SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER
Text: Acts 16:11-15
Introduction
1. Illustration: One afternoon in July of 1864, pastor Dr. Lowry of the Hanson Place Baptist Church, in Brooklyn, N.Y. wrote the hymn “Shall We Gather at the River.” This old hymn became a favorite of film maker John Ford, and is featured in Westerns like, “My Darling Clementine,” “Three Godfathers,” “Wagon Master,” and “The Searchers.” So, basically if you’ve ever watched an old Western that had a church service, you’ve heard this hymn. The chorus to the hymn says, “Yes, we shall gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river, gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.”
2. The Apostle Paul could have very easily sung this song, if it had been written in his day, because he went down to the river and preached the Good News, and the Holy Spirit used him as he opened the hearts of people.
3. But the key here is that Paul went where the people were gathered and told them about Jesus.
4. Read Acts 16:11-15
Transition: The first key to evangelism (telling people about Jesus) is…
I. Go to Where the People Are (11-13).
A. Where People Would be Meeting for Prayer
1. Luke shows us in this section the need for us to go where the people we are trying to reach are. He tells us in vv. 11-12, “We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. 12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.”
a. This group of missionaries traveled across the Aegean Sea from Troas to Samothrace, which was a small island in the Aegean.
b. This was a common stopover for ships because captains would rather dock there than face the hazards of the sea at night.
c. Next, they stopped at a town called Neapolis, which was the port city for Philippi.
d. Then they took to ten-mile hike down the Ignatian Way, which was a famous Roman road that ran from east to west. Some cobbled section of this road still exists today.
e. Now, Philippi was a major city of the district, although it was not the capital.
f. It had mountains on every side and its port city of Neapolis, it has originally been an important city in the Greek empire.
g. Luke tells us they stayed there for several days.
2. Once in Philippi, the missionaries went to where the people were located. In v. 13, Luke tells us, “On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.”
a. On the arches outside the city there was written a prohibition against bringing an unrecognized religion into the city.
b. There was also a rule among the Jews that you had to have at least ten men to establish a Synagogue. So, the Jewish community there must have been small.
c. It is reasonable to assume this is why they went to the riverbank for the prayer meeting because it was outside of the city.
d. Now, it was always Paul’s custom when he went into a new community to preach, he always went to the synagogue.
e. So, when there wasn’t one, he went to the riverbank.
f. Notice that Paul went to where the people were located.
g. He didn’t expect them to come to him, but he went to them.
h. In doing so he was able to speak to a group of women gathered there for prayer.
i. He was able to minister to them because he was willing to go where they were gathered.
j. Also notice that they didn’t preach at them, but they just sat down and started talking to them.
k. All it takes is starting a conversation.
B. Urge Anyone You Find
1. Illustration: When Tina and I were in Bible college, we took a class on evangelism. The professor gave us several simple sayings that talked about evangelism. One of my favorites said, “Evangelism is just one friend telling another friend about THE friend.”
2. The first key to evangelism is going to where people are gathered and tell them about Jesus.
a. So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. (Lk. 14:23).
b. The Church has made a serious mistake for years (I don’t mean our church, but the Church in general), that we expect people to just come to us.
c. We have what I like to call the “Field of Dreams” mentality. You know, if we build it, they will come.
d. We think if we build big fancy building, with big elaborate programs, and lots of flash and sparkle, people will come to church and get saved.
e. But it should be obvious to us that this strategy is failing miserably because church attendance across the country is shrinking and shrinking.
f. People don’t care so much about buildings and programs, but about relationships.
g. They want you to care enough about them to tell them about Jesus!
h. Yes, we want people to come to church, but more importantly, we want them to come to Jesus!
i. And that begins when we go to them and not expecting them to come to us.
Transition: The second key to evangelism is..
II. Allow God to Work Through You (14-15).
A. The Lord Opened Her Heart
1. Now, Luke tells us about a particular lady who happened to be there. Luke says in v. 14, “One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.”
a. All because Paul was willing to go to them, he was able to reach a woman named Lydia who was from Thyatira.
b. She was a businesswoman, a merchant of expensive purple cloth.
c. Thyatira was a town that was significant center in the wool trade and known for the purple dye. The purple dye was important because it was usually worn by the aristocracy, royalty, and people of wealth.
d. For this reason, and because she had room in her home for more than several guests, it can be assumed that she was a woman of significant wealth herself.
e. Luke also tells us she “worshiped God.” This means she was a Gentile who worshiped the God of Israel but did not become a convert to Judaism.
f. However, the thing important to notice is “as she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.”
g. Paul went to where she was, started speaking, and the Holy Spirit did the rest.
h. It says, “the Lord opened her heart!” It wasn’t so much what Paul was saying, but because the Holy Spirit opened her heart to receive what was being said.
i. So, it doesn’t really matter if we feel we have the right words to say, but the fact that we go and let the Holy Spirit use us in telling people about Jesus!
2. Look what happens next. In v. 15 it says, “She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.”
a. After Lydia accepted what Paul was saying, she accepted the Lord into her heart, and then she and her entire household were baptized.
b. As we talked about earlier, she was a woman of considerable wealth, so not only did her family come to the Lord and get baptized, but all of her servants also accepted the Lord and were baptized.
c. Obviously, she was also a woman of great influence.
d. She was so excited about being a part of the family of God that she invited all the missionaries to stay at her home.
e. Now, I have noticed something about female businesspeople - they don’t like taking no for an answer.
f. Notice Luke says, “she urged us until we agreed.”
g. She wanted to express her joy and gratitude for what the Lord had done in her life, so she insisted that they accept her hospitality.
B. He Wil Convict the World of Sin
1. Illustration: My wife Tina posted this on her Facebook page recently:
a. It’s not our job to convert people.
b. It’s not our job to save people.
c. It’s not our job to convict people.
d. It’s not our job to convince people.
e. It’s our job to tell people.
f. The convincing, convicting, converting, and saving people is the job of the Holy Spirit.
2. When it comes to evangelism, do your job and the Holy Spirit will do his.
a. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (Jn. 16:7-8).
b. Jesus gave us one job; tell people about him.
c. He doesn’t expect us to convert, save, convict, or convince people.
d. Guess what church, we stink at those jobs!
e. But telling people about Jesus is really easy; just tell people about what Jesus has done in your life.
f. You don’t have to have a seminary degree or have memorized a bunch of Scripture verses.
g. All you got to do is tell people what Jesus means to you. It’s that simple!
Conclusion
1. There are two important keys to evangelism:
a. Go to where people are, and…
b. Allow God to work through you.
2. What’s the point preacher? Go and spend time where people are and tell them what Jesus means to you.
