Hearing and Doing

Hearing and Doing

Introduction

·        I have been very much enjoying this series through the book of 1 Thessalonians, as we have been discovering together the things which we as a church should be doing together to bring Glory unto God.

·        Illustration: Submarines have to come up every 90 days to set their instruments—Log on to the North Star and to the satellite.

·        We too must continually be coming back to God’s word, to restore our compass for life.

·        Read 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

·        No spiritual discipline is more important than the intake of God’s word!

§         Why? The Bible reveals to us the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Work through the Gospel message, emphasizing how we would not know any of this without God’s word.

§         Truly remarkable book:

·        How often should we turn to God’s word?

§         How often do we face problems and temptations? Every Day!

§         How often do we need instruction, guidance and greater encouragement? Every Day!

§         How often do we need to see God’s face, hear his voice, feel his touch, and know his power? Every Day!

§         Can you eat enough today to last you the next 6 months? Can you take in enough air in one breath to sustain you for a week?

§         Therefore, we must be regularly turning to the Word of God!

Body

1.      The Word transforms our lives. (v. 13)

·        Notice that he thanked God for the work that was going on in the lives of the Thessalonian believers. This must be because the God of the word is the one who must give us a hunger and a thirst for the word.

·        May God give us grace so that we grow more and more hungry for his word each day. That every morning, we hunger to get out of bed and meet with the Lord through his Word.

·        Pray this prayer: “O God, make me hungry, make me thirsty for your Word.”

·        What did they thank God for? What did the Thessalonian believers do that was commendable? They received the word of God not as the word of men but as the word of God.

                                                   i.      What is the difference? How do we receive the message as the Word of God, and not the word of man? How would we treat a word from God differently than from the world of man?

                                                 ii.      The issue is one of absolute acceptance, reverence, and obedience.

                                                iii.      Psalm 19 says that in his word is where we experience the glory of God in high definition. That we can look at creation, and experience his glory, but the Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

·        This is what each of us must do Sunday after Sunday, is that when we hear the word of God preached, that we don’t just take it as good advice, or something that we can take or leave. These are the very words of God which can transform our lives!

·        It is through his word that we find Jesus and see the Glory of God.

·        Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Chirst.”

·        John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

·        When we experience the Word of God, we are experiencing the Glory of God as revealed in his Son Jesus.

·        Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable, and perfect.”

·        When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, He continually used the Word of God. He responded to Satan’s suggestion that he turn stones into bread by quoting Deut 8:3 “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”

·        God’s word is like spiritual food. We feed our bodies three square meals a day, but what about our spirits? We must not go hungry there and expect to be prepared to fight the spiritual battle that we are all engaged in.

·        When we are full of God’s word, the power of God begins to take hold and change our lives.

                                                   i.      Our actions become more like Jesus.

                                                 ii.      Our attitudes are adjusted.

                                                iii.      Our marriages are transformed.

                                               iv.      Our parenting becomes more like our heavenly Father’s.

                                                 v.      Our joy is made complete

                                               vi.      People look at us and say, what is your secret. I have noticed that you have really changed!

·        Why? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

                                                   i.      The breath of God is on your life.

                                                 ii.      One other place in Scripture where it uses the words “God breathed.”

1.      Adam

·        They received the word of God, and it was alive and active in the lives of the believers.

·        Illustration: New Christian man in Kansas city who was severely injured in an explosion. He learned to read Braille with his tongue.

2.      The Word helps us persevere in tough times. (v. 14)

·        Tough times will inevitably come. When the wind begins to blow, and the rains fall, what have you anchored your life to? Will you stand in the darkest hour? What will sustain your life in your most difficult moment?

·        Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

·        Turtle sponge illustration: Be like a sponge, and soak up the Word of God.

3.      The Word keeps us from disobedience to God. (v. 15-16)

·        Notice what the unbelieving Jews did. The result was that their sins were heaped up, and they will experience the wrath of God.

·        1 Peter 2:8 “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

·        Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

·        What are you going to have in your heart and mind that will help you the next time you boot up your computer, and are tempted to go to that website that you know is destroying your soul?

·        How are you going to keep yourself pure in such an ungodly world?

·        How are you going to foster complete honesty with your employer?

·        How are you going to resist the subtle temptations to be unfaithful to your spouse?

·        How are you going to stay on the straight and narrow? By seeing this book as the very word of God, and seeking to make it a very real part of your life.

Conclusion

Practical ways to get God’s word into your life:

1. Make God’s Word part of your routine.
1. Try to do it in the morning.
2. Find a Bible reading plan to follow.
3. Start small, and be consistent.
4. Think about his word throughout the day: Be consistent
5. The hand illustration.
1. Read
2. Hear
3. Study
4. Memorize
5. Meditate

Welsh Pastor in Booklet Reading the Bible

“Let the Word break over your heart and mind again and again as the years go by, and imperceptibly there will come great changes in your attitude and outlook and conduct. You will probably be the last to recognize these.Often you will feel very, very small, because increasingly the God of the Bible will become to you wonderfully great. So go on reading it until you can read no longer, and then you will not need the Bible any more, because when your eyes close for the last time in death, and never again read the Word of God in Scriputre you will open them to the Word of God in the flesh, that same Jesus of the Bible whom you have known for so long, standing before you to take you forever to His eternal home.”