Sermon 78
Sermon by Jane
Scott-Thompson at Wonersh on 22nd April 2007.
Seekers in the Bible
Peter and Cornelius
Readings - BibleGateway.com
- Acts 10;
Today, we’re starting a new sermon series, based on Seekers in the Bible. As you’ve probably worked out already, from our readings, the first person we’re studying is the centurion Cornelius. Ian suggested I start with a bad joke, and then say “that was corny, wasn’t it”!
The first reading set the scene, telling us about Cornelius and his vision, and about the apostle Peter’s vision, up until Peter got to Cornelius’ house. The second reading told us what happened there.
Up to this point in Acts, the gospel has only been preached to Jews, to Jewish converts and to Samaritans. Now, God steps in to show that the good news is for everyone – and that, of course, includes all of us, because we’re Gentiles just like Cornelius. First God prepares Cornelius, then Peter, then, following Peter’s teaching, a second Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is given to the Gentiles.
You may like to look at your Bibles, starting on page 1103, Acts Chapter 10, to follow the story as we go through it.
First God prepares Cornelius: we learn from Acts that Cornelius was devout and God-fearing, he was generous and prayerful. These are characteristics that Jews would recognise in someone seeking God. 3 pm was a Jewish time of prayer, as Acts 3:1 tells us, so Cornelius seems to have been doing his best to follow the example of the Jews around him. From his fearful reaction though, in verse 4, he doesn’t seem to have expected to see an angel! Possibly because of his fear, he addresses him as Lord, and listens to what the angel had to say. I hope he would have been reassured, that God had heard his prayers. Then, just as he would expect his soldiers to do, he obeys, “yes, sir!” He gathers some men and sends them off to fetch Peter. He didn’t just write it off as a dream, he took action to continue his search for God.
Meanwhile, God is preparing Peter, also with a vision. Peter too is praying, and as he listens to God, he is apparently being told to break the Jewish food laws: all kinds of animals, reptiles & birds are mixed up together in something like a large sheet, and he is told to eat from it. This vision is repeated three times, echoing both Peter’s denial of Jesus and his restoration, and, making sure that Peter realises it wasn’t just an odd dream. We see from verses 17 and 19, that Peter continues to puzzle over the interpretation, but with the Spirit’s encouragement, he listens to the Gentile messengers and perhaps begins to understand the deeper meaning of the vision, as he invites them into the house.
It seems that God is working in both the seeker, Cornelius, and in Peter, who will bring the answer to the search. While Cornelius was having his vision, Peter was staying with a tanner, regarded by Jews as ceremonially unclean; so perhaps he was already becoming less prejudiced in his outlook. While Peter was praying, the messengers from Cornelius were approaching the city, arriving as Peter was still perplexed by what he had seen. Isn’t God’s timing perfect? While Peter continued to think, the Spirit said the visitors were looking for him, and he shouldn’t hesitate to go with them (verses 19-20). Then in verse 21, he goes down and introduces himself to them, and listens to why they have come (verses 22-23).
It was presumably too late to
start the return journey to
Cornelius was expecting them (verse 24)……. Just savour that phrase for a moment…… Was he sitting there calmly getting on with his usual day-to-day routine? Or was he dashing backwards & forwards, overseeing all the preparations, pestering all his relatives and friends who hadn’t arrived yet, getting in the way of the servants, looking out of the window every 5 minutes, jumping up and down with impatience for the answer to his fervent prayers actually, in person, to walk through his front door?
Then, as Peter enters, Cornelius falls at his feet! Not exactly an appropriate reaction for a Roman centurion, representing the occupying powers, on meeting an uneducated Galilean fisherman from the sticks. However, it shows Cornelius’ humility and willingness to learn. Bible commentator, John Stott says, “If Cornelius’ act of falling down before Peter was unbecoming, so too according to Jewish tradition was Peter’s act of entering a Gentile home.” However, “now Peter felt at liberty to break this traditional taboo and to enter Cornelius’ house, because God had shown him that no human being was unclean in his sight.”
So, Cornelius welcomes Peter inside, and Peter explains, in verse 28, how God told him to go with the messengers. Then he asks why Cornelius sent for him, and hears first-hand the story of Cornelius’ vision, in verses 30-33. Quoting John Stott again, “It was a remarkable acknowledgement that they were in God’s presence, that the apostle Peter was to be the bearer of God’s word to them, and that they were all ready and open to listen to it.”
Peter’s sermon, in verses 34-43, is important for several reasons: one, it’s the first offer of the Gospel to the Gentiles; two, it gives an outline of what the early Christians believed about the significance of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection; and three, God blessed the listeners in a remarkable way – see verse 44. This has been called the Gentile Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes on non-Jews in a similar way to what happened to the disciples in Acts chapter 2. This time, there is no mention of the wind blowing, or tongues of fire, but the Jewish believers from Joppa heard these uncircumcised Gentiles speaking in tongues and praising God – and they were astonished! Peter affirms what has happened when he says, in verse 47, “they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have”, and he concludes that baptism with water, in the name of Jesus, was the obvious next step as God had already given them the baptism of the Spirit.
Well, that’s all fine for first century Christians, but what about us, today? How can we follow Cornelius’ example? One suggestion I’d like to make, is that we too listen more to those around us, especially those of a different faith or none. Cornelius was a Roman, the occupying power, but he listened to Jews and the Jewish God, and earned the respect of those where he lived and worked. He asked questions in prayer, and he stepped out in faith, responding obediently to the vision he was given. We can do that, too!
Peter, likewise, stepped out in faith, and was open to changing his views. He was transformed from a humble fisherman, brought to Jesus by his brother, and became an important leader in the early church. I’m reminded of a book title, ‘If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat’. Metaphorically speaking, are we willing to climb out of our relatively comfortable boats, and stretch ourselves, dipping a toe onto the waves around us?
Let’s look back for a moment to verse 24, Cornelius expecting his visitors, and link that to our own search for God. For some of us, that will have started a while ago, but I hope all of us can say that the search is continuing as we seek to grow in faith, to get to know Jesus better and better, and to become more like Him in our day-to-day lives. Are there, or were there, any similarities with Cornelius? Do we pursue the answers to our questions so diligently? Are we excited about our search? Do we include our whole household, our relatives and close friends? Why not? Why should they miss out on the Good News?
What about Cornelius’ introduction to Peter’s sermon, in verse 33? Do we come to church on a Sunday, or to an Alpha course meeting, or to homegroup, with that attitude? As the preacher today, I find that a scary thought, and am tempted to scrub everything I’ve said so far, and just read God’s word to you straight from the Bible. I didn’t get visions like Peter as I was preparing, but I have to trust that God will answer our prayers, just as he answered Cornelius, and will give me something to pass on to each of you, to encourage you, to build you up in your faith, and to challenge you to seek God more in your own lives.
Maybe you’re uncomfortable with what happened to those Gentiles when they received God’s Spirit? Do we want to praise God like they did? Let’s remember that God is Love, and He loves to give good gifts to His children. He promises that all who ask, will receive, but everyone’s experience is different – He treats each one of us as the unique, beloved individual that we are. We may not feel any different in answer to our prayers, although most people have a strong sense of God’s love for them, in response to the Holy Spirit’s work. We shouldn’t compare our experiences with that of others – though most of us still do! What matters, is that God always responds to our prayers for more of Himself, and that the fruit of the Spirit comes later – it takes time to grow.
So, let’s ask God how He wants us to step out in faith and seek Him more. For me, I’m standing up here in front of all of you, preaching my first full-length adult sermon. Also, I’m very involved with re-starting Alpha, and having to step out in faith as I ask people I’ve only met recently, to come or to help. Maybe you could come to the course: just try out the next couple of sessions to find out what it’s like – though obviously we hope you’ll enjoy it so much you’ll want to come to the rest! Perhaps you could pray for a friend, and bring them with you to the autumn course. Most of us are already very busy, with a multitude of different activities – but maybe God is nudging us to help out just once this term, with setting tables, cooking or washing up.
Perhaps you think you’re far too busy to take on anything more. Could God be saying to you, “let go” of that activity you’ve done for years? Free up some time to spend just resting in His presence? Shock horror, stop doing something, resign! That could be just as much stepping out in faith as taking on something new.
What about when life is really hard, and everything seems to be going wrong? As some of us heard yesterday at the Ladies Breakfast, when we’ve fallen over in the muck, stepping out in faith is the last thing we feel like doing. Then, perhaps, what God wants us to do is just relax, allow Him into the difficult situation to show us His love (without us being porcupines and pushing Him away) – and maybe to open up to our friends and ask them too for help.
Can you tell someone on the way out of church, what God is challenging you to do? Ask them to pray for you, and offer to pray for them in their stepping out. We need to balance our worship and learning from God with putting it into practice in serving Him. We need to make sure that what we do on Sundays makes a difference to our lives from Monday to Saturday. As Peter said, in verse 42 “He commanded us to preach to the people”, and in verse 43 “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name”.
Let’s pray silently for a moment.
Amen.