Acts 16:11-15: Lydia: an Example for Us All

INTRODUCTION

Did you ever meet someone only briefly, and wish you could have had the opportunity to get to really know him or her?

You sensed in that person a kindred spirit—a person with whom you would have much to share. But you never had the opportunity.

One of the things I look forward to in Heaven is to look up some of these people and hear their stories.

One of the people I look forward to meeting is a lady named Lydia. We read only a few sentences about her in Acts, chapter 16.

I. It was Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul and his missionary partner, Silas, along with Timothy and Luke, were journeying through Asia Minor—what is modern Turkey.

A. They had arrived at Troas, a seaport city in northwest of what is now Turkey.

It was night and Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia—a country across the Aegean Sea—appeared, standing, and calling to Paul: “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

The missionaries didn’t waste any time; they got right on a ship and set out for Macedonia. And the first city they entered was the city of Philippi.

This was the first time Paul had set foot in Europe.

B. Here is an eyewitness account, in Luke’s own words:

Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony.

We remained in this city some days; and on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

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 give heed to what was said by Paul.

And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us (Acts 16:11-15).

II. Normally, when Paul entered a town he had never visited, he would go to the synagogue, the place where the Jews would gather for worship. Paul always preached first to the Jews wherever he went. He would accept the hospitality of those who were friendly and establish a base of operations in that city.

A. Evidently in Philippi there was no synagogue. To form a synagogue, you needed ten Jewish men, and evidently there weren’t ten Jewish men in Philippi to form a synagogue.

But there were some women who gathered at the riverside outside the city gates every Sabbath to pray. So the missionaries joined them the next Sabbath day. And there Paul told them the good news of the gospel.

B. One of his listeners was Lydia, a businesswoman who sold purple cloth.

In those days all dyes were made from naturally-occurring substances, so there were only a few colors available for dying cloth.

Purple dye was the rarest and most expensive. It was made from a certain kind of sea snail. Purple dye was especially valuable because instead of fading, like most colors, purple became brighter with weathering and sunlight.

So as a seller of purple cloth, Lydia was wealthy and respected. She would have had connections with the wealthy class.

Lydia was not a Jew. She was what was called a “God-fearer.” That is, a Gentile who rejected the pagan religions and was attracted to the faith of the Hebrews. That was why Paul found her among the Jews at their place of prayer beside the river.

C. Whenever Paul explained the gospel, several things could happen: some people became hostile. Some people were interested, but did nothing about it. Some people wanted to learn more.

But Lydia’s heart was ready. We read, “The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul” in other words, she welcomed the message of salvation, and Jesus came into her life.

Like all people who truly receive Jesus into their lives, Lydia set about to put her faith to work.

First of all, she wanted to be baptized. By baptism, Lydia bore witness to her commitment to Jesus Christ. She declared her intention to live for God.

But Lydia wasn’t going to come to Jesus alone. She brought her whole household into the faith—this would have involved her servants, and perhaps children or an elderly parent, and anyone else who lived with her.

So all in her household were baptized and entered together into the new faith.

She invited Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke to come stay at her house.

She was putting into practice one of the most important ministries a Christian could have in those days when inns were rough, unpleasant, dangerous places—that is, the ministry of hospitality.

Evidently Paul and his friends hesitated, because we read, “She prevailed on us.”

We once read a book about the importance of Christian hospitality. It was entitled, “Open Heart, Open Home.” That described Lydia. Her heart was open to give heed to what Paul said, the Lord Jesus came in to live there, and now her home belonged to Jesus also.

In fact, Lydia’s house became the first house church in Philippi.

All churches in those early days were “house churches.” It was hundreds of years before the first church buildings were built.

Paul and his companions started having church, and others believed, were baptized, and gathered to pray and worship and learn about their new faith.

A few years later Paul wrote a letter to that little church. It was the letter to the Philippians. It is in our Bible. Paul says in his letter: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

I like to think that it was in Lydia’s house that letter was read as the Christians gathered to read the letter from the man who had brought them the gospel.

III. So what can we learn from Lydia? What is the moral of the story?

A. We learn that the Lord opens hearts. Lydia was in the right place at the right time. Her heart was ready to receive the truth. And it was the Lord who opened her heart.

Let us always be in a place and in an attitude to receive the truth.

It is important to go to church and Bible studies if they are available to you.

It is important to read you your Bible and Christian books.

I once visited a church member who was terminally ill. I wanted to read to her from the Bible. I asked if she had a Bible for me. She said she had one someplace. It was in a drawer, but we couldn’t find it.

It is good to have a Bible always within reach—and to read it every day, think about what we read, and put it into practice.

It is especially important to read the stories of Jesus and the letters to the young churches in the New Testament.

Like daily prayer, the Bible reading helps us keep connected with God.

B. It is also important to put our faith to work.

Lydia won her servants to the Lord. She invited the missionaries to make her house the base for their ministry in Philippi.

Because Lydia is especially named in the story, we have every reason to believe that Lydia was one of the leaders in the new church that met in her home.

CONCLUSION

Let me tell you how God opened my heart to come into my life in a way I had never experienced before.

It was 66 years ago. I was 18, a freshman at the University of Kansas.

I had gone with a group of fellow students to a missionary convention at the University of Illinois, at Urbana, Illinois.

I was a believer. I had always gone to church. I knew Bible verses. I knew the doctrine. I believed that Jesus was the only way of salvation.

I had been baptized four years before.

But something happened during those few days that I still can’t explain.

For the first time in my life I felt the excitement of belonging to God.

I had heard all my life about “believing.” I believed.

But during those few days I understood that it wasn’t just believing things, it wasn’t just believing that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life.

Suddenly I realized that Jesus was not only my Savior, he was my Lord.

And now I wanted to live for him every day of my life.

I had tried to read the Bible, but it had seemed to be a dull book—full of stories I had heard a hundred times.

But now something changed. When I got back to school I carried my New Testament with me all day on campus.

When I studied in the Library I took time out whenever the whistle blew for the change of classes, I read a few pages in my Bible. I marked the best parts.

I had morning devotions and wrote down what I learned as I read.

I made a prayer list and prayed through it every day.

Since that time I’ve made mistakes. I’ve sinned. I’ve been disappointed. I’ve struggled with doubt. But I’ve always kept my hold on God, and he’s kept his hold on me.

I think I had an experience something like Lydia’s. The Lord had opened my heart to hear and believe and obey the truth of God.

Everyone’s story is different.

God works differently in different lives—in Lydia’s life, in Paul’s life, in my life.

Sometimes he works gradually, over the years.

Sometimes he works in a moment.

But God still opens hearts. Has he opened yours?

The important thing is to be available, to be ready, to put yourself in the place where God can open your heart and come in—and stay with you until the end.