Ep 409 – Acts 10:44-11:3

If there's one thing most of us as believers have learned, it's that God doesn't always do things the way we expect or want. He seems to have a mind of His own and a tendency to do things the way He thinks best, whether we approve or not. And in Acts 10:44-11:3, we are going to see God surprising Peter and the Jewish believers in the church with His treatment of the Gentiles who came to faith in the home of Cornelius. God poured out His Spirit. Upon their belief in the saving work of Jesus Christ, each of the Gentiles received the same anointing of the Spirit of God as the 120 disciples had received on the day of Pentecost. They even spoke in foreign languages. This had not been what Peter had expected and, as we will see, it was most certainly not what the Jewish believers back in Jerusalem had anticipated. God was not doing things according to their preconceived notions of protocol. These Gentiles were received the baptism of the Spirit, as well as water baptism, and they hadn't even been required to be circumcised. This was unacceptable. It wasn't kosher, so to speak. But God was doing things His way. He wasn't taking input or seeking permission. He wasn't operating according to their will, but in keeping with His divine, totally flawless, and completely just and sovereign will. They were amazed, but also appalled. They were shocked and stunned that God was operating outside the box in which they had placed Him. And this was just the beginning.