Last week we learn about overcoming prejudice.
• God has no favourites. Salvation is for all men.
• Israelites were chosen as a forerunner. God’s purpose was to save them and through them, the whole world.
• The Jews were not intended to be the END of God’s plan, but the MEANS.
• Because they failed in this, God would now use the Gentile believers to save the world, and then at the end, to bring Israel back to Himself.
If all men are loved and appear in God’s radar screen, then we need to embrace them.
• We all have this problem of prejudice. We overcome prejudice by:
• (1) Seeing people the way God sees them; (2) treating them the way we are treated, or want to be treated. And (3) acknowledge the differences and make the best use of them.
• Such diversities like race, culture, personality are God-designed. It is purposeful and beautiful, and so we learn to work with these differences.
So today we want to look at what happened when Peter and his colleagues went back to the church in Jerusalem and reported what had happened – the Gentiles have been saved.
• As expected, this is something unacceptable. In today’s context, it is like having homosexuals or ex-offenders coming into the church.
• Let’s find out what happened in Acts 11:1-18
“Who was I to think that I could oppose God?” Peter asked.
Yes, how could he oppose God? It was the work of the Holy Spirit. It was literally an act of God.
• We have seen that over the past few chapters. The Spirit of God moved Philip into the desert, he enlightened the Ethiopian eunuch. He instructed Cornelius what to do. He prepares Peter’s heart.
• These evangelistic meetings were the direct work of the Spirit. The conversions told place because of Him.
• Jesus says in John 16:8 “When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…”
Peter’s response to the criticism was like this: ‘It’s not my fault, don’t blame me. I cannot stop what God is doing!”
• Peter did not initiate anything. He was a passive player here.
• He was just responding to the clear directives from the Lord, just as Philip did in the earlier chapter when he ran into the desert.
(1) THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALWAYS WORKING IN YOU
Tune in to Him! Connect with Him in prayer.
• Peter and Cornelius, and Ananias and Saul were in prayer when He spoke.
No doubt about that. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of people, then and now.
• He has not stopped. He has been working ever since. We pray and expect Him to show up.
• He speaks to those who are seeking Him, and He speaks to those who know Him, so that He can bring the two together.
The Holy Spirit works, and yet He cannot do it with Peter. He works powerfully, and yet He cannot do it with Philip. He restores sight to Saul but He needs the help of Ananias.
• He does not work in a vacuum. He needs the MESSAGE of Jesus to be proclaimed.
• So Peter’s obedience is crucial. It may be a simple task but it is critical.
Peter obeyed the Spirit’s call, even though he may not really like it.
• He may not fully appreciate the audience but he obeyed. Ananias weren’t comfortable about seeing Saul, but he obeyed. Philip did not know why he needs to go into the desert road but he obeyed.
• God calls us not to do what we like but to do what is right.
We don’t always like it, we don’t always understand it, but when God moves us, when we know God has spoken, it pays to obey.
• God will fulfill His end of the bargain. He saves Cornelius’ clan and opened the floodgate for the outreach to the Gentiles.
• God always fulfill His promises, if we care to believe Him and obey what He says.
(2) OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS A BIG THING.
It is always worth it, even though we don’t like it or understand it.
So what did Peter really tells the people. It was so powerful.
• Let’s read his short sermon in Acts 10:34-43.
So what’s the Gospel? Nothing really fabulous – it’s just about Jesus.
• Peter just recounted of what happened to Jesus. This is enough to bring faith and conviction. The Gospel is all about Jesus.
• Don’t complicate the Gospel. It is not about do’s and don’ts, it is not about theology or doctrines. It is simply about the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
Don’t be side-tracked by religious terms and doctrines. Don’t be too caught up by the idea that we need to explain Christianity.
• There will come a time for that, when we want to go deeper into the Word.
• But salvation has to do with Jesus Christ. Keep the Gospel simple.
• The criminal crucified next to Jesus was saved because he got to know Him while hanging on the cross. No difficult theology or doctrines to grapple with.
• Just a simple faith in the Saviour Jesus Christ.
Peter’s simple message was enough to bring conviction and repentance.
• The Holy Spirit saw what Peter cannot – conviction and faith in the hearts of these men and women.
• And He responded to the unseen cries of their heart. God saves them.
What we saw at Cornelius’ house was the result of the Spirit’s work; not a result of Peter’s persuasion.
• It was clear. The Holy Spirit interrupted him. Peter did not even have the chance to tell them HOW to be saved… ‘Step 1 2 3’.
• They believed what he had said. Bible says man is saved by grace through FAITH (Eph 2:8). Faith in Christ saves you.
God manifests His power in response to faith. We see that in Jesus’ ministry.
• His common response to those who are healed is this: “Your faith has healed you; your faith has made you well.”
• Faith in God is important! I do not want to over-emphasize it but neither do I want to undermine it. We really need to have faith in God! We pray in faith, and without doubt!
Peter became the crucial bridge that brought salvation to Cornelius family.
(3) YOU ARE A BRIDGE IN SOMEONE’S LIFE
Learn from Jesus.
• He attends parties and dinners with sinners and tax-collectors, hang out with prostitutes, touches lepers and the sick, embraces outcasts, get along with the wealthy, has conversations with the religious elite, and He seems to like everybody.
• He was so connected in the world that Jesus was criticized for being a friend of sinners (Matt 11:19). People were healed, touched, and saved because He was close enough to touch their lives and speak the truth.
• So treasure the networks of friends and acquaintances we have. God has a divine purpose for you to be there.
There is a story told about a faithful old deacon whose oft repeated prayer expression was, "O Lord, touch the unsaved with Thy finger."
One prayer meeting night he was leading in prayer when as he intoned this petition, as he so often did, he abruptly stopped praying.
Supposing he had been taken suddenly ill, someone went to him and asked if there was anything wrong, if he were ill.
"No," he replied, "I’m not ill. But something seemed to say to me, ’Thou art the finger’."
If you want to plant something that will last a year, plant a flower;
If you want to plant something that will last a lifetime, plant a tree; and
If you want to plant something that will last forever, plant the good news of the Gospel in the heart of a person that is lost.
Connect with the people where God has placed you.
• Charles Spurgeon says, “The position which you occupy in society is not an accidental one. You are placed where you are that you may be a preserving salt to those around, a sweet savour of Christ to all who know you.”
• It depends on where you are. We see God calling Philip, Ananias, Peter, Barnabas, Paul… to do different things at different times.
• But whatever the task, the bridge is important. Without the bridge, the Holy Spirit cannot.
Today, without you and I the Holy Spirit cannot. He needs a bridge. He needs the message to be told.
• God knows what He is doing when He guides you into a location and a vocation.
• All that remains is for you to seize the opportunities He has placed within your reach.
Seizing the opportunities we have is important. D. L. Moody understands this first hand.
Dwight L. Moody talked about the greatest regret of his life. 22 years after the event in 1871, he recounted what had happened.
"I was preaching on the life of Christ. I had spent 4 Sunday nights on the subject and had followed Christ from the manger along through his life to his arrest and trial, and on the 5th Sunday night, October 8, I was preaching to the largest congregation I had ever had in Chicago, quite elated with my success. My text was "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?"
That night I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. After preaching… with all the power that God had given me, urging Christ upon the people, I closed the sermon and said, "I wish you would take this text home with you and turn it over in your minds during the week, and next Sunday we will come to Calvary and the cross, and we will decide what we will do with Jesus of Nazareth."
He then turned to Bro Ira Sankey for a solo, and Sankey sang, "Today the Saviour Calls." But by the 3rd stanza Sankey’s voice was drowned out by the noise outside the hall. A fire broke out nearby and the flames were sweeping toward the Hall. The clanging
of the fire bells and the noise of the engines made it impossible to continue the meeting. Moody quickly dismissed the meeting and sent the people out of the building. It was the beginning of the Great Chicago Fire, which over the next 27 hours left 300 dead, 90,000 homeless, and a great city in ashes. Obviously, Moody never got to finish his sermon series.
He said: "I have never seen that congregation since. I have to fight hard to keep back the tears today.... 22 years have passed away... and I will never meet those people again until I meet them in another world. But I want to tell you one lesson I learned that night, which I have never forgotten, and that is, when I preach to press Christ upon the people then and there, I try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have [my] right hand cut off than give an audience a week to decide what to do with Jesus."
The Gospel is too important to be left to tomorrow, or next week.
… Jim Cymbala’s book ‘Fresh Wind Fresh Fire’ (p.125).
How is the church doing today?
