← ArchiveActsSunday, June 9, 2019DateJune 9, 2019Speaker—TextActs 10Passages in this sermonActs 103:52James 228:27John 341:03TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Music.0:30My name is Josh, lead pastor here. I didn't introduce myself earlier. I don't know what's been happening in your life to this point. It's at what, 1045? But let me just give you a quick glimpse of what I've experienced already. So we had Chris stand up as a dad and pray over and commit to his young daughter that he wants to model Christlikeness and talk about grabbing the heart of a dad. And before that, I had two fathers that were discussing with me0:56that they're getting ready to baptize their son and a daughter in a couple weeks. So look at what God is doing in our church. And so just know in a couple weeks we're going to have a grand celebration of life change and baptism. And we have at least four or five people already going to publicly display their love for Christ. And if that's you, we invite you to be a part of that. I want you to hear these words, very solemn words,1:26written from a jail in Birmingham to the church and to pastors. Some of these words will be on the screen in front of you. Wherever the early Christians entered a town, the power struggle got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them from being disturbers of the peace and outside agitators.1:49But they went on with the conviction that they were a colony of heaven and they had to obey God rather than man. They, the church, was small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be astronomically intimidated. They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and the gladiator contest.2:16But these are different times. The contemporary church is often so weak, it's an ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power struggle of the average community is consoled by the church's silence2:44and often vocal sanction of things as they are. Those words from one of our local prisons, April 16th, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. Written in response to the people of God. And I want you to hear those words this morning because we're going to continue our series on the model church,3:14looking at this community that God has called us to be. And I can't help but think this, that church, the world is watching. The world is watching you and they're watching me and they're trying to see this Jesus that we say we worship. You see, the world is hungering for something that we say that we have because I believe today's message is the right time and the right treatment for our world that is so desperately in need of healing.3:43And so here's the big take home for today as we read the word of the Lord in Acts chapter 10. And you can go ahead and join me there. If you have your Bibles, Acts chapter 10, beginning in verse 28. The big idea of the entire morning is simply this, that the church is our glimpse into the heavenly kingdom. That the earth should look at us and say, I don't know if I believe in God,4:13but one day I believe heaven's going to look like this. The world is watching. The world is watching. The world is watching. Hear the word of the Lord in Acts chapter 10, beginning in verse 28. Hear the word of the Lord in Acts chapter 10, beginning in verse 28.4:37And that's why I came to you without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?5:05Cornelius in verse 30 responds, Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. And just then a man in dazzling clothing stood before me and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity have been remembered in God's sight. Therefore, send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter.5:34He is lodging in Simon the Tanner's house by the sea. So I immediately sent for you and it was good for you to come. So now we are all in the presence of God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord. Verse 34, Peter began to speak. Now I truly understand that God does not show favoritism, but in every nation,6:04the person who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. Let's pray. Father, we believe this morning that the world is watching. They are watching Your church and Your people and they are waiting to see if we will be silent and ineffectual. But Lord, we know that You have tasked us with being a small picture on this earth of what heaven will one day look like.6:33So Lord, raise us up to be what You have called us to be, to be the community who shows no favoritism because we worship a God who does not play favorites. Lord, we desire to look like You. So through Your Holy Spirit, change us, empower us that we would live and pursue Christ and Him alone. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.7:02This is good news for all people. Acts chapter 10, that God does not play favorites. And I have two main points for you today. The first is the forbidden gospel. I want us to wrestle through some ways that we push back against the good news of Jesus Christ, the hostility. And then I want us to unfold the ways that we hunger, that our world hungers for the good news. And so let's look again at verse 28 and unpack the way that we live,7:32the hunger and the hostility that we have. So verse 28, Peter, leader of the church, this man who Jesus looks at and Jesus says, Peter, upon you, you little rock, upon you, one day I will build my church. So this is the same Peter. This is the Peter that the world is looking at and they're listening and they're saying, Peter, how are you going to react?8:01And this is how he opens his dialogue in verse 28. He says, now you all know that it is forbidden, taboo, the Greek would say. You know that this should not happen. As I begin to pray about this scripture and think through this, I couldn't help but believe that many of us have said those same things. That we've looked at someone and we've said to someone,8:30now you know that we're not supposed to be together, right? Or maybe you felt, as I read this, maybe you felt the weight of these words because you identify with Cornelius. You are the outsider. And maybe hearing these words, you have also had the pain of somebody looking at you and saying, you know that we can't do this. You know this is forbidden. You know society. You know religion. You know our cultural norms.8:58You know our family says this is not right. And I believe that many of us understand deeply what Cornelius is struggling with. You see, Cornelius was not a pagan or ungodly. Cornelius was righteous and he was an influential man where he lived. He was a centurion and he had charged over a hundred soldiers in another group of a total of 600. Peter was talking to a man of influence.9:28And yet Peter was looking at him and saying, you know that out of my religious commitments, I can't be with you. How often have you or me or others been hurt in the name of our religious commitments? If we're honest, most of us have that hurt, don't we? I have people often that will look at me and say, well I can't worship because I've been hurt by the church and I want to raise my hand and say, I'm with you.9:57I'm on the bandwagon. Welcome to my day. But God's grace heals those hostilities and Peter gives us in very vivid language here in verse 28. I believe the depths of his soul. Peter is open and he is honest and he reminds us that you and I all live with a set of certain rules, don't we? Now I know what you're thinking.10:26Some of you are thinking, well, I don't have that. I don't have these prejudices and I don't have this struggle but we all do, don't we? That's why we're quiet right now. That's why we're thinking, I want to say amen but if I do, then they'll know I'm in that number. And so we, if we're honest, most of us have hostilities towards the good news in our life10:56because we've lived in a world where we put barriers and Peter now pulls back the layers for us. Peter's honest and says, hey Cornelius, I just want you to know, waving the flag, you shouldn't come in here. You know it's forbidden. And I want us to wrestle with that right now. I want us to get open and honest with some of the places in our life where we don't want people to go. You see,11:27You see, because the truth of scripture is that Jesus Christ radically breaks down these barriers that we all have. And if we're honest, most of us, much of the time, truly don't want God to break down those barriers. We want God to get close enough that we're still comfortable and that we can go to heaven but we don't want God to get close enough where he makes us uncomfortable. Right? So God, here's the fences that I will let you through but God, not this.11:56not this. I will go to Joppa but I don't want to talk to Cornelius because God, you know by your law, by what is right by the church, you say this is not good. This is not healthy. This is taboo. So I just simply ask, will you let the Holy Spirit do work in your life this morning? You don't have to say that out loud but will you get honest with God and say, God, I will let you12:26change my heart. And what in your life right now do you hide from the gospel? Because this is going to be our jumping off point into getting to a place of complete discomfort for most of us. And I know that and I recognize that and that's good. Right? So let me ask some deeper questions as we dive in to the word of the Lord. You and I will never grow spiritually until we give12:55the spirit of the living God unmediated access to our hearts. Unmediated access. Some of us came in and said, God, I'll give you chambers one, two, and three but the fourth chamber's mine. So God, do work in three quarters. But that one part, God, no. God, not there and not today. And it's the places where we say to God,13:24stop that hinders our pursuit of Jesus Christ. Now that's theological and philosophical. Some of you are saying, I agree. Yes. Now let's get practical. Here we go. How would you fill in this blank? Spiritually. Do not verbalize this. You don't have to. And I've been wrestling. You know, I'm preaching to myself and you guys get to listen. That's what's going on right now. How would you fill13:54in the blank? I can't believe these people. We all have that blank, don't we? We all say, God, I love everyone but I can't believe that group. let me make it more practical. Maybe for you that person is liberal and you say, God, I can't believe those liberal people. They're all going to hell or maybe they're going to heaven but just don't make them live.14:24Lord, don't let them live in my quarters. Maybe for you that person's conservative, right wing, who in the name of something moral has shot arrows at you and caused deep hurt. Maybe for you that blank is Republican and someone in the name of an elephant has caused deep hurt in your life because they've added pseudo-religious language14:52pseudo-religious language as if to insinuate and to have the audacity that Jesus himself was Republican. I told you we're about to get uncomfortable. Maybe for you that person's Democrats and you say, I can't understand those Democrats because someone in your life has brought this ideology or in the name of a donkey has said, well, I believe this is the way Jesus would think and so they've added pseudo-moral language15:22pseudo-moral language into this political thought and they've caused deep hurts. Maybe for you that blank is an illegal immigrant where we say, well, we know we should love them but we're not going to let them in our country and we're not going to let them in our church and they have no business here. Can I just be honest with you? Our kingdom primarily is the kingdom of heaven and I am proud to live in the country that I live in. I thank God daily15:52that I live in this country but one day but one day this country will not be a footnote in the history of eternity. God's going to look at me one day and say, hey Josh, do you remember when you lived in America? And I'm going to say, I don't because God, I know that you redeemed me and you brought me into a greater kingdom and God, I remember that you said that kingdoms will rise and fall but one day on our Savior Jesus that the government will be upon his shoulders. Maybe for you that person's a homosexual16:22where you say, I just can't get, I can't do that. Maybe for you that person's even a fan of an opposing team. Right? I mean, I've been at football games where I remember saying things and when I said them from my mouth I realized they came from my heart and I remember my Holy Spirit working in me somewhere between my heart and my mouth and my ears the Holy Spirit stopped and said,16:51Josh, you hear what you said? Josh, you speak as if you hate these people over a foolish game. It's not worth it. Who is that blank to you? Who is the one that we would sit here today and say, God, you know this is forbidden. God, we can't, we can't love them as you have called us to love them. What if that person, what if that person walked in today and sat by you, would they receive17:22a frozen chosen welcome or would they receive a warm embrace? What if that person sat with you, would they hinder your worship? Who if they sat right here in the front row that you would be so focused on them you could not be focused on the Word of God? What if that person was of a different color or a mom or dad who abandoned you?17:52What if that person was an addict or convicted felon, someone with special needs or mental illness or an addict? Or what if that person was dressed so provocatively that we would say, you can't come in here like that? But we didn't realize that's all they had to wear. Who in our life brings barriers18:22brings barriers and hang-ups to us? Remember the words of Peter. You know, you know it's forbidden. And the world wants us to stop there. The world wants us to close our Bibles. Sermon ends early. Let's go home. Because the world desperately wants you to look like them. The world wants to say, you live with your taboos.18:52You live with your barriers. You live with your prejudices. You live just like us. Please live just like us. And Peter says, but it doesn't stop there. God says, it doesn't stop at the, you know it's forbidden. Look what happens in verse 28. Peter said, you know it's forbidden for a Jewish man to associate or visit with a foreigner like you, but. Anytime you hear, but God,19:21but God, you should stand up and clap. Because it's almost always good for the home team if you know Christ. Every time we hear, but God, we should always say, yes, yes, yes, yes. but God, but God has shown me that I must not, what? I must not call any person impure or unclean. And that's why I came without any objection.19:51You see, what I did not read, and you can go back and read in Acts chapter 10, Cornelius is praying and he has this vision, this heavenly vision, and they tell him, go and find a man named Peter. And as Cornelius was praying, Peter was hungry and he was praying right before dinner, lunchtime. and as he's praying, he falls into this, I don't know, this hungry coma, vision. And as he's in this trance,20:20he sees this blanket laid down and this voice comes from heaven and says, Peter, eat. And Peter says, no, Lord, you know I don't eat anything that's impure. Let me stop there. This is Peter, right? The same man that denied his Savior. Not once, not twice, but three times. The same man20:50that Jesus restores on the shores of Galilee. Not once, not twice, but three times. Some of us are like Peter, right? Lord, you just keep repeating it until it gets into my mind. And so one time he has a vision. He says, no, Lord, surely not. Two times he has a vision. You heard this before? And then the third time, finally he gets up and he realizes it's not about food. It's about people. And so God is radically transforming his heart.21:18And this is where we see the hunger for what happens. We all have normal hostilities for the gospel, but now we see the hunger of this beautiful truth that we see in Christ. You see, there is no formal rule in Judaism that forbid Peter with going to Cornelius. There was no formal rule. Here's the difficulty, though. The price of interacting with Cornelius21:48with Cornelius was high. So there wasn't a law that forbid it, but the price was high. You hear that, church? We need to understand that there is a price to pay for us when we open our doors and our homes to outsiders. And the price to pay was that now Peter would have to jump through all these hoops to have ritual purity to get back into the graces of God as a Jew. So Peter is wrestling with this. Lord, is the price worth it? And this is what Christ22:18is asking you and me right now. This hunger for the good news, this hunger for Christ. Is the price worth it? Are you prepared to pay the price and become socially unclean so that another will hear that they can be washed clean by the blood of the Lamb? Church, I submit to you today, it is worth it. It is worth it. There is no price that is too steep for us to lay back22:48our social paradigms to reach someone where they need to be that they might hear the good news of Jesus. And the world is hungering for that. And although the initial greeting was awkward in verse 28, the gospel had so radically shaped Peter's heart that something has now changed. Now look what has changed with him. The change is so radical that even Cornelius recognizes it.23:18recognizes it. What does Cornelius say about Peter? Look at verse 30. Cornelius replies to Peter's welcome to his hospitality. Peter, Cornelius replied, four days ago I had a vision at three in the afternoon. I was praying in my house. Just then a man in dazzling clothes stood before me and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity have been remembered in God's sight. Therefore,23:49Therefore, send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here who was named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the Tanner's house. So immediately I sent for you and it was good. It was kind. Some of your translations are saying. What is Cornelius saying in this grand truth? Peter recognizes something deep inside Peter's soul. Cornelius recognizes24:18Cornelius recognizes that Peter has deviated outside of the normal religious norm. I believe Cornelius is saying to Peter, Peter, you know you're about to get in trouble, right? You know the apostles are about to call you on the carpets because you did this. And what does Peter, what does Cornelius say to Peter? He says it was good of you to come. And think about the gospel. Think about what24:48Jesus has done for us. The most grand cosmic deviation the world has ever known is when God sent his only son to die on the cross that we who were living in rebellion might come back into relationship with him. Think about that. We should, the world looks at God and says, God, you know you shouldn't have done that, right? God, for a righteous man someone would die but not for a sinner. God,25:19God, you know that fathers don't let their sons die for others. And God, you know that fathers don't let their sons die for people that hate them. And God says, but it was good. I want you to understand that I am kind. And it is in the sacrificial deviation of Jesus Christ on the cross that we can be brought back into relationship with the one true God. This is what25:51our world hungers for. They hunger for a church that we do things and they say, you guys are so weird. You should not be doing this. You know you're going to get in trouble. You know you're going to get messy. You know you're going to get dirty. You know you're going to smell like us. And we look at them and we say, but it's worth it because God sent his son to live in this world to take on human flesh to understand us26:21that he might live with us and dwell with us that one day he might redeem us and so we will live with you and we will dwell with you. God has not called us out of the world. He has called us into the world but to be protected from it and we know that you're hungering for this world. It's true. This good news is absolutely true and it's worth us getting messy that you might follow Christ. This is what the world hungers for26:49and this is what Peter says. Peter hears the vision that Cornelius has as he was also praying and Peter says in verse 34 he begins to speak. Now oftentimes when you hear that phrase it's not good. Peter's the guy when he opens his mouth you're thinking okay I don't feel so bad. Right? I mean Peter's the one that's telling Jesus that Jesus you need to know your role. Peter's the guy27:21that when Jesus is saying good job Peter you've confessed me as Christ heaven has revealed this to you and the next breath Peter is abduking Jesus. So usually when Peter opens his mouth it's like uh oh. But look what Peter says in verse 34. He says now I truly understand that God does not show favoritism. Did you hear that?27:51That's not my word. that's the word of the Lord. Now I truly understand that God does not show favoritism. Here's what's beautiful about this. Do you know that the only place that this Greek word is found you know what what sphere of literature this is found? It's in the Bible I'll give you a hint. It is only found in Christian literature. This word favoritism.28:22And it's also only duplicated in James 2 where we hear that God does not play favorites. What is different about God's people than the rest of the world? this word literally means to lift the face as if God is saying look look at me. I know you're broken I know you're ashamed28:51you're ashamed because of your sin. Cornelius I know you shouldn't be here right now. I know the world that says this is not good and I'm going to have to take a lot of baths and be ritually pure after this exchange. But lift your face up. look at me. Have you ever done that to your son or daughter? Often times it's in the time of rebuke isn't it? You get on their level boy look at me29:21and he ain't looking right here. But aren't there times in our life where we want to look at our kids and say look I know you made a mistake but look at me. You're still mine and I'm still yours. Lift your head up. You're not my son or daughter because of what you've done.29:51done. You're my son or daughter because of who you are. And that's what the world hungers for. They're hungering for a community that gets the word out that we don't care who your daddy is. God doesn't play favorites but he loves you because Christ loves you and he died for you. That's what we long to hear. So church rejoice that God doesn't show favorites. Here's what's so unique about the30:20about the gospel. Here's what's so unique about Peter understanding that God doesn't show favorites. He's heard this before but he misses the point. This is the God that we see in scripture that has 100 sheep and 99 are good and are obedient and one is just like pew. You all know that sheep, right? And yet the shepherd says that he will leave the 99 and he'll30:50and he'll go after the one. this is the same God who says that he has come to seek and to heal those that were lost and broken. This is the same Savior that was castigated because he was at the well at high noon with the prostitute. This is the same God that has invited Cornelius in with kindness and goodness. And you know why this truth is so transformative31:20transformative to us or should be? Listen, you are the one. We like to think that we're all the sheep like jumping in unison but you're the sheep that's jumping the other way. That's who we are. We're the ones that were broken. We're the ones that were hurting. We're the ones that were sinful. We're the prostitute sitting at the well that no one wants to be around and God said I have sent my son to redeem you. To31:50To be the lifter of your head. Can you imagine if this word gets out? Can you imagine if the world hears God loves the one? Church, you're more worried about the one than you are the holy huddle? What's wrong with you people? And we say I can't explain it but that's what God does. That's what God does. This is the world. This is what the world hungers32:19hungers for. So I simply ask, are you ready to be the people that God has called you to be? We all have pushback. We all have natural hostilities. Maybe it's someone who looks differently than you. Maybe it's someone who's a different religion. Maybe it's someone who's a different sexual orientation. We all have those hostilities. And hear me clearly. I am not excusing sin. This is not we're going to32:49going to love you. We're going to ignore your sin. Don't worry about that. But this is saying that our God can forgive any sin that you might have. Because I thank God that he can forgive any sin that I have. And if he can forgive me, the chief of sinners, he can forgive you who's in the tribe of sinners. Can you imagine if this word gets out? If the good news gets out to the world?33:19the world? How glorious that will be. So how do we live this out? Here's some ways that you can take this home this week and through your life. And as I've been praying and applying this to my life, I think first of all, what does this look like? Love. We are called to love people. We're called to love people so much that if they point their finger at the church of God and they say, well, you don't love people, that they're foolish and they're silly and that they're hypocritical and they're double tongues. But our33:50But our job is not to love people so that they will listen to us. Our job is to love people in a way that they will say, tell me about this, God. Why are you so different? Why are you willing to get messy? Peter, why are you willing to break these social protocols to be with Cornelius? Why couldn't any of you stand back and say, bless you, go in peace? You're Peter, right? God said he would34:20build his church upon you. He's not going to take his promise back. We need to live in a way that people long to hear what's different about us. That we love in a way that is different from the world because we worship a God who loves in a way that is different from the world. And that is going to cause a lot of discomfort in your life, but it is worth it. And you say, well, I don't know if I want to get discomfort34:50discomfort to double. Does that have been a word? I see some teachers shaking their heads. No, it is now. But how much discomfort did Jesus Christ experience on the cross for you and for me? It's worth it. It's worth it. I think also how can we display this35:19display this hunger for more of Christ in our life? I think it's found with hospitality. Peter had no obligation to invite this man into his home other than Christ had radically changed him. And he said, Cornelius, because Jesus has changed my heart, I'm going to change my home. What would our community look like if you purposed to open your house up once a month to your neighbors? I know35:49I know what you're thinking. My house is a wreck. They're going to see that my house is not perfect. They know that. I go in people's houses a lot and they say, excuse me, you just forgive me, I have kids and my house is a wreck. I'm like, really? Have you seen my car? It looks like Toys R Us blew up with Happy Meals involved. But what would our homes look like if we purposed to say, once a month I want to have someone in. And I want36:20them to see how I live and I want them to see that this is not pretense. I want them to see that this is authentic. I want them to see my authentic faith. Will you commit today to be a person of hospitality? And I know you're thinking, well, that's uncomfortable. I don't want to do that. Good. Do it. Suck it up. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and we can't be uncomfortable? Oh, God, change us. I think I think I think I think I think we live this out also by being people who share36:50who share our faith. I be people who share our faith. I read this story and it grabbed my heart. In the early 1900s, a chief in Malaysia was repairing one of his wooden idols when he told his wife, this is foolish. Here we are worshiping this wooden idol, but our hands are greater than we are. So for 25 years, they went into their prayer room every day. 25 years later, a missionary,37:19a missionary, a Christian missionary came along and introduced himself to this chief in Malaysia with the Bible and to Christ. When they received the good news, they said, this is the one true God who we have been seeking all of these years. There are people in your life right now that God is prepared to hear his message. Will you share it? I have a friend here today that we met yesterday as we went door to door sharing Christ. And he opened up his door37:49his door and we prayed with him. And I remember thinking, God, you have prepared a way and we've been praying for him last night. And now his family is here. And I was almost overjoyed with tears to say, God, look at what you've done. Look at how you've prepared our paths. God, it's not about us, but it's about you. Lord, help me be ready in to share your love when I'm not ready. Are you willing to have a conversation about Jesus Christ? And you know what I learned yesterday38:19learned yesterday morning? The people who think they are most ill prepared are those that have been with Christ the longest. It's not new believers who think they don't know enough to share Christ. It's those who have been in the church for years and years and years and years. Stop it. Share. It's worth it. I think also, we live this out by speaking up for the marginalized. Do we speak up and step up for those who cannot speak for themselves? The38:51The broken, the outcast, the hurting. We have current ministries in our church to people who are different than us, who are in need. And I'm not asking you to get involved, I'm asking you to take ownership. There's a difference in serving people because we feel like we're obligated. There's another entirely to take ownership and saying we love you because Christ has loved us and I am willing to go through the battles with you. Will you take ownership of loving the marginalized? One story39:21One story about the Maltas people in a mountain tribe in India. In the 1980s, their mortality rate was so high that experts said that they would be extinct by 2025. Let me tell you about these people. This is why they were such a difficult people. They almost never bathed since they had no access to water. Consequently, the rest of society rejected39:50society rejected them and people would not go near them because of the smell they emitted. And missionaries from the Friends Missionary Prayer Band began to work with this tribe. They not only visited their villages, they began to live with them. And you know what happened? By 1996, almost half of these Maltas people gave their life to Jesus Christ. And now they are thriving community because of the love of the Christians who found40:20who found someone who marginalized and said, look, society will reject you, but we won't. We will love you. We will embrace you. That is what God has called us to do. Church, are we willing to do the work that God has called us? Can you imagine if this message gets out? Listen to this again. Peter began to speak. Now I truly understand that God40:48that God does not show favoritism. What would happen if the world heard that message? This is why we have that verse, John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that what? That's another way of saying God don't care who you are. Because no41:18Because no matter who you are, you're a whosoever. So maybe you're here today and you've grown up in church and you walk in here like this. Do you realize, Pastor, that my dad laid that brick out there? Well, do you realize the church was built in 1832 and that was not your daddy? He's not that old. So maybe your great granddad but some of us walk around like that, don't we? I was that person who grew up in church thinking, God, if anyone41:48if anyone deserves your love, it's me. And the day I realized that I was a whosoever was the day that something broke in my life. And I realized, God, it's not what I do that gets me into heaven. Because, God, you don't care. But, God, you made a way for people like me. God, you made a way for the pompous. for the religious, for the egotistical, for the legalistic. God, there's a chance for42:18chance for church people? Peter said, yes, there's a chance. And if that's you, I just pray that you would surrender your life to Jesus Christ and it would be the greatest decision that you would ever make. To say, God, I'm a whosoever and I want this grace. I believe the gospel that Jesus came and he died for sinners like me. And then if I surrender to him, I will have everlasting life. maybe you're on the opposite spectrum and you say, well,42:48well, I'm not the religious, I'm not the good, I'm the worthless. And I don't know if I can believe it. I know what you say. I know you say that we're all loved and, but Josh, if you knew what I had done, if you knew what I am doing, and if you knew where my heart was right now, you would believe differently. God knows where your heart is. and he43:19and he says that whosoever believes will not perish and have everlasting life. And for you, my prayer right now is that you would come to Christ and you would be reminded that he will lift the head of any person. He doesn't show favorites, but he died for all. Would you spend a quiet moment and do business with God? Because if your heart's not right right now, it can be43:49before you leave. It's by a simple prayer. Prayer is our communication with God. You can simply say, God, I believe who you are. I believe that your son did what he said he would do for me. And Lord, I believe that I'm a whosoever. And I believe that whosoever's who believe in you will have abundant life. And God, I need that. Maybe you're here right now and you have so much prejudice in your life. And when I asked you to fill in those blanks, you had a lot of blanks. Would44:19Would you spend some time and ask God to break those down? Can you imagine if this word gets out? If the world truly sees in us and hears in us this verse, that we truly understand that our God does not play favorites. Oh, what a radical gospel this is.← Previous in ActsSunday, June 2, 2019Next in Acts →Sunday, June 16, 2019More sermons on Acts →
