identifying of those works and deeds that are contrary to the standard of the law with the realm of darkness and so wherever there is indifference and rebellion to the holy law of God there is spiritual and moral darkness John 3 and verse 19 this is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because they want to go to hell no because their deeds were evil neither will they come to the light lest their deeds should be reproved men loving darkness loving that state of indifference and rebellion to the law of God that's a terrible picture isn't it

Defining 'Sons of the Day and Sons of the Light'

21:05 but Paul says this is what the Thessalonians once were and unlike the rest of humanity to whom the day of the Lord will come with sudden destruction he says ye are no longer in that realm of darkness that is that state of ignorance of the truth of God alienation from the person of God and rebellion and indifference to the law of God you are no longer in that realm but he says you are the sons of the light and of the day and that's why that's our second consideration this morning having looked at scripture to discern what it means to be of the night and of the darkness our second question is what does it mean to be sons of the day notice his wording in chapter 5 and verse 5 ye are all children of light and the children of the day that is your affinity is with the realm of light and with that of day well we just need to take those three things that characterize darkness for light is the dispelling of darkness and we see what it means to be a son of the light a son of the day it means to be in a state of illumination with regard to God's truth the word of God has come and man now looks

22:33 at himself as God declares him to be a creature made in the image of God in whom that image has been defaced and marred a creature made to be subject to God who has rebelled at that authority it's to be in a state where the mind is illuminated with regard to who God is and how we may know him it's to experience 2 Corinthians 4 6 but God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ the first work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of unregenerate men in bringing them out of darkness into light is that of illumination illumination causing them to begin to see that a chair is a chair and a drape is a drape and a wall is a wall when the apostle was commissioned by his Lord that commission is recorded in Acts 26 18 it was with these words I will send you to the people and to the Gentiles to open their eyes to turn them from darkness to light from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those that are sanctified by faith in me notice what the first thing was to open

24:02 their eyes to turn them from darkness to light you see once a man who's in the dark begins to see the objects with which he's been living I've been living with the wrath of God over my head I've been living with a clenched fist in the face of my sovereign I've been living with the yawning mouth of hell before me and so blind and stupid in the dark I didn't know it God opens his eyes and he sees the mouth of hell before him the wrath of God above him and he begins to what be the wrath to come and seek deliverance in the way that God's appointed that's the first work of God illumination illumination notice it in the words of our Lord in the 13th of Matthew when they asked why he spoke in parables he tells them reading now from Matthew 13 verses 13 to 16 therefore I speak to them in parables because seeing they see not and hearing they hear not neither do they understand and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which said by hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand seeing ye shall see and not perceive and in them for this people's heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed lest at any time they should number one see with their eyes hear with their ears

25:31 understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them but blessed are your eyes for they see again the first work is that of illumination what is it to be a son of God the light and the sun of the day it's to be in a state of illumination with regard to the truth of God not perfect illumination for Paul says we see through a glass darkly but if we're sons of the day if we are sons of the light we see we see our eyes have been opened then it means to be in a state of fellowship with regard to the person of God for the work of the whole Holy Spirit one of his offices or one of his ministries is that so clearly spoken of in 1 Corinthians 1.9 God is faithful by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord this was the experience of the Thessalonians for Paul could say of them in verse 9 of the first chapter ye turn to God from your idols to serve the living God and the true God if darkness is that state of alienation from the person of God from experimental acquaintance with him

26:59 then to be a son of the day and of the light is to be brought into that acquaintance with him and our Lord in John 17 said that is eternal life this is life eternal that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent and then thirdly it's to be brought into a state of submission joyous submission to the law of God if to be in a state of darkness is to be in that state of indifference and rebellion to his rule and authority to be in a state of light is to be in a relationship of gracious subjection to that law and in John 3 this is the description God gives of the sons of the light but he that doeth the truth cometh to the light that is deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God you see there is a willing exposure of the whole moral fabric a willingness to know whether or not my life is acceptable before that inflexible standard of my God it's expressed in the Thessalonians in chapter 1 where he says and ye became followers of us and of the Lord and when you follow the Lord what happens well he tells us in John 8 12 he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness in verse John 1 says if a man professes to have been

28:27 brought into the realm of light he says he's a son of the light and yet he walks in the realm of darkness that is indifference to the law of God and the precepts of God he's a liar but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another so much then for these two basic issues with which the apostle deals in these verses what is it what is it to be in a state of darkness what is it to be in a state of light now he says of the Thessalonians the reason why that day that will come as a thief with unwanted suddenness and with destructive suddenness upon the world of the unregenerate it will not come upon you as a thief he said the reason is you are no longer in that state of darkness but you are sons of the light you are sons of the light now my question is this how did they get from here to here how was it that Paul could say you are not in darkness but he are children of the light and children of the day we are not of the night nor of darkness the whole pagan world of that day was in gross darkness ignorant of the truth of God you read about it in Ephesians 4 the understanding dark

How One Passes from Darkness to Light: The Thessalonian Example

29:56 being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them who being past feeling have given themselves over to all forms of licentious living and this town this city of Thessalonica was no exception it was a great and busy place of commerce and like any place of trade and commerce one of the main stopover places in the Roman world system as well as its system of trade of ships and the rest it had all the vices and wickedness of any city ignorance prevailed alienation from God indifference to his holy law but there in the midst of that bastion of paganism was a nucleus of people who saw things as they really were a nucleus of people who hungered after the living God a nucleus of people who were seriously seeking to apply the law of God to their own lives in every circumstance and situation seeking as he says in chapter 1 to be followers of the apostolic instruction and of the Lord now how did this come about how did they get from this state of darkness in which they once were into the realm of light and therefore found themselves prepared for the day of the Lord not having that day to overtake them as a thief if we can find out how it happened to them then we have before us the principles

31:26 that will guide us so that that day will not come upon us with sudden destruction but that we may welcome that day as the day spoken of by the writer of Hebrews that will be the day of his appearing the second time without sin unto salvage well the first thing that happened is the word had to come to them to be in darkness remember is to be in a state of ignorance concerning the truth of God well if one is going to be brought into a state of light and that state of light is that of being illuminated the truth must come and so Acts chapter 17 records how that truth came the apostle came into the synagogue there at Thessalonica and identifying the word of God with the Old Testament scripture he reasoned with them out of the scriptures focusing upon the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord I submit to you that just as God brought people out of pagan darkness there in the first century this is precisely how he does it today he brings his word to them that word which is bounded by scripture that word which is scripture and that word which has as its central focal theme the person and work

32:54 of our Lord Jesus Christ in redemption that's how they were brought out of the state of darkness and became sons of the light the word came if the word doesn't come we have no grounds to believe we or anyone else will ever be brought out of that state of darkness but it not only came in word but he says in chapter 1 of this same letter our gospel came not unto you in word only but also in power in power in power in power in power in power in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance no man is brought out of darkness into light no man is transformed from a son of darkness to a son of light merely because he hears the word of the gospel in fact hearing the word of the gospel may increase his darkness Jesus said take heed how you hear if the light that is in you be darkness how gross how deep how terrible is that darkness that's a frightful thing a frightful a man goes on in his darkness shutting his eyes to the light of natural revelation it's a terrible thing Romans 1 tells us what happens but when the full wattage of special revelation comes and the word of God is preached

34:23 and he shuts his eyes all the tighter to that how great is the darkness and how great will be his condemnation so the word must not only come in word but secondly it must come with power and that coming with power is just another way of describing what Peter says in 1 Peter 2 9 ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light for when the word comes to us not in word only but in power it comes with quickening grace that we as sinners are glad to leave the realm of darkness and to be and come into the realm of light to be exposed by that light as painful as it is and then the third thing we see as to how they were brought out of this state of darkness into light is found in chapter 2 and verse 13 of this same epistle for this cause we thank God without ceasing that when you received the word of God ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God which he effectually works in you that believe they heard that word they heard it with power and they received it as the word of God in faith they received

35:51 they took it to themselves they took away the generality and it became a personal word to them and then the result of that was that they turned unto God through Jesus Christ chapter 1 verses 9 and 10 ye turned to God through Jesus from your idols to serve the living and the true God and to wait for his son from heaven that's how they got out of that state of darkness and were brought into the state of light and were thereby prepared for the day of the Lord the word came it came in power it was received as the word of the living God it was embraced in faith it led to a turning from sin unto God through Christ I submit to you this morning that that's the same only old way by which God is still bringing people out of darkness into marvelous light he has no other way that's his way that's his way now I want to zero in on where you sit this morning and ask several very personal questions of you has that happened to you? have I described you this morning? there you were fumbling around in the darkness of spiritual ignorance and dead night

Personal Application: Has This Happened to You?

37:17 the word came perhaps you heard it from mother here some of us we began to get some dim idea who God was and what we were then that word came with power no different word same word but we began to see that hell was something more than a word and God was something more than a word and his law and sin and judgment and all of these spiritual verities were real objects they weren't just something made up of the words of preachers they were solid substantial spiritual verities and we were awakened to our plight our eyes were opened we turned from darkness to lay hold of that one upon whom the spirit of God put the spotlight even the Lord Jesus in his death burial and resurrection living at the right hand of the Father willing and able to save all who come unto God by him and where again he was but a name and his cross was but a name and his death was but a word those words were now received not as the word of men good men sincere men but they were words from my God

38:45 beckoning me to leave the realm of darkness to leave my sin to embrace his dearly beloved son and those words those words were embraced not as the word of men but as the word of God and embracing them we turned from our idols and we bowed to his sovereignty does that happen to you? is that a description of you? could the apostle say of you as he said of these at Thessalonica but ye brethren are not in darkness if not then verse 3 is still true of you if not you promise yourself security in your present state you expose yourself to the sudden destructiveness of that climactic day of God's judgment upon all who know him not and obey not his gospel and I plead with you this morning and I know by the confession of the lips of some of you to my own ears that this is your present state I plead with you look to him who is the light who said believe on the light while ye have the light that ye may be

The Source of Transformation: God's Election and Grace

40:14 sons of the light how do you become a son of the light? believe on him who is the light throw yourself upon his mercy say God I'm just a blind dumb foolish sinner in the dark but your son is the light of the world and you bid me look unto him to believe on him to cast myself upon him and I plead with you whether young or old to do just that by the warrant of God's command believe on him whom he hath sent and few who are by God's grace sons of the light how is it the word came to you in power you get up one morning and say you know God I think it would be a good idea if maybe I just stopped fooling around and you really began to speak to me and anybody here why did that word come to you in power why was that word that oh yes you called it the word of God but it wasn't received as the word of God as Paul says why was it finally embraced as it is indeed the word of God now effectually working in you not just up there above you and outside of you and you pointed to it and said that's the word of God but effectually working in you now by faith why is it well Paul traces it back in the first chapter

41:42 all the way to eternity knowing brethren beloved of God your election for our gospel came not unto you in word only but in power he traced what happened in time in the powerful application of the word all the way back into eternity and so child of God it should be no tedious thing for you to be found with praise and blessing upon your lips to God this morning or if you are not in darkness it's because God purposes you in eternity to bring you out of that darkness into his marvelous light what's it mean to be in darkness I hope you understand in the light of scripture what's it mean to be a son of the light I hope you understand a little bit more from scripture and how do you get from there to there I hope you understand that more than that I hope you pass from darkness into light all could say of the Colossians that he has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son and where once darkness ruled in the mind and the affections and the will now light rules in the mind the affections and the will and that's all preparatory to that day and we should be taken

Prayer for Salvation and Godly Living

43:11 to that eternal dwelling where there's no night no darkness the city of God and we should be eternal light let us look to God in prayer our father we know not how to praise you for the mercy and grace that caused light to shine in the darkness we acknowledge that all the moral and spiritual darkness that we've ever known and that we see all about us is holy the doing of sinful men our sin and we thank you that you did not leave us to perish in that darkness we think of the generations that were born and lived and died for centuries in the darkest kind of spiritual night and yet here all of us born in this point in time where the gospel has shed its light and where the word of God is preached oh God grant that all of this privilege shall not merely

44:40 intensify the measure of our judgment may it be the means of our salvation we pray that in this very hour you would by your spirit cause some who are in darkness to believe on him who is the light of the world that they may be prepared to be prepared for the coming of the day of the Lord and then our father we pray that we who are the sons and daughters of the day and of the light oh grandfather that we may live in such a way that men may know that this is the sphere of our existence deliver us we pray from attitudes and thoughts and desires that are coming out of us that are characteristic of that sphere of darkness and may we more and more by your grace exhibit to all about us that we are the sons of the day and of the light now our father we plead for special grace for the remainder of this day that we shall conduct ourselves in a way that would glorify you and that would bring all of those blessings you have promised to those who sanctify

46:09 your day and seek to honor it grant our father that we may know those promises fulfilled in us as we consciously sanctify this day to your glory and to our profit now be pleased to dismiss us with the blessing of your spirit's attendance to the word we have heard and our response in obedience and faith by your grace we pray with thankful hearts in the name of him who loved us and gave himself for us even jesus christ our lord amen