1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,680 Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,400 of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,720 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,920 Lord, I'll believe it if I can see it, and I'll trust you if 6 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,880 you got all this A through Z all lined out. 7 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,600 And I don't have to like worry about making a mistake or going 8 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:47,880 down the wrong path or something. 9 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,080 When the Lord impresses something on your heart and you 10 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,880 know it, and you've heard the voice of God, not literally out 11 00:00:54,920 --> 00:01:01,160 externally, but the voice of God speaks in terms that interact 12 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,400 with our mind and our heart. And you and I should know the 13 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,840 difference between hearing our own imagination and hearing the 14 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,720 voice of God. What's the definition of faith? 15 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,040 What does it mean to walk in faith? 16 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,720 The Bible teaches us that faith is believing in something you 17 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:22,160 can't see that grates against everything inside of us. 18 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,960 We want proof. We want to know beyond a shadow 19 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:27,480 of a doubt that reality is what we think it is. 20 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,760 As we just heard from Pastor Clark, God is calling us to be 21 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,680 people who hear His voice and make a distinction. 22 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,520 As much as you might like God to simply show you exactly what His 23 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:44,080 plan is, He's calling you to listen for His voice and walk in 24 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,240 faith. Now here's Pastor Clark in Acts 25 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,560 chapter 10 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 26 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:56,240 We are in the book of the Acts. Acts chapter 10, Peter is the 27 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,000 guy that we're going to learn a little bit more about. 28 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,360 We've learned a lot about Peter through the Gospels and also the 29 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,600 beginning of the book of the Acts, the first sermon he 30 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,880 preached where over 3000 people got saved. 31 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:15,840 We will be transitioning to the apostle Paul after Chapter 11 as 32 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,760 he takes on more of the central focus of the ministry of the 33 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,600 church. So let me read and make some 34 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,520 comments. This is Cornelius Gentile, a 35 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,240 Roman Italian guard, who was being pursued by the Holy 36 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,800 Spirit. There was a certain man in 37 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,080 Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the 38 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:43,040 Italian regiment, A devout man and one who feared God with all 39 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,080 his household, who gave alms generously to the people and 40 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,320 prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day 41 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,600 he saw clearly in a vision an Angel of God coming and saying 42 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,400 to him, Cornelius. And when he observed him, he was 43 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,240 afraid and said, What is it, Lord? 44 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,560 And so he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have come 45 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:08,040 up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send 46 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,520 for Simon, whose surname is Peter. 47 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,800 He is lodging with Simon at Tanner, whose house is by the 48 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,240 sea. He will tell you what you must 49 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,440 do. And when the Angel who spoke to 50 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,160 him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household 51 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,760 servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on 52 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,600 him continually. So when he had explained all 53 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:30,760 these things to them, he sent them to Joppa. 54 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,920 Now, when we as Christians read the Bible, we read it from a 55 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,480 historical perspective, and that's good. 56 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,000 But I think it's really important to personalize what it 57 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,520 is we read so that we might understand how it is that the 58 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,000 Holy Spirit can still speak to us in the days that we live. 59 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,960 God uses His word now. He doesn't really need to send 60 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,200 angels to get messages to us, although He could if he wants 61 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:55,680 to. He's God. 62 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,640 But He's given us the Word of God so that when we read the 63 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,080 Scriptures, the Holy Spirit speaks to us from the Word of 64 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,120 God and puts things on our heart and directs our paths and tells 65 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:10,280 us what we should do. The way of the Holy Spirit is 66 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,920 very, very personal. The Lord will put something on 67 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:19,000 your heart, everyone of you in your daily life, God is speaking 68 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,959 to you about something. He's putting a vision upon your 69 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:23,720 heart. He's giving you a burden for 70 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,000 something. He's giving you a concern for 71 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,600 someone that He loves, and He wants to use you as a witness, 72 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,800 as a testimony. Every human being on the face of 73 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,760 the planet, whether you believe it or not, looks up in the stars 74 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:38,920 at night and has the same question. 75 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,840 Why am I here? How was this made? 76 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,760 Is there a God? And if there is a God, why is 77 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:51,040 life like it is? And usually it sort of stops at 78 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,560 that point. But the Bible tells us in 79 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,360 Romans, just by creation, we know there's a creator and that 80 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,960 we are accountable to him, and that one day we will leave this 81 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,080 world and we will meet our maker. 82 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:08,440 So it's important to realize that the Holy Spirit, no matter 83 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:12,000 where people live in the world, when there's a heart like 84 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:17,320 Cornelius that is being pursued by the Spirit of God and being 85 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:21,920 drawn by the Spirit of God to Jesus, the Lord begins to do all 86 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,280 this background work. Cornelius, that tells us, was a 87 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,200 devout man. He respected the God of Abraham, 88 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:33,000 Isaac, and Jacob. He was so deep into 89 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:37,640 understanding that there is one God, but to the point he wasn't 90 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,280 willing to become a full blown Jew and be circumcised and 91 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,680 follow all the customs. But he had come through Pagan 92 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:49,520 worship as a Roman citizen, Zeus, and all these different 93 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,760 strange gods that the Pagan Roman people worshipped. 94 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:56,600 And he began to realize that these gods have no power. 95 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,880 But this God of history, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had 96 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,960 done significant things, and he's aware of these things. 97 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,560 And so in essence, he is a believer in the sense of the one 98 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,480 God, but doesn't know Jesus Christ yet. 99 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:16,800 And so as he's going up to pray, he's following the ritual of the 100 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,880 Jewish tradition of praying the hours. 101 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:24,480 The 9th hour was 3:00 in the afternoon and so he would go up 102 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,800 and he would begin to pray and this is something that he did 103 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,080 all the time according to the scriptures. 104 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:35,040 He had this heart to pray and they also feared God. 105 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,160 He also was very generous with his resources and help poor 106 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,760 people. And so God was observing 107 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,600 everything about this man's life. 108 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:45,920 You don't get saved by giving money. 109 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:50,440 You don't get saved by praying. But God could see that what was 110 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,640 happening in his life was causing him to be prepared to 111 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,280 receive Jesus. He was getting to this point 112 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,000 now, and it says that the Lord observed him. 113 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,360 It's beautiful to realize that God is observing us all the 114 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,440 time, you and me. He's watching us. 115 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,200 He's seeing how we live. He's seeing what we prioritize. 116 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,320 He's seeing what makes us tick, so to speak. 117 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:20,800 What gives us passion? As the Lord sees our lives, He 118 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,600 begins to work on them in specific ways and ways that we 119 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,480 can't even imagine at times until they begin to start to 120 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,440 happen. It's exciting, the way of the 121 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,520 Spirit, the way of the Holy Spirit. 122 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,880 And so He gives him real, specific information here. 123 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:45,280 He has this vision and a vision is something that materially 124 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:50,200 isn't objectively able to be quantified or solidified in the 125 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,720 sense of matter and form and feeling. 126 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,240 He's seeing something like an altered state of consciousness, 127 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,560 if you may, from his inner being, his mind's eye. 128 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,240 He, he's seeing something that you and I, if we were there, we 129 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,720 wouldn't be able to participate in this vision. 130 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:08,560 This was a specific vision God had given him to bring him to 131 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,560 this point of direction. It's all these prayers is your 132 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,760 prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. 133 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:22,120 So even lost people, God can look at them and and not every 134 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,880 lost person is, you know, wicked in the sense of just being like 135 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:28,720 the devil. There's a lot of people out 136 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,800 there that don't know the Lord that are good hearted people, 137 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:33,880 right? They're willing to to help 138 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,080 people and do things and they're kind and they're gentle. 139 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,559 They're humble and sometimes they make Christians look bad 140 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:45,960 because of how they're wired, maybe in a deeper way in regard 141 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:50,200 to caring about other people. So the Lord now gives him 142 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,520 direction as to what specifically he needs to do. 143 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,080 He's telling him to send men to Joppa. 144 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:00,040 So Caesarea is on the Mediterranean coast, about 135 145 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:05,800 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Joppa is about 30 miles, about 146 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:10,840 two day journey from Caesarea. The Lord is telling him send a 147 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,600 couple guys down here to Joppa and send for Simon, specifically 148 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,760 Simon. Now he doesn't know who Simon 149 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,200 is, but he's given this name, Simon, Simon Peter, the more 150 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,120 powerfully used apostles. Peter at this time is beginning 151 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:28,520 to become conditioned to becoming gracious because he was 152 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:32,840 a Jew. He was really committed to the 153 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,440 Law of Moses. He had a lot of hang ups. 154 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,240 When he first became a Christian. 155 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,720 He had certain types of perspectives regarding Judaism 156 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,520 versus people who are gentiles. The tradition was that if 157 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,760 someone was a Gentile, first of all, you wouldn't really hang 158 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,080 out with them. You definitely wouldn't go into 159 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,200 their house, nor would you invite them into your house. 160 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,800 There was a lot of a prejudice between those two people groups, 161 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,840 and that's never taught in the Bible, right? 162 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,240 Prejudice. There is no Jew or Gentile bond 163 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,640 or free, male or female. God sees us as one people group. 164 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:12,960 He, he looks at the heart. And so Simon's down here already 165 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:17,600 living in a home of a Tanner who's dealing with unclean 166 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,440 animals and all kind of blood and stuff that would have been 167 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:25,520 taboo is a kosher Jewish person. But the Lord put him in his 168 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,720 house either to just hang out for a while, to have a place to 169 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,240 lodge, or maybe to learn a trade so he could make some money to 170 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,320 help him in the midst of his ministry. 171 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:39,960 But he's telling Cornelius specifically where this Simon 172 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,400 is. He's at this House of the 173 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:46,600 Tanner, and he says he will tell you what you must do. 174 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:51,440 So Cornelius is at the point of wanting to really know the truth 175 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,160 and to have someone tell him about the Messiah. 176 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,120 Now, he was aware of the historical aspects of Jesus. 177 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,920 I'm sure the tradition that had already been established 178 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,960 probably heard about Pentecost, different things, But 179 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:11,920 nonetheless, he needed to hear specifically point by point what 180 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,800 the Gospel was Then he says, and when the Angel who spoke to him, 181 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:18,320 it departed. Cornelius obviously did exactly 182 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,280 what he was told it to do. He got two of the household 183 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,920 servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on 184 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,800 him continually. And when he had explained all 185 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,680 these things to them, he sent them off on this journey. 186 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,880 Now, the irony of this thing of how the Holy Spirit works. 187 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,680 You're praying about something, someone else is praying about 188 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:40,520 something. How do two people get connected 189 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,520 or people or families or how did people end up at this church or 190 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,320 that church or how to how did I end up, you know, being at the 191 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,920 right place at the right time? Or someone gave me a copy of the 192 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,400 Bible and said, hey, you know, read this. 193 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:54,640 I'm getting some answers from it. 194 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,720 I mean, all of us have a specific story of how we came to 195 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,360 faith in Jesus Christ. And every one of our stories is 196 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,480 supernatural. Every one of them is miraculous. 197 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,720 Every one of them is is individual and God specifically 198 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,600 chose a circumstance and the person and the event to bring 199 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,800 you to a point where your heart was ready and open and you 200 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,840 received the gospel from whoever it was that the Lord sent to 201 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:22,640 you. It doesn't happen by accident or 202 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,280 a mistake or happenstance. It was divinely appointed by 203 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:30,680 God, just like we're reading here, this divine experience. 204 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,720 And so then here's Peter. He's, he's having a vision, a 205 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,040 trance more than a vision. The next day as they went on 206 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,600 their journey and drew near the city, Peter, he goes up on the 207 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,160 housetop to pray about the 6th hour that would have been noon. 208 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,760 He's praying the, the specific hours of prayer that the Jewish 209 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,240 people were traditionally accustomed to. 210 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:53,560 Then he began to become very hungry. 211 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:54,760 And when indeed, isn't that funny? 212 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,320 Whenever you're like, OK, I'm going to spend some time with 213 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,760 the Lord in prayer and then your mind's thinking about all kind 214 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,600 of other stuff, right? Oh, I'm tired, I feel like 215 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:04,960 taking a nap. A boy, I could go for a hot dog 216 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,200 or a sandwich or whatever. Then anything the enemy can do 217 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,640 to get your mind off a prayer, he'll get you thinking about, 218 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,200 right. It's interesting to see. 219 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,160 Even apostles had that issue. So he wanted to eat, but while 220 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,200 they made ready, they were making food down there. 221 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,720 He fell into a trance and saw heaven open and an object like a 222 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,320 great sheet bound at four corners descending to him and 223 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,200 let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four 224 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:33,080 footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things and 225 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,480 birds of the air. And a voice came to him. 226 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:40,280 Rise, Peter, kill and eat. So this is a big bag here of all 227 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,200 kind of different kind of things that someone could possibly 228 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,040 consider eating. To a Jewish person, this is like 229 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,320 a nightmare. There was UN kosher stuff in 230 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,120 here, this stuff that Peter would have never ever considered 231 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,320 eating, not even be tempted to eat. 232 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,920 These things were filthy. And so the Lord's telling him, 233 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,440 and it's in red print in my Bible, Rise, this is Jesus. 234 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:07,040 Rise, Peter, kill and eat. And isn't it typical with Peter? 235 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,920 Peter said, no, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything 236 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,280 common or unclean. I mean, this guy's still arguing 237 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:16,320 with Jesus. You, you would think that the 238 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,120 Lord would say, look, Peter, I gave you a chance and numerous 239 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:20,760 time, you know, you just aren't cooperating. 240 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:22,360 I'm going to work with someone else. 241 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,120 This is so encouraging because we're all like knuckleheads. 242 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,240 At least I speak for myself. And we just don't get it 243 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,080 sometimes, do we? And the Lord is so patient. 244 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,640 He's not like if he's waiting for you and me to be perfect, no 245 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:37,320 one's going to get anything done and no one will ever do anything 246 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:38,920 because none of us are perfect, are we? 247 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,680 And isn't it good to know that, like, how can God use you or how 248 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,960 can you use me? You're not perfect. 249 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,520 Well, I never said I was, and neither did you. 250 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,440 And it humbles us to realize that God chooses. 251 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:54,880 He tells us. And in the Corinthians, you 252 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,560 know, he's chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to 253 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,400 confound the wise so that no flesh would glory in his 254 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,880 presence. So Peter said, not so Lord, for 255 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,680 I've never eaten anything common or unclean. 256 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,320 It's a self-righteous attitude, religion. 257 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,520 This is still stuck to his back. You know, he thinks he has to do 258 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,960 certain things to accommodate his spiritual equilibrium. 259 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:21,760 And a voice spoke to him again the second time. 260 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,840 What God has cleansed, you must not call common. 261 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,280 OK, You think he'd start to get it? 262 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,960 This was done three times. So Peter eventually sort of got 263 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,440 it, and the object was taken up into heaven again. 264 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,440 So I'm sure he's thinking, like, what did I see? 265 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:42,320 What's this about? Can I really eat pig now? 266 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:47,040 Can I really eat pork? I wonder what it tastes like. 267 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,040 And when he did taste it, he said, boy, I wish I could have 268 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:51,800 been eating this thing my whole life, right? 269 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,600 I've missed out. And a lot of good food here. 270 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:01,160 So Peter's wondering in verse 17 within himself what this vision 271 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,520 which he had seen meant. He's rehearsing of what's this 272 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,160 all about. Behold, the men who had been 273 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,640 sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and 274 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,120 stood before the gate. So they have just arrived and 275 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,480 they called and asked whether Simon, his surname was Peter, 276 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,800 was lodging there, living there. So while Peter's thinking about 277 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:27,520 the vision of verse 19, the Holy Spirit says to him, behold, 278 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:32,200 three men are seeking you arise, therefore go down and go with 279 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,400 them, doubting nothing for I've sent them. 280 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,760 Now this is like really awesome because the Holy Spirit's 281 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,760 speaking specifically to Peter about someone who's already 282 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,000 there. And you, if you're walking with 283 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,440 the Lord and you're seeking God, I'm sure if I brought you up 284 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:50,680 here today, you could tell all kinds of stories of how the Lord 285 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,760 set up certain situations ahead of time with you knowing about 286 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,000 something before something even came to pass. 287 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,640 And that's what makes living in Christ exciting. 288 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,360 It doesn't happen all the time as much as maybe we would like 289 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,640 to experience it. But if we're open to the 290 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,520 direction of the Holy Spirit, he'll set up divine 291 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,079 appointments, He'll set up situations that there's no way 292 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:15,160 something could come to pass if it wasn't Him doing it right. 293 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,920 And it just gives you goosebumps at times. 294 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,040 And you think about the the realness of God and how powerful 295 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,520 he is and how he can show up and how he can maneuver and move 296 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,040 situations. And, and the Bible talks about 297 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,960 spiritual gifts, the words of knowledge, the words of wisdom. 298 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,120 These are real spiritual, supernatural gifts. 299 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,720 Some people have certain types of gifting, other people, other, 300 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,920 we all have certain kind of spiritual gifts. 301 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,640 But sometimes, like I told you a story about the man that gives 302 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,800 away the Bibles and he came out of the restroom and the young 303 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,640 lady comes out of the bathroom and she had been drinking 304 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,200 heavily and partying and, and he just the Lord put on his heart, 305 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,960 it's her birthday today. And he said happy birthday and 306 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,040 she's how do you know it's my birthday? 307 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:00,520 That's the Lord. He does stuff like that. 308 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,480 If we're open to the leading of God's Spirit, He works out 309 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:09,240 beside the dimensions of how our normal thought processes work. 310 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,640 Without faith, it's impossible to please God. 311 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,800 We need to be walking by faith and not by sight. 312 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:18,920 So often. Like Lord, I'll believe it if I 313 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,880 can see it, and I'll trust you if you got all this A through Z 314 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,400 all lined out. And I don't have to like, worry 315 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,280 about making a mistake or going down the wrong path or 316 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:29,600 something. When the Lord impresses 317 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,160 something on your heart and you know it, and you've heard the 318 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:38,040 voice of God, not literally out externally, but the voice of God 319 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:43,560 speaks in terms that interact with our mind and our heart. 320 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,840 And you and I should know the difference between hearing our 321 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,280 own imagination and hearing the voice of God. 322 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,840 And I think we begin to hear the voice of God when we're willing 323 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:59,200 to be still in prayer. Both these guys heard the voice 324 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,080 of God's working through their time in prayer. 325 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,160 And you might say, well boy, I just never sense God's voice or 326 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:08,640 his presence. I'm not sure. 327 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:14,600 Well, spend some time in prayer, waiting on the Lord, fasting, 328 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,880 whatever it is, giving God time to speak to you about what it is 329 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,160 He wants you to do. Instead of this going off and 330 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,800 doing it in your own strength, you're doing it on your own 331 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,000 will. Lord, what would you have me to 332 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,080 do? What would you want me to do? 333 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:32,720 And Cornelius said, what is it, Lord? 334 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:34,920 The question, what you're talking to me now what? 335 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,240 What do I do? I want to become more in tune, 336 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:43,120 as I'm sure you do too, what with the voice of the Lord, How 337 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:47,240 do I interact in this conversation or how do I respond 338 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:51,160 to this crisis situation? Or, you know, what do I say to 339 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,840 this lady that's very angry about Roe versus Wave being 340 00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:00,200 overturned and just beside herself dropping F bombs and 341 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:04,960 she's telling me her frustration then telling me, but she's a 342 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,200 Christian. You know, it was interesting. 343 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,360 I was tempted to say, can I pray for you? 344 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:13,200 But she would probably beat the crap out of me. 345 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:15,880 That would be another conversation. 346 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,120 Maybe down the road I'll say, hey, by the way, we had that 347 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:19,600 conversation. I want you to know I've been 348 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,440 praying for, you know, and I am praying for. 349 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,320 But hearing the voice of the Lord, so Peter, specifically 350 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,640 this, this isn't what we're studying in the book of the 351 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,120 Acts, folks. Is not like this an act. 352 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,240 This is like supposed to be part of everyday life for all of us. 353 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,040 And when the book of the Acts becomes alive in the day that we 354 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,720 live, then we begin to see God working within the realm of the 355 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,480 supernatural in people's lives. And I think we've been so 356 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,760 conditioned mentally. It's one thing to know the Word, 357 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,680 to memorize the Scriptures, to know where to find is find that. 358 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,320 But how is God interacting with you and me in the midst of what 359 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,640 it is we're reading and learning and anticipating that? 360 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:03,160 Do we have a desire to hear God and to have him set up 361 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,960 circumstances for us so we can be used by God? 362 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:11,040 So Peter goes down to the men who had been sent to him from 363 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,600 Cornelius and said, yes, I am he whom you seek. 364 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,400 For what reason have you come? They said Cornelius, a 365 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,480 Centaurian, a just man, one who fears God and has a good 366 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:25,320 reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely 367 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:30,280 instructed by a holy Angel to summon you to his house and to 368 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,040 hear words from you. And so then he invited them in 369 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:36,360 and lodged them. And this is huge because 370 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,560 probably a month before this, Peter would have never 371 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,840 considered this. He's hanging out with the Tanner 372 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,600 in an unclean place. He's already like compromised 373 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:52,880 some of his kosher convictions. And now he has this vision of 374 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,200 these animals in this blanket. And he's starting to see this 375 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,520 isn't about this animals and eating. 376 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,000 This is about relationships with people, with Gentiles that he 377 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:04,920 would have never given the time of day to. 378 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,680 And he invites them in. And not only does he invite them 379 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,920 in, but he's hanging with him. He's he's entertaining them. 380 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,400 He's the word lodging means that he's, he's spending time with 381 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:16,440 him. He just doesn't say, well, you 382 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,720 can sleep over there. I'll see you tomorrow when we 383 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:20,840 head out. No, he, he fed them, he took 384 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,560 care of them and he talked with them. 385 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:27,200 That's a beautiful, beautiful story of, of the conversion 386 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,120 that's going to come up for Cornelius. 387 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:34,800 But Peter's being converted to real Christianity, not religion, 388 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,880 not judgment, not criticism. The Lord doesn't want us to be 389 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:45,080 criticizing each other. He wants us to be loving one 390 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,680 another and forgiving one another and being patient with 391 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,360 one another. And until we're willing to 392 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:56,360 become less judgmental and less critical, we won't hear the 393 00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:59,640 voice of God. We'll quench the voice of God in 394 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,240 my judgment or your judgment or my criticism or my control, 395 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,240 whatever. God can't work. 396 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:12,720 It's only as we're open to Him to be like Jesus that God will 397 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,000 begin to really show up and move and work in ways that we can't 398 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:21,480 even comprehend. And so on the next day Peter 399 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,080 went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompany 400 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:26,920 him. So he took some guys with him 401 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,440 because he knew there was going to be problems in Jerusalem. 402 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,240 When this gets around, someone's going to say to the apostle, we 403 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,960 heard you brought Gentiles into your house. 404 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,600 You know, that's against the law of Moses. 405 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:45,480 These people are unclean. They're just not worthy of our 406 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,320 bloodline. Terrible, terrible 407 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,720 discrimination. And this is the leaders of the 408 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,320 church still had this stuff in on the Judaizers. 409 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,360 Thank you for listening to this edition of Living Waters of 410 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:02,560 Grace. Pastor Clark is teaching us 411 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:04,800 about the book of Acts in this series. 412 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:08,440 Acts is a powerful and unique part of Scripture, not just 413 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:12,240 because it records the spread of the Gospel geographically from 414 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,400 Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, but also culturally. 415 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,080 Acts shows us how the message of Jesus moved beyond its Jewish 416 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,760 roots and began to reach the Gentile world, which started 417 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,800 with Peter leading a small group in the Upper Room, became a 418 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,920 global movement with Paul taking the gospel to cities, 419 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:35,000 synagogues, and marketplaces across the Roman Empire. 420 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,480 Acts captures this vital transition and reminds us that 421 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,280 the good news of Jesus is for all people in every place. 422 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:48,480 May we be inspired to carry that same gospel boldly into our 423 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,640 world today. Living Waters of Grace comes to 424 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:53,920 you from Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland. 425 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:58,440 If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, you can listen to Grace FM 426 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,320 on the new 91.7 frequency. 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We're so thankful that you 438 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,800 joined us today. Be sure to tune in to the next 439 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,120 edition of Living Waters of Grace.