1 Corinthians 15:9-11 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Paul, one who persecuted the church of Christ, became a disciple on the road to Damascus. Jesus intervened in Paul's life when he was on his way to Damascus, with a purpose in his heart, to bring these people (Christians) as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. (Acts 22:5) 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," he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. “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 22:6-19) Jesus called him directly, called him to be his disciple, to do THE ASSIGNED work of God. What assigned work have you been called to do? Undoubtedly, the over 500 people who saw Jesus after He was resurrected had a story to tell about the RESURRECTED ONE. For sure, the disciples and Paul were not the only ones to spread the Good News throughout the area and in distant lands. There were many more whose lives were changed by experiencing new life in Christ. In Paul's writings, we find other people who are less prominent fulfilling their ASSIGNED task of spreading the Gospel. Paul mentioned many of their names. These people, even though they may not have seen Jesus first hand, believed emphatically in the message of Christ's resurrection. They believed faith in Jesus Christ brought eternal life to them. They, as Paul, were willing to risk their whole lives for this message of eternal life. When Jesus told Thomas to touch his hands and his side if that is what he needed to believe in his resurrection, he told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
Paul called himself the chief of sinners because he opposed Jesus directly, zealously persecuting the body of Christ, glorying in his mission of bringing members of Christ's church to physical death. He was an outright enemy of God and of God's plan of salvation for humankind. But God's salvation reaches down to save even the worst of us, the chief of sinners. Of course, that is good news for all of us, for we are all known in the scriptures as enemies of God. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24) The scriptures plainly say we are primarily self-oriented, under our own authority. This Adamic behavior drives our daily lives, exposing the preeminence of self-authority in opposition to God's royal laws. When the Pharisees questioned him about the greatest commandment, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) Because of Adam's nature within us, we reject God, for we are not subservient to his authority. As the Bible mentions many times, we do what is right in our own eyes, not what is right in God's eyes. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) Paul definitely was a sheep that had gone astray just as we also are sheep that have gone astray. Paul worked hard for the Lord to prove that the grace given to him was not without effect. He wanted others to know that God's grace was so merciful and efficacious that it could take even him, change him completely from an enemy of God to God's friend. As enemies of God, we will find that same wonderful, all-encompassing grace as our own escape from eternal damnation if we turn to Christ.
Breakfast companions, pick up your cross and follow Jesus. Some of you are in pain or sorrow today, struggling to believe. Your lives have reached a standstill in the Wilderness. You hold onto a belief in a Promised Land ahead; otherwise, this life for you would be madness. As you look around, you try to figure how to survive in this barren land. Seemingly, there is no water to be had, no food to eat, no cover from the blazing sun. We would like you to look again at Paul's life, his teachings. Paul was a learned man, but he believed wholeheartedly in the following: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) Christ has been resurrected, and you are a precious vessel of God. As a human, God has made you in his image; He has made you to be a temple for his Spirit. The plan of salvation is to allow this Spirit, the Spirit of resurrection, to abide in you. Christ died on the cross to provide you this power of resurrection, of eternal life, because you are precious, coveted by God. He has destined you from the beginning of time to be a son or a daughter in his household for eternity. Today, no matter how far away you feel from God, the work of eternal life is in you. It is his work, not your work. The Bible says, endure to the end. Paul told Timothy: Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. (2 Timothy 2:11-12) You must endure in believing Christ died for you. His work is completely efficacious, enough for your sins.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
(John 19:30) The work has been done for you. IT IS FINISHED in your life: no more sorrow without hope, no more tears without end! When you look around and try to figure out where is the food, where is the water, where is the lightening from heaven that will prove that God exists, remember, it is finished! You are Christ's workmanship, not your own. The Spirit within you cries out, "Abba Father." He is your Abba Father, and his grace for you is not without effect.
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