May I please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his holy word. Let's turn to the Acts of the
Apostles, chapter 16, and we'll read verses 13, 14, and 15. So
the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16, and reading verses 13, 14,
and 15. And on the Sabbath, we went out
of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made. And we sat down and spake unto
the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia,
a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped
God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended
unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized
and her household, she besought her saying, if you have judged
me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide
there. And she constrained us. We have this short account with
regard to a woman called Lydia and it contains a lot of useful
and powerful information for us to consider and to realize
the power of God in this matter. as we think that there was the
Apostle Paul determined to go to a certain place but we're
told that the Spirit of God stopped him going there and a vision appeared then to
Paul in the night and there stood a man in Macedonia and prayed
saying come over into Macedonia and help us And Paul didn't think,
well, I'm not sure if this is true or whether I should go there. I really think I want to go into
a different place. But you see, he was willing to
obey the word of God. And so we're told, and after
he had seen the vision, immediately He didn't kind of say, well,
I think I'll wait a few days. He went immediately. And the
number of times you find in the Word of God, when God speaks,
people do that which the Lord has spoken immediately. And so,
and after he had seen the vision, immediately, we endeavored to
go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called
us for to preach the Gospel unto them. They had a confidence that
God was directing them. And therefore, we're told, therefore,
loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothrace,
and the next day to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi.
which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia and a colony. And we were in that city abiding
certain days. Well, they had to wait for God
to direct them then where to go and what to say. They were in the city in Macedonia
for certain days. And then we're told on the Sabbath
day, we went out of the city. by a riverside where prayer was
won't, or that means customarily, where prayer was customarily
to be made. And they sat down and spake unto
the women which resorted dither. And we see here very clearly
in New Testament days they didn't have to go and meet in a special
building or a special place. Here was just a place by the
riverside. that they went to, it would appear,
regularly to pray. And therefore Paul went there
and sat down and then he spake unto the women. We're not told
precisely what he said, but no doubt from what followed, the
words that he spoke were of the Holy Spirit and they had a gracious
and a wonderful effect. and then we come across this
woman Lydia we only read about Lydia in the whole of the Bible
just in this chapter 16 of the Acts and only a short part apart
from more or less the last verse and so we see there there was
a certain woman a certain woman ordained by God to be there at
this very time we see how God's plans all worked out, all worked
together. This woman was ordained by God
to come and hear the gospel that Paul was to preach. There wasn't
any doubt about it and God had ordained it and he planned it
and we can see the careful planning which had gone into it and therefore
there was this woman named Lydia she wasn't obviously of that
city she was a Thyatira as you know that's one of the seven
churches mentioned in Revelation we've made comments on it recently
and which worshipped God hearing us, heard us whose heart the
Lord opened and she attained unto the things which were spoken
of Paul. Well, what do we see here? We
see the glorious grace of God, the free unmerited favour of
God to this woman Lydia. She heard the gospel from the
lips of the apostle Paul and we're told whose heart the Lord
opened. What that means is that it didn't
just stick in her mind, the words that she heard, it had a deep
and a gracious effect and therefore it entered into her heart and
the Lord opened her heart to receive it. Nothing less than
that, the work and grace of Almighty God. How powerful it is to realize
we have such a God. He knew. He had determined the
time, the place when Lydia would be blessed. And that's so in
the life of all of his children. And what a blessing for us tonight. If you and I can look into our
lives and see that God has led us and God has directed us how
humbling it is when we think of in those days there were thousands
of people in Philippi and yet God ordained that Paul should
come to that riverside that particular place there were no doubt many
places that he had gone to and sat down and preached but no
he was directed by the Holy Spirit to go to this very place and
so we're told he went there and it happened to be the place where
they held prayer meetings there may have been other places we
don't know but here was this specific place yes where prayer
was made what a wonderful blessing therefore to realise the leading
and directing of Almighty God. This woman Lydia then was there
and whose heart the Lord opened. She may have heard many words
many gospel words we don't know but on this particular occasion
it was the ordained time by Almighty God that she should hear the
Word of God preached and the Word of God entered into her
heart and clearly had a great and a glorious and wonderful
effect. And what a blessing if you and
I can look into our lives, look back perhaps to a time when Almighty
God caused us to hear the Gospel preached. And it had an effect
upon us, because just like Lydia, it entered into her heart, whose
heart the Lord opened. There she was, and the Lord made
her receptive to hear God's Word. What a blessing, my friends,
in our lives if we can find in our lives those times, perhaps
a time, this was a time, there weren't a lot of times, but this
was a time when the Lord wonderfully and graciously and gloriously
opened Lydia's heart to receive the words that the Apostle Paul
was speaking. So wonderful, isn't it? Not.
We have this account to encourage us. And we should realise that
we have a God who is all-powerful still today. And what a mercy
if he's come and opened our hearts to receive his word. We haven't
rejected it. We haven't said, I'm not going
to receive that. But we've been made willing in the day of God's
power to receive his word directed by the Holy Spirit to our heart
and has caused a time, a change, a blessing. Well, it's a mercy,
isn't it? If that is so. And it's important
that you and I just realize the relevance that this is so because
we're told this certain woman named Lydia a seller of purple
of the city of Thyatira which worshipped God she did worship
God and we may have worshipped God but as the time come when
God has we might phrase it applied the word his word to our heart
We may have heard the word of God many times, we may have heard
many gospel sermons. They may have had no effect.
But what a blessing if we think of the lines of the hymn writer.
The appointed time rolled on apace, not to propose, but call
by grace. Oh, what a mercy to realize that
God The King of Kings, the Lord of
Lords, the ruler of the universe has looked down from heaven where
we are. He knows where we are. He knows
we're here tonight. He knows where we've been throughout
our life. He knows where we're going tomorrow.
Every detail is known to Almighty God. And what a wonderful blessing
then if we're like Lydia, worship God of the city of Thyatira which
worshipped God heard us heard us and it didn't stop there
you and I may have heard many sermons we've heard many sermons
preached we acknowledge it but as we've heard those sermons
preached has our heart been opened to receive the words which have
been preached. So often in our little lives
we have our plans of what we want, what we want to happen
and we may pray for those things to happen and we may think that
they're all good and legitimate and we've planned it out in our
lives and we can We think we can see what a blessing it will
be if it comes to pass and how it will bring honour and glory
to God. But it may not be God's will. It may not be God's will. We have to submit ourselves under
the mighty hand of God. We have to cast all our care
upon Him. realising by his grace he cares
for us and isn't that a great and glorious wonder to think
that he should care for such unworthy sinners of the earth
we don't deserve any notice from God what do we say well there's
a hymn writer hymn which tells us sovereign grace or sin abounding
yes it may be we may be indeed sinful but to think that it is
of sovereign grace and what that means it's a free unmerited favor
of almighty god and we should be so thankful that it is so
and he tells us this him right it's written by john kent ransomed
souls that means the souls that have been redeemed the tidings
swell, tears are deep, that knows no sounding, who its
breadth or length can tell, on its glories let my soul forever
dwell. See these are grand and glorious
truths which God, because of his infinite love, to unworthy
souls, has recorded them for our instruction and for our encouragement. So here was Lydia, a God worshipper,
but the time had come when her heart was to be opened. And she attended then unto the
things which were spoken of Paul. we don't read that she disagreed
with him and it's a mercy when God makes you and me willing
in the day of his power to do his
will to follow his plan and not follow our plan well the Lord
whose heart the Lord opened No one else. It wasn't Paul who
opened the heart. Paul was just the instrument. He was just God's mouthpiece
to preach the Word. And God applied the Word. Whose heart the Lord opened. So the Scriptures are very clear,
aren't they? It doesn't leave us to any room for doubt. It's the Lord that opened her
heart. And again, that's so humbling
if we realise in our lives that the Lord, and think of that,
the Lord Almighty God, Creator of all things, has condescended to come down
and to speak into our heart so that we receive the Word of God. Well, it's good, isn't it? We've
got this before us. We're not to pass over it. We're
to ponder it and to consider whether it actually speaks directly
to each one of us. That we're able to testify by
the grace of God, I am what I am. We can say again with the hymn
writer, he saw me ruined in the fall. The fall of Adam, he saw
me ruined in the fall, yet loved me notwithstanding all. And when God makes that over
to you and me, we stand amazed to think that God should love
us. What was that in me to marry
esteem or give my creator delight? was even so far that we ever
must say because it seemed good in thy sight well tonight may
we be able to truly rejoice I hope we can and I hope we have the
evidence that God in his love to our soul has opened our heart
to receive his word and the effect is that we bow down And we worship. We worship God. We thank him
for his love. We thank him for his mercy. We
thank him for his grace toward us. And what will it do? It will
encourage us to go on our way rejoicing. Whose heart the Lord
open? And there was an effect. It wasn't
something which was just stationary and she just passed on and said,
oh, well, that was rather nice. No, it had a gracious and a God-honouring
effect. God doesn't speak and God doesn't
work in vain. There is a purpose in all that
God does in your life and my life. And that purpose is very
simply to bring honour and glory to his great and holy name. So
what does that do? That gives us cause and reason
to praise our God and to thank him for his mercy and for his
gracious dealings with our soul. We can then really go on our
way rejoicing. And so here we're told, she,
She worshipped God, and they heard us, whose heart the Lord
opened, and she attended. She attended unto the things
which were spoken of Paul. You may say, well, what things
were spoken of Paul? Well, they're not actually spoken,
we don't know precisely. But what we know is this, they
were sufficient to convince her of her need of a saviour and
sufficient to direct her to follow the teachings and directions
of the Lord. Because the next verse tells
us, and when she was baptised We're not told that Paul actually
spoke to her about being baptized, but clearly he did. And clearly
he told her that there was a need to believe the gospel. And if
she was a true believer of the gospel, she could indeed be baptized. We read together farther on in
this same chapter about Paul and Silas, because The jailer
came out and he said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Now, we're not told whether Lydia
said that, probably did, but they said this and they fell
down. What must I do to be saved? And
we need to just clarify these words, they're very clear, aren't
they? It said, what must I do to be saved. And what was the
result? What was the answer? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. What a blessing then if you and
I receive God's word and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
quite clear that Lydia would have been told that in the preaching
of Paul. believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved and thy house. And it would seem therefore
that the preaching of the gospel came to each person in that house. And we speak unto him the word
of the Lord and to all that were in his house. It was a wonderful
occasion, wasn't it? There was the work of Almighty
God upon this jailer who one moment was very happy to take
Paul and Silas and put them in the stocks and leave them there
in the deep prison. But now the time had come, the
appointed time, not to propose but call by grace. And they spake unto him, The
Word of the Lord. What was the Word of the Lord?
My friends, the Word of the Lord must have been to believe and
they must have explained what it meant, what the Lord Jesus
Christ had done, how he'd been crucified upon that cross to
take away the sins of the church and the people. What a mercy
it was then that the gospel was preached and they spake unto
him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his house. There was no beating about the
bush. This was an urgent matter. And
they didn't say, well you come aside and we'll have a quiet
word with you in a corner. No it wasn't. It was to him and all his house. we should realise
the relevance and the importance of that in the day and age in
which we live. And again, He took them the same
hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptised
he and all his straight way. It's so relevant, I often think
in the Word of God, that the Lord called people, converted
people, And what did they do? Did they sit back and want some
great and marvellous word from God to be baptised? Not at all. They were baptised. They followed
the example that was set before them by the apostles. Indeed
they had the glorious example of the Saviour himself. And so
here we are. Just like Lydia, just like the
Philippian jailer, they believed and were baptized. It wasn't
a great waiting time. What a blessing it was. What
a blessing it would be in the day and age in which we live
if we followed the pattern set before us in the Word of God
and not follow a pattern devised by man. You see, we are We move
away from the Word of God, and it's not surprising, is it, therefore,
if to a large extent we find ourselves living in a lukewarm
day, when people are not really too concerned about whether they're
a believer, not too concerned about whether they're a follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ, not too concerned about whether they
take up their cross and follow the Saviour, not too concerned
whether they are baptized well what a blessing it is if we're
favored to not worry what men think only worry what God thinks
and my friend surely we have the word of God as our guide
the word of God to direct us what a mercy it is and there
it is before us and we should be so thankful that we have such
a gracious and glorious example before us and so this woman was
baptised and her household and then you see she besought us
saying if ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord come
into my house and abide there and she constrained us yes she
desired to serve the Lord. It wasn't as though she wanted
to wait and think, well, what's going to fall out now? She was
moved by the power of God to desire to do these things. And so how wonderful it was. And the same followed Paul and
us, and cried saying, these men are the servants of the most
high God, which shone to us the way of salvation. Sure they did,
so they did. So they did and what a wonderful
thing it was and what a wonderful thing it is still for us today
in our little lives if our concern is that unbelievers might be
shown the way of salvation. We should not limit the power
of God. My friends, God is able to do
far more exceeding abundantly than you and I can ask or even
think. And so God in his love to his
church has left this on record for our direction, for our encouragement. That hymn that I just quoted,
it's 766, and it's just worth while thinking about the other
verses which John Kent wrote. The second verse is, what from
Christ that soul can sever, bound by everlasting bands, once in
him, in him forever. We cannot be removed. from God's
covenant. If he has set his love upon us,
that is an eternal love. Thus the eternal covenant stands. None shall pluck thee from the
strength of Israel's hands. No one was able to pluck Lydia
and her family or the Philippian jailer and his family from the
hands of Almighty God. No, it was ordained. And so he
goes on and tells us, heirs of God, if you and I are called
as Lydia was, as the jailer was, we are an heir of God. And our
eternal home is secure. Heirs of God, joint heirs with
Jesus. That's very humbling, isn't it?
To think that you and I, as unworthy sinners, are heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus. And then John Kent fills it in
a bit, he says, long ere time its race began, to his name eternal
praises. Oh what wonders love has done,
one with Jesus by eternal union one. Well John Kent had a very
clear view of God's love and God's grace and God's mercy and
therefore he's able to finally conclude on this last verse,
on such love my soul still ponder. It's good to think on these things
and not to just pass them off because here is the life of our
soul. Here is that which will make
us joyful and rejoice in the glorious work of God on such
love My soul will still ponder love so great, so rich, so free,
so he was lost in holy wonder. Why, O Lord, such love to me? Hallelujah! Grace shall reign eternally. God's unmerited favour will never
fail. to reign eternally and to think
that if God has loved us it's an eternal love, nothing shall
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Nothing could separate Lydia,
nothing could separate the Philippian jailer and their families. It
was an eternal love. And so tonight, may we indeed
rejoice in this great and glorious truth and indeed go on our way
rejoicing. Well, may God indeed give us
a heart to believe. May every one of us be amongst those who are true
believers. Just like the apostle said to
the jailer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved and thy house. Oh, may God give every one of
us that grace to believe. It is essential. It's not something
which is trivial. If we're an unbeliever, we shall
perish in our sins and end up eternally in hell. God gives
us that grace to believe because of his amazing love. We can believe
it is well with our soul. And that eternally. Do we not
have to conclude and say, To the honour and glory of God,
blessed be God. Amen.