Acts 10: 5: And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. 7: And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; 8: And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
The way our Lord promised to call out his elect from the nations was through the gospel of his Son using pastors whom the Lord has sent. (Isa 1: 24-26; 30: 20; Jer 3: 14, 15; 23: 1-4; Eph 4: 11, 12.) Peter was just such a messenger of God. It is not the messenger that is important, it is the great work which the Lord of glory performed in order to send his messenger along with the message he delivers. By Christ putting away Peter's sin, creating a new man in righteousness and true holiness within him, and sending him to Joppa, Christ our King sent his pastor to the place where he would have his saint Cornelius find him.
Notice with what precision the Lord directed Cornelius to Peter.
The Lord told Cornelius the exact city--now send men to Joppa.
The Lord told Cornelius the exact name of his preacher--call for Simon, whose surname is Peter.
The Lord told Cornelius exactly where his messenger could be found--he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side
The Lord told Cornelius exactly why he was to hear Peter--he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
When folks attempt to justify themselves for not assembling where the Lord has established his church, they often question whether or not it is necessary for believer's to assemble together at all. Not only did it please God to make it absolutely necessary, but the Lord Jesus our King rules all things to make it absolutely come to pass (1 Cor 1: 18, 21; Rom 1: 16; Dan 2: 20.) Whether the Lord sends the gospel into Jerusalem to establish his church in the midst of Pharisees, or whether he sends a hurricane to strand Paul on an island like Malta to deliver his gospel in the midst of barbarians, or whether the Lord sends Peter with his gospel to an elect Gentile like Cornelius, it is the Lord's will to do so and he has the power to do so.
As we see Cornelius' willingness to send for Peter we also see how the Lord gives his people a desire to hear of him. Cornelius esteemed the words of the Lord's mouth more than his necessary food(Job 23: 12.) Cornelius declared with David, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psa 119: 103.) Because the Lord had made his Word more necessary to Cornelius than food for his body and more sweet than any of the honey of this world, Cornelius sent two of his household servants and a devout soldier who provided these daily necessities for him continually. That meant he would do without those temporal things while they were gone. Yet, he did so because he could do without those things but the Word of God he must have. So it is when the Lord directs one of his "certain men" to his table, the believer makes haste to hear the Lord's word, no matter what worldly "honey" he has to do without.
Therefore when we consider what great lengths our Savior went to, in order to save Peter and Cornelius by the sacrifice of himself and to send Peter to Cornelius through his providential dealings with both men, we recognize what a slight it would have been toward the King of glory if Peter had not preached the truth and if Cornelius had not heeded the command of the Lord in seeking out, hearing and obeying the word of the Lord which Christ delivered through Peter.
When the Lord provides a preacher for a people they both will go to whatever lengths necessary in order to hear the Prince of life speak to their heart. May it be so with you and I.
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LOCATION & TELEPHONE Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd floor 150 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, NJ, 08553 Pastor's Telephone: 615-513-4464
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES Sunday 10 AM Bible Class 11 AM Morning Worship Thursday 7:00 PM Mid-week Service (The first Sunday of each month, morning worship begins at 10am followed by observing the Lord's Table. Afterwards we have lunch together.)
NOTE: We especially welcome our friends who are so consistently listening, reading and commenting from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For those who might like to visit us without missing their regular services, our mid-week worship service is on Thursday night at 7:00 pm. We welcome you to join us in worship of the Lord our Righteousness.