Why did Paul go to Macedonia?
Paul went to Macedonia because the Spirit gave him a vision to go over into that region, a divine appointment rather than an accident. This brought him from Asia Minor to the European continent, where Lydia, a seller of purple, heard the Word and the Lord opened her heart.
Les explains that nothing just accidentally happens when God is in the picture. In Acts 16, Paul came across from Asia Minor as a result of the Spirit giving him that vision to go over into Macedonia. On the Sabbath, they went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made, sat down, and spoke to the women who resorted there. A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, heard them, and the Lord opened her heart. Had Paul not come to that particular riverside park on that particular Sabbath day, she would never have heard the Word. From her point of view she was in the right place at the right time, but always behind it is the sovereign God. Les applies this to those who think they accidentally ran across the program and got interested in the Bible—it is not accidental; the Lord is in it from start to finish.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
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