The Word This Week
Father’s Day 2026…Acts 10:1…
The necessity of knowing your Father is paramount.
It is the most important relationship any person can ever be part of.
Consider this man Cornelius. What do we know about him? He is a centurion, stationed at Caesarea.
As a centurion he would have had charge over 100 men, in a regiment sent by Rome to keep the peace in the nation of Israel. It was a turbulent nation, fraught with rebelliousness, and a constant thorn in the side of Rome, manifested in their contempt for the Roman soldiers stationed there.
As a result, the great majority of Roman soldiers regarded Israel as the worst possible place to serve, and they hated the Jews as much or more than the Jews hated them.
Cornelius was different. Not only did Cornelius not hate the Jewish culture he seemed to revel in it. His devotion to the Jews manifest itself in several ways, chief among them his giving of his own material wealth generously to those Jews who were in need. And rather than worshiping the multiplicity of the gods of pantheon worshiped by most Romans, Cornelius had come to understand and become devoted to the God of Israel.
This, in itself, made him stand out among all the Roman soldiers quartered with him at Caesarea. He was a man of great influence, and he had brought his entire household with him to his outpost, which likely meant he had his family with him, including his children. This also says much about Cornelius – as a father. If it was possible to have his family with him, he would.
This is what people could see in Cornelius. He was a good man, unusual in their estimation of any Roman soldier. It was a time when most would have regarded the only good Roman to be a dead Roman.
More than the things people saw in Cornelius, we learn what God saw in Cornelius. God saw a man, admittedly a ‘good’ man, a man of devotion who still lacked what was necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And God saw a man among the entire Gentile population of the world he could employ to begin to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the west, and eventually to Europe.
It is very telling how through the events God divinely arranged, Cornelius was intent on bringing all his family, friends, and relatives into the same exposure to the God of Israel he himself had experienced.
He had no idea what the result would be, but God knew.
Cornelius knew Who the Father was, and The Father knew who Cornelius was. But until the Holy Spirit was poured out upon this assembly gathered with Cornelius, Cornelius did not KNOW the Father.
Pastor Bill
The necessity of knowing your Father is paramount.
It is the most important relationship any person can ever be part of.
Consider this man Cornelius. What do we know about him? He is a centurion, stationed at Caesarea.
As a centurion he would have had charge over 100 men, in a regiment sent by Rome to keep the peace in the nation of Israel. It was a turbulent nation, fraught with rebelliousness, and a constant thorn in the side of Rome, manifested in their contempt for the Roman soldiers stationed there.
As a result, the great majority of Roman soldiers regarded Israel as the worst possible place to serve, and they hated the Jews as much or more than the Jews hated them.
Cornelius was different. Not only did Cornelius not hate the Jewish culture he seemed to revel in it. His devotion to the Jews manifest itself in several ways, chief among them his giving of his own material wealth generously to those Jews who were in need. And rather than worshiping the multiplicity of the gods of pantheon worshiped by most Romans, Cornelius had come to understand and become devoted to the God of Israel.
This, in itself, made him stand out among all the Roman soldiers quartered with him at Caesarea. He was a man of great influence, and he had brought his entire household with him to his outpost, which likely meant he had his family with him, including his children. This also says much about Cornelius – as a father. If it was possible to have his family with him, he would.
This is what people could see in Cornelius. He was a good man, unusual in their estimation of any Roman soldier. It was a time when most would have regarded the only good Roman to be a dead Roman.
More than the things people saw in Cornelius, we learn what God saw in Cornelius. God saw a man, admittedly a ‘good’ man, a man of devotion who still lacked what was necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And God saw a man among the entire Gentile population of the world he could employ to begin to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the west, and eventually to Europe.
It is very telling how through the events God divinely arranged, Cornelius was intent on bringing all his family, friends, and relatives into the same exposure to the God of Israel he himself had experienced.
He had no idea what the result would be, but God knew.
Cornelius knew Who the Father was, and The Father knew who Cornelius was. But until the Holy Spirit was poured out upon this assembly gathered with Cornelius, Cornelius did not KNOW the Father.
Pastor Bill