God Opens The Door

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE, 18 January 2026
Sermon Series: “The Acts of the Apostles” (#15)
Sermon Text: Acts 10:1-48
Main Points:
Introduction
I. God prepares Cornelius
II. God prepares Peter
III. God opens the door for the gospel to all people
Conclusion

When we think about world mission, many faithful servants of God come to mind – men and women who have laboured sacrificially and borne much fruit for the sake of the gospel. But when we consider mission in terms of its framework – or how mission is understood, structured, and carried out – two figures from the 19th century stand out in a unique way – and they are William Carey and Hudson Taylor.

William Carey left England for India in 1793. Before his time, Protestant mission was largely confined to Western colonial settlements. But Carey pressed beyond those walls. He went to the indigenous people themselves. He established schools, translated Scripture, and trained local believers to teach the Bible to their own people. This was a major paradigm shift. Mission was no longer just to the nations from the outside; it was with the nations from within. Many who followed him adopted this approach.

Later, in 1865, Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission. His vision was to take the gospel beyond the coastal cities into the vast inland provinces of China. But what truly distinguished Taylor was not only where he went, but how he went. His mission depended entirely on God for provision. No guaranteed salaries. No fundraising campaigns. Just prayerful trust. This approach became known as ‘faith mission,’ and it continues to shape missionary work even in the 21st century.

These two men never met. Taylor was born only two years before Carey’s death. But they shared the same heart for the nations. Listen to how they spoke about mission. Carey once said, ‘I am not afraid of failure; I am afraid of not trying.’ Taylor echoed the same spirit when he said, ‘We have nothing to fear from man; we have only to trust God and go forward.’ Both men fixed their eyes on God’s work and gave their lives to bringing the gospel to all peoples.

What is striking in their words is their deep confidence in God’s plan and God’s power to accomplish it. Taylor expressed this again when he said, ‘God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.’ Carey’s famous words reflect the same conviction: he said, ‘Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.’ Their confidence was not theoretical. It was forged in the field. They learned one unshakable truth – that is, God Himself opens the door for mission.

And that is exactly what we see in Acts ch. 10. In a single sentence, the principle is this: ‘According to His good and gracious will, God sovereignly opens the door for evangelism and mission – and He is pleased to work through His servants to accomplish His purposes.’

In other words, God is the One who starts, carries, and completes the work of saving souls. Yet, He chooses to do it through His people.

This truth gave Carey and Taylor – and all faithful servants in both the Old and NT – unshakable confidence and deep joy in their labour. And it is the same truth that shapes our lives today as we seek to share Christ with our family, our friends, and our communities. So, this morning, from Acts 10, I want us to look at this central truth that ‘God opens the door for His servants to carry out His saving purposes.’

I. God Prepares Cornelius

First, God prepares Cornelius. That means, God prepares sinners to hear the gospel and to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. In Acts 10, the sinner on whom God shines His gracious light is Cornelius, a Roman centurion.

That single word ‘centurion’ is densely packed with meaning from a Jewish point of view. It carries layers of hostility, fear, and disgust. The Jews sometimes referred to Rome as ‘Edom’ – the symbolic nation of Esau, the ancient enemy of God’s people. And Cornelius was not just any Roman. He was an officer, one who regularly interacted with – and enforced Roman authority over – ordinary Jewish people. To Jewish ears, his identity called abhorrence and repugnance.

If we translate Cornelius’ status from a 1st century Jewish mindset into a 21st century Australian context, the closest parallel would be this: Cornelius would be seen as something like a terrorist – someone who threatens social peace, destabilises order, and represents everything hostile to your way of life. That is how Jews instinctively viewed a Roman centurion.

But, we’re told that this man was a ‘devout man who feared God.’ Not only he, but his whole household also. This is a startling combination. A man whose profession is violence and control – yet he worships the true God. It is a complete mismatch, like a square peg in a round hole. A centurion of the Italian Cohort, stationed at Caesarea – the Roman capital of Judea – yet, devoted to Israel’s God.

So, the question arises: Why Cornelius? Why not a Jew? Why not even a Samaritan? Why not a pagan who had never cared for Israel’s God? Why choose a Roman officer?

Cornelius is indeed a rare case. We’re not told when or how he came to fear the God of Israel – whether from youth or later exposure to the Jewish worship in Caesarea. But we’re told this: he had turned away from idols and devoted himself to the true God. Yet, at the beginning of Acts 10, he still did not know Jesus. That means he was not yet forgiven. He was not yet saved.

God chose Cornelius to represent all those who would come after him – people whose sins would be forgiven through faith in Christ and who would receive eternal life. To the Jews, Cornelius was an enemy, someone no faithful Israelite would willingly associate with. And so are all sinners by nature – enemies of Christ and His church. Cornelius, then, becomes a type of all sinners from the ends of the earth.

And God prepares such a man for the gospel. He sends His angel to Cornelius. The angel does not preach Christ to him. Instead, the angel tells him to send for a man named Peter, who is staying in Joppa – about 55 or 60 kms south of Caesarea. Cornelius immediately obeys and sends messengers.

Here, a crucial question arises: Why didn’t the angel simply tell Cornelius who Jesus is? Why not explain the gospel directly? Wouldn’t that be faster, simpler, and more efficient? Why make Cornelius wait? Why send him into uncertainty for days while Peter travels to him?

Because this is God’s appointed way. God is pleased to work through His servants, through their testimony, through their preaching. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:21, “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” God prepares hearts. Then, God sends His people. And through the preaching of Christ, through the testimony to Christ’s salvation, faith is ignited – even if it begins small and weak.

So, no matter how sinful a heart may be, when God prepares it, that heart will recognise the sweetness of Christ and the glory of His salvation. God prepares Cornelius. And God prepares sinners still today.

II. God Prepares Peter

While God is preparing Cornelius, He is also preparing Peter. He visits Peter in a vision to reshape him for a very specific mission.

We’re told that Peter was praying when he became hungry. This wasn’t just a ‘snack-time’ hunger. The original Greek suggests an intense, urgent physical need. God uses even Peter’s physical condition as a canvas for a spiritual breakthrough.

The vision is striking: a great sheet descends from heaven, filled with all kinds of animals – both clean and unclean by Jewish law. And the voice commands, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Peter response is immediate: “By no means, Lord.” He refuses three times. Each time, God answers him: “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

What’s fascinating is Peter’s reaction afterward. If I had told God ‘No’ three times, I would be trembling in my boots! But Peter isn’t preoccupied with his guilt; he is preoccupied with the meaning. He is perplexed because God is systematically dismantling his worldviews.

God was correcting Peter’s categories. Up until this moment, Peter was comfortable with a world divided into two groups: Jews (those with God’s favour) and Gentiles (the outsiders). And God shatters that barrier. Then, He replaces Peter’s old categories with two new ones: that is, first, those who have received God’s saving grace, and second, those who desperately need it.

This is just a mind-blowing message for us – don’t you think, my fellow Christians? We like to think we are an inclusive society, but we all hold onto ‘barriers.’ We often divide the world into ‘our people’ (those we show love and compassion to) and ‘the others’ (those we treat with indifference, or worse, contempt).

In our context, these barriers might be: political or ideological (left vs. right), socio-economic (the ‘haves’ vs. the ‘have-nots’), or cultural (old-guard Australians vs. new migrants). We even let personal tastes or ‘lifestyle’ differences create schisms. But God’s preparation for us, Christians, is the same as it was for Peter: He wants to break these barriers.

This sounds simple, but it is incredibly difficult, from human’s point of view. It means that when you walk down the street, you no longer see a ‘stranger,’ a ‘boomer,’ a ‘millennial,’ or a ‘political opponent.’ Instead, you see a ‘blessed brother or sister in Christ’s kingdom’ or a ‘lost soul wandering in darkness, desperate for the hope of Jesus.’

God showed Peter that vision three times because he was stubborn. We’re often just as stubborn. But if we allow God to reshape our vision, we stop looking at people through the lens of our own preference and start seeing them through the lens of Christ’s saving grace. “The voice came to [Peter] again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’” God prepared Peter, and He still does to us for a very specific mission for His name!

III. God Opens The Door For The Gospel To All People

Having seen how God prepared both Cornelius and Peter, let’s take a bird’s eye view of the whole scene. What is actually happening here?

The answer is clear: God is the Architect. He is the One who opens the door for an individual’s salvation. He is the One who opens the door for Christians to deliver the gospel. He is the One who delights in achieving His purposes through His servants!

For a long time, God had been working in the background of Cornelius’ heart, leading him to realise that the God of Israel is the true God of the universe. Cornelius and his entire household were already seeking; they were worshipping and giving generously. Then, in the fullness of time, God synchronised everything. He sent an angel to Cornelius and a vision to Peter, breaking down man-made barriers and replacing them with a heavenly perspective.

When Peter arrives at Cornelius’ home, something spectacular happens. Peter begins to preach, but before he can even finish his sermon, the Holy Spirit falls upon everyone in the room!

Peter and the six brothers with him are stunned! The Holy Spirit moves exactly as He did at Pentecost, with the believers speaking in tongues and praising God. Peter immediately asks: “Can anyone withhold water for baptising these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So, the baptism is administered in the name of Jesus Christ.

Peter’s question isn’t just about the ritual of baptism; it is an acknowledgement of reality. He is saying, ‘God has already moved; who am I to stand in His way?’ It serves as a powerful reminder for us today – that is, God is the One who opens the door for evangelism and mission. We don’t have to ‘force’ the gospel on people through human cleverness; instead, we’re called to be faithful and observant. We’re to follow where the Lord is already working.

Our job is to stop seeing people through the lens of our own prejudices and start seeing them through the lens of Christ’s saving grace! When God opens a door, our only response should be to walk through it with joy and fellowship.

Conclusion

In closing, I want to bring us back to the lives of two giants in mission – William Carey and Hudson Taylor. These men lived out exactly what Peter discovered in Acts 10. Listen again to their own words and make them yours also in Christ Jesus.

They said, ‘I am not afraid of failure; I am afraid of not trying’ ; ‘We have nothing to fear from man; we have only to trust God and go forward’; ‘God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.’ May God sharpen our eyes to see the world as He sees it. May He strengthen us to step through the doors He opens for us, trusting that He will provide everything we need for His work! ***