LESSON FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES
STUDY SCRIPTURE: ACTS 16:11-15, 40 1 CORINTHIANS 1: 26-30
Lesson 13 February 27, 2021
Key verse
“And when (Lydia) and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay”. And she prevailed upon us”.
Acts 16:15
INTRODUCTION AND STUDY.
Many times we want to do things that are quite good. We might have started a project and we want to go and look at it again to make sure that it is turning out all right.
That is a good thing to think about but before we do anything we should really ask God whether He wants us to do things the way we want to do it. The Apostle Paul had this experience when he tried to go and visit churches that he had established before. God kept stopping him from going in certain directions and finally he directed him to go in a completely different direction by giving Paul a vision which had a man from Macedonia, a part of Greece, calling to him to come and help them.
Paul eagerly set out right away to go where he knew that God wanted him to go. That is a very good example for us to follow. That is what we call obedience to the guiding of God.
God wanted Paul to go and do some heart surgery. God had opened the heart of the brilliant, successful business woman who sold extremely rare purple dye cloth to royalty and extremely rich people. Though she mixed with these people and made a lot of money dealing with them she still remained a believer in God. She did not allow their pagan ways to turn her away from following after God.
That of course is a very good lesson to us. We do not have to let the attractive things of the world and the powerful and rich people of the world turn our minds away from obeying and worshiping God.
Remember that though she followed God she only had a partial knowledge of the true God. Her knowledge of all the truths of God was very incomplete. She was near to God but in another sense she was far from God. She needed more information about God so that she could understand God better and live the way that God wanted.
So God directed Paul and the party of people that traveled with him straight to the city of Philippi where this worshiper of God named Lydia lived and operated her business.
Note that God now directed the Apostle Paul by giving him a vision with a man from Macedonia asking him to, help them. Paul probably thought that there was a big group of people waiting for him. But when he went to Philippi he and his group of missionaries found that there was not even a synagogue, for there had to be 10 Jewish men living in the city to form a synagogue. This city therefore was not a very religious one in the sight of God. It was really a pagan city with people who were proud of themselves because of their wealth and status.
But Paul did not let this news affected him. He went searching for people that he could preach to and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ so that they would be saved and have eternal life.
Paul went down to the river that flowed through the city and there he found a group of women praying and worshiping. Lydia was among them.
Paul did not mind that the group was small or that there were only a few women there. Paul knew that God wanted to save these people so he started telling them about God and that God the Father had sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross to bear the sins of everyone and to save all those that believed in Jesus.
That was heart surgery. It took place when God opened her heart. Now her heart was ready to hear and accept the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Do not forget that God had to perform heart surgery on everyone. He did that with Eve, the first woman, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, Deborah the great prophetess, Ruth who was born in pagan Moab, Elizabeth the mother of the great prophet John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, and many others. When God did that they were changed.
Lydia and women that were there listened to the Apostle Paul eagerly and they accepted what Paul was teaching them about God. Lydia was so happy to meet Paul that she and her entire household were baptized to show everyone that she and her household was now followers of Jesus Christ.
What was also important about this was that this was the first time that the Gospel of Jesus Christ had reached into Europe. At that time the people in Europe were really pagans and did not know anything much about the true God. They were lost.
Lydia and her household and the other woman who met the Apostle Paul at the River were the first converts in Europe and it was their job to help the Apostle Paul and his traveling missionaries spread the gospel in that area.
Lydia then was called to Service by God. God arranged everything and Lydia played a prominent role in the service of God.
Lydia was so thrilled at the great message of the Gospel that Paul had brought that she insisted that the Apostle Paul and his missionary party come and stay at her house while they carried on their missionary work. Paul and his group agreed and her house was the centre to spread the Gospel in Europe.
Just like Lydia God is also calling you to serve. It would be wise therefore for you to listen very carefully for the call of God to service. When God calls you to do anything you should be obedient and trusting for He is able to look after you and to guide you toward success. Remember that there are many people who want help because they are lost and do not know anything about God and eternal life and salvation. So that is your job for you too are called to serve. So remember Lydia and her heart turned toward God and her faithfulness to serve.