This is a long but excellent study on Acts 10-11

The Touch of the Master’s Hand – A Sermon Series on A Man Called Peter David Owens

Sermon #16: “Time For A Big Change”

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3:8-12

Introduction:

One day a preacher went to his monthly meeting with the elders and presented an idea that he believed he had received from God.
After giving his most impassioned plea and really “selling” the idea to the elders, they voted down the preacher’s proposed changes 12-1.
The elder leading the meeting said to the preacher, “Sorry, but it looks like the only vote you received for your proposal was the vote you cast for it.”
The elder continued, “Well, that’s all we had on the agenda tonight.” So he asked the preacher to lead a prayer to close the meeting.
The preacher, not wanting to give up on an idea that he felt God had given him, lifted up his hands to heaven and prayed with all his heart, “Looorrrddd, I know my brothers here do not have the same vision that you have given me. Please help them see that this is not my vision, but that it is your vision. Please give us a sign. In Jesus name, AMEN!”
Immediately, a lightning bolt with a loud clap of thunder burst in through the window in the meeting room, striking the table, splitting it in two and knocking all the elders to the floor. As the dust cleared, the preacher looked at the elders and said, “So, what do you think now about my proposal now?”
The lead elder, dusting himself off, sighed and said, “Well, I guess that’s 12 votes to 2, still not enough to pass your proposal.”

Change is really hard on all of us, even when it is obvious that God is the one instituting the change.
Old traditions and old habits are hard to break.
And old mindsets, biases, and prejudices are even harder to change.

Today, as we turn our attention to the life of Peter, we come to one of the most challenging situations he had to face in his life and ministry.
As we will see, God was orchestrating an amazing turn of events that was intended to signal that it was time for a big change.
It was a change that Paul described as a mystery kept hidden for generations but was now revealed to the saints (Colossians 1:26).
In Ephesians 3:6, Paul revealed what that hidden mystery was: This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
When God desired to expand the horizon of the church, God first had to expand the personal horizon of Peter, one of the church’s strongest and most important leaders.
As we examine Peter’s experience and what God was doing in him and through him, I want us to wrestle with a personal question: How does God want to expand my horizon?
Are there any old traditions and habits, any old mindsets, biases and prejudices that God wants to help me give up and move beyond?

The Story
The experiences in Peter’s life that we want to explore today are found in Acts chapters 10 and 11.
We won’t be able to read those chapters, but I will tell the story like a play in several scenes.

We might title scene one: Cornelius Has a Strange Vision (10:1-8)
The story begins with a man named Cornelius – he is a gentile, a Roman, and an army officer.
He was a “devout man…a god-fearing man…an alms giving man…and a praying man.”(vs 2)
He makes a pretty good example for us to follow, wouldn’t you say?
Nevertheless, at this point Cornelius was an outsider; not a member of the church; not a disciple of Jesus .
But he was an outsider who was willing to be instructed and guided.
This is where God takes over and leads this willing follower to Himself.
We are going to see that in this drama both Cornelius and Peter must be obedient to God, and both of them are being directed at every turn in the plot by someone greater than they.
In the vision given to Cornelius, an angel told Cornelius to send for a man named Peter who was staying with Simon the tanner in Joppa.
When the vision was completed, Cornelius did exactly what he had been told to do.

A good title for scene two is: Peter Also Has a Strange Vision (10:9-16)
About noon the day after Cornelius had his dream, Peter was praying on the flat roof of Simon the tanner’s home.
As Peter prayed he became hungry and wanted something to eat (have you ever noticed that the second you want to get spiritual and draw near to God there is always something earthly that tries to distract you?)
In this case, God used Peter’s physical hunger to draw his attention to the vision.
In the vision that Peter had, a sheet was lowered out of heaven, and it contained all kinds of unclean four-footed animals, as well as reptiles, and birds. Peter was told to slaughter and eat.
“Surely not, Lord”, Peter replied, “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” (vs 14)
According to the OT Law, Jews were forbidden from eating those animals.
The voice from heaven replied, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (v 15).
Three times the same vision came with the same command.
Peter was indeed baffled. What was going on? Why would God send him such a vision?

Next comes scene three: Cornelius’ Messengers Arrive (10:17-23a)
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, Cornelius’ servants arrived at the gate and asked if a man named Peter was staying there.
The Spirit then spoke to Peter and told him that he must not hesitate to go with these men for they are sent by the Spirit.
Peter then went downstairs and identified himself to the men.
Peter asked them why they had come, and they revealed to him that Cornelius sent them in response to a vision and command of a holy angel.
Peter invited them to spend the night, so they could leave the next day for the 30 mile trip.

Before we proceed, let’s be reminded that all that was happening here was orchestrated by God.
Ultimately, Cornelius did not know why he was sending for Peter, and Peter did not know why he was being sent to Cornelius.
Both men were willing to obey the instructions of God, even though they did not know why they were being led in this way.
Good disciples are those who say, “Lord, I do not know what you are doing, or where you are leading me, but here I am and I am ready to obey!”

Scene Four: The Arrival At Cornelius’ House (10:23b-33)
The next day, Peter wisely took some of the brothers with him as he went with the men sent by Cornelius.
The following day they arrived in Caesarea, and went to Cornelius’ house and Cornelius was ready for Peter’s arrival, because he had called together his relatives and close friends.
As Peter entered the house, Cornelius fell at his feet in reverence.
This was not the kind of behavior you might expect from a commander of 100 soldiers.
But it was an amazing gesture of humility and respect.
Peter was quick to point out that he was also just a man, and that no one should worship him.
As the narrative unfolded, both Peter and Cornelius made introductory speeches, as they revealed their visions from God.
In this way, Luke highlights the dual nature of what God was doing here.
Was this a story about the conversion of a gentile, or the conversion of an apostle?
Both Cornelius and Peter need changing if God’s mission was to go forward.
In verse 28f, Peter spoke to the gathering, confessing that he had breached Jewish law by coming to the home of a gentile, but he did so only because God was rearranging his notions of clean and unclean.
The bafflement of his earlier visions was now being resolved.
But Peter was not totally converted in his thinking, because his next statement was, “So, why have you sent for me?”
Don’t you think if he really understood the full force of the vision that he would know that he was there to preach the good news to these gentiles?
Cornelius explained his vision yet again (Luke has now told it to us the readers 3 times) and Cornelius concluded: “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” (vs 33b)
That’s the kind of invitation every evangelist dreams of.
Wouldn’t you love for someone to say to you, “God told me to listen to everything you have to tell me about salvation in Jesus?” I would!
Cornelius was begging Peter to preach about Jesus, and it was almost like Peter needed to have his arm twisted, “Well, Okay, I will share the gospel with you, if you insist.”

Scene Five: The Sermon (10:34-43)
Peter began the sermon with a stunning confession: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”
But Peter, I thought you said you already realized that back in verse 28?
See, he was learning the lesson, but the true application of it keeps taking on bigger and broader horizons.
Sometimes the full understanding and application of truth takes a while for us to grasp.
Peter’s presentation of the gospel was concise and clear. He proclaimed the following…
Jesus was sent by God and equipped by God with the Spirit and with power.
Jesus is the Lord of all.
Jesus was crucified, but take heart, God raised him from the dead.
Peter and others were witnesses of these things.
And the result of all this is forgiveness of sins and a new relationship with God.
Well said, Peter! Wouldn’t you agree?

Scene Six: The Holy Spirit Comes on the Gentiles (10:44-48)
If Peter had any doubts about the validity of his new insight into the impartiality of the gospel, then they were alleviated by the interruption of the Spirit, which came on Cornelius and his kin.
The Bible says that circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles. (vs. 45) (I’m guessing Peter was also surprised)
Yes, he had been learning the lesson about the impartiality of God, but it was a hard lesson to learn coming from his Jewish background.
Any potential dilemma concerning the baptism of gentiles was thereby settled, for who could forbid baptism after the Holy Spirit was already with these people?
God had accomplished His will, but now the Jewish church had to adjust to God’s will.

In my understanding of scripture, there were only 2 times when the Spirit was poured out this way.
The first was in Acts 2, on Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out on the apostles, and this began the church of Christ being made up of Jews only for the first 3 or 4 years of the church.
The second was here in Acts 10, at the home of Cornelius, when the Spirit was poured out on Cornelius and his gathering, and this opened the door of the church to gentiles.
Other than those two special outpourings, the indwelling Spirit was given to all people at the time of their baptism in water, and the miraculous gifts were given to people by the laying on of the apostles hands (Acts 2:38-39, 8:17-18).

The last scene of the drama is Scene Seven: Peter Explains His Actions (11:1-18)
When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he had some explaining to do.
Some of his fellow believers were upset with what he had done with the gentiles.
Peter was careful to retell the story, and he had the six men who went along as witnesses.
Peter concluded his explanation, “So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” (11:17)
How do you argue with that, right?
The response of the group to Peter’s report was: When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” (11:18)
Truth is, they had no further objections at that moment, but the Jewish church would come up with plenty more objections later – and in Acts 15 a council would be held in Jerusalem to work through their objections.

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It would take them quite a while to adjust to these new developments in God’s kingdom and to put away their old mindset, biases and prejudices.

The Application
So, what can we learn from these incredible developments in the story of Peter and the church?

First, we learn that God is sovereign.
God is the creator of all there is. God is the author of every drama. God is the Lord.
We, on the other hand, are God’s creatures, and His servants.
We must be ready to serve and obey the sovereign Lord Almighty.

Second, we learn that God shows no partiality, the gospel is for all.
God wants to save every person, regardless of where they are from, where they have been, how much they might lack smarts, beauty, importance, or skill.
God loves us all and Jesus died for us all.
We must be ready to love and share the gospel with everyone.

Third, we learn that we need to develop the mind and perspectives of God.
The truth of the matter is that God’s thoughts and ways are much higher and bigger than ours!
As human beings, we often think we know it all.
And we often believe that our ways of thinking are better than others people’s way of thinking.
And we sometimes believe that our ways and thoughts are better than God’s.
We like to think of ourselves as enlightened, tolerant and unprejudiced people, but are we?
Let’s ask ourselves some questions:
In what ways might my mind be closed?
In what ways might my judgments be wrong?
What prejudices or biases might I have that need to be removed?
How might my horizon need to be expanded?”
I know that God would be pleased if we prayed this prayer: “Lord, please open my eyes, and expand my mind that I might better understand You and Your ways. Help me to see my ways of thinking and behavior that are not what they should be. Help me to learn and grow that I might be more like you!”

The apostle Peter really needed God’s help to overcome the prejudices and biases that he held toward gentiles.
I want to challenge all of us to ask God to help us to overcome any prejudices or biases that we are holding against other people, whether they have to do with ethnicity, or nationality, or outward appearance, or employment, or poverty, politics, or anything else.
I know that God would want us to seek to understand others and not be quick to judge others.

I believe that God has helped us to have something very special here at Wetzel Road.
Although we are not a perfect church and have not perfectly been a place where all are loved and valued and welcomed, that has been our goal and to a large degree we have reached it.
For a very long time we have been a wonderfully diverse congregation where we are trying to model for the world how people of all kinds can love and value each other, and live together in harmony.
Consider the fact that our congregation is made up of people from many different places and backgrounds.
We have members who are native New Yorkers.
We have members from other parts of the United States: New England, down South, and out West.
We have members from around the world – Cuba, Ghana, Brazil and Puerto Rico.
We have members from all parts of the city of Syracuse – Northside, Southside, Eastside and Westside.
We have members from all around Onondaga county – from Tully and Fabius to Camilus, Cicero, Baldwinsville, Fayetteville and Liverpool.
We have members from outside of our county – from other areas like Newark, Oneida, Oswego, and Utica.
But in spite of our differences of background, culture, and location, we are trying to be there for each other and help each other grow in Christ and to stay in the Christian race.

As we face the ongoing challenge to develop the mind of Christ, each of us need to detect where we still may have worldly thinking, including biases and prejudice.
We need to try to understand how other people see things and why they might see things differently than we do.
We need to try to give others the benefit of the doubt and not be swift to judgment.

Perhaps an example that I can use to illustrate what I am talking about is the tragic case of our brother in Christ, Botham Jean.
He was from the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia and lived in Dallas, TX.
He was at home in his apartment on a Sunday evening two weeks ago, when an off-duty police officer, Amber Guyger, shot and killed him in his own home.
He was much loved by his family, his church family in Dallas, the churches in the Caribbean, and the staff and students of Harding University.
He was a gifted singer and worship leader, and the Harding chorus he sang with when he attended sang at his funeral last Thursday.
As you know, his wrongful death is being investigated and there are many important questions that remain unanswered.
I hope the truth of those questions will be able to be answered for the sake of his family, the church, and for our country.
At this point, Amber Guyger has been arrested and charged with manslaughter, but many people are protesting and calling for a charge of murder.
I think it best to leave determination of those kinds of things in the hands of the courts.
But what I want to encourage us to consider is how Botham Jean’s death is viewed differently based on our own life experiences, our culture and our race.
Many people, especially those outside the African American community, look at the tragedy and say what a horrible thing!
How sad to have a mistake like this cost an innocent person their life!
But those in the African American community ask the question:
Would the situation have turned out differently had Botham not been a black man?
Would things have turned out differently if Botham had been a white man, or a white woman, or a black woman?
I want to encourage all of us to consider what it would feel like to think that you can do everything right, like Botham had done – he had stayed out of trouble, he had gotten a good education, he had gotten a good job and lived in a nice apartment – and yet he still ended up being shot in his own apartment, and it maybe just because he was a black man.
The love of Christ in our hearts should cause us all to try to understand what others feel and try to understand how they see life – whether their feelings or conclusions are right or wrong – that’s called empathy.

Let me give a different example from the life of Tony Campolo.
One day Dr. Campolo was walking down a street in Philadelphia, when he encountered what looked like a homeless man.
The man was covered from head to toe in dirt and had a long beard with food stuck in it.
The homeless man held out a cup of McDonald’s coffee and said to Campolo, “Hey, Mister, you want a drink of my coffee?”
Campolo knew that he should take a sip to be nice and so he did, and while handing the cup back, said, “You’re being pretty generous giving away your coffee, why would you do that?”
The homeless man said, “Well, the coffee is especially delicious this morning, and I figured if God gives you something good you ought to share it with people.”
Campolo thought to himself, “This was the man’s perfect setup.”
So Campolo said in reply, “Is there anything I can give you in return?” Thinking to himself, “He’s going to hit me up for $5.”
The homeless man replied, “Yes, you can give me something, you can give me a hug.”
Campolo then wished the man had asked for $5, but he put his arms around the man and the man put his arms around Campolo and wouldn’t let go for the longest time.
Campolo felt embarrassed as people passed by looking at him, this well-dressed man, hugging a disheveled homeless man.

Like Campolo, how quick are we to judge the homeless panhandler?
We think, “All they want is money…why don’t they get a job…if I give them money they will spend it on drugs and alcohol…”
What if what they really wanted was a hug? What if they really wanted was someone to care.
Some homeless people are drug addicts and some are mentally ill.
Others were once living full and successful lives until something bad happened…maybe they became disabled, or their company laid everyone off, or their wife up and left with the kids, or they were abused by someone they trusted.
The love of Christ should cause us to seek to understand before we judge.
The love of Christ should cause us to value and love every person made in God’s image.

And so like Peter, we may need to let God do a big work in our lives to bring about the big changes that need to be made.
Some of our biases and prejudices may have come about because of hurtful experiences and we may have to work toward forgiveness before we can have a change in mindset and heart.

Such was the case for Dr. John Perkins, an American Christian minister, civil rights activist, Bible teacher, author, philosopher and community developer.
I was blessed to meet him many years ago and to learn from his teaching and example.
Dr. John Perkins is an amazing example of someone who experienced horrible mistreatment and who developed a bias and prejudice that had to be removed with God’s help.
In the fall of 1969, Perkins became the leader in an economic boycott of white-owned stores in Mendenhall, Mississippi.
On February 7, 1970, following the arrest of students who had taken part in a protest march in Mendenhall, Perkins was arrested and tortured by white police officers in the Brandon Jail.
Perkins was released from jail and in July of that same year, he had a heart attack.
In the hospital, he had a lot of time to think. He thought about blacks and whites. He thought about how, in a country that claimed to stand for “liberty and justice for all,” a black man in Mississippi could get no justice. He thought about how in Mississippi Christians were some of the most racist whites of all.
He said that the Spirit of God worked on him and the image of the cross of Christ formed in his mind. Jesus understood his suffering.
When John Perkins read Matt. 6:14-15 about forgiving or not forgiving and its effects on God’s forgiveness, he knew something had to change in his heart.
Perkins wrote, “To receive God’s forgiveness, I was going to have to forgive those who had hurt me. As I prayed, the faces of those policemen passed before me one by one and I forgave each one. Faces of other white people from the past came before me, and I forgave them, I could sense that God was working a deep inner healing in me that went back beyond February 7, 1970. It went clear back to my earliest memories of childhood. God was healing all those wounds that had kept me from loving whites. How sweet God’s forgiveness and healing was!” (With Justice for All, John Perkins, Chapter 10)
God can change us, if we let Him!

Let me tell you the encouraging story of another man who gave up his biases and prejudice.
His name is Ken Parker and he had been a grand dragon in the KKK.
Ken decided that the KKK was not hateful enough, so he joined an American Neo-nazi group.
He was at Charlottsville, Virginia last year to stand up for his white race when a riot broke out.
Afterward, he met an African American minister named William McKinnon III, and after several conversations, Ken began to see the error of his ways.
This past August, almost one year after Charlottsville, Ken was baptized and became a member of a predominantly African American church – how’s that for a transformation?!

Let me end with a Peanuts comic strip.
In this comic strip, we find Snoopy thinking to himself: “Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Ohh…there’s so little hope for advancement.”
Thankfully, unlike Snoopy, we don’t have to remain as a “dog” so to speak.
In Christ, we can become a new creation – we can stop thinking, judging and acting in sinful, worldly ways, and we can learn to think and act like God who is holy, loving and perfect.
It’s time for a big change in our world today – I pray that it starts with me and with us.