Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] The passage I'm going to be bringing this morning.
[00:00:08] All right. And it has something to do with our mission as a church, but also as well for us personally, is that we are in Acts 10 at a turning point.
[00:00:17] In the early church. They're at a turning point. There are some key doctrines and teaching that need to be addressed at this point in the early church. And Acts 10, 10 and 11 is roughly about seven. Theologians reckon between seven and 10 years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
[00:00:38] Okay, so we're early days after Jesus had done his ministry on the earth, gone back to heaven.
[00:00:46] But there was an important teaching and doctrine that needed to be addressed. And I believe it is a teaching and a doctrine that still needs to be addressed today.
[00:00:58] And so the good news is. Sorry. The good news after Jesus had died and rose again, was predominantly preached to the Jewish people.
[00:01:08] It was all right. But here, across Acts 10 and 11, God reveals to Peter that Jesus is for everyone.
[00:01:20] That the Holy Spirit, he is for everyone.
[00:01:26] And so we find ourselves in a town called Caesarea where there is a man called Cornelius.
[00:01:32] Cornelius, I imagine, was a really great bloke.
[00:01:36] He was well respected. Scripture tells us amongst all the Jewish people.
[00:01:42] He was a centurion. He had a responsibility, he had authority as part of the Italian regiment. He was a God fearing man. He prayed regularly, he gave generously. Sounds like a great Christian, doesn't he?
[00:02:00] The problem is being a God fearing man and a generous man doesn't automatically make you saved.
[00:02:08] And I'll explain what I mean by that.
[00:02:11] And there is a theological debate always going on. If you sit with people who. Well, is that person saved? Are they really saved? Like it's by the fruits of your life. Like, are they really saved? Because let me tell you this, having been brought up in the church for nearly 50 years, it is easy to put on a show on a Sunday and go and live something else on a Monday.
[00:02:35] It's easy. I know it, I've done it.
[00:02:39] And being a God fearing or somebody who believes in God and fears God for all the wrong reasons might not just be necessarily saved, but Cornelius was in this position.
[00:02:55] In fact, my personal opinion, if I could have a personal opinion as a preacher here, is that Cornelius had not yet encountered Jesus.
[00:03:06] God fearing, generous man, but he had not yet encountered Jesus and he certainly hadn't encountered the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
[00:03:14] In fact, Peter's very, very reason for coming. If you know this passage, and I haven't got time to read it all, but Peter's reason for Coming.
[00:03:24] Cornelius said in chapter 11, verse 14 is that Peter will bring a message.
[00:03:31] Cornelius says to me and my household, and after that we will be saved.
[00:03:37] So Cornelius was God fearing, but he was not a Jew.
[00:03:43] He was a non Jew.
[00:03:46] The Bible talks or names that person as a Gentile.
[00:03:50] Okay? And the likelihood is that Cornelius family respected the traditions and some of the laws of the Jewish faith.
[00:04:00] Okay? Probably their ethical and moral stance on certain things, but they did not follow their customs and practices like circumcision.
[00:04:11] All right, we know that Cornelius was respected amongst all the Jewish people.
[00:04:16] So there was a link to admiring and respecting some of the Jewish faith, but he was not a Jew.
[00:04:24] We find ourselves today in a similar situation, don't we? Have you ever looked at a neighbor or a friend and go, they would make a great Christian.
[00:04:34] They're so kind. They're so generous. Wow. They're so nice. They do so many good things for people.
[00:04:46] But the problem is good people are not saved people.
[00:04:58] I've had so many people say, well, they will surely go to heaven because they're good.
[00:05:03] That's not the Bible.
[00:05:04] That's a false gospel.
[00:05:09] See, people can say the Lord's Prayer, and I want to be careful here, but we have to be careful with politicians who might love England to be back, to be in England and so start bringing out the good Old English hymns and the good Old English or the Lord's Prayer.
[00:05:28] But the problem is religion, tradition, customs will not save a person.
[00:05:38] We have to understand the full Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified. Jesus Christ died for me, for my sins.
[00:05:52] So what happens to Cornelius?
[00:05:56] How does Cornelius find Jesus? If he's a good man, he's a generous man, he's respected by so many people, and I believe there are so many people out there, but they lack the understanding of the full Gospel of Jesus Christ.
[00:06:12] So what happened to Cornelius? Grab with me your Bibles this morning. This is one of the most stunning, I believe scriptures, and it relates to us going back to Newton Abbott and our mission.
[00:06:24] Chapter 10, verses 1 to 8. Just listen to these if you don't have the scriptures on you. At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian regiment. He and all his family were devout and God fearing. He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about 3 in the afternoon, he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to him and said, God. Cornelius. Cornelius stared at him in fear. What is it, Lord? He asked the angel answered your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
[00:07:03] Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
[00:07:28] As we were reading that, it just came to me. A house by the sea.
[00:07:32] We are a house by the sea.
[00:07:35] God is building his house in the southwest.
[00:07:40] Okay, so how does Cornelius find Jesus? Well, you know, let me just say as encouragement this morning, God loves a heart that is seeking.
[00:07:55] Cornelius didn't have all the answers, but he was seeking for the truth.
[00:08:03] He was seeking for the truth. That's why so many other people who do not follow the Christian faith.
[00:08:12] God is meeting them in visions.
[00:08:15] Why? Because they're hungry for the truth.
[00:08:19] And God in his grace and mercy, he's meeting them in visions and dreams.
[00:08:27] This is a matter of eternal life.
[00:08:30] And so God loves a heart that is seeking after him. We don't need to have all the answers. We just need to come in humility and openness. You know, I love it when we ask questions. I think we forgot to ask questions in the church. Do you know why? Because I think some of us feel embarrassed if we get the answer wrong or we ask a wrong question.
[00:08:49] But we need to be a church that says it doesn't matter if you've been in the church for 10 years, 40 years, ask away. Ask away.
[00:08:59] And so Cornelius was such a man, and God, by his grace and mercy, he'd have heard those prayers.
[00:09:07] Although Cornelius probably didn't really know who he was praying to, he didn't have a full understanding or relationship through Jesus Christ.
[00:09:16] But God orchestrated a most stunning event where Cornelius, a man who lacked understanding but was seeking, met with the crucified Jesus.
[00:09:30] Get a picture this morning of us as a church reaching out to the lost of people saying, I need a picture of Jesus.
[00:09:41] I need a picture of Jesus. So Cornelius had a vision, and it led him to the cross.
[00:09:46] Peter also has a vision. I haven't got time to read it.
[00:09:49] 35 miles away in Joppa, Peter is receiving a vision. And God is so kind, because Peter had some things to learn, too.
[00:09:58] Peter had been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and he stood up and he became this powerful preacher of the gospel. But doctrinally, he had some things to learn.
[00:10:08] I think all of us need to keep learning doctrinally along the way.
[00:10:13] My father was dead against female preachers. My dad was an Assemblies of God preacher for over 50 years and he was really against female preachers and female leaders. All right. And two years before he passed away, he was preaching in Australia.
[00:10:30] And for the first time ever, I heard him on another platform tell the whole world on YouTube how proud he was of his female daughter leader.
[00:10:40] He changed his mind doctrinally.
[00:10:46] Obviously there are certain things that are given that we don't change our minds on, but Peter had to learn some things. And so Peter's vision would reveal to all of Jerusalem, to the believers and the apostles in the church in Jerusalem, that actually the Christian message, the good news of Jesus, is not just for the Jewish nation.
[00:11:10] It's not just for those circumcised believers. It's not for those who eat their food correctly and in a clean manner.
[00:11:21] And this is important because if the early church was going to move in the power of the Holy Spirit, they had to move toward the Great Commission to the ends of the earth.
[00:11:36] God was revealing to Peter that tradition, that customs, that religion save people.
[00:11:45] How many of us get caught up with religion, customs, traditions?
[00:11:52] Now I love traditions, but they won't save me.
[00:11:57] They might symbolize something, but they won't save me.
[00:12:02] Only Jesus Christ saves. And Peter was still learning too. And this was a step further, Peter, in accepting the gentile believers. Can I say to us this morning, do we accept that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all men?
[00:12:22] Do we accept that no one is beyond the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ?
[00:12:29] It doesn't matter what color they are, it doesn't matter what gender they are, it doesn't matter what religion they were born into.
[00:12:40] Do we agree this morning that the Gospel is for all people, even those who don't understand who they are, even those who are a bit confused about their identity?
[00:12:53] The gospel is for all people on the face of the earth.
[00:13:00] Just read this and then I've just got some final thoughts.
[00:13:08] So we're reading from Acts 10, verse 23. Just listen to this.
[00:13:17] And we need to listen because this is what we're going to be doing in Newton Abbott.
[00:13:22] Okay, so this is when Peter.
[00:13:26] It's about a three day trip from Joppa to Caesarea. The next day, Peter started out with some men and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. I long for the day, I long for the Day. Whole households are coming to faith. Nate, your brothers, Isaac, your parents. Come on.
[00:13:53] Where we see whole households come into faith.
[00:13:59] I know some of your stories. And you're like, man, it's impossible. Like, it's just really impossible from this person. It's not impossible. Cornelius was expecting them, gathered his relatives, his close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. Good job.
[00:14:18] Stand up. He said, I am only a man myself. Leaders. You are only men or women.
[00:14:25] There ain't nothing in us. It's all him.
[00:14:28] Okay? And I'm so glad Peter did that.
[00:14:30] If you've become a Christian, do not worship the pastors, the leaders. Right? Please don't. We are servants of Jesus Christ. We worship him alone. Amen.
[00:14:42] Okay.
[00:14:44] I am only a man myself. While talking with Peter. Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. This is in a home, by the way, he said to them, you are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile.
[00:15:01] But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection.
[00:15:11] May I ask why you sent me? Cornelius answered, three days ago, I was in my house praying. At this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the house of Simon the Tanner, who lives by the sea. So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come.
[00:15:44] Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us. So picture it. Peter's landed. Hasn't an idea of why he's there. And Cornelius has invited so many people. They're all in the house, and they're sat there going, feed us. Remember what Jesus said to Peter. Feed my sheep.
[00:16:05] Feed my lambs. And there's Peter. Just seven years on from seeing Jesus going into heaven. Just an ordinary fisherman.
[00:16:15] Ordinary fisherman and I put out on Instagram yesterday. Who would dare to go to the house of Tabitha and say to a dead woman, get up.
[00:16:26] This is Peter we're talking about.
[00:16:29] And now he knows. And Cornelius is there, and they're saying, feed me, Peter. You've got something. You've got the truth. I need it. I need what is missing in my life.
[00:16:39] Some of you here. There are things missing in your life. And God has planted you here. And you're going to find them.
[00:16:45] You're going to find them.
[00:16:48] Okay.
[00:16:50] Then Peter began to speak. I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel? Announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened through the province of Judah, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached? How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil. Because God was was with him.
[00:17:30] We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross. But God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
[00:17:44] He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. Get down to verse 44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
[00:18:15] I laugh at this. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished.
[00:18:21] They were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on even the Gentiles.
[00:18:28] Incredible.
[00:18:30] Jesus is for everybody.
[00:18:32] So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them a few days. Carry straight on. The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard the Gentiles had also received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the the circumcised believers criticized him.
[00:18:49] You do know we'll be criticized and said you went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.
[00:18:57] Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. And it says right at the end. They had no further objections.
[00:19:06] Praising God, saying that even the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life. So just finishing up this morning. If you are getting baptized, do you want to go and get changed? Ready for that?
[00:19:24] As a result, what happened in Acts 2, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happened to Cornelius and his family that day. I want to say to us, as a church, so thankful that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, comes to live with us when we get saved.
[00:19:48] But I am thankful. As Pentecostals, we're a Pentecostal church. We believe that there is another outpouring, a baptism of the Spirit that we need to be hungry for, that we need to seek after and God will give us the gift of His Holy Spirit. I just want to spend a moment, just 10 seconds, thanking God for the gift of the Holy Spirit that was poured out for all of us so that we can be witnesses in Newton Abbott and to the ends of the earth. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. Let me tell you, when the power of the Holy Spirit is on you, we will think differently. We will be able to love the unlovable.
[00:20:30] We will be able to walk in humility and forgive.
[00:20:35] We will be completely changed because the the power of the Holy Spirit is evident in our lives.
[00:20:42] The takeaway this morning, it's not enough to believe in God.
[00:20:47] It is to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ crucified. For me, it is not about following traditions.
[00:20:57] I'm thankful for my parents. I had an amazing upbringing in the church and I'm thankful. But some of the things that I was brought up in, I have changed going forward in my own life with my own children.
[00:21:14] Just traditional stuff that they would do.
[00:21:17] I thought, I don't need to do this.
[00:21:20] I don't. My parents thinking we're over religious.
[00:21:23] Sorry. My kids thinking we're over religious. So certain things have changed.
[00:21:27] So it's not about following the traditions of your parents.
[00:21:30] For those getting baptized this morning, it is not even having a faith that your parents have today. Mo your children and I know we've spoke to them. It's not a faith because you've got a faith. Although you've brought them up really well and you've led them to Jesus under their own selves. They have declared Jesus Christ as Lord. And this morning here for children, for young people.
[00:21:58] You won't get saved because your parents are saved. You're saved because you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You believe in your heart every single day that Jesus Christ is Lord. Take away this morning, maybe those you've walked with the Lord for a long, long, long time. It's been long.
[00:22:23] You're good at the knowledge part.
[00:22:25] You're even good at sharing the gospel.
[00:22:29] But somehow you've lacked the supernatural dynamic of the spirit in your life. You've lost the joy of serving the Lord. I want to say to you this morning that God wants to fresh pour his fresh spirit upon you. A fresh touch of his spirit on your life. He wants to fill you. He wants you to go deeper, maybe leave this place today and thank God for the gift of his Holy Spirit. Ephesians says, keep being filled. Keep being filled. If we don't hunger, if we don't stay in that posture of keep being filled, we will dry up very, very quickly. And all of us have experienced times of dryness. And that's okay. That's normal. We're human.
[00:23:11] But let's not stay there. Let's not stay there. For those of you who are new, a new disciple, okay? Be hungry. Come in humility and say, God, I want this outpouring of your Holy Spirit desperately on my life. Can we stand this morning?
