It Can All Happen Within An Hour And It Did On This Occasion - But It Caused Much Trouble
Posted by Goody on 01/26/08 in Computers and Technology, Self Improvement
O,no, not another of these Christians in trouble, and this time it is one of the high profile leaders. Why are these disciples of Jesus Christ always apparently getting into so much bother?
In the New Testament book of Acts in Chapter 10, both Peter, the leader in the Church, and Cornelius, that Roman Army Officer, experience God moving in a way neither of them ever thought they would ever experience and see and witness.
Visions lead to men from different backgrounds coming together. Obedience to the revelation of God leads to an outpouring of The Holy Spirit, among Gentiles, and consequently, a breaking down of barriers and prejudices.
While Peter is speaking in that Gentile home, those listening to Peter’s message are filled with the Holy Spirit. They speak in tongues, and they are baptised in water. Gentiles, people who are not Jews, are ‘born again’, and the basic essential foundational elements are described for us by Luke.
Cornelius is a new man. He believes in Jesus. He has been anointed with the Holy Spirit. He is praising God in a language he has never learned, as have those relatives and close friends in his household, and they have been plunged in water.
Some people have to wait years for all this. It can all happen within an hour.
This happened in a few exciting dramatic moments, and then Peter stayed on a few days at Caesarea, and would have taught them as much as they could absorb.
Back in Jerusalem, eyebrows are raised. The leadership in Jerusalem has questions when news reaches them of what has happened in Caesarea.
What did this mean? What were the implications? What would they do? How would they handle this?
Peter has been away for a few weeks - ministering to those who had been scattered by that wave of violent persecution. He has been picking up the pieces in these wounded lives - but he has also been involved in miraculous ministry in Lydda and Joppa - as well as this radical incident in Caesarea.
Has all this been too much for Peter? Has he gone too far? He has certainly given rise to a rumpus in Jerusalem among his fellow leaders!
When Peter returns to Jerusalem it is this latter encounter which causes his ministry to come under close scrutiny.
How do you react when God moves in a radical way which might surprise you? There are so many principles in these passages.
Peter had learned to make Jesus head. Initiate nothing. Have we learned the lesson which can be difficult and challenging at times - to allow Jesus Christ the Lord to be Head of His Church!
Peter moved as God led, and not by his wishes or ideas or feelings. Peter had cultivated humility, and had made the decision that he would submit to God, and serve God, no matter what God asked of him.
In Jerusalem, there are those who want to examine everything. That is not always a bad thing. Take time to read what faced him, in Acts Chapter 11.
Where did you go? What did you do? Why did you meet with those people? Imagine the questions which Simon Peter had to answer!
Peter had broken some denominational rules and regulations and traditions along the way - which were never meant to be fixed in the first place. Some do not know how to cope with a man who behaves in such a way. This is almost understandable in these early days, but it continues to be a problem for some 2,000 years later.
Peter, you’ve been mixing with all sorts of people. See the tension and anxiety which that can arise when Jesus moves in a new way, simply as the result of a man having the courage and vision and wisdom to obey what Jesus has said to him.
They should have been rejoicing at what Jesus was doing, but their thinking and outlook too is restricted, limited and blinkered. That had to be dealt with, and it is. They are willing to change, and we see that in our passage. They change!
But again, there are questions which arise as well as lessons learn. How open are you to change?
Peter has his ministry thoroughly examined because of what happened in the home of Cornelius. His fellow apostles back in Jerusalem did not know what actually happened, and it is always unwise to act on mere rumour.
Always seek to get at the facts. Get at the truth.
Truth is the actual state of affairs, as contrasted with rumour or false report, or myth, or legend. And the truth fits every situation. We can apply that to the whole of the Bible.
None of us can afford to build our life upon rumour or myth or legend.
Peter helps these disciples in Jerusalem come to the truth. He leads them in such a way as they can arrive at the facts. A good leader or pastor or teacher will always seek to lead people to the facts - to the truth of what actually happened.
Peter explains everything - precisely.
He has been misjudged, but he doesn’t become annoyed or angry. Peter knew he had obeyed Jesus, and he remains calm and poised.
He spoke about the vision. I was sent for - it was the Holy Spirit Who revealed this truth to me - motivated me - and used me. It was God Who did this. Don’t blame me.
I went because I was commanded to. I met Cornelius. He shared with me the vision which our God had given to him, and as I began to speak about Jesus, The Holy Spirit fell on them, just as He fell upon us at the beginning - in The Temple - and with the same consequences.
Then I remembered the Word of the Lord. It is important to remember the Word of the Lord.
When we forget the Word of the Lord, then fear and anxiety can creep into our hearts and minds. Remember the word of the Lord. That will involve reading it, learning its truths and studying it. It will time and effort but the rewards will be significant.
Peter is answering the questions of the apostles and disciples back in Jerusalem who had been wondering whatever Peter had been up to in the home of a Roman Army Centurion, a Gentile, a non-Jew, in Caesarea. Peter takes time to explain and he sticks to the facts.
Just as we were Baptised in The Holy Spirit, at the very beginning on the day of Pentecost, so were these Gentiles, in Caesarea, with similar signs following - the same as we experienced.
If God was giving them the same gift as He gave us, who was I to think that I could oppose God? Peter does not sit on the fence!
We discover that when the Holy Spirit flows and moves, He electrifies the fence and we have to jump off on one side or the other. Make sure you jump off on the correct side!
Peter was not going to limit God, and neither were these disciples in Jerusalem.
When they heard the truth - when they heard the facts about what actually happened and when they realised and discerned this was from God, they had NO FURTHER OBJECTIONS.
They began to praise God. They rose to the occasion and overcame any prejudices they might have had.
Gentiles were now coming to faith in Jesus Christ, and being ‘born again’ in the only way any man or woman can be ‘born again’.
Everything we read of here continues to happen today. When Jesus is moving and speaking and baptising people in the Holy Spirit, it is wise to have NO FURTHER OBJECTIONS.
Certain difficulties can arise, and do arise - but our point of view - our way of thinking - our theology which is frequently faulty, limited, inadequate, and restricted according to the experience of the writer or teacher - is not all that important. No - not when the risen and living Lord Jesus begins to move in the lives of men.
Doors that had been locked were now unlocked. Hearts that had been closed were now open to Jesus and His Mercy and His Love. Lives were being changed, and situations were being transformed.
The principles are - be like those who listened to Peter - welcome what Jesus is doing when you are sure it is Jesus. Listen to what Christ is saying, and rejoice when the Holy Spirit is moving and flowing.
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.
Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com
Tags: Fact, Inspiration, leadership, motivation, Myth, Principles, Rumour, Spiritual, truth
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