Seattle Conference, Gospel (16:9)
Gospel—G.H. Hayhoe
Acts chapter again at the nine verse and a vision appeared to fall in the night. There's still a man of Macedonia and prayed him saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, as sure of the gathering that the Lord has called us for the priest, the gospel unto them. And losing some tries, we came with a straight course to sound of Gratia and the next stage in Neapolis and present to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia and a colony. And we were in that city abiding certain days. And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a Riverside where prayer was won't to be made, and we sat down in space under the women which resorted to earth. Have a certain woman named Lydia, a sour purple of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us whose heart the Lord opened, and she appended unto those things which were spoken of Paul. Once he was baptized in her household, she he saw us saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there ashes and sprained up. OK, in the past as we went to prayer a certain woman down local vessel, the spirit of divination met us. Which brought our masters much gain by Tuesday. The second followed all of us and cried, saying, These men are the first of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul being breathed, 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. And when our masters saw that the hope of her games was gone, they caught pawn Silas, and threw them into the marketplace under the ruler, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, were exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe the enrollment. And the mother just rose up together against them, and the magistrates went off their clothes and commanded to be family. And when they have laid many strikes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailers to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast from the stop. And I put my phone files, prayed, and sang praises unto God, And the prisoners heard that. And suddenly there was great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loose. And the keeper of the prison awakening out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew as far as scarlet, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. Paul cried with a loud voice, saying to myself, No harm, so we are all here. Then he calls the lights, and sprang in King Trampling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought the note, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, that thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to Allah through his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed in a strike, and was baptized, he and all his great ways. And when he had brought them in with house, he set me before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his hope. Well, this is a very beautiful and interesting account of the voice of God. This was the first time friends of the Gospel was preached in Europe. The very first time Europe was once in Pagan darkness. And here we find the grace of God bringing that the message of his love to Europe, and we thank him for the many who have been further gospel and been saved. But it doesn't have a very happy beginning. We can see the character of this world displayed against this wonderful message of God's love. And I believe we could say that we have three different classes here. We have one who was a seeker, one who was really desirous to know the way. And Lydia. We have, in the case of that, a young damsel possessed with a spirit of divination. Perhaps we could say a religious person wanted to shout, but one who had no reality in her heart. Who was under the power of Satan, in spite of all that she had to say? And then we see one who as soon as the depths of sin, the jail keeper, and we see he was brought to the Lord. And isn't it lovely, dear friends, to know that God has a message for all different ones?
Know how worst videos when the messages were saved, when Christ is accepted and then his blessing. And so we're seeing that how God has brought the message here to Europe for the first time. Tells us here in the following vision, and in his version saw a man from Macedonia saying come order into Macedonia and help us. Oh, how wonderful a God abackened his servant to come He was. He knew that whatever he went, there were difficulties. He sat in another place. In every city bonds and afflictions abide me about his. Wherever he went with the gospel there was persecution. What urged him on? Why did he go and fight him? All his oppression, all your friends, the heart of God. Still holds out in grace, and perhaps you. Have rejected the gospel many times, but God is patient and in His grace sends it again to you. Seeks to bring us to you tonight if you might be saved. And so Paul gathered with the Lord had called him to go over. You know, man likes to think he is sufficient to himself, but God has a way of making us feel our need. Here's a different means, but as long as we're satisfied with ourselves, we'll never turn to Christ. But God has a way, I say, of making us feel our need of him. And the product on the foreign country is a clear example of this. As long as his pockets were full of money, he had plenty of friends. Without no need of God or his own, but when he had spent all there are roles a mighty famine in that land and he began to be in one. Perhaps there's someone here tonight who spent all you've been allowed to have a big time in the world and generally doesn't satisfy or you know the world wants you for what it can get from you. The Lord wants you for what he can give to you. And someone who spent everything, that's when he comes because he's not asking for something from you, He's wanting to give you something. The Lord Jesus said to that woman in the 4th chapter of John who had truly spent all trying her best to have a good time at the expense of the holiness of God and all that was morally upright. And here she was, had it brought her happiness, how the Lord came to give her something. If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that said unto the beginning to drink, I would have said, I asked the family, and he would have given me living water. Yes, he's a giving God. It could be translated upon who is the free giving of God. Yes, God and the free giving God. I don't know how he delights to bless. And he wants to bless each one here tonight. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When I came over to this place and when we first landed, there didn't seem to be any person there waiting at the Globe to say, well, I'm the man who asked you to come. It says they were in that city abiding. Certain days, you know, the work of God goes on quietly. It's not always something very spectacular. It's not always something that attracts a great deal of public attention. It's it's lovely to think that God works in a very quiet way. I don't suppose there are too many people in Seattle know that there's a gospel meeting going on here tonight. A God is far more interested in this gospel being, and he is in all the grounding plans of men who are thinking of the betterment of this world as scientific progress and all this kind of thing. God is interested in the salvation of souls. I thought it was interesting blessing. And I see your fellow pie. He didn't serve his sermon over to tell him how to put up better buildings and to make more progress scientifically. He's not a servant over there to preach the gospel. What is the gospel? Good news. As we have this afternoon. This world, dear friends, is under judgment. God has pronounced judgment upon us. They don't have a little talk about what color they don't paint it or whether they'll make the states more comfortable. The great cry is to the life bolts, to the life bolts. And for everyone is concerned about safety. And this is the way God looks upon this world. Men may be occupied with painting the ship. Men may be occupied with more comfortable space.
A garden point below faults. God is Queens in the way of the state from a world. That is under his judgment, and tells us the judge has been appointed the day of success, says in Acts 17, the point of the day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man who he has ordained for out he has given assurance unto all men in the hath raised him from the dead. Christ is now of God's right hand. Why hasn't the judgment fallen of God's waiting? That's why he's commanding us to return. He wants you to be saved before the judgment falls. And so he slammed his servant over here, and it quietly remained in the city and at last. You may have heard about this little prayer meeting being held up by the Riverside. And so they went out and nearly found some women gathered together. Boys set out with very insignificant, very unimportant. Was very important to God. It was very important because it was blessing to come to a poor woman who didn't mention. The names of others in my great city of Philippi are forgotten today. I don't suppose it in history there is a single name that was in that city of Philippi that is remembered today. But there is one name in the city of Philippi that will be remembered to all eternity, and that is a woman named Lydia whose heart the Lord opens. And dear friend, your name will be written in a better place. Than the grandest place in earth. Better than having it on the finest. Happens on earth to have your name, recipe and the lamb look of life. Now listen in heaven and the importance of that day was a blessing that came to this woman. I don't suppose as far as she was concerned, it was just by accident. She was there. That wasn't her home. You know, she was a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira. How does she happen to be in Philippi at this time? Allows you happen to be here tonight. Maybe you never climbed it, Saul, that someone asked you to come. You didn't expect to be here, but God brought you here. He brought you here because he wants to bless you. Maybe as far as you're concerned, you're being in Seattle and you're being at this meeting. It's all an accident. It's just something that happened by chance. Not in God's account. It wasn't any chance that Lydia had come down at this particular time to sell her purple cloth. People might say, well, that was a good market for purple cloth, and that's probably why she came. Well, because that is OK. Claude's hand was in it, God's hand was in it, and God brought her down just at that particular time. And he brought you here tonight because he wants you to be blessed. He wants you to be in hell. He wants you to be in. In the Father's house to sing the Savior's praises. And so he was there as far as she was concerned, to sell paper, twinkle flock. As far as God was concerned, she was there and she might be saved. If you might receive the precious Savior. Well, she wants to be different than what she heard. Friend kind of foam silence came to this little prayer meeting and talked to these women by this woman received the message from the Lord. Her heart was once closed, but here her heart was open. Close your heart. Is it close to Christ? Is your heart at this moment close to the Lord Jesus? He knocked off and before. He's still knocking tonight. Is it still shut? Well, this woman's heart was open, and all was blessed and came, and one blessing will come to you when your heart is open to Christ, when the Lord opens and when He comes in, and when He enters your heart cleanses you from sin in His precious blood and becomes your personal Savior. That's what's made the difference with some of us. The same as you, as far as our daily occupation. We have something that engages us, our occupations. But what is the difference between a saved person and a lost one? A weapon has that one has received Christ into his heart, and the other one, his heart is closed to Christ. At this time the harder area was opened and she received Christ. What a moment it was going to that moment come in your life. Can you say as my heart can open, Christ is in my heart, my sins are gone with precious blood. He is my failure or how lovely. Then you can say, well I'm in the same position as Lydia.
My name is written in heaven and Christ is my Savior. What a happy day this. And the results of the soon shot itself. Because when we accept the Lord as our Savior, it's not just something that we can I tell you with consent to. People talk about religion. You've got religion or you haven't got religion. Well, this is not what we're talking about tonight.