Cornelius Calls for Peter              August 19, 2012

 

Background:  Prior to our story the Church had gone through a time of persecution. Steven had become the Church’s first Martyr, Saul was rounding up and imprisoning believers and the Church was being scattered.  Shortly after this Saul was converted on the road to Damascus.  Things began to settle down and a period of relative peace ensued in which the Church experienced growth in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.  Philip, who had led the Ethiopian Eunuch to the Lord traveled around and ended up in Caesarea.  The Apostle Peter had also been travelling around the country, preaching the Gospel and healing many.  Of peculiar interest to our story is the healing of Aeneas, a paralytic from Lydda.  This miracle led to the conversion of all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon.  Meanwhile in the town of Joppa not far away a greatly loved servant of the Lord named Dorcas became ill and died.  When the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda which is not far from Joppa they sent for Peter.  When he arrived they told him about Dorcas and Peter raised her from the dead.  This led to the conversion of many in Joppa where Peter decided to stay with Simon the tanner.  This sets the stage for our story which is found in Acts 10:1-8

Scripture: Acts 10:1-8

Situation:  Cornelius, a Roman Centurion had a vision; an angel came to him and said...”your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.  Now send men to Joppa to bring back Simon who is called Peter.”  After the angel left, Cornelius sent for three of his men, told them about the vision and sent them to Joppa.

We want to examine what the people in this story said and did, what the consequences were and what we can learn.  Let’s begin with the man Cornelius. 

What kind of man was Cornelius, how is he described in this story?  (See verses 1, 2, 7, and 8)

·     A Roman Centurion (commander of 100 soldiers)

·     Devout and God-fearing

·     Behaviour- gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly

·     Listened to and was obedient to the instruction of the Angel (even though he did not have all the facts)

Go back over each point we have discovered and let’s see what else we can learn. 

         A)  A Roman Centurion- how did the Jews get along with the Romans? (They were being oppressed by them and usually hated them).  How do you think the Jews in Caesarea felt about Cornelius?

          B) Devout and God-fearing fearing (most likely a Gentile-non Jew, interested in Judaism but not necessarily a convert or proselyte- he would have observed the same God and Law of the Jews but was not circumcised)

          C) Gave generously to those in need and prayed regularly to God. What is implied here about Cornelius? 

           D) Listened to and was obedient to the Angel’s instruction. What does this tell us about Cornelius and his religious experience?

What phrase would you use to describe Cornelius in modern terms? Could you say he was a “seeker?”  Do you know of anyone like this in your circle of influence? Would you describe yourself as a modern day Cornelius?  Is it fair to say that Cornelius was a “seeker of God, knew about God but was not yet in relationship with God?”

In our story how does God respond to Cornelius and what can we learn about God’s character from our story?  See verses 3, 4, 5, and 6.  (God answers his prayer by giving him a vision in which he sees and talks to an Angel who tells him his prayers and giving has been noticed by God.  This shows us that God responds to those who earnestly seek Him and that God’s ears are open to our prayers and He sees our good works.  The Angel gives Cornelius specific instruction, which he listens to and obeys.  This tells us that God has a plan- He knew where Peter was and had Cornelius send his men to Peter- to accomplish His will and uses those who have faith.  God also builds on the faith of those who seek Him.)

Having read and talked about the story reflect on the following background points. How do they relate to the story? What do they tell us about God and what can we learn?

·     A time of relative peace and growth in the Church

·     Philip ending up in Caesarea

·     Peter’s ministry and miracles and him ending up in Joppa

God is always at work to accomplish His plans.  He is constantly putting the pieces of the puzzle of His will together.  Each of us fit into His plan somewhere and what is going on with us is often a small part of something much bigger.  How we respond to God matters, a lot. 

Conclusion:  What can we take home from this story? What have we learned about “seekers “of God? What have we learned about how God responds to those who seek Him?  What have we learned about God’s plan?

·     God answers those who earnestly seek Him

·     The prayers and good works of a person who is honestly seeking God are not in vain

·     God’s ears and eyes are open to see and respond to those who seek Him

·     If a seeker has a measure of faith God will build on it and help them to grow in their faith by bringing about circumstances to test the seeker to see if they will listen to Him and Obey instructions given

·     God is at work, has a plan and we can be part of it.  What is happening to us is often part of something much bigger.