God doesn't have favourites!

Acts 10:1-23 - read the full passage here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2010%3A1-23%20&version=NLT

God Doesn’t Have Favourites – But I Kind of Wish He Did

I don’t like to admit it, but sometimes I want to be God’s favourite.

I mean, I know He doesn’t have favourites — the Bible is clear on that — but there’s something comforting in imagining I might be a little extra special in His eyes.

And then I realise the beautiful truth:
We are all His favourites.

That’s the wonderful, upside-down, world-shaking message of the Gospel. A message that Peter had to wrestle with in Acts 10, when God did something radical.

Meet Cornelius

Cornelius was a Roman centurion, part of the Italian Regiment. Loyal to Rome. A representative of the oppressive regime holding Israel captive. The sort of person most Jews would have written off.

But Cornelius was also a devout man. He feared God, prayed regularly, and gave generously to the poor. He was what Jewish people would have called a “God-fearer” — someone who loved and honoured the God of Israel, even though he hadn’t fully converted.

In short, Cornelius had a real relationship with God… but didn’t fit the religious mold.

God Spoke to Him Directly

In a vision, God called Cornelius by name. That alone should stop us in our tracks.

God knew him. Valued him. Had a plan for him.

He told Cornelius to send for a man named Peter — and meanwhile, God was preparing Peter for this divine appointment too. Through a strange, vivid vision about food and purity laws, God was doing heart surgery on Peter’s deeply rooted prejudices.

The Real Message

At first glance, Acts 10 might seem to be about food rules being relaxed. But it’s far deeper.

God was addressing something ancient and ugly: the human tendency to judge, exclude, and categorise.
Peter had put God in a neat, kosher box. But God was breaking that box wide open.

The vision wasn’t just about unclean animals — it was about people.
People like Cornelius.
Gentiles. Outsiders. The ones the religious elite had dismissed.

And God was saying: They’re mine too.

Is God Still Speaking?

Yes. And He’s still shaking things up.

There’s a quiet revival happening today. Young people. Men. People of every nationality and background are coming to know Jesus. Church attendance is rising in unexpected places. The Spirit is moving.

But are we open to it?
Or are we still holding on to our own sheets — filled with ideas, assumptions, and quiet prejudices?

Let’s Get Honest

Do we judge people based on what they eat, drink, wear, or where they're from?

Do we silently elevate ourselves because of what we don’t do, or because we follow all the “Christian rules”?

Do we look down on others without ever naming it?

It’s easy to be like Peter — saved, Spirit-filled, used by God… but still holding attitudes that don’t match the heart of Jesus.

Jesus broke down barriers. He fulfilled the law, not to give us more rules, but to rewrite the system.
He boiled it all down to two commands:

Love God with everything.
Love your neighbour as yourself.

So What About Us?

At CCP, are we living that out?

Do we know Jesus — and are we making Him known?

Are we loving our neighbour — really loving — across lines of difference, discomfort, and inconvenience?

A church that loves like that becomes magnetic. And we’re seeing it. People are coming. God is moving. But we must keep our hearts soft and our eyes open.

What’s in Your Sheet?

If you received a vision from God today, what would be in your sheet?

What long-held opinions or hidden fears would He be calling you to release?

Because here’s the truth:

Jesus came to bring freedom — not just from sin and death, but from fear, anxiety, addiction, prejudice, and pride.
He came to shake us up, like He shook Peter.
To break open our hearts, like He did for Cornelius.
To remind us that He really doesn’t have favourites — but somehow, by grace, we’re all His favourite child.

And that? That’s really good news.