verse number 24, it said, Who, having received a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Paul and Silas have shown up at Philippi. They have went to prayer meeting with the ladies, led one of them to Christ, and have moved there. And then there's this other lady starts to follow them. They cast the demon out of her, the unclean spirit out of her. And they get mad about that. The town gets mad about that. Her owners get mad about that. They throw her, they're throwing Paul and Silas into prison. Verse number 25, and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them. Boy, I wonder what people hear when you and I are in a tough spot. That could be the message this morning, amen? What do people hear when we're in a tough spot? And suddenly there was a great earthquake, verse 26, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword. and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, do thyself no harm for we are all here. And then he called for a light and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas. and brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord and all that were in his house and he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized and he and all his straight way. brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And it was day, the magistrates sent to the sergeant, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go, now therefore depart and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly, uncondemned. Being Romans, and have cast us into prison. And now do they thrust us out privily? Nay, verily, but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates, and they feared when they heard they were Romans. And they came and besought them and brought them out and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia. And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you again for this morning. Thank you, God, for just being so good to us. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you, Lord, for loving us the way that you do. Loving us past our sin, past our self, past our inabilities, past our failures. God, a love that is eternal and everlasting. A love that is birthed and out of the very heart of God, Lord. A love, God, that we can't comprehend. A love, God, that we can't fully understand. But I'm thankful, Lord, I don't have to fully understand it to fully enjoy it this morning, Lord. And I'm just thankful, Lord, for all that you've done for us. Lord, I'm thankful for a place called Calvary. God, what you died for my sin debt. Lord, you paid a price that I owed. You paid the debt that I had earned. And I'm thankful this morning for the free get to salvation Lord, it's not of what I've done. It's not what I've accomplished. Lord, I simply by faith trusted in what you did for me. And God, that has made the entire difference. Lord, I am who I am by the grace of God this morning. I am nothing special. I am nothing great in my own abilities or strengths. But God, I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I'm blessed. Lord, I am a child and a servant of God this morning because of your grace. And I pray, Lord, this morning that you simply have it behind the cross of Calvary. God, would you empty out of myself. Fill me, Lord, with your spirit this morning. Use me one more time, Lord, for your glory. And, Lord, I just want to be a mouthpiece used for the master, a vessel made for the master's use this morning when it's all said and done. Lord, I don't want to be remembered. I don't want to be credited. Lord, I just want people to see you high and lifted up. God, you said if we'll just lift you up, you'll draw all men unto yourself. And Lord, I firmly believe this morning there are folks that need to hear the gospel, that need to be saved this morning by your works and by your power this morning. Would you just do what you desire to do this morning? This is your place. These are your people. God, do your work this morning. We love you. We thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen, and amen. You can have a seat this morning. Thank you so much for standing, and thank you so much for being in your place. I just wanted to pray. I know we've got a handful of sick folk this morning, and pray they get to feeling better. Glad to have you with us this morning, but as a Christian, one of the things I really enjoy is hearing people tell me about how they got saved. I enjoy hearing where the Lord brought them from, how the Lord arranged things and worked things, and brought to this place of repentance. And sometimes it even amazes me and shocks me when people tell me what they used to do and where they used to go and how they used to live. I say, there ain't no way that's what you used to do. Ain't no way that's how you used to live. And you can kind of see that they normally get a little ashamed about, yes, I'm afraid, that's what I was before the grace of God changed my life. But it's often, one of the reasons why it reminds me not of just what God has done for them, but what God has done for me. It reminds us of the reality of the grace of God working in the lives of other people. I know we're living in a postmodern generation. I know we're living in a society that only 4% of the people have a biblical worldview. This one, we're living in a world that is so fed up and filled up with the world and what the world has to offer. But I'm glad this morning that in 2025 to report to you that the grace of God has not lost a single ounce of power and it has not lost its ability. It is still, God's grace is still able to save to the uttermost. It is able to supply your every need. It is sufficient for everything that you and I may ever face in this life. but we come here this morning, and I wanna look at this thought this morning as we come here to verse number 40 this morning of Acts 16. I wanna get there in just a second, but if you're ever talking to someone and you're witnessing to them and you say, hey, are you saved, right? Have you been born again? And sometimes their answer is yes. You know, oh great, that's wonderful, but a great follow-up question. is can you tell me about when you got saved? And a lot of times by that response and how they respond to that question will tell you yes or no. Now if they get mad at you, how dare you ask me about my salvation? I ain't trying to judge you, I ain't trying to doubt you. But listen, if someone asks me about how I got saved, it's not pulling teeth, right? It's not making me angry. I'll tell you about the day that the Lord changed my life completely and totally. And here's the thing, when you say, well, can you tell me about it? And boy, if you see them start to get excited, you see them starting to get thankful and they just tell you. And here's the thing, the more you talk to people, you'll hear some interesting stories about places that God brought them from. but there is just something wonderful about being able to tell somebody, not just that I'm saying it because I can, but I know that I'm saved. Why? Because the Bible tells me so. But really, every Christian shouldn't have an issue with telling someone about the day they got saved. Why? First Peter 3.15 tells us, be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you. for a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. How do you have hope in a hopeless world? Let me tell you about the day I got saved and hope moved in and he ain't moved out yet. And so it ought to be something that, as a Christian, we enjoy. But we come here to Acts 16, verse number 40 is where the chapter ends this morning. And we find here is Paul, and here is Silas, and more than likely here is the jailer and his family. And here is there in the house of a lady by the name of Lydia. And there is a lot that has transpired in this there's been prayer meetings, there's been folks getting saved and born again, there's been arrests, there's been accusations, there's been demands to leave, and there's been a whole lot that has gone on in chapter number 16. But I find this interesting, in verse number 40, they have come together, and the Bible said in verse number 40, and they comforted them. Here is Paul and Silas who have, you could probably say, been through the ringer, been locked up, for nothing more than preaching the gospel, been beat for preaching the gospel, and now they're in this house of Lydia, and they are comforting one another. And I just have to believe this morning, I just have to think this morning, that in conversation, because of what has just happened, There is a recounting or retelling of their testimonies, of what God has done for them. Can I say one of the most comforting things that I have in this world is my salvation, is that I know that I'm going to heaven. You could say all you want to, do what you want to, claim what you want to. My salvation's not based on any man's opinion, what anybody else has said. It is based upon the word of God this morning. And I find great comfort, I like going back to the day that I got to say, Now, listen, I guess if I really wanted to, I could go back to the spot, but I'd have to knock on someone's door, and they're living there now, and that might just get a little awkward. Look, excuse me, do you mind if I come in and see where I got saved again? I could do that if I want to, but I'm thankful in my mind's eye I can go back to the day that I asked the Lord to save my soul, and it's fresh in my mind, and it's fresh in my heart, and it always brings me great comfort. And so we come here to Philippi this morning, and we know that there's at least three people that are in this house, and they're comforting one another. And maybe through conversation, they have brought up their testimonies. And we're gonna see something interesting this morning. All three of their testimonies are different, but the same. And I know that as independent fundamental Baptists, we're supposed to preach things that are different, not the same. But we see here this morning that they are different in their location, they are different in the circumstances, but there is a similarity that is found in all of them. And I want you to realize this one, as we come to church, and as we sit together as a body of believers this morning, hopefully, and if not, today would be a great day to get one. Hopefully we all have a testimony of salvation in here. And we'll find out this morning that you didn't get saved at 2448 George Vance Drive like I did, but wherever you got saved is where you got saved. And so there are some differences, but there are some similarities. There are some things that are unique to each story, but there are some things that are the same in every biblical salvation testimony. And what we're gonna see here this morning is that they are different. See, because notice, number one, this one we have Paul. Paul, the apostle born out of due season. Paul, who we call the greatest Christian to walk the face of the earth outside the Lord Jesus Christ, the man on the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, it was responsible for writing the majority of the New Testament, the way we govern our church, the way we walk as believers, the way we grow in our Christian faith is because God used a man by the name of Paul to write these things down. And he's got the accolades. If he was in junior Sunday school, he'd have all the gold stars. He is missionary journey, planted churches. But it's interesting, because when we go and we listen to Paul give his testimony, here's what he says about himself. In Titus, he writes to Titus in 115, he said, this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Paul says, I look at my life and prior to the grace of God, he said, I can't think of anybody who is worse than me. I can't think of anybody who had done as much as I had done. Now Paul's not saying this because he was the worst drunk in Jerusalem. Paul is not saying this because he's a kingpin of a drug operation. Paul's not saying this because he's an unashamed leader of a trafficking ring. No, Paul is saying this because prior to being saved, no one stood against the church in the work of Christ as hard as Paul did. Now, we know his story this morning. We could turn to Acts chapter number 9 this morning, and we would find Paul's testimony of when it happened, but Paul also recants it later on, or excuse me, he retells it later on in the book of Acts. When we come to Acts chapter number 9, we see his past sin. Right, you go to Acts chapter nine, verse one, it says, and Saul, this is Paul, before he got saved by the grace of God, identified himself by the name of Paul, which was his Greek name, because God had called him to the Gentiles. And we see here this morning that here's what, here's Paul before the grace of God, breathing in threatenings, or breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples. of the Lord, and went unto the high priest, desiring letters of Damascus, to find Christians, and hunt them down, and torture them." You've got to realize this one, when you read that phrase, was breathing out threatenings and slaughter, it was as if with every breath that Paul took, every thought that was in his mind was given over to going against the work of God, going against what Christ has done, stopping the church. Every thought he had, every word that he said was formed and formulated. I have a hatred for what God was doing with these people. He stood against it 150%, breathing out. I don't know how many times you breathed, probably would've done me real good to Google that. But every breath in Paul and every fiber of his being prior to the grace of God was focused and fixated on stopping what God was doing. I mean, he wasn't just kind of against God. He was completely and totally with everything that he had against it. Paul said, there was nobody that was more against what God was doing than me. So we see Paul and we see an extreme salvation. Here is a man who has consented to the death of Christians and didn't feel sorry about it. Matter of fact, was proud of it. thought he was doing God a service. Some believe that even the clothes of Stephen, who was the first martyr of the faith, was presented to Paul. He is adamantly, completely, and totally against God. He is way out there. You ever known somebody, and maybe prior to God saving you, you were way out there. Matter of fact, if you were to tell some of us some of the things that you were into, none of us would believe it, because God has made such a great change in your life. Yes, you have the memories, and yes, you have the scars, and yes, you have the mental battle of what took place there, but God has done such a great change in your life. Fellow brethren will look at you and say, ain't no way you were that far out there. Ain't no way you were that messed up. But ideas of suffering and torment and harm and torture and even murder didn't just pop into Paul's mind. It's what controlled his mind. It's what occupied his mind. He was willing to go to great lengths to make sure that this thing called Christianity was stopped at any cost. There's no telling how many lives were destroyed, how many families were devastated, how many churches were decimated simply because Paul's actions and choices that he made. I think it's safe to say that Paul was way out there. I think it's safe to say this morning that he was far gone. Matter of fact, there's probably some in the church that said, no, there ain't no way. There ain't no way God could save somebody like that. He's too far gone. And so we see his past, but also this morning we see his personal encounter. The Bible said as he was journeyed, as he was going on in verse number two, the Bible said in verse number three, Acts nine, and as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly there shined round about him a light. from heaven. As he was going, in essence, when he was headed to Damascus, no thought in his mind was about getting right, no thought in his mind was about becoming a Christian, no thought in his mind was believing the gospel, no thought in his mind was going, I'm gonna try to turn over a new leaf, I'm gonna start over, do something fresh, no, Paul was going there dead set on finding some folks and killing them and torturing them and making an example out of them. And as he's going to do that, praise God, as he's on his way to make a mess of what God is doing, the Lord shows up. I'm glad this one of my Bibles still says, wow, we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and maybe this morning you weren't out there dead set trying to burn down a church and trying to take out of a preacher, but maybe you were so far out there, you thought there's no coming back from this, there's no returning from this, there is no hope There is no help for me, but then you found out Jesus knew exactly where you are I've heard of God saving people in the bars and the drug houses in the alleyways and who knows elsewhere I'm glad this one that Jesus doesn't need a GPS to know where we are, but he knows where we are this one He knows how to find us And he shows up in Paul's life in Acts chapter number nine, there's a great light, verse four, there's a revealed problem. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Saul, what are you doing? Don't you know this isn't right? And he says, Lord, who art thou, Lord? It sounded like Paul answered his own question. Think about it this way, he's probably heard them Christians talk about this Lord. And he heard that voice, that's him. You can't mistake his voice. Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I'm Jesus, whom thou persecutest. Why, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Paul, ain't this lifestyle hard? See, listen, you can say this morning, that kind of violence and that stuff don't bother me. The reality is this morning, it does. It does bother us. does cause us issues, and that's why this morning what we allow influences us is so important. We don't wanna grow numb to that stuff. And he said, well, isn't it hard for thee to kick against the pricks? There's this revealed problem. Paul, you're gonna have to get this right. There's a revealed person, verse number five. It is I am Jesus. I'm glad this one, the Lord ain't playing hide and go seek. He ain't trying to figure out who I really am. He's not playing guess who with you, no, when you are desperate need when you feel like nothing else is gonna help. I'm glad when he comes to you, he makes himself clear. The day that I got saved, I didn't question who was convicting me. I didn't question who was dealing with me. I knew it was the Lord. I knew he desired to save me, and finally I had to agree with him that everything else didn't matter. He was all that I needed. And I am Jesus. And verse number six is repenting Paul, and he trembling. This is the fellow who was just breathing out murder. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, go into the city, and thou shalt be told thee what thou must do. Now, Paul didn't pray the typical sinner's prayer, A, B, C, follow after me, one, two, three. But we see here there's an acknowledgement of who he is, there's an acknowledgement of the Lord, and there's an acceptance of what Christ is telling him to do. He is believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I think it's safe to say that Paul's testimony is a rather extreme one. It is one that if it were played before us today, we'd all sit there and be like, this is the same fella who's gonna tell me to rejoice evermore in the Lord? This is the same fella that God's gonna use to give us doctrine that's gonna change our life and we can live off of. Ain't no way this is the same man. Man, he was way out there. I remember hearing the story about a man by the name of Clyde Thompson. As a young man, he was framed, or he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, probably a better way to say that, but he was found guilty for shooting a man to death even though he wasn't the one that shot the gun. He was sentenced to prison in Texas at a time where the death penalty wasn't just there, it was well practiced. death by electrocution in an electric chair and he was sentenced there and somehow the death sentence was commuted and he had life in prison. And then another thing happens in the prison, a riot uprises and him pushing a guard out the way and going through something causes that guard to die. Didn't mean to but it was an accident. He's sentenced, found guilty again, he gets his second life sentence. Something else takes place and I can't remember exactly what happened, but he eventually gets three life sentences. Shoulda died with the death penalty. He became known as the meanest man in Texas. And just, he's in prison hard, mean, mad, angry at anybody and everybody full of bitterness. Nobody wanted to mess with him. Nobody wanted to talk to him. Nobody wanted to fool with him because he was why I mean, he's just crazy Angry uncontrolled unhinged we ends up getting put into solitary confinement And all he has is him cement walls in a Bible And he begins to read the Word of God and through reading the Word of God he comes to realize his need of a Savior and of who he is as a sinner. And he begins, or in that cell there, he cries out for God to save him, and God does. And he said, I had nothing else to do, so I just kept reading and reading and reading over again and over again. He said, I began to get burdened from my cellmates and those who were in prison with me. He said, I wasn't in the room with them because I was in solitary confinement. He said, I begin to pray, and God put on my heart to start preaching. So he said, I'd stand in my cell, and I'd preach as loud as I could, and hoping that if anybody would hear me, they'd get saved by the grace of God. And God begins to work in this man's life and changes him completely around. He's finally out of solitary confinement. And lo and behold, through a set of circumstances that would take me all day to explain to you, he is let out of prison, pardoned. Goes on and pastors the church, marries a woman. God blesses his life. I'm glad this morning that no one is too far from the grace of God. God is able to save them to the uttermost. We see here this morning, aren't you glad that there's no sin too far gone that Christ cannot save them? Paul had an extreme salvation testimony. Number two this morning, we see the jailer. We read about him this morning in Acts 16. If Paul had an extreme testimony, this fella had a desperate testimony. Now, when we're first introduced, we don't know his name. When we're first introduced to him, he is a keeper of the prison, a guard in that sense. He's the man in charge. If Paul had to go to great lengths of depravity, this man went to the greatest lengths of desperation this morning. Here's a man that has tasted some worldly success, got a good job. He's got a family. We read that later on, that he goes back and he speaks to his family, shares the gospel with them. But in worldly means, he's got it together. I mean, he's not the emperor of Rome by no means, but he's got a good job. He's the keeper of the prison. He's got some authority. Verse 24 tells us that he's able to throw Paul and Silas, he thrusts them into the prison, nobody says anything. I mean, they had one of them human rights groups sitting around, he can't do that. Right, he's got his own position, he's got his own power, he's got some worldly success. He could probably say something, listen, it ain't much, but at least it's honest work. He's making a living for his family and everything's going great, everything's wonderful, stable job, some authority, he provides for his family. Theoretically, this man has what the world says should make you happy and satisfied. And for a while, it probably does. Until Paul and Silas show up. Thrown in prison. And they don't get mad, they don't get mad. Matter of fact, they just start singing. I don't know what key it is. You just better be glad this one in your Bible says Paul and Silas and not Paul and Tate. I'd have woke them all up for the wrong reason. Hey man, be quiet in there. But everything changes. In a moment, everything he had built his life upon is now upside down. That earthquake hits. Listen, you could tell this fellow was a man. Earthquake, and he sleeps through it. What was that? Did I roll over too fast? Earthquake, doors open, and now he wakes up and looks and thinks, all the prisoners are gone. This is it. I'm done for. He's not going to a board for review. He's not going to get a couple points off of his job in that sense. He's fixed to be put to death, because he has allowed all these prisoners to escape. No doubt the governor's gonna kill him. And so he's gone from this place of comfort, this place of just going through life to complete and total desperation. He's lost everything, or at least he thinks he has, to the point where he is ready to take his own life. Down there in verse... Number of words of that verse, number 27, the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, not so he could take down the prisoners and would have killed himself. In his mind, this is the only viable option. Might as well just get it over with. What is there left to live for? I've done lost everything. If Paul was in the extremes of sin, This man is in the extremes of discouragement and depression and desperation. He has no hope. He's ready to end it all. There's only one thing that could possibly save this man. It's not a pep talk. It's not a five-step plan. He breaks down and Paul hollers out, hey, we're all in here. We didn't leave. We've stayed put. That same man who's ready to give up grabs a lantern, springs in, jumps in, calls them out, and hears what's, sirs, why didn't you run out? That's not what he asked. Sirs, how long are you gonna stay in there? That's not what he asked. He said, I'm so desperate. There's nothing else I can turn to. What must I do to be born again? What must I do to be saved? Can you not hear the desperation in this man's voice? He has lost every other option. And I'm glad this morning when he cried out, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Paul and Silas were in agreement. Silas didn't bump in there and say, well, here's what you need to do. You need to go join the church, sing in the choir, get baptized, fill out a piece of paper. That's what you need to do this morning. They had the same answer. Why? This man didn't have time to be baptized in order to get saved. He was too desperate. This man didn't have time to join the church to be saved. He was too desperate. This man didn't have time to clean up his life. He was too desperate. The only thing he could do, and he cried out for the Lord to save him. It says right there, he goes on to say, what must I do to be saved? Verse number 30. And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in that house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord and all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized and all his straight away. Immediately he believes upon the Lord. He goes home and here's a man who was just moments from taking his own life. A man who is in the deepest pits of desperation. He believes upon the Lord for salvation. Everything changes. He is sharing the gospel with his family. He is being baptized in obedience. He is rejoicing what God has done for him. He is serving others before himself. How can someone go from no hope How can someone go from this man's position to what this man has? The only explanation is the gospel. And maybe you're here this morning and it's not something you like to talk about. It's not like something you like to bring up. But maybe those thoughts crossed your mind. Maybe there were steps that you were taking because you said, you know what, what is the hope? What do I have to live for? Is this all that life has? I'm glad this morning when you were in the depths of your desperation, when you thought you couldn't go any lower, when life couldn't get any worse, I'm glad this morning the Lord knew where you were and he saved you before it was too late. I was asking my wife about this this morning and there was a song, I remember going to victory and Brother Steve Hurt would sing it. And boy, he'd get the jacket and then pants up with his hands. He'd get excited and he'd start doing this. But he sang this song and it was just in time. Just in time. He said, have you ever wondered whether it was years or days or moments that you're away from going to hell. And Jesus showed up just in time. Well, I'm glad this morning that Jesus, aren't you glad that Jesus found you at your lowest and saved you just in time? This man, the jailer, has a desperate testimony. Paul has an extreme testimony. And then there's Lydia. Her testimony takes up all of two verses. Now, in verse number 40, they're in her house. And it's one of those after hearing Paul's testimony, you did what? Man. And here in this jailer's, I was just about to take my life, and then Jesus showed up. It would have been real easy for Lydia to be quiet. She doesn't have an extreme testimony. She doesn't have a desperate testimony. She has a simple one. Look with me at verse number 14 of Acts 16 this morning. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened, and she attended unto things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized in her household, she sought a saying, if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us." Where's the breathing out of threatenings? Where's the murder? Where's the torture? Where's the desperation in Lydia's testimony? When we find Lydia, where is she? She's on the side of the river where prayer was wont to be made. In essence, she was in a good place. She was where people met to pray, who to God. And when Paul and Silas walk up, she's worshiping God. What is she worshiping for? Well, maybe for her business success. She's a seller of purple, maybe for the safety of travelers. She's experienced, she's from Thyatira. And she's thanking him for it. It's as if she's been raised around this stuff. She knows what she has is of God, and God has blessed her with it. She is worshiping him, telling him, thank you for what you've given me, what you've done for me. But there was, listen, though she had the head knowledge, there was something simple missing in her life. It was the gospel. And I love this account because Paul and Silas, the Bible said when they, verse number 14, whose heart the Lord, when she heard us, Paul and Silas come preaching the gospel and she doesn't say, I don't need that, I already worship God. I believe in God, y'all go find someone else. It's as if when they preach, she said, that's what I'm missing. I have the head knowledge, but I don't have that relationship. I know God created the heavens and the earth. I know he died on the cross for me. I know, I know, I know, I know, but I don't know him. And as simple as Paul and Silas explaining, here's what Jesus did for you and here's what the Bible says for you to do, she heard and God opened up her heart and saved her. And she could have very easily said, you know what, I don't have a testimony like Paul. I wasn't way out there. Was I a sinner? Oh, yes. Did my sin come with a wage of death? Of course. God didn't find me way out there. I've never thought about taking my life. Not the jailer. I realize that God has given me a good life. I've got success and I've got safety. I've moved all the way from Thyatira. God's given me a house. I know he's been good to me. I wasn't in that desperate state like that fellow was. And now she's talking bad about them. That's just not her testimony. That's not where God found her. God found her on the side of the river where prayer meeting was, worshiping him. And while she was in the middle of that, the gospel was preaching to her and she said, yes, that's what I need. Sometimes it's interesting to me because those who have a testimony that is extreme as Paul's, oftentimes wish they had a testimony like Lydia. And those that have a testimony like Lydia think, well, I ain't got nothing unless I got a testimony like Paul. I was listening to some men talk, and they were sharing their testimonies. Really, it's where God birthed us out of. And this first fellow was talking about how when at six years old, five or six years old, he was first introduced to marijuana. He said, I began smoking marijuana as a five-year-old boy. He said, by the time I was 16, I was addicted to LSD. He said, I couldn't go a day without taking a hit of it. And he said, through a set of circumstances, God began to work. God saved my soul as a young man and changed my life. And he went into a whole lot of detail, the different things he had done and how bad it was. And it's one of those, you sit there and you're like, wow. Well, the man who spoke next to me said, well, at the age of six years old and the depths of my sin, I asked God to save me. And here's the thing this morning. He said, well, preacher, I wish I had a testimony like so-and-so. I wish I had a good testimony. You know what a good testimony is? One where you believe the gospel and God saves your soul. Listen, because those who have Paul's testimony want to come up to him and say, boy, I wish I would have got saved young like you. I wish I'd have surrendered young like you. I wish I'd have had your testimony. And the other people are going, wow. I wish I'd have one of them cool testimonies that people are like, oh, man, you used to do that? No way. See, the reality is this morning, though her testimony is simple, it's still right. She believed the gospel was saved by the grace of God. If we're concerned about our testimony being like somebody else's, we're missing the point. The greatest person in our testimony isn't me or you, it's Christ. And here's the thing this morning, we say, if we say, well, only Paul has a good testimony, then I failed my children. If I want to have a testimony like Paul's, well, I need to raise them differently. I need to expose them to everything so they can get far out there. Can I say as a father, I have no greater joy than hearing my children walk in truth. If I can say this the right way, how many of you, how many know you're saved on your way to heaven, but there's some battles you fought you hope your children never have to fight? Those battles probably come from prior salvation, prior to being saved. I hope my kids don't have to struggle with doctrine and believing right like I did. I hope as a young age, not just my children, but every child of our church comes to know Christ at a young age. As a pastor, I don't hope they go way out there. I'm going out there to get a good testimony. Oh, you've got one if you've been saved by the grace of God. But we see here this morning, they're very different. Paul's way out there. And Jailor's way down there. And Lydia was just there. Very different, very unique, but they're all in the same, in the sense they all trusted Christ. Let me ask you this morning, do you have a testimony? Maybe your testimony is one of being way out there. Maybe it's one of being way down there. And maybe your testimony is as simple as, well, I was raised in a godly home, and one night while the preacher was preaching, I realized my need for a Savior. So I was eight years old, seven years old, and I trusted Christ. The important thing this morning is not necessarily who's got a good one or a bad one. It's the fact that you have one, that you've trusted Christ, and you know that you're on your way to heaven. The means, the method, the location, the emotions all might be different. But the one constant in all these is that Christ is the same in all of them. Christ was exactly who Paul needed. Christ was exactly who the jailer needed. And Christ was exactly who Lydia needed. Every one of these testimonies is different in a sense, but same in a sense as well. And they comforted one another with them. Let me ask you this one, do you have a testimony? If not, why not? Why not get one today? One that says, I was this, I was that, but then I trusted Christ and he saved me and he changed my life. Let's all stand at this point, every head bowed, every eye closed.