Acts 10:1-8 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. ”When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
In the above focus we have an angel of the Lord appearing to Cornelius, a devout Roman centurion. Cornelius is an officer in Caesar’s army over approximately a hundred men. The angel of the Lord tells Cornelius to send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. After raising Dorcas the seamstress from the dead, Peter is staying in Joppa in the house of Simon the tanner. Because Cornelius is a devout man who shows his devotion to God by praying and giving money to the poor, he is visited by an angel in a vision. The angel is preparing him to know the only way to be right with God. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) In this world there are many like Cornelis who are searching for God by living good lives. In countries where Jesus is locked out of their societies, God often sends dreams, visions and strong testimonies from other Christians to these people to deliver them from the darkness in their communities. God knows these people who desire with their whole hearts to know God. Cornelius is one of these individuals. The angel tells him to send some men to Joppa to convince a man named Peter to go from Joppa to his house in Caesarea some 32 miles away. Cornelius sends three men to Joppa, one is a devout soldier in the Roman army. This request of Cornelius an officer in the Roman army for Peter to come to his house is a hard one for Peter to refuse, for the Roman army has authority over the Jewish people, but God, not fear of the Roman officer, convinces Peter to accept the invitation of Cornelius and to go to Caesarea where the Roman garrison is located. In this event we see God intervening in Cornelius’ life. This scene is similar to what happened to Saul on the way to Damascus. Saul, as with Gentiles, was living in ignorance of how to be right with God. He was more in darkness than Cornelius for he was fighting Jesus directly: THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. Paul, a devout man to the law and regulations of God was serving God the best way he knew. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6) After God’s interdiction in Paul’s life, he was never the same, for he knew the God of grace, mercy and love. He completely gave his life to God, eventually dying a martyrs’ death.
In today’s focus we see Cornelius on the way out of the darkness of not knowing the only true God, the Creator of all things. God reached into his life, revealing himself to Cornelius by eventually infilling him and his household with the Holy Spirit. This enlightenment in his soul delivered him permanently from the futile traditions and rituals of his world, making him a child of the living God. In the Old Testament, we see God many times using Gentiles to bring Jesus to the world. Because of God’s promise to Abraham to bless all nations through his Seed, his descendants were responsible to bring this Seed to the world. Gentiles were also part of this mission to carry his seed to fruition. Ruth was a Moabite; she was David's great-grandmother--David whose throne Jesus would inherit. To assure the Seed's protection, David used Gentiles in his army to display his kingdom’s power, not only in Israel but also in the lands surrounding Israel. Even some of his strongest and most abled members in the army, known as David’s Mighty Men, thirty fierce and able warriors, were foreigners: Zelek the Ammonite, Uriah the Hittite. (2 Samuel 23:8) We see the prostitute Rahab, a Canaanite woman, instrumental in the Israelites' success in invading the land of Canaan. The Seed of Abraham’s promise, Jesus Christ, was protected and enabled to come to realization through the efforts of many Gentiles. In all these efforts, Jewish and Gentile alike, God was bringing salvation to the world in the form of the man, Jesus Christ. Now through Cornelius' salvation experience, the door of salvation is thrown wide open to the Gentile world. The Seed would now deliver them from the darkness of the secular society. Jesus is the way to being right with God for the whole world. Abraham’s promise to all nations comes into reality. Cornelius was a good Gentile man, devout, giving alms to the poor. However, he was also a leader in the Roman army, an army known as cruel and vicious. Caesar ruled by the instrument of fear; people feared his army. But Cornelius was a devout man who wanted to please God. Although a man of violence, he was a man dedicated to God. God recognized him as being a good man at heart; consequently, He sent an angel to him. As Jesus said by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:20) A good tree bears good fruit. In the Bible there is a constant theme in the Old Testament and the New Testament to give to the poor and needy. The giving to the disadvantaged or the helping of those who need support in life such as widows, orphans, aliens, crippled, infirm, and the like is a bellwether of a good heart. If this is not part of your life, no matter how religious you seem or how much spiritual activity you are involved in, you lack the heart of God. Jesus himself came for those who need a doctor. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) God knows those who have his heart, who HEAR his heart in their daily walk.
Cornelius’ heart WAS devoted to God and giving to the poor. Paul says to the Thessalonica people that God himself has taught them to live in love and unity. Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12) Because of the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the Thessalonians’ lives, God himself was teaching them how to live good and wholesome lives. What is a good and wholesome life? A life filled with the attributes of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26) There is no law against goodness, peace, and love. But there are many laws established against selfishness, self-interest, aggrandizing the self: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:16-21) Obviously, Cornelius was not displaying the works of the flesh and neither were members of his household, for he was the spiritual leader of those who were in his care, all his family were devout and God-fearing. As Christians filled with the Holy Spirit, are we fighting against God’s will in our lives? Are we displaying in our daily walk some of the attributes of the flesh to the world: discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. Do people welcome us in our work places, in the grocery store, in offices, in our communities, or do they wish to avoid us because we come with a negative spirit and a contrariness that is distasteful to others. Are we men and women of self-willedness, lacking appreciation of others, not preferring them above our own interests in life? Are we minding our own business or heavily involved in other people’s business and lives, telling them how to run their lives or work places? What fruit are we bearing in our lives? A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:18-20) Are we people who cry Lord, Lord, but do not do God’s will of loving his creation with an enduring love, a constant love, day after day. Are we hearing God’s heart for people He created? Yes, as Christians, people will not appreciate us because we carry the name of Jesus on our lives. We will be persecuted and maybe even hated all on account of Jesus' NAME. (Luke 21:12) But we should not be hated because of our contrary nature, our stubbornness, our self-willed interest in life or our arrogant and selfish nature. No, if we are hated, it should be because of the name of Christ. Jesus' nature brings a contrast to the world’s way of living; their selfishness, hatred, arrogance and self-interest. Will an angel come to you some night and say, Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God? Will you hear when you meet God: “Enter into my rest my good and faithful servant.” Yes, I am sure you will, but please, as you live your life, keep in step with the Holy Spirit.
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