Initiating Relationships & Being In Consistent Community...Part 2...Acts 10

 

Being an intentional interim pastor, I am always initiating relationships and striving to be in consistent community with the church body I am serving.  It puts me in contact with others serving the Lord like Aaron in this picture who has a heart for ministry.  His official role is worship director but you will find him working on the website and playing a big role in the life of the youth group at WCC.  We have walked through some growing times together as we continue to learn to love each other and others more as brothers in Christ.  

Acts 10 has three main characters in this narrative account, Cornelius, Peter and Jesus.  

Cornelius the centurion, soldier, Roman and a home and family in Caesarea; 

Peter the courier of the message, one saved, one ransomed, and a fishing business in Capernaum; 

and Jesus the Christ, the Savior, the Redeemer, and once on a cross. 

The Jewish people had rules on top of the laws given by God.  These man made rules were created originally, I would hope, to keep one from approaching to break the God given law.  The problem came in to play that these man made rules turned into weapons to use against others.  The unclean animals the Jews were not to eat had turned into names to call the non-Jews, the Gentiles.  Peter comes face to face with the fact that he was still holding himself better than others because he was a Jew and not reaching out to those God was bringing to him to listen to what he had to say about Jesus.  It's the process of sanctification that makes these phrases jump off the page at us.  "While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision v.17...While Peter was still thinking about the vision v.19...But God has shown me v.28....I now realize v.34..."

Cornelius, a "good" man by the world's standards, needed to hear what Peter had to say.  Peter told him about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Peter told him that Jesus is Lord of all.  Peter told him that Jesus is the ultimate judge and also the One to believe in to receive forgiveness of sins.  Peter started this narrative with, "Surely not, Lord!  I have never..." and he ends it with baptizing them in the name of Jesus Christ.

There was a saving transformation for Cornelius and all who heard the message of Jesus that day but there was also a sanctifying transformation for Peter as he laid down some man-made laws to hold to God's words to speak to those God had made clean (v.15).  A course correction was needed and I have experienced the same at times.

I grew up with a lot of man-made rules given to help us stay away from breaking God's commands.  I am sure they were made with the best intentions of the heart but I witnessed many of them becoming weapons to be used to make oneself looking better than the other and maybe to the point of questioning someone's salvation because they didn't keep the man-made rules.  I have learned that even if I keep one of these man-made rules, thinking it best for me in walking in my faith, that I should never use it to judge another.  The sheet put before me were not clean and unclean animals but drinking, movies, dancing, clothing, music and the like.  We had man-made rules for them all.  No drinking was to not be drunk.  No movies was to not feed the lust of eyes and flesh.  No dancing was to not entice sexual promiscuity.  Sunday clothing was to not dishonor God .  Only sacred music was to protect worship.  All good but it takes a bad turn when it becomes our evaluation of holiness according to our rules.  I think many initiating relationships were missed and many consistent community times were limited to just those who checked off all the boxes we checked off.  

Enough rambling, may God have shown us and we now realize that God has something for us to say and something for them to listen to and it isn't about us, it is about Him.

Adam