All of Acts 10 this morning.
So, kind of after talking to Nathan, it became pretty clear that really, it would be really hard to divide this up.
! It would be best if we just preached all the way through it.
And as you look at the text, as you're glancing over it, you see that there's so much there.
And especially if you're familiar with the Bible, too, you know that there's a lot of the weeds there that you can really easily get lost in.
Because we're talking about some really, really complex topics this morning.
And there's probably about six little mini sermons in there that you really could use as a springboard to talk about so many different things.
So, how do you make just one concise sermon?
That's the thing that I've been praying about this week and that I've been thinking about in this morning is,
I want this to be clear. I want there to be clarity.
I want us to walk away with an understanding of the text and for us to be changed by the Lord.
As I was looking through some of the commentaries on this text, I came upon this quote by R.C. Spirrell.
So, he says,
So, now there's no pressure on me or any pressure on you.
We can kind of look at this text and discern what is God teaching the original people that were reading this text?
What is he teaching the people that were going through this story?
And then what is he teaching us right now?
Is that text relevant to our situation right now?
And I would say an overwhelming yes.
So, the way that I'm going to do this, I just, after looking through a lot of the commentaries and looking over this text,
there's not, I can't really present this sermon to you in this really clever way of this happened and this happened and this happened.
So, what I'm going to really do is I'm just going to walk through the text with you this morning.
I meant that, that I don't have clever bullet points.
I'm just not that clever.
But, the text is really powerful and so what we're going to do is we're going to walk through it together
and we're going to explain some of the things that God's doing here.
So, but the, kind of the theme, if you're taking notes,
the thing that I want you to be thinking about as we're going through this text together is
how does God relentlessly pursue sinners of every kind?
How does he do it in this text?
How has he been doing it in Acts?
How has he been doing that so far in the times that we've been talking as community groups?
So, how does God relentlessly pursue sinners of every kind?
So, with that, I do want to take a second and just pray and ask the Lord that he would give clarity,
that he would allow our hearts to understand this text.
If you've been bringing, whatever it is that you brought in,
whatever it is that you're about to leave and go towards this morning,
I believe that God has something to say to us from his text and that that is extremely relevant
and that we pay attention to that.
So, let me just pray for us real quickly.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word.
Thank you that we get to meet in public this morning without fear,
without shame, that God, the majority of the people in this room have a copy of your word.
And we know that those pages, these words have been fought over and then have died over these words.
And that you've preserved this text so that we can look at it, God.
This is not just another story.
This is not just another piece of wisdom literature.
But it is your word, Lord.
We believe it is from you.
So, Lord, would you speak to us through your text this morning?
God, the man or woman who feels alienated from you this morning, who feels hopeless,
God, would you bring them in?
Or would you make this message clear for those of us that have grown cold to the gospel,
have grown apathetic to it, Lord?
I pray that you would wake our hearts up to it, God.
We love you.
Please give me clarity as I preach this morning.
God, I just pray out with David that the words in my mouth and the meditations in my heart
would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight.
We ask this in your name.
Amen.
Okay.
So, what has God been doing so far in Acts?
I'm not going to spend 20 minutes going over that because we've been talking about it for the past couple of months.
But just to paint the picture so that we all understand what God has been doing.
Let's kind of look at it really, really quickly.
So, Jesus, before he's crucified, he promised the Holy Spirit.
He says, hey, it's better that I leave and that the Holy Spirit come than it would be for me to stay.
Which is kind of an insane statement because I know that if you've read that, you've kind of thought to yourself,
like, I would much rather have Jesus around here in the flesh.
But we learn, we soon learn why he says those things.
So, he says that.
He's crucified.
He's resurrected.
And then he's ascended.
And then right after he ascends to heaven, there's this insane event that happens called Pentecost.
And that happens in Acts chapter 2.
Then after that, we see these massive conversions.
We see Acts chapter 2, verse 41.
We see, like, 3,000 people coming in one day.
We see Peter preach a sermon and 5,000 people come.
And we keep seeing the Lord add day after day to their number.
So, we see these massive conversions despite persecution, right?
Like, we've kind of started getting to that a little bit more as far as Stephen was persecuted.
But we still see the church growing.
And then we see these wonders and signs.
We see people being healed.
We see people being resurrected from the dead.
So, just imagine this picture if you're kind of in the early church.
Like, all these things that are happening.
You've seen, like, your world's kind of been changed over the past year or so.
So, and then the text that we talked about last week that Clay preached on, he talked about healing.
And this situation in Acts 9, verses 32 through the end about Peter healing someone and then raising someone from the dead.
So, if you haven't gotten a chance to listen to that sermon, I really, really recommend it.
Clay talks about, does God still heal today?
If he does, why does he?
And if he chooses not to heal in certain circumstances, why does he not?
So, I would really recommend going back and listening to that.
But if you've listened to all those things that I just talked about, 95% of those things really pertain to Jews only, right?
Pentecost, mostly Jews.
The massive conversions, we see Paul or Saul as Jewish.
We see all these things.
And the trend that's kind of going throughout them is Jews.
We do see Peter go to the Samaritans.
And the Samaritans are kind of, they're not quite Gentiles, but they're not quite Jews.
They're kind of in between.
So, with the exception of, does anyone know what would be the exception to that list?
Someone that wouldn't be a Jew.
The Ethiopian, right?
So, we had that story where the Ethiopian was converted.
And then he goes back.
That's kind of the catch point, is that he goes back to Ethiopia.
He doesn't stay with the church and fellowship with the church.
So, we see that 95% of the things that I just listed really pertains to Jews only.
So, let's pick it up in chapter 10 at verse 1 and see that this story, that narrative, that list is about to change.
Let me rip some more.
So, starting in verse 1.
At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort.
A devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.
About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him,
Cornelius.
And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord?
And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.
He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.
When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him.
And having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
So just as a pause there, we're going to get through the rest of the text, but I want to take a moment and kind of talk about who is this Cornelius guy.
Clay found a way to slip himself into my sermon, so I have to give him credit about what does it mean to be a Roman centurion of the Italian cohort.
And I say that because Clay is our history buff.
And so what does this mean for Cornelius to be Roman and the Italian cohort?
So it's most likely that he would be comparable to a captain in the Roman army.
And he is Roman with a capital R.
So think about that for a second.
He's from the Italian cohort.
That would mean that his origins are from Italy.
He's not someone who was kind of drafted into the Roman army because as the Roman army spans their reach, they're going to take over new lands, right?
And they're going to bring people into their army.
So, and but they would be considered Roman at that point, but they're not from Rome.
And so Cornelius is from Rome.
Okay, what are the other things that we see about him?
We see that he's a devout man.
In verse 2, he fears God with all his household.
He gave alms generously.
And he prays.
Okay, so this word you'll see in verse 2.
Look, it says a devout man who fears God.
That is actually a term, like a label, not just describing him necessarily with just a kind of a bunch of random adjectives.
So, there's a couple of labels that the Bible gives to different groups of people that are in this geographic area.
So, there's Jews.
There would be Gentiles.
There would be Samaritans, which we talked about earlier, which is kind of they, I don't know if this is an offensive term, but like half-breeds, you know what I mean?
Between Jews and Gentiles.
And then there were God-fears.
And God-fears were Gentiles who conformed to the Judaic law and the customs.
So, that means that Cornelius probably got to see all the gods of the Roman Empire and then decided that he most likely, or that he agreed with most of the Jewish God.
So, that meant that he worshipped God of the Torah and that he, but the only difference would be that he wasn't circumcised.
I'm sorry, I'm trying to say that right.
So, the only difference would be that he's not circumcised.
He worships God.
He gives alms.
We see that he's devout, but he's not circumcised.
And then he prays.
So, this is kind of a, this is a really good description of Cornelius, right?
Like, if you're reading this and you're looking at Cornelius, this is a good guy, right?
He does all those things.
Like, how many of you would like to be described in that way?
That's a good description.
You're devout.
You fear God.
You give alms.
You pray continuously.
And we find out that God hears his prayers.
So, Cornelius is a good guy.
But I want to ask the question, is Cornelius saved?
Is he forgiven?
Is he clean in the eyes of God?
I mean, and what do you say?
Like, he, there are all those things that we just listed.
He sounds like a really, really good guy.
Like, he does everything right.
And even, I can hear the objection of someone saying, wait, are you suggesting that he's not saved?
Like, look at all the things that he does.
Look, let's look at, or so what, are you saying that you're better than him?
Are you saying that Mother Teresa, if, with all the good things that she did, that if she didn't believe in Christ, that she's not saved?
This is the question that you're going to get when you talk to other people about the gospel.
Because Cornelius, on paper, looks like a really, really good guy.
But we learn that he is later on referred to as not saved.
And so that's the offense of the gospel that our, the offense of the gospel is that even our best works,
the things that we do that you might volunteer at the homeless shelter out of the goodness of your heart,
you might not cuss, you might not drink, you might not be as bad as someone else.
But the offense of the gospel is that our best deeds, our best things that we do, apart from God,
are like filthy rags before him.
That it doesn't matter, that God's not saying like, God's not impressed with Cornelius' record.
That in the eyes of God of being considered holy.
And I'm going to, I will say Cornelius is a good guy.
He's a moral guy.
But in terms of holiness, Cornelius is not.
And so you would say, how do you know that?
If you turn one page over to the left or to the right, you're going to see in verse 14,
Peter is later on recounting this story.
And this is a little bit of a giveaway, but he says in verse 13,
Peter's recounting this story of what I'm about to talk about with Cornelius.
And he says, and he told us how he had, how Cornelius had seen this angel stand in his house and say,
Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter.
He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.
So despite Cornelius' good-looking resume, he's not in the eyes of God forgiven.
He's not saved.
There's something missing.
So that tells us that to be righteous before God requires more than attending a church service.
It requires more than being a good person.
It requires more than giving your money away to the poor.
It requires more than even just praying to God.
That is a huge statement.
There's another problem with Cornelius.
Cornelius is a God-fear, but he is still a Gentile.
In that he is unclean according to the Jewish law.
So, what do I mean by that?
Surely, if you know anything about Jewish traditions and Jewish customs,
you knew that they followed a very strict dietary law.
That's kind of the thing, the problem that Jesus keeps running into as he's talking to the Pharisees,
is these laws that they have that Moses set up in the Old Testament.
So, for reference, what I'm talking about there is specifically Leviticus 11 when it comes down to food.
So, in Leviticus 11, God is laying out this law to Moses,
and he's telling him all the foods that you can and cannot eat.
He says, hey, like, you can't eat a pig.
You can't eat a rock badger.
You can't eat the things that are crawling on the ground, swarming bees.
He lists off all of these different animals that they cannot eat.
So, they've got dietary laws.
The next thing is circumcision.
So, Cornelius is neither of those things.
So, in the eyes of the Jewish law, Cornelius is not clean.
Now, see, the Jews actually used these verses in Leviticus as justification
to put in bigger divide between them and the Gentiles,
just to kind of understand what's going on in that culture
and what that divide actually looks like.
I found a quote from a rabbi in the Talmud,
which is when we're talking about the Old Testament combined with rabbinic law,
which is things that they kind of added on to the Old Testament laws.
This rabbi said this about a Gentile.
He said,
When a Jew has a Gentile in his clutches,
another Jew may go to the same Gentile,
lend him money, and in turn deceive him,
so that the Gentile shall be ruined.
For the property of a Gentile, according to our law, belongs to no one.
And the first Jew that passes it has full right to seize it.
So, that's kind of the animosity and the divide that we're talking about here.
And is that from God? No.
I want to make that clear.
God sets up these dietary laws to set his people apart,
and the Jewish people ran with that even further
and came up with things like what I just said.
So, what's the point about the food?
Have you ever wondered about that?
Like, why did God say,
You can't eat these foods.
You must have your cloth of these different strands.
You can't have tattoos.
Like, all those Levitical laws,
not the Mosaic law,
not the laws of the Ten Commandments.
But, have you ever wondered,
What was the point of why God did all that?
And are those things still in place today?
And a lot of people would say,
It's for health reasons,
as far as circumcision and food goes.
And there might be some legitimacy to that.
But the bigger thing that I want you to get
is that God was setting his people apart.
So, turn with me to Leviticus 11,
just so you can kind of see with your own eyes.
And then look down at verse 43.
Okay.
So, what's the point of all these laws?
What's the point of all these rules?
And so, in Leviticus 11,
God very clearly points it out.
Okay, this is okay.
This is not okay.
Here's why this is not okay.
Here's this is okay.
This is not okay to eat.
So, he keeps going.
It's very, very specific.
And then in verse 43 of Leviticus 11,
it says,
You shall not make yourselves
detestable with any swarming thing that swarms,
and you shall not defile yourselves with them
and become unclean through them.
So, here it is.
Verse 44.
For I am the Lord your God.
Consecrate yourselves, therefore,
and be holy, for I am holy.
You shall not defile yourselves
with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.
So, you get that 44 at the very beginning
where he says,
For.
So, it's basically like God's saying,
For this reason.
He just listed off all these animals,
and now God's saying,
Do you want to know why I'm saying this?
This is why.
I'm saying that you can be set apart
so that the other nations could look
at the nation of God in Israel
and see that they dressed differently,
that they ate differently,
that all their customs were different,
but those things were meant to be
a shadow of how God was making them holy
and set apart as a people.
So, this reflects to us something
about the nature of God,
that God has a concern for holiness.
These strict laws,
they point out to God how,
they point us out
how God has a big concern
about his people being set apart
and being different.
So, going back to Cornelius,
he is not those things.
He's not circumcised.
It's unlikely that he prescribed
to the Jewish dietary law.
So, if you are Peter,
if you're a Jew,
if you're looking at Cornelius,
let's just be honest,
even though he's got this good record,
he's unclean, right?
Like, he's not clean before God.
And that even came down to the fact
that, like, a Jew would not touch
the glass of a Gentile
after he had put it to his mouth
because it was then,
at that point,
considered unclean.
So, isn't Cornelius hopeless
in the eyes of a law?
Like, what hope is there for Cornelius?
What hope is there for this man
to be saved, to be forgiven?
Is there any hope for him?
In the eyes of a law or the Jew,
there's no hope for him, right?
There is this barrier
that's separating Cornelius
from being forgiven
and being a son of God.
And with that,
we need to talk about how
we're similar to Cornelius
in that same spot.
There is a barrier
between us and God.
The fact that
if you are in Christ right now,
at one point,
you were considered unclean.
You were considered unforgiven.
Or if you're not a believer today,
you stand in that spot
where God looks at us
and we're not clean before Him
because God's standard
is holiness and righteousness.
And Cornelius,
it doesn't matter how good he is,
he falls short of that record
because he's not.
He's not righteous
and he's not holy.
And Cornelius,
at this point,
in his own power,
he's hopeless to change.
How does the Bible
describe an unbeliever?
Think about it for a second.
Think about those verses
that you've thought about
where the Bible said,
hey, you were this at one point
before you were in Christ.
How does the Bible describe that?
Surely some of you
are thinking about Ephesians 2, right?
Where it says,
you were dead
in your transgressions and sins.
in the sins in which
you once walked,
following the course of this world,
following the prince
of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work
in the sons of disobedience,
among whom we all once lived
in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires
of the body and the mind,
and were by nature
children of wrath
like the rest of mankind.
God describes us as dead.
So, a dead man can't get up
and change his behavior.
A dead man can't get up
to take a pill
to become healthier.
A dead man is dead.
So, what hope
is there for a dead man?
And maybe that's a state
that we need to remind ourselves of
is that for the unbeliever,
there is no hope
in and of yourself
to change.
Do you remember that time
when you were an unbeliever
or if you still are
where there was things
that you saw about your life
and you felt hopeless
to change those things entirely?
They seem too big.
Even as believers right now,
we still see some of those things
in our lives.
It's like,
I just can't overcome this sin.
I just can't get past this.
I've tried and I've tried
and I've tried
and I can't do it.
It makes me think of
the story that
when I worked,
I still worked there,
but I worked at a
drug and alcohol
treatment center.
It's a 30-day treatment center
where someone,
people fly in
all over the country
and people that are struggling
with different drugs
and alcohol come there.
They live there for 30 days
and then they kind of
go through a rehabilitation process
and then they leave.
And I remember working there
and listening to this story
about this one guy
who was kind of a little bit
of a troublemaker
and he wasn't necessarily
following all the rules
and he was kind of on the line
of whether he was going
to be allowed to stay
because the administration
can make decisions like,
hey, this guy's no good
for this program.
He needs to come back
when he's ready.
And I remember talking to him
and kind of like thinking,
maybe I can get a chance
to just talk to this guy
and just convince him like,
hey man,
this program's going to
save your life.
Like, you go back out
and you could,
this addiction could kill you.
And me just thinking,
all right,
maybe I can say something
to this guy.
And I remember him walking up
and I was talking to him
and I was asking him
how treatment was going
and I said,
what are you going to do
when you leave?
Are you going to go
to an intensive outpatient?
Are you going to go
to sober living?
Like, what are you going to do?
And the guy was like,
he looked at me in the eyes
and he said,
I'm going to go back
to drinking.
Are you kidding me?
Like, I know I have a problem
and I know I'm going to go
right back to the bottle
as soon as I leave.
So I'm just here
to do my time
and do this program
and leave.
And I remember like hearing that
and just the hopelessness
kind of sank in to my heart
and thinking about
what hope is for this guy.
He's pretty much
all but given up on this.
So how is God
going to relentlessly pursue
that attic at Black Bear?
How is God going to
relentlessly pursue
this guy Cornelius
who again,
though his best efforts
still fall short
of God's standard
of holiness
and righteousness.
How is God going
to relentlessly pursue you
if you might still be
living in your sin?
You might be not
as bad as the next guy
but your best actions
still fall short
of God's standard.
And then an even bigger question
is how is Jesus' commandment
at the very end?
What did he say
at the very end
of Matthew 28?
He says,
go and make disciples
of just Jews.
He says,
go and make disciples
of all nations.
So how is that
going to happen
when there's this divide
when Cornelius
is unclean
in the eyes of the law
and the Jews?
So let's pick it up
back in verse 9.
The next day
as they were on their journey
and approaching the city
Peter went up
on the housetop
about the sixth hour
to pray
and he became hungry
and wanted something to eat
but while they were preparing it
he fell into a trance
and saw the heavens opened
and something like
a great sheet descending
being let down
by its four corners
upon the earth.
In it were all kinds
of animals
and reptiles
and birds of the air
and there came
a voice to him
rise Peter
kill and eat.
But Peter said
by no means Lord
for I have never eaten
anything that is common
or unclean.
And the voice came to him
again a second time
what God has made clean
do not call common.
This happened three times
and the thing was taken up
at once to heaven.
Now while Peter
was inwardly perplexed
as to what the vision
that he had seen
might mean
behold the men
who were sent
by Cornelius
having made inquiry
for Simon's house
stood at the gate
and called out
to ask
whether Simon
who was called
Peter
was lodging there.
And while Peter
was pondering the vision
the spirit said to him
behold
three men
are looking for you
rise
and go down
and accompany them
without hesitation
for I have sent them.
And Peter went down
to the men
and said
I'm the one
you are looking for
what is the reason
for your coming?
And they said
Cornelius
a centurion
an upright
and God-fearing man
who is well spoken
of by the whole
Jewish nation
was directed
by a holy angel
to send for you
to come to his house
and hear what you
have to say.
So he invited them
to be his guests.
The next day
he rose
and went away
with them
and some of the brothers
from Joppa
accompanied him
and on the following day
they entered Caesarea.
Cornelius was expecting them
and had called together
his relatives
and close friends.
When Peter entered
Cornelius met him
and fell down
at his feet
and worshipped him.
But Peter lifted him up
saying
stand up
I too am a man
and as he talked
with him
he went in
and found
many persons gathered
and he said to them
you yourselves
know how unlawful
it is for a Jew
to associate with
or to visit anyone
of another nation
but God
has shown me
that I should not
call any person
common or unclean
so when I was sent for
I came without objection
I asked them
why you sent for me
and Cornelius said
four days ago
about this hour
I was praying in my house
at the ninth hour
and behold
a man stood before me
in bright clothing
and said
Cornelius your prayer
has been heard
and your alms
have been remembered
before God
send therefore
to Joppa
and ask for Simon
who is called Peter
he is lodging
in the house
of Simon a tanner
by the sea
so I sent for you
at once
and you have been
kind enough to come
now therefore
we are all here
in the presence of God
to hear all that you
have been commanded
by the Lord
okay
so
real quick
let's look at
Peter's first response
what does he say
he says
so he has this vision
these sheets come down
all animals
of every kind
come down
and it says
rise
kill and eat Peter
and his first response
is by no means Lord
so
let's not jump
on Peter
too quickly
and say
like hey
how dare you
respond to God
like that
Peter's response
is actually
really similar
to the prophet
Daniel
if you think
about it
he objected
to the dietary
he objected
to the food
that he was being
served and said
no I have to
observe my customs
because this food
that you're feeding
me here in Babylon
is unclean
but it's interesting
though
like you and I
have read the rest
of the story
we know what's coming
we know that God's
not just talking
about food
right
we know that God
wasn't just
taking bacon off
the list of things
not to eat
but Peter
if you think
so Peter had
been with Jesus
he had been with
the resurrected Jesus
he had seen
Pentecost come
he had been
preaching to
Samaritans
he had probably
heard the story
about the Ethiopian
eunuch
right
like he's probably
heard all these
things but he
still doesn't
get it
he still doesn't
get that
that through
Christ's work
that divide
is gone
that now
the only thing
that makes us
clean or unclean
in God's sight
is whether we
have believing
faith
in Jesus
he still doesn't
get it
isn't that
interesting
like this is
a thick-headed
dude
but everyone
else is probably
like that
in that same
spot
we see that
because of
all the other
responses
Peter had been
with the
resurrected Jesus
but he still
didn't get it
so what
changed
why is it
that God
is saying
hey you can
eat all these
foods now
doesn't that
seem a little
bit like God
is flip-flopping
right
doesn't it
seem a little
bit like that
doesn't it
seem like God's
changing his
mind
so I would
say no
and here's
why
you know
he said yes
and that's the
end of the
sermon
but no
so
so what
changed
obviously
something
changed
so let me
just as a
little example
so let's
say there
is a father
who has a
five-year-old
son
and his son
is standing
on a cross
from the
street
and it's
a busy
intersection
and his son
is about to
cross the
street
and his father
says don't
know don't
cross
why because
he's five
years old
and that would
be irresponsible
of his dad
to just let
his son cross
this really
busy intersection
okay so
then let's
go forward
ten years
and now his
son is 15
and he's
standing across
the other
side of the
street and
his son and
his dad says
hey like come
on over to
me now
and so then
the son
crosses the
busy intersection
did the
father flip
flop
no you
would just
say the
situation
changed
the son
grew up
things have
changed
things are
different now
and so now
it is appropriate
for his son
to cross the
street
in a similar
way
God is not
changing his
mind but the
fulfillment of
the law has
come and
things have
changed
so if you
have your
ESV Bible
look at
verse 15
so it says
and the voice
came to him
a second time
what God has
made clean
do not call
common
so we're
actually kind
of at a
loss for our
ESV translation
the NASB
renders this
what God
has cleansed
no longer
call unclean
so God
is changing
things
did he change
it right at
that moment
no
the truth
is that
he changed
it with
Jesus
and the
thing is
that we
can
if you're
really
thinking
about it
Jesus
was saying
this the
whole time
flip over
to Mark
starting in
chapter 2
okay so
the point
that I'm
getting at
in this
text is
that I'm
saying that
it kind
of appears
a little
bit like
Jesus is
disregarding
a lot
of laws
like that's
kind of
what is
the friction
between him
and the
Pharisees
a lot
of the
times
so we're
not going
to read
all these
verses
but I'm
just going
to have
you
follow me
here
so
this
in chapter
2
at the
very end
of 23
he's
going
through
and his
disciples
are walking
through a
grain field
and they're
picking grain
and they're
eating it
and the
Pharisees
have an
issue
with that
and they're
like why
are you
guys eating
on the
Sabbath
they had
very strict
rules
about what
you could
and could
not do
on the
Sabbath
how far
you could
walk
what kind
of work
you could
do
in order
to keep
the
Sabbath
day
holy
and
Jesus
gives them
this example
of don't
you know
the story
of when
David
did this
when David
ate
the bread
of the
priest
and then
the verse
that I want
to draw your
attention to
is verse
27
and he says
for the
Sabbath
so the
son of
man
is Lord
even of
the
Sabbath
and then
keep looking
at verse
chapter 3
there's this
situation
where this
guy has
this
withered
hand
and
Jesus
is about
to heal
this man
with withered
hand
but he
knows
what the
Pharisees
are thinking
they don't
want him
to heal
it
because
they think
that that's
something
blasphemous
that he's
doing
but instead
he does
heal
and they
get mad
and then
flip over
a couple
pages
to chapter
7
now this
is the
kicker
that's so
important
to get
look at
chapter 7
verse 14
so
Jesus
says
and he
called the
people to
him again
and said
to them
hear me
all of
you
and
understand
there is
nothing
outside a
person
that by
going
into
him
can
defile
him
but the
things
that come
out of
a person
are what
defile
him
whoa
that's so
not in
line with
what we
just looked
at in
Leviticus
right
like that's
Jesus
don't you
know your
Old Testament
don't you
know that
yes it
is
what
defiles
a person
like
no no no
you're
wrong
like
you eat
these meats
you eat
these different
types of
animals
and that
defiles you
that makes
you unclean
in the eyes
of the law
so is
Jesus
seemingly
disregarding
these laws
it seems
like it
right
like if
you look
at it
first glance
and you
really look
at Leviticus
and you
look at
to now
it seems
like Jesus
is disregarding
this
so
how is
he not
how is it
that Jesus
is right
in what
he does
what
is the
point of
these laws
what is the
point of
these Leviticus
laws
what is the
point of
all these
laws
it's really
made pretty
clear
the disciples
seem to
get it
in Acts
you can
flip back
over to
Acts 10
where we're
going to
kind of
pick back
up there
but
earlier in
Acts 3
they quote
Moses
from Deuteronomy
and they
said
Moses
even said
this at
one point
Moses
even said
that the
Lord
God
will raise
up for
you a
prophet
like me
from your
brothers
you shall
listen to
him
in whatever
he tells
you
it shall
be that
every soul
who does
not listen
to that
prophet
shall be
destroyed
from the
people
so Moses
is actually
talking about
Jesus
he's talking
about how
Jesus is going
to be the
fulfillment
of all these
laws
so they're
pointing to
Jesus
so I guess
that begs another
question of
what's the
point of the
law
Romans 7
Paul talks
about the
law being
kind of like
a mirror to
you to show
you how
filthy you
are
Paul says
if I
didn't
have
the
law
I
wouldn't
know
that
I
was
in
sin
if
someone
didn't
say
hey
you can't
rob a
store
I
wouldn't
know
that
it's
wrong
to
not
rob
a
store
so
the
law
acts
as
a
mirror
the
most
the
big
point
here
is
that
Moses
and
the
prophets
they
all
are
pointing
to
an
event
they're
all
pointing
to
Jesus
is
coming
so when
Jesus
shows up
on the
scene
it's
like
the
Pharisees
like
they're
missing
it
they're
missing
the
thing
that
the
law
was
supposed
to
point
them
towards
Jesus
is
the
fulfillment
of all
these
things
if
you've
heard it
said
that
a
huge
point
of
the
law
was
to
show
us
how
we
couldn't
keep
it
that
that's
a
huge
purpose
of
the
Leviticus
law
all
these
rules
isn't
that
why
Jesus
says
hey
unless
your
righteousness
surpasses
that
of
the
scribes
and
Pharisees
the
guys
that
kept
all
these
rules
that
kept
all
the
dietary
laws
down
to
the
minute
details
and
Jesus
is
saying
you
have
to
are
hopeless
just
like
Cornelius
okay
so
what's
Peter's
second
response
so
Peter
hears
this
he soon
realized
this is
about
more
than
food
that
God's
doing
here
and
his
response
is
complete
obedience
he
understands
that
this
vision
is
more
than
about
food
we
see
that
in
verse
28
he
says
you
yourselves
know
how
unlawful
it is
for a
Jew
to
associate
with
or
to
visit
anyone
of
another
nation
but
God
has
shown
me
that
I
should
not
call
any
person
common
or
unclean
which
is
a little
weird
because
that
vision
was
about
foods
but
Peter
is
smart
enough
to
make
the
connection
oh
you're
not
just
talking
about
food
right
now
you're
talking
about
all
people
so
what
does
he
do
he
does
two
things
that
would
be
in
violation
of
Jewish
law
verse
23
so
he
invited
them
in
to
be
his
guests
these
are
Gentiles
and
Jews
are
not
supposed
to
house
Gentiles
inside
their
home
the
next
thing
that
we
see
is
that
he
walks
with
them
from
Joppa
where
Peter
is
to
Caesarea
which
is
about
40
miles
and
that's
not
something
a
Jewish
person
is
supposed
to
do
with
a
Gentile
so
Peter
gets
that
he
has
to
be
completely
!
obedient
to
this
he
understands
that
his
way
of
doing
things
is
subservient
to
what
God
says
his
traditions
the
things
that
he
holds
close
he
lets
those
go
to
be
obedient
to
God
that's
his
response
to
outsiders
Peter
he
allows
his
reputation
to
be
tarnished
in the
eyes
of
other
people
because
he's
being
seen
with
Gentiles
he's
hosting
them
in
his
home
but
his
response
is
complete
obedience
what
is
our
response
to
in a
similar
way
to
those
what
we
would
consider
taboos
what
would
be
our
response
to
outsiders
college
students
what
is
your
response
towards
those
that
have
a
different
lifestyle
than
you
and
choose
to
party
and
drink
and
what
about
what's
your
response
towards
those
that
are
socially
awkward
that
aren't
inside
your
friend
group
we
see
God
relentlessly
pursuing
Cornelius
and even
more so
relentlessly
pursuing
Peter
to get
him
to
understand
God's
greater
purpose
here
and
Peter
submits
that
to
God
are
you
submitting
your
preferences
your
taboos
the
people
that
you
most
easily
jive
with
like
are
you
submitting
those
to
God
for
the
sake
of
pursuing
those
for
the
kingdom
what
about
parents
what about
those who
choose to
raise their
children
differently
than you
are you
letting go
of your
preferences
for the
kingdom
and glory
of God
are you
pursuing
those that
choose to
raise their
children
differently
than you
that have
a different
household
than you
that come
from broken
homes
and you're
not used
to that
in the
midst
of a
really
divided
political
season
what's
your
response
to those
that are
on the
opposite
end of
the
political
spectrum
than you
when you
read the
news
articles
and you
start to
get
frustrated
and your
blood
starts to
boil
are you
praying for
those people
when you
encounter
someone
are you
seeing
the bigger
purpose
here
that
God's
desire
is that
all
nations
and all
peoples
would be
sons
and daughters
the list
could go
on and
on
okay
I'm
going to
wrap it
up I
promise
let's
look at
verse
34
so
Peter
opened his
mouth and
said
truly I
understand
that God
shows no
partiality
but in
every nation
anyone who
fears him
and does
what is
right is
acceptable
to him
as for
the word
that he
sent to
Israel
preaching
good news
of peace
through
Jesus
Christ
he is
Lord of
all
you
yourselves
know
what
happened
throughout
all
Judea
beginning
from
Galilee
after
the
baptism
that
God
that
John
proclaimed
how
God
anointed
Jesus
of
Nazareth
with
the
Holy
Spirit
and
with
power
he
went
about
doing
good
and
healing
all
who
were
oppressed
!
by the
devil
for
God
is
with
him
and
we
are
witnesses
!
of
all
that
he
did
both
in
the
country
of
the
Jews
and
in
Jerusalem
they
put him
to
death
by
hanging
him
on
a
tree
but
God
raised
him
up
on
the
third
day
and
made
him
to
appear
not
to
all
the
people
but
to
us
who
have
been
chosen
by
God
as
witnesses
who
ate
and
drank
with
him
after
he
rose
from
the
dead
and
he
commanded
us
to
preach
to
the
people
and
testify
that
he
is
the
one
!
appointed
!
Is it
Peter's
personal
testimony?
Is it
about
Peter
saying
I
denied
Jesus
and
he
restored
me?
Is it
about
how
I
once
was a
drunkard
and
then
I
came
to
Jesus
because
he
healed
me?
Or
is it
that
I
got
a
better
life
from
Jesus
and
I
found
my
happiness
in
Jesus?
That's
not
the
message
that
Peter
preaches.
I'm
not
saying
that
those
are
bad
messages.
!
But
when
Peter's
given
the
shot
by
Cornelius
he
says
hey
we're
all
here
my
whole
household
is
here
my
neighbors
are
here
my
co-workers
are
here
we
hear
there's
a
message
you
got
to
preach
Peter
understands
it's
go
time
and
he
doesn't
preach
his
testimony
he
doesn't
preach
how
God
has
given
him
a
better
life
though
some
of
those
things
may
or
may
not
be
true
but
he
preaches
the
life
the
death
and
the
resurrection
of
Jesus
that
is
crucial
to
understand
so
when
you're
given
that
moment
when
someone's
asking
you
what's
the
hope
that
you
have
what
makes
you
different
what
is
it
that
you
fall
back
on
again
personal
experience
is
great
I'm
not
saying
that's
a
bad
thing
but
I'm
saying
Peter
sees
this
as
an
opportunity
to
preach
the
gospel
so
that's
what
he
does
we
see
that
in
verse
38
he
talks
about
how
God
anointed
Jesus
we
see
him
talking
about
his
life
how
he
was
perfect
how
he
healed
people
from
diseases
we
see
him
talk
about
his
death
we
see
him
talk
about
his
resurrection
in
verse
40
and
then
there's
this
purpose
that's
big
for
us
to
understand
in
verse
42
it
says
and
he
commanded
!
That's a whole
other sermon
right there
the message
that we're
preaching
is of
his
life
his
death
and
his
resurrection
and
for
what
purpose
because
he's
coming
to
judge
the
living
and
the
dead
every
single
person
that's
ever
existed
on
the
earth
God
will
be
the
judge
and
that
everyone
who
believes
in
his
name
would
receive
forgiveness
of
sins
Christians
like
that's
our
message
that's
the
gospel
message
that
we're
sharing
that
we're
carrying
to
our
co-workers
and to
our
friends
and our
family
okay
and then
finishing up
in verse
44
while
Peter was
still saying
these things
the Holy
Spirit
fell on
all who
heard
the
word
and
the
believers
from
among
the
circumcised
who
had
come
with
Peter
were
amazed
because
the
gift
of
the
Holy
Spirit
was
poured
out
even
on
the
Gentiles
for
they
were
hearing
them
speaking
in
tongues
and
extolling
God
then
Peter
declared
can
anyone
withhold
water
from
baptizing
these
people
who
have
received
the
Holy
Spirit
just
as
we
have
and
he
commanded
them
to be
baptized
in the
name
of
Jesus
Christ
then
they
asked
him
to
remain
for
some
days
which
is
really
interesting
because
the
Holy
Spirit
interrupts
Peter's
message
!
it
seems
a little
rude
and
does
it
remind
you
of
any
event
that's
happened
maybe
a few
chapters
ago
does
it
remind
you
of
Pentecost
so
specifically
in this
text
that's
opening up
the can
of
the Holy
Spirit
being poured
out on
unbelievers
and
speaking in
tongues
that's a
whole other
conversation
but in
this text
specifically
what is
the point
of the Holy
Spirit
being poured
out on
this way
on the
Gentiles
doesn't it
confirm
something
to the
Jews
who think
that salvation
can't come
to the
Gentiles
unless
they're
circumcised
it reveals
to them
the Holy
Spirit
was poured
out on
them
after
what
after
they
just
heard
the
message
and
received
it
so
it's
undeniable
to these
witnessing
Jews
that the
Holy
Spirit
is
poured
out
that
it's
for
all
people
that
they
don't
need
to
clean
up
their
life
that
God
invites
them
exactly
where
they
are
you've
heard
it said
that God
accepts
you
just as
you are
that's
not
true
God
invites
you
exactly
where
you
are
and that's
what he
does
here
so
in summary
what does
this tell
us about
the heart
of God
we've
talked
about
how God
is
relentlessly
pursuing
sinners
of all
kinds
we're
seeing
here
that
God
relentlessly
pursues
sinners
of all
nations
gosh
this is
where
I said
earlier
that I
feel
like
you
could
have
six
different
sermons
talking
about
God
has
this
heart
for
the
nations
not
just
one
group
of
people
not
just
the
Jewish
people
not
just
Americans
not
just
people
that
align
with
western
thought
but
all
peoples
does
your
heart
ache
to
see
different
cultures
and
people
saved
gosh
it's
I
just
like
you
and
me
God
crosses
these
social
taboos
Peter
crosses
these
social
taboos
it's
some
people
will try
to
compare
this
divide
between
Jews
and
Gentiles
to
maybe
some
of
the
segregation
stuff
that
happened
here
in the
United
States
in the
1960s
and
70s
and
it's
not
comparable
I get
that there's
prejudice
there
but
this
was
something
that
was
established
by
God
early
in the
Old
Testament
and
then
God
abolishes
it
with
the
coming
of
Jesus
so
yes
there's
prejudice
that's
what's
common
with that
movement
or that
line of
thought
but
this is
not
comparable
and
I say
that
to
say
if
God
removed
the
divide
between
the
Jews
and
the
Gentiles
what
divide
are you
putting
up
right
now
between
you
and
another
people
group
someone
who's
of a
different
culture
someone
who's
of
different
traditions
are you
putting
that
if
God
hasn't
are you
doing
it
right
now
and
I'm
asking
do
we
mirror
this
God
has
this
relentless
pursuit
of
sinners
do
you
see
that
in
your
own
life
if
you
do
praise
God
and
ask
him
to
give
you
more
of
that
if
you
don't
fall
on
your
face
as
you
go
home
and
ask
God
to
give
you
a
heart
for
that
a
heart
that
relentlessly
proactively
pursues
that
doesn't
wait
for
them
to
come
to
us
but
that
goes
out
are
we
doing
that
in
Gainesville
in
Dahlonega
are
you
guys
doing
that
in
your
community
groups
are
you
guys
asking
those
questions
how
can
we
relentlessly
pursue
the
lost
around
us
just
like
God
do
we
mirror
that
what
about
even
here
this
morning
do
you
fall
back
into
your
clique
of
people
that
you
feel
!
comfortable
talking
to
there's
going
to be
a
time
when
we're
going
to
be
in
heaven
we're
going
to
have
all
the
fellowship
in the
world
to
talk
to
each
other
and
I
loved
how
Jerry
mentioned
that
a month
ago
about
one
of the
beautiful
things
about
Christians
is
the
fellowship
and
how
he
just
likes
to
sit
back
and watch
that
happen
and
that
needs
to
happen
but
we
also
need
to
have
this
point
where
we
are
relentlessly
pursuing
those
who
are
even
in
our
midst
today
so
I
pray
that
for us
I pray
that
for us
as a
church
that
we
would
be
marked
by
that
kind
of
relentless
pursuit
let's
pray