Pastor Joshua wraps up the Listen sermon series to discuss how the Lord speaks through visions and how we are supposed to be open to listening to how God paints a picture for us.
John 10:27 (NIV)
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
Revelation 2:7 (NIV)
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches…
Acts 10:1–6 NLT
In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-
fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.
Principle: God is more concerned about the posture of your heart than the story of your past.
Principle: Our identity is in Christ.
Principle: When your identity changes, your hearing changes.
James 2:26 NKJV
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Principle: Faith produces action, and action creates spiritual momentum.
Principle: Faithful obedience positions your heart to recognize the voice of God.
Acts 10:9–21 NLT
The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he
was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”
But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” The same vision was repeated three times.
Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there. Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.” So Peter went downstairs…
Isaiah 43:19 NIV
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Principle: Sometimes before you can walk into something new, you need to SEE it first.
Principle: God’s voice will often connect you to your next assignment.
Principle: Don’t miss your connection.
Acts 10:24–27 NLT
They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!” So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.
Principle: Faith gets ready for what God said.
Principle: Your obedience will open the door for someone else’s encounter.
What can we learn about Visions from Acts 10?
- God Can Speak to Anyone
- Identity Determines Your Hearing
- Actions Matter
- Sometimes a Picture is Needed
- God is Making Connections
- Be Ready and Be Responsive
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