Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Category: On Damascus Road

The commission is NOT optional

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On October 7, 2010

In Christian, On Damascus Road

Upon the recognition of the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul, immediately questioned the Lord “What will thou have me to do?”, but did you notice, how the the Lord responded. The Lord’s response was, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” First, he was asked to Arise, then He was commissioned to Go and then he was advised to wait for the Lord’s instructions that was to come to him, which he MUST follow. Saul asked for God’s will but the Lord did not respond by saying, “I will that you would or should or could do what you are told.” Instead, the Lord responded by saying that Saul MUST do what he will be told. Saul’s commission was not optional, neither is ours.

In the same manner, when we seek to do God’s will and we encounter the Lord Jesus Christ, He first want us to “arise” from our fallen state. He wants us to be on our feet and not knocked down by the devil or his schemes or by our own selfish sinful desires. Then he commissions us to “go” in His Name. But when we go, obeying, we need not be anxious of what is to transpire, because the Lord’s instructions will be sent to us at its appointed time. Jesus said, “give no thought to how or what you should answer when you stand before men for my Name, for the words that you must speak will be given to you, when needed, by the Holy Spirit of God” (Luke 12:11-34)). But we must recognize  that when the Lord’s instructions of what we must do is received, it is not optional but that it MUST be done.

His will is our MUST. When Jesus prayed in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, just before he was to be crucified, he asked God the Father to take the suffering that was to be, but in that same breath he expressed that, it not be His will, but that God’s will be done. In other words, when Jesus expressed that God’s will be done and not His own, He was surrendering totally to the will of God and in a sense asking God “What will thou have me to do?” and God’s response was “you MUST suffer and become sin so that the sinful can be made blameless and righteous in my Name.”

If you have asked the Lord, “Lord, what will thou have me to do?”, the next step is to take time to wait patiently for Him and when He sends His instructions, remember it is not optional. It is something that we MUST do, be it shame, suffering or sacrifice.

The Question to ask Jesus after Salvation

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On October 6, 2010

In Christian, On Damascus Road

When Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, he first asked, Who are you, Lord? Then upon hearing the response from that Lord and recognizing that it was Jesus whom he had encountered, He asks the Lord another question stating “Lord, what will you have me to do?” Note, how the first time, Saul, asks a question and then addresses the one questioned as Lord. But the second time, Saul, starts his question by addressing the one questioned first as Lord.

The Salvation, from eternal damnation, experience is comprised of not just identifying who Jesus is, but identifying with Jesus (believing in Him) and accepting His Lordship over our lives. But then, what must one do? We must ask the same question that Saul asked Jesus after He addressed Him as Lord. We must ask “Lord, what will you have me to do?” The doing (works) follows the believing (faith) for we are saved by Grace (alone) by faith, called unto (to do) [Godly and] good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Faith without work is dead! (James 2:17).

This is THE Question to ask after we believe in Jesus. It is also important to recognize that the converted Saul asked for what the will of God was (What wilt thou have me to do?). In other words, he was seeking to do the works that were in the will of God. Many a times, I find myself telling God what I think I should be doing, instead of asking Him as to what His will is and accepting it (without question) to do it as commissioned. Let us not forget to ask God for His will, which should be our work. Have you/I asked THE Question after our Salvation experience, to the Lord?

Acts 9:4-6 (KJV)
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

James 2:17 (KJV)
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Persecuting Jesus

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On October 5, 2010

In Christian, On Damascus Road

The question that Apostle Paul (then Saul), hears from heaven, when he encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus was “Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?”. One of the definitions for the word “Persecute” according to the Merriam-Websters dictionary is “to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief”. Though this may seem like a question that is solely directed to Saul, closer introspection of the text surfaces that it is applicable to each one of us, who are believers in Christ as well.

The same question can be turned and asked of each one of us, “Saint, Saint, Why do you trample the Son of God?“. When sinners believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are removed from the power and penalty of sin, and turned to saints, but when a saint backslides willingly, the Scriptures likens such willful disobedience to be the same as trampling the Son of God under foot, grieving Him and His Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:26-29).

Many a times, I have been found guilty of willingly disobeying God and now with this insight that I can persecute (grieve) Jesus with my willful disobedience, I pray for his forgiveness and seek to submit totally to His Lordship. I don’t want to have Jesus ask me “Mano, Mano, Why do you trample me, the Son of God? Why do you persecute me?” How about you? If you encounter Christ Jesus today, what is the question that He has for you?

Hebrews 10:26-29 (KJV)
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Ephesians 4:30 (KJV)
30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

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