1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,240 Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast. 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,920 Riverbend Church exists to lead all people to know, love, and 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,320 live new life in Jesus Christ. We hope that you enjoy this 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:19,280 message. Amen. 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:20,520 Amen. Amen. 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,120 Welcome to church, everybody. We're doing OK today. 7 00:00:28,510 --> 00:00:30,710 Man, I mean, I heard. I heard nothing. 8 00:00:30,750 --> 00:00:33,430 Not a peep. I I could have heard. 9 00:00:34,310 --> 00:00:37,110 This is inappropriate, Scott. I could have heard a mouse pee 10 00:00:37,110 --> 00:00:37,950 on a cotton ball. Right. 11 00:00:37,950 --> 00:00:41,950 Then in that moment. Welcome to Church Oakwood. 12 00:00:41,950 --> 00:00:44,950 We're grateful that you're here with us, Kathy Head. 13 00:00:44,950 --> 00:00:47,230 We're grateful you're here with us too, my friend. 14 00:00:47,510 --> 00:00:50,510 Coming in here. You are such a rock and such a 15 00:00:50,510 --> 00:00:52,150 pillar. We're grateful for all you do 16 00:00:52,150 --> 00:00:53,950 for this body. Can we give it up for Kathy 17 00:00:53,950 --> 00:00:55,110 Head? I know she hates this. 18 00:00:58,980 --> 00:01:01,220 We stand on your shoulders, my friend. 19 00:01:01,220 --> 00:01:03,580 Thank you for being here, Scott. You're great, too, but, you 20 00:01:03,580 --> 00:01:06,740 know, you're you were less important in that moment. 21 00:01:06,740 --> 00:01:09,540 Right there for me. Oh, good. 22 00:01:09,540 --> 00:01:11,540 Did I say hello? Did I say that we're grateful 23 00:01:11,540 --> 00:01:13,780 that you're here with us, too? I can't wait to see you real 24 00:01:13,780 --> 00:01:15,260 soon. Not going to give away the date, 25 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:17,420 but I'm coming. We're going to give Gainesville 26 00:01:17,420 --> 00:01:20,820 a taste of what it's like to to see the preacher on the screen. 27 00:01:20,860 --> 00:01:23,300 And so, and I'll be there soon soon enough. 28 00:01:23,300 --> 00:01:24,940 Soon as coach Chris Guthrie lets me do it. 29 00:01:24,940 --> 00:01:25,990 OK. All right. 30 00:01:25,990 --> 00:01:27,950 It's going to be a great day. We're excited. 31 00:01:28,150 --> 00:01:30,230 Back to school, right? Are we back to school? 32 00:01:30,230 --> 00:01:31,990 Anybody back to school? Raise your hand. 33 00:01:32,510 --> 00:01:35,670 Couple of us parents. Parents are the most excited. 34 00:01:35,710 --> 00:01:38,110 No teachers. I know. 35 00:01:38,110 --> 00:01:40,550 We have so many educators. We have administrators. 36 00:01:40,550 --> 00:01:43,870 We got superintendents of school boards in this body. 37 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:46,510 It's pretty amazing the influence that's in this room. 38 00:01:46,510 --> 00:01:48,830 I was thinking about that this week as I was preparing this 39 00:01:48,830 --> 00:01:52,430 message and thinking about the influence that's going to be 40 00:01:52,430 --> 00:01:56,100 propelled. Out of this room, into what I 41 00:01:56,100 --> 00:02:00,540 think is one of the most amazing mission fields in the world, 42 00:02:00,540 --> 00:02:03,660 right under our feet. The school systems, the 43 00:02:03,700 --> 00:02:08,340 opportunity that's before you. Students, teachers, faculty, 44 00:02:08,340 --> 00:02:12,060 coaches. I know for some teachers and 45 00:02:12,060 --> 00:02:15,940 coaches it's a little more challenging and there's 46 00:02:15,940 --> 00:02:18,060 limitations. And I just want to speak to you 47 00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:19,980 for a moment. Whoever you are in the room, I 48 00:02:20,420 --> 00:02:22,980 want to remind you of the opportunity that you have. 49 00:02:23,710 --> 00:02:26,710 I could name, I could list so many names of teachers and 50 00:02:26,710 --> 00:02:29,630 coaches that impacted my life because of the way that they 51 00:02:29,630 --> 00:02:31,910 loved Jesus right in front of me. 52 00:02:32,630 --> 00:02:35,710 You have an opportunity every day to walk in those doors into 53 00:02:35,710 --> 00:02:40,750 a place where most of us can't go and be the light, be the hope 54 00:02:41,070 --> 00:02:43,110 that these students need students. 55 00:02:43,110 --> 00:02:46,790 You have an opportunity to rub shoulders with other students 56 00:02:46,790 --> 00:02:49,870 that come from all kinds of different backgrounds that most 57 00:02:49,870 --> 00:02:52,270 likely. Have a different, some of them 58 00:02:52,270 --> 00:02:55,550 have a different faith than you parents. 59 00:02:55,550 --> 00:02:57,790 You're not off the hook either, because we've got events coming 60 00:02:57,790 --> 00:03:00,750 and sporting events and all kinds of gatherings that come 61 00:03:00,750 --> 00:03:04,030 with school and parents that are going to be there that you can 62 00:03:04,150 --> 00:03:07,510 have relationships with. Think about the opportunities 63 00:03:08,350 --> 00:03:13,310 that are in front of us to live out what we profess, what we 64 00:03:13,990 --> 00:03:20,350 say. We believe it's exciting later. 65 00:03:20,780 --> 00:03:22,660 At the end of our time, we're going to have some time to pray 66 00:03:22,660 --> 00:03:26,740 over our teachers and it's gonna be, it's gonna be a powerful 67 00:03:26,740 --> 00:03:29,060 time. I hope you don't run out and 68 00:03:29,060 --> 00:03:30,620 have to use the bathroom and miss that. 69 00:03:30,620 --> 00:03:33,060 You know, it really depends on if I can keep it to my clock, 70 00:03:33,060 --> 00:03:36,220 you know what I'm saying? So I'll do my very best with 71 00:03:36,220 --> 00:03:39,740 that in mind and the influence that we have and the opportunity 72 00:03:39,740 --> 00:03:42,580 that we have in front of us. I want us to turn to Acts 73 00:03:42,580 --> 00:03:46,220 Chapter 10, where we're going to find and we're going to look at 74 00:03:46,220 --> 00:03:52,510 2 obstacles that we face. When sharing our faith, I think 75 00:03:52,510 --> 00:03:56,230 it's a timely message for what we're headed into in this new 76 00:03:56,230 --> 00:03:59,310 school year. We're going to look at two men 77 00:04:00,470 --> 00:04:03,750 in this story. We're going to find a Roman 78 00:04:04,190 --> 00:04:08,630 soldier named Cornelius, and we're going to find the Apostle 79 00:04:08,630 --> 00:04:14,310 Peter, who you know very well, Simon Peter. 80 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,839 And I want to kind of set the stage and unpack who who these 81 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,880 men were before we get into the text together. 82 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,720 Cornelius was an officer, as I mentioned, in the Roman army, 83 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:32,000 and he was a part of the Italian cohorts that were known as the 84 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:40,120 most loyal to the Romans. This is important because of a 85 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:48,040 patriotic Jew, an Orthodox Jew. Someone like Peter would 86 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:52,680 naturally look at someone like Cornelius and dislike them or 87 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,040 even hate them. So God is about to bring these 88 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:02,320 two men together that at best don't like each other and don't 89 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,720 associate with one another. They don't know each other yet, 90 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,240 but they know that they don't like the other's kind, 91 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:14,320 especially when it comes to the Jews looking at the Gentiles. 92 00:05:14,930 --> 00:05:17,690 And Cornelius was certainly one of these. 93 00:05:17,690 --> 00:05:19,810 He hadn't heard the good news yet about Jesus. 94 00:05:19,810 --> 00:05:23,570 He the Bible says he was a God fearing man, that he prayed and 95 00:05:23,690 --> 00:05:28,170 and did alms and he did a lot of good things, but he wasn't yet a 96 00:05:28,170 --> 00:05:29,770 Christian. And then we pick it up in Acts 97 00:05:29,770 --> 00:05:33,770 chapter 10 verse three. It says this about the 9th hour 98 00:05:33,770 --> 00:05:37,220 of the day. Cornelius saw clearly in a 99 00:05:37,220 --> 00:05:40,620 vision, an Angel of God come to him and say Cornelius, he he 100 00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:44,100 spoke to him by name, and if I had more time I would talk about 101 00:05:44,100 --> 00:05:49,180 how Cornelius wasn't a Christian yet, but God sent a messenger 102 00:05:49,180 --> 00:05:52,260 and the first word out of the messenger's mouth from God was 103 00:05:52,260 --> 00:05:55,940 Cornelius's name because he always leads with a personal 104 00:05:55,940 --> 00:05:57,940 touch of love. It's beautiful. 105 00:05:57,940 --> 00:06:00,060 Verse four. Cornelius stared at him in 106 00:06:00,060 --> 00:06:02,860 terror and said. What is it, Lord? 107 00:06:06,190 --> 00:06:10,230 And he said to him, your prayers and your alms have ascended as a 108 00:06:10,230 --> 00:06:13,670 memorial before God. And now? 109 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:18,760 Send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 110 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:23,600 He is lodging with one Simon, a Tanner, whose house is but the 111 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:25,400 sea I love. These are the moments where I'm 112 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,160 like, God, could you not have put Simon Peter in a different 113 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:29,920 guy's house that wasn't named Simon? 114 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,200 Or are you just really trying to make sure that they get it 115 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,440 exactly right and don't miss? But anyway, me imagine if he 116 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,480 would have brought the other Simon with him and just 117 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,560 accidentally messed up there. No, OK verse. 118 00:06:43,970 --> 00:06:46,290 We're going to go to verse 9 the next day. 119 00:06:46,530 --> 00:06:49,050 As they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter 120 00:06:49,050 --> 00:06:52,170 went up the to the housetop about the 6th hour to pray. 121 00:06:52,170 --> 00:06:55,850 OK Cornelius is at his house. He's visited by an Angel. 122 00:06:55,970 --> 00:06:58,890 God sends a messenger to him and says I need you to send people 123 00:06:58,890 --> 00:07:01,770 to go get Peter and bring Peter back to you so that you could 124 00:07:01,770 --> 00:07:04,610 talk to Peter. That's odd enough. 125 00:07:04,970 --> 00:07:07,730 Now we Fast forward to Peter on the rooftop praying. 126 00:07:08,890 --> 00:07:11,130 And while he was praying, he became hungry and he wanted 127 00:07:11,130 --> 00:07:13,970 something to eat. But while they were preparing 128 00:07:13,970 --> 00:07:17,930 it, he fell into a trance, and he saw the heavens open, and 129 00:07:17,930 --> 00:07:21,130 something like a great sheet descended, being let down by its 130 00:07:21,130 --> 00:07:24,810 four corners upon the earth. And in it were all kinds of 131 00:07:24,810 --> 00:07:30,410 animals, reptiles, birds. And there came a voice to Peter. 132 00:07:30,410 --> 00:07:35,290 Rise, Peter, kill and eat and watch Peter's response. 133 00:07:35,290 --> 00:07:41,770 By no means, Lord. So here we have Peter. 134 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,560 The upon this rock I will build my church. 135 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:53,320 Peter, the guy that Jesus said was going to be the rock in his 136 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,360 first words when he gets this vision out of his mouth and he 137 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,440 knows it's the Lord because he calls him Lord and he says by 138 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,360 number means Lord. This is fascinating to me that 139 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,880 there could ever be a sentence that was or that was 140 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:06,520 orchestrated. No. 141 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:11,020 And Lord in the same sentence. Like, I'm recognizing your 142 00:08:11,060 --> 00:08:18,380 authority, your sovereignty, and my submission to that because 143 00:08:18,380 --> 00:08:22,340 I'm calling you Lord. However, no. 144 00:08:23,580 --> 00:08:28,660 By no means Lord. So we have Peter over here 145 00:08:28,660 --> 00:08:32,260 telling God no, which is kind of a habit for him, but that's 146 00:08:32,260 --> 00:08:35,860 another story. And then we have Cornelius over 147 00:08:35,860 --> 00:08:38,340 here. What is it, Lord? 148 00:08:38,990 --> 00:08:43,950 Speak to me, Lord. Fascinating, when you look at 149 00:08:43,950 --> 00:08:47,790 the different responses. Let's keep going, he said. 150 00:08:47,790 --> 00:08:50,190 By no means, Lord, for I've never eaten anything that is 151 00:08:50,190 --> 00:08:53,870 common or unclean. In other words, I've never eaten 152 00:08:53,870 --> 00:08:57,790 certain animals that, according to the Levitical law, are 153 00:08:57,790 --> 00:09:00,470 unclean. And if I were to eat them, I 154 00:09:00,470 --> 00:09:04,150 would be made unclean according to the Levitical law that I've 155 00:09:04,150 --> 00:09:07,990 been living by my whole life, Which, by the way you wrote God 156 00:09:07,990 --> 00:09:08,870 if you don't. Remember. 157 00:09:08,870 --> 00:09:12,630 So by no means will I do that, because I see in this vision 158 00:09:12,830 --> 00:09:15,350 that there are animals that I'm not supposed to eat, that we 159 00:09:15,350 --> 00:09:19,630 call common or unclean. And look at what God said. 160 00:09:19,630 --> 00:09:21,830 The voice came to him again a second time. 161 00:09:21,830 --> 00:09:26,950 What God has made clean, do not call common. 162 00:09:27,750 --> 00:09:31,030 What God has made clean, do not call impure. 163 00:09:31,430 --> 00:09:35,910 What God has made clean Do not call unacceptable. 164 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:39,880 What God has made clean, we're going to come back to that and 165 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,880 spend a lot of time there. This happened three times for 166 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,040 emphasis, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. 167 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:52,000 Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision 168 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,560 that he had seen might mean, behold the men who were sent by 169 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:59,960 Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the 170 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:01,800 gate. He He's on the roof. 171 00:10:02,190 --> 00:10:05,270 And he's getting this vision. And the men that God sent are 172 00:10:05,270 --> 00:10:07,590 just right down there at the gate, ready to talk to him. 173 00:10:07,590 --> 00:10:10,070 And they called out, and they asked whether Simon, who was 174 00:10:10,070 --> 00:10:14,270 called Peter, was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering 175 00:10:14,270 --> 00:10:17,150 the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold those three men. 176 00:10:17,430 --> 00:10:20,510 They're looking for you. So rise and go down and 177 00:10:20,510 --> 00:10:24,350 accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent 178 00:10:24,350 --> 00:10:26,470 them. I find it fascinating here that 179 00:10:26,470 --> 00:10:29,990 he gave no detail of who these men were. 180 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:39,920 He gave him no explanation of why rise, go down, accompany 181 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,680 them without hesitation. Why? 182 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:50,080 Because I have sent them. When Cornelius's men got there, 183 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:54,800 Peter was no doubt shocked, because he knew that they 184 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:56,520 weren't Jews when they opened the door. 185 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,200 Of course he could tell who they were and and where they were 186 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,530 from and. He would have immediately 187 00:11:02,570 --> 00:11:06,050 wondered why this Why is God sending them here? 188 00:11:06,050 --> 00:11:08,090 What? What is this about? 189 00:11:08,090 --> 00:11:14,450 The the idea that God could even send Gentiles, could even speak 190 00:11:14,450 --> 00:11:18,050 to Gentiles would have blown his mind. 191 00:11:18,970 --> 00:11:21,290 Surely these aren't the people that you were talking about, 192 00:11:21,290 --> 00:11:24,130 God, They can't hear you. They're not your people. 193 00:11:24,370 --> 00:11:27,730 They're common. They're unclean. 194 00:11:29,740 --> 00:11:40,300 We don't associate with them. God was expanding Peter's mind 195 00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:46,460 and his heart because what God has made clean don't call 196 00:11:46,620 --> 00:11:49,020 common. Peter in this moment was 197 00:11:49,020 --> 00:11:52,580 beginning to realize that this vision was about more than food. 198 00:11:54,380 --> 00:11:58,460 So he invited them in, and the Bible says that he lodged them 199 00:11:58,540 --> 00:12:00,310 with him. He lodged them. 200 00:12:00,310 --> 00:12:04,270 He treated them as guests, which is unbelievable. 201 00:12:04,270 --> 00:12:08,790 Normally a Jew would have at best opened the door, talked to 202 00:12:08,790 --> 00:12:11,510 the Gentiles and then sent them on their way. 203 00:12:11,510 --> 00:12:13,870 And even if the Gentiles would have said I need somewhere to 204 00:12:13,870 --> 00:12:16,750 stay tonight, the Jews would have said, well, it's too bad 205 00:12:16,910 --> 00:12:19,590 you can't stay here. Nice to meet you. 206 00:12:19,790 --> 00:12:24,350 Stay out on the St. Peter doesn't do that. 207 00:12:24,350 --> 00:12:27,920 He invites them in. No Orthodox Jew would have 208 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:29,920 invited a gentile into his house. 209 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:32,480 No chance. No chance of even having 210 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,800 fellowship with them inside. No chance, certainly no chance 211 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,400 of sitting down at a table together and eating It was 212 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:42,080 forbidden according to their tradition. 213 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,240 But God is expanding Peter's mind and heart. 214 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,080 He's opening up his heart. Don't call calm and what I have 215 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,880 made clean. So here we have Cornelius and 216 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,920 Peter, two men very different from very different backgrounds. 217 00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:02,680 Not associated. 30 miles apart geographically. 1,000,000 miles 218 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,680 apart relationally. OK, we got the picture. 219 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:17,160 And then Peter, the next day gets up and goes with the men to 220 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:21,540 see Cornelius. This was a major step of 221 00:13:21,540 --> 00:13:25,780 obedience to walk 30 miles. And I know some of us drove 30 222 00:13:25,780 --> 00:13:27,860 miles today and still made it in time for worship. 223 00:13:27,860 --> 00:13:30,180 So that's not a thing. For some of us, it's like 30 224 00:13:30,180 --> 00:13:32,460 miles is no big deal. But if you're walking and you're 225 00:13:32,460 --> 00:13:36,740 walking in sandals, you know, not a lot of support. 226 00:13:37,060 --> 00:13:41,580 They aren't on clouds. All right, OK, 30 miles. 227 00:13:43,300 --> 00:13:47,660 He's walking to go see a guy who he would have never associated 228 00:13:47,660 --> 00:13:50,750 with. Before and then when he got 229 00:13:50,750 --> 00:13:56,150 there, scripture says in verse 25 of chapter 10 that he entered 230 00:13:56,150 --> 00:13:59,910 in that he went in the house. And these are the kind of verses 231 00:13:59,910 --> 00:14:01,990 that we read and say yes, So what? 232 00:14:01,990 --> 00:14:05,910 But in reality, that never would have happened. 233 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,760 No Orthodox Jew would have entered into a Gentile home. 234 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,760 This was another level from him. And it's one thing to invite the 235 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,480 Gentile into your home. It's a whole another thing to go 236 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:24,520 into his home, to be seen. Even walking through that door 237 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:29,320 proved Peter's heart was beginning to change. 238 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,600 Their customs and their traditions strictly prohibited 239 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,720 him from doing it, and he did it anyway. 240 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,920 You see, the subject of this chapter is not so much the 241 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,160 conversion of Cornelius, which we're going to see next week. 242 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,760 The subject of this chapter is more the transformation in the 243 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:53,560 heart of Peter because the Spirit had spoken and he said 244 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,720 what God has made clean do not call. 245 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,160 Common In the Old Testament, there was holy and there was 246 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:08,320 common and the holy. The the things that were holy 247 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:12,280 and clean were made common when they came in contact with 248 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:19,600 something else that was common. The only way it could be made 249 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,600 holy again is if it went through a ritual cleansing process, and 250 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:25,280 we don't have time to go through all of that. 251 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:26,760 But it's important for us to know. 252 00:15:27,380 --> 00:15:33,340 That this, this, it was this way for a very long time and and the 253 00:15:33,340 --> 00:15:36,620 Holy Spirit of God is asking Peter to do something that went 254 00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:42,380 against everything that he knew. When something was made holy it 255 00:15:42,380 --> 00:15:46,220 was called consecration, and when something was made common 256 00:15:46,220 --> 00:15:49,820 it was called desecration. And Peter knew this very well, 257 00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:52,860 and he knew that going to associate and eat with another 258 00:15:52,860 --> 00:15:56,710 gentile. Who was called common would have 259 00:15:58,430 --> 00:16:04,910 been a desecration for him. But God had spoken what God has 260 00:16:04,910 --> 00:16:10,190 made clean Do not call common just so we're on the same page 261 00:16:10,190 --> 00:16:14,390 and have a proper perspective. Unless you are from Jewish 262 00:16:14,390 --> 00:16:19,390 descent, most of us in this room are probably Our ancestry is 263 00:16:19,390 --> 00:16:22,030 traced to Gentile descent, so we. 264 00:16:22,390 --> 00:16:25,150 Quite literally would not be able to be here as a redeemed 265 00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:28,310 people if it weren't for chapters like this in the Bible 266 00:16:28,310 --> 00:16:32,870 where God turned his people around to go and minister and 267 00:16:32,870 --> 00:16:36,710 share the good news of his son Jesus with those of our 268 00:16:36,710 --> 00:16:42,600 ancestry. We're going to look at 2 269 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,920 obstacles today, like I mentioned before, that we find 270 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,080 here in this narrative we find these two obstacles, and I 271 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,040 believe we're still dealing with them today. 272 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,680 When it comes to sharing the Good News about Jesus, obstacle 273 00:16:54,680 --> 00:17:05,599 #1, disqualifying others from hearing the good news based on 274 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,720 who they are or based on what they've done, we. 275 00:17:10,180 --> 00:17:15,579 Limit who we're willing to share Jesus with. 276 00:17:16,540 --> 00:17:20,460 We limit who we're willing to share our lives with. 277 00:17:20,460 --> 00:17:25,780 We limit who we're willing to associate with because we've 278 00:17:25,780 --> 00:17:29,220 disqualified them, much like Peter and the Jews were 279 00:17:29,220 --> 00:17:36,980 disqualifying Gentiles. If it weren't for this vision, 280 00:17:36,980 --> 00:17:39,140 Peter would have never stepped foot in that home. 281 00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:42,100 You have to, you have to understand the ethnic division, 282 00:17:42,420 --> 00:17:48,820 the racial tension was so significant, it never would have 283 00:17:48,820 --> 00:17:51,100 happened. The tradition would not allow 284 00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:53,180 it. It was prohibited. 285 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:59,180 And we certainly deal with these similar divisions and tensions 286 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:06,140 and today. And I believe it's still an 287 00:18:06,140 --> 00:18:08,980 obstacle where we're disqualifying others from 288 00:18:08,980 --> 00:18:12,820 hearing the good news because we're not willing to associate 289 00:18:12,820 --> 00:18:14,500 with them. Look at Romans one. 290 00:18:14,500 --> 00:18:17,140 This is from Paul's heart about the same subject. 291 00:18:17,900 --> 00:18:21,740 Romans 114 says I'm obligated both to Greeks and non Greeks 292 00:18:21,740 --> 00:18:25,500 both to wise and the foolish. That that is why I am so eager 293 00:18:25,500 --> 00:18:29,300 to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 294 00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:35,150 This is huge. That that God has called him to 295 00:18:35,150 --> 00:18:42,470 go into the people that nobody else is going to, to share about 296 00:18:42,470 --> 00:18:46,750 Jesus, He says in verse 16, which we know very well. 297 00:18:46,750 --> 00:18:50,630 I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God that 298 00:18:50,630 --> 00:18:55,430 brings salvation to who everyone who believes. 299 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,240 Everyone who, not just the Jews, not just the people of God. 300 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,480 Because we know that God designed it and he orchestrated 301 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:07,920 it this way for his people to be the Jews, for for his people to 302 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:15,080 to begin this movement. But now, because of Jesus, his 303 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,530 people aren't just of. Bloodline that there's a new 304 00:19:19,530 --> 00:19:22,290 bloodline that's been established by the blood of our 305 00:19:22,290 --> 00:19:25,010 Savior, and he has fulfilled the law. 306 00:19:25,050 --> 00:19:29,810 He has abolished the walls of hostility that keep us away from 307 00:19:29,810 --> 00:19:33,450 associating with one another so that his good news could be 308 00:19:33,450 --> 00:19:36,810 spread to the ends of the earth. And Paul says, I'm not ashamed 309 00:19:36,810 --> 00:19:38,810 of this gospel. It's the power of God that 310 00:19:38,810 --> 00:19:43,610 brings salvation to all who believe first to the Jew. 311 00:19:43,610 --> 00:19:47,150 Yep. Then to the Gentile, now is the 312 00:19:47,150 --> 00:19:51,910 day. Now is the time to spread this 313 00:19:51,910 --> 00:19:55,070 good news. No one is disqualified from 314 00:19:55,070 --> 00:19:59,510 hearing the good news. What God has made clean. 315 00:20:01,550 --> 00:20:04,950 Don't call common. Peter's beginning to realize 316 00:20:05,830 --> 00:20:08,230 this is about more much more than food. 317 00:20:09,190 --> 00:20:11,870 It's ultimately about people, souls. 318 00:20:13,820 --> 00:20:17,340 As we sink deeply into this, I just want to remind us all like, 319 00:20:18,420 --> 00:20:27,620 the gospel is good news. That's literally what it means. 320 00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:30,780 And we throw these words around a lot. 321 00:20:30,780 --> 00:20:34,340 And I already have, and I maybe you're like, well, I need you to 322 00:20:34,340 --> 00:20:36,580 explain what it is. Let me give it to you just 323 00:20:36,580 --> 00:20:40,500 really quickly here. The good news about Jesus is 324 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:45,960 that we were deserving of wrath because of our sin, but Jesus 325 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:50,120 came and died and took on that wrath in our place so that all 326 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:55,200 who trust in his name will be forgiven of sins and and that he 327 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:59,120 would absorb the wrath that we deserved. 328 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,720 That's what it means, that everyone who believes will will 329 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,320 be saved will be saved from this wrath that was due. 330 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,320 Because the wages of sin was death. 331 00:21:11,340 --> 00:21:14,100 But the free gift of God is eternal life. 332 00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:18,700 But can I tell you this is only good news for the needy. 333 00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:25,900 This is only good news for the Sinner and the Sinner that 334 00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:31,210 understands their need. When the Pharisees asked Jesus 335 00:21:31,210 --> 00:21:35,010 why he was eating with tax collectors and sinners that that 336 00:21:35,010 --> 00:21:37,730 those that were hated, those that were, that we would not 337 00:21:37,730 --> 00:21:40,930 associate with the Pharisees. And why are you doing that? 338 00:21:40,930 --> 00:21:43,730 Why are you in there with them? This is against tradition. 339 00:21:43,850 --> 00:21:47,890 Jesus said it's not the healthy. You need a doctor, but the sick. 340 00:21:49,530 --> 00:21:51,570 Jesus says, not the healthy that need the doctor. 341 00:21:51,570 --> 00:21:54,420 It's the sick. I've not come to call the 342 00:21:54,420 --> 00:21:58,460 righteous, but sinners to repentance. 343 00:21:58,460 --> 00:22:03,460 So the gospel is good news for the needy, for the Sinner that 344 00:22:03,460 --> 00:22:07,900 understands his need or her need of a savior. 345 00:22:08,020 --> 00:22:15,380 Jesus came to save sinners, and that's good news for the needy. 346 00:22:16,260 --> 00:22:20,180 Think about it this way. It's good news got The gospel is 347 00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:27,590 good news for the thief. The gospel is good news for the 348 00:22:27,590 --> 00:22:36,070 Buddhist, for the Muslim. The gospel is good news for the 349 00:22:36,430 --> 00:22:41,110 compulsive liar that you can't stand at work in the cubicle 350 00:22:41,110 --> 00:22:47,350 next to you. The gospel is good news for that 351 00:22:47,350 --> 00:22:57,070 gang member at your school. The gospel is good news for the 352 00:22:57,070 --> 00:23:01,670 adulterer. The gospel is good news for the 353 00:23:01,710 --> 00:23:04,230 addict. The gospel is good news even for 354 00:23:04,230 --> 00:23:09,190 the man that's on death row that's marching his way to the 355 00:23:09,190 --> 00:23:11,990 end. Should I remind you of the man 356 00:23:11,990 --> 00:23:14,950 that was hanging next to Jesus on the cross? 357 00:23:14,950 --> 00:23:20,630 And in the final moments, Jesus forgave him and gave him access 358 00:23:20,630 --> 00:23:23,820 into heaven? It was good news for him there. 359 00:23:23,820 --> 00:23:27,340 The fate that he placed in Jesus is what saved him. 360 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:34,660 But I wonder if we limit when and where and with whom we share 361 00:23:34,660 --> 00:23:36,740 the good news. I wonder if we disqualify 362 00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:39,140 people. I wonder if we live as though we 363 00:23:39,140 --> 00:23:42,340 believe that everyone who believes truly can be saved. 364 00:23:47,010 --> 00:23:49,690 If God called you today to go share with someone, maybe 365 00:23:49,690 --> 00:23:53,090 someone that personally you despise, what would you do? 366 00:23:55,530 --> 00:24:01,410 What would you do? What boundaries have we put up 367 00:24:01,410 --> 00:24:06,770 and that are keeping us from certain types of people? 368 00:24:08,290 --> 00:24:11,010 Who are you unwilling to share the good news with? 369 00:24:12,250 --> 00:24:16,850 In 1998, there was a 15 year old in Chicago that got shot on a 370 00:24:16,850 --> 00:24:18,970 basketball court, an outdoor park. 371 00:24:18,970 --> 00:24:21,490 He was playing with his friends, and a disagreement happened, 372 00:24:21,850 --> 00:24:25,410 shot twice in the abdomen. One of the bullets perforated 373 00:24:25,410 --> 00:24:30,730 his aorta and his two friends were with him and they picked 374 00:24:30,730 --> 00:24:32,930 him up and they're trying to take him to the hospital, which 375 00:24:33,370 --> 00:24:36,660 gratefully was nearby. And they're trying to get him 376 00:24:36,660 --> 00:24:39,300 there and they're struggling and they they finally get him right 377 00:24:39,300 --> 00:24:42,500 up to the door and and one of the friends says hey run in 378 00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:44,380 there and tell him that we've that we're here and he needs 379 00:24:44,380 --> 00:24:46,100 help. And so the the the friend goes 380 00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:49,700 inside and he's in the ER and he said I need some help out here. 381 00:24:49,700 --> 00:24:51,380 I need some help out here and nobody's helping him. 382 00:24:51,380 --> 00:24:53,420 And he goes to the desk and says I need somebody to come help. 383 00:24:53,420 --> 00:24:58,540 My, my friend has been shot and the hospital staff told him it's 384 00:24:58,540 --> 00:25:03,260 against our policy to go outside and help anyone. 385 00:25:05,130 --> 00:25:10,210 He has to be brought in for us to treat him. 386 00:25:14,730 --> 00:25:17,490 So he runs outside and when he gets outside there's a policeman 387 00:25:17,490 --> 00:25:21,010 right there with with him and sorry, the policeman's trying to 388 00:25:21,010 --> 00:25:24,450 help him. Policeman runs back inside and 389 00:25:24,450 --> 00:25:26,690 says we need somebody to come out here and get the get the 390 00:25:26,690 --> 00:25:28,010 boy. We need somebody, somebody. 391 00:25:28,010 --> 00:25:29,570 He's dying. We need somebody to come. 392 00:25:29,570 --> 00:25:32,530 And the hospital staff again says we cannot help him out 393 00:25:32,530 --> 00:25:36,480 there. Policeman says, what, do you 394 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,080 have a Gurney? Do you have a stretcher? 395 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,400 Do you have anything that I can use? 396 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:40,880 They said, no Sir, they're all gone. 397 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:42,840 I don't have anything. And so the policeman's looking 398 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,520 all over the place and he finally finds a wheelchair, gets 399 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:47,680 the wheelchair, takes it out, puts him in the wheelchair and 400 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,280 brings him in. And the the the boy is almost to 401 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,840 the end and they finally get him up on the table and they're 402 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,440 treating him and they're they're trying to help him. 403 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:01,080 They're trying to save his life. But about an hour later, he he 404 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:08,400 dies. They interviewed the police 405 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:13,920 officer that was trying to help. Later, the Chicago Tribune 406 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,640 quoted this police officer as saying. 407 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:25,040 They just ignored me, he said. In my 34 years as a police 408 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:30,270 officer, I've never seen anything like this, and then the 409 00:26:30,270 --> 00:26:33,990 director of the Illinois Department of Public Health at 410 00:26:33,990 --> 00:26:37,390 the time was quoted as saying it's important for people in 411 00:26:37,390 --> 00:26:40,910 healthcare to be first and foremost caregivers and not 412 00:26:40,910 --> 00:26:43,790 lawyers, he said. I know there's no legal 413 00:26:43,790 --> 00:26:46,870 obligation for them to provide care outside of their doors, but 414 00:26:47,150 --> 00:26:50,310 morally we would expect them to do the right thing. 415 00:26:51,350 --> 00:26:55,830 And it boils in us, right? When I read that story, it's 416 00:26:55,830 --> 00:26:59,870 boiling. Like, how can anyone who has 417 00:26:59,870 --> 00:27:06,030 what it takes to save a person disqualify them from getting the 418 00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:09,430 very thing that they need that could save their life? 419 00:27:09,510 --> 00:27:11,990 How can that? How can you? 420 00:27:12,030 --> 00:27:17,950 How could you even imagine? We're outraged at the thaw, and 421 00:27:19,230 --> 00:27:25,100 yet we do the very same thing because we have what it takes. 422 00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:28,100 We have what they need. We have the truth of the gospel. 423 00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:30,140 We have the good news that they need to hear. 424 00:27:30,140 --> 00:27:39,300 And so often we say, well, you got to come in here to hear it. 425 00:27:42,700 --> 00:27:49,860 We'd love for you to come. We'd love for you to come. 426 00:27:50,820 --> 00:28:02,530 But if it's out there, if I have to do it, there was a man that 427 00:28:02,530 --> 00:28:05,010 was on death row in England in the 1800s. 428 00:28:05,010 --> 00:28:08,970 His name was Charles Peace and just before he was executed an 429 00:28:08,970 --> 00:28:13,010 Anglican minister came to him and and he read what's called 430 00:28:13,010 --> 00:28:15,210 the consolation of religion to him. 431 00:28:15,210 --> 00:28:18,010 And this is something that they do it on. 432 00:28:18,370 --> 00:28:21,290 Back in those days when there was someone on death row, they 433 00:28:21,410 --> 00:28:23,250 they gave him one final chance here. 434 00:28:23,250 --> 00:28:27,360 And and he was reading this and and he was reading it half 435 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:29,480 heartedly. And he said these words. 436 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,320 Those who die without Christ experience hell. 437 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:35,440 But it was kind of more like this. 438 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,480 Those who die without Christ experience hell. 439 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,520 Hell is the pain of forever dying without the release which 440 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:53,040 death itself can bring. That's what he said flatlined 441 00:28:57,370 --> 00:29:00,090 and Charles Peace the one on death row he he stopped the 442 00:29:00,090 --> 00:29:05,050 minister as he said that. And he said, Sir, if I believed 443 00:29:05,370 --> 00:29:14,450 what you say about this, hell if I believe what you're saying and 444 00:29:14,450 --> 00:29:18,130 what the Church of God has been saying to me. 445 00:29:18,970 --> 00:29:24,150 If I if I believed that that even if England were covered 446 00:29:24,150 --> 00:29:28,550 with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, and 447 00:29:28,550 --> 00:29:31,990 if need be, I would get down on my hands and my knees. 448 00:29:32,190 --> 00:29:37,830 Even if it were just to save one soul from an eternal hell like 449 00:29:37,830 --> 00:29:41,350 that. But I listen to you, Minister. 450 00:29:44,390 --> 00:29:47,110 Sounds to me like you're just checking off a box. 451 00:29:47,110 --> 00:29:49,950 You're just reading what they told you to read. 452 00:29:49,950 --> 00:29:51,950 I'm not even sure that I believe you. 453 00:29:52,110 --> 00:30:00,030 Because if I believed that this ripped me up this week, this 454 00:30:00,030 --> 00:30:05,950 challenged me deeply. What are we doing with this 455 00:30:05,950 --> 00:30:11,590 opportunity? There's people outside dying 456 00:30:11,590 --> 00:30:17,770 apart from Jesus. Peter's obedience declared that, 457 00:30:17,890 --> 00:30:21,610 you know, my tradition says no, but God says yes, and I've been 458 00:30:21,610 --> 00:30:24,930 given this call. We have disqualified those 459 00:30:24,930 --> 00:30:28,730 Gentiles from this inheritance, but Christ has died for them 460 00:30:28,730 --> 00:30:31,450 too. God was softening his heart, and 461 00:30:31,450 --> 00:30:35,450 he and he softens our hearts even in the deepest prejudices, 462 00:30:35,450 --> 00:30:37,970 even in the strongest segregation. 463 00:30:37,970 --> 00:30:42,370 He softens the Christian's heart to break down those barriers and 464 00:30:42,370 --> 00:30:45,170 go to those who need to hear about him. 465 00:30:48,610 --> 00:30:52,250 Don't disqualify anyone from the opportunity of hearing the good 466 00:30:52,250 --> 00:30:54,290 news. I think that's obstacle #1, 467 00:30:54,290 --> 00:30:58,890 obstacle #2. Many of us accept the lie that 468 00:30:58,890 --> 00:31:02,490 we are disqualified to share the good news. 469 00:31:02,730 --> 00:31:07,050 I'm afraid that many of us, especially in the American 470 00:31:07,050 --> 00:31:12,070 church, we've accepted the lie from the enemy or from someone 471 00:31:12,070 --> 00:31:18,310 else or from ourselves that says that we're not qualified, that 472 00:31:18,310 --> 00:31:23,110 we've disqualified ourselves from even getting in the game. 473 00:31:23,110 --> 00:31:29,270 And when we see these words from God, from the Holy Spirit that 474 00:31:29,270 --> 00:31:32,590 said what God has made clean, do not call calm. 475 00:31:32,590 --> 00:31:35,510 And I want you to hear me today that that goes for you too. 476 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,080 What God has made clean, don't call common. 477 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,680 Don't let yourself fall into this trance and these lies. 478 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,680 That you're not qualified. That you're not clean. 479 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,560 That you're not capable because you're not pure. 480 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:59,360 Some of you in this room need to hear that over your life today. 481 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,840 Maybe you feel common this morning. 482 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,560 Maybe you feel unclean and pure, unworthy, unqualified. 483 00:32:07,740 --> 00:32:09,820 Don't call calm. And what God has made clean. 484 00:32:09,820 --> 00:32:13,020 Has he made you clean? Has he declared you righteous? 485 00:32:15,740 --> 00:32:18,780 I'm going to keep reminding you of scriptures like first John 486 00:32:18,780 --> 00:32:21,220 19. If we confess our sins, he is 487 00:32:21,220 --> 00:32:26,020 faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us 488 00:32:26,020 --> 00:32:29,220 from all unrighteousness. Nothing is stopping us from 489 00:32:29,220 --> 00:32:40,800 walking in repentance, and we so often allow the lies of 490 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:47,040 disqualification, shame and guilt to hold us back from 491 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:54,200 repenting, turning back to God for this cleansing. 492 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,000 Because if he's declared you righteous, I love this quote 493 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,200 from Charles Spurgeon, he said. The gospel principle is this. 494 00:33:03,030 --> 00:33:07,230 Whom once he loves, he never leaves but loves them to the 495 00:33:07,270 --> 00:33:10,150 end. Whom once he loves, he never 496 00:33:10,150 --> 00:33:14,270 leaves and he loves them to the end. 497 00:33:16,990 --> 00:33:18,630 But, Jared, you don't know where I've been. 498 00:33:18,630 --> 00:33:20,950 You don't know what I've done. You don't know you. 499 00:33:20,950 --> 00:33:24,950 It's easy for you to talk about. You don't know. 500 00:33:25,830 --> 00:33:32,310 Listen to these words of Paul in First Corinthian 6, starting in 501 00:33:32,310 --> 00:33:34,670 verse 9. Or do you not know that the 502 00:33:34,670 --> 00:33:36,990 unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? 503 00:33:36,990 --> 00:33:39,270 You may be saying, Yeah, I know full well, that's my problem 504 00:33:39,270 --> 00:33:42,230 right now. Do you not know that the 505 00:33:42,270 --> 00:33:44,430 unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? 506 00:33:44,430 --> 00:33:46,790 Here's where it gets scary. Do not be deceived. 507 00:33:46,790 --> 00:33:50,310 Neither the sexually immoral nor the idolaters, nor the 508 00:33:50,310 --> 00:33:54,830 adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor 509 00:33:54,830 --> 00:33:58,470 the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will 510 00:33:58,470 --> 00:34:05,300 inherit Kingdom of God. Our best hope when we read a 511 00:34:05,300 --> 00:34:08,940 list like that is, well, I don't know, three or four of those 512 00:34:08,940 --> 00:34:10,500 words, so maybe they don't apply to me. 513 00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:11,860 You know, like that's our best hope. 514 00:34:13,980 --> 00:34:15,380 That was supposed to be like, a little funny. 515 00:34:15,380 --> 00:34:17,340 I don't. I know this is the heavy part, 516 00:34:17,340 --> 00:34:23,219 but I just look what you said and such were praise God for the 517 00:34:23,219 --> 00:34:29,600 past tense right here. Such were some of you, but you 518 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:34,600 were washed. You were sanctified. 519 00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:40,320 You were justified, but such were some of you. 520 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:44,199 You walked in this way. This is good news for the needy. 521 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:47,560 This is good news for the Sinner, even the Sinner that 522 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,159 practices some of the worst kinds of sin. 523 00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:55,659 Because they can be washed, they can be clean, they can be 524 00:34:55,659 --> 00:34:57,540 sanctified, they can be justified. 525 00:34:57,540 --> 00:35:01,940 If you've been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by 526 00:35:01,940 --> 00:35:06,460 the Spirit of our God, if you've repented of your sins and placed 527 00:35:06,460 --> 00:35:09,660 your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of those sins, then 528 00:35:09,900 --> 00:35:13,740 you've been declared righteous. And those whom he loves, he 529 00:35:13,740 --> 00:35:16,500 never leaves. He loves them to the end, 530 00:35:16,500 --> 00:35:23,220 declared righteous, made clean, and qualified to go and talk 531 00:35:23,220 --> 00:35:32,400 about it. But we treat God so often as if 532 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:38,280 he wanted us to be good enough in the 1st place before he would 533 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:42,040 lavish his grace upon us. That's not how he works, is he 534 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,360 loves us first with an everlasting love. 535 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:50,000 Doesn't withhold his love from us until we're good enough. 536 00:35:50,820 --> 00:35:54,180 Christ didn't die for Saints. He died for sinners. 537 00:35:54,300 --> 00:35:56,540 He was the only one who was worthy. 538 00:35:56,740 --> 00:36:00,580 He was the only true servant. Jesus was the only one who 539 00:36:00,580 --> 00:36:06,420 didn't sin. He died for sinners. 540 00:36:06,620 --> 00:36:09,580 He didn't come into the world because of any righteousness in 541 00:36:09,580 --> 00:36:11,580 us. He came to die for our sins. 542 00:36:11,580 --> 00:36:14,100 He came to become our righteousness. 543 00:36:14,100 --> 00:36:19,260 The work of God is not for those who deserve salvation, but those 544 00:36:19,260 --> 00:36:21,980 who are all together undeserving of it. 545 00:36:21,980 --> 00:36:25,060 Do you understand that this is good news? 546 00:36:29,740 --> 00:36:34,580 But if we're not careful, we begin to believe the lie that we 547 00:36:34,580 --> 00:36:38,740 for some reason deserve it more than others that are not in 548 00:36:38,740 --> 00:36:43,580 here. We believe this lie from the 549 00:36:43,580 --> 00:36:50,960 enemy, that we are of a different standing than those 550 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:54,160 who aren't a part of this fellowship, and then we don't go 551 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:59,120 and do what we're called to do. But in reality, God's mercy is 552 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:04,200 like a great flood that rises and rises and rises so high that 553 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:08,040 it covers all the guilt and shame of sin, covers all of the 554 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:12,240 sin to never be seen again. And here we are trying to lift 555 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:16,280 up that guilt and lift up that shame, to bring it up from the 556 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,720 water so that we can see it and we can think about it and we can 557 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:23,760 believe the lie, that we're unqualified to step forward and 558 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:32,570 speak on God's behalf. He set up, though your sins are 559 00:37:32,570 --> 00:37:35,170 like scarlet out. I'll make you wider than snow, 560 00:37:37,570 --> 00:37:39,530 but maybe you feel unqualified today. 561 00:37:39,530 --> 00:37:44,650 I certainly understand that. I want to share with you a story 562 00:37:44,650 --> 00:37:49,450 about a soul winner who had every reason, every excuse in 563 00:37:49,450 --> 00:37:53,570 the book to be on to not be able, not be capable, not be 564 00:37:53,570 --> 00:38:04,220 qualified to share her faith. You know, French is spoken in 565 00:38:04,220 --> 00:38:08,580 many African countries. Over 20 African countries speak 566 00:38:08,580 --> 00:38:12,820 French because of the colonization that happened. 567 00:38:13,980 --> 00:38:17,020 And there's a missionary that tells a story of an African 568 00:38:17,020 --> 00:38:22,340 elderly lady who came to know the Lord because he shared the 569 00:38:22,340 --> 00:38:27,020 gospel with her. And this elderly lady, she was 570 00:38:27,100 --> 00:38:32,480 blind and she couldn't read or write, blind and illiterate. 571 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:43,400 And after she heard the gospel and professed fate in Jesus, the 572 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:48,520 first thing that she said was how, how can I go to how can I 573 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:49,920 go share this with somebody else? 574 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,800 Who who's where can I go to share this with somebody else. 575 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:54,880 And the missionary begin to think, wow, this is going to be 576 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:59,650 kind of challenging for her. I need to think about this. 577 00:38:59,650 --> 00:39:03,290 We need to be creative about how she can learn the Bible because 578 00:39:03,290 --> 00:39:07,570 she can't read it, she can't see it, how she's going to go and 579 00:39:07,570 --> 00:39:13,250 interact with people in this Third World environment. 580 00:39:15,050 --> 00:39:17,930 And that the elderly lady came back the next day and and she 581 00:39:17,930 --> 00:39:20,450 said, can you give me a Bible that's in French? 582 00:39:21,390 --> 00:39:23,670 The missionary gave her the Bible and she said, can you 583 00:39:23,670 --> 00:39:26,710 underline John 316, that verse that you were telling me about, 584 00:39:26,990 --> 00:39:30,750 can you underline it in red? And can you mark that page so 585 00:39:30,750 --> 00:39:32,510 that I can feel it and I can know where it is? 586 00:39:32,510 --> 00:39:34,230 And the missionary did what she said. 587 00:39:34,230 --> 00:39:36,590 And the missionary was thinking, I don't what's going to happen. 588 00:39:36,590 --> 00:39:39,310 I don't know what she's going to do. 589 00:39:39,310 --> 00:39:41,550 So he wanted to follow her and he followed her to the 590 00:39:41,550 --> 00:39:48,080 schoolhouse of the boys school. She went to the front. 591 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:50,360 She waited for the school to be let out. 592 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:54,200 And when the school was let out she listened for people to come 593 00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:56,800 and and she would say, excuse me, excuse me, do you know how 594 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,360 to read French? And some people would pass her 595 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,280 by but sometimes a boy would stop and say Oh yes, I I can 596 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:06,160 help you. She I'm blind and I can't read. 597 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,520 Do you know how to read French? Can you read this verse that's 598 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,480 underlined in red and when the boys would read the verse about 599 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:14,520 Jonathan? For God so loved the world that 600 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,080 he gave his only son, that whosoever would believe in him 601 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:19,880 would not perish but have everlasting life, she would say. 602 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,720 Do you know what this means? Boom, open door. 603 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:30,140 Share the gospel with them. First week, the first week on 604 00:40:30,140 --> 00:40:32,100 the job, straight to the mission field. 605 00:40:32,100 --> 00:40:35,020 She couldn't see, she couldn't read, didn't matter. 606 00:40:35,140 --> 00:40:37,300 Something different was burning inside of her. 607 00:40:37,420 --> 00:40:41,540 And the Missionary tells the story that 20 four of those boys 608 00:40:41,540 --> 00:40:45,500 that she led to the Lord became pastors and preached before 609 00:40:45,940 --> 00:40:50,740 multiple crowds where multitudes eventually came to know Jesus 610 00:40:50,740 --> 00:41:00,820 because of this elderly, blind and illiterate servants 611 00:41:00,820 --> 00:41:08,940 faithfulness. Last story for today, DL Moody, 612 00:41:09,340 --> 00:41:15,500 an amazing evangelist who some say led over 1,000,000 people to 613 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:17,660 the Lord through his evangelism efforts. 614 00:41:20,180 --> 00:41:23,900 Before he became a Christian, he was in and out of Sunday School 615 00:41:23,900 --> 00:41:30,110 class, living in Boston. There was a teacher that he 616 00:41:30,110 --> 00:41:32,550 didn't really know very well, but he knew who he was. 617 00:41:33,310 --> 00:41:37,030 DL Moody was working in a shop behind the counter and he said 618 00:41:37,030 --> 00:41:40,270 this. One day that teacher came behind 619 00:41:40,270 --> 00:41:43,070 the counter while I was at work and he put his hand upon my 620 00:41:43,070 --> 00:41:46,150 shoulder and he talked to me about Christ and my soul. 621 00:41:46,150 --> 00:41:50,910 And I had not felt that I even had a soul until then. 622 00:41:52,750 --> 00:41:54,150 And this is what he said, he said. 623 00:41:54,150 --> 00:41:57,470 This is a very strange DL, Moody said to himself. 624 00:41:57,590 --> 00:42:01,190 This is a very strange thing. Here's a man who's never seen me 625 00:42:01,390 --> 00:42:04,350 till lately, and he's weeping over my sins. 626 00:42:06,230 --> 00:42:09,670 Here's a man who doesn't even know me, but he's caring enough 627 00:42:09,670 --> 00:42:14,710 to look me in the eyes and say that I matter to God. 628 00:42:20,550 --> 00:42:23,430 And this is what this is what he said that struck me, that shook 629 00:42:23,430 --> 00:42:27,830 me to the core, DL Moody said. I don't remember what my teacher 630 00:42:27,830 --> 00:42:34,670 said, but I can still feel the power of that man's hand on my 631 00:42:34,670 --> 00:42:39,390 shoulder. Later that night, he went to 632 00:42:39,390 --> 00:42:42,350 church. He heard the gospel, responded 633 00:42:42,350 --> 00:42:46,780 in faith to believe it. That teachers encounter, that 634 00:42:46,780 --> 00:42:50,060 teachers love, that teachers care, that, that teachers 635 00:42:50,620 --> 00:42:57,860 opening up the door for just a conversation is what led him to, 636 00:42:57,860 --> 00:43:05,260 later that night receive the message of the gospel teacher, 637 00:43:06,420 --> 00:43:12,260 coach, administrator. This is our opportunity. 638 00:43:14,690 --> 00:43:20,450 This is what can be done. This is what we're called to and 639 00:43:20,450 --> 00:43:22,850 for all of us. Are we allowing the enemy or 640 00:43:22,850 --> 00:43:27,450 anyone else to convince us that our that we're common and not 641 00:43:27,490 --> 00:43:32,250 able to carry the gospel to others. 642 00:43:34,970 --> 00:43:38,490 Maybe you're in this room. Maybe you're in the room in 643 00:43:38,490 --> 00:43:40,170 Oakwood. Maybe you're online. 644 00:43:40,170 --> 00:43:45,580 And as we're talking about this good news, we're talking about 645 00:43:45,820 --> 00:43:49,460 sin and our need for a Savior. Maybe you're sitting here 646 00:43:49,460 --> 00:43:52,500 thinking, I I know I I do need a Savior. 647 00:43:53,780 --> 00:43:57,540 I know I am a Sinner. I know I am unclean. 648 00:43:58,300 --> 00:44:02,540 And today, maybe today is the day where you want to be made 649 00:44:02,540 --> 00:44:05,220 clean. Wherever you are, whatever 650 00:44:05,220 --> 00:44:08,060 you've done, no matter where you're coming from today maybe 651 00:44:08,060 --> 00:44:13,560 today's the day God's pulling on your heart, drawing you to 652 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:17,880 himself to be made clean. Can I invite you in just a 653 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:25,920 moment in Oakwood, here in Gainesville, to come have a 654 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:29,040 conversation? I'll be down here. 655 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:33,000 Others are here. If God's drawing you don't leave 656 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:39,000 this room without coming to ask me or someone else what it takes 657 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,320 to be saved, I'll show you from Scripture. 658 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:47,520 Because all have fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages 659 00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:51,440 of sin is death, But the free gift of God is eternal life 660 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:56,800 through Jesus Christ. If you confess with your mouth 661 00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,600 that He's Lord, if you believe in your heart that God raised 662 00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:02,520 him from the dead, you will be saved. 663 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:09,380 Would invite us here in Gainesville to stand as we 664 00:45:09,380 --> 00:45:11,540 prepare to sing one more song of worship. 665 00:45:11,540 --> 00:45:15,860 Oakwood, we love you so much. We hope you have a great day. 666 00:45:15,860 --> 00:45:17,740 Pastor Greg. You can take it from here. 667 00:45:20,340 --> 00:45:26,380 As we stand and we sing one more song, we consider what it means 668 00:45:26,380 --> 00:45:31,340 to follow Jesus. Want to pray for us. 669 00:45:31,340 --> 00:45:33,460 And I want to invite you to move and respond. 670 00:45:33,460 --> 00:45:37,540 If God is leading you, Father God in heaven, I pray that you 671 00:45:38,850 --> 00:45:42,050 soften hearts right now. You speak clearly that you move 672 00:45:42,490 --> 00:45:46,930 in power, that you don't allow us to be apathetic. 673 00:45:46,930 --> 00:45:53,650 In these moments, she helped us to surrender and submit to Your 674 00:45:53,650 --> 00:45:56,490 Lordship and your authority, that you helped us to fall into 675 00:45:56,490 --> 00:46:00,570 Your loving embrace. We love you and we praise You in 676 00:46:00,690 --> 00:46:02,250 Jesus name. Amen. 677 00:46:05,690 --> 00:46:08,050 Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast. 678 00:46:08,550 --> 00:46:11,110 Learn more about who we are as a church and how to connect. 679 00:46:11,110 --> 00:46:14,070 You can head over to our website Riverbendchurchlife.