This is a simple message based on a familiar story, found in Acts 10, of Cornelius and how God met him. Cornelius was a centurion, stationed at Caesarea. This was not Caesarea, Philippi, but a little town that had been built by Herod as a military center and a Roman capital of the whole province. It was a military establishment with quite a concentration of people for those days. A cohort represented about five hundred fifty-five infantrymen and about sixty-six cavalry soldiers. The cavalry was used for breaking up mobs, and the other soldiers were sent out against any riot.
As the name implies, a centurion had one hundred soldiers under his command. Ten different centurions are named in the New Testament. Some of them found God and were men of amazing faith. This particular centurion had an experience which was outstanding. He was the first Gentile in the history of the world to receive a visitation from God. The Spirit of the Lord fell upon him and his household; they all began to speak with other tongues.
Cornelius was a devout man who feared God, as did all of his household. They gave many alms or gifts of charity to the people and prayed to God continually. At about three o’clock in the afternoon, Cornelius … clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in to him, and said to him, “Cornelius!” And fixing his gaze upon 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. And now dispatch some men to Joppa, and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a certain tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.” Acts 10:3–6.
Only one class of people was lower than the tanners, and those were the publicans or tax collectors, who were looked upon as outright traitors. Tanning hides was one of the filthiest jobs and one of the lowliest. Peter was a humble man, living with a tanner.
And when the angel who was speaking to him had departed, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were in constant attendance upon him, and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. From Caesarea to Joppa was a distance of about thirty miles, so they must have stayed overnight.
And on the next day, as they were on their way, and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry, and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he beheld the sky opened up, and a certain object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures.… Verses 7–12. An angel’s voice told him to kill and eat. Three times this happened. Each time Peter answered, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” The angel said, “What God has cleansed, no longer call unclean.”
This all happened in an amazing way. One could say that this visitation was a sovereign move of God. The Spirit fell upon the people when Peter came back to Caesarea; also, a vision from God told Cornelius where to go in Joppa to find Peter: “He is lodged in the house of Simon the tanner.” Aren’t you glad that God knows addresses? And His address book is up to date! He knows right where you live. Although this looked like a sovereign visitation from God, there was a reason behind it. Why, of all of those hundreds of soldiers in that military establishment, was one man met? It was not that God had arbitrarily chosen one man sovereignly and said, “This man I’ll meet.” It went beyond that. A preparation had been made in that man’s heart.
The Word says that Cornelius was devout. He was one who feared God with all of his household; he was a great giver; he prayed continually; he could see visions. He was spiritually inclined. He is called a righteous and a God-fearing man, well spoken of by the entire nation of Jews (verse 22). The King James version of verse 30 says that he was fasting until the time that Peter came to him. I don’t know the full impact of this, or whether it is accurate, but we do know he was praying at the time Peter came to visit him.
Many people were assembled (verse 27). When Peter arrived, the place was packed. Cornelius had prepared for a meeting with God. He had gathered other people there for it, too. With only the vision of the angel, how did he know that there was anyone by the name of Simon Peter? He just believed and sent for him. He had enough faith to prepare his heart.
God is going to move upon people again. Others will watch it and say, “Look, it rained on this field, and it didn’t rain on that field.” But the field where it rains, there will be the people who have prepared their hearts for rain. They are prepared for God to meet them. That is what we are doing through these days: preparing our hearts.
God has been bringing lessons of obedience and heart-searching to every one of us. Now we can stand before the Lord to worship as a people who are prepared. If our hearts are not yet prepared, let us see that the preparation begins immediately. We are not expecting that meeting to happen accidentally or for God to sovereignly bless while we happen to be in the way of it. We want to be ready, with our vessels open and clean for the Lord to fill. We want that unity, without any grudges or any hard feelings in anyone’s heart. We will forgive one another as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us, in total, absolute forgiveness. It is our desire to be delivered from every fear, everything that would restrain us or shut up our hearts against God, and everything of the old flesh that would rise up. We will demand that the old flesh be crucified and brought under subjection. We intend to be prepared for God to meet us. We will be prepared for whatever He wants.
Like Cornelius, we may have to make great sacrifices. We may be called upon to give ourselves in unceasing labors. We rejoice in the many hours of volunteer work, in the beautiful spirit of sacrifice we see in our midst. However, heed this warning: do not be lifted up with pride over this. Walk humbly and continue to let your good works and zeal abound.
With all of his good works, it was still by the grace of God that Cornelius was met. We cannot say of him, “He deserved it. He was a hard worker and a great giver; he feared God and prayed all the time. He deserved for God to meet him.” Another centurion (at Capernaum) was commended by the Jews, “Lord, he is worthy that you should heal his servant, because he built a synagogue for our people.” Yet he said of himself, “I am not worthy that You come under my roof” (Luke 7:4–6). He was more humble than the Jewish people thought.
Like the centurion, we cannot say we are worthy of anything. We come before Him and say, “Lord, we’ve prepared our hearts. As much as we can, we’ve exposed the depths of our being to the working of the Spirit of the Lord. But we are still unworthy. O God, we cry unto You that You meet us, that You pour Your Spirit out upon us as You did in the days of old, but let it be a double portion in this hour.” It is a day for us to be dedicated to be those bond servants of Jesus Christ and say, “Lord, let our hearts be prepared.” Although He has been preparing us for months, still we cry, “Lord, there is so much we need You to do for us in preparing us to be those vessels You want us to be.”
We feel no ambition in our hearts when the prophecies come, telling what will happen in the earth. Occasionally, they do cause us to say with apprehension, “O Lord, who is sufficient for all of these things? Who is worthy to do all these things You set before us?” And yet we’re going to be the ones to do them.
Humble yourselves. Humble yourselves before the Lord for what you will be required to be and to do in the name of the Lord. Prepare yourselves for every good work. Let the vessels be sanctified and cleansed and prepared for the Master’s use, prepared for every good work.
Lord, forgive us of those sins which have clouded our heavens and made the flow of God a trickle instead of a torrent. Forgive us, O Lord, for the walls we have put up until the blessing that our brother could minister never reaches us.
We believe for a change, that the impediments to our walk be removed. The Scripture expresses it this way: “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1). We believe for this. We refuse to approach this negatively by allowing ourselves to be beaten down and have self-condemnation ministered to us. This we will not accept. We accept that the walls come down, that the cleansing take place, and the hearts be prepared.
We are not sniveling, crawling, condemned people whom God has rejected. But we humble ourselves even more because we know we are objects God has chosen to bless and chosen to use, and it is most essential that the vessels of the Lord be clean. Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. Isaiah 52:11b. Weep between the porch and the altar that the Lord have willing instruments to carry His Word and minister His fullness.
There will be no cover-up of anything in our hearts before the Lord. Drop the veil. Say in your heart: “I do not will for anything to be covered over. I open my heart for it to be exposed to Him with whom we have to do.” Lord Jesus, cleanse us, prepare us for a visitation.
To many people the Lord said, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto you?” And the Word comes again: “What will you that the Lord should do unto you?” Answer it to your own heart. Partake of His fullness to see it happen.
Break down the barriers and loose us, O God. You have prepared our hearts so much, yet if there is anything wanting, we hear the words of Joshua again, which he spoke as the soldiers stood by, ready to march across Jordan: Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. Joshua 3:5b. We take it as our promise. We sanctify ourselves today because tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among us.