JANUARY 28, 2024
Topic: PAUL AND THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S
PRESENCE
Text: 1Cor. 15: 1-8
Memory Verse: 1Cor. 15: 8 – “and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also”.
Human society has created a social stratification that separates people into the upper class, the middle class and then the lower class. There are some things that each class is privileged to have and not to have. However, as we see in the way God revealed Himself to humankind every human being in the Lord’s agenda is important and the Lord revealed Himself to all.
In our text for today, the Apostle Paul refers to himself as “one untimely born” (v. 8), a phrase that translates a Greek word that refers to the abrupt death of an unborn child through abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth. He considers himself as one not deserving of God’s favour of having any experience of encountering God. Moreover, because of his past as a persecutor of the church of God and Jesus Himself, he saw himself as not deserving of attention from God.
Despite, what he felt about himself in (v. 8) “…Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me” Paul was able to recall his conversion experience as stated in (Acts 9:1-10). It shows to us that Paul had a past, a present and a future. The manifestation of the Lord to Paul helped him to deal with his past so he could move on to his future in Christ Jesus. According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “meditating upon past failures is a waste of time”. “If you can’t do anything about a thing,” he argues, “stop thinking about it.” The Apostle Paul was a man whose past was filled with sin and his energies were devoted to harming and destroying the Christian message. Yet, with all his past sins, Paul did not dwell in misery in the present. His past not affect his new identity in Jesus Christ.
As you step out today, remember that the manifestation of God in our lives has dealt with the past failures and past sins, we can move on to the new life we have in Christ Jesus. No matter who we are, the love of God does not discriminate, we can leverage the love and move into the realm of His power and presence in our lives.
Prayer: Our father, we thank you that you love us no matter the social level we are in. Help us not to be held back by our past, but to see the possibilities in our future in Jesus’ name. Amen.