The Revelation Knowledge in Christ (Part 3)

Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. The time will come when we will be

able to preach in Turkish. And I believe strongly

that the time is near. Yes. It might not be to

you. You, you are... Your own sermon is different.

The sermons that comes to be in Greek, the sermons

that will come to them, it will come in this

language. Just as you have seen how a Turkish

service can be. Some of us who've experienced

it for five years, six years, we were in Turkish

service. For real? I experienced it in Cyprus

here. I experienced it in Ankara. And, you know,

I've seen it, how amazing it can be. Right? We

trust God that we'll have the revelation to be

able to speak to them, right? So when you see

the language, don't see it as an opportunity

to learn so that you can be able to preach, okay?

Let me tell you one thing. We've learned it at

some point. We learned so far, so fast, you know,

with desire to teach, but we didn't continue.

But I believe soon God would open more doors,

which yesterday night, you know, I was added

to a group, BAU staff group, Turkish people that

enrolled for Turkish class, and they put the

teacher there. I hope, you know, they realize

that my own purpose of, you know, learning the

language is actually to reach out to them, actually.

to reach out to them. The little I know I can,

but I need sufficient, right? That will help

me to be able to speak to them. And I believe

as long as you're here, you should have that

passion. Most of the time when we go for evangelism,

you know, we can, we meet them, but it's always

difficult to communicate this thing, this message

and all of that. But I believe that we will be

able to do that. And we trust God that, you know,

we'll have a lot of them, right? And they will

have their own church. And I mean their own church.

I mean, they will be established in faith that

they would have a service that would be Turkish

service becomes very common here. You know, it

will become something that is very common. Praise

God. So let's keep praying and let's keep having

the passion and let's keep believing it. Right.

The space in which you are, you know, was once

a place where seven churches were located. Right.

And we know how that is today, but we still believe

that the power of God is still at work and we

do great things. Amen. All right. So we coming

back to our teaching, the revelational knowledge

in Christ, revelation knowledge in Christ. Right.

Revelation knowledge in Christ. Revelation knowledge

in Christ. I believe we have been learning. We

still have a long way to go, but today we just

cover some grounds. And then we will progress.

I think in the last teaching, I was trying to

get the name of that prophet that was talking

about people. It was Gamaliel, right? It was

Gamaliel and it was actually in Acts 5 verse

Acts 5:39

39. So Gamaliel was the one that was saying,

well, if it is for God, it will stand. If it's

not for God, it will stand and you'll not be

able to resist it. And if it's not for God, it's

going to stop. So we see that Zanagabus was the

one talking about famine and then trying to give

believers some hope. So revelational knowledge

in Christ, right? Revelational knowledge in Christ.

So where do we start from? Today, we are going

to check Acts 10. Okay, we are going to check

Acts 10 because the last teaching I did on Wednesday,

we talked about, I think, Four persons. We talked

about the wise men that God actually can reveal

himself. Okay. God can reveal himself to certain

people. They can have extraordinary experience.

And from a man's extraordinary experience, the

man will be directed to a place where the gospel

is preached. So nobody just sees a vision or

an angel and then is saved without being preached

to. So I say it again, nobody just sees a vision

and an angel and is saved without being preached

to, right? They are always directed to someone

who will preach to them, right? So this is what

we saw last week. We talked about wise men. What

they experienced was not a revelation that we're

talking about. And we talked about what again,

who again? Let's check our notes. Who did we

talk about again on Wednesday? Centurion, right?

We talked about a centurion and the centurion

also just saw and said, this can be the son of

God, right? And we likened that revelation or

what they said, we likened it to what they saw

and they said, and we compared it to what Peter

said. And we said what Peter said in... Matthew

16, 16, right, is actually talking about a revelation

that he had been able to identify that Jesus

is the Messiah. But here he was able to identify

because he saw, you know, all the things that

happened at the death of Jesus. So that's for

the centurion. And the last person we need to

examine is Cornelius, right? Cornelius, like

what kind of revelation? Did he experience? What

kind of revelation? So we are talking about revelation,

right? Revelation and knowledge, revelation and

knowledge in Christ. It means revelation and

knowledge in Christ. That's what we are talking

about. And we are saying that God can reveal

himself to many people in many places. But what

brings a man to salvation is that the preaching

of the gospel must be done to that person. So

people who sought God, people who were engaged

in practices, right, they were directed to the

point. They had an extraordinary experience and

that led to them hearing the gospel. And we talk

about to the unknown God, right? We talk about

to the unknown God, those people who wrote to

the unknown God. And Paul, from that statement

they inscribe, explained God to them, right?

God revealing himself to them. So it's not revelation

in the sense of revelation and knowledge in Christ,

what the wise men saw. So the wise men saw the

star, they followed the star, it's more or less

astrology. And in their astrology, they were

able to identify where Christ was born, but that

did not until the death and resurrection of Christ.

Centurion, he saw what happened at the death

of Jesus, turned the lightning and everything,

and he said, this must be someone, right? The

son of God. And then now Cornelius. So what happened

to Cornelius? We'll have a background study of

it. It's a little bit, quite a long study, not

so much, but we can cover it today. Now let's

open to Acts 9. First, the background of what

happened to Cornelius. So the first thing you

need to realize is the background. We need to

understand background of how Cornelius came into

that picture. How was it the one that they had

to go to his house? To preach to. So let's open

to Acts chapter 9 verse 31. Acts chapter 9 verse

Acts 9:31 Acts 9:31

31. It says, Then the churches throughout all

Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were

edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord,

in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were

what? Multiplied. So the first background we

need to identify is that the church grew. Right?

The church grew. And how did the church grow?

The church grew after Saul's conversion. Okay?

So this is the background of what happened to

Cornelius. So what happened was that a man called

Saul was prosecuting the church. Right? He began

to go after the believers. Acts 9 verse 1 to

Acts 9:1–6

6. Acts 9 verse 1 to 6. Just go to verse 1 to

Acts 9:1–6

6 of the same scripture. Now we're going to learn

something from... We're going to learn something

from this. Then Saul, still breathing threats

and murder against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priests and asked letters from

him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if

he found any who were of the way, so his target

was to find any who were of the way, whether

men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Next. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus,

and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying

to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And he said, Who are you, Lord? Then the Lord

said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It

is hard for you to kick against the guards. So

he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what

do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him,

Arise and go into the city, and you will be told

what you must do. Now, this is also Saul having

a vision. And in the vision, he saw Christ. And

in that vision, he was directed to where? To

go into the city, right? And in the city, he

will be told what? What he must do, right? He

will be told what, so he knew the revelation.

This is Christ. This is Jesus who was seen. And

when he goes into the city, he will be told.

So it wasn't that Jesus even began to preach

to him, right? He directed him to the people

that he was supposed to go and meet. And prior

to that, he had given them a vision. So the background

of this is that he was persecuting the church.

Now, when he became converted, that is what we

now see in Acts 9, verse 31. that the church

Acts 9:31

throughout Judea, Galilee, Samaria, enjoyed a

time of peace. That's NIV. Was strengthened,

living in the fear and encouraged by the spirits

and the number increased. So the background was

that it was increased. Now, one of the lessons

that we can learn here with all the dramas that

is happening around is that when you see persecution

against the church, right? I wrote it here. I

said, when you see persecution against the church

or people talking against the church, right?

We should pray more that the people might come

to the knowledge of Christ. We should pray more

that they come to the knowledge of Christ because

they are part of the people God will use to grow

the church. Okay? God will use believers that

are combated to grow the church. So when you

see someone saying things, posting things, you

know, murmuring things against the church, you

should have hope for them. Don't look like, ah,

this person is desperate. No, you should have

hope for them. So you should know that when we

see persecution and people coming against the

church, saying things, you should know they are

part of the people God will use to grow the church.

So if you know anyone even publicly insulting

the body of Christ, right? Think of Saul's conversion.

So when you see anything against the believer

and the faith, just think of Paul, right? So

God transformed Saul. What is it? It was breathing,

murdering, threatening. Now, this one is not

just attacking your doctrine. This one is attacking

your life, right? Means if Paul catches you,

he's going to take you to Jerusalem and then

the person will be killed. Remember the story

of Stephen, right? He was there confirming, he

was holding the clothes of the people that were

killing Stephen, right? So he's not just an accomplice,

he's someone that is fully part of it, right?

He was approving to the death of Stephen. So

when we see prosecution to the church, don't

stress yourself. Your job is to pray that these

people will come to the knowledge of Christ and

then they will be used as an instrument for the

gospel. Now let's go to 20, same Acts 9, verse

Acts 9:20

20 and 22. Verse 20 and 22. At once, okay, at

once he began to preach. This is Saul now, right?

At once he began to preach in the synagogue that

Jesus is the son of God. Next. And all those

who heard him were astonished and asked, isn't

he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among

those who call on his name? So they began to

marvel. Is this not the one who was saying things

about Jesus? Now he's saying Jesus is the Messiah.

And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners

to the chief priest? So look at his plan. But

look at what he's doing. So with God, People

who say things against gospel, they can't come

to the knowledge, they can't come to the knowledge

of God. They say, yes, Saul grew more and more

powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus

by proving again that Jesus is the Messiah, right?

By proving again that Jesus, now this is the

power of God. You know, I don't know how someone

would have wanted to preach to Saul. It was unreachable.

That's what I would say. It's like someone you

can approach, someone you can talk to, someone

you can convince, someone you can even have a

conversation about God with. But look at him

now. He's testifying about the fact that Christ

is the Messiah. So when you see people, have

hope for them, right? Have hope for them, pray

for them, and then we will see that there will

be increase in the church, even through them

and through the message that they will preach.

Now let's further. Now after this, go to... Verse

32. Go to verse 32. We're just taking the background

of how the story got to Cornelius. And we'll

pick up some lessons as we go. Verse 32 says,

as Peter traveled about, he went to visit the

Lord's people who live in Lydda. There he found

a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had

been bedridden for eight years. Aeneas, Peter

said to him, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and

roll up your mats. So what did we see here? We

saw that Peter, as the leader of a church, when

the church increased and they enjoyed a time

of peace, he began to visit places where they

have received the word of God. Right? He began

to visit. So we can say Peter, as the leader

of the church, as the church was growing, he

began to visit the Lord's people. So visitation

is not something we are just starting here or

is something that is new. The Bible teaches that

people can be visited, believers can be visited,

people that have received the word can be visited.

Let's see Acts 8. Taking it a little bit back

to Acts 8. We are just going to be within this

space of Acts of Apostles to explain what we

need to do. Acts 8 verse 14 to 17. When the apostles

Acts 8:14–17

in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted

the word of God, they sent Peter and John to

Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the

new believers there that they might receive the

Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet

come on them. They had simply been baptized in

the name of the Lord Jesus. And Peter and John

placed their hands on them and they received

the Holy Spirit. So what happened? People believed

Jesus because someone preached to them. And then

the Jerusalem, you know, believers sent Peter

and Paul. And what happened there? impactation.

So when people are visited, they can be impactation,

right? You know, your pastor says they want to

visit you. It means they want to impact you,

right? Or you want to visit them. It means you

look forward to impactation. Some of us, you

know, it's like, you don't like your pastors

visiting you because things are not in order,

maybe. So this is, when we say we would visit

you, we would like to, you know. pay attention

to come to your house or you pass through our

own house is because there can be some impactation.

Now look at what happened. They had to place

hands on them and then they received the Holy

Ghost. And from there, they increased in ministry.

So again, some people believed a visitation and

there was impactation. So impactation in visitation,

encouragement can take place when other believers

meet or visit other believers. We can find each

other encouraging one. Now, verse 25 of this

same, oh, excuse me. Okay, Acts 25, let's see.

And after they had further proclaimed the word

of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter

and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the

gospel in many Samaritan villages. We are going

to come back to this issue of Samaritans, right?

We're going to come back to them because we're

going to use it to understand. the case of Cornelius

and what lesson we can learn there as believers.

So we see that they were going everywhere to

teach the word. They were moving everywhere to

teach the word. Now, who are Samaritans, right?

Who are Samaritans? Now, the explanation of these

people are people with mixed race, right? They

are not exactly, they are not fully Jews. They

are not fully Jews. They are mixed breed, right?

They are mixed breed. They are mixed breed. Mixed

breed or foreign settlers, right? Foreign settlers

that mix with people, foreign settlers. Mixed

breed or foreign settlers that mix with, foreign

settlers, yes, that mix with the Jews. So Jews

intermarry and all of that and they have this.

Although there are some people who say that they

are from Ephraim or Manasseh's tribe, right?

So we have this explanation and this tracing

their genealogy. But one thing was certain, the

Jews don't want to have any interaction with

them. right? They don't want to have interaction

with them. You can put John 4 verse 9, John 4

John 4:9 John 4:9

verse 9, John 8 verse 48, John chapter 4 verse

John 8:48 John 4:9

9, John chapter 8 verse 48. So in 4 verse 9,

John 8:48

the Samaritan woman said to him, it was telling

Jesus, it says, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan

woman. How can you ask me for a dream? For the

Jews do not associate with the Samaritans. So

they are a group that they don't associate with,

the Jews don't associate with, right? So go to

8 .48. In 8 .48, it's interesting that Jesus

was being accused of being a Samaritan. I don't

know where the person got the update from, but

it was not correct. You know, the person just,

in trying to accuse somebody who just drunk the

wrong update, he said, aren't we saying, okay,

he said, Jesus answered him, the Jews rather,

the Jews answered him, aren't we right in saying,

that you are a Samaritan and demon possessed.

How can Jesus be a Samaritan, right? So if they

have read Isaiah very well, they will know that

Jesus is not a Samaritan. So they dropped this

and that was not correct. So they are looking

for ways to catch him. We need to say that you

are a mixed breed. You are not a pure Jew so

that we can find a way to ostracize you out of

the society, right? Or we can say you are demon

possessed. The same thing applies to the demon

possessed person who take you out of the city.

Right? So this was their plan. So we see that

it's people that are not accepted among the Jews.

Now you can put Ezra 4, verse 17. Ezra 4. That

Ezra 4:17

was the first time the word Samaritan was used

in the Bible, right? Ezra 4, verse 17. So you

Ezra 4:17

just put that in addition. So in case you want

to study, you have a comprehensive one. So the

apostles, they sent Peter and John to the Samaritans

to lay hands, right? The question is, Why did

they now raise an issue in the case of Cornelius?

That's what we want to check. If you have groups

that you don't associate with and Jerusalem sent

Peter and John and they went into their villages

laying hands on them. So what is the issue, right,

in the case of Cornelius? We need to check that.

When we check that, it also affects our evangelism

very well, right? It will help us see how to

minister. Now, let's go back to chapter 9. Can

you go back to chapter 9? Can you go back to

chapter 9? Chapter 9, verse 32, Acts, Acts. So,

we see that in chapter 9, right, Samaria received

the word, and Saul also received it. From chapter

8, from chapter 9, we see that Samaria received

the word, Paul also, or Saul, also received the

word, and we see that Peter was traveling everywhere.

Right. Peter was traveling everywhere to visit

people and to encourage them. Now, the first

place he traveled to is Leda. And Peter traveled

about the country, visited the Lord's people.

The next verse. And he found a man and he healed.

So we saw this man and he was healed. Now move

to verse 36. And in Joppa, there was a disciple

named Tabitha. In Greek, her name is Dokas. She

was always doing good and helping the poor. Now

she was dead. And then what happened? Paul raised

that hawk. Sorry, Peter raised that hawk. Okay?

Peter raised how? So in the visitation and going

around to visit churches, we were seeing Peter

doing the miraculous. Right? He was doing the

miraculous. That is verse 36 to 42. We can write

it down, verse 36 to 42, so that we can move.

Verse 36 to 42. So Peter was healing while he

was traveling around. Now, let's now go to...

Yes. Let's go to verse 42 of that chapter 9.

Good. This became known all over Joppa and many

people believed in the Lord. Next. And Peter

stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named

Simon. Now, this verse, okay, just look at your

Bible. I really love you to have a hard copy

Bible. When you use phone, you will not see what

I want to explain very easily. If you have a

hard copy Bible, you will see what I want to

explain, especially those Bibles that are well

divided. Right? That are well divided. Now, it

ended in verse 43. Okay? That conversation in

verse 43 continued in Acts 10 verse 9. Please

Acts 10:9

look at it and be sure you see it, then I'll

continue. Right? There's a reason, right? So,

you have to learn how to read the Bible. That

conversation in verse 43 continued in Acts 10

Acts 10:9

verse 9. Therefore, Acts chapter 10 verse 1 to

Acts 10:1–7

7 or 8. It's only an interlude. It's an interlude.

They had to quickly tell us what happened to

Cornelius. Who he is. Okay? Because verse 43

is about Peter. Okay? Chapter 9, verse 43 is

about Peter. And when it came to chapter 10,

verse 9, it continued about Peter. So the conversation

was supposed to just flow like that. But there

was an interlude. Why? Because in verse 22, now

go to Acts 10, 22. Go to Acts 10, 22. So Acts

10, 22 says, The man replied, We have come from

Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and

God -fearing man who is respected by all the

Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you

to come to his house and he could hear what you

have to say. Now, That 22 and yes, that verse

22 is a summary of that chapter 10 verse 1 to

8. Do you get it? So that chapter 10 verse 1

to 8 is for us to know what actually happened

to Cornelius before they will give the summary.

Because if it comes there, even you might ask,

the Bible did not record. You will say the Bible

did not record what happened to Cornelius. We

are not sure. But for a certainty, it was recorded.

That we can be very sure, right? Just like Luke

would say, that he's putting these things in

order. He's putting the book of Acts in order

so that we will be, you know, clear about these

things that have been recorded. So that's an

interlude, right? Good. So I'm just guiding us

so that we'll follow the pattern of Peter very

well. So Acts 10. give the background of what

is needed. We talked about Acts 1 to 7, 1 to

8, actually, as the background of what is happening.

So what do we observe from Acts 10? Now, we're

going to differentiate between who is a Samaritan

and who is, who Cornelius is. Why do they say,

why do they have to call Paul? Oh, sorry. Why

do they have to call Peter to give an account?

Meanwhile, Peter had gone to someone's house

who they don't also relate with. Do you get what

I'm saying? It's like there's levels to the discrimination.

Do we get it? It's like there is levels. Jewish

has levels to discrimination. The discrimination

they have against Samaria or Samaritans, maybe

it's lower level than the ones they have against

people that are not in their vicinity, like who

Cornelius is, which we are going to see now,

is higher. And that is why they had to call him.

So let's see. So who is Cornelius? Let's start.

Firstly, Cornelius was nothing close to a Jew

in his DNA, right? In his bloodline, there is

no Jew there, right? He's not close to Jew. We're

going to see. Because this will tell us why Cornelius

needed to hear the gospel. Why they needed to

teach him, right, from the scriptures. Why they

needed to open and tell him about Jesus, right?

Because, you know, I came in here and at the

beginning of this, before I started teaching,

I said something. I said, What you will receive,

the knowledge you are going to receive is different

because you have believed. For them that are

outside that need to come in, the knowledge they

are also going to receive, right, is different.

Not that they are two separate things, but because

you are two different phases. So just hold on

to that. So who was Cornelius? It was a military

officer posted by the Roman Empire, right? It

was a military officer posted by the Roman Empire

from Italy. So he is not anything around Galilee

or Jerusalem. or nothing, right? So he was a

military officer posted by the Roman Empire from

Italy. His job was to curtail violence, okay?

You will see how this unfolds, right? Because

it's important to know who he was and you would

also understand how he became respected. So his

job was to curtail violence and riots so that

they can maintain the Roman domination of that

space. So Cornelius' job was to curtail violence,

was to curtail riots, so that the Roman Empire

would continue to govern that space. So the question

we would always ask is, if it's to curtail violence,

there's a part of Scripture that says the Jewish

people respected him. It means that in the course

of his duty, he must have been a good governor.

that people could respect him, even the people

he called or even the people they called him

to come and conquer or dominate or oppress. Are

we getting the picture? So they called someone

is like having a colonial master. Let's put it

that way, right? You know, having a colonial

master and you respect the colonial master, you

just have a view of him that this man is really,

really a man that fears God. It takes something

to happen to that man for him to be at that stage.

So good. So he was supposed to come and do all

of these, right? So we can say that if someone

is coming from Italy, he probably had not heard

about any of these religious things, practices

that the Jewish people are engaging. So oppositely,

on the other side, who are Samaritans? Samaritans

are the other people, right? Or we can say Samaritans,

just a minute. So Samaritans, on the other hand,

They worship the same God the Jews worship. Okay?

So, the reason why they would not oppose someone

going into that. So, you're just writing down

that Samaritans on the other hand, they worship

the same God the Jews worship. And you put John

verse 20. Put John verse 20. John verse 20. It's

not moving. Okay. Sorry about that. All right.

So, John verse 20. Let's read. Let's read. John

John 4:20

chapter 4 verse 20. He said, our ancestors worshiped

on this mountain, but you just claim that the

place where we must worship is Jerusalem. So

they are worshiping the same God. The problem

was about where is the right place to worship.

That is one problem. The second problem they

had is that one place, some people are pure and

some people are mixed. Are we getting it? So

this is fundamental problem. The other problem

we can say is how to access God, right? Some

people believe that you can access God through

the mountains. And believe me, Samaritans learned

it from Genesis. Okay? You can write it down.

Samaritans learned it from Genesis. They followed

the Torah. It means the five books of Moses,

they also followed the five books of Moses. Right?

They followed the five books of Moses. They learned

it from Genesis that they can worship from the

mountain and God will give them. But these people

called Jews believed that you must come to Jerusalem

to worship before God will answer your prayer.

Well, glory to God, Jesus said, the time has

come where those who what? Who will worship God

will do it what? In spirit and in truth. It will

not be on the mountains, neither will it be in

Jerusalem. So we find out that their problem

was access to God and the issue of being pure.

So we can say that the Samaritans know the Messiah.

Okay, the Samaritans know. They know the Messiah.

You can also go to verse 25 and 29 of John chapter

John 4 · chapter mention

4. 25 says, the woman said, I know that Messiah

called Christ is coming. When he comes, he will

explain everything to us. Then the next verse

29. Come and see a man who told me everything

I've ever did. Could this be the Messiah? So

this is someone that has read the Torah, knows

that Christ is coming. And when to tell our people

that come and see, could this be the Christ that

we are waiting for? So we can say that the Samaritans

also were waiting, right? They were waiting to

see this Christ. They were waiting to see this

Christ. Therefore, they can be more welcomed

than an Italian, right? They can be more welcomed

from someone who is an Italian regiment soldier,

right? That is coming to rule them. Now, the

last thing is the one that actually, you know,

set the demarcation. Okay? The last one is the

one that set the demarcation. Now, Italians were

not, I mean, the Italian soldier and their congregation

were not circumcised. And you know the Jews,

when it comes to the issue of circumcision, they

are big on it. So, Samaritans participate in

the Torah and therefore means they would be circumcised.

But this Italian soldier, was not circumcised.

And you will see that very well in Acts 11 verse

Acts 11:3

3, right? You'll see that very well in Acts 11

Acts 11:3

verse 3. And said, you went into the house of

uncircumcised men and you ate with them. So in

the case of the Samaritans, Peter and John, they

went into their house, right? There wasn't an

issue. They could have found a way to hold them,

but not so substantial. But in this case, He

said, Peter, you went into people that were not

circumcised and you ate with them. So this creates

the final separation. So therefore, he gives

us a context why they will complain about Cornelius,

but probably look away when it comes to Samaritans.

Okay? They'll probably look away when it comes

to Samaritans. So let's see. Who is Cornelius

himself, right? Now, this one is not about his

nationality or his own circumcision, but who

is he himself? First, he is a man who is devout.

Acts 10 verse 1 to 2. Devout, feared God, referenced

Acts 10:1–2

God. This is he himself now. Because it's not

every Italian regiment soldier that had this.

Okay? It's not every Italian regiment soldier

that would have had this. But it shows that although

this guy is coming, To rule over a people, right?

He feared God. He reverenced God. He was devoted

to God. Right? He was devoted. The other thing

is that he gave alms. We see Acts 10 verse 1

Acts 10:1–2

to 2. He gave alms. Right? He gave alms. And

I tried to investigate, you know, who are the

people that were collecting these alms? Of course,

the Jews. The people in that community collected

alms from him. Okay, so he wasn't sending hams

to where he came from, right? I mean, he was

located in Caesarea. Caesarea was not his exact,

but he was sent there. So it means that they

benefited from him. First, he feared God. He

was devoted. The people in the community benefited

from him. What else? He prayed regularly. That's

another point, right? He prayed regularly. It

means that he prayed. This seems to be something

that is known. It seems to be something that

is known by the people in that environment. He

prayed regularly, was devoted, although he was

supposed to be an oppressor, right? He was supposed

to be an oppressor, but see, having the fear

of God, right? We can see that there's a level

of change in conduct from being an oppressor.

to someone that was the people respected. Acts

10 .22, you can put it. The people respected

him, right? They respected him. He had a good

report among the Jews. He had a good report among

all the Jews. He had a good report. Now, how

many colonialists or how many oppressors or how

many people can have such kind of a testimony,

right? Most of us are African here and you can

look back. And I don't think you can pick up

anybody who was in such position that had a good

report, right? Some of us, we argue that they

used Biro to draw a map or something like that.

And we keep arguing it. But he was different.

Cornelius was different in the context of what

he was sent to do. He was respected among the

people. So at the place of duty, our conduct

can steal and must please God. That's another

thing we can say. That in our place of duty,

right? In our place of duty, it's not like you

come to church, we recognize you. You get to

work, we don't recognize you. Or we get to the

streets, we don't recognize you. So whatever,

this is a lesson to learn that whatever, even

if they call you to become an oppressor because

of the fear of God, even if you are serving government,

you know, you're serving government, you're serving

in capacities. The fear of God should make you

have a good report, right? The fear of God should

make, people are looking at me. The fear of God

should have a good report. You can go into, maybe

there'll be a time to talk about it. You can

serve in government, okay? You can go into politics

or police. Yes, you can have the fear of God.

If you are caught into such kind of, I mean,

if you find yourself in such career, you can

actually do have the fear of God. I know in this

generation, There are many things attached to

some offices, but this is what we are learning

here because he could oppress them and make a

living for himself. So what we see here is that

he actually did well and had a good report. So

we can also put lastly that Cornelius was seeking

God. He sought God because in prayers, he said

that your arms had come to God. So we can see

there's someone that is seeking to know God,

praying. right, seeking to know God, praying,

supported the people. So, let's continue. Now,

Cornelius, what I read here is that Cornelius

might have heard of the promised Messiah to the

Jews as he prays regularly. And for a Jew, regularly

means three days, right? Sorry, three times a

day, right? Regularly for the Jew would mean

three times. You observe the three times a day

prayer, right? On a daily basis, on hourly basis,

there's a time of prayer. So, for these Jews,

For him to have such a regular prayer life, it

means that they have measured him. Some of us,

if we measure our prayer life, we cannot call

it regular. We cannot call it regular. What can

we not call it again? We cannot call it regular.

We cannot call it consistent. But he had a regular.

We cannot call it daily. We cannot even call

it hourly. But for us, we must improve. For him,

he has a good report. He has a good report. And

I believe, He also believed that the God of Israel,

right, he believed the God of Israel. We can

say that, that he had been in this community

and he has learned something about God. Don't

forget where he's coming from is from where Greek

philosophies and all other philosophies, right,

dominate. But coming into this environment, he

had an extraordinary experience. Now, the next

thing that we see that he had an extraordinary

experience, which is God revealed himself to

him through an angel. Okay, so an angel appeared

to him and the angel gave an instruction. So

we can go to that Acts 10, still back to 1 to

7, please. Acts 10, just go to 1 to 7. The next

verse, next verse. On that day, about three in

the afternoon, he had a vision. He distinctively

saw an angel of God who came to him and said,

Cornelius. Cornelius said at him in fear, what

is it, Lord? He asked. The angel answered, your

prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as

a memorial offering before God. Now send men

to Joppa, right? So he also had an experience,

right? He had an experience, a supernaturalism.

So he tells us, like we were teaching on Wednesday,

that when people pray and they seek God, right,

they can be... supernatural experiences. They

can be extraordinary, like I put it here, extraordinary

experience. Extraordinary means to communicate

the gospel. Paul was so terrific that you can

approach him, right? Cornelius is devoted, probably

approachable, right? But needed the revelation

of Christ. Okay? He needed the revelation of

Christ. So what we see there is that he was committed,

he sought God, and he had an extraordinary Angelic

visitation did not preach to him, but sent him

and connected him with someone that would preach

to him. Again, did we see that again? And we

have seen this consistently, that when you see

something, you see an angel, right, connects

you to the appropriate channels where you can

be preached to, you can be taught, and then you

can grow. So the angelic visitation did not preach

to him, but sent him to where he would be connected

so that he can be preached to. And what happened

when they preached to him? What happened where

they preached to him? The Holy Ghost fell on

all of them that were in his house. Okay. The

Holy Ghost fell on all of them that were. So

he did not just stay. He called other people

to tell you how devout he is. Right. He called

other people. He said, come. Peter has come to

preach to us and we must hear. And even Peter,

you know, in that context was still explaining.

He was not. He just said, you people know that

I'm not supposed to come here. But you know,

this is what happened and I have to be here.

Right? Peter was still giving certain excuse,

but the man was also ready. Explaining back to

Peter that I also saw a revelation. And that

revelation is assuring me that there's something

you want to see. There's something you want to

see. Now, we said that Cornelius had the background.

So it's possible Cornelius had known the promised

Messiah. Means read the books, the Torahs, and

understood what the Jewish people. We are committed

to. And I believe. Right? And I believe. Now,

what happened here is that he needed to understand

that Christ is the Messiah. So we go to Acts,

that same Acts 10. We go to that same Acts 10.

We go to same Acts 10. And we read from verse

27. While talking with him, Peter went inside

and found a large gathering of people. He said

to them, you are... well aware that it is against

our law for a Jew to associate with or visit

a Gentile. So, clearly, the definition of a Gentile

is clear here. Right? I wrote it here. I said,

Cornelius is fully a Gentile. Fully a Gentile.

There is no mix. There is no, you know, thought

about whether he's a Gentile or not. He is fully

a Gentile. So, look at how they classified him.

A Gentile. But God has shown me that I should

not call anyone impure or unclean. So, when I

was sent for, I came without raising any objection.

May I ask why you sent for me? Then Cornelius

explained. Now you will go to verse 34. Then

Peter began to speak. I now realize how true

it is that God does not show favoritism, but

accepts from every nation the one who fears him

and does what is right. So God can reach to anybody

anywhere, but we will still need. to preach the

gospel to you. Do you get the point? So while

you are bothered about those that are in Amazon,

right? While you are bothered that those that

are in, you know, maybe Sambisa Forest or somewhere,

maybe you are bothered about those that are somewhere,

you know, they've never known what we call modern

day civilization, right? Know surely that they

can have an extraordinary experience that can

lead them to where they will hear the gospel.

they can have an extraordinary experience that

can lead them to where, right, they will hear

the gospel. So it means that God does not show

favoritism. So look at Peter's statement changed.

It means that irrespective of Jew or being a

Gentile or being a Samaritan, God is able to

make people aligned to a people that would bring

them to the knowledge of Christ. God is able

to make the gospel reach you. Let's put it that

way. irrespective of people's nationality, irrespective

of how they, you know, how they have been, irrespective

of even in their, we can say, idolatry. They

can have an extraordinary experience that will

point them to where they would hear the gospel.

And that is very possible. So we are giving hope

to, we are relaxing our mind to know that God

is in charge and then having hope towards them,

anyone you want to believe, that they can come

to the faith. Because God does not show favoritism,

even if the Jews show favoritism. Now, this is

what we see in this place. Therefore, we have

seen that God reveals himself. God reveals himself

to people. He can. To the people that we have

on this land, he can reveal himself. We shared

two testimonies on Wednesday about how people

that have never encountered anything about the

faith. had an extraordinary encounter and they

were led to where they had to be taught the word

of God. So the main point is God is reaching

out to all men, but that is also not the revelation

we're talking about. Do we get it? But now what

Peter is teaching to Cornelius and his family

is the revelation of Christ. Okay? Now go to

verse 34. Go to verse 34. He's revealing Christ

to them from the scriptures. And Peter began

to speak, right? You can move to 36 for time.

You know the message of God. You know the message

God sends to the people. Okay, observe how my

version is putting. You know the message God

sends to the people of Israel, announcing the

good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who

is the Lord of all. You know what has happened

throughout the province of Judea, beginning in

Galilee after the baptism that John preached,

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy

Spirit and power, and how he went around doing

good. and healing all who were under the power

of the devil because God was with him. We witness,

we are witnesses of everything he did in the

country of the Jews and Jerusalem. They killed

him by hanging him on the cross, but God raised

him from the dead on the third day and caused

him to be seen. He was seen, he was not seen

by all the people, right? But by witnesses, by

witnesses whom God had already chosen by us.

who ate and drank with him after he rose from

the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people

and to testify that he's the one whom God appointed

as the judge of the living and the dead. All

prophets testify about him that everyone who

believes in him receives forgiveness of sin through

his name. While Peter was still speaking these

words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard

the message. The Holy Spirit did what came on

all. So Peter explained the revelation of what

God promised until Christ. So Peter explained

and opened the revelation showing that what God

had promised. Now look at the pattern at which

my own was saying it. Say you know, you know

this story. You understand, you know these things

have happened, right? This is the early days

of the church. So it means that the information

was on ground. And Peter had to come to use the

information to bring out a revelation to them.

And they believed. They believed, right? And

they came into revelation. Different from the

devotes and the prayer they have been having,

now they are much more in Christ, right? Now

they are much more in Christ. They are much more

in Christ. So the house of Cornelius entered

into revelation in which... They will grow in.

Just write it down like that because that's the

next thing we are going to teach subsequently.

The household of Cornelius, they entered into

a revelation that they will grow in. They entered

into a revelation that they will grow in. The

house of Cornelius entered into a revelation

that they will grow in. They entered into a revelation

that they will grow in. Now look at, we just

finished reading this part of the scriptures

and we'll finish. Verse 45 says, the circumcised

believers. I mean, can you use KJV? Let me see

what KJV says. Can you put that for me? And they

of the circumcision, which believed, were astonished.

As many as came with Peter, because that on the

Gentile also were poured out the gift of the

Holy Ghost. Now, so receiving the Holy Ghost

is not by circumcision. Receiving the Holy Ghost.

Now, these were believers. So it is possible,

we're going to see it when we come on Wednesday.

It is possible that although they believe, they

still believe that it is only to the Jews you

should preach to. Although they believe, they

did not believe that the Gentiles too can receive

the Holy Ghost. Right? We're going to see it

across the future because they would go and they

would only preach to those that are Jews. They

will only minister to those so that those one,

you know, is like you have a prior knowledge,

the promised Messiah. You know that promised

Messiah that we talk about from Moses? Yes, I

know it. You are a Jew. Okay. Then that promised

Messiah is Christ. So they believe. But now coming

to see the Gentile nation believe and come to

that knowledge is also a revelation to them.

It's something that they had not. They were astonished.

They were astonished that the Holy Ghost was

poured upon the Gentiles. For they did what?

They heard them speaking in tongues and praising

God. And Peter says, surely no one can stand

in the way of their being baptized with water

and they have received the Holy Ghost as we have.

So he ordered that they be baptized in the name

of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay

with them for a few days. So what we see here,

right, is that everybody became, everybody was

cleared. Revelation, we came to understand that

this is God at work. Now, this thing that happened

here in the epistles, it was called mystery.

Okay? And when is it we are going to deal with

it? It's called mystery because when God was

communicating in the Old Testament, it looked

as if it was communicating only to the Jewish

nations. So you will hear Abraham, you will hear

Isaac, you will hear different names, right?

But you will not hear things like Artaxerxes,

names like Babylon names. You will not hear names

like Nebuchadnezzar in kind of a part of what

God is doing. So you will be hearing all the

Jewish names and Jewish patterns consistently.

So if you don't pay attention, you will assume

that it's only for the Jews. But this mystery...

is what Peter explained here. That what God intended

from the beginning is for all nations. Praise

God. That what God intended was not just for

this Jewish nation, right? But is for all nations.

Romans 16. Romans 16. So we're done with that.

We're done with explaining what happens to Cornelius.

Let's go to Romans 16, verse 25 to 26. We'll

Romans 16:25–26

read this. Now to him that is of power to establish

you according to my gospel and according and

the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the

revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret

since the world began. Next. But now is made

manifest by the scriptures of the prophets, according

to the commandments of the everlasting God, made

known to all nations. For what? for the obedience

of faith. Look at that word. It was made known.

The revelation and the mystery, right, is made

known that all nations will come to faith. All

nations will come to faith. So it's not Jewish

nation alone. The revelation that is being explained

is showing that it is not the Jewish nation alone,

but to all nations. but to all nations. We still

have five minutes so we can proceed. The word

revelation there in verse 25. Verse 25. Can you

go back to verse 25? The word revelation there

is the word apokalupsis. Right? The word revelation

there is the word apokalupsis. A -P -O A -P -O

A -P -O K -A -L -U A -P -O K -A -L -U P -S -I

-S P -S -I -S Apocalupsis. Apocalupsis. It's

from the word, it's from two words. It's from

two words. Apo, A -P -O. Which implies to seize

or away from. A -P -O, Apo. Means to seize or

cessation or away from something. Okay? Cessation

or away from something. That's A -P -O, Apo.

Now, Calupto. K -A -L -U -P -T -O. K -A -L -U

-P -T -O. It implies to cover, to hide. Right?

It implies to cover, to hide. It implies to cover

or to hide. So, K -A -L -U -P -T -O. To cover

or to hide. So, if you bring it together, apocalypses

or apocalypto, right? It simply means to go away

from being covered. Right? It's like, it means...

To move away from being covered. When something

enters into apocalypses, it means that it has

gone away from being covered. Which is the word

revealed. Okay? It's the word revealed. It's

the word revelation. It's the word unveil. It's

the word disclosure. Right? It's the word disclosure.

The word unveiled is the word disclosure. It

means that the gospel and God's plan from beginning

of the world, look at it, it said, which was

kept secret since beginning of the world. It

means that there was something that was kept

secret in the beginning of the world. It is open

now. That revelation is open. It means that from

Genesis, God's plan has been towards to bring

all nations into Christ, not just the Jewish

nation. Right. God's plan from Genesis had been

to bring all nations into Christ. I think Pastor

was teaching us during workers meeting about

the role of the Jewish people and what they were

supposed to do and how it relates to us. So it

means that if God did not have plans for all

nations, it cannot reach us. Right. It would

just be for them. So what we see here is that

the message is to all nations. The word mystery

there, let's touch upon that one. Then on Wednesday,

we'll dig a little more. Just write this quickly.

The word mystery is mysterion, right? Mysterion.

The word mystery is mysterion. M -Y -S -T -R

-I -O -N. M -Y -S -T -E -R -I -O -N. M -Y -S

-T -E -R -I -O -N. It's mysterion. Hidden. Secrets.

Now, there's a word that I want us to put. I

want us to put a definition for this mystery.

It's not just hidden. It's not just secrets.

There's an explanation that helps us to understand

Revelation. That explanation is, you can write

it down. It says, not obvious to the understanding.

Not obvious to the... Have you read the Old Testament?

Is it obvious to your understanding? No. Until

you read the epistles, it's not obvious. That's

why when you read the Old Testament, you can

be very confused. You can be very, very confused.

if you have not paid attention to it. So it means

that those writings that pointed to what God

wants to do to all the nations, it wasn't obvious

to the understanding. And therefore, we are to

have the apostles to come and write the epistles.

Paul's letter to the Corinthians, to the Ephesians,

to the Colossians, all those letters were to

explain those things that were written that does

not have obvious understanding. And we are glad

that we are part of what God is doing. Can we

say we are glad that we are part of what God

is doing? Glory to God. That's revelation. Can

we just give thanks this morning? Can we give

thanks this morning? Thank you, Jesus. Thank

you for the revelation of the word. Thank you

because we are part of what you are doing on

earth. Thank you because you had us in plan from

the beginning of the world. We are not mistakes.

We are not second citizens of heaven. Just like

every other one who came into Christ. We are

first class citizens of heaven. And we thank

you. We give you all the glory. We pray that

your name is continually glorified in our lives.

In our conducts. In Jesus mighty name we have

prayed. We appreciate you being here today. We

hope you carry this word with you throughout

your week. Don't forget to check the show notes

for additional insights. Stay connected with

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with someone you care about. Until next time,

stay blessed.