March 13 2026

Friday March 13

There is Someone Somewhere Waiting

Introduction to Philippians

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”.

Today we are continuing our introduction to the book of Epistle to the Philippians. As we think about how the first church in Europe was founded and who the first converts were, I believe we can learn many important lessons. But one thing I especially want us to see is this: while people may be sitting around debating their theology, their bibliology, and all their preferences and opinions about God, there is someone somewhere waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus. That is exactly what we see happening in Acts of the Apostles chapters 15 and 16.

Here in Acts chapter 16, when the Apostle Paul arrives at Philippi with his companions—Silas, Timothy and Luke—they begin looking for a place where people might be praying. Remember we said earlier that there was probably no synagogue in the city. So they went outside the city to a river, where a group had gathered to pray. There they met a woman named Lydia. In Acts 16:14 we are told that Lydia was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira. Purple cloth was very expensive in those days and was often associated with wealth and royalty. This suggests that Lydia was probably a successful businesswoman.

But most importantly, Lydia was seeking God. The Bible tells us about her wonderful conversion in Acts 16:14. It says, “Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” She believed the message of the gospel. She was baptized. She became so excited about what God had done in her life that she invited Paul and his companions to use her home as their headquarters while they were in Philippi. How interesting is that? Lydia becomes the first recorded convert in Europe.

But she was not the only person transformed by the gospel at Philippi. Soon afterward, Paul and his companions encountered a young slave girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination. She made a great deal of money for her masters by fortune-telling. For several days she followed Paul and his companions, shouting, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17). After many days, Paul became troubled by this and turned to her and said, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the demon to come out of her. Immediately she was delivered and set free from that demonic power.

It appears that she too may have become another convert who came to know Jesus Christ. However, this stirred up the local authorities. Her masters were angry because they had lost their source of income. So they seized Paul and Silas, had them beaten, and threw them into prison. I have often wondered about what the local jail there in Philippi was like—and I have also wondered where Luke and Timothy were when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison! But God was not finished working.

Instead of complaining or feeling sorry for themselves because of their unjust treatment, Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God at midnight. The other prisoners were listening to them. And apparently the jailer also. Then suddenly, God sent a great earthquake. The prison shook, the doors opened, and everyone’s chains were loosened. The jailer rushed in and, thinking the prisoners had escaped, was about to take his own life. But Paul cried out and stopped him, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

The jailer then asked one of the most important questions anyone can ever ask: “What must I do to be saved?” He must have been listening carefully as Paul had been sharing the gospel. Paul then gave one of the clearest statements about salvation in the entire New Testament. He said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31).

Oh my friend, what a wonderful question—and what a wonderful answer. So we see that these three people helped form the early church at Philippi: a wealthy businesswoman, a formerly demon-possessed slave girl, and a hardened Roman jailer. Three very different people—but the same gospel saved them all. And here is the point I want to emphasize. In Acts 15, while the church back in Jerusalem was debating the question of circumcision with certain Pharisaical Judaizers who were trying to add something to salvation, there was a woman sitting beside a river in a foreign country saying, in essence, “Please tell me about Jesus.” My friend, I believe the same thing is true today.

There is someone somewhere near you who is waiting for someone to tell them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their heart is ready. Their eyes are being opened. They are longing to hear the message that can release them from the power of sin and the devil, set them free, and give them eternal life. That is the beauty of the gospel message. It reaches people from every culture, every background, and every level of society. And it was from these humble beginnings that God planted a church in Philippi—one that would become one of the most faithful and beloved congregations in Europe during that time.

Will you be the “someone” who will tell “someone somewhere” about Jesus today?

God bless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.