HOW
CORNELIUS RECEIVED THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
CHAPTER FIVE
<There was a certain
man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian
band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much
alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently
about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying
unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and
thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for [one]
Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one
Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.> (Acts 10:
1-6).
<While Peter yet spake these words,
the Holy
Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And
they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues,
and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these
should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And
he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him
to tarry certain days.> (Acts 10: 44-48).
APPROACH FOR ARTICLE OF PENTECOST:
HOW TO RECEIVE IT
I will entitle this little story tonight, ÒHow Cornelius
received the outpouring of the Spirit.Ó Have you ever thought on, how Cornelius
received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
If we could look back tonight
and see how Cornelius, his house and his people received the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit. And we could apply the same method, and have the same approach, I believe we can also get it.
Anything that God does for His
people and that same approach is made, to the Lord on the basis of faith, the
prophet of God said that God is under obligation to do the same for another:
healing, giving out of the Holy Spirit, or anything that the Lord done, for
another. You see, because God is an unchanging God and He cannot change His
ways. And as long as you meet that requirement, then the Lord is under obligation
to give you that same result.
I
was looking at Cornelius and thought: How Cornelius received the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit? If I could find somebody in the scripture, who
received the outpouring that we are looking for, and follow the same pattern,
and have the same approach and attitude, then I am confident that we are going
to receive it. And I am confident that anybody that approaches in the same manner, will receive the same promise. We must have the same
approach.
Now
this is a long story of forty-eight verses, there are many things in that chapter, that I observed a little closer last night. And it speaks of this great man, the
end result of this story and all that was done, was the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. This is not talking about a
shower of blessing like in 1906; this here is speaking of the article of
Pentecost, the very same article that Peter, James and John received in the
upper room. This is what this is speaking about.
When they
contended with Peter in the eleventh chapter of Acts. He said that it was the
same Holy Ghost that we received at the beginning, on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 11:17
<Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on
the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?>
So for those who do not
understand, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that was outpoured in the house
of Cornelius, which came, for the first time, to the Gentiles. Gentiles means ÒnationsÓ, the nations that were not blessed
like Israel, were called gentiles.
It does not matter, what were the names of those gentile nations: Syria,
Lebanon, Babylon or whatever, they were all called gentiles.
God in His
scripture called them ÒdogsÓ, the Greeks were dogs.
And Jesus confirmed that, when the Grecian woman came to Him and asked
for the healing of her daughter. He said ÒIt is not meet to take the children
bread and cast it to dogs.Ó But she spoke the right words. Even
the dog when it barks the right way, could receive a blessing. She barked
the right way. Oh, such glorious words that are written in the scripture! ÒTrue
Lord,Ó she honored Him yet as Lord.
ÒTrue Lord, but the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children
table.Ó ÒFor this saying, go thy way and thy daughter be made whole.Ó (Matthew
15:26-28, Mark
7:27-29).
Your attitude has a lot to do with it. And I want you to look into the heart
of this story here, to find the answer that we are trying to find, Òhow
Cornelius received the Outpouring?Ó This is the first time that it was coming
to the gentiles, which were dogs. That was a door opened to the gentiles, they
received a blessing that they had never ever received before in human history,
through this man called Cornelius. I could type him to Abraham, that because of
his life and devotion, God used him to open up the doors to the gentiles, a
type of Abraham.
But let us speak a little bit
of Cornelius. Cornelius was a gentile dog, and he knew that is how the Jews
considered him. The Romans were ruling, they had the
authority and power. Caesar was ruling, and the Romans were a cruel people,
above all people upon the earth. They invented the death of the cross and the
most immoral people that you could have found were the Romans. The most
pleasure-loving people upon the earth were the Romans. Rome is in Italy.
After
Cornelius knew how the Jews considered him and all other nations, something
happened to the man. And that is, he got interested in the God of Israel. Something
took place. This man was a soldier, who had a hundred Roman soldiers, some of
the greatest, under his authority. He was a rich man; he was a man of
authority. And something happened to this manÕs heart. Salvation was not for
him, as far as the Law goes. He
was considered as a dog, in-so-much that if a Jew will
shake his hand, the Jew will go home and wash his hands, and his face, because
he touched a dog.
The Romans knowing that, I
guess they killed a lot of the Jews, because of hatred for them and their
inconsideration for the other nations. You could imagine the persecutions, but
they had to live up to a certain standard, to avoid all those dogs. You could
not bring a dog into the house of a Jew; neither could you go into the kennel
of those dogs. That is how bad it was and Peter spoke of that, and said, ÒYe know
what a terrible thing it is, for a Jew to enter into the house of any other
nation.Ó
This man was elected of God,
before the foundation of the world, chosen and foreordained of God. And him
knowing all the thoughts of the Jews, the rabbis, and all the holy men, and how
they thought of the Romans, yet, something influenced that man, to fall in
love, with the God
of the Jews. And he loved God with all his heart; that it is written of
this man.
Acts 10:1 <There was a certain man in
Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band.>
A gentile, a
dog, no doubt one time, running women, killing Jews, killing men in wars. How many wars he fought and commanded his soldiers to
kill the people, when they conquered them?
But
something changed this man, whatever changed him, was very influential on his
life and the Bible said,
Acts 10:2 <A devout man,
and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people,
and prayed to God alway.>
I love that Word, Òalway,Ó ÒPrayed to God alway.Ó Something
happened at some-time in CorneliusÕ life that changed his vision, from a life of
Hollywood, a life of immorality, a life of blood shed, a life of boasting in
his authority as a Roman citizen. He was not just a common Roman citizen, but a centurion, that had the command of one hundred
soldiers under him.
He was a rich man,
history tells us how Cornelius helped the brethren, and they kept services in
his buildings afterward. He had money; he had all that he wanted in life. Roman
citizenship was a great thing and Brother Paul used that, because he also had
Roman citizenship and when he got into trouble he said, ÒI am a Roman.Ó
The leaders and all the big
men trembled in their boots and one man took them out of jail and wiped their
wounds. It was death to touch a Roman or to pass
judgement on him at that time, without proper judgment. Paul had power to
appeal to Caesar and did stand before him when they gave him the wrong
judgment. He said, ÒI appeal to
CaesarÓ and he was sent down to Caesar, all in the will of God, that Caesar
might hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, that he would
stand in the Judgement of God.
Cornelius was no ordinary man.
He was a man that made it in the world, a man of authority, a man that could
have gone the way of the world, with all the women he wanted. Yes, he could
have achieved and he had already achieved, but something struck him somewhere
that only eternity would unfold. Did he read the Torah, which was the Law of
Moses? Did he come in contact with a Rabbi? I do not know, but something influenced this manÕs life that
made him turn from the Roman system to the law of God, or the Law of Moses.
Whatever struck that man compelled him to bow to it. He had a vision of Eternal
Life.
He knew that the God of Israel
was the only true God. He was convinced and thought that, ÒIf I live according
to the law, I will not go to that dreadful place called hell, I will gain
Eternal Life, I will live with the Jews in the Kingdom of David, which is soon
to come upon the earth.Ó To believe the Law, he had to believe that and believe
that the Roman Kingdom was going to come to naught, but the Kingdom of the
Messiah is going to reign forever. The kingdom of the Messiah will be an
everlasting Kingdom. No doubt he read the book of Daniel, about the stone cut
out from the mountain and smote the image on its feet. The stone itself became
a kingdom, which is an everlasting Kingdom. He believed that with all his
heart. Faith in what he read, faith in what he heard. Friends, it never said
that he was a proselyte.
That man was living his life
right at home and maybe he could not have entered the Jewish temple because of
the kind of man that he was. A man who shed blood.
Maybe he never qualified to be a Jewish proselyte, but the man loved God. Oh,
let me say this here, friends: there are many people in religion, Catholics,
other organizations, and those who follow this message today, who love God and
are devout men, waiting on the moving of the waters.
Great
things had happened in Jerusalem, my friends, John the Baptist passed through,
Jesus passed through, the great Holy Ghost fell on the day of Pentecost and
Cornelius never did catch on. The Holy Ghost fell on the day of Pentecost and
Cornelius never caught on by divine revelation to any of that, but he heard of
it. All those things happened right in Jerusalem, friends. John the Baptist and
Jesus came and the Great Outpouring took place and this man had no knowledge of
the meaning, nor significance of those things.
A lot of things happened today
upon the face of the earth, God sent Malachi 4: 5-6. Things happened from 1933
right down to 1965, and there are elected of God who are
still ignorant of those things, but they are devout men. There are men that are
living according to the light that they seen and understand right in religion,
right in organization, right on the Himalaya Mountains, right in China, right
in Japan and right in Africa. There are devout men like Cornelius and we must
have these men now upon the face of the earth to receive that Outpouring of the
Holy Spirit. They are there. I have no doubt.
That man Cornelius, when and
what he heard, he surrendered his life, and came down from the top of the ladder,
right down to the bottom of the ladder, humbled himself and had to accept that
he was a dog, and the Jews were the children of God, if he had believed the
Law, which he did. He was a devout man, full of alms. That man had to humble his heart from a Roman centurion and
come right down and admit to himself that, what Moses
said is right. ÒI am a dog. I am convinced that I am a dog, because I was an
immoral man. I am convinced that I am a dog, because I never knew God, I
worshipped idols. I am convinced that I am a dog, because of the life that my
forefathers and
I lived.Ó
That man humbled himself from a Roman centurion and gave up his Roman
spirit.
Friends, how
did Cornelius receive the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? ÒExcept a man
humble himself, he shall in no wise receive the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.Ó The man Cornelius heard the Law, he
believed and humbled himself. He was about to manifest his humility and
his beliefs in a very peculiar way by two main things: he gave alms to all the
people and he prayed always to God.
Brethren,
what causes a man to give alms and pray always to God? It is when he looks back
and see where the Lord brought him from. He will ever
be grateful and thankful to God all the days of his life, if he really sees
where God brought him from and where he is standing today. He would be grateful
and thankful to God all the days of his life. People cannot pray because they
do not realize where God brought them from, they have not experienced that and
there is no gratitude in their hearts unto God.
If
you get something from a man and you are convinced that he gave you that thing
in love, you will be thankful. But, if you are not sure why he is really giving
you that article, you cannot be thankful. That is what drove this man to give
alms and to pray always. The man had a vision of Life and there were two things
that I would imagine that he had before him, that was, ÒI want to gain Eternal Life and
not to go to that dreadful place that the Jews speak about called hell;
regardless of my nation not believing that, regardless of friends and family or
whoever do not believe that, I believe it.Ó
How
did he receive the Holy Ghost? He believed the light that he saw and walked in that
light. There are people who are candidates for the great Outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, who are yet in religion, in organization and who are
following this message sitting under false interpretations, not knowing
that they are wrong. There are some Corneliuses
outside there, and that is what it takes to bring this power of God.
These
things that I am talking about contributed to Cornelius receiving the
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only to him, but for
his house and for his friends and for the whole Gentile world, you and I. My
beloved, through Cornelius, a door was opened to the Gentiles that we might be
candidates for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is not something small
that I am talking about, friends: that man lived such a life. He came from such
a depth of sin, depth of immorality; he climbed down from such a ladder; Roman citizenship. This man, no doubt, eventually died as
a martyr, for his faith.
RIGHT ATTITUDE - COMPLETE
SURRENDER FOR OUTPOURING - WALKING IN THE LIGHT:
I
want you to catch this Message on this
fact. How did Cornelius receive the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? He was
completely surrendered
to God, and walked in the light that he saw for his day. He was sincere and
honest after Eternal Life. He was
thankful to God for showing him that much. He was desperate about it. He prayed
always. He was so grateful and thankful for the little light, that God showed
him on Moses Law and heaven and hell that he took what the Lord gave him and
distributed to the people, not only to the Jews, but
to the Gentiles.
The attitude
of this man was the thing that caused him to receive the Outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. The attitude to what he heard, the respect to it, and the respect to
that Promise. Esau had no respect to the Promise and he lost it. Jacob had
respect to the Promise and he received it. Cornelius had such great respect to
the light that the Lord showed him, because of the attitude of this man towards
life, it brought upon him a gift that he never dreamt about, never anticipated,
never heard
about, and never expected. This man never knew anything about a Token, he never knew anything about an Outpouring. He never
knew that a Savior died on Calvary to forgive him for all his sins! How many
days Cornelius went around the Jewish Tabernacle and said? ÒLord I am a dog, I
am not fit to come into your temple, but I honour you and I thank you, and I
praise you for helping me to understand that you are God.Ó
He
never knew about a Savior, he never knew that a man died right at Calvary to
forgive him for all his sins. That man believed so much, that he influenced his
wife to believe the same things that he believed. He also influenced his
children to believe the same things. The Bible said, ÒHe was a devout man and
one that feared God with all his house.Ó He feared God, brethren,
that does not mean that you have a fear of torment, it means that you
respect God. ÒI respect his temple over there, I respect the Rabbi. I am not
worthy to talk to him, but I respect him. I respect what I read in the Law of
Moses. My hands should not be touching the Torah; if the Jews catch me they
would cut my neck off.Ó Only the Priest was supposed to have had that book and
read it. Maybe, being a man of
authority caused him to get a copy of that book.
Friends, the Bible said,
Cornelius was a devout man. In another place it said that he was a just man.
And do you know something? That manÕs testimony was so great that even the soldiers
under him testified the same and said that their master was a just and upright
man. That man influenced his wife insomuch that she put away her mini dress, she cleaned up his house, she grew out her
hair. She possibly used to attire herself like the Romans in that time, they were a people of sports. He called his sons
together, ÒSons, the gods of the Romans is not God, but the God of the Jews is
the true and living God.Ó
How he laboured
to turn his sons and daughters to the God of Israel. He turned his wife to the
God of Israel, and he ruled his house and convinced them that they were dogs
too, but they could be saved. He was not sure how he was going to be saved as a
Gentile dog, because there was no salvation for those dogs! The door was not
even opened yet, but the man continued to serve the God of Israel with a hope,
that he will be saved one day, regardless of the laws and the covenants that
only belonged to the Jews. ÒI am taking a chance here with my whole house;
somehow God will have mercy upon me and upon my house! May be if I give some
alms it might help. Take this, Jewish brother. Here is some money, let me help
the poor, it may help me to enter the Kingdom of God. There is not a hope for
me in the world, according to the Law, but let me try this.Ó You see that
humility and desperation? He prayed always to the God who considered Him as a
dog. He had the right attitude. He
said, ÒGod I know that I am a dog because you wrote that in the Bible, I am
compared to and unclean beast, but I come to You on hands and knees today and
ask You not to let my soul go to hell, make a way for me, that I will enter the
Kingdom of God, that I may live there, when you set up your Kingdom upon the
earth, your everlasting Kingdom I want a little place there. I do not know how You are going to do that, but I believe that you are going
to do it.Ó Here is a man that is praying beyond hope. What about you and I
brethren, who have all the chances in the world and the Grace that God has been bestowed upon us?
I believe that he is
honor-bound to hear us. I believe that the Outpouring of the Holy Ghost is our portion,
yes; I believe it, friends. That man had a complete change of attitude. Now,
what caused Cornelius to receive the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? It was his approach to
God. He had a certain approach and it was right. His approach was one of faith beyond hope. He read in the
Torah that the Gentiles could not be saved, but beyond hope he still
believed.
Now, that attitude of the man
and his approach will later bring an angel unto him. Brethren, if we maintain
the right attitude and have the right approach, angels will appear to us. Not only that,
God will send His life-line to us. He knew where that
servant was abiding; He knew that he was by the seaside. He knew Cornelius by
name. The same approach that caused the angel to appear,
drew the man of God from Joppa into his house, contrary to the Law. It is the same attitude
that caused Cornelius, with his whole house to be born again while the Word was
preached: to put on the seven virtues: also caused them to receive the Holy
Ghost.
DEVOUT MEN IN FOREIGN LANDS AWAIT OUTPOURING
Brethren,
I am trying to help you to see the heart of Cornelius, and what attracted the
attention of the Almighty. You cannot receive that great Outpouring until you
are born again and have the seven virtues. A miracle took place in that house
that never happened in the entire Bible. I believe that in this age of grace,
that God is able to do the same thing for the many CorneliusÕ around the world
today, devout
men who are walking in the light that they see. Because of the shortness of
the hour, I believe the Lord will do the very same thing again. If He did it
back there, He is able to do it again. There are some in Africa, some in China,
India, those in the Philippines who are sitting there today knowing this
message and are devout men awaiting the last Outpouring. There are people in
organizations who are devout men and women, they are
just waiting for the moving of the waters. The Lord is going to lead them to
the right servant of God, the right shepherd in the right time. They will
receive the same penny as those who worked from the morning,
the eleventh hour Gentile worker would receive the same penny. Lord, hasten the day is my prayer.
I
am a grace believer. What about you, friends? There are men and women who can
read themselves into this Scripture here today and say, ÒThere was a group of
people living in Trinidad, living in the United States, living in the Caribbean
and certain parts of the world: a devout people who feared God with all their
house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always.Ó If that
fits Cornelius, I believe that it fits us today, even a thousand fold, because
we have the truth, even because we love God. We look forward for His promise. We
fear God; believe His Word and are trying with all out hearts to obey the abcÕs of the message.
Cornelius was trying to obey the abcÕs of the
message that he knew.
I
want to say with all sincerity that under this revelation there are men and
women who are devout, and living with a hope. They have obeyed the abcÕs. They have made sacrifices: left husbands, left wives,
left children, left friends, left professions, money and all this world behind
them and faithfully served the Lord, even in this and other tabernacles that
uphold the truth, praying and praying and praying for five years, ten years,
fifteen years, twenty years. We could be giving alms every week, every month
and every year, and it seems like there is no reward for it, but,
there comes a time when the alms and the prayers come before God as a memorial.
When they come before God, the Lord is going to smile upon you, and He will
reward you and bless you. What I am saying, friends, is to continue to pray,
continue to give your alms, continue to live your Christian life, continue to
obey the abcÕs until they come up before God as a memorial. It looks like your
prayers are never going to be heard, your alms are never going to be rewarded,
never think that way, they are waiting to come up before the Lord as a memorial.
ThatÕs the only thing that it is waiting
for, to come up to the Lord as a memorial.
II Thessalonians
3:13 <But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. >
God has them stored up in vials for
the right time. He will command the angels, and say, ÒTake up that vial there,
loose it and bring it before me and pour it out before Me.Ó
All the prayers and all the alms go up as memorials before God. There is a
reward to follow. Mordecai, in the Book of Esther did a great deed, he saved
the kingÕs life and the scribes had it recorded in the KingÕs Chronicles, and
one night the king could not sleep, the Holy Spirit was moving upon him and he
said: ÒBring out the books and read.Ó And as they read he came to the part of
Mordecai, how he reported a plot of someone had to kill the king. Then the king
looked around and said, ÒWhat deed had been done to Mordecai for what he has
done for the king, that saved his life?Ó They said, ÒNothing my Lord.Ó The
deeds of this man came to him as a memorial and when it came to him as a
memorial, the king commanded and he elevated Mordecai to be a great ruler in his kingdom.
Our prayers are coming up to
the Lord as memorials. And, as those alms and prayers come up before the Lord
as memorials, the
King will command. When the prayers come up before the Lord and the vials
were opened, God remembered Cornelius. Everything was working right in place
and He summoned an angel. He said, ÒYou come here. I want you to go down and
speak to Cornelius for Me. It is about time that the doors of the Gentiles are
opened and I pour out My Spirit upon them. He prays and give
alms, and he do not know what he is praying for. He never heard of the Token,
never heard of an Outpouring, never heard of Jesus giving Eternal Life, never
heard of John the Baptist as the forerunner, never heard of the Day of
Pentecost.Ó All that Cornelius was doing was his duty, praying, giving alms,
fearing God and keeping his household in the faith. He was still working, he
was still a Centurion, he still had to contend with
that spirit of the Romans, he still had to suffer reproaches and confessed to
them that he is a Gentile dog. He did not know what was going on in heaven
concerning him.
There are people today who
have never
heard about an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, about what is happening here in
the Western World. They do not know that the highlight of Brother BranhamÕs
message is, another Outpouring of the Spirit but they are devout men, they are living the
message, they are living good lives in Organizations, they love God and they
are in Religions today. But their prayers and their alms will come up as a
memorial before Almighty God. When their prayers come up before God as a
memorial, the Lord is going to send them the right man that could help them. He
is going to send them the Token.
It is recorded about Cornelius
as follows:
Acts 10:2 <A devout man, and one that
feared God with all his houseÉ>
You are talking about living the Law.
Cornelius, that great Centurion Commander, I imagine he said. ÒDo not do that
son, the God of Israel do not like that. We cannot eat blood in the house. Wife,
you cannot put on that mini-skirt. The God of Israel is going to send us to
Hell.Ó Can you imagine, that man
being a pastor
to his house? He had been praying when his alms came up before God as a
memorial. Eternity will unfold it, but he obeyed the abcÕs.
APPROACH TO GOD FOR OUTPOURING –
If
we approach the same way as Cornelius we must get the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He
appreciated what he heard, he loved what he heard, he
ordered his house according to the Word of God. He was thankful to God for the
light that he seen, he was kind-hearted to his fellowmen, he was praying
desperately and he had faith that God was going to save him somehow, even
though he was a dog. It touched the Lord to see a man that could not enter the
Temple, praying and passing that Temple saying ÒI hope that one day the Lord
will make a way for me to go in there.Ó
Cornelius went to pray one
day, and he saw in a vision. A
vision is not a dream. You open your eyes, and you are transported into a different
dimension and you see while you are awake.
Acts 10:3 <He saw in a vision
evidentlyÉ>
I like that word, ÔevidentlyÕ;
it was not an imagination nor something hatched up.
You could see how he was
practicing the law; that is the hour that they used to pray in the Jewish
Temple: six oÕclock, nine oÕclock, twelve oÕclock, and three oÕ clock. He was
praying in his house.
<..an angel
of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.>
Friends, if you live true to
the light that you see, God knows you by name and He will call you by name. He
knows you friends, He knows who Sam is, He knows who Ramkumar
is, He knows who Rogers is, He knows these little sisters: Sister Wendy, He
knows you friends. And he sent the angel down there, ÒGo down to Cornelius.Ó
Acts 10:4 <And when he looked on him,
he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said
unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
>
The approach
to God that this man had, brought an angel down from heaven. My God! But this angel could not preach unto him
salvation; he needed a preacher. Angels desired to look into these things and
they were forbidden. An Angel came down and could not speak salvation, preach Jesus to him, preach John the Baptist and preach the
Outpouring to him. Hear what this angel is going to do, with all his great
authority and power, knowing his place, he said unto him:
Acts 10:5-6 <And
now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
He lodgeth
with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee
what thou oughtest to do.>
He knew where the both of them
were. Peter being a fisherman he chose that certain place. The angel could not
tell him the way of salvation. He said, ÒSend down to Joppa and get this man
named Peter, he is going to tell you what to do, because your prayers came
up to God and he said that you are crying out for Eternal Life, you are crying
out for salvation, what you prayed about thirty years ago has reached me. I am sending
My angel to you and I want to answer your prayers
concerning salvation. But send down to Joppa and get a man, he is going to tell
you what you ought to do.Ó My God this story is long but sweet!
God knew where Peter was.
Peter had now raised a sister from the dead, he was in a certain town, and they
said, ÒCome quickly over here.Ó He went across there and put the unbelievers
out and he just said, ÒTabitha, arise!Ó She was a seamstress,
they were people like us. She used to sew a lot of clothes and give to the sisters. They
were crying and showing Peter all the dresses and different things, he just
cried to her and she arose. He opened the door and presented her alive unto the
sisters that were crying.
Peter was tired from
preaching, so he went down by the seaside and he was with another Simon called
the tanner, and the Lord knew where they were. They were not to mix up the two
Simons and bring the wrong Simon, he said, ÒOne of them surname is Peter, ask
for Simon Peter.Ó God was giving directions. My Lord, you are talking about our
God, giving directions. I want you to see how these men never trusted anything,
they never wanted to be deceived and you could see the kind of personality
these men possessed, also the influence that Cornelius had by the life that he
lived.
Acts 10:7 <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.>
Cornelius was a man of authority, that soldier was the manÕs bodyguard, who waited
on him continually, if he walked this or that way, that soldier dressed in his
Roman armour followed him, with other soldiers. Cornelius lived such a life before
those soldiers around him that he was able to convince them that an angel did
appear unto him. He called the chief soldier, the chief bodyguard and he spoke
to them, I believe they never slept that night. He got
about three men, devout men, and said, ÒListen to me, I have seen a vision,
this is the direction, when you go up there, do so and so, there are two Simons
living in that house, do not bring the wrong one to me, ask the man if he is
Simon Peter, the angel specified, the surname Peter. Get the right one.Ó
Those men had so much
confidence in the words of Cornelius that they believed and took their journey
to Joppa. The vision came one day and then they departed the next day.
Acts 10:8 <And when he had declared
all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.>
Now, do you remember that
Centurion servant that came for healing for his servant? He said, ÒWhen I say
unto one go, he goeth; and to another come, and he
cometh.Ó This is a soldier here, under the Centurion, he said, ÒGo, and he goeth; come and he cometh. Those Romans soldiers were not
jokers. We read the story of Josephus history; you are talking about men,
gallant men, cruel men, blood-thirsty men, and had
order in the Roman kingdom. It was represented by Iron.
Acts 10:9 <On the morrow, as they
went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the
housetop to pray about the sixth hour.>
ThatÕs twelve oÕ clock.
Acts 10:10 <And he became very
hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance.>
Do you see how the Lord deals
with His people? He was using PeterÕs natural hunger to bring unto him a vision, in a
trance. Do you remember my experience in the wilderness? I was thirsty to
death, and when the Lord came to me, He said, ÒAs the coolness of this breeze
quench your thirst, so shall this manÕs message quench your thirst for
righteousness.Ó Do you see how the Lord operates? Now somebody could pass that
off and say ÒMan, I was hungry so I just dreamt that.Ó No, the Lord waits for
certain conditions to speak to His servants.
Peter was up there praying and
he was hungry, the sisters were preparing the food in the house, they were
ordinary people like you and I. Peter fell into a trance and saw heaven opened
and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knitted
at the four corners and let down to the earth, wherein were all manner of
four-footed beasts of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things and fowls of the
air. Three times it came down and went up. The Jews were taught not to eat any
of those unclean beasts like hogs, and everything that did not part the hoof,
birds and everything like that. They scorned them. Unclean beasts filled the
vessel.
Acts 10:13 <And there came a voice to
him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. >
Now you could imagine his
doubts and fears because he was taught from a child not to eat any of those
nasty things, as a Jew. Then a voice came from heaven. As far as Peter was
concerned, that could have been the Devil. He was not going to trust this
vision. He said,
Acts 10:14 <ÉNot so, Lord; for I have
never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.>
He was a devout Jew.
Acts 10:15 <And the voice spake unto
him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.>
Brethren, that was us.
All those nasty beasts in that vessel, knitted at the end, was
Bruce, Cornelius, Brother Branham and every one of us. That is why the Jews
never ate them in the Old Testament, even because they represented the other
nations. My God! He said do not call anything that I have cleansed common or
unclean. He died for you at Calvary. He had already died for us before he gave
Peter this vision. ÒI cleansed it at Calvary and do not call what I clean up
common or unclean PeterÓ. This was done thrice and the vessel was received up
again into Heaven.
Acts 10:17 <Now while Peter doubted
in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men
which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before
the gate.>
Now I hope you are seeing the
accuracy of God and a vision. God spoke to Cornelius by a vision, it got to
work out, and nothing can change it. At the same time, God spoke down there to
Cornelius, he also spoke to Peter up here at Joppa. Peter was
doubting this vision because this vision was looking like the Devil
talking to him to eat those things that were commanded in the Scripture not to
eat.
Acts 10:19-21 <While Peter thought on
the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
Arise therefore, and get thee down, and
go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
Then Peter went down to the men.>
Do you see how a man of God
does not just grab at a light that flashes nor a
thunder that rolls? God spoke to Peter twice, confirmed that it was God.
Acts 10:21 <Then Peter went down to
the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom
ye seek:
what is the cause wherefore ye are come?>
That was all, and he stood
there. You are talking about men that checked everything before they yielded.
God spoke to this man three times and confirmed these things. He never went out
there telling them his vision saying God sent me. Hear the sternness of this
man.
Acts 10:22 <And they said, Cornelius
the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among
all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for
thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.>
You are talking about trained
servants, orators, Cornelius picked out the best orators to meet this
mysterious man up at Joppa. They had to carry a correct message, they were
convinced of this CenturionÕs life insomuch that they could speak firmly, with
faith, with boldness, with assurance, that this Centurion, ÒCorneliusÓ was a
just and devout man and had the right testimony before the Jews and all men.
ÒHe was warned of God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house.Ó It was
a terrible thing for a Jew, to go into the house of a Gentile.
Acts 10:23 <Then called he them
inÉ>
Then called he them in. Watch
at that, those dogs was not supposed to have come inside of this Jewish house
but he called them in. I do not know where they put them to sleep.
<And on the morrow Peter went away
with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.>
I love that. If I were there,
I would go down to see this miracle. My God! Are you not enjoying this thing,
brethren? I guess Simon said, ÒPeter I am going with you.Ó And other brethren
who were Jews said, ÒWe are going with you, we got to see this thing.Ó Peter,
going into a Gentile house for the first time. He brought Gentiles inside of
this manÕs house and put them to sleep and he is going into their company,
something great is going to happen.
Those brethren had no plans of
any trip, may I tell you that they packed up their bundles, on their backs, put
a little bread in their pockets and went down the road with Peter. It took
about a dayÕs journey.
Acts 10:24 <And the morrow after they
entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together
his kinsmen and near friends.>
This man believed that angel
so much, that he called all his friends. When you really believe something you
want the whole world
to get it, you want the whole world to get salvation. He wanted everybody to
see this man that the angel talked about. This angel could not preach
salvation, so he sent for a man to preach salvation to the man, and I do not
think that Cornelius slept for those days. He went about calling all his
friends and kinfolks. I believe he had a big house and he crammed them inside.
They did not have telephones to call.
Friends, that man was anxiously waiting at his front door and in the distance he could
see a group of men coming; and he thought, ÒThat could be them.Ó
Brethren, everybody was in desperation and anticipation, because
an angel sent for a man! And they believed Cornelius! It was quite a scene.
<And the morrow after they entered
into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his
kinsmen and near friends.>
In other words, ÒThis thing is
good for you! Yes, auntie, uncle! Yes brother, sister this thing here is good
for you! Yes, an angel appeared to me and sent for a man! If that angel is so
great this man has to be greater than the angel!Ó That was the thinking of
Cornelius. Acts 10:25
<And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet,
and worshipped him.>
Do you see how those men esteemed
the things of God? Here is a Centurion soldier, having a hundred soldiers
waiting at that house no doubt, and in humility he knew that an angel sent for
that man, he had to be appreciated! In the presence of everybody a Roman is now going to bow down to a Jew! Yes, an old
fisherman. And he ran across there, beloved, got down on the floor, raised his
hands and worshipped.
Now hear how a man of God
behaves.
Acts 10:25 <And as Peter was coming
in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up;
I myself also am a man.>
A real
servant of God. Oh beloved, that
Word of God in you will cause men to bow at your feet. IÕm telling you the
truth. When people appreciate the Word; they appreciate GodÕs servants and will do
anything for that servant of God. Yes sir! He did not know better, he came from
idolatry. He did not know that he was not supposed to bow down and worship; he
used to worship idols, and he bowed down and started to worship Peter. You can
imagine a man coming there who received the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This man was sent for by an angel of God! And everybody in
the house was wondering, what would be the words that this man would speak. The
angel never told them what this man was going to tell them. The soldiers said
that, ÒCornelius sent for you, that we might hear words of thee.Ó My God! The
house was filled with people, also the yard. I imagine people sat on top of the
stove, and the bed, because an angel sent for a man, and everybody believed
Cornelius, because of the life that the man lived. Peter picked him up by his
hands.
Acts 10:28 <And he
said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a
Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.>
You are talking about presentation,
you are talking about trained preachers and presentation of the gospel, He
picked him up and he started talking to them at once. He said, ÒYou know
Cornelius, you are familiar; all you Romans know that we consider you as dogs;
and what an unlawful thing it is for a Jew to come into a RomanÕs house. The
only reason that I came into this dog house, the only reason I came into this
kennel, is because God told me that what he has cleansed donÕt call it unclean
at all. ThatÕs the reason why I am here.Ó The man set the stage for his sermon.
My Lord! Yes. Peter continued his sermon and said,
Acts 10:29 <Therefore came I unto you
without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent
ye have sent for me?>
This man was
not trusting this vision even up to this point. Let the vision play out.
He said, ÒCornelius, I came down here; I received the invitation of these three
men. I am asking you, for what intent have you sent for me?Ó Cornelius being a
wise man told
him:
Acts 10:30 <And Cornelius said, Four
days ago I was fasting until this hourÉ>
Man, how are you going to eat
when an angel appeared to you? How are you going to eat when you know the
servant of God is coming down to give you counsel from the Almighty Himself? We
learnt that the angel was in the form of a man.
Acts 10:30 <Éand at the ninth hour I
prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is
heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither
Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner
by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto
thee.
Immediately therefore I sent to thee;
and thou hast well done that thou
art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all
things that are commanded thee of God.>
My God! Oh beloved, I wish I
had a couple hours.
You are talking about men that
were trained. Peter asked him a question, and that centurion: all trained up
according to the Roman army; he gave him the experience and said, ÒGod sent to
call you, because you have something to say. I donÕt have anything to say. I
sent for you because God said that you have something to say!Ó Yes. In other words, I have already spoken, start
speaking.
Acts 10:34-36 <Then Peter opened his
mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.>
He was getting that revelation
now; he is no respecter of persons.
<But in every nation he that feareth
him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
The word which God sent unto the
children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:).>
My God, you can imagine the
gracious words, and how people was on the edge of their seats because an angel
sent for a man by the seaside, to speak the words of God, to tell them what God
hath commanded him.
My beloved, they were not
Òtwo-centsÓ preachers. They told what they had to tell. People either believe it or
not. ÒHe is Lord of all Jesus Christ is lord of all.Ó
Peter presented forgiveness,
and the plan of salvation. The centurion prayers were stored up in vials, an
angel could not tell him how to be saved but said, ÒGo and get a preacher. And
the preacher is going to preach to you. Ó
My beloved, faith built up in
that house with those raw Gentiles and heathens, that it gave them a born again
experience, as he presented the Messiah, the coming of the Lord, that was the
born again experience.
I John 5:1 <Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of GodÉ>
And while the preaching was
going on, those people, so believed the Word, by the testimony of the
centurion, they were just gobbling up everything as they sat on the edges of
their seats. You could see them hanging from the rafters, some saying ÒAmenÓ
inside of the bedrooms. My God! And as Peter continued, hear what the Bible
said,
Acts 10:44 <While Peter yet spake
these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.>
My God, one message and they
were born again, they received the virtues, and they got what they had on the
Day of Pentecost! I am saying that he could do the same thing again. Yes!
And
the foundation is now being laid throughout the world. And there are devout men
in the message, devout men in organization, devout men scattered across the
world. And while we yet speak the words, the Holy Ghost will fall upon them! Beloved, the
faith and the grace, that was upon this man, was so
great, that it bypassed water baptism. The order to
get the Holy Ghost. Peter declared it on the Day of Pentecost himself!
He said,
Acts 2:38 <ÉRepent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.>
The faith of Cornelius, the
sincerity, the honesty, the approach to God, bypassed water baptism and the
formula on the Day of Pentecost that Peter himself gave to the people. And
while he yet spake the words, they heard a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and cloven tongues of fire, sat upon each one of them, like it
happened in the upper room. First, the pillar of fire appeared, and it broke up
into pieces and went to the different ones. And the bible said, ÒAll of them
received the Holy Ghost that heard the Word.Ó
My God! My brothers and
sisters, I believe that we are going to get that Outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. Look at how much grace we
have. We are following the abc. We have followed John
the Baptist. We believe the opening of the seals. We believe the Word of God.
We are bound for the promise land. We must get it! If the house of Cornelius
got it, we are bound to get it! We had been waiting for it. DonÕt doubt anything, but
believe in your heart. Oh my God! They
were astonished my beloved, yes.
Acts 10:45 <And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues,
and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Can any man forbid water, that these
should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
And he commanded them to be baptized in
the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. >
If I was
in that house, I would have asked him to tarry certain days. And in his
tarrying there, he preached other messages, and instructed the Gentiles for the
first time. How to live; how to conduct themselves,
and taught them many things concerning the gospel. They asked him to hold on
there, ÒWe beg you to stay with us.Ó Yes, an angel came down from heaven and sent for a man
to speak, who had words from God to give unto those people. That is where your
salvation is.
Tell me, that you donÕt have
to learn from a man and you are not going to follow a man and you are going to
follow an angel that is speaking to you; you are lost already. If an angel ever
appears to you, friend, he is going to direct you to a man with the Word of God, and
the Keys to the Kingdom of God. Peter had the keys to the kingdom of God, and
the kingdom of God is the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit
knew that; he sent for Peter to come and turn that key for the Outpouring of
the Holy Ghost upon the gentiles. I believe we ought to have some more
CorneliusÕ upon the face of the earth today. Devout men
that will receive this great Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. My beloved I
have great hope; we have great consolation. I believe they are scattered about everywhere in the
message, devout men, and God will lead them to His servants with the Word of
the Lord. Give us a song. Thank you for your patience. Praise Him. Thank you,
Lord.