Jan. 24, 2003

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]I have appeared to you for this purpose . . .
—Acts 26:16

Quote[/b] ]The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" ( Acts 26:19 ). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine." And the Lord also says to us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . ." ( John 15:16 ).

When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be "disobedient to the heavenly vision"Ðnot to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ. Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling ". . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . ." There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 ).

 

[Kidan]

hmm...It appears that we've come across a devotional of Mr. Chambers that I can't agree with.

From this devotion, I'd have to say that Mr. Chambers was a Calvinist who supported predestination to the fullest. As such I can't agree that Christ chooses those He wishes to be Christians, and ignores the remainder.

As a Salvationist I believe that any and all can acheive a one-to-one personal relationship with our Saviour.

Nor do I believe that all are given 'visions' as to what Christ wishes us to be. One example of a conversion by vision, is not proof that it happens to all. While we should strive to learn and obey God's vision for our lives, He does not always make that vision as succinctly clear to us as He did ot Paul.

 

[amorphus88]

I, personally, lean more towards the Armenian camp myself, but that doesn't preclude me from gleaning some useful advice here.

Quote[/b] ]When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be.

This is not be an actual sight of the sky opening up, a ray of light shining down, and a divine voice instructing us (if it is, then I suppose I messed something up

). It may as well be an expectation we have of ourselves - I have visions (figuratively) of what I want to be in the future, and I have hopes and desires for my eventual goal. When we are saved, then, we would likely be discussing within ourself what we should do to please God, because it is at that moment we are first immersed in God. When I come indoors after walking my dog in the frigid winter air, the house seems so very comfortable, and the feeling is at a peak here, when I jump in for the first time, so I suppose this is what Oswald Chambers is referring to: the initial immersion.

The disagreements irregardless, the devotional is simply stating for us to follow what God reveals to us - as said in Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.". We are told to allow ourselves to submit, or rather, succumb to God's will. He goes back to a running theme in MUFHH, that of our personal relationship with Christ.

In the last part of the devotional, we are told that Paul was not given straight out an assignment for God - he was simply overcome by the spirit of God, and he was compelled by It to witness and proclaim the name of Christ, just as it is said in Acts 26:16.

Paul gave his life over to Christ, and through that, he was given direction. He followed nothing but Christ, and that is what Oswald Chambers is trying to say. Getting too caught up in the superfluous details distracts us from the greater picture.


Disclaimer - I don't know the heart of Oswald Chambers, and I can't claim to know the heart of God past a mere sliver, but with the mind God has given me, this is what I see. Kidan may be right, and then I guess I shall have to defer, but I think that we can still find wisdom in these words.