Sneaky Grace

Acts 10 NIV

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. 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. 17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 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?” 22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” 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. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. 39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Last week we started to talk about this journey of grace. The journey that we go on with God that is only possible by his free gift of grace. It starts with “come and see,” turns to a decision to the question of “follow me,” and then becomes “go and do.”

We talked about how it is where “come and see” becomes “follow me” that we get to a decision point. We talked about the things we need to realize before we can make this decision. They included:

Your decision is made possible through the extension of God’s grace. There is no other way it is possible. We cannot do enough or earn it in any way.

Secondly, this grace is personal but not private. God’s grace meets us where we are in the unique way that he created us. It will be painful at times accepting this grace, it will be uncomfortable. However, as personal as it is, we are not called to live in this grace alone. We are called to journey together with other believers.

This grace is costly. There is always a cost to following Jesus. That cost could look like many things. It may mean giving up something we like to do in order to do what Jesus calls us to. It may mean leaving family and friends as the Elliot’s did to follow God’s call to be a missionary. It could mean lots of different things, but there is always a cost to following Jesus. The Kingdom of God is counter cultural today, just as it was when Jesus initiated that Kingdom when he was on this earth. Following Jesus and what he calls us to will often require courage that only he can provide, because without that sometimes what he calls us to doesn’t make sense.

This morning, we are going to look at what we call God’s prevenient grace, or seeking grace.

Think about your own story. Do you remember a wooing of the Spirit before you might have realized what it even was? Can you now see how the Spirit was working within you prior to your conversion? God is at work among and in us even before we know that it is happening. We believe God is wooing all people back to himself and that God has been activating a desire in us before we knew or understood who God was.

Let’s dig in and understand a little about what prevenient grace is.

According to the dictionary, prevenient means “preceding in time or order; antecedent.” It means something that comes before, and grace means “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.”

So if we put those two definitions together, we get the definition of prevenient grace: “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings that comes before or ahead of us as human beings.” Or more simply put, grace that comes before we ask for it. God’s grace existed before he created humans. Even though he did not intend for his relationships to human beings to be separated as it has been after the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned against God, his free grace existed before we did. It is freely available to all human beings, but we cannot obtain it on our own. There is no way to do so.

So to sum that up, Prevenient grace, or literally "the grace that goes before," or God’s seeking grace, is God's free gift given to ALL (universal gift) from the moment we are born. Paul wrote in

Titus 2:11 NIV

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

He also wrote in

2 Timothy 1:8–10 NIV

8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Prevenient grace is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can impart anything to people to enable them to respond to the need for Christ in their life. However, we also believe that people have the ability to choose whether or not to accept this grace. God does not force anyone to respond in acceptance. However, all people are drawn by the Spirit to enable them to see their need by the Holy Spirit. It is through this prevenient grace that the Spirit can help a person come to the point of spiritual awakening. This is the point where a person is convicted of their sins and convinced of their need for God.

It is also important to note here that we have a part in this. Remember the parable that Jesus told of the sower and the seeds in Matthew chapter 13? How some fell on the path, some on rocky soil, some fell among thorns and then some fell on good soil. We need to be sowing seed and praying that the Holy Spirit will do His part to cause that seed to help others recognize their spiritual need. People can come to their own spiritual awakening as a result of our faithfulness, be it in preaching, witnessing to others, some events, or other things. We need to be faithful to the opportunities God is placing in front of us. I’ve often thought, that I don’t want to stand before Jesus and find out that I passed on an opportunity to help bring someone in to the family of God.

We believe that Christians don’t take Jesus to nonbelievers - Jesus is already there! This is one that I think we need to spend a moment considering. In the church we talk a lot about reaching people and taking Jesus to them. While we certainly have a responsibility to share the good news, we need to realize that Jesus is already there, there is nothing special about us that bring him with us.

SET STAGE OF STORY OF CORNELIUS

So where do we see God’s prevenient grace at work in the story of Cornelius?

Crossroads: The unique place of life Cornelius was in was perhaps a setup for grace to have its way with him.

Curiosity: Anyone who begins to turn toward God is already under the allure of grace. This pull is often demonstrated through curiosity. As a pastor, this is one of my favorite examples of God’s prevenient grace. People ask questions. They show up in spaces they wouldn’t ordinarily. They hang out longer than they used to. Unfortunately, well-meaning Christians sometimes sabotage these moments, feeling pressured to “get someone saved.” But the beauty of prevenient grace is knowing that God is already doing the work.

Companionship: Cornelius’s life would have constantly bumped up against the lives of the people of God. He was highly esteemed among the Jews, so he was no foreigner to people of faith. Notably, when prevenient grace led him to a revelatory moment, his first act of obedience was to seek the companionship of Peter, a Jewish Christian he’d never met.

Conviction: Conviction is the grace that begins to align our lives to the kingdom of God before we’ve made that kingdom our home. This is why discipleship is so important. Discipleship doesn’t begin at the point of conversion. Discipleship happens all along the journey of grace, nurturing, fostering, and fueling the work that God is already up to in a person’s life.

There is another aspect to the story of Cornelius that we need to spend a couple moments on. There is not just attention on Cornelius in this story, but also Peter, who has a responsibility that we also share today.

Prevenient grace works in two ways. First, it works on the person that the Lord is drawing to God’s self. Second, it works through the person who is called and commissioned - sent to stand with the person who is searching. That’s us. When we meet people and build relationships, God uses us to woo people toward himself!

EXPLORE PETER’S ROLE

We can celebrate what takes place in Cornelius’s life and family. God works in ways that we do not often realize, but it is so important for us to follow his leading, as we never know what he will do through us.

As we think about the possibilities of how God works in and through us, let’s consider how God has been moving in the Cambodian Nazarene church over the last year. SHARE FROM NAZARENE NEWS

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