Pastor: The text this morning comes from Acts as we are making our way through that book. We are in Acts chapter 10, and we'll be looking at verses one through 23 this morning. This is kind of a part one of a part two sermon series of really between Peter and his interaction with Cornelius. This is a significant People of God hear God's word for us this morning from Acts turning point in Acts for us too. It's significant vision chapter 10, beginning in verse one. At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God that Peter has, and we'll talk about it this week, as well as about the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision, an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius. And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? And He said to him, your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon, who's next Lord willing. But hopefully the Lord comes before then. But called Peter. He's lodging with one Simon, a tanner whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called Two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the house till then, we'll be preparing for that before we read. Let's top about the sixth hour to pray, and he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens open, and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles go to again, to the Lord in prayer. Let's pray Our Father, and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, by no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice came to him again a second time. Well, God has made clean.
Pastor: Do not call common. This happened three times, and the our Sovereign Lord, who rules over all rules over the hearts thing was taken up at once to heaven. Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, Behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there.
Pastor: of all men, over kings. Lord we, thank you that you have called And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. And Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one who one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming? And us into your presence. And Lord, we thank you that you are not they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God fearing man who was well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say. So he invited them in to be his guests. He who has ears, let him hear the Word of God.
Pastor: silent, but even by the power of your Word, you speak to us, Please be seated and. Yeah, I saw a billboard once that was paid for by the animal rights group PETA, and it had a picture of a crab on it, and the crab was saying, I'm me, not meat.
Pastor: See the individual go vegan, and it was there for some time. And then after their contract with that billboard expired, another Lord, we know the heavens are declaring the glory of God. But company bought that billboard, and it happened to be the Old Bay Company, and they put up the same picture of the crab that was used previously, but made the crab say something else. It had its claws in the air, dumping Old Bay on itself, and then it said, Okay, now I meet.
Pastor: And that's funny and silly, and Lord, as we come to Your Word, we can hear of salvation that is the reason I start out with that is there are ways that we divide ourselves in our country and even among ourselves, people that are vegan, people that love bacon, people that might put pineapple on pizza, Cat people, dog people. And there are various ways, even harmlessly we can divide ourselves that it's found in Christ alone. Give us ears to hear it this morning.
Pastor: kind of fun, kind of silly, but sometimes divisions are good and right and necessary. It's good that we make a division between what is true and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil?
Pastor: Jesus himself said he would come bringing divisions even between families, and that is the ultimate division. That is Give us humble hearts to receive your word, to not push it away, really the only division that matters. Are you for Christ? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus, Christ, or not? Now, there are other divisions that we create within ourselves that can also stir such hatred toward one another, and often happens in sports, one college versus another college, and you think they went to that college. I can't talk to them. We can't be to not allow the seed to be sown and it just be caught up and friends. And you even hear in the news and even know some examples of vandalism happening between those schools, the story of the Auburn trees being poisoned, or vandalism, stealing statues, spray painting, hatred for one another, spitting on another opponent before the start of a game that just cast away, and we move on to do whatever else we were going to recently happened, my Eagles spitting on the Dallas Cowboys.
Pastor: But that surely that's justified. It's the Cowboys, after all. Right? Of course not.
Pastor: No, it's silly. It's wrong, isn't it? And maybe even more recently too, we see how greatly our political divide in our country has created such hatred for one another that we, some even think that it's okay to do for the rest of the day, Lord, let the seed of your word take someone else's life because they have a different viewpoint than someone else. It's awful.
Pastor: It's terrible. In our text today, it addresses these kinds of divides, and we also see that God is unifying us in Christ alone. He is saving those whom sink down deep into our hearts.
Pastor: Let it bear much fruit transform you would least expect to be your friends. At least expect that he would save. He is saving and making one people for Himself, a people that is united from all over the world and all over backgrounds and all types of sin backgrounds, the Lord is saving and bringing to himself.
Pastor: We also will see here that God is humbling those who are even in the covenant community who us by the power of your Spirit.
Pastor: Lord, our only hope here this think that they know better than God. The Gospel of Christ is for all, all who will believe.
Pastor: There's no partiality. And this text is about again, the Great Commission, as really the acts has been of the Great Commission going out into the world, that the world might know that Jesus Christ is risen and reigning and morning is by your grace, found in your son. Lord, be merciful coming again, and how we can have salvation in him. And it's about that again, the Great Commission going out. But what we see in our text is that the real hurdle of the Great Commission going into all the world is not so much out there, but it's in here. And then it's our prejudices, it's our fears, to us. We pray in Jesus's name, Amen.
Pastor: it's our hesitancy to do what Christ has called us to do, to go to go to the ends of the earth, to open up our mouths and speak of the Lord Jesus, Christ.
Pastor: Uh, food is divisive. Sometimes, I don't know if it's ever happened to you, but the family is hungry, and you stop at a mini complex or food court and someone says we're going to go here for lunch, but then the place you really like is just over here. So rather than all going together, you we've all done it. Someone you know go over here and you divide on your food for what you like. Now, back in Peter's day, food was truly divisive, and it was also too God had initiated this division, even as it relates to food for the Old Testament saints. And I just want to explain a little bit about that before even we get into the text, because I think that has significance about these dietary laws. And you can find all of these back in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy that they were acceptable animals that the Jewish people could eat. They, they chewed the cud. They they had split hooves. But birds and insects you couldn't eat, unless they were katydids and locusts, you could eat those. But in the Old Testament, we have a real complex and real specific dietary laws that the people of Israel had to eat. And we might ask ourselves, I think, appropriately, why? Why did God give them these commands to eat?
Pastor: Why no bacon in the Old Testament? So one is these dietary laws in the Old Testament were to be a picture of holiness for the people of Israel. They were to be a constant reminder to the people of Israel, a daily reminder that they are a people set apart in a particular way for God. They are to be God's people, God's nation. Every meal, if you will, was a sermon that said, You are my people. You are not like the world. Do not be conformed to the image and standards of the world. And even if the world gives you something to eat that that is on the list you can't eat it because they're Gentiles, they're unclean. And that was a second part too, is that it was also created these categories of clean and unclean for Israel.
Pastor: And these are spiritual categories, not a physical declaration. And it helped Israel understand, starting to understand that you have to be clean in order to enter the presence of God. And also, very practically, these laws made fellowship with the pagan nations virtually impossible if you're a little Jewish boy and you want to go play with the Amalekites? Well, you can't spend very much time there, because if you get hunger, you can't eat their food. You can't have lunch with them. You have to go back. So in a very practical way, it just kept Israel as a nation for God. It wasn't about health benefits.
Pastor: This wasn't God just, you know, being a RFK and say, you know, these are healthy things. It wasn't that about at all. It was creating a people, particularly for God, giving these them, these categories of of clean and unclean. And Galatians, Chapter Three reminds us that these laws were guardians or tutors until Christ would come, that they were never meant to be permanent. They were ceremonial shadows of Jesus. They taught us that we needed to be cleansed from our sin, and the only the blood of Christ can do that no food is intrinsically evil in itself. Jesus Himself will say that, and we turn to Mark seven.
Pastor: Jesus says, Hear me all of you, and understand there's nothing outside a person that, by going into him, can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable, and he said to them, then you are also without understanding. Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled. Thus he declared all foods clean. I just want to note that this is all the way back in the Gospels. In Mark Jesus is declaring all things clean, and His apostles, yes, even Peter would have heard Jesus say that would. Have understood what Jesus said. Peter had knew this, but he hadn't yet had the opportunity to put it into practice as it relates to the separation, not only of food, but also of people, of Jews and Gentiles, and that wall being torn down. And that's like us in many ways, there are many times that we have heard something. We that Jesus has said. We know Jesus has said something, but when it comes to then actually putting it in practice, we kind of struggle with it. We might know it, and that's really what's happening with Peter.
Pastor: He's heard the words of Jesus.
Pastor: He He knows the curtain has been torn in the temple. He's understanding, but yet he's having a hard time putting these things in to practice, but he has made some progress, and we just saw that in our previous text. He's visiting the churches around Jerusalem. He seems to understand that Christianity is not just for Jerusalem anymore.
Pastor: He understands it has to go out.
Pastor: It has to be dispersed. He understands that. He also we see compassion growing in Peter.
Pastor: He's reaching out to these struggling Jewish Christians. We also see Peter recognizing the importance and significance of women, that when the last text, Tabitha was raised from the dead for the glory of God, women aren't going to be called as apostles or elders or deacons, but he sees the great impact that women are having in the witness, in the Great Commission going forward, and even as the text ends in chapter nine, the last verse, it's a verse we quickly might look over, but it says he's staying with a tanner named Simon. And what did Tanners do? They touched dead animals that would have been unclean. They handled dead things, and so already we see Peter is grasping some aspects, knowing that the these old Old Testament separations were shadows, and that they're going away. But Simon was still most likely Jewish, and so he was okay, though, to stay with Simon. So now when we come to our text, we see at Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, he gave alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God, we see an Italian problem. He's also not only Italian, but he is a soldier of Rome, the oppressors of Israel, an enemy, and he oversees other soldiers.
Pastor: But God has worked in this soldier's heart. What's interesting is all of the centurions you happen to come across in Scripture, God has worked in their heart and redeemed them. It's interesting how we see that in the Scriptures. And this man is praying continually, prayer.
Pastor: Again, another theme that we see throughout acts. Often God, we see working within the midst of his people praying and he does it again. Prayer is often us humbling ourselves before God and praying. When we struggle to pray, our lack of prayer is typically because we aren't humbling ourselves before God.
Pastor: We're okay. Things are going all right, and isn't it? Then when tragedy or difficulty happens, that's when we it's like, Okay, I better pray, because God is forcing through our circumstances of life that we be humbled. So let us be a prayerful people and see our helplessness before God and and as Paul says, be constant in prayer. This man is also training his household in the fear of God, not only himself, but making sure that all in his house know who the true and living Lord is. And also, just as a soldier to be reminded he's a warrior. He's been trained, he's been hardened. But when an angel of the Lord, when he hears the Lord's voice, what does he do? He trembles. He told he's terrified. So just think about who this man was, a hardened Italian soldier who has seen more brutality than anyone here, I'm sure, and yet he is terrified when the voice of the Lord comes upon him and he says, What is it, Lord?
Pastor: In a humble way, and the Lord tells. Him to send men to Joppa to bring Peter here. And then here we, God is sending the Italian to get Peter in Joppa and bring him to Caesarea, sending someone to get peter out of Joppa and bring him to Caesarea. And I think those two locations are important, because one is Joppa. You know where Jonah went after he was running away from God. He went to Joppa to run, to flee from God. When, when God told Jonah, I want you to minister to those evil Ninevites. And Jonah says no, and he goes to Joppa, catches a boat, and he's gets he's on the run. Now Caesarea. The last place we heard of Caesarea was back in the gospels, and if you would, if you have your Bible. I think this is significant. Turn to Matthew chapter 16, verse 13.
Pastor: Matthew 16, verse 13. This is the last time we've heard Caesarea mentioned in the scripture, and then we hear it again here in our text. And what happens there in Matthew chapter 16.
Pastor: This is where Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It says.
Pastor: Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea, Philippi, he asked the disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am?
Pastor: Simon? Replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. So I just want you to see what's happening here. Is that God is pulling peter out of Joppa to bring him back to Caesarea, the place of that great confession, to remind him of who Jesus is, that he is the Lord, that He is the God, and that he has to now go forth and preach that news to the entire world, not just dispersed Jews, but now to Jews and Gentiles alike. And then in verse nine, now back in our text, back in Acts, you can turn there. I The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the house top about the six hours. So it's about noon, and what was he doing? Praying again, another theme of prayer, being fervent in prayer. But one of the reasons I think we love Peter so much is because he prays so much like we do. Often, when Peter is asked to pray, what did Peter do? He fell asleep. Didn't he?
Pastor: Does that sound familiar? And what I love here now too. He goes up. He has good intentions.
Pastor: I'm going to pray. And verse 10, what happens? Well, he becomes hungry. I'm going to pray, God, I'm going up to the tent. You know what? It's lunchtime. You know, I'm hungry. So he takes a break, and he goes and say, Can I get some food? Can I have some food? Please? Ever do that? Ever have this intention to pray? And then, as you begin, you start thinking, you know, maybe I should get something to eat, maybe I should go check that email. Maybe I should do this or that, or that Peter is doing that. We do that. This is one of the reasons we love Peter so much, because he's so much like us. We can relate to him in that way. But while they were preparing the food, he fell into a trance. He God gives him a vision. And here's this vision, and he saw the heavens open and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.
Pastor: And in it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. This large sheet, there's four corners, most likely representing kind of north, south, east, west. And it descends and covers the earth.
Pastor: And in it is a list of all types of animals that Peter would have considered unclean. And then verse 13, he hears a voice, and it tells him, Peter, rise, kill and eat and remember, he's hungry. And it's a dream, right?
Pastor: It's kind of a vision. So in your dream, you're like, Okay, I mean, it's a dream, I can do that. But even in his hunger, and even in the midst of a vision and a dream, the.
Pastor: Apostle, Peter. What does he do?
Pastor: Does he say, of course, Lord, I'm an apostle, and I'm just always going to follow you and do exactly what you say. Always.
Pastor: He says, by no means, Lord, like Peter, again, we are good at telling the Lord what he should do. And Peter was good at this.
Pastor: He's like us in that way. When Jesus says that He is going that Jesus predicts his own death, Peter says no. When Jesus tells Peter that he has to wash Peter's feet, Peter says no.
Pastor: When Jesus predicts that Peter is going to deny him, Peter says no. And here, when Jesus is saying this, distinction now between what was unclean and and clean is no more. Peter, again, says, No, I know God. I know better. And here he is doing it again. He says, For I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean. I've never broken the ceremonial dietary laws. And I'm not going to start doing it now.
Pastor: But here Peter is rebuked, and God rebukes him and says, what God has made clean, do not call common, and this happens three times, and the thing is then taken up once in the heaven.
Pastor: Now, what's happening here in our text is not ultimately, just lifting up of dietary laws of it's okay to eat meat, you know, if you if you want to be a vegetarian, that's fine if you want to enjoy the blessings of the new covenant and bacon, that's great, too. And that's not ultimately what the text is about. Again, what is ultimately happening here in that vision is almost very similar to the temple curtain being torn. You know, the temple was being torn.
Pastor: The curtain was being torn, recognizing that those Old Testament ceremonial laws are being fulfilled. There's no longer a need for the Holy of Holies in the temple. There's really there's no need. No longer a need for the temple. We have access to God. In Christ, there's no longer a need for the sacrifices to occur. It's been fulfilled in Christ, those dietary laws we don't need to keep anymore. It's been fulfilled in Christ, they have served their purpose, and we don't need to follow them anymore, as Paul will remind us here, as it relates to this text, there is neither Jew nor Greek. Now, there is neither slave nor free. There is no male or female. For you are all one in Christ, Jesus. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs, according to the promise. This is what the text is getting at. Is Peter, who is the gospel ultimately, for it's not just for Israel, really anymore. It's not it's for all who will believe it. And if God has made it clean, it's now your responsibility to go share that news with others, to take it there. But like Peter, we like to tell God, no, we like to look at people who aren't like us and and judge them. It's not for them, for whatever reason. You know, maybe they have too much stuff, and you think, Well, you know, they don't really love God. They just worship their stuff. It's not for them. Or maybe they have too little and they must be lazy, entitled. Well, the gospel is not for them or wherever you send your kids to school or parenting choices. It's not for them or political affiliation, not for them. Who aren't you going to share the gospel with?
Pastor: I think that's the challenge again. Who would be be hesitant to share the gospel with thinking it's a waste of time.
Pastor: They're not going to believe it.
Pastor: They're just going to spit in my face, and maybe they will, and maybe they might even put you to death, even as Saul put Stephen to death. But this is our calling. This is our commission, now, to go into the world and share it with all we should be saying, what is it Lord? Who is it Lord? Where do you want me to go? Lord, as opposed to no Lord.
Pastor: But yet, though we might not verbally say it, often in our hearts, we make excuses like Peter to do the things that God calls to rebel against, the things God is calling us to do in verse 17. Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out and asked whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there.
Pastor: He. Uh. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go and accompany them without hesitation. And what we'll see that is Peter actually will welcome them in as guests the last verse. So he invited them in to be his guests in verse 23 and God's already working in Peter's heart, because the old Peter would have said, No, I can't do it. I'm gonna just shut the door. I can't have Gentiles lodging and staying with me.
Pastor: That would make me unclean. I can't but he invites these men in to be his guests. He lets these Gentiles into his quarters.
Pastor: And the other thing too is, why is God having Peter go to Cornelius? I mean, God could have just shared everything about the Word of God with Cornelius in the vision, right?
Pastor: He doesn't need Peter. But there's also an emphasis here on the foolishness of the preached word that God is using as the means to make himself known, that God is going to use this hesitant instrument to preach and present the gospel more clearly and more fully to Cornelius, that's what God does.
Pastor: That's what he does with Jonah, right? He uses this hesitant servant to preach and present the gospel to the Ninevites. And that's like you and me, maybe a hesitant servant, but God is going to use you to present the gospel that others might know and embrace it. That's our calling. Romans 10 says, how will they call on him to whom they have not believed. And how are they to believe in whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? How are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written, How beautiful thou beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
Pastor: You know, we began this sermon by talking about different ways that we can divide ourselves.
Pastor: But it's important here to remember that God shows no partiality in whom He will save.
Pastor: The furthest person you might think that God would ever save might be the very person God is working in right now, and someone on the opposite side who you think is very close might be actually very far from the kingdom. But we preach the gospel. We preach it. We present Christ who has died for all of our sins, who has closed up in his righteousness and has made us righteous in God's sight when we embrace Him by faith alone, God saves the unexpected. He saves the outsider. He even saves our enemies, and he humbles us until we keep doing what He has called us to do at the foot of the cross. There's no supremacist except Christ's supremacist. That's our unity, that we believe that Christ is supreme. We're all sinners who have been made clean by the blood of Christ, and we are united one in him, all nations and all flesh. Paul writes for just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many are one body. So it is with Christ. That is us. We are united in Christ, and so let us share the Gospel, welcoming other people into this body. Let's pray, Father, we we look around the world and we see many divisions. Some of those divisions are fun and light hearted, but others are serious and bring hatred. But Lord, as we are reminded, there is only one division that ultimately matters, and it is those who are in Christ, Lord, I pray that You would give us willing hearts to not rebel against your commands, but to willingly use us as instruments that the gospel might go forth to all. I pray that you will take away those prejudices that. Pray that you'll take away our fear and help us to present Christ that is the only hope for mankind.
Pastor: There is no other name under heaven by which men will be saved. That's the message that even Peter proclaimed. So, Lord help us to do that. Be merciful to us in Jesus and all the ways that we have failed, and it's in Jesus's name we pray, Amen.