The Surrendered Life- Part 6

Introduction- Acts 10:1-48

Over the last several weeks we have considered the surrender of a number of individuals in scripture from the apostles who surrendered to God and preached Jesus in spite of persecution, to Mary’s surrender of her life to be used as the means by which the Son of God would enter the world, to the surrender of Stephen to the point of laying down his life for the cause of Christ, to the surrender of Philip and his willingness to go wherever God directed and to do whatever God instructed, and finally the surrender of a man named Saul (who would come to be known to us as the Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus and the subsequent surrender of a lesser known disciple named Ananias who would minister to him.

Today we will consider the surrender of another familiar character in scripture as we look into the scriptural record of Peter’s journey to Caesarea to take the gospel to a group of Gentiles led by a man named Cornelius.

Up to this point the gospel had primarily been taken to the Jews only with a few rare exceptions and the majority of Jewish believers were still somewhat under the impression that the gospel was confined to the Jews and was not for the Gentiles—but all of that was about to change.

It would require God moving upon the heart of His servant Peter, and Peter’s surrender to God and His will in order for the gospel to make its way to the Gentiles.

A Certain Man (Vs. 1-8)

This passage opens with a description of a certain man who dwelt in Caesarea named Cornelius.

This man was in a position of authority in the Roman army—a centurion who led a band of men.

Cornelius is described as a devout man, a man who feared God and led all his house to do the same, he was a charitable man who gave generously to the people around him, and he was a man who prayed to God with great regularity.

The problem is that though Cornelius was genuinely religious and evidently had a true desire to know God—to this point he has not heard the truth of the gospel and has no personal relationship with God.

Cornelius is not unlike many men and women in our world today who might describe themselves as spiritual and who have a genuine desire to know God and are searching for truth.

We may encounter people like Cornelius all around us—people who have a longing in their heart which they may not even be able to put into words but which can only ever be truly satisfied through a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

In Cornelius’ case God sent an angel who began to speak to Cornelius.

At first Cornelius was afraid and questioned what it was that had brought this angel to him.

The angel then relays a message from God to Cornelius, first assuring him that God had taken notice of his behavior and then instructing him to send men to the city of Joppa—a city between 35-40 miles away which would involve a journey of two days.

The angel tells Cornelius that when the men arrive they seek out a man named Simon Peter who is lodging in a house by the sea owned by a tanner named Simon.

The angel assures Cornelius that this man will further instruct him in the ways of God and will be able to tell him what he ought to do.

Cornelius—a man at this point unsaved—follows the angel’s instructions and calls his servants and a devout soldier to him and sends them on their way to Joppa.

It is obvious that Cornelius is a man who is desperate to know God and who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of Him.

A Surrendered Servant (Vs. 9-20)

The following day—as the men are traveling from Caesarea to Joppa—Peter is in Joppa and around noon he made his way up to the roof of the home where he was staying in order to spend some time in prayer.

Peter is of course an apostle of Jesus Christ and one who has already shown a deep devotion to the Lord and who is intent upon following Him.

While he was praying he became very hungry and would have eaten but the meal was not yet prepared.

As a meal was being prepared, Peter fell into a trance and suddenly saw a strange vision appear before his eyes.

He saw heaven opened and a vessel descending towards him as though it was a large sheet connected at the four corners of it which was let down to the earth.

In this great vessel there were all manner of fourfooted beasts, wild beasts, creeping things (reptiles) and fowls of the air.

When it was now before him, Peter heard a voice which said to him “Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.”

This was somewhat scandalous and shocking to Peter because the animals in this vessel were considered unclean according to the Jewish dietary law.

In response, Peter refused, declaring the fact that he had never before eaten anything which was “common” or “unclean” according to the law.

The voice replied oncer more in the same fashion and in addition warned Peter not to call what God hath cleansed common.

This apparently happened three successive times before the vessel was finally received again back to heaven.

We can be sure that in this moment Peter is confused and cannot yet grasp the significance of the vision—but that will soon change.

This vision seemed to contradict what Peter had formerly believed concerning what he should eat, so he must have wondered what it all could mean.

It is evident that God is addressing prejudices that still remained in Peter’s heart and mind and it will become clear to Peter that God is calling him to step outside of his comfort zone.

As Peter is considering what the vision might mean, the men which were sent from Cornelius arrive in Joppa and sought for the house which the angel had described where they ask for Simon Peter.

As Peter continued to meditate upon the vision, the Spirit of God spoke to him to make him aware of what was about to take place.

The Spirit relates to Peter the fact that there are three men which are presently seeking for him and that he should arise and go with them setting aside any doubts or questions which he might have.

God assures Peter that these men have been sent by Him.

A Gentile Awakening (Vs. 21-48)

Ultimately Peter arises from his place of prayer and proceeds to the men and questions them as to their reasons for coming to him.

The men then tell Peter of Cornelius’ encounter with God and of the instruction which the angel had given him.

After Peter heard their explanation, they all spent the night in Joppa before departing the following day to return to Caesarea.

After a lengthy journey Peter arrives in Caesarea and proceeds to the home of Cornelius.

When they arrive it is apparent that Cornelius is expecting them and that he had called together many of his friends and relatives so that they too could hear what Peter had to say.

Here was a ready audience—all of whom apparently had a desire to hear the truth which Peter had come to declare unto them.

As Peter entered Cornelius as first fell down and worshipped him, but this misguided attempt at worship was quickly corrected by Peter.

Peter then confessed to the views which he had formerly held—that it was an unlawful thing for a Jew to keep company with those of the Gentile nations.

He then shares with this Gentile audience the reason for his being now in their midst—namely that God had revealed to him that his former prejudices were not reflective of the work which He desired to do among all nations.

He then asks why they have sent for him to which Cornelius answers with a description of the message which God had through the angel delivered to him.

Cornelius then plainly indicates that they are ready to hear the message which God has given to Peter to deliver to them.

At this point Peter first expresses the new understanding of the fact that God is no respecter of persons and that there are people in every nation which fear God and work righteousness and will be accepted (welcomed) of God.

Peter then preached Jesus to this group of hungering Gentiles and immediately there was a powerful moving of God.

The Holy Ghost fell upon them and it was evident to all the Jewish believers which were present that God had moved among them.

Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 11:15 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.”

This astonished the Jews who were present there—they were amazed that God was moving among these Gentiles in precisely the same manner that He had moved among them.

Peter then posed a simple question to all that were present— “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized?”

This was a clear indication that Peter was absolutely convinced that these Gentiles had received Christ and that now it would be perfectly appropriate for them to be baptized in order to publicly identify themselves with Him.

This series of events is the result of Peter’s surrendering to God—in spite of his former prejudices.

This spiritual awakening among the Gentiles was the product of Peter’s willingness to step outside his comfort zone at God’s direction.

Those who are surrendered to God will yield themselves to Him even when He leads them in a way which contradicts their own views.

Those who are truly surrendered to God will be willing to step out of their comfort zone in order to do His will.

Had Peter been unwilling to allow God to reshape his thinking concerning the Gentiles or unwilling to step outside his own comfort zone, these Gentiles would not have had the opportunity to hear the truth of the gospel.

Conclusion

If you and I will genuinely surrender ourselves to God, there will be times when what He says will contradict our own viewpoints and we will need to reshape our thinking to align with His leading.

If you and I will surrender to God, you can be sure that He will at times ask us to step outside our comfort zone in order to do His will.

There are people all around us just like Cornelius—searching for truth and looking for answers—and God will use us to reach them if we will surrender to Him.

It may even be the case that there is someone here today who like Cornelius is devoutly religious, is kind and charitable, who even prays to God regularly, but who has never placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior—one who is seeking for truth and looking for answers.

The answer is Jesus Christ—your religious devotion is not sufficient to make you right with God—you cannot have a genuine relationship with Him except through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Will you not today believe on Him and receive Him as your Savior so that your sins may be forgiven and so that you may come to truly know God.