Okay, back over in Act 16. This has been so relaxing to
me. This has been so enjoyable. Every piece of this was just
so enjoyable. I hope this is enjoyable tonight. That's what I hope this is, really
enjoyable. Paul and Silas, They've been traveling together, and
verse 5 says, establishing the churches in the faith. So were
the churches established in the faith, and increased in number
daily. And they're about to set out
on a long trip. I mean a long trip. A very long
journey. And we're about to see that it's
for one very good reason. It's for a certain woman named
Lydia. I titled this Lydia's Story. This is Lydia's Story. It's a
good one. Verse 6 says, Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia
and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost
to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they
assayed to go into Bithynia, but the spirit suffered them
not. And they, passing by Mysia, came down to Troas, and a vision
appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia,
and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help
us. And 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 Neapolis. and from thence to Philippi,
which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony,
and we were in that city abiding certain days. Now let me point
out a few things about their travels. Verse 6 says they wanted
to preach the word in Asia. And you've seen the map. Asia. But they were forbidden by the
Holy Ghost. God forbid it. Isn't that something? Asia. God would not allow it. Verse 7 says they wanted to go
into Bithynia. I looked at the map in the back
of my Bible and that is a region above Asia. But the Spirit of God would not
allow it. He would not allow it. Every
city where God has sent his gospel is such a privileged city. It really is. It is such a privileged
city. He sends it to one, he withholds
it from another. This gospel just doesn't go everywhere. Let me show you a verse of scripture
over in Amos chapter 4. In the back of the Old Testament,
Amos chapter 4. It's after Joel, Hosea. It's before
Jonah. Amos chapter 4, look at verse
7. And also I have withholding the
rain from you. when there were yet three months
to the harvest. And I caused it to rain upon
one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city. One peace
was rained upon, and the peace whereupon it rained not withered." I want to be where God's blessing
is, don't you? I want to be where God's blessing
is. The gospel is not in every place. He has caused his gospel
to rain down in certain areas and he has withheld it from other
areas. And to be in a city where God's
gospel over in Deuteronomy 32, he called it my doctrine, my
word, my spirit, it's going to drop as the rain. on the tender
herb, showers upon the grass. What blessed grass we are. You know that all flesh is grass,
don't you? What blessed grass we are. David
said, I just wish I could be a doorkeeper in the Lord's house. I just hope to be a blade of
grass in his kingdom. Would that not be wonderful?
We are such blessed grass. Well, Paul and Silas, and I believe
Timothy and Luke, we saw last week they picked up Timothy,
and Luke is the one who's penning all this. So those men, they
traveled with God's message. God's message of good news. They
were taking it around wherever the Lord would open a door. But
God told them, pass by Asia. Pass by Bithynia. Pass it by. We just sang the song, Pass Me
Not, O Gentle Savior. Pass Me Not. It's His to give.
It's His to pass by. But let me show you the goodness
of the Lord. When I saw this, I thought, now that's precious.
That is precious. Our Lord has been so good to
every nation, every kindred, every tribe, every tongue. Go with me over to 1 Peter 1.
1 Peter 1 verse 1 says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied." Is that not precious? In the Lord's
time, he did send his gospel to Asia and Bithynia. He sent it to particular people.
Maybe those people were young children at the time. They needed
to grow up a little bit. Don't go there. But then he sent
Peter, spreading the gospel to Asia and Bithynia. He's a merciful
God. Well, back over to Acts 16, they went through all of those
towns. And you've seen a map of the Middle East, I'm sure.
Have you ever looked at the map in the back of your Bible? The
Mediterranean Sea is kind of rectangular. And down here on
the bottom is Jerusalem. And you have the Dead Sea and
the Jordan River. And you come on up and there's
Tyre and Sidon. And then you come on up and there's
Antioch. There are two Antiochs. One is in Syria. One's in Pisidia.
They're in Syria. And then you come on around the
top of the Mediterranean Sea and you have Derbe and Lystra
and Iconium. And then the water starts fingering
out like that, and you go up, and way up at the top is Philippi,
Thessalonica, Berea, Colossi. This is Greece, and then it comes
down to Corinth. And then there's another peninsula
over here. That's Italy. You have Rome. My point is it's a long way. It is a long way. If you got
on I-40, in Charleston, South Carolina, and you walked I-40
from Charleston, South Carolina straight across the United States
to Los Angeles, California, you would walk 2,490 miles. All right? These men, they started at Antioch. And they went up through these
places, and they wanted to go into Asia, and the Lord wouldn't
allow it. And they wanted to go up into Bithynia, and the
Lord wouldn't allow it. So they went to Troas, and on up to Philippi. And then they made the rounds,
seeing the churches that they had already been to, and came
back down through Jerusalem and back to Antioch. And that was
2,703 miles. It was 214 miles longer than
walking the United States. That's a long way. That is a
long way. And the Lord allowed his gospel
to be declared in a few towns along the way. Just a few towns.
Derby and Leestra and Iconium, they're pretty close together.
It would be like saying, and they came from Kingsport and
went unto Crossville. And from thence to College Grove. Particular places along the way. And God chose to send His grace
in him. Well, the Lord sent him on purpose
to Philippi. Look right here at Acts 16 verse
12 says, And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that
part of Macedonia, and a colony, and we were in that city abiding
certain days. And on the Sabbath 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. The Lord led them to a small
group of ladies who did not yet know the Lord. They didn't know
God yet. They were meeting together and
they were praying together And I believe they were very sincere
in what they were doing. I really do. I believe that they
had a very sincere heart for what they were doing. Most people
in religion are very sincere. They really are. They really
are very, very sincere. Sincere about what they do. Believing
it to be the right thing to do. They really do. But we cannot
deny the fact that if God does not move, it's all ignorance. Every bit
of it is ignorance. All of that worship, all that
sincerity, no matter how sincere it is, it is ignorance. It's total ignorance to who God
really is. These women were down here worshiping,
but they were not worshiping the true living God. It's ignorance
of who man really is and it's ignorance of what Christ did.
Go with me over to John chapter 4. John 4 verse 5 says, Then cometh our Lord to a city
of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground
that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus
therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the
well, and it was about the sixth hour, There cometh a woman of
Samaria to draw water, and Jesus said unto her, Give me to drink. Our Lord met a woman at a well."
It's the same scenario. He came into a town and there
was a certain woman there and he went and met this certain
woman by the water, by this well. And he told her in verse 10,
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift
of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink. Thou wouldest have asked of him,
and he would have given thee living water. He's telling her
who God really is. If you knew who this was standing
here talking to you. you would be asking of me to
give you something, something that you desperately need. Verse
11, The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw
with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that
living water? She answered him sincerely, very
sincerely, in the only way that religion knows to answer. You
don't have anything to draw with. You have no hands but my hands.
You need me. I'll do this for you. I'll do
it for you. Verse 12 says, Art thou greater
than our father Jacob which gave us the well and drank thereof
himself and his children and his cattle? Art thou greater
than what has been passed down to us? That's what everybody has. That's
all everybody has. It's what's been passed down
to them. Are you greater than our traditions?
My father believed this. My grandfather believed this.
Verse 13, Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh
of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life. The gospel of the free blood
of Jesus Christ. If a man ever receives that,
there's not going to be any thirsting anymore. Anywhere. Religion will
keep you thirsty. Religion will keep you searching.
You know that? In religion, you'll keep searching,
and you'll keep searching. I thought I found it, but I didn't.
And I'm looking for something else, and I'm looking for something
else. Is anybody here looking for something else? You looking for something else? The law in religion, the law
stays unsatisfied. You know that? All of our works
stay unsatisfied. They're never finished. Our works
are unsatisfied. God is unsatisfied, but the blood
of Christ satisfies it all. It's just done. It's just done. Never thirst again. And then
he said to her in verse 16, Go call thy husband, and come hither.'
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said
unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast
had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. In that saidst thou truly." He
told her who God really is. He told her what Christ really
did, and now he's telling her why. He's telling her who man
really is. He's saying to her, you are a
much deeper sinner than you could ever imagine. I pray God will
be merciful to some people that need to know they are not what
they think they are. You are a much deeper sinner
than you could ever imagine, ever imagine. He told her in verse 22, you
worship you know not what. And that was the case for Lydia
and those women. And I believe that's the case
for every single one of us. Everybody here. We all worshipped
at some point. I grew up under the gospel. But
I believe there was a time that I worshipped I knew not what. I didn't know why. You know,
my parents made me go. I didn't have any choice. But
I really didn't know why. The reason is because I didn't
know who. That's the reason. And this is what Paul preached
to these ladies. And I know it's what he preached
because this is what every God called preacher is called to
preach. We preach Christ. We preach him crucified. and
what it means for sinners, what it means for us. All right, now
put a marker right there if you want to. We're gonna come back.
Hold your place and go over to Acts 16. Acts 16, verse 13 says, and on the Sabbath, 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.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city
of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us. This certain woman, this chosen
woman, This predestinated woman, and the reason I say that is
because she was not from Philippi. Paul came into Philippi. There
was a woman there. She was not from Philippi. She was from Thyatira. You know
where that is? Asia. She was from Asia. Paul wanted to go preach the
gospel in Asia. The Lord said, no, you're not
going to Asia. Why? She's not in Asia. She's
up in Philippi. She's 240 miles away up in Philippi. Why would God order it to be
that way? Why would He order it to be that
way? Why would He do things like that? Why would God move her
240 miles? in the opposite direction of
his preacher, and then send Paul all the way over to Philippi
to preach the gospel to her. Why would he do that? The reason
is because our Lord purposed to raise up a church in Philippi,
and she was the first member. That's the reason. Go over, this
is precious. I love this. Go over to Philippians
1. The Lord works in mysterious
ways, doesn't he? His wonders to perform. Philippians
1. Verse 1, Paul and Timotheus,
the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, Grace be
unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you. Sometimes I write letters to
people. And I'll put a scripture at the bottom. I have listed
this scripture so many times because I mean it. Philippians
1 verse 3, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. This
is Paul and Timothy writing to those believers they met in Philippi. Verse 4, always in every prayer
of mine for you all making request with joy. for your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day. That's where we are in our
text tonight. We're at the first day. Until now, being confident of
this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you. That's where we are in our text
tonight. Act 16. We'll perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. We're at the first day. I love
that. Go back over to Acts 16. Verse 13 says, And on the Sabbath
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.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, not a wearer
of purple, an expensive cloth, a cellar
of purple. This was a woman who had to work,
earn a living. I don't know if her husband died,
I don't know what the situation was, but she had to work and
earn a living. She was not privileged in this
world. She was nothing in this world,
absolutely nothing, but she was precious in the eyes of God Almighty.
Very precious. The reason we know that is because
Paul said, we preached the gospel to her and she heard us. She heard us. Verse 14 says,
whose heart the Lord opened. Paul said she heard us. Now,
I'm going to say this and try to teach this, but this cannot
be taught. What I'm about to say cannot
be taught. It's so simple. It is so simple. If our girls were in here, our
girls could understand this, but it cannot be taught. All we can do is just call on
our Lord and beg for mercy, but this cannot be taught. The first
thing that God opens is the ear. Faith comes by hearing. It's
the ear. Some hear it. Some finally, you
know, some people come and they sit for a while and they sit
for a while and then they finally hear what you're saying and they
hate it. God opened the ear. I hear what
you're saying now. Alright, but some hear and they
rejoice in it because they see it. God opens the ear and then
God opens the eyes. And they see it. And I see what
you're saying. That is what this word is saying. Brother Tony and I were talking
to a man one day, and he made the statement. He said, anybody
who reads the word of God ought to be a Calvinist. I agree with
that 100%. He is absolutely right. That's what it says. God opens
the ear and then God opens our eyes. And some people, they do
come to a knowledge of Calvinism. And they're sincere. I'm a Calvinist. But do you know when salvation
is realized? Do you know when it's truly,
truly realized? It's when God opens the heart. Does that make sense? Some people will come and they'll
hear it. Some people will come and they'll see it. But salvation
is realized when all of the sudden they fall in love with it. I love this. I love this. Something happens in the heart.
David said, When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said
unto thee. My heart said this, thy face
will I seek. I said it from the heart. The
Lord opened her heart. And what the Lord opens, no man
can shut. If God has opened my heart, I
can't shut it. Isn't that good news? I can't
shut it. Go with me back over to John
4. Our Lord told this woman at the
well in verse 22, you worship you know not what. Verse 23,
but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall
worship the Father in spirit, right here in the heart, and
in truth, right here in the word. For the Father seeketh such to
worship Him. God is a spirit, and they that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The woman
said unto Him, I know that Messiah's cometh, which is called Christ. When He is come, He will tell
us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee am He. Verse 28 says, the woman then
left her water pot and went her way into the city and said to
the men, come see a man, which told me all things that ever
I did is not this the Christ. Then they went out of the city
and they came to him. I've seen a man. I've seen a
man. You know that's all I want to
see here tonight. All I want all of us to do is come into
this place and sit down here for, you know, Paul and Timothy
and Silas and Luke, they all went down there and they sat
down with the women. And I want to be the bride of
Christ. I want us to come in and sit down in this place and
I want us to see a man. That's all. Come see a man. That
is salvation. I have seen a man. That's salvation. I've seen who he is. I've seen
what he's done. And you know that's not, me having
my doctrine right is not the part I love. I love why he's
who he is and why he's done what he's done. That's the lovely
part. My heart has fallen in love with
Him. God opened her heart. God opened
that woman at the well's heart. God opened Lydia's heart. I believe
God has opened my heart. I believe He's opened your heart. Back over to Acts 16. We'll wrap this up, Acts 16 verse
14, certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city
of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us, whose heart the
Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken
of Paul. And when she was baptized and
her household, she besought us saying, if you have judged me
to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us. God had
mercy on her house. God had mercy on her. He had
mercy on her house. And they all confessed Christ
out of love and thanks for opening their hearts. He opened all their
hearts. And they all wanted to confess Christ. And she told
those men, these men that God used to bring glad tidings of
good things, the gospel of peace. She told them, if you've judged
me to be faithful to the Lord, what she's saying is, I'm not
worthy of these things. Who is sufficient for these things? But I would love it if you would
come into my house and stay there." Luke, he said at the end of verse
15, she constrained us. She constrained us. She demanded. She wasn't actually asking. She
forced us. Preach them over again to me. Wonderful words of life. I've
got to hear this. Please come into my house, and
you stay right here. This is a dear lady with a wonderful
story, and I'm looking forward to worshiping God with her. She's
a precious lady. She's still alive. She's in glory
with all the other saints, and she'll fill in some of the blanks
one of these days. All right, let's stand together.