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you you you you you you you you you let's go find one white and one red alright and let's start in the red one can you please open to 429 hymn number 429 hark the herald angels sing when you found it please stand 429 let's sing give it all you got 429 hark the herald angels sing glory to the newborn king peace on earth and mercy on earth and mercy on earth Peace on earth and mercy on earth, God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies. Where the deli-coast proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. Christ by highest heaven and all, Christ the everlasting Lord. Late in time, behold Him come, a offspring of a virgin's breed. Healed in flesh, the Godhead singing, hailed in courage, deity. He's the man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. God the herald prince of peace, hailed the Son of righteousness. Light and light, all He brings, grills within His wings. While He lays His glory high, born that man of all hang high. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. God the herald prince of peace, hailed the Son of righteousness. Take a hymn from above, breathe in, say a sin I love. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. God the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. We love you so much. Thank you for protecting us and bringing us here safely. Bless us and fill us with your spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen. You may be seated. Staying in the red book, let's just go one page over to Silent Night, Holy Night. This has four verses, but it's got a fifth one, which is John 3.16. After we sing Silent Night, Holy Night, then we'll go into John 3.16. Silent Night, Holy Night, all is one, all is one. Have your words in honor and honor. All the infants of heaven have come. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace. Silent Night, Holy Night. Shepherds wake at the sight of the singing of heaven above. Let me now sing Hallelujah. Christ the Savior is born. Christ the Savior is born. Silent Night, Holy Night. Thou hast taught us to like rain and heat of heavenly peace. When the dawn begins, Jesus, Lord of the Earth, Jesus, Lord of the Earth. Silent Night, Holy Night. Thou hast spoken thy heart in heavenly peace. Hallelujah. Christ the Savior is born. Christ the Savior is born. Silent Night, then John 3.16. Silent Night, Holy Night. Oh, God so loved the world that we gave His only begotten Son, that there is no heaven within him who shall not perish but have heaven's everlasting love. Beautiful. Let's turn to the white hymnals. And we're going to go to number 17 towards the end. 17, What Child is This? Or Green Sleeves for you. The penises are gone. What child is this who laid to dress on Mary's happy sleeping? Who angels win with anthems singing while shepherds watch are keeping? This is his Christ, the kingdom, shepherds, God, and angels sing. Praise, praise to bring him now the vagueness of Mary. While icy is the deepest stage where hearts and hearts are feeding, the Christians fear him for sin to see who the silent Word is leading. Hail, spirit, shall hear sin through, for the cross he calls for peace for you. Hail, hail, the Word made there is the painless Son of Mary. So bring him innocence, gold, and earth, the peasant king to come in, the king of isolation with his lovely eyes broken. Praise, praise the Son of Christ, the virgin singer of the night. Joy, joyful Christ is born, the painless Son of Mary. These are great doctrines, aren't they? Let's go to number 18, next page. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. I've got five verses to sing. You might have to back me up by the end. Five verses. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. That present day is nigh. That morning he gave his honor. But still the Son of God away. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel. Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, O wisdom, come on high. To order his Son with thy spirit. To cast off the fire of the church. And teach us in thy ways tonight. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel. Shall come to thee, O Israel. Thou art of death, ye friend. Thy own God, save us from death. From death, our Father, ye will serve. And give them victory, O Israel. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel. Shall come to thee, O Israel. On the fourth. O loud days, raise your arm and cheer. Our spirit, our God, our God, our King. This last one we love all night. On death's dark shadows, O heavens divine. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel. Shall come to thee, O Israel. On the last. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel. Shall come to thee, O Israel. Good singing, everyone. Let's open our Bibles to Acts chapter 10. And Sebastian will come up and read Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much arms to the people and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming into him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, What is it, Lord? And he came unto him. Thy prayers and thine arms are come up for a memorial before God. And now sent men to Joppa and called for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth with one Simon Attanah, whose house is by the seaside. He shall tell thee what thou art. And when the angel which spoke unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually. And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. And he said unto him, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. And he became very hungry and would have eaten, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, wherein all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fowls of the air, and there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat, but Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate and called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise their fall and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, a just man and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in and lodged them, and on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him, and the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up, I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation, but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying. As soon as I was sent for, I asked therefore for what intents ye have sent for me. And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing. And said Cornelius, Thy prayers heard, and thine arms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon Attanah by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee, a vow hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded of God. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. That word I say ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with them. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly. Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him, after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them all, fell on all them which heard the word, and they of the circumcision which believed were astonished. As many as came with Peter, because that of the Gentiles, also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as thee? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they them to tarry certain days. Dear Lord, thank you that everyone could come here safely. Please help everyone's ears to be open, and not to get distracted. And please fill my day out with the Holy Ghost. And in Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Alright, thank you Sebastian. Is this mine? Yep, alright, great. Alright, well I missed you guys on Sunday. I'm glad to be here in the house of the Lord with you guys today. Thanks brother Callum for preaching as well, covering the pulpit for me. Someone else obviously taking care of the responsibilities there on Sunday. Obviously being there in Port Macquarie. You know that church, Crown Valley Church still needs a lot of prayers. So as we come to have our prayer night tonight, please remember that church. We have lots of things that we need to be praying for, but obviously we want that church to soldier on for the Lord. And be a shining light for the people of Port Macquarie with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So please, please keep that church in prayer. And thank you for allowing me to go and minister to the people there. Alright, we have been going through the book of Acts and we're up to chapter 10. And I'm taking the title from verse number 22 which says, And they said Cornelius the Centurion. Title for the sermon tonight is Cornelius the Centurion. Cornelius the Centurion. The Centurion is a Roman Centurion, right? He's a soldier of the Roman Empire and the fact that he's called a Centurion, it's like the word century, he had at least a hundred, that's the understanding that he had at least a hundred soldiers under his authority. And that's what makes him a Centurion. And so, you know, the fact that I'm mentioning that is that, you know, I want to highlight the fact that he's a Gentile, he's not a Jew, this Cornelius. And yet the Lord does an amazing work through his life. We see here, let's pick it up in verse number, actually come back with me to the previous chapter just quickly. In Acts chapter 9, let's just bring ourselves up to speed as to where we are in the story of the book of Acts. In Acts 9, 43, it says, And it came to pass that he tarried, that he there is Peter, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a Tanna. So you may recall that Peter had just raised Tabitha or Dorcas from the dead. Remember, he had done that miracle, raised her from the dead, he was there in Joppa and he stayed with Simon a Tanna. Now, Tanna is someone that essentially makes a letter, okay? And so he takes, I'm not sure exactly how it operates, I guess he takes the animal, skins it, prepares the leather and then he sells it to the manufacturer, the producer, to make, you know, products with leather, you know, with a leather lining. But that's his job essentially, to repair the leather, he's a leather maker and that's the person who Peter is staying with during these days there in Joppa. So then we get to Acts 10 in verse number 1, it says, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band. So the Italian band is not like a rock band or something like that, right? His band, his hundred soldiers are known as the Italian band, meaning that his soldiers are, they're Italians, you know, they're known as, those are the Italians, obviously it kind of makes sense, it's the Roman Empire, but you need to understand that not all soldiers were Italian because the Roman Empire covered many nations, you know, it was a kingdom and so sometimes you had soldiers from other regions, other nations, but his soldiers in particular was known as the Italian band. Now Caesarea has come a few times already in the book of Acts and we're going to keep hearing about it in the chapters to come, but Caesarea, like we know that Peter is staying in Joppa, okay? So Joppa is about 60 kilometres south of Caesarea. Caesarea is not a Jewish town, it's a Roman, like a, it's like a Roman port, like a port town, okay? Ports, as in, you know, near the oceans, right? Where supplies would come in and fishes, fishermen would come in and they'd sell their goods and those kinds of things. So it's a Roman port city and we also, we've heard about Caesarea so far because you may recall when the deacon Philip went preaching to the, you know, to the Ethiopian eunuch. Remember when after he got the Ethiopian eunuch saved and baptised, he made his way to Caesarea and he was out there preaching the gospel to all the towns on his way to Caesarea. We've also heard of Caesarea when Saul, who becomes the apostle Paul, when he is disputing in, after he gets saved, he's disputing with the Grecians in Jerusalem and they're seeking to kill him, remember that? And the disciples had to come around Saul and deliver him, they lowered him from a, actually no, that was another story. But anyway, later on, the Grecians wanted to kill him, you may recall that story, right? And so the disciples come and they help him out and essentially they send him into Caesarea, okay? For a period where just to get away from all the turmoil, all the hatred against him. And so Caesarea is this sort of, you know, town, like I said, it's a part of the Roman Empire, it's got the hustle and bustle of being a port city and so a lot of what we read about will sort of take place in Caesarea in the coming chapters. And look at verse number two, talking about Cornelius, it says he's a devout man. Or like devout, maybe the word we use today more often is like dedicated, right? He's dedicated to his job, he's dedicated to his office as a centurion, you know, and we also find that he's dedicated to his appreciation of the true God of Israel. Because it says here, and one that feared God with all his house. That's really important. Like he had a fear, look the Bible says he feared God. Now he's a Roman, okay? Obviously there are false religions, there are false gods, you know, of the Roman Empire, but he's chosen to have a fear of the correct God, alright? And not just him, everybody in his house. So this can be his family, this can be his servants that he has running his affairs, everybody. He's taught them all to have a fear of the Lord. What else do we learn about him? It says which gave much arms to the people. He does good works, he gives generously to the poor, things like that. And prayed to God always. He's always seeking the Lord in prayers. So, you know, this is a man who at this point in time is not saved. But he's seeking the Lord, right? He's a Gentile, he's a Roman centurion, alright? His empire has, you know, conquered the so-called people of God. He should be in many ways an enemy to the Jews, but he loves the God of the Jews, he loves the God of the Bible. You know, he wants to know more about this Lord and he's praying to him. We don't know exactly the story. We don't know exactly what's led him to this point to have the fear of God. But this is something that is highlighted in his life. And then it says in verse number three. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming into him and saying unto him Cornelius. So this is about 3 p.m. in the afternoon. God sends an angel to him. It's amazing. Amazing story. Verse number four. And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine arms are come up for a memorial before God. Now this just blows me away. You've got an unsaved Gentile seeking the Lord and the Lord says, you know what? His prayers, his arms, the good works that he does, it's come up as a memorial. I'm remembering, I'm thinking about this man Cornelius. And of course, God wants to see Cornelius saved, right? So God sends an angel, does an amazing miracle. You know, it teaches us a few things about how the Lord God looks at the unsaved, you know, person in the world. That, you know, if God would, like if someone's works and memorial, like prayers would come up as a memorial to him, for the fear of God, for the true God, someone truly seeking God, you know, God is going to open the doors one way or another for that person to understand their need for Christ as their saviour. It's amazing. Like, you know, this man is truly seeking the Lord. Now I want to drop down to verse number 34 very quickly. Talking about Cornelius, this is what Peter says about Cornelius in verse number 34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. So God sent Cornelius an angel, but God is not a respecter of persons. Why did God send Cornelius an angel? Because he's the Roman centurion in charge of a hundred, you know, Italian band members or whatever it is, right? No, God's not a respecter of persons. You know, the reason he does this because this man has a fear of God. And look at verse number 35. It's really amazing. Now being accepted with him is not talking about salvation. But God can look down at the ungodly world, the unsaved world, and we don't understand their hearts. We can't see that, right? But God is able to determine those that are just seeking to live their own sinful life, not seeking the Lord whatsoever. And those that are unsaved, but they're trying, you know, out of ignorance, not fully understanding the gospel. You know, just desiring God, desiring salvation, desiring the truth. God can determine that. Someone who's doing what they feel they need to do to appease God to some extent, seeking the true God of the Bible. God looks down and accepts those people who are truly seeking him. You know what this reminds me of? Every nation that fear of him, this reminds me of Fiji. Doesn't it? A nation that fears God. Australia is not a nation that fears God. It is not. And you don't realize it until you go to a place like the... I didn't notice until I went to a place like the Philippines. I didn't notice until I went to a place like Fiji. And, you know, we arrived on Saturday. What date did we arrive? Saturday? And then Sunday, we went trying to, you know, we had a church service Sunday morning. Then we decided to go get some lunch. But all the stores were closed. And the only thing that was open was a mall and only select shops. And I can't remember who told me, but it might have been a taxi driver. Someone told me that only select shops are open just for Westerners. That's all. It's not for Fijian people, really, okay? It's just for Westerners to have them open because they know Westerners are trying to find places to shop and eat on a Sunday, okay? Otherwise, they'll just have the whole thing closed down and everyone's at church. Now, obviously, most Fijians are not saved. Did you know that? Most of them are not saved. But so many of them fear the Lord, all right? And I think of a nation like that and I truly think that that is a nation or a large percentage of people of that nation are accepted of God simply because of the fear of the Lord. They know they need to seek the true God of the Bible, right? But we talk to them, we realize that they're ignorant. Many of them are still trusting in their works. But boy, you open God's Word and have respect for God's Word, right? It's such a gentle nudge. You don't have to really shake anybody out of their false ideas. They're just very quick. You show them the Bible. You explain, you expand the Scriptures to them. And they're like, yeah, just let me call upon the Lord now. It doesn't take a lot of effort, does it? I think of Cornelius having the same kind of heart and fear of God as I saw with many Fijians. It was such a great time to be able to go and minister to those people earlier this year. But that's what I think about, a place like Fiji, a place that is maybe accepted by God and God would send his missionaries, God would send his people to go and preach the Gospel to a people like that. But Australia is not like that. People don't have a fear of God. They didn't want to think about God. I'll deal with it when I get there. I'll sort it out when I die. It's too late. There's no fear of God here in Australia. There's very little fear of God here in Australia. I think you can truly determine how receptive a nation is to the Gospel depending on how much those people truly fear the Lord. But look at verse number five. The angel gives instructions to Cornelius. So the angel says, get your servants, go get Peter. He'll tell you what you need to do. The question is, why doesn't the angel just tell him what to do? Because God has committed the Gospel to his witnesses, to his people, to the safe people of God. God doesn't use the angels to go and preach the Gospel. God uses you and I, man who has been saved by that same Gospel to go out and preach to someone seeking the Lord. Verse number seven. Remember those in his household also have a fear of God. I saw that earlier. So these guys also have a fear of God, right? The household servants and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually. So this is like his personal assistant soldier, right? Whatever he needs, his soldiers ready. Cornelius, what do you need? He's always ready for Cornelius' command. So he gets that man who's a devout soldier of his to go with his two servants. Verse number eight. Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. So the next day, you know, Peter is there in Joppa, right? We know he's with Simon the tanner. And he gets up to go to the roof of the house and begins to pray. It says here it's the sixth hour. So it's 12 p.m., okay? Like lunchtime. You'll notice why it's lunchtime in a moment because it says in verse number 10. And he became very hungry, right? It's roughly time to eat lunch, right? And he became very hungry and would have eaten but while they made ready, he fell into a trance. So it's like he's praying to God, right? Whatever he's praying. He's like, man, I'm getting hungry. It's lunchtime. And the food's getting prepared. It's all getting organized for him. And then he falls into this trance. And I don't know what that would look like exactly. Did he freeze? You know, obviously this trance allows him to be able to see a spiritual vision, okay? Not a physical vision but a spiritual one that he sees in this trance. In verse number 11, this is what he sees. So think of like a huge bed sheet coming out of heaven, right? And it's kind of like knitted to full corners. I don't know, like maybe it's kind of like it's holding something, right? And you've got these full corners kind of knitted, I guess upwards to some extent. That's the picture that I get here, right? And it says here in verse number 12, So all types of animals, okay? So even like insects and, you know, stuff like that. And fowls of the air, all kinds of birds are found in this vision. Verse number 13 says, You know, I kind of think about this, you know, sometimes when you have a dream. Like, you know, I think he knows what I'm talking about. Like Peter is actually hungry, okay? And so he's having this vision and it's like God's telling him, all right, go kill an animal and eat the animal. It's kind of like what he's dreaming or what his vision, his vision relates to something happened physically, right? Like sometimes, I don't know, you might have a dream and, you know, one of my kids might come and say, papa, papa, and try to wake me up in the middle of the night, okay? Because maybe they had a nightmare or something and try to wake me up. And in my dream, I'm hearing papa, papa, but it's playing out some other event, okay? So something, you know, he's physically hungry and God uses this to express his vision to him. And God tells him, go and eat, go and kill these animals and eat of these animals. Verse 14, but Peter said, not so, Lord. Peter still has that old Peter in him, right? You know, many times, like, I remember when the Lord was coming and washed Peter's feet, right? And Peter's like, no, I'm not going to, don't wash my feet. I had the same kind of idea. It's like, no, I'm not going to eat of those. You know, even the Lord just told him, you know, eat, kill and eat of these animals. He goes, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. So obviously as a Jew, you know, operating under the Old Testament, there were dietary restrictions. There were certain animals by which they were not allowed to eat. Keep your finger there and come with me to Leviticus 11. Come with me to Leviticus 11, please. Leviticus 11. Now we're not going to read like this whole chapter contains these differences of what makes an animal clean or unclean. We'll just get a feel for what the idea is here in Leviticus 11. We'll just read the first few verses in verse number one. Leviticus 11 and verse number one. It says, and the Lord spoke unto Moses and to Aaron saying unto them, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, these are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. So God instructs Moses and Aaron, look, these are the animals that you're allowed to eat, alright. He says, in verse number three, Whatsoever part of the hoof and is cloven footed and cheweth the cud among the beasts that shall ye eat. Alright, so if the animals match this criteria, you're allowed to eat these animals. Verse number four, Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideeth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you. Alright, so God is describing the differences between clean and unclean and they had these specific dietary requirements. This is why Peter's still following these laws, still following these instructions, he's not eating certain animals. You know, we haven't got time to go through all of this today, but obviously you're very familiar that the Jews were not allowed to eat pork, alright. They were not allowed to eat pig in any sense, no bacon, no hot dogs, no ham, like no Christmas ham, no... What else can we do with pork? I don't know. Pork has a lot of uses, but they weren't allowed to eat it, right? They were allowed to eat some birds, like chickens and things like that, but they weren't allowed to eat birds of prey, like eagles or hawks or owls. You can read about this in the chapter. They were allowed to eat some fish, as long as the fish had scales and fins, they were allowed to eat those fish, but fish that were missing scales or fins, they weren't allowed... Like think of an eel, an eel has no fins and it's got no scales, so you can't eat that. Catfish, no scales, they got fins, but they got no scales, so they would not have been allowed to eat catfish either. Okay, so God gives them all these dietary requirements and, you know, this chapter does a really great job explaining why they had these requirements. Okay, what the meaning behind this was. So come back with me to Acts chapter 10, we're going to this chapter, we're going to learn about why they had these dietary requirements of the time, and God is now telling Peter, kill and eat, right? I mean, if maybe there was an owl in his vision, right? It's like, well, I can't eat the owl, it's a bird of prey, but God is telling, oh, you can kill and eat if you want, okay? Look at verse 15. So what is God saying? He's clean, he's cleansed these animals. All animals are now clean in this vision, alright? Verse number 16. So at the beginning, Peter's like, why, I don't know, what is this, what is this about? What is God trying to get, you know, teach me with this vision that I just received? He says, while he's thinking about this vision, So remember, like God's not made it very clear what he's trying to teach him, okay? And he's trying to work it out. Now this should start to make a picture in Peter's mind, because like God's telling him to eat all these animals in this vision, and he's getting doubts about it, like, no, I can't do that, I've never eaten all these animals, alright? And now the Holy Spirit's telling him, you've got three men coming to see you, don't doubt, just go with them, right? They're asking to see you, just don't doubt, just go with them, right? And then it says here in verse number 21, I believe, I'm up to, yeah, We learn something else about Cornelius. They say that he's a man of a good report, a just man, okay? So he's got, you know, good standards by which he's living, good ethics by which he operates, and he's also got a good report, a good reputation amongst the Jews, alright? So I guess he's not seen as somebody who's corrupt, you know, or just seeking the best for the Roman Empire. Cornelius seems to be just doing his job, doing the best he can, you know, in the authority that God has given him over even the Jews of the day. And then verse number 23, So other believers are coming with him on this journey. Verse number 24, So again, we see the kind of man Cornelius is, right? There's a reason why his whole house fears the Lord. He's like, man, we got an important man coming, we got Peter coming, alright? The angels told me Peter's coming, he's like, he's not like, okay, what's the message to me? He goes, I'm getting all my friends, I'm getting everybody that I love, I care about, it's important they all come and hear this message. And again, we see this in nations that fear the Lord, we've had testimonies. You know, I remember testimonies in the Philippines, for example, where you're preaching the gospel to one person, and they're saying, wait, wait, wait, I need my friend to hear what you have to say as well. We've seen that action again, people that fear the Lord, they don't want to just absorb the information for themselves, they're seeking that others would hear the good news coming from the Lord. So he's a great man, this is Cornelius, like, you can't really fault him. Like, he's an unbelieving, like, his biggest fault is that he's not Saviour, that's it. But he's doing better than most Christians. Like, I don't know how you're going to judge his works if he's saved, because this guy's already doing the great works. And this guy's already got a good reputation. This guy's already a just man. This guy's already got a fear of the Lord. I don't know how you're ever going to judge him if he's saved by his works. You know, if you were going to judge him by his works, I guess he's already saved, you know, before he even believes the gospel. That's a, you know, that stupid concept of judging someone's salvation by the works. It doesn't make sense. Because this Cornelius, even in an unsafe state, is probably a better man than even most Christians. Probably has a greater fear of God than many believers in Australia, because even believers in Australia struggle with fear of the Lord many times. But anyway, let's keep reading. Verse number 25. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. Well, there's a big no-no, right? Again, we've got to understand, Cornelius is just, he's excited. He doesn't know. He's ignorant, right? He doesn't understand, right? He's been praying to God. He's got a fear of God. He's had an angel come and see him. The angel said, go and get Peter. So he's like, man, this Peter must be even better than an angel. And he was like, oh, he's Peter, right? And the man worship follows. Common amongst even many believers sometimes. The man, I just want to worship. I just want to bow myself down to a man. Verse number 26. But Peter took him up saying, stand up. I myself also am a man. Right? I mean, Peter's done the right thing. Like, well, that's embarrassing. It's a shameful dog. Get up. I'm just a man. Nothing special. Verse number 27. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, you know how it is an unlawful thing. So this part plays into the vision that he had from the Lord. I want you to think about what he says. You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew, speaking of himself, to keep company or come unto of another nation. Because these are all the Italians, the Italian bands, right? He goes, I'm coming. It's not lawful. This isn't right. I'm supposed to, according to the Old Testament laws, have a separation between the God's chosen people, the physical covenant of people of Israel and the Gentile nations. He goes, this is not common for a Jewish man to come into the house of an Italian man, you know, amongst the Gentiles like this, of another nation. But God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. That's what he called the animals. Now he gets it. Now he gets the teaching that God was giving him, right? So when God was telling him, eat, you can consume of the unclean animals. Now he realized, oh, the unclean represented those of another nation. Because in the law, I'm not supposed to. Like, you know, according to the old covenant law, he's not supposed to eat pork. But he's also not to keep company and fellowship with unbelievers. Because, of course, often they would have false gods and, you know, obviously it's not saved. And of that nature, it was normal for the Jews to be separated as a nation. Well, that's what God wanted them to be, a separate physical nation, holy to God, and not, you know, in like deep or close fellowship with the ungodly nations around him. So Peter's understanding this lesson. The teaching of the unclean and clean animals represents the differences of nations, okay? Now, some people say the clean animals represent saved. And the unclean animals represent the unsaved. Kind of true, but not fully true. The clean animals represent, and this is, the reason I say this is because I find in general when I talk to a lot of people, even like believers, many times struggle with the changes from the old covenant to the new covenant. Okay? Now, if the clean animals represent a saved person, then what you don't, like, you probably don't realize where that leads to, but it leads to the idea that the only way to be saved was to operate under the old covenant and be a Jew and not amongst the other nations. But we know that many Gentiles, even under the Old Testament, were saved. They weren't necessarily part of the Old Testament covenanted nation of Israel. For example, Job. Job's a great example. You know, we have, you may recall, with Queen Esther, when many of the Persians became Jews. Though they never migrated physically, they never became national Jews. They stayed in Persia, but they became Jews because they got saved. Their faith was on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You know, there are many Gentiles that were obviously saved. I mean, think about Jonah going into Nineveh and preaching, you know, his message to the Ninevites and how many of them got saved. The king of Nineveh got saved definitely. So even Nebuchadnezzar, think of Nebuchadnezzar, a man who was never part of the Jewish covenant of people, but he definitely got saved in the book of Daniel. And so, you know, if you have the idea that, you know, clean means saved, it can lead to, like, false doctrines down the road when you start heading in that direction. It really means clean, covenanted people, unclean, non-covenanted people. The Gentiles, okay, is really what it represents. And so, because here's the thing, you could actually be part of the covenanted people of Israel and not be saved. But in the figure, in the picture of the unclean and clean animals, you're still considered one of the clean animals, though you're unsaved. You know, that, you know, that Israelite who's not saved, even though they're under the covenant, they're part of that physical nation, if they die, they're still going to go to hell, okay, because they're not saved. They haven't got their faith placed in the Lord God. And so, it's important for you to just understand this because, and one day I want to preach on this, and I want to make it very clear, like the differences and the changes from the old covenanted system to the new covenant, which we're still operating in today. Again, what makes the new covenant so much better is that everybody in the covenant is saved. In the new covenant, everybody is saved, okay. You could be part of the old covenant system and not be saved. Or you could be out of the covenanted system and be saved, okay, under the old covenant. But in the new covenant, only saved people enter into that covenant, okay. So, the Jews or the Israelites were meant to keep themselves separate from the Gentile world, okay, because for someone to, you know, anyone that was outside of the covenant was an unclean person. Now, someone outside of the covenant, a Gentile person, could migrate into Israel, and if they migrated into Israel and made the Israel of God their God, then God will become their God, and you know, etc, etc. And they would be treated as someone born into the land. So, they themselves would become that covenanted person, alright. But here, we're talking about that what's happened is God has transitioned from a physical nation, who was, the covenant was for a specific physical nation, to a new covenant, not being of physical, but of a spiritual nation, accessible to all, okay. The Old Testament covenant, you have to be part of the physical nation. The New Testament covenant, you don't have to be part of any physical nation. You can be part of all nations. All nations are made clean in that sense because they can all enter into this new covenant. Hope that kind of makes sense. I do want to preach on this in greater detail one day. But verse number 29. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying. As soon as I was sent for, I asked therefore for what intent ye have set for me. And Cornelius said four days ago, I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold a man stood before me in bright clothing. We learned something else about Cornelius. He fasts. Like he's trying, like he kind of gets, he kind of knows somewhat of what God expects and what God needs, but obviously still in ignorance, but he's trying, he's seeking the Lord, right? He's like, man, I want to get saved. I want to be one of God's people. I want to be made right with God. What do I have to do fast? May you pray, God? Help me, give me direction. Then he says, he's saying to him, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard and thine arms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon Attanah by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. So he explains the story, right? So we're all here to hear you, Peter. We want to hear what God has to say through you, what God has commanded. Verse number 34, then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. It's like, God, it doesn't matter that he's a Roman and I'm a Jew, you're not a respecter. But in every nation here that fear of him and work of righteousness is accepted with him. This is why when we organise missions trips, we want to hit nations that have a fear of God. Like, I would love to just go to every nation under the sun. I mean, I know that's not realistic. But whenever we organise the next one, you know, let's try to find the nations that are truly fearing the Lord, right? This is why I want to go to Fiji every year. And I'm not saying me individually, I'm just saying someone from our church. I want to send someone from our church every year until that nation no longer has a fear of God or until that whole nation gets saved. There's no more point sending people out there anymore, okay? But I just think every year it's such a good idea, you know, God is not a respecter of persons, but he's truly seeking the people that fear him. God will accept them. Verse number 36, in the word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preach in peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all, right? The Jews and the Gentiles. Verse number 37, that word I say ye know, which was published throughout all Judea. Sorry, I'll keep reading. And began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. Now the way I read verse number 37, that word I say ye know. So again, it seems like Cornelius knows something. He goes look, I'm just preaching the same things you already know. Again, Cornelius has some level of understanding, right? He's heard about Jesus. He's heard about, you know, salvation through Christ Jesus. So Cornelius, I'm just telling you what you've heard going throughout all Judea. Like nothing new. It's the same story, alright? Verse number 38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day and showed him openly. So there's the gospel, right? He was killed, he was slain, he rose up on the third day. Verse number 41, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. Alright, so not only does it say that Christ came to die for us and rise from the dead, but then God has anointed Jesus to be the judge over all. Jesus Christ is going to be the one that judges us on the day of judgment. Verse number 43, so important, to him, to Jesus, give all the prophets witness. I love that verse. All the prophets, all the writers of the books of the Bible. They all witnessed of Christ and there were prophets that did not write books of the Bible. Okay, we read about other prophets in the Bible that did not write. Even they, okay, gave witness that through his name, who so that believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. So what was the gospel that all the prophets of the Old Testament preached? The same one that we preach. Whosoever believeth in Jesus shall receive remission of sins. Faith alone on Christ Jesus is what gives you remission of sins. That's what Cornelius was looking for. That's the answer. That's what he needed to understand. He's heard of Jesus, he's heard that I want to know, I want to know God, you know, praying, fasting, doing right. What do I do, Lord, to appease you? You know, send me an answer. It's like, well, here it is. You believe in Jesus and you'll receive remission of sins. And he says, look, it's nothing new. You heard about it. All the prophets of the Old Testament have preached the same thing, the same message from the very beginning. I'm just obviously expanding, making this clear for you, Cornelius. Now, do you notice, what is the criteria to receive remission of sins there? Whosoever believeth in him. Whosoever believeth alone on Christ Jesus. Quickly come back with me to Acts 2. Acts 2. The verse that the Pentecostals loved to, you know, corrupt. Acts 2 and verse number 38. Acts 2, 38. This is on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2, 38. Then Peter said unto them, so same preacher. Okay, same preacher. Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So again, the Pentecostal, I cover this in Acts 2. I had three sermons on Acts 2. But remember, the Pentecostals, they say, well, to receive remission of sins, you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And then you've got your oneness Pentecostals. Not just baptized to have remission of sins, but baptized in Christ's name only. You know, the Jesus only movement. Jesus is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. You know, oneness theology, it's garbage. It's another Jesus. But so people turn to this and say, it says you got to do this to have remission of sins. No, no. All you need to do is believe on Christ to have remission of sins. When Peter says in Acts 2.38, repent, it's because he's telling the Jews how you rejected Christ and you killed Christ. Now repent, instead of rejecting Christ, turn from that, stop rejecting him, accept him, right? And be baptized for or because of the remission of sins. So once you receive Christ, how do you receive him? By believing on him. Once you believe on him, you received him, you repented, all right? You received remission of sins, and because you received remission of sins, go and get baptized. And this makes sense because it would continue there in Acts 10, verse number 44. Verse number 44 says, while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all of them which heard the word. So how does the Holy Ghost fall upon someone? Because they believed, right? They heard preacher preach, yeah, that's what we believe, right? Even like while Peter's preaching, right? They're like, yeah, man, this is it, this is the answer. All we have to do is believe on Christ and we can have remission of sins. And so they've believed on Christ, the Holy Ghost comes upon them. And verse number 45, and they of the circumcision which believed, so those of the Jews which believed, the Jews, former believers, remember some of them came with Peter on the journey? So some of those Jews which believed were astonished. As many as came with Peter, there it is, the ones that came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. What gift in particular? Verse number 46. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnified God, then answered Peter. So these Gentiles, Cornelius and his buddies in the house, right? They hear the preaching, yeah, we're going to believe in Jesus, we receive remission of sins, the Holy Ghost fills them and powers them. Now they're speaking in tongues. Like before it was the Jews, right? And now the Jews are like, other believers are like, what, now the Gentiles too? Wow, like, you know, they're like blown away by this. Again, God is not a respecter of persons. And again, what was the purpose of preaching in tongues? We read about this in some of the passages, it's to proclaim the gospel. God's equipping this Italian band, whoever's there, whoever's part of this, you know, listening to the preaching, they're being equipped as Gentiles to go and preach to other people in other languages. I mean, it's super important when you've got the Roman Empire ruling over many nations with people that speak many tongues, to be able to have that power, that ability to speak spontaneously another language to preach Jesus Christ and to glorify God, which they were doing at this point in time. Verse number 47, Can any man forbid water that these, sorry, then answered Peter, can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? See, they've already received remission of sins. But now, because of that, Peter's like, do any of you Jews for like, believe in Jews? Do you like object to these guys getting baptized? Shouldn't we baptize them as well? Right, that's kind of the question he's asking, right? Verse number 48, And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to tarry certain days. So they asked Peter, can you hang around a bit longer, man, we want to know more. Keep preaching to us. Right, we're saved now, we want to know more about this Jesus Christ, we want to know more about your faith. It's an amazing story. Title of the sermon was Cornelius, the Centurion. Before we end the sermon though, I want you to turn with me to First Timothy chapter four. First Timothy chapter four. First Timothy chapter four. First Timothy chapter four. I want you to understand that the Old Covenant, reading the Old Testament, and reading all the little details about the Old Covenant, what animals could they eat and not eat? It can be a bit boring, I know, kind of like, what's the point of knowing all this stuff? But I want you to understand that all of these things have had a spiritual or object lesson about a greater truth of the New Testament. The dietary requirement seems a little silly, I guess, but no, it actually tells us that God had prepared a better covenant whereby the unclean can be made clean if they entered into that covenant. You know, that this new covenant would be for all, rather than a physical covenant just for one physical nation. And this is why it's so important that God's word goes out throughout all nations. It doesn't matter how unclean or evil or wicked we think a nation is, the gospel should still go out there. But we are obviously going to prioritize those that fear the Lord. We will have more success, but hey, it doesn't matter if you find yourself, if you live in a nation, you might call it the hell hole or something like that. You say this is the least receptive, the least fearful place, I mean Australia is like that, one of the most least fearful places on the earth for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter how unclean we may think this nation is, they still need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Alright, but 1 Timothy 4 please, 1 Timothy 4 and verse number 4. 1 Timothy 4, you might say well pastor should we still keep these laws? Should we still avoid eating pork and all this catfish and, I mean, I guess if you want. I understand eating these animals that are bottom feeders, they can be a little bit, they might be disease driven a little bit, you might want to avoid them for health reasons. But you're not going to get brownie points from God if you avoid these animals, okay. Because in 1 Timothy 4 it says, for every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. So if I invite you to my house, we're going to have Christmas lunch, you come along and I've got an eel, we're eating eel for lunch. Every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused. Okay, you go, no I don't want it. No, let's sanctify it with thanksgiving, let's pray about it to God, let's just enjoy this eel. We get to enjoy something that the Old Testament saints were not allowed to enjoy, okay. Coming into Colossians 2, Colossians 2, Colossians 2, 13. You see that Old Testament law is no longer in effect because it's, you know, it's like a type and the anti-type has come which is Christ coming and bringing in the new covenant. You know, that all people of all nations are able to enter into this covenant rather than being restricted to a physical nation. Colossians 2, verse number 13, Colossians 2, 13 says, and you be dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He having quickened together with him, having forgiven you, all trespasses. So no, God's forgiven us all trespasses, right? This is how he's done it, verse number 14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. That's like dietary requirements, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. So Christ died on the cross, the Old Testament died on the cross with him, okay. The New Testament came in by the death of the testator. Okay, so the cross, Old Testament, nailed it, right? Done, it's dead. And when Christ resurrected from the dead, of course, salvation and the new covenant offered to all nations. But look at verse number 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Verse number 16, let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon or of the Sabbath days. So these are all Old Testament ordinances, practices, right? What you eat, careful with your dietary requirements, or what you drink, holy days, you know, special festivals that the Jews celebrated, of the new moon, the Sabbath days. Why? Verse number 17, this is important, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. So these Old Testament ordinances are a shadow of Christ, okay? The body is of Christ. Now, you know, the illustration there is, you know, you guys didn't see me on Sunday, right? So as I'm walking into the building, you say, man, I didn't get to see Pastor Kevin on Sunday, I want to shake his hand and say hello, right? But before I come in, you see my shadow, right? And you're like, oh, there's his shadow. And you go and shake the shadow, trying to shake the shadow's hand. Forget the shadow, I'm here, the body's here. Forget the shadow just to show that the body was coming, right? Like, forget the shadow, it doesn't matter. You know, it was just there to point us to the body of Christ, you know, that he would come. So all those practices have been done away. The old dietary requirements have been done away. Come with me to one more passage. Hebrews 9, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 9. You know, if you're someone, and you know, I don't think anyone is, but you know, if you're like, man, you know, and again, I have heard amazing stories where people have healed themselves from sicknesses following the Old Testament dietary laws. I think that's okay. If you're going to try to find healing and better healthy eating, avoiding unclean animals, I understand, okay? But that's a health thing that is not a spiritual thing whatsoever. Okay, God doesn't look down, wow, look at you, you know, observing the shadows, you must be doing better with me, right? You know, we see in the New Testament, don't refuse any, any animal, okay? Every animal is sanctified with prayer and thanksgiving. But Hebrews 9, Hebrews 9, and verse number 8. I just say that because I have come across Christians that have chosen for health reasons to avoid certain animals. I get it, alright? And then they kind of get mocked. Oh, you're following the Old Testament. They're not doing it for a spiritual reason. I just need to make it clear, right? They just see there was an advantage health-wise to avoid some of these bottom feeding animals, you know, that might be contributing to their physical issues. And when they've avoided that, I've heard stories, they've come out much better, healthier, losing weight, stronger, all these things. Well, praise God for that, alright? Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. But obviously, if you're trying to teach that as a commandment of God, this is what you have to do, this is how you have to eat, what you have to eat. Okay, that is not what God requires of us in the New Testament. But Hebrews 9 and verse number 8, Hebrews 9, verse number 8. The Holy Ghost is signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, the first tabernacle being obviously the tabernacle or the temple. Verse number 9, which was a figure, even the temple or the tabernacle was a figure for the time then present, and which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. So even offering the Old Testament sacrifices did not make anyone perfect, did not clear anybody's conscience. Verse number 10, which stood only in meats and drinks. Okay, so it's not just the tabernacle but also these meats and drinks and diverse washings, all the rituals they did for cleanliness, and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation. So this was imposed on the Old Testament Israelites, it was something they had to follow, but until the time of reformation. And that's not the Protestant reformation, okay, that reformation is when Christ came and brought in the new covenant, which says in verse number 11, When was he made a high priest? When he resurrected from the dead. Okay, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. So again, the sacrifices of the calves and the goats and sheep and all that, what was that? A picture of Christ coming one day to sacrifice himself, the perfect Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. So I want to highlight that because in these modern days, a lot of people are getting confused, and they're becoming Hebrew roots, Christians, so-called Christians, right, people get confused by this. I don't know why, I don't know why. Look, it's not that the practices of the Old Testament is horrible or disgusting, it's fine. It was there as a shadow, as a picture, to show people what would come with Christ and the New Testament. But now that the body of Christ has come, now that we are in the New Testament, these things have been done away with. We are now living in the days of reformation. It was God reformed the old covenant into a new covenant, a physical nation into a spiritual nation, a people of a physical nature that were considered clean versus those who were unclean, whereas God says all people of all nations are welcome to be clean into his new covenant through Jesus Christ. So, please don't get, I don't think anyone here would, but please don't get swept away with the Hebrew roots movements. You've got to go back, we've got to go and celebrate the holy days, we've got to go back and keep the Sabbaths, we have to go back and do the sacrifice, no, I don't think they do that. But you know, like other things, like the diocese laws, we've got to do that, and then they'll sneak one on you. And stop calling him Jesus, that's not his real name, call him Yeshua, a name not found in the Bible. Let's call him that. No, no, the Bible calls him Jesus. The New Testament was written in Greek. Okay, and then translated for us in King James Bible into English, a perfect translation, the name that was given was Jesus. That is our Lord God, right? We are to follow him. You know, not the shadows that have come before, and they were great for the time present back then. Okay, but for now, you know, we are in the New Testament, we are saved, and praise God that we can eat of every creature. So enjoy your pork, enjoy your eel, enjoy your owl, your eagle, whatever it is that, you know, God blesses you with. And as I said, title of the sermon was Cornelius the Centurion. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for tonight. Lord, thank you for the story in the Bible. It's such a great story, God, that you've looked down upon a Gentile man, an unsaved man. But you saw how he was seeking you, and Lord, you say those that seek you will find you. And I thank you for using a soul like Peter, and for clarifying his misunderstandings of how the Gentiles are to relate to the Jews. And Lord, he came to understand that you are no respecter of persons. I thank you, Lord, that you are truly no respecter of persons. I thank you, Lord, that we here in Australia have been saved. You've not neglected a nation, Lord, that is so far gone, so unclean in many ways. But Lord, thank you that through Jesus Christ we can be made clean and enter into this covenant that you've given us, Lord, through the blood of Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that you use us like Peter, that we would not have the attitude of despising certain peoples or thinking that people of certain nations or what have you cannot be saved. Help us to have a heart, Lord, to understand that you want the gospel going out to all the world. Lord, thank you for placing us in Australia. Lord, to reach your people here on the Sunshine Coast. Please utilise us. Please utilise Blessed About the Church to reach people in Sydney and Crown About the Church to reach people in Port Macquarie. And Lord, if you can increase our influence and our abilities, Lord, fill us with your Holy Ghost to be empowered. Lord, I know we won't be able to speak in tongues, but if you can empower us to have the boldness to open your Word boldly and with wisdom and with love. And Lord, to do just a great work for you. I commend you, Lord, and I thank you for tonight. We commit this night to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, thank you all for your patience. Please grab your hymnals. And I think we'll do one more Christmas hymn, Joy to the World. Joy to the World. Alright, the New Covenant is available to everybody in the world because of Christ Jesus. I just don't know the number. 423. 423, Joy to the World, 423, Joy to the World. Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the World, the Saviour reigns, Let men their songs employ, World fields and floods, Rocks, hills and plains, Ripping the sound in joy, Ripping the sound in joy, Ripping every finger sound in joy. Of all the sins and sorrows of old, Of gold it blasts the crowd, He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as far as the curse is found. He holds the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations grow, The glories of His might, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders and wonders of His love.