Lechem Panim #189 “Salvation Comes To Lydia” (Acts 16:6-15) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today. Last week we saw how Timothy has now joined Paul and Silas on their second missionary journey. And, leaving his mother Eunice and Grandmother Lois in Lystra, it says in…

Acts 16:6 (ESV)— 6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

Other Plans— Now we don’t know why God prevented them from entering Asia. Yet later there would be some very important churches that would be founded there; [churches in such cities as Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Colossae, Sardis, Pergamum, and Thyatira.] But for now, God had other plans for them and communicated to them through the Holy Spirit that for now Asia was off limits. And that was no doubt very discouraging for Paul. And it can be discouraging to us too when God says no to something that (at the time) might seem like the right thing. But what we have to remember is that God knows what is needed and when those things are needed and can be used most. And we have to trust His timing.

Don’t Fight The Air Currents— Sometimes my kids watch a movie I used to watch as a kid called The Sword In The Stone; a story about King Arthur coming under the magical teachings of Merlin, whose talking owl Archimedes also helps to instruct the boy. And one day Merlin turns Arthur into a bird and Archimedes (a bird himself) is trying to teach Arthur to fly. But he is struggling against the air currents and can’t get lift. And Archimedes says, “Don’t fight the air currents! Use them!” And Arthur does, and suddenly (for the first time) really begins to fly. And you know, the same is true of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach, the Wind of God. If we can keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), which is another way of saying “move our wings in accordance with how He is moving” we will soar. And so while God’s saying no may be discouraging, we must do what Paul did and allow that “no” to propel us into the better thing God has for us. And so they turned to Mysia, which is the region north of Asia. But it says in…

Acts 16:7-8 (ESV)— 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia {(which is farther north)}, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. {So again they are repelled.} 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

Keep Moving— Now I love how they don’t stop and wait. They keep moving forward, knowing that God will redirect. You and I also are often called to wait on God not by standing still, but by following the next logical step; the next right thing. You can turn the steering wheel of car, but that will only change the car’s direction if that car is in motion. The same with us. Do what makes sense and leave yourself open for God’s redirection. Now we don’t know [how they were prevented {by Jesus here}, but with nowhere else to turn, they came down to Troas, a port on the Aegean Sea. They knew God would eventually reveal where He wanted them to go if they kept moving. At last, in dramatic fashion, He did so.] It says in…

Acts 16:9 (ESV)— 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Macedonia— Now [Macedonia was across the Aegean Sea on the mainland of Greece. In it were located the important cities of Philippi and Thessalonica. More significant, this would be the first entry of the gospel into the continent of Europe.] Now after Paul sees this vision, he doesn’t waste any time. It says in…

Acts 16:10 (ESV)— 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Luke Joins The Team— And so Luke is indicating that they knew immediately that that is where they were to go. But there is also something else here that can be easily overlooked. And that is the word “we”. This is [the first of the “we” passages in Acts], which indicates that [Luke, the writer of Acts, has now joined the missionary team. {And} Like Timothy, he was to be Paul’s faithful friend and loyal companion for the rest of the apostle’s life.]

Acts 16:11-12 (ESV)— 11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace {([Samothrace is an island in the Aegean Sea, approximately half way between Asia Minor and the Greek mainland. There they stayed overnight (to avoid the hazards of sailing in the dark)])}, and the following day to Neapolis {([the port city of Philippi])},12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. {And ([The winds must have been favorable, for the reverse trip from Philippi to Troas on the third missionary journey took five days (Acts 20:6).]) And so [When the missionary team landed in Neapolis, Paul’s ministry finally reached Europe.] But [The team did not stop to preach in Neapolis, but from there went on to Philippi, about ten miles inland.] And Luke writes, saying} We remained in this city some days. {Now it says…}

Acts 16:13a (ESV)—13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer,

A Place of Prayer— Now the reason they do this is because (although it was Paul’s custom to preach first in the synagogue of every city he visited) in order to form a synagogue you had to have the presence of ten Jewish men who were heads of households. And so Philippi’s Jewish community was apparently too small to form a synagogue. And [In such cases, a place of prayer, under the open sky and near a river or the sea, was to be arranged for. {And} The one in Philippi was located outside the gate by a riverside, probably where the road leading out of Philippi crossed the Gangites River.] They choose to go there in the best hope of finding people to witness to and (seeing a group of women) it says…

Acts 16:13b (ESV)— and we sat down {(which was [the normal posture for teaching])} and spoke to the women who had come together.

Paul’s Value for Women— And notice that there are no men mentioned, which is [further evidence of the small size of the Jewish community at Philippi. {And so} Lacking a man to lead them, these women met to pray, read from the Old Testament law, and discuss what they had read.] Now imagine their surprise to have Paul and his missionary team join them. And for them to have Paul (a traveling rabbi, who was not only a rabbi but had been a student of a great rabbi, Gamaliel) was no doubt a very rare privilege. Now I love how the very first people in Europe that Paul ever shared the Gospel with were women. That is important, because a lot of misguided people have characterized Paul as some kind of male chauvinist, particularly because of Paul’s teaching on the role of women in the church. And they conclude that he had some kind of prejudice against women. But we see here that that is not the case. He is eager to share the Gospel with them and to even teach them, which is more than could be said about the Pharisees. The Pharisees [would not deign to teach a woman, and regularly in their rote prayers they thanked God that they were neither Gentiles, slaves, nor women. {And yet we see that Paul both teaches and sees the value in women, which by the way} ran counter to the treatment of women in Greco-Roman society. {When we look through the New Testament we see that} Paul valued the ministry of women such as Phoebe (Rom. 16:1), the various women among those he greeted in Romans 16:3ff., and even Euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2–3).] And that of course stemmed from Jesus’ treatment of women, which also ran counter to the norms of that day. Just to give you an example of this, notice how the scripture describes women “sitting at the feet” of Jesus. Well “sitting at the feet of” is not merely a description of their posture. No, to sit at the feet of a rabbi was a phrase used to describe talmudim, disciples of a rabbi. Now only men were allowed to be disciples and it was very unusual for a woman be allowed. And yet Jesus was perfectly comfortable bringing women into that discipleship relationship. And we see here that Paul imbibes that same attitude. Now Luke writes…

Acts 16:14a (ESV)— 14 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.

a seller of purple goods— Now Lydia was the Roman province in which the city of Thyatira was located. And so Lydia may be named after her province or Lydia may have just been [her name in business; she may have been known as “the Lydian lady.”] But whatever the case, her city (Thyatira, which is the cite of one of the seven church of Revelation) [was noted for its manufacture of purple dye and dyed goods. Not surprisingly, Lydia herself was a seller of purple fabrics. {Now} Purple dye, whether made from the glands of the murex shellfish or from the roots of the madder plant, was prohibitively expensive. {Thus} Purple garments were worn by royalty and the wealthy, and the selling of purple fabrics was a very profitable business.] And she herself was (apparently) very wealthy. And that we will see in that her house is large enough to accommodate the entire missionary team (v. 15) and later the new church at Philippi (v. 40). Now aside from her wealth, there are a couple of things we can string together (every pun intended) about Lydia. And the first is that she was a worshiper of God. This shows that she (like Cornelius) believed in and worshipped the God of Israel, but had not yet become a full proselyte to Judaism. And secondly, she was truly listening; not just hearing audibly, but paying attention and seeking to understand. And that is the kind of posture that God can work with. There are so many who hear, yet never understand because they are not truly listening.

Eyes Glazed— Have you ever been in a conversation with somebody and you see their eyes glaze over and you realize they aren’t hearing a word? Maybe some of you are doing that right now. I don’t know. But in all seriousness, I remember one particular instance where that happened to me while I was talking with somebody several months back. I was having a conversation with somebody who must have had a lot on their mind because not long after I began sharing what I had to say they completely checked out and were no longer paying attention. And a little voice in my head said “just stop talking and leave.” I heard that little voice but then (because I knew what I was about to say would, under normal circumstances, really interest this person) decided to plow ahead and somehow try to be more interesting. It didn’t work. But Lydia wasn’t checked out. She was fully engaged. And it says in…

Acts 16:14b-15 (ESV)— The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her 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.

Lydia’s Hospitality— And so we see that Lydia and her entire household came to faith in Christ. And in gratitude, she insists that they stay at her house. Now hospitality [is required of all Christians (Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9), especially women (1 Tim. 5:10) and church leaders (Titus 1:8). {And} It was critical in the ancient world, where inns were often unsuitable {places} for Christians to stay in. They were filthy, dangerous, expensive, and often little more than brothels. {And so} To make a home where travelers could be exposed to Christian love, family life, and fellowship was a high priority for Christian women (cf. 1 Tim. 5:9–10).] And Lydia’s offering them her hospitality shows that she had in her the love and fear of God, which had now become more fully realized in Christ Jesus.

Use The Currents— Now what this passage shows us is that when God says no to us or no at that moment (like He did with Paul and his team entering Asia at that time), it is only because He has an awesome plan that He wants you to be a part of. And so don’t fight the air currents; use them. And even if that might mean stepping into some dangerous situations, God’s greatest blessings often lie in those situations. And so let us commit to trust and follow Him as He seeks to guide us into the fulfillment of His purposes. Let’s do so. Amen.