Acts 10:1-8
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
Cornelius was a Roman Centurion which means he was a soldier responsible for a hundred men of arms and he was a Gentile. But he was also a man who reverenced God, prayed, and wanted to know the truth.
God sent an angel to tell Cornelius where he could go to hear God's Word. Believers have been given the ministry of reconciling men and women to God. Although, God had to get things started by sending a messenger in the form of an angel, the ministry is the responsibility of believers. So God directed Cornelius to Peter in Joppa.
God told Cornelius that Peter was staying with a tanner by the sea side. It was common practice in the Bible lands for tanners to live by the sea side away from the city because of the odor associated with tanning.
Cornelius responded immediately to the message delivered by the angel and sent men he trusted to find Peter.
Gladly
Acts