Destroying The Wall Of Hostility Series

Good morning. Glad to be able to meet up again and remember our Lord together as a Body of Christ. We celebrate God’s goodness and lovingkindness despite the challenges.

• Let us praise God with Psalm 47 before we look into Acts 11.

1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!

3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.

4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.

9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

Yes, Lord, we are here to praise and glorify your Name, our sovereign Lord who is seated enthroned above.

Everything can change, but you remain the same, faithful and true.

Your eternal Word is the foundation of our lives. We come with a longing to hear it and receive what you say today.

Help us understand your Word, this we pray, in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

Let me recap last week message.

• We saw the salvation of the Gentiles when they received the message of the Gospel and believed Christ.

• Salvation is centred on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

• It has nothing to do with race, culture or status nor is it based on a man’s good works.

• Salvation comes to anyone who believes in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin.

• We cannot live the Christian life until we receive a new life from God, evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Let's continue today from Acts 11:1-18 Message: Destroying the Wall of Hostility

1The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."

4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: 5"I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7Then I heard a voice telling me, `Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'

8"I replied, `Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'

9"The voice spoke from heaven a second time, `Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

11"Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. 13He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, `Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'

15"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: `John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"

18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

The news of what happened at Cornelius’ house got around, but instead of scenes of celebrations at the conversion of the Gentiles, we saw unhappiness.

• We have to understand the context. This was not something acceptable to them.

• The Jewish believers have been brought up practising Judaism and believing the Messiah to be a Jewish Messiah. Foreigners have no part in it.

• If any non-Jews want to believe their God, they have to become proselytes (pros sir lite), that is, convert to Judaism and observe the Mosaic Law and Jewish customs.