During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message: General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessians were encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. When the guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington's army, Rall was still playing cards. Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured.

Friends, God has sent a message to us! The Day of the Lord is coming! Judgment Day is most certainly coming! So Let's Encourage Each Other To Be Ready for it! Why do we want to be ready for it? Because once Jesus returns, our time for repenting and coming to faith is over. We will have no second chance. When He comes, we will already want to have faith that He is our Savior! When should we start getting ready? Right now! Because the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night! No one knows when it is coming! We have to be prepared for it every day of our lives. God wants us to be moved by a sense of urgency, a sense of constant readiness. He wants us to be growing in our trust in Him and living that faith out in love every day. Christians, encourage each other to be ready every day for Jesus to come!

Since the Lord's return is unknown, sadly many will be unprepared. The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each show is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience thinks this is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire burned through the whole building and the fun-loving audience with it. "And so," concluded Kierkegaard, "will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators."

This will be the sad truth about the Day of the Lord. So many people in the world are not ready. They reject God. They reject the fact that they are sinful and need a Savior. They reject Jesus as the Savior God sent for them. And so, they don't listen to the warning to repent. Worse yet, they trust in themselves and the things of the world instead. They live with a false sense of security. They believe they are living in "peace and safety." They believe they will have to answer to no one. They are comfortable in their daily routine. They think that having a happy marriage and family, a good job, a good school for their children, fun times with their friends in the neighborhood, and a little entertainment now and then is what life is all about. And since they have convinced themselves that having to answer to God and going to church and a faith in their Savior is all a thing of the past, they are quite comfortable with their life as it is. They will be completely unprepared for the Day of the Lord! And once the pain of that day hits them, it will be too late to do anything about it. No more than a pregnant woman in the middle of labor and delivery could do anything to change the condition she is in! They will have brought this awful destruction on themselves!

Friends, fear not. This day will be a great day of joy for you! Your Savior Jesus is coming to take you to be with Him! Don't worry about it! Look forward to it! Be ready for it! And encourage each other to be ready for it. How? Being here every Sunday is a good start. Being in God's Word and growing in your faith every day is even better! Then listening to the Word you hear and actually living that out in your life for others to see is the best yet! When I tell you to encourage each other, I am not just talking about the people in the chairs here today - I am talking about the people who right now are not prepared. We don't want anyone to have the Day of the Lord be one of destruction! Help others get ready by telling them about Jesus!

One of the best ways to do that is To Be Different as you live your life here. Be different because you are different, and encourage each other to be different! You are as different from the unbelieving world as light is from darkness! As day from night! The people in the world who have rejected God and the grace He offers us through Jesus Christ are sleeping and drunk! They are spiritually asleep and in a clueless, drunken stupor. People living in the darkness of sin don't even realize how out of touch they are with God and the reality of their predicament. And so, they live their lives for the here and now. The most important things to them are earthly, material, and temporary. They live to party and to make a name for themselves in the world. Because that is all they have. They have no hope after death. They live in darkness.

Not you! You live in light! You know God's grace! You know what Jesus did for you! You know where you are going when you die. You know the wonderful news Judgment Day will bring for you! So would it make any sense to live like the people who are in darkness? Of course not! Therefore, live each day as if it is the last day! All of our plans in life should be guided by the realization that Jesus is coming soon! With God's help, may our lives display the difference! Let's not get caught sleeping - let's be exercising spiritually! And that will give us the boost we need to live differently - as children of the light, not children of darkness! Make church a priority - every week! Make God's Word a priority - every day! Make God a priority - every second! Make loving your family and friends and neighbors a priority - all the time! Love, serve, give, sacrifice, help, sympathize, empathize, put your arms around, and hug. If you want to bring those who are living in darkness into the wonderful light you live in, then you have to live differently. And since it is so hard for us to live differently in this world, we also need to encourage each other to be different!

After all, what is a Christian? In the Letter to Diognetius, which dates back to the second century A.D., an anonymous writer describes a strange people who are in the world but not of the world. "Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language, or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect. . . They live in both Greek and foreign cities, wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food, and other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the unusual form of their own citizenship. "They marry and have children just like everyone else, but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws and go beyond the laws in their own lives. "They love everyone, but are persecuted by all. They are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor. Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others. "When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished, they rejoice as if being given new life." The word "Christian" has lost much of its meaning in our culture. It means "Christ in one." Be different, because Christ is in you!

Finally, Encourage Each Other To Be Confident! In 1989, when Donald Trump's bank account was still bulging, a writer asked Trump the inevitable question about what horizons were left to conquer. "Right now, I'm genuinely enjoying myself," Trump replied. "I work and I don't worry." "What about death?" the writer asked. "Don't you worry about dying?" "No," Trump said. "I'm fatalistic and I protect myself as well as anybody can. I prepare for things." However, as Trump started walking up the stairs to have dinner with his family, he hesitated for a moment. "No," he said finally, "I don't believe in reincarnation, heaven or hell-but we go someplace." He paused. "Do you know," he added, "I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where."

Would you like to live life with that lack of confidence in what is waiting for you? That is the kind of uncertainty that someone who does not trust in God's true promises lives with! But you have every reason to be confident! God doesn't want you to be destroyed on Judgment Day! He wants you to be saved through Jesus! He wants all people to have that triumph on that day! And since He planned that for you before you were even born, you have good reason to be confident. You can also be confident because God gave up his own Son for you. He didn't hold back what was most precious to Him. He sent Jesus here to live the perfect life you have failed at. And He sent Jesus here to die so that you wouldn't have to. And now, He will be sending Jesus here to hold your hand and escort you to heaven - to life together with Him forever!

There was a 5-year-old boy who was dying of lung cancer, which is a terrifying disease in its final stages. The lungs fill with fluid, and the patient is unable to breathe. This little boy had a Christian mother who loved him and stayed by his side through the long ordeal. She cradled him on her lap and talked softly about the Lord. Instinctively, the woman was preparing her son for the final hours to come. Gracie Schaeffler, his nurse, entered his room one day as death approached, and she heard this lad talking about hearing bells. "The bells are ringing, Mommy," he said. "I can hear them." Gracie thought he was hallucinating. She said to his mother, 'I'm sure you know your baby is hearing things that aren't there. He is hallucinating because of the sickness." The mother pulled her son closer to her chest, smiled and said, "No, Miss Schaeffler. He is not hallucinating. I told him when he was frightened-when he couldn't breathe-if he would listen carefully, he could hear the bells of heaven ringing for him. That is what he's been talking about all day." That precious child died on his mother's lap later that evening, and he was still talking about the bells of heaven when the angels came to take him. He was confident in God's promise of heaven. Let's encourage each other to be just as confident!

I am going to close with one more story about how important it is to encourage each other. Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she hated it. She was born with a cleft palate and had to bear the jokes and stares of cruel children who teased her non-stop about her misshaped lip, crooked nose, and garbled speech. With all the teasing, Mary grew up hating the fact that she was "different". She was convinced that no one, outside her family, could ever love her … until she entered Mrs. Leonard's class. Mrs. Leonard had a warm smile, and while most kids in her class liked her, Mary came to love Mrs. Leonard. In the 1950s, it was common for teachers to give their children an annual hearing test. However, in Mary's case, in addition to her cleft palate, she was barely able to hear out of one ear. Determined not to let the other children have another "difference" to point out, she would cheat on the test each year. The "whisper test" was given by having a child walk to the classroom door, turn sideways, close one ear with a finger, and then repeat something which the teacher whispered. Mary turned her bad ear towards her teacher and pretended to cover her good ear. She knew that teachers would often say things like, "The sky is blue," or "What color are your shoes?" But not on that day. God put seven words in Mrs. Leonard's mouth that changed Mary's life forever. When the "Whisper test" came, Mary heard the words: "I wish you were my little girl."

That is what God has whispered into your ear. "I want you to be my little child." And that is exactly what He has made you. What could encourage you more to be ready for the last day, to be different in the way you live, and to be confident in who you are! Amen.

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