THE VISIONS
Cornelius was a centurion in the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. He gave to the needy and he prayed to God regularly. He had a vision in which an angel of God spoke to him. The angel told him that his prayers to God and his gifts to the poor were a memorial offering before God, so God wanted him to send some of his men to Joppa to get a man named Peter. So, Cornelius did as the angel had instructed him to do, and he sent for Peter.
The next day, while Cornelius’ men were on their way to get Peter, the Lord gave Peter a vision, too. Peter had gone up to his roof to pray. He had a vision of all kinds of animals, reptiles and birds coming down from heaven to the earth in what looked like a sheet. A voice told him to kill and to eat. Peter responded, “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” The passage says that this happened three times.
I find that interesting since Peter was the one who had denied Jesus Christ three times and then the Lord had him reaffirm his love for Jesus three times, and now he had this vision three times, as though Peter was the kind of person who needed to see something more than once to believe it, and the three times was a way in which the Lord let him know it was God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – speaking, and that he was to pay attention.
THE ENCOUNTER
The passage states that, while Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius showed up and asked for Peter. Then, it says that while Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him that three men were looking for him. There is that number three again. He was not to hesitate to go with the men, for God had sent them to Peter. Peter went down to the men, the men relayed to him why they had come for him, and he invited them into his house to be his guests.
The next day Peter and some of the brothers went with the men. The following day they arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He began by informing them that it was against Jewish law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile. But, he continued, God had shown him that he should not call any man impure or unclean, which is how the Jews had viewed the Gentiles, which is why they were not permitted to associate with them. So, when Peter was sent for, that is why he went without hesitation with the men. Then, he asked them, “May I ask why you sent for me?”
THE DIVINE APPOINTMENT - ACTS 10:30-48
Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”CONCLUSION
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Peter heard God speak because he was praying, and because he was receptive to hear God speak. He just had to work through some things he had always been taught, and God knew just the right way in which to speak to Peter and to help him with this transition from a Jews only mentality to incorporating Gentiles into his life, as well as to accept that they, too, could become children of God. So, just as Peter had denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, and he had to reaffirm his love for Jesus three times, Jesus gave him this vision three times, because it was God’s way, I believe, of letting Peter know without a doubt that this was God speaking to him. The three times also reinforced the message.
Cornelius, as well, heard God speak because he was a man who prayed to God, although he did not yet have faith in Jesus Christ. He heard God speak because he was available and receptive to hear God speak to him. Both Peter and Cornelius were not only in a position to hear God speak, and not only were they receptive to hear what God had to say to them, but they were both willing to obey the Lord, even if what the Lord asked of them took them out of their comfort zones, and even if the message came in a form that took Peter out of his comfort zone, for sure, because it challenged what he had always been taught to do.
Because Peter and Cornelius were both in a position to hear God speak, they were both receptive to the message God spoke to them, though Peter needed a little more convincing than Cornelius did, and because they were willing to obey God and to do what he said, even if it took them out of their comfort zones, God was able to work in both of their lives and through their lives to fulfill his divine appointment in all of their lives and, as a result, many people came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and were filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
What this says to me is that we, too, need to be in a position to hear God speak by first of all being in a relationship with Jesus Christ or by seeking after God who is seeking after us first. We come to relationship with Jesus Christ via his grace, through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins, and by genuine believing faith that produces repentance and obedience to our Lord’s commands. Then, we need to spend time with the Lord in prayer and in the reading of his word so that we know him and so we can hear him speak. If we are too busy with all the activities of our lives to where we never take time each day to hear from our Lord, then we will never hear him speak because we are not in a position to do so.
As well, even if we do take time with the Lord, and we do hear him speak, but we are not receptive to the means in which he chooses to speak to us and/or we are not receptive to what he wishes to say to us because it challenges our traditions and/or things we have always been taught, though never in conflict with his divine truth or with God’s righteous nature, then we cannot truly hear him because we are not receptive to his words to us. And, even if we are in a position to hear his voice, and we are initially receptive to how he chooses to speak to us and even to what he has to say to us, yet we are not willing to act upon what he has shown us, even if we don’t completely understand it all, then we cannot participate in his divine blessings he has for us in the divine appointments he has for us each and every day. And God cannot use us to impact other people’s lives for Jesus Christ.
This song is asking the question, “Where is Jesus?” The song lists possible activities that we might be involved in on a daily basis and it asks where Jesus is found and where he fits into all these activities of our lives. It does not assume that Jesus is not there, but it is asking us to examine our lives to see if Jesus is there with us, and, if so, how does he fit into all our activities. I believe the Lord gave me this song with this passage of scripture today because, in order for us to hear God speaking, to be receptive to what he has to say to us, and then to obey what he has for us, Jesus needs to be central in our lives and cannot be crowded out by all of these (and more) activities that can push him aside or that can crowd him out altogether. So, the challenge today is to ask ourselves where Jesus fits into our lives. Is he just someone we talk to on occasion when we want something, or do we have the kind of relationship with him to where we do hear, are receptive, and are willing to obey his voice?
Where is Jesus? / An Original Work / May 22, 2011
Fishing, swimming, boating, sailing,
Driving, hiking, camping, trailing,
Bowling, golfing, TV watching,
Videos, movies and talking –
Where is Jesus found?
Friends and Facebook, chat and email,
Internet, blogs, news sites, retail,
Magazines, books, sports and music,
Laptops, I-Pads, smart phones, texting –
Where is Jesus now?
Jobs, careers, and data bases,
Business, money, many faces,
Get ahead of everyone who’s
Competition; always running –
Where does Jesus fit?
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/where-is-jesus
Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk4Ry8EzJbY
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1156/Where-is-Jesus
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