The title of this morning's message is the power of the word
of God briefly again just on the events in the Middle East,
things are not going to get away.
These events are going to recur more and more more war, more
problems in the Middle East. President Trump has put together
the kind of like a he's shunned the UN, which I can understand
why Israelis called the UN the United nothing, because they do
nothing set up this group of nations in the peace accord
trying to work on Gaza. But things are going to get
messy. They'll continue to get messy in
the Middle East. Why?
Because they'll get messier and messier until a person comes
along after the rapture of the church, a person will be
revealed who will solve the conflict in the Middle East.
Bible calls him the lawless one, man of perdition, the
Antichrist. But things are going to get
messier and messier as the nation's trying to fix this
problem. Israel's in the middle because
Israel is the focus of the final seven year period, the 70th week
of Daniel after the rapture of the church.
Church has been taken out of the world.
And the Antichrist, he is Satan's representative.
He's, he's doing what Satan, he's Satan personally fills the
Antichrist. He's a man, but Satan gives him
the power himself, and Satan rules the world as God, which is
what he wanted from the very beginning.
But he only gets to do this for a period of time.
But Israel through that time will sign an agreement with that
man very quickly. They'll build a temple.
They'll restart 3 1/2 years. The Antichrist will break his
agreement and things will will be unleashed like never seen
upon our planet. The Bible is full of the events
of the future. God says I'm the only one that
can tell you what's going to happen.
But today we want to see the love of God as Pastor Marlon
beautifully took us through communion.
The drive of the book of Acts is the shedding of the gospel, the
sharing of the gospel. Because God loves you.
Let's not forget the very beginning and drive for all
these events that are happening in the world.
Man fell in a in a perfect world sin entered we began to die, we
began to kill one another pain grief ended our world and and
Jesus was promised the seed of a woman God would send his son
died on the cross. We're going to celebrate that
shortly in Easter and and and this is because God loves you.
The Bible is the story of God's plan of redemption that's
bringing you back to him. We who ran away and ignored him.
Book of Acts chapter 10 the Bible says in two Timothy 31.
This know also that in the last days perilous times will come.
Don't expect things to get better.
Governments can't make the world better.
Governments can't fix sin. Paul went on to write to
Timothy. He said the religious people of
the world will be ever learning but never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth. What's the truth?
Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life.
No man comes to the Father but by me.
The problem is sin. The solution is Jesus, the book
of Amos, Amos the prophet said of these times in which we live.
Behold the days come, says the Lord God, that I will send a
famine in the land that's in our country, Australia.
Definitely not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but I'm
hearing the words of the Lord and Australia, we as a nation,
we've walked away from God. There a reason, there is a
reason that the modern church, the church generally today is
bereft of the power of the Holy Spirit.
How is that seen? Well, Christians today, people
can't tell. Are you a Christian or not a
Christian? Because Christians just seem to
be those who name the name of Christ seem to be living the
same as the rest of the world. We have churches now that accept
different genders and different identifications.
We have churches now that believe that the the book of
Genesis is not really important, that it's just a prequel.
It's just a story. But it's not true that we
evolved. There are churches now that that
don't believe in Bible prophecy. They believe, well, man's just
got to get better, Kumbaya, we just got to get better.
Come on, let us get together. Let's hold hands and gather
around the campfire and, and, and hope for the best.
Marriages are breaking up in church at the same rate as
marriages outside of the church. Children in church are in a
rebellion, just like children outside the church, and there's
a reason for that. The reason is because when the
church was born, it was filled with the power of the Holy
Ghost, the power of God, the power of God to say no to sin,
the power of God to change life. The change we rent of a man
called Saul who was killing Christians, arresting
Christians. God met him.
Jesus Christ met him, He changed, and now he's
proclaiming the gospel of Christ.
We have a bit of a pause, a different direction now as we
learn of Peter. The book of Acts was written
with the emphasis of the Holy Spirit.
We sang about it the day of Pentecost.
The Spirit fell. Jesus said don't do anything
until the promise of the Father falls.
Now we're filled with the Spirit of God empowering them.
Peter preaches for the first time, 3000 souls come to Christ.
The souls, the very people who cried out, crucified Jesus,
crucify him, came to Christ. This is how the church was to
be. The book of Acts is the
template, the model given for us to follow.
Yet today, as we see in the Book of Revelation, the Church of
Laodicea, which is the description of the Church of the
last days, says that God is outside the church knocking on
the door, telling people to come out.
I want to have a relationship with you.
The church on the inside is jamming.
They got all the lights, they got the band, they got the the
building, they got all the programmes.
And Jesus is not even there because they don't need him.
They got religion, they got their church.
It's it's on. They dress a certain way, they
speak a certain way. It's funny, I can tell as I talk
to certain people what church situation they're in.
Jesus is outside the church. Church thought it had it all
together. Jesus said of the Church of
Laodicean. He said you are poor, blind and
naked. I thought they were rich, had it
all together and powerful. Remember back in the book of
Acts chapter 1, Jesus said don't do anything to the disciples
until verse 4 and being assembled together with them.
Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to
wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you've
heard from me, I will go, but there will be another comforter.
He will come. But there were two powerful
partners in the power of the early church.
We've already come across them already.
It was the teaching of the word of God so that in Acts chapter 6
problem arise in the church between the the Greek cultured
Jews, Christians and the Hebrew cultured Christians about bread.
A elected men full of the Holy Spirit honest report to to sort
out who gets them the bread for the widows in the church at the
time the apostle said we can't do this.
Our most important thing is to pray, study and teach the word
of God. Those two things.
It was the teaching of the Word of God and their passion for
prayer. Today the church doesn't have a
passion for prayer and the church, sadly, as Amos said, it
doesn't have a passion for the word of God.
You can go to church, not even worry about having a Bible,
don't need it. The preacher gets up, he he
talks about some sort of other social well being sort of thing
and speaks of, you know, this is this will help you, this will
improve your marriage. This is how you deal with your
kids. And everyone says that's really
good, that's great. No, no, no, what, what?
The problem in all of us is sin and only Jesus Christ.
And we celebrate this. This table tells us we're
sinners and the only solution is the bread, the body, the
crucifixion of Christ. And the only thing that takes
away our sin is the blood of Jesus Christ.
We'll see that in this text today.
Back in chapter 6, the apostle said we will give ourselves
continually to prayer. We read in Acts chapter 4 of the
church gathered together once a week.
No, they did daily and studied the teaching of the apostles and
gathered for prayer and the ministry of the Word.
What's God's role in this John chapter one, verse 12 in
salvation, God's role is vital. How you, if you are a Christian
here today, how you came to Christ, if you're here today and
you go, I want to become a Christian.
How do I do that? Well listen, God does it John
chapter one verse 12. But to all who believed in him
as Jesus and accepted him, God that is he Jesus gave the right
to become children of God. God says I call you, God
identifies you, God chooses you. Verse 13 of John chapter 1 says
they are reborn, not with a physical birth resulting from
human passion. Just because mum and dad go to
church doesn't mean you're a Christian.
Just because you looked at all the religions and you've
examined them and gone through, you know, gone, ran them through
AI chat, GP and said which is the best religion I should have
and popped out Jesus. That seems to be a nice one at
the moment. That's not how you come to
Christ, but it's a birth. It says John chapter one, verse
13. It's a birth that comes from
God. Jesus said to a religious man,
Nicodemus, you must be born again, Nicodemus.
So the background, the church in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 10 is
about 5 to 6 years old. That's all.
It is distinctly Hebrew. It's in Jerusalem.
Yes, they've spread some, have gone down to Samaria, some.
And then remember, Philip went down to the Desert Rd down near
Gaza. By the way, they're all the
areas that the world is telling Israel that doesn't belong to
you. But God says, no, it is because
it's Judea and Samaria. It's Israel's land.
They aren't occupying land, they're living at home.
The world needs to Get the facts right.
You see the world doesn't look to the Bible for facts because
the world is driven by Satan. Who wants to remove that nation
Israel. It's not anti semitism, it's
Jewish hatred. I don't say anti semitism
anymore because Semitic as I said is all Arabic and speaking
nations that speak in that in that style, including Jews.
No it's it's Jewish hatred. It's anti Jew.
That's what it is. So the church is Hebrew, Jesus
himself born Hebrew of the tribe of Judah.
The 12 apostles are Hebrew, but things were about to break and
change dramatically. Yes, some of the Samaritans that
come to Christ, the first Christian in Africa, Ethiopian
eunuch. He's gone back to Ethiopia.
He's going to share the gospel down there.
But still, at this moment, the church is Hebrew.
Caesarea, to the north of Joppa. We'll get to Caesarea.
It's our first port of call. It's the most beautiful place.
Still praying that we can get there.
We'll see what happens with the events of the world.
I'll get there eventually. Caesarea, to the north was the
headquarters of the Roman governor.
It's where Pilate lived. They found archaeologists
digging in. Caesarea dug up stone, and on
the stone, on the inscription was Pontius Pilate.
He lived there. Caesarea was the headquarter of
the Roman governor, as I said, and a full Roman cohort lived
and was barracked at Caesarea. A cohort is some 600 Roman
soldiers, including Calvary cavalry should say, and these
cohorts of which were spread out through the Roman Empire.
Of these groups, they are considered the most loyal, best
soldiers of Rome. Now the Holy Spirit, like a
powerful overflowing river, was flooding out of Jerusalem
because of the persecution of who?
Saul, remember? But now he's become Paul, and
it's about to break its banks from the Hebrew containments,
and it's about to flow through Peter to the Gentiles.
A Gentile is someone who's not Jewish.
It was said that the religious leaders of the day, Pharisees,
would pray and thank God for three things.
Every morning I pray and thank God that I am not a slave.
Then they would say I pray and thank God that I'm not a woman.
Religious leaders. And then the third thing, I pray
and thank God that I'm not a Gentile.
Racism was at the Max. If you couldn't associate with a
Gentile, if you're Hebrew, anything that they touched and
you went near you became unclean.
You had to go through a cleansing ceremony.
You didn't deal with them in any way.
And so there was this absolute anathema between the Hebrew and
the Gentile peoples. Now Cornelius lived in Caesarea.
That's where he worked. He was a centurion.
Centurion is a commander, a non commissioned officer who's in
charge of 100 soldiers. That's why they're called a
centurion. Every time we read of a
centurion in the New Testament, there's always glowing reports
about them. They seem to be have been men of
quality. Let's look at this one.
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a
centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man,
one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms
generously than his charity to the people and prayed to God
always. He was a man in search of God.
He was a Sinner. Yes, he was.
He was outside the covenant. He was not Jewish, yes, but here
we find this man, the centurion, praying to God.
Here God's description of this man and his search of God.
It tells us so much that God knows about those who are
looking for him. You could be working with or
going to school with or in in a sport team with someone that
really wants to know about God. They actually pray, but they
they have nothing. They have no knowledge of who
God really is. It says Cornelius was a devout
man, feared God, gave arms, prayed always.
This man, a Roman soldier, was one who dared to be holy in the
most unlikely circumstances. The Romans had multiple gods,
Mars, Venus, so forth. He was not a proselyte.
A proselyte is someone who's a Gentile who then proceeds to
become Jewish in their faith and they go through a process,
they're circumcised, they go through ceremonies, etcetera,
and they become a full on convert to Judaism.
He wasn't that, yet we find him in prayer.
He was a Gentile with the thinking of a Hebrew.
He's living in Israel and something has shown him that the
one God of Israel 11 God, and that's the God he want.
I want the true God. He was in charge of the Roman
police. He was in fact in charge of the
the police of the area of Jerusalem.
That was his job as we would know it today, Chief of police.
Such was his devotion to God that all those that are in his
house, his slaves, his servants, all those the soldiers that
worked under him were were directed by this godly man.
They said that we want to be like him.
We want to do what he does. It's interesting in Isaiah
chapter 55 verse 6, it says seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he's near. Proverbs 817 I love those who
love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
Jeremiah 2913 And you will seek me and find me when you search
for me with all your heart. I remember going to a church
with Helen, my wife. We wanted to know about God.
God the Holy Spirit was moving upon my heart.
We went to this church. The guy spoke about everything
but the Bible. It was the closest thing I got
to being angry in church, kicking chairs and and storming
out at the end of the service. But because it's not the right
thing to do, I didn't do that. But man, I was.
I was angry. You know why?
Because I went to church. I wanted to know about God.
Tell me what I need to know because I don't know what to do.
I know there is a God and I want to, I want to follow Him.
What do I do? Bible says if you have that
heart, God will reveal Himself to you.
But Cornelius has a vision about the 9th hour, verse 3.
That's 3:00 in the afternoon. He saw clearly in a vision an
Angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius calls
him. When he observed him, he was
afraid and said, What is it, Lord?
So he said to him, Your prayers and your arms have come up for a
memorial. That is, they've got God's
attention. He's about to help you now send
men to Joppa. Now Joppa on this map is to the
South. It's kind of like the the
Fremantle fish markets of Israel.
It's a beautiful place. And and Caesarea.
It's, it's kind of like Mandra maybe and just further north to
Rockingham, further to Kwinana, that distance, it's about 48
kilometres between and the way that most of them would journey
that distance, besides taking Inland Rd, many would just walk
along the beach. You can walk along the beach all
the way. Cornelius, he said your prayers
have been heard. Now send men to Joppa, send for
Simon, whose surname is Peter. Does Cornelius even know who
Peter is? I don't think so.
He's lodging with Simon, a Tanner man.
How descriptive is this? Whose house is by the sea?
He will tell you the things you need to do about what to know
me, how to know me. So Peter's living with a Tanner
now. Tanners were considered unclean.
A tanner's house had to be 28 metres.
Yeah, 28 metres outside the city, a Tanner had to live by
the water because the way that a Tanner dealt, because they dealt
with dead animals to make the skins and leather, they were
always considered unclean. And so Peter Simon has become a
Christian. He's living.
So there's a little bit of a step outside.
Peter's not worrying about the the law and that sense of what's
unclean anymore. Simon's come to the Lord and
he's living at Simon's house. Cornelius sought the Lord by
prayer, crying out to know God. He who prays much will see much.
God is ever ready to unlock the treasures of His grace to the
humble seeking heart. If you're a praying person, I
tell you, God will speak to you. The vision came about the 9th
hour. Where is this the 9th hour?
When do we hear that last? Now?
Peter and John went up together to the temple.
Remember the book of Acts at the hour of prayer, the 9th hour.
Silver and gold. Have I none?
The Roman soldiers. This soldier was living his life
by God's timeline. He was actually praying to the
three slots of prayer throughout the day.
Yet he's a Roman. His vision brought him a message
of personal assurance. God's heard you.
It also brought to him a plain word of what to do, direction,
the next step. You see, when God answers
prayer, there is no doubt about it.
You go. I know I got to do this when
this building occurred that to go ahead and do this building, I
fought against it big time. We were renting the hall across
the road. You know, building is things
change. I fought and fought against it
personally with God, but God pushed and pushed and puts it,
you got to do this. I'm telling you to do this.
And eventually I yielded and here we are.
God did it all. Cornelius is obedient.
Why is he obedient? Because he's a soldier.
I mean, some of you are in the services, some of you have been
in the services. The Bible tells us we're
soldiers. We used to sing onward.
Christian soldiers remember marching as to war with the
cross of Jesus going on before. The Bible says in action in
Ephesians chapter 6 that we actually are in armour.
So what does a soldier do? You know what a soldier never
does. He never questions his orders.
Soldier commander comes in going to that way you go.
So remember that's what the centurion has said to Jesus.
Jesus said I'll come down to your house.
He says no, no, no, my, my servant is sick.
You know, you just say the word. I am a man under authority.
I know how it works. We need hearts like centurions
and Jesus said, I've never seen so great a faith.
No, not in all Israel. So soldiers obey.
It's how they live. It's how you and I are to live.
Verse 7, When the Angel who spoke to him had departed,
Cornelius got two of his household servants and a devout
soldier. No devout soldier.
That's someone who because of Cornelius, life is rubbed off on
this other soldier. And he's living like Cornelius
among those who waited on continually.
So when he explained all these things to the three, off they go
to Joppa. As soon as the heavenly
messenger departed, Cornelius got to it.
He sends the three to Joppa. It's a 48K walk from Caesarea to
see Peter. There is only one way to respond
ever when God answers prayer, and that is to do it straight
away. Obey Cornelius, a man of prayer
now knowing God's will for him, with great delight, with
fervour, gets to obeying what God does immediately sends his
two servants and a soldier down to get Peter.
Now at the other end, because we see this wonderful thing that's
going on. We see two men in prayer.
Both in prayer and two two visions different.
God is working in stereo here. Peter knew nothing of what was
going on in Caesarea. Not a clue.
Didn't know who Cornelius was from a Barraza.
Peter is going to be called to go to Caesarea now.
Send me the Joppa centre for Simon.
Two men, both in prayer, 2 visions, one man, a Hebrew, 1A
Gentile. And God was moving.
God could have easily made the Angel bring Cornelius to know
him there and then, couldn't he? Yes, but God chooses.
And This is why we're here. But soon why we'll be gone.
God chooses to use redeemed ones, Peter, you and I today, to
be his instrument of grace to share the gospel, our Great
Commission. Go into all the world, preach
the gospel. That's the only reason we're
here, because when the church is raptured and the Jews begin, the
70th week of Daniel begin to do what they should have been doing
all along, 144,000 will go out, proclaim the gospel sealed by
the Holy Spirit. 2 witnesses will come upon the scene and
proclaim the gospel from Jerusalem, and the world will
watch on. But at the moment it's you and I
God says I want to use you to reach others for Christ.
That's why we're here. When did God speak to Peter?
How did God speak to Peter? 4548 kilometres down the other
Rd Verse 9 The next day as they went on their journey and drew
near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray.
About the 6th hour, noon, he became very hungry and wanted to
eat, but while he made ready, he fell into a trance.
He saw heaven open and an object like a great sheep, bound at the
four corners, held at the four corners, descended to him, LED
down to the earth. In this sheep were all kinds of
four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping
things, birds of the air. And a voice came to Peter.
Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Sorry for anyone who's a
vegetarian. It has happened, Peter said.
And in the in the Greek, it's no way, Lord, no, no way, no
kosher. These are the unclean things he
says. For I've never eaten anything
common or unclean. It's very strong in the Greek.
And a voice spoke to him again the second time.
What God has cleansed you must not call common.
Interesting word. That word common means impure,
unholy, unacceptable to God. You can't say that about these.
Now this was done three times. How many parents?
How many times? You have to tell your kids
something at least 1 1/2 times and the object was taken up into
heaven again. Peter's gone.
See, Cornelius got directions. Peter's gone.
What's this about? So while Peter wondered within
himself what this vision which he had meant, behold the men at
Peter's gate. Cornelius made inquiry.
Peter, can you come out to play? They're calling out and stood
before the gate. And they called and asked
whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.
Is there a Simon Peter? Does he live here?
I found out obviously through talking around.
Where's the Tanner? Little is or Peter thought about
the the vision. The Holy Spirit said to Peter,
Behold, three men are seeking you arise, therefore go down, go
with them. Don't have any doubts, for I
have sent them to you. That's what Peter's told and no
anything else. Peter went down to the men who'd
sent from Cornelius said, I'm here you seek.
Why have you come? He's got he's got a clue.
They said. Well, Cornelius, the centurion,
a just man, one who fears God, has a good reputation among the
Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy Angel to to summon you to
his house to hear words from you.
Then he invited them in and and they stayed there overnight.
Another little step, because Hebrews and Gentiles don't live
in the same abode. They don't do that.
So the visitors stayed overnight, quite amazing.
Jew and Gentile in the same House of Simon the Tanner, an
unclean person. The next day a travelling party
of 10 headed off to Caesarea. Peter and six others and the
three from Caesarea. In verse 9 to 10, we find Peter
praying while the dinner was being prepared.
Peter's hungry. He's on the rooftop seeking the
Lord, probably praying about where am I to go next?
Lord, Peter was the lover of prayer.
What's this sheet? The sheet comes down three
times. He's given this message.
God was revealing to Peter that His love and His forgiveness is
for all, everyone who through faith might come to know Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
Peter stumbled and eating. I'm not eating that stuff.
It's not kosher, it's common, it's unclean for Christ's
precious powerful word and his innocent blood, which we spoke,
we spoke of today when Jesus died on the cross, His blood
fell for all the world, for God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten Son doesn't say for God just so loved just
the Hebrew nation. So God calls everyone to come to
repentance. Matthew 12 verse 20 a bruise
read. He will not break smoking flax,
He will not quench till he sends forth justice to victory.
In other words, anyone that comes to Christ, God won't turn
you away. You know, people say, well yeah,
but I've done and I've been and I'm just no, God won't send you
away, but you don't know what I've done.
God does. Christ died for you.
Second, Peter 39 the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some count slackness, but it's long suffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish. And it goes on to say, but that
all should come to repentance, everybody.
And here's what I want to tell you first part, when God makes
you clean, you are clean forever.
When you take this, you can sit here today and you think, yeah,
but and every now and then doesn't the devil like to bring
up the past doesn't mean you know you know the the most
horrific things that you just want no one to know about what
you said, what you thought the devil just brings them up.
The Bible declares to you when God makes you clean, as he told
Peter, don't call it unclean. I'm telling you it's clean.
Wild beasts and creeping things such as some of us, but now we
are washed. Peter was soon to see that God
desired him to preach the gospel to every creature.
You see the Christian life that you and I live, it's a
battleground. That's why being a Christian
isn't easy. Being a non Christian is easy.
Usually like you're just a dead fish.
You just go along with everybody else because Satan will whisper
in your ear. At those times you call yourself
a Christian. Look at you, You have been
behaved like a creeping thing. You're like a beast in the
things you do You're unclean. You're beyond even God's power
to be cleansed. That's what Satan says.
It's then you and I have to respond with the word of God.
When Satan attacked Jesus, Jesus said what, three times?
It is written Now here's the truth.
This is why you need to know the word of God.
You will live in doubt, deception, you will live
ashamed, even though you name the name of Christ, if you don't
read the word of God. Man does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God. You need the scripture in your
heart. You need to have read it and
studied it and known it for you to be able to tell Satan what
you're saying is not true. Otherwise you will bow to him
because you have no information. You're ignorant.
It is written Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and 10.
Satan attacked me two weeks after I was saved.
I walked into the back of the church where a hell and I were
attending. I remember it vividly stood in
the back and I looked at everyone.
Everyone had big Bibles and everyone was saying brother and
sister in the Lord and Christ and, and, and they when they
said the name of Jesus that they just said it so differently.
I said I'm just, I'm, I'm, I'm me, I'm still me.
I I felt that just walking into the fore who am I kidding?
I'm no different. These people are Christians.
I'm I'm still me. I know who I am and I remember
the scriptures Romans chapter 10, verse 9 and 10.
If you believe in your heart and confess with your mirror that
Jesus Christ is the Lord, the Bible says you shall be saved.
And I said that first. It's like too off you see, you
need that verse 24. The following day they entered
Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for
them, called together his relatives and close friends.
Peter was coming, so there's a crowd was coming in.
Cornelius made him fell down and his feet and worshipped him.
But Peter lifted him up saying, stand up, I'm, I'm just a man
like you. And as he talked with him, he
went in and found many who would come together.
And he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish
man to keep company with or go to another nation.
Notice this, this Peter's saying this hasn't hit him yet.
But God has shown me that I should not call any man common
or unclean. The penny has dropped, therefore
I come without objection. As soon as I was sent, I asked
him, Why have you sent for me? Notice this Peter's still kind
of like, Why do you need me? Peter's vision prepared him to
go wherever God should send him. Cornelius's vision prepared him
to receive all that God should give to him.
So Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until his hour,
and at the 9th hour I prayed in my house.
And behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said,
Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, your arms are remembered
in the sight of God. Send therefore the Joppa called
Simon here, whose surname is Peter, is lodging in the House
of Simon, a Tanner by the sea. When he comes, he'll speak to
you. So I sent to you immediately.
You've come well to come now, therefore we are all present for
God to hear all the things commanded to you by God.
Peter's gone. Oh wow.
Then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that
God shows no partiality, but in every nation, whoever fears him
and works righteousness is accepted by God.
The Word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching
peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all that word, you
know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began
from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, with power, who
went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed
by the devil, for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all the things that he did, both in the
land of the Jews in Jerusalem whom they killed by hanging on a
tree. That's crucifixion.
Him God raised up on the third day, showed Him openly not to
all the people, but to witnesses chosen before Him by God, even
to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
And He commanded us to preach to the people, to testify that it
is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the
dead. To Him all the prophets witness
that we through His name, whoever believes in Him, whoever
will receive remission of sins. Now whilst Peter was still
speaking these words, what happened?
The Holy Spirit fell upon all this crowd who heard the Word.
Those of the circumcision, those who travelled with Peter were
astonished. As many as came with Peter
because the gift of the Holy Spirit, just like at Pentecost
fell now on the Gentiles, for they heard them speak with
tongues and magnify God, praising God.
Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water that they should
not be baptised who've received the Holy Spirit just like us?
And he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the
Lord. Then they asked him to stay a
few days. Why did the Holy Spirit move
this way? Because you see, the Jews needed
to see that the same Holy Spirit that fell on the day of
Pentecost on the Jews fell upon the Gentiles.
They're not common, they're not unclean.
It's it's the work of God. And they had to see it in this
unique experience in Caesarea. And Peter would argue then the
case in Chapter 11. So let's wrap this up because of
time today, you know, God's Holy Spirit still moves today.
It moved in in Caesarea and it moved in Joppa at the same time.
They didn't know the connection. Peter, do you know that God is
moving upon you? And then there are others in
this world that are in Joppa or Caesarea that you have a
connection to, that God says I'm working on you and I have
someone over here that you're going to connect to.
God's Spirit uses you and I to do this.
Doesn't use angels. That's why we're here.
You're not. You don't just come to church
and spectate and go home and go, oh, that was that, See you next
Sunday. No, you were here because God
has a mission and he has people for you to speak to.
Who spoke to you. For some of you here today,
you're in a search for God. You want to know about his
forgiveness, You want to know about grace.
You're hungry to know God, but you just don't know you.
You're religious. You see, Cornelius, Roman
Centurion was a man of faith, faith in the God of Israel.
He was devout. He expressed his faith and
generosity. He was a generous person.
His faith also was expressed. He prayed his aboutness impacted
his household, people around about him.
Yeah, he's a lovely man. Soldier served under him, said,
oh, he's an awesome guy. But Cornelius, here's the deal,
Needed a saviour. You can't come to God your way
doesn't matter how much and how good you are.
That's why the cross is there. You can't ignore the cross.
That's why there is a cross, the bridge.
You can't pass the bridge, you need a saviour too.
Even good people, respectful to what God still need to come to
Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. No man comes into the Father,
but by me. I am the way we all need Christ.
You can be very religious. You can come to Calvary Chapel
and go to every service, open your Bible, you can pray and
still not be saved. John Wesley, many of you know
John Wesley wrote so many hymns. John Wesley, he was a minister,
he was a preacher. He was the son of a preacher.
He was in the religious club at Oxford University.
But John Wesley on May 24th, 1738, went to a meeting.
We're at that meeting. They read Martin Luther's
commentary on the book of Romans, where it says that just
shall live by faith. And as Wesley heard that, he
said, something come over me. The Spirit of God fell upon him.
And he said I was strangely warmed.
There's a book called Strangely warmed.
I have it. And John Wesley, from that
moment was filled with the power and the wonder of God.
I want to ask you, do you know Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
You can be close, but close is not good enough.
You see, the reason Jesus Christ came, the reason this church is
here, the reason we just taught the Bible is this.
God says there's a way to come to me.
This is the way. I hear you.
I see you pray. I see how generous you are.
I know you're a good person, but you don't know me.
You need to ask me. You need to come to me.
You need to come to the cross and ask me to be your saviour.
You need to pray and ask for God's forgiveness.
There's so many people sadly going to church in and out.
Their marriages stumble, the kids stumble, their individual
relationships. They try to read the Bible.
They can't make sense of it because they're they're a
Cornelius. They're devout, they're godly,
they're generous, but they're lost.
The cross shouts out. This is the way I'm going to
pray now. Holly's going to come forward.
You don't have to stand. I don't want to pray.
I want, I want to pray for you. No, just Holly, I think.
Or are you coming to? But you see, I can't communicate
the power of God. The Word of God does.
But the Spirit of God can fall upon you now.
He can fall upon your heart now and fill you just like he did
with Wesley, just like he did with Cornelius, and you can
truly come into the Kingdom of God, not church, not religion,
but you will know God yourself. You will know Jesus Christ
himself. I'm going to pray, Heavenly
Father, I pray for each and everyone gathered here today.
I pray for those who've Lord, who've given their lives to be
devout, who do pray, Who? Who?
Who are generous, Lord? Who are good people?
Lord, as yet they don't know your voice.
They don't have Your presence in their hearts.
I pray right now as people are seated, Lord, that Your Holy
Spirit will fall upon those as they did with Cornelius, and
there will be a praise and a wonder and a joy.
They'll be, as with Wesley, strangely warmed within them,
and they'll sense your presence like never before, and you'll
change their lives from this moment forever.
Father, do this now. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.