Lydia, The First European Convert
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Our text today is going to give the testimony of the first European Christian that came as a result of Paul’s Macedonian missionary campaign. Imagine being the first Christian in your town, country even people group. When I first did short term missions work in Nepal, I started studying a little bit about the beginning of Christianity in the country of Nepal. Back in the 1600’s Catholicism tried to make some headway in Nepal and was recognized by the King of Nepal for a time, but they began to be suspected of treason and were kicked out of the country. For a long time, Christianity was illegal in Nepal until 1950 when the country started to open back up to the outside world.
Officially, the first church started in the country of Nepal was the Ram Ghat church by David Mukhia and his wife Prem: Nepali Christians from India. Being the first Christian in a country can be both exciting and dangerous at the same time. That first Christian sets a foundation for a lot of what will happen in the future and how successful Christianity will be in the area, but they also face the potential for a lot of persecution.
Today, we are going to do a little bit of a Character study on Lydia, the first European convert.
Lydia worshipped God even when there was no official church service. vs 12-13
Lydia worshipped God even when there was no official church service. vs 12-13
Paul and his band of ministers comes to the first major city in Macedonia: Philippi. Here we are going to be introduced to three different people who will get saved under their preaching. But as they stay in Philippi, they decided to go down by the river on a Sabbath day. If you remember, Paul’s habit was to preach to the Jews first and then go to the Gentiles in a city. Philippi does not seem to have had a significant number of Jews. They come to a river where there is a group of ladies who had gathered to pray. According to Jewish law, there must be a minimum of 10 Jewish men to form a synagogue. There must not have been the required amount of men.
Lydia meets with these ladies by a riverside. Often times if Jews could not officially meet they would meet by a river where they could perform their ceremonial baptisms and cleansings. These ladies are here to pray. The phrase was wont to be made means that they had a consistent schedule of meeting here. These ladies were not going to let the inconvenience of not having a building or official services keep them from worshipping God.
Sometimes I wonder how committed to God most Christians would be if Church was outlawed. No official buildings, no official services. Would we be like the underground church and still meet? Even in free America, Christians do not prioritize church or their relationship and service to God. If something else comes up, they are more than willing to skip out on church or if serving God becomes difficult, they just drop it. It is easy to say we would continue to meet when persecution came, but many of us don’t even read our bibles consistently.
Lydia was dedicated to worshipping her God even when no one else made it convenient for her.
Lydia’s heart was opened to hearing the message by God. vs 14
Lydia’s heart was opened to hearing the message by God. vs 14
Verse 14 gives us some more details about Lydia. At this point I want to focus on the fact that she was a worshipper of God. There is a lot of debate about whether she was a Gentile or a Jew. At the very least she was a Gentile proselyte who worshipped Jehovah. Lydia was interested in spiritual things and was seeking the truth. Even as an unsaved person, God had begun doing a work in her heart enough that she worshipped Him.
The phrase heard us implies that she was continually hearing them. She didn’t get saved the first time she hear their message. She continued to listen over a period of time. And as she heard the word, God opened her heart. Salvation is a work that is all of God. God did a work in her life to open her heart to the gospel.
John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
When we go out and we witness to people, one of the things we should be praying is that God will open their hearts to the gospel. Not everyone is ready to hear and receive the gospel. Paul said:
1 Cor 3:6-7 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
Sometimes it is going to take sometime to see fruit when we spread the gospel. I know we have just finished out summer season of visitation and we may not have seen some results immediately. God’s work is a process of planting and watering. The seed needs to Germinate, but when it is ready, God will cause it to grow. As a word of encouragement, last week we had a man come to church who received one of our door hangers. He happens to be a neighbor of Jim’s; so I am praying that God can use this and we can continue to water that seed. Throughout the summer we made some contacts with people who were not saved, but were willing to listen. In the following weeks, I will be planning to go and do some followup on those visits. But even if no one got saved, we have been obedient to Christ’s commands.
Gal 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Lydia gave of her generosity to support the ministry of Paul. vs 14-15
Lydia gave of her generosity to support the ministry of Paul. vs 14-15
Verse 14 gives us some other details about Lydia.
Lydia was a seller of purple- Sellers of purple were people who sold cloth and clothes died in a very special die made from the murex shellfish. This color was a sign of wealth and was a very lucrative business to be in. Around this time, it was also regulated by the Roman government; so Lydia was most likely a wealthy woman of social standing and influence.
She was from Thyatira- This is one of the reason’s many believe she was a Gentile, but Thyatira was known for its textiles. It is interesting that the first mention we have of a Christian in connection with Thyatira is a godly woman and the last reference we have of Thyatira is a evil woman called Jezebel in Revelations.
She and her household we baptized- After she was saved, Lydia got baptized, but she had such an influence that everyone who lived and worked in her household also got saved and baptized. God has specifically positioned her in just the right spot to be a great influence in spreading the gospel to others in Philippi.
She volunteered her house to be the center of Paul’s ministry in Philippi. If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord- the conditional clause is spoken with the assumption that they are seeing that she is faithful to the Lord. You could translate the clause Since you see that I am faithful to the Lord… come into my house and abide there.- she volunteers to let Paul and his companions stay at her house while they are there. When we see them leaving Philippi in vs 40, they leave from her house.
She was persistent- she constrained us- Lydia was not taking no for an answer. This was her opportunity to serve God and it brought her joy to do this. We have often used the phrase “Don’t steel their joy” when talking about refusing to let people help us. For some people in the body of Christ, this is the joy that drives them. Lydia was eager to give.
The main lesson I want us to see from this text is the example of giving that Lydia shows for us. Most of Christianity was the poor and the outcasts, but in a town like Philippi which was primarily middle-class to rich; God raised up a woman of means to take care of the needs of Paul and his companions.
A lot more could be said about giving like teaching on the widow and her mite, Paul’s challenges to the Corinthians about giving ect; but for those who God has already spoken to and gifted in this area, they will easily empathize with Lydia. God had given her all of these things knowing that someday, they would be used for His glory. Philippi became on of the best and strongest churches that Paul visited. In the book of Philippians he has hardly anything negative to say to them. In fact, he praises them.
Phil 4:15-18 “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”
That word communicated is often in our bibles just an Older English way of saying shared financially with us. None of the other churches were supported Paul’s ministry. In fact the entire time Paul was in Corinth, he worked as a tent maker to support himself. But Paul praises Philippi because of their giving spirit.
Lydia laid the foundation for what this church was going to be like. She had a givers heart and it influenced the rest of the church.
I have often preached this phrase: Be the change that you want to see in others. Another way of saying that is lead by example. You never know how much of an influence you life can have on this church if you will just step forward and do what God has burdened you with.
Excuses:
Lydia was a woman so maybe she could have thought she would have nothing to offer.
Lydia could have worried about her business and making sure her lifestyle was maintained.
Lydia could have just let someone else step up feeling like she wasn’t a leader.
(God has gifted all of us in different ways and one of those gifts is the spiritual gift of giving) You may not be a speaker or a up front leader, but you can make a difference by just setting an example of using the gift God has given you.
Lydia could have been focused on the inconvenience of having people come and go in her house.
One of the men I respect for their ministry is Francis Schaeffer. He was a missionary in Switzerland who started a ministry called L’Abri. Basically, he found that by opening his house up to 24/7 hospitality God was able to use him in greater ways. He had people living and eating with him at every meal. Every opportunity he could he took to teach and be involved in their lives. Thousands of students and seekers were influenced by this ministry with the truth of Christianity and a deeper walk with God. Now the earlier years were better than the later because Schaeffer began to drift theologically, but the example he set is similar to Lydia’s who opened her home to be a ministry base for Paul.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Heads bowed, eyes closed
Many of us struggle with holding on too tight to our things and our money. Only you know if that is you because we cannot gauge your heart necessarily by dollar signs. I have continued the policy of pastor Karsies in that I do not know what anyone gives and that is beside the point. I am not really talking about giving money, but being willing to give anything and everything about us to God. Lydia gave because she had given her life to God.
Let me ask you this morning, If when you look into your heart you see that you are holding on tightly to what God has given you, would you raise you had to say, Pastor please pray that I will give everything to God. The invitation time is not just a meditation time, but it is a time to make a decision. If you need to come forward to make that decision please come forward as the piano plays.