February 21, 2023: God, Interrupt Our Preacher, Please!

"While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word." (Acts 10:44, ESV)

What happens when a devout man, hungry for God, and a hungry man praying and filled with the Spirit meet up? Answer: WILD THINGS!

What kind of wild things? One, an angel shows up in a vision and speaks to Cornelius, giving him explicit directions to where he can find Peter. Two, Peter, a Jew, is hungry and praying on top of a house. He falls into a trance. He hears, "Don't call something unclean if God has made it clean." Three, Peter goes to Cornelius' house, and while preaching, the Holy Spirit falls on Cornelius and all his household! A Jew, who is not supposed to go into a gentile's house, is in the gentiles' house preaching Christ, and the Holy Spirit falls on the gentiles (the 'unclean' folks)! God totally interrupted Peter's sermon! He was prompting his attention to something—Anyone can get the Holy Spirit if they are hungry enough.

Who gets the Holy Spirit? Those who are hungry for more of God! Cornelius was such a hungry man. Not only did he want more of God, but he gave himself away in offerings to others and the poor. This got God's attention! God loved the man for his hunger and his integrity in serving others. So much so that He was willing to interrupt Peter's excellent message. Actually, He confirmed Peter's message with signs and wonders following.