4/4/10 Acts 10
God Raise Him Up
(Ac 10:40)40“God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,
Today is Easter a day that followers of Jesus Christ celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Here near the end of Acts 10 Peter is giving the gospel message to a group of Romans in a town called Caesarea. God spoke to Cornelius a God fearing and praying Roman centurion who lived in Caesarea about a man named Peter in Joppa. Then God speaks to Peter in a vision about concerning clean and unclean animals. Peter is perplexed about what this vision means and as he was pondering what it meant the Spirit then speaks to Peter about three men who are looking for him. Peter asks them what is the reason that they have come. They said Cornelius who is a centurion sent us to find you and has requested that you come to his house in Caesarea and to hear a message from you.
Well what is the message? The message is the gospel. There is an assemble group ready to hear what God has commanded Peter to tell them. He begins with telling them that God is not partial to any and all men are invited to come to God through Jesus Christ. He reminds them of the things they have heard about Jesus that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and how God had anointed Jesus with the Spirit and power after His baptism. How he went on to do good and heal many who were oppressed by the devil.
Peter is an eyewitness of these things that he just described, but he then tells them what they may not have heard that Jesus was put to death on a cross and three days later God had raised him up. God raised Jesus up on the third day and allowed He to be visible to a group of people and they ate and drank with Him. At this time Jesus ordered them to preach to others that He is the One who has been appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead. Peter then tells them that all the prophets’ messages were pointing people to Him. Peter tells them belief and faith in Jesus is where forgiveness of sins is found. During Peter’s message the Holy Spirit fell upon them, meaning that the Spirit convicted them of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). The Holy Spirit also indwelled them and empowered them as evidenced by speaking with tongues and exalting God.
One thing we must learn from this is we, like Peter, are to know the message and to be His witnesses carrying the message to all people without partiality as Peter learned through his vision. If you look at Peter’s message it is not very complex the gospel is simple and we are simply to tell the story of who Jesus is and what He has done. We must remember that we are not the agents to bring conviction of sin. Conviction of sin is a divine work done through the Holy Spirit by the word of God, so we are simply to be messengers just as Peter was here in Acts 10.
Prayer: Father I desire to be obedient to what you have ordered me to do as a follower of Jesus Christ. Help me to hear your voice and make the proper connections to your will in regards to telling the message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead. Thank you Jesus for living a perfect, obedient, and surrendered life that satisfied the Father’s holiness and has brought eternal life to me because you alone have risen from the dead, in name of Jesus who has risen from the dead. Amen.
Chorus:
He is Lord, He is Lord
He is Risen from the dead and He is Lord
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.