"Cornelius said, four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." Acts 10:30-33.

Acts Chapters 10 & 11, tell the story of the Conversion of Cornelius (the first Gentile convert to Christianity) and his household. WE FOCUS on the content of Verse 33, "Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." THE Scene here is one of a Preacher and his Audience.

1)  EVERY CHURCH WANTS THE RIGHT PREACHER

(They should have him if at all possible.)

Think with me for a moment of the Requirements the Preacher must meet. He must be Faithful in Attendance. He must have a personal Commitment to Serve God and other people. He must have a certain Appeal to the church Leaders and Members. In many cases he will have spent years in Training and Preparation for his work. He will have had training and Knowledge of other fields of Study. Experience is desirable! On & on. These are NO MORE than anyone should expect.

But, in this LESSON, I don't want to discuss What It Takes To Make A Good Preacher, rather

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, "WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IDEAL WORSHIPERS."

Of course in a church service, those who are in the PEWS are the Worshippers. And I do NOT want to talk about: What the Preacher and the Worshippers should do to please men; but What each should do to please God! After all, if either the Preacher or the Worshippers fail to please God, their worship will be Useless, Vain, and Void.

A preacher who does NOT please God, ought NOT be in the pulpit. And the only way he can please God is by Preaching His Word. "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." 2 Timothy 4:2. When Paul wrote

his First Epistle to Thessalonica, he reminded them of what Preachers were supposed to do.

"But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts." 1 Thessalonians 2:4.

When I am in the Pulpit, Bible Class, Home Bible Study, or on this Web Site, I am always going to do the very best I can to Teach God's Word and the Please God, NOT men. Because my salvation depends on my doing so. And I might add, that some of you may very well be Lost or Saved by how well I do my job. But a Lot of it Depends Directly upon how well you do! It depends upon your Attitude, Actions, or Re-Actions to what is taught.

Our TEXT describes what I think is an "IDEAL AUDIENCE." A group of Worshippers who wanted to PLEASE GOD.

2)  "WE ARE ALL HERE"

They were there for the PURPOSE of HEARING the Gospel preached. NOTICE: "ALL" were there. I realize that some are providentially hindered at times. But time after time, I have visited sick people and when I visited them, guess where they wanted to be. If you said, "In their sick bed," you are WRONG! If you said, "Visiting Relatives," you are WRONG! If you said, "Shopping," you are WRONG! They expressed the desire to be IN WORSHIP. (Oh! how I miss coming to church. That is where they wanted to be!)

My POINT here is: IF all of us had the same attitude, we would be IDEAL WORSHIPERS, and "ALL WOULD BE HERE!" We have had friends VISIT in our home, and stay for the morning Worship, but the felt obligated to be at their Home Congregation on Sunday night. The reason: They had been taught and believed that it was their duty to be at home to worship each Lord's Day, and they did NOT WANT TO MISS.

The "gathering" in our Text was MORE than just Cornelius and his family. Verse 24 tells us, that

"Cornelius...had called his kinsmen and their friends." What a wonderful thing to do! Then in Verse 33 we are told, "Now therefore are all here, present before God." This may be one reason why other do not think Attendance at worship is NOT so important: because no member of the church has asked them to come! But church attendance is important because, Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.

NOTICE: "...In My Name...." Question: Is Christ present in those groups that wear the name of some: Man (John the Baptist or Martin Luther); or some Country (Nazarene); of An Event (Pentecostal); of an Organization (Catholic); or some Method (Methodists)?

Some may NOT keep Attendance Records here on earth, but I tell you that they are kept in heaven. The Lord knows whether we assemble "in His name," with others to Worship Him each Lord's Day! May I suggest that, when you miss an assembly of the church, you miss and opportunity of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is present in spirit where ever His people are assembled to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!

3)  "PRESENT BEFORE GOD"

This calls for Reverence on our part. That is Paying Honor and Respect to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we recognize that we are in the Presence of God then we will have Reverence for God.

4)  "PRESENT...TO HEAR"

This is most important, "PRESENT TO HEAR." (Romans 10:17.) This means that we are not only Ready to Hear but that we are Ready to Accept and Obey the Truth of God. "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20. "Take heed therefore how ye hear...." Luke 8:18. "Take heed what ye hear...." Mark 4:24. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1.

It goes without saying, some do NOT listen as they should. "...Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." James 1:21b-24. "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand." Matthew 7:26.

5)  These IDEAL WORSHIPERS "GATHERED TOGETHER TO HEAR THE WORD.

The words whereby Cornelius and his house could be saved. When Cornelius was told to send for Peter, he was also told: "Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." Acts 11:14. So they gathered together to HEAR What To Do To BE SAVED; to have their SINS Forgiven; and to be Reconciled to God.

6)  TO HEAR "ALL THINGS" THAT ARE COMMANDED OF GOD.

It is interesting, to me, that they were NOT INTERESTED in What the preacher thought, experienced, or believed. They were NOT interested in Denominational Doctrine. (There was not denominational doctrines at that time.) They were NOT looking for something that appealed to their emotions of something to make them feel good. And they were NOT looking to be entertained. They just Wanted to Know what GOD'S COMMANDS WERE. WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO? Or, WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

7)  WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THESE PEOPLE HEARD?

All of them obeyed the Gospel. I believe there is AN IMPLIED LESSON here. Even though Peter was an inspired Apostle, his preaching was simply the commands of God. They didn't QUESTION HIM, or MAKE EXCUSES, or HESITATE! They simply OBEYED THE GOSPEL.

WHAT DID THEY DO? As Peter re-tells the story, Acts 15:7, here is what he said, "And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe." He refers to this in Acts 11:18, "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."

After Peter preached to them, no doubt, they Believed, Repented and Confessed their FAITH IN CHRIST. "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord...." Acts 10:48. When Peter was again reviewing this event, he said, "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." Acts 15:11. It just stands to reason that this is what must be done today -- the exact same things that they did, because they responded to the Commands of God.

Surely the church today would have more Mature members, more Conversions, more Spiritual Growth: IF we had the SAME ATTITUDE as these people had.

Now, before someone get offended, (thinking I'm putting you down) let me say that IS NOT TRUE. What I am trying to do at this point is, to show: WHAT KIND OF PERSON WE OUGHT TO BE as we WORSHIP GOD. That is, we need to assemble IN the presence of God to Hear ALL THINGS THAT ARE COMMANDED OF GOD.

There is MORE INVOLVED in GOSPEL PREACHING than just the preacher. The worshippers (those hearing the preaching), have very much to do with whether it is SUCCESSFUL or NOT!

How do you hear when you assemble to Worship God? SALVATION is an INDIVIDUAL MATTER. (I cannot be saved for you, and can't you be saved for me). I can't OBEY THE GOSPEL for you, nor can you OBEY for me.

REMEMBER: Every time you assemble (or fail to assemble); You and you alone, DETERMINE whether your are WORSHIPING GOD acceptably or NOT.

8)  CONCLUSION

NO DOUBT there are many who are like those in our Text. IF YOU ARE NOT! Will you FOLLOW THEIR EXAMPLE? Will you do your part to help make every assembly PLEASING TO THE LORD. He gave his life in order to give you this opportunity! Don't let Him down.

IF YOU REJECT HIM, HE DIED IN VAIN!

The Church Worships God In Spirit And In Truth

By Bro. James W. Bowers, Jr.