Peter's Vision: Breaking Down Walls Series

Peter’s Vision: Breaking Down Walls

Text: Acts 10:9-23

Introduction

1. Illustration: “Preacher isn't talkin' 'bout religion no more

He just wants to praise the Lord

People aren't as stuffy as they were before

They just want to praise the Lord

And it's very plain to see

It's not the way it used to be

They're talkin' 'bout revival and the need for love

That little church has come alive

Workin' with each other for the common good

Puttin' all the past aside

Long hair, short hair, some coats and ties

People finally comin' around

Lookin' past the hair and straight into the eyes

People finally comin' around

And it's very plain to see

It's not the way it used to be.”

2. Like the song states, we’ve got to look past the hair and straight into the eyes. We’ve got to look past the outward appearance and look into the heart that needs Jesus.

3. Read Acts 10:9-23

Transition: To reach people different from us requires…

I. Opening Minds (9-16).

A. God Has Made It Clean

1. While Peter was staying at the house of Simon the tanner, God was about to show him things that were going to change not only his mind, but also his heart. In vv. 9-10 Luke tells us, “The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.”

a. Like Cornelius, Peter was also a man of prayer. He prayed in the morning and the evening. However, he also prayed at mid-day as well.

b. So, at noon time he went up on the roof to pray.

c. The houses in Palestine had flat roofs that were accessed by staircases that were on the outside of the house.

d. This gave people the chance to get away from the dust and noise of the street, and the homeowner would also usually provide some sort of awning for shade during the hot part of the day.

e. So, that’s where Peter went to pray, and while he was praying the noon meal was being prepared, which was a good thing because Peter was hungry.

f. While he was praying, he fell into a trance. The Greek word translated “trance” is the word from which we get our English word “ecstasy,” so, the Lord was putting Peter into a state of relaxation for Peter to receive the message he was about to give him.

2. While he was in the trance, “He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” 14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

a. In this vision, the skies opened up and a large sheet was let down from heaven.

b. In the sheet were all kinds of animals, including reptiles and birds.

c. The problem for Peter is that there were animals on this sheet that weren’t kosher, and as a Jew, he was forbidden to eat them.

d. However, the voice that spoke to him told him to get up kill them and eat.

e. Of course, Peter responds with a firm “no, Lord!” You’ll notice the use of the word “Lord” here indicating that Peter knew he was speaking to the Lord himself.

f. Peter told the Lord he had never eaten anything considered unclean and he wasn’t about to start now.

3. Next, the Lord responds to Peter’s objection. In vv. 15-16 it says, “But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.”

a. The Lord tells Peter not to call something unclean that God has already made it clean.

b. The word “unclean” appears 5 times in chapters 10-11. In v. 15 it means to stop calling things unclean that God has declared clean.

c. However, Peter, being the thick-headed person that he was, had to have the message repeated 3 times.

d. But let’s not be too hard on Peter, for as a Jew this would have been a tough pill to swallow.

e. He was telling Peter everything he learned about dietary laws all his life were now null and void.

f. Consequently, not only was God going to change Peter’s mind concerning food, but he was also going to change Peter’s mind about people.

B. God Looks at the Heart

1. “Change will come into our lives when we change the way we look at people, when we have the same love and compassion for people that God does.”