Oh, there we go. Well, praise the Lord. My heart's been blessed already this morning. I love, again, when we get to come out, and there's some truths in scripture that you just, and some truths about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that just have to be captured by poetry. And when we talk about poetry, we talk about singing, don't we? And certainly, again, there's songs of lament, but there's so many songs of celebration. realizing again what our God again has done for us. Certainly again as you look at those last two hymns, they're celebratory hymns of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. I think the more that we look at Jesus Christ, I'm absolutely consumed with this. The more that we look at the Lord Jesus Christ, the more that we're changed, the more that we're transformed into his likeness, the more confidence we have. And the more that we radiate the gospel, again, of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I think it again of the missionaries, you know, and their heart and desire to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at what was called the Macedonian Call. And the Macedonian Call came to Paul in a vision. where a man of Macedonia asked to come over and help. And we realize, again, Macedonia is present-day Greece. And it really opened up what is known as the European continent, you know, for them to preach. They immediately obeyed. They went to a leading city, and that city, again, happened to be Philippi. And you can imagine as they came into the city, probably none of them have been there before, and there's no synagogue. And the synagogue was a place where Paul usually started, you know, to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're even told that they were sometime there. In other words, many days, and it doesn't seem like anything's happening. And you often wonder if you have the right address. You know, if God is really sovereign in all of these circumstances. But on the Sabbath, they go outside of the city, they go down by the riverside, and they see a group of young Jewish women. Women, again, who happen to be gathered, glorifying God, praying together. And Paul takes this opportunity to preach. to teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of those women happens to be Lydia, a seller of purple, which was a real lucrative career. And also, again, from Thyatira. And the amazing thing about Thyatira is you look at Thyatira, Thyatira was in the area of Asia. And this was one of the areas that Paul and Silas and the rest of the missionaries were forbidden to go into by God. And I often think of those things because, again, there's so much we want to do in life, so many places we want to go in life, so much we want to do for Lord. And many times we're not permitted. You know, we're steered over in this direction. We're steered over there. And all of us realize we have many twists and turns that we call life. You know, life has not gone according to our plan. And there's a reason why. It's because we're not the author of our stories. You know, we're not at the helm of our life. There's somebody else directing our steps. And it happens to be this great God. And that's what I appreciate about the missionaries. They don't get discouraged here, but what they do is they recognize that God had brought them down to that riverside, and they began to preach the gospel, again, of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the gospel really reaches the heart. Again, it focuses on one individual, and this individual, again, happens to be Lydia. And I want us to look at her conversion this morning, because in it we see the power and grace of God. And I think, again, as we look at our coming to Christ, again, there's some similarities that happen to begin right here. Certainly, again, as we look in our pre-conversion days, our days outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, there's some similarities and also some dissimilarities, isn't it? You know, some of you, as you look back at your life, came from a life, again, of vice, where basically, again, it was no holds barred. You know, whatever your heart wanted, whatever you wanted to delight yourself in, didn't matter what other people said, didn't matter, again, who it hurt, you indulged in those things. Some of you came from a religious background. Maybe you heard the gospel thousands and thousands of times. in your home, you know, and it just never seemed to click in your heart. But you were brought up in a moral background. Some of you were brought up in a background where you just drifted through life. You know, there was aimless, there was purposelessness. You know, you were looking for something truly to satisfy your heart, something to give you meaning and purpose, but it just wasn't there. Some of you, again, looked at your life and you often wondered if there is a God. And if there is a God, again, He would accept you. Because when you looked around and saw everyone else, you were certainly more righteous than them. And what's not to love about yourself? You know, and here's my whole point. My whole point as we look at our lives, all of us have different backgrounds. But here's the similarity, and we are similar in this, in that we were all in bondage to sin's darkness. All of us, again, were dead in trespasses and sins. You know, that's what unites all of humanity together, doesn't it? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that speaks, again, of every one of us. And we realize, again, in our pre-conversion days, there was dissimilarities, but certainly similarities. But we also realize, you know, as we speak of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was God who found us. I mean, isn't that amazing? I don't know, the more I see the gospel, I mean, a lot of times when we preach about, or when we testify again about how we came to Christ, we many times use language like this, I found Christ, you know, or I found God. You know, I was going along with my life, and all of a sudden again I realized these truths, and I found Him. And let me say beyond a shadow of a doubt, it wasn't us who found God. God's the one who found us. You know, and we can see that right here in the narrative. God knows where Lydia is. He knows that she's by the riverside. He knows, again, all about her life, and He sends these missionaries in, but also opens up her heart. And I think a lot of times we've got to just sit back and just be amazed, you know, that we're here with eyes closed singing 10,000 Reasons to praise this great God that happens to be above. Aren't you amazed at that many times? The change that's come over your life, that you really love this Christ, you really love this God that happens again in your life, it's because of this. It's because of God who has found you. You know, and we realize that that's a similarity that we see in a story. And the other similarity that we see, again, in all true conversions, it's that there is fruit in true conversion. In other words, again, there's a change of direction that comes in our life that produces something different than was before. And I don't think we should be surprised by that because every indication that happens In scriptures, God has granted us eternal life. And when we talk about eternal life, we talk about, again, a life that is different. And if it's eternal in nature, then it can't be snuffed out. It can't be hidden. And so, again, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there's a fruitfulness that will come from the life of those who happen to be, again, truly born-again believers. And I think a lot of times we just have to stand back. We have to look at our lives, we have to look at other people's lives, and just be amazed at the grace of God who has changed us and still changes us. And so what I want us to look at this morning, again, is three indicators or three observances, you know, three marks of what we would call eternal life. You know, and the reason why I want us to look at that again in the life of Lydia is that these should all be present in each one of our lives, right? So as I look at Lydia, as I see again her testimony, as I see her come to saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, as I look at her life, what I should see is these marks that happen to begin in my life if I'm truly born again. If I don't see Today is the day of salvation, isn't it? Today is the day of repentance and faith in Him. And I think the other reason why we have to look at these things is that a lot of times we need a reminder, don't we? You know, this is God's glorious, gracious work that happens beginning in our life. I think a lot of times we look at the struggles, we look at the difficulties, we look at the trials, we look at the temptation. We look at the failures that happen to begin in our life, and we concentrate, concentrate, concentrate on that, and we don't see how God has changed our life. And I really do believe this. I really do believe one of the ways that we change is really seeing His grace. You know, and how glorious His grace happens to be in my life. If God can take us and make us worshipers of this Lord Jesus Christ, what else can He do in our life? And I really think, again, the power to overcome sin in our life is not looking at the sin and rejecting the sin, but looking at our Savior and realizing what He has done in our lives. So I want us to look at these marks. I hope it will be encouragement. I hope it'll be a challenge to us to keep looking to him. And the first mark that I want us to see here is that there's a response to the gospel, right? There's an initiatory response of what we call to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you see that in verse number 14. We began looking at this verse last time we were together. And it says this, one who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart. to pay attention to what was said. And I love this verse. You know, because we see two things in there. We see God's, again, sovereign action, right? God's sovereign determination that works on the heart. We also see the will. The will becomes willing. Somebody trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's worked effectively. You know, and it's amazing, again, to see both of these aspects. And I think, again, both of these aspects are simultaneously. Otherwise, God opens our heart and we believe, but there is a priority. There is, again, an arrangement. There is one that comes before the other. And so as you look at this passage of scripture, we see God working effectively in the heart, but you also see the person believing. You see the effective call, but you see a willing response to that very call. You see the new life given, and then you see this first cry of that new life, which happens to be trust in this great Christ. And that's the amazing thing. If you are born again believer in Lord Jesus Christ, Lydia's story is your story about coming to Christ, isn't it? It's what God has done in your life to bring you to Christ. So think about that. Think about both those elements, and I'm going to read the verse again, and think about how both those elements are there. Because it says, one who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God, and then here it comes. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. The one who heard preaching was this woman again of Lydia, Lydia Seller-Purple. And again, even as we said in our introduction, that that would have been a very lucrative career that happened to begin right there. And when it calls her a worshiper of God, understand the phrase. That phrase is used of Gentiles. It's not used again of Jewish worshipers, but Gentiles. So she would have been a proselyte. to the Jewish religion, to Judaism. And she probably saw something, again, of monotheism that she really liked. She probably saw, again, the morality, again, of what we call the law of God. And she was drawn towards that. She saw something in that of truthfulness that happened to be, again, right there. You know, and a lot of people think her husband is dead at this time because he's never mentioned. He's never mentioned in her household. never mentioned at all again in all of scripture. So a lot of people think that she's a widow. She has a home as we will see in Thyatira, and she also has a home here in Philippi, as we'll see again that happen to begin in the text. But here's the amazing thing, and I can't go over it enough. God has her in a place where he wants her. God has her in a very place. I mean, think of this. I often think about it because, you know, we gather together and all of that. God has us in a particular place at a particular time, even here today, because he wants us here. You know, and he has this woman, again, there to hear this particular message. It's absolutely extraordinary. And we see what happens, again, when Paul presents this message, because two things take place. It says that the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. So the first thing, again, is we see that the Lord opened her heart. And we have to ask yourself, why did he need to open up her heart? And the reason why he needed to open up her heart is because her heart is dead. It's stone cold. You know, it's absolutely calloused. You know, there can be no penetration, can it? You know, and I think a lot of times we forget, you know, even as we've gone through the immensity, the glory, the miracle, that we are here praising this God. And why? Because we all have these hearts. You know, and I think in Ezekiel, it really brings out that whole purpose. Because it talks, again, in this passage of scripture that we're going to read, it talks a lot about the heart. And it talks about, again, what God will do in the heart and why it's absolutely necessary. And listen to it, because this is how God makes a worshiper. It says in Ezekiel 36, it says, and I will give you a new heart. I will, I will, I will. I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put the spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues. and careful to obey my rules. So think about that. God gives a new heart, right? And why do we need a new heart? Because I need a new disposition to truly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. With my heart, right? Here's the heart of stone. Here's the heart of flesh. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is preached. And all of a sudden, what? On a heart of stone, here's a stone of the gospel. And what happens? It just bounces off. Now if you're given a heart of flesh, a heart of clay, a heart of Play-Doh, if you can think of those things, and you throw a stone at it, what happens? It sticks, doesn't it? It penetrates. And this is what God does with his gospel. He gives that new heart and what happens? The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ penetrates. He's able to penetrate that heart to cause us to truly believe, to truly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I love that second thing that's mentioned here. Because again, right after we're told that God opens up her heart, he says this, this is the reason why he opened up her heart, to pay attention to what was said by Paul. Don't you love that? I mean, aren't you amazed at that? You know, and I don't know how you ever came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe you heard the gospel the first time. Maybe it was three or four times. Maybe it was weeks. Maybe it was months. Maybe it was years. Maybe you heard the gospel a thousand, thousand times. You don't know. All of a sudden, it just seemed to click. All of a sudden, again, you saw your sin like you never saw your sin before. All of a sudden, you see in the glory that Jesus is the Christ, the only way. And you came and trusted him. You know, and somehow, again, that gospel had penetration. It just made so much sense, so much glory. It humbled you and at the same time exhilarated you. It encouraged you. mesmerized you, and at the same time, again, it paralyzed you. And he came to believe in it. And think about it, because it's a living message that happens to begin in us. I always think of our small congregation that's gathered together, and here we are living in the absolute assurance of what Jesus Christ has done for foolish sinners, unworthy sinners that happen to begin on us. And yet, why did the gospel touch our hearts and not other people's hearts? I mean, think about it. You know, we have Walker Road that happened to begin out here, and it's not that bad of a day, really. I know we had a little snow that happened to begin overnight, but there's going to be tens of thousands of cars that are going to drive by the church this very day. You know, and even while we're in service, there's going to be thousands, you know, driving by, driving by, driving by, and they'll see the cars, they'll realize, beyond a shadow of a doubt, There's a church service going on to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. And they'll never give a thought about coming in. They'll never give a thought about honoring Christ. They'll never give a thought about their eternality and how they stand before a holy God. But we have. And the question is, why have we? It'll be easy to point to ourselves, but what the scripture does is point to another, doesn't it? It was the Lord who opened her heart to what? To pay attention. to these things that were spoken. I mean, it's absolutely amazing. The reason why we're here this morning is because God has opened our hearts. And I don't know how many times the scripture has to go through it, but it goes through it time and time again, because we somehow, think about it, when we, this is how amazing, God works on our wants and our desires so much because in our pre-conversion days, all we wanted was sin. And then all of a sudden he works on our wants and we want Christ. And it seems like we are the deciding factor because we wholeheartedly, we desire, we willingly come to him. But listen to what scripture says again about our life outside of Christ in Ephesians chapter two. And it says, and you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked. And let me just stop right there because that's an interesting metaphor, isn't it? Because it tells us that we're dead and it tells us that we're walking at the same time. Can dead people walk? And the answer is absolutely yes. It's right here. dead people spiritually before this great God want nothing to do with him and cannot do nothing for him and don't want to do anything. We were dead and trespassed in the sense there's nothing we could do. And he goes on, following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air and the spirit that is now work in the sons of disobedience. So think about it again, here I have deadness again in my soul towards God, and here, even though I don't realize it, in my pre-conversion days, before the days I came to save and alter the Lord Jesus Christ, there was another master in my life, and it was none other than the Prince of the Power of the Air. You know, I have followed him. I have followed my indulgence again through him. And this is what it says, among whom we once lived in the passions of the flesh. carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. And when it talks about, again, the desires, when it talks about, again, the passions, it's talking about our hearts. You know, the reason why I reject Christ is because I don't want Him. The reason why I don't want to come to Him is because I don't want to come to Him. These are my passions, my passions are for this, my passions are for that, my passions are that. You know, why don't people come to Christ? It's because they don't want to. So think about it, in these three short verses we have that we were dead, we were enslaved, and here it is, by nature, children of wrath, my nature was not to come to Christ but to continue in sin. And there's no hope. And then verse number four is the most, what I would say, most glorious verse of hope. Because you know how it starts? It starts with two words. And here it is. But God. And that makes all the difference, doesn't it? Because it talks about God. It doesn't talk about us. It doesn't talk about, again, what we saw. It says, but God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we're dead in our trespasses, did something, made us alive. gave us a new heart, made us alive together with Christ. And then he says this, by grace you have been saved. So God makes us alive, doesn't he? He gives us a new heart to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust in him. And I really believe beyond a shadow of a doubt, again, this is the key, isn't it? Because again, when you realize this, two things should come out of this. I could see it in our song service this morning. One is, all of the praise, all of the glory, all of the accolades, all of the worship goes to this one. Why? It's because our salvation is of the Lord. It's completely of Him. You know, and we realize that beyond a shadow of a doubt, don't we? We honor, we glorify, we magnify Him. But the neat thing in seeing all of that, and seeing that work that happens to be in our hearts, that we're here this morning worshiping this great God, is that whatever we struggle with, You know, again, you might be struggling with lust, you might be struggling with anger, you might be struggling with despondency, you might be struggling with unforgiveness. And I think a lot of times, how we struggle with sin is we just say no. Ever been told that? Right? Right? Just say no. If you say no long enough, your desires are gonna change. What rubbish! Right? I want you to do something this morning. I don't want you to picture a pink elephant. Whatever you do, don't think of a pink elephant that happens at the beginning in your life. Don't think about it. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about a pink elephant. I'm not gonna go down that path of lust. I'm not gonna get angry at that person. I can't believe what they said to me. But I'm not gonna get angry. And that's the way we fight sin. How do we fight sin? Look at my God. Look at what Christ has done. Look at, can you believe the God of all of eternity? I mean, we celebrate this time of year, came in human flesh, and dwelt among us, and lived that life that I could never live, that perfect, sinless life, and then went to that wretched cross, right? That gory cross to pay for my sin, and rose from the grave, and he promised me That one day, again, I'll live for him. Now, think about it. In the last minute and a half, have you been thinking about a pink elephant? And the answer's what? No, and why? Because there's a greater. There's a greater joy, there's a greater love. And if we can see, if we can just pause and say, well, God did this, God's changed my heart, God's given me a new disposition, and God has given me the ability through seeing him to reorient my heart to worship him even more in these areas that happen to begin in life. God changes us through those things. And I wonder again, how often we're truly looking at the gospel, how often we're truly fighting The pleasure of sin, here it is, with a greater pleasure of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done and what he is doing in our life. That's the secret, isn't it? Because again, there's this initial response. He gives us these new passions, this new pleasure, this new want of Jesus Christ that happens to begin in us. And that's the second thing that I want us to see, is that there's an outcome that happens to be in our life, and that's obedience. And I think, again, obedience is not stale. I think, again, it's absolutely life-giving. You know, it's absolutely, again, giving a different quality to our life. And look at verse number 15, again, of our text. And after she was baptized, and her whole 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. Talk about the glory, again, of the new life. You know, we're on this journey where we're seeking to obey Christ, we're seeking to delight in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope we realize this, obedience to Jesus Christ and delight are not mutually exclusive. Right? They're really not. They're tied together. When we realize who Christ is, when we realize what he has done, both of them belong together. You know, and you can see this in Lydia, you know, down by the riverside. Because she wants to do something. She wants to be identified with this great God. She wants to be identified even with the people of God that happen to be again around her. In other words, that changed heart, that belief, that trust in Jesus Christ, has to find an avenue to come out. And if you're born again, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you know what I'm talking about this morning, as far as that external living, that wanting to glorify Christ, wanting to follow this great Christ that happens at the beginning of the scripture. So right at the opening of the verse, it says, and after she was baptized, and her household as well, and I have to comment on that. And the reason why I have to comment on that is that phrase, in her old household. Because again, I think the Roman Catholics, and also, again, a number of Presbyterians, are really favorite of coming to this passage of Scripture and say, you know, because you might ask this question, where's infant baptism? Where's paedo-baptism taught in the Word of God? And they will come, again, to this chapter, and they will show this verse. And Lydia, again, all of a sudden believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and afterwards, she was baptized along with her old household, there it is. There's probably some babies, there's probably some infants that happen to begin right there, and they're all baptized that happen to begin right there. And really, you know, the template, again, you can see it all the way through the Book of Acts, but you can also see it in this chapter. You know, when the Philippian jailer comes to, and we'll look at this in a few weeks, when the Philippian jailer comes to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, his whole household is baptized. And it says right after that that his whole household believed. And it's a template that happens to begin right here. The whole household of Lydia believed, right? We see that, again, all the way through the Book of Acts. People believe, people trust on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then they're baptized. You often have to wonder, what's the sense, what's the purpose of a baby being baptized? What's the purpose of even an adult who is not believing in Jesus Christ? What's the purpose? If salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and Jesus Christ alone, What's the purpose? You know, and there is a purpose for Lydia being baptized. There is a purpose, again, for her whole household. Her whole household would have been her sons and daughters, if there was any of those. It would have been her attendants. It would have been the servants. And they would have been, again, all there listening to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they freely, voluntarily come to be baptized. And there's a purpose behind all of that. You know, and think of it, because there's these other ladies that are gathered there, and no doubt there's other people, these pagan religions that happen to be in there, they're worshipping their various different gods that happen to be by the riverside, and when all of a sudden they go down, there's a break with Judaism, there's a break of everything else. And what they're saying to the other women that happen to be gathered around is basically this, you're wrong. You know, the Messiah has come. There's only one way of salvation, and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Because think of what baptism does, because there's a dual purpose in it, right? And the first purpose is that it's a visual demonstration. We can see with our eyes what has happened spiritually. Right? It's putting, again, sight to what we have done. You know, Romans chapter 6 and verse number 4 speaks to us what happened to us spiritually. And listen to what it says. We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death. In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness life. Now, let me ask you. and sprinkling, pouring, dipping, or whatever it happens to be again, how can that picture ever be broadcast to people that happen to be getting around them? And the answer is that you can't. Right? We are buried forevermore. Our sin is buried. Our sin is paid for, all of it, in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are raised in newness of life with the Lord Jesus Christ. We will never, ever be under the wrath of God, but forevermore be recipients of his great love. You know, and we realize that, and that's the picture that happened to begin right there. But the second thing, again, baptism does, it's identification, isn't it? You know, and you can see that in this verse, that I am identified no longer again with this religion, no longer with this, no longer with that, but my primary identification in my life is Jesus Christ. Right? I'm also identified again with this people. And you can see this, and there's a wantonness that happens to begin in the heart that wants to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, desires to make much of him. So here's Lydia, you know, the gospel's been preached. Here's the first command, the initiatory command again in Christianity, and guess what she wants to do? She wants to follow Christ. She desires to follow Christ. Her household desires to follow Jesus Christ. And I say that because I think a lot of times we look at obedience, again, as something that's passé, something that's optional that would be in our life. Yeah, I trust the Lord Jesus, but that thing, again, about baptism, I'm not getting in front of everybody. And you have to wonder. I want the salvation of an individual who says, yeah, I have Jesus as my Lord, He's my Savior, He's my all, but I don't want to obey Him. I don't want this initiatory right, I don't want this initiatory command that He has said, I don't want that to happen again in my life. You know, here's the amazing thing, when we come to Christ, we want to follow Him. We want to glorify Him. We want to make much of Him. Again, we're not saved by baptism, are we? But baptism, again, is that fruit of salvation, of truly having this new Lord, this new Christ in our life, that we want to make much of Him. You know, and it's incredible because in a lot of places that happen to begin in the world, It really costs to be baptized. In fact, again, throughout the church history many times, even immersion, you know, many times even during the Reformation meant a death sentence that happened to begin on your life. And even today, again, it separates people groups, it separates families. If all of a sudden you're baptized and all of a sudden you're persecuted, you're maligned, you're cut off from everyone that happens to be getting around you. And that goes on, and still, here's people, they freely come, they freely want to get baptized. You know, and think about that. Think about, again, how amazing that change happens to be in the life. You know, because I think in North American Christianity, we get so comfortable, and we say this, well, it's really uncomfortable to stand in front of people and give a testimony. Or this, it's really uncomfortable for the church to ask people to get baptized, or even demand, according to the word of God, according to the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they ought to be baptized. And we don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable. And let me say beyond a shadow of a doubt, if somebody's living in sin, we want them to be uncomfortable. But here's the amazing thing, and I want us to see this, because remember, here it is, obedience and delight. Here it is, here it is, we want people to delight in the Lord. And I see this every single November when we have baptism. And some people say, well, why do you do it on an anniversary Sunday? I do it anytime, really. But it's amazing, because we had four individuals who got baptized. And the year before, I think we had 11 or 12. I forget the number. But it's the same any time. As I'm going down to the baptismal, I always look behind at the recipients that happen to go there. And they're all nervous. And they're all excited. And here's the thing. They all want to be baptized. And why do they want to be baptized? Because they want to honor this great God who commanded them to, this great Christ. They want to be identified with him. They want to say, these are my people. I mean, isn't that amazing? You know, and who's given them that want? I mean, think about it. A year, maybe two years before, I'd be baptized. Are you crazy? Why would I ever do something? Who does that work? God does that work. And so think of it, because I really think the more that we see the work of God in our hearts, the more that we are amazed that he can do so much more with me. He can give me passions that I've never had before as I look at his gospel, as I realize who he is and glorify him. Now, let me just give one other, and we'll be done again this morning. And the third mark, again, of a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is that he loves God's people. And look at verse number 15 again. It says, and after she was baptized and her whole household as well, she urged us, saying, if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed on us. And I think, again, this is absolutely incredible. Because God gives us a supernatural love, again, for him, a supernatural love for other people. In fact, if you go through the Gospel again of John, there's two signs of eternal life that come up time and time and time again. There's two signs, again, of those who happen to be true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of them is simply this, believing and keeping on believing, right? It's not temporary. They happen to be in our life. Think of what God has done. He's planted eternal life, so it cannot be temporary. And so they keep believing. And you can see this in John chapter 8 verse number 31, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, listen to what he says, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. So how do we know that we're followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because we're here this morning, because we're abiding in this truth, because we're trusting in him. But the other mark that's emphasized through the Gospel of John all the time happens to be this desire, this love for other people. Because listen to what he says in John 13, verse number 35. Because again, if you ask people out there if they are loving, they would say beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are loving. But our love is unique, and why is our love unique? Because it takes the form of a cross. We learn what love is by the cross, and God instills that love for him that translates outward to his very own people. We want to associate with people. We want to be again with His people. And you can really see that with Lydia here, because again, think of what she's doing. You know, let me read that verse just one more time. It says, after she was baptized for her and her host, she urged, saying, If you judge me to be faithful, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. I love that, right? Here are these men that she just met, and how many were there? I really don't know. We know there was Paul, we know there was Silas, we know there's Timothy, and we know Luke had joined them, and maybe there was more that happened to be there in that missionary band that happened to begin right there. Here he prays, preaches gospel, here they're baptized, here they have no place to stay, and here she is. Even though she's a very wealthy woman, come to my house, come to my house and stay. No, no, no, couldn't do it. No, come, come! And think of it, because she's not only housing them, she's gonna feed them, she's gonna take care of their needs. I mean, this is really costly, this is really sacrificial. You know, and that's what love does, doesn't it? Love causes us, again, again, it's a form of the cross, causes us to reach out and truly love those who happen to begin out of the household of faith. And we realize the importance, again, one of the elements of love is what we see here, and it's what we call hospitality. What's hospitality? It's basically this, taking other people into your lives. Like taking other people again into your homes. You know, that's what hospitality is. You know, and it's a command. And why it's a command? Because this is how we portray love. This is how we portray the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to others. And Romans chapter 12 and verse number 13 says this, contribute to the needs of the saints. In other words, we're to be giving of our monetary ways of life to those who happen to be in need. And then he says this, and seek to show hospitality. Now think about it, I think all of us know this and hospitality in the ancient world was really needed. You know, Christians would travel to various different parts of the empire. They might be preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They might be, again, working and doing commerce or whatever it happened to be. And there was very few inns. There was nothing like the Holiday Inn or anything else that happened to be there. And the few inns that there happened to be were really places of irrepute. And so to be brought into a believer's home, to be brought into them, to feed, to fellowship with them, even though you didn't know these individuals, was a sign, again, of Christ-like love in these individuals. And think of it, because that's exactly what Lydia does, because she really doesn't know all of these guys. She doesn't really know any of them. She's just met them, right? How long that time by the riverside again lasted, I really don't know. But come, come to my house, and you can see this. And that's what it is, it's a God-centered love, isn't it? It loves the way God has loved us. And here's the amazing thing, among believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, it creates a special bond, this kindred spirit, you know, for those who happen to be in the household of faith. And realize this, love cannot be known without sacrifice. It really can. I mean, again, the world definition, I love you, I love you, I love you, and it becomes sentimental because there's no action that happens behind it. Love sacrifices to those who happen to be around us. And the greatest example, this is why it's instilled into us, the greatest example is the way God has loved us. And the most popular verse, I think, in the word of God happens to be, anybody know? Oh, there it is right there. Don't look, oh yeah, yeah. John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him. should not perish but have everlasting life." And we realize, right? God gave, didn't he? How do we know? How do we know God loved? In here, God gave and God freely loved. He decided to love you and me. So think about again how that translates in our life. We're just amazed. There's no way that we can pay back God. We wanna live for him. We wanna live out this great gospel, this great love that he's given to us. And here it is, the love of God controls us. And all of a sudden, We're loving other people. And let me ask you, beyond a shadow of doubt, because I think all of us have been encouraged when other people open up our homes, open up their homes. Isn't it true? And you go over and you fellowship with them. And it's not that you're in need. They're just trying to love on you. They're just trying to be a gospel blessing to you. They're just trying to, again, spend time with you. And they bring you into your home. And you have a wonderful time, again, of fellowship. And you leave all encouraged. And here's the question. How often do you do that in your life? Not because, again, Peter says, oh, you know, if so-and-so has a need, if this person has a need, oh, I'll meet. How often do we love people? How often do we sacrifice for the household of faith? You know, how often, again, are we using the things that God has given us, again, to truly love those that happen to be around us? I mean, it is amazing, isn't it? It's only a couple verses. You know, but you can see true conversion that happens to begin right here, can't we? We can see again, Lydia again trusts this Lord Jesus Christ. That word finds entrance into her life because God has opened her heart. How do we know that God opened her heart? we know that God opened her heart because of her actions. You know, all of a sudden, what was in came out. She had to be baptized, she had to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, she wanted to be identified, not with the things of this world, not with the things of life, not even with Judaism, she wanted to be identified with Christ and with his people. And what also was given is none other than a supernatural love, a love that's uncommon because it's formed by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here's my question. Do you see those signs? of eternal life that happened to begin in you. If you were to look at your life, if you were to examine your heart, do you see that trust? Do you see that ongoing obedience? Not that we don't have any struggles that happen to be in our life, but do you see that ongoing obedience that happened to begin in your life? Is it a mark of your life? Do you see, again, a natural love? Again, it's really a supernatural love for those that happen to be around you, a wantingness to be a blessing to others. Those are the marks of eternal life. And let me say, if you're a true born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you should see those marks, and it should encourage your hearts. Not only, again, with assurance of salvation, but all of us have struggles, don't we? Don't we all have struggles? You know what's amazing about a struggle? Is I have a struggle. Before, I didn't. You know, before, I could sin with impunity, but now, I struggle, and if God has done this great a work in my life, if I trust Him, really follow Him, what other changes can He bring in my life? What other great delights happen to begin in the Lord Jesus Christ? Look to Him in your life. He can really change us from one degree of glory to another. Let's bow our hearts in a moment of prayer. Father, we thank you. We thank you so much for your word. We thank you so much for true conversion. We thank you so much for the change that truly comes over our lives. Just be with us and help us, Lord, that we might think on these things, Lord, and really be encouraged in the gospel, that we might look to him and truly be changed. We thank you again, in Christ's name, amen.