What Do Biblical Memorials Teach Us About God?

Fourth of July weekend. The Fourth of July represents a national holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence. It's a tremendous memorial that we have every year at the Fourth of July. You know, our nation is rich in terms of its history. Rich in terms of its history with historic people, historic happenings, and we've got a number of national memorials that have been designated to memorize for us to memorialize those historic people and events.

The National Park Service and their registry shows we've got 31 memorials as official units and provides assistance for five additional ones known as affiliated areas. Congress has also designated 20 additional independently operated sites as national memorials. Another six memorials have been authorized and are in the planning stages. So this nation has a lot of memorials.

The memorials need not be located on a site directly related to the subject, and many, such as the Lincoln Memorial, do not have the word national in their titles.

Some of the more famous memorials would include the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore, the Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Now, why do I bring all that up? Does the Bible have things that we are asked to memorialize? Does the Bible have things that we've been asked to memorialize? Is the Bible rich in history, both in events and in people? Well, the answer to that is yes, and the answer to the question is the Bible asking us to memorialize things is also yes.

But what lessons are there, and what are some of the memorials that God asks us to remember and to take note of? Well, that's going to be the theme for the sermon today. My theme, if you want to write it down is in the form of a question. What do biblical memorials teach us about God? What do biblical memorials teach us about God? Now, let's remember a memorial involves an historic event or person, and there are quite a few in the scriptures, but I'm only going to look at a few, but they are also a very famous few, an important few.

First, we want to look at the first memorial we have is God's names. Each and every one of God's names is a memorial. Each and every one of God's names teach us something.

They teach us who and what he is. Who and what he is. Let's take a look at just a couple of his names. Let's look at Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3.

Exodus 3 verse 13.

Then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? And the God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you. Moreover, God said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you, This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. This is my memorial to all generations.

The God whose name is I am who I am, today many people would pronounce that Yahweh, or Jehovah.

It means the Eternal God. It's one of the most significant names of God in the Old Testament.

This name distinguishes him from the false gods of other nations, and sets him apart as the living true God of the people of Israel. It memorializes the fact, and denotes, his self-inherent or eternal existence.

That's why this is so very important to know this name. Another aspect of the import of this name expresses the fact that our Creator has always existed, will always exist, not only has everlasting life in himself, but also has the power to grant immortality as a gift to those who please him. Now that's a lot to memorialize.

That above all the other gods of history, he alone is eternal. He alone has life-inherent, internal-eternal existence. He alone has the ability to give that eternal life to those who please him. None of the other statues of gold or silver or wood or stone are able to do anything like that. So it is a memorial, and God calls it that. Frankly, all of God's names are memorials. They teach us important things about somebody, and that somebody is God.

Let's turn now to Genesis 1 and take a look at another one of God's names, memorialize. All of God's names are to be memorialized.

Genesis 1. We have the name Eloim.

Throughout Scripture, we come to the reality that God has chosen to express his personal nature in terms of a family relationship. Eloim is the Hebrew word translated God in every passage of Genesis 1, as well as more than 2,000 places throughout the Old Testament. Eloim. Genesis 1, verse 26.

Then Eloim said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So Eloim created man in his own image. In the image of Eloim he created him. Male and female he created them.

So in these two names, we see that God is eternal, that God is a family.

And of course, we understand the meaning for us today.

That we can have eternal life because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

That we can be a part of a family. That Eloim will also be our name in the future.

All the God beings right now, the Father and the Word, are Eloim. And we too will be Eloim.

So one of the great memorials of Scripture are all the names of God. They each show something very important to the history of mankind and how to be memorialized, to be remembered, to be commemorated, if you will. Let's turn to Leviticus. Let's take a look at a second area that is going to be memorialized. Leviticus chapter 23. And you know where we're going there.

The Holy Days, each and every one of the Holy Days, is a memorial.

Each and every one of the Holy Days is a memorial. Leviticus chapter 23 is a biblical listing of God's great memorials. His names are great memorials, but so are His Holy Days. Certainly, if we can memorialize the 4th of July, we can memorialize each and every one of God's Holy Days. Leviticus chapter 23 verse 1.

Think about it for a moment. What does the weekly Sabbath memorialize?

It memorializes God as Creator and man as creation.

We are told in the Scripture to remember the Sabbath day. Remember it. It's a memorial. We remember it. The Passover memorializes the New Covenant. Jesus Christ talked about in 1 Corinthians 11, you do this in remembrance of Me. He said that twice in that chapter. You do this in remembrance of Me.

Of course, in the Passover, you've got the next in Days of Unleavened Bread, you've got the next memorial, and that is Israel coming out of Egypt.

Israel going through the Red Sea. These are all memorials, events, some of the greatest events in biblical history.

You've got the Day of Pentecost, the memorial of the giving of God's law at Mount Sinai.

The giving of God's Holy Spirit in Acts 2.

You've got Trumpets, which memorializes the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Truly a memorable event.

You've got the Day of Atonement, which memorializes the binding of Satan and the opportunity for mankind to truly become at one.

Boy, in the history of the world, how important is that?

You've got the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the memorial of God's Kingdom come.

You've got the Last Great Day, which memorializes salvation being offered to all mankind.

So what is God teaching us through the Holy Days? Each and every one of the Holy Days is a memorial. What is God teaching us? There are probably many things I could say here, but the thing I chose to discuss with you is that the Holy Days picture God's love for mankind.

God's love for mankind showed by a plan to save all of mankind.

How beautiful is that?

How beautiful is that? Let's take a look at John 3.

One of the most famous scriptures in the Bible, John 3, verse 16.

John 3, verse 16, for God so loved—he didn't just love—God so loved, Ephesus, God so loved the world that he gave. He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes, totally inclusive for all mankind, whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

And there is coming a day when every human being will have the opportunity to know the plan of God.

Every human being will be introduced to Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Whether every person takes God and Jesus Christ up on that, that's another matter.

But truly a memorial event as to what God is doing.

I read Leviticus chapter 23 verses 1 through 4, which is God's blueprint for mankind's spiritual salvation. We see that through all of chapter 23, the Holy Days.

One final scripture along these lines over here in 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 16. 1 Corinthians 3, 16.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Truly a landmark scripture. God says he's building a magnificent spiritual building for the ages, and you're a part of that. You are a part of that.

The temple of God and the Spirit of God that dwells in you, making you a Christian, making you a son of God, a brother of Jesus Christ, a brother to the rest of the brothers in the family. We move on to a third memorial. I'll spend a little more time with this one because we don't talk about this one very much. We know about God's names, we know about God's holy days, we understand their memorials. But this next one is one I thought I'd throw into the list because we don't tend to think about it, we don't tend to talk much about it, but it's really intriguing. The memorial I'm referring to are the stones of the Jordan River.

The stones of the Jordan River. To understand, we need to go back to the book of Joshua, Chapter 4.

As you know, Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. It came time for them to enter the Holy Land. They had to cross the Jordan River. It was a difficult crossing. The river was swollen beyond its limits because of melted ice and snow from above from the north.

So the river was swollen, swift current, deep, but they had to cross that to go into the Holy Land.

Joshua, Chapter 4, Verse 1.

And it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan.

So we're going to—this is, you know, after the event takes place—that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, Take for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan from a place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight. Then Joshua called the twelve men who appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe. And Joshua said to them, Cross over before the Ark of the Lord your God in the midst of the Jordan, and each of them, when you take a stone on his shoulder—so obviously these stones had to be of some size. You know, they were not asked to get a pebble each or a stone each, but something large enough that they can carry, but large enough they had to put on their shoulder because it was pretty weighty. According to the number of tribes of the children of Israel, verse 6, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in the times to come, saying, What do these stones mean to you? Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off, and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever. They shall be a memorial to the children of Israel forever.

What is God teaching us here with this memorial?

God is going to teach us that when God is with us, there are no obstacles that can't be overcome.

When God is with us, there are no obstacles that can't be overcome.

Many times when we think of the children of Israel crossing a body of water, we think of the Red Sea, and properly so. But what we're about to read is also very exciting, very stimulating, as to what God is doing with this group of who knows how many millions of people. They left Egypt with perhaps 2-3 million people. Did they have the same number or more when they crossed over this mighty river? Mighty at this time of the year. So let's look at Joshua now, chapter 3, verse 1. Then Joshua was early in the morning and sent out from the Acacia Rhove and came to the Jordan, and he and all the children of Israel lodged there before they crossed over. Verse 2, so it was after three days that the officers went through the camp.

So we can pause there for a moment. The children of Israel are camped for three days, realizing they've got to cross this, at this point in time, as a river swollen with all sorts of extra water overrun its banks, swift current, they've got to pass over it. They, their little ones, whatever livestock they had, all of it has to go over there. They had three days to think about that. Three days to ponder. I don't know how much swimming they did in the 40 years in the wilderness. I don't think they probably many of them knew how to swim. So I'm sure they were all concerned about going over this body of water. Verse 3, and they commanded the people saying, when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the priests and Levites bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. So notice a lesson for us. When God is on the move, and we know God is on the move, we get in line behind God. We get in line behind God. Verse 4, yet there shall be a space between you and it, about 2,000 cubits by measure. 2,000 cubits. Roughly about a half a mile. A little more than a half a mile. The ark is to go in front of them a half a mile ahead. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.

So there are a couple of reasons why the ark started with the Levites, and they had to wait for about a half a mile as it got ahead of the whole group.

A couple of reasons I can think of as to why this took place. Number one, God here was wanting to remind the people that that ark represented him. It represented him. They were not to have any casual or careless intimacy with God.

Just like Uriah grabbed the ark and he died because of grabbing the ark when it was about the it looked like it was about the fall.

So there was a certain awe, there was a certain respect, as that ark went a half a mile ahead. But secondly, God wanted the people to be able to see that. He wanted to see God was leading.

It says there in verse 4, they had never gone that way before. God was going to lead them. Brethren, there have been times in your life where you've never gone a certain way before. Maybe you've never had a certain situation that you've had to encounter before. And God says, well, you know, if you're close to me, I will lead you through this situation. I will lead you through this challenge. I will lead you through this trial.

So God wanted them to be able to see the ark.

And God was going to lead them over unfamiliar ground. Have you been an unfamiliar ground in your life?

Sure you have. We all have. And when we're an unfamiliar ground, we certainly have. And when we're an unfamiliar ground, we certainly want God to be there leading us by the way.

Verse 5, and Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

Interesting. They're crossing over right near one of the oldest cities in the world, a city by the name of Jericho, a highly fortified city that they knew they had to conquer.

You know, any general knows you don't leave the enemy behind. As you meet the enemy, you take care of the enemy.

Of course, one exception to that rule will be MacArthur and his island hopping campaign in the Second World War.

So verse 5 could easily have said, Okay, men of ore, sharpen your swords. Make sure those spears have nice sharp tips to them. Take a look at your shields. Make sure your shields are ready. Joshua didn't say any of that. Joshua says, Sanctify yourselves. Prepare yourselves spiritually.

Joshua also says something very interesting here in verse 5.

For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

Joshua is telling the people to expect a miracle.

Expect something powerful.

They were to be eager. They were to be gripped with a sense of wonder.

Israel is not to lose sight of their God who can do anything.

So they were told, Be looking for this wonder that God is about to do.

Dropping down to verse 10.

And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, that He will, without fail, drive out from among you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Heavites, the Perizzites, the Gergesites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

Joshua told Israel that the miracle, the wonder they were about to see, is proof that as they go forward into the Promised Land, that God will be with them just as He was with them to cross over this mighty river. It might be at this point, the time of the year and so forth, that God will be with them at every stage of their conquering the Holy Land.

Just like as you are going forward in your life, God will be with you every step of the way.

That's basically what God is saying there in verse 10.

All their challenges will be met by the great God of Israel. And this is a promise that God gives to all of His people at all times.

Now, let's notice the miraculous things that happen here, dropping down to verse 13.

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the souls of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of the earth shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, the waters that came down from upstream, they shall stand as a heap.

As soon as the priests' feet touch that water, the flow stops.

The event is going to happen just as predicted. So it was when the people sent out from the camp to cross over Jordan with the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people, and as those who bore the Ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests, who bore the Ark dipped in the edge of the water. Now notice, for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of the harvest. So again, the water was deeper than normal, the current was swifter than normal. It was something to be considered, easily drowned in a situation like that. Verse 16, that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and arose up a heap very far away at Adam, the city which is beside Zaratan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of Ereba, the Salzi failed and were cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. So one of the great things we see here is the event came to pass as predicted.

A second thing we see here, the timing was exact. They were told that as soon as the priests touched the water with their feet, the flow would stop. And we see in verse 15 and 16, that's exactly what happened.

A third thing we see about the might of God in verse 15, where it talks about the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of the harvest. Again, the event took place when the river was at flood stage. At flood stage. Verse 16 says at the very end of verse 16, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. So a fourth thing we see here is the wall of water was held in place for many hours. However long it took for the millions of people to cross that spot. You know, people who are into math and numbers, they figure, well, how many rows across? And if you've got three million people, how long is that going to take? People can figure that sort of thing. Could have taken a whole day, maybe longer.

Verse 17. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel's crossed over on dry ground until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. So a fifth thing we see here. The wet, muddy, river bottom became dry all at once. Didn't take weeks to dry out. Happened all at once.

And the last thing we're going to see, we see in chapter 4 and verse 18.

Chapter 4 and verse 18. And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the souls of the priests touched the dry land that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all of its banks as before.

So once everybody was safe, then the Jordan went back to where it had been.

Much like the Red Sea. Much like the Red Sea. I think you can see why this event is to be memorialized in the history of Israel. By this great miracle, the crossing of the Jordan River at Flood Stage, a nation of several million people, saw God being glorified, Joshua being exalted as their leader, Israel was encouraged, and the Canaanites were terrorized.

That's a whole lot of things happening for a nation who's about ready to go to war with a whole lot of people. God was glorified, Joshua, their physical leader, was exalted, Israel was encouraged, and the Canaanites were terrorized. And don't you know the people in Jericho either saw this or heard of this?

What we see here, brethren, is that God is telling the people of Israel, when you follow me, I make a commitment to you. When you accept me as your, when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then I commit myself to you. And you in turn are going to make sure you continue to commit yourself to me.

For us as believers, it's a picture of ending into spiritual warfare, and whatever comes our way, our Father is going to lead us through it. Put a marker here. I don't need to put a marker here. Let's go over to Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians chapter 4 and verse 13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

We see the stones of the Jordan River. And we see that commitment God had to them, to see them through a tremendous series of obstacles, and we know God will do the same thing for us. Let's move on to the next memorial.

This one we know, this one we've seen many times in our own lives. It is the memorial of the rainbow.

The rainbow. Let's go to Genesis chapter 9.

Unfortunately today, there are those who are co-opting that beautiful rainbow for a group of people who do now follow the ways of God.

But we understand the beauty of the rainbow and what it means.

Genesis chapter 9.

Of course, I think we all understand what I was just referring to. You've got the gay community who take something similar to the rainbow, and that is their colors. That's their flag.

Genesis chapter 9, starting here in verse 8.

Then God spoke to Noah and his son, St. Tim, and asked for me, Behold, I will establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, every beast of the earth with you, all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.

Thus I shall establish my covenant with you. Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood. Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I may make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations. I set my rainbow in the cloud, and I shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. I shall be when I bring a cloud over the earth, and the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud. And I'll remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. The water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I shall look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all the flesh that is on the earth. And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth. So a special everlasting covenant, a special memorial. Verse 15, God says, I will remember. It is a memorial. It is something to be remembered. God says He's going to remember. He wants us to remember as we see that rainbow. What is God teaching us with the rainbow? God is teaching us that He keeps His promises for all time. He keeps His promises for all time.

Let's look at Revelation 4.

Revelation 4, verses 2 and 3.

Well, let's start in Revelation 4, verse 1.

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. The first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I'll show you things which must take place after this.

Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he who sat there was like a jasper and a siret stone, an appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne, an appearance like an emerald.

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

So here you have the rainbow, a symbol of God's very throne, of His power, of His majesty.

It's His stamp for us. For us to remember, He will always remember His promises to us. Always.

Acts chapter 2. You know, by the way, many times when I'm praying, I will turn over to Revelation chapter 4, and I'll read what it says here. Realizing these are where my prayers are going. And I try to envision—that's what this is here for—I envision the fact that my prayers are going to God's throne room. That's why God gave us the Scripture.

We don't have to kind of wonder about things. We have some things here that God gives us. We should take those things and use those things in our thoughts and in our prayers. But Acts chapter 2.

Acts chapter 2. They have Pentecost, Peter giving a tremendous sermon. We've got just maybe the outline of it here in chapter 2. After the sermon, we read here in verse 37, now when they, the people who had assembled for Pentecost, Jews from all quarters of the area, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?

Two thousand years later, when people come to a minister and they want to be baptized, what do they ask? They ask, what shall I do?

The way of God is the way of the ages in terms of how God works with us.

Then Peter said to them, repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So what do they need to do? They need to repent. They need to be baptized, which symbolizes their faith. Notice here in verse 39, For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

So you've got to be called, you've got to repent, be repentant, and you've got to make sure that you are having the proper kind of faith for baptism. But notice the promises to all that God is working with. God is a God who keeps his promises. You know, years ago there was a group—I don't know if this group is still in existence anymore. We used to hear a lot about it, the Promise Keepers group, a group of men who used to get together, and generally speaking conservative men who get together, and they had Christian values and so forth. I've not heard much about that group in recent years, but you know, they were the Promise. They believe in keeping their promises as well, their families. First John chapter 2.

First John chapter 2.

And then one of these years, First John chapter 2. And verse 25.

First John 2.25.

And this is the promise that he promised us. Eternal life. Eternal life. The rainbow tells us God keeps his promises for all times. He's promised you eternal life because you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. He will make sure he keeps that promise to you.

He will resurrect you. You will be in the kingdom of God.

Now, we've looked at God's name. We've looked at the Holy Days. We've looked at various events here. The stones of the Jordan. We've looked at the rainbow.

But can people be memorialized? You know, we've got Washington's monument. We've got Mount Rushmore. How about people? Let's take a look at a humble example in Mark chapter 14.

Mark chapter 14. Here's a woman who's going to be memorialized. I've always been taken by this story. Mark chapter 14.

I'm not going to turn here, but John chapter 12 and verse 3 says this woman's name. She's not named here in Mark, but in John chapter 12 verse 3 her name is Mary. Sister to Martha. Sister to Lazarus. Mark chapter 14. And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he said at a table, a woman came, having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenerd.

But what does very costly mean? Well, scholars would say this very costly oil probably was the equivalent of a year's wages. Now you think about what you make in a year. Some make more than others, but a year's worth of money, and she's about to use it on a man's feet.

Then she broke the flask and poured on his head.

But when there were some who were in the big men among themselves on his head, not his feet, there were some who were in the big men among themselves and said, why is this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than 300 menarian given to the poor, and they criticized her sharply. But she said, let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you can do good to them. But me, you do not have always. She has done good what she could. She has come before him to anoint my body for burial. Assuredly I say to you, wherever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told as a memorial to her. We'll be told as a memorial to her.

What are we seeing here? What is God teaching us with this memorial? God is teaching us to seize the opportunity for service, for humble service. Whenever those opportunities come, seize the opportunity for a humble service. Mary is an example to all of us of unselfish devotion to our Savior. She acted. She saw an opportunity for service. She took an opportunity, and she took it. She acted.

Even the smallest act, brethren, God remembers. Even the smallest act stays in God's memory. He notices everything we do. If we're just opening a door for somebody, if we're picking up after somebody, things that you and I might not remember 24 hours later, God takes note of those things. Sometimes people wish they had greater opportunities to serve. Brethren, there are opportunities to serve every day of our lives. Every day of our lives. You can smile at somebody. You can pay somebody a compliment. You can send them a note. You can email them. Any number of things that are in your purview to be able to do to your fellow man, all we've got to do is seize that opportunity. Seize the opportunity. Last example I've got for us here, we find in Acts chapter 10, Cornelius, one of the very first Gentile converts.

You know, you've got the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8, and you've got Cornelius here in Acts chapter 10.

Cornelius is a memorial. Much like, you know, we could talk about the Washington memorial of a great man. We talk about Mount Rushmore and the various people that are there and carved on that mountain. Well, here's somebody that God takes note of in a very powerful way. Acts chapter 10, verse 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment.

Notice here, verse 2. How would you like verse 2 to be talking about you in Bible history? A devout man, devout, one who feared God. Notice, with all his household. Not only was he a God-fear, but he led such a life, such a great example, that even his household came to fear God.

Showed the power of his example. Probably shows the power of his personality as well. A devout man, one who feared God with all of his household, who gave alms generously. He had a giving spirit and prayed to God always. Wanted contact with the great God. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly an vision, an angel of God, coming to him and saying to him, Cornelius.

So here we see a tremendous vision that God is going to give to this man. God is doing something special in his life. And when he observed him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? And so he said, your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He's lodging with Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do. When angels spoke to him at departed, Cornelius called to his household servants and a devout soldier from those who wait on him continually. So when he explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa. Now verses 5 through 8 show us, here's a man of action. Here's a man whose obedience is a man who's faithful.

Notice it doesn't say he took a month to think about it. It doesn't say he was puzzled about all of it. He simply did it what God told him to do, much like Abraham did. Right? Much like Abraham did. Now let's compound the miracle working here that God is doing. The next day, as they won their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up to house stop to pray about the sixth hour. So God is wanting Cornelius to get in touch with Peter. That's one end of the pipeline. The other end of the pipeline is Peter. And God now starts working with Peter's mind. Verse 10, he became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven open and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.

In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creepy things, birds of the air, and a voice came to rise Peter, kill and eat. And Peter said, it's been a long time since I had some good pork.

No, Peter didn't say that. You know, these are years after the death of Jesus Christ. They're well into the New Covenant era. He could have had all the pork he wanted, but he hadn't had any, because God's law on that had not changed. Peter said, not so, Lord, for I've never eaten anything common or unclean, and a voice to him against the second time, what God has cleansed you must not call common.

So God is telegraphing through this trance, through this vision to Peter, information he needed to work with Cornelius. This was done three times, and the object was taken up into heaven. Now, while Peter was wandering within himself, what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry to Simon's house and stood before the gate. They called and they asked Simon Peter, whose surname was Simon, whose name was Peter, was lodging there.

While Peter thought about the vision, the spirit said, behold, three men are seeking you. So you've got the vision taking place three times, and now three men are at the door. After Peter's thinking, what is this all about? God is showing him what this is all about. Verse 20, arise therefore and go down with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.

Did Peter drag his feet? Did Peter wait for several weeks or months? Verse 21, then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said, I am he who you seek, for what reason have you come? They said, Cornelius, a centurion, a just man who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and hear the words from you.

Then he invited them in and lodged them. Next day Peter went with them and the brethren from Joppa coming in. The following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them. Cornelius is waiting for an answer from God. They called together his relatives and he had called together his relatives and close friends. I mean, you've got to love this guy. Not only is he wanting the truth, but here he says, you know, God is working here and I want you to be a part of this. I don't want to just be for me.

I want you to be a part of this. He's thinking about his friends and his relatives and he wants them to be a part of it. Show us his heart. Verse 25, as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down on his feet and worshipped him. But Peter, lifting him up, said, stand up. I myself am also a man. Verse 28, then he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or to go to one of a different nation.

But God has shown me I should not call any man common or unclean. That's the heart of this chapter. Verse 28. Some people will quote Acts chapter 8 and they will say this chapter shows we can eat whatever we want to eat. Well, Peter said he'd never eaten anything common or unclean. And here in verse 28 we see the the point of the whole chapter that a man, in this case, Cornelius, should not be called common or unclean.

Dropping down to verse 33. So I sent to you immediately and you have done well to come. Now therefore we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God. So here Cornelius says, you know, I ask God about these things. God told me what to do. I sent for you. You came. I asked my friends and relatives to be here. Now we want to hear. Brandon, let's hope that verse 33 talks about that same kind of teachable attitude, the same kind of teachable heart that all of us have when we come to Sabbath services.

We are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God. Let's hope that is true for all of us. Verse 34, then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation who ever fears and works righteousness is accepted by him. So Peter here gives counsel to Cornelius and those who are present. Verse 44, the final result, while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.

So they weren't baptized first and then received the Holy Spirit. They received the Holy Spirit first and then were baptized. And those of the circumcision, verse 45, who believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues, magnifying God. Then Peter answered, Can anyone forbid water? That they should not be baptized who had received the Holy Spirit just as we have. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and they asked them to stay for a few days. Now, it could be said, brethren, that obviously when you look at the the whole of chapter 10, that Cornelius was ready for baptism. He was in a repentant frame of mind. God gave him his Holy Spirit, and then he was baptized. Order a little different than we normally see, but obviously this had God's okay with it. So, brethren, today we've taken a look at some of the memorials, and there are so many more that we can go through. You hunt them out for yourself. So many memorials in the what we have with Cornelius here. What God is teaching us through Cornelius is God's miraculous way of working with his people. God has been working with you in a miraculous way. You think about how God has worked with you over the years. The answers to your prayers, the putting the right people in your life at the right time for the right reasons, making sure the wrong people didn't allow you to leave the church. God gave you what you needed at the time you needed it. To build character and to be growing as a son or a daughter heading toward his kingdom. So, yes, the United States of America has many memorials, but so does God's Word. Let us take note of those memorials and learn from them.