S9E42: Opened the Heart (We Are Witnesses pt. 6)

Sermon #499

In today's reading from the book of Acts we have two major topics to examine.  First, sometimes God says "no" to our ministries, even when it would bring him glory.  We don't always understand why, and oftentimes it frustrates us, but if we are submissive to God's will and leading we often find ourselves in a situation where we are bearing much fruit for the Kingdom.  Second, it is not up to us to convince an unbeliever of the truth of the Gospel, or to choose the method by which we proclaim it.  We let God's word be God's word and either the seed we spread will take root in the fertile soil of a human heart or it will not.  Ultimately it is God who opens the heart of the unbelieving.  We are mere instruments in the hands of God, speaking his word, but it is God who opens the heart, as he did to a believer named Lydia in the city of Philippi in Macedonia - a place where Paul and his companions were not even going to go until God said "no" to them proclaiming the gospel in Asia Minor.

Acts 16:6-15

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 22, 2022

Watch on YouTube

S.D.G.