Acts 10:1 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer, Cornelius, a captain of an Italian regiment. 2 He was a godly man, deeply reverent, as was his entire household. He gave generously to charity and was a man of prayer. 3 While wide awake one afternoon he had a vision—it was about three o’clock—and in this vision he saw an angel of God coming toward him.
“Cornelius!” the angel said.
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What do you want, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and charities have not gone unnoticed by God! 5-6 Now send some men to Joppa to find a man named Simon Peter, who is staying with Simon, the tanner, down by the shore, and ask him to come and visit you.”
7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a godly soldier, one of his personal bodyguard, 8 and told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
If Cornelius had not been sent to this tiny country with its intransigent population that clung to the Mosaic Laws, he might have remained a worshiper of Mithras. But despite all the oaths, all the blood sacrifices, all the rituals, Cornelius could find no peace. Only when Cornelius came to Israel, to Herod’s port city of Caesarea, did he begin to catch traces of holiness. And once that hunger for holiness had been kindled, Cornelius found himself increasingly drawn into the Jewish religion. But one problem remained: the problem of sin. How could animal sacrifices possibly pay for the sins of a man? And what about the lives of many of the Jewish religious leaders? Surely, there has to be something more, some additional way to experience God. Charitable acts help, but they’re not satisfying. Cornelius wants a God big enough to truly worship.
9-10 The next day as they were nearing the city, Peter went up on the flat roof of his house to pray. It was noon and he was hungry, but while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open and a great canvas sheet, suspended by its four corners, settle to the ground. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, snakes, and birds forbidden to the Jews for food.
13 Then a voice said to him, “Go kill and eat any of them you wish.”
14 “Never, Lord,” Peter declared, “I have never in all my life eaten such creatures, for they are forbidden by our Jewish laws.”
15 The voice spoke again, “Don’t contradict God! If he says something is kosher, then it is.”
16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven.
17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? What was he supposed to do?
Just then the men sent by Cornelius had found the house and were standing outside at the gate, 18 inquiring whether this was the place where Simon Peter lived!
19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come to see you. 20 Go down and meet them and go with them. All is well, I have sent them.”
Peter is perplexed. True, he has been a fisherman for years; however, he has always observed the Jewish dietary laws and has tried to follow the commands of Moses. But now God Himself is sending a vision indicating that nothing is unclean as far as God is concerned. And the vision is repeated three times, three being a sign of divinity and infinity. When God wants to assure believers that a message is from Him, he confirms it by repeating it three times.
Just as Peter is scratching his head in confusion, the messengers from Cornelius appear at the door, seeking Simon Peter by name. Here’s another conundrum; how have these Romans learned Peter’s name? Peter has tended to avoid Romans as much as possible. But the Holy Spirit informs Peter that these men have come to see him and that He, the Holy Spirit has sent them.
21 So Peter went down. “I’m the man you’re looking for,” he said. “Now what is it you want?”
22 Then they told him about Cornelius the Roman officer, a good and godly man, well thought of by the Jews, and how an angel had instructed him to send for Peter to come and tell him what God wanted him to do.
23 So Peter invited them in and lodged them overnight. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some other believers from Joppa.
It’s a funny thing about God; He delights in turning our cherished prejudices upside down and inside out. We are SURE we know the people who are acceptable to God; meanwhile, God is busy delivering people whom we deem beyond salvation.
Years ago, I heard a testimony from a man who had been a fervent member of the Hell’s Angels somewhere in the northwest. As a highly intelligent man with strong administrative talents, this guy had been one of the chief organizers of the various crimes his group was involved in-drug dealing, prostitution, and a host of other unsavory activities. Meanwhile, this man’s mother continued to pray for him faithfully. Years passed, and this man resisted everything his mother could say; however, he could not resist the Holy Spirit. Eventually, this guy came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and wanted to leave the Hell’s Angels; however, he knew too much. The motorcycle gang members were hunting this man to eliminate him before he could report their activities to law authorities.
Things became critical and the guy wound up in a phone booth with gang members closing in on him. He called his mother, who ordered him to look up local churches in the phone book and call the first pastor God brought to mind. There were several miracles-first, the gang members didn’t drag him out of the phone booth; second, there was a phone book, and third, when he called a local pastor, the man who turned up was a former Marine who looked bigger and tougher than any of the gang members! The fourth miracle happened when the gang members allowed the pastor to lead the man from the phone booth to his pickup truck. The pastor took this man home with him and led him to the Lord. A few months after witnessing this man’s testimony, I moved to Charleston, SC, where I met the man’s mother when I joined a local church there. This precious lady verified everything that her son had said, and added that he had become an evangelist with a particular ministry to motorcycle gang members.
Nobody is beyond salvation. Nobody is beyond the reach of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May we copy Peter’s willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit and be channels of God’s love to all those around us, no matter how they appear.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to be channels of Your love to all those around us, irrespective of appearances. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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