← Back to sermon library

welcome to everyone it's good to be here in the house of our God on this very wet and rainy Lord's Day just two announcements before we begin first there is the hospital ministry today at the Heritage Village that's at 2:30 p.m. if anybody's interested in attending that please try and show up about 2:20 and then there is a luncheon here next Sunday after our morning worship notification we'll be going out this week concerning that well for our call to worship this morning you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 22 Psalm 22 as we prepare our hearts and minds for the worship of the Living God it's good to hear from the word of that Living God I want to read the latter half of Psalm 22 beginning in verse 22 I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly I will praise you you who fear the Lord praise him all you descendants of Jacob glorify him and fear him all you offspring of Israel for he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted nor has he hidden his face from him but when he cried to him he heard my praise shall be a view in the great assembly I will pay my vows before those who will fear in the poor shall eat and be satisfied those who seek Him will praise the Lord let your heart live forever all the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the families of the nations shall worship before you for the kingdom is the Lord's and he rules over the nation's all the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship all those who go down to the dust shall bow before him even he who cannot keep himself alive posterity shall serve Him it will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation they will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this a Madan will please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal - number 253 hymn number 253 when you find it please stand as we sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] amen well let us go to our Lord in prayer our gracious God and holy father we come before you today and we confess that you are most high that you are Father Son and Holy Spirit that you are from everlasting to everlasting you are the God who made us the God who has sustained and provided for us and you are the God of our Redemption and we praise you for that truth that the father sent the son into this world sinners to save how we praise you for the gospel of our salvation for the reality that Christ came into this world took on our humanity lived and died and rose again so that we might have everlasting life God caused us to reflect upon this today as we worship you and may we come before you with great reverence and with great joy and Thanksgiving as we consider what you have done in our lives we acknowledge Lord God Almighty that you are are blessed and worthy to be praised and worthy to be glorified and worshipped as the Prophet Jeremiah said and as the the Apostle John says who would not fear thee O king of the nations for indeed it is they do because of your greatness all creatures should bow before you but we know because of sin and depravity in our man's place and Adam this is not the case so we thank you for that last Adam even the Lord Jesus Christ in whom sinners have redemption through his blood we ask that as we focus upon this now in prayer as we sing these things to you in the Psalms and hymns that have been chosen for this morning and as we look to Holy Scripture may you cause us Lord God to meditate cause us to receive these things and cause us to return to you the worship and the glory and the adoration that is due for such a great and wonderful God we love you and we praise you and we thank you that you have saved us we love you and we thank you and we praise you the ear us when we pray and we trust that the Lord Christ is in the midst of this lamp stand even now and God may this realization encourage our it's his father we come out of the world into this place and our hearts are weary and our souls at times are despondent and we do battle in this world against temptation and sin against the world itself and the devil who does roam about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour may we find haven and rest for our souls on the Sabbath day and may you thoroughly equip us and furnish us unto every good work so that we may depart into a new week more conformed unto the image of the Lord Jesus and more able to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul to abstain from the sorts of things that are that are all around us and God help us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ our Lord so God look with favor upon this congregation look with favor upon those in our myths that are suffering physically we know God that you are not only only over the inner man but certainly take care of the outer man and as you say in the song in the Psalms you are sovereign you own the the cattle on a Thousand Hills and certainly you own your people and we commit each one to you into the word of your grace and ask that you would encourage them that you would strengthen them and that though the outer man does decay day by day that inner man would be renewed and more more conformed unto the image of the Lord Jesus we ask God that you would be merciful now to forgive us for our sins in unrighteousness the consistent testimony of our Bibles is that our God is holy we said see those angels and in Isaiah the prophet singing before the the exalted Lord of Hosts holy holy holy knowing and confessing that the whole earth is filled with your glory and in light of your holiness God we see your blessed law that revelation of your perfections and we see our own waywardness and our own proneness to wander and that proneness to leave the God that we love we confess our transgressions of that law we confess our lack of conformity under that law and ask now that you would cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ God the Bible not only tells us of the holiness of God but it tells us how you have rectified the unholiness of man and it's through the life and the death the resurrection of our beloved Savior and even now Lord God cleanse us and purify us and wash us so that we may indeed stand before you with clear consciences and for those God who've come here this morning that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we know it's not the persuasive power of men it's not the the pleading of parents but we know it is the power of God Most High an irresistible grace that will open hearts today and we pray that that grace would be evident that the Holy Spirit would attend the preaching of the word that that gospel would come forth with power by the spirit and that sinners today in this place would see their own vileness before a holy God and would see the excellence and the supremacy of Jesus Christ to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through him be merciful and save sinners here and God be merciful to other churches in our community that are preaching the gospel bless them prosper them caused them to be at worship today and cause the word that goes forth from those pulpits to be used by the spirit for the salvation of sinners we pray that for the entirety of this nation god we live in a wicked land we live in a day and age where political leaders and many around us call good evil and evil good and we cry out to you that in your wrath you would remember mercy and that that gospel would be preached from from from coast to coast in this nation and that you would be glorified in the salvation of sinners she would be glorified in the sanctification of your people she would cause us all to think your thoughts after you to be faithful in prayer to be faithful with the Word of God and to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us the courage that were was prayed for by the apostles and acts for that we may hold forth that word of truth and God be merciful throughout the earth as we read in the last hour the several letters concerning the persecuted church our hearts go out to people and lands that that do not have the Liberty that we have and our Father we pray that you would look with favor upon them she would grant grace to gospel preachers in these places and that the Word of God would go forth as Paul asked for prayer that it would run swiftly and be horrified that it would go forth conquering and to conquer and that more and more people from these nations would come out of darkness in the marvelous light confessing faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and God we pray that you'd be merciful to governing authorities in this land god we see the sin of abortion we see euthanasia we see all manner of perversion we see all manner of wickedness and God we don't want to be self-righteous and proud and act like we're better than anyone because we know it was gospel grace that found us out it was precious blood that cleansed us and we pray that same thing would be poured out on a great multitude in this country we pray for those who do govern over this land that you would put the fear of the Lord in their hearts and cause them to bow the knee to the king of kings and Lord of lords as David bid the rulers and the judges and the kings of the earth around him in the second Psalm we know if they do not the the wrath of the Sun will be kindled against them and they will indeed be cut off so God we pray that you would be merciful to those in high places we pray the pray that you'd be merciful in the coming election not so that we can get what we want but so that we can continue to worship you and freedom and in a manner that is well pleasing in your sight bless this time as we've gathered together Lord may your spirit be at work in our hearts and minds and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can turn with me again in your Trinity hymnal - 425 hymn number 425 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] ah we can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts for our scripture reading this morning we are in Acts chapter 5 and we'll pick up reading at verse 17 Acts chapter 5 verse 17 I'll begin reading then the high priest rose up and all those who were with him which is the sect of the Sadducees and they were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the Apostles and put them in the common prison but at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life and when they heard that they entered the temple early in the morning and taught but the high priest and those with him came and called the council together with all the elders of the children of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought when the officers came and did not find them in the prison they returned and reported saying indeed we found the prison shut securely and the guards standing outside before the doors but when we opened them we found no one inside now when the high priest the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things they wondered what the outcome would be so one came and told them saying look the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence for they feared the people lest they should be stoned and when they had brought them they set them before the council and the high priest asked them saying did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name and look you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood on us but Peter and the other apostles answered and said we ought to obey God rather than men the god of Our Fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree him God has exalted to his right hand to be Prince and Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins and we are his witnesses to these things and so also is the holy spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him when they heard this they were furious and plotted to kill them then one in the council stood up a Pharisee named Gama Leal a teacher of the law held and respect by all the people and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while and he said to them men of Israel take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men for some time ago Judas rose up claiming to be somebody a number of men about four hundred joined him he was slain and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing after this man Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him he also perished and all who obeyed him were dispersed and now I say to you keep away from these men and let them alone for if this plan or this work is of man it will come to nothing but if it is of God you cannot overthrow it lest you even be found to fight against God and they agreed with them and when they had called for the Apostles and beaten them they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go so they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name and daily in the temple and in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ amen this morning and prayer meeting we read several updates concerning various countries where they go through oppression and persecution and suffering for the cause of Christ and and if you are paying attention it's probably increasing to some degree or other here in the Western world as there is this increased prejudice against Christianity so what it holds in our future we don't know at this particular time but we certainly ought to be prepared we ought to be ready and we ought to be mindful of the fact that the world typically and traditionally has hated the church and that's not a new thing as we see her in the apostolic ministry these men were arrested these men were threatened and here these men are beaten for their association with our Lord Jesus Christ Christ specifically told his followers not to advance his cause with the physical sword or with gun now the per since that are not his followers didn't get that memo they want to advance their particular agenda with gun violence with the the sword with persecution with shutting down your business and that sort of thing and it so it is imperative that the people of God recognize this and understand this and be on guard against it Jesus Christ counseled his disciples that that if they persecute you in one city run to the next city didn't always say that yeah you have to take it you have to die no there needs to be wisdom on the part of God's people we need to be harmless as doves to be sure but cunning as serpents and so in an environment where there is increasing hostility against the church and against the people of God we need to be aware we need to be mindful we need to be watchful and we need to be prayerful additionally we ought to be prayerful for those brothers and sisters in Christ that do not have even the liberties that we enjoy now we're not threatened right now there's nobody with guns that are gonna blast in here and and destroy us hopefully but we have great Liberty in this country at this particular juncture but brothers and sisters elsewhere do not they are crushed under godless regimes they are crushed by families that oppose Christianity there's a young girl that we've been praying for by the name of Lia Boko Haram arrested her and have captured her and the only reason they have kept her is because she's a Christian a fourteen or fifteen year old girl because she's a Christian brothers and sisters that's what's happening throughout the earth and we need to be mindful we need to make that song we just sang a reality pity the nation's o our God it constrained the earth to come the answer ultimately is the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and we are in a position to pray we're in a position to give if we are able to try and alleviate the suffering of brothers and sisters but we are certainly called by the Apostle in Hebrews 13 to remember the prisoners to remember those who are persecuted to be prayerful to be mindful to be considerate and as well to be watchful with reference to our own society but I want to just look at one text that I think is glorious in this verse 40 they agreed with him gamma Leal and when they had called for the Apostles and beaten them they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go so they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name so even when we are persecuted for the cause of Jesus Christ there is joy with that there is blessing Christ pronounces a beatitude in Matthew chapter 5 on those persecuted on those who are sort of disenfranchised those who are cutoff for those who are persecuted for Jesus namesake he attaches a particular blessing to them the Apostles experienced that I certainly believe that those who are suffering throughout this earth experienced the same thing because God is faithful to his suffering people well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for this early account of the church and we thank you for the way that that Christ is building the church and the gates of Hell itself shall not prevail against it we see hell trying in the midst of these unbelieving Jews arresting and and beating and ultimately murdering the people of God and yet we end the book of Acts with that blessed assurance that the gospel triumphs the Word of God continues and we have witnessed it for twenty centuries now that Jesus is in fact at the right hand of God Almighty and that he is building his church may this encourage our hearts and again father we pray for those suffering in other parts of the world that you would watch over them that they would know that joy associated with with suffering even for the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray these things in his most blessed name amen well for our final hymn before we look at God's Word in more detail we'll sing Psalm 110 Psalm 110 a as in alpha when you find that please stand and we'll sing together [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 10 as we continue our exposition of Acts the Acts of the Apostles it's a long chapter but I want to get it before us our focus this morning will be on the first eight verses but Acts chapter 10 beginning in verse 1 there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius a Centurion of what was called the Italian regiment a devout man and one who feared God with all his household who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always about the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him Cornelius and when he observed him he was afraid and said what is it Lord so he said to him your prayers and your alms have come up come up for a memorial before God now send men to Joppa and send for Simon whose surname is Peter he is lodging with Simon a Tanner whose house is by the sea he will tell you what you must do and when the angel who spoke to him had departed Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually so when he had explained all these things to them he sent them to Joppa the next day as they went on their journey and drew near the city Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour then he became very hungry and wanted to eat but while they made ready he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners descending to him and let down to the earth in it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth while beasts creeping things and birds of the air and a voice came to him rise Peter kill and eat but Peter said not so Lord for I have never eaten anything common or unclean and a voice spoke to him again the second time what God has cleansed you must not call common this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again now while Peter wandered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant behold the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the game and they called and asked whether Simon whose surname was Peter was lodging there while Peter thought about the vision the spirit said to him behold three men are seeking you arise therefore go down and go with them doubting nothing for I have sent them then Peter went down to the man who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said yes I am the one or I am he whom you seek for what reason have you come and they said Cornelius the Centurion a just man one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you then he invited them in and lodged them on the next day Peter went away with them and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him and the following day they entered Caesarea now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends as Peter was coming in Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet worshipped him but Peter lifted him up saying stand up I myself am also a man and as he talked with him he went in and found many who had come together then he said to them you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for I ask then for what reason have you sent for me so Cornelius said four days ago I was fasting until this hour and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house and behold a man stood before me and bright clothing and said Cornelius your prayer has been heard and your alms are remembered in the sight of God send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here whose surname is Peter he's lodging in the house of Simon a Tanner by the sea when he comes he will speak to you so I sent to you immediately and you've done well to come now therefore we're all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God 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 him 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 get excuse me from Galilee after the baptism which John preached how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him and we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem whom they killed by hanging on a tree him God raised up on the third day and showed him openly not to all the people but to witnesses chosen before by God even to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be judge of the living in the dead to him all the prophets witness that through his name whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins while Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word and those of the circumcision who believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God then Peter answered can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord then they asked him to stay a few days amen let us pray our Father thank you for this written Word of the Living God thank you that you've not left us alone in the world you've given us the spirit and you've given us your sure word and we know Lord God that it is absolute truth it is infallible it is inerrant it is given by inspiration of God so help us now to have ears to hear and hearts to receive your word and Lord to that end we pray for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit that Spirit who directed this meeting that spirit who providentially guided these men to find one and others so that the one could hear the gospel and be saved God we pray that spirit would be at work doing the same sorts of things in our midst this morning and do forgive us now for our sins and for our transgression and we ask these things through Christ our Lord amen well chapter 10 in the book of Acts is a most pivotal chapter it is the official call of the Gentiles now prior to this Samaritans were called and we saw that Ethiopian eunuch but there is something significant about the call of Cornelius that the Holy Spirit certainly emphasizes in this passage it could be the Jerusalem church according to chapter 11 had gotten wind of this and called Peter to account as to why he went in and had sort of fellowship with this uncircumcised man but in terms of the actual narrative itself it extends from chapter 10 at verse 1 to chapter 11 verse 18 essentially what you have in the section that I read is the conversion of this Gentile man called Cornelius and then in Chapter 11 as I said the Church in Jerusalem calls Peter to defend himself as to why he went to this uncircumcised man and they conclude of course that God's grace is now evident in the life of the Gentiles in terms of their inclusion among the people of God Almighty so it is most excellent and most encouraging as we see that third leg of Acts chapter 1 verse 8 being applied Christ said to his disciples you will witness to me testify concerning me first in Jerusalem and then Judea Samaria and then to the end of the earth that's what's happening in Acts chapter 10 and then subsequently with Paul he will be the missionary the apostle to the Gentiles so it is most significant in terms of redemptive history now in the first place we have this vision given to Cornelius secondly you'll see this vision given to Peter but I wanted to focus on the vision given to Cornelius because there's a couple of issues here that I think requires some attention on our part Tawana I want to notice first his identity in verses 1 and 2 and then secondly his vision in verses 3 to 6 but note with reference to his identity he lives in Caesarea this isn't the Caesarea Philippi where Jesus and His disciples were in Matthew 16 when Peter says thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God this is this that was formerly called stratas tower it's located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea it's about 30 miles north of Joppa remember that in Chapter 9 at verse 43 we leave off with Peter being at the house of Simon the Tanner in the city called Joppa so we see the close connection and we see why Peter ends up there under the Providence of God Almighty now Caesarea was mostly populated with Gentiles it was a booming city it was a very political center for the Roman Empire it had an amphitheater a Hippodrome it had all sorts of things in terms of prestige and power and whatnot now this man Cornelius is identified as a Centurion and essentially what a Centurion did is he had charged over a hundred soldiers he was the leader of one hundred troops and while technically what's called a noncommissioned officer he functioned in an equivalent manner to a modern army captain and so he had quite a bit of power he had quite a bit of recognition he had quite a bit of prestige remember Paul says not many wise not many noble but some were he would have been a wise man he would have been a noble man to be a Centurion you would have had to distinguish yourself as an able leader as one who could effectively manage and lead troops and so this Centurion is now being called out of darkness into marvellous light and one of the things that we need to appreciate is that Centurions in the New Testament are typically portrayed in a very favorable light you meet people from time to time that think armies and and militaries and those sorts of things are somewhat contrary to the will and the word of the Living God well that's not the case now if they do bad things or they engage in criminal activity or they obliterator decimate innocent people well then that army is bad but John Calvin I think makes a good observation speaking specifically on verse 7 if you look at verse 7 the men that Cornelius chooses to send on this delegation verse 7 says when the angel who spoke to him had departed Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually John Calvin says those brain sick fellows are condemned who cry that it is unlawful for Christians to carry weapons for these men were warriors and yet godly and when they embrace Christ they forsake not their former kind of life they cast not away their armor as hurtful nor yet forsake their calling unfortunately as a result of living in a sin curse world we need men to defend us from time to time and I think Calvin's comments are absolutely appropriate and when we look at Centurions as I said Matthew chapter 27 Matthew chapter 8 it's not the case that Jesus condemns them or upbraids them or says go get rid of your weapons and start to bake bread and make a legitimate business that way brethren this is a necessity in a post-fall world that we need civil government to one degree or other to protect us from enemies foreign and domestic now notice secondly his religious status still concerned with his identity notice his religious status and here's where we're gonna spend a bit of time verse 2 tells us that he was in the first place devout and feared God he was in the first place devout and feared God now typically when a Gentile is referred to as one who feared God it means that he liked Israel's religion it means that he appreciated Yahweh of Israel he was not a full proselyte because for a Gentile to be a proselyte with reference to the Jewish religion he would have had to become circumcised so he was not circumcised and that was the issue that caused some if a difficulty in Acts chapter 11 so nevertheless though he was a devout man he was a god-fearing he respected the religion of Israel just like that Ethiopian eunuch remember him in Acts chapter 8 I know that was a long time ago but in Acts chapter 8 that Ethiopian eunuch was a God fear as well he was one who appreciated the religion of Israel and in that instance the eunuch even went to Jerusalem at feast I'd though he would have been excluded from the Assembly of the Lord he nevertheless appreciated the religion of the Jews and this man Cornelius is in the same posture notice as well that he feared God with all his household we should learn from Cornelius that we ought to teach our children the fear of the Lord family religion is a necessity we are to bring up our children in the training and admonition of the Lord were not to farm that out were not to expect the state to do that we are rather charged by God to be a faithful people in terms of our children and grandchildren those who are paying attention I now always append and grandchildren prior to having grandchildren I never did that and I apologize to the grandparents among us you have and I have a responsibility before our little ones to teach them true biblical religion and that's precisely what this man does notice as well he gave alms generously to the people I mean Cornelius sounds like he's a good guy Cornelius almost sounds like he's already saved and that's the controversial element I want to explore in just a moment but he did give alms generalist generously to the people in other words his religion this devoutness and this fear of God or there's god-fearing Ness that he had was manifested in the way that he treated others he wasn't skinny he wasn't hard hearted he wasn't unsympathetic to the downtrodden poor but rather he gave generously and then noticed that he prayed always before the Lord God and in context it's law way it's the God of Israel he prayed to this God again as a demonstration or manifestation of the fact that he was devout and a god-fearers now as I said there is some controversy concerning this man Cornelius was he saved he sounds like he's saved doesn't he perhaps Peter is just coming to tell him how that salvation has been executed on his behalf if you're familiar with the Roman Catholic Church you may not be as familiar with a particular document that was published in 1964 related to Vatican 2 it's a document called the dogmatic constitution of the char on the church the light of the nation's and in that document eventually Rome puts just about everybody in heaven I know that seems odd and awkward and I know that seems contrary to what their previous documents had indicated pronouncing anathemas for instance on those who profess justification by faith alone but in this particular document they just about put everybody into heaven not everybody but just about everybody and so you can see where cornelius becomes sort of the poster child of a holy pagan that is somehow accepted by God and Peter now comes simply to tell him how it is that he's accepted by God listen for instance to that particular document they put separated brethren from Orthodox and Protestant churches those who are baptized Jews because quote the Jewish faith unlike other non-christian religions is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Testament now you might say why do we need a less on what Roman Catholics do I'm just providing a context so that we can properly interpret verse two and answer the question was Cornelius already saved because do not think that it stops with Rome in terms of this inclusive attitude but it has continued on with professing Protestants in terms of Muslims here's what that document says with reference to Muslims it says because they quote profess to hold the faith of Abraham and together with us they adore the one merciful God Wow religious world at large because quote all goodness and truth found in the world's religions is a preparation for the gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life and everybody else those who quote through no fault of their own do not know the gospel of Christ or his church but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and moved by grace try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience those too may achieve eternal salvation if you have been paying attention at any even a little bit in this church we completely and positively reject each of those the only way of vation is grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone the heathen in the bush needs the gospel his light of conscience and whatever good deeds he may you know delude himself in doing our wretched before a holy God it's not the light of conscience that saves men it's not professed good works that saves man it's the blood and righteousness of Jesus now consider unfortunately Protestant well before we move on Raymond says with reference to the Catholic approach in that document this is worldwide missionary evangelism affected by redefinition that's exactly what it is not by conversion not by regeneration but by redefinition and do not think you're doing anyone any favors do not think that that's some somehow a good conciliation to make you our our Muslim brothers know if they do not come to Christ if they do not embrace the Savior if they do not get washed in that blood they will perish in Hell eternally to tell them everything's all right because they confess the faith of Abraham is simply false it's wrong it is ungodly and it is ultimately doing great disservice to image-bearers that we are commanded in the second great commandment to actually love it's not love loving to lie to somebody about their eternal destiny it is loving to tell somebody the truth that Christ said I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me if we don't maintain that faithfully and regularly and consistently in the Church of Jesus Christ then we ought to close up shop that's what we're supposed to be about now consider the professing Protestant John Sanders Cornelius was already a saved believer before Peter arrived but he was not a Christian believer brethren Abraham Abel was a Christian David was a Christian all the brothers in the Old Testament were Christians they were saved by grace through faith in Christ that's what Christian means Clark Pennock who I believe is dead now denied the faith and in this instance he says he describes Cornelius as quote the pagan saint par excellence of the New Testament and hails him is a prime example of a man who was saved apart from faith in Christ to whom Peter was sent to inform him that he was forgiven and saved now I suspect this is a bit difference from different from some of the older commentators that treat Cornelius the way you might treat Abel the way you might treat Isaiah the way you might treat Ezekiel that that Cornelius was saved because he was looking to the Lord Jesus Christ as he had been promised in the Old Testament Scriptures I think that's misguided I think it's false and I hope to show you that in a moment but that's a far cry different than saying persons are saved without Christ you know as well as I do persons are not saved without Christ if persons don't have Christ they go to hell you've probably heard it before what about the poor heathen in the bush that poor heathen is a lawbreaker that poor heathen is a transgressor he doesn't go to hell because he didn't hear the gospel he goes to hell because he's a sinner against a holy God that's the emphasis of Scripture and that's what we need to maintain and thus understanding that present the remedy in and through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ in 1996 I asked Isaac this morning what are the recent developments because I guess my timing is a bit dated but in 1996 Zondervan a publishing house a christian publisher published a book called for views of salvation in a pluralistic age for views of salvation among those who profess faith in jesus christ for views among those who apparently have some familiarity with the bible does john 14:6 afford for views no it is exclusive jesus said i am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but through me Peter in acts 4:12 tells us there's only one name given under heaven among which we must be saved yet a Christian publisher a professing Christian publisher publishes a book which in my mind validates three of those incorrect positions which seems to give some credence to them that's not what's happening with reference to Cornelius and I want to consider what is happening with reference to Cornelius in the first place the primary emphasis of chapter 10 is not to demonstrate that there is such a thing as a wholly pagan it is not to demonstrate that there is a person who based on the light of nature and their own conscience can somehow shimmy their way up into God's favor the emphasis in chapter 10 is on Gentile inclusion in the covenant of grace if that is the emphasis then we must observe that prior to this time Cornelius is not a member of the covenant of grace why would he need this evangelism why would he need this vision why would he need this sort of special revelation to confirm to him what was already true of him the emphasis in chapter 10 is on the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant of grace secondly if you look at chapter 11 for just a moment as I said verse 1 is important verses 1 & 2 chapter 11 now the Apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God and when Peter came up to Jerusalem those of the circumcision contended with him saying you went into uncircumcised men and a with that you're not supposed to do that that is a taboo that is forbidden Peter gets this vision from God to say that all of that that you had beforehand thought was the case it was in the Old Covenant positive law stipulated no contact with Gentiles in terms of food and fellowship and whatnot but in terms of the New Covenant that's not the way it operates and so Peter is called to account and notice how he rehearses essentially what we find here in chapter 10 and then in verse 13 he says and he told us how he had seen an angel this is Cornelius standing in his house who said to send men to Joppa and call for Simon whose surname is Peter verse 14 is a very crucial observation who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved so as far as Cornelius is concerned when he gets this vision when he is told what he is supposed to do salvation is a future event for him he is not presently saved when this comes to him now God in His Providence is orchestrating it God and His mercy is bringing them together but as far as Cornelius is concerned he doesn't think he's saved by Christ he is being told to go to Peter so that he can be saved by Christ thirdly the meeting with Peter was not just an increase in Cornelius's religious knowledge but in salvation as he was still speaking what happens the Holy Spirit falls upon them are we supposed to posit that somebody out there is saved and they don't have the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit fell upon them because they had appropriately responded by God's grace to the gospel that was preached to them by Peter that's why the Spirit comes upon them the emphasis is not on more knowledge and let's connect the dots in terms of who Messiah actually is but it's on salvation for Cornelius and his household as well fourthly the the emphasis by Peter in his preaching was what it wasn't simply to tell Cornelius that this is why you've been accepted by God but it was to point him to that source that place of healing notice what Peter says in verse 43 as the crescendo chapter 10 to his sermon he says in verse 43 to him all the prophets witness that through his name whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins it's not just connecting dots for Cornelius but he's preaching Christ to Cornelius so that Cornelius himself will receive the remission of sins and know the joy of being found in Jesus Christ not having his own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is given freely by God and received through faith in Christ and then a fifth line of evidence to show evidence or indicate that Cornelius wasn't saved until God saved him through the preaching of Peter is the the report of the church in chapter 11 at verse 18 notice in chapter 11 at verse 18 when they heard these things they became silent and they glorified God saying then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life see what we to conclude or infirm that prior to this he didn't have repentance to life he was dead in his trespasses and sins albeit he did some good things albeit he picked the right religion at the particular time albeit he showed us a devoutness to that religion albeit he was a god fear with reference to Yahweh albeit that he that he taught his children in these things at and that he also gave alms to those in need and that that he prayed to God he wasn't saved and we need to appreciate that reality just because people do the right things doesn't necessarily mean they're save does it I mean who of us would ever think that that's the case in light of say our confession of faith or in light of an open Bible there's a whole host of people that delude themselves there's a whole host of people that think everything's okay there's a whole host of people that say well you know I give poor give to the poor I do good deeds I'm engaged in all manner of kindness of course God will accept me they never come to the realization of the law of God they've never come to the realization of the holiness of God and they've certainly never come to the realization of their own unholiness before that God the moment somebody starts to tout their good works as a reason why God will accept them they are expressing an absolute ignorance about scripture I don't say that to take on them I don't say that to be mean but who comes to the scripture say Isaiah 64 when the nation of Israel says to Almighty God all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags before your sight he doesn't say all our sins he doesn't say all our depravity he doesn't say all our wickedness he doesn't say all our transgression and iniquity he says our righteousness Sabbath observance temple worship sacrifice fasting prayer all those things before a holy God not cleansed in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus are like filthy rags before God Almighty before we move on with reference to Cornelius if you're here this morning thinking well I do the right things I go to the right places I'm not at the lake today why anybody would want to be at the lake today as beyond me unless you're sitting in your car and watching more rain but you're in the right place you may offer up prayers to the right God you may give of all that you possess to those in need you may teach your children than the right way but apart from God's grace apart from faith and the Savior apart from the precious blood you will die in your sins do not delude yourself if you have in the past that doing the right things means that your Christian Christians are those conquered by grace Christians are those who have seen God in His Holiness at least to some degree Christians are those who have conversely seen themself before God and realize there is no good thing in me there is nothing that would commend me to God I deserve his wrath I deserve his curse I deserve as his judgment they say things like foul eye to the fountain fly wash me Savior or I die they say things like nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I claim they're not like those wretches in Matthew 7:21 2:23 but Lord Lord didn't we prophesy didn't we exercise didn't we do these mighty works in your name what does Christ say depart from me you workers of lawlessness depart from me I never knew you do not balute yourself that because you read the Bible because you pray because you go to a church because you listen to preaching because you log on to sermon audio because you read Christian literature that somehow you're saved it's not through connection it's through grace it's through blood it's through Christ it's his blood his righteousness his oath his love his covenant support me in the whelming flood when all around me gives way he my hope is my state brethren that is our hope and that's not what Cornelius had until he heard of Jesus Christ and him crucified in terms of the larger context in the Bible to help us make heads or tails out of what is happening here the Bible teaches us clearly Romans 1:18 to 320 the universal condemnation of all men everywhere because of sin so you look at the news today what's the fundamental underlying principle it's sin he probably saw mr. Lawson referred to it at least obliquely in our prayer meeting that that ghoul that dead abortionist and they went and searched his house and found over 2,200 babies in his house how do you explain that do you explain that as a as a lack of knowledge do you explain that because he's in the wrong socio-economic strata it's sin and rebellion against God you look around it at white-collar crime you see you know things that seem so contrary to that but are still wicked before a holy God what what's the explanation it's sin that's the problem the heavens declare the glory of God and the streets testify to the sinfulness and corruption of man then that's Paul's point Romans 1 2 3 he tells us there is none righteous no not one there is none who seeks after God there is no fear of God in the eyes of man or in the hearts of man that's the reality of Romans 1 2 3 it's not just a Gentile problem it's a Jew problem as well but as well Paul goes on to highlight that the one way of salvation the only means by which sinners ever find acceptance with the holy God is through Christ isn't that that the the reiterated emphasis throughout scripture think of John 14:6 think of acts 4:12 think of Paul's admonition to Timothy in 2nd timothy 3:15 you have known the sacred scriptures and in that context the Old Testament what we call Genesis to Malachi you have known those scriptures and Timothy those Scripture Genesis to Malachi are able to make you wise for salvation through what through your good works through the light of conscience through the knowledge that you have you've you've amplified know through faith in Jesus Christ and even went to heaven through the blood of Jesus I say I went to heaven through the blood of Jesus Jeremiah went to heaven through the blood of Jesus Paul the Apostle John the Apostle Peter the Apostle all the men of Scripture and every one subsequent to that have gone by the blood of Jesus that is the consistent refrain and for Rome to want to include Muslims for wrong to want to include Jews for Rome to want to include just about everybody else and for woolly-headed Protestants to jump on that sort of train and the pluralistic in a pluralistic age to be inclusive istic in an inclusive istic age instead of saying look we want muslims to actually go to heaven so we're going to define for them the parameters we're going to define for them the gospel instead of lying to them and deceiving them and somehow you know giving them that that that right hand of fellowship when they are not worshipping and serving the true and living God this is bad bad practice I suspect it's worse out there today within Protestantism again I shut down after a while I don't keep up with all the new trends I don't keep up with I try to keep up with you know the big things that are on the radar that I think affects our church but there's those renegades out there that I didn't preaching anything near the gospel so to actually ask them who is going to have I'd be afraid I'd be afraid to ask pastors today who's going to go to heaven because they'd sound like the papist document that I've quoted from 1964 from Vatican 2 for whatever reason reverses their emphasis on basically condemning everybody outside and don't think all Papists are happy with this I think when Andy wrote against the the Pope at that particular time and said this is this is crazy I don't think he said it just like that but but there's within the the context of the professing Roman Catholic Church that are not happy with these directions but with reference to Protestantism today the emphasis on not health wealth and prosperity but on feel-good re among so many so-called pastors brethren if you feel good I'm happy for you if you feel bad I hope you feel better but the consistent refrain of Scripture is not the pastor's try to make people feel happy but rather to tell them the gospel of Jesus Christ don't you love what Cornelius says in verse 33 look at chapter 10 at verse 33 so I went to you immediately and you have done well to come now therefore we're all present before you to hear all the things commanded you by God so Peter you married you have kids what's your occupation how old were you and became a Christ follower boy that sounds like what they call it today became a disciple of Jesus he doesn't care now maybe later after they get saved and they have a meal together hey you married you have kids tell us all that God commanded you see that's your responsibility in the pew that's our responsibility as the sheep of Christ to find men who tell us all that God commanded not how to make us happy not how to be Pepi not to equip us to go out and conquer our Giants but to know the fear of God most high to know the glory of the gospel of free and Sovereign Grace and notice that Peter doesn't say well wouldn't you first like to hear about me wouldn't you first like to hear about my wife wouldn't you first like to hear about the fact that I caught so many he preaches Christ to him because that's what's important that's why the Spirit brings this meeting together it's not to exchange pleasantries it's not to make a new friend it's to call sinners to repentance and faith this is what we find from Genesis to Revelation and to neglect that is to neglect the primary calling that the church herself has been given now as well we have the maintenance of God in the maintenance of the Justice of God in the salvation of sinners I preached a sermon a few weeks ago from proverbs 17:15 and dealt a lot with Romans 3 Romans 3 is that bit where Paul says that God set forth his son as a propitiation to demonstrate what God's righteousness and then Paul concludes that subsection by saying that God is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus and it occurred to me more so when I preached that in Surrey than in our own church when Paul begins to unfold the doctrine of justification by faith where does he start he starts with the integrity of God oh yeah we accrue benefits we receive blessing wick we're forgiven of our sins we receive a righteousness that enables us to stand before a holy God but Paul we'll get to that later his first and primary point in romans 3 after having concluded that all men everywhere are under sin verse 21 he says but now the righteousness of God is revealed it's witnessed in the law and the prophets and then he goes on to maintain God's righteousness in the gospel now why do I bring that up because for the Apostle Paul God's righteousness Natan must be maintained if we assume that pluralism that means that all religious roads lead to heaven is true if we assume that inclusive ism is true that means that you can be included in the plan of salvation apart from conscious faith in the Lord Jesus we have compromised the gospel that is a transgression against God God in the gospel has to remain God God in the gospel has to maintain his perfections God in the gospel has to actually be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith it would compromise the integrity of who God is it would jeopardize the very perfection of God's righteousness for him to allow a sinner into his presence that didn't come through blood it would ungodly all that where he begins in Romans 3:21 to 26 brethren we need to be Co centric we need to be theologically centered we need to understand that God is more important than men I know that our age doesn't want to hear that I know that sounds very intolerant I know that sounds prejudicial I'm sure it's racist I'm sure it's misogynistic I'm sure it's whatever else they want to bandy about but if we do not maintain the godhood of godhood the godhood of God in the preaching of the gospel we've compromised it we have rejected it and this is the emphasis in the passage Peter comes not to give him more information but to call him to repentance and faith in Jesus now let's look secondly and finally and probably briefer at his vision the occasion of the vision he prayed we already know he prayed verse 3 tells us about the ninth hour that was 3 p.m. he went to pray that was a time when the Jews went to pray according to Acts chapter 3 and verse 1 and then notice in verse 3 he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him Cornelius now this angel took on the form of a man because when Cornelius rehearses this to Peter he says a man came and told me but it was an angel of God Almighty that instructed him that called him by name he knew him specifically as Cornelius and he then gives him these instructions in the first place we notice Cornelius Cornelius is response in verse 4 what is it Lord and when he observed him he was afraid and said what is it Lord we shouldn't just you know gloss over that as well what happens when when when creatures on earth are contacted by creatures from heaven and in this instance he feared he didn't say hey there's an angel somebody says at least a few years ago again mytrends and all that it may still be that way but how a few years ago everybody was consumed with angels angels this angels that everybody loved angels I'm not saying we should eight angels angels are ministering servants spirits to to serve and help the people of God they have a great dignified position but it's not like they're buddies known as a young papist they said you're you know you're here your guardian angel is always with you and of us would move over on our chair so our our little guardian angel could sit next to us on that on that chair that's not what happens when a sinner on earth is contacted by God from heaven even through the agency of an angelic being he was afraid this caused fear and noticed that it was daylight it was broad daylight it was 3 p.m. there was no mistaking that he had a vision it wasn't like well I think I saw something wasn't 3 a.m. it wasn't after he just woke up and I don't know what I thought it was all crystal clear for him and when the angel comes Cornelius responds appropriately with fear and then what is it what is it Lord and then the angel instructs him specifically he says the Lord God Almighty has heard your prayers and seen your alms now that ought not to give us cause for concern God is sovereign even over pagans at their religious expression God is sovereign over all things God knows prayers God knows alms God sees everything not just his people do but the eyes of Yahweh are in every place beholding the good and the evil he sees this he saw Cornelius and the angel comes to instruct notice he says to go see Peter and then he highlights his location notice there in verse 5 now send men to Joppa and send for Simon whose surname is Peter why do you think he says whose surname is Peter because Simon Peter is staying at the house of Simon the Tanner he's not supposed to go see Simon the Tanner he's supposed to go see Simon Peter the angel got every detail absolutely right when you get to the house of Simon the Tanner there's another Simon there but is Simon Peter he's the one that will tell you what you must do and this is precisely what we see in the passage and if you reflect on this and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus there's a lot of similarities between the two events in this instance or rather in acts 9 Saul of Tarsus had a vision that Ananias would assist him Cornelius has a vision that Peter would assist him Ananias had a vision that he would aid Saul and Peter has a revelation that he would assist Cornelius God works in a similar manner in both both acts 9 and 10 but another intriguing observe and Matthew Paul tipped me off to this one is that the angel sends him to Peter couldn't the angel declare the gospel of Jesus Christ couldn't the angel speak about blood couldn't the angel remind this man about his sin and waywardness God uses the means of men preaching for since 1 Corinthians 1:21 in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God it pleased God through what through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe now that does not preclude a sinner from taking up his Bible and reading it and being saved I would never maintain that but it does highlight something the church at least up until this point has always recognized God most high honors the preaching of his word the fact that the last corporate command given by Paul to the churches is that indicates the importance of this with reference to God's plan of redemption go see Peter and he will tell you what you must do now to give credit to Matthew pool I should quote what he says he says the angel could have declared the gospel and instructed Cornelius but he sends him to Peter God being willing to honor the means of his own institution he has put into place this means he has put into place this agency and in His Providence he orchestrates it to the very jot and tiddle to bring these men together so that Peter could open up his mouth and tell him all the things that God had commanded bringing him to that place in verse 43 to him all the prophets give witness that everyone who believes in his name will receive remission of sins it really is a beautiful thing and the same thing in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus Christ met him on the road to Damascus certainly Christ could have explained the contours and the details concerning the gospel he sends him to Ananias so that he can get further instruction and further help and so in both instances Christ does honor the me that he has instituted preachers and churches can people be saved without preachers and churches yes people can be saved without preachers and churches but has God purposed in a great way to save people through the agency of preachers and churches yes we ought not to be an anti Church sort of a movement all the church is this on the church there's bad churches this is a church that is absolutely positively mingled with a great deal of imperfection but there are three things that churches need to be about preaching the word exercising discipline and administering the sacraments those are those are the marks of the church not great nursery care Butler hates great nursery care no he doesn't I think I've told you the first church that we rented in Palmdale was a church that was infested or the the place where we took our kids was infested with spiders because I was a graveyard employee I'd get off in the morning and go over there I called it spider patrol to try to get in at least the big ones and and then we take our precious little ones and let them roll around on the floor with spiders it wasn't quite that bad it seemed that way in my head as I recall that that building it should have been condemned and yet we did it you know then subsequent to that and my Christian life I saw churches advertising that people should come because of good clean nursery care again I'm not anti good clean nursery care we do our best to make sure jr. is well looked after but that's not the mark of the church we have a great band it's not the mark of the church we have a vibrant pastor that's not the mark of the church we have friendly people that should be something we engage but it's not a mark of the church the marks of the church are simple preaching sacraments discipline how did we lose sight of this how did we get to Steven Furtick how do we get to Benny Hinn how do we get to joel osteen one more candid admission I used to be involved in the Chilliwack ministerial and I would go there it was on you know every other Tuesday or once a month on Tuesday and at some point I decided you know what if I sat in my office and looked at my books I'd probably get more blessing than then going there and one time there was this this sort of panel of older men that was gonna you know sort of set us straight on how you know we got to this place and and I'm sorry but in my head those older men got us to this place it was for whatever reason they compromised it was for whatever reason they they messed up it was for whatever reason they departed that that the church looks like a dog-and-pony show now that it's a place where there's vibrancy and there's electricity and there's puppets and ponies and programs at least in an earlier generation I don't know what they're doing now rather than it should cause us to be a prayerful people what's Jesus say in Matthew chapter 9 the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few I keenly feel the fewness of the laborers if you're not praying for that please start please start to preserve our church one man can't do it all please pray that God Almighty will raise up men young men men that know things men that listen to preaching men that love scripture notice I'm saying men girls I'm not going to ever say you ought to pursue Christian ministry because Paul forbids it and prohibits it but our men ought to be thinking through this our men ought to be considering this our men ought to feel that burden of the harvest being plentiful and laborers being few I mean once in a while I probably haven't done it as much as I ought I watch the YouTube videos that my brothers tell me about because it just evokes from me a concern that I think is necessary with reference to the way forward I mean when you see that boy Oh a guy or you see some of the other stuff that that comes across YouTube anybody can be on YouTube they don't have it unless you know you're conservative or whatever you know what I mean but but in terms of theological II there's no no statement of face you have to sign any fool can rattle off whatever it is he wants via YouTube and and it's interesting because they have all these views who's watching this stuff who is paying attention to these these guys who who is you know putting time time into falling this is an entrances in the book of Acts preaching the means that God has ordained and the glory of God in the salvation of sinners I have just a couple of things and then we're done first this acts 10 as I said is pivotal it's huge it's monumental in redemptive history Peter himself had already been told go therefore and make disciples of all the nations that includes Gentiles and yet there's a hesitancy on the part of Peter such that he needs a vision from God Almighty so that he'll go to Cornelius's house this was radical in their lives this was new in their lives this was this was revolutionary in their lives make no mistake about it when Peter has this vision concerning these animals and this command from the Lord to kill Andy Peter interprets it in verse 28 in acts 10 with Cornelius you know it's unlawful for Jew to have table fellowship with a Gentile that God has told me that I'm not to call any man unclean it took that vision to get Peter the Apostle to the Jews from Jerusalem into Caesarea to call this Gentile unto saving faith it's a massive section of Holy Scripture and why I don't feel constrained to just run through it but it connects us to the plan of salvation in the Bible that plan that is first given to us in genesis 3:15 concerning the skull-crushing seed of the woman that plan is then further explained with reference to Noah and Abraham in terms of both Jew and Gentile it's expounded in the profits you get to Isaiah for instance and you see in 42 the servants on 49 the servants on 56 a promise of the new covenant what do you see in those you see the inclusion of Gentiles in the Covenant promises of God Psalms all throughout Psalm 22 all the nations shall serve him Psalm 1 if you know that psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible you'll know that Psalm 117 is the shortest and it simply says praise Yahweh all you Gentiles laud him all you peoples for his merciful kindness is great toward us and the truth of the Lord endures forever praise the Lord see the consistent testimony of Scripture throughout is that God is saving from every tribe every tongue every people every nation and that's the emphasis of God in his word not on a million other things that we get caught up with but on preaching the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ so that the skull-crushing seed of the woman will have the victory and have the triumph and build the church that he promised to build in Matthew 16 I cannot for the life of me understand a Christian who is anti Church a Christian who is hostile toward the church again you may have had bad experiences you may be having bad experiences seat by the grace of God to deal with that but Jesus Christ loves the church and he gave himself for her certainly as his disciples we will love her we will pray for her and we will seek to advance her cause a second observation is God's providence you know how I think God's providence is on display in acts 10 I think it's on display in the way that Luke wrote acts 10 it's a perfectly balanced narrative god operates in a perfectly balanced sort of way if I could be so bold there are two visions from God one to Cornelius one to Peter there is a journey and a welcome there are speeches given by Cornelius and then by Peter and then there is a confirmation of the event again twofold first the Spirit confirms by falling upon the Gentile Cornelius and his household and then the church confirms it in Acts chapter 11 at verse 18 they understand that God has granted grace to the Gentiles that they may have repentance to life the Providence of God is clearly on display in this Gloria passage of Holy Scripture and if you yourself have not tasted of the power of the Christian gospel let me just direct you again to Peter's words in acts 10 43 he says to him that's to Jesus that's who he's been discourses on that's who he's been preaching to him all the prophets witness guess what I'm gonna say here read your Old Testaments read the Bible as a whole read Isaiah read Zephaniah read Zechariah read Malachi why because according to Peter to him all the prophets witness that through his name whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins isn't that a glorious statement whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins notice what Peter doesn't say well you need to think about this and you need to miss rate about it if you believe in him you will what you will receive remission of sins forgiveness the blotting out of your transgression and iniquity is there anything better than that brothers and sisters and here we would say if we were Armenians and another time and all God's people said amen that's the response that forgiveness of sins is most blessed most glorious most wondrous whatever affects us in the here and now whatever problems whatever infirmities whatever hardships whatever difficulties whatever persecutions we can be of good cheer because our sins are forgiven well let us pray father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this very significant passage in acts 10 and the way it does consolidate for us many lines a biblical truth and shows us the the inclusion of Gentiles in the formal way in the Covenant promises of God Almighty we thank you for your graciousness to us we thank you for your mercy to us we thank you for this blessed Jesus that all the prophets witness to that everyone who believes in Him will have forgiveness of sins I pray this would go forth throughout the earth today and that many many people would come to know Christ as Lord and Savior and we ask this in Jesus name Amen well please turn with me and your hem books to but in 63 that's five six three we will sing it to a familiar tune and once you find that you may stand five six three [Music] [Music] the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace God made these things be true in our own hearts and lives and may we love you may we worship and glorify and honor you and may we take these good words given to us in Scripture and find the comfort that you have purpose that we should and be with us in this day bless the ministry at the hospital we pray for those those people there that are so affected with illness and disease and infirmity we pray that the Spirit of God would come upon them that they would hear the truth as it is in Jesus and that they would know that blessed joy of being found in him we ask now that you would be glorified in our church and we pray through Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation