What Made Paul a Great Missionary?

    Grrrrreat

We often look to Paul as a model for all missionaries to follow.  That certainly is a worthy study, but it should be noted that Paul had character that made him a great (whatever he felt called to do)  The fact that he was a great missionary was conditioned on his basic character.  This should come as a great reminder to us that we need to discover just what that character was and be sure that people find out that we have character that enables us to become what God wants us to be.

1.       Paul had a clear sense of purpose.  When God confronted him on the road to Damascus, his reply was:

“Lord, what do You want me to do?” 

 

That was an amazing response that was made in his first encounter with the Lord of Glory.  He had a clear understanding with whom he was dealing.  He had been going in a completely different direction, and now he simply said to the one whom he was persecuting, “What do you want me to do.”  His allegiance was already complete and uncompromising.  He still had a lot to learn which will happen during his days in Arabia, but the Lord could count on his super surrender.

2.       He had a complete change of attitude.  This one who had been hauling Christians into prison and dealing harshly with them would show his love for the Savior and his desire to make every person he met a child of God.  He now was filled with love instead of hate.  His purpose was now to build up rather than to tear down. 

3.       Paul had always been a student.  He had studied at the feet of Gamaliel and was considered a scholar.  He still was a scholar but his resources were now different.  His studies included an extended trip to Arabia where he spent time alone with God.  It is difficult to imagine what those sessions were like, but we should note that he was the only one in history who had those studies.   He was one on one with Jesus for three years.  He was not just learning facts, but he was learning to become like the Savior.  He knew what he was talking about when he later said, “That I might know Him.” 

4.       He was no longer a men pleaser.  His days of persecution were times in which he endeavored to please the Sanhedrin and all the religious leaders of his day.  Now he had one purpose and that was to please the Lord Himself.  It did not matter what men thought.   He was sensitive enough to ask Peter if the older apostle thought Paul had done the right things in his ministry of outreach.  He knew that believers need to consult with one another, but he also knew that they must direct one another to the purposes of God and the person of God or the consultation was invalid.

5.       Paul was being prepared to face persecution himself.  He would spend a good part of his days of ministry in prison.  If he were not prepared for that he would have faltered and fainted during his days under guard.  Instead he saw that those days were completing God’s purposes in him and Paul used them for the extension of the Gospel message.  In Philippians it even talks about those in the palace who had come to know Christ and were serving Him. 

6.       Paul not only faced the kind of persecution of which he had been a part, but he also had to face the questions that the believers had.  Barnabas came to his aid when the questioning began, but it must have happened on a number of occasions.  It is difficult when those who should be your allies and friends become your tormentors and questioners. 

7.       He learned to deal with his “thorn in the flesh.”  We don’t know what that was, but Paul reports that he asked three times for it to be removed and he still had it.  He knew what it meant to live with suffering.

8.       He had a burden for people to come to Christ.  He reports that his desire for Israel was overwhelming.  He says in Romans, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.”  When in Athens to stay out of the presence of people, he has a deep concern for the people of the city and participates in public ministry rather than in private pity. 

He became a trainer and leader.  At the same time he clearly was a follower and servant.  He could put them all together because of his love for the Savior.  It is good to look at his methods, but if we are going to duplicate his success in any way, we must learn to be like him who had learned to be like Christ.