1. A TIME TO REORIENT 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

2. A TIME TO REORIENT Ecclesiastes 3:1, “ To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: ” During the period of 21-day prayer, it is a time to reorient ourselves. The question is: to what?

3. A TIME TO REORIENT This world teaches us to orient ourselves towards money, power, fame, pleasure, et al, and often times we actually go along with those things – consequence? … What does the Bible teach us about reorientation? E.g., Rom 12:1 (living sacrifice); Phil. 4:8-9 (whatever … ); 1Thess. 5:16-18 (rejoicing, praying, giving thanks), and many more. But, …

4. A TIME TO REORIENT What is the basis for all that? In a nutshell: the Second Advent of Jesus. We all love talking about Jesus ’ First Advent, death and resurrection, but have we ever heard anything on His second coming in the last two years? Remember: the Second Advent of Jesus is the culmination of our faith, without which our faith is just a figment of our imagination. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19 that …

5. A TIME TO REORIENT Let ’ s watch a video clip from the motion picture Matrix. Is ignorance really a bliss? The answer is “ No ” according to Paul: we must reorient ourselves towards our Lord ’ s coming again, and there is an acronym that he wants us to remember:

6. A TIME TO REORIENT P.V.C. Perseverance Victory Companionship

7. A TIME TO REORIENT To orient ourselves, we must to look forward to the Second Advent with perseverance: 1Thess. 4:13-14. A brief look at what went on around and within Thessalonian church: General: unfriendly atmosphere towards Christians. Specific: Judaism and circumcision; attacks from the Jews. Christian: losing sight of the resurrection & Second Advent, consciously or unconsciously.

8. A TIME TO REORIENT To the Thessalonian believers, the divine influence is at the brink of extinction (v. 13): HumanDivine Ignorance is a bliss (v. 13a) All is Gone. There is no hope (v. 13b).

9. A TIME TO REORIENT The key question to them is “ Is Christ actually going to return at all? ” To us, we may ask a lot of are-we- going-to ’ s. But, if we dwell on those lingering questions, we will eventually lose sight of who Jesus is and what He represents.

10. A TIME TO REORIENT What then? Persevere with belief: HumanDivine Ignorance is a bliss (v. 13a) Jesus died and rose again (v. 14a) All is Gone.All is still there!! There is no hope (v. 13b). There is hope for the future (v. 14b)

11. A TIME TO REORIENT Believing in things unseen is not easy, and it takes discipline. How? In a very practical way, remembering the spiritual landmarks. Landmark 1 Landmark 2 Landmark 3 Fact: THE LORD IS ALWAYS AT WORK

12. A TIME TO REORIENT To orient ourselves, we must anticipate the Second Advent in victory: 1Thess. 4:15-17. Second Advent of Jesus = Rapture – or a major part (the novel Left Behind by Tim Lahaye, et al) If perseverance is reactive, then anticipation is proactive: in essence, Paul is saying that believers must live a life in anticipation. What does this mean? Excitement, full of energy, …

13. A TIME TO REORIENT Let ’ s do a quick exam of our Christian living: on a scale of 1-10, how do rate excitement? Full of energy? Living in the Spirit? … What are hindrances from living a life of anticipation?

14. A TIME TO REORIENT How do anticipate in victory? We claim God ’ s Word daily (v. 15) Claiming God ’ s Word daily is declaring victory over Satan ’ s potential influences on us.

15. A TIME TO REORIENT To orient ourselves, we must have companionship, namely, friends: 1Thess. 4:18. Reason: we are created as relational beings. This is why solitude is …

16. A TIME TO REORIENT “ Therefore comfort …” Paul wants the Thessalonian believers to comfort (or encourage/challenge) one another – with what? Words. Words are powerful, aren't they? What do we say to … ?