Live Like Lydia

I'm going to invite you all to return to your seats. Just give me a moment here to speak about today. He was already introduced about what we're here to do. We are here to celebrate two wonderful young ladies, Audrey and Gabriella. We honor you. We are so proud of you for all of your accomplishments. We honor these families because they did not raise themselves. We are so thankful. If you talk to either one of these young ladies, you know that they are driven. You know that they have plans. You know that they're going to succeed and excel and do all sorts of wonderful things. You know that about them. But if you talk to them for very long, you also know that they have a call of the Lord on their lives and that God has a plan for them. And it's that that I want to speak about today. But I want all of APC to hear me. While yes, this is a geared service. The word of the Lord is for everybody.

The word of the Lord, the truth that it is, the truth that it contains is for everybody. And I think God does all things well. And so you, if you will give the word of the Lord your ear this morning, I believe God is going to continue what he's done already. He's going to strengthen you. He's going to strengthen you. Amen.

I want to begin, and you'll have to forgive me for this worldly reference, but does anybody remember the campaign slogan, Be Like Mike? Anybody remember that? Some people are giving their age away. It's all right. Yeah. Anybody remember Be like Mike? Yeah. This was a reference to the great basketball player Michael Jordan. And there was a huge campaign ad, Be Like Mike. And when a ride tell you it worked, people are still wearing his shoes today because they think by putting on his shoes, all of a sudden you can shoot a mid-range jump shot over three defenders with your eyes closed or you can dunk on six people and there's only five people on their team, right? You think that this happens? People bought his jerseys. People, man, they they wanted to be Michael Jordan, all six foot six of them, y'all. I'm 5'10. Like what? I couldn't be like Mike. Okay. But the campaign ad worked. It worked. Everybody wanted to be like him.

And so I I want to steal I want to steal a bit of that campaign ad, not to talk about the uh worldly role model of Michael Jordan, although he's a great basketball player, but I want to borrow this idea of living like someone else in order to live a good life that honors God. And I want to point our eyes to another role model. This is a woman from the first century by the name of Lydia. We encounter in the book of Acts, chapter 16. And I want to I just want to preach this slogan to you. All right. I want us all Audrey, Gabriella, all of APC. I want us to live like Lydia. I want us to live like Lydia.

Now, I've got to start my story where the the Bible starts in Acts 16 when Paul wants to go to Asia. He wants to go be a missionary to Asia, preach the gospel there. But he was literally prevented by the spirit of Jesus. Listen to what it says in Acts 16:6-7. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Fijia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Messia, they tried to enter Bethnia, but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Instead of allowing Paul and his companions to preach in Asia in the places that he thought were the right place, Paul was redirected through a vision in the night of a man from Macedonia. It says in verse 9, "During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.

I love this. Concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. If you have a supernatural vision of God saying or a man saying, "Come do this." Yeah, I might have some suspicions that God is involved. But here is a really cool uh truth that begins to unravel early in the story or unfold early in the story and that is that God had a unique plan and it was a good plan. It was in fact the best plan even if it didn't make sense initially to the Apostle Paul and maybe he wanted to really go to Asia but he settled for Macedonia. Maybe it didn't make sense to him but as we'll see God was working all things for his good at the end of the day. God was working behind the scenes to accomplish something greater. And look what happens. Paul obeys God and he goes to Macedonia instead. And they immediately encounter a woman, the subject of our discussion this morning. Encounter a woman by the name of Lydia who is from Thotyra.

And if you didn't know this, that is a city in Asia Minor. The very place that Paul originally wanted to go preach the gospel. His first encounter is with a woman from there after being told he could not go. And her name is is fun. It carries a lot of significance. I think it's the way that scriptur is trying to get us to pay attention to Lydia because Thotyro was in the greater Roman province connected to the district of Lydia. And so she quite literally was Lydia of Lydia. That's pretty cool. I could move to right city and I'd be right from right. Come on. So quite literally she's Lydia of lead. Other words, scriptur is trying to help us understand Lydia is important. Lydia is special. Something is special about this woman that the Apostle Paul and company encounter. And so I want to just take notice of her today. I want to look at her characteristics.

I want to look at her behaviors that cause me to call this church and our two wonderful graduates to live like Lydia. The story goes as they enter Macedonia. Starting in verse 13, it says, "On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate to the river where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thotyra named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message."

First, what I want to note is that when the Apostle Paul and company go to the place of prayer, Lydia is already there. Lydia is already at the place of prayer. And I love that. It's like if pastor shows up and someone's already here, first, how did they get in? Second, that's a testimony. They're already at a place of prayer. And what's cool about this is they actually lab scripture labels her as a worshshiper of God. She is a faithful worshshiper of God. She's at a place of prayer. In other words, Lydia Lydia had a heart that was open toward God. Not just in word, not just saying, "Yeah, I love the Lord. Jesus is my best friend." But indeed, she was at a place of prayer. Not only was she at a place of prayer, but she's at a place of prayer that was roughly 250 miles away from her home. And Thotyra, why in the world is she 250 miles away from home to go to a place of prayer? Well, scripture tells us, gives us a hint.

Tells us that she's a seller of purple. Now, in the ancient world, this is a lucrative business. Purple was hard to make. You had to travel into the mountains and find this one purple flower and crush it and make it into a dye. It's normally associated with like royalty. Does anybody have purple on? Oh, yeah. We got Brother Kard. He's just letting us know. Yeah, purple is a sign of royalty. It's a beautiful color. It's expensive. And so, Lydia probably was involved in a lucrative business. And so the fact that she's so far away maybe means that she was likely away on business working to provide for herself and her household. Nevertheless, while away on business, she made space and time for God. Even though she's trying to provide for her earthly needs for her and her family, trying to manage all this, she made space for God and she was at a place of prayer.

And what's really cool as we read the story is that Lydia's faithfulness is rewarded because while Paul and company were preaching and teaching the gospel, scripture simply says this, "The Lord opened her heart to respond to what the Apostle Paul was preaching." If I could say it this way, Lydia had already positioned her life in such a way that God found no resistance in Lydia. When the word began to be preached, it simply says her heart was turned. God didn't have to go in and and work strings and pull levers and try to get everything get to get going. No, he didn't have to grease the wheels. Lydia was ready because her life was positioned in such a way that there was no resistance in her toward God. Y'all, we ought to live like Lydia. We ought to have no resistance when the Lord tries to work and move in our life.

When the Lord tries to direct us or strengthen us or call us, we should say, "All right, yes and amen." And better than that, we should already be in a place of prayer saying, "God, whatever you want, I'm here for it. However you want to lead me, I'm here for it." We ought to live like Lydia.

And notice how fully she responds. And how quickly, not just fully, but how quickly, it says in verse 15, "When she and the members of her household were baptized, it's the next line." The next line is, "And when she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us, meaning the apostles in company, to her home. And she said, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us. Meaning, she worked on the Apostle Paul and the people with him and said, "Listen, you just baptized me. You just told me that I'm saved. You just told me that I'm a part of the kingdom of God. Now, you better show up to my house and tell me how to do this thing. Just begin to persuade the Apostle Paul." Eventually, they give in and they show up. Now, I I want you to notice something. That next line, she and her whole family were baptized. That means one of two things, okay?

Either it means she already had her family with her at the place of prayer. This is like old school get over it. You're going to church. It's either that sort of thing. They're already at the place of prayer. Or it means that she immediately had to go and find her family and say, "Y'all, you will never believe what I just experienced it. And by God, you are going to experience it, too." Either way, whatever the story, whether the family's already there or she's got to go find him, it means that she took God's offer of love and relationship seriously, she took it so seriously that she did not let it stop with her. She wasn't content that she had experienced God's goodness, but she made sure that she could bring it home with her. And not only did she offer a one moment of time or salvation, one moment experience of salvation to her family, but she persuades the apostolic ministry and message to come into her home.

She says, "Yeah, that's great. I I experienced God. I was saved, but now I need an entire life overhaul where I know how to live life for the Lord for the Lord in a way that pleases him." So, she literally invited the apostles and company, however many that was at the time, into her home likely for disciplehip. She didn't just want a Sunday encounter with God. She wanted an everyday walk with God where she knew how to worship him, where she knew how to pray, where she knew how to please him and do things that align with his kingdom. She responded quickly and she responded fully with her entire life. She was serious about experience, but also about how to follow God. Now, what's interesting is here's Paul's first convert, Lydia of Lydia. But the first convert of Macedonia doesn't really match Paul's vision. So, Paul had a vision of one, a Macedonian, and then two, a Macedonian man.

And last time I checked, Lydia is neither of those things. She's neither a Macedonian nor is she a Macedonian man. So what in the world is going on? And I'm going to answer that as the story unfolds. But let's follow Acts 16 because I think it's going to help us.

What becomes clear at this point is that Paul's got to continue his ministry. The vision isn't fulfilled yet in Macedonia. So only a few verses later, Paul encounters another woman at the same place of prayer. He's going back to the same place. It worked last time. Let's do it again. He encounters another woman. This time, not Lydia. Um, this time a spirit-possessed woman. Um, who could tell the future, who had spiritual insight, who had some kind of supernatural power within her. Um, not godly power. This would have been demonic power, but it's still power nonetheless. And I only want to note a few things for the scene because it helps us move forward in the story. First, this woman correctly identifies the Apostle Paul and those he was traveling with.

says in Acts 16:17, "She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, "These men are servants of the most high God who are telling you the way to be saved." I want you to notice that even the spirit, the demonic spirit, recognized who the apostles were and what they were preaching. They recognized that these were servants of God Almighty and that their words, that apostolic message that Paul preached and taught was the way, not a way, the way to be saved.

Now, Paul's full teaching and preaching isn't recorded every time in the book of Acts. Whenever he showed sometimes it just says he spoke the word of the Lord to them or he preached the word of God to them. But there are a few times where the full picture of what Paul would have taught appears. And whenever we see those full pictures, we normally see three consistent things among some others. One is repentance. That we ought to turn from our way to God's way and say, "God, whatever you want to do with my life, however you want me to live, I'm saying yes to you and no to me. I'm going to follow you." We also see baptism in Jesus' name by full water immersion. They call the name of Jesus over the individual. And we also see spirit infilling where the spirit of God would literally take up residence in the life of somebody. And as a sign of that happening, they would begin to speak in other tongues. Acts 19 is a great example.

Paul arrives in Ephesus and he meets some disciples there. We're told he meets some disciples. And it says in Acts 19 2-6 says Paul asked them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So when you had faith in Jesus, did did you receive the Holy Ghost? Did you have that experience? And they answered, "No, we we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked them, then what baptism did you receive? Because if you were baptized in Jesus' name, you would have heard about the spirit infilling because they go together. So how then were you baptized? And so they answer, they say, "John's baptism." Notice what Paul says. He says, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance." Check number one. You repented of your way and you want to do it God's way. But then he goes on to talk about God's way. John told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is Jesus.

On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Here we see that Paul clearly believed that salvation involved more than a moment of belief. It starts with the belief we've got to believe in God. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. We've got to believe that he is and that he's the rewarder of those that diligently seek him. It begins with belief. But believing in Jesus often and actually always involves next steps. A full turning towards God, a repentance, a renouncing of your own ways and a turning to God, a baptism and by full immersion in the water, taking on the name of Jesus covenantally onto your life and receiving the spirit of God in your life. This was the consistent apostolic pattern and it is still the pattern today. If you want to hear the way to be saved that the Apostle Paul was preaching that that demonic spirit identified as true, this is how you do it. Repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul would say in his own letters in 1 Corinthians 6:11, he says, "Y'all used to be some nasty things, dirty, rotten heathen pagans. That's what you used to, but when you were saved, here's how it happened. You were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified. How? in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. So even in Paul's letter, he affirms this consistent apostolic preaching. Titus 3:5 says it another way. Paul writing, he says, "He saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." He saved us how? Through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit. What scripture clearly affirms is that when Paul would speak the word of the Lord to people, he was speaking to them this apostolic message that in fact was preached on the first day of the church, the birthday of the church.

In Acts 2, the Apostle Peter preaches what Paul would later affirm in Acts 2:38 and says, "Here's how you're saved. Repent. Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." And as somebody who has personally experienced this wonderful salvation in my life, I want to say, "Thank you, God." I want to say, "Thank you, Jesus, for your name in baptism. Thank you, Lord, that I can repent and turn away from my way. Thank you, God, that you filled me with your spirit." And in that spirit, there is fullness of joy and strength every day to walk with God. I am so thankful for that. But I also want to say to everybody in this room that if you have not experienced what Paul was preaching and what I am preaching today, you can experience it today. You can repent today and say, "I'm done doing it my way, God.

I'm going to do it your way." You can go down in the waters of baptism and have every last sin washed off your life and washed off your record and you can receive the beautiful spirit of God into your life and it will change everything about you. Oh, I'm convinced your DNA changes when the spirit of God gets a HOLD OF YOU. NOTHING can stay the same because God almighty is living on the inside of you.

Oh, I've got to prove it to you that it's for you. Verse 39 of chapter 2 says this promise, what promise? This promise of salvation, it's for you, those that day. It's for your children. It's for all who are a far off. For all whom the Lord our God will call. And he is calling today again through his word. You can experience what Lydia experienced. We we should live like Lydia. You can experience what everybody in the book of Acts how they responded and exper you can experience that today. And it's powerful. The spirit of God in your life. You might think you got some stuff messed up. The spirit of God is powerful. The name of Jesus is powerful. It can break add addiction. It can break bondage. It can destroy generational curses. It can heal bodies and minds and put families back together. Somebody hear me today. What I'm talking about isn't patty cake Christianity. This is the power of God. This is the salvation of God. It can take.

You know what? If you've ever been healed by God, why don't you wave at me? If you ever were freed from addiction in the name of Jesus, why don't you wave at me? If your body was or your mind was ever put back together, why don't you wave at me? Come on, somebody. This isn't just a ceremony service. This isn't just some cliche preaching that some young gun up here's talking about. This is the power of God. THIS IS THE SAME MESSAGE THAT SAVED MY DRUGADDICTED DAD. It's the same message THAT SAVED MY MOM from an alcoholic's home and then LATER SAVED MY MOM'S MOM FROM THAT ALCOHOLISM. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE POWER OF GOD TODAY. And we OUGHT TO LIVE LIKE LYDIA. WE OUGHT TO RESPOND. WE OUGHT TO APPRECIATE. WE OUGHT TO CELEBRATE. AND WE OUGHT TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. This is God working. This is God working. The name of Jesus is powerful.

In fact, let's return to the story. The scene that continues after it tells us not only who Paul and company are that they're preaching salvation, but listen to verse 18. It says she kept this up. That demonpossessed woman, she kept it up for many days. Paul's a patient man, but eventually it says finally Paul became so annoyed. Y'all, some of us just need to tell some nonsense in our life to buzz off. Is that okay? It's I think it's okay to get a little Holy Ghost annoyed and say, "You know what? I got the name of Jesus. What? Why am I dealing with this?" And so Paul being so annoyed with this woman, he turns around and says to the spirit, not to the woman, turns around and says to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her." At that moment, at that moment, the spirit left her. Notice again Paul's speaking to the spirit with no fear, no panic, no big hub up, no concern over who is more powerful.

He knew who was more powerful. And so he simply called on the name of Jesus and said, "Hey, why don't you GET LOST? HEY, WHY DON'T YOU GET OUT OF HERE?" And immediately that woman was set free.

And so I say to you today, whatever you walked in with today, I I don't really have to know. All I know is it is not stronger THAN JESUS. ALL ALL I KNOW IS THAT THE NAME OF JESUS when it is called over a person and received in faith that thing HAS GOT TO GO. THAT THING HAS GOT TO LEAVE BECAUSE JESUS IS ALL POWERFUL AND WE ARE CALLING ON THE ALMIGHTY AND HE WORKS FOR those that call on him. You may have walked in with bondage or fear or oppression or shame or addiction or brokenness. You can be free today if YOU CALL ON THE NAME OF JESUS AND WE LAY HANDS ON YOU AND CALL THE NAME OF JESUS OVER YOU. You can be free today. Amen. He can work a freedom in your life that you have never experienced and that you would never be able to experience outside of him. Y'all, I am preaching the good news today. I am preaching the apostolic message today. And if we respond fully like Lydia did, it will change everything. It will change everything.

Now, some of y'all might still be wondering, when is the Macedonian man going to appear? See, we've encountered two woman women. One resulting in a conversion benefiting Asia, bless God, and a demon-possessed woman that Paul spoke the name of Jesus. She's delivered. But we still don't fully have answers. But this encounter leads to the answer because the men that owned this demon-possessed woman, they're they're upset because she was making money for them by doing some spiritual tricks, right? She's making money for them and and now she can't do that anymore. So, they get upset and they have Paul and Silas thrown in prison. And I just want to say this scene in Acts 16 is stuff of Pentecostal legend. Y'all, we sing songs about this. This morning I was like, shake the foundations with praise. You know, for some reason that's there's other ones, too, right? I'm just for some re It gets a hold of me. We love it, y'all. We love it.

Scripture, it opens up like about midnight. They're in prison. It says about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Where were they praying and singing hymns to God? Not at the place of prayer by Lydia's Creek, and it's beautiful and wonderful and peaceful, but in prison. And way past my bedtime, about midnight. Y'all, if it's about midnight, something has gone wrong in the right household if I am awake. But about midnight, they begin to pray and sing. Scripture tells us that that there's a great earthquake that begins to shake that prison. And all the prison doors are open. Not just Paul and Silas, but those that were just part of the band, I guess. All the prison doors open. And not only that, all of the shackles, all the bonds that held them in the very prison room, those were broken loose. And God freed them miraculously. Y'all, I love that. in prison, in pain, and chains, God was still being glorified.

And and his response to being glorified is that the prison shakes, the doors fly open, and the chains fall off. I love that kind of preaching that when things aren't going so well, you might be in prison, but if you begin to glorify and praise God, all of a sudden, some prison doors are going to open, some chains are going to fall off, and you're going to live in a freedom and a victory that you did not create on your own, but God did for you. Come on. I love that. I love being Pentecostal. I love being excited about the work of God EVEN AT MIDNIGHT. I LOVE BEING EXCITED ABOUT WHAT GOD CAN DO. WHEN WE BEGIN TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP DESPITE OUR CIRCUMSTANCE, DESPITE WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND US, DESPITE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, WE CAN WORSHIP AND GOD CAN WORK. OH, I LOVE IT.

But if you're going to get excited about that, that's not even the greatest miracle of this scene. It's not even the greatest miracle because you see there was a Roman jailer and he had one job. Make sure the prisoners stay prisoners. And so when he rolls up, I mean there's an earthquake, I'd check, too. When he rolls up, he sees that all the prisoners are gone. He's wondering what in the world is going on. And just scripture tells us he's going to take his own life because Rome was not a nice place to work. If you messed up, they didn't really no mercy. They didn't. So he's like, "You know what? I'm going to end it before they do. We're going to do this." And Paul runs in. Runs in and says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We're still here. Don't Don't do that. Don't do that." And I can't prove this. Okay, I can't prove it. It's not in the text, but I have a feeling.

I have a feeling that in that moment, Paul's running into the room trying to save the jailer from ending it all. I believe that God brought Paul back to that original vision just in his mind. All of a sudden, he sees this Macedonian man. Come help us. And it would have taken faith for Paul to see in that jailer, the man who had just imprisoned them. It would have taken faith for Paul to see in that jailer, the Macedonian man from the vision that just needed help, that just needed the word of God preached to him. But I believe that he did. I believe he saw it. And I believe we're supposed to see it. The scripture records the incredible moment that happens after this. It says in verse 30, he then brought them all out and asked, "Sir, what must I do to be saved?" The Roman jailer knew knew that he needed saving. He said, "Okay, Paul, I I I know why you're here. I know what you've been doing out in Macedonia. I I know all that.

So, why don't you tell me again?" Says, "They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him. summary statement for the fullness of Paul's teaching and preaching. And to all the others in his house, at that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds, and immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them. He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household. Here again, we see the apostolic pattern. Paul tells him, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." You got to believe. Belief matters. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. You got to believe. But Paul doesn't stop there. Says that he spoke the word of the Lord to him. And his immediate response to the word of the Lord is that he was baptized.

And suddenly for us, as we read Acts 16, the vision makes sense. The Macedonian man had finally appeared. And through this moment, the apostolic church in Macedonia takes root.

Now, I want to highlight something cool about this story. There there's a structural arrangement that's going on. Acts 16 starts with this desire to go to Asia and the winning of a convert from there, Lydia. And as we'll see in just a moment, it ends with a return to Lydia in this Asian province. But in the middle between those wings of the story, Paul is involved in a Macedonian mission, a successful Macedonian mission that he didn't even want to be a part of in the first place necessarily. If I could just say simply again, God does all things well. Because while Paul spends the middle of this story obeying and submitting to the Lord's will, building the kingdom of God in Macedonia, God spends the peripheral moments of the narrative working out the desires of Paul to reach Asia through Lydia.

Now, you might be wondering why I've spent spent so much time talking about the middle of the story, especially with a title like live like Lydia. We've spent more time on the demonpossessed woman and on the Roman jailer and all the than Lydia we than Lydia so far. And that's a great question. I'm glad you've asked it because I have an answer. As we'll see in this next verse during those middle portions, this delay that you even feel in the sermon, this delay to return to Lydia when Paul was busy, we find out that Lydia has kept herself busy too. Verse 40 of Acts 16 simply says, "After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them." That's such a little snippet of information, but it tells us so much of why we should live like Lydia. We've already seen that Lydia had a life oriented toward God. She's at a place of prayer.

We see that her life is easily turned more fully toward him. We we see that she responded fully and quickly to the truth. We have seen that she wanted her household to be saved. We we have seen all that. But now we discover another level of commitment because you Lydia was not content just for herself to experience God and his salvation. She wasn't even content for her family alone to experience God and his salvation. But she wanted everybody around her. She wanted everybody she could reach to experience the same thing, too. How do we know that? Well, because when Paul returns to her house, he doesn't simply find a believer. He doesn't even find he doesn't even find just one family of believers. It says that he finds brothers and sisters. That's a Bible way of saying other believers. He finds brothers and sisters at her house. In other words, he finds disciples. If I could say it most forcefully, he finds a church.

While Paul and Silas were busy delivering demonically possessed women and and converting Roman jailers and all these miracles are going on while while all that's happening in the middle of Acts 16, Lydia has been busy. She has used her experience. She has used her resources. She has used her home and her influence to build the kingdom of God in Asia in her own backyard. You know, did that cost her something? You better believe it did. Try inviting a church into your home with all the people problems and all the mess and all the chaos that church work brings. Did it cost her something? You better believe it cost her something. You better believe it was hard. But notice notice Lydia's character did not change. She had always made space for God. She had always made room for God in her life. She had always made kingdom of God a priority. But now she has experienced the truth of God, that apostolic message.

And now she's brought it to another level and said, "I I CAN'T JUST SIT AROUND AND ENJOY the benefits of THIS THING. I I CAN'T BE PLEASED WITH THE FACT THAT I'M SAVED OR THE FACT THAT I'VE EXPERIENCED THE GOODNESS OF GOD. I I'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. I I I'VE GOT TO BUILD GOD'S KINGDOM. I I'VE GOT TO BUILD GOD'S CHURCH." OH, the Apostle Paul, THE THE GREAT APOSTLE, THAT MAKES SENSE. IT IT MAKES SENSE THAT HE WOULD HAVE A SUCCESSFUL MISSION in Macedonia. IT MAKES SENSE THAT HE WOULD DO ALL THE MIRACULOUS THINGS. IT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT HE WAS DOING THAT. OH, BUT at the very same time, at the very same time of that apostolic man ministering in Macedonia, God was using a DEVOTED WOMAN OTHERWISE UNKNOWN TO THE WORLD, NOT UNIQUE, NOT SPECIAL, SIMPLY DEVOTED, SIMPLY OBEDIENT TO GOD. SHE WENT by the NAME OF LYDIA, AND GOD USED her to build the church. We may not all be apostles and we can use that as an excuse sometimes, right?

Well, you know, I'm just here to love God. I'm not the Apostle Paul. Could you be a Lydia? Do you have a house, a place? Do you have some resources? You say, "You know what? I won't buy Starbucks this week. I'm going to buy some Bible studies and I'm going to start teaching this to others. You don't have to be unique or special to be a Lydia. You just have to be obedient. You just have to say, "Yeah, this is worth it. This is what we do. There just needs to be a willingness." And notice what happened. The seller of purple from Asia Minor is enshrined forever in the pages of scripture for simply allowing God to use what she had to build his kingdom.

Now ladies, let me talk to you. Gabrielle Audrey, this church, your families, yourself. I believe that you want to be successful and we want you to be successful. You are driven. You are smart. You are capable. You are gifted. Yes and amen. We've got the best of the best here at APC. I celebrate them for that. But hear me whenever I say you are also called to be women of God like Lydia. You're called to be women who are capable. Yes. Be capable. Be blessed. Be initiative taking. Be be hardworking. Be successful. go and do it all. Yeah. Oh, but make your primary desire the building up of the kingdom of God. Make it your primary option in life to live like Lydia to make room for God always, even when schoolwork piles up. Don't let God be wondering where you been at in the prayer room. Well, God, I had a paper. Live like Lydia. Make room for God. Number two, respond fully to him. I know it might be scary.

I I I know some other of your classmates, maybe even people that are close to you. They might say, "Is it really worth laying that down to pursue kingdom things all that much?" Yes. Yes, it is. Respond fully to to God. Build your entire life around his kingdom. I want to let you know that the church in Thotyra Asia Minor was started and was maintained even into the second century by this woman who just made up their mind, made up that made that decision to serve God completely. Can I say to you, you have no idea what your obedience to God will produce even in your own backyard generations from now if you will simply be obedient to God with what you have and say, "God, whatever it looks like, I'm saying yes." Paul writes to a minister in the first century by the name of Archipus, and he instructs him in this way in Colossians 4:17.

And he says, "And say to Archipus, take heed to the ministry which you've received in the Lord." In other words, pay attention to it. Give it attention. Give it the attention that it is due. Take heed to the ministry you've received in the Lord. Why? That you may fulfill it. So, young ladies, take heed to the call today to live like Lydia. Because if you do, you're going to live the greatest kind of life there is to live. A life lived for the Lord, but you're also going to impact the world in an eternal way and spark revival. Hear me. I I speak this over you. Spark revival in your generation. Won't be me. It's going to be you ladies who say, "I'm going to obey God." And you watch the ripple effect, what God will work through your life.

I'm going to ask these young ladies to join me up here in the front and face the congregation. I'll ask the rest of us all to stand as well. Scripture records a few moments where certain people are set apart and commissioned for the work of God and his kingdom. One of them is found in Acts 13 says, "While they were worshiping the Lord," love that. While they were worshiping, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit set said, "Set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I've called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. They were in a worship service. They heard God call and they responded with a seriousness and they laid hands. In an effort to be apostolic, I I want us to produce that kind of moment this morning. I'm going to ask our leadership team, ministry leaders, youth staff, families to come.

We're going to lay hands on these young ladies. We're going to begin to pray some things over them. This moment is going to be a moment of affirmation, saying as a church body, Gabriella Audrey, we believe in you. Can I get an amen to that? Gabrielle Audrey, we believe in you. We believe that God is going to use you. We believe that God is going to make your way successful in the Lord. But it's also a way, church, not to just say, "Go get them." It's also a way to say, "We are partnering with you." That we are here with you. We're going to pray for you. We're going to encourage you. If if the Lord would lead us, we're going to resource you to follow the Lord. And while we're praying for them, Gabriel, Audrey, you're going to be praying for this church.

You're going to be saying, "God, bless this church." church and it's going to be representative, yes, of this local body, but also just the body of Christ that you are committing to serving right here, right now in this moment. Now, I know this isn't a typical altar call, but I want to note in the book of Acts, these moments of praying for others, commissioning others were often coupled with a move of God where the Lord would step in and he would begin to work in ways and people would respond. There'd be worship. I just want to say I think the Lord can have one of those moments right here and right now. So whether you spend the whole time praying for them and you begin to pray for them in in the spirit, that's fine. Or maybe you say, "God, I pray for them. Yes, but I also want to accept the call today to live like Lydia and make my life completely about the kingdom." That's totally fine.

But I believe if we will respond fully to the call to live like this first century woman who gave God everything, the Lord will hear that call. He will accept that call and he will respond to that call with his presence and his spirit in this place. Can we go to the Lord right now in prayer over these ladies and these families? In the name of Jesus, God, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children. May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children. May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and their children and their children and their children.

May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children. May his presence go before you and behind you and beside you, all around you, within you. He is with you. He is with you in the morning, in the evening, and you're coming. And you're going, you're weeping and rejoicing. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. In the evening, and you're coming and you're going and you're weeping and rejoicing. He's for you. is for you. In the morning, in the evening, and you're coming, and you're going, rejoicing. He's for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He's for you. Is for you. He's for you. Heat. Heat. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Children generation children before you BEHIND YOU AND BESIDE YOU, all around you, within you. is with you. He is with you.

His presence go before you and BEHIND YOU AND BESIDE you and around you and within you. He is with you. He is with your weeping and rejoicing. He is for you. is for you in the morning, in the evening, and you're coming. And you're going to for you for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Amen. Amen. A Amen. Amen. Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

For Lydia, it was a moment of prayer and worship when the Lord, scripture says, opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. This is I feel that same moment a moment of prayer and a moment of worship where the Lord is certainly touching Gabriella and Audrey, but the Lord is touching hearts all over this room today and he is helping us. He is opening our heart to heed the things that we have heard spoken today. I wonder if collectively we could do it another time and just ask the Lord, "Open my heart, Lord." God, if there's any resistance within me, Lord, I give it to you right now in this moment of prayer and in this moment of worship. I heed your word today to the best of my ability. Lord, I ask that you would open my heart and open my mind and my understanding to what you are doing today. The work that you are calling me to do, the ways that you are aligning my life with you and with your purpose.

God, open my heart, open my mind that I would live aligned with you, living like Lydia in Jesus' name. in Jesus name. There's a witness of his spirit here today. And because we are apostolic, we are built on the spirit, but we are also built on the word of the Lord. The spirit and the word. And you uh Gabriella and Audrey

are being gifted a Bible. It is a journaling study Bible. Because this isn't just something we read and we check it off, but we interact with it and we write down what we feel like the Lord is saying to us or drawing out of us. So, Gabriella and Andre, you have been presented with a Bible. It is God's very word. It's given to us as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. This is a road map for every road your lives will travel. So let it guide you in times of uncertainty and in moments of pain. Let it map your way through dark trials and days of confusion. Let it guide you through the storms of life and on unfamiliar territory. Allow it to get you back on track when you've lost your way. Let his word lead you and make your way plain. And just as his word is mapped for direction, it's also a textbook of instruction. And of all the textbooks you'll have, be sure to read this one the most.

Because of all the textbooks you'll have, only this one is the source of all truth. Of all the textbooks you'll have, study this one the most. Of all the textbooks you'll have, let this one define your morals. Of all the textbooks you'll have, let this one shape your thinking and your opinions, your worldview, and your philosophies. Of all the textbooks you'll have, this one will cost you the most. But don't ever deny to pay the price. It may ask things of you you didn't know you had in you to give. And when life tests your faith and your beliefs, of all the textbooks you'll have, this one has the answers. Don't stop believing its doctrines, having faith in its promises, and living its principles. Because of all the textbooks you'll have, this one is authored by the God who loves you.

The God who said, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you a future and a hope." Can we thank the Lord for his word and its guiding principles in our lives? Jesus, thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.