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Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
***Turning Point***
Thank God, that this promise of forgiveness, cleansing, renewal, and deliverance just wasn’t for the Israelite or the Jews only!
For it came to pass, in the 10th chapter of Acts that there was a Roman army officer by the name of Cornelius. I said a ROMAN ARMY OFFICER, who was not a Jew, who was not a Israelite but was a roman officer. Yes, the same people who conquered Palestine and ruled over God’s people. The same people who brutalized Jesus during his trial, the same people, who would destroy the Temple in Jerusalem 70 A.D.
Yes, those people, who were responsible for ruling the world with an iron fist.
Cornelius, he was a captain of the Italian Regiment, but he was devout, he was a God-fearing man, as well as everyone in his house-hold.
He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.
In other-words, he served God the best way that he knew how. But even then it wasn’t enough. But God saw his heart, He saw the sincerity in his heart, the Lord received his prayers, and the LORD honored the gifts that he gave to the poor.
So now, the LORD was going to bless him. He did the best that he could.
When you do the best that you can......you can expect God to honor that. Furthermore, you can expect God to step in and do what needs to be done when you fall short.
How was Cornelius falling short? Well......Cornelius was familiar with God, but he didn’t know about Jesus.
So an angel of the LORD told Cornelius to summon a man named Simon Peter to come him so that he can hear his message.
And while all of this was going on, Peter was having a prayer session on top of the roof. See, there was a problem that needed to be fixed before Peter could preach to Cornelius.
It was unlawful for a Jew to step foot in the house of a Gentile or to even be associated with them.
But the LORD started working on Peter. Around noon-time while Peter was praying, he began to become hungry, and the LORD began to use that to deal with Peter’s heart.
Peter fell into a trance and saw the sky open and a large sheet was let down by its four corners, and in the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, birds, and Peter heard the LORD say “Kill and eat”
And Peter knowing what the Law stated about eating unclean things told the LORD “No LORD, I have never eaten anything that is common (impure) or unclean.
But the LORD said “what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common (impure or unclean).”
This happened 3 times, and then the Holy Ghost said to him “Three men have come looking for you, get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation, Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”
When Peter goes down stairs and meets 3 gentiles and says “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?
Then the three men told Peter that they were sent by Cornelius a Roman Officer.
Thank God, God was working on Peter.....because had he not.....Peter would’ve probably stayed on the roof, because he was there.....while Jesus was on trial.
They said, Cornelius is a God-fearing man, and well respected by all the Jews, and a holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.
So Peter invites these gentiles to stay in his house......over night. GOD IS WORKING IT OUT!!!!
WHEN YOU TRY YOUR BEST......AND EVEN YOUR BEST SEEMS TO FALL SHORT.......KNOW THAT GOD IS GOING TO WORK IT OUT!!!! ENCOURAGE SOMEONE NEAR YOU AND TELL THEM.....NEIGHBOR......GOD IS GOING TO WORK IT OUT!!!
DON’T YOU TRY AND FIGURE IT OUT.......DON’T TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE IT IS GOING TO COME FROM.......DON’T TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT’S GOING TO MATERIALIZE......JUST BELIEVE!!! BELIEVE THAT GOD IS GOING TO WORK IT OUT!!!!
So the next day, Peter goes to Caesarea, and goes to the house of Cornelius, and when he walks in, Cornelius is there, he has invited over his relatives and his close friends to hear whatever message Peter has to give them from the LORD.
So Peter tells Cornelius:
And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Cornelius then began to tell Peter his experience with the angel, in which Peter replies:
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
This is where I want to stop at for a minute:
Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Peace with God can be obtained through Jesus Christ! Nothing else in life matters when you obtain peace with God through Jesus Christ!!!
So then Peter begins to tell Cornelius and the whole house about Jesus. Up until this point, they’ve done the best the could to serve God, but they were still coming short.
But now Peter begins to open his mouth and tell the house about Jesus!!!
This is what we gotta start doing saints!!! You want to see people saved......OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS!!! YOU WANT TO SEE PEOPLE SAVED, HEALED, DELIVERED??? THEN OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS!!!! TELL THEM WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE IN YOUR LIFE!!! TELL THEM WHAT YOU’VE SEEN THE LORD DO IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS!!!!
Peter tells them:
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.
We apostles saw all the miracles he had performed.
Then they put him to death on a tree.
But God raised him to life on the third day.
Then God allowed him to appear openly, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses.
He wasn’t a ghost either, we ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all- living and the dead.
He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name!
Praise the LORD!!!! And as Peter said these words, when they heard about Jesus, when they believed the words that Peter were saying, when they heard that “everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”
They began to PRAISE THE LORD.....AND THE HOLY GHOST FELL ON ALL THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD!!!!
The bible says, that the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, they were astonished, because the Gentiles.......the ones we thought were unclean, the ones we thought were undeserving, the ones we thought couldn’t be saved..........THEY RECEIVED THE SAME GIFT WE RECEIVED IN THE UPPER-ROOM!!!
How is this possible? They thought.
I thought Ezekial 36:26 was meant for us only:
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
The Lord was cleansing them......not with water, but with the blood.
The Lord was taking out the stony heart and putting in a a heart of flesh that would serve Him. The Lord put a new spirit within them.......and he would cause them to walk in his statues......even though they were gentiles!
They said, we thought this was only for the Jews, but now we see it’s for the gentiles too!!!
I’ve come to tell you this morning......this Pentecostal experience isn’t for only a select few individuals. It’s not just for the Pentecostals, it’s not just for the Apostolics or the Charismatics.
Peter said on the day of Pentecost:
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And for those anti-tongue people who think the only time you are suppose to speak in tongues is if you need to translated to people in their own language........WRONG!!! There was no need in this application!!!
Well how do we know they received the Holy Ghost!?
Verse 46:
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
But Peter wasn’t done.......they received the Holy Ghost, but now there was one more thing they needed to do.
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
So now Cornelius and his family and his friends......have been completed. Where they were coming up short......the LORD intervened. Where they tried the best that they could......the LORD stepped in and worked it out for them.