Pastor Russ Fochler shares the story of Peter and Cornelius from Acts 10, and how God orchestrated changed minds and hearts to bring the Gentiles into full fellowship, receiving the Holy Spirit and baptism. We too are encouraged to move beyond the status quo, and hunger for the "more" that God has for us. Blazing Fire Church blazingfire.org To listen to the podcast, go to https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-8djpj-c376eb
2. A Story of Heart-Felt Worship and
God Doing a New Thing
3. Isaiah 43 - A New Thing
18 “Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
21 This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.
4. There was a certain gentleman in Caesarea by the name
of Cornelius, a Roman officer in charge of 100 men in
what was called the Italian Army Division of 600 Men.
He was a godly person. He revered God and so did all his
household. He gave generously to the poor and made
earnest requests to God constantly. About 3 in the
afternoon (the 9th hour), he clearly saw a Messenger of
God in a vision.
Acts 10:1-3 The Source New Testament
6. Numbers 6:24-26:
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon
thee,
and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance
upon thee,
and give thee peace.
“So shall they put my name upon
the people of Israel, and I will bless
them.”.
7. The Messenger came in and said to him, “Cornelius!”
He stared at him, and getting quite scared, he said,
“What is it sir?” The Messenger said to him, “Your
prayers and your gifts to the poor have gone up on record
in God’s presence.
Send men to Joppa at once! Send for Simon who is also
known as Peter! He’s staying with Simon the tanner
whose house is by the sea.
Acts 10:4-6 The Source New Testament
8. God’s Desire for the Nations
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a
little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea
and dry land; and I will shake all nations (gō’·ē),
and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations
(gō’·ē) , and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says
the Lord of hosts.”
Haggai 2:6-7
9. And Yet, Gentiles Also Pull Israel Away from Godliness
10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we
have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You commanded
by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are
entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of
the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have
filled it from one end to another with their impurity. 12 Now
therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons,
nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their
peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of
the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children
forever.’
Ezra 9:10-12
10. As the men Cornelius sent approached Joppa the
next day, Peter goes up on the roof midday to pray -
and becomes hungry. “While they were preparing a
meal, he went into a displaced state (ek-statis) and
saw the sky opened and an object like a large sheet
tied up at the four corners coming down, being
lowered to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-
legged animals, reptiles of the earth and birds of the
air. A voice came to him, “Get up Peter, kill and eat!”
Acts 10:9-16 The Source New Testament
11. But Peter said, “No way, LORD, because I’ve never eaten
anything forbidden or unclean!” A voice spoke to him a
second time, “What God has made clean, you must not
call forbidden!” This happened three times, then
immediately the object was taken up to the sky.”
Acts 10:9-16 The Source
13. While Peter was quite at a loss and his head was
spinning about the meaning of the vision he had seen,
the men who had been sent from Cornelius asked for
him at Simon’s house and were actually standing at
the gate!
While Peter was thinking over the vision, the Spirit
said to him, “Three men are looking for you! Now get
up, go down and go off with them. Do not
discriminate, because I myself have sent them!”
Acts 10:17, 19-20
15. •While waiting for Peter, Cornelius gathers his relatives
and close friends
•As Peter was coming in, Cornelius went out to meet him,
and fell to his knees and worshipped him. Peter lifted him
up and said, “Stand up! I’m just a human being myself!”
•Cornelius recounts his story
•Peter said, “I now realize how true it is that God doesn’t
show favoritism but that he accepts whoever respects him
and does what’s right no matter what race of people
they’re from!
16. The Good News of Jesus
“…namely, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with
the Holy Spirit and with power - and he went about
doing good and instantly divinely healing everyone
who as overpowered by the Slanderer-Liar because
God was with him.” Acts 10:38
katadynasteuō to exercise dominion against, to
exercise harsh control over, to use one's power
against
17. The Good News of Jesus
“He commanded us to pass around the command
(announcement, watchword) to the people and call
solemnly to witness that he is the one appointed by
God to judge the living and the dead. He is the one
all the prophets testified about. They said that by his
Name, whoever believes in him will have their sins
canceled.” Acts 10:42-43
18. While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on
everyone who is listening. The believers from among
the circumcision who had come with Peter were
shocked, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured
out on the non-Jews as well, as they heard them speak
in supernaturally-given languages and greatly praise
God.
19. Then Peter said, “What could stop these people from
being baptized in water! They have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have!
He commanded them to be baptized in the Name of Jesus
the Anointed One. Then they asked him to stay a few
more days. Acts 10:44-48
20. What Changed?
Before the coming of Y’shua the Messiah, the focus of the Jews
was about becoming “clean” and avoiding defilement.
Something “unclean” would always defile something “clean”.
This included contact with Gentiles.
But Jesus was not afraid of becoming defiled — instead He
made things brand new and clean. He cleansed the lepers, he
hung out with sinners and tax collectors. And then Jesus’
suffering and death set us free from the “law” of sin and death.
Now the indwelling Holy Spirit is available to all who trust
and welcome Jesus.
21. Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should
be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of
Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the
Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to
the ends of the earth.’ ”
Isaiah 49:6 NKJV
