Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
First Disciple in Europe Begins by Listening (Acts 16:11-15)
17 Plays1 month ago
“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 pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Acts 16:14
Erick Weihenmayer reached the top of Mt. Everest on May 25, 2001. This was amazing since Erick had been blind since contracting an eye disease that left him blind since the age of 13.
How can someone climb such a high, treacherous mountain when they are blind? In his book, Blind to Failure, Karl Taro Greenfield points out that Weihenmayer was able to accomplish the impossible because he listened well. He listened for the little bell hanging from the backpack of the climber in front him. He heeded warnings given to him by teammates regarding how close the edge was to where he was standing. He even paid attention to the sound of the ice pick jabbing into the thick ice.
Lydia became a follower of Christ as the first European to receive the gospel all because she too was a good listener when Paul shared the gospel message with her and others in Philippi. Let’s see what we can learn from the account of her conversion recorded in Acts 16:11-15.
The Lord Sent a Witness, 16:10-12
The Witness Shared the Word, 16:13
One Was a Worshiper of God, 16:14
Her Heart Was Opened to Watch Closely, 16:14
Surrender of the Will for Baptism, 16:15
Began Her Walk with the Lord, 16:15, 40
---
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to First Baptist Church
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message.
00:00:22
Speaker
If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org.
Eric Weihemeyer's Everest Climb: Listening Over Sight
00:00:32
Speaker
And now, take your copy of God's timeless Word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
00:00:44
Speaker
Welcome to Growing Grace. I'm so glad you're listening in today. i yeah want to ask you a question about your hearing ability. Do you listen well? Eric Weihemeyer reached the peak of Mount Everest on May 25, 2001.
00:01:02
Speaker
Now it's true that 90% of those who attempt to climb this mountain quit before they ever reach the top. I don't know if you've ever heard of any of those expeditions that are climbing and it just gets too cold or too windy. So they said, that's it, we're done.
00:01:18
Speaker
But it's also sad that 165 have actually perished trying to scale that great mountain that stands at 29,031 feet on the border between Nepal and China.
00:01:31
Speaker
So the question is, how did Eric do it? Carl Toto Greenfield noted in his book Blind to Failure that Weihemeyer made it to the top even though he lost his sight at 13 years of age.
00:01:51
Speaker
Maybe you're thinking, wait, what? The author of the book believes that Eric was able to reach the top of the mountain because he was a good listener, not because he could see.
00:02:05
Speaker
For example, he listened closely, according to that book, for the bell on the backpack of the climber in front of him. He listened to the voice of his teammates when they warned him, death fall, two feet to the right.
00:02:20
Speaker
He listened for the ice pick as it jabbed the thick ice. Eric Wehenmeyer was a good listener.
Conversion of Lydia: Power of Listening in Faith
00:02:29
Speaker
The first disciple in Europe was a fashion designer named Lydia.
00:02:35
Speaker
She began her journey as a follower of Jesus Christ by listening to the gospel as Paul presented it to her and to a cluster of ladies by the riverside in a place called Philippi.
00:02:49
Speaker
Her life, of course, was never the same after that day. It's interesting how the vision Paul was given turned out to be a woman over in Macedonia rather than a man like the vision that he saw in a dream is described in Acts 16, 8 through 10.
00:03:08
Speaker
But I want us to to listen closely to the story of Lydia. Let me read it to you from Acts 16, 11 through So setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Salmon Thress and the following day to Neapolis.
00:03:27
Speaker
And from there to Philippi, which is a 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.
00:03:47
Speaker
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 pay attention to what was said by Paul.
00:04:09
Speaker
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.
00:04:22
Speaker
and she prevailed upon us. Quite a lady, this ah Lydia that we see here in Acts chapter 16.
Paul's Mission to Macedonia: Obedience and Spread of Christianity
00:04:30
Speaker
I wanna kinda go back through the verses that I just read and see what we can learn about that whole that whole story because that account right there has so many connecting points to good listeners. It's incredible. So let's go back, let's rewind the tape And let me go back, and I want to start just a little bit before because this vision appeared to Paul in the night.
00:04:57
Speaker
A man of Macedonia was standing there urging him and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go own into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
00:05:18
Speaker
So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace and the following day to Neapolis and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
00:05:32
Speaker
We remained in this city some days. The first observation that I have that seems to connect to listening to God is how the Lord sent a witness.
00:05:44
Speaker
He sent a gospel witness. He sent a believer named Paul. And I don't believe Paul went by himself. I believe others were with him. But my point is, he was listening to God.
00:05:56
Speaker
Whenever the Lord let him know that he was needed in Macedonia, he was willing to travel across there. Aren't you glad that he traveled and made that journey?
00:06:08
Speaker
You know, it was not an easy journey, I'm sure. It would have taken several days for him to go from Troas, where he saw the vision, to ah Philippi, which is located in northern Greece, in that region called known then as Macedonia.
00:06:24
Speaker
But think about how unique this moment was in history. This man named Paul is about to present the same simple gospel message that you maybe have heard in in the past and you've received.
00:06:41
Speaker
Well, he's about to take the gospel to Europe. And guess what? Because he took the gospel to Europe, America would eventually, way years down the line, receive it from there.
00:06:58
Speaker
But what I didn't want you to overlook is how it all began with the obedience of Paul. When God said, i want you to go to Macedonia, it says he concluded that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Man, I think that's such a great word for those of us who are believers in Christ. Lydia will eventually become a believer, but not yet.
00:07:27
Speaker
And keep in mind, if Paul had not gone, Philippi, that whole area of Macedonia, even going on to Thessalonica, they would not have become believers, at least not yet anyway in history, but all because one man, just one, chose to say, you know what? I've got some good news that I'm willing to share with other people.
00:07:52
Speaker
He bore witness to Jesus Christ when And Lydia and others there received his witness. A little later, a Philippian jailer is going to receive his witness there.
00:08:05
Speaker
But just think of how it spread from Greece and somehow in the course of time, it made it all the way across the ocean to where you and i heard the gospel right here.
00:08:17
Speaker
in our day and in our time. I'm so thankful for people who just trust the Lord and are just obedient with that one thing. So let's move on because there's another connection that
Evangelism Beyond Church Walls: Modern Approaches
00:08:30
Speaker
we hear. And that is not only that the Lord sent a witness, but the witness shared the word.
00:08:37
Speaker
Did you pick up on that in verse 13? May I read it again to us? It says, and on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside where we supposed there was a place of prayer.
00:08:51
Speaker
And listen closely. And we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. We sat down and spoke I love it how it says that they went outside the gate of the city of Philippi.
00:09:09
Speaker
They went outside the gate. You know, sometimes I think we're not willing to go outside the gate of our normal routine. Maybe those, let's say at your church or at my church or anybody's church, are we willing to go outside the gate of our own church property to deliver the gospel message to someone else.
00:09:32
Speaker
Man, I think it is so important that we do that. And you know if you think about it with social media today, there's so many creative ways of getting that gospel witness out there, of sharing the word. I heard about a man just today, actually. We were praying for our nation at 12 o'clock here in our ah fellowship hall.
00:09:57
Speaker
And one man ah said that he sends ah one verse of scripture to his grandchildren every day. Just one verse, that's all. He doesn't give commentary, he just sends one verse. And I thought, wow, you know, he's taking advantage of the opportunity to connect with his grandchildren. They no longer live in the same community, the same city.
00:10:21
Speaker
And so what he does, he sends a text and he puts one verse. And I think that's great. What do we do to try to take the good news of Jesus Christ outside the gate, outside the gate of the church, outside the gate of, well, you could say outside the gate of your family, you know, outside the gate of your house or off the property of your church.
00:10:47
Speaker
I'm also noticing something else, that Paul was willing to take the word of God not only outside the gate, but get this one, inside the circle.
00:10:58
Speaker
What does it say that he did when he did go down by the river and he sees some women there, perhaps sitting in a circle, sitting there by the riverside? i don't know if they were praying or they had just finished praying, but did he did you catch what he did?
00:11:15
Speaker
I think it's significant. It says, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. You know, sometimes we're in such a big hurry to always get somewhere else, but do we ever just sit down and visit with people? You know, whether it's at, let's say a ball game and you're in the stadium seats or you're in the bleachers at a basketball game or wherever you are, but do you ever just take time to say, you know what?
00:11:45
Speaker
I'm gonna sit down in this circle and I'm going to share the gospel with those that I care about. I know a man that meets each week for breakfast with some of the men that he went to high school with several years back.
00:11:59
Speaker
And he tries to talk about the Lord in that circle at that restaurant. The other day, my wife, Jodi, shared with me about a lady that she's following on social media.
00:12:12
Speaker
That is, she set a goal for herself. And you're not going to believe this, but she set the goal. She wants to present the plan of salvation all 365 days you believe that?
00:12:27
Speaker
And so what she does, she'll ask the the ones that she wants to share with, may i record this? Because I think it's important for people to see that my faith means a lot to me. And so I'm trying to just simply share that same faith, that same love of Christ with those that are around me.
00:12:47
Speaker
And it's amazing that people have said Yes. And so already this year, she's been able to lead people to Christ, and she's certainly been able to witness. And so she's got the video clips to substantiate this.
00:13:03
Speaker
And some of them pray to receive Christ, and some of them say, thank you, but I'm not willing to go any further. But I just thought it's really interesting that someone set a goal that for sharing the Word, the Word of Christ, the Word of God, to share that ah once every day.
00:13:23
Speaker
What would happen if we said once every week or once a
Lydia's Conversion: God's Role in Opening Hearts
00:13:28
Speaker
month? Or let's say that it's really intimidating for you personally to present the plan of salvation.
00:13:35
Speaker
or to share a verse of scripture with somebody. So what if you said, you know what, Lord, I would really like to present the plan of salvation to one person this year.
00:13:47
Speaker
That's not too hard. Why don't you pray on what is a good fit for you? How many people or how many times would you like to share the gospel with others who might not have heard it, just like Lydia and that group that was around her?
00:14:05
Speaker
Well, let's move on because in verse 14, there is one, it says, who heard us. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia.
00:14:17
Speaker
from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, and the next part's very important, who was a worshiper of God, who was a worshiper of God.
00:14:29
Speaker
You see, you know what Lydia was trying to do, or know what Paul was trying to do? He was trying to speak to anybody who was open, to anybody who was willing to allow him to ah start with them.
00:14:44
Speaker
You know, Jesus one time said to the disciples when he sent them out on a mission trip to look for a person of peace. And so now having served on the mission field, you know, for six years in Canada and 12 years in Japan, i I know the way missionaries think.
00:15:02
Speaker
And it's in missionary circles and it's in missionary training to look for a person of peace wherever God sends you on a mission trip to say, God, would you help me to meet someone who's open?
00:15:17
Speaker
they might They might not be a Christian yet, but they're they're open and they would allow you to meet some of their friends. They would allow you to share the gospel with them. They might even allow you to, let's say, meet in their home.
00:15:32
Speaker
Do you know that one young man from our church named Jacob Tice, he's now serving in Japan, in Osaka. You know what he does? He found a man of peace, and this man of peace is still not a Christian to this day, but for the past several months, you know what the man of peace allows him to do?
00:15:50
Speaker
to come and meet people in his noodle shop. He's got a restaurant. And he said, I'm okay if you want to come and talk to people here. And so one of the times I was talking to my friend Jacob, he said, you know what he'd you know what happened one night?
00:16:06
Speaker
He said, one night I went there to share with other people and no one came in the restaurant. It was really an unusual night. And so the noodle shop owner sat down beside Jacob after he had served him his bowl of noodles. And he said, would you tell me the gospel of Jesus Christ? And he said, I had such an incredible opportunity to sit right there and tell him about the Lord.
00:16:34
Speaker
Did you notice the pronouns in any of these verses that we just read? You know, you get the feeling that the apostle Paul was not by himself. Like, for example, going back to verse 10, when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
00:16:59
Speaker
So setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to
Teamwork in Mission Work: Luke's Contribution
00:17:04
Speaker
Samothrace, hey, wait a minute, it almost sounds like the author, the author himself is now giving us a clue that he's included in this missionary team of Paul's.
00:17:19
Speaker
You got it right. A lot of Bible scholars notice that this is the point where the writer of the book of Acts, he's a man named Luke who later became a disciple or at least, you know, follower of Christ.
00:17:33
Speaker
He becomes a follower of Christ and he starts hanging around Paul and he starts going on mission trips with the apostle Paul. But some believe that Luke must have been on a ah yeah let's say, attending a medical conference, or maybe he had a patient that he had treated who's now in Troas. So he crosses the the water, and the Aegean Sea, and goes over there to Troas, and he's you know practicing medicine, but he runs into the Apostle Paul.
00:18:06
Speaker
And we're not told how Luke came to know the know Jesus Christ as his own Lord and Savior, But this is what I find striking. I read this about the place where they are.
00:18:18
Speaker
They're at the riverbank, right? But where are they? They're in Macedonia, but that's the region. What's the name of the city? Philippi. Guess what was in Philippi at that time?
00:18:31
Speaker
a medical school. And so don't you find it interesting? Luke joins the missionary team in Troas. God gives the apostle Paul the vision, hey, we need to go to Macedonia.
00:18:45
Speaker
And can't you just hear Luke saying, I can't believe you're going to go to Macedonia. I went to medical school in Philippi. I know people in Philippi. I can help get us started there.
00:18:59
Speaker
So I guess my point is this. You never know. As long as somebody is open to God, worshiper of God, they might just be the person that God is going to use to open other doors for you as you're wanting to present the plan of salvation to others. And so look for a person of peace who is going to help open the door of a closed community. Do you have some circles that are in your relatives, let's say, or maybe at work?
00:19:30
Speaker
where everything's closed. Well, is there anybody at work? Is there anybody on your street or on your road who is open? Why don't you start with them Lydia was a worshiper of God, but there's something else very special about Lydia, her heart.
00:19:47
Speaker
Her heart was opened to watch closely. Now, we've already learned from verse 14, the first part, that she was listening, right?
00:19:58
Speaker
One who heard us. There's the word heard. So Lydia is listening to the apostle Paul as he's speaking. But then something else happens while she's listening to Paul speak.
00:20:12
Speaker
It says, the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. Man, that's just so amazing, isn't it?
00:20:25
Speaker
What a beautiful picture we have here of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of mankind. These two realities do not negate
Lydia's Baptism: Commitment and Fellowship
00:20:36
Speaker
each other.
00:20:36
Speaker
They actually work together in how Lydia's heart needed to be opened even further to pay closer attention to what was being said by the gospel witness of Paul. And so I just find it so wonderful that here she is.
00:20:55
Speaker
Lydia was listening. God's servant was sharing. And you know what the Holy Spirit was doing? He was working. He was working. I mean, i think about this ah broadcast or this podcast, whichever one you're listening to, i think, what is somebody listening today?
00:21:13
Speaker
You're listening. I'm sharing, but the Holy Spirit may be tugging. He may be working in your heart and drawing you closer to Christ.
00:21:24
Speaker
Can I just... give you a pastoral recommendation and suggestion, a pastoral counsel, word of counsel, don't resist him. Why don't you listen closely to what God's got to say to you?
00:21:37
Speaker
He's going to assure you that He not only made you, He loves you. He not only made you and loves you, He went to the cross and laid down His life for you so that you could be forgiven for all of the sins, all of the rebellion, all of the mistakes that you've made in your life, perhaps out of selfishness, maybe be out of greed, who knows what kind of things. I know what kind of things messed me up,
00:22:01
Speaker
but I don't know what kind of things may have made you make poor decisions in life. But you know what? The Holy Spirit is trying to speak to you redemptively.
00:22:12
Speaker
And so he sent somebody into your life and they're trying to help you understand how Jesus went to that cross for you. I think it's interesting how the very next statement in verse 15, our closing verse to for today, says, and after she was baptized and her household as well,
00:22:34
Speaker
You know, I think that she surrendered her will to say, you know what? I need what this man is trying to tell me with the gospel. She was receptive. She surrendered. She repented of her sin. She placed her faith and trust in Jesus Christ. But then the apostle Paul said, if you truly have turned from sin, if you truly have placed your faith in Christ, then allow me the joy ah baptizing you right here in this river and so that you can follow Christ so that you will be known as a disciple. And she said, you may go right ahead.
00:23:13
Speaker
I don't mind one bit ah following Christ in believer's baptism. I think that's so wonderful how it's all just flowing together. And where did it start?
00:23:24
Speaker
Oh, that's right. It started with a witness listening to what the Holy Spirit said to him. It started with perhaps a ah teammate named Luke saying, I've been to Macedonia.
00:23:38
Speaker
I know all about Philippi. I can guide you around that city. But it also started with a businesswoman named Lydia who was willing to listen. So then you see verse 14, and you see that she also began something else that day.
00:23:54
Speaker
You see, her baptism was not the end. No, it was the beginning of a beautiful walk that I'm sure she had with the Lord. She says to Paul, she urges him and says, "'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, "'come to my house and stay.' And she prevailed upon us." So I find it interesting that she must have told her family, but then she also followed through with baptism, and now she began her walk with faithfulness.
00:24:27
Speaker
But that's not all. You know what she did? She actually opened up her home to Christian friends as a gathering place. Perhaps you could open up your home to a small group, to a Bible study fellowship.
Sharing Personal Faith Stories: Influential Christians
00:24:42
Speaker
Even down in verse 40, it says, so they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, plural, they encouraged them and departed.
00:24:53
Speaker
I wonder if Lydia was willing for a house church to begin in her home. You know, there's sometimes we look at people, maybe like a Lydia, let's say.
00:25:05
Speaker
They're in the business world and maybe you're saying, ah, you know, they have so much more than I do. what would they ever want to Why would they ever listen to me? But I want you to listen to some of the powerful women who follow Christ that are in the business world today.
00:25:23
Speaker
There's a lady, for example, named Lisa Schultz, who is the chief services officer for C&L Financial. And she founded a ministry that trains women who are in business, just like she is, to integrate four things, career, faith, leadership, and life.
00:25:45
Speaker
You know what she calls it? The J4, Jesus and and those four priorities right there. There's another lady that this is far across the sea, but her name is Cheryl Wong.
00:25:58
Speaker
Cheryl Wong started the the Taiwanese smartphone company known as HTC. Have you ever heard of it? I've heard of it, that's for sure.
00:26:09
Speaker
But anyway, this woman is one of the wealthiest women in Taiwan. But you know what? She's a strong believer. As a matter of fact, she goes on record in her company as saying this, get this, the Bible is the best book about management practice.
00:26:29
Speaker
What she's trying to say is I learned so much from God's word that not only feeds my faith, it directs my steps in business. It helps me be a better leader, a better you know CEO and so forth. So I think, isn't that amazing?
00:26:46
Speaker
And of course, especially here in Texas, everyone's heard of Mary Kay, right? Mary Kay Cosmetics. Her cosmetic company was based upon the golden rule.
00:26:58
Speaker
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Where did she learn that? She learned that from Jesus. She learned that through her faith.
00:27:09
Speaker
And then she began to say to all of the employees that were there at Mary Kay Cosmetics, she said, if you want to know the way to arrange your life,
00:27:20
Speaker
First, put God first, put your family second, and put your career third. You see, these are people who were movers and shakers in the business world. Some are still in the business world.
00:27:34
Speaker
So even if you run across someone who is incredibly wealthy, incredibly you know um impactful and successful, don't let it intimidate you because there may be a Lydia.
00:27:48
Speaker
There may be a Luke. And God wants you to win that person to Christ. And all it will take is for you to listen to God say, you know what?
00:27:59
Speaker
Go up and share the gospel with this person. Have a coffee with them. Have them over to your house for a meal and just tell them your story. Tell them what I'm doing in your life.
Conclusion: Better Listening and Spiritual Blessings
00:28:11
Speaker
It's amazing what happened when just one man, the Apostle Paul, when he said, Lord, I'm listening. It's amazing what happened when Lydia... the first disciple in Europe, when she said, I want to listen to what this man is saying.
00:28:26
Speaker
And then how the Holy Spirit took it all from there and exalted Jesus Christ. Hey, why don't we all say, if Eric can climb Mount ever Everest by simply listening I can also climb those mountains that are in my personal life.
00:28:45
Speaker
Let's pray together. Lord, help us be better listeners. I pray that we would begin our listening with you, that whenever we read the Bible, we would listen, we would look closely for what you're wanting to say to us personally. And I pray that when we go to church, we would listen closely for what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.
00:29:08
Speaker
Lord, I pray for some that may be listening and they've never trusted Jesus Christ. I pray they would be willing to say, I want to turn from my sin And I want to place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And I want to follow him until my very last breath.
00:29:25
Speaker
Thank you for those who listened today. Give each one of them a special blessing. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, thank you once again for listening today.
00:29:36
Speaker
I pray that God will bless you as you go through the rest of this day.
00:29:52
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.