1 00:00:09,380 --> 00:00:12,180 The title of this morning's message is the power of the word 2 00:00:12,180 --> 00:00:16,860 of God briefly again just on the events in the Middle East, 3 00:00:18,540 --> 00:00:20,100 things are not going to get away. 4 00:00:21,020 --> 00:00:27,140 These events are going to recur more and more more war, more 5 00:00:27,140 --> 00:00:31,700 problems in the Middle East. President Trump has put together 6 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:36,880 the kind of like a he's shunned the UN, which I can understand 7 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,160 why Israelis called the UN the United nothing, because they do 8 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:47,040 nothing set up this group of nations in the peace accord 9 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:52,640 trying to work on Gaza. But things are going to get 10 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,680 messy. They'll continue to get messy in 11 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,880 the Middle East. Why? 12 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,400 Because they'll get messier and messier until a person comes 13 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,200 along after the rapture of the church, a person will be 14 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:14,280 revealed who will solve the conflict in the Middle East. 15 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:20,480 Bible calls him the lawless one, man of perdition, the 16 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,920 Antichrist. But things are going to get 17 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,640 messier and messier as the nation's trying to fix this 18 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:31,160 problem. Israel's in the middle because 19 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:35,760 Israel is the focus of the final seven year period, the 70th week 20 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,600 of Daniel after the rapture of the church. 21 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:41,120 Church has been taken out of the world. 22 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:47,080 And the Antichrist, he is Satan's representative. 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:52,680 He's, he's doing what Satan, he's Satan personally fills the 24 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,920 Antichrist. He's a man, but Satan gives him 25 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:02,720 the power himself, and Satan rules the world as God, which is 26 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:04,680 what he wanted from the very beginning. 27 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:07,920 But he only gets to do this for a period of time. 28 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,680 But Israel through that time will sign an agreement with that 29 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,600 man very quickly. They'll build a temple. 30 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:25,880 They'll restart 3 1/2 years. The Antichrist will break his 31 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:32,400 agreement and things will will be unleashed like never seen 32 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:38,240 upon our planet. The Bible is full of the events 33 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,480 of the future. God says I'm the only one that 34 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:41,800 can tell you what's going to happen. 35 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,480 But today we want to see the love of God as Pastor Marlon 36 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,160 beautifully took us through communion. 37 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:54,840 The drive of the book of Acts is the shedding of the gospel, the 38 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,800 sharing of the gospel. Because God loves you. 39 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,920 Let's not forget the very beginning and drive for all 40 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:07,080 these events that are happening in the world. 41 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:15,120 Man fell in a in a perfect world sin entered we began to die, we 42 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:22,600 began to kill one another pain grief ended our world and and 43 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,440 Jesus was promised the seed of a woman God would send his son 44 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,120 died on the cross. We're going to celebrate that 45 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,840 shortly in Easter and and and this is because God loves you. 46 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,240 The Bible is the story of God's plan of redemption that's 47 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,520 bringing you back to him. We who ran away and ignored him. 48 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,920 Book of Acts chapter 10 the Bible says in two Timothy 31. 49 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,560 This know also that in the last days perilous times will come. 50 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,320 Don't expect things to get better. 51 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,240 Governments can't make the world better. 52 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:09,160 Governments can't fix sin. Paul went on to write to 53 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,120 Timothy. He said the religious people of 54 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:16,959 the world will be ever learning but never able to come to the 55 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:19,000 knowledge of the truth. What's the truth? 56 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:23,160 Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. 57 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,760 No man comes to the Father but by me. 58 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:32,080 The problem is sin. The solution is Jesus, the book 59 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,600 of Amos, Amos the prophet said of these times in which we live. 60 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,600 Behold the days come, says the Lord God, that I will send a 61 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,120 famine in the land that's in our country, Australia. 62 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:50,000 Definitely not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but I'm 63 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,560 hearing the words of the Lord and Australia, we as a nation, 64 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:59,480 we've walked away from God. There a reason, there is a 65 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,400 reason that the modern church, the church generally today is 66 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,800 bereft of the power of the Holy Spirit. 67 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,040 How is that seen? Well, Christians today, people 68 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,960 can't tell. Are you a Christian or not a 69 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,400 Christian? Because Christians just seem to 70 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,880 be those who name the name of Christ seem to be living the 71 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:23,280 same as the rest of the world. We have churches now that accept 72 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,040 different genders and different identifications. 73 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,960 We have churches now that believe that the the book of 74 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,200 Genesis is not really important, that it's just a prequel. 75 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,320 It's just a story. But it's not true that we 76 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,520 evolved. There are churches now that that 77 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,720 don't believe in Bible prophecy. They believe, well, man's just 78 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,120 got to get better, Kumbaya, we just got to get better. 79 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,480 Come on, let us get together. Let's hold hands and gather 80 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,560 around the campfire and, and, and hope for the best. 81 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,880 Marriages are breaking up in church at the same rate as 82 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:06,600 marriages outside of the church. Children in church are in a 83 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:12,000 rebellion, just like children outside the church, and there's 84 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,520 a reason for that. The reason is because when the 85 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,080 church was born, it was filled with the power of the Holy 86 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:23,920 Ghost, the power of God, the power of God to say no to sin, 87 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,280 the power of God to change life. The change we rent of a man 88 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:31,680 called Saul who was killing Christians, arresting 89 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:33,840 Christians. God met him. 90 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,640 Jesus Christ met him, He changed, and now he's 91 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,760 proclaiming the gospel of Christ. 92 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,120 We have a bit of a pause, a different direction now as we 93 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,960 learn of Peter. The book of Acts was written 94 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:51,640 with the emphasis of the Holy Spirit. 95 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:53,880 We sang about it the day of Pentecost. 96 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,520 The Spirit fell. Jesus said don't do anything 97 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,440 until the promise of the Father falls. 98 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,560 Now we're filled with the Spirit of God empowering them. 99 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,600 Peter preaches for the first time, 3000 souls come to Christ. 100 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,400 The souls, the very people who cried out, crucified Jesus, 101 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:18,480 crucify him, came to Christ. This is how the church was to 102 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:19,800 be. The book of Acts is the 103 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,800 template, the model given for us to follow. 104 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,480 Yet today, as we see in the Book of Revelation, the Church of 105 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,160 Laodicea, which is the description of the Church of the 106 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,960 last days, says that God is outside the church knocking on 107 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:37,560 the door, telling people to come out. 108 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:39,400 I want to have a relationship with you. 109 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:41,720 The church on the inside is jamming. 110 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:45,000 They got all the lights, they got the band, they got the the 111 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,080 building, they got all the programmes. 112 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,600 And Jesus is not even there because they don't need him. 113 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,000 They got religion, they got their church. 114 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,880 It's it's on. They dress a certain way, they 115 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:05,920 speak a certain way. It's funny, I can tell as I talk 116 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,080 to certain people what church situation they're in. 117 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,120 Jesus is outside the church. Church thought it had it all 118 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,080 together. Jesus said of the Church of 119 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:24,280 Laodicean. He said you are poor, blind and 120 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:29,080 naked. I thought they were rich, had it 121 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:34,280 all together and powerful. Remember back in the book of 122 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:41,440 Acts chapter 1, Jesus said don't do anything to the disciples 123 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,840 until verse 4 and being assembled together with them. 124 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:51,040 Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to 125 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:56,480 wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you've 126 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,880 heard from me, I will go, but there will be another comforter. 127 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:05,680 He will come. But there were two powerful 128 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:09,280 partners in the power of the early church. 129 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:11,480 We've already come across them already. 130 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,960 It was the teaching of the word of God so that in Acts chapter 6 131 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:23,200 problem arise in the church between the the Greek cultured 132 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:29,400 Jews, Christians and the Hebrew cultured Christians about bread. 133 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:37,640 A elected men full of the Holy Spirit honest report to to sort 134 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,960 out who gets them the bread for the widows in the church at the 135 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,880 time the apostle said we can't do this. 136 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:52,880 Our most important thing is to pray, study and teach the word 137 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:54,040 of God. Those two things. 138 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,120 It was the teaching of the Word of God and their passion for 139 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,640 prayer. Today the church doesn't have a 140 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,800 passion for prayer and the church, sadly, as Amos said, it 141 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,600 doesn't have a passion for the word of God. 142 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,520 You can go to church, not even worry about having a Bible, 143 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:12,960 don't need it. The preacher gets up, he he 144 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:19,640 talks about some sort of other social well being sort of thing 145 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,720 and speaks of, you know, this is this will help you, this will 146 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,600 improve your marriage. This is how you deal with your 147 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,160 kids. And everyone says that's really 148 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,520 good, that's great. No, no, no, what, what? 149 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:34,480 The problem in all of us is sin and only Jesus Christ. 150 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:38,360 And we celebrate this. This table tells us we're 151 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:42,320 sinners and the only solution is the bread, the body, the 152 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,800 crucifixion of Christ. And the only thing that takes 153 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,760 away our sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. 154 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:51,720 We'll see that in this text today. 155 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:58,200 Back in chapter 6, the apostle said we will give ourselves 156 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:01,960 continually to prayer. We read in Acts chapter 4 of the 157 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,680 church gathered together once a week. 158 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:11,840 No, they did daily and studied the teaching of the apostles and 159 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:16,160 gathered for prayer and the ministry of the Word. 160 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,800 What's God's role in this John chapter one, verse 12 in 161 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,920 salvation, God's role is vital. How you, if you are a Christian 162 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,800 here today, how you came to Christ, if you're here today and 163 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:31,440 you go, I want to become a Christian. 164 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:36,040 How do I do that? Well listen, God does it John 165 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,480 chapter one verse 12. But to all who believed in him 166 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,960 as Jesus and accepted him, God that is he Jesus gave the right 167 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:49,400 to become children of God. God says I call you, God 168 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:55,280 identifies you, God chooses you. Verse 13 of John chapter 1 says 169 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,200 they are reborn, not with a physical birth resulting from 170 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,520 human passion. Just because mum and dad go to 171 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,840 church doesn't mean you're a Christian. 172 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:09,840 Just because you looked at all the religions and you've 173 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,920 examined them and gone through, you know, gone, ran them through 174 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:17,400 AI chat, GP and said which is the best religion I should have 175 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,600 and popped out Jesus. That seems to be a nice one at 176 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:25,480 the moment. That's not how you come to 177 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:32,760 Christ, but it's a birth. It says John chapter one, verse 178 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,920 13. It's a birth that comes from 179 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,280 God. Jesus said to a religious man, 180 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:44,520 Nicodemus, you must be born again, Nicodemus. 181 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,000 So the background, the church in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 10 is 182 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,440 about 5 to 6 years old. That's all. 183 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,320 It is distinctly Hebrew. It's in Jerusalem. 184 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,760 Yes, they've spread some, have gone down to Samaria, some. 185 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,600 And then remember, Philip went down to the Desert Rd down near 186 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,640 Gaza. By the way, they're all the 187 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:12,840 areas that the world is telling Israel that doesn't belong to 188 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,440 you. But God says, no, it is because 189 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,960 it's Judea and Samaria. It's Israel's land. 190 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,560 They aren't occupying land, they're living at home. 191 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:28,480 The world needs to Get the facts right. 192 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,760 You see the world doesn't look to the Bible for facts because 193 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:37,920 the world is driven by Satan. Who wants to remove that nation 194 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,920 Israel. It's not anti semitism, it's 195 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,680 Jewish hatred. I don't say anti semitism 196 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:52,080 anymore because Semitic as I said is all Arabic and speaking 197 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:57,520 nations that speak in that in that style, including Jews. 198 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,800 No it's it's Jewish hatred. It's anti Jew. 199 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:08,320 That's what it is. So the church is Hebrew, Jesus 200 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:16,600 himself born Hebrew of the tribe of Judah. 201 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:23,640 The 12 apostles are Hebrew, but things were about to break and 202 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,560 change dramatically. Yes, some of the Samaritans that 203 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:32,920 come to Christ, the first Christian in Africa, Ethiopian 204 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,920 eunuch. He's gone back to Ethiopia. 205 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:36,920 He's going to share the gospel down there. 206 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,240 But still, at this moment, the church is Hebrew. 207 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:48,000 Caesarea, to the north of Joppa. We'll get to Caesarea. 208 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,080 It's our first port of call. It's the most beautiful place. 209 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:53,160 Still praying that we can get there. 210 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:55,280 We'll see what happens with the events of the world. 211 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:01,400 I'll get there eventually. Caesarea, to the north was the 212 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,240 headquarters of the Roman governor. 213 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,600 It's where Pilate lived. They found archaeologists 214 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,600 digging in. Caesarea dug up stone, and on 215 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,080 the stone, on the inscription was Pontius Pilate. 216 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,200 He lived there. Caesarea was the headquarter of 217 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:23,880 the Roman governor, as I said, and a full Roman cohort lived 218 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:30,920 and was barracked at Caesarea. A cohort is some 600 Roman 219 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:37,720 soldiers, including Calvary cavalry should say, and these 220 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,280 cohorts of which were spread out through the Roman Empire. 221 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:45,720 Of these groups, they are considered the most loyal, best 222 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:51,080 soldiers of Rome. Now the Holy Spirit, like a 223 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,360 powerful overflowing river, was flooding out of Jerusalem 224 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,680 because of the persecution of who? 225 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:03,040 Saul, remember? But now he's become Paul, and 226 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:07,200 it's about to break its banks from the Hebrew containments, 227 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,840 and it's about to flow through Peter to the Gentiles. 228 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,520 A Gentile is someone who's not Jewish. 229 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,520 It was said that the religious leaders of the day, Pharisees, 230 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,400 would pray and thank God for three things. 231 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,520 Every morning I pray and thank God that I am not a slave. 232 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:33,440 Then they would say I pray and thank God that I'm not a woman. 233 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,040 Religious leaders. And then the third thing, I pray 234 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,800 and thank God that I'm not a Gentile. 235 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:50,480 Racism was at the Max. If you couldn't associate with a 236 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,240 Gentile, if you're Hebrew, anything that they touched and 237 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,800 you went near you became unclean. 238 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,400 You had to go through a cleansing ceremony. 239 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:01,840 You didn't deal with them in any way. 240 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:07,359 And so there was this absolute anathema between the Hebrew and 241 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:16,480 the Gentile peoples. Now Cornelius lived in Caesarea. 242 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,359 That's where he worked. He was a centurion. 243 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:24,480 Centurion is a commander, a non commissioned officer who's in 244 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,079 charge of 100 soldiers. That's why they're called a 245 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:29,040 centurion. Every time we read of a 246 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,440 centurion in the New Testament, there's always glowing reports 247 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,120 about them. They seem to be have been men of 248 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:37,600 quality. Let's look at this one. 249 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,200 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a 250 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,920 centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man, 251 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:51,200 one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms 252 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,040 generously than his charity to the people and prayed to God 253 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:59,640 always. He was a man in search of God. 254 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,680 He was a Sinner. Yes, he was. 255 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:07,920 He was outside the covenant. He was not Jewish, yes, but here 256 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,320 we find this man, the centurion, praying to God. 257 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,280 Here God's description of this man and his search of God. 258 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,040 It tells us so much that God knows about those who are 259 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:23,960 looking for him. You could be working with or 260 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:28,240 going to school with or in in a sport team with someone that 261 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:36,000 really wants to know about God. They actually pray, but they 262 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,200 they have nothing. They have no knowledge of who 263 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,480 God really is. It says Cornelius was a devout 264 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,120 man, feared God, gave arms, prayed always. 265 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:50,720 This man, a Roman soldier, was one who dared to be holy in the 266 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:55,600 most unlikely circumstances. The Romans had multiple gods, 267 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:01,680 Mars, Venus, so forth. He was not a proselyte. 268 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:07,320 A proselyte is someone who's a Gentile who then proceeds to 269 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:12,080 become Jewish in their faith and they go through a process, 270 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,240 they're circumcised, they go through ceremonies, etcetera, 271 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,080 and they become a full on convert to Judaism. 272 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,920 He wasn't that, yet we find him in prayer. 273 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,360 He was a Gentile with the thinking of a Hebrew. 274 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:31,360 He's living in Israel and something has shown him that the 275 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:36,400 one God of Israel 11 God, and that's the God he want. 276 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:41,440 I want the true God. He was in charge of the Roman 277 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,480 police. He was in fact in charge of the 278 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,480 the police of the area of Jerusalem. 279 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,000 That was his job as we would know it today, Chief of police. 280 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:56,280 Such was his devotion to God that all those that are in his 281 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,720 house, his slaves, his servants, all those the soldiers that 282 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:05,000 worked under him were were directed by this godly man. 283 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:06,880 They said that we want to be like him. 284 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:11,680 We want to do what he does. It's interesting in Isaiah 285 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:16,520 chapter 55 verse 6, it says seek the Lord while he may be found, 286 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:21,360 call upon him while he's near. Proverbs 817 I love those who 287 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:24,800 love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. 288 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,960 Jeremiah 2913 And you will seek me and find me when you search 289 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,920 for me with all your heart. I remember going to a church 290 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,200 with Helen, my wife. We wanted to know about God. 291 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,360 God the Holy Spirit was moving upon my heart. 292 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:43,440 We went to this church. The guy spoke about everything 293 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,120 but the Bible. It was the closest thing I got 294 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,880 to being angry in church, kicking chairs and and storming 295 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,720 out at the end of the service. But because it's not the right 296 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,880 thing to do, I didn't do that. But man, I was. 297 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:57,320 I was angry. You know why? 298 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,440 Because I went to church. I wanted to know about God. 299 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:07,040 Tell me what I need to know because I don't know what to do. 300 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,560 I know there is a God and I want to, I want to follow Him. 301 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:17,240 What do I do? Bible says if you have that 302 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,200 heart, God will reveal Himself to you. 303 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,160 But Cornelius has a vision about the 9th hour, verse 3. 304 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:28,400 That's 3:00 in the afternoon. He saw clearly in a vision an 305 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,680 Angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius calls 306 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,680 him. When he observed him, he was 307 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:36,800 afraid and said, What is it, Lord? 308 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,760 So he said to him, Your prayers and your arms have come up for a 309 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,680 memorial. That is, they've got God's 310 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:49,920 attention. He's about to help you now send 311 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,120 men to Joppa. Now Joppa on this map is to the 312 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:55,640 South. It's kind of like the the 313 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,320 Fremantle fish markets of Israel. 314 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:03,320 It's a beautiful place. And and Caesarea. 315 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:08,160 It's, it's kind of like Mandra maybe and just further north to 316 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,360 Rockingham, further to Kwinana, that distance, it's about 48 317 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:15,640 kilometres between and the way that most of them would journey 318 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,120 that distance, besides taking Inland Rd, many would just walk 319 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:20,840 along the beach. You can walk along the beach all 320 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:26,560 the way. Cornelius, he said your prayers 321 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:30,000 have been heard. Now send men to Joppa, send for 322 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:35,560 Simon, whose surname is Peter. Does Cornelius even know who 323 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,200 Peter is? I don't think so. 324 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:41,400 He's lodging with Simon, a Tanner man. 325 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,960 How descriptive is this? Whose house is by the sea? 326 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:51,040 He will tell you the things you need to do about what to know 327 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:56,440 me, how to know me. So Peter's living with a Tanner 328 00:22:57,360 --> 00:22:59,440 now. Tanners were considered unclean. 329 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:03,560 A tanner's house had to be 28 metres. 330 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,200 Yeah, 28 metres outside the city, a Tanner had to live by 331 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,640 the water because the way that a Tanner dealt, because they dealt 332 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,520 with dead animals to make the skins and leather, they were 333 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:22,920 always considered unclean. And so Peter Simon has become a 334 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:24,360 Christian. He's living. 335 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,680 So there's a little bit of a step outside. 336 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,400 Peter's not worrying about the the law and that sense of what's 337 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,520 unclean anymore. Simon's come to the Lord and 338 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,360 he's living at Simon's house. Cornelius sought the Lord by 339 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:43,400 prayer, crying out to know God. He who prays much will see much. 340 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:49,080 God is ever ready to unlock the treasures of His grace to the 341 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,120 humble seeking heart. If you're a praying person, I 342 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,800 tell you, God will speak to you. The vision came about the 9th 343 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,720 hour. Where is this the 9th hour? 344 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:04,680 When do we hear that last? Now? 345 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,640 Peter and John went up together to the temple. 346 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:11,640 Remember the book of Acts at the hour of prayer, the 9th hour. 347 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,160 Silver and gold. Have I none? 348 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:18,840 The Roman soldiers. This soldier was living his life 349 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,680 by God's timeline. He was actually praying to the 350 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,160 three slots of prayer throughout the day. 351 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:31,960 Yet he's a Roman. His vision brought him a message 352 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,640 of personal assurance. God's heard you. 353 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:41,000 It also brought to him a plain word of what to do, direction, 354 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,680 the next step. You see, when God answers 355 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,880 prayer, there is no doubt about it. 356 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,840 You go. I know I got to do this when 357 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:55,520 this building occurred that to go ahead and do this building, I 358 00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:01,000 fought against it big time. We were renting the hall across 359 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,520 the road. You know, building is things 360 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,880 change. I fought and fought against it 361 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,720 personally with God, but God pushed and pushed and puts it, 362 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,080 you got to do this. I'm telling you to do this. 363 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:17,120 And eventually I yielded and here we are. 364 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:24,640 God did it all. Cornelius is obedient. 365 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,800 Why is he obedient? Because he's a soldier. 366 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,960 I mean, some of you are in the services, some of you have been 367 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,560 in the services. The Bible tells us we're 368 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,760 soldiers. We used to sing onward. 369 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,520 Christian soldiers remember marching as to war with the 370 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,960 cross of Jesus going on before. The Bible says in action in 371 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,440 Ephesians chapter 6 that we actually are in armour. 372 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:50,680 So what does a soldier do? You know what a soldier never 373 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,240 does. He never questions his orders. 374 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,120 Soldier commander comes in going to that way you go. 375 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,720 So remember that's what the centurion has said to Jesus. 376 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:04,120 Jesus said I'll come down to your house. 377 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,160 He says no, no, no, my, my servant is sick. 378 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,280 You know, you just say the word. I am a man under authority. 379 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:15,120 I know how it works. We need hearts like centurions 380 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,000 and Jesus said, I've never seen so great a faith. 381 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,400 No, not in all Israel. So soldiers obey. 382 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,640 It's how they live. It's how you and I are to live. 383 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,120 Verse 7, When the Angel who spoke to him had departed, 384 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:35,120 Cornelius got two of his household servants and a devout 385 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:37,200 soldier. No devout soldier. 386 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:42,600 That's someone who because of Cornelius, life is rubbed off on 387 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,160 this other soldier. And he's living like Cornelius 388 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:49,760 among those who waited on continually. 389 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,360 So when he explained all these things to the three, off they go 390 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:56,960 to Joppa. As soon as the heavenly 391 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,560 messenger departed, Cornelius got to it. 392 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:07,960 He sends the three to Joppa. It's a 48K walk from Caesarea to 393 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,080 see Peter. There is only one way to respond 394 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:17,160 ever when God answers prayer, and that is to do it straight 395 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,680 away. Obey Cornelius, a man of prayer 396 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,360 now knowing God's will for him, with great delight, with 397 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:29,400 fervour, gets to obeying what God does immediately sends his 398 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,680 two servants and a soldier down to get Peter. 399 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,360 Now at the other end, because we see this wonderful thing that's 400 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:39,720 going on. We see two men in prayer. 401 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:44,560 Both in prayer and two two visions different. 402 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:54,440 God is working in stereo here. Peter knew nothing of what was 403 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:56,240 going on in Caesarea. Not a clue. 404 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,640 Didn't know who Cornelius was from a Barraza. 405 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:03,600 Peter is going to be called to go to Caesarea now. 406 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,520 Send me the Joppa centre for Simon. 407 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:10,080 Two men, both in prayer, 2 visions, one man, a Hebrew, 1A 408 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:11,920 Gentile. And God was moving. 409 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,440 God could have easily made the Angel bring Cornelius to know 410 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:23,480 him there and then, couldn't he? Yes, but God chooses. 411 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,800 And This is why we're here. But soon why we'll be gone. 412 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:35,000 God chooses to use redeemed ones, Peter, you and I today, to 413 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:39,360 be his instrument of grace to share the gospel, our Great 414 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,480 Commission. Go into all the world, preach 415 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:43,480 the gospel. That's the only reason we're 416 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:49,640 here, because when the church is raptured and the Jews begin, the 417 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,960 70th week of Daniel begin to do what they should have been doing 418 00:28:53,240 --> 00:29:00,400 all along, 144,000 will go out, proclaim the gospel sealed by 419 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,640 the Holy Spirit. 2 witnesses will come upon the scene and 420 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,680 proclaim the gospel from Jerusalem, and the world will 421 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,480 watch on. But at the moment it's you and I 422 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:15,000 God says I want to use you to reach others for Christ. 423 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,600 That's why we're here. When did God speak to Peter? 424 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,600 How did God speak to Peter? 4548 kilometres down the other 425 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:28,080 Rd Verse 9 The next day as they went on their journey and drew 426 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,160 near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray. 427 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:36,600 About the 6th hour, noon, he became very hungry and wanted to 428 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,120 eat, but while he made ready, he fell into a trance. 429 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:44,720 He saw heaven open and an object like a great sheep, bound at the 430 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,920 four corners, held at the four corners, descended to him, LED 431 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,280 down to the earth. In this sheep were all kinds of 432 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,480 four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping 433 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:00,040 things, birds of the air. And a voice came to Peter. 434 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:04,160 Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Sorry for anyone who's a 435 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:10,520 vegetarian. It has happened, Peter said. 436 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:16,960 And in the in the Greek, it's no way, Lord, no, no way, no 437 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:23,160 kosher. These are the unclean things he 438 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,040 says. For I've never eaten anything 439 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:27,240 common or unclean. It's very strong in the Greek. 440 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,920 And a voice spoke to him again the second time. 441 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,960 What God has cleansed you must not call common. 442 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,840 Interesting word. That word common means impure, 443 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:44,280 unholy, unacceptable to God. You can't say that about these. 444 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:49,320 Now this was done three times. How many parents? 445 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:50,600 How many times? You have to tell your kids 446 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:58,880 something at least 1 1/2 times and the object was taken up into 447 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,200 heaven again. Peter's gone. 448 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,520 See, Cornelius got directions. Peter's gone. 449 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:11,960 What's this about? So while Peter wondered within 450 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:16,600 himself what this vision which he had meant, behold the men at 451 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,360 Peter's gate. Cornelius made inquiry. 452 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:26,040 Peter, can you come out to play? They're calling out and stood 453 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:27,880 before the gate. And they called and asked 454 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,200 whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there. 455 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,240 Is there a Simon Peter? Does he live here? 456 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,600 I found out obviously through talking around. 457 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:41,400 Where's the Tanner? Little is or Peter thought about 458 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,000 the the vision. The Holy Spirit said to Peter, 459 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:50,040 Behold, three men are seeking you arise, therefore go down, go 460 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,960 with them. Don't have any doubts, for I 461 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:58,120 have sent them to you. That's what Peter's told and no 462 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:02,120 anything else. Peter went down to the men who'd 463 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:06,040 sent from Cornelius said, I'm here you seek. 464 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,200 Why have you come? He's got he's got a clue. 465 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:11,480 They said. Well, Cornelius, the centurion, 466 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:15,520 a just man, one who fears God, has a good reputation among the 467 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:20,560 Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy Angel to to summon you to 468 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:22,880 his house to hear words from you. 469 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:27,280 Then he invited them in and and they stayed there overnight. 470 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:33,320 Another little step, because Hebrews and Gentiles don't live 471 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,120 in the same abode. They don't do that. 472 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,480 So the visitors stayed overnight, quite amazing. 473 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,760 Jew and Gentile in the same House of Simon the Tanner, an 474 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:48,440 unclean person. The next day a travelling party 475 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:54,720 of 10 headed off to Caesarea. Peter and six others and the 476 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:59,800 three from Caesarea. In verse 9 to 10, we find Peter 477 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,160 praying while the dinner was being prepared. 478 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,880 Peter's hungry. He's on the rooftop seeking the 479 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,880 Lord, probably praying about where am I to go next? 480 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:12,040 Lord, Peter was the lover of prayer. 481 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,040 What's this sheet? The sheet comes down three 482 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,760 times. He's given this message. 483 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:24,160 God was revealing to Peter that His love and His forgiveness is 484 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:30,560 for all, everyone who through faith might come to know Jesus 485 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,080 Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 486 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,880 Peter stumbled and eating. I'm not eating that stuff. 487 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:45,640 It's not kosher, it's common, it's unclean for Christ's 488 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:50,440 precious powerful word and his innocent blood, which we spoke, 489 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:56,320 we spoke of today when Jesus died on the cross, His blood 490 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:02,320 fell for all the world, for God so loved the world that he gave 491 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,040 his only begotten Son doesn't say for God just so loved just 492 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:11,360 the Hebrew nation. So God calls everyone to come to 493 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:16,280 repentance. Matthew 12 verse 20 a bruise 494 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,199 read. He will not break smoking flax, 495 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:22,520 He will not quench till he sends forth justice to victory. 496 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:26,000 In other words, anyone that comes to Christ, God won't turn 497 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,679 you away. You know, people say, well yeah, 498 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:32,719 but I've done and I've been and I'm just no, God won't send you 499 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:34,560 away, but you don't know what I've done. 500 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,400 God does. Christ died for you. 501 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:43,000 Second, Peter 39 the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as 502 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,199 some count slackness, but it's long suffering toward us, not 503 00:34:47,199 --> 00:34:51,080 willing that any should perish. And it goes on to say, but that 504 00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:53,560 all should come to repentance, everybody. 505 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:00,080 And here's what I want to tell you first part, when God makes 506 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:03,960 you clean, you are clean forever. 507 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:08,000 When you take this, you can sit here today and you think, yeah, 508 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,120 but and every now and then doesn't the devil like to bring 509 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:14,720 up the past doesn't mean you know you know the the most 510 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,120 horrific things that you just want no one to know about what 511 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:22,960 you said, what you thought the devil just brings them up. 512 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:33,480 The Bible declares to you when God makes you clean, as he told 513 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:39,320 Peter, don't call it unclean. I'm telling you it's clean. 514 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:46,480 Wild beasts and creeping things such as some of us, but now we 515 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,000 are washed. Peter was soon to see that God 516 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,280 desired him to preach the gospel to every creature. 517 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,040 You see the Christian life that you and I live, it's a 518 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:58,880 battleground. That's why being a Christian 519 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,040 isn't easy. Being a non Christian is easy. 520 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:03,000 Usually like you're just a dead fish. 521 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:07,640 You just go along with everybody else because Satan will whisper 522 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,280 in your ear. At those times you call yourself 523 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:15,480 a Christian. Look at you, You have been 524 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,640 behaved like a creeping thing. You're like a beast in the 525 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:24,280 things you do You're unclean. You're beyond even God's power 526 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:27,520 to be cleansed. That's what Satan says. 527 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:33,560 It's then you and I have to respond with the word of God. 528 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,240 When Satan attacked Jesus, Jesus said what, three times? 529 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,200 It is written Now here's the truth. 530 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:43,480 This is why you need to know the word of God. 531 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:48,320 You will live in doubt, deception, you will live 532 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:51,240 ashamed, even though you name the name of Christ, if you don't 533 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:53,880 read the word of God. Man does not live by bread 534 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,720 alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of 535 00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:59,680 God. You need the scripture in your 536 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,360 heart. You need to have read it and 537 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,360 studied it and known it for you to be able to tell Satan what 538 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,720 you're saying is not true. Otherwise you will bow to him 539 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:11,720 because you have no information. You're ignorant. 540 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:17,880 It is written Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and 10. 541 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,760 Satan attacked me two weeks after I was saved. 542 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:24,080 I walked into the back of the church where a hell and I were 543 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,400 attending. I remember it vividly stood in 544 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:27,600 the back and I looked at everyone. 545 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:31,280 Everyone had big Bibles and everyone was saying brother and 546 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,920 sister in the Lord and Christ and, and, and they when they 547 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:38,400 said the name of Jesus that they just said it so differently. 548 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:42,480 I said I'm just, I'm, I'm, I'm me, I'm still me. 549 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,760 I I felt that just walking into the fore who am I kidding? 550 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,760 I'm no different. These people are Christians. 551 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:56,280 I'm I'm still me. I know who I am and I remember 552 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,960 the scriptures Romans chapter 10, verse 9 and 10. 553 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:06,680 If you believe in your heart and confess with your mirror that 554 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:10,640 Jesus Christ is the Lord, the Bible says you shall be saved. 555 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:16,280 And I said that first. It's like too off you see, you 556 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:21,040 need that verse 24. The following day they entered 557 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,400 Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for 558 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:26,520 them, called together his relatives and close friends. 559 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,560 Peter was coming, so there's a crowd was coming in. 560 00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:32,360 Cornelius made him fell down and his feet and worshipped him. 561 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:36,600 But Peter lifted him up saying, stand up, I'm, I'm just a man 562 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,200 like you. And as he talked with him, he 563 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,520 went in and found many who would come together. 564 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:44,160 And he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish 565 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:47,600 man to keep company with or go to another nation. 566 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:53,120 Notice this, this Peter's saying this hasn't hit him yet. 567 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,360 But God has shown me that I should not call any man common 568 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:03,720 or unclean. The penny has dropped, therefore 569 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:06,520 I come without objection. As soon as I was sent, I asked 570 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:10,360 him, Why have you sent for me? Notice this Peter's still kind 571 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:16,400 of like, Why do you need me? Peter's vision prepared him to 572 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:20,080 go wherever God should send him. Cornelius's vision prepared him 573 00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:21,880 to receive all that God should give to him. 574 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:27,160 So Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until his hour, 575 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:29,840 and at the 9th hour I prayed in my house. 576 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,920 And behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, 577 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:36,320 Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, your arms are remembered 578 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,280 in the sight of God. Send therefore the Joppa called 579 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,840 Simon here, whose surname is Peter, is lodging in the House 580 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:46,280 of Simon, a Tanner by the sea. When he comes, he'll speak to 581 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,440 you. So I sent to you immediately. 582 00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:53,880 You've come well to come now, therefore we are all present for 583 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:58,400 God to hear all the things commanded to you by God. 584 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:02,040 Peter's gone. Oh wow. 585 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:07,760 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that 586 00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:13,960 God shows no partiality, but in every nation, whoever fears him 587 00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:16,520 and works righteousness is accepted by God. 588 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,800 The Word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching 589 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:23,920 peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all that word, you 590 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,160 know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began 591 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:31,280 from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God 592 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:35,400 anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, with power, who 593 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,920 went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed 594 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:39,760 by the devil, for God was with him. 595 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,520 We are witnesses of all the things that he did, both in the 596 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:46,520 land of the Jews in Jerusalem whom they killed by hanging on a 597 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:47,800 tree. That's crucifixion. 598 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,920 Him God raised up on the third day, showed Him openly not to 599 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:55,960 all the people, but to witnesses chosen before Him by God, even 600 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:59,320 to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 601 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:04,000 And He commanded us to preach to the people, to testify that it 602 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:07,400 is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the 603 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:09,440 dead. To Him all the prophets witness 604 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:13,000 that we through His name, whoever believes in Him, whoever 605 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:18,040 will receive remission of sins. Now whilst Peter was still 606 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:19,800 speaking these words, what happened? 607 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,520 The Holy Spirit fell upon all this crowd who heard the Word. 608 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:28,560 Those of the circumcision, those who travelled with Peter were 609 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,200 astonished. As many as came with Peter 610 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:35,160 because the gift of the Holy Spirit, just like at Pentecost 611 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:39,800 fell now on the Gentiles, for they heard them speak with 612 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,840 tongues and magnify God, praising God. 613 00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:46,680 Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water that they should 614 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:50,960 not be baptised who've received the Holy Spirit just like us? 615 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,040 And he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the 616 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:55,960 Lord. Then they asked him to stay a 617 00:41:55,960 --> 00:42:00,000 few days. Why did the Holy Spirit move 618 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:03,720 this way? Because you see, the Jews needed 619 00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:06,840 to see that the same Holy Spirit that fell on the day of 620 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:10,960 Pentecost on the Jews fell upon the Gentiles. 621 00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:14,560 They're not common, they're not unclean. 622 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:18,680 It's it's the work of God. And they had to see it in this 623 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:24,000 unique experience in Caesarea. And Peter would argue then the 624 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,080 case in Chapter 11. So let's wrap this up because of 625 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:34,520 time today, you know, God's Holy Spirit still moves today. 626 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:41,360 It moved in in Caesarea and it moved in Joppa at the same time. 627 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:47,960 They didn't know the connection. Peter, do you know that God is 628 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:50,400 moving upon you? And then there are others in 629 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:57,120 this world that are in Joppa or Caesarea that you have a 630 00:42:57,120 --> 00:43:00,920 connection to, that God says I'm working on you and I have 631 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:03,800 someone over here that you're going to connect to. 632 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:08,880 God's Spirit uses you and I to do this. 633 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:11,080 Doesn't use angels. That's why we're here. 634 00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:13,400 You're not. You don't just come to church 635 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:16,520 and spectate and go home and go, oh, that was that, See you next 636 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,440 Sunday. No, you were here because God 637 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:22,920 has a mission and he has people for you to speak to. 638 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:29,280 Who spoke to you. For some of you here today, 639 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:34,680 you're in a search for God. You want to know about his 640 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:37,560 forgiveness, You want to know about grace. 641 00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:39,840 You're hungry to know God, but you just don't know you. 642 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:44,600 You're religious. You see, Cornelius, Roman 643 00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:49,360 Centurion was a man of faith, faith in the God of Israel. 644 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:52,800 He was devout. He expressed his faith and 645 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:56,080 generosity. He was a generous person. 646 00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:02,200 His faith also was expressed. He prayed his aboutness impacted 647 00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:04,280 his household, people around about him. 648 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,840 Yeah, he's a lovely man. Soldier served under him, said, 649 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:11,680 oh, he's an awesome guy. But Cornelius, here's the deal, 650 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:16,000 Needed a saviour. You can't come to God your way 651 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:19,760 doesn't matter how much and how good you are. 652 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:24,560 That's why the cross is there. You can't ignore the cross. 653 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:27,520 That's why there is a cross, the bridge. 654 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:32,680 You can't pass the bridge, you need a saviour too. 655 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:39,280 Even good people, respectful to what God still need to come to 656 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:43,080 Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. No man comes into the Father, 657 00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:47,680 but by me. I am the way we all need Christ. 658 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:51,800 You can be very religious. You can come to Calvary Chapel 659 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:56,680 and go to every service, open your Bible, you can pray and 660 00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:03,880 still not be saved. John Wesley, many of you know 661 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:09,920 John Wesley wrote so many hymns. John Wesley, he was a minister, 662 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:12,360 he was a preacher. He was the son of a preacher. 663 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:15,960 He was in the religious club at Oxford University. 664 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:21,200 But John Wesley on May 24th, 1738, went to a meeting. 665 00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:25,760 We're at that meeting. They read Martin Luther's 666 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:29,120 commentary on the book of Romans, where it says that just 667 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:34,440 shall live by faith. And as Wesley heard that, he 668 00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:38,480 said, something come over me. The Spirit of God fell upon him. 669 00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:41,440 And he said I was strangely warmed. 670 00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:43,360 There's a book called Strangely warmed. 671 00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:46,320 I have it. And John Wesley, from that 672 00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:51,040 moment was filled with the power and the wonder of God. 673 00:45:54,320 --> 00:46:06,560 I want to ask you, do you know Christ as your Lord and Saviour? 674 00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:15,320 You can be close, but close is not good enough. 675 00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:25,120 You see, the reason Jesus Christ came, the reason this church is 676 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:29,120 here, the reason we just taught the Bible is this. 677 00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:32,800 God says there's a way to come to me. 678 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:38,880 This is the way. I hear you. 679 00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,600 I see you pray. I see how generous you are. 680 00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:50,480 I know you're a good person, but you don't know me. 681 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:55,960 You need to ask me. You need to come to me. 682 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:59,480 You need to come to the cross and ask me to be your saviour. 683 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,440 You need to pray and ask for God's forgiveness. 684 00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:07,040 There's so many people sadly going to church in and out. 685 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:11,160 Their marriages stumble, the kids stumble, their individual 686 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:12,920 relationships. They try to read the Bible. 687 00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:15,680 They can't make sense of it because they're they're a 688 00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:19,360 Cornelius. They're devout, they're godly, 689 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:23,040 they're generous, but they're lost. 690 00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:31,200 The cross shouts out. This is the way I'm going to 691 00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,960 pray now. Holly's going to come forward. 692 00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:38,600 You don't have to stand. I don't want to pray. 693 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:41,520 I want, I want to pray for you. No, just Holly, I think. 694 00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:55,120 Or are you coming to? But you see, I can't communicate 695 00:47:57,800 --> 00:48:00,440 the power of God. The Word of God does. 696 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:05,400 But the Spirit of God can fall upon you now. 697 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:14,840 He can fall upon your heart now and fill you just like he did 698 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:20,280 with Wesley, just like he did with Cornelius, and you can 699 00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:25,840 truly come into the Kingdom of God, not church, not religion, 700 00:48:27,200 --> 00:48:31,440 but you will know God yourself. You will know Jesus Christ 701 00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:33,560 himself. I'm going to pray, Heavenly 702 00:48:33,560 --> 00:48:36,400 Father, I pray for each and everyone gathered here today. 703 00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:42,720 I pray for those who've Lord, who've given their lives to be 704 00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:46,600 devout, who do pray, Who? Who? 705 00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:50,040 Who are generous, Lord? Who are good people? 706 00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:55,160 Lord, as yet they don't know your voice. 707 00:48:57,280 --> 00:48:59,440 They don't have Your presence in their hearts. 708 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:05,040 I pray right now as people are seated, Lord, that Your Holy 709 00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:10,400 Spirit will fall upon those as they did with Cornelius, and 710 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:14,000 there will be a praise and a wonder and a joy. 711 00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:19,240 They'll be, as with Wesley, strangely warmed within them, 712 00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:23,920 and they'll sense your presence like never before, and you'll 713 00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:27,160 change their lives from this moment forever. 714 00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:33,320 Father, do this now. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.