Cornelius

President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House receptions.

So, one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was paying attention to what he was saying.

As each person came up to him with extended hand, he flashed that big smile and said; "I murdered my grandmother this morning."

People would automatically respond with comments such as "How lovely!" or "Just continue with your great work!"

 Nobody listened to what he was saying, except one foreign diplomat.

 When the president said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning," the diplomat responded softly, "I’m sure she had it coming to her."

Just as the pomp and circumstance of meeting the president becomes so formalized that you miss the point sometimes,

The same can happen from reading the Bible.

Today I want to propose to you that the Scripture can come to with us with fresh teaching all the time.

The Bible when allowed to do what it was intended to do – is dangerous and challenges all the notions of this world.

In today’s story we will meet an unlikely hero and also we can overestimate how important he is to the history of the church.

INTRODUCTION:

It is a good time to go back and tie together all that we have studied so far in the book of Acts.

I like to step back sometimes and see a big panoramic picture.

Remember the instructions of Jesus found in chapter 1 – He is about to ascend back to Heaven.

He will now be present with His Church through the Holy Spirit.

We will see the Holy Spirit guide and direct the activity of the Church.

The Holy Spirit will renew people and be given as a gift to the Church.

Jesus says this to the Apostles back in chapter 1

Acts 1: 8

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

And we have witnessed just that – a Church powerfully going out starting in Jerusalem and spreading rapidly.

A church that has been dominated by only Jewish Christians thus far.

Acts chapter 1-7 laid out a strong Jerusalem Church with over 5000 members.

The population of Jerusalem at that time was around 20,000 people so we can assume that up to 25 percent of the city had become Christian.

You could go out on a limb and call Jerusalem the first Christian city but things would not stay the same long.

We know from past lessons the church in Jerusalem is scattered due to persecution and the Gospel has gone to the hated Samaritans, a mutilated Ethiopian and now we will see the inclusion of the Gentiles or Goyim into the Church.

This has been God’s purpose all along and we will see a dramatic shift in Acts at this point.

If you want to mark a chapter as a turning point in Acts you would mark chapters 9 with the conversion of Saul and chapter 10.

Last week we looked carefully at Paul’s conversion – we know that he will be the vehicle for the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church.

We need to pause a moment and understand this watershed event in the history of the Church.

If we don’t we will miss the impact of Acts chapter 10.

God has picked out his prophet or apostle to the Gentiles. 

Now He must show the Church that He wants the Gentiles to be part of the Church.

Now if you wanted to show that the Gentiles were part of God’s plan which Apostle would you send to preach the Gospel to the first Gentile converts?

Would you send Saul of Tarsus?  He is just a new convert and people doubt if he is the real deal right now.

Some folks in the Church worry that Paul might just be putting on or not really converted.

And by the way don’t get confused in Acts with Saul of Tarsus being called Paul.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that Saul was his name before he became a Christian and Paul is his new Christian name.

Saul is his Hebrew name and Paul is the name he would have been called in the Roman world.

Since we will see Saul of Tarsus in a Gentile context for the rest of Acts the book will begin to call him by his Roman name.

So, Chapter 10 is in my estimation God’s way of showing His approval of the Gentiles coming into the Church. 

Let’s Shift gears and look at the cast of Characters in our story:

Characters:

1)   Cornelius

Today – I want to focus on a guy that really doesn’t get a lot said about him in the Church.

I want to look at this man Cornelius and the type of person that he is.

The text gives us more information about this guy than you may think.

I want to look at Cornelius as an example for men today in our Congregation.

What type of man was Cornelius?

Let us turn to Acts 10: 1-8

1Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually . 3About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, "Cornelius !" 4 And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, "What is it, Lord ?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5"Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter ; 6 he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea." 7When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa

This morning we meet a  Centurion of the Italian Band or Italian Cohort named Cornelius.

Now don’t get me wrong – Cornelius is not saved yet,

He will be soon when Peter comes and preaches to him but what is so special about this guy?

1)   Cornelius was a man of Honor and Courage.

At Caesarea, a mainly Gentile city, residence of the Roman proconsul (from A.D. 6 onward), lived Cornelius, a Roman centurion.

 He was in command of sixty to one hundred men and was the equivalent of an army captain or company commander.

We learn that Cornelius was of the Italian Cohort.

A cohort had ten centuries and was the equivalent of a modern military battalion.

This battalion was an auxiliary unit, not part of a regular Roman legion.

Such a battalion of archers was first made up of Roman soldiers and then filled out in the provinces.

To be a centurion had to be a special leader because his ranks would be filled out with men from all over the Empire – of different nationalities.

He would have to hold these men together in battle.

Polybius a Roman historian said this of a Roman Centurion:

"They wish centurions not so much to be venturesome and daredevil as natural leaders, of a steady and sedate spirit. They do not desire them so much to be men who will initiate attacks and open the battle, but men who will hold their ground when worsted and hard pressed and be ready to die at their posts"

Polybius also tells us that the centurion was the backbone of the Roman army

The Romans wanted men that would hold their post.  Honorable men would be centurions.

When the rest of the Army is being overrun or when things seem bleak –Centurions were expected to stand their ground and fight to the death.

A Centurion would be a man that had proven his courage in battle, he would have risen in the ranks due to his action in battle.

These guys were non-commisioned and had to rise from the ranks of the normal soldier.

He is a guy that had to start on the bottom of the pack and show his worth to his commanding officers.

This is the type of guy Cornelius would have been.

2)   Cornelius was a man of faith

But even though he is one of the hated Romans – he is different – instead of a pagan he is a devout man.

It would have been impossible for Cornelius to have become a Jewish proselyte without losing his rank.

Yet Cornelius was a God-fearer, as was his entire household (10:2).

This means that his servants, children, wife, and even soldiers part of his household staff would be God-fearers.

This tells you the type of man that Cornelius is.

This is the type of leader he was of his men.

 He was a devout God-fearer, even observing the Jewish hours of prayer in his home in such a manner as to be acceptable to God (vv. 3-4).

Also this person called a God-fearer will factor big in the rest of Acts.

We will see them again in Acts 13:16, 26, 13:43; 13:50; 16:14; 17:4; 17:17; 18:6-7

This will be a group that Paul will focus his missionary activity upon. 

Why will this group be so important in Acts and for the Apostle Paul?

They are ripe for the Gospel – a Godfearer believed in the God of Israel.

A Godfearer was a Gentile who read the Old Testament and practiced Judaism to a point but were not circumcised.

They would believe the promises of the Old Testament and would be more open to the Gospel than a pagan Gentile.

Who better to start the Gentile mission with than a man that already believed in the God of Israel?

Notice that Cornelius is praying during the Jewish time of prayer – it is during this time that the Angel of the Lord appears to Cornelius.

But I want you to look at something about Cornelius life that gets lost in the shuffle.

We learn that the Cornelius’ prayers and alms ascend up unto God as a type of offering.

Tonight I will talk more about this in our Sunday evening sermon – but the sacrificial system of Israel was to teach the Israelites that God wanted them.

God wanted a sacrifice of life – he wants us to lay our lives down for his surface.

He wants a contrite heart and sacrifice of praise and good works.

3)   Cornelius knew where to look for help

Cornelius obviously was praying to God for guidance.

The Angel comes to him to answer this specific question.

I would go so far as to say Cornelius was praying for God’s guidance for his life- because the Angel comes to him to tell him what to do.

So many times we look for the answers to our questions of your lives in the wrong places.

We may look at self-help books or pop culture psychology – where we should look is to God.

We should rely on God in prayer with all the questions of our heart.

God will help us and God will put your heart at ease if you lay your concerns before Him. 

We forget that we have access to God and we can go before His throne by the blood of Christ whenever we want to.

Some time ago, a small east coast community was struggling financially, so they called an open town meeting to discuss the problem.

 A couple dozen people were there, including a stranger that no one seemed to know.

Most assumed he was a tourist who had just dropped in on the meeting.

He started to make a comment when various ideas were offered, but he was interrupted, so he just kept quiet for the rest of the meeting and ended up leaving early.

Just as the stranger left, a late arriving resident came in and asked with excitement, "What was HE doing here? Is he going to help us?"

The others said, "Who are you talking about? Who was that man?"

The latecomer replied, "You mean you don't know?

That was John D. Rockefeller. His yacht is in our harbor. Didn't you get his help?"

Now, John D. Rockefeller happened to be one of the richest men in the world at the time. So someone cried out in despair,

 "No, we didn't get his help, because we didn't know who he was."

Some of us have forgotten about God.

We are going through life – living for ourselves and we are looking for answers in all the wrong places.

We have forgotten that the all powerful Creator of the world wants to impart us with wisdom and bath us in His love.

James 1: 5-7

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

How many of us have turned to God for wisdom?

Wisdom for the raising of our children?

Wisdom for the church here at Mimosa?

Wisdom in our workplace decisions that we make?

God wants to help you by granting wisdom- Cornelius understood this and turned to God for his help.

It is obvious the prayer was a regular part of Cornelius routine because he was praying the regular hours of prayer of a the Jews.

That meant at certain parts of the day – Cornelius stopped everything and prayed.

Is that a regular practice in your life?

Do you stop all of what you are doing and pray to God no matter what?

I would propose that there is wisdom in adopting that practice- we need the discipline that having regular times of prayer brings- 

We all need times of the day that we set aside and pray to God because if we don’t – I can tell you what will happen – you will probably not pray at all.

What if Cornelius had not been praying?  Do you think the outcome for he and his family would have been the same?

4)   Cornelius was a man that gave.

Cornelius was a Roman but still gave alms to the poor.

That is a first century Jewish way of saying that he put money in the offering plate.

The local synagogues were known for giving out money of alms. 

Either Cornelius was giving money to the local synagogue for this purpose or he was giving the money to the poor himself.

Now look at the effects of his giving – your prayer and alms ascend to the Lord as a Memorial.

God blesses good works of mercy –

Now I am not saying that good works Merits your salvation – but I am saying that a person that is saved – will want to give.

Paul tells us that God has appointed us to good works in Christ – when you are saved, In Christ as Paul says- you change.

Your money, time and energy go to God and His Kingdom.

If you want to know where a person’s true allegiance is, just look where their money is spent.

That really tells you our priorities as Christians.

People may think that giving is a taboo subject for a preacher but it is in Scripture and it is something that Christians should be doing.

We should be about the work of the Church and works of mercy. 

We as Christians today have offering on Sunday – why do we do this?

Why do we pass the offering plate around on Sunday and give back to the work of the Church?

1 Corinthians 16: 1-2

1Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.

Paul said it would be expedient and better for the Church to do this on the first day of the week.

In this particular case the Gentile churches were helping the church in Jerusalem and the needy saints there.

When we give we need to have two things in mind –

1)    The Continued work of the word –

The continued preaching of the Gospel locally and abroad

2)    The Continued works of mercy-

This is widows, orphans and people that are in need. 

Helping and benevolence of people in need.

So from Cornelius we can see a man that puts his money where his mouth is.

He is a guy that is putting his financial gifts toward God’s work and this is pleasing to God.

5)    Cornelius was a man of influence.

This is one point that I have never really heard preached or talked about concerning Cornelius.

But think about what the text tells us about Cornelius.

It tells us that he is devout and his whole household.

We also see that Cornelius sent soldiers to Peter that were his personal attendants and they were also devout men.

How do you think all these people ended up begin devout people?

 I would propose through the influence of Cornelius.

His household are devout and believe in the God of Israel because he does.

More than likely Cornelius would have been raised in a pagan environment being of the Italian Cohort but at some time being stationed in Palestine he would have come into contact with the God of Israel.

This guy had no advantages of faith but still had a family that was devout.

That is a man of great influence.

Even some of his once pagan soldiers were also devout and I would not have to go too far out on a limb and propose that it was through their leader’s influence that they were devout.

1)    1^st of all, I must ask the question of all of us- men, women, moms, dads, grandparents- Is your household devout in their faith because of your influence.

Would people look at your family and say – they are believers because you are?

Would your family look to you as the leader of faith?

If you are a man in the church this morning – I would say to you that it is your God given responsibility for you to just that.

We as men should tote the spiritual mail in the family. 

We should set the tone. 

It is perplexing to me that in America today we have many churches where men are raised in Church with every spiritual advantage but grow up to be terrible leaders of their families

Here is a guy that was a pagan Roman but at some point in his life decided he believed in the God of Israel and his family followed suit.

That leaves me without excuse – I must be responsible for my family’s spiritual health.

2)    Cornelius- obviously made a difference in his place of work.

He had made such an impact that some of his soldiers were also devout.

This is really unheard of in the pagan Roman army.   This is historically very rare.

It tells us that Cornelius was a great leader and would have had great influence on the people under him.

How many of us here today bring a spiritual environment to our workplace?

How many of us here if the people we worked with everyday would be asked would tell you that we are people of faith?

I know in my life I have squandered opportunities to speak up and be an influence at work at times.

I don’t get a do over on those opportunities but I can live intentionally everyday to be salt and light at work.

You may get discouraged in your workplace and think that you are not making a difference.

Don’t forget that you may plant seeds in fellow workers that may not come to fruition for a long time.

Otto Lilienthal was a German that lived in the late 19^th century.  He wanted to make flight practical.

He wanted to build flying machines that could be used for repeated flights.

He built successful gliders but never built an airplane.

His dream was not realized in his life time because he died in 1896

Two bicycle repairmen in Dayton, Ohio, dreamed of flying.

 They went to the Dayton Public Library and checked out a book on the life and works of Lilienthal.

The two men were named Orville and Wilbur Wright.

They began to explore all the possibilities of heavier-than-air flight.

Almost everyone knows that in 1903 their dream became reality when they flew for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and launched the space age.

Just seven years after the death of Lilienthal, men were inspired to build and airplane.

 But it was the influence of Lilienthal, and others, who inspired the Wright brothers to try the impossible.

We must never minimize the power of influence for either good or evil. Long after we are dead and gone, our influence will live on.

We must remember that our influence is so important everywhere we go and everything we do.