1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,800 You open your Bibles, please. Acts chapter 10 this morning, 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,280 the book of Acts and chapter #10 And as you turn there, I want to 9 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:32,920 talk to you about an event that took place not in Acts chapter 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:38,480 10, but in Acts chapter #16 about 10 years or so after what 11 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,680 we're about to read in Acts chapter #10 because I think it 12 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,440 will illustrate very well what we're going to look at here in 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,920 just a moment. In Acts chapter #16 Paul and 14 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,400 Silas are on their second missionary journey. 15 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,640 And as they are in a place called Philippi, as they're 16 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,200 preaching the gospel for the very first time in Europe, they 17 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,320 meet a woman who is possessed by demons. 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,440 And this woman is being used by wicked men to be able to make 19 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,160 money off of her abilities to fortune tell. 20 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:12,560 Well, Peter and rather Paul and Silas see this woman in her 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,720 distress and through the power of God released her from the 22 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:18,920 power of the devil that's upon her life. 23 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,720 Now there was an uproar that took place in the town and 24 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,520 because of what they did, believe it or not, they were 25 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,440 thrown into prison. Their only crime, just doing the 26 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,840 work of the Lord and preaching the word of God. 27 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,880 And they were there in those stalks by day and into the 28 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:36,680 evening. And I don't know about you, but 29 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,280 if I was in prison for a crime I didn't commit, I would add a tin 30 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,640 cup and would have been going right against those bars and 31 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,800 going let me out of here, let me out of here. 32 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,640 That was what I would be doing. But these men are doing what? 33 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,000 They're singing praises to Jesus Christ. 34 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:51,800 They're singing hymns there in the prison. 35 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,880 And it was there in the midst of the praises to God that they 36 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,480 were offering there amongst those in the prison, that all of 37 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,080 a sudden the earth shook and God miraculously opened the doors to 38 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,360 not just their prison cell, but all of the prison cells. 39 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,280 And the warden of the prison jumps up and is startled by the 40 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,840 events of what are taking place, realizing that if these men 41 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,320 escaped, that it will be their lives paid by his life being 42 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,360 this, that there won't be a slap on the wrist. 43 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,760 He won't be fired from his job. He literally will have to give 44 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,680 up his life because of what's about to take place. 45 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,320 And so Paul says immediately, no, no, don't harm yourself. 46 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,520 We're all accounted for it. I have to wonder, those other 47 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,120 prisoners are saying, speak for yourself, Paul, like we want to 48 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,320 go. But Paul says, no, we're all 49 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:41,760 here. Don't harm yourself. 50 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,280 And that that warden, he, he falls down at their feet and he 51 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:50,480 asked this question. He says this, What must I do to 52 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:55,200 be saved? What must I do to be saved? 53 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,680 You know, this question was asked about 2000 years ago, but 54 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,360 it's a question that mankind is still asking today. 55 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,680 What must I do to have eternal life? 56 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,960 What must I do to be able to have peace? 57 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,480 What must I do to be able to go to heaven? 58 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,720 And you know, the interesting thing about each of those 59 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,960 statements is this, that it really could all boil down to 60 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,880 these two words. I do. 61 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:25,160 What can I do to achieve eternal life? 62 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:30,360 How can I make this happen? Well, today in Acts chapter 10, 63 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,320 we're going to look at a man who seemed to check all the boxes. 64 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,960 If any man was ever going to make it to heaven, it would be 65 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,360 this man. He was respected, he was 66 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:46,720 religious, but ultimately he was very, very lost. 67 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,360 The title of my message this morning is simply that, 68 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,880 respected, religious, and lost. And I hope by the time the 69 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:55,800 message is over this morning that you'll come to the 70 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,800 realization, as many of us have over the years ourselves, that 71 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,920 it's not about what we do to achieve salvation, but it's 72 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,160 about what Jesus Christ has already done so that we may have 73 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,680 the forgiveness of sins and be saved and have a home with 74 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:12,680 heaven with him for all eternity. 75 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,080 Would you stand, if you're able, please, for the preaching of or 76 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,440 for the reading of God's Word? Rather, if you're able, please 77 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,079 stand. We'll read Acts chapter 10, but 78 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:22,160 we'll look at many of the verses throughout this chapter. 79 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,440 Read Acts chapter 10 the verse 8 verses. 80 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,560 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a 81 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,880 centurion of the band called the Italian band. 82 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,880 And some of you might say I've never heard of the Italian band. 83 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:37,160 What kind of music did they play? 84 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:39,640 It's not talking about that kind of band, OK. 85 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,040 It's talking about a centurion, a man who is over 100 soldiers. 86 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,480 And these hundred soldiers were called together the Italian band 87 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,240 because they were swearing allegiance to Caesar. 88 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,440 They were from Italy. Verse 2A Devout man, and one 89 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,640 that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to 90 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,120 the people, and prayed to God, always sounds like a great man. 91 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,880 He saw in a vision, evidently about the ninth hour of the day, 92 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,840 about 3:00 in the afternoon, an Angel of God coming into him, 93 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,680 and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he 94 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,120 was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? 95 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,640 And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come 96 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:22,080 up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and 97 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,400 call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. 98 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:27,440 Now, if you've been here the last few weeks, we know we've 99 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,800 been looking a lot at Peter, have we, in the growth that he 100 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,400 has achieved in his life through the power of God? 101 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,720 Or six? He lodgeth with one Simon, a 102 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,600 Tanner, whose house is by the seaside, and he shall tell thee 103 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,600 what thou oughtest to do. And when the Angel which spake 104 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,960 unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household 105 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,960 servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him 106 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:51,720 continually. And when they had declared, when 107 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,960 he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to 108 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:57,880 Joppa. What do we see? 109 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:01,760 He was respected by the people. He was religious. 110 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,400 He was playing, praying to God always. 111 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,080 But there's only one problem. He was utterly and completely 112 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,360 lost. And I don't want you to leave 113 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,880 this building today thinking that it's religion that gets you 114 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:14,800 to heaven. I don't want you to leave here 115 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,360 today thinking that it's what you do that gets you to heaven. 116 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:20,440 I don't want you to leave here today thinking that it's 117 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:22,600 becoming a Baptist and coming to a Baptist Church to get you to 118 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,560 heaven. But it's only by trusting in the 119 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,840 gospel message that one believes in Jesus Christ and is saved. 120 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,280 Salvation isn't just believing in a God, it's believing in the 121 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:36,440 gospel. Salvation isn't just believing 122 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,760 in a God, it's believing in the gospel. 123 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:40,400 Why don't you be seated as we pray together? 124 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:42,920 Heavenly Father, I do pray to you. 125 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,000 Help me as I preach this word. I know what you have for me 126 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,080 today, for us. Lord, I humbly want to give it 127 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,280 with the power and authority that it needs to be given. 128 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:53,960 So Lord, I do pray that you'll be with us today and that each 129 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,600 one of us could inspect our own lives to make sure we are of the 130 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,760 faith. Lord, I thank you for everyone 131 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,680 coming here today for taking the time to be in your house. 132 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,640 I pray your blessing upon your word as only you can, and we ask 133 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,560 it in Jesus name, Amen. So the Bible here in Acts 134 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,840 chapter 10 talks about a man named Cornelius, a centurion who 135 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:15,240 is part of this elite group of soldiers that are called the 136 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,320 Italian band. And there's a few things that 137 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,640 you need to know about him. And the outline is pretty simple 138 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,400 to follow because basically the outline is the title, the 139 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,160 message. First of all, we see he was a 140 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,240 man who was respected. He was a man who was respected. 141 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,440 Look again in verse #2 it says a devout man and one that feared 142 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:37,000 God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and 143 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,440 prayed to God always and focused in for a moment on that phrase, 144 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,760 gave much alms to the people. Now you understand that if 145 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:48,160 Cornelius was a member, a centurion of the Italian band, 146 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,240 that meant that he was part of the Roman Empire. 147 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,960 And may I remind you this morning that the Roman Empire 148 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,080 were oppressors to the Jews. In fact, the Roman Empire were 149 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,240 oppressors too. Well, much of the known world at 150 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,840 that time because they had conquered much of the known 151 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,280 world. And so here is Cornelius. 152 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,240 He is there in this place called Caesarea. 153 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:13,920 He is of the occupying force. And he as an occupier, he as a 154 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:19,680 one who is over this place militarily, yet is still giving 155 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,400 alms to the people, which he is oppressing. 156 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,720 Now, he himself is not oppressing the people 157 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,600 necessarily. Seems like he's a really good 158 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,800 man in a lot of ways, but he is part of the occupying army. 159 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,039 But yet he realizes that even though I'm part of the occupying 160 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:36,600 Roman army, want to do good for these people, I want to treat 161 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:38,880 him well. I want to do right. 162 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,720 He was a very generous man, which by the way, he didn't need 163 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,320 to be a generous man. No one's expecting him to be a 164 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:47,280 generous man. I wouldn't imagine that anyone 165 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,280 would look at a man named Cornelius and say, I bet this 166 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:51,040 guy will be really generous to us. 167 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:52,800 They were expecting quite the opposite. 168 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,560 But he was a man who actually commanded much respect. 169 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:00,200 In fact, verse #22 says this, and they said Cornelius the 170 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,880 centurion, a just man, one that feareth God and have a good 171 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,360 rapport among all the nation of the Jews. 172 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,560 So not only was he giving alms, that meant he was giving money 173 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:14,400 and he was giving material support to those who were Jews. 174 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,640 Not only that, they felt good about him, they liked him. 175 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,640 Perhaps we could even say they had some affinity and maybe even 176 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,320 some love for this man. This man was an exceptional man 177 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,000 in a lot of ways, maybe more so than we would realize just at 178 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,640 our first reading. You know, there are many who are 179 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,960 very generous with their wealth and there are many who take the 180 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,760 wealth of which they've received and are very generous with it. 181 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,480 I think even here in the town of Easton, that the Ames family is 182 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:44,600 one that's held in very high regard. 183 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,640 Over the years, the Ames family helped settle this area. 184 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:51,360 The Ames family started the shovel shop many years ago from 185 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,720 which much income was derived here in this area. 186 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,880 Much of the land for a great period of time was owned by the 187 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,400 Ames, but yet the Ames ended up giving away much land. 188 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,880 The Ames family ended up giving away much property and much 189 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:06,840 money. In fact, I know of two different 190 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,400 churches in our town that either received buildings or property 191 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:12,400 from the Ames family. Now, I haven't talked to anybody 192 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:13,960 from the Ames family lately. Maybe that's what I've been 193 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:15,640 missing for us to get our own building. 194 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,240 But that has happened over the years, and the land that Stoned 195 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,400 Hill College is on, it was Ames land, the land that our town 196 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,120 hall is, an Ames house, all of that. 197 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,080 They were very generous, and we see this in lots of different 198 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,000 places. Go to Boston and go down 199 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,320 Longwood Ave. and find all the hospitals that are there in that 200 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,240 area. Each one of them have a name of 201 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:38,760 a family. Each of them have a name of a 202 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:42,760 group of people, whether it's Moakley or Yaki, names we might 203 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,520 know or names we don't know. But we know that there are 204 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,680 people who have been benevolent with their funds, even the Yaki 205 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,840 family, owners of the Red Sox for many years, starting the 206 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,400 Jimmy Fund, of which children have received money for cancer 207 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,360 treatments. Very generous with that. 208 00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:58,960 Growing up in Tampa, George Steinbrenner, a lot of people 209 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,200 don't want to talk about him, but owner of the Yankees was 210 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:06,560 from Tampa, FL and I you can't turn anywhere in Tampa without 211 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:09,160 something being named after George Steinbrenner because of 212 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,480 him giving money to these different pursuits. 213 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:16,760 Children's hospitals, museums, parks, schools, all of these 214 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,960 named after George Steinbart. People who have had good 215 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:24,040 reports, people who have given, could we put it this way, much 216 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:28,720 alms people who have lots of respect, but nowhere listen. 217 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,120 But nowhere in the word of God, as wonderful as those things can 218 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:37,440 be, but nowhere in the word of God as wonderful as being 219 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:42,120 benevolent could be. To an area or to a town or to a 220 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,000 college or to a hospital. Nowhere does this type of 221 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,120 activity save us all. Nowhere in the Word of God do we 222 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,040 find that someone can give enough. 223 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,000 Could you imagine the pay for play? 224 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,840 The idea that if you give enough that you could have entrance 225 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,440 into heaven? That's not what we see in the 226 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:03,040 Word of God. That's not what we see in the 227 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,800 least. In fact, Mark 836 helps us to 228 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,440 understand this thought process when it says for what shall it 229 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,640 profit a man if he gains the whole world? 230 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,720 So let's say someone had the whole world, They amassed the 231 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:17,760 whole world, they collected it, they bought and purchased it for 232 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,640 themselves, or maybe even gave it away to someone else. 233 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:23,520 But what shall profit a man if he gains the whole world and 234 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:28,080 loses his own soul? Building a hospital, helping the 235 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:30,520 homeless, giving back to the community while good in its 236 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,000 proper place is never a substitute for a real 237 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,840 relationship with Jesus Christ. I talked to a gentleman here 238 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,040 just over the last couple weeks and I don't want to say his name 239 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,680 or what he does because my prayer that he'll be coming to 240 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:44,920 church here sometime over the next few weeks and months. 241 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:46,880 And I was able to give him a track and talk to him. 242 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,680 He was helping us out with the church with a certain project 243 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:53,040 and gave us a price that was far below what market value would 244 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,800 have been on that project. And he said this to me. 245 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,800 He says, well, hopefully this will help me make it through the 246 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:03,480 pearly gates. And I looked at him and I called 247 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,800 him by name and I said I don't have that kind of authority. 248 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,240 I said, and that's not how people are saved. 249 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,520 And I was able to give him a track and talk to him and said, 250 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:15,080 well, you know, please don't change the price. 251 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:19,760 We're thankful for the price, but be very, listen, I'd rather 252 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,800 pay full price if it meant that he understood that that wasn't a 253 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:24,920 way that he was to get to heaven. 254 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,120 But I was able to talk to him about the Lord and be able to 255 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,840 use that as an opportunity to tell him, no, that's not how a 256 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,280 soul is saved. Could you imagine if that was 257 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,680 how God had a soul to be saved, that you and I would have to 258 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:36,920 give enough? And what would happen if we 259 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:38,520 didn't have enough? And how much would be enough? 260 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:40,960 And where would be enough enough be enough? 261 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:43,480 But no, God's plan is much different. 262 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:45,520 It's not just about being respected. 263 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,160 This man, Cornelius, he was respected, but he wasn't just 264 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,080 that. He was also religious. 265 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,520 He was religious. Look at verse #2 there were 266 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:55,760 several things that we saw there. 267 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,800 He was a devout man. That word devout means this, 268 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,920 yielding A solemn and reverential attention to God in 269 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,480 religious exercises. He was one that feared God. 270 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,600 There's no doubt that he had great reverence and respect for 271 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,160 God, at least in some element of his life. 272 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,160 It says this. He prayed to God always. 273 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,920 Now listen, believer, how many of you could say that this 274 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,400 morning? Do you pray to God always? 275 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,600 I know for me prayer is sometimes times is one of the 276 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,640 most difficult parts of the Christian life, isn't it, to 277 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,800 pray consistently. But here's a guy here who he's 278 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,480 praying to God and the Bible says, no, this isn't someone 279 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,320 else saying it. The Bible records in it's truth 280 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,200 that he's praying to God on a constant basis. 281 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,440 And this is a religious man. And maybe what's most incredible 282 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,880 about this was this was not a man who came from the Jews. 283 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,760 This is a man who very likely grew up in Italy, that man who 284 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:52,680 grew up within the Roman Empire in the pantheon of Roman gods, 285 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,920 of which they had Jupiter, Augustus, Mars, Venus. 286 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,200 These are all gods of which he would have come from a land 287 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,000 where they were worshipped. But sometime he came to Judea, 288 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,640 and at some point he got there and he realized there's an 289 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,560 emptiness here. There's something here that's 290 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,040 not satisfying. And he was searching. 291 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,880 He was searching for something more, but he was religious. 292 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,000 He was going through all of the motions. 293 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,520 By the way, is there anything wrong with being devout? 294 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,120 No. Is there anything wrong with 295 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:29,960 fearing God? I'd suggest to you that the 296 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,520 Bible talks to us quite a bit about making sure we have the 297 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,120 right type of the fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord's, 298 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:36,640 the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord's, the 299 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:38,680 beginning of knowledge, the fear of the Lord's, the beginning of 300 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:40,000 a lot of things. Just open up the book of 301 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,280 Proverbs and you'll find a lot of those verses that are there. 302 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,320 Is there anything wrong with praying to God always? 303 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:48,240 There's nothing. In fact, it's quite the 304 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,480 opposite. It's a wonderful thing, but 305 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,800 what's wrong with these actions is when they're not anchored to 306 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:59,360 Jesus Christ and Christ alone, and when they're not anchored to 307 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,960 the fact that, as we just talked about last week, that they are 308 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:08,520 not to be saved, but rather that we do them because we're saved. 309 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,680 And this man was religious. He went through the motions. 310 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,440 He thought that that might be enough. 311 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,280 How you say, Well, how do you even know that he's not saved? 312 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:18,320 That's conjecture on your part, Pastor. 313 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,480 How do you know? Well, I know because I've read 314 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,400 the rest of the story and beyond that we know this, that he had a 315 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:27,080 vision that came from God and God said this. 316 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,800 I'm going to send someone to you who's going to tell you the 317 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,160 truth about the gospel. I'm going to send someone who's 318 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,320 going to tell you the real way. I see that your heart is pure 319 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,360 towards me. I see that you have a desire for 320 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,240 me, but you don't understand the whole story. 321 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,280 So I'm going to send someone to you who's going to tell you and 322 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,360 to preach to you the word of God and the truth of the gospel. 323 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:48,520 Maybe he had never heard of Jesus. 324 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,160 Maybe he'd only heard the Roman version of who Jesus was. 325 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,160 Maybe he was confused about these things. 326 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,840 But this is what we know. He was not saved at this point, 327 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,680 even though he was going through the motions. 328 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:05,280 I know from my own testimony growing up that being a 329 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:09,079 Lutheran, that there was a lot of ritual that we did. 330 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:11,400 We lit the candles in a certain order. 331 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,800 We extinguished the candles in a certain order. 332 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:15,920 We approached the altar with a bow. 333 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,400 We left the altar with a bow. There was a candle that was 334 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,880 never supposed to go out, a perpetual light that was always 335 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,319 to be shining. There was a certain way of which 336 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:29,200 we performed communion, and we had to follow that to a tee 337 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,480 every single week or every two weeks. 338 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,600 When our church celebrated what they called the Holy Communion, 339 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:36,960 there were rites and they were rituals. 340 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:38,560 And by the way, could I say this? 341 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,440 There can sometimes be a comfort that's associated with those 342 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,680 rites and rituals. You know how I know that? 343 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,160 Because there are many people who say something along these 344 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,480 lines to me. Pastor, I used to be Catholic, 345 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,320 or pastor, I grew up in the Catholic Church, and many times 346 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,400 they're not practicing Catholics for many, many years, but 347 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,880 they'll be a funeral. And usually that's the place 348 00:17:57,880 --> 00:17:59,520 where they come back to the Catholic Church. 349 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,400 There's a funeral. And what do they draw comfort 350 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,000 from? The rituals? 351 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:11,600 To kneel, to stand, to recite, to kneel, to stand, to speak, to 352 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,480 say, to hear. All those things they did as a 353 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,160 child, all those things they did growing up. 354 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,960 And there could be a comfort with ritual, but the problem 355 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,280 with this is it's a false comfort because salvation 356 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:29,520 doesn't come through ritual. Salvation does not come through 357 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,800 rote religion. Just going through the motions. 358 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,280 If I do God like things, then I will be saved. 359 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,080 And as I've mentioned to you before, even just a few moments 360 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,280 ago, that includes some of the things that we do even as 361 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,920 Baptists. Well, I come to the Baptist 362 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,280 Church, I give to the Baptist Church, I attend the Baptist 363 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,160 Church. My membership is on a Baptist 364 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,640 Church roll. I do the Baptist Church thing. 365 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,560 So, pastor, that means I need to be saved because or I am saved 366 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,960 because I've done these things. Listen, that will get you as 367 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:02,440 close to salvation as the rosary will. 368 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,640 Amen. Which means it won't get you 369 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,840 there. Salvation by works. 370 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,560 To be able to save yourself by your own works is like trying to 371 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,920 button up a shirt wrong. I just did this this week. 372 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:15,560 You know, you're button it up and you get to the end. 373 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:16,520 You're like, this doesn't add up. 374 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,000 You know, maybe if I lean over like this the rest of the day 375 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,280 everything will work out. But you know, salvation by 376 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,760 works, it makes sense for a while until you get to the end 377 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:29,800 and you realize it doesn't line up. 378 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:35,120 And by then it's eternally too late to do anything about it. 379 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,960 What do we do? We say, listen, it's not 380 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,560 religion that saves us. He was saved. 381 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,200 He was or he was respected. He was religious. 382 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,600 But what do we see? Ultimately? 383 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,280 He was lost in the verses. After our text, God sends Peter 384 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,800 to send the message of the gospel to Cornelius. 385 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,800 By the way, do you know who wanted Cornelius to be saved? 386 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:05,080 God did. Could I give you some good news 387 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,680 this morning? Do you know who wants you to be 388 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:09,800 saved today? God does. 389 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,760 The same God who desired for Cornelius to be saved almost 390 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:18,400 2000 years ago is the same God who wants you to call upon him 391 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,880 today to be saved. It's that same God. 392 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,880 It's the same Jesus Christ who died on the cross. 393 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,840 It's the same Holy Spirit who's working within your heart. 394 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,720 It's the same you say that's an old dusty book and it has 395 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,880 nothing to do with me today. Listen, it's the most relevant 396 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,840 book you will ever read in your life and it has everything to do 397 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,160 with your life today and it had everything to do with your 398 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:44,120 eternity as well. His need for Christ was real. 399 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,160 So Peter comes and what does Peter do? 400 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,200 Well, we know what Peter would do back in the old days. 401 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:51,960 He would have been like, what am I doing here? 402 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,120 Peter did what he's been doing so well since he's been growing 403 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:04,600 as he preaches the Word of God. Drop down to verse #34 I wish we 404 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,120 could take time to go through all these verses here in a real 405 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:13,920 detailed way, but look at this. So then Peter opened his mouth 406 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,920 and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of 407 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,480 persons, but in every nation He that feareth him and worketh 408 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,080 righteousness is accepted with him. 409 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,720 What is he saying? Listen, he's saying this, that 410 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,720 it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. 411 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,680 God is no respecter of person. It doesn't matter if you're from 412 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,400 one nation or another. God is not a respecter of 413 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:35,920 persons. It doesn't matter if you speak 414 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,000 one language or another. God is not a respecter of 415 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,040 persons. He desires that all come to 416 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,480 repentance. He requires that desires that 417 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:50,280 all come to him, the word of God, the word which God sent 418 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,680 unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ. 419 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,640 How is peace achieved by Jesus Christ? 420 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:02,160 Well, when will there be World Peace? 421 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,840 When Jesus Christ reigns, it will reign someday. 422 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,560 That's why we need to know Him now, because He will rule and 423 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:11,760 reign. It is the King of kings and the 424 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,320 Lord of Lords. Peace comes by Jesus Christ and 425 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,560 Christ alone. That word I say you know, which 426 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:22,200 was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee 427 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,360 after the baptism with John, preached how God anointed Jesus 428 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,240 of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. 429 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:31,960 Who went about doing good. Remember when we looked at that 430 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:36,040 last week and went about doing good and healing them who were 431 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,080 oppressed of the devil? For God was with him, and we're 432 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,960 all witness of these things which He did both in the land of 433 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,560 the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. 434 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,400 Him God raised up the third day and showed Him openly. 435 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,800 Do you see the gospel is being preached here, and Peter's 436 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,680 giving him the straight gospel that He lived, He died, he 437 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:56,760 resurrected. Why? 438 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:02,560 For the sins of all mankind, not to all the people, but unto 439 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,320 witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink 440 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:07,760 with Him after he rose from the dead. 441 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,560 And he commanded us to preach under the people, to testify 442 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,720 that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick 443 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:20,560 and dead to him give all the prophets witness. 444 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:25,160 Look at this, that through his name whosoever believeth in him 445 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:30,120 shall receive remission of sins. He says this, Cornelius, you're 446 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,960 a good man, but good men are lost without Jesus Christ. 447 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:39,480 He said you need Jesus Christ. Your problem, Cornelius, is you 448 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,240 haven't accepted the gospel message. 449 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:46,760 He says in verse #43 to him, give all the prophets witness. 450 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,320 Do you know what he's saying? He's saying the Old Testament 451 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,880 speaks of this. Have you ever wondered why the 452 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,000 Old Testament's important? Ever wonder why we read it? 453 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,360 Ever wonder why it's even in the Bible in the 1st place? 454 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:04,880 Because the Old Testament gives us a preview of who Jesus Christ 455 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:09,320 is. Every page from Genesis 11 all 456 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,240 the way the end of the book of Malachi, all speaks of Jesus 457 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,520 Christ. I had a list that I'm not going 458 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,440 to read it for the sake of time, but of some, just some of the 459 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:22,880 promises that Christ's coming and that Christ's life and that 460 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,680 Christ's death and Christ's resurrection fulfilled, just 461 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:28,640 some of them would boggle your mind. 462 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:33,720 It couldn't be replicated, it couldn't be faked or forced. 463 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,760 It could only be this, that God fulfilled them because Jesus was 464 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:43,640 God and salvation is only through Jesus Christ, it's only 465 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,960 through his name. It says the one who is the 466 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:51,560 righteous judge. The Old Testament gives the 467 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:57,080 Word, the New Testament confirms who he is in the Word. 468 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:01,920 And today it's our job just to trust in Him and that gospel 469 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,280 message. It's amazing to me to see 470 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:09,720 someone's life when they transform, when they realize 471 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,840 that it's not about what they do, but what Christ has done and 472 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,160 how their life changes forever. When the light bulb turns on, 473 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,600 when they finally know it. I've talked to many who are in 474 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:26,720 all types of different religious experiences who will be on their 475 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,280 deathbed and they'll say something like this. 476 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,280 I wish I knew if I'm going to heaven. 477 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,600 You know, that was never the intention of Jesus Christ coming 478 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,760 to this world, that people would then leave this world and never 479 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,840 know what they were saved. You go to a Catholic funeral. 480 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,520 I mentioned this before here, and I go to several of them to 481 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,040 be able to, to to be there for different families at different 482 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,640 times, but there are different rituals that take place in the 483 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,760 hopes of that person who passed away could someday achieve 484 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,720 eternal life. Nowhere in the Bible does it say 485 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,920 that there's anything that you and I can do in this life that 486 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,600 could give eternal life to someone else. 487 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,240 Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that there's a place 488 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,120 called purgatory, that if you just happened to miss out on 489 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,920 that which the Bible said, that there'll be a time of holding an 490 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,640 eternal penalty box, if you will, that you can sit for a few 491 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,160 minutes and eventually you'll get out and be able to have that 492 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:26,960 which you desire. You know, the Bible says this. 493 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:31,160 Now is the appointed time. Now we call upon Jesus Christ 494 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,400 our Savior. Isaiah 64 verse 6 says this. 495 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:36,760 But we are all as an unclean thing and all our 496 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:40,440 righteousnesses are as filthy rags and we all do fate as a 497 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,840 leaf and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. 498 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:48,360 All, all of our good works are just filthy rags because of our 499 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,240 sin. Could you imagine? 500 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,320 After church today, we say, hey, we have a free car wash after 501 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:54,800 church. The first of all, that'd be 502 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,000 probably pretty wild, all things considered, to be able to have 503 00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:58,560 that in the, you know, after church. 504 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:01,240 But let's say a free car wash after church, we'll line all the 505 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,640 cars up and we're going to make sure all your cars are clean. 506 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:05,400 And you say, well, how are you going to do that? 507 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:07,480 Well, we got a hose connected next door because we don't have 508 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:08,840 any outdoor water here in our building. 509 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,400 So I have to, you know, hopefully pay back the the 510 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,440 people next door for the water that we use over there. 511 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,200 But then we tell you this, we're going to clean your car by using 512 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,280 some rags we borrowed from a local mechanic. 513 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,360 They use them to clean up their oil, but we're going to use 514 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,320 those rags to be able to clean up your car. 515 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,000 And you say something like this. You know, Pastor, I really 516 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,800 appreciate it. But I think our car's fine. 517 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,360 Thank you. Now, why would you say that? 518 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,920 Because it would be foolish to clean something with filthy 519 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,480 rags. I wouldn't clean my car with a 520 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:41,200 filthy rag. You'd use something that was 521 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,240 clean. You'd use something that was 522 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,680 pure. And to be able to try to clean 523 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:50,080 your own soul with your own works is like taking a filthy 524 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:51,760 rag and trying to clean yourself. 525 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:55,040 It just smears everything. It just makes a mess. 526 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,960 It'll never make a soul clean. But listen, the precious blood 527 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,840 of Jesus Christ, which is pure, which is efficacious enough to 528 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,360 save every soul of all time if they all call upon Jesus Christ, 529 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:08,960 but we're talking about you today. 530 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:13,160 If you call upon Jesus Christ to save you today, his precious 531 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:17,960 pure blood can cleanse you of all of your sin, not your 532 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:24,680 religion, not your respect of your peers, but about what Jesus 533 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:31,680 already did on the cross. Remember Acts chapter 16 a few 534 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:37,240 moments ago, That man who said, what must I do to be saved? 535 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,920 That occasion that took place about 10 years after this text 536 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,200 that we're reading right here. Well, Paul said this to him. 537 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:53,520 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy 538 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:57,360 house. Now you say why in the house? 539 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,680 Because the message wasn't just good for the jailer. 540 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,360 The message was good for anyone who would hear it. 541 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:09,800 Listen, this message is good today for anyone who hears it 542 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,040 for all time. Why? 543 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,720 Because it's the eternal message of the gospel through Jesus 544 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,040 Christ. Say, well, if it's always 545 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:24,560 available, then I'll think about it and I'll avail myself of it 546 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:26,680 later. There's only one problem with 547 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,560 that. The problem is this. 548 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:32,000 The Bible says that life, James chapter 4 is like a vapor. 549 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,280 It's here 1 moment and it's gone the next. 550 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,920 To take water like this and to create it into a mist and to see 551 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:43,360 it float in the air and it's there one moment and it's gone 552 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:46,080 the next. Your life is like that. 553 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:48,480 Say, well, my life feels kind of long. 554 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:51,120 Maybe you feel like Jacob. He says many are my days and 555 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:52,320 full of trouble. That's what he said. 556 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,520 He says I've been around a long time and then I've seen a lot of 557 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:55,480 trouble. I've been alive. 558 00:29:55,760 --> 00:30:00,200 Listen, in the light of eternity, your my life is 559 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,160 nothing. We have a very short time. 560 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,760 And by the way, we don't know how long that time is. 561 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,560 I have a dear friend of mine started a church the same time 562 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:12,840 that we did. He and his wife as we were 563 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:14,680 starting the church here in Easton, they're starting a 564 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,800 church in Fairfield, CT. We were on deputation. 565 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,960 They were on deputation the exact same time, exact same 566 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,240 ages. As they were traveling, they 567 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,480 found out his wife had ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. 568 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:31,040 They still planted the church about two years after getting to 569 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:36,400 Fairfield, CT. They she passed away young, 570 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:41,040 early 30s. Just over the last year or so, 571 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,000 her husband, who's since been remarried, found out that he has 572 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,840 cancer. His cancer is deep, went through 573 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,280 some very difficult treatments. It required him to be in a 574 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,680 hospital for a month and not be around anybody. 575 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,720 Just found out yesterday by watching online that all of the 576 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,400 things that have been done, all of the treatments that have 577 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:09,680 taken place have all been unsuccessful and unless the Lord 578 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,760 intervenes that he will also perish. 579 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:18,240 A little boy now without a father and a mother, very likely 580 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:23,680 both dying one or in the 30s, one in the 40s say, pastor, I 581 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:25,400 thought we came here to be encouraged today. 582 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:30,080 You're not very encouraging. I understand that the 583 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:34,240 encouragement comes in this. Except Jesus Christ today 584 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:38,480 because you don't know that you have tomorrow, that Jesus Christ 585 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:43,400 has created today to be the Today that you can know him as 586 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,440 your Savior. You know God will go to great 587 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,520 lengths to convince someone to be saved. 588 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,960 How do I know that? Well, he used an Angel for 589 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:56,560 Cornelius. He used an earthquake for a 590 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,960 jailer. I read this just this last week. 591 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:02,720 This is incredible. In the mid 1800s, Scottish 592 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,960 teenager William McKay left for college where endless parties 593 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:08,200 consumed. And look at that, even in the 594 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,240 1800s, college life was party life. 595 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,160 His godly mother, concerned for his soul, gifted him a Bible 596 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,920 inscribed with his name and a scripture verse. 597 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,200 Desperate for whiskey money, he sold it. 598 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,920 Eventually he graduated and became a hospital doctor, yet 599 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,800 grew more wicked, scorning his mother's God and prayers for his 600 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,360 salvation. One day a hopelessly injured 601 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,280 laborer fell from a ladder and arrived alone at his hospital. 602 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,080 Conscious of his fate, he asked to see his landlady to settle a 603 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,320 debt and say her farewell, requesting that she bring the 604 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:42,520 book. She would know what he meant. 605 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,880 For a week, William visited daily, struck by the man's 606 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,760 almost serene and joyful face in the midst of his suffering. 607 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,760 Knowing him as a Christian, William avoided spiritual talk 608 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:59,520 after death, settling affairs. The nurse held up the man's 609 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:04,440 Bible, worn from the constant reading pages loose, torn and 610 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:08,280 underlined. To William's shock, that Bible 611 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:14,560 was his own, his mother's handwriting still inside the 612 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:17,800 Bible that he had sold for whiskey those many years ago. 613 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:22,040 Deep shame overwhelmed him. This precious gift, sold 614 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,600 cheaply, had comforted the dying man into peaceful, eternal life. 615 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,200 Hours later, William knelt, receiving Christ as a Savior. 616 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:35,200 He became a preacher and penned to him that we sing here at 617 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,120 Liberty Baptist Church. And I never even knew this. 618 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:42,680 We praise the O God, for the Son of thy love for Jesus, who died 619 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,160 and has now gone above. Hallelujah thou in the glory. 620 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,640 Hallelujah, Amen. Hallelujah thou in the glory. 621 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:57,320 Revive us again, Say God will go to great lengths, huh? 622 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:00,840 Yeah, he will. You want to know how great 623 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,080 lengths God will go? He brought you to Liberty 624 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:07,800 Baptist Church today on a friends and family Sunday. 625 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,560 He had you tune into a online live stream. 626 00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:16,159 Maybe you're watching this days or weeks later, I don't know. 627 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,600 He brought you to this place to be able to hear this message. 628 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,440 Why? Well, for one reason and one 629 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,719 reason only, He wants you to be saved today. 630 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:31,080 You can be respected. You could be religious and 631 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:36,000 completely and totally lost. There will be many who miss 632 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,920 heaven by 18 inches. Ever heard that before? 633 00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:42,560 They miss heaven by 18 inches. What does that mean? 634 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,760 They know about Jesus in their head, but the distance to their 635 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:51,040 heart, 18 inches. And never trusting Jesus Christ 636 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:54,440 their Savior. Listen, salvation isn't just 637 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,880 believing in a God, it's believing in the gospel, which 638 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,400 means this, the death, the burial, the resurrection of 639 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:06,040 Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. 640 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,600 Will you call upon Him to save you from your sins today? 641 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,560 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 642 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,520 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 643 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:20,000 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 644 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,600 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 645 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:29,400 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 646 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:32,240 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 647 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:33,440 grow in His Word.