Good morning to everyone. Good to see you all here this morning. And summer is upon us, like July out here lately. So I went on the Guild Flowage last night for a little shakedown cruise with Doug. And it's 74 degrees on the surface. That was something for Memorial Day weekend. We're enjoying the weather. 

We're continuing our study in the Book of Acts. We've been working through the Book of Acts for several months, and we're kind of in this section in Acts 10 and Acts 11. These chapters are long historical narratives recounting what happened when Peter went to Cornelius' home and really brought the gospel to the Gentiles, which was a monumental thing. It's such an important and emphasized truth that God is teaching us here. 

And we do well to pay attention to the gravity of these events and what they mean concerning God's plan for the church. It's hard for us to really understand and wrap our mind around the Jewish perspective in this time and what it meant for Peter to go to the home of a Gentile and offer salvation through faith in Christ. 

So I kind of just want to start this morning by asking, as we look at chapter 11, the question, what is God's plan for the church? And this really is an important question. So many sit around today in planning and scheming sessions trying to develop their vision, how it is that they can do church, how they can grow and thrive and be successful. But who is it that's asking what God's vision for the church is? Who is going to the scripture? Who is seeking to obey what Jesus has commanded us to do? 

Who is it that pays attention to and trusts what God says is the best way, his way, really the only way to be affected by God's standards? You see, how we define success will ultimately determine how we strive to accomplish our goals. If success is numerical growth, if success is a fun time had by all, if success is making people feel good, then we will do things very differently than if success is obedience to God and his word and faithful preaching and teaching of his word, meeting the spiritual needs of his people and producing the fruit of righteousness and true converts to the faith. 

I believe God has laid out for us with emphatic repetition in this 11th chapter of Acts some key principles for his plan for the church. And here we get a glimpse of God's vision for the body of Christ, the new covenant church. We will look at this first part. I thought I would get through all of chapter 11 because it was so repetitious from chapter 10, but I'm actually only going to make it to verse 18 this morning. 

So we'll look at this first part through verse 18 at the truth that all men are equal in Christ and that salvation is available to every man through faith. And then next time, we will work through the rest of the chapter in part 2 of our message and look more specifically at some principles that can guide us and help us understand God's plan for the church. 

Let's look at verse 1 of our text again. And I'll read down through verse 18. Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, you went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them. 

But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came to me. When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, rise, Peter, kill and eat. 

But I said, not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, what God has cleansed you must not call common. Now, this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 

Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover, these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved. 

And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If, therefore, God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? 

When they heard these things, they became silent, and they glorified God, saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance of life. 

Well, I've given you five points on your outline for these 18 verses. First, we're going to see repetition. Second, resistance. Third, revelation. Fourth, remembrance. And fifth, the realization of God's plan for the church. 

What we see in these first 18 verses is largely a repetition of what we studied last time in chapter 10. It is Peter's recounting of what happened concerning the vision he had received, the meeting with Cornelius, the salvation of the Gentiles, and the significance of all of these events concerning God's plan. 

But this repetition is highly significant because it shows us that God is tremendously concerned with the message he is trying to convey to us with the truths that he's teaching us concerning who the church is to be made up of and how it is to function. You see, when God says something in his word, it is always significant. It is truth. It is important. But when we see him repeat something, it is very important. 

And here in chapters 10 through 11, God chooses to occupy a large section of the book of Acts to really drive home the truth that the church would be made up of Jew and Gentile, not just Jews, as so many had thought coming out of the old covenant and seeking to apply these same things in the new. God was doing something new. It was profound. It was staggering to these Jews, even those who had come to faith in Christ and had been regenerated, born again, and received the Holy Spirit. 

They were excessively reluctant to accept the idea because, you see, their preconceived notions, the orthodoxy that they had developed, got in the way of God's truth, in the way of his revelation. We're going to look at this more later, but look down at verse 17. In Acts 11, 17, it says, if therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? 

The legalistic Jews were madder than hornets concerning Peter's choice to go into a Gentile home, and worse yet, to offer them salvation through faith alone without converting to Judaism. And Peter's explaining to them what God had done and the whole story. And in verse 17, he says, hey, if God is going to save the Gentiles and give them the Holy Spirit, who am I to withstand God? 

This verse has always grabbed my attention because it seems to me that these legalistic Jews, and maybe even Peter, would have liked to have withstood God. They would have done it differently if it were up to them. Because the orthodoxy that they had developed, the systems, traditions, rituals, and preferences that had developed within their circles of fellowship were very dear to them, and they were resistant to give them up. 

So we see the repetition with which God persuades Peter. He brings the sheet three times to show him and to tell him what I have cleansed you should not call common, referring to the Gentiles. He needed to persuade Peter. He needed to persuade these Jews. And he needed to persuade us of the great truth of the equality of Jew and Gentile in Christ, the great mystery, Paul called it, now being revealed. 

Well, next we see the resistance from the Jews to God's plan for the church. Look at verse 1 of our text. It says, now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, you went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them. 

This is a fascinating account of what happened when Peter got back to Judea. It says in verse 1 that they heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God. I want you to stop and ponder that for a second. They heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 

Now we are, historians say, about seven years out from Pentecost at this point. Some say as much as 11 years. It was 11 years after Pentecost when Claudius became the emperor, but Luke's statement later in this chapter seems to imply that the prophecy of Agabus was made before Claudius became governor. So we'll assume the seven-year time period between Pentecost and the founding of this first Gentile church. 

For seven years, the apostles and prophets had gone about preaching and teaching Christ, but primarily to the Jews. They had only recently gone out to the Samaritans and now for the first time to the Gentiles. There was a long time of teaching and preaching. And we have seen that their sole purpose in the church was preaching Christ everywhere they went so that men might be saved. This was their collective heart, to preach Christ, to make Him known so that men would believe and come to Him. 

So when they heard that more men were saved, Gentiles, wouldn't you think that they would have rejoiced? They heard that the Gentiles received the word of the Lord. This is God's heart. You're familiar with Luke 15. Turn over to Luke 15 with me, please. Luke 15, we see several parables that Jesus tells concerning salvation and rejoicing over that salvation. 

Luke 15, verse 4, Jesus says, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. 

I say to you that likewise, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Or how about the woman who lost her silver coin? Verse 8, Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I lost. 

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. And then there's the story of the prodigal son who comes home and what rejoicing by the Father to receive him back. This is God's vision for the church. This is God's heart and His plan and His purpose. 

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He did not come into the world to judge the world, but that through Him the world might be saved. God desires that all men come to the knowledge of the truth, that every man hear the word, believe, and be saved. This is God's heart. But unfortunately, it's not always the heart of the believer because sometimes our own created orthodoxies get in the way. 

We have prejudices. And this chapter is a lot about breaking down prejudices. My brothers and sisters, God was doing a major work on these Jews. It was monumental that they get this, that they learn this lesson. And it was so contrary to what was so deeply ingrained in them. In verse two of our text, it says, when they heard the Gentiles had received the word of the Lord and been saved, they contended with Peter. 

The tense of the word indicates that they kept hounding him. They kept fighting with him. They were super upset with him, and they kept on arguing with him. And here's the basis of their argument, verse three. Peter, you went in to the uncircumcised men and ate with them. This was one of their dearest doctrines. They hated the Gentiles. They considered them utterly and totally unclean. And even to enter their home was to defile yourself. 

So they would not so much as have contact with a Gentile. They wouldn't even walk through Gentile lands if they could avoid it. But I don't think this is what God intended, even in the old covenant. Because Jesus seemed comfortable having contact with Gentiles, healing their sick, offering salvation to those who would come to him. 

In Romans 15, verses eight and nine, Paul says, now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written for this cause, I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. 

It should not be thought strange that Jesus would minister to the Gentiles. In Isaiah 45, 22, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. God said to Abraham, And you all families of the earth shall be blessed. 

In Matthew 15, 21-28, we read of our Lord's ministry to the Canaanite woman and her daughter who was possessed by a demon. Furthermore, Jesus gave the Great Commission and He said, Go into all the world and teach all nations. God has always intended to save Gentiles. 

But in this time of Acts, after Pentecost, in the Church Age, we see a major change in His plan. Because now men would no longer become Jews in order to come to God. You see, Israel was intended to be a light to the Gentiles. He separated His people to show who He was and His character and nature in order to draw men to Him. A city on a hill. The salt of the earth. A light to draw men to Jehovah God. 

And when men came, they became proselytes to Judaism. And this was the idea that many in the infant church, who were initially all Jews, were holding on to. This was the dispute that arose, as we will see in Acts 15. But God wanted to make clear here in Acts 10 and 11 that He was now going to cut a new channel. A new way to bring all men to faith in Christ. And that new channel is the church. 

It is Jew and Gentile in one body. And the believers would now go out into the world and preach the gospel to every creature, to every nation. This is God's plan. But He had to get His people, the Jewish believers, on board and understand this. And it was hard for them to give up what they thought was a better way. So they contended with Peter. 

And at first, you remember, Peter contended with God. They resisted God because they thought they knew a better way. And what application we can find for this truth in the church today. In various and many circles, so many in the church today are seeking a better way. Better than God's way. Because they think they can build the church their own way. By their own methods, by the means of the world. 

Not trusting in what God has prescribed as the only way to reach men for Christ. So we see repetition. And we see resistance. And next, we see revelation. Look at verse 4 of our text, please. But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning. And he recounts how he was in Joppa and how he received this vision. 

And the sheep came down and God changed the economy. Not only the dietary restrictions were done away with from the law and the old covenant, but also that Gentiles would not be common or unclean because God had made them clean. And he talked about how the men came from Cornelius. And he went with them with six of his friends to Caesarea. And he began to speak. 

And while he was still speaking, it says the Holy Spirit fell on them as upon us at the beginning. The same way that the Jews had received the Holy Spirit. Now the Gentiles received him. And in verse 16 Peter says, Then I remembered the word of the Lord. How he said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 

And then he makes this statement. If therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? We see here Peter recount for them all that God had done to show him and all the Jews that they were no longer to count the Gentiles common. 

That they were no longer forbidden the dietary restrictions of the old covenant, and that salvation was now available to all equally regardless of Jew or Gentile. And in this account, we see a very important point that I want to emphasize. Culminating in verse 16. What we observe in verses 4 to 15 is Peter telling about what happened to him and those six men that he took to Caesarea. 

You see, Peter had an amazing experience. This made me think of another amazing experience that Peter had. Turn over to Matthew 17 with me please. Matthew 17 at verse 1. This is Jesus taking his men up on the mount to be transfigured before them. 

Matthew 17 1 it says, Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. 

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and do not be afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Can you imagine having this experience? What an amazing event in the life of Peter. 

Jesus was there with them. And he pulled back his flesh, as it were, and showed them his true inner glory. He was transformed. He was transfigured before their very eyes. And God spoke from heaven, confirming that this Jesus was indeed his son and the Messiah of Israel. 

What more could you want? What more could you ask for? What could be more affirming, more sure than this profound experience? I mean, let me ask you, what greater experience could you have than seeing with your own eyes the very nature and glory of Christ and hearing God the Father speak out of heaven? 

Even seeing Moses and Elijah there in this tremendous picture of the end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New. Hear him. We saw Jesus only. Is there a greater experience possible? I hear those in the charismatic movement talk often about great experiences. My cousin told me Jesus spoke audibly to her in her car. 

I remember a Christian lady who wanted to travel to Florida not many years ago because down in Lakeland they were having profound experiences and gold flakes were falling from the sky. I know people in the church who base all kinds of decisions and hopes and faith on experiences that absolutely pale in comparison to this amazing, profound experience that Peter had on the Mount. 

I ask you again, what could be a better experience? What could possibly be more sure, be more faith-affirming, more certain than what happened to Peter on the day on the Mount? Let's let Peter tell us in his own words. Turn over to 2 Peter 1 at verse 16. And I'm going to read for you from the King James Version just because of the wording that I want to capture there. 

In verse 16, Peter says, For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy Mount. Look what he says in verse 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well to take heed as unto a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arises in your heart, knowing this first, Peter says, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Would anyone like to stand up and tell me that they have had a more profound experience than the one that Peter had on the Mount, and he recalls here? Where they were with Jesus in person. Where Jesus exposed to them his glory and essence. Where Moses and Elijah showed up and spoke with Jesus. 

Where the Father spoke clearly, audibly out of heaven and affirmed that Jesus is his Son, and in him he is well pleased, and that we should hear him, that we should look to him only. Let me ask you, can Kenneth Copeland conceive of a greater experience in his vivid and creative and demonic imagination? Yet what does Peter say about this amazing experience? He says, we have a more sure word. 

My brothers and sisters, please get this point. Drive it deep into your heart and into your mind. Peter is recounting his experience in Acts 11, 4, 15. He's telling what happened to him, and his experience was amazing. It was profound. And guess what? Six other spiritual men were with him, and they had the same experience. And this is great and wonderful and affirming, but by itself it is not enough. 

Verse 16 is essential and necessary to confirm any experience that we might see as being from God. Then I remembered the word of the Lord. How he said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. We see repetition in our text. We see resistance. We see revelation. And here, perhaps most important, we see remembrance. Remembrance of the word of God, of Jesus Christ. 

You see, the experience that Peter had was confirmed by the word that the Lord had spoken. Experience is wonderful. I believe that God allows us to experience His grace and mercy in so many ways, big and small. He lets us know that He is working, that He's our loving Father, and we see His hand every day in our lives. Even in creation, we see God continually. 

I love the verse in 2 Corinthians 5 that says, Now all things are of God. We see God everywhere, and we experience His goodness and grace in our lives all the time. But, my friends, experience cannot be our guide because our emotions and feelings often guide our understanding of our experiences. Sometimes we think that God is telling us something in a given circumstance because of some experience that we have. 

But how do we know if it is from God? How do we know if it is His will for our lives? If Peter would have just went back to those Jews and said, Hey, I had this great experience, they could have said, Well, your experience doesn't change God's word in the old covenant. There's only one way, my friends, that we can validate our experiences, and that's by the truth of His word, by remembering and believing and applying His word. 

Our experiences must be validated. They must be in consistency with His revealed word. Otherwise, we're on our own. And that's a dangerous place to be. Experience must be confirmed by revelation. And this is precisely what we see in verse 16 of our text. Peter said, We were having this awesome experience. We were obeying God and His command to go to Cornelius. 

And then, while I was still preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on them. They were saved. It was awesome. And then he says, I remembered. I remembered the word of the Lord, what Jesus said was true, that John baptized with water, but that you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And then he says, If God gave them the same gift, the Holy Spirit, when they believed, this affirms that what we were doing was in God's will. 

You see, Peter had a wonderful experience leading the Gentiles to faith in Christ. But should he be doing this? The Jews who were contending with him would have said, No way! You can't go into a Gentile house and eat with them and then offer them salvation without even becoming a Jew. This had never been done. This was not customary. This was clearly not orthodox. 

How in the world could Peter know if this was the right track to be on? He remembered. He remembered the word of the Lord. That the guarantee, the sign of the new covenant, when a man heard the word and believed Jesus, the promise, the affirmation of his salvation was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We saw this at Pentecost. 

We saw this with the Samaritans. Remember when they first went to the Samaritans and the Holy Spirit fell on them the same way? And now we see it with the Gentiles. We ask the question, why was there delay? Why did the Samaritans get saved and then not have the Holy Spirit? And why with the Gentiles? 

Do you see why it was important that God did it this way? So that they would all know that they are equal in Christ. That they had the same salvation. That it happened exactly the same way. Do you see how Peter could know, not only by his experience, but by the validation of God's word, the promise given by Jesus. He could know that this salvation for the Gentiles was true. And my friends, it took all of that to convince Peter. 

And it took all of that to convince these Jews. And what did they say when he said, I remember this. what Jesus said. Verse 18, when they heard these things, they shut their mouths. They became silent. They had been contending and contending and hounding Peter. When they heard that, they became silent. They glorified God, saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance of life. 

And God had now settled the issue in the church. And it was clear that God had turned to the Gentiles in this new covenant church age, and that every man, every creature, could come to God through Jesus, simply by faith. This was important. It was really important to establish in the early church. 

And it's important for us to understand that Jesus Christ died for every man, and that Jesus offers salvation to any man who will hear the truth, the gospel of his death, burial, and resurrection in our place, and take that for himself, and believe Jesus. And here we have the realization of God's plan for the church. 

We've seen repetition, resistance, revelation, remembrance, and finally, realization. God had long promised to bring salvation to the nations. All the way back in Genesis 12, God made a promise to Abram that through his seed, he would bless all nations. This was long before the Old Covenant even came into existence, when there was no law, according to Romans 5. 

And God intended all along to save every man who would believe. We see the new covenant explanation of this in Galatians 3. Turn over to Galatians 3 as we close here. In Galatians 3, Paul explains this promise realized to us. 

Galatians 3, 5. He's talking to the Gentile Christians in Galatia, "...therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you." Does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, "...therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." 

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "...in you all the nations shall be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. "...for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 

But that no one is justified by the law on the side of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them." Look at verse 13 in this wonderful good news, "...Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, in order that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." 

And he goes on to explain to them that it was given by promise, and the law was added 430 years later, and that could not annul the promise that he always intended to bring salvation by faith. It was a mystery hidden for ages past, but now revealed in this church age, revealed here in Acts 11, in the lives of Peter and his friends, in Cornelius and his household. 

Listen to Paul's words in Ephesians 3. In verse 1 he says, "...for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery, as I have already briefly written, by which when you read you may understand my knowledge and the mystery of Christ." 

This is the mystery, Paul says, that's now being revealed. "...which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel." 

This might not mean a lot to us—probably everyone sitting in here is a Gentile—but let me ask you this, does it matter that salvation is available to every man? What if only rich people could get into heaven? What if only white people could get into heaven? What if only people who wore suits to church and dresses could get into heaven? What if you had some piercings and tattoos and you couldn't get into heaven? 

What if you'd murdered someone and heaven was now no longer available to you? What if you had a theology that says that Christ didn't die for every man? Does it matter? God is teaching us a crucial lesson here about his heart and his desire to save everyone, and we have to, as Peter and those Jews did then, get on board with God's heart for lost men, and to love men as God loves men, and to give of ourselves as Jesus gave of himself to reach lost men and to bring them the good news gospel. 

This is God's plan for the church. It took a lot of time, a lot of teaching, the revelation of God, the guiding of the Holy Spirit, but these Jewish new covenant believers were now seeing the plan and purpose that God revealed to make one new man in Christ equal in the body, and that is what God has been doing ever since. 

Ever since that day in Caesarea at the home of a real man named Cornelius, where the most Jewish of the Jews, an apostle named Peter, chose to lay aside his understanding and believe God and trust him and obey him in order to lead these men to faith in Christ, to bring salvation to the Gentiles, and to fulfill God's purpose for the church. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful that you've recorded these things in your Word and that you've given us the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us, that you continue to work in us, to change us, to conform us to the likeness of Christ. Father, we're thankful for the gospel. 

We're thankful for the truth that none of us are worthy, none of us are good enough, none of us deserve your grace and mercy in Christ, but that grace and mercy is available to every man who will humble himself and understand his sin and need and come to faith in Jesus and what he did alone. In his name we pray, amen.