In today's gathering at Menlo Church, we celebrate the profound act of baptism, a public declaration of personal faith in Jesus Christ. This weekend is particularly special as individuals from various locations, including our online community, come together to express their commitment to Christ through baptism. This act is not just a ritual but a powerful testament to the transformative work of Jesus in our lives. It serves as a reminder that while personal faith brings us to heaven, public faith brings heaven to earth, making our faith contagious and visible to others.

Reflecting on the early church's struggles, we delve into the book of Acts, where the church faced challenges in breaking stereotypes and barriers, particularly with the Gentiles. This historical context parallels our mission today: to create a welcoming space for those who are unchurched or unfamiliar with Christian traditions. The story of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, exemplifies this. Despite being a Gentile, Cornelius had sincere faith in God, demonstrating that with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. His story reminds us that God loves us regardless of our background or past.

Peter's vision in Joppa further illustrates the breaking of barriers. Through a divine revelation, Peter learns that God's grace extends beyond traditional Jewish boundaries, emphasizing that the gospel is for everyone. This revelation challenges Peter's legalistic views, moving him towards a faith rooted in grace. The encounter between Peter and Cornelius highlights the gospel's power to save and transform lives, regardless of one's past or societal status.

As we witness the Holy Spirit's work in Cornelius and his household, we are reminded that the gospel never stops saving. It challenges our assumptions and biases, urging us to share the good news with all, regardless of their background. This moment in Acts serves as a powerful reminder that God's love and acceptance are available to everyone, and our stories, no matter how ordinary or flawed, can be used by God to reach others.

In conclusion, today's message encourages us to embrace our stories, recognizing that God can use them to impact others. Whether you're considering baptism or simply seeking to deepen your faith, remember that God loves you and is not done with you. Your story matters, and through it, God can bring hope and transformation to those around you.

**Key Takeaways:**

1. **Public Faith as a Testimony:** Baptism is a public declaration of personal faith, symbolizing the transformative work of Jesus in our lives. It serves as a powerful testimony to others, showing that faith is not just personal but also communal and contagious. [00:00]

2. **Breaking Barriers:** The early church faced challenges in reaching out to Gentiles, highlighting the importance of breaking stereotypes and barriers. Today, we are called to create welcoming spaces for those unfamiliar with Christian traditions, ensuring that everyone feels included and valued. [29:02]

3. **No Second-Class Stories:** The story of Cornelius reminds us that with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. Regardless of our background or past, God loves us and desires a relationship with us. Our stories, no matter how ordinary or flawed, can be used by God to reach others. [31:33]

4. **Grace Over Legalism:** Peter's vision challenges his legalistic views, moving him towards a faith rooted in grace. This shift emphasizes that God's grace extends beyond traditional boundaries, inviting us to embrace a more inclusive and loving faith. [37:32]

5. **The Gospel's Unending Power:** The gospel never stops saving and transforming lives. It challenges our assumptions and biases, urging us to share the good news with all, regardless of their background. Our stories can be powerful tools for spreading hope and transformation. [46:57]

**Youtube Chapters:**

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [01:30] - The Significance of Baptism
- [04:15] - Removing Barriers to Faith
- [07:00] - Personal Faith and Public Declaration
- [10:45] - Reflecting on the Early Church
- [14:20] - Breaking Stereotypes and Barriers
- [18:05] - Cornelius: A Story of Sincere Faith
- [22:30] - Peter's Vision and Revelation
- [26:13] - From Legalism to Grace
- [29:02] - The Gospel's Inclusive Power
- [31:33] - No Second-Class Stories
- [34:03] - The Holy Spirit's Work in Cornelius
- [37:32] - Embracing Our Stories
- [42:34] - The Gospel's Unending Power
- [46:57] - Invitation to Follow Jesus

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
- Acts 10:1-48
- Acts 11:1-18
- Galatians 3:28

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**Observation Questions:**

1. What was the significance of Cornelius' background and position in the Roman military, and how did it affect his faith journey? [31:33]

2. How did Peter's vision in Joppa challenge his existing beliefs about Jewish dietary laws and the inclusion of Gentiles? [37:32]

3. What was the reaction of the Jewish believers who accompanied Peter when they witnessed the Holy Spirit being poured out on the Gentiles? [44:35]

4. How does the story of Cornelius illustrate the theme of "no second-class stories" in the context of the early church? [29:02]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. What does Peter's vision and subsequent actions reveal about the shift from legalism to grace in the early church? How might this apply to modern-day faith communities? [40:07]

2. In what ways does the story of Cornelius challenge the early church's assumptions about who could receive the gospel? How does this relate to current barriers in sharing faith? [42:34]

3. How does the concept of "public faith bringing heaven to earth" manifest in the act of baptism, and why is it important for believers today? [53:05]

4. What role does the Holy Spirit play in the transformation of both Cornelius and Peter, and how does this demonstrate the gospel's unending power? [46:57]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on a time when you felt like your story was "second-class" in your faith journey. How can the story of Cornelius encourage you to see your story as valuable and usable by God? [29:02]

2. Are there any personal biases or assumptions you hold that might prevent you from sharing the gospel with certain people? How can you work to overcome these barriers? [42:34]

3. Consider the idea that "faith is contagious." How can you make your faith more visible and inviting to those around you, especially those unfamiliar with Christian traditions? [53:05]

4. How can you create a welcoming space in your community or church for those who feel like outsiders, similar to how the early church was challenged to include Gentiles? [29:02]

5. Think about a specific area in your life where you might be holding onto legalistic views. How can you embrace a more grace-filled approach in that area? [40:07]

6. Identify one person in your life who might feel excluded from the church or faith community. What steps can you take this week to reach out and include them? [42:34]

7. How can you actively seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in your daily life to challenge your assumptions and biases, as seen in Peter's transformation? [46:57]

Day 1: Public Faith as a Living Testimony
Baptism is more than a ritual; it is a profound public declaration of one's personal faith in Jesus Christ. This act symbolizes the transformative work of Jesus in our lives and serves as a powerful testimony to others. It is a reminder that faith is not just a private matter but a communal and contagious one. By publicly declaring our faith, we invite others to witness the change Jesus has made in us, making our faith visible and inspiring others to seek the same transformation. This public expression of faith is a way to bring heaven to earth, as it demonstrates the reality of God's work in our lives. [00:00]

Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV): "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Reflection: How can you let your faith be a visible testimony to those around you today? What specific actions can you take to demonstrate the transformative work of Jesus in your life?


Day 2: Breaking Barriers to Faith
The early church faced significant challenges in reaching out to the Gentiles, highlighting the importance of breaking stereotypes and barriers. Today, we are called to create welcoming spaces for those unfamiliar with Christian traditions, ensuring that everyone feels included and valued. The story of Cornelius, a Roman centurion with sincere faith, exemplifies this mission. Despite being a Gentile, Cornelius's faith was recognized by God, demonstrating that with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. This call to inclusivity challenges us to examine our own biases and assumptions, urging us to extend grace and love to all, regardless of their background. [29:02]

Acts 10:34-35 (ESV): "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.'"

Reflection: What barriers or stereotypes might you need to break down in your own life to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for others? How can you actively work towards this today?


Day 3: Embracing No Second-Class Stories
The story of Cornelius reminds us that with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. Regardless of our background or past, God loves us and desires a relationship with us. Cornelius's sincere faith, despite his Gentile status, was honored by God, showing that our stories, no matter how ordinary or flawed, can be used by God to reach others. This truth encourages us to embrace our own stories, recognizing that God can use them to impact those around us. Our past does not define us; rather, it is a testament to God's grace and transformative power in our lives. [31:33]

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (ESV): "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

Reflection: How can you embrace your own story, with all its imperfections, as a testament to God's grace? In what ways can you share your story to encourage and inspire others today?


Day 4: Grace Over Legalism
Peter's vision in Joppa challenges his legalistic views, moving him towards a faith rooted in grace. This divine revelation emphasizes that God's grace extends beyond traditional Jewish boundaries, inviting us to embrace a more inclusive and loving faith. The encounter between Peter and Cornelius highlights the gospel's power to save and transform lives, regardless of one's past or societal status. This shift from legalism to grace calls us to examine our own beliefs and practices, ensuring that they align with the inclusive and loving nature of the gospel. [37:32]

Galatians 3:28 (ESV): "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you might be holding onto legalistic views? How can you shift towards a more grace-filled approach in your interactions with others today?


Day 5: The Gospel's Unending Power
The gospel never stops saving and transforming lives. It challenges our assumptions and biases, urging us to share the good news with all, regardless of their background. The story of Cornelius and the early church serves as a powerful reminder that God's love and acceptance are available to everyone. Our stories, no matter how ordinary or flawed, can be powerful tools for spreading hope and transformation. This truth encourages us to actively participate in God's mission, sharing the gospel's unending power with those around us. [46:57]

Romans 1:16 (ESV): "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Reflection: Who in your life needs to hear the good news of the gospel? How can you share the transformative power of the gospel with them today in a way that is authentic and loving?

It's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about making sure that every service and experience we create at Menlo is built with unchurched people in mind, with people who are not followers of Jesus yet, that whatever you've experienced about church or faith or people who are of faith, that you go, hey, you know what? I can come to this place, and stuff's going to get broken down for me in a way that I can digest. [00:27:56] (23 seconds) Edit Clip


Now, we're going to venture back into the book of Acts, where we've been for the last several weeks, and we're going to discover the same challenges back then that we're describing today. And the good news is that with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. There weren't 2,000 years ago, and there aren't today. Maybe you think that your story is too boring for God to use it. Or maybe you think that your story is too far gone. You're like, Phil, you don't know what I've been through, what I've done, or what's been done to me. And you're right. I don't. But God does, and he loves you regardless. [00:28:26] (36 seconds) Edit Clip


One of the people that we are going to be introduced to is a Roman soldier named Cornelius. And we'll see the good news. That God brings true hope to sincere faith. He hasn't ever stopped doing that. It doesn't matter what your last name is, what school you go to or went to, what your job is, whether you're in big tech or little tech or no tech. God loves you, and he desires a relationship with you. God can meet you in the middle of the messiest parts of your story right now. [00:29:02] (30 seconds) Edit Clip


Cornelius, he had the wrong pedigree. He had the wrong ethnicity to be the obvious choice for the early church to go out and reach to. But remember, with Jesus, there are no second class stories. Cornelius is just as loved by God as who we're going to meet next. [00:34:26] (19 seconds) Edit Clip


His leadership in the early church was profound, but nearly exclusively focused on helping Jewish people become followers of Jesus. Well, God was sending this angel to Cornelius in, well, God, yeah, well, God was talking to Cornelius through this angel in Caesarea. Peter, who is 35 minutes away in Joppa, is getting a vision of his own. Luke, the author of Acts, he records the vision this way. It says, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. [00:36:52] (39 seconds) Edit Clip


The voice from heaven had called him to kill and eat animals that weren't kosher, that would not have fit within these dietary codes. And so he refuses, only to be told that God had made them clean, that he was free from legalism to grace, that he was allowed to do this. But the problem was he was still living out of the old software of Judaism. He was trying to make it compatible with the grace of Jesus. And it took three times for this to stick. And we don't totally know why, right? [00:38:46] (34 seconds) Edit Clip


The first work of the gospel that we see in this passage is actually in Peter. He grows from faith that is still rooted in legalism to one that is rooted in grace, the undeserved favor of God extended to him by Jesus and through him for everyone. The dots have finally come together. The dots have finally come together. gotten connected for Peter. For some of us, that's a software update that God still wants to bring to us today. [00:41:11] (30 seconds) Edit Clip


But don't think they need it or they're too far gone. Some of you, you think you've been a Christian since you were born. Like I hear people describe it that way. No one has been a Christian since they were born. That's actually not true. Everyone at some point has to make a decision to be a follower of Jesus. And so no matter what category you have excluded yourself from, what category you've excluded someone else from, remember with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. There's nobody who's... There's no one whose story is more loved by God. [00:42:00] (34 seconds) Edit Clip


Here we have Peter who enters the home of Cornelius with lots of assumptions being tested, suggested, and he begins sharing the gospel, the good news of Jesus. And Peter, he contextualizes the gospel for Cornelius, but he covers these basics, that God shows no partiality, which is obviously very unique, that he's just realizing. That Jesus came to preach the good news to everybody by the power of the Holy Spirit as he performed miracles and as he was put to death, but God raised him from the dead. And we've been called to share the hope that he offers with all people. [00:43:54] (41 seconds) Edit Clip


The moment is recorded this way. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who 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. [00:45:36] (47 seconds) Edit Clip

Well, good morning, Menlo Church.

We're so glad that you are with us. No matter what brought you in today, maybe it was somebody you know that's getting baptized, or maybe you just wanted to get out of the rain. We're glad that you're here.

It's a really special and important weekend here, where people throughout the Bay Area will go public with a personal faith through the simple act of baptism. Today, people will go unnoticed. They will go unnoticed. They will go unnoticed. And they will go public under the water to demonstrate their faith in the work of Jesus on their behalf.

Now, one of the things that makes this so special for us as a community is that we are a multi-site church, which means that we have the power to be able to join forces with people in Saratoga, Mountain View, Menlo Park, and San Mateo, who are saying yes to Jesus by going public with their faith through baptism. As a matter of fact, we even have someone from our online community who is coming for the first time to an in-person experience to go public with their faith through baptism as well.

Now, with that in mind, I always make a disclaimer during baptism services that we do have people here today who have made a decision to go public with their faith through baptism. They signed up, they had a conversation, they came prepared to do that and to take that step. But there are also people here that maybe you've never been baptized, but you're a follower of Jesus, and you walked in today and you weren't planning on getting baptized. But maybe, just maybe, God has been working on you to push you to take that step to get baptized. And maybe you're going to discover to do that today.

And if that feels wild, like I can't imagine doing that, going public with your faith today, actually there are fewer barriers to it than you think there are. And so we're going to talk about that a little bit later, but we have a place for you to go, somebody you can talk with, ask any questions of, clothes for you to change into, a place for you to be able to do it.

Our heart when we celebrate baptism together is that we want to remove every potential barrier if you feel like God is calling you to get baptized, for you to be able to do that right here, right now. One of the things that we say around here a lot is that God uses personal faith to bring you to heaven, but uses public faith to bring heaven here, that faith is contagious, and baptism is such a cool way to show people the story of God in your life, not perfectly, but publicly today.

But we want to remove every potential barrier if you feel like God is calling you to get baptized. But before we get started, I'm going to pray for us. And if you've never been here before or never heard me speak, before I speak, I pray kneeling. And part of the reason that I do that on a day like today is the truly humbling reality that God would use this place and this group of people to stir in the lives of others the call to make their relationship with Jesus public.

So wherever you are in your own pursuit of God, whatever's going on in your story today, would you humble yourself with me as we approach God together?

God, thank you so much. Thank you that even though there are plenty of reasons for us to not be here, plenty of circumstances that maybe would be good excuses to just kind of put our head back in the sand of our own circumstances, that somehow, God, you still continue to use us and use this place. And we pray that you would today, that whatever we need to get out of this in order, God, for you to get into our life circumstances and headspace for the days and weeks to come, would you do that today in a way that only you can? It's in Jesus' name. Amen.

So if you were here with us last week, Javon finished our series that we started the year with called Startup Faith, where we dove into the best of the principles of Silicon Valley that help innovation flow in our region, and how many of those same principles in a slightly different form were true in the early church in the book of Acts 2,000 years ago.

So we studied several passages there. Today, we're going to study the best of the principles of Silicon Valley, and we're going to spend some time at a critical moment in the early church back in the book of Acts together. An early struggle that the church had was actually breaking out of the stereotypes and the barriers that they had created with non-Jewish people, the Gentiles, to believe and experience new life in Jesus.

Now, if you've been around Menlo Church for a little while, you've probably heard a little bit about my story and a unique path that God used to bring me into ministry. With all of that in mind, part of my story was that I went to all public schools growing up: public elementary school, public middle school, public high school, and then I went to a Bible college, which existed exclusively to prepare people for vocational ministry.

Now, college is kind of a melting pot, no matter which one you land at. And in the midst of it, right, you have people who are legacy students, whose families have gone to that school for generations. They know everything about it. Their last name gives them access to things that it doesn't give to others. For other people, they live near the college, so they understand what's available or not available. There is this hierarchy that you learn pretty quickly at every school.

In my Bible college, I had people, having only been to public school, who were my classmates. They had been going to Christian education since they were fetuses. They had been in Christian education every moment of their entire life. And so in a Bible college, there was a large group of students whose exclusive experience of education was Christian education.

Subjects like systematic and historical theology, the nuances of current ecclesiological thinking in the local church, and how all those things flowed second nature for them. And you're like, "Phil, I didn't know you were going to speak in tongues today," right?

And if some of those words are confusing for you, that was me. I had some church experience growing up, but none of my experience included that vocabulary.

And so in addition to the knowledge that I had, I had some church experience growing up, but none of my experience included the normal pain and growth curve of starting college. I felt like I had gotten there with a second-class story of following Jesus, a second-class story of entering ministry. And I wasn't sure early on whether or not I would be able to make it.

Now, it worked out in the end, and it served my calling and pursuit of ministry really well. I'm truly thankful. But there were hurdles to overcome. It's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about making sure that every service and experience we create at Menlo is built with unchurched people in mind, with people who are not followers of Jesus yet, that whatever you've experienced about church or faith or people who are of faith, that you go, "Hey, you know what? I can come to this place, and stuff's going to get broken down for me in a way that I can digest."

It's hard, though, because churches often have decades of helping people grow in their relationship to Jesus. And it's easy over time to drift more and more towards that priority. At Menlo, we don't just have decades; we have a century and a half of doing this.

But making space for people who are not like us or who don't like us is so important because people who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus, and he loved them back. And we want to follow that example.

Now, we're going to venture back into the book of Acts, where we've been for the last several weeks, and we're going to discover the same challenges back then that we're describing today. And the good news is that with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. There weren't 2,000 years ago, and there aren't today.

Maybe you think that your story is too boring for God to use it. Or maybe you think that your story is too far gone. You're like, "Phil, you don't know what I've been through, what I've done, or what's been done to me." And you're right. I don't. But God does, and he loves you regardless.

One of the people that we are going to be introduced to is a Roman soldier named Cornelius. And we'll see the good news: that God brings true hope to sincere faith. He hasn't ever stopped doing that. It doesn't matter what your last name is, what school you go to or went to, what your job is, whether you're in big tech or little tech or no tech. God loves you, and he desires a relationship with you. God can meet you in the middle of the messiest parts of your story right now.

In the early church, there was basically just room for the Jewish people who were converting to Christians. They were choosing to follow Jesus as the Messiah, and they were typically called followers of the way, and the rescuer that was waiting for—everybody okay over there? I just want to make sure. That would have been an amazing sound effect. I'm usually pretty unflappable in those moments.

In the early church, there was basically just room for Jewish people who were choosing to follow Jesus as their Messiah, the rescuer that they had been waiting for, that they had been anticipating for generations. And Jesus had called them to bring this good news to the entire world, not just to Jerusalem, but to Judea, to the uttermost, to everyone everywhere.

Now, this tension was growing in the early church because even though that was the case, the earliest followers of Jesus were only bringing it to Jewish people. And so God was working directly in the lives of people who didn't fit those categories, and the earliest leaders of the church, they sort of got roped in by God to the way that He was already working in the lives of others. Not that the church of today ever struggles with that, right? We're amazing at reaching out to people who are totally different than us and may not agree with us. This is only a problem in the first century, right?

Now, Acts chapter 10 provides our introduction for today when it reads this way: "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 all the people, and prayed continually to God."

That sounds like a pretty amazing guy, right? He had sincere faith, but the problem was he was a Gentile. He wasn't Jewish. And so the limitations to his faith in the God of Israel were significant.

We see that he was a centurion of a cohort, which means he wasn't just in the military; he carried significant weight as a leader in the military. See, the Romans were comprised of groups called legions that had 5,000 to 10,000 men in each. And each one of those would have been broken into cohorts, which had 600 men in each of them. And a centurion was an official that was put in charge of 100 people within each one of those 600-person cohorts. That's what we're talking about here.

They were people of high character who could remain steady in extreme pressure and danger. That's who Cornelius is.

Now, we hear all of that, and we think, "That is amazing. What a cool guy." But for the Jewish people, he was just a Gentile. The qualifications of his faith were important. He had reverence for God, he led his entire family, and he was financially generous to people who needed it. And he regularly prayed to God. These were amazing qualities.

The term that we see here for reverence is that he feared God. And it's likely referring to a specific technical term for someone at the time called a God-fearer or a proselyte of the gate, which was a category for Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and rejected pluralistic gods in their society. You could do a whole lot as a proselyte of the gate, but it fell short of something called a proselyte of righteousness, who, in fact, went through the entire Jewish conversion experience, including something that looked a lot like baptism, as well as even for adult men, the act of circumcision, which you can understand maybe why Cornelius didn't take that full step, right?

And if you're a child in the room and you're like, "What does that mean?" Ask your parents afterwards, right?

Now, Cornelius' faith was sincere. It really was. He had limited understanding, but he was fully invested in his limited understanding. And that's particularly significant because there was no social benefit for him worshiping the God of Israel. As a matter of fact, as a Roman soldier, there was likely a social cost to him following the God of Israel. His sphere of influence probably had some thoughts about it.

And so even without full access to the temple and the traditions and rituals of the Jewish people, he pursued this sincere faith.

So one day, during his normal pattern of pursuing God with limited information and knowledge, he was able to pursue the God of Israel. God sent an angel to talk to Cornelius. The angel tells him to send a group of his men to Peter, who's in Joppa, 35 miles away, to have him come back and preach the good news of Jesus to Cornelius.

Cornelius had the wrong pedigree. He had the wrong ethnicity to be the obvious choice for the early church to go out and reach to. But remember, with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. Cornelius is just as loved by God as who we're going to meet next.

Maybe you can relate to that. Maybe you're wondering why the angel didn't just share the good news of Jesus directly with Cornelius. Why not cut out the middleman? Well, there's a reason for that. And that question really introduces us to kind of the next person we'll meet in the story today when we see that the gospel never stops working. Even when you think you've graduated from it, you're hopefully just graduating more into it.

Recently, here at Menlo, we started using some new software on our computers. And it gives these subtle reminders that your computer needs to update its software. And you can kind of just dismiss them like, "Ah, this is not a good time." And over time, those reminders become less subtle.

Eventually, even if you don't want the computer to update, I think it's actually waiting for the worst possible moment. Like you've just started the Zoom call, all your documents are open, everything's great, and the computer's like, "Ha ha, gotcha, should have done it before." And it forces the update, right?

Obviously, it's easy to just keep delaying the inevitable, to keep snoozing it. But I think the gospel can do the same thing. The gospel is not simply the message that saves us, but it's the power that changes us. And it's running under the surface of our faith all the time, whether you realize it or not.

There are updates to our perspectives and to our lives that can feel like subtle reminders and just the kindness of the Lord trying to show us where we have a bias we're unaware of, where there's somebody we're not exhibiting love and care to, where there's a part of our life that we haven't given God access to. And he's just kind of subtly saying, "Hey, what about this? And what about this?" by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And over time, it goes from subtle to less subtle because God loves us. He loves us way too much to let us fit in whatever dysfunction that is.

Simon Peter had been a prominent follower of Jesus during Jesus' earthly ministry, and often he would be the first person to speak up or step out, sometimes to his own detriment. His leadership in the early church was profound, but nearly exclusively focused on helping Jewish people become followers of Jesus.

Well, God was sending this angel to Cornelius, and Peter, who is 35 minutes away in Joppa, is getting a vision of his own. Luke, the author of Acts, records the vision this way: "He fell into a trance 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."

Now, just like with Cornelius, Peter's vision took place during his regular and consistent prayer time, which is such a cool snapshot in parallel. Someone that had tons of religious experience and someone who had much less, someone with lots of information about how to do that, and someone with very little information. Both of them had just set time in their day to talk to God. And if you don't have a time like that, I would say God honors that.

At the core of this illustration that we have in this vision for Peter is a picture about dietary code. For the Jewish people, they followed these codes as a way to stay ceremonially clean for the traditions and rituals of Judaism, particularly within the temple. They took these very, very seriously.

The voice from heaven had called him to kill and eat animals that weren't kosher, that would not have fit within these dietary codes. And so he refuses, only to be told that God had made them clean, that he was free from legalism to grace, that he was allowed to do this. But the problem was he was still living out of the old software of Judaism. He was trying to make it compatible with the grace of Jesus. And it took three times for this to stick.

And we don't totally know why, right? It's worth noting that Jesus predicted that Peter would reject him, deny him three times the night that he was betrayed, and he did. And then when a resurrected Jesus was reunited with him, Jesus asked if he loved him three times.

I think Peter, as we look at this, we go, "Well, what could this have been? Is this like a parallel to Trinitarian theology? Is this a connection to some passage in Psalms about the messianic future predictions made about what Jesus would do? Is this somehow connected to the third day thing when Jesus comes back from the grave?"

Can I be honest with you? I think it might just be that Peter's a slow learner. And I can relate. I don't know, like, I think it's just like, "All right, man, no, no, I mean, I really, really mean it. I really, really mean it." And I hope that gives you encouragement that even if you find yourself like me, a slow learner, God's patient.

God was gracious in giving Peter a preview of what was coming with Cornelius, even if he didn't understand it fully. So when people arrived and invited Peter to go preach, I've gotten some preaching invitations. This one would be the most unique. Peter brought some of his crew with him, and they headed out to go meet Cornelius, this intimidating military Roman officer.

And Peter, he finally connects his vision with this visit when he says this upon meeting Cornelius: "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation." This is one of those things when somebody is trying to say something nice to you, but what they're saying is like very disrespectful and weird. That's what he's doing right here.

"But God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean." To which Cornelius is like, "So you think I'm common and unclean? Got it."

"So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I asked then, why you sent for me?"

The first work of the gospel that we see in this passage is actually in Peter. He grows from faith that is still rooted in legalism to one that is rooted in grace, the undeserved favor of God extended to him by Jesus and through him for everyone.

The dots have finally come together. The dots have finally gotten connected for Peter. For some of us, that's a software update that God still wants to bring to us today.

We assume that our story is way more important or way less significant than other people. Or maybe you have a version of someone that you think that person would be ready to hear the message of Jesus and perhaps be able to align their life to following the ways of Jesus. But don't think they need it or they're too far gone.

Some of you think you've been a Christian since you were born. Like I hear people describe it that way. No one has been a Christian since they were born. That's actually not true. Everyone at some point has to make a decision to be a follower of Jesus.

And so no matter what category you have excluded yourself from, or what category you've excluded someone else from, remember with Jesus, there are no second-class stories. There's nobody whose story is more loved by God. There's no one whose story is forgotten by God. He loves all of us.

Finally, we see something that many Christians believe, but I think we struggle to live like it's true, and that is that the gospel never stops saving.

I grew up in the Midwest, and while lots of people didn't go to church, you kind of just assumed that everyone at some point had heard the message of the gospel, and they had decided not to believe it or not to follow Jesus. It wasn't until we moved to Seattle after grad school that I was in a place where the majority of people had never heard the gospel before ever.

Maybe they knew the word, or they had heard a verse like John 3:16, but that was it. And when I would sit down with people, my assumptions got tested. I remember sitting with a young man who was dating a girl in our student ministry, and we were talking about faith in Jesus. And I realized after sharing this simple gospel message that he had never heard it before.

And so when I asked him if he wanted to follow Jesus, commit his life to him that day, he was instantly committed. He had just never heard it. But here's the thing: my bias, if I would have just let my assumptions drive that day, it would have kept me from sharing because I would have assumed he already knew the message of Jesus and had rejected it.

Here we have Peter who enters the home of Cornelius with lots of assumptions being tested, suggested, and he begins sharing the gospel, the good news of Jesus. And Peter contextualizes the gospel for Cornelius, but he covers these basics: that God shows no partiality, which is obviously very unique, that he's just realizing.

That Jesus came to preach the good news to everybody by the power of the Holy Spirit as he performed miracles and as he was put to death, but God raised him from the dead. And we've been called to share the hope that he offers with all people.

Now, if you're a Christian and you've been one for a while, you might have a bone to pick with this lift from Peter. There might be things that you go, "I'm not sure I would have included that," or "there are some things I would include that he didn't include in how I shared the gospel."

But Peter in this passage is using something that was a pretty common technique at the time. It was definitely common in Judaism, and it was called remez, which means hint in Hebrew. It was this way of using shorthand to communicate ideas or principles where the person you were talking to, you knew that they had some categorical knowledge.

And so you would share something small, and you knew that their experience before that moment could fill in the gaps. So for Peter, he was trying to convince Cornelius that Jesus was the Messiah. Cornelius had a whole bunch of categories about what he thought of as the Messiah. And now, because of these breadcrumbs Peter was giving him, he could connect the dots because God had been preparing Cornelius for years for this moment.

The moment is recorded this way: "While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God."

Then Peter declared, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who 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.

See, this moment is wild, right? Like Peter, he doesn't even get to finish his sermon. He doesn't even get to finish his sermon. He doesn't even get to finish his sermon. He's literally still talking, still communicating the components of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And then all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit falls in this moment in a way that actually we've seen before.

It parallels the day of Pentecost that we studied a few weeks ago in many ways, that God confirmed their understanding and their salvation by giving the gift of the Holy Spirit, having it poured out on them in this unique way that we see, especially in the early church.

And likely, this happened in the early church, but it happened in the early church. And it happened in the early church. And it happened this way for the benefit of Peter and his friends because they did not have a category for this.

See, the Holy Spirit just a little while before this was reserved for kings in the Hebrew scriptures. It was temporary. It was just a handful of people. And then they thought, "Well, if you're a Jewish person and you become a follower of Jesus, then you'll get it." Now everybody that fits that category gets it. And now even Gentiles got to experience this. What a move of God.

You can hear it in his own words, right? Who could ignore or deny God's love and acceptance of these people based on this working of the Holy Spirit? Why would we not baptize them?

Now there are two works of the gospel that we see in this passage: Peter moving from legalism to grace as a foundation for his faith, and Cornelius choosing to follow Jesus as his Lord for the very first time. The gospel saving and working simultaneously and perpetually.

Now there are some people today who God is working on with each of these powerful pictures of hope because there are no second-class stories. However, whichever category you put yourself in, however you think maybe God's done with you, I hope that as you see these, they serve as examples that God is anything but done with you.

God can and will reach your sincere faith with a true hope today. We're seeing this really unique move of God all throughout the Bay Area, where there is sincere faith. Sometimes we call it people being spiritual, right? We're seeing this thing happen where people are reaching the top of the mountain, and they're reaching the top of the mountain, and they're reaching the top of the mountain, or the bottom of the valley, and they're looking for something else, and they're coming with a very sincere faith.

But I would just challenge you that sincere faith is not enough. We can be very sincere and be very wrong at the same time. That actually a sincere faith takes a true hope to go from a sincere faith to a saving faith.

Author Tim Keller puts it this way: "It's not the strength of your faith, but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to a weak faith in a strong branch."

There was no orientation. There was no exam for Cornelius or his friends to get baptized. They went from choosing to follow Jesus to going under the water and coming out of it just like that. It was simply a public statement about a personal decision.

And here's the way that I would break down the gospel for you today. I hope that if you've been at Menlo for any period of time, if somebody was to ask you, "Hey, what do you believe? Like what's the centerpiece of your faith? What's the gospel that you could describe this?" Maybe it would start with what God's done in your life and why it's made such a significant difference or what he's doing right now.

But at the foundation of it, the way that I would describe the gospel, my elevator pitch is that God loves you and he made you with infinite dignity, value, and worth. I know that to be true, no matter what else is true about you, that humanity has chosen to rebel against God, including you. You and me, in our will and in our ways, we deserve judgment as a result of it.

But that God sent his son, Jesus, to save you, that his life, his death, and his resurrection offer the only path of salvation for all people, and that you can choose to make him Lord of your life by following him for the rest of your life.

Well, it will bring you to heaven. It's really about entrance into a forever kingdom, a kingdom that starts right now and never ends with him. That's the gospel.

So in just a second, I'm going to give you a chance to follow Jesus for the first time. And hopefully this passage has shown you that your story is just the kind of story that God can use. And you are the exact kind of person he sent Jesus to save.

As a matter of fact, I would argue with you that your story, as much as you may want to dismiss it, is a perfect story that if you'll let God have access to it, to reach someone else with a story just like yours, or who have never heard God using someone just like you, could reach them.

So we're going to pray a prayer together. It's not a magic spell, but I believe that if you pray this prayer with me, and it represents a commitment to follow Jesus with your life, that you're saved. Not just for someday, but today and every day in the forever kingdom that you were made to live in with him.

If you've been at Menlo for a while, you're familiar with this tradition. But as I pray this prayer, and there are people around you praying it for the first time, if you're a follower of Jesus, would you pray this prayer out loud with me to give confidence to those who are praying it for the very first time?

Let's pray together.

You're ready to get baptized. Seriously. Like, no one's going to twist your arm about it, but some of you have been sensing God's call to make your personal faith public. And it's like the kind of itch that only obedience will scratch.

And you can decide, you can delay. It's like that little software reminder: ignore, ignore, ignore, but it's going to get louder. It's going to get more obvious. And I'm just telling you, like, the best path with God is always immediate obedience. It's the one that comes with peace, even in the midst of uncertainty.

So for some of you, that's the choice that God's calling you to take today. Your campus pastor will give you instructions about where to go and who you can ask more questions of. But like I said, we've done everything we can to remove every barrier possible if that's the call you feel God is calling you to take.

Don't let the fear of people override your reverence for God and the call to spread your faith through the contagious act of baptism.

Menlo Church, your story matters. God loves you, and he's not done with you. God bless.