 Okay, so our session is being recorded. We will get started with the word of prayer. Who would like to pray today? Anyone? Okay, Arun, do you want to pray? Sure, here's a pastor. Let me pray. Father, we just want to say thank you for placing this on a new day to soaking to your word, Lord Father. As we began our learning, Lord Father, I prayed for a pastor named C, Lord Father, give her wisdom and knowledge, Lord Father, as she's going to teach us, Lord Father, to rule from your word, Lord Father. And Lord Father, I pray for all our students, for all the students, Lord Father, open up our heart to receive your word, Lord Father, and Lord Father, as we truly work with you, Lord Father, help us to obtain this mountain. Lord, so Lord, I submit to the state of the student's presence into your life. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you so much, Arun. So in the last class, we were studying about the life of Saul and how God encountered him. And from a persecutor, he gave his heart to Christ and he became a passionate follower of Christ. So most of the chapter talked about that and later on we saw how he tried to preach, but he was not accepted. So he went away, right? So he lived in the regions of Arabia for some time and then he went off to the region of Silesia where I think he did most of his ministry, which we don't know, which is not, like you don't have too much written about it, except that Paul himself shares these details in some of his other writings. Then later, we saw the ministry of Peter, how Peter ministered, how he healed somebody who was, who was laid, right? Yeah, Litta, the region of, yes, the region of Litta. Peter healed a man called Anias who was bedridden for eight years. So we saw that miracle. Then we saw a spectacular miracle of a lady who was dead. Doc is also known as Tabitha. She was raised from the dead by Peter. So these are things that the early church continues to move in. And then we also saw how Peter was now staying with a person called Simon. Simon is a tanner and I told you that it's not the most sort of sought after profession. Those who were tanners were generally living outside the city and they were not considered highly in the society. And yet, we know that God had worked in the heart of Peter because Peter was a person who, you know, from his personality, description of his personality, we understand that he was not very easily accepting of people. But by now, God had worked in his heart, right? So that is something we can take back. And now coming to the next chapter here, this is a description of a person called Cornelius. Now, the beautiful thing about Cornelius is that he is a devout person. He is not a Jew and yet his devotion touches the heart of God. Okay, so that is really wonderful and he also feared and he worshipped this God, right? He worshipped God. So the God of the Jews and that is recognized by God. Now, part of his devotion, he also gave generously and prayed to God. Does God commend such people? Definitely because though he did not belong to the Jewish community, God recognized him and chose to work in his life by even sending one of the apostles to him to share the gospel. Now, today, is it possible that God would send somebody to a person who belongs to a different community, somebody who is wanting to live a righteous life for God? Yeah, why not? Because you see that in the life of Cornelius, so God can send. And how did God actually send Peter to Cornelius? This is what we are going to see now. So we are already aware that Peter is in the house of Simon the Tanner and while he is going about his daily routine. Okay, so as part of the daily routine of a devout Jew is his or her prayer times. So you notice that Peter in the ninth hour, it says, oh, sorry. Oh yeah, this is Peter. Peter in the ninth hour, he saw a vision. Okay, and in the vision, there is an angel. Now, we have talked about this. There are many ways in which God communicates to us. It could be dreams, it could be visions, it could be an angel in real life. In this case, there is an angel in the vision. Okay, coming at speaking to hang on. Oh yeah, the first vision comes to Cornelius. Okay, and then later we will see that the same similar vision also comes to Peter. So talking about Cornelius, okay, everyone sorry for the confusion. We are talking about Cornelius right now who is a devout Gentile and he is praying to God at the ninth hour. And he is the one who receives the vision. So when he receives the vision, he is afraid, obviously, and he asks the question, what is it, Lord? And so the angel said to him, your prayers and your arms have come up for a memorial before God, meaning God is remembering the good works which you have done as devotion and as worship to him. So he says, now I want you to do something and that is to take the men to a place called Joppa and you try to reach out to a person called Simon whose surname is Peter. So God is giving very specific instructions. Even in Acts chapter nine, we saw that, right? There is Ananias who is informed about the place where he must go to meet Saul. So we see that God and his instruction and his directions are so specific in the way he led these people. So Cornelius is told to send people to reach out to Peter. Now Peter's address is also given. He is told that, you know, the Simon, he is lodging with another Simon who is a tanner whose house is by the sea. So you go to him and he will tell you what you must do. So God was actually preparing Cornelius's heart to receive the word which Peter was supposed to bring to him. Today is it possible that God can prepare the hearts of people in the world out there to hear from us? Why not? You know, who knows? Somebody might have a dream or a vision and what if you are in the dream or the vision, right? Anything is possible, but it is according to the direction of the Holy Spirit. So when the angel had spoken to Cornelius, he calls for two of his servants and he tells them, you know, with a soldier and he tells them to go. So he explains all this. This is what I saw, vision and all that. And I want you to go to this place called Joppa and as instructed, you know, you go and meet this man called Simon. So on the next day, they go on this journey and they went close to the city. Now at the time, right, like when they were traveling and they were moving to meet Peter, Peter is on the house top. He's also praying. Now this is the sixth hour. Okay, so similar to your Cornelius who is devoted in prayer, you have Peter who's also devoted in prayer. And you know, he is praying, but at the same time he is hungry. So the food is probably being prepared by Simon the Tanner, his family. But Peter is waiting. He's praying and he's hungry and he really wanted to eat. But while he was in this state, okay, so there is a physical state of being hungry and a spiritual state where he's seeking God, we read that he fell into a trance. What is a trance? Everyone, anyone knows what is a trance? Team, vision, all that we understood. What is a trance? You can share your thoughts. Is it familiar? Another realm. Okay, Cunden says another realm. Traveling in the spirit, Thomas says, okay, all right. Yeah, these are certainly some descriptions. But trance has to do more with, as Cunden pointed out, it's like you are in another realm. You are in the spiritual realm. Okay, though we are a physical being, we find ourselves in the spiritual realm. And at that time, usually like a trance is a period when the physical body may become weak and something like a sleep like state. The physical body is not functioning. But in the spirit, you're very much there and you are alive and you are able to engage in what God is showing you in the spiritual realm. So it's like that. So we can imagine that Peter, his body fell asleep, but his spirit was engaging very actively and alertly in the spirit. So I hope that is clear what a trance is. So you are engaging in the spirit while your body is weak and you could also be like in a state of sleep. Okay, so while Peter is in this condition, he is seeing certain things happen in the spirit realm. So what is he seeing? There's a beautiful description of what God shows him. He sees the heavens are opening. Okay. And something like a sheet is spread out to the four corners. And on that sheet, he sees animals, all kinds of animals, four-footed animals, wild bees, creeping things, birds of the air. And a voice comes to him and says, rise, Peter, kill and eat. And Peter says, not so loud, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. And the voice spoke to him again. And the second time, what God has cleansed, you must not call common. This was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again. So, you know, a few things we see is you have some symbolism going on in the vision. We are not calling it a vision. It's a trance. There are some things that he is observing in the trance. But we know that in the prophetic, there's symbolism, meaning you see objects, you see people, you see things. But it means it has a meaning to it. Okay. So obviously, Peter would have known that there is a meaning to what all this is, but he is watching whatever God is showing him. So there's a sheet and all kinds of animals. And God is telling him, now that you are hungry, why don't you rise up, you know, kill and have these animals. So if we understand the background of the Old Testament, you know, there was this whole teaching about kosher and non-kosher animals. Okay. So basically, there were some rules in the Old Testament where people were told, God's people were told not to eat some animals who were unclean by God's standards. So you could eat all the other animals, but not certain animals. But here, it's as if, you know, God is showing him something better and telling him that, no, it's okay, you can have it. Okay. And Peter is a faithful Jew. So he says, no, God, like, how can I do this? How can I disobey what has been already taught to us, but he is encouraged, right? He's encouraged to go ahead and eat these animals. So what is the interpretation from this? You know, people say that God was saying that, oh, yeah, now you can eat all animals. That's a great thing. You know, so you get to enjoy several creatures as food. Is that the final point of what God was trying to tell man? No. I told you about symbolism, right? So through the symbolism, you know, Peter would have thought different things. What does it mean, unclean animals? Unclean animals might mean, you know, is it because I'm staying in Simon the Tanner's house? Is that something to do with what I'm seeing? So all these thoughts are going through his mind. And even while Peter is wondering to himself what the vision he has seen meant, right at that time, you have the people who were sent by Cornelius coming up to Simon's house. They're standing before the gate and they are asking for Simon Peter. So while Peter thought about the vision, immediately the Holy Spirit tells him. So Peter has still not understood what he has seen, but he receives his next instruction. What is that? Behold, there are three men who are seeking you and you need to arise and go down with them. Don't doubt anything or doubting nothing for I have sent them. So he immediately goes. Okay, so this is interesting. You know, Peter has not yet received the meaning of what he saw, but God is guiding him to take the next step. So we'll see what exactly happens. So along with these people, he goes to the house of Cornelius. Okay. And Cornelius. Okay. Yeah. So obviously before he steps out, he is told by these people that they have come from Cornelius and then they give a description of Cornelius. They say, he's a just man, one who fears God with a good reputation. And the fact that he was divinely instructed by God, very similar to how Peter was instructed by God. And you know, that Cornelius had told for Peter to be brought. Okay. So Peter goes on the next day. He went away with them and some brethren from Joppa also accompanied him. Now again, you know, we don't have clarity in these verses whether Peter fully understood what God was doing in his life. Okay. And the next day he kind of goes there and you know, he sees that Cornelius is waiting for this person. How is he waiting? He's waiting, not just by himself, but he's waiting with relatives and close friends. So, you know, just a few things that we can talk about. And then again, we will come back to what is going on. So what do you, what do you see in the way God leads us from what happened to Peter? Any insights I described whatever happened. So what are some lessons that we see? Okay. So God is making a connect between two human beings who don't know each other. Then God is instructing Peter. But even in our lives, you know, sometimes we have received one instruction from God and we are trying to understand it. Okay. And maybe we have not fully understood it. But then comes the next instruction. So, you know, for us to fully understand some things, it may not just be God telling us, you know, do this or do that. Or, you know, this is what it means. But we may need to step out with the next instruction that God is giving us. And as we follow that, we will have a better understanding of what God spoke earlier. Okay. So that's exactly the case for Peter, because he was told, don't call anything unclean. And he's wondering, what is this? What is this? Now, Cornelius's people have come and God told it, go doubting nothing. So he takes the next step. So sometimes, you know, we have to take the next step for us to truly learn what God is guiding us to do. So, yeah, Kiran, you're asking a question, can it happen nowadays? So what exactly can what happen nowadays? Can you be more specific? Ma'am, something like a unknown, some unknown words God can talk like two or three people once it can happen. Yeah, Kiran, I mean, if you've seen it happen over here, I think we can also see it happen in our lives. Only thing is, Peter also had a confirmation from his side, isn't it? So he knew that these people will come and he has to go. So the important thing is for us to be led by the Holy Spirit. Because unless we are led by the Holy Spirit, I mean, how would you if some random people come and say, okay, Kiran, please come. We want you to go with us to, you know, somebody's house. It's difficult, right? For us to take that. But if you also have a witness in your spirit, yes, you can go. Yeah, so it can happen very much. Okay, so Prince is saying sometimes it's confusing how we see clearly how we say clearly this is a dream or a vision. Okay, so, you know, Prince, dreams are visions of the night. That's how, you know, some people classify it. Visions of the night means these are visions that you see when you sleep. So that is a dream. Otherwise, a vision can be seen at any time. Even when you are awake, you can see a vision. Okay, but a dream is something that we see only when we sleep. So they are also known as visions of the night because like people sleep and see dreams. Okay, and yeah, some thoughts here on the chat where, you know, Aaron is saying that we need the courage to step out true. So God gives more revelation when we work with the previous revelation that he has given us. Now imagine if Peter never stepped out. Okay, and Peter, if he said something like, unless you explain to me what has happened, I'm not going to go along. He would have been stuck. But when he, even when he did not understand fully, he was willing to take the next clear instruction and the three men who came, he went with them. So, you know, that's a lesson for us. Yes, there may be a few things which are not yet clarified by God in what he spoke to us earlier. We are thinking about it. We are praying about it. But we have the next set of clear instructions for our lives. You just do that. Be faithful to that. Surely, God will give you clarity on every matter that, you know, you need to know. So that is the point that, you know, I wanted to bring for us here. And also, we will see how, you know, when we talked about the Ethiopian eunuch and how God led Philip. Small instructions here and there. But ultimately, through his obedience, the Gospel was going to enter the continent of Africa. Something like that, historical is happening in this case. Peter does not know fully. He's still trying to understand what unclean. I am a faithful Jew. You know, why is God asking me to eat unclean animals? He's still wondering. But God is leading him into something great for the kingdom of God. So, God's instructions when they come to us, even when, you know, we have prayed, sought God, we don't have clarity on everything. Don't let that stop you from moving into the things that God has given you clarity about. And when we step out and we start doing things, they could be seemingly simple things that God is asking us to do. We may not understand the extent to which he is working in the kingdom of God whom he is touching. You know, what is going to come out of it, we may not fully understand. But what is our responsibility? Trust God. Be obedient. Be faithful to the small instructions of God. Okay, yes. Yeah, so they were saying God gives confirmations to what he is asking us to. Yeah, even that is something we see, isn't it? Because if God did not speak to Peter, Peter would say, I'm not going. Who are these people? I'm not going to go with them. But God gives confirmation. You remember, we talked about the birth of Jesus. The birth of Jesus, there was a confirmation that God gave even to Joseph. So Mary would have thought, how am I going to take up this? Like, you know, if you look at it as a ministry, God was calling her for her ministry. And she would have wondered, is it possible, you know, the most important people in my life accept this ministry, God put the same thing in Joseph's heart. So then what happened? There was a confirmation. So as a team, they both knew we are serving the purpose of God. This ministry is from God to give birth to the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. So God is faithful in that way. He gives us the confirmation we need for us to have the courage we need to step out. But yes, who has to step out? We have to step out. There is no other way. You know, if we say, no, I can't. I will not go. Then we are just delaying the unfolding of the purposes of God. So that is something we must bear in mind. Yes, God can give us confirmations. All right, we will proceed from here. Just a moment. Yeah, sorry about that class. Yeah, let's continue. All right, so now that Peter has come, we are looking at Cornelius as a very expectant individual. He has also seen the vision that's how he sent to bring Peter to his house. Now, he's so expectant that he's not there alone. He has gathered together his relatives and his close friends. So it just shows us what kind of a person Cornelius is. Apart from being God fearing, apart from being devout, generous, he is a very caring person. He is somebody who wants to bless others. Okay, and those he loves. So he's gathered everyone. Okay, fine. By the coming of this man called Simon. If at all I am going to be blessed, how about my family is also blessed by. So he's gathered everybody. So there's a lot of excitement in Cornelius's house as Peter comes. Peter has some men with him from Jopa and they are coming to Cornelius's house. Okay, now, as Peter comes in, Cornelius meets him and he falls at his feet and worships him. So it's very sad that the person who is devout towards God, he does not fully understand how to worship God. So he is doing his part. There are some people like that in the world. They don't know how exactly what is the kind of worship God is looking for. We know because of Jesus and the words of Jesus, the Holy Spirit taught us through what Jesus said in John 4-23 that they who worship the Lord, they must worship him in spirit and in truth. That is the right way of worshiping him. But there can be people who don't know the word of God and they are just doing their best to worship God in an acceptable way. So Cornelius is doing the same thing. He bows down at the feet of Peter and he would have thought this is the right way. I should also honour this man whom God has sent to me. But Peter lifts him up saying, stand up. I myself am also a man. Now do you remember even when the glory was given to Peter and John for the healing of the lame man at Gate Beautiful, they said, why are you looking at us as if we did something great? But this man has received strength because of the name of Jesus. So we observe that Peter is very careful to give the glory to God. How do I put it? Anyone here have you gone on a missions trip or some ministry trip and engaged in very good ministry and you come back? How do you feel once? Maybe let's say some miracles have happened. You've preached very well and people appreciate you. How do you feel at that moment? Very proud of ourselves. Yeah, you're right. Correct. So we feel very proud of ourselves. We feel as if it's a high. Just in the previous passage, I told you, Peter's ministry was not ordinary. Another man and he has eight years paralysis or bedridden. He raised that person up. Tabitha Docus raised from the dead. Okay. So did Peter feel very good about himself? Yeah, he must have felt good about himself, but Peter recognizes that the power is from God. It's not his own power. Okay. And the way John the Baptist said, he said, look, I am just a messenger, but who's the one who is greater? He's the one who comes after me. And then John the Baptist said, let him increase, let me decrease. We find the same attitude in Peter. Great ministry. Just by preaching, just by, you know, seeing some miracles, we might feel so excited. But even after raising the dead, when God is falling at his feet, what is Peter saying? I'm just a man. Okay. So you, why are you worshiping me? I'm just a man. Okay. Even later in the book of Acts, we'll see Paul and his teammates. They too will receive this kind of an appreciation from the people because of what God is doing through their lives. But they are very careful to give the glory to God. And that is the lesson we must learn. No matter how good our ministry is, you know, how supernatural our ministry is, how much we grow in God and how much of anointing we carry, God is God. And the glory does not belong to man. The glory belongs to God. And we must always be careful to give the glory to God. And that is what you observe here. You see that Peter immediately, he says, come on, I'm just a man. And the worship does not belong to man. Okay. Let's move on. Now they're talking. Peter, he went in. He saw so many, so many people gathered there. And then, you know, he says, you know, do you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation? But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore, I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I asked them, for what reason have you sent for me? So remember, I told you that Peter did not get the interpretation of the vision that he saw in his strands. But now he's actually speaking the interpretation of the vision he understood. So with the unclean and the clean animals, the symbolism that God was showing was that there were some people who were considered unclean by the Jews, even Cornelius. He's not of, you know, he is of a different community. He is of a different, he says, look, go to one of another nation. Or a non-Jewish person. So the Jews would never go. But what was God telling Peter? God was saying, look, the gospel is for everybody. Earlier in Acts 8, we saw that the Samaritans, they were not considered very respectable people because they were a mixed race, yet the gospel was preached to them. Now, God is again breaking all the biases or breaking all the walls which Peter has within himself. He would have never gone. But God had to do a work in Peter's heart to convince him that now the gospel is open for people from every nation, every tribe, every tongue. So when these three men come and they ask you to go along with them, I want you to go. So when Peter comes into Cornelius's house, he has realized this is what the dream means. The unclean animals represent the nations, the non-Jewish nations or the non-Jewish communities or the non-Jewish people groups whom God accepts. And so we have to go and share the gospel to everyone and not make a distinction between, you know, the so called chosen of God and all the others who are not chosen of God. So Peter understood this. Now, again, as they are talking, they are interacting in Cornelius's house. Cornelius also shares about his own vision. So basically, he explains the whole thing. He says that, look, when I was praying in my house, I saw a man with a bright clothing standing in front of me. So he is giving a description of an angel whom he saw in that vision. And then he describes how God told him, all your prayers have come to me. Now you send somebody to Simon the Tanner's house and call for this person immediately. So that is what he has done. And that is the reason. So Cornelius is explaining and saying, that is the reason I have called you. Now, he's excited. This vision has come from God and God is asking for a man called Peter to come to him. There must be a lot of things that Peter can probably tell him about true worship and about drawing closer to God. So he says to Peter, now, therefore, we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God. So he understood that in this moment, God is sending a messenger and his heart was prepared to receive everything from the messenger. And he's saying, Peter, okay, come on, you tell us, you tell us everything that God has put in your heart. So now it says Peter opened his mouth. That was the common thing that you see Peter do almost everywhere, right? In the book of Acts, he's ready to talk. He's ready to launch out and he's ready to take leadership. So he rises up and he talks. What is he going to talk about? You know, we will see. We know that the subject of what the apostles and the believers preached, it's always the Lord Jesus Christ. So obviously, Peter is going to preach the gospel to a person of another nation. That's what he does. He preaches about the Lord Jesus. So he says, look, now I understand. Now I realize that God shows no partiality. Okay, God wants the gospel to go out to the ends of the earth, covering all kinds of people. And you know, God is a God who is like it says, but in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. So, you know, God is watching those who are hungry for him. God is watching those who are hungry for him. And then he goes on to say that preaching peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all that word, you know, which was proclaimed throughout Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism with John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with Holy Spirit and power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. So basically he talks about the Lord Jesus and how he was anointed, how he did the work of God and how he, you know, was killed. He was raised from the dead and that he is the one who is going to judge the living and the dead. So he exalts the Lord Jesus and he lets Cornelius know that this God or at that time we could say that Cornelius only would have had the idea of God as that, you know, old covenant God, Jehovah God. But he would have never known about the Lord Jesus who came to pay the price for us. So as was the common practice of the early church, they preached about Jesus. So here is Peter very clearly everything about the life of Jesus and the work of Jesus he preaches to Cornelius. So what is supposed to happen when we preach the truth of the gospel to the people? Even while they were listening, we are told in verse 44, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. So that means that the word of God began to work in the hearts of the people and they accepted Christ. Okay, they accepted Christ even as they were listening to the message. Is that possible? Is it possible for people to just like, you know, usually preachers have this altar call or salvation prayer that they pray with. You know, they pray that prayer with those who are accepting Christ. Now, is it possible that even before we ask people to do that, they give their hearts their lives to the Lord Jesus? Is it possible? Yes, we have seen it here. So the people who had gathered to whom Peter was preaching, they already accepted. Oh, yes, Jesus is the Messiah and on whom can the Holy Spirit be poured out only on a believer? So where they believe us? Where they believe us? Yes, they had already become believers. No wonder the Holy Spirit was poured out of them while Peter was preaching and also notice the amazing thing here that in the past, it was always when the disciples or the apostles went and laid hands. You know, Simon the sorcerer, he saw that when they laid hands, the gift of the Holy Spirit was being given to the people. So he said, okay, I'll give you money. Give me this gift. But in this case, they did not even lay hands and the Holy Spirit fell on the people. Okay, so that also shows us that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not something which man does. Yeah, we will lay hands on human beings, but we are not the baptizers. What if we don't lay hands on the people? As John the Baptist said about Jesus, he will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire. So the one who comes after me, he will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire. So who is the baptizer? Jesus is the baptizer. So no wonder Peter did not lay hands on Godless and his family members and friends, but while he was still speaking the words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision believed were astonished. Okay, and basically the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on who? For the first time, remember I told you something historic. These Gentiles were baptized in the Holy Spirit and you never read about that happening before this. So Acts 1-8, the Gospel going out from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth, also the communities from the Jews to the Gentiles to all kinds of communities. The Gospel was going out and God was doing this miraculous work of moving the work from just the Jews to the Gentiles. That's what we see happen here through the ministry of Peter to the household of Cornelius. So at this point, I think it's 9.50, so let us take a small break and we will come back and continue from the same point. Okay, so 10-minute break class, we will come back together at 10.01. Thank you.