The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the Book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 10, verses 44 through 48.

Tony Clark: And so if you want to live in the spirit, walk in the spirit, abide in the spirit, saturate yourself in the Word of God. Bury yourself in the Word, and you will find yourself overflowing in the spirit.

Oh, I say this because walking in the spirit is just another way of saying you're walking in obedience to the Word of God. And so as Peter was preaching about the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Cornelius, his family, and close friends in their heart believed the gospel message, and the Holy Spirit falling upon them was the evidence that they believed the gospel message in their hearts.

Oh, in Acts chapter 8 and verses 14 through 17, the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit when the apostles Peter and John came and laid hands on them. In this particular case in chapter 10, the Holy Spirit just fell upon them without the laying on of anyone's hands.

This shows that good preaching and teaching is more than just accurate biblical exposition or good stories. People leave church and say, "Oh, he told some good stories." It's more than that. It must have the power of the Holy Spirit to truly change and transform lives.

Some preaching with some good stories and some running around and fooling around, that will never change people's lives for all eternity. We need the Spirit of God taking the Word of God and applying it to the heart of man to see mankind changed by the power of God's Holy Spirit.

And then it says those of the circumcision, which is a reference to the six Jewish men who accompanied Peter to the house of Cornelius from the city of Joppa according to chapter 10 and verse 23. Verse 45 said that they were astonished when they saw that these Gentiles, the Spirit of God came upon them. They were astonished. Now, the Greek word for astonished is *existēmi*, and it means to be put out of your wits, astonished, to be beside oneself.

What blew their minds like this? The end of verse 45 says, "Because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also." Oh, you must understand that the Holy Spirit was poured out basically on the Jews in their minds. Or salvation was only for the Jews, according to the Jewish people.

So to see the Holy Spirit fall upon these Gentiles, oh, it blew their minds. They were out of their wits. They were beside themselves because they believed in order to become a Christian, you had to become a Jew first. And so to see the Holy Spirit fall upon the Gentiles as Gentiles, oh, it was just mind-blowing to them, and it astonished them.

Then to rub it in more, not only did the Holy Spirit fall upon them, but according to verse 46, these Jews heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. In other words, they spoke in tongues.

It was to magnify God. Notice that. The purpose of the speaking in tongues here, it was to magnify God, not to teach men. The audience was God and not man, which is consistent with 1 Corinthians 14, verse 2, which says, "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God."

This was so eye-opening that salvation was not exclusively for the Jews, but that the church will include Gentiles. And the Jewish people at this time, this just blew their minds. It just blew their minds. They were beside themselves as if another person popped out of them just like them, and they said, "Can you believe what is taking place?" They said, "No, I can't believe it." They were just beside themselves. They couldn't believe that the Spirit of God would be poured out upon the Gentiles just like it was poured out on them.

Oh, this is just so amazing. Do you see why we need to cry out, "Come Holy Spirit, come"? Because when the spirit is flowing freely, watch this, it unifies people who were normally at odds with one another.

So when we start to have an exclusive attitude, please realize that the Holy Spirit is hindered and not flowing freely. Oh, I shake my head every time I hear about or see on social media some race claiming to be the original man, or how all of the original people were of their race. Oh, when the Holy Spirit is flowing freely, it unifies people who are normally at odds with each other.

In my humble opinion, and I say humble, I believe that the Holy Spirit is grieved when we have an all-exclusive church in an area that is multicultural. The Holy Spirit unifies people. Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." Jesus unifies people.

Jesus said, "If you just exalt me, lift me up." Yes, the primary interpretation of that verse is being lifted up on the cross. However, the application of that verse is when Jesus is being lifted up through the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, it will draw all people unto him. Oh, God has graciously allowed for us to see this with our eyes. If you took a look around this room now, you would see all color faces, shapes, sizes. The preaching and teaching of the Word of God, when the Spirit of God comes upon the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, it unifies people. People who normally would not be in the same room with each other are here because of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit unifies people.

It was obvious that Peter by now was used to being interrupted by God because he says in verse 47, "Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" He said, "There's no need for me to keep going and keep preaching, the spirit is interrupted." Obviously, he was used to this interruption. And this is the proper sequence of things: After salvation comes baptism. Have you been baptized? I'm not talking about some baptismal regeneration meaning that you get baptized in order to be saved. No, no. After salvation comes baptism. Peter preached the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He preached the gospel, the people believed it in their heart, the Spirit of God fell down, he stopped the sermon, and just said, "Hey, can we forbid any of these people from being baptized?" After salvation comes baptism. Have you been baptized yet?

Baptism is the outward showing of an inner change. There must first be that inner change, and you outwardly show by going down in the water that you have been identified, or you are identifying yourself with Jesus Christ. The Greek word is *baptismos*. It means to submerge. Baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's what it represents. So they got saved, the Spirit of God fell, and then Peter said, "Can we forbid? We can't stop these people from being baptized."

Let me just pause again, one more time, to ask you whether you're open to God interrupting you and your plans like Peter was in these verses. He didn't keep going. He stopped. And so often, you know, we look at interruptions as a hassle, an inconvenience. I don't know about you, but I do. But if we're in tune with the Spirit of God, we will flow with the spirit. I just have to admit that I am learning this lesson because I have to discern whether it is Satan hindering or God interrupting.

Oh, let me help you in this area. Satan will always oppose or try to hinder the spirit and the work of God. In 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 18, Paul teaches, "Therefore we wanted to come to you, even I, Paul, time and again, but Satan hindered us."

In Romans 1 and verse 13, Paul declares again, "Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you, but was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles." So as we can see, Satan does all he can to distract, hinder, or stop the gospel from going forward.

So, cell phones going off, babies crying, people walking in late, just like they're doing right now, weird distractions, all are used by Satan to distract, hinder, and stop you from receiving the Word of God and from me delivering it the way God would want me to. Because now, as you're coming in late, I'm like, "Okay." In my mind, I'm like, "Okay, why they're coming in late? Okay, where they've been? Okay, what happened? Why they're late? Did they wake up late? Did they?"

I'm still speaking the word, but in my mind, I'm doing this. And it's like, "Oh, okay, they're getting up again. Okay, why they're getting up? Okay, they just came in. Why are they walking out already? What's going on? Did a number come up behind me?" See, all this is going through my head. And then on top of that, all of a sudden, *buzz, buzz* or *ring, ring* or some weird ringtone you have, and I'm like talking louder so nobody gets distracted, and all of a sudden I'm distracted because I heard it.

Satan uses all of these things to hinder. This is why we try to have a dynamic children's ministry, so little kids don't have to be in here fooling around, either babies crying or cooing and gooing and doing whatever, because it's a distraction. Satan uses these things as a distraction to keep you from hearing the word. Because as the baby's gooing and cooing, you're like, "Oh, that's my little baby gooing," and you just get the face, and you just think, "Oh, you're so cute. Oh, you look just like me," and you just... you see? Now you're distracted about how the baby looks like you, or you're looking at the baby gooing, "Oh, you look just like your daddy." Now you're distracted because now you're thinking about the daddy and he's a deadbeat, and he ain't right, and he left you, and whatever.

Satan uses all of these things as distractions to hinder you from hearing the gospel. Or little Johnny: "Okay, I've got to pee-pee, I've got to potty." They just... you know, "I want a cookie," and you know, "I've got to... is it... are we ready to go home now? Is it time to go home?" And see, all this stuff is going. Satan capitalizes on these things to hinder the gospel from going forward.

Another thing that blew the minds of these Jewish brothers that came with Peter is that the Holy Spirit just didn't fall on the Gentiles. It fell upon them, notice, just as it fell upon the Jews. Oh, God was showing them just what Peter said in verse 34: God shows no partiality or favorites. God doesn't show favoritism.

God didn't favor the Jews over the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles, here it is, just as he fell upon the Jews. And this was mind-blowing for the Jews to see this. This left these Jews astonished. But God had to do it this way because had God not poured out his spirit the same exact way on the Gentiles, the Jews would have treated the Gentiles as—don't miss this—second-class Christians.

However, in the church today, it is still done in many circles. Believers who speak in tongues look at those who don't speak in tongues as second-class citizens. "Oh, you don't have the spirit yet." "What do you mean I don't have the spirit?" "Because you don't speak in tongues." Well, Romans 8:9 says he who does not have the Spirit of God is none of his. So I can't even be a Christian without the spirit. So what are you talking about?

But see, in certain circles, this is what they do. They look down. Those who are doing a certain thing will look down on others who don't do it like they do it. Especially the whole baptism in Jesus' name or the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Oh, you Jesus-only people. Oh, it's just... oh!

How were you baptized? Hey, how about, "Good morning, how are you?" and then, "How were you baptized?" Are you kidding me? "Oh, you weren't baptized in Jesus' name? Oh my goodness!" And they look down on others as second-class citizens, second-class Christians. This is what happens within the church.

This is why the Gentiles of this world want nothing to do with the church because the church is too busy fooling around, squabbling over things that don't have any eternal value to it. Whether you're baptized in Jesus' name, whether you speak in tongues, whether you don't, and all kinds of things: wearing dresses or wearing suits or wearing... it's just sickening. It's just sickening. Sometimes I don't want to be a part of the church, and I'm a pastor. It's just sickening the things that we squabble about. And the unbelieving, the Gentiles of this world are looking at us and saying, "And they want me to come join that circus? No way!" We've got to do better at this.

You got some who say, "You speak in tongues, that’s of the devil." And then they go on to say, "Because you're just saying, you're just speaking gibberish. What is that gibberish you're speaking?" Oh, my goodness. I've talked to many of them. I said, "Do you want me to just rip out 1 Corinthians 14 from the whole Bible? Would that make you feel better? We just rip out 1 Corinthians 14, it doesn't say what it says. We just rip it out, the whole chapter dealing with tongues." But let's just skip over that.

We've got to do better in this particular area. God had to pour out his spirit on these Gentiles just as he did upon the Jews because God knows us. He knows we're just people, and we look for the smallest things to disagree on and the smallest things to try to puff ourselves up and make ourselves look good. He knows us. So he just said, "Let me pour out my spirit upon them the same way I did upon them, so nobody will say you're second-class because you didn't get it poured out like we did, or we really had it poured out, you just had it poured out a little bit." No, no. He did just as.

No doubt the Jewish brothers were the ones who he was speaking to, and they participated in this monumental event of baptizing Gentiles into the Christian church. Then the end of verse 48 says, "Then they asked him to stay a few days," no doubt to instruct them further in the Christian faith. See, when you're truly a Christian, you will have a hunger and thirst for righteousness, like Matthew 5:6 describes, and you will be filled.

Do you have a hunger and thirst for the things of God? Do you have a hunger and thirst for God's Word and prayer? Do you want to be instructed further in the things of God like Cornelius, his relatives, or close friends wanted? When you are a true believer, this is what the new life creates in us: a desire for the things of God.

Oh, we have a great verse to confirm this. 1 Peter 2:2 says, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." The Greek word for desire is *epipotheō*, and it means an intense craving, a longing. This word was used to describe the longing, the yearning, or intense craving of a baby for its mother's milk.

Oh, does this describe the way you are about God’s word? Do you crave it? Do you desire it? Do you long for it as like a baby does its mother's milk? Or this doesn't describe you not one bit? You crave or you desire or you long for social media more than anything. You crave or you desire or you long for pornography. Oh, maybe this word *epipotheō* describes you in other areas than the one it's supposed to describe you as.

As a believer of God, we're supposed to long for the things of God. The Spirit of God creates in us a hunger for the Word of God, for prayer, for the things of God, for a closeness with God. Cornelius wanted Peter to stick around for a few days to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. I believe that Peter anticipated some of the Jews hearing about him going into the home of a Gentile. So they could not wait until Peter got back so they could give him the what-for. They couldn't wait, and we will see this in chapter 11.

The title is "Come Holy Spirit Come." Oh, we say this because when the Holy Spirit truly comes, the Holy Spirit unifies. It takes people who were once at odds with one another and unifies them in Christ. When the Holy Spirit is flowing in your home, it unifies you as husband and wife. There's some of you who are at odds right now. The Holy Spirit is not there. The Holy Spirit unifies. It brings people together. It brings people who are at odds; it brings them together. When the Spirit of God is back governing your home, there will be peace, there will be a oneness, there will be a unification that will take place.

When the Holy Spirit comes, he creates an intense craving for more of Jesus Christ. Does this describe you today? If not, then maybe you're not a true believer. Or you have allowed the junk food of this world to rob you of your cravings for the things of God. Maybe this describes you today. So evaluate your life. Evaluate your life today. Which one is it? Maybe you're not a believer. Maybe you never repented of your sin and accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Or you're feasting on the junk food of this world, and it is robbing you of your craving, longing for the Word of God and the things of God. Which one is it?

No matter which one it is, you need to repent. You need to have a change of heart and change of mind. That's what that Greek word means for repent: to have a change of heart and change of mind, change the way you feel and change the way you think about the things that you're involved in, and surrender your life to Jesus Christ. There's going to be some people here available to pray with you, and as the worship team plays, you come on up and let them pray with you and for you about these things that God has spoken to your heart about. Oh, it's great to get prayer about, you know, somebody, a relative is sick or whatever. I read the prayer request. Or, you know, my foot is hurting and I want you to pray for that. That's fine. The Bible says in everything, you know, we need to be in prayer and giving thanks. But what about you? What about you as an individual? Where are you with God? This is what you need to come and get prayer for. We come to church to hear what God has to say to us, then we respond so we don't leave here the same way we came. Come for yourself. Well, you know, my husband, he really needs God. Okay, we can pray for that. But how much do you need him? How much do you need the Lord? How much do you need him to do a work in your heart, in your life? It's fine, you know, my teenager is straying. We can pray for that. But are you straying? Where are you with God? Where are you with your intense craving for the things of God? It's great to pray for all those things. I've got a coworker who, you know, hurt their back. Okay, we can pray for that. But what about you? Have you gone back to the things of this world, and it's robbing you of your things, your craving for God? There's going to be some people to pray with you.

Father, thank you so much for this time you have given us, Lord. Move by your spirit in the hearts of your people. Draw them to you, Lord. I pray for those who have never surrendered their life to you. I pray for those who are backslidden and they need to come back. Lord, I pray for those who, Lord, they are just feasting on the junk food of this world. Draw them to you by your spirit, in Jesus' name. Amen.

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