Saul, the Pharisee of Pharisees, was on a journey to Damascus to arrest Christians. He had a letter of authority under his belt and was determination to make a name for himself, to make things right and to punish those who were wrong. Then all of a sudden, Saul was knocked off his donkey by a blinding light and his world was turned upside down. From then on things for him were different. His eyes were blinded by the Light and when they were opened he had a different view of the Lord Jesus Christ. He also had other visitations and teaching from the Lord that have influenced the church worldwide. Paul became the greatest missionary of all time and an inspiration for many others. That's how a revelation of Jesus Christ can affect people's lives.
When we study Saul's upbringing and training as a Pharisee, one would think God would surely have capitalized on that, just as we have seen other ministers do. But, God had a totally different plan for Saul. There was a change in plans. In fact God did just the opposite, instead of using him to win the Jews for Christ, God sent him to the Gentiles. It only goes to confirm that God's ways are different than mans. The scriptures says, "Many are the plans of men, but it is the Lord's will that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) The same still holds true for us today. God has a way of changing our expectations into something better and grander than anything we could of planned, but we must be willing to let go of the past. He did it for Josephs, Moses, Esther, David, Mary, Peter and many others, including a Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus. The apostle Paul writes:
"For I would have you know, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus." (Galatians 1:11-17 RSV)
Paul, with all his vast knowledge of Jewish history and religious training, it did very little to help with the mission God had planned for him. In fact, Paul counted it all as "dung" compared to the knowledge and revelation of Jesus Christ. Saul even changed his Jewish name to a Roman one, Paul, thus forsaking his Jewish heritage in order to embrace the vision set before him. He tried to minister to the Jews, but it seemed useless and it also frustrated him, because they were not his mission field. Paul's calling was heading him into uncharted water, to minister to people who knew nothing of the God of Abraham. Something he had never envisioned of doing before. Now he was totally dependent upon the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit. He also knew the Lord was with him, and that was the most important thing. We too will be frustrated in life or our ministry, if we are not in the perfect will of God.
I'm beginning to see some similarity between Paul's calling and my own. Yet, with just the opposite mission field from Paul's. He was called to the Gentiles and I, an American, have been called to the Nations of Israel. I was raised in the traditions of Christianity and studied four years their Bible Collage. Then I set out to make a name for myself as an artist. But at the age of forty, God knocked me off my "donkey" or should I say out of bed. When the Lord said to me, "It's now or never." From that time on I've been in training in a wilderness also, but it wasn't until recently that the Lord showed me my future, a bigger picture and the reason for my name change.
What will it take to change God's chosen people? I believe it will be the anointing of God on His sons and the power of the Holy Spirit, and most of all the right timing. I also expect to gain more revelation of the Father's heart on my journey in the coming days and years. This is truly what it will take to change the world and the Jewish Nations. The world needs to see the love and power of God, not more clever ideas, gifting or programs of men. When we seek the Lord, with all our heart, we will find that His plans for us are much bigger and different than what we expected. But one thing for sure, we will never be alone on our unforeseen journey.
Note: We should always keep an open mind to other possibilities for our future, else we might find ourselves knocked off our donkey and given a change of plans. Plans mush bigger and better than the ones we could of ever had. People try to build a bigger and better kingdom for themselves, but God wants His sons and daughters to rule the world.
