INTRODUCTION: Many believe that a person cannot believe until God does a direct operation
upon their heart. The Bible tells us that Lydia had her heart opened. How did that happen? How did God open her heart? 
 

BODY 

I. THE BACKGROUND OF HER CONVERSION. 

A. Lydia 

1. A seller of purple. 

a. An expensive material from Thyatira (a city in present day Turkey) 

2. She was a religious person. 

a. Verse 13-14 "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. 14- 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." 

b. She was still faithful to God, even away from home. Also, she was a woman of prayer and open
to the Word. 

B. Paul 

1. Met Lydia on his second missionary journey. 
2. Paul and Silas was working together. 
3. Had just arrived at Philipi. 

II. HER CONVERSION. 

A. She heard the word of God. 

1. Acts 16:14- "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." 

2. Romans 10:14, 17- "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?..... 17- So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

3. 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." 

B. The Lord opened her heart. 

1. How was it accomplished? 
2. It took place after, and not before, she had heard God's word. 
3. The Lord never opens a closed heart against the will of the sinner. 

a. Matthew 13:14- ""And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15- For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'" 

4. God uses his word as the opening agent. 

a. Ephesians 6:17- "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" 

5. Very much like what God promised his people in the Old Testament. 

a. Ezekiel 11:19, 20- ""Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20- that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God."

C. "She attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." 

1. She did exactly as she was told by Paul. 
2. One of those things was baptism into Christ. 

D. Her household was baptized. 

1. Some try to find some authority for infant baptism in this statement. 
2. Based on several assumptions which cannot be proved. 

a. That she had infant children. 
b. That she had infant children with her. 
c. That her family didn't hear the word and respond to it. 

3. The fact is that hear and obeying is necessary for salvation. 

a. Acts 18:8- "Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized." 

III. THERE WAS JOY IN HER LIFE AFTER HER CONVERSION. 

A. She begged Paul and Silas to stay with her after her conversion. 

1. Acts 16:15- "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." 

2. She was so happy about her salvation that she begged Paul and Silas to stay and enjoy her hospitality! 

3. Acts 16:40- "So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed." 

B. There is always joy for those who have been forgiven. 

1. Acts 8:38, 39- "So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39- Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing." 

2. Acts 16:33, 34- "And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34- Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household." 

CONCLUSION: Scientists have discovered that every snowflake has a tiny piece of dust at its core. Yes, every snowflake has a "dirty heart". In the spiritual realm, when the blood of Christ is applied to the heart of an unbeliever, it cleanses him from all sin. Not a speck of defilement remains, for God removes every stain and washes him even whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7) 
 
 

Copyright 1999 by Grady Scott may be reproducted for non-commercial purposes at no cost to others.