WEBVTT 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:06.860 Let us take our Bibles now and open up to 1st 00:00:06.860 --> 00:00:13.640 Thessalonians. 1st Thessalonians, we're going 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:19.140 to be in chapter 2, looking at verses 13 through 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:25.980 16. This is our summer series through this wonderful 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:30.050 book. We've seen some great things so far. Today, 00:00:30.210 --> 00:00:32.770 we're really going to focus upon the Word of 00:00:32.770 --> 00:00:34.869 God. That's what the passage is really talking 00:00:34.869 --> 00:00:39.049 about. The Word of God, not the Word of men. 00:00:39.229 --> 00:00:42.689 This, friends, is what we need. We need God's 00:00:42.689 --> 00:00:45.909 Word. And so, would you pay close attention to 00:00:45.909 --> 00:00:50.530 the reading of God's holy and inspired, inerrant, 00:00:50.609 --> 00:00:56.890 and infallible Word? And we also thank God constantly 00:00:56.890 --> 00:01:01.399 for this. that when you receive the Word of God, 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:05.599 which you heard from us, you accepted it not 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:10.239 as the Word of men, but as what it really is, 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:14.480 the Word of God, which is at work in you believers. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:18.500 For you brothers became imitators of the churches 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:23.620 of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:26.859 you suffered the same things from your own countrymen, 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:31.280 they did from the Jews who killed both the Lord 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:35.640 Jesus and the prophets and drove us out and displeased 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:39.939 God and opposed all mankind by hindering us from 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:44.019 speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved 00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:47.019 so as always to fill up the measure of their 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:53.340 sins but wrath has come upon them at last faith 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:56.840 comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:02.120 Let us pray. Father we praise you and we thank 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:06.319 you for your word and I ask now that as we look 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.879 at this that you would hide this word in our 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:13.020 hearts and help the truth of it to sink down 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:16.840 into our souls and that we would really wholeheartedly 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:20.780 trust your word that is true in everything it 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:23.770 teaches. But Lord we need your help. We need 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:26.110 the help of the Holy Spirit. Grant us understanding 00:02:26.110 --> 00:02:30.229 through Him. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:38.550 If I told you that God speaks to me, how would 00:02:38.550 --> 00:02:44.289 you feel about that? That God talks to me? You'd 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:47.009 say, that's not very Presbyterian of you, right? 00:02:48.009 --> 00:02:51.889 But God does. God does speak to me, and He does 00:02:51.889 --> 00:02:55.960 speak to you. He speaks through His perfect Word. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.139 He speaks through the 66 books that make up the 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:04.919 Bible. This Word is truth. God's Word is sufficient. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:10.580 God is no wordless idol. His Word is just as 00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:16.979 active as He is. Perhaps you know the text from 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:24.169 Hebrews 412 that says, is living and active, 00:03:24.949 --> 00:03:27.870 sharper than any two -edged sword, piercing to 00:03:27.870 --> 00:03:32.210 the division of soul and of spirit, of joints 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:35.689 and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and 00:03:35.689 --> 00:03:41.550 intentions of the heart. God's word is authoritative 00:03:41.550 --> 00:03:45.550 because it comes from him, and this authoritative 00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:49.610 word preached to us, taught to us here, it demands 00:03:49.610 --> 00:03:52.900 a response, and within our text today, we see 00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:58.340 two drastically different responses. We see reception 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:02.620 of the word, and we see rejection of the word. 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:08.099 Friends, because the word of God is the word 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:13.580 of God, we must receive it in faith. Last Sunday, 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.339 we looked at gospel characteristics of Paul and 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:20.040 Silas and Timothy. We looked at their boldness, 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.120 we looked at their gentleness, we looked at their 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.279 diligence, but I have one more characteristic 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:29.459 to add. Paul was a thankful man. Paul was a thankful 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:33.819 man. Look at it here in verse 13. Paul thanks 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:38.339 God about the Thessalonians. And notice I said, 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:40.560 Paul thanks God about the Thessalonians. Here 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.550 in the text he doesn't thank God for the Thessalonians. 00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:46.769 He thanks God for the work that he is doing in 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:50.370 the midst of the Thessalonians. Paul does this 00:04:50.370 --> 00:04:52.230 a lot though. You can see this kind of thing 00:04:52.230 --> 00:04:54.649 in Philippians. You can see it in Colossians. 00:04:54.889 --> 00:04:59.350 He is thanking God for the Thessalonian positive 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:03.110 response of the gospel message. And he does so 00:05:03.110 --> 00:05:06.529 with two synonymous terms there in verse 13. 00:05:07.490 --> 00:05:10.189 He talks about receiving the word and he talks 00:05:10.189 --> 00:05:13.529 about accepting the word. When he talks about 00:05:13.529 --> 00:05:16.589 the word receiving, this is a verb stressing 00:05:16.589 --> 00:05:20.230 the hearing, the reception of the word preached 00:05:20.230 --> 00:05:23.589 by Paul and preached by others. He's saying the 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:27.110 Thessalonians listened to him when he preached. 00:05:27.329 --> 00:05:30.350 They didn't plug up their ears. They took it 00:05:30.350 --> 00:05:33.589 in. And again, these are synonymous terms, the 00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:35.930 receiving and the accepting. And so when it says 00:05:35.930 --> 00:05:39.649 accepting there, this is that they absorb the 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:43.769 word. This is that they believed the Word of 00:05:43.769 --> 00:05:48.029 God taught to them by Paul. And so because these 00:05:48.029 --> 00:05:50.449 are synonymous terms, the contrast that we need 00:05:50.449 --> 00:05:53.629 to look at is not between those words, but it's 00:05:53.629 --> 00:05:56.550 between what comes next further into the verse, 00:05:56.910 --> 00:06:00.990 the source of the Word. Is it the Word of God 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:06.329 or is it the Word of men? What's the source? 00:06:06.430 --> 00:06:09.709 Now, it's clear here. the sources from God, but 00:06:09.709 --> 00:06:13.550 yet God does work through human writers. He works 00:06:13.550 --> 00:06:17.430 through Paul. He works through Peter. He works 00:06:17.430 --> 00:06:20.329 through Moses. He works through David, but the 00:06:20.329 --> 00:06:24.870 ultimate author of scripture is the Holy Spirit. 00:06:25.490 --> 00:06:28.949 He's the one who divinely inspires the words 00:06:28.949 --> 00:06:31.889 from the biblical writers. And so that's how 00:06:31.889 --> 00:06:36.449 the Bible comes to us, from the Holy Spirit through 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.879 these men. who are inspired with what they write. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:43.800 It's not that the Bible just comes down, you 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:45.879 know this, the Bible doesn't just come down from 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.279 heaven in your favorite English translation with 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:52.019 your favorite fake leather cover. No, the Word 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:55.459 comes from the Holy Father and His Spirit through 00:06:55.459 --> 00:07:00.600 the Gospel writers. And so because the Holy Spirit 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:03.579 does this, because the Holy Spirit breathes out 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:07.560 Scripture, we can say there's no difference between 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:10.639 Paul's word in Scripture and God's word. The 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:13.639 gospel proclaimed is not merely human word. It's 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:16.920 the divine word. And so for this reason, Paul 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.920 gives thanks. His point is that the Thessalonians 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:22.800 not only accepted the gospel at their conversion, 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:25.980 the Thessalonians continued to accept the gospel. 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:29.160 We don't just believe in this once. We believe 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:36.949 in it every single day. Again. The word is living 00:07:36.949 --> 00:07:40.290 and active. And you can see within towards the 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:44.069 end of that verse, the word at work in you believers. 00:07:44.089 --> 00:07:47.449 And that's an important point. It's an important 00:07:47.449 --> 00:07:50.709 point for the word to work in a positive way 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:54.629 in our lives. We have to believe it. We have 00:07:54.629 --> 00:07:58.709 to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And 00:07:58.709 --> 00:08:01.149 so it's at work in their lives. Now, Paul doesn't 00:08:01.149 --> 00:08:04.399 spell out here how the word is at work. But we've 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.519 already seen it. We've already seen the Thessalonians 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.699 and their work of faith, their labor of love, 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:14.060 and their steadfastness of hope, not to mention 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:17.019 other things that we'll see later in this letter. 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:22.120 And so I want you to understand this today, that 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:26.980 the Word works. The Word works as you are being 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:30.199 sanctified in the truth. The Word works as you 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:33.320 seek to follow after Jesus. The Word works as 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:36.320 you share it with other people. The Word will 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.159 not return void. And so the question I have for 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:44.360 you is, have you believed this message? Have 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:48.440 you believed in the gospel? Children, have you 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.100 believed in Jesus? Do you know that he is called 00:08:52.100 --> 00:08:57.539 the Word in John chapter 1? You might say, well, 00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:04.480 I'm not sure. How do I accept the word? You might 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:10.139 remember Augustine. Augustine in the 300s was 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:14.360 brought up by a mother who loved him, and Augustine's 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.220 mother prayed for him all the time, and it took 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:22.519 a while. But one day, Augustine was in a courtyard, 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:25.919 and he heard some children singing and playing, 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:28.529 and they had this This phrase that they were 00:09:28.529 --> 00:09:30.950 singing over and over and over again, the children 00:09:30.950 --> 00:09:35.389 were singing tolle legge, tolle legge, which 00:09:35.389 --> 00:09:40.370 is Latin for take up and read. And so what did 00:09:40.370 --> 00:09:44.830 Augustine do? He took the Bible up and he read 00:09:44.830 --> 00:09:50.590 it. And he was converted because the word works. 00:09:52.730 --> 00:09:54.549 Friends, as you look at this text, you could 00:09:54.549 --> 00:09:57.240 see. There's really two types of people in the 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:00.360 text, aren't there? There are people who believe 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.860 the gospel, who receive it and accept it, and 00:10:02.860 --> 00:10:06.000 there are people who do not. But regardless, 00:10:06.179 --> 00:10:09.360 the word has dramatic effect on these groups 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.600 here. I want to show you this from Acts chapter 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:15.620 17. I've referenced this several times within 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:17.460 the sermon series, but I don't think we've read 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:22.240 the text yet. So Acts chapter 17, one through 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:29.960 nine. Acts 17, one through nine, reads, now, 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:34.600 when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:38.799 they came to Thessalonica, where there was a 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:42.480 synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.100 his custom. And on three Sabbath days, he reasoned 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:49.360 with them from the scriptures, explaining and 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.340 proving that it was necessary for the Christ 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:55.159 to suffer. and to rise from the dead and saying, 00:10:55.320 --> 00:11:00.759 this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:03.960 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:08.019 and Silas as did a great many of the devout Greeks 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:11.220 and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:14.259 were jealous and taking some wicked men of the 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:17.440 rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:20.960 uproar and attacked the house of Jason. Seeking 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.100 to bring them out to the crowd and when they 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:27.559 could not find them They dragged Jason and some 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:29.759 of the brothers before the city authorities shouting 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.679 these men who have turned the world upside down 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:36.500 have come here also in Jason has received them 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:39.519 and They're all acting against the decrees of 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:43.139 Caesar saying that there is another King Jesus 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:47.139 and The people in the city authorities were disturbed 00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:49.820 when they heard these things And when they had 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:52.639 taken money as security from Jason and the rest, 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:59.639 they let them go. It's a dramatic effect. The 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:03.139 reception of the word or the rejection of the 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:05.919 word. Some of the Jews in the city believed. 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:10.539 Some did not. A great many of the Gentiles believed. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:15.450 Some did not. The Jews were jealous. and they 00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:19.389 set the city in an uproar and look at the accusation 00:12:19.389 --> 00:12:22.470 against the leaders of the city, the accusation 00:12:22.470 --> 00:12:24.970 against Paul and Silas and Timothy. The text 00:12:24.970 --> 00:12:27.629 says that they were saying that the Christians 00:12:27.629 --> 00:12:31.129 have turned the world upside down. They're talking 00:12:31.129 --> 00:12:34.190 about the previous cities that Paul had been 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:38.950 in and the reception and the rejection in those 00:12:38.950 --> 00:12:41.470 cities. But this is an ironic statement, isn't 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:45.149 it? Because while Paul and his crew, are accused 00:12:45.149 --> 00:12:48.429 of disturbing the peace in Thessalonica, what 00:12:48.429 --> 00:12:52.509 do the non -believing Thessalonians do? They're 00:12:52.509 --> 00:12:57.029 the ones who form the mob. They're the ones who 00:12:57.029 --> 00:13:00.169 set the city in an uproar. They're the ones who 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:03.169 attack Jason's house. The Christians in the city 00:13:03.169 --> 00:13:07.929 suffer because others reject the gospel. Friends, 00:13:08.009 --> 00:13:15.120 the gospel is the dividing line. Luke 12 51 through 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:23.200 52 listen to these words from Jesus Do you think 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:30.039 that I have come to give peace on earth No No, 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:33.980 I tell you but rather division from now on in 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:38.419 one house there will be five divided three against 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:42.720 two two against three They will be divided father 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:47.080 against son, son against father, mother against 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:50.279 daughter, and daughter against mother, mother 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:53.120 -in -law against her daughter -in -law, and daughter 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:56.759 -in -law against mother -in -law. Friends, if 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.320 anything is true in this world that's free for 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:03.600 observation, this is it. Because the gospel is 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:07.220 what divides. People have fought over this, and 00:14:07.220 --> 00:14:10.139 they continue to do so. We fight, though, for 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:13.100 the truth, the truth of the gospel. And it's 00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:16.019 this, that Christ died for your sins according 00:14:16.019 --> 00:14:21.600 to the Scriptures. But the gospel in this city, 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:25.440 you can see what it did. People believed and 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:29.100 people rejected. The gospel is the river. The 00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:32.320 gospel is the boundary. When it comes to the 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:36.740 Word, nobody is neutral with it. And with this 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:40.450 persecution, the Thessalonians, even as they're 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:43.450 being persecuted, they're imitating the churches 00:14:43.450 --> 00:14:46.350 of God and Christ Jesus that were in Judea. In 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.450 Judea, people who were Christians were persecuted, 00:14:49.549 --> 00:14:52.210 and Paul is saying that's happening to you too 00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:55.990 here by your own countrymen. The Jews in Thessalonica 00:14:55.990 --> 00:14:59.690 stir up the non -believing Gentiles to prevent 00:14:59.690 --> 00:15:03.990 the message of salvation from going out. Again, 00:15:04.129 --> 00:15:11.259 the gospel has tremendous effect It has a tremendous 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:14.659 effect because it's affected you, hasn't it? 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:17.980 At one point, the playing field was completely 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:21.860 level because Romans 3 .23 says that all have 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:24.120 sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:27.539 were all dead in our trespasses, in our sin, 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.399 in our disobedience. We reject the Word of God. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:33.240 The dividing line there is the righteousness 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:35.399 of God. And there was a time when we were on 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.960 the wrong side of righteousness, when we didn't 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:42.470 have it. but because of the mercy of God he has 00:15:42.470 --> 00:15:46.649 sent Christ to us and Christ lived for us and 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:49.830 he died for us and then he sent his spirit who 00:15:49.830 --> 00:15:52.450 changes the affections of our hearts to care 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:56.169 about God and to love him and to love others. 00:15:56.409 --> 00:16:03.129 The gospel makes a way for us back to God. That's 00:16:03.129 --> 00:16:08.039 what the gospel does. It saves us. It saves us 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.299 because of the sacrifice of Christ. Look in verse 00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:17.980 15. They killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets. 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:23.019 Friends, when it says the prophets here, I believe 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:25.480 this is referring to the prophets of the Old 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:29.700 Testament. It's talking about those who paved 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:33.659 the way, if you will, for Jesus to come. And 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.860 Jesus did and he fulfilled scripture and he died 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:40.679 for our salvation. And this text points out that 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:43.580 there is wrath for those who don't believe this 00:16:43.580 --> 00:16:47.460 message. Commentators look at this passage and 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:50.240 they're kind of divided here on whether this 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.580 is talking about a historical event, this wrath. 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:55.960 Is this talking about something that people actually 00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:58.899 went through for their disobedience? or is this 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:01.440 looking ahead to the final judgment? Is this 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:03.899 looking ahead to the final wrath? To be honest 00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:06.980 with you, I'm not sure. But we do know that there's 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:10.079 a final judgment. We do know that there is wrath 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:17.119 to come. As James Grant says, a commentator, 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:21.740 when you reject grace, the only thing that is 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:26.259 left is wrath. Friends, the only cover for the 00:17:26.259 --> 00:17:29.990 wrath The only cover for the judgment of God 00:17:29.990 --> 00:17:33.369 is in Christ, Christ who suffered the penalty 00:17:33.369 --> 00:17:36.170 for our sin, Christ who laid his life down so 00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:39.130 you would have the gospel and life everlasting, 00:17:39.230 --> 00:17:45.490 but you need to receive it in faith. Friends, 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:48.549 you have received the word. You've heard it. 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:51.369 You've not stopped up your ears. Now accept it 00:17:51.369 --> 00:17:55.150 in faith, not as the word of men, but of God. 00:17:55.289 --> 00:17:58.849 And ultimately, of the Holy Spirit who illumines 00:17:58.849 --> 00:18:03.690 truth for us. Let us thank God for Christ who 00:18:03.690 --> 00:18:07.529 saves us and for the Holy Spirit who breathes 00:18:07.529 --> 00:18:11.430 out scripture and opens our hearts and our minds 00:18:11.430 --> 00:18:12.269 to accept.