Prayer and Evangelism

In Acts 10 we find two men praying. In the first part of the chapter, Acts 10:1-8, we find Cornelius, a Roman centurion, praying. And then at Acts 10:9, we find the Apostle Peter praying. And then as this chapter progresses, Cornelius and Peter get together and prayer is answered. Something happens when churches pray because when churches pray, God opens doors of witness and ministry and wonderful things happen. 

Acts 10: 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, who gave much alms to the people—that would be to the Jewish people—and prayed to God always.

Now, Cornelius was not a converted man. He was not yet saved. He was a proselyte of the gate; by that we mean he was not a fully accepted Jewish proselyte. He gave alms, he prayed, he observed the prayer hours and so forth. He knew that his Roman religion was wrong, that all the false gods of the Roman religion were exactly that: false gods. He was seeking the truth. He wanted to know how to be saved. He saw in a vision evidently, openly, 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. 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 seaside. He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. 

Well, that's exactly what he did. But at the same time, God is preparing Peter. You know, God always prepares us for what He is preparing for us. Acts 10:9: On the next day, as they went on their journey—that is, the committee being sent from Cornelius—and drew near unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. You'll recall that the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour were special hours of prayer. And he became very hungry and would have eaten, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending unto him as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, in which were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fowl of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. You see, Peter had kept a kosher household. Even though he knew the teaching about foods—he'd learned that from the Lord Jesus—he kept a kosher household. He obeyed the Jewish dietary laws. 

Well, a second and third time this happened, and Peter was perplexed, wondering what all of this meant. About that time, the visitors arrive at the door and the Holy Spirit says something to Peter. Acts 10:19: 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. That little phrase "doubting nothing" literally means making no difference, making no distinction. They are Gentiles, you are a Jew, but you go with them because, Peter, I'm going to open up some wonderful doors and you're going to see your prayers answered. 

Now, what was Peter praying about when he was up there on the housetop that noontide? The Word of God doesn't tell us. But I wonder if he wasn't praying about the harvest. Remember now, it was the sixth hour. It was at the sixth hour that the darkness came to the cross. I wonder if Peter was thinking about those three hours when the Lord Jesus hung on the cross and was made sin for you and for me and for the whole world. I wonder if perhaps Peter was praying and saying, Oh Lord, You died for the whole world, You gave Your life for the whole world, now can we reach out and win more people? Well, I don't know what Peter was praying about, but I have a suspicion he was praying about reaching out and winning lost souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Cornelius was praying the day before. Here you have a seeking sinner and a praying saint, and God gets the two of them together. Now, Peter is about to open the door of faith to the Gentiles. God gave to Peter the keys of the kingdom—not the keys to heaven and not the keys to hell, but the keys of the kingdom. That is, he opened the door of faith to those who needed to believe. In Acts 2, he opened the door of faith to the Jews. In Acts 8:40, he opened the door of faith to the Samaritans. And now he's about to open the door of faith to the Gentiles. 

The key to Acts 10 and Acts 11 is this little phrase "making no difference." Acts 10:20: Making no difference. There is no difference is a basic principle, and we ought to apply it to several different aspects of our ministry. To begin with, there is no difference in the need. All men are lost. There is a brand of theology today that says we as Christians should not evangelize. Don't send out missionaries, don't try to witness—everybody has his own religion and that religion is accepted by God. It's as though all roads lead to Rome or all roads lead to New York. Makes no difference what road you're on, you're going to get there—except for one thing. Jesus said, I am the way. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved. I think it's good for us to have dialogue with other faiths.

I think it's good for us to try to understand our neighbors and what they believe. We can better witness to them and minister to them. But we must never get to the place where we dilute the Gospel of Jesus Christ and say it is just one of many different good news messages in the world today. If the Gospel is the good news, then any other religious message is bad news. It will never save the lost soul. 

Now here's Cornelius, who is a devout man, a God-fearing man, a giving man, a praying man—apparently a very righteous man, a man of good character—and yet Cornelius wasn't saved. The Holy Spirit speaks to Peter, an angel spoke to Cornelius, God sent a vision down for Peter three times—it's all very complicated. Cornelius's friends had to go thirty miles to Joppa, and then they had to go thirty miles back with Peter. It would probably take four days for this trip. It's interesting to note in Acts 8:40 that Philip was already in Caesarea. Philip the evangelist was already in Caesarea. Could he have told Cornelius how to be saved? Certainly. In fact, the angel could have done it. But God said, No, it's going to be Peter. I gave Peter the keys, and Peter is the one who's going to open the door of faith to the Gentiles. 

Peter was used of God to bring the message to these people because he was a praying Christian, a burdened Christian. He wanted to see the Gospel get out. There is no difference in the need; all men are lost. There is no difference in the method; God uses the Gospel, the Word of God, and prayer in the lives of His people. There's no difference in the message. When you read in Acts 10 Peter's message, he tells about the Lord Jesus—how that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He died for our sins, He arose again. It's interesting that Peter got to that one place, Acts 10:43: To him—Jesus—give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. That's the Gospel. And when these Gentiles heard "whosoever," they believed. Acts 10:44: While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them who heard the word. They believed. And Peter's Jewish friends were amazed that Gentiles could be saved without first becoming Jews. 

So there's no difference in the results. When you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit of God comes and you know that you are born again. The same Spirit was given. Later on, when Peter was called to give an accounting of what he had done, he told them exactly what happened. Acts 11:15: And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning. At what beginning? At the beginning of the church, back in Acts 2. Peter said, All right, these people have received the Holy Spirit, let's baptize them. He was fulfilling the Great Commission. The same doctrine was taught.

I wonder if there are not in our neighborhoods unsaved people just like Cornelius—moral people, good people, people who are religious. They probably go to church, maybe more faithfully than some evangelicals do, but they aren't saved. They're good people, they are nice neighbors, but they aren't saved. And in their heart they're praying and saying, Oh God, I need something, I need something, I need something.

Now, if you and I are praying and asking for God's direction, I wonder if a praying saint and a praying lost sinner would not be brought together by the Holy Spirit of God. I don't think we're asking too much. I think the whole picture here in Acts 10 is that of praying for lost souls. We should pray for lost neighbors and friends. That's the kind of people God uses—people who pause to pray. Cornelius was praying and God honored his request. Peter was praying and the Holy Spirit of God began to work in a wonderful way to bring these two together. 

There's no difference in the need: all men are lost. There's no difference in the method. There's no difference in the message. There's no difference in the results: the same Holy Spirit is given, the same baptism is administered. And would you notice these people were saved, possessing the Holy Spirit, magnifying God, and then they were baptized. Are you praying like this? Something happens when churches pray, for then God opens the doors of faith to other people and the Gospel reaches out to change the lives of lost sinners. 

The Apostle Peter was God's key man. He was opening the doors of faith. In Acts 11, Peter ran into some closed minds and he had to defend himself. And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision—now that means the legalistic party in the church, those who were attached very much to the law—they that were of the circumcision contended with him. Now, that phrase means they made a difference with him. It's the same phrase that's used in Acts 10:20 where the Spirit of God said to Peter, Arise therefore and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing. That phrase "doubting nothing" means making no difference, making no distinction. All have sinned and all must come by faith. 

However, those who were in the church who had closed minds contended with Peter. They made a difference. They wanted to make a distinction between Jewish believers and Gentile believers, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and didst eat with them. But Peter reviewed the matter from the beginning and expounded it in order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying. And in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending as it had been a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners and it came even to me. Upon which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered and saw four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter, slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.

You see, Peter was living as a dedicated Jewish person. He was keeping a kosher kitchen. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. And behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. There's that word again—making no difference. Moreover, these six brethren accompanied me and we entered into the man's house. 

And then Peter goes on to tell how he preached the Word of God. Acts 11:15: And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Forasmuch then as God gave them the same gift as he did unto us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I that I could withstand God? Now here is a man who because he was praying was a key man. God was using him to open doors. What are the marks of a key Christian? Well, there are at least four of them, and Peter illustrates these four marks of a key Christian. 

Number one, you can always tell a key Christian by his eyes. He sees the vision. You see, the Lord wants us to see this lost world as a flock that needs shepherding and as a field that needs harvesting. Now do you see that? Are you the kind of a Christian who because you pray, you pray for God's will to be done—because you pray for lost souls, your eyes have seen the vision?

Now, why don't some Christians see this? Well, some people don't see because they're spiritually dead. Jesus said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Until your eyes are opened by faith, until you trust Jesus as your Savior, you cannot see what this world is really like. In 2 Peter 1, Peter talks about Christians growing. 2 Peter 1:5: Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and so forth. 2 Peter 1:8: For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. You can always tell a key Christian by his or her eyes. The key Christian sees the vision. There's a job to be done; there are people to be reached with the Gospel. 

There's a second mark of a key Christian. You can tell the key Christian not only by his eyes—he sees the vision—but also by his ears. He hears the voice. He said, I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter, slay and eat. Have you heard the voice of God commanding us to go? There is the command from above: Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Have you heard that? The command from above. There's the cry from beneath. If you and I could hear the cries of people out in a lost eternity right now, we'd realize how important it is to get the Gospel out. And then there is the call from without. Acts 16:9: Come over into Macedonia and help us. There are people saying, Please come to help us. And there's a whole world, an open door out there, a flock that needs shepherding and a field that needs harvesting, and they're crying out, Come over to help us. 

Thirdly, you can always tell the key Christian by his feet. He makes the venture. Peter got up and went. Acts 11:12: The Spirit told him to go, nothing doubting. So he went. This was an act of faith. Peter knew that he was going to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were not permitted to mingle with the Jews and the Jews with the Gentiles. There was a wall between them. And yet Peter dared to be a pioneer. He dared to have an open mind as he faced these open doors because Peter was a man of prayer.

There was a day when Peter had wayward feet, but Andrew brought him to Jesus. And then one night Peter had some wet feet because he was walking on the water. And then he had washed feet in John 13 when Jesus knelt before him and washed his feet. He had wandering feet when he denied the Lord. Here he has willing feet. How beautiful are the feet of those that bring good tidings. What kind of feet do you have? You can always tell a key Christian by his eyes—he sees the vision; by his ears—he hears the voice; by his feet—he makes the venture. He does something. Doesn't just pray about it, he does something. 

And finally, you can always tell a key Christian by his lips. He shares the victory. The Apostle Peter came to the household of Cornelius and he shared the Word of God. He shared the Word of God that Jesus Christ had died and been raised from the dead, that anybody can be saved by faith—that whosoever believeth in him should have remission of sins.

Now, there were those who wanted to close this door. The Holy Spirit had opened the door, but there are those who want to close the door. In Acts 11, the legalists wanted to close the door. They said, Peter, you were wrong, you should never have done that. A Gentile must become a Jew before he can become a Christian. Peter said, No, the Holy Spirit said it's not that way at all. We're not going to make any difference. Who was I that I could withstand God?

In Acts 15, this same legalistic crowd tried to close the door again. There was a great contention, a real argument among Peter and Paul and James and Barnabas and the church, and thank God they came to the conclusion that Gentiles do not have to become Jews to become Christians. It's interesting to note that all throughout the book of Acts, somebody is trying to close the door. Are you opening doors or closing doors? Are you this kind of a key Christian? Something happens when churches pray, because when churches pray God opens doors—and alas, sometimes God has to open closed minds and closed eyes and closed ears and closed hearts. But something happens when churches pray because then the Spirit of God does a wonderful work and key Christians walk through open doors to do exciting things to the glory of God.