This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark
Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County
of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he
continues teaching through God's Word.
Lord, I'll believe it if I can see it, and I'll trust you if
you got all this A through Z all lined out.
And I don't have to like worry about making a mistake or going
down the wrong path or something.
When the Lord impresses something on your heart and you
know it, and you've heard the voice of God, not literally out
externally, but the voice of God speaks in terms that interact
with our mind and our heart. And you and I should know the
difference between hearing our own imagination and hearing the
voice of God. What's the definition of faith?
What does it mean to walk in faith?
The Bible teaches us that faith is believing in something you
can't see that grates against everything inside of us.
We want proof. We want to know beyond a shadow
of a doubt that reality is what we think it is.
As we just heard from Pastor Clark, God is calling us to be
people who hear His voice and make a distinction.
As much as you might like God to simply show you exactly what His
plan is, He's calling you to listen for His voice and walk in
faith. Now here's Pastor Clark in Acts
chapter 10 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.
We are in the book of the Acts. Acts chapter 10, Peter is the
guy that we're going to learn a little bit more about.
We've learned a lot about Peter through the Gospels and also the
beginning of the book of the Acts, the first sermon he
preached where over 3000 people got saved.
We will be transitioning to the apostle Paul after Chapter 11 as
he takes on more of the central focus of the ministry of the
church. So let me read and make some
comments. This is Cornelius Gentile, a
Roman Italian guard, who was being pursued by the Holy
Spirit. There was a certain man in
Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the
Italian regiment, A devout man and one who feared God with all
his household, who gave alms generously to the people and
prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day
he saw clearly in a vision an Angel of God coming and saying
to him, Cornelius. And when he observed him, he was
afraid and said, What is it, Lord?
And so he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have come
up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send
for Simon, whose surname is Peter.
He is lodging with Simon at Tanner, whose house is by the
sea. He will tell you what you must
do. And when the Angel who spoke to
him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household
servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on
him continually. So when he had explained all
these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Now, when we as Christians read the Bible, we read it from a
historical perspective, and that's good.
But I think it's really important to personalize what it
is we read so that we might understand how it is that the
Holy Spirit can still speak to us in the days that we live.
God uses His word now. He doesn't really need to send
angels to get messages to us, although He could if he wants
to. He's God.
But He's given us the Word of God so that when we read the
Scriptures, the Holy Spirit speaks to us from the Word of
God and puts things on our heart and directs our paths and tells
us what we should do. The way of the Holy Spirit is
very, very personal. The Lord will put something on
your heart, everyone of you in your daily life, God is speaking
to you about something. He's putting a vision upon your
heart. He's giving you a burden for
something. He's giving you a concern for
someone that He loves, and He wants to use you as a witness,
as a testimony. Every human being on the face of
the planet, whether you believe it or not, looks up in the stars
at night and has the same question.
Why am I here? How was this made?
Is there a God? And if there is a God, why is
life like it is? And usually it sort of stops at
that point. But the Bible tells us in
Romans, just by creation, we know there's a creator and that
we are accountable to him, and that one day we will leave this
world and we will meet our maker.
So it's important to realize that the Holy Spirit, no matter
where people live in the world, when there's a heart like
Cornelius that is being pursued by the Spirit of God and being
drawn by the Spirit of God to Jesus, the Lord begins to do all
this background work. Cornelius, that tells us, was a
devout man. He respected the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. He was so deep into
understanding that there is one God, but to the point he wasn't
willing to become a full blown Jew and be circumcised and
follow all the customs. But he had come through Pagan
worship as a Roman citizen, Zeus, and all these different
strange gods that the Pagan Roman people worshipped.
And he began to realize that these gods have no power.
But this God of history, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had
done significant things, and he's aware of these things.
And so in essence, he is a believer in the sense of the one
God, but doesn't know Jesus Christ yet.
And so as he's going up to pray, he's following the ritual of the
Jewish tradition of praying the hours.
The 9th hour was 3:00 in the afternoon and so he would go up
and he would begin to pray and this is something that he did
all the time according to the scriptures.
He had this heart to pray and they also feared God.
He also was very generous with his resources and help poor
people. And so God was observing
everything about this man's life.
You don't get saved by giving money.
You don't get saved by praying. But God could see that what was
happening in his life was causing him to be prepared to
receive Jesus. He was getting to this point
now, and it says that the Lord observed him.
It's beautiful to realize that God is observing us all the
time, you and me. He's watching us.
He's seeing how we live. He's seeing what we prioritize.
He's seeing what makes us tick, so to speak.
What gives us passion? As the Lord sees our lives, He
begins to work on them in specific ways and ways that we
can't even imagine at times until they begin to start to
happen. It's exciting, the way of the
Spirit, the way of the Holy Spirit.
And so He gives him real, specific information here.
He has this vision and a vision is something that materially
isn't objectively able to be quantified or solidified in the
sense of matter and form and feeling.
He's seeing something like an altered state of consciousness,
if you may, from his inner being, his mind's eye.
He, he's seeing something that you and I, if we were there, we
wouldn't be able to participate in this vision.
This was a specific vision God had given him to bring him to
this point of direction. It's all these prayers is your
prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.
So even lost people, God can look at them and and not every
lost person is, you know, wicked in the sense of just being like
the devil. There's a lot of people out
there that don't know the Lord that are good hearted people,
right? They're willing to to help
people and do things and they're kind and they're gentle.
They're humble and sometimes they make Christians look bad
because of how they're wired, maybe in a deeper way in regard
to caring about other people. So the Lord now gives him
direction as to what specifically he needs to do.
He's telling him to send men to Joppa.
So Caesarea is on the Mediterranean coast, about 135
miles northwest of Jerusalem. Joppa is about 30 miles, about
two day journey from Caesarea. The Lord is telling him send a
couple guys down here to Joppa and send for Simon, specifically
Simon. Now he doesn't know who Simon
is, but he's given this name, Simon, Simon Peter, the more
powerfully used apostles. Peter at this time is beginning
to become conditioned to becoming gracious because he was
a Jew. He was really committed to the
Law of Moses. He had a lot of hang ups.
When he first became a Christian.
He had certain types of perspectives regarding Judaism
versus people who are gentiles. The tradition was that if
someone was a Gentile, first of all, you wouldn't really hang
out with them. You definitely wouldn't go into
their house, nor would you invite them into your house.
There was a lot of a prejudice between those two people groups,
and that's never taught in the Bible, right?
Prejudice. There is no Jew or Gentile bond
or free, male or female. God sees us as one people group.
He, he looks at the heart. And so Simon's down here already
living in a home of a Tanner who's dealing with unclean
animals and all kind of blood and stuff that would have been
taboo is a kosher Jewish person. But the Lord put him in his
house either to just hang out for a while, to have a place to
lodge, or maybe to learn a trade so he could make some money to
help him in the midst of his ministry.
But he's telling Cornelius specifically where this Simon
is. He's at this House of the
Tanner, and he says he will tell you what you must do.
So Cornelius is at the point of wanting to really know the truth
and to have someone tell him about the Messiah.
Now, he was aware of the historical aspects of Jesus.
I'm sure the tradition that had already been established
probably heard about Pentecost, different things, But
nonetheless, he needed to hear specifically point by point what
the Gospel was Then he says, and when the Angel who spoke to him,
it departed. Cornelius obviously did exactly
what he was told it to do. He got two of the household
servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on
him continually. And when he had explained all
these things to them, he sent them off on this journey.
Now, the irony of this thing of how the Holy Spirit works.
You're praying about something, someone else is praying about
something. How do two people get connected
or people or families or how did people end up at this church or
that church or how to how did I end up, you know, being at the
right place at the right time? Or someone gave me a copy of the
Bible and said, hey, you know, read this.
I'm getting some answers from it.
I mean, all of us have a specific story of how we came to
faith in Jesus Christ. And every one of our stories is
supernatural. Every one of them is miraculous.
Every one of them is is individual and God specifically
chose a circumstance and the person and the event to bring
you to a point where your heart was ready and open and you
received the gospel from whoever it was that the Lord sent to
you. It doesn't happen by accident or
a mistake or happenstance. It was divinely appointed by
God, just like we're reading here, this divine experience.
And so then here's Peter. He's, he's having a vision, a
trance more than a vision. The next day as they went on
their journey and drew near the city, Peter, he goes up on the
housetop to pray about the 6th hour that would have been noon.
He's praying the, the specific hours of prayer that the Jewish
people were traditionally accustomed to.
Then he began to become very hungry.
And when indeed, isn't that funny?
Whenever you're like, OK, I'm going to spend some time with
the Lord in prayer and then your mind's thinking about all kind
of other stuff, right? Oh, I'm tired, I feel like
taking a nap. A boy, I could go for a hot dog
or a sandwich or whatever. Then anything the enemy can do
to get your mind off a prayer, he'll get you thinking about,
right. It's interesting to see.
Even apostles had that issue. So he wanted to eat, but while
they made ready, they were making food down there.
He fell into a trance and saw heaven open and an object like a
great sheet bound at four corners descending to him and
let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four
footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things and
birds of the air. And a voice came to him.
Rise, Peter, kill and eat. So this is a big bag here of all
kind of different kind of things that someone could possibly
consider eating. To a Jewish person, this is like
a nightmare. There was UN kosher stuff in
here, this stuff that Peter would have never ever considered
eating, not even be tempted to eat.
These things were filthy. And so the Lord's telling him,
and it's in red print in my Bible, Rise, this is Jesus.
Rise, Peter, kill and eat. And isn't it typical with Peter?
Peter said, no, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything
common or unclean. I mean, this guy's still arguing
with Jesus. You, you would think that the
Lord would say, look, Peter, I gave you a chance and numerous
time, you know, you just aren't cooperating.
I'm going to work with someone else.
This is so encouraging because we're all like knuckleheads.
At least I speak for myself. And we just don't get it
sometimes, do we? And the Lord is so patient.
He's not like if he's waiting for you and me to be perfect, no
one's going to get anything done and no one will ever do anything
because none of us are perfect, are we?
And isn't it good to know that, like, how can God use you or how
can you use me? You're not perfect.
Well, I never said I was, and neither did you.
And it humbles us to realize that God chooses.
He tells us. And in the Corinthians, you
know, he's chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to
confound the wise so that no flesh would glory in his
presence. So Peter said, not so Lord, for
I've never eaten anything common or unclean.
It's a self-righteous attitude, religion.
This is still stuck to his back. You know, he thinks he has to do
certain things to accommodate his spiritual equilibrium.
And a voice spoke to him again the second time.
What God has cleansed, you must not call common.
OK, You think he'd start to get it?
This was done three times. So Peter eventually sort of got
it, and the object was taken up into heaven again.
So I'm sure he's thinking, like, what did I see?
What's this about? Can I really eat pig now?
Can I really eat pork? I wonder what it tastes like.
And when he did taste it, he said, boy, I wish I could have
been eating this thing my whole life, right?
I've missed out. And a lot of good food here.
So Peter's wondering in verse 17 within himself what this vision
which he had seen meant. He's rehearsing of what's this
all about. Behold, the men who had been
sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and
stood before the gate. So they have just arrived and
they called and asked whether Simon, his surname was Peter,
was lodging there, living there. So while Peter's thinking about
the vision of verse 19, the Holy Spirit says to him, behold,
three men are seeking you arise, therefore go down and go with
them, doubting nothing for I've sent them.
Now this is like really awesome because the Holy Spirit's
speaking specifically to Peter about someone who's already
there. And you, if you're walking with
the Lord and you're seeking God, I'm sure if I brought you up
here today, you could tell all kinds of stories of how the Lord
set up certain situations ahead of time with you knowing about
something before something even came to pass.
And that's what makes living in Christ exciting.
It doesn't happen all the time as much as maybe we would like
to experience it. But if we're open to the
direction of the Holy Spirit, he'll set up divine
appointments, He'll set up situations that there's no way
something could come to pass if it wasn't Him doing it right.
And it just gives you goosebumps at times.
And you think about the the realness of God and how powerful
he is and how he can show up and how he can maneuver and move
situations. And, and the Bible talks about
spiritual gifts, the words of knowledge, the words of wisdom.
These are real spiritual, supernatural gifts.
Some people have certain types of gifting, other people, other,
we all have certain kind of spiritual gifts.
But sometimes, like I told you a story about the man that gives
away the Bibles and he came out of the restroom and the young
lady comes out of the bathroom and she had been drinking
heavily and partying and, and he just the Lord put on his heart,
it's her birthday today. And he said happy birthday and
she's how do you know it's my birthday?
That's the Lord. He does stuff like that.
If we're open to the leading of God's Spirit, He works out
beside the dimensions of how our normal thought processes work.
Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
We need to be walking by faith and not by sight.
So often. Like Lord, I'll believe it if I
can see it, and I'll trust you if you got all this A through Z
all lined out. And I don't have to like, worry
about making a mistake or going down the wrong path or
something. When the Lord impresses
something on your heart and you know it, and you've heard the
voice of God, not literally out externally, but the voice of God
speaks in terms that interact with our mind and our heart.
And you and I should know the difference between hearing our
own imagination and hearing the voice of God.
And I think we begin to hear the voice of God when we're willing
to be still in prayer. Both these guys heard the voice
of God's working through their time in prayer.
And you might say, well boy, I just never sense God's voice or
his presence. I'm not sure.
Well, spend some time in prayer, waiting on the Lord, fasting,
whatever it is, giving God time to speak to you about what it is
He wants you to do. Instead of this going off and
doing it in your own strength, you're doing it on your own
will. Lord, what would you have me to
do? What would you want me to do?
And Cornelius said, what is it, Lord?
The question, what you're talking to me now what?
What do I do? I want to become more in tune,
as I'm sure you do too, what with the voice of the Lord, How
do I interact in this conversation or how do I respond
to this crisis situation? Or, you know, what do I say to
this lady that's very angry about Roe versus Wave being
overturned and just beside herself dropping F bombs and
she's telling me her frustration then telling me, but she's a
Christian. You know, it was interesting.
I was tempted to say, can I pray for you?
But she would probably beat the crap out of me.
That would be another conversation.
Maybe down the road I'll say, hey, by the way, we had that
conversation. I want you to know I've been
praying for, you know, and I am praying for.
But hearing the voice of the Lord, so Peter, specifically
this, this isn't what we're studying in the book of the
Acts, folks. Is not like this an act.
This is like supposed to be part of everyday life for all of us.
And when the book of the Acts becomes alive in the day that we
live, then we begin to see God working within the realm of the
supernatural in people's lives. And I think we've been so
conditioned mentally. It's one thing to know the Word,
to memorize the Scriptures, to know where to find is find that.
But how is God interacting with you and me in the midst of what
it is we're reading and learning and anticipating that?
Do we have a desire to hear God and to have him set up
circumstances for us so we can be used by God?
So Peter goes down to the men who had been sent to him from
Cornelius and said, yes, I am he whom you seek.
For what reason have you come? They said Cornelius, a
Centaurian, a just man, one who fears God and has a good
reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely
instructed by a holy Angel to summon you to his house and to
hear words from you. And so then he invited them in
and lodged them. And this is huge because
probably a month before this, Peter would have never
considered this. He's hanging out with the Tanner
in an unclean place. He's already like compromised
some of his kosher convictions. And now he has this vision of
these animals in this blanket. And he's starting to see this
isn't about this animals and eating.
This is about relationships with people, with Gentiles that he
would have never given the time of day to.
And he invites them in. And not only does he invite them
in, but he's hanging with him. He's he's entertaining them.
He's the word lodging means that he's, he's spending time with
him. He just doesn't say, well, you
can sleep over there. I'll see you tomorrow when we
head out. No, he, he fed them, he took
care of them and he talked with them.
That's a beautiful, beautiful story of, of the conversion
that's going to come up for Cornelius.
But Peter's being converted to real Christianity, not religion,
not judgment, not criticism. The Lord doesn't want us to be
criticizing each other. He wants us to be loving one
another and forgiving one another and being patient with
one another. And until we're willing to
become less judgmental and less critical, we won't hear the
voice of God. We'll quench the voice of God in
my judgment or your judgment or my criticism or my control,
whatever. God can't work.
It's only as we're open to Him to be like Jesus that God will
begin to really show up and move and work in ways that we can't
even comprehend. And so on the next day Peter
went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompany
him. So he took some guys with him
because he knew there was going to be problems in Jerusalem.
When this gets around, someone's going to say to the apostle, we
heard you brought Gentiles into your house.
You know, that's against the law of Moses.
These people are unclean. They're just not worthy of our
bloodline. Terrible, terrible
discrimination. And this is the leaders of the
church still had this stuff in on the Judaizers.
Thank you for listening to this edition of Living Waters of
Grace. Pastor Clark is teaching us
about the book of Acts in this series.
Acts is a powerful and unique part of Scripture, not just
because it records the spread of the Gospel geographically from
Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, but also culturally.
Acts shows us how the message of Jesus moved beyond its Jewish
roots and began to reach the Gentile world, which started
with Peter leading a small group in the Upper Room, became a
global movement with Paul taking the gospel to cities,
synagogues, and marketplaces across the Roman Empire.
Acts captures this vital transition and reminds us that
the good news of Jesus is for all people in every place.
May we be inspired to carry that same gospel boldly into our
world today. Living Waters of Grace comes to
you from Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland.
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