The Hidden Power Of Prayer

THE HIDDEN POWER OF PRAYER

Acts 10:1-5

INTRODUCTION

A. ILLUS: When the Actor’s Circumstances Changed

1. Jonathan Roumie is the actor who plays Jesus in the successful series The Chosen. Before landing the role of Jesus, Roumie had surrendered everything but his acting career to God. He had been living in Los Angeles for eight years, and he was nearly broke.

2. In May, 2018, Roumie woke up 100 dollars in overdraft and 20 dollars in his pocket. He had food left for one day. He had no work in sight and had maxed out his credit cards.

3. He kneeled and poured out his heart to God, “What happened?” He had been under the impression that God helps those who help themselves—he later realized that the Lord helps those who rely on him.

4. “I realized in that moment that in other areas of my life, I’d allowed God in. But when it came to my career, I thought, “I know better. I got this God, I’m the actor here. Don’t worry—it’s Hollywood; I know Hollywood, God.”

5. Convicted, Roumie finally surrendered his career to God. He left his apartment and went for a walk. When he returned he found 4 checks in the mail. Three months later, Dallas Jenkins, the writer/director of The Chosen, called and offered him the role of Jesus. His prayers were all answered. [Preachingtoday.com]

6. We’re going to read of another man who prayed and his prayers were suddenly answered by God.

B. TEXT & TITLE

1. “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” 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. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose name is Peter.” Acts 10:1-5 NKJV

2. The American public became familiar with police radio codes from cop shows such as Adam-12, Columbo, Dragnet, Hawaii Five-O, Starsky & Hutch, & Mannix. They are known as “10 Codes,” and one of them is “10-4” and means “message received.”

3. Acts 10:4 could be called “God’s 10-4,” because in it God lets Cornelius know his prayers have been heard. The title of this message is “The Hidden Power of Prayer.”

I. THE STRANGE SITUATION OF CORNELIUS

Q - “Why did this man get the visit of an angel?”

A. REASONS GOD SHOULDN’T FAVOR HIM

1. He was a Gentile, a Roman who’d probably been an idolater all his life. He couldn’t read the Hebrew Bible and knew nothing about God.

2. He was a soldier – worse - a centurion. The soldier’s job was to kill people. The reason a soldier would attain rank over 100 soldiers was that he was uncommonly good at killing and had a good grasp of how to direct others to better kill.

3. He was uncircumcised. Paul described it as “you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” Eph. 2:12.

4. He was still in his sins. No grace had come to him. He knew nothing of Christ.

5. Yet to this man God sent an angel! And to this man God gave minute instructions of how to find a man named Simon Peter! Why?

B. POSITIVE FACTORS ABOUT CORNELIUS

1. He had a humble sincere heart, feared God, and was a seeker after God.

2. He fasted & prayed regularly and gave money to the poor.

3. He was doing all that he knew, according to the light (knowledge) that he had, acting on all the truth he possessed. If he discovered new truth he would immediately begin to act on it.

C. HOW DOES GOD DEAL WITH THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE THE BIBLE?

1. Romans 2:14-15, “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts...”

2. Throughout the O.T., we see that God GRADUALLY revealed Himself to mankind. God’s revelation had to be accommodated to human nature. We see this process in microcosm in the life of Cornelius.

3. He began with little light, and as he responded to it God gave him more light (Mt. 25:29). That led to God’s next move of special revelation through the angel and Simon Peter. Cornelius had put into practice all the truth he’d received up to that moment, so it was time for a new, greater revelation of truth.