Living Waters of Grace 10.17.25

This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark

Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County

of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he

continues teaching through God's Word.

Lord, I'll believe it if I can see it, and I'll trust you if

you got all this A through Z all lined out.

And I don't have to like worry about making a mistake or going

down the wrong path or something.

When the Lord impresses something on your heart and you

know it, and you've heard the voice of God, not literally out

externally, but the voice of God speaks in terms that interact

with our mind and our heart. And you and I should know the

difference between hearing our own imagination and hearing the

voice of God. What's the definition of faith?

What does it mean to walk in faith?

The Bible teaches us that faith is believing in something you

can't see that grates against everything inside of us.

We want proof. We want to know beyond a shadow

of a doubt that reality is what we think it is.

As we just heard from Pastor Clark, God is calling us to be

people who hear His voice and make a distinction.

As much as you might like God to simply show you exactly what His

plan is, He's calling you to listen for His voice and walk in

faith. Now here's Pastor Clark in Acts

Acts 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.

We are in the book of the Acts. Acts chapter 10, Peter is the

Acts 10 · chapter mention

guy that we're going to learn a little bit more about.

We've learned a lot about Peter through the Gospels and also the

beginning of the book of the Acts, the first sermon he

preached where over 3000 people got saved.

We will be transitioning to the apostle Paul after Chapter 11 as

he takes on more of the central focus of the ministry of the

church. So let me read and make some

comments. This is Cornelius Gentile, a

Roman Italian guard, who was being pursued by the Holy

Spirit. There was a certain man in

Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the

Italian regiment, A devout man and one who feared God with all

his household, who gave alms generously to the people and

prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day

he saw clearly in a vision an Angel of God coming and saying

to him, Cornelius. And when he observed him, he was

afraid and said, What is it, Lord?

And so he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have come

up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send

for Simon, whose surname is Peter.

He is lodging with Simon at Tanner, whose house is by the

sea. He will tell you what you must

do. And when the Angel who spoke to

him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household

servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on

him continually. So when he had explained all

these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Now, when we as Christians read the Bible, we read it from a

historical perspective, and that's good.

But I think it's really important to personalize what it

is we read so that we might understand how it is that the

Holy Spirit can still speak to us in the days that we live.

God uses His word now. He doesn't really need to send

angels to get messages to us, although He could if he wants

to. He's God.

But He's given us the Word of God so that when we read the

Scriptures, the Holy Spirit speaks to us from the Word of

God and puts things on our heart and directs our paths and tells

us what we should do. The way of the Holy Spirit is

very, very personal. The Lord will put something on

your heart, everyone of you in your daily life, God is speaking

to you about something. He's putting a vision upon your

heart. He's giving you a burden for

something. He's giving you a concern for

someone that He loves, and He wants to use you as a witness,

as a testimony. Every human being on the face of

the planet, whether you believe it or not, looks up in the stars

at night and has the same question.

Why am I here? How was this made?

Is there a God? And if there is a God, why is

life like it is? And usually it sort of stops at

that point. But the Bible tells us in

Romans, just by creation, we know there's a creator and that

we are accountable to him, and that one day we will leave this

world and we will meet our maker.

So it's important to realize that the Holy Spirit, no matter

where people live in the world, when there's a heart like

Cornelius that is being pursued by the Spirit of God and being

drawn by the Spirit of God to Jesus, the Lord begins to do all

this background work. Cornelius, that tells us, was a

devout man. He respected the God of Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob. He was so deep into

understanding that there is one God, but to the point he wasn't

willing to become a full blown Jew and be circumcised and

follow all the customs. But he had come through Pagan

worship as a Roman citizen, Zeus, and all these different

strange gods that the Pagan Roman people worshipped.

And he began to realize that these gods have no power.

But this God of history, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had

done significant things, and he's aware of these things.

And so in essence, he is a believer in the sense of the one

God, but doesn't know Jesus Christ yet.

And so as he's going up to pray, he's following the ritual of the

Jewish tradition of praying the hours.

The 9th hour was 3:00 in the afternoon and so he would go up

and he would begin to pray and this is something that he did

all the time according to the scriptures.

He had this heart to pray and they also feared God.

He also was very generous with his resources and help poor

people. And so God was observing

everything about this man's life.

You don't get saved by giving money.

You don't get saved by praying. But God could see that what was

happening in his life was causing him to be prepared to

receive Jesus. He was getting to this point

now, and it says that the Lord observed him.

It's beautiful to realize that God is observing us all the

time, you and me. He's watching us.

He's seeing how we live. He's seeing what we prioritize.

He's seeing what makes us tick, so to speak.

What gives us passion? As the Lord sees our lives, He

begins to work on them in specific ways and ways that we

can't even imagine at times until they begin to start to

happen. It's exciting, the way of the

Spirit, the way of the Holy Spirit.

And so He gives him real, specific information here.

He has this vision and a vision is something that materially

isn't objectively able to be quantified or solidified in the

sense of matter and form and feeling.

He's seeing something like an altered state of consciousness,

if you may, from his inner being, his mind's eye.

He, he's seeing something that you and I, if we were there, we

wouldn't be able to participate in this vision.

This was a specific vision God had given him to bring him to

this point of direction. It's all these prayers is your

prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

So even lost people, God can look at them and and not every

lost person is, you know, wicked in the sense of just being like

the devil. There's a lot of people out

there that don't know the Lord that are good hearted people,

right? They're willing to to help

people and do things and they're kind and they're gentle.

They're humble and sometimes they make Christians look bad

because of how they're wired, maybe in a deeper way in regard

to caring about other people. So the Lord now gives him

direction as to what specifically he needs to do.

He's telling him to send men to Joppa.

So Caesarea is on the Mediterranean coast, about 135

miles northwest of Jerusalem. Joppa is about 30 miles, about

two day journey from Caesarea. The Lord is telling him send a

couple guys down here to Joppa and send for Simon, specifically

Simon. Now he doesn't know who Simon

is, but he's given this name, Simon, Simon Peter, the more

powerfully used apostles. Peter at this time is beginning

to become conditioned to becoming gracious because he was

a Jew. He was really committed to the

Law of Moses. He had a lot of hang ups.

When he first became a Christian.

He had certain types of perspectives regarding Judaism

versus people who are gentiles. The tradition was that if

someone was a Gentile, first of all, you wouldn't really hang

out with them. You definitely wouldn't go into

their house, nor would you invite them into your house.

There was a lot of a prejudice between those two people groups,

and that's never taught in the Bible, right?

Prejudice. There is no Jew or Gentile bond

or free, male or female. God sees us as one people group.

He, he looks at the heart. And so Simon's down here already

living in a home of a Tanner who's dealing with unclean

animals and all kind of blood and stuff that would have been

taboo is a kosher Jewish person. But the Lord put him in his

house either to just hang out for a while, to have a place to

lodge, or maybe to learn a trade so he could make some money to

help him in the midst of his ministry.

But he's telling Cornelius specifically where this Simon

is. He's at this House of the

Tanner, and he says he will tell you what you must do.

So Cornelius is at the point of wanting to really know the truth

and to have someone tell him about the Messiah.

Now, he was aware of the historical aspects of Jesus.

I'm sure the tradition that had already been established

probably heard about Pentecost, different things, But

nonetheless, he needed to hear specifically point by point what

the Gospel was Then he says, and when the Angel who spoke to him,

it departed. Cornelius obviously did exactly

what he was told it to do. He got two of the household

servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on

him continually. And when he had explained all

these things to them, he sent them off on this journey.

Now, the irony of this thing of how the Holy Spirit works.

You're praying about something, someone else is praying about

something. How do two people get connected

or people or families or how did people end up at this church or

that church or how to how did I end up, you know, being at the

right place at the right time? Or someone gave me a copy of the

Bible and said, hey, you know, read this.

I'm getting some answers from it.

I mean, all of us have a specific story of how we came to

faith in Jesus Christ. And every one of our stories is

supernatural. Every one of them is miraculous.

Every one of them is is individual and God specifically

chose a circumstance and the person and the event to bring

you to a point where your heart was ready and open and you

received the gospel from whoever it was that the Lord sent to

you. It doesn't happen by accident or

a mistake or happenstance. It was divinely appointed by

God, just like we're reading here, this divine experience.

And so then here's Peter. He's, he's having a vision, a

trance more than a vision. The next day as they went on

their journey and drew near the city, Peter, he goes up on the

housetop to pray about the 6th hour that would have been noon.

He's praying the, the specific hours of prayer that the Jewish

people were traditionally accustomed to.

Then he began to become very hungry.

And when indeed, isn't that funny?

Whenever you're like, OK, I'm going to spend some time with

the Lord in prayer and then your mind's thinking about all kind

of other stuff, right? Oh, I'm tired, I feel like

taking a nap. A boy, I could go for a hot dog

or a sandwich or whatever. Then anything the enemy can do

to get your mind off a prayer, he'll get you thinking about,

right. It's interesting to see.

Even apostles had that issue. So he wanted to eat, but while

they made ready, they were making food down there.

He fell into a trance and saw heaven open and an object like a

great sheet bound at four corners descending to him and

let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four

footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things and

birds of the air. And a voice came to him.

Rise, Peter, kill and eat. So this is a big bag here of all

kind of different kind of things that someone could possibly

consider eating. To a Jewish person, this is like

a nightmare. There was UN kosher stuff in

here, this stuff that Peter would have never ever considered

eating, not even be tempted to eat.

These things were filthy. And so the Lord's telling him,

and it's in red print in my Bible, Rise, this is Jesus.

Rise, Peter, kill and eat. And isn't it typical with Peter?

Peter said, no, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything

common or unclean. I mean, this guy's still arguing

with Jesus. You, you would think that the

Lord would say, look, Peter, I gave you a chance and numerous

time, you know, you just aren't cooperating.

I'm going to work with someone else.

This is so encouraging because we're all like knuckleheads.

At least I speak for myself. And we just don't get it

sometimes, do we? And the Lord is so patient.

He's not like if he's waiting for you and me to be perfect, no

one's going to get anything done and no one will ever do anything

because none of us are perfect, are we?

And isn't it good to know that, like, how can God use you or how

can you use me? You're not perfect.

Well, I never said I was, and neither did you.

And it humbles us to realize that God chooses.

He tells us. And in the Corinthians, you

know, he's chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to

confound the wise so that no flesh would glory in his

presence. So Peter said, not so Lord, for

I've never eaten anything common or unclean.

It's a self-righteous attitude, religion.

This is still stuck to his back. You know, he thinks he has to do

certain things to accommodate his spiritual equilibrium.

And a voice spoke to him again the second time.

What God has cleansed, you must not call common.

OK, You think he'd start to get it?

This was done three times. So Peter eventually sort of got

it, and the object was taken up into heaven again.

So I'm sure he's thinking, like, what did I see?

What's this about? Can I really eat pig now?

Can I really eat pork? I wonder what it tastes like.

And when he did taste it, he said, boy, I wish I could have

been eating this thing my whole life, right?

I've missed out. And a lot of good food here.

So Peter's wondering in verse 17 within himself what this vision

which he had seen meant. He's rehearsing of what's this

all about. Behold, the men who had been

sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and

stood before the gate. So they have just arrived and

they called and asked whether Simon, his surname was Peter,

was lodging there, living there. So while Peter's thinking about

the vision of verse 19, the Holy Spirit says to him, behold,

three men are seeking you arise, therefore go down and go with

them, doubting nothing for I've sent them.

Now this is like really awesome because the Holy Spirit's

speaking specifically to Peter about someone who's already

there. And you, if you're walking with

the Lord and you're seeking God, I'm sure if I brought you up

here today, you could tell all kinds of stories of how the Lord

set up certain situations ahead of time with you knowing about

something before something even came to pass.

And that's what makes living in Christ exciting.

It doesn't happen all the time as much as maybe we would like

to experience it. But if we're open to the

direction of the Holy Spirit, he'll set up divine

appointments, He'll set up situations that there's no way

something could come to pass if it wasn't Him doing it right.

And it just gives you goosebumps at times.

And you think about the the realness of God and how powerful

he is and how he can show up and how he can maneuver and move

situations. And, and the Bible talks about

spiritual gifts, the words of knowledge, the words of wisdom.

These are real spiritual, supernatural gifts.

Some people have certain types of gifting, other people, other,

we all have certain kind of spiritual gifts.

But sometimes, like I told you a story about the man that gives

away the Bibles and he came out of the restroom and the young

lady comes out of the bathroom and she had been drinking

heavily and partying and, and he just the Lord put on his heart,

it's her birthday today. And he said happy birthday and

she's how do you know it's my birthday?

That's the Lord. He does stuff like that.

If we're open to the leading of God's Spirit, He works out

beside the dimensions of how our normal thought processes work.

Without faith, it's impossible to please God.

We need to be walking by faith and not by sight.

So often. Like Lord, I'll believe it if I

can see it, and I'll trust you if you got all this A through Z

all lined out. And I don't have to like, worry

about making a mistake or going down the wrong path or

something. When the Lord impresses

something on your heart and you know it, and you've heard the

voice of God, not literally out externally, but the voice of God

speaks in terms that interact with our mind and our heart.

And you and I should know the difference between hearing our

own imagination and hearing the voice of God.

And I think we begin to hear the voice of God when we're willing

to be still in prayer. Both these guys heard the voice

of God's working through their time in prayer.

And you might say, well boy, I just never sense God's voice or

his presence. I'm not sure.

Well, spend some time in prayer, waiting on the Lord, fasting,

whatever it is, giving God time to speak to you about what it is

He wants you to do. Instead of this going off and

doing it in your own strength, you're doing it on your own

will. Lord, what would you have me to

do? What would you want me to do?

And Cornelius said, what is it, Lord?

The question, what you're talking to me now what?

What do I do? I want to become more in tune,

as I'm sure you do too, what with the voice of the Lord, How

do I interact in this conversation or how do I respond

to this crisis situation? Or, you know, what do I say to

this lady that's very angry about Roe versus Wave being

overturned and just beside herself dropping F bombs and

she's telling me her frustration then telling me, but she's a

Christian. You know, it was interesting.

I was tempted to say, can I pray for you?

But she would probably beat the crap out of me.

That would be another conversation.

Maybe down the road I'll say, hey, by the way, we had that

conversation. I want you to know I've been

praying for, you know, and I am praying for.

But hearing the voice of the Lord, so Peter, specifically

this, this isn't what we're studying in the book of the

Acts, folks. Is not like this an act.

This is like supposed to be part of everyday life for all of us.

And when the book of the Acts becomes alive in the day that we

live, then we begin to see God working within the realm of the

supernatural in people's lives. And I think we've been so

conditioned mentally. It's one thing to know the Word,

to memorize the Scriptures, to know where to find is find that.

But how is God interacting with you and me in the midst of what

it is we're reading and learning and anticipating that?

Do we have a desire to hear God and to have him set up

circumstances for us so we can be used by God?

So Peter goes down to the men who had been sent to him from

Cornelius and said, yes, I am he whom you seek.

For what reason have you come? They said Cornelius, a

Centaurian, a just man, one who fears God and has a good

reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely

instructed by a holy Angel to summon you to his house and to

hear words from you. And so then he invited them in

and lodged them. And this is huge because

probably a month before this, Peter would have never

considered this. He's hanging out with the Tanner

in an unclean place. He's already like compromised

some of his kosher convictions. And now he has this vision of

these animals in this blanket. And he's starting to see this

isn't about this animals and eating.

This is about relationships with people, with Gentiles that he

would have never given the time of day to.

And he invites them in. And not only does he invite them

in, but he's hanging with him. He's he's entertaining them.

He's the word lodging means that he's, he's spending time with

him. He just doesn't say, well, you

can sleep over there. I'll see you tomorrow when we

head out. No, he, he fed them, he took

care of them and he talked with them.

That's a beautiful, beautiful story of, of the conversion

that's going to come up for Cornelius.

But Peter's being converted to real Christianity, not religion,

not judgment, not criticism. The Lord doesn't want us to be

criticizing each other. He wants us to be loving one

another and forgiving one another and being patient with

one another. And until we're willing to

become less judgmental and less critical, we won't hear the

voice of God. We'll quench the voice of God in

my judgment or your judgment or my criticism or my control,

whatever. God can't work.

It's only as we're open to Him to be like Jesus that God will

begin to really show up and move and work in ways that we can't

even comprehend. And so on the next day Peter

went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompany

him. So he took some guys with him

because he knew there was going to be problems in Jerusalem.

When this gets around, someone's going to say to the apostle, we

heard you brought Gentiles into your house.

You know, that's against the law of Moses.

These people are unclean. They're just not worthy of our

bloodline. Terrible, terrible

discrimination. And this is the leaders of the

church still had this stuff in on the Judaizers.

Thank you for listening to this edition of Living Waters of

Grace. Pastor Clark is teaching us

about the book of Acts in this series.

Acts is a powerful and unique part of Scripture, not just

because it records the spread of the Gospel geographically from

Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, but also culturally.

Acts shows us how the message of Jesus moved beyond its Jewish

roots and began to reach the Gentile world, which started

with Peter leading a small group in the Upper Room, became a

global movement with Paul taking the gospel to cities,

synagogues, and marketplaces across the Roman Empire.

Acts captures this vital transition and reminds us that

the good news of Jesus is for all people in every place.

May we be inspired to carry that same gospel boldly into our

world today. Living Waters of Grace comes to

you from Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland.

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