Title Cornelius's Assumption / 2004.5.9.
Contents The Assumption of the Doin - Cornelius
Acts 10:1-8
May is the month of family. The smallest but most important community in the world we live in is the home. Although people are members of this family, it is a vessel of blessing that God has created. Since the method of maintaining love after marriage is cumbersome and research or efforts to maintain that love well are also weak, there are quite a few couples today who are in the midst of maintaining their relationship as a couple. So even this phrase was born. There are five stages in a couple's life.
The first stage is the stage where we love each other.
The second stage is the unavoidable stage of living.
The third stage is the stage where we live because we need each other.
The fourth stage is the stage of living with pity.
The final stage is the stage where you live to bury yourself when you die.
But that is not the case with happy and gracious families. Just like when you go to a famous restaurant, whether it's the service or the taste of the food, a healthy family has its own characteristics. The characteristics of a healthy family are described by Douloris Curan.
① Communicate well and listen well to others.
② We affirm each other and help each other
③ Teach service with respect for others.
④ Has a sense of play and humor.
⑤ Each member of the family has a responsibility.
⑥ There is a teaching about values, morals, ethics and definitions.
⑦ We respect each other's personality and personal life.
⑧ They have a common belief.
⑨ Enjoy leisure time together.
10 Take time to eat and talk as a family.
All human life begins with the family. Because at home, we learn to serve adults, learn responsibility, learn to cooperate, learn to love and be loved. When the family is happy, everything seems happy, and when there are problems in the family, everything seems dark. The reason the morals and order of this world are crumbling and the world is becoming harsh is because families are being destroyed. Therefore, believers must renew their faith from the family.
We generally seem to think of faith as going to church and praying. So, when my faith becomes a little hot, I pray a little more, and when I pray a little, I think my faith has improved. However, true faith does not lie in prayer itself, but in how much I have been renewed in my family through prayer and how much my family has been renewed because of me. Because the place where faith is first put into practice is at home. It is also because the first neighbors you meet are family members. And because the most important place is home.
The first verse that introduces Cornelius in the text is, “Fear God with all his house” (verse 2).
What is awe-inspiring faith? It refers to faith that is absolutely dependent on God. It is a belief in the absolute honor of God. It's about believing in God with all your heart.
Cornelius was a Roman soldier. He was a senior officer in the Roman army at Caesarea Philippi, the headquarters of the garrison in Rome. The centurion belonged to the aristocracy as the core of the military organization of the time. How he came to believe in Jesus is unknown.
In any case, Cornelius was a godly man who served God, not like a Roman soldier. Moreover, he served God 'with all his house'. The word 'the whole house' refers not only to the couple, but also to the children and the servants who help with the housework. The reason Cornelius's family enjoyed the blessing of being chosen by God was because they lived the faith 'with all the house'.
It was because of Cornelius's own faith and zeal that the family of Cornelius feared God 'with all the house'. In the words of Acts 10:24, the atmosphere and scenes of Peter's house when he was invited to Cornelius' house are described. It is written there.
"The next day - Peter - went into Caesarea, and Cornelius gathered his family and close friends and waited."
I gathered 'family and close friends' and waited. Cornelius was not ashamed to believe in Jesus. Rather proud of it. I was convinced that this is the way of salvation that I must recommend to my close friends. If not, would you have gathered 'family members and close relatives' and waited for a fisherman from the controlled country to come? But, how much more clearly would he have planted the gospel in his family members?
Today, even among church members, how many people are sad because they have given up their family members and have not been able to become one with their immediate children through faith? How many other people have a religious life, but are not very interested in working together in the same church? Worse, it's common to see people who don't even feel sorry for that fact.
Today, we are going to celebrate and encourage 3 families with 4 generations attending our church. There are many families with four generations of faith, but it is rare for four generations to attend the same church. It's precious. So, we want to bless them together and give glory to God.
Dear saints who are desperate for not being able to lead the whole family to believe in God, I hope that you will practice the following few things in order to fear God with all your household. If you do, you will surely enjoy a happy day.
① zealous faith life ② exemplary family life ③ constant prayer ④ guidance on faith for children
Through this kind of faith, Cornelius not only feared God with all his family, but also received special love from God.
Second, the Bible introduces Cornelius like this.
“He gave many alms to the people and prayed to God all the time” (verse 2), and when an angel of God appeared in a vision and spoke to him, he said, “Your prayers and alms have come up before God for a remembrance” (verse 4).
Although Cornelius was a Roman soldier, he was a man of prayer despite his harsh life. He was a man who focused his energy on his spiritual life enough to see the mysterious visions of God. He was a person who worked hard not only in his relationship with God but also in real life. It means that he lived a life of giving for his neighbors in need rather than using the materials he was given to pursue his own pleasure and well-being. How can this not be a good figure of a Dao that can be imitated?
I pray that God will give us such fervent faith to our Antioch believers. I pray that all of us Antioch saints receive abundant material grace and receive greater blessings that we can give and share.
I've lived my whole life believing in Jesus, but only pursuing the abundance and peace of my life. How many shameful beliefs live only with stinginess that can't even save a single soul, let alone plant a church? But what about people who are busy with their daily lives? I'm busy waiting for my children's education expenses, so what should I do? However, if you give up your greed a little, you will have a life of sharing, a life of giving, and a life that can please God. You will experience the true joy of life. Rather, it will be the image of parents who are truly respected by their children, the image of a respected believer.
This time I am going to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Just because it's an island, you shouldn't think of Jeju Island as much. It is an island equal to the size of South and North Korea combined. Our church is trying to build a church that will be the center of mission in the future. No matter where the decision is made, the first week of July, the 25th anniversary of our founding, and Thanksgiving Day, we will make a donation for this. Please prepare in advance. We will build a 25th anniversary church and make that church the mission center of the region in the future.
Cornelius was a man of true faith, in which faith and life were in harmony. He was a man of words and deeds. Cornelius was not just a man who said lord, lord, lord. He was a man of faith. Therefore, God received and remembered his prayers and alms. And he bestowed great blessings and grace on that family. We pray that our Antioch church members' families will also receive this kind of grace and blessing.
Third, Cornelius had the faith to live according to God first.
Cornelius was a Gentile, but he was a man who prayed earnestly to God. He prayed so earnestly that God loved him and spoke to him in a vision. 'Send men to Joppa and ask for Peter who is staying there.' So Cornelius immediately sent to ask for the apostle Peter in Joppa.
When the men sent by Cornelius were leaving for Joppa, Peter was praying on the roof at noon time for prayer. Then God showed me a vision. A large cloth came down from heaven, and there were all kinds of animals that were considered unclean by the Jews and could not be eaten. But God said, 'Peter, get up and eat.' Then Peter answered, 'I can't, Lord. I have never eaten anything unclean and unclean.' There was a voice saying, 'Do not call what God has made clean, unclean.' This happened three times.
While Peter was thinking about what this was, the men sent by Cornelius arrived from outside and introduced the vision Cornelius had seen, asking Peter to go with him to Caesarea. It was then that Peter realized that God's will was contained in this vision. So, Peter went to Caesarea, 35 km from Joppa.
But here we can see the image of Cornelius' faith. 10:25 says, "Just as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and he fell at his feet and bowed down."
A person who has been sent by God, kneeling down on his knees, sending it immediately when God says it is needed, and faithfully faithful because it is God's work--that's what people of true faith look like. We see such a belief in Cornelius today. God blesses those who have such faith. I pray that you all receive God's blessings with the same faith.
Because of Cornelius' faith, that family was chosen as the first family to be saved among Gentiles. Taking Cornelius's family as a model this May, the month of the family, I pray that all of our families will receive the same blessings and love from God.
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