Acts chapter 10 revised

Acts chapter 10

Cornelius was a God fearing man.  We are not told that he saved (that is a debatable point)

We are told however that he prayed regularly and gave to the poor.

He was a man of position in the Roman Army.  A centurion, a commanding officer.  He should have been thought of as the enemy and hated by the Jews.  Instead, he was respected by them presumably because he was a God fearing and generous man who cared for them

It tells us that he was a man of good character and well thought of.

It was against the Jewish law as we are reminded in this chapter for any Jew to visit or associate with a gentile.  Yet in spite of this, he cared for them. He looked after them.  (I wonder how many of them broke the law because of the respect they had for him)

I think this law would have been heart breaking for such a man.  He did what he was able to do for them, yet that law must have been a barrier in communicating with them

He prayed and gave to the poor which is the right thing to do, but I wonder if we think of prayer and giving in the way that God does.

What does God think of Prayer and giving to the poor?

We see that in verse 4.  God saw them as a memorial offering.

Cornelius in his giving gave to the poor (and did not pocket income as many would have or demand money with menaces as many would have) REMEMBERED THE POOR

I think it logical that as he gave to the poor, so his prayers were probably for him and for his efforts to give them at much relief as he could.

I think he did it because he had compassion and it was the right thing to do.

I expect he thought that life would go on like that, be a centurion, carry out orders from above, give orders to your servants, pray and help the poor.

If Cornelius’s giving and praying were a memorial offering, then as people give and pray for us, or as we give and pray then surely these to are memorial offerings. When we receive money, that money may indeed be used to support us or the projects but it is in reality an offering to God. ( Andrew Prentice called it touching the Holy of holies)

One day, something he could not have expected happened. He saw an angel, and was afraid.  That sort of fear comes from an awareness of our own impurity no matter how Godly we try to be.

The angel delivered a message about calling Simon also called Peter who was a guest of Simon the tanner, whose house was by the sea.

This was all the angel had to say, it was not given to the angel to preach the Gospel to him and his friends, that task was given to a mere man.  Simon Peter and so today the task of communicating the gospel is given to us.

Notice that to find Simon Peter, we are told, almost as an aside, whom Cornelius called to find him.  He called two of his servants and a DEVOUT soldier who was one of his attendants.  The soldier is not named, but we are told that he was devout and one of Cornelius’s attendants.  I think these two pieces of information are significant.  Cornelius could have given the order to look for peter to any attendant. Any soldier under his command.  He chose that one, because he was devout.

What made the soldier devout?

I think it was what that soldier saw in Cornelius that made him devout.  I think he saw great character in Cornelius and sought to be like him.

Do you ever think that there are people, who look at you and your life, and think, “I want to be like him or her”?  I want what he or she has and they seek it out.

I think in that soldier we see that Cornelius was like that. 

Verse 8

He told the soldier and the servants everything  I think that is significant. He as commanding officer did not need to tell them why he was sending them, but he did.  I think the servants were also devout, and that message would have reassured them and told them God was about to do something, and It would have reassured Simon Peter that he was not being arrested, but that God wanted him to go with these men.

At the same time, Peter unknown to himself was being prepared for meeting Cornelius

Peter was a devout Jew and would have nothing to do with the Gentiles according to the law.

I think that God uses every aspect of our lives for his glory, even what seems to be small insignificant ones.

For example, when I was on holiday, I had no plans to go to Leominster, but it was the only place I could find that had a bed for the night.  When I was in the kitchen the temporary manager came in and we talked about spiritual things.  I was left with the feeling that God in is providence brought about the circumstances that put me there that night so that I would meet and talk with that young woman.  I will probably never see her again, but I pray that what I said would be just right for her.

So likewise we see in this chapter, that in Gods providence, Peter was on the flat roof and he was hungry.  Peter must have felt hungry many times as we all do sooner or later.  God used his hunger to teach him something.

In a vision while his meal was being prepared, he saw a vision.,   He saw a large sheet from heaven descend full of all the foods that were unclean and forbidden to him and the lord told him “Get up, Peter, arise Kill and eat”.  Peter said surely not lord; I have never eaten anything impure or unclean

The lord said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 

Note that God said ANYTHING, not any food

Note also that it is what God has MADE clean, not what the law had said up until then.

NOTICE THIS TO.  It was not just when Peter was hungry he saw the vision. He had gone up on o the roof to pray, presumably it was while he was praying that the vision came and may have been an answer to prayer.

You see the situation, God had sent a message to Cornelius to get him ready and he sent a message to Peter to get him ready.  Neither of them were involved in bringing about the circumstances of their meeting or what was to follow.

When we pray, do we think that God is doing something with them that is outside of our control that will bring about his will and his glory?  Is God doing something with us now and with others at the same time as a result of our prayers or what we are doing?  Think about that.

Peter was thinking about the vision.  What could it mean and once again in Gods providence it was while he was thinking about it that the two servants and the devout soldier arrived.

The vision was for preparing peter for the arrival of the men who were at the gate and Peter would be ready for their request for him to go with them to a Gentiles

I have never had a vision, but I have had inner prompting.

Have you ever had an inner prompting?  I have and we see in this instance so did Peter

He was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go with the men.

In my case, I was living in Dunfermline and one day the mail arrived and I set it aside to read later, However, I felt that inner prompting to pick up the mail, tear it open and look for the word “DUNFERMLINE” I knew I would find it, and there was something God wanted me to be involved with.  I tore open the mail and did some speed reading, and there it was “DUNFERMLINE”  YWAM were having a summer of service in a Pentecostal church I knew and I applied.  I knew the pastor and his wife, and it was the first short term mission I ever did. It was that inner prompting that made me participate.

Peter prompting was that there were three men at the gate looking for you. Go with them, do not hesitate, for I have sent them.  This was at least in part the fulfilment of the vision as up until then Peter would not have gone with them because we can assume that at least the devout Soldier would not have been a jew, and the servants may not have been jews either.

At this point, Peter knew he had to go with them, but he did not know why.

When I had the inner prompting that day, I knew what to do, but I did not know why.  God did not reveal to me that day that Mission would be my life, and that one day It would lead me to being in OM for what has so far been more than 17 years.  I did not need to know that them. I just needed to know that I had to participate in the YWAM summer of service for a couple of weeks.

Peters first act of obedience, was not going to Cornelius, it was letting the servants and the soldier into the house.  The soldier would have been a gentile and most likely the servants to and this was against the jewish law. Never the less what God had revealed took precedence.

Peter did as the lord commanded and went with them.

I expect that was difficult for him, as in obeying the lord, he was going against all that he had taught and believed up until then.  He was associating with that which he had thought was unclean and making himself in the process unclean.

Sometimes God expects us to do things that we find difficult. Never the less we should do them if it is of the lord.

Notice this, although only Peter was commanded to go, some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.  I think this was probably because of Peters Godly leadership. Just as Cornelius was thought well of by the jews for his care of them and giving to the poor, so these brothers from Joppa thought so highly of Peter that they decided that if God has commanded Peter to go with these Gentiles, then this must be good, God is doing something, so we will also go.

When Peter arrived at the house, Cornelius fell down before him, but Peter told him to get up, for he to was only a man.

Just like Peter, I do not think it bodes well to think too highly of ourselves.  No one has ever felt the need to fall down before me, but if they did, the temptation would be there for me to think too highly of myself

Humility is often the characteristic that people see in us that points them to the lord.

Gordon Jenkins was my minister for many years. He is a highly intelligent man with an exceptional teaching capability, but his approach to everything is that of a learner, and when I saw that in him, I decided that in that respect, I wanted to be like him.

Jesus himself, was humble, so likewise should we.

So Peter is in the house, he tells them about the jewish law that forbade him to do the very thing he was doing, but he still did not know why he was there.

He did the sensible thing, he asked them why he was sent for.

Cornelius told him about the angel who came to him and what the angel said

Notice it was a large crowd that had gathered in Corneliuses house, not just him or him and family or him and few others, but a large crowd. It tells me that he was well thought of not only by the jews but by the gentiles as well. They had been effected by his life and knew that God was doing something special, so they wanted to see and hear all about it, so they came.  They seized the opportunity and were there for Peters arrival and had decided to listen to all that Peter had to say for the lord.

At church do we gather expecting like they did, to hear what the lord has to say to us? Or has it become just something we do, and is regular and mundane and we have no expectations?   Can honestly say, I love it. I really love it. I love it now just as much as I have always done since the day I was converted.  A lot of what he has to say I have heard many times before, but I often hear it in a new and for me a fresh way.  Sometimes it is completely new to me and exciting. And sometimes it is what I already know and have believed for many years, but there is an additional bit for me.

If you are not able to say that, then you need to ask the lord to re awaken that in you and if you are sincere I promise you, it will happen.

Verse 34, peter says, that he now realises that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from ever nation who fear him and do what is right.

Peter had only just discovered that because of his vision. However that had always been Gods plan, because God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of MANY nations and as people from all over the world trust in Christ, so God is still carrying out that promise and we are by faith descendants of Abraham

Peter preached the gospel to them and while he was still speaking the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard.  The brothers from Joppa who has accompanied Paul were astonished.  They received the gift of the holy spirit, they spoke in tongues and then  they had to spend weeks or months attending communicants classes after which it was decided whether they could be baptised or not. Isn’t that what the bible says?  No it does not.  When peter saw that they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit the ordered that they should be baptised immediately.  There was nothing to stop them being baptised.  Peter then stayed for a few days presumably telling them more of Jesus.

Remember that the Jews did not associate with the Gentiles. Just going to the house was a bit matter and here we are told that not only did the Jewish believers go to the house, but they went further than that, they baptised the gentiles so Cornelius would have been among the first Gentiles in the world to be baptised

We see in this chapter that God accepts prayer and giving as sacrifices pleasing to him. 

Sometimes we do not comprehend what he is doing, but he is doing something. 

Sometimes God chooses and saves people that we on the face of it would not think he would choose.  Cornelius and all who came to his house that day were such people

Sometimes our prayer and all our efforts may seem feeble. But if we are seeking to honour the lord by doing them, they are good and pleasing to him just as Cornelius’s were.

Notice that it was while both Peter and Cornelius were praying that they had visitations from God, for Cornelius an angel and for Peter a vision

We need to welcome people into the family of god, whom we would not have chosen. ( GV has a saying, we did not choose these people, God did)  Is the church ready for them, people whos ways may not be ways that we are accustomed to.  The Jewish believes did not naturally accept the gentile believers. God had to show them by the outpouring of his holy spirit that that he accepted them and because God had accepted them, they the Jews had to accept them because God had made the Gentiles clean.