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

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 understanding had kept him from entering.

And now, in this part, we come to the three words that give this entire series its name:

ARISE.

KILL.

EAT.

Three simple words. But behind them was a lesson that would change Peter's understanding of God's mission.

ARISE: GET OUT OF YOUR POSITION

The first word was “Arise.” 

Peter was told to get up. That may sound simple, but Peter could not remain where he was and fulfill where God was sending him. He had to move.

There are moments when God tells us to arise because our current position cannot accommodate our next assignment.

Sometimes the position is physical.

Sometimes it is emotional.

Sometimes it is mental.

Sometimes it is spiritual.

You can be physically standing while spiritually remaining seated. You can be active while mentally stuck. You can be busy while spiritually stagnant.

And God may say:

“Arise.”

Get up.

Move.

Change your position.

Step beyond what is familiar.

Peter's next assignment required movement.

He would have to leave the rooftop.

He would have to meet Cornelius' messengers.

He would have to travel to Caesarea.

He would have to enter the home of a Gentile.

But before he could do any of that:

Peter had to arise.

SOMETIMES YOU CANNOT ENTER THE NEW WHILE REMAINING IN THE OLD

We often ask God for a new season while refusing to leave the old position. 

We want new opportunities with old attitudes. 

New assignments with old fears.

New territory with old limitations.

New results with old patterns.

But sometimes God says:

“Arise.”

The first miracle may not be what happens around you.

The first miracle may be what happens in you.

You finally get up.

You finally move.

You finally obey.

You finally release what has been holding you.

You finally stop waiting for perfect conditions.

You arise.

KILL: DEAL WITH WHAT MUST DIE

The second word was “Kill.”

In the immediate context, God was telling Peter to kill the animals for food. We should not twist the text and pretend that God was literally telling Peter to kill something inside himself.

But the event does reveal a spiritual principle:

Some things must die before we can fully embrace what God is doing.

Peter's old assumptions had to die.

His prejudice had to die.

His resistance to Gentile inclusion had to die.

His limited understanding had to die.

God was not asking Peter to kill people.

He was confronting the mindset that could keep Peter from reaching them.

That is an important distinction.

WHAT NEEDS TO DIE IN YOU?

Sometimes we ask:

“Lord, what do I need to receive?”

But perhaps the first question should be:

“Lord, what needs to die?”

Pride may need to die.

Fear may need to die.

Unforgiveness may need to die.

Prejudice may need to die.

The need to control everything may need to die.

The desire to always be right may need to die.

An old mindset may need to die.

A destructive habit may need to die.

A limiting belief may need to die.

Because sometimes you cannot receive the new while protecting the old.

PETER SAID, “NO, LORD”

Peter's response is fascinating.

He said:

“No, Lord.”

Think about those two words.

“No.”

“Lord.”

Peter recognized the authority of the One speaking, but he still resisted the instruction. And this exposes something about human nature.

We can genuinely love God and still struggle with something God is asking us to change.

We can call Him Lord while resisting His instruction.

We can believe in God while saying:

“But I don't want to do that.”

Peter's response shows that surrender is not always instantaneous.

Sometimes God has to patiently confront our resistance.

WHEN GOD CHALLENGES WHAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN

Peter's resistance was not necessarily rebellion. He was responding from what he had been taught and what he sincerely believed.

He had never eaten what Jewish law considered unclean. His response came from his understanding. But God was now expanding that understanding.

This is an important lesson for every believer:

Something can be deeply familiar without being the complete picture of what God is doing now.

We must always remain humble enough to learn.

Tradition has value.

Experience has value.

History has value.

But none of these should become greater than God's revealed truth.

EAT: RECEIVE WHAT GOD IS PUTTING BEFORE YOU

Then comes the third word:

“Eat.”

Eating requires receiving. You cannot eat something while continually rejecting it.

Peter was being challenged to receive what he had previously rejected. And this became a picture of something much greater.

Peter would soon have to receive people he had previously considered outside his circle.

He would have to enter Cornelius' house.

He would have to sit with Gentiles.

He would have to preach to Gentiles.

He would eventually witness the Holy Spirit falling upon Gentiles.

The command to “eat” therefore prepared Peter for acceptance, participation, and obedience to God's wider mission.

YOU CANNOT MINISTER EFFECTIVELY TO WHAT YOU CONTINUALLY REJECT

This is one of the strongest lessons from Acts 10.

Peter could not effectively minister to Cornelius while maintaining a heart that rejected people like Cornelius.

God had to change Peter's perspective before Peter could become an effective messenger to him.

Sometimes we ask God:

“Lord, use me to reach people.”

But God may first ask:

“Can you love the people you are asking Me to send you to?”

We want the platform.

God wants the heart.

We want the assignment.

God wants the preparation.

We want to preach to people.

God wants to teach us how to see people.

THREE WORDS. ONE JOURNEY.

Look at the progression:

Arise Leads To Movement 

Killing Leads To Removing The Barrier

Eating Leads To Receiving 

Peter had to move.

Peter had to surrender.

Peter had to receive.

And these three movements prepared him for Cornelius. This is why the command is so powerful as a devotional principle.

Sometimes God's process in our lives looks like:

Get up. Let go. Receive.

GOD MAY BE SAYING “ARISE” TO SOMEONE TODAY

Maybe you have been sitting too long.

Sitting in disappointment.

Sitting in fear.

Sitting in regret.

Sitting in yesterday's failure.

Sitting in comfort.

Sitting in an old season.

God may be saying:

“Arise.”

Not because your past never happened. But because your past does not have to determine your next step.

GOD MAY BE SAYING “KILL” TO SOMEONE TODAY

Maybe there is an attitude that has survived too long. 

Maybe bitterness has become comfortable.

Maybe pride has become part of your personality.

Maybe fear has been making your decisions.

Maybe prejudice has shaped your relationships.

Maybe an old mindset is preventing you from entering a new season.

God may be saying:

“Let it die.”

Not everything deserves to travel with you into your next season.

GOD MAY BE SAYING “EAT” TO SOMEONE TODAY

Maybe God is placing an opportunity before you.

A relationship.

An assignment.

A ministry.

A responsibility.

A new understanding.

And your first reaction is:

“No, Lord.”

Perhaps the question is not whether it is familiar.

Perhaps the question is:

“Is this what God is asking me to receive?”

Peter's greatest breakthrough came when he stopped judging the vision through his old understanding and began receiving God's new instruction.

GOD REPEATED THE VISION THREE TIMES

The Bible says the same vision was repeated three times. Why?

The passage does not explicitly give the reason. But we can clearly see that Peter needed the message reinforced.

Sometimes we need repetition because our first response is resistance.

God may have to remind us.

Teach us again.

Confirm the lesson.

Deal with the same issue from another angle.

We should not automatically assume that every repeated experience is a divine message.

But when God has clearly revealed something through His Word, repeated conviction should not be casually ignored.

Sometimes repetition is part of our preparation.

THE SHEET WAS TAKEN BACK UP

Then something interesting happened.

After the vision and the command, the sheet was suddenly pulled back into heaven.

Peter could not keep it.

He could not possess it.

He could not remain on the rooftop forever studying the vision. Why?

Because revelation is meant to lead to obedience. The vision had served its purpose. Now Peter had to respond. And almost immediately, Cornelius' messengers arrived.

The timing was not accidental. Peter had received the revelation. Now the assignment was standing at his door.

REVELATION MUST BECOME RESPONSE

It is possible to hear powerful sermons and remain unchanged.

It is possible to receive revelation and never act on it.

It is possible to understand God's Word and still refuse to obey it.

Peter could not stay on the rooftop saying:

“Wow! What a powerful vision.”

He had to move.

The vision demanded a response.

And the same is true for us.

God's Word is not merely information.

It is an invitation to transformation.

PRACTICAL LESSONS

1. Arise from whatever is keeping you stagnant.

God's next instruction may require movement.

2. Allow God to kill outdated mindsets.

Not every mindset you inherited should follow you into your future.

3. Be willing to receive what God places before you.

Don't reject something simply because it is unfamiliar.

4. Don't allow personal prejudice to interfere with God's assignment.

Peter's perspective could have prevented him from reaching Cornelius.

5. Turn revelation into obedience.

A vision that never produces action remains only an experience.

KEY TAKEAWAY

“Arise, kill and eat” was more than a command concerning food. It became a moment of transformation for Peter.

Arise challenged his position.

Kill confronted the barriers in his understanding.

Eat challenged him to receive what God was placing before him.

And the result?

Peter was about to walk through a door that his previous mindset would have kept closed.

Sometimes God is not simply asking you to do something new.

He is asking you to become someone new enough to do it.

CALL TO ACTION

Take a moment and examine your life.

Ask yourself:

What is God asking me to arise from?

What attitude, mindset, or barrier needs to die?

What have I been rejecting simply because it is unfamiliar?

Is there an assignment God is asking me to receive?

Am I willing to obey before I understand everything?

Remember:

You cannot remain seated and walk into a new assignment.

You cannot carry every old mindset into a new season.

And you cannot receive what you continually reject.

Sometimes the instruction is simple:

ARISE.

KILL.

EAT.

PRAYER

1. Father, give me the courage to arise from every position, habit, fear, or mindset that is keeping me from Your purpose.

2. Lord, put to death every attitude, prejudice, pride, bitterness, and limitation that is preventing me from seeing people and situations according to Your will.

3. Father, give me a heart that is willing to receive whatever You place before me for Your purpose.

4. Lord Jesus, help me to obey Your instructions even when they challenge what I have always known or understood.

5. Father, let every revelation You give me produce obedience, transformation, and movement toward the assignment You have prepared for me.

NEXT PART PREVIEW

PART 5: WHEN GOD CHALLENGES YOUR MINDSET

Peter had seen the sheet.

He had heard the command.

He had resisted.

Then God declared:

“Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

Those words were about to confront something deeper than Peter's appetite.

They were confronting his mindset.

Because sometimes the greatest barrier to God's work is not a closed door.

It is an unchanged mind.

What happens when God challenges something we have always believed?

How do we distinguish between God's truth and the traditions, assumptions, and prejudices we have inherited?

And what does it mean when God says:

“Do not call unclean what I have made clean”?

In Part 5, we will explore the danger of allowing yesterday's understanding to become a prison around tomorrow's assignment.

Join us as we continue our journey through:

ARISE, KILL AND EAT

Grace and peace be with you until we meet again in the next part of this life-transforming journey.

God is speaking, are you listening?

Prince Julius Nenebi-Darkson

(EL-PJ God's Penman)