GOD AT WORK BY THE RIVERSIDE

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 29, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: March 29, 2023 from Acts 16:6-10

Theme: When we make faithful use of the gospel opportunities God gives us, we can expect the Holy Spirit to work in some unexpected ways.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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When it comes to the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this world, it’s hard to predict just how things will happen. It may seem that God’s missionaries will work and labor for some time, and yet see little in the way of results. But then, suddenly—and in unexpectedly great ways—God opens hearts; and people believe; and the work advances remarkably.

We can never predict such things as this. We can’t plan them out in advance. It’s all in the hand of the sovereign God. The Lord Jesus has told us, in John 3, that the Holy Spirit works like the wind. The wind blows where it wishes; and we don’t see it coming, and we don’t see it going. All that we see are the results. But the important thing for us to do is to take hold of the opportunities that we know that God has given us, and faithfully labor how and where we can—doing what we are able to do with what we have—and trusting that, in God’s perfect time and way, His Spirit will prove to have been at work all along.

This is illustrated to us wonderfully in Acts 16—and in the story of the very beginnings of Paul’s ministry in Philippi. In this first major step of his second missionary journey, Paul—along with Silvanus, Timothy, and Luke—had to work under unusual circumstances, and had to wait for the results of their labors. But the results finally came … and in a surprising way. And as a result, the work of the gospel in Macedonia gained a very important ally … and eventually spread around the world.

In Acts 16:11-15, we’re told;

Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us (Acts 16:11-15).

There’s a great lesson illustrated for us in this passage. God may call us to live and work and labor in a place that—at first—seems ‘unfruitful’. We may have been absolutely certain that God called us there; but we may also begin to wonder why … or whether or not anything good will come from it. But as this passage shows us, when we make faithful use of the gospel opportunities God gives us, we can expect the Holy Spirit to work in some unexpected ways.

The question is, will we be faithful and trust His timing?

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Now; this story began in Acts 16:6-10. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy had sought from the Lord where it was that He wanted them to go. But it seemed that all they learned was where He didn’t want them to go. They sought first to go to Asia Minor; but the Lord forbade them from preaching the gospel there. Then they sought to go up north to Bythinia; but the Spirit didn’t permit them. Finally, the Lord sent Paul a vision of a man in Macedonia—pleading with the missionaries to come to the people of that land and help them.

We’re told in verse 10 that, upon hearing this, they sought immediately to go; “concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them”. And so; now with Luke—the writer of this account—also coming along …

1. THEY WENT TO THE PLACE GOD CALLED THEM (vv. 11-12).

Luke tells us in verse 11, “Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis …” Troas was along the northwestern coast of Mysia; and it was from this city—as they sought the Lord’s direction—that they received the “Macedonian Call”. So; as soon as they were able, they sailed across the Aegean Sea to the island of Samothrace off the coast of Thrace (a journey of about 60 miles by sea); and the next day, reached the Macedonian city of Neapolis (another 60 miles or so by sea). Luke uses unusual language to describe this journey; saying that they “ran a straight course”. The implication was that it was a surprisingly swift journey. If you look at Acts 20:6, you find that the same trip took five days. So; once the missionaries knew God’s will for them and went, God clearly affirmed their obedience by giving them what we might rightly call genuine “God-speed” for their journey. This must have been very encouraging to them—especially after having run into so many seeming ‘dead ends’ in their search before. Very often, when we discover God’s will for us and faithfully go forward, we find that He works providentially to affirm our obedience—and lets us know that we’re going in the right direction.

Luke then goes on to tell us, in verse 12, “and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony.” This was an important and strategic city to visit. It held an important status in the region. Even though it was a foreign city as far as the Roman empire itself was concerned, it had received the distinction of being named a Roman “colony”. This was an honor that was sometimes given to a non-Roman city because of some outstanding act or service to the empire. As a result of this honor, the people in that city lived in Philippi—but were considered honorary citizens of Rome. Later on, when Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, the believers would have easily understood what he meant when he told them that, though they live on earth, their “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

But notice what Luke tells us at the end of verse 12. He wrote, “And we were staying in that city for some days.” The way Luke puts this in the original language suggests that it was an ongoing stay … a time of waiting, as if were, for something to happen. Why were they there? What did God want them to do? It appears that there wasn’t a synagogue in the city; so they couldn’t go—as they usually did—and preach the gospel first to the Jewish people. They couldn’t follow their usual pattern. It must have seemed like a frustrating time.

But that’s when we learn another principle from their missionary work; and that is that …

2. THEY MADE USE OF THE OPPORTUNITY THEY HAD (v. 13).

It may not have been that they could go to the synagogue; but they did what they could do. We’re told in verse 13, “And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.” They found that some women from the city—citizens of Philippi who were pious Gentiles who sought the God of Israel—would habitually pray together on the Sabbath. It wasn’t a synagogue. It was a riverbank. It wasn’t the leading men of the city. It was the women. And it wasn’t the kind of ministry location they would have expected. It was where people went to do their washing. But they made use of this opportunity, meeting with the women who gathered there and striking up a conversation with them for the gospel. In other words, they made use of what opportunity they had.

What a great lesson this is! We shouldn’t complain in frustration over the opportunities we wish we might have had—but hadn’t been given. Instead, we should grab hold of the ones that God sets before us and make full use of them. As Paul wrote to the Colossian believers,

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time (Colossians 4:5);

or, as it’s translated in the New International Version, “make the most of every opportunity”. If the missionaries had not done what they did with the opportunity that had been given them down by the riverside, they wouldn’t have seen the results that they were about to see!

And that leads us, next, to how …

3. THEY SAW GOD WORK TO OPEN LYDIA’S HEART (v. 14).

Luke tells us in verse 14, “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God.” This remarkable woman was in business—a merchant. She dealt in highly-valued purple fabric; that is, clothes and garments that had been carefully and professionally dyed for color and beauty. This would suggest to us that she was a prominent woman who was financially successful.

As it turns out, Lydia was from the city of Thyatira—which, later on, was one of the seven cities that the Lord Jesus sent a letter to in the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 2:18-29). And what’s more, her home city was one of the cities of Phrygia … where Paul and Silas had previously been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go and preach (see Acts 16:6). We’re told that Lydia was among those “who worshiped God”; but it must be that she did so in very much the same way as Cornelius the Roman centurion had done in Acts 10—that is, from a standpoint of a Gentile who knew about the God of Israel; and who was seeking Him while still in ignorance of the gospel. And just as God graciously sent the gospel to Cornelius through Peter as he sought to worship Him, so God sent the gospel to Lydia through Paul.

Luke went on to tell us, “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” God graciously gave her faith; and in hearing the gospel, she believed and placed her trust in Jesus. And think of it! This means that even though God had forbidden the missionaries from going to Asia Minor to preach the gospel, He nevertheless had this woman from Asia Minor prepared to hear the gospel in a strategic city in Macedonia! She became the first convert to the gospel in what would later become Europe—and it all happened in an unexpected place and under unexpected circumstances!

God truly works in surprising ways!

And that leads to a final thing that is told to us about the surprising results of the missionaries’ faithfulness at the riverside …

4. THEY GAINED A VALUED SUPPORTER IN THE WORK (v. 15).

We’re told in verse 15 that Lydia and her household were all baptized—very much as had occurred in the case of Cornelius the centurion. The fact that she had ‘a household’ suggests again to us that she was a woman of means. Luke tells us, “And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’” And it might be with a slight bit of ‘tongue-in-cheek’ that Luke added, “So she persuaded us.” Perhaps when they saw the house, it didn’t require too much persuasion!

This remarkable woman Lydia—the very first convert in the western world—became an important support to the ministry of the gospel. She could have used her financial resources to help in that ministry. And her home became ‘home-base’ for the missionaries for some time. We’re told that at the end of their time in Philippi—after they had been released from jail (more on that later!)—they “entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed” (v. 40). This may suggest to us that Lydia’s home became the center of the first house-church in Europe—which also may mean that the letter that Paul later wrote to the Philippians was sent to Lydia’s home to the saints that met there!

What a wonderful ministry supporter God provided to Paul and Silas through Lydia! And what an unexpected result it was that God brought about through their faithfulness! In God’s work, the results aren’t dependent upon the humbleness of the opportunities, but rather on the greatness of the God who uses us in the midst of them.

* * * * * * * * * *

So then; look at the pattern we see. First, the missionaries went faithfully to where God called them. Then—seeing no synagogue there—they made use of the opportunities they had. They went down to the riverside. And then, along the way, God opened the heart of Lydia. She believed. And as a result of their faithfulness, the door to the Gentiles in Macedonia became opened … and they gain an important supporter in the work. None of this would have happened if they had not gone to where God had called them—or had not done what they could once they were there with what they had.

Now; it may not be that we always see the results of our faithfulness in such a dramatic way. There have been many stories throughout church history of faithful missionaries and pastors and gospel workers who have labored hard in the places that God clearly had called them to go. And there have been many such stories in which those laborers died and went to the Lord without ever seeing the fruits of their labors with their own eyes on Earth.

But our heavenly Father wastes nothing of what He calls His faithful servants to do in the cause of His Son’s kingdom. Sometimes we get to see the results with our own eyes; and sometimes the results are only seen later by those who come after us. But in the service of our sovereign God, whenever we make faithful use of the seemingly-small gospel opportunities He gives us, we can trust Him and expect the Holy Spirit to work in some unexpected and unpredictably great ways.

The question is this: Will we be faithful to His call … and trust Him in the process?

AE