Into Our Hands (Acts 10:1-8, 19-22)
When Tammy and I married, Tammy wanted a microwave cabinet from K-Mart, so we bought it. But that cabinet wasn’t pre-assembled. I was happy to put it together for my new wife, but that was my first time putting anything together in my entire life. I followed the directions to the best of my ability, but the finished product looked more like a wicked stepmother than a microwave cabinet. And it never stood a chance; it was wobbly, it leaned to one side, and Tammy wasn’t happy. I am just not good with my hands.
How good are you with your hands? Maybe you can do plumbing and electrical and everything in between. Perhaps you can produce beautiful pieces with your woodworking skills. You might have the ability prepare a delicious meal with just a handful of ingredients. Or you maybe can make beautiful quilts or sew your own clothes.
We may or may not be have the talent to make things with our hands; however, God expects each of us to work with our hands. God told Peter to work with his hands. Learn this truth: “God has no hands but your hands.”
Scripture (Acts 10:1-8, 19-22)
verses 1-8:
Cornelius, a centurion, was a devout man. As a military man, Cornelius would not have been allowed to marry, so his household was likely his servants. He cared for others and prayed often.
At 3:00 one afternoon, God sent Cornelius a vision wherein an angel told him to send men for Peter.
Why didn’t the angel tell Cornelius all about Jesus and how to go to heaven and about the church? Would that not have been much easier? But God uses men to tell men about Jesus; “God has no hands but your hands.”
verses 19-22:
As the men Cornelius sent got near Simon’s home, Peter went up on the housetop to pray. While Peter prayed, God sent a vision wherein God explained that he had made all food clean.
Peter was pondering the vision when the Holy Spirit began speaking to him. The Spirit told Peter to go “without hesitation” with the men. The men told Peter that a “holy angel” told Cornelius to send them.
The Holy Spirit spoke directly to Peter; why didn’t he speak directly to Cornelius? Why didn’t the Holy Spirit save Peter the trip and just tell Cornelius what he needed to hear? The gospel is spread from man to man; “God has no hands but your hands.”
Application
“God has no hands but your hands.” If friends and loved ones and neighbors are to hear the truth about Jesus, your hands will do it. An angel told Philip where to find the Ethiopian eunuch, and Philip taught him. Jesus told Saul on the road to Damascus, “Rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (Acts 9:6). Even when God and his angels spoke directly to people, not a single time did the Lord or an angel teach men about their souls; God has always used men to share truth with other men.
“God has no hands but your hands.” The Lord God needs your hands in Deer Park. How can you use your hands?
One: Pray
Just before God used Peter’s hands to teach Cornelius, Peter went to the housetop to Pray.
God will use your hands if you Pray. Prayer has marvelous power: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7). For what should you Pray?
- Pray like Isaiah: “Here I am! Send me” (Is 6:8).
- Pray for the lost; Paul did (Rom 10:1).
- Pray for boldness; the apostles did, and God answered big time (Acts 4:23-31).
Pray because “God has no hands but your hands.”
Two: Proceed
Proceed just like Peter: “The next day he rose and went away with them” (Acts 10:23). Caesarea was 31 miles north of Joppa. Traveling that distance in the first century would have been an inconvenience, but Peter was willing to Proceed.
If you Proceed, you, like Peter, will be inconvenienced. Someone may want to talk about Jesus during your favorite TV show. Someone may want to study the Bible when you’re so tired you can barely walk. Someone may want to be baptized when you’re with friends. How will you Proceed?
Jesus was willing to Proceed from heaven to earth to the cross for your sins: Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). Will you Proceed as a servant because your priorities matter? “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33).
Proceed because “God has no hands but your hands.”
Three: Peek
You need to Peek at people, i.e., really see them. Peter had a hard time seeing Cornelius and his household; they were Gentiles. Yet when God intervened, Peter declared, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35).
Peek and see people for who they really are—people in need of a Savior. Regardless of their color. Regardless of their country of origin. Regardless of what language they speak. Regardless of their political party. Regardless of what sin dwells in their lives. Regardless of their financial status. Jesus is for everybody.
“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2).
Peek because “God has no hands but your hands.”
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.