Radio Antioch

This is our Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 19.

    During his recent visit to our Radio Antioch Live! meeting, Dr. Cliff Pash offered this challenging look at this familiar scripture.

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Cliff Pash in Kakira, Uganda

   This Mission Update is Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 18.

   My Friend Dr. Cliff Pash of Advancing the Kingdom Ministries spoke at our Radio Antioch Live! meeting on February 20th about the mission projects they are running in Uganda. We work with Dr. Pash when we are in Uganda and have been part of several of their projects. In this video, Dr. Pash brings an update on the work in Uganda, along with some insights on ministering to the predominately Muslim people in the region.

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Please click on the player above to watch the Video. After the introduction you may need to adjust your volume control.

Hi Friends,

We have finally posted the video from the Amazing Rosh Hashana service that Keryn Moriyah and Moriyah Ministries did at the Radio Antioch Live! meeting on September 17th. We had some technical troubles with the recording that night. But since it was such a powerful service we  have re-constructed the video file for your enjoyment and encouragement. We hope it blesses you as much as those of us who were there were blessed!

Enjoy!

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This Teaching is our Podcast Episode 15. To watch the video, click the player above.

  I will start off today talking to those who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior…Those of you out there that do not know him may be a little puzzled about the things we are talking about, but you’ll catch on.

    Remember how awesome life was when you first got saved? Everybody thought I had gone crazy. Jesus was in every one of my conversations.

   I started to write that during the first weeks and months of a new Christian’s life everything seems to be almost magical….And then I corrected my language. Everything IS supernatural. Remember how even the simplest prayers seemed to be answered immediately? How many of you have testimonies where something that seemed  miraculous was just so natural during those first few weeks.

   Why do you suppose that is? I have a theory…Before you got saved you based your view of the world upon what the world said. The world said we all just evolved from pond scum. Ok, makes sense to me! Whoever has the most money and power has the best life….sounds logical….NOT!

   Have you ever marveled when you think back to some of the stuff you used to believe before you knew the Lord? Wow-  was I ever an idiot!

      When we came to Jesus, we suddenly exchanged the “me” centric view of the world, or a “new age” view of the world, or whatever else for a Christ centric view of the world. In accepting Christ, we made Him Lord over everything. This was a huge change of thinking, but it transformed your reality. Jesus was the Love of your life. The reason for your being. The answer to everything.

       When you first heard that “the devil is a liar” it was easy to believe, because you had just changed your entire thinking. When those first trials came up, it was easy to believe God to take you through them, because He had just redeemed you from the pit of Hell!

     But then slowly, surely, the mystical time seemed to fade. For many of us, even our Pastors seemed to help, with statements like “well, you’ll grow out of this in a few months!”

    So what happened? I think we slowly started listening to all of the world’s “stuff” again. After a while it became “Jesus Plux xxxx  (you fill in the blank) instead of just Jesus.  

             So how do we combat this gradual slip in lethargy? How to be keep that first fire burning brightly?

   We need to stir up the fire, blow off the coals! And perhaps the best place for that is in the mind. Because if Jesus is centered in His rightful place in your thinking, you can overcome the world no matter what happens to You!

    I recently was listening to a man of God speaking about his first trips to Chicago. He said that when he first came, it was hard to enter the presence of God here, or even to pray, because of the built-up layers of darkness, religion and sin that blanket the area. Now, he has learned to prepare himself before coming. I think that this affects us as well. We hold on to the “Big Stuff”, sure- I still say I am a Christian, but maybe my thoughts have become colored by the dark place I live in.

     Think about a building in the city, whose brick walls are painted white. At first, it looks white and pristine. Then some gangster comes along and spray paints some graffiti on the wall. Now, the wall is essentially unchanged. It is strong enough to hold up the roof, or keep out the cold, or even unwelcome guests, from the outside.  The graffiti does not change the nature of the wall, only how you think about it when you look at it.  Sometimes that’s what happens to us. We live in a dark city, and sometimes the cares of the world get “spray-painted” on the outside of our hearts.  We are still Christians inside, but the graffiti of gossip, cares of this world, sensuality in the media have painted over the outside, so that our views subtly change. These little sins, doubts and times of unbelief color our thinking and make us ineffective Christians. When we came to Jesus, we made Him Lord of our life. But then every so often we compromise a little here, or there…Maybe only small defeats. The graffiti builds up on the wall, and when we come to a point where we really need to be strong in Christ, we are weak. Sometimes we have to repaint the wall of our faith and return to our first love.

      If you live in a place with graffiti, your choices are to let it soil your home, or to do maintenance on your home to keep it clean. So it is with us in this fallen world. We get painted over with the “dirt” of this world, and lose our joy.

    If you had that building, would you expect your pastor to paint your house? No, probably not. But we often put the responsibility for painting over the spiritual graffiti in our spiritual houses on our leaders, and wonder why our house is not in order!

   So how do we win the battle of the mind? I like the way David did it. 1 Sa 13:14 and Acts 13:22 say that David was a man after God’s own heart. So How did David keep that fire going in His heart? I think he rehearsed the things of God in his mind during his worship…

  Psalm 27:

  The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear?   The Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?   

The first thought- The Lord guides me and has saved me- No matter what happens- in the light of eternity, who can harm me?

[2] When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. [3] Though an army besiege me,my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

David surely understood that we have trial, tribulations and even open warfare and violence, betrayal and deceit in this world. But he trusted the Lord to deal with his enemies.

[4] One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

    If only we could get a hold of what this “One Thing” means….

David’s relationship with God was more important than houses, riches, the kingship or anything else…

    His heart’s desire was to dwell in the Lord’s house all his days.

Can you imaging what an army of believers that truly sought that “one thing” could accomplish?

 [5] For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

   David was not dismayed when trouble came. He knew full well that there would be days of trouble in this world. But he knew that the lord would hide him and deliver him in his time of trouble.

 [6] Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

   When David’s enemies lied about him and cursed him, he trusted in the Lord to deliver him. When people discouraged him, he would sing and shout in Church! Now days we have that backwards! In many of our churches, if you sang and shouted to the Lord, people would discourage you, instead of you taking your discouragements to the lord in worship, rejoicing in Him.

[7] Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. [8] My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. [9] Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

   We know that David sometimes got into sin. In fact, when David messed up it was some pretty serious sin, like adultery and murder.

But in his heart he knew to seek God’s face, even when the Lord should be angry with him.

[10] Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

David knew that even those closest to us can let us down, but the Lord never fails us.

[11] Teach me your way, O Lord;lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

Who is our greatest oppressor? Satan- David knew that even his thinking had been warped, and he recognized that he needed the Lord to lead him on the straight path. Sometimes his own inner compass got out of line.

[12] Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. [13] I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. [14] Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

In the new Testament we see similar thoughts- Paul reminds Timothy to fight the good fight and not lose heart:

2 Tim. 1:6-14 ] For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. [7] For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. Sometimes we have to stir up that fire. Sometimes we have to reject fear and receive power through the spirit. [8] So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, [9] who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, [10] but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. [11] And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. [12] That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

  I like that – I am NOT ashamed, because I know whom I have believed!

[13] What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.   [14] Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

   Even Paul and Timothy had to guard over a right mindset through the power of the Holy spirit.

Rev. 2:1-7 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: [2] I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. [3] You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. [4]   Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. [5] Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

   Church, how many of us have let the cares of this world and the lies of the world system steal our joy, have our love grow cold, our faith grow weak? Our faith grows weak because little by little we have been worn down, been deceived. We have to stir up our faith, renew our minds in the word, and re-visit the mighty testimony of Christ in our life! Some of us may need to repent, for we have a little at a time let our fire go out, our love grow cold! And yet if David, Paul and Timothy had to stir up the fire, fan the flame, stir up the gifts, then there is hope even for us! Let us re-kindle that fire. Is your faith weak? Let’s get back in the Word, because faith comes through hearing the word. Are we troubled? Have we lost our Joy? Maybe we are using the wrong measuring stick. It’s time church, to go back to that one thing: To dwell in the House of the Lord- For there we will live forever. We need to take our eyes off of circumstance and trial, for in this world we have grief, and focus again upon the lover of our soul, Jesus Christ, the Author and the Finisher of our faith! (Heb 12:2)

   And as we become fully re-committed to Him, we find support in our hour of need-

2 Chron. 16:-9  For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him

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Rembrandt’s Abraham en Isaac, 1634

   This teaching is Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 13.  Click the player above to watch a live presentation of this teaching

Genesis 22:1-2     Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.     [2] Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

      This must have been a stunning revelation from God. Imagine Abraham getting that phone call! And yet Abraham was obedient.   Notice that verse one says that God tested Abraham. Or does it? The King James translation says that God tempted Abraham. The reason for this is that the Hebrew word used here has four meanings:

nacah, a primitive root; to test; by implication to attempt :- adventure, assay, prove, tempt, try.   This is translated in the Old testament as tempted. Tried, Tested, Proved

Now, I disagree with the King James Bible using the word Tempted here, as we see in James 1:13

    Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

Other more modern translations translate this as "tested", and I do believe that there was some testing going on. In fact, any time we go through a trial, we have an opportunity to practice all four meanings of the word:

a) We go through a trial.

b) The devil tempts us to make the wrong choice, give up, fall into the trap, respond in the flesh.

c) We have a test, an opportunity to overcome, that may be necessary before we can go to the place in our spiritual journey.

d) If we the test, we prove our self to the world and the spirit realm, building a testimony of righteousness. In the trial our heart and motives are revealed.

   Who is one who overcomes? One who has faced the trial and passed the test.

 Genesis 22:3  Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

   Now, we don’t hear any discussion between Abraham and God about this. But notice this- Abraham immediately obeyed God, leaving for Moriah.  This place is understood to be none other than Mt. Moriah, the mountain on which the temple was later built in Jerusalem. The Jews themselves have a tradition  that the altar of burnt offerings in the Temple stood upon the very site of the altar on which Abraham intended to offer up his son.  Mt. Moriah was about 50 miles from Beersheba, plenty of time for Abraham to think about all this. But by the time he got there he had sorted things out a bit.

Genesis 22:4-5  On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. [5] He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

   Notice that Abraham was now totally walking in faith. He could not reconcile in his mind the Promise on Isaac’s life with the command that he had from God. In an extraordinary act of faith, he obeyed anyway.   The book of Hebrews gives us an idea of what was going on in his head:

Hebrews 11:17-19   By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, [18] even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." [19] Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

  It is common when we have a promise from God that we go through a time where our natural circumstances seem to contradict God’s promise. I call this "the contradiction".

Genesis 22:6-11a     Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, [7] Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" [8] Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. [9] When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. [10] Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. [11] But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

   The fact that the Angel was right there ready to intervene on a moments notice shows us that God never intended Abraham to kill his son. In fact, in the Hebrew law later given through Moses, Child sacrifice was forbidden. And while Abraham did not have the written Law to guide him, he was nevertheless confident in the Lord.

 Genesis 22:11b -14 "Here I am," he replied. [12] "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." [13] Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."

   And God did provide a lamb. Not only for Abraham, but also for us. Jesus Christ was the sacrificial lamb the bore the sin of the world. In this story we begin to see the idea of God providing a substitution for the offering.

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. (KJV translation)

  Yehovah yireh,  yeh-ho-vaw’ yir-eh’; from Hebrew 3068 (Yehovah) and Hebrew 7200 (ra’ah); Jehovah will see (to it); Jehovah-Jireh, a symbolical name for Mt. Moriah :- Jehovah-jireh.

Genesis 22:15-18  The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time [16] and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, [17] I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, [18] and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

   The Lord had previously told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Gen 15) But this time we see the analogy move to the earth, in the grains of sand. Also, he received the promise that his descendants would take the cities of their enemies.

(Notice that there was NEVER a promise of no battle and no enemies!)

    It is one thing to believe God and trust him when the promise is not yet granted. I have heard people say "if I only won the lottery, I would give it away"  Maybe they would. But it is a whole lot easier to have faith that you would do something before you receive it than to actually part with it after you have received it.

   There are  a number of lessons we can learn from this:

   A true worshiper obeys completely the command of God,

   A true worshiper Holds Nothing Back,

   A true worshiper has faith in the Lord to supply everything.

   Fulfilling God’s command would have cost Abraham everything. True worship is always costly. It is never free.

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Hello Friends,

Radio Antioch, our inter-church worship and teaching fellowship will be meeting this Saturday night at 7 pm.

We are meeting at the Christian Life Fellowship church, a wonderful church in Antioch that lets us “borrow” their sanctuary for these meetings. Their Address is:

41625 North Deep Lake Road Antioch, Illinois 60002

For Mapquest directions, click HERE.

For those of you who join us via the internet, we plan to broadcast the teaching portion of the meeting by LIVE video. Just Click this link to connect:

http://antiochtabernacle.org/blog/live/

Please send us an e-mail if you have any questions.
We hope to see you there!

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This Teaching is Radio Antioch Video Podcast Episode 12. To watch the video, click the player above.

   In Episode 12 we are doing a little vision casting for Radio Antioch - and introducing the idea of Presence Based Church. Watch as we take a look at where we have been, where we are, and where we are going!

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 Casting the Vision for Presence-Based Church [49:04m]: Download

Sometimes you have to hold loosely to the world to reach your destiny in Christ.

   This teaching is part 7 of the Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 10. To watch as a short video, click on the player above. To watch the full video of episode 10, click here.

   A friend of mine, John Kramer, has a teaching he calls “Hold Loosely” that I have adopted as one of the core beliefs of our ministry. Simply put, it means to hold loosely to the things of this world. For example, suppose you have money. Sure, it’s in your hand. Use it, buy something nice, but don’t horde it. Remember to also do something for the Body of Christ. Don’t hold so tightly to it that it consumes you or becomes an idol in your life. Have you been given a car? Use it for a while. When you don’t need it anymore, give it away. This principle applies to non-material things as well. Suppose the Lord has given you a ministry. Remember it’s not really yours, it is something the Lord has entrusted you with. You are NOT the owner, but rather the steward. When I speak at a church, I frequently tell the worship leader that if the Spirit is moving in the worship, don’t be afraid and take time to flow with it. Every time I am invited to preach, I pray the worship service will be so powerful that the congregation would get caught up in worship and we would just have to preach some other time. I believe in preaching the word, and that God uses the messages I preach, but I hold loosely to both and leave the service to God.

     Hold loosely  to the things that God gives you. If you are faithful with the things you are entrusted with, He can give you so much more. If God can trust you not to hang on to that ministry, the He can give you a bigger and better one. You haven’t earned it anyway, it’s all God. This works for the things you have earned as well. If you can be trusted with money, maybe you will make money in your investments when everyone else is losing, as the Lord’s blessing extends to you.

     If you hold loosely to the things God gives you, and pass the test when God says “give away the car” or “leave the job” then God can bless you with His increase. Even things like “lay down your life” become possible when you hold loosely to the things of this world. If you hold loosely to things in your heart, it is easier to pass the test. I don’t know if I would pass the test Stephen passed in the book of acts. I hear so many believers thump their chest like Peter claiming they would die for the Lord. I would hope that I would have the courage to do what Stephen did. If God asked you to pack up and move to another part of the country, would you be able to do it? How submitted are we to the Holy Spirit in our lives? I read the end of the book. In the end we go to heaven. But do we really believe it enough to let the Holy Spirit arrest our lives and guide us? To change our thoughts to what God has called us to be?

Acts 13:2     While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

      The people in this verse had a choice. Barnabas and Saul had to choose to go on the missionary journey. The other elders in the Antioch church had to hold loosely to their vision for the work in Antioch and release them to fulfill their destinies.

   You see, Paul was not a danger to the kingdom of Darkness when he was arresting Christians. It was when Christ arrested Paul that he became truly dangerous. In the same way, it looked bad for the church in Antioch when their two best were sent away. But it really became bad for the devil when they started planting churches, taking the fire from Antioch and sowing it to the world. When we become arrested by God, He can sow our lives into a situation with powerful kingdom results. Over history some have lived, others have died, many have been sent from one place to another. Are you submitted enough to the Spirit to join their company and become truly Dangerous? This is a personal test. I don’t know if I would pass all of these tests. Some I have passed already, others I can only hope to have the courage. I have the same prayer for you, that you would pass the tests and become all that you can be in God.

    Some of you are going through the testing even now. Maybe some are wavering and really need to be encouraged with what I am saying. Others may be coming up on a test and need to ponder these words now so that you pass.

    Even some churches will have to pass this test. God doesn’t need fat, self satisfied American churches to get His plan done. I’ve been out and around, and trust me, for the most part we are the least powerful dollar for dollar, man for man on the planet. Sure, there are shining examples of powerful churches, but in general our huge numbers and immense wealth are not used to the fullest Kingdom advantage. We have more knowledge, wealth and gifted people with calls of God on their lives than any nation on earth. And we often waste it. If we would just surrender and let God arrest us, we really could change the world.

    I dare you to be a true new testament believer in a true new testament church. I pray that the newspapers in hell would be full of bad news of how sold out and transformed Christians are pushing back the darkness. I dare you to pass the test, be transformed to the purposes of God. I leave the challenge in your hands- will you be arrested for God?

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Ancient Church cut into the rock, Goreme, Turkey

This teaching is part 6 of Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 10.Click above to watch a short video of this teaching. The full video of Podcast 10 is available Here.

     Sometimes entire churches are arrested by God and put on a different track.

Acts 13:1-3  In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. [2] While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." [3] So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

  So here we have this great church in Antioch, with prophets and teachers ministering to build a strong local church.  A church that has a five-fold teacher or prophet  ministering in it is a powerful church. In the book of Acts, the church in Antioch is second only to the church in Jerusalem in its impact. In fact, some people feel it was even greater as they were such a key part in evangelizing the world.

    Imagine these elders fasting and praying about their church: “Lord, help this brother, who is going astray”, or “Lord please supply the finances for all that we do”…You know, the kind of prayers many deacons and elders go through as part of running a ministry.  Out of the blue the Holy Spirit arrests them, suddenly speaking into their prayer meeting! Imaging how that would stir up the church today, if during a prayer meeting the Holy Spirit suddenly commission two of the greatest pastors in the church to go off as missionaries! Think how that would mess up our capital Campaigns and Building Programs! In fact, their vision and plan that they had for their church just got turned upside down! Maybe they won’t be the most popular church in Antioch anymore because the apostle was sent away!

   That group of elders could have held on to Barnabas and Paul. They could have let them go on only a short journey, or not at all. Instead, they gave their best back to God. They had to submit their vision to the kingdom purposes of God, and let go of their pastors. And the church in Antioch prospered, and Paul and Barnabas changed the world. Sometimes even our local churches have to be part of a bigger, kingdom vision.

   There was nothing wrong with this church, faithfully building up the believers. But God arrested them, moving them away from their local vision to a kingdom mind-set that changed the world. This church became the launching point for the famous Missionary Journeys that brought Christianity to the World.

 Perhaps some of you are wrestling with God about choices. The Lord wants to adjust your thinking, maybe about your walk with him, your church or your ministry. In these times we have to have the courage to go with God, instead of holding tightly to our vision and agenda.

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A  mosaic of St Paul from Westminster Cathedral.

This Teaching is Part 5 of our Podcast Episode 10. To watch as a short video, click the player above. To watch the full teaching of Episode 10, Click HERE.

Acts 9:1-9  Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest [2] and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. [3] As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [4] He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” [5] “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. [6] “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”    [7] The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. [8] Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. [9] For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

So Saul is on a mission to destroy the church. In his mind, he is at the pinnacle of Judaism, He has letters from the High Priest and has become the “protector of the faith”, so to speak. Suddenly this divine confrontation comes, and here Saul is knocked off his horse, flat on his back. (Actually, it doesn’t’ actually say he was on a horse, and if he were riding it was likely a donkey, but you get the idea. The journey he was on was about 120 miles, or about 6 days if on foot.) But he hit the ground- Paul was face to face with the contradiction: He thinks all is right with God, and then suddenly this happens!  No wonder he asked “Who are you, Lord?”  If this is Jesus, then in all his zeal Saul has really messed up. He is caught in the middle of those letters in his “back pocket” from the high priest, and the risen Christ in front of him. Talk about arrested! He was on a mission for the religious powers of that day, and God arrested him on the spot, knocked him to the ground, and asks but one question: Why are you persecuting Me?.

I love the “who are you, Lord?”  Because if Saul now is before God Himself, he some re-evaluation of his religion to do! Jesus in His mercy simply says “ I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”. Saul finds himself struck blind. If you remember, that was what God did to the men of Sodom when they needed to be stopped in their tracks. Saul now realizes he has some repenting to do.

Here we have another believer arrested. Saul, in his misguided zeal for God, was destroying the church. But God knocked him off his horse, arresting him in his folly and turned him into the greatest apostle and evangelist ever known: The Lord says in Acts 9:15 that Saul was His chosen instrument to carry His name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.

Now the Hades Daily Chronicle has this headline:

Danger! That Believer
arrested by God,
and now turned against Us!

Not only did God turn Saul around, but the very monster that was persecuting the church was now turned against the devil. Satan though he had created a weapon in Saul, and God said, “okay, now point the muzzle in the other direction! I love it when the Lord messes with the devil!

So Saul becomes the man we remember as Paul the apostle, one of the greatest servants in the kingdom.  Since Paul had literally been a murderer, I wonder if the memory of his misguided zeal kept him humble in spite of the awesome things he was entrusted with.

In fact, Paul came to have a keen understanding that God uses tough times to open doors in the kingdom. In Philippians 1:12 he says about his imprisonment:

Philip. 1:12  Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

God can use the things that have happened in your life as a weapon against the enemy as well. Turn them over to God, repent of any sin and let the Lord heal you, and now, you can help others going through the same thing. The more surrendered Paul became, the more he could be used by God. All of his trials served to build his character so that he could bear the task before him.

I wonder how often in our zeal we do religious things for God, missing His real plan? Paul was one of the greatest believers ever, but boy, was he ever wrong in this case- I wonder if sometimes the church itself needs to be arrested and put back on track!

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