🌍 Misheni ya Ulimwengu — Sehemu ya 4: Matendo 1:8 na Injili Inayoenea🌍 World Missions — Unit 4: Acts 1:8 and the Spreading Gospel

Utangulizi: Kitabu Kisicho na MwishoIntroduction: The Book That Has No Ending

Fungua kitabu cha Matendo na usome sentensi yake ya kwanza kabisa: "Kile kitabu cha kwanza nalikiandika, Theofilo, katika habari ya mambo yote aliyoanza Yesu kuyafanya na kuyafundisha" (Matendo 1:1, SUV). Angalia neno "aliyoanza." Luka hasemi kwamba Injili yake ilieleza yote aliyoyafanya Yesu; ilieleza yote aliyoanza Yesu kuyafanya. Matendo ni juzuu la pili — kumbukumbu ya yale ambayo Bwana aliyefufuka na kupaa aliendelea kuyafanya na kuyafundisha kupitia kanisa lake lililojaa Roho. Na kitabu hiki hakina mwisho rasmi, kwa sababu kazi bado haijamalizika. Tunaishi katika juzuu hilo refu la pili.Open the book of Acts and read its very first sentence: "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach" (Acts 1:1, NKJV). Notice the word "began." Luke does not say his Gospel told all that Jesus did; it told all that Jesus began to do. Acts is volume two — the record of what the risen, ascended Lord continued to do and teach through His Spirit-filled church. And the book has no formal ending, because the work is not finished. We are living in the long second volume.

Ikiwa Injili nne ni kipimo cha wima cha imani yetu — Baba akimtuma Mwana, Mwana akitii hadi msalabani — basi Matendo ni kipimo cha mlalo. Kinaonyesha Injili ikikimbia kwenda nje kutoka kikundi kidogo huko Yerusalemu hadi jumuiya ya ulimwengu mzima ya kila taifa chini ya mbingu. Kwa maana halisi, Matendo ni kitabu cha kwanza cha kufundishia umisheni. Na kitabu chote kinakua kutoka mstari mmoja tu.If the four Gospels are the vertical dimension of our faith — the Father sending the Son, the Son obeying to the cross — then Acts is the horizontal dimension. It shows the gospel running outward from a small group in Jerusalem to a worldwide community of every nation under heaven. Acts is, in a real sense, the first missions textbook. And the whole of it grows out of a single verse.

I. Agizo la Mwisho na Orodha ya YaliyomoI. The Last Command and the Table of Contents

Kabla hajapaa, Yesu aliwapa wanafunzi wake ahadi moja ya mwisho na kazi moja ya mwisho: "Lakini mtapokea nguvu, akiisha kuwajilia juu yenu Roho Mtakatifu; nanyi mtakuwa mashahidi wangu katika Yerusalemu, na katika Uyahudi wote, na Samaria, na hata mwisho wa nchi" (Matendo 1:8, SUV). Mstari huo mmoja ndio orodha ya yaliyomo ya kitabu kizima. Sura ya 1 hadi 7 zinasimulia ushuhuda katika Yerusalemu. Sura ya 8 hadi 12 zinaupeleka hadi Uyahudi (Yudea) na Samaria. Sura ya 13 hadi 28 zinaupeleka hadi mwisho wa nchi.Before He ascended, Jesus gave His disciples one last promise and one last assignment: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8, NKJV). That single verse is the table of contents of the entire book. Chapters 1 through 7 tell of the witness in Jerusalem. Chapters 8 through 12 carry it into Judea and Samaria. Chapters 13 through 28 take it to the end of the earth.

Tazama kwa makini mpangilio huu, kwa maana ndio mpangilio wa umisheni wote. Injili inaanzia nyumbani, katika Yerusalemu. Kisha inamwendea jirani wa karibu — Uyahudi, eneo linalozunguka, na Samaria, watu waliodharauliwa zaidi. Na inasonga mbele hadi mwisho wa nchi, kwa watu ambao hawajawahi kusikia. Nyumbani, karibu, na mbali: duara zinapanuka, lakini hakuna duara hata moja inayopaswa kurukwa, na hakuna hata moja inayopaswa kuwa mahali pa kusimama. Agizo lile lile lililowatuma mitume ndilo agizo linalotufikia sisi, kwa maana tunaishi kwenye ukingo wa mbali wa duara hizo zinazopanuka.Look closely at the pattern, for it is the pattern of all missions. The gospel begins at home, in Jerusalem. It moves next to the near neighbor — Judea, the surrounding region, and Samaria, the people most despised. And it presses on to the end of the earth, to the peoples who have never heard. Home, near, and far: the rings widen, but not one ring is to be skipped, and not one is to be the stopping place. The same command that sent the apostles is the command that reaches us, for we live at the far edge of those widening circles.

II. Nguvu Kabla ya MpangoII. Power Before Program

Angalia kilichotangulia. Kabla ya mpango wa Yerusalemu, Uyahudi, Samaria, na mwisho wa nchi, kulikuwa na nguvu: "mtapokea nguvu, akiisha kuwajilia juu yenu Roho Mtakatifu." Yesu alikuwa amewaambia waziwazi, "msitoke Yerusalemu, bali mngojee ahadi ya Baba" (Matendo 1:4, SUV). Hawakupaswa kuanzisha kazi hii kwa nguvu zao wenyewe. Walipaswa kumngojea Roho Mtakatifu. Na siku ya Pentekoste Roho alikuja, kanisa likazaliwa, na wale wale mia moja na ishirini waliokuwa wamejificha nyuma ya milango iliyofungwa walitoka nje na kuupindua mji juu chini.Notice what came first. Before the program of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth, there was a power: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Jesus had told them plainly, "do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4, NKJV). They were not to launch the mission in their own strength. They were to wait for the Holy Spirit. And at Pentecost the Spirit came, the church was born, and the same hundred and twenty who had been hiding behind locked doors went out and turned the city upside down.

Hapa kuna kweli ambayo hatuthubutu kuisahau: umisheni ni kazi ya Roho Mtakatifu kupitia kanisa. Mikakati, fedha, na mafunzo vyote vina nafasi yake, lakini bila nguvu ya Roho havitimizi kitu chochote. Kitabu cha Matendo kingeweza pia kuitwa Matendo ya Roho Mtakatifu, kwa maana ni Yeye anayeisukuma Injili kwenda nje katika kila sura.Here is a truth we dare not forget: missions is the work of the Holy Spirit through the church. The strategies, the funds, and the training all have their place, but without the power of the Spirit they accomplish nothing. The book of Acts could just as well be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, for it is He who drives the gospel outward through every chapter.

III. Kanisa Lisilotaka Kuondoka NyumbaniIII. The Church That Would Not Leave Home

Hata hivyo, licha ya nguvu hiyo yote, kulikuwa na tatizo. Matendo 1:8 lilikuwa limetamkwa kwa midomo ya Bwana mwenyewe. Pentekoste ilikuwa imekuja na kupita. Watu elfu tatu waliokolewa, kisha elfu tano. Na kila mmoja wa waamini hao wapya bado alikuwa katika Yerusalemu. Agizo la kuipeleka Injili hadi Uyahudi, Samaria, na mwisho wa nchi lilikuwa jambo zuri — ilimradi halikumtaka mtu yeyote kuondoka nyumbani.And yet, for all that power, there was a problem. Acts 1:8 had been spoken from the Master's own lips. Pentecost had come and gone. Three thousand were saved, and then five thousand. And every one of those new believers was still in Jerusalem. The command to carry the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth was a fine thing — as long as it did not require anyone to leave home.

Tunapaswa kuwa waaminifu kiasi cha kujiona sisi wenyewe hapa. Ni rahisi kuupenda Agizo Kuu kinadharia na kamwe tusivuke mipaka ya mji wa Yerusalemu wetu wenye starehe. Waamini wa kwanza walikuwa na agizo, nguvu, na ujumbe, na bado walibaki. Mungu ilimbidi awasukume.We must be honest enough to see ourselves here. It is easy to love the Great Commission in the abstract and never cross the city limits of our own comfortable Jerusalem. The first believers had the command, the power, and the message, and still they stayed. God had to move them.

IV. Kutawanywa Maana Yake ni KupandwaIV. Scattered Means Sown

Na kweli aliwasukuma, kupitia moto wa mateso. Stefano alipouawa kama shahidi wa imani, mateso makuu yalizuka, na waamini wakafukuzwa kutoka Yerusalemu. Luka anachagua maneno yake kwa uangalifu. Kitenzi anachokitumia katika Matendo 8:4 kinatokana na shina lenye maana ya kupanda — kutupa mbegu katika shamba lililolimwa, neno lile lile alilolitumia Yesu katika mfano wa mpanzi. Sauli wa Tarso alidhani alikuwa akiharibu vuguvugu. Kwa kweli, alikuwa akipanda mazao. "Basi wale waliotawanyika wakaenda huko na huko, wakilihubiri neno" (Matendo 8:4, SUV).And move them He did, through the fire of persecution. When Stephen was martyred, a great persecution broke out, and the believers were driven out of Jerusalem. Luke chooses his words with care. The verb he uses in Acts 8:4 comes from the root that means to sow — to fling seed across a plowed field, the very word Jesus used in the parable of the sower. Saul of Tarsus thought he was destroying a movement. He was, in fact, planting a crop. "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4, NKJV).

Mateso hayakuifanya Injili itoweke; yaliieneza. Waamini waliopoteza nyumba zao na riziki zao waliubeba ujumbe hadi Uyahudi na Samaria walipokuwa wakikimbia. Filipo alihubiri katika mji mmoja wa Samaria, na baadaye kwa afisa mmoja wa Kushi (Ethiopia) katika barabara ya jangwani. Duara la pili la Matendo 1:8 lilikuwa likijazwa — si kwa kampeni yenye starehe iliyopangwa vizuri, bali na waamini wa kawaida waliotawanyika ambao hawakuweza kuacha kunena habari za Kristo.Persecution did not dissipate the gospel; it disseminated it. The believers who lost their homes and their livelihoods carried the message into Judea and Samaria as they ran. Philip preached in a Samaritan city, and later to an Ethiopian official on a desert road. The second ring of Acts 1:8 was being filled — not by a comfortable, well-planned campaign, but by ordinary scattered believers who could not stop speaking of Christ.

V. Kizuizi KinaangukaV. The Barrier Falls

Kilibaki kizuizi kigumu kuliko vyote — ukuta kati ya Myahudi na Mtu wa Mataifa. Mungu aliubomoa. Alimpa mtume Petro maono juu ya dari ya nyumba huko Yafa, kisha akamtuma nyumbani kwa Kornelio, akida wa Kirumi. Huko Petro alinena maneno yaliyofungua mlango wa Injili kwa ulimwengu wote: "Hakika natambua ya kuwa Mungu hana upendeleo; bali katika kila taifa mtu amchaye na kutenda haki hukubaliwa na yeye" (Matendo 10:34–35, SUV). Roho Mtakatifu aliwashukia watu hao wa Mataifa kama vile alivyowashukia Wayahudi siku ya Pentekoste, na jambo hilo likakatika.There remained the hardest barrier of all — the wall between Jew and Gentile. God tore it down. He gave the apostle Peter a vision on a rooftop in Joppa and then sent him to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. There Peter spoke words that opened the door of the gospel to the whole world: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10:34–35, NKJV). The Holy Spirit fell on those Gentiles just as He had on the Jews at Pentecost, and the matter was settled.

Ilikuwa katika mji mkuu wa watu wa Mataifa wa Antiokia ambapo Injili ilipata kitovu chake kipya, na huko "wanafunzi waliitwa Wakristo kwanza" (Matendo 11:26, SUV). Imani ya Masihi wa Israeli ilikuwa imekuwa imani ya mataifa.It was in the great Gentile city of Antioch that the gospel found its next center of gravity, and there "the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11:26, NKJV). The faith of Israel's Messiah had become the faith of the nations.

VI. Antiokia, Kanisa la Kwanza LililotumaVI. Antioch, the First Sending Church

Sasa duara la tatu linafunguka. Fungua Matendo 13. Antiokia imekuwa mstari wa mbele wa vuguvugu hili, na watu watano wanaliongoza kanisa huko: Barnaba Mkipro, Simeoni aitwaye Nigeri, Lukio Mkirene, Manaeni aliyelelewa katika jumba la kifalme la Herode mwenyewe, na Sauli aliyekuwa mtesaji zamani. Hii ilikuwa timu ya kwanza ya uongozi yenye makabila mbalimbali katika historia ya kanisa, nao walikuwa pamoja wakifunga na kumtumikia Bwana Roho aliposema: "Nitengeeni Barnaba na Sauli kwa kazi ile niliyowaitia" (Matendo 13:2, SUV).Now the third ring opens. Open Acts 13. Antioch has become the cutting edge of the movement, and five men are leading the church there: Barnabas the Cypriot, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been raised in Herod's own palace, and Saul the former persecutor. It was the first multi-ethnic leadership team in the history of the church, and they were together fasting and ministering to the Lord when the Spirit spoke: "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2, NKJV).

Tazama kanisa lilivyofanya. "Ndipo walipokwisha kufunga na kuomba, na kuweka mikono yao juu yao, wakawaacha waende zao" (Matendo 13:3, SUV). Na tazama Luka anavyolieleza katika pumzi inayofuata: "Basi hao, wakiisha kupelekwa na Roho Mtakatifu, wakatelemkia Seleukia" (Matendo 13:4, SUV). Antiokia iliwatuma. Roho Mtakatifu aliwatuma. Yote mawili ni kweli. Hapa ndipo kanisa la kwanza lililotuma, na hapa ndipo mpangilio usiowahi kubadilika: Roho huwaita watenda kazi kutoka katika kusanyiko linaloomba, linalofunga, na linaloabudu, na kanisa huweka mikono juu yao na kuwatuma hadi mwisho wa nchi. Huu ndio mzigo ule ule tuliouona Bwana akiuweka mioyoni mwetu katika Agizo Kuu.Watch what the church did. "Having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away" (Acts 13:3, NKJV). And watch how Luke describes it in the very next breath: "So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia" (Acts 13:4, NKJV). Antioch sent them. The Holy Spirit sent them. Both are true. Here is the first sending church, and here is the pattern that has never changed: the Spirit calls workers out of a praying, fasting, worshiping congregation, and the church lays hands on them and sends them to the end of the earth. This is the same burden we saw the Lord place on our hearts in the Great Commission.

Hitimisho: Sisi Ndio Matendo 29Conclusion: We Are Acts 29

Kitabu cha Matendo kinaishia katikati ya hadithi, Paulo akihubiri huko Rumi, kwa sababu hadithi ilikuwa bado haijaisha. Matendo 1:8 bado ndio mpango wa kanisa. Roho yule yule aliyekuja siku ya Pentekoste bado anatoa nguvu. Duara zile zile — Yerusalemu, Uyahudi na Samaria, mwisho wa nchi — bado zinapanuka kwenda nje, na zimepanuka kiasi cha kutufikia sisi. Mwamini aliye Mexico, mshirika wa kawaida aliyeketi kanisani, mmisionari aliye uwanjani — kila mmoja wetu anasimama katika juzuu hilo refu la pili, akiandika kile tunachoweza kukiita Matendo sura ya 29. Injili bado inaenea, na swali pekee ni kama tutakuwa miongoni mwa wale wanaoibeba.The book of Acts ends in the middle of the story, with Paul preaching in Rome, because the story was not over. Acts 1:8 is still the program of the church. The same Spirit who came at Pentecost still gives power. The same rings — Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the end of the earth — still widen outward, and they have widened far enough to reach us. The believer in Mexico, the lay person in the pew, the missionary on the field — every one of us stands in the long second volume, writing what we might call Acts chapter 29. The gospel is still spreading, and the only question is whether we will be among those who carry it.

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