Acts 16:9-15
“Yes We Can”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer,
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church,
Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
What were the chances that Jeanne and I would ever meet each other?
Jeanne was born in Arkansas.
I was born in Ohio.
Jeanne grew up in Georgia and Virginia.
I grew up in Kentucky, New Jersey, and Syracuse, New York.
I wouldn’t have met Jeanne and Ben if my first job out of college had not been in Macon, Georgia…
…and I would not have ended up in Macon, Georgia if I hadn’t had so many doors closed elsewhere.
--Cause Macon wasn’t my first pick.
After having been turned down at a number of television stations…
…I packed up my car and drove down the eastern part of the country, stopping in every city that had a television station until I found someone who was willing to hire me.
I was offered my first job at a small t-v station in a place I had never even heard of before—Macon, Georgia.
I had been living a thousand miles away—in Syracuse, New York…
…just about the same distance that Tarsus—where Paul is originally from---is from Philippi…
…minus a few hundred miles.
And here I was in Macon, Georgia.
And even though Jeanne, Ben and I were all living in Macon at the same time, our paths would not have crossed if we had not attended the same church.
And even though we were living in Macon at the same time and attending the same church at the same time…a 2,000 member church…
…our paths would not have crossed if I hadn’t felt the nudge to attend choir practice one night.
And that is strange enough—given the fact that I have never had the desire to sing in a choir, and have no natural musical abilities whatsoever.
But one night I decided to go to choir rehearsal.
I met Jeanne there, and never went back to choir rehearsal again.
A friend of mine, another minister here on the Peninsula District, and I were talking the other night.
He said, “Ken I am so glad that the Holy Spirit brought us together.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well,” said my friend, “If the Holy Spirit had not called both of us into the ministry, and if we had not followed His call…
…then I wouldn’t be blessed to have such a great friendship as yours.”
Then I said, “That is such a nice thing for you to say.”
And my buddy, John LeGault at First United Methodist Church said: “I know. I thought so too.”
And we both had a good laugh.
In our Scripture Lesson for this morning we have Paul, a former Pharisaic Jew and a tent maker, who follows the guidance of the Holy Spirit and ends up being used by God to convert a wealthy business woman in Europe—Lydia—the first European convert to Christianity!
We cannot overstate Paul’s determination!
Apparently, Paul had been staying in Antioch of Pisidia, trying to decide just where he should launch a new mission thrust.
Up to this time, Asia had been the center of civilization, and so Paul and his companions decide that this would be the perfect place to preach the Gospel.
But God had other plans.
He closed the doors, through the Holy Spirit.
Then Paul decided to undertake a northern mission, so they headed northward toward Bithynia.
But once again, the Holy Spirit stopped the plans that Paul was making.
“When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”
So Paul turned and went in the only direction he could—toward Troas, a city that was close to the sea.
And this is where the Holy Spirit opened a major door!
Verses 9 and 10 read: “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, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
As I said, up to this point in time, Asia had been the hub or cradle of civilization—but Europe was soon to take it’s place—not only becoming the hub of civilization, but the center of Christianity as well.
Therefore, the great call of God for Paul and his companions to evangelize Europe is one of the greatest calls in all of human history.
But Paul had to face a great number of closed doors before he was to go to the place God was calling him.
There’s a lesson in this for us.
We should never be discouraged by closed doors.
God is the One Who closes the door, and God is the One Who opens the door to the place where we are to go.
And we all have a place where we are to go.
Every believer is being called by God by the man of Macedonia, or by the man on the street corner, or by the person who lives next door, or by the children who will be attending this summer’s Vacation Bible School…and I could go on and on and on... to “Come over…and help us.”
So what are we gonna do about it?
Will we choose destiny or defeat?
What are the gifts, talents, and resources that God has given you, and are you taking advantage of them?
The gifts and talents that God has given to us are God’s investment in us, and God expects a return on His investment.
If we do not use our gifts and talents for the kingdom of God, we are committing a grave sin!
Perhaps you have the financial means to help out your church, but you have been holding back.
Maybe you have the gift of gab, but are you using this gift to tell others about the great salvation which is found only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
Perhaps you have the gift of hospitality, but are you seeking to see Jesus in others…are you using your gift to invite strangers to come to church?
Will you be one of the ones to whom Jesus says: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world…I was a stranger and you invited me in …”?
What did Lydia do after the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message?
Did Paul the tent maker and Lydia the dealer in purple cloth decide to join forces and make purple tents?
No.
Lydia used her gift of hospitality and invited her new brothers in Christ to her home.
Then, she used her financial gifts God gave her to start a new church—the church in Philippi.
God brought Paul and Lydia together at a specific time and in a specific place for a specific purpose.
And God has brought us together here for a specific purpose.
What doors did the Holy Spirit have to close and then open before we allowed God to open our hearts and accept the message of His saving grace?
What doors did the Holy Spirit have to open and close in order for us to be gathered together as the body of Christ at Parkview United Methodist Church?
We are all here for a reason—for a purpose—a good purpose—the greatest purpose of all—to build each other up, by using the gifts and the talents and resources God has given each and every one of us—and to reach out to a world which is lost and hurting because it has not yet had it’s heart opened to the Savior—Jesus Christ our Lord!
So, I ask, are we doing what God is calling us to do?
As we reflect on Paul’s journeys, perhaps we will say with admiration, “I would love to have that kind of determination, but whenever I get ambitious, it does not take long for laziness and discouragement to squelch my drive.”
Well, it may comfort us to know that Paul was no Superman.
He was human and had the same weaknesses as the rest of us.
I’m sure there were days when Paul felt like quitting. Yet Paul knew that God had given him all the resources he needed to succeed.
Why else would he have proclaimed to the Philippian church, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”?
And we are no different.
What freedom!
What power!
What joy!
What opportunity!!!
We can collectively and individually do all things that God is calling for us to do…through the leading and power of Jesus Christ!!!
We can preach the Word to our community.
We can start a revival in Hampton Roads.
We can be used to bring others to Christ.
We can be a church which is on fire for the Lord!!!
We can make a real BIG difference in this world of ours.
Are we ready? Are we willing?
The apostle Paul had plenty of enemies who did everything they could to intimidate him.
His critics within the Church insulted him.
The Jewish leaders slandered him.
The government authorities threatened and physically tortured him.
But Paul was not buying.
And neither should we!
Can we do it? Yes we can!
Through Christ Who strengthens us, Yes we can!!!
Let us pray: Father, we thank you for the gift of Your Holy Spirit Who shows us what we should be doing by opening and closing doors. Enable us to be very attentive to His leading, and give us the determination to do what You would have us do with our lives through and for Christ Jesus our Lord! Amen.
