The Second Missionary Journey - Hearts were Opened in Philippi

Alright, if you would, please take your Bible and turn to Acts 16. Acts 16 will be in verses 11 to 15 tonight, but I will back up and read some of our verses from last week. Now last week we covered verses 1 to 10, and I call that message, or title of that message, the second missionary journey, "A new door is opened." A new door is opened. And tonight we will see those missionaries go through that door. We saw that after the missionary team of Paul and Barnabas split up over their sharp disagreement, Barnabas took John Mark and went to Cyprus, but Paul took Silas and they went through Syria and Cilicia.

And both teams went about strengthening the churches that were formed on that first missionary journey. That first missionary journey was led by Paul and Barnabas. R.C. Sproul points out how God sovereignly worked in this divide, doubling the missionary efforts, and that's true. I would kind of add to that by saying God sovereignly worked in this divide in good grace because we see the best of the best not really being at their best. And we know that their missionary efforts were doubled. And we saw that Paul's second missionary journey started when they were sent out by the church at Antioch and they went to Derby and then to Lystra.

But to me, in a way, the second missionary journey really started when Paul received the Macedonian call starting in verse 6. That is before Paul and Silas could start the new work in Macedonia. But that is because before Paul and Silas could start the new work in Macedonia, to me, some important preparation had to take place. I said that a preliminary work was essential for the team and this was all preparation for the new doors of ministry that were before them. And there was and is lots of new. We're going to see that tonight. But we saw a new worker was added to the team and that was Timothy.

Paul returned to Derby and Lystra and strengthened the churches. There he met Timothy, a young disciple with a strong reputation among the churches. And even though he was young and young in the faith, he was respected and spiritually mature. So Paul added him to the team, preparing him for the ministry by removing potential barriers to reaching both Jews and Gentiles. Of course, this barrier was circumcision. But Timothy's circumcision was not about salvation, no, but about having no hindrance, no obstacle between their ministry and their message and the Jews that desperately needed to hear the Gospel. And then we saw the old work continued.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy revisited established churches, teaching the decisions from the Jerusalem Council. They thought that salvation was by grace and grace alone. No Jewish works were to be added. They thought that they were to obey in holiness, that they were to be unified in areas of conscience. And the churches were strengthened in the faith and they also grew in number because of how they were strengthened. And then finally, we saw that a new work was opened in verses 6 to 10. We saw how God closed the door in Asia and Bithynia and the team ended up in Troas and through the Macedonian call, God opened a new direction into Europe.

Paul and his team obeyed immediately, demonstrating that even closed doors are a part of God's guidance. And for us, this reveals God's sovereignty and God's providence in directing gospel ministry in the advancement of the gospel. That's good to see. Understanding these events here reveal God's sovereignty, God's providence in directing gospel ministry and those who he chooses to advance the gospel. Simply even when God's best or not their best, in God's providence, he used both teams to advance the gospel to strengthen the churches and even to reach more of the lost. So here we are in Paul's second missionary journey.

Paul's team was complete and ready to strike out. And besides having a ministry assistant in Timothy, we saw that Dr. Luke joined the team as well so we can say that they had a traveling physician to attend to their needs. So let's read our verses, verses 11 to 15, but I do want to go back up and read verses 6 to 10 as well. This all goes together. "And when they went through the region, Fergian, Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, and when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

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.' 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." And notice we see some wee language because Luke is in the mix now. So verse 11, "Setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neopolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.

We remained in the city for some days, and on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside where we suppose 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 worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul, and after she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us saying, 'If you would have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay,' and she prevailed upon us." So notice what we see in verses 6 to 10.

We see how God closed doors of ministry, and not just one. But then here in verses 11 to 15, of course this is tied to verses 6 to 10, we see how God was opening a new door of ministry for Paul and the ministry team. This is how I want to approach the verses. I want to make four observations here. The first will be rather quick, and the last will be rather quick. First, I want us to see how Paul and his team made their way to Philippi, verses 11 to 12. Some of you will remember this from our study in Philippians a few years back. And second, I want us to see how they made their way to worship in verse 13.

Third, how the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, and then last, how the Lord birthed the church in Philippi, and that sneaks up on us right there in the end of verse 15. So number one, the team made their way to Philippi. The team, this would be Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke, they made their way to Philippi. Here we see that the missionary team, they started off from Troas, which was a port city across the Aegean Sea from Greece. Now I say this from time to time, it would be good for you to put your eyes on the maps and see where they were located and how they were traveling. It helps me. I think it will help you.

But while in Troas, waiting on direction from God, the Holy Spirit used the vision of a man from Macedonia to call them across the Aegean Sea into Macedonia. So immediately they put out the sea, knowing that God had called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia. And they went to Samothrace and then to Neopolis. And the important thing to see here is not the cities, but that they had made their way onto European soil. And they were the first missionaries to reach the European continent. But as we can see, the team did not stop in Samothrace and Neopolis, but they went on to the city of Philippi.

Now before we see what took place in Philippi, we do need to see the significance of the city. Philippi was a Roman colony, the text says, which meant it really was a miniature Rome away from Rome in a distant foreign land. In that day, the Roman emperor would organize these colonies. And he did this by ordering certain Roman citizens, especially retired military and their families. He ordered them to relocate to these colonies, and these were strategic places for a strategic purpose and purposes.

The emperor would relocate these Roman cities in these strategic colonies so that there would be strong pro-Roman cities and areas in key areas in the kingdom. Even though they were really living on foreign soil, these Roman citizens were expected to be pro-Roman and to be loyal to the emperor. They were expected to obey Roman laws and to be loyal to the rule of the emperor. Now in return, they were given particular political advantages. The biggest was that they were exempt from certain taxes.

This was one of the big rewards and incentives because they were leaving their homes, they were leaving their families, they were leaving their land and their culture, and they were relocating to foreign places like Philippi and Macedonia. So the important thing to see here is this. Philippi was a strategic city, an imported city in an imported Roman colony. But next, number two, the team made their way to worship. This may surprise you, but the team, Paul Silas, Timothy, and Luke, made their way to worship. We see it in verse 13, but back up to verse 12.

And from there to Philippi, which was a leading city in the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony, we remained in the city some days. And on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside where we suppose there was a place of prayer and we sat down and spoke to the women who would come together. Here we see that Paul and the team remained in the city for some time. And as we see, in my opinion, they were kind of scoping the city out physically and spiritually, especially spiritually.

And to understand what Paul and the mission team did in their first step in evangelizing the lost and seeking to plan a church, we have to remember that it was Paul's practice to go to the Jewish synagogue first and to preach the gospel to the Jews first. But notice Paul did not do that. And we have to ask why. Well it's simple. Scholars tell us there were not enough Jews in the city to have a synagogue. To form a synagogue, they were required to have 10 Jewish men in attendance who were heads of their households. So it's obvious that there were not enough Jews in the city to form a synagogue.

And when that was the case, the few Jews that were able to meet would normally meet in a place of prayer under an open sky and it was very common for them to meet by a sea or by a river. So notice what this shows us. Paul and the mission team lived in Philippi for some time, assessing the spiritual climate of the city and they came to understand that there was no Jewish synagogue in the city because there were very few Jews in the city. So this fact determined their first step in evangelizing the lost. This determined how they would work to plan a church. Now with that in our minds, look at what the team did.

First they went to worship near the river. Here we see that the known place of prayer for the Jews in the city was outside of the city at the riverside. And one commentator noted this was most likely where the main road led outside of the city that crossed the Gangatees River. Being that there were others who obviously met there for prayer tells us that the meeting place was a time that was known. Now this is kind of my speculation, my imagination here. Maybe as Paul and the others were living in the city, they were looking for other Jews. They were Jews.

They were asking where there were Jews if there were any and they were looking for where the Jewish synagogue could be. Then when they discovered there was no synagogue, well then they were looking for where any Jews would meet. That's a natural assumption. So on the Sabbath, the Jewish Sabbath, Paul and the team met for prayer and worship at the known or the established place of worship for the Jews near the river. Second, they spoke the gospel to those who were gathered. We see this in verse 13. Now look at the second part of the verse and we will see their approach. We see that the team, Luke says we.

He says we, the men, sat down to speak and get this. This sitting down to speak was the accepted mode, the accepted posture for teaching. Think about it. In our day, in our time, we have an accepted mode, posture for teaching. In our day, the preacher, the pastor, a teacher stands behind a pulpit or a podium like this. But in that setting, it was custom for those who were teaching to sit down. So they took a posture of teaching. And notice it wasn't just one, it was all of the men. But notice how they taught. All of the translations we use say that they spoke to the women who were gathered.

The legacy standard Bible, the New Americans say we began speaking. And this word spoke here is very, very simple. It means to speak. But notice this refers to personal conversation, not preaching. That's important. This refers to normal personal conversation, not preaching as we are accustomed to see. They spoke the gospel and the truth of God's word to these women. They did not preach. Now there's a lesson here. Speaking the gospel and the truth of God's word to individuals is biblical.

It's like Paul and these on the mission team, and do not make the mistake of thinking that to share the gospel and the truth of God's word, you must preach to your friends and your family. And you know, in my experience, those who try to preach to family and friends like that, it doesn't really go well. Now if God puts you in a position to be behind a pulpit or a podium and you preach, that's one thing. What I'm trying to show you is that if it's one on one, it's family. Even if it's in a family gathering, if you try to preach, you may offend. It's good to think about speaking face to face, conversationally.

Of course when you do that, you are presenting truth as well. I think that's good for us. So let's be like Paul and these missionaries. Let's speak the gospel. Let's speak the gospel. Let's speak the word of God. Let's speak the truth in our families to our lost friends, neighbors, and family members. Within third, they spoke the gospel and the truth of God's word to the women. Notice the significance of this fact. This tells us how small the Jewish population in the city was. It seems that there were no Jewish men to lead, so the women gathered to worship. Without a question, what did they do when they gathered in this worship setting?

The verse says they met for prayer, but scholars, commentators tell us it's safe to assume they prayed. Someone read from the Old Testament, especially from the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Old Testament. Scholars tell us it's safe to assume that someone even led a discussion about what they read from the Old Testament. So if there would have been a Jewish man, he would have led these things, but if not, then it is safe to assume that one of the women or the women would have led out in these things. So notice what we have here.

Paul and the other men on the missions team made their way to the riverside to worship on the Jewish Sabbath. And there they found a group of women who met to worship. So the men, Paul, Silas, Timothy, Dr. Luke, they sat and they spoke the gospel and the truth of God's word to the women. And if there had been men there, well, they would have spoken to them as well. And get this, Luke records the first gospel presentation given on European soil. Of course, Paul and those men could have shared the gospel to others in the city before. They could have.

But here in verse 13, we have the first recorded account of the gospel being shared on European soil. Now, look at how this applies to us. This is real simple. You may be the first in your family who have come to saving faith. You may be the first in your neighborhood to have come to saving faith. And you may be the first to share the gospel in your family. You may be the first to share the gospel in your neighborhood, in your workplace. You see, there are many firsts. And I look forward to the day when someone or some family or some man or some woman, they're the first that we send out from our church. So the team made their way to worship.

And notice the change in the events. Number three, the Lord opened the heart of Lydia. I want us to read verse 14 in the beginning of this verse 15. "One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

And after she was baptized in her inner household as well, she urged us saying," and I'll paraphrase it, "Hey, if you judge me to be a Christian, come stay at my house." Now, before we get into Lydia's conversion to Christ and the fact that she was the first recorded convert to Christ on European soil, we do need to learn a little bit about the lady. First who she was. Here Luke introduces us to a woman named Lydia, and he gives us quite a bit of information in just a few words. She was from Thyatira, which was a city located in the Roman province of Lydia.

But Thyatira is the city of one of the seven churches seen in chapter two of Revelation. And Thyatira was famous for its manufacture of purple dye and purple dyed goods. And Luke tells us that Lydia was the dealer in purple goods. Now history and scholars tell us that the purple dye and the purple goods were very, very expensive. Purple garments and any goods dyed purple were worn by and used by the very wealthy, even royalty. And any dealings in purple goods would have been very, very lucrative in business.

And we know that Lydia was wealthy from her business because at the end of verse 15, we see that she had a large enough house for the ministry team and others to come stay with her. That would have been a large house in that day. So notice what we need to see about Lydia, who she was. She was a dealer in purple goods, and it seems obvious that she had some wealth. She must have had a business in contacts back in Thyatira and Philippi and most likely other cities. And she had a large enough house in Philippi, large enough to host the ministry team and others. But I want us to see why she matters.

Of course she matters because she was a person who needed the gospel. But as we will see, she becomes the first convert to Christ in Europe and her home will be the beginnings of the first church in Europe. So she was a central figure, a key leader in this first church in Philippi and on European soil. But now I want to turn to some specifics here. First we see she was converted to Christ. Notice that Luke tells us she was one who heard what was spoken by the men and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. The Amplified reads a little different than the English Standard Version.

It says she listened to us and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention and to respond to the things said by Paul. Now we have to ask, what does this mean? I mean this is a little odd, God opened her heart. What does this mean? This is actually simple. Here Luke emphasizes and points out the sovereign work of God in salvation. Luke is emphasizing and pointing out how God the Holy Spirit worked in regeneration. This is all speaking of the new birth that we see in John 3. This takes place when those who are Ephesians 2.1 dead in the trespasses and sins and Ephesians 2.5 they are made together, alive together with Christ. You see that?

Lydia was dead in her trespasses and sins but God in His great mercy and grace made her alive and joined her together with Christ. God opened up her heart and He did that work. We can go back to John 3. She was born again, born from above. I love some things that a few commentators point out here that help us. MacArthur points out what is plain to see in the verse, that is the ordered events that took place that led up to this conversion. First Luke tells us that she was a worshiper of God. This means she was a worshiper of the one true God.

She was somehow, someway, at least a partial convert to Judaism but this means she was seeking after God. But remember now we must never forget something here. The only way she was able to truly seek God was because God was truly seeking her. Romans chapter 3 tells us more than once that no person can seek God. But John 6.44 tells us that no one can seek God but the ones that are seeking God are actually being drawn by God. So what we see here is this, Lydia was seeking God, yes, only because God was seeking her. We truly see John 6.44 fleshed out in Lydia.

Jesus says in John 6.44, "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." That's exactly what we see in Lydia. Second Luke tells us she was listening. She was listening specifically to Paul who no doubt was speaking the gospel in the truth of God's word. No doubt he was sharing Jesus in their need of conversion to Christ. No doubt he was sharing that Jesus was and is a fulfillment of all seen in the Old Testament. Notice what Luke is showing us here. Many heard Paul speaking the gospel but only Lydia had the spiritual ability to pay attention to what Paul shared. Luke reminds us of an important fact that we must never forget.

Many hear the gospel in the truth of God's word but none have the ability to hear it and pay attention to it and receive it. A question. How many heard the voice of Jesus when Paul was struck down on the road to Damascus? How many heard the words of Jesus when Paul was struck down? But how many heard it, understood it, and received it? Only Paul. Many heard it but only one heard it. Well that's what was taking place here. Lydia was listening because God opened her heart. She was made alive together with Christ. She was given the faith to listen and to savingly believe the gospel.

And to go along with what we see here with Luke, Warren Wiersby helps us some. He addresses a possible error that some make here. And this is a misconception, an error that many of us can sometimes struggle to let go of. He says, and I'm quoting, "We must not conclude that because God opened Lydia's heart, Lydia's part in her conversion was entirely passive." He goes on to say, "She listened attentively to the word and it is the word that brings the sinner to the Savior." And he, that's Wiersby, cites John 5.24 that says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life." And notice what this tells us. Jesus shows us that whoever, whoever, whoever hears his word and believes in him has or gains eternal life. Notice the word of God is key to saving faith. And Wiersby goes on to say, "The same God who ordained the end, Lydia's salvation, also ordained the means to the end, Paul's witness of Jesus Christ." This is a beautiful illustration of 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 to 14. Well listen to 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 to 14.

"But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to this he called you through our gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." And notice how these verses in 2 Thessalonians apply to Lydia. And I'm going to take a little liberty and insert Lydia here. Notice how it relates.

Paul says, "But we ought always to give thanks to you, brothers," and Lydia, "brothers by the Lord, because God chose you, Lydia, as the first fruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to this he called you, Lydia, through our gospel so that you may obtain glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." So I say all of that to say, Lydia was worshiping and seeking God as an unsaved, dead and earth trespasses and sins woman, all because God was drawing her. And she heard the gospel in the Word of God from Paul because God opened up her heart. She savingly believed in Christ and she was saved.

Now notice what happens next. She was baptized, second. Look back at verse 14 and 15. 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 Paul said. Then after she was baptized. Here we see what was normal in the early church. It's pretty obvious. Lydia believed, she confessed, and she was baptized. And it is safe to assume she was baptized probably right there in the river where they were worshiping. But we have to ask, what is the meaning of baptism?

Well one of the best documents or resources that you can get your hands on to study baptism comes from our statement of faith. And as a matter of fact, a lot of times when I'm counseling someone about baptism, that's one of the resources I use. From time to time someone will say, "Well pastor, I've been studying that." And it would be good for you to go maybe study that section on baptism and even listen to some of the messages I have preached on baptism if you struggle to understand it. But the simple meaning of baptism is that baptism is an outward sign and a symbol of the redeemed person's identification with Christ Jesus.

It is an act of obedience by the believer. It does not aid in their salvation at all. But this leads us to a question or two. What does it mean that her entire household was baptized as well? Well there are two ways I want to answer that question. First the simple and obvious meaning. It simply means that all those in her household, any children she may have had, any servants she may have had, all who were in her household who heard the gospel and savingly believed, they were baptized. If she had children who were baptized they believed like their mother.

If she had any servants or even slaves in her household and they were baptized, well they were converted to Christ just like Lydia. But then second, for those who believe in infant baptism, well this means a lot more than we may know. And next week I'm going to come back to this and deal with how our Presbyterian friends relate to these verses. So notice what we have here. Here Luke gives us the conversion of Lydia. She was the first convert to Christ on European soil. She was a wealthy woman who was a worshipper of God, but she heard the gospel from Paul. God opened up her heart to the gospel. She trusted Christ. She expressed faith.

She believed. And she was baptized as a physical symbol of what had taken place spiritually in her heart and life. Now notice how this applies to us. All of us who have been saved, all of us who have been converted to Christ, whether we were converted at 7, 17, or 87, all were converted just like Lydia. Now you might not have known it at the time, but God opened up your heart. God caused you to hear the word. God caused you to hear the gospel. God caused you to see your sinful state and the invitation to come to Christ, and you trusted Christ. You see, any and all who come to saving faith, God has to open up their heart.

But then for any who may not be saved, if there are any here tonight who may not be saved, notice that God is seeking you. Look church, it's not a coincidence when any lost person is in the pew hearing the gospel. Just like God sent Paul and his team all the way to Philippi, God brings lost people right before us. God is still directing people to places and churches and pastors and Christians to share the gospel. You might say, "Pastor, I can't believe it. This guy has moved next door to me. This family's moved next door to me. I've got a new coworker, and it's almost like God put us together for me to share the gospel.

It's just God put you together to share the gospel." So the Lord opened Lydia's heart. She was converted to Christ. And then last, number four, this will be rather short, the Lord birthed the church in Philippi. Look back at verse 15. This may surprise you. And after she was baptized in her household as well, she urged us, now this is Luke talking now, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord," in our language, "If you've judged me to be a real Christian like you guys, come to my house and stay, and she prevailed upon us." Here, I want to make two short, quick observations. One we have already seen.

First, this is evidence that Lydia was a wealthy woman. Simply she had a house large enough to hold all who were there at worship in the mission's team. Any and all scholars that you may read tell us that this shows us that she was a woman of means. Second, here we have the beginnings of the church in Philippi. Here we see that the mission team, Lydia and those of her household who believed, any and all who were there that day, they came together to meet in Lydia's house. And we will see that later on in verse 40, when Paul and Silas were released from prison, they went right to the believers meeting at Lydia's house.

As one commentator said it, and I'm quoting, "Her home became the center of Christian outreach and worship in Philippi." That's where the church started. So notice what Luke shows us. It is not that meeting in a house is what is important. It is that God birthed the church there in Philippi. That's what was important. God birthed the church there in Philippi, and Lydia offered her house as a central meeting place for the work. Now the point is not that they met in a house, but that a church was born where? On European soil. You see?

And look, my dream here is that God will use us to help another church that maybe needs to be rebirthed like we used to be. And my dream is that one day God would use us to even plant a church or help start a church somewhere around the world, just like we see with this Philippian church. So the Lord birthed the church in Philippi. Now as I close, look at what we have here. This is really the title of the message. The second missionary journey, hearts were opened in Philippi. The second missionary journey, hearts were opened in Philippi. And as we continue in the verses, we will see more ministry in Philippi, but opposition comes next.

But as I close, I want to show you what we need today. We have many lost around us. We have many lost family members. I pray the Holy Spirit of God is bringing names and faces. In your mind, we have lost around us, we have lost in our families. And I have a couple of questions I want to ask you here and I want to answer them. How will those lost friends, lost neighbors, lost family members, how will they be saved? What does it take for them to be saved? God opening their heart or us speaking the gospel? The lost that are around us, the lost in our families, how will they be saved? What does it take for them to be saved?

God opening their heart, us speaking the gospel? Well the answer is yes. But I want to kind of lean over to one side. What happens if no one speaks the gospel? What happens if no one speaks the gospel to your mother, father, brother, sister, children, neighbor, spouse? Paul and the team have to travel all the way to Philippi and share the gospel. But look at our responsibilities here and I'm using our language. It's us. We must pray because only God can open hearts. We must go. We must speak the gospel because it could be that God is looking for us to do the work. So second missionary journey, hearts were open in Philippi. Let's pray.