It Takes a Woman
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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. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 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.
Lydia, an industrious woman of deep devotion, faith, and persuasion; is not an anomaly but the norm and an example of what we all can be in Christ!
The title of this message today speaks clearly to a common issue that has mostly been overlooked in the church!
I believe it is well understood in our society today, and the evidence of which is apparent all around us: from law suits and legit accusations of sexism, assault, abuse, to the absence of better male role models.
And I believe the church has and still does in many contexts of its expression, lead the pack in keeping women in a second class status.
Lydia is not alone in the scriptures. She has many sisters throughout the Bible who have shined brightly for God, and have been entrusted with a special role.
Eve
We generally associate to her the ruin of man kind, but she was a deeply tender and loving woman, who Adam paid the greatest compliment to by giving her a name above every women’s name.
And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 3:
Sarah
And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.
Gen 21:
Rachel
Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The Lord shall add to me another son.”
Hannah
Ex 21:
So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
Not to mention:
The mother of Samson - Judges 14-16
Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist
Mary, the mother of Jesus.
We see in this first set of names, the importance of these women’s roles as mothers, in the nurturing of those who would expand God’s kingdom!
But then we have those women who had other roles essential to the plan of God.
These are just a few!
Miriam
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them: “Sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”
Rahab
Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew
Jesus’ women disciples
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Mary - the sister of Martha
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Not to mention
The virtuous woman spoken of in .
or, the virtuous woman spoken of in .
Deborah a judge in Israel.
or, the virtuous woman spoken of in .
You see, we have before us an incredible legacy of beauty and brains!
Women, who if it not for their presence would have ended the human race!
God created Eve to complete Adam!
God created women in every generation to complete that which is lacking!
And think about this, God brought forth woman to complete Adam before the fall!
Everywhere
When we look at this woman Lydia, we find some most incredible qualities that everyone of us (man or woman) should aspire to.
I. Lydia was appointed by God.
I. Lydia was appointed by God.
“The Lord opened her heart to heed the the things spoken by Paul.” vs.14
What a most amazing sentence we have here.
Always the attention is on the Apostle! As faithful and great as he was, we cannot afford to put him on a pedestal.
Nor can we afford to miss what God is clearly showing us here.
God purposely opened her heart to understand.
I think we fail miserably when we believe the pragmatism of our own actions.
How zealous we are - yet without power!
How determined we are - yet without guidance.
To be in tune to the Spirit of God is essential to the heart of a disciple of Christ.
And yet I believe, men, that we can miss this because of our lack of true emotion and sensitivity.
It is the women of the church that God uses in matters of the heart, because they are so much more open to His prodding.
And so God continues to use women to rock our world!
II. Lydia was obedient.
II. Lydia was obedient.
Her reaction and subsequent steps are attributed to her character!
What a woman of integrity!
She did not look for a sign.
She did not think on it or mull it over.
She responded with open hands and an open heart!
The church can bemoan the lack of dedicated and obedient men, but nothing will stir the passion in them like women who rise to the place of service.
We can blame it on society, but really the church has always dealt with the lack of true obedience, even when men were engaged!
The book of Judges shows the cycle of the Israelites forgetting about God until He raises up another leader to inspire them once again.
When we get to the 4th chapter of Judges, we find how faithless the men had become.
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?” And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”
There is no doubt that there is an heritage of Obedient women that have been responsible for great revival in the church of God!
III. Lydia was persistent.
III. Lydia was persistent.
She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
Verse 15 reveals two words that indicate her persistence:
Begged
Persuaded
With the first she pleaded with them. This demonstrates her getting right in their face so to speak and relentlessly persisting.
The second shows more of the cunning nature of her persistence. She used tact and strategy to accomplish her goal.
This same character is seen in the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18:1.
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
Do you see how she was relentless?
It’s that kind of tenacity that gets the job done!
Lydia is a great example of the godly Christian woman.
Not a woman to fill in until there is a suitable man, but what God designs every woman to be: confident, faithful, obedient, and strong!
Confident
Why are we afraid of this?
Why are we rather not embracing it?