WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:02.950 Over the years, Jeffrey and I have learned that 00:00:02.950 --> 00:00:05.549 the greatest battles we face are usually fought 00:00:05.549 --> 00:00:09.029 in our minds, but won with our mouths. When we've 00:00:09.029 --> 00:00:12.029 chosen to speak God's promises in the face of 00:00:12.029 --> 00:00:14.490 our fears, failures, and problems, we've seen 00:00:14.490 --> 00:00:18.289 God do what only He can do. This truth has changed 00:00:18.289 --> 00:00:21.809 our lives, and it's why we wrote Talk to Your 00:00:21.809 --> 00:00:24.530 Giants, to show you how to fight the good fight 00:00:24.530 --> 00:00:26.750 of faith, speak in agreement with God's Word, 00:00:26.890 --> 00:00:29.170 and discover the victory that comes when you 00:00:29.170 --> 00:00:42.810 stop talking It's week number four in our series 00:00:42.810 --> 00:00:46.429 that we've entitled Never Unnoticed. Everybody 00:00:46.429 --> 00:00:49.710 say double negative. My sister was an English 00:00:49.710 --> 00:00:51.530 teacher. She told me not to use double negatives, 00:00:51.789 --> 00:00:54.609 but I decided this was the best way to get the 00:00:54.609 --> 00:00:59.060 message across because so many people go through 00:00:59.060 --> 00:01:01.420 seasons and times in their lives where they feel 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:05.420 like they are unnoticed. That what they are doing 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:12.239 for God goes unnoticed. But I just want everyone 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:17.659 to know, you are never unnoticed by God. Never 00:01:17.659 --> 00:01:21.400 unnoticed. Now, how many of you have ever seen 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:26.569 the TV show, Candid Camera? You have to be old 00:01:26.569 --> 00:01:29.170 to see a candid camera, I guess. I can't remember 00:01:29.170 --> 00:01:31.010 how long it's been since it's been off the air. 00:01:31.849 --> 00:01:34.689 But let me tell you about it. They would put 00:01:34.689 --> 00:01:37.930 these cameras in places where people couldn't 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:40.890 see them. This is, I guess, one of the first 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:44.450 reality TV shows. I mean, actual reality TV show. 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:49.310 And I looked to kind of share one with you. Jeffrey 00:01:49.310 --> 00:01:51.049 shared one with you last week. So I said, well, 00:01:51.069 --> 00:01:54.090 I need to share an episode of candid camera with 00:01:54.090 --> 00:01:57.500 you as well. So here's what they decided to do. 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.079 They got with a local police department, and 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.939 what was the guy's name? Al Font? Alan Font? 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:12.659 Did I miss it? Okay, it's close. His name was 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.419 Alan. Anyway, he put on a police uniform, got 00:02:15.419 --> 00:02:19.139 in a police car with a policeman in a small town, 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:24.360 and they also had an actor as a taxi driver. 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:29.599 And they had it set up. You know, it was all 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:33.800 pre -planned. But a lady called the taxi and 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:37.020 he drove by this place. All of a sudden, he gets 00:02:37.020 --> 00:02:40.780 pulled over by the police because he's speeding. 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:44.400 So they come up to the window and they say, Sir, 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:46.659 you were speeding. Let me see your license. And 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:50.460 the cab driver says, Well, I was only speeding 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:53.219 because my passenger told me they were in a hurry. 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:56.300 and told me I need to get there as quick as I 00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:02.599 can. And the policeman goes, so she told you 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:07.240 to break the law? He said, yeah, she told me. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:11.340 So then the policeman goes to the passenger door, 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:15.379 tells a passenger in the cab to get out, asks 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:19.360 for her driver's license, and begins to write 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.520 her a ticket for speeding, and she wasn't even 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:28.379 driving. Now you can go Google this and see it 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:31.680 on YouTube. It's hilarious. She's like, I'm not 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:34.840 paying a fine. I wasn't driving. How could I 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:38.000 get a ticket? And he just said, well, he said 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.439 that the reason why he's speeding is because 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:44.840 you told him to go fast. And I mean, it just 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:47.780 escalated and escalated and escalated until he 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:52.099 looked at her and he said, smile, you're on candid 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:57.289 camera. That's the way the show worked. They 00:03:57.289 --> 00:03:58.849 would set up these people and work them into 00:03:58.849 --> 00:04:01.550 a frenzy and then tell them that they were on 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:06.009 a TV show. I want to share another story with 00:04:06.009 --> 00:04:11.530 you because we're always being watched. I mean, 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:13.289 there's a camera right there. There's a camera 00:04:13.289 --> 00:04:15.389 right there. There's some more back here. There's 00:04:15.389 --> 00:04:18.629 one out in the lobby. As you came to church today, 00:04:18.730 --> 00:04:21.490 right now, the principal, the superintendent 00:04:21.490 --> 00:04:24.319 of schools, any... Anyone with access, they can 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.399 pull up these cameras, listen to what's going 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:28.439 on in this room. They can see the back of your 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:30.459 head and they can see my face. So I hope you 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:32.519 comb the back of your hair good. Because sometimes 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:34.399 when I turn around, you can see a bald spot and 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:36.620 I have to comb it a certain way. Because I have, 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.339 trust me, it's because of a cowlick. It's not 00:04:39.339 --> 00:04:47.180 because I'm going bald. Whatever. Whatever. When 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:50.439 was that, JT, that North Greenville? North Greenville 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:54.040 University is... Gannon and I met at North Greenville, 00:04:54.139 --> 00:05:00.259 and they had an alumni banquet back in June. 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:05.000 So it's about a month and a half ago. And they 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.819 got down here, my alma mater got down here, and 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:09.480 they didn't have all the equipment that they 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:12.399 needed. So just a few days out, they said, do 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:14.720 you know anyone with a video projector and a 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:19.519 screen and a small sound system? I said, have 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:24.970 I got the person for you. gig rent. And JT works 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:29.310 at gig rent. And Jamie and Jordan own gig rent. 00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:32.889 They've moved to another side of town now, but 00:05:32.889 --> 00:05:37.730 they own gig rent. So I connected them. And that's 00:05:37.730 --> 00:05:41.129 all I did. I connected them. JT worked out the 00:05:41.129 --> 00:05:43.529 deal or whatever, got it ready for them. They 00:05:43.529 --> 00:05:46.709 went and picked it up. And then when I show up 00:05:46.709 --> 00:05:49.449 at the alumni banquet about 30 minutes before 00:05:49.449 --> 00:05:54.529 it starts, Since I was the one who recommended, 00:05:54.930 --> 00:05:59.290 right? When I walk in the door and they were 00:05:59.290 --> 00:06:01.050 holding... Well, actually, I was outside. They 00:06:01.050 --> 00:06:03.209 hadn't let anyone in yet. But when they saw me, 00:06:03.290 --> 00:06:12.350 they said, it's Dean's fault. They could not 00:06:12.350 --> 00:06:18.129 find the power cables for the speakers. They 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:21.079 couldn't find the wires for the... from in between 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:25.300 the computer and the projector. And they were 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:27.399 freaking out because everyone was lining up. 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:29.220 And then all of a sudden I go in there and I'm 00:06:29.220 --> 00:06:34.759 texting JT. And guess what JT does? He pulls 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:38.660 out his phone. He looks at the security camera, 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.379 which is not just security. He rewinds it. I 00:06:43.379 --> 00:06:44.980 guess you can scrub it with your finger and rewind 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:48.959 it when they were packing up the job to go to. 00:06:49.930 --> 00:06:54.389 near the convention center and JT says those 00:06:54.389 --> 00:06:58.730 cables are there they're in the speaker bag that 00:06:58.730 --> 00:07:00.990 they pulled the speaker out of there's a little 00:07:00.990 --> 00:07:03.990 bag there that has the wires in it and then the 00:07:03.990 --> 00:07:08.269 other wires are in another place and I said why 00:07:08.269 --> 00:07:15.129 didn't you look in the bag so I wound up digging 00:07:15.129 --> 00:07:17.269 through the bags, hooking everything up correctly, 00:07:17.550 --> 00:07:22.910 running sound for the entire event. So JT is 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:25.750 watching. They're probably working right now 00:07:25.750 --> 00:07:31.709 on something. You hope not. But he's watching, 00:07:31.810 --> 00:07:33.930 and he was able to solve the problem because 00:07:33.930 --> 00:07:37.149 the recorded video feed that was there, he told 00:07:37.149 --> 00:07:39.050 me exactly where everything was that they were 00:07:39.050 --> 00:07:43.050 looking for, which people are always watching. 00:07:44.280 --> 00:07:46.220 Always watching. We're always being watched. 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:50.060 We're never unnoticed. We're also never unnoticed 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:52.920 by God. In Genesis 16, we see the story of Abram, 00:07:52.920 --> 00:08:00.000 Sarah, and Hagar. Very quickly on the story. 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.680 God made Abram, who's later named Abraham, He 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:07.000 made him a promise. He told him that he was going 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:10.310 to be the father of many nations. Only problem 00:08:10.310 --> 00:08:13.089 is, he's about 85 years old. He made the promise 00:08:13.089 --> 00:08:16.209 at 75. Now he's about 85. He still doesn't even 00:08:16.209 --> 00:08:19.970 have one child. Much less enough offspring to 00:08:19.970 --> 00:08:25.250 be the father of nations. Somewhere along the 00:08:25.250 --> 00:08:27.790 way in the first 10 years of their journey, just 00:08:27.790 --> 00:08:30.110 following God, not even knowing where to go. 00:08:30.209 --> 00:08:32.909 Because God says, I want to take you to a place 00:08:32.909 --> 00:08:34.929 that I will show you. He didn't say, here's where 00:08:34.929 --> 00:08:37.090 I want you to go. He just said, follow me. and 00:08:37.090 --> 00:08:38.710 I'm going to take you to a place. And then he's 00:08:38.710 --> 00:08:40.970 like, everywhere your foot treads, this is yours. 00:08:44.070 --> 00:08:47.230 Somewhere along the way, they wound up going 00:08:47.230 --> 00:08:50.950 to Egypt during a time of famine, and they were 00:08:50.950 --> 00:08:55.570 provided for there. When they left Egypt, they 00:08:55.570 --> 00:09:00.269 were given a servant girl, a slave, named Hagar. 00:09:02.049 --> 00:09:05.070 So back to the story. We're now about 85 years 00:09:05.070 --> 00:09:10.759 old. Still no child. Sarah couldn't have a child. 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:16.519 Sarah came up with this idea. God made us a promise. 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:22.559 God hasn't come through on His promise. Not yet. 00:09:22.659 --> 00:09:27.039 So maybe we need to help God out. I've got an 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:30.600 idea to help God out. How many of you know that 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:34.820 probably is not going to turn out too well? When 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:39.120 you come up with human ideas to try to help God. 00:09:40.659 --> 00:09:42.559 Because God's promised something to you, you 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:44.759 don't see it yet, so now I've got to figure it 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:47.340 out in the flesh and in my own human reasoning 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:51.279 how to make God's promises come true. Not going 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:56.360 to work out too good. So Sarah said, Abram, you 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:01.259 know, we have this servant girl, Hagar, and... 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:04.360 I would like for her to be the surrogate mother 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:12.059 of our child. So, all of a sudden, Hagar's pregnant. 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:17.919 She's expecting. But here's what happened. All 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:21.759 of a sudden, she got an attitude. It says she 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:26.759 began to treat Sarah with contempt. And that's 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.299 another way of describing that she got an attitude. 00:10:30.779 --> 00:10:33.299 We know what an attitude is more than we know 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:36.460 what contempt is, right? So she got an attitude 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:40.700 and she was like, you know, you can't have a 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:44.899 baby. I'm having a baby. I'm having your husband's 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:53.360 baby. You know, his attitude. So Sarah got upset. 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:59.200 And she says, what are we going to do with her? 00:10:59.710 --> 00:11:01.409 Abram says, whatever you want to do with her. 00:11:03.409 --> 00:11:07.029 That's a good answer for a husband. Whatever 00:11:07.029 --> 00:11:12.409 you want, honey. Anyway, Sarah began to make 00:11:12.409 --> 00:11:16.990 Hagar's life very difficult. And Hagar ran away. 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:21.730 She ran out into the wilderness. And when she 00:11:21.730 --> 00:11:24.950 ran out into the wilderness to run away, the 00:11:24.950 --> 00:11:27.549 angel of the Lord talked with her. He met her 00:11:27.549 --> 00:11:30.789 and talked with her. And he told her to go back. 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:36.029 And in this encounter, we're not reading either 00:11:36.029 --> 00:11:39.610 the entire chapter of Genesis 16, but in this 00:11:39.610 --> 00:11:43.789 chapter we find out a name for God. We learn 00:11:43.789 --> 00:11:54.370 that God is El Roy. God is El Roy. El is an abbreviation 00:11:54.370 --> 00:11:57.049 for Elohim. It means the supreme mighty God. 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:09.690 And Roy is who sees me. He sees. And if you were 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:11.669 here during the series where we talked about 00:12:11.669 --> 00:12:14.470 the names of God, you know that the names of 00:12:14.470 --> 00:12:18.850 God presented in the Bible, they're not just 00:12:18.850 --> 00:12:22.769 historical events. I mean, God is letting us 00:12:22.769 --> 00:12:28.419 know who He is. What kind of relationship He 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:32.639 wants to be in with us. And what He does in the 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:37.139 lives of His people. And He reveals Himself through 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:43.279 His names. That's how He does it. So when we 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:47.620 find out that God is El -Rohi, then we know that 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:56.279 He sees us. He sees you. It's like a... I even 00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:00.100 see it on billboards and stuff like that. You 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:04.960 know, because people are like, our business sees 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:10.200 you. Has anyone seen those billboards? We see 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:15.259 you. Well, God was seeing you before that business 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:17.559 decided that they want to tell you that they 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:22.379 see you. God sees you. Everybody say, God sees 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:26.710 me. The supreme mighty God sees you personally. 00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:32.090 He sees every tear. He sees every act of obedience. 00:13:32.269 --> 00:13:35.870 He sees every sacrifice. He sees every act of 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:40.669 faithfulness. And nothing goes unnoticed by God. 00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:46.429 Nothing. You're never unnoticed. 2 Chronicles 00:13:46.429 --> 00:13:50.850 16, 9 says this. The eyes of the Lord run to 00:13:50.850 --> 00:13:54.909 and fro throughout the whole earth. to show himself 00:13:54.909 --> 00:13:59.110 strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal 00:13:59.110 --> 00:14:05.289 to him. This is another verse confirming that 00:14:05.289 --> 00:14:09.649 God sees us. His eyes are running to and fro 00:14:09.649 --> 00:14:11.649 throughout the whole earth. I mean, he's looking. 00:14:12.889 --> 00:14:20.750 And he's looking for something specific. We spent 00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:22.950 a little time in front of a mirror getting ready 00:14:22.950 --> 00:14:26.070 to come to church today, but what's on the outside 00:14:26.070 --> 00:14:32.049 is not what's most important to God. The Bible 00:14:32.049 --> 00:14:39.009 tells us in Samuel, God says, I don't see you 00:14:39.009 --> 00:14:44.009 as you see each other. God doesn't see us like 00:14:44.009 --> 00:14:48.370 we look at each other. Because God looks at our 00:14:48.370 --> 00:14:52.440 hearts. And this verse in 2 Chronicles confirms 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:56.000 that. He's looking at our hearts. I want you 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.360 to picture God going up and down the row of chairs 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:00.960 that you're sitting in right now, to and fro. 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:03.100 I mean, He's looking, He's looking, He's looking, 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:05.919 and He's looking at everyone all around the world. 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:08.600 And He's God, so He doesn't just get on one row 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:11.059 at a time. He goes down every row at the same 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:18.070 time. So there's no hidden time. Well, I sure 00:15:18.070 --> 00:15:20.289 am glad he's seeing their heart, not mine. No, 00:15:20.330 --> 00:15:25.669 he's seeing. I'm glad he's over in India looking 00:15:25.669 --> 00:15:27.250 at hearts in India. It's going to take him a 00:15:27.250 --> 00:15:33.049 while to get back here. No, he sees. He sees 00:15:33.049 --> 00:15:37.269 you and he sees your heart. And he's looking 00:15:37.269 --> 00:15:41.149 for a specific type of heart in order for him 00:15:41.149 --> 00:15:46.029 to do something about it. Do you see it in the 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:50.559 verse? He's looking for hearts that are loyal 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:54.120 to him. We could replace that with fully committed. 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:57.620 He's looking for fully committed and loyal hearts. 00:15:57.940 --> 00:16:01.500 And then when he finds it, when he finds somebody 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:04.480 with a fully committed or loyal heart, here's 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.000 what he's going to do. He's going to show himself 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.299 strong on your behalf. If you have a committed 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:14.179 or loyal heart, fully committed, loyal heart, 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:20.059 he's going to show himself strong. Not just for 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:23.820 you. Listen. He's not just going to show himself 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:31.259 strong for you. Even though that's great. But 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:33.279 he's going to show himself strong through you. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.059 When your heart is loyal and fully committed 00:16:38.059 --> 00:16:44.419 to him. He's going to show you how big he is. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:51.409 How great his love is. How awesome he is. He's 00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:56.549 going to show himself in your life and through 00:16:56.549 --> 00:17:04.890 your life. And notice what he's looking for. 00:17:04.950 --> 00:17:08.869 He's not looking for the most talented. He's 00:17:08.869 --> 00:17:12.390 not looking for an influential person, somebody 00:17:12.390 --> 00:17:16.839 who already has a lot of influence. Even though 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.859 that's fine, if they do, I mean, if their heart's 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:22.700 loyal to Him, He can still use them, but He's 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:24.500 searching for hearts that are fully committed 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:30.359 to Him. Fully committed to Him. Someone who says, 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:35.180 God, whatever you say, I'll do. I'll follow you. 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:38.740 If you want me to say something, I'll say it. 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:43.140 If you want me to go somewhere, I'll go. If you 00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:47.190 want me to do something, I'll do it. Even before 00:17:47.190 --> 00:17:52.289 you know what it is. He's looking for somebody 00:17:52.289 --> 00:17:55.890 who's committed. Because just like Abram in the 00:17:55.890 --> 00:17:57.549 story that we looked at, he didn't even know 00:17:57.549 --> 00:18:01.349 where or how long or anything like that. But 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:04.410 he was willing and loyal. He was fully committed. 00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:10.450 He was ready to walk in faith and not in sight. 00:18:10.529 --> 00:18:12.670 He didn't have to see the end before he made 00:18:12.670 --> 00:18:18.369 his first step. He just chose to be obedient 00:18:18.369 --> 00:18:22.750 with what he already knew and what he already 00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:27.730 heard. I'm going to obey. And then it kept unfolding. 00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:33.109 Just kept unfolding in front of him. If he wouldn't 00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:35.609 have had a fully committed heart, it would have 00:18:35.609 --> 00:18:40.230 never opened up. Hello? Come on. Somebody smile. 00:18:43.589 --> 00:18:45.630 You can either take this like it's something 00:18:45.630 --> 00:18:49.730 negative or you can take it like, yes, it's mine. 00:18:50.990 --> 00:18:53.730 That's the way I want you to receive it. I don't 00:18:53.730 --> 00:18:55.569 want you to look at your past and say, oh no. 00:18:56.309 --> 00:18:58.809 I want you to look at today and say, oh yeah. 00:19:01.289 --> 00:19:06.450 Oh yeah. This is available for me. This is for 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:14.230 me. No matter how, you know, how lack of, I was 00:19:14.230 --> 00:19:18.650 in the past. Today's a new day. Let's go from 00:19:18.650 --> 00:19:22.789 here. That's what God's going to tell you because 00:19:22.789 --> 00:19:27.029 you can't fix anything from yesterday. We got 00:19:27.029 --> 00:19:31.650 to go from today and move and follow God. Be 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:36.430 fully committed. Be loyal. Hallelujah. Make that 00:19:36.430 --> 00:19:39.369 commitment even before you know what the direction 00:19:39.369 --> 00:19:44.130 is. That'll lead you into an amazing life, I'm 00:19:44.130 --> 00:19:48.789 telling you. God doesn't simply observe our hearts. 00:19:48.829 --> 00:19:50.990 When he finds one that's loyal and fully committed 00:19:50.990 --> 00:19:55.750 to him, he responds. He responds. Throughout 00:19:55.750 --> 00:19:58.529 this series, we're studying several biblical 00:19:58.529 --> 00:20:01.750 accounts where God sees the hearts of people. 00:20:03.509 --> 00:20:07.589 God always sees the hearts of everyone, but in 00:20:07.589 --> 00:20:11.769 these instances, what he sees, he... reveals 00:20:11.769 --> 00:20:15.869 to us what he sees. How many of you are glad 00:20:15.869 --> 00:20:18.130 God doesn't always reveal what's in your heart 00:20:18.130 --> 00:20:21.589 to everybody else, right? But these people, it's 00:20:21.589 --> 00:20:24.670 been like 2 ,000 years. They've been gone, but 00:20:24.670 --> 00:20:30.349 God wrote it in his book so that we could see 00:20:30.349 --> 00:20:33.650 what their hearts were like. Acts chapter 10. 00:20:34.509 --> 00:20:36.089 Look to the person beside you and say, listen 00:20:36.089 --> 00:20:39.589 fast. All right, listen fast. Acts chapter 10. 00:20:40.009 --> 00:20:43.269 For in Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer 00:20:43.269 --> 00:20:48.829 named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian 00:20:48.829 --> 00:20:54.650 regiment. He was a devout, God -fearing man, 00:20:54.809 --> 00:21:02.029 as was everyone in his household. He gave generously 00:21:02.029 --> 00:21:09.460 to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:13.819 afternoon, about three o 'clock, he had a vision 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:18.279 in which he saw an angel of God coming toward 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:29.380 him. Cornelius, the angel said. Cornelius stared 00:21:29.380 --> 00:21:35.759 at him in terror. What is it, sir? He asked the 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:41.980 angel. And the angel replied, Your prayers and 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:47.099 gifts to the poor have been received by God as 00:21:47.099 --> 00:21:54.079 an offering. Now, send some men to Joppa and 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:57.960 summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:02.460 with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore. 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:06.579 Now, let's stop right here. We're going to continue 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:10.319 all the way through the entire story. I want 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:17.660 to take notice. He was seen by God. What he was 00:22:17.660 --> 00:22:23.339 doing was seen by God. His prayer and his generosity 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:28.640 were received by God as an offering. Now he didn't 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.279 give it to God. He didn't give it to the temple 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:34.480 because he wasn't a Jew. He couldn't go in the 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:37.279 temple. Like we looked at the lady who put in 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:39.630 the two mites. We looked at her story when we 00:22:39.630 --> 00:22:44.109 started this series. Well, all he did was he 00:22:44.109 --> 00:22:47.890 looked around him and he saw God's people. I 00:22:47.890 --> 00:22:50.529 mean, he's a Gentile, but he saw the Jews around 00:22:50.529 --> 00:22:55.569 him and he saw like widows and orphans who are 00:22:55.569 --> 00:22:59.789 struggling, having a hard time. And we can tell 00:22:59.789 --> 00:23:02.049 through the language and through the description 00:23:02.049 --> 00:23:05.349 of the offering that his giving was specifically 00:23:05.349 --> 00:23:09.390 directed towards those in need among the people 00:23:09.390 --> 00:23:17.269 of God. It wasn't just philanthropy to wherever 00:23:17.269 --> 00:23:21.950 around the world. He saw the people of God. He's 00:23:21.950 --> 00:23:26.910 a Gentile. He's outside. He believed in God. 00:23:26.990 --> 00:23:30.430 He was praying and he saw God's people. He's 00:23:30.430 --> 00:23:33.089 a Roman officer. They were ruling over Jerusalem 00:23:33.089 --> 00:23:36.529 at this time. He saw the widows and orphans and 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:39.480 He just wanted in his heart to help them out. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:43.559 So it was directed towards the people of God. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:47.200 And then listen, God essentially says through 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:51.740 this angel, here's what he says, Cornelius, I've 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:55.640 been watching. Your prayers weren't unnoticed. 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:00.980 Your generosity wasn't unnoticed. Your pursuit 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:06.140 of me wasn't unnoticed. And now I'm responding. 00:24:07.309 --> 00:24:10.910 Now I'm responding. Now up until this point, 00:24:10.930 --> 00:24:14.430 Cornelius did not have the revelation he needed 00:24:14.430 --> 00:24:20.190 to become a Christian. He didn't have any information. 00:24:22.650 --> 00:24:27.250 He didn't know who Peter was. Peter was the most 00:24:27.250 --> 00:24:30.990 prominent one of the disciples. I mean, he was 00:24:30.990 --> 00:24:33.769 the front man for the disciples in Jerusalem. 00:24:36.950 --> 00:24:40.069 and the most recognizable preacher up until this 00:24:40.069 --> 00:24:43.970 point. I mean, Paul had had his Damascus Road 00:24:43.970 --> 00:24:47.029 experience and conversion right before this, 00:24:47.150 --> 00:24:50.769 but he hadn't started going out yet. None of 00:24:50.769 --> 00:24:52.950 the missionary journeys have taken place yet. 00:24:54.970 --> 00:25:02.410 But listen, Cornelius acted with the revelation 00:25:02.410 --> 00:25:10.109 that he had. He responded to what he knew. And 00:25:10.109 --> 00:25:15.210 he knew to pray. He knew to give, be generous. 00:25:16.049 --> 00:25:21.650 He knew those things. And he was just acting 00:25:21.650 --> 00:25:26.230 based on what he knew. I want to encourage you. 00:25:28.190 --> 00:25:32.789 Don't allow what you don't know yet. To keep 00:25:32.789 --> 00:25:35.589 you from acting on what God has already shown 00:25:35.589 --> 00:25:43.309 you to do. Because sometimes we do that. Sometimes 00:25:43.309 --> 00:25:50.269 we do that. I'm going to say it again. Don't 00:25:50.269 --> 00:25:53.170 allow what you don't know yet to keep you from 00:25:53.170 --> 00:25:55.789 acting on what God has already shown you to do. 00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:06.009 Cornelius prayed, he gave, he sought God. And 00:26:06.009 --> 00:26:12.529 what happened? Because he was seeking God, God 00:26:12.529 --> 00:26:19.769 brought him more light. In a pretty amazing way. 00:26:23.250 --> 00:26:26.130 Hebrews 11 .6 says this, It's impossible to please 00:26:26.130 --> 00:26:29.720 God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:32.680 Him, come to God, must believe that God exists. 00:26:34.339 --> 00:26:37.720 And that He rewards those who sincerely seek 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:42.359 Him. Listen, it's easy for us to just say amen 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:47.259 with, we believe that God exists. But some of 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:49.420 us in our background, in our training, I mean, 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:52.880 it's hard for us to swallow that He rewards those. 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:55.900 He's a rewarder of those who sincerely seek Him. 00:26:57.579 --> 00:27:02.559 Sometimes that makes us... I didn't grow up in 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.500 that environment, but... Is this the Word of 00:27:06.500 --> 00:27:09.799 God or is this the Word of God? Come on. I'm 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:15.940 just reading a verse. Somebody ought to smile. 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:20.779 Again, you need to say, Wow, starting today, 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:24.839 if I act on the knowledge that I have and I start 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:32.119 seeking God, I'm going to find him. Hello? That 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:33.920 ought to put a smile on your face, not like, 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:38.940 oh no. We always want to receive things on the 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:44.339 negative side so much. Oh no. I haven't been 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:47.160 acting on what God's word has laid out for me. 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:49.660 I haven't been acting on that, so now I'm shrinking 00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:57.029 back. No. Don't do it. Say, today's the day I'm 00:27:57.029 --> 00:27:59.769 going to start acting, and I'm going to see it. 00:28:02.369 --> 00:28:07.589 God's going to show Himself strong in me. God's 00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:10.150 going to bless me in ways I haven't even seen 00:28:10.150 --> 00:28:14.349 blessing before. Because He's a rewarder of those 00:28:14.349 --> 00:28:17.589 who sincerely seek Him, and I'm sincerely seeking 00:28:17.589 --> 00:28:26.430 Him. Hallelujah! As soon as the angel was gone, 00:28:26.730 --> 00:28:31.589 Cornelius called two of his household servants. 00:28:31.769 --> 00:28:35.809 Did he wait a day? Did he wait a week? Did he 00:28:35.809 --> 00:28:38.190 say, boy, I wonder what I ate for dinner last 00:28:38.190 --> 00:28:48.569 night. That was crazy. An angel? A vision? I 00:28:48.569 --> 00:28:51.130 mean, I hadn't even heard about that stuff, much 00:28:51.130 --> 00:28:57.630 less experienced it. As soon as the angel was 00:28:57.630 --> 00:29:03.609 gone, he acted. Cornelius called two of his household 00:29:03.609 --> 00:29:07.210 servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal 00:29:07.210 --> 00:29:12.089 attendants. He told them what had happened and 00:29:12.089 --> 00:29:16.769 sent them off to Joppa. All he could say is, 00:29:16.930 --> 00:29:22.289 go to somebody who makes leather and tans skins. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:25.839 His name's Simon. I don't know where he lives. 00:29:25.900 --> 00:29:28.099 I don't know his address. Go to Joppa by the 00:29:28.099 --> 00:29:31.539 seashore. Start asking, does anyone around here 00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:36.259 sell leather? And then go to his house. Is anyone 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:40.119 named Simon who lives here that sells leather? 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:43.839 And then they go knock on the door at Simon's 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:47.319 house, and then they say, is there a guy here 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:52.160 named Simon Peter? Not even Simon Peter's house. 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:59.180 He's just staying with the other son. That's 00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:07.079 faith. So, the next day, because it took them 00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:11.460 a long time to get there, the next day, as Cornelius' 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:18.460 messengers were nearing the town, they were already 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:23.869 on their way. Peter went up on the flat roof 00:30:23.869 --> 00:30:29.710 to pray. It was about noon. And he was hungry. 00:30:30.869 --> 00:30:34.009 But while a meal was being prepared, he fell 00:30:34.009 --> 00:30:38.289 into a trance. Here comes another vision. He 00:30:38.289 --> 00:30:42.230 saw the sky open. And something like a large 00:30:42.230 --> 00:30:48.119 sheet was let down by its four corners. In the 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:51.559 sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles and 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:55.839 birds. Then a voice said to him, Get up, Peter. 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:04.519 Kill and eat them. Now listen. No, Lord. Peter 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:07.019 declared. He's thinking like, is this a test? 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:09.720 Because I'm not supposed to eat these animals 00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:13.660 that are in this sheet. My tradition tells me 00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:18.380 I can't do that. No, Lord, Peter declared, I 00:31:18.380 --> 00:31:21.299 have never eaten anything our Jewish laws have 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:31.839 declared impure and unclean. No. How many times 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:34.599 do we say no when God tells us to do something? 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:37.180 How many times do we begin to question? How many 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:39.180 times do we say, no, God, I can't do that. They'll 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:42.640 think I'm weird. You know, they won't be my friend 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:45.319 anymore if I tell them what you want me to tell 00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:51.190 them. You know, this is... That's what Peter 00:31:51.190 --> 00:31:55.970 did. But the voice spoke again. Listen to what 00:31:55.970 --> 00:32:01.309 God says. Do not call something unclean if God 00:32:01.309 --> 00:32:09.910 has made it clean. Same vision, two more times. 00:32:10.869 --> 00:32:13.549 That means the second time, he still said, even 00:32:13.549 --> 00:32:16.220 after he heard this, No, Lord, I don't need anything 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:18.819 that my Jewish tradition tells me not to eat. 00:32:18.819 --> 00:32:27.700 I can't do it. God spoke to Peter in a vision. 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:33.859 Listen, Peter was so ingrained in tradition that 00:32:33.859 --> 00:32:40.240 God presented the same vision three times. And 00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:43.220 then even after the third time. It said that 00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:46.940 Peter was just perplexed. He's like, what could 00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:56.500 this mean? What can this vision mean? Well, I'll 00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:58.119 go ahead and tell you. It was about more than 00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:05.299 food. It was an illustration. It was about more 00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:08.859 than food. In verses 17 through 23, now as we 00:33:08.859 --> 00:33:13.829 jump ahead. Cornelius' servants arrive and they 00:33:13.829 --> 00:33:16.869 ask for Simon Peter. They ask for him to come 00:33:16.869 --> 00:33:19.930 with them. God tells Peter to go with them, these 00:33:19.930 --> 00:33:23.190 strangers. All of a sudden now he's going to 00:33:23.190 --> 00:33:28.349 travel a full day to go see somebody he's never 00:33:28.349 --> 00:33:32.670 met before. They arrived in Caesarea the following 00:33:32.670 --> 00:33:36.170 day. Cornelius was waiting for them. Now listen. 00:33:38.250 --> 00:33:43.529 We can't just bounce by this information. Cornelius 00:33:43.529 --> 00:33:47.049 was waiting for them. That's obvious and expected, 00:33:47.269 --> 00:33:53.470 right? But this part isn't. Cornelius was waiting 00:33:53.470 --> 00:33:55.690 for them, and he had called together his relatives 00:33:55.690 --> 00:34:00.650 and his close friends. He didn't even know if 00:34:00.650 --> 00:34:02.509 the guy was going to come or not, outside of 00:34:02.509 --> 00:34:07.420 what God told him. But it's like, hey. Everybody 00:34:07.420 --> 00:34:11.000 come to my house. Something big is about to happen 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:16.900 at my house. God sent an angel in a vision to 00:34:16.900 --> 00:34:22.000 talk to me to go get a man named Peter and tell 00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:26.099 him that I want him to say the message that God 00:34:26.099 --> 00:34:29.860 has placed on his heart. So you better be here. 00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:35.059 You better not miss it. He had a house full. 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:42.300 So he meets Peter outside the house. They talk 00:34:42.300 --> 00:34:45.219 together, briefly, and then they go inside the 00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:52.059 house. And then, well, I was going to jump ahead 00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:56.159 on the slide. Listen, this is important. Cornelius 00:34:56.159 --> 00:35:01.260 didn't just seek revelation. He prepared to receive 00:35:01.260 --> 00:35:12.159 it. If we're praying our Ephesians prayer, asking 00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:16.280 God to give us insight and revelation towards 00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:18.900 His Word and what He's speaking to us, let us 00:35:18.900 --> 00:35:23.639 see it. If we're really expecting to see it, 00:35:23.739 --> 00:35:31.300 we should be preparing to receive it. Cornelius 00:35:31.300 --> 00:35:34.239 just didn't seek that Word, that message, that 00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:36.820 revelation. He prepared to receive it. He was 00:35:36.820 --> 00:35:39.260 waiting for Peter. He had gathered his relatives 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:41.980 and close friends. Think about it. Peter hadn't 00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:44.480 even arrived and Cornelius had already filled 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:47.719 the room. He had filled his house. Expectation 00:35:47.719 --> 00:35:58.840 prepares before revelation arrives. I'm going 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:05.139 to say it again. Expectation prepares. before 00:36:05.139 --> 00:36:06.880 revelation arrives. If you're going to write 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:09.280 down something, write that down. Expectation 00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:13.380 prepares before revelation arrives. If you're 00:36:13.380 --> 00:36:17.480 asking God to bring revelation as you read the 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:20.659 Bible, as you pray, as you talk with Him, listen, 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:23.179 you need to be expecting that He's going to do 00:36:23.179 --> 00:36:32.469 it. You need to be expecting revelation. You 00:36:32.469 --> 00:36:34.429 don't just pray it like, well, I doubt this will 00:36:34.429 --> 00:36:43.550 work, but the preacher told me to pray it. Pray 00:36:43.550 --> 00:36:45.670 that the eyes of my understanding will be enlightened 00:36:45.670 --> 00:36:49.469 to the truth. I'm not expecting it, but I'm going 00:36:49.469 --> 00:36:59.869 to pray it. Hallelujah. Expectation. Has to be 00:36:59.869 --> 00:37:01.849 there before the revelation is going to arrive. 00:37:05.510 --> 00:37:11.710 I'm glad I'm having fun. Verse 28. Now listen 00:37:11.710 --> 00:37:13.329 to what Peter says when he walks in the house. 00:37:13.809 --> 00:37:18.789 He's got his friends. He's got his family. And 00:37:18.789 --> 00:37:21.769 now listen to what Peter says. You know it's 00:37:21.769 --> 00:37:27.159 against our laws for a Jewish man. to enter a 00:37:27.159 --> 00:37:31.780 Gentile home like this, or even associate with 00:37:31.780 --> 00:37:45.400 you. What a warm welcome. Hello? But, hallelujah, 00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:50.659 there's a but. But God has shown me that I should 00:37:50.659 --> 00:37:55.239 no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. 00:37:58.510 --> 00:38:02.110 So even though I knew I was going to a Gentile's 00:38:02.110 --> 00:38:05.829 house, and even though that's just totally out 00:38:05.829 --> 00:38:08.889 of my understanding and out of my comfort zone, 00:38:09.110 --> 00:38:12.429 out of what I think is right, because I think 00:38:12.429 --> 00:38:19.869 all Gentiles are dogs, God showed me something. 00:38:21.250 --> 00:38:25.010 In that sheet that He lowered, He showed me something. 00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:29.980 I should no longer think of anyone as impure 00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:33.320 or unclean. So I came without objection as soon 00:38:33.320 --> 00:38:39.940 as I was sent for. Now, why am I here? Tell me 00:38:39.940 --> 00:38:44.099 why you sent for me. At that point, Cornelius 00:38:44.099 --> 00:38:46.519 shares his encounter with the angel. We've already 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:50.400 read it. We've seen it. He shares that whole 00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:52.679 thing in front of his family and his friends 00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:55.519 and in front of Peter. And he basically ends 00:38:55.519 --> 00:38:59.849 up saying, I sent for you at once after that 00:38:59.849 --> 00:39:02.570 encounter with the angel. It was good for you 00:39:02.570 --> 00:39:06.449 to come. Thank you for coming. Now we're all 00:39:06.449 --> 00:39:14.789 here. And we're waiting before God. Everybody 00:39:14.789 --> 00:39:21.010 say expectation. We're waiting before God to 00:39:21.010 --> 00:39:31.019 hear the message the Lord has given you. Then 00:39:31.019 --> 00:39:36.820 Peter replied, I see very clearly. We could put 00:39:36.820 --> 00:39:42.199 now. I see very clearly. God shows no favoritism. 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:49.559 In every nation, He accepts those who fear Him 00:39:49.559 --> 00:39:55.119 and do what is right. In every nation. I'm not 00:39:55.119 --> 00:40:01.570 a Jew, so I say thank you, Jesus. This is the 00:40:01.570 --> 00:40:05.449 message of good news. Everybody say gospel. This 00:40:05.449 --> 00:40:08.230 is the gospel. This is the message of good news 00:40:08.230 --> 00:40:11.949 for the people of Israel. Because they all thought 00:40:11.949 --> 00:40:14.369 that the gospel and Jesus was just the Messiah 00:40:14.369 --> 00:40:18.130 for Israel. They didn't understand, you know, 00:40:18.130 --> 00:40:20.489 the prophecy through Abraham. That through Abraham, 00:40:20.590 --> 00:40:25.570 he's going to bless the whole world. This is 00:40:25.570 --> 00:40:27.929 the message of good news for the people of Israel. 00:40:29.639 --> 00:40:36.739 there's peace with God. There's peace with God 00:40:36.739 --> 00:40:45.460 through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Wow. 00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:49.480 So Peter shares the good news. He shares the 00:40:49.480 --> 00:40:51.980 gospel. He shares his testimony. He talks about 00:40:51.980 --> 00:40:55.000 how he walked with Jesus and went with Jesus 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:58.030 and saw that Jesus was doing good. and everything. 00:40:58.230 --> 00:41:00.610 I mean, He didn't explain it all, but He was 00:41:00.610 --> 00:41:04.409 like, I was with Him. I was there. He talked 00:41:04.409 --> 00:41:07.130 about Him dying on a cross. He talked about His 00:41:07.130 --> 00:41:09.550 crucifixion. He also talked about His resurrection. 00:41:11.409 --> 00:41:14.690 And He ends His message by saying, you know, 00:41:14.750 --> 00:41:21.530 when people believe in Jesus, their sins are 00:41:21.530 --> 00:41:30.760 forgiven. Sins are forgiven. So he shared the 00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:37.619 wonderful news of God's great love. And the Bible 00:41:37.619 --> 00:41:39.940 says that even as Peter was saying these things, 00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:45.440 while he's speaking, while he's sharing the gospel, 00:41:45.539 --> 00:41:48.420 while he's sharing his testimony, while he's 00:41:48.420 --> 00:41:51.179 telling them this good news, right in the middle 00:41:51.179 --> 00:41:53.960 of it, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were 00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:59.750 listening to the message. It's just like Pentecost. 00:42:01.630 --> 00:42:05.369 In a Gentile's house, not in an upper room in 00:42:05.369 --> 00:42:09.690 Jerusalem, but in the Gentile's house, Holy Spirit 00:42:09.690 --> 00:42:12.190 fell upon all who were listening to the message. 00:42:12.309 --> 00:42:15.369 The Jewish believers, because Paul had some friends 00:42:15.369 --> 00:42:18.389 come with him, some other Jews, the Jewish believers 00:42:18.389 --> 00:42:22.590 who came with Peter were amazed. I mean, they 00:42:22.590 --> 00:42:25.070 saw what happened at Pentecost. They saw the 00:42:25.070 --> 00:42:27.070 result. But now they're in a Gentile's house. 00:42:27.579 --> 00:42:29.480 Didn't even feel like they should be there, but 00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:31.880 now they're amazed that the gift of the Holy 00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:34.380 Spirit has been poured out on the Gentiles too. 00:42:35.619 --> 00:42:38.059 For they heard them speaking in other tongues 00:42:38.059 --> 00:42:41.699 and praising God. Right in the middle of Paul's 00:42:41.699 --> 00:42:43.400 message, all of a sudden, it just broke loose. 00:42:44.340 --> 00:42:46.780 He hadn't even finished yet. He hadn't got to 00:42:46.780 --> 00:42:49.360 the altar call yet, and all of a sudden, they're 00:42:49.360 --> 00:42:52.159 all believing in Christ, and Holy Spirit's falling 00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:58.710 on them. I mean, it's, whoo! I've never had a 00:42:58.710 --> 00:43:02.389 service just totally break free in the middle 00:43:02.389 --> 00:43:10.849 of it. That'd be nice. God just take over. That's 00:43:10.849 --> 00:43:18.170 what happened. Then Peter asked, can anyone object? 00:43:18.250 --> 00:43:21.969 He's looking at these other Jewish ministers 00:43:21.969 --> 00:43:24.969 or laymen or whatever. They were there with him. 00:43:26.219 --> 00:43:29.800 He says, can any of you guys object to their 00:43:29.800 --> 00:43:36.860 being baptized? I mean, basically what he's saying 00:43:36.860 --> 00:43:40.280 is, I know they haven't converted to Judaism 00:43:40.280 --> 00:43:47.619 yet. Because that's what they thought. Up until 00:43:47.619 --> 00:43:50.739 this point, they thought the only way that you 00:43:50.739 --> 00:43:54.300 could become a Christian was to convert to Judaism. 00:43:55.820 --> 00:43:59.800 That's what they thought. That's what Peter thought. 00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:03.519 If you've been coming to Life Group, we've looked 00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:05.440 at it, and it's like he got challenged on what 00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:11.960 he thought even after this point. But he says, 00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:17.659 can anyone object to all these people in this 00:44:17.659 --> 00:44:23.400 room? Cornelius' family and his friends. Can 00:44:23.400 --> 00:44:29.139 anybody object to... Them being baptized? Now 00:44:29.139 --> 00:44:31.380 that they have received the Holy Spirit just 00:44:31.380 --> 00:44:37.619 as we did? I mean, they were shocked. The Holy 00:44:37.619 --> 00:44:39.199 Spirit fell on them even though they weren't 00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:42.820 Jews. We've never seen anything like this before. 00:44:47.840 --> 00:44:56.329 And then Peter said, baptize them. There were 00:44:56.329 --> 00:45:03.730 no objections. He said, let's do it. So they 00:45:03.730 --> 00:45:08.650 left the house and went to a river or pond or 00:45:08.650 --> 00:45:11.949 something, and they baptized them all right then. 00:45:13.610 --> 00:45:19.030 Listen, Cornelius was seeking God, but he couldn't 00:45:19.030 --> 00:45:22.269 possibly have understood everything that was 00:45:22.269 --> 00:45:26.329 coming. He had expectation, but he didn't know 00:45:26.329 --> 00:45:30.670 what he was expecting. He's just expecting God 00:45:30.670 --> 00:45:35.829 to do something because God sent an angel to 00:45:35.829 --> 00:45:37.389 talk to him. He didn't know what was going to 00:45:37.389 --> 00:45:40.030 happen. He had never heard of Jesus. He had never 00:45:40.030 --> 00:45:42.349 heard of salvation. He had never heard of the 00:45:42.349 --> 00:45:46.010 forgiveness of sins. He had no idea what was 00:45:46.010 --> 00:45:49.230 coming. Nobody in the room did. I mean, it's 00:45:49.230 --> 00:45:51.590 hard for us to imagine that because We've all 00:45:51.590 --> 00:45:54.230 heard, right? And we think, oh, everybody already 00:45:54.230 --> 00:45:56.150 knows everything. No, they didn't know anything. 00:45:57.989 --> 00:46:01.809 He had no idea what was coming. And God just 00:46:01.809 --> 00:46:06.110 didn't answer his prayer. God sent Peter. Like 00:46:06.110 --> 00:46:10.289 I said, the most influential disciple, follower 00:46:10.289 --> 00:46:13.130 of Christ at this time. I mean, he's the... It'd 00:46:13.130 --> 00:46:16.429 be like you praying several years ago and God 00:46:16.429 --> 00:46:23.320 sending Billy Graham to knock on your door. I 00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:25.519 want to know you. Call for this man named Billy 00:46:25.519 --> 00:46:27.619 Graham. Who's that? And then he just comes to 00:46:27.619 --> 00:46:31.880 your house and talks to you. I mean, it's of 00:46:31.880 --> 00:46:36.199 that magnitude. And we just read over this stuff 00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:41.599 and we're like, we're just casual with it. God 00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:44.739 sent Peter. God revealed Jesus. He'd never heard 00:46:44.739 --> 00:46:51.170 of Jesus. And God poured out. The Holy Spirit 00:46:51.170 --> 00:46:55.269 on him and his family and his friends. They were 00:46:55.269 --> 00:47:03.849 born again. Filled with God. Cornelius, his family 00:47:03.849 --> 00:47:05.969 and his friends were all born again and baptized. 00:47:06.050 --> 00:47:11.670 He had no idea what was coming. God gave him 00:47:11.670 --> 00:47:16.949 more than he knew to ask for. I'd write that 00:47:16.949 --> 00:47:23.480 down too. God gave Cornelius more than he even 00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:26.719 knew what to ask for. And that reminded me of 00:47:26.719 --> 00:47:29.119 a verse. Has anybody ever read Ephesians 3 .20 00:47:29.119 --> 00:47:35.000 before? God is able. Somebody say God is able. 00:47:35.519 --> 00:47:40.480 God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above 00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:44.079 all that we ask or think. Everybody say above. 00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:47.579 I mean, it's bigger than what we can even ask 00:47:47.579 --> 00:47:50.440 for, bigger than what we can even think when 00:47:50.440 --> 00:47:59.739 we are seeking God. We need an expectation that 00:47:59.739 --> 00:48:04.760 He's going to hear and He's going to answer. 00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:13.900 Do you expect God to answer when you pray? Come 00:48:13.900 --> 00:48:17.960 on, let's be honest. Do you? Are you really expecting 00:48:17.960 --> 00:48:25.619 Him to answer? Every time you pray, you're expecting 00:48:25.619 --> 00:48:27.699 Him to answer. There's always an expectation 00:48:27.699 --> 00:48:36.119 every time you pray. I would have to say there's 00:48:36.119 --> 00:48:38.199 a lot of times I pray that I'm just going through 00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:47.019 it. And you're like, oh no. I'm more spiritual 00:48:47.019 --> 00:48:50.099 than the preacher, I guess. Because I have never 00:48:50.099 --> 00:48:55.860 prayed without expectation. Let's be real. Sometimes 00:48:55.860 --> 00:49:01.519 we just go through it. And sometimes we prayed 00:49:01.519 --> 00:49:14.400 for the same thing. Over and over. And we haven't 00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:18.039 seen the answer yet. And we know that we're praying 00:49:18.039 --> 00:49:21.159 in agreement with God's promise. Listen, I'm 00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:24.000 not just asking him for some selfish thing. I'm 00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:26.539 praying in agreement with his promise, according 00:49:26.539 --> 00:49:30.840 to his word. And I prayed over and over and over. 00:49:33.280 --> 00:49:42.780 Sometimes, you're still praying. But your expectation 00:49:42.780 --> 00:49:48.019 might be slipping just a little bit. Come on. 00:49:52.539 --> 00:49:55.739 We're looking at this story today. We don't know 00:49:55.739 --> 00:50:00.420 how long Cornelius was praying to God. We don't 00:50:00.420 --> 00:50:04.119 know how long he was being faithful in what he 00:50:04.119 --> 00:50:06.860 knew, in the light that he had, in the revelation 00:50:06.860 --> 00:50:11.010 that he had. We don't know how long. He had been 00:50:11.010 --> 00:50:21.469 doing that. God showed up. God showed up. Cornelius 00:50:21.469 --> 00:50:23.510 prayed when apparently nothing was happening. 00:50:24.110 --> 00:50:26.750 He gave when apparently nothing was happening. 00:50:27.050 --> 00:50:30.030 He sought God when apparently nothing was happening. 00:50:30.909 --> 00:50:35.570 Over and over and over again. Listen, something 00:50:35.570 --> 00:50:39.110 was happening. Look at the person beside you 00:50:39.110 --> 00:50:41.510 and say, but something was happening. He hadn't 00:50:41.510 --> 00:50:44.030 seen it. He hadn't heard it. Something was happening. 00:50:45.230 --> 00:50:51.329 Something was happening. It's happening. Even 00:50:51.329 --> 00:50:54.030 though I've been praying a similar prayer almost 00:50:54.030 --> 00:50:57.909 every day, if not every week for 20 years, something's 00:50:57.909 --> 00:51:01.550 happening. Something's happening in the spirit 00:51:01.550 --> 00:51:06.190 realm. We keep praying to have a new building. 00:51:07.309 --> 00:51:10.650 You look at it. We came up with a picture to 00:51:10.650 --> 00:51:12.170 kind of give you a vision, kind of give you an 00:51:12.170 --> 00:51:14.489 understanding. And we're praying. We're not stopping 00:51:14.489 --> 00:51:19.650 praying. Because something's happening. We might 00:51:19.650 --> 00:51:26.070 not see it yet. But we can't give up hope. We've 00:51:26.070 --> 00:51:28.429 got to hold on to hope. And our hope is anchored 00:51:28.429 --> 00:51:30.969 behind the veil, the Bible says. According to 00:51:30.969 --> 00:51:33.630 the promises of God, our hope is anchored behind 00:51:33.630 --> 00:51:36.809 the veil. And we hold on to that hope. Without 00:51:36.809 --> 00:51:42.829 wavering. Because something's happening. Don't 00:51:42.829 --> 00:51:46.789 give up. I'm here to tell you, don't give up. 00:51:48.469 --> 00:51:54.329 Need to encourage myself. Don't give up. Because 00:51:54.329 --> 00:52:00.989 if you give up, you'll never get it. Don't give 00:52:00.989 --> 00:52:08.639 up. believing according to God's promises, don't 00:52:08.639 --> 00:52:13.619 ever give up. Something was happening at Cornelius' 00:52:13.639 --> 00:52:16.699 house. Heaven was noticing. Every time he prayed, 00:52:16.860 --> 00:52:21.360 every time he gave to the poor Jews, the people 00:52:21.360 --> 00:52:24.119 of God, every time he gave, heaven's watching. 00:52:27.599 --> 00:52:31.000 Don't know how long it was, but one day, everybody 00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:36.190 say one day. One day the angel appeared and the 00:52:36.190 --> 00:52:38.449 message of the angel was, hey, God's seen it 00:52:38.449 --> 00:52:43.369 all. You weren't unnoticed. Cornelius could have 00:52:43.369 --> 00:52:44.989 thought, well, I'm doing all this stuff and, 00:52:45.010 --> 00:52:48.030 you know, I'm basically unnoticed. It's unnoticed 00:52:48.030 --> 00:52:50.630 that I'm praying. It's unnoticed that I'm giving. 00:52:50.789 --> 00:52:53.489 You know, nobody's building a library with my 00:52:53.489 --> 00:53:08.280 name on it. Hello. God saw it all. And I ask 00:53:08.280 --> 00:53:10.079 you again, if you can't figure it out, if you 00:53:10.079 --> 00:53:12.400 can't put two and two together, why were Cornelius, 00:53:12.460 --> 00:53:15.320 his family, and closest friends among the first 00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:18.619 Gentiles to become Christians? Why were they 00:53:18.619 --> 00:53:29.460 first? Why were they first? Hmm? Because Cornelius. 00:53:31.420 --> 00:53:37.059 Because of his prayer, his generosity had not 00:53:37.059 --> 00:53:39.039 gone unnoticed by God. That's what the angel 00:53:39.039 --> 00:53:41.519 said. I'm not making up anything. I mean, that's 00:53:41.519 --> 00:53:44.239 what the Bible says. The angel says, look, God 00:53:44.239 --> 00:53:47.400 has seen your prayers. He's heard your prayers 00:53:47.400 --> 00:53:49.340 and he's seen your generosity. And that's why 00:53:49.340 --> 00:53:52.619 I'm here today to tell you that there's this 00:53:52.619 --> 00:53:54.920 guy named Simon Peter that you've never heard 00:53:54.920 --> 00:53:57.760 of and he's at... Simon the Leathermaker's house 00:53:57.760 --> 00:54:00.099 that you've never heard of down in Joppa is a 00:54:00.099 --> 00:54:03.320 day from here. Send him and tell him to give 00:54:03.320 --> 00:54:09.559 you the message. It was not unnoticed by God. 00:54:11.199 --> 00:54:18.519 Was not unnoticed by God. El Roy sees you. Everybody 00:54:18.519 --> 00:54:22.139 say, God sees me. God sees me. That's who he 00:54:22.139 --> 00:54:26.019 is. That's his name. God sees me. He sees your 00:54:26.019 --> 00:54:32.400 heart. He remembers your faithfulness. He watches 00:54:32.400 --> 00:54:38.840 over His Word to perform it. And God remains 00:54:38.840 --> 00:54:43.239 a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 00:54:45.559 --> 00:54:50.460 He told us that. Anything He told us, we should 00:54:50.460 --> 00:54:54.139 be able to trust it. We should be able to trust 00:54:54.139 --> 00:54:56.579 it, right? If God said it, we should be able 00:54:56.579 --> 00:55:03.159 to trust Him. Act on what God has already shown 00:55:03.159 --> 00:55:11.639 you. Prepare your heart with expectation. Prepare 00:55:11.639 --> 00:55:14.320 your heart to receive what He wants to show you 00:55:14.320 --> 00:55:19.880 next. And then trust Him with what you can't 00:55:19.880 --> 00:55:23.949 see yet. 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