Active Obedience

>>Good evening. I would say that I'm a bit nervous with the pastor sitting in the front row, but I've already brought God's Word once before with Pastor Chris in attendance, so I think I'll be a little less nervous this time. So, Psalm 117 says this, "Praise the Lord, all nations. Glorify Him all peoples, for His faithful love to us is great. The Lord's faithfulness endures forever." Hallelujah. The glory of His name. This is why He calls us. This is why we come together. This is why we give our lives to Him. This is why He sent His one and only begotten Son. This is why we strive to be obedient to Him, the glory of His name.

This evening we will look at a passage out of Acts 16. We will also look at a passage out of Acts 22. We will be there first if you want to mark that. But we will really camp out in Acts 16. My prayer this evening is that as God has sort of been leading me in this Scripture, Acts 13-16 and wrestling with me and working things out in my life, I pray that this speaks to everyone here this evening. I hope what we see is an individual, Paul, that was sold out for God. I think that's what you'll see. Completely surrendered and obedient to Him. Living out the gospel change that has overturned His life.

This will be a very practical message, maybe even parts of it sort of testimonial, maybe similar to Pastor Chris's message Sunday evening. So again, my prayer the last few days as I was preparing for this is that we apply what we hear this evening from God's Word to our lives. My prayer is that we will decide to live our lives in active obedience to God, active obedience to God. So much so, this has been a prayer for me, so much so that we would remain restless and uneasy until we fully surrender and become obedient to Him all for His glory. So, a little background. I would like to start in Acts chapter 22.

Paul, we have an account of Paul's testimony in Acts chapter 22. I would like to read through that before we really camp out and dive into Acts chapter 16. So, Acts chapter 22 starting in verse 6, we have this account of Paul's testimony. Starting in verse 6, "As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.

And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. And since I could not see because of all the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him." Verse 14, "And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the righteous one, and to hear a voice from his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now, why do you wait?

Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another, I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen, your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over all the garments of those who killed him.

And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" In Paul's testimony, I believe that we have an example of how a believer should respond to Jesus when he calls us to himself and saves us. While Paul was traveling near Damascus, Jesus confronted him, and we see Paul first seek out what he should do right away. We see that in verse 10. Verse 10, "And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'" See, the Lord tells Paul what he should do, and get this, Paul does it. Paul does it. Very simple. Paul does it.

Without excuse, even though he couldn't see. Look at verse 11, "And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus." This leads Paul to Ananias who then tells Paul that he has been appointed to know God's will, see the righteous one, and hear his voice. We see that in verse 14. Ananias proceeds to tell Paul not to delay, but instead to get up. So Paul gets up. We see the Lord instruct Paul to leave Jerusalem in verse 18. He tells Paul to go in verse 21, and that he would be sent far away to the Gentiles. The rest is history. But don't miss this.

Verse 21, "And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" Don't miss this church. It was God who sent Paul. God sent Paul. This was God's plan for Paul, not Paul's plan for Paul. It was God's plan. God called Paul, and Paul was simply obedient. He was simply obedient. See, this starts with God's will, knowing God's will. As Paul was actively obedient, God continued to reveal his purpose and his plan for Paul's life. I believe that the majority of us want God to show us his will for our lives. We desire to know God's will for our lives.

The awesome thing is God has revealed his general will, our universal purpose for every believer to each one of us. It's a twofold call, if you will, known as the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. The Great Commandment, Matthew chapter 22 verses 34 through 40, "But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" This is the first and the great commandment.

"And a second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." The Great Commission, Matthew 28, 16 through 20, "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." I know these two passages are very familiar to everyone sitting here this evening. But here's where the rubber meets the road. How are you doing with your general calling? With your universal purpose? See, it is time for us to stop sitting back and asking, "What is God's will for me, for my life?" and start actively living in His will. It's easy for us to act as if the universe revolves around you or me. But the truth is it revolves around Him. And it is up to us to be actively obedient in order to align ourselves with His plan for us.

For that to happen, we have to be actively obedient. You know, this is something that I've been thinking about and wrestling with. Think about this with me for a minute. How can God trust us or trust me with what's next if He cannot trust me or us with what's right now? With what is right in front of us, what He's already made plain to us and called us to. How can He trust us with what's next if He cannot trust us with what's right now? The one truth I want to establish from this evening's sermon is this. As we walk with God, He directs the details of our lives for the accomplishment of His will and the spread of His glory.

Let me say that again. As we walk with God, He directs the details of our lives for the accomplishment of His will and the spread of His glory. So, let's look at our passage. Acts chapter 16. We will pick up in verse 6 and we will read through verse 15. It will be a block of Scripture or chunk of Scripture here, but we will read through it and then we will sort of unpack it a little. So, Acts chapter 16 starting in verse 6 through verse 15. "And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

And when they had come up to Mesia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Mesia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them. Verse 11.

"So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days, and on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we suppose there was a place of prayer. And we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. So the first of four sort of statements are truths I would like to derive from this passage. The first one, Paul was going. Paul was going. Acts chapter 16, verses 6 and 7. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Messia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So just a little context here.

So first, when we see that word "they," that refers to Paul, Silas, and Timothy. This is Paul's second mission trip. If you study sort of from Acts 13 through 16, you will see that back in Acts chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas were sent by the church in Antioch on their first mission trip. Now, this mission trip was successful. They went out. They come back to Antioch, and they give a report of that trip, and then they decide that maybe it's time to go out and strengthen the brethren. Well, as they prepare to go back out, Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement, a disagreement over who was going to join them on the mission trip.

This can be seen at the, toward the end of Acts chapter 15. Barnabas wanted to bring along John Mark. John Mark had not completed the first mission trip. I guess maybe Paul took offense to that or thought it was not a good idea. So Paul went his way, Barnabas went his way. Along the way, Paul brought along Silas, and they recruited Timothy at the beginning of Acts chapter 16. So that's just a little context on what's taking place here. But we see again, just like we saw in Acts chapter 13, here in Acts chapter 16, Paul was going. I believe that Paul took his general calling serious.

He was serious about the great commandment and the great commission. He wasn't sitting back just waiting on God to reveal his will to him. He was actively going, being obedient and trusting that God would direct his steps as he went. And God did just that. We see in verse six that the Holy Spirit prevents Paul from speaking in Frasier and Galatia. We see in verse seven that God prevented them from going into Bithynia. Paul was obedient and God directed his path toward his will for Paul. God's providence is at play all over this passage. But it started with active obedience and then God went to work.

The second thing we see, God revealed his plan to Paul while Paul was being actively obedient. Acts chapter 16 verses 8 through 10. So passing by Messiah, they went down to Troas and they vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia was standing there urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So as we saw in verses six and seven, God closed the door twice on Paul and directed Paul toward his plan.

Paul is going because of his desire to accomplish and fulfill God's will for his life. I believe that, but catch this. I believe this as well. God desires for his will to be accomplished in our lives more than we do. God desires for his will to be accomplished in our lives more than we do. He wants us to live in his will because that is where we find the fullness of life right at the center of God's will. But for this to happen, we must be actively obedient. See, God can work through obedient hearts. As Paul was obedient, God directed Paul to Troas, which led to Paul's vision of the Macedonia man.

In that moment, God's will became clear to Paul, crystal clear to Paul and Paul responded. That brings us to the third truth. Paul responded immediately to God's call. Paul responded immediately to God's call. Acts chapter 16 verse 10. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Paul responded immediately to God's call on his life because he was actively living out God's general will for his life. Paul knew God's calling once it was revealed to him. He was seeking the Lord's will. He was living in obedience to God.

So following this vision, he knew this was God's plan. He did not doubt. He was seeking where to go. He was looking for direction and then bam, God gave it to him. God made it clear to him. See, Paul did not take at this point, Paul did not take a day, a week, a month, a year to pray about. Paul was actively living in obedience. He saw this. He knew it was clear to him. So he responded and went immediately to Macedonia. Through his obedience, the church in Philippi was born and great fruit was produced. Brings us to truth number four. Through Paul's active obedience, God connected the dots and fruit was produced.

Acts chapter 16 verses 11 through 15. So setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace and 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 the city some days and on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside where we suppose there was a place of prayer and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

And after she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. Notice in verse 12, notice how it says that they stayed there a number of days, a number of days. Perhaps nothing happened right away. Maybe I am reading a little too much into the text, but perhaps nothing happened right away. The text says they stayed there a number of days. What I find interesting about that is, see Paul did not leave his assignment.

They stayed there a number of days, I'm sure, anticipating eagerly awaiting for God to open that next door or show them what was next, reveal to them what was next. Paul did not leave his assignment. He knew God had called him to this place. So on this particular Sabbath, they go down to an apparent place of prayer and there they meet Lydia. Verse 14, "One who had heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira who was a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul." See verse 14 says that the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was teaching and she believed. In verse 15, the Bible tells us that her and her father was baptized. The church in Philippi is born right here in Lydia's home. It becomes an early New Testament church that thrives. They loved Paul and were dearly loved by Paul, right? Pastor Chris has been teaching through Philippians. See, God did all this. God connected all these dots through Paul's simple act of obedience. Remember the truth that we take away from this passage.

As we walk with God, he directs the details of our lives for the accomplishment of his will and the spread of his glory. See, God did all this. God did all this, not Paul. Paul was simply actively obedient. As he walked with God, God directed Paul's steps toward his will for Paul's life. From keeping Paul from speaking in Phrygia and Galatia to leading Paul to Macedonia and Philippi, then opening Lydia's heart after hearing Paul's message. God did all this through Paul's simple obedience. And through that, God was glorified and the glory of his name spread. There's a lot of history in this passage, a lot of history behind this text.

Many believe or would argue that we have the gospel here today because of God's providence in this passage. Because the direction Paul wanted to go perhaps would not have brought the gospel to the continent of Europe. It's amazing to see how God can work through obedient hearts and the impact that can have for his glory. So as I think about this, here's the challenge for you and me this evening. First, if you are not a believer, maybe God has been dealing with you. Maybe he is drawing you this very evening. Please know that he created you with purpose and he does have an amazing plan for your life. He doesn't make mistakes.

Therefore, you are not a mistake, my friend. If you want to find purpose and direction for your life, lean into him if he is drawing you right now. The fullness of life is not found in cultural movements or in your participation in charitable organizations. That is not where the fullness of life is found. The fullness of life is not found in your earthly relationships or by how many social media followers and likes you have. The fullness of life can only be found at the center of God's will for you. Secondly, if you are a believer, ask yourself this question. It's a question I've been wrestling with. Am I actively obedient?

Am I actively obedient? Let me throw something at you this evening. Which one of these are you like? Are you closest to? Which one of these describes you best? Are you, am I, a couch potato? A couch potato. See, a couch potato is a person who spends little or no time exercising and a great deal of time watching television. A couch potato is best described or summarized as someone who is considered to be lazy. Are you a lazy believer this evening? Are you a lazy believer this evening? Maybe this one best describes you. Are you, am I, a weekly gym rat? A weekly gym rat. See, a gym rat is someone who spends all of their leisure time working out.

Some would refer to a gym rat as an addict. What's interesting is a gym rat spends all of this time in the gym developing muscle, getting fit, but will likely never use the muscle or need the muscle for anything significant. This would be the believer that attends church faithfully every week, makes it to every small group, supports every church function, has a lot of head knowledge, however, never puts it to use in any significant way. Are you, am I, a couch potato? A weekly gym rat? Or perhaps you are, I am, an Olympic athlete. Olympic athlete. The Olympics are this year, right, in Tokyo. What do we know about Olympic athletes?

They go through very intense training, 365 days a year, multiple sessions each and every day, all in preparation for that one moment, that one opportunity to perform, which only comes around once every four years. They are ready when the time comes. Remember, Sunday evening, Pastor Chris talked about our window of time. It truly is short. So are you ready? Are you an Olympic athlete? Only you can answer that. Couch potato, gym rat, Olympic athlete, something for us all to consider. But here's what I would tell you. God was serious. God was serious about redeeming you and me, redeeming sinners.

We know that because He gave His very best to redeem sinners. He gave His one and only begotten son for His elect. So I believe it is time that we, that's myself included, get serious about God and start responding to the general calling that He has given to each and every one of us. It starts with obedience to the great commandment and the great commission. Then as God leads you and directs you, respond immediately to the call He has on your life. See, a wise man recently told me that when God calls you, when God has a calling upon your life, whatever that is, that you will find yourself at a ledge, a threshold.

The decision for you and for me to make is will we step over it and trust Him with where He is leading you. So this evening, what is the threshold that God has brought you to? Perhaps it's salvation. Perhaps He's calling you to Himself. He's drawing you to Himself. Perhaps it's church membership. Perhaps it's baptism. Perhaps it's loving lost sinners. Perhaps it's being bolder in sharing your faith. Last thing I'll say, early on in my journey with Christ, God saved me on March 12, 2013 and instantly He did what only God can do. He changed all the desires in my heart, all the desires in my life. I was pretty miserable.

I just remember there was times where even friends would call me and I just wouldn't want to answer the phone. I didn't want to be bothered. I didn't want to talk to people. I had come to a place where I really just didn't care for people, disliked people maybe even, but God quickly transformed that. He took that heart and changed it into a heart of love, a heart of love for people. Instantly, Sarah and I knew I wanted to be consumed by my Savior, by this God and instantly dove in and I'm trying to get all of Him I can. I'm trying to get all of Him that I can.

Quickly things happen and a few months later I find myself at lunch one day with a dear friend of mine who's a pastor, Chet Bajaran. We're eating lunch at Chick-fil-A like all good Christians do. We're eating lunch at Chick-fil-A and I remember I'm sitting there and I'm still very early in this journey and He's telling me about Him and two other guys, Sean Meir and Josh Limus, who are going downtown Houma, Louisiana to this place called the Sugar Bowl Motel. Anything you imagine it is, it probably is, okay? The Sugar Bowl Motel and not the best place to be. And so He's telling me about this and He invites me.

He's like, "Man, why don't you come out and join us at the Sugar Bowl Motel?" And He's saying things like, "You know, we just go out and share the gospel with whoever God brings our way. We love on people. We bring them food. We're building relationships." And I'm like, "Share the gospel? I don't know how to do that." And so anyway, I remember in that moment, I rejected His offer. But God was dealing with me and a few weeks later on a Saturday, they were out there and so we went out, Sarah and I both, and we joined them.

And I remember the first like I show up and just like, "Man, you got this door." And so I knock on the door and I mean this rough cut guy opens the door and he's like, "What?" And I'm like, "I have food for you." And he's like, "I don't want food." And I'm like, "Can I pray for you?" And He just like closed the door. You know, I mean, I remember it was just, it was terrible. But anyway, I'm out there and I'm seeing these guys who just, who love Jesus, who want to live out this general calling in their life, on their life, and it encouraged me. And I instantly got hooked. And so, we're out there.

We're at the Sugar Bowl for a few years and then they sell their property. And so now we're looking for a new place to go. And so we end up at this Section 8 apartment complex, Colonial Village, and we're there for a season and then they change ownership. And then we end up at St. Charles Manor, another Section 8. But all through this, just really difficult, if I can use the word nasty, just nasty ministry, right? I mean, it's just, you're seeing the worst of people. You're seeing God work on some people and bring some people to salvation.

But it's just, it was, it was a, you know, there was many, many seemingly unsuccessful days where we walked away from there going, like, "Why are we doing this?" Right? Then I got involved in prison ministry. I started up a whole prison ministry at Covenant Church in Houma. And then I started leading people on mission trips to New York City. We did that for a few years. I don't know when's the last time you've been to New York City or if you've ever been, but it's the only, only place I've ever been where you walk off the plane, you get into Manhattan and you just sense darkness. It's just a heavy weight of darkness.

And so, again, many, many seemingly unsuccessful days, unsuccessful trips. I remember that first trip to New York City coming back and the church is anxiously awaiting a report. And I'm like, "No one came to, came to faith in Christ." And everybody's looking at me like, "Well, what's wrong with you? Like, what, what didn't you do right?" And I'm like, "Nobody came to Christ." Like, we were lucky if we could slow someone down to shake a hand and don't try and shake hands with people in New York because that offends them. So, I mean, it was brutal, brutal times. But here's, here's what God taught me through that.

And here's what He's been reminding me of as of late. And I want to leave us with this and then I'll close and pray. I believe this. It is not about how successful we are, but rather it is about how obedient we are. It doesn't matter if one comes to Christ. It doesn't matter that, that's up to God. He does that work. We are responsible for our obedience, not the success of the ministry or the success of what we're doing. We are only responsible for our obedience. See, in other words, God does not need us to be successful. He simply wants us to be obedient. He doesn't need us to be successful. He simply wants us to be obedient.

Father God in the great and powerful name of Jesus.