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Hey, man, so Acts chapter 10, so I'm not saying that we're not going to go back and visit this next week and maybe a week after that, but I am going to preach through the entire chapter to capture the idea of this story, what's happening here and what we can take from it. And then maybe we'll come back next week and poke at some different details of things. But I want to capture the whole, the main idea here, the main theme of Acts chapter 10. Obviously, you know, this is a Bible study and I'm always, I never want to just rabbit trail chapters to the point where we lose what the point of the chapter is. So let's look at Acts chapter 10 this evening. Let's get started. And there's a, there's a lot of, uh, there's a lot here in Acts chapter 10 and verse number one. So remember, um, Peter's at Joppa now. So Peter was traveling and Peter's at Joppa, which is a city on the coast and Caesarea. This next city we're going to look at is also on the coast of the, uh, the Mediterranean sea here and it's north of Joppa. Okay. So it's close, but it's, it's also on the coast. So look at verse number one. It says, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Bats. So this man was a Roman soldier. Okay. He was a high ranking Roman soldier and he was, you know, we're going to assume that he was Italian. Okay. So he was not, he was not a Jew. Okay. He was not Jewish. Um, but look at what we see about, um, this man, Cornelius, it says 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 in unto him and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked upon him, he was afraid and said, what is it Lord? And he said unto him, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. So this is a very important question, um, that I've been asked before. Um, but it's, it's just directly answered right here and here's the question right here. The question is, does God hear the prayers of the unsaved? And the answer is yes in, in some cases. Okay. Yes. In some cases I do want to give two points though. I want to give two points. Um, first of all, um, you'll notice that in verse number two, look what the Bible says, a devout man, one that feared God. Okay. It didn't say he feared a God or he feared the gods. So he feared God. So first of all, there's the answer. Does God hear the prayers of the unsaved is yes in, in two specific circumstances. The first one is that they're praying to the correct God. Okay. So God is not going to answer the prayers of someone who's praying to Buddha or praying to some, you know, false God somewhere. Okay. So first of all, this man was praying to the correct God. And the Bible is very clear about that in verse number two and elsewhere in Acts chapter 10. So that's the first caveat. Does, I mean, the guy's not saved. Okay. The guy's not saved, which is a main focus of this entire chapter. But does God hear the prayers of the unsaved? Yes. As long as they're praying to the correct God and turn to first Timothy chapter two, turn to first Timothy chapter two. And this, this caveat kind of applies to us as well. But the question is, does God answer the prayers of the unsaved? And the answer is yes. As long as they're praying to the right God and as long as their prayers are in line with his will. Okay. So we say, well, what does that mean? I mean, that kind of applies to us too. I mean, God is only going to answer, you know, our prayers in an affirmative way in, in, you know, as long, unless they're in line with his will. Okay. And look, we could, we could maybe sometimes change God's mind. You could maybe, you know, beseech the Lord, you know, as Hezekiah did and change God's mind. That's possible. Okay. As a saved person. But look, God will answer the prayers of even the unsaved. The Bible is showing us here in Acts chapter 10, as long as they're praying to the correct God and as long as the prayer is in line with his will, not the person praying his will, God's will. So you say, well, what is God's will? Well, it's very specific in reference to the unsaved. Look at first Timothy chapter two and look at verse number four, first Timothy chapter two and verse number four. You say, well, what is His will? Well, if you have an unsaved person, so we're saved. So we may ask God an infinite amount of things and it may be up to God whether He answers yes or no on any one of these things. But if you are unsaved, His will is very specific for you and you say, well, what is that for an unsaved person? Look at first Timothy chapter two, look at verse number four. It says, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth? That is, you know, that is, let me translate that into like modern English for you. It says, you know, it's basically saying it's God's will. It's God's will that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. That's what this sentence is saying. You know, a lot of people will say, you know, who will, you know, like God's going to make that happen. That's not what this is saying. It's saying it is God's will that all men be saved. Okay, so if somebody is praying to the right God and they're praying towards this direction of wanting to be saved, God is going to answer that prayer. That's what Matthew chapter seven is saying when it says seek and ye shall find. You know, you know, that's what Jesus is talking about when He says that. So if somebody is praying to the right God and they're praying along the lines of wanting to be saved, you know, God is going to answer that prayer in a positive direction. Why? Because it's God's will that all men be saved. When I was saved, I'll give you a personal example of this. When I was unsaved, when I was, I think as long as I can remember, even as a young man when I was 15, 16 years old, I always wanted, you may think it's weird, but I always wanted to be married. I always wanted to be married and when I was a very young man, I always wanted to be married. And one thing I would pray about a lot was like, God, you know, I mean, I hope I can find a good wife and I want to be married and all this. And guess what? I wasn't saved. I wasn't saved until I was in my thirties. You're like, well, did God hear that prayer? Well, guess what? God sent me a wife who was saved. So that prayer was answered to an unsaved person in line with the direction of, you know, me being, me getting saved. You see, so it's God's will that all men be saved and He will answer prayers of the unsaved in that direction of His will. I mean, think about why wouldn't He? I mean, why wouldn't He? If it's His will that all men be saved and you have some man praying to God and he's praying, God, can you tell me the truth? God, I mean, what's going on? What's with all this talk of Jesus and the Messiah and all this? You know, what do I do? You know, God is going to answer that prayer. Okay. That's why many times if you find somebody at the door, if you're out soul winning and you preach the gospel to somebody and they just, they just sincerely have just been told like a bunch of different things. Throughout their life, they've been told, you know, different doctrines, different gospels, different religions, and you teach, you preach the gospel to them and they say, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That makes a lot of sense because honestly, if you preach the gospel to somebody that's heard a bunch of different, that understands all these different religions, it will make the most sense to them because it's the most simple, it's really the only answer that makes any sense to be honest. So I will say to people like that, people that just aren't ready to just dump everything that they've heard in their life in a 20 or 30 minute conversation, but they're thinking about it, they heard what you said, I'll just tell that person before I leave, I'll say, just pray for God to show you the truth. That's what I'll tell them. I'll tell them, just pray for God to show you the truth. And if they do that, if they seek for the truth, the Bible says that God will show it to them. It's very simple. And Cornelius is just an example of this. He's just a practical example of this playing out in the Bible. This guy is praying to God. He's praying to the true God and he wants to know the truth. Look, he just didn't know about Jesus. That's where Cornelius was at. He just didn't know about Jesus. Go back to Acts chapter 10. So this angel says to Cornelius, he's like, I'm going to help you out here. And it says, and now send men to Joppa. This is where Peter is, remember, 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 ought us to do. So he's staying with this Simon, this guy who was a tanner. First of all, here's inflation for you right here. This guy like tans hides for a living and he's got a beach house. So you know, we're living better today. Are we really? I'm just kidding. But anyway, the point is, is Peter's in Joppa. He's very close. And this angel says, you need to go send men to get this guy. Okay, look at verse seven. And then when the angel spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually. When he declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. So he told these guys, these three guys, what he saw, what the angel said to him, and he sent them to go get Peter. On the morrow as they went on their journey and drew unto the city, Peter went up to the housetop to pray about the sixth hour and he became very hungry and would have eaten. But while they were ready, he fell while they made ready. He fell into a trance. So they were making food and he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending upon him as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth where we're all manner of four footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and follows of the air. So here Peter's praying and God just kind of just kind of locks him into a trance and shows him this vision of this sheet coming down and it's just holding all these animals. Remember all the animals that we talked about in Leviticus chapter 11 on Sunday night. Just remember all the clean and unclean animals. All these animals are in this sheet. Okay. And there came a voice to him and says, rise Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, not so Lord, for I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean. So there was all kinds of stuff in here. There were shellfish in here. There was, there was pigs in here. There was all kinds of things that didn't chew the cud, you know, all these different animals. There was probably an eagle in there, you know, there was all these unclean animals in there and Peter's just like, he's like, no, you know, there was, there was probably catfish in there. Yeah. It was probably in there. Can you imagine that big catfish hanging out of the sheet? Just like with his big whiskers, you know, it was like, I've been eating off the bottom of the lake for 20 years. You want to eat me? Sorry. But anyway, there's all these unclean animals in the sheet. Okay. But Peter said, not so Lord, I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake again unto him the second time, what God has cleansed that called out that call not thou common. Turn to Hebrews chapter nine. So Peter here is being taught some doctrine. Okay. And he's being taught the doctrine that the carnal ordinances are gone. Okay. These carnal ordinances of the sacrifices of all these things and what we can eat and what we can't eat. This stuff is washed away. And in Hebrews chapter nine, verse number eight, the Bible explains to us specifically on these, these idea of what we can eat and what we can't. The Holy Ghost in verse number eight, Hebrews nine, verse number eight, the Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. That means made known, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. So again, Hebrews is showing that, you know, basically all the things, all the ceremonies, all the things that they did, the washings, the things they ate, the things they didn't eat. They were just pictures of things that Jesus was actually going to do. These weren't the actual, you know, things that the, these weren't the mechanical devices that kept you clean and kept you unclean. It was just a picture of what Jesus was actually going to do. Let's keep reading. Look at verse number nine. It says, which was a figure. This was just a picture for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. See the sacrifices, they didn't take away since. They were just a picture of what Jesus was really going to do. All right. Which stood only, and here's the, here's what Peter's seeing right now, which stood only in meats and drinks and diverse washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until what? The time of reformation, the time of Jesus coming. Okay. So all these things, these carnal ordinances, the meats, the drinks, the ceremonies, the diverse washings, all these things were just a, in verse number nine, it says, they're just a figure. They're just, in other places in the Bible, it calls it a shadow of things to come. Okay. But verse 11, Christ being come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. So it wasn't the goats and the calves that took away sins. That was just a shadow. That was just a picture of what Christ actually did with his own blood and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctified the purifying of the flesh. How much more? Oh, I'm sorry. But by his own blood, he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. So, I mean, that's, again, it's a picture of eternal security right here because, you know, how many times do we have to do these sacrifices? Often times, if you've ever, you know, worked on a farm or butchered an animal and then you read the Old Testament and you read what these priests are doing, you're like, my goodness, this is like constant work. They're just constantly sacrificing, sacrificing, sacrificing, sacrificing, sacrificing, and they're burning the fat and they're doing all this stuff and it's just again and again and again. In Leviticus 16, they did it every year and then there's all kinds of other smaller sacrifices. But the point is, Christ said to only enter once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. So it's saying, that's why in Hebrews chapter 6 and Hebrews chapter 10 talks about, you know, in Hebrews chapter 12, it talks about, you know, God chastising us and it says, look, you better just listen to what the Bible says because it's not like Christ can die for you again. All there is for the Christian that goes against God's word is just punishment. That's it. It's not hell, but it's just chastisement from God. It's just, you know, making God angry because, you know, Christ isn't going to go die for you again. God's just going to chastise you as a father, it says in Hebrews chapter 12. Look, the point is that the unclean and the clean animals, it's just a picture of Christ and the Bible here is telling us in Acts chapter 10, it's telling Peter, it's like, that's done away with now because here this Gentile, you know, wants to be saved and Peter's like, I can't go. He just has this idea of, he can't be around the Gentiles, he can't eat with the Gentiles, but things, it was just a picture of us being clean by eating certain things and not eating certain things. You know, we're really made clean through Christ, okay? Look at Acts chapter 10 and look at verse number 16, but again, like I said, on Sunday night, you still might not want to eat, you know, raw fish and oysters in June. You know, there's, there's like practical reasons to the unclean stuff too, okay? So you know, just, just, there was, you know, God always has health reasons behind the things that he does like that. So that's an interesting study in itself, but look at verse 16. It says, this was done thrice, this, this picture of this, this, this sheet coming down with all these animals in it saying, kill and eat was done three times. It says that's what thrice means and the vessel was received up into heaven. Now Peter, Peter and threes has a, has a special, there's this, there's this like threes keep popping up with Peter in the Bible. I'll tell you what my opinion on it is. I could be wrong or right on this, but turn to Matthew 26, Matthew 26, Matthew 26. So when Jesus was talking to Peter right before Jesus was arrested, he basically told Peter that he was going to betray him. You know, he said he was going to betray him and he said, Jesus, look at Matthew 26 and verse 34. It's also interesting that this, this story of Peter, Jesus telling Peter he's going to betray him is in the, in the Bible three times. So just a interesting note there, but look what Jesus says in Matthew 26 verse 34 in one of the accounts. He says, Jesus said unto him, verily I said unto thee that this night before the cock crow thou shalt deny me. How many times? So Jesus told Peter that he was going to deny him three times. Okay. And I think the other stories in Luke 22 and the other ones in John 18 or John 19. But the point is it's in the, it's in the gospels three times. He says, you're going to deny me three times and then go to John 21, go to John 21. Just a, I, this is what I think, this is why I think, you know, so Peter denied Christ three times. So we know that that happened. He denied Christ three times. You know, he denied him the third time and then the cock crew at that point. And then Peter just remembered Jesus's words at that point. He just burst into tears and he just like realized what he had done and you know, it was a terrible thing, right? Well, when Jesus had risen again and he was talking with Peter, look at verse 17 of John 21. He tells Peter three times the same thing. He's tells Peter three times the same thing in verse 17. He tells him the third time. It says, he said unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, wovest thou me? So it's interesting that, you know, he's, he's asking the same question to Peter three times and Peter's getting disturbed because he's like, he's telling him, yeah, I love you. You know, I love you. And he keeps asking the question. He keeps asking the question. It's kind of like, well, you denied me three times. He's like, are you sure? You know, are you sure you love me? Because it didn't, you know, you denied me three times. He said unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, wovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said it unto him the third time. Imagine if I would go up to one of my friends at this church and I would say, and brother Victor, you're sitting, you're sitting there all the time. So I'll say, brother Victor, are you my friend? And he's like, yes, brother Victor, are you my friend? Well, yeah, yes, pastor, brother Victor. Are you my friend? Well, I mean, he would be getting more and more like if he truly was my friend and I truly was his friend, he'd be just getting more and more upset every time I asked him because he would be thinking that like, I didn't believe that he was my friend, like maybe that he wasn't trustworthy. So I believe Jesus asked him three times because he had denied him three times. It was just kind of a reminder of that. And he says, so he was grieved and said, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. And Jesus said unto him, feed my sheep. So that's why I think that we're seeing the threes here. And then, you know, it's interesting because he shows them the sheep three times. You know, maybe you could say, well, Peter's thick headed, right? Peter just needs to be told a few times. You ever met people like that? They just need to be told again and again. But I don't want to, I don't want to cast any shade on Peter. He's a great, great apostle. Look at Acts chapter 10 and verse 17, Acts chapter 10 and verse 17. So he shows him this vision three times. Okay. That's why I think Peter and threes has to do, I think it goes back to him denying Christ three times. Look at verse number 17. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision he had seen should mean. So he saw three times he's still wondering about it. Behold the men which were sent from Cornelius made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate. So he probably didn't really know like what's the point of telling me I can eat all these animals and all of a sudden all of these Gentiles show up to take him to this man Cornelius and called and asked whether Simon which was surname Peter were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision the spirit said on the name behold, how many men here by the way? Just three men, you know, come to seek thee. All right. So Cornelius is literally seeking right Cornelius is literally seeking Peter. He's literally seeking after the truth. So this is another question that you can answer people, you know, they're like when people are like, well, what about that tribe in Africa or whatever? Here's the thing. The Bible tells us that like if somebody is seeking the truth, God will send somebody to tell them. Okay, God will send somebody to tell him the truth. And Cornelius is definitely seeking and God's going to send him Peter. All right. The Bible says I mean in Matthew chapter 7, you know asking it should be given to you seek and you shall find knock and it shall be open unto you right. I mean, that's like that's that's just a very clear statement like that will happen if somebody's truly seeking but you're you know, the thing is folks like the problem is like when you go out solving and you're talking to people and they're just like, you know, they're just like not they're not interested or they're not going to believe it or whatever. It's they're not seeking. They don't you know, most people the vast majority of people that you will talk to as a soul winner you won't give the gospel to and it's not because you don't want to give the gospel. I'd love to go out and give the gospel 20 times out soul winning. But I mean the point is, is this that not everybody's seeking. So you say how could God send, you know, a soul winner to every single person that seeking well you look at the numbers of people that are actually seeking. It's probably pretty easy because there's not that many people seeking right this Cornelius. I wish that wasn't true. But Cornelius is kind of a unique character. Well, I mean, we'll find those people will find Cornelius is out solving and if you're so wondering, you know, this is true. You'll be out and you'll you'll knock on doors, and somebody will come to the door. They're like, you know, it's funny that you came here. Yeah, I mean, I can't even count the times that this has happened. It's funny that you came here because I was just talking with my dad the other day and we were really concerned about this this thing right here. What you're talking about, we're really concerned about like, you know, doctrine and what it takes to get to heaven and you know, look, you know what they're seeking and God sent someone to them. And that's really cool thing about being a soul winner is you will find many cases where you find that you are the Peter being sent to somebody and it's it's a really cool thing about doing you know what you're supposed to do with your Christian life. Go back to Acts chapter 10, Acts chapter 10. The Bible says, arise therefore in Acts chapter 10. So this is the spirit saying to Peter said, Behold, three men seek thee, arise therefore, get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing. So the spirit just tells him like, hey, get moving, for I have sent them. Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, Behold, I am he whom you seek, what is the cause wherefore you are come? He's like, Why are you here? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God again, here we go, showing that he believed in God, folks, he was praying to the one true God, and of a good report among the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into this house and to hear the words of thee. Then called he them in and lodged them. And on the morrow, Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And on the morrow, after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and he had called together his kinsmen and near friends. Turn to Acts 16. Turn to Acts 16. So another point I want to make here. In Acts chapter 16, notice how Cornelius, number one, he sends these three men. So he's a centurion, he obviously has command over many people, he just tells these three men what happened. They go and they go, okay? But now, he gets this apostle, Peter, to come to him to preach Jesus to him, and what does he do? He goes and he gets, it says his kinsmen and near friends. He goes and gets all his friends and relatives. And this is something that's just like, I constantly need to be reminding myself of this too. Is when we're out soul winning, we're out preaching the gospel, especially if you get somebody saved. You need to ask people, you need to ask people, is there anybody else in your house that you would like to hear this? Because if you truly get somebody saved, look at Acts chapter 16, and look at verse 31. I mean, this is a great, you know, this is the soldier, he brings them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. So we always have to remember, and thy house, because you will find, especially if you see people walking in the background, and when you're given the gospel, and people, you know, this is the, how many times has this happened? You see somebody like, you're given the gospel in the doorway, and you see a curious person walking by every five minutes, kind of like half listening. You know, make sure you always ask that person, would you like to hear what I just explained to your mom or your sister or your brother or whatever? You know, is there anybody else in your house? Because look at this man, he brought, he didn't just say, I want to know the truth. He wanted all his, look, somebody gets saved, and they understand what was just given to them, they're going to want people in their house to know. So it's kind of like, it's kind of like a freebie. It's kind of like, you know, it's low hanging fruit, let's put it that way. If you get somebody saved, there's other people in the house, and they have the right heart. And look, it's a very, it's a very, they'll answer you quickly. They'll say, Oh, sure. Or just, no. Especially if you have a mom, you have like a like a strong willed mother, and you get her saved. I mean, many times she'll like drag her kids by their ears to the door. Like, you just get over here and you just listen to everything that this man has to say. I mean, that will happen to you. So make sure you ask the question, and I house is there anybody else in your house that you would like to hear this because look, everybody wants their friends and their relatives to go to heaven, everybody, even unsaved people will say they want that. They just don't know how to make that happen. Okay. So that's an interesting point. He gets all his friends and all his family. Look at verse 25. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter took him up saying, stand up. I myself also am a man. So look, he's just, he's ignorant. He doesn't know. He doesn't know. He's praying to the right God and he's just like, he thinks maybe he needs to worship Peter. He doesn't know where he's from. He's a Roman. All kinds of pagan gods and false gods is what he was brought up with. So he's praying to the right God. He starts worshiping Peter. Peter's like, no. He's like, I'm just a man. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together. So there's a big gathering here. And he said unto him, you know, that is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or to come unto one of another nation. But God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. This is Peter. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying. He's like, I didn't argue. That's what gainsaying means. He says, I came to you and I didn't argue because that God showed me, look, this is the reason that the vision came to Peter is because these guys were on the way and Peter would argued with him. You're like, no, I'm not going to go to some Gentile and, and, you know, be unclean. And as soon as I was sent for, I asked therefore, what intent you have sent for me? So he's like, why do you, why do you want me here? He still doesn't really get it right. 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. So now he's telling him how he saw the angel. Send therefore to Joppa and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the seaside who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee and thou has well done that thou art come. See notice the th is again, just he's talking to Peter singular, right? Thou the notice how they all go together. Now therefore we are all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. So God's like, I need to straighten this guy out. He's seeking the truth. I didn't get him the truth. What does he do? He sends a man. Okay. He sends the soul winner. Verse 34. And now verse 34 through, you know, basically the next, I don't know, 10 verses or 12 verses. Peter's preaching the gospel. He's preaching the gospel to this man. Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. So at first he's saying, he's like, now he gets it. Now he understands. He's like, now I understand why I'm here. He's like, I'm here to preach the gospel to this man. It took Cornelius explaining that he saw the angel, to explaining to Peter that yes, you coming to me is of God, and Peter's like, oh, the Gentiles are to hear the gospel too. So this is kind of a breakthrough moment for Peter here. But in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent to all 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 with John preached, how God, now he's preaching Jesus. Now he's just preaching who Jesus was, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil for God was with him. 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 and God raised him up on the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but under witnesses chosen before God, even to us. He's saying, I saw him too, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify, and here it is right here, that he, that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of the quick and the dead. He just said right there, he said, it was Jesus who was the Messiah. It was Jesus who was the one that the Jews have been waiting for to be the judge of the quick and the dead to him, give all the prophets witness is like the whole Bible has been talking about Jesus. That's what he said here through the, his, and that through his name, whosoever, and here's the gospel right here, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. So he basically says it right there. He says, all you have to do is just trust in Jesus, just believe in Jesus. He just preaches the gospel right there. I mean, I don't understand how people can get the gospel wrong. I mean, Peter just like basically laid it out right here and it was in about 10 verses, very simple. You have to understand that this man already was praying to the right God. He already knew the right God. He just didn't know who Jesus was. He just didn't know anything about Jesus. While Peter spake these words, verse 44, the Holy Ghost fell on them, that which heard the word. So they received this gift of the Holy Spirit, just like happened in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost with the disciples, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, can any man? So notice that, notice the pattern here. Notice what happens. They get saved. They believe, okay, the Holy Spirit is given unto them and then look what Peter says, can any man forbid water that these 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. So there's a couple of things here. First of all, it's just another proof of like baptism after salvation right there. So when you're saved, you know, you should be baptized after you're saved. And then there's more than just the gospel. You know, they wanted him to just stay there and just teach them, teach them for many days. Just tell us more about the Bible. Tell us more about this. So in verse number 48, he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him. So they prayed, they asked him to stay many days because they wanted to grow. They wanted to learn what he knew. You know what I mean? Think about it. Cornelius, he was praying to the right God. He didn't know who the Messiah was, but he also didn't know that you're not supposed to worship a man. So there's a lot of doctrine that he doesn't know. I mean, Jesus taught Paul for three years to get him to the point where he could go and successfully debate, you know, the Jews in Damascus to the point where they wanted to kill him. So we all know that, you know, coming, you know, just getting saved, just that moment right there doesn't just all of a sudden just grant you all sorts of knowledge about God's word. Okay. And that's kind of the main point of, you know, this chapter here. But two points really I want to close on just on this story of Cornelius and Peter. The first one is a smaller point. But turn to Proverbs chapter 26. Turn to Proverbs chapter 26. Actually turn to Galatians chapter two and I'll just read for you Proverbs chapter 26. This is kind of a side point and I don't want to make too many of these throughout this chapter, but this is a side point. In Galatians chapter two, go to verse number 11. But the Bible says in Proverbs 26 11, as a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. So one thing we need to learn from Peter here, because in Galatians chapter two, look at verse number 11 that happens between Peter and Peter and Paul here get in an argument. They get in a debate and Paul actually calls out Peter in Galatians chapter two and verse number 11. He says, but when Peter was come to Antioch, I was so basically go to verse number one of Galatians chapter two. So remember, after being taught for three years, Paul went to Jerusalem. Remember that? And he didn't really hang out with the disciples because most of them were just scared to death of him. And they didn't really believe that he was saved or whatever. And his reputation kind of still stuck with him. But look what it says. It says 14 years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas. So this is like over 10 years later, almost 15 years later after this, okay? And it's so we're probably looking at at least 12, 13, 14 years after this story in Acts chapter 10 is taking place, this happens, okay? Look at verse 11. But when Peter was come to Antioch, so now Peter leaves Jerusalem and goes to Antioch, I was put into the face because he was to be blamed. Remember before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. So Peter came to Antioch and he wouldn't eat with the Gentiles, 14 years, 15 years, however many years after, many, many years after Acts chapter 10. So the point is, Proverbs 26, 11 says, as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly. Be careful of past tendencies that you have is basically what I'm trying to get you to understand. This was a tendency, it was so ingrained in Peter to separate himself from Gentiles and especially with what they eat and just not being part of the Gentile culture or whatever. I mean, we're not talking about entering into sin here, we're talking about just he's imagined, you know, you have some, we have a guest pastor come here, we're gonna have Pastor Mejia come here at the end of September and imagine if, you know, we have some food or something during the day and he's like, I'm sorry, I will be, I cannot eat with you here and he leaves. Everyone's gonna be like, man, you know, that's, it would be taken as root, he would never do that. But the point is, is it was a very rude thing and Paul called him out for this. Paul called him out for this, all right? So anyway, that's just something that came back to Peter. So here's the real main point though, turn to Romans chapter 14, turn to Romans chapter 14. Here's the main point of this whole story. So basically you have Cornelius, a man seeking truth, God sends him a soul winner, this is how it's supposed to be, this is a promise that God gives us in Matthew chapter 7. The point is this and then God kind of runs interference for Cornelius by sending this vision to Peter and trying to get Peter to the point where he'll go and visit Cornelius, okay? So the point I want to make with Acts chapter 10 is this, we just, we need to be tolerant of newcomers. We need to be tolerant of newcomers and you know, this directly applies to us in a modern Christian growing church and it's just, we need to be tolerant of newcomers. Why? I mean, think about, first of all, think about the Jews in this situation. I mean, just think about the timeliness of the Messiah here, the timeliness of when Jesus came. And these Jews, and they were just so high and mighty, they were just so, these were unclean people and all this, but here's the thing, the Jews, they all had, they're all into false doctrine already anyway. They didn't believe the Bible anyway. I mean, this is why the Jews mainly, you know, the mainstream Jews rejected Jesus because they had already made, you know, heresy of the Bible. So then Jesus comes and you know, Jesus is basically like, you guys are all messed up. That's basically what's going on. And is what they tell Peter is like, they can, as long as you believe on Jesus, that's it. Okay. So look, Cornelius, he just didn't know. So the point is, you know, not everyone coming in to a church, you know, people that have been in a church for years, for decades, they're going to understand the Bible. I mean, you're going to learn the Bible being in a church that just preaches the Bible. You will learn the Bible. Even if you never read the Bible and you just listen to preaching, you will pick up the Bible. You will pick up the philosophies of the Bible, the standards in the Bible. But look, people that just come into, people that just get saved on Wednesday and come to church on Sunday, they know nothing. They know nothing of standards. You know, they don't, maybe their kids aren't going to act the right way. You know, and look, we just need to be, we need to be tolerant of those situations is what I'm saying. I mean, think about, think about just, I mean, first of all, standards in general. Standards in general, you know, can, can be an issue amongst Christians. Look at Romans 14. Look at Romans 14. This is what Romans 14 is talking about. Just kind of like Christian standards in general. The Bible says in verse number one, it says, him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. He's saying, for one believeth he may eat all things, another who is weak eateth herbs. Let him that eateth despise him, not despise, let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not. He's like, don't get in debates over standards of food is what he's saying. It's kind of the same thing that God was telling Peter in Acts chapter 10. But not him that which eateth not judge him that eateth for God hath received him. See, this was a huge problem in the New Testament. As the Gentiles came in, as, as Israel was now like Israel was anybody that believed on Christ. Okay. But there's all these ingrained cultures and people and all these, these superficial standards that people had that were just causing divisions everywhere. Okay. Who art thou that judges, judges another man's servant to his own master? He standeth or falleth, yea, he shall be holding up for God is able to make him stand. Now it talks about days, standards of days. For one esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. But every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. So look, it could be possible that somebody comes into this church, this has actually happened, and they're just like, we don't celebrate Christmas, we don't believe in that. And like, okay, I mean, that's not going to cause any problems for you in this church. Because like, it's, that's just a standard that some people have that some people don't have. Hopefully, you know, as an example, you can see my standards and my family's standards and you know, most people in the church have generally the same standards, but when people come in here, like, they'll have no standards, some of them. And some may have strange standards about, you know, not celebrating Christmas or whatever. Look, that doesn't, that doesn't mean anything, is what the Bible is saying here. He that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the Lord, he that regardeth not the day to the Lord, he not regardeth it. He, look, he's just going through and just saying like, look, standards are good, don't get me wrong, standards are good, standards are important in the Christian life. But if we apply Acts chapter 10 in this story with Cornelius, Cornelius, starting at just point zero in his Christian life, you are going to have people at all different stages in the Christian life in a church. And you know, we should never be like, I mean, you're going to have people, I mean, if you just look at like what the world is like today, I mean, here's the thing, folks, you have to understand that people, they're, they're just, I mean, just take kids, for example, take kids and what they wear. I mean, obviously, in my family of standards, I mean, my biggest thing is modesty. You know, I mean, my wife and my daughter, they were, you know, skirts only and all this, you know, and it's, it's modest and you look at what people are wearing today, what kids are wearing today. Look, you drive by a high school and you see what the girls are wearing. It's like, they're not bad people. It's not like they're, they're just doing what everybody else does. They just don't know. I mean, my, you know, people in my family would look at what a young lady wears today and be like, how could you even be comfortable wearing something like that? You know, as you're just showing your nakedness and just, you know, so, but girls have been in church and raised in church, they would, thank God, they feel that way, that you shouldn't just be like exposing your body to everybody. But the point is that like, people don't know that they don't know it. So you, I mean, you got people come into a church that just, they don't have any standards of any kind because they just, people do what other people do just because other people do it. It's the weirdest thing, but that's what people do. So we just need to kind of have some, some grace with, with people. And we do in this church, but it's just kind of a reminder in this story that you'll have people come in and maybe their kids don't act, maybe their kids don't sit in church when they're three and listen to the preacher. And the thing is like, that's not going to happen if, it's not going to happen with an eight year old that's never been in church. So we just have to grow through those things, okay? And we don't ever want to like come down on people and things like that that are just starting out in their Christian life and, you know, we just need to have grace with people, especially when it comes to, to things like that with growth and things like that. So that's kind of what God was doing here with Peter. He was kind of trying to get Peter like, hey, you know, you're going to preach the gospel to everybody. He's like, so God's trying to like knock some of these walls down. You know, first of all, the cardinal ordinances were gone away and Peter, like he struggled with it for years. He struggled with it and he struggled with just these, this culture that he grew up in and we just have to remember that, you know, and as far as like our standards and as far as everything, like, and here's the thing, folks, you don't have to worry. First of all, don't, this doesn't mean that anything goes in the church. I don't want you to take it the wrong way either. I mean, all you have to like, when it comes to first Corinthians five 11 stuff, look, that's my job to worry about that stuff. Not you. You don't have to worry about like sin creeping into the church. Like I'm the lucky guy that gets to deal with all that. So you don't have to worry about any of that. All you have to do is be friendly and just help people grow. And guess what's going to happen? If people come into a Bible preaching church and they have an open heart to the Bible where they're just like, they're just a blank slate and they got saved and they're just like, I got saved and, and you know, I just want to know what this book says and they're going to learn it. And guess what? They're going to, they're going to start to grow in their Christian life and we just need to show them grace as they grow. That's all, you know, we don't want it to like come and offend somebody on the, on the first day they come to church, you know, not that that would ever happen here, but I'm just saying it could, you know, it could be something where people look down their nose at people that just aren't looking and acting, you know, the way they're supposed to. It's because they've never been in church before. You know, Cornelius, he bowed down, he tried to worship Peter, you know, he tried to worship the man. Why? Is he some false god? No, he just, he didn't know. You know, and you think about kids that are eight, nine, 10 years old, never been in church. They just don't know. They come in and, and you know, they just don't know. I mean, they don't know that, you know, they're, they're not supposed to wear the things that they're wearing according to the Bible. Why? Because no one's ever told them. Because even if they did, I mean, because all these, they've just been lied to their whole life, basically. So anyway, just let's show some grace. This is a great story of just God sending someone and breaking down some of those barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles and just showing that, you know, Israel, Israel is now all who believe on Jesus. Okay, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.