The Apostle Paul said, “…we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time WE THOUGHT OF CHRIST merely from A HUMAN POINT OF VIEW. HOW DIFFERENTLY WE KNOW HIM NOW! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW. (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)
Paul said this of his life BEFORE he had an encounter with Jesus, “I HURT the followers of Jesus. I SENT MANY of them to their death. I ARRESTED men and women. I THREW THEM into prison…About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly A BRIGHT LIGHT from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting…What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’” (Acts 22:4, 6-10)
Paul (he was known as Saul before his encounter with Jesus) was led to Damascus, there, “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And AT THAT VERY MOMENT I WAS ABLE TO SEE HIM. “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to KNOW HIS WILL and to SEE THE RIGHTEOUS ONE (Jesus) and to hear words from His mouth.” (Acts 22:12-14)
Paul returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, Paul then, “…fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking…‘Quick!’ He said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'” (Acts 22:17-21)
All the other Apostles were handpicked and trained by Jesus, what about Paul? Paul says this about himself, “I know a believer in Christ who was TAKEN UP TO THE THIRD HEAVEN 14 years ago. I don’t know if his body was taken up or not. Only God knows. But I do know that he was taken up to paradise. He heard things that COULDN’T BE PUT INTO WORDS. They were things that people aren’t allowed to talk about.” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) This is where Paul received his personal training from Jesus… This is what we can do, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ASK HIM, AND HE WILL GLADLY TELL YOU, for He is always ready TO GIVE A BOUNTIFUL SUPPLY OF WISDOM TO ALL WHO ASK HIM…” (James 1:5)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham