Acts 10:1

And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints who dwelt at Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had kept his bed for eight years and was sick of palsy. Peter said unto him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes thee whole. Arise and take thy bed." He rose immediately, and all that dwelt at Lydda and Sauron saw him and turned to the Lord.

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and alms deeds, which she did. It came to pass in those days that she was sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber. Since Lydda was near to Joppa, the disciples had heard that Peter was there, and they sent unto him two men desiring that he would not delay to come to them. Peter arose and went with them.

When he arrived, they brought him into the upper chamber. All the widows stood by him weeping and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, kneeled down, and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and lifted her up. When he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

Let's pray. Father, as we look now into your word, I pray that you would continue to glorify yourself in our midst, as we just sang. As we see these two miracles in this passage and consider them this morning, Lord, we do see that you are awesome in power. You are a great God. We pray that you would, as you have promised to do, teach us all things by your Spirit. Speak to us, we ask in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, "Amen." You can be seated.

We have seen previously in Acts chapter 9 how God has worked a miraculous work in the life of...

Saul, Saul of Tarsus, that great persecutor of the church who was breathing threats and murder against the disciples, has now come to the knowledge of the truth and has yielded to Christ Jesus as Lord. We saw last week in chapter 9, verse 31, that all the churches had rest throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. They were edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit; they were multiplied.

Now, over the next several verses here in chapter 9 and on into chapter 10, we get a glimpse into the missionary work of the Apostle Peter. Oftentimes, when we think of the Book of Acts, we think of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul. Yet, we see here some of the things that God was doing in and through Peter. As the persecution has kind of died down against the church, there is an open door, and Peter is moving out and doing ministry throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.

It is interesting that we find here in verse 32 that he goes into the region of a city called Lydda, where he finds a man named Aeneas, who is sick with palsy, and we see his healing. We can contrast this with what we see in an earlier portion of Acts, specifically in Acts chapter 5. There, in verse 16, we read that when the disciples were in Jerusalem, multitudes came from the cities round about, bringing sick folks and those who were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed, every one of them.

Back in Acts chapter 5, verse 16, the people were bringing those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed to the apostles in Jerusalem. Yet now, we see God sending the apostles, namely the Apostle Peter, out into the work. In this passage this morning, as we get into chapter 10 as well, we will see how the Lord uses Peter to be the apostle who brings the gospel to the Gentiles. This is interesting because in Acts chapter 2, he was the apostle principally used to bring the gospel to the Jews.

This reminds us of the passage we find in Matthew chapter 16, where Jesus was with his disciples in the northernmost portion of the nation of Israel, near a place called Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" His disciples replied, "Some say that you are John the Baptist, some say that you are Elijah, and some say that you are one of the prophets." Jesus then asked, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered in verse 16, saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus responded to him,

Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but my Father, which is in heaven. And I say unto you that you are Peter. Upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom.

It is from that verse that many people have built the idea that Peter is in heaven right now at the pearly gates with the keys. When you get there, you will have to go to him for entrance. He has the keys of the kingdom. If you go to Europe today and visit many of those great cathedrals built by both Catholic and Protestant churches, you will see statues of saints and apostles. Every time, you can pick out who Peter is because he has keys.

I have a picture on my computer that I took at the Vatican at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. There is a big, huge statue of Peter with curly hair and the keys in his hand—golden keys, always two of them. Some people have built upon this whole idea that he is at the gates and the one you have to gain entrance by. Yet, the scriptures do not teach that.

However, Jesus did say something very interesting: "I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom." Some Bible teachers and commentators say Peter was used by God with those keys basically to open the gospel to the Jew first, but also, as we will see in Acts chapter 10 today, to the Gentile. God used him to be the first one to take the gospel to these people, to see the Holy Spirit fall upon those at the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, and then we will see it again here in Acts chapter 10 this morning.

As Peter goes out into the work, he is passing throughout all these different quarters of Judea, and he came to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. This is the first time in the New Testament, the first time in the book of Acts, that we read members of the body of Christ called saints.

A lot of times, when we think of saints, we do think of those statues and those great cathedrals in Europe. We think of perhaps the Catholic Church and the different saints that people honor and revere. Yet, the idea of a saint is not, in the scripture, what we typically think of in our modern day. The word saint comes from the Greek word "hagios," which means set apart, holy, or consecrated. The saints were those that were clearly set apart.

They were different from the rest of the people in the world. They were set apart unto the Lord. Many times in Scripture, both in the Old and New Testament, we see the exhortation given to us that we are to be consecrated, set apart unto God. I talked about this last week when I mentioned the vessels of honor, those vessels consecrated to God. I also mentioned the vessel in my house, consecrated for our dog, which is only for him. We are to be consecrated to our God for His use. That is what a saint is.

Peter went into Lydda and ministered among the saints who dwelt there. There was a man by the name of Anais who had been sick for eight years. It seems that he was bedridden, and we don't exactly know what ailment he had, but he had suffered for a very long time. Peter said to him, "Anais, Jesus Christ makes you whole." This word, translated here as "whole," speaks to both a spiritual and a physical sense. This man appeared to be a saint; he was a follower of God. Christ had made him whole spiritually and emotionally, yet he was also sick with some sort of illness. Peter declared that the Lord had made him whole, saying, "Arise, make your bed." He rose up immediately.

We see a similar healing take place earlier in the book of Acts, where Peter was with John going up to the temple about the hour of prayer in the afternoon. There was a man at the gate called Beautiful who had been lame for a very long time. Peter said to him, "Silver and gold have I not, but what I do have, I give unto you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk." As he took him by the hand, the man rose up and walked.

In both of these instances, we see that when Peter was used by God to heal people, he always did so in the name of Jesus. He did not use his own power, for he had none. He recognized that Jesus was the one who had power, and we too need to recognize this great truth. Yes, in the Gospels, Jesus healed by His own power, but we see healings in the New Testament always performed by His power when the apostles or disciples were used to do so.

We need to recognize that Paul's words are true in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 when he says that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of Christ.

I am very concerned when I hear about healing ministries in the name of some preacher, teacher, or revivalist, with their name always attached to the healing ministry. In the Scriptures, it was always Jesus' name that was associated with any sort of healing, not a man, but Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. If God ever uses you in the capacity to pray for someone and they are healed, it is His power and His strength, not your own. It is our faith in Him that brings about His working.

Yet, there are many who ask, "How come we're not seeing such healings like this in our day?" I would say that in this church right now, there are a whole bunch of people who have experienced physical healings. More than that, every single one of you has experienced the wholeness that is found in Christ on a spiritual and emotional level. Amen? We know this to be true. Christ Jesus makes you whole. This is the message we must preach in this world: to go and let the world know that it is Christ who makes us whole. We once were lost, but now we're found. We once were blind, but now we see. Amen? Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Our God makes us whole.

But what about that physical healing? Next week, we will have a guest speaker. Pastor Jeff Jackson will be here again to share with us. Many of you know Jeff very well. I highly encourage you to ask him afterwards, after he teaches, "Jeff, do you believe in miraculous healing?" A number of years ago, as he will probably share, he was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. Yet, God has miraculously healed him. The medical community says, "We just misdiagnosed him," but the Christian community recognizes that Christ Jesus has made him whole.

You may say, "But I'd like to see a healing. I would like to see God move in a miraculous way." I encourage you to do what Peter did here. Notice it says in verse 32 that he passed throughout all the quarters and came down to the saints that were at Lydda. He passed throughout all quarters. I encourage you to get out of America.

Go out into the uttermost parts. Why, you may ask? Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but we, as a people and as a nation, are extremely focused and fixed upon medical technology and the medical field. Right now, it's one of the biggest topics you'll hear about in the news. If you log on to any webpage that has news or watch the cable news networks, they are all talking about healthcare. Our nation is trying to figure out how to fund it, how to take care of it, and how to make it better.

Just this last week, a whole group of industry leaders within the health industry got together and determined that they can cut $2 trillion from the costs by making things more efficient. The people in our nation are extremely focused on those things. When you get sick, the first thing you will likely think about is that you need to call the doctor. As a result, we essentially, and maybe not with our words but by our actions, say that we don't need God. We've got Kaiser, Blue Shield, or whatever it may be.

However, you'll often find that if you go out into the uttermost parts, into places where they don't have that, there is a much clearer reliance upon God. Ask any missionary who has spent time in the field, and they will tell you they have seen God move in miraculous ways and heal people, as we see in the Book of Acts. But it is always by God's power, and it is always, note this, for His glory.

Look at the response. Look at what happened when this man, Anais, was healed. It says in verse 35, "All they that dwelt at Lydda and in Sauron saw him, and they did what? They turned to the Lord." This is the result of the work of God every time we see it in the Scriptures.

Some people seem to think that Jesus, when He came, came to heal people. But that's not what the Scriptures reveal. If Jesus primarily came to heal people, He would have started a hospital. He didn't. Jesus started a church because He preached the gospel, which was the primary ministry for which He came. In the early chapters of the Gospel of Mark, we read that many were healed in the city of Capernaum, and yet not all were healed. If Jesus came to heal...

He would have healed every single person there on that day. Then it says that the next day, early in the morning, He went away and began to pray. His disciples came looking for Him because multitudes of those who were sick and people who were demon-possessed had all come to Capernaum to receive healing. Jesus' disciples told Him this, and Jesus said, "All right, let's go into the other towns." He didn't heal those people; He said, "We are going to go on into the other cities because I have come to do what? Preach the gospel. I've come to preach the gospel."

As you follow the miraculous ministry of the Messiah during His time in the Gospels or of the church in the Book of Acts, you will always see that God used it in a strategic way to bring glory to Himself and to send forth His word. God uses the miraculous to proclaim His name and to glorify His power so that people would hear the truth of His word. We studied through the Book of John before we got to the Book of Acts. You will remember that the Book of John is built upon seven "I am" statements of Jesus and seven miracles that Jesus performed. Over and over again, as we went through the Gospel of John, I told you that Jesus' works, the miracles, proved His message. The works were given to substantiate the words.

Here again, we see that this work was performed, and people in the city of Lydda turned to God. In verse 36, we read, "Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is by interpretation, Dorcas." Tabitha and Dorcas mean the same thing; they both mean a gazelle or gazelle-like, or like a deer. There was a woman, a disciple in the city of Joppa, which was about nine miles northwest of the city of Lydda, right on the coast of the Mediterranean. This woman was full of good works and alms deeds, which she did. She was a servant. It appears that either she herself was a widow, as we will see in verse 39, or she ministered primarily to the widows within the body of Christ there in the city of Joppa.

She was well-loved by the believers there. They knew who she was because she tended to their physical needs. She performed good works and gave to the poor. Notice that God took note of it, as we will look at a little bit more in chapter 10.

But it came to pass in those days that she was sick and she died. They washed her and laid her in an upper chamber. Since Lydda was near Joppa and the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, desiring that he would not delay and come. It was the custom in those days, as it still is in many Middle Eastern nations, to bury someone on the same day of their death. Here, Dorcas had died, and they made ready for burial. They prepared her body to be buried and quickly sent for Peter, because he was just one city over, urging him to come without delay.

Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper chamber. All the widows stood by weeping and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out, kneeled down, and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

This reminds me of the passage in the Gospels where Jesus was brought to the house of a man named Jairus, a leader among the Jews in his town. His daughter was near death, and he came to Jesus, saying, "Please come and heal my daughter." Jesus was on His way there when word came to Him, saying, "Don't bother the master any longer. Your daughter is dead." Jesus told him, "Don't fear. Anything is possible to those who believe." They went on to Jairus' house, and Peter, James, and John went in with Jesus. Jesus put all the mourners and her family out, but Peter, James, and John were there.

Peter, with his own eyes, saw as Jesus prayed over this girl. He said to her in the Greek language, "Talitha kumai," which means "fair maiden, little girl, arise." Now, Peter was doing very much the same thing. He said to Tabitha, "Tabitha, arise." Her eyes opened, she sat up, and he gave her his hand and lifted her up.

And he called the saints. There it is a second time. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive. What was the result? Verse 42 states that it was known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. God performs miracles as He wills.

Now, it is interesting that back in Acts chapter 7, when we witnessed the death and stoning of Stephen, God did not intervene. Although Stephen saw the Lord standing in heaven, God did not intervene to heal Stephen. He didn't revive him or bring him back, resuscitate him there on the spot. Why did God heal this woman and raise her back to life, but He did not heal Stephen? Many people struggle with this; they have a hard time understanding why God sometimes does not work the way we want Him to or the way we expect Him to. His ways are totally beyond our finding out.

There are many who have difficulty with this concept. But might I submit to you that if you could wrap your mind around God, if you could understand God completely, He would not be powerful enough to be God. He works in ways that we do not understand, in ways that are sometimes hard for us to grasp.

I think of the story of John the Baptist. Many of you know it well. John was a man who didn't exactly speak politically correctly. He said some things that were definitely politically incorrect. They were religiously right on and righteous words, but politically they were incorrect, which is often the case within the body of Christ. Herod didn't like what he had to say, so he imprisoned John the Baptist.

Now, John the Baptist was the one who looked upon Jesus on that day and said, "That is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world." He believed that Jesus was the Messiah. However, like any Jew of that day, John the Baptist's view of the Messiah was that He would come to rid them of the Roman Empire, make all things right, establish His kingdom, and cast off the great oppression of the Romans and the false leadership of Herod, king of Israel. And there sat John the Baptist in that prison cell.

Awaiting a trial that he would never get, because he would ultimately be beheaded, John told two of his disciples to go find Jesus and ask him, "Are you the one, or should we seek another?" It is possible that John sent his disciples so they would, in turn, follow Jesus; that John wanted them to follow Jesus instead of following him. However, I believe rather that John sent his disciples because he was having a crisis of faith. He believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and yet now he was in prison, wondering, "Hey, where are you?"

John's disciples came to Jesus in the Gospels and said, "John sent us. We want to ask you, are you the one, or should we seek another? Are you the Messiah, or is there another one? Are you the one coming?" Jesus responded, "Go tell John what you see. The blind see, the lame walk, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them." Then Jesus' words to them were powerful: "Blessed are you if you're not offended with me."

Some of you here today might be in that place where you're offended with God because He did not meet your expectations. He didn't do what you felt He should do. You prayed for that friend, you prayed for that family member, and they didn't get better. They didn't rise up, and you don't understand why. It doesn't make any sense to you how this could go on, and yet God has a plan that is beyond your understanding at this point. It may never make sense to you in this life, but I guarantee you one day it will. God knows what He's doing.

As I mentioned last year, even though sometimes we feel we need to remind God of things, as we're going to see with Peter in this next passage, God knows what He's doing. Here, He raised up Tabitha, but Stephen died. Ultimately, the death of Stephen was used to bring Saul to faith. The resurrection, or the resuscitation, of Tabitha is going to be used to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. God has a plan, and if we can lean upon that and trust in it, we will find great strength in this life, even though it's sometimes very difficult for us to do.

Peter is now in the city of Joppa, a coastal town on the Mediterranean in the land of Israel, in Judea. It says in verse 42 that it was known throughout all Joppa, and many believed. It came to pass that he, Peter, tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon the Tanner.

A Tanner was someone who tanned skins and hides, and to the Jews, a Tanner was considered unclean because of his profession. Yet, Peter is staying in the house of an unclean Tanner. The law made it clear that a Tanner's home had to be a certain distance from the rest of the people; he lived a separate life, isolated from everyone else because he was unclean. In fact, if a woman was betrothed to a Tanner and later discovered his profession, she could void the betrothal. That was one of the ways to get out of the engagement. "He's a Tanner? Oh, he's unclean. Well, then you don't have to marry him." It was a tough life to be a Tanner.

Now, there is Peter staying at the house of Simon the Tanner. You can actually visit the city of Joppa today, and they believe they have found where the house of Simon the Tanner was located. To be a Tanner, you had to have access to fresh water. He lived in a coastal city, and one of the only fresh water wells is outside the city of Joppa. They believe that this is probably where Simon the Tanner's home was. So, there was Peter at the house of Simon the Tanner in the city of Joppa.

But 30 miles north, there was a Roman centurion mentioned in chapter 10, verse 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band. As I mentioned, Caesarea is still 30 miles north of Joppa. It is a beautiful city, and you can visit Caesarea by the sea.

Today, you can see the ancient Roman ruins that are there. It was a merchant city and a Roman fortress built during that time. There was a man who was a captain, a general, a centurion in the Roman army. Not just a part of the Roman military, he was a centurion of the Italian band. There were many groups within the Roman military called the Italian band, which came directly from Italy, from the region surrounding Rome. They were believed to be the most elite and the most loyal to the Roman Empire.

If you were a Jew in Peter's day, you would look at this man, Cornelius, as the enemy. He was the leader of one of the most loyal military cohorts of the Roman army, and he was in your country, Israel, seen as an occupying force. To a Jewish mind, this man was enemy number one. Yet, we read in the next verse that he was a devout man, one who feared God with all his house. He gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always.

Yes, he was a Roman man from Italy, a centurion in the army, but he was also a devout man who feared God. He had likely been up to the temple in Jerusalem and gone to the courts of the Gentiles. He had seen the worship of God and how the Jews followed their God. He believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was what they might call a God-fearer.

In verse 3, it says that he saw a vision evidently, clearly. He saw a clear vision about the ninth hour of the day, three o'clock in the afternoon. An angel of God came in unto him and said, "Cornelius." Notice that God called him by name. God knew who Cornelius was. Not only did He call him by name, but He said to him, as we'll see in a moment, and when Cornelius looked upon him, he was afraid.

Now, just imagine for a moment what might Cornelius have felt.

Have you ever considered what a military career entails? What enemies had he faced? What battles had he been a part of? And yet, when he came into the presence of an angelic being, he was afraid. He looked upon him and said, "What is it, Lord?" The angel responded, "Your prayers and your alms, your good works, have come up for a memorial before God."

That right there might bring great joy to you this morning, or it could be one of the scarier verses you have read in Scripture. Why is it scary? Because God takes note of how we pray and what we give. For some of you, this is a reason to praise God. For others, it may be concerning. God takes note of how we pray and what we give, and there is coming a day, as the Scriptures reveal, when you and I will stand before God and give an account of every thought, word, deed, and action.

We will account for how we use the time that we have, how we utilize the things that God has given us, and how we apply our intellect. The Bible declares that there will be rewards given. We read in the Scriptures that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it is His. Everything we have is God's. He has given it to us, and we are managers, stewards of those things He has entrusted to us. The question is, how are we using those things?

God keeps an account. I don't say this to scare you, but it is something we should absolutely consider. I am not saying this to try and get you to give more; that has nothing to do with it. This doesn't just pertain to financial giving; it also relates to our time, our energy, and our intellect. All those things that God has given to us—how are we using them?

For Cornelius, God had heard his prayers and seen his good works, which had come up as a remembrance, a memorial before the Lord. So, He said to Cornelius in verse 5, "Send men to Joppa and call for one Simon whose surname is Peter. He lodges with Simon the Tanner, whose house is by the seaside."

He shall tell you what you ought to do. God sends an angelic being, a messenger, to Cornelius as he is fasting and praying. This angelic messenger says, "Listen, God has heard your prayers. He has seen your good works, and so he wants you to send men to Joppa to call for Simon Peter and bring him here."

I want you to notice that God sent an angelic being, but He would use a man to preach the gospel. In another place, Paul the Apostle says that God has chosen to use the foolishness of preaching to send forth His good news. Sometimes we read that and wonder what it means, the foolishness of preaching.

Think for a moment about how powerful and awesome our God is. Use your imagination and consider how that powerful and awesome God might reveal Himself. I think He could reveal Himself however He wanted. In fact, if He wanted to, He could peel open the ceiling, peek in, and say, "Hello, I'm God, follow Me." He could do that, and yet He has chosen to use the foolishness of preaching. He has chosen to use the weak things of this world, amen?

He sent an angel, but He would use a man to preach. He can send an angel, and yet those angels are just messengers telling Cornelius, "Hey, go get that Peter guy." One of the reasons why I think God did this is that it essentially put the ball in Cornelius' court. He was already a seeker, and now God says, "You want to know? Here, this is how you are to know. Send men down to Joppa and find Simon Peter."

God was very specific. He said, "Listen, he is staying at the house of Simon the Tanner." He didn't make it super difficult; He just said, "Hey, this is where he's at. You want to know? That's where you'll find him."

When the angel who spoke to Cornelius departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier who waited on him continually. When he declared all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Immediately, he wasted no time. He had been fasting and praying. After he saw this vision, he called two of his servants and one of his soldiers. He said to them, "Listen, I just saw a vision. An angel of God told me where to find Simon Peter, down at Simon the Tanner's house in Joppa. Go get him."

On the morrow, as they went on their journey, they drew near to the city. Notice that in verse 9, these men wasted no time. Cornelius saw this vision about three o'clock in the afternoon. He sent his soldiers down to Joppa, a thirty-mile distance. It wasn't like getting on the carpool lane on the 15 Freeway and driving to San Diego. This was an ordeal. They probably traveled on foot; perhaps they had a horse. Regardless, they made haste to do it because before noon on the next day, they were already near Joppa.

As they drew near to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour, which is noon. He went up on the housetop, and while that may sound weird to our American mindset, it was a common practice in those days. On their housetops, they had patio areas where they spent a lot of their time relaxing or eating meals, especially in the heat of the day.

Peter went up on the housetop to pray, and he became very hungry. Note that. Have you ever noticed that when you set aside time to pray or read the Bible, you are often distracted by things like, "Oh man, I'm hungry," or the phone rings, or you remember that you need to call someone or pay a bill? There are always these distractions.

There is a great book written by C.S. Lewis called The Screwtape Letters. Some of you have probably read it. It's an allegorical tale about a demon writing to his nephew demon on how to tempt his client. Wormwood tells his nephew, "Listen, you need to remind him of the physical, remind him of the natural. Every time he starts to do something spiritual, remind him that he's hungry." The enemy does that, doesn't he? I'm so glad Peter struggled with it too, the first pope. He became very hungry and would have eaten, but while they made ready, he even got to the point...

Where he called down to some servants and said, "Hey, make me something to eat. Just not a ham sandwich." You'll get that in a second. So they're making ready, and while they were preparing, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens open. He himself sees a vision.

You see, God is working in one place, in the heart and mind of Cornelius in Caesarea, but at the very same time, God is preparing Peter. He's first preparing him by having him stay with Simon the Tanner at an unclean man's house. While he's there, it's interesting that Cornelius, this Gentile heathen from Rome, is fasting and praying. Meanwhile, Peter is going, "Man, I'm hungry. Make me something to eat."

He has a vision. Heaven is open. As the heaven is open, a vessel descends unto him. It looks like a great sheet, like a big tablecloth, descending from the heavens. It is knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, whereon were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. So here's this big tablecloth coming down from heaven, and he sees it. There's a big spread of food, both unclean and clean things alike, kosher and non-kosher.

A voice came to him saying, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." Peter said, "Not so, Lord." Now, those three words don't go together. "Not so, Lord" doesn't make sense. How many of you have a military background? Your superior officer comes in and says, "Hey, I want you to go and do this." You don't respond with, "Not so, sir."

Peter was accustomed to this because in Matthew 16, verse 22, when Jesus told him, "Hey, we're going to Jerusalem. They're going to betray me, turn me over to the chief priests, deliver me to the Romans, and kill me," Peter said, "Whoa, no, not so, Lord." Here again, God speaks to him, "Rise, kill and eat." He says, "Not so, Lord."

Again, going back to what I said last week, we oftentimes in prayer feel the need...

To clue God into things, I don't think you quite understand, God. I have not eaten anything that is common or unclean. He says, "No, Lord, I don't do that." Now, this is really almost comical. He is at the house of an unclean man, telling God, "I don't eat things that are unclean."

The voice spoke unto him again, in verse 15, the second time, and said, "What God has cleansed, that call not common or unclean." This was done three times. Underline that in verse 16: this was done three times.

Now, remember, God spoke to a Gentile man from Rome, telling him once, "Go to Joppa, find Simon Peter at Simon the Tanner's house." He immediately goes to his servant and says, "Hey, go to Joppa, get this guy, bring him back." One time.

He goes to Peter and gives him a vision. A thing comes down from heaven, clean and unclean, and says, "Rise, kill, and eat." "No, no, not so, Lord." "No, Peter, you don't get it. It's not common or unclean. I've made it clean. Rise, kill, and eat." "No, Lord, you don't get it, God." "Peter, rise, kill, and eat." This was done three times. The vessel was received back up into heaven.

In verse 17, while Peter doubted, get the picture: the vision goes back up into heaven, and Peter is sitting there, wondering what it meant. While he doubted in himself what the vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiries at Simon's house and stood before the gate. They called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, lodged there.

Now, while Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, "Behold, three men seek you. Arise, therefore, and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing. Why? For I have sent them."

This is a common problem that many of us experience. You see, I have witnessed that a lot of times when people become believers and followers of Christ, they are young believers, new babes in Christ. They read something in the Bible.

The Bible says, "Do not be drunk with wine." Many people respond with instant, quick obedience, saying, "Okay, I'm not going to get drunk." When God speaks something in His Word, they accept it and act accordingly.

However, then you meet the Christian who has been walking with the Lord for 20 years. They read something in Scripture and think, "Oh, that can't mean what it says." They feel the need to correlate it with the Old Testament, parse it in the Greek, or consult Matthew Henry. This tendency to question the things of God can lead to a delay in obedience. It is dangerous. God desires that we would be obedient.

Take Cornelius, for example. God tells him, "Hey, send to Joppa and get Peter." Cornelius responds immediately. Then God tells Peter, "Rise, kill, and eat. Don't call anything common or unclean that I have cleansed." Peter hesitates, saying, "Wait a minute, Lord. No, no, no. I'm a good Jew." While he is pondering this and doubting the vision, God reassures him, saying, "Listen, Peter, there are three men looking for you. They are Gentiles. Go with them."

Peter obeys and goes down to the men sent by Cornelius. He says, "Behold, I am whom you seek. What is the cause for which you have come?" They reply, "Cornelius, the centurion, a just man who fears God and has a good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned by a holy angel to send for you to his house and to hear words from you."

Cornelius then invites them in, and they lodge with him. The next day, Peter goes away with them, accompanied by certain brethren from Joppa. The following day, they enter Caesarea, where Cornelius is waiting for them. He has called together his kinsmen and friends, gathering everyone around to hear from Peter.

When Peter arrives, Cornelius meets him and falls down at his feet, beginning to worship him.

Hey, this guy's a great guy. God said, "Go get him." So he's worshiping Him. Peter took him by the hand and said, "Hey, stand up. I'm just a man like you. You don't worship me." He talked with him, and he went in and found many that had come together.

He said unto them, "You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come into another nation." He explained, "It's against the law in my culture, in my background, for me to come in and spend time with you, sup with you, hang out with you. But God has showed me that I should not call man common or unclean. Therefore, I came unto you without objection, without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent. For I ask, therefore, what intent you have sent for me?" He was essentially asking, "Why did you call me here? God told me to come, but why did you call me?"

Cornelius said, "Four days ago, I was fasting until this hour. In the ninth hour, I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing. He said, 'Cornelius, your prayer is heard. Your alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call here Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon the Tanner by the seaside. When he has come, he shall speak unto you.' Immediately, therefore, I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that you are come. Now therefore, are we all here present before God to hear all the things that are commanded thee of God?"

Peter opened his mouth and said, "Of truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Would you please highlight that and put an exclamation point or a star next to it? God is no respecter of persons. Peter had been. The Jewish people had been. We may look down on them and say, "Hey, that's not fair. You're not to be a respecter of persons," but every single one of us is as well.

You might say, "No, I'm not a respecter of persons; I'm not prejudiced." Yet, as we go through our lives, as we walk around this community, a lot of times we'll identify with people that we know, people we like. We will identify with people who look like us, talk like us, smell like us, whatever it may be. Normally, we won't go outside of those bonds. In fact, the fact is, like Eric told me a number of years ago, we were driving down the street in his truck, and he said, "Apart from Jesus..."

You and I would never be friends. It's true. Apart from Jesus, you'd probably never meet the person you're sitting next to this morning. But God is not a respecter of persons, although we are.

If you go all the way back to Genesis chapter 11, you'll see that the people divided themselves among their own groups that spoke the same language when God disrupted their languages. We've stayed like that ever since, until this great experiment called the United States of America—a big, huge melting pot. As I look around today, I see all kinds of different races, nationalities, and people groups gathered together as one in Christ, because God is not a respecter of persons.

Peter realized this for the very first time on a day when he looked at a room filled with a whole bunch of Gentiles, headed up by a Roman centurion from Italy. He said, "I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons." If you read the Old Testament, you'll recognize that God has been saying that for thousands of years. God's desire is for all nations, and that's why He has called us to go out into all the world.

The awesome part is that we have so many different nations represented right here in our own community. What a blessing it is that here in San Diego County, we have a multitude of different racial groups, nationalities, and cultures represented.

Let me go a step further, because we all understand that typically we don't have too much of a problem with different races or nationalities. However, something we sometimes struggle with is different subcultures. You know, that guy who wears earrings and has tattoos might make you think, "I don't want to talk to that guy." Or that guy wearing girls' pants with a skateboard in his hand might make you say, "I'm not going to talk to that guy." Yet, God loves to take you and me out of our comfort zones and place us right in the middle of those groups.

That's why God took Eric and put him in the college ministry of all ministries. Seriously, He loves to take us outside of our comfort zones and set us right there. Now, that doesn't mean we never struggle with it. As we follow the book of Acts and get into the book of Galatians much later, we see these challenges continue.

We're not going to get there until Jesus comes back. However, when we do get there, you will find that Peter struggled with this issue, and Paul had to rebuke him. There are times when we struggle with it, and yet God is constantly trying to push us out. It would be good if we recognized that God is not a respecter of persons. When we prejudge a person with tattoos, we're acting in the flesh, not in the Spirit.

Peter opened his mouth and said, "Of truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, he that fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him." The word of God, which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, is that He is the Lord of all. That word, I say, was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism of John, which John preached.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all these things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hung on a tree. Him, God raised up the third day and showed Him openly, not to all people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead.

He commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is He who is ordained of God to be the judge of the living and the dead. To Him, give all the prophets witness that through His name, whosoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins. As Peter spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. They of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles. They heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then Peter answered, "Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?" He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and then they prayed him to tarry certain days. Peter stands before them and preaches the gospel to them while he is in the middle of his message.

Of the whole declaration, these people in their hearts believe towards God. God pours out the Holy Spirit upon them, and they are speaking with other tongues. Peter is standing there with his friends from Joppa, Jewish men. He looks at them and asks, "Do you think we should baptize them?" They respond, "Yeah." He thinks, "Okay, let's do it."

I have a hunch, and this could be totally off—mere speculation—but I have a hunch that had God not poured out the Holy Spirit upon that group apart from Peter's initiative, Peter would not have thought to do it. Because of his Jewish background, he would have looked at that and said, "Well, you know, yeah, these can believe in Jesus, but God's not going to give them the gift of the Spirit." But God poured out the Spirit upon them, which blew Peter's mind. He looks around and goes, "Should we baptize them?" "Yeah, I think so."

You see, God wanted Peter and the rest of his companions to recognize that in Christ's kingdom, there are not the blessed of God and the kind of only partially blessed of God. There is not the spiritual and the, well, the kind of church attender. No. God makes all one in Christ—Jew and Gentile alike. To the point where Paul would say, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Amen?

Let's stand and pray. Amen.

Father, I think that many, if not all, of my brothers and sisters here this morning would agree in thanking You that You have called and poured out Your Spirit upon Gentiles like us. Yes, perhaps there are some here with a Jewish background, Lord, but for the most part, we're all just a bunch of heathen Gentile wretches, and You've saved us by grace. We are so thankful that You've filled us this morning.

I pray that as we prepare to go, You would fill us once again to overflowing and cause us, Lord, to be lights in this world. Strengthen us, Lord, when we are tempted by the enemy or our flesh to be respecters of persons. Help us to look to You and to know that You desire that all men everywhere would come to repentance. Give us boldness to speak Your word.

Wherever we would go, give us boldness to step out and minister to that person who might be a little bit different than us, who might smell different or look different.

Because, Lord, I know that in this room today there were many who, once upon a time, did smell different and still look a little different. But, Lord, we thank You that You are powerful to save. Praise You.

In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you.