May please the Lord to bless
us this evening. We'll continue our meditation
in the Acts of the Apostles chapter 10 and this evening from verse
17 to verse 33. Most of you will remember that
last week we considered that situation where Peter went up
on the roof to pray and how the Lord came to him and in a very
remarkable way. And we pick up the account then
as we read, Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which
he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from
Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before
the gate. This was Simon the Tanner, whose
house Simon Peter was staying in. And Peter therefore was now
meditating on those things which he had been shown. And it's wonderful to read the
perfect timing of the work of God. Here was wonderful timing
from the beginning when Cornelius was first brought to view the
angel speaking to him, and those three men going to Joppa to find
Peter, and then Peter being moved to go to pray at three o'clock
in the afternoon, and then the Lords to appear for him. And
now that appearance having been completed, now these three men
arrive at the door, just at the right time. And so We read, And
they called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter,
were lodged there. And so, while Peter thought on
the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee
down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Well, that was a very clear word,
wasn't it, from the Lord to Peter. He wasn't to know who these men
were. He hadn't seen them yet, but
they called and he'd heard them ask whether it was the house
where he was staying at. And the Spirit of God then came
upon him and told him what he should do. And it's good if we
find in our lives, the Lord may direct us as to what to do. And he spoke very clearly, arise
therefore and get me down and go with them, doubting nothing,
for I have sent them." And clearly there was the question which
was likely to arise in Peter's mind as to whether this was right,
whether he should go with them. And therefore the Lord graciously
spoke those words, doubting nothing. And it's sometimes we doubt,
don't we? The Lord may have spoken to us
The Lord may have given us a word of direction, a word of encouragement. We may think, well now, was that
from the Lord? And the tendency is for us to
doubt the word of the Lord. But here it was so clear to Peter,
and Peter was commanded to go with them, and he was also told
that the Lord had sent these men to him. So, Peter willingly
obeyed. He went down to the men which
were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, Behold, I am he whom
ye seek. What is the cause wherefore ye
are come? And again, he didn't prevaricate,
he didn't pretend anything, he was very honest and he said immediately
that he was the man that they were seeking for and he asked
them Therefore, wherefore are they come? Again, we see a very
direct answer. The Word of God does clearly
instruct us. Here was a clear question. Here
was a clear answer that these men came. And they said, Cornelius,
the centurion, a just man, one that feareth God and of good
report among all the nations of the Jews. was warned from
God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house and to
hear words of thee." Well, first of all, what a blessing if you
and I can evoke such a testimony that Cornelius did to his servants
and the soldier which had come to Joppa. What a wonderful statement
it is. He was described as a just man,
one that fears God, and a good report among all the nations
of the Jews." It's amazing, isn't it, to think
that here we have a Gentile who was probably a Roman, was spoken
of, good report among all the nation of the Jews. Those people
who were naturally against the Gentiles and would not meet with
them, would not speak to them, would not eat with them. And
yet here he'd had a good report among all the Jews. Now we should
recognise this as an important consideration that we today in
our lives should be a good example, should be just in all our dealings
and evidence that we do fear God and therefore there may be
a good report of us. We don't want a bad report, do
we? We want people to be able to speak well of us not because
of any self-gratification, but for the honour and glory of God.
If you think of those words, they took knowledge of them that
they'd been with Jesus. There was no doubt about it.
It was very clear, and it was very clear with this man Cornelius,
that he was a godly man and that he had been warned from God by
a holy angel to send for thee into his house and to hear words
of the It's interesting to see how the Spirit of God directs
these words. He was warned from God. He was
warned to do this. And when we receive a warning,
it's a clear indication that we are to be very careful and
we are to follow that which is right. And so here he was warned
from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house
and to hear words of thee. called he them in and lodged
them." Now these were strangers, weren't they? These were strangers,
but I believe it's clear that here these men evinced that they
were a true believer, followers of the Lord, and perhaps we know
what it is to meet with other Christians, perhaps in other
countries, and these were somewhere away, in other countries and
find there is that immediate link, that warmth of heart, one
to another, centred in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, Peter was
perfectly happy to invite these three men in and to lodge in
the place where he was staying. And then, on the morrow, Peter
went away with them and certain brethren. We read in a later
chapter, there were six brethren that accompanied them. So we
can imagine here these ten or these nine people walking along
the road together, journeying back to Cornelius. And they must
have had a wonderful conversation, because surely they were all
the godly people. They were all seeking to do the
will of the Lord. And they had this longest journey
together to be able to speak of the things of God and it would
seem certain that that's what filled their hearts and they
were able to declare what the Lord had done. And so, the next
day after they entered into Caesarea and Cornelius waited for them. He clearly believed that that
vision which he'd had was from God and what was he given? Like Peter was given faith, living
faith, to believe what the angels had said was true and therefore
he wasn't just going about his work, he was waiting for Peter
to come and on the morrow Peter went away with them and certain
brethren from Joppa accompanied him and the morrow after they
entered into Capernaum. Cornelius waited for them and
had called together his kinsmen and near friends. So he had that
confidence that Peter would come. It wouldn't be any good would
it, calling people together and then Peter didn't turn up. But
he had that confidence and that living faith to believe that
yes, Peter would turn up and therefore he invited his family
and invited his friends to come in and to wait for Peter's arrival. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius
met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. Cornelius didn't really know
of the standing or the status of who Peter was, and clearly,
having been directed by the Holy Spirit, he was concerned to operate
in a very right and good way, and so he came and he fell down
at his feet and worshipped him. took him up and saying, stand
up, I myself also am a man. Yes, there was no difference.
They were both sinners, but they were both sinners saved by grace. And as he talked with him, he
went in and found many that would come together. What a wonderful
gathering it would have been, wouldn't it? These men coming
from Joppa and these other people gathered together in this house
And now they were waiting to see and to hear Peter. And he
said unto them, now Peter declared what he'd seen and what had occurred.
Ye know how that is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew
to keep company or come unto one of another nation. But God
has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Peter observed now what the vision
that he'd seen was about. that great cloth which had been,
that great sheet which had been let down with those unclean animals
and he said he wouldn't eat and the Lord had told him, call not
thou common which God has blessed and so here was the outworking
of that picture which he'd been blessed to observe and so he
is able to tell them now this truth but God has showed me that
I should not call any man common or unclean." And we need to realise
this was a tremendous statement for this man, Peter, who was
a Jew in and out, and yet by the influence of the Spirit of
God, he was made willing to accept these Gentiles and to operate
with them as though they were brethren. Yes, he came and said,
I should not call any man common or unclean, therefore came I
unto you Without Gainsane, he didn't ask any questions, he
didn't argue about it, he didn't consider whether he should or
whether he shouldn't, he knew he should. And he went. And therefore
he says, therefore came I unto thee without Gainsane, as soon
as I was sent for. I asked therefore, for what intent
ye have sent for me. Now he wanted to know the real
reason why Cornelius had sent for him. And now it was Cornelius'
turn to reiterate the reason. And he comes and says, four days
ago, I was fasting until this hour. At the ninth hour, I prayed
in my house. And behold, a man stood before
me in bright clothing. And again, I want to point out
here that these statements by these men was a very honest account
of what they'd seen. There was no frills added to
it. It's a very clear statement. And yet it was a very positive
statement, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine
arms are had in remembrance, in the sight of God. Send therefore
to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is
lodged in the house of one Simon Atanah by the seaside, who, when
he cometh, shall speak unto thee. a very clear message from the
Lord to Cornelius. Cornelius had obeyed the word
of God, he waited these several days and now he was looking forward
to hear what Peter would be able to speak to them. And so he tells
us, immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast well done
that thou art come. Now therefore Are we all here
present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee
of God? They come to hear what God would
speak. Now therefore, are we all here
present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee
of God? It directs us, doesn't it, to
our situation today as we gather together for worship. Do we gather
together? I hope we do gather together.
Just like this, we come and we present ourselves before God
to hear those things which have been commanded to be spoken. We haven't just come to satisfy
our conscience, we haven't just come to appease our conscience,
we've come to hear what God the Lord will speak. And that was
just what these men were gathered together in this house at Caesarea,
this house of Cornelius. They come together and they were
anticipating the good news, the great news that God would bring
to them. Now therefore are we all here
present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee
of God. Well, God willing. Next week
we'll speak about those things that Peter was able to speak
to them about. May God bless his word. Amen.