Read Acts 10 (long text but needed for context)
The question for today, the title of this message is….Can God Himself Change Your Mind? And on the end of that question we could add such things as…. Can God Himself Change Your Mind about what you believe to be true in the Bible? Can God change your mind about people and race…Can God Change Your Mind about your point of view…in an effort to see His Point of view?
This morning our Journey through Acts brings us to a very important crossroads…this is a turning point for the Gospel. This awesome news about Jesus and the resurrection and this New Life has to this point been preached exclusively to the Jews….that doesn’t mean there weren’t Gentile believers because our passage is going to give us a great example of a Gentile believer that God uses to open Peter’s eyes….but so far, the main focus has been on preaching to the Jews. God has a new set of marching orders for the church.
1. Who is Cornelius? V. 1-7
Cornelius was stationed in Caesarea, about 30 miles North of Joppa, was built by Herod the Great from 25 to 13 BC, it had become the capital of Judea. There was a special unit stationed there, soldiers known as the Italian cohort, around 1,000 men in this unit, and Cornelius, a centurion was commanding a group of 100 men.
Some Gentiles in those days were tired of the foolishness and immorality of the religions of Rome and Greece. Many, including Cornelius, found something better in the teaching of the synagogues and accepted the truth of the one true God who is Holy, righteous, and good.
The writer, Luke, calls Cornelius “devout”. In other words, he was right in his attitudes toward both God and man and by grace was living a godly life. He had also led his whole household into this relationship with God, not only his family, but also his servants and some of his soldiers.
3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
Without a doubt, God saw the desire of Cornelius’ heart, he was a man who prayed at the same time the Jews held their prayers, and during this time, an Angel of the Lord appeared to on Simon him…and Cornelius, startled, immediately understood this was from the Lord…. “What is it, Lord?” We see that God sends a message through the Angel, the angel directs Cornelius to send men to Joppa to summon Simon…or who we know as Peter…..Cornelius did what was asked.
God is preparing the way for the Gospel to be shared to all people; he is using an unlikely character in Cornelius, a gentile Roman Military Centurion….we need to remember this truth. God is always at work around us, and we need to be open to what He is doing, even if things don’t happen like we think they should. Peter is about to have his whole religious life turned upside down…
Have you ever had your life turned upside down? How will you respond to life changing events in your life….will you trust God? Or will you blame God for messing up your comfort?
2. Peter’s Life is interrupted big time. V. 9-16
In this story, we can see God’s hand at work, preparing each side for what He has planned. How many of you know that God is always at work, preparing not only your heart for His plan, but also working on the other side, todays passage is a perfect example.
Peter is doing the same thing Cornelius was doing…Peter was on a roof praying during this 3pm prayer time. Remember who Peter is, he is an apostle who was with Jesus, he was a Jew who carried out the Jewish customs and he was very careful to follow the Jewish laws and regulations, in an effort to please God. This kind of religious behavior was what he knew, he was doing what he believed to be correct, the keeping of the laws and regulations represented a special relationship with the Almighty…they did these things to Please God.
During Peter’s prayer, He is in the spirit, like most men, he was hungry, he saw a sheet coming down, and this sheet was filled with all kinds of wild animals, reptiles, birds of the air….these were not the domesticated animals that were considered clean by the law of Moses, and they were all mixed together, again not adhering to the separation that is required by the law.
Have you ever wondered why God gave the Israelites all these rules and restrictions? The main reason is simple; these rules were included by God so that there might be a distinction between and even a separation of the Jews from the heathen nations around them.
This vision was telling Peter that the distinction between Jew and Gentile was abolished at the Cross. This is important for us to grasp. For all of us Non-Jews, this is really good news….the Gospel message is for all people, and God was getting ready to ask Peter to do something that went completely against what he had been trained….Peter was going to have a big choice….follow God or follow his traditions and his old way of thinking.
12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
3. Peter’s response to God’s call……v. 13-23
Can you imagine Peter’s feeling to this command to do something he had been told since he was a child was wrong for him to do…Peter needed to respond, his first response was almost a knee jerk reaction, he reacted out of habit….. “Surely not, Lord” Maybe he was thinking it was a test, but God wouldn’t let it go….the voice spoke to him again…“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened 3 more times, God was emphatic, God was making sure Peter knew what He wanted, He made it crystal clear. Do you think the number 3 has any significance with Peter? Didn’t he deny Christ 3 times? Didn’t Christ ask Peter 3 times to feed his sheep? Don’t you know Peter understood the command clearly when God again spoke to him in this way?
Peter had enough discernment to understand this vision was symbolic. The fact that he “doubted” means that it was difficult to understand what the vision meant. The Holy Spirit was playing a major role in this whole story, first with Cornelius and his obedience, and now with Peter, as the Spirit is bringing light to Peter’s mind on what God is wanting from him.
Are we hearing the Holy Spirit clearly in our daily lives? Are we allowing new light, new understanding to be a part of our Christian life? As we grow, we gain new ground, new understanding, and as a result, some of those things we used to believe need to be allowed to fall away.
Peter was going to be asked to take a step of faith and obedience in response to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God did not let Peter wonder for very long what this vision meant…the men sent by Cornelius had already asked the way to Simon’s house and were standing at the gate.
How many of you know God’s timing is perfect in all his dealings? This was a critical time in the life of the church, but God is in control.
You may be disappointed to say the least about the elections, like I am…but make no mistake, God is in control. Someone told me this week that this must be what God wanted to happen….I reminded them that what God wants and what God allows to happen are two different things. The Bible speaks directly to these kinds of things, Remember when the Israelites demanded a king but God wanted them to look to Him as their true King, but they continued to demand, he gave them what they wanted and many years of destruction and division followed.
As a Nation, when we vote for leaders that are promoting abortion and Gay marriage, along with pushing a socialist agenda…. God will allow it, but we must prepare for the consequences of our choice…remember God will judge nations….our job as Christians is to continue to be the Light because it’s going to get darker…our Nation, our friends and co-workers need to see the people of the Light more than ever. Don’t lose heart, God is always at work, His timing is perfect…We need to trust Him.
Peter was going to be put to the test right away….for a Jew to allow Gentiles into their home for a meal, and to stay the night was a big NO NO. But Peter, casting aside his doubts and his old way of thinking, allows the Holy Spirit to lead, he invites the strangers into his house and listens to their side of what God is doing, he eats with them and has them stay overnight before leaving with them the next day.
Peter knew this was going to cause a stir, he takes 6 trusted men with him to go to Cornelius house, the law required 3 testimonies, and he doubled up so that there would be no question to what was taking place.
When Paul enters the house of the Centurion, he and all his companions are again breaking the Mosaic law….Peter was without stepping out of his comfort zone, but he was doing exactly what God instructed and what God wanted. God was up to something major…a major shift, and God was using the obedience of Peter, that hard headed disciple, to be the one to lead the charge into the unknown. God was opening the door for the Gospel to be taken to all men, all women, all races, to the whole world. We know this was God’s plan from the beginning, but for Peter, this was a major shift in what he had known….we need some modern day Peter’s …Men and Women willing to be obedient to what God is doing, even if it takes them out of their comfort zones.
This story, this truth can take us so many places in our growing as Christians.
Some of you were raised in raciest homes….God’s word is clear that all barriers have been broken down…
Galatians 3:27-29
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Like Peter, we need to be open to what God is doing, and many times this new activity will not match up with what we had in mind…will we be obedient?
Has God been calling out to you on something specific that he wants for you? It took Peter at least 3 times, how many times has it been for you? Obedience is what God desires for us….will you say yes to Him?
Today, I believe we need to respond to what God is speaking to our hearts….respond this morning to Him…come and let Him speak to you, and you say yes to Him….
