The Power of Your Next Step

Acts 10:1–6 NIV

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 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!” 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. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Acts 10:44–48 NIV

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 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.

Introduction

How may of you know that there are words that when they are spoken can trigger a whole bunch of memories.

Let me try that right now...

Blockbuster

How many of you are getting all the memories of Friday night’s walking the aisles of Blockbuster and trying to get the newest release. Taking it home and watching it on your VCR. You remember their slogan, “make it a blockbuster night.’ Do you remember the sticker on their VHS tapes? “Be Kind, Rewind.”

That’s just one of those words right?

Here’s another one...

Mapquest

Come on, how many of you know that before they loaded up GPS Software on your phone, if you want to get directions somewhere you needed to jump on a computer, enter your starting point and your destination, and then it would give you a map to print. Yes, PRINT. You would have to PRINT that map and carry it with you to wherever it is that you were going.

And listen this was called modern technology!

Before Mapquest you had to tell people, “Get on the 5, exit H St, turn right, turn left at the 4th stop sign, when you get to Jack in the Crack turn right, and then when you get to the pink dilapidated house that belongs to the local hoarder, I am right next to it. I am right there on the left.”

You’d have to write everything down on a piece of paper using the pen next to your rotary phone on the wall.

Memories triggered by one word. Mapquest.

Transition

And today, I want to talk to you about why God never gives us a map, he gives us the next step.

The Man Cornelius

The 10th chapter of Acts is a game changer.

The world is forever changed here in this chapter, and at the time, few people even noticed.

We are introduced to this man named Cornelius who is a Roman soldier. Through commentaries we come to understand that he’s a leader of a group of 100 soldiers. This man, Cornelius, was a devout man. The Bible says this about him:

he feared God

gave alms to people

prayed to God always

Listen, this is the very definition of a good person.

You ever met anyone who said, I’m not religious, but I’m a good person.

Cornelius checks that box.

The tension that Cornelius is living in is that he is not a proselyte.

What is a proselyte?

To the Jews, if you wanted to follow their religion, then you needed to abandon your culture, your upbringing and your ethnic particularities, and follow all of the Jewish laws, which was north of 600. Now before you say no big deal, keep in mind this meant circumcision for the men. This meant a whole lot of things for the women as well. This was a big ask.

Here in the text, Cornelius was like give me your God, but don’t give me your religion.

Does that sound familiar at all???

Now, Cornelius was doing a lot of good doing it his own way. But one day as he is praying, an Angel of the Lord appears to him and tell him, go find Peter, bring him to your house, and he’s going to give you some direction.

Hungry Peter

Who is Peter?

Well for starters, we know that Peter was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. We know that the church was communal and leadership was shared, but when Peter spoke, people listened.

At this time Peter is in Joppa, about 31 miles away, and he’s doing the Lord’s work. Here’s what happens when he does the Lord’s work:

Acts 10:10 NIV

He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

Listen, I tell you doing the work of ministry can make you hungry. If you ever wondered why Pastor Josh didn’t stay looking like a triathlete, now you know why.

I have completely digressed...

So as they are preparing Peter’s meal, he falls into a trance while praying and he is starting to have a vision. It’s kind of strange, but we’ll unpack it together.

Acts 10:11–15 NIV

He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

So, what do we learn here?

Never pray when you are hungry!

I’m kidding… this was a very confusing moment, even for Peter. He didn’t get it.

Acts 10:17 NIV

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.

I like how we get this moment of clarity here from Peter. Often times Christian people feel like they have to have the answer to everything. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and here is Peter, just wondering like what this all meant.

I love how God responds to Peter.

Acts 10:19–20 NIV

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

So let me stop here and start to preach this message. We are very different from God and we have unrealistic expectations of God. Peter wasn’t sure what any of this meant, and God just tells him, “Go with them.”

Where?

It doesn’t matter. Go with them

Why?

I’ll show you later.

Who am I going to?

Cornelius

Who is he?

It doesn’t matter.

It’s 31 miles away!

So, you better start walking now then.

We want a map, and God gives us the next step.

The Next Step

The same can be said of Cornelius as well if we are thinking about it. The Lord said to him, go get Peter and he’ll tell you what to do.

So Cornelius; obedience to the next step led to Peter taking his next step.

When I think about what is happening here today, this is exactly what Baptism is. It is YOUR NEXT STEP.

We don’t get water baptized becuase we’ve figured out God’s plan for our life. We don’t get water baptized becuase we have a new a special revelation from God for our life. Baptism is our response to having received the love of God, having received the forgiveness of our sins, and making a decision to follow Jesus.

That’s it.

There is no expectation for you to know anything more than this is your next step.

Tell your neighbor your next step is your best step.

Here’s what I know to be true: God meets us at our next step.

The step of faith that you take now, is going to lead you closer to the plans God has for your life.

Now We Get It!

So here comes Peter, a person who only knew his next step. And he meets Cornelius, who only knew his next step. And their first encounter is actually kind of awkward. We read that Cornelius didn’t know how to act. He threw himself down at Peter’s feet and started to worship him.

Peter is like, “Bro! Get Up! I’m just a regular dude like you.” That’s my paraphrase. Peter stood him up and dabbed him up and was like, “chill man.”

And this is how next steps go sometimes.

Because we don’t have all the answers we might make a mistake. We get in our own way.

And listen to me, that is going to happen to us all. Some of you are afraid to get baptized becuase you are afraid that you’ll mess up afterwards.

Let me just set you free right now… You. Will.

But the same grace that met you before baptism is the same grace that is going to meet you after your baptism.

God isn’t keeping score.

He died once and for all, and that covers all of your sins from here until he comes back again.

So after that awkward encounter Cornelius tells Peter what he heard in a vision. Peter tells Cornelius what he saw in a vision. Suddenly, it became clear what everything meant.

Acts 10:34–35 NIV

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

So Peter, without clarity, took his next step. And now that he is in the room with Cornelius and they are each talking about how they did the thing God asked them to do, Peter now understands his assignment.

You will never find God by ignoring his word.

I want to say it that way becuase some of you are skeptical about taking your next step. You are not wanting to do that and you’re like, “nah, I’ll take the other option.”

I don’t believe there is another option. We are either moving in the direction of his word, or we are moving away from his plans for our life.

The Baptism Heard Round the World

So awhile Peter preaches to Cornelius, and his household, we read that the Holy Spirit fell on all of them and they began to speak in other tongues.

Acts 10:44–46 NIV

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

So this isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this in the Bible. This happened in Acts 2 with a group of Jesus followers, all of which were Jews, and they thought this was something just for them.

Now, watch the language here, Luke tells us that the Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles!

When this was done, Peter then says this:

Acts 10:47–48 NIV

“Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 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.

Conclusion

Lighthouse, what an incredible story about this man named Cornelius. It truly was a world changing event that few people really understood at the time.

I don’t have enough time to explain all that happens next, but let me just tell you that Peter had to go back to Jerusalem becuase the elders of the church were very confused by what just happened. They thought this was only for the Jews. They thought that this was something that was exclusive to them. Peter has to travel back and for the next few months, and years, the leadership of the church has to figure this all out and write letters, and write doctrine. This changed everything. This was an extraordinary event.

But it started with an ordinary person. Cornelius.

Call

Some of you have have been thinking about getting baptized, but you’ve wrestled with this idea of what happens later, what happens in 5 years, what happens in 10 years.

I don’t know.

But God knows.

And if he’s calling you to take this next step, then I really think you should listen to what he is telling you to do.

Your next step could be the step that will change your marriage.

Your next step could be the step that will change your family.

Your next step could be the step that will change your children, and their children, and their children.

Your next step could be the step that changes your family for generations to come. Men and women will go on to do great things for the Kingdom of God. Men and women will live boldly. Men and women will never experience the pain of substance abuse or divorce, or addiction, all becuase you took your next step.

That’s what your next step has the power to do.

If you are ready today to take that next step, don’t put this off. We have clothes here for you, and we can get you into the water right now and celebrate this next step that you are taking.

If you want to do this but get your family here, start making calls and we’ll baptize you right after our 11 AM service.

Whatever you have to do, don’t miss out on the opportunity to take your Next Step.