Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
Ministering out of Acts chapter 10, and it's the
story of Cornelius and aboutangels.
I'm going to be talking to youabout the dynamics of
assignment.
In Acts chapter 2, the HolySpirit was poured out upon the
(00:28):
Jews.
And this particular chapterhere, God is setting the stage.
And you know, when God wants tobring us into something, he sets
the stage, doesn't he?
When God wants to lead us in acertain direction, when we
arrive, we can look at that andwe can look back and we can see
where certain events occurredand they led up and to bring us
(00:53):
to where we ought to be.
We know that Cornelius,according to verse 2, this tells
(01:13):
us something about hischaracter.
These are the kind of peoplethat God uses.
This is how we positionourselves that we can expect God
to come and move for us.
We know that he was devout.
That means he was godly.
We know that he feared God.
In other words, he respectedGod.
(01:35):
He recognized that God was allsupreme.
And he was a man of position.
He was a man who had authority,and he realized that God gave
him that position.
And may I say today thateverything that we have in God,
who we are, where we are, thatis God's provision for us.
(01:57):
And that he gave alms or gavemoney to those in need.
And when it says he gave money,he wasn't just talking about a
few coins.
He was known as a generousgiver.
When you choose to be ablessing, you will be blessed
beyond measure.
(02:18):
And I have found that givingreally says a lot about us and
how open we are for the thingsof God.
We know that he was a man ofprayer.
Prayer is recognizing God,worshiping God.
But prayer is also asking God.
(02:41):
We go into verse 3 of Actschapter 10.
Events now that are unexpected,supernatural, this actually
happened to a human being.
It says about the ninth hour ofthe day, this is about three
o'clock in the afternoon, he sawin a vision an angel of God who
(03:08):
had come in and began to talk tohim.
When I look at this and I'mthinking, okay, it's a vision.
He sees something.
There's certain things thatreally catch my attention.
First of all, he walked into theroom.
I don't know if he used thedoor.
Cornelius was praying.
He was waiting before God.
(03:29):
This angel begins to interactwith Cornelius.
I think it's something thatangels will visit mankind.
The angel's going to giveinstruction.
He's going to send them down toJoppa because they've got to get
Simon Peter, the disciple, andbring him back to Caesarea.
(03:50):
When God visits Simon up on therooftop, Peter, when he visits
him, there's no angel involved.
It's all through the HolySpirit.
And I'm going to give you myunderstanding on this matter.
Cornelius and his group ofbelievers that gathered knew
(04:12):
nothing about the Holy Spirit.
They knew nothing about theSpirit of God being poured out
and man being filled with theHoly Spirit.
When God came to Peter, he beganto minister unto him through the
ways of the Spirit.
But here he's using an angel.
And angels appear throughoutScripture.
(04:34):
And this angel that came andspoke to Cornelius, he had a
message.
He had an assignment thatCornelius had to follow up.
Now, whether you get visited byan angel or you're in prayer and
God speaks to your mind, or ifby the Holy Spirit you feel
inspired and God gives you cleardirections, one thing is clear.
(04:58):
When God visits us, may Isuggest that you respond to Him.
May you respond to Him.
Lots of times people say, I feltGod and I was afraid.
Sometimes they'll feel God andthey'll say, It's something
strange.
I don't understand it.
But when you spend time with theLord, you're going to know when
(05:19):
something is of God or not.
This man and Caesarea namedCornelius, he began to have an
interaction with the angel.
And throughout scripture, everytime an angel comes, there's an
interaction.
That's how God moved.
(05:40):
Every time that the Holy Spiritmoves upon us, there is an
interaction.
Something is taking place.
The Holy Spirit wants to dosomething for us.
He wants to do something throughus.
And our response is absolutelycritical.
I was thinking about Mary at thetomb.
(06:03):
We read about in John 20.
And when they arrived there, thebody of Jesus was not in the
tomb, but there were two angelsthere, and interaction began to
take place.
I believe when that angel camein, that was phenomenal.
That could take place becausethere was going to be an
(06:27):
engagement.
There was going to be anencounter.
In John 151, it talks about theheavens and open.
Angels, when they come to us,they travel from another
dimension.
They're in the heavenlies.
They're not in the dimensionthat we are now in this earth.
(06:49):
There is a dimension in therealm of the spirit that is
real, maybe more real than weare in here today.
And this angel was able to comefrom the supernatural to the
natural.
Here's what I'd like you tothink about.
If an angel can travel from thesupernatural realm into this
(07:13):
realm in which we are, why is itsounding so impossible that a
God that is in the heavenlies, aGod that moves in the realm of
the spirit, and you're thinking,how can that have any effect
upon us in the natural state?
The same way that an angel cantravel.
(07:35):
God makes it possible to makepower and authority move out of
that realm, and it's called inthe realm of the spirit, and it
comes in and it engages us ashuman beings.
And when God engages us, thereis events unfolding.
There is encounters with Godthat's taking place.
(07:58):
The devil wants you to doubt andgo without.
And the Bible is filled withevents where the invisible
(08:18):
engages the visible.
(08:54):
I believe that it's within theheart of every human being to
know God.
I believe that man needs to haveencounters with God.
And we can have encounters withGod.
And it's like when the angelcame to Cornelius and spoke to
Cornelius, Cornelius had tolisten.
(09:16):
He had to be willing toentertain this angel.
He had to be willing to thinkthis is a real event that's
happening for me.
The same way when we encounterthe Lord.
When we've encountered God forthe first time in our lives, and
we are aware of it, most timesit's when God comes and he
(09:37):
convicts us of our relationshipwith him.
When he talks to us about ourfallen nature, anytime that you
feel that you need the Lord, youknow what to do?
Just like Cornelius, you need tolisten and you need to respond
positively.
And the way we respondpositively is that we say yes to
(09:59):
Jesus.
God has ordained for us to carrytruth.
We would know it as the gospel.
In John 8, 32, Jesus said, Youwill know the truth, and the
truth will make you free.
And the angel said, You need tocarry this message.
(10:19):
Now, don't you think it'sinteresting?
Why didn't God just simply go toPeter in the first place and
just tell him and send him up toCornelius' house and knock on
the door?
And Cornelius would have openedthe door and said, Yes, can I
help you?
It could have been that way.
But I find what really works iswhen they're expecting you.
(10:46):
Cornelius had an encounter.
And the angel spoke to him andsaid, You send men down to
Joppa.
God still sends preachers.
He still sends his people.
He still sends believers to goand reach people.
(11:06):
That's why when we pray, Godwill speak to us about certain
things.
And we should just follow up onthat.
God works through people.
We are empowered by God.
Bear in mind, Cornelius is notyet filled with the Holy Spirit.
(11:29):
How important it is to be filledwith the Holy Spirit.
When I received the Holy Spirit,a full other realm and dimension
opened up to me.
Everywhere I looked, God wasjust flooding me and speaking to
me and showing me things.
(11:52):
That really helps your faithwhen you've heard from God.
When you've been praying andyou've heard from God, that
really helps your faith.
You're thinking, I'm on a Godassignment.
And when Cornelius sent thosemen, they were on a God
assignment.
Now, I want to talk to you aboutthe dynamics of assignment.
(12:17):
I have an assignment.
Go ye into all the world andpreach the gospel to every
creature.
That almost seems like animpossible task to do.
Let me talk to you about thedynamics of assignment.
When God sends us on assignment,number one, it is critical that
(12:37):
they receive what you've got forthem.
That they're willing to listen.
Number one, they have toreceive.
We have a choice.
As human beings, we can say yes,I receive, or we can say, no, I
reject.
It is critical.
The one to whom I was sent mustreceive me.
(13:03):
Secondly, they're going to haveto receive Jesus.
I'm talking to you now aboutspiritual assignments.
And when they receive Jesus,they recognize that Jesus is
Lord.
They recognize that Jesus is theway, the truth, and the life.
(13:28):
That is critical.
That is the second dynamic whenwe're going to help somebody
spiritually that they have tounderstand.
Whoever receives Jesus receivesthe Father and all the blessings
of heaven.
It is so critical when we are ona spiritual assignment that
(13:50):
these things fall into place.
And when they fall into place,we have success.
And I believe that if we praybefore we go, if we pray as we
go, and if we allow ourselves tobe used by the Holy Ghost, in
other words, we follow theleading of the Spirit, I believe
that they will receive us.
(14:11):
I believe that they will receiveJesus.
And I believe that when they dothat, they're opening themselves
up to everything that God has tooffer.
That to me is just so absolutelycritical.
I don't know exactly all thereasons that God chose
Cornelius.
I don't know that.
(14:33):
I'm not privileged sideinformation, but I do know this,
that Cornelius was the type ofguy that God could work through.
And may you be the type of manor woman that God can work
through.
We live in a very critical time.
(14:54):
And Jesus said to us in Lukechapter 10, verse 2, here's what
he said.
The harvest is plentiful.
The laborers are few.
Therefore beseech the Lord ofthe harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest.
(15:14):
According to Jesus Christ, hesays that the harvest is
plenteous.
Is it going to be easy going?
Jesus said, Go.
Behold, I send you out as lambsin the midst of the wolves.
But you're on assignment.
(15:36):
And when Cornelius was talkingand engaging this angel, the
critical part that was beingcarried out, that there is an
assignment given to him.
We have an assignment that'sbeen given to us today.
And that God makes no mistakes.
When he calls you, he has notmade a mistake.
(15:59):
So we find that Cornelius isgoing to do what he's told to
do.
He gets his people ready to go.
He sends his top servants.
He sends his top military man.
And they're all going to Joppaand they're going to look for
Peter.
This is in Acts chapter 10,verse 6.
The angel says, Peter, he'sstaying with a tanner.
(16:24):
The fact that Peter would obeyGod, go to Joppah, and that he
would live and visit and stayand accept the hospitality of a
tanner, and he's sitting thereand he's a guest, but he's a
guest that's been positioned.
But Simon the tanner gavehospitality.
(16:49):
There's a lot of people thatdon't see the importance of
giving hospitality and howimportant that is.
What a wonderful ministry thatis.
Why?
Because Jesus said, You did itonto one of the least of these,
you've done it is onto me.
When the messenger comes, inthis case it was the angel
coming to Cornelius.
(17:10):
When the messenger comes to you,you're going to have to receive
the message.
Just like today, you have tobelieve that I'm of God.
If you believe that I'm of God,you're going to believe my
message.
And if you're going to believemy message, you're going to
accept Jesus because you knowthe importance of that.
This is just the dynamics ofassignment.
(17:31):
And this is an assignment thatwe have today.
And my recommendation is thatyou listen and that you obey and
that you walk in the ways of theLord, that you take Jesus and
make him Savior of your life.
SPEAKER_00 (17:47):
For more ministry podcasts, visit our website and
subscribe to DonCarpenter.ca.
Ministering out of Acts chapter 10, and it's the
story of Cornelius and aboutangels.
I'm going to be talking to youabout the dynamics of
assignment.
In Acts chapter 2, the HolySpirit was poured out upon the
(00:28):
Jews.
And this particular chapterhere, God is setting the stage.
And you know, when God wants tobring us into something, he sets
the stage, doesn't he?
When God wants to lead us in acertain direction, when we
arrive, we can look at that andwe can look back and we can see
where certain events occurredand they led up and to bring us
(00:53):
to where we ought to be.
We know that Cornelius,according to verse 2, this tells
(01:13):
us something about hischaracter.
These are the kind of peoplethat God uses.
This is how we positionourselves that we can expect God
to come and move for us.
We know that he was devout.
That means he was godly.
We know that he feared God.
In other words, he respectedGod.
(01:35):
He recognized that God was allsupreme.
And he was a man of position.
He was a man who had authority,and he realized that God gave
him that position.
And may I say today thateverything that we have in God,
who we are, where we are, thatis God's provision for us.
(01:57):
And that he gave alms or gavemoney to those in need.
And when it says he gave money,he wasn't just talking about a
few coins.
He was known as a generousgiver.
When you choose to be ablessing, you will be blessed
beyond measure.
(02:18):
And I have found that givingreally says a lot about us and
how open we are for the thingsof God.
We know that he was a man ofprayer.
Prayer is recognizing God,worshiping God.
But prayer is also asking God.
(02:41):
We go into verse 3 of Actschapter 10.
Events now that are unexpected,supernatural, this actually
happened to a human being.
It says about the ninth hour ofthe day, this is about three
o'clock in the afternoon, he sawin a vision an angel of God who
(03:08):
had come in and began to talk tohim.
When I look at this and I'mthinking, okay, it's a vision.
He sees something.
There's certain things thatreally catch my attention.
First of all, he walked into theroom.
I don't know if he used thedoor.
Cornelius was praying.
He was waiting before God.
(03:29):
This angel begins to interactwith Cornelius.
I think it's something thatangels will visit mankind.
The angel's going to giveinstruction.
He's going to send them down toJoppa because they've got to get
Simon Peter, the disciple, andbring him back to Caesarea.
(03:50):
When God visits Simon up on therooftop, Peter, when he visits
him, there's no angel involved.
It's all through the HolySpirit.
And I'm going to give you myunderstanding on this matter.
Cornelius and his group ofbelievers that gathered knew
(04:12):
nothing about the Holy Spirit.
They knew nothing about theSpirit of God being poured out
and man being filled with theHoly Spirit.
When God came to Peter, he beganto minister unto him through the
ways of the Spirit.
But here he's using an angel.
And angels appear throughoutScripture.
(04:34):
And this angel that came andspoke to Cornelius, he had a
message.
He had an assignment thatCornelius had to follow up.
Now, whether you get visited byan angel or you're in prayer and
God speaks to your mind, or ifby the Holy Spirit you feel
inspired and God gives you cleardirections, one thing is clear.
(04:58):
When God visits us, may Isuggest that you respond to Him.
May you respond to Him.
Lots of times people say, I feltGod and I was afraid.
Sometimes they'll feel God andthey'll say, It's something
strange.
I don't understand it.
But when you spend time with theLord, you're going to know when
(05:19):
something is of God or not.
This man and Caesarea namedCornelius, he began to have an
interaction with the angel.
And throughout scripture, everytime an angel comes, there's an
interaction.
That's how God moved.
(05:40):
Every time that the Holy Spiritmoves upon us, there is an
interaction.
Something is taking place.
The Holy Spirit wants to dosomething for us.
He wants to do something throughus.
And our response is absolutelycritical.
I was thinking about Mary at thetomb.
(06:03):
We read about in John 20.
And when they arrived there, thebody of Jesus was not in the
tomb, but there were two angelsthere, and interaction began to
take place.
I believe when that angel camein, that was phenomenal.
That could take place becausethere was going to be an
(06:27):
engagement.
There was going to be anencounter.
In John 151, it talks about theheavens and open.
Angels, when they come to us,they travel from another
dimension.
They're in the heavenlies.
They're not in the dimensionthat we are now in this earth.
(06:49):
There is a dimension in therealm of the spirit that is
real, maybe more real than weare in here today.
And this angel was able to comefrom the supernatural to the
natural.
Here's what I'd like you tothink about.
If an angel can travel from thesupernatural realm into this
(07:13):
realm in which we are, why is itsounding so impossible that a
God that is in the heavenlies, aGod that moves in the realm of
the spirit, and you're thinking,how can that have any effect
upon us in the natural state?
The same way that an angel cantravel.
(07:35):
God makes it possible to makepower and authority move out of
that realm, and it's called inthe realm of the spirit, and it
comes in and it engages us ashuman beings.
And when God engages us, thereis events unfolding.
There is encounters with Godthat's taking place.
(07:58):
The devil wants you to doubt andgo without.
And the Bible is filled withevents where the invisible
(08:18):
engages the visible.
(08:54):
I believe that it's within theheart of every human being to
know God.
I believe that man needs to haveencounters with God.
And we can have encounters withGod.
And it's like when the angelcame to Cornelius and spoke to
Cornelius, Cornelius had tolisten.
(09:16):
He had to be willing toentertain this angel.
He had to be willing to thinkthis is a real event that's
happening for me.
The same way when we encounterthe Lord.
When we've encountered God forthe first time in our lives, and
we are aware of it, most timesit's when God comes and he
(09:37):
convicts us of our relationshipwith him.
When he talks to us about ourfallen nature, anytime that you
feel that you need the Lord, youknow what to do?
Just like Cornelius, you need tolisten and you need to respond
positively.
And the way we respondpositively is that we say yes to
(09:59):
Jesus.
God has ordained for us to carrytruth.
We would know it as the gospel.
In John 8, 32, Jesus said, Youwill know the truth, and the
truth will make you free.
And the angel said, You need tocarry this message.
(10:19):
Now, don't you think it'sinteresting?
Why didn't God just simply go toPeter in the first place and
just tell him and send him up toCornelius' house and knock on
the door?
And Cornelius would have openedthe door and said, Yes, can I
help you?
It could have been that way.
But I find what really works iswhen they're expecting you.
(10:46):
Cornelius had an encounter.
And the angel spoke to him andsaid, You send men down to
Joppa.
God still sends preachers.
He still sends his people.
He still sends believers to goand reach people.
(11:06):
That's why when we pray, Godwill speak to us about certain
things.
And we should just follow up onthat.
God works through people.
We are empowered by God.
Bear in mind, Cornelius is notyet filled with the Holy Spirit.
(11:29):
How important it is to be filledwith the Holy Spirit.
When I received the Holy Spirit,a full other realm and dimension
opened up to me.
Everywhere I looked, God wasjust flooding me and speaking to
me and showing me things.
(11:52):
That really helps your faithwhen you've heard from God.
When you've been praying andyou've heard from God, that
really helps your faith.
You're thinking, I'm on a Godassignment.
And when Cornelius sent thosemen, they were on a God
assignment.
Now, I want to talk to you aboutthe dynamics of assignment.
(12:17):
I have an assignment.
Go ye into all the world andpreach the gospel to every
creature.
That almost seems like animpossible task to do.
Let me talk to you about thedynamics of assignment.
When God sends us on assignment,number one, it is critical that
(12:37):
they receive what you've got forthem.
That they're willing to listen.
Number one, they have toreceive.
We have a choice.
As human beings, we can say yes,I receive, or we can say, no, I
reject.
It is critical.
The one to whom I was sent mustreceive me.
(13:03):
Secondly, they're going to haveto receive Jesus.
I'm talking to you now aboutspiritual assignments.
And when they receive Jesus,they recognize that Jesus is
Lord.
They recognize that Jesus is theway, the truth, and the life.
(13:28):
That is critical.
That is the second dynamic whenwe're going to help somebody
spiritually that they have tounderstand.
Whoever receives Jesus receivesthe Father and all the blessings
of heaven.
It is so critical when we are ona spiritual assignment that
(13:50):
these things fall into place.
And when they fall into place,we have success.
And I believe that if we praybefore we go, if we pray as we
go, and if we allow ourselves tobe used by the Holy Ghost, in
other words, we follow theleading of the Spirit, I believe
that they will receive us.
(14:11):
I believe that they will receiveJesus.
And I believe that when they dothat, they're opening themselves
up to everything that God has tooffer.
That to me is just so absolutelycritical.
I don't know exactly all thereasons that God chose
Cornelius.
I don't know that.
(14:33):
I'm not privileged sideinformation, but I do know this,
that Cornelius was the type ofguy that God could work through.
And may you be the type of manor woman that God can work
through.
We live in a very critical time.
(14:54):
And Jesus said to us in Lukechapter 10, verse 2, here's what
he said.
The harvest is plentiful.
The laborers are few.
Therefore beseech the Lord ofthe harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest.
(15:14):
According to Jesus Christ, hesays that the harvest is
plenteous.
Is it going to be easy going?
Jesus said, Go.
Behold, I send you out as lambsin the midst of the wolves.
But you're on assignment.
(15:36):
And when Cornelius was talkingand engaging this angel, the
critical part that was beingcarried out, that there is an
assignment given to him.
We have an assignment that'sbeen given to us today.
And that God makes no mistakes.
When he calls you, he has notmade a mistake.
(15:59):
So we find that Cornelius isgoing to do what he's told to
do.
He gets his people ready to go.
He sends his top servants.
He sends his top military man.
And they're all going to Joppaand they're going to look for
Peter.
This is in Acts chapter 10,verse 6.
The angel says, Peter, he'sstaying with a tanner.
(16:24):
The fact that Peter would obeyGod, go to Joppah, and that he
would live and visit and stayand accept the hospitality of a
tanner, and he's sitting thereand he's a guest, but he's a
guest that's been positioned.
But Simon the tanner gavehospitality.
(16:49):
There's a lot of people thatdon't see the importance of
giving hospitality and howimportant that is.
What a wonderful ministry thatis.
Why?
Because Jesus said, You did itonto one of the least of these,
you've done it is onto me.
When the messenger comes, inthis case it was the angel
coming to Cornelius.
(17:10):
When the messenger comes to you,you're going to have to receive
the message.
Just like today, you have tobelieve that I'm of God.
If you believe that I'm of God,you're going to believe my
message.
And if you're going to believemy message, you're going to
accept Jesus because you knowthe importance of that.
This is just the dynamics ofassignment.
(17:31):
And this is an assignment thatwe have today.
And my recommendation is thatyou listen and that you obey and
that you walk in the ways of theLord, that you take Jesus and
make him Savior of your life.
SPEAKER_00 (17:47):
For more ministry podcasts, visit our website and
subscribe to DonCarpenter.ca.
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