Empowered By the Spirit To Be A Witness
Acts Ch. 6-11: Empowered for Jesus' Mission

How Christians are made

At Mars Hill Church, we want to see as many people as possible meet Jesus and become Christians. Even today, many of you are praying for family members, friends, coworkers, classmates, neighbors who don’t yet know Jesus, that they might meet Jesus and become Christians. I’m doing the same, but it brings up a really important question that we have to answer. How do people who don’t yet know Jesus meet him and become Christians? That’s exactly the question that we’re going to look at in our text today.

If you have a Bible, let me encourage you to turn to Acts 10 as we continue our study through the book of Acts. I want us to look at this story in Acts 10 really through two angles today. Much like a great drama, we’re going to watch actors on the stage engage with one another, and I want us to have that perspective, but I also want us to go backstage. I want us to peer behind the curtain. I want you to see that God the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, is behind the scenes, directing the actors in such a way that the mission of Jesus goes forward. Because I want you to be encouraged that if you’re a Christian, the Holy Spirit is actively involved in your life, empowering you to tell others about Jesus.

Let’s pray and then we’re going to jump into Acts 10. Father, thank you that you are a loving father. Thank you that you’re a kind father. Thank you that you’re an affectionate father. You wouldn’t abandon us. You wouldn’t abuse us. But Father, your Word tells us that you love us with all the love you have for your Son Jesus. Jesus, thank you that You, being eternally God, you are God the Son, you humbled yourself, and you entered into our world, and you became a man. You became the God-man who walked among us. You lived the only perfect life that’s ever been lived. Jesus, you went to the cross, and there on the cross you took upon yourself the punishment for our rebellion against God, our treason. And Jesus, you died on the cross. So Lord Jesus, thank you that the grave couldn’t contain you. Thank you that you are physically risen from the dead, that you’re at the right hand of the Father. And Jesus, we want all of our time together today to be an act of worship towards you and for you. Father and Son, thank you for God the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, we pray for those of us that are Christians here today that you would empower us, that you would break down any walls of separation we put between ourselves and those who don’t know Jesus, that you would open our eyes to see those who you want us to share our faith with. Holy Spirit, I especially pray for those here today who don’t yet know Jesus, especially those who are religious, who think by working hard they’re going to earn a relationship with God. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would convict those folks. I pray that you would convert those folks. I pray that people would meet Jesus and forever be changed. In his good name we pray, amen.

The Holy Spirit convicts

Turn with me if you will to Acts 10. We’re going to begin in verse 1. And the first thing I want you to see is that the Holy Spirit convicts. The Holy Spirit convicts.

Acts 10:1, “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day,” that’s 3 p.m., “he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, ‘Cornelius.’ And he stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon,’” a lot of Simons in this story today, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.’ When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.”

First character you’re going to meet today is a guy named Cornelius, and we need to make a couple of observations about Cornelius. First of all, he’s an important man. He’s a centurion, which means, much like today in our military, he’s probably a non-commissioned officer, but he leads 100 men. That’s what a centurion does. And he’s part of the Italian Cohort. That just sounds like Special Forces all over it, right? He’s a part of the Italian Cohort, probably a garrison of 600 soldiers assigned to Caesarea. Caesarea was where the Roman governor resided. And so Cornelius is a leader, a military leader, leads 100 men, is a part of a special detachment that’s protecting the Roman governor, and also probably deployed occasionally to put down insurrections in that part of the world. But what’s interesting to me about Cornelius is where he’s coming from spiritually, because he’s really abandoned his spiritual, cultural heritage. He’s Roman, which means he should be polytheistic. He should believe in many gods. He also should be worshiping Caesar, especially as a good military man. If you were a Jewish person in this day and age under the Roman government, you would see them as traitors, as oppressors, as very evil men, but yet this is a man who seems to be drawn to the God of the Jews. He’s a devout man, he has a respect for God, and he’s beginning to act upon that respect. He prays, he gives gifts to the poor, and he’s in good standing with the local Jewish population.

How does this happen? This doesn’t make sense to us on paper. Here is a man sent to be a soldier in a foreign country, and he’s turned his back on his own culture and on his own religious heritage, and he’s begun to seek out the God of the Bible with a modicum of respect and activism. This is the Holy Spirit at work. That’s how this happens.

What I want you to see today as we look at the words of Jesus—and we’re going to look at several passages— the Holy Spirit is exactly who Jesus said, he would be doing exactly what Jesus said he would do. Let me give you an example—John 16. This is who Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be. “And when he comes,” the Holy Spirit, “he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

The Holy Spirit convicts. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes hearts that are far away from God and begins to go to work on them so that they have a greater understanding that there is such a thing in the world as sin.

God is a holy God, he has a righteous standard, and there’s an intrinsic sense when the Holy Spirit begins to bring out conviction that somehow I’m not right with God. There’s this idea of righteousness that we’re going to stand before God in judgment and God is going to hold us to account. And in some ways, Cornelius gets this. He’s not yet a Christian, but the Holy Spirit is convicting his heart.

Christian, I hope that gives you great encouragement for those you are praying for today who don’t know Jesus. The Holy Spirit convicts. You don’t have to convict of sin; that’s not your job. That’s the role of the Holy Spirit. And the good news is the Holy Spirit knows no hard cases. There’s no heart too hard, there’s no culture too far removed that the Holy Spirit can’t do his convicting work.

Several years ago, as I was serving as lead pastor of Mars Hill Albuquerque, we just finished a service meeting in the old historic Lobo Theater on Route 66, Nob Hill in Albuquerque, and I would make my way out of the back of the theater and come around to the front so that I could greet people as they left or new people who were coming in for the new service.

On this particular Sunday, there was a line of very enthusiastic, agitated Mars Hill members who wanted to talk to me, and I really couldn’t figure out what was going on, but I knew it had to be either really, really good or really, really bad.

First person comes up to me, “Pastor Dave, you’re not going to believe who was here today!” I said, “I don’t know, I saw a lot of people. Who was here?” He said, “Buck was here. Did you know that Buck was here, Pastor Dave? And we really need to pray that Buck would meet Jesus.” And I said, “That’s great, let’s pray.” We prayed that Buck would meet Jesus.

Second person came up to me, next person in line. This person actually grabbed at my shirt, “Pastor Dave,” like they really wanted to get at my heart. “Pastor Dave,” you know, you’ve got to reach into my chest and pull my heart. “Pastor Dave, you need to know who was here today. You know who was here today?” I said, “I don’t know who was here today.” “Buck was here today. We need to pray that Buck meets Jesus.” I said, “Great, let’s pray.” We prayed.

Next person in line. I’m an observant pastor; I caught on. This person came up to me and said, “Hey!” Before they could even speak, “You’re not going to believe who was here today.” And they said, “No, who?” And I said, “Buck was here!” And they said, “That’s what I was going to say!” And I said, “Let’s pray together that Buck meets Jesus.” “Yeah, let’s do that!” We prayed.

Fourth person in line comes up to me, wants to talk to me, grabs my sleeve again. “Pastor Dave!” I said, “Wait a second. Before you ask me any questions, let me ask you a question.” “Sure, Pastor Dave. What is it?” I said, “Who is Buck and why is he here today?” “Oh Pastor Dave, don’t you know? Buck is Buck from ‘Buck and Dex in the Morning.’ He’s got the most prominent radio show on the alternative rock station in Albuquerque. We need to pray that he meets Jesus.”

So I began to pray for Buck. And it was during the week that Pastor Mark was preaching through the Gospel of Luke, and there was a very poignant passage. Pastor Mark was preaching from Luke 7 about a widow all alone in the world other than her only son, and her only son died, and Jesus in his mercy, and grace, and love, raises this dead—this woman’s dead son up and restores the widow to her son.

And Pastor Mark solicits input from members and participants in Mars Hill to tell their own stories about losing loved ones. And so on The City—that’s where we communicate— on The City, Pastor Mark put out a request, “Does anybody want to share their own personal story of grieving and heartache?” Buck responds, and his story is absolutely heartbreaking. And Buck responds on The City in a very angry, disillusioned way. Buck says, “Here’s my story. I lost my dad to cancer, I lost my older brother to a car wreck, I recently lost my younger brother to suicide, and now I just lost my best friend to suicide. Where’s God in all this?” The Holy Spirit was convicting Buck. It didn’t make sense that he would show up in church if he was that angry with God, that disillusioned with God.

Why in the world would Buck show up to church to learn more about God? The only reason that makes any sense at all would be the explanation that the Holy Spirit was doing his thing. He was bringing conviction to Buck’s heart. The Holy Spirit convicts.

Christian, that should give you great confidence today. It should relieve you. You don’t have to convict people of sin. That’s entirely in the realm of the Holy Spirit, and he does it very, very well. And no matter how hard-hearted your family member is, no matter how distant your friend is who doesn’t yet know Jesus, the Holy Spirit isn’t limited by such things and he can go to work on any heart he chooses to.

The Holy Spirit empowers

Now we’re going to switch scenes. We’re going to be introduced to another character in the story, one of my favorite people in the Bible, Peter.

Back to Acts 10. Not only does the Holy Spirit convict, the Holy Spirit empowers. Cornelius sends an entourage to go meet Peter, because that’s what the angel told him to do in the city called Joppa. Joppa was about 30 miles away from Caesarea.

“The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour,” that was noon, “to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance.”

Next time, Christian, you’re with your friends and they’re being insensitive to you needing to eat, you should just say that. “You know, I’m so hungry, I’m going to fall into a trance if you don’t get my food done.”

“And saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’ And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.”

I want you to appreciate this scene. I want you to appreciate Peter even more. Peter’s in Joppa. It’s a seaward town. He’s gone up on the roof, he’s very hungry, he’s been praying, it’s noon, he’s waiting for his food to be prepared. He’s likely looking out onto the sea and probably seeing ships. And out of heaven, in a supernatural vision, in a trance, comes this sheet that probably looks like a sail. And on it, according to the text, are all kinds of animals. And Peter is commanded by the Lord, “Peter, I want you to kill and eat.”

That’s a strange command. And Peter does what Peter often does in the Bible when the Lord tells him to do something, he resists. You like that about Peter? I personally resonate with Peter because I’m very much the same way. And these three different times, Peter refuses the Lord.

If you know your Bible, you’ll remember the scene where Jesus is asking his followers who people say he is and guys are throwing out different perspectives. Jesus says, “Well, who do you think I am?” And Peter, Peter responds, “You’re the Christ. You’re the Son of God.” Peter gets the answer right. Jesus confirms Peter’s understanding. Remember Jesus begins to explain, “Hey Peter, I’m going to have to—and disciples, I’m going to have to go and suffer, and be handed over.” And Peter after just saying, “Jesus, you are the Son of God. You are the Christ,” Peter says, “That will never happen, Lord.” That’s what Peter does.

Later, we have another scene of Peter gathered around the table at the Last Supper, and Jesus is coming humbly to wash his feet. What does Peter do? He refuses. “No Jesus, you’re not going to do that for me.” See the pattern in Peter’s life? Peter then leaves that event, and goes out, and he denies Jesus three times.

And once again—Peter loves threes, doesn’t he? Once again, we see Peter here with a direct command from the Lord to rise up, and kill something, and eat from the sheet. And what does Peter say? “No, not going to do that. I’ve never done that.”

Do you get Peter? Do you relate to Peter? I do, because oftentimes when Scripture comes with hard commands, when Jesus prompts us to do things that are difficult, I really relate to Peter. My first response is, “Yeah, I don’t think so. I’ve never done that before.” The Holy Spirit empowers. The Holy Spirit empowers in such a way that he overcomes obstinate and stubborn followers of Jesus to move them on mission, and that’s exactly what he’s about to do here with Peter.

Let’s pick up in our story. Verse 17, “Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean,” he still doesn’t get it, “behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.” The entourage from Cornelius has arrived. “And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit,” the Holy Spirit, “said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.’ And Peter went down to the men and said, ‘I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?’ And they said, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.’ So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.” So now he takes some of his own friends, followers of Jesus. “And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.” Don’t you love that about Cornelius? He wants to extend—even though he doesn’t know Jesus yet, he wants to extend learning about Jesus to those around him. “When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.” Even though Peter is stubborn, he still knows who Jesus is. Verse 26, “But Peter lifted him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I too am a man.’ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.’”

Can you see Peter’s getting it? Can you see the Holy Spirit doing his work? Verse 30, “And Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.” So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.’” What a captive audience. What an opportunity for Peter, and Peter gets it. Look at verse 34, “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’”

You see what the Holy Spirit is doing in the heart of Peter? Peter was living out the Old Testament in a way that was inconsistent with Jesus, because Jesus has already made it very clear that there is no such thing anymore as clean and unclean foods. The gospels record that for us. But as Peter sees this vision in Joppa while he’s hungry of animals that he’s to rise, and kill, and eat, he sees that there’s a deeper issue in his heart. It has to do with more than food. It has to do with the fact that Peter is separating himself from people that Jesus wants him to go to. As Peter comes to Caesarea, and he sees Cornelius, and he understands what the Holy Spirit is doing, he gets the deeper lesson in his own heart. The Holy Spirit has empowered him to see his own sin, his own shortcoming. He’s raising up walls of separation between him and those that Jesus is sending him to in a way that’s hindering the work of Jesus. But the Holy Spirit overcomes all that, why? Because the Holy Spirit empowers.

Look at what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The Holy Spirit is ensuring that Peter is obedient to what Jesus has already said he’s going to do. The Holy Spirit empowers. He takes stubborn Christians like Peter, like me, like you, and he sends us to those who don’t yet know Jesus, and he sanctifies us. He works deep within our heart to show us where we have erected walls that Jesus wants to tear down between us and people who don’t yet know Jesus.

It was rather ironic that I would be the pastor of a church that Buck would come to. And I was there at that church because Jesus had called me to be there. Mars Hill Albuquerque at that time was in the countercultural, avant-garde, arty, urban hipster, center of Albuquerque. I like to say Nob Hill keeps the quirky in Albuquerque. It’s just one of those quirky places. And if you know me at all, that’s not me. That’s not the way I roll.

I’m not a foodie. As a matter of fact, last night if you would have given me the opportunity, “Hey Pastor Dave, there’s a great small Italian restaurant. They have the best free-range rabbit ravioli and kale with sea salt,” you know what I would have told you? “You know the Olive Garden? They’ve got this never-ending pasta bowl, and they bring you salads and breadsticks, and it’s all you can eat.” That’s who I am.

Not much into indie music. I’m a classic rock guy with a little bit of Johnny Cash mixed in. If it’s not classic rock, it will be someday, and I’m just going to call it classic rock. But that’s who I am. I don’t know obscure bands and different labels. That’s just not who I am.

I don’t watch a lot of arty shows on TV. I watch football on TV, not this game where guys pretend like they are injured so that they might get the right call. I’m talking about the game—you follow, right? I’m talking about the game where the guys fake like they are well when they are seriously injured so they can stay in for one more play. That’s the game I like. And it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s professional, or semi-professional, or they play in the sand, or they play in an arena, whether it’s college, high school, or middle school. I’ll watch it anytime, anywhere. I will watch football on TV. Then the only other genre of visual arts that I pay attention to are war movies and Westerns. Not multiple ones, really only two. Band of Brothers, probably seen it 35 times now. My favorite Western, Breaking Bad. I know it’s not really a Western, but it kind of is, all right? That’s it.

So, I don’t really connect with people that are arty and creative. Just not who I am. I’m not a fashionista, as you can tell. Never owned a pair of skinny jeans. I have some jeans that now fit like skinny jeans, but they weren’t ever intended to be skinny jeans. I’m cheap and I don’t throw away old jeans, and I have some 501s that used to be baggy that are now skinny jeans.

But I’ve had to deal with a lot, because I tend to look at people who have different tastes than me and I tend to look down on them. And here I am in the heart of a city in the most avant-garde, countercultural area, and here comes someone who represents, in Buck, that very heart of the city. And where I would have seen Buck before is someone being different, and someone being disillusioned with Jesus, and really wouldn’t have wanted to care for him at all. My heart went out to him. And when I saw his angry post on The City, I responded to him, “Hey, next time you’re in church, come find me. Let’s talk. Let’s go get coffee. Let’s do something.”

Christian, the Holy Spirit empowers you. He empowers you in such a way that you are sent out on mission with Jesus and your heart is sanctified. Jesus is great at tearing down the barriers between you and people in your life who don’t yet know Jesus, despite your differences. Isn’t this what Jesus got in trouble for? Isn’t it what religious leaders said about Jesus all the time? He hangs out with sinners and tax collectors. He doesn’t hang out with upright, religious folks. Somehow Peter missed that about Jesus, but now through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, Peter gets it.

The Holy Spirit reveals

The Holy Spirit reveals. Peter is going to take advantage of this captive audience and this opportunity. He’s going to hit a home run. Ready? He’s going to preach.

Verse 36, “As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ,” important in this parentheses, “(he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,” that’s the cross, “but God raised him on the third day,” that’s the Resurrection, “and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone,” that everyone, that everyone, “who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

I want you to see the elements of Peter’s sermon because they’re consistent throughout the book of Acts. And as we launch into the New Testament, this is the message of the Bible. The first element is that Jesus is Lord of all. You know what that means? That means he’s God. He is Lord of all. He is sovereign over all. There’s nothing not under his dominion and authority that exists. He is over all. He is the King of kings and he’s the Lord of lords. Jesus lived a perfect life. The Holy Spirit anointed him, and he healed the sick, and he defeated Satan, perfectly compliant, perfectly obedient with his Father. Jesus died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus rose from the grave, physically, bodily. I want you to see that. That’s a critical message in the gospel. Peter’s making it very clear that Jesus wasn’t some type of apparition that reappeared after his death. He wasn’t some sort of bizarre, paranormal manifestation, but we actually ate and drank with Jesus. Jesus physically rose from the dead. Jesus is the one who’s going to ultimately judge all people, those who are living at the time, those who are dead. And here’s the good news, the whole Bible is about Jesus. All the Old Testament prophets spoke about Jesus. And specifically the message of Jesus is, if we believe in him, if we turn from sin and we believe in him, guess what? We can be forgiven. Forgiveness is in his name. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Oh, this is the mouth of Peter that’s speaking, but this—these are the words of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is doing here exactly what Jesus said he would do. John 16, Jesus speaking to his weary disciples, with information overload, who have been drinking from a fire hydrant, that don’t really get who Jesus is yet. Look at what he says to them. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” They’re too heavy for you. You’re not ready for it yet. “When the Spirit of truth comes”—who’s that? It’s the Holy Spirit. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me,” Jesus, “for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

See the Holy Spirit behind Peter’s sermon? Just remember where Peter’s coming from. He doesn’t have a hard copy of the New Testament yet because the New Testament hasn’t been finished, so he doesn’t have a cool Bible app with ESV. He hasn’t even been able to listen to Tim Keller’s sermons yet, okay? This is where Peter is coming from, but Peter has the Holy Spirit, who is doing exactly what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do. The Holy Spirit would give Peter the words at the right time, that Peter would ultimately speak in such a way that the Holy Spirit’s words would ultimately exalt Jesus.

Buck came to church the next Sunday, and I’d been been praying for him all week, and I was hopeful that at the end of the service he would come up and talk to me. And I’m not sure what Buck expected in this message that was about death, and mourning, and suffering. I’m wondering if he didn’t expect that maybe it was going to be five ways to work through mourning, different stages of grief, how to be reunited with loved ones, how to minister to those that are hurting. Because as Pastor Mark preached from Luke 7, you know what Pastor Mark preached about? Jesus. He preached entirely about the person and work of Jesus, so much so, I had one of our Protect team members keeping a record of how many times Pastor Mark used the name of Jesus during that sermon. Seventy-four times. Seventy-four times Pastor Mark used the name Jesus in that sermon. And I’m sitting there, not yet having met Buck, hoping that Buck is present, thinking that he probably is, listening to this message coming to us from Pastor Mark knowing this is perfect— this is exactly what the Holy Spirit had in mind for Buck to hear that day because he needed to see something greater than his own suffering. He needed to see something greater than his own disillusionment. He needed to see the person and work of Jesus and all that that means to him.

Christian, be encouraged when you share your faith. Holy Spirit’s going to give you words. Don’t be paralyzed by the thought of, “What if somebody asks me a question I can’t answer?” Talk about Jesus. Trust the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus through your imperfect words. The Holy Spirit is great at that. I love this story because it’s one of the greatest stories in the Bible that has one of the greatest happy endings. You ready for a happy ending?

The Holy Spirit gives life

Here we go. Verse 44, not only does the Holy Spirit convict, not only does the Holy Spirit empower, not only does the Holy Spirit reveal, the Holy Spirit gives life. This is great. Verse 44, “While Peter was still saying these things”— he’s still preaching. He’s not even done yet, not even to the point of the invitation, not even an altar call. “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.” Isn’t that great? Peter doesn’t even get to finish his message. The Holy Spirit descends on those that are hearing and they receive the Holy Spirit. “And the believers from among the circumcised,” those are the Jewish believers, “who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.” Even on a Pagan Roman who was opposed militarily to Israel, he receives the Holy Spirit. Verse 46, “For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people’”— don’t you love his zeal?— “‘Who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.”

Wow. If you’ve been following along in this series in the book of Acts, you’re going to stop here and think, “This is strangely familiar. Where have I seen this scene before? Is this a rerun? Like, where have I seen this?” You’ve seen it in Acts 2. There’s a great point that Luke, as he writes this inspired by the Holy Spirit, is making in God’s grand history of coming on a rescue mission to save his people. In other words, what’s going on here in Acts 10 with non-Jewish believers is exactly what happened in Acts 2 among Jewish believers. They’re receiving the Holy Spirit in just the same way. They’ve received the full extent of salvation just as Jewish believers have in the ultimate gift of salvation which is the presence of the Holy Spirit. They’re even speaking in tongues, extolling God.

There’s a priority to salvation historically. Scripture tells us it’s first for the Jew, then for the Gentile, but there’s no prejudice. God is no respecter of persons. If you are in Christ, you are in Christ. Scripture makes that very clear. There are no second-hand citizens in the kingdom of God, no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. There’s neither Jew nor Gentile, there’s neither male nor female, there’s neither slave nor master, there’s neither rich nor poor, there’s neither black nor white. Everyone whom God saves has equal standing in the kingdom of God and equally receives the greatest gift that we have until Jesus returns, the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

Christian, I want you to see the panorama of God’s great work and salvation. I want you to see it as a project, a co-laboring project of the Trinity. The Father decrees in eternity past all those who would be saved. Jesus comes to the earth and he achieves our salvation. The Holy Spirit then is sent by the Father and the Son and he applies the finished work of Jesus to our hearts. He indwells us and we receive the Holy Spirit.

You can’t save people. It’s not your job. It’s the job of the Holy Spirit, and take encouragement because he’s really good at it. The Holy Spirit gives life. Look at the words of Jesus. John 6, Jesus said as much, “‘It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.’” It means you can’t be saved on your own effort. You just can’t. It’s of no help. It’s useless. Salvation doesn’t come from within, it comes from without through the Holy Spirit. “‘The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’” That’s encouraging. There’s no one beyond the grasp of God. There’s no hard cases for the Holy Spirit. And you know the way I like to think of it? I like to think of every relationship that comes into my life of people who don’t know Jesus are ordained by God that I might tell them about Jesus because God is on a mission to save them and it’s only a matter of time before what the Father decreed in eternity past and Jesus achieved on the cross, the Holy Spirit applies in their life. Do you believe that?

I finished the service that Sunday, came down to the front where I hoped to meet Buck, waited for a minute. All of the sudden, a man emerged from the crowd, a man that was just wrecked. Shoulders slumped, face covered in tears, shirt covered in tears literally. He came up to me and said, “Pastor Dave, you wanted to meet with me.” And again, being an observant pastor, I said, “You’re Buck, right?” He said, “Yeah.” I said, “Man, you’re really hurting, aren’t you?” See, sensitive, observant. “Yeah, I’m hurting, Pastor Dave.” I said, “You don’t know Jesus yet, do you?” He said, “No.” He couldn’t really answer, he was just crying. I said, “But you really do want to meet Jesus, don’t you?” He said, “Oh, I do.” I said, “Let’s pray,” and we prayed together. And right there Buck gave his life to Jesus, gave his sin to Jesus, gave his hurt to Jesus, gave all the things in his life that were broken to Jesus and asked Jesus for forgiveness, and Buck received the Holy Spirit. His life didn’t get 100% better the next day. In many ways it got harder, but what I saw in Buck that I hadn’t seen before or heard about before is he had a peace about him. He had a lot of things to work through still, but he came to the conclusion he was no longer alone, that the God who created him now indwelled him through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives life.

Application

As we close today, I want you to identify with one of two characters in this story. For some of you, you need to identify with Cornelius before—before he meets Peter. His story is your story. You’ve been convicted by the Holy Spirit but you’ve not yet been converted by the Holy Spirit. You’re very religious, you do religious activity, you do everything you can to do all the right things and you do everything within your power to avoid all the wrong things, just like Cornelius did. And you’re a convicted person but you’re not a converted person. You’re a religious person but you’re not a regenerated person who’s experienced the new life of the Holy Spirit.

“Pastor Dave, how would I know if I’ve received the Holy Spirit?” Because according to Jesus, you’ve received new life, you’ve been born again, and there’s at least three characteristics of new life you should look for. First and foremost, you should look for a new faith. Here’s what I mean by that. You no longer trust in your own ability, your own works, your own good deeds, your own avoidance of evil to make you right with God. All of the sudden, you’ve turned away from that and you trust entirely in Jesus. He’s your righteousness, his obedience is yours, his perfect life, substitutionary death, and subsequent resurrection are enough that you might be forgiven from sin. So you are trusting in Jesus. You have a new faith.

Another evidence that you’ve received the new life that the Holy Spirit gives you is that you have a new love. Your heart is overwhelmed with affection for Jesus. You love him. You care about the things he cares about. You worship him. You love his people, as imperfect as they are, and they are very imperfect, right? If I get to lead them, they’re way imperfect, but you love the church. Suddenly, you’re drawn to God’s people. You want to spend time with them, you want to do life with them, you want to encourage them, you want to be in community with them. And you love his Word, because when you open up the pages of the Bible, now it’s not just a bunch of names, and places, and a story much like you had to read in English Lit. Now as you open up the pages of the Bible, you encounter the living Jesus there.

If you’ve received new life in the Holy Spirit, you have a new faith, you have a new love, and you have a new power. You’re not perfect, no one is other than Jesus, but progressively, you’re becoming a woman, you’re becoming a man who thinks, feels, speaks, and acts like Jesus, because that’s what the Holy Spirit does.

Some of you today are totally in the position of Cornelius before he met Peter. You’re religious, you’re not regenerate. You’ve been convicted but you haven’t been converted. You need to receive the Holy Spirit right here, right now.

How do you do that? You do what Cornelius did. You believe in Jesus. You believe in the message that Peter preached. You believe that Jesus is the God-man who died for your sin and he offers you, by his own mercy and grace, forgiveness from sin, freedom from sin, and you can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. You don’t need a fancy prayer to do that. Just believe where you are right here, right now. Do me a favor, don’t leave here today without telling somebody, “I became converted today. I became a new person today. I received new life from the Holy Spirit today.”

Most of us need to identify not so much with Cornelius before he met Peter, we need to identify with Peter before he met Cornelius because many of us, like Peter, have obstacles in our own heart that keep us from reaching out to people whom Jesus is reaching towards. We’ve put up walls of separation. We’ve called unclean that which God doesn’t call unclean. We’ve called people that Jesus is loving and reaching out to off-limits and unreachable.

I don’t know what it is for you. Maybe it’s racial. Maybe you have a problem with a racial group of people that keeps you from reaching out to people that Jesus has said, “I’m sending you to in the power of the Holy Spirit.” And you need to not only be sent, you need to be sanctified. Maybe it’s ethnic, maybe it’s linguistic. I know there are some barriers there, but the Holy Spirit is wonderful at breaking through linguistic barriers. Maybe it’s socioeconomic. Maybe you’re a wealthy person who looks down upon those who aren’t as wealthy as you are, somehow being outside the reach of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit wants you to repent. In our culture, maybe it’s political. How sad would that be if you wouldn’t reach across the aisle politically to tell someone on the other side of the aisle about the love of Jesus? Jesus can save all people, even Republicans, trust me. That’s a joke, let it sit in, all right? Maybe it’s sexually. Maybe it’s people who are caught up in sexual immorality, living a life inconsistent with what God would have them live sexually, and you’ve already determined that they are outside the reach of God. And the Holy Spirit wants to remind you that no heart is too hard, no sin is too great, no one is too dead that the Holy Spirit can’t breathe life into that person, and the Holy Spirit is calling you to go.

Here’s what I hear all the time. “Pastor Dave, I can’t really tell someone about Jesus because number one, I’m not a preacher, and number two,” for those that are more nuanced, “I don’t have the spiritual gift of evangelism.” You don’t have to be either one. The Holy Spirit can empower you as you are, who you are, where you are, among those he’s put in your life. See, that’s what Buck did. Buck is Buck’s radio name. Buck’s real name is Aaron Burnett. Aaron Burnett is now a deacon at our church in Albuquerque. As soon as Aaron met Jesus, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, Aaron decided that he wanted to use his influence to tell people about Jesus. So whenever he had the opportunity, whether it was with family members, or friends, or fans, or coworkers, or acquaintances, he would talk about Jesus.

I checked in with Aaron yesterday, and as best as we can surmise, Aaron has watched the Holy Spirit give life since he’s met Jesus to 30 of his family members, friends, fans, coworkers.

You don’t have to be a preacher to be a witness and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to tell someone about Jesus. You don’t have to be gifted as an evangelist. Aaron’s primary gifting is in mercy. He’s not gifted primarily as an evangelist, but he’s just faithful among the people God has placed him among to tell, boldly, folks about Jesus.

Let’s do this as we wrap up our time today. I want you to bow your heads, close your eyes. Christian, I want you to invite the Holy Spirit to impress upon you those whom he’s sent you to that you might talk about Jesus boldly. So let me just pray, and we’re going to ask the Holy Spirit to show us exactly who he’s sent us to.

Closing prayer

Holy Spirit, I pray right now that you would show us exactly who it is that you want us to be bold and share Jesus with. If a name comes to memory, great. If a face comes to mind, great. If a people group suddenly is impressed upon our heart, great. If a verse of Scripture comes to mind, even better. Holy Spirit, I pray with each and every Christian that’s here that you would put in her mind, in his mind, in her heart, in his heart, a sense of who you’ve sent him or her out to reach. Empower us, Holy Spirit, to be your bold witnesses. In Jesus’ good name, we pray together, amen.