Can you imagine a situation where Apostle Paul sat back in Jerusalem after his encounter with the Lord in Acts chapter 9? What would have happened to the community of gentiles in his days? Who would have written about 13 or 14 of the 27 books of the new testament? who would have brought us the gospel of grace. All these and more are the questions that readily come to mind if the church in Antioch had not approved Paul’s missionary Journey as instructed by the Holy Ghost? (Acts 13).
You can further imagine the great mismatch Apostle Paul would have been to himself and the church, if he had been ordained the Arch. Bishop of “Antioch Church International” a.k.a “Jesus Open Vision Ministries”. Of course, God’s purpose for the gentiles would have been accomplished by another, or worse still, it would have been delayed and many would have perished in the cause of time.
We must not be deceived to believe that God will do anything on earth without active participation of His children. It is a big lie from the pit of hell for you to believe that Jesus will accomplish anything on earth without his church (you and I). Jesus had already handed down the mandate for the expansion of His kingdom to his church. When we go, He goes with us. If we are not going, He goes no where. Jesus hardly can do much without his church, just as we can’t do anything without Him. He worked with the old Apostles as they went everywhere preaching the word. (Mark 16:20). While Jesus cannot do anything on earth without his church, the church too must not arrogate His glory to herself, but to simply wake up to her responsibility.
Unlike the Antioch church that released Paul to go fulfil God’s mandate upon his life, today’s churches are holding down their own ‘Pauls’ within the four corners of church building. The early church, in obedience to the Holy Ghost donated Paul to the gentile Nations (the least reached People group) of their time.
One may have wondered about the great accomplishments the church today would have recorded if each congregation could send just one missionary each to the least-reached people group of the world. I am not talking about church planting among the people that have heard the gospel over and over.
Like Oswald J.Smith rightly said, “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remain someone who has not heard it once.”
Sometimes, if we look at what we call church growth critically, we will realise that we do more of addition of numbers to our denominations than to the kingdom. As much as church-transplant-growth is not a bad idea, we must endeavour to send out our Paul to the darkest regions of the earth. This will bring about true church-conversion-growth and kingdom expansion.
The value placed on the salvation of souls and kingdom expansion is actually shown by our willingness to release our Paul to the uttermost part of the earth. Churches that value what the Lord died for will not just be interested in gathering and domesticating their ‘Pauls’. They will rather send them forth like wild fires on the harvest field where souls are languishing.
Many churches have actually domesticated their own Paul. They have reduced the call of God upon many ‘Pauls’ and turn them to Prochorus (one of the deacons and table servers appointed by believers in Jerusalem- Acts 6). Many churches today have reduced their Paul to a sleeping and toothless lion within the four walls of the church. Many of the bums on the seat in our churches are actually carrying Apostolic call for Nations, but for fear of survival, these Pauls could not step out into their assignments. Many that were initially called and sent by the Holy Ghost, have been domesticated by their local assemblies.
Looking closely at the pattern of operations of the early church, you will realise that their best men were sent out to the field. The likes of Philip and Stephen who had the evangelistic call did not stay within the church building serving table only. Paul, Silas, Baranabas, and Mark laboured amongst the gentiles. They gave out their best hands to the people that needed the gospel the most. Today, it’s not only Paul that has been domesticated, Paul’s resources have also been trapped within the four walls of the church all in the name of building projects, conferences and programmes. For instance, according to the travelling Team, Christians’ annual income is $12.3 trillion. From this, $213 billion is given to Christian causes while $11.4 billion is given to foreign missions, 87% of which goes to work being done among the already Christian, 12% goes to work among the evangelized non-Christians, 1% among the least reached that are yet to be evangelized.
If the early church played church the way we are playing it now, it is possible the gospel wouldn’t have reached some parts of the world.
In 100 AD, there was 1 congregation for every 12 unreached people group. Today there are 1,000 congregations for every 1 unreached people group. (Global Commission Partners). According to Joshua Project, unreached or least-reached people is defined as a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance.
Think about this for a moment:
Today, there are 1,000 congregations for every 1 unreached people. Now, think about each of these 1,000 churches or assemblies in a Nation or region that has been well reached, releasing one man as their own Paul (Missionary). It’s actually going to be a massive harvest amongst the least reached people group.
The cry in the heart of the Father is that our ‘Pauls’ will no longer be domesticated. Let them be loosed into the harvest field. Let them be backed up in Prayer and with resources so as to fulfill the mandate of “Go ye into all the world…” Let the Pauls be sent forth as commanded by the Holy Ghost. Let the church desist from domesticating and holding down their Pauls. It’s time to send labourers to the uttermost part of the earth. Let them march into the harvest field fearlessly, knowing that the Church is Praying for them, generously giving out resources for the journey and standing with them on this dangerous terrain of dark places of the unreached regions of the earth.
https://stewardlifemission.com.ng/2025/01/09/do-not-domesticate-your-paul/
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