Sermon – Acts 10: 44-48 – The Holy Spirit Came

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 10: 44-48 – The Holy Spirit Came

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 13, 2012

Since Easter Morning when we heard the proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead and the promise of eternal live we have been on a journey with the first church who activities were recorded for us by Luke in the Book of Acts. And we have been hearing some unusual stories that are nothing short of amazing. Who would have expected a diverse church of different languages and cultures coming together in one mind and with one accord? Who would have expected a fearful fisherman who had already denied that he even knew Christ stand before the Sanhedrin and boldly proclaim that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Who would have expected a man lame from birth being healed and 5000 people joining the church? None of these things were expected, and they all indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit acting in and through the first believers. 

 This is the same Spirit acting in a through us transforming us and this church into what God wants us to be. Today we will hear about the most unexpected thing that happened, something that was truly unbelievable, but did happen. And we will find out exactly how the Holy Spirit works. But first, let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Peter was a Jew. The first church was made up entirely of Jews. Jew was their identity. You were a Jew if you met three conditions. First, you had to be a descendant of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You lineage determined your ethnicity and only ethnic descendants of Jacob were identified as Jews. So you had to be born as a Jew. The second requirement for being a Jew was behavior. All Jews were expected to obey the Law of Moses as contained in the first five books of the Old Testament. There were hundreds of laws a Jew was expected to keep. One of the most important of the laws was that all male Jews must be circumcised as a sign and seal of their inclusion as the people of God. And the third requirement in being a Jew was belief. All Jews were expected to believe in Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

All members of the first church were Jews. And the question facing them was, “Would the church of Jesus Christ be limited to only Jews, or would non-Jews, Gentiles, be allowed in?” We know that the church of Jesus Christ was made up of people who heard the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. They were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, sealing upon them the promise of eternal life. So far they happened to be all Jews. But what if a non-Jew, a gentile heard the proclamation of the good news? What if a gentile believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God? What if a gentile wanted to be baptized in the name of the God of the patriarchs and Father of Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, and receive the promise of eternal life? What would the church do if a non-Jew wanted to be a follower of Jesus Christ? These were questions were far from the mind of the first church until the Holy Spirit started doing things no one expected. Here is what happened.

At Caesarea the was a gentile named Cornelius, a Roman centurion. We are told that he was a God Fearer. This meant that he believed in God, the God of the Jews, and tried to follow God's law, except for circumcision. Because Cornelius was not a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he could never be a Jew, he was a gentile. But God wanted him to hear the proclamation of the resurrection and receive the blessing of eternal life. So God sent a angel as a messenger to tell Cornelius to send some men to Joppa where they would find Peter and bring him back. Cornelius did as he was told. The Apostle Peter was in the port city of Joppa staying in the home of a tanner named Simon where he had a dream. God sent a messenger to Peter in the dream with a vision of animals that Gentiles ate and Jews did not. God told Peter to kill and eat indicating that God wanted Peter, a Jew, to accept Gentile eating practices in apparent violation of God's own law. God explained that all of these animals had been created by him and so none of them should be considered “unclean”. In the same way Gentiles were also created by God and could not be unclean simply by their ethnicity. With these two visions God had prepared both Cornelius and Peter to cross ethnic barriers they never expected to cross.

Several years ago I visited Mendenhall Mississippi and met Dolphus Weary the President of Mission Mississippi. Rev. Weary's ministry in Jackson Mississippi is to help white Christians and black Christians to develop relationship and worship together. He does it in this way. Each month there is a prayer breakfast hosted by a church in Jackson. The hosting church is then invited to attend future monthly breakfasts. In that way the groups grows. Each month the breakfast alternates between a white church and a black church. Because of this there are many months when whites will enter a black church for the first time, or blacks will enter a white church for the first time. Rev. Weary's ministry of hospitality welcomes everyone and racial barriers break down.

This is what happened in the first church. A group of Cornelius' men arrived at the house where Peter was staying. No gentile had ever been invited into this house. But because of the work of the Holy Spirit, Peter invited them in and they spent the night. The next day Peter went with them to Caesarea. Peter had never been in the house of a Gentile. But he was invited into Cornelius' house and he went it surprising a large group of Gentiles who had assembled. Peter heard Cornelius' testimony faith and the vision of the angel, and Peter realized that God wanted the church of Jesus Christ to be open to everyone not just Jews. So Peter proclaimed to Cornelius and the other Gentile the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise of eternal life. And this brings us to today's scripture.

Acts 10:44-48 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 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. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

So how did the Holy Spirit bring Gentiles to faith in Jesus Christ? According to this scripture the Spirit prepared them with dreams and visions and then used the proclamation of the goods news of the resurrection and promise of eternal life to enter them through the words that were being spoken. This is what happens whenever we worship. If the preacher faithfully proclaims the Word of God in worship the Holy Spirit uses those words to bring the congregation to faith in Jesus Christ. Your faith does not depend on what I say. Rather the Holy Spirit uses what I say, transforming it into what you need to hear to produce faith.

This work of the Holy Spirit is not limited to church services on Sunday mornings. It can happen any time when faith is shared. Whenever you talk with someone about your faith and how God has blessed you, the Holy Spirit uses your words and transforms them into what the hearer needs to hear to come to faith. We can see all of this in our first reading this morning. Timothy came to faith from the words spoken by his “grandmother Lois and ... mother Eunice.” And so mothers, just like preachers, speak the word of God that through the work of the Holy Spirit brings people to faith.

I can remember my own mother teaching me how to pray and encouraging me to read scripture. She had me pray for everyone in the family every night before going to sleep. She taught me the Lord's prayer and the 23^rd Psalm. She took me to Sunday school classes every week. And through here efforts the Holy Spirit was able to bring me to faith. This is what we celebrate on Mother's Day, the gift of faith our mothers and grandmothers have passed to us.

The example of the first church directs us to share our faith with people beyond our own ethnic group. The Holy Spirit has enabled us to give our testimonies and express our faith to people who have come to the Eastern shore. There are Hispanics, Asians, and other ethnic group living nearby whom we can reach out to. This is already happing. Two Korean chicken farmers attend our Friday prayer breakfasts.

Right now as I proclaim the Word of God the Holy Spirit is taking the words I speak and transforming them into what you need to hear. This is what will bring you to faith in Jesus Christ with the promise of eternal life. You then will share you faith with others allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your words into some they need to hear so that they too will be blessed with faith. This is how the Kingdom of God grows.

Father in Heaven, we thank you for the words written in scripture and the words spoken in worship and testimony. Help our words to be instruments the Holy Spirit can used to bring others to faith. This we pray in the glorious name of your son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.