A Step in the Dark

Sermon notes from Sunday 17 August 2014

“What God hath cleansed, that call not common” Acts 10 verse 15

“Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation’ but God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” Acts 10 verse 28

 A STEP IN THE DARK

Peter was on his knees before God when the heavens opened and God gave him a vision of the sheet with all the unclean animals on it.  Peter had to learn to surrender to God’s will.  What did it mean for Peter - to bring the gospel to the Gentile nation.  Peter had to sacrifice to God’s work.  Peter was about to take a step in the dark.  A nation would be saved through the obedience of one man.  Never under estimate what God can do.  Once we come to the place Peter came to only then can God move in such a place.  As you open yourself up to God he might save a complete household through your ministry.  Look at the sacrifices Peter had to make.

He had to sacrifice previous trophies.  All we have to do is look at the great biographies of men and woman in past days.  There were things these people had to give up to take the gospel out to far flung parts of the earth.  Think of Hudson Taylor and David Livingstone for example.  C T Studd was a young man of 18 when he was saved but he got stuck.  He went on with his normal days business but never felt the need to get down before God and ask him what he wanted him to do.  The Lord came again to him again 6 years later.  On the day he got married his bride asked him “how much exactly is in our bank account?”  He told her the exact amount.  He had inherited a fortune from his father.  His wife asked him “what are we going to do about it?”  C T Studd gave all his money away and went out to the mission field.  Acts 9 verses 32 – 35.  Here was a man who could not stand or walk.  Peter was called to this house and a miracle took place that day because Aeneas was able to walk again.  In verses 36 and 37 Peter is again called to another house.  Dorcas did a lot of charitable work for the poor and widows.  The people realised he was in the town and called on him to come to the house.  In verse 40 Peter put them all out of the house.  He then knelt down and prayed.  God answered that prayer.  Answered prayer might not always be in the way we might think or hope but in this place God answered Peter’s prayer for healing.  Dorcas is raised to her feet because of Peter’s prayer.  In verse 42 we read “and many believed in the Lord.”  How was Peter feeling after these 2 incidents?  He saw men and women coming to the knowledge of Christ through what he has done.  He doesn’t stop there though.  He is in the midst of blessing but God is going to call him away from all that.  God now seems to be giving him an impossible task.  He is calling him to something that is unheard of.  He must not dwell on these previous trophies.  If we want to serve the Lord we cannot dwell on previous trophies.  In Acts chapter 16 Paul was praying for a way to go into Asia but he was forbidden (verse 6).  Then in verse 7 we see Paul wanted to go to Bithynia “but the Spirit suffered them not”.

Peter had to sacrifice his precious time.  How often we look at the clock and say “I should be somewhere else.”  It only took 2 days to go to Cornelius’ house and I’m sure Peter felt he could do so much more in those 2 days but he would have to sacrifice his time.  Can we call that a sacrifice?  From the one who died for you?  Jesus left heaven and the praise of angels and came down into the world.  During his time on earth everyone tried to find fault with everything he did.  He would eat with sinners and publicans but there were those ready to condemn him for doing so.  Then we see him on that cross, he suffered, bled and died in agony because he was dieing for you and I.  God comes to us and asks us to given an hour to pray.  C T Studd said “if Jesus Christ be God and died for me then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”  Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan.  A man was robbed, beaten, stripped and left to die in the road.  A priest came down the road but instead of stopping he passed on by.  Then the Lord put the spotlight on a Levite.  Surely he would stop but no he didn’t.  He passed on by.  A Samaritan did however stop.  He poured oil in to the man’s wounds then raised him to his donkey and took him to a nearby inn.  He tells the innkeeper to care for the man and pays for his care.  That is what people need from us today – time to care, to sacrifice our time.  Anything we have today is not ours.  It is God’s and some day we must leave it all behind.  We are only using what is God’s today.

Peter would have to sacrifice his personal ambitions.  God was showing Peter the Gentile nation all around him.  They needed to hear the gospel.  They were termed as unclean by the Jewish nation.  God was giving Peter the keys to go into those homes and tell them about Jesus.  He had to sacrifice his traditions.  Some times we have to set aside the things we love because God is asking us to do something else.  John Wesley began to preach salvation through faith in Christ in churches but he was told to leave the churches.  He had to then take the gospel to open airs and he began to preach to people as they passed by.  He admitted one day that he had thought it would be a sin to see a soul saved outside a church building.  Maybe there are things you have to sacrifice – your time, your traditions – but God will use us mightily to save precious souls.