1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 | "Let the Word Work!"
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2,538 viewsWhat is a mark of a believer? Answer: The word of God at work! What work is the Spirit of God working through the Word of God in you? Is it the kind of work obsered in the lives of the Thessalonian believers?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
[~03:30]
1 Thessalonians 2:1–20 (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 2:1–20 ESV
1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
[PRAYER]
Introduction
Introduction
Sermon Title: “Let the Word Work!”
In verse 13, the Word of God is characterized as working in believers!
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
Question: What is a mark of a believer?
Answer: The word of God at work.
Hebrews 4:12 describes the word of God as living and active! It is not just living, it is living and active!
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
So the word works! The word acts! God always acts on the basis of His Word!
It is possible for a human being to be in a comatose state, to be unconscious, or to be asleep where there is life, but no physical activity.
The Word of God is not like that. The word is always living, and always active.
And such is the confidence that Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy placed not only in the word of God, but also in the God of the Word. The two are never separated.
These men were writing to the Thessalonian believers to encourage them in their faith which (1:8) says has “gone forth everywhere.”
They want to remind them of their hope in God on the basis of His work through His word in them, because they accepted the gospel that was preached to them as being from God, not from men.
1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 invites us to consider the outcomes of both accepting and rejecting of the word of God, to either encourage us to persevere in the faith with hope, or to call us to repentance and faith in Jesus.
1. The Word of God Accepted
1. The Word of God Accepted
Verse 13 begins with unceasing thanksgiving to God.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this…
That word “constantly” is “unceasingly.” It is a word that belongs to the Apostle Paul’s prayer vocabulary.
In 1 Thess. 5:17 that word appears again with the command: “Pray unceasingly.”
Paul, Silas, and Timothy are thanking God unceasingly and prayerfully that God has given the Thessalonians faith to accept His Word and His Gospel about Jesus. Only God can give that kind of faith to a person — and give eyes that can see, and ears that can hear.
Paul recognizes that as the word of God was preached among the Thessalonians, God though His Holy Spirit was using that Word to call forth faith in those who heard it.
This was God’s work, and that is why Paul thanks God unceasingly —
The word of proclamation must be accompanied by the work of prayer.
When we preach and teach God's Word, we are dealing with that which must be spiritually discerned, and we need the Spirit of God to help us!
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
We must never simply teach/preach God’s Word. We must PRAYERFULLY teach/preach God’s Word…
...and then give thanks to God when He does a work among us!
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us…
The word of God is received first by hearing. And the Thessalonians heard and received the word of God because Paul, Silas and Timothy proclaimed it!
That seems obvious, but listen to:
Romans 10:13–15 (ESV)
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
You do not have to be a called, ordained preacher to have beautiful feet.
The word of God is at work in you believers, and evidence of that work will be the word that is in you going out from you as you proclaim it.
You can proclaim the word of God as a mother raising children in the home. As you are having lunch with friends. As you are praying for people, you can proclaim the word in many ways as you go!
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Romans 10:15 goes on to say:
Romans 10:15–17 (ESV)
15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
One of the goals I have for you as your pastor, is that every member of Southside Baptist Church would be prepared and able to proclaim the faith as a witness for Jesus with someone else! Always prepared for any moment God gives us to tell someone else about salvation in Jesus!
People are hungry and have a desire to hear from God.
You cannot hear from God on TV, or in the news, but you can heard from God where the word is preached and proclaimed.
My promise to you, is that if you can get here on Sunday mornings, I will be prepared, I will have prayed, and the Word of God will be preached and proclaimed!
My hope is that you will join in that promise with me, to receive that word and take it outside this sanctuary into the world where you walk.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
First, the word of God was proclaimed to the Thessalonians.
Second, they received what they heard.
Third, the had to make a faith decision.
Will they accept what they have received as being from God, and therefore, truth?
Or, will they reject what they have received as being from men, believing it to be untruth?
Verse 13 tells us they accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God!
Think about that moment of accepting for you.
Think about the moment when the gospel made sense to you — when you believed. When you received by faith and accepted the word about Jesus as being from God, and not from men.
Have you had such a moment in your life?
Can you remember the conviction you felt when you realized that you were an enemy of God? When you understood what it meant to be a sinner and to fall short of God's glory? To learn that by God's definition, you were a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, and your sin would be met with justice, and certain death. And you did not deserve anything from God, except judgment.
Can you remember hearing how Jesus died in your place, becoming sin for you, and enduring the wrath of God on a cross>
Can you remember that he was buried and raised to life again - so that sin would have no more hold on you, so that death had no more claim on you, so that you could be reconciled to God, forgiven, and given a new life in Him and be declared righteous before God in Jesus?
Can you remember God's presence with you in that moment. When you accepted His Word as truth?
All of this is His work, the work of His Spirit, through the Word.
The point is, you cannot just hear, and receive the Word. You have to decide what to do with what you hear.
You are responsible for what you hear!
Think of putting a dollar bill into a vending machine.
The machine receives the dollar bill, but then one of two things happens: It either accepts the bill and you get your selection, or it rejects the bill and spits it back out.
The same is true of the way God’s word is received. And whether it is accepted or rejected depends on the soil that that seed falls upon. It depends on the preparation and the state of your heart. It is in the heart where the Spirit of God does His work through the Word.
Warren Wiersbe: Receiving is the hearing of the ears. But accepting, is hearing of the heart.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
And then verse 14 gives evidence for this:
1 Thessalonians 2:14 ESV
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,
The word of God is at work because the believers became imitators of those who live by it.
That word “imitators” is the word μιμητής (mimic).
It simply means “one who does what others do.” (LN, 508).
The Thessalonians did not just accept the word of God intellectually, but they allowed what they heard to travel to their heart, and once in their heart, the word transformed their way of life!
Watch how this works —
If you want to become truly fluent in another language, you have to discipline yourself to learn more than just the words, the vocabulary, the sentence structures, the inflections.
To learn a language fluently you have to learn to do more than speak and write in that language. You have to learn to THINK in that language.
You can attend something call an immersion camps to help you do this.
If you want to learn French, you can go to a French Immersion Camp where for a length of time you will be surrounded by everything French.
No other language is permitted.
When you read, you read books in French.
When you watch TV, you watch TV in French.
When you eat dinner, you have conversations in French.
Very quickly, it becomes inconvenient to even think in any other language but French.
Before long, you will even dream in French.
Because no longer are you immersing yourself in the French language, but the French language is immersing itself in you.
As someone encounters the Word, and accepts it, and begins to read it, listens to it, speaks of it -- the Word changes you! The Word gets in you!
Is it possible, for us to be so saturated with the Word of God, to Let it so Work in Us, that it becomes inconvenient for us to think about anything else?
The Thessalonians became imitators by letting the Word of God work in their lives! They became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea who were transformed already in the same way by the Spirit and the Word of Christ.
And by imitating these churches, the Thessalonians’ lives were so transformed that they no longer looked like the world, and became partakers in the same sufferings of those churches.
Verse 14 tells us they suffered.
1 Thessalonians 2:14 ESV
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,
14 …For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,
The word of God had performed such a work in them that their faith was clearly defined and there was no mistaking that these believers now belonged to Jesus Christ.
I had a picture taken this week for the paper. We took the picture in this room with the lights off, to make use of the natural lighting. After a couple of pictures, the photographer set up a lamp behind me and took a few more pictures, then showed me the difference.
In the first pictures, without the lamp, my image blends into the darkness around it. Little distinction and contrast.
In the latter pictures, with the lamp behind me, a clear contrast can be seen outlining me, separating me from the darkness. It made me stand out.
That is what the Word of God does! There is a clear distinction contrasting a believer with the world. A clear distinction between light and darkness!
The Thessalonians no longer looked like unbelievers, but were clearly marked as believers — to the point that they were persecuted with other believers because of it!
But it was in this suffering that they became known as belonging to Jesus - who himself suffered. And in this suffering they have hope, because their hope is anchored in the Word of Christ.
And this is the hope that the Thessalonians heard, received, accepted, believed, and became imitators of — even willing to suffer on account of it!
This is how much they believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ that was preached to them—truly was the word of God. It transformed their lives!
Transition
But not everyone in Thessalonica was changed. Not everyone accepted the word of God.
The preaching of the word won many people over, but it also created an uproar in the city!
Verse 15 shows the other side of the coin.
Those that did not accept the word as being of God, but those that rejected the word of God believing it to be instead the word of men!
2. The Word of God Rejected
2. The Word of God Rejected
Just as the Thessalonian believers served as an example of accepting God’s word, verse 15 zooms in on a group of Jews who serve as an example of those who oppose the preaching of the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ and reject the word.
These unbelieving Jews are the ones:
1 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecuted us, and who are not pleasing to God and are opposed to all people,
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets…
Instead of accepting, believing, imitating and suffering, there is killing, persecuting, displeasing and opposing!
They killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets.
One look at the cross, and you see rejection in the strongest terms!
But remember what Jesus said:
John 15:18 ESV
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
They killed the Lord Jesus, but he was raised from the dead and still speaks.
They killed the prophets, but they still speak!
They persecuted Paul and his companions, but they still speak!
Because the Word of God cannot be silenced! It will work, even through rejection!
1 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind
Opposition can take many forms. Here, it takes the form of hindrance.
Even Satan is described in v.18 as a hinderer to Paul’s work and plans.
The Jews are opposing God’s work through Paul and his companions…(v.16)
1 Thessalonians 2:16 ESV
16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. . .
This is why my sermon is titled, “Let the Word Work!”
Rejecting the word of God hinders the work of God. But it doesn’t keep God’s word from working in believers.
And God’s Word will do a work in unbelievers too, and in those who are hindering the advancement of the Gospel, but it is a work that leads to God’s wrath.
Verse 16 ends with these words:
1 Thessalonians 2:16 ESV
16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
16 …But wrath has come upon them at last!
For those who accept the word of God, the promised end is one of hope. Because Jesus delivers us from the coming wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
But for those who reject the word of God, there is no hope, but wrath.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Question: Is the Word of God at Work in You?
You can ask it in the form of an examination:
Is the Word of God at Work in Me?
Have you had a moment of hearing, receiving, accepting and believing the good news that Jesus saves from sin and death and brings us into right relationship with God?
As you get into the Word, is the Word getting into you?
Saturating your speech, your thoughts, your life?
Are you being changed? Or is your faith comatose?
Jesus once told a Parable of a Sower.
A sower who went out to sow seed (which is the Word of God.)
While he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of a path, and the birds came and devoured it. This is the evil one snatching away what was heard, but not understood. What was not accepted.
Other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. When the sun rose it was scorched, because it did not have enough root, and it withered. This is the one who hears the word and receives it with joy, but is not changed by it. When suffering comes, he/she immediately falls away.
Other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. This is the one who hears but the cares of the world choke the word and it becomes unproductive. There is no sounding forth of faith or word.
But some seed —- some seed fell on good soil and produced fruit, some 100 fold, some 60 fold, and some 30 fold. This is the one who hears, understands, and produces fruit. One who hears, receives, accepts, and believes, and is changed.
Three times as much soil rejected the seed, than the one that accepted it. But nevertheless, the Word was scattered.
The word has been scattered in your hearing. The Word of the Lord will accomplish something in you.
The Spirit of the Lord is convicting of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.
I pray you are encouraged in your faith, and confidence in God’s Word.
I pray your heart is as the good soil where the seed will grow and produce much fruit.
But if you have rejected the Word of the Lord until now, and the Gospel that has been preached, the Lord stands ready to forgive and save. And God will give you the faith to accept it for what it is -- the word of God.
“The one who has ears, let him hear!”
[Pray]