Acts 16:6-15

time and atlases this morning getting ready for today's devotions i'm going to hop on the computer real quick and make sure that everybody's able to join us online so give me one second as i do that send out the text message to everyone let me send out that text message and make sure that we are going live here okay we are just about ready oh i muted my computer but not my phone my phone just got the text message so there we go all right well good evening good evening good evening welcome to coffee and devotions this is where every day you and i we get together we get into the lord's word and we grow and our love for the lord together and this year 2022 we'll make it all the way from the book of acts to the book of philemon i'm having tea tonight maybe you're having coffee feeling a little bit nostalgic you know i was uh reading on my cup here this is from bob mcelhaney one of the deacons at the church who recently went to be with the lord and before he he passed before he died he gave me this mug as a president about a week or two before and he said pastor warning anything you say or do could be used in a sermon i try not to do that too much without people's prior acknowledgement but i'm gonna have some tea and we'll pray and we'll get in the lord's word let's pray father we thank you so much for the blessing of being your children forgetting to read your word and to see how your holy spirit spread your gospel we pray that we would have minds to understand and hearts to believe tonight in jesus name amen all right here we go we're going to look over at acts chapter 16 verses 6 through 15 acts chapter 15 verses 6 through 15. now when they had gone through fergia in the region of galatia they were forbidden by the holy spirit to preach the word in asia after they had come to missia they tried to go into bithynia but the spirit did not permit them so passing by mesia they came down to troas and a vision appeared to paul in the night a man of macedonia stood and pleaded with him saying come over to macedonia and help us now after he had seen the vision immediately we sought to go to macedonia concluding that the lord had joined us to preach the gospel to them well that's the first paragraph that we need to look at we need to ask ourselves in these two paragraphs a what is this about b what's the best verse to summarize to send c what are we called to do in response to these words so first what's this about well paul has gone on this strengthening journey remember he started at his hometown in tarsus and then he's gone up through the silesian gates and he's going to derby and lystra and iconium into antioch presidio and and he's found timothy he's bringing him along with him and so they start heading up north but there's different places they think they might want to go they think they might want to go to asia which is on the eastern coast of what is now turkey or so the western coast of what's now turkey right on the aegean sea that's where ephesus is but they're not permitted by the holy spirit to go there so they go throughout this area and they think well maybe we'll go to mission this right on uh right on the straights that enter into the c i'm trying to remember what that c is called i i've got to spend time looking at the maps this morning i lost track of my time as i was researching and reading these things and so that's why i didn't have time to jump on earlier but so the miziah is a province on the dardanelles strait and bithynia is a province on the sea of marmar i think that's how you say it but i'm not quite certain anyways the point is they they want to go in these areas and the holy spirit says no no you're not going to hear go here no you're not going to go there so they eventually make their way down to troas this is a important colony a port city right on the aegean sea and there paul has a vision a vision of a macedonian man who says come and help and so they understand that this is something from the lord and so they go but something interesting also happens now after he had seen the vision immediately we sought to go to macedonia all sudden it changes from he he he they they they to we and us luke has joined the journey at this point maybe luke is from troas maybe luke is in troas for some business but is from philippi well it's interesting we're going to find out more as we keep going as we get hints about luke but the point is is that it is the holy spirit what is this ultimately about the holy spirit is the one who is sending the apostles who is leading the apostles who is protecting the apostles who is filling the apostles mouths with good things to say with the good news of the gospel and it's the holy spirit by whom they are able to do these signs and wonders that confirm the testimony that they are giving well so they go ahead and they take this trip verse 11 through 15. therefore sailing from troas we ran a straight course to salmoth race and the next day came to neapolis and from there to philippi which is the foremost city in that part of macedonia a colony and we were staying in that city for some days and on the sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside where prayer was customarily made and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there now a certain woman named lydia heard us she was a seller of purple from the city of thyrotyra who worshiped god the lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by paul and we when she and her whole household were baptized she urged us saying if you have judged me to be faithful to the lord come to my house and stay so she persuaded them or so she persuaded us well we need to ask ourselves what's this about well from troas right there on the aegean sea they go to salmon race and that's an island right in the gnc it's kind of halfway between the two and they seem to make good headwind because the next day they make it all the way to neapolis on his way back later on this journey is going to take five days here it only takes two days and they go to neapolis and they pick up the via ignatia though and and they go from neapolis to port city up to philippi which is a colony an important city it's a roman city it has its own constitution based off that of rome it has been settled with roman veterans it is it is a roman roman city but there's one thing it seems to not have at this time and that's a synagogue and so they go to this impressive city this town in philippi a very roman town and they go down to the river because they've heard that's where the ladies go to pray that's where people meet and there they start teaching they start telling them the story of jesus christ and there's someone who's there lydia the first convert in asia or the first convert in europe she hears and her heart is tender it's the lord who made her heart tender i love that part in in verse 14. now a certain woman named lydia heard us she was a seller of purple from the city of thyrotira who worshiped god the lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by paul this woman who was a merchant of her own right a seller of purple someone who knew how to work the markets who had a trade she hears paul and the lord softens her heart and she believes and we know that she's a woman of some standing base because it says that she and her household believe she's a woman who has servants children there are people under her care we don't know maybe she's a widow or for some other reason she doesn't have a husband you know in a society like this which was very masculine dominated where the father was the potter familias you know he was the head and ruler of the house here you know she's the head of this home her and her whole back to her whole family are baptized and so she urges them if you think i actually have faith come stay at my house right there's she she opens up her home to them she receives the gospel and she wants to receive them into her home if you have judged me to be faithful i love if you have judged me to be faithful to the lord come to my house and and stay so she persuaded us she persuaded them with her faith this is a beautiful thing the lord has now by the power of the holy spirit saint thom all the way from antioch in syria into troas or sorry tarsus all the way through galatia and and in in in and around what's now turkey along the central part of the country and then all the way down to troas and now they're in europe they find themselves in philippi and the lord is faithful even there he's the one leading them i'm just going to go ahead and say my favorite verse that i have underlined here uh well i have two uh one is that in the holy spirit forbidden by the holy spirit to preach the word in asia and after they had come to mission they tried to go into bethennia but the spirit did not permit them and then in verse 14 the lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by paul i think that's that's kind of getting at the heart of this passage is the holy spirit who's leading and that's the holy spirit who's changing people's hearts so what are we called to do lastly see calling what are we called to do in response to these words the lord opened your heart when you hear these words that jesus christ came to save sinners do you know it's for you when you hear that god so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son that whoever should believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life is that you when you hear if we confess our sins he is faithful and he is just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness do you know that's you is this your hope do you confess that jesus christ is your lord and believe with all in your heart that god raised him from the dead if you do this is a work of the holy spirit this is not a normal thing are you in christ do you know the holy spirit do you believe his word has he worked on your heart i hope he has i think we should be praying that the spirit would keep doing that work today maybe there's someone that you know that maybe they've been listening to you as you've spoken about spiritual things from time to time maybe you can speak with them more directly and see if they'll believe why don't we go ahead and pray now for those people and for those opportunities father we pray knowing that your holy spirit is still at work today changing people's hearts drawing people to yourself lord we pray that you would please save people soften their hearts we pray that you would give us the opportunity even this week to speak of jesus christ to people and that you would be working in their hearts even now that they might be reborn that their hearts would be regenerated that you would take out their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh lord i don't know who's listening to this recording or live stream right now but father i pray for anybody who's listening that their hearts might be softened that they might come and know the one true living god that they would know their savior jesus christ the only begotten from all eternity past and that they would have their sins washed away lord we pray that you would do this work even today in jesus name amen oh may the lord bless you today may he fill your mouth with the words of life the good news i pray the lord gives you divine appointments this week to speak with others of the one who has saved your soul and i pray that you enjoy the peace that surpasses all understanding as you meditate upon christ jesus and i'll see you tomorrow bye thanks for listening to this week's message from god's word for you a ministry of sharon rp church in rural southeast iowa we pray that the message would be used by god to transform your faith in your life this week if you'd like to get more information about us feel free to go to the website sharonrpc.org we'd love to invite you to worship with us our worship time is 10 am every sunday at 25 204 160th avenue morning sun iowa 526-40 may god richly bless you this week [Music]