Divine Providence

 

By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Acts 10:1-33

 

Mark 16:15-16

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

(ESV)

 

In the television series the A-Team, one of the famous lines of the leader was “I love it when a plan comes together.”  When God is the planner, the plan comes together if everyone involved is obedient to what the Lord instructs them to do.  When God is the planner, obedience is always best because even though we may not understand what is happening, God’s plan for us is for our good and not our destruction (Jeremiah 29:11).  Acts 10:1-33 provides an account of two men who obeyed God resulting in the Gospel going out to Gentiles in Caesarea. 

 

The passage begins with our introduction to Cornelius, a centurion serving Rome in Caesarea (Acts 10:1).  Cornelius was a Gentile and a God-fearing man who gave alms generously to the people and continually prayed to God (Acts 10:2).  About the ninth hour of the day, possibly a time when Cornelius would pray, he receives a vision of an angel of God, telling him his prayers and generosity have ascended to God as a memorial (Acts 10:3-4).  God then instructs Cornelius to send men to Joppa to bring Simon Peter to Caesarea (Acts 10:5-8). 

 

As the men are on their way to Joppa to bring Peter to Caesarea, Peter goes up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour (Acts 10:9).  Peter becomes hungry, falls into a trance, and has a vision of a sheet descending from Heaven (Acts 10:10-11).  In the vision Peter sees that the sheet contains all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds with the Lord commanding Peter to eat (Acts 10:12-13).  At this point God is telling Peter he can eat all foods and also associate with Gentiles but instead of obeying God, Peter does what he often did, argues with the Lord (Acts 10:14; Mark 8:31-33; Matthew 16:21-23; 26:34-35).  God’s reply to Peter was not to call anything common or unclean what He has now declared clean (Acts 10:15).  God gives Peter the vision three times to emphasize its importance (Acts 10:16). 

 

Peter remains perplexed at his vision but when the men from Caesarea arrive, Peter is instructed to go down and meet the men without hesitation, Peter goes down to meet the men (Acts 10:17-21).  After hearing of Cornelius’ uprightness with God and his vision to seek Peter in Joppa, Peter invites the men in as his guests, and the next day accompanies them to Caesarea (Acts 10:23-24).  Upon his arrival at Caesarea, Peter meets Cornelius with Cornelius falling at Peter’s feet in worship and Peter telling him to stand up (Acts 10:25-26). 

 

Peter meets those gathered at the house and begins his discourse by telling them that while it is unlawful for him to gather with them, he is there because of a vision he had from God (Acts 10:27-29).  Cornelius then shares about his vision that occurred about the same time that the Lord told him to ask for Peter to come to them in Caesarea (Acts 10:30-33).  Two separate visions, two separate individuals, and two separate locations have now converged under the direction of the Lord.   

 

When the voice of God directs us to do something, we should not hesitate but obey for whatever God has planned for us is part of God’s grand plan.  Before God sent Peter to Cornelius, the Church was predominately Jewish with this indicating that the Gospel was not just for the Jews.  However, the reaction by Peter demonstrates that Jewish believers in Christ had a desire to hold on to their dietary and social rules.  Next Wednesday we will see how this interaction between Peter and Cornelius led to the presentation of the Gospel to Gentiles and them receiving the Holy Spirit. 

 

Jesus told Nicodemus that God loved the world so much that anyone that believes Jesus is God’s Son, sent to save the world would be saved (John 3:16).  This does not exclude any group of persons and with the conversion of Cornelius and his family, Peter understands this.  Jesus came and died for every person.  If you are reading this and have not accepted Jesus as your personal savior so you can have a renewed relationship with God, I invite you to do so now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

Please continue to pray for the upcoming election in the United States.  This election is not just about Democrat versus Republican but also about whether the United States will continue as the leader of the free world or become another failed socialist or communist country.  For Christians, this would be a dangerous transition for socialism and communism are anti-God governing philosophies that would place limitations or even prohibitions on the gathering together of Churches and the sharing of the Gospel and the Word of God.  When you vote, do not vote for candidates campaigning on fear but on candidates pledging to preserve the liberties protected in the U.S. Constitution.  May God bless everyone reading this post.