notes

WISDOM

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? (Romans 10:14 ESV We cannot realize or appreciate our need for a Savior if we don't recognize ourselves as sinners incapable of saving ourselves. So how do we come to that realization? How do we push past our denial, resist the pull of the world's attractions, refuse the devil's temptations? Someone who has been approved by God and entrusted with His Word must speak it to us. Then the responsibility falls on us to 1. hear the Word 2. receive what we hear 3. accept it as Truth 4. and then accept it as the Word of God ...because only God's Word has the power to save. Yet, receiving, accepting and believing the Word can, and probably will, bring opposition. People don't know what they don't know, and they won't necessarily want to hear what you have to say. They will attack the messenger to avoid dealing with the message! Human nature exerts a persistent and sometimes very strong force away from God. Only God's Holy Spirit can draw us to Him. WORSHIP Jeremiah 15:16 - " Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts" Praise God that I live in a space and time where I can freely hear and receive Your Word, accepting it as Your eternal, inspired Truth.Thank You for the messengers that You have approved and emboldened to preach Your message.I want to join their ranks, sharing You and Your goodness and Your faithfulness with those most in need of hearing and receiving. Thank You for Your written Word---and the Living Word, Your Son, whom You sent to save the world from itself. Father, Your Word is indeed my delight.love how You reveal Yourself, and how You encourage, comfort, teach and correct. I feast on every Word. You are my joy, my Father, my Husband, my Provider. You sustain me, protect me, provide for me. You are always with me, in every situation. When I stumble, You are right there to pick me up. I love how faithful and trustworthy You are. I don't always understand everything You're about, but that's OK. I'm satisfied knowing that You are in charge.Your Word guides me, and I hunger to taste more of You.But don't let it stop there. As you share with me, put doubters and unbelievers in my path so I can share the truth of Who You are with them, trusting the Holy Spirit to complete the work. Amen. WORK 2 Timothy 2:15 tells me: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." So, I heard the Word, received it and accepted it as God's Word. I continue to read the Word daily, and I spend a great deal of time at BibleArc.com to learn more about my Father, and how I can live to please Him. That's good, but it's not enough. If I have been approved by God and entrusted with His Word, I must likewise speak it to those who do not know Him, those who do not know they need a savior, those who don't know they can't save themselves, those who succumb to satan's lies, those who are lured by the world's attractions. Whether they hear, receive and accept is not on me. Speaking God's Truth is! Q1. How can I creatively share the Truth that I know so that it can be heard by those who desperately need it? Q2. Knowing that sharing the Word won't make me popular, how can I be more intentional in bringing the message?

Phrase

NT

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

esv

Receiving & Accepting God's Word

And we also thank God constantly

God's Work at Work in the Faithful

for this,

Content

that when you received the word

Explanation

of God,

Possessive

which you heard

from us,

Source

not as the word of men but

you accepted it ... as what it really is,

the word of God,

which is at work

in you believers.

Locative

Believing God's Word Invites Opposition

The World at Work with the Faithful

For {gar} you, brothers, became imitators

of the churches

Objective

of God

in Christ Jesus

Context

that are

in Judea.

Destination

God's Wrath Comes At Last

God at Work with the World

For {hoti - because} you suffered the same things

from your own countrymen

Reference

as they did

Example

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

Manner

from speaking

Separation

to the Gentiles

that they might be saved—

Purpose

so as always to fill up the measure

Result

of their sins.

Contents

But wrath has come upon them at last!

RESULT

The Thessalonians heard the Word from Paul but did not accept it as Paul's word or a human message. They knew it was God's Word.

They heard the Word, received it and accepted it and then were persecuted by their own countrymen who didn't want them saved.

Paul constantly thanks God for the church at Thessalonica, not because they heard His preaching or accepted what He taught, but because they had the insight, discernment and wisdom to recognize it as the unadulterated word of God--something worth living for, suffering for, even dying for.

phrasing