WEBVTT - I'm The One 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:02.840 Holly, and I wanted to say a special hello to 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:07.080 our Etham, our extended family around the world. Hey, before 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:09.400 we get into the message, let me tell you about available. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.920 This is a special season for our church. It's a 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:15.040 tradition for the people of Elevation. Every year we gather, 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:19.000 we appreciate and anticipate, and we also give. This is 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:23.000 our yearly time for everybody who receives from this ministry 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.439 to give so that the ministry can go forth, and 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.320 this year we've themed it around the word available. Available. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.680 That's all God has ever wanted is for us to 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.159 say here I am, send me, use me. And you 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:35.680 have the opportunity to do that. So if you've been 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:39.640 blessed through the ministry, it's good to receive. It's even 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.720 better to give. If you want to make a donation, 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.320 a one time gift or a recurring gift, just be 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.600 a part of what God is doing here. We so 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.400 appreciate it. You can get all the details at Elevation 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.480 Church dot org. I'm gonna sat Elevation Worship dot Com. 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:55.440 I guess you could go there too, but the giving 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:57.520 is at Elevation Church. What you just did, you have 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:01.640 Elevation Worship on your sweatshirt. Hey, Elevationchurch dot org and 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:04.400 you can select available. And we use all of these 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.160 resources to continue to preach the gospel, not only in 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:11.520 physical locations like this one, but through the amazing opportunity 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:14.680 God has given us to impact the world through technology. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:16.840 And we want to thank all of you who are apart. 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.360 We couldn't do it without you. Thank you for being 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:21.520 a part of our family. Thank you for being a 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.640 part of this move of God. Go to Elevationchurch dot 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.160 org dot com if you're not already there and be 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.400 a part. This is going to be an amazing, amazing season, 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.360 and Holly and I are believing that your best is ahead. 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:37.920 We bring you greetings from the greater Charlotte area where 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:42.360 we broadcast this message. Welcome to this very special weekend 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:53.480 worship experience at Elevation Church, where today thousands of us 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.800 will not only give God our worship with our mouths 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:58.560 and with the breadth that He put in our lungs, 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:01.280 but there are many of us who came today to 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.960 give God an offering from what He has blessed us with. 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:10.080 And excuse us, but we're excited about it. I know 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.040 it feels funny but we are excited to give back 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.320 to God because of all that He's done for us. 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:21.560 And just look at the person next to you and 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.320 tell him, I know I'm good looking, but that's not 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:28.400 why I'm so blessed. It's because of God's grace and mercy. 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.320 And that's the only way I made it through the year. 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:33.720 That's the only way I made it through the day. 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:36.280 That's the only way I got up out of the bed. 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.080 Come on, let everything that has spread praise the Lord. 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:48.680 Welcome Columbia, Melbourne, Florida, Uptown Greensboro, Concord, you see Greenville, 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:53.960 South Carolina, our EPHAM around the world. Go ahead right now. 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.640 If you're watching on Facebook Live or YouTube live or 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:01.080 the Elevation app or Elevation Church dot org or Church 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:06.000 sermons dot com. However you found this just stumbling around 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.720 looking for something on eBay and here we are by accident, 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.680 Go ahead and put where you're watching from and why 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.720 you're believing God for today. Because this is a series 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:18.480 called Available, and this is the last week. And God 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:21.360 has made his grace, his love, his mercy, his peace, 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.799 his joy available to each and every one of us. 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:26.880 And as we make more of ourselves available to him. 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.160 We receive all that he is and we're so excited. 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.440 We're so excited. Here's what we're going to do. Remain 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.960 standing for one moment. I'm going to read you a scripture. 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.480 I'll tell you why I'm reading this scripture. At the 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:42.640 end of this short er message, we'll worship a little more. 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:46.440 It'll be really beautiful. Nobody's leaving until the end. Many 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.600 people are here today who flew in just to bring 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.520 their offering because they connect with this ministry all around 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:56.880 the world. And you don't even have to be in 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:03.160 the building. There's no distance when it comes to worship, connection, 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:07.160 prayer community. Thank God for that. So where you're watching 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:12.000 in Minnesota, I just make up places randomly, but somebody's 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:15.120 watching from Minnesota. It's the law of averages. I promise you, 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:18.360 I don't want to be in Minnesota this December. How 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.039 many just thank God if you don't think of anything 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:24.400 else that you're not in Minnesota this December. Some of 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.400 y'all are sitting there. You didn't clap the whole time 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:29.440 till just now. Well, I'll praise him for that. That 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:36.080 is praiseworthy, Brother Steve. And when we say that, people 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.760 are online all around the world. You will participate as well. 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:41.599 This will be the weekend that many will go from 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.600 consumer to a contributor where it's like, oh man, I 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:48.159 just watched this sermons. Love the worship. It's like, then 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:52.280 you give God worship and it makes all of the 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:57.080 goodness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ become flesh in 0:04:57.120 --> 0:04:59.599 your life. And we'll have time to do that. Everybody 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.840 who prepared and offering, as well as even those who 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.200 aren't giving. If you never give, you're welcome here. I 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:08.440 never heard a country club say that. I never heard 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.560 a restaurant say that. Starbucks will kick you out in 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:15.640 thirty minutes just for the Wi Fi. But this will 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.560 always be a place you could come. But thousands of 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.839 people we love it. We love it, We love what 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:22.880 God is doing. This is a move of God. It's 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:26.680 a miracle and we want to get involved. So I 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.040 know many of you have your offering prepared, many of 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.520 you will prepare it, you'll give it online. We'll explain 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:33.720 all of that. Also, we're going to give everybody the 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.920 opportunity to choose a word that represents what you are 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.960 believing God for in the coming year. And this is 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:43.799 a little unique because we're setting off a new decade. 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.680 We're setting off a new decade, and we'll have our 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:51.520 Christmas message next weekend, and then a Christmas program the 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.479 following weekend, and then our New Year's praise party. And 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.360 I've already heard from God concerning the series that I'm 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.280 going to be teaching. I came invide and I don't 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:03.320 know who else was in there. Tim Summers i think 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:05.240 was in there. I told him this is what God 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.600 has given me, and I'll be sharing that with you 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.159 next weekend what I'm going to preach in the new year, 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:14.839 and I'm excited about it. But today I was selecting God, 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.840 what if there was one thing to say. We've talked 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:22.040 about saying yes to God. We've talked about how I'm 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.200 trying to remember all of them now. Oh, last time 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:27.039 I was up here, I talked about having the right why, 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.640 and I shared with you how I look at a 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.080 picture of my kids when I think about the church 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:34.320 that I want them to grow up in and the 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.320 God that I want them to know, and that helps 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.599 me as i'm given I'm like, well, I invest in 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:42.680 them playing baseball. None of them are going pro I 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:46.159 just figured that out early. But if I can get 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.279 them ready to live this life with the assurance of 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:51.799 Jesus Christ, to know their identity and him, that's something. 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:59.080 And so we talked about that. I have a hard 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.479 time often choosing between different messages. I'll usually prepare three 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:08.279 and then pick one on Saturday. That's how I do it. 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.200 It's probably the dumbest way in the world to do it, 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.600 but that's what I do. I had one on Mary 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.360 because I thought, well, she made herself available and God 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:19.880 didn't even ask her permission, just showed up, like, you're pregnant, 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:27.320 congratulations and how She said, how will this be? Since 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.680 I'm a virgin and we often get stuck on how. 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:31.360 But God didn't tell her how. He said who, the 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:34.720 Holy Spirit will overpower you. And I thought we could 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:38.640 talk about the Who, which is awesome, and I'll preach 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:42.120 it one day. But then I moved on. I was 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.440 flipping through I been feeling that one, and I said, 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.440 all right, well, how about this one with the woman 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:48.800 that had the jars and she needed God to provide 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.800 for her. And she kept saying, next vessel, next vessel. 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.480 You know, we're vessels of the Holy Spirit, And she 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.800 kept saying, next vessel, next vessel, And when there wasn't 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:00.720 another vessel, the oil stopped flowing. More oil was available, 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.720 but the vessels ran out, and I thought we could 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:05.960 talk about that, are you the next vessel that God 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:11.160 wants to fill? But then I had this one other 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.840 message that was just kind of I was thinking about 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:16.800 it and never precied this passage before, and I was 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.440 praying God, I have three which one? This has never 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.880 happened before. Sometimes you'll hear someone say I was reading 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:26.120 the Bible and the scripture just jumped off the page 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:30.960 at me. That didn't happen, But something even crazier happened. 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:32.840 This has never happened. I'm for since I was sixteen 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.920 years old. Instead of the scripture jumping off the page, 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:41.559 the page came out of the Bible. This Bible has 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:45.319 been put to good use. And this is the first 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.880 page that ever fell out. And look what the scripture was, 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.400 Acts ten Because I'm praying which one? Which one? Look 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.880 at Acts ten twenty one is said I'm the one 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:59.920 you're looking for. I was like, okay, so this one 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.040 we're going to talk about. Look at somebody and say 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.520 I'm the one. I'm the one. I'm the one. You 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:12.280 may be seated, God bless you. I'm the one. More specifically, 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:17.400 verse twenty one, Peter went down and said to the men, 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:22.000 I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come? 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:27.160 Peter went down and said to the men, I'm the 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.400 one you're looking for. Why have you come? And if 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.240 funny how you can have such confidence and uncertainty at 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:38.200 the same time, I'm the one you're looking for? Why 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:42.880 have you come? See? The scripture has a lot to 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:46.760 say about the power of one. I used to hear 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.240 preachers say if we had this whole church and it 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:52.400 was just for one person to know Christ, it would 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.600 have been worth it. And I do believe that. But 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:58.000 we probably wouldn't like build this big of a building 0:09:58.040 --> 0:09:59.600 if it was just the one. We could probably meet 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.760 up some a little bit more logically suited to the 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.679 one on one relationship. This is a place where thousands 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:09.040 get touched, but God is still about the one. I 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.000 can even tell us sometimes when I'm preaching, I can 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.680 look around and go, God probably gave you this part 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:15.960 of the message for them, and it's weird. Don't be 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.080 freaked out about it. I promise you. I don't have 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:20.280 some kind of spooky powers or anything. You can just 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:24.959 tell sometimes like that's what they needed. Somebody say, I'm 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:30.000 the one. I'm the one. And Peter, of course, Jesus 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:35.040 had twelve disciples, eleven after Judas was kind of moved 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:41.680 on but transitioned, you know, was transferred. But Peter was 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.640 that one. There's always the one. Peter was the one. 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.440 He speak up, you know, he'd be like, you are 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.440 the Christ, the son of the living God. He was 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.480 the one who made the first confession of who Christ was. 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:58.080 He was the one. He was also the one who, 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.760 just a few verses later was telling Jesus, you don't 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.480 need to go to the cross, that's bad for your clout. 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:08.040 And then Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. Same one, 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.640 but depending on when you caught him, he was either 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.800 wildly obstinate or obedient, and we just happened to catch 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.080 him at a good time in Acts chapter twelve, because 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:23.160 he has learned the value of obedience. Have you have 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:27.440 you learned the value of doing what God says even 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:32.000 when you don't fully understand it. I think that's really important. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:34.880 As we give today, many of us are giving, and 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.040 you start doing the math, and you're like, well, you know, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:39.600 I could buy this, or I could buy that or 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:43.600 And that's probably not God telling you not to give 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.920 to help people. But it's weird because you have to 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:50.440 you have to learn how to discern. Now, now, in 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.400 this particular passag I'm gonna tell you litt bit about it, 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.080 Peter went down and said to the men, I'm the 0:11:56.120 --> 0:12:01.120 one you're looking for. Why have you come? I'm the one. 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:05.160 Why have you come? Who are the men? And why 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:09.440 have they come? Which takes us back to what Pastor 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:14.080 Levi Lusco was sharing last weekend. He talked about Dorcas. 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:23.240 That baby name is available, and when he was preaching 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:26.280 on Dorcas and he left us in Acts chapter ten, 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.200 I realized this is the one. This is what I 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.080 need to preach about when we bring our offerings in 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:34.000 just a few moments, because the scripture says an X 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.920 chapter ten, verse one at cesarea. Now that's not where 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.720 Peter is. Peter is in Jappa because he just raised 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:42.320 somebody from the dead. You thought you had a good week, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.200 and Peter had been praying, but so had somebody else. 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.040 And see what God is always doing. He's trying to 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:54.880 align opportunity with obedience, and there are opportunities that God 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:58.200 will give to someone who has learned to be obedient. 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.520 Now Peter has learned obedience the hard way, but he's 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:03.320 come to the point where he says, I'm the one. 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.640 Now what are we doing? God? You fill in the blank. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.520 I'm the one where we're going? Because he knew this 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:11.440 was God, but he didn't know the details. I need 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:14.880 you to write this down. Obedience is letting God set 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.920 the direction even if he doesn't give you the details. 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.320 Can I preach like I'm from Monk's Corner, South Carolina. 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:27.560 Monk's Corner has like four stoplights. When I came to Charlotte, 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.319 I was lost all the time. I got a tom 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:33.600 Tom GPS for my dash. You don't know about the 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.880 tom Tom. This was a prehistoric device, but now they 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.000 have Google maps and maps and ways. But it always 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:44.160 tells me turn by turn, and then it says, beneath 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.320 that details, if you want to see all of the urns, well, 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.400 I never click on the details because I can't handle 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:54.040 the details. Look at somebody and say you can't handle 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:59.280 the details. I promise you can't. So walking with God 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.800 and listening to a Holy Spirit. I've just had to 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.640 learn to let him take me turn by turn. And 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.600 some of us will put a location in our GPS 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.880 and trust it on our dash more than we will 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:17.040 trust our Father in Heaven. Come on, y'all shot me 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.720 down before we give in a minute. It's so important 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:24.400 that we learn that obedience is walking in a direction 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.160 that God has called you to walk, even when you 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:31.600 don't understand the details. So there's this man right. What 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.840 had happened was while Peter was praying in Joppa, there 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.480 was this other man who was not a Jew, he 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:40.640 was not a Christian. He was what is known as 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.560 a God fearer. And he was also a commander of 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.120 a hundred soldiers that's called a centurion. He was posted 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.920 in Cesarea, which is a place that the Jews hated. 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.520 Oh they hated Cesarea. It represented Roman oppression to them, 0:14:54.920 --> 0:15:00.520 and there was a lot of racism back then. And 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.360 what God is doing in Acts chapter ten, and I 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:07.960 believe what God is doing in this day is breaking barriers. 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:16.560 Breaking barriers. God, if you need a church to stand 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:20.000 up and show the world what it looks like when 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:29.320 we come together from different backgrounds, different battles, look up 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.360 and down your row. I promise you you will see 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:35.880 somebody that does not look like you. And I'm glad 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.600 about that because what God is doing in this day 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:44.120 is killing our categories. So we can't be a black 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.880 church or a white church, or a Hispanic church or 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:51.800 a Latino church. Is it Baptist? Is it Methodist? Isn't Pentecostal? 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:56.480 Is it non denominational? Yes to all, we are the one. 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.680 We are the Church. We are the living expression of 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.600 the Body of Christ. We are the Hope, we are 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.840 the light, we are the salt, we are the preservative. 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:18.000 So at Sasarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.160 centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.480 and his family were devout and god fary. It means 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.680 that they they were attracted to the Jewish ethic and 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.520 even embraced some of the practices like giving alms and 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:35.680 praying it at nine am or actually at sunrise and 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:38.280 then at three pm and then at sunset. But they 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:43.240 weren't Jews genetically, and so it gives us that background 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:46.920 to let us know that they were devout, God fearing. 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:52.120 He gave generously to those in need and prayed to 0:16:52.200 --> 0:17:02.280 God occasionally. He showed up for E Kids every week, 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:05.760 and the color of the E Kids shirt didn't even 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:09.040 look good with his skin complexion. He showed up to 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:12.680 serve every week, even when the temperature hit under forty five. 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.680 He showed up and served every week in a chat 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.600 room online, had to wake up in a different time zone. 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.320 He was devout, and he was regular, and he was routine. 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:23.960 You could say he was like the Tithers who get 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:30.320 at this church, who just do it now one day. Yeah, 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.920 he was a regular, good, good good who said that 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:35.479 he was a regular? Touch somebody say, I'm a regular. 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.399 I come to church on the good weeks and the 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:42.359 bad weeks. I bless him when I forgot the joy, 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.760 and I bless him when I need some more. I'm 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:52.959 a regular. Ask somebody, are you a regular? So when 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.240 you show up regularly like that one day and you 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.200 never know when this is going to be skinner? One day, 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.080 at about three in the afternoon, he had a vision. 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:03.760 He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:09.679 him and said Cornelius, and Cornelius stared at him in fear, 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:17.159 and so would you. When God speaks, usually your first 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:23.160 response is going to be fear not me. I walk 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:27.600 by faith, perfect glove, cast out fear. Well, you never 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:32.439 really heard God tell you to do anything. When He 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.240 shows you something to do and it's really him, it'll 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.040 be so big. You will be praying a prayer of 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:46.360 acid reflux and indigestion. I always say that I love 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:50.960 this giving series, and I do when it's over. But 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:53.000 when I'm doing it, I'm sitting down and I'm going, 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.080 all right, God, what should we give now? Elijah. We've 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:57.040 been given in this offering since you were a baby, 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:00.560 and in some years God has really stretched us to 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:05.200 give in ways that were sacrificial. And then you come 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.160 to another year and you're like, well, I did that already. 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:11.199 It's time for somebody else to do it. You're the 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.760 one this time. I was the one back in twenty eleven. 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:17.680 But then you keep on wanting to say, Okay, God, 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:19.679 I'm available. You can use me, you can use me, 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:23.040 And you come to this point and you feel fear. 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:28.240 But the Angel answered your prayers and gifts to the 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.680 poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:35.040 This is sacrificial terminology like the Jewish cult system would 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:38.719 have had it rises before the Lord, and the Angel 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:40.320 answered your prayers and gifts to the poor has come 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:46.639 up as a memorial offering before God. All right, now, 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:49.800 you know how I said. God doesn't give the details, 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.160 He just sets the direction. Listen how little Cornelius knew. 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:54.400 And this will make you feel good. If you don't 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:55.560 know how to raise your kids, you don't know how 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:56.840 to be a good husband, You don't know what you're 0:19:56.840 --> 0:19:58.640 going to do next in your business, your career, your life, 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.920 your college, anything like that. All he said was this, Now, 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.680 send men to Joppa to bring back a man named 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:08.479 Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon, 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:12.199 the Tanner, whose house is by the sea. This is 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.520 so confusing. Don't even get me started. It's a man 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.879 called imagine this conversation. Go get a man named Simon, 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:20.960 but they call him Peter. He's staying with Simon. Simon's 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:22.840 a Tanner. I know that Jews normally don't stay with 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:24.639 tanner's because they touch dead things and it is considered 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:26.840 ceremonially unclean and tanners and kept on the outskirts of town. 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:28.040 So he's going to be out of the way. But 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:29.320 go get him in the out of the way. Place 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:31.360 because he's staying at the house of Simon the Tanner. Okay, see, 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:32.480 you want me to go get Simon the Tanner. Don't 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:33.760 want you to go get Simon Peter. You're gonna get 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.199 Simon near you get Peter. It's the same guy, but 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:37.399 he had this thing or Jesus told him. You are Simon, 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:39.160 but I call you Peter because you're the rock im Bill. 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:40.919 They're on Church On. You're gonna be the one. I'm 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:43.280 gonna use you even though you've had some shakiness. I'm 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:45.439 gonna use you, even though you've had some trumple. I'm 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:47.520 gonna use you, even though you got it wrong. Sometimes 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:51.560 somebody shout I'm the one. I'm the one, So he 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:53.080 tells him who to go get, but he doesn't tell 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:56.639 him why. The only way you find out why is 0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:01.400 to respond. God doesn't show you the until you respond, 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:06.600 and then you understand in reverse why God did what 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:09.560 he did. And then you get to help somebody out 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:12.680 of your own pain and you realize maybe that was why. 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:15.600 Or you're stronger and you find out that you have 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:19.000 character you didn't even know until the storm shook away 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:21.879 all that shaky stuff, and now you know why I 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.040 had to go through it so I could see that 0:21:24.119 --> 0:21:27.000 my foundation was on the rock. But you do not 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:30.280 know why God does not give reasons to people who 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:38.200 do not respond. So when the angel who had spoke 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:41.840 to him had gone verse seven, Notice it is not 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:44.679 what God says to you that sets the direction for 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:47.680 your life. It is what you do with what God 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:50.960 says to you. After the angel who spoke to him 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.199 had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and an 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:57.000 avout soldier who was one of his attendants, and he 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:00.000 told them everything that had happened. I saw an angel, 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:02.040 I promise, y'all, I know why I didn't smoke nothing. 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:04.600 I saw an angel. I'm a good god fear and 0:22:04.640 --> 0:22:09.400 I saw an angel, and he said to go to Joppa. Now, 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:13.159 at the time that the men got there to Joppa, 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:20.040 Peter was praying when opportunity meets obedience. Remember, up until 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:24.000 this point, the Gospel has only been for the people 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:27.840 who are within the Jewish community, But that was never 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:31.840 God's full intention. When God called Abraham, he said, go 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:34.239 to the land. I will show you. I'm gonna give 0:22:34.280 --> 0:22:37.719 you the direction, not the details, and I'm gonna bless you. 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:40.399 But the reason I'm gonna bless you is so you 0:22:40.400 --> 0:22:43.960 can be a blessing. That's why God gave you your gifts, 0:22:44.119 --> 0:22:47.280 your intellect, your capacity, so you could be a blessing. 0:22:47.560 --> 0:22:50.879 That's the real reason. That's the why. But it takes 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:54.240 time to realize why. At first you think it's for you, 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:57.320 and then you realize that God really just made you 0:22:57.400 --> 0:22:59.959 a vessel for what he wants to bring into the world. 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.640 But Peter, look at this how God aligns things. As 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:09.560