fragmentize the event that we're going to be reading about and talking about this morning, and that is the conversion of Peter, not to Christianity, but to proper behavior and thought within Christianity, within his belief system, and the conversion of Cornelius and his household. Perhaps it will be more evident what I am referring to when we launch out into our discourse as we read the scriptures. We're in the Book of Acts, the 10th chapter. Now, while you're turning there, just a couple of preliminary remarks. Immediately, we left off last week with the Apostle Paul finally being embraced by those who had formerly been his enemies, but who are now his friends. That is, those believers in Jerusalem, who were very skeptical of his having been converted to their cause because he had been their greatest tormentor and persecutor. But at any rate, the 31st verse of the 9th chapter simply reads, and this is where we left the apostles, the churches had rest throughout all Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and they were edified. They walk in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost and were multiplied. Now that's the last we hear of Paul for just a little while. And now the historical writer, the Holy Spirit, take up an account about Peter. Peter and Paul, it seems, were the two main apostolic characters of the New Testament, the 12 apostles. But it seems that they were the two main ones. They were held in the highest positions of leadership and influence. I don't think their authority exceeded any other apostles' authority, but their position of influence certainly did, and their spheres of interest did as well. Peter, as we would pick up the writings about him and the historical aspect of Peter, we find in the rest of the ninth chapter, starting with verse 32, we're not going to read this, but Peter past operated in the environs of Jerusalem. Let me see if I can get this into some kind of perspective. The places that are mentioned about where Peter went, like Lydda, and Sharon, and Joppa, which are in these verses that we're not going to read, but I'm telling you about, were all within a 45 to 60 mile range of Jerusalem. They weren't really great distances, not at all by our standards. But a day or two day's journey, even by standards then. Paul, on the other hand, was much more far ranging. The apostle Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, which was about 130 miles away from Jerusalem at the time of his conversion. And as we shall see as we continue to course through the book of Acts, we will see that Paul was very peripatetic. He covered a lot of territory, all the way over to Rome, ultimately. And so they were two very different men in their areas of work and in the kind of people they worked in. Peter was really basically the apostle to the Jews. He said he was apostle to the Gentiles. And God used him in that particular way in our text this morning. But primarily, Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. And Peter was the apostle to the Jews. And so Peter operated in the environs of Palestine. And Paul operated where the Gentiles were. which was outside of the areas of Jerusalem and the heavily populated Jewish portions of Palestine. So Paul went down to Lydda, and he found a man there who had been paralyzed for eight years in bed ridden, and he made him whole. He healed him. And everybody about turned to God, the scripture tells us. And then he went to Joppa, and there was a woman there whose name was Tabitha. Her other name was Dorcas, and she was a seamstress of great note and repute. And she had done a lot of charitable acts, evidently, and made a lot of garments for a lot of different people and charged them very little or nothing. And she was loved and respected. She died. And when Peter arrived there, there was great weeping and mourning over her death. And Peter put everybody out and went into where the corpse was. and commanded her to rise, and she did, and she opened her eyes and took her outside and presented her alive to all of her friends and the mourners who were there. So Peter, the Apostle Peter, healed the sick man, the palsied man, and raised the dead woman. And I must tell you, and I want you to understand this, because I do not deny in any way at all the reality of these miracles. They happen. They absolutely happen in the very way that the Bible says that they happen. I do take exception, however, with modern day healers. I'm talking about religious healers. There are large religious denominations today who believe that healing is part of the general guarantee of the atonement of the cross. We do not believe such a thing, because if that were true, obviously, no Christian would ever die. But on the other hand, we also do not believe, I do not believe, maybe you do, but I don't, that there are such things as healers, that means those who are given the heavenly gift of healing today. I believe in divine healing, but I do not believe in divine healers. The Bible has excluded them from the operation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and those were gifts that were reserved for those who needed to have the power of God demonstrated to them, who had no benefit at all of the written word of God. The word of God wasn't written. There was no benefit to them of the word of God. They needed to be convinced somehow, and they were convinced through these various divine gifts that were given to the gifts that were placed within the New Testament churches. And there were those who had those gifts. But the Bible does teach that if anyone is sick today, if they're a member of a scriptural church, then there is a definite plan by which God says one is to call for healing. And it's not that the elder of the church has a gift of healing. It's on a single, one-at-a-time basis. I truly do not believe that there are men or women today who have been given a heavenly-sent gift to be divine healers. So make sure that we understand that, at least. But Peter did heal, and he did raise the dead. I do not believe that there are people today who have the power to raise people from the dead, simply based within themselves. I believe it's possible for someone to raise someone from the dead, if God so decrees it would happen, but I frankly do not believe that God would decree such a thing today, because that kind of convincing is not necessary. The word of God itself is enough to convince. See, the Bible says of itself that the word, it, the Bible itself, is the instrument by which people shall be brought to Jesus Christ. There was a time when there was no word of God written, And then there needed to be other instruments whereby people would be brought to him and understand who he is. OK, well, that's just a little preliminary. Now I want to start in the 10th chapter of the Book of Acts. Peter is still in Joppa, where he had raised Tabitha from the dead. He was staying at the house of a man named Simon, who was a tanner, one who worked in leather. And his house, by the way, just for your information, and you shall see it as we read it, was by the seaside, by the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. And there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band. He was a devout man, and one that had feared God with all of his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. And he saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming into him and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked and when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, what is it Lord? And he said unto him, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. And he lodges with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside. And he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. When the angel who spoke unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those that waited on him continually. And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. And on the morrow, as they went on their journey and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour." So Cornelius is praying at three o'clock in the afternoon, and Peter is praying at midday at noon. And he became very hungry. And he would have eaten, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven open, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, in which were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise. Peter, kill and eat. And Peter said, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spoke unto him again the second time, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou uncommon. And this was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven. And while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men who were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, was lodged there. And while Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise, therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. And then Peter went down to the men who were sent unto him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause? for which you are come. And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee unto his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in and lodged them. And on the morrow, Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends, and Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up, I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, You know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come into one of another nation. But God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore, I come unto you without objection, without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for. I ask, therefore, for what intent you have sent for me. And Cornelius said, four days ago, I was fasting until this hour. And at the ninth hour, I prayed in my house. And behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send, therefore, to Joppa and call here Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon, a tanner, by the seaside, who, when he cometh, he shall speak unto thee. Immediately, therefore, I sent to thee, and thou hast done well that thou art come. Now, therefore, are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." And Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Now let's stop there and let's pray. Our dear Heavenly Father, our Holy God, as we come into your presence asking that you would Make your word live in our minds and cause us to hide your word in our hearts. We do so for the glory of your very self and for the honor of your son, Jesus Christ. So we thank you for the great salvation that you have wrought in him. and that your very graciousness have extended to even sinners such as ourselves, that we might, through receiving Christ, repenting of our sins, and having our sins covered with his blood, have a right standing before you. So capture our thoughts, Spirit of God. Bring them into the captivity of thy word, that we might become obedient to it. I pray in Christ's name. Amen. Cornelius is a unique character in the scriptures, and I'll tell you why. Cornelius was a Roman, a soldier, a professional soldier. A soldier of high position, one who had a very important command. Cornelius was also religious. When we read of Cornelius in his house, a devout man who feared God, praying to God always, we read of a man whose heart was being drawn to Jesus Christ, but who was definitely, positively, and unequivocally not saved. Now let me see if I can tell you why that's important that we should know that. We're living in a very non-distinctive religious time. By that, I mean the claims of the narrowness of the way defined in the scripture that leads into life have been diluted considerably. They've been diluted by a zeal to promote Christianity in its broadest form, but with very little knowledge about the reality of the nearness of the way that Christ has defined himself. By and large, Christianity today has broadened its view so far and so wide that there are very few doctrinal distinctives that are important to any Christian today. And in fact, if anyone would hold to true biblical doctrinal distinctives or positions, most Christians would look upon them with disdain as being far too narrow and not embracive enough. or too exclusive. But I point out to you that Cornelius was a very devout man, and a very religious man, and a very lost man. I do so simply to show you that religion, even sincere religion, even religion that purports to worship the God of heaven, all in and of itself, will not, absolutely will not, get the worshipper therein into heaven. Why is that important that we should know that? Well, it's important that we should know that because if our hope is to come into the very presence of God, if our hope is to truly serve Him now, then we must do it upon the basis of God's own claims about Himself and His own claims about His Son. And if we don't do it on that basis, then we do it in error and we are lost in our sins and undone. Cornelius was a lost man, devout and religious. He prayed every day and nevertheless lost. And I'm sure that you know personally people that you are acquainted with who are devout and religious people who would fall into the very same definition and category as Cornelius. Lost and yet very devout and very religious. Well, there is a difference, however, between Cornelius and others. Cornelius worshipped God with the knowledge that he had present at hand. In fact, he is probably as good an example of the biblical principle that if a person follows the light that he has, he will gain more light. And if he follows that light, he will yet gain more. And if he follows that, he will yet gain more until he comes to truth. That's why there really is no excuse before God, according to his own claim in the word of God, for anyone who has never heard the gospel to claim before him when they stand before him in judgment, but I never heard and therefore I didn't know. For we all have ample opportunity, even the nature before us. The heavens declare the glory of God, and so does the creation around us. One of the real dangers of our time is that in our educational systems, the very notion that God is involved in the creation in which we live has been set aside. And so God is no longer a part of the equation of our creation. And whole generations of people, have had educated into their finely tuned brains that this world in which we live and the galaxies that surround us somehow came into being apart from any force from a good and gracious God and a wonderful creator and happened by chance, by the mere force of some impersonal nature. And if God is removed from our creation, fewer people will begin to seek the light that they have, for there is no light for them. to be found even in the creation that surrounds them. Cornelius was more noble than that. And while it is true that we cannot give ourselves, nor Cornelius, nor Peter, or Paul, nor anyone who is bound for heaven through the grace of God, any credit for themselves, one must still recognize that Cornelius was a very good man. He had a good reputation. He was zealous. He was moral. He was upstanding. He prayed. And his prayer, even though he was in a lost condition, was heard by God because his prayer was a prayer of searching. He wanted to know the way to the Father. He wanted to know. And he didn't know. And so God answered his prayer by sending an angel into his very presence. And the angel said to him, your prayers, your almsgiving, your charity, are come up in remembrance before God. And as a result, he is going to answer your prayer. He's going to answer your prayer by telling you to do something. Send for Peter, this guy. He's going to come to you and listen to him. Listen to what he is going to tell you. It was some prayer Cornelius must have prayed. He prayed for only one thing, obviously, and that is, Lord, give me more light. I want to know. I want to know. How can I reach you? How can I stand before you? How can I please you? How may I serve you? I want to know. Well, that was about three o'clock in the afternoon one day. And at noon the next day, Peter is on the rooftop of Simon's house, and he's praying. Awful lot of praying going on in those days. One would have to wonder what these guys must have done in their spare time. It seemed like they were filling up their days and their nights with all this praying stuff. I suppose that by today's definition, they would have been viewed as being somewhat fanatical. praying all the time like that, and especially praying and getting answers to their prayers, therefore being encouraged to pray more, one would have to think that they were unusual people, the kind that most of us would not like to imitate, seeing as how most of us are not really all that interested in spending hours a day in prayer. At any rate, Peter was praying. I don't know what it was that Peter was praying for. I know what Cornelius was praying for, because I know how his prayer was answered, and that's what he was asking for. But I don't know what it was that Peter was praying for. He might have been saying, Lord, I pray for the Jewish nation, that you would save them, that they would receive the gospel and receive your son. He may have been praying that. Or he may have been praying for the safety of some of those who were already converted. I don't really know exactly what, but I do know this. He was praying. And he didn't get what he asked for either. I'm sure he didn't get what he asked for. If there's any doubt about it, just look at the argument Peter gave to God when he had his prayer answered. He's praying. He goes into a trance. A sheep comes down, all this unpure and unclean animals that the Jews just absolutely disdain are in it. And Peter does the Jewish thing. He starts to argue with God, because that's what Jews are very good at doing. They argue with God. You remember Fiddler on the Rope? He argued with God all the time, and finally he said, why me? And he would argue constantly with God, but Peter argued with him. So I know this prayer isn't, I mean, what Peter saw here wasn't an answer to his prayer. And I want you to know this about prayer. Prayer always produces a result, always. A sincere prayer will always produce a result. It will always be the right result. It may not be your result, but it'll always be the right one. We do not always get what we ask for, but we always get what we need. Peter needed to be educated. He needed to turn his thinking. He needed to cease being as parochial as he was about his Jewishness. He needed to learn that God's plan, his redemptive plan, embraced more than Jewish people. And he didn't know that yet, and now he was going to have it demonstrated to him as a result of his praying in answer to his prayer, even though it wasn't what it was that he prayed for. No, we don't always get what we need in prayer. Sometimes we ask for the nice things of life and we get some of the difficult things of life. Sometimes we ask for bodily healing and we don't get it. We get spiritual healing instead. But I'll tell you something. The Bible tells us, the Lord Jesus Christ himself said it, and it's been repeated in many different ways in the scriptures, those who would follow Jesus Christ, he says, are required to take up their cross daily and follow me, to bear their own cross. And I must tell you that when we pray to have those crosses that we have been told to carry removed, we are praying ourselves into a disservice. We are a people in Christ who are called to be cross-bearers. Our own cross. We carry our own cross. Not his. His cross is too much for anyone to bear. But it says, take up your cross daily and follow me. That's what he said. It's far better to have the cross sanctifying us than to have it removed. And that's what we have to be careful about when we pray. We often will pray. And I know because I've done it myself many, many times in my rather lengthy lifetime now. We always, always pray for our problems to be removed from us and our burdens to be lifted off of us. Don't we? Isn't that basically the tenor of our prayers? They certainly are. Rarely do we pray that the Lord would take whatever it is that is bending us over and use it to sanctify us and better us, to make me better. Lord, if you won't take this away, will you teach me what it is that you want me to know so that I may learn from you? We need to do those things. Well, in order to pray or to have those kinds of things said in our prayers, we need to pray. I have a little It's written better than I could say it, although I've said it many times in similar ways. The word habit usually brings to mind negative images, bad habits, those kinds of things. But actually, habit could have many benefits as well, because habit is a kissing cousin to discipline, self-discipline. With discipline and repetition, good habits can lead to a godly lifestyle. Now, why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this because I know. I know the human frame, the busyness of our lives. And because we are busy people and because our minds have taken up with other things and other interests, we often, if we pray at all, just squeeze it in. Do it on the run. We argue, well, you know, the Bible says be instant in prayer, so I'm always in an attitude of prayer. I pray when I'm driving my car, which, you know, that's valid. But if that's your prayer life, if your prayer life is on the run, filling in the gaps of your life, then you've developed some very bad habits and have neglected some very good habits that you should be developing. When you follow God's direction daily, When you pray every day at the same time, and at least with some degree of time consumed in the doing of it, when you do that, even though you don't feel like doing it, even though you may have to get up a little earlier to do it, but when you do it, when you do it on a regular basis, you set a pattern of faithful submission to God. Oh, and you say, but if I don't really feel like doing it, is God hearing me? Maybe, maybe not. That's not relevant to what I am saying. What I am saying is, once the habit is established and the discipline has brought the habit, then you will be doing what you ought to be doing, and you will be praying as you ought to be praying, and the results will be the same. Let me give you an example. You remember, Daniel, when Darius the king got conned, talked, by his advisors into making an obelisk that was a monument to himself, to the king. And he made the decree in all of the land that at a certain hour each day, every citizen of the land will bow down before wherever he is and face toward that obelisk and will worship you, O king, and let it be written and let it be so. And it happened. Well, they knew that Daniel wouldn't do it. And they were trying to get Daniel. So they figured Daniel was done for. Either that or Daniel would compromise. But Daniel understood the principle of self-discipline and of habit-forming, of doing godly things on a habitual basis, things that ought to be done. He didn't have any trouble in deciding what to do when the king announced that people had to bow down and worship him, pray to him. It was against the law to pray to anyone other than the king, and Daniel did what he had always done. He worshipped God. And he did it alone. He worshipped God alone. And here's the point. The point is when the crisis time, the crunch time comes in our lives, how we deal with it and what we do at that time will depend entirely upon how well trained we are to do it. If we have had no discipline in spiritual matters, when we are faced with spiritual crises in our lives, we will cave in. If we have had discipline and training in spiritual matters in our lives, we will make the right decision and it won't be as painful as it would be if we had to make the decision without having that background. We need to learn that we cannot live our lives sloppily and carelessly, call ourselves Christians, and expect that we will, every time we are faced with a difficulty, act in a Christian way or please God. And what we will do is we will continually displease God more and more until finally we will be unidentifiable as Christian. And that's tragic. That would be a sad thing to reflect upon and to contemplate. From daily praying under potential persecution Seems like a big leap, but Daniel's small steps got him there. And I think if we understand that doing the things that we ought to do... Here's another example. God's Word is essential equipment to obedience. But you have to know what God says in order to obey Him. You do. You have to know it. You can't be a Christian and ignore the Word of God. Just obliterate it out of your life. Or do the same thing. Grab your Bible, read 10 or 15 verses, and consider that you've done your Bible reading for the day and your worship for the day. Or take a little testament, put it on the dashboard of your car, and when you get to McDonald's, read a few verses and figure that you've done it. We're talking about deliberate habit that takes time and energy and thought. You are not going to know what God says unless you read what he says, and you are not going to do what he says unless you know what he says. So those kind of habits are good things. I won't buy the argument that I don't feel really sincere in doing it, so it's not valid. You do it. You do it on a regular, routine basis, and it will become very valid for you. Well, just a couple more notes here, and we'll close. Peter was perplexed at this vision that he saw. But his perplexity would soon be cleared up because shortly there would be knocking at the gate of Simon's house, these men that Cornelius had sent. And they would tell him what Cornelius said, and he would go. And he would do something he had never done before. He would go into a Gentile's house. He'd never done that. Not only would he go into a Gentile's house, but he would tell the Gentiles in that house the exact same gospel truth that he had been telling Jews. He had never done that either. So he went into Cornelius' house. He yet wasn't absolutely certain what it was he was going to say until Cornelius told him of his prayer and of the angel who came to him. And then Peter ejaculated and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. That's true across the board. God is no respecter of persons. And that is a biblical truth that we need to understand. He doesn't respect rich any more than poor. He doesn't respect intellectuals any more than simpletons. He doesn't respect white people any more than black people. He doesn't respect Japanese any more than Chinese. God is no respecter of persons, none whatsoever. I grow a little more than a little more impatient with people who somehow think that God's grace is measured out according to race, or according to ethnic background, or according to intellectual pursuits, or lack of them. God's grace is not measured out that way at all. God's grace is measured out to white and black, rich and poor, young and old. It's measured out according to His own sovereign grace and purpose. The election of God will stand, and I must tell you that standing before Him when it's all over and said and done, those who will enjoy the glory of His presence will be there. Not because they said, I'm smarter, Lord, or I was richer, Lord, or I was whiter, Lord, or I was blacker, Lord. You'll be there. And they'll all say the same thing. Praise God. Hallelujah. I am here by God's grace. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for bringing me into your very presence. I earned none of it. I deserve none of it. But I have all of it. Peter walked into Cornelius' house, and Cornelius, as he came in, fell down at his feet and began to worship him, this poor ignorant man. He had yet to be taught. He had asked for light. He was going to get it, but fell down to worship Peter in his ignorance. And Peter very quickly corrected him. He said, stand up, I myself also am a man. This wouldn't be the first time or the only time that Peter would have to correct someone, nor would the apostle Paul find that he would not have to correct someone from doing the same thing. And certainly, the angel of God corrected John, the apostle, from doing the very same thing. I tell you this only because I want you to know that there's a great deal of ignorance about today. I just noticed a few weeks ago, when the papal seat came to the United States of America, there were literally millions of Americans who fell down before him, bowed down before him. Poor souls, they did it in ignorance. There's no question that they did it in ignorance. And I'm sure they thought they were doing the right thing. But the fact is that the Bible precludes, absolutely precludes, that kind of behavior. The only one that we are to bow our knees before are to the Lord Jesus Christ himself and to his heavenly father. And we are not to bow our knees before anyone else in worship. Finally, I want you to notice that Cornelius speaking for his friends and his near friends, his close friends who were gathered in his house, the servants of his house and of his family, all those who were there. In the 33rd verse of our text, he said, now, therefore, we are all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Every preacher, should pray for that kind of an audience. Here is a group of people, I don't know quite how many, who were there prepared to hear all the Word of God that Peter was going to give them. They wanted to hear it. They had prayed to hear it. They had gone through extraordinary effort to make certain that they would hear it. They were about to hear the elixir of life. I can't help but think that they were quivering with anticipation. They knew, Cornelius knew there was more than what he had. And he wanted to hear what it was. That must have been an electric house. Way before Thomas Edison, there must have been an electric house. There must have been great electricity in the air and wonderful anticipation. Cornelius wouldn't be disappointed. The power of God would come down upon that house in such a way that they could not help but see Jesus Christ as their only hope of salvation. Finally, finally, that come to the place there would be rest for their souls found only in the Christ of God. The same Christ is now. The same rest is now. The same gospel is now. If the gospel is left alone as it is defined in the Word of God and not encumbered by the other things that are being heaped upon it today, it is an effective gospel. and will always strike its mark, as is witnessed by some of you here. Well, thank God. Thank God for eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let's pray. We thank you, our Father, for your graciousness in preserving your word for us today. And I ask that it would have its intended effect, that the power of the Holy Spirit of God would accompany it to convict and convince those who are in Christ of their lives and how they ought to live them, and for those who are unsaved, of their lives and how they ought to repent of them and come to Christ. I pray in his name. Amen. Yeah.