Daily Dose of the Word of God - Acts 9: 7-9

Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor

Transcript

Gregg DeMey  0:07  

Good morning and welcome to Elmhurst CRCS daily dose of the Word of God. It's Wednesday, April 15, and this is Gregg DeMay. Wait...I'm not usually here on Wednesdays, but I'm glad to be here with you on Wednesday! It's the season of Easter and we're living it forward. Today's reading is from Acts 9, verses seven through nine.

Gregg DeMey 0:27  

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Gregg DeMey 0:48  

It daunted me some time ago that Jesus Public Ministry ended on the cross, while Jesus had been cheered on by big crowds on Palm Sunday and then jeered by a mob at his trial. Although though he had taught huge throngs of people throughout his ministry and at the end during Passover week in Jerusalem, there were no more large gatherings on the other side of the empty grave. There was no post resurrection victory tour, no spectacular public speeches or high profile sermons from the mouth of the Risen One. Jesus' public ministry concluded with his final breath. But in the new Easter season (when the public facing ministry ceased), Jesus' private ministry picked up. It all started with Mary Magdalene, who was lost in her tears and grief on that first Easter morning. Jesus spoke her name and gave her the massively significant job of being the first message bearer of the good news of the resurrection. Jesus met her in just the way she needed. In today's story, Jesus appeared to Saul, soon to be Paul, in an intensely abrupt, yet personal way. Did you notice that Paul's traveling companions, "heard the sound but did not see anyone." This vision of Jesus was just for Saul, and it was to be so transformative.

Gregg DeMey  2:19  

The same principle applies today. Real Easter living is more likely to appear in tender, personal and private settings than in grand, spectacular and public ones. For mysterious reasons that I cannot explain, this pattern seems to please God and bring him greater glory. One other little detail from Acts chapter 9: Saul was blind after seeing and hearing Jesus for three days. Also he was fasting in a profoundly intuitive way. Saul spent three days nearly dead in a first step of imitation of the Lord whom he would serve from this day forward, and Jesus is about to ask him to do a lot.

Gregg DeMey 3:03  

Let's pray. Risen Lord Jesus, by your grace, meet us today as well. Open our eyes and ears - use thunder and lightning if that's what it takes. We only want to know you and hear you and be close to you. In your name we pray, amen.