Wrecking Crew ( Fifth Sunday Of Easter 2022)

WRECKING CREW

Text: Acts 11:1 -18

Act 11:1-18  Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.  (2)  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him,  (3)  saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?"  (4)  Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,  (5)  "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.  (6)  As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.  (7)  I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'  (8)  But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'  (9)  But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'  (10)  This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.  (11)  At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.  (12)  The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.  (13)  He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;  (14)  he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.'  (15)  And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.  (16)  And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'  (17)  If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"  (18)  When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

“Once upon a time, the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed to be the best, the most important.

Green said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope, the color of grass, trees, and leaves. Without my life, there would be no plants or creatures."

Blue interrupted: "You only think of the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is water that is the basis of life, and the sky gives peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing." https://www.sermonsuite.com/emphasis-preaching-journal/once-upon-time How many people are arguing today about what is important?

Nothing in all the world is more important to the world but the Blood of Jesus! Nothing but the blood of Jesus matters because [our own] “ … flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 15:50 NIV). It is only through Jesus Christ that “…. we have redemption through His blood, for the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7 NIV). Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood (Hebrews 13:12 NIV). Jesus said that there are many rooms in the [Heavenly] Father’s house and that He was going to the Father to prepare our place [our future heavenly home] (John 14:2 paraphrased). That is why Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can go to God our Heavenly Father except through the sacrifice of what Jesus has done (John 14:6 paraphrased). How does that relate to our text for today?

There were religious people who resisted Peter and the other six who were with him in that day. There are people in every age who witness to those who may resist them.

We will focus on resistance and witnessing.

RESISTANCE

Is there such a thing as religious objectors?

1) Complaints: The group that confronted Peter complained because he ate with gentiles (Acts 11:2). Isn’t this the same kind of complaint that the Pharisees made to Jesus? If you go back to Acts 10:45 you will begin to see that there was a cultural divide between the Jews and the Gentiles that was being torn down because of the Gospel!

2) Christians: Today, we want to explore God’s kingdom and God’s plans for unity among all believers. It was in this chapter that all “Followers of the Way” became known as Christians (Acts 11:26) in spite of their native country. Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of us because we are all sinners!