Jentezen Franklin - Don't Call This Common
Acts 10, I began reading with Acts 13:10. "And a voice came to him, and it said, 'Rise Peter, kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'Not so Lord, for I have never eaten anything common, or unclean.' And a voice spoke to him again, the second time, and it said, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'" What God has cleansed, you must not call common.
I want to talk to you, and I'll give you my title in just a moment, but this is an amazing story. It's Simon Peter having a vision, and when he has this vision, a table is spread in the vision, and God says kill what is on the table, and eat it. And he was on the dietary law of the Jewish people that there were certain foods he couldn't eat, and all those foods, lobster and so on, they were all on the table. And he said, "Lord, I can't eat something common", and God said, the voice said, "What God has cleansed, don't you call it common".
I love that phrase, don't you call it common. When God's done something, don't you make a little deal about it. Don't you act like it's something common when God cleanses, when God pronounces that which was unclean is now clean, don't you act like that's a common thing, no big deal. And so, I want us to look at this story. I don't know if you remember, that verse 13 is interesting when the voice said, "Rise, kill and eat". Kill and eat.
Some years back there was a fad that came through many churches. Somebody wrote a book called The Hallelujah Diet, I don't know if you remember it, but it was basically a vegetarian, eating a lot of vegetables, and bottom line of the diet that it kinda caught on, and everybody that you talked to was on the, you know, it was the latest diet. They're always changing, right? And they were saying, you know, The Hallelujah Diet is anything you can peel and eat, like a banana, and you know, you just have to eat real healthy, and it was called The Hallelujah Diet.
And they said that there was a redneck that when his pastor got up and started talking about he wanted the whole church to go on The Hallelujah Diet, and you can only eat what you can peel and eat, they said the redneck stood up and said, "That's unbiblical, the Bible said, 'Kill and eat'". He had a point. Simon Peter said, "I have never eaten anything common", and the voice said, "Don't call what God has cleansed common". What God was saying was, what is happening here is I need you to go to Cornelius' house, he's a gentile, and I know that Jews don't associate with gentiles, and I know that you see them as unclean, but from this day forward, the gospel's gonna be preached to those people, and if I call them clean, don't you call it something common when I do the miracle of salvation.
What he was saying was, this is a plan that you're being a part of that I've been planning for 4.000 years. It was there when I substituted Able for Seth, it was there when Noah floated out of the flood with his family. This is something I've been planning, and you're acting like it's something common, but I've been waiting for this moment when the gospel would break out from just Jesus ministering to Jewish people, to now under the new covenant, it's for all men of all races, and all backgrounds. It's a gospel of whosoever will, and I've been planning this. I was planning it with the virgin birth, I was planning it when Jesus showed up in physical body. God was saying I was planning it, it was not just God for men, and God with men, but now it's God in men, and the death, the burial, the resurrection, don't call this common, don't call the precious blood shed on the cross common. But I'm going to save the gentiles, and the Jews, it's for everybody, and don't act like it's some common, normal, just whatever thing that I'm doing.
You've lost the wonder when you call something common. Don't call this common. Don't get over the miracle of salvation. And we need to be reminded as we sit here this morning routinely, and sometimes robotically, that there's nothing about this church that is common. It is the result of the miraculous power of God doing things that are beyond us. We should not ever treat the gospel as though it is common. This church is not common, salvation is not common, the joy and the faith that we have is not common. This life that we're living folks, right now, not someday when things get perfect, but right now, you're living in an uncommon, extraordinary life. And you don't need to act like it's common, this is what God has done in your life. And when He's done something, what He cleanses, don't you treat and call it common.
The story of Noah and the Ark, the greatest part of that story is not the building of the boat, but the presence of the passengers. Somewhere in deep, dark jungle, two lions, one male and one female, the male turned to the female and said, "Follow me, I feel like I'm supposed to walk in this direction". He didn't know why, but he was being drawn to the Ark, and I can see two monkeys swinging, one male and one female, on the vines. And the male says, "Follow me, I know we hadn't never gone to those trees over there, but I want to go in that direction, there's something over there. I don't know why, but we're going". And I can see the giraffes as they're looking, and the male giraffe says to the female giraffe, "Let's go in that direction".
And the miracle of the story of the Ark is how all of the passengers, all those animals, including mosquitoes, two of 'em. Why didn't he close that door? But two of 'em made it on. I'm telling you that how did those animals get on that Ark? Only one Ark, only one way out of the storm. God led the animals out of their natural habitat into a place where they would be safe, where they would be rescued, and the same God that led them, led you out, led you out of your bondage, led you out of your darkness, led you out of your sin, led you out of your past, and brought you to this place.
It's a miracle that you have been forgiven. It's a miracle that you are saved. And don't you ever treat it as though it's common, that you're sitting in church is a big deal. Don't let it be common. In other words, get saved and never get over it. And I want to preach on don't ever get over it. Touch your neighbor and say, "Don't ever get over it". There's a lot of people who've gotten over it. You shouldn't be able to sit in that seat today and treat this service as though it's just another service at Free Chapel.
My goodness, I've never got over the miracle of salvation, the miracle of divine direction, that God led me here. I didn't lead myself, I didn't choose this place, God chose me. I showed up, didn't know why I was here, thought I was preaching a revival for a pastor named Wellborn at Free Chapel, almost 30 years ago, and here I am, it was a miracle direction. The week that that pastor died he had scheduled me to be the preacher for that Sunday morning, nine months in advance, and here I stand on this property, in this building, that is a miracle.
You know, when Noah dropped that gang plank, he didn't say "Pick any boat out of many", this is it. If you don't get on this Ark you're not getting out of this world safely. And I'm telling you it's a miracle. There's a lot of animals that were still left in the jungle, but here you are in the church, in the body of Christ, saved and on your way to heaven. And what God has cleansed, do not call common. Somebody give God praise if you believe I'm preaching the truth. But our enthusiasm, our thanksgiving, our appreciation, should be uncommon. I'm living a dream. I'm living a miracle.
Don't you let God's greatest, and greatness in your life, and greatest blessings in your life become common. It's a miracle some of you are not dead. It's a miracle some of you are sober, and got a Bible up under your feet. It's a miracle that some of you are not on drugs today. It's a miracle that some of you are married after all the enemy has done to wipe your marriage out. It's a miracle somebody's not in prison, they've been set free and they're sitting here today. And don't you ever let anybody tell you that it's just common. It's not common, and I will not give Him common praise. If you're living an uncommon life, you ought to get some uncommon praise and give God the glory. Come on! Praise Him just a minute, with an uncommon praise.
It's a miracle I'm blessed. It's a miracle I'm healed. Don't lose the wonder of it all. Some of you are sitting here today, and you have a child when the doctor told you, you would never have children, but if you're not careful, that miracle will become common. And ten years later you forget that He healed you, He delivered you, He brought you out, He preformed great things. God gave us this building, and another building down the road, and 150 acres, debt free. And he gave us the building in Gwinnett, and he gave us the land in Beaufort, and He gave us the building in Spartanburg, and He gave us the building in Orange County, and He gave us the building in Midtown that one day, we'll own, praise God.
Come on, this is not common. Don't call it common, this is crazy. I'm preaching to the world on television. This is not normal, this is not common. Don't let it become — don't call it common. Where are we going? We're gonna go to church and don't call this common. Has God answered any prayer? Have you forgotten? Don't call it common. Some of you are in business, but when God found you, you were broker than the ten commandments. You didn't have nothing, and God has blessed you. And now you got people who work for you, and you ride around in your truck or whatever it is, your G wagon, or your Mercedes, or your Bimmer, and that car should never become common. That house you live in should never... there was a time when you didn't have three sets of clothes. Now you've got so many clothes, so many shoes, you should never look at your life as a common thing. God has blessed you.
Man, I need to calm down, don't call it common. Look how God has blessed you. There's nothing like watching people who just got saved. I love it, I can tell when I'm preaching most of the time where they are. Then there's those of you who've been around a while. Because the people who's just genuinely got born again, filled with the holy spirit, they're sitting down there and just normal preaching, like, there's power in the blood, and "Oh my God, did you hear that"? But people who say, "This is just common. This is just Sunday morning". But there's other people that say, this is not, you don't understand what He's done for me. You don't understand where I was a year ago. You don't know how messed up and hopeless my life was.
So don't tell me to give him a common praise, I know what he's done for me, and he said, "What I've cleansed, don't you ever call it common". The continual key to making it all the way to heaven is to get saved and never get over it. Don't get over it. His first name is wonderful. Isaiah said, "His name shall be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace". But if you ever lose the wonder, you lose all the other stuff. Don't forget his first name, don't lose the wonder. If you wonder where the wonder went, it went with the wonder. And if you want to get back the glory of God you get back the wonder.
Romans 6:13 says, "Neither yield your members", your body, "as instruments of sin, but yield them to God as instruments of righteousness". Watch this, want you to yield your instruments as... don't do it as unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourself to God watch, as those that are alive from the dead. He said I want you to worship like God raised you from the dead. I mean, what if you just croaked right here right now. And we ran back there and laid hands on you, and boom you came back from life.
The Bible said you were so dead in sin, the next part of that verse says, "For she who is living in her pleasure is dead while she lives". You didn't know it, but while you were partying, and while you were living like hell, you were a dead man walking. You were a dead woman talking, and partying, and shaking it in the... but you were dead as you could be. You were lost and on your way, and he said, "When I save you, you give me your members of your body, and you worship me with them like I raised you from the dead". Don't you sit there and act like it's a common thing, I raised you from the dead. Come on, praise Him until you forget about the people around you. You were a dead man. You were a dead woman.
Well pastor, if you would calm down our church would grow a whole lot more. Fooey on you! The more I think about it, I think I want to shout it from the rooftop. We don't need a quiet church, we need a church that says I serve an uncommon God who blessed me with an uncommon life, and I'm gonna give Him uncommon praise. Tell somebody, "Worship like you were raised from the dead". Let me take it one step further, what if your children died? What if your children died, and one of them fell in the pool and drowned and you laid your hand on 'em and Jesus name and they came back to life 20 minutes later? Would you get excited about that? Your children are sitting in church loving Jesus, praise Him like He raised your family from the dead.
Oh my God, somebody got healed ten years ago of cancer, but now it's just common. Somebody went through heart surgery, and you didn't know when you were laying in ICU if you'd make it, but five years later here you are, but now it's become common. Don't you give Him common praise if He's done uncommon things in your life. Come out of the doldrums. Stop coming and having Sunday as usual. Just another church service, it's a miracle. By miraculous direction, you're here. You're there. How did you ever get there? It's a miracle. Some of you business people, you deal now hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe millions, you just deal with millions, make million dollar decisions. Yeah, buy that house for 250.000 yeah, yeah. It's common.
If you don't watch it, you become like the 10 lepers that God healed, but you don't ever turn back and praise Him cause it's just common now. But one of 'em turned back, one of 'em said, "This is not normal, this is not common. You cleansed me of leprosy, and I can't act like it's common, like they're doing". They just went on about their business, but I gotta tell you, I'm living an uncommon life now. I've been raised from the dead, I got my family back. Where's your gratitude? Where's your thankfulness? Where's your enthusiasm... for God? Your life is supernatural. It's God's blessing.
How many of you livin' in a house that's better than what you deserve? Lemme see your hand. How many of you drivin' cars, got more clothes than you can wear? How many of you are making more money than you've ever made in your life? Come on, just be honest. Is that common? I don't ever want to get over this. I'm preaching. Does anybody get my drift of what I'm talking about? When I look at my life, this is stupid, this is uncommon, this is crazy. Look what I get to do. I'm gonna get to do it here, I'm preaching on TV. This is uncommon, but your life is the same. Nobody gave any hope for you, nobody believed in you, but God, and God said, "Let me raise him up. Let me give him"... and the more you praise Him for what He's done, the more He will release into your life His uncommon blessing.
Get up on your feet and give Him a mighty shout of praise if you know I'm preaching the truth at every campus. Don't be quiet about it, lift up a shout of praise. Woo! I hope when you walk in that job tomorrow that you just act like it's common. That I walk in here, I'm the boss, I'm promoted, I'm over all these people. You walk in there with a humility. You walk in there with a new appreciation. Lord have mercy. If they only knew who I really am without God. Praise the name of Jesus. I'm not just up here messing around. I feel God's anointing in this room. Somebody's about to get saved right now. You're a dead man walking, you're a dead woman walking. But you're about to get called out of your grave, right now.
Every head bowed, every eye closed for just one minute. Right where you're standing. If you'd say, Pastor, I know I'm lost, I know I'm dead while I'm in my sin, my pleasure. As soon as it's over there's something that feels dead in my heart, in my soul. Just feels dead. And I'd like for Jesus to raise me from the dead. I'd like to run out of that grave, and I'd like to say to the devil, what God has cleansed don't you ever call common again. Pastor pray for me, I want to get right with God today. If that's you, boldly raise your hand right where you stand and I want to see it. Hands up all over this room. Hands up all over in every room. Keep your hand high, keep your hand high. Pray this prayer, say Lord Jesus, everybody at every campus, everybody say:
Lord Jesus, I receive you today, as my savior, there's nothing common about what you did on the cross. There's nothing common about the precious blood you shed for me, and today, I receive total cleansing, I'll never be the same. I am forgiven, I am a new creation, and I'll never forget this day. I'll never be the same. I'll never call this common because you've cleansed me. I am free, and I am forgiven, in Jesus name.