I know someone, a brother in Christ, who not too long ago was recently taken to the hospital with, what they would come to find, their main artery to their heart 100% blocked. He was in what is known as ventricular tachycardia. It's a life-threatening heart rhythm. And eventually, as the details of the story played out, he was rushed into the cardiac catheterization lab, where a doctor inserted a catheter into his heart, saw that his main artery was 100% blocked, and placed a stent. It was essentially the only way to save his life at that moment, and thanks be to God, that's what happened. The stent was inserted. As he recalls, the pain eased and he felt like he could breathe again. Now, a doctor can do that. A doctor has tools at his or her disposal, these interventions, to open up blocked pathways to and from the heart. Doctors can do an angioplasty. Doctors can insert a coronary stent. They can do those things to kind of open up the heart, you might say. But no doctor, none of us, has the capacity to open up the heart spiritually of a man or a woman. That we cannot do. We can open a lot of things. We can open doors, we can open windows, we can open jars, we can open containers, we can open businesses, we can open bank accounts, but we cannot open a human heart. Only the God of the universe can open the human heart so as to receive the good news of the gospel of grace. That is a work that only God alone can do. Now maybe some of you have experienced a time when you were trying to open a jar or a container and you just couldn't do it. Or another family member couldn't do it and they brought that jar or container to you and you tried and you couldn't do it but you had some tools at your disposal. You got the paper towels out and you used the paper towels to get a better grip and you tried and that didn't work. But maybe you became a little bit bold and you decided to get a wrench. I've done this. You've got to be gentle. You've got to be careful. And you just very carefully use that wrench, and you open the container. Maybe you have other tools at your disposal. You're one of those people, you know, you turn over the jar, you start hitting it really hard from the bottom, and you find that it loosens it, and there you go, you can open it. See, there are tools at our disposal to open things that seem like they cannot be opened. And sadly, in churches sometimes, there could be those who believe that if they just get the right ingredients into a certain environment, that they could have a part in opening the hearts of men and women. Maybe with the right lighting, the right music, the right invitation, the right recitation, you can get a person to make a decision through which regeneration will happen. When you look at the scriptures, though, at the end of the day, that's really backwards. Because as we're going to see in our passage today, it's the God of the universe, who by the power of his spirit and through his word, opens the human heart, so that that good news of the gospel might go in. He's the one who can do it. We cannot do it. We'll see a vivid example of that in our passage today. As we make our way into the text, let's remember where we were some weeks ago. The last time we were in the book of Acts, we saw that Paul and Silas were on Paul's second missionary journey. They were revisiting some of the churches where Paul had gone during his first missionary journey. And if you remember, they picked up two people. In Acts 16, as we studied verses 1-10, we saw that first, Timothy got picked up. So Timothy gets picked up, he joins the missionary team, but then you might remember, as they were looking to do ministry in Asia, the Holy Spirit did not allow them to. Acts 16, verse 7. They wanted to go to Asia Minor and bring the gospel, but the Holy Spirit said no. So they go, okay, all right, we're gonna go up to Mysia. They go up to Mysia, and then they try to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there either. So again, they have good intentions, but it wasn't God's will for them to fulfill those good intentions. So they go down to Troas. And in Troas, we see at least some of the reason for those roadblocks. God was guiding them to the place where Luke would join the missionary endeavor. Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts. Luke, the writer of the Gospel of Luke. He joins the journey in Acts chapter 16. And we saw that because when we looked at the text, you might remember, we saw a change in pronouns. The narrator, Luke, went from saying they to saying we. So we know, okay, Luke jumped on board of the journey at that point. So now while they're in Troas, there was a vision that the Apostle Paul had in the night. A man of Macedonia was standing there and urging him saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. And you have to love how the Apostle Paul and those with him interpreted that vision. Man from Macedonia saying, come and help us. What help do they need? Economic reform? Better roads and better schools? I'm not taking anything away from anything that can help human flourishing, anything that is in line with biblical principles, but the help that they were speaking of in this vision, the Macedonian man representing the people of Macedonia, what Paul and his team interpreted that to be was the preaching of the gospel. We saw that in Acts chapter 16, verse 10. Now, after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. So without haste, they make their way to Macedonia, and that's where we pick up in our text today. This is a big deal. This is the moment, what we're gonna see in our passage, this is the moment where the gospel first goes to Europe. Instead of going east to Asia Minor at this point, it's going to now go west into Europe, and you're going to see the first European or Europeans who are converted to faith in Christ in our passage today. With that said, let's continue the narrative. We begin in Acts 16, verses 11 and 12, where we read, 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. Okay, there are a lot of things to observe here. First, I want you to look at the beginning of verse 11 and notice the word, therefore. Therefore. So remember back in verse 10, they concluded that it was God's will for them to bring the gospel to Macedonia. And what did they do? They immediately sought to go to Macedonia. We come into verse 11, therefore, and you read the rest of it, they did. I just want to make a simple point in light of that. They had a conviction that God wanted them to bring the gospel to Macedonia. And what did they do? Did they procrastinate? Did they sightsee in Troas for another three months? And say, we'll get around to that whole Macedonian thing sooner or later. There's no rush on that. No, they concluded it was God's will for them to get the gospel to Macedonia. And they immediately began to move on that. Let me give you some counsel. Make it a habit, by God's grace, to slay procrastination. As I told you not too long ago, and I'll say it again, it's generally true, it's not always true, but it's generally true that delayed obedience is disobedience. At least delayed obedience can be disobedience. And if there's a problem that many people have in our society today, it's procrastination. It's probably been around for generations, but it's still a problem. So let me encourage you, in light of this text, follow the example of Paul and company. They have a conviction. God is calling us to go there. So what are we going to do? Sightsee in Troas for another three months and then eventually get to Macedonia? No. Immediately, verse 10, they sought to go, so they had the good intention. And then in verse 11, they acted on the good intention. Therefore they went. I think that's so instructive. It's biblical, by the way. If you were to look at Psalm 119, verse 60, you see the psalmist there says, I made haste and did not delay to keep your commandments. I'll just say that again. Psalmist, writing on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a song that you can imagine the people of God singing. I made haste. and did not delay to keep your commandments. If procrastination is a problem for you, maybe I'm speaking and you're already thinking of something you need to do. Somebody you need to call, somebody you need to say you're sorry to, something you need to confess, something you need to act on. Let me just encourage you by the grace of God to act on it. If procrastination is a problem for you, may you be helped today by God's grace to lock onto it. take out the sword of the Spirit, trust in the power of God, and overcome it. The second thing I want you to notice in these two verses is that there are more to these nautical details than immediately meets the eye. This is interesting. So they set sail from Troas, and again, look at verse 11. Luke tells us, we ran a straight course to Samothrace. Now, this connotes, the fact that they ran a straight course, they're sailing. This connotes that they had favorable winds. Some commentators suggest that the wind was at their backs, but at least we know they weren't getting tossed to and fro, where they're going this way, then they have to go back this way. They ran a straight course. As a matter of fact, many commentators note, when you look at verses 11 and 12, it looks like they made the journey from Troas to Philippi in two days. Why is that significant? That's significant because if you look at Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20 and particularly verse six, you would find that the return journey from Philippi to Troas took five days. So this could suggest that they have God's gracious providence working in their favor in this moment to help them along. They have favorable winds, at least the wind isn't working against them. They make a straight course to eventually to Philippi. I guess a takeaway that I would just pass along to you would be this. There are many times in the Christian life where you and I will be called to do something and there will be roadblock and roadblock after roadblock in front of you and you'll wonder whether or not it's God's will. for you to do a certain thing. And many times it is still God's will for you to do that thing. He's just working perseverance in you. But then there'll be other times when you get about God's will and all of a sudden you'll feel like you have the wind at your back. It's like all of a sudden you hear that somebody needs help and you go to minister to them and you're driving down Highland Boulevard and all the lights are green. There will be moments like that. And when they come, just thank God for His gracious providence in helping you along, but don't assume that it's always going to be like that. Paul, in this moment, he's on a ship that can run a straight course to Samothrace. But there were plenty of times when he was on a ship when it wasn't easy sailing. He was shipwrecked multiple times, as you know. All right, third thing I want you to see here is a reminder of the sovereignty and grace of salvation. So we're told they sailed a straight course to where? Samothrace. Samothrace is a small, mountainous island in the Aegean Sea. Interestingly, this island is actually known in multiple encyclopedias. Bible encyclopedias, non-biblical encyclopedias. This island is known to have been the home of a mysterious cult, Kiberi. This Kibera cult was known to be housed there, but yet you see that the Apostle Paul and company are only there for one day. They're basically, they land there, and the next day they leave. I think that speaks to God's sovereignty in salvation, and you're gonna see his grace in salvation a little bit more in a moment. There was a need for the gospel in that place. But it wasn't God's purpose for Paul and company to bring the gospel to that place. God had appointed a specific woman in her household in Philippi to hear the gospel. God had appointed a specific jailer in his household to hear the gospel in Philippi. God was going to establish a church that we would know as the Church of Philippians in Philippi. So God, in His sovereign predetermination, has them go to Samothrace. There's a mystery cult there, but they're not staying there. They're there basically overnight, it seems. They probably stopped there so they didn't have to sail throughout the night. And the very next day, they go to Neapolis, and they make their way to Philippi, and you see God's sovereignty. He had His eyes, as it were, set upon Paul bringing the gospel to Lydia, her household, the Philippian jailer, her household, and establishing a church in Philippi. I want you to see the sovereignty of God in salvation. But I also want you to see how personal salvation is. See, God is working out all these details so that specific woman in her household, at least initially, would come to hear the gospel. See, there's a sense in which, when the gospel is preached, in a room like this or anywhere else, there is a sense in which you might say, the train has stopped at the station, the train of salvation, and the call is, come aboard. Come aboard the train that leads to heaven. You might say, the ark of salvation. Come aboard the ark. It is docked here. Come, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, enter, as it were, the ark of salvation, and you will be saved. There is a sense in which, in our human experience, it looks like that, it feels like that, but yet salvation is so much more personal than that. See, that's not very personal. That's like, okay, the ship has docked, or the train has stopped in the station, and you could just come in. But when you look at the scriptures, salvation is much more personal than that. What's actually happening, though that might be our human experience to a degree, what's actually happening is the Good Shepherd is personally rescuing specific sheep who are going the wrong way, and he picks them up, puts them on his shoulders, they turn around, and now all of a sudden he is carrying them home. You see how personal that is? And that's what's going on here. God is bringing Paul and company to a specific woman in her household so that they might hear the gospel. Look at what God's doing for Lydia before she even knew it. These details are working out for her salvation and she has no idea. She's probably just making plans. She knows she's going to go down to the riverside later that week. She's going to go there for her time of prayer with other women. But God is working all of these details out behind the scenes to get the gospel right to her, and then he's going to work inside of her to open her heart to receive the gospel. Salvation is so personal. Maybe you might be encouraged if you know him. He was at work to bring the gospel to you and to bring you to himself long before you had any idea of it. And if you don't know Him, if you're here today and you haven't trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, God has worked out the details for you to be at such a place as this, at such a time as this, to hear the gospel, perhaps by God's grace, so that your sins might be forgiven through faith in Christ. All right, a few other details. This is amazing. Look at the end of verse 11. And the next day came to Neapolis. I just want to make a quick point here. Neapolis was the port of Philippi. When the Apostle Paul's feet touched down in Neapolis, you might say it was the moment that his feet touched down in Europe. This was a big deal. If you were to sign up for maybe certain Bible cruises today, this would likely be a stop that you would make. You'd go on a Bible cruise throughout Europe, and then you would go to a specific place in Greece, Kavala, in northern Greece, on the coast of the Aegean Sea, and then you would get off at where ancient Neapolis was. Why am I telling you that? Not because there's like a big surprise. Hey, we have a church cruise planned for 2026 to Europe. That would be pretty cool if anybody wanted to work on that. Maybe we could, you know, figure out some way to make that affordable yet nice. I'm saying that to you because it's one of the many reminders in scripture that the events in the Bible don't happen in the Mushroom Kingdom. They don't happen in Narnia. They don't happen in some fictional place. They're happening in real places. It's real history. A little bit more of that when we look at where they went. From Neapolis, where did they go? So kind of trace it. They go from Troas. They go northwest up to Samothrace. From there, they go to Neapolis, the port of Philippi, and then they make their way to Philippi. So now they're traveling by land about eight to 10 miles. And where are they going? Philippi, a place that was filled with history. Philippi, named Philippi after the father of Alexander the Great, Philip of Macedon, Philip II, conquered it, and in an act that wasn't very humble, he named it after himself, Philippi. So Philippi was named after him, but then eventually, after the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC, it came under Roman control. Now check this out, this is gonna lead into Christmas. Now after it comes under Roman control, eventually, there are gonna be two individuals that assassinate Julius Caesar. Brutus and Cassius. You might remember that they end up going to battle against Octavian and Mark Antony. In this big battle in which Octavian and Mark Antony win, that is called the Battle of Philippi. Sometime after that, Mark Antony and Octavian, they go to battle against one another in the Battle of Actium. Octavian wins and eventually he becomes the first emperor known to us as Caesar Augustus. The one who would be reigning during the time of Luke chapter 2 when Joseph and Mary make their way to Bethlehem. Again, this is rooted in real history. It's not fiction. It is true history. A little bit more detail. Luke writes that Philippi is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. Now, some have suggested that Luke's description should be understood as a city and colony of the first part or district of Macedonia. But that doesn't seem to be right. There aren't any Greek manuscripts, according to F.F. Bruce, that would support that. So I think we take Luke at what he wrote, at face value. So you say, okay, in what way was Philippi the foremost city? Because supposedly Thessalonica was the seat of political power. So how was Philippi the foremost city? It was known to have a renowned medical school in the Roman Empire. It might have been prominent for its education and intellectual prominence. We're also told that it was a colony. Watch the application for this. It was a colony. So in other words, Rome used colonies to be kind of outposts for the Roman Empire. They were to be little Rome's away from Rome, where oftentimes retired military would be settled there. And then that place would be safe. The people who were settled there, former military, were granted exemptions of taxes and so on. And it was meant to be a reflection of Rome, under Roman law, meant to reflect in a kind of outpost way, the grandeur of Rome. That's what colonies were, and Philippi was a colony. Let me just make a quick application. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, when it's assembled in local gatherings, is meant to be a kind of outpost in a foreign land. This little gathering at 266 Wood Avenue is meant to be a kind of colony of the Kingdom of Heaven. See, when you went to a colony like Philippi, you were supposed to experience Roman culture. It's a Rome away from Rome. And when you come to a healthy local church, what you're supposed to experience is a little taste of heaven. That there's a kind of culture here that we all share regardless of our different cultures from which we've come from. We have a culture that has been characterized by the grace of God in the gospel and who Jesus is. And we love one another, we bear one another, we bear with one another, we fellowship with one another, we serve one another. The church is meant to have a culture that's kind of distinct from that of the world. So think of healthy local churches as good representations, kind of outposts of the kingdom of heaven here on earth. That's amazing. By the way, a little additional note. This will help you when you're reading your Bibles and you come through Philippians. There was a lot of pride that was to be found in being part of a Roman colony. It's kind of a big deal. Like we're not just in some provincial city, we're in a Roman colony, and there tended to be some measure of pride that people would have in that. Perhaps, that's part of the background, for Paul writing to the church at Philippi, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. You want to be great citizens right here where you are, but you want to have your pride, so to speak, not in your earthly citizenship, but you want to have it in the reality that you have a heavenly citizenship by the grace of God. All right, those are some details that set up the narrative, amazing details. Luke tells us at the end of verse 12, and we were staying in that city for some days. So they're there probably strategizing, saying, where are we gonna go? Where are we gonna bring the gospel to? What's the next step for us here? And let's see how that plays out. Look at 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. All right, rhetorical question, but try to answer it. When we look at the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys, what is usually his mode of operation? He gets to a place and what's the first thing that he does? He preaches, and he preaches where? Synagogue, right? So here they are in Philippi, and that's not what he does. Because apparently, there wasn't a synagogue in Philippi, which is rather interesting. Different commentators will note that according to rabbinic tradition, it took two, it took 10 Jewish men, some note Jewish men of households, to constitute a synagogue, and apparently, That wasn't the case in Philippi. But what did you have in Philippi? Instead of men gathering in a synagogue, instead of a synagogue being established, you have instead women who are meeting by the riverside. Now some of you might say, where in the world are all the men? Were they just being lazy and not coming out, but the women are going by the riverside? I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. I'll offer you two suggestions. If you're wondering, well, where are the men and why isn't there a synagogue in Philippi? Two suggestions. One possibility is it was a Roman colony settled largely by former military men in the Roman Empire, and they didn't take too kindly, perhaps, to Jewish people. A little bit more about that in a moment. Second possibility. People suppose that this second missionary journey took place between 49 AD and 51 AD. You might know, we'll see this a little bit later on in the book of Acts, Lord willing, that in 49 AD, Emperor Claudius issued a decree that all the Jews were to leave Rome. Perhaps they were made to leave Roman colonies as well. Whatever the case was, when we look in Philippi, it seems like they didn't have the best of feelings towards Jewish individuals. We see this a little bit later on in verses 20 and 21 of the same chapter, when Paul and Silas are brought to the magistrates, Those who brought them said this, These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city, and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe. So those are two possibilities as to why Jewish men just weren't there in Philippi. Whatever the case was, apparently there wasn't a synagogue, but there were women meeting by the riverside for prayer. So Luke wrote, and on the Sabbath day, we went out of the city to the riverside where prayer was customarily made. Oh, this is so often how God works. Philippi. Doubtless there are a lot of big wigs in Philippi, a lot of prominent people in Philippi, a lot of former military generals who were big deals in Philippi. But where does God set his sights on in Philippi? A little prayer meeting by the river outside of the city. that nobody really probably cared about, that not many people even knew about, yet God's eyes are on this little group of women that are meeting there for prayer, and particularly a woman named Lydia and her household. So the Apostle Paul goes there, and you have to love this, Paul didn't despise this opportunity, he seized this opportunity. We're told, Luke tells us, and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Imagine what could have been going through Paul's mind at first. He has a Macedonian vision, and who shows up in it? The Macedonian woman? No, a Macedonian man, come over and help us. And yet here now, he comes to this little group of women who are there by the riverside, and this is who he's called to preach to? Yeah, and he doesn't despise it. Paul was not the chauvinist that many liberal theologians try to make him out to be. He didn't share the sentiment that a second century rabbi is recorded as having, through his words, who said, it is better that the words of the law be burned than be delivered to a woman. Paul didn't share that mentality. Paul didn't think that. Paul didn't pray like those who did pray or would pray, God, I thank you that I am not a Gentile or a slave or a woman. Rather, he's the one who wrote in Galatians 3.28, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Yeah, of course there's those distinctions, but there's an overarching unity shared amidst those distinctions, oneness in Christ. So he seizes this opportunity and look at verse 14. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. Now I think that's interesting. A certain woman heard. You know, in a moment like this, as the gospel goes out, as biblical instruction goes out, I could see to some degree people's faces, but God knows who's hearing. Isn't that amazing? Like there were a bunch of people that were hearing, right? Like there's a whole bunch of women there, but Luke writes, now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. Quick pastoral parenthetical note. It's very interesting to think on any given Sunday, when we come into this place, how many people experience timely words from God to them. Oh, that was so what I needed to hear. That's exactly what I was reading earlier that day. Wow, that encouraged me. And how many people, there could be, I hope there's not many, but there could be some who will leave saying, well, I didn't get anything out of that. Maybe a lot has to do with the worshipful ears that are hearing the message going out. Because there are all kinds of precious takeaways from God's word. You wanna be one who is hearing and listening, not just to hear my voice, but ultimately to hear past my voice, to hear the scriptures, and to hear the takeaways from them that would be so timely in God's gracious providence for you. Bunch of women there, interestingly, now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. We'll talk about the background to that in a moment, but let's read a little bit more of the verse. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira. Big deal to be a seller of purple. Not so much these days. But wow, to be a seller of purple in those days. You had to go through a lot to get purple dye. The purple dye from which the robes of royalty or rich people were made, because those would be the people who would usually wear those robes. Remember, Jesus spoke of a rich man, and he was clothed in purple. Purple was like the garment of royalty, the garment of those who were rich. Why? It took a lot to make a purple garment. I won't go through all the details with you, but you needed a lot of shellfish to even make an ounce of purple dye. From one reading that I came across, one source, it would take about 250,000 snails to make one ounce or a tablespoon of purple dye. It was a process that you had to go through to get that dye. So anyway, it was for those people who were rich. And if you had the capacity to sell purple dye, you were probably, to some degree, selling it to people who had the means to pay you well for it. So it appears that Lydia was a well-to-do woman. She appears to have been a businesswoman. She was from Thyatira. She moved to Philippi. She's conducting business there. You'll see apparently she's got a pretty big home because not only does she have people in her household, family members, servants, but she's got a big enough house to house at least Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke. So it tells you a little bit about this woman, Lydia. She was from Thyatira. It was a locale known to produce or where purple fabric was made. I want you to notice this, this is amazing. Where is Thyatira found in your Bibles? What might jump to your mind is Revelation chapter two. Remember Jesus is speaking to who in Revelation chapter two and three? The seven churches of where? Asia, Asia Minor. Isn't it interesting in God's providence that Paul wanted to bring the gospel to Asia. It wasn't God's will for the gospel to go to Asia at that time, but he brings him to Philippi, and in Philippi, he's going to see a woman from Asia Minor, and she's gonna be the first convert to Christ in Europe. I just love the details of that. She was from the city of Thyatira, and look how she's described. Watch this, this is important. She was one who worshiped God. So what does this mean? Implication appears to be she wasn't a Jewish woman. She was like Cornelius, a God-fearer, but not necessarily a full-on proselyte to Judaism. The implication is that she looked at her pagan background and her pagan gods and said, I'm rejecting my pagan gods. I think the God of the Jews is the one true God. So she became a God-fearer, a worshiper of God in that sense. And I'll show you why that's particularly significant, because look at what happens next. We're told the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. This speaks to the need for sovereign grace. Because you would say if there was a woman who in her own strength could have her heart opened by herself to hear the things spoken by Paul, it would be her. She already left her pagan background. She already subscribed to the God of Israel being the one true God. But if she was going to hear the gospel, what had to happen? The Lord had to open her heart. Even though she had that background, had that pedigree, she couldn't have her heart opened by herself. Now think of the other side of the coin. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. What would happen if God didn't open her heart? She wouldn't heed the things spoken by Paul. That's the other side of the coin. That's the corollary. This speaks to the need for sovereign grace. Even though she laid aside paganism, even though she embraced Judaism, even though she was a God fearer, even though she was even at a Sabbath prayer meeting, she needed spiritual surgery that only God himself could perform. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. You have to be spiritually enabled by the grace of God to hear the gospel, to truly hear it. It's like Jesus said in John 6, 44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day. I've told you many times, I'll tell you quickly again, that word for draw has nothing to do with wooing. It's like the drawing of taking a sword out of a sheath. It's the drawing of taking a fish that are in nets out of the water. It's the drawing that is akin three times in the New Testament to dragging. So no one can come to the Father unless the Father who sent the Son draws them. And He doesn't draw such a one against their will, by His grace He changes their will. He gives them a new heart instead of a hard heart. He circumcises their uncircumcised heart. He opens up a closed heart. That's what he does. And then they come willingly in the day of his power. That's what happened to her. It's like James said in James chapter one, verse 18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. Now I want you to notice this. It's an amazing work of God. But it's not on the visible radar at all. This isn't Mount Sinai. There isn't thunder. There isn't lightning. This isn't the Mount of Transfiguration. There isn't such a radiance that's bright and glorious. This is all so quiet. A little gathering. Don't know how many women by the riverside. And the God of the universe is personally working in that woman to open her heart. miraculous, supernatural, yet so quiet. And sometimes people might think that, oh, if loud things happen, if very noticeable things happen, then we could be well aware that God was among us on a given day. God, doubtless, week in and week out, is working in very quiet ways in people's hearts. And so often is the case, and that's what he was doing right here. The word heed, if you look at that word, the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. It's a word, prosecco, in the Greek. It means to pay attention, to give heed towards, to hold one's mind towards, and that's what was happening. She was giving attention and being able to grasp and heed and believe the gospel. I do want to make this observation as well. Spurgeon called attention to this, and I think I do well to call attention to you. Notice where this happened. It happened on the Sabbath, and it happened at a prayer meeting. Spurgeon wrote, on the Sabbath, she went where prayer was wont to be made, and there prayer was heard. Never neglect the means of grace. God may bless us when we are not in his house, but we have the greatest reason to hope that he will when we are in communion with his saints. He also said, she did not say, I can read a sermon at home or I can read in the book of the law indoors. She wished to be where God's people were, however few or however poor they might be. Don't neglect the means of grace and the corporate gathering of God's people. You don't know what you might miss and what God might do when you are among him and his people. So God's working quietly in her. She's probably filled with joy at this point. Her sins are forgiven. And look at what happens in verse 15. 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. Few things to notice here. Number one, notice what Lydia did after she believed. What did she do? You look at the text, verse 15. She believed. and she was baptized. I want it ingrained in your minds. I've said it a bunch of times. By God's grace, I'll continue to say it. Baptism is not Christianity 201. It's not Christianity 301. It's not Christianity 401. Baptism is Christianity 101. If somebody comes to faith in Christ and they say, what do I do? I believe the gospel. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and I'm forgiven, not because of what I've done, but because of what Christ did in dying for my sins and rose from the grave. What do I do? The next thing you are called to do is to be baptized. It is that foundational act of obedience in the scriptures, and here's another reminder of that. So Lydia believes, and apparently her household believed as well, and they were baptized. They too came to faith in Christ. Now I want to call attention to something here because there are those, including dear Presbyterian brethren, Dear Reformed Presbyterian brethren who love the gospel, who will use this passage as part of their argument to argue for infant baptism. And the argument would go something like this. In this passage, you do not see who's baptized in the home, so it could be that infants were baptized. And we're not told explicitly in the text that they were believing, so maybe this holds out the possibility that infants were baptized. And let me suggest to you, when you're trying to figure out answers to issues like this, you don't go with what is possible, you go with what is likely. So let me just quickly make a case for you of believers' baptism, because I want to suggest to you that it's not likely, in light of the text itself and in light of the broader context of the New Testament, that infants were baptized on this occasion. I'll do this rather briefly, though I think you will find it helpful. In the New Testament, we repeatedly find that baptism is for believers. Remember that Cornelius was told by an angel that he and his household would hear words by which they would be saved. Acts chapter 11 verse 14. The implication is they would hear those words, understand them, believe them, and be saved by the message of the gospel. Then, in Acts chapter 10, verse 44, after believing and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Cornelius and his household was baptized. Okay, another example in this very chapter. In Acts chapter 16, a little bit later on, the Philippian jailer will believe, and he will believe with his whole household. So the whole household believes, and they all are baptized in Acts 16, verses 33 and 34. going on a little bit more in the book of Acts. There's a man by the name of Crispus that we're going to be introduced to. We're told in Acts 18 verse eight, Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians, hearing Paul, believed and were baptized. I'm showing you a pattern of people believing and being baptized. Now, in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 16, the apostle Paul said, I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Now, some people might say, all right, wait, he just said he baptized the household of Stephanas, but maybe there were infants in that household. How do we know whether or not that was the case? In that case, we know that everyone who was baptized believed, because a little bit later on, In 1 Corinthians 16, verse 15, we're told when Paul writes, So they were converts who devoted themselves to service. So they believed the gospel and then they have the fruit of faith. even if you were to go back in the book of Acts, 3,000 people were baptized when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. 3,000 people. Listen to how all 3,000 of these people are described. Acts chapter two, verse 41. So those who received his word, that's how they're described, those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day about 3,000 souls. So the 3,000 people that were baptized didn't include infants who didn't have the capacity to receive his word. 3,000 people were baptized and they were all those who received his word. There are other examples. Jesus told his disciples to go out making what? Making disciples. Baptizing who? them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28, 19. If you were to go in the book of Acts, Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, people believed Philip and were baptized, both men and women, Acts chapter eight, verse 12. The Ethiopian eunuch believes and is baptized, Acts chapter eight, verses 36 through 38. Paul, in chapter nine of Acts, I say all that to say we look at the New Testament, witness, and clearly over and over again we have examples of people who believe and are baptized. Now back to Lydia briefly. Is it likely that Lydia had infants in her household that were baptized? I would say no. We don't know much about Lydia. That is admittedly the case, but what we do know is that she is the one who takes initiative to invite, at least, if there are other people with Paul in the company, we don't know, but she takes initiative to invite Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke to her home. It would be kind of countercultural for her to do that of her own initiative if she was married at the time. Is she a widow? Maybe, we do not know. She's probably somewhat older. I'm not saying she was an old woman, but she's probably somewhat older because she has been this successful in business and this probably didn't happen overnight. So she's probably an older woman to some degree, not necessarily old, but not young with young children at home. At least that's what it would seem like. You say, okay, well then who's in her household? Well, households in the first century and even before would be comprised of family members. You know, maybe her mom, maybe older children, maybe cousins, but also household servants would be part of the household. And God graciously worked in them as well. So I say that to say, the New Testament seems to, I think, make a very clear case for believer's baptism and argue against the baptism of infants. In the New Covenant, it's you are born again from above, and when you believe the gospel, you are than baptized. Not to save your soul by believing the gospel, by God's grace you've been saved, but then that's an act of obedience where you publicly demonstrate your faith in Christ. Okay, let's look at the end of this passage, back to the text. Look at what happens when you believe by looking at what happened to Lydia when she believed. Luke writes, 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. Okay, so this appears to be a first-class conditional. It's assuming the positive. If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, i.e., since you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, you've seen that I've believed the gospel and I've been baptized. If you've judged me to be faithful to the Lord, then come to my house and stay. Look at the fruit of Christian love, supernatural life in her. She's converted, and what's she already desiring to do? Show Christian hospitality, have fellowship with Christians, and do good works that God prepared beforehand for her to do. Look, the evidence is there. See, this is a good reminder that true faith has works, right? You're not saved by works, but your faith is actually vindicated or shown to be true faith through works. She's converted, and what does she start doing? She's pleading with them. This wasn't some nonchalant thing where she's like, I just think this is the right thing to do, and I think you guys should come over. But if you've got other things to do, don't worry about it. Just do whatever you have to do. She's pleading with them, begging them, come. Why is she doing that? Because she doubtless had some measure of Christian love for them, she probably wanted more fellowship, wanted to learn more about Christ, and she wanted to serve them in Jesus' name. Please be reminded that true faith in Christ will have works. It's going to be, as I've told you before, the kind of EKG. that shows you that your heart is beating. It doesn't make your heart beat. God made your heart beat through the grace of regeneration and in the gospel. But how do you know your spiritual heart is beating? You look at the EKG of your life and you say, I'm a new creation in Christ, I may not be perfect, I am far from perfect, and I still have a lot of issues, and I'm mortifying the flesh, and I'm battling this and that, I get it, I get it. But you have good works to show the reality of your faith, just like Lydia did. Amazing, amazing. Well, Christianity begins in Europe with the conversion of Lydia and her household, and it got there in God's mysterious providence through roadblock after roadblock after roadblock, God personally got to Lydia through Paul and the preaching of the gospel. How personal. I'll close with just recalling a story that Jack Arnold told that I like. He said, a little boy learning the Lord's Prayer hit upon a beautiful truth. He said, our Father in Heaven who hollered my name. I love that. He would go on to apply that by saying, that is the truth that God wants you to understand. And I'm gonna echo that sentiment. If you have come to the gospel, it's because God has, if you will, hollered your name. It's because He has opened your heart. See the grace of God as that gracious. that your heart would have stayed closed. Even if you had turned away from your pagan idolatry, even if you found yourself at a prayer meeting, your heart would have stayed closed if God had not opened it. How personal is his love for you that not only did he love you before the foundation of the world, but then in time he opened your heart and he opened your eyes so that you might believe the gospel. that you might believe that Christ died for all of your sins, that He is the Messiah, the Promised One, and the Son of God, the only way to the Father, and that He rose from the grave three days after dying on the cross. If you have believed that message and have not trusted in your works but have come to Him, it's because He, the God of the universe, quietly on one day, perhaps in some cases, who knows, maybe even now, opened your heart so that the good news of the gospel might go in. And of His own will, He brought you forth. Praise be to God. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, thank You for Your amazing, life-giving, soul-nourishing word. Thank you for all the details that are in it. Thank you for all the instruction that there is to be garnered from it. Thank you for all the comfort and doctrine and reproof and correction we receive from it, Lord. May you continue to instruct us in righteousness. May you continue to work among this assembly, filling us with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ. May you, by your grace, help us, Lord, even as Paul had reminded the Philippians that we are those who do not boast in the flesh. You have worked in us, circumcising our hearts by your Spirit, giving us new birth from above, opening our hearts. We do not boast in our flesh, but we make our boast in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for our Lord and Savior. Thank you for your life-giving and soul-nourishing word. May you continue to cause us to rejoice in you, to do the good works that you've prepared beforehand for us to do, and to continue worshiping you in our singing and in our fellowship this day. In Jesus's name we pray, amen.