Sermon Central
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A Connected Holy Moment Series
Contributed by Dr. Dave Hartson on May 19, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: Our God is so awesome that He can combine two Holy Moments between unlikely people for His glory.
Introduction
Before Mother’s Day, I began a new series called “I Yearn for More Holy Moments with God.” And in that first sermon of this series, I shared with you the Holy Moment between God and Jonah before Jonah agreed to go to Nineveh to preach as God had asked him.
Today, I want to share a connected Holy Moment that occurred between two vastly different men; men you would assume would not have any contact with one another because they lived a two-day journey from each other and because one was a Jew and the other was a Gentile. And if you are familiar with the early days of the Christian Church, Jews and Gentiles did not mix. But it was each man’s prayer, not at the same time, but on separate days that connected their Holy Moments together.
In case you were not here for the first sermon in this series or if you forgot what a Holy Moment is, let me tell you once again. “Holy Moments are those times, although mostly brief, where it seems like God pulls me to the side, is right there next to me, and showing me something or teaching me something. It is a time when it seems like it is just God and me and the entire world is filtered out.
Let us begin by looking at our Scripture where God combined these two Holy Moments together and changed the composition of the Christian church from that day forward.
Turn in your Bible to the Book of Acts Chapter 10 and we will be reading three portions of Scripture from that Chapter.
Scripture
Acts 10:1–5 NKJV.
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 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.
Acts 10:9–16 NKJV.
9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him, and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
Acts 10:19–23 NKJV
19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”
22 And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” 23 Then he invited them in and lodged them.
On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Background Information
First, we are introduced to Cornelius, a centurion, a soldier in the Roman army. We are told that he has a spiritual bend to the God of the Jews and was considered a God-fearer. And we are told that all in his household were God-fearers which is probably the result of his influence on their lives.
And we all should know the Apostle Peter. He was spiritually brilliant sometimes like when he told Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and when he requested to walk on the water to Jesus. But there were other times when he was off spiritually. Peter was the one who denied the Lord three times. Wasn’t it Peter who cut off the ear of one of the guards that came for Jesus and Jesus replaced the ear on the guard?
