Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Acts, chapter 16. Acts 16. I plan to actually speak out
of verses 14 and 15, but to bring us to that particular passage
of scripture. Paul and Silas were traveling,
and The Spirit of God led them, these thoughts that I'm going
to bring out of the first 13 verses, but they were led to
a place called Derbe and Lystra, that's verse 1, where they met
a certain disciple, Timotheus. Timothy was there and Paul desired
for him to come with them. And Paul circumcised Timothy,
the Scripture declares. Timothy's mama was a Jew and
his daddy was a Greek. Paul didn't circumcise him for
salvation or anything, but because of the Jews that Paul thought
it best, obviously under the direction of God's Spirit, to
circumcise Timothy, and the three traveled together. They went
through the country of Phrygia, and that was a region, it was
through the country of Phrygia, a region south of Asia. I got a map, got a map in the
back of my Bible to find out where these places were. There
was this place through this country, this region, Persia. Persia is located south of Asia. And then they went through a
region of Galatia. And I looked on the map, and
you can look in the back of your Bible and find these places.
Galatia is actually east of Asia. They went there. But verse 6
says that when they had gone through Phrygia and through the
region of Galatia, they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to
preach the Word in Asia. The Spirit of God would not let
them go to Asia. Now, their next thought, verse
7, they were come to Amicia, and I found that that place was
west of Asia, and the scripture says they assayed That is, they
desired, they talked about it, and they wanted to go to Bithynia. And Bithynia is on the eastern
part of Asia, but the Spirit suffered them not. There was just some places that
the Spirit of God would not allow them to go. Now, we're not given
the reason at this time why the Spirit of God forbid the Gospel
to be preached in Asia. They wanted to go to Asia, they
wanted to go to Bithynia, and the Spirit of God said no. But though we don't know why
at this time, Why? I've got an assumption, and I'll
tell you in just a little bit what I think happened, and I'll
just go ahead and tell you right now, because the Spirit of God
wasn't pleased to give. I can tell you what appears to
be, and I'll tell you in a minute. But for reasons known only to
God, the Lord said, no, you can't go. The Lord had given His disciples
a commission. You go into all the world and
preach the gospel. And that's what they were going to do. That's
what they were planning to do. But when it came to going to
Asia, they couldn't do it. But we do know this. We know
this, that the Lord does all things well. There was a perfect
and holy reason And from that we can obviously conclude that
the gospel is not arbitrarily thrown to the wind. I've said
this many times, this little assembly right here has been
here now 62 plus years. That's a long time for the gospel
to be in one place. Most of the assemblies that I
know about have been there much less than that. And as I told
you, Brother Henry Mahan said one time, historically speaking,
after the Lord raises up one pastor and allows one pastor
to be where the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace is preached,
usually 50 plus years, which Brother Scott was here that long.
Historically speaking, the Lord doesn't allow it to continue.
I say many times, and I mean this, that we're still here today
is by the grace of God. Because very, very possibly in
our lifetime, in many lifetimes of those that are here today,
you may drive by this little building and say, I remember,
I remember when the gospel was there. That God had raised up
a preacher. to preach the message of sovereign
grace. And you think, well, there's
no possibility that the gospel wouldn't be preached at Katy.
Don't assume that. Because that may not be the case.
Paul and Silas and Timothy, they wanted to go to Asia and the
Spirit of God said no. They wanted to go to Bithynia
and the Spirit of God said no. You can't go there. But now,
verse 8 said, And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. They passing by, passing by. Now to understand exactly what
was being said right there, they came near, but there was no record
of them preaching in that region. They went by, like when the Lord,
do you remember when the Lord went through Jericho? Before
he got into Jericho, he passed by a man named Blind Bartimaeus. He wasn't in Jericho yet, and
there was a blind beggar sitting on the side of the road, and
the Spirit of God revealed to that blind beggar. When he heard
that Jesus was passing by, the Scripture says, Blind Bartimaeus,
moved by the Spirit of God, cried out, Jesus, thou Son of David. Meaning, Lord, you who are the
Messiah, I know who you are. You're God. You're God in human
flesh. Have mercy on me. The Lord stopped,
stood still, Scripture says, and asked that man, what do you
want? What can I do for you? He said that I might receive
my sight. Spiritually, he did. Physically, he did. Spiritually,
he did. He knew who he was. The scripture says, went through
Jericho, came out the other side of Jericho and met another man,
Zacchaeus. Climbed up a sycamore tree, stopped
under that sycamore tree and looked up and said, Zacchaeus,
make haste, come down, for today I must abide at your house. Why? Because he said, this son of
Abraham, spiritual son of Abraham, Salvation has come to your house
today. But in Jericho, no record that the Lord ever preached there.
Well, passing by Messiah, coming near with no record, they came
to a seaport on the western coast. Here again, I looked it up. I
don't know that region. I just looked on a map. They
came to a place called Troas seaport. And an amazing thing
is recorded that happened there in that place, verses 9-12. And
a vision appeared to Paul in the night, and there stood a
man of Macedonia, and prayed to him, saying, Come over to
Macedonia and help us. After he had seen the vision,
immediately, We endeavored to go into Macedonia assuredly,
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto
them. Therefore, loosing from Troas,
we came with a straight course to Samothracea, and the next
day to Neopolis, and from thence to Philippi, which is the a chief
city of that part of Macedonia and a colony, and we were in
that city abiding certain days. Now the Lord made known to Paul
that Macedonia, where he was supposed to go, not Asia, not
Bithynia, I want you to go to Macedonia. Now he was forbidden. He was forbidden to go to those
other places, but this is where I'm telling you that you're to
go. And the scripture says that they
immediately endeavored. Verse 10. After he had seen the
vision, immediately we endeavored to go. Now here again, it's always
wise to look these words up. Somebody would say, well I know
what immediately endeavored means. Well, I'm going to tell you again
what immediately endeavored. Look this up. They straightway
went, they sought, but that word endeavored, it means to worship. We immediately endeavored, we
immediately sought to worship God. The essence of obedience
is true worship. I've said before, you remember
when Abraham and Isaac went up on that, and the Lord had told
Abraham, He said, I want you to take your son, your only son,
Isaac, the one I gave you, not the one you produced through
a handmaid, the one I gave you, and I want you to take it and
sacrifice that boy unto me as a burnt offering. And Abraham
took Isaac to the place that God showed him, traveled three
days, And Abraham knew, I'm going to have to sacrifice this boy.
I'm going to have to put him on an altar and I'm going to
kill him. He stopped there and he told
the fellows that was with him, you guys stay with the donkeys
and we're going to go up yonder and what? Worship. We're going
to go worship God. What was he going to do? He was
going to go kill his son. And you know the story, how God delivered
him, put the ram up there. of worship is obedience. As soon as Paul knew this is
where God wants us to go, he immediately endeavored to go
to Macedonia. He immediately purposed in his
heart. And they left for Macedonia,
the first place they came to, Samothracea, the next day Neopolis. Here again, I looked up just
little islands, just kind of stair-stepped to that place. They came to Philippi, a chief
city in Macedonia. And the Scripture says in the
last part of verse 12, and we were in that city abiding certain
days. What were they doing? They were
just waiting. They were waiting. The Lord had
not told them what to do. They were just waiting on the
Lord's direction. And then in verse 13 the scripture
said, and on the Sabbath day we went out of the city by a
riverside where prayer was wont to be made and we sat down and
spake unto the women which resorted thither. Now these preachers,
three preachers, God's given direction, they've gone to Macedonia,
they've gone to the chief city in Macedonia which is Philippi
and they were convinced We're in the right place. And they
did what every believer is going to do. On the Sabbath day, on
the day of worship, they did not neglect the assembling of
themselves together with these other believers. Well, these
other women. Let me say it like that. There
were some women. There was a place, the Scripture
says, where prayer was want. to be made. What is it? There
was a custom. There was a custom. These women
would go and they would assemble themselves together and pray
together. And it was a place and that was
the custom and Paul found out. He knew about it. He heard about
it and the scripture says that he sat down and spake unto the
women which resorted thither. Now, it's not recorded what exactly
what Paul says. But I can tell you from the words
of Paul, in other passages I can just about tell you what Paul
talked about. The scripture says in 1 Corinthians
9.16, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory
of for necessity is laid upon me Yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. Necessity. Paul had a burden. God had given him a burden to
preach the gospel. This is what every God called
preacher knows. We're all, all of us, we're going
to stand before God. We know that. And do you know
the The only way that a man or a woman is going to stand before
God accepted is if they are accepted in Christ. If God has regenerated
them by grace into the person of Christ. And do you know the
only way that God regenerates anybody? Through the hearing
of this gospel right here. That gospel that gives all the
honor and all the glory and all the praise to God Almighty. And
it gives none to men. By the grace of God, I just don't
have anything good to say about any of us. Because I know what
we are. I know what we are. We're sinners. Either regenerated or unregenerated,
we're still sinners. And I realize this, unless I
preach the gospel, there is absolutely no chance that God's going to
save a sinner. Paul said, Romans 1 16, ashamed
of the gospel, it is the power. That is what God has been pleased
to bless to the calling out of His people. So woe is unto me
if I don't preach the gospel. You know what that means? If
I have no heart to preach the gospel, If I say God's called
me to preach and I die in this state with no heart, I'm standing
in a pulpit and I have no heart to preach the gospel. I'm preaching
a message of man's ability and man's works and trying to get
people to do things for God. Woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel. That means that God Almighty
has not called me to preach, not given me a heart to preach
and I'm standing here claiming to be a preacher. I'm going to
hell. Unless He does something for
me and calls me out of darkness. Oh, I stood in a pulpit before
God ever revealed Himself to me. And I did preach a message
of man-honor, man-exalting, making God to be a beggar. The Lord
wants to save you if you let Him. I've said before, the Lord has
never tried to do anything. He said, He doeth as He will
in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth. So
here's Paul. What was he talking about? I
can tell you based on Paul's words, he was preaching the truth
to these women. And he preached to them according
to Paul's words, where they were. Listen to this, 1 Corinthians
9.19, For though I be free from all men, yet I have made myself
servant unto all, that I might gain the more. Paul, what does
that mean? By the grace of God was led to
preach to these women where they were. And this is what a God
called preacher does. He preaches to people. where they are. He doesn't try
to preach above them. He preaches the truth to all
of us, where we are. Where are we all? We're all sinners. That's where we are. We're all
sinners in need of hearing the gospel. And it was said that
they were there to pray, to seek, God that they knew. And very
possibly, the Lord moved upon Paul to speak to them and to
do what the Lord had commanded that demoniac of the Gadarenes. Do you remember that when the
Lord called that demoniac out of darkness and that former demoniac
wanted to go with the Lord? And he said, no, no you can't
go with me. I want you to go home and you
tell your family. You go tell your family what
great things the Lord's done for you. You go home and tell
them how God has shown mercy. I can just imagine. Here was
the Apostle Paul preaching the gospel to them. Preaching where
they were. Maybe he's listening. You listen
to somebody talk. I've always said this, a believer
talks like a believer. And I can't tell you how that
is. You just listen to them. You'll hear it. A believer, there's a spirit
of humility and there's a spirit of... Maybe they were talking
in a way that Paul picked up. You know, there's a lot of trust
in themselves. You listen to somebody, you know,
there's always a lot, you know. And he told them, very possibly,
of his former religious life, how he trusted in himself that
he was righteous. Man, I tell you, I was circumcised
on the right day. I was born in the right family.
I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. My mama was a Hebrew. My daddy
was a Hebrew. I was this, that, and the other.
And before the Lord called him out of darkness, he trusted in
all that. He preached to them where they were. Told them, he
said, I know what you're going through. I know how you feel.
I've been there. I've been in false religion.
That's what he told them. I know what you're thinking.
He said, I persecuted the church. First time I ever heard the gospel.
I've told you this before. I thought that's the silliest
message I've ever heard in my life. That can't be fair. There can't be a God like that.
But then he said, there was a day that I was traveling to Damascus. The Lord stopped me. Noonday. It was light shined about me
brighter than the noonday sun. And God spoke to me. God revealed
Himself to me. The Lord of glory. He revealed
to me who I was, Paul said. He said, I was a persecutor of
the church. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? Saul said, Lord, who are you?
He said, I'm Jesus, whom you're persecuting. Paul heard the voice
of God, called him out of darkness. Well, the scripture says now,
here's where we are. We're going to look at verse
14-15 for just a minute. A certain woman named Lydia,
a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped
God, heard us, she heard, whose heart the Lord opened, that she
attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Now Paul
was talking to all these women, but there was a certain woman
there, a particular woman, a certain woman to the Father who had chosen
her in Christ before the foundation of the world. A certain woman
to the Lord Jesus who had eternally stood for her as her surety. A certain woman for whom He had
died. This is a book of Acts. The Lord's
already shed His blood at Calvary and send it. This is a certain
woman and that was a certain particular woman to the Spirit
of God who had led her. To this very spot, on this very
day, for a specific reason, God Almighty, according to that everlasting
covenant of grace, put this woman exactly where she was. Grace
before grace. I've said before, how many of
us here were here for some reason that we just thought, I was dating
someone, I just, I don't know. Some reason, I just happen to
be here, really. The scripture says, he worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. So did we really
just decide? Well, the Lord put it in our
heart, gave us a desire to be here, and here we are. Here's
this woman. And today was going to be the
day that she was going to hear. You're going to hear the gospel. This woman, remember? She was
a certain woman named Lydia. A seller of purple. Not a wearer. Purple was the color of royalty. She was a seller of it. And she's
a business lady. That's what she was. She was
just a business woman and had to work for a living. Just a woman trying to, you know,
reek out a dollar, make a living for herself and her family. But
listen, 1 Corinthians 1, 26-29, For ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,
and the base things of the world, and things that are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught
things that are. Why? That no flesh should glory
in His presence. Well here's just a certain woman
named Lydia, a certain woman loved of the Father, loved of
Christ, loved of the Spirit of God, put her in a state of life,
working for a living, selling purple. She was from a city called
Thyatira. Revelation 2, that was one of
the cities that John had to write a letter to. He wrote seven letters
to seven. Thyatira was a city revealed
in the book of the Revelation that was very tolerant of false
religion. But there was something else
special about that city. Thyatira. Look on your map when
you get a chance to find out where Thyatira was. Thyatira
is in Asia. Thyatira was in the place where
the Spirit of God forbid Paul and Silas and Timothy to go.
You can't go there. You're not going to be able to
go there. Why? Because I've got an appointment
for you from a woman that lives here, but she's not going to
be here. I've sent her over to Philippi. And that's where she's
going to be. So I want you to go over there.
And when you get there, I'll tell you what to do. And so here
was this woman who was from the place that the Spirit of God
would not allow these three preachers to go because she was on a business
trip. And that's where God was pleased
to cross her path. In that very spot. But listen
to what this woman, listen to what it says about her. She was
of the city of Thyatira which worshipped God. She worshipped
God. Obviously, as she understood
God to be, because as of yet she's not converted. Was she
worshipping the true and living God? Not yet. Because not until
God Almighty gives a new heart. Not unless God grants faith.
She worshipped God the way she thought God was. I mean, before the Lord called
me out of darkness, or you that know Him. You'd heard of God.
You'd heard of Him. And you went through the motions.
I'm telling you, my first encounter with anything of God was in false
religion. And I did what everybody told
me I was supposed to be doing. Going through that form of religion.
She had a form of godliness, but obviously no heart for the
God of the Bible, no heart for Christ. Why? She didn't know
Him. She was just like Paul, who was preaching to her. Paul,
who could have very easily said, I've been there. Man, I've been
in religion all my life. He said, I grew up religious. My mom and my daddy, they taught
me, took me to the synagogues. I've been there. Put all my trust
in that. But when the Lord crossed my
path, I didn't know who He was. Who are thou, Lord? Who are you?
I don't know you. I don't know the God that's speaking
to me. I don't know. By the grace of
God, now she's standing on that river, in that very spot where
God Almighty has been pleased to put her, and where He's purposed,
and the Scripture says that these preachers, obviously, now I know
what they're saying. Because the Scripture says she
heard. She heard. And I know that the only message
that God's going to bless is the gospel. The gospel of free
grace. Sovereign grace. That's how God
calls out a sinner. I'm going to read it again. I
love this passage of Scripture. 2 Thessalonians 2. 13, 14, We're bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you
by our gospel. That's how God calls His people. That's how to the obtaining of
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. She heard. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing, hearing by the Word
of God. She heard whose heart the Lord opened that she attended
unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Up until this time she
didn't. Up until this time he was just
a man talking and all of a sudden she thought differently. Had
a proud heart, haughty spirit, looked high at herself. Oh, but
in that moment she was made to be diligent. She heard, and in
regenerating grace, this woman was given a new heart. The Lord
opened her heart and gave her a new thinking. She'd never thought
that before. You ever been there? I never
thought like that. And all of a sudden, she thought
differently. And now she's quite dissatisfied
with the way she formerly worshipped the little G-God that she thought
was God, who she thought God to be, God that needs men to
help Him do. But she heard this day that God
rules, that God reigns, that God has mercy and compassion
on whomsoever He will. that Christ came into this world
to save sinners and she's seen something of herself. When God
opens a heart, they always do. Lay down His life for the sheep.
The Spirit of God powerfully, effectually moves and draws and
calls. When the Lord opened her heart,
she did something. What did she do? Look at verse
15. When she was baptized. Had she
been in the water before? I don't know. Maybe she had. But she'd never been baptized.
She'd never been baptized till right now. First time she'd ever
been baptized. Why? Because the Lord opened
her heart. Now she's confessing the Christ
that Paul's preaching. That's Believer's Baptism. That's
Believer's Baptism. I'd been in the water before.
I told you, I went down. About nine years old, I went
down. You know why? Because my cousin
Larry did. I didn't want him going down
and I didn't go down. I didn't want him to be saved and I wasn't
saved. So whatever he did, I did. I got in there and the preacher
talked to me and told me to say a few words. I said, okay. He baptized me, told me, he said,
you're saved. I didn't know nothing. I didn't
know anything. Oh, but there was a day in which
the Lord opened my heart. through the preaching of the
gospel. And then, for the first time, I confessed Him and baptized
Him. That's what she did. When she was baptized in her
household, she besought us saying, if you judge me to be faithful
to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained
us. When God Almighty opened her
heart, she brought her to that place of affection for Him, her
attention for the Lord and for God's preachers. She cared for
them. She attached herself and cleaved
to those things. That's what she did. She besought
us, if you've judged me faithful to the Lord, come to my house. She was addicted to what Paul
had been preaching. Addicted to the Lord. Now she
was more than just a religious woman. She was a believer. in the Lord Jesus to confess
Him. And the Lord, the Scripture reveals
that not only was He pleased to call her out of darkness,
but her household. Now I know this in closing. The
Lord's not always pleased to call everybody out of one household
to Himself. Sometimes He does and sometimes
He doesn't. But I can tell you this, He's
going to call whomsoever He will. But in this case, he did. And
she says, if you've judged me faithful to the Lord, my house
is your house. She constrained us. She said,
as long as you're in this city, as long as you're here, preaching
what you're preaching, my house is your house. She had respect
to the Lord for His mercy and His grace. She had respect unto
those preachers who brought the message of life and salvation
in Christ. God Almighty was pleased to save
just a certain woman. And He moved all the way on her
business trip from where she lived in Asia, put her in a place
called Philippi, Macedonia, and was pleased at that time. Could
He have saved her in Asia? He could have saved her anywhere
He wanted to save her. But he put her over there for
a reason known only to God, and then sent her a preacher. Is
God going to cause the life of every one of the vessels of His
mercy to cross paths with the preacher of the gospel? Yes,
sir. Yes, sir. Almighty God is going to save
exactly the way He's pleased to save through the preaching
of the gospel, and God will get a preacher to Him. He's going
to put them where they can hear. And when He's pleased to bless
it, He's going to open their heart. and they're going to attend
to what he's saying, what that preacher's saying. Believe me.
May the Lord bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake.
Amen.