THE EXPANSION VISION OF GOD
Acts 10:9-22
There is a poem entitled “A Prayer For the Future” quoted by Sir Frances Drake, it said and I quote,
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. - Bible.org
This poem quoted by Sir Frances Drake from a missionary prayer letter of Jeannie Curryer. Although the reason for writing it was not given, but the idea in the poem is clear in what Ms. Curryer was trying to say. It is warning us against futuristic complacencies that can get in the way of us being courageous and having hope. It start with disturb us, Lord...
In our lesson today we will hear about God’s vision for expansion. Now although we give Peter credit for the vision and rightfully so, we must understand that technically this vision is influenced by the Lord. The reason I say that technically it is the Lord’s vision is because Peter had been a devout Jew all of his life and being a Jew he had certain prejudice that was supported by the Law of Moses against the Gentiles. Now although Peter was a disciple of Jesus Christ, he still had some basic Jewish ways about himself. In other words, you can take the man out of the law, but you cannot take the law out of the man. But thanks be to God for The Lord’s vision, and in Ephesians 2:14 the Apostle Paul is found saying, “For He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Paul is letting us know that the Lord is able to break down our prejudices for the sake of the gospel.
Our text opens up with Cornelius sending three of his men to Joppa in search for Peter. And as they drew near the city, Peter is led to a rooftop for pray, after all it was the sixth hour. Verse 10 says that Peter became very hungry and as they made ready, he fell into a trance. Now this when the Lord started sharing with Peter His vision to expand the boundaries of the gospel to the land of the Gentiles.
So, let take a look at this lesson.
First of all...
1. PETER HAD TO BE PREPARED FOR THE MISSION (Vv. 9,10)
“On the next day, as they went on their journey, and drew near the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. 10. And he became very hungry, and would have eaten, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,”
As we see in the text Peter is now on the rooftop praying at the sixth hour. As he was praying he became hungry, and while waiting on his meal, fell into a trance. Now I need you to understand that Peter was not just day dreaming, the text said that he fell into a trance. In fact he was captured by what he saw. I think I need to make known the difference in a trance and daydreaming. Day dreaming usually consist of pleasant thoughts and relaxing oasis. Trances are usually intense and mesmerizing. It was in this trance that the Lord had to have Peter’s undivided attention concerning the direction He was about to take him. So, He simply put him into a trance. Let us understand that the trance came in three parts. The first is he saw the heavens opening up and a certain vessel descending unto him like a great sheet coming down towards the earth, secondly, he saw all the four-footed animals on the earth which included the wild beast, creeping things and the fowls of the air, which many of them were not allowed by the Mosaic Law to eat. Finally he heard a voice saying, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.
In Scofield’s notes it said that although this vision is admittedly symbolic, Peter’s experience recorded here was a definite revelation to him that God had made a major change in His dealings with mankind. So in this vision Peter is getting a personal look at God’s expansion plan.
Secondly...
2. PETER HAD TO BE REMINDED OF THE SOVEREIGNNESS OF GOD (Vv.14,15)
“But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. 15. And the voice spoke unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
As we look into this text we should see as Peter should have seen the sovereign power of God. In His sovereignness He can do what ever He wants to do, whenever He want to, the reason is because He is God. Now if Peter’s words were different, I might had been able to argue Peter’s case, but Peter made one mistake. He said in verse 14, “Not so, Lord”. You see if he would not had said that then I might’ve had room for argument, but that is not the case. He acknowledged the person behind the voice as Lord, and that is when the voice reminded him of His sovereignness. Another thing we should consider is that the Lord was trying to show Peter that he is no longer under the Mosaic law, but he is now under grace, and under grace he is now free to eat whatever pleases him. Now we shouldn’t be too hard on Peter because from time to time we to question His sovereignness. We ask why do we have natural disasters? Why in the greatest country in the world, do we have homelessness? Why did my love one have to die? It is because of what God allows. Does God find pleasure in it? I don’t think so, but He allows it to happen. So Peter had to be reminded of God’s sovereignness, and he cannot call what God has cleansed, unclean.
Finally...
3. PETER HAD TO BE REMINDED THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS IN CONTROL (Vv.19,20)
“While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20. Arise, therefore, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
One thing that confuse many believers is that many of us do not know when the Lord is speaking to us. We should be disturbed because we the sheep should know the Shepherd’s voice. I too occasionally have that problem, and it is not that we simply don’t believe what He is saying, we are just questioning what He is asking us to do. Case in the point, Peter being a faithful Jew knew the voice of the Lord, that is why he addressed him in verse 14 as Lord. But he questioned what he saw, then what the Lord had instructed him to do and that was to rise, kill and eat. Peter being a Jew that kept the law found this hard to believe, even though he knew that Jesus had set him free. But yet he is found doubting the vision that he had. That is when the Spirit had to remind him of who was in control. Look at the text and I paraphrase. While Peter thought on the vision the Spirit said to him, arise, therefore and go with the three men, doubting nothing, because I have sent them. What the Spirit was really saying to Peter was, go with them because you have been chosen to be the first to teach a Gentile about the gospel of Jesus Christ. One thing the Christian Church has to know is that we have to be available to be used by the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION
Well before I take my seat , I’m glad that Peter was found F. A. T. in this lesson. To those who don’t know what F. A. T. is, they are the acronym for Faithful, Available, and Teachable.
First, I’m glad that he was faithful to the Spirits call to go to Cornelius.
Secondly, I’m glad that he was available to teach Cornelius the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
And finally, I’m glad that Peter was teachable, to receive the new direction in ministry.
In closing Tim Hansel wrote in his book, Holy Sweat, these words...
God uses what you have, to fill a need which
you never could have filled.
God uses where you are, to take you where
you never could have gone.
God uses what you can do, to accomplish what
you never could have done.
God uses who you are, to let you become who
you never could have been.
