?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 he 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 worshiper 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.?

The journey of life, what a loaded phrase! Many of us recognize that everyone is on a journey, those journeys are different from one another, yet many prefer being on the journey. We have heard the phrase ?Life is a journey not a destination.? It is pretty well known by many and is now on bumper stickers, coffee cups, and t-shirts. And what I love about all of us,is that your unique journey through life is what brought you here. After our journey through the bible, I thought it could be fun to continue on a journey, this one with Paul, the disciples, and what it means to our lives, but more importantly ?our faith. I invite you to pray with me.
Acts is the book about how the church, the ecclesia, the gathering, started and spread. Paul, Peter, and the other discipleswent on journeys, traveling from town to town and region to region. While doing this, they met people, shared the story of the resurrection, and these people-first they reached out to Jews like themselves, and then they reached out to Gentiles who were not like them at all?the comparable today would be how some people use the words believers and non-believers or faithful Christians and those who are seeking?So the Jews and Gentiles began to believe in the ways Jesus taught about God and God?s kingdom.
Throughout the book of Acts, everyone is on a journey. You know, I found a lot of comfort in that. Because all along the way and in every place these men and women travel, they learn something from those they meet, they learn from one another, and they learn something new from God. It is a great reminder to me that we are constantly learning, growing, and changing on our journey as well; just as the first Christians did. And if we aren?t doing this on our journey, then that might be something we need to improve on. Because journeys are full of learnings. Technically, a journey is the art of traveling from one place to another?it can be a physical journey, spiritual journey, educational journey, or emotional journey-and all journeys require determination, perseverance, strength, hope, hard work, and more. The journeys of life take courage, trust, and faith in God. Paul knew that well.
As I read through this passage from Acts, there were a few words and phrases that grabbed my attention: vision, cross over, and outside the gate. These words and phrases can be a road map to our journey individually allowing us to create deeper relationships with one another; but also as a congregation and how we live out our faith with it deepening our faith along the way.
Let?s look at Vision: Vision is defined in a couple of different ways. The ability to see and an experience of seeing. A vision is also an experience of seeing someone or something in a dream or trance. And Paul had both-the vision to see and experience of seeing what was ahead in sharing the message of Jesus with the Jews and the Gentiles. The vision to go to a new place and help outsiders to see and know Jesus was something Paul was incredibly passionate about.
In order for these two visions to happen, Paul had to do something. He had to cross over-meaning he had to begin a new journey to a new region, to be with new people, with the goal of being able to reach a broader audience by a change of the medium or style. Pauls? cross over was centered in a prayerful journey to different ports and towns. In some ways the vision led them to cross over into new locations werethrough divine guidance. But were also a huge leap of faith for the apostles. Paul was fully going outside his comfort zone into ?unknownand enemy? territory. Yet as the early church takes these first missionaries outside the circle of the known and the comfortable, they are able to find places of familiarity on these extended journeys from home.
Through vision and crossing over, they end up in places were people are different, the customs are not the same, and the dialect or language could be different. So when in an unfamiliar situation, the apostles looked for something that would be familiar. The place of familiarity for them would have been the ?place of prayer.? This is the place where relationshipscan begin and where the apostles learn more about the community and culture they are in.So on their way to the place of prayer, they stop outside the gate. Outside the gate would be a place where all the people who desired to go to the?place of prayer? were not welcomed. Being outside the gate is the place where the outcasts, misfits, and women would be because they would not be welcomed in the place of prayer. As Paul started to go to the place of prayer, they ended up stopping outside the gates, not necessarily preaching to the crowd they had intended, but to those who needed tohear something different. The person Paul meets is a business woman of wealth whose name is Lydia. And it is Lydia who was open to these new visitors, opened to hearing what they had to say, and they were brought together outside the gate and a new place of prayer was created. It is in this place where they Lord worked into the lives of those gathered and many people eagerly listened.
Vision. Crossing Over. Outside the Gate.
These are the ways we can make our journey of life more fruitful and how people can be brought together on the journey of life. Ithappens in relationships. A healthy and accepting relationship with ourselves. Relationship with those we know. Relationships with those we meet. And relationships with God.The message from the church of Acts can inspire a more concerted effort with in our personal journey in faith and the journey of our gathering community.
So what do we do with this story from Acts? With this information? How are we being challenged in our faith through vision, crossing over, and being outside the gate? I believe we are each being challenged to examine our lives personally in how we believe the vision God has given each of us for this journey of life. This requires a inward look at how you are and who God has created you to be. It involves truly accepting who you are and believing that God loves you so much that God desires for you to be in relationship with one another and the world. Second, I believe the challenge for our congregation is as follows.
Vision- jump on board with the vision God has given us for thepeople who are connected with Wintergarden. The vision that continues to come is to be the church of our neighborhood. Believing that God is inspiring us to be his peoplenow, in this place and to those who are right here now. It is a vision worth living into throughout each and every day.
Cross Over- We need to believe the vision and cross over the streets or waterway. We need to go out to meet people, get to know folks, and form relationship with one another. We did a part ofthis through things such as Adopt-A-Road, Neighborhood Watch, Neighborhood Walks, and Prayer Walks and this crossing over needs to be done more often. It also happens in this room-through the passing of the peace, through fellowship before or after church through bible study, and serving together.
Outside the gate-Place yourself in situations where you are available to be outside the gate.Don?t only rely on places of comfort. But places of prayer can be created wherever you are with whomever you meet. That is the gift of God being with us wherever we go.
It is my prayer this week that we continue to look at our lives and the journey we are on. I pray this journey is one filled with new discoveries and learnings, where your faith is deepened along the way. Pray through God?s vision for your life. Pray about where God is asking you to cross over. And pray about ways to be outside the gates and create places of prayer. Know that you can rely on the resources of this congregation, one another, and most importantly, just like Paul, rely on God. Amen.