Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Revelation Knowledge in Christ (Part 3)

Transcript

The Revelation Knowledge in Christ (Part 3) · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

0:01
Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
0:06
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
0:09
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
0:13
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
0:17
right in. The time will come when we will be
0:48
able to preach in Turkish. And I believe strongly
0:52
that the time is near. Yes. It might not be to
0:57
you. You, you are... Your own sermon is different.
1:02
The sermons that comes to be in Greek, the sermons
1:07
that will come to them, it will come in this
1:11
language. Just as you have seen how a Turkish
1:13
service can be. Some of us who've experienced
1:15
it for five years, six years, we were in Turkish
1:18
service. For real? I experienced it in Cyprus
1:21
here. I experienced it in Ankara. And, you know,
1:24
I've seen it, how amazing it can be. Right? We
1:29
trust God that we'll have the revelation to be
1:31
able to speak to them, right? So when you see
1:34
the language, don't see it as an opportunity
1:36
to learn so that you can be able to preach, okay?
1:42
Let me tell you one thing. We've learned it at
1:45
some point. We learned so far, so fast, you know,
1:47
with desire to teach, but we didn't continue.
1:50
But I believe soon God would open more doors,
1:53
which yesterday night, you know, I was added
1:55
to a group, BAU staff group, Turkish people that
1:59
enrolled for Turkish class, and they put the
2:02
teacher there. I hope, you know, they realize
2:04
that my own purpose of, you know, learning the
2:07
language is actually to reach out to them, actually.
2:11
to reach out to them. The little I know I can,
2:13
but I need sufficient, right? That will help
2:16
me to be able to speak to them. And I believe
2:18
as long as you're here, you should have that
2:20
passion. Most of the time when we go for evangelism,
2:23
you know, we can, we meet them, but it's always
2:25
difficult to communicate this thing, this message
2:29
and all of that. But I believe that we will be
2:34
able to do that. And we trust God that, you know,
2:37
we'll have a lot of them, right? And they will
2:39
have their own church. And I mean their own church.
2:41
I mean, they will be established in faith that
2:44
they would have a service that would be Turkish
2:47
service becomes very common here. You know, it
2:50
will become something that is very common. Praise
2:52
God. So let's keep praying and let's keep having
2:54
the passion and let's keep believing it. Right.
2:57
The space in which you are, you know, was once
3:00
a place where seven churches were located. Right.
3:04
And we know how that is today, but we still believe
3:06
that the power of God is still at work and we
3:09
do great things. Amen. All right. So we coming
3:12
back to our teaching, the revelational knowledge
3:15
in Christ, revelation knowledge in Christ. Right.
3:18
Revelation knowledge in Christ. Revelation knowledge
3:26
in Christ. I believe we have been learning. We
3:30
still have a long way to go, but today we just
3:32
cover some grounds. And then we will progress.
3:36
I think in the last teaching, I was trying to
3:38
get the name of that prophet that was talking
3:41
about people. It was Gamaliel, right? It was
3:44
Gamaliel and it was actually in Acts 5 verse
3:46
39. So Gamaliel was the one that was saying,
3:49
well, if it is for God, it will stand. If it's
3:51
not for God, it will stand and you'll not be
3:54
able to resist it. And if it's not for God, it's
3:57
going to stop. So we see that Zanagabus was the
4:01
one talking about famine and then trying to give
4:04
believers some hope. So revelational knowledge
4:07
in Christ, right? Revelational knowledge in Christ.
4:12
So where do we start from? Today, we are going
4:15
to check Acts 10. Okay, we are going to check
4:18
Acts 10 because the last teaching I did on Wednesday,
4:22
we talked about, I think, Four persons. We talked
4:26
about the wise men that God actually can reveal
4:31
himself. Okay. God can reveal himself to certain
4:36
people. They can have extraordinary experience.
4:39
And from a man's extraordinary experience, the
4:44
man will be directed to a place where the gospel
4:48
is preached. So nobody just sees a vision or
4:51
an angel and then is saved without being preached
4:55
to. So I say it again, nobody just sees a vision
4:58
and an angel and is saved without being preached
5:01
to, right? They are always directed to someone
5:06
who will preach to them, right? So this is what
5:11
we saw last week. We talked about wise men. What
5:16
they experienced was not a revelation that we're
5:19
talking about. And we talked about what again,
5:22
who again? Let's check our notes. Who did we
5:25
talk about again on Wednesday? Centurion, right?
5:31
We talked about a centurion and the centurion
5:33
also just saw and said, this can be the son of
5:36
God, right? And we likened that revelation or
5:40
what they said, we likened it to what they saw
5:44
and they said, and we compared it to what Peter
5:47
said. And we said what Peter said in... Matthew
5:51
16, 16, right, is actually talking about a revelation
5:54
that he had been able to identify that Jesus
5:57
is the Messiah. But here he was able to identify
6:01
because he saw, you know, all the things that
6:03
happened at the death of Jesus. So that's for
6:08
the centurion. And the last person we need to
6:10
examine is Cornelius, right? Cornelius, like
6:14
what kind of revelation? Did he experience? What
6:19
kind of revelation? So we are talking about revelation,
6:22
right? Revelation and knowledge, revelation and
6:26
knowledge in Christ. It means revelation and
6:29
knowledge in Christ. That's what we are talking
6:30
about. And we are saying that God can reveal
6:32
himself to many people in many places. But what
6:38
brings a man to salvation is that the preaching
6:41
of the gospel must be done to that person. So
6:45
people who sought God, people who were engaged
6:48
in practices, right, they were directed to the
6:54
point. They had an extraordinary experience and
6:55
that led to them hearing the gospel. And we talk
6:57
about to the unknown God, right? We talk about
7:00
to the unknown God, those people who wrote to
7:02
the unknown God. And Paul, from that statement
7:05
they inscribe, explained God to them, right?
7:15
God revealing himself to them. So it's not revelation
7:19
in the sense of revelation and knowledge in Christ,
7:21
what the wise men saw. So the wise men saw the
7:23
star, they followed the star, it's more or less
7:25
astrology. And in their astrology, they were
7:28
able to identify where Christ was born, but that
7:30
did not until the death and resurrection of Christ.
7:33
Centurion, he saw what happened at the death
7:36
of Jesus, turned the lightning and everything,
7:38
and he said, this must be someone, right? The
7:40
son of God. And then now Cornelius. So what happened
7:45
to Cornelius? We'll have a background study of
7:49
it. It's a little bit, quite a long study, not
7:52
so much, but we can cover it today. Now let's
7:54
open to Acts 9. First, the background of what
7:58
happened to Cornelius. So the first thing you
8:00
need to realize is the background. We need to
8:02
understand background of how Cornelius came into
8:05
that picture. How was it the one that they had
8:09
to go to his house? To preach to. So let's open
8:12
to Acts chapter 9 verse 31. Acts chapter 9 verse
8:17
31. It says, Then the churches throughout all
8:24
Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were
8:29
edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord,
8:34
in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were
8:37
what? Multiplied. So the first background we
8:41
need to identify is that the church grew. Right?
8:45
The church grew. And how did the church grow?
8:48
The church grew after Saul's conversion. Okay?
8:52
So this is the background of what happened to
8:54
Cornelius. So what happened was that a man called
8:57
Saul was prosecuting the church. Right? He began
9:00
to go after the believers. Acts 9 verse 1 to
9:05
6. Acts 9 verse 1 to 6. Just go to verse 1 to
9:09
6 of the same scripture. Now we're going to learn
9:12
something from... We're going to learn something
9:14
from this. Then Saul, still breathing threats
9:17
and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
9:21
went to the high priests and asked letters from
9:25
him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if
9:29
he found any who were of the way, so his target
9:33
was to find any who were of the way, whether
9:36
men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
9:40
Next. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus,
9:44
and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.
9:49
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying
9:52
to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
9:57
And he said, Who are you, Lord? Then the Lord
9:59
said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It
10:02
is hard for you to kick against the guards. So
10:06
he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what
10:10
do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him,
10:14
Arise and go into the city, and you will be told
10:17
what you must do. Now, this is also Saul having
10:23
a vision. And in the vision, he saw Christ. And
10:26
in that vision, he was directed to where? To
10:29
go into the city, right? And in the city, he
10:32
will be told what? What he must do, right? He
10:37
will be told what, so he knew the revelation.
10:38
This is Christ. This is Jesus who was seen. And
10:40
when he goes into the city, he will be told.
10:42
So it wasn't that Jesus even began to preach
10:43
to him, right? He directed him to the people
10:46
that he was supposed to go and meet. And prior
10:49
to that, he had given them a vision. So the background
10:52
of this is that he was persecuting the church.
10:54
Now, when he became converted, that is what we
10:58
now see in Acts 9, verse 31. that the church
11:02
throughout Judea, Galilee, Samaria, enjoyed a
11:07
time of peace. That's NIV. Was strengthened,
11:10
living in the fear and encouraged by the spirits
11:13
and the number increased. So the background was
11:15
that it was increased. Now, one of the lessons
11:18
that we can learn here with all the dramas that
11:20
is happening around is that when you see persecution
11:23
against the church, right? I wrote it here. I
11:25
said, when you see persecution against the church
11:27
or people talking against the church, right?
11:30
We should pray more that the people might come
11:32
to the knowledge of Christ. We should pray more
11:36
that they come to the knowledge of Christ because
11:39
they are part of the people God will use to grow
11:43
the church. Okay? God will use believers that
11:47
are combated to grow the church. So when you
11:49
see someone saying things, posting things, you
11:52
know, murmuring things against the church, you
11:55
should have hope for them. Don't look like, ah,
11:57
this person is desperate. No, you should have
11:59
hope for them. So you should know that when we
12:02
see persecution and people coming against the
12:04
church, saying things, you should know they are
12:06
part of the people God will use to grow the church.
12:09
So if you know anyone even publicly insulting
12:12
the body of Christ, right? Think of Saul's conversion.
12:16
So when you see anything against the believer
12:20
and the faith, just think of Paul, right? So
12:23
God transformed Saul. What is it? It was breathing,
12:26
murdering, threatening. Now, this one is not
12:29
just attacking your doctrine. This one is attacking
12:32
your life, right? Means if Paul catches you,
12:35
he's going to take you to Jerusalem and then
12:38
the person will be killed. Remember the story
12:39
of Stephen, right? He was there confirming, he
12:43
was holding the clothes of the people that were
12:44
killing Stephen, right? So he's not just an accomplice,
12:47
he's someone that is fully part of it, right?
12:50
He was approving to the death of Stephen. So
12:53
when we see prosecution to the church, don't
12:55
stress yourself. Your job is to pray that these
12:58
people will come to the knowledge of Christ and
13:00
then they will be used as an instrument for the
13:04
gospel. Now let's go to 20, same Acts 9, verse
13:09
20 and 22. Verse 20 and 22. At once, okay, at
13:20
once he began to preach. This is Saul now, right?
13:23
At once he began to preach in the synagogue that
13:26
Jesus is the son of God. Next. And all those
13:30
who heard him were astonished and asked, isn't
13:33
he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among
13:37
those who call on his name? So they began to
13:41
marvel. Is this not the one who was saying things
13:44
about Jesus? Now he's saying Jesus is the Messiah.
13:48
And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners
13:51
to the chief priest? So look at his plan. But
13:55
look at what he's doing. So with God, People
13:58
who say things against gospel, they can't come
14:00
to the knowledge, they can't come to the knowledge
14:01
of God. They say, yes, Saul grew more and more
14:04
powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus
14:07
by proving again that Jesus is the Messiah, right?
14:12
By proving again that Jesus, now this is the
14:15
power of God. You know, I don't know how someone
14:18
would have wanted to preach to Saul. It was unreachable.
14:23
That's what I would say. It's like someone you
14:24
can approach, someone you can talk to, someone
14:26
you can convince, someone you can even have a
14:29
conversation about God with. But look at him
14:32
now. He's testifying about the fact that Christ
14:35
is the Messiah. So when you see people, have
14:38
hope for them, right? Have hope for them, pray
14:41
for them, and then we will see that there will
14:44
be increase in the church, even through them
14:45
and through the message that they will preach.
14:48
Now let's further. Now after this, go to... Verse
14:52
32. Go to verse 32. We're just taking the background
14:55
of how the story got to Cornelius. And we'll
14:59
pick up some lessons as we go. Verse 32 says,
15:01
as Peter traveled about, he went to visit the
15:07
Lord's people who live in Lydda. There he found
15:12
a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had
15:15
been bedridden for eight years. Aeneas, Peter
15:18
said to him, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and
15:21
roll up your mats. So what did we see here? We
15:25
saw that Peter, as the leader of a church, when
15:28
the church increased and they enjoyed a time
15:31
of peace, he began to visit places where they
15:35
have received the word of God. Right? He began
15:38
to visit. So we can say Peter, as the leader
15:39
of the church, as the church was growing, he
15:42
began to visit the Lord's people. So visitation
15:44
is not something we are just starting here or
15:46
is something that is new. The Bible teaches that
15:49
people can be visited, believers can be visited,
15:52
people that have received the word can be visited.
15:55
Let's see Acts 8. Taking it a little bit back
15:58
to Acts 8. We are just going to be within this
16:00
space of Acts of Apostles to explain what we
16:03
need to do. Acts 8 verse 14 to 17. When the apostles
16:10
in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted
16:14
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to
16:17
Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the
16:20
new believers there that they might receive the
16:23
Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet
16:26
come on them. They had simply been baptized in
16:29
the name of the Lord Jesus. And Peter and John
16:32
placed their hands on them and they received
16:34
the Holy Spirit. So what happened? People believed
16:37
Jesus because someone preached to them. And then
16:40
the Jerusalem, you know, believers sent Peter
16:45
and Paul. And what happened there? impactation.
16:48
So when people are visited, they can be impactation,
16:51
right? You know, your pastor says they want to
16:53
visit you. It means they want to impact you,
16:55
right? Or you want to visit them. It means you
16:57
look forward to impactation. Some of us, you
17:00
know, it's like, you don't like your pastors
17:03
visiting you because things are not in order,
17:06
maybe. So this is, when we say we would visit
17:10
you, we would like to, you know. pay attention
17:12
to come to your house or you pass through our
17:14
own house is because there can be some impactation.
17:16
Now look at what happened. They had to place
17:18
hands on them and then they received the Holy
17:21
Ghost. And from there, they increased in ministry.
17:24
So again, some people believed a visitation and
17:28
there was impactation. So impactation in visitation,
17:31
encouragement can take place when other believers
17:35
meet or visit other believers. We can find each
17:38
other encouraging one. Now, verse 25 of this
17:43
same, oh, excuse me. Okay, Acts 25, let's see.
17:51
And after they had further proclaimed the word
17:54
of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter
17:56
and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the
18:00
gospel in many Samaritan villages. We are going
18:03
to come back to this issue of Samaritans, right?
18:05
We're going to come back to them because we're
18:07
going to use it to understand. the case of Cornelius
18:10
and what lesson we can learn there as believers.
18:13
So we see that they were going everywhere to
18:16
teach the word. They were moving everywhere to
18:19
teach the word. Now, who are Samaritans, right?
18:22
Who are Samaritans? Now, the explanation of these
18:26
people are people with mixed race, right? They
18:29
are not exactly, they are not fully Jews. They
18:32
are not fully Jews. They are mixed breed, right?
18:35
They are mixed breed. They are mixed breed. Mixed
18:41
breed or foreign settlers, right? Foreign settlers
18:44
that mix with people, foreign settlers. Mixed
18:52
breed or foreign settlers that mix with, foreign
18:54
settlers, yes, that mix with the Jews. So Jews
18:58
intermarry and all of that and they have this.
19:00
Although there are some people who say that they
19:02
are from Ephraim or Manasseh's tribe, right?
19:05
So we have this explanation and this tracing
19:07
their genealogy. But one thing was certain, the
19:11
Jews don't want to have any interaction with
19:14
them. right? They don't want to have interaction
19:16
with them. You can put John 4 verse 9, John 4
19:19
verse 9, John 8 verse 48, John chapter 4 verse
19:24
9, John chapter 8 verse 48. So in 4 verse 9,
19:30
the Samaritan woman said to him, it was telling
19:34
Jesus, it says, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan
19:37
woman. How can you ask me for a dream? For the
19:40
Jews do not associate with the Samaritans. So
19:45
they are a group that they don't associate with,
19:47
the Jews don't associate with, right? So go to
19:50
8 .48. In 8 .48, it's interesting that Jesus
19:55
was being accused of being a Samaritan. I don't
19:58
know where the person got the update from, but
20:00
it was not correct. You know, the person just,
20:02
in trying to accuse somebody who just drunk the
20:05
wrong update, he said, aren't we saying, okay,
20:08
he said, Jesus answered him, the Jews rather,
20:10
the Jews answered him, aren't we right in saying,
20:13
that you are a Samaritan and demon possessed.
20:16
How can Jesus be a Samaritan, right? So if they
20:19
have read Isaiah very well, they will know that
20:24
Jesus is not a Samaritan. So they dropped this
20:26
and that was not correct. So they are looking
20:27
for ways to catch him. We need to say that you
20:30
are a mixed breed. You are not a pure Jew so
20:33
that we can find a way to ostracize you out of
20:35
the society, right? Or we can say you are demon
20:38
possessed. The same thing applies to the demon
20:40
possessed person who take you out of the city.
20:43
Right? So this was their plan. So we see that
20:45
it's people that are not accepted among the Jews.
20:49
Now you can put Ezra 4, verse 17. Ezra 4. That
20:52
was the first time the word Samaritan was used
20:54
in the Bible, right? Ezra 4, verse 17. So you
20:58
just put that in addition. So in case you want
21:01
to study, you have a comprehensive one. So the
21:03
apostles, they sent Peter and John to the Samaritans
21:08
to lay hands, right? The question is, Why did
21:13
they now raise an issue in the case of Cornelius?
21:17
That's what we want to check. If you have groups
21:21
that you don't associate with and Jerusalem sent
21:25
Peter and John and they went into their villages
21:28
laying hands on them. So what is the issue, right,
21:32
in the case of Cornelius? We need to check that.
21:34
When we check that, it also affects our evangelism
21:37
very well, right? It will help us see how to
21:40
minister. Now, let's go back to chapter 9. Can
21:44
you go back to chapter 9? Can you go back to
21:48
chapter 9? Chapter 9, verse 32, Acts, Acts. So,
21:58
we see that in chapter 9, right, Samaria received
22:02
the word, and Saul also received it. From chapter
22:05
8, from chapter 9, we see that Samaria received
22:08
the word, Paul also, or Saul, also received the
22:11
word, and we see that Peter was traveling everywhere.
22:14
Right. Peter was traveling everywhere to visit
22:17
people and to encourage them. Now, the first
22:20
place he traveled to is Leda. And Peter traveled
22:24
about the country, visited the Lord's people.
22:25
The next verse. And he found a man and he healed.
22:29
So we saw this man and he was healed. Now move
22:33
to verse 36. And in Joppa, there was a disciple
22:38
named Tabitha. In Greek, her name is Dokas. She
22:42
was always doing good and helping the poor. Now
22:44
she was dead. And then what happened? Paul raised
22:48
that hawk. Sorry, Peter raised that hawk. Okay?
22:51
Peter raised how? So in the visitation and going
22:54
around to visit churches, we were seeing Peter
22:57
doing the miraculous. Right? He was doing the
23:00
miraculous. That is verse 36 to 42. We can write
23:03
it down, verse 36 to 42, so that we can move.
23:06
Verse 36 to 42. So Peter was healing while he
23:10
was traveling around. Now, let's now go to...
23:21
Yes. Let's go to verse 42 of that chapter 9.
23:28
Good. This became known all over Joppa and many
23:31
people believed in the Lord. Next. And Peter
23:35
stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named
23:37
Simon. Now, this verse, okay, just look at your
23:41
Bible. I really love you to have a hard copy
23:43
Bible. When you use phone, you will not see what
23:45
I want to explain very easily. If you have a
23:47
hard copy Bible, you will see what I want to
23:49
explain, especially those Bibles that are well
23:50
divided. Right? That are well divided. Now, it
23:54
ended in verse 43. Okay? That conversation in
23:59
verse 43 continued in Acts 10 verse 9. Please
24:05
look at it and be sure you see it, then I'll
24:07
continue. Right? There's a reason, right? So,
24:10
you have to learn how to read the Bible. That
24:12
conversation in verse 43 continued in Acts 10
24:15
verse 9. Therefore, Acts chapter 10 verse 1 to
24:20
7 or 8. It's only an interlude. It's an interlude.
24:26
They had to quickly tell us what happened to
24:30
Cornelius. Who he is. Okay? Because verse 43
24:36
is about Peter. Okay? Chapter 9, verse 43 is
24:39
about Peter. And when it came to chapter 10,
24:42
verse 9, it continued about Peter. So the conversation
24:46
was supposed to just flow like that. But there
24:48
was an interlude. Why? Because in verse 22, now
24:52
go to Acts 10, 22. Go to Acts 10, 22. So Acts
25:00
10, 22 says, The man replied, We have come from
25:02
Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and
25:06
God -fearing man who is respected by all the
25:09
Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you
25:13
to come to his house and he could hear what you
25:17
have to say. Now, That 22 and yes, that verse
25:22
22 is a summary of that chapter 10 verse 1 to
25:26
8. Do you get it? So that chapter 10 verse 1
25:30
to 8 is for us to know what actually happened
25:33
to Cornelius before they will give the summary.
25:36
Because if it comes there, even you might ask,
25:39
the Bible did not record. You will say the Bible
25:41
did not record what happened to Cornelius. We
25:43
are not sure. But for a certainty, it was recorded.
25:47
That we can be very sure, right? Just like Luke
25:52
would say, that he's putting these things in
25:55
order. He's putting the book of Acts in order
25:57
so that we will be, you know, clear about these
26:01
things that have been recorded. So that's an
26:06
interlude, right? Good. So I'm just guiding us
26:09
so that we'll follow the pattern of Peter very
26:12
well. So Acts 10. give the background of what
26:16
is needed. We talked about Acts 1 to 7, 1 to
26:18
8, actually, as the background of what is happening.
26:22
So what do we observe from Acts 10? Now, we're
26:26
going to differentiate between who is a Samaritan
26:28
and who is, who Cornelius is. Why do they say,
26:33
why do they have to call Paul? Oh, sorry. Why
26:35
do they have to call Peter to give an account?
26:39
Meanwhile, Peter had gone to someone's house
26:41
who they don't also relate with. Do you get what
26:44
I'm saying? It's like there's levels to the discrimination.
26:49
Do we get it? It's like there is levels. Jewish
26:51
has levels to discrimination. The discrimination
26:53
they have against Samaria or Samaritans, maybe
26:57
it's lower level than the ones they have against
26:59
people that are not in their vicinity, like who
27:03
Cornelius is, which we are going to see now,
27:04
is higher. And that is why they had to call him.
27:07
So let's see. So who is Cornelius? Let's start.
27:10
Firstly, Cornelius was nothing close to a Jew
27:13
in his DNA, right? In his bloodline, there is
27:17
no Jew there, right? He's not close to Jew. We're
27:20
going to see. Because this will tell us why Cornelius
27:22
needed to hear the gospel. Why they needed to
27:25
teach him, right, from the scriptures. Why they
27:31
needed to open and tell him about Jesus, right?
27:35
Because, you know, I came in here and at the
27:37
beginning of this, before I started teaching,
27:38
I said something. I said, What you will receive,
27:41
the knowledge you are going to receive is different
27:43
because you have believed. For them that are
27:45
outside that need to come in, the knowledge they
27:47
are also going to receive, right, is different.
27:50
Not that they are two separate things, but because
27:52
you are two different phases. So just hold on
27:55
to that. So who was Cornelius? It was a military
27:58
officer posted by the Roman Empire, right? It
28:01
was a military officer posted by the Roman Empire
28:03
from Italy. So he is not anything around Galilee
28:08
or Jerusalem. or nothing, right? So he was a
28:12
military officer posted by the Roman Empire from
28:14
Italy. His job was to curtail violence, okay?
28:19
You will see how this unfolds, right? Because
28:23
it's important to know who he was and you would
28:26
also understand how he became respected. So his
28:29
job was to curtail violence and riots so that
28:35
they can maintain the Roman domination of that
28:40
space. So Cornelius' job was to curtail violence,
28:44
was to curtail riots, so that the Roman Empire
28:48
would continue to govern that space. So the question
28:54
we would always ask is, if it's to curtail violence,
28:57
there's a part of Scripture that says the Jewish
28:58
people respected him. It means that in the course
29:03
of his duty, he must have been a good governor.
29:09
that people could respect him, even the people
29:12
he called or even the people they called him
29:15
to come and conquer or dominate or oppress. Are
29:20
we getting the picture? So they called someone
29:22
is like having a colonial master. Let's put it
29:24
that way, right? You know, having a colonial
29:26
master and you respect the colonial master, you
29:29
just have a view of him that this man is really,
29:32
really a man that fears God. It takes something
29:36
to happen to that man for him to be at that stage.
29:40
So good. So he was supposed to come and do all
29:43
of these, right? So we can say that if someone
29:48
is coming from Italy, he probably had not heard
29:51
about any of these religious things, practices
29:54
that the Jewish people are engaging. So oppositely,
29:58
on the other side, who are Samaritans? Samaritans
30:01
are the other people, right? Or we can say Samaritans,
30:05
just a minute. So Samaritans, on the other hand,
30:10
They worship the same God the Jews worship. Okay?
30:15
So, the reason why they would not oppose someone
30:19
going into that. So, you're just writing down
30:20
that Samaritans on the other hand, they worship
30:22
the same God the Jews worship. And you put John
30:24
verse 20. Put John verse 20. John verse 20. It's
30:39
not moving. Okay. Sorry about that. All right.
30:41
So, John verse 20. Let's read. Let's read. John
30:44
chapter 4 verse 20. He said, our ancestors worshiped
30:48
on this mountain, but you just claim that the
30:52
place where we must worship is Jerusalem. So
30:56
they are worshiping the same God. The problem
30:57
was about where is the right place to worship.
31:01
That is one problem. The second problem they
31:03
had is that one place, some people are pure and
31:07
some people are mixed. Are we getting it? So
31:10
this is fundamental problem. The other problem
31:14
we can say is how to access God, right? Some
31:18
people believe that you can access God through
31:19
the mountains. And believe me, Samaritans learned
31:22
it from Genesis. Okay? You can write it down.
31:26
Samaritans learned it from Genesis. They followed
31:28
the Torah. It means the five books of Moses,
31:31
they also followed the five books of Moses. Right?
31:34
They followed the five books of Moses. They learned
31:36
it from Genesis that they can worship from the
31:39
mountain and God will give them. But these people
31:42
called Jews believed that you must come to Jerusalem
31:45
to worship before God will answer your prayer.
31:48
Well, glory to God, Jesus said, the time has
31:50
come where those who what? Who will worship God
31:53
will do it what? In spirit and in truth. It will
31:56
not be on the mountains, neither will it be in
31:59
Jerusalem. So we find out that their problem
32:02
was access to God and the issue of being pure.
32:05
So we can say that the Samaritans know the Messiah.
32:08
Okay, the Samaritans know. They know the Messiah.
32:12
You can also go to verse 25 and 29 of John chapter
32:18
4. 25 says, the woman said, I know that Messiah
32:22
called Christ is coming. When he comes, he will
32:26
explain everything to us. Then the next verse
32:29
29. Come and see a man who told me everything
32:36
I've ever did. Could this be the Messiah? So
32:38
this is someone that has read the Torah, knows
32:40
that Christ is coming. And when to tell our people
32:44
that come and see, could this be the Christ that
32:47
we are waiting for? So we can say that the Samaritans
32:50
also were waiting, right? They were waiting to
32:53
see this Christ. They were waiting to see this
32:58
Christ. Therefore, they can be more welcomed
33:00
than an Italian, right? They can be more welcomed
33:03
from someone who is an Italian regiment soldier,
33:06
right? That is coming to rule them. Now, the
33:11
last thing is the one that actually, you know,
33:13
set the demarcation. Okay? The last one is the
33:18
one that set the demarcation. Now, Italians were
33:20
not, I mean, the Italian soldier and their congregation
33:22
were not circumcised. And you know the Jews,
33:26
when it comes to the issue of circumcision, they
33:29
are big on it. So, Samaritans participate in
33:32
the Torah and therefore means they would be circumcised.
33:36
But this Italian soldier, was not circumcised.
33:41
And you will see that very well in Acts 11 verse
33:45
3, right? You'll see that very well in Acts 11
33:48
verse 3. And said, you went into the house of
33:53
uncircumcised men and you ate with them. So in
33:58
the case of the Samaritans, Peter and John, they
34:01
went into their house, right? There wasn't an
34:04
issue. They could have found a way to hold them,
34:06
but not so substantial. But in this case, He
34:10
said, Peter, you went into people that were not
34:12
circumcised and you ate with them. So this creates
34:15
the final separation. So therefore, he gives
34:18
us a context why they will complain about Cornelius,
34:21
but probably look away when it comes to Samaritans.
34:26
Okay? They'll probably look away when it comes
34:29
to Samaritans. So let's see. Who is Cornelius
34:37
himself, right? Now, this one is not about his
34:39
nationality or his own circumcision, but who
34:43
is he himself? First, he is a man who is devout.
34:46
Acts 10 verse 1 to 2. Devout, feared God, referenced
34:54
God. This is he himself now. Because it's not
34:57
every Italian regiment soldier that had this.
35:00
Okay? It's not every Italian regiment soldier
35:03
that would have had this. But it shows that although
35:05
this guy is coming, To rule over a people, right?
35:09
He feared God. He reverenced God. He was devoted
35:12
to God. Right? He was devoted. The other thing
35:19
is that he gave alms. We see Acts 10 verse 1
35:22
to 2. He gave alms. Right? He gave alms. And
35:25
I tried to investigate, you know, who are the
35:28
people that were collecting these alms? Of course,
35:32
the Jews. The people in that community collected
35:36
alms from him. Okay, so he wasn't sending hams
35:40
to where he came from, right? I mean, he was
35:43
located in Caesarea. Caesarea was not his exact,
35:46
but he was sent there. So it means that they
35:50
benefited from him. First, he feared God. He
35:54
was devoted. The people in the community benefited
35:58
from him. What else? He prayed regularly. That's
36:02
another point, right? He prayed regularly. It
36:05
means that he prayed. This seems to be something
36:08
that is known. It seems to be something that
36:11
is known by the people in that environment. He
36:14
prayed regularly, was devoted, although he was
36:16
supposed to be an oppressor, right? He was supposed
36:20
to be an oppressor, but see, having the fear
36:22
of God, right? We can see that there's a level
36:28
of change in conduct from being an oppressor.
36:31
to someone that was the people respected. Acts
36:34
10 .22, you can put it. The people respected
36:37
him, right? They respected him. He had a good
36:41
report among the Jews. He had a good report among
36:45
all the Jews. He had a good report. Now, how
36:50
many colonialists or how many oppressors or how
36:53
many people can have such kind of a testimony,
36:56
right? Most of us are African here and you can
37:00
look back. And I don't think you can pick up
37:02
anybody who was in such position that had a good
37:05
report, right? Some of us, we argue that they
37:09
used Biro to draw a map or something like that.
37:12
And we keep arguing it. But he was different.
37:16
Cornelius was different in the context of what
37:20
he was sent to do. He was respected among the
37:24
people. So at the place of duty, our conduct
37:27
can steal and must please God. That's another
37:30
thing we can say. That in our place of duty,
37:32
right? In our place of duty, it's not like you
37:35
come to church, we recognize you. You get to
37:38
work, we don't recognize you. Or we get to the
37:41
streets, we don't recognize you. So whatever,
37:45
this is a lesson to learn that whatever, even
37:47
if they call you to become an oppressor because
37:50
of the fear of God, even if you are serving government,
37:53
you know, you're serving government, you're serving
37:55
in capacities. The fear of God should make you
37:59
have a good report, right? The fear of God should
38:02
make, people are looking at me. The fear of God
38:04
should have a good report. You can go into, maybe
38:07
there'll be a time to talk about it. You can
38:09
serve in government, okay? You can go into politics
38:12
or police. Yes, you can have the fear of God.
38:17
If you are caught into such kind of, I mean,
38:19
if you find yourself in such career, you can
38:21
actually do have the fear of God. I know in this
38:24
generation, There are many things attached to
38:28
some offices, but this is what we are learning
38:31
here because he could oppress them and make a
38:33
living for himself. So what we see here is that
38:37
he actually did well and had a good report. So
38:40
we can also put lastly that Cornelius was seeking
38:43
God. He sought God because in prayers, he said
38:47
that your arms had come to God. So we can see
38:50
there's someone that is seeking to know God,
38:52
praying. right, seeking to know God, praying,
38:56
supported the people. So, let's continue. Now,
39:10
Cornelius, what I read here is that Cornelius
39:12
might have heard of the promised Messiah to the
39:15
Jews as he prays regularly. And for a Jew, regularly
39:19
means three days, right? Sorry, three times a
39:21
day, right? Regularly for the Jew would mean
39:24
three times. You observe the three times a day
39:27
prayer, right? On a daily basis, on hourly basis,
39:30
there's a time of prayer. So, for these Jews,
39:32
For him to have such a regular prayer life, it
39:35
means that they have measured him. Some of us,
39:38
if we measure our prayer life, we cannot call
39:40
it regular. We cannot call it regular. What can
39:44
we not call it again? We cannot call it regular.
39:46
We cannot call it consistent. But he had a regular.
39:51
We cannot call it daily. We cannot even call
39:53
it hourly. But for us, we must improve. For him,
39:57
he has a good report. He has a good report. And
40:00
I believe, He also believed that the God of Israel,
40:03
right, he believed the God of Israel. We can
40:05
say that, that he had been in this community
40:07
and he has learned something about God. Don't
40:10
forget where he's coming from is from where Greek
40:12
philosophies and all other philosophies, right,
40:15
dominate. But coming into this environment, he
40:19
had an extraordinary experience. Now, the next
40:22
thing that we see that he had an extraordinary
40:24
experience, which is God revealed himself to
40:28
him through an angel. Okay, so an angel appeared
40:32
to him and the angel gave an instruction. So
40:36
we can go to that Acts 10, still back to 1 to
40:38
7, please. Acts 10, just go to 1 to 7. The next
40:43
verse, next verse. On that day, about three in
40:47
the afternoon, he had a vision. He distinctively
40:51
saw an angel of God who came to him and said,
40:54
Cornelius. Cornelius said at him in fear, what
40:57
is it, Lord? He asked. The angel answered, your
41:00
prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as
41:02
a memorial offering before God. Now send men
41:06
to Joppa, right? So he also had an experience,
41:09
right? He had an experience, a supernaturalism.
41:12
So he tells us, like we were teaching on Wednesday,
41:15
that when people pray and they seek God, right,
41:18
they can be... supernatural experiences. They
41:21
can be extraordinary, like I put it here, extraordinary
41:24
experience. Extraordinary means to communicate
41:28
the gospel. Paul was so terrific that you can
41:31
approach him, right? Cornelius is devoted, probably
41:35
approachable, right? But needed the revelation
41:39
of Christ. Okay? He needed the revelation of
41:44
Christ. So what we see there is that he was committed,
41:47
he sought God, and he had an extraordinary Angelic
41:52
visitation did not preach to him, but sent him
41:55
and connected him with someone that would preach
41:57
to him. Again, did we see that again? And we
42:00
have seen this consistently, that when you see
42:02
something, you see an angel, right, connects
42:04
you to the appropriate channels where you can
42:07
be preached to, you can be taught, and then you
42:09
can grow. So the angelic visitation did not preach
42:12
to him, but sent him to where he would be connected
42:17
so that he can be preached to. And what happened
42:19
when they preached to him? What happened where
42:22
they preached to him? The Holy Ghost fell on
42:24
all of them that were in his house. Okay. The
42:28
Holy Ghost fell on all of them that were. So
42:31
he did not just stay. He called other people
42:33
to tell you how devout he is. Right. He called
42:37
other people. He said, come. Peter has come to
42:40
preach to us and we must hear. And even Peter,
42:44
you know, in that context was still explaining.
42:46
He was not. He just said, you people know that
42:49
I'm not supposed to come here. But you know,
42:52
this is what happened and I have to be here.
42:55
Right? Peter was still giving certain excuse,
42:57
but the man was also ready. Explaining back to
43:00
Peter that I also saw a revelation. And that
43:03
revelation is assuring me that there's something
43:05
you want to see. There's something you want to
43:08
see. Now, we said that Cornelius had the background.
43:11
So it's possible Cornelius had known the promised
43:14
Messiah. Means read the books, the Torahs, and
43:18
understood what the Jewish people. We are committed
43:21
to. And I believe. Right? And I believe. Now,
43:25
what happened here is that he needed to understand
43:29
that Christ is the Messiah. So we go to Acts,
43:33
that same Acts 10. We go to that same Acts 10.
43:41
We go to same Acts 10. And we read from verse
43:46
27. While talking with him, Peter went inside
43:50
and found a large gathering of people. He said
43:53
to them, you are... well aware that it is against
43:56
our law for a Jew to associate with or visit
43:59
a Gentile. So, clearly, the definition of a Gentile
44:02
is clear here. Right? I wrote it here. I said,
44:06
Cornelius is fully a Gentile. Fully a Gentile.
44:09
There is no mix. There is no, you know, thought
44:12
about whether he's a Gentile or not. He is fully
44:14
a Gentile. So, look at how they classified him.
44:16
A Gentile. But God has shown me that I should
44:18
not call anyone impure or unclean. So, when I
44:21
was sent for, I came without raising any objection.
44:24
May I ask why you sent for me? Then Cornelius
44:27
explained. Now you will go to verse 34. Then
44:32
Peter began to speak. I now realize how true
44:37
it is that God does not show favoritism, but
44:40
accepts from every nation the one who fears him
44:45
and does what is right. So God can reach to anybody
44:50
anywhere, but we will still need. to preach the
44:55
gospel to you. Do you get the point? So while
44:58
you are bothered about those that are in Amazon,
45:00
right? While you are bothered that those that
45:02
are in, you know, maybe Sambisa Forest or somewhere,
45:05
maybe you are bothered about those that are somewhere,
45:09
you know, they've never known what we call modern
45:11
day civilization, right? Know surely that they
45:15
can have an extraordinary experience that can
45:18
lead them to where they will hear the gospel.
45:21
they can have an extraordinary experience that
45:24
can lead them to where, right, they will hear
45:28
the gospel. So it means that God does not show
45:29
favoritism. So look at Peter's statement changed.
45:32
It means that irrespective of Jew or being a
45:36
Gentile or being a Samaritan, God is able to
45:41
make people aligned to a people that would bring
45:44
them to the knowledge of Christ. God is able
45:46
to make the gospel reach you. Let's put it that
45:49
way. irrespective of people's nationality, irrespective
45:52
of how they, you know, how they have been, irrespective
45:55
of even in their, we can say, idolatry. They
45:59
can have an extraordinary experience that will
46:02
point them to where they would hear the gospel.
46:06
And that is very possible. So we are giving hope
46:09
to, we are relaxing our mind to know that God
46:12
is in charge and then having hope towards them,
46:15
anyone you want to believe, that they can come
46:18
to the faith. Because God does not show favoritism,
46:21
even if the Jews show favoritism. Now, this is
46:25
what we see in this place. Therefore, we have
46:28
seen that God reveals himself. God reveals himself
46:33
to people. He can. To the people that we have
46:37
on this land, he can reveal himself. We shared
46:40
two testimonies on Wednesday about how people
46:43
that have never encountered anything about the
46:48
faith. had an extraordinary encounter and they
46:50
were led to where they had to be taught the word
46:54
of God. So the main point is God is reaching
46:57
out to all men, but that is also not the revelation
46:59
we're talking about. Do we get it? But now what
47:02
Peter is teaching to Cornelius and his family
47:07
is the revelation of Christ. Okay? Now go to
47:10
verse 34. Go to verse 34. He's revealing Christ
47:15
to them from the scriptures. And Peter began
47:17
to speak, right? You can move to 36 for time.
47:21
You know the message of God. You know the message
47:23
God sends to the people. Okay, observe how my
47:26
version is putting. You know the message God
47:28
sends to the people of Israel, announcing the
47:31
good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who
47:33
is the Lord of all. You know what has happened
47:35
throughout the province of Judea, beginning in
47:38
Galilee after the baptism that John preached,
47:41
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
47:44
Spirit and power, and how he went around doing
47:47
good. and healing all who were under the power
47:50
of the devil because God was with him. We witness,
47:54
we are witnesses of everything he did in the
47:57
country of the Jews and Jerusalem. They killed
48:00
him by hanging him on the cross, but God raised
48:03
him from the dead on the third day and caused
48:06
him to be seen. He was seen, he was not seen
48:10
by all the people, right? But by witnesses, by
48:14
witnesses whom God had already chosen by us.
48:17
who ate and drank with him after he rose from
48:20
the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people
48:23
and to testify that he's the one whom God appointed
48:26
as the judge of the living and the dead. All
48:28
prophets testify about him that everyone who
48:32
believes in him receives forgiveness of sin through
48:35
his name. While Peter was still speaking these
48:39
words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard
48:43
the message. The Holy Spirit did what came on
48:46
all. So Peter explained the revelation of what
48:51
God promised until Christ. So Peter explained
48:56
and opened the revelation showing that what God
49:00
had promised. Now look at the pattern at which
49:01
my own was saying it. Say you know, you know
49:03
this story. You understand, you know these things
49:06
have happened, right? This is the early days
49:08
of the church. So it means that the information
49:11
was on ground. And Peter had to come to use the
49:15
information to bring out a revelation to them.
49:19
And they believed. They believed, right? And
49:23
they came into revelation. Different from the
49:26
devotes and the prayer they have been having,
49:29
now they are much more in Christ, right? Now
49:32
they are much more in Christ. They are much more
49:37
in Christ. So the house of Cornelius entered
49:41
into revelation in which... They will grow in.
49:45
Just write it down like that because that's the
49:47
next thing we are going to teach subsequently.
49:49
The household of Cornelius, they entered into
49:52
a revelation that they will grow in. They entered
49:56
into a revelation that they will grow in. The
50:01
house of Cornelius entered into a revelation
50:04
that they will grow in. They entered into a revelation
50:10
that they will grow in. Now look at, we just
50:20
finished reading this part of the scriptures
50:22
and we'll finish. Verse 45 says, the circumcised
50:25
believers. I mean, can you use KJV? Let me see
50:30
what KJV says. Can you put that for me? And they
50:33
of the circumcision, which believed, were astonished.
50:36
As many as came with Peter, because that on the
50:40
Gentile also were poured out the gift of the
50:43
Holy Ghost. Now, so receiving the Holy Ghost
50:46
is not by circumcision. Receiving the Holy Ghost.
50:49
Now, these were believers. So it is possible,
50:52
we're going to see it when we come on Wednesday.
50:56
It is possible that although they believe, they
50:59
still believe that it is only to the Jews you
51:03
should preach to. Although they believe, they
51:07
did not believe that the Gentiles too can receive
51:11
the Holy Ghost. Right? We're going to see it
51:14
across the future because they would go and they
51:16
would only preach to those that are Jews. They
51:19
will only minister to those so that those one,
51:21
you know, is like you have a prior knowledge,
51:24
the promised Messiah. You know that promised
51:25
Messiah that we talk about from Moses? Yes, I
51:27
know it. You are a Jew. Okay. Then that promised
51:30
Messiah is Christ. So they believe. But now coming
51:34
to see the Gentile nation believe and come to
51:38
that knowledge is also a revelation to them.
51:41
It's something that they had not. They were astonished.
51:45
They were astonished that the Holy Ghost was
51:48
poured upon the Gentiles. For they did what?
51:50
They heard them speaking in tongues and praising
51:53
God. And Peter says, surely no one can stand
51:55
in the way of their being baptized with water
51:58
and they have received the Holy Ghost as we have.
52:01
So he ordered that they be baptized in the name
52:05
of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay
52:07
with them for a few days. So what we see here,
52:10
right, is that everybody became, everybody was
52:14
cleared. Revelation, we came to understand that
52:17
this is God at work. Now, this thing that happened
52:22
here in the epistles, it was called mystery.
52:27
Okay? And when is it we are going to deal with
52:29
it? It's called mystery because when God was
52:32
communicating in the Old Testament, it looked
52:35
as if it was communicating only to the Jewish
52:39
nations. So you will hear Abraham, you will hear
52:43
Isaac, you will hear different names, right?
52:45
But you will not hear things like Artaxerxes,
52:47
names like Babylon names. You will not hear names
52:49
like Nebuchadnezzar in kind of a part of what
52:53
God is doing. So you will be hearing all the
52:55
Jewish names and Jewish patterns consistently.
52:58
So if you don't pay attention, you will assume
53:01
that it's only for the Jews. But this mystery...
53:07
is what Peter explained here. That what God intended
53:12
from the beginning is for all nations. Praise
53:17
God. That what God intended was not just for
53:20
this Jewish nation, right? But is for all nations.
53:26
Romans 16. Romans 16. So we're done with that.
53:30
We're done with explaining what happens to Cornelius.
53:32
Let's go to Romans 16, verse 25 to 26. We'll
53:39
read this. Now to him that is of power to establish
53:42
you according to my gospel and according and
53:46
the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
53:48
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret
53:51
since the world began. Next. But now is made
53:55
manifest by the scriptures of the prophets, according
53:59
to the commandments of the everlasting God, made
54:02
known to all nations. For what? for the obedience
54:08
of faith. Look at that word. It was made known.
54:12
The revelation and the mystery, right, is made
54:15
known that all nations will come to faith. All
54:22
nations will come to faith. So it's not Jewish
54:25
nation alone. The revelation that is being explained
54:28
is showing that it is not the Jewish nation alone,
54:33
but to all nations. but to all nations. We still
54:38
have five minutes so we can proceed. The word
54:40
revelation there in verse 25. Verse 25. Can you
54:45
go back to verse 25? The word revelation there
54:47
is the word apokalupsis. Right? The word revelation
54:52
there is the word apokalupsis. A -P -O A -P -O
55:00
A -P -O K -A -L -U A -P -O K -A -L -U P -S -I
55:10
-S P -S -I -S Apocalupsis. Apocalupsis. It's
55:19
from the word, it's from two words. It's from
55:21
two words. Apo, A -P -O. Which implies to seize
55:26
or away from. A -P -O, Apo. Means to seize or
55:33
cessation or away from something. Okay? Cessation
55:37
or away from something. That's A -P -O, Apo.
55:41
Now, Calupto. K -A -L -U -P -T -O. K -A -L -U
55:46
-P -T -O. It implies to cover, to hide. Right?
55:53
It implies to cover, to hide. It implies to cover
55:57
or to hide. So, K -A -L -U -P -T -O. To cover
56:03
or to hide. So, if you bring it together, apocalypses
56:06
or apocalypto, right? It simply means to go away
56:09
from being covered. Right? It's like, it means...
56:13
To move away from being covered. When something
56:16
enters into apocalypses, it means that it has
56:18
gone away from being covered. Which is the word
56:23
revealed. Okay? It's the word revealed. It's
56:27
the word revelation. It's the word unveil. It's
56:30
the word disclosure. Right? It's the word disclosure.
56:37
The word unveiled is the word disclosure. It
56:42
means that the gospel and God's plan from beginning
56:46
of the world, look at it, it said, which was
56:48
kept secret since beginning of the world. It
56:50
means that there was something that was kept
56:52
secret in the beginning of the world. It is open
56:54
now. That revelation is open. It means that from
56:59
Genesis, God's plan has been towards to bring
57:03
all nations into Christ, not just the Jewish
57:07
nation. Right. God's plan from Genesis had been
57:10
to bring all nations into Christ. I think Pastor
57:14
was teaching us during workers meeting about
57:16
the role of the Jewish people and what they were
57:19
supposed to do and how it relates to us. So it
57:22
means that if God did not have plans for all
57:25
nations, it cannot reach us. Right. It would
57:27
just be for them. So what we see here is that
57:31
the message is to all nations. The word mystery
57:37
there, let's touch upon that one. Then on Wednesday,
57:40
we'll dig a little more. Just write this quickly.
57:42
The word mystery is mysterion, right? Mysterion.
57:47
The word mystery is mysterion. M -Y -S -T -R
57:52
-I -O -N. M -Y -S -T -E -R -I -O -N. M -Y -S
57:57
-T -E -R -I -O -N. It's mysterion. Hidden. Secrets.
58:01
Now, there's a word that I want us to put. I
58:03
want us to put a definition for this mystery.
58:06
It's not just hidden. It's not just secrets.
58:10
There's an explanation that helps us to understand
58:14
Revelation. That explanation is, you can write
58:16
it down. It says, not obvious to the understanding.
58:21
Not obvious to the... Have you read the Old Testament?
58:24
Is it obvious to your understanding? No. Until
58:28
you read the epistles, it's not obvious. That's
58:30
why when you read the Old Testament, you can
58:32
be very confused. You can be very, very confused.
58:36
if you have not paid attention to it. So it means
58:39
that those writings that pointed to what God
58:43
wants to do to all the nations, it wasn't obvious
58:46
to the understanding. And therefore, we are to
58:50
have the apostles to come and write the epistles.
58:53
Paul's letter to the Corinthians, to the Ephesians,
58:55
to the Colossians, all those letters were to
58:58
explain those things that were written that does
59:02
not have obvious understanding. And we are glad
59:06
that we are part of what God is doing. Can we
59:08
say we are glad that we are part of what God
59:10
is doing? Glory to God. That's revelation. Can
59:15
we just give thanks this morning? Can we give
59:17
thanks this morning? Thank you, Jesus. Thank
59:19
you for the revelation of the word. Thank you
59:22
because we are part of what you are doing on
59:23
earth. Thank you because you had us in plan from
59:26
the beginning of the world. We are not mistakes.
59:28
We are not second citizens of heaven. Just like
59:32
every other one who came into Christ. We are
59:34
first class citizens of heaven. And we thank
59:37
you. We give you all the glory. We pray that
59:39
your name is continually glorified in our lives.
59:41
In our conducts. In Jesus mighty name we have
59:44
prayed. We appreciate you being here today. We
59:49
hope you carry this word with you throughout
59:51
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
59:54
for additional insights. Stay connected with
59:57
us through our website. Or follow us on social
59:59
media. If you are encouraged. share this message
1:00:03
with someone you care about. Until next time,
1:00:06
stay blessed.