Monday, August 18, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008: We've Never Done It That Way Before

We’ve Never Done It That Way Before
Acts 10: 23b – 48.

I. Introduction.

A lot of times, people are remembered for their “last words…” the final words they speak before dying. We should all remember the words Jesus spoke on the cross right before his death, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. (Luke 23: 46 NIV)” But here are a few more examples of “famous last words:”

To the strongest!
Who: Alexander the Great
In response to his generals asking the heirless Alexander which one of them would get control of the empire.
Note: When asked on his deathbed who was to succeed him, his voice may have been indistinct. Alexander may have said "Krateros" (the name of one of his generals), but he was not around, and the others may have chosen to hear "Kratistos— the strongest".

How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?
Who: P. T. Barnum, circus entrepreneur

Let's roll.
Who: Todd Beamer, passenger on United Flight 93, September 11, 2001.
Note: These are his last recorded words, coming at the end of a cell phone call before Beamer and others attempted to storm the airliner's cockpit to retake it from hijackers who were part of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
Who: Nathan Hale, American spy, hanged in 1776, according to the account by William Hull based on reports by John Montresor. This has also been quoted as: I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country. Some speculation exists that he might have been repeating or paraphrasing lines from Joseph Addison's play Cato: What pity is it that we can die but once to serve our country.

Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub.
Who: Conrad Hilton when asked if he had any last words of wisdom.

Texas, Margaret! Texas!
Who: Sam Houston

Money can't buy life.
Who: Bob Marley to his son Ziggy

Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you.
Who: Mother Teresa (Sept 5, 1997)
Notes: Sister Nirmala Joshi recalled, "Just hours before her death, Mother Teresa spoke about the Little Flower, St. Therese. She has just been declared a ‘Doctor of the Church’ by Pope John Paul II. Her last words are: "Can you imagine, for doing little things with great love, the Church is making her a Doctor, like St. Augustine and the big St. Teresa! It is just like Jesus said in the Gospel to the one who was seated in the lowest place: "Friend, come up higher." St. Therese's last words were quite similar, "Oh, I love him; my God, I love you".

Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.
Who: Francisco ("Pancho") Villa
I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be into a vault in less than two days after I am dead. Do you understand me? ["Yes," replied Tobias Lear, his secretary.] 'Tis well. I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.
Who: George Washington, first President of the United States (he had a fear of being buried alive)[1]

We might refer to these quotes as “famous last words.” Sometimes, churches can be known by their “famous last words.” For example, what do you think are the “famous last words” from churches that are on the verge of death? “We’ve never done it that way before.”

[1] Quotes retrieved from “Last Words,” en.wikiquote.org.

Read Acts 10: 23b -48.

Our Scripture picks up in the middle of a long and complex story about Peter’s preaching the Gospel to a Gentile family. In fact, this is the longest single story in the entire Book of Acts. It encompasses two chapters. It begins in chapter 10 and concludes with a meeting of the Apostles in chapter 11, in which Peter explains why he did what he did. Judging by the length of this story, it is safe for us to assume this is an important event in the Book of Acts. We might even conclude that this is a pivotal moment for the young church. It is a defining moment for them. The new church and the individual followers of Jesus are thrust into making a decision about the future of the Christian faith. Will the Christian faith just be a Jewish movement? Or will the Christian faith expand its boundaries beyond the religion and the race of the people called the Jews?

The story of Peter’s preaching to Gentiles doesn’t seem very unusual to you and me, because we are Gentiles. It simply makes sense to us that it’s OK for us to share the story of Jesus and the plan of salvation with people like us. But not to Peter. In fact, we should be a little surprised that Peter didn’t respond to God by saying something like, “We’ve never done it that way before.”

On one hand, this was not the first time a Gentile had heard the Gospel and become a Christian. The first Gentile convert was the Ethiopian Eunuch, who became a Christian when Philip shared the story of Jesus from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. On the other hand, this is the first time Peter has preached to Gentiles. But it took a remarkable set of circumstances to get Peter to do this.

It all started on day at 3:00 in the afternoon. A Roman soldier by the name of Cornelius had a vision from God. Cornelius was no ordinary soldier. He was a Centurion, which means that he had command over a regiment of at least one hundred men. The Book of Acts tells us that Cornelius’ regiment was a well renowned unit. It was known far and wide as the Italian Regiment. More than likely, this is significant. Cornelius’ unit was a famous Roman regiment. The Roman army was the most powerful military power in the world at that time. AND, the Roman military was despised by all good Jewish people. The Roman Empire controlled Israel politically, and the Empire enforced its political control through military presence in the land of Israel. The military held a constant presence in Israel and served as a constant reminder that the Jewish people were not free. They were controlled by their occupiers.

Of course, Cornelius was no ordinary Roman citizen either. He was a citizen of the Empire. He was a high ranking officer in the occupying army. But, he was also a “God-Fearer” who prayed frequently and gave tithes and offerings to the poor. He was a Roman who was interested in knowing more about the One True God.

We might say that Cornelius was a very religious man and a good person. But even as a good person, Cornelius was missing one thing. He did not know about Jesus. He needed Peter to tell him the story of Jesus and how Cornelius could be saved.

In the vision, Cornelius saw an angel of God dressed in brilliant white. The angel called him by name and told him to send some of his men to fetch Peter. But there is something missing here. The angel did NOT tell Cornelius why he should send for Peter. This is surprising to me, because the angel knew Cornelius by name, knew Peter by name, and gave specific and detailed directions about where Peter was staying: in Joppa, at the house of Simon the Tanner, the house by the sea.

The very next day, Peter also had a dream. It was in the heat of the noonday sun that Peter went up to the roof to pray. While Peter was praying, two things happened. First, he started to feel hungry. (The Bible tells us that his hosts were in the kitchen preparing lunch, so I’m sure that he was beginning to smell the food as it was cooking.) Second, Peter fell into a trance. I don’t really know what a trance is, but based on the biblical story, it was a way for God to speak directly to Peter in a vision.

Peter’s vision was not as direct as Cornelius’ vision. In Cornelius’ vision God spoke directly to Cornelius and told him exactly what to do: “Send some men to Joppa to fetch Peter.” But that is not what happened in Peter’s vision. In his vision, Peter saw a large sheet being lowered from heaven with all types of living animals on the sheet. The voice of God called Peter by name and commanded him to kill one of the animals to eat. Peter refused to do as God had commanded him, because (we assume) all the animals were considered unclean. Peter insisted that he had never once eaten any unclean animal and thought he was doing the right thing. “If this really is God speaking to me, surely he will be impressed with my piety.” But, God wasn’t impressed. God spoke to Peter a second time saying, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Then, God wouldn’t leave Peter alone. Peter had the same vision from God three times before he finally woke up. And, then God still didn’t leave Peter alone. When Peter woke up, he was disturbed by the vision and trying to interpret what it could possibly mean. Then, the Holy Spirit instructed Peter to go with the men who came to the house looking for him.

II. Peter Was Willing to Be Led by God.

Put yourself in Peter’s shoes. God spoke to him in a vision, but God did not directly tell Peter what to do. The vision was a kind of riddle. The vision was about animals, and God’s words to Peter made no mention of people. There is a distinct possibility that Peter might miss God’s message entirely. It is possible that Peter would wake up from his vision and conclude that God is calling him to eat a ham sandwich!

This is the way God leads us. We wish and hope for a clear divine vision from God that specifically commands us what we should do. It didn’t happen that way for Peter. And, it does not usually happen that way for us. God never gave Peter the whole picture. He only gave him one piece of the puzzle at a time. God told Peter everything he needed to know to make the NEXT DECISION.

First, God gave Peter the vision and instructions about what is clean and unclean: “Do not call something impure that God has made clean.” Then, God told Peter to go with the men who came to summon him. Peter answered their summons, but he still didn’t know why.

Notice how Peter introduced himself to Cornelius in verse 28, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or to visit him…” As soon as he speaks these words, Peter is reminded of the vision. It is an “Ah Ha” moment for Peter. THIS is what God was calling me to do. Gentiles are not unclean. God cares about Gentiles too!

Then, Peter said something amazing in verse 29! He asked, “May I ask why you sent for me?” This is an amazing question for one reason. Peter did not know why he was at Cornelius’ house. BUT, Peter was still willing to follow God’s call. Peter stepped out into the unknown to do what God wanted him to do, even though he had no idea what God wanted him to do. That is a picture of faith…stepping out into the unknown. God’s future is better than the present as I know it today.

What is God leading you to do today? More than likely you don’t know. More than likely God has only shown you one piece of the puzzle. He will give you all the information you need to make the NEXT decision. A better question for us might be, are you being faithful with the piece of the puzzle God has given you?

What about our church? What is God leading us to do as a church? Well, we don’t know completely. God is leading us one step at a time. But, we should ask ourselves, Are we being faithful with the piece of the puzzle God has already given us?

III. Peter Was Willing to Change.

When Peter asked Cornelius why he had summoned him from Joppa, no one was fully prepared for what happened next. Cornelius said he wanted Peter to preach the Gospel. There is a lesson here for all lay people. Don’t ask a preacher to preach unless you really want to hear a sermon. Because that is what Peter did. He reminded Cornelius of the popular stories about Jesus’ healing and good deeds. Then he told the story of the crucifixion and resurrection. He even shared how God had called Peter to be a witness of the resurrection. On one hand, Peter was a witness because he saw Jesus and ate with Jesus after the resurrection. On the other hand, Peter was a witness because he was commissioned to tell others about what he had experienced. Witness is not simply a passive thing. It is active. We have to tell people what we have seen and experienced. We have to tell others, even when those others are people who are not like us.

When Peter preached the full Gospel to Cornelius, something miraculous took place. Peter had been changed. At the beginning of chapter 10, Peter would not eat unclean food—even if it was only a dream. Now, Peter is willing to visit an unclean Gentile in his unclean home and preach the message of salvation to these unclean people.

After Peter preached the Gospel, we get to watch several conversions take place. First, Cornelius and his entire household was converted to Christian faith. (Since verse 33 indicates that Cornelius had gathered his family and friends to hear Peter’s sermon, I don’t find any reason to believe this Scripture promotes infant baptism.) Second, Peter is converted from his racist and insensitive view of Jewish superiority. Third, this is the beginning of the conversion of the entire church. This experience in Cornelius’ house began a very difficult struggle for the early church to break free from the Jewish traditions and embrace their calling to evangelize Gentiles.

Is this the story of a Gentile’s conversion? Or is it the story of an Apostle’s conversion? Or is this the story of the church’s conversion?

Change is not a word many Baptists like to talk about. In a Baptist church, there is only one person who likes change…the baby in the nursery with a wet diaper. However, we would not be here today if our ancestors were not willing to be led by God and willing to change. We would not be here if Peter had said, “We’ve never done it that way before.”

Why was Peter willing to change? Change is a painful thing. But sometimes, staying the same way is also painful. The truth is that change is possible when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of doing something new.

I think this is the reason why Peter was willing to change. If Peter had stayed the same, he would have been disobeying God. He has done that before. He remembered how painful it was to deny Jesus and wonder if he would ever be welcomed back into the circle of disciples. Peter did not want to experience the pain of disobedience ever again! So, doing something new was not as painful as staying the same.

What about your life? What about our church? Is change more or less painful than staying the same?

IV. Some Things Should Never Change.

Peter was willing to change, but he didn’t change everything. The message of the Gospel remained unchanged throughout this story and wherever the Gospel was preached.

Notice verse 34… “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” The punctuation is very important in this sentence. Peter did not say, “God accepts men from every nation (period).” He said, “God accepts men from every nation WHO FEAR HIM AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT.”

The Gospel is given universally to all men and women from every nation. But the Gospel is not universal. In other words, salvation is offered to all people, but salvation is only granted to those who have faith. The medium might need to change. The recipients might change. But the Gospel stays the same.

V. Conclusion.

“We’ve never done it that way before.” If these are the “famous last words” of dead and dying churches, what can we say is the opposite of that?

Vibrant and living churches have a confidence in the unchanging message of the Gospel and a willingness to follow God wherever he might lead. Even if following God requires us to do some things that we’ve never done before. Because the pain of remaining the way we are is greater than the pain of doing something new.