14th Sep 26 | 04:00
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Led by the Holy Spirit
📖 Acts 10:01-08
16 – Sun07Jul2024 – *Led by the Holy Spirit* - _Acts 10:01-08_ – THE LORD REACHES CORNELIUS – _Romans 08:14_
_Acts 10:4-6 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. (6) He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do*."_
We have been thinking about how we must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit to move ahead for ministry. We have seen that when the Lord opens one door for ministry, we become part of a greater work of God, which we cannot see.
Yet, there is no single formula to follow, for the Holy Spirit leads people differently at different times. We must not be overreaching ourselves, but remain faithful to the primary task of ministry that the Lord has given for us to do. At the right time, the Lord will open a door for ministry and will also confirm that this is what He wants of us.
We know that Philip was at Caesarea but the angel asked Cornelius to send for Simon Peter, who was at Joppa. _Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities *till he came to Caesarea*._
*Cornelius needed to come to faith in Jesus to be justified before God.* Philip was experienced in leading persons from non-Jewish backgrounds to faith in Jesus. We, in our limited human understanding, would have thought that Philip was more ideally suited for this mission. Logistically, Philip should have been assigned to this work, not Peter.
The ways of the Lord are far higher than our ways. _Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. (9) "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts._
This is why we ought to be always led by the Holy Spirit, even when what is before us is straightforward to do. The Lord could call us to think, say, or do something totally different from what is the norm. Yet again, not being normal is not always the way of the Holy Spirit. We are more often, expected to faithfully, fulfil the regular activities of life.
Why was the Holy Spirit, through the angel, asking Cornelius to send for Peter?
We see the build-up of a serious contention among the leaders of the early church. Paul and Barnabas had come to Jerusalem and they shared with the church leadership how the Lord had reached the Gentiles.
_Acts 15:3-4 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, *describing the conversion of the Gentiles*; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. (4) *And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them*.
This is when the dissension broke out among the elders. _Acts 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."_
The elders decided that this matter must be confronted and a resolution must be reached. _Acts 15:6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter._
Peter’s input were tremendously critical in taking the church in the right direction. Peter was positionally at the pinnacle of the church leadership, whereas Philip was not in that place to sway the decision taken by the church.
_Acts 15:7-12 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, *that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. (8) So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, (9) and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.* (10) Now therefore, *why do you test God* by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (11) But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." (12) *Then all the multitude kept silent* and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles._
For Peter to give the right input in the decision made by the church at that time, Peter had to go to Caesarea and have the encounter with Cornelius and his family and friends. _Acts 10:24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends._
*Would we have understood all of this, when the angel met with Cornelius and told him to send for Peter?*
How important it is for us to be led by the Holy Spirit for He is God and He knows the end from the beginning. _Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, *'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,'*_
```Are you being led by the Holy Spirit?```
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