Acts 16:9-15

There is a wonderful side and a hateful side in each of us. The hateful side is our fears, our own self interests, our selfish concerns. Psalm 51 records, ‘I was born selfish, in sin did my mother conceive me.’ Now you people are so terrific that I wouldn’t even know about your hateful side without this scripture. But the truth is that its there in all of us. And your close friends and families probably could tell us more about this side and it would be fascinating.

 There is also this wonderful side, especially when you’re dealing with Christians. For God has given us this picture of a wonderful kingdom that is growing like a mustard seed among us. Part of our Christian faith is our dream for a world that lives in peace, where no person goes to bed hungry, where the range between poor and rich does not create hatred or disdain, and where all persons are treated with reverence as creations of God.

 Now our Christian faith is a process to liberate us from a selfish old life and into this life that is fixed on the hope ahead of us. But it is an incomplete process with plenty of foot dragging on our part. And some of the wonders of our society make it harder, especially the internet and elections. In elections, politicians can choose to appeal to our dreams or our selfishness. There have only been a few presidents in the last century who were able to appeal to our dreams. It is so much easier to appeal to our special interests. Check the zip code and then bring out the message to match.

 The other force that amplifies this is the internet which makes it so much easier to find the three people in America who agree with you and then chat with them about it.

 So the heart of our nation and the hearts of Christians are buffeted with appeals to our selfish hateful side. Since we were born with hearts of the wrong size, this is not hard to do. The problem was first identified by the Grinch in the Christmas special.

 We’re going to look at Paul and Lydia in the Bible today to get new power to live in hope instead of fears. The joyful part is that you will be happier as you change your vision to where God is taking us instead of holding on to where you’ve been.

 Paul and Lydia are both seized by God at a moment they don’t expect. Paul is going about his daily life when this vision comes to him to go to Macedonia. Can you imagine it? Come to church this morning and suddenly you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit saying to go to Haiti or God suddenly saying in your heart, give five thousand dollars, or God suddenly whispering, I want you to change your job.

 I was not that comfortable with church between the ages of 13 and 17. I wanted to be a Christian, but I was not 100% sure that I was, so when the pastor would look thru the crowd and ask, is there anyone here who should come forward and kneel for prayer, I was afraid that the Lord would make me do it. And I went forward three times, in two churches and camp meeting because I suddenly felt this powerful tug on my heart.

 Friends, we get so comfortable knowing that God doesn’t do that anymore. God mentioned to me in prayer that there are exemptions to sudden acts of God. First of all, if you’re married, God couldn’t call you and it just wouldn’t work. Of course, Paul convinced his friends to go with him, but its different when you have marital responsibility. And God certainly can’t call you – if you’re too old. After this was written God created a retirement policy so that the golden years can be protected. And it starts at 55, because you have to get ready for the golden years.

But I must also mention that God can’t call you if you’re young and vulnerable. And God doesn’t want to interrupt a career path, especially if you’re single because you have no one else to count on. Yes, and God doesn’t call anyone who doesn’t have legal status to work. And God doesn’t call children and youth because you have to get your education and getting a call could be too much to juggle.

 As a matter of fact, you all qualify for an exemption. Friends, that is the climate in which we live. And too much advertising and electioneering reassures us that this kind of thinking is reasonable. Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God in Mark 1. If that is the hope that is in front of your eyes, then you are ready for visions and for the sudden urging of the Holy Spirit in your life. There may be a miracle happening among us as God deals with us in this service.

 Lydia is a seller of cloth worn by royalty in the Lycos Valley. Here is the gate at which she may have sat. The purpose of God in sending Paul was apparently to speak to Lydia. And when she hears the gospel, she invites the whole group to hospitality at her home. We would not do that now. But consider that this group sailed over to Macedonia without introduction and it was not safer to offer hospitality then.

 Annie Dillard marvels at formal churches – how we come into the presence of the living God, some of us late or occasionally, let our thoughts wander, and mutter a couple of verses or a Lord’s Prayer and don’t even consider the possibility that the sovereign of all creation is watching and our peril is near us. If you have committed yourself to God, there are these moments like Paul and Lydia experience and we must be ready.

 What makes Paul and Lydia ready for the calling moments is that their hearts are the right size. Even the Grinch story tracks the Biblical understanding that our hearts need to be larger. The change starts in the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not a role model or a teacher. Jesus offers us resurrection power where we have put away the old life and accepted power to live differently. What Paul and Lydia did makes no sense if you are living your fears and it makes terrific sense if you have the transformed life, living in hope, fixed on the kingdom.

 Let me give some examples. Mayor Bloomberg came into office just as the city had an enormous deficit created by the economy and the attacks. He raised taxes and fees to balance the books and his popularity has been incredibly low. Friends, we know that clean streets, safe subways, good schools, senior centers – someone has to pay for these. If you want the murders, filth, and schools of the 70’s, you can have that with very few taxes, but Christians need to call New York to have a bigger heart. It isn’t just that having a big heart is better for others. The safety and beauty of the city comes back to bless you.

 I want you to develop larger hearts here. Many people have said how wonderful the Maundy Thursday was with the seven congregations. It was one of the most thrilling nights of my own life. And the most common request I have heard this year has been from people to do that again. Do it at least for Christmas and possibly more. We’re looking at that possibility. But friends, our offering that night was about 450 dollars and the costs that night were 1000 dollars and that’s not counting the salaries of people like me on the payroll.

 We are too caught in the cycle of self protection. About 250 people came to the service that night. If they each gave four dollars, we could have paid the evening. But we are so used to the message that life has to be good for us, that even in our moments of worship, we look around and whittle down our generosity to make sure that we’re not paying for someone else. The English expenses this week are about $3,000. This morning’s offering usually is about half of that. We make up the rest by grants, contracts, and a will. But if each person here gave $24 today, we would fund this whole ministry for this next week. Is that so impossible?

 The society produces an acid of self interest that keeps trying to shrink our hearts and keep us from a vision of the kingdom. We have to fight that.

 That’s one reason why we are accepting credit cards in church and on the web site. When I walk around I don’t take a ton of cash. I have not set this up. I'm now going to take out all the cash that I brought today. So if I have an urge to be generous – if the Lord spoke to me about needs in Iraq, or the Prayer Garden, or a scholarship, or the $24 for the morning offering, I only have my walking around money. For every other place, that works because I bring out a credit card to pay for anything over 10 dollars.

 A one dollar bill and a 20 were talking. And the one dollar bill asked the 20 where she had been lately. And the 20 said, oh its been a great month. I got to the movies, went to Manhattan to eat, and got to see the new mall. How about you? And the one dollar bill said, oh its awful, all I ever get to do is church, church, church.

 I want you to feel the urgings of God and respond. Paul and Lydia did not leave the moment. Paul did not say, I’ll look into the Macedonia plan and try to squeeze in a trip next month. Lydia did not say, I want you to stop in for a meal the next time you’re in Thyratira. Just send me a letter. They acted while that transforming power was at a peak in their life. I am so happy with the response of the Bible study group last Sunday. They created the letter to the President while the holy moment was upon them. If they had said, let’s take this up in July when our current study ends, what small chance would there be that anything happened.

 Christian discipleship is a combination of growth and crisis. We study the Bible and pray and gather with other Christians. That’s process. But some of our real advances to another level of Christian living is in our crisis when the voice of God is immediate and we simply respond.

 So is God speaking to anyone this morning? Is there anyone who should give more? Is there anyone who should come to the altar to pray? It is open. Is it you to whom God is speaking this morning? Let us listen for the still small voice of the Spirit of God.