Sermon Tone Analysis

What Are You Looking For

Awareness test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

It’s easy to miss something you’re not looking for.

What are you looking for?

When you are watching the basketball, you don’t see what else is going on.

Who misses a moon walking bear?

We did because we were looking for the wrong things.

Ever had an experience where someone was just looking for nothing but fault in you?

You could do it 99% perfect… they wouldn’t see that at all.

They would see and pick out the one mistake, the one flaw.

Looking for mistakes so hard that’s all they could see.

Anyone ever been that person?

I bring that attitude into movies sometimes.

We watched Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

The story of two students who travel through time in a phone booth gathering

If you’re looking for faults there… you’re going to find them.

Every time.

But you would miss all the fun.

All the joy, all the laughs with the kids, all the good stuff.

The Salvation of the Gentiles

We have been in Acts 10, and this is such a pivotal time in the life of the church.

God has revealed to Peter through this dream with the sheet and the animals that he is to call no man “unclean” or “common”.

That is, that the gospel of Jesus is for everyone, for Jew and Gentile, for Roman soldiers and their families.

That there is, in fact, no category you could imagine that would or should disqualify someone from hearing the gospel, believing and receiving the HOly Spirit.

And to prove it, this AWESOME guy, Cornelius… a devout man but a man in need of forgiveness and salvation nonetheless, Cornelius… and every relative and friend he could get to come over that day… all of them believe and are saved and receive visible manifestations of the Holy Spirit to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Wow.

What do you get out of that story?

Glory?

Praise God! Thankfulness, as a Gentile, that salvation is for all the world.

And just for Cornelius and his family.

What joy! What celebration.

It’s their Kingdom Victory Day.

What would you say to Peter as he returns back to the church in Jerusalem?

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Tell us the story again.

So good!

But keep in mind.

This is a huge change.

And change is hard.

We get a sneak preview of what this is going to look like to the “church” in the eyes of the believers with Peter.

We have seen this transformation in Peter with a direct word, a vision from God, and the voice of the Holy Spirit to him.

Nobody else gets that direct, they have to take Peter’s word for that.

These six men experience the conversion themselves, and their brain explodes.

Amazed.

Astounded.

Out of one’s senses.

Their brains exploded, their minds were blown.

What did their hear?

That the Gentiles received the logos of God.

The gospel.

The word was with God and the word was God and the Gentiles heard it.

The received it.

What is the appropriate response?

Glory!

Salvation.

Praise and wonder.

Dancing in the streets!

What did they hear?

What did they see?

Criticism.

Cynicism.

They saw what Peter did wrong.

That was their first reaction!

Their first reaction to hearing that Gentiles received the gospel was to criticize the process.

Was to reprimand Peter for eating with them.

Oh, Peter, you did it wrong.

And I imagine they felt completely justified.

All the weight of Jewish tradition behind them, everything they’ve been taught about the right ways to behave.

According to their rules and traditions Peter just stepped out of line, he done messed up.

And, here’s just my thought, the text doesn’t say this, but we will dig into it in a minute.

I think they saw Peter’s fault because that’s what they were looking for.

They were looking at Peter the man and looking for fault.

And they found it.

Because if you’re looking at a man for fault you will find it.

Every time.

Where am I finding that idea or hint in the text?

Because Luke calls these guys out, and not as “the people who criticized Peter that one time.”

What does he call them?

The Circumcision Party

They weren’t called that then.

There was no circumcision party then.

No one was arguing about circumcision yet… that is coming in Acts 15 and later.

This group of Jews say “yes!” Another group of Jews, Paul included, say “no”.

And the Gentiles say “Please, please, please, noooooo!”

But Luke is looking backwards at what these folks are going to continue to see and continue to believe and continue to argue and criticize.

He sees the seeds of what became a whole division within the church, he recognizes that that division started all the way back in that moment and when on from there.

This is a heart issue for these men and women.

There is a pattern started here and continuing on.

There is legalism in there, there is a lack of understanding about grace… but I think it starts here.

There is a judgmental spirit.

They looking for fault, and they are always going to find it.

Peter’s Response

Peter just points to what God is doing.

Not defending his actions, really.

Just telling the story of what God did.

And Luke takes the time to retell the whole story here in Peter’s words, which reminds just how incredibly important this section of Scripture is.

Now Peter basically cheats.

Oh, remember what Jesus said?

And then a miracle.

They fell silent.