Mt. Zion Church of the Holy Spirit - Sermons
And Peter Went Up Upon the Housetop to Pray
Acts 10: 9-16, “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance. And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein there were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, ‘What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.’ This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven."
The first truth that I want us to see is that up to this point Peter is a man mightily used by God. In Acts 2, Peter preaches the first sermon after the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon the church, and three thousand souls are saved. In Acts 3, Peter heals the lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful. In Acts 5, many sick people were laid in the streets upon beds and couches, and as Peter’s shadow fell upon them, they were healed. In Acts 8, Peter lays his hands upon the Samaritan believers and they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 9, Peter heals Aeneas and many see it and turn to the Lord. Again, in Acts 9, Peter raises Tabitha from the dead and it was known throughout all of Joppa. As a result, many turned to the Lord.
Prior to Acts 10, Peter was used powerfully by the Lord, where many were saved, healed and delivered through his ministry.
IN ACTS 10, GOD WANTED TO USE PETER’S LIFE IN AN EVEN GREATER MEASURE; GOD WANTED TO EXPAND PETER’S MINISTRY AND CAUSE HIM TO HAVE AN EVEN GREATER IMPACT UPON THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Here is what we have to see: before God could use him in a greater measure, God had to deal with something in his heart. There was something in his heart that was hindering the Lord from using him in a greater way. What was it? Looking closely at this story in Acts 10, we clearly see a prejudice in Peter’s heart toward the Gentiles, which God had to deal with. When we read through the Book of Acts, we see that Peter was the first missionary and evangelist to the Gentiles, but before he could reach out to them, God had to deal with this area of prejudice and change his heart. Often, when God wants to use us in a greater measure, He has to do a deeper work in our hearts. I believe there are many in the body of Christ that God wants to use in a greater way. He desires to place a greater spiritual authority upon their lives so they can have a greater impact upon His Kingdom, but He needs to do a deeper work in their hearts first.
LET US LOOK AT THIS STORY IN ACTS 10 AND LET GOD’S WORD SPEAK TO OUR HEARTS.
Acts 10:9, “...Peter went up upon the housetop to pray.” Peter understood the necessity of spending time alone with God in prayer. He had learned it from Jesus when He walked with the Lord on the earth as a disciple. Peter had woken up mornings and found that Christ had risen up early to go to a place of prayer, and he had seen Jesus when the shadows of dusk were in descent slip away from His disciples to go up into a mountain to pray. Peter had learned from Christ that prayer was not just a religious duty, but God truly had a voice and spoke and communed with His people in prayer.
I know in the body of Christ there are mighty people of prayer, people who are faithful to go to that secret place and seek the face of the Lord. I also know that because they pray, they have a depth in God, and that God’s presence and glory rests upon their life.
As I was reading Acts 10:9, the Lord spoke to me something from this verse. Acts 10:9 says that “Peter went up upon the housetop to pray.” From this verse the Lord spoke this truth to my heart: “I am calling my people up to a higher place of prayer. I am calling them to a deeper consecration to prayer.”
The Psalmist said in Psalm 43, “Deep calleth unto deep.” The deep places of God’s heart are always calling His people to a deeper place in Him; no matter how far we go in God, He is always calling us deeper. To get to that deeper place in Him involves a deeper work in the heart. God is calling His people to a higher place of prayer, because there are things in the heart He has to deal with to bring us into that deeper place in Him. Often, as we see in Acts 10, when we reach that deeper place in Christ, He is able to use our life in a greater capacity.
Verses 10a, “And he became very hungry and would have eaten.” God aroused Peter’s physical hunger because He was going to use it to show Peter something in His heart. Meditating upon this, the Lord spoke clearly to my heart that He is stirring up a hunger in the hearts of His people, a hunger to go deeper in God, a hunger for the life of Christ to fill them in a greater capacity, a hunger to be used for the glory of God. God has stirred this hunger in our hearts because He is ready to deal with some issues. God has put that hunger in our hearts so there would be a cry within us that says, “Oh God! I want you to deal with the issues of my heart! I am so hungry for you and so hungry for Christ to be formed in me! Whatever you have to deal with and uproot, do it Lord, because I am so hungry for more of Jesus!”
UNDERSTAND: WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY FOR CHRIST’S LIFE TO BE FORMED IN YOU, WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY TO BE USED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD IN A GREATER MEASURE, THE DEALINGS OF GOD ARE NOT A GRIEVOUS THING. THEY ARE LIKE FOOD TO YOUR SOUL, SATISFYING THAT HUNGER.
Beloved, when God puts a hunger in your soul for more of Christ, more of His life, more of His glory, the dealings of God are like giving bread to a starving man. The dealings of God are so satisfying to the heart. Though the trials and the dealings are hard on the flesh, you can just sense that God is doing a deep work in your heart, and it is so satisfying to the soul.
LET US ASK A QUESTION: WHEN GOD DESIRES TO DO A DEEPER WORK IN OUR HEART, WHY DOES HE FIRST AROUSE THIS GREAT HUNGER WITHIN US?
When you are hungry, there is no room for pride! If our hearts are truly not hungry for a deeper impartation of Christ’s life then pride will pick and choose what areas in our life God can expose and deal with.
I have seen this so plainly in people’s lives. Because they were not hungry and needy in heart when God began to put His finger on something in their hearts, pride would rise up and cause that heart to become stubborn and to stubbornly refuse what God was trying to expose and get at. When this happens, instead of repenting and allowing God to uproot it out of our hearts, we justify these issues. When we justify these issues, the sad thing is that we become captivated by these issues. We become captivated by our jealousy and envy. We become captivated by our anger and spitefulness. We become captivated by our self-pity and hopelessness. When we justify these issues, the tragedy is this: we keep right on praying, “Oh God, search my heart! Oh God, purify my heart! Oh God, I want to be used for your glory,” but we are not really yielding and letting God deal with the issues that He is after.
CONTINUING ON WITH ACTS 10...
Verses 10 & 11a, “and he became very hungry and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened…”
When our hearts are truly hungry and humble before the Lord the wonderful news is that we are given an open heaven. What is this open heaven? It is an open channel in our heart that grace can freely flow through to work in and change our hearts. Hallelujah!
I WANT TO SHOW YOU ANOTHER PICTURE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE AN OPEN HEAVEN.
Zechariah 4: 1-7, “And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof. And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these my Lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying Grace, grace, unto it.'"
Let me briefly explain what is going on in this passage of scripture: God has delivered the children of Israel out of Babylonian exile and Zerubbabel was chosen by God to do the impossible task of taking the temple ruins that were lying in the ashes in Jerusalem and rebuilding and restoring the temple. The Lord knows that the task is humanly impossible, so He has a word of hope for Zerubbabel and He gives His prophet Zachariah a vision. In this vision Zachariah sees a candlestick with seven lamps. Beside the candlestick are two olive trees supplying the candlestick with oil. Then the angel tells the prophet, "This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.’” What God is telling Zerubbabel is that this work He has put before him is not going to be accomplished by the strength of the flesh, but God is going to anoint Him with His Spirit to perform and finish the work.
Then verse 7 goes on to say, “Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” Beloved, this is what it means to have an open heaven: once grace has begun its work, nothing can withstand it. There is no mountain that can stand up within our hearts and in our lives when God pours His grace out upon it, when God sets His mind to do a work in these areas of our hearts. Peter’s mountain of prejudice could no longer stand in his heart when God began to speak to it. When there is a hunger stirring inside of our hearts, it simply means God is getting ready to level some mountains in our lives! Hallelujah!
Again, verse 7 says, “and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, ‘Grace, grace unto it.’” In Bible times, when a solid structure was being built there were two key stones, the foundational stone (cornerstone) which was laid when the work was begun, and the headstone which was placed when the work was finished. God was telling Zerubbabel, “By my Spirit you will begin the work and you will finish the work. When it is completed, you will cry out for all the world to hear, Grace! Grace!”
What does this mean to us as New Testament believers? When God starts a work in our hearts, He will be faithful to finish that work. Our great testimony to the world will be one cry and declaration, “The grace of God started the work, and the grace of God finished the work! May the Name of the Lord forever and ever be praised!”
GOING BACK TO ACTS 10, WHAT ELSE IS THIS OPEN HEAVEN THAT GOD GIVES TO THE HUNGRY OF HEART?
When we look closely at Acts 10:11-16, we see this prejudice that was in Peter’s heart. I truly believe that Peter did not realize he had prejudice in his heart. Because Peter did not realize he had this prejudice, he was captivated by it and it was a hindrance to how God wanted to use his life. In Acts 10, this open heaven is God coming in His wonderful mercy and showing us those things in our hearts that we do not see are holding us in captivity. This open heaven is God coming in His marvelous faithfulness and revealing to us those things in our hearts that we do not see that hinder us from being as effective as we can for His Kingdom. Beloved, when we truly love the Lord we want to be as effective for His Kingdom as we possibly can, that our passionate desire is to serve the Lord and be used to the fullest of our potential. It is the absolute faithfulness of God when He comes and reveals those things that we do not see that hinders us from being used in the greatest measure possible. It is not easy on the flesh, but it is the faithfulness of God when He exposes our pride, our jealousy, and our selfishness, because He does it for a reason, to bring His grace upon these issues and level these mountains in our lives.
FOR ALL OF US, IF OUR HEARTS ARE TRULY HUNGRY, GOD IS SETTING A DOOR IN FRONT OF US - IT IS A DOOR THAT LEADS INTO A DEEPER DEPTH IN CHRIST. FOR SOME OF US, AT THIS TIME IN OUR WALK WITH GOD, IT IS A DOOR OF MINISTRY - BEING USED IN A GREATER WAY BY GOD. THE QUESTION IS: HOW DO WE OPEN THAT DOOR? WE FIND OUR ANSWER IN ACTS 10:17-21.
“Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, and called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, 'Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.' Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, 'Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?'"
How do we open that door? Acts 10:17-21 tells us that Peter heard the Spirit say to go with Cornelius’ men, and he went, and this is what the Lord spoke to me: How do we open that door? Simple obedience! Peter heard and obeyed!
What we need to realize is that God has a door set before us, and obedience is the key that will fit that lock and open that door! In Acts 10, we see in the life of Peter that simple obedience opened up a whole new realm of freedom and a whole new realm of ministry for him. With this truth before us, God wants us to realize this: for many of us there is a door standing before us that leads to a whole new realm, and one simple act of obedience is all it is going to take to open that door. There are many in the body of Christ for which a whole new realm is awaiting if they will just take that step of obedience, a whole new realm of freedom, a whole new realm of authority, a whole new realm of ministry, a door that will take them deeper into Christ.
For someone in the body of Christ, there is a whole new realm of freedom, glory and power open to you if you will truly forgive that person whom you have been holding in your prison of unforgiveness. For another, there is a deeper place in God that the Lord is ready to launch you into if you will just humble yourself and say to that person you have wounded, “Please forgive me. I have been very spiteful to you because of my pride and jealousy.” For someone else, there is a whole new realm of freedom and glory for you if you will just acknowledge that area of compromise that God has been speaking to you about, repent and get rid of it instead of justifying it. Oh beloved, what wonderful depths await us if we will just take that one step of simple obedience!
Beloved, I want to close with a question: are you really hungry for Jesus? Is God stirring a hunger in your heart? When our hearts are truly hungry and humble before the Lord there is no room for pride and no act of obedience is too great. There is such a grace waiting to be poured out upon our hearts if we will take that step of obedience. Beloved, in closing, pray this prayer with me: “Dear Jesus, what is my act of obedience that will open the door you have set before me? Is there something that you have been speaking to my heart that I have been deafening my ear to? Is there something you have been asking me for that I have been refusing to give over? Has pride caused me to harden my heart to the dealings of God? Dear Jesus, deep in my heart, I can say with sincerity, that I want all of you I can have. My heart is hungry, and I am ready and willing to take that step of obedience. Amen.” God bless you.