Sermon Central
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Godly Change
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Apr 15, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: Are you willing to let God make the necessary changes in your life?
Godly Change
Acts chapter 10
Introduction-
This morning I would like to talk to you about change.
Some change is good and some bad.
Some people adjust to change and some people struggle.
Some people look for change and some avoid it.
Usually the only people that like change is the person who s idea was taken.
What kind of person are you? If God called for change, are you open to it or would you fight God for it?
The text this morning covers over two chapters, but the main text is about change and the change was instituted by God. This change took many people playing parts to bring the change needed.
In Acts chapter 10, a Roman centurion named Cornelius had a vision. He had an angel call him by name and tell him that his prayers and gifts to the poor has been recognized by God. Scripture tells us that Cornelius was a God fearing man. He was instructed by the angel to send his men to the house of a man named Simon Peter.
He had a choice whether he was going to trust his vision or chock it up to a bad piece of fish.
During that same time period, Simon Peter who was miles away is up on his roof praying. Scripture tells us that while he was praying, he went into a trance.
Now to define trance- it was a state of mind God produced and used to communicate with Peter. Peter was not imagining or dreaming this, he was in a conscious state of communication with God.
God was working on two different people and used them to accomplish his task.
God wanted to make;
Cultural changes
Traditional changes
Take people out of their comfortzone.
(13) “Then a voice told him, get up, Peter, kill and eat. Peter’s reply- “surely not Lord! 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.”
I want you to see that God did more than give Peter an updated food menu.
Making pork okay to eat
Lobsters, scallops, snails, acceptable eating.
The first person changed by God was Cornelius
Cornelius , the Roman soldier was a good old boy.
Good old boys believe that if they give to the poor and pray once in a while they are okay.
Through the plan of God, many people are drawn together to be taught a lesson from the Lord.
He had heard about Jesus, but never understood the importance of Jesus.
Peter was sent to him to show him the plan of salvation.
God does not show favoritism- Aren’t you glad for that?
Aren’t you glad that God does not favor individuals because of their station in life, their nationality, or their material possessions?
Cornelius was not going to make heaven, not because he wasn’t a good person, but because he lacked faith in Jesus Christ.
God loved him so much that he sent Peter to his house to explain the plan of salvation.
He heard about Jesus
He heard the good things that Jesus did.
He knew that Jesus was killed.
He didn’t understand Jesus as Lord and Savior. Being good was not good enough.
“But now a righteousness from God apart from law, has been made known to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that comes by Christ Jesus.”
Cornelius knew enough about God to think he was okay, but not enough to have a relationship with the Lord.
I think there are a lot of people like Cornelius.
It really is a dangerous place to be because you put your trust in being good and lack the trust in what Jesus Christ has done for us.
Acts chapter 10:3-
“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!”
This was Ah Ha moment! Don’t rush through this- Cornelius had a God moment.
He knew God was talking to him and if he listened it would never be the same.
We have ah ha moments too.
Maybe we didn’t get an audible voice, but we have had God speak to us about change.
There is not one of us that has not been directed by God to change sometime in our lives and we have not obeyed.
The thing about those moments is that we cannot be sure if we will get another.
