Saul was advancing in the Jews' religion beyond many of his contemporaries, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, blameless concerning the law (Philippians 3:4–6). He was stamped with the brightest credentials a young man of his generation could carry. And then came the road to Damascus. "And as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:3–4.) The same voice that would later write, in a letter to the same Romans Saul had set out to persecute, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12–13.) The road to Damascus is not the end of Saul's story. The road to Damascus is the beginning of Paul's. And the line drawn forward is to Christ — the One who said, I am the way, the One who, while Saul was still breathing slaughter, was already calling Saul by name. This letter walks Saul's full arc — the credentials, the persecution, the road, the blindness, the desert years in Arabia and Tarsus, Ananias at Straight Street, Barnabas bringing him to Antioch, the first missionary journey, the letter to Rome — and draws the line to Christ and to the men rebuilding after incarceration who are walking through their own Damascus right now. The Lord does not discard the Saul. The Lord reissues the Saul as Paul.
Part One: Saul of Tarsus — The Persecutor by Reputation (Acts 7:58 · Acts 8:1–3 · Acts 9:1–2 · Philippians 3:4–6)
Read Acts 7 — slowly. Stephen has been preaching the long arc of the Old Testament. He has named the Lord Jesus as the prophet like unto Moses. He has named the tabernacle and the angel, the temple and the rigid neck. He has named, in Stephen's last breath, the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. "And they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." (Acts 7:58–60.)
And Saul was consenting unto his death. That is the first line Acts writes of Saul. Saul was there. Saul was watching. Saul was holding the cloaks while the rocks were thrown. And the writer of Acts — a man who would become one of Paul's closest coworkers (Luke) — does not flinch. The narrator does not let Saul off the hook. Saul was there. Saul was consenting. Saul was a witness.
Then Acts 8:1–3. "And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And there arose, after that, much people of the Jews, and there were scattered abroad, and Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison."
"As for Saul, he made havock of the church, and entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison."
— Acts 8:3Notice the credentials. "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee." (Acts 23:6.) "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee." (Philippians 3:5.) "And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him." (Acts 22:19–20.) Saul had the credentials. Saul had the reputation. Saul had the zeal. Saul had every religious stamp a young man of Tarsus could carry — and Saul was the wrong man doing the right work for the wrong Lord.
Now draw the long arc. The Lord has not lost the Saul. The Lord is preserving the Saul for the Damascus road. The Lord has stamped Saul with the same zeal Saul will one day turn on the Way. The zeal that flattens the church in Acts 8 becomes the zeal that plants the church in Acts 13. The same Saul who held the cloaks at Stephen's stoning is the same Saul who will preach the same Stephen's Risen Lord in the synagogues of Damascus and Antioch and Corinth and Rome. The credentials Saul carries as a persecutor are the same credentials Saul will one day carry as an apostle — and the Lord has been preparing both from the start.
Apply the arc to the men rebuilding after incarceration. If you have a past — a record — a set of credentials for the wrong work — the Lord has not lost you. The Lord is preserving you for the Damascus road. The zeal you brought to the street corner or the trap house or the corner office or the streets of Camden is the same zeal the Lord is preparing to use for the harvest. The Lord does not discard the credentials. The Lord reissues the credentials. The Lord reissues the Saul as Paul.
Part Two: The Damascus Road (Acts 9:3–9 · Acts 22:6–11 · Acts 26:12–18)
Then come the road and the light. "And it came to pass, that, as Saul was journeying to Damascus, it came to pass, that, as he journeyed and was come nigh unto Damascus, suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:3–4. Cf. Acts 22:6; 26:13.)
The road to Damascus is a road the Lord interrupts. Saul is on the road with letters. Saul is on the road with authority from the high priest. Saul is on the road with a plan, a destination, a list of names. And the Lord meets Saul on the road — not in the temple, not in the synagogue, not at the feet of Gamaliel — but on the road. The road Saul is walking to Damascus is the road Saul will one day walk from Damascus. And the light Saul sees is brighter than the noon sun.
"And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." (Acts 9:5.) That is the line the Lord speaks from the light. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Saul had been persecuting the church. Saul had been hauling men and women to prison. Saul had been approving of Stephen's death. And the Lord says, Saul, you have been persecuting me. The Lord was in the church. The Lord was in Stephen. The Lord was in the disciples Saul was hauling off to prison.
"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."
— Acts 9:5 · Acts 26:14Then the blindness. "And when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank." (Acts 9:8–9.) Saul — the man who could quote the prophets in the original Hebrew — Saul — the man who had the credentials of a Pharisee of the Pharisees — Saul — the man who could find any house on the Straight Street of Damascus — Saul has gone blind. The three days are a hinge. The three days are a Lazarus. The three days are a pre-easter in advance of Saul.
Now draw the line. The Saul who entered Damascus with letters is not the Saul who comes out. The Saul who entered Damascus is blind. The Saul who comes out of Damascus has not yet seen Christ — but he has been met by Christ. The Damascus road is the place the Lord reissues Saul as Paul. The credentials are still there. The zeal is still there. The rabbinic training is still there. But the Saul is now a Paul. And the Saul who was going to Damascus to flatten the Way has been flattened by the Lord on the road to Damascus.
Apply the arc. If you have had a day the Lord met you — if you have had a day you set out on a road with a plan, with a list, with letters — and the Lord interrupted the road — this letter is for you. The Lord does not interrupt the road on your schedule. The Lord interrupts the road on the Lord's schedule. The Lord interrupts the road at the place the Lord's light will get your full attention. The Saul who set out to arrest the disciples has been arrested by the Lord on the road. And the Saul who set out with a list has come out with the Lord.
Part Three: Ananias at Straight Street and the Desert Years (Acts 9:10–19 · Acts 9:20–25 · Galatians 1:17–24)
Then the Lord sends Ananias. "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight." (Acts 9:10–12.)
Straight Street in Damascus. Roman road. Wide. Straight. The clearest street in the city. The Lord is sending Ananias to a humbling place. Ananias's first reaction is honest. "Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name." (Acts 9:13–14.) Ananias knows. Ananias has heard. Ananias has seen the news. Ananias is afraid.
Read Ananias's hesitation carefully. Ananias is the Lord's first response to Saul. Ananias is the Lord's first yes to Saul. Ananias is a Damascus disciple — probably one of the leaders in the city the Lord had scattered from Jerusalem at Stephen's death. The Lord is sending a man who has been wounded by Saul to lay hands on Saul. The Lord is sending a brother Saul would have arrested to lay hands on Saul. Ananias goes. "Brother Saul," Ananias says in Acts 9:17. The Lord is calling Saul a brother before Saul has earned the right to be called a brother.
"And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost."
— Acts 9:17Then the desert years. "When he was come unto them, he conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went he up to them that were apostles before him at Jerusalem; but he went his way into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus." (Galatians 1:17. Cf. Galatians 1:18–24.)
The apostle of the nations did not start at Jerusalem. Saul went into Arabia. Saul went into the desert. Saul went with the Lord for an unmeasured stretch of years — many suppose three years (Galatians 1:18 implies a stretch of years), some more — before Saul ever saw the apostles at Jerusalem. The Saul the Lord met on the road is not the Saul the Lord sends to Antioch. There is a desert. There is a Tarsus. There is a season the Saul must be set aside to be re-formed into the Paul the Lord is preparing to send.
Now apply the line. The Lord does not skip the schoolroom. Ananias is the schoolroom's door. The desert in Arabia is the schoolroom's classroom. Tarsus — Saul's home city — is the schoolroom's quiet years. The Saul who came off the road on horseback came off the road needing the desert, and the Lord has a desert on the schedule. If you have just had your Damascus — the Lord has a desert on the schedule too. If you have just been reissued by Ananias — the Lord has a Tarsus on the schedule too. The desert is not the Lord's punishment. The desert is the Lord's preparation. And the Lord does not skip the desert.
Part Four: Barnabas, Antioch, and the First Missionary Journey (Acts 9:26–30 · Acts 11:19–26 · Acts 13:1–14:28)
Then the Lord sends the church to receive Saul. "And when he was come unto Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." (Acts 9:26–27.)
The first conversion to believe Saul was Barnabas. The Jerusalem church is afraid. The apostles are afraid. Saul is too dangerous to believe. Until one man takes Saul by the hand and brings him to the apostles. Barnabas — the Son of Encouragement. Barnabas is the line the Lord uses to bring Saul back into the church. Barnabas will one day come alongside Saul in Antioch. Barnabas will one day travel with Saul on the first missionary journey (Acts 13). Barnabas will one day be the colleague the apostles trust to receive the Saul from Tarsus.
"And when he was come unto Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles."
— Acts 9:26–27Then Antioch. "And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." (Acts 14:27.) "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." (Acts 11:26.) Antioch is where Saul becomes Paul. Antioch is the city where the Lord sends Barnabas to bring Saul from Tarsus (Acts 11:25–26). Antioch is where Saul preaches to the Greeks (Acts 11:20). Antioch is where the church sends relief to Judea at the prophet Agabus's word (Acts 11:27–30). Antioch is the city where the disciples are called Christians. The Lord has placed Saul in Antioch — the third city of the empire — to reissue the Saul as Paul.
Now draw the line. The Lord is not in a hurry. Ananias is the first yes to Saul. The desert in Arabia is the first stretch of years. Jerusalem is the first yes. Antioch is the first reissue. And Barnabas is the first coworker the Lord sends alongside Paul. Barnabas is the line the Lord uses to make sure Saul is not solo. If the Lord has met you at Damascus — the Lord has Barnabas on the schedule too. If the Lord has reissued you as Paul — the Lord has Antioch on the schedule too. And the church is about to call you Christian. The Lord does not send a Saul without a Barnabas. The Lord does not send a Paul without an Antioch.
Part Five: The Letter to Rome and the New-Creation Walk (Acts 28 · Romans 1:1 · 2 Corinthians 5:17 · Philippians 3:13)
Then the letter to Rome. "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." (Romans 1:1.) The Saul of Tarsus has become the Paul — and the Paul has learned to call himself a servant. The Saul who had the credentials is the Paul who leads with the credentials laid down. The Paul who writes to Rome is writing from a house in Rome, in his own hired lodging, with a guard at the door, and he has been waiting for months to be heard before Caesar. And he is writing the line that has launched a thousand pulpits.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17.) This is the line the Paul writes. Saul received letters from the high priest to arrest Christians. Saul set out to Damascus with the letters in his hand. Paul is writing to the Roman Christians from a house in Rome, with two cuffs on his wrist and a soldier guarding the door. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation."
— 2 Corinthians 5:17–18Then Philippians 3 — the line the Paul writes on his own case. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13–14.) The Saul the Lord met on the Damascus road is the Paul who forgets the things behind. Saul forgot the letters from the high priest. Saul forgot the cloaks at Stephen's stoning. Saul forgot the Saul who was breathing out threatenings. And the Saul the Lord forgot is the Saul the Saul forgets.
Now draw the theology of the new-creation. The Lord does not discard the Saul. The Lord reissues the Saul as Paul. The Saul's old passport is not the Paul's new passport. The Saul's old credentials are not the Paul's new credentials. The Saul's old record is not the Paul's new record. But the Saul's old heart has been reissued into the Paul's new heart. The Saul the Lord met on the road is the same Saul the Lord has now made Paul. The Saul the Lord blinded on the road is the Saul the Lord will use to preach to the Gentiles. And the Saul the Lord has forgotten is the Saul the Saul forgets — and the line drawn forward is to the Paul the Lord continues to reissue with every letter, every journey, every stripe, every prison, every martyrdom.
Now apply the line to the men rebuilding after incarceration. If you have a past — a record — a set of letters you do not want to be open anymore. The Lord has a 2 Corinthians 5:17 for you. The old things are passing away. The Lord is making all things new. The Saul of Tarsus is becoming the Paul of Rome. And the Saul the Lord forgave is the Saul the Saul forgets — for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If the Lord has met you on the road, the Lord is preparing a letter to the same city that crucified the Saul.
Part Six: What This Letter Means for a Man Rebuilding After Incarceration
If you have walked through the long arc — prison, addiction, the wilderness of a divorce, the streets of Camden, the rows of your own record — and you have wondered whether the Lord will ever use you again, this letter is for you. Paul is the proof. The Lord does not waste a Damascus road. The Lord does not leave a Saul in the Saul the Saul has been. The Lord reissues the Saul as Paul — and the line drawn forward is to Christ, the One who said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, the One who met Saul on the road and made Saul the apostle of the nations.
The first lesson is this: the Lord does not discard the Saul in you. Saul held the cloaks at Stephen's stoning. The Lord did not strip Saul of the calling. The Lord stripped Saul of the illusion that the calling could be carried by Saul's own credentials for the wrong kingdom. If you have a record — and you have named it before the Lord — the Lord has not stripped you of the calling. The Lord is preparing the Paul. The Lord is sending the Saul to the Damascus road. The Damascus road may be on the schedule right now. The Damascus road is the years the Lord uses to reissue the Saul as Paul.
The second lesson is this: the Damascus road is not the only stop the Saul needs. Ananias meets Saul at Straight Street. Saul is led by the hand into Damascus. The Saul who entered Damascus in his own strength enters the Ananias by the Lord's grace. The Lord is sending a brother Saul — and the brother Saul is laying hands on Saul. The Damascus road is followed by the desert years in Arabia, the Tarsus and the quiet, the Jerusalem and the fear of the apostles, the Barnabas and the call to Antioch. The Lord has a desert on the schedule for the Saul the Lord has met. And the desert is the years the Lord uses to bring the Saul from Damascus to Antioch.
The third lesson is this: the Lord does not send a Saul without a Barnabas. Barnabas is the line the Lord uses to bring Saul into the church. Barnabas is the line the Lord uses to bring Saul into the first missionary journey. If the Lord has met you on a Damascus road, the Lord has a Barnabas on the schedule too. The Lord does not leave the Saul without a brother — and the brother is the line the Lord uses to bring Saul back into the church.
The fourth lesson is this: the Saul is being made into a Paul — and the line drawn forward is to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Philippians 3:13. Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The Saul is forgetting the letters from the high priest — and the Saul is reaching forward to the high calling the Lord has written. The Saul is being reissued. The Saul is becoming the Paul.
The fifth lesson is this: the line of Paul points to Christ. The Damascus road is the line the Lord wrote for Saul. The Christ who met Saul on the road is the Christ who is hidden in every church the Saul was persecuting. The Christ at the right hand of the Father was present at Stephen's stoning — and is now present on the Damascus road. And the Christ who paid the price for Saul's stripes is the Christ who is paying the price for the Saul in you. The Saul the Lord has met is the Saul the Lord is reissuing — and the Lord is the same Lord.
And the same Christ is the One who is writing the Saul into the Paul — and writing the line the Saul has walked into the line the Paul will walk. He is not absent from the Damascus road. He is the line the Saul is becoming. And the Saul who has walked through the verses the Lord has written — the Saul the Lord has met on the road, the Saul the Lord has blinded, the Saul the Lord has Ananias-ed, the Saul the Lord has desert-yeared, the Saul the Lord has Barnabas-ed, the Saul the Lord has Antioch-ed, the Saul the Lord has letter-to-Rome-ed — the Saul the Lord has written is the Saul the Lord is making Paul. The calling is coming. But the calling is not the next stop. The next stop is the Damascus road. And the Damascus road is sacred ground.
Pastor's Corner
I have walked with men who came out of a long season — prison, addiction, the streets of Camden, the wilderness of a divorce — and who have wondered whether the Lord will ever use them again. And I have to tell you, the Lord does. But the Lord does not skip the Damascus road.
Saul held the cloaks at Stephen's stoning. Saul was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Way. Saul set out for Damascus with letters from the high priest to arrest the disciples. And the Lord met Saul on the road. The line the Lord spoke from the light was not a rebuke. The line was an introduction. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Saul was not meeting an enemy. Saul was meeting the Lord.
The Damascus road is the place the Lord reissues the Saul as Paul. And the Lord does not reissue Saul in a day. The Lord reissues Saul at Ananias at Straight Street. The Lord reissues Saul in the desert in Arabia. The Lord reissues Saul in Jerusalem with Barnabas. The Lord reissues Saul in Antioch. The Lord reissues Saul in the first missionary journey. The Lord reissues Saul in the letter to Rome. The Damascus road is the beginning. The reissue is a process. And the reissue ends in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
And the line of Saul points forward to Christ. The Saul was persecuting the church. The Christ was hidden in the church. The Saul did not find Christ on the road. The Christ was already present at Stephen's stoning. And the line the Saul needed was the line the Christ was writing in the long arc of the Saul's life — the light on the Damascus road, the Ananias at Straight Street, the desert in Arabia, the Barnabas at Antioch, the letter to Rome. And the Christ has been writing the Saul's line the whole time. And the same Christ is writing your line — and the Saul the Lord has met on the road is becoming the Paul the Lord is writing — and the Lord has put the line in your hand today.
That is what I want to say to the men in the audience who are in their own Damascus right now. The Lord has not discarded the Saul in you. The Lord is reissuing the Saul as Paul. The Lord has sent the Ananias to lay hands on the Saul. The Lord has sent the Barnabas to walk with the Saul. The Lord has sent the Antioch to reissue the Saul. The road to Damascus is the beginning. And the line the Christ is writing is the line the Saul is becoming.
The Lord does not demand a perfect Saul. The Lord reissues a Saul already met on the road. And the Saul the Lord has met is the Saul the Lord will use. The reissue is happening right now. The letter to Rome is being written. The church is being called Christian. And the Saul the Lord has met is the Saul the Saul forgets — for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
— Deacon Benny Tiller Jr.
A Closing Prayer
Father, I have walked through Saul's arc today — through the cloaks at Stephen's stoning, the threatenings and slaughter against the Way, the letters from the high priest, the light on the Damascus road, the blindness, the three days, the Ananias at Straight Street, the desert in Arabia, the Jerusalem and the fear of the apostles, the Barnabas and the call to Antioch, the first missionary journey, the letter to Rome — and I have seen my own arc in every one of them.
I confess that I have held the cloaks at a stoning I should have walked away from. Forgive me for the threatenings and the slaughter. Teach me to lay down the letters I have written against the church You have built. And teach me to receive the new name the Lord is writing — for the Saul the Lord has met is the Saul the Lord is reissuing as Paul.
I confess that I have set out with letters from a high place, with zeal, with a destination, with a list of names to bind and arrest. Forgive me for the road I have walked without the Lord. The road to Damascus has been my road. The road to Damascus has been where the Lord met me. The light has been brighter than the noon. And the voice has been the voice of the Lord. And the line the Lord has spoken is the line I am receiving.
I confess that I have been three days blind at Straight Street — without sight, without food, without drink. Forgive me for the blindness I have brought with me. Ananias is the line the Lord uses to bring Saul back into the church. Brother Saul is the Ananias the Lord has already sent. Teach me to receive Brother Saul the same way Ananias received Saul — and teach me to let the Ananias lay hands on me. Teach me to lay down my Saul — and to receive the Lord writing Paul into the Saul.
I confess that I have been in a desert — Arabia, Tarsus, the years the Lord has set aside to re-form the Saul into the Paul. Forgive me for the desert I have brought with me. The desert is not Your punishment. The desert is Your preparation. And the Lord is filling the desert with the Ananias, the Barnabas, the Antioch, the Lord is preparing.
I confess that the Paul walked the same arc — and walked it by grace — and walked it to the cross. It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13–14). The Saul the Lord has met on the road is the Saul the Lord has reissued as Paul — and the Saul the Saul forgets is the Saul the Lord continues to write forward.
And to the men reading this letter who are in their own Damascus right now — let them hear the Lord on the road. The Lord is writing Saul's name into Paul's. The Lord is sending the Ananias. The Lord is sending the Barnabas. The Lord is sending the Antioch. The line of Saul points to Christ. And the Christ who met Saul on the road is the Christ who is meeting you on your road today. The Saul the Lord has met is the Saul the Lord is reissuing. And the Lord is the same Lord.
In Jesus' name — the One who said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest — the One who met Saul on the Damascus road and made Saul the Paul — Amen.
Reflection Questions
- Where were you when the Lord met you on your Damascus road? What letters were you carrying — what list of names — what high place were you walking from? Have you been treating the Saul in you as the Lord's enemy — or have you been receiving the Saul in you as the Paulus the Lord is preparing to write?
- Who is your Ananias at Straight Street? Who is the Damascus disciple the Lord is sending to lay hands on you? The Lord does not skip Ananias. The Lord does not skip Straight Street. Brother Saul is the line the Lord uses to bring Saul back into the church — and the brother Saul is the Ananias the Lord has already sent.
- Where is your own Arabia? What is the desert the Lord has placed you in — the Tarsus the Lord has sent you back to? Have you been receiving the desert as the Lord's punishment — or have you been receiving the desert as the Lord's preparation? The desert is the years the Lord uses to reissue the Saul as Paul.
- Who is your Barnabas at Antioch? The Son of Encouragement — the line the Lord uses to bring Saul into the first missionary journey. The Lord does not send a Saul without a Barnabas. The Lord does not send a Paul without an Antioch. The first missionary journey is a corporate work. The first missionary journey is Saul AND Barnabas. The Lord has a Barnabas on the schedule for the reissued Paul.
- Christ is the One who said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Where has Christ been hidden in the church you have been persecuting? And what 2 Corinthians 5:17 is the Lord writing into the Saul in you today? Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. The Lord does not discard the Saul. The Lord reissues the Saul as Paul.
"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."
— Philippians 3:13–15S.A.A.L.T. Ministry
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