Change Your Thinking

Good morning. I am so glad that we can be here. Last week I shared with all of you a passage of scripture that I wanted us to engage this morning. As we continue to discuss and understand who we are as a church I want to remind you what the Goal is.

Sylvania Wesleyan Church is “United by God to Serve, worship, and build a Loving community.”

We worked through the ideas of service and the fact that we are called to serve both within the community and to our larger community.

We are called to worship God. To prioritize the worship of God over the preferences we want. To remember we gather and we serve because we want to honor God.

We Talked a few weeks ago about the fact that community begins here. The love we are to have for one another. That there will be times that community is hard and requires us to open ourselves up to relationships within this building.

Community though can’t be held by these four walls. We in many ways need to make sure we don’t look as these walls as a barrier to keep people out.

We can’t and shouldn’t be a community that circles the wagons, closes the gates. Hides behind our church and say only those we know are welcome.

Instead we need to hold the doors open and go out from them to welcome and invite others in and to help see that we have as much work outside the walls as we do within.

That is what I loved about this passage in Acts 10. It is a powerful reminder of what God can do in the lives of people who may not even know him yet.

I will help summarize the opening part of this story.

You have Cornelius a good centurion living his life. Being a part of the Roman army there are many ways he would have been against the Jewish people yet he was respected and he was looked at fondly.

God speaks to him and tells him to send for Peter.

This is where we pick up with an important element of this story.

Acts 10:9–16 NIV

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Peter’s Vision

Peter has this vision and it is an interesting one.

It is full of images and insight that has a lot of power for us in our world today.

The First thing that we can see is the importance of the dietary restrictions that exist for Jewish people.

Don’t reach for that bacon to add to your hamburger.

Yet, God shows Peter that these restrictions are lifted and that he should not call anything impure that God has made clean.

I know many people who will cite this passage as the one that frees us from the burden of the dietary restrictions.

Did you know that Jesus had already done that?

Mark 7:19 NIV

19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

This is an interesting fact to think about because that helps us to see that Peter was not only struggling with giving up his bias about Kosher foods but there was more going on here.

That is why I think we see that Peter is spending time pondering this dream. I imagine he was reminded on what Jesus had said and his hang ups needed to be addressed but there was something more to this vision that he wasn’t seeing yet.

Then the Men that Cornelius show up.

Acts 10:18–21 NIV

18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” 21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

The Holy Spirit

I think sometimes we forget that God can speak at times with the small whisper and there are times that he is very much just a blunt instrument.

I think about my own Journey and the moments that I have been seeking the Holy Spirit.

At times I can remember thinking, “okay, I am not sure what he is trying to say or I feel like I am missing something and I need to keep praying.”

Then there are times that It’s like, “Hey stupid, shut up and listen I am telling you exactly what you need to hear”.

It is that image of just a quick smack upside the head reminding us that God has things in control that is needed.

This is one of those moments. Peter thinking about his vision and the Holy Spirit shows up and says

Hey, let me make this easy for you.

These men show up to take Peter to their master.

Peter’s Need

Peter sometimes needs that clear direction from the Holy Spirit and that smack upside the head to check his bias that he is sometimes guilty of.

Peter had a tendency to first favor the Jewish people. This vision was the Holy Spirit’s way of reminding him that the restrictions of the Jewish dietary, social, and other restrictions should not keep him from interacting with Gentiles.

In fact, God was calling him to go and minister. This was very direct and to his credit he goes willingly.

When he arrives as Cornelius house he even acknowledges this.

Acts 10:27–28 NIV

27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

Peter recognizes what God was saying to him. Peter sees that he can’t get hung up by the things that he think might be sin but instead see what God is trying to get him to do. To share the Gospel.

A loving community

It is this foundation that we are reminded that A loving community doesn’t focus on the dirt.

Let’s be clear. We see the dirt. We know its there but that can’t be the only thing that we concentrate on when we go out into the world.

We Have to remember that the Holy Spirit is calling us to reach out to those around us and to share the love of God with the world. That might mean going to places, talking to people, and ministering to those we may not expect but we are to not focus on the dirt but on who they are.

They are a person created in the image of God. Loved dearly by God and they are worthy of hearing the good news.

I mean think about that for a moment. Do we treat people that way?

Do we really allow ourselves to remember that all people are created in the image of God. That Jesus died for all people. That Jesus wants to see everyone come back to him.

How would our ministry to the world look if we held on to this foundational belief about everyone we meet?

Would we treat them differently?

Would we love them no matter who they are or what they have done?

Would we pray for them and call them to a life of following God?

Peter did this. He called them to Christ. He shared the good news. And they were called to change who they were to follow after God but guess who did the convicting that day?

Not Peter, The Holy Spirit did.

Acts 10:44 NIV

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.

The Holy Spirit is the one who transformed lives. It is our part to share the message to care for people it is the Holy Spirits job to convict the Sin.

Holy Spirit Lead Community

We need to remember that the most powerful change in people’s lives is not our words or even our actions it is the Holy Spirit getting a hold of their lives.

The Holy Spirit community recognizes that we need to get out of the way of his Work and simply be the messenger. We don’t need to brow beat or bible thump our way to salvations. We need to trust that we can be reminded that the Spirit of God is such that it will work and move in amazing ways.

The community that engages this will be a loving community because they bring the good news. They share the love of God. They recognize that our first priority is to just be there with people in whatever they are going through.

There will be times that it is harder than others. There will be times that require us to say “Lord you got this” and just trust that he is faithful and will work in ways we can’t imagine.

There will also be times that we recognize that we have to back off becuase they aren’t ready yet.

In all of this we are called as a body of believers to recognize that we can begin to transform the community around us because we are a body of believers that recognizes that our community needs the Presence of God and it can be found in us as we work to show the world that the love of Christ is powerful and life changing.

Do we want to be that community?

Do we want the Holy Spirit to take control and lead us foward?

Do we want to be known as a church that people are loved and welcomed no matter where they are at?

Do we want to be a church seen as a place that real change happens in people’s Lives?

Than we want to be a loving community built upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s Pray.