The Italian Job - Part One

[0:00] Well, if we could, this morning, for a short while, and with the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read, Acts chapter 10, the book of Acts chapter 10, and we'll just read again from the beginning.

[0:22] At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

[0:42] And I'm sure that many of us are familiar with the 1969 film, the classic film, The Italian Job.

[0:54] The Italian Job, I'm sure we all know, where Michael Caine, he was the leader of this Cockney criminal gang, he was released from prison, and he had the intention of stealing gold from an armoured security truck in Italy.

[1:08] And I suppose when you immediately think of The Italian Job, you have in your mind these three minis, these three mini coopers, red, white, and blue, and they're racing through the streets of Turin in Italy.

[1:21] And as we know the film, it was The Italian Job. But you know, in another sense, when we come to this passage, in Acts chapter 10, that's what we have. We have The Italian Job.

[1:32] Because Peter here, he's commanded by God to go to the home of an Italian soldier, and he's to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to him and to his family.

[1:44] But what's remarkable is that this Italian Job, in Acts chapter 10, it's a pivotal moment in the book of Acts. Because as you know, the book of Acts, it's a historical account of what happened after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

[2:03] And the book of Acts, it records how the early church responded to the teaching of Jesus, and how the gospel began to spread further and further. In fact, the book of Acts is often, it's titled as the Acts of the Apostles.

[2:18] But when you look closely, as we're doing in our study of the book of Acts, what we see that it's actually the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because it's all about how the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost, and how the Holy Spirit worked in the life of the church, and how the gospel spread throughout all these different nations.

[2:40] And that's just what Jesus promised would happen. Right at the beginning of the book, Jesus said to the apostles, And as we come to Acts chapter 10, that's what's still happening here.

[3:02] Because as the Christians were being scattered and persecuted, they were being driven out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria, and they were all bringing the gospel with them.

[3:16] And so by the time we come to this chapter, the gospel has spread to the Jews, and it's spread to the Samaritans. But now, as we see in Acts chapter 10, the gospel is spreading to the Gentiles, those who were not Israelites.

[3:31] The Gentiles are those who were not part of the original Jewish system. And Acts chapter 10, it's a paramount and pivotal moment, as the gospel comes to the the house of an Italian, and in particular, the house of a Roman soldier, a Roman centurion.

[3:52] This was, in many ways, the Italian job, where Peter was to go to the home of this Italian soldier and preach the gospel to him and to his family. Now, this morning, I'd just like us to consider the first half of this chapter, and then, God willing, we'll look at the second half of Acts chapter 10 next week.

[4:12] But we can look at part one of the Italian job under three headings. A religious Roman, a ravenous revelation, and a revolutionary residence.

[4:32] So first of all, we see a religious Roman. A religious Roman. We're told in verse 1, at Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort.

[4:45] A devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. Now, the opening verses of this chapter, they set out for us the Italian job, as we're introduced to this religious Roman in question.

[5:04] And we're told that he went by the Latin name of Cornelius, which was a Roman clan name. And Cornelius, he was resident, as we read there, in the ancient city of Caesarea, which was Caesarea Maritima, which is not to be confused with Caesarea Philippi, which was near Galilee.

[5:24] Caesarea Maritima, as it was called, it was this seaport city right on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. And it was built by Herod the Great under the authority and oversight of the Roman Empire.

[5:39] Herod the Great, he had built this city of Caesarea Maritima. He had built it in honour of the Caesar who was in Rome, the Emperor Augustus. But Caesarea Maritima, it was 65 miles northwest of Jerusalem, and it ran along the Mediterranean coast of Israel.

[5:58] It was only 30 miles north of the little town of Joppa, which is where we were last week. When we were witnessing Peter, he was there in Joppa providing pastoral care to those who were facing the heartache of disability and the heartbreak of death.

[6:15] But in comparison to Joppa, which was more of a Jewish town, Caesarea Maritima was the capital city of the Roman province of Judea.

[6:28] It was in Israel, but it was a very Roman city. As a city, it was this distinctly Roman place with all the culture and all the architecture of what the Romans had.

[6:38] There were many Roman buildings, many Roman pillars, many Roman statues, even many Roman amphitheaters. It was a Roman place. It was a Gentile city and many Gentile people there, including this cohort of Italian expats.

[6:58] But we're told that Cornelius, he was not only an Italian, he was also a centurion. He was part of this Italian cohort. Now, as you know, the Roman Empire and the Roman army, they were very well organized.

[7:13] They had this hierarchical Roman structure where they would organize all their soldiers. We're told that one Roman legion of soldiers was about 5,000 men.

[7:25] And these 5,000 soldiers were then further organized into 10 Roman cohorts, which was about 800 soldiers and 200 servants in each cohort. And so this Italian cohort in Caesarea Maritima was made up of about 1,000 men, 800 soldiers, 200 servants, and they had been posted from Rome into this city of Caesarea.

[7:53] And they would have been there for their whole life, stationed there and led by this man, Cornelius. And so Cornelius, as we read here, he would have been a highly ranked soldier.

[8:05] And like many Romans, he would have actually been a religious Roman. But what distinguished Cornelius from the other religious Romans in Caesarea was that he and his household, they gave generously to the Jews.

[8:21] He gave to the locals and he prayed continually. And this is because, as we read in verse 2, he feared God. He feared God, which was unusual.

[8:33] Because as an Italian and as a Roman soldier, Cornelius, he would have been brought up to worship all the Roman gods. There was 12 of them.

[8:43] And they worshipped all of these gods and many more gods. They worshipped gods like Jupiter and Mars and Venus and the goddess Diana. And Cornelius, he would have been brought up and taught to pray and offer sacrifices to all these gods.

[8:58] And even he would have been told to worship the emperor. Because at that time, just after the death of Jesus, it was then that emperor worship began to take place.

[9:09] Not in Rome itself, but in all the provinces where all these Roman soldiers were gathered. They would all have to worship the emperor and confess that the Caesar is Lord.

[9:21] But you know, for Cornelius, when he was stationed in Caesarea, living in the nation of Israel, he became interested not in his Roman gods and not in the emperor.

[9:34] He became interested in Israel's God. He didn't find safety, security and satisfaction in following the polytheistic religion of worshipping all these Roman gods and the emperor.

[9:49] Instead, it seems that this man, Cornelius, he sought to follow the monotheistic religion, the one God religion of worshipping the living and through God.

[10:01] And that's why we're told Cornelius feared God. But Cornelius, he wasn't a Christian by this point. Although he was seeking and searching for answers to his religion, he was still a Gentile.

[10:17] He was still unconverted. And because he was a Gentile, Cornelius, he wasn't allowed to partake in Jewish worship. He was living in Israel, but he wasn't allowed to worship like the Israelites because he was considered to be unclean.

[10:31] He was outside the covenant. He wasn't part of the covenant people of God. And so he was excluded from Jewish religion. But that didn't stop him. He still tried to worship his God, his chosen religion, being obedient to all its laws and prayer and fasting and giving.

[10:50] He sought to do it in his own way. But you know, the thing about Cornelius was that he realized that his religion couldn't save him. He came to an understanding that all that he was doing wasn't saving him.

[11:07] There was something missing. Cornelius knew that even his fear of God and his praying and his fasting and his giving, he came to understand it's not enough.

[11:19] Cornelius knew that even if he lived his life as an example and a model of what it meant to be this religious Roman, it still wasn't enough.

[11:30] There was something missing. Something missing in his life. You know, one commentator says, in every way, Cornelius was a model of religious respectability.

[11:43] And yet he was not a saved man. But the difference between Cornelius and many religious people today is, he knew that his religious devotion wasn't sufficient to save him.

[11:55] For many religious people today, says this commentator, many religious people today are satisfied that their character and good works will get them to heaven.

[12:07] But they have no concept of their sin or God's grace. Cornelius, my friend, he was a religious Roman. But he knew that his religion couldn't save him.

[12:19] And you know, my unconverted friend, we could describe you as a religious regular. A religious regular. And I sometimes wonder if you think that your religion of regularly coming to church on a Sunday morning will be enough to save you.

[12:39] But let me assure you, it's not. It's not enough. Being a religious regular is not enough to save you.

[12:51] Because it doesn't carry any merit or any righteousness before God. Yes, it's good to be here. And I love seeing you coming.

[13:02] It's lovely that you come each week. It's good to be regular in church. But it's not enough. It's not enough. It's not enough to be in church.

[13:13] It's not enough to sit in your own seat every week. It's not enough to hear the gospel regularly. It's not enough to be challenged about your condition and your sin.

[13:25] It's not enough to be close to the kingdom. Because you need to be in the kingdom. You need to be in Christ. You need to be committed to Christ. You need to commit your life and confess Christ as your Lord and Savior.

[13:39] You need to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth. Because that's what Cornelius was seeking to do. He knew that his religious routine of praying and fasting and giving.

[13:53] He knew that that couldn't save him. He needed to believe and confess that Jesus Christ is his Lord. In fact, when he had his vision, that's how he responded.

[14:08] When Cornelius was given this vision, he responds by saying, What is it, Lord? What is it, Lord? Cornelius knew that being a religious Roman wasn't enough.

[14:19] Because he needed the Lord in his life. And he was seeking and searching for salvation. That's why he received the vision. We're told in verse 3, About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly a vision of an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius.

[14:37] And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

[14:52] He is lodging with one Simon a tanner whose house is by the sea. Cornelius received a vision from the Lord. Why? Because he didn't have a Bible.

[15:06] He didn't have a Bible. The Lord spoke to this religious Roman with a vision. He was seeking the Lord. He was seeking something. He didn't know what it was. But Cornelius was seeking and searching for salvation.

[15:20] And the Lord spoke to him because he didn't have a Bible. And Cornelius then knew that there was something missing in his life. He didn't have safety, security or satisfaction.

[15:30] In all his praying and his fasting and his giving. He didn't have satisfaction. He knew there was something missing.

[15:44] And you know, my friend. What's it like in your heart today? What's it like with you? As you come to church each week.

[15:55] And sit and listen with an open Bible. Do you not ever think that there's something missing in your life? Do you ever think there must be something else?

[16:07] Do you ever think that you're not really finding that safety and that security and that satisfaction and that salvation that you need? You're not finding it in all the other things of the world?

[16:21] Do you ever think that there must be something more to life than this? More than just regular religion? Do you ever think that there's something or someone missing in your life?

[16:35] You know, my friend. It's not enough to be a religious regular. You need a relationship with Jesus. You need a relationship with Jesus Christ.

[16:46] You need to come to the person of Jesus Christ and speak to him about your soul. You need to speak to him personally about your soul.

[16:59] You know, that's what Cornelius wanted more than anything else. He wanted to speak to Jesus about his soul. But he didn't know at that point who Jesus was.

[17:11] Which is why he sends two servants and a Roman soldier to go and find this man called Peter. Because Peter's role was to tell him all about Jesus.

[17:21] And we'll see that more next week. And so while this religious Roman is sending for Peter, we see in the next few verses that Peter has a ravenous revelation.

[17:32] That's what we see secondly. A ravenous revelation. A religious Roman and a ravenous revelation. We're told in verse 9, The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

[17:49] And he became hungry and wanted to eat something. But while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance. And saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the air.

[18:03] In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him. Rise, Peter. Kill and eat. So while Cornelius, a religious Roman, while he was seeking and searching for answers to all his questions, we're told that the scene shifts.

[18:22] The scene shifts from Caesarea, the city of Caesarea, to this small town, the seaside town of Joppa, 30 miles away to the house of Simon the Tanner.

[18:33] And we're told that the day after Cornelius' vision, Peter goes up onto the roof of the house to pray. Before lunch, Peter wanted to set aside some time in the day to pray.

[18:47] And needless to say, it's a good practice to have. To come aside from the busyness of life to pray. In fact, I don't know about you, but there's been a huge push in the media lately.

[19:03] I don't know if you've noticed it. A huge push in the media where everyone is being encouraged more and more to take up meditation. They say that because our lives are so busy and we're juggling work and life and relationships and families, there's not enough time in the week or in the day to clear our minds and rest our brains.

[19:24] And we're told by all these experts that just as little as three minutes of meditation twice a day is proven to help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

[19:36] And you know, they think that this is a great discovery. But it's nothing new. For thousands of years, the Bible has been emphasizing to us as God's creation that we need meditation.

[19:53] Meditation is good for us. But not the meditation that scientists come up with of emptying our minds with everything. No, the meditation the Bible speaks of is to fill our mind.

[20:06] To fill our mind with God's word. That will de-stress you. That will give you peace beyond your asking or your thinking. In fact, that's why many of the Psalms were written.

[20:18] You look up the word meditation and see how many times it's mentioned in the Psalms. The Psalms are the meditations of others. And it was meditations as they took time out to meditate on God's word.

[20:32] That's what we were singing in Psalm 1. The Psalmist knew that he was a blessed man. And he discovered that he was a blessed man who had received from the Lord what he didn't deserve.

[20:43] And he discovered that. How? By taking time out. And praying and meditating upon God's word. Both day and night.

[20:55] And so prayer and meditation upon God's word. It's good for us. It's good to set aside some time in the day. To pray and to read the Bible. And that's what Peter was doing.

[21:08] He went up on the roof to pray. But as it was just before lunch, we're told that Peter was hungry. He wanted something to eat. And then he fell into this trance.

[21:20] Peter saw a vision. A vision from heaven opening. And something like a sheet descending. And being let down by its four corners. And on this sheet, this sheet, whatever it looked like.

[21:31] We're told that there were types of animals. And reptiles. And birds. Now this is the second vision given by the Lord in as many days. And I emphasize this.

[21:42] It's the second vision in two days. And I emphasize it because in the early church, visions and revelations were more common. Because the word of God wasn't present.

[21:55] The early church didn't have the Bible as we have it today. Therefore, the Lord revealed his will to people through visions. And dreams. And these visions and dreams aren't common anymore.

[22:08] Because we have the Bible in its entirety. Therefore, if you want to know God's will for your life. If you want to know how God is speaking to you today.

[22:18] If you want to hear the voice from heaven speaking to your soul right here, right now. Read the Bible. You read the Bible. Because as you've learned from your youth.

[22:31] The Bible, the word of God. It's the only rule to direct us. On how we may glorify God and enjoy him forever. I mean, you know, we should be very wary of someone who says to us, well, God told me to do something.

[22:47] God told me to go somewhere. God told me to do this. God told me to do that. We should be very wary of someone who says that. Especially if it's contradicting the teaching of the Bible.

[22:58] Because if God is true. And God's word is true. Then God will never contradict himself. He will never contradict himself.

[23:10] That's why. That's even why Peter questions what the Lord is saying. In his vision. Because when Peter received his vision. We're told in verse 13. There came a voice to him.

[23:22] Rise, Peter. Kill and eat. Peter says, by no means, Lord. I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice came to him again a second time.

[23:33] What God has made clean, do not call common. And this happened three times. And the thing was taken up at once to heaven. For Peter.

[23:45] His vision was going against everything he had ever known and understood about being a Jew. Because as you know, Jews don't eat the meat from certain animals.

[23:56] And that's because the Lord commanded the Israelites way back in Leviticus 11. That they were to only eat the meat from animals. Animals that both chewed the cud.

[24:07] And had a cloven hoof. They were animals that only both chewed the cud and have a cloven hoof. Which meant that the Jews were forbidden from eating animals such as camels.

[24:20] That were all around them all the time. Badgers, rabbits, horses. And more commonly known as pigs. They were all unclean animals.

[24:31] But in Peter's vision, the Lord tells Peter that these unclean animals, which had been forbidden for centuries. They're now declared clean. And as you might expect, Peter found this hard to get his head around.

[24:44] Because the Jews had always been distinct people. And they were distinguished from all the other Gentile nations around them. Not only by this one God that they worshipped instead of all these other gods.

[24:58] But by also what they ate. Or didn't eat. The Jews only ate from clean animals. The Gentiles always ate from unclean animals.

[25:10] And they were considered, the Gentiles were considered by the Jews as unclean and unholy. And because they lived like that and ate all these unclean animals, they were ultimately unsavable. That's what the Jews always thought.

[25:21] And for centuries, there was always this barrier of distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles. But in Peter's vision, the Lord was bringing that barrier down.

[25:33] And the Lord was revealing to Peter that with the gospel of Jesus Christ, there's to be no distinction between Jew or Gentile. There's to be no distinction between any nation.

[25:47] Because salvation is now to be offered to all people everywhere. But it seems that Peter's having none of it. Because even though he's hungry and he's, well, lunchtime is coming, he says, I'm not going to start eating this forbidden food.

[26:05] And in many ways with this vision, Peter must have thought, well, the Lord must be putting me to the test. That's what this really is. The Lord is putting my orthodoxy to the test.

[26:16] So Peter responds straight away and says, Not so, Lord. I've never eaten anything that's common or unclean. And it seems that Peter here, at this point, he's self-righteous.

[26:29] And he's proud of his orthodoxy and his religious piety. And that he has never eaten anything unclean like the Gentiles, who are unclean and unsavable.

[26:39] He is religiously proud. And you know, as Christians, we can often become self-righteous and proud of our orthodoxy and religious piety.

[26:56] Of course, there's nothing wrong with biblical orthodoxy, as long as it's biblical and lived out in grace and in all humility. But you know, as Christians, self-righteous pride is one characteristic that we're not to have.

[27:14] We're not to be self-righteous or proud because of our salvation. Or what we wear to church. Or how we worship. Or what office we have in the church. Or what we do as a Christian.

[27:25] Or where we go. Or where we don't go. Or what we eat and what we don't eat. My friend, self-righteous pride is one characteristic a Christian is not to have.

[27:37] Because we have absolutely nothing to be proud of. When we look at our heart, we have nothing to be proud of. In fact, a Christian with self-righteous pride is the biggest contradiction.

[27:52] And there is nothing so opposed to Christ and the gospel as someone who is a self-righteous and proud Christian. A Christian is to be like who?

[28:04] Jesus. That's what the word Christian means. Someone who follows Christ. So we're to be like Jesus. We're to be characterized by grace and humility. And that's what the Lord started teaching Peter.

[28:17] When he said to Peter three times, what God has made clean, do not call common. And it's interesting that the Lord had to speak to Peter three times.

[28:30] Because that's often what happened in Peter's life. The Lord spoke to him three times. Peter denied Jesus three times. Peter was asked by Jesus, do you love me?

[28:42] Three times. And here Peter is told that salvation is for the Jews as well as the Gentiles. And he's told it three times. Things often happened in threes with Peter.

[28:54] And it's on the third time that Peter understands the Lord's vision and takes on board the message. And this is what leads to this revolutionary residence, which we see lastly.

[29:07] A revolutionary residence. So part one of the Italian job, it involves a religious Roman, a ravenous revelation, and a revolutionary residence.

[29:18] A revolutionary residence. We read in verse 17. Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there.

[29:39] And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.

[29:52] So while Peter was trying to get his head around the Lord's vision that salvation is for the unclean Gentiles, we're told that three unclean Gentiles appear at Peter's door.

[30:05] They appear at the door and they're all looking for Peter. And with that, the Holy Spirit affirms to Peter that the Lord has sent these unclean Gentiles to him.

[30:16] So we're told in verse 21, And Peter went down to the men and said, I'm the one you're looking for. What is the reason for your coming? And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.

[30:38] So Peter, he goes down. He goes down from the rooftop, down to meet his unexpected and unclean guests and then he asks them the reason for their coming.

[30:50] But what happens next is remarkable because we're told that Peter invites these three unexpected and unclean guests to stay with him.

[31:01] Verse 23, So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

[31:11] This was a revolutionary residence. First of all, because Peter was staying in the house of Simon the Tanner who himself was a Gentile.

[31:23] Someone Peter should never have been staying with. Simon the Tanner was a man who made leather from unclean animals. He made leather from animal skins by tanning the hides of the animal with the bark of oak wood.

[31:36] He was Simon the Tanner. But this was a revolutionary residence, secondly, because Peter invited these three unexpected and unclean guests to now stay with him.

[31:47] And as a Jew, it would have been unheard of. Unheard of to let Gentiles over the threshold into your house because it would immediately make you unclean and disqualify you from going to worship at the temple or the synagogue.

[32:04] And yet what we're seeing here in this revolutionary residence, what we're seeing here is that Peter was being changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. His mind was being transformed.

[32:18] His mind was being renewed with the gospel. Because you remember that Peter, he went up to the top of the roof to pray and meditate before lunch.

[32:31] And he went up, you could say, as a cold, hard-lined man with orthodoxy. But he came down before lunch as someone who realized that not everything is as black and white as he made it out to be.

[32:46] He went up with his orthodoxy, but he came down more open-minded. And you know, as Christians, that's something we need to remember. Because you know, we can often get caught up in thinking that our priority is orthodoxy and where everything is black and white.

[33:05] Where it has to be this way, has to be done that way because that's the way it was always done. We have to be orthodox in everything. It can't be done any other way. Everything is black and white.

[33:19] But you know, orthodoxy, like it was for the Pharisees, it's often devoid of care, concern, and compassion towards others. And that is certainly not genuine biblical Christianity.

[33:34] My friend, like Peter, we need to be changed by the gospel. We need to be not conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of our mind with the gospel.

[33:45] We're not to be so orthodox that we're cold but open-minded where we're loving and caring and compassionate with this glorious gospel.

[33:59] And so as Peter was given the details of the Italian job to go and find a religious Roman, he knew that experiencing a ravenous revelation from heaven and brought about a gospel transformation in his life which resulted in this revolutionary residence with Peter showing hospitality to three outsiders in the home of a Gentile, something unheard of.

[34:25] But the question I want us to leave with this morning is what do we learn from part one of the Italian job? What's the lesson for us as Christians?

[34:38] What's the lesson for us? Well the lesson is you have to ask yourself what outsiders are in your life? Who do you know? Who do you know in your home, your family, your workplace?

[34:52] Who do you know that maybe you think the gospel isn't really for them? Who do you live with, work with, talk to, rub shoulders with that are outside the kingdom of God?

[35:03] Because part one of the Italian job, it's reminding us, it's reminding me, challenging us, challenging me, that outsiders are the people the Lord wants to have in our homes and in our lives and give hospitality to and share the gospel with.

[35:22] outsiders are people that the Lord wants us to have in our lives, in our homes, give hospitality to and share the gospel with. That's the Italian job.

[35:34] That's what Peter was tasked with, to go to the outsiders and bring them in. and as Christians, that's our job, that's our responsibility, to go to the outsiders, to take them into our homes, give hospitality to them and share the gospel with them.

[35:54] But for those on the outside, they need to respond to the gospel. They need to respond to the invitation. So those of you this morning who are still outside the kingdom, you need to respond.

[36:13] You need to come. We have been commissioned to go to you. But you need to come and respond in faith and obedience by following the Lord Jesus Christ.

[36:28] So that's the Italian job. God willing, we'll find out what happens next week in part two. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray.

[36:38] O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to thee for even the call of the gospel. We give thanks, Lord, that the Lord, the God, who commissions us to go and to call and even to compel, to compel people to come in that the Master's house may be filled.

[36:58] Lord, bless us then, we pray. Bless us in our endeavours. And Lord, we pray for those who need to respond, that they would respond in faith and obedience, looking to this Jesus.

[37:09] We thank thee, Lord, for the gospel, that it has spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria, even to our own shores, to our own village and to our own home and even to our own family.

[37:21] And Lord, we pray that it would continue to spread into the lives of those who are still outside of Christ, that they would be drawn to this Jesus, to see that he saves to the uttermost, that there is no one to whom the gospel cannot come.

[37:36] For Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Do us good then, we pray. Bless us in our being together, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.

[37:46] We're going to bring our service to a conclusion by singing the words of Psalm 25.

[37:57] Psalm 25 in the Scottish Psalter, the first version of the psalm, it's on page 231. Psalm 25.

[38:11] We're singing from verse 4 down to the verse 10. Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy paths, so teach thou me, and do thou lead me in thy truth, therein my teacher be.

[38:24] For thou art God that dost to me salvation send, and I upon thee all the day expecting do attend. Psalm 25 from verse 4 down to the verse Mark 10.

[38:36] To God's praise. Amen. Amen. So be thy ways, O Lord, thy paths, O teach thou me, and do thou lead heal my truth, and my teacher be.

[39:09] For thou art God all that dost, who be salvation send, and I upon thee the holy of the day, expecting to attend.

[39:43] Thy tender mercies, Lord, I pray thee to remember.

[39:59] Unloving kindnesses for thee have been of hope forever.

[40:16] My sins and hopes of you do thou, O Lord, forget.

[40:34] After thy mercy think on me and for thy goodness great.

[40:51] All good and all bright is the way your sinner's show, the meek in judgment he will guide and make his path to know.

[41:25] The whole paths of the Lord our truth and mercy sure through those that do is come and keep and testimony is pure.

[42:00] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore.

[42:11] Amen.