Imagine

Sunday, July 19, 2026

SERMON: A DIVINE DISTORTION (Acts 12:1-5, 19-23; Psalm 94:1-7, 21-23)

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Acts 12:1-5

Acts 12:1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

-- The epic film Quo Vadis – based on the book by the same name – graphically compares the decadent Roman Empire with the struggles of the early Christians living in Rome in 64 AD – the Roman Empire at this time was led by the Emperor Nero, who is known for burning down Rome so he could rebuild the city in honor of himself

-- when the citizens of Rome turn on him because of the destruction, Nero blames the fires on the members of a new religious sect that call themselves Christians – and to appease the crowds, Nero actively begins persecuting Christians, with many of them taken to the Roman Coliseum and thrown to the lions

-- in the movie, we are given a picture of just such an event – the crowd gathered in the Coliseum that day roars with approval as about 200 Christians are forced into the arena – Roman soldiers surround them – pushing them and urging them into the arena with whips

-- they huddle together in fear – clinging to one another as they face the jeers of the crowd and certain death -- one older woman holds a younger woman and prays, "Oh dear Lord Jesus, help me, help me."

– the lions that were held in cages in the basement of the Coliseum have been freed – and the only thing keeping them from attacking the Christians huddled in the center of the arena are iron bars that stand at the top of the concrete steps leading to the basement

-- as the Christians are pushed into the arena, we see several lions climb up and down the concrete steps and leap against the bars in anticipation of their release

-- As Emperor Nero watches, his chief commander tells him he may give the signal to release the lions – but before he can do so, the apostle Peter enters the arena and in a loud booming voice proclaims to the audience: "Peace! Peace to the martyrs -- Peace to them -- Take thy children, Lord -- Numb their wounds -- Suffer their pains -- Give them strength, oh Savior”

-- Peter then addresses the small group of Christians before him – and with raised hands says, “Blessed are you, my children, who die in the name of Jesus -- I say to you, that this day you shall be with him in paradise -- Here where Nero rules today, Christ shall reign forever."

-- Three guards quickly seize Peter and take him away as the crowd shouts at him in anger -- Nero asks the commander, "Who is that man?"

-- the commander replies, “I think he is their leader. A man called Peter. He escaped us before."

-- Nero exclaims, "He said Christ would replace me! What sort of…"

– but Nero’s response is halted as the martyrs calmly begin to sing a hymn. – he listens in disbelief. -- "They're singing!" he says.

-- The lions pace impatiently behind the iron bars -- The crowd looks on in anticipation

-- finally, Nero signals the trumpeters – the order is given -- the iron bars are slowly lifted and several dozen lions walk out onto the arena grounds to the cheers of the crowd.

-- that moment in the film dramatically shows the two paths that lay before all of us – the choice between following the world and following Christ – between living for self and living for God

-- as many leaders do, Nero sought fame and fortune above all – his pride demanded that people worship him – adore him – laud him – for who he was and what he had accomplished – it was all about self – the spectacle in the Coliseum that day was solely for the purpose of giving honor and glory to Nero – for having the people praise him

-- on the other hand, you have the Christians – and while they did not choose to enter the Coliseum of their own free will that day, they remained faithful to their Lord and Savior – with their very lives, they exalted Him and put Him above themselves – choosing to submit themselves to their fate in order to bring honor to God with their lives and their deaths

-- at the end of the day, while it may have seemed that Nero had won -- the truth of the matter is that Peter’s words rang true – that in the very place where Nero ruled, Jesus would reign forever

-- in fulfillment of Proverbs 16:18 -- “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” -- Nero’s pride and self-aggrandizement would ultimately result in his eternal destruction

-- such is always the case – for leaders and for all of us who live for self and who let pride exalt us and elevate us above Christ – who choose our own path and seek fame and fortune above all else

-- as D.L. Moody wrote, “When a man thinks he has got a good deal of strength, and is self-confident, you may look for his downfall. It may be years before it comes to light, but it is already commenced.”

-- this is the theme for today as we continue on in our sermon series in the Book of Acts -- we are closing out the second section of this series – Unexpected Gospel Growth -- by looking at the example of King Herod from Acts 12 – whose pride and self-aggrandizement led to his downfall before the God who will ultimately reign for all eternity

II. The Pride of King Herod

-- so, let’s look back again at Acts 12 and see what we can learn about pride and glory and living for self and the eventual fall that is sure to come

-- verse 1

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

-- as we look at the story of King Herod, the first thing we do is have to identify him – there are a lot of Herods in the Bible – and it’s important for us to know which one is which as we read through the Scriptures – it would be helpful for you to make a note of this and stick it in your Bible so you can keep all these Herods straight as you read through the Scriptures

-- this King Herod in Acts 12 is Herod Agrippa I -- he was the grandson of Herod the Great – Herod the Great is the one we read about in the Gospel of Luke – it was Herod the Great that the Magi visited when Jesus was born – he was the one who had all the babies killed in Bethlehem during the time of Jesus – so, Herod the Great was the start of all the kings named Herod

-- they were not fully Jewish – they had Jewish heritage – but they were put into power by the Romans – who appointed them to different areas and who allowed them to reign and govern under Roman authority

-- Herod Agrippa I – this Herod we are reading about -- is the nephew of Herod Antipas – Herod Antipas was the king who had John the Baptist killed -- and, finally, he was the father of Herod Agrippa II, who we are going to read about later in the Book of Acts – Herod Agrippa II – the son of this Herod – served as the judge in a court case against the Apostle Paul

-- so, lots of Herods in the Bible that we read about in the gospels and in the Book of Acts

-- Romans 12 covers the events that occurred from about 43-44 AD – this would have been about 9 years after the persecution of Stephen by the Jews – and as we have studied, in the years since Stephen was martyred by the Jews, persecution has come against the church – forcing the Christians to flee Jerusalem for their safety – which had the benefit of leading them to share the gospel message throughout the rest of Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth – the Gentile nations

-- Paul has been converted and brought to faith in Christ by this time – and he is continuing to preach in Damascus and Tarsus and in other areas in the Roman Empire – and then last week, we read the story of Peter being shown by God that the gospel was to also be carried to the Gentiles, as Cornelius and the people who were with him were brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit

-- as Chapter 12 opens, Peter has returned to Jerusalem, where he continued to lead the church – but the persecution begun by the Jews has continued unabated – even though Paul has been converted and become a Christian, the Jews still persecuted the Christians where they found them – and now, we see that the Government gets involved, as well

-- we read here that King Herod started arresting some members of the church, intending to persecute them – now, remember what I told you about him – he was not Jewish – he didn’t hold to the Jewish faith – he gave it lip service – he used it for political power – for political gain – for influence over those he ruled

-- Herod was like so many politicians today who claim to be a Christian for political purposes – they may say they are a Christian – they may use Christian language – but when you look at their lives – at what they do – at the words they say – at the way they live – it is obvious that they are not truly Christians – they are using the faith for political power and to exalt their own positions, just like Herod is doing here

-- Herod saw the Jews opposed the Christians – he saw they were persecuting them – and he decided to join in because he thought that if he helped persecute the Christians, then the Jews would look on him favorably

-- Luke tells us that Herod set out to arrest members of the church, intending to persecute them -- KJV and other translations phrase this as Herod “laid his hands on them” or “stretched forth his hands” -- Herod stretching forth his hands now may indicate that he had been bound in some way up to this point -- restrained by God from fully pouring out his evil intent on the church -- but now God has allowed this to occur, in accordance with His will

-- contrast this with what Scripture tells us about the hands of Jesus -- when Jesus stretched forth His hands or laid His hands on others, it was to bring healing, restoration, and salvation

-- this turn of phrase here in Acts 12:1 reminds us that there are always hands reaching out to us, even today -- some stretch out their hands to bring good into our lives -- while others stretch out their hands like Herod, with designs for evil or with designs to only exalt themselves, regardless of the cost to us

-- so, as Herod stretched out his hands for evil to arrest the members of the church, one of those he managed to capture just happened to be James, the third highest leader in the church at that time

-- this is James, the brother of John -- one of the original disciples of Jesus and one of the special group of disciples that Jesus continually singled out to be with Him on special occasions – when you read through the gospels, we are always reading about Jesus taking Peter, James, and John with Him -- this is that James

-- Herod arrested him and persecuted him – in all likelihood, this means that he tortured him -- eventually killing him by beheading him with the sword

-- and, since the Jews applauded this and praised him for arresting and killing James, Herod expanded his campaign against the Christians – he managed to capture the Apostle Peter and put him into prison with the intent of having him put to death, too, just like James

-- since our focus this morning is on Herod, we’re not going to look at what happened to Peter after his arrest – we read here that he was kept in prison and the church was earnestly praying to God for him – and you can read the rest of Peter’s story here in Acts 12 for yourself

-- spoiler alert – God freed Peter from prison and released him from Herod’s grasp

-- but that is the future – what I want you to focus on right now is how things look for Herod – Herod is top dog – he has been very successful in his campaign against the Christians – he has captured two of their leaders – killing James and putting Peter in prison – he has been given applause from the Jews for his actions – everyone is singing his praise – and Herod is living life large – his poll numbers are good – all the people like him – he is on the top of his game

-- but Herod has made the choice to promote himself above all else – to glorify himself and to seek honor and praise for him and what he has done – his pride is bursting out of the seams – and this will lead to his downfall – because God is not going to let another take His place for very long

-- if you would, turn over to Psalm 94 with me and let’s look at a related passage there

-- Psalm 94:1-7

Psalm 94

1 The Lord is a God who avenges.

O God who avenges, shine forth.

2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;

pay back to the proud what they deserve.

3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,

how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4 They pour out arrogant words;

all the evildoers are full of boasting.

5 They crush your people, Lord;

they oppress your inheritance.

6 They slay the widow and the foreigner;

they murder the fatherless.

7 They say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

-- throughout history, the same pattern always repeats – people and leaders set themselves up against God and the people of God – they seek to exalt themselves and to fulfill their desires and their wants and wishes without any regard of its effects on others – without any regard to God

-- the author of Psalm 94 cries out to God for justice – he cries out to God for vengeance against the wicked – against the proud – against those who oppressed the people of God for their own gain

-- he says in verse 4 that they pour out arrogant words – they are full of boasting – in other words, they are prideful – they are filled with themselves – when they speak, it is always about what they have done – the things they have accomplished – who they are and how great they are and how much better they are than those around them

-- they stand on the heads of the people and crush them under their feet so that their own personal pride will be lifted – so that their own personal wealth will be made greater

-- in verses 5-7, the psalmist says that these evildoers crush the people of God – they oppress the inheritance of the Lord – the chosen people that God calls His own

-- they slay the widow and the foreigner – they murder the fatherless – they do what they want and take no heed of God or His commands – it seems like they can do anything with impunity – for God takes no action against them

– these wicked people say that God doesn’t see them and doesn’t notice – so they keep on oppressing and crushing and hurting the people, for no other reason than personal pride and glory

-- but the psalmist goes on to affirm that God does see what they do – He hears what these evildoers are saying – He knows their hearts and sees their wickedness – and when the time is right, God disciplines them and His justice and righteousness are exacted on them

-- look at verse 21-23

Psalm 94:21 The wicked band together against the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.

22 But the Lord has become my fortress,

and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

23 He will repay them for their sins

and destroy them for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will destroy them.

-- while the wicked band together against the righteous – while they continue to condemn the innocent to death – while they exalt themselves and seek glory for their own name – the Lord sees

-- He protects His people – He is a fortress and hedge of protection for them – the rock in which the people take refuge

-- it is then that God moves – He repays them for their sins – He exacts justice from them – He destroys them for their wickedness and unrighteousness – the Lord destroys them all

-- vengeance is mine, declares the Lord – and while it may look for a time like evil is triumphing – while it may look like the unrighteous and the wicked are prevailing – while it may look like they are amassing wealth and power and honor and glory through their prideful and selfish acts – there will come a time when the piper is paid – when God’s justice is exacted from them – when they pay the price for their sins and for taking the glory and honor that was due God’s holy name

-- we see this promise in Scripture displayed for us in the life of Herod Agrippa I – just like God allowed Nero to continue his wickedness for a season – God allowed Herod to persecute the church and kill its leaders for a time

-- this is grace in action – for we read in Romans 3:25-26 that God, in His forbearance, left the sins committed beforehand unpunished, so that His righteousness could be demonstrated at the right time – in other words, God gave the wicked and the unrighteous time to repent of their sins before pouring out His wrath and justice on them

-- but at some point, God’s patience runs out – the clock stops – and the wicked are held accountable for their sins – that is when He moves in justice and righteousness and destroys the wicked for all that they have done

-- this happened to Nero – and we see it happen to Herod Agrippa I here in Acts 12

-- look back at Acts 12, starting in the second part of verse 19b-23

Acts 12:19b Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

-- Herod had been in conflict with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they sought an audience with him to make peace – Herod appeared before them and spoke to the crowd – and in response, they shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man”

-- for someone as narcissistic as Herod, this was music to his ears – for someone who lived to be worshiped and glorified by others – to be lifted up above everyone else – to be applauded for who he was and what he had done – this was exactly what he desired

-- but what Herod did by receiving this laud and honor from the crowd was to elevate himself about the Lord God Almighty – and this was the final straw

-- God will not share His name, His throne, or His glory with another – especially, with someone like Herod Agrippa I – and when Herod refused to repent but received the worship and honor God deserved, God’s wrath and justice was poured out on him

-- Herod was struck down – he was eaten by worms – and died

-- as the psalmist said in Psalm 94, all who act in this way and try to usurp God’s glory will be destroyed

III. Closing

-- so, what can we take home from the sad and sordid tale of Herod Agrippa I?

-- first, Herod’s story is a reminder to us that evil will never overcome good – that wickedness will never overcome God’s righteousness – that even though it may look like the wicked are winning from time to time – that they are succeeding and that everything always goes the way they want it to – this is a temporary situation

-- for whatever reason, God is choosing to withhold His wrath and judgment on these people until the time is right – He is allowing them ample time to repent of their sins – to turn to Him – to turn away from their narcissism, their wickedness, their evil acts of unrighteousness

-- but at some point, God will move – and if these people do not repent of their sins – they will suffer the consequences and will be destroyed

-- second, we are reminded of the great truth that Rick Warren expressed in the opening line of his book, “The Purpose Driven Life”: “It’s not about us” – it’s not about us – as Jerry Bridges points out, “All of the abilities—physical, mental, personality, talents, and so on—that we do have were given to us by God. Paul’s words to the Corinthians apply to all of us: “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

-- “All of us received whatever ability, learning, riches, station in life, rank, or influence we have from God to be used by us for His glory. Whether it is an ability or disability, let us learn to receive it from God, to give Him thanks, and to seek to use it for His glory.”

-- when I read this story of Herod, I can’t help but think of the classic country song by Mac Davis, that has this chorus:

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble

When you're perfect in every way

I can't wait to look in the mirror

Cause I get better looking each day

To know me is to love me

I must be a heck of a man.

Oh Lord It's hard to be humble,

But I'm doing the best that I can

-- that was Herod – he thought he was top dog – the best of the best – even better than God Himself -- and it didn’t work out too well for him

– we must always guard against doing the same and having the same attitude in our own lives

-- when we try to take the glory that is due God, we follow the footsteps of Nero and Herod – when we try to exalt ourselves and put ourselves on the throne of our lives, we are taking the place of God

-- we need to remember that it’s not about us – it’s always about Him – and everything we say and do and think should all be done in such a way as to bring Him honor and glory

-- finally, we see that God always prevails and that His word always goes forth

-- Herod thought he had won the day by capturing Peter and putting him in prison – but God will not let His people or His word be chained – and God worked a miracle and had an angel free Peter so that the gospel could continue to go forth to the ends of the earth

-- when we are confronted with evil and wickedness, we can get depressed and feel like the psalmist in Psalm 94 – that evil has won and that nothing we do will ever change the situation

-- but the Bible tells us that God is always working on behalf of His people – He takes care of the widow and the orphan – the foreigner and the believer – and even though we may walk through times of trouble and persecution – God will deliver us when the time is right – in such a way, that He alone will get the glory

-- so, as we close, let us remember that there is a God and we are not Him – let us turn our attention to Him – let us fix our mind on Him – our eyes on Him – our hearts on Him

-- let us consider our ways and our actions – and let us strive to bring Him honor and glory in all that we do and all that we say – and let us continue to share His good news of salvation and the forgiveness of sins

-- with that, let us close in prayer

Sunday, July 12, 2026

SERMON: GOD’S FAVORITE (Acts 10:1-48)

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Acts 10:1-8

Acts 10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 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!”

4 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. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

-- in 2007, there was a big controversy in Christian circles about a new book that had come out from William P. Young, “The Shack” – it was a fiction book – later made into a movie – where the main character, who has experienced a horrific trauma in his family, is called to come to a shack in the middle of the wilderness, where he comes face-to-face with God

-- the book does cross some theological boundaries in its handling on the Trinity and the relationship of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit – and it does push people against a religious wall in many ways

– it’s not a book I would recommend to a new Christian – it can be confusing to someone new in the faith -- but I have recommended it to folks who I knew had a strong faith in Christ and who could handle challenges to their faith presented in such a novel

-- I don’t believe it is sacrilegious or blasphemous, although many put forth that argument – but it’s like anything else – there is truth there – and a mature Christian can glean new understandings about God and forgiveness and healing from its message

-- just read in caution and understand that it is not Scripture – it does not claim to be – it is simply a novel

-- there were a couple of moments in the book that really resonated with me and that have stuck with me over the last 20 years – the first is when the main character is introduced to the figure of God the Father, who actually is a woman in the novel

-- he is trying to feel his way in the conversation – and he starts calling out people and asks, “Do you know John?” – and God responds, “Oh yes, John is my favorite” – and then he says, “What about Tammy?” – and God responds, “Oh yes, Tammy is my favorite” – and each person he names, God responds, “They are my favorite”

-- the second moment that really stuck with me was God’s conversation with the main character, Mack, in response to another question he had

– God says, “Honey, you asked me what Jesus accomplished on the cross, so now listen to me carefully: through his death and resurrection, I am now fully reconciled to the world.”

-- “The whole world? You mean those who believe in you, right?”

-- “The whole world, Mack. All I am telling you is that reconciliation is a two-way street, and I have done my part, totally, completely, finally. It is not the nature of love to force a relationship, but it is the nature of love to open the way.”

– the author is trying to make the same point in both of these passages – as Mack struggles with forgiving the person who did something evil to his family – God is letting him know that He loves everyone – Mack – Mack’s daughter – and the man who did the evil act against her

-- He doesn’t approve of what was done – He can’t bear evil or sin – but He sees past the sin to the sinner and offers His love to them – the same as He offers His love to us

-- everyone is loved by God the same – and we are all His favorites – and if God had a refrigerator, He would have our pictures on it for all of creation to see

– and this is a hard truth to accept for many of us – especially for those of us who find ourselves in the same place as the main character in this story – having to forgive someone who wronged us or a family member

-- and it was a hard truth for the Jews and the Jewish believers to accept – when they were being called on to believe that Gentiles could be loved by God the same as them -- even when they had been taught their whole lives that Gentiles were beyond redemption and grace

-- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series in the Book of Acts – we are still in the second part of this study -- Unexpected Gospel Growth

-- in this section, we are starting to see how God is beginning to move the message of the good news of salvation through faith in Christ beyond Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria into the Gentile areas and the ends of the earth

II. Carrying the Gospel to the Gentiles

-- last week, we were introduced to Saul – the zealous persecutor of the Way – the first Jewish disciples of Christ who became convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah and who put their faith in Him for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life

-- on the way to Damascus to arrest Jews who belonged to the Way, Saul had a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ – and he was saved through this experience – after having his physical and spiritual blindness lifted through the Holy Spirit, Saul became a true believer

-- we are told in the Scriptures by God Himself that Saul – who later changed his name to Paul – the Roman form of his Jewish name – was God’s chosen instrument to carry the gospel to the Gentile nations and their kings – but when we left off last week, that had not yet happened

– Paul began preaching the good news in the synagogues in Damascus, to the astonishment of the Jews who gathered there every Saturday – but when we left off last week, Paul had not yet started his ministry to the Gentiles that God had called him to

-- so, while we’re waiting for this to happen, there’s a pause in the action -- Luke shifts his attention in the Book of Acts from Saul to Peter – and in Acts 10-11, we see Peter become the first of the original disciples to accept God’s calling of Gentiles to salvation through Jesus and the first believer to carry the message to Gentiles, as directed by the Holy Spirit

-- this section is all about sharing the gospel with the Gentiles -- God is moving the hearts of His believers to spread the gospel from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to the Gentiles – and He is using both Saul and Peter to accomplish His purpose

-- before we turn to this passage, I want you to fully grasp the immensity of what is going on with these new Jewish believers – especially with people like Saul, who were trained as Pharisees and who were groomed to be the religious leaders of Israel

-- when Jesus came on the scene, He completely broke the rigidity of the Jewish laws and traditions and rituals that were a part of Jewish life – beginning with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus brought the people of Israel back to the true and original meaning and purpose of the Law – He showed them how the Law was given to convict the people of sin and to point them to a Savior – and through His life, death, and resurrection, He confirmed that He was that Savior – the Messiah that God the Father had promised to Israel in the days of Moses and even before, to Adam and Eve

-- this was the first momentous event that occurred when Jesus came – for He turned the popular religious understanding of who the Messiah was and what the Messiah would do, upside-down – the religious leaders and the Jewish people were looking for a Messiah who would be an earthly king – who would overturn the Roman rule and re-establish the throne of David in Jerusalem – setting up an earthly kingdom that would reign in Jerusalem and Israel forever

-- and that is part of what the Messiah was going to do – but the kingdom in Jerusalem is not going to be fully realized until the end of days, when Christ returns and completely destroys sin and death and all His enemies once and for all – and when He sets up His kingdom and reigns in Jerusalem as our God and King forever and ever, Amen

-- but what the religious leaders and the people missed was the other purpose and ministry of the Messiah – how the Messiah would fulfill the Law through His sinless life and how He would offer Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world – that He would be the final sacrifice that would be required – and that there would be no more need for animal sacrifices that could only temporarily cover the penalty of sin

-- so you can see how this redefinition of the Messiah – Jesus’ clarifying what God the Father meant in the Old Testament about who the Messiah was and what He would do – the full picture of the Messiah

-- and the realization that this man Jesus was God in the flesh – the very promised Messiah – how these two things would have shaken the Jews to their core

– this meant that the new believers in Christ – the members of the Way – of His Church – had to abandon what they previously believed and had been taught their whole life – and they had to adopt a new understanding of who the Messiah was and what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection – this was literally earth-shaking

-- Kim and I went to go see the movie “Disclosure Day” a couple of weeks ago – and I’m not giving away any of the plot by saying that the whole movie revolves around a very similar principle

– the movie asks what will happen – how will people react – if they learn that everything that they had believed about earth and man and man’s place in creation – was wrong

– most of us assume that earth is the only inhabited planet – that people are the only intelligent life in the universe

– but what if we are shown that these beliefs are wrong – and that there are other beings in our universe who are intelligent and who have visited Earth in the past

– what if the truth got out that there were other planets that were inhabited by intelligent creatures that looked nothing like us, but who had the ability to travel across space to visit us?

– the movie revolved around how the world would react if that happened -- if everything we knew and thought and believed was proven to be wrong

– that is basically what is going on in the Book of Acts – that is what is happening to the Christians

– first – remember that these are Jews – and when they come to realize that Jesus is the Messiah – and they realize that the Messiah didn’t come to overthrow the Romans and be the king during their day -- but that He came to be the sacrificial lamb on the cross

-- and when they make that change in their thoughts and beliefs and begin to put their faith and trust in Him as their Lord and their Savior, this is massive

– this is an enormous change from what they previously believed and how they had lived and functioned as Jews their whole lives – it was earth-shattering – and I want you to see that – to understand what has happened in their lives

-- and now, God is getting ready to introduce another earth-shattering, massive change in their beliefs and their understanding about religion and their relationship with God

-- and while the new Christians could wrap their head around Jesus being the God-Man and make that fit in a new understanding of the Old Testament scriptures, there was one thing that both the Jewish Christians and the Jewish members of Judaism couldn’t change – that they couldn’t even imagine

– the entire Jewish existence was based on the fact that they were the chosen people of God – that out of all the people in the world, they were the only people – the only nation – that God had chosen to be His

– and that truth meant that only the Jews could be saved through the Law and through the promised Messiah – in their minds, the truth of the matter was that they were the only ones that God cared about

-- at the end of time, the Jews would be saved and everyone else would be cast into the outer darkness of Hades

– but that truth – that belief – that all Jews held in their hearts and their minds -- is about to be shattered

– because God is going to show them that the Messiah did not just come for the Jews – that Jesus didn’t just die for the Chosen People – but that Jesus died for everyone

-- and He was going to use Saul as His chosen instrument to carry the good news to the Gentiles – and He’s about to show Peter in a dramatic way here in Acts 10 and 11 that the Gentiles are included in the Kingdom of God

-- this is going to be a hard lesson for the Jewish believers to take in – it is going to be extremely difficult for them to understand this and to accept this and to move forward with this – for it goes against over two thousand years of religious understanding and teaching in Judaism

-- so, keep that in mind as we go through this – it’s not just as simple as believing that someone – anyone – can receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Christ – this isn’t the same as us knowing and believing that Muslims can come to true faith in Jesus – this means that the Jews are coming to the point where they are going to be told that someone completely foreign and separated from God is going to be saved through Jesus

-- in essence, what we are going to see happen in this part of the Book of Acts is an event as earth-shaking as an alien spaceship coming down and the church being told, “Jesus died for these aliens, too – and He wants you to share the gospel with them”

– that’s what’s going on here – and this is going to be mind-breaking for these Jewish believers

-- so, with that, let’s dig in and see what God is doing in these chapters to change Peter’s heart and mind and soul so that he can reach the place where he can accept that Jesus died for the Gentiles, too

III. Scripture Lesson (Acts 10:1-48)

-- as Acts 10 opens, we are given a short narrative about a Roman centurion named Cornelius – Cornelius lived in the town of Caesarea – which was about 35 miles directly north of Joppa – which is where Peter is staying

-- Cornelius was not a Jew, so that makes him a Gentile – anyone who is not Jewish by heritage is a Gentile – you and me – everyone in here – we are all Gentiles

-- but Cornelius and his family had apparently become believers in God – it says that he and his family were devout – God-fearing – they gave generously to people in need – and prayed to God regularly

– now understand, this is probably talking about Cornelius believing in the God of the Jewish religion – he was not a full convert to Judaism, but believed in God

-- but don’t misread this – Cornelius is definitely not a Christian – he does not know the gospel – he does not know about Jesus or what Jesus did, except as much as anyone in the area would have heard about the events in Jerusalem concerning Jesus’ death and claimed resurrection

– in other words, he may have known about Jesus, but he did not have faith in Jesus – his faith was in the Jewish God and he was probably a familiar visitor to the local synagogues in Caesarea

-- here in the opening of Acts Chapter 10, we are told that one day when Cornelius was praying, God sent an angel to him in a vision – the angel told him to go to Joppa and seek out Simon Peter, who was staying there in the house of Simon the Tanner – so, Cornelius sends three of his servants off to find Simon Peter and to ask him to come to Caesarea with them to meet with Cornelius

-- so, let’s catch up in the story starting in Acts 10:9-16

Acts 10:9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

-- Peter is up on the roof of Simon the Tanner’s home – their roofs were flat and usually covered with an awning of some kind, and people would go up on the roof – especially early in the morning or late in the evening – to relax in the shade and to be cooled by the wind that would have been blowing in off the Mediterranean Sea – this would have been like us sitting out on a deck in the shade in the summer as night falls

-- Peter is up there praying, and he fell into a trance and had a vision – and three times in this vision, Peter sees this large sheet filled with all kinds of unclean animals – four-footed animals and reptiles and birds – and the sheet lowers before him and he is told to get up and kill and eat of the animals on the sheet

-- Peter may be a Christian, but he is still a Jew – he is still holding on to the Jewish religion, at least in part – he may have changed his understanding of the need for animal sacrifices – he may have changed his understanding of who the Messiah was – but he is still a Jew and still holds to most of the Jewish traditions and rituals and the Law that he had been taught since he was a boy

-- and part of that Law said that Jews were not to eat anything that was unclean – the animals on that sheet were unclean – and even though the voice told him to get up and kill and eat, there was no way a good Jewish boy like Peter was going to do that – he would never dream of eating anything unclean

-- and when he protests that he would never do this, the voice said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean”

-- okay, what in the world does this have to do with God trying to get Peter to understand that the Gentiles are part of His chosen people, too?

-- remember what we just talked about – not only did the Jews consider some animals unclean because the Law prescribed what they could and could not eat – the Jews considered all the Gentiles unclean – to be in the presence of a Gentile – and especially, to eat with a Gentile or to touch a Gentile – would cause a Jew to become unclean, as well, until they could go through a cleansing ceremony in the Temple

-- that’s why the Jews wouldn’t go into Pilate’s court when they were taking Jesus in there – they didn’t want to be made unclean with the Passover coming up the next day

-- so, the way the Jews looked at it, getting close to a Gentile gave them cooties – it made them unclean – the same way eating those animals on the sheet would have made Peter unclean, if he was still holding to a strict interpretation of the Jewish Law

-- Peter is up there on the roof trying to figure all this out – what this vision with the unclean animals and the voice telling him to not call anything impure that God has made clean – when, suddenly, there is a knock on the door

-- verse 17-27

Acts 10:17 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. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.

-- Peter is sitting there, pondering clean versus unclean and what God was trying to get him to understand about this – when the doorway of Simon the Tanner’s home was filled with unclean Gentiles – asking to see him and asking him to come with them to Caesarea to meet with Cornelius

-- Peter has them put up overnight in Simon’s home as his guests, and when morning rolls around, he has made up his mind that he is supposed to go with them – he takes some of the Christians from Joppa with him and they journey together from Joppa to Caesarea

– it took them a couple days to get there – 35 miles on foot is a good way – but Peter gets there and is taken to the house of Cornelius – and he finds a large gathering of people inside, waiting to meet him and to hear from him – all Gentile – all unclean – as far as Peter knew and understood, people that were distant from God with no hope for salvation

-- but God’s been working on Peter – he hasn’t stopped thinking about those animals on the sheet and the voice saying, “Don’t call unclean what God has made clean” – and he hasn’t stopped thinking about that big coincidence of the Gentiles showing up at Simon the Tanner’s house right after he had that vision – and something is changing inside Peter – in what he thinks and believes about who God has come for and who God has saved through Jesus

-- verse 28

Acts 10:28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

-- Bam! There it is – this is a mike drop

-- Peter starts off telling this large gathering of Gentiles, “I’m not supposed to be here – it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile” – and they knew this – they knew how the Jews thought about them – they could see it in their eyes – they could hear it in their voice – they could feel it in the way the Jews recoiled from them and rejected them and looked down upon them – even if they were the Roman overlords over Jerusalem and all of Judea, they knew the Jews looked on them with disgust

-- and then Peter says it – “But” – “But” – “But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean”

-- this is ground-breaking – this is earth-shattering – Peter says, “God has told me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean” – and for Peter and all these other good Jewish Christians and good Jewish believers – this means the Gentiles are no longer impure or unclean – this means the Samaritans are no longer impure or unclean – this means everyone has been made pure and clean through Jesus’ atoning death on the cross

-- this is opening your front door and seeing a spacecraft there and an alien walking in and you going up to them and hugging them and saying, “Come in! You are welcome here! You are part of our family!”

-- this is a massive mind shift that we miss when we read this because we take it for granted – we are the beneficiaries of this statement – of this vision of the sheets and the voice that spoke to Peter – of the blinding light on the road to Damascus that struck Saul blind

-- even though we are Gentiles, we are no longer enemies of God – hostile to Him – separated from Him because we are unclean – impure – unholy – we are one with the Jews – and together, we are all the children of God

-- as it says in John 1:12-13, “Yet to all who did receive Him – to those who believed in His name – He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent”

– in other words, not children with the right heritage or the right genes or the right ethnicity – the Jews were not the only ones who could become children of God

– “Yet to all who did receive Him – to those who believed in His name – He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will – but born of God”

-- Bam! – this is paradigm shifting – and I want you to understand this – to realize -- not only what this meant to the Jews and the Jewish believers in Christ when they first heard these words – but what this verse means for us today

-- “Do not call anyone impure or unclean”

– that means the Jews – and the Gentiles

– that means the Republicans – and the Democrats

– that means the native-born citizen – and the immigrant

– that means the Muslims, who haven’t found Christ yet

– that means the people in Iran and Cuba and Russia and China

– that means everyone

-- remember the children’s song, “Jesus loves the little children?”

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world

-- did you know there’s a second verse to that song – one that we never sing? – listen to what changes in this verse:

Jesus died for all the children

All the children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus died for all the children of the world

-- “Do not call anyone impure or unclean”

-- how is everyone made pure and clean in the eyes of God? – through the blood of Jesus

-- we are pure and clean because Jesus died for us all – for the entire world – for Jews and Gentiles and any other category you might want to come up with

-- that’s what this verse means

-- skip down to verse 34-43

Acts 10:34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

-- Peter has changed – Peter now understands – Peter now knows that Jesus didn’t just die for the Jews – that He died for everyone – even the Gentiles – these hated, unclean Gentiles who lorded it over the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea

– and since he now knows this, Peter shares with them the good news of the gospel message – he teaches them about Jesus – about His life – His death – and His resurrection

– and he tells them that anyone who believes in Him – even the Gentiles – will receive the forgiveness of sins through His name

-- and just so you’re clear here, when Peter says that we have to believe in Jesus – that word “believe” means more than just knowing the facts – it means more than just believing the facts about Jesus and His death and resurrection are true

-- in the Greek, this word includes confession and repentance – it means that you’re putting all your faith and trust in this belief – that you are standing on this truth as the only foundation under your feet – knowing that your eternal life rests on this truth

-- this is not belief as head-knowledge – this is belief as faith and trust in Jesus in your heart

-- and Cornelius and all the Gentiles there in that room heard that message – and the Holy Spirit moved within them and convicted them of their sin and led them to turn to Jesus in faith and trust and belief

-- verse 44-48

Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 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.

-- remember that at this point, the giving of the Holy Spirit had only been done in miraculous ways – in visible ways – so that the new believers were aware that something miraculous had happened – that the old had passed and the new had come

-- and so far, the giving of the Holy Spirit had only been to Jews – to Jewish believers

-- but when Peter gets done talking and the people start believing in their hearts in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes in power and comes upon all who heard the message – where “heard” means they received it and believed in it and acted upon it

-- and all these Gentiles who had just heard about Jesus from Peter and who had just believed in Him and put their faith and trust in Him – every one of them became filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues and praising God

-- Peter and the other Jewish believers who had come with him were astonished – for they could see with their own eyes that God had sent the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles in the same way that He had sent the Holy Spirit to the Jewish believers

-- Peter called for water and he baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ as a visible and physical sign of their belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior – but understand that the act of baptism here goes beyond just a sign of belief and a public confession of faith

– it is a sign of acceptance – it is the act that brings new believers into the family of God – into the community of faith – baptism means that you are one of us

-- what we are seeing here is that Peter has gone beyond merely accepting that Gentiles are no longer unclean and impure, but that they can also be saved through Jesus and even filled with the Holy Spirit

– he has even reached the point where he tells the world and the other Christians there – through the act of baptism – “they are one with us and one with Christ – together, we are the church”

-- this is just an amazing moment in the early church – for what we are seeing here in the Book of Acts for the very first time is that the church of Christ on earth – that the Jewish Christians – now understand that everyone can be saved through Christ and brought into fellowship with one another

– this is what led the Apostle Paul to proclaim through the Spirit in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean – that Jesus made clean through His very body and blood”

IV. Closing

-- as we come to Acts 10, we see the gospel of Christ going to the very ends of the earth – reaching the very people that the Jews thought were irredeemable – the very people that the Jews thought were too far from God to be saved

-- this event in Peter’s life and in the life of the church changed the church forever – for the church came to see and to know and to act on the truth that anyone could be saved through Jesus – Jew – Gentile – alien in a spacecraft visiting earth – anyone

-- this is important for us to know and to believe and to act on – for this means that our calling as the church of Christ in this place is to reach out to everyone we meet – to share with all the good news of the gospel – regardless of who they are – what race they are – what ethnicity – what political or social or cultural class – everyone

-- for Jesus died for all of us – and He has called us to go in the power of His Spirit and under His authority to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit – and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded us to do

-- so, your homework for today is to go and do that – be like Peter – be like Paul – be like Jesus

-- let us pray