A CHOSEN VESSEL
15 BUT THE LORD SAID TO HIM (Ananias), “Go, FOR HE (Paul) IS A CHOSEN VESSEL OF MINE TO BEAR MY NAME BEFORE GENTILES, KINGS, AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Acts 9:15,16 (NKJV)
Jesus knew Paul’s assignment before He sent him out. He knew Paul would be aggressive about the spreading of the gospel. The Lord in a vision had told Ananias—a certain disciple who was sent to pray for Paul to receive his sight and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:10-19)—beforehand that:
• Paul was a chosen vessel of the Lord, to bear His name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15).
• Paul was to suffer for Christ’s name (Acts 9:16).
The truth is, how your ministry would be, the details of your assignment, is known to God; this is reason why you needed to follow Him, allow Him to lead you a step at at a time—that you do not go ahead of Him.
When you go ahead of God; you muddle up, put things in the wrong order, mix up the plans and programmes of God concerning your life (Acts 7:23-30).
Moses probably perceived that God was going to use him to liberate his people, the Israelites (Hebrews 11:24-27); but he went ahead of God, he muddled up the plan of God for his life by killing an Egyptian—he wanted to do it in his own way (Exodus 2:11-15).
God does things systematically and progressively, whatever He has revealed to you about your life would be accomplished gradually—little by little (Exodus 23:30).
The vision about Paul’s life and ministry eventually came to fulfilment—God did orchestrate things that happened in his life according to His plan for him, Paul.
God is not an author of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Likewise in your own life, God knows how events would be unfolded in the course of your life and ministry, because He is all knowing.
It was said in the vision that Paul would minister to the Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites. In other words, the grace to minister to different classes of people in the society was on Paul:
19 FOR THOUGH I AM FREE FROM ALL MEN, I HAVE MADE MYSELF A SERVANT TO ALL, THAT I MIGHT WIN THE MORE; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, THAT I MIGHT WIN JEWS; to those who are under the law, as under the law, THAT I MIGHT WIN THOSE WHO ARE UNDER THE LAW; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), THAT I MIGHT WIN THOSE WHO ARE WITHOUT LAW; 22 to the weak I became as weak, THAT I MIGHT WIN THE WEAK. I HAVE BECOME ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN, THAT I MIGHT BY ALL MEANS SAVE SOME" (1 Corinthians 9:19-22 NKJV).
God has deposited different graces, anointing, in each minister of His (Galatians 2:7-9). The grace to minister to kings was on Paul without doubt; even when he did not agitate for it, God worked it out that Paul ministered before great and prominent people of his day: Governor Felix (Acts 24:10-25); Governor Festus and King Agrippa (Acts 26:1-30); even at Rome before the Emperor, Ceaser (Acts 23:11; 25:11, 21; 27:24).
Also in Athens, Paul spoke before the most learned society of philosophers, the Areopagus—the top, higher echelons in the society (Acts 18:17,22-32).
This was already said of him in the vision which Jesus gave to him and the one given to Ananias about him. The script of Paul's life was written by God, he was just acting it out (Acts 9:15; 26:13-18).
Therefore, whatever God has spoken about your life and ministry would eventually come to pass—if you cooperated and submitted to Him.
Submission to God’s will is the major condition for the fulfilment of whatever God has spoken about you. Thus, as you follow God, the plans He has for your life would be unfolded one after the other.
Note:
• God has equipped you for a particular purpose or assignment, thus, endeavour to fulfil the purpose (Colossians 4:17).
• Also, you must know the spiritual equipment in your life with which to fulfil the purpose. It is not always right to copy other people in the ministry work, stick to whatever gift God has given to you to fulfil your assignment (Romans 12:4-8).
• And you should know what God has called you to do specifically, what He equipped you to do, and stay focus on it (Acts 22:17,18,21; Galatians 2:7-9).
There is anointing to minister to different classes of people in the society.
If the anointing to minister to the people at higher echelons in the society is not on your life, there is no point trying to do it.
Some are anointed to minister in the remotest areas, they are called to cross-cultural mission; thus, you should be obedient to whatever you are assigned to do by God and do it where He wanted you to do it.
That said, If someone does not have the grace or ability to do whatever you are doing, you should not look down on the person or degrade them, every person works with the grace given to him or her by God: “LET NOTHING BE DONE THROUGH SELFISH AMBITION OR CONCEIT, BUT IN LOWLINESS OF MIND LET EACH ESTEEM OTHERS BETTER THAN HIMSELF” (Philippians 2:3 NKJV).
READ: Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 4:6,7
Peace!