Saul, Persecutor; Paul, Apostle
Scriptures: Acts 9 v 1 - 22.
Verse 1: "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord...."
Verse 20: "And straightaway he preached Christ in
the synagogues, that He is the Son of God."
Saul of Tarsus was totally and utterly against
Christianity and the Lord's disciples. He stood by and watched as the first
Christian martyr, Stephen, was stoned to death. In this passage he is making
death threats to those who were of "this way" and obtained permission
to travel to Damascus to arrest Christians.
As he came near to Damascus a heavenly light shone around
him and he fell to the ground. That Light was Jesus who asked Saul why he was
persecuting Him. Saul trembled before Him and instantly submitted to Jesus
saying, Lord what do You want me to do?
Jesus told him to go into Damascus and he would receive further
instructions.
Saul was blinded by the Light and his fellow-travellers,
who had seen the Light of Jesus but heard nothing, led him to the city. In Damascus, at about this time, the disciple
Ananias had a vision wherein the Lord called his name and he said, I am here
Lord. Jesus told him to go to Saul giving him the name and address of where he was
staying. Jesus had also given Saul a vision of Ananias praying for him to
receive his sight.
Ananias asked the Lord to confirm his mission as he knew
that Saul had authority to arrest Christians. Jesus reassured him saying, Saul
is a chosen vessel of Mine and will take the gospel message to the Gentiles
(non-Jews). So Ananias obeyed and Saul received his sight and was baptised and
filled with the Holy Spirit.
Saul (the name means Destroyer) became Paul, meaning
Worker, immediately began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God but many were
still afraid and wanted to kill him.
He was smuggled out of Damascus and spent 3 years in the
wilderness where Jesus taught him the truth about the Law vv Grace; the life
lived in the Spirit vv fleshly lusts and thereby turned this learned former
enemy into a powerhouse for the Lord.
When did you have your Damascus Road awakening? Jesus has
a plan for everyone. Paul had no clue that his determination to arrest
Christians would be so powerfully and convincingly interrupted by God Himself.
The Pharisee was humbled and his religious pride forever broken.
I had no clue that the very night my turbulent marriage
was over that Jesus would step into my life while I was busy yelling at a God I
never knew about how messed up I was! It was the first time that God was real
to me. He did not mind my anger because I was talking to Him and He took full
advantage.
He talked back and gently showed me my grievous sins and
when I had admitted guilt He blotted them out with the Blood of Jesus and
forgave me. I was so broken but that was
how He needed me to be. Broken and needing the Creator to recreate me.
At another crossroads in my journey I was given Acts 22 v
10 after asking the Lord which way I should go. It read: "And I said, What
shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and
there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to
do." It was not to Damascus but to a prayer meeting before dawn that I
went, and the pastor gave me verses 14-15 of Acts 22 to my great surprise.
Every one of the messages on this blog or other media, is
an outworking of those two verses in my life. I am eternally grateful to Him
for the very great privilege it is to call Him Lord and Redeemer and to pour
out my life for others to know Him in the fullest way.
Paul did it because he knew Jesus intimately. I do it
because I would not exchange one moment of my life in Christ for any material
thing in this world. At the end of his life Paul said, "That I may know
Him and the power of His resurrection."
He was looking toward to this time when that resurrection
power would be fully manifested; when the vision of the Bride of Christ and the
Ransom paid for her would be made known; when the greater works would be done
and the end would come with the glorious return of Jesus Christ to this Earth
to rescue Israel from destruction in the Battle of Armageddon.
Prayer: Heavenly Father it is so important that we have a
conversion in our hearts rather than mental assent to Your reality. I pray that
every person on Earth will have an opportunity to know You and to have Jesus as
Lord and Saviour. You alone can take our broken souls and shattered minds and
make them beautiful for You. In Jesus' name. Amen.