Turning Point
Text: Acts 10:23-48
Introduction
1. Illustration: On July 1-3, 1863 was the turning point of the American Civil War, and the turning point of our nation. It took place in the quite farming town of Gettysburg, PA. Abraham Lincoln summed up its importance in just 272 words. His address begins, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
2. Today we will look at another turning point in history...the history of the Christian Church. It too is summed up in an address, this time by the Apostle Peter at the house of Cornelius.
3. Peter's visit to the house of Cornelius was the...
A. Turning Point In Relationships
B. Turning Point In The Church
C. Turning Point In God's Promise
4. Let's stand together as we read Acts 10:23-48.
Proposition: The Gospel is for everyone who will receive it.
Transition: Peter's visit to Cornelius's house was the...
I. Turning Point In Relationships (23-33).
A. But God Has Shown Me
1. Peter had received a vision from God that rocked his world. Yet he didn't let it hold him back, because as we can see in our text he responded immediately.
2. Look at vv 23-24, "So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa. 24 They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends."
A. The conversation in the tanner's house that evening must have been an interesting one, with many of the Joppa believers joining in the discussion of the strange visions.
B. Six of the Joppa believers accompanied Peter to Caesarea the next day—a wise decision in view of the questions that would later be raised at Jerusalem.
C. So the party of ten set out for Caesarea. It apparently took them longer to cover the thirty miles than the messengers had taken earlier because they did not get to Caesarea till the following day.
D. Cornelius was expecting them and had drawn together a group of relatives and close friends to hear Peter (Tenney, The Expositor's Bible Commentary – Volume 9: John and Acts, 390).
3. Not only does Peter show by his obedience to go that he had accepted the vision, but also in what he does when he gets to Cornelius's house. Luke tells us, "As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!”
A. As Peter was brought into the centurion's home past the gatehouse and then into the courtyard, Cornelius came from his living quarters to meet him.
B. Cornelius fell at Peter's feet and offered him "reverence" (proskyneo, a word used for homage offered to deity, to angels, and to men)—doubtless an expression of his belief that there was something supernatural about Peter.
C. But Peter, not only unaccustomed to such honors but brought up to consider them blasphemous, ordered him to stand up and assured him: "I am only a man myself" (Tenney, 390).
D. Notice that Peter doesn't belittle him or look down upon him, rather he accepts Cornelius as an equal.
4. Once he was inside the house, "Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. 29 So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”
A. In Cornelius's living quarters Peter found a large group waiting to hear what he had to say.
B. Perhaps self-consciously, he began by saying that Jewish law prohibited a Jew from associating with Gentiles. For such contacts made a Jew ceremonially unclean, as did entering Gentiles' buildings or touching their possessions.
C. Above all, it was forbidden to accept the hospitality of Gentiles and eat with them, particularly because Gentiles did not tithe.
D. Scrupulous Jews were not even permitted to be guests of a Jewish commoner, much less of a Gentile.
E. But God in a vision, Peter said, had taught him not to call anyone impure or unclean; so now he was associating with them without reservation. Then he asked, "May I ask why you sent for me?" (Tenney, 390).
5. It was then that Peter found out that he was not the only to receive a vision. "Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31 He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! 32 Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”
A. Cornelius told all about his vision and described how he sent for Peter and invited him to relate "the message Lord has given you."
B. Few preachers have ever had a more receptive audience than Peter had on this occasion.
C. The reference to "three in the afternoon" is probably not meant to specify the time of evening prayer in Judaism but to express a circumstance of importance to Cornelius, that the vision happened "at this very hour."
D. Also significant is that Luke's repetition of the details of Cornelius's vision and of the details of Peter's vision serve an important function in this transition in the Book of Acts (Tenney, 390-391).
E. It was indeed a turning point! A turning point between Jews and Gentiles and how they treat one another.
B. Everyone Who Calls On The Name Of The Lord
1. Illustration: Warsaw, Poland. He wanted to know if it would be possible for a group of Christians from Germany to come to Poland to apologize for the brutality inflicted upon the Poles during the war.
The Polish Christians, to a man, refused to even consider such a meeting. "The wounds are still too fresh," one of the men said, with considerable pain in his voice. "Every stone in Warsaw is stained with Polish blood from a German bullet or bayonet."
The German Christian accepted their answer, and asked, "Before I go, could we say the Lord’s prayer together?" and the agreed to his request.
They all began to recite the beautiful prayer found in Matthew 6, but when they got the part that says, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive…," there was silence.
No one could go on. Then, the Polish Christian who had been the most vehement in his rejection said, "This is difficult, but if I cannot begin to forgive, I cannot pray the prayer."
A year later, the groups met. The healing had begun.
2. The Gospel calls us to accept one another the way Christ has accepted us...unconditionally!
A. Romans 15:7 (NLT)
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
B. Jesus did not accept us after we got it together.
C. Jesus did not accept us after he cleaned us up.
D. He accepted us as is...full of sin and faults.
E. He accepted us as rebels to his Word.
F. He accepted us as sinners in need of grace.
G. If he has accepted us this way, so we need to accept others.
H. We need to accept others with all of their faults, sins, and problems.
I. If Jesus accepted us as we are, then we need to accept others as they are too!
Transition: Secondly, Peter's visit to Cornelius's house was the...
II. Turning Point In The Church (34-43).
A. He Accepts Those Who Fear Him
1. Peter's visit to Cornelius's house was a turning point in the Church in that it demonstrated the Gospel was for everyone. Until then the Gospel was preached only to the Jews, but from then on it would be open to all who called upon the Lord.
2. Peter begins his message to those gathered at Cornelius's by saying, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right."
A. Peter's sermon at the house of Cornelius is a landmark in the history of the Early Church.
B. From its beginning, he indicates that now he is fully aware of the meaning of his repeated vision given on the rooftop.
C. And in Luke's eyes what Peter was about to say was indeed momentous in sweeping away centuries of racial prejudice. It begins by Peter's statement that God does not show racial "favoritism" (Tenney, 392).
D. This word means, "one who unjustly treats one person better than another" (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains, (New York: United Bible Societies, 1989).
E. Peter stresses that this is not something that God does, only people.
F. In every nation, those who worship and reverence God and do what is right (give operation to righteousness as evidence of the divine grace they have received by faith) are acceptable to Him (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary, 203).
3. Peter then reminds those listening about how the truth about Jesus began. He says, "You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism."
A. Peter reminds Cornelius and his friends of the message ("the word," NASB; see Ps. 107:20) God sent to Israel, proclaiming "the good news [the gospel] of peace through Jesus Christ."
B. Peace with God comes only through Jesus. At this point, Peter cannot help interjecting that Jesus is "Lord of all," that is, of all people everywhere—Gentiles as well as Jews.
C. He removed the barriers between Jews and Gentiles and those between humanity and God (Horton, 204).
4. Peter then continues saying, "You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. 38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
A. "You know" is emphatic in the Greek here (humeis oidate, "you, you know"). This means they knew the facts about Jesus, including the promise of the Holy Spirit.
B. Possibly they had heard Philip preach. In any case, Peter recognized that someone had given them the message, for it was preached through all Judea beginning from Galilee after the baptism John had preached.
C. No one who attended the synagogues could have escaped hearing about it. The message was Jesus himself, Jesus of Nazareth.
D. After John had baptized Him, God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and mighty power.
E. This Jesus "went around doing good" deeds and "healing all who were under the power of the devil."
F. God had not only identified Jesus as His Son when John baptized Him (as all four Gospels remind us), "God was with Him" (Horton, 204).
5. Then Peter acknowledges that he and the other Apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus' death and resurrection. “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, 41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead."
A. Peter then adds, "We [meaning the apostles rather than the believers from Joppa] are witnesses of everything He did in Judea and in Jerusalem."
B. Then Peter goes on with the message: they killed and hung on a "cross." In contrast to what men did to Jesus, God "raised" (resurrected) Him on the third day.
C. Then God (lit.) "allowed Him to be plainly seen"—not to "the general public" but to witnesses chosen by God beforehand, namely, to Peter and the others who "ate and drank with him after he rose from [out from among] the dead."
D. This was concrete proof of the reality of Christ's resurrection body. He was not a bodiless spirit, not a ghost, not a figment of their imagination, but a very real Person with whom they had fellowship (Horton, 205).
6. Then Peter tells them about the Great Commission. He says, "And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”
A. Because of Christ's command these witnesses were proclaiming this good news to the people and solemnly testifying that Jesus was "appointed [designated] as judge of the living and the dead."
B. By this Peter did not mean the spiritually living and the spiritually dead. Rather, Jesus is and will be judge of all who have ever or will ever live on earth. This bears out what Jesus said in John 5:22, "'The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.'"
C. Therefore, just as Jesus is the Mediator between God and humankind in redemption, so He will be in judgment.
D. Then, as he usually did, Peter brought in the witness of the prophets. Their witness as a whole gives further proof that whoever believes in Jesus receives "forgiveness of sins through his name"—by His authority and because of who He is (the crucified and risen Savior) (Horton, 205-206).
B. All Nations
1. Illustration: There's a wonderful story about a Chicago bank that once asked for a letter of recommendation on a young Bostonian being considered for employment. The Boston investment house could not say enough about the young man. His father, they wrote, was a Cabot; his mother was a Lowell. Further back was a happy blend of Saltonstalls, Peabodys, and other of Boston's first families. His recommendation was given without hesitation. Several days later, the Chicago bank sent a note saying the information supplied was altogether inadequate. It read: "We are not contemplating using the young man for breeding purposes. Just for work." Neither is God a respecter of persons but accepts those from every family, nation, and race who fear Him and work for His kingdom (Acts 10:34-35).
2. The Gospel if for all who believe and accept Jesus!
A. Revelation 7:9-10 (NLT)
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”
B. In heaven no one will ask you about the color of your skin.
C. In heaven no one will ask about your nationality.
D. In heaven no one will ask you about your social standing.
E. In heaven no one will ask you about your political party.
F. No the only question they will ask you in heaven is do you love Jesus!
Transition: Thirdly, Peter's visit to Cornelius's house was the...
III. Turning Point In God's Promise (44-48).
A. For They Heard Them Speaking In Tongues
1. When we began our study of the Book of Acts there were a number of things that we established about this book.
A. When Luke talks about "The Promise," he is talking about the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
B. The initial evidence of receiving this baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues.
C. Nowhere in Acts is this more evident then at the house of Cornelius.
2. Peter has something happen that every Pentecostal preacher dreams of. Luke tells us, "Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message."
A. While Peter was still speaking "these words" (Gk. rhēmata), there came an unexpected interruption from heaven.
B. The Holy Spirit fell suddenly and powerfully on all who heard "the message" (Gk. ton logon). They received the promise that Jesus gave to His disciples. This identified them as true believers (Horton, 206).
C. Luke is saying that it was this phrase that struck like a thunderbolt into the consciousness of the assembled Gentiles, releasing their pent-up emotions and emboldening them to respond by faith.
D. With the promise of forgiveness offered "through his name" and to "everyone who believes in him," they were given a reason for hoping beyond their fondest hopes.
E. And with their reception of that inclusive message, the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentile congregation gathered there just as he had come upon the disciples at Pentecost (Tenney, 394).
3. Now what happens next, and notice how they knew the Holy Spirit filled them. Luke says, "The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God."
A. The six Jewish believers (hoi ek peritomes pistoi, "the circumcised believers") who were there with Peter were astonished at what they saw and heard.
B. For in accepting these Gentiles and bestowing his Holy Spirit on them, God had providentially attested his action by the same sign of tongues as at Pentecost (Tenney, 394).
C. Three elements relate this occurrence to what happened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17, 33): (1) the verb describing the manifestation of the Spirit, "poured out" (Gk. ekcheō), (2) their speaking with tongues (languages), and (3) those tongues magnifying God.
D. This evidence clearly convinced these Jewish believers. It also shows that the Pentecostal experience can be repeated (Horton, 206).
E. With this verse we do not have to wonder what they viewed as evidence of Holy Spirit baptism; they come right out and says it, "For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God."
F. Furthermore, this showed them that God accepted the Gentiles too because he had given these Gentiles the same gift they received at Pentecost!
4. Then Peter takes it a step further when he says, “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days."
A. Peter recognized this as further confirmation that these Gentile believers were not only accepted by God but were made part of the Church.
B. The Holy Spirit at Pentecost was poured out on believers who were already identified as the Church and as the temple of the Holy Spirit.
C. With this kind of evidence, who could "keep [them] from being baptized with [in] water?"
D. Their experience in receiving the Spirit was exactly the same as that of the Jewish believers. From this we can see that these Gentiles, whose hearts were prepared by the angel's message, believed and were saved while Peter was preaching.
E. They then were ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Acts 11:15-17 describes this baptism in the Holy Spirit as just like what happened on the Day of Pentecost and that it came "'after believing'" (v. 17, NASB).
F. Later, in Acts 15:8, Peter says, "'God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.'"
G. This surely means that the baptism in the Holy Spirit bore witness to the faith they already had before they were filled with the Spirit.
H. At Peter's instructions, the six Jewish believers baptized the whole crowd "in the name [by the authority] of Jesus Christ."
I. This was a public declaration of their faith, a witness to the faith they already had, a witness to the faith that had already brought cleansing to their hearts (Acts 15:9).
J. Then the people "asked Peter to stay with them for a few days." Undoubtedly they wanted more instruction and desired to share both table fellowship and spiritual fellowship with him. Peter could now have fellowship with them as believers and as members of the body of Christ (Horton, 207-208).
B. Initial Evidence
1. Illustration: Bono, the lead singer for the rock band U2 said, "Religion is what you are left with after the Holy Spirit has left the building."
2. It is essential that we affirm that we are a PENTECOSTAL CHURCH!
A. Acts 2:17-18 (NLT)
‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.
B. As a Pentecostal church we affirm that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all people.
C. As a Pentecostal church we affirm that the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the accompanying gifts are still for the church today.
D. As a Pentecostal church we affirm that the initial sign of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues.
E. As a Pentecostal church we affirm that this baptism in the Holy Spirit is to empower us for ministry.
F. As a Pentecostal church we affirm that this baptism in the Holy Spirit is in addition to salvation.
G. As a Pentecostal church we affirm that we must seek more of the Holy Spirit all of the time.
Transition: Holy Spirit come and fill this place and these people with your presence!
Conclusion
1. Today we talked about turning points.
A. Turning Point In Relationships
B. Turning Point In The Church
C. Turning Point In The Promise
2. Are you at a turning point?
3. What are you going to do with your turning point?
