Introduction
Before Mother’s Day, I began a new series called “I Yearn for More Holy Moments with God.” And in that first sermon of this series, I shared with you the Holy Moment between God and Jonah before Jonah agreed to go to Nineveh to preach as God had asked him.
Today, I want to share a connected Holy Moment that occurred between two vastly different men; men you would assume would not have any contact with one another because they lived a two-day journey from each other and because one was a Jew and the other was a Gentile. And if you are familiar with the early days of the Christian Church, Jews and Gentiles did not mix. But it was each man’s prayer, not at the same time, but on separate days that connected their Holy Moments together.
In case you were not here for the first sermon in this series or if you forgot what a Holy Moment is, let me tell you once again. “Holy Moments are those times, although mostly brief, where it seems like God pulls me to the side, is right there next to me, and showing me something or teaching me something. It is a time when it seems like it is just God and me and the entire world is filtered out.
Let us begin by looking at our Scripture where God combined these two Holy Moments together and changed the composition of the Christian church from that day forward.
Turn in your Bible to the Book of Acts Chapter 10 and we will be reading three portions of Scripture from that Chapter.
Scripture
Acts 10:1–5 NKJV.
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.
Acts 10:9–16 NKJV.
9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him, and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
Acts 10:19–23 NKJV
19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”
22 And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” 23 Then he invited them in and lodged them.
On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Background Information
First, we are introduced to Cornelius, a centurion, a soldier in the Roman army. We are told that he has a spiritual bend to the God of the Jews and was considered a God-fearer. And we are told that all in his household were God-fearers which is probably the result of his influence on their lives.
And we all should know the Apostle Peter. He was spiritually brilliant sometimes like when he told Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and when he requested to walk on the water to Jesus. But there were other times when he was off spiritually. Peter was the one who denied the Lord three times. Wasn’t it Peter who cut off the ear of one of the guards that came for Jesus and Jesus replaced the ear on the guard?
These two men lives connect through each one’s Holy Moment and let us see what we can learn.
Point #1
Holy Moments reveal how unlimited our God is. He can put together the lives of people who would have no common denominator in their life except Jesus Christ.
Cornelius and Peter would not travel in the same circles. One was a Gentile and the other a Jew. And we all know Jews and Gentiles do not mix. They would not have any friends probably in common. Their occupations were nothing alike. Cornelius was a Roman soldier and Peter was a fisherman turned disciple. So, their occupations would not have brought them together in any kind of networking group.
They also did not live in close proximity to one another. They lived a two-day journey from each other. So, it is not like they would bump into each other on a city street and start up a conversation.
The only way that these two men would get together is that God put them together. It would have to be a personal invitation from God to each man for them to meet. And that shows to me how unlimited our God is. He can do just that!
When I think about Bala Chitto Baptist Church, I got to think how unlimited our God is. In seminary, we are taught that location, location, and location is the most important consideration for a church to make it in this day and time. But here we are in the back woods of Pike County, Mississippi on a back road, cannot be seen from a major road and our church has steadily grown over the years. Why? The only answer is the unlimited ability of our God to put people together.
But I got to think to myself, if God could Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch together on a desert road, His unlimited power can put people together in the backwards of Southwest Mississippi.
I hear pastors say all the time, I am worried about our church because it is in the wrong spot. Our church folks have moved away, and the neighbor has slipped, and nobody would want to come here; we got to move near the interstate. And I want to tell them that they are placing their trust in a strategically placed building. I chose to place my trust in an unlimited God.
Yearn for Holy Moments in your life like Peter and Cornelius experienced because those Holy Moments might get you to a place where you can trust in an unlimited God no matter what is going on in your life.
Point #2
Holy Moments reveal to us sometimes that those we think should shine the brightest when confronted by God, don’t, and those you think would not shine- shine. So, I need Holy Moments in my life to get a glimpse of the real me.
Two men had Holy Moments. One a disciple of Jesus Christ, who traveled with Him, heard His messages, saw all the healing Jesus performed. This same Peter was with Jesus after He rose from the grave so he knew firsthand the grave could not hold Jesus.
The other, a Roman soldier, probably never came into contact with Jesus personally. What limited information he knew, he probably got from overhearing conversations. We see this by the words the Holy Spirit gave to Peter to tell Cornelius and his household. They were pure Gospel. Jesus hung on a tree, God raised Him on the third day, and He showed Himself to many witnesses. That He will one day judge the living and the dead. And that you must believe in Him for the remission of your sins.
Certainly, we would expect Peter to outshine Cornelius as they both received their Holy Moments. But look what happens. Cornelius does exactly as the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. He shines.
In Peter’s case, it was not an angel that came to him but the actual Lord. And God told Peter to “rise, Peter, kill and eat” all that is on the great sheet. And Peter says: “no, Lord.” I do not eat anything common or unclean.
And God corrects Peter saying, “What God has called cleaned, you must not call common.” God had to do that not just once, or twice but three times.
When God ask you something, could you tell God “No” if He asked you to do something just like He asked Peter? And the answer is yes, I have told God “No” before and I am quite sure that you have too.
When God ask you to talk to that person about Christ, have you always done it?
When God ask you to help that person who is struggling have you always done it?
When God ask you to give a call to so and so because you have not seen them in church lately, have you always done it.
If I look at the real me, I might be shocked to know that I am not as good of a Christian as I think.
Point # 3
We need Holy Moments with God in our life to sometimes move what we know in our head to our heart.
I have heard it said that the distance from the head to the heart is eighteen inches. But there are major differences between how the head will respond to God and how the heart will respond to God.
Peter was with Jesus all three years of Jesus’ ministry on earth. He saw with his eyes and stored in his head all that Jesus had done. He saw Jesus heal people with leprosy who were unclean. One of which was referred to as a foreigner. He ate with sinners. He called the children to him. He sent the woman who was in adultery away with the admonition to sin no more. He healed the servant of a Roman Centurion.
Peter saw and stored away all this information. And then Peter also heard the Great Commission proclaimed by Jesus to make disciples of all nations not just the Jewish nation.
Peter knew in his head that Jesus was Lord of all but not in his heart.
It took the Holy Moment that Peter encountered to move that from his head to his heart. Listen to the Scripture:
Acts 10:34–36 NKJV
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 36 The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—
The Holy Moment brought an ah-ha moment into Peter’s life. What Peter knew in his heart has now been moved to his heart.
And God can use a Holy Moment to bring an ah-ha moment in your life.
Let us pray!
