1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,560 Your faithfulness is amazing. 2 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:07,800 Your faithfulness is great. 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:13,120 And so often we have forgotten that, we have not recognized that, we have gone our own 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:17,760 way and you continue to love us, you continue to care for us. 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,360 Guide and bless us as we open up your word this morning. 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,980 In your name we pray, amen. 7 00:00:23,980 --> 00:00:32,240 If you've ever driven through the traffic spot known as Brainerd Road, over there, you 8 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:38,840 know, maybe you've seen the flashing red light that says Hot and Ready at the Krispy Kreme. 9 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,200 You know where I'm talking about? 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:42,800 Okay. 11 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:48,340 If you've been in that area, you may or may not have realized that you were in the vicinity 12 00:00:48,340 --> 00:00:53,820 of a former Native American mission. 13 00:00:53,820 --> 00:01:00,880 Brainerd Road is named after a famous missionary to the Native Americans named David Brainerd. 14 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:07,600 Now David Brainerd was not in this area, but before our nation was even a nation in the 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:14,940 early 1700s, he was a missionary to the Native Americans in the vast wilderness known as 16 00:01:14,940 --> 00:01:20,280 New England and New Jersey, because that was the border of the colony in that time. 17 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:26,240 Now David Brainerd, he was converted to be a Christian when he was about 16 or so, and 18 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:32,840 from a very early age he felt called to serve as a missionary to the Native Americans. 19 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:38,320 Even though shortly after he was converted, he began to suffer sickness from recurring 20 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,640 tuberculosis that he had. 21 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:47,080 So about five years from his time that he was finished with his schooling, he was serving 22 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:53,880 these Native American villages in that area of New England and New Jersey until he died 23 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:58,960 at the age of 29 in 1747. 24 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,480 He had a heart for others. 25 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:07,760 He had eyes for others as he would ride his horse from village to village, and he would 26 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,040 take to them the message of Jesus. 27 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:18,280 As he lay sick at night, coughing, as he came back from time to time to regain his strength, 28 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:23,200 he would go back out until finally he died at the age of 29. 29 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,680 He had a heart and he had eyes for others. 30 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:32,700 Now there's a song, a Christian song by an artist named Brandon Heath, and in that song 31 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:36,440 there's a line that says, give me your eyes. 32 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:41,400 Give me your eyes, and the song says, give me your eyes for just a minute. 33 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:47,480 Give me your love for humanity, the song goes on to say. 34 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,900 Is that a song that we could sing? 35 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:54,060 Is that a prayer that we would be praying? 36 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:58,020 Is that a prayer that is answered in our own life? 37 00:02:58,020 --> 00:03:03,340 Do we look at others through the eyes of Jesus? 38 00:03:03,340 --> 00:03:08,300 Do we look at others the same way that Jesus does? 39 00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:15,220 Even in the early church, there was need of miraculous intervention for them to want to 40 00:03:15,220 --> 00:03:18,520 look at others the way that Jesus did. 41 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:24,640 We are continuing in Acts today, so we're going to start in Acts 1 verse 8, and I'm 42 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:29,440 going to tell you that after today we're going to step away from the book of Acts for a little 43 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:35,640 bit because in the fall we're planning to do some outreach, some evangelism, and so 44 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:39,920 over the summer we're going to look at some different topics, some different things, but 45 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:45,680 we have been looking at the early church, and so we're going to go to 1 Acts chapter 46 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:50,960 1 and verse 8 because we've talked about this a lot because this is kind of the table 47 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:52,960 of contents you could say. 48 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:59,760 This lays out what happens in the book of Acts, and it says, but you shall receive power 49 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,320 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 50 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:07,200 We've talked about this before, that we receive something from the Holy Spirit. 51 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:13,760 We receive power, and it's not just for fun, it's not just for ourselves, but we can receive 52 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,920 power to be witnesses. 53 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:23,400 And then it lists some different locations, and the book of Acts follows these locations. 54 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,240 You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem. 55 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,680 That was Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, and 56 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:36,080 3,000 souls were baptized, and then it talks about 5,000, and then it talks about the group 57 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:44,160 multiplying, and then it says, in all Judea and Samaria, and it took them a little while, 58 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,000 but I think the last time we looked at Acts, which was like a month ago because we had 59 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,720 a guest speaker, we looked at Acts chapter 8, which told the story of Philip. 60 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,440 Does anybody remember where Philip went? 61 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,120 He went to the desert eventually, but first he went to Samaria, and then he followed the 62 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,660 guidance of the angel and went into the wilderness and found someone from Ethiopia and shared 63 00:05:07,660 --> 00:05:09,080 the gospel with them. 64 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:14,800 And so now they're going to Judea and Samaria, but it took persecution. 65 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:21,320 If you remember that, the Christians were driven out of Jerusalem, and it took persecution. 66 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,640 And then it says, to the ends of the earth. 67 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:30,360 Now when we last left our people in Acts, they hadn't done that. 68 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:35,840 They had gone to Judea and Samaria, but we're going to pick up the story in Acts chapter 69 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:41,680 10, and we're going to see where they begin to go to the ends of the earth. 70 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:48,320 It's actually Peter, which is first called to begin to make these changes, to make this 71 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,340 cross-cultural evangelism. 72 00:05:51,340 --> 00:05:58,440 And as Peter did this, this idea of crossing a cultural barrier became legit in the eyes 73 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,500 of the church. 74 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:05,040 Now there's one character in the book of Acts who's kind of known as the apostle to the 75 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:06,040 Gentiles. 76 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:07,040 Who's that? 77 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,040 Anybody remember? 78 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,040 Paul. 79 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:16,720 So even before Paul begins to go to the Gentiles, because Paul's a new guy, Peter is the one 80 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:18,720 that begins to make it legit. 81 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,840 And you may or may not have noticed, I'm going to guess you didn't notice, that we skipped 82 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:23,840 Acts chapter 9. 83 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:28,120 And I'm just going to tell you, eventually we're going to come back to Acts, and we're 84 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:33,120 going to pick up in Acts chapter 9, because that tells the conversion of Saul, who became 85 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:34,120 Paul. 86 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:40,000 So we're going to skip that for today, and we're going to go to Acts chapter 10. 87 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:45,260 But to just set the context, at the end of Acts chapter 9, Peter goes to where Philip 88 00:06:45,260 --> 00:06:46,260 is gone. 89 00:06:46,260 --> 00:06:47,260 He goes to Samaria. 90 00:06:47,260 --> 00:06:50,280 He goes to some of the towns that Philip went to. 91 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:54,920 And as Peter is going, he is working miracles. 92 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:56,740 He's healing people. 93 00:06:56,740 --> 00:07:01,680 He even resurrects someone at the end of Acts chapter 9. 94 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:07,380 There's a lady who is a supporter of others, who helps other people, who certainly has 95 00:07:07,380 --> 00:07:14,800 the eyes and hands of Jesus as she's making clothes and helping those that are in need. 96 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:15,800 What's her name? 97 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:16,800 Dorcas. 98 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:22,040 And in fact, our church and other churches often have a Dorcas society, where people 99 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,880 are helping those that are in need. 100 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,280 But Dorcas actually passes away. 101 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:28,420 She dies. 102 00:07:28,420 --> 00:07:29,940 And they call for Peter. 103 00:07:29,940 --> 00:07:36,780 And Peter prays, and he says, Tabitha, Dorcas, Gazelle, arise. 104 00:07:36,780 --> 00:07:38,120 And she opened up her eyes. 105 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:45,160 And then at the very end of Acts chapter 9, verse 43, it says, he stayed many days in 106 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,160 Joppa with Simon the tanner. 107 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:49,420 Now keep that in mind. 108 00:07:49,420 --> 00:07:54,480 We're going to pick up this story, because when we get to Acts chapter 10, we're going 109 00:07:54,480 --> 00:08:01,920 to see two stories that happened a couple days apart and about 30 miles apart. 110 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:11,320 But these two stories intersect at the perfect time and the perfect place to make a world-changing 111 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,520 event take place. 112 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,040 So here we are, Acts chapter 10. 113 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,920 Peter, who's he staying with? 114 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,160 Simon the tanner. 115 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:23,720 Now what is a tanner? 116 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:33,440 A tanner is someone who works with skins, who maybe makes saddles or leather or sandals. 117 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,840 So he's working with dead animals. 118 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,160 So it's kind of a stinky job. 119 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:45,820 It's a hot job, because you've got to boil these and dry these and tan these hides. 120 00:08:45,820 --> 00:08:53,840 And because of that, because of their constant contact with dead animals, someone who was 121 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:58,760 in this profession was unclean all the time. 122 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:03,300 Because if you touched a dead body in the Old Testament, there was a certain time period 123 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:06,880 that you would be ceremonially unclean. 124 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:08,480 So Simon, that was his job. 125 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:12,800 So he was always ceremonially unclean. 126 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,600 And Peter is staying with him. 127 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:17,800 But now we're going to go to Acts chapter 10. 128 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:23,920 And it says there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was 129 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,280 called the Italian regiment. 130 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,760 So this Cornelius, he is a centurion. 131 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,380 So he's a military leader, like our veterans. 132 00:09:33,380 --> 00:09:38,720 He would have been over approximately 100 people, a century of people. 133 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,860 One hundred soldiers would have been under his command. 134 00:09:41,860 --> 00:09:44,160 And so he would have been a leader. 135 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,160 He would probably have served with them in battle. 136 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:48,920 They would have respected him. 137 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:50,680 They would have listened to him. 138 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:53,760 And it says he was from the Italian regiment. 139 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:58,000 So he was from his name and from his location. 140 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,920 He would have been a Gentile. 141 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,440 He would have been an outsider. 142 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:09,900 He would not have been popular among the Jewish people because he was an occupying army. 143 00:10:09,900 --> 00:10:11,480 He was a Gentile. 144 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:12,480 He was a pagan. 145 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:14,060 All these different things. 146 00:10:14,060 --> 00:10:17,820 And yet verse two, it describes him a little more. 147 00:10:17,820 --> 00:10:23,980 It says he was a devout man and one who feared God with all of his household. 148 00:10:23,980 --> 00:10:28,920 So somehow Cornelius had begun to learn about the true God. 149 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,100 And he was a follower of God. 150 00:10:31,100 --> 00:10:32,640 And he even gave gifts. 151 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,280 He gave alms generously to the people. 152 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,360 And he prayed to God always. 153 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,800 That's a pretty good testimony about somebody. 154 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,240 I wish, I hope that they could say that about me. 155 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:45,240 That I'm generous. 156 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,280 That I am praying to God. 157 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,120 And so that's who Cornelius was as he's praying to God. 158 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:53,880 And something happens. 159 00:10:53,880 --> 00:11:00,080 He is in the town of Caesarea, which is on the coast, up high on the coast here. 160 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,520 And down here at the bottom or in the middle is the town of Joppa. 161 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,860 So that's kind of the two places that this is happening. 162 00:11:06,860 --> 00:11:09,220 That's where Cornelius is. 163 00:11:09,220 --> 00:11:14,420 And then something also happens in Joppa because that's where Simon the Tanner lived. 164 00:11:14,420 --> 00:11:21,920 So we go to verse 3 and it says, about the ninth hour of the day, ninth hour. 165 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:22,920 What time is that? 166 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:24,920 That's not 9 a.m. 167 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,240 It's not 9 p.m. 168 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,580 It's the ninth hour of the daylight. 169 00:11:29,580 --> 00:11:31,880 So it's about 3 p.m. or so. 170 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:36,640 And this is usually the time of the evening sacrifice if you see that mentioned. 171 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,320 So it's approximately around 3 p.m. 172 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:47,120 If noon is the sixth hour, nine is about, the ninth hour is about 3 p.m. 173 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,040 So this is the time of prayer, the time of sacrifice. 174 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:59,680 And it says, Cornelius saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, 175 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:01,200 Cornelius. 176 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:09,040 So an angel comes to him as he's having this prayer and the angel knows who he is. 177 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:13,320 There's something really cool when someone knows your name. 178 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:18,720 If you haven't seen somebody for a while and they know who you are, they recognize your 179 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:20,000 name. 180 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,480 I think I mentioned this a few weeks ago. 181 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:25,720 I was at the Pathfinder Camperee for an afternoon doing some videos. 182 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,760 There's going to be a camp meeting next week. 183 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:35,520 And as I was walking amongst those Pathfinders, a couple different times I heard somebody 184 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,440 say, Pastor Greg, Pastor Greg. 185 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,760 And I turn and look and it was someone who had formerly been a student when I was a teacher 186 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:49,440 at GCA and now they were a Pathfinder leader at various locations across the campus. 187 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,800 And they knew my name. 188 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:59,520 But on a couple of those incidents, I had to say, remind me of your name because they 189 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,800 had grown, they had changed, and it was a long time ago. 190 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:07,980 And so it was special to me that they knew my name and it was a little disheartening 191 00:13:07,980 --> 00:13:11,000 that I didn't always remember their name. 192 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:19,400 But in this case, Cornelius is praying and the angel comes and says, Cornelius, God knows 193 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:20,600 his name. 194 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:27,960 And it goes on and says, when he observed him, when he saw this angel, he was afraid 195 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,200 and said, what is it, Lord? 196 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:36,080 And so he said to him, your prayers and your alms, your gifts have come up for a memorial 197 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:37,920 before God. 198 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:45,160 And then it says, now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. 199 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:49,600 And the next verse even says where Simon is staying, with Simon the tanner. 200 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:56,200 So God knew Cornelius' name, God knew Simon Peter's name, and he knew the address. 201 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:03,120 That's really awesome to remember that God knows who we are and he knows where we are. 202 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,240 Now it mentioned another city. 203 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:07,360 Where was Simon the tanner? 204 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,240 Where did he live? 205 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:10,560 Joppa. 206 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,840 Now Joppa, we saw that was on the coast. 207 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:19,640 Joppa is probably most known as a town where somebody left. 208 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:24,320 You sometimes hear people say, that's a good place to be from, meaning you don't live there 209 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:25,320 anymore. 210 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:31,560 As someone from Tennessee, we would say Alabama is a good place to be from, meaning you've 211 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:32,560 left that. 212 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:36,840 I apologize for those that are from Alabama or fans or whatever. 213 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:44,400 But Joppa was known because someone left Joppa. 214 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:52,400 In the Old Testament, there was a prophet of God who God told, go to preach to Nineveh. 215 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:57,720 And I heard somebody say it, Jonah, the prophet of God, did not go to Nineveh. 216 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:04,160 Instead, he went to Joppa on the coast and he got on a boat so that he could sail all 217 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:10,120 the way across the Mediterranean Sea and get as far away from Nineveh as he possibly could. 218 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:11,360 And you know how that story ends. 219 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,600 There's a storm that blows up. 220 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,880 Jonah tells the people to throw him into the ocean or into the sea and a great fish comes 221 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:20,520 and swallows Jonah. 222 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:27,520 And so in that story, you have a prophet of God fleeing from Joppa to get away from where 223 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:29,440 God wants him to go. 224 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:38,440 But in this story, we see a pagan military leader who obeys God and sends his men to 225 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,520 Joppa to find Peter. 226 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:49,400 Because in this vision, this angel tells him to send men to Joppa and find this man named 227 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:50,440 Peter. 228 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,520 And so that's the ninth hour, so about three o'clock. 229 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:59,500 So apparently they must have set out immediately and begun this 30-mile journey. 230 00:15:59,500 --> 00:16:02,720 It's about a 30-mile trip between those two places. 231 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,280 And then we come to part two of the story. 232 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,280 And we can look at it in verse nine. 233 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:16,800 Verse nine, it says, the next day, let me get there, verse nine, the next day as they 234 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:22,680 went on their journey and drew near the city, so they'd left, they'd spent the night somewhere, 235 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:26,360 they'd woken up early to continue their journey. 236 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:36,280 And at just the perfect time, 30 miles away, the day after, here we have Peter on the housetop 237 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:37,280 to pray. 238 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,560 It seems to be a theme in this story. 239 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:45,580 Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. 240 00:16:45,580 --> 00:16:48,840 So the sixth hour of daylight, what time is that? 241 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:49,840 It's about noon. 242 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:51,360 It's pretty hot at noon. 243 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,440 The sun is straight above. 244 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,800 It's the beginning of the hottest part of the day. 245 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:03,320 And it says, it goes on in verse 10, that he became very hungry and he wanted to eat. 246 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,480 And while they were preparing lunch, he fell into a trance. 247 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,520 He had a dream. 248 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,480 Or he had a vision as well. 249 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:18,880 Now, I actually had the privilege of being at Joppa, at Simon the Tanner's house. 250 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:20,960 It's very close to modern day Tel Aviv. 251 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,160 It's right on the coast. 252 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:30,200 So you can imagine being on the top of a house overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. 253 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:35,320 If you've been to the lake or the sea, you know, it smells a little different. 254 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:39,760 It's got that fishy smell that is just really good. 255 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,820 It's got that ocean smell that people love. 256 00:17:43,820 --> 00:17:49,700 And I can imagine Peter looking out and seeing sails on the Mediterranean Sea. 257 00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:56,560 Maybe his mind goes back to his days as a fisherman, on a ship, on a boat, casting nets 258 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:03,000 into the water, the smells, the breeze, the sun, the wind. 259 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,480 And maybe his mind goes back to when God called him from that. 260 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:14,240 Jesus called him from that and said, you're not going to be a fisher of fish anymore because 261 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,000 I have called you to be a fisher of men. 262 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:25,880 And at this time, as they're preparing lunch for him, Peter, it says, falls into a trance, 263 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:27,520 has a vision. 264 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:32,800 And you can read through that and it says, he saw heaven opened in this dream and down 265 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:34,680 comes a sheet. 266 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,880 And this sheet is full of all kinds of animals. 267 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:43,120 It says in verse 12, four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and 268 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:44,740 birds of the air. 269 00:18:44,740 --> 00:18:51,840 And he hears a voice that says to him in verse 13, and the voice says, rise, Peter, kill, 270 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:53,480 and eat. 271 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:59,400 And Peter said, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything. 272 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,680 Then he uses two words, common or unclean. 273 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,360 Common or unclean. 274 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:11,200 And it says, the voice spoke to him again and says, what God has cleansed, you must 275 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:12,200 not call. 276 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,000 What does he say? 277 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,000 Common. 278 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,840 He says, what God has cleansed, don't call it common. 279 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:24,800 And this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven. 280 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:30,140 So I just want to talk about this for just a second because Peter makes it very clear 281 00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:31,140 as this goes on. 282 00:19:31,140 --> 00:19:33,200 This is not talking about food. 283 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:39,880 A few verses later, Peter says, God's shown me that I should not call any man common or 284 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:40,880 unclean. 285 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:47,000 This is verse 28, this is not talking about the menu, he's talking about humanity. 286 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:48,560 And so I just wanted to point that out. 287 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:55,160 The common, like Simon the tanner, he was unclean, he was common because he was spending 288 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,040 so much time with those dead animals. 289 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:05,400 And in their mindset, if a clean animal was there with the unclean, then you could say 290 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,720 they're contaminated. 291 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:09,380 It's rubbed off on them. 292 00:20:09,380 --> 00:20:18,120 And so God is saying, what God has cleansed, you must not call common. 293 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:19,200 That's all I want to say about that. 294 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,640 If you have questions, ask me later. 295 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:28,040 But what I want to point out is that perhaps, perhaps, as Seventh-day Adventists, we have 296 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:34,600 spent so much time trying to show what this does not say, because this doesn't say, because 297 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,680 he's not talking about food here. 298 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:42,660 We spent so much time trying to show what this does not say, that perhaps we've missed 299 00:20:42,660 --> 00:20:45,160 what it actually does say. 300 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:53,680 Because he's talking about how we look at others, how we treat other people, that everybody 301 00:20:53,680 --> 00:21:01,300 is equal in God's eyes, that everybody has a part in the gospel of Jesus, in the free 302 00:21:01,300 --> 00:21:04,140 grace that Jesus wants to pour out. 303 00:21:04,140 --> 00:21:09,200 Because now these two stories come together with perfect timing. 304 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:14,320 Because as Peter's vision is complete, here come the visitors. 305 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:22,320 Verse 19, it says, While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, 306 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:24,480 three men are seeking you. 307 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,540 So the timing is perfect. 308 00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:31,740 Even though these visions happen in different cities on different days, and yet the time 309 00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:38,440 it took for those guys to come from Caesarea to Joppa, it just fit together perfectly for 310 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:43,300 this world-changing interaction to take place. 311 00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:46,800 Peter thought about the vision. 312 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:51,400 The Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are seeking you. 313 00:21:51,400 --> 00:22:00,240 Arise therefore, go down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. 314 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,640 The Spirit says, Here come these guys, go with them. 315 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,640 Don't be afraid. 316 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,180 Doubt nothing, I have sent them. 317 00:22:10,180 --> 00:22:11,640 Go with this group. 318 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,240 They're Gentiles. 319 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:20,440 Normally, the Jews and the Gentiles would not interact, but God is saying, Go with them. 320 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:31,280 I think that as Christians, sometimes we don't want to associate with others that are not 321 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:32,280 Christians. 322 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:38,480 But if Christians are afraid to interact, to associate with unbelievers, then guess 323 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:39,480 what? 324 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,720 The mission of the Gospel is never going to be fulfilled, because somebody's got to talk 325 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:44,720 to somebody. 326 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,560 And if we don't want to talk to anybody, then guess what? 327 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:49,400 They're never going to know. 328 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:57,280 Many people, certainly not in this church, but many people don't even know others who 329 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,480 aren't part of the church. 330 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:04,000 Maybe they sit at the desk next to you at work, but do you know them? 331 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,720 Do we really talk to them? 332 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,160 Do we interact with people? 333 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:13,680 Because if we don't, this mission of the Gospel is never, ever going to be fulfilled. 334 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,400 Let's look at verse 22. 335 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,640 And they said, Peter asked them, Why did you come here? 336 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:24,840 And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, they're giving his resume here. 337 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:26,680 He's a just man. 338 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:28,840 He's one who fears God. 339 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:33,800 He has a good reputation among all the nations of the Jews. 340 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:40,260 He was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words 341 00:23:40,260 --> 00:23:42,040 from you. 342 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,960 I want to look at two things about that. 343 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,440 One, Cornelius had a pretty good resume there. 344 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:50,160 He was a just man. 345 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:55,680 He had a good reputation, but that wasn't enough. 346 00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:01,020 Still there was a divine appointment that needed to be made because Cornelius needed 347 00:24:01,020 --> 00:24:03,200 to learn about Jesus. 348 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,440 Being a good person was not enough. 349 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:11,100 Being a just person was not enough if you're missing that relationship, if you're missing 350 00:24:11,100 --> 00:24:14,720 that reaction with Jesus. 351 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,960 But there's another thing here. 352 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,000 This seems like a whole bunch of steps. 353 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,600 An angel comes to Cornelius. 354 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,600 Cornelius, send your group to go get Peter. 355 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:32,360 And they go get Peter and then bring Peter back because Peter has a message to tell. 356 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:38,240 Couldn't, think about this for a second, couldn't the angel have just told Cornelius 357 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,000 the message? 358 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,920 Why all these extra steps? 359 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:44,280 Why go get Peter? 360 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:45,320 Why send these men? 361 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,480 Why bring Peter back? 362 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,640 Couldn't the angel have just told? 363 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:58,200 I think it's because the message of the cross has to be shared by those who are saved by 364 00:24:58,200 --> 00:24:59,760 the cross. 365 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,680 The angel hadn't experienced what Peter had. 366 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:11,060 And so the angel told them to go find this mistake prone, this sinner, this loud mouth, 367 00:25:11,060 --> 00:25:17,040 this sometimes hot head, go find Peter and have Peter talk about Jesus. 368 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,800 And so that was the invitation. 369 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,120 And that's what they did. 370 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:22,120 Whoops, I went too far. 371 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:27,840 Verse 23, then he invited them in and what did they do? 372 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,680 He lodged them. 373 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:36,840 This Jewish man staying with this tanner and now he's got Gentiles in the house. 374 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:37,840 Have mercy. 375 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,720 This is like, he's breaking so many barriers here. 376 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:47,080 They stay in the house together and it says the next day Peter went away with them and 377 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,180 some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied them. 378 00:25:50,180 --> 00:25:58,040 So they're going back 30 miles to go find Cornelius and eventually they come to Caesarea 379 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,320 and Cornelius is waiting for them it says. 380 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:07,040 And he wasn't just waiting alone but he called his household and his friends and his family 381 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:12,080 and he said, you've got to hear, somebody's going to share a message with us. 382 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:18,880 And when he walks in, in verse 25, it says Cornelius fell down and tried to worship him. 383 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:23,240 And Peter's like, no, no, no, no, I'm just a man. 384 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:24,320 Don't worship me. 385 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,640 This is not what it's all about. 386 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:33,680 And he comes in and they say in verse 28, in verse 27, he talked with them and went 387 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,660 in and found many had come together. 388 00:26:36,660 --> 00:26:39,560 They were ready for something. 389 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:46,720 And he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with 390 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,920 or go to one of another nation. 391 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:58,360 But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 392 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,960 This is Peter's interpretation of that vision. 393 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,160 This is why Peter is there. 394 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:08,720 Because he had a dream, he had a vision, and God showed him not to call any man, not to 395 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,540 call any person common or unclean. 396 00:27:12,540 --> 00:27:19,060 And so we see verse 33, it says, Cornelius is saying, so I sent to you immediately and 397 00:27:19,060 --> 00:27:21,340 you have done well to come. 398 00:27:21,340 --> 00:27:30,440 Now therefore, we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded by you, commanded 399 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,560 you by God. 400 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:35,960 And so Peter is there. 401 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:43,120 And it says in verse 34, I perceive that God shows no partiality. 402 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:47,820 Some versions say God does not show favoritism. 403 00:27:47,820 --> 00:27:55,400 God sees every person in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted 404 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:56,840 by him. 405 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,840 God does not show favoritism. 406 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:01,960 God shows no partiality. 407 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,360 And so Peter stands before that group who is ready. 408 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:11,400 And he tells the story of Jesus, and you can read it in his words, and he tells the story 409 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:18,020 of the cross, and he tells the story of the resurrection like no angel ever could. 410 00:28:18,020 --> 00:28:21,140 Because an angel had never denied Jesus. 411 00:28:21,140 --> 00:28:25,480 An angel had not fallen asleep when Jesus said, please pray with me, I'm about to go 412 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,000 to the cross. 413 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,880 An angel hadn't told a little girl, no, I don't know the man. 414 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:35,080 An angel had not left all to be a fisher of men. 415 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:41,720 An angel hadn't been received back by Jesus, accepted back in spite of his sins. 416 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:47,360 And so Peter was able to tell the story of Jesus in a way that that angel never could. 417 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:53,760 And we can look down to verse 43 and it says, to him, all the prophets witnessed that through 418 00:28:53,760 --> 00:29:03,400 his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins, or will receive forgiveness 419 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:04,400 of sins. 420 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:05,400 Who's that? 421 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:07,800 Who can receive remission of sins? 422 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:09,760 Everybody, whoever. 423 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:10,760 It doesn't matter. 424 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,880 It reminds us of Galatians 3 verse 28. 425 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:15,760 I'm going to turn over to it. 426 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,380 Galatians 3 verse 28. 427 00:29:18,380 --> 00:29:24,240 It says that there is, let me get there, Galatians 3 verse 28. 428 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:36,680 It says there is neither Jew nor Greek nor Palestinian nor slave nor free nor black, 429 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,600 white, Asian, Hispanic. 430 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:40,840 It doesn't matter. 431 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:47,400 There's neither male nor female for you are all one in Jesus. 432 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:52,760 Even in the church from time to time, we have fallen short. 433 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,120 We have acted differently. 434 00:29:55,120 --> 00:30:01,200 We have treated people differently because of some outward appearance or because of some 435 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,120 past action. 436 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:06,880 But the Bible tells us God does not show favoritism. 437 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,840 That whoever comes to him, it doesn't matter what their past is, it doesn't matter what 438 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:21,280 their present is, but we are recognized that we can be saved by the grace of Jesus. 439 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,360 Whoever comes to him. 440 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:28,280 And that most famous verse of the Bible, perhaps John 3 verse 16, what does it say? 441 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:40,840 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him should 442 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,520 not perish but will have everlasting life. 443 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,000 Whoever believes. 444 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:53,200 Forgive us Lord for the time that we have fallen short. 445 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:58,280 Forgive us for the times that we have treated someone differently. 446 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:03,400 Back in Acts chapter 10 it says while Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit 447 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:08,600 fell upon all those who heard the word. 448 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:14,280 The Gentiles were able to be baptized. 449 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:22,880 As you go to Acts chapter 11 after this baptism took place, Peter goes to Jerusalem and the 450 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:27,200 people in Jerusalem are like, what did we hear that you did? 451 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,020 You had these people stay at the house with you? 452 00:31:30,020 --> 00:31:35,680 You went and you baptized this Gentile, this Roman centurion? 453 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:42,160 And most of Acts chapter 11 is Peter explaining the story, telling of the visions, telling 454 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:47,520 how God does not show favoritism, telling all of these things that happen. 455 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:54,440 And then it says in Acts 11, 17, if therefore God gave them the same gift, the gift of the 456 00:31:54,440 --> 00:32:01,400 Holy Spirit that he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I 457 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,360 could withstand God? 458 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:08,280 If God poured out his Spirit, how could I not baptize them? 459 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:13,920 And then it says when they heard these things, when they heard the whole story, they became 460 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:23,720 silent and they glorified God, saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance 461 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,400 to life. 462 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,360 They began to glorify God. 463 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:30,600 And we can continue to glorify God. 464 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:40,760 I want to look at two verses in Revelation 5 verse 9. 465 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:42,700 Then we're going to look at another one. 466 00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:48,360 Because they began to glorify God because people from all these nations had come together. 467 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:53,040 And in Revelation 5 verse 9, it says, they sung a new song. 468 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,620 This is a throne room of heaven. 469 00:32:55,620 --> 00:33:01,540 They sung a new song saying, you are worthy, O Lamb of God, to take the scroll and to open 470 00:33:01,540 --> 00:33:07,980 its seals, for you were slain and you have redeemed us to God by your blood. 471 00:33:07,980 --> 00:33:15,880 And then it says, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, the worldwide, they 472 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,260 begun to glory. 473 00:33:17,260 --> 00:33:23,120 We can glory in God because that glorifying God is going to continue for all eternity. 474 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:28,980 And then in chapter 7 verse 9, it says, after these things I looked and behold, a great 475 00:33:28,980 --> 00:33:35,120 multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. 476 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:36,120 That's everybody. 477 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:42,640 Whosoever believes standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed with the white 478 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:43,640 robes. 479 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,980 So the question is, have you believed? 480 00:33:46,980 --> 00:33:50,020 Are you included in that whosoever? 481 00:33:50,020 --> 00:33:58,140 Are you included in that nationwide, worldwide acceptance that Jesus has for every person? 482 00:33:58,140 --> 00:34:01,140 I want to close with a story. 483 00:34:01,140 --> 00:34:04,620 The evangelist was preaching in paradise. 484 00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:08,540 He's passed away now, but he was a friend of mine, Ron Halverson, who was famous for 485 00:34:08,540 --> 00:34:15,100 a book, Gangs to God, as he had grown up living in New York City, being part of gangs. 486 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:17,260 He became a powerful evangelist. 487 00:34:17,260 --> 00:34:20,380 And it was probably about 30 years ago he was speaking in Honolulu. 488 00:34:20,380 --> 00:34:22,580 He was speaking in Hawaii. 489 00:34:22,580 --> 00:34:29,380 And he told the story of one night some young people came to the evangelistic meeting. 490 00:34:29,380 --> 00:34:36,460 And one of them in particular was a big kind of a gang member, a Samoan who really didn't 491 00:34:36,460 --> 00:34:39,300 want to have anything to do with this message of truth. 492 00:34:39,300 --> 00:34:44,540 And he only went because somebody invited him and he was ready to just kind of ignore 493 00:34:44,540 --> 00:34:48,340 it, go through that meeting, and go on with his life. 494 00:34:48,340 --> 00:34:53,180 He came expecting to ignore the message. 495 00:34:53,180 --> 00:35:00,680 But that night something unexpected happened because the Spirit was stronger than the swagger 496 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:02,420 of the young man. 497 00:35:02,420 --> 00:35:08,460 And the young man named Sims, he was in that meeting and he heard the words of the Bible. 498 00:35:08,460 --> 00:35:11,820 And he heard about prophecies being fulfilled. 499 00:35:11,820 --> 00:35:15,420 He heard about the signs of the times taking place. 500 00:35:15,420 --> 00:35:20,700 He heard about a Savior who died on the cross dying for his sins. 501 00:35:20,700 --> 00:35:28,580 And this big Samoan who was there to ignore instead surrendered. 502 00:35:28,580 --> 00:35:35,580 Surrendered his life, surrendered his heart, surrendered his drugs, surrendered his attitude. 503 00:35:35,580 --> 00:35:40,260 And before those meetings were over, Sims had been baptized. 504 00:35:40,260 --> 00:35:44,220 And almost immediately, just as he had been a leader of young people, taking them in a 505 00:35:44,220 --> 00:35:49,980 negative direction, he suddenly began to take people in a positive direction and had Bible 506 00:35:49,980 --> 00:35:54,860 studies and was bringing other people to church and other people were being led to Jesus and 507 00:35:54,860 --> 00:35:56,860 other people were being baptized. 508 00:35:56,860 --> 00:36:02,660 And I actually just communicated with Brother Sims just a few weeks ago and he said, I'm 509 00:36:02,660 --> 00:36:09,180 still passionate about Jesus and I still am trying my best to live my life for Jesus and 510 00:36:09,180 --> 00:36:13,100 trying my best to bring someone else. 511 00:36:13,100 --> 00:36:16,900 Trying to have the eyes of Jesus. 512 00:36:16,900 --> 00:36:18,460 You ready to have the eyes of Jesus? 513 00:36:18,460 --> 00:36:24,100 Because Jesus has accepted each one of us and we have an opportunity to share him with 514 00:36:24,100 --> 00:36:27,460 everybody no matter their background, no matter who they are. 515 00:36:27,460 --> 00:36:30,460 Jesus has a place for them. 516 00:36:30,460 --> 00:36:32,340 Let's bow our heads for prayer. 517 00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:39,060 Dear God, thank you so much that whoever believes can come to you. 518 00:36:39,060 --> 00:36:43,780 God, thank you that no matter our past, that you care about us. 519 00:36:43,780 --> 00:36:47,380 No matter our culture, you care about us. 520 00:36:47,380 --> 00:36:51,220 No matter who we are or what we've done, you died for each one of us. 521 00:36:51,220 --> 00:36:55,860 And Lord, it's my prayer that each one of us here will daily accept that sacrifice that 522 00:36:55,860 --> 00:36:57,900 you made on our behalf. 523 00:36:57,900 --> 00:37:09,540 In your name we pray, Amen.