Acts 9:31 NKJV

[31] Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

I used to believe that "the Lord's work" was confined to a small, elite group of people who had always lived a mostly righteous life. Preachers were born to preach. You had to start living for God at a really young age to be qualified. If you didn't, you'd be too stained by the world to be of any good use for the Kingdom.

The only real examples I had were the preachers I listened to growing up. They wore suits, taught from the Bible, and spoke NOTHING of their own struggles... at least none that I could remember. I assumed they had it all together. It took a REALLY long time for me to understand just how wrong my beliefs were.

It wasn't until I started digging into God's Word on my own that I realized I had bought into a very broken theology. God DOES call us to His righteousness, but He is not limited to only using those who have lived righteous lives. I have seen Jesus work through some amazing people with pretty rotten pasts.

God used Saul, with all of his tainted history regarding the church, to ignite peace and passion in the early church body. How could that be possible? How could a known enemy of the church change the church?... because God doesn't need perfect people to spread the gospel. He wants obedient servants to fulfill His purpose.