“HE WHO HAD SET ME APART!”

 Galatians 1:11-17                                               (ESV)

“11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is NOT man's gospel.

12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a REVELATION of JESUS CHRIST.

13 For you have heard of MY FORMER LIFE in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of GOD violently and tried to destroy it.

14 And I WAS ADVANCING IN JUDAISM beyond many of my own age among my people, SO EXTREMELY ZEALOUS WAS I FOR THE TRADITIONS OF MY FATHERS.

15 But when “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART” before I was born, and WHO CALLED ME by HIS Grace,

16 was pleased to reveal HIS SON to me, in order that I might preach HIM among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”

It has been said by many to “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see”.  This might be a catchy statement, but the reality of this statement could be fatal!  Can you SEE the breath you breathe?  Yet each of us continue to inhale and exhale without ever consciously putting much thought into the process!  Even when we are asleep the inhaling and exhaling continue with no pre-planned efforts of our own!

Why, then, do we think that we need to micromanage everything else that we accomplish?  In his letter to the church at Galatia, the Apostle Paul let’s it be known that he FORMERLY was a zealot FOR THE TRADITIONS OF MY FATHERS!  In Acts 9 he was carrying out his orders,  persecuting the church, the Body of CHRIST, when he was all of the sudden CHANGED by a LIGHT from Heaven.  He was blinded by the LIGHT, so much that he had to be led by those assigned to assist him in his duties of persecuting the church!  He had NOTHING to do with his sight being restored, and certainly nothing to do with his entire life being TRANSFORMED!  The SPIRIT OF GOD completely changed Paul from a PERSECUTOR into THE PERSECUTED all by HIMSELF, with no assistance from anyone!

Paul writes in Galatians 1:15-16 “... when “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART” before I was born, and WHO CALLED ME by HIS Grace, was pleased to reveal HIS SON to me, in order that I might preach HIM among the Gentiles...” that a TRANSFORMATION was begun in his life!  When JESUS does a work in our lives, we cannot take any credit for work that only HE could accomplish.  Paul was unable to physically see for three days, but when Ananias spoke TRUTH to him, he was THEN able to Spiritually SEE like NEVER before!  There is no mistaking when JESUS is present!  

Consider if you will, from mankind’s limited intelligence, what other planet is there with oxygen that is required for every living being to survive, other than Earth?  GOD grants us the oxygen we need to live, yet we think we don’t have time to acknowledge OUR CREATOR?  JESUS (Colossians 1:16) doesn’t need us to do ANYTHING for HIM, HE lets us SERVE HIM with our lives!  HE created everything without any assistance from humankind.  When we are CHOSEN by “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART”, we are just a small part of a magnificent Plan of our CREATOR!  “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART” is worthy of PRAISE, HONOR and GLORY!!!