Let us pray together. Merciful
and loving and kind Holy Father in Heaven, we would honor and
glorify Thee here this evening, Father, with this pledge. We hold Thee as the true and
the living God, and besides Thee there is none else. We hold Thee,
Father, as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we hold,
Father, that He is the sent One the obedient one. He is the gospel,
Father, and how we thank you here this evening. Those of us
that gather here together, we speak in one voice, Father, that
the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our only hope. Bless us here,
and may all that's said and done be for the glory of thy blessed
name. Amen. Here in this tenth chapter
and the thirteenth verse, it says, For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And the next verse
says, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without
a preacher?" Now, the sum and substance of what I've read leads
me to say that the message of the preacher is the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They must hear it. They must
have ears to hear and a will and a desire to respond to the
living God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That says, how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach
the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace. The preacher's beauty
is not in his person, but what he preaches, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's his beauty. And he says
in verse 16, But they have not all obeyed the gospel. Now, most people lay claim to
something of what they are and what they do as their hope of
salvation or their hope of heaven. They lay claim to their character
or reputation what they've done in the past and what they hope
to do in the future or how they act in their family and this
and that. But the claim is not a valid
claim. The claim of God concerning salvation
is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who we trust. That's who we believe in. He
only. is our hope. If we have no hope
in him, all other hopes will perish. The Bible says that the
Lord Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. It says he's the only
potentate. It says he's the Lord of Lords. It says he is the righteousness
of his Father's glory. says his name is Immanuel, God
with us. The Lord bless us. I want to talk about what Brother
Scott has just brought up. I want to preach tonight on the
subject of the message of salvation. what I've entitled this, in the
book of Acts, chapter 10, picking up where we previously left off. The Lord, as we had looked in
the last couple of services, had prepared the object of his
mercy, the man Cornelius. The Lord had also prepared the
means of bringing the message to Cornelius, that is, a preacher
that Brother Scott was just reading about. How are they going to
hear it without a preacher? God has been pleased through
the foolishness of preaching save them and believe. God has
purposed for Cornelius and Peter to cross paths, and you that
have been called out of darkness, he did the same thing to you
providentially. The reason that the Lord would
do this is because He chose to do that, nothing by accident. He works all things after the
counsel of His own will. Now, the God-ordained means of
calling sinners out of darkness, this is the way that the Lord
has revealed that He calls men out effectually. It's through
the preaching of the gospel. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
it. It's the power of God and salvation. The preaching of the
gospel. Well, I got to thinking about
that. Everybody says they're preaching
the gospel. Everybody's saying, well, this
is going to be a gospel message tonight. Well, if it's a message
of God, that's the only kind there is. but not everybody is preaching
the gospel. Now, you know that. Now, Peter was sent by God through
the means of some men that came over and said, Cornelius, our
boss, our friend, has sent us to get you. You say, well, it
was the free men. No, God sent them. And they told
Peter, We need you to come over because God sent an angel and
told Cornelius that we were to go get you and that you were
going to come and you were going to tell us something. And so
Peter gets some fellows with him and they go over to Caesarea,
to Cornelius' house. Peter preaches. at Cornelius'
house, the message of God. And when he preached, what he
preached was absolutely the essential message of the gospel. He didn't
waste any words. He didn't mix words. He preached the gospel. And what
I'd like for us to do I'd like for us to look tonight, beginning
in the 34th verse, through verse 43. Now, I plan to go ahead and
go through verse 48. But in those verses, those ten
verses, every verse just absolutely hammered forth that which absolutely
must be set forth when the gospel is preached. Ten things that
Peter said, and every one of them. Ten things. And in these ten things, you
take these ten things that are set forth, and without these
ten points right here. Let me say it like that. Man's
missed it. He hasn't preached Christ. Let's look at them. Here's my
first point. Number one, when the gospel is preached,
it is set forth that Almighty God is sovereign in salvation. Now, you know that so. As a first,
I mean right out of the chute. God is sovereign in salvation. Verse 34, Then Peter opened his
mouth, and said, ìOn the truth, I perceive that God is no respecter
of persons.î That is, God is not partial when it comes to
the salvation of men. The Lordís mercy and compassion,
what did God say? Look at Romans 9.15. Peter said,
ìGod is not a respecter of person. He's not
partial. Romans 9, verse 15 and 16 says,
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God. that show with mercy." You know
what that says? God's not a partial God. He's not a respecter of
persons. He said, I'm going to have mercy
on whomsoever I will. God's sovereign. He does as He
will. All men are lost in trespasses
and sins, and I'll tell you, race or social status or education
doesn't matter one iota. God has a people. Out of every
tribe, out of every kindred, out of every tongue, out of every
nation, God has a people that He has everlastingly loved and
chose before the foundation of the world, that they should be
holy and without blame before Him in love. Almighty God is
sovereign. He told Peter when he lowered
down that sheet in that vision, that trance, He said, Peter,
take, kill, eat. And Peter said, Not so, Lord.
I have never eaten anything that's unclean. And the Lord said, What
God hath cleansed, that call not thou common, defiled. Don't you call it. If I've cleansed
it, God sovereign. When the gospel is preached,
that's the first thing we know. Almighty God is the boss. He
is the sir. He's the master. So the message
of the gospel declares that salvation is of the Lord. That's the first
thing we know. That's what Peter said. I perceive God's no respecter
of persons. Secondly, here's the second thing
when the gospel is preached. The gospel sets forth what Almighty
God will accept. Look in verse 35. Peter says,
But in every nation He that feareth him, and worketh righteousness
is accepted with him. Now, the Scripture sets forth
that Cornelius was a devout man. That is, he was a dedicated man. And one that feareth God, that
is, we looked at what that meant, one that absolutely sought after
God as he was taught in the Jewish synagogue. He was doing the best
he could. Men always do. They always do. In any religion, any false religion,
men are doing the best they can. Devout. But you listen to what
Peter said. He said, In every nation he that
feareth him and worketh righteousness. He that is employed or has acquired
is what that word worketh means. He that is an acquirer of righteousness. And who are those that worketh
righteousness? Well, certainly not those whose
righteousnesses are as filthy rags. I mean, all men do the
best they can, but those who have been washed and cleansed,
the Lord told Peter, He said, Don't you call common what I've
cleansed. Not what's cleansed itself by
its own free will. Not that. But those that are
robed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose
sin has been purged at Calvary by the substitutionary death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who have absolutely been cleansed
by Almighty God. Their sin made His. His righteousness given to them,
imputed to them. And how do we know those who
worketh? How do we know? Peter said, in
every nation, he that fears him and worketh righteousness is
accepted of Almighty God. How do we know? Look at Ephesians
chapter 1. Ephesians 1, verse 10. Ephesians 1, 10 to 13. Paul says, Ephesians 1, 10, that
in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together
in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, which
are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted
in Christ," that's talking about the Father, He was the first
one who trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted, after that
ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in
whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. How do we know those who worketh
righteousness, those to whom the Lord's righteousness have
been imputed. How do we know? They believe
God. They believe the gospel. They trust the sovereign Savior
of this universe. This is the message of God's
holiness. Thirdly, when the gospel is preached,
it is a message, though preached in all of the world, because
the Lord said, you go into all the world and preach the gospel.
But when the gospel is set forth, it is set forth in particular
to a people of God's choosing. Peter says in verse 36, it says,
"...the word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching
peace by Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all." We stand and we preach the gospel
and we tell all men Repent. Change your mind. Change your
mind how you think. Do you know those that have their
minds changed? It's those that God gives a new
heart. Those that Almighty God gives
a new spirit. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. You tell them, Almighty God is
sovereign. Almighty God has a people. Almighty
God's going to call His people out of darkness. If the Spirit
of God blesses that message to your heart, you'll come. You
will. This message is in mercy and
grace to the sheep. This message is not a message
to the world. This is what we're doing. We're
going into all the world and we're preaching the gospel because
we don't know who the sheep are. I don't know who they are. God
has a people. And the Lord is going to call
those people out. He hasn't told me who they are.
Now, there's some evidence of some sheep here. I don't doubt
that for one second. But I don't know. I don't know
who they are in particular. Look at John 17. John 17, 6. John 17, verse 6. When we say
the Gospel is preached in all the world, but it's a message
to the particular people of God for their comfort. This message
is not comfortable to those that are still in darkness and sin. They hear this. Like I say, they
look at their watch and say, well, he's almost done here,
I'm sure, but to God's people. They hear this, and this message
has a sound of truth. It's solid and it's right. That's
right. That's right. Look at John 17, verse 6. The Lord is praying. He says,
I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me
out of the world. Thine they were, Thou gavest
them Me, and they kept Thy word. Now they have known that all
things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee, for I have given
unto them The words which thou gavest me, and they have received
them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they
have believed that thou didst send me, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine." This
message is for a particular people. Who? Those that God has given
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father gave before the foundation
of the world. And we're preaching the gospel.
And God will call out His sheep. We know they will. That's the
evangelistic approach. You preach the gospel because
God has a people. This is a message that we know
gets results. He said, My word is not going
to return void. It's going to accomplish the
purpose for which I've sent it. This is a message of reconciliation
between Almighty God and men by the man, Christ Jesus. When the gospel is preached,
it sets forth that Almighty God has a people. It's going to call
them out. Fourthly, this gospel, because
it is preached, in all the world, leaves men without excuse. Verse 37, that word, Peter said,
I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea and began
from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. Romans chapter
1, I quoted the 16th verse. Look at Romans chapter 1, verse
16 to 20. When the gospel is preached, this is so, it leaves
men without an excuse. Men will hear this and they'll
say, ah, no, I don't believe that. You have no excuse. Romans
1.16, Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For
it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall
live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood, by the things that are made,
even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."
Acts 17.30 says, "...God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." All that die in unbelief are
rebels against God because God told all men, A man dies in unbelief, why does
he die in unbelief? Because he doesn't want to believe.
He just doesn't want to. Men are without excuse. Repent. Think differently. The Lord said
in Luke 13.3, I tell you nay, but except you repent, you shall
all likewise perish. To hear the truth of the gospel. God is sovereign. God will accept
righteousness. Almighty God has a people. A
man that refuses the gospel is lost. To hear the truth of the
gospel and to refuse to bow to Christ as he is set forth in
that gospel is to leave a man totally without excuse. Fifthly,
this is the message of Almighty God concerning His Son. When
the gospel is preached, the gospel is concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at verse 38. Peter said,
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with
power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed
of the devil, for God was with him. The false religions of this
world, they preach morality. They preach social reform. They preach prosperity. God wants everybody to be rich. The way to get rich is to sow
your seed faith or faith seed. I never can remember which one
goes first. They always have an address to
send it to. If you want to be wealthy, if
you want to be healthy, if you want to be somebody, join up
with us. You need to help us out, though,
because if you don't, this ministry is not going to make it. That's
what they say. We need your support, and I've got to hear from you
by this weekend. Let me tell you this. The church of the Lord
Jesus Christ his life. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ is not faltering, and Almighty God is going to maintain
his body. Almighty God is going to call
his people out. God Almighty reigns. He rules and reigns in this earth,
in heaven, in earth. Everything is under control.
God's church is not going under. Don't you bet for one second
that God is not going to sustain His people. He will. This message is concerning His
Son. The gospel proclaims who Christ
is. That's what Peter said. Look
again in verse 38. Have God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and power. Who is He? He's the anointed
one. He's God's Christ. He's God's
salvation. He's God's Lamb. He's the Anointed
of God. That's who He is. What did He
do? That's the second thing we know concerning Him. I'll tell
you what He did. He went about, the Scripture
says, doing good. Finishing the work. He said,
I do only, always those things. Please, my father, that's what
he did. Healing, Peter says, all that
were oppressed of the devil, healing spiritually all his people,
all his sheep, those that he laid down his life for by the
shedding of his own blood. And where is he now? I'll tell
you where he is. God was with him. God was with
him. Where is he now? Peter says,
God was with him. I looked up the word with. With. I thought, you know, he says
God was with him. The word with means hereafter. That's what it means. Hereafter.
God was hereafter with him. Where he is, that's God. The Lord God himself. Peter said
this is who he is, this is what he did, and this is where he
is now. He was God, Almighty, seated in the heavenlies, our
great High Priest ever living to make intercession for us,
ruling, reigning at the right hand of God. Where is that? Where his throne is. Romans 8.34,
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. The message of the gospel
is concerning God's land. When the gospel is preached,
the sovereignty of Almighty God, the righteousness of Almighty
God, the particularness, particular, that's what I'm trying to say. God has a particular people.
Men are without excuse. It is concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ. Sixthly, this is the message
of God's beloved Son in whom God is well pleased. It is the
message of Christ, the one in whom God is well pleased. Look
at verse 39. Peter says, ìWe are witnesses
of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews in Jerusalem
who they slew and hanged on a tree. God is pleased with his Son. The message of the gospel sets
forth that the Lord Jesus Christ is God's Son. That message also
proclaims that God is well pleased with him. He accomplished what
God sent him. The Lord didn't do this work
of obedience. in a secret way. Secret, no. Acts 26, 26, Paul preaching says,
ìFor the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak
freely. For I am persuaded that none
of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done
in a corner.î We are not hiding anything, not absolutely hiding
anything. We are freely proclaiming that
Almighty God is pleased with his blessed son. The Lord Jesus
Christ walked in this earth in absolute obedience to his Father. Peter said we're witnesses of
all the things that he did, all the things that he did both in
the land of the Jews, that is Judea and Galilee and Jordan,
and in Jerusalem, in the metropolis of Jerusalem itself. He says
we're witnesses of his faithfulness. We saw him. We watched him. But
I'll tell you what else he did. He was obedient in his walk,
in obedience to the law, in faithfulness to the law, and also he was faithful
in his substitution. Peter says, "...whom they slew
and hanged on a tree." We are witnesses of all things which
He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. He walked
this earth. We watched Him. We saw Him. We
heard Him. He obeyed His Father. And they
hanged Him on a tree. They slew Him. The Jews' desire
was to put the Lord Jesus Christ to death. That's what Acts 2,
22 and 23 says. Peter says, you took him with
wicked hands and you crucified him, the obedient. He hung openly
before Almighty God. It was an open thing. He accomplished the redemption
of his people. God was pleased. This message
sets forth that the Lord Jesus Christ was God's faithful servant. was made flesh and dwelt among
us. Seventh point. This is the message
of the resurrection, of the accepted substitute and also the justification,
the justifier of all for whom he died. Look at verse 40. Peter
said him. God raised up the third day and
showed him openly. Look at Acts 2.24. Turn back
a few pages. I'll tell you what we'll do.
Let's just read verses 22, 23. I'll read the verses that I didn't
read a moment ago. Acts 2, verse 22. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did by him. in the
midst of you, as you yourselves also know, him being delivered
by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have
taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." Now listen
to this, "...whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of
death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of
it." It wasn't possible to hold him in the pains of death because
of who he is. If he is merely a man, if he's
only a man, he could be held in death. He could be held in
the pains of death. He died for sinners, and the
penalty was paid. As a man, he died. But it was
not possible to hold him in the pains of death. because he's
God. Do you see that? It's because
of who he is. For you that believe, his resurrection
is your justification. When God Almighty raised him
out of the grave, this is what God said, I accepted that, Mitch. I accept that substitutionary
death. And when God Almighty raised
him, Paul says, we were raised with him. justified before God. The penalty has been paid. The
wrath of God has been satisfied for all for whom Christ died. You understand that? When He
died, He died with our guilt being made His. God dealt with
Him, dealt with sin, dealt with justice. It was paid for, paid
for, paid for. There is now, therefore, no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus. where the Lord Jesus Christ was
raised from the dead. We were raised with him. Peter
says, when God raised him up and showed him openly, this is
what the gospel declares, God accepted him and accepted all
that was in him. Almighty God was satisfied. As Christ was delivered up by
the Father into the hands of justice, So were we. We died with him. When he raised,
we raised. The Lord Jesus Christ is declared
in the gospel to be the obedient representative in walking before
God's law and the obedient substitute. The gospel sets forth that Christ
is the accepted servant. and Lamb of Almighty God. 8.
This message is the message that reveals God's will, God's power,
and God's pleasure in salvation. Verse 41, Not to all the people,
but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat
and drink with him after he rose from the dead." This is the message
that declares that Almighty God has a chosen people. He has chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world. This is God's will.
The message of the gospel declares that God has a will in salvation. will have mercy. I will have compassion. Peter says, even to us, there's
the power of God. Even to us, the Lord called us. Peter said out of Darton, He
called us by His Spirit. He called us to Himself. He called and we heard. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. My sheep hear my voice,
and those that come to me I will in no wise cast out." Peter says,
"...who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead."
We saw him. Here was the pleasure of Almighty
God to open the eyes of a people. Not everybody. He rose from the
dead, but not everybody saw him for who he is. Oh, they saw Him,
but they didn't have eyes to see and ears to hear to behold
the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished
work. Peter said, We saw Him. We ate with Him. Doubting Thomas. I met together with some of the
apostles one night, and I told them, we saw the Lord. We saw
the Lord. Thomas said, I don't believe
that. I don't believe you. He said, I'm not going to believe
you unless I put my hand in his side, unless I see where that
spear, I saw a soldier put a spear in his side. If I don't put my
hand, if I don't put my finger in the nail prints of his hands,
I'm not going to believe you. Peter said, after the Lord was
crucified, he said, I'm going back to fishing. I was doing
pretty good at that, you know. Where all this started, I'm going
fishing. Well, concerning Thomas, they
were all meeting there one night. Scripture says that the Lord
just walked in. He walked up to Thomas and he
said, Thomas, put your hand on my side. Thomas put his hand
there and he said, My Lord, my God, I see you. I see who you
are. You're my substitute. You died
for me. You put away my guilt." Peter
had denied him for his death. He says, going back to fishing. He was out there fishing. While
he was fishing, the Lord came walking up on the seashore after
his resurrection. Peter saw him and said, it's
the Lord. The Lord said to him, asked him, he said, Peter, do
you love me? And he said, Lord, you know, I love you. He said,
feed my sheep. Three times he said that. Third
time he grieved Peter. Peter says, Lord, You know all
things. You know I love You. Peter says,
not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God,
even to us, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the
dead. Peter said, I was there. I saw
Him. I saw him, I witnessed him. It was there. 9thly, this is
God's message sent by the Lord Jesus Christ through the agency
of preachers who declare his Lordship. Verse 42, Peter says,
He commanded us to preach unto the people. and to testify that
it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick
and dead. The Lord sent His disciples out
to preach Him. You tell people who I am. You tell them who I am. That's
what preaching the gospel is. It's to proclaim Christ. Who is He? What has He done? Where is He now? Who is this? This is God's salvation. This is the sent message. But this message is never left
in question as to its object. Never. When the gospel is preached,
listen to what Peter said. He commanded us to preach unto
the people. Now, if that's all he said, That
would have been kind of an open-ended thing, but what do you say? And
to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the
judge of the quick and the dead. The gospel is the declaration
of Christ eternally has entered into that covenant of almighty
God's grace appointed by God to have all power over heaven
and earth. He's the judge of his people,
the king of his people, the Lord of mercy, the king of glory,
the priest of intercession. He's the judge of his people
in the sense that he's acquitted them. The judge acquits and the
judge condemns. He's the judge. In that final
day, he'll judge the dead and he'll say, depart from me. You
workers of iniquity, I never knew you." Peter says this is
what he told us to tell the people. And lastly, point number ten,
this message has always been the message of God's preachers. From the beginning, the gospel
is the oldest message that's ever been preached. Everything
else that's come along is all new. This free willism and this
Pentecostalism and this Mohammedism, all those are new messages. This is the oldest message. This
is the message from the beginning. One of the first instances that
I can think of, I'm not saying it was the first one that the
Lord preached, but the first one I can think of was in the
garden. When God killed those animals and wrapped up Adam and
Eve, He was preaching substitution, a covering, a shedding of blood.
Without the shedding of blood, this is the oldest message. Look
at Isaiah 53. Here's the message. I hear people
say, you know, well, you've got this new message. It's not a
new message. Isaiah 53, verse 1. Who hath believed thy report?
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant. as a root out of dry ground,
he hath no form of humbleness, and when we shall see him there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. He hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted, yet he was wounded for our transgression,
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, with his stripes we're healed." Who do you think
that's speaking of? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. This message
is the same message that's always been preached by God's preachers. The gospel. is the message of
Him who never changes. Almighty God. All the tithes
and pictures in the Old Testament pointed to Christ. Christ. That's what the Lord told the
two on the road to Damascus beginning at Moses and all the, I mean
to Emmaus, beginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded
unto them and all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Peter just hammered ten points
right there. Every one of them setting forth
the sovereignty of God, the will of God, the purpose of God, the
glory of Christ, the honor of Christ, the substitutionary work
of Christ, the obedience of Christ, the particular redemption by
Christ, the calling out of God's people. And the scripture says
in verse 44, While Peter did speak these words, the Holy Ghost
fell on all of them which heard the word, and they of the circumcision
which believed were astonished. And as many as came with Peter,
because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift
of the Holy Ghost, for they heard them speak with tongues, and
magnified God, then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water?
that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy
Ghost as well as we. And he commanded them to be baptized
in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry
certain days." This message was the message that God was pleased
to bless. What did Peter do? He said exactly
what God told him to say. That's all he said. He set forth
the glory of Almighty God. It is not the finesse of the
preacher. It's not the character of Brother
Scott. That's what he was saying. It's
the message that the preacher preaches. God blesses what God
says. Almighty God is pleased to send
forth a message by a preacher. This is the proof. God's Word
is not going to return void. You know what God's going to
do tonight concerning this Word? Whatever He's pleased to. He
will do it. He'll call out of darkness. He'll
encourage. But if he leaves a man to himself,
that man is without excuse. Absolutely. The proof to the
unbelieving Jews. Now, when I say unbelieving,
I'm not saying unconverted. But there were some Jews that
were real, real prejudiced, just like Peter. I've never eaten
anything common. No, Lord, don't you call common
what I've cleansed. And there were some folks that
was with Peter that had that same attitude. Verse 45, they
of the circumcision which believed were astonished. as many as came
with thee, because on the Gentiles it was poured out the gift of
the Holy Ghost, and they heard them speak with tongues." They
heard these men. I don't know who all was there. I don't know what nationality
or dialect, but they heard these men preaching in languages that
they had never learned before. And they realized something.
On the day of Pentecost, we saw God pour out His Spirit on the
Jews and the Jewish proselytes that were there. And He's doing
the exact same thing for these Gentiles. Had the Lord done something
different, they would have said, yeah, well, you know, He didn't
do the same for y'all like He did for us. You know what I mean?
We were special. They said, wait a minute. He
did exactly the same thing for these Gentiles. The Lord was
pleased to grant the gift of speaking in these unknown languages
to show these Jews that the Lord is no respecter of persons. that Almighty God has called
out of darkness, why should these not be baptized that have received
the Holy Ghost just like we did, as well as we? And he commanded
them to be baptized. Let me ask you this. Could it
be that there is a sinner here tonight? A precious thing. I heard Brother Scott say that
one time. That's a precious thing, to find a sinner. to find a sinner. That's a valuable thing. Why?
Because that's the ones that Christ came to save. He said,
I came to save sinners. To call sinners unto repentance. If a man is ever found to be
a sinner, I'm telling you, and God reveals Himself to that sinner,
that sinner's got some hope. Alright? Peter preached the gospel
to these people. We can learn something. from
listening to this message that this apostle preached to these
Gentiles. And these ten points that set
forth absolutely God's message, God's purpose, God's will, and
how God blessed it and called a sinner unto himself. Okay,
Gary.