The message never changes -- but WE may need to!

John Farley
Pastor-Teacher
Sunday,
March 1, 2015

The message never changes - but WE may need to!

Welcome to our latest Evangelism Sunday.

We are now in the book of Acts to learn more about evangelism.

When God is ready to move to open the church up to the Gentiles, He has to go to great lengths to prepare two people.

The Gentile is Cornelius.
 
The Jew is Peter.

The Holy Spirit prepares the receiver, and the messenger, of the gospel, and then brings the two together.

He gives each man a vision. A special vision.

The Lord knew that he had to change each man’s heart to get them to accept one another.

Verses 1-8 tell us how the Spirit prepared Cornelius with his vision.

Verses 9-20 tell us how the Spirit prepared Peter with his vision.

Acts is a special book…
filled with special
one-time events…

that mark each step forward in the advance to God’s full “vision” for the church.

The Spirit will prepare you and the other person before you witness to them.

ACT 10:1-4

At the time, Caesarea was the location of a military garrison.

The population was almost exclusively Gentile with only a handful of Jews.

Caesarea was located about thirty miles north of Joppa, where Peter was staying.

The Lord selected Cornelius out of all the possible Gentile candidates.

Respond with faith to the light given, and the Lord will provide more light.

JER 29:12-14

Cornelius was a “God-fearing” Gentile.

A God-fearing Gentile was a Gentile who had come to realize that the God of Israel was the one true God.

But Cornelius was not a Christian.

Not yet anyway….

ACT 11:13-14

ACT 10:5-16

It was really a picture of Jews and Gentiles together in one body, the body of Christ.

ROM 10:12

Peter was changed by his vision, and we know that because of how Peter behaved.

ACT 10:17-20

The action Peter will take will confirm the change of heart the Lord desired.

ACT 10:21-23

The early church met in homes, where they shared the meal of the Lord’s supper.

ACT 10:23-24

FRAN = Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors.

He knows he’s gonna be SAVED today!!!!!

He wants his relatives and close friends to be saved along with him.

ACT 10:25-29

Here is Peter turning that last key to open the door of the gospel to the entire world.

ACT 10:30-33

Here we have another SLAM DUNK setup for the preaching of the Gospel!

Just OPEN YOUR MOUTH!

ACT 10:34

God had to change Peter before he was ready to preach the gospel to Cornelius.

We may have the teaching down, but our heart may not be right.