tomdurst
Administrator
member is offline
Joined: Feb 2006
Gender: Male 
Posts: 116
Location: Spokane, Washington
|  | A LIGHT FROM HEAVEN
« Thread Started on Oct 30, 2009, 2:58pm » | ![[Quote]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif) |
A LIGHT FROM HEAVEN
by Thomas E Durst
Acts 9:1-9 (New King James Version)
The Damascus Road: Saul Converted
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Please notice here the seriousness of Saul's career as a great sinner. He was "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord." I think threats and murder against God's servants would constitute one a great sinner indeed. Surely such a one would be worthy of receiving the wrath of God which is indeed exactly what did happen in this story. Remember that God's wrath (his passionate love) is always restorative, not vindictive. God manifested His passion and plucked Saul as it were a brand from the fire.
God's wrath was manifested as when "Suddenly a light shone around him [Saul] from heaven." I certainly would not dispute that this was literally a bright and shining light beyond anything we could imagine but I think on a deeper level it was far more than just physical light but A REVELATION OF GOD'S LOVE BEYOND ANYTHING THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE ORDINARY FLOW OF THINGS. Saul had been exposed to "gospel preaching" and had set his heart against the Spirit of God (see Acts 7:55-58). Most of us would see this blaspheming God and His people as the unpardonable sin, putting Saul beyond any hope of salvation. However, God did something above and beyond the power of the spoken word to get Saul's attention and bring him to his knees in repentance and the record would clearly indicate that Saul was genuinely repentant in the face of this Divine revelation. His first question was “Lord, what do You want me to do?” He wanted to turn his life totally around which is really what repentance is all about.
Is it possible that most of us may have overlooked the power of Almighty God to speed things up in the conversion of even the most despicable sinners in ways that would seem weird in comparison with the way we think God must work? Could the same Almighty God who struck Saul down in order to turn him around do the same thing again, perhaps even on a very large scale? I'm seeking to dwell here upon Infinite possibilities for we are told that with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37).
Remember that Saul was virtually transformed from a murderer of saints to becoming a saint himself and probably the greatest evangelist who's ever lived and this change happened in what was really a short period. We don't know how long this revelation of light took but the record would indicate that it was not some long, drawn out process. Is it possible that we shall see many more such remarkable conversions in these last days? I find these encouraging words challenging indeed:
Romans 9:28 (New King James Version)
28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.
When God wants to get people's attention we better look out! The goodness of God is what leads to genuine repentance (Romans 2:4). God must have given Saul a very FAST forward kind of revelation of His goodness. Ordinary "evangelistic preaching" never did the job. It took something much more drastic to get this stubborn sinner to listen to God and to melt his very hard heart.
The most important thing to remember above all else is that God can do what He wants, when He wants, and to whom He wants--in His way and according to His methodology. About the most arrogant and stupid thing that any of us could ever do is to think that we could somehow lock God in a box and prescribe the way He must work. We need to be really careful that we don't call God's working "of the devil" because it may not fit into our scheme of things (see Isaiah 55:8-11).
Philippians 2:9-11 clearly states that there will come a time when everyone shall bow the knee and confess Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. Does this include terrible sinners like Saul [who became the Apostle Paul] who have blasphemed the name of God and killed His people? Can the same God who knocked Saul to the ground and gave him a very sudden revelation of Infinite Love do the same thing with anyone whenever He wants?
I think we have been very foolish in limiting the power of God so much of the time and using human efforts, pressures, and all kinds of schemes in trying to make God's Kingdom come on earth when it is already here and we just need to bring ourselves into harmony with it far more than we have. Everything pertaining to the unfolding of God's Kingdom must come through the unction of the Holy Spirit, not by any kind of human effort (see Zechariah 4:6).
It would behoove all of us to live close to God everyday and seek to be in harmony with His will so that the Holy Spirit can work in our lives and use us in God's service in accordance with His will. It is true that our old self was crucified with Jesus when He died on the cross and we rose with Him in His resurrection to newness of life but we must WALK in that life and GROW in it day by day to realize the benefits of what Jesus did for us (see Romans 6).
|
To read my personal testimony and other articles go to the links below:
http://www.tomdurst.com/
http://tomdurst.livejournal.com/
|
|
![[Search This Thread]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/search2.gif)
![[Reply]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/reply.gif)
![[Send Topic To Friend]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/sendtopic.gif)
![[Print]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif)
Author
Logged