Section 4: "God opens Doors" [9:32]

Review of Outline of Acts

Once again, this new move is totally driven by the Holy Spirit.

• Door to the Gentiles
• Peter’s prison doors!

4.1 Peter raises the dead

• Show video clip of Peter—raises the dead [9:32-43]
• 9:40 Notice the order in which Peter does things
  • What do you think he prayed?
    • Is it always God’s will to raise the dead?
    • immediately?
    • He wanted to make sure he was hearing God perfectly?
    • story of John Welch
    • Sam Storms idea of levels of faith, from general belief to a supernatural knowledge of what God is going to do
  • Is there a progress in the signs and wonders?
• Miracles in Acts
  • see chart

4.2 Salvation comes to the Gentiles

• Show video clip of Cornelius [10:1-11:18]
• 10:11 Why do you think that God did not just speak a straight command to Peter?
  • very vivid!!
  • God seems to like to stretch us
  • we can easily underestimate what a big step this was for any Jew
• 10:17 Have you ever had “timing” be significant in your life?

Gospel comes to the Gentiles

• Notice that Peter is still preaching!!
• He is so shocked, especially since the manifestations are exactly the same as on the day of Pentecost
  • 11:15, 11:17
• 11:1 The story is repeated almost exactly. Why?

4.3 A church is planted in Antioch

• Show video clip [11:19-30]
• 11:19 First major church plant: what do we learn about planting churches?
  • church interdependence & kingdom values
  • But not control of one church by another
• 11:28 First example of major prophetic gifting
  • why is this little story important?
    • It shows how a love-bond was forming between the Gentile and Jewish churches
    • The Spirit-driven gift of prophecy enabled this love gift
    • The character of N.T. prophecy is very different to O.T.
      • O.T. prophets were like John the Baptist, an “ultimatum” from God, repent or be destroyed
      • Paul tells us that the N.T. prophet is to build up and edify (1 Cor 14)
      • Another example of prophetic gifting in Acts 15:32

4.4 Peter freed from prison

• Show video clip of Peter [12:1-25]
• 12:6 Peter was sleeping!
• 12:9 Wow! Peter must have frequently experienced “open visions”
• 12:25 completes 11:30 (bookends)
  • the focus now shifts, with this verse, from Jerusalem to Antioch
  • Sets us up for the rest of the book

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Response time

• You tell me what the Holy Spirt is saying to you in these passages?
• All of us have blind-spots and areas of immaturity in our understanding
  • Even Spirit-filled Peter needed a massive mind-change
  • We must always be willing to be challenged out of our mode of doing things
  • pray that you never feel you have arrived
  • pray that you will always be humble and willing to learn
• Let us ask God to open our eyes and our hearts to his new purposes and directions