The Healing Ministry of Peter (Acts 9:32-43)

Welcome & Announcements

“SOUP”erbowl Watch Party on February 12, 2023. We’re encouraging everyone to bring a homemade soup, we’ll vote on the best soup, and the winner wins a $50 gift card to Brown Dog Catering in Philipsburg. Kickoff is at 6:30pm.

Please prepare for the Lord’s Supper on February 19th, 2023.

Josh Dickson will be preaching February 26th, 2023, during the Sunday AM Service.

Worship through Giving

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Call to Worship (Ps 71:7-12)

Our Call to Worship continues Psalm 71, which remember is an anonymous psalm written concerning what it means to age and still worship Yahweh. In the six verses that we’re responsively reading today, we see his request for God not to cast him off in his old age—or in other words, don’t abandon him, but rather be not far from him and haste to help him. Please stand and read Psalm 71 with me, I’ll read the odd-numbered verses; please join me in reading the even-numbered verses.

Psalm 71:7–12 ESV

7 I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day. 9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. 10 For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together 11 and say, “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.” 12 O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!

Congregational Singing

Oh, How Good it Is (332)

The Solid Rock (381)

Scripture Reading (Gen 17)

Our Scripture Reading this morning is Genesis 17, which shows us both the Covenant of Circumcision and the promise of Isaac’s birth. Both of these ideas are important for us to remember as we continue reading through Genesis because God repeatedly returns to these covenants as a reminder of His faithfulness. Natalie, can you read Genesis 17 for us?

Genesis 17 ESV

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Preaching of God’s Word (Acts 9:32-43)

Introduction

If you have your Bible please turn it to Acts 9:32-43.

We’ve been working through the book of Acts on Sunday morning—and we’ve seen how the apostles took seriously Jesus’ command to go and make disciples, that they’ve gone throughout Jerusalem and extending beyond Jerusalem proclaiming the Gospel and teaching the truth as taught by Jesus. While there has been some pushback, some antagonism towards the Gospel that has extended towards pushback and antagonism towards the apostles, what we see is thousands and thousands of people, hearing the Gospel, being confronted for their sins, repenting and believing in Jesus. So much so, that even the Pharisees of Pharisees who had gained a reputation for harshly and violently persecuting the church is confronted by Jesus for his sins and he repents and he believes and starts proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And as the proclamation of the Gospel and the teaching of the truth according to Jesus spreads, Luke, who is the author of Acts, is building up to something vastly important as he records the growth of the church. This morning, through means of miraculous and spontaneous healings, the message of Jesus is confirmed through Peter as God uses him to heal and to even resurrect someone from the dead; but let me remind you before we read the text, that throughout Scripture, the main idea isn’t the miraculous and spontaneous healing, it’s always about what the miracle confirms—the message that’s being proclaimed at the time of the miraculous event—and in this case it is all about the Gospel being proclaimed to two people that actually might not be Jewish who happen to be quite a distance apart.

Keep this in mind as we read Acts 9:32-43 together.

Acts 9:32–43 ESV

32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. 36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

As we study this passage together, we’re going to break the text into two right along its natural division based on person—(1) in vv. 32-35, we see Aeneas being Healed in the city of Lydda and (2) in vv. 36-43, we see Tabitha/Dorcas being Healed in the city of Joppa. Now, there are some details that are worth noting in these verses, but I want to be abundantly clear from the onset that the main point of both of these accounts is found at the end of each account—that people saw, they turned to the Lord, and many believed in Jesus.

Prayer for Illumination

Aeneas is Healed (32-35)

Our text starts with the healing of Aeneas, which occurs in the city of Lydda.

And let me say that though these sorts of details may seem inconsequential, there are reasons for them to be included in the biblical text.

In this case, it gives us an insight into how exactly the Gospel spread and it shows us that the Gospel is spreading beyond just Jerusalem and its suburbs.

Most scholars today believe that ancient Lydda is now the city of Lod, which is 22 miles northwest of Jerusalem, which doesn’t sound far until you remember that the spread of the Gospel was through verbal means—meaning its all word of mouth and no one had a car, so they’re all walking to place to place.

The Gospel is expanding beyond just the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem, but the text doesn’t start with the idea of the spread of the Gospel.

Instead, all we’re told is that Peter “went here and there among them [meaning the church spread throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria] when he “came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.”

In this city, there’s a man by the name of Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years due to paralysis—we aren’t given any other details about this man; we don’t know what caused the paralysis; or how old this man was.

We can postulate based on some of the words in the text that Aeneas is an adult and not a child because he’s described as a man and not a child, which tells us that he wasn’t born with paralysis.

And we can deduce that he was probably a believer, based on the fact that Peter went to Lydda to see the saints according to v. 32, but that’s about all the detail that we have about Aeneas.

We aren’t even really told the full details of the conversation—literally, all we see is Peter make one statement, in v. 34, “‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed’” and Aeneas immediately rose from his bed.

What we do know from this text beyond the sentence that Peter speaks and besides Aeneas’ name is rather simple:

Aeneas was certainly disabled and unable to heal himself—we see this in the simple fact that he had been completely paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. It might seem like a minor detail, but when speaking of spontaneous healings in the Bible, we need to see that the healing was from something significant that debilitated him. It wasn’t an issue that was minor that could be fixed on its own.

Aeneas was absolutely and completely healed—again, it might seem like a minor detail, but there are people today who claim to be healers and they’ll claim to heal someone, but that person won’t be completely healed. That idea of a partial healing is contrary to every spontaneous healing in the Bible—every spontaneous healing empowered by God is complete and absolute. Or in other words, if someone was genuinely empowered by God to spontaneously heal you, you wouldn’t be partially healed, you’d be completely healed just like Aeneas.

Peter makes it abundantly clear that the power to heal was not from Peter, but all from Jesus Christ—or in other words, the fact that Peter is the one whom Jesus uses to perform these miracles means nothing whatsoever. It’s all about Jesus.

So much so, that v. 35 ends Aeneas’ healing with an important statement, “all the residents of Lydda and Sharon [which is the area surrounding Lydda] saw Aeneas, and they turned to the Lord.”

Why exactly was Aeneas healed?

What was the primary reason for this healing to take place in the city of Lydda?

Was it for Peter to build himself up (or to puff himself up in pride)? Was it for him to build up his brand and his following? Absolutely not.

From the perspective of Aeneas, was it simply so that he no longer had to struggle and suffer in life? Some might be tempted to think that, but what about all the times in Scripture that we see God’s people struggle with these sorts of ailments and not get spontaneously healed like Job or Paul or even Jesus?

The key to answering this question, “why exactly was Aeneas healed” is found in v. 35, that they saw and they turned to the Lord.

Aeneas wasn’t healed for Peter’s sake and he wasn’t even healed for his own sake. He was healed because through the spontaneous healing, Jesus’ power was made evident and it confirmed what was being proclaimed by Peter and the other apostles and really all the disciples.

The miraculous event at hand confirms that what Peter was proclaiming about Jesus was and is absolutely true.

And this confirmation of truth resulted in the people of Lydda and Sharon turning to the Lord.

Now, there’s another important point that needs to be made. If you’re astute and you’re paying close attention, you might have noticed that the name Aeneas doesn’t sound Jewish.

Now, you can’t read too much into this, but I do want to point out the significance of someone with a Greek name who was a believer, being that up to this point the only other person mentioned in Acts that we’re uncertain of their lineage and believes is the Ethiopian Eunuch, but in that case, there’s an argument to be made that he was a Jewish person who happened to live in Ethiopia, which is why he traveled to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh.

In this case, the person named is named by a Greek name and there’s no effort to give a Jewish name along with the Greek name; the implication is that this person wasn’t a Jewish believer, he was a Gentile who believed in Jesus and happened to be paralyzed.

Or in other words, Luke is intentionally showing us how the Gospel is spreading beyond just the Jewish people and it’s spreading in a way that even Gentile people are believing and turning to Jesus.

The rest of this morning’s text then transitions us to a completely different place—remember, Aeneas was in Lydda, which means Peter was in Lydda, but vv. 36-43 move us to Joppa. Joppa was another town about 12-15 miles from Lydda and in this town, there are people who believe—and there’s one, in particular, that is experiencing a terrible bit of hardship. Let’s re-read vv. 36-43:

Tabitha/Dorcas is Healed (36-43)

Acts 9:36–43 ESV

36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

Now in Joppa there’s a disciple named Tabitha and this person had a reputation of doing good works and acts of charity. This woman becomes sick and died and the disciples followed Jewish custom by washing her and laying her in the upper room so that her family and friends could come and mourn her death.

And unlike Aeneas, she has an Aramaic name, Tabitha which is then translated into Greek as Dorcas.

Again, we can’t read too much into this, but when comparing Tabitha to Aeneas, the idea is that Tabitha is a Jewish person whereas Aeneas might not have been Jewish.

We’re essentially seeing the impartiality of God on full display—you know, Galatians 3:28-29 “28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.”

Both were and are believers.

So, Tabitha gets sick and dies and they prepare her body and lay her in the upper room and in v. 38, we’re told that “since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, ‘Please come to us without delay.’”

Note that the text doesn’t really tell us what they expected Peter to do—no where in the text do they ask Peter to come and heal Tabitha; it could very well be that they sent for him simply to provide him an opportunity to mourn her passing as well.

But when Peter does come, when he arrives in the upper room, he reacts a bit differently than how we would assume him to act and maybe even a bit differently than they thought he would act and react.

When Peter arrives in v. 39, “all the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.”

This sentence reiterates the fact that she was full of good works and acts of charity from v. 36—the way that this phrase is worded in Greek, implies that the clothes that they show Peter were actually clothes that Dorcas made with them and for them—meaning, they were wearing these clothes, which would then imply that they were women who needed help and Dorcas provided them help through the clothing that she made.

And they’re showing Peter all these clothes not because they like the designs or the colors, but because these were things that they needed that were given to them handmade by Dorcas for them.

So, Peter arrives, he sees all the things that were made by Dorcas, which is really just a fruit of her being a woman of good works and acts of charity, when he sends all the people out of the room.

And after they all leave the room, he does two things that result in God doing something miraculous—he kneels, prays, and tells her to rise up.

It’s interesting to note that he did literally nothing but kneel, pray, and tell her to rise—he didn’t check her pulse to be sure that she was actually gone, he didn’t say some sort of incantation; all he does is pray and tell her to stand.

It shows us that Peter knows that he can’t really do anything to help Tabitha; it shows us that he realizes the only person that has the power to do anything in her situation is Jesus Himself—so, he prays to the only one that can help.

In doing this, he expresses complete and utter dependence on Jesus to do the miraculous spontaneous healing that Tabitha requires—Peter knows he can’t do it and yet, he has complete confidence that Jesus can and will.

So much so, that he prays and turns to Tabitha and simply tells her to arise and v. 40 tells us that “she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up.” Before calling all the people and presenting her alive.

Much like Aeneas’ situation, in which he had been disabled and physically unable to move for eight years, Tabitha was absolutely dead—this is important because it shows us that Tabitha was absolutely and completely unable to help herself.

There is nothing that Tabitha could’ve done to magically make herself alive again just like there was absolutely nothing that Aeneas could’ve done to heal himself.

And in neither situation could Peter himself have done anything to heal Aeneas or resurrect Tabitha.

Note that in the case of Tabitha’s resurrection (and really every resurrection described in the Bible) these details:

First, Tabitha’s resurrection was complete and spontaneous—meaning, she wasn’t partially resurrected, she wasn’t temporarily resurrected (though technically, she did die again), and her resurrection wasn’t the result of a long prayer, praise, and singing meeting.

Second, when the resurrection is complete, Peter doesn’t point to himself as being the solution to the problem nor does he really even claim that he did anything. All he does is present her alive after Jesus resurrects her.

Which brings up a similar question to the one that we had before when we spoke about Aeneas being healed—why exactly was Tabitha resurrected?

What was the primary reason for this resurrection to take place in the city of Joppa?

Was it for Peter to build himself up (or to puff himself up in pride)? Was it for him to build up his brand and his following? Absolutely not.

From the perspective of Tabitha, was it simply so that she didn’t remain dead? Some might think that, but what about all the times in Scripture that we see God’s people die and not be resurrected like Joshua, Moses, Abraham, and all the patriarchs, kings, and prophets.

The key to answering this question, “why was Tabitha resurrected” is found in v. 42, “And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

Tabitha wasn’t resurrected for Peter’s sake and she wasn’t even resurrected for her own sake. She was resurrected because through the spontaneous resurrection, Jesus’ power was made evident and it confirmed what was being proclaimed by Peter and the other apostles and really all the disciples.

The miraculous event at hand confirms that what Peter was proclaiming about Jesus was and is absolutely true.

And in the last two verses, Luke ends this passage by telling us that everyone in Joppa heard about Tabitha’s resurrection.

Which makes sense because if something like that were to occur today, the moment that it occurred, everyone in Philipsburg and the surrounding communities would hear about it.

In fact, when events that are much less miraculous happen, the whole community hears about it—imagine if someone died, and was dead for some time (that we all knew she was dead) and then was up and about; wouldn’t that be shocking and surprising?

Wouldn’t it cause shock and surprise to all the people in the community?

And the whole time that this death and resurrection happens, the person who comes to mourn, who kneels and prays, who tells the individual to arise, is an apostle sent to proclaim Jesus.

Considering how all the apostles took the Great Commission seriously and treated it as utmost importance, we could assume that as Peter is doing all this during the healing of Aeneas and the resurrection of Tabitha, he’s proclaiming the Gospel and teaching the truth.

He’s telling everyone who witnesses these events all about Jesus, who He is, and what He accomplished as our substitutionary atonement on the cross. He’s explaining to these individuals, their need for a Savior to pay the consequence of their sins and redeem them. He’s telling them of the simple truth that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

And this message, the mystery of the Gospel, the truth of Jesus Christ is then confirmed through the spontaneous healing of Aeneas and the miraculous resurrection of Tabitha.

The people hear the truth, it’s confirmed through these miraculous events, and then they believe.

Now before we jump into our application for this morning, I do want to just take a moment to remind us of the purpose of these sorts of miraculous events because they’re often sought after without understanding what their actual purpose was.

Throughout Scripture, we occasionally see miracles occur—like the parting of the Red Sea, spontaneous healings, resurrections, and even miracles like the feeding of the multitude.

I want to be abundantly clear that these events only ever happened occasionally in Scripture and if you take the time to study out all of Scripture, you learn that miracles actually occur far less often than what most people think they do—some estimates state that roughly only 5-10% of Scripture records actual miracles—miracles just seem to be more frequent because those are the parts of Scripture that we focus on the most.

When you take a closer look at the miracles that we do see in Scripture, you begin to pick up on a pattern:

They don’t usually happen, they’re not normal nor are they normative.

They don’t happen randomly—they happen either when God speaks or when someone claims to speak on behalf of God and the miracle validates that message.

And they aren’t accomplished by humans but they’re sometimes done through humans by God.

It’s worth noting a few other details:

Jesus says that there are some people that were only following Him because of the miracles He performed; and when He stopped performing miracles, they stopped following Him.

The author of Hebrews said that in times past, God’s method of speaking to His people was through the patriarchs, prophets, and kings who received visions, dreams, and verbal communication that was then confirmed through miraculous events like Moses and the staff or Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Now, God speaks to us through His Son, whose words we have recorded for us and readily available in Scripture.

Really, what I’m getting at is this—there are plenty of people today that are looking for miracles to happen, but the reality is that the miracles happened in Scripture for a specific reason—to confirm the message of God because the people didn’t have access to God’s Word.

The reality is, as Paul says, there are some who seek signs or miracles and there are others who seek human wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, which is the power of God to save mankind.

Or put differently, we really shouldn’t be seeking signs or miracles and following hard after human wisdom, we need to seek Jesus who is the Christ that was crucified for our sins.

But I digress.

This brings us this morning to our application. And knowing that these sorts of miraculous events occured for very specific reasons, our application narrows down quite a bit to the extent that there’s really only two applications from this text that I think are evident for us and it has next to nothing to do with the spontaneous healing or the miraculous resurrection because those events aren’t the main point of the text. Rather, the main point of this text is the fact that the Gospel is powered by the same Jesus who heals and resurrects; and ultimately, what we see is this, that apart from Jesus, we have absolutely no ability to do anything—we can’t heal, we can’t resurrect, we can’t serve in the way that we’re called to serve. Our application is two-fold and it’s simple—you need to seek Jesus, not miracles; and you need to proclaim the Gospel:

Application

First, you need to seek Jesus, not miracles—a lot of times Christians today read passages like this and they completely miss the point because they become so infatuated with the miraculous events that happen.

They walk away form texts like this and think, “it would be mighty fine if I saw a miracle like this” or “shouldn’t we keep an eye out for miracles like this all the time,” but remember, Paul states that these sorts of miraculous events aren’t for believers.

In 1 Corinthians 14:22“22 So then tongues [and really all the miraculous miracles] are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy [or the proclamation of the Word] is for a sign not to unbelievers but to those who believe.”

Which is why when these miraculous events happen, the people involved with doing the event (like Peter) automatically point to Jesus in every instance.

They didn’t do the miracle, Jesus did; so, they utilize the miracle as a reason to point people to Him.

If Christians were to follow miracles then don’t you think that people like Peter would tell us to do this? Rather, it seems that these events were so unusual, so non-normative, and so unexpected, that again, only 5-10% of Scripture is dedicated to recording miraculous events.

Why is that? Because the miracle itself isn’t the point—it’s the teaching that’s attached to the miracle in Scripture that’s the actual point.

The actual point concerning every miracle in Scripture is to validate the message itself, which brings me to the reason why we have so many people today claiming to perform miracles.

When people today claim to perform miracles, they’re doing it for a specific reason—they’re doing it because they know that it bolsters their supposed credibility—or in other words, they know people will follow them, so they claim to perform miracles.

And people fall for it left and right because people genuinely want to see miracles, but remind yourself of all Scripture teaches:

The Bible teaches us that there’s a time when enough miracles have been performed and the truth has been confirmed that the person who witnessed these events simply need to believe by faith—meaning, there comes a time when the people looking for miracles simply need to believe rather than look for miracles. Jesus says in John 4:48 as he rebukes the Galileans that the issue is that unless they see signs and wonders, the will never believe.

Some people are looking for miraculous events simply because they’ve never seen a miraculous event, but when that occurs in Scripture, when the Pharisees in Matthew 12 want to see yet another sign from Jesus despite Him already performing miracles, Jesus calls them wicked and adulterous because they were seeking signs rather than seeking Him.

Others seek signs because they want to test God, which by the way isn’t a good think, some seek signs because they’re just curious like the crowds in John 6:2. When Jesus feeds the multitudes, the multitudes wanted to see more miracles because they wanted to keep eating free food according to John 6:26.

In all these cases, the issue is that the people are looking for the miracles rather than Jesus Himself when the miracles were always meant to confirm God message about salvation and about Jesus.

Rather, instead of looking for signs and wonders, the Bible teaches us that we really need to just believe by faith like a child would.

We have so many people claiming to perform miracles through heretical false teaching not because they want to point people to Jesus, but rather, they want people to follow them and they know how to turn the music up just right, how to say the right words, and really, how to manipulate people into following them while thinking they’re following Jesus.

The reality is that Scripture makes it abundantly clear that it really doesn’t matter if you see a miraculous event in your life or if you see signs and wonders.

The reality is that you don’t need to see these sorts of events to bolster your faith or to confirm your faith. You simply need to seek Jesus.

Consider Romans 10:8-11 “8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.””

Romans 10:14 “14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:17 “17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

The whole point is to repent of your sins, believe in God, and seek Jesus; not repent of your sins, believe in miracles, and seek signs and wonders.

You need to focus your life on seeking Jesus, not seeking miracles, signs and wonders, and whatever other experience you might want.

And last, you need to proclaim the Gospel

I know we keep hitting this point a lot as we work through the book of Acts, but it is an integral part of the Christian faith.

Especially when you consider the Great Commission and its implication to all believers in Matt 28:19-20 “19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

The reality is that if we aren’t taking seriously the Great Commission then we aren’t obeying Jesus. And in this situation, if we don’t obey Jesus, then people don’t hear the Gospel and they don’t repent of their sins, believe in God, and follow Jesus.

Consider Acts 9:32-43. Peter is traveling through various cities and he is taking the Great Commission seriously.

He’s not going to these places for a nice vacation or as a business trip, he’s going to these places to proclaim the Gospel and teach the truth.

It could be very easy for Peter to have a hand in performing this spontaneous healings or resurrection and allow these events to puff himself up and develop his own following and his own brand.

You may think that that would be absurd, but people do that today—they utilize the cause of Jesus Christ to amass followers on social media or in real life who aren’t following Jesus, they’re following that person.

It could be very easy for him to make it all about himself; much like it’s very easy for you to make your life all about yourself.

But the goal in life isn’t to make yourself known—it’s not for you to be popular or acknowledged. The whole point is for you to proclaim Christ and Him crucified, to make Him known.

And for whatever reason, God chose to utilize the apparent foolishness of the cross to accomplish this goal.

Or in other words, what we see in Acts 9 is rather simple—even if God uses you to do mighty things like He used Peter to heal and to resurrect, you’re not the point—Jesus is.

Thus, you need to dedicate your life to the proclamation of Jesus in all that you say and all that you do.

Put simply, what we learn from Acts 9:32-43 is rather simple. The miracles aren’t the point—Jesus is the point. Thus, (1) seek Jesus not miracles and (2) make Jesus known by proclaiming the Gospel to anyone who will listen.

Pastoral Prayer

Congregational Singing

My Hope is in the Lord (213)

Child Dedication

Explanation of Child Dedication

This morning, we get to do something that we as a local church have never had the privilege to do; and much like any other time that we’ve done something for the first time as a church, I think it’s wise for me to explain what exactly is about to happen to eliminate any confusion and to aid you in your understanding.

This morning, we’re privileged to participate in the dedication of a child; and because most of our church comes from a variety of different denominational backgrounds, let me explain what exactly this means before the Dicksons come up with Ember.

So, let me start with some statements of what this is not—this is not baptism or what some churches refer to as christening. As such, this is not a method of cleansing Ember from her original sin or anything like that.

At Grace & Peace, we only practice one method of baptism being believer’s baptism, thus, baptizing or christening a child has no purpose or biblical meaning. In addition, this is not a statement concerning Ember’s salvation. We are by no means making the claim that she is now a believer in Jesus Christ—she will still need to make the decision to repent of her sins, believe, and follow Jesus when she gets older. Child dedication is also not an ordinance—its not something that we’re commanded to do by Jesus, but it is something that we see occasionally in Scripture, like when Hannah dedicates her child to God in 1 Samuel 1:11 or when Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple to dedicate Him to the Lord.

Child dedication is a ceremony in which the parents publicly pledge to raise their children in the Christian faith or what we sometimes refer to as the love and admonition of the Lord. It’s also a ceremony in which the local body of Jesus Christ pledges to pray for and to help this family to the best of their ability to raise their children to follow Jesus Christ.

Before the Dickson’s come up, I’d like for us all to stand and read Psalm 127 responsively together. So, please stand—I’ll read the odd-numbered verses; please join me in reading the even-numbered verses.

Psalm 127 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Josh and Sadie, please join me up here with Ember.

This is Ember Lynnae Dickson.

She was born June 2nd, 2022 at 7:51am.

Weight and Meaning of Name

Now, we call this a child dedication, but the reality is that the focus is more on the parents who are charged with caring for the child and raising them up in the Faith. As such, this time is really a moment in which we are asking you as parents to make vows concerning how you’ll raise Ember.

To facilitate this, I will ask you a series of questions and I’d ask that you affirm these questions with the phrase “we do.” After which, church family, I will pose a question to you, which I’d ask that you affirm with the phrase “we do” (so please pay close attention).

Josh and Sadie:

Do you today recognize Ember as a gift of God and give heartfelt thanks for God’s blessing? We do

Do you now dedicate her to the Lord who gave her to you, surrendering all worldly claims upon her life in the hope that she will belong wholly to God? We do

Do you pledge as parents that, with God’s help, you will bring Ember up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, making every reasonable effort, with patience and love, to build the Word of God, the character of Christ and the joy of the Lord into her life? We do

Do you promise to provide, through God’s blessing, for her physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs, looking to your own heavenly Father for the wisdom, love and strength to serve them and not use them? We do

Do you promise, God helping you, to make it your regular prayer that, by God’s grace, Ember will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of her sins and for the fulfillment of all God’s promises to her, even eternal life; and in this faith follow Jesus as Lord and obey his teachings? We do

Grace & Peace, friends, and family:

Do you pledge to pray for both Ember and Sutton, and pledge to help Josh and Sadie to live up to their promises? We do

Prayer of Dedication

Thanks for Ember, Sutton, Josh and Sadie

Thanks for bringing them to us and their willingness to serve and not just be served

Pray for wisdom and knowledge as they raise their family

Pray for endurance, fortitude, and the development of character

Ask God to help the church, their friends, and their family to assist in any way that they can—primarily through prayer

Congregational Singing

I’d Rather Have Jesus (379)