Never Unnoticed: Pursuit Through Prayer and Generosity

Over the years, Jeffrey and I have learned that

the greatest battles we face are usually fought

in our minds, but won with our mouths. When we've

chosen to speak God's promises in the face of

our fears, failures, and problems, we've seen

God do what only He can do. This truth has changed

our lives, and it's why we wrote Talk to Your

Giants, to show you how to fight the good fight

of faith, speak in agreement with God's Word,

and discover the victory that comes when you

stop talking It's week number four in our series

that we've entitled Never Unnoticed. Everybody

say double negative. My sister was an English

teacher. She told me not to use double negatives,

but I decided this was the best way to get the

message across because so many people go through

seasons and times in their lives where they feel

like they are unnoticed. That what they are doing

for God goes unnoticed. But I just want everyone

to know, you are never unnoticed by God. Never

unnoticed. Now, how many of you have ever seen

the TV show, Candid Camera? You have to be old

to see a candid camera, I guess. I can't remember

how long it's been since it's been off the air.

But let me tell you about it. They would put

these cameras in places where people couldn't

see them. This is, I guess, one of the first

reality TV shows. I mean, actual reality TV show.

And I looked to kind of share one with you. Jeffrey

shared one with you last week. So I said, well,

I need to share an episode of candid camera with

you as well. So here's what they decided to do.

They got with a local police department, and

what was the guy's name? Al Font? Alan Font?

Did I miss it? Okay, it's close. His name was

Alan. Anyway, he put on a police uniform, got

in a police car with a policeman in a small town,

and they also had an actor as a taxi driver.

And they had it set up. You know, it was all

pre -planned. But a lady called the taxi and

he drove by this place. All of a sudden, he gets

pulled over by the police because he's speeding.

So they come up to the window and they say, Sir,

you were speeding. Let me see your license. And

the cab driver says, Well, I was only speeding

because my passenger told me they were in a hurry.

and told me I need to get there as quick as I

can. And the policeman goes, so she told you

to break the law? He said, yeah, she told me.

So then the policeman goes to the passenger door,

tells a passenger in the cab to get out, asks

for her driver's license, and begins to write

her a ticket for speeding, and she wasn't even

driving. Now you can go Google this and see it

on YouTube. It's hilarious. She's like, I'm not

paying a fine. I wasn't driving. How could I

get a ticket? And he just said, well, he said

that the reason why he's speeding is because

you told him to go fast. And I mean, it just

escalated and escalated and escalated until he

looked at her and he said, smile, you're on candid

camera. That's the way the show worked. They

would set up these people and work them into

a frenzy and then tell them that they were on

a TV show. I want to share another story with

you because we're always being watched. I mean,

there's a camera right there. There's a camera

right there. There's some more back here. There's

one out in the lobby. As you came to church today,

right now, the principal, the superintendent

of schools, any... Anyone with access, they can

pull up these cameras, listen to what's going

on in this room. They can see the back of your

head and they can see my face. So I hope you

comb the back of your hair good. Because sometimes

when I turn around, you can see a bald spot and

I have to comb it a certain way. Because I have,

trust me, it's because of a cowlick. It's not

because I'm going bald. Whatever. Whatever. When

was that, JT, that North Greenville? North Greenville

University is... Gannon and I met at North Greenville,

and they had an alumni banquet back in June.

So it's about a month and a half ago. And they

got down here, my alma mater got down here, and

they didn't have all the equipment that they

needed. So just a few days out, they said, do

you know anyone with a video projector and a

screen and a small sound system? I said, have

I got the person for you. gig rent. And JT works

at gig rent. And Jamie and Jordan own gig rent.

They've moved to another side of town now, but

they own gig rent. So I connected them. And that's

all I did. I connected them. JT worked out the

deal or whatever, got it ready for them. They

went and picked it up. And then when I show up

at the alumni banquet about 30 minutes before

it starts, Since I was the one who recommended,

right? When I walk in the door and they were

holding... Well, actually, I was outside. They

hadn't let anyone in yet. But when they saw me,

they said, it's Dean's fault. They could not

find the power cables for the speakers. They

couldn't find the wires for the... from in between

the computer and the projector. And they were

freaking out because everyone was lining up.

And then all of a sudden I go in there and I'm

texting JT. And guess what JT does? He pulls

out his phone. He looks at the security camera,

which is not just security. He rewinds it. I

guess you can scrub it with your finger and rewind

it when they were packing up the job to go to.

near the convention center and JT says those

cables are there they're in the speaker bag that

they pulled the speaker out of there's a little

bag there that has the wires in it and then the

other wires are in another place and I said why

didn't you look in the bag so I wound up digging

through the bags, hooking everything up correctly,

running sound for the entire event. So JT is

watching. They're probably working right now

on something. You hope not. But he's watching,

and he was able to solve the problem because

the recorded video feed that was there, he told

me exactly where everything was that they were

looking for, which people are always watching.

Always watching. We're always being watched.

We're never unnoticed. We're also never unnoticed

by God. In Genesis 16, we see the story of Abram,

Sarah, and Hagar. Very quickly on the story.

God made Abram, who's later named Abraham, He

made him a promise. He told him that he was going

to be the father of many nations. Only problem

is, he's about 85 years old. He made the promise

at 75. Now he's about 85. He still doesn't even

have one child. Much less enough offspring to

be the father of nations. Somewhere along the

way in the first 10 years of their journey, just

following God, not even knowing where to go.

Because God says, I want to take you to a place

that I will show you. He didn't say, here's where

I want you to go. He just said, follow me. and

I'm going to take you to a place. And then he's

like, everywhere your foot treads, this is yours.

Somewhere along the way, they wound up going

to Egypt during a time of famine, and they were

provided for there. When they left Egypt, they

were given a servant girl, a slave, named Hagar.

So back to the story. We're now about 85 years

old. Still no child. Sarah couldn't have a child.

Sarah came up with this idea. God made us a promise.

God hasn't come through on His promise. Not yet.

So maybe we need to help God out. I've got an

idea to help God out. How many of you know that

probably is not going to turn out too well? When

you come up with human ideas to try to help God.

Because God's promised something to you, you

don't see it yet, so now I've got to figure it

out in the flesh and in my own human reasoning

how to make God's promises come true. Not going

to work out too good. So Sarah said, Abram, you

know, we have this servant girl, Hagar, and...

I would like for her to be the surrogate mother

of our child. So, all of a sudden, Hagar's pregnant.

She's expecting. But here's what happened. All

of a sudden, she got an attitude. It says she

began to treat Sarah with contempt. And that's

another way of describing that she got an attitude.

We know what an attitude is more than we know

what contempt is, right? So she got an attitude

and she was like, you know, you can't have a

baby. I'm having a baby. I'm having your husband's

baby. You know, his attitude. So Sarah got upset.

And she says, what are we going to do with her?

Abram says, whatever you want to do with her.

That's a good answer for a husband. Whatever

you want, honey. Anyway, Sarah began to make

Hagar's life very difficult. And Hagar ran away.

She ran out into the wilderness. And when she

ran out into the wilderness to run away, the

angel of the Lord talked with her. He met her

and talked with her. And he told her to go back.

And in this encounter, we're not reading either

the entire chapter of Genesis 16, but in this

chapter we find out a name for God. We learn

that God is El Roy. God is El Roy. El is an abbreviation

for Elohim. It means the supreme mighty God.

And Roy is who sees me. He sees. And if you were

here during the series where we talked about

the names of God, you know that the names of

God presented in the Bible, they're not just

historical events. I mean, God is letting us

know who He is. What kind of relationship He

wants to be in with us. And what He does in the

lives of His people. And He reveals Himself through

His names. That's how He does it. So when we

find out that God is El -Rohi, then we know that

He sees us. He sees you. It's like a... I even

see it on billboards and stuff like that. You

know, because people are like, our business sees

you. Has anyone seen those billboards? We see

you. Well, God was seeing you before that business

decided that they want to tell you that they

see you. God sees you. Everybody say, God sees

me. The supreme mighty God sees you personally.

He sees every tear. He sees every act of obedience.

He sees every sacrifice. He sees every act of

faithfulness. And nothing goes unnoticed by God.

Nothing. You're never unnoticed. 2 Chronicles

16, 9 says this. The eyes of the Lord run to

and fro throughout the whole earth. to show himself

strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal

to him. This is another verse confirming that

God sees us. His eyes are running to and fro

throughout the whole earth. I mean, he's looking.

And he's looking for something specific. We spent

a little time in front of a mirror getting ready

to come to church today, but what's on the outside

is not what's most important to God. The Bible

tells us in Samuel, God says, I don't see you

as you see each other. God doesn't see us like

we look at each other. Because God looks at our

hearts. And this verse in 2 Chronicles confirms

that. He's looking at our hearts. I want you

to picture God going up and down the row of chairs

that you're sitting in right now, to and fro.

I mean, He's looking, He's looking, He's looking,

and He's looking at everyone all around the world.

And He's God, so He doesn't just get on one row

at a time. He goes down every row at the same

time. So there's no hidden time. Well, I sure

am glad he's seeing their heart, not mine. No,

he's seeing. I'm glad he's over in India looking

at hearts in India. It's going to take him a

while to get back here. No, he sees. He sees

you and he sees your heart. And he's looking

for a specific type of heart in order for him

to do something about it. Do you see it in the

verse? He's looking for hearts that are loyal

to him. We could replace that with fully committed.

He's looking for fully committed and loyal hearts.

And then when he finds it, when he finds somebody

with a fully committed or loyal heart, here's

what he's going to do. He's going to show himself

strong on your behalf. If you have a committed

or loyal heart, fully committed, loyal heart,

he's going to show himself strong. Not just for

you. Listen. He's not just going to show himself

strong for you. Even though that's great. But

he's going to show himself strong through you.

When your heart is loyal and fully committed

to him. He's going to show you how big he is.

How great his love is. How awesome he is. He's

going to show himself in your life and through

your life. And notice what he's looking for.

He's not looking for the most talented. He's

not looking for an influential person, somebody

who already has a lot of influence. Even though

that's fine, if they do, I mean, if their heart's

loyal to Him, He can still use them, but He's

searching for hearts that are fully committed

to Him. Fully committed to Him. Someone who says,

God, whatever you say, I'll do. I'll follow you.

If you want me to say something, I'll say it.

If you want me to go somewhere, I'll go. If you

want me to do something, I'll do it. Even before

you know what it is. He's looking for somebody

who's committed. Because just like Abram in the

story that we looked at, he didn't even know

where or how long or anything like that. But

he was willing and loyal. He was fully committed.

He was ready to walk in faith and not in sight.

He didn't have to see the end before he made

his first step. He just chose to be obedient

with what he already knew and what he already

heard. I'm going to obey. And then it kept unfolding.

Just kept unfolding in front of him. If he wouldn't

have had a fully committed heart, it would have

never opened up. Hello? Come on. Somebody smile.

You can either take this like it's something

negative or you can take it like, yes, it's mine.

That's the way I want you to receive it. I don't

want you to look at your past and say, oh no.

I want you to look at today and say, oh yeah.

Oh yeah. This is available for me. This is for

me. No matter how, you know, how lack of, I was

in the past. Today's a new day. Let's go from

here. That's what God's going to tell you because

you can't fix anything from yesterday. We got

to go from today and move and follow God. Be

fully committed. Be loyal. Hallelujah. Make that

commitment even before you know what the direction

is. That'll lead you into an amazing life, I'm

telling you. God doesn't simply observe our hearts.

When he finds one that's loyal and fully committed

to him, he responds. He responds. Throughout

this series, we're studying several biblical

accounts where God sees the hearts of people.

God always sees the hearts of everyone, but in

these instances, what he sees, he... reveals

to us what he sees. How many of you are glad

God doesn't always reveal what's in your heart

to everybody else, right? But these people, it's

been like 2 ,000 years. They've been gone, but

God wrote it in his book so that we could see

what their hearts were like. Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

Look to the person beside you and say, listen

fast. All right, listen fast. Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

For in Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer

named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian

regiment. He was a devout, God -fearing man,

as was everyone in his household. He gave generously

to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One

afternoon, about three o 'clock, he had a vision

in which he saw an angel of God coming toward

him. Cornelius, the angel said. Cornelius stared

at him in terror. What is it, sir? He asked the

angel. And the angel replied, Your prayers and

gifts to the poor have been received by God as

an offering. Now, send some men to Joppa and

summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying

with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.

Now, let's stop right here. We're going to continue

all the way through the entire story. I want

to take notice. He was seen by God. What he was

doing was seen by God. His prayer and his generosity

were received by God as an offering. Now he didn't

give it to God. He didn't give it to the temple

because he wasn't a Jew. He couldn't go in the

temple. Like we looked at the lady who put in

the two mites. We looked at her story when we

started this series. Well, all he did was he

looked around him and he saw God's people. I

mean, he's a Gentile, but he saw the Jews around

him and he saw like widows and orphans who are

struggling, having a hard time. And we can tell

through the language and through the description

of the offering that his giving was specifically

directed towards those in need among the people

of God. It wasn't just philanthropy to wherever

around the world. He saw the people of God. He's

a Gentile. He's outside. He believed in God.

He was praying and he saw God's people. He's

a Roman officer. They were ruling over Jerusalem

at this time. He saw the widows and orphans and

He just wanted in his heart to help them out.

So it was directed towards the people of God.

And then listen, God essentially says through

this angel, here's what he says, Cornelius, I've

been watching. Your prayers weren't unnoticed.

Your generosity wasn't unnoticed. Your pursuit

of me wasn't unnoticed. And now I'm responding.

Now I'm responding. Now up until this point,

Cornelius did not have the revelation he needed

to become a Christian. He didn't have any information.

He didn't know who Peter was. Peter was the most

prominent one of the disciples. I mean, he was

the front man for the disciples in Jerusalem.

and the most recognizable preacher up until this

point. I mean, Paul had had his Damascus Road

experience and conversion right before this,

but he hadn't started going out yet. None of

the missionary journeys have taken place yet.

But listen, Cornelius acted with the revelation

that he had. He responded to what he knew. And

he knew to pray. He knew to give, be generous.

He knew those things. And he was just acting

based on what he knew. I want to encourage you.

Don't allow what you don't know yet. To keep

you from acting on what God has already shown

you to do. Because sometimes we do that. Sometimes

we do that. I'm going to say it again. Don't

allow what you don't know yet to keep you from

acting on what God has already shown you to do.

Cornelius prayed, he gave, he sought God. And

what happened? Because he was seeking God, God

brought him more light. In a pretty amazing way.

Hebrews 11 .6 says this, It's impossible to please

God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to

Him, come to God, must believe that God exists.

And that He rewards those who sincerely seek

Him. Listen, it's easy for us to just say amen

with, we believe that God exists. But some of

us in our background, in our training, I mean,

it's hard for us to swallow that He rewards those.

He's a rewarder of those who sincerely seek Him.

Sometimes that makes us... I didn't grow up in

that environment, but... Is this the Word of

God or is this the Word of God? Come on. I'm

just reading a verse. Somebody ought to smile.

Again, you need to say, Wow, starting today,

if I act on the knowledge that I have and I start

seeking God, I'm going to find him. Hello? That

ought to put a smile on your face, not like,

oh no. We always want to receive things on the

negative side so much. Oh no. I haven't been

acting on what God's word has laid out for me.

I haven't been acting on that, so now I'm shrinking

back. No. Don't do it. Say, today's the day I'm

going to start acting, and I'm going to see it.

God's going to show Himself strong in me. God's

going to bless me in ways I haven't even seen

blessing before. Because He's a rewarder of those

who sincerely seek Him, and I'm sincerely seeking

Him. Hallelujah! As soon as the angel was gone,

Cornelius called two of his household servants.

Did he wait a day? Did he wait a week? Did he

say, boy, I wonder what I ate for dinner last

night. That was crazy. An angel? A vision? I

mean, I hadn't even heard about that stuff, much

less experienced it. As soon as the angel was

gone, he acted. Cornelius called two of his household

servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal

attendants. He told them what had happened and

sent them off to Joppa. All he could say is,

go to somebody who makes leather and tans skins.

His name's Simon. I don't know where he lives.

I don't know his address. Go to Joppa by the

seashore. Start asking, does anyone around here

sell leather? And then go to his house. Is anyone

named Simon who lives here that sells leather?

And then they go knock on the door at Simon's

house, and then they say, is there a guy here

named Simon Peter? Not even Simon Peter's house.

He's just staying with the other son. That's

faith. So, the next day, because it took them

a long time to get there, the next day, as Cornelius'

messengers were nearing the town, they were already

on their way. Peter went up on the flat roof

to pray. It was about noon. And he was hungry.

But while a meal was being prepared, he fell

into a trance. Here comes another vision. He

saw the sky open. And something like a large

sheet was let down by its four corners. In the

sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles and

birds. Then a voice said to him, Get up, Peter.

Kill and eat them. Now listen. No, Lord. Peter

declared. He's thinking like, is this a test?

Because I'm not supposed to eat these animals

that are in this sheet. My tradition tells me

I can't do that. No, Lord, Peter declared, I

have never eaten anything our Jewish laws have

declared impure and unclean. No. How many times

do we say no when God tells us to do something?

How many times do we begin to question? How many

times do we say, no, God, I can't do that. They'll

think I'm weird. You know, they won't be my friend

anymore if I tell them what you want me to tell

them. You know, this is... That's what Peter

did. But the voice spoke again. Listen to what

God says. Do not call something unclean if God

has made it clean. Same vision, two more times.

That means the second time, he still said, even

after he heard this, No, Lord, I don't need anything

that my Jewish tradition tells me not to eat.

I can't do it. God spoke to Peter in a vision.

Listen, Peter was so ingrained in tradition that

God presented the same vision three times. And

then even after the third time. It said that

Peter was just perplexed. He's like, what could

this mean? What can this vision mean? Well, I'll

go ahead and tell you. It was about more than

food. It was an illustration. It was about more

than food. In verses 17 through 23, now as we

jump ahead. Cornelius' servants arrive and they

ask for Simon Peter. They ask for him to come

with them. God tells Peter to go with them, these

strangers. All of a sudden now he's going to

travel a full day to go see somebody he's never

met before. They arrived in Caesarea the following

day. Cornelius was waiting for them. Now listen.

We can't just bounce by this information. Cornelius

was waiting for them. That's obvious and expected,

right? But this part isn't. Cornelius was waiting

for them, and he had called together his relatives

and his close friends. He didn't even know if

the guy was going to come or not, outside of

what God told him. But it's like, hey. Everybody

come to my house. Something big is about to happen

at my house. God sent an angel in a vision to

talk to me to go get a man named Peter and tell

him that I want him to say the message that God

has placed on his heart. So you better be here.

You better not miss it. He had a house full.

So he meets Peter outside the house. They talk

together, briefly, and then they go inside the

house. And then, well, I was going to jump ahead

on the slide. Listen, this is important. Cornelius

didn't just seek revelation. He prepared to receive

it. If we're praying our Ephesians prayer, asking

God to give us insight and revelation towards

His Word and what He's speaking to us, let us

see it. If we're really expecting to see it,

we should be preparing to receive it. Cornelius

just didn't seek that Word, that message, that

revelation. He prepared to receive it. He was

waiting for Peter. He had gathered his relatives

and close friends. Think about it. Peter hadn't

even arrived and Cornelius had already filled

the room. He had filled his house. Expectation

prepares before revelation arrives. I'm going

to say it again. Expectation prepares. before

revelation arrives. If you're going to write

down something, write that down. Expectation

prepares before revelation arrives. If you're

asking God to bring revelation as you read the

Bible, as you pray, as you talk with Him, listen,

you need to be expecting that He's going to do

it. You need to be expecting revelation. You

don't just pray it like, well, I doubt this will

work, but the preacher told me to pray it. Pray

that the eyes of my understanding will be enlightened

to the truth. I'm not expecting it, but I'm going

to pray it. Hallelujah. Expectation. Has to be

there before the revelation is going to arrive.

I'm glad I'm having fun. Verse 28. Now listen

to what Peter says when he walks in the house.

He's got his friends. He's got his family. And

now listen to what Peter says. You know it's

against our laws for a Jewish man. to enter a

Gentile home like this, or even associate with

you. What a warm welcome. Hello? But, hallelujah,

there's a but. But God has shown me that I should

no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

So even though I knew I was going to a Gentile's

house, and even though that's just totally out

of my understanding and out of my comfort zone,

out of what I think is right, because I think

all Gentiles are dogs, God showed me something.

In that sheet that He lowered, He showed me something.

I should no longer think of anyone as impure

or unclean. So I came without objection as soon

as I was sent for. Now, why am I here? Tell me

why you sent for me. At that point, Cornelius

shares his encounter with the angel. We've already

read it. We've seen it. He shares that whole

thing in front of his family and his friends

and in front of Peter. And he basically ends

up saying, I sent for you at once after that

encounter with the angel. It was good for you

to come. Thank you for coming. Now we're all

here. And we're waiting before God. Everybody

say expectation. We're waiting before God to

hear the message the Lord has given you. Then

Peter replied, I see very clearly. We could put

now. I see very clearly. God shows no favoritism.

In every nation, He accepts those who fear Him

and do what is right. In every nation. I'm not

a Jew, so I say thank you, Jesus. This is the

message of good news. Everybody say gospel. This

is the gospel. This is the message of good news

for the people of Israel. Because they all thought

that the gospel and Jesus was just the Messiah

for Israel. They didn't understand, you know,

the prophecy through Abraham. That through Abraham,

he's going to bless the whole world. This is

the message of good news for the people of Israel.

there's peace with God. There's peace with God

through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Wow.

So Peter shares the good news. He shares the

gospel. He shares his testimony. He talks about

how he walked with Jesus and went with Jesus

and saw that Jesus was doing good. and everything.

I mean, He didn't explain it all, but He was

like, I was with Him. I was there. He talked

about Him dying on a cross. He talked about His

crucifixion. He also talked about His resurrection.

And He ends His message by saying, you know,

when people believe in Jesus, their sins are

forgiven. Sins are forgiven. So he shared the

wonderful news of God's great love. And the Bible

says that even as Peter was saying these things,

while he's speaking, while he's sharing the gospel,

while he's sharing his testimony, while he's

telling them this good news, right in the middle

of it, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were

listening to the message. It's just like Pentecost.

In a Gentile's house, not in an upper room in

Jerusalem, but in the Gentile's house, Holy Spirit

fell upon all who were listening to the message.

The Jewish believers, because Paul had some friends

come with him, some other Jews, the Jewish believers

who came with Peter were amazed. I mean, they

saw what happened at Pentecost. They saw the

result. But now they're in a Gentile's house.

Didn't even feel like they should be there, but

now they're amazed that the gift of the Holy

Spirit has been poured out on the Gentiles too.

For they heard them speaking in other tongues

and praising God. Right in the middle of Paul's

message, all of a sudden, it just broke loose.

He hadn't even finished yet. He hadn't got to

the altar call yet, and all of a sudden, they're

all believing in Christ, and Holy Spirit's falling

on them. I mean, it's, whoo! I've never had a

service just totally break free in the middle

of it. That'd be nice. God just take over. That's

what happened. Then Peter asked, can anyone object?

He's looking at these other Jewish ministers

or laymen or whatever. They were there with him.

He says, can any of you guys object to their

being baptized? I mean, basically what he's saying

is, I know they haven't converted to Judaism

yet. Because that's what they thought. Up until

this point, they thought the only way that you

could become a Christian was to convert to Judaism.

That's what they thought. That's what Peter thought.

If you've been coming to Life Group, we've looked

at it, and it's like he got challenged on what

he thought even after this point. But he says,

can anyone object to all these people in this

room? Cornelius' family and his friends. Can

anybody object to... Them being baptized? Now

that they have received the Holy Spirit just

as we did? I mean, they were shocked. The Holy

Spirit fell on them even though they weren't

Jews. We've never seen anything like this before.

And then Peter said, baptize them. There were

no objections. He said, let's do it. So they

left the house and went to a river or pond or

something, and they baptized them all right then.

Listen, Cornelius was seeking God, but he couldn't

possibly have understood everything that was

coming. He had expectation, but he didn't know

what he was expecting. He's just expecting God

to do something because God sent an angel to

talk to him. He didn't know what was going to

happen. He had never heard of Jesus. He had never

heard of salvation. He had never heard of the

forgiveness of sins. He had no idea what was

coming. Nobody in the room did. I mean, it's

hard for us to imagine that because We've all

heard, right? And we think, oh, everybody already

knows everything. No, they didn't know anything.

He had no idea what was coming. And God just

didn't answer his prayer. God sent Peter. Like

I said, the most influential disciple, follower

of Christ at this time. I mean, he's the... It'd

be like you praying several years ago and God

sending Billy Graham to knock on your door. I

want to know you. Call for this man named Billy

Graham. Who's that? And then he just comes to

your house and talks to you. I mean, it's of

that magnitude. And we just read over this stuff

and we're like, we're just casual with it. God

sent Peter. God revealed Jesus. He'd never heard

of Jesus. And God poured out. The Holy Spirit

on him and his family and his friends. They were

born again. Filled with God. Cornelius, his family

and his friends were all born again and baptized.

He had no idea what was coming. God gave him

more than he knew to ask for. I'd write that

down too. God gave Cornelius more than he even

knew what to ask for. And that reminded me of

a verse. Has anybody ever read Ephesians 3 .20

before? God is able. Somebody say God is able.

God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above

all that we ask or think. Everybody say above.

I mean, it's bigger than what we can even ask

for, bigger than what we can even think when

we are seeking God. We need an expectation that

He's going to hear and He's going to answer.

Do you expect God to answer when you pray? Come

on, let's be honest. Do you? Are you really expecting

Him to answer? Every time you pray, you're expecting

Him to answer. There's always an expectation

every time you pray. I would have to say there's

a lot of times I pray that I'm just going through

it. And you're like, oh no. I'm more spiritual

than the preacher, I guess. Because I have never

prayed without expectation. Let's be real. Sometimes

we just go through it. And sometimes we prayed

for the same thing. Over and over. And we haven't

seen the answer yet. And we know that we're praying

in agreement with God's promise. Listen, I'm

not just asking him for some selfish thing. I'm

praying in agreement with his promise, according

to his word. And I prayed over and over and over.

Sometimes, you're still praying. But your expectation

might be slipping just a little bit. Come on.

We're looking at this story today. We don't know

how long Cornelius was praying to God. We don't

know how long he was being faithful in what he

knew, in the light that he had, in the revelation

that he had. We don't know how long. He had been

doing that. God showed up. God showed up. Cornelius

prayed when apparently nothing was happening.

He gave when apparently nothing was happening.

He sought God when apparently nothing was happening.

Over and over and over again. Listen, something

was happening. Look at the person beside you

and say, but something was happening. He hadn't

seen it. He hadn't heard it. Something was happening.

Something was happening. It's happening. Even

though I've been praying a similar prayer almost

every day, if not every week for 20 years, something's

happening. Something's happening in the spirit

realm. We keep praying to have a new building.

You look at it. We came up with a picture to

kind of give you a vision, kind of give you an

understanding. And we're praying. We're not stopping

praying. Because something's happening. We might

not see it yet. But we can't give up hope. We've

got to hold on to hope. And our hope is anchored

behind the veil, the Bible says. According to

the promises of God, our hope is anchored behind

the veil. And we hold on to that hope. Without

wavering. Because something's happening. Don't

give up. I'm here to tell you, don't give up.

Need to encourage myself. Don't give up. Because

if you give up, you'll never get it. Don't give

up. believing according to God's promises, don't

ever give up. Something was happening at Cornelius'

house. Heaven was noticing. Every time he prayed,

every time he gave to the poor Jews, the people

of God, every time he gave, heaven's watching.

Don't know how long it was, but one day, everybody

say one day. One day the angel appeared and the

message of the angel was, hey, God's seen it

all. You weren't unnoticed. Cornelius could have

thought, well, I'm doing all this stuff and,

you know, I'm basically unnoticed. It's unnoticed

that I'm praying. It's unnoticed that I'm giving.

You know, nobody's building a library with my

name on it. Hello. God saw it all. And I ask

you again, if you can't figure it out, if you

can't put two and two together, why were Cornelius,

his family, and closest friends among the first

Gentiles to become Christians? Why were they

first? Why were they first? Hmm? Because Cornelius.

Because of his prayer, his generosity had not

gone unnoticed by God. That's what the angel

said. I'm not making up anything. I mean, that's

what the Bible says. The angel says, look, God

has seen your prayers. He's heard your prayers

and he's seen your generosity. And that's why

I'm here today to tell you that there's this

guy named Simon Peter that you've never heard

of and he's at... Simon the Leathermaker's house

that you've never heard of down in Joppa is a

day from here. Send him and tell him to give

you the message. It was not unnoticed by God.

Was not unnoticed by God. El Roy sees you. Everybody

say, God sees me. God sees me. That's who he

is. That's his name. God sees me. He sees your

heart. He remembers your faithfulness. He watches

over His Word to perform it. And God remains

a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

He told us that. Anything He told us, we should

be able to trust it. We should be able to trust

it, right? If God said it, we should be able

to trust Him. Act on what God has already shown

you. Prepare your heart with expectation. Prepare

your heart to receive what He wants to show you

next. And then trust Him with what you can't

see yet. This online worship experience was brought

to you by the friends and partners of Elation

Church.