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Now verse number 1 of chapter 10, we start a brand new story, last week we heard about Paul being converted on the road to Damascus, actually he was confronted by God on the road to Damascus and then he actually got saved a few days later with Ammonias, when Ammonias preached the Gospel to him, and then we saw Peter doing miracles and so forth. Well in chapter 10 we're going to see another story involving Peter, it says in verse 1, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming into him and saying to him, Cornelius, and when he looked on him and he prayed and said, what is it Lord? He said unto him, thy prayers and thine alms are come up from the memorial before God. So this guy is not saved though, he's going to get saved later in the chapter, but he's a nice guy, he's devout, he believes in God, he definitely believes that there is a God, and his heart's in the right place, but he's not saved, he doesn't know the Gospel. Well God looks down and sees this guy and sees that he's doing a lot of good things, he's giving alms, he's doing a lot of praying, and so God wants this guy to get saved. God has mercy on him and God has compassion on him, and he figures that if this guy will just hear the Gospel, he's definitely going to get saved, and so he's going to lead him to the man that's going to get him the Gospel. And so it says in verse number five, and now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner whose house is by the seaside. He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. Now this is interesting because this is just exactly what we've seen in chapter eight, and chapter nine, and now in chapter ten, that God is not getting people saved by himself. Because in chapter eight, God sees the eunuch, another guy who was devout, a nice guy, not saved, but he had his heart in the right place. God sent Philip to go preach the Gospel to him, he used a human instrument. Then when he confronts Saul on the road to Damascus, no he did not get saved on the road to Damascus, the Bible's clear, we went over it last week, he got saved three days later when he heard the Gospel from the mouth of Ananias. God just told Saul, go to this town, find this man Ananias, he'll tell you what you need to do. And here, the angel of the Lord could have just preached him the Gospel, right? Could have just went through the Roman throne with him right there, but no he didn't. He told him, go and find Simon Peter, he'll tell you what you need to do. Because God always uses a human being to preach his word, to win someone to Christ. And you know, people are always criticizing this, and we need to stand tall on this. Don't go on the defense with this. Don't be all nervous about it. You know, people say, well, you know, you say you got people saved, but you know, it's God who saves them. You know, you'll hear this kind of garbage from the non-soul winning crowd, from the people who do nothing for God. They'll say that kind of hyper-spiritual garbage, like, oh, well, you don't get people saved, you know, it's God. Well, then why did Paul say I've become all thanks to all men that I might by all means save some? Why did Paul say in Romans 11 14, if by any means I may provoke to emulation them that are of my flesh and might save some of them? Why did it say in Jude 22, and others save with fear? Command, imperative, implied subject, you pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments, blah, blah, blah. Look, we know it's God's word that saves. We know it's the Holy Ghost that regenerates. We know that it's Jesus Christ who is the only savior of the world. But let me tell you something, it's not wrong to say we got someone saved, because that's exactly what Paul said. That's exactly what the Bible said. And let me tell you something, God always uses a human instrument to get people saved. He doesn't just appear to people and just get them saved, no. Even in these special cases where he looked down at somebody who really needed to hear the gospel, who was really seeking the truth and really looking for God, he still used a man to bring him to God. He still used a human being. And of course, I don't want to belabor that point just because I've already talked about it the last two weeks in a row in chapter 8 and 9, but he said in 1 Corinthians 3, who is Paul? Who is a Paul? But ministers by whom he believed, even as God did to every man. So everybody who's saved has had some saved person preach unto them the gospel, because God has committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation. So God used a human instrument here, Peter, to win these people to Christ. He did not return to the gospel when he appeared unto them, the angel of the Lord, that is. God did not entrust the angels with the job of soul winning. They don't do it. It's human beings that are walking on the surf to do the soul winning, or at least ought to be doing the soul winning. And so, woe unto us if we preach not the gospel, because if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are lost. And they're not going to hear it from anybody else. It says in verse 7, And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually. And when he had declared all these things unto him, he sent them to Joppa. So he sends them, he obeys the angel, and sends this guy to Joppa to go find this guy, Simon Peter, that's going to tell him what they need to do. Verse 9, On the morrow, as they went on their journey and drew nigh to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. It's about noon. And he became very hungry and would have eaten. But while they made ready, so basically while they're cooking lunch, he's up on the roof, it says he fell into a trance and saw heaven open, and a certain vessel descending unto him as if it had been a great sheet knitted to four corners and let down to the earth, wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fouls of the air, and there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God has cleansed, that call not thou common. Now, there are a few different things going on here. First of all, God is trying to show Peter that he shouldn't look at the Gentiles as being unclean or common. A little bit later on, we're going to see in verse number 28, if you would jump down there, it says in verse 28, He said unto them, this is Peter talking, Ye know how that is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or common to one of another nation. But God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. So that was the moral to the story, right? His vision was to show Peter that he should not call any man common or unclean. And he's explaining to him that when these guys come to talk to him, he should go in and eat with them and go to their house and preach the gospel to them, because he should not call any man common or unclean. Now, that's not the only moral to the story here, because God does not, in the New Testament, restrict us from eating certain types of animals. Now, there are certain religions today that will say that certain animals are still off limits. There are people out there that will say, don't eat pork and you can't eat shrimp. And it's always important, it's your favorite stuff. It's my favorite stuff. But they tell you not to eat pork, not to eat shrimp, not to eat these things that are restricted in the book of Leviticus tell you not to eat them. Now, they're wrong about that. The Seventh-day Adventists are wrong. Of course, the Seventh-day Adventists don't believe in hell either. And they also believe in salvation by faith plus works. But there are other people, even sometimes a lot of Baptists will come down the pike with this kind of stuff and so forth. Well, they're dead wrong. Now, let me explain to you why they're wrong. First of all, if we take the literal meaning here of this illustration, God is telling Peter to kill and eat a beast that was formerly called unclean under the Mosaic law. And a lot of times we look at the figurative meaning or the metaphor or the moral to the story and we miss the literal story. I mean, Peter was told by God, Oh, you're hungry? Kill this animal and eat it. Now, if it were sinful or wrong for him to eat an unclean animal, God would not have rebuked him when he said, Not so, Lord. He said, No. If I've cleansed it, don't call it common or unclean. You're wrong. Why would God be rebuking him or telling him to talk? You say, Oh, this is only symbolic about the people, about them calling a man unclean. Keep your finger there. Go to 1 Timothy 4. You see, it's almost the exact same wording, what the Bible is telling us in 1 Timothy 4. Yes, the meaning was about not calling people common or unclean, but the literal story of what happened is he told him to kill and eat a beast that was not chewing the cut and part of the hoof. And when he said he wasn't going to do it, God rebuked him and told him that he was wrong. And notice what God said to him. What God had cleansed that call not thou common. Look at 1 Timothy 4. The Bible says, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly than in the latter times. And that's the day that we're living in. Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot ire, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God in prayer. So right there, God is saying that every creature, first of all, was created for the purpose of being eaten. Right? Why did God make animals? To eat. Okay, that's what it says. It says that they're commanded to abstain from meats, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. Now go back to Genesis chapter 9. You see, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with eating pork. Okay? Because if it were wrong to eat pork, if there was something bad in and of itself about eating pork or about eating these other animals, then why would God command mankind in Genesis chapter 9 to eat pork and other meats if there was something inherently wrong with it? Look at Genesis chapter 9. It says in verse number 2, And the fear of you... This is God blessing Noah when he gets on with the ark. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea. Into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things. Notice it. Every, every, all, all, every. I mean, how many times do you say that? I mean, look at verse 2. All, every, every, all, all, every. I mean, it's just over and over again he's explaining. And yet some people say, Well, you didn't really want to eat every animal. Look at the same people that will tell you, the Calvinists that will tell you, Well, all doesn't always mean all. Well, if all doesn't always mean all, does all mean all while you're telling me that all doesn't all mean all the time? Don't you? Because sometimes all just means some, so maybe all doesn't mean some most of the time. You know, they say all doesn't always mean all. But yet the Bible's pretty clear, isn't it? I mean, if you want to know what kind of animal you should eat, it says every moving thing that lives. So if it moves and it's alive, you can eat it biblically. Now, in Genesis 9, he's commanding them to eat every type of animal that's out there. Okay, later on, thousands of years later, here's what you have to understand. Thousands of years later, we're talking, you know, 2,500, just to give you a rough idea, just approximately 2,400 years after God created this earth, okay? He instituted the rule that told them to eat only certain clean and unclean animals, where he told them to only eat that which part of the hoof and shoot the cut. But that's the same time that he gave the whole Mosaic law, which involved the Levitical priesthood, the divers' washings, the meats, the drinks, the final ordinances of the tabernacle. God said that those things were temporary. Okay, go to Colossians chapter 2. So if we go back to the beginning in the book of Genesis, God's telling them to eat every possible animal. Then, thousands of years later, Moses comes along, and he lays down the Mosaic law, which involved a lot of ceremony and sacrifices and tabernacle, Levitical priesthood, meats, drinks. And of course, I'm not gonna go to Hebrews 9 and 10, but Hebrews 9 and 10 explains that those things were only imposed on them until the time of Reformation. But Christ being come, those things are done away. But it says in Colossians chapter 2 something similar. I can get a chance to turn there myself. In Colossians chapter 2, he says in verse number 14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the laws of Christ. Now, in Hebrews 9, when he said that the meats and drinks and carnal ordinances were only imposed on them until the time of Reformation, he said for the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, you can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year continually, make the come as they are unto perfect. Here's the exact wording right here in Colossians, saying, look, it was symbolic. It's not that eating pork is wrong. It's not that wearing a cotton-poly blend is wrong. He said those things were symbolic. And in the New Testament, those things have been done away with. That's what the Bible says. He blotted out the ordinances of the meats and drinks and divers washings, the priests. When he rent the veil in 20, when he died on the cross, that was the end of the tabernacle and the holy place and the Ark of the Covenant. All those things were done at that time. And so we are allowed to eat any type of meat. Going back to Genesis 9, he told us to do it, and then all throughout the New Testament, you can't show me one place in the New Testament where God tells us one time not to eat certain types of meat, but we can see plenty of places where he says you may eat all types of meat, like Acts chapter 10, like 1 Timothy 4, like Romans 14, like Colossians chapter 2, like Hebrews 9. And so I'm not going to belabor that point any longer, but you get the idea. It's not a biblical concept to try to live by those dietary restrictions. And people will say, well, you know, it was healthier. That's why he had them do it. It had nothing to do with health. It had to do with the fact that it's symbolic, okay? It was a symbolism, not a health thing, just like circumcision. The Bible's good. People say, well, circumcision is healthier. That's why we need to do it. Yet the Bible flat out tells us, he said, in Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth anything, but faith which worketh by love. So God says there is no benefit to circumcision. If there were some health benefit, he would tell us, hey, keep doing it for the health reasons, but you don't have to spiritually. No, he said, availeth nothing, okay? That's why I don't circumcise my children. And so this falls under the same category. The Bible explains these things. And a lot of people will try to pull this out when you show them Old Testament commands that do involve right and wrong. They'll say, well, you know, the Bible says not to eat shellfish. Do you live by that? And they try to throw out the whole Old Testament. But wait a minute. Stealing has always been wrong, right? Isn't stealing just intrinsically, in and of itself, wrong? I mean, isn't just killing an innocent person just intrinsically wrong? Yes. Isn't it just wrong for a man to dress like a woman or a woman to dress like a man? Isn't it just intrinsically wrong to commit adultery? Isn't it intrinsically wrong to lie or to break a vow? Isn't it intrinsically wrong for children to smite their parents or to curse their parents? I mean, all these things are morally wrong, okay? Not symbolic, not ceremonial. No, they're just wrong. They're just bad things, okay? Whereas these other things that were just cardinal ordinances of washings and food and drink, those were clearly denoted as symbolic. And so we don't just throw out the Old Testament. We only don't follow the parts that God specifically told us that we don't need to follow. And He specifically lined out what we don't need to follow in the New Testament. That's the only part that we do away with. Everything else we still follow because we know that those things were wrong then, they're wrong now. You know, God didn't change His mind about what's right and wrong. He just imposed on them some extra rules during a specific period of time to symbolize and foreshadow the Lord Jesus Christ and on and on. But I don't want to go on and on about that anymore. Let's go to Acts chapter 10 where we work. So God's telling him, you know, kill and eat, slay and eat, and what God has planned is that call not that common. Verse 16, this was done thrice and the vessel was received up and given in heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry before Simon's house and stood by the gate before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the spirit said unto him, behold, three men seek thee. Rise therefore and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. So we'll jump down for sake of time, but he asked them why they sent for him. They explained it to him. It says in verse number 23, then called he them in and lodged them. So he let them stay at his house, the messengers from Cornelius. And on the morrow, Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied them. And the morrow after, they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them and called together his kinsmen and near friends. Wasn't it great? He cared about his friends and family and wanted them to be saved. We still have the same attitude of wanting our kinsmen and our near friends to hear the gospel. You know, why don't you bring them to church? They can hear the Bible being preached, but better yet, take the Bible yourself and try to give them the gospel, try to show them how to be saved. You know, care about your friends and family as much as Cornelius did. But it says in verse 25, as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, stand up, I myself also am in. So he literally walked over and physically picked this guy up off the ground and put him on his feet and said, stand up, I myself also am in. Jump back to John chapter 20. John 20, we'll be back in a minute, but go to John 20 and we'll see what happens when people bow down to the Lord Jesus Christ when he was on this earth. It says in John 20 and verse number 26, and after eight days again, his disciples were within and Thomas with them. Then King Jesus, the doors being shut, stood in the midst and said, peace be unto you. Then say to Thomas, reach him with thy finger and behold my hands and reach him with thy hand and thrust it into my side and be not faithless but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my God. Now, he wasn't just using God's name in vain here, by the way. He's calling Jesus Christ his Lord and his God. So he's not only worshipping him, but he's calling him God, he's calling him the Lord. And he said in verse 29, Jesus said unto Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. Throughout the Bible, you'll find people worshipping Jesus. In Matthew chapter number eight, the leper came and worshipped him. In Matthew chapter nine, the rich ruler comes and worships him and asks him to heal his daughter. Over and over again, you see people bowing down and worshipping Jesus Christ. Now, people will try to mix words on this because I've often told the Catholics that they worship the Pope, that they worship Mary, that they worship the saints. And people will try to mix words on this, but if you look at where God says, thou shalt have no other gods before me, or where he says, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Go to Matthew four. You'll notice that he follows that up by saying, thou shalt not bow down myself unto them. Now, if you remember in the book of Esther, this was very significant because the big thing in the book of Esther, the whole thing that started the problem between Haman and Mordecai and the Jews was that Mordecai refused to get on his knees before Haman. You remember that? Now, he didn't say you have to worship him, you have to call him God, you have to pray unto him. No, it was just you have to get on your knees before him. That was all. And yet, Mordecai stood up and refused to do it. Same thing in Daniel chapter three. You know, they could have just been praying to the Lord in their heart, right? But no, they refused to even get on their knees before that idol because they knew that that's a sign and an act of worship. Now, in Matthew chapter four, this is where Satan has kept David, Jesus Christ. And he says in verse number nine, and saith unto them, all these things, this is the devil talking to Jesus, will I give thee, if thou wilt what? Fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto them, get thee in Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt not serve. And yet, how many people worship Jesus throughout his ministry? And they were always blessed for worshiping him. He never rebuked anyone who worshiped him, who got on their face and got on their knees. And yet, the Bible says that they should only worship who? The Lord their God. So that's why Jesus could receive that worship because he was God. And that's why Thomas worshiped him and said, my Lord and my God. Because they're only allowed to worship God. But Jesus was God. So he received that worship. Peter did not receive that worship. The other apostles refused. Paul and Barnabas refused to be worshiped. The angel in Revelation, who was actually a human being who was acting as an angel there, he refused to be worshiped because he said, hey, I'm my fellow servant of thy brother in the prophets and of them which keep the saints of his book worshiped God. Worship God, they say. And so when people are bowing down to the pope, they're worshiping him. And you can call it whatever you want. You can put a different name on it. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. And I often said this to Roman Catholics out solely. I said, if the pope landed at Sky Harbor Airport, would people be bowing down at them in that airport? Of course they have to admit that people would be on their faces and crying and just trying to touch the hem of his garment. They'd be kissing his bright red shiny boots that have bells on them. You know his weird boots that he wears all the time? I saw the creepiest picture of the pope. He was wearing all white, just pure white and then just bright red boots. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. You see that? It's so weird. It looked creepy. And they worship that guy. And they call him father. When the Bible says, call no man your father upon the earth. No one is your father which is in heaven. And they bow down and worship him. But he is a man. And in fact, he's a very bad man. He's the last person you should be bowing down to. But people will try to say that. But you notice that the apostles, they never let anybody worship them because of the fact that it's wrong, because it's a sin. And that's why no one will ever get on their knees before me. Because I'm a man and you're a man. And we ought to not look down on certain people, just like you said, not to call a man common or unclean. We should never have an attitude where someone should be bowing to us. Physically bowing down to us for any reason. You know, you look at different kings throughout history. You know, people will come and bow down to them. Yeah, that wasn't right. You know, if there's going to be a king and a leader, people shouldn't be bowing down to them though. They shouldn't be worshipping them. I mean, they could give their respect in a different way. They should be respectful to those in authority, but not to bow down and worship them. And not to get on their knees or on their face before them. That is not right. But anyway, let's keep going. It says in verse 26, Peter took them up saying, stand up. I myself also am a man. And as he talked with them, he went in and found many that would come together and he said unto them, you know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one another nation. Now wait a minute. That never came from the Bible. When he says unlawful, he's talking about their man-made laws. The Jews had all kinds of laws that were not biblical, such as washing your hands before your eating, which was not a law that God had given. And so when it says here it's unlawful, it's not saying according to the Bible. He's saying according to the laws of the land of Israel that they had imposed man-made laws. But he said, you know, God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you, without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for, I asked therefore for what intent ye have sent for me. And Cornelius said, four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon of Tanner by the seaside. But when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent thee, and thou wast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth I perceive, that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. That word I say ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. So God does not look at one nation or one race as being better than another, or being a respecter of persons. Now there are certain scriptures where God would bless a certain nation or curse a certain nation, right? You've seen that throughout the Bible. God blessed the nation of Israel, for example. God cursed the children of Canaan because of the perversion that Am had done in Genesis chapter 9. But, does that mean that God curses the individual within that nation necessarily? No. Because the Bible says here that anyone in any nation who does write, God will respect that, okay? He's not going to say, well, you know, but you're a Canaanite, so, you know, sorry. Hey, one of Jesus' disciples was a Canaanite. Simon the Canaanite. And so we see that God does not think that one race or one color of people or one nation is better than the other. He said God's not a respecter of persons. He defined not being a respecter of persons as looking at everyone from each nation and the works that they do and judging them based upon those works, not based upon what nation they're from, okay? So if you're born into a family, let's say, that has a bit of a curse of God, maybe your parents or your grandparents are very sinful, wicked people. The Bible says that the sins of the fathers will be visited upon the children under the third and fourth generation. But that doesn't mean that you can't do what's right and be accepted with God and serve God and be blessed by God and love God. You're just going to suffer negative repercussions of your parents' and grandparents' actions. You say, well, that doesn't sound fair. Well, okay, Barney and friends, it doesn't matter whether you think it's fair and it's the truth. Yeah. I don't think that's fair. Well, you know what? Why don't you go join the Mormon Church? You can go be your own god of your own planet and then you can decide what you think is fair. But that's reality. And look, let's just face it. If your dad is a drunkard, that's going to affect you negatively. If I live a life of sin, my children will face consequences based on what I've done. It's just a fact of life. Because every time you sin, it affects other people. It's not that God is punishing the children for what the parents did. Because the Bible tells us in Ezekiel chapter 3 and Ezekiel chapter 33 that that's not the case. It's just that those sins will have a negative effect on the children and the grandchildren because of the curse of God that's associated with sin. And so we see that the curse came upon Cain and upon his descendants. It doesn't mean that individuals within that group couldn't have gotten saved and done what was right and served God. But as a whole, the nation went downhill. As a whole, the nation was under God's curse. I believe that the United States of America is under the curse of God today. Because of all the wickedness and abominations that our nation has done, the abortion that we've participated in for decades, the pornography that we've sent and translated. You know, we ought to be translating the Bible into every language and sending it all over the world with missionaries preaching it. No, we translate every Hollywood smutty film and send it all over the world. That's our missions program of America. And so America is under the curse of God because of adultery, because of fornication, because of sodomy, queerness, because of pornography, because of abortion, because of the warfare that's not just, where we, you know, kill men, women, and children that are not even soldiers. You know, all these things that we've done as a nation, and you think, well, you're not patriotic. If you want to throw out, you know, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, that's what I stand for, and that's what our government is totally illegitimate and has nothing to do with. And so you're the one that's not patriotic. And by the way, patriotism isn't just blindly fault, you know, you know, whatever the leader says is right. You know, that's a good way to be a Nazi, okay? That's not patriotism. That's national socialism. Don't confuse patriotism with national socialism, okay? We today are living in a country that is under the curse and judgment of God, and you'll never convince me otherwise. You can tell me all the, you know, apple pie, and show me all your, you know, patriotism. It's just the truth. Our country was once a righteous nation, and now our country has forgotten the Lord and is under the judgment of God. It's a fact. Now, does that mean that we can't be righteous? Does that mean that God can't bless our church? No. But as a nation, we're under a curse. Well, some of the nations throughout the Bible were under a curse, but God is not a respecter of persons. Even in the most wicked nation today, God can still reach the individual, and that individual can still be blessed by God, and God loves the person from the curse of nation just as much as he loves the person from the blessed nation, right? There's no difference. You know, I'm sure God loved Simon the Canaanite, you know, just like he would have loved him if he would have been, you know, the son of a better line of ancestry. That's why God said, avoid genealogies. You know, if it really mattered, and these people who think that the Jews are somehow special today and now we need to bow down and worship them, if it really mattered whether you were a Jew or a Gentile, wouldn't genealogies then matter? But why did God tell us to avoid genealogies? Because he said it doesn't matter what tribe you're from or whether you're a Jew or Gentile. He said it doesn't matter. You might as well just avoid genealogies because they're unprofitable and vain. He said they're worthless. So genealogies are worthless because God is not a respect of persons. Now it says in verse 37, when he starts to preach about Jesus Christ, he says in verse 37, That word I say ye know which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. Now, what does the word publish mean? Now we have a modern meaning of the word publish. Like a publisher, that's someone who basically mass produces books, right? Or mass produces a magazine. Because we have modern inventions such as the printing press and computers and all these things that books can be mass produced and the person who mass produces the books is called the publisher, okay? Well, did they have printing presses and mass production of books in the book of Acts? No. No. They had what was called the scribes, which would actually copy things by hand, okay? And that was their job, to write things down. They didn't have machines. The printing press was not invented for over a thousand years after this, okay? So they did a lot of writing, but they didn't have a printing press. Now, the word published means made public or publicly announced. That's what the word published means. It comes from the word public, okay? And when the Bible says that something is published, and all you have to do is just look up every time in the Bible, the word published is used, and you'll get the idea from the context. And even from this context, it says, the word which God sent under the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. That word I say you know which was published throughout all Judea. Are they firing up the printing presses and the mailman to bring people magazines and books in the mail? No. It was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, okay? So it's just God's word being preached. That's what the word published means. It's being publicly announced and publicly spread abroad, okay? Now, I said to somebody the other day, you know, because they're talking all about tracts, you know? And look, I don't have any problem with tracts, you know? I think that they're great coasters to put my drink on. I like them to write notes on if I need to write something down. They make great paper airplanes. But honestly, I'm sick of tracts becoming a substitute for soul in it. That's the thing that makes me mad about it. See, why are you against tracts? Hey, I'm not against tracts. I'm against people not soul in it. That's what I'm against. And you know what? People will take the time that they should be out preaching the gospel, opening their mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the house, and they'll just use it handing out a tract. Now, I am against tracts that say that in order to be saved, you have to repent of your sins, because that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But I'm not against tracts. I'm just against handing out tracts, because you ought to be preaching instead of just handing out pieces of paper. And I've said this to people. Show me tracts in the Bible. And that's my favorite thing to say to anybody. Show me in the Bible. Show me in the Bible. Where you just walk up to somebody and hand them a piece of paper. Don't preach to them. Just, here, read this. You know, Philip goes up to the Ethiopian eunuch. Hey, you got a long drive? Read this. Hey, if you read while you're driving, you're going to get car sick, Ethiopian eunuch. So he's giving them, you know, just read this. Cornelius. Oh, I'm not going to go there. I'm just going to send him some tracts. I'm going to send him a Chick tract. He's going to read a little comic book, and then Cornelius and all his house are going to get saved. Look, it's not biblical, and people will try to... And I've said this over and over. You can't show me tracts in the Bible. If it's so important, if it's such a big deal, if you're going to spend hours a week doing it instead of soul winning, which is in the Bible, knocking doors house to house, preach the gospel, that's all biblical. I said, if you're going to spend so much time in Ephron, why isn't anything like that in the Bible? Ever. And this is what they'll say, well, it is in the Bible. And they'll take you to Psalm... You don't have to turn it up. But Psalm 68, 11 is where they'll take you. And they'll say, you know, tracts are in the Bible because it says in Psalm 68, 11. The Lord gave the Word. Great was the company of those that published it. So they're publishing the Word of God. You know, they're making tracts. Now look, I don't think that they hand wrote tracts. Can you imagine that? Writing out a tract by hand. How long that would take? Because they're handing it out. It's like, if you're going to hand out 10,000 tracts, you're going to get writers crammed real fast because you're going to have to write out 10,000 tracts. That's ridiculous. Oh, but thank God today we have the technology. We can just... You know what? Why don't we just all duct tape our mouths shut? Just put a big piece of duct tape over your mouth and then we can just go out and hand out tracts. You say, I look stupid. I know it is stupid. Why don't you just explain somebody the gospel? Amen. Why don't you open your mouth and preach the gospel to people? Now look, today pastors, they'll say, Oh, we spent all this time out soloing your visitation. And a lot of times what they're talking about is just putting a tract on the door or a door hanger. And I love what our Australian friend Gordon was here a couple weeks ago said. He said, I'll let Australia Post do that. He said, I'd rather just pay the mailman to do that. And somebody got mad when he said that, but it's true. If I wanted to go out and put stuff on people's doors, I could just pay the mailman to do that. I'd rather pay the mailman than to walk around like a robot putting stuff on people's doors. But let me just quickly give you the math here. I love math. Do you know how long it would take to put out 10,000 flyers or 10,000 door hangers or 10,000 tracts? Anybody know? It would take about 100 hours. It would literally, and believe me, I've done the math on it. It would take about 100 hours to put out 10,000 tracts. So if I put out 10,000 of these tracts or flyers, and a lot of times when I'm putting out tracts, they're just putting out an invitation to church, like a door hanger. If I were to put out 10,000, it would take 100 hours. How many people am I going to get saved with my 10,000 door hangers? Zero. Okay, so I'm spending 100 hours and I'm getting zero saved. Now, how many visitors are going to come to church as a result of those 10,000 door hangers? Well, I can tell you, it's about one or two. If you hand out 10,000 of our faithful word invitation, or really any other church that's about the same, you'll get about two people. One to two people will show up. We just had somebody show up on Sunday. They got the invitation on the door. Not because we were out putting out door hangers, but because we were out soul hunting and they weren't home, so we left it. But you'll maybe get one or two. So you're going to spend 100 hours to get two visitors to come to church that, chances are, will probably not come back. I mean, they might come back, but most visitors, statistically, do not come back. Because they love us so much. But anyway, the point is, you're going to spend 100 hours to get like two visitors and zero saved. Okay, well now, let's say you decide to go soul-winding instead. Okay? Let's say you spend 100 hours out soul-winding. How many people are you going to get saved in 100 hours of soul-winding? 100. Yeah, okay, let's just be conservative, okay? You're probably going to get about 50 people saved, right? Let's say you're getting one person saved every two hours of soul-winding. You know, and sometimes you'll go four or five without getting anybody saved. Other times you'll get them saved one after the other in a group. Let's just, conservatively, you're going to get 50 people saved. But not only that. In that 100 hours, you will also distribute about 5,000, okay, of your invitations to church. Because you're also putting them on doors when people aren't interested or not at home or whatever. So you're going to distribute 5,000 and get like 50 people saved, okay? So what do you think we should spend our time on? And hold on a second. If you get 50 people saved, don't you think some of them are going to come visit the church also? Out of those 50? So basically, if 10,000 flyers on the door, door hangers or tracts or whatever you want to call them, on the door brings in two visitors, 100 hours of work. Well, if I spend 100 hours of soul-winding, since I put out 5,000, I'll get one of the two visitors just from the flyer on the door. And I'm sure I'll probably at least get one of the people that I want to Christ to come to church or a couple of those people. Stop and think about it. So I'm getting the same amount of visitors and I'm getting 50 people saved. But no, I think we'll just do door hangers. I mean, is anybody getting this? It's madness today. But it's a person who doesn't want to preach. They don't want to preach. They're not filled with the Holy Spirit. They'd rather just do a mindless thing of just putting something on the door, just a physical bodily exercise. Well, a bodily exercise probably a little. Exercise thyself rather than godliness. And it doesn't even make sense mathematically, does it? To hand out those dumb door hangers and stuff. It's just people who don't... Just say it. You don't want to preach. You don't want to give the gospel. You don't want to face people. You don't love them. I don't know what the problem is, but I know we do not... And by the way, if you don't know how to win souls to Christ, don't you dare show up to one of our soul-winning times and go put stuff on people's doors. If you don't know how to win souls to Christ, you'd be a silent partner of somebody who does because we've got plenty of loudmouths around here that will talk and preach. And you just need to come along as a silent partner because we will never stand for that in our church, people just going around and putting papers on people's doors. That's not what our church is about. And when we have 20 people out soul-winning, that means that we have 20 people out soul-winning. It doesn't mean we have two people out soul-winning, 18 postal workers. I'm going to go postal if I'm not mistaken. Just kidding. Probably getting in trouble for saying that. Pastor Anderson, go with postal. So the point is, don't let people just deceive you. Whatever false doctrine, you can always find some verse to prop it up. Oh, I found it. If you look hard enough, you'll find it all published. I am one of these. They didn't have that back then. So let's just be a soul-winning church. Let's hurry up and finish here. It says, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed to the devil, for God was with them. And we are witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of the Jews and Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. So who slew and hanged on a tree? Okay, that's what it said in chapter 2. They said that the Jews killed Jesus. In chapter 3, it said the Jews killed Jesus. In chapter 4, the Bible said that the Jews killed Jesus. In Acts chapter 5, it said the Jews killed Jesus. In Acts chapter 6, it's not mentioned. In Acts 7, you guessed it again, the Jews are being accused of killing Jesus. And here we are in chapter 10 again, the Jews killed Jesus. Okay. And you say, what's your point? I don't have a point. I'm just preaching the Bible. That's what the Bible says. You know, people try to rewrite history. The Jews are not the ones who killed Jesus. But that's what the Bible says over and over again. And so it says in verse 40, Him God raised up the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people. This is a key verse right here in verse 41. Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. Why did he show it to all the people? Because you have to believe by faith. He showed himself to people that were already saved. He appeared unto 500 what? Brethren. Okay. He showed himself to the apostles whom he had chosen by many infallible proofs. But he did not show himself to all the people. God will not give you evidence, because faith is the evidence. You have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Him that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them diligently seeking. It is not something that you will see physical evidence of. He showed evidence to people that were already saved. Not to all the people. That's a key thing right there. Because faith is what saves you. And if you see something, and know it to be true for a fact, and there's no doubt at all, then it wouldn't take any faith. And that's not going to work. So it says, He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. Verse 43, one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. Tim, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. That means that's what Genesis is about. That's what Exodus is about. That's what Micah is preaching about all throughout the Bible. Same message. And don't tell me there was a different method of salvation in the Old Testament, because it says that all the prophets give witness that whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. That's what all the prophets have always preached. It says, While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word, and they of the circumcision which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as wheat? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they entertain certain days. Now look. The Bible says here that while they yet heard the word, the Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the word. Okay? How did they know that? The Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the word. How'd they know? Verse 46. For they heard them what? Speak with tongues and magnify God. Now, did they start flopping around? Ooh. Wow, they've got it too. No. Keep in mind, what is the nationality of the people that are there? They're Italians, right? Now, the people who marveled, the people who saw them speak with tongues were they of the circumcision who had come along with Peter. So these are Jews that have come along with Peter. They hear them speak with tongues. What tongue do you think that they heard them speak? What tongue do you think that they heard them speak in? In their own language. Because they're hearing it in their native language, the Jews that came with Peter. They're hearing them magnifying God in their own language. And they're saying, wow, this is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit just like you saw back in Acts chapter 2. So they knew what they were saying because they knew that they're glorifying God. They heard them and understood them what they were saying. So these people are confessing the Lord Jesus Christ because they can be understood by those of the circumcision, which is a miracle that's happening. And so you have to understand here that there are a couple different languages involved because these Italians, you know, they're speaking Italian. No, they didn't tell you back then that they spoke, you know, Latin or whatever they were speaking. They heard them speak in a different language than what those people had been speaking previously. Now, I don't know if Peter was talking through a translator or what. You know, we don't know exactly what was happening here. But we know that those of the circumcision were shocked that they could understand these people magnifying God in their own language. They answered Peter. So Peter's answering what they're saying, okay? Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to tarry certain days. Let's go over to chapter 11 for just a second. This is later when Peter is retelling the story from chapter 10. He's talking about it when he gets back to Jerusalem. Look at verse 17. It says, for as much... Actually, let's go back to verse 15. It says... Actually, let's go to verse 14. Really good verse. Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how He said, John and thee baptized with water, but ye should be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Look at verse 17. For as much then as God gave them the gift as He did unto us... And what are the next words? Who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. What was I that I could withstand God? So basically what happened is, when Peter preached, what did they do? They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that's how you be saved, right? When Peter preached, they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. And as a result of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, then basically the Holy Ghost comes upon them, as it did on them in Acts chapter 2. After they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, they basically speak with tongues. Matter of fact, I'm not speaking in tongues, but speaking with another tongue, another language. And then Peter says, Hey, can any man forbid water? That these be baptized? Now look, of course they can be baptized because they believed. And if thou believeth withal thine heart, thou mayest. No clad, no baptism class, no catechism. Just basically, they believed, they've received the Holy Ghost as well as we. Let's baptize them. And he suggested that they should be baptized in verse 48. Is that what it says? He suggested baptism. Yes, he's commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. So baptism is a command of God. It's not optional. You don't have to be baptized to be saved, but it is a commandment. God does command us. And he says he commanded them to be baptized in the day of the Lord. And people say, Oh, you shouldn't pressure people to get baptized. Well, it looks like Peter was pressuring them. He didn't say like, Oh, you haven't been baptized in the day. You don't have to. Right, did he? You don't have to do that. I mean, he's looking at them. He told them, Okay, get baptized. Now it's still up to them whether they're going to do it. He didn't force them to do it. You know, Why did these people get baptized? No. He basically just said, Okay, get baptized. They could have said no, but that should be the attitude toward baptism, just do it. You know, and if people say no, I mean, that's their, Okay, well, fine. You know, we're not going to force anybody here to try to push people or talk them into doing it, but we will command them to be baptized because that's what the Bible says. So let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, thank you so much for this chapter, dear God. It's an exciting chapter. And your mercy really comes out in this chapter, dear Lord, how you saw this man. He's a really great guy, really helped a lot of people, really nice guy, but he just wasn't saved, and he was lost. And so thank you for bringing him to your faithful servant, Peter, to preach the gospel unto him, God. I just pray that you would lead us to people that are like Cornelius in the Phoenix area who just haven't heard the gospel, just don't know the truth, dear God. Help us not to put a door hanger on the Cornelius' of Arizona's door, but rather help us to go there and tell unto him words whereby he and all his house may be saved. Help us to find the Cornelius', dear God, lead us to them and guide us to them, those who are sincere but that are sincerely wrong. Just help us to find those that need the gospel and lead us to receptive people. In Jesus' name we pray.