Lechem Panim #167 “God's Re-Shaping Word” (Acts 10:23-33) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today! Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the Roman Centurion Cornelius, who we see in Acts 10 was serving God the best he knew how; but he did not yet know Jesus. And so an angel appears to him in a dream, telling him to send men to Joppa to find and bring a man by the name of Simon Peter who was lodging there. And so Cornelius obeys and sends men to find Peter. Now while all of this is happening, Peter himself has a vision, in which he is given from heaven a lot of food (some of which is unclean; not kosher) and a voice from heaven tells him “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” (v.13) But Peter refuses, saying in verse 14, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” Yet the voice persists, saying “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” And this scenario is repeated 2 more times before the food is lifted back to heaven. Now Peter, no doubt puzzled by this vision, is pondering what this means when the men sent from Cornelius show up at his gate. And the Holy Spirit says to Peter  “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” (v.19-20) And so Peter goes down to meet them, listens to their explanation of Cornelius’ being instructed by an angel to send for him. And it says…

Acts 10:23a (NKJV)— 23 Then he invited them in and lodged them.

Barriers Toppling— And in that last phrase we already begin to see the barriers coming down because no self-respecting Jew would ever invite a Gentile into their home, and especially not a soldier of the extremely hated Roman army. But Peter receives both the two Gentile servants and the soldier into that home and then (on the next day) begins to journey with them from Joppa to Caesarea. It says…

Acts 10:23b (NKJV)— On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

Leaving With Witnesses— And we see later in 11:12 that these brethren who accompanied Peter were six Jewish believers who in v. 45 of this chapter are identified as “those of the circumcision”. And these were men that Peter himself had selected to come along with him as witnesses; and it’s interesting (in light of just how big and controversial this whole scenario is) he chooses to bring three times the official number of witnesses needed. And so he and this whole party begin their two-day, 30-mile trek from Joppa to Caesarea. It says in…

Acts 10:24 (NKJV)— 24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.

Already A Witness— And this is great; because here we see already in Cornelius a recognition that whatever blessing he is about to receive, that blessing is not just for him. No, it’s something to be shared. He has already gathered his relatives and friends (those closest to him) so that they also can hear the message of life. Even before becoming a Christian Cornelius is already being a witness. Now it says in…

Acts 10:25-26 (NKJV)— 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”

A Humble Peter— So once again (just as when Peter had healed Aeneas and gave all the glory to Christ) we find (unlike in the Gospels) a humble Peter; a Peter who is unwilling to accept the glory, praise, and worship and who is instead very careful to re-direct all that attention where it belongs; on Jesus and Jesus alone. And it says in…

Acts 10:27-29a (NKJV)— 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

An Honest Peter— Now I love how honest Peter is here. He doesn’t disguise the fact that God has recently challenged and corrected his worldview in regards to his way of treating non-Jewish people. And as you know, it takes a lot of guts to admit when you are wrong; to say you believed one way but God said, “No, that’s not right.” How willing are you and I to receive the correction of the Lord and (more than that) to be open with others about how God is changing and re-shaping us? And this is important because before even beginning to preach, we see that Peter is demonstrating (and highlighting) for them what obedience to Christ looks like. And similarly, if you and I want our witness to be effective, there also ought to be an obedience to the Lord that is demonstrated in our lives as well.

Lee’s Example— [One Sunday morning in 1865, a black man entered a fashionable church in Richmond, Virginia. When Communion was served, he walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar. A rustle of resentment swept the congregation. How dare he! After all, believers in that church used the common cup. {And nobody wanted to share a cup with a black man. But then} Suddenly a distinguished layman stood up, stepped forward to the altar, and knelt beside the black man. {And that man was Robert E. Lee. And} With Robert E. Lee setting the example, the rest of the congregation soon followed his lead.] Sometimes all it takes for real change to take place is for one Christian to choose to set the example; to obey God even even if it might ruffle a few feathers. And you and I will never know what an impact our own personal obedience can have.

An Amazed Crowd— Now what these non-Jewish men and women hear Peter saying to them absolutely astounds them. We cannot even being to imagine the shock and amazement (and even the rejoicing) that came over them when Peter announced to them that he no longer saw Gentiles as untouchables; because for centuries up until this point the Jews (on the basis of Old Testament law) had declared them to be unclean, some even going so far to refer to Gentiles as “dogs.” So to hear that barrier and hatred is now being erased must have moved them in such a real and profound way. Now Peter (although he gets that part) he amazingly still doesn’t know why he is there, because he says in…

Acts 10:29b (NKJV)— I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

Shouldn’t Peter Have Known?— And the reason this is remarkable is because it seems to show that Peter is still not really dialed in when it comes to the full scope of Christ’s mission for him. I mean, shouldn’t he have known that Jesus had called him there to preach the Gospel? You would think that would be pretty obvious, especially in light of Acts 1:8, in which Jesus had commissioned His Disciples to go to “the uttermost part of the earth”. And what this shows us is that while we have kind of this birds-eye picture of what God was doing, remember that those who were living in the midst of all of this didn’t not know where God was taking His Church, even though it seems to us (especially in light of what Jesus’ Great Commission) to be so obvious. But that’s always how it is. It’s often only after we obey God in taking a step in a new direction that we then (at a later time) look back at scripture and realize that that command was there long before that; and we wonder why it took us so long to get there.

An Obedient Couple— I once knew a man and woman whose beliefs were directly challenged when an African-American woman started coming to their Church. Up until that point that was something they would not have been okay with. Now they had been Christians for many many years; they had read all the passages about God’s making no distinction and how in Christ all races are equal and ought to be able to worship together, but it never clicked. But the Holy Spirit began speaking to them in and through their pastor’s preaching and one day in their home they sat down together and said (as a couple) “We are no longer going to be against black people coming to our Church.” For the first time, it just clicked and they realized that they (although they had been faithful Christians for such a long time) God had a new level of Christ-like-ness that he wanted to draw them into. And so they (like Peter) chose to take that step of obedience and to no longer make a distinction. But it took a while for those pieces to come together. And the same was true with Peter, and really ALL of the Jerusalem Church who (in 11:1-18) question Peter as to his actions, which shouldn’t have but DID alarm them. And we’ll see in Acts 15 that they even call for a conference to deal with the place of the Gentiles in the Church. This whole process took some time, and Peter’s eyes have not yet been opened to what God is doing on a larger scale. So he asks them why they have sent for him. And it says in…

Acts 10:30-33 (NKJV)— 30 So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”

The First Missionary to Gentiles— And so the floor is now open for Peter to speak as the first real missionary to the Gentiles, as he has before him a captive audience of foreigners; foreigners who had customs very different from his own; they had their own culture and way of doing things, some of which were going to be changed in a radical way.

Re-Shaping Us— But that is what the Gospel and the Word of God does. It challenges us. And the reason it challenges us is because it comes from the mind of God rather than the mind of man. If Christianity were just another man-made religion of the world, it (like all the other religions) would simply be a reflection of what we already believe, aligning with all our natural prejudices and warped ways of seeing the world. But the very fact that it moves us beyond all of these is evidence that there is a God behind all of this; a God who is much more loving and much more wise than we are. And if we are to become like Him, we have to allow His Word and His Worldview to shape us. And so this week, as always, I want to challenge you to read His Word; and to do so in prayer with a spirit of humility, being willing to allow His Word to read and re-shape you; to teach you. If we can foster that ability (by His grace) there is no doubt that (just like here with Peter) God can use you and me in incredible ways to bring His light to the world. Let’s allow Him to reshape us today. Amen.