The Lord Opened Her Heart

Daniel Kim

Sena Acts • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Acts 16:11–15

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It is impossible for us to believe in God because of sin. However, God graciously opens up our heart to believe.

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God Opens Lydia’s Heart

Preaching From Sena

I was shocked when I came into our youth group room on Tuesday morning because I found about 10 SENA books laying around. I was shocked and worried because it seemed like our youth group students are not taking the Scripture reading seriously.

So, I spent some time in prayer and thinking to look for ways to help you take QT seriously.

There were couple of things that came in my mind, and I thought one of the best ways to help you read the Bible everyday is to go through QT together with you by Preaching from SENA each week.

So, starting from today I’m going to preach from Sena to encourage you to do Quiet Time everyday.

I’m also hoping that this new change will enhance your discussions during the Bible Study to think deeper and draw more practical applications.

Intro To The Book of Acts

The book of Acts is a historical account of early Christianity. The story began as early as Jesus’ ascension, and witnesses the spreading of Christianity in Ancient Palestine and Europe.

The main characters of Acts are Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul. Chapters 1 to 12 are about Apostle Peter and how the message of gospel spread in Jerusalem and Palestine area. Chapters 13 to 28 are about Paul and his mission work to the European Gentiles.

The Conversion of Lydia

Throughout his entire ministry, Paul had 3 major mission trips. Each mission trip would take a couple of years because he covered a great distance for each trip and he stayed in certain area until he planted a church.

The main characters of Acts are Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul. Starting from chapter 1 to 12, it’s about about Peter and the Jerusalem church. And chapters 13 to 28 are about Paul and his mission to the Gentiles.

(Map)

When Paul was on his second mission trip, he came to a metropolitan city called Philippi. As it says in verse 12, Philippi was the leading city in Macedonia region, which is modern day Greece.

The archeologists argues that Philippi was a very wealthy city because the city was successful in trade and agricultural.

In other words, in the Ancient world, Philippi was flourishing city where people gathered.

This reflects Paul’s mission strategy.

Instead, targeting small towns, Paul always preached the gospel in the big cities because they provided many opportunities to share the gospel to a mass group of people in a very short period of time.

It’s because these cities provided many opportunities to share the gospel to a mass group of people.

So this was one of the reasons why Paul came to Philippi.

Introduction

When he came to Philippi, he rested for couple of days with his fellow missionaries Luke, Timothy and Silas.

Then on the Sabbath day they searched for a Jewish Synagogue (gathering place) to pray as it was their custom.

There, following his custom, Paul searched for Jewish Synagogue (gathering place) to pray with his fellow missionaries, Luke, Timothy and Silas.

However, they couldn’t find a Jewish Synagogue.

Preaching From Sena

So, instead his mission team went by the riverside to pray.

While they were worshipping and praying together by the river, they met a couple of women.

When I came into the youth group room on Tuesday morning, I was surprised by the fact that there were about 10 SENA books laying around in the room.

Ceasing the opportunity to share the gospel, Paul went up to the women and begin telling them about Jesus.

It worried me because it seemed like our youth group students are not taking the Scripture reading seriously.

So, I spent some time thinking what I can do to help our students take Quiet Time more seriously.

The

Then among the woman there was Lydia.

There were couple of ideas that came into my mind, and I thought one of the best ways to help DSYG read the Bible everyday is to go through SENA together with you by preaching from it each week.

So, starting from today I’m going to preach from Sena to encourage and help you to have Quiet Time on your own everyday.

14 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.

I’m also hoping that this new approach will enhance your Bible Study group discussions by helping you to think deeper and draw more practical applications from it.

There are a few things we can know about Lydia through this verse.

[Read the Text]

Lydia was originally from Thyatira. She was an immigrant like us.

Intro To The Book of Acts

She was a seller of purple goods. Back in the ancient world purple clothes were very expensive to make because it was very hard to create purple color. So, by this short verse we come to know that Lydia was a very wealthy woman.

The book of Acts is a historical account of early Christianity.

Verse 14 also says that she was a worshiper of God. It means that she was fond of Judaism and worshipping God instead of Roman idols.

The story begins as early as Jesus’ ascension, and witnesses the spreading of Christianity in Ancient Palestine and Europe.

The main characters of Acts are Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul.

Although there were a few women who heard Paul’s message that day, only Lydia came to believe in the message.

Chapters 1 to 12 are about Apostle Peter and how the message of gospel spread in Jerusalem and Palestine area.

She was so moved and blessed by the gospel, she gets baptizes at that moment.

Chapters 13 to 28 are about Paul and his mission work to the European Gentiles.

There was no trouble doing this because they were by the river anyway.

The Conversion of Lydia

Throughout his entire ministry, Paul went on 3 major mission trips around Europe.

God Opened Up Her Heart

His mission trips were not like the ones we go on summer for a week.

How did this happen?

Each mission trip lasted for about a couple of years because he covered great distances and he stayed in certain cities until he planted a church.

There were a few other women with Lydia, but how was that only her came to believe in God ?

(Map)

When Paul was on his second mission trip, he came to a metropolitan city known as Philippi.

14 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.

As it says in verse 12, Philippi was the leading city in Macedonia region, which is modern day Greece.

The archeologists argue that Philippi was a very wealthy city because it was very successful in trade and agricultural.

Here, we find a great teaching about how a person come to believe in God?

In other words, Philippi was flourishing city where many people gathered from all over the place.

A person can only come to God when the Lord opens his/her heart to listen to the word of God and believe in it.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Here’s one thing I want you to know as you are reading the book of Acts.

As it says in , faith is not a result of our own doing, but God’s gracious gift.

So Lydia was able to believe in Jesus that day in Philippi because God graciously opened up her heart to believe.

Then you should know that it was the work of God if you believe in Jesus today. It was not your own doing or effort.

But it was through God’s gracious working in your heart that made you believe and commit your life to Christ.

Amazing thing about Lydia’s faith was that, she completely supported Paul’s ministry after she was baptized.

She invited Paul and his mission to her house and provided everything they needed to do the ministry.

Later on, she even helps Paul’s mission to plant a church in Philippi.

Isn’t it amazing?

This woman, who never even once heard of the gospel, became a devout Christian supporting Paul through just one sermon.

It was all possible because God opened up her heart to believe.

This great doctrine of faith teaches us two important things about salvation.

Salvation belongs to God

God will save certain people through our evangelism.

Salvation Belongs To God

The first thing that we can learn through today’s message is that the “salvation belongs to God.”

Why? It’s because God is the one who opens up our hearts and gives us faith to believe.

Many people in this world think that faith is a matter of choice.

You either believe or disbelieve by your decision.

They think that after going through several evidences or teachings of Christianity and they make the final decision to believe or not believe in it’s message.

Yes, I understand why they think that way because it feels like their ones making the decision.

To tell you the truth, I also thought that way.

But after studying the Bible, I came to understand unless God gives us faith we cannot believe.

For this reason, some people complain that they have difficulty believing in the gospel even when they want to.

They say that really want to believe in Jesus, but they just can’t for some reason.

On the other hand, you’ll meet people who say that they didn’t try much, but their hearts were just opened up to believe.

Salvation belongs to God!

If that’s true here’s something I want you to keep in mind if you don’t have faith in Jesus.

Ask the Lord to open up your heart like Lydia to believe in Jesus.

You need to say, “God, through today’s message I came to understand that faith comes from you. So, I ask that you would have compassion over me and give me faith to believe.”

Also, if you

God Will Save Certain People Through Our Evangelism

The last thing I want you to learn through today’s message is this: “God will save certain people through our evangelism.”

Think about what happened in today’s passage.

Paul went up to total strangers and shared the gospel.

These people never heard about Paul or Jesus.

In human perspective, Paul had a zero chance of convincing anyone to believe in Jesus

But something miraculous happened!

God opened up Lydia’s heart to believe and become a passionate follower of Christ.

This was not possible because Paul was a great preacher.

No. Do you know how many times Paul failed to bring people to Christ? Many times.

But there were also many times he was able to bring people to Christ.

Same guy. Same message. But difference responses.

It’s because God opens up some people’s heart and not others.

This does not mean that God will never open your heart if you don’t believe in Jesus right now.

The timing can be different.

There are different

However, the point is that salvation is not up to us but God.

Therefore, we shouldn’t be afraid to share the gospel.

We often do not share the gospel with the people we meet because we assume the outcomes.

We assume and think “This person has to many tattoos to believe in Jesus. This person is too rich to believe in Jesus. This person is too popular to believe in Jesus.”

Think about it. Paul couldn’t have evangelize Lydia that day by the river, if we assumed in his mind thinking “Those women look wealthy to believe.”

Paul evangelized Lydia that day because he believed that salvation belongs to God, and He can give faith to anyone if he wills.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to share the gospel by believing that salvation belongs to God.

God will save those whom he wills to save.

All we need to do is to trust in him and boldly bring the gospel.

Then the Lord will help us to meet our Lydias.

Paul intentionally targeted huge cities like Philippi for mission works because they provided many opportunities to share the gospel to a mass group of people in a very short period of time.

So, let’s keep in mind that Paul came to Philippi with the hope of sharing the gospel to many people as people as possible.

Coming back to the story, Paul rested for couple of days when he first reached at Philippi with his fellow missionaries Luke, Timothy and Silas.

Then on the Sabbath day they went out to look for a Jewish Synagogue (gathering place) where they can pray.

But since they couldn’t find any synagogue, they went to the riverside to pray where they met a couple of women hanging out.

Seizing an opportunity to share the gospel, Paul introduced himself to the the women and shared the gospel with them.

Among those woman who were by the river, there was a lady named Lydia.

Who was this woman?

There are few things we can learn about her in verse 14.

14 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.

Lydia was originally from Thyatira. She was an immigrant like us.

She was a seller of purple goods.

Back in the ancient world purple clothes were very expensive to make because it was very hard to dye clothes in purple color.

So, by this short phrase we can assume that Lydia was a very wealthy woman.

Verse 14 also says that she was a worshiper of God.

It means that although she was a Gentile woman, she worship the God of the Bible, instead of the Roman idols.

Something amazing happens to Lydia.

Through Paul’s sermon, Lydia decides to give her life to Christ.

Not only that but, she also gets baptizes on that day at the river.

God Opened Up Her Heart

How did this happen?

As you know, there were a few other women with Lydia that day, but only she came to the Lord.

How was this possible.

14 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.

She was able to believe in Jesus that day because God opened her heart to listen to Paul’s sermon and believe in it.

Here, we find a great teaching about how a person comes to believe in God?

A person can come to God only when the Lord opens his/her heart to listen to the word of God and believe in it.

In other words, God is the initiator of our faith, not us.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

So Lydia was able to believe in Jesus that day in Philippi because God graciously opened up her heart to believe.

Then you should know that it was God who gave you faith to believe in Jesus Christ if you believe in Him today.

It was not your own doing or effort, but it was through God’s gracious working in your heart that made you believe and commit your life to Christ.

Isn’t it amazing?

Lydia, who never even once heard of the gospel, became a devout Christian supporting Paul through just one sermon.

It was all possible because God opened her heart to believe.

I believe we can draw to two important implications through today’s lesson on faith.

1. Salvation belongs to God

2. God will save certain people through our evangelism.

Salvation Belongs To God

The first implication that we can learn through today’s message is that the “salvation belongs to God,” and not us.

Many people in the world think that faith is a matter of choice.

They argue that you either believe or disbelieve in God by your own reasoning and decision.

I understand why they think this way because it feels like we’re the ones making the decision.

To tell you the truth, I also thought this way. I thought I came to believe in God with my own decision.

But after studying the Bible in depth, I came to understand that unless God opens up our hearts to believe we cannot have faith in Him.

Salvation belongs to God, not us.

This is why some people say that they can’t believe in the gospel even when they want to.

They say that really want to believe in Jesus, but they just can’t for some reason.

Now we know the answer to that problem.

They can’t believe because God didn’t open up their heart yet.

This does not mean that God will never open their hearts to believe.

God might give them faith later, but the fact of the matter is that it’s up to God, and not us.

On the other hand, you’ll meet people like Lydia who will say that they didn’t try much, but somehow God opened up their hearts to believe in Him.

Whenever I have Baptism/Confirmation class, I ask students how they came to believe in Jesus.

Many of them tell me the same thing: somehow God opened up their heart to believe in Jesus.

They know exactly how it happened, but they know that it was God who did it.

Salvation belongs to God!

If that’s true here’s something I want you to keep in mind.

Ask the Lord to open up your heart like Lydia to believe in Jesus if you are having difficulty believing in Him.

“God, through today’s message I came to understand that faith comes from you. So, I ask that you would have compassion over me and give me faith to believe in you. Please open up my heart to believe.”

God Will Save Certain People Through You When You Boldly Share The Gospel

The last thing I want you to learn through today’s message is this: Whether you are a good preacher or not God will save certain people through you if you boldly share the gospel.

Think about what happened in today’s passage.

Paul went up to total strangers and shared the gospel.

These people never heard about Paul or Jesus.

In human perspective, Paul had a zero chance of convincing them to believe in Jesus

But something miraculous happened!

Lydia came to believe in the Lord because God opened her heart.

Once again, this was not possible because Paul was a great preacher.

It was possible because God was the one who opens up some people’s hear to believe in Him.

If we believe that God is the one who opens up people’s heart to believe, then we shouldn’t be afraid to share the gospel to anyone.

We often do not share the gospel with others because we assume the outcomes.

We hesitate in sharing the gospel saying, “This person has to many tattoos to believe in Jesus. This person is too rich to believe in Jesus. This person is too popular to believe in Jesus.”

Think about it. Paul couldn’t have evangelized Lydia that day by the river, if he assumed in his mind “These women look too wealthy to believe.”

Paul evangelized Lydia that day because he believed that salvation belongs to God, and thus, he just needs to boldly share the gospel.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, the book of Acts is not there to tell you bedtime stories about the early missionaries like Paul.

The book of Acts is there to encourage and motivate us to go out and boldly spread the gospel.

So, as we are meditating Acts together through SENA let us muster courage for evangelism and mission work.

Let us no longer assume or be afraid of people’s response to our message.

But by believing that salvation belongs to God and He can open anyone’s heart if he wills, let us boldly tell our friends and family members about the good news of Jesus Christ.

God will save those whom he wills to save.

All we need to do is to trust in him and boldly bring the gospel.

Then the Lord will do his work to save the lost souls.

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