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4:00We pray that you'd help us understand. And Father, we pray that you'd give us humble hearts to be corrected where our understanding is wrong. We pray that you'd give us humble hearts to apply the things we're reading, that we'd be convicted, that it would lead to change in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. What time do y'all stop? What time do I need to stop? You don't. All right, 9 p.m. We're good? Just kidding. 7, is it 7? 7:15?

4:337:15. Both 7 and 7:15. All right, Matt, I'm going to ask you, what time do y'all stop? 7:15. All right, and we don't have a song to close. I get to go. All right, we're going to 7:15. Okay, so just making sure. All right, so we've seen this: that they have this special mission. They are the 12 eyewitnesses, along with the other disciples. Jesus didn't appear only to the 12, but they are the special ones who knew him that would witness his resurrection. They are supposed to stay in Jerusalem because a special gift is coming. And you probably remember what that gift is. They're to stay there because the Holy Spirit is going to descend on them with the rest of the disciples and cause them to do all kinds of miraculous things. There's the tongues of fire. They start speaking in these languages. It's an amazing, unique thing that the Lord is showing. Now we're in this new era. The gospel is open. This has been ready to release to all the Jews.

5:38But that's where it stopped for a while. Jesus had given them an instruction to first go to Jerusalem and then to Judea and then to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. And they understood that really well, exactly what he was saying. In fact, in Acts chapter 11, this is after our text today, in verse 19, it's going to say, Now those who are scattered, because Of the persecution that arose over Stephen, traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. You can see it there. They knew the game plan. They had heard this game plan from the apostles that Jesus told them that first the gospel is going to go first to the Jews and then to the Greek, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, first to Jerusalem and then to the ends of the earth. So they knew this game plan. They were following it. Even as the church exploded in Jerusalem and they are thriving, and the gospel is changing so many lives. And people, you know, you remember in Acts 2, they just become so generous. They love to give things. Some people twist that, Ananias and Sapphira, but most of them, they just love to be together. They're with each other in each other's homes. They're breaking bread together. They can't get enough of the apostles' teaching. They're praying together, and they're so generous. It just marks who they are. There's been a massive change.

7:02As that happens, the church explodes in Jerusalem so that the church begins to be persecuted. And you remember who the chief persecutor was, right? Saul, right? And we see this first in the story of Stephen. So Stephen was one of the seven. Who were the seven? You remember? They were these servants. They were going to wait tables or maybe do money changing for tables, take care of the poor because they. The apostles needed to stay committed to teaching the word and praying for the church. So, these seven, you have Stephen and Philip, and the other five. Stephen is going to be this first martyr. And Saul is there, and he approves. And so, after this, the church scatters, right, from Jerusalem. But even as they scatter, even as they scatter out from Jerusalem, they're still preaching the gospel to Jews only. They're preaching the gospel to no one except Jews. That's what the text said.

8:02Supposed to go to the Jew first. Jesus seemed to have this understanding as well. Listen to this. This is Mark 7. This is one of the stories that makes us uncomfortable as we read it. Do you remember the story, the story of the Syrophoenician woman? Jesus had gone away. He's been trying to get time away with his apostles. And so he goes up to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now, the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to cast a demon out of her daughter, and he said to her, Let the children, listen to this, this is what Jesus says to the woman when she asks for healing for her own daughter. He says, Let the children be fed first, for it's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. That's what he tells. The woman. And the woman answers, Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. And he said to her, For this statement, you may go your way. The demon has left your daughter. And she went home and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone. It's kind of a strange interaction, but the picture that you get is Jesus came for the gospel to go to the Jews first. They understood this program. It is going to go to the rest of the world, it's going to go to the ends of the earth. But right now, the apostles understood it's time to go to Israel first.

9:36Well, another one of the deacons, we saw Stephen, he was martyred. Another one of the deacons was Philip. And as he's scattered, he goes up to Samaria, city of the Samaritans, in what would have, what used to be the northern kingdom of Israel. And he goes there and he's teaching the gospel, and people believe that gospel. And the most famous one, do you remember the most famous one there that believed? Anyone remember? It's one of the Simons.

10:08Simon the magician. Do you remember him? Not sure what to think about him. He goes astray after he believes. We could talk about him another time. But beyond just him, a lot of the Samaritans believe. And then the question is: is this okay? Jesus said to go to Jerusalem and Judea first. Is it okay that a Samaritan just believes? Remember, this was a mixed heretics. They're still kind of Jews, but kind of not. Is this okay? Could the gospel come to them? And so, do you remember what Philip did? He called for the apostles, and the apostles came, and they heard what had gone on, and they come up, and Peter's there, and he's speaking to them. And do you remember what happens? The Spirit falls on them in the same way that he did on the apostles at the beginning. This is showing that the gospel was in Jerusalem, now it can go out to the Samaritans.

11:01Well, when we come to Acts chapter 10, there's still a massive question to be answered: Is it okay for this gospel to go to the Gentiles? And I don't think that you and I can understand how bizarre this must have felt for them. How strange this question must have been. You know, when is the gospel going to go to the Gentiles? You know, I think you would have shuddered a little bit, you know, when you heard that. How is that possible? For so many centuries, those who belong to Yahweh, who cherish Yahweh, and love God, they love his law.

11:51They come, and if they want to convert to Judaism, they convert to Judaism. They get circumcised, they start following the law. They can only go. In the court of the Gentiles in the temple, but at least they can do that. How strange it would have been to think that now we can add on to this people of God who aren't doing any of those things. I think that if you were there and you were a believer in Jerusalem, I think this would have felt like jumping into the deep end. You know, things are about to get crazy, it's about to get unhinged. The gospel is going to go everywhere. We're going to have no control over any of this. So far, it's all been people who love the Lord, who love his law.

12:48They believed, and God has granted them this special gift. And now you're telling me it's about to go all over the place, all over the world, even to the uncircumcised. I think it would have been strange. I think it would have been strange for Peter. So let's see what his deal is. Look at Acts chapter 10, verse 1. At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household and gave all. Alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God. And about the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius. And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord?

13:46And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon, who is called Peter. He's lodging with one Simon, who is a tanner, whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. Okay, so let's talk about this man, Cornelius, for a little bit. He's a centurion. He would have been respected by society, right? He would have been stationed there by the Roman army in charge of 600 men, a lot of authority, a lot of respect, demanding that respect in an influential city in Caesarea.

14:30And yet, as he's there, he seems to fall in love with the God of Israel. He has heard about their God, and he has begun to pray to that God. He has begun to give alms to that God, maybe by being charitable to the synagogue or something like that. All of these things have begun to take place, and God would say that he heard all those prayers and he saw the alms. Those have risen up to the Lord. He's paying attention. To Cornelius' righteousness.

15:04But Cornelius is a Gentile. And I think, you know, what we're about to read over the next chapter, chapter and a half, what we're about to read is something that had to have felt so strange for someone like Cornelius. He had begun to worship this God of the Old Testament, the God of Israel. But he was never an Israelite. And he always knew that. And he always knew there was something different about them than about him, and he couldn't be them. He was a Gentile.

15:40He didn't have the same access that they would have had to the temple. He probably couldn't have even eaten with them because then they would have been unclean by contact. There's always this distance between him and the rest of the people who love the God that he loves. And yet we're about to read a story where that distance is about to go away. It's going to be forced away. The other person that I think this would have been so weird for was Peter. Okay, so let's look at his story. Look at verse 9. The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted. Something to eat. But while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens open and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners on the earth, upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

16:49And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice came to him again a second time. What God has made clean, do not call common. This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once into heaven. Okay, this is a strange vision, right? Something like a sheet. He never calls it a sheet. Each time he tells the story, he keeps calling it something like a sheet. A great sheet was lowered from the heavens, held up by the four corners, and inside it was all these animals, clean and unclean. If you need a refresher on this, you can write down Leviticus 11, and you can read all about those animals. Some were clean, some were unclean. There were some that walked on four legs, some were clean, some were unclean. There were birds, some were clean, some were unclean. There were things they could eat and things they couldn't eat. I remember, just to give you a little bit of background, I grew up, at least for a short time, for part of my life on an ostrich farm. My family owned ostriches. And then we got tired of them. And didn't want to have the ostriches anymore. It was terrible. If you're ever thinking, I should go into the ostrich business, I don't recommend it. It's not fun. Okay, so we need to get rid of them. And the way that we're going to get rid of them is, to be frank, we are going to eat them. Just like you might any other livestock. And so I grew up a lot on ostrich. I ate so much ostrich. And I remember as I was becoming a believer and reading the Old Testament for the first time, and I was reading the dietary restrictions, and I saw on the list that one of the unclean animals was an ostrich, I just was like, oh no.

18:43I have eaten so much ostrich. What do I do? But that's okay. We'll talk about that later. It's been opened up to Gentiles as well, unclean Gentiles. But you have Peter here. He has not done that, right? He has never eaten anything unclean. That's what he says. If this is one part of the law that he was keeping, he really kept it. He did not eat unclean animals, at least according to his confession. He didn't eat what was common or unclean. And so as God is telling him in Nashit to rise, kill, and eat these animals, he tells God no, which is hopefully something you would. Feel uncomfortable doing. But his immediate reaction is, I can't do that. My whole life, I've followed this law.

19:39And a vision has to be repeated to him three times. Again, I just don't think that we can fathom how strange this must have felt. And maybe you can fathom it if you came from a different church background or something, if you were raised Catholic or another liturgical tradition and you had all these things you used to have to do, all the genuflecting and the crossing yourself and the candles and everything when you're bowing down before you sit down and all of these different rituals you're supposed to go through. The first time you realize those things aren't in Scripture and you start coming to a church like this, it still can bug you. Even if theologically you know, okay, I don't need to do any of that stuff, that's still all there. And sometimes it just happens. When you sit down for a meal and you pray and someone says amen, it just happens. You don't mean to. Your hand just does it. And then sometimes when you hang out with people like that or you go to one of their church services, it feels so bizarre. You feel like you really need to do this. Like there's some law you need to follow. And that's what spirituality is. I don't know if you ever have experienced that, if that's in your background. But if it is, take that and multiply it by a thousand. And I think it's still not what. They would have felt as Jewish people in this day. For us, if we came out of a tradition like that, we were coming out from untruth, coming to truth. For them, they were coming from precious truth to different truth because something was changing. And can you imagine how confusing that would have been? If you were somebody who really loved the Lord and your whole life, loving the Lord meant not eating ostrich, and it meant not eating bacon, and it meant doing these sacrifices, and it meant tithing your herbs, and all of these things that your family would have done, keeping the feast, and all of these things. And now you're telling me I don't need to do all that.

21:52Every child that would have been born to you, you would have made sure on the eighth day circumcised. Now you're telling me that doesn't even matter anymore. You can see how massive that would have been, this huge change, how bizarre that would have felt. And besides just feeling bizarre, I think it would have felt wrong almost at first. You would have really had to trust the Lord. The Lord would have had to make this clear. Because if you're thinking about all the righteous people that you love and the old Testament, and you're remembering what they were like. Well, why do you love them? Why do you honor them? And in the Old Testament, it's because they loved God's law.

22:39They would say things like in Psalm 19, verse 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. If you were an apostle, you would have known these verses. Psalm 119:97, Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. The law is something precious to you. And yes, it would get twisted sometimes. Yes, you know, you have statements like Isaiah 1, where God is saying, I hate the feasts that you're doing, your new moon and your Sabbath, things that God had commanded them to do. God's saying, I hate it when you do it because you're just doing it with this unrighteous heart. You think that it's just buying you the ability to sin or something. In fact, you have righteous David saying the opposite in Psalm 51. Do you remember? After he sinned with Bathsheba, he says, Lord, you wouldn't even be delighted in sacrifice, or I would give it. The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite spirit. And then after he's restored, that's when he'll do the sacrifice. And so the righteous understood that, yes, the law was precious. It wasn't this weird thing to buy an ability to do a sin. It wasn't a means of salvation. It was something that the righteous understood after they came to God, broken and contrite, accepting forgiveness of sins from the Lord. Then the law was something precious. Precious, something to be cherished. Listen to this. This is Moses 32, Deuteronomy 32, verse 47. He's speaking about the law, and he's charging the people, he's saying, for it is no empty word for you, but your very life.

24:16And by this word, you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. All of this, you know, this just would have made your heart sing as an apostle, right? Or, I mean, as an Old Testament saint, what the apostles were. They would have loved God's law, and not to mention, they had just watched a guy for three years that just made the law look beautiful. They knew his character, they knew how much he loved them. And they saw him keep this law so perfectly, never transgressing, doing everything he needed to do.

24:58Man, I don't know about you, but I think I just would have been so drawn to that. Oh, how I love your law, and I've seen it. I've seen Jesus keep it perfectly. And now you're telling me, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. What? You feel how strange that would have felt? I think if it were you, you would demand proof because you love the law. And also, To be frank, who gave the law? God gave the law. And so now, and I know God gave the law, and he gave it through Moses, and I know I'm supposed to obey that law. Now you're telling me I don't need to obey those scriptures anymore.

25:45You're telling me I can disobey God's word. You better prove it. This is a massive change. God told me to do this. And now you're telling me to do something different. You better prove it. This better be proven without a doubt. I think all of that tension and all of that weirdness and that desire for these things to be proven, I think that's why we have the story in Acts 10 and 11. I think Acts 10 and 11 are the reason why you don't wake up in the morning in panic that you can't be saved because you're not a Jew.

26:24I think God is showing this without a doubt. And he starts with this vision for Cornelius. An angel appears to him and says, you need to go find this man. You don't know him. His name is Simon. He also goes by Peter. He's also staying with someone named Simon. He's not called Peter. He's a tanner. And you need to go find his house. And in his house, you'll find Simon. And you need to ask him to come and talk to you. You know, that's a very clear message from the Lord, right? Delivered by an angel. In the meantime, Peter gets this vision of the blanket coming down with the animals. And the point of this vision is not to tell.

27:00Peter, that the dietary restrictions are over. It's not to tell him that he can eat everything unclean. That's already been done by the Lord Jesus. He's already made that clear that the dietary restrictions are over. There is nothing unclean. So the point of this vision is not to open that up. The point of this vision is to get Peter to apply this same principle about the food to the Gentiles he's about to interact with. Listen to what he says. The voice came to him a second time. What God has made clean, do not call common.

27:36That's a command. What God has made clean, do not call common. And this happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once into heaven. So God is clearly communicating this to Peter, who is probably pretty stubborn about this, right? Stubborn, stiff-necked, wouldn't have gone to the Gentiles. Remember, after all of this, Paul has to get on to him. We read about that in Galatians. So this is always hard for Peter to accept. I think he wouldn't have gone to these Gentiles if God didn't appear to him and say this message and then say it again and then say it again. What I have called clean, do not call common.

28:13Well, as he gets this vision, look at verse 17. Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius. Having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who is called Peter, was lodging there. Okay, so do you see this perfect timing? God had already appeared to Cornelius. He sends a message. This is quite a ways away. It would have taken him, if I remember right, like a day to get there. And so then it's perfectly timed because Peter receives this vision of the animals, and while he's sitting there thinking, what does this mean? While he's sitting there perplexed about what that meant, they hear the people calling, saying, Hey, is Simon called Peter staying in this house?

29:09Verse 19, while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. Okay, if it wasn't so obvious already, and I think it was so obvious, this just catapults it to a new level, right? The Spirit speaks to Peter and says, There are men there. You need to go and talk to them. You know, rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. How could this be any clearer? You see what the Lord is doing. The Lord is orchestrating these events perfectly. He is making sure these things happen. He sent the angel to Cornelius. They perfectly timed the vision with these men arriving, and then the Spirit tells them to go and speak. God is wanting this to happen, and he wants it to happen exactly like This verse 21. And Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one you're looking for. What is the reason for your coming? And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.

30:25So he invited them in to be his guests. And the next day he rose and went away with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. And on the following day, they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. You just see Cornelius' faithfulness. Already we know he loves the Lord. The Lord says that himself. He's heard his prayers. He's seen the alms. But Cornelius knows he's about to get this message from this guy named Simon, who's also called Peter. And so he gathers his family and friends. He wants as many people as he can get to come and hear this message from this man that God has sent. And it's undeniable God has sent him.

31:09When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up. I too am a man. And as he talked to them, he went in and found many persons gathered. And he said to them, You yourselves know how unloaded. Lawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I asked then why you sent for me. So you can see that Peter gets this message, right? He's been taught this lesson, not that he shouldn't call any food common or unclean, but that he shouldn't call any person common or unclean. So he gets the message and he says, That's why I came. I came without hesitation. Here I am. And I don't know how awkward that would have been. I don't know how many people were there. Maybe it was this many people. And he's just standing there, and they're ready, and he's ready. God has arranged this moment. And so Cornelius speaks first. Cornelius said, Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner by the sea. So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now, therefore, we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. So they're ready. They understand that God's about to speak to them. Here they are.

32:46Go, Peter. I don't know if you guys have ever been given that kind of opportunity. I certainly haven't. But Peter is given this amazing opportunity to just preach the gospel. And they're just ready to hear. They want to hear exactly what he says because they know. Know he came from God. It's an evangelistic opportunity. So Peter opened his mouth and said, Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You can see what strikes him as he's standing there. And he's about to preach a gospel message, and we're about to read that together in just a minute. But before he does that, he just stands there and he's struck with this idea of, you know, I get it.

33:32Truly, I understand. There's no partiality with God. God shows no partiality. But in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Again, already, even though we've talked about the strangeness, already we're reading that and kind of thinking, you know, duh, we've read the scripture before, we know that God accepts all, but I just, you've got to think how bizarre that would have felt for Peter to stand up and for those words to come out of his mouth. How strange that must have felt. This is all about to change. God's going to accept them not as people who are going to convert to Judaism and then convert to Christianity. He's just going to accept them.

34:20Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality. Well, I'm going to read this gospel presentation from Peter, and then I want you guys to tell me some things that you know. As Peter presents this gospel so simply, beautifully, this gospel message. So, look at verse 36. As for the word that he sent to Israel, who did he send the word to, by the way? He sent it to Israel, right? It's the same understanding we had. He sent it to Israel, and Israel is where the gospel is going to be preached. And now, this word that was sent to Israel is about to be preached to Gentiles.

34:57As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And they put him to death by hanging him on a tree. But God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, 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 appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. So what do you notice? What did Peter preach about as he's preaching this gospel message?

36:04Do you guys still do this on Sunday nights? Sometimes answer from the crowd. What do you notice? It could be something little. It could be something obvious. What? Sin, right. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, right? On the third day, right? What else do you notice? Yeah. Right. Somebody like Cornelius, even over in Caesarea, they would have known. They had some knowledge of this. He mentions this: you know, you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea. This is not something secret that happened. There's a man going around healing everybody. You know, it would have been a scramble to get to him, and everybody would have known about him. What else do you notice, Jackson?

37:12Right. Yeah, you see that same idea again. These are the witnesses. These are the ones who, number one, okay, Jesus did all these miracles in Galilee, and he also did some teaching and miracles in Jerusalem. And the people in these different regions are seeing these things. Witnessing these things, he says, We are witnesses of all that he did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. So, whether it was in a country or in the city, the apostles saw all of it because they're the ones that are following him around. So, they saw what the Galileans saw, they saw what the Jerusalemites saw, they saw all of that, and then they were witnesses, eyewitnesses, the chosen eyewitnesses of his resurrection after he rose from the dead and ate and drank with them. What else do you notice?

38:02Lord of all. Lord of all, right? He inserts that right at the beginning. And in my translation, it's in parentheses. He is Lord of all. Any ideas why he might have emphasized that idea? Because he just finished saying that he's, you know, not just the God of the Jews, but of the Gentiles. Right, I think that's exactly why. And you can disagree with me on that, but I think his point is he's not just the Lord of the Jews, he is the Lord of all. And as Peter speaks to this audience, he's saying he's your Lord too. He's the master of all.

38:40What else do you notice? Right. Yeah, you have such a nice, full, simple gospel presentation there. Jesus did all these astounding things. He showed that he is this one who can bring in this kingdom. When we talked about this at our church, you know, so many parts of the kingdom, of this eternity that's coming and the kingdom before that, they just seem almost unbelievable. They seem impossible. You're telling me that the lion is going to lie down with the lamb and the infant's going to play over the whole of the cobra? I just don't see that happening. You know, that sounds impossible. Or you're going to tell me there's going to be no tears? No pain? No one's going to hurt anywhere on God's holy mountain? How are all of these things going to happen? How is the animal kingdom going to get into line like that? How is there going to be no pain and no sickness and no suffering? How is any of that possible? Well, I think Jesus' life shows how it's possible. It's possible through him. If anyone was sick, he could heal them. If there was ever a demon, he could cast them out. If the animal kingdom wasn't cooperating, he could make them jump into the net, right? He can make the storms listen to him. This man, he's able to bring in these kingdom things. So he speaks first about his life, then he speaks about what?

40:10After his life, his death, right? He died on the cross. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They, the Jews, put him to death by hanging him on a tree. But God raised him on the third day and made him to appear. Not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. So you see just so clearly, Jesus lived and he lived this astounding life, showing that he is this king to come. And then he died on the cross, and then he rose three days later, conquering death. What's the last part of this gospel message that he gives?

40:56Right. He's appointed to be this judge, and so what's the answer? You know, what should you do? At the end, there, verse 43. Believe in him, right? Repent and believe. You know, you have this idea, he even throws in there that verse 43, to him, all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. So you saw all the Jews being witness to these miracles and these astounding signs. You have the apostles being witness to his resurrection. You even have all the prophets, all the Old Testament scriptures saying you can find forgiveness.

41:36This man who's come and lived and died and risen again has been appointed. All authority has been given to him. He is the judge, and we need to answer to him. He is the judge of all the living and the dead. And the only way to receive forgiveness is to believe in him, to believe what he said, believe in his name. That's this gospel message. Well, Peter had more that he wants to say. Seems like later we'll see that, but look at verse 44. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. So it doesn't even say that they believe. It's like this is just automatic. They're ready to believe. And right when Peter says, whoever believes in him receives forgiveness, the Spirit falls. It's like it's just happening as Peter is speaking that faith comes so quickly to these Gentiles, and undeniably so. So look at verse 45. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles, for they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. And Peter declared, Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And they asked him to remain for some days. It's just such an exciting story, right? The Holy Spirit falls and shows that undeniably that salvation has come to these Gentiles, as Gentiles, as uncircumcised Gentiles who don't keep the law.

43:13They have received this gospel. They have believed. And now it's such a clear testimony. And Peter says, actually, he's going to say that later, what I was going to say. But it's such a clear testimony that salvation has come. So obvious, right? Well, Peter has to go back to Jerusalem. Look at chapter 11. Now, the apostles and the brothers who are throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So word gets around, they hear. And so when Peter gets back, they're waiting on him. Verse 2, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. Now, the word there for circumcision party is just the word circumcision. And later, when we see some opponents of Paul that are really Judaizers, that are really fighting against Paul and his gospel, it'll get translated circumcision party. Maybe that's the kind of thing that's already happening. Maybe they already are saying, okay, if the gospel ever goes out to Gentiles, we need to make sure that they're circumcised. That's a chance. I think it's probably just an emphasis that these Gentiles were uncircumcised. You went to uncircumcised men. And the people who are saying this are of the circumcision. They are Jews.

44:31And so Peter has to explain to them. But just notice, by the way, how stubborn they are. They're not excited. They're not shouting for joy. Look at what God has done. Salvation has come. Let's rejoice. How wonderful. You got to baptize all those Gentiles. Instead, they criticize them. You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them? You can just see, you know, even if these are believers and they seem to be believers and they seem. To listen to Peter's message after he gives it. But you can see how much of a struggle this was for them. How strange. You did what?

45:13So Peter explains. We're almost done. Ten minutes. Hang in there. Don't zone out. Look at verse 44. But Peter began and explained it to them in order. I was in the city. I'm going to read this fast because it's review for us now. I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance, I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners. And it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey, and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But I said, By no means, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth. But the voice answered a second time from heaven, What God has made clean, do not call common. This happened three times, and all was drawn up again to heaven. And behold, at that very moment, three men arrived at the house in which we were sent to me from Caesarea, and the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers, and I think he says these because they're there. You know, you could say these, all these guys, they were there too. They heard all these things, they know all these things, they witnessed these things. So these six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house, and he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter. He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.

46:31You can see it, hear it in his voice, right? There is no denying this is of God. It's the same thing we noticed earlier. God sent the vision, God sent the angel, God sent the Spirit to talk to Peter, God sent Peter to talk to Cornelius. It's all been orchestrated by God. And so then, as Peter starts to speak, verse 15, as I began to speak, that's where I meant, I think he had more to say. I think it just happened so fast that he was cut off. So as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on us at the beginning.

47:09And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave them the same, if then, if then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way? If anybody would have stood in the way of this, if anybody would have denied this, I think you get to picture it, it would have been Peter. He was not ready for this. This is extremely uncomfortable for him, this whole idea. But God had made it so undeniable that without a doubt, Peter was supposed to do these things. And without a doubt, once Peter did these things, God worked and saved Gentiles. And Peter, the apostle, got to be there to baptize them and approve of what he saw. Notice, by the way, Just a doctrinal side note.

48:03He says, verse 15, as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on us at the beginning. So, what they're viewing about Pentecost is this is a special, unique thing. And he's saying, I remember when Jesus told us, stay there, wait for this special gift. And they would have remembered, I'm sure it was burned into their memory at that time, that crazy time when the tongues of fire were there, and they were all speaking in these languages. And this is exactly what Jesus had told them was going to happen.

48:30And now he's saying, it happened again. This time that was so special in our lives that Jesus told us to wait for and to long for, it came and we cherished it so much, and it happened to them. God opened the gospel to the Jews. God opened the gospel to the Samaritans after Philip preached to them. Now God is opening the gospel to the Gentiles. There will be one more group. Do you remember who the other group is? It's kind of a middle group, this group that had heard or had repented under the baptism of John the Baptist, but didn't know about Jesus and the rest of the gospel. And the Holy Spirit will fall on them as well. But you can see from Peter's perspective, this isn't something that's just happening every time somebody believes, that the Spirit falls on them and they're speaking in tongues and all of these things. This is a special, unique thing that God is using to show the church has arrived and it's come for the Jew first. And now it's been opened up to the Gentile.

49:35Look at the end of verse 17. Who was I that I could stand in God's way? Peter's saying, Look, I didn't plan any of this, I wouldn't have chosen any of this. This is all uncomfortable, but who was I to stand in the way? And the people hearing him have the same reaction. When they heard these things, they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance that leads to life. That's this amazing conclusion. With all the weirdness that we talked about and all the strangeness of this new era that's coming in, God makes it so abundantly clear because he has to make it so abundantly clear. If you loved the Lord, you would have loved the law. You would have tried to keep it with all of your heart. You would have failed, but you would have tried to keep it with all of your heart and you would have cherished it. And now you're meant to get away from that and be saved by Jesus Christ, be forgiven of all of your sins. That would have needed to be proved to you, and now this has been proven. Then to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance that leads to life. Let's just talk for five minutes about applying this to us. Number one, this should be something that is thrilling to you because most of you are Gentiles. I think I can say that with confidence, right? And even if you weren't, even if you were an ethnic Jew, you probably have. Been keeping the law, at least as written according to the scriptures. So, this should be something that is thrilling to all of us because it's how we were able to come and have access to the Lord. And I want you to know that if you have not come to the Lord, if you have not believed in Jesus Christ, if you have not repented of your sin and come and accepted this forgiveness for all of eternity, there is nothing standing in your way because of what God has shown through the Apostle Peter. God is showing Peter that nobody, you don't have to be ceremonially cleansed before you can come to Jesus Christ. You don't have to be circumcised before you come to Jesus Christ. There is no obstacle standing in your way if you want to come and accept that forgiveness, believe in Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, be forgiven for all of eternity. So I want to invite you, if you've never done that, to come to the Lord, to call on his name, knowing that he is the judge of the living and the dead, knowing that you will stand before him and you're going to answer for all the sins that you've committed. And the only correct answer, he's told you, he's not going to accept the answer of you just didn't know these things.

52:13He's told you he's not going to accept the answer of, well, I thought I did enough good things that it kind of balanced out. He's told you that's not going to cut it. There's only one answer that he accepts. And that's belief in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. That's The only right answer. That's the only way we can answer to that judge. So I want to invite you, if you've never come to the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, ask somebody in this room how you can do that today. For those of us who have come, this freedom that we have is something that we are meant to celebrate. And you hear the strongest statement from Paul on this: that as Gentile believers, you do not let anybody put on you a restriction or distort the gospel, even if it's an angel telling you these things. Let him be accursed.

53:01Jesus Christ has won you freedom, and it is for freedom that you have been set free. And you do not return to the law, and you do not use your freedom for the flesh. Instead, do you remember what Paul says to use your freedom to do? Let me read it to you. Galatians 5:13. He tells you, as a Gentile, for you are called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

53:40As a Gentile, you have been given this astounding freedom that would have been the most bizarre thing to the Jews right before Jesus. It would have been the most bizarre, strange thing, and yet this freedom has been given to you because of what Jesus is. Jesus Christ has done on a cross. It's astounding freedom, and you can choose to try and add a law back onto that and try and mix it with this freedom you've received. And Paul's shouting at you not to do that.

54:14You can use that freedom to go back and use it as an opportunity of the flesh. And Paul is shouting at you, screaming at you not to do that. Instead, what are you meant to use this freedom to do that you have as a Gentile in Christ? How are you supposed to use your freedom? You are supposed to, in love, through love, serve one another. You're supposed to use this freedom to, for the people in this room, for the people in your church body, serve each other, sacrifice for each other, love each other with all of your heart.

54:45It's an amazing thing, right? We can share this message of freedom that we have. We saw it so simply presented by Peter, right? Jesus lived. Jesus died. Jesus rose again, and he offers you forgiveness of sin. What a simple gospel message that Peter gave. You can give that message. You can celebrate as others get to experience that freedom from sin, freedom from the law, freedom to love. So pray with me. Father, we're so grateful for your scriptures. We know that we are such stiff-necked, stubborn people.

55:25And yet you're so merciful to us that you made us so abundantly. Undeniably clear in your word with such signs and wonders and eyewitnesses. You made it abundantly clear that you show no partiality. And we thank you, Father. We thank you that we can come and find forgiveness of all of our sins. We thank you that for those who have come, you have set us free, free from the law, free from sin, free from the flesh, so that we can serve each other in love, so that we can honor you, bring glory to your name.

56:19We pray, Father, that you'd help us celebrate this freedom, help us celebrate our salvation. Help us copy you in your impartiality, help us love those that are different than us. Help us love when the truth of your gospel goes out and people are saved. Help us rejoice with the joy of heaven as people are baptized and beginning to grow in maturity. Help us celebrate the freedom of the gospel. Thank you, Father, for your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.