DIVINE SUPERVISION

DIVINE SUPERVISION

Acts 10:1-23

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

February 5, 2006

As we continue our study of the book of Acts, we find that the witness of the Church is continuing to move “out of the neighborhood.” Called to be Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, the apostles are now going to be seen taking the Gospel to the Gentiles.

We will deal with this subject more thoroughly later as we cover the rest of this significant chapter. But our passage for this morning focuses on another subject, the subject of God’s guidance, or what we might refer to as “Divine Supervision.”

This passage speaks of how God can guide us in the unfolding of His plans and purposes, both for us as individuals, as well as for us as the Church.

FROM THIS PASSAGE,

IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT THE LORD CAN GUIDE US

IN ANY OF A NUMBER OF WAYS.

We are Protestants whose essential heritage comes from the Reformation. As such, we stand upon the solid foundation of Scripture being the written Word of God. This is the chief and primary means in which God directs our lives and in which God speaks to us with authority.

As one of our confessions states this point quite clearly:

We believe and confess the canonical Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles of both Testaments to be the true Word of God, and to have sufficient authority of themselves, not of men. For God himself spoke to the fathers, prophets, apostles, and still speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures. [i]

In yet another confession, Scripture alone is defined as being “given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.” [ii]

Nevertheless, there are the times when we may be directed by God in addition to the Bible. Whereas the Lord will never lead us in ways that are opposed to what Scripture plainly teaches, yet there can be the times when God may choose to direct His people in addition to Scripture.

This is precisely the case of the situation before us in our text for this morning. There are no less than seven different ways in which the Lord directed the events described for us, all toward the purpose of bringing the Gospel to the household of Cornelius.

Let me enumerate them for you. First of all, there was Prayer. We are told that Cornelius “prayed to God regularly” and that he was engaged in prayer during times set aside by pious Jews, such as at 3 pm, the hour of evening incense.

Secondly, the Lord led by a Vision. A vision is a sight or picture that comes to the mind, often in great detail, and usually in terms of being a revelation from God. In the case of Cornelius, he saw an angel and heard the angel speaking to him.

Thirdly, the Lord led by the appearance of an Angel. Cornelius both saw and talked with an angel in this vision. An angel is a spiritual being found often in Scripture as a messenger from God. In this particular case, the angel told Cornelius what he was to do.

Fourthly, there was the use of Human Beings. Having been directed to do so, Cornelius appointed two of his servants and a devout soldier to go and talk to Peter, and to bring Peter back with them to the house of Cornelius. In a sense, they too, were God’s messengers.

Fifthly, God used in the case of Peter a Trance. We are told that Peter, while praying, “fell into a trance,” which was then followed by a special vision. A trance occurs when one’s consciousness is withdrawn from the outside environment and from external things; it is suspended so that a person may be placed in an ideal condition of receiving a vision.

After this, we find that the Holy Spirit was speaking. After the vision, while Peter was seeking to discern the meaning, the Spirit spoke to him in a quiet, inner voice and told him that three men were looking for him and that he was to go with them.

Finally, we may see Circumstances as a means of God’s guidance. All the circumstances lined up, giving distinct confirmation, from the very beginning of Cornelius in prayer to the invitation of Peter for the men to stay the night and then to go together to the house of Cornelius.

When one takes the time to look at these seven means of guidance, it is amazing to find so many in only twenty-three verses! But such was the intent of God to God both Cornelius and Peter in this most important venture.

NOW, THERE ARE THOSE

WHO OBJECT TO SUCH WAYS

OF GOD’S GUIDANCE FOR TODAY.

There are those who feel quite strongly that such ways of God speaking as those found in the Bible are limited to the lives of those found in the Bible. They say that when the books of the Bible were completed, so ended such ways of direct guidance.

But while Scripture as God’s Word is a “lamp to our feet and a light for our path” without parallel, God can choose to guide us today in additional ways as well. This is true for several reasons. First of all, no where in Scripture does it say that God would ever cease guiding His people in such ways. In fact, promises abound in Scripture indicating that God desires to guide His people in the way of His plans and purposes!

Secondly, to say that God cannot guide us directly is to put the great I AM in a box, confined according to our own humanly contrived ideas and paradigms, which is something we must never do!

Thirdly, there are times when we need more specific guidance than the Bible is able to give us. There are the times when we need specific direction in terms of changing jobs, finding a place to live, or with regard to important relationships.

Fourthly, the Reformers themselves give ample testimony to God’s influence and direction in their lives and in their ministries.

As many of you know, during my sabbatical this past summer, I went to Scotland. My interest in Scotland remains quite strong. This is true because of my own family history, because of the history of this great congregation, and because there are so many great witnesses to the faith who are found in the history of the Scottish Kirk.

For example, to my immediate right on the Scottish window are the names of George Wishart (c.1513-1546), John Knox (1514-1572) and John Welsh (c.1570-1622), all of whom had been given prophetic words from God for the direction and edification of the Scottish Kirk.

You will also the name of Samuel Rutherford, a great church leader and theologian. He was one of the delegates to the Westminster Assembly. He was quite aware of God’s special direction given for His people in such difficult times. He was grateful for it and had no problem in accepting such direction, as long as these principles were followed:

Such special direction would not be contradictory to the Bible;

such direction came from godly people;

the people who had these revelations did not claim that their prophecies had the same authority as Scripture;

they required no one to obey their prophecies, but only sought to be obedient in giving them and leaving the rest in God’s hands. [iii]

Such principles as these are most certainly reasonable and applicable to the situations we may find ourselves in today.

III

IN THE WAY OF APPLICATION, WE OUGHT THEN TO ASK OURSELVES:

“AM I OPEN TO GOD’S GUIDANCE IN MY LIFE?”

“AM I ATTENTIVE TO GOD’S GUIDANCE IN MY LIFE?”

AND, OF COURSE,

“AM I OBEDIENT TO GOD’S GUIDANCE IN MY LIFE?”

One wonders what would have happened if Cornelius had never prayed, or had never believed the vision, or had never listened to the angel, or had never sent his men to Peter. What if he had closed his mind and heart to such guidance and direction, or had been disobedient and done nothing?

What if Peter, impetuous Peter, had not paid attention or listened, but moved on ahead, doing his own thing, thinking that he knew better, or that he could do everything on his own? Had he not formerly done this so many times before, to his own hurt and embarrassment?

But instead, both Cornelius and Peter were faithful, both were attentive … and they were both obedient. And in this very process, God was moving!

One of the great memorial markers in my mind is that in regard to a Pastor Nominating Committee a few years ago. Of course, the PNC prayed diligently as individuals and collectively for guidance, and they asked the congregation to do the same, which they were only all to willing to do. At the same time, a pastor many states away was also praying intently for guidance, that the Lord’s will would be done.

In the process of time, the Holy Spirit led in conversations, which in turn led eventually to a face to face interview. Now, there were no angels, but one of the PNC members became a “messenger”, because she was open, she was attentive, and she was also obedient.

She was asked to give a devotional that would start off that initial interview on Saturday morning. The evening before the meeting was to occur, she prepared one as she had been asked to do.

The next day, as all had gathered together and she began that devotional, she told everyone that the Lord had awakened her early that morning. The Holy Spirit had directed her to use yet another Scripture than the one she had chosen. She complied in obedience, not fully understanding precisely why.

So that morning, she shared the Scripture of Jeremiah 29:11, a verse that speaks of God’s good plans and purposes for His people. Now, what this “messenger” did not realize at the time, was that the Lord had used precisely that same text to lead Bill and Pat Maxwell to their first and their second churches. And to their utter amazement and astonishment, the Lord was using it again!

Yes, there was prayer, the Holy Spirit speaking, Scripture, and human beings as God’s messengers … all this and perhaps more, all playing a part in “Divine Supervision”!

Dear friends, do you believe in “Divine Supervision”? I hope you do, as I most certainly do. For if you are faithfully open, diligently attentive, and willingly obedient, you will discover the greatness of God, whose greatness is unsearchable!