Attitude Adjustment - Acts 11:1-18 & John 13:34

Attitude Adjustment Michael McNally Acts 11:1-18; John 13:34 SBCC, May 18 Jesus came to the empire preaching metanoia - A change of mind, a shift in lifestyle A turnabout in direction A renovation of the heart An attitude adjustment - Acts 11:1-18: part of the Pentecost story - Setting: Caesarea Maritima - Portrays people needing an attitude adjustment: - First, the Apostle Peter - Then some in the Church in Jerusalem - Next, an analogy from aviation Air France Flight 447 June 1, 2009 1 Blinded sensor 2 Sr Pilot on break 3 Panic/tunnel vision 4 Ignored warnings 5 Ignored change in law 6 Wrong corrective action 7 Failure to communicate 8 Confusion and denial What to learn more? Search Youtube for: Lost Over the Abyss - The Puzzling Case of Air France Flight 447 Analogy God’s new journey – salvation expands x1,000,000 But God’s people? - Stuck in old thinking - Mired in defensive, judgmental panic - Needing an attitude adjustment Let’s read now through Acts 11:1-18 Where - Caesarea Maritima When - AD 40-47 What - the central conflict of Acts Acts 9-15 Acts 1-8 Neither H.S. arrives to a circumcision nor Jewish Church law of Moses Acts 16-28 Carrying out the Great Commission The larger conflict Acts 15:5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” Resolution of the council Acts 15:8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, … why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Gal 5:2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. Not old, but new Rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Are we thick skulled, like Peter? ● 3 times: Love one another. John 13:34 ● 3 times: Peter denied Christ. Matt 26:69–75 ● 3 times: Peter reinstated, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17. ● 3 times: Peter corrected, “Rise, kill and eat.” Acts 11. Jesus is the measure John 13:34: As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Attitude adjustment test: Do outsiders perceive you as conspicuously loving? An Attitude Adjustment occurs, how? The Holy Spirit arrives: fear becomes acceptance, praise and rejoicing. Eph 1:14: … Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. This is the picture: Rev 21:3 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Closing thoughts