HOW TO "SOUND OUT" THE WORD OF THE LORD
1 Thessalonians 1:8, "For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing."
The apostle Paul declared the church at Thessalonica to be a "model" church, a church that other churches could pattern themselves after. This small, new body of believers was truly a "Rapture Ready" church. In chapter 1 of 1 Thessalonians, we read that the Gospel came to these dear people; they readily received the Gospel, and then they "sounded out" the Word of the Lord.
To "sound out" means to "trumpet it out; to blare forth in such a way that it produces an echo." This is the only time this phrase is used in Scripture. This wording indicates that their proclamation of God's Word was so profound that God described it as something a fire alarm would do. They declared God's Word in such a way that it could not be ignored.
NOTICE THE PLACES THEY SOUNDED OUT THE WORD OF THE LORD. "... Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place..." That entire part of their country had heard the Word of the Lord from this "small" body of believers! "Every place" implies the extended surrounding inhabited areas. There are no borders to preaching the Gospel for an obedient church.
NOTICE THEIR PROCESS FOR SOUNDING OUT THE WORD OF THE LORD.
They sounded out God's Word VOLUNTARILY. There is no indication that they hired professional "sounder-outers." Apparently the entire church was active in sharing the Gospel.
They sounded out God's Word SPONTANEOUSLY. In other words, their declaration of the Gospel appears to be a spontaneous reaction. When God's people grasp the glory of the Gospel, they spontaneously proclaim its message to others. A good illustration is the woman at the well: when she believed in the Lord Jesus, she put down her pots, went immediately into the city, and told others about Christ.
They sounded out God's Word PERSONALLY. They had no tracts, radio programs, or Internet. They were God's "boots on the ground," so to speak, and personally declared the Gospel to their entire community.
They sounded out God's Word COURAGEOUSLY. They had received the Gospel under intense opposition and persecution, and they, in turn, distributed the Gospel in intense opposition and persecution. It seems that there are many Christians in our churches with the attitude, "The whole world can go to Hell before I am inconvenienced!"
They sounded out God's Word STRATEGICALLY. It appears they began sounding out the Word of the Lord in the heavily populated cities and then worked their way out.
NOTICE THEIR "PROSPERITY" IN SOUNDING OUT THE WORD OF THE LORD. "...in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing." They had saturated their communities with the Gospel so thoroughly that everywhere Paul went, folks knew about the Thessalonian believers and the message they proclaimed. In fact, he appears to go so far as to say that he was not needed in this area; they were "getting the job done."
There was nothing quiet about their message, nothing covert about the Word of the Lord; no one questioned what their message was. It would do our churches good here in America to follow the Thessalonians' example and "sound out" the Word of the Lord thoroughly throughout our communities.
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