The early disciples faced a strange dilemma. They thought that salvation was only for the Jews. In Old Testament times, the Jews were the sole people entrusted with the temple, the sacrifices, and the responsibility to evangelize other nations. So when Paul began preaching that salvation was now available to the Gentiles, they had a problem with it. This story of Peter in Acts shows how God reveals things, and gives us guidance.
Acts 11:1-18
1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout
2 And when Peter came up to
3 saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate
with them." (They were shocked that
Peter would associate with people who were not Jews)
4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying,
5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance
I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four
corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, (First, Peter prayed! When there
is no specific command in the Word of God, we should pray about it!)
6 and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I
saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling
creatures and the birds of the air. (This
word really means to concentrate on something.
He considered everything carefully)
7 "I also heard a voice saying to me, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'
8 "But I said, "By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
9 "But a voice from heaven answered a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.'
10 "This happened three times, and everything was drawn
back up into the sky. (Now Peter has some
guidance from God’s word. While I don’t
believe that God speaks directly to men anymore, we still have the complete
Word of God to get guidance from)
11 "And behold, at that moment three men appeared at
the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from
12 "The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man's house.
13 "And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, "Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;
14 and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.'
15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon
them just as He did upon us at the beginning. (Now Peter compares notes with other believers. Basically he says, “the
same thing happened with them.”)
16 "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used
to say, "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.' (Now Peter remembers the Words
that Jesus had spoken to him.)
17 "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He
gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I
could stand in God's way?" (So Peter
takes the Words of God, looks at his circumstances, compares notes with other
believers, and MAKES THE APPLICATION!)
18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
When the disciples faced an issue they did not have an answer to, God gave them guidance through these different ways. If you want the guidance of God in your life, remember this instance of how Peter and the other apostles got God’s guidance. They prayed about it, they listened to the Word of God, they had fellowship and compared notes with other believers God had put into their life, and they took what Jesus had said and applied it to the situation.
I don’t believe there is any circumstance or decision you will face in life that God will not provide an answer for. Our job is to be faithful in listening to the Word of God, and looking for His divine guidance in every situation.