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The Word of God At Work in Your Life

The Word of God At Work in Your Life. 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 Key Word: “Word” October 13, 2013. 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16.

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The Word of God At Work in Your Life

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  1. The Word of GodAt Work in Your Life 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 Key Word: “Word” October 13, 2013

  2. 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 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. 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, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 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 God's wrath has come upon them at last!

  3. Our Union With Christ • “You begin to understand that from the moment you become a Christian you are someone who has died to sin and been raised to newness of life. You are somebody over whose life the dominion of the power of sin has been broken. You begin to learn to interpret your life in terms of what God says about you because you are united to Christ instead of interpreting the gospel in terms of where you are in your struggle.” Sinclair Ferguson

  4. Outline of the Text 1. Paul preached God’s Word. 2. The Thessalonians received the Word as God’s Word. 3. The Thessalonians became imitators, suffering for the sake of the gospel.

  5. 1. Paul preached God’s Word • 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us… • Ephesians 1:13 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, • 1 John 2:15- Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. • Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. • Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation

  6. 2. The Thessalonians received the Word as God’s Word. • “... 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.” • “You are listening to a man who professes to speak by God, and for God, and to speak for your good; and his heart yearns over you. Oh, it is solemn work to preach, and it should be solemn work to hear!” CH Spurgeon • “My aim is to preach the gospel by prayerfully expounding the Bible to the people God has given me to love.” Philip Jensen in The Arrow and the Archer p. 22

  7. What does the Word of God do? • “The message came from God through the apostles to the Thessalonians and was changing them.” John Stott • It changed who they worshipped – from idols to God • It changed what they did – served God and each other rather than themselves • It changed what they said – they began to proclaim what Jesus had done in their lives • It changed their circumstances – they began to suffer for the gospel

  8. 3. The Thessalonians became imitators, suffering for the sake of the gospel • 14For 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 God's wrath has come upon them at last!

  9. Preach the Word! 2 Timothy 4:2-5 - “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Preparing your heart to hear, receive and act upon the preached word begins long before Sunday morning. The spiritual discipline of reading and studying the Word of God each day is how you prepare your heart to receive the Word on Sunday from the pulpit.

  10. Obstacles to Bible Reading and Prayer 1. Loss of boundaries 2. Loss of concentration 3. Loss of reading ability 4. Loss of meditation 5. Loss of memory 6. Loss of sleep 7. Loss of quiet 8. Loss of friendships 9. Loss of family time 10. Loss of time 11. Loss of purity 12. Loss of patience 13. Loss of routine And the list can go on and on…

  11. How to Overcome the Digital Deluge? 1. Take guilt to God 2. Get to bed early 3. Turn off your phone and avoid computer 4. Don’t share your daily devotions in social media 5. Establish regular time and place 6. Build a systematic routine 7. Vary the routine 8. Start a short prayer list 9. Learn from set prayers 10. Start small 11. Journal 12. Dads, help young Moms 13. Don’t end the devotional life

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