You have heard the song…Jesus loves the little children, all
the children of the world, red or yellow, black or white, they’re all precious
in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world! It’s funny how sometimes, we don’t realize
that he still loves them even when they are grown! We live on a small planet; we live in
proximity with our neighbors and yet we are often times worlds apart from one
another. We have built in prejudices;
pre-conceived notions about one group or another; stereotypes about how certain
folks are supposed to act; preferences for folks of a different race,
educational background, socioeconomic status—yet, this is not the way that God
intends for it to be!
The bible says in psalm 24:1 that the earth is the lord’s
and the fullness thereof, the world and all those who dwell in it! That means that every single human being on
the face of the planet belongs to God who created us all! In God’s eyes, there is no such thing as
race, color, denomination, or social cliques—no, God views us as his creation.
In Acts 10, Luke describes two men who could not be more
different: Cornelius, a Roman soldier and Peter, the apostle/disciple of Jesus Christ. They are a world apart but one day, their
worlds collided. Their meeting was
unavoidable because God had work to do! God
had a message to spread- he wanted the whole world to know that Jesus Christ is
the only way to salvation!
Cornelius
Cornelius was a good man by all accounts. The beginning of the chapter notes that he
was a soldier in the Italian regiment, stationed at Caesarea. He was a man who feared God! Imagine that, being a soldier trained to
kill, working around godless men, here is one lone bright light who feared God
and was compassionate. Cornelius was
what the ancients called a “God-fearer” – he was not Jewish but he accepted the
Jewish customs, he accepted monotheism (one God) and he gave charity to the
poor.
He was a good father also because the bible says that he
feared God with his whole household!
Every father in America needs to read about this man. He was a rough and tumble guy who still loved
God! He was a man who made sure that his
children knew who God was! There is
nothing more powerful in a family than for a man (a daddy) to stand up and say,
for God I live and for God I will die! There is nothing more important to a
family than for a man to be a man of God and not simply a TV dad.
A man is supposed to be the priest of his home; he is
supposed to have those spiritual talks with his children; he is supposed to
bring them up in the fear of the lord and that is what Cornelius did. Cornelius, as great of a man as he was,
lacked something. There was an element
of his life that was missing. Although
he loved God, he prayed to God continually but he could not get to God because
he did not know Jesus!
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life and no man
comes to the father but by me! There is
no other pathway to experience a true relationship with God except through Jesus
Christ! There is one God, and one
mediator between man and God, the man Christ Jesus!
So, God, in his infinite wisdom put this man on a collision
course with someone from a totally different world than his. He put Cornelius on a path to meet a man who,
unless God had intervened, probably would have viewed Cornelius with
contempt! He set him up to meet with the
apostle Peter (Acts 10:3-7). There could
be an implication here that we are saved by our works considering that the angel
references Simon’s deeds coning before God as a memorial. This is not saying that we are saved by works
but that his works did not go unrecognized by God—and this man was a Roman. How much more will our good works stand out
before God as Christians! Galatians 6:9
says that we should not get weary in well doing for in due season we will reap
if we faint not!
Peter
We know Peter as the hotheaded disciple who was always
putting his foot into his mouth. He was
a staunch Jew. Peter was the disciple
that denied Jesus 3 times. He was a
tough guy. He was also tested! Luke 22:31 Jesus said to Peter that Satan has
asked permission to sift you as wheat…but I have prayed for you that your faith
will not fail! (Anyone know) that
sometimes you will have to be tested to prepare you for God’s work?! We will face trials and obstacles that will
bring us into a state of submission and humility before God.
Because of Jesus, Peter was a changed man. He was a more humble man and he was a man who
was full of the Holy Spirit. He healed
the beggar at the beautiful gate. He had
just healed a paralyzed man in Lydda. He
had been to prison for the name of Jesus.
He was so full of the spirit of God that his shadow could heal the sick!
Peter shows God’s grace!
Here is a man who had messed up about as much as you could mess up and
yet God still used him. Don’t you think
that God can do the same thing for us?!
Our mess ups are opportunities for God to teach us more about
himself!
The Vision and God’s
Master Plan
So Peter is in Joppa.
He is holding the piece to the puzzle that is missing for Cornelius. While he was in Joppa and while the servants
and the soldier who were sent by Cornelius were on their way, God blew Peter’s
mind. At noon, Peter goes up on the
rooftop to pray. During his prayer, Peter
falls into a trance while he was waiting on his food [Verse 11-14]. This vision
was God saying that he was getting ready to bring folks who were worlds apart
together under Jesus Christ. Peter had
been raised in a strict Jewish background and viewed foreigners with
contempt. He did not consider the Gentiles
worthy of his time. Obviously Peter
struggled with this after this encounter because he and Paul engaged in a
debate regarding showing partiality to Gentiles [see Galatians 2:14].
There is only one way to bring men and women together with a
singular heart and mind and that is if we have the mind of Christ. Ephesians 2:14 says that Jesus broke down the
dividing wall that separated Jews and gentiles; he made the two into one
man! He is the source of all
reconciliation! Jesus is a bridge. He is the bridge between God and man. He is the bridge between man and fellow man
and he is a bridge over troubled waters!
Jesus is the way that we can come together and reconcile any differences
that we may have.
We can argue and we can debate but if we agree that Jesus Christ
is lord, if we agree that there is no other name under heaven by which men must
be saved, if we agree that Jesus died for your sins and my sins, if we agree
that he got up on the 3rd day…you are alright with me!
Peter’s vision concludes with a wonderful message [verse 11-15]… no matter what our
differences are, no matter where you come from…the blood of Jesus makes us
clean! The blood of Jesus covers up all
of our imperfections and makes us righteous in God’s sight and no man has a
monopoly on Jesus! No one has the market
cornered on holiness. No one can say: "Jesus
only belongs to me!"
When the men that Cornelius sent got there, the Holy Spirit
says to Peter, go with them without delay.
Peter invited these foreigners into his home. He gave them lodging, they were not Jewish! This was his first step toward accepting
those who were “foreigners” to him.
The Message and the
Linking of Two Worlds
By all accounts, Peter and Cornelius were from two different
worlds. They existed in the same plane
of time, in the same vicinity but were in two separate spheres. God moved and God brought these two
together. Peter and Cornelius were both
missing pieces to their spiritual lives!
Cornelius was missing Jesus [Acts
10:33]! Peter was missing the fact that God was impartial
and did not regard any man (regardless of background) as more worthy that the
other and that God was extending his grace to include the Gentiles! [Acts 10:28; 10:34]
Do you see how God put this together? Do you see how God’s hand ordered these two
men to this appointed time? Do you see
the fingerprints of the Holy Spirit all over this situation? Don’t you know that God is still in the
business of ordering our steps! Psalm
37:23 says “the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord.” God is still bringing folks from different
worlds together through the blood of Jesus Christ and under the cross of Jesus Christ! When we stand under the cross of Jesus Christ,
we stand in the shadow of the cross – it is hard to see differences in the
shadow all we know is that there is someone standing next to us who is just as
much in need of Jesus as we are!
The Message [verse
34-43]
1. God does not show partiality to any man but welcomes
every man who fears him and does what is right!
2. We are welcomed through Jesus Christ who is our peace
with God! Colossians 1:20 says that Jesus
Christ made peace with God for us through his blood! 1 john 2:2 says that Jesus is the
propitiation- he is the one who appeased God on our behalf because we could not
do it in our own righteousness.
3. Jesus Christ was anointed of God to do good and heal the
oppressed!
4. Jesus Christ was put to death on a cross! While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
5. Jesus Christ got up from the dead and showed himself to
witnesses who could later proclaim the message of the gospel and the
resurrection!
6. Jesus Christ was appointed as the judge of the living and
the dead! One day the clouds are going
to part, Jesus Christ will sit in judgment of those who are alive when he comes
and those who have died. Some will be
glad to see Him; others will not be because as the Judge, Jesus will decide who
goes to heaven and who goes to hell. I
don’t know about you, but I want to be in the number where he says “well done
good and faithful servant, you’ve been faithful over a few things now I will
make you ruler over many!”
7. The prophets bore witness to him that he is the one whom God
sent to save those who believe in his name from sin! Here is the most powerful part of this
message! Jesus is the only one who can
grant forgiveness of sins! When Jesus
forgives you, you are forgiven forever!
There is no condemnation! Jesus
is able to forgive because he paid for our sins at Calvary! He did for us what we were unable to do for
ourselves! Here is what salvation means,
that Jesus Christ paid our debt for sin, forgives us of our sins, and has now
made peace with God through his shed blood!
All who accept his payment no longer have the penalty of sin hanging over
their heads!
To show Peter that this was legitimate, that salvation had
indeed come to the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and all of
those who were listening to the message!
The messages within this text are numerous. There is someone in your vicinity who God is
preparing to meet you and preparing you to meet- there is nothing that you can
do to get ready for this meeting, but when it happens, be obedient to the
unctioning of the Holy Spirit. We cannot
afford to be hung up on prejudices and stereotypes- nothing that God has made
clean can be called unclean! It is Jesus
who is able to break down the barriers of race, denomination, personal
prejudice or any other obstacle and bring men and women together for the glory
of God!
