Episode 55: Hearing God by positioning myself in the right place at the right time.

Sep 1, 2024 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Lydia was a mover and a shaker. She didn’t hang around waiting for opportunities. Lydia courageously stepped out and used what was in her hand. She positioned herself in the right place at the right time. She had the gift of hospitality and welcomed those not always accepted by society. Join us in this latest episode of the ‘Hearing God’ Podcast as we look at how Lydia in the Bible heard from God.

Episode Notes:

Background to Lydia:

  • Read about her in Acts 16:11-15 and again in verse 40 when Paul and Silas came out of prison and went straight to Lydia’s house where the believers were meeting. This passage chronicles her conversion and baptism.
  • Lydia was originally from Thyatira (what is now Turkey), but she moved to live in Philippi, Macedonia (now Greece). It was here that she met Paul.
  • Lydia was a seller of purple cloth. She is presumed to be a businesswoman with the education, skill, strength and determination required to work in a male-dominated business. She sold luxury textiles dyed purple to wealthy people. They were expensive. Thyatira was the centre of the indigo trade. Tyrian purple was a dye derived from Mediterranean marine molluscs and was very costly to obtain compared with the reddish local dye, which was far less expensive.
  • Lydia was honouring the Sabbath – most likely a Jew. She was gathered with a group of women on the Sabbath at a place of prayer by the river outside of Philippi. Paul, Timothy, Luke and Silas came to speak to the women. There weren’t enough Jewish men to open a synagogue in that town.
  • This place was significant as the first mention of Christianity outside the Jewish expansion.
  • Lydia was influential and respected in her family, as once she was baptised, her whole house followed her and were baptised.

First Principle: Position yourself to hear God

  • Lydia was the first person recorded in the Bible to have been saved in Europe.
  • She was in the right place at the right time. Divine intervention.
  • God had rerouted Paul – whose original intention was to stay in Asia, but due to a vision, he crossed the Aegean Sea and went into Macedonia.
  • Lydia listened eagerly. She obviously had a deep desire to know more about this God. An open heart, willing to be changed and grow. Not set in her ways.
  • Lydia’s value and worth were as a daughter of the Most High King, not what society said of her.

Second Principle: Act on what you hear

  • Verse 14 – The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
  • She then immediately acted on it by becoming baptised. Plus, the rest of her household followed suit. They obviously trusted Lydia and her wisdom.

Third Principle: Use what’s in your hand

  • Lydia had a large house. She opened her home for these men to stay in and hosted meetings. It sounds like she had the gift of hospitality, and nothing was too complicated for her.
  • Verse 15 – she prevailed upon Paul and the others to stay in her home. She forcefully or repeatedly asked. She insisted. She had a fervency of desire. They must have felt at home there, and Lydia was the ‘real deal’ because they went to her house as soon as Paul and Silas were released from prison. They could trust they would find her and the fellow believers there praying for them.
  • People could rely on her. She opened her home to the visiting missionaries and the locals.
  • Courageous hospitality. To God – opening her heart, and to others – opened her home. This was radical and unconventional – to invite Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke – strange men into her home.
  • She welcomed those who were not always welcomed by society.
  • Women were usually identified by their male relatives, but Lydia never was. We don’t know if she had a husband, but she wasn’t hanging around waiting and saying, ‘Woe is me. ‘ She was a mover and a shaker. She made things happen. She used ‘what was in her hand’.
  • Lydia used what was at her disposal – her home.
  • What’s in your hand? Time, talent, treasure

Summary:

  1. Position yourself to hear God
  2. Act on what you hear.
  3. Use what’s in your hand.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him –

  • “God, what’s in my hand at the moment? What do I have at my disposal (time, talent, or treasure) that I can use for you?”
  • “God, how do you want me to use that?”

Time Stamps:

[0:36] – Gary & Jane share briefly how they have heard God this week.

[4:18] – Background to the story of Lydia.

[6:55] – First Principle: Position yourself to hear God.

[9:03] – Second Principle: Act on what you hear.

[14:48] – Third Principle: Use what’s in your hand.

[19:17] – Recap the principles.

[19:36] – Prophetic activation.

[21:00] – Gary & Jane both share a prophetic word for a listener.

[23:23] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Acts 16:11-15, 40
  • Matthew 5:3-12

Connect with Gary & Jane:

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