“As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”
If you are a believer today, why did God save you? Yes, of course, because you were a worthless mess like we all were without Him, but more specifically – why YOU! Our minds may gravitate to the Apostle Paul who had a special encounter with God on the road to Damascus when God appointed him for his specific assignment, but my sense is God appoints EACH OF US to a special assignment when He transforms our lives and sets us apart for His sacred service.
Does that mean each of us will have a special, life-changing encounter with God? Yes, I believe that’s exactly what we’ll have. It may not look like Paul’s but nonetheless the Lord will invite us to see Him in a special way and accept His call to special service to His honor and fame. For me it was Pastoral ministry, but I’ve since learned that we have many encounters with the Lord throughout our lives when He refines and, in some cases, redefines our original “call.”
What might that look like? While I believe the Bible teaches that we get all of God at salvation, my sense is He doesn’t get all of us. How so? At conversion, when we first open our lives to the Lord and invite Him to save us from sin, deliver us from ourselves and free us from the death grip Satan has on our heart and soul, we’re so relieved and filled with joy at being infused with new life, all we want to do is celebrate.
But over time we realize that celebration must translate into a lifetime commitment to serve, not only our needs, but the needs of others. What is the primary need of every human being? To know Jesus! No one goes to heaven unless they know, love, and serve Him. But how will they know that? We must tell them!
In much the same way Paul had a specific encounter with God where the Lord defined His calling on Paul’s life, I believe, sometimes incrementally, as our heart opens wider to the Lord’s empowering presence, the Spirit invites us to give more of ourselves to Him. It’s not that we’re being “refilled” with the Spirit, it’s that we intentionally invest more of ourselves to the Spirit’s control. It’s in those moments the Lord entrusts us with a greater mission, a clearer vision of our specific field of service.
What might that look like? If we’re all – every believer – called to carry out the Great Commission in our spheres of influence, then how do we define where and what that is? Paul was called to be a missionary and as he went the Lord sharpened his focus and defined his audiences. I believe the Lord does that same thing for us.
My “audience” was different when I was a Pastor than it is now that I’m retired. What’s your “audience?” Are you in school? Do you work? Are you a housewife? Single? Married? Are you athletic? Love to cook? Are you more “artsie”, creative, love to work with your hands? Do you love to fix things or are you better at tearing them apart? However the Lord has wired you, He’s given you an audience! He’s put you in touch with lost people who need a Savior.
Let’s look at this more closely tomorrow.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 