Written by: David & Bridget Williams

Acts 10 v 9-14
About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof to pray. He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
But Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.”

Notes 
In the first eight verses of this chapter we focussed on the godly Roman soldier, Cornelius. We saw how God had told him to send men to Joppa to bring back Peter, who would be able to tell him more about God.

Now the focus shifts to Peter, who was just about to arrive in Joppa. God gives him a vision – a very strange vision. He saw loads of different animals and reptiles let down from heaven in a great sheet – and God told him to kill them and eat them.

Oh no! Peter was appalled. There were all sorts of animals in the sheet that he had been taught to think of as bad for food. How would you like to be given a fox steak to eat? Or a leg of cat? So Peter said ‘NO!’ to God.

Sometimes God wants to shake us up out of our habits and traditions, and he asks us to do something that we feel we could never do in a month of Sundays. Perhaps he wants us to move away from our family base to a part of the country that we don’t know anything about. Perhaps he wants us to speak about Jesus to people we wouldn’t really want to mix with – the sodden wino begging in the underpass, the guy in the rival team’s strip. Perhaps he wants us to do a job we’d never dream of doing. It’s easy to say “No, Lord!”

But if Jesus is really our Lord – well, we can’t say ‘No’ and call him ‘Lord’ in the same breath.

Can we?

Acts 10 v 15-18
But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean so don’t call them ‘unholy’!” This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven.
While Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”

Notes
Peter didn’t know what the vision meant – but he was soon going to find out. Hundreds of years before, when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God had told them the kind of meat they were to eat. This made hygiene sense in their conditions in the desert, but over the centuries it had become a binding rule.

Now God was showing Peter in the vision that things could alter. He was showing him the everything that God had made is good.

And this lesson was put into practice at once. Just as Peter was having the vision, the three men whom Cornelius had sent were standing at the gate of the house where Peter was.

And they were Gentiles!

Peter knew that the Jews were God’s special people, so he had never thought that the gospel was for Gentiles, as well as Jews. God’s lesson that nothing should be called ‘unholy’ was well-timed.

Well-timed? Coincidence? Can you think of occasions recently when something has happened in your life ‘in the nick of time’? Or an occasion when you just missed a serious accident by a matter of seconds?

With God there are no coincidences, only ‘God’s incidents’.

Say thank you to God for all the ‘God incidents’ you can think of in the last few days.

During this week look out for all these incidents that God sends you. Ask God why they happen, and what he wants you to do.

Acts 10 v 19-21
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you.”
So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why did you come here?”

Notes
Now the crunch comes. The three Gentiles sent by Cornelius are downstairs waiting. Has Peter learned the lesson of the vision that nothing – and no one! – is unclean in God’s sight?

But as well as the vision, it took some direct instruction from the Holy Spirit to get Peter downstairs and talking to the Gentile visitors. In particular, the Holy Spirit said three things:

Listen. Peter had to listen carefully to what the Holy Spirit was going to say. How often do we ourselves take time to listen to God? It is easy for our prayers just to be shopping lists. Take time today – now – just to stop for a few minutes and listen to what God may be saying to you – today!

Get up and go downstairs. Peter had a wonderful vision and a time with God up on the roof of the house. He must have felt it was a really special place. Then God told him to get up and go downstairs! Perhaps we’ve been to a meeting, or a very special place like Spring Harvest, and we just want such a time to go on forever. Such times are wonderful to remember – but ask God to help you live in the everyday world – today!

Go….without doubting. Talking with Gentiles was such a big step for Peter to take. But God told him not to doubt – that was what he wanted Peter to do. Ask God to show you clearly his way today, and, if you have any doubts, ask him to clear them away too – today!

Acts 10 v 22-23
They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the Jewish people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.” So Peter asked the men to come in and spend the night.
The next day Peter got ready and went with them, and some of the followers from Joppa joined him. 


Notes
At the end of yesterday’s reading, Peter asked the men why they had come to see him. Now they explain. They tell of the angel that had spoken to Cornelius, and had told Cornelius to send for Peter to hear what he had to say.

What do you do if you have something exciting or important happen to you? You probably rush round and tell all your friends about it, until they’re fed up with hearing about it. But for you it is really very important. Luke probably felt that way about this incident, because he tells it three times in this chapter (verses 1-6, 22, 30-33). He must have felt it was important. And it was! This was the first time that the good news about Jesus was being told to Gentiles! It was for Gentiles as well as Jews!

And over all this we see the hand of God. Sometimes I like to think of God as the great jigsaw maker. Do you notice how everything fits in? God spoke to Cornelius, and got him to send the men just at the time that Peter was coming to Joppa. And then God sent the vision to Peter just as the men were arriving at the door. All this was part of God’s plan for Cornelius and for Peter.

God has his plans for us as well. They are good plans, and they will help us to serve Him more. Are you waiting, watching, listening, asking to find out what they are?

Acts 10 v 24-27
On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am only a human.” As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he saw many people gathered. 

Notes
Where will you be on your team’s next cup final? Probably at the stadium or watching with your friends on TV. Without a doubt, you’ll be surrounded by your mates all madly cheering your team on to victory.

When it comes to your pop group’s concert time, who’s going to be on their own? You’ll have text messaged all your friends to meet and go together to your favourite group’s gig.

When an important event is going to take place, we want everyone to be right there with us. Roman soldier Cornelious was exactly the same. God wanted to say something very special to him and told him to send to Joppa for Peter. Cornelius not only did that, but he sent messages to his friends and relatives to come too. They were to see an incredible event. 

Do we keep Jesus to ourselves? Our close relationship with Jesus gives our lives a thrust and purpose. Surely we want our mates to have the chance of that too? Tell them what Jesus does for you. Invite them to join you when you meet up with other Christians.

When Jesus was on earth, he met people and told them about God. Today, Jesus meets people through you and me. Pray that this may really happen.

Acts 10 v 28-29
He said, “You people understand that it is against our Jewish law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person ‘unholy’ or ‘unclean.’ That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”

Notes
“I must be doing well as a Christian. See, I didn’t buy a new DVD and I kept the rules about Sunday. I opened my Bible and read it for five minutes every day last week. I’m too tired this week but last week’s effort will get me by.”

Have you ever thought like that? Some people see being a Christian as keeping loads of rules and regulations which will make God pleased with them or anyway keeping them on the right road.

That’s how Peter had once thought. He told Roman officer Cornelius and his friends; “You people must understand that it is against our Jewish law for Jewish people to have anything to do with anyone who is not a Jew.”

What happened to Peter changed his ways and he went in to talk and eat in Cornelious’ house when Cornelius was not a Jew!

Peter listened to God. Then he was ready to go into non-Jewish (Gentile) homes.

Do we keep rules and regulations rather than listen to God?

Being a Christian is have a close relationship with God. Jesus dying on the cross makes it possible for God to take us close to himself.

When we go out with our best friend, we don’t usually spend all the time keeping rules. Instead, we chat about loads of things and decide together what to do.

This is how we can enjoy our relationship with God. We listen to him speaking to us, which he does, perhaps when we pray or read the Bible.

Acts 10 v 30-33
Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes. He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you. So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying in the house of a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was very good of you to come. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

Notes 
Has anyone ever tried to tell you how to keep a zoo?

Peter might have done that to Roman officer Cornelius because Peter had seen loads of weird animals in a vision, but he didn’t say anything like that.

Sometimes we rush at people with our own agenda and assume they want to hear it. We think because we are hooked on Jesus, they will want to be too. People out there may not be ready to listen to all we want to say straight away. Give them a chance to chill out and they may have some interesting things to ask.

When Cornelius explained to Peter why he had sent for a Jesus person, he said that God had told him to do that. That was a gift for Peter. He had a chance to tell Cornelius and those with him what God wanted them to know about Jesus. Christians should be looking for opportunities like that.

What would you do if, firstly, someone uses Jesus’ name as a swear word, or secondly, you heard people telling each other that there isn’t a God?

One guy who frequently heard people swearing with Jesus’ name used to say: you are talking about my best friend. Then he told them loads more about Jesus.

Another guy would say to the atheists, how is it that God heard my prayers and worked out the problem in my life brilliantly if he doesn’t exist?

Being where people are. Answer from where we are.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes