Acts
16:13-14
"And
on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer
was wont (in
need) to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto
the women which resorted thither. (these ladies were probably
all Jewish and having a devotional) And a certain woman named
Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which
worshiped God, (she was a good Jew, but lost)
heard us; (now here’s the part I pray for) whose
heart the Lord opened, (and when the Lord opened her heart,
what happened?) that she attended unto the things which were
spoken of Paul."
And
what do you supposed Paul told her? "Christ died for your
sins, and He arose from the dead, and ascended to heaven" and she attended to that,
and believed it for her salvation. (Referenced in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
and Romans 10:9-10.) But would it have done Paul any good had the
Lord not opened her heart? No. See that still has not changed. The
Lord still must open the heart of that lost, unbelieving and even the
disbelieving (those caught in and by religion, because religious conviction still blinds and disqualifies people, that is why here it is revealed because
that was Lydia's status, not spoken but it is implied) person so
that they will listen and come to the place of believing it in and with their
heart, the place of our receptivity. Now let me take you to another
one in 2Corinthians, and we may want to use this verse later in
Colossians. Now these 2 verses are along this
same line of thinking. Remember what we just saw? Peter, "blessed
are you for the Father has revealed it unto you." Lydia was the one
who’s heart the Lord opened, as Peter had been, remember both of these people were
in the same predicament of circumstance, that these people are in 2Corinthians
chapter 4, as every human being is. Not that they were pagans only but because of a trained religious attitude of mind, for even pagans have this same darkness, which hinders God's word from becoming quick and alive within our soul.
2Corinthians
4:3-4
"But
if our gospel (Paul’s Gospel of 1Corinthians 15:1-4 and
Romans 10:9-10 coupled with what we've revealed of the Lord's Supper)
be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (and that’s every
human being until they're saved, received Redemption) In whom (these lost and
unbelieving people, and often as not the disbelieving, good as well as the bad, who are not going to
make it to heaven, and why?) the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
(in) them."
Who
is fighting constantly to keep people in the dark? Satan is, because
that’s his job, and as soon as a person becomes a receiver and
believer, then his job becomes one of throwing doubt, disbelief, in their way,
and throwing all kinds of imaginary problems into the mix, and life of the
believer. Satan enjoys doing that. But first and foremost he’s
going to keep the mind of those who receive not blinded. Like Peter
we have to first receive the illumination before we're able to
believe. The Holy Spirit has to open our heart because up until then
it remains hardened by sin, as the shell which covers a seed. Jesus and Paul (2Corinthians 3, and Hebrews 6, 9, and 10) called it a veil which covers. The seed God
placed within man's soul after Adam's fall from Glory and Grace and
became a flesh/sin ruled human being.
2Corinthians
4:4b
"…lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them."
So
here is our confirmation that its the Light of both Genesis chapter 1
and John chapter 1 that causes re-birthing, or a regenesis of mans seed hidden in our
soul. Even as John also testifies to the Light through his gospel
message. Now let’s look at verse 6. For by the power of God this is
what happens.
2Corinthians
4:6
"For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in
our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ,"
How
do we come to realize that first and foremost who Jesus was? How
do we get to realize that He died for my sins and rose from the dead?
God has to reveal it, God has to open our understanding. We
could stand here and teach until we're blue in the face, and if God
doesn’t open the heart, we're wasting breath. And that’s the way
it is all through Scripture. Now coming back to Colossians, this is
the whole idea again. Paul is thanking God the Father of spirits for having
opened the hearts and the minds of those Colossi believers and
has delivered them from the power of darkness (v. 13). The
chains of Satan. But for those people, darkness was paganism, which
is even far darker than our Western civilization, or is it? And so the Lord
opened their eyes and delivered them from the power of darkness and
at the same moment He translated or transplanted them, where?
In
an area like eastern Tennessee where everybody has flowers and
gardens, that’s a better word. When you transplant, what do you do?
You take a plant from that particular place and you re-plant it over
there. Well, that’s what God did with us. He took us out of darkness
and He literally transplanted us into the Kingdom of Heaven. Which should remain our
Eternal abode, our position. Because that is our calling. And now a verse that we studied just the
other day, or so it seems, in Philippians and so it won’t hurt to
review it. Let’s look at Philippians chapter 3 and verse 20.
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