Acts, Chapter 29

Hebrews 1:1-2

"Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son."

Once upon a time, God spoke through the prophets. He punished people for turning from him, and sent them into the wilderness and banished them to far away places so that he could renew his covenant after a time. This never worked. The process repeated itself over and over, man was simply too fallible, only made like God not perfection like God himself. There were only rules and guidelines, no good examples to follow. 

Finally God knew the only way to fix the cycle was to make a covenant that would not be broken. A final covenant that covered all wrong and imperfections and a perfect example of what His plan for humanity looked like. A walking example of what he wanted his humans to be here on earth, still knowing we would mess it up. 

Jeremiah 32:40

 "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me."

His final covenant was Jesus. He no longer needed prophets of old to speak to people, Jesus carried his message as far as he could, leaving it with those who would write it down. When he left, we were given one more gift. The Holy Spirit. Jesus bestowed upon the world the Spirit of the Living God to dwell among us in his absence, to live in us and among us, helping us to discern and hear for ourselves that which God would want us to hear. 

Acts 1:8

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Years ago, while visiting a friend's church, the series that weekend was titled "The 29th chapter of Acts." Well, I looked it up to double check that day and there is no 29th chapter of Acts. Of course every sermon series has a key takeaway, and I have never forgotten this one. The book of Acts describes the many who take the message of Jesus all over the land closely following his death and resurrection. But the message shouldn't stop at chapter 28, the actual last chapter of the book, and certainly hasn't. The 29th chapter is ours to write. We should continue to be led by the Holy Spirit. Today, we continue to live out the great commission.

The spirit is the link between the Lord and us. It makes God living among us. The more we know Him, and we do this through reading his word and the words of Christ that have been passed down to us, the more we understand His leading and message in our lives.  

He no longer speaks only through prophets, but through Jesus, and now through his Spirit. We are saved from God's wrath and banishment by the new covenant he made with Jesus's sacrifice, and we are freed from the old law by the Holy Spirit that intercedes in our hearts to bring us God's message of love, faithfulness and compassion. At the same time, we are called as ministers to live this out in our lives in whatever ways we have been individually gifted to do so. 

2 Corinthians 3:6

" He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life."

This then becomes our task: we pay attention to our gifts, to the ways we have been made unique in the eyes of God. Then can we each show his love to the world and to those close to us, ministering with words, with relationships, with quiet moments of connection, with loud proclamations of God's awesomeness or in any other way we feel led. God has individually gifted us to each be His ministers, each day, in everyday life, both in big ways and small. This then is how we live out the grand commission. To love, and to go! We write Acts chapter 29!