“The Joy of Our Salvation”

Meditation on Acts 16:9-15

May 5, 2103

If you'd like to hear Pastor Karen preaching this sermon, click on this audio link:

https://www.box.com/s/rpndt6ru2lvuepfpow7q

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         During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’  When Paul had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

         We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.

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      Yesterday, as I was listening to an audio recording of one of my daily devotions on Facebook, I thought about who may have inspired me to write these little meditations that can be read or heard in 5 minutes or less.

     While there are many people who have inspired and encouraged me, yesterday I thought about Joni Eareckson Tada.  I used to listen to her radio program, Joni and Friends, when I was in college in Baltimore in the 1980s.  That was when I was just beginning to learn what it means to live for the Lord and seek to serve Him each day.

     Joni is not an ordained minister or a seminary graduate. She is a writer—the author of more than 40 inspirational books.  She is also a Christian singer, speaker, artist, and tireless advocate for people with disabilities.           

      What I liked about her radio program when I was a busy college student was that her messages are brief and to the point (5 minutes or less). They come straight from the heart. And they are always encouraging. Her messages emphasize the love of God for the individual and the value of every single person for His purposes. 

     She doesn’t use lofty theological language; she is down to earth. She speaks as if her listeners are all one person having coffee with her at her kitchen table. With her lovely, lilting voice, she addresses her radio audience as “friend.”  

    I always feel better after listening to one of Joni’s messages. I feel loved by God and important to His Kingdom work, despite my weaknesses.

    I feel Joni’s joy in her own salvation—and she helps me remember my own joy. And stirs me to want to share my joy with others.

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    Lydia, in Acts 16, also received the gift of God’s joy when she heard about the Messiah and believed. Lydia is remembered for her faithfulness to the Lord and His followers. And she is known as the first documented convert to Christianity in Europe.

      Paul, Silas and Timothy met Lydia at a prayer gathering on a riverbank in Philippi, a city in Macedonia. She was a well-to-do merchant from Thyatira in Asia, a seller of purple goods. Thyatira lay in the territory of the ancient, Iron Age kingdom of Lydia in western Asia Minor. The people of that area were famous for their skill in the manufacture of purple dye extracted from the juice of the madder root. This was still used for dyeing carpets until the early 20^th century.

       As there is no mention of her husband, Lydia probably was a widow.  She was a “God-fearer,” a Gentile who worshiped the God of Israel. She and other women gathered on the riverbank to pray and worship God. Perhaps the Jewish population was too small to support a synagogue in the area. This would explain why Paul went down to the riverbank on the Sabbath instead of his usual preaching in a local synagogue.

       As Paul delivers the Word, the Spirit opens Lydia’s heart. She listens eagerly and then acknowledges Jesus as her Lord. Filled with all the joy of believing, she and her entire household are baptized in the river—not just her children, but all of the servants and other dependents, as well. Great is the influence of this independent woman of means who becomes an enthusiastic worker for the Lord.

      At the end of our passage, Lydia opens her home to Paul and the other evangelists. So great is her gratitude and joy that she won’t take “no” for an answer!

      

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      Like Lydia, Joni Eareckson Tada had a dramatic conversion experience. And great has been her testimony and influence for the Kingdom of God.

     Joni, born in Baltimore in 1949, grew up loving sports and the outdoors—riding horses, hiking, playing tennis, and swimming.  But one day, on July 30, 1967, she misjudged the shallowness of the water as she dove into the Chesapeake Bay.  She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels.  She was paralyzed from the shoulders down—a quadriplegic.

     For two years after the accident, Joni struggled with anger and depression. She felt she was a burden to her family. She wrestled with religious doubts and suicidal thoughts.

     But the Spirit opened Joni’s heart, like it opened Lydia’s. She finally found peace when she accepted God’s love and forgiveness and Christ as her Savior. She discovered the joy of her own salvation and with that joy, she found her hope and purpose for life—serving and loving Him all of her days.

     Though the accident had taken so much away, she still had her wonderful, creative mind, and beautiful face and voice. She couldn’t do many things, but as she sought to serve the Lord, the Spirit led her to do more than she ever thought she could.

      Her personal experience and compassion for others struggling with emotional and physical disabilities stirred her to write her biography, Joni, in 1976, that was made into a movie in 1979, with Joni playing herself.  She recorded several albums of Christian music. And she learned to paint with a brush between her teeth and began selling her artwork. 

      She founded Joni and Friends in her home in 1979 as she and her friends responded to the many questions and needs pouring in from families affected by disability. They had read Joni’s books or had seen the movie of her life.  Joni, her staff, and volunteers began to develop Christ-centered programs and services to help meet the spiritual and practical needs of disabled people and their families.  These include family retreats, the distribution of wheelchairs and Bibles worldwide to people affected by disability, and church training at local and national disability ministry conferences.

      More than 30 years after first sharing her story, Joni continues faithfully in her ministry of hope. She continues in spite of a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2010, and the emotional and physical trials that followed.

     “Breast cancer always happened to other women, not me,” says Joni. “Forty-five years of living in a wheelchair provided enough challenges, without thinking of cancer.” 

      Joni shares her fight against the disease in her 2-part documentary, “Cancer: Joni’s Journey,” to encourage others.

     It is impossible to estimate how many people have been touched by the ministry of this woman who believed her life wasn’t worth living after a tragic accident when she was 17 years old.  Those who hear Joni speak through about 1,000 broadcast outlets today hear her joy in her own salvation, a joy that has led her to eagerly share the Good News of Jesus Christ and to remind fellow Christians that we, too, still have that joy, in spite of the struggles in our lives.

       Like Joni, I pray that you will know that God loves you and is with you in your struggles, disappointments, sadness and pain.

      And, friend, I pray that, regardless of any physical limitations and all the things that you think you cannot do, you will understand that you ARE important to His Kingdom work.  

      May you be stirred to seek the Lord daily and be refreshed by His Spirit.

      May He renew in all of us the joy of our salvation so we, too, will be able to do for Him more than we ever thought we could.

Let us pray.

Holy Spirit, come and fill us to overflowing.  Cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  Take away the burden of guilt and sin.  Thank you for your unconditional love and grace, shown to us when you gave up your Son for our sakes.  Forgive us for when we have grumbled or complained and have forgotten our joy in You—forgotten how wonderful it is to be saved—to have new life in Christ.  Abundant life on earth and everlasting life with you in Your kingdom of heaven.  Draw us to you each day to say, “Restore unto us the joy of our salvation.” Stir us to joyfully proclaim your salvation to a broken and hurting world—and be faithful workers for your Kingdom all the rest of our days.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.