“He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance.”
Acts 28:31
The book of Acts reveals the story of the church developing and moving forward in supernatural ways for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
Following the narrative in every detail, one witnesses the unstoppable force of the redeemed people of God moving forward in tremendous success (by God’s holy standards). The Gospel books of the New Testament unveil the incarnate ministry of Jesus, historically documented and divinely detailed, demonstrating the seeds of the Kingdom powerful sown among the earth. In the Book of Acts, those seeds bring forth much fruit through the church’s witness of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And in this, the church was indeed unstoppable.
In the very last verse of Acts, an extremely pivotal figure of the witness of Christ – the Apostle Paul, demonstrated this story of the church in a very personal and practical way. The closing context of the Acts Narrative locates Paul in Rome under house Arrest. I love this scene. Paul is limited physically in his contact with the populace. But the power of the Gospel continued. It is not said that he went anywhere other than his own lodging, living as a guarded man. He did not go to synagogues (which was a common and loved practice of the apostle), nor any other place for that matter. But many came to him, and he taught the Gospel and the truths of the Kingdom. The care of the churches was also heavy upon him (2 Corinthians 11:28), and he kept up an active correspondence of letters and messages and was blessed by faithful co-laborers around him (Luke; Timotheus; Tychicus; John Mark; Demas; Aristarchus; Epaphras; Onesimus). As the grand narrative of Acts closes, we discover something personal in Paul’s life that emphasized the ongoing nature and ministry of the church. The restraints laid upon the apostle and his ministry had not stopped anything, but only turned his influence into a new channel. Today, any restraints laid upon the people of God and His church do not stop any work, but turns the glorious influence of the church into new channels. And like Paul’s final example recorded in the Acts Narrative, this remains a reality for the church as we focus on three truths:
1. The story of Jesus – the Gospel – creates a movement and not an institution. Today, the movement and ministry of the church has the potential to be as strong now as in the book of Acts because the presence of the Holy Spirit remains with God’s church and within God’s people. (Author and professor Beverly Gaventa writes, “Acts should have as the subtitle, not the ‘Acts of the Apostles’, but the ‘Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Church’.”).
2. The follower of Christ is as an ambassador for the Kingdom of Christ. The true church is always on mission because the church is always deploying her members into the world to make a difference through faith in Jesus. Each one in the church is an ambassador – a true Kingdom representative, who has received the message and ministry of reconciliation: God’s redemptive love for mankind through Jesus. “
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
3. The highest interest is always the ministry and work of Christ. There was an unhindered movement of the church in Acts and among witnesses like Paul because the ultimate goal was the promotion of the mission of God in Christ. In Philippians 4:22, Paul sent greetings to Philippi from the believers in Caesars household. This indicates that the movement of Jesus was alive and well, even in Paul’s confinement. And the reason this was so was because the mission of Jesus always had precedence over every concern, notion, or hindrance that attempted to distract the people of God.
Today, you may not be confined in Rome, but you may nonetheless feel confined. Against such feelings, remember that the Kingdom of God – of which you are a significant part, is indeed unshakable (Hebrews 12:28). The whole narrative of the church from beginning to end is indeed a movement of the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and not merely an institution. Each one in the church is an ambassador for the kingdom, and every word, action, deed, or prayer has the God-ordained potential to help move His church forward. As each follower of Jesus keeps the mission of God as the highest interest, much can happen for the kingdom in and through our individual lives as well as our corporate lives. In this way, the church continues to be effective among this present culture, and Jesus Christ is truly exalted.
Today, remember, any restraint laid upon your life doesn’t stop anything, but only channels your influence for the kingdom in new and exciting ways. Stay encouraged and stay strong all you who are of the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Ken
