Christ told Paul directly that he was a chosen vessel. This is simply to say that Paul was the right man for the job. If one were to make an educated guess they would have to say that at that particular time Paul would have been totally unaware that there was a purpose in the Lord’s church for him to fulfill. Like the rest of us, we move through life thinking that our agenda is our purpose, but the truth is that God allows us to do our stuff while His plans for us are in the works.
Moving forward from that point Paul began to fulfill his mission. One can speculate that what stood out about Paul was his total commitment to the cause at hand. We are fully aware of the vigor with which Paul pursued his persecution of the church. Paul wasn’t just a “talker” or a “dreamer”; Paul was a “doer”. He possessed a sense of duty that took away the debate that many of us use today when it comes time to fulfill our missions for the Lord. The people of the Lord should readily have upon their lips the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isa.6:8 8: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Discussion :
It is not surprising if the first question is,”Go where, and do what when I get there?” You see, we don’t always see the effects of the course that we are on as being ineffective or errant. If an action is repeated enough a strange thing happens; it becomes accepted. It takes a focused presence to rightly discern where we are in the sight of God. Satan has been effective in clouding perceptions; especially when it comes to routine things. The bible speaks of discernment as being a gift. It is a gift that is often. Over-looked. It is missed because in many cases people never miss what they never had. 1 Chron. 12:32” 32: And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
The idea of discernment is so important that the bible made room in it’s eternal text to commend the children of Issachar for possessing it. The bible says that they had an understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. I offer for your consideration the proposition there need to be a greater understanding of the times and what we ought to do. The level of morality is an indicator of a lack of understanding of the times that we are in, and what we ought to do.
The first thing that we must do is properly place ourselves in the order of God’s great scheme of things, and not picture ourselves as an existence unto ourselves only. The great failing of many Christians is that their perception of themselves is that they are the center of their own universe and their purpose is to pursue the quest of their personal goals.
Romans 14:7: For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8: For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
9: For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
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