May 14, 2006

The Rest of the Story

The Heart of the Community

Acts 16:11-15

Opening Words: Did you know that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written to the same person? Both literary works are written to a person named Theophilus. The name means lover of God. Biblical scholars are divided on who was Theophilus? Was he an individual named Theophilus or was he a personification of anyone who loved God? (It is like Uncle Sam in the United States. He represents us all.) That name Theophilus acts as a great bridge between these two literary masterpieces. Together, they tell one story. Luke tells us about the ministry of Jesus and ends with the resurrection. Acts tells the rest of the story. How those early believers spread the good news of the resurrection and founded the church.

This morning we going to look at sermon number three in a six part sermon series I have called The Rest of the Story. Each one of these sermons is based on a passage from the Book of Acts. They are my favorite stories from this book. Last week we were in the eighth chapter. We found a wonderful model of evangelism in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Today, we are in the sixteenth chapter and find another wonderful model for evangelism in the story of Lydia. Let me call this message The Heart of the Community.

Introduction

While renovating the Washington Monument workers uncovered graffiti from the 1800s. The tone of graffiti from the 1800s was far different from our modern graffiti. It reads:

Whoever is the human instrument under God in the conversion of one soul, erects a monument to his own memory more lofty and enduring than this.

It is signed BFB.

This is my question for you today. How great of a Christian influence do you have on the young people in your life? In the economic times in which we live the question of influence is important. In the past it was family who influenced in the youngest generation. But we live in a time when families are changing. Some family members move away for employment. Other family members move to the south for retirement. Everything is so expensive and our expectations are so high today that both mom and dad are forced to work, not for extras. They are both working to cover the basics. Often young children spend more waking hours at day care center then they do with family. The question of influence grows more complex when you consider the number of broken or mixed families in America. Christianity is no longer the only game in town. Other religions are now becoming part of your family. Let me ask you the question again. How great of a Christian influence do you have on the young people in your life?

Body

On this Mother’s Day we look at one of the great women in the Bible. She was a person of influence. She was the very heart of her community. People looked up to her and people respected her. Getting her approval meant something. She was a person of integrity. Who was she? Her name was Lydia. She is really someone who was special. I marvel at her life because she had perfect balance. She seemed to have it all. First, she had a job. She sold purple cloth from the city of Thyatira. Second, she was a person of means. Anyone who dealt in color purple had money. Third, she had a family. Verse 15 mentions her family. Fourth, she had a spiritual presence. The story tells us she was a worshiper of God. She believed in the existence of a God but still didn’t know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Fifth, she had an influence on the people around her. She and her entire household were baptized.

Lydia was always a person of influence but it wasn’t until this story that she became a Christian influence. It is only at this point in her life that she becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ. In your lives, you are people of influence. Your family, friends and co-workers all care about your opinions. People are quoting you all the time. My question for you today is how great is your Christian influence on your world? My goal today is to enhance your Christian influence. You are a disciple of Jesus Christ! Your world needs you! I am going to do this by talking about two divine truths that separate us our secular world. Both of these truths are illustrated for us in the story of Lydia. So if you influential people are ready to change your attitude say, Amen!”

There is no such thing as a coincidence.

Disciples believe there is no such thing as a coincidence. The world says there is a logical reason for everything. If you look at the text with me this morning it says Paul was in Philippi. On Saturday his little band of followers began to look for a place to worship. They wanted to find a quiet place to pray so they went outside the city gates. The surprise was they were not alone. It was by coincidence that they ran into some women. They began to talk. One of those women was Lydia. A few minutes later she accepts Jesus as her Lord and Savior and is baptized. You tell me. Was the meeting of Paul and Lydia an accident or was the meeting of Paul and Lydia part of the divine plan. Disciples believe there is no such thing as a coincidence.

My favorite quote comes from Kierkegaard. He said, “We live our lives moving forward. However, we only understand our lives when we look back.” When I look back on my life I see God at pivotal moments. The things that have happened to me can not just be coincidence. They must be divine. Let me give you one example.

In the spring of 1986 I was still in seminary. I was within a year of graduation so I was trying to make plans for the future. I had interviewed with several Annual Conferences in United Methodism but no one really wanted me. I had decided to accept the only position that was offered to me, an associate pastor’s position in Cincinnati in the West Ohio Annual Conference. I really wasn’t that excited about that opportunity (I don’t even like the Bengals!) It was suppose to call the District Superintendent in Cincinnati the next day. The day before that phone call I was hurrying to get ready for school. I was running late. I ran out the door of my apartment and jumped in the car. It was at that moment I forgot one of my books. I ran back inside my apartment and at that moment the phone began to ring. I almost didn’t pick it up because I was running late but I did. On the other end of the line was a man named, Abraham Brandyberry. Abe was District Superintendent down in St. Clairsville. He said, “Russ, I am headed to a meeting. Three churches opened up in my district. The truth is they are the worst three churches in my district. For some reason I thought of you. Would you consider coming to my district and working with me? I hate to say this but I need an answer now. I have other names I can call.” I took those three ugly churches and had a wonderful experience with those people.

It was only later I thought about that experience. Was it a coincidence I forgot my book that day, went back into my apartment and answered the phone or was it an accident? That phone call set a chain reaction off in my life. If I had not answered the phone I would not be in East Ohio. If I had not answered that phone I would not have met my wife. If I had not answered the phone I would not had known my children. If I had not had picked up that phone I would not be preaching here and I would have missed this for anything. How many coincidences have changed your life? Disciples believe there is no such thing as a coincidence. The most influential people in my life believed God had a plan for this world and everyone plays a small part in that great plan. That fact motivates me to be a better person. If you believe there is no such thing as a coincidence say, “Amen!”

There is potential in everyone.

Disciples believe there is potential in everyone. The world tells us to play with the cards we are dealt. According to the text Paul told Lydia about Jesus. The Lord opened her heart and she believed. Lydia was a woman who appeared to have it all. Paul saw the potential in her. The problem is some people hide their potential very well.

Ilion Jones once asked, "Who was greater, Thomas A. Edison or his mother? When he was a young lad his teacher sent him home with a note which said, 'Your child is dumb. We can't do anything for him.' Mrs. Edison wrote back, 'You do not understand my boy. I will teach him myself'. I am not an educator but I believe Mrs. Edison did a good job. She saw the potential in her boy that his teacher missed.

When Jesus called the disciples he didn’t just see who they were. He saw who they could become. In the life of the church we don’t see who people are. We need to look at who they can become. Rose Parker, Bill Mottice, Jim Cox, Steve Harper, Abraham Brandyberry and Kathryn Adams have one thing in common. They saw something in me that rest of the world was missing. They didn’t see who I was. They influenced my life because they saw who I could become. In the life of the church we need to stop worrying about whom people are and start worrying about what people can become. And all of God’s influential people said, “Amen!”

Conclusion

It was Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) first suggested the national observance of mothers. The reason was obvious. She had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother's favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother's Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day. Mother’s Day began because one woman realized how great of an influence her mother had on her. How great is your influence on the people around you? How great is the Christian influence on the people around you? And all of God people said, “Amen!”