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So we turn now in our Bibles to

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Acts chapter 10.

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In the first chapter of Acts, Jesus said

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to his disciples, you will receive power when

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the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you

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will be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem

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and in Samaria, or both in Jerusalem and

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Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost

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parts of the earth.

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Jesus had commanded his disciples to go into

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all the world and preach the gospel to

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every creature, and he that believeth and is

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baptized shall be saved.

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So the gospel of Jesus Christ is for

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all men, regardless of nationality, ethnic background.

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And we watch the movement in the book

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of Acts as they began first in Jerusalem,

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bearing witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ

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and multitudes being added to the church daily.

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Then upon persecution, we saw where Stephen went

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up into Samaria.

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Other disciples were spread throughout Judea, and little

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pockets of believers began to spring up in

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the second part of that prophecy of Jesus

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in Judea and in Samaria.

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With the continued persecution of the church and

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with the increased number of converts who traveled

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freely in the Roman Empire, we saw how

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that the gospel began to spread into all

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the world.

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It is interesting that Paul the Apostle, 30

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years after the birth of the church, was

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able to write to the church in Colossae

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saying, and the gospel as it has come

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to you as it is in all the

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world.

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So, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus

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as they had carried the gospel by 30

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years into all the world.

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But we see that the movement was gradual.

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They began in Jerusalem, they spread to Judea,

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then into Samaria.

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Now, beginning in chapter 10, we get the

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next movement of the spread of the gospel

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as it is now being proclaimed to the

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Gentiles.

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And the gospel came to the Gentiles in

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a very interesting way.

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There was a certain man in Caesarea called

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Cornelius, a centurion of the band that is

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called the Italian band.

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That doesn't mean that they had a mandolin

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and a guitar and a soloist.

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The Roman legions had approximately 6

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,000 men.

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And then they had their companies, which would

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be equivalent to our battalions, which were about

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600 men because there were 10 companies in

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a legion.

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And then the companies were divided down and

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over a hundred men, there was a officer

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equivalent to our master sergeant who was called

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a centurion in as much as he was

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over 100 men.

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And there are some very interesting requirements that

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have been found in the Roman records for

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a centurion.

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And one of them was a man of

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great courage and bravery.

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If he was outnumbered, he must stand with

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his men and fight until he falls.

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And he had to be a man of

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that kind of courage.

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He wasn't to go looking for trouble, but

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he was always to meet trouble with resolute

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courage.

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It is interesting that in the Bible, we

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are introduced to other centurions.

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And in every case, in being introduced to

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a centurion, they were all commendable men.

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You remember that the centurion came to Jesus

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and requested that Jesus would heal his servant

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who was dying.

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And Jesus said, I will come to your

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house.

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And he said, Oh, no, Lord, I'm not

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worthy that you should come under my roof.

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But I understand authority because I am a

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man under authority and I have under me

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men.

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And I can say to this one guy,

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go and he goes and I can say

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to this one, come over here.

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And he will come.

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I understand what authority is about.

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And I know that all you have to

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do is say the word and my servant

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will be healed.

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And Jesus marveled at his faith.

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And he said, I have not found this

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much faith in all of Israel.

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And he marveled at the faith of this

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centurion.

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Now we're introduced to another centurion, Cornelius.

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He was over the Italian garrison there in

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Caesarea, which was the Roman capital city of

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that area.

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And he was, according to the record here,

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verse two, a very devout man and one

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that feared or reverenced God.

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Many of the Romans were tired of the

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multiplicity of gods that were worshipped by the

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Romans or by the Greeks.

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You remember Paul the Apostle when he came

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to Athens said, I can see that you

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people are very religious.

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For as I've been walking through your streets,

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I have found altars inscribed to so many

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different gods.

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And it is true that the Greeks had

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just such a multiplicity of gods.

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In fact, they had a God for each

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emotion, a God of love, a God of

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hate, a God of jealousy, a God of

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wrath and a God of peace, a God

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of war and a God for everything.

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And some Greek came up with the idea

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that we may have missed one.

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We surely don't want to slight him and

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get him angry with us.

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And so he built an altar and he

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inscribed it to the unknown God.

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Whoever you are, wherever you are, don't feel

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slighted.

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We want to recognize you too.

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And so Paul said, I saw this one

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altar to the unknown God.

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And this is the God I would like

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to declare unto you because he is the

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one who created the heaven and the earth

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and everything that is in them.

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And so he declared unto them the true

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and the living God.

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Now, many of the Romans and Greeks did

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not believe in the multiplicity of gods.

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And many of them, after their experience in

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Israel, became convinced of the one true and

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living God.

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Cornelius was such a man.

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He feared God with all of his house.

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And he gave much alms to the people.

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And he was a man of prayer.

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Now, here was a man who was walking

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in the light that he had.

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And it is so important that we walk

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in the light that we possess.

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Unto whom much is given, much is required.

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Unto whom little is given, little is required.

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Luke's gospel tells us in chapter 12 that

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a man will be judged according to the

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knowledge and the light that he has received.

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For that servant that knew the will of

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the father and did not accordingly will be

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beaten with many stripes.

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Yet he who did things worthy of many

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stripes because he did not know the will

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of the father will be beaten with few

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stripes.

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For unto whom much is given, much is

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required.

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Unto whom little is given, little is required.

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But we are always required to walk in

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the light that we have.

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And if we will walk in the light

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that we have, it always follows that God

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will then give us more light and understanding.

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And so it's important that we walk in

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the light that we have.

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Just how much light Cornelius had, we do

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not know.

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He did know of God.

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He reverenced God.

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He feared God and he prayed unto God

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continually.

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He gave alms to the needy, much alms

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to the people.

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Now he saw in a vision, evidently about

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the ninth hour of the day, so he

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was probably observing the three o'clock afternoon

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prayer hour of the Jews.

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He saw an angel of God coming into

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him and saying unto him, Cornelius.

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And when he looked at him, he was

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afraid.

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And he said, what is it, Lord?

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And the angel said unto him, your prayers

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and your alms are come up for a

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memorial before God.

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God is aware of your prayers.

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God is aware of your giving.

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They have come up before God.

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Now send men to Joppa, which was one

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of the ancient seaports along the Mediterranean.

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The area of Caesarea was also a seaport,

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but it was built by Herod the Great.

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It was not a natural seaport, but Herod

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the Great built a breakwater there.

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And it is still a beautiful little harbor

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today.

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And it's a great place for skin diving

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because you can find Roman coins on the

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sandy floor of the beach within the harbor

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there at Caesarea.

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But Joppa was south from Caesarea about 20

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miles, which means a two-day journey in

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those times because an average day's journey was

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10 miles.

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And so, he is told that there in

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Joppa, he is to inquire for a man

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by the name of Simon, whose surname is

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Peter, and he will tell you what you

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ought to do.

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So, he is lodging with Simon, who is

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a tanner, whose house is by the seaside,

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and he will come and tell you what

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to do.

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Walls are tumbling.

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The Jew had many walls built up, nationalistic

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walls, inasmuch as a Jew would really have

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no dealings with a Gentile in close contact.

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They would not eat with Gentiles.

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They would not invite a Gentile into their

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home, nor would they go into the house

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of a Gentile.

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For the Gentiles were considered unclean.

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And to touch a Gentile would make you

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unclean.

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And you'd have to go through quite a

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ritual of cleansing before you could go back

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into the temple if you touched a Gentile.

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Now, the Pharisees were so particular about this

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that when they walked down the street, they

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would wrap their coats very tightly around them,

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they'd wrap them very tight so that their

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robes wouldn't swish, because they didn't want their

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robes swishing and accidentally touching a Gentile.

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For if they did, they would be unclean

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and have to go through this cleansing rite

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before they could worship God again.

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And so you'd see the Pharisee, his robe

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wrapped tight around him, small steps going down

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the street, careful that his robe doesn't swish

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out and careful that he doesn't come into

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physical contact with a Gentile.

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Now, another person who was an outcast was

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a tanner.

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For under the Mosaic law, anybody who touched

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a dead body of an animal or of

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a person was also unclean.

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And so a tanner would be considered a

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man who was constantly unclean and therefore, you

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would also be careful not to touch a

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tanner for that would constitute your becoming unclean.

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So the very fact that Peter is in

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the house of Simon the tanner indicates that

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walls are already beginning to come down in

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Peter's hearts.

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As Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 4,

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that Jesus Christ has broken down that middle

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wall of partition that used to exist between

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the Jew and the Gentile.

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So that in Christ, there is neither Jew

273
00:15:11,870 --> 00:15:16,350
nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, bonder-free, but Christ

274
00:15:16,350 --> 00:15:18,350
is all and in all.

275
00:15:18,650 --> 00:15:21,670
He has broken down these racial barriers between

276
00:15:21,670 --> 00:15:22,110
men.

277
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,700
So Peter was there at the house of

278
00:15:29,700 --> 00:15:30,500
Simon the tanner.

279
00:15:30,660 --> 00:15:34,820
Now, when the angel which spake to Cornelius

280
00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:38,360
was departed, he called two of his household

281
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,120
servants and a devout soldier of them that

282
00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:43,700
waited on him continually.

283
00:15:44,780 --> 00:15:46,540
And when he had declared all of these

284
00:15:46,540 --> 00:15:48,700
things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

285
00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:49,780
So he called his servants.

286
00:15:49,980 --> 00:15:52,440
And you remember the one centurion said to

287
00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:54,300
Jesus, I also am a man under authority.

288
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:55,320
I can say to one, go.

289
00:15:55,380 --> 00:15:55,800
And he goes.

290
00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,280
And so he is exercising his authority that

291
00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:00,100
was given to him.

292
00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:02,260
And he is commanding these fellows to go

293
00:16:02,260 --> 00:16:07,840
to Joppa to bring back this man, Peter.

294
00:16:08,620 --> 00:16:13,080
Now, God always works on both ends.

295
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:15,120
Know that.

296
00:16:22,630 --> 00:16:25,190
My son, Chuck Jr., who used to be

297
00:16:25,190 --> 00:16:31,570
on staff here years ago, and whom I

298
00:16:31,570 --> 00:16:34,150
will readily admit is a very handsome young

299
00:16:34,150 --> 00:16:41,620
man, had great difficulty while he was single

300
00:16:41,620 --> 00:16:42,800
in the ministry.

301
00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:50,980
For many, a beautiful young lady felt that

302
00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:54,560
God had revealed to them by an angel

303
00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,720
or dream or some other means that they

304
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,240
have been chosen by God to be his

305
00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:01,760
helpmate.

306
00:17:04,930 --> 00:17:06,490
And it actually got to the place where

307
00:17:06,490 --> 00:17:08,250
it began to bug him after a while.

308
00:17:08,250 --> 00:17:10,730
He became shy and asked the girls, please

309
00:17:10,730 --> 00:17:13,369
don't let, you know, send any young girls

310
00:17:13,369 --> 00:17:14,390
over for counseling.

311
00:17:17,950 --> 00:17:19,490
But God works on both ends.

312
00:17:19,530 --> 00:17:21,190
And they come in and tell how God

313
00:17:21,190 --> 00:17:23,450
had revealed, you know, he was to marry

314
00:17:23,450 --> 00:17:24,109
them and all.

315
00:17:24,210 --> 00:17:26,250
And he'd always say, well, God hasn't revealed

316
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:27,569
that to me yet.

317
00:17:30,580 --> 00:17:32,700
But God does work on both ends.

318
00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,040
If God is guiding you to a particular

319
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:42,020
project, to go and to get someone to

320
00:17:42,020 --> 00:17:44,340
come to help you do something, you can

321
00:17:44,340 --> 00:17:47,080
be sure that God has already worked on

322
00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,700
the other end and is also speaking to

323
00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:50,760
them about going.

324
00:17:52,930 --> 00:17:55,250
God always works on both ends.

325
00:17:57,430 --> 00:18:00,890
And I would not venture out into any

326
00:18:00,890 --> 00:18:05,850
venture for God until God had first spoken

327
00:18:05,850 --> 00:18:06,510
to me.

328
00:18:08,150 --> 00:18:09,950
If someone should come up and say, well,

329
00:18:10,010 --> 00:18:11,950
God has revealed to me that you're to

330
00:18:11,950 --> 00:18:15,510
resign Calvary and you're to move to Cucamonga

331
00:18:15,510 --> 00:18:18,910
and start a fellowship out there or, you

332
00:18:18,910 --> 00:18:20,990
know, buy a great vineyard.

333
00:18:21,410 --> 00:18:26,410
I would say to them, well, I'll wait

334
00:18:26,410 --> 00:18:28,930
upon the Lord to see if God speaks

335
00:18:28,930 --> 00:18:31,970
to my heart upon this issue.

336
00:18:32,150 --> 00:18:36,250
I would not go upon what God has

337
00:18:36,250 --> 00:18:37,810
spoken to someone else.

338
00:18:38,390 --> 00:18:40,630
I would wait for God to speak to

339
00:18:40,630 --> 00:18:40,790
me.

340
00:18:40,910 --> 00:18:44,890
And I encourage you to follow the same

341
00:18:44,890 --> 00:18:45,570
example.

342
00:18:46,670 --> 00:18:49,090
If someone comes up and they've had a

343
00:18:49,090 --> 00:18:54,650
tremendous revelation, they saw colored lights in the

344
00:18:54,650 --> 00:18:57,830
sky, they went into a trance and an

345
00:18:57,830 --> 00:18:59,790
angel of the Lord appeared unto them and

346
00:18:59,790 --> 00:19:01,590
told them that they were to come to

347
00:19:01,590 --> 00:19:04,410
you and tell you that you're to sell

348
00:19:04,410 --> 00:19:07,370
everything you have and move to Hawaii.

349
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,020
As much as that appeals to your flesh,

350
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,860
you have better wait upon God to speak

351
00:19:17,860 --> 00:19:20,640
to your own heart about that or your

352
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,800
move to Hawaii could be disaster.

353
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,180
And you'd find yourself as Jonah probably intercepted

354
00:19:28,180 --> 00:19:29,720
somewhere in between.

355
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,340
God works on both ends.

356
00:19:34,380 --> 00:19:40,520
So, as God was speaking to Cornelius, he

357
00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:45,380
also was speaking to Peter there in Joppa.

358
00:19:45,980 --> 00:19:49,020
So, we see now the other side of

359
00:19:49,020 --> 00:19:53,440
the coin and God working in Peter's heart.

360
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,500
Now, it was on the next day and

361
00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:59,800
there's a day's difference here.

362
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:05,060
On the next day, as they were on

363
00:20:05,060 --> 00:20:08,700
their journey and they were getting near to

364
00:20:08,700 --> 00:20:12,940
the city of Joppa, Peter went up on

365
00:20:12,940 --> 00:20:15,560
the housetop to pray about the six hours.

366
00:20:15,740 --> 00:20:18,800
So, he was still following the Jewish pattern

367
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,720
of prayer, which they prayed at the third

368
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,580
hour, nine o'clock in the morning, the

369
00:20:23,580 --> 00:20:28,280
sixth hour, noon, and the ninth hour, three

370
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:29,660
o'clock in the afternoon.

371
00:20:30,460 --> 00:20:32,380
Were they Jewish hours of prayer?

372
00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,160
And so, it was lunchtime, it was noon,

373
00:20:36,300 --> 00:20:39,500
and Peter had gone up on the rooftop

374
00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:40,580
to pray.

375
00:20:41,260 --> 00:20:44,600
And that sounds strange to us.

376
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,440
But if you've ever been to Israel, that

377
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,260
kind of a mystery would soon disappear because

378
00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:54,220
the rooftops there in Israel are part of

379
00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:55,980
the living quarters of the family.

380
00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,680
And usually, they have flat roofs and you'll

381
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:05,660
see little patios with gardens and potted plants

382
00:21:05,660 --> 00:21:08,500
and you'll see them hanging their clothes out

383
00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:09,760
there on the rooftops.

384
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,520
And it is just a standard part of

385
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,540
the house because of the limited space, they

386
00:21:16,540 --> 00:21:17,580
don't have yards.

387
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,080
And so, their yards and play area are

388
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,760
oftentimes the roof of the house.

389
00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:25,680
And so, you call your kids, come down

390
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,480
off the roof and eat your lunch, you

391
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:27,680
know.

392
00:21:28,100 --> 00:21:30,980
And the kids jump off the roof or

393
00:21:30,980 --> 00:21:32,920
come on down to eat their lunch.

394
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,700
But it's a part of the living quarters

395
00:21:35,700 --> 00:21:36,040
there.

396
00:21:36,780 --> 00:21:38,660
And so, it is not at all unusual

397
00:21:38,660 --> 00:21:40,840
that Peter would go up on the rooftop

398
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:41,860
to pray.

399
00:21:44,540 --> 00:21:47,580
And because it was noon, he became very

400
00:21:47,580 --> 00:21:50,480
hungry and he would have eaten.

401
00:21:51,460 --> 00:21:56,340
But while they were preparing his lunch, he

402
00:21:56,340 --> 00:21:58,260
fell into a trance.

403
00:21:59,940 --> 00:22:02,980
Now, I really don't know much about trances.

404
00:22:05,420 --> 00:22:06,740
I've never had one.

405
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,340
That is not to say that I am

406
00:22:10,340 --> 00:22:10,940
opposed.

407
00:22:12,140 --> 00:22:14,740
In fact, I would find going into a

408
00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:17,680
trance probably a very interesting experience.

409
00:22:18,380 --> 00:22:20,180
And if God wants to put me in

410
00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:22,140
a trance to reveal something to me, that's

411
00:22:22,140 --> 00:22:23,720
all right, I'll buy that.

412
00:22:23,740 --> 00:22:25,360
You know, I'm open and I want to

413
00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:27,260
be open to any way God wants to

414
00:22:27,260 --> 00:22:28,460
communicate to me.

415
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,660
I would imagine that it would be sort

416
00:22:32,660 --> 00:22:35,120
of in a dream state.

417
00:22:35,260 --> 00:22:38,180
Now, I just about go into trances sometimes

418
00:22:38,180 --> 00:22:42,200
as I'm sitting listening to people talk.

419
00:22:42,420 --> 00:22:46,300
And I've been, you know, up half the

420
00:22:46,300 --> 00:22:46,640
night.

421
00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:51,580
And my eyes get glassy and I sort

422
00:22:51,580 --> 00:22:53,020
of drift off, you know.

423
00:22:53,020 --> 00:22:54,540
And then you sort of come to.

424
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,780
And I think that that sort of in

425
00:22:56,780 --> 00:23:00,120
-between sleep and awake state is probably the

426
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:01,440
trance state.

427
00:23:04,940 --> 00:23:07,840
And however it may be and whatever it

428
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,360
may be, in this trance, he saw the

429
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:18,060
heavens opened and a certain vessel descending unto

430
00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:18,400
him.

431
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,020
It was like a great sheet.

432
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:22,960
And that word in the Greek is used

433
00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:24,140
for sails.

434
00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:26,260
Now, he's right there in the seashore.

435
00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:30,220
So, he sees this great sheet or sail

436
00:23:30,220 --> 00:23:33,860
that is knit at the four corners and

437
00:23:33,860 --> 00:23:36,780
it is let down to the earth.

438
00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:40,940
And on it were all manner of four

439
00:23:40,940 --> 00:23:41,740
-footed beasts.

440
00:23:41,940 --> 00:23:43,820
Now, according to the law, they could only

441
00:23:43,820 --> 00:23:46,520
eat the animal that chewed the cud or

442
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:47,680
had a cloven hoof.

443
00:23:48,620 --> 00:23:51,500
But on this sheet, there were all kinds

444
00:23:51,500 --> 00:23:52,560
of animals.

445
00:23:54,140 --> 00:23:55,440
Four-footed beasts.

446
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:58,120
And there were creeping things.

447
00:23:58,740 --> 00:24:00,600
And there were fowls of the air.

448
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,580
And there came a voice to him and

449
00:24:03,580 --> 00:24:07,640
it said, Rise, Peter, kill and eat.

450
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:13,420
But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I

451
00:24:13,420 --> 00:24:16,540
have never eaten anything that is common or

452
00:24:16,540 --> 00:24:17,300
unclean.

453
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,220
I would like to draw your attention to

454
00:24:21,220 --> 00:24:25,760
Peter's response as being a perfectly inconsistent statement,

455
00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,320
but one that is very familiar to all

456
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:28,780
of us.

457
00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,840
Not so, Lord, impossible.

458
00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:38,180
That is total inconsistency.

459
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,580
How can you say, Not so, Lord?

460
00:24:44,140 --> 00:24:46,860
If the Lord has asked you to do

461
00:24:46,860 --> 00:24:52,260
something, the only possible response is, Yes, my

462
00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:52,620
Lord.

463
00:24:54,100 --> 00:24:57,520
If He is indeed your Lord, how can

464
00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:58,900
you say, Not so?

465
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:03,500
So, Peter could have said, Not so, buddy.

466
00:25:07,420 --> 00:25:08,900
Not so, friend.

467
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,840
But you can't say, Not so, Lord.

468
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:18,560
Completely inconsistent.

469
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,580
God, free us from that inconsistency.

470
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:23,320
God, free us from that inconsistency in our

471
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:24,180
own speech.

472
00:25:24,980 --> 00:25:28,820
For so often, we find ourselves arguing with

473
00:25:28,820 --> 00:25:29,300
God.

474
00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,700
And God is challenging us to do something.

475
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,620
We say, Oh, Lord, I can't do that.

476
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:37,680
Oh, Lord, not me.

477
00:25:37,780 --> 00:25:39,320
I don't want to do that, Lord.

478
00:25:40,660 --> 00:25:43,860
And it puts me then in the driver's

479
00:25:43,860 --> 00:25:44,020
seat.

480
00:25:44,140 --> 00:25:46,280
You see, I'm putting myself in the position

481
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:46,840
of Lord.

482
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:52,500
So, Peter's inconsistency of speech, Not so, Lord.

483
00:25:54,540 --> 00:25:58,520
I've never eaten anything that is not kosher.

484
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,620
I've never eaten anything that is common or

485
00:26:02,620 --> 00:26:03,400
unclean.

486
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,220
Now, in the mind of the Jew, the

487
00:26:06,220 --> 00:26:09,920
Gentile was both common and unclean.

488
00:26:11,060 --> 00:26:13,620
And the voice spake unto him again the

489
00:26:13,620 --> 00:26:19,720
second time, What God has cleansed, do not

490
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:21,300
call common.

491
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:24,800
Now, this was done three times.

492
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,880
And the vessel was received up again into

493
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:29,240
heaven.

494
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:31,520
So, this experience three times over.

495
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,040
And I suppose Peter was inconsistent three times

496
00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:34,380
over.

497
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,220
And then the vessel was taken back up

498
00:26:38,220 --> 00:26:38,740
into heaven.

499
00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:41,020
But the Lord was preparing Peter's heart.

500
00:26:41,020 --> 00:26:44,960
Now, while Peter was wondering in his mind

501
00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,800
what this vision should mean.

502
00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:51,820
What in the world is that all about?

503
00:26:53,420 --> 00:27:00,460
Those pigs on there, kill them and eat

504
00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:00,680
them.

505
00:27:01,140 --> 00:27:02,180
What can that mean?

506
00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:08,400
Behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius

507
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,220
had made inquiry for Simon's house.

508
00:27:12,340 --> 00:27:14,460
And they were standing before the gate.

509
00:27:14,740 --> 00:27:17,300
Now, that's all the further they could come.

510
00:27:18,620 --> 00:27:22,100
According to the Jewish customs, they would not

511
00:27:22,100 --> 00:27:24,200
dare to come in beyond the gate.

512
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:26,680
Because that would make the house of Simon

513
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,840
the Tanner more unclean than it was already.

514
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:32,040
Being a Tanner, it was unclean.

515
00:27:32,180 --> 00:27:35,680
But he'd be doubly unclean at that point.

516
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,820
So, they stood at the gate.

517
00:27:40,260 --> 00:27:42,080
And they called and asked.

518
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:43,240
They were calling in.

519
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:44,040
They wouldn't come in.

520
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,160
They just called in the gate and said,

521
00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:47,560
Is there a Simon Peter around here?

522
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,480
And while Peter was wondering about this vision,

523
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:58,480
the Spirit said unto him, Behold, there are

524
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,760
three men who are seeking you.

525
00:28:03,020 --> 00:28:05,820
Arise and get down and go with them,

526
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,240
doubting nothing.

527
00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:12,860
For I have sent them.

528
00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:16,480
And then Peter went down to the men

529
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,580
which were sent unto him from Cornelius.

530
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,020
And he said, Behold, I'm the man you're

531
00:28:21,020 --> 00:28:21,960
looking for.

532
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:28,960
What is the cause for which you have

533
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:29,260
come?

534
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:35,600
And they said, Cornelius the centurion is a

535
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:36,560
just man.

536
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,160
And he's one who fears or reverences God.

537
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,240
He's of good report among all of the

538
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:45,220
nation of the Jews.

539
00:28:45,780 --> 00:28:48,840
And he was worn from God by a

540
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,000
holy angel to send for you into his

541
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,720
house and to hear words from you.

542
00:28:54,780 --> 00:28:57,520
Then Peter invited them in.

543
00:28:57,960 --> 00:28:59,160
Walls are tumbling.

544
00:29:00,340 --> 00:29:03,300
Peter's inviting these Gentiles to come on into

545
00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:04,060
the house.

546
00:29:05,020 --> 00:29:08,620
And on the next day, Peter went away

547
00:29:08,620 --> 00:29:09,300
with them.

548
00:29:09,780 --> 00:29:13,700
And certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

549
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,380
Now, on the next day after they had

550
00:29:19,380 --> 00:29:23,080
entered into Caesarea, the two day journey, and

551
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,540
Cornelius was waiting for them, he had called

552
00:29:25,540 --> 00:29:28,460
together his family and his close friends.

553
00:29:29,340 --> 00:29:32,040
And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met

554
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,760
him and fell down at his feet and

555
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:35,640
worshipped him.

556
00:29:36,740 --> 00:29:39,820
But Peter took him up saying, Stand up,

557
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,980
for I myself also am a man.

558
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:48,200
Peter refused to receive the worship.

559
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:53,080
He didn't let him kiss his toe, but

560
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,320
ordered the man to stand up because I

561
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:56,960
also am a man.

562
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,680
It is interesting how that people seek to

563
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,290
elevate the servant of God many times to

564
00:30:10,290 --> 00:30:13,530
a position of almost worship.

565
00:30:14,910 --> 00:30:17,670
This was something the apostles had to guard

566
00:30:17,670 --> 00:30:18,310
against.

567
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,840
Paul the Apostle with Barnabas when they were

568
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:28,260
in Lystra found the people coming down the

569
00:30:28,260 --> 00:30:30,400
street with the priest of Jupiter who was

570
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,100
dragging an ox behind him.

571
00:30:32,340 --> 00:30:35,020
And he was going to sacrifice unto Paul

572
00:30:35,020 --> 00:30:38,540
because they were amazed of the healing of

573
00:30:38,540 --> 00:30:39,380
the lame man.

574
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:42,260
Paul had to strip off his clothes and

575
00:30:42,260 --> 00:30:43,640
say, Hey, I'm not a God, I'm a

576
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:44,020
man.

577
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:47,560
Don't do this.

578
00:30:48,020 --> 00:30:48,840
Worship God.

579
00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:54,680
And so Peter is refusing to receive worship

580
00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:55,740
from this man.

581
00:30:56,260 --> 00:30:57,320
Honor, glory.

582
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:00,780
All of the honor, all of the glory

583
00:31:00,780 --> 00:31:02,260
belongs to Jesus Christ.

584
00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,440
We make a mistake when we hold persons

585
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:06,760
up in high esteem.

586
00:31:07,140 --> 00:31:10,020
And the Bible actually warns us about being

587
00:31:10,020 --> 00:31:12,600
a respecter of men's persons.

588
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:18,980
If someone comes into the assembly, he's wearing

589
00:31:18,980 --> 00:31:21,580
a Rolex watch and diamond rings and all.

590
00:31:21,700 --> 00:31:23,220
You say, Oh, come on down here to

591
00:31:23,220 --> 00:31:25,840
this nice seat, you know, soft cushion, comfortable

592
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:27,200
where you get a good view.

593
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,780
Where someone comes in and Levi's that are

594
00:31:32,780 --> 00:31:34,260
dirty, bare feet.

595
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:35,880
You say, sit back there in the corner

596
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:37,520
and don't get the carpet dirty.

597
00:31:37,660 --> 00:31:42,380
You know, after all, and James says, Look,

598
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,360
you are showing respect unto persons just because

599
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:46,640
of the way the fellow is dressed.

600
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,700
He said, that is not right.

601
00:31:48,820 --> 00:31:50,260
You should not do that.

602
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,740
We are not to be respecters of men's

603
00:31:54,740 --> 00:31:55,240
persons.

604
00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:58,720
We are to give honor and glory unto

605
00:31:58,720 --> 00:31:59,980
God and respect him.

606
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,880
And so Peter refused to receive the worship

607
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,400
of Cornelius, but he took him up and

608
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:11,300
he said, Stand up for I myself am

609
00:32:11,300 --> 00:32:12,000
only a man.

610
00:32:12,780 --> 00:32:14,620
And when he talked with him, he went

611
00:32:14,620 --> 00:32:15,360
into the house.

612
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,540
Oh, walls are still crumbling.

613
00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:20,540
Peter now goes into the house of a

614
00:32:20,540 --> 00:32:20,960
Gentile.

615
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:22,660
He's had the Gentiles in the house there

616
00:32:22,660 --> 00:32:24,740
and in Joppa.

617
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,040
Now he enters into the house of the

618
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:27,800
Gentile.

619
00:32:29,180 --> 00:32:31,940
And he found many people that were come

620
00:32:31,940 --> 00:32:35,240
together, hungry hearts there in Caesarea.

621
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,500
Now, here's an interesting thing.

622
00:32:37,820 --> 00:32:39,300
And I don't have the answer for it.

623
00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:41,260
I only have the puzzle.

624
00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:44,380
How God works.

625
00:32:47,470 --> 00:32:50,590
There was living in Caesarea at this time,

626
00:32:50,890 --> 00:32:52,730
Philip the Evangelist.

627
00:32:53,950 --> 00:32:59,390
Why didn't God send over to Philip's house,

628
00:32:59,570 --> 00:33:02,270
who Caesarea isn't that big.

629
00:33:02,350 --> 00:33:04,670
He couldn't have lived that far from Cornelius.

630
00:33:05,050 --> 00:33:07,390
Why would God have him send all the

631
00:33:07,390 --> 00:33:09,830
way down to Joppa to get Simon Peter?

632
00:33:14,370 --> 00:33:21,290
Probably because Philip was not a leader in

633
00:33:21,290 --> 00:33:24,410
the early church, but only a deacon.

634
00:33:26,070 --> 00:33:28,610
And had Philip gone to the house of

635
00:33:28,610 --> 00:33:31,510
Cornelius and God worked by his Holy Spirit

636
00:33:31,510 --> 00:33:33,130
in the lives of the people, they would

637
00:33:33,130 --> 00:33:35,190
have booted him out of the church immediately.

638
00:33:35,490 --> 00:33:37,030
And he wouldn't have even had a hearing.

639
00:33:37,290 --> 00:33:39,090
At least they were ready to give Peter

640
00:33:39,090 --> 00:33:39,730
a hearing.

641
00:33:39,830 --> 00:33:44,530
Because of his position in the church, they

642
00:33:44,530 --> 00:33:46,870
were upset that Peter went to the when

643
00:33:46,870 --> 00:33:48,330
they heard that Peter went into the house

644
00:33:48,330 --> 00:33:48,810
of a Gentile.

645
00:33:49,130 --> 00:33:50,690
They really got shook back in Jerusalem.

646
00:33:51,010 --> 00:33:52,370
And when Peter got back, they called him

647
00:33:52,370 --> 00:33:54,430
on the carpet, contended with him.

648
00:33:54,490 --> 00:33:55,130
What are you doing?

649
00:33:55,690 --> 00:33:58,170
You know, taking the gospel to the Gentiles.

650
00:33:59,350 --> 00:33:59,790
Terrible.

651
00:34:01,790 --> 00:34:04,410
So the Lord, no doubt, chose Peter because

652
00:34:04,410 --> 00:34:07,530
of his position of authority, leadership in the

653
00:34:07,530 --> 00:34:08,190
early church.

654
00:34:08,610 --> 00:34:11,830
And at least he was able to have

655
00:34:11,830 --> 00:34:14,790
a hearing before the brethren, before they kicked

656
00:34:14,790 --> 00:34:15,190
him out.

657
00:34:21,179 --> 00:34:25,300
And he said unto them, you know that

658
00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:29,300
it is an unlawful thing for a man

659
00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:32,380
that is a Jew to keep company or

660
00:34:32,380 --> 00:34:34,900
to come unto one of another nation.

661
00:34:35,179 --> 00:34:36,860
Now, you know that what I'm doing is

662
00:34:36,860 --> 00:34:37,340
illegal.

663
00:34:38,179 --> 00:34:41,040
According to the law of the Jews, you

664
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:42,360
know what I'm doing is illegal.

665
00:34:45,810 --> 00:34:49,969
But God hath showed me that I should

666
00:34:49,969 --> 00:34:53,770
not call any man common or unclean.

667
00:34:55,530 --> 00:34:58,690
Therefore, I came to you without game saying,

668
00:34:58,810 --> 00:35:02,030
without arguing as soon as I was sent

669
00:35:02,030 --> 00:35:02,430
for.

670
00:35:03,230 --> 00:35:07,330
Now I ask for what purpose did you

671
00:35:07,330 --> 00:35:07,850
call me?

672
00:35:08,650 --> 00:35:12,850
And Cornelius said four days ago, I was

673
00:35:12,850 --> 00:35:15,350
fasting until this hour.

674
00:35:16,290 --> 00:35:18,630
And at the ninth hour, I prayed in

675
00:35:18,630 --> 00:35:20,850
my house and behold, a man stood before

676
00:35:20,850 --> 00:35:22,450
me in bright clothing.

677
00:35:22,890 --> 00:35:26,390
And he said, Cornelius, your prayer is heard

678
00:35:26,390 --> 00:35:29,230
and your alms are being brought in remembrance

679
00:35:29,230 --> 00:35:30,430
in the sight of God.

680
00:35:30,570 --> 00:35:33,830
Send therefore to Joppa and call hither Simon,

681
00:35:33,950 --> 00:35:36,590
whose surname is Peter, for he is lodged

682
00:35:36,590 --> 00:35:38,570
in the house of one Simon, a tanner

683
00:35:38,570 --> 00:35:41,090
by the seaside, who when he comes shall

684
00:35:41,090 --> 00:35:42,070
speak unto thee.

685
00:35:43,130 --> 00:35:45,470
And immediately, therefore, I was sent to thee

686
00:35:45,470 --> 00:35:47,970
and you have done well in that you

687
00:35:47,970 --> 00:35:48,590
have come.

688
00:35:48,850 --> 00:35:52,330
Now, therefore, we are all here present before

689
00:35:52,330 --> 00:35:55,590
God to hear all of the things that

690
00:35:55,590 --> 00:35:58,170
have been commanded to you by God.

691
00:35:59,190 --> 00:36:02,850
So Peter opened his mouth and said of

692
00:36:02,850 --> 00:36:03,350
a truth.

693
00:36:04,250 --> 00:36:08,190
I perceive that God is no respecter of

694
00:36:08,190 --> 00:36:08,630
persons.

695
00:36:09,970 --> 00:36:12,010
Man is, God isn't.

696
00:36:13,310 --> 00:36:18,810
But in every nation, he that reverences God

697
00:36:18,810 --> 00:36:23,210
and works righteousness is accepted with him.

698
00:36:23,850 --> 00:36:27,710
That God does not limit his work to

699
00:36:27,710 --> 00:36:29,110
any nationality.

700
00:36:29,450 --> 00:36:31,790
What an eye opener this was for Peter.

701
00:36:33,350 --> 00:36:35,750
What a difficult truth this was for the

702
00:36:35,750 --> 00:36:37,330
rest of the church to receive.

703
00:36:38,510 --> 00:36:41,310
That a man could be saved without becoming

704
00:36:41,310 --> 00:36:41,770
a Jew.

705
00:36:43,170 --> 00:36:45,670
They felt that a man had to become

706
00:36:45,670 --> 00:36:47,250
a Jew before he could be saved.

707
00:36:48,210 --> 00:36:51,770
And when there were many Gentiles who came

708
00:36:51,770 --> 00:36:55,010
to the Lord in Antioch and word came

709
00:36:55,010 --> 00:36:58,350
back to the church in Jerusalem concerning the

710
00:36:58,350 --> 00:37:02,370
Gentiles being saved, there were certain of those

711
00:37:02,370 --> 00:37:04,330
who came up from Jerusalem and they said

712
00:37:04,330 --> 00:37:07,030
to them, look, you guys can't be saved

713
00:37:07,030 --> 00:37:11,110
until you are circumcised and you keep the

714
00:37:11,110 --> 00:37:11,950
law of Moses.

715
00:37:12,550 --> 00:37:16,230
And they created quite a big stir there

716
00:37:16,230 --> 00:37:21,310
in Antioch with this premise.

717
00:37:23,490 --> 00:37:28,740
So Peter said, I realize that God is

718
00:37:28,740 --> 00:37:31,940
no respecter of persons, but he will accept

719
00:37:31,940 --> 00:37:36,680
any man, any nationality, who will fear him

720
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,880
or reverence him and do the works of

721
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:40,520
righteousness.

722
00:37:41,420 --> 00:37:43,960
And the word which God sent unto the

723
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:49,120
children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ,

724
00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:52,440
for he is the Lord of all.

725
00:37:53,260 --> 00:37:56,520
Now, up until this point, the centurion probably

726
00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:00,520
only knew of God through Judaism.

727
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,360
And now he's been being introduced to the

728
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:08,260
fuller revelation that God has fulfilled his promise

729
00:38:08,260 --> 00:38:10,880
and sent the Messiah and he is preaching

730
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:15,340
peace unto all men through Jesus Christ, for

731
00:38:15,340 --> 00:38:17,040
he is the Lord of all.

732
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:21,380
That word, I say, you know, which was

733
00:38:21,380 --> 00:38:24,320
published throughout all of Judea and began from

734
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:27,220
Galilee after the baptism, which John preached.

735
00:38:27,260 --> 00:38:28,260
Now you've heard of Jesus.

736
00:38:28,820 --> 00:38:29,980
You've all heard of him.

737
00:38:31,140 --> 00:38:40,000
You remember when Paul was later facing the

738
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:49,130
Herod in Caesarea, Herod Agrippa, he said, Hey,

739
00:38:49,190 --> 00:38:51,770
Agrippa, you know all about this.

740
00:38:51,870 --> 00:38:53,570
This thing wasn't done in a corner.

741
00:38:54,750 --> 00:38:56,010
You know, you know about Jesus.

742
00:38:56,130 --> 00:38:56,810
You've heard about him.

743
00:38:56,990 --> 00:38:59,150
He didn't just go stand in a corner

744
00:38:59,150 --> 00:38:59,510
someplace.

745
00:38:59,610 --> 00:39:00,890
Everybody knows about him.

746
00:39:01,590 --> 00:39:04,490
So Peter recognizes that you've heard of Jesus

747
00:39:04,490 --> 00:39:04,870
Christ.

748
00:39:04,870 --> 00:39:07,510
The works that he did beginning in Galilee,

749
00:39:09,030 --> 00:39:14,830
who went about how God anointed Jesus of

750
00:39:14,830 --> 00:39:18,810
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,

751
00:39:19,550 --> 00:39:22,530
who went about doing good and healing all

752
00:39:22,530 --> 00:39:25,810
that were oppressed of the devil for God

753
00:39:25,810 --> 00:39:27,450
was with him.

754
00:39:28,150 --> 00:39:30,330
So he is testifying now to the works

755
00:39:30,330 --> 00:39:31,530
of Jesus Christ.

756
00:39:31,530 --> 00:39:34,290
And we are witnesses of all these things,

757
00:39:34,510 --> 00:39:36,250
which he did both in the land of

758
00:39:36,250 --> 00:39:40,430
the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew

759
00:39:40,430 --> 00:39:42,370
and hanged on a tree.

760
00:39:43,350 --> 00:39:46,270
Now him God raised up the third day

761
00:39:46,270 --> 00:39:47,550
and showed him openly.

762
00:39:48,930 --> 00:39:52,850
So again, the testimony of the resurrection by

763
00:39:52,850 --> 00:39:56,310
Peter, but he showed him not to all

764
00:39:56,310 --> 00:39:59,130
the people, but unto witnesses who were chosen

765
00:39:59,130 --> 00:40:02,390
before of God, even to us who did

766
00:40:02,390 --> 00:40:05,490
eat and drink with him after he rose

767
00:40:05,490 --> 00:40:06,250
from the dead.

768
00:40:06,590 --> 00:40:09,790
So we remember that Jesus had the fish

769
00:40:09,790 --> 00:40:12,590
prepared by the seaside and he said, come

770
00:40:12,590 --> 00:40:13,110
and dine.

771
00:40:13,190 --> 00:40:14,690
And he ate fish with them and he

772
00:40:14,690 --> 00:40:15,510
drank with them.

773
00:40:15,930 --> 00:40:17,950
And so after his resurrection, he was both

774
00:40:17,950 --> 00:40:19,790
eating and drinking with them.

775
00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:27,260
And he commanded us to preach unto the

776
00:40:27,260 --> 00:40:30,960
people and to testify that it is he

777
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,560
which was ordained of God to be the

778
00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:33,920
judge.

779
00:40:34,020 --> 00:40:35,460
Both of those who are alive and are

780
00:40:35,460 --> 00:40:35,840
dead.

781
00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:43,800
Christ has been given by God that authority

782
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,980
of standing in judgment of men.

783
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:50,520
Now it is interesting that Jesus was judged

784
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:51,200
by men.

785
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:57,170
He was brought before pilot and he was

786
00:40:57,170 --> 00:40:58,190
judged by pilot.

787
00:40:59,970 --> 00:41:05,400
But there's a paradox here for pilot said,

788
00:41:05,580 --> 00:41:06,620
what shall I do with this man?

789
00:41:06,700 --> 00:41:09,440
Jesus, who was called Christ, the crowd said,

790
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:10,180
crucify him.

791
00:41:10,260 --> 00:41:11,580
He said, why, what evil has he done?

792
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,760
But they cried all the louder, crucify him.

793
00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:17,160
Shall I crucify the king of the Jews?

794
00:41:17,260 --> 00:41:18,420
We have no king, but Caesar.

795
00:41:19,420 --> 00:41:22,400
So pilot delivered him over into their hands

796
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:23,360
to do what they please.

797
00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:26,280
But he said to Jesus, don't you realize

798
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:28,900
I have power to release you, set you

799
00:41:28,900 --> 00:41:30,920
free or to order you to the cross?

800
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:34,100
Jesus said, you don't have any power except

801
00:41:34,100 --> 00:41:35,400
that which has been given to you by

802
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:36,980
my father, but don't worry about it.

803
00:41:37,060 --> 00:41:38,720
Those that turn me over to you or

804
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:41,060
have a greater guilt than you have.

805
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,320
And pilot sought to release him.

806
00:41:44,460 --> 00:41:46,700
Pilot was frightened at that statement.

807
00:41:47,660 --> 00:41:52,260
But in reality, pilot was judging himself.

808
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:55,580
Now every man must face the same question

809
00:41:55,580 --> 00:41:56,080
pilot face.

810
00:41:56,180 --> 00:41:57,360
What am I going to do with Jesus

811
00:41:57,360 --> 00:41:58,280
who is called Christ?

812
00:41:58,500 --> 00:42:01,400
You must make a judgment of what you're

813
00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:02,140
going to do with him.

814
00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:06,560
But in reality, the one being judged is

815
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:08,580
you by the judgment that you make.

816
00:42:10,100 --> 00:42:13,780
You see, if you reject him, then you

817
00:42:13,780 --> 00:42:15,560
are declaring your own judgment.

818
00:42:15,720 --> 00:42:17,420
You will be rejected of God.

819
00:42:17,940 --> 00:42:20,760
If you deny him, then you're declaring your

820
00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,380
own judgment because you will be denied by

821
00:42:23,380 --> 00:42:23,840
God.

822
00:42:24,650 --> 00:42:26,900
So every person really has to stand in

823
00:42:26,900 --> 00:42:27,840
judgment of Jesus.

824
00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:30,520
But the person who is affected by the

825
00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:33,300
decision that they make is really themselves.

826
00:42:36,100 --> 00:42:40,540
Everyone is determining their own destiny by how

827
00:42:40,540 --> 00:42:42,440
they judge Jesus Christ.

828
00:42:43,140 --> 00:42:47,000
God has made him to be the judge,

829
00:42:47,100 --> 00:42:49,940
both of those who are alive and those

830
00:42:49,940 --> 00:42:50,600
who are dead.

831
00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:52,880
And we read of this judgment in.

832
00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:56,900
Second Corinthians, chapter five, and in Revelation, chapter

833
00:42:56,900 --> 00:42:57,320
20.

834
00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:03,000
Now to him, give all the prophets witness

835
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:07,100
that through his name, whosoever believeth in him

836
00:43:07,100 --> 00:43:09,520
shall receive the remission of sins.

837
00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:12,960
He declares that this is something that the

838
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:14,500
prophets all spoke about.

839
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,040
That God would grant the remission of sins

840
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:21,020
through their believing in Jesus Christ.

841
00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:23,320
And of course, we can go back in

842
00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:25,160
the Old Testament and we can find.

843
00:43:25,860 --> 00:43:30,020
These hundreds of prophecies that related to Jesus

844
00:43:30,020 --> 00:43:30,620
Christ.

845
00:43:31,300 --> 00:43:33,240
And the central message of the prophets is

846
00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:34,520
that God would send.

847
00:43:37,210 --> 00:43:39,490
His son for unto us, a child is

848
00:43:39,490 --> 00:43:42,130
born unto us, a son is given.

849
00:43:43,490 --> 00:43:45,690
But that his son would be despised and

850
00:43:45,690 --> 00:43:46,730
rejected of men.

851
00:43:46,950 --> 00:43:51,650
But all of our sins would be laid

852
00:43:51,650 --> 00:44:00,140
upon him and those who believe in him

853
00:44:02,090 --> 00:44:03,510
shall be saved.

854
00:44:03,750 --> 00:44:06,570
So Peter refers to the prophecies.

855
00:44:06,690 --> 00:44:09,070
Now, while Peter was saying these things, while

856
00:44:09,070 --> 00:44:11,730
he was preaching his sermon, the Holy Spirit

857
00:44:11,730 --> 00:44:16,350
interrupted him and he fell on all of

858
00:44:16,350 --> 00:44:18,330
those who heard the word.

859
00:44:19,370 --> 00:44:22,810
Now, Peter didn't coach them and say to

860
00:44:22,810 --> 00:44:24,230
them, now say, Baba, Baba, Baba.

861
00:44:27,850 --> 00:44:30,170
He didn't coach them how to speak in

862
00:44:30,170 --> 00:44:30,470
tongues.

863
00:44:31,730 --> 00:44:35,510
It just happened simultaneously to all of them

864
00:44:35,510 --> 00:44:38,490
through the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.

865
00:44:40,720 --> 00:44:44,600
I am a little leery about these sessions

866
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:49,600
where a person is coached and taught how

867
00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:51,100
to speak in an unknown tongue.

868
00:44:51,100 --> 00:44:54,820
But I believe in that sovereign work of

869
00:44:54,820 --> 00:44:55,820
God's Holy Spirit.

870
00:44:56,240 --> 00:45:00,980
Some instruction is needed and necessary, but yet

871
00:45:00,980 --> 00:45:02,920
the work that is to be wrought should

872
00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:04,660
be wrought by the Spirit of God.

873
00:45:05,740 --> 00:45:09,020
Now, you remember, some came down with Peter

874
00:45:09,020 --> 00:45:09,880
from Joppa.

875
00:45:09,980 --> 00:45:11,760
In fact, there were six who came with

876
00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:13,460
Peter from Joppa.

877
00:45:13,860 --> 00:45:14,980
Peter made the seventh.

878
00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:19,340
And they that were of the circumcision.

879
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:23,540
Who believe that is the Jews that come

880
00:45:23,540 --> 00:45:24,980
with Peter who were believers.

881
00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:27,160
They were astonished.

882
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:29,800
All of those that had come with Peter,

883
00:45:29,900 --> 00:45:33,920
because that on the Gentiles also was poured

884
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:35,300
out the gift of the Holy Spirit.

885
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:36,660
How can this be?

886
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:41,000
That God would put his Holy Spirit upon

887
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:42,240
an unclean Gentile.

888
00:45:43,100 --> 00:45:46,600
And they were astonished at this sovereign work

889
00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:47,200
of God.

890
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:52,040
That the Gentiles had received the gift of

891
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:52,420
the Holy Spirit.

892
00:45:52,500 --> 00:45:53,080
How did they know?

893
00:45:53,180 --> 00:45:58,580
Because they heard them speak with tongues and

894
00:45:58,580 --> 00:46:00,020
magnify God.

895
00:46:00,820 --> 00:46:03,240
Now, that's exactly what was happening back in

896
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:05,100
the second chapter of Acts when the Holy

897
00:46:05,100 --> 00:46:06,280
Spirit fell upon the church.

898
00:46:06,660 --> 00:46:08,920
In the beginning, they were speaking in these

899
00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:12,480
other dialects, magnifying God, declaring the glorious works

900
00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:12,980
of God.

901
00:46:13,420 --> 00:46:14,860
Same thing is happening here.

902
00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:18,380
The people are speaking in unknown tongues, magnifying

903
00:46:18,380 --> 00:46:18,820
God.

904
00:46:19,060 --> 00:46:19,860
Then answered Peter.

905
00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:24,940
Can any man forbid water that these should

906
00:46:24,940 --> 00:46:27,100
not be baptized, which have received the Holy

907
00:46:27,100 --> 00:46:28,500
Spirit as well as we?

908
00:46:29,240 --> 00:46:30,980
Now, up until this time, they would not

909
00:46:30,980 --> 00:46:33,600
baptize any Gentile into the church.

910
00:46:34,660 --> 00:46:37,440
But Peter says, hey, you know, what can

911
00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:37,880
we do?

912
00:46:38,420 --> 00:46:39,660
God's given the Holy Spirit.

913
00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:40,960
We might as well go ahead and baptize

914
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:41,120
him.

915
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:44,140
And so he commanded them to be baptized

916
00:46:44,140 --> 00:46:45,740
in the name of the Lord.

917
00:46:46,180 --> 00:46:47,520
And then he prayed.

918
00:46:48,180 --> 00:46:50,400
Then they prayed that he would tarry with

919
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:51,760
them for a few days.

920
00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:56,400
Now, the apostles and the brethren that were

921
00:46:56,400 --> 00:46:59,400
in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also

922
00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,040
received the word of God.

923
00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:04,400
And when Peter was come back to Jerusalem,

924
00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:07,320
they that were of the circumcision had a

925
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:08,020
fight with him.

926
00:47:09,260 --> 00:47:13,000
And they said, you went to men who

927
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:16,320
were uncircumcised and you ate with them.

928
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:21,760
But Peter just rehearsed the matter from the

929
00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:25,520
beginning and he expounded it to them according

930
00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:26,980
to how it happened in order.

931
00:47:28,460 --> 00:47:30,360
And he said, I was in the city

932
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,880
of Joppa praying and in a trance, I

933
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:35,520
saw a vision and a certain vessel descend

934
00:47:35,520 --> 00:47:36,640
as it had been a great sheet.

935
00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:38,740
And he repeats this vision.

936
00:47:38,740 --> 00:47:41,660
Now, it is interesting that Luke really is

937
00:47:41,660 --> 00:47:44,380
limited by space at this time.

938
00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:47,500
Of course, they did not publish books, but

939
00:47:47,500 --> 00:47:49,980
they wrote everything on a scroll.

940
00:47:51,220 --> 00:47:53,260
And there was a limit to what you

941
00:47:53,260 --> 00:47:54,500
could write on a scroll.

942
00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:57,540
And the longest scrolls were about 35 feet

943
00:47:57,540 --> 00:47:58,020
long.

944
00:47:58,980 --> 00:48:01,520
And they would write these epistles on these

945
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:02,040
scrolls.

946
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:04,460
And of course, they would roll it and

947
00:48:04,460 --> 00:48:07,280
write as they were going, rolling and unrolling

948
00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:08,080
and all the scroll.

949
00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:11,300
And they became very bulky if they got

950
00:48:11,300 --> 00:48:12,940
over 35 feet long.

951
00:48:14,500 --> 00:48:18,380
Now, the Book of Acts, because of its

952
00:48:18,380 --> 00:48:20,400
length, would have to be recorded in a

953
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:23,840
scroll of maximum limits, about 35 feet long.

954
00:48:24,300 --> 00:48:26,480
The original copy that Luke wrote of the

955
00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:28,600
Book of Acts was probably in a 35

956
00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:29,480
foot scroll.

957
00:48:30,380 --> 00:48:34,740
So that you would want to conserve the

958
00:48:34,740 --> 00:48:36,420
space so you could tell as much of

959
00:48:36,420 --> 00:48:37,820
the story as you could.

960
00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:42,760
But for a definite reason, the Holy Spirit

961
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:47,500
had this account of Peter's being called the

962
00:48:47,500 --> 00:48:51,360
Gentile recorded twice in the limited space of

963
00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:52,200
the Book of Acts.

964
00:48:53,740 --> 00:48:58,980
No doubt that God might bear witness to

965
00:48:58,980 --> 00:49:01,760
all of the Jews and to all men

966
00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:05,260
everywhere that the gospel of Jesus Christ is

967
00:49:05,260 --> 00:49:07,980
the free gift of God to every man

968
00:49:07,980 --> 00:49:11,320
regardless his color or his ethnic background.

969
00:49:12,700 --> 00:49:15,040
So the gospel is open to all.

970
00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:19,340
And so the Lord sees fit to record

971
00:49:19,340 --> 00:49:22,900
this vision of Peter twice in the limited

972
00:49:22,900 --> 00:49:25,860
area of the 35 feet of the scroll

973
00:49:25,860 --> 00:49:26,880
of the Book of Acts.

974
00:49:27,820 --> 00:49:29,700
And so he tells again of this vision

975
00:49:29,700 --> 00:49:32,360
of the sheet with the four corners upon

976
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:34,020
which when I have fastened my eyes, I

977
00:49:34,020 --> 00:49:36,260
saw the four-footed beast of the earth,

978
00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:37,840
the wild beast, the creeping things, the fowls

979
00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:38,200
of the air.

980
00:49:38,620 --> 00:49:41,060
I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise,

981
00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:42,180
Peter, kill and eat.

982
00:49:42,260 --> 00:49:44,960
And I said, Not so, Lord, for nothing

983
00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:47,240
common or unclean has at any time entered

984
00:49:47,240 --> 00:49:48,000
into my mouth.

985
00:49:48,500 --> 00:49:50,620
But the voice answered me again from heaven,

986
00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:53,920
What God has cleansed, don't call common.

987
00:49:54,860 --> 00:49:57,180
And this was done three times and all

988
00:49:57,180 --> 00:49:58,540
were drawn up again into heaven.

989
00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:01,640
And behold, immediately there were three men already

990
00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:03,620
come to the house where it was who

991
00:50:03,620 --> 00:50:06,640
were sent from Caesarea unto me, and the

992
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,560
Spirit bade me go with them.

993
00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:13,560
So Peter is not taking the responsibility for

994
00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:14,180
what happened.

995
00:50:14,980 --> 00:50:17,140
And he's not taking the blame.

996
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:19,500
The Spirit bade me to go.

997
00:50:20,320 --> 00:50:23,400
I was being directed by the Spirit of

998
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:26,580
God, doubting nothing.

999
00:50:27,740 --> 00:50:32,320
Moreover, I took these six brothers with me

1000
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:34,840
and we entered into the man's house.

1001
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:37,660
So Peter took the witnesses, probably because he

1002
00:50:37,660 --> 00:50:38,920
didn't know what was going to happen.

1003
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:40,780
And he wanted witnesses when he got back

1004
00:50:40,780 --> 00:50:43,620
on the carpet in Jerusalem to verify that

1005
00:50:43,620 --> 00:50:45,400
the story he told was true, that it

1006
00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:46,500
wasn't really me.

1007
00:50:46,660 --> 00:50:48,140
It was God who did it.

1008
00:50:48,180 --> 00:50:51,280
I wasn't responsible so that he wouldn't get

1009
00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:53,980
kicked out of the early church.

1010
00:50:53,980 --> 00:50:57,100
And so he showed us how that he

1011
00:50:57,100 --> 00:50:59,780
had seen an angel in his house, which

1012
00:50:59,780 --> 00:51:01,500
stood and said unto him, send men to

1013
00:51:01,500 --> 00:51:03,600
Joppa, call for Simon, whose surname is Peter,

1014
00:51:03,980 --> 00:51:06,880
who will tell thee words whereby you and

1015
00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:09,120
all of your house shall be saved.

1016
00:51:09,820 --> 00:51:14,380
So the Spirit bade me to go and

1017
00:51:14,380 --> 00:51:17,940
bring them the gospel, the word of salvation.

1018
00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:22,920
God has ordained to save the Gentiles.

1019
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:26,280
And as I began to speak, the Holy

1020
00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:28,960
Spirit fell on them as on us at

1021
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:29,440
the beginning.

1022
00:51:29,740 --> 00:51:30,700
I didn't touch him.

1023
00:51:30,780 --> 00:51:31,620
I didn't do anything.

1024
00:51:32,300 --> 00:51:34,600
Then I remembered the word of the Lord,

1025
00:51:34,700 --> 00:51:37,600
how that he said, John, indeed baptized with

1026
00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:40,000
water, but you will be baptized with the

1027
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:42,940
Holy Spirit for as much then as God

1028
00:51:42,940 --> 00:51:44,000
gave them.

1029
00:51:44,140 --> 00:51:45,260
I didn't do it.

1030
00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:46,840
Don't blame me.

1031
00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:50,780
As God gave to them the like gift,

1032
00:51:50,860 --> 00:51:53,580
as he did unto us who believed on

1033
00:51:53,580 --> 00:51:57,160
the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that

1034
00:51:57,160 --> 00:51:58,600
I could withstand God?

1035
00:51:58,820 --> 00:51:59,960
Good question, isn't it?

1036
00:52:00,560 --> 00:52:02,500
Who am I that I can withstand the

1037
00:52:02,500 --> 00:52:03,300
work of God?

1038
00:52:04,840 --> 00:52:07,080
Better that I not try to withstand the

1039
00:52:07,080 --> 00:52:07,500
work of God.

1040
00:52:07,620 --> 00:52:09,860
Unfortunately, there have been a lot of people

1041
00:52:09,860 --> 00:52:11,520
who've been in that position of trying to

1042
00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:12,840
withstand the work of God.

1043
00:52:15,300 --> 00:52:17,840
God begins to work and they try to

1044
00:52:17,840 --> 00:52:19,240
withstand that work.

1045
00:52:19,420 --> 00:52:23,620
They criticize or they find fault or, well,

1046
00:52:23,660 --> 00:52:27,400
it didn't happen according to our traditional standards.

1047
00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:37,800
I was given a letter recently which was

1048
00:52:37,800 --> 00:52:42,000
sent by a pastor of a church of

1049
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,300
Christ to one of the ladies here at

1050
00:52:44,300 --> 00:52:47,040
Calvary who had moved to California and had

1051
00:52:47,040 --> 00:52:51,000
started attending church here and he wrote to

1052
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:53,720
her rebuking her for attending the church here

1053
00:52:53,720 --> 00:52:56,180
because we could not be legitimate.

1054
00:52:56,780 --> 00:52:58,160
We are all of us going to hell

1055
00:52:58,160 --> 00:53:01,100
because we don't have the right name above

1056
00:53:01,100 --> 00:53:01,560
our door.

1057
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:04,440
If we are not called the church of

1058
00:53:04,440 --> 00:53:08,660
Christ, then we are worshiping under false banners

1059
00:53:08,660 --> 00:53:12,020
and cannot be truly worshiping Jesus Christ.

1060
00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:15,340
And we're all wrong because we don't have

1061
00:53:15,340 --> 00:53:16,140
the right name.

1062
00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:23,420
Poor fellow, his heaven is going to be

1063
00:53:23,420 --> 00:53:25,020
a very lonely place.

1064
00:53:26,870 --> 00:53:32,960
It's like the fellow being ushered around heaven

1065
00:53:32,960 --> 00:53:36,640
by Peter and he saw all these different

1066
00:53:36,640 --> 00:53:40,260
groups of people worshiping the Lord and having

1067
00:53:40,260 --> 00:53:41,280
a great time.

1068
00:53:41,560 --> 00:53:44,900
And there were the Baptists over here and

1069
00:53:44,900 --> 00:53:48,260
the Presbyterians over here and the Methodists over

1070
00:53:48,260 --> 00:53:50,340
here and the Pentecostals over here.

1071
00:53:50,340 --> 00:53:52,620
They were just having a glorious time together

1072
00:53:52,620 --> 00:53:53,840
and as they went down the road a

1073
00:53:53,840 --> 00:53:57,860
bit, there was this high wall and the

1074
00:53:57,860 --> 00:54:00,700
fellow heard the noise of people singing behind

1075
00:54:00,700 --> 00:54:04,100
it and he said, who are they?

1076
00:54:04,180 --> 00:54:05,440
How come they're not out with the group?

1077
00:54:05,500 --> 00:54:08,220
He said, they're the church of Christ and

1078
00:54:08,220 --> 00:54:09,680
they think they're the only ones here.

1079
00:54:13,650 --> 00:54:18,670
Now, let me say, let me say that

1080
00:54:18,670 --> 00:54:22,450
this pastor is not representative of all of

1081
00:54:22,450 --> 00:54:24,310
the church of Christ pastors.

1082
00:54:24,990 --> 00:54:26,210
He is an individual.

1083
00:54:27,130 --> 00:54:29,190
He has his own individual convictions, which I

1084
00:54:29,190 --> 00:54:30,010
don't agree with.

1085
00:54:30,390 --> 00:54:33,830
They are, I believe, very narrow and I

1086
00:54:33,830 --> 00:54:36,690
really, well, I'm sure that the Lord will

1087
00:54:36,690 --> 00:54:38,410
give me grace to accept the brethren when

1088
00:54:38,410 --> 00:54:39,690
we get to heaven, but I have a

1089
00:54:39,690 --> 00:54:42,170
hard time with people that are that narrow

1090
00:54:42,170 --> 00:54:43,170
in their views.

1091
00:54:43,630 --> 00:54:49,110
I have excellent fellowship with many church of

1092
00:54:49,110 --> 00:54:54,510
Christ pastors and I respect the work that

1093
00:54:54,510 --> 00:54:57,010
they are doing for the Lord and this

1094
00:54:57,010 --> 00:54:59,870
man is not at all representative of the

1095
00:54:59,870 --> 00:55:01,890
church of Christ ministry.

1096
00:55:02,330 --> 00:55:08,130
He only represents a small segment of that

1097
00:55:08,130 --> 00:55:13,810
marvelous fellowship of churches and I'm thankful that

1098
00:55:13,810 --> 00:55:18,750
that he is not representative of all of

1099
00:55:18,750 --> 00:55:21,790
them, but there are church of Christ ministers

1100
00:55:21,790 --> 00:55:25,490
here in the area that I love and

1101
00:55:25,490 --> 00:55:29,870
highly respect and I thank God for the

1102
00:55:29,870 --> 00:55:32,630
ministry that they have and for the influence

1103
00:55:32,630 --> 00:55:35,630
that their churches have in their communities.

1104
00:55:36,310 --> 00:55:41,050
And so I don't want you to go

1105
00:55:41,050 --> 00:55:43,110
out and say, oh man, he really put

1106
00:55:43,110 --> 00:55:44,370
down the churches of Christ.

1107
00:55:44,610 --> 00:55:45,390
Not at all.

1108
00:55:45,510 --> 00:55:46,710
I don't intend to do that.

1109
00:55:47,030 --> 00:55:52,560
It was just a joke and it just

1110
00:55:52,560 --> 00:56:01,240
represents a small man with small concepts of

1111
00:56:01,240 --> 00:56:03,720
God's grace and God's work.

1112
00:56:05,780 --> 00:56:08,820
Unfortunately, there are people who are that small

1113
00:56:08,820 --> 00:56:13,620
and that narrow, but we pray that God

1114
00:56:13,620 --> 00:56:17,060
will broaden their horizons because it must be

1115
00:56:17,060 --> 00:56:20,160
terrible to live with all of that, you

1116
00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:23,280
know, pent up venom and all just eating

1117
00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:26,160
you up inside because how can you explain

1118
00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:27,140
the work of God?

1119
00:56:27,280 --> 00:56:28,360
You know, well, what they do is say,

1120
00:56:28,480 --> 00:56:31,180
well, it's really Satan working and it is

1121
00:56:31,180 --> 00:56:34,760
a tragic thing that people are that narrow.

1122
00:56:36,860 --> 00:56:39,760
But well, for instance, Thomas Overton in Huntington

1123
00:56:39,760 --> 00:56:42,540
Beach, what a beautiful brother and how I

1124
00:56:42,540 --> 00:56:45,360
love this man of God and I have

1125
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:46,220
great fellowship.

1126
00:56:46,380 --> 00:56:47,800
I have had in the past great fellowship

1127
00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:48,100
with him.

1128
00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:49,460
I had seen Tom for quite a while,

1129
00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:51,640
but I would like to get together with

1130
00:56:51,640 --> 00:56:54,380
him again because we have had such great

1131
00:56:54,380 --> 00:56:55,540
fellowship in the past.

1132
00:56:55,960 --> 00:57:02,060
We've just, they're just good brothers and I

1133
00:57:02,060 --> 00:57:02,420
love them.

1134
00:57:13,320 --> 00:57:14,860
So, if any of you run down to

1135
00:57:14,860 --> 00:57:17,400
Tom Overton with the tape of this sermon,

1136
00:57:21,060 --> 00:57:22,300
Tom knows that I love him.

1137
00:57:29,760 --> 00:57:33,120
So, Peter is explaining, who was I that

1138
00:57:33,120 --> 00:57:34,480
I could withstand God?

1139
00:57:35,480 --> 00:57:37,640
And when they heard these things, they held

1140
00:57:37,640 --> 00:57:39,960
their peace and they glorified God saying, then

1141
00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:44,560
God also to the Gentiles has granted repentance

1142
00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:45,380
unto life.

1143
00:57:46,340 --> 00:57:50,520
And they accepted the work of God among

1144
00:57:50,520 --> 00:57:51,080
the Gentiles.

1145
00:57:51,080 --> 00:57:53,680
Now they weren't really ready to enter into

1146
00:57:53,680 --> 00:57:55,140
full fellowship with the Gentiles.

1147
00:57:55,860 --> 00:57:57,880
As we move along into the book of

1148
00:57:57,880 --> 00:58:04,800
Acts, we will find that Peter went down

1149
00:58:04,800 --> 00:58:06,760
to Antioch and he was eating with the

1150
00:58:06,760 --> 00:58:09,800
Gentiles until certain brethren from Jerusalem came down.

1151
00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:13,600
And then Peter separated himself because of the

1152
00:58:13,600 --> 00:58:15,700
feelings that they had still of eating with

1153
00:58:15,700 --> 00:58:18,260
Gentiles and it caused a division in the

1154
00:58:18,260 --> 00:58:20,680
church of Antioch for which Paul rebuked Paul

1155
00:58:20,680 --> 00:58:22,600
refers to that in the book of Galatians.

1156
00:58:23,580 --> 00:58:27,240
So, the walls are tumbling though.

1157
00:58:27,380 --> 00:58:30,480
They're not completely down, not by a long

1158
00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:30,820
shot.

1159
00:58:30,940 --> 00:58:33,580
And we'll come in the 13th chapter to

1160
00:58:33,580 --> 00:58:37,120
some issues that arose over this, actually in

1161
00:58:37,120 --> 00:58:39,740
the 15th chapter, issues that arose over this

1162
00:58:39,740 --> 00:58:40,300
very thing.

1163
00:58:41,760 --> 00:58:44,620
Now, they that were scattered abroad after the

1164
00:58:44,620 --> 00:58:48,220
persecution that arose about Stephen, they traveled as

1165
00:58:48,220 --> 00:58:53,580
far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch.

1166
00:58:53,740 --> 00:58:59,360
Now, Antioch was the third largest Roman city

1167
00:58:59,360 --> 00:59:03,800
after Rome and Alexandria was Antioch.

1168
00:59:04,520 --> 00:59:09,300
A very large metropolis where the Orentes River

1169
00:59:09,300 --> 00:59:13,320
comes into the Mediterranean Sea.

1170
00:59:15,380 --> 00:59:19,980
The basic or the chief god of Antioch

1171
00:59:19,980 --> 00:59:21,660
was Daphne.

1172
00:59:24,130 --> 00:59:28,970
And there was a huge temple to Daphne

1173
00:59:28,970 --> 00:59:34,830
in a laurel grove five miles from Antioch.

1174
00:59:36,770 --> 00:59:40,790
And according to the story, Apollo fell in

1175
00:59:40,790 --> 00:59:45,090
love with Daphne and was pursuing her.

1176
00:59:47,300 --> 00:59:49,660
But in order to save her from being

1177
00:59:49,660 --> 00:59:52,420
raped by Apollo, she turned into a laurel

1178
00:59:52,420 --> 00:59:52,820
tree.

1179
00:59:54,440 --> 00:59:59,720
And so, they built this temple to Daphne

1180
00:59:59,720 --> 01:00:04,400
there in the laurel tree grove.

1181
01:00:05,600 --> 01:00:11,480
And the priestesses in the worship of Daphne

1182
01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:12,940
were prostitutes.

1183
01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:16,600
And there in the laurel groves, they would

1184
01:00:16,600 --> 01:00:22,000
reenact in their worship, the seduction by Apollo

1185
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:23,880
of Daphne.

1186
01:00:24,620 --> 01:00:28,820
And so, their worship was very licentious.

1187
01:00:30,100 --> 01:00:34,900
And the city of Antioch became a synonym

1188
01:00:34,900 --> 01:00:39,540
for people who lived a very loose, licentious

1189
01:00:39,540 --> 01:00:40,340
life.

1190
01:00:41,160 --> 01:00:45,880
Gambling was rampant, as was all kinds of

1191
01:00:45,880 --> 01:00:48,520
vices, moral and all.

1192
01:00:48,960 --> 01:00:50,580
They were prevalent and rampant.

1193
01:00:50,720 --> 01:00:54,820
So, they said that the person lived like

1194
01:00:56,260 --> 01:00:59,320
a person of Antioch.

1195
01:00:59,380 --> 01:01:00,660
If a person was just living a very

1196
01:01:00,660 --> 01:01:04,200
lustful life of vice, they said, oh, he

1197
01:01:04,200 --> 01:01:06,620
lives like a person of Antioch.

1198
01:01:08,020 --> 01:01:11,760
It is interesting that it was in this

1199
01:01:11,760 --> 01:01:17,000
pagan city that the gospel of Christ gained

1200
01:01:17,000 --> 01:01:18,700
such a strong foothold.

1201
01:01:19,340 --> 01:01:25,120
And the church in Antioch became the center

1202
01:01:25,120 --> 01:01:27,920
for the missions to the Gentiles.

1203
01:01:28,500 --> 01:01:31,180
And it was from this church of Antioch

1204
01:01:31,180 --> 01:01:35,500
that the gospel really spread through the Gentile

1205
01:01:35,500 --> 01:01:35,900
world.

1206
01:01:35,900 --> 01:01:41,000
And the missionaries would come back and report

1207
01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:43,320
to the church in Antioch.

1208
01:01:43,400 --> 01:01:46,380
It became one of the centers of the

1209
01:01:46,380 --> 01:01:47,140
early church.

1210
01:01:49,740 --> 01:01:54,140
Especially that Gentile element of the early church.

1211
01:01:55,440 --> 01:01:58,220
Now, they had gone as far as Phoenicia

1212
01:01:58,220 --> 01:02:01,500
and Cyprus and Antioch preaching the word, but

1213
01:02:01,500 --> 01:02:02,540
only to the Jews.

1214
01:02:02,760 --> 01:02:04,460
They weren't preaching to the Gentiles.

1215
01:02:05,980 --> 01:02:09,800
And some of them were men of Cyprus

1216
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:13,680
and Cyrene, which when they were come to

1217
01:02:13,680 --> 01:02:17,480
Antioch, they spake to the Grecians, the Hellenists,

1218
01:02:18,180 --> 01:02:21,560
as they preached the lordship of Jesus.

1219
01:02:22,600 --> 01:02:24,740
And the hand of the Lord was with

1220
01:02:24,740 --> 01:02:27,880
them and a great number believed and turned

1221
01:02:27,880 --> 01:02:28,700
unto the Lord.

1222
01:02:29,360 --> 01:02:31,560
Then the tidings of these things came to

1223
01:02:31,560 --> 01:02:34,480
the ears of the church which was in

1224
01:02:34,480 --> 01:02:34,940
Jerusalem.

1225
01:02:34,940 --> 01:02:39,860
Then they sent forth Barnabas that he should

1226
01:02:39,860 --> 01:02:42,660
go as far as Antioch, who when he

1227
01:02:42,660 --> 01:02:46,280
came, he had seen the grace of God.

1228
01:02:46,680 --> 01:02:48,880
He was glad and exhorted all of them

1229
01:02:48,880 --> 01:02:53,040
that with purpose of heart, they should stick

1230
01:02:53,040 --> 01:02:54,520
or cleave unto the Lord.

1231
01:02:55,600 --> 01:02:57,840
Now, Barnabas was really the ideal man to

1232
01:02:57,840 --> 01:03:01,880
send because his ministry was that of reconciling

1233
01:03:01,880 --> 01:03:03,380
within the body of Christ.

1234
01:03:04,100 --> 01:03:06,780
He was the one who, when the church

1235
01:03:06,780 --> 01:03:09,080
in Jerusalem would have nothing to do with

1236
01:03:09,080 --> 01:03:12,020
Paul after his conversion, brought Paul to the

1237
01:03:12,020 --> 01:03:14,080
brothers and said, look, he is a brother.

1238
01:03:14,900 --> 01:03:16,480
Receive him now as a brother.

1239
01:03:16,780 --> 01:03:18,380
And he was the one that brought Paul

1240
01:03:18,380 --> 01:03:21,660
into fellowship there into the church in Jerusalem.

1241
01:03:22,320 --> 01:03:25,760
The son of consolation is what the name

1242
01:03:25,760 --> 01:03:26,800
Barnabas means.

1243
01:03:27,160 --> 01:03:32,000
And a man who reconciles opposing parties or

1244
01:03:32,000 --> 01:03:34,460
their differing parties.

1245
01:03:35,420 --> 01:03:38,080
And so he was an ideal one to

1246
01:03:38,080 --> 01:03:39,120
send to Antioch.

1247
01:03:39,220 --> 01:03:41,660
When this revival is broken out now among

1248
01:03:41,660 --> 01:03:44,800
the Gentiles, he is a man who has

1249
01:03:44,800 --> 01:03:49,000
great grace and understanding and was able to

1250
01:03:49,000 --> 01:03:52,380
accept the work that God was doing there

1251
01:03:52,380 --> 01:03:53,740
in Antioch.

1252
01:03:53,740 --> 01:03:58,920
Now he exhorted them that they should purpose

1253
01:03:58,920 --> 01:04:01,620
in their hearts to just continue in the

1254
01:04:01,620 --> 01:04:03,400
Lord or cleave to the Lord or abide

1255
01:04:03,400 --> 01:04:04,130
in the Lord.

1256
01:04:05,680 --> 01:04:07,860
Postman on can be translated any of those

1257
01:04:07,860 --> 01:04:08,240
ways.

1258
01:04:09,780 --> 01:04:12,280
And so he exhorted them that they should

1259
01:04:12,280 --> 01:04:15,120
purpose in their hearts, that is, make a

1260
01:04:15,120 --> 01:04:18,320
total commitment, not just deciding your mind.

1261
01:04:19,620 --> 01:04:21,940
Too many decisions are made in the mind.

1262
01:04:23,950 --> 01:04:26,200
The heart is the seat of a man's

1263
01:04:26,200 --> 01:04:26,580
will.

1264
01:04:27,640 --> 01:04:29,900
When you purpose in your heart, you are

1265
01:04:29,900 --> 01:04:32,480
setting the course for your life.

1266
01:04:33,500 --> 01:04:35,620
You're making the full commitment.

1267
01:04:35,860 --> 01:04:36,820
He's calling on them.

1268
01:04:37,140 --> 01:04:40,480
Make a full commitment of yourself to Jesus

1269
01:04:40,480 --> 01:04:43,120
Christ, because Barnabas knew that they were going

1270
01:04:43,120 --> 01:04:44,360
to be facing persecution.

1271
01:04:45,000 --> 01:04:46,760
They were going to be facing real problems

1272
01:04:46,760 --> 01:04:50,100
in the Gentile world, which was antagonistic to

1273
01:04:50,100 --> 01:04:53,400
Jesus, a Gentile world that especially there in

1274
01:04:53,400 --> 01:04:56,720
Antioch was given over to every vice and

1275
01:04:56,720 --> 01:04:58,100
sexual impurity.

1276
01:04:58,360 --> 01:05:01,640
And if you don't make a total commitment

1277
01:05:01,640 --> 01:05:04,340
to Jesus Christ, you're going to fall by

1278
01:05:04,340 --> 01:05:04,860
the wayside.

1279
01:05:04,960 --> 01:05:07,240
You'll be sucked back in to that whole

1280
01:05:07,240 --> 01:05:08,020
world system.

1281
01:05:08,160 --> 01:05:10,840
So he exhorted them purpose in your heart.

1282
01:05:11,540 --> 01:05:13,240
You're going to stick with the Lord.

1283
01:05:14,620 --> 01:05:18,060
Make that complete commitment purpose in your heart.

1284
01:05:18,060 --> 01:05:19,420
This is the way it's going to be.

1285
01:05:19,920 --> 01:05:24,300
Even as Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Michelle purposed

1286
01:05:24,300 --> 01:05:28,580
in their hearts not to defile themselves when

1287
01:05:28,580 --> 01:05:29,740
carried away to Babylon.

1288
01:05:34,180 --> 01:05:37,320
For he, Barnabas, was a good man and

1289
01:05:37,320 --> 01:05:40,820
full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

1290
01:05:41,980 --> 01:05:46,440
And many, much people were added unto the

1291
01:05:46,440 --> 01:05:46,740
Lord.

1292
01:05:48,120 --> 01:05:52,160
Then he departed to Tarsus to look for

1293
01:05:52,160 --> 01:05:53,140
Saul.

1294
01:05:53,940 --> 01:05:57,820
Now, he recognized that here is a work

1295
01:05:57,820 --> 01:06:01,040
of the Holy Spirit being wrought in this

1296
01:06:01,040 --> 01:06:05,260
Roman culture, or a city that is steeped

1297
01:06:05,260 --> 01:06:08,760
in actually the Grecian culture, but it is

1298
01:06:08,760 --> 01:06:11,420
a major city of the ancient world.

1299
01:06:12,040 --> 01:06:16,120
And he realized that the ministry here would

1300
01:06:16,120 --> 01:06:16,720
take a long time.

1301
01:06:16,740 --> 01:06:17,320
And he realized that Saul was a very

1302
01:06:17,320 --> 01:06:19,040
special kind of a person.

1303
01:06:21,380 --> 01:06:24,200
One who had been liberalized by the Holy

1304
01:06:24,200 --> 01:06:24,680
Spirit.

1305
01:06:26,860 --> 01:06:29,440
One who understood the Grecian culture.

1306
01:06:30,760 --> 01:06:32,840
And yet one who was strong in the

1307
01:06:32,840 --> 01:06:33,220
word.

1308
01:06:35,620 --> 01:06:39,600
Now, Paul the Apostle, at this time he

1309
01:06:39,600 --> 01:06:40,820
was still called Saul.

1310
01:06:42,520 --> 01:06:46,380
When he left Jerusalem, went back home to

1311
01:06:46,380 --> 01:06:47,940
his home city of Tarsus.

1312
01:06:51,520 --> 01:06:56,280
Later, I am certain that those eight years

1313
01:06:56,280 --> 01:06:59,420
were spent by Paul making tents in Tarsus,

1314
01:07:00,160 --> 01:07:03,760
but also sharing his faith there in the

1315
01:07:03,760 --> 01:07:04,660
city of Tarsus.

1316
01:07:05,640 --> 01:07:09,360
As God was preparing him still for the

1317
01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:11,160
work that God wanted him to do.

1318
01:07:12,580 --> 01:07:16,340
We oftentimes make a great mistake in seeking

1319
01:07:16,340 --> 01:07:20,540
to jump immediately into the ministry the moment

1320
01:07:20,540 --> 01:07:22,780
we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord.

1321
01:07:25,100 --> 01:07:28,580
It is important that our lives be prepared

1322
01:07:28,580 --> 01:07:29,960
by the Spirit.

1323
01:07:31,520 --> 01:07:35,480
And that preparation is not an overnight preparation.

1324
01:07:37,770 --> 01:07:40,450
During the war, we had what were known

1325
01:07:40,450 --> 01:07:42,190
in the Air Force as the 90-day

1326
01:07:42,190 --> 01:07:42,830
wonders.

1327
01:07:44,410 --> 01:07:47,850
Through basic primary school and all in your

1328
01:07:47,850 --> 01:07:50,170
first lieutenant bars in 90 days.

1329
01:07:51,510 --> 01:07:54,750
As we were training men for the Air

1330
01:07:54,750 --> 01:07:55,250
Force.

1331
01:07:56,090 --> 01:07:58,530
But God has no 90-day wonders.

1332
01:07:59,550 --> 01:08:02,730
It's important that we be rooted and grounded

1333
01:08:02,730 --> 01:08:04,990
in the Word of God and in the

1334
01:08:04,990 --> 01:08:05,890
work of God.

1335
01:08:06,430 --> 01:08:09,730
And it is interesting to me that this

1336
01:08:09,730 --> 01:08:12,550
is some 11 years after Paul's conversion.

1337
01:08:12,710 --> 01:08:14,970
He spent the first three down in Arabia.

1338
01:08:15,930 --> 01:08:16,990
They're learning.

1339
01:08:17,689 --> 01:08:21,410
Now, eight more years of silence in Tarsus.

1340
01:08:23,330 --> 01:08:27,710
Before Barnabas seeing the work in Antioch, realizing

1341
01:08:27,710 --> 01:08:31,010
that Paul would be the ideal person for

1342
01:08:31,010 --> 01:08:34,770
this ministry, went to Tarsus to look for

1343
01:08:34,770 --> 01:08:35,370
Saul.

1344
01:08:36,649 --> 01:08:39,870
And when he had found him, he brought

1345
01:08:39,870 --> 01:08:40,990
him to Antioch.

1346
01:08:41,609 --> 01:08:43,529
And it came to pass that a whole

1347
01:08:43,529 --> 01:08:47,590
year they assembled themselves with the church and

1348
01:08:47,590 --> 01:08:50,569
they taught much people.

1349
01:08:50,569 --> 01:08:55,710
And the disciples were called Christians first at

1350
01:08:55,710 --> 01:08:56,189
Antioch.

1351
01:08:56,290 --> 01:09:00,050
The word Christians is actually Christ folks.

1352
01:09:01,430 --> 01:09:05,050
Now, during a period a few years ago,

1353
01:09:05,270 --> 01:09:07,970
there was a title placed upon a bunch

1354
01:09:07,970 --> 01:09:10,529
of the hippies that were accepting Jesus as

1355
01:09:10,529 --> 01:09:11,729
the Jesus people.

1356
01:09:11,910 --> 01:09:13,649
That's much like this title.

1357
01:09:13,770 --> 01:09:17,210
It was given in sort of a derisive

1358
01:09:17,210 --> 01:09:18,350
way to the church.

1359
01:09:18,350 --> 01:09:19,630
Oh, they're Christ folks.

1360
01:09:20,069 --> 01:09:21,630
They're Jesus people.

1361
01:09:22,350 --> 01:09:26,050
And it is much as the appellation Jesus

1362
01:09:26,050 --> 01:09:29,770
people was put upon those young people who

1363
01:09:29,770 --> 01:09:32,470
were committing their lives to Jesus Christ during

1364
01:09:32,470 --> 01:09:33,390
that period of time.

1365
01:09:33,710 --> 01:09:34,910
They're Christ folks.

1366
01:09:35,870 --> 01:09:41,790
It wasn't really a title of admiration, but

1367
01:09:41,790 --> 01:09:44,630
more or less of just sort of a

1368
01:09:44,630 --> 01:09:48,649
derision, as they called them, Christians or Christ

1369
01:09:48,649 --> 01:09:49,210
folks.

1370
01:09:49,630 --> 01:09:51,370
First, they're at Antioch.

1371
01:09:51,490 --> 01:10:01,210
Now, notice that in verse 19, they were

1372
01:10:01,210 --> 01:10:04,790
preaching the word to none but unto Jews

1373
01:10:04,790 --> 01:10:05,170
only.

1374
01:10:07,290 --> 01:10:10,150
And in verse 20, they came to Antioch

1375
01:10:10,150 --> 01:10:14,130
and they were preaching unto the Grecians, the

1376
01:10:14,130 --> 01:10:15,270
lordship of Jesus.

1377
01:10:15,430 --> 01:10:16,250
They were preaching.

1378
01:10:17,530 --> 01:10:20,970
Now, when Barnabas came and said he exhorted

1379
01:10:20,970 --> 01:10:25,990
them and when Paul came and said he

1380
01:10:25,990 --> 01:10:27,790
stayed there for the space of a year

1381
01:10:27,790 --> 01:10:29,370
and taught them.

1382
01:10:30,270 --> 01:10:34,570
And there is an important difference between preaching,

1383
01:10:35,490 --> 01:10:37,570
exhorting and teaching.

1384
01:10:40,510 --> 01:10:43,890
I believe that in the church today, there

1385
01:10:43,890 --> 01:10:45,410
is far too much preaching.

1386
01:10:48,350 --> 01:10:53,190
I think that we need more exhorting and

1387
01:10:53,190 --> 01:10:55,550
I believe that we need most of all

1388
01:10:55,550 --> 01:10:56,590
teaching.

1389
01:10:57,250 --> 01:11:00,570
You see, the most part was spent in

1390
01:11:00,570 --> 01:11:02,370
teaching for the space of a year.

1391
01:11:02,810 --> 01:11:05,450
They stayed and taught the people.

1392
01:11:06,750 --> 01:11:08,730
Preaching is to the unconverted.

1393
01:11:10,310 --> 01:11:14,070
It is proclaiming to them God's good news

1394
01:11:14,070 --> 01:11:17,910
that he has provided for man's salvation through

1395
01:11:17,910 --> 01:11:21,030
the death of his son, who was raised

1396
01:11:21,030 --> 01:11:22,730
again by the power of the spirit on

1397
01:11:22,730 --> 01:11:23,450
the third day.

1398
01:11:23,930 --> 01:11:26,210
And by believing in him, you can have

1399
01:11:26,210 --> 01:11:28,730
the remission of sins and you will receive

1400
01:11:28,730 --> 01:11:30,010
the gift of eternal life.

1401
01:11:30,130 --> 01:11:31,610
That's what preaching is all about.

1402
01:11:31,850 --> 01:11:33,790
Proclaiming God's good news to man.

1403
01:11:35,050 --> 01:11:39,150
Now, when a person believes the message, then

1404
01:11:39,150 --> 01:11:43,230
they need exhortation and Barnabas was exhorting them.

1405
01:11:43,230 --> 01:11:46,530
Now stick to the Lord purpose in your

1406
01:11:46,530 --> 01:11:46,870
heart.

1407
01:11:47,010 --> 01:11:48,290
You're going to stick with him.

1408
01:11:50,950 --> 01:11:54,650
But Paul came and he spent a year

1409
01:11:54,650 --> 01:12:00,690
teaching them, teaching them how to stick, teaching

1410
01:12:00,690 --> 01:12:04,470
them how to pray, teaching them how to

1411
01:12:04,470 --> 01:12:09,430
walk and teaching is a vital function in

1412
01:12:09,430 --> 01:12:09,950
the church.

1413
01:12:09,950 --> 01:12:13,550
And the church today in many places is

1414
01:12:13,550 --> 01:12:18,790
very weak, very anemic, very ineffective because the

1415
01:12:18,790 --> 01:12:22,050
people have not been taught in the word

1416
01:12:22,050 --> 01:12:22,530
of God.

1417
01:12:23,930 --> 01:12:27,550
So we have dedicated our ministry here at

1418
01:12:27,550 --> 01:12:30,590
Calvary to the teaching of the word of

1419
01:12:30,590 --> 01:12:30,810
God.

1420
01:12:30,930 --> 01:12:33,310
And then we have Romaine as the exhorter.

1421
01:12:37,360 --> 01:12:39,160
I'm telling you what you should do.

1422
01:12:39,240 --> 01:12:40,880
And he's there kicking you in the seat

1423
01:12:40,880 --> 01:12:42,400
of the pants, getting you to do it.

1424
01:12:43,860 --> 01:12:48,440
Exhorting us in how to, you know, into

1425
01:12:48,440 --> 01:12:49,920
what we should be doing for the Lord.

1426
01:12:49,980 --> 01:12:52,560
And it's a vital, important ministry.

1427
01:12:52,700 --> 01:12:54,160
And it balances here.

1428
01:12:54,880 --> 01:12:58,220
We have Randy on Saturday night preaching to

1429
01:12:59,850 --> 01:13:01,610
all of these young people that gather.

1430
01:13:02,510 --> 01:13:04,390
So there is a place for preaching.

1431
01:13:04,530 --> 01:13:05,870
There is a place for exhorting.

1432
01:13:06,030 --> 01:13:09,030
And there is the important place of teaching

1433
01:13:09,030 --> 01:13:10,410
within the church.

1434
01:13:10,410 --> 01:13:11,930
And if the church is going to ever

1435
01:13:11,930 --> 01:13:15,130
become strong and effective, it's got to be

1436
01:13:15,130 --> 01:13:15,590
taught.

1437
01:13:17,900 --> 01:13:20,000
So he stayed there for the space of

1438
01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:21,980
a year teaching the people.

1439
01:13:22,380 --> 01:13:25,900
And the disciples were called Christians, Christ folk

1440
01:13:25,900 --> 01:13:26,700
there at Antioch.

1441
01:13:27,500 --> 01:13:30,640
And in these days, there came prophets from

1442
01:13:30,640 --> 01:13:32,860
Jerusalem unto Antioch.

1443
01:13:33,280 --> 01:13:34,920
And there stood up one of them.

1444
01:13:34,980 --> 01:13:37,640
Now, these prophets were sort of roving men

1445
01:13:37,640 --> 01:13:38,620
in the early church.

1446
01:13:39,840 --> 01:13:41,220
They were sort of nomads.

1447
01:13:41,220 --> 01:13:42,820
They would roam from church to church.

1448
01:13:42,960 --> 01:13:45,740
Now, as the result, there were men who

1449
01:13:45,740 --> 01:13:48,000
took upon themselves the title of prophet and

1450
01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:49,540
they would roam and they would come into

1451
01:13:49,540 --> 01:13:50,840
a church and say, I'm a prophet of

1452
01:13:50,840 --> 01:13:51,140
God.

1453
01:13:52,280 --> 01:13:54,580
And so it was one of the problems

1454
01:13:54,580 --> 01:13:56,000
in the early church to tell whether or

1455
01:13:56,000 --> 01:13:57,320
not a man was really a prophet of

1456
01:13:57,320 --> 01:13:57,960
God or not.

1457
01:13:59,140 --> 01:14:03,520
So there were the writings of the apostles

1458
01:14:03,520 --> 01:14:05,900
called the Didache, which was sort of a

1459
01:14:05,900 --> 01:14:08,480
little rule book in the early church that

1460
01:14:08,480 --> 01:14:11,180
first began to be circulated about 100 AD.

1461
01:14:12,840 --> 01:14:16,200
And this Didache had rules for discerning who

1462
01:14:16,200 --> 01:14:17,460
was a true prophet and who was a

1463
01:14:17,460 --> 01:14:18,080
false prophet.

1464
01:14:19,720 --> 01:14:21,700
Now, if a man came in and declared

1465
01:14:21,700 --> 01:14:23,280
himself to be a prophet of God, you

1466
01:14:23,280 --> 01:14:24,800
were to listen for it to him for

1467
01:14:24,800 --> 01:14:25,420
one day.

1468
01:14:25,920 --> 01:14:27,740
If he stayed the second day without going

1469
01:14:27,740 --> 01:14:29,960
to work, then he was a false prophet.

1470
01:14:30,580 --> 01:14:32,820
He was just sponging off the churches.

1471
01:14:33,820 --> 01:14:36,840
If a man came in and declared himself

1472
01:14:36,840 --> 01:14:38,260
to be a prophet and he said, thus

1473
01:14:38,260 --> 01:14:48,540
saith the Lord, fix a large dinner, fried

1474
01:14:48,540 --> 01:14:52,600
chicken, rice, pilaf, mashed potatoes.

1475
01:14:54,040 --> 01:14:57,640
If he would eat of that dinner himself,

1476
01:14:57,740 --> 01:14:58,660
he was a false prophet.

1477
01:15:00,160 --> 01:15:02,460
So these were some of the rules by

1478
01:15:02,460 --> 01:15:04,300
which they were to discern the false prophets

1479
01:15:04,300 --> 01:15:06,580
in the early church written in the Didache.

1480
01:15:07,170 --> 01:15:10,840
An interesting little booklet of a guidebook for

1481
01:15:10,840 --> 01:15:15,470
the early church before they were all established

1482
01:15:15,470 --> 01:15:17,190
with elders, pastors and so forth.

1483
01:15:18,070 --> 01:15:20,790
Now, there was one prophet by the name

1484
01:15:20,790 --> 01:15:25,080
of Agabus, and we're going to be coming

1485
01:15:25,080 --> 01:15:29,020
across Agabus again later on, years later, and

1486
01:15:29,020 --> 01:15:33,260
we'll find him in Caesarea when Paul is

1487
01:15:33,260 --> 01:15:34,760
returning towards Jerusalem.

1488
01:15:34,760 --> 01:15:39,920
But this one prophet Agabus, he signified by

1489
01:15:39,920 --> 01:15:42,700
the spirit that there was going to be

1490
01:15:42,700 --> 01:15:46,340
a great drought throughout all the world, which

1491
01:15:46,340 --> 01:15:48,320
came to pass in the days of Claudius

1492
01:15:48,320 --> 01:15:48,620
Caesar.

1493
01:15:48,760 --> 01:15:49,720
So he was a true prophet.

1494
01:15:49,880 --> 01:15:51,500
This drought that he predicted did come to

1495
01:15:51,500 --> 01:15:51,880
pass.

1496
01:15:53,080 --> 01:15:55,700
Then the disciples, every man, according to his

1497
01:15:55,700 --> 01:15:59,240
ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren

1498
01:15:59,240 --> 01:16:01,100
which dwelt in Judea.

1499
01:16:01,100 --> 01:16:02,960
Now, the church in Jerusalem had gone through

1500
01:16:02,960 --> 01:16:05,360
heavy persecution and had been scattered.

1501
01:16:06,020 --> 01:16:09,660
They had also experimented with communal living and

1502
01:16:09,660 --> 01:16:12,440
found it disastrous financially.

1503
01:16:13,280 --> 01:16:16,080
And so when Agabus came and predicted this

1504
01:16:16,080 --> 01:16:18,660
great drought that was going to come, these

1505
01:16:18,660 --> 01:16:21,760
men decided to take up an offering to

1506
01:16:21,760 --> 01:16:24,180
send it back to the saints there in

1507
01:16:24,180 --> 01:16:26,020
Judea to help them out.

1508
01:16:26,020 --> 01:16:29,700
And so Christian love, stretching across national barriers,

1509
01:16:29,900 --> 01:16:34,580
stretching across state lines and stretching across the

1510
01:16:34,580 --> 01:16:37,560
confines of our church, were reaching out to

1511
01:16:37,560 --> 01:16:40,620
the body of Christ elsewhere to help others,

1512
01:16:41,680 --> 01:16:45,960
sharing that abundance which God has bestowed upon

1513
01:16:45,960 --> 01:16:46,440
us.

1514
01:16:46,520 --> 01:16:48,540
And here at Calvary Chapel, we have that

1515
01:16:48,540 --> 01:16:52,420
glorious privilege of reaching out because God has

1516
01:16:52,420 --> 01:16:53,380
given us an abundance.

1517
01:16:53,640 --> 01:16:54,800
God has given us a surplus.

1518
01:16:55,600 --> 01:16:58,320
We have the glorious privilege of reaching out

1519
01:16:58,320 --> 01:17:04,360
and sharing this surplus with churches in other

1520
01:17:04,360 --> 01:17:08,080
areas, with Christians in the body of Christ

1521
01:17:08,080 --> 01:17:11,140
throughout the United States and throughout the world.

1522
01:17:11,760 --> 01:17:13,840
And so here is where the practice really

1523
01:17:13,840 --> 01:17:16,640
began in the Church of Antioch, which became

1524
01:17:16,640 --> 01:17:18,620
a center, even as God has more or

1525
01:17:18,620 --> 01:17:20,860
less made this a center from which many

1526
01:17:20,860 --> 01:17:24,640
have gone out to establish churches, well over

1527
01:17:24,640 --> 01:17:28,720
200 churches now having come out of this

1528
01:17:28,720 --> 01:17:31,460
church being established around the United States.

1529
01:17:32,180 --> 01:17:33,480
And so God has made a sort of

1530
01:17:33,480 --> 01:17:35,820
a center from which the word of God

1531
01:17:35,820 --> 01:17:36,520
has spread.

1532
01:17:36,840 --> 01:17:39,400
And it's a blessed thing to be in

1533
01:17:39,400 --> 01:17:42,180
this position of being able to reach out

1534
01:17:42,180 --> 01:17:44,400
and help the brethren elsewhere.

1535
01:17:44,540 --> 01:17:46,620
Now, that's not what was happening here.

1536
01:17:46,740 --> 01:17:50,160
Actually, in a sense, the church began in

1537
01:17:50,160 --> 01:17:51,720
Jerusalem and they're sending the help back to

1538
01:17:51,720 --> 01:17:56,180
Jerusalem, but we don't need the help of

1539
01:17:56,180 --> 01:17:58,860
the churches and we are able to help

1540
01:17:58,860 --> 01:17:59,280
them.

1541
01:17:59,820 --> 01:18:01,000
And we thank God for that.

1542
01:18:04,020 --> 01:18:06,180
It is more blessed to give than to

1543
01:18:06,180 --> 01:18:06,680
receive.

1544
01:18:06,820 --> 01:18:08,160
So we're on the blessed side.

1545
01:18:12,780 --> 01:18:15,240
So they took up the offering for the

1546
01:18:15,240 --> 01:18:20,660
brethren in Judea, which they then sent to

1547
01:18:20,660 --> 01:18:24,020
the elders by the hands of Barnabas and

1548
01:18:24,020 --> 01:18:24,280
Saul.

1549
01:18:24,280 --> 01:18:26,320
So Saul is coming back now to Jerusalem,

1550
01:18:26,580 --> 01:18:31,360
this time with Barnabas bringing an offering from

1551
01:18:31,360 --> 01:18:33,300
those brothers in Antioch.

1552
01:18:33,860 --> 01:18:39,940
And the walls now of difference having broken

1553
01:18:39,940 --> 01:18:45,360
down, this beautiful generosity expressed now by the

1554
01:18:45,360 --> 01:18:49,420
Gentile believers towards the Jewish believers in Jerusalem.

1555
01:18:51,780 --> 01:18:53,980
So next week we move on into chapters

1556
01:18:53,980 --> 01:18:54,780
12 and 13.

1557
01:18:55,720 --> 01:18:56,600
So we pray.

1558
01:18:57,860 --> 01:18:59,940
Father, we thank you for thy word, a

1559
01:18:59,940 --> 01:19:01,660
light into our feet, a lamp into our

1560
01:19:01,660 --> 01:19:02,100
path.

1561
01:19:02,800 --> 01:19:05,980
What a blessing, Lord, to gather together, to

1562
01:19:05,980 --> 01:19:10,420
study, to show ourselves approved, approved unto God,

1563
01:19:10,540 --> 01:19:12,220
workmen who need not to be ashamed.

1564
01:19:12,440 --> 01:19:14,160
Lord, help us to rightly divide your word

1565
01:19:14,160 --> 01:19:14,600
of truth.

1566
01:19:16,120 --> 01:19:19,880
Lord, may each of us purpose in our

1567
01:19:19,880 --> 01:19:22,900
hearts that we're just going to continue in

1568
01:19:22,900 --> 01:19:23,300
the Lord.

1569
01:19:24,320 --> 01:19:26,100
We're going to walk with you, Lord, no

1570
01:19:26,100 --> 01:19:26,940
matter what.

1571
01:19:30,600 --> 01:19:34,360
Lord, bless your people, place your hand upon

1572
01:19:34,360 --> 01:19:38,400
each of our lives, anoint us for thy

1573
01:19:38,400 --> 01:19:38,940
service.

1574
01:19:39,940 --> 01:19:41,380
In Jesus name we pray.

1575
01:19:42,500 --> 01:19:42,920
Amen.