Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. Here you'll find practical, relevant, biblical information.
The Bible will be broken down verse by verse so that you get the full context of the scripture to better grow in your relationship with Jesus.
Hey everybody, welcome into the sanctuary and for those of you who are joining us for the first time, welcome. It's great to have all of you with us today.
Now, this week we're going to continue our series on Centurions of the Bible and their men.
Last week we looked at warriors that were at the cross, right? This week we're going into the book of Acts.
So for those of you with your Bibles, your Acts, and those of you who are taking notes right now, go ahead and turn with me to the book of Acts because we're going to dive right in.
We've got a lot to cover this week. So we're going to look at Acts chapter 10. So Acts chapter 10 verses 1 through 3.
So the word says,
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian regiment. He and all of his family were devout and God-fearing.
He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to him and said, Cornelius.
So the centurion we're looking at here obviously is Cornelius. I'd like to remind you as we're getting started here that centurions were the generals of their day.
That was the highest rank that any soldier could attain, much like today, right?
So these weren't just officers sitting in offices or anything like that, though. We're talking on the ground leading the charge and thus very highly respected by their men and others.
If a centurion was involved in anything, you knew it was business time because they were notorious for being hard chargers and were not to be trifled with.
These men, they had a reputation and they had a reputation that was well earned.
So Cornelius at the time, he was stationed in Israel and possibly looking at going back to Rome soon.
So we see here he was a family man, he was a man of faith, and his family were also believers.
So as you can imagine, a high ranking officer with great influence could do really a lot of good when it comes to spreading the gospel, right? Especially in those days.
So, you know, even though centurions and Roman soldiers were renowned for being ruthless, we can see a very stark contrast, you know, in this situation, right?
He gave generously to the needy. We see that. The word just told us this.
And even though his schedule was likely packed to the brim daily, because, you know, especially officers that rank, I mean, they constantly have stuff going on, even today.
So even though he likely had a very busy schedule, he still made time to pray regularly.
So here we have a great example of a warrior who loves others. He cares for them. Even from his position of authority, he doesn't look down on them. Instead, he gives.
And really that could be said for a lot of our warriors today. A lot of them, regardless of their vocation, they have certain things that they have to do and a certain way that they act and all that because of the vocation.
But underneath it all, you know, you really have to keep in mind that much like Cornelius here, you know, and so many others at that time, even though the notoriety is earned, they still love people.
They do what they do because they love people. All right.
So, you know, and like I said, you know, at that time, you know, the warriors were notorious, the centurions were notorious, their soldiers, the Roman soldiers were notorious for being ruthless and not caring.
And really, you know, we still see this regularly today, don't we?
Think about it. People, they get shrugged off as being less than human. Yet here's this warrior who's following the teaching of Jesus. He doesn't even necessarily realize it.
In Matthew chapter 25, verses 35 through 40, the word says, For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?
And the king will answer them, Truly I say to you, As you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me.
So I'll remind you, love is an action. It's not just words. Love is meant to be a verb, not a noun that's thrown out to the point of being empty or hollow.
That's why it's so important to remember that actions speak so much louder than words. To love like Jesus is to show, is to do things.
When you truly love others, you show them. You'll do things that will stick in the back of their minds.
So even though you may not necessarily say the words that often, because we live in a world that says, oh, you have to say I love you. You have to say I love you. Are you hearing it?
No, because love is an action. So when you're doing things, even though you may not say the words as often as some people would like, the people who you love, they will still know that you love them because of the things that you did.
Right? This is showing God's light as well. People will know you by the light.
Right? These are the things that people are going to remember about you.
We have people killing themselves in droves, veterans still hanging steady at approximately 22 suicides a day.
Not only that, but a lot of hurt out there, a lot of people hurting themselves.
And how many of these people could be saved simply by taking the time to remind them that there's somebody that they matter, that they're loved, spending a few minutes with them, letting them vent and giving them a hug and reminding them that they're loved and that they have a God who loves them.
Jesus has placed you in a position to shine his light on them.
A mission, you know, this is a great mission. This is a mission of great importance.
You know, a single act of kindness could be what's needed to turn the tide in someone's dark times.
And, you know, so moving along here, we also see Cornelius, he had a family of believers. Now this is important.
Why is this important? Because parents need to be plugged in.
That way they know, you know, their kids know just how important church is, you know, and we need to remember that when it comes to the Bible, Jesus didn't just say, hey, it's important.
Do what it says. He took the time to explain the why of things as well.
You know that as part of why he used parables to teach.
They were illustrations of why things were important.
Right. You know, the church as a whole loses way too many people to the world because we don't take the time to explain the why.
And unfortunately, because I said so or because the Bible says so, does not provide the answers that people need.
People want the why, especially new believers, you know, on those who are, you know, are new in their walks or those who haven't been fed well by the shepherds,
you know, and the services that they've attended to. Let's face it, there's some out there that they don't really do.
You know, I hate to knock people here, but, you know, you know, it said, you know, I like to feed you meat.
You know, you're still drinking milk like babes, you know.
People need to be built up, you know, and explain things to not just told, hey, we're going to do this because this is what we do.
You know, that's legalistic. It's you know, people get hung up in these traditions as opposed to the why and what's so important.
So Cornelius, his prayers were being answered in a vision now.
So let's pick back up in Acts, Chapter 10, verses four through eight. So Acts 10, four through eight, the word says, Cornelius stared at him in fear.
What is it, Lord? He asked.
The angel answered, Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon, who is called Peter.
He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.
When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.
He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
A vision from God. A vision.
God will answer prayers in ways that we don't expect.
Visions, dreams, circumstances, and so many more, so many more ways.
You know, here we see Cornelius, he's praying. He's been praying.
He's seeking God. He's seeking to know him.
And now he has a relationship starting to form with him.
Proverbs 8, 17, the word says, I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently will find me.
See, time and patience, it prevails here.
God hears every word that you say, every thought that you have, every prayer you make.
And when you reach out to him and you seek him, you will find him.
And when you do, believe me, you'll know it.
See, the thing here is Cornelius, he's been praying to God and seeking God.
He doesn't know about Jesus yet, though, which is what we're about to see.
So in Acts 10, verses 9 through 23, we're not going to read through all of it, but the word tells us that Cornelius sent for Peter.
And by all means, I do encourage you to read this.
Anyway, Cornelius sent for Peter. Peter received a vision as well.
And this vision told him to go to the Gentiles.
So then Peter goes with the soldiers who were sent to escort him.
And this is important because at the time, the Jews and the Gentiles, they were still at each other's throats.
There was still a lot of bias here, right?
So to commingle, it was still a very taboo thing in that culture.
And it sounds a lot like the racism we see today, doesn't it?
God knew that this was still going to be an issue in Peter's heart.
And that's why he sent the vision to him to help start bringing down that barrier before it had a chance to hinder his will.
So God knew that Peter loved him.
He's like, well, you love me, show me in your obedience.
And this matters because God wants all of us to be saved.
But he will not force it on any of us. It's our choice to make.
We separate ourselves from God. It's not the other way around.
Hell was never meant for us.
This is a place of torment separated from God.
And it's because God loves us so much, as much as it hurts him, he will honor our choice when we decide we don't want him in our lives.
So it's very important for us to seek him out and to include him in our lives.
Picking back up in Acts 10 verses 23 through 26.
So Acts 10, 23 through 26, the word says, The next day, Peter started out with them.
And some of the believers from Joppa went along.
The following day, he arrived in Caesarea.
Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.
But Peter made him get up.
Stand up, he said. I am only a man myself.
So right away, Cornelius is making a big deal.
He's lined up everyone. He's called his family.
He's called his friends and he's falling down in worship of Peter.
But notice what Peter does though. He tells them, Get up. Get up. I'm just a man too.
See Peter, he was quick to act here to ensure that he wasn't being idolized.
That he wasn't being put up on that pedestal.
That the glory was going to God and God alone.
You know, a lot of people, they'll find themselves in the limelight and they won't step out of it.
They like the attention. You know what I mean? It's addictive even.
But unfortunately, it's not ours to have, it's not theirs to have.
What is ours to have is to point the way to Jesus.
Just like Peter did here. Right?
So I say, Hey, I'm not God. I'm no more special. I'm a man just like you.
Stand up. That's what we should all be doing.
So continuing on Acts 10 verses 27 through 32.
So Acts 10, 27 through 32 is a recap of why Cornelius sent for Peter.
So again, we're not going to read through it all.
You know, by all means, I encourage you to. But it is. It's a recap.
Because Peter's like, Why you sent for me?
And Cornelius is explaining, you know, what's going on.
So going forward to verses 33 through 43, the word says, 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.
Then Peter began to speak.
I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism,
but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
You know, the message God sent to the people of Israel,
announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,
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 them.
We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They killed him by hanging him on a cross,
but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
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.
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.
All the prophets testify about him,
and that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
It's a lot.
So the centurion again, he gave a full report to Peter.
This is what's up.
He showed his eagerness to know God and just how on fire he was for that
and how important it was.
He had his whole family there.
He invited friends there,
not to mention his aides and other soldiers who were probably there,
because generals were very rarely left alone.
So this was the last piece that Peter needed to see the whole picture of what was going on.
Remember what I said earlier, God wants everyone to be saved.
Everyone. Yes, even that guy who gets on your last nerve.
And look at how important this was to Cornelius.
I said he invited so many people into his home for this.
This was a big event.
If only we were all on fire for the Lord as this man was.
Reminds us of a certain disciple who was running around.
You know, this is the Jesus. This is the Jesus, right?
So let's open this picture up a little bit more though.
Here we have a Gentile in Cornelius who desperately wants to know of God.
And we have Peter, a Jew.
Again, a lot of bias between both their cultures.
Peter, who had some of that bias in himself, right?
That prejudice.
Peter showed obedience to God despite his own feelings.
And this is one of several great examples in the Bible that the word is for everyone.
Every single person.
God doesn't want anyone to perish.
We forget this. As warriors deployed around the world.
As first responders dealing with people in some of the worst events.
We see some of the worst things out there.
Even just your average civilian dealing with difficult people.
Because let's face it, we all deal with difficult people.
We all see difficult situations throughout our life.
And we live in a world that's still very much us versus them.
And we need to show love and compassion to everybody.
It doesn't matter if you like someone or not.
You're still called by God to love them.
Liking and loving are two different things.
1 Corinthians chapter 13 verses 1 through 3.
The Bible says, If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and confound them all the mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
See, without love, you're just making noise.
Without love, we miss the point.
We close the door on God's light and hamper it instead of letting it shine for everyone to see.
You know, this is one of those things when it comes to God's love.
It needs to be like a Christmas story when the dad gets that lamp that he's, you know,
the major award, you know, and he puts it up in the window much to the chagrin of his wife,
you know, but he wants it out there for everyone to see.
That's how we should be on fire for the Lord.
That's how we should be letting his light shine through in every circumstance.
And it's not always easy.
We need to share God with everyone and we need to do so in love.
There are going to be those who don't want to hear it.
That's fine.
Don't force it on them.
But share the word just the same.
Do so lovingly.
You know, this is the same thing God had to tell Peter here.
See, our obedience to God shows our love for him.
And Peter realizes this as he took account of what Cornelius had told him.
So he started sharing the gospel with him and everybody else who was there,
sharing what he knew of Jesus and letting, you know, God's light shine for them to see.
Thus allowing them to know the good news while finding a true relationship in Jesus.
Where Cornelius had pieced together the rest of the puzzle for Peter to see,
he in return was able to bless him with the missing piece of what he knew of God
so that he could come into a true relationship.
It's one of the greatest gifts we can give, isn't it?
Picking back up Acts 10 verses 44 through 48, the word says,
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished at the gift of the Holy Spirit
had been poured out even on Gentiles, for they heard him speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water.
They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.
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 said, Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water.
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.
Wow! It's powerful, isn't it? It's powerful.
Remember, Peter, he didn't go alone.
Some of the people from Joppa went with him, and they were amazed.
They were like, Holy cow! Wow!
So it wasn't just Peter who saw it. Whoa! What's going on here?
It's for everybody. They too.
So this is impactful for a lot of people.
And this is what we refer to in the church as being Spirit-led.
Cornelius wanted to be in a relationship with God.
He prayed. He was doing his best in life.
God heard him and answered his prayers and rewarded his love by sending Peter to share about Jesus.
Much like this, we can all rest assured that we don't have to be wordy or long-winded when it comes to sharing the word with others.
Peter's sermon here, it was brief, but it hit on the points of the gospel.
It was short and concise.
Short and concise can have just as big of an impact as long as our witness is Spirit-led and Christ is centered.
Right?
As Jesus said in John 14 verse 6,
So John 14 verse 6, Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
And after this, they were baptized.
They were baptized.
Now, baptism, you know, a lot of places they make a big deal out of it.
You know, even in the Bible, we see this as a big event. Right?
And its significance is because it's done in front of others.
It's a public proclamation of love and allegiance to God and the Christian community.
It's a public profession of faith.
So afterwards, Peter, he was asked to stay for a bit longer and have fellowship and continue to talk, you know, more about the word.
You know, and wouldn't it be great if we all reached out in love like this, that we spent time with fellow believers?
Jesus has given us all certain understandings of various things in this world,
but we don't all know everything. Right?
And coming together as the Christian body,
this is something that's supposed to help us all grow and mature in our relationship with God because we're able to share all these things.
It comes from learning from one another and seeing how God interacts with everyone because everyone's relationship with them is different.
Right?
So, you know, this is what church service is supposed to be, not just sitting idly being preached at like an audience member at a live taping of a sitcom
and then going about your way until the next episode. Right?
God has so much to teach us and so many ways to do it.
And we miss out on so much when we refuse to sit down with other Christians.
Remember, it's when we come together as people, that is the church.
That is the church. It's the people. It's the people coming together, not the building.
You know, you can sit down with a friend who's a fellow believer, have a Bible study or discuss a matter of faith, and guess what?
You're in church!
It all comes down to this. When we seek Him, we will find Him and so much more.
Remember, you are a blessing and you are loved.
That's our time for today. Now go and be the church.
Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.
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We look forward to hearing from you all. God bless.