Episode 64 - Lydia the Influencer

As we continue in our series on what it means to be a disciple we will look at someone who we would describe as an influencer.  She was a believer in God and a shrewed and succesful businesswoman.  But more than that, she transformed into someone who influenced others as she became a champion disciple for our Lord.

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Transcript

Hello friends, I'm your host Dave Laton and welcome to the podcast, Walking With Our Master, an outreach of the Prattville Church of Christ designed to inform, encourage, and teach as we daily walk with our Master. 

We are continuing our series on Applied Discipleship ~ More Than You Know.  We’re looking at different elements of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. 

We’re now looking at various early disciples and how they applied their knowledge, faith, and skills to serve our Master.  In this episode we’ll look at someone who became an influencer of others for Jesus.

In today’s world, especially with online social media outlets, the goal of many is to be labeled as an “influencer.”  An influencer is “a person who inspires or guides the actions of others”.

Typically, an influencer focuses on a distinct segment of society with whom they are perceived as “one of us”.  If the association is not seen, then influence wanes.  It may even receive a backlash.  If association is seen, then the person is given credibility and receives acceptance. 

With that understanding of an influencer, Let’s now look at Lydia, one of the early disciples of our Lord.  Let’s will look at who she is and the influence she had as a converted disciple of Jesus.

We learn of Lydia in Acts 16:11-15.  As with many of the other disciples of the early church, there is very little actually stated in scripture about this remarkable woman.  Her name is used only twice, but she was well known and well thought of.  Perhaps as we review her mentions in scripture, we are reminded of Proverbs 31:10-31 that describes the value of a woman who fears the Lord.  We read in that proverb how she is loved, industrious, respected, a hard worker, shrewd in business, charitable, and other quality descriptions.  These all can describe Lydia.

As Luke continues in his narrative, they sail to Troas where Paul established a community of believers.  One of the key individuals in this community was Lydia, described as a seller of purple and a worshipper of God.  Remember I mentioned the influence of the Holy Spirit on believers? Luke states that God opened her heart to learn what Paul was teaching. Interestingly, he doesn’t say the Holy Spirit taught Lydia.  The Holy Spirit as we learned in episode 58 of this podcast, guides us and helps influence us to be open to God’s will for us.  That’s what happened to Lydia.  The Spirit did not force God’s will on her.  

The language Luke uses to describe Lydia is a way of stating that the Holy Spirit was active in her conversion to Christ, along with her household.  She also demonstrated hospitality to Paul and his companions.  We will look more at her conversion and discipleship later.

Something we can surmise about Lydia.  I once had a discussion with a friend of mine who is a business professor.  We talked about what it would have taken for Lydia to be a successful business owner in that period.

Owning and managing a successful business of selling cloth dyed purple was not a small undertaking.   Only the wealthy could afford garments dyed purple due to the cost of producing the dye.  

Philippi, where Lydia lived and worked, was known as a leading city in Macedonia and a Roman colony located close to the sea.  This gave her the opportunity to grow her business.

A primarily reason for purple dyed garments being costly was due to the source of the dye.  It came from two sources, both requiring significant processing.  One source was from the root of the madder plant.  And another from the mucus glands of a snail found in the Mediterranean Sea.  It is estimated that it took over 10,000 snails to produce 1 gram of dye.  The snails were placed in a pot of brine and slowly heated for about 10 days.  The solution was then exposed to the sun causing the dye to change color.  It was a laborious process, and I can only imagine the smell.

We can easily admire Lydia.  In addition to her responsibilities for her household, she successfully managed a complex logistics chain that would be challenging even today. Some of the major challenges involved:  

 Hiring skilled and unskilled labor

Supervising and paying employees

Obtaining the raw materials to produce the fabric

Processing the materials to produce the dye

Manufacturing dyed fabric

Distributing the finished product

All these challenges indicate a remarkable woman, especially in her time.  But in God's eyes, she was much more than that.  Let's look now at Lydia as a disciple of our Lord.  

It is interesting how Lydia hears the gospel.  She is already identified as a woman that feared God.  This indicates her spiritual nature.  When I read something like this I am reminded of Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

It further indicates that she was fertile soil in which the seed of the gospel of Christ would thrive.  

Lydia is a great example of how the Holy Spirit brings the seeker and teacher together.  The Holy Spirit directed Paul to travel to Macedonia rather than to go into Asia as he had planned.  On his way, he traveled to Philippi where he encounters Lydia.  This was part of Paul’s second missionary journey.  

While in Phillipi, he comes across a group of women who met together on the Sabbath to pray. Lydia is among the women.  She is then converted to Jesus and baptized, along with her household.  It is likely that others also converted to Jesus, but Lydia, as a prominent figure, is presented to us.

In addition to the conversion of Lydia and her household, we also see the conversion of the Philippian Jailer and his household.  Through her and others’ influence, there was now a thriving community of disciples in the heart of a Roman city.  

Lydia portrays several characteristics of discipleship.  First, we see that Lydia was a learner.  Her heart was opened, and she accepted the teachings from Paul.  Acceptance goes beyond simply hearing.  It means that one takes in what is presented and allows it to change one’s life.  This is what happened to Lydia.  She became a disciple of our Lord and was baptized.  The transformation process we spoke as part of the learning process was demonstrated in Lydia.  That process is described in episode 59.

Lydia became a faithful follower of our Lord.  Once being converted to Jesus; she demonstrated her commitment by opening her home to serve Paul and his companions.  Lydia already understood commitment as she demonstrated through her activities as a successful businesswoman.  She now transferred that commitment to serving our Lord and His Kingdom.   Remember we spoke about head, hands, and heart?  We see all of this in Lydia.  That’s in episode 60.   

We also see her commitment in meeting regularly with the other women to worship and pray.  Although Philippi had many pagan religions, it is thought that there was a small community of Jewish believers there.  Apparently, there were not enough men to form a synagogue, so the women met together to worship and pray.  

Along with her commitment, Lydia was an imitator of Jesus as also seen by her desire to serve.  Opening her home to Paul and his companions would necessitate putting their needs before hers.  Although Paul was reluctant to take advantage of her generosity, she insisted to where Luke records that she “prevailed upon us.”

Due to Lydia, the Christians in Philippi would have significant influence in the region.  Note Paul’s conclusion to his letter to the Philippians in Philippians 4:14-22.

They shared his troubles

They entered into a partnership with him

He honors their faithfulness as “full payment”

Even some of Caesar’s household are converted

Through all of this, from her becoming a worshipper of God, her response to Paul and Silas, and her influence on the growth of the Philippian church, Lydia demonstrates transforming her mind and not being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2).  

Like Cornelius in Acts 10, we have no other mention of her in scripture.  We can speculate that she would have been very influential as the community of believers continued to grow in Philippi.  

Lydia was a vital part of opening a new area for the growth of our Lord’s Kingdom.  Paul’s original intention was to stay in Asia, but the Holy Spirit changed His plans and facilitated going into all the world.  Lydia was the first convert in this process.  When we serve as Lydia did, we will grow in our influence more than we know.

As I begin to wrap up this episode, I offer some questions to help us better understand how to apply ourselves as our Lord’s disciples.

Read Acts 16:6-10.  How does this passage show God’s providence in beginning of a community of believers in Philippi?

What are some similarities to Lydia’s conversion and the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 10?

What was significant about Lydia’s conversion and what impact does that have on us today?

Describe Lydia’s transformation in becoming a disciple of Jesus.

What knowledge, abilities, or experiences do you have and how can you use it to influence others to come to our Lord or to help them remain faithful? 

 In our next episode we will look at another early disciple who had three names yet one focus.

 I'm your host Dave Laton.  Thank you for joining me in this podcast.  I hope you will continue to do so. If you wish to share with me something from your walk with our Master or you would like to learn more, please email me at: walkingwithourmaster@gmail.com.

 I invite you to follow our podcast and share it with others as together we walk with our Master.  And until next time, remember, we give all glory to God the Father.