When Heaven Opens: Part 5

Heaven opens, and a man dies praying to Jesus. Then heaven opens again, and a reluctant apostle finally lets the gospel cross a line his prejudice had drawn. We follow those two scenes straight through Acts 7 and Acts 10, because they expose what we really believe about prayer, salvation, and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.We start with Stephen’s martyrdom and his direct prayers to the Lord Jesus, including the stunning words “Receive my spirit” and his plea for mercy toward his killers. From there we slow down on the Bible’s hope-filled language about death for the Christian: the body “sleeps,” but the believer immediately departs to be with Christ, which is far better. This is not vague comfort, it is gospel certainty rooted in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Next we turn to Cornelius and Peter, where the opened-heaven vision of the sheet forces a major shift in the Book of Acts. Cornelius is devout, generous, and consistent in prayer, yet still needs the new birth and the clear gospel message. Peter’s “Not so, Lord” meets God’s firm correction: “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” The takeaway lands hard and practical: in Christ Jesus there is no spiritual superiority of race, status, or background, and no place for a church culture that treats people as unclean.Subscribe for more expository Bible teaching, share this with a friend who needs clarity on being born again, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: where do you see “Not so, Lord” showing up in your own life?Church Website — BibleBaptistDeLand.comMinistry Website — JamesWKnox.org YouTube Channel — YouTube.com/JamesWKnoxSermonsSermon Audio — SermonAudio.com/BibleBaptistDeLandWeb Store — Store.JamesWKnox.org