I. INTRODUCTION
A. We are expected by the Lord to "join" ourselves to the local church, (Acts 9:26). Saul attempted to do this when he returned to Jerusalem. Unfortunately for Saul, the church feared him because of his previous reputation and their feeling that his "conversion" was insincere.
B. Barnabas the Son of Encouragement, (Acts 4:32-37). Why Barnabas formed such a strong attachment to Saul is not clear from the Bible. It is clear however, that Barnabas trusted Saul and completely believed the reports of Saul's conversion and work for the church in Damascus and Arabia, (Acts 9:27). Finally, the church accepted Saul.
C. Saul threatened by the Grecian Jews (Hellenists), (Acts 9:29). This resulted in Saul being sent on a mission to Tarsus. The scriptures do not tell what the results of this mission were. At this point, as far as the scriptures and the world at that time were concerned, Saul's talent was basically buried.
D. The call to Antioch of Syria Barnabas was already working their when he went to find Saul to assist him, (Acts 11:19-26).
E. To understand why the time was right for Saul to begin his world-wide ministry, we will examine three points: an emergency had arisen in the church, the size of the mission field, and the arrangements the Lord has made to call men to do his Divine purpose.
II. DISCUSSION
A. The nature of the emergency that prompted the beginning of Saul's expanded ministry.
1. The church up to this time had been slowly expanding out of Judea, primarily through Jewish converts that had been scattered abroad. The outreach from Jerusalem up until this time had primarily involved them and not the Gentile heathen.
2. While the Judean missionaries concerned themselves with the Jews only, (Acts 11:19), the foreign converts begin to spread the gospel to all, regardless of race, (Acts 11:20,21). This was a new idea in the church: go beyond Judea, to non-Jews, and spread the gospel with ministers that were not native Judeans. Antioch was a pagan city and one the great capitals of the world, yet Christianity was securing a strong foothold there.
3. The disciples would come to be called "Christians." This designation was first used in Antioch. It's origins are unknown, but probably did not come from the Jewish enemies of the church who generally referred to the church as "the sect of the Nazarene." It is also unlikely that the early Christians applied this name to themselves, preferring designations such as: believers, saints, brethren, and disciples. The term Christian is found only twice in the Bible (Acts 26:28; 1Pet. 4:16), and in both cases it is implied as being a term used by those outside the church (namely the Gentiles). Many scholars feel that originally it was used as a term of derision and ridicule by the enemies of the church, yet the name "Christian" has turned out to be a perfect name for the followers of the true Messiah. The beauty of the name is that it carries no nationality, and is peculiar to no one language, law, custom, people, or region. With regards to the human race only two terms are truly universal, from God's point of view: "man" names the race, and "Christian" names the redeemed among man.
B. The expansion of the mission field
1. Antioch In the first century, Antioch could have been considered as second only to Rome in the Mediterranean world. This was because of its location, wealth, commerce, ability to communicate with other parts of the world, and the size of its population.
2. The World If Christianity could not be contained within Judea, it would not stop at Antioch. The time had come for someone of Saul's talents to step forward and preach the gospel to the world.
C. The arrangements the Lord has made to call men to do his Divine purpose.
1. Talent usually exists in one of these forms:
a. talent in preparation for the future,
b. obscure talent,
c. talent used for the purpose for which it was created,
d. talent perverted and abused.
2. God has created talent in men for His purposes for each age. These talents are more than just training, genetics, or environment, they are gifts of God.
3. Much talent may remain obscure or hidden until an emergency calls it out.
4. Emergencies will arise, and talents will be called out. Such was the occasion of the beginning of the full-fledged mission of Saul.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Show scriptures to prove that the early Christian missionaries depended on the "Jewish connection."
2. What would be insulting, in the Jewish mind, about calling or being called of "the sect of the Nazarene?"
3. Can we "root out" the hidden talents in this congregation? If so, how?
4. Name some potential "emergencies" that could arise today that could possibly call out hidden or obscure talent in the church.