Lessons Along The Way

Discipleship isn't meant to happen only in controlled, comfortable environments, it happens in the everyday flow of life.

In this sermon on Acts 16:1–15, Lead Pastor Neil McClendon launches into Acts 16 to examine "lessons along the way." Pastor Neil breaks down three critical truths displayed in the missionary journey of Paul, Silas, and Timothy: how our hardships are often meant for the benefit of others, why God leads through closed doors as well as open ones, and how genuine faith transforms the way we view our family and material possessions through the story of Lydia.

In this episode, we cover:

• Hardship for Others' Benefit: Why our personal struggles and suffering are often meant to demonstrate the gospel to those watching us.
• Divine Guidance Through Closed Doors: Understanding why God shuts certain doors to position us exactly where we need to be.
• The Calling of Lydia: Examining the conversion of a successful businesswoman and what her story reveals about true biblical faith.
• Corporate Faith & Family: Viewing the household through a gospel lens rather than modern radical individualism.
• Hospitality vs. Entertaining: How true faith alters our relationship with our homes and possessions to serve others.

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This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.

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Lord, it's our understanding this morning that this is the essence of the gospel. It is not making ourselves presentable to a God who is so holy we would never, we could never be presentable. It is coming just like we are. It is stop hiding, making excuses, glorifying our sin like it's too much for the cross. The Bible says beautiful things like where sin did abound, grace did abound all the more. So help us to see the infinite magnitude of your grace today, the bigness of your and the wideness of your mercy. So for anyone in this room who has this dark blot that they can't seem to get past or get over or stop giving into, remind them, Holy Spirit, even in this moment, that's not that's not too much for me. That is killing you, that is crushing you, that is that is dysregulating your mental health. I don't sweat that at all. So, Holy Spirit, lead us into this moment. We pray in Christ's name, and everyone said, Amen. Amen. You ain't got to sing that song in a while, have you? Some of you like, oh, an invitation hymn. I know this one. I'm gonna get my praise on. Uh, if you got your Bible, let me invite you to take it, open up to Acts chapter 16. And if you're our guest, let me say uh welcome. By the way, that the invitation is always open here. If you're here and you're like, hey man, I'm kind of just exploring. I'm busy today. I've been three times and I'm kind of curious about Christianity. Uh, God is just standing before you, arms wide open, saying, Hey, you come just like you are. You ain't got to get it together, you ain't got to know the words for the song or own a Bible, okay? Uh you just come like you are. God will so change, so so change your heart that you'll get some little holy momentum going, and all of a sudden, like a train rolling down the track, it starts to clickety clack, clickety clack, pick up momentum, and you find yourself uh desiring things that you've never desired and not desiring things that you've always desired. Now, does that make sense? Say amen. Uh now, some of you may be hearing kind of like, yeah, all you people got it all together. There's a great line in that song. Uh, the song they sang is a song called Chasing Rebels Down, uh, because that's what God does. Uh but but but he said, I'm not gonna hide the choices that I've made. I'm not always proud of those things. And so let me just level the ground for everybody. If you've ever made a choice that you're not proud of and you hope never comes to light, say amen. See, you're surrounded by people who understand that their need for the gospel. And so let me just tell you where we are. Uh we're preaching through the book of Acts. If you're visiting today, uh we start in chapter 1, verse 1. We're up to chapter 16 today. Uh, and what you're gonna see over the next couple Sundays is four people come to faith in chapter 16. They become Christians, and they're all from different backgrounds. One woman is possessed by an evil spirit, and and men are trafficking her just for profit. That's not a new thing. Uh, and the Bible and the gospel and God and Christians hate injustice. And so Paul turns around and just deals with that situation, but we'll get to that in a couple weeks, okay? Uh, but there's gonna be four people, they all come to faith in Christ. You'll see one this morning today named Lydia. Uh, but I brought you a map. I want to give you a context for what we're talking about. Now, there's this big important thing happened called the Jerusalem Council, and at the Jerusalem Council, basically they decided that, hey, because the Jews were like, oh, well, to become Christians, you gotta you gotta uh you gotta submit to all the Jewish customs. And the Gentiles are like, bro, we ain't gotta be down with that. And so the Jerusalem Council said, you know what? To be Christians, you don't have to submit to Jewish customs. Here's a question you should ask yourself at your next community group. What customs do you have? Do you expect people to submit to when they come to faith in Christ? Do they have to start watching Fox News and voting Republican? Yes, that's some of y'all's custom. You're very Jewish in that way. You're like, oh, absolutely, you're Christian, aren't you? Uh now, I now if you're visiting today, I don't pick sides. Of course, I'm I'm I'm right a ragged on conservatism, uh, but I am not in favor of us having our little homemade preferences that we lay down on people and say, to be Christian, you have to homeschool your kids. Uh-oh, did you feel that? Easy now. You just stick to the Bible, preacher. Uh and so here's what basically happened. They decided how you you don't have to be circumcised. You you can be a Christian. Uh, and and then they sent these people out. Paul and a guy named Barnabas had a little disagreement about a guy named John Mark. Uh, talked about that last week or two weeks ago. Uh, and now they sent him out to say, hey, go tell uh all these churches that's not about keeping the rules, it's about believing the gospel. And so, what you're gonna see today, we're gonna start reading about this guy. Uh, my does my laser point? Yeah, uh, I don't think it works on the screen there. Anyway, well, here you go, kids. You can have that. Uh uh basically, if you look over here on the far right, uh it says Antioch, it's a starting point. That's where they started. And though they go to Cilicia, and then they go to Lystra. That's where Paul got the snot beat out of him, uh, uh in the Niconium. And basically they want to go into Asia, that big right there, kind of top center. They want to go into Asia, and God says no. And then they go, okay, well, let's go to Bithynia. No. And so then they go over to Troaz, which is over by the ocean over here, under Thrace, uh, which that's a great name for a country. Uh, uh, and so they go to Troaz. Just God send them to Troaz, just so is this where we're supposed to go? No, this is where I'm gonna tell you where you're supposed to go. Some of you are missing out on God's will for your life because when God closes a door, you stand there and beat on it because you think by beating on it, you're gonna get him to come and open the door. He is not. He's waiting for you to get to Troaz because when you get to Troas, put the map back up. He is going to tell you where you're supposed to go. Because they go to Troaz, and Paul has a vision. It's called the Macedonian call. If you grew up in church, we used to sing a hymn that says, We have heard the Macedonian call today. What's the next line? Send the light, send the light. I remember about eight-year-old kids standing in church, kind of going, these people seem really excited about this. I have no idea what they're talking about. They're talking about something that literally happened in a real place. Now I put a map. If you're visiting today, I don't put a map up every Sunday, okay? We don't have overheads and a slide rule and a projector and a WD-40 pocket protector for our colored pins we highlight stuff in the Bible with. I just want you to know this, because I know some of you are skeptical, that the stuff the Bible talks about really happened in real time, in a real place. So they go to Troas and God says, Hey, uh, Paul has this vision, and a man says, Hey, come over to Macedonia and help us. It's called the Macedonian call. And so they sail across that thing. It takes two days, they get over there and they go to Philippi, which is a city he really wants to establish the church in. And there he meets a lady named Lydia. One thing you're gonna see is that if you read the book of Acts, a lot it talks about leading cities, leading men, leading women. They met this successful businesswoman named Lydia who was crushing it. She had a big house and no husband. Stop fantasizing, ladies. And she says, I mean, and so if you're here, and and because some of you have a big house, and you say, How do you know? Because when I go to it, you always apologize. Stop doing that, okay? You got a big house, use it for the glory of God. Stop feeling bad, okay? I don't care. People go, well, I know our house is kind of big. I'm like, well, glory to God, wonderful. You can hide from your children. Uh and so I wanted you to see that this happens in real time in a real way, okay? And so we'll take the map down so you'll stop staring at the map. Now, I'm going to usually I would read, I'm gonna start reading in Acts chapter 16, uh, down to verse 15, but I'm just gonna read it. There's three sections, uh, and there's five verses in each section. From in each section, I think there's a lesson for us. So, what I want to talk to you about today is what I'm calling lessons along the way. Lessons along the way. In other words, not everything you learn in in life about God and Christianity and yourself happens sitting in this room or in a Bible study, which happens at this hour and the next hour over in the building across the parking lot. It doesn't always happen in a climate-controlled environment while you sip really good coffee and enjoy air conditioning. Sometimes it's out on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean. And God says, Hey, this is the native environment for the gospel. So that's what I want you to see is that they're just living life, okay? They're going about their everyday life, and things begin to happen that we can learn from and glean from and be changed by, okay? Acts chapter 16, while I'll read the first five verses. It says this Paul came also to Derby and to Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer. But his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places. For they all knew his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and the elders who were back in Jerusalem. So the churches were stricken in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. Now, here's the lesson you may be reading that and kind of going, Yeah, what are you gonna do with that? Here's the lesson you I that I take away from those five verses. Our experiences are not always intended for our benefit. Our experiences are not always intended for our benefit. What do you mean? I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but let me just say this: your life is not big enough or happy enough to answer all the questions that your experiences are going to ask you. Let me say that again. Your life is not big enough or happy enough or deep enough to answer all the questions that your experiences in life are going to ask you. Said differently, you're gonna go through things and you're just gonna think, what in the world? Why was that? Sometimes what you go through is not for your benefit, it's for the benefit of somebody else. Now, I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but in chapter, starting in verse 16 of this chapter, uh, Paul and Silas get in trouble. Uh, they end up getting thrown in prison, they get beaten, they lock them into stocks because they said, Hey, but these guys can't get away, so they're locked up in there. And the Bible will say, we'll see in a couple weeks, that about midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God, and then this little line here, and the prisoners were listening. Now, don't miss this. Sometimes God allows you as a Christian to experience hardship, punishment, disappointment, just to see if the gospel is what you believe, or if what you believe is just what you want. And you believe it's God's responsibility to give you what you want. Uh, or do you just believe the gospel? How much can you suffer, not get your way, and still believe in a God that allows this to happen? And so this is what happens uh uh is that Paul and Silas, you're gonna see that they do not have good experiences. It does not go well for them, it's not a journal entry. They're not gonna call their friends and go, oh girl, let me tell you what the Lord did today. They get beaten, locked up in prison, and about midnight they're praying and singing hymns to God. They do not have out the phone book going, I'm gonna call Jim Adler, the Texas Hammer, and somebody's getting sued. No, that's us. We have a litigious society that sues because we've got to advocate for our rights instead of embracing our responsibility. They are praying and singing hymns to God. Now, how'd you like to be another prisoner down the down the hall in another cell? Wouldn't you be thinking, what do these guys know that I don't know? What in the world? I mean, these guys have been so mistreated today, and now they're down here having a hymn sing. Here's what I'm saying to you is that the prisoners are listening. Students, when you go to school tomorrow, the prisoner's sitting across the aisle from you in geometry class, she's listening. She's listening. The the men, the guy that's in your work group sits in the cubicle next to you, that prisoner is listening. Ladies, the prisoner that lives across the street and complains about our marriage all the time. She's listening to see what comes out of you. To see if, hey, do I want to know this God that you profess to know and to love and to worship? Now you should be thinking at this point, okay, I don't see that. I'm looking in those five. Where do you get that? Here's where I get this: that our experiences are not always intended for our benefit. Uh because back in chapter 14 of Acts, there's uh there's a remember Paul, I pointed to you up here on the map. Don't put the map up, but I pointed and said, in this little town here called Lystra, where this is where they they Paul preached the gospel, and they responded by just beating the snot out of him. They drag him to the outskirts of town, drop him on the side of the road, and they just thought he was dead. And they said, Good riddance, get out of here, you vagabond preacher. And so people got around him, prayed for him. He gets up, takes a couple of Advil and a red Gatorade, and says, I'm good to go. Uh, remember that? Say amen. Yes, yes. Now, again, why am I telling you that? Because there was a little prisoner that lived in that town whose name was Timothy. And Timothy comes to faith. Timothy becomes a Christian. That was what's called Paul's first missionary journey. He became a Christian as did his mom and his grandmother the first time Paul comes through town. So Paul preaches the gospel, gets beat almost to death. Not a great experience for him. But he didn't complain, he didn't squeal, he didn't go, dude, I didn't sign up for this. He didn't get up off the side of the road that day and go, man, it's God and Jesus ain't getting working for me. I'm gonna go sell insurance and give trips to the Holy Land. I'm gonna go be a long-term substitute teacher. Things that preachers do all the time because they get tired, they get burned out. No. Why? Because this little prisoner named Timothy, who's come to faith, is just watching and kind of going, okay. So when we're reading chapter 16, it's now Paul's second missionary journey. He's going back to strengthen these churches with a decision that has been made. And he sees this Timothy guy and he's like, Whoa, whoa. I want to take him with me. I just want to remind you, we'll get to it in a couple weeks, but the prisoners are listening, folks. And when it gets hard, you want to be found singing. You don't want to be found whining or complaining because sometimes other people are prompted to faith because we keep ours. They listen to what we say, but they often believe what we say once they see that you're willing to suffer for it and because of it. I would go so far as to submit to you this morning that the missing element in our evangelism in the United States is not more methods and slicker ways. The missing element in our evangelism in America is suffering. It's just suffering. Now, I'm not one of those guys that's like a mask, oh, you should go out and pray to God you suffer. No, but when you suffer, don't act like oh, there's some strange thing is happening. No, no. Here's a question you should ask yourself: Are other believers strengthened in the faith by the way you live yours? Because Timothy came to faith under the preaching of a man named Paul who was beaten almost to death for it. And he didn't spit the bit one time. So, see, that's the first lesson I would say uh uh along the way is our experiences are not always intended for our benefit. Let me say that again. Our experiences are not always intended for our benefit because if you think that, then you're always looking for what's in it for me? What did I do to deserve this? Why is this happening? Maybe this is happening to you because the prisoner, two houses down, is just watching to see if this whole thing is really real. Next section, verse six. Pick back up the Bible says, and they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, and having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Mysia, they went down to Troaz, and a vision, uh a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision immediately, he sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel there to them. That's my favorite part, is that he has a vision, probably a dream. And then he says, Well, I conclude that maybe God's wanting us to go over here. I'm like, uh duh. Now, here's the second lesson that you learn along the way: that God leads by closing doors as well. God doesn't just always lead you through an open door, God leads you by closing some doors. And if you're standing there beating on the door, waiting for God to get you open the door so you can get through the door, then you're committed to your will, not God's will. Now, notice they wanted to go to Asia and then Mysia and they end up in Troaz just so they could experience the Macedonian call. Uh, we'll sing the hymn later. No, we won't. Uh uh to come over to Macedonia and help them. And here's the question: why not just start there? Why not just start there? Now, the next thing I want to say to you sounds so heady. I wrote it out and put it in my outline. Uh, take a picture of this. Don't try to write it down, okay? Uh but I believe this. This is a truth uh that that that I've experienced in my own life, and I'll just read it to you. God does not always send you where you need to go or you want to go, He puts you where you need to be in order to hear what you need to hear, which prepares you for what you will need to do. This is so that when you get there, your faith is proportional to the task at hand. Let's stand for the benediction. Yes, if you could just get your head around this, I and I'm not being flippant here, if you could get your head around this, uh, a lot of your life will begin to kind of come into focus and you won't be so easily thrown by when bad things happen. Again, God doesn't always send you where you need to go or where you want to go, He puts you where you need to be in order to hear what you need to hear, which prepares you for what you need to do. This is so that when you get there, your faith is proportional to the task at hand. Sometimes you're not where you want to be or you need to be because your faith is not big enough to rise to the moment when you get there. And so they're like, oh, we want to go into Asia. We want to go into Asia, we want to penetrate the gospel into Asia, oh, we want to go to Mysia. Oh, okay, we're going to Troas. Oh no, Paul has a dream. Oh, okay. Now here's what I want to say. When I say God leads by closing doors as well, if you cannot accept a closed door, then perhaps your relationship is more with getting your way than with God. Because God is a God that closes the door. We don't talk about this enough in church. God is not just a God of yes, he is a God of no. This is why he closes the door on their idea about where they want to go. Uh now, I listen carefully. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt, it's not confusing, it's a little bit disorienting. Years ago, a young man came to me and he's like, I applied to get an AM. Everybody in my family's been A M. My grandparents been to AM, my great-grandfather, blah, blah, blah. Okay, your family started AM. I get it. And he said, but I didn't get into AM. I gotta go, I'm I'm going the blend plan. But he said it like this I'm going to the blend blend. And I said, You act like you've disappointed the world. Well, I didn't make the grades or whatever, and blah, blah, blah. And he said, I said, so you're going to the blend plan? And he goes, Yeah. And and I mean, I'm just fucking gonna be missing out, and blah, blah, blah. Until his first day of class, he walks into his first math class. He told me what it was. I was like, oh, okay. I haven't taken math since freshman year of college. Uh he walked in and he sat down, he said, I looked over, and the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life was sitting right across the aisle. And I thought, maybe Blyn's not so bad. They're married now and have three kids. And every time I see him, I said, Sometimes, you know, when God shuts the door, don't pound on it. Because his parents were like, We're gonna make some phone calls and get you into AM. By golly, we're an AM family. And I said, Maybe God wants you to go to Blyn. You would have thought I said Jesus had a pierced ear. He was like, Now, Neil, I I don't want you to talk like that. I said, dude, I'd be glad to get into Blend. Again, God doesn't just lead to opening a door, He leads to closing a door sometime. And so again, I'm not saying it's not confusing, I'm just saying this. If you can't be trusted with what? You can't be trusted with what if you're always asking why. And he said, dude, about two weeks in, I just thought, I think she might like me. And I said, Yeah, but she got in on the blend plan too. I mean, she's kind of second class, it's kind of like junior college for people who don't deserve the maroon in white. Now, by the way, there's people in this room right now that are uncomfortable. They're like, hey, easy, don't you talk about it? I tell you what, Pastor. Hey, I love AM and I love people that got into AM on the blend plan. Amen. I'm just trying to say to him, hey, God, this is not JV. This is just, hey, okay, maybe you didn't apply yourself in high school. That doesn't mean God still still doesn't have a plan for your life. So every time I see him, guess what I say? Because I'm like Gus from Lonesome Dove. I like to kick a pig every once in a while. I just say, hey, how'd the blend plan work out for you? And he's like, with tears in his eyes, he said, dude, that's the greatest closed door I've ever had in my life. And he went to blend, and then he got an AM, graduated, got the ring, where's the ring every day? And now I see him. I also say, Hey, now I can't remember. Where'd you go to school? Moving on. Now, let me just say this, okay? There's three things about a closed door in your life. Just just just to take away. When the door closes, three things you gotta believe. Number one, it's not punishment, but invitation. It's not punishment, it's invitation. You gotta ask yourself, not what is God doing to me? But hey, God, what are you inviting me to? It's not punishment. You think God saved you, forgave you just to punish you? That's not the God of the Bible. Secondly, it's not no but better. It's not no, it's just an invitation to better. And better always come in the moment. Ask my friend. It's not no. He's like, oh, he was crestfather when he came to see me. His parents are like, we think he's depressed. I'm like, dude, you get to go to college, okay? You don't have to take the route everybody else takes. It's not no, but better. Finally, it's not now but later. When the door closes, God's not saying, oh, never. He's just saying, not now. And then he watches to see what we do in the meantime. Can you handle a closed door? Because if you can't handle a closed door, let me ask you a question why should God open any other doors? I love verse 10, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. You think? Now, by the way, I'm not mocking that. Because it means that word concluding means to put together in one's mind, which means they discussed it. They weren't living off stimulation, but they processed as a group and decided, hey, we think this is what how God is leading us. Now, uh, let me say this: even the most intense experiences should be examined carefully. Even the most intense experiences, a dream, a vision, I I've heard, you know, all kinds of things. But and and I believe God still speaks. He speaks in keeping with the character of his word. The Spirit of God never tells the people of God to do anything that violates the word of God. And so don't roll up with, oh, the Lord told me to leave my wife. Well, is she cheating on you? Is she faithful, unfaithful? She abused you. No, I'm just not happy. That's not in the Bible. Okay? So don't blame your the appetites of your flesh on God. But they have this intense experience. I say it like this: most people would rather stare into the sun than look into the mirror. Staring into the sun is this intense knowledge. We're addicted to intense knowledge in the church. Oh, brother, I got a word from the Lord and blah, blah, blah. Just look in the mirror and get some intimate knowledge. And these guys said, hey, Paul had a dream. Let's talk about this and make sure that this is the Lord. Let's test the spirit and see if it be of the Lord. And so the second lesson that we learn along the way is that God leads by closing doors as well. Here's the last lesson. It comes from starting in verse 11. Ladies, listen. And especially if you're a professional woman or a working woman, verse 11 says, So setting sail from Troaz, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city. Again, leading city. Christianity is not for, it's not for people who couldn't make the A team. And so God just settles for the B team. God says, I take everybody. They go to a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. They remained in this city some days, and on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, talking about a synagogue, a Jewish synagogue. But there was it. By the way, if there were 10 men there, 10 Jewish men, they could start a synagogue. There was not a large Jewish community in this town. So they supposed there was a place of prayer or synagogue, and they sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. Now the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. She wouldn't leave them alone. Like a chicken, she just kept pecking until they said, Okay, well, come stay at your house. And now what do we take away from this? Here's the third lesson. Evidence of faith is what you do with your stuff. Evidence of faith is what you do with your stuff. Remember, they wanted to go to Asia and preach. Remember that? And then they wanted to go to Bithynia and Myssia. And no, no, no. By the way, they wanted to go to Asia. Lydia is from a town called Diotira. She's a purple, uh, she's a seller of purple goods, this purple dye that was very uh desirable among the wealthy people. She is from Diotira, which is located in Asia. So what am I saying? When God closes a door, he knows what he's doing. He doesn't need you to take the gospel to Asia. He's going to get the gospel to Asia in his time in his own way. And so I don't want to go too far into this, but I do want to mention this, ladies. If you if you you'll see this all through the gospel the book of Acts, the gospel is often first taken to leading cities. It said right there, which is a leading city in the district of Macedonia. They tried to penetrate these population centers, okay? But also to leading women and leading men. Translation, successful businessmen and women. And Lydia is an example of a very successful businesswoman, okay? And if we're not careful in the church, we can hold up a model of the godly woman, is the stay-at-home mom who makes her own baby food and farms a vegetable garden in the backyard and makes her kids' clothes. And anybody that works and abandons their children, because that's what you're doing, you're messing your kids up. And I would just say, look at Lydia in the Bible. Now, we don't know if she was never married or if her husband was dead, but she has a household. She has a successful business, she's crushing it. She's got a big house so big that she can invite six people unplanned over to her house and say, not just come for lunch, but stay, okay? Now, there's some other successful business women in the book of Acts. I'll just point to them. Uh in the next chapter, it talks about the leading women of Thessalonica, uh, and then women of high standing in Berea, and then Demarius in Athens, and Priscilla in Corinth. Uh, and I just want to say that, hey, stay-at-home mom, there's a long period in our kids' life. My wife is a stay-at-home mom. And she said, I don't care what sacrifices we've got to make, we're gonna live off one income because I want to I want to be here for my kids. And I was like, There's no way we can do that. I'm doing math, and my wife is hearing music. And she said, Oh, we're doing that. And so I prayed, Lord, my wife is lazy and doesn't want to work. Now look at me. When you grow up poor, your fear is you're gonna fall back in that. And so my wife was like, No, I want to be a stay-at-home mom. I was like, You are summoning the orphan in me, lady. But you know what? She came home, it was a great decision for us. My kids benefited from that, I benefited from that, and we survived. We didn't miss any meals. God's faithful. He wasn't like, oh, oh, and our kids got a certain age and she said, You know what? I want to use my gifts, and but I don't want to work full time. And I was like, okay, great. Here's what I'm saying: God's called you to be a stay-at-home mom, glory to God. If God's called you to be a businesswoman, glory to God. Okay, uh, I mean, uh uh Lydia is crushing it. Like I said, she's got a big house so big that the church in Philippi meets in it. Or one lady said to me, she goes, What are you talking about on Sunday? I said, I'm talking about how God uses business women who have a big house and no husband. And she went, Oh, say that again. I was like, Don't enjoy that so much. Notice in verse 15. Uh, I just want to point out something here. Uh verse 14, the one who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatara, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. That doesn't mean she was a Christian. That means she believed that a monotheism of Judaism, she's that's why she's down over these women by the river, because they could they they could engage in these Jewish purity rituals where they wash themselves in the river. And so she's going through all the motions, but her heart has never been changed by God. Now, to contemporize it, coming to church doesn't make you a Christian. Does that make sense? And so this is Lydia. Some of you may be like Lydia today. You come to church, but your heart's never been changed. And it says the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul, what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, hello. Look at me. In the next service, a 74-year-old man's gonna be baptized in that hole in the stage right over there. And he's like, I was sprinkled as a Presbyterian when I was a kid, but this is my faith. And and and I a lot of you were raised in a religious tradition that had some beautiful rituals, but they were not personal to you. And so what basically what he's saying, and he says it in his own words, is the traditions of my childhood couldn't sufficiently represent the faith of my adulthood. And I said, Yeah, you're not neglecting the faith you were raised in as a kid. Basically, that gave you a little bit of a foundation to stand upon to understand your need for God and the gospel. And so 74. Lydia, she doesn't, she doesn't say, Well, you know, I had this when I was a baby or when I was a kid, blah, blah, blah. And here's why. She comes to faith, her heart is opened up. The first thing she does is she says, I want to get baptized. Here's why. Because love does not negotiate the terms of its surrender. So if you're here today, and there's some of you are that's kind of like, well, you know, I know how to get baptized, and one day down the road, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Let me lovingly say to you, you are living in willful disobedience every day. Her heart is opened. And how does she respond to that? She's baptized. After she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us, saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. There's two things I want you to notice, and we'll be done. You still with me? Uh uh there's two things I want you to notice in this passage. See, they're just along the way, they're just doing life. Lessons that you learn are not always in a church or in a Sunday school or out in the warehouse when Ian or Annie are talking. It's just in the warping woof of life. If you and I will listen and posture our heart, God is always speaking. Two things I want to point out. Number one, they thought differently about family back then. For them, family was a corporate concept. That's why it says, you know, she was baptized and her household. Her household included her extended family, the servants in her household, okay? Any children she may have had, everybody that lived there, worked there. That was called her oikas, her household. And it wasn't like I'm getting baptized, you all got to get baptized. No, it was more like, hey, if you believe this, we want to believe this because we so respect you. Because back then, family was a, they had a corporate concept of family. Nowadays, the family is made up of a bunch of individuals who trust in and believe in their individuality more than they do the family. And sometimes the way those individuals called your children feel power is by disagreeing with what they know you believe. And you stop saying to them, Oh, I know you're a Christian. You prayed the prayer when you were eight at Pine Cove in the city. You're just paid to get a week off from your kids, but I digress. Look at me. Sometimes the most loving thing you can say to your kids is, I don't see the fruit of the spirit in you. So you're saying you don't believe the gospel, that doesn't surprise me at all, honey. I don't think you know Jesus. Stop taping fruit on a tree that's never borne fruit. And just let your kids feel the weight of their unbelief. You're not shocking me. I got some sadness in my mama's heart with your name on it. But you're not shocking me, but you're also not dysregulating me. I pray God in his infinite mercy reveals himself to you because if you don't, this is gonna be a hard fight with a short stick, and you're gonna continue to date losers like the boyfriend you're with right now. That makes your kids want to know the Jesus you know. You say, No, no, you prayed to prayer. I remember I was there, you cried and I cried, and we went to La Madeline, and strawberries roaming off. Whatever. They thought differently about family back then. And see, students, one of the things you got to ask yourself, let me get up in your business, is how do you think about family? Are your parents just here to finance your ideas until you get a car and these losers leave you alone? You can say whatever you want to say here on Sunday, out there on Sunday. But the proof is in the pudding. They also thought differently about their stuff. Lydia immediately insists on using her home to bless others. Look at verse 15. She couches it in terms of the validity of her faith. I mean, don't miss this. This is unbelievable. And after she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us, saying, if you've judged me to be faithful to the Lord, in other words, if you think I'm really a Christian, then come to my house and stay. That's like you coming up to me after this service here in about four minutes and saying, Pastor, if you think I'm a Christian, come to my house today and eat fried chicken. And my response is, take me to your leader. She says, This is my faith. Don't miss this, my faith is very is demonstrated in very practical ways. Watch the way I use my house. I got a big house. Now, ladies, she invites six people to her house without knowing they were coming over when she left her house. These men don't get that. These men are like, what's the problem? Women are like, oh, I'm getting hives just at the thought of that. I got stuff laying out I don't want anybody to see. Yes, yes. You see, there's a difference, and they understood this in the Bible. There's a difference in entertaining and showing hospitality. We entertain more than we show hospitality. Karen Maines wrote a book called Open Heart, Open Home. And she said, these are the three differences. I'll just tick them off for you. She said, entertaining is about impressing people with your home, your decor, your cooking. Hospitality seeks to minister. It doesn't try to impress but to serve. That's why Lydia could say, hey, my house is probably a wreck. I remember when I was traveling and preaching before I became your pastor. Uh, and I would, they would say, Hey, is it true you don't like to eat out? Yeah, I eat out all the time. I like to eat in people's house. One of my favorite memories, I walked into someone's house. I said, I don't eat before, so we got to eat after church. I said, That's great. My kids are just wound up that you're coming. My kids wanted to get on the trampoline with you. I said, I'll put the DDT on the stole cone stone and bam! And she said, All right, my boys like to wrestle. I said, I am undefeated. El Champion del Mundo. So I'm in the backyard just power slamming their kids. But here's the favorite part. We get there, I said, Well, follow us. We get there. They got three dogs in the house going crazy, and one of the dogs had left some presents in the living room. And the lady, get this lady, opens the door, and she goes, Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you, we got dogs. Grab some paper towels and said, Here, can you clean that up? I'm gonna get dinner going. I'm three steps in the door holding a roll of paper towels, kind of going. Either this lady really believes in hospitality, or I'm being pranked. And she said, It's kind of dry, it's not soaked into the carpet. Just grab it and pick it up. I was like, and I'm like, hey, what about these kids here? And they're like changing into their wrestling clothes. Come on, Pastor, let's go outside and wrestle. And so there I am getting these little doggy treasures off the carpet. And she goes, Hey, just flush them in the commode right there. That's the bathroom, that's the in the in the hall, that's the guest bathroom. I left there at one in the morning. We got there about 8:15, 8:30. I wrestled the kids on the trampoline. We ate, we had coffee and dessert afterwards. She said, All right, kids, time to go to bed. Adults are gonna visit. And we she said, Hey, how's the gospel transform our marriage? Because sometimes the longer I'm married, the more resentful I feel because my deep core needs aren't being met. And I was like, in my mind, I'm like, okay, this started with this is a good day. This is a full day. I got back to my hotel and I was just like, oh Jesus, thank you for this. This is great. She didn't entertain. By the way, the food was incredible. She was hospitable. Here's the second thing: entertaining puts people, puts things before people. As soon as I get the house finished, the living room decorated, my house just like I want it, then I'll start having people over. Hospitality puts people before things. Hospitality says, we have no furniture, we'll eat on the floor. Finally, entertaining suddenly declares, This is mine. These rooms is decor. This is expression of who I am and what I am. Hospitality simply whispers, what's mine is yours. What's mine is yours. Here's a question I'm gonna ask you, and I'll be done. How has your faith altered the way you treat your stuff? How has your faith altered the way you treat your stuff? It's one of the most practical expressions of your faith. And how has your faith altered the way? Is your home where you go to escape from people in the world? Or is your home a place where people are welcome to come see that you think differently about not just your stuff, but about the world as well? Let's pray together. If you're a guest, just relax. We like to teach the Bible and then give you some space to think about it. So some questions come up on the screen. That's for our consideration. You can take a picture if you'd like. I'll voice a prayer. Someone may play or sing something over us. Let's just think about what we heard as we think about lessons along the way. God, thank you for the Bible. Thank you that it's thought-provoking, it's life-shaping. It's not about punishing us, it's about changing the way we think about our stuff. Everything we have. We stop trying to manage people's impression of our kids. We even say things like, Yeah, I don't even know if she even knows the Lord. She loves church, but I don't know if she knows Jesus. And the fear of man that the Bible is very clear is a snare. Doesn't even stick to us. And all the phony people want to come like Nicodemus under the cover of darkness and say, What did you do to get this way? I just started believing the gospel. I started believing that God has a better plan for my daughter than I do. So I stopped trying to kind of uh uh micromanage every detail of her life. So, Holy Spirit, just brood over us now. Love on us as only you can while we think about these things. Father, thank you that every time we open up your word, it's a meal, it's not a snack, it is a thought-provoking, life-engaging meal. It's like a big wad of brisket and cream corn and potato salad and sweet tea to wash it all down with. And then some ribs come out. You're like, oh, yes, I thought I was done, but I'm not. Because the Bible is that satisfying, it's what our soul was created for, not some little life application tips, little checklists, little activity to-do list. Fire on that. Our souls were created for the truth to think about things like, hey, what are some lessons we're learning along the way? Maybe we should all ask ourselves today, God, or when we get in our community group, what lesson do you think God's trying to teach you right now? So Lord, we just want to say we submit to your word. It's right, it's the truth, and it sets us free. So when we set, we know who's submitting to your word because they're the freest man, they're the freest woman anybody know. They're becoming more free on a daily basis because they continue to submit to your word. Holy Spirit, make of us those kinds of people we pray in Jesus' name. And everyone said, Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you for your presence today. If you're our guest, thanks for being here. You're always welcome. Speaking of welcome, if you if you would, if you just, if you like, if you want us to know you're here, text welcome to that number on the screen behind me. Uh it gives us a record of your visit, uh, and we'll shoot you a text back. We just want to help you take your next step in your spiritual journey, okay? No one's gonna put pressure on you. We do not believe in guilt or manipulation, we believe that truth persuades by the force of its own reality. And so our job is to love you enough to tell you the truth and then be present while God applies that truth to your life. All right? Does that make sense? Say amen. All right. We have things going on in the life of our church we always like to make you aware of by way of our video announcements. Let's check those out this week.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

Here's a look at what's happening at Grand Park Way Baptist Church. Our 9 a.m. Bible study for adults is beginning a new topic on cultivating a life of prayer. All are welcome to join in. Many of us feel weak and inconsistent in our prayer life. You want to deepen your knowledge of God and security in the gospel so that you don't hesitate to draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the assurance that faith brings. We all want to bring our joys and struggles to our Heavenly Father more freely and naturally. Join us at 9 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall to develop this spiritual habit. Join us today for Community Group. It's a perfect opportunity to meet new friends, share stories, and grow together in faith. There's plenty of groups to choose from if you aren't in one yet. You can view the list on our website under our community group section. Exciting news! Camp registration also opens today. Sign up now to secure your spot for a summer of adventure, friends, and unforgettable memories. It is for 7th through 12th grade students at Mount Lebanon's Retreat and Conference Center from June 24th through the 28th. Finally, are you curious about our upcoming Vermont mission trip? Join us this Wednesday for an informational meeting to find out how you can get involved in this amazing opportunity. You will learn about the trip details, be able to ask questions, and discover how you can make a positive impact. We'd love to see you there. For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at grandparkway.org. If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

SPEAKER_02 43:25

No kids can go on that because they're in school, right? So it's adults only. Can you bring life? Can you stay over for a few days in vacation if you want to after it's over? Now teen off from the United States, Tiger Woods. I'm just saying it's Vermont in the fall, men. Think outside the box, okay? Hey, if you have any questions about anything you heard today, uh, or if you'd like us to pray with you about something, some of our pastors will be available down front. Uh, as we kind of remind you every once in a while, if today's the day you worship God through obedience or generosity when it comes to giving, you can take care of that by the offering boxes by the doors, or you can give online as many people do, okay? Stand to your feet. We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing. Hold your hands out. God is not waiting for you to get still and quiet to teach you something. The noise of this world and the rattle of your life doesn't deter his desire to teach you all you need to know. You just have to listen, trust, and obey. That's when the favor and the joy come down. Depart now into these realities in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Bless you.