Being Prepared for a Move (Part 1)
Lessons from the 1st Century Church | A Study through the Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsGod is in the business of preparing hearts for His work in their lives. He not only prepares the one receiving the Gospel, but He also prepares the one to deliver the Gospel.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction |
God is in the business of preparing hearts for His work in their lives. He not only prepares the one receiving the Gospel, but He also prepares the one to deliver the Gospel.
Background Passage | Acts 10:1-22
Focus Passage | Acts 10:1-8
Outline |
Up to this point within the New Testament (Gospels and Acts 1-9), when one reads they will see a Jewish dominated Gospel mission being presented. We find within the Scriptures that Jesus went to His own first and they rejected Him:
11 He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him.
Acts 10 begins a transition of ministry focus. The gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer going to be focused toward the Jews, but what begins within in this text, in a transitional focus toward the Gentiles, you and I. We saw the lead in within the last verse of chapter 9, And Peter stayed in Joppa many days with a tanner named Simon (Ac 9:43 NASB). Simon was a gentile and a tanner. Tanner were considered unclean. Peter, being a Jew, typically would not be seen with one such as Simon. Peter was already being prepared for a move and just did not know it. I wonder how many of us being prepared for a move of God in our life and just do not know it yet?
Religion but no Relationship (vv. 1-2)
As we look at our text, we are introduced to yet another Gentile, Cornelius. He’s a Roman centurion, a guard. He’s part of a group of about 600 other soldiers called the Italian cohort (v. 1). Peter was already staying with a Gentile, but he was going to be prepared to truly share with a Gentile. Cornelius lived in Caesarea, a Roman city about ten miles from Joppa, were Peter was presently staying. One needs to pay careful attention to how Cornelius is introduced to us as the readers by Dr. Luke.
Cornelius was a religious man - ‘…a devout man...’
Depending on the your translation you will find that he is described as devout, pious, religious. He was committed to the Jewish faith and God although he was a Gentile.
Many of us may find ourselves within this same description. We are devout, committed, and religious. We make sure that we read our Bibles. We make sure that we are faithful to pray and not just at meal time or bed time. We make sure that we tithe faithfully and even give above and beyond and give an offering too. We make sure that we dress right, talk right, watch all the right things on T.V., Listen to only Christian music, and make sure that the only friends we hang with are other Christians. We are devout. Not only was Cornelius religious, but he was something more.
Cornelius revered God - ‘…one who feared God with all his household…prayed to God continually...’
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Fearing God does not equate to salvation alone though. Many people fear God but they do not know God. In essence, their fear is not of God or the righteousness of God, but it rather the thought of God. It is a fear of the possibility of God. As I was driving one day, I came behind a car that had in big letters on the back of their car, “Do not judge me. The only judge that I have is God.” While that statement is true, we must realize the seriousness of that truth. It should absolutely shake you to the bones that God is your judge. For he does not judge with partiality. He judges through His knowledge of you. He knows all there is to know you. While your heart may deceive you, it does not deceive God.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? 10 “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, To give to each person according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
Everyone of us, at some point, will face the Lord and give an account for ourselves.
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
Not only was Cornelius a religious man and feared God…
Cornelius was generous - ‘…made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people...’
Cornelius was apt to give and support the causes of God and the ministry. He was especially support of the Jewish people, who were God’s chosen people. Generosity is good. We should all be generous in our giving and supportive of the church, of the ministry, of the Jewish people. This should not be done for our salvation but because of our salvation. We must understand that being generous in our gifts, our tithes and offerings, does not equate salvation. We should want to give though. We should give. Truly, when we do not tithe, we are doing nothing less than robbing God…
8 “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
Cornelius was religions. He feared God. He was generous in his giving, and finally, and most importantly…
Cornelius was lost
34 Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. 36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—
However, God was not going to leave him that way. God had heard his prayer and new his heart. He was going to allow him to hear the gospel and finally know what it’s like to have a relationship not just religion.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And he looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
Divine Principles in Play (v.5)
5 Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;
There is the divine principle of service - ‘…Send men to Joppa...’
Now on the surface, this principle might be missed. You have to truly read between the lines and look at the underlying truths that are before us. We see an angel of God (v.4) who tells Cornelius to send men to Joppa to get Peter (v. 5). The intent of Cornelius sending men to get Peter, while not known to Cornelius at that moment was for Peter to declare the truth of the gospel to him.
Brothers and sisters, God chooses us to share HIs good news. The angels look upon and desire to have what you and I have, but cannot have it. It was the desire of the prophets to know this very same salvation and personal relationship that we have with the Father through Christ.
10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.
It is not the angels responsibility to share the message of reconciliation, it is our responsibility. We have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
We should have no trouble serving and sharing the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
There is the divine principle of supplication
As we read within our previous text, Cornelius was a praying man. We read that Dr. Luke writes of Cornelius, prayed to God continually (v. 2). We are called to be a people of prayer. As Jesus said of His Father’s house that it is to be a house of prayer. Paul told the believers at Thessolonica, cease not to pray. However, there is a side of prayer that is often missed.
God heard the prayers of Cornelius. God answered Cornelius’ prayer with a command, Now dispatch some men to Joppa. The prayers of Cornelius would be answered in stages. The first answer came in a command. If Cornelius did not follow suit and be obedient to this command from a messenger of God, he would never truly know God’s complete answer.
Many people pray to God and may even receive an answer to God, yet that prayer goes unanswered either partially or completely, because of a lack of obedience. We are called to be obedient to God’s call on our life even it does not make sense. Cornelius did not understand why God was calling him to send men to Joppa, but he knew that he needed to obey God’s call and answer. For without that obedience, he would not have ever heard the gospel. He would have never been saved. This brings us to our final divine principle…
There is the divine principle of obedience
8 and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Cornelius obeyed God’s command to dispatch some men. He followed to a ‘T’ what God told him to do. He called the men to him. He told them to go Joppa, a 10 mile journey away from his home, and find a man named Peter in a tanner named Simon’s home. He did not know the reason, but he knew God was behind it, so he obeyed.
God does not call us to know the all the answers. God does not call us to know the end from the beginning. God calls us to be obedient. Many of us, have had prayers unanswered because of disobedience. If Cornelius doesn’t obey he misses God’s answer for his life and most importantly he misses out on the salvation of God.
How many today are missing out on unanswered prayer because of disobedience? How many of us, most importantly, are missing out on salvation, because we are disobeying the call of God on our life? Do not miss out on God’s call because you choose to disobey.
Conclusion |
Religion is not the answer. Being generous is not the answer. Fearing God alone is not the answer. Supporting the church and God’s people is not the answer. Obeying God’s call on your life is the answer. Being obedient to God’s call is the answer.
Being obedient to share the gospel is the answer. Being obedient to hear and accept the gospel is the answer. How many within the sound of my voice need to respond? How many need to obey the voice and call of God? How many need to go and share? How many need to pray? How many need to obey? How many need to move from their state of religion into a state of relationship.