Power for Change
The Holy Spirit • Sermon • Submitted
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Handout
Introduction: Mr. Big Time Construction man
Introduction: Mr. Big Time Construction man
Instead of allowing the power to do the work, I tried to force my way on it and it wrecked me
There are times when I want to try and ‘strongarm’ God into making the change that I want Him to make but I really need to ask Him how HE is changing me and how I can surrender to the change He is already making
I want to take a look at how Peter responds to the Holy Spirit making changes in His life...
9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.
1. The Voice of the Holy Spirit is heard in Prayer
1. The Voice of the Holy Spirit is heard in Prayer
13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”
Notice he was in prayer
Peter was a man of prayer…this wasn’t
2. The Wind of the Holy Spirit won’t always wait until I’m comfortable to start blowing
2. The Wind of the Holy Spirit won’t always wait until I’m comfortable to start blowing
14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.” 15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. 17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate,
Notice how Peter resists the change
Remember that table/food laws weren’t just rules…they were identity and devotion…it was survival for them
This ‘everyone is equal at the table’ idea would still have been difficult
Notice how God showed Peter this vision 3x
It’s often in the moments of discomfort and tension that the Lord can actually get to our hearts...
3. The Truth of the Holy Spirit can change me in a moment
3. The Truth of the Holy Spirit can change me in a moment
Think of incredible MOMENTS that changed you: first kiss, Marriage, Becoming a parent
28 Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. 29 So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”
vs.34 “…I see that God shows no favoritism...”
Peter had moments of genuine change: Jesus, Pentecost, and now at Cornelius’ house
Cornelius and his house was changed:
44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked,
But even the most powerful MOMENT is usually the culmination of many moments over time...
4. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit will change me over time
4. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit will change me over time
Baby in a moment but after 9 months of tension and a lifetime of change after...
16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”
This moment was around 10 years after the Day of Pentecost
Notice how the HOLY SPIRIT reminds Peter about what Jesus said...
We want change in Change happens in moments and over years
Sometimes a moment of change or experience can take a years to process
Peter, like many Jews, were called the ‘chosen nation’ by God for hundreds of years, it would have taken time for his heart to catch up with his head.
We LEARN things so much faster than we APPLY them.
We often go back to a ‘default setting’
We often go back to a ‘default setting’
(Paul rebukes Peter)
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
We are not always aware of our blindspots, prejudices or biases…
We are not always aware of our blindspots, prejudices or biases…
We need the council of the HS
We need friends that can call us out, challenge and encourage us
It would take 20 YEARS for the question of the Gentiles to be settled...
Jerusalem Council: So how do I respond to change? (life....)
Jerusalem Council: So how do I respond to change? (life....)
STORY: RAVI Zacharias: “When don’t just teach our kids WHAT to think but HOW to think?”
Be Humble
Peter was humble enough to respond to God and to Paul
Be Quick to Listen
6 So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. 7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe.
Paul, Barnabas, James or Peter could have used their influence to shut down the conversation, yet they allow the Judaizers to speak first and for a long time
Acts 15:7 ‘After much discussion’ Peter then got up and shared his side
Go to the Word of God
James takes them to the words of Amos...
14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written: 16 ‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 17 so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles— all those I have called to be mine. The Lord has spoken— 18 he who made these things known so long ago.’
Take time to Talk it through
Acts 15:7 ‘After much discussion’
In our ‘Sound Bite’ culture this is not easy. Nuanced conversation is not celebrated or exampled. Emotion overcomes level-headed conversation
STORY: My default setting is to give my wife 3 reasons why whatever she is feeling isn’t true
Communication isn’t always about AGREEMENT but it is always about UNDERSTANDING
Family, the way we talk about things, as Christians, should be different than what we see: Accusation, sound bites, etc…because Jesus was different, we should be too.
In the current conversations around the incredible changes that we are facing as a nation, whether that’s COVID or Racism, Let’s be willing to have the conversations that we need to have with each other and with God in order to experience Gospel transformation through the Power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s be willing to see our blindspots and ask God to change us. It will require more patience than I have, more empathy than I possess but that is why the I want to lean on the Holy Spirit to accomplish the inner work of heart change
Conclusion: For the church...
Conclusion: For the church...
It wouldn’t be the last time this conversation came up
It wouldn’t be the last time this conversation came up
12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. 14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
If you feel like this thing keeps coming up again and again…God has patience…Let him change you
***Random thoughts:
When it comes to the Holy Spirit’s power, I can attempt to control it or surrender to it. One will exhaust me and one will transform me
When it comes to God’s power, my response can be resistance or surrender. The latter will change me the former will destroy me