Diverse by Design
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1 Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,
2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”
4 And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
5 “Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;
6 he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”
Review last week: Along the Way… (How Peter came to be where he is and the major shift about to happen)
i.e. While Peter was traveling along the way, God was setting up a breakthrough in another destination.
You may not see it now, but it’s a setup…
While you’re in the in-between, God is working things out in front of you so that when you get there, you will walk right into it…
Stop trying to identify your destiny!
i.e. ring by spring…
Peter could have identified his destiny as raising the lame man and settled there…
He could have identified his destiny as raising the dead woman and settled there…
But God had something even greater in store for him!
Don’t get mistake your launching pad for your destination!
Raising the lame man in Lydda was transitional to raising the dead woman in Joppa…
His placement in Joppa was a setup for the vision Cornelius gets that sets the stage for the greatest shift in the New Testament after the resurrection of Christ.
Because while Cornelius had sent men because of his vision, Peter is having his own vision:
9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;
11 and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,
12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air.
13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”
15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate;
18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.
19 While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
20 “But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”
Why would Peter have misgivings about going with them?
Because they weren’t Jewish! Remember Cornelius is a Roman centurion of the Italian cohort…
Explain significance of vision as setup for whats coming:
28 And Peter said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.
Peter asks why they sent, and Cornelius explains his own vision to Peter, so Peter (without a choir, pulpit, or notes) preaches this message:
34 Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,
35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.
For the next several verses Peter preaches a gospel message, proclaiming Jesus as savior not only of the Jewish people:
43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
This belief as defined by the New Testament is not just believing that Jesus existed as a man…
It’s not even that he existed as God…
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
No, when the NT says believe, it defines “belief” as a “trust in” Jesus for who He says He is…
It’s not just an intellectual recognition… it’s a trust from the heart…
This trust is described as making Jesus’ word one’s home, abiding in Him, implying a deep, ongoing relationship, not just a one-time decision…
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
But as Peter is speaking, God confirms with this:
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered,
47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”
Just as we did… They got it too!
God didn’t make them second class citizens…
When the Gentiles were welcomed in, God confirmed them in the same way…
Call worship team
This is the original design of the church! DIVERSE BY DESIGN!
Expand on modern diversity - not second class… What it will look like as God brings them in…
Ground is level at the foot of the cross
Types of Diversity:
Cultural
World Cultures
Local cultures
Generatonal
Diversity of wealth
Diversity of family structure
Singles
Kids
Grandkids
No kids
Teens
Empty nesters
BUT ALL ARE WELCOME AT THE FEET OF JESUS!
DIVERSE BY DESIGN…
Altar Call
