Sermon Tone Analysis

A Promise Kept (3): Preparing the Soil

(Acts 10:23-33)

May 8, 2022

Read Acts 10:23-33 – In Mark 4:26, Jesus gives a short, but instructive parable on evangelism: “And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”

So, the farmer plows, plants, and then, he’s helpless.

The seed sprouts while he sleeps, and he knows not how.

He can plant, but he can’t make it grow.

It’s like I Cor 3:6: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

It a huge load off us to know when it comes to sharing Christ, the results are all His.

We are helpless to produce the new life that only Christ can give thru the HS.

But we can prepare the soil.

The farmer cannot make the seed grow, but it will not grow if soil is not prepared and seed planted.

This passage teaches how to prepared the soil.

In this case, a lot of work has already been done in Cornelius’ heart before Peter ever arrives on the scene.

But having been sent, having arrived, Peter does some interesting things that will help us be better preparers of the soil of people’s hearts – more receptive to the gospel.

How can we be better seed-planters?

I. Share the Load

Now Peter had company.

23c) “Some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.”

They were 6 in number (Acts 11:12).

Peter wanted support as he went to uncharted territory of Gentiles; he wanted witnesses (which became of great importance); and he training others.

Ministry is always enhanced when the load can be shared.

That’s not always possible.

Sharing one-on-one as God opens doors, like Philip with the Ethiopian, is always our call.

But sharing the load when possible is wise.

When Jesus sent the 12 on their maiden evangelism tour in Mark 6:7, he sent them “two by two.”

Later, when He sent the 72 in Lu 10:1, he sent them “two by two.”

Jesus Himself was usually accompanied by the twelve.

The first missionary teams were Paul and Barnabas – later Paul and Silas, and others.

We’ve seen that when it comes to church leadership, there was always a plurality of elders, never just one.

Sharing the load in ministry has many advantages.

It means more than one person is praying for an unsaved person or group.

A shared vision may result in finding multiple ways to get the message out.

Sharing means that where one is weak, another is strong.

When one is discouraged, he or she may be encouraged by others.

Sharing in ministry encourages and binds us in love.

This is true in sharing Christ with neighbors.

Husband and wife can work together to great effect.

Or imagine a couple of friends praying for another friend and searching together for ways to prepare the soil of that heart.

A Belgian workhorses can pull about 8,000 pounds when harnessed.

But put 2 together they can pull from 18,000 pounds to over 25,000 pounds.

That’s the power of teamwork.

It’s true in ministry as well.

Sharing gives a beautiful pix of the unity of God.

So find someone with whom to share the load.

II.

Shun the Limelight

Peter arrives at Cornelius’ house with an impressive resume, having healed a chronic lame man in Lydda and raised Tabitha from the dead at Joppa.

So, 25 “When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.”

That’s a pretty human reaction, right?

This guy has raised a dead person.

So to cover his bases, Cornelius fell down and worshiped him.

But Peter will have none of it.

26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

Peter never took credit that belonged to Jesus.

And he had no desire to be worshiped.

He gave credit where it belonged – to God alone.

He was not a glory hog..

He knew the truth of Isa 48:11: “For my sake, for my own sake, I do it, . . .

My glory I will not give to another.”

That’s not because God is selfish but bc He deserves all the glory, and it will benefit everyone when He gets it.

Peter shuns the limelight.

He’s happy to be used by God, but unlike many in our day, he doesn’t seek applause.

He’s a happy servant!

God specializes in bringing down proud hearts.

Neb, Babylon’s great king, ruled the known world for 40 years between 605 and 565 BC.

He was helped by one of the wisest of God servants, Daniel.

He built a great empire, so he thought.

God thought differently.

Jer 27:6: “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him.”

To God this great king was just a servant as God also refers to him in Jer 25:9 and 47:10.

But Neb got proud.

God warned him thru a dream to repent of his pride but he would not.

So, Dan 4:29 “At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?

31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you.” Neb lived like a beast living in the fields for the next 7 years.

He took the glory that was God’s.

So, can God trust us with success?

Or do we like the acclaim of being up front?

Do we love to hear what a great job you are doing?

It is a particular temptation for pastors.

Power can easily go to our head.

Perhaps the greatest evangelist since Paul was Geo Whitefield.

As a child he thought he might one day preach, but when the reality began to develop, he said: “I remember once in Gloucester, I know the room, I looked up at the window when I am there; I know the bedside and the floor upon which I have lain prostrate.

I have said, Lord, I cannot go; I shall be puffed up with pride and fall into the snare of the devil.”

He later preached to thousands upon thousands -- taught Wesley how to preach outside, and God used both powerfully.

But when conflict developed between Whitefield’s Calvinist orientation and Wesley’s Arminian, Whitefield said, “We cannot have this division.

I will step aside and you take leadership.”

He tempered his ambition, glorifying God.

But it’s not just pastors.

Any child of God can be infected with pride.

We must ask, Can I take it when someone gets the position I want?

Am I okay if the decision doesn’t go my way?

When you I don’t get proper recognition, can I deal with that?

Humility prepares the ground for the gospel.

Power plays deny it.

We have truth, but we must share and live it humbly.

The message is His, not ours.

We must get out of the spotlight and get Jesus into it.

Spurgeon, after one of the most successful pastoral ministries in history, left for France for his health concerned he would not return.