Scripture: Acts 11:1-18; Psalms 148 and John 13:31-35
Title: God's Wonderful Surprises
Proposition and Theme: In Acts 11:1-18; Luke reminds us 1. Our God loves to surprise His People 2. Our God is passionately bringing about His Kingdom of Heaven here on earth 3. Our God is cleansing, tranforming and guiding His People through His Holy Spirit
INTRO: Grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world!
Have you started reading something and found yourself completely captured by it? You couldn't put it down? You had to put everything to the side and finish reading it as soon as possible. The author's words captured your heart and your imagination. It's amazing when that happens.
We know that the person who wrote the story deeply enjoyed writing it. We know that they were "in the moment" as a writer. We can sense their passion and their inspiration. We know that their mind and heart were totally engaged and that the thoughts they want to share simply spilled onto the page.
If we close our eyes while we are reading Luke's books, I believe we can see St. Luke that way. He first tells us that everything he will share has been painstakingly investigated and is accurate. Each passage we read drips of Luke's passion, his joy and his enthusiasm. He writes in the flow and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You know that the Holy Spirit was guiding his mind, his heart and his pen. It's all rather amazing.
Our passage this morning focuses on the events that Luke shared with us earlier in chapter 10. The Apostle Peter had been led by the Holy Spirit to share the Good News with a Gentile soldier named Cornelius and his family. Acts 10:44ff tells us that as soon as they accepted Jesus as their Savior and LORD, the Holy Spirit fell on all of them in the same manner in which He had fallen on the Jews at Pentecost. All the Jewish believers with Peter were astonished. This was a miracle beyond anything they could imagine No Jew at that time could even have imagined that God's Holy Spirit would ever fall on a Gentile much less his whole family. Cornelius and his household had become the first bonafide non-Jews to join the Early Church and all of this was causing quite a stir.
Coupled with all of this were some recent reports that the Apostle Peter had gone further and was actually having fellowship with Gentiles. At that time no true Jew would have ever entertained the notion of sharing a meal with a Gentile. No orthodox Jew would have allowed himself to be a guest in a Gentile house or have had a Gentile in their own home. If by some random event that a Jew had to allow a Gentile into their home they were always watched to see what they touched. Whatever a Gentile touched had to be thoroughly cleansed and purified before it could be used again by the family.
Even the dirt from Gentile land was considered unclean. According to scribal law, everyone traveling into Gentile lands had to be extra careful not to track that dirt back into the Promise Land. Before stepping back onto Promise Land they were to dust off all the unholy dirt from their feet. Otherwise the Gentile dirt would contaminate the Promise Land. Anything and everything that had to do with Gentiles was seen as unholy and unclean.
If a Jewish cow was milked by Gentile hands, the milk could not be used by a Jewish family. It had to thrown out or sold to a Gentile family. Bread made by Gentiles could be sold by a Jewish merchant but never to a Jewish family. A Jewish woman could buy cooking utensils made by a Gentile but before she could use them she would have to purify them with water and fire.
All of these rules came about because it was believed that all Gentiles were idolaters. It was believed that since Gentiles worshipped false gods and bowed down to false idols they had rejected Jehovah as the One and Only God. For orthodox Jews, idolatry was a deal breaker. They would have nothing to do with anyone who rejected Jehovah as the One and Only True God. Gentiles were disparaged not because they weren’t Jewish, but because they were assumed to be morally and spiritually deficient. They were considered to be a race of people outside of God's law and favor. Subsequently, that meant orthodox Jews would have nothing to do with them.
All of these beliefs, rules and restrictions over time had created a great deal of friction between Jews and Gentiles. Each looked at one another with scorn and malice. Even in the 2nd-century AD. we see sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai: writing about how he felt about Gentiles stating that “The best of the Gentiles should be killed.” His statements pretty much summed up the common feelings that existed between Jews and Gentiles during that time. For Peter to reach out with the Gospel of Jesus to a Gentile was seen as unbelievable. In our passage the Apostle Peter is coming to explain his actions to the Early Church leaders in Jerusalem.
Suddenly, the Early Church was having to deal with a whole new spiritual paradigm.
+Did what happen to Cornelius and his family mean that Jesus had actually died for the sins of the Gentiles as well as for the Jews?
+Did this mean that God's Holy Spirit was going to be poured out on everyone that believed in Jesus as Savior and LORD - both Jew and Gentile?
+Did it mean that these Gentile converts were now a part of God's chosen people?
+Would they now be required to follow all the rules and regulations of Judaism?
+Did it mean that Jews and Gentiles would not be eating together, living together and even worshipping God together?
+How was all of this going to be seen by the Temple and the religious establishment?
+How was all of this going to be seen by the Early Church?
There's a great deal in this passage that we Gentiles may not be able to fully appreciate or understand. It may be beyond our imagination because we are some 2,000 years removed. It may even be hard for us today to believe that not one Gentile was a part of Pentecost or the earliest days of Christianity. But its true. Not one single Gentile was a part of either Pentecost or for that matter the first few years of Christianity.
Most scholars point to AD 37 - 40 as the time of Cornelius' conversion. If that is true then it means that for at least the first 5 to 7 years the only members of the Early Church were either Jewish by birth or by conversion. It means that for the first 5 -7 years the Early Church was exclusively Jewish. No Gentiles.
It may be difficult for us to fully understand all of this because today we Gentiles make up approx. 99.1 % of the Christian Church. Of the 2.2 billion people on our earth who by faith have received Jesus as their Savior and LORD the most broadminded estimates are that approx. 2 million of those are of Jewish heritage. 2 million Jews among 2. 2 billion Gentiles. And while the number of Messianic Jews is constantly growing it still pales in comparison to the number of Gentiles that believe in Jesus.
This morning many in the Church might want to look around and tell the Jews - sorry, you guys lost it. For the first hundred years you had the mission and message of Jesus right at your disposal but you let it all get away. In fact, you threw it all away. Now, we Gentiles are in control. If you want to come into Jesus' church you now have to come through us, you have to start looking like us and you have to follow our ways and our traditions. Hopefully, we don't believe that way. Hopefully, our arms are open wide for our Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ.
It seems like today we are watching Acts chapters 10 and 11 in reverse. People in the Church are astonished when they hear the news that people of Jewish decent are coming to faith in Jesus. People in the church don't know what to do with Messianic Jews. Nowadays, the questions have been turned around:
+ How does the Church respond to this Jewish Revival in Jesus?
+ How does the Church handle these new Messianic Jews?
+Should they be allowed to continue to follow the traditional ways of Judaism and be able to believe in Jesus at the same time?
+ Why after so many years of apparent absence is the Holy Spirit once again at work among the Jewish people?
+What in the world is going on in the Church of Jesus Christ?
I truly believe this morning that Luke enjoyed writing down chapters 10 - 11. For in retelling the Apostle Peter's story concerning Cornelius and all that happened, Luke is able to remind his readers that the God we serve is a God who:
+Relishes and enjoys surprising His People
+Is passionate about building a whole new society here on earth called the Kingdom of God
+Desires to teach, guide and infill all His People with His Holy Spirit
I. We serve a God that loves, enjoys and relishes Surprising His People
It really shouldn't shock us that our God loves surprises. The Bible tells us that God has enjoyed surprising humans ever since He first created the Garden of Eden. He surprised Adam with the creation of Eve. He surprised them both by forgiving and watching over them after they had rejected His Will. He surprised Noah by rescuing him and his family ( and all creation) from the Flood. He surprised Abraham, Moses and David when He called each of them to lead His People.
The more you read the Bible the more of God's surprises you discover. Think for a moment all of the surprises that Jesus did while He was teaching and preaching. Turning water into wine. Healing the blind, the lame and the leper. Feeding the 5,000. Walking on water. Calming the seas. Casting out demons. Raising the dead. Coming out of the tomb.
God's people this morning should be comfortable in the knowledge that our God loves and relishes to surprise His People. In our passage this morning, did you catch all the surprises God put here.
It all starts off when both Peter and Cornelius are praying. It seems everything begins and centers on prayer doesn't it? It seems that every major movement of God happens when God's people are praying. Once again, Luke poignantly reminds us of the importance of prayer.
We go from their prayers to witnessing all kinds of supernatural events. In just a few verses we read about visions, dreams and angels leading and guiding people. We see Jesus speaking to Peter and telling him that whatever His Father has purified should never be seen as common or unholy. We see the Holy Spirit leading, guiding and anointing.
What we have in these 18 verses is a symphony of miracles, signs and wonders. There are more supernatural things going on in this passage than I believe we can imagine or fully process. It is very clear that our God doesn't do anything small or hidden. When He wants to surprise His People He does it in a big way. There was no doubt that God working.
And there is no doubt that God still loves to surprise us today if we are open to seeing those surprises. For God not only loves to surprising us, God is also busy building a whole New Society around us called the Kingdom of God.
II. We serve a God who is building a whole New Society ( The Kingdom of God)
Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He gave his disciples this revelation and command:
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)
After receiving the power of the Holy Spirit the disciple were to begin building the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. They were to start in Jerusalem, work their way throughout all Judea. From there they were to go on to Samaria and finally they were to go to the very ends of the earth sharing, teaching and making disciples.
Acts chapters 1 - 9 tells us that already the Church of Jesus was alive and well in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Already, the Good News was being preached in those areas and people were coming to faith. Now, they were being led by the Holy Spirit to go to the very ends of the earth. What those first disciples didn't know what that in accomplishing that task it would open up reaching out to Gentiles. That now the Good News would be taken to both Jews and Gentiles.
It's God's desire that every place on Earth be transformed into the Kingdom of God. It is the desire of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that every person alive knows Jesus as Savior and LORD. It is also to be our desire and passion. Each time we recite the LORD's prayer we are praying for this very thing to come to pass. We pray the words "THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS DONE IN HEAVEN.
That means today we have two major tasks to accomplish through the power of the Holy Spirit
A. We are to Evangelize and share the message of the Good News with everyone.
B. We are to have an open door policy.
We must make sure that we don't put up any stumbling blocks or barriers that would keep out people away from Jesus. We must do all we can to make sure everyone knows they are wanted, needed and accepted. We must do all we can to win our world for Jesus and co-partner with God to create His Kingdom here on earth.
In his book, Craddock Stories, Pastor Fred Craddock shares the story that underlines this very fact. A rather interesting event took place in his first church located in the eastern hills of Tennessee, near Oak Ridge. At that time, the area around Oak Ridge was just a little sleepy community of only a few thousand people.
In the early 1940's, DuPont Corporation began plans to build what would later be called the X-10 Graphite Reactor. It would process plutonium for a nuclear reactor. Oak Ridge, Tn was chosen as the building site for that reactor Construction for the project began early in 1943. Overnight, the sleepy little town of Oak Ridge exploded in growth. Hundreds of migrant construction workers and their families started moving into the area. There wasn't time to build conventional homes, so trailer parks popped up everywhere to provide adequate housing for all these incoming workers and their families. Oak Ridge was on the move fast. By 1945 over 75,000 people would call Oak Ridge, TN home.
Fred took notice of all that was happening around them. All of these new families coming into Oak Ridge gave him a great idea. After church one Sunday morning , he asked his church leaders to stay. Fred wanted to launch a campaign to invite all the new people living in the nearby trailer courts to come and join their church. He just knew that it would be the start of a whole new Revival for the church and for the community. With all these people coming in they would need a place to worship the LORD.
However, as he shared his plan, one of his leaders didn't quite see it that way. They didn't agree with his vision. They told him, “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think they’d fit in here,” Two more reminded Fred and the others at the meeting that “They’re just here temporarily, just construction people. They’ll be leaving pretty soon.” “Well," Fred answered back, "We ought to invite them, make them feel at home," He knew that the church should do all it could to reach out to these new families.
Fred shares in his story that they all argued some more but as time ran out the leaders decided to think about it over the next week and then vote on a proposal the next Sunday. Finally, the next Sunday rolled around and as soon as the meeting got underway one of the leaders quickly spoke up. “I move,” he said, “I move that in order to be a member of this church, you must own property in the county.” Someone else said, “I second that.” In no time the motion was passed. Fred of course voted against the motion knowing that it meant that they wouldn't reach out to these new families. If the people couldn't be members of the church there was very little chance they would come to the church. No one would want to just attend and not be allowed to be a member. However, he was quickly reminded that he was just a kid preacher and that he didn’t have a vote. The Church decided that it needed to protect itself and keep itself pure. It couldn't risk reaching out to all these new families. They had no idea what all these new people would do to their church.
Fred writes that many years later he and his wife Nettie went back to visit that little church. Over the years a new interstate highway had been built through that part of the state, so they had a little trouble finding it. But finally… there it was. The building was still white, but it now looked radically different. Craddock writes:
"The parking lot was full—motorcycles and trucks and cars packed in there. And out front, a great big sign: Barbecue, all you can eat. It’s a restaurant, so we went inside. The pews are against a wall. They have electric lights now, and the organ pushed over into the corner. There are all these aluminum and plastic tables, and people sitting there eating barbecued pork and chicken and ribs—all kinds of people. … I said to Nettie, “It’s a good thing this is not still a church, otherwise these people couldn’t be in here” (p. 29).
This morning, Luke reminds us that our LORD is continually building new societies for His People. God is always seeking new ways to bring His Kingdom here on earth. We must always understand that the Gospel of Jesus is always only one generation old. Each generation must take up its task of reaching out and fulfilling the Great Commission. Each generation must make sure that it births new prayer warriors and evangelists at the same time.
If a generation decides that it will not open its doors to new people or if a new generation decides that it will not pick up the mantels of prayer and evangelism then it won't be long until its doors are closed for the Gospel. Europe is full of some of the most beautiful churches that have ever been built for the LORD, but sadly many of them are now being turned into all kinds of things. In a recent article by the Wall Street Journal1 some of those churches that have died out are now being turned into private homes, supermarkets, bookstores, gyms, skate halls and one of them - The former St. Paul’s church located in Bristol, England, is now the Circomedia circus training school due to its high ceiling.
We must always pray and promote both evangelism and open doors.
III. Finally, we serve a God who works through His Transforming Holy Spirit
Luke reminds us that we serve a God who loves to Surprise His People
Luke reminds us that God is busing working through His People to create a New Society called the Kingdom of God on our earth.
Finally, Luke wants to remind us that God is at work through His Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit is hard at work in bringing about the grace of salvation and sanctification. That Holy Spirit is hard at work redeeming, renewing and restoring people into the Image of Jesus Christ. That Holy Spirit is hard at work cleansing the hearts of people and showing them the way of Holiness of heart and life this morning.
It is very important that we understand this fact or we will end up accepting a doctrine dominated by the philosophy known as antinomianism2. You may remember that Antinomianism is the belief that there are no Christian absolutes, no Christian principles or ethics that we are commanded by the LORD to live by.
Antinomianism states that all we must do is to believe that Jesus can save us and then we can pretty much live the way we desire. Antinomianism says that there no real need for any spiritual transformation in our hearts or spiritual formation in our lives. Antinomianism lead us away from a life based on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount or a life patterned on the true teachings and commands of Jesus. It leads us away from a life of practical and progressive holiness. It leads us to a life in which we can bypass certain commands of God and decide on our own what is right and wrong. If enough people decide suddenly that something is right then it must be right. Antinomianism states that can decide that certain lifestyles are now acceptable and we can simply throw out certain time honored parts of God's Holy Word. Antinomianism is wrong and it is dangerous.
We must understand that while the Holy Spirit was being poured on all kinds of people, it was not being poured out upon those who rejected God's Holiness. It was not being poured out on those who didn't seek a life of personal and progressive holiness. Cornelius and all his household were doing all they could to follow God's will. They were living in all the spiritual light that they possessed. The New Testament plainly tells us that if we don't choose to surrender to the teachings and to the will of the Holy Spirit we will not be anointed or filled with God's Holy Spirit. Being born again means living a daily born again life (Romans 12:1-2).
Sadly, there is a modern movement that is doing its best to revive the philosophy of antinomianism into the life of the Church. False prophets are teaching that what we do with our physical bodies will not affect our spiritual lives. They are preaching the lie that we can live by our own rules or adopt the rules of the world and keep Jesus. There are those that preach that we can simply by pass scripture, tradition, reason and experience and that simply is not true.
It is true that the Early Church didn't require it's Gentile believers to practice some of the rules and rituals of Judaism. For example, the Gentiles were not commanded to practice circumcision, attend all the Jewish festivals or adhere to all the dietary laws. But that didn't mean that they were not to be saturated in God's Word ( 2 Timothy 2:15) or live out a life holy and pleasing to the LORD. The Early Church opened its heart and its door but it did not forsake its LORD or a life of progressive holiness.
Authentic Holiness Christianity has always meant that we live out a life dedicated to fulfilling Jesus teachings and commands:
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28)
What this means is that there are some foundational principles and commands of the Christian life. There are some things that all Christians believe and live by:
+One is developing through the Holy Spirit a Christ-like Character
a. This means that we have asked Jesus to redeem us, renew us and restore us into His Image. It means that we have asked for the forgiveness of our sins, accepted His grace and experienced both water and Spirit baptism.
b. It means that we are then doing our best in the Spirit to live out the Two Great Commandments that Jesus gave to all of us. To love God with all our heart, mind and soul and to love one another. It means that we are passionate about producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives daily.
+ A second is accepting the Core Beliefs of the Christian Church which we can find explained in the Nicene Creed.
Even though it was written much later than our New Testament, the Nicene Creed contains all the essential beliefs that Christians everywhere are to share and hold to be true.
+Thirdly, it means living out the Core Mission of Jesus.
This means that we are actively co-partnering with the LORD in bringing about His Kingdom here on Earth. This means that we do our best to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. This means that our number one mission in life is to see others come to faith and assist them in maturing in that faith.
This morning, we serve an amazing God. We serve a God who loves to surprise His People. We serve a God who is He is busy building the Kingdom of Heaven here on our earth. And we serve a God who is leading us to live out a life of holiness.
This morning, He invites everyone to receive His mercy, love and grace. He invites all to His enjoy His Presence.
This morning, as we close let me invite you to come to the Table of Our Lord.
This is the table, not of the Church, but of God.
It is to be made ready for those who love God
and who want to love God more.
So, come, you who have much faith and you who have little,
you who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time,
you who have tried to follow and you who have failed.
Come, not because I invite you: it is God, and it is God’s will
that you who want God should meet God here.3
1 www.wsj.com/articles/europes-empty-churches-go-on-sale-1420245359
2Paul had to deal with antinomianism in Romans 6:1-2. His answer was Romans 12:1-2.
3 https://susanjoan.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/invitations-to-the-table-of-the-lord/
