1112. That's the page number.
So it's great to hear Avian's story this morning. Love to hear that.
But I just had to question the beginning as Avian began. She said, I'm not used to public speaking.
Well, I and my wife travelled with Avian six hours to Derry for a wedding.
And I can say Avian is well used to public speaking. Not a problem at all.
And if you want to take a journey and you don't want it to be boring, take Avian with you.
And she'll supply you with good conversation and lots of goodies as well.
So we're going to read from Acts chapter 16, starting at verse 11. It's a very short account.
True story.
It's the Apostle Paul and some of his companions are travelling.
And they meet a lady called Lydia. So we're going to read from verse 11 through to verse 15.
From Troas, so this is north-west Turkey. From Troas, we put out to sea and sailed straight for Sermothrace,
which was a group of islands in the Mediterranean.
And the next day we went on to Neapolis, which is modern-day Greece.
From there we travelled to Philippi, which was about ten kilometres inland,
a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia.
And we stayed there several days.
On the Sabbath, the holy day for the Jews, we went outside the city gate to the river
where we expected to find a place of prayer or to find people who would gather together to pray.
We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
One of those who was listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia,
a dealer in purple cloth.
And she was a worshipper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home.
If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said,
come and stay at my house.
And she persuaded us.
Well, I'm going to pray and ask God to help us as we look at his word together.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for this true account,
recorded for us, written down for us to read today.
And we pray that you would help us to understand what it's teaching us
and how it applies to us
and that we would respond in a way that is good for us and pleases you.
Amen.
Well, we all love a good news story, don't we?
And that's what we have in this text in our reading this morning.
We meet a lady called Lydia who's heard some good news and it changes her life.
In fact, it's the same good news that Avine has heard and changed her life too.
So three things we're going to look at from this short reading.
We're going to look at a good news message, a heart-opening experience,
and a life-changing response.
So a good news message, a heart-opening experience,
and a life-changing response.
So first, a good news message.
Look at verse 13 with me.
On the Sabbath, Paul and his companions went outside the city gate to the river
where we expected to find a place to pray.
And we sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
I'm sure there was perhaps the usual,
hello, how are you, my name is, what's your name,
where do you come from, what do you do, and so on and so forth.
But there's something specific here, isn't there?
He's speaking to the women.
What was he talking about?
What was his message?
What did he have to share with them?
Well, if we go back just a couple of verses to verse 10,
in the lead-up to this account,
we're told that Paul had a vision.
And we read in verse 10,
after Paul had seen the vision,
we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia,
concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
You see, Paul was not on a lovely big yacht,
on a luxurious Mediterranean holiday,
sailing all around the Greek islands to sun himself.
No, Paul was on a mission,
sent by God,
to preach the gospel.
Now, the gospel is one of those words,
it's a summary term,
for a good news announcement.
A good news announcement.
And there are three things about this gospel message.
First, it's good news,
and not a vice.
The gospel is not religious advice
about how to be a better person.
Every religion in the world gives advice.
You must do this.
You must do that.
You've got to stop doing this,
and stop doing that,
and achieve this.
Well, the gospel is completely the opposite.
It's a good news announcement
that we have been rescued or saved.
So it's a good news announcement,
not advice.
Second, it's good news of salvation.
Look, if I were going out today
and having a walk by the sea
and the wind and the rain
and got blown off into the water,
I would need saving.
That means,
if I stay where I am,
I'm in danger.
I need to be rescued.
Now, the good news message
is that we can be rescued
from the danger we're all in.
You say,
well, Johnny,
what kind of danger am I in?
Is the roof going to suddenly
blow off this building?
No, I hope it's not going to do that.
The Bible actually makes it very clear
what it is.
We're facing God's promised judgment.
Just flick on a page.
I think it'll just be a page in your Bible
to Acts chapter 17.
So that's the big 17
and then the smaller verse 31.
Acts 17 verse 31.
This is a little bit later on
in Paul's travels
as he continued to share
the gospel,
the good news.
So in verse 31 it says,
He,
for he that is God,
has set a day,
and we don't know
when that day will be,
but he has set a day
when he will judge the world
with justice
by the man he has appointed.
Well, who's that?
Who's the man
who's going to judge the world?
Well,
he has given proof of this
to everyone
by raising him
from the dead.
That person is
the Lord Jesus Christ
who is going to judge the world
with justice.
Now that's both a good news thing
because we want justice to be done,
but it's also a danger
because, well,
we too will be judged.
Just look at our world
and our lives
and we can see
that all is not well.
The war in Ukraine
and Gaza,
the fallout
between nations,
the divisions
that remain
on the north
of our islands.
But also,
when we look into
our own lives,
we see breakdown
in our own relationships,
we're selfish
in our attitudes,
we're not at peace,
there's an inner turmoil.
So the problem
isn't always out there.
The problem is
in here,
in my heart.
That's what puts us
in danger.
Listen to what
Avine said.
This is a quote
from her story.
She says,
the problem was
I was bad
and I knew I was bad.
It's not that
I didn't want to be good.
I tried,
but I kept on failing
and I knew
I was not good enough
to go to heaven
on my own merit.
I needed
a saviour.
Avine recognised
she needed a rescuer.
You see,
this world
that we live in
belongs to God.
He made it,
he owns it.
And he wonderfully
made you and I
and made us
the way we are,
unique
and beautiful.
And that means
he owns us
as well.
And God
isn't going to let us
go on ruining
our lives
and the world
in which we live.
He's promised
to come and
bring
justice.
A judgement
that will be
fair and right
and will see us
separated from God
and all that is
good.
But the good news
is that we are
saved,
rescued
from that judgement.
We are rescued
from danger.
Well, how are we
rescued?
Well, the third
point is this.
It's good news
about Jesus.
You see, the good news
message here today
is not
stop being bad,
Avine,
stop being bad
and start being good.
No, it's
a good news
message about
Jesus, our
Saviour,
who's come to
restore our
broken lives
and renew
our disordered
world.
And he is the
one who has
achieved the
salvation for us.
And he's done
it in two ways.
By his death
on the cross
and his
resurrection
from the grave.
He saves us
first by his
death.
when Jesus
died on the
cross,
when he was
nailed to the
cross,
he was taking
the judgement
that we
deserve.
I want you
to imagine
that this
blue covered
book that I
have here
is,
well, let's
take Avine
since Avine's
getting baptised.
This is a
record of
Avine's life.
Everything you
want to know
about Avine
from the moment
she was born
until the day
she dies,
everything is
recorded in
this book.
Fascinating
reading.
It would go
off the shelves,
no problem
at all.
All the good
things Avine
has ever done
are written
down.
Everything she's
ever thought,
anything she's
ever said,
are all here.
All her great
public achievements,
all those medals
that she's won
and all those
plaques for
gymnastics and
everything else,
all there,
all the great
things that she
loves to tell
people about,
but also the
private things,
the things that
nobody else
knows about.
It's a bit
like our
record too,
isn't it?
And it means
that this
record of us
stands between
us and God.
And if God
is going to
judge,
it will be
judged by the
record of our
life and we
will not
stand.
So that's
one book,
I want you to
keep that in
mind.
The second
book is this,
I want you to
imagine that
this orange
covered book
is a record
of the life
of Jesus
Christ.
That everything
Jesus did
and said and
thought is all
recorded here,
from his life
to his death
and beyond,
everything written
down.
All the things
he did as a
child,
in the
carpenter shop
where he
worked with
his father,
as he went
about.
But you know
what, as you
read through
the record of
Jesus' life,
you won't find
one thing
that he ever
said or did
or thought
that was wrong,
that was bad.
Could you
imagine?
I mean, we
look at our
own lives or
maybe you have
children, we
don't have to
tell them to
be naughty.
why is it
that they
just are
naughty?
And why
do I, no
matter how
many times
I'm told,
I'm naughty?
Because I'm
not good, I
have a heart
problem.
So, but
Jesus' life
is perfect.
So that's what
happens on the
cross.
We've got our
life and the
record here and
the life of
Jesus.
And what
happens is
there's an
exchange.
Jesus takes
my record to
himself and
the judgment
falls on him
and he's
punished in my
place.
But more
wonderfully than
that, the
record of
Jesus is
transferred to
my life so
that when God
looks at me,
he sees the
record of
Jesus' life
which is
applied to
my life.
Isn't that
wonderful?
that's why
it's called
a good news
story.
The death
of Jesus
rescues us.
And so does
his resurrection
because when
Jesus died,
he didn't stay
dead, he rose
from the grave
defeating death
and giving
eternal life.
You see, none
of us can
escape death.
One day,
sadly, it will
come to us
all, every one
of us in this
room.
And the
most painful
thing about
death, well
it separates
us from
those we
most love,
our friends
and our
family.
But most
of all, it
separates us
from God.
But Jesus, when
he died, he
was placed in a
grave and
three days later
he was raised
again to life.
He crushed
death to
life, to
death.
He destroyed
death for
us so that
we might
have life
forever.
That is a
good news
message.
A message
of salvation
through
Jesus.
Listen
again to
what Avin
said.
This is a
quote from
her story.
She says,
God sent
his son,
Jesus Christ,
to die on
a cross and
take the
punishment that
I deserved
for my
sins, so
that I
could now
be counted
as holy
and righteous
before God.
So, that
is a good
news
message.
Next, a
heart-opening
experience.
Look at
verse 14
with me
in the
story.
Verse 14.
One of
those listening
to this
great gospel
good news
message was
a woman from
the city of
Thyatira,
which was
back in
Turkey.
Her name
was Lydia,
a dealer in
purple cloth.
Now, purple
cloth was a
very expensive
item.
You had to
have a lot
of money if
you had
purple cloth.
So, in
some ways,
Lydia was a
fashion designer,
a fashion
seller.
So, anything
just, I mean,
look at
Avine in
her designer
fashion today.
That kind
of purple
cloth.
And it
tells us as
well that
Lydia was
a worshipper
of God.
We might
call her a
God-fearing
woman.
Lydia was a
very devout
religious person.
She would
say her
prayers and
she would
do good
things.
She was the
kind of
person where
Lydia never
ever missed
church.
She was
always there.
But here's
the point.
It seems
Lydia didn't
know anything
about Jesus.
In fact,
it seems she
never heard
about Jesus.
But when she
heard the
gospel message
from Paul,
as he taught
it, something
dramatic,
something
extraordinary
took place
in her life.
Do you see
what it was?
Look at the
rest of verse
14.
Look what
happened when
she heard
the message.
The Lord
opened Lydia's
heart to
respond to
Paul's
message.
As the
message was
shared, God
was working
in her life.
God opened
her heart to
believe the
message.
God
is
God
opened.
God
opened, we're
not talking in a
physical sense, but a
spiritual sense.
And it means at least
two things.
If God opens your
heart, it first
means that God
enables you to
see your need of
salvation.
You might
respond and say,
well, Johnny, you
know what, I
don't need
rescued.
If you knew my
life, you would
know that I'm not
really a bad
person.
I live a good
life, I'm
kind to my
friends, I
love my
family.
I'm not
perfect, but I'm
certainly not in the
category of Putin or
the Israeli
commanders.
I'm not like
that.
But look at
Lydia.
Lydia, she
was a worshipper
of God, a
religious person,
very devout.
So if there was
one person who
didn't need
rescued, well, it
has to be Lydia,
doesn't it?
But yet God had
to open up her
heart to see her
need of salvation.
Yes, it's true,
even Lydia, a
good person,
needed to be
saved.
You see, left to
our own
assessment, we
will always think
of ourselves more
highly than we
ought.
We have those
inner arguments,
don't we?
And why is it
that we always
come out on the
right side, and
everybody else is
always wrong?
You see, we need
God to open up
our eyes to
enable us to
see just how
desperate we
need to be
saved.
We need God to
open up our
hearts.
And the second
thing that it
would mean is
that God
enables us to
trust Jesus for
salvation.
Again, we might
respond and say,
well, you might
trust in Jesus,
but I'm going to
trust in me.
Jesus might be
one way, but I'm
sure there's lots
of other ways.
I can manage to
save myself.
We always back
ourselves to
rescue ourselves
out of trouble.
Well, no.
Listen to what
the Apostle
Peter said.
It comes a
little earlier in
Acts.
Speaking about
Jesus, he says,
salvation is
found where?
In no one
else.
For there is
no other name
under heaven
given to
mankind
by which
we must be
saved.
It's only
Jesus.
Left to our
own choice, we
will always
choose someone
else or
something else.
But we need
God to open
up our
hearts to
see that we
need him to
rescue us.
So how can
I, how can
we have the
same experience
as Lydia in
this story?
Well, we need
to ask God to
humbly come
before God and
say to him,
please show me
my need of
salvation.
Enable me to
trust Jesus
for salvation.
Listen again
to Avine's
story.
This is what
she says,
Miraculously,
God still
loved me.
He loved me
so much
that he
wanted to
save me,
so he
did.
Just like
that.
He just
saved her.
You see,
this is all
good news.
God opened
Lydia's heart,
he opened
Avine's heart,
he can open
my heart,
he can open
your heart.
There is not
one person
that God
cannot work
in.
So what are
we going to
do about
all this
good news?
Well,
very quickly,
a life-changing
response.
You see,
all this good
news,
this wonderful
message,
demands a
response from
each one of
us.
For Lydia,
it was a
response that
changed her
life,
and a
response that
Avine is
given that
has changed
her life
too.
But what
are those
responses?
First,
Lydia
believed.
The belief
isn't just
simply a
belief,
oh yeah,
this is
true,
but it
was a
belief in
a person.
Have a
look with
me just a
little bit
later on.
Paul,
the same
chapter,
and verse
30.
Because as
Paul went
about sharing
this good
news,
some people
weren't happy
with him,
and he
ended up in
prison for
talking about
the gospel,
the good
news.
And something
extraordinary
happened.
And the
jailer who
was looking
after them
cries out to
Paul.
Do you see
it at the
end of verse
30?
This is what
he shouts
out.
He said,
Sirs,
what must
I do to
be saved?
And they
replied,
Believe in
the Lord
Jesus,
and you
will be
saved,
you and
your
household.
Then they
spoke the
word of the
Lord to
him,
that is the
gospel,
to all the
others in
the house.
Do you see
that?
What must
I do to
be saved?
Believe in
the Lord
Jesus.
That means
entrusting your
whole life to
Jesus.
It's believing
that you
need him
for salvation.
It's believing
that when
Jesus died,
he died for
me.
It's trusting
that when
Jesus was
raised from
the grave,
he was
raised for
me.
Again,
listen to
Avin.
She says it
so well.
it was
only by
faith in
God's
grace that
I would
be saved.
So I
put my
trust in
my
saviour
Jesus,
who did
what I
could never
do.
Lydia heard
the good
news message
and she
believed.
But there
was one
other response,
wasn't there?
Back to our
story.
She didn't
just believe.
Look at
verse 15.
When she
and the
members of
her household
were
baptised,
she invited
us to
her home.
She was
baptised.
Now,
we need to
be very
clear about
this.
Baptism
is not
something you
do to be
rescued.
So Avin's
going to
go into
that tank
over there
in a
little while.
It's not
going to
save her.
There's
nothing
magical
about
that
water
or
anything
else.
No,
it's an
outward
public
demonstration
of an
inward
reality,
of a
change
that's
taken
place
in
her
life.
It's
a
powerful
picture
of
Avin's
faith
in the
Lord
Jesus.
So in
the
act of
baptism,
two
things
are going
to
happen.
Avin
will
go down
into
the
water
and
as
she
goes
down
into
the
water
she's
declaring
that a
death
has
taken
place
for
her.
Avin
is
announcing
through
her
baptism
that
when
Jesus
died
all
those
years
ago
he
died
for
me.
And
then
second
as
Avin
comes
out
of
the
water
Avin
your
dad
Jim
told
me
to
leave
you
down
a
little
bit
for
a
little
while
but
we
will
bring
you
up
as
we
bring
up
Avin
out
of
the
water
she
is
declaring
that
a
resurrection
has
taken
place
for
her
that
when
Jesus
was
raised
from
the
grave
he
was
raised
for
Avin
you
see
baptism
is
symbolizing
an
end
of
an
old
life
and
the
start
of
a
new
life
Avin
is
saying
I'm
no
longer
going
to
live
for
self
I'm
no
longer
going
to
trust
in
Avin
no
I'm
going
to
live
a
new
life
to
live
for
Jesus
and
I'm
going
to
trust
in
him
remember
the
book
who
has
the
perfect
record
given
to
me
so
I
can
live
for
him
baptism
by
itself
will
not
save
rather
it is
a
wonderful
public
demonstration
to
friends
to
family
to
all
who
are
gathered
of
her
belief
in
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
this
is a
good
news
story
that
has
changed
Avin's
life
no
she's
not
perfect
you heard
her say
she still
messes up
and still
fails
but she's
trusting in
the one
who will
keep her
let me
finish
with a
quote
from
Avin's
story
she says
I fail
every day
but he
that's
God
renews
my
strength
I can
go to
him
and say
sorry
and ask
for
forgiveness
when I
fail
and turn
again to
him
and know
that I
will not
be turned
away
because
my
relationship
with God
is not
dependent
on me
or my
work
but on
Jesus'
death
and
resurrection
this good
news
changed
Lydia's
heart
changed
Avin's
life
and can
change
any one
of us
as we
trust in
him
that
is a
good news
story
amen
let me
pray
father
god
we
thank
you
so
much
for
this
true
account
of
Lydia's
life
and we
thank
you
for the
way
it
reflects
and
mirrors
Avin's
life
thank
you
that
she
got
to
hear
the
good
news
thank
you
for
opening
Avin's
heart
so that
she
could
trust
you
and
thank
you
for
Avin's
response
of
trust
and
of
being
baptised
today
and we
pray that
all of
us
here
may
walk
in the
same
path
and
trust
you
too
we
ask
we
ask
this
in
Avin
is
going
to
get
baptised
in
just
a
few
minutes
and
before
that
happens
we're
going
to
sing
our
final
song
together
again
this
is
one
that
has
been
chosen
by
Avin
if
you
see
the
first
line
there
when
I
fear
my
faith
will
fail
and
the
point
is
we
do
but
the
good
news
is
Christ
will
hold
me
fast
it
for
it
can
it
you