RECEIVE

NEW

LIFE

From Searching to Sharing Acts 16:13-15 And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, 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: 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 ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.	REVIEW Remember that Paul had been begged to come to Macedonia by a man of Macedonia that was just an ordinary inhabitant of the country. Paul, Silas, and Luke had made haste, but where were the men? There was no synagogue of the Jews there. They found out a little meeting of good women. The place of this meeting is out of the city. Those that worship the true God pray together. We have the conversion of Lydia. For such is the worth of souls that the reducing of one to God is a great matter. Nor have we only the conversions that were affected by miracle, as and with Paul’s, but some that were brought about by the ordinary methods of grace, as Lydia’s here. It is an honor to here to have her name recorded in the book of God. If God opens our hearts, we shall find them written in the book of life. She is a seller of purple, not a wearer of purple which signified royalty/wealth. If we have shops to look after, and a trade to mind: have we not also a God to serve and a soul to look after? It is not enough to be worshippers of God, but we must be believers in Jesus Christ. Here, where prayer was made the word was preached. Conversion work is God’s work- He opened her heart. It is in the heart that the change is made. Conversion work is heart work; it is a renewing of the heart. Her heart was so opened that she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul. She applied to herself the things that were spoken by Paul; She gave up her name to Jesus Christ She was baptized, and with her household. She was very kind to the ministers, and desired to be further instructed by them. She constrained us; which intimates that Paul was unwilling to go. But Lydia will have no nay. Are you saved? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? It is as easy as the ABC’s. A=accept/admit. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. B=believe. C=Confess. That is you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. Romans 10:9-10. John’s Witness at Christ’s Baptism The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me. I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I cam baptizing with water.’ And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34
From Spiritual Bondage to Spiritual Freedom Acts 16:16-18 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.	REVIEW The account that is given of this damsel, she was possessed with a spirit of divination. This was a “python spirit” in the Greek language. People superstitiously believed the python symbolized the power of prediction. At the famous Greek religious sanctuary at Delphi, the priestess of Apollo who gave predictions was known as the “Pythia”. The devil still leads people captive by blinding them of God’s truth. Notice that she brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. She met them in the street, as they were going to prayer. How subtle Satan is in taking the opportunity to give us diversion when we are going about any religious exercises, and to put us out of temper when we need to be most composed. Her witness it true. They are the servants of the most high God; they show unto us the way of salvation. Even the heathen had some notion of the miserable deplorable state of mankind, and their need of salvation. The truth is sometimes magnified by the confession of its adversaries, in which they are witnesses against themselves. The devil thought himself sure of diviners, that they would be prejudice against the gospel. Paul soon silences her, by casting the devil out of her. It was a disturbance to him to hear a sacred truth so profaned. Paul, being grieved, as any good man’s heart would be, to hear any good truth of God bawled out in the streets in a canting, jeering way. Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” Power went along with the word of Christ, before which Satan could not stand, but was forced to quit his hold. He came out the same hour.
From Destructive Fear to Joyful Faith Acts 16:25-34 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayer, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.	REVIEW Let us consider Paul and Silas’ case. The many stripes they had laid upon them were very sore, and one might have expected to hear them complaining of them. Yet this was not all; they had reason to fear the axes next. In the meantime they were in the inner prison, their feet in the stocks, which hurt them; and yet, at midnight they prayed and sang praises to God. The prayer was acceptable, out of the depths, we may cry unto God. Yet, they sang praises. They sang so loud, they were heard all the prison over. They were not ashamed of their Master. The prisoners were made to hear the prison songs of Paul and Silas, that they might be prepared for the miraculous favour shown to them all for the sake of Paul and Silas, when the prison doors were thrown open. There was immediately a great earthquake; the very foundations of the prison were shaken. The Lord was in these earthquakes, to show his resentment of the indignities done to his servants. The prison doors were thrown open, and the prisoners’ fetter s were knocked off. Once before, God gave to Paul all those that were in the ship with him. (Acts 27:24), so now He have him all those that were in the prison with him. The keeper of the prison was awaken and he knew Roman law and the terrible death he was liable to for letting his prisoners escape. The jailer thought that there was no harm in anticipating his own death; but Christianity proves itself to be of God by this, that it keeps us to the law of our creating, obliges us to be just to our own lives, and teaches us cheerfully to resign them to our graces, but courageously to hold them out against our corruptions. Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm for we are all here. It was strange that some of them did not slip away, when the prison doors were opened, and they were loosed from their bands. God showed his power in binding their spirits, as much as in loosing their feet. The keeper begins to think where death would have brought him, and what would have become of him on the other side of death. The Spirit of God that was sent to convince, in order to his being a Comforter, struck a terror upon him. He called for a light, and sprang in and came trembling to Paul and Silas. This jailer, when he was thus made to tremble, could not apply to a more proper person than to Paul, for it had once been his own case; he had been once a persecutor of good men, had cast them into prison; and therefore he was able to speak the more feelingly to the jailer. Converting grace changes people’s language. What must I do to be saved? First, his salvation is now his greatest concern, and lies nearest his heart, which before was the furthest thing from his thoughts. Secondly, It is his own precious soul that he is in care about. Thirdly, he is convinced that something must be done. Fourthly, he is willing to do anything. Those who are thoroughly convinced of sin, and truly concerned about their salvation will be glad to have Christ upon his own terms. Fifth, those that set their faces toward Zion must ask the way. Sixth, he brought them out of the dungeon, in hopes they will bring him out of a much worse. They are glad to show him the way to heaven. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Thou shalt be saved. Not only rescued from eternal ruin, but brought to eternal live and blessedness. Though a persecutor, yet thy heinous transgressions shall be all forgiven; and thy hard embittered heart shall be softened and sweetened by the grace of Christ. Be they ever so many, let them believe in Jesus Christ and they shall be saved. The jailer and his family were immediately baptized. He was baptized, he and all his, straightway. The Spirit of grace worked such a strong faith in them, all on a sudden, as superseded further debate; and Paul and Silas knew by the Spirit that it was a work of God that was wrought in them. He rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house. His believing in Christ is called believing in God, which intimates that Christ is God, and that the gospel has a direct tendency to bring us to God. His faith produced joy. Those that by faith have given up themselves to God in Christ as theirs have a great deal of reason to rejoice. Believing in Christ is rejoicing in Christ. He signifies his joy to all about him. One cheerful Christian should make many. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? It is joy and peace beyond words. A man that was recently saved said that he was the happiest that he had ever been and wished he had chosen to believe in Jesus years earlier. Today is the day of salvation! Repent of sin, draw near to God, and have joyful faith. :)