Acts 10

Read Acts 10:9-17

How many of you argue with yourself? Have you ever heard the phrase never argue with an idiot?

Have you ever argued with GOd? How many times did Peter argue with Godever?....ok in this vision? That’s the same number of time that Peter denied Christ and... Arguing with God is relating to God, we see it throughout scripture in Moses, Noah, Jonah, and now Peter....Arguing with God is better than ignoring God…Ok, if you’ve never argued with God, have you argued with anyone? Do you typically argue with people you don’t know…or people you have relationship with? Arguing is relating…it’s not the best way of relating, but it’s better than ignoring.

How often and in what ways do you relate to God?

Now this scene with Peter arguing with the voice from Heaven about whether he should kill and eat these unclean animals plays out three times....in Scripture the number three is significant and refers to a trinitarian quality of God and completeness, in the Hebrew language something repeated three times meant it was at ultimate importance.

What God has made clean do not call common or unclean....as I was worshipping the Lord this morning to a song called “All Hail King Jesus” God spoke to me saying I have to paraphrase cause it was a feeling not a phrase, “you worship your uncleanness instead of my holiness when you feel all depressed about what a sinner you are…unworthy....I made you worthy, worship Me not your sin....STOP IT....STop calling unclean.....what God has made clean.

Do you dwell on your failures?

Without Hesitation

Read Acts 10:17-29

Have you ever come across three men who you would hesitate to follow to some unknown destination? Like maybe their appearance was alarming...

Joke/Anecdote: “My name’s Bill....story”

He was unclean.

And I shook his hand, because I’m nice…and then I had to remove that hand and get a new one…to this day…prosthetic hand.

Peter goes with these guys and it shows that he will obey the Holy Spirit at all costs. These guys are Gentiles....(everybody else) They are common…unclean. The Jews were set apart by God and they knew they were uncommon…they were clean. There were many rituals that made them uncommon and clean, handwashing rituals such as the Pharisees got onto Jesus for his disciples not doing at a party. They also had loads of rituals concerning what they could eat: only certain types of meat

There is some scholarly debate about whether this vision of Peter’s had to do with people or food. Some say it’s one; some say the other; but this is a very unnecessary debate because it must be both. The context is immediately and obviously applicable to people. He goes with the Gentiles which was expressly forbidden, nothing short of the voice of God would get him to go to Cornelius’ house but as we see not only does Peter and his friends go but they stay and teach Cornelius’ household for several days…of which they would share many meals with the Gentiles so the debate is easily solved and many scholars recognize the vision suddenly is sharing with Peter whom the entire western church is built upon that Christians, Messianic Christians such as Peter can eat both unclean food and people.

Acts 10:29-33

The pursuit of God - Cornelius’ experience

There is so much here, but I want to point out specifically that Cornelius does not yet know about Jesus. And, he has not received the Holy Spirit, and yet he hears from God. If you ever wonder, does God speak to non-Christians, yes he does. Cornelius was a Gentile proselyte to Judaism, meaning he was Roman but he believed in God and tried to serve God through Judaism. and God honored his pursuit and spoke to him. Now Cornelius is asking Peter to teach him “Now we are here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord”

Pray with Expectation

Cornelius was on the wrong path, but he was pursuing God who wamts to be found.

Do you pray with confidence that God hears you?

Do you expect to hear from God?