Shabbat Shalom. Please take your Bibles and open it to the book of Acts, and we are going to read Acts chapter 11, this ministry meeting. We are studying in a book of Acts, and this book has been extremely helpful for us to see the development of the assembly or the church, the ecclesia, how God has been working in the lives of many beginning in Jerusalem, then later on in Judea and Samaria, and then moving on from here on from chapter 11 and on into the uttermost parts of the earth and how the assembly, and I use this word assembly, those that are assembled, those that are assembled, those that have been called out by the Lord to be part of the body of Messiah, how these called out ones are coming together and forming the body of Messiah.

And we can see the development of the early church starting in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and heading on to the uttermost part of the earth, beginning with the Jews and the Samaritans and the Gentiles, and uniting them together to make them one body of which you and I as believers are part of. Now we have arrived to chapter 11, and in chapter 11 of the book of Acts, we learn of Peter, the apostle, who are expressing to his brethren in the city of Jerusalem the story of the salvation of the Gentiles. And you can see how difficult and challenging it was for them to understand that God is now not limiting himself to the nation of Israel, but going beyond the borders of the nation and reaching out the Gentiles and opening the doors to the nations of the world.

And so look, if you follow me, I begin to read from Acts chapter 11 and verse 1. And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, you went into men uncircumcised, and you did it with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Yafo, praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descend as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even to me.

Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes I considered and saw four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fowl of the air, and I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter, slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered, Me again, from heaven, what God hath cleansed that call not thou common. And this was done three times. And all were drawn up again into heaven, and behold, immediately there were three men, three men already come unto the house where I was sent from Kessariah unto me.

And the Spirit bade me, Go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover, these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house. And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Yafo, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the beginning. For as much then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us who believe on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, what was I, that I could withstand God?

When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Phenis, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus, and Cyprus, and Cyprus, which when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Yeshua. And the hand of the Lord was wisdom, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem.

And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, who when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch, and it came to pass that the whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christian first in Antioch.

And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them by the name of Agabus. And he signified by the Spirit that there should be great drath throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man, according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul and Shaul. And I stop here with the reading. Acts chapter 11 is a chapter that shows us how it must have been very difficult for the early Jewish believers to understand and to get a hold of the fact that now the gospel gone beyond the borders of Israel.

That right now the gospel of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, the message of that gospel that was in the beginning preached in the city of Jerusalem, that now it is going beyond the borders of Israel and gone to the Gentile world. And you can see already here from the beginning of the chapter, the challenge that Peter had with his own brethren in the city of Jerusalem. If you remember, when we finished chapter 10, we saw what happened. Peter came to the house of Cornelius. He saw everybody sitting and ready to receive the word of God. Peter present before them the scriptures, present before them the word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God fell on the people who dwelt, who were sitting in the house of Cornelius.

They were amazed. They were amazed. And those that were with Peter, those six men that were with Peter, they were amazed and they were astonished. And they said, listen, the Holy Spirit of God came also upon those Gentiles who believe in Yeshua the Messiah. And so when that happened, they got baptized, they identified with the rejection of the Messiah in his death, burial and resurrection. And it didn't take too long, beloved brothers and sisters, that the news of what had happened in the house of Cornelius have gone beyond back to the city of Jerusalem and they have heard what had happened. And so when we begin now the 11th chapter, we see that Peter now needed to defend the fact that now he has spent time in the house of someone who was not Jewish.

And that something have happened also to these individuals in the house of Cornelius. And so you see now that he is defending what had happened. He is sharing, giving the news of what happened in the home of Cornelius. And so in the first three verses, we find out that the news, they have gone abroad and gone back even to the city of Jerusalem. Look what it says in verse one. And the apostles and the brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. You know, just here for a pause for a moment. I know sometimes when we use the word Gentiles, it seemed to be a derogatory word, but it's not.

The word Gentile means goi, nations, plural. Goiim means nations. I know it seemed to take a bad flavor because of the history of Israel was one unique nation. And there were the nations of the world as known as the Gentile world. But actually, when it's come to the way the Bible presents the word goi, Gentile, it simply means nations. You see, Israel were an elected nation in contrast to the rest of the nations of the world. But now God is through the message of the Messiahship of Yeshua. He's bringing together believers from among the nation of Israel and believers from among the goyim, the Gentile world.

Up to this point for a Gentile to become a child of God, he had to become like a proselyte to enter into the house of Israel, to become a convert and to believe in the God of Israel. And it's going to come in a sense through the Jewish people to become part of the nation of Israel and to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But what we learn here in this chapter, that now there was no longer the need of a Gentile, of a goy, to do it through the nation of Israel. He can be wherever he is to believe in the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob through Yeshua, the Messiah.

And he become part of the assembly of the church of the living God. So you see that noise and that news that the Gentiles received the word of God came up to Judea. And notice the apostles and the brethren there, these were all Jewish people in the city of Jerusalem in Judea. They have heard that. And they were amazed. And so immediately in the second verse, verses two and three, we find out the contention that existed between the brethren in Jerusalem and Peter, Shimon Petos. They came to him when he came to Jerusalem. Notice he came back to Jerusalem, came up. Interesting here, the word up.

He came up to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is located on a mountain. And every time you enter Jerusalem, you always go up. And when you go out of the city of Jerusalem, you always go down. There is also a spiritual lesson here. When we go up to Jerusalem, where God has set his name there, when we are spiritually occupied with God, with the Lord Jesus, we are always going upward. It is a spiritual ascent. But when we depart from God, it's always downward, away from God. You remember the story in Luke chapter 10, where certain men went down from Jerusalem unto Jericho. That expression, down, it is away from God, away from the temple, away from the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

Here, when you go to Jerusalem, you go up to the city, closer to God. It is an ascent rather than a descent. And so Peter came up to Jerusalem, and they that were of the circumcision contended with him. And those that were of the circumcision, it is an expression, you know, the Jewish people are called the circumcision. We, who have been descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have been commended by God to be circumcised. We are called the circumcised. But in this context, it not only the thought of being circumcised here, but the thought here, there was a sect within our people, the early Jewish believers, that demanded much more than merely faith in a Messiah.

But they were, in a sense, they were those who demanded to keep the law to be circumcised in order to be saved. And this is the group that were contending with the apostle Peter. I want you to see that if you just turn a couple of pages to the right, to chapter 15, in the book of Acts, it says in verse 5, But there rose up a certain of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed, and they said that it was needful to circumcise them, and to commend them to keep the law of Moses. You see, this is a sect among the believers. There were believers in the Messiah, but they demanded circumcision, and they demanded the keeping of the law.

They have not yet understood what was the place that the Messiah had brought the believers into. That the law was fulfilled in the Messiah, and the liberty that we have in the Messiah, and to be circumcised or keeping the law, it is a privilege. And if one is not circumcised, and if one is not fulfilling, in a sense, setting himself under the law, he still can be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. And so they had this problem. That's why he noticed they were contended with him, and I show you why they were contending with him. Look what they said to him in verse 3.

You, Peter, you went into a man who was uncircumcised, it says in verse 3. And not only this, Peter, you even ate with him. Now you see how amazing it was. These early Jewish believers, there were sects from among the rest of the believers, and they still needed to learn certain things as the development of the body of Messiah was going ahead. And it is understanding, brothers and sisters, we cannot condemn them because they were under the law up till this time. They were under the binding requirement of God that God had given to them before the Messiah came. And so you can understand how they felt when one of them have gone away to a house or to a home of a person who was not from among the nation of Israel.

But on another hand, you can see that there is an element of pride here. There is an element of sectarianism, if you will. And you know, these things are occurring and happening even today in the body of Messiah today. In the church at large, there is an element of not recognizing that believers belong to the same body. And that believers need to give in and to respect each other. There is a room for the body of Messiah, for believers to express themselves. And so these early believers came to Peter and said to him, "Hey, Peter, how come you went to a man that was uncircumcised?

How come you went to his house? And how come you even ate with him?" They were struggling with this. And they were challenging Peter. So Peter now needed to defend what he did. And he needed to stand and say, "Listen, brethren, I want to tell you why I did what I did." And so he began now, in verses 4 to 18, to share with them, to rehearse before them, what have happened that caused him to do what he did. And so he expounded to them. And I want you to notice, it says here in verse 4, that he was expounding to them by order. Look at this, verse 4.

"Peter rehearsed the mettle from the beginning, and he expounded it by order unto them, saying..." You see, Peter says, "Listen, I'm going to give you the story as it actually happened." "I'm going to tell you by order, event after event, how did it come to pass that I have gotten to Kessaria, that I have entered to the house of Cornelius, that I have sat down with him and his family and the people who came into his house to sit to enjoy a meal together. I want to tell you how it happened." And he began to tell them the events, how it occurred. He is telling them, point by point, how things have developed.

First of all, in verses 5, to verse 11, he shows them about the vision that he had seen. Notice he said to them in verse 5, "I was in the city of Jaffo, praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, and a certain vessel descended as it had been great sheet, led down from heaven by four corners, and it came even unto me." You see, he first of all told them, "Listen, I went to the city of Jaffo, I went on top of the roof there, and I went to pray there." And if you remember, I said to you earlier that the upper roof in the Middle East used to be used for a time of meditation, for a time of prayer, for rest.

And so, often time, you would see the men would go up to the top of the roof, and they will kind of spend some time in devoting themselves to God. They will pray, they will read the scriptures, and they will meditate, think about God. And Peter says, "Listen, I went in Jaffo, I went to the top of the roof, and as I am praying, all of a sudden, in a trance, I saw a vision." And in that vision, what do I see? A sheet descending from above, great sheet, held by four corners, coming down from heaven, and it came all the way down to me.

And upon the witch, notice verse 6, "When I had fasted my eyes on that sheet, I considered it, and I saw four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowl of the air." You know, when I look at that sheet that came down to me, I was looking at it, I saw all sorts of animals. Some animals were kosher animals. Some animals were not kosher. Notice he says here, in that verse, that he saw all sorts of animals, like four-footed beasts, wild beasts, creeping things, fowls of the air. He saw all manner of animals there. Some of them he could have eaten, because they were kosher, they were clean animals, and some of them he couldn't.

But he saw it in a vision, and the sheet coming down. And now he's looking at it, he heard a voice that said unto me, "Peter, slay and eat." So, can you imagine? He's repeating what he had already experienced before, and he's telling it to the brethren in the city of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem. I've seen that vision, I'm telling you this, that's what happened to me. But then he said to the voice, the one who said to him, "Come, eat." He says, "Not so, Lord. Nothing common or unclean has at any time entered into my mouth." See, Peter, as a Jewish man, never have eaten anything that is common, never have eaten anything that is unclean.

So, he's saying to the Lord, he says, "Lord, not so. I've never eaten." Notice, it is clear from this verse that he says, "Nothing common or unclean at any time enter into my mouth." You see, this is the fact that they've existed 2,000 years ago, the Jewish people, the people of Israel, have been commended by God not to eat anything that is unclean. And so, Peter, as a Jew among his own brethren, his own nation, have never eaten anything that is unclean. And you can see that, and I'm sorry to say in a sense today, it is different today if you're going to go to Israel, if you want to eat something that is so-called unclean, or things that are today are being eaten all over the world, like pork and shrimp and all this food.

And they do eat it. There is no problem to find it. Of course, those restaurants will not have the approvals of the rabbis. They will not get the stamp of kosher restaurant. But nevertheless, the people in general go to eat in many locations, many restaurants, even if they don't have the stamp from the rabbi that it is kosher. But still, people go and eat, and there is not so much as problem. Of course, the conservative Jewish people will never enter into such a place, will never eat in such a location. And so, Peter is telling, "Listen, Lord, I've never entered into my mouth anything that is common or unclean." And now the Lord Yeshua is telling Peter in the next verses, he's saying the voice that spoke with him in verse 9 said to him again, "What God have cleansed that do not you call common?" And the same voice that told him, "Peter, rise, slay, and eat," is the same voice that said to Peter, "Peter, don't you call unclean what God have cleansed." Now, I want you to remember, brothers and sisters, it is the same God that have given the instruction to Israel in Leviticus 11, not to eat certain food.

It's the same God that is speaking now and saying, "Whatever God have cleansed, do not you, Peter, call common. Do not you call it unclean." So, Peter says in this story, "Listen, this was done three times." The sheet came down, the sheet went up. The sheet came down, the sheet came up, the sheet came down, and eventually in verse 10, it says, "And then all were drawn up again and went back to heaven." And behold, he says in verse 11, "Immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Kessariah unto me." You see, he is telling them exactly how things have happened.

In verse 5 to 11, he tells them the vision itself that he saw, and now in the end of this portion, verse 11, he says, "Immediately there were three men already came unto the house where I was, sent from Kessariah to look for me." Now, as you remember, in Acts chapter 10, those three men were sent by Cornelius, and they came to search for Peter, because there was something that Peter was supposed to minister unto these men, and he was supposed to be taken to the city of Kessariah. And so, look at the order, he is expounding unto them the exact way that the event occurred. The sheet came, the Lord spoke, and I told him I never eaten anything that is unclean, and the Lord said, "Don't you call that which God have cleansed, don't you call it unclean, don't you call it common." And so now, from the next verses, verses 12 to 15, Peter tells the brethren in Jerusalem of the Holy Spirit command.

It says in verse 12, "And the Spirit bade me to go with them." And notice he said in verse 12, "Nothing doubting. Moreover, these six brethren accompany me, and we enter into the man's house." In verse 12, you see the involvement of the Holy Spirit of God. You see, the Holy Spirit of God was speaking to Peter, and the Holy Spirit of God said to Peter, "Peter, don't you doubt. Nothing doubting." And he understood, of course, that Peter would have doubted, he would ask himself the question, "How is it possible for me to do such a thing?" But the Spirit of God has spoken unto him, and told him, "Peter, you go.

Do not doubt at all. Nothing in doubting at all, Peter." And then there were six other men that accompanied me, and we went and we entered into this man's house. It was wise for Peter to take six men with him. They were Jewish men, believers from Jaffo, and he took those six brethren with him to Cornelius' house, because it will be, in a sense, on the basis of two or three witnesses, that everything will be established. Now really, what he is really showing, that he knew that this will happen, and he wanted to have other Jewish brethren along with him to see that it really was a work of the Lord, and not his own independence.

And so, in the next verses, verse 13, after he entered this man's house, he showed us the things that he had seen by the angels. One more moment I wanted to mention. Years ago, when I came to Canada, from Israel, and I never in my life have entered into a church building. I was always scared of that. I remember, even in Israel, when I was passing by a certain church building, because there are various churches in Israel, I always quickly ran, because I was afraid. Literally afraid. And so, never in my life came to any place where there is a church. I never entered into this building, never could, never had the power to enter in, because I was afraid.

So when I came to Canada, my future mother-in-law wanted me to enter into the meeting hall, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. And I remember these brothers and sisters, that she asked me, because she couldn't get me in, she asked me to help her to carry the vacuum cleaner, because it was her turn to clean the meeting hall. So I am, you know, I drove her, and I kind of put the vacuum cleaner, I think, very close to the door. I didn't want to get into the building. And I put the vacuum cleaner right by the door, and I thought I would never enter in, you know, I just help her to carry this.

And then, of course, she asked me to come in and to help her. So I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, when I had entered into the meeting hall, I thought maybe heaven was going to fall on me. I'm telling you, I was so afraid. I carried the vacuum cleaner, I went around, and I was looking left and right. I was scared, maybe I see crosses and all kinds of things. And I went in, and I saw a simple meeting hall, four walls, some verses on the wall, and nothing happened to me. I came into the building, I was looking around like that, and boy, nothing happened to me.

And I think it broke the ice, because we, from youth, have never entered into a church building. Today, it's much more free. But I know, for my life, I've never entered into a building such as this. And so here, the Lord used this to show me that, listen, it's not the building, it's who you believe in. It's not the structure, but it is the God who promised the Messiah to come. And in this building, there are believers who believe in a Messiah who read their Bibles to pray. And so I felt so much better after I entered into this meeting hall. And I think, I believe the Lord used this in order to mellow me and to show me, listen, after all, think about what you do and what you believe in.

And think about why you need to believe in Yeshua, the Messiah. Well, we continue here. When the Spirit of God bade him to go, nothing doubting, and he went with these six brethren to the house of this man by the name of Cornelius, we find out now in verse 13 that he showed us, this is Cornelius, how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, send men to Jaffo, call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, and he will tell you words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. Now this is also very interesting because Peter telling of the story of the angel that spoke to Cornelius.

And the angels tell him to send someone to Jaffo to speak to Peter and to bring him. And this angel told him, he, this is Simon, will tell you how you and your house shall be saved. You know what that tells us? That even though Cornelius was God-fearer, the way of salvation was through the Messiah, through the Lord Jesus. And so Peter was the one that the Lord was using to come to Cornelius to show him the way of salvation. Apparently, even though Cornelius feared God, even though Cornelius had respect and reverence towards the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he had not been saved as yes.

Because Peter, with the message of the Gospel, had to come to him and to lead him to the knowledge of the Messiah. He will show you and all your house how you shall be saved. So Peter continued with telling that story and he says, I began to speak. As I began to speak, verse 15, the Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the beginning. Do you remember what happened in Acts chapter 2? In Acts chapter 2, the Spirit of God fell upon the Jewish believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. But now, Peter is seeing, evidently, with his own eyes, he sees the Spirit of God coming upon those Gentiles believers in the house of Cornelius.

and it fell upon them. And you notice, he mentioned, just as it fell upon us, the Jews, people in Jerusalem. And he remembered, he said, I remember the word of the Lord that he said to us, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He remembered the words of the Lord. That the Lord told him, long ago, Peter, and the apostles, listen, John baptized with water, but you are going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit of God. Now, if you just turn back for a moment to Acts chapter 1, and you notice that it says, when the Lord appeared to the disciples, he said to them, in Acts chapter 1, in verse 4 and 5, being assembled together, with them, this is Yeshua and the disciples, and he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but that they should wait for the promise of the Father.

And he said to them, ye have heard of me, John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence. see, he remembered the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke before his ascension. He told the disciples in Jerusalem, that they should remain in Jerusalem, and that the Spirit of God will come, and will form them into one body, will fall upon them, will unite them in the body of Messiah. well, it is exactly what happened with the Gentiles in Cornelius house. Peter remembered the word of the Lord. Now remember, he is telling this to the disciples, some of them the apostles in Jerusalem, that heard the very same word that Jesus had spoken in Acts chapter 1.

And he is saying to them, look, I remember the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit of God. And so, as he is rehearsing these words with them, in verse 17, he is telling them this, he says, listen, for as much then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believe on the Lord Jesus and the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, what was I that I could withstand God? See, he is telling to these brethren in Jerusalem, who am I that I could withstand God? Could I tell God, hey God, I am not going to go into Cornelius house, they are not Jewish, I cannot go into the home, could he say this to God?

He said, who am I? He said, that I could withstand God. So, Peter was open before his brethren. He told them the story from the beginning to the end. He did not want to miss anything. He expounded unto them by order, step after step, how it came about that he went into the house of Cornelius. and now he laid that before them. Simply, expecting from them to give him an answer. And praise God, dear brothers and sisters, these Jewish brethren, the apostles in the city of Jerusalem, though they had reservation, though they needed to learn that new thing is beginning, but they have glorified God.

glorified God. It says here, in verse 18, when they heard these things, they held their peace. They glorified God. And then, they said, God has also granted to the Gentile repentance unto life. They have acknowledged that. They kept quiet now. They did not any longer resisted Peter and challenged Peter for what he did. They have accepted this fact. And they bow to this. And they praise God. You know, we should praise God when we see somebody come to the knowledge of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. We should glorify God. We should be so happy and thankful when a sinner turned to God. When a person who was lost become a saved person.

We should rejoice in that. We should never dare be like that elder brother in Luke chapter 15. who when his younger brother came back, the prodigal son, and when he was brought back, if you remember, and the father embraced him, and he brought him in, if you remember, he gave him a ring on his finger, he gave him shoes on his feet, he gave him garment upon his body, and then he killed the fattest calf, and he says, this, my son was blind, and now he see he was lost and now he is found. And he was rejoicing. But his elder brother did not come into the merriment.

He would not enter into the house. And instead of coming into the house and rejoicing that his own brother who went astray returned, he was angry. And the father, remember, went out to him and he says, my son, come on in. come on in. Rejoice with us because your brother was away and he is back now. Come on in. And he did not want to come in. And he began to challenge his father. And he says, you never gave me such a party like this. You never done, killed the fattest calf for me. And look at him, what he had done. He had gone astray.

He had lived this kind of life and to him, you're giving a party and you're giving him all this to me. And the father, speak to us of this God, the father, he said to him, my son, he said, it was right for us to do this. This is your brother. He was lost. He came back. We need to celebrate. We need to be thankful for that. And you see, brothers and sisters, the heart of God. Though God loved Israel as a nation, but for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, God's love towards mankind throughout the whole ages. He loved man.

Yes, he chose Israel as a nation through whom he will use this nation to be a blessing to the nations of this world. But God had in mind to bring in also the Gentile world. the Gentile world. And so, these early Jewish believers, it was hard for them, but they needed to learn that God is opening the doors now to the Gentile world. And so, it's so precious. When they held their peace, they no more attacked Peter anymore. They no more challenged him to say, Peter, you have gone to a Gentile home. You have eaten with a Gentile man. How could you do that? They didn't challenge him anymore, but they glorified God that God had also given unto the Gentiles repentance unto life.

Now, brothers and sisters, this is a very important statement here. This statement, repentance unto life. Now, why it is so important? Because repentance is essential. The Bible teach of the importance of repenting before God in order to receive life. One who hardened his heart or her heart, who reject the Word of God and do not repent could never have eternal life. And that's why the Bible teaches us clearly the importance of repentance. repentance. The Greek word here is metanoah speaking of a change of mind towards God. In other words, I used to walk in this direction and I recognize that it's not good, that it's wrong and I'm turning around and I'm turning back to God.

This is repentance. I want you to go back for a moment to the Gospel of Matthew with me. Matthew chapter 3. That word repentance is mentioned more than once in the New Testament. in Matthew chapter 3. When John the baptizer was baptizing in the Jordan River. We read that he said to those who came down from Judea to Jerusalem. Notice verse 2. Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Notice verse 8. He says bring forth therefore fruit which is meat for repentance. You see if you go a little bit further down in verse 11. He said I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. You see the importance of repentance.

You see a person can grow up among believers and sing songs and go to a church meeting or congregational meeting. and unless he or she really repenting before God recognizing that they are sinners by nature they can never have a change. They can never have a hope of life because one need to repent before God to confess one's sins and turn to the Lord and that's what we all did I trust here today. That we all said to God, God I am doomed to eternal separation and I confess before you my sin and sin and thank you for sending Yeshua the Messiah to die for me on the tree.

That's repentance. that's the importance of repentance the apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20 verse 20 and 21 emphasized when he was speaking to the elders from Ephesus look what he says to them in verse 20 and 21 and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but I have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house testifying both to the Jewish people and to the Greeks repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. You see this is a fundamental truth in scripture the importance of repenting confessing before God that we are in a need and confessing our sins repenting changing our mind and turning towards God and God on a basis of the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah can accept us and forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

and that is exactly what happened in this verse 18 that the Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem said they have heard those things that Peter has spoken to them they held their peace they glorified God and they said then God had also to the Gentile has granted repentance unto life.

in any time when we preach the message of the gospel we cannot only say well God love you and all what you have to say is okay I accept your love no repentance is part of the message of the gospel repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus the Messiah that's what happened here in Acts chapter 11 they recognized that the message of the gospel had been embraced by Cornelius his family and those that were in his household now just to move quickly to the last verses of this chapter 11 so we'll have the total picture here in the next verses we find from verses 19 to 26 about the assembly in Antioch where the early

church the vast majority there were non-Jewish believers and you can see that now when the door was open to the Gentile believers now in a sense the center of those where the gospel continue on was from the city of Antioch Antioch was a large city in Syria and so we read in verse 19 verse 19 they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen they traveled to Phenis to Cyprus and to Antioch preaching the word to none but to the Jewish people only they were scattering you remember if you go back to Acts chapter 8 after Stephen was persecuted and stoned you remember that there was a great persecution those early believers

in Jerusalem that had been persecuted by their own brethren they were scattered it says in Acts chapter 8 and verse 4 therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word and in this verse 19 it picks up from chapter 8 and verse 4 and it tells us what did they do those early Jewish people who were scattered from Jerusalem they began to preach the word everywhere and it tells us that they have gone to Phenis they got to Cyprus Cyprus is the cross of Israel they have gone to the city of Antioch which is the capital city of Syria and there they were preaching they were sharing the message but they began only

to share it only with the Jewish people because it says here in verse 19 the preaching of the word of God came to none but unto the Jewish people only so some of them that were men of Cyprus and Cyrene which when they were come to Antioch they spoke unto the Grecian Jews and they preached Jesus the Messiah well he says by the hand of the Lord the Lord was with them and great numbers believed and turned unto the Lord you see they have gone to Antioch preached the word of God and many have turned to the Lord even there now those that have turned to the Lord in the beginning were Jewish believers but

now it was spreading and you can see now they over and above sharing the word of God to the Jewish people they were preaching the word to others around in the city of Antioch and Antioch began to be the center of the early believers in this area mostly Gentiles some Jews but mostly Gentiles and it became a center where they received a name the first time in the Bible that we read the word Christian is really found here in Acts chapter 11 and verse 26 look I'm going to read those verses tiding of those things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem they sent Barnabas that he should go as far

as Antioch who when he came and he had seen the grace of God he was glad he exalted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord and then he was a good man he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and much people was added unto the Lord he was used by the Lord in the preaching of the message of the gospel there and he departed to Tarsus he went to look for Shaul for Paul and then when he had found him he brought him to Antioch and it came to pass that the whole year they assembled themselves with the church and he taught much people and look

at this expression and the disciples were called Meshichim or Messiah followers or Christians first of all they were called Christians in the city of Antioch you know we often use the question when a person says I am a Christian what does he mean?

he simply means I am a follower of Christ I am a follower of the Messiah this is exactly what it means in Hebrew we call it Meshichim Mashiach is Christ and Meshichim means those who follow the Messiah and the first time in the Bible where you have this expression Meshichim was in the city of Antioch and how did they know when they were Messiah followers? because they spoke about the Messiah they prayed they prayed to the God and Father of the Messiah they worshipped the Messiah they read about the Messiah they taught about the Messiah and that's why they were called by the outsider a Christian a Messiah follower that's what they were calling them the first place that they were called Meshichim it was in a city that is called Antioch which became the center of the gentle believers in the body of Christ who mostly have lived in the area of the city of Antioch now just to mention here as a point the word Christians really mentioned three times in the New Testament the first time it is mentioned it is here in Antioch in Acts chapter 11 and verse 26 and if you will just turn your page for a moment to Acts chapter 26 look what the name Christian or Messiah follower is associated with Acts chapter 26 just turning your page there and look and you see that to be called a Meshichi a Christian a Christian is always in connection with identifying with the Messiah look King Agrippa when Paul was speaking to him he was told by Paul in verse 27 Paul said to him King Agrippa do you believe the prophets?

the prophets?

I know that you believe Paul said to him but King Agrippa answered him and he said unto Paul almost you persuaded me to become a Christian a Meshichi almost King Agrippa said to Paul you know brothers and sisters almost is not enough almost keep you out not in almost sending you to eternal damnation almost is not enough almost persuaded and yet lost and that's why it is so important not to be almost but to be indeed a follower of the Messiah a Meshichi a Christian that is important so you can see it's identifying myself yourself with the Messiah make you a Christ follower a Messiah follower one more verse here if you turn to the

book of Peter 1st Peter chapter 4 the epistle of Peter and look here what Peter is saying to these brethren of his in 1st Peter chapter 4 he is speaking to them and he is talking about suffering and notice verse 16 yet if any men suffer as a Christian as a Meshichi as a Messiah follower let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God on this behalf you see again to be called a Christian or a Messiah follower it is associated with the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah you know the Lord Jesus the Messiah suffered like no one ever suffered before and to identify with him in his rejection is not easy

to take but it is a blessing it is a privilege to identify with the rejection of the Messiah the Messiah over the generations so many have identified with the Messiah and they were rejected they were despised because they were really in a practical way being what he says here a Christian a Messiah follower follower and so here in Antioch the first time that those believers were called Messiah followers Christians and then to conclude with chapter 11 we find out that it says in verse 27 to 30 look out these brethren in Antioch they were gracious they were thinking about their own brethren in Jerusalem and in Judea they wanted to help them they understood how

much they are suffering in Jerusalem so you know what they did the assembly the church in Antioch was sending relief to the brethren in Jerusalem and look what it says and in these days came the prophets from Jerusalem to Antioch and there stood up one by the name of Agabus and he signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dress throughout the world which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar this prophet by the name of Agabus saying listen there will be drought there will be famine which came to pass and then it says here that the disciples every man according to his ability verse 29 determined to send relief to

the brethren which dwell in Judea how beautiful it is those Gentiles brethren in the city of Antioch saw the need of the Jewish brethren in the city of Jerusalem and you know what they did everyone according to his or her ability determined to send a relief unto the brethren which were in Judea and you know what they did and you know what they did they've taken whatever they had and they send it to the elders in Jerusalem by the hands of Barnabas and Saul both Barnabas and Saul were recognized as a godly man they have collected support for the believers in the city of Jerusalem in Judea and they have sent it with them back

to the city of Jerusalem and with this you can see how beautiful the care of believers for each other the Jewish people gave them the message of the gospel the apostles went to preach the word they brought them the message of Yeshua the Messiah in return out of love for them they also supported them monetarily practically they send a support towards the city of Jerusalem towards the brothers and sisters in the city of Jerusalem well we have covered today Acts chapter 11 the whole chapter but it is really a wonderful truth to see now how the gospel spread beyond the borders of Israel and now you can see the Gentiles coming in they became believers

they were there first called Messiah followers Christians there among the Gentiles there and the care and concern that the believers had one towards another and may God help us that even today in the last days in which we live and the Lord is coming soon may the Lord give us as well care and concern for our brothers and sisters so we can be a help and a blessing to one another can you say amen to that?

Amen