Good morning everyone, and welcome to this extraordinary general meeting of the Jerusalem Church Council. As I'm sure you're aware there have been a number of rumours circulating about one of our founders, who has just returned from Caesarea after a long absence.
These rumours are serious, and indicate that our founder has broken the laws of our church. Such actions should they prove to be true would have serious consequences, both for our founder, and for the church as a whole. We have already experienced issues with the Sanhedrin, and a number of our people have moved away from the areas they control. If we are to continue to spread the word it is essential that we do not find ourselves in disagreement with the governors of this district, and the temple authorities in particular. There is no point in alienating these people as they will simply make it impossible for us to complete our mission.
Now to the allegations that we are here to discuss. Firstly, I should underline the seriousness of not staying with our people when you are on your travels. We all know that the laws of association are there for our protection and the maintenance of our church as a whole. Flouting these laws just causes some of our people (you know who I'm talking about) who are already taking a very liberal attitude to our beliefs to think that what they are doing has support from our leaders. The rules are there so that we may travel safely, we should not be encouraging our people to take unnecessary risks.
The first allegation then is that you entered the house of a gentile. That in its own right is serious enough, but there are other allegations to follow. Upon speaking with this gentile, you remained on his premises, and partook of a meal with him and his household.
How do you plead?
Is this our Church?
Is that a church you recognise? Has anything like this happened here. It's certainly the sort of welcome that Peter received on his return to Jerusalem, although I suspect in reality there was a good deal more shouting, and a lot less organization.
Real Objection
Maybe its verse 1 that contains the real objection. The Gentiles have received the word of God. It had never been God's intention to limit his kingdom to the Jews, they were supposed to be the ones who would be a beacon to the world and bring people to Him. To some extent they had succeeded. There were a number of converts to Judaism – called proselytes, but they had hardly reached the whole world. When God had asked his prophet Jonah to go to the gentile city of Ninevah and tell them all about his dis-pleasure at the way they were behaving, and the disaster that would befall them if they didn't repent, Jonah ran away. This was partly because they were the enemy, but also partly because they were not Jews and Jonah could not understand how God could love them too.
How did Peter respond?
How did Peter answer the accusations?
He told them his story. Starting from the beginning, with the vision from God, and the fact that it was repeated 3 times. Saying something three times is a Jewish way of emphasising its importance, and you will remember that Peter had been on the receiving end of this when Jesus re-instated him. Then he tells them that when the three men arrived, the Spirit told him to go with them, without hesitation. He tells them that the Men who came to fetch him had been given his name and location by God. When he got there they were already assembled, and eager to hear what he had to say. He'd hardly got started on his sermon, before the holy spirit came upon the people he was visiting. ( How annoying that must be for a preacher to be interrupted by God) [wait] He then goes on to describe a second pentecost experience.
Do you notice that all the way through the story it's God who's leading what happens:
God prepares Peter for what he is to be doing with a vision while he is praying
God tells the people in Caesarea that they need to talk to Simon who is called Peter, and that he's staying with Simon the tanner who lives by the sea in Joppa.
As they arrive God tells Peter that some people have come to talk to him and that he should go with them
Before Peter has the chance to finish his sermon, God baptises them with the holy spirit.
Recognizing God at work
How did Peter recognize that God was at work?
Peter was now becoming an expert at recognising God at work. As God established and expanded his church, Peter was one of His main agents. He would be acutely aware of the things that God was doing. He had learnt through many failures and difficulties - remember his denial of Jesus (Luke 22), and the "Get behind me Satan" episode. (Mark 8:33)
Peter has had an amazing vision. One that contradicted much of what he thought he knew about God. He did not try to interpret it - He did not go to his fellow disciples, or bring it to the church council., he wasn't allowed time for that. 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." Peter now has to listen for God's voice - the Holy Spirit speaks to him. "Go with the men who have come for you without hesitation." There is no reason given. The spirit doesn't say Here's your chance to spread the word to the gentiles";, the spirit just says "go with them", and Peter obeys. At this point there are preparations to be made. He's going on a journey, and it will take some time. This is not just collect your keys and your wallet and jump in the car. Peter is not expecting to be back in time for tea. He will be gone for days. The first thing Peter does is to get some companions to go with him.
I wonder what it took to convince the 6 friends who went with him?
Imagine it. These men have come to take me to see a Captain in the Roman army. He's stationed in Caesarea, (the regional capital). God has told me to go without hesitation. Will you come with me? What would you're answer have been? What extra 'proof' would you have needed that this is God at work.
What about Cornelius?
Cornelius prays regularly, and gives to the poor. He is clearly in touch with God, although he probably doesn't have such a clear understanding of God as Peter. Understanding is not important here. All that's important is that Cornelius is prepared to listen, and to take notice of what he hears. The important thing for us today is to note the level of detail that is provided for Cornelius. The holy angel that appeared to Cornelius told him:
who to look for, by name - "Simon, who is called Peter"
where to find him - "He's staying with Simon the tanner in Joppa, by the sea."
that Peter has a message by which he and his household would be saved
So Cornelius send some of his men to find Peter. Then he prepares his household to be ready to receive Peter and listen to what he has to say.
So we can see from the passage today that God prepares the way for us. Peter was prepared by a vision. Cornelius was prepared by an Angel. The events that were to take place had been carefully planned by God. All Peter, Cornelius and the others have to do is play their part.
Am I doing Gods work?
How do we tell that God is at work?
While looking around for answers to this question, I mainly found answers to another similar question: “Am I doing Gods work?”. This perhaps puts the question more succinctly, but I think that it is actually a different question. Most of the answers I found centred around the general principle of scripture – justice, or fairness, peace and love for our fellow man. Now we know that God is involved in all of that, and is working through His church to mend many of the broken situations in the world. The question though has implications that I am somehow taking over from God.
Surely God should be doing God's work, and man should be doing man's work. I should not be taking over the things that God is doing. For example as I prepared to speak to you today, I am doing a number of things. I read various Bible passages – not just the set passage, but the verses before and after. I find and read the cross references to the various passages like Leviticus 11, where I learn that the rabbit chews the cud, which I didn't know before. I search my books and the internet for articles that are relevant to the passage. Most of all though I pray and listen to see if I can hear what God is saying through the passage. Which of the many messages that can be found in this piece of scripture does God want presented today? Should I use that recipe for Crocodile Gumbo, or will it just put you all off your lunch? My work then is to find things, and to listen to the Holy Spirits prompting for what to use, and how to use it. If it was up to me we would be looking at that recipe, but God said there are more important things to cover.
Am I doing Gods work? is a very masculine question. I learnt very early on in my 'Good news down the Street' baptism visits that it was important still to find out what the man of the house does for a living, and to talk about what I do also. The truth of the matter makes it even harder of us men than it appears at first. We are not allowed to be in control. We have to look, listen and understand, and then play our part. Its more like being in a team, or perhaps, part of an army, each of us must play his part.
So how do we recognise when God is at work?
Close to God
The most important thing is to be Close to God. God will only very rarely shout his commands, mostly he prefers to whisper, or work through your instincts and feelings. If you're going to be able to hear God you will have to stay close to Him, as both Peter and Cornelius did. They both prayed regularly, and received their instructions through visions, while praying. It's not always that dramatic though. There are some other ways.
Instincts and Feelings
Sometimes you will have the sense that you really should go and talk to a particular person. Maybe you will also have the sense of what to talk about, or maybe not. During mission '89, after all the prayer that went on in our street, I had a strong sense that I should speak to a particular neighbour. He is not the easiest of people to engage in a conversation, and I'm not the sort of person who can walk up to someone's front door, knock on it and ask if I can have a few minutes of their time. How was I to do this, I prayed. I had a couple of ideas, perhaps I could time my journey to work, so that we could talk as we walked to the station. We had left at the same time once or twice, but it was a pretty unusual happening. God had already prepared the answer for me. The day after the tents were erected on Sun Corner, he caught me up walking home from the station through the High Street, and asked me if I knew what was going on, why tents had been put up.
Coincidence
Now, you may see that as a co-incidence, but I saw it as an answer to pray, and more particularly God at work in our town. Coincidence is another way that God can be seen at work. You find yourself in the right place at the right time, with the right thing to say, all you have to do is say it. You may have prepared for the situation without realising it, or you may have seen something like it coming, but be surprised at the circumstances. Whatever it is, you will find it difficult to understand how it occurred just the way it did.
Hindsight
Sometimes we will not see God at work, we will only see the evidence that he has been at work. The disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) had thought that they were witnessing a powerful work of God, but now following the death of Jesus, they had begun to think that they were just imagining it. They were trying to make sense of what really happened. Then they met the risen Jesus walking on the road, and after quite a long conversation with Him, they suddenly understood what was happening. When Jesus broke bread they recognised him, and ran all the way back Jerusalem to tell the others what God had done.
This is a similar situation that the disciples that were questioning Peter now found themselves in. All they had in front of them was the evidence of what had happened. As Peter had started to speak to Cornelius and his family they had been baptised with the Holy Spirit. Peter says "as I began to speak the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning".
Let me remind you of what happened:
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Back in Acts 10:45 it says “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”
This demonstration – the ability to speak in tongues – was provided by God, so that not only Peter, but also the Jews who had travelled with him would recognise that what was happening was of God. This was their proof that God was at work. Here was the proof that God was expanding his kingdom. The second pentecost finally showed the infant church that God put no limits on who was to receive His gifts, no limits on who was allowed to join His church.
On that day God expanded his church, more than he had done when three thousand converts were added, more than he had done when the church reached five thousand. On that day the potential membership of the church topped six thousand million. Now everyone, throughout time, is a potential citizen of God's kingdom.
This is God at work.
There are times and circumstances where it is easier for us to see when God is at work, because we have seen it before, and we are familiar with the part we have to play. You may have been involved in:
- Baptism Visits
- Alpha Courses
- Home Groups
- Church Services
- Prayer groups
- Church committees, or councils
this is not an exhaustive list, just a few examples.
In today's reading God was at work in the unfamiliar, and for Peter and the other Jewish followers of Jesus, very uncomfortable world outside of the Jewish nation. There will be times when we are caught up in Gods work, and it will take us to places where we are both uncomfortable, and in unfamiliar surroundings Like Jeremy and Kate, and Peter and Alison, we have to simply play our part.
To go where God sends us, whether that's to the supermarket, to the workplace, or to the other side of the world. To do the job that God asks us to do, whether that's what we've been doing all our lives, or whether it breaks some of our deepest held reservations and taboos.
What is our response to God's work?
We cannot finish without looking at the response to Gods work in the passage, and asking if we respond in the same way. The response is in verse 18 "When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
Now that they understand that all that has happened is from God, they accept it and get behind it. There will be other issues later - how should the gentiles behave in the church, should they like the proselytes be required to perform certain rituals?, but that is for later. The theology can wait. God has done something amazing in their presence, and their response can only be to praise Him.
