What God Sees

Intro:

As we matriculate through this near year and season. God is continually challenging each and everyone of us. Some of us are challenged in different ways, and yet some of us face similar challenges. One challenge that we all have to face is ourselves. Many times church we are our own worst enemy. We sometimes find ourselves questioning things that God has affirmed or confirmed, and approving things that God has condemned. We find ourselves sometimes speaking death when God has issued life and speaking life when God has issued an expiration date for it. We kill what we should want to live and continually revive that which should be dead. We would rather sometimes gossip than talk about the Gospel. We would prefer bad news instead of sharing the good news of Jesus dying for all of our sins. We sometimes prefer to talk about someone’s mess instead of being a conduit for the Message of Grace. We love to discuss the junk that goes on in church than to share the Justification by the Blood of Jesus. Can I preach it like I feel it this morning. Part of the reason that we enjoy such atrocities is because we would rather please our flesh than search out the will of a Holy God! Can you imagine if the church would get off of Facebook and start getting the Book! Can you imagine if the church stopped being religious and started being in relationship with the Almighty God! Can you imagine if our political leaders would stop feeling their own agenda and started doing God’s agenda! The reason we have such a divide in this country in this nation and even in this church is because we cannot see what God sees! The only way can see how God sees is with the power of the Holy Spirit. Your flesh can’t handle it, your emotions cannot handle it! The spirit is willing but the flesh is so weak saints. It is sad but true that so many times our flesh causes us to miss what God is trying to show us. Touch your neighbor and say neighbor we have to change how we see things.

Context:

Here in the text today I must alot a moment for contextual validation. Peter in this text is one of the chief apostolic powers in this region and in this season. Peter preached and tells us that one sermon caused a new testament mega church of over 3,000. This same Peter while in his flesh denied Christ, cursed, and cut a man’s ear off, but this renewed Holy Ghost filled apostle would speak and cause demons to run and sickness flee feeble bodies. In reflection this helps me to know that even if you have messed up in your past God can still use you! While we celebrate Peter’s success in ministry we must also belabor the fact that Peter was biased. Now if you really understand the context of the text you need to know that Peter although a follower of Jesus, he was still full blooded Jew. So Peter just like many of us struggled accepting people who don’t look and believe like us. There were items in the law that forbade a righteous Jew to do or even be around. Often times God will take our religion and throw it in the trash because what we practice is not often times as big as what God has planned. In other words God was moving Peter in a direction that would violate everything that he was taught since he was a young boy. Part of the reason for you Bible scholars in the house is Paul had just experienced conversion in chapter 9. God is trying to get the chief apostle prepared for the shift that is on the way. So God does two things in the early part of this chapter. First God sends an angel to speak to Cornelius. The angel then tells him to seek Peter and hear what God has to say through him, because has noticed his charitable heart and diligence. Then God uses a vision to speak to Peter explaining that God can cleanse! Now one could argue that the reason God uses an angel to speak to Cornelius is because he wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit yet! See God has to send someone when you don’t have the interpreter in full function within you spiritually. Notice in the text that God waits until Peter is hungry and then shows him unclean animals and says get up clean and ear. Peter’s good Jewish response is I have not ever eaten anything unclean. The bible says Peter argues with the vision three more times. Now let me mess you up Cornelius simply obeys. Which brings me to a point sometimes folks full of the spirit are just as hard headed as religious folks! Peter argues with the vision, but Cornelius gets up and sends for Peter as the Angel says. Sometimes church although God shows us something that does not fit in our normal box we need to move on faith and obey Him, because God knows what’s coming!! The problem is we want God to show us everything before we do what God says, but I hate to tell you God does not operate like we want God to. If God says it then it is for our best and God’s best is always better than anything Man could ever dream of giving you! Somebody tell your neighbor God Sees More in you and has more for you!!

Close (Persepctive)

So as Cornelius guys arrive the Bible says that the men stop at the gate of the house and yell we are looking for Simon called Peter. Peter while bewildered from the vision event comes down off of the roof and greets Cornelius’s men. He says in our common language what can I help you fellas with? They told them that the Centurion Cornelius sent them after being instructed by an angel to do so. Peter says something that just does not happen in that day and time. Come on in and be my guest. First Peter was not at his own house. So he was inviting them to visit at somebody else house. Second Jews did not invite Gentiles into their homes it was unlawful, but I am so glad that we serve a God who is above religious tradition! So what may have been a no no can now be a whatever, because God supercedes anything that man says! After they stayed all night they got up the next morning and headed to Caesarea now known as Italy. Now as Peter and the men traveled Cornelius being a righteous man called for all of his family to be at his house, because God was about to do something great. He wasn’t stingy with what God was about to do so he invited them over for this one day revival! I do have to be real with you all today. Sometimes you will invite family and close friends, but if they don’t want it you can’t do anything about it. Your job is to invite them and their job is to want what God has for them. I am getting like that with church folks if you don’t want it that’s fine just don’t hinder me! Tell somebody to hold my mule!! Cornelius was a devout man respected by all of the Jews, but when Peter arrived Cornelius fell down to worship him, but Peter picked him up and said I am just a man as you are don’t worship me. Which reminds me that no matter how much you do for the kingdom we have to yet remain humble before God and man. After he picked him up the Bible says in verse 8 He said to them, “You know that[bs] it is unlawful[bt] for a Jew[bu] to associate with or visit a Gentile,[bv] yet God has shown me that I should call no person[bw] defiled or ritually unclean. At this moment Peter changed his perspective. See you cannot receive what God has for you if you cannot see what God sees! Peter’s Change of perspective led to him receiving the revelation. See he did not know what the dream meant until he got to place where God called him to! See when you obey God he will reveal to you what you need in that hour, but if you still see things from your own tradition and your own mindset then you will miss the revelation. Because God sees what we can’t see. Can I close church! After Peter started preaching Jesus. The Bible says that everyone in the house was filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in tongues! Watch this now church Peter’s revelation led to their elevation, but Cornelius’s obedience led to his whole family getting saved and filled with the Holy Ghost! You see a bunch of dirty no good people God sees a new church, You see poor people God sees a prosperous people, you see a bunch of mess God sees a new message. The Holy Spirit can and will change your perspective, because the Spirit sees what God sees and will lead you and guide you into all truth! Stop looking with your eyes and start looking with God’s eyes. Can I testify when I got here my physical eyes saw hurt people, but God saw healed people, my eyes saw a broken building, but God saw a renovated worship facility, my eyes saw rebellious folks, but God sees obedient sheep, my eyes beheld low finances, but God sees overflow, my eyes saw an empty choir stand, but God saw a full one, my eyes saw no musical equipment, but God saw a full band. You see something sorry but God sees something great, you see something small but God sees something large, you see something broken, but God sees something put back together again!!!!!!