Beyond Our Comfort Zone, How God Will Use Anyone, Anywhere, At Anytime | April 12, 2026

Sermon number twenty-seven opened one of the most significant turning points in the entire book of Acts, the gospel's expansion to the Gentiles, and Pastor Justin walked through Acts 10:1-8 to introduce Cornelius, a Roman centurion. Before diving in, he gave newer attendees a full recap of the story so far, from Pentecost through Stephen's martyrdom, Saul's conversion, and Peter's healing ministry in Lydda and Joppa, reminding the church that Luke wrote Acts as a careful, matter-of-fact historical record, not a legend.

The Setup: A Centurion's Vision

Cornelius is described as devout, God-fearing, generous to those in need, and constantly in prayer, even though he had no covenant standing under the old law as a Gentile. In the ordinary rhythm of his day, an angel appears to him in a vision and instructs him to send for a man named Peter in Joppa. Pastor Justin's first point was that we must be attentive to God's promptings through prayer and obedience in the ordinary, and he compared it to a marriage or close relationship, we hear more clearly from the people we communicate with regularly, and the same is true with God.

He was honest that many people say they want to hear God's voice while drowning in noise and neglecting the ordinary rhythms, prayer, Scripture, fasting, generosity, and showing up with God's people, that actually tune the heart to recognize it. Cornelius had built exactly those habits, and that posture, not his status or resume, is the real hinge of the story. Pastor Justin was blunt with the congregation, learning the Father's voice requires the same kind of regular relationship that lets you recognize a loved one's voice in a crowded room.

The second half of the message turned to obedience without delay. As soon as the angel finished speaking, Cornelius called two servants and a devout soldier and sent them immediately to Joppa, with no committee, no cost analysis, and no waiting for convenient timing. Pastor Justin shared his wife Maggie's own story here, a nervous, reluctant walk through a Walmart parking lot to pray over a stranger who, unknown to Maggie at the time, had been planning to take her own life that very week and had asked God for a sign. That obedience, however shaky, met a divine appointment, and Pastor Justin reminded the church that delayed obedience is still disobedience.

He tied this directly to his own years as a youth pastor, telling students frustrated that God was not speaking to them to first examine whether they were actually in the Word daily, praying regularly, and looking for God to use them. John 14:18-21 rounded out the scripture reading, Jesus' promise that he will not leave us as orphans and that whoever keeps his commandments is the one who truly loves him, tying attentiveness and obedience together as two sides of the same coin.

This Week's Application

So this week, is there a prompting from God you have been sitting on, waiting for a more convenient moment, a lower cost, or a clearer sign before you act on it? We would love for you to join us this Sunday as we continue walking through Acts together.