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. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NIV)
Perhaps you’ve heard the story about the wedding photographer who became frustrated during a wedding service.
He was growing impatient with the length of the message and he said to a woman standing outside, “Who is that man who is going on and on and on in there?”
To which she replied, “Oh, that’s my husband.”
To many people, that’s all the preaching of the Word of God is—a man who’s going on and on. Quite honestly, if that’s what you think preaching is, then there’s not much reason to listen.
In Thessalonica, people’s lives were being quickly and radically changed: You heard the Word of God (at that time, the Old Testament Scriptures) from us. You did not receive it as the word of men. You received it as the Word of God, which it actually is (2:13). You grasped that God speaks through His Word. That’s how God speaks. That’s how you hear His voice.
God speaks through His Word. That is why, when churches gather—they want to sing the Word, pray the Word, read the Word, preach the Word and hear the Word—so that the people of God may receive the Word of God by which the Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith.
What is your predominant attitude toward the preaching of God’s Word?
