Hunger for the Word
On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted. Acts 20:7-12
Ideally, we are each consumer and proclaimer of God’s holy word. We breathe Him in as we study His holy word, pray, praise, worship and listen as others proclaim His truth to us. How do you typically respond as you listen while someone proclaims God’s holy word to you?
Jesus calls us each to go into the world serving as His witness. As you do, how do you respond to rejection? How do you respond when people engage and desire more?
I encourage you to consider your dual role in the context of Paul’s ministry described in the Acts of the Apostles. Reactions to Paul were typically extreme. People either loved his message, believed in Jesus Christ and accepted Jesus as Lord, or they disliked Paul, rejected his message and in many cases threatened to imprison or kill him. Except in Athens where rejecters merely scoffed, listeners rarely reacted with ambivalence.
Turning through Acts, I am struck by two thoughts. First, Paul inspires people to respond. Second, he is completely unfazed by repeated rejection. When an audience refuses to believe, kicks him out, threatens him with physical harm, Paul simply moves to a new place and continues preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. He preaches everywhere he goes – in synagogues, on the street, in the marketplace, by the river, in jail, and probably in his tent shop. He preaches to everyone who will listen. Like the Energizer bunny, he never stops. He truly dedicates his life to Jesus Christ; he truly lives for God’s glory; he truly seeks no glory for himself; and he is undeterred by rejection because it is not about him.
His persistence, resilience and ability to avoid taking rejection personally reminds me of a salesperson I used to work with. Her job entailed introducing a product to as many people as possible. So she called and met with lots of people each day, and even if she was rejected a hundred times that day she made the next call as if it was her first. She was relentless, persistent and unfazed by rejection because she knew they were rejecting the product, not her. It’s a lot like fishing on a slow day. Even if you’ve cast hundreds of times without a bite, you’ll cast again because the big one is out there and he must be getting hungry by now.
Paul’s ministry demonstrates complete surrender and dedication to Jesus Christ, and God uses and flows through him in remarkable ways, including performing extraordinary miracles through him – even his handkerchiefs have healing power (see Acts 19:11). So perhaps we should not be surprised by the extreme responses he inspires.
Even demons react to Paul. In Thyatira, a girl with a spirit of divination followed Paul and Silas around for days saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). The spirit’s proclamation was true but after days of repeatedly hearing it Paul grew annoyed, so he cast the demon out of the girl. And in Ephesus, sons of the Jewish high priest attempted to cast out an evil spirit from someone evoking Jesus’ name and the spirit said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). The Holy Spirit clearly flowed through Paul, revealing Himself through his preaching, his healing touch and his presence, and demons saw the Holy Spirit in Paul.
People also experience strong, polarized reactions. In Philippi and Thyatira some beg Paul to continue teaching about Christ while others seek his arrest. He is out by the river talking with people when he meets Lydia and “the Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). She is baptized and she urges Paul, Timothy, Silas and others to stay in her home in Thyatira so she could continue learning from them. A couple paragraphs later the men are thrown in jail for upsetting others in the town. Undeterred, while in jail Paul continues preaching, and they sing hymns, pray and praise God, and their jailer comes to believe in Jesus Christ. Some reject while some believe, and Paul continues God’s mission either way.
Continuing through Acts we see other examples of strong, polarized reaction to Paul’s presentation of the good news of Jesus Christ, and in Troas we encounter the remarkable events described in the passage first set forth above. Listeners are eager to hear Paul teach God’s holy word. They are so hungry and thirsty for the word they listen to Paul for as long as he is willing to share with them. They want every drop they can get, and Paul obliges. He speaks and speaks and around midnight a young man sitting on the windowsill falls asleep and tumbles three stories to his death. Paul rushes to him and God restores the young man’s life. At this point Paul has been teaching for hours and this tragic, glorious event interrupted the teaching. It might have been easy and natural to end the meeting, but what do they do? How does the group respond? Do they stop the meeting to go home and get some sleep? No. They go back upstairs, break bread and eat, and Paul continues teaching. They want every drop of God’s holy word. They desire it so much and Paul wants them to have it, so he continues teaching until dawn.
Can you recall a time when you hungered for the word of God with such intensity that you would have continued listening all night to a speaker present God’s holy word? I have listened to certain speakers that were filled with the Holy Spirit and when they spoke God’s holy word came to life in remarkable ways and I listened intently for as long as they spoke, which seemed like mere minutes, but after they stopped and I looked at my watch, I was startled to see that hours had passed. God flowed through them and His holy word came to life and time did not matter.
I recall a video of Francis Chan speaking at a conference and he explained that he had missed his flight to the conference because he was at a prayer meeting and the Holy Spirit came in such a way that they all lost track of time and he looked up and hours had passed and he missed his flight, and the experience was so wonderful he said he did not care. By God’s grace he made it to the conference anyway. Isn’t it amazing how God works?
We are each consumer and proclaimer of God’s holy word. Scripture and experience reveal that God truly flows through people filled with the Holy Spirit, and when others encounter Him they are forced to respond. While some reject God and His message, others believe and need more. As proclaimer, seek God, desire God, need God, study His holy word, know your own story of transformation through Christ Jesus, and pray for God to open your eyes for opportunities before you to serve Him by allowing His holy word to flow through you.
As consumer, think of the times God has opened your heart to receive His holy word in life changing ways and pray for a heart longing to receive Him, desiring ears to hear His message and desiring to be continuously transformed by His holy presence. May you breathe Him in. Amen.