Let.

Us pray. And he fell to Earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutionest thou me? Acts 9:4. Thank you, Jesus, that through the life of Saul, I can declare that no one is outside the reach of our loving savior. Thank you, God, that you are constantly reminding me that no matter how far I go, no matter how out of touch with you I seem, that at any given moment, you can and you will do whatever is necessary to grab my attention to bring me back to you. Like Saul on his road to damascus, when I am off track, remind me of who I am. Speak to me of the same boldness that you spoke to him, for I now understand that my purpose is more important than my comfort. Let me carry the same mindset into everyday life when I see others being ridiculed by somebody because of who they used to be. Let this story in Acts 9 serve as a reminder that no one is outside of the grasp of your love. Continue to transform my heart not only from the inside, but do a mighty work so that it can be seen on the outside as a tribute to who you are and the power that you possess to turn a life around.

Thank you for restoring my sight so I can see that there is more in store for me. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The Bible in a Year. Brought to you by Bibleinayear. Com.

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Saul and the Light. In our last story, Philip was used to preach the gospel in Samaria. He preached in the desert to an Ethiopian official and baptized him. Now we peer into the dark heart of Saul. His corrupt and evil mind was filled with hatred towards Jesus and the Church. Yet no man is immune to the loving touch of Christ. No amount of hatred could ever darken the light of God's Son, inspired by the Book of Acts.

Welcome once again to today's episode of The Bible in a year. In yesterday's episode, we heard how Saul's persecution of the church had led to a great scattering of believers, a dispersion of Christians. What the enemy meant for evil to stop God's work in the world ultimately led to the message of Jesus spreading far beyond Jerusalem and even beyond Israel itself. We heard how Philip shared the good news with an Ethiopian man who then took the message of salvation with him to the ends of the earth. Today, we'll hear how Saul, in the midst of his campaign to destroy the church and the message of Jesus, encounters the very one that he is persecution. It is on the road to damascus. He will be physically blinded, but have his spiritual eyes open to the truth of who Jesus is, and there receive the highest calling of all, which is to take the very message that he wanted to destroy to the ends of the earth. Let's listen now to today's reading.

His every breath was filled with hatred and murder, filled with zealous rage towards the Church. Saul stood under the torchlight in the courthouse. He watched as the temple judge put pen department. The words gave him complete authority to drag any man, woman or child into the city streets and end them. The letters were his license to kill. Saul took the letters and shoved them into his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and left the temple in a fury. He mounted his horse and rode in the night towards Damascus. There he would round up every last Christian like cattle. He would put an end to the life of Jesus once and for all. The darkness was draped heavily over the skies as Saul rode. The stars were hidden by thick clouds. Saul's heart was as black as the night. He was hell-bent on destroying the followers of Jesus. He despised their gospel. It was a direct threat to everything he had built his life upon. Piety, holiness and perfection, these were Saul's goals. He desired power. He desired holiness. He desired for God to approve of him because of his actions, not some act of grace or mercy.

Saul wanted to earn God's love. Saul's horse rode violently into the cold, dark, nothingness. The road ahead of him was barely seen by a small torch Saul held in his hand. Damascus was not too far away. All of a sudden, Saul's torch snuffed out and his horse stopped abruptly. With his light removed, Saul could see nothing. The silent and dark night was maddening. Saul breathed heavily, trying to restore the flames on his torch to no avail. Then like the light was being pierced by a blade, a bright light cut through the blackness. The jagged light surrounded him. Saul's eyes could barely stand the brilliance around him. As the light rushed forward, Saul was bucked off of his horse. He hit the ground with force and his horse ran away. A voice as clear as can be spoke through the light, Saul. Saul, the voice said. Why are you persecution me? Saul stood to his feet trying to see who dwelled behind the radians. Who are you? He asked with panic in his voice. Who is speaking? The light danced in 100 different directions like a weaved tapestry. It is I, Jesus, the one whom you have persecuted it.

Why are you kicking against the goads? Why do you deny who I have called you to be? The men who were following Saul could hear the voice but could not see the bright light dancing around Saul. They saw him on his knees panicking as he listened to the terrifying voice of Jesus. Saul fell to his face and closed his eyes. Then the light vanished. Silence returned to the dark night and flames were restored to Saul's torch. However, Saul opened his eyes to discover he was blind. Saul's companions led him by the hand to Damascus. There he laid in bed for three days, silently seeking answers from God. He neither ate nor drank. He simply waited until God spoke to him about what he had seen and heard. There was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. He was an older man and very attentive to the will and direction of God. Early in the morning, he sought the voice of Christ. As he prayed, the silent prompting of God's Spirit spoke to him, Rise, he said. Not too far from here in the house of Judas, there is a man named Saul. He is praying and seeking God.

You must go to him and tell him of me. Ananias shook his head, Lord, I have heard of this man. He is the cause of much evil to your people. His hands are stained red with the blood of believers. Go, for I have chosen him to carry my name and proclaim me to the Gentiles. I will show him how much he will do and suffer in my name, the Lord answered. So Ananias packed a small bag and left for the home where Saul was waiting. Paul. Saul was still shrouded in darkness. In the night he closed his eyes and saw visions of a man named Ananias. But all was a blur to Saul. Everything was confusing. He did not know what the Lord was doing. As Paul sat in darkness, his heart began to soften. Saul heard the door creak open. 'Brother Saul, ' a voice said, 'I am Ananias. I have been sent by Jesus to heal you. ' Saul's heart ached when he heard the name of Jesus. The words of the bright light still echoed in his mind. Tears fell from Saul's blind eyes. Then as Ananias prayed over him, Saul began to regain his sight.

It was as if scales were peeling away. In that moment, Saul's heart was changed. He not only saw the daylight, but he saw the light of Jesus. He understood in a moment all the things he had done. It was overwhelming. After being baptized, when Saul presented himself to some of the disciples of Damascus, they were the ones he planned to kidnap and kill. They watched as he entered the room with his head held low. They were skeptical but could clearly see that something was different about him. Peter sat among them, he was protective over the rest of the disciples. He did not want a wolf among sheep. Who is Jesus? He asked plainly. There was a long pause. Saul's face was filled with anguish and regret. He remembered what he had done and what he had said. There was blood on his hands. He is the son of God, Saul answered. As he said these words, the entire room gasped. They were amazed that Jesus had touched the heart of someone so dark and so evil. Is this not the man who watched as Stephan was stoned?, someone shouted. He has probably come to kidnap us and bind us.

But Saul remained with the disciples for a long while and learned under them. He listened to their words. He prayed with tenderness. Day by day they watched this once evil man turn into a Minister of grace. Soon he appeared in front of the Jews in Damascus and proclaimed the truth of Jesus as the Christ. So much that they plotted to kill him, so the apostles lowered him down and sent him back to Jerusalem with Barnabas. Thus began the epic journey of the suffering servant of Christ. The man who once sought the lives of Christians would lay his life down daily for the advancement of the Gospel. Saul's life would prove as a symbol to all those who feel like they are too lost to come to God. He is proof that nobody is outside the reach of a tender and loving savior.

Saul is relentlessly pursuing the followers of Jesus, determined to destroy once and for all this new movement, the Christian faith that is threatening everything that he holds dear, all of his traditions, all of his religion. Saul was zealous for God, but he was misguided. He's still stuck in the chains of legalism and good works, unable to understand who Jesus is despite his years of studying the law and prophets. So Saul asked the high priests for letters to the temple in Damascus, authorizing him to round up as many Christians as he could, people known as followers of the way, and then to throw them in jail or worse. But God had other plans. And in today's reading, we hear how God went to supernatural lengths to reach Saul and to stop him in his tracks. For there on the road to Damascus, on his way to destroy the church, Saul was blinded by the light of heaven. This is the resurrected Christ himself. There on the ground, Saul could see nothing but the glorious light of Christ and the voice that came to him. This is Jesus asking Paul, Why are you persecution me? Jesus asked Saul, Why are you fighting against me and what I am telling you to do?

You see, though Saul did not yet know it, God had a heavenly high calling and purpose for him. God would not take away this man's zeal or deep understanding of truth and scriptures. Rather, he would fulfill the scriptures in the life of Saul, and he would become the great missionary of the church. After being knocked off his horse, Saul then blindly stands to his feet, and already God is changing him. Jesus is changing him. For when he opens his eyes, he found that he could not see. Saul is now physically blind. For many years he had lived in spiritual darkness and blindness and had physical sight. But now the tables are turned. God had begun to open his spiritual eyes, but he is blind and helpless. His companions lead him to damascus, where he stayed for three days fasting and drinking nothing. As Saul waited, not knowing what would come next, God was working behind the scenes as he always is. He appeared at a vision to a believer in Damascus, a man named Ananias, and God told him that he was to go to Saul. Understandably, Ananias was concerned because he had heard about Saul, how vicious he was, how he was attacking Christians and attempting to destroy the church.

Did God really want Ananias to go talk to this man? Notice that God did not chastise him or get angry for his questions. He simply affirmed the command and explained his purpose, saying in Acts 9:15-16, Go, for he, that is Saul, is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the Kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Ananias, what a great man, then obedience fulfilled his calling, and he went to Saul and he laid hands on him, and immediately he embraces him and calls him brother. This man, who was an enemy of the church, is now being called brother, a part of the family of God. Don't miss the importance and the significance of this. Not every one of us would have been so quick to embrace Saul. But Ananias, knowing that God had a great purpose for this man and trusting in God's will, welcomed Saul and prayed for him to receive the Holy Spirit. In that instance, Saul's eyesight was restored. The scales of his eyes fell, and he now sees again. Saul was then baptized, and immediately is transformed into a force for the gospel, a fearless, faithful, evangelist who would spread the gospel, pointing others to Jesus everywhere he went.

The disciples were confounded and confused and a little uneasy. But as they heard this man preach, as Saul witnessed of the good news, they were sure now that he is a changed man and the murderer becomes a missionary. Soon Saul returned to Jerusalem, but when he tried to join the disciples there, and again he was faced with some fear and skepticism. But a man by the name of Barnabas, just as Ananias had done, welcomed his new brother in Christ. He stood up for Saul before the disciples, and then Saul was accepted, joining those in Jerusalem, boldly preaching Christ to all who would listen. It wouldn't be long that Saul would face the same oppression and opposition and persecution that he had brought to the church. Now, he was the hated and hunted one, but nothing would stop this man. He was unstoppable. Saul is an incredible testimony to God's power to redeem and change even the most lost and hopeless person. Saul would carry God's grace to the ends of the world, fueled by the power and the passion of the Spirit within him. And both Jews and Gentiles everywhere would believe the saving message of Christ because the man who hated Christians is now becoming the greatest Christian who ever lived.

Let's pray together. Dear God, thank you for today's scripture, which reminds us of Your great grace, Your amazing grace. They can take us when we're going the wrong direction and turn our lives around so that we can become Your followers. We know this is all true because Jesus is alive, because you are risen, Lord, and we follow you and trust in you and obey you. May we be bold in our witness, using our own testimonies to tell the world who Jesus is, for we pray in Christ's name, Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a year. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the pray. Com app and make Bible study and prayer the priority of your life. If you appreciate this podcast, please share it with someone else. I also want to encourage you to go to jackgraham. Org. That's jackgraham. Org, for we have resources that are free and available for you so that you may know Christ and grow in Him. Let me also invite you to something very special with myself and my wife, Deb, as we are planning two trips in 2024. One is to Israel, departing April the first, to go to the land of the Bible and to walk where Jesus walked.

It's a trip of a lifetime. Then an Alaskan cruise adventure in the summer of 2024, in which we will have wonderful times of friendship and fellowship, we'll have worship services and experiences around God's word and seeing the wonders of God's creation. Two opportunities in 2024 to travel with us to Israel or to Alaska or both. You can go to prestonwood. Org for information. God bless you.

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