Missions Paul

Get Up

Acts 11:7
“Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'”

When you move to look into what God is showing you then you are going to position yourself to also hear Him speak to you.
And what was the message? It was to move again. Get up.
God moves and He calls us to move.
GET UP
To the paralysed, ‘Get up’.
You might be incapable but move and see that you are more than capable.

To the man with the shrivelled hand, ‘Get up’ and stretch out your hand.
You may feel your best days are over but move and you will see everything restored.

To the dead young man in his coffin, ‘Get up’.
Things may be dead but move and they will be resurrected.

To the sleeping disciples, ‘Get up’ and pray.
You may have slipped away from where you should be but move and you will be reconnected to God.

To Peter, ‘Get up’, move and kill that prejudice.

With this command comes the ability to do just that.

I have seen those in self-pity get up, those who used to have passion for Jesus get up, those who gave away their potential get up, those paralysed by a stronghold in their life get up, those in the grip of guilt and self-condemnation get up.

This seems to be the constant call of the Spirit: GET UP.
God is the God of the resurrection.

Take a look

Acts 11:6
“I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.”

Peter looked into what God was showing him.
When something strange happens, when the extraordinary takes place, when your circumstances change, stop, pause, don’t jump to conclusions, take a look inside, question, think, discover and ask, “God what are you showing me?”

Exodus 3: 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace and said, “Look I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Daniel 3:25

When God sends something then be careful you do not dismiss what should be looked in to. Moses would not have heard the call of God if he hadn’t gone to look. Nebuchadnezzar would not have seen Jesus if he had not looked into the furnace. Peter would have missed a whole revelation if he hadn’t looked in to the large sheet.
So take a look today in to what God is showing you.

Joppa

Acts 11:5
“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.”

The name Joppa has a number of definitions:
A place of refuge and acceptance.
A word meaning beautiful.

Let me suggest my own modern version of this account:-

“I was seeking after God from the position of knowing I was safe in His arms. He is my refuge. The world may shake but my acceptance is from Him. It is what He calls me that counts. My identity is in Him. As I was seeking God my eyes were open and I saw something very real, this was not a dream, this was as real as I was standing there. It is difficult to describe but it was something like a large sheet. It was a material covering, like a tent, a tabernacle, a resting place, coming from heaven. It came to rest on where I was. It came to me. A divine habitat coming to rest on me! Something from heaven touching my earth.”

And that is my prayer today. Let something from heaven touch my earth, near to where I am. So let it be. Amen!

Precisely

Acts 11:4
“Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:”

One of the greatest dangers for those involved in missions in any capacity is that of exaggeration.
Every story told raises not only awareness but finances. Some fall into the trap of the sensational = more support.
I would rather have no stories than to have stories I could not verify.
Did it happen like this exactly? That is the question to ask.
Peter explained precisely. It is the strongest word meaning as it happened.
Books are sold, even earning prizes for being bestsellers and then are found to be exaggerated, sensationalised, lies.
Ministries parade the conferences but then later are found to have not been truthful in their presentation.
Let’s do precise.
Do you have a testimony of God working in your life?
Just say how it was not how it wasn’t.
Be precise.

Precisely

Acts 11:4
“Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:”

One of the greatest dangers for those involved in missions in any capacity is that of exaggeration.
Every story told raises not only awareness but finances. Some fall into the trap of the sensational = more support.
I would rather have no stories than to have stories I could not verify.
Did it happen like this exactly? That is the question to ask.
Peter explained precisely. It is the strongest word meaning as it happened.
Books are sold, even earning prizes for being bestsellers and then are found to be exaggerated, sensationalised, lies.
Ministries parade the conferences but then later are found to have not been truthful in their presentation.
Let’s do precise.
Do you have a testimony of God working in your life?
Just say how it was not how it wasn’t.
Be precise.

Offence

Acts 11:3
“and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

To eat with a person shows that there was a special closeness in that culture. This was the offence. Peter had got too close to the non-Jew. He had compromised himself and offended his fellow Jew.
If you can be offended you will be.
It is easy to be offended if you have more rules.
Offence builds a fence of division.
There is a fence around some churches. There is no gate or a door. Just a barrier between the church and the community.
Every week churches one their buildings to pray for the hundreds and thousands that gather within a few miles circumference of their building. Th prayer is “God bring the, in.”
Why would the community want to come into the church? Why would the homosexual come to the church? Why would the immoral, the wayward, the sinner want to climb the offence that has been built? Why would they want to come to be with the body of Christ who says they love the, but they must change before they begin to be accepted?
When did the body of Christ stop becoming the offence for the sinner before a holy God?
It was the day the church began to worship the cross instead of being on it.

Criticism

Acts 11: 2
“So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him”

They criticised him because they hadn’t seen Peter’s vision of the clean and unclean creatures coming from heaven.
They criticised him because they hadn’t heard the voice from heaven saying ‘Get up kill and eat’.
They criticised him because they didn’t know that Cornelius had sent men to get Peter.
They criticised him because they hadn’t experienced what Peter experienced as the Spirit came upon these Gentiles.

Before you criticise or as you criticise (for some criticism is justifiable and necessary) ask yourself, what am I missing in this? What is the missing jigsaw piece? What have I not seen or heard? What do I not know nor experienced?

Titles

Acts 11: 1

“The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.”

The sent ones (the meaning of the word apostles) heard that the gospel was being spread further afield.
How strange that the sent ones were hearing of what was happening ahead of them!
You see, just because you are called sent, doesn’t mean you have gone.
Just because you are a brother (in Christ) doesn’t mean you will reach out in love to those you are a brother to.
Just because you are a little Christ (the meaning of the word Christian) doesn’t mean you will behave, look, speak, think like Christ.
Better not to have a title than to take the title but not do what it says you should do.
Preachers not preparing well enough to preach.
Pastors not caring enough to care.
Missionaries who have forgotten they are on mission.
Members not committed to what they are a member of.
With titles come expectations but there also comes lethargy which needs to be defeated.
Let’s allow our titles to kickstart us into action!

Homes

Acts 10:48
“So he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.”

Presumably Peter said yes!
He had found a home where he had experienced the presence of God in a startling new way. The people were hungry for more of God. These were new disciples eager to spend more time with Peter, they had questions, they had open hearts and minds keen to learn. They had built up such a good bond with Peter that hey felt they could persuade him to stay. They wanted his company.
What a blessing this was to Peter!
Do you have a place like that?
I have a place where I enjoy going. The couple in this home pray for me. When I go, there are chocolates and liquorice allsorts next to my bed, they know what I like! There is a magazine on my bed. Towels are ready. But what I enjoy the most is the conversations we have, inspiring, influencing always affirming. God is there. They always ask when will I be able to go again.
This is a huge blessing to me! And of course I look forward to going there.
We all should have a place like that.
But we all should prepare a place like that for someone else. Open your home today, think who you can invite to stay, even for a few days.
God does amazing things in homes!
A quick look at the gospels show us that Jesus visited the house of Peter, Matthew, Simon the Pharisee, Jairus, Martha and Lazarus, to name a few. He stayed in homes, he performed miracles in homes, he relaxed and laughed in homes. He was at home in a home!
Invite Jesus to use your home today.

Freedom

Acts 10:47
“Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

Don’t let anyone you or anything keep you from the next step in your discipleship journey.
There will always be someone who will say NO or find reasons why you are not ready. Do not listen to them!
Today you are free to embark on a new adventure and the Spirit will go with you.
Peter asks ‘can anyone keep these people from …’ They were ready.
And you? It may not be water baptism but it can mean other important issues. Don’t let anyone stop you.