1 Thessalonians 1:8 - Sounding Out the Word

Think about what happened inThessalonica. Paul had not been there very long. According to Acts 17, tremendousopposition arose against him and his companions. Paul eventually had to leavethe city. You might have thought that once Paul left, the Gospel witness wouldbecome silent. But it didn’t! Paul left Thessalonica, but the Word of Godstayed there. And those new believers began sounding it out everywhere theywent. Paul says it sounded out “not only in Macedonia and Achaia.” As wesaid yesterday, Macedonia was the northern region of Greece where Thessalonicawas located. Achaia was the southern region where cities such as Athens andCorinth were located. But Paul goes even further. He says, “but also inevery place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad.” Their testimony hadtraveled far beyond their own city. People were talking about what God had donein Thessalonica! That reminds us that a genuinework of God cannot easily be hidden. When Jesus Christ truly changes a life,somebody is going to notice. And when a church is filled with believers whoselives have been transformed by the Gospel, its influence should extend farbeyond the walls of its building. My friend, the church was never intended tobe simply a place where we come together once or twice a week to hear the Wordof God. We gather to hear the Word, but then we scatter to sound out the Word. Wetake it into our homes. We take it into our neighborhoods. We take it into ourworkplaces. We take it into our communities. And wherever God gives us anopportunity, we share the wonderful message that Jesus Christ saves. Notice something else. Pauldoes not simply say that their words were spreading. He says, “your faith toGod-ward is spread abroad.” Their message was supported by their lives. Peoplewere not only hearing what these Christians said; they were seeing what theseChristians believed by the way they lived. That is one of the greatestchallenges for us today. Our lives should give credibility to our message. Ifwe tell people that Jesus changes lives, there should be evidence that Jesushas changed our life. If we tell people that Jesus gives peace, they should seeHis peace in us. If we tell people that Jesus teaches us to love, they shouldexperience His love through us. If we tell people that Jesus gives hope, theyshould see hope in the way we face the difficulties of life. Remember what Paulsaid back in verse 3: their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hopewere visible. Now their testimony was sounding out everywhere. And then Paul makes an amazingstatement at the end of verse 8: “So that we need not to speak anything.” Paulwas basically saying, “When we arrive somewhere and begin telling people aboutwhat happened in Thessalonica, they already know!” Can you imagine having thatkind of testimony? Paul didn't need to advertise the church at Thessalonica.Their transformed lives were advertising the power of the Gospel. That causesme to ask myself a question today: What kind of sound is coming from my life? Allof us are sounding out something. Our attitudes sound out something. Our wordssound out something. Our reactions to difficulties sound out something. The waywe treat people sounds out something. Our priorities sound out something. Thequestion is: Are we sounding out the Word of the Lord? Over the years, I have oftenreminded people that you don't have to be a preacher or missionary to be awitness for Jesus Christ. You simply need to be willing to tell someone whatJesus has done for you. And today we have opportunities that the Thessalonianscould never have imagined. Through a telephone, a text message, an email, asocial media post, a conversation with a neighbor, or a simple word ofencouragement, the Word of the Lord can sound out from our lives to people nearand far.