"Contact" (Acts 9:1-3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/24/2017 9:58 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                                Focus:  “Contact”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:    Acts 9:1-3

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;”

            In our last SD we looked at the introduction to the first 31 verses in the ninth chapter of the book of Acts.  In today’s SD we will begin looking at the first main point which goes from verses 3-9, and in those verses we will be looking at five phases of the remarkable conversion of Saul as he put his faith in the Savior that he had been persecuting.  Now the name of this first phase is “contact,” which is under the first main point entitled “Faith in the Savior.”

            In our last SD we did speak briefly of what is found in the first two verses of Acts chapter nine as we saw that Paul was the one who was still breathing threats and also murders against the disciples of the Lord.  He decided to go to the high priest in order to get permission for him and some of his men to go to Damascus to get other believers from this city.  The term “the way” is mentioned in verse two and some think that believers were called to be a part of “the way” because of what Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

            Now we will begin to look at what is found in verse three where we see that as Paul and his men were heading towards Damascus that they saw a light from heaven that flashed around them.  In the first part of John’s gospel we see that Jesus is described as light, and when we look at light we are talking about power and one of God’s attributes is that He is all powerful.  No one can look upon God and live and so this light that Paul and his friends saw was not the full furry of the power of God or else Paul and his friends would be dead.

            We mentioned that Luke includes three places where the testimony of Paul is found and when we look at these other ones we will see that this flash of light came around noon:  “"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me (Acts 22:6).”  In Acts 26:13 we read “at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me.” From this we learn that this light was not something that was made, but as stated it was the Lord Jesus Christ.  What was said by the Lord was for Saul’s ears only as Saul testifies that He saw Jesus in glorious brilliance as he states in Acts 9:17, 27; 22:14; 26:16; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:58), however according to Acts 22:9 his men that came with him saw only the light, but could not hear or understand the words that were spoken by our Lord to Paul.

            It is ironic that the last person who saw the resurrected Jesus Christ was Stephen, the man Saul desired to see die because of his belief in Jesus Christ.

            When the Holy Spirit gives an effectual call the one chosen by God in eternity past, the one Christ died for, we see that it is He (God) who is the One who initiates the contact for salvation, although it is hardly ever, if ever done like this one described here in chapter nine done for Saul.  Paul speaks of this salvation that is initiated by God powerfully in Titus 3:3-5:

“3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jude.”

Today’s Bible question:  “How did Aaron and Hur help Moses gain the victory over the Amalekites?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/24/2017 10:31 PM