📖 Matendo ya Mitume — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 11: Kuishi Matendo 29📖 Acts Intensive — Unit 11: Living Acts 29

I. Kitabu Kisicho na MwishoI. The Book Without an Ending

Tumefika kwenye hotuba ya mwisho ya kozi hii, lakini kitabu cha Matendo hakijafika kwenye sentensi ya mwisho. Luka anatuacha na Paulo akiwa kifungoni nyumbani huko Rumi, amefungwa kwa mnyororo pamoja na askari wa Kirumi, akiwakaribisha wote waliomjia, akihubiri ufalme wa Mungu na kufundisha mambo ya Bwana Yesu Kristo "kwa ujasiri wote, bila mtu kumzuia" (Matendo 28:31, SUV). Kisha ukurasa unakoma tu. Hakuna kifo cha kishahidi kilichoandikwa. Hakuna hotuba ya kuaga. Hakuna kuinama kwa heshima mwishoni. Kitabu kinasimama juu ya vitenzi viwili vya kuendelea — akihubiri, akifundisha — kana kwamba kalamu ya mwandishi ilinyakuliwa mkononi mwake katikati ya sentensi na kukabidhiwa mtu mwingine.We have arrived at the last lecture of this course, and the book of Acts has not arrived at a last sentence. Luke leaves us with Paul under house arrest in Rome, chained to a Roman soldier, receiving anyone who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ "with all confidence, no one forbidding him" (Acts 28:31, NKJV). Then the page just ends. There is no martyrdom recorded. There is no farewell sermon. There is no bow taken. The book stops on two participles — preaching, teaching — as if the writer's pen had been pulled out of his hand mid-sentence and handed to someone else.

Mtu huyo mwingine ni kanisa la Kikristo. Mtu huyo mwingine ni Seminari ya Teolojia ya Chapala. Mtu huyo mwingine ni kila mmoja wenu. Kitabu cha Matendo hakina wimbo wa kumtukuza Mungu mwishoni, hakina amina, hakina baraka ya kufunga, hakina neno lolote kuhusu jinsi kesi ya Paulo ilivyoisha. Kinasimama tu. Roho Mtakatifu, aliyesimamia uandishi wa kila neno la Maandiko, alichagua kwa makusudi kuacha juzuu la pili la Luka wazi. Sababu ni rahisi. Historia ya kanisa haina sentensi ya kufunga. Ina sentensi inayoendelea tu. Tunaishi katika Matendo 29.That someone else is the Christian church. That someone else is Chapala Theological Seminary. That someone else is each of you. The book of Acts has no doxology, no amen, no closing benediction, no word of how Paul's trial ended. It simply stops. The Holy Spirit, who superintended the writing of every word of Scripture, deliberately chose to leave Luke's second volume open. The reason is simple. The history of the church does not have a closing sentence. It has only a continuing one. We are living in Acts 29.

II. Njia TuliyoipitaII. What We Have Walked Through

Tazama nyuma njia tuliyoipita. Sehemu kumi na moja. Sura ishirini na nane. Miaka thelathini kutoka chumba cha juu hadi nyumba ya Rumi. Niruhusuni nifuatilie njia hii mara moja ya mwisho, kwa sababu picha hii kamili ni sehemu ya somo.Look back at the road we have come. Eleven units. Twenty-eight chapters. Thirty years from the upper room to the Roman house. Let me trace the path one last time, because the panorama is part of the lesson.

Tulianza katika Sehemu ya 1 kwa kupaa kwa Yesu na Pentekoste. Kristo aliyefufuka aliwapa wafuasi wake tamko moja la utume — mtakuwa mashahidi wangu katika Yerusalemu, na katika Uyahudi wote, na Samaria, na hata mwisho wa nchi (Matendo 1:8, SUV) — na Ahadi moja ya kuuchochea utume huo. Siku kumi baadaye, katika chumba cha juu, Roho alishuka kwa sauti na moto na lugha, na Babeli ikabatilishwa kwa asubuhi moja. Watu elfu tatu waliokolewa. Kanisa lilizaliwa.We started in Unit 1 with the ascension and Pentecost. The risen Christ gave His followers a single mission statement — you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8, NKJV) — and a single Promise to fuel the mission. Ten days later, in the upper room, the Spirit fell with sound and fire and tongues, and Babel was reversed in one morning. Three thousand were saved. The church was born.

Katika Sehemu ya 2 tuliona vuguvugu jipya likikua kutoka watu elfu tatu hadi maelfu mengi, Petro alipohubiri, yule kiwete akarukaruka kwenye Mlango Mzuri, Baraza Kuu likajaribu kuwanyamazisha mitume, Anania na Safira wakapigwa kwa ajili ya uongo wao, na mashemasi saba wakateuliwa ili kuwaachilia mitume kwa maombi na huduma ya neno. Tuliona, katika habari ya Mitsuo Fuchida na Jacob DeShazer, kwamba injili inamchukua rubani wa shambulio la Pearl Harbor na mrusha-mabomu wa kikosi cha Doolittle na kuwafanya ndugu wanaohubiri Baba, uwasamehe.In Unit 2 we watched the new movement grow from three thousand to multiple thousands as Peter preached, the lame man danced at the Beautiful Gate, the Sanhedrin tried to silence the apostles, Ananias and Sapphira were struck down for their lies, and the seven deacons were appointed to free the apostles for prayer and the ministry of the word. We saw, in the story of Mitsuo Fuchida and Jacob DeShazer, that the gospel takes a Pearl Harbor pilot and a Doolittle bombardier and turns them into brothers preaching Father, forgive them.

Katika Sehemu ya 3 tulimwona Stefano akifa kwa ajili ya injili chini ya mvua ya mawe, na tukamwona Sauli wa Tarso amesimama miguuni pake akiyashika mavazi. Tulimwona Filipo akiipeleka injili Samaria na kisha kwa yule towashi Mkushi kwenye njia ya jangwani. Tuliishika ile barua ya NINI SABABU aliyoipokea mama yake Glenn Chambers siku moja baada ya ndege yake kuanguka, na tukaacha swali la Stefano Kwa nini? lisimame mbele ya ukimya wa Mungu.In Unit 3 we watched Stephen die for the gospel under a hail of stones and saw Saul of Tarsus standing at his feet holding the coats. We watched Philip take the gospel to Samaria and out to the Ethiopian eunuch on the desert road. We held the WHY letter Glenn Chambers's mother received the day after his plane crashed, and we let Stephen's Why? stand against the silence of God.

Katika Sehemu ya 4 tulimwona Bwana akimwangusha Sauli wa Tarso kutoka juu ya farasi wake, akimpofusha kwa siku tatu, akimtuma Anania kwake na maneno mawili yanayogusa moyo kuliko yote katika Agano Jipya — Ndugu Sauli — na kumgeuza mtesaji kuwa mtume. Tulimwona Barnaba akimthibitisha. Tuliona kanisa likijifunza kwamba hakuna Sauli aliye nje ya uwezo wa Bwana kumfikia.In Unit 4 we watched the Lord knock Saul of Tarsus off his horse, blind him for three days, send Ananias to him with two of the most disarming words in the New Testament — Brother Saul — and convert the persecutor into the apostle. We watched Barnabas vouch for him. We watched the church learn that there are no Sauls beyond the Lord's reach.

Katika Sehemu ya 5 tulitembea na Petro hadi nyumbani kwa Kornelio na kuona injili ikivuka mpaka kati ya Wayahudi na Mataifa kwa mara ya kwanza. Tulikutana na Kornelio, yule akida aliyeishi kana kwamba Kristo alikuwa tayari halisi kwake kabla hajasikia jina lake. Tuliona Antiokia ikawa kitovu kipya cha harakati, kanisa ambamo wanafunzi waliitwa Wakristo kwa mara ya kwanza. Na tuliacha Uamsho wa Wales wa mwaka 1904 — Joseph Jenkins, Flory Evans, Evan Roberts akilia Unipinde, Bwana — utuonyeshe kile ambacho mkono wa Bwana bado unaweza kufanya katika miezi mitano.In Unit 5 we walked with Peter to Cornelius's house and saw the gospel cross the Jew-Gentile boundary for the first time. We met Cornelius, the centurion who lived as if Christ were already real before he had heard the name. We saw Antioch become the new center of gravity, the church where the disciples were first called Christians. And we let the Welsh Revival of 1904 — Joseph Jenkins, Flory Evans, Evan Roberts crying Bend me, Lord — show us what the hand of the Lord can still do in five months.

Katika Sehemu ya 6 tulihudhuria ibada ya kwanza ya kuwatuma wamisionari katika historia ya kanisa, huko Antiokia. Tulisafiri kwa merikebu pamoja na Barnaba na Sauli hadi Kipro, tukamwona Bar-Yesu akipofuka, tukamwona Sergio Paulo akiamini, na tukaona jinsi Luka alivyoliacha kimya kimya jina Sauli na kuanza kuandika Paulo. Tulimwona Yohana Marko akiondoka huko Perge na Barnaba akikataa kumtupa. Tuliketi katika Baraza la Yerusalemu na kumsikia Yakobo akitangaza uamuzi ambao umekuwa nanga ya kila Matengenezo tangu hapo — kwamba injili huokoa kwa imani, si kwa imani pamoja na tohara, si kwa imani pamoja na kitu chochote.In Unit 6 we sat in on the first missionary commissioning service in church history at Antioch. We sailed with Barnabas and Saul to Cyprus, watched Bar-Jesus go blind, watched Sergius Paulus believe, and noticed how Luke quietly dropped Saul's name and started writing Paul. We watched John Mark walk out at Perga and Barnabas refuse to throw him away. We sat in the Jerusalem Council and heard James pronounce the verdict that has anchored every Reformation since — that the gospel saves by faith, not by faith plus circumcision, not by faith plus anything.

Katika Sehemu ya 7 tuliona milango iliyofungwa ikibamizwa huko Asia na Bithinia hadi Roho alipofungua Makedonia. Tulikutana na Lidia kando ya mto, yule kijakazi mwenye pepo wa uaguzi (pepo wa chatu) huko Filipi, na yule mlinzi wa gereza aliyeuliza swali ambalo kila mhubiri husubiri maisha yake yote kuulizwa. Tuliketi usiku wa manane katika gereza la Filipi migongo yetu ikiwa imechanika, tukawasikiliza Paulo na Sila wakiimba — na Itzhak Perlman, karne kumi na nane na nusu baadaye, alipiga tamasha la muziki kwa nyuzi tatu ili kutukumbusha kwamba wakati mwingine kazi ya msanii ni kugundua ni muziki kiasi gani bado unaweza kuutengeneza kwa kile kilichokubakia.In Unit 7 we watched closed doors slam in Asia and Bithynia until the Spirit opened Macedonia. We met Lydia by the riverside, the python-spirit slave girl in Philippi, the jailer with the question every preacher waits a lifetime to be asked. We sat at midnight in the Philippian jail with our backs torn open and listened to Paul and Silas sing — and Itzhak Perlman, eighteen and a half centuries later, played a concerto on three strings to remind us that sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.

Katika Sehemu ya 8 tulikaa miaka miwili katika shule ya Tirano na kuona injili ikifika Asia yote kutoka ukumbi mmoja wa kukodi. Tulimsikia pepo akiwaaibisha wana saba wa Skewa. Tuliona vitabu vya uchawi vyenye thamani ya vipande elfu hamsini vya fedha vikiteketea katika moto wa hadharani. Tuliketi na Paulo ufukweni huko Mileto alipowaagiza wazee wa Efeso walichunge kundi na kuwaonya kwamba mbwa-mwitu wakali wangekuja, baadhi yao kutoka miongoni mwao wenyewe. Na tulikumbuka majuto ya D. L. Moody baada ya Moto Mkuu wa Chicago — mimbari ya mchungaji huyo imelowa machozi, au ni tupu.In Unit 8 we spent two years in the school of Tyrannus and watched the gospel reach all of Asia from one rented hall. We listened to a demon humiliate the seven sons of Sceva. We watched fifty thousand pieces of silver of magic books burn in a public bonfire. We sat with Paul on the beach at Miletus while he charged the Ephesian elders to feed the flock and warned them that savage wolves would come, some from among themselves. And we remembered D. L. Moody's regret after the Chicago Fire — that pastor's pulpit is wet with tears or it is empty.

Katika Sehemu ya 9 tuliona ghasia ya hekaluni, ngazi za ngome ya Antonia, hotuba kwa Kiebrania iliyopokelewa vizuri kabisa hadi lilipotamkwa neno Mataifa, mapigo ya mjeledi wa Kirumi yaliyozuiwa kwa swali moja la utulivu, ugomvi wa Baraza Kuu kuhusu ufufuo, ule usiku ambao Kristo alisimama karibu na Paulo gerezani akasema Jipe moyo, na yule mpwa asiye na jina aliyeyaokoa maisha ya mtume kutokana na kiapo cha watu arobaini.In Unit 9 we watched the temple riot, the Antonia barracks stairs, the Hebrew speech that landed perfectly until the word Gentiles, the Roman scourge averted by a quiet question, the Sanhedrin's brawl over the resurrection, the night Christ stood beside Paul's cell and said Be of good cheer, and the unnamed nephew who saved the apostle's life from a forty-man oath.

Katika Sehemu ya 10 tulihudhuria kesi za Paulo huko Kaisaria, tatu kati ya vikao vyake vinne (Baraza Kuu huko Yerusalemu, kisha Feliki, Festo na Agripa huko Kaisaria) — nafasi nzuri ya Feliki ambayo haikuwahi kufika, mchanganyiko wa mawazo wa Festo, karibu ya Agripa — tuliona upepo wa Eurakilo ukiiendesha merikebu ya mizigo kwa siku kumi na nne, tukamsikia Paulo akisema namwamini Mungu usiku wa kumi na nne, tukaona watu wote mia mbili sabini na sita wakifika salama nchi kavu, tukaketi kando ya moto wa Melita Paulo alipomkung'uta nyoka-kipiri motoni, na tukatembea naye kwenye Njia ya Apio hadi Rumi. Tuliona mnyororo ambao Bwana alikuwa amemwambia Paulo habari zake katika ngome ya Antonia ukigeuka kuwa njia iliyoibeba injili hadi ndani ya nyumba ya Kaisari mwenyewe.In Unit 10 we sat through Paul's trials at Caesarea, three of his four hearings (the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, then Felix, Festus and Agrippa at Caesarea) — Felix's convenient time that never came, Festus's confusion, Agrippa's almost — watched the Euroclydon drive the freighter for fourteen days, heard Paul say I believe God on the fourteenth night, watched all two hundred and seventy-six come safely to land, sat by the Maltese fire while Paul shook a viper into the flame, and walked the Appian Way with him to Rome. We watched the chain that the Lord had told Paul about in the Antonia barracks become the road that carried the gospel into Caesar's own household.

Hiyo ndiyo njia ya Matendo. Ndugu zangu wapendwa, sasa mmeitembea kutoka mwanzo hadi mwisho. Niruhusuni nijaribu kukusanya yale tuliyojifunza katika mambo machache ya muhtasari, kisha niwakabidhi kalamu.That is the road of Acts. Brothers and sisters, you have walked it now from beginning to end. Let me try to gather what we have learned into a few summary observations and then turn the pen over to you.

III. Mambo Matano Ambayo Matendo InayasisitizaIII. Five Things Acts Insists On

Kwanza, kanisa lilizaliwa kwa Roho, si kwa kazi ya kamati za wanadamu. Bwana hakulianzisha kanisa lake kwa kikao cha mipango huko Yerusalemu. Alilianzisha kwa watu mia na ishirini katika chumba cha juu na sauti ya ghafla kutoka mbinguni. Kila mahali katika karne zote kanisa lilipojigeuza kuwa mitambo ya kiutawala tu, lilidhoofika. Kila mahali lilipomngoja Roho tena, lilifanywa upya. Pentekoste si kitu cha kuonyeshwa katika jumba la makumbusho; ni kielelezo cha kudumu. Ombeni upepo uvume.First, the church was born of the Spirit, not of human committee work. The Lord did not begin His church with a planning meeting in Jerusalem. He began it with a hundred and twenty in an upper room and a sudden sound from heaven. Wherever the church across the centuries has reduced itself to organizational machinery, it has weakened. Wherever it has waited again on the Spirit, it has been renewed. Pentecost is not a museum exhibit; it is a permanent template. Pray for the wind to blow.

Pili, injili ni kwa ajili ya kila mtu. Matendo inapitia kwa makusudi makundi ambayo ulimwengu wa karne ya kwanza uliyaona kuwa yametengana kabisa. Injili inatoka kwa Wayahudi wa Yerusalemu (Matendo 2) hadi kwa Wayahudi wa Kiyunani (Matendo 6), hadi kwa Wasamaria (Matendo 8), hadi kwa Mkushi (Matendo 8), hadi kwa Farisayo Sauli (Matendo 9), hadi kwa akida wa Kirumi (Matendo 10), hadi kwa Wayunani huko Antiokia (Matendo 11), hadi kwa liwali wa Kirumi (Matendo 13), hadi kwa wanawake wa Makedonia (Matendo 16), hadi kwa wanafalsafa wa Athene (Matendo 17), hadi kwa mkuu wa kisiwa cha Melita (Matendo 28), na hatimaye hadi ndani ya walinzi wa ikulu (Wafilipi 1:13) na nyumba ya Kaisari mwenyewe (Wafilipi 4:22). Hakuna tabaka la watu ambalo Bwana hawezi kulifikia. Ukuta kati ya Myahudi na Mmataifa, mtumwa na mtu huru, mwanamume na mwanamke, aliyesoma na asiyesoma, umebomolewa msalabani. Tusije tukaujenga upya kamwe.Second, the gospel is for everyone. Acts works deliberately through the categories the first-century world thought were watertight. The gospel goes from Jerusalem Jews (Acts 2) to Hellenist Jews (Acts 6) to Samaritans (Acts 8) to an Ethiopian (Acts 8) to the Pharisee Saul (Acts 9) to a Roman centurion (Acts 10) to Greeks at Antioch (Acts 11) to a Roman proconsul (Acts 13) to Macedonian women (Acts 16) to Athenian philosophers (Acts 17) to the chief man of Malta (Acts 28) and finally into the palace guard (Philippians 1:13) and Caesar's own household (Philippians 4:22). There is no class of people the Lord cannot reach. The wall between Jew and Gentile, free and slave, male and female, educated and uneducated, has been broken down at the cross. May we never rebuild it.

Tatu, injili inasafiri kupitia waamini wa kawaida. Kitabu cha Matendo si wasifu wa kuwatukuza mitume kumi na wawili wa kitaaluma. Ni kumbukumbu ya vuguvugu lililobebwa na mafundi wa hema, watumwa, wanawake wa kando ya mto, wakimbizi waliotawanyika, walinzi wa magereza wa Kirumi, na wenyeji wa kisiwa cha Melita. Stefano hakuwa mtume, lakini alihubiri mojawapo ya mahubiri makuu. Filipo alikuwa shemasi, akamwongoza yule towashi Mkushi kwa Kristo. Akila na Prisila walikuwa mafundi wa hema waliomrekebisha mhubiri msomi kuliko wote huko Efeso. Wakimbizi wasio na majina wa Yerusalemu waliokimbia mateso ya wakati wa Stefano na kufika Antiokia ndio walioanzisha utume wa kwanza kwa Mataifa uliovuka tamaduni. Bwana huwatumia watu wa kawaida. Anakutumia wewe.Third, the gospel travels through ordinary believers. The book of Acts is not a hagiography of twelve professional apostles. It is a record of a movement carried by tentmakers, slaves, riverside women, scattered refugees, Roman jailers, and Maltese islanders. Stephen was not an apostle and preached one of the great sermons. Philip was a deacon and led the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ. Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers who corrected the most learned preacher in Ephesus. The unnamed Jerusalem refugees who fled the Stephen persecution and ended up at Antioch started the first cross-cultural Gentile mission. The Lord uses ordinary people. He uses you.

Nne, injili inagharimu kitu. Stefano alipigwa mawe. Yakobo alikatwa kichwa. Petro alitiwa gerezani. Paulo alipigwa kwa bakora mara tatu, alichapwa na Wayahudi mara tano, alipigwa mawe na kuachwa kama amekufa huko Listra, alivunjikiwa na merikebu mara tatu kabla ya Matendo 27, na hatimaye akafungwa kwa mnyororo huko Rumi pamoja na askari wa Kirumi. Vitabu vya uchawi vyenye thamani ya vipande elfu hamsini vya fedha huko Efeso viliteketea kwa moshi. Mafundi wa fedha wa chama cha Demetrio walipoteza akiba yao ya uzeeni. Hakuna toleo rahisi la injili popote katika kitabu hiki. Kila mahali kizazi cha Wakristo kilipopata toleo rahisi, mwishowe Bwana ametuita turudi kwenye lile lenye gharama.Fourth, the gospel costs something. Stephen was stoned. James was beheaded. Peter was jailed. Paul was beaten with rods three times, lashed by the Jews five times, stoned and left for dead at Lystra, shipwrecked three times before Acts 27, and finally chained in Rome to a Roman soldier. The fifty thousand pieces of silver of magic books at Ephesus went up in smoke. The silversmiths of Demetrius's guild lost their pension fund. There is no cheap version of the gospel anywhere in this book. Anywhere a generation of Christians has found a cheap version, the Lord has eventually called us back to the costly one.

Tano, injili haiwezi kuzuiwa. Baraza Kuu lilijaribu katika Matendo 4 na Matendo 5. Sauli wa Tarso alijaribu katika Matendo 9. Herode alijaribu katika Matendo 12, naye akaliwa na chango. Demetrio alijaribu katika Matendo 19. Kundi la watu arobaini waliofunga kiapo walijaribu katika Matendo 23. Upepo wa Eurakilo ulijaribu katika Matendo 27. Hakuna hata mmoja wao aliyeizuia injili. Wote waligeuzwa na Bwana kuwa sehemu ya safari ya injili. Mnyororo ambao dola uliuweka kwenye kifundo cha mkono wa Paulo ukawa mnyororo ulioisindikiza injili hadi ndani ya ikulu ya Kaisari. Hakuna nguvu yoyote ulimwenguni — ya kisiasa, ya kifalsafa, ya kifedha, ya kipepo, au ya hali ya hewa — ambayo Bwana hawezi kuipinda iwe njia ambayo neno lake linasonga mbele.Fifth, the gospel cannot be stopped. The Sanhedrin tried in Acts 4 and Acts 5. Saul of Tarsus tried in Acts 9. Herod tried in Acts 12 and was eaten of worms. Demetrius tried in Acts 19. The forty-man oath party tried in Acts 23. The Euroclydon tried in Acts 27. None of them stopped the gospel. They were all turned by the Lord into part of the gospel's itinerary. The chain that the empire put on Paul's wrist became the chain that escorted the gospel into Caesar's palace. There is no force in the universe — political, philosophical, financial, demonic, or atmospheric — that the Lord cannot bend into the road by which His word goes forward.

IV. Kuishi Matendo 29IV. Living Acts 29

Sasa nini? Sasa nendeni mkaandike Matendo 29.Now what? Now you go and write Acts 29.

Nataka kuwaambia waziwazi kabisa. Kila maisha ya kila Mkristo tangu mwaka sitini na mbili, Luka alipoweka kalamu yake chini, yamekuwa aya katika kitabu ambacho Luka hakukimaliza. Kila mazungumzo uliyowahi kufanya kuhusu Kristo yamekuwa aya katika kitabu cha Matendo. Kila kijitabu cha injili ulichokiacha mahali pa hadhara. Kila ombi ulilonong'ona kwa ajili ya jirani asiyeokoka. Kila dola uliyompa mmisionari. Kila somo la shule ya Jumapili ulilofundisha. Kila saa ya uvumilivu uliyokaa na ndugu anayeteseka. Kila kikombe cha maji ya baridi kilichotolewa kwa jina lake. Kila ushirika kando ya kitanda cha hospitali. Kila mazishi uliyohubiri kwa injili iliyo hai. Kila kuzaliwa upya ulikohudumia. Kila mnyororo uliovaa kwa ajili yake. Kila Jipe moyo uliyopokea ujasiri kutoka kwayo. Kila dhoruba uliyoipita bila kupoteza imani yako. Kila namwamini Mungu uliyosema gizani. Yote hayo ni sehemu ya habari ambayo Luka hakuweza kuimaliza, kwa sababu Roho Mtakatifu hakumaliza kutenda katika mwaka sitini na mbili, na bado hajamaliza kutenda.I want to put it to you very plainly. Every life of every Christian since the year sixty-two when Luke laid down his pen has been a paragraph in the book that Luke did not finish. Every conversation you have had about Christ has been a paragraph in the book of Acts. Every gospel tract you have left in a public place. Every prayer you have whispered for an unsaved neighbor. Every dollar you have given to a missionary. Every Sunday school lesson you have taught. Every patient hour you have spent with a suffering brother. Every cup of cold water given in His name. Every piece of fellowship at a hospital bed. Every funeral you have preached with the living gospel. Every new birth you have ministered. Every chain you have worn for His sake. Every Be of good cheer you have taken courage from. Every storm you have weathered without losing your faith. Every I believe God you have said in the dark. All of it is part of the story Luke could not finish, because the Holy Spirit did not finish acting in the year sixty-two and has not finished acting yet.

Baadhi yenu mnaosoma haya ni wachungaji. Mimbari yako ni sehemu ya Matendo 29. Majina ya watu unaowahubiria kila Jumapili yameandikwa katika daftari la aina ileile aliyoitunza Luka. Majina yataongezwa wiki ijayo. Baadhi ya wenye majina hayo watasoma mahubiri yako kwa Kihispania katika miji kuanzia Tijuana hadi Tapachula kwa sababu ya maamuzi utakayofanya katika masomo yako wiki hii. Hubiri shauri lote la Mungu. Mwonye kila mtu usiku na mchana kwa machozi. Lichunge kanisa la Mungu, alilolinunua kwa damu yake mwenyewe. Jihadharini na mbwa-mwitu wakali, hasa wale wanaotoka miongoni mwenu wenyewe. Kitabu cha Matendo bado hakijamaliza nawe.Some of you reading this are pastors. Your pulpit is part of Acts 29. The names of the people you preach to every Sunday are written in the same kind of ledger Luke kept. Names will be added next week. Some of those names will read your sermons in Spanish in towns from Tijuana to Tapachula because of choices you make in your study this week. Preach the whole counsel of God. Warn everyone night and day with tears. Feed the flock of God which He purchased with His own blood. Beware the savage wolves, especially the ones from among yourselves. The book of Acts is not done with you yet.

Baadhi yenu mnaosoma haya ni wamisionari — au mko karibu kuwa wamisionari. Masanduku yako na safari zako za baharini na milango yako iliyofungwa na maono yako ya Makedonia ni sehemu ya Matendo 29. Roho bado anakataza na Roho bado anaruhusu, naye yumo ndani ya "hapana" kama vile alivyo ndani ya "ndiyo". Ngoja katika Troa yako mpaka mtu wa Makedonia atokee. Atatokea. Bwana hakupoteza bure maili za Paulo, wala hapotezi zako.Some of you reading this are missionaries — or are about to be. Your suitcases and your sailings and your closed doors and your Macedonian visions are part of Acts 29. The Spirit still forbids and the Spirit still permits, and He is just as much in the no as in the yes. Wait at your Troas until the man of Macedonia appears. He will appear. The Lord did not waste Paul's miles, and He is not wasting yours.

Baadhi yenu mnaosoma haya ni waamini walei, mashemasi, wazee, walimu wa shule ya Jumapili, wazazi, washiriki waaminifu wa safu ya nyuma. Msiruhusu — tafadhali msiruhusu — mchungaji yeyote au profesa wa seminari awashawishi kwamba ninyi ni watazamaji tu katika habari hii. Ile nyumba ya Rumi mwishoni mwa Matendo si hekalu, si sinagogi, si kanisa kuu. Ni nyumba ya kupanga iliyojaa watu wa kawaida wanaoingia na kutoka. Matendo 29 hutokea sebuleni na jikoni na katika migahawa ya kando ya barabara kuliko inavyotokea mimbarini. Akila na Prisila walimchukua Apolo kando wakamfundisha faraghani. Yule mpwa asiye na jina aliyaokoa maisha ya Paulo kwa mazungumzo moja ya kunong'ona. Lidia alilikaribisha kanisa la kwanza la Ulaya katika nyumba yake mwenyewe. Bwana bado anatumia majiko na mazungumzo na wapwa wasio na majina. Jiweke tayari. Matendo 29 yanatokea katika anwani yako usiku huu.Some of you reading this are lay believers, deacons, elders, Sunday school teachers, parents, faithful members in the back row. Do not — please do not — let any pastor or seminary professor convince you that you are spectators in the story. The Roman house at the end of Acts is not a temple, not a synagogue, not a basilica. It is a rented apartment full of common people coming and going. Acts 29 happens in living rooms and kitchens and roadside diners more than it happens in pulpits. Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and discipled him in private. The unnamed nephew saved Paul's life with one whispered conversation. Lydia hosted the first European church in her own house. The Lord still uses kitchens and conversations and unnamed nephews. Be available. Acts 29 is happening at your address tonight.

Baadhi yenu mnaosoma haya mko katika dhoruba. Labda ndoa inavunjika. Labda mtoto amemwacha Bwana. Labda ripoti ya daktari imerudi na neno ambalo hukutaka kulisoma. Labda akiba ya benki imekwisha. Labda kanisa ulilolitumikia kwa uaminifu limekujeruhi. Kaa ndani ya merikebu mpaka Nahodha akuruhusu kuondoka. Imba usiku wa manane ikibidi. Tazama juu mlimani kwenye zile injini usizoweza kuziona zinazovuta mbele. Bwana anavuta zaidi kuliko wewe unavyosukuma. Amekuwa akiandika mahubiri ya dhoruba tangu ule usiku Paulo aliposimama juu ya sitaha ya merikebu ya Iskanderia akasema namwamini Mungu. Anaandika moja kupitia dhoruba yako sasa hivi.Some of you reading this are in a storm. Maybe a marriage is breaking up. Maybe a child has walked away from the Lord. Maybe a doctor's report has come back with a word you did not want to read. Maybe a bank balance has run out. Maybe the church you served faithfully has wounded you. Stay on the boat until the Captain releases you. Sing at midnight if you have to. Look up the mountain at the engines you cannot see pulling at the front. The Lord has more pulling than you have pushing. He has been writing storm-sermons since the night Paul stood up on the deck of the Alexandrian freighter and said I believe God. He is writing one through your storm right now.

Na baadhi yenu mnaosoma haya bado hamna uhakika kwamba mmeokoka. Umejifunza kitabu cha Matendo kutoka mwanzo hadi mwisho. Umejifunza kila kisa. Huenda umepata alama nzuri katika mitihani. Ndugu zangu wapendwa, kukijua kitabu si sawa na kuwa na nafasi ndani yake. Feliki alikijua kitabu, akatetemeka, akasema nafasi nzuri. Agripa alikijua kitabu, akasema karibu. Wote wawili walikufa wakiwa wamepotea. Hakuna nafasi nzuri ya baadaye. Hakuna karibu. Kuna Bwana Yesu Kristo peke yake, aliyemwambia Sauli wa Tarso katika njia ya Dameski, Mimi ni Yesu unayeniudhi, na ambaye, mara Sauli alipomkiri kuwa Bwana, alimtuma Anania na maneno Ndugu Sauli. Bado anayasema maneno hayo mawili kwa yeyote atakayemgeukia leo. Ndugu. Dada. Upate kuona tena. Leo ndio wakati uliokubalika. Leo ndiyo siku ya wokovu. Usiache hotuba hii iishe bila kuhakikisha kwamba umefanya uamuzi huo. Matendo 29 utakayoyaishi yanapita katika njia ya Dameski, la sivyo hayaendi popote.And some of you reading this are not yet sure you are saved. You have studied the book of Acts cover to cover. You have learned every storyline. You have probably scored well on the exams. Brothers and sisters, knowledge of the book is not the same thing as a place in it. Felix knew the book and trembled and said convenient time. Agrippa knew the book and said almost. Both of them died lost. There is no convenient time. There is no almost. There is only the Lord Jesus Christ who said to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, and who, the moment Saul confessed Him as Lord, sent Ananias with the words Brother Saul. He is still speaking those two words to anyone who will turn to Him today. Brother. Sister. Receive your sight. Today is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. Do not let this lecture end without making sure you have made that decision. The Acts 29 you are about to live runs through the Damascus road or it does not run anywhere.

V. Maagizo Matatu ya MwishoV. Three Final Charges

Nitawaachia sentensi tatu kutoka katika Matendo yenyewe. Ndizo sentensi tatu ambazo nimezirudia mara nyingi zaidi katika miaka arobaini ya kuhubiri, na ndizo tatu nitakazoziacha kwenye ukurasa huu wa mwisho wa hotuba hii ya mwisho.I will leave you with three sentences from Acts itself. They are the three sentences I have come back to most often in forty years of preaching, and they are the three I will leave on this last page of this last lecture.

Ya kwanza ni kutoka Matendo 1:8 — sentensi inayozindua kitabu chote. "Mtakuwa mashahidi wangu… hata mwisho wa nchi." Shahidi si wakili; shahidi ni mtu anayesimulia kile alichokiona na kukisikia. Huhitaji kuwa mwanatheolojia mwenye akili nyingi ili uwe shahidi. Unahitaji kuwa umeona. Unahitaji kuwa umesikia. Kisha unahitaji kufungua kinywa chako. Bwana atafanya yaliyobaki.The first is from Acts 1:8 — the launching sentence of the whole book. "You shall be witnesses to Me… to the end of the earth." A witness is not a lawyer; a witness is somebody who tells what he has seen and heard. You do not have to be a brilliant theologian to be a witness. You have to have seen. You have to have heard. Then you have to open your mouth. The Lord will do the rest.

Ya pili ni kutoka Matendo 4:13 — sentensi ambayo Baraza Kuu liliiandika bila kupenda kuhusu Petro na Yohana. "Wakatambua ya kuwa walikuwa pamoja na Yesu." Hiyo, ndugu zangu wapendwa, ndiyo sifa pekee inayojalisha hatimaye katika huduma. Seminari zinaweza kukupa Kiebrania na Kiyunani na elimu ya mahubiri na historia ya kanisa na teolojia ya kimfumo, nawe utahitaji kila kipande chake, na CTS imejaribu kukupa sehemu yetu. Lakini hakuna hata kimoja kati ya hivyo kinachoweza kuchukua mahali pa kile watu watakachohitaji kukiona usoni pako watakapokutana nawe barabarani. Amekuwa pamoja na Yesu. Kaa pamoja na Yesu. Kila kitu kingine kinatiririka kutoka hapo.The second is from Acts 4:13 — the sentence the Sanhedrin reluctantly wrote about Peter and John. "They realized that they had been with Jesus." That, brothers and sisters, is the only credential that finally matters in ministry. Seminaries can give you Hebrew and Greek and homiletics and church history and systematic theology, and you will need every bit of it, and CTS has tried to give you our share. But none of it can substitute for what people will need to see in your face when they meet you on the street. He has been with Jesus. Stay with Jesus. Everything else flows from there.

Ya tatu ni kutoka Matendo 28:31 — vile vitenzi vya kuendelea ambavyo Luka aliviacha vikining'inia. "Akihubiri habari za ufalme wa Mungu, na kuyafundisha mambo ya Bwana Yesu Kristo kwa ujasiri wote, bila mtu kumzuia." Hiyo ndiyo sentensi ya kufunga kitabu, nayo ndiyo sentensi ya kufungua maisha yako yote yaliyosalia. Hubiri ufalme. Fundisha mambo ya Bwana Yesu Kristo. Fanya hivyo kwa ujasiri wote. Usimwache mtu yeyote akuzuie.The third is from Acts 28:31 — the participle Luke left dangling. "Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him." That is the closing sentence of the book and it is the opening sentence of the rest of your life. Preach the kingdom. Teach the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Do it with all confidence. Let no one forbid you.

Na utakapokuwa mzee mwenye mvi, na siku ile itakapofika ambapo Bwana ataweka chini kalamu yako kama alivyoiweka chini ile ya Luka, kizazi kijacho cha waamini na kiikute aya yako katika kitabu cha Matendo ikiwa wazi chini ya ukurasa, kama ilivyo ile ya Luka — bila mwisho — ili mtu mwingine aweze kuiokota kalamu ambayo Bwana atamkabidhi na kuendelea kuandika.And when you are old and gray and the day comes when the Lord lays down your pen as He laid down Luke's, may the next generation of believers find your paragraph in the book of Acts open at the bottom of the page, the way Luke's is — without an ending — so that someone else can pick up the pen the Lord will hand them and keep writing.

Mpaka siku hiyo, neema iwe pamoja nanyi, na upendo wa Mungu, na ushirika wa Roho Mtakatifu, na fadhili za Bwana Yesu Kristo, Nahodha wetu. Amina.Until that day, may grace be with you, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, and the favor of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Captain. Amen.

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