The title of the book that we are studying is “The Acts of the Apostles.”
There are lots of self-important commentators and preachers who would like to correct that.
They are certainly correct in thinking that there would be no Acts if it wasn’t for the power of God.
And as such, we ought to find in here the pattern of our ministry as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only should we “search these scriptures” to find the Saviour and the way of salvation,
And not only should we discern lots of important doctrine,
But we should see the “how,” as well as the “why” and the “what,” of our ministry.
As I was reading this passage once again, it seemed as if the Spirit was saying, “Look at the way that Peter went about the work of the Ministry.”
Sure, he was an apostle, and it was in the very early days when the Lord still miraculously spoke to His servants.
But the principles of his ministry were no different than the way that they ought to be today.
I have eight things that I’d like you consider, as you think about Peter, our church, and your own service for God.
I have eight things that I’m preaching to myself this evening.
And I have eight things which I hope will help you to pray more effectively for our ministry.
He wasn’t trying to establish a cult, or party, with his moniker on it.
He knew that he was only a servant in the great work of the Kingdom of God.
And although we don’t read where the Holy Spirit told him to go to Lydda to minister to Aeneas, I’m sure that if we had the opportunity to interview Peter, he would tell us that he believed that it was of the Lord.
And when the disciples of Joppa sent word to Peter to rush up to see them, I’m sure that he felt that it was of God.
But when we come to the matter of Cornelius there can be no doubt that the evangelism of this man was commissioned by God.
Not in an indirect or abstract sort of way, but the Lord spoke directly to the heart of the man of God.
The work of the ministry is of God, and I think that this scripture can give us some details about this.
“Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.”
This may point to one of the biggest problems in the ministry:
Our work is supposed to be carried out in faith and dependence upon the Lord.
But like Peter, we can get into a whole host of things in the absence of faith.
For example, the Spirit seemed to suggest that Peter might have doubted that this visit to Cornelius was God’s will.
Or we might go and make our visit to Caesarea, but do it out of necessity rather than faith and joy.
So much of what we do is done in the flesh rather than in humble faith.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
And this commission was something that was contrary to Peter’s earlier frame of mind.
It was really not something new and foreign to the Old Testament, because it is found in both Testaments.
But as happens to us sometimes, Peter was being confronted with something that was new and strange.
So he was thinking.
In today’s secular and semi-scientific society Christianity is often portrayed as illogical.
It’s a religion for women and children, who are filled with more emotions than brains.
Or it’s a crutch for people who can’t make their way through life without something to cling to.
The truth of the matter is that Bible Christianity is emotional and it is easily leaned upon.
Didn’t the Lord Jesus say, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Aren’t we told to “cast all our care upon him, for he careth for us”?
Christianity is emotional, and it does require faith.
But at the same time, it is a thinking man’s religion.
With the exception of a few details, the basics of what we believe all fall into a logical order.
Man’s sin, God’s salvation, man’s service out of love and gratitude all make sense.
That we cannot save ourselves, and that we are in desperate need of God’s intervention are logical facts.
And that grace is a necessity in our fallen condition is as obvious as the nose on my face.
If man could lay aside his depraved preconceptions, he would logically conclude that he needs the Lord.
Furthermore, the more that the Bible and the Lord is studied, the more ignorant we know ourselves to be.
If we could learn Greek, Hebrew and Chaldean, well enough to read the Bible in four languages …
If we lived our adult lives for a hundred years and had the luxury of Bible study for eight hours a day …
If we had the assistance of assistants and computers and libraries and librarians …
We still would be learning more about the Bible and about the Lord on the last day of our lives.
And the practical application of that knowledge would be just as on-going as the knowledge itself.
The ministry of man on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ is a logical ministry.
If the angel who interrupted Cornelius’ devotions also visited us, we’d quickly recognize him to be a messenger from God.
And if we were in Peter’s sandals when he was lifted into his ecstatic trance, hearing the voice of God, I think that we’d be almost as quick to recognize it as Peter was.
But how quick would we be to hear the Spirit whisper into the quiet of our hearts?
The first two examples of revelation in this chapter are very, very rare in the 21st Century.
But the third – the still, small voice is probably far more common than most people want to admit.
It’s not that we don’t want to hear from God, it’s that we don’t want to admit that we’re hearing from God.
We have ignored that voice so many times, and thought that it was a result of the pizza, or lack of pizza, that it would be embarrassing to have to admit that God spoke to us.
This is where our nearness to Christ on a moment by moment basis is so important.
Hearing the voice of the Lord comes through regular and careful periods of prayer and spiritual devotions.
The people who are filled with the Spirit, are able to hear the Spirit when He’s speaking to us.
The people who know the fruit of the Spirit, also know the voice of the Spirit.
And when He says, “Go over there and talk to Cornelius,” we know Who it is who is speaking with us.
The work of the Lord’s ministry is a work of spiritual awareness.
And it’s not just being ready to hear the Holy Spirit either.
Spirit awareness is also manifest in discerning the spiritual needs of other people.
Peter knew it because he was listening to the Spirit
He knew what to do because he was spiritually alert.
I’ve already pointed out a couple of times how contrary to the heart of Peter this was.
Just about the first thing that he said when he arrived was:
“Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”
It was as if this was at the top of his heart and mind,
But he was willing to put aside what his old traditions and theology, for the sake of the ministry.
For some of us that might be like going as a missionary to the country that we once faced in war.
For some it would be like trying to evangelize the Indians and for other the Mexicans.
But if the Lord has put this into your heart, then a part of your ministry is to submit to Him.
There were probably ten or 12 other apostles who needed to see sheet coming down from glory filled with heathen and pigs.
But they didn’t have that vision.
I may be mistaken, but I think that Peter probably asked some of the brethren from Joppa to accompany him.
It may have been suggested by one of them, but it certainly met with Peter’s approval.
And, I think that it was a very wise thing to do.
There are occasions when pastors and evangelists are asked to enter situations where there is the potential for immorality, or at the very least gossip about immorality.
In those situations, the wise course of action might be not to enter at all.
And on other occasions taking one’s spouse or some other servants of God with you would be the best course of action.
When Peter took these Joppan brethren with him, he had witnesses to the demonstration of the Lord’s miraculous power.
He could go back to Jerusalem and say that the Lord sent him to the Gentiles with the gospel, and the Lord demonstrated His approval, because the Holy Spirit came on them as it did on us at Pentecost.
“And if you have any doubts about this there were with me certain brethren from Joppa.”
The work of the ministry requires a little common sense and wisdom from time to time.
Life is short and opportunities to serve can become pretty scarce,
It needs the Word of God.
The ministry of Christ must be the ministry of the Word of God.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which know better it is the power of God.”
It was the Lord who whispered to Cornelius to send for Peter.
On the other side, it was the Lord who told Peter to visit with Cornelius.
And then in the mean time Cornelius was led of the Lord to take advantage