BUT WHO ARE YOU?

The book of Acts records that "God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul" (Acts 19:11). So powerful and effective was Paul in his ministry that handkerchiefs were brought from him to the sick and they were healed from diseases and the evil spirits departed from the ones so afflicted  (Acts 19:12). So well known were Paul's  works that a certain group of vagabond Jews attempted to cast out an evil spirit by his name. During the exorcism an unexpected happened. The evil spirit said to them: "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" (Acts 19:13-15) Undoubtedly this evil spirit was referring to  the priesthood authority by which devils could be cast out but when I read this story it made me feel that the evil spirit also  knew Jesus and Paul because of how mighty they were and what they did. I immediately wondered how I would feel if I was trying to dispel the adversary in some way and he said to me: "Who are you?" How would I feel if the adversary didn't know me; if he thought I was "in the bag" and didn't merit his attention; that I didn't need to be on his radar; that he didn't recognise me as a threat and a defender of the truth.  I am by nature a warrior. I like to think that I was in the front ranks with the best of them during the war in heaven.  And I like to think that I am one of adversary's  worthy opponents here in mortality. 

Reflective in Paul's letters is his unwavering commitment to Christ but we know it was not always so. Paul was a devout Jew, and a strict Pharisee no less (Acts 26:5) and he was intent on destroying the Christians (Acts 26:9-11). It's hard to believe that Christ would choose a man such as this to raise him up to such power that he could heal people and cast out devils merely by sending his handkerchiefs. Paul endured terrible hardships and paid an enormous price for his discipleship and thereby  became the greatest missionary of early Christendom. Out of these hardships was born an iron clad commitment to the very person whom he persecuted. When Ananias was given a vision in which he would heal the newly converted Paul from his blindness, he was hesitant to even meet the man who openly persecuted the believers but the Lord told him that Paul was a chosen vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles and then He added: "For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake" (Acts 9:10-16). And suffer Paul did. Repeatedly imprisoned, thrice beaten with rods, once stoned and left for dead, survived three shipwrecks, spent a night and a day in  waters' deep, dwelt in perils of robbers and of his own countrymen, lived amongst heathen, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). And this supercedes all....he was scourged by the Jews 5 times. One might wonder why Paul subjected himself to these scourgings? Many other times he escaped persecution by claiming his Roman citizenship which means the Jews couldn't touch him. So why these scourgings? According to Mosaic law, a wrong doer was to be lashed 40 times (Det 25:3) but no more than that for fear of death. Paul says he received 'forty stripes save one' (2 Cor 11:24) meaning he received 39 lashes. In their meticulous administration of the Mosaic law the Jews administered 39 lashes instead of 40 in fear of a miscount. Once the recipient was scourged he was viewed as being fully restored, having paid completely any debt incurred by his wrongdoing. The alternative to scourging meant excommunication from the synagogue. Why would Paul care about such excommunication? He was after all, a converted Christian so synagogues should not have meant so much to him, only they did.....because Paul's first point of contact in his missionary journeys was always the local synagogue. This is where the majority of his preaching took place. Paul was a missionary called to the Gentiles, and this mission he fulfilled admirably,  but in his veins ran the blood of Israel and I believe his heart rested there. Imagine going into a Jewish synagogue and telling the people you were preaching to that they had crucified their god. Now imagine doing this repeatedly knowing that you will be apprehended, imprisoned and scourged to the brink of death. But this Paul did without fear because of his commitment to Christ. Is it any wonder that the evil spirits knew him? 

And is there anyone greater than the adversary in his cause to destroy our pledged commitment to the source of our salvation? The scriptures tell us that Lucifer was "a liar from the beginning" (D&C 93:25). What did he lie about? He lied about his commitment to sustain God's plan for redemption of mankind. He had an ulterior motive, to forfeit his sustaining vote and present another plan which would give him God's glory (Moses 4:1-4; D&C 29:36). He is an upstart and a wannabe. His one goal is to steal, kill and destroy. He seeks to steal our spiritual identity, kill our faith in God and destroy our commitment to Christ. In his subtlety 'he will use his logic to confuse and his rationalisations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black' (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 152). He will stop at nothing and he will lead even the very elect away from the truth (Matthew 24:24).  But when all is said and done and the earth is rolled together as a scroll he will become nothing and those that see him will say in amazement: "Is this the man that made the earth  tremble, that did shake kingdoms?" (Isaiah 14:16). He knows nothing of loyalty, integrity and commitment. But Paul did and when his time was up he was able to say:

 "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" 

(2 Timothy 4:7)