Episode 145: Houses of Fire - an Ancient Strategy for a New Season (Part 2 - Acts 10 - AD40)

Summary of Part 1
+ The Church BEGAN in a house (will it
END in houses?) 


+ No Church ‘buildings’ (earliest in the 200s, converted house)


+ Revival needed houses – evangelism/teaching/discipling


+ Public Meetings (i.e. Temple) often led to problems


+ First 10-year period involved ONLY Jews &
circumcised proselytes   (2:5 - “devout Jews”,
2:11 - “both Jews and converts to Judaism”)


+ House-sized churches are still the norm in many places on Earth


+ Fearful (masked) people won’t go to big meetings, but homes?


+ House meetings necessitate relational evangelism (vs.
contact)

ACTS TIMELINE/EVENTS – AD 40 – Gentile Pentecost
(3.0)

ACTS 9:43 - 43 And he [Peter] stayed in Joppa
for many days with one Simon, a tanner. [in a house]



Acts 10:1-5 - 1 At Caesarea there was a man
named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian
Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all
his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed
continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of
the day (WHILE IN PRAYER – v. 30) he saw clearly
in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”
(HIS NAME) 4 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. (HIS PRAYERS) 5 And now
send men to Joppa (PETER’S
CITY) and bring one Simon who is called Peter
(PETER’S FULL NAME). 



*WHO IS CALLING WHO?* - Lost calling the saved –
Are we expecting this??



Acts 10:6-8 - 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a
tanner, whose house is by the sea. (PETER’S ADDRESS from
an Angel!)” 7 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, 8 and having
related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 



*FIRST-TIME OBEDIENCE*

Acts 10:9-20 - 9 The next day, as they were on their
journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the
housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
(WHILE IN PRAYER) 10 And he
became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were
preparing it, he fell into a trance (MOST
VULNERABLE) 11 and saw the heavens
opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let
down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In
it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter;
kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means,
Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
15 And the voice came to him again a second
time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
16 This happened three times, and the thing was
taken up at once to heaven. 17 Now while Peter
was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen
might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having
made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate (DIVINE
TIMING) 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was
called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while
Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold,
three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go
down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent
them.” 



*ROLE OF SUPERNATURAL* - New Wineskins often
require it. i.e. Muslims


*DIETARY LAWS? OLD COVENANT* – also an entirely
NEW WINESKIN


*3 encounters + 1 Holy Spirit “says”* - WE can
be STUCK in our ways, methods, expectations

Acts 10:21-33 - 21 And Peter went down to the
men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the
reason for your coming?” 22 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
(VIOLATION!) and to hear what you have to say.”
23 So he invited them in to be his
guests. The next day he rose and *went away with them*
(WITHOUT the “Approval” of the other Apostles!),
and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
24 And on the following day they entered
Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together
his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter
entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and
worshiped him (CONFUSION). 26
But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”
27 And as he talked with him, he went
in and found many persons gathered. 28
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. 29 So when I was sent
for, I came without objection (LOL). I ask then
why you sent for me.” 30 And Cornelius said,
“Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying
(+ “fasting” – some translations) in my house at the ninth
hour,  and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing
31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been
heard and your alms have been remembered before God.
32 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.’ (SHARED THE DETAILED
PROPHETIC WORD) 33 So I sent for you at
once (TRUE), 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.” 


 


*LOST want to hear ALL* - not watering anything
down, avoiding the difficult 


(Jesus = ONLY WAY, issue of sin/repentance, judgment)

Acts 10:34-48 - 34 So Peter opened his mouth and
said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,
 35 but in every nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
36 As for the word that he sent to Israel,
preaching good news of peace through Jesus
Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves
know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee
after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 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.
39 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, 40 but God
raised him on the third day and made him to appear,
41 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. 42 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.
43 To him all the prophets bear witness that
everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through
his name.” (THE GOSPEL) 44
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell
on ALL who heard the word. 45 And THE
BELIEVERS from among the circumcised [Jewish background]
who had come with Peter WERE AMAZED, because the
gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the
Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them
speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
47 “Can anyone withhold water for
baptizing these people, who have received the
Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then
they [Gentiles] asked him [Peter] to remain [in their house] for
some days.



*Preaching* - not “listening” – an apostle w/ an
apostolic mandate


*Not just praying for people, prophesying…but also
PREACHING!


*Who will we be “amazed” by when the Holy Spirit comes
upon them? “even on the _______”


*BELIEVE & BE BAPTIZED – no delays / Spirit
baptism!

SUMMARY


1. Meetings in HOMES (2 Biblical Strategies –
are there more?)


a. PENTECOST 1.0 – For Jewish believers (a
church w/ house groups to a church OF house groups)


b. PENTECOST 2.0 - For the
harvest/lost/despised/rejected – 1st Century -
Gentiles/Muslims/LGBTQ+?/Homeless?


This new wineskin was a HUGE barrier for Peter – going into THEIR
homes! Jewish Dietary laws = obsolete (Old Covenant)



HOW will we find modern-day “God Fearers”? We don’t want
it to take 10 years to discover the fullness of our
calling!!


2. God pouring out His Spirit on house churches
- Iran – 1 million believers? Evangelism in the U.S.?


*Both sides needed revelation – Cornelius (lost) & Peter
(Christians)


*The bigger barrier was on the side of the believers – today?
LGBTQ+? / *Jews & Arabs? – End Time harvest?


3. New means NEW – not going back to normal,
will we learn what God has been trying to teach us? New
approaches, new lifestyles, new obedience?  Holding things
loosely.


4. Not getting distracted – silence other
“voices” GOSPEL!!! – “run in such a way that you get the prize”
(I Cor 9:24)


5. More Prophetic Direction – More
training/equipping/teaching - only doing what we see/hear the
Father doing/saying





WHOSE HOME NEEDS TO BE OPENED NEXT?