Good Preachers and Good Listeners, Pt 2

Preachers and Listeners Pt 2
1 Thessalonians 2:1-13
“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs it work in you who believe.”

What do we expect when we go to church on Sunday and listen to a message?  When we listen to a sermon, we expect the pastor to have carefully prepared the message that he is going to give.  We trust that he has studied the passage and prayerfully considered how it might relate to our lives.  We would be concerned if he got up on a Sunday, just randomly picked a passage, and then said he was going to talk about it without any preparation or study. We expect a pastor to be prepared when he enters the pulpit.

What we often fail to recognize is that there are two people involved in the message of the sermon. There is the pastor communicating the message, and second, there are those listening to it. While the pastor has prepared to give the message, often, we have not prepared ourselves to receive it. After sharing that they were appointed by God and entrusted with the message to share with the people, Paul now turns to the responsibility of those who hear the message. Communication involves both the person speaking and the person listening. Most often, when we walk away from a message untouched and unmoved, the problem is not the fault of the preacher. The breakdown occurs because of the listener's failure to receive the message.

In verse 13, Paul uses two terms to describe the responsibility of the listener.  First, those who listen to the message are responsible for receiving the word of God. The word "receive" refers to formally receiving the authoritative teaching of an approved communicator. Receiving the message is more than just listening to it; it involves personalizing and internalizing it.  It is to accept that the message is for others but not for ourselves.  We are to recognize the ultimate source of the message.  The message is not just the product of the thoughts of the preacher.  If they faithfully communicate the Scriptures, their message does not originate from man and his thoughts; it derives from God.  While Paul is communicating with apostolic authority, the pastor who faithfully communicates the message that Paul has given possesses the same apostolic authority.  This does not mean that the pastor is perfect and his words are inerrant, but that when they are grounded in scripture and derived from it, they have the same authority, for they are rooted in the inerrant word of God.   The first responsibility of the listener in preparing to receive the message is to recognize the authority of the message.  

The second step is to accept the message by faith and respond in obedience to it.  To receive the message is to welcome it and to receive it favorably.  It is to take the message as accurate by faith and then respond obediently to the word spoken.  In other words, preparing to receive the message involves accepting that it is grounded in the truth of Scripture, and thus, we are to respond by faith by living in obedience to the message.  We prepare for the message by being willing to recognize that God’s word is the basis for life and godliness.  It is to take the message and apply it to our lives to change our attitudes and actions.  When we come to church on Sunday, do we expect to hear from God and respond in obedience to that word?  The message itself, rather than the messenger, is transformative and powerful.  If we remain unchanged, it is not the preacher's failure nor the message's irrelevance; it is because we did not prepare our hearts to receive it.  This preparation begins when we prayerfully ask God to ready us to hear His word.  Tragically, we often come to church unprepared and distracted, and as a result, the message is quickly forgotten.  The pastor has prepared the message, but are we prepared to receive it?