The Overlooked Person in This Famous Bible Story

Somewhere right now, someone is looking for God. They want to know Him more and take a step closer, but they don't yet have the information they need. In Acts 10, God brings together a Roman centurion named Cornelius and the apostle Peter, and the story shows us something remarkable: God is at work in two places at once, bringing the seeker and the messenger of the gospel together.

God at Work in Two Places at Once
While God is speaking to Cornelius, telling him to send for a man named Peter, He's also giving Peter a strange dream somewhere else. God is in the background, sovereignly orchestrating events to bring these two men together so that Cornelius can be saved. How amazing is that?

That's the very basis of world missions. Somewhere out there right now, someone is seeking God, but they don't have the specific revelation about Jesus that they need. And God is calling you, me, and the whole church to go to that person and bring them the good news so they can be saved.

How Will They Hear?
That's why Paul writes in Romans 10:13-15: "For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'"

In other words, God has to bring the seeker and the messenger together in some way. That's how it works. When someone responds to the revelation they've been given, God sends more revelation.

"We Have Been Praying for Someone to Come"
There's no greater joy than being at the ends of the earth, in an obscure village no one has heard of, sitting in someone's modest home to share the gospel, and hearing them say, "We have been praying for someone to come to us. We've been waiting for someone to tell us the truth you're telling us right now." In that moment you realize God has been at work in two places at once.

God is at work all over the earth at the same time. Somewhere, someone's heart is opening, and they want to know more. And somewhere, God is calling us to bring the good news to that person. That's why giving to missions matters. It helps send thousands of missionaries to carry the message of the gospel to people who are seeking and waiting.

Don't Keep the Good News to Yourself
Here's another lesson from Cornelius: we shouldn't only care about our own spiritual condition, but also about the people around us.

Look at Acts 10:24: "And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends." And in verse 33, Cornelius tells Peter, "So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord."

Cornelius knew the message was coming, so he gathered a crowd. He called his relatives, his close friends, and the people around him, and he assembled an audience to hear what Peter had to say. He was spreading the gospel before he had fully taken it in himself. He didn't want to be the only one to hear the good news. If he was going to hear it, he wanted everyone around him to hear it too.

The Woman at the Well Did the Same
That's personal evangelism, and we see it in John 4 too. When the Samaritan woman encounters Jesus at the well, she tells her whole community about Him. John 4:39 says, "Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony."

When we discover the good news about Jesus, we shouldn't keep it to ourselves. Call your friends. Call your neighbors. Let others in on the good news.

What We Learn From Cornelius
Cornelius was a good man who still needed the gospel. He was a powerful man who humbled himself before God's messenger. And he was a Gentile whom God welcomed into His church through faith in Jesus Christ, because God shows no partiality.

Who Is Waiting Near You?
God is still at work in two places at once. Someone near you may be seeking Him right now, praying for someone to explain what you already know. Be the messenger God sends, and like Cornelius, gather the people around you so they can hear the good news too.
 

This blog is based on the message shared by Campus Pastor Ben Hays at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. Check out the full message below!