SUNDAY - AUGUST 3, 2025 "Two Visions, One Reality" Acts 10:1-16

Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

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Every Bible's this morning will be in Acts, chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

As you turn there, you know you got to love Peter.

You know, throughout Scripture we become almost feels we have this personal connection with Peter, possibly more than any of the other apostles.

I mean, we see Jesus call Peter on the banks of the Sea of Galilee.

We see Peter follow Jesus.

We see him be brash, we see him be bold, we see him fail.

We see him walk on water to Jesus, but then we see him also sink.

We see Peter stand.

He is the one when Jesus asked the apostles who do people say that I am?

It's Peter that says you are the Christ, the son of the living God, who then a few hours later, completely denies even knowing Jesus.

We see Peter at the end of the Gospels reconcile with Jesus and find forgiveness and reconciliation.

At the end of the Gospels.

Then, when we come to Acts, we see almost a different Peter, a change in Peter.

Peter boldly goes and he boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

We see Peter heal people and we see him.

But as he proclaims, boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ at the beginning of Acts, it's only to the Jews that he is doing this.

But then in Acts, chapter 8, we saw Philip go to Samaria and proclaim the gospel.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

When we see Samaritans who receive salvation, and we see Peter and John go to Samaria and behold the work of the Holy Spirit and understand that it is the Holy Spirit who is working, so we see Peter lay hands on the Samaritans and pray for them and then receive the Holy Spirit.

Then, as we come to our chapter today, we find that Peter is beginning to understand that this, the salvation that he is proclaiming, and the fact that Jesus is the Christ, is not just for the Jews, nor it is for the just, for the Samaritans, but it is for the just for the Samaritans, but it is for all people.

He begins to understand what God has made clean.

He should not call common.

In our passage today, we're going to see that God advanced his kingdom by beginning to change both Cornelius and Peter's hearts through visions.

You say, grant, that's great, but how does this affect us?

Because I don't know about you, I've not received a vision like Cornelius or Peter has received.

So what are we supposed to do?

Well, I think what we're supposed to do is take these visions and see what they learned from these visions and figure out how that application applies to us.

And so what we can see is that God's kingdom has always been intended for all ethnicities, including you, including you.

The plan has always been before the foundation of time, that he includes everyone in this call, and so where the challenge for us, then, is that we need to learn to trust in God's plan.

We trust in the plan that he has had from way before the beginning for salvation.

So we do this by answering these questions today.

What did the two visions that we're going to look at today, what did they reveal to us about God's plan?

So let's read this morning, if you are able, I invite you to stand with us as we give honor to the reading of God's Word from Acts, chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

We're going to start in verse 1 and we're going to read down through verse 16.

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 the people and prayed continually to God.

About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him Cornelius, and he stared at him in terror and said what is it, lord?

And he said to him God called.

He called not God.

He called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him and, having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa 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.

He became hungry and wanted something to eat.

But while they were preparing it, 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 to him rise, peter, kill and eat.

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 times and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Let's pray together, god.

We thank you for today.

We thank you once again for this opportunity that we have to open your word and explore the riches of your word, and we pray that today our lives are changed because the way that you have revealed yourself to us through this great word.

We love you, jesus.

It's in your name we pray, amen.

So, again, the question that we are seeking to answer is is how did these two visions reveal God's plan?

Well, let's start with the first vision.

The first vision came to a man named Cornelius, and so for us to understand the vision, let's even understand, before we get to the vision, a little bit about Cornelius.

We don't know a whole lot about him.

Here's some things we do know about him.

He was a centurion, which meant he was a soldier.

So so a roman legion would have consisted of about 6 000 roman soldiers.

Those 6 000, that legion would have been divided into cohorts.

Okay, uh, would have been divided into cohorts of about 6 000, not 6, about 600 soldiers in a cohort, and then those would be divided up even further and centurions would be over about a hundred men.

So, Cornelius, he was a soldier, but he was not just a regular soldier, he was an officer who would have been in charge of about a hundred soldiers, and one thing we need we know about centurions is because they weren't a regular soldier, they would have been paid more than a regular soldier.

So what we can probably figure out from here about about Cornelius is that he was wealthy.

He was a wealthy soldier who lived in Caesarea.

Now, this Caesarea there there are two Caesareas in Israel this Caesarea would have been the Caesarea which was out on the Mediterranean Sea, which would have really been Caesarea which was out on the Mediterranean Sea, which would have really been where all the Roman officials they actually would have lived, probably in Caesarea and traveled to Jerusalem when they needed to do governmental business, but they lived in Caesarea.

It was a nicer city, it was on the coast, and so the the population of Caesarea was was probably mostly Roman.

There would have been have been, some Jewish parts of the city, but it was mostly Roman city.

Something else we know about him, though, is that he was a devout man.

It tells us right there, in verse 2, he was a devout man, and here's what it tells us about him he feared God with all his household, he gave alms generously to the people and he prayed continually to God.

So we know he was a devout man.

But then we come to the vision.

So in this vision, we come to the vision.

So in this vision, cornelius is there and God speaks to him.

Cornelius, he speaks to him and says actually, an angel comes to him and speaks to him and says, cornelius, and it scares him to death.

And he says what is it, lord?

And he tells him hey, god's heard your prayers, god's seen all of the things that you are doing.

Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to send somebody to Joppa.

There's a man named Simon there.

He's staying with another man named Simon there.

I want you to send, I want you to go get him, I want you to bring him back and I want you to listen to what he says.

And here's what's interesting about this.

And here's what's interesting about this he does it.

He hears the word from the angel, he listens to the word from the angel, he obeys the words of the angel and he sins for a Jew to come and help him.

Now, let's understand something about this.

He is a wealthy Roman soldier.

Most people in Cornelius' position would have scoffed at the idea that they are going to receive help from a Jew.

But he hears the word and he obeys the word and he sins for Peter.

God is changing his heart, he is working in his heart.

Second vision that we see here is from Peter.

Again, let's understand a little bit about Peter and a little bit about who Peter is.

We know this just as review.

Peter was one of the 12 apostles.

We've already talked about how God called Peter on the Sea of Galilee, and he said Peter, follow me and I will make you a fisher of men Not a fisher of fish, but a fisher of men.

Follow me, and Peter did.

He went with Jesus.

What we see here, though, is interesting.

It's back in chapter 9.

In chapter 9, verse 43, the chapter.

It ends like this he says this, and he that's Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with one, simon a tanner.

Now listen, in this move where Peter is staying with Simon the tanner, god is already starting to move Peter in the direction that he wants him to go.

Here's how we know this Simon is a tanner.

What does that mean?

It means he's working with dead animal skins all the time, which basically means he is perpetually unclean.

For a Jew, simon is always unclean, and so Peter is going to the house of someone who is always unclean, he's always dirty, he's always ritually and ceremonially impure.

But God is already working in Peter's life.

He is already showing him that what God has made clean we should not call common.

Then we find Peter in verse 9.

He is praying the next day as they were on their journey.

That's the men that Cornelius sent.

Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

So we see Peter and who he is and what he was doing and where he was.

So now let's look at his vision and what he sees.

Peter gets hungry as he is praying and he falls into a trance and the heavens open and this sheet is lowered down from the heavens, being held by the four corners.

Now understand this.

Luke here, who is writing this, and Peter, who probably described this to Luke, is using very human language to describe this vision.

Is it actually hands lowering a sheet down?

I don't know.

It says something like a sheet.

He's doing the best he can to describe it and it comes down, and here on this sheet are all kinds of animals, all kinds of clean animals, all kinds of unclean animals, all of these different animals that and we know that the Jews have very strict dietary laws.

We know that there are things that they can eat.

There's things that they can eat.

The things they can't eat.

There's things that they can they eat.

There's things they can't eat.

There's things they can touch.

There's animals that they can't even touch, they can't even go to and put their hands on.

We understand that they have these things.

So now, when Peter he sees this and the sheet falls, god speaks to Peter and he says Arise Peter, peter, kill and eat.

Now.

Peter, being the Jew that he was, he didn't like the sound of that.

God, I've never, I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean.

I, how could you call me to do this, god?

I've never done that.

I'm not going to do it.

I'm not going to do it.

And again, I know I've read this verse already and said this, but hear what God says to him again In verse 15.

What God has made clean, do not call common.

Three times they have this interaction Arise Peter, kill and eat God.

No, peter, don't call anything common that I've made clean.

Peter, arise, no, god, I've never done it.

What I've made clean, do not call common.

So now, as he ends, he's awakened from this trance, as these men that Cornelius sent, and I know we didn't read this, but as you come to verse 17, these men show up at the door, he says Now, while Peter, inwardly, was perplexed as to what the vision he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate.

Here's what we can know from this.

We'll look at these men coming.

We'll look at that more next week.

Here's what we can know from this.

We'll look at these men coming.

We'll look at that more next week.

But here's what we can understand from this.

The fact that the men that this Roman centurion sent to Peter to find Peter, and the fact that they showed up at the gate the same time Peter came out of this trance, it tells us something about the vision.

It tells us something that Jesus vision.

It tells us something that this vision that Peter had was more than you can eat these foods.

Now, if we look at this vision and say this vision now, it means that Jews can eat unclean animals and that's all we gain from it.

We've missed the point of the vision.

The is bigger than this, it's deeper than this, and we know that.

We can understand that because these men, sent by this roman centurion, show up at the gate.

At the same time, peter is coming out of the trance.

So now we we come to the question if it's more than just now, they can eat whatever.

What is it?

See, we've had two visions.

We've had two visions One, the vision of Cornelius, who is opening Cornelius' world to something bigger than himself, cornelius' world to something bigger than himself.

And now we have the vision of Peter that is opening Peter's world to something bigger than what he has known.

We have two visions that point us to one reality.

For us to understand that reality, we really need to go back to the Old Testament.

We need to go back to the story of Abraham.

In Genesis, chapter 12, god comes to Abraham.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

At that time he was Abram, and here's what he says in Genesis 12.

Let's read Genesis 12, 1 through 3.

Here's what he says in Genesis 12.

Let's read Genesis 12, 1 through 3.

Now the Lord said to Abram Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse.

And then you, all the families of the earth, shall be blessed.

God has come to Abram and he has entered into a covenant relationship with Abram and he says listen, abram, if you will obey me, if you'll follow me and let me be your God, here's what's going to happen.

I'm going to give you land, a great amount of land.

I'm going to give you descendants.

You're going to become.

Your descendants are going to grow into a great nation.

And thirdly, he says this because of your descendants are going to grow into a great nation.

And thirdly, he says this because of your descendants, the world will be blessed.

All the families of the earth will be blessed.

Even as we go back as far back to Genesis, chapter 12, we see that God is working not just for the Jewish people.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

We see that God is working for all the families on the earth.

Then, as we move to Genesis, chapter 15, it's interesting what happens in Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention Genesis 15 · chapter mention

We'll read a lengthy passage here.

We're going to read the first 11 verses and then we're going to skip down and read verses 17 through 21.

But understand here's kind of what's happening.

It is a covenant ceremony.

This is a ceremony where God enters with Abram and it is a ceremony that is a sealing of the covenant.

That's saying this thing is really happening.

It's like when you go and you buy a house and you go and you have to sign 857 documents, sign your name on all of those things to close it out, and it's done and you walk out with that pit in your stomach because you think how long am I going to be paying for this thing?

This is a ceremony similar to that where they, they go and they, they seal the covenant.

So here's what we find in genesis, chapter 15 after these things, the word of the lord came to abram in a vision.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

Fear not, abram, I am your shield.

Your reward shall be very great.

But abram said oh, lord, god.

But Abram said O Lord, god, what will you give me?

For I continue childless and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus.

And Abram said Behold, you have given me no offspring and a member of my household will be my heir.

Behold, the word of the Lord came to him.

This man shall not be your heir.

Your very own son shall be your heir.

And he brought him outside and said Look toward the heaven and number the stars.

If you are able to number them, then he said to him so shall your offspring be.

And he believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness.

So here's what's happening, abraham.

He's doubting the covenant at this point.

God, you told me you're going to give me descendants.

I don't even have one.

My servant, who's not even related to me, is going to get all of my inheritance.

Are you sure about this?

God Heard that question before God.

You sure about this before God?

You sure about this?

God says hey, take it easy, Go look at the stars.

Can you count them?

You can't even count them.

That's what your descendants are going to be like.

And Abraham believed God.

So now, as we come into verse seven, we see the beginning of the covenant ceremony.

And he said to him I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.

And he said O Lord, god, how am I to know that I shall possess it?

And he said to him bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle dove and a young pigeon, and he brought him all these and cut them in half and laid each half over against the other.

But he did not cut the birds in half.

And when the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, abraham drove them away.

Let's read verse 12 too.

And the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram and, behold, a dreadful and great darkness fell on him.

Now skip down to verse 17.

And when the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying to your offspring, I give this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the land of the Kenizzites, the land of the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Raphaim, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.

Listen, this ceremony was a ceremony that would have been similar to a traditional covenant sealing when men enter into a covenant.

Here's the difference.

In this covenant, though, and in this ceremony, Usually, when they passed through the carcasses, it would have been both parties passing through.

It's not what we find here?

We find one.

This covenant is not sealed between man and God.

It is sealed by God.

God is doing the work.

God is going to see this covenant come through.

God is going to make sure that all of this is happening.

God is working here and it is his covenant.

This covenant is not going to be dependent upon Abraham and upon his descendants obeying God.

Thank goodness this covenant is going to take place because God is not just the Jews, and what we see in these visions from Peter and Cornelius is it's now taking place.

What we see in the visions of Cornelius and Peter are the words of Jesus.

Listen, I say it every week.

Y'all got tired of me telling you why John was written.

You're gonna get tired of this one too.

What I tell you almost every week, what we see happening in Acts 1, verse 8, we see it happening here.

Acts 1:8

And you will receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in jerusalem and in judea and on all judea and samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

It's taking place, it's happening and God is opening us up and Peter and he's changing Cornelius' heart to see this happening and he's changing Peter's heart to see this happening and he's moving in their lives so they can understand and so they can start working the way and spreading the gospel not just to the Jews.

And understanding that the gospel is not just to the Jews and understanding that the gospel is not just for the Jews, that it is for all people, there are two visions to show us one reality that God has always been working for the salvation of all people.

So what does this mean for us?

What do we learn from this?

This is what I think we learn.

We need to understand that same reality that God has been working and he will continue to work for the salvation of all people.

Listen to me, including you.

Paul tells us in Ephesians, chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Again, a lengthy passage, but I think Paul probably says it better than me.

In Ephesians 1, starting in verse 3, paul writes this blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

How was gonna?

What was God?

What was the part of the promise to Abraham?

You will be a blessing to all people.

Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.

Listen to verse 4.

Even as he chose us in him when, before the foundation of time, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him, in love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as through, as sons, through jesus christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved Verse 7,.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us with all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on the earth.

Hear that message that God, before the foundation of the world, God had a plan to redeem his people.

He had a plan to bring redemption to us.

That plan was he knew that we would fail.

He knew that we would sin.

He knew what even happened back in Adam.

He told Adam and Eve hey, one of your descendants is going to crush the head of the serpent.

He knew it was going to happen before the foundation of the world.

And he set a plan in motion before the foundation of the world to bring salvation not just to the Jews, but to bring salvation to all people.

In his wisdom, in his insight, he sent Jesus to live a perfect life, to die on the cross, to arise so that we could be redeemed, so that we could be bought back from the sin that we had committed, so that he could restore us.

And it was a plan before the foundation of the world.

So now I hear people tell me all the time Grant, there's got to be more to it.

You're telling me that to be saved, to have a relationship with God, all I have to do is believe in him.

There's got to be more to it.

Please hear me say this there is absolutely more to it.

It is a plan that has been set place before the foundation of the world, and God has been working this plan and working this plan.

And he sent Jesus to die for your sins and to arise so he can offer you salvation.

He sent Jesus to do this, and now Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you.

So that now, so that now he has done all the work.

Now all you have to do is believe.

That's all that's in it.

That's all that we have to do.

All we have to do is believe.

But there is absolutely more to it.

But it's not due on us.

It's not more that we have to do, it's more that god has already done.

So all we have to do is believe, and he has been working this before the foundation of the world.

So here's what you need to hear.

If you have never believed in Jesus Christ, understand this.

Before the foundation of the world, god set a plan in motion for all those that he has called.

Listen, all you have to do is believe.

He died for your sin in a plan that God put forth Before the foundation of the world.

That's how much you're loved.

That's the length and the depth and the width and the height that God has gone For your salvation.

Before the foundation of the world, he planned to send his son to die and arise for you.

All you have to do is believe.

And for those of us who have believed, who have trusted, listen.

Here's the challenge, for as life gets hard, as life bears down, and in those days where we don't feel saved, we just have to believe that before the foundation of the world.

God thought of me and he sent Jesus to save me.

He loves me so much and now I am a sinner, saved by grace, and the call for me now is just to walk in that grace, to obey him and walk in that grace.

To obey him and walk in that grace.

We're about to enter into a time of invitation.

I'm going to pray for us and we'll stand and sing, listen this morning.

If you have never trusted in Christ as your Savior, oh, I pray that today is the day of salvation.

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I pray that you recognize the lengths that God has gone to to redeem you and you will believe in Him If you have.

If you have, but you are not walking in that grace, oh, I pray that today will be a day of repentance and confession for you, that you will come and, as John tells us, we will confess our sins, because he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and we will walk with him.

Let me pray for us.

God, I love you.

Thank you for this opportunity that we have, the invitation that we have to trust in you, to believe in you.

God, may we understand the length, the width, the depth, the height of your love, to know that, from before the foundation of the world, you set in motion this plan for our salvation.

To redeem us, god, move and work, as only you can Draw us to you, jesus.

It's in your name we pray, amen.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

Amen.