“I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” –Philippians 4:13, (The Apostle Paul)
I’m teaching Disciple Three and the New Testament focus is on the apostle Paul. Paul is very worthy of our study. He wrote much of the New Testament, authoring 13 letters which affect the way we think about the cross and grace. He started churches all over the known world taking Christianity away from its base in Palestine to Asia Minor and to Greece. In short Paul was a game changer. The church would not be what it is today without Paul’s theology and his determination to expand Christianity beyond its Jewish base to the Gentiles.
But Paul’s life could have taken a completely different direction without the intervention of the real game changer here….Jesus Christ. Paul, who was first known as Saul, was a young ambitious Hebrew trying to make a name for himself. He was helping the Jewish hierarchy round up these renegade Hebrews who were following a resurrected Messiah named Jesus. He was so ambitious that he went to the high priests and asked for permission to arrest any Christians he could find between Jerusalem and Damascus. So Saul heads off to Damascus when in Acts 9 we read that a light from heaven flashed around him and he heard a voice crying out to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Of course, it was Jesus who had different plans for Saul. This famous conversion experience changed Paul’s life and changed the course of Christianity.
Game changers alter the course of our life. They give us a purpose for our life and they influence us in how we carry out that purpose. They inspire us to do greater things than we ever thought possible. When Paul encountered Jesus, the course of his life was changed. Paul inspires us still today with his determination to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Everywhere he went he was ridiculed, beaten, locked up and run out of town. It was his strong faith that kept Paul moving forward. Paul was definitely a game changer in our faith who calls us to find a Godly purpose and pursue it with all our heart and soul and might.
Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
