The Holy Spirit becomes the
true believer’s conscience. He
is our inner moral and spiritual
compass. He IS the voice of God
the Father in our lives. See John
16:13. We must remember that He
is our Guide, Advocate, and Power
Source, but He does not control us
against our wills. We must choose
to submit to His leadership,
teaching, and conviction.
In Acts 10, we can see how
this truth moves Peter to break
through his cultural bias. Peter
was steeped in cultural and religious Judaism, and he still held
some prejudice towards Gentiles and Samaritans. While he
was staying at the home of Simon the tanner, God began a
transforming work in his life with the vision of the sheet and
unclean animals. He heard the voice of God saying, “What
God has made clean, you must not call unclean.” Then God
sent representatives from the home of Cornelius, a Roman
centurion. The Holy Spirit had been working in the life of a
Roman unbeliever, and the Father was drawing him to Jesus.
God sent and angel to instruct him to send for Peter.
After Peter saw the Gentille family receive the Holy Spirit
in the same way the Jewish disciples had at Pentecost, he
could not deny that their salvation was a genuine work of
the Holy Spirit (10:34). When Peter was challenged by those
who stressed that salvation required belief in Jesus as Messiah
AND circumcision, they questioned why he would even eat
with Gentiles. Peter’s simple response was “…the Spirit told
me to accompany them with ho doubts (11:12).”
Peter’s transformation and the expansion of the Kingdom
of God occurred because he obeyed the directions of the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit’s guidance is not always to comfort, but He
always provides everything we need to those who trust and
obey Him. So, be aware of the Spirit’s leadership and do not
be afraid to follow Him wherever He leads. His mission is not
only to build the Kingdom, but to more like the Lord Jesus as
well! He changes us from the inside out.
