Be Ready! (Acts 16.11-15)
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We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis,
and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.
On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.
When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
Intro:
As we were studying together and discussing this scripture on Tuesday night in our dynamic CFG small groups......
A question arose in the lesson that intrigued me!
(slight pause)
“How might you prepare for the opportunities God will give you this week to share Christ?”
(slight pause)
And the reason this question intrigued me was because of one word in this question.....
.....and that one word was very simply
“Prepare!”
(pause)
Because what i needed to discover at the root of this question was.....
......how do you prepare for opportunities?
And even much greater....
......how do you prepare for a God given opportunity?
(pause)
By definition.....
An Opportunity is....
- A set of circumstances that make it possible to do something.
….and if this question holds any truth…
….we must consider the magnitude of what is at stake in our opportunity rebuild, restore, and reclaim a life through Christ Jesus!
……… because if we genuinely have the opportunity to assist someone in being set free
(pause)
we need to know....
......Are we preparing for your opportunity?
(pause)
Because if we are not careful......
........our lives will become closed to the openess of God in introducing opportunities to us!
(pause)
And I’m not talking about preparedness from a knowledge standpoint
…..I’m talking about being ready from a heart perspective.
(pause)
I cannot tell you how many times God was introducing me to an opportunity...
.......that I didn’t know was coming!
(pause)
Because whether we know it or not.....
God does not need our permission to move!
(slight pause)
And.....
God does not slow down because of our retarded preparedness!
But instead.....
When we are not ready......
....God simply moves past us to find “Readiness” someplace else
(pause)
And there’s nothing more dissapointing than......
......a missed opportunity that you didn’t have to miss!
(pause)
And so I said to God....
Lord....
....show me how to help the people “Be Ready” for our next opportunity to please you!
.....Is there anybody in here that wants to learn how to,
“Be Ready?”
(pause)
And so let’s look at this interaction between Lydia and Paul in this text this morning......
Look at it......
We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.
According to the text....
.......Luke is now recounting the story of Paul’s first visit to Philippi, wheere he establishes a Christian community.
And...
....as we travel on this journey with Paul we find him at this island in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea called “Samothrace”
.....the text says 24 hours later he goes to “Nea - Polis”which means New City…which is the modern day Kavalla
......this new city that Paul is entering is the seaport of Phillipi.
......and Phillipi was a Roman Colony.
Now....
....the reason this is important that this is significant is because Roman colonies were typically very calculated.
Rome planted little groups of army veterans who had completed military service
Their clothes had Roman style
They spoke the Roman language
They used the Roman laws no matter where they were
There was a great sense of Roman pride with all of the citizens in that particular colony.
(pause)
And so.....
In Philippi there was no synagogue as a starting point for the Jews to worship.
But while there was no temple for them....
The text says in verse 13 that they found an opportunity....
(pause)
Look at it now....
On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.
The text says....
while they did not have a temple to worship at on the sabbath.
.......that they found an opportunity to pray down by the riverside!
(pause)
And so....
....instead of throwing their hands up and saying,
“We don’t have a place to worship so we’re going to quit”
they said.....
“Wait, let’s look for another opportunity.....
......even if that means going outside the city limits over by the river to pray to our God!
(pause)
Freedom....the first thing we learn in this text about “Being ready” is.....
Sometimes Opportunity is “Outside”
Outside the box we are thinking in....
Outside the limitations around us......
Outside our comfortable situations......
Outside our level of commitment.....
(pause)
I wonder if....
..........there is an opportunity outside
(slight pause)
......but because some of us are not ready
We keep placing an “Inside” expectation on God and our lives
But God is saying.....
I need you to make a great enough commitment to me with your life..
......that it causes you to do what these women are doing “Outside” the gates down by the river!
(pause)
Look at somebody and holler....
“Go outside!”
(pause and expound)
Watch the text Freedom....
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.
According to Luke......
This woman named Lydia is listening to Paul by the river as he preaches the Gospel...
…and what we find out about her is that,
She is a worshiper
She is a listener of truth
She is a successful business woman
(pause)
And as I watched her life open up in this text......
I noticed something....
(slight pause)
I noticed how......
......she was “READY” to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.
…and so I wanted to know how she prepared for this!
(pause)
The bible says....
“That the Lord Opened her heart to listen eagerly to what Paul said”
(pause)
And when I looked at this i wanted to look at Lydia’s preparation....to be opened
…but notice the Bible doesn’t say God opened her head/mind!
…….because remember earlier I told you being prepared has more to do with our heart than it does our mind!
....and what we find out in Lydia…… is that at the very least
Lydia is open to receive
Lydia is committed to becoming better and more
Lydia is responsive to God
(pause)
And so then I said....
Lord what is at the root of Lydia’s preparedness!
In other words....
What is the cause of these results that position her for this opportunity to receive what God is introducing into her life through Paul’s preaching?
(pause)
Because at the end of the day.....
.....there are some people that are looking for opportunities
......but do they really understand how to prepare?
(pause)
And that’s when the Holy Spirit revelaed Readiness to me........
Because Lydia’s “Readiness”........
........is found in her Fruit!
(slight pause)
And our “Readiness”
......is found in the “Fruits of the Holy Spirit”
The Fruits of the Spirit are....
Love
Kindness
Gentleness
Self Control
Joy
goodness
Peace
Faith
Patience
(pause)
And Freedom.....
These Fruits of the Spirit are what prepares us for the opportunities that God wants to introduce.....
(pause)
And this prayer meeting down by the river is packed with Fruit that is ready to be introduced to greater opportunity!
(pause)
Freedom.....
We cannot Plan in the Secular....
.....until we have Developed in the Spiritual
(pause)
Let me see if I can help you see this.....
How many people have you done business with that were hateful and had no self control?
Now....
How many people have you partnered with that were loving and patient?
(pause)
See.....
......the difference in effectiveness and outcomes goes back to Fruit!
(pause)
Because if our Fruit is ready......
......our opportunities will increase!
......and as our opportunities increase
....it will unlock our gifting!
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination......
I just believe that when we are.....
Patient.....
We are ready for Opportunity
Loving.....
We are ready for Opportunity
Faithful.....
We are ready for Opportunity
(pause)
But on the flip side......
......when we are Impatient
and...
......when we are unkind
and.....
......when we are unfaithful
(slight pause)
We are unprepared for the opportunities that God wants to introduce into our lives......
(pause)
As a matter of fact......
Fruit that goes bad discourages opportunity.
It smells bad
It tastes funny and its not fit to eat
and.....
Fruit that’s not mature has the same effect
the texture is wrong
the taste is bitter
it makes us sick
(pause)
But when the Fruit is “READY!”
The taste is REMARKABLE
The smell is wonderful and attractive
And....
I don’t know about you but I want to “Be Ready” when God introduces me to my opportunity....
......when I walk up on somebody who needs to hear who Jesus Christ is for their life....
I don’t want to have to check my fruit....
I want to “Be ready”
(pause)
And so......
Pastor how do you know Lydia was really ready for this opportunity.....
Here it is.......
Because the bible says in the first part of verse 15
When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
Here it is........
“When she and her household were baptized!”
(pause)
Don’t miss it.......
Lydia’s life is an example for us......
Lydia went outside to get an opportunity that not only transformed her life......
......but because she was ready..
(slight pause)
The bible says that.....
......her entire household received the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
(pause and expound)
And I believe that God is speaking to somebody in here that has an opportunity to impact entire households.....
(pause)
But just like Lydia......
.....you got to “Be Ready!”
And the way we prepare to “Be Ready” is to
Grow in Faith....
Grow in Love.....
Grow in Patience....
(pause)
Here it is.....
When we are “Ready”.......
we have to stop living in our past unreadiness!
(slight pause)
we have to stop speaking in defeated language!
(pause)
Look at what Lydia says in verse 15.
Because paul says,
“She urged us to come and stay at her house saying...
If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord...
…come and stay at my home”
Here it is......
Did you see that Fruit.......?
Because one of the Fruits of the Spirit remember is “Faithfullness”
Lydia says.....
Check my fruit.......
.....and if it’s ready
......Give me another opportunity to show you my gifting of the Holy Spirit!
In other words....
“She extended an Invitation”
(slight pause)
Freedom......
When you know your Fruit is ready........
......stop walking around like you scared of an opportunity!
(pause and optional expound)
And Lydia says......
Paul.....
......make sure I’m faithful!
And then if my Fruit looks right.....
Allow me to show you my gift of hospitality!
(pause)
And the bible says......
“And she prevailed upon us!’
(pause)
Freedom.....
I just got ONE question........
“are you READY to Prevail?”
Because Just like Lydia........
When the Fruit is ready.......
Everyday of our lives.......
we walk with an attitude that says.....
“I can’t wait for my opportunity to “Rebuild” another brother’s life”
“I can’t wait for my opportunity to “Restore” another sister’s life”
“I can’t wait for my opportunity to “Reclaim” another young person’s life”
(pause)
Now......
that I’m ready.......
“Give me my opportunity.....
....to be loving
......to be kind
.....to be faithful
.....to be gentle
.....to be self controllling
.....to be a peacemaker
......to be joyful
(pause)