Dick Fosbury was an ordinary high school student at Medford High School in Portland, Oregon. When he wanted to join the track team, specifically, he wanted to compete in the high jump. Only problem was he wasn't very good at the high jump. In fact, when one of his friends made a bet with him to jump over a chair, uh he actually tripped over that chair and broke his hand. And so at the time, the current method of high jump was known as a scissor kick. And so you, you run up to it one leg over the and then the next leg over and that's how you competed in the high jump and everybody did it that way. Well, he couldn't even meet the qualifying height that way. And so while he was struggling, he looked at the rules, he had kind of a uh numbers might. He actually going to become an engineer, no surprise, but he said, well, the rules don't actually dictate which way you jump over the bar. And so he tried something that just seemed completely foreign to everybody else instead of running forward to the high jump bar, he actually ran at the side and actually went over the other way. He actually went over with his back facing the bar and everyone made fun of him for it. I mean, he looked, I mean, you gotta picture every single person going one way and one person doing it completely the opposite way. And so he would get made fun of it, didn't, it didn't, it seemed silly. It seemed ridiculous. The only problem was for the other people was that it worked and he started getting better at it and better at it. And pretty soon he actually set not only his school but then his state high jump record to the point where just a few years later, as a gangly 21 year old, he found himself, Dick Fosbury found himself represented in the United States in the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City. So in the lead up to his high jump event when he was warming up and doing some practice runs for that one sports journalist, uh described Dick Fosbury as a two legged camel as any athlete would want to be described. Um And so they were laughing, they didn't think it would work. But when, when push came to shove, when it came time for the competition, jumping completely the opposite way, Dick Fosbury would not only win gold for the United States in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He would set a new Olympic high jump record. At 7 ft four and 0.25 inches. And so after that meet, that way of jumping would become known as the Fosbury flop. And while he was the only one to do it to start by the next Olympics, that was the only way to do it. And since that time, people have been doing high jump only that way. Now, it's crazy to think about that. Something was seen as a barrier, one way of thinking, one approach to one event when the entire world looked at it one way and one gentleman looked at it another way and what started as a barrier would lead ultimately to a breakthrough. See this morning's message is entitled when God breaks through, when God breaks through, and we're gonna take a look at what are the barriers that are between you and God? And then what are the barriers that are between you and other people? And we're gonna take a look at a passage of scripture today that's found in Acts chapter 10. And I would contend that acts chapter 10 is one of the most important scriptures in all of the Bible. Now, that seems a little extreme. And I'm guessing most of you in here have not memorized. Acts 10 like say maybe you would John 316 or Romans 323 or you know some famous saying of Jesus or maybe the sermon on the mount like how is it that acts chapter 10 could be seen or described as one of the most important passages in the entire Bible and we don't even know about it. Well, we're gonna walk through it together and then you can judge for yourselves here at the end. Ok. So now to catch us up to Acts chapter 10, let's go back a couple of weeks and we learned some lessons from unique individuals. So, uh three weeks ago in Acts chapter six and seven, we learned about this gentleman named Steven. Now from Stephen, we learned that you can make an eternal difference with your everyday life. And we say that because Stephen was not one of the original 12 disciples, but because he was a man of character, a man full of wisdom and of faith and of grace that when the disciples called on on seven gentlemen to step up and to lead the way in distributing food, they called upon Steven. And so because he was already serving, he was all already leading. He was already a man of character. He stepped up when his name was called upon. And ultimately, he would preach the word in front of religious leaders and become the first martyr in church history. And it wasn't one of the disciples. It was an everyday ordinary person named Stephen. Then in acts chapter eight, the following week, we learned from Philip and from Philip, we learned the gospel. Truly is for everyone here is another gentleman who wasn't one of the disciples. He was called one of the seven. And then he would ultimately get called Philip the evangelist because he would go this everyday person, this unlikely person would go to the unlikely place of Samaria to these unlikely people, the Samaritans and then even the Ethiopian official and share the gospel with them and see these lives changed as well. And then last week we studied Acts Chapter 91 of the craziest conversions that we see is this gentleman named Saul who was on the way to Damascus to persecute and lock up people who believed in Jesus, but on the way has a conversion. And so we see from him that his past actually becomes his platform. And instead of going to Damascus to lock people up, he actually goes to Damascus and to preach the same gospel message that they were preaching that Jesus Christ is Lord and that he has risen. And that we've from his example, we see that God can turn your past into a platform for God's message and God's kingdom. And so he's going through, he's now preaching the word. And we get this summary statement here in acts chapter nine verse 31 that reads this, that then the church throughout Judea Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Now I pause here for a moment because right before this passage, it highlighted various persecution that was going on and I highlight this because even in the midst of chaos, there is clarity, even in the midst of all these pain and problems, there is peace. Why? Because peace is not found in the absence of conflict, it's actually found in the presence of Christ. And so even in the early time of chaos, in that culture, the church itself experienced peace and was strengthened. So it's living by the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. So you had the guard rails of the fear of God and the, and the, and encouragement from the Holy Spirit guiding the church. And I think that's fitting for our culture today. And I don't know how you're feeling on the other side of the election that I think we're all probably just tired at least, but also grateful that the ads are done. Um And so whether your candidate won or lost these times can feel uncertain and chaotic, but I wanna encourage you that regardless of what's going on in culture, that if we keep the fear of the Lord in front of us, and we keep the power of the Holy Spirit here within us, guiding us, that the church can experience peace and be strengthened in every season of life. Amen. So we have this, this section here. And so now the chapter is gonna zoom out of um zoom away from Saul. He's gonna come back onto the scene a few chapters later and go back to Peter. And we have this story and we have two characters. We have Peter and we have this guy named Cornelius and both of which face some very difficult challenges and barriers. But if you're taking notes, I encourage you to write this down that when we see barriers, God sees breakthroughs, when we see barriers, God sees breakthrough, what if the obstacle faced in front of you is actually the opportunity for you to become who God's called you to be and to do what God's called you to do Dick Fosbury and his approach to the sport, he couldn't do it the way that everybody else did it. But because of his obstruction, because of his inability to do something, the way that everyone's already done it, he approached it a new way and actually completely changed the way the sport was carried out for the rest of time, right? So what was a barrier ultimately led to a breakthrough? And now people are jumping to higher heights than ever before. And so we have two gentlemen here that we're gonna look at today. Acts chapter 10. We have the first gentleman's name here is Cornelius, which is a fun name by the way. And so let me just share with you, Cornelius's barrier was being good, being good. Now, it doesn't seem like a barrier, does it, right? It'd be like if someone comes in, it's like, man, I'm struggling today. I'm just too good looking. You know, I'm too smart. I'm too wealthy. It's, it's, the struggle is real right now. Some of you are nodding. Ok, let's like, calm down. Ok, let's be humble here. But no, it seems like being good would not be a barrier, right? So why is it a barrier now acts 10 is a little bit of a longer of a chapter. And we're gonna land on the conversation between Peter and Cornelius. And so let me just summarize a few things before we get into that conversation. So I, but I encourage you to read it throughout the week. And so the first couple of verses here in acts chapter 10 describe Cornelius as a good person. In fact, it describes him as a gentile, which simply means non, non Jew. That's important here in a, in a few moments. But also he was a Roman Centurion. So he's a leader within the military. OK? He was devout, he was committed. He said that he feared God, that he gave generously to others and that he even prayed to God. So if you look at him from a worldly standpoint, he seems like a pretty good guy. So why is good a barrier? Well, good is a barrier because good is never good enough when it comes to God, good is never gonna get you to heaven because you're never gonna be good enough. Why? Because we're talking about the salvation of our souls and Jesus didn't come to make bad people. Good. Jesus came to make spiritually dead people alive. That's a big difference. See, most religions teach moral standards as a way of earning your salvation. But Christianity is different because Christian Christianity still teaches moral standards. But what it does is that it teaches it as a reflection of a relationship that you already have with God. In other words, salvation is not something to be achieved, but rather something to be received. And so no matter how good you think you are, no good is good enough, no matter how bad you think you are, no bad is, is too bad to be removed from the potential of receiving the forgiveness of God that's available to you that should encourage us. See, we live in the Grand Canyon State. I love that if you've ever been and I was surprised when I moved here that Grand Canyon University lopes up. Um It's not anywhere near the Grand Canyon. OK? I had some friends from out of State. We were like, wow, there's a college like in the Canyon and I was like, no, I had to describe, ok. No, we're like four hours away. But if you've ever been to the Grand Canyon words do not do it justice, right? The little picture on your cell phone does not do it justice that especially if you catch the Grand Canyon at, at sunrise or at sunset. I don't know what I was thinking the first time I went up to see it, uh, kind of like in a mountain range, you think you'd see it in the distance? But it's a hole in the ground. So it's like you see nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then have you had that experience? Right. Like I've been driving like, where is it? Like, I was gonna see something. But, um, anyway, you go and it's just majestic, like the expanse and the space and the beauty that is the Grand Canyon. Now, if our goal was trying to jump from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other in one leap, it doesn't matter how far you can jump. Right, you can place yourself next to the Olympic long jumper. They might get farther than you, you might get farther than me. But it really doesn't like when that's the distance, it doesn't matter. See, this is just to give us an idea of how far we are from God when it comes to the holiness and perfection and the eternal nature of God, our finite, sinful Brokenness can't get us closer. Right? You might be thinking of like, well, you know, I'm not the best but I'm not that person. Right? There's good people, there's like bad people. Then there's like cowboys fans and uh I kid, I kid, I kid but you know, hey, one star. Right. Right. It's not just a logo, it's a rating. Um I, I, sorry, I, I kid I kid, but it's fun. Right? As a Cardinals fan we're embracing this season. Come on now, we, we, we know the shoe is gonna drop and we're gonna be, and we're, we're gonna fall back, we know that all our Cardinals fans, we know that, but for right now it's good. Right? And so I, I if you embrace it at this moment with me as a fellow Cardinals fan anyway, um so wherever you are on the spectrum, you have to understand that it doesn't matter. Like on the good enough scale you'll never get there. Right. Heard another pastor put it that if you're on, if you were on the Titanic, it didn't matter if you spent your last moments hugging somebody or mugging somebody, the boat was going down. Ok. It's true. It's true like it doesn't matter. Like if you're playing the game Monopoly, let's say you win at Monopoly, you get all the houses and hotels and all the paper money at the end of the game. Where do the pieces go back in the box? So why is it when it comes to our physical lives and our spiritual destinations? We think that if I'm just a little bit nicer, if I cuss a little bit less, if I behave a little bit more. But see, Christianity is less about trying and more about trusting. And I find this very, very encouraging because if you've ever tried to be good enough, it's exhausting because you think you're trying and trying and trying and trying and then something happens or you fall back, right? And then you, you feel like you start over and it's just, it's exhausting. You feel like that hamster on the wheel, right? But most religions are attempting to reach up to God. Christianity is different because God reaches down to man and says, no, you can't make it on your own. It's not about being good enough. You'll never be good enough, but you don't have to be because my son Jesus is because God is good enough and he comes down and he he breaks the greatest barrier of all from heaven to earth. Comes down, takes on the limitations of a physical body without losing his identity as, as being divine lives. A perfect life dies on the cross by the hands of the people that he created and sustained is buried and then rises again on the third day so that you can just be good. No, he rose again so that we could be alive. Here's what we have to understand. Church is that church as we know it is not about being good. Church is about being alive. It's been awake. Ephesians 24 and five reads this that but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us. Even when we were dead, in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace. You have been saved. By worldly standards, Cornelius was a good person, but Cornelius had a barrier with God. He follows rules. He's orderly, he's generous. He prays God gives him a visit and he says, you need more. You're not good enough. I'm gonna send you Peter. Now, why Peter? And I say that because in acts chapter eight, you have this guy named Philip who leads all these people to Christ and then guess where he moves to, he moves to Cesarea, guess where Cornelius is Cesarea. So why wouldn't you send Philip to when he's like next door? Well, he sends Peter. Why? Because Peter needs this as much as Cornelius needs this. Ok? So Peter has this barrier and his isn't about being good enough. His is about being selective. He's selective. Now he's doing some pretty cool things, ok? To catch us up here in acts chapter nine, there's a person named Ananias or Ananias who uh who has been bedridden for eight years, Peter through the power of God says arise and walk. Hence the person's healed. People are getting saved. He's in this town, he's in Towns Lida, which is modern day where actually the main airport is for Israel. By the way, if you fly in you, you've been to Lida, whereas the biblical village there and then you have in there and there's a nearby town JPA where some miracles are happening. There's this lady named Tabitha whose Greek name was Dorcas. I'm gonna go with Tabitha. Um and so uh well known, respected lady passes away. They, they, they know Peter's nearby. Peter comes in actually kind of similar to a miracle Jesus does in the gospels says Tabitha arise. So she gets up and now you're not supposed to as a Jewish person supposed to interact with dead things or life thing reaches out his hands, which is like, OK, you're now interacting with someone unclean but leads her out. People are starting to get save. Uh There he needs an air BNB. So he stays at this guy named salmon, uh Salmon, Simon, um uh S salmon fish, I'm hungry. All right. Um And so you have uh Simon the tanner, which that was actually a big deal back in the day because it wasn't like running uh celebrity tanning like next door here. Uh But it's actually like dealt with animals and sacrifices and taxidermy and like handling that. Well, if you handled animals in that way, that was seen as an unclean job. And so you have a clean Jewish leader staying in the house of an unclean person. So like God's kind of slowly getting Peter ready for his mission, what he's about to share with him. So he gives him this vision and says, I want you to go to this Gentiles House. I want you to go to Cornelius's house and Peter in typical Peter fashion doesn't listen initially and has to be told three times like Peter is like the stubborn firstborn, right? That like cause we know this to be true because he was walking on the water and then he falls down. He tries to cut off the ear of the soldier that arrest you. And how crazy is that? That then some years later now God's gonna send him to a soldier's house after he tried to cut off a soldier's ear just a few years before it says, no, you're going there, you're gonna go to the gentile, you're gonna go to the pagan person and you're gonna preach the gospel of them. And this is a big deal, ok? This is a big deal because this was seen as a primarily Jewish religion. This is why I say acts 10 is so huge and crucial to the launching of Christianity because you had Jewish believers even when uh when Jesus rose again and then they're preaching in Acts two, the Holy Spirit falls down. It was during a Jewish festival to Jewish believers who then get saved and go back to their Jewish populations in different villages. So primarily it was God speaking through and to the Jewish people and, and God, if you read scripture, you see Israel very much in the picture and especially at in revelation, you see I Israel being. So we continue to pray for Israel and we know that God's chosen people. God's not done with them. But what we see here is that when Jesus says, for God so loved the world. He he meant it. When Jesus said in acts 18 that you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samara to the ends of the earth. He wasn't just talking geographically, but he was talking not just about a place but about people. And so he has to tell Peter three times and Peter just never listens the first time. He denied Jesus three times. And then when Jesus restores him, Jesus asked him, do you love me three times? And now here we have this vision. He say, no, I want you to go, no, no, seriously, Peter, I want you to go tells him three times. And so he said, OK, the gospel actually is for everyone, the gospel is, is bigger than the barrier or the selection that I thought. And so later in scripture, we see this as a big deal. We don't view it as a big deal now because, well, of course, of course, the gospel is for everyone. Of course, the gospel is for people. But if we don't have these early passages, if we don't have this early story, nobody in this room is getting the message of Jesus. And so there's some crucial passages that we tend to just skip over because there's lists of people in them. But these were big deals for the early readers and the early believers in the church. Two passages I wanna share with you Colossians chapter three verse nine and 1111, do not lie to one another. Seeing that you have put off the old self and its practices and put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of the creator. It says here there is not Greek and Jew circumcised, uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave are free but Christ is all and in all, that's a big deal back then, Peter was being selective. Is it no, the gospel is bigger than that. We see barriers got these breakthroughs. Another passage here, Paul is writing to the church in Galatians. He writes this in Galatians 323 to 28. Actually chapter before actually talks about a disagreement he has with Peter about who you associate with. So Peter repeatedly gets things wrong, ok? But that should encourage us because we get things wrong too. He says here in verse 23 he says now before faith came, we were held captive under the law in prison until the coming of faith would be revealed. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under our guardian. For in Christ, Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There, there is neither Jew nor Greek. That's a huge statement back then Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, male or female for all of you are one in Christ. Jesus that Christ died for all. See, Cornelius had a barrier with God. He was trying to be good enough, Peter had a barrier with people. Is there somebody that if they walk through the doors of the church, you would be a little upset. Is there somebody, if they walk through these doors right now you'd be mad at. Is there somebody in the road next to you? Like I can't believe that person's here. Ok. Well, don't elbow that person. Is there somebody here like, oh, blank better not show up. Is there tension? Is there a person who comes to mind who just all bitterness, anger goes towards? It's I'm sure there is because we're human. So Peter now as going finally goes, has this conversation with a gentile Roman centurion who could theoretically take his life. Let's not forget that by the way, the Roman government in many places is persecuting, persecuting believers everywhere. And now God says, I want you to go here and he goes, and he has this conversation. Let's read this here. Acts chapter 10 verse starting verse 34. So Peter opened his mouth and said, truly, I understand that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right, is acceptable to him for the word that he sent to Israel preaching good news. Of peace through Jesus Christ. He is lord of all says, you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. And he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him. And we are all witnesses of all that he did both in the country of Jews and in Jerusalem, he put him to death by hanging him on a tree. But God raised him on the third day and made him to appear not to all people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people to testify that He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. And to him, all the prophets bear witness to everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. What does he do there? He preaches the gospel very similar to what he did in acts two. He does here in acts 10 instead of saying you were the ones that hung him on the tree because he's not talking to religious leaders. Now, he says Jesus was hung on the tree. He he died on the cross for you. I love this here. Verse 44. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on. All those who heard the word people were getting saved and it's not even the end of the service. Right? I in our churches today it feels like the Holy Spirit can't come out unless the keyboard comes up. You know what I'm saying? Or we get a little haze in the room or something going through like, but while he was in the middle of the sermon, the spirit's coming down and people are getting saved. Why? Because people are responding to the gospel. And it's very similar to what acts two happens. But it's not just in Jerusalem. It's now in Cesarea with this Roman Centurion Gentile, someone who's not supposed to receive the gospel. But here we have verse 45 and believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter. So Pe Peter's associate pastors here and, and, and church leaders come and they were amazed why because the whole the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the gentiles. Could you fill in that word gentiles with someone else that comes to mind that you would be amazed. Wow, God's grace is even good enough for maybe it's God's grace is good enough and you put your own name into that blank. But we see it to be true. Verse 46 for they were hearing them speak in tongues and extolling God. So the same thing that was happening in Acts two now is happening in Acts 10, but with different people in a different place. And then Peter declared, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? It's like, is there any reason not to baptize these people? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? And then they asked him to remain for some days. Peter doesn't get it perfect. In fact, he actually mess, messes up again a few chapters later. But what he sees at least in this moment is that when we see barriers, God sees breakthroughs, when we see barriers, God sees breakthroughs. Cornelius had a barrier with God. He's trying to be good enough. I wonder how many of us in here have barriers that we keep from God that maybe we're trying instead of trusting, maybe we're trying to be good when it's, we have to remember that God didn't come to make bad people good, but spiritually dead people alive. And that salvation and faith in Jesus and Christianity doesn't come from earning something. It comes from receiving something and believing and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Maybe your barrier isn't with God. Maybe it's with people. There's something relationally dividing, keeping you frustrating you. Maybe it's something you did. Maybe it's something that was done to you. But let me just close this morning with three reflective questions. Number one. What are the barriers in your life right now? What is keeping you from the life that God has called you to? What is keeping you from becoming the man or woman that God has called you to be? Do you have a barrier with God right now? Is there something that you're hanging on to that God wants you to give up? Is there an addiction, a mindset, a belief that you find yourself trying to earn salvation? You find yourself trying to earn the acceptance from God that you just gotta give to him. Understand that no good is good enough, but God's good is always good enough that when we put our faith and our trust in Jesus, we can receive forgiveness. Brokenness can become wholeness, darkness can become light, chaos can give give calmness and clarity and hope. But there is no barrier too high that God cannot break through. The last question then is, do you have a current barrier with people? Look, we're human, right? We live in a broken world where broken things happen. There are barriers that get put up actions that we have to wrestle with. Sometimes a rock gets thrown into the pond and the ripple effects will go through for not just days. So you can't just be like, ok, I prayed and it's gone, right? Some of you are still feeling the ripple effect of a relationship, decision that was made 10 years ago, 20 years ago. Something that happened to you, something that you did, whatever that is, I want you to know that whatever barrier you're facing. God can give you breakthrough that there is hope for a marriage or there's hope for a parent, child relationship with a friendship with a coworker and that if something is broken and divided and, and you're sitting in that, I want you to know that God is sitting in that situation with you that maybe, maybe it's not the situation you're in. Maybe God's gonna use that to shape, not just your life, but the generations to come of your kids and so on. And just as someone brought a new approach to a sport that completely changed the sport forever. What if your approach to relationships to God changes the direction and destination and legacy of not just your life but for generations to come. Let's pray for a breakthrough. Pray for a breakthrough, whatever you're sitting in, whatever you're battling. I want you to know that God is with you. What if the setback that you're experiencing right now is actually the set up for what God's going to do, who God's called you to be and what God's called you to influence and change, not just your life but others for the kingdom of God, for the glory of God. If we pray for a breakthrough, we can see that because we have a God of breakthrough. Will you pray with me dearly, father? Whatever battles people are facing right now. God, I, I pray for breakthrough. If their barrier is with you, God, I pray that we can lay our sins down, lay our good works and efforts down. Knowing that our salvation is not something to be achieved, but we receive it that it's not about trying harder, but it's about trusting in you as Lord and Savior. God forgive us of our sins. God, you share with us that you're willing to leave the 99 to go after the one. The reality is God that we are the one that no one is good enough on our best day. But God, you love us even on our worst day when we give our lives to you, when we experience breakthrough in our battle in our barriers today with you and God, for whatever relationship is, is in Brokenness. Now, whatever barriers we have with people today. God, I pray that you'll be present here with us. It might not change overnight. But God may we change the direction in which we go in our relationships. May we forgive those who need forgiveness? And God, we ask for forgiveness where we need it in our lives because a great forgiveness comes from you. We deserve hell. But through your son, Jesus, you offer us heaven, we deserve darkness, but yet you give us light, we deserve Brokenness, but yet you offer blessing. So we submit and give our relationships to you may be present with us today. May we just take one step in that direction that will lead to breakthrough in our lives and the people around us. We give our relationships and our faith up to you and yours and we pray amen.