GOD’S WORD FOR JANUARY 9

Our  book this month  is a continuation of “Chiseled by the Master’s Hand ~ Lessons From the Life of Peter,” by Erwin  Lutzer.  Dr. Lutzer is  Canadian-born and served as Senior Pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years, until his retirement in 2016.   He now serves as Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church.  He’s written many books and has radio and internet teaching programs.

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THE TRACE OF HIS SHADOW

(Read Acts 3:1-10;  5:1-11;  8:14-24;   ad 10:44-48)

THE SHADOW OF THE GOSPEL’S OUTREACH

In Acts 8 Philip went to Samaria to preach the gospel and multitudes believed.  But God withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until Peter and John went to the Samaritans and laid hands on them.  “then they began laying their hands on the, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.”  Today, whenever a person receives Christ as Savior, he or she immediately receives the gift of the Holy Spirit.  But the Book of Acts is the story of a transition of the church from infancy to adulthood.  Because of the strong rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans, it was very important that the apostles come to Samaria to prove the unity of the church.

Peter and John’s presence gave the assurance that the same Holy Spirit who came to the church in Jerusalem had now come to those who were considered outcasts (the Samaritans).  So Peter became one of the leaders in opening the door of the Gospel to this despised ethnic group.  He was beginning to exercise the “keys of the kingdom.”

There is another door that Peter would soon open.  The next circle of people to be welcomed into the church were the Gentiles.  Cornelius, who lived in Caesarea, was an unusual man.  He was an earnest seeker after God, having become weary of the paganism widely practiced in that day.  When he came in contact with the Old Testament, even though he was a Gentile he became convinced that it was a revelation from God.  His soul became so hungry for God that he began to pray continuously and do good deeds in an attempt to become a proselyte, a convert to Judaism.  Yet, for all this, he did not yet know that he needed to put his faith in Israel’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God was not unmindful of this man’s search for spiritual reality.  The angel that came to him said, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.”  At exactly 3 o’clock one afternoon Cornelius had a vision.  An angel of God came to tell him to send a delegation to Joppa to find Peter, who was residing in a house beside the sea thirty miles away.  His men left immediately, but understandably did not make the entire thirty-mile journey that afternoon.

The next day at 12 noon, God gave Peter a special vision that would free him from his legalistic roots, so he would know that God  had also opened the door to the Gentiles.  Peter was resting on the housetop waiting for lunch.  Though he was hungry he fell asleep and in a trance saw the sky open, and an object like a great sheet came down, lowered by four corners to the ground.  On it were all kinds of four-footed animals that Jews were forbidden to eat according to Old Testament law.  A voice came to him, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat!”  but he refused, insisting that these animals were unclean.  But the voice persisted, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

As Peter was reflecting on this vision, the men Cornelius had sent came looking for him.  He listened to their incredible story about the desire of Cornelius to know more about the true God; then they related the vision this Gentile had received.  The timing was perfect, as God’s timing always is.

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John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.

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Isaiah 57:15

For this is what the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

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Isaiah 63:11

Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,

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Matthew 3:11

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

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1 Corinthians 1:23

but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,

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Galatians 3:13-14

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

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Ephesians 3:8-9

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things;

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