CONTACTS: God Reaches Out
Introduction: God is still at Work
Today we continue our journey through the book of Acts. For the past several weeks we have been seeing God show up, literally, in peoples lives. God shows up not just for the seemingly special people, but He shows up in all kinds of peoples lives. This was trus throughout the book of Acts and is still true today. God wants to literally show up in your life today. This may or may not be physically, but I believe God shows up by speaking to us, we may have dreams or visions, He can show up through miracles, or in simple conversation.
John 5:17 God is always working God has a plan for His creation. You are His creation. God is working to redeem you.
He wants you to be brought fully to the plan that He has for your life.
Acts 1:8 God is working in you and through you. He wants to work through You. You are purposed to be a witness (one who has
experienced and one who can speak of) the good work of God.
Acts 2:17–18 God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. God's plan that was revealed at Pentecost is for their to be CONTACT with the Holy
Spirit on all flesh.

Acts 2:39 This promise is for YOU.
My prayer is that this will resonate again and again in your heart. This promise is for you. God desires to have you be a part of His wonderful plan. He is at work to make things right, to bring justice and mercy to His creation. You are a part of the plan. He wants you to be a recipient and conduit of His grace.
This is bigger than you.God has called you to a task that is more than you can handle. But He gives the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10 God's work is inclusive!
In Acts 10 we are introduced to Cornelius. He is identified as a centurion of the Italian cohort (NIV, “regiment”). A centurion was a noncommissioned officer who had worked his way up through the ranks to take command of a group of soldiers within a Roman legion, and would therefore be roughly equivalent to a captain today. A cohort was a tenth of a Roman legion and numbered anywhere from three hundred to six hundred men in size, being officially always the latter.
Cornelius is stationed at Caesarea. The place of his residence is of some importance, since Caesarea was from a.d. 6 the provincial capital and place of residence of the Roman governor. Unlike Lydda and Joppa, which were mainly inhabited by Jews, Caesarea was a Hellenistic-style city with a dominant population of Gentiles.
Corneliuswas "a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God." (vs 2) God saw Cornelius. He knew that Cornelius was earnestly seeking God, but the gospel had not yet come to him.
Get the picture here. Cornelius is living in "the Holy Land". The city where he was stationed was more Greco/Roman than other cities. Jews were a minority here, nonetheless. Cornelius is seeking to follow in the ways of God. He is however outside the covenant. But God sees Cornelius, and God will work to bring the one who is outside the covenant into the plan of God.
I want you to hear the heart of God. If you feel like you are outside the covenant God is actively earnestly at work to bring you good news. Today can be the day that you are brought into the plan of God.
Yohanna Katanacho's story of God bringing someone in the plan of
God.
Palestinian Christian, Yohanna Katanacho's life is a journey through the most well known places of the New Testament. Born in Jerusalem, married in Nazareth to Dina, an Israeli Christian from Galilee, Yohanna is now on the faculty of Bethlehem Bible College. His story is one of a man utterly changed by Jesus. Yohanna's birth into a Roman Catholic home in Jerusalem came during the height of the battles for the land of Israel. He has lived his life in the midst of the very complicated and violent struggle between Palestinians and Israelis. During this time, nearly 15% of the Palestinian population was Christian, a number that has fallen to less than 3% as most Palestinian Christians have emigrated to other nations because of the fighting. His childhood home was on
the historical "Via Dolorosa"—the way of the cross—almost exactly at station

Acts 10:3 Angelic Messenger
God sent an angelic messenger to Cornelius. I would probably have the same response as Cornelius. vs 4 says He stared at him in terror. The angel explains to Cornelius that God has received the prayer and the gifts to the poor that Cornelius had offered.
number eight of the Stations of the Cross. Though geographically close to the physical site of the crucifixion, Yohanna was nevertheless very distant from the God whose son died there. In spite of a period of adolescent rebellion and the ongoing fighting in his land, Yohanna entered the university in Jerusalem to study chemistry, blessed as he was with a good mind. Convinced that God did not exist, he became a leader within the atheist student movement, arguing that religion—particularly Christianity—was a bad thing and stood in the way of humanistic progress.
It was then that the Lord got Yohanna's attention in a very powerful way—a way he could not ignore. Awakened one night at 3:00 AM by the ringing of church bells in Jerusalem, a strange air began to penetrate his body and he found himself paralyzed, unable to move his arms or legs. Attempting to struggle, he could neither move nor shout for help. After nearly two hours of effort, he finally surrendered, saying, "O Lord, if this is You, free me and I promise to look for You!" Almost immediately, he began to move again, got up, drank some water and returned to bed. By the next day, the thought of arguing that God does not exist struck fear in his heart, as did even walking in dark places. Puzzled and confused, he began to search earnestly for God.
Although interested in Bible study, he still struggled with the idea of eternal judgment and thought God to be unfair. It was at a "revival" meeting in Jerusalem where the words, "You are a sinner" made him face his own sinful heart and his need for a savior. Yet, even then, his scientifically trained mind still remained unconvinced. It was during that same meeting, when the preacher encouraged him to give his heart to the Lord that he decided to take a step of faith, despite his doubts. Yohanna says he told God, "You can have my heart, but you’ll have yet to convince my mind."
Over the coming weeks, Yohanna had three vivid dreams that painted a radical picture of the grace of Christ. In the final one, he looked up into the face of the Savior who carried him through danger and felt an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility. He also realized that trusting in Christ meant relying fully on His grace. Yohanna heard the Lord say, "If you want to follow me with your own efforts, you will lose me. You cannot keep grasping at my garment. If you are in Christ, then I will carry you." It was during this time that Christ won his mind as well as his heart. Convinced of the Savior's authenticity by God's grace, Yohanna surrendered fully to his Lord. Yohanna's life continued to change dramatically.
Cornelius follows the angel's instructions and sends three men to Joppa to find Peter who is at the Simon, the tanner's house.

Acts 10:9–16 A Hungry Vision
The next day when the men from Cornelius's house were approaching Joppa at about noon Peter was praying on the housetop roof. He was hungry and fell into a trance and had a vision about food. I love this because God uses the circumstances of Peter's life to reveal His vision.
God uses the circumstances of life to contextualize His vision and His plan to include people in the Kingdom of God. I pray that your hunger might be turned to the purpose and plan of God.
It was beyond thought for a Jew who had kept the kosher laws of faith to consider eating what was offered on a sheet from heaven. But God said: look I am doing something that might be different from what you thought was appropriate.
This begs the question as to what is true holiness. God wants us to be holy, which many times is defined as being separate. When Peter would go to Cornelius's house he said that it was thought inappropriate for a Jew to go to the house of a Gentile. Let me help you in this with the following thought. True holiness must be defined by the compassionate heart of God. Our compassion, love and acceptance of people should be what set's us apart as holy.

Acts 10:34–38 God shows no favoritism
Acts 10:34–38 (NLT) 34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. 38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
These are such huge statements.
1. God shows no favoritism.
2. In every nation God accepts those who do what is right
3. The Good News of Jesus will bring peace to Israel.
I could spend a great deal of time on each of these points, but let me just focus on the thought. Peace will come to your heart and your life when you join in the heart of God to bring God's message of love and acceptance to all people. God is interested in making you and me agents of His grace to all people. I pray that this message will resonate in your heart.

Acts 10:44–48 Messed Up So Right
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers* who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues* and praising God.
Then Peter asked, 47 “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.
I love this for so many reasons. God messes with every persons system here. For those who weren't sure where the Gentiles stood as far as the plan of God. They are accepted. Even in this day for those who aren't sure if the Holy Spirit is for everyone, whoops!. For those who think they have the schedule all figured out. You get saved, baptized in water and then you are filled with the Spirit. Whoops! For those who think the key is laying on of hands, whoops. God will not be restricted.
My prayer is that you will be messed up by God. 1. That you will know His compassion and His desire for the good news to be
flowing through you to all people. 2. I pray that we will rely on simple obedience, not our preconceived ideas of
how God can work. 3. I pray that you will be a full participant in God's plan, that the Holy Spirit might
be fully operating in your life. 4. I pray that the Holy Spirit will not wait for us to say it is time, but that He will
move in His time and in His own sweet way.