Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth, simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message.
Here's Adrian Rogers. Adrian wants to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ, so this is what he has done. He has gathered all of his family, his neighbors, and his friends. He has them all over to his house, and then he invites you to come and to share your faith and to tell why you believe in Jesus Christ.
Would you be prepared to do that? If not, I hope you'll be prepared at the close of this service, because that's what happened to the man named Simon Peter. There was a man named Cornelius. Cornelius was a Gentile, and he's a Roman army officer. And God had spoken to him, and God said, Cornelius, go send for a man named Peter, and he'll come to your house and tell you how to be saved.
And so Peter, under direct orders, and by special invitation also, went to the house of this man Cornelius, to share his faith. Now suppose that had been you. Would you have been ready? Would you have been prepared? What would you say? What would you say to an opportunity that you may have this afternoon or tomorrow? Now my sermon will be a colossal failure, either for me or for you, if you cannot come away from this message saying, you know, I know what I would do.
That's what I would say. And I believe I know how I would say it. So that's what I want to do, is to prepare you for that opportunity that may come. Because, precious friend, you are to share your faith. Do you believe in that?
I hope you do. You are to share your faith. As a matter of fact, if you have no desire to share your faith, I wonder if you're really saved. Now we tell people to keep the faith. Not only should you keep it, you ought to give it away.
And if you have no desire to give it away, perhaps you ought to give it up. If you had cancer, you'd want to share that, wouldn't you? The best news this world has ever known is the saving gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I can give you this testimony. From the day that I gave my heart to Jesus Christ, to this very moment, there has always been a desire in my heart to share Christ.
That's one of the ways I know it's real. I've not always shared Him as I ought. I've not always been wise.
I've not always been diligent. There's one in the recesses of my heart, always a desire to share the Lord Jesus Christ. And so here's Cornelius. He has his friends and neighbors over. He has his children there.
He has everybody there. And then walks Simon Peter to give his testimony. Now he gives a three-fold testimony or a three-fold confirmation of the gospel. And I want to lay those three things upon your heart today.
But before we get to those, I want you to get the introduction. Look in verse 34. And then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.
I love that. Now Peter is a Jew. He's come to a Gentile house.
Up until this time, no Jew would enter into a Gentile house like this to have fellowship with him, to share spiritual things with him. But God had to work on Simon Peter and say, Simon, I love the world. I love all the people of the world.
Red, yellow, black, white, they're all precious in my sight. And whoever you are today, whatever your background, I want to tell you, God loves you. With God, there is no respect of persons. And then notice in verse 35, but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. For the word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. The door to salvation is very wide.
There is no respect of persons. Whosoever will may come. And we're going to see in verse 43, the Bible says that if anyone will believe on him, he'll receive remission of sins. So you say to yourself, I can be saved if I want to be saved. God did not say that some people can be saved and other people cannot be saved, that some are in a select group. No, there's no respect of persons with God.
None whatsoever. The Lord is not willing that any should perish. If you go to hell, a brokenhearted God will watch you drop into hell. It is not God's plan that you die and go to hell. The Lord is not willing that any should perish. But that all should come repentance. But the second thing is if you're going to be saved, you're going to be saved by Jesus or you're not going to be saved at all. That's what that verse says.
He is Lord of all. Jesus is not a good way to go to heaven. Jesus is not the best way to go to heaven.
Jesus is the only way to go to heaven. The only way. The only way. And if Jesus is not the only way, he's none of the ways. He's not just one of the ways. He's either the only way or none of the ways.
For what did he say in John 14, verse 6? I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Now, it's either true or false, right? If it's true, he's the only way.
If it's false, he's a liar, and he's not any of the ways. So, you can't just kind of tip your hat to Jesus. You have to bow your knee to Jesus.
And so the door is very wide, but the way is very narrow. You come to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus alone has the answer, Cornelius, to life.
That's life's pressing questions. Jesus alone can forgive your sin. Jesus alone can give you a hope that is steadfast and sure. Jesus alone can take the sting out of sin, the pain out of parting, the gloom out of the grave, the dread out of death. Jesus alone is the answer. I believe that with all of my heart.
Oh, but the way is very narrow. He, Jesus, is Lord of all. Well, why should Cornelius believe that?
Why? Well, people used to walk in and say, look Cornelius, Christ is Lord of all. He gave three lines of evidence to convict and convince Cornelius. And he wants to use those three lines of evidence through you to bring others to Christ, or else to bring you to Christ to Christ today.
The Bible says a three-fold cord is not easily broken. Now, I want you to see the first of these things that Peter used when he came to this incredible opportunity. And by the way, it is such an opportunity. Did you know to win souls is not only a command of God, but a great privilege, a wonderful opportunity? An angel had visited Cornelius prior to this. And the angel said to Cornelius, Cornelius, you go and get that man Peter and he will come and tell you how you and your house can be saved. Now, wait a minute. When I played football, ever so often, I'd get my hands on the football and head toward the goal.
You know what I was always grateful for? Somebody doing some downfield blocking. Somebody just clearing the way for me. But friend, no matter how much downfield blocking there is, somebody has got to carry the ball. Now, God will do the downfield blocking for you, but you've got to carry the ball. And if somebody's not carrying the ball, no matter how much blocking there is, you're not going to score unless somebody carries the ball. And what I want you to do today is to do that and not to fumble the ball. God will clear the way. But you have a privilege and an obligation and a joy that even angels don't have.
Alright, what is this threefold core? First of all, there is what I want to call the personal confidence of the soul winner. The personal confidence of the soul winner. As you listen to Simon Peter here as he shares his faith, he doesn't do it with any stutter. He doesn't do it with any stammer.
He doesn't do it with any trepidation. He has a rock ribbed personal confidence. I want you to notice how this confidence is shown in the third day. God raised up the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us. Now notice the confidence Peter has, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And 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 the living and the dead.
Hey, here he is. Peter said, look, we are witnesses. When he said we're witnesses of these things, he was talking about the apostles. Can you imagine what a jury the apostles would have made had they been put in the jury box and asked to adjudicate whether Jesus Christ is the son of God or not?
Think of the apostles. First of all, there was the apostle John. He was young, philosophical, and very observant. Secondly, there was Peter. He was a brash, loud-mouthed fisherman. Next, there was Simon Zelotes.
He was a right-wing political zealot. And then there was Nathaniel and Thomas. They were inclined to be doubters.
We call him Doubting Thomas. And then there was Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector, kind of a hard-bitten businessman. Then there was Andrew, who was shy and gentle, got a lot of attention. He worked along well with little children. Then there was Philip, who was kind of shrewd and calculating. And then there was James, who was very straightforward and had a no-nonsense disposition.
Here they are, all 11 of them. They're so very different. But there was one thing they were all unanimous about, and that's that Jesus is Lord. That's very interesting. We're so different. You come from different backgrounds. You have different accents. You have different educations. You have different tastes. You have different political ideas.
You like different kinds of entertainment. What holds us together? The same thing that held these 11 apostles together. His name is Jesus.
We would not come here and be the kind of people we are, have the love that we have and the joy that we have apart from Jesus. Is not that true? These 11 men are bonded together, welded together, one in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let me tell you what they were all three completely sold on.
Are you ready? What did they all have the same confidence about? First of all, the virtuous life of Jesus. Look, if you will, in verse 38. Peter begins to talk about how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good. Peter and his works.
They were eyewitnesses of these things. I can just hear Peter saying, look, yes, I know he changed water into wine. I drank some of it. I know he walked on water because I got out of the boat and walked on water with him. I know he raised the dead. I saw with my own eyes. I know he healed lepers. I saw the transformation with my own eyes.
I know he was transfigured. I was with him on the mountain. I was an eyewitness of his majesty. I heard the voice from heaven. So they, first of all, were unanimous on the virtuous life of Jesus. But not only were they unanimous on the virtuous life of Jesus, they were also unanimous on the vicarious death of Jesus.
Look in verse 39. I saw him dying in agony and blood. I saw when they took his lifeless body down from the cross. I saw him wrapped in linen grave clothes. I saw him placed in the tomb. We were eyewitnesses of his death. His death is an historical fact.
And they were all convinced of a third thing. Not only his virtuous life and his vicarious death, but his victorious resurrection. Look in verse 40. Him, God, raised up the third day and showed him openly, 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. Well, Peter, where do you get this confidence? Are you sure that you are not hallucinating? Peter, are you sure he wasn't a ghost? A ghost? Man, we ate and drank with him. We touched him. Well, Peter, are you sure it was not an hallucination?
Are you kidding me? An hallucination? He was seen of more than 500 people at one time. Well, Peter, how can we be sure that you haven't just cooked up this whole story? How can we be sure that you're not telling a lie? A lie? Man, I would die for what I'm telling you. That's what John Peter did. Men may live for a lie, but no man will willingly, knowingly die for a lie.
Friend, people tell lies to get out of trouble, not to get into trouble. They were convinced of his virtuous life. They were convinced of his vicarious death.
They were convinced of his victorious resurrection. So, here's the soul winner. The soul winner has this confidence. Do you have that confidence? Do you have a confidence concerning the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
If not, you're not going to make a very good soul winner. You're going to witness with stutter and stammer and apology. But, oh, what a bold witness when you say, I know that I know that these things are true.
And if you're not solid on these things, I can tell you that you're not going to be the kind of a witness that you ought to be. I'm so grateful that we serve a risen Savior. Joyce and I, we're in Moscow, Russia, right after the Soviet communist system disintegrated and fell apart. I was invited to go to the city of Moscow to preach in Red Square on Easter morning on nationwide television.
There was an opportunity like that. Easter morning, there in Red Square, what Ronald Reagan had called the evil empire, and there on nationwide television to share the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw so many come to Christ on that wonderful Sunday. Easter was spitting snow there in Moscow. We're there in Red Square where Lenin's tomb is. I said to Joyce, we're going to see Lenin's tomb on Easter because the tomb of our Savior is empty. We're just going to go to Lenin's tomb and we walk there into Lenin's tomb. And there are the words concerning Lenin.
Listen to it. He was the greatest leader of all peoples, of all countries, of all time. He was the Lord of a new humanity. He was the Savior of the world.
Did you catch that little word was? He was the greatest leader. He was the Lord of the new humanity. He was the Savior of the world. Everybody put Jesus in the equation. He is the greatest leader of all peoples. He is the Lord of a new humanity. He is the Savior of the world because he died and he has risen again.
Thank God for our dear Savior. Now, do you have that confidence? There is the personal confidence of the soul winner. If you don't have that confidence today, you need to get it and you can have it.
And I'm going to tell you how in just a moment. But now secondly, there's not only the personal confidence of the soul winner, but there's the powerful confirmation of the Scriptures. You see, it's not enough for you to say, well, I know this or I feel that. Even if you're in high witness because someone may say you misinterpreted what you saw. Or maybe you made it up.
Or maybe it's out of suggestion. So God gives us something else. Not only does he give us this personal confidence, but he gives us a powerful confirmation and that is through Holy Scripture. Look in verse 43. Now Peter's talking to Cornelius in his household. He's speaking of Jesus and then he says this, to him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him should have remission of sins.
Now listen to it. To him give all the prophets witness. Now what was Peter talking about here? He's talking about the Old Testament. And he's saying all of the prophets in the Old Testament are unanimous about Jesus. Not some of the prophets. But to Jesus, all the prophets give witness.
Now Peter says look, we all are unanimous. We're witnesses. But now not only is there the witness of the soul winner, there's the witness of the Scriptures. The Scriptures give witness. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Now you're a thinking person. May I tell you that there are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that were directly fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now there's some people who see these Scriptures fulfilled and they say, well, that's only because they rigged it. That's only because Jesus and his apostles rigged it. They arranged it for him to fulfill these prophecies. Well, you know what?
I agree with them. He did arrange it. Let me tell you what he arranged.
Let me tell you what he managed. First of all, he managed to be born in Bethlehem. You think you could manage the place where you were going to be born? Micah chapter 5 verse 2.
But thou, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be the ruler in Israel. Yes, he managed the place where he was going to be born. I'll tell you what else he managed. He managed to be born of a virgin.
You think you could manage that? He managed that. You didn't choose your mother. He chose his and he chose to be virgin born. Isaiah 7 verse 14, Old Testament.
Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear sun, and thou shall call his name Immanuel. I'll tell you something else that he managed. He managed to have his crucifixion described 7 to 800 years before he was born when death by crucifixion was not even known. The form of capital punishment that the Jews used was stoning.
But Psalm 22 speaks of Jesus and it says this, They pierced my hands and my feet 700 to 800 years before Jesus was even born. He managed to be crucified. Yes, he managed that. And he managed to have two thieves crucified with him, one on either side, and subsequently to be buried in a tomb reserved for the rich. Isaiah 53 verse 6, And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was there any deceit in his mouth.
I'll tell you something else he managed. He managed that Judas would betray him for 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah 11 and verse 12, And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear.
And they weighed for my price 30 pieces of silver. Yes, he managed that to happen. And then the classic arrangement that he managed, after three days he managed to walk out of that grave alive, the Savior of the world, and to be seen by more than 500 witnesses. Now, friend, most of these prophecies, if not all of them, were fulfilled, not by his friends, but by his enemies, those who had the most to gain by their not being fulfilled. Yes, thank God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Scripture. Do you know enough Scripture to take the Bible and convince somebody about the Lord Jesus Christ?
If not, why not? Now, here's the third line of evidence. Remember, there's the personal confidence. Peter said we're witnesses of these things. Secondly, there's the powerful confirmation of the Scripture. Now, thirdly, there is the persuasive conviction of the Spirit. Look now in verse 44. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Oh, I love that. Now, here it is. Peter's giving his testimony. He's saying, look, I'll tell you what I know. Here's my confidence.
Here's my rock-ribbed assurance. And then he says, look, it's backed up by the Scriptures. To him, give all the prophets witness. And now while he's doing this, the Spirit of God comes upon them.
How wonderful that is. And, oh, God, send your Spirit today to convince and convict. Many times I've told you anything I can talk you into, somebody else can talk you out of. That's the reason before I preach, I cry out to God and say, oh, God, anoint me. Because I want the Holy Spirit of God to bring that final three-fold strand. There's the personal confidence of the soul winner. There's the powerful confirmation of the Scriptures. And then there's the persuasive conviction of the Holy Spirit. Do you know what Holy Spirit conviction is? When the Holy Spirit of God speaks to you and the Holy Spirit says that's true, how do you know that Jesus is the Son of God? How do you know that the Scriptures are true? How do you know that those who say that Jesus has transformed their lives, how do you know they're really transformed? Because the Holy Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God is the one who convicts you. I've had people tell me, hey, you would have made a good salesman.
I don't know whether I would have or not. But I don't want to be a salesman when it comes to the Gospel. I'm not trying to just argue you in to signing on the dotted line. I want the Holy Spirit of God to convict you of these things that I'm preaching. And the Holy Spirit of God will.
He will. I'm not dependent upon eloquence. I'm not dependent upon logic.
I am not dependent upon personal magnetism. All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. You know in Acts chapter 5 the apostles were witnessing and they said something wonderful. They said, we are witnesses of these things and so is also, listen to this, so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey Him.
I love that. I fall back on that Scripture so many times. We are witnesses. I'm witnessing to you. I'm telling you in my heart. I'm telling you all that I know is best I know how. But I'm not dependent upon that alone. I'm dependent upon the Holy Spirit of God going up and down these aisles and through these pews and saying, you better listen to Him.
He's telling you the truth. This is of God. See, I'm a witness but so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey Him. Now let me tell you how the Holy Spirit of God witnesses. And these are in 1 John chapter 5 but the Bible says, if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. Now we all receive the witness of men. If you eat, you put some faith in the cook, right?
How do you know your wife is not going to serve you a little straightening or arsenic this afternoon? When you get in an automobile, somebody else is driving, you put your faith in the driver. How do you know this is not the day he's determined to drive off the bridge? You get on an airplane, you put your faith in the pilot. Most of you don't even know the name of the pilot when you get on the airliner.
You don't even look behind the door to see if you like his looks. Just get on. Now what's he saying? Listen, we could not live without putting our trust in other people for certain things. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.
God speaks to you. There's a reason when a person tells me, hey, I can't believe he's lying. There's nobody who says I can't believe who's telling the truth. Jesus did not say you cannot come unto me. He said you will not come unto me that you might have life. If you want to believe, you can believe because God will enable you to believe. Your problem is not in your head. Your problem is in your heart. God says beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. He doesn't say an empty head but an evil heart. If you want to believe, you can believe.
Why? Because the Holy Spirit of God will enable you to believe. He will witness to you. God is speaking to you today. Now would you open your heart and let God speak to you?
You can stonewall God. But if you will receive the witness of men, if you put your trust in feeble man with all of his failures and foibles, surely you can put your trust in Almighty God in the Word of God. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, 1 John 5, 9. And then not only does the Holy Spirit of God witness to you, but the Holy Spirit of God witnesses in you.
And I love this. The Bible says in the next verse there, 1 John 5, 10, He that believeth on the Son hath the witness in himself. Now, the Holy Spirit of God spoke to me and I believed in Jesus, and now the witness that was witnessing to me is now witnessing in me. I have the witness in myself. The Holy Spirit of God lives in me right now and enables me to believe. And did you know because I have the witness in myself, I'm not at the mercy of some pagan or some infidel with an argument.
You could argue to me about hypocrites or all kind of contradictions in the Bible or anything else that you want to argue about. You're not going to stampede me because I have the witness in myself. Now, suppose I've just had a big piece of apple pie and somebody comes along and says, there is no such thing as apple pie. Or somebody else says, well, if there is, it doesn't taste good and doesn't satisfy. Well, that's not going to shake me.
You know why? I have the witness in myself. You see, the Bible says, taste and see that the Lord is good. So he witnesses to me. Then he witnesses in me. And when he witnesses to me and witnesses in me, it's then that he witnesses through me. You see, this is what an effective witness is. An effective witness is somebody who has had an experience with God. Jesus didn't say you're going to be my lawyers.
A lawyer argues a case. A witness tells what he's seen and heard. That's the reason Peter has such confidence. You see, Peter is there.
He's saying, look, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. We ate with him, we walked with him, we talked with him, we saw him risen. I have absolute confidence. There's the personal confidence of the soul winner. And then there is the powerful confirmation of the scriptures. We have the holy scriptures there and the fulfilled prophecies that say who the Lord Jesus is. And then on top of that, there's the confirming persuasion of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes these first two things and he comes and he says to the household of Cornelius, these things are true.
These things are true. Jesus said, ye shall receive power after that. The Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me. God did not tell me that I have to go out and witness in my own strength. God gives me the Holy Spirit as an ally. Remember, we are witnesses of these things and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him. Now, if the Holy Spirit of God is not bringing conviction through your life, it may be that you're not living in obedience because God does not give the Holy Spirit to rebels, but to them that obey him.
Now, here's an interesting thing while we're in this particular passage. Notice in verse 44, while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word and they of the circumcision, that means the Jews which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, how did they know that the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Gentiles? For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify 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? Pastor Rogers, do you have to speak with tongues in order to be saved? Of course not. Is tongues a sign that you are saved?
No. What is tongues? It's the ability to speak in a language you've never learned. It's a supernatural utterance given of God as a sign. Now, the first evidence of this, the first happening of this was on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 and there were Jews there. But now here's a new dimension to the gospel. Now Peter's going to the Gentiles, to the household of Cornelius. This is the Gentile Pentecost. And the Jews were there. They were amazed.
They said, would you look at that? God has given the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles the same way He did to us. And what God was saying is now there's one new body. It's called the church.
Jew and Gentile are alike. Now that was a sign gift. We don't have to have that gift repeated. We're not trying to repeat Pentecost any more than we're trying to repeat Bethlehem or Calvary. Bethlehem was God with us. Calvary, God for us. Pentecost is God in us. It was a sign gift. We're not praying and asking God for another Pentecost. We're not praying and asking God for the Holy Ghost. He has sent the Holy Spirit.
He has. I got a bike for Christmas when I was a little boy, 24-inch Swin, candy apple red with cream-colored stripes on it. Got it Christmas day. Now suppose I'd come to my parents about New Year's and said, Mom and Dad, would you please give me a bike? I need a bike. Please give me a bike. They'd say, Son, we're giving you a bike.
I'll put it on and ride it, okay? God has sent the Holy Spirit. We don't have to keep on asking God to do what He's already done. All this was was a sign that now God has poured out His Spirit upon the Gentiles and Jew and Gentile are now one body in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then do you know what happened?
Do you know what happened? Peter said to these people, Can any man forbid water that these should be baptized because the Holy Spirit has come upon them as He came upon us? Now look, they believed and then they were baptized. Have you been baptized? Have you?
Well, let me ask you. Have you believed? Now if you believed, then the next step is for you to make it public and on the first opportunity to follow Jesus in believer's baptism. Now if you've not believed, why not?
You can if you wish. There is the personal confidence of the soul winner, the man named Adrian. There's a powerful confirmation of the Scriptures. The Scriptures have proven conclusively that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is the persuasive conviction of the Holy Spirit. He's here today and all you have to do is say yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-12-17 06:03:41 / 2024-12-17 06:16:31 / 13