Sound Doctrine

Jeff Johnson: With a thought on tough love, here's Pastor Jeff Johnson. There's this program called Tough Love. And yes, at times you've got to spank your kids. You could call that tough love. But is it always tough love, or is there any room for God's love? God's love is awesome. It's so open and so forgiving and so loving and so precious. There has to be room for God's love. Even after being stepped on over and over again, there's forgiveness.

Guest (Male): It's always a terrible mistake when parents play favorites with their children. The damage done can last a lifetime for both the neglected and the favored. Aren't you glad God doesn't play favorites with us? He loves us all equally. That's what we'll be talking about today as we explore Acts chapter 10. You're listening to Sound Doctrine, a daily Bible study taught by Pastor Jeff Johnson from Calvary Chapel Downey. Join us as we continue to examine the establishment of the early church and the lessons we can learn from those first-century Christians. Here's Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Johnson: I think we've all at times feeling very dirty. Sometimes we feel dirty because we did this or did that. Maybe not only do you feel dirty, but you're thinking that your brother or somebody else is dirty. You say that man's dirty. God said, don't call anybody dirty. They're cleansed. And don't start to have a pity party and think that you're filthy and dirty. You've been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at a precious cost that it cost the Lord.

There was a time where Moses misrepresented God and got angry at the people. God wasn't angry at the people, but Moses was. Remember when he hit the rock twice and he just flew off the handle? He had an anger problem. And God told him, Moses, because you're this way, you're not going into the Promised Land. You're going to stay behind. You're not going to be able to go in.

But then in Matthew chapter 17, you see Moses and Elijah. And where are they at? They're in the Promised Land. And Peter gets to see them, and Jesus is revealed there at the Mount of Transfiguration. God had grace on Moses and brought him in anyhow. Isn't God's grace amazing? It's awesome.

And this was done three times, because Peter's a three-time guy. And the vessel was received up again into heaven. All of a sudden, it's gone. What is He saying to Peter? We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Because I'm in Christ, I am the righteousness of God in my life, right before God, cleansed, renewed, white as the snow.

Now, while Peter doubted in himself what he had just seen the vision, which he had seen should mean and he was trying to figure it out, behold the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate. All of a sudden, God's timing's perfect. He's starting to feel weird about the vision. What was that all about? I'm hungry, but what was this vision for?

And all of a sudden, he hears these guys and called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. And while Peter thought on the vision, then the Spirit of God began to speak with him. Notice, behold, Peter, let me clarify everything here. There's three men out there to see you. The Holy Spirit said. When it says that the Holy Spirit said, that's talking about a Spirit that is very personal.

The Holy Spirit is a person. It's not an it. It's not an energy. It's not some kind of weird thing flying through the air. We're talking about the third person of the Godhead who speaks, who's personal. And it's that still small voice that Peter is hearing. Three guys are seeking after you. Here's the word of knowledge. Peter, I'm going to give you some knowledge that you need to know.

Now notice verse 20. Arise, therefore, and get thee down and go, Peter, with them. The word of wisdom now, what to do with the knowledge. I want you to go down there and then I want you to go with them. He needed that. Now, how do we know whether it's of the Lord or not? Remember we talked about this. There are three things that we need to line the lights up.

And that is, do you have a peace about what's going on? And all of a sudden when the Spirit was speaking to Peter, you know he had that peace. This is of you, God? You're lining this up? The circumstance, well, he's up there and he saw some weird unclean and clean animals that are cleansed of God. He says, I don't know what that means. And then all of a sudden, these guys are down there knocking on the door. And these are the three guys. So the circumstance is there. And then what is the last thing but God's word?

God's word is that you're to go with these guys. That's what He said. Go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Talk about confirmation. What am I to do? How am I to do? God says, no, this is what I want you to do. God has Peter's number. He had their number and He brought them together. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, behold, I am he whom you seek. What is the cause wherefore you are come? Why are you here?

He didn't get that information. And so God now begins to put it together for Peter as they answer him. And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, a just man, one that fears God, of good report among all the nation of the Jews. This guy was known, a well-known centurion, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house and to hear the words of thee. Then called he them and lodged them.

So Peter says, listen, guys. And he opened the door and he saw these two Gentile servants and this one Gentile soldier. We're talking about Gentiles. Peter opens the door. He's there at the tanner's house anyhow. It stinks. He's being reminded that it's unclean all over the place. They're fixing lunch and he looks at these three Gentiles. Notice what he does here. He lodges them. He brings them into the home.

Well, this was totally against the law. You never got near a Gentile. You never would invite Gentiles in your house and say, hey, come on, kick back with me here and let's talk, let's eat together, let's you can sleep in that room, I'll sleep over here. This never happened. This is against the law. But what is God doing? He's saying the law was set up for a purpose for a time, but now I'm changing things.

It's all changing here. But yet even in Isaiah 60, it says that the Gentiles will arise and become a great light. Many will be saved. And he lodged them there, verse 23. On the morrow, Peter went away with them and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. So this is interesting. We're talking about here's these Jewish Christians that are with Peter, and here's these three Gentiles, and they're on their way.

And you see, God was beginning with the tanner's house, then with the vision that he saw with the sheet, and now with these three Gentiles staying overnight with them. He's softening Peter for the final blow, just getting him into that place of being gracious and being open. We're not talking about tough love here, guys. I was looking at this and I thought there's this program called Tough Love. And yes, at times you've got to spank your kids. You could call that tough love. But is it always tough love, or is there any room for God's love?

Because God's love is awesome. It's so open and so forgiving and so loving and so precious. There has to be room for God's love even after being stepped on over and over again, there's forgiveness. Peter now meets Cornelius, and now we get the explanation in verse 24. And on the morrow, after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.

So they had some kind of a home study there. Cornelius, when they heard about him coming, they were all going to join together there in that home study in that house. Oh, before I forget, here's Joppa. Peter going from Joppa to go to a Gentile city to tell some Gentiles some things. Do you remember in the Old Testament, there was a cantankerous old Jew, his name was Jonah?

Do you remember what God told Jonah to do? Go to Nineveh, that wicked city, and tell them about me. And so Jonah, he hated those people and he said first of all, they're wicked, they're evil, I'm not going by God, no. And he ran to where? He ran to Joppa to get away to not obey the Lord. Here Peter is doing the exact opposite. He's being obedient. He's getting the message.

And yet we know the story of Jonah and what happened to him. Finally, God got him there. He went resisting all the way. Even when he walked through three days through Nineveh, he went, 40 days and this place is going to be wiped out. I'm so glad. And he just called judgment down on this city. That's all he did for three days. And yet God never wanted to judge them.

And yet they, the king just said, well, let's repent. And they repented and they cried out to God and God forgave the whole city of Nineveh. It was the greatest revival in the Old Testament, I think in the world. Everybody got right with God. And Jonah sitting up there on a mountain waiting for God to destroy the whole thing. And then he had a little shade over him. And then all of a sudden it got so hot, the shade just withered out and God just withdrew it. Jonah was a tough guy, legalist, just saying God snuff them. Just nuke them. Have you ever heard of that?

God's not a nuke God. God is a God of love. God is a God that reaches out to people that are lost and blind and poor and wretched and naked. And He draws them to Himself to save them. So Peter's obedient here and they're all getting together, verse 25. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and Cornelius just went, wow, Peter the man.

He fell down at his feet and worshiped him. And your worshiper, your majesty or whatever. He was just kissing his hand and everything. Peter's going, get out of town. What are you doing? Get up. And there's people that get into worshiping people. His eminence is coming through the door. Everybody hits the ground. And what are you doing?

I was over in the Vatican. The Vatican is man's best for God. I really believe that. The paintings, the murals, the statues, the grandiose of the whole thing. It's unbelievable. Saint Peter's Basilica, I mean, you go in there and then there's this statue of Peter that everybody comes up to. And I watched that. I stood by that statue and watched people come up to it. And they came up to it and they were just so taken by it.

And they'd kneel down and they'd rub the toe. The toe of Peter's almost gone. Isn't that ptomaine poisoning or something? What are you doing? That's wrong, man. And they keep rubbing. I don't know what they're doing. They look like they're praying as they're rubbing the toe. Peter is turning over in his bed in heaven saying, what are you doing? Don't do that. Don't worship man.

But yet man is always wanting to bow and down and put a man on a pedestal. If you do that, he will fail you every single time. We're not to worship man. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. So Peter definitely wasn't the first Pope. In fact, he didn't want this guy doing this. Peter took him up and he said to him, verse 26, stand up. I myself also am a man.

I'm just a man. Paul and Barnabas, all of them, they tore their shirts and said, hey, what are you doing bringing an ox to sacrifice to us? Because this man got healed. No, we're men. Jesus Christ did this thing. Worship Him. Don't worship the man. So Peter is very humble and he didn't believe his own press. And when you start believing your own press, you're starting that slippery slope of really destroying a whole lot of people.

And as he talked with them, he went in and he found many that were come together. He walked into this house, opened the door and there's this house packed with Gentiles. Wall-to-wall Gentiles. He walks in. And he said unto them, you know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or to come into another nation. You know me being here is totally off the wall.

It's against the law. And I'm not supposed to be here. But God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. This is an important lesson. You see, the vision is about people, not about food. It's about people. Do you have prejudice? Do you hate certain people for no reason? God says they're precious in my sight. I love the world.

So it's not what goes in a man that defiles him, it's what comes out of his heart that reveals who he's worshiping. The cussing, the cursing, the anger is from a heart that's not repentant, that's not submitted to God. You see, we bust ourselves. We show where we're at or where we're not at with the Lord just by our hearts. God gets a hold of the heart. So he was learning obedience that, hey, I should not call any man dirty, is what he's saying. Or just get out of here, I hate those Irish.

I was going down the street the other day, yesterday, it was St. Paddy's Day, right? Every one of the bars just packed with kids, block-long lines to get in so they can get drunk and drive their cars home. Hopefully not. And everybody's screaming at them not to do it. But God loves every single one of those kids. Every single pub that's loaded up. And he wants to reach out to them.

My heart just broke when I saw it. They just can't wait to get in. Can I get in? Can I get in? What do you want to do when you get in there? Drink a lot of beer and just mingle with the crowd. And it was just jammed in there, in every pub down on Main Street in Seal Beach. It's unbelievable. But He loves them all. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying.

I was open. He obeyed orders. I'm open, as soon as I was sent for. I ask therefore for what intent you have sent for me. And Cornelius said, four days ago, I was fasting until this hour. And at the ninth hour, at 3:00, I prayed in my house, and behold a man stood before me in bright clothing. You see, again, if we call upon the Lord, we shall be saved.

Why? Because He's a seeking Savior. He's waiting for you this morning to cry out to Him and say, God, can you save me? Can you save me from this pit that I'm in? From this funky trap that I find myself in? This horrible, horrible pit? This miry clay that I'm stuck in? Can you save me? And He's there wanting to deliver.

And I said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard. Or the angel said, your prayer is heard. And He does hear our prayers. A lot of people say, well, does God hear the prayers of the heathen, the pagans? Well, yes, He does if they're praying this way to get right with God and they want to get their lives squared away. Yes, He hears anybody that prays this prayer.

My prayer is heard and thine alms are in the remembrance in the sight of God. And He says, send therefore to Joppa and call hither Simon whose surname is Peter, little stone. He is lodged in the house of one Simon the tanner by the seaside, who when he comes shall speak unto you. And I thought that just goes right according to Romans chapter 10.

Let me read it to you, verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And then he finally says, and how shall they preach except they be sent? Well, Peter was sent. God's timing.

God says it's time to bring on the Gentiles. God says it's time now because I've got another group of sheep. Yes, you are my flock. What is it? Over in John 10. Listen to this, in verse 16. Other sheep Jesus said I have, which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. So the Lord's saying, come, join the one flock.

Other sheep were the Gentiles. He was going to bring them in because now we've been grafted in and we've been accepted of the Lord. And now we are joint heirs with Christ Jesus along with the Jews who were born into the family, so to speak. But they can't come unless they receive Jesus as their Messiah. So it's all predicated on Jesus Christ and what you've done with Him.

Then finally, verse 33, we'll end with this verse. Immediately, therefore, I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Notice, I was obedient to the vision. Peter was obedient to the vision. And here we are together. And man, when everybody is being obedient and going for it and obeying God, things happen. Things happen.

It's just somebody's being spoken to and then you all of a sudden are brought in. You see that God is now asking you to do something, and as you're obedient, things are going to take place. He says now, therefore, are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded of thee. Here we are, Peter. We're ready. What do you got to tell us?

Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of old, he was asked what makes a great preacher? Is it his deliverance? Is it his knowledge of the word? What makes a great preacher? And Charles Spurgeon simply said, a great congregation. That's what makes a great preacher. A congregation that is open, that is ready, that is eager to hear and then to obey.

And I have to say, you guys are a great congregation. And I love it because you guys will actually hang in there for an hour. And there's a lot of these preachers that go for 20 minutes and let me tickle your ears and let me give you a little scripture and then a little drama and we'll have a little song and then 20 minutes and okay, go, go, go. No, you guys just sit there and you go through verse by verse and you hang in there and you're just taking it in. You're eager. You want to hear from God. And that encourages me to no end. And then to have you go out and be obedient, not just hearers but doers of the word, is incredible.

Guest (Male): Have you noticed the trend lately in American churches? Short little sermonettes and anecdotal content instead of actually studying the word? This is Sound Doctrine, and Pastor Jeff Johnson will return in a moment with the closing illustration from 1 John. Don't forget, you can access our studies in Acts online at sounddoctrineradio.org and through the Sound Doctrine Radio app. You can also hear our programs at oneplace.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Marijuana, self-realization, meditation, self-hypnosis, psychedelic drugs, and yoga. Jeff Johnson tried all of that and more in his search for the clear light. But it wasn't until he met Jesus that his life truly changed and he experienced life and light. In his book The Seeker, you'll hear this amazing testimony. And I think you'll be left greatly encouraged and thankful. We're offering The Seeker right now at sounddoctrineradio.org. You can also call 800-353-7553 to order resources from us. Sound Doctrine is listener-supported. Simply put, it takes a team to accomplish the goal of reaching people around the world with the sound doctrine contained in God's word.

Whether it's a one-time gift or ongoing monthly support, God is using it in great ways to impact people with His life-changing truth. You can make a secure donation online at sounddoctrineradio.org or call us 800-353-7553. If you've been blessed as you study along with Pastor Jeff, please let us know. Email us today at sounddoctrine@calverydowney.org. Please also mention the station that you listen to and tell us what the Lord is doing in your life. That's sounddoctrine@calverydowney.org. Now with a closing thought for us to really think about, here's Pastor Jeff in 1 John chapter 4.

Jeff Johnson: Let me end with this scripture in 1 John 4, because I think this is really what we're talking about this morning. In 1 John 4 and verse 7, beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. Everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not knows not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, that He took our place. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us and His love is perfected in us. And that's what people need to see. Behold how they love one another, but more than that, how we even love the unlovely as Jesus did. Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. And He died for them. He died for us.

Guest (Male): We're talking about the baptism of love and power on the next Sound Doctrine as we continue a study in Acts. Sound Doctrine with Pastor Jeff is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Downey. Father, won't You speak to me?