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ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 6: WHEN THE ANSWER COMES KNOCKING

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ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 6: WHEN THE ANSWER COMES KNOCKING Acts 10:17–20 (NLT) “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. I have sent them.’” In Part 5, we discovered that sometimes the greatest barrier to God's assignment is not a closed door but an unchanged mindset. Peter had seen the sheet. He had heard the command. He had resisted. But God challenged his understanding and told him: “ Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” Peter was being prepared to see people differently. We learned that God was not asking Peter to abandon holiness. He was correcting Peter's understanding of people. Peter's old perspective could have prevented...

ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 5: WHEN GOD CHALLENGES YOUR MINDSET

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ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 5: WHEN GOD CHALLENGES YOUR MINDSET Acts 10:15 (NLT) “But the voice spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’” In Part 4, we explored the three powerful words that gave this series its name: ARISE. KILL. EAT. Peter was told to arise because he could not remain in the same position and step into a new assignment. He was told to kill and eat, and the vision challenged the barriers created by his previous understanding. We discovered that Peter's greatest obstacle was not the distance between Joppa and Caesarea. It was the distance between his old mindset and God's new revelation. Peter was being prepared to meet Cornelius. But before Peter could enter Cornelius' house, God had to deal with what was happening inside Peter's mind. And this brings us to one of the most important lessons in Acts 10: Sometimes God has to change the way we think before He can change the way we move. THE BATTLE WAS NOT OUTSIDE PETER Peter...

ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 4: ARISE, KILL AND EAT

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ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 4: ARISE, KILL AND EAT Acts 10:13–16 (NLT) “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.” In Part 3, we discovered that the sheet from heaven was much more than a strange object in Peter's vision. Peter saw a large sheet containing animals, reptiles, and birds. But God was not primarily changing Peter's diet. God was changing Peter's perspective. We learned that Peter was looking at animals, while God was preparing him to look at people differently. The sheet was the teaching canvas. The animals were part of the picture. But the real lesson concerned the people Peter would soon encounter. God was preparing Peter to enter a territory his previous und...

ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 3: THE SHEET FROM HEAVEN

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ARISE, KILL AND EAT PART 3: THE SHEET FROM HEAVEN Acts 10:11–12 (NLT) “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.” In Part 2, we discovered that God can interrupt an ordinary routine with an extraordinary instruction. Peter had gone to the rooftop to pray. He was hungry, lunch was being prepared, and everything seemed normal. But while Peter was praying, heaven interrupted his routine. We learned that not every interruption is a distraction. Some interruptions are divine invitations. Peter's rooftop was not the destination. It was the preparation ground. God was preparing Peter for an assignment he did not yet understand. But now the vision becomes even more unusual. Because heaven was about to show Peter a sheet. And inside that sheet were animals Peter had been taught not to eat. At first glance, it looked like a lesson about food. But Peter was about to discover that the she...

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