The mission team has received a call to go into Macedonia to preach the gospel. Luke is telling the story in the first person now because he joined the group at Troas.
"From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neopolis." (Acts 16:11) The wind is favorable to the sailors, for later on in Acts 20 this same journey will take five days. When we are in the will of God we will sometimes have smooth sailing, but we will just as often have rough sailing. If we are going to place our trust in Him we must stand firm in our calling no matter what the "spiritual weather conditions" are. There will be days when He will strengthen our faith by removing every obstacle in our path. There will be other days when He will increase our patience and our trust by leaving obstacles for us to work through. On this first trip He intends to get the mission team to Philippi as quickly as possible.
"From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days." (Acts 16:12) The mission team will make its first European convert at Philippi.
"On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there." (Acts 16:13) Some scholars believe there aren't at least ten Jewish men present at Philippi or else they could have formed a synagogue instead of worshiping at places outside the city gates. Other scholars believe the Roman colony of Philippi doesn't allow Jewish centers of worship inside the city as a form of obedience to Emperor Claudius who has banished all Jews from Rome. According to the Roman historian Seutonius, the Jews were expelled from Rome due to repeated political disturbances they were causing. In sympathy to Claudius, it's possible that the colony at Philippi banned the Jews from practicing their religion inside the city limits.
The mission team finds a group of women praying at the Gangites River and they begin preaching the gospel to them. These men don't say, "Oh, it's just a bunch of women here. I wonder where the men are. Let's find them and tell them the good news about Christ." No, they are as eager to share the gospel with the women as they would be to share it with the men. Our God believes in giving everyone an equal opportunity. The soul of a woman is as precious as the soul of a man. Throughout history and in most cultures women have been treated as second-class citizens as if they are less important and valuable than men. This is not the case in the eyes of our Creator.
They begin preaching to those who already believe in the God of Israel. Whenever there are Jews present the gospel will first be presented to them, then to the Gentiles, as the Apostle Paul will point out to the Romans by saying, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." (Romans 1:16) Why the Jews first? Because they are God's chosen people. They are the ones to whom He made the promise of a Redeemer. They are the nation from whom the Lord was born of the tribe of Judah and of the line of King David. It is only fitting that the gospel should first be preached to the Jew, then to the Gentile. In addition, those who already believe in the God of Israel are going to be easier to convert than the Gentiles inside the walls of Philippi who believe in a pantheon of Roman gods. The Jews who believe the gospel message will be able to take it back inside the city and influence everyone they come in contact with. Their testimony and mode of living will have more influence on the pagan culture of Philippi than anything the mission team could say from a podium inside the city.
"One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was also a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message." (Acts 16:14) Lydia is a wealthy woman of high standing in the community. Only the rich could afford purple cloth because of the great expense of the dye used to produce it. Because she is a merchant she deals with people from a number of different cities and a number of different faiths. This puts her in a wonderful position to share the gospel with those who have never heard it.
Not only is Lydia saved, but her whole family believes and is baptized. "When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us into her home. 'If you consider me a believer in the Lord,' she said, 'come and stay at my house.' And she persuaded us." (Acts 16:15) The gospel message is already bearing fruit in the region. It begins with one woman who gives her heart to the Lord. Don't ever think to yourself, "I'm just one person. What can I do for the Lord?" There are many instances in the Bible where God uses just one person to bring about a great deal of change. Most of the characters of the Bible are ordinary people through whom God does extraordinary things. If He could use these people to do exciting things for His kingdom, He can use you and me.
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