PETER EPITOMIZED CHANGE OF HEART AND MIND . . . (Acts 11:1-18)
If all church leaders today were like the Apostle Peter, there is no telling what kind of churches our churches would be. A lot would depend on which aspect of Peter’s personality they personified. He has variously been described as boisterous, overbearing, impetuous, narcissistic and cowardly; yet, he has also been thought of as loyal believer, dynamic leader, bold preacher, commanding officer and faithful follower of Christ.
The short of it is that Jesus knew who Peter was and what kind of personality he had . . . but he saw in Peter the potential for reshaping his rough edges and molding him into a new person – in Christ - who could take charge of a relatively small band of believers and build it into a bold new brigade that would be the basis for a worldwide movement.
Would you agree that all worldwide movements began with a small number of adherents? This has been true through the centuries – and many of the movements witnessed in our lifetime started in the heart and mind of an individual who went through a change of heart and mind – both for good and for bad!
Christianity has won the historical battle for longevity due to the strong personal commitment of a few who expanded their number and branched out into the whole world – but not without the willingness on the part of persons chosen by God to get out front and lead.
When you factor into that formula for survival of Christianity the fact that the early leaders of the Church and their followers were united in their core belief that the resurrection of Jesus proved that He was the Son of God who came into the world to be the Savior of the world!
Most of the leaders of the Christian movement became leaders after they changed their minds and hearts as to who Jesus was. Peter, for example, at first denied that he even knew Jesus; so nothing short of a total re-making of this man was necessary before he could be entrusted with the leadership of the early Christian Church.
John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus restored Peter to useful service and, we are told by Luke in the Book of Acts that, on the day of Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the gospel.
Nevertheless, there were some things about Peter that God had to straighten out. This fisherman of Jewish heritage and upbringing still clung to some notions that are unacceptable within the Christian Church; and I suppose the most difficult change of mind and heart that Peter needed to undergo was his adamant refusal, at first, to include anyone outside Jewish tradition as legitimate Christians.
In his own words, Peter tells how it came about that he changed his mind and his heart about the inclusion of non-Jewish believers into the fellowship of the church --- Acts 11:4-10 . . .
As the result of a vision, God led Peter to the home of a Roman believer who had been preaching the gospel to Gentiles, and at that time, Peter had no problem with their conversion to Christ, but he insisted that the new converts be baptized.
HOWEVER, when Peter returned to Jerusalem, he was confronted by some Jewish Christians who criticized him for not insisting that the converts he had baptized also be circumcised – submit to Jewish custom! Well now, you can see that already there were groups in the early church vying for power – political power within the church – and, of course, not much along that line has changed over time.
Due to the hard-liners’ challenge of Peter’s authority, he had to go into detail about how it was that he came to change his position about insistence that all Christians adhere to Jewish customs.
Notice that the vision of the sheet, and the command to eat, had to be repeated three times before Peter’s resistance to the notion of inclusion was broken down. Isn’t it true that oftentimes barriers to the gospel must be broken down over and over again because men tend to resist changing their rigid position?
Perhaps you have known, during your lifetime, folks like Peter, who tended to be hard-headed if not hard-hearted when it came to changing their mind about something, even if they were obviously wrong?
To his credit, Peter recognized in the vision that God was teaching him something about the gospel that had not yet occurred to Peter but that was to be so very important to the spread of the gospel unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
The truth Peter learned – and we all need to learn – was that people are far more important than religious regulations and customs. All people matter to God! “What God has cleansed, do not call common.”
Folks, don’t ever forget the words of the apostle John when he said, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins AND cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
Cleansing is an act of God that takes place within! God taught Peter that lesson to set him straight about who can be born again. No one is excluded from God’s grace and mercy.
Peter continued to tell his story of how God helped him understand that no one is excluded from God’s offer of salvation but, once he got it, he had opportunity immediately to put it into practice --- Acts 11:11-14 . . .
There was no doubt in Peter’s mind that he was being led by the Spirit to go with these Gentiles. He did not hesitate to go with them – although he might not have gone if he had not earlier been convinced that the gospel was meant for all people.
Notice that he also took with him – not just two witnesses as required by Jewish law to confirm something as being the truth – but all six of the believers who had accompanied him from Jerusalem to Joppa. Peter knew that the Lord was about to use him in an even greater way; so, he wanted to have as many witnesses as possible to help spread the word about what God was doing in and through believers who dared to step out on faith.
It is always more effective to go together – in groups – to bear witness for Christ. Good things happen when we band together! Working together with God and fellow Christians is always better than trying to go it alone.
Then Peter tells what happened once he and his “brothers in Christ” got to the house of Cornelius – the one who had sent for him to come and to share the Good News with his entire household --- Acts 11:15-18 . . .
How sweet it is, once we open our mouths to speak for God that, before we get very far into the delivery of our testimony or our message, the Spirit of God begins to move in the hearts and minds of the hearers to bless them and convince them that what they are listening to is truth from God.
When the Spirit begins to move people closer to God and to each other, there ought to be no doubt in our minds that this is what is meant by the scripture that says, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
In Peter’s situation of being led to Caesarea to preach and testify, we see clearly what the purpose was – to show that the ministry of the Spirit of God applies to everyone who believes and receives. These Gentiles were being moved by the same Holy Spirit that had taken hold of Peter and all the others on the day of Pentecost. On that day, they were all Jews. On this day, the Spirit took hold of Gentiles as well as Jews.
Notice that it got real quiet when it became evident as to what was going on! Instantaneously it dawned on everybody in the place what this strange occurrence meant. They all began to say, “So, God has also granted this new life in Christ to Gentiles who repent.”
“Praise the Lord!”
How does this apply to us today? Are there not folks who organize their churches around certain types of people, or minister to a group of people, to the exclusion of others? Yes, there are; but isn’t it time for Christians to get serious about witnessing to ALL people – everywhere!? Put your mind to the task of witnessing to someone this week. Amen.
