THE MAIN IDEA –
Spirit power – This is only the beginning. We should serve the gospel with all boldness and without hindrance for three reasons.

THE GOSPEL PROMISES HOPE –
Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ brings with it a powerful hope for living even in this dark world. Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us face to face with reality. Seeing reality in the light of the gospel fills us up with a powerful and sustaining hope in this life. And the world is hungry for hope, which is evident in three ways. The world is hungry for traditional values; the world is hungry for community; and the world is hungry for Jesus. Many people don’t realize that a relationship with Jesus is what they are hungering for, but also many people do. Jesus said, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). The fields are ripe for harvest because the world is hungry for hope, and the gospel promises hope in Christ Jesus.

THE GOSPEL PROMISES ETERNAL LIFE –
In proving that Jesus is the Messiah, Paul was teaching on passages of Scripture that point to the suffering and the resurrection of the Messiah for the redemption of the world, which Jesus Himself claimed (Luke 24:46-47). The fact that Jesus suffered, was crucified, and was resurrected are historical events. And of course, for skeptics, the problem is the resurrection. And yet, people are willing to believe in evolution or aliens, even though the historical proof for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is much stronger. The resurrection is not the gospel, but the historical event that points to the gospel: That by the grace of God, because of His great love for us, He has acted decisively to save all of humanity through faith in Jesus Christ alone, apart from any rule of law or any human performance. Jesus came down to us to do for us what no one can do for themselves, which is to free us from the brokenness and the mess of sin in this world and in our lives, so that we might live in communion with God through His Spirit—to live in the power and the hope of eternal life, an eternal life that begins right here in this life through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ

THE GOSPEL PROMISES SUCCESS –
After all the near-death experiences that Paul had been through on his mission trips, after the endless trials of chapters 22–26 and the violent storm of chapter 27, the only way that Paul could even be in Rome teaching the gospel with all boldness and without hindrance under the protective custody of the Roman Empire is because of the sovereign hand of God. Salvation belongs to our God. And if our God wants the gospel to reach the ends of the earth, then the gospel will reach the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 is a prophesy and a promise by Jesus that “My followers will be my witnesses here, there, and everywhere—to the ends of the earth.” And the only question for the disciples was, were they going to follow Jesus and participate with Him in His Great Commission to the ends of the earth? And they did! And so did Paul. And as we launch house church, Jesus is not asking, “Will you be my witnesses through house church?” Jesus is promising and prophesying that if we follow Him, we will be His witnesses through our house church ministry. Because the fact that we are launching six house churches on January 12 is the culmination of everything that God has been doing and continues to do in our community to make us into servants of His gospel.

Discussion:
In what ways have you noticed that the world is hungry for traditional values? For community? For Jesus?