At Gateway Church in Austin, we continued a series looking at the early church in the book of Acts.
What if faith was never meant to be boring, but an adventure? The book of Acts is the story of ordinary people encountering an extraordinary God, and stepping into a life they never expected.
It started with an invitation. To wait. To be filled. To trust God in a new way. And that invitation became an adventure; full of courage, purpose, and impact.
And here’s the best part, that same invitation is still open to you. No matter where you’ve been
or where you’re starting, there’s a place for you in the story.
ACTS: The Invitation… and The Adventure.
Don’t just watch it…step into it.
Digging Deeper:
Video from Gateway North Austin:
Message Notes from Carlos Ortiz, Jr.:
Acts 10:1-6, 9-16, 19-20, 25-28, 34-35, 44-48
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them
speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
There are walls everywhere. Some are: visible, invisible, political, racial, cultural, economic, and some are even spiritual. And if we’re honest, most of us don’t just live around walls—we carry them inside of us.
We divide people into categories of like us or NOT like us, and the walls grow to either trust or distrust, to include and belong or to exclude and avoid. The world we live in is constantly building fences, but the gospel of Jesus Christ tears them down.
That’s what Acts 10 is about.
Acts 10 is not merely the story of Peter and Cornelius. It is the story of God smashing barriers that human beings spent centuries constructing. It is the story of the Holy Spirit expanding the church beyond what anyone thought possible. And here’s the surprising thing: the biggest obstacle to the global mission of God was not Rome. It was not persecution. It was not geography. The biggest obstacle was the assumptions inside Peter’s heart.
And maybe the biggest obstacle today is not “out there” either. Maybe it’s inside us.
The Gospel Is for Everyoned
Acts 10 opens with a man named Cornelius.
Acts 10:1 says: “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.”
Cornelius is a Gentile. A Roman soldier. An outsider, but an outsider who had influence. You may not know this, but a Centurion soldier was leading around 100 men in his regimen. Now you have to understand how shocking this is.
To Jewish believers in the first century, Gentiles were not merely different. They were considered spiritually unclean. Jews and Gentiles lived separated lives. They did not eat together. Worship together. Socialize together. There was an enormous wall between them.
And yet Acts 10:2 says Cornelius: “was a devout man who feared God with all his household. He gave alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God.”
Here’s the first surprise of the chapter: God is already at work in places Peter never expected. Peter assumed God’s activity was limited to people like him, but the Spirit was already moving among outsiders. And this becomes a recurring theme throughout Acts. God is always ahead of the church. Sometimes the church is trying to catch up to where the Spirit already is.
Then Cornelius receives a vision from an angel.
Acts 10:5 says: “Now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.”
At the exact same time, God is preparing Peter. Peter goes to pray on a rooftop. He becomes hungry. And then he has a vision. Acts 10:11-12: “He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.”
Then a voice says: “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” (Acts 10:13)
Peter is horrified. Why? Because the animals represented things Jewish law declared unclean.
Peter responds: “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” (Acts 10:14)
In 2014 Our entire extended family took a trip to NYC, and I told my parents that some of my favorite tacos are there. They freaked out and refused to try to eat tacos in NYC. But I convinced them to eat at Los Tacos, and my mom looked at me with such surprise, “Mijo…these are incredible tacos!”
To my mom, NYC meant inauthentic Mexican cuisine, and for Peter certain foods meant he would dishonor God.
Now think about this carefully. Peter loves Jesus, follows Jesus, preaches Jesus, but Peter still has categories in his mind that Jesus is trying to dismantle. And before we judge Peter too quickly, we should realize how often we do the exact same thing. We believe in grace theoretically while practicing exclusion practically. We say the gospel is for everyone, but deep down we still believe some people are too far gone. Too sinful. Too different. Too political. Too wealthy. Too poor. Too broken. Too other.
But the voice says to Peter: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (Acts 10:15)
This vision is about more than food. God is redefining who belongs.
The gospel is not tribal. The kingdom of God is not ethnically exclusive. Jesus did not die for one category of people.
Paul gives us the future picture of heaven: “A great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne.”
The kingdom of God is radically multiethnic, multicultural, and global, and the church becomes unhealthy anytime it forgets that. Because the cross of Jesus Christ is wide enough for every race, every background, every story, every sinner who comes in repentance and faith. The gospel is for everyone.
The Spirit Challenges Our Assumptions
One of the most important lines in Acts 10 is found in verse 28. Peter enters Cornelius’ house and says:
“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”
Notice that phrase: “God has shown me.” Peter is learning. Growing. Being corrected. This is important because spiritual maturity is not merely knowing more Bible verses.
Spiritual maturity is allowing the Holy Spirit to confront Confront the prejudices, fears, and assumptions hiding underneath our religious life.
Peter had theology. experience. ministry success, Peter literally knew Jesus, but he still needed transformation. The Spirit often disrupts us before He expands us.
Sometimes the hardest thing for believing people is not sin in the obvious sense.
Sometimes the hardest thing is realizing that our traditions, preferences, and assumptions are not the same thing as the kingdom of God.
The Spirit continually pushes the church outward.
We see this throughout Acts. In Acts 1, Jesus says: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Knowing this the disciples keep gravitating inward. So the Spirit keeps pushing outward. Toward Samaritans. Toward Ethiopians. Toward Gentiles. Toward outsiders. The Holy Spirit is always breaking holy huddles, and that may feel uncomfortable for us because we naturally prefer control and familiarity. We like people who think like us. Vote like us. Dress like us. Talk like us. But the gospel creates a new family that transcends earthly divisions.
Ephesians 2:14 says of Jesus: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”
Jesus didn’t merely save individuals. He created a reconciled people. This means the church should look different than the world. The world divides. The church reconciles. The world polarizes. The church unites around Christ. The world builds walls. The Spirit builds bridges. BUT, the truth is that many times THE CHURCH has lived in this reality. We have theorized and assumed that what we do is right, because our heart might be pure, but if we do NOT intentionally think about others, we grow inward. So there have been many times throughout history that this beautiful body of Christ has been THE major obstacle for people to encounter Jesus fully. And if the church mirrors the world’s hostility instead of Christ’s reconciliation, something has gone deeply wrong.
As Peter continues his personal journey towards “the other”, he keeps preaching to Cornelius’ household. And his sermon is incredibly simple.
Acts 10:38 says: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Then Peter says: “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)
Everyone. That word changes history. Everyone. Everyone who believes. This Christian life is not based on ethnicity, or on pedigree, and especially social status. A life in Jesus is solely based on Grace! And grace destroys superiority.
- You cannot stand at the foot of the cross and feel ethnically superior.
- You cannot stand at the foot of the cross and feel morally superior.
- You cannot stand at the foot of the cross and feel spiritually superior.
- Because the ground is level there.
The Spirit Falls on Unexpected People
Then comes one of the most shocking moments in Acts. While Peter is still preaching, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles. Acts 10:44 says: “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.”
Peter doesn’t even finish the sermon. It’s almost humorous. Peter is still talking and God interrupts him. Why? Because God is making something unmistakably clear:
Gentiles are fully accepted in Christ.
Acts 10:45 says: “And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed.”
Why were they amazed? Because they thought the Spirit belonged to their group. And honestly, the church still struggles with this today. We are often surprised by the people God chooses to work in.
But grace has always scandalized religious people. Jesus welcomed tax collectors. Sinners. Outcasts. The overlooked. The marginalized.
And the religious establishment constantly struggled with it. Because grace offends human pride. The gospel says nobody earns their way in.
Salvation is entirely the work of Jesus Christ. That’s why Acts 10 is so important. It is not merely a missions chapter. It is a gospel
chapter. The barrier between Jew and Gentile was only a symptom of a deeper barrier: the barrier between sinful humanity and a holy God. And Jesus came to tear that wall down.
Ephesians 2:13 says: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Notice that phrase: “far off.” That’s every one of us apart from grace. Far off. Separated. Alienated, but Jesus brings near those who were far away. That is the heart of the gospel.
We Are Called to Build Bridges, Not Walls
The church now faces a decision. Will the church (in Jerusalem) embrace what God is doing? Or resist it? Because whenever the Spirit moves outward, some people become uncomfortable.
Acts 11 opens with criticism. Peter returns to Jerusalem and immediately gets questioned. Acts 11:2-3 says: “The circumcision party criticized him, saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.’”
Notice what they focus on. Not the salvation of Gentiles. Not the movement of the Spirit. Not transformed lives. They focus on broken categories. Religion without grace often becomes obsessed with protecting boundaries instead of celebrating redemption. But Peter patiently explains what happened by recounting the vision, the spirit falling, God’s activity in these people. And then Peter says this remarkable line in Acts 11:17: “If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
What humility. Peter essentially says: “God corrected me.” And that may be one of the clearest signs of spiritual maturity. Not perfectionism, but teachability. The willingness to let God expand your heart beyond your comfort zone. Then comes the beautiful ending.
Acts 11:18 says: “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.’”
The church begins to rejoice that the family is bigger than they imagined. And that’s still the invitation today. The gospel tears down walls. The question is: Will we let it tear down ours? Only you know what kind of wall has built up in your heart and mind, but no matter what the wall is, are you and I willing to let God tear it down.
But Acts 10 reminds us that the Holy Spirit is a breaker of walls, because the church does not exist as a fortress hiding from the world. The church exists as a Spirit-filled community sent into the world. And when the church truly lives this way, it becomes a preview of heaven itself.
United not by culture but by Christ.
That’s what happened in Acts 10, and that is still what the Holy Spirit wants to do today.
- So let me leave you with a question: What walls need to come down in your heart?
- Who have you unconsciously labeled “unclean,” “other,” or “outside”?
- And what if the Spirit is already working in places you least expect?
Because the gospel goes global one surrendered heart at a time.
And when the Spirit of God breaks down walls, the church becomes what it was always
meant to be: A family with room for everyone Jesus calls.