Good morning.
Remember that Paul was just like any of us, a man with the potential to please the Lord. Like Paul all of us have a mind and a soul that can be employed in obedience to what we hear from the Lord through our spirit.
Why was Paul privileged to write most of the New Testament?
Jesus actually had a hard time to get His twelve disciples to really believe. For three long years they walked Israel with Him, seeing Him in action. They had hands-on training and practical application of what they have heard, yet in John 16:29-31 we read: “Then Jesus’ disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.’
‘You believe at last!’ Jesus answered.”
At His crucifixion they deserted Him and during the time He was in the grave they hid behind locked doors. However, when they were filled with the Holy Spirit nothing could stop them because of the power of the Holy Spirit. There were occasions recorded in the book of Acts though, where their timidity and unbelief came out again, for example where Peter were released from prison after they had prayed that he would be, and they did not believe it was him (Acts 12:1-18).
Paul (Saul) on the other hand was determined to know as much as he could about the Scriptures. He studied it, became a Pharisee and when he persecuted the church he believed he did it for God. He was determined to please the Lord. This attitude of his showed clearly when he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. If he had been an unbeliever when Jesus spoke to him, he probably would have cursed this voice and light as well, but his immediate reaction was: “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5).
After he got baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit he was off like a rocket.
“Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, ‘Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?’ Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 9:19-22).
Paul had a message. He never had the opportunity to be trained in the ways of Jesus like the other disciples had, but he made it his business to know the law and the prophets (the Old Testament), and he had the Holy Spirit and to him that was enough. All he needed to do now was to tell everybody that Jesus was the Messiah as it was prophesied in the Bible. He didn’t wait on the church to decide when he was worthy and equipped to do it, or asked for their permission. In obedience to the Holy Spirit he just did it immediately after his conversion, the infilling with the Holy Spirit and baptism in water.
How about us? How much do we allow people to decide for us what the Lord wants us to do? How much time do we waste on faithlessness, feelings of inferiority and timidity? Does the Bible tell us to wait for the church leaders to tell us what to do? They are there to equip us and support us, but we need to do what the Lord tells us to do.
Paul used every opportunity within his reach to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. Outside of the church are many opportunities for us. For example, when the opportunity arose to reach out to the street people, our team just grabbed it and the Lord blessed it. I just make myself available every morning and the Lord gives me a word to share. You just need to do what the Holy Spirit tells you and the Lord will multiply it.
Lord, I’m just going to do it!
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.
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