WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grant Parquet Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.160 For more information about Grant Parquet, visit GrandParkway.org. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:20.000 That's pretty good. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.760 Um God, thank you. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:36.240 That regardless of how our mood is or what season of life we're in, we are currently being stalked by your goodness and mercy. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:42.240 Your goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.479 God, thank you for who you are. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:55.759 That our relationship is not predicated on how well Leo can hold on, but it's how you've held on to me. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:57.759 How you've held on to us. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:00.560 Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:05.439 The fact that in this upgrade culture, in this upgrade world, you remain full. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.079 You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:13.599 And God, would you make these truths now evident as we learn from your word? 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.599 I ask these things in your name. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:18.560 Amen. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:20.400 And you can be seated. 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:26.480 Well, good morning. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:28.959 How are you? 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:31.920 There you go. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.239 I must say it didn't sound like it at first. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:36.400 As always, it is so good to be with you. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:37.920 If you have your Bibles, would you grab those? 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:39.599 Go to Acts chapter 10. 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:41.280 Um, Acts chapter 10. 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:44.319 We're gonna continue in our study of the book of Acts. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:49.359 If you don't have a Bible, you can just relax as the text is gonna appear here on the screen. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:54.319 Either way, I would love for us all to be on the same page, and that's gonna be in Acts chapter 10. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.040 Now, um, I'm gonna get jump right into this passage. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.159 We're gonna mean verses 1 through 23. 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.640 Acts chapter 10, verses 1 through 23. 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:06.079 Um, I'll just frame our time together like this. 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:19.120 Um, the passage we're gonna dive into right now is vital in explaining why this room looks the way it looks as far as who's in it. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:24.400 Okay, this right here is a very Jewish book. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:26.080 It's a pretty Jewish book. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.639 I mean, I think all but one author is Jewish. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:30.800 Very Jewish book. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:37.360 Okay, it even proclaims of itself that the God of the universe gave his oracles. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.800 He gave his oracles and entrusted them to the Jews. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.159 Very Jewish book, and yet here we are. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:03:01.759 Okay, in Fort Bend County, most diverse county in the country, and you are from all over the place, and you are holding your very Jewish book, and you're waiting for your West African pastor to preach the gospel from it. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:03.759 How did that happen? 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:05.680 How did that happen? 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:07.599 Okay, this passage explains that. 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:10.400 I'm gonna go through verses one through 23. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:30.800 Here's what it says Um, at Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generous generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:43.919 About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius, and he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:50.879 And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:56.479 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:00.879 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:13.439 When the angel who spoke this to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having relayed everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:23.360 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went on the house top about the sixth hour to pray, and he became hungry and wanted something to eat. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:36.000 And while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens open, and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:40.240 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.600 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:52.639 And Peter but Peter said, By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.720 And the voice came to him again a second time. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:06.240 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once into heaven. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:21.439 Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he saw might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out, asked whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there. 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:27.839 And while Peter was pondering on the vision, the spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:33.439 Rise and go down and accompany them without any hesitation, for I have sent them. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:38.879 And Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one you're looking for. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:40.959 What is the reason for your coming? 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:56.480 And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who was well spoken of by the whole Jewish Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:05:58.160 Verse 23. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:02.399 So he invited them in to be his guests. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.279 We broke the universe on page three. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:21.680 Okay, sin enters the world and it affects everything and infects everyone. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:23.279 But God has a plan. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:30.879 So in Genesis 12, he takes a man named Abram and a woman named Sarai, and he goes, I swear to me. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.480 There's nothing higher than him, nothing more true than him. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:36.000 I swear to me. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.399 I'm gonna turn you to into a family. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.199 And that family is gonna swell up into a country. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:46.800 And that country, okay, through that country I will bless every country on the planet. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:50.800 It's through this country I will bless every country on the planet. 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:52.399 So that's the left side of your Bible. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:54.000 That's the promise made. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:59.199 And on the very right side of your Bible, okay, you have a spoiler alert into heaven. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.120 You say the promise is fulfilled. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:20.000 And in Revelation, we get a glimpse into a worship scene in heaven, and it says, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and all peoples and all language, we're yelling, salvation belongs to Jesus. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.000 It's promise fulfilled. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:27.600 The good news this morning is that you and I are in a very privileged position. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:31.439 Okay, we are in the middle of a promise made and a promise fulfilled. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:39.439 So progress has been made in the spread of the gospel, and we know it will be fulfilled, and we stand within that timeline. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:45.439 Okay, bottom line is this listen, Jesus is the blessing of Israel to all nations. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:49.519 Jesus is the king of Israel, he's also the king of all nations. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:55.680 And what he's doing is he's reconciling the world back to the Father, and he invites us to get involved. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.160 He invites you and I to get involved. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.279 Listen, you should want to be used in that. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:08.480 Is there a higher privilege than being used by God? 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:10.639 You should be eager for that. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:20.240 There's actually a psalmist who said it like this I would I would rather be a door, I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:27.199 I'd rather be on the greeting team in the house of my God, just opening the door as a gatekeeper than being chilling in the house of the wicked. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.959 There's an honor, a huge honor in that work of being used by God. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:36.559 And this passage right here answers the timely question: how does God advance his cause? 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:40.960 How does the God of the universe advance his cause? 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:43.600 Well, number one, he uses devout men. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:44.799 He uses devout men. 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:46.080 Look again at verses one through eight. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:09:05.200 It says this at Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household and gave alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:15.519 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius, and he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:20.159 And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial to God. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:24.639 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called a Peter. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:28.159 He's lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:35.440 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier among whom it attended him. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:39.360 And having relayed everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:41.919 Now we're introduced to Cornelius. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.120 Okay, what we know about him is one, he's a centurion. 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.559 So he's a commander of at least 100 soldiers. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:50.879 So off the top, okay, he's not soft. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:52.240 Okay, he is not soft. 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:57.360 This is a disciplined man, a brave man, a well-trained man, a tough man, an intelligent man. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:58.559 This is a man's man. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:00.799 So you know that off top, but he's a centerion. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:06.480 And he's also, he's also described as a devout man who feared God. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:09.279 That's the tension in his life. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:15.120 Okay, he's a Gentile man, okay, of an Italian background, who was an outsider to the religious. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:21.679 He was excluded from the God's covenant of Israel, and yet he was a God fearer. 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:28.000 What this means is he was not a Jew, okay, but he had reverence for the God of the Jews. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:41.759 As probably growing up in a Roman-occupied place, he's probably heard of the gods of Rome, whether it was Jupiter or Venus or Mars or Augustus, he probably heard of those gods and he looked at the God of Israel and goes, that's the one. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.399 He had reverence for the God of the Jews. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:57.360 Now, he held it at arm's length, meaning he can't, he wasn't circumcised, he didn't um uh uh attend to the dietary laws, he just knew that the God, he believed that the God of Israel was the one that was worthy of worship. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.799 That's the tension in Cornelius' life. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:09.200 The type of man who went to the local synagogue out of reverence for God, but probably sat in the back because he probably couldn't spell Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:17.440 The type of man who agreed with the moral and ethical teachings of the Bible, but who was considered unclean by the Jews. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:28.559 The type of man who was well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, but they couldn't really share their life or their homes or food with him, they couldn't host him. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:31.600 And that's the tension we find with Cornelius. 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:37.120 He was a Gentile, but this passage says he pleased God, a Gentile who pleased God. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.519 And listen, this is not the Bible, okay, commending pluralism. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:46.720 Okay, saying, hey, just believe whatever you want as long as you believe hard and live well. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:48.080 No, okay. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:52.240 Cornelius had faith in the real God of the universe. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:56.639 We know this because this passage intimates that he pleased God with his life. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:00.320 And without faith, it's impossible to please God. 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:08.559 Okay, whoever wants to please God has to believe that he exists, has to and draw near to him, and that he rewards those who draw near to him. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:13.360 Okay, Jesus' little brother puts it this way: draw near to God and he will draw near to you. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:14.639 And that's Cornelius. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:20.080 He's a genuine seeker who is faithful to what he knew. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:34.320 So, even though he wasn't regenerated yet, to see the beauty and the necessity of Jesus, God holds him up as a pre-believer, even as a pre-believer, as a good example of what devout looks like. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:40.000 This gives us insight into what being devout in a way that's pleasing to God looks like. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:50.159 Now, um, some of us hear the word devout, and the picture you have in your mind is a bald monk wearing a robe, taking a vow of silence. 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:56.879 But the beautiful thing about Cornelius' life is that he it's actually more simple than that. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.519 He shows it that being devout is more simple than that. 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:02.320 Okay, being devout means being generous to the poor. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:03.759 Look at verse 2a again. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:04.720 Look at verse 2. 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:20.320 He was a devout man who feared God with all his household and gave alms generously to the people. 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:24.799 He gave alms generously to the people. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:29.519 Alms with this is a donation or gift to the poor. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:33.600 Okay, and friends, listen, you and I were called to this. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:40.960 And I'm preaching this by way of repentance, okay, because I'm guilty of not being sensitive enough to people who are homeless and poor. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:47.679 I I grew up in a place where almost the poverty cap, not Katie, almost the poverty capital of the world. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:49.919 Not Katie's the opposite, right? 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.960 Um, almost the poverty capital of the world where homelessness was ubiquitous. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:58.559 You saw so many homeless people that you almost didn't see them at all. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:05.840 And I don't have that type of sensitivity in my heart that I should have, but listen, that's not true about our God. 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:12.000 Psalm 113 describes God as looking far down at the sky. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:20.639 He looks far down at the sky, and yet he's intimately aware of the homeless and poor man living in the landfill. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.279 That's our God. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:28.879 If we bear his name, we need his heart for the poor. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:37.200 Now, this this calling for us to care for the poor and care for those who have lack is actually comprehensive through your Bible. 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:38.960 This is not just in the New Testament. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:47.200 Okay, in the Old Testament, what you have there is God trying to weave within his people a sensitivity for the people who have lack. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.320 And he does this by infusing certain laws. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.799 Okay, for example, he tells his people, listen, I'm gonna put you in the promised land, okay? 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:56.320 This is a good land. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:58.960 For six years, farm. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.519 Go crazy, farm, get everything out of those, those crops are gonna be good. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.720 Farm, farm, but on the seventh year, you stop. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:11.200 And whatever grows, those are for the poor. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:14.320 Okay, he's weaving that into the law. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:21.440 There's even another law that says, Hey, whenever you're gathering your crops in your field, don't go all the way to the edge. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:26.559 Hey, whenever you're harvesting your grapes off of trees, don't get them all. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:33.600 Or hey, if you're picking up all of your grapes and you're walking back and you happen to drop grapes, leave them. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:35.120 Okay? 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:37.120 Whenever you drop it, leave it. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:38.720 Those are for the poor. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:42.080 So he's weaving within his people a sensitivity for the people who have lag. 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:57.360 That's in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, we just get really amazing rhetorical questions like if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:01.919 Just a spoiler, we have the world's goods. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:06.799 Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugarland, we have the world's goods. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:10.799 We have to remember we are not owners, but we're stewards. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.159 Stealing says what's yours is mine. 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:16.639 Ownership says, what's mine is mine. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.440 Stewardship says, hey, what's mine is his. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:21.759 What's mine is his. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:32.399 And listen, if you consider yourself a Christian, just understand you are currently right now benefiting from the greatest act of generosity in the universe. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:36.159 Who are we not to follow this example? 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:39.519 But being devout means being generous to the poor. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.080 It also means um devotion to prayer. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.240 Devotion to prayer. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:52.000 On the topic of prayer, I'm reminded of a Christian soldier who went out in the woods every day to pray. 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:56.559 He went to the same spot every day for an hour every day to pray. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:01.039 So often that rumors started sprouting up amongst his troops. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:04.640 And the rumors were that he was communicating with the enemy. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.200 They thought they had a rat on their hands. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:14.640 And he got caught one day coming out of the same place in the in the same place where he used to pray. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:15.200 Okay. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:18.960 And his commander was waiting for him with this gun drawn. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:21.200 And he said, Where have you been? 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:25.599 And this Christian soldier tells him, Hey, I've been out there, I've been out there praying. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:27.440 And he didn't believe him. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:32.720 And he says, Get on your knees right now, because you have never needed more prayer than this moment right now. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:48.400 And this man drops to his knees and he prays in such a way that his trust, his comfort in the Lord, his familiarity, and his fear of the Lord made the officer put his gun away and say, Get up, you can go. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.920 No one could have prayed like this without hours of intimacy with the Lord. 00:17:55.279 --> 00:18:00.000 Now, Cornelius is a man who prayed continually to God. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.599 And listen, we know more than Cornelius knows. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:17.599 At this point, we're on the other side of Cornelius, meaning we have more revelation, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we know Jesus Christ and his beauty and his necessity, yet a lot of us would say we struggle to pray. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.279 Now, um there's a passage I want to read over you. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:22.400 It's Colossians 4 2. 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:23.200 It says this. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:23.759 Okay. 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:30.640 It says, continue steadfastly in prayer. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:31.440 Okay. 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:33.759 That's language of devotion. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:35.759 That's language of commitment. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.440 Okay, steadfastly, that means to persevere in. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.759 Okay, all of us, listen, all of us have reasons as to why we don't pray as much as we think we should. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:51.359 Okay, whether it's feeling unworthy or a lack of discipline or not knowing what to say or a lack of time or doubt or frustration. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:54.720 All of us have a reason as to why we don't pray as much as we should. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:19:00.559 Listen, valid or not, Satan is so crafty of using those against you. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:08.480 What Satan is so crafty from my own experience is convincing you you missed curfew. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:14.720 Dad is so angry, you might as well stay out all night. 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:20.319 So what Satan usually after a sermon like this one, um some of you will go home and not pray again. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:27.680 What will happen is you'll you'll think, uh oh man, uh Satan will tell you, listen, uh another sermon about praying, you still haven't prayed? 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:30.880 You might as well just keep on not praying. 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:32.720 Okay? 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:34.480 But that's not the gospel. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:36.000 We're called to persevere through that. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:40.240 Being a Christian may means making embarrassing U-turns back right back to God. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:41.839 That's called repentance. 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:48.799 We're called to devote ourselves in prayer. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:53.839 So being devout means being generous to the poor and devoting ourselves in prayer. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:20:03.359 Verse 4 says this an angel says this, your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:15.119 This is sacrificial language, meaning your prayers and your alms are rising up from your house, Cornelius, rising up from your house like incense in a temple. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:19.440 There was an aroma about his prayer life and his generosity. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:21.920 And it was pleasing to God. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.039 And God uses such men to advance his kingdom. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:30.079 So, how does God advance his cause? 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:31.680 Okay, he uses devout men. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:33.680 Number two, he breaks barriers. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:34.960 Okay, he breaks barriers. 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:36.960 Look at verses 9 through 16. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:41.359 Okay, so in scene, this is scene two. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:46.880 In scene one, we've seen Cornelius, a devout man, get a visit from an angel who tells him to go summon Peter. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.200 And because Peter has a message of salvation for him. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:55.519 So he he sends two servants and a soldier about 31 miles to south to Joppa, where Peter is. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:56.720 And this right here is scene two. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:58.079 It says this, verse 9. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:04.559 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up to the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:08.160 And he became hungry and wanted to eat. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:18.400 And while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance, and he saw the heavens open, and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:22.079 And in it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.359 And there came a voice to him saying, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:30.640 And Peter said, By no means, Lord, I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:33.680 And the voice came to him again the second time. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.160 What God has made clean, do not call common. 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:40.559 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once into heaven. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:41.839 Now, what's happening here? 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:45.920 Okay, up until this point, the gospel was spreading. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:50.559 Okay, the gospel was spreading, but the gospel wasn't necessarily spreading like wildfire. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:53.920 The gospel was spreading like a controlled burn. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:59.759 Because up until this point, Jews were mostly sharing Jesus with other Jews. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.559 Jews. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:05.359 They were mostly sharing Jesus with other Jews, but here something different happens. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.839 Peter gets a vision during his prayer. 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:15.440 And what happens here is a sheep comes down from heaven with a bunch of animals on it, and he's ordered to kill and eat them. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:20.400 The problem is some of those animals are considered unclean. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:22.960 And Peter remembers Sunday school. 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:26.640 He remembers Leviticus 11 and go, no, this is this might be a test. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.960 Nothing uncommon, nothing unclean will touch these lips. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:32.640 Never have, never will. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:33.599 I'm a Jew. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:37.519 That's in my translation. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:39.279 And this happened three times. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:43.519 And the sheet was taking up into heaven. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:44.559 What's going on here? 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.000 Okay, the reality is that God is showing Peter this. 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:55.279 Okay, these unclean animals symbolize God's cleansing of the unclean Gentiles. 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:00.400 The vision was a sign from heaven that Jews were no longer to call Gentiles unclean. 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:05.039 From that point on, these two groups had equal footing with God the Father. 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:09.599 And so God was actually breaking down the prejudice within Peter's heart. 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:14.319 God was not contradicting his word, but he was emphasizing his power to transform. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:17.359 He was emphasizing his power to make clean. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:18.240 Okay? 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:21.920 This is not talking about food necessarily, but people. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:29.279 God is communicating this radical idea that literally anyone can come to Jesus and be cleansed. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:31.200 That was wild back. 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:32.799 That's a radical idea back then. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.039 Because if you're a Syrian, you have the God of the Syrians. 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:36.559 If you're a Roman, you have the God of the Romans. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:38.400 If you're Egyptian, you have the God of the Egyptians. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:44.240 But right here, he's communicating that anyone can come to Jesus and be cleansed. 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:46.640 This is not a localized God. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:55.119 What this means is that the gospel has the power not only to make dead people alive, but has the power to turn two people into one. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:24:00.160 God is mighty to save, he's also mighty to unite. 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:08.480 Listen, it is hard to put into words the type of turmoil between the Gentiles and the Jews. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:14.000 Okay, don't get it twisted because this is the Bible and you have Cornelius and Peter on the same chapter of the Bible. 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:14.400 No. 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:19.279 Okay, they would they they would not have gone Chick-fil-A together at all. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.079 Okay, they would not have been on the same page. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:25.359 Listen, God chose the Jews. 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:26.640 Why? 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.400 Okay, Deuteronomy 7 tells us that God chose the Jews. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:35.599 God loved and chose the Jews because God loved and chose the Jews. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:40.960 They were graciously elected. 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:49.759 But as time went on, they started confusing this gracious election with superior superiority and favoritism. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:56.160 They started looking down on the Gentiles and forgetting that God is using them just to save the whole world. 00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:05.279 Instead of being a kingdom of priests that represented God humbly, they became they became people who resented everybody else. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:08.799 They started calling the Gentiles dogs. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:17.759 So back then, um if if um back then, what's up, dog had a completely different connotation. 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:21.680 Like if you I'll say if you see me like at like 10 p.m. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:23.200 at Target, right? 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:26.799 And my pastoral filter's gone, right? 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:28.160 I'm in sweats. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:34.240 If you see me then, what's gonna happen is um I'll probably hit you with a what's up, dog? 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:36.559 Okay, raised by hip hop culture. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:38.480 That's that's that's a reflex at this point. 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:43.680 Okay, if that happens, you and it happens to you like for me, just know you're in. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:45.920 You're in. 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:47.759 Hold that close, you're in. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:54.079 But back then, to be called a dog by a Jewish person meant the opposite. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:54.880 You're out. 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:57.440 Okay, you you're out. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:04.640 Okay, but here God is hinting that he has actually broken that barrier. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.559 Okay, this is Paul talking to about Jesus to the Gentiles. 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:10.799 This is in Ephesians 2, it says this. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:39.119 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing the law of commandments, expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in the place of two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:46.319 And he came and preached peace to you who are far off, and peace to those who are near. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:52.880 For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:57.920 Okay, the gospel has the power to make two people into one. 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.440 So in this passage, God is converting Peter. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:07.839 But he's not converting Peter into Christianity, he's converting Peter into the implications of Christianity. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:18.400 Now we are not in this Jewish and Gentile war in this room, but uh there are still all sorts of walls of hostility um today. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:24.319 Turn on the news, and this gets built whenever hurt turns into hate. 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:28.559 You hurt me, so I hate all y'all. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:35.200 Or this uh hostility comes up whenever preference turns to prejudice, okay? 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:40.240 I prefer things this way, so I'll judge anybody who comes to a different conclusion. 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:48.240 Or there or hostility comes up whenever um you you idolize one culture, you end up demonizing another one. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.480 My people are the solution, therefore your people have to be the problem. 00:27:53.119 --> 00:28:00.000 And this begs the question has there ever been a group of people that you didn't want to receive the grace from Jesus that you enjoy now? 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:06.720 Has there ever been a group of people that you didn't want receiving the grace of from Jesus that you enjoy right now? 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:11.519 Listen, I ask this because as church people, we are not immune to this mindset. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:18.960 In the church, in America and throughout all the world, in the church, there's still all sorts of hostility today. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:21.279 Through all sorts of trivial things. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:23.039 Like, for example, church size. 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:24.559 This is a big one. 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:34.960 Okay, what tends to happen when churches get our size and bigger, what typically happens, we can drive around and look at like some really, really small churches and go lazy. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:40.079 Lazy incompetent, and I bet the Holy Spirit's not working in there. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:42.559 And let me tell you something. 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:44.400 The opposite can happen too. 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:48.640 Tiny churches can look at a church a thousand plus and go fake. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.599 I bet I I know where they're growing, fake falsehoods going on. 00:28:53.839 --> 00:29:02.880 And this goes on with church sizes, with spiritual gifts, with um political affiliation, race, age, you name, we're not immune to this. 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:08.160 In fact, whenever Gandhi was a student in England, you guys know who Gandhi is, obviously. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:13.920 He was looking for a religion that would get rid of the caste system in India. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:19.200 The caste system is a hierarchical system that was passed down through family, it was very oppressive. 00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:27.759 And he came across the gospels and he was deeply touched and thinking he offered a real solution to the division back home in India. 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:42.079 So in England, he decided to go to church one Sunday, and when he walked in, he was refused a seat, and he was suggested that he go worship with his own people because this sir, this church is only for Europeans. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:48.799 And he thought to himself, if Christians have caste differences, I might as well remain Hindu. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:59.039 I'm saying this to you, church, not as a rebuke, but as a reminder to keep walking across the rubble of the broken barriers that God has already torn down. 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:02.480 Okay, how does God change the world? 00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:05.519 He changes oh, how does God uh advance his cause? 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.359 He he breaks barriers. 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:12.720 So he uses devout men, he breaks barriers, and lastly, he uses confused obedience. 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:14.160 Look at verse 17. 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:18.400 Says this. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:35.039 Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry in Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there. 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:40.079 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:44.160 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:49.839 And Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one you were looking for. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:51.920 What is the reason for your coming? 00:30:52.079 --> 00:31:07.599 And they said, Cornelius of Centerion, an upright, God-fearing man, well who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, has directed, was directed by a holy angel to send, to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say. 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:11.680 Now, Peter here is confused. 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:15.680 He's inwardly perplexed, as the verse 17 says. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:23.519 But his vision is confirmed through his guests showing up, saying that they sent from him from Cornelius. 00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:30.880 Now, in the chapter before this one, we see Peter boldly responding to the challenge of death and sickness. 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:36.240 Okay, he healed someone of their paralyzed states, and he actually resuscitated someone else. 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:38.079 Those are pretty high hurdles. 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:39.279 High hurdles. 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:43.279 Okay, I haven't healed anyone or bought someone back from the dead in like a while. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:44.960 It's been a while. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:46.960 So those are pretty high hurdles. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:50.640 But he has hurdles in his heart as well. 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:56.079 How will he respond to the challenge of racial and religious discrimination? 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:58.240 Look at verse 23. 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:03.039 So he invited them in to be his guests. 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:07.200 The next day he rose and went away with them. 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:10.960 And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:13.680 He said yes. 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:18.319 He was confused as he was, he said yes. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:22.799 Without all the answers, his answer was yes. 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:33.599 Now, Peter gets a lot of flack in our day in hindsight for a lot of his shortcomings, but this was this pattern of confused obedience is actually something that he participated in quite often. 00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:35.119 This isn't new here. 00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:38.799 We can learn a lot from him in this area. 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:42.960 There was actually a time whenever Peter was fishing the entire night. 00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:46.880 He's a small business owner, so what he caught is what he eat, what he ate, and what he sold. 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:47.920 This is very important. 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.400 So he was fishing the entire night. 00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:53.680 And the next day, while he's still out at sea, he encounters Jesus. 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:54.960