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1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called “Lessons from a Growing Church,” and we are seeing what lessons we can learn from the growing church at Thessalonica. And today we come to an important lesson for any church: how to listen to a sermon. How do you listen to a sermon? Let’s find out! (Read 1 Thessalonians 2:13 and pray.)

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There are plenty of books out there that will tell you how to prepare a sermon, how to deliver a sermon, but you don’t hear a lot about how to listen to a sermon. One person when they saw the title to this week’s message gave this answer: “Stay awake!” Well, that’s a good start!

There are lots of jokes about people falling asleep during sermons. There’s the one about the person who fainted during the sermon. Someone called 911, and when the paramedics arrived, they carried out six people before they found the right one. Or from the world of statistics: “Research has proven that if all the people who sleep in church were laid end to end … they would be a lot more comfortable.”

People sometimes complain that sermons are long, dry and boring, that it’s hard to listen. I like the story of the visiting preacher who was greeting people after the service. Most of the people had good comments, but this one woman came marching through the line and said, “Too long!” Then she cycled back through the line a second time and said, “Too loud!” And then she came through the line a third time and said, “Too boring!” One of the deacons leaned over and said, “Pastor, don’t pay any attention to her. She doesn’t mean anything by it. She just has a habit of repeating what everyone else says.”

So, why does preaching get such a bad rap? Why do people think sermons are dull and boring? I mean this is God’s word we’re talking about. Nothing should be more thrilling or challenging than to hear a message from God’s word. What’s the problem?

I’ll confess, sometimes it is the preacher’s fault. Sometimes we preachers can focus too much on the “then and there” rather than the “here and now.” We don’t always do a good job of connecting the Scriptures to everyday life. Or perhaps sometimes, we’re just boring.

But it’s not always the preacher’s fault. The preacher can be well prepared, revved up and ready to go. He can preach the word of God accurately and passionately from the heart, and the listener can still walk away unmoved, unchanged. What happened? Well, sometimes it’s the listener’s fault. The listener did not do a good job of listening to the sermon.

Let me tell you a secret. If you know how to listen, you can always get something out of a sermon. A powerful sermon has often rescued a weak listener, and a good listener has often rescued a weak sermon. No preacher ever does full justice to the word of God. Some get closer than others. But a good listener can get something out of any sermon.
Of course, the ideal combination would be both powerful preaching and good listening. But this morning we will focus on the listener’s responsibility. How do you listen to a sermon? Paul’s answer to this question is simple: You should listen to a sermon not as the word of men but as the word of God. That makes all the difference in the world.

So, what does it mean to listen to a sermon this way? We find three things in our passage today: 1) Come accepting the word of God as the word of God. 2) Come expecting God’s word to work. 3) Come ready to change.

I. Come accepting the word of God as the word of God (13a)
   – Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:21

First of all: come accepting the word of God as the word of God. Look at verse 13:

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Paul begins verse 13 by giving thanks. This is the second time Paul expresses thanks for the Thessalonians in this letter. He did it in chapter one (1:2), he does it again here (2:13) and he will do it again in chapter three (3:9). In chapter one he gave thanks for the results of the gospel in their lives. Now here in verses 13-16 he gives thanks for how the Thessalonians received the word: they received the word of God not as the word of men but as the word of God.

Now the Thessalonians did not hear God’s voice directly. What they heard was Paul and his companions speaking. But they recognized the true source of the message. This was not the word of men, but a word which truly came from God.

All true preaching of God’s word is prophetic. Preaching stands in a long line of prophetic communication from God to man. Our God is a God who speaks to us. He is not distant, silent, removed. He spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden. He spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. He spoke to Israel through the prophets. He spoke to all of us through the sending of his Son, Jesus. And he continues to speak to the church today through the preaching of the word.

Preaching is God’s word spoken to man through man. When you listen to the preaching of God’s word, you should not dismiss it as the word of men. It is the word of God. We do not stand over God’s word to criticize, question or judge it. We stand under the authority of God’s word to receive and obey it. Why? Because it comes from God. We do not pay mere lip service to the word, just calling it “the word of God.” We must accept the message as it actually is.

Preaching is God’s word spoken to man through man. Now, there is that other part of the equation, “through man.” Although God never makes mistakes, we often do. So, must we accept all preaching at all times as the word of God? Every time someone stands up to speak, should we accept what they say as coming from God?

The Scriptures teach us that we should accept preaching as the word of God only when that preaching is faithful to the written word of God. God tells us to test everything by the written word. Even in the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites to test the prophets. We read in Deuteronomy 13 that if a prophet spoke against God’s written word, he was put to death as a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). When Paul gave instructions in 1 Corinthians about New Testament prophecy, he said: “Weigh carefully what is said.” (1 Corinthians 14:29). And in chapter five of the letter we are studying, Paul will tell the Thessalonians: “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

Acts 17 tells us about Paul’s visit to Thessalonica. After Paul got driven out of Thessalonica, he went on to the city of Berea. In Acts 17:11 we read this: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

So, although Paul was thankful that the Thessalonians received the message as the word of God, apparently they did not do as good a job of testing the message against Scripture as the Bereans did. Now it turned out all right, for Paul had truly preached to them the word of God. But what if he hadn’t? What if he had just been another false teacher passing through? They might have been deceived.

God does not commend the naïve acceptance of whatever anyone happens to preach. God tells you to weigh it carefully. Test it against Scripture. Hold on to the good and get rid of the bad. The preacher’s authority is not his pulpit, but his faithful adherence to the written word of God. However, when God’s written word is preached faithfully, you should accept it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God which is at work in you who believe.

II. Come expecting God’s word to work (13b)
   – Genesis 1:3; Psalm 119:18; Isaiah 55:10-11; Jeremiah 23:29; Hebrews 4:12

That brings us to our second point. First, you come accepting the word of God as the word of God. Secondly, come expecting God’s word to work. Look at the end of verse 13 where Paul speaks of God’s word as:

“…the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13b)

When you listen to a sermon you should expect God’s word to make an impact. You should come with the attitude expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 119: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18) Expect to see wonderful things in God’s word.

Perhaps you have noticed a pattern in Scripture: when God speaks, things happen. God’s word is creative. We read in Genesis 1:3 how God said: “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light!” (Genesis 1:3) God’s word is powerful. We read in Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29) God’s word is piercing. We read in Hebrews 4:12: “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

God says in Isaiah 55: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) Have you ever seen the rain or snow come down and get within five feet of the ground and then turn around and go back up again without ever reaching the ground? Of course not! It’s the same way with God’s word. It always goes forth and accomplishes the purposes God has for it.

God accomplishes his purposes in our lives through the preaching of his word. That is why Paul calls it “the word of God which at work in you who believe.” God’s word does the work. All you have to do is believe, to accept what God says. And when you believe, God’s word goes to work within you.

The word Paul uses for “work” here is almost always used in the New Testament of supernatural activity. It is most often used of God working in or through someone, usually miraculously. It speaks of God’s effectual working, his mighty power at work in those who believe.

“You who believe” are those who continually believe. Paul is not talking about some decision you made in the past. He is talking about your faith operating in the present. God’s word continues to work in us as we continue to receive it in faith believing. If you want to make the most of God’s word in your life, you must come with this attitude of expectancy.

III. Come ready to change (14-16)
   – Matthew 23:13, 27:24-25; Acts 7:52, 9:4-5

How do you listen to a sermon? 1) Come accepting the word of God as the word of God. 2) Come expecting God’s word to work powerfully in your life. And 3), come ready to change. The purpose of preaching is not simply to impart biblical information but to change lives. Come ready to make changes in your life as God directs. Look at verses 14-16 with me now where Paul writes:

For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last. (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)

Notice how the Thessalonians came ready to change. Paul says they became imitators of the churches in Judea. That speaks of change. What happened to the churches in Judea? While the church at Thessalonica was largely Gentile, the churches in Judea were mostly Jewish. These churches in Judea suffered incredible persecution at the hands of their fellow Jews.

Paul speaks some very strong words about these Jews who were persecuting believers. In fact, some even accuse Paul of being anti-Semitic here. Of course, that doesn’t make any sense. Paul was Jewish himself, and he was writing to a church that was partly Jewish. Elsewhere in his writings Paul grieves for the non-believing Jews and wishes that he himself could be cursed and cut off from Christ for their sake. Paul is not condemning Jewish people as a whole, or even all non-Christian Jews. Rather, he was condemning those Jews who actively opposed the spread of the gospel, those who opposed God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ his Son.

He brings a whole list of accusations against these particular Jews. First of all, he says they killed the Lord Jesus. Now technically, it was the Romans who killed Jesus, but the Jewish leaders and crowds were the ones who called for his death. In fact, they claimed responsibility themselves (Matthew 27:24-25). Of course, in another sense, we are all guilty of Christ’s death, because Jesus died for sinners, and we are all sinners.

Paul also says they killed the prophets. He could be speaking of the Old Testament prophets, or the prophets in the early church, or both. Jesus spoke in his parables about the Jews killing the prophets before him. Stephen, the church’s first martyr cried out to the Jewish leaders at his death: “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?” (Acts 7:52) The killing of Jesus was just a continuation of the same attitude shown to the prophets before him.

Then Paul says, “They also drove us out.” Paul was often driven out by the Jewish leaders. First, they drove him out of Damascus and Jerusalem (Acts 9). Next, they drove him out of Antioch and Iconium (Acts 13 and 14). Then they followed him to Lystra where he was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14). They drove him out of Thessalonica, and then they followed him to Berea where they stirred up even more trouble (Acts 17). And now Paul writes this letter from Corinth where he is being attacked all over again (Acts 18).

Next Paul says that they displease God. Now there’s an understatement. Of course, all this persecution is displeasing to God. Paul knows what he’s talking about because he had also persecuted Christians. Jesus stopped him on the road to Damascus and spoke to him in a vision. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. (Acts 9:4-5)

Finally, Paul says they are hostile to all men. Paul declares them enemies of humanity. Why? Not because they were Jews, but because they opposed the spread of the gospel. Anyone who tries to stop the spread of the gospel is an enemy of humanity. Notice Paul says that they even tried to stop him from speaking to the Gentiles. It was one thing to try and keep the gospel from spreading among themselves, but to keep it from spreading among the Gentiles? That was even worse! It’s similar to what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:13: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” (Matthew 23:13)

Paul closes by saying: “In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.” (1 Thessalonians 2:16) In their efforts to keep Paul from sharing the gospel, these Jewish persecutors have filled up the full measure of their sins. God’s wrath hangs over their heads ready to fall at any time. It is a powerful condemnation.

And yet Paul means no disrespect to the Jews as a whole. Remember this is all part of a comparison he is making. The Thessalonians are suffering from their own countrymen the same things the Judean churches suffered from the Jews. “Their own countrymen” refers to their fellow Thessalonians, which was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, but predominantly Gentile.

The main point here is that the Thessalonians have changed, just as the Jewish Christians in Judea had changed. We know they changed because they were being persecuted. If there had been no change, there would have been no persecution. The Thessalonians no longer fit in with their society. They were swimming against the stream. They suffered persecution not from the outside, but from their own countrymen.

When you listen to the preaching of God’s word, you must come ready to change. The whole purpose of preaching is to change lives. The Thessalonians came ready to make costly changes in their lives. For them, accepting the word of God meant extreme persecution from their own people. Yet they were willing to endure anything for the higher calling of obedience to God’s word. They came ready to change.

CONCLUSION: So, how do you rate yourself this morning? Are you a good listener when it comes to sermons? We’ve looked at three principles from our text this morning: 1) come accepting God’s word as God’s word, 2) come expecting God’s word to work in your life, 3) come ready to change.

In closing, I would like to give you five suggestions that I believe will help you to apply these principles in your own life. These suggestions are not meant to be taken legalistically, but I believe they will help you to take the three principles we’ve just looked at and put some meat on them. Ready? Here we go – five practical suggestions to make you a better listener of sermons.

1) Prepare. It all begins with preparation. Just as the pastor prepares before delivering the sermon, God’s people should prepare to listen. Prepare yourself spiritually. Prepare your heart throughout the week. Be in the word of God, be in prayer. Prepare yourself physically. Get plenty of rest the night before, as you would for any important event. Come prepared to hear the word of God. Come prayerfully, asking God to speak to your heart. Come expectantly, anticipating God’s word to work powerfully in your life. Remember, God can speak to you through the weakest sermon if you come ready to listen.

2) Open your Bible. Read along as the pastor reads the text. I suggest you bring your own Bible rather than using the one in the pew. It is much more personal. I make it a point to open my Bible every chance I get, whether someone’s leading a brief devotion or I’m in a Sunday School class, or even when the teacher calls on someone else to look up a verse. How many of you opened your Bibles when we read from Psalm 119 earlier this morning? How many of you opened up to 1 Thessalonians when we read this morning’s text? Open your Bible when you listen to a sermon. It doesn’t take a whole lot of effort.

3) Keep your Bible open! Don’t just open it when the preacher reads the text. Keep it open! Continue to follow along as the pastor preaches and check what he says with the passage before you. Follow the example of the noble Bereans who tested everything against Scripture. If your Bible is not open, you can’t test what the preacher is saying. How many of you have your Bibles open right now? Oh, oh, preacher’s stepping on people’s toes!

I remember the church I grew up in where people opened their Bibles but then they closed their Bibles too soon. When the pastor started winding down the message, you could actually hear all the Bibles closing. The preacher’s still preaching, and everyone else is packing up and getting ready to go. Don’t stop before the preacher does! Follow it through. Pay attention.

Granted, sometimes we preachers can get longwinded but give it your best. I like the Family Circus cartoon where the family is in church and the preacher has obviously been preaching for a while, and the little girl turns to her mom and asks, “How much longer till we goeth home?” (March 6, 1993) I saw another cartoon where the preacher went on so long that the Domino pizza man was delivering in the sanctuary.

Keep your Bibles open. Follow along. Test the sermon against Scripture. Don’t stop listening before the preacher stops preaching. And I’m still going here, so hang on for just a few more minutes!

4) Take notes. Some people take detailed notes, writing down everything the preacher says. Others try to outline the sermon. Still others prefer to write down key phrases or concepts that God speaks to their heart. The key is to interact with the message, to be an active listener, and taking notes is the best way to do it. Here are three good reasons for taking notes:

First, taking notes will keep you alert and help you follow the message as best as you can.

Secondly, taking notes will help you to recall the message later. President Calvin Coolidge came home from church one Sunday and his wife asked him what the pastor had talked about. Coolidge replied, “Sin.” His wife asked him, “Well what did he say about it?” Coolidge responded, “I think he was against it.”

When you go to church on Sunday, can you remember what the pastor preached about the week before? Or, when you wake up Monday morning can you remember what the pastor preached about the day before? Okay, how about Sunday at lunch? Write it down and you will remember.

And then a third reason for taking notes is so you can pass on what you have learned to others. A lot of what I teach is simply stuff I learned from other people. How do I remember it? I wrote it down.

Don’t lose what God speaks to you. That’s a precious thing when God speaks to you through his word. Don’t lose it. Make a habit of taking notes when you listen to a sermon. I recommend you get a small notebook or journal specifically for sermon notes. Bring it each Sunday. Write down the speaker’s name, the date, the sermon title and text. Then jot things down as the pastor preaches. It will do wonders for your listening.

5) Make application to your life. Now, the preacher is supposed to do that for you, in fact, that’s what I’m doing right now. But if the preacher doesn’t, make sure that you do! Ask God, “How do you want my life to be different this week after hearing this message?” Write it down. And then ask God to help you make the change. Remember, sermons are not about information. They are all about godly change. Don’t come singing “Just as I Am” and then leave “just like you came.”

When God’s word is faithfully preached, you should give your utmost attention. Jesus said, “To whom much has been given, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48). If you are blessed to hear the regular preaching of God’s word, then you have been given much, and much is required from you.

In closing, hear the words of our Lord Jesus from Luke 8:18: “Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” (Luke 8:18) Therefore consider carefully how you listen.

© Ray Fowler

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