God's not finished yet
Notes
Transcript
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Last week we talked about Saul who turns to Jesus after getting knocked off his high horse. After Jesus starts working on Saul, he hangs out with some of the disciples.
We see that he was growing with the church community, learning about Jesus through the other disciples and boldly defending the truth that Jesus really is the Messiah.
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Saul went from persecuting the church to being persecuted by the group that he once belonged to.
Then in Acts 9:31 we see a transition.
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Saul was making church growth difficult yet, God was still growing HIS church. God dealt with his misdirected zeal, by showing him the real Jesus, the one he was persecuting. Jesus did that by knocking him off his high horse and radically transforming his life.
God was not finished… Saul was no longer persecuting the church and there was peace, God was not finished yet.
There were more people who needed to know Jesus… God’s not finished yet. There are more signs, wonders and miracles to be done… God’s not finished yet.
There are more walls of religion keeping us from knowing and loving Jesus that need to be broken, walls of addiction that need to be broken, walls of complacency and indifference in our world that need to be broken… God’s not finished yet.
This world needs the real deal, the authentic church that preaches truth and loves people… Listen church, God’s not finished yet… the best is yet to come.
We see that throughout the book of Acts
God works through seasons and they change quickly.
God works through seasons and they change quickly.
Acts 1 is a season of waiting
Acts 2 is a season of outpouring, empowerment, and blessing.
Acts 3 is a season of opportunity for the religious elites to see and acknowledge the resurrection power of Jesus through the blind beggar’s healing.
Acts 4 and 5 was a season to put their faith to the test through generosity and a radical love for one another.
Acts 6 was a season of conflict and learning to resolve that conflict and setting limits and delegation.
Acts 7 was a season marking the beginning of persecution for those who were would not stop declaring the truth because of there bold faith and love for Jesus.
Acts 8 was a season of evangelism.
Acts 9 was a season of peace, growth and stability.
As God dealt with Saul, this becomes an opportunity for the church to continue to grow and learn as followers of Jesus.
At the end of Chapter 9 Peter comes back in the picture as he heads toward the Mediterranean coast to encourage the believers in the cities of Lydda and Joppa.
Let’s go into our text this morning: Acts 9:32-42
Acts 9:32–42 (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.
PRAY
Church… God’s not finished yet!
Just because we get saved… just because people get saved it doesn’t mean that we just sit around and wait for heaven. There’s still work to be done, the church must be built up, the church must be activated to fulfill the great work Jesus has for all of us.
Coming out of a season of great evangelism, the church was in a season of peace and so Peter began a ministry intended to strengthen and encourage believers scattered throughout Israel in Lydda and then Joppa.
There he ran into a few believers who were in desperate need.
First he came to Lydda, a predominantly Gentile community about twenty-five miles west of Jerusalem.
Lydda was a fairly large town and commercial center at the intersection of highways connecting Egypt to Syria and Joppa to Jerusalem.
In Lydda he encountered a man named Aeneas who was miraculous healed from an eight-year crippling disease that rendered him paralyzed.
Peter was with a community of believers when Jesus healed Aeneas.
Aeneas was healed immediately.
This didn’t happen over time but the Bible says that it was done immediately. Immediately, this man was no longer an invalid. Immediately, He could walk and get around and no longer needed to sit on his mat.
This miracle was not an end in itself but a sign that confirmed the truth of the gospel.
This man was already hanging out with the believers, he was already a follower of Jesus, not because he was healed but because he knew Jesus his healer was but first he knew Jesus his Savior.
We still live in our brokenness believing that God is not finished yet.
We still live in our brokenness believing that God is not finished yet.
God want’s to use our brokenness, our world, our family, our life… to show HIS great might and power. Through this great healing a vast number of people in Lydda and Sharon turned to the Lord and were saved.
Let Jesus be glorified through your brokenness.
Then we shift now to another place, Joppa.
Here we are introduced to a woman named Tabitha (Aramaic) Dorcas (Greek). She was a believer, a disciple who was full of good works, doing kind things for others and helping the poor.
Suddenly she got sick and died so they washed her body, prepared her for burial.
The believers only washed her body without anointing her and then laid her in an upper room.
This suggest that these people believed that she could be raised from the dead.
Keep in mind, this has yet to be done in the book of Acts.
Jesus did miracles of this nature so why not now… why not hear?
They believed that God’s not done with her yet.
Even in death, God’s not finished yet.
Even in death, God’s not finished yet.
So they found out that Peter was in Lydda and so they sent a couple of guys to look for him but this took time.
Joppa was only about 10 miles away of Lydda but this would have taken about 6-8 hours to head there, find Peter and bring him to Dorcas.
This was urgent because according to the Jewish custom corpses must be buried before sundown.
So whenever they found Peter and brought him to Joppa, he was immediately taken to the upper room where Tabatha’s body was placed.
He saw widows weeping as they are grieving the loss of such a beautiful saint. They were sharing stories of the generous acts love and kindness and showing off all the clothes she made and gave to those in need.
Tabatha made a huge impact on the people around her she was greatly loved and will be deeply missed. Clearly, this woman’s death was a major blow to the church in Joppa.
When we see the impact Tabatha made, we should not be so quick to limit how God uses people.
Yes, we see that God uses great preachers like Peter and Paul but we see here that God uses those who have gifts of kindness… gifts of giving and serving the church… the poor… the needy.
God uses people like Tabatha who serve in the background and not on the platform.
So rather than wishing you had other gifts, make good use of those gifts that God has given you.
God has given each of us spiritual gifts but we must activate those gifts by using them to worship the Lord and bless others.
Tabatha was remembered for those things but remember… God’s not finished yet!
As Peter was in the upper room with the mourners, the widows, and the lifeless body of Tabatha God demonstrated miraculously that HE was not finished yet.
As they were in the upper room, talking about the past, the days gone by, the cherished memories they once had. As they were reflecting together, God was going to give the church a memory they would never forget.
The same Jesus that raised Aeneas off his mat of 8 years in Lydda was about to show up in Joppa as the resurrection and the Life.
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.
In Mark 5 Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus. Peter was an eyewitness to that miracle.
Peter first asked them all to leave the room, Just like Jesus did.
Then, after getting down on his knees to pray, Peter uttered a command that was almost identical to the one spoken by Jesus.
41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
Jesus had said in Aramaic, “Talitha, cumi” (translation: “Little girl, arise!”),
Peter said, “Tabitha, cumi” (“Tabitha, arise!”)— one letter different.
I’m sure Peter smiled at the similarities of these resurrection moments but mostly having that joy knowing that Jesus is still making the dead live.
Even when things appear to be dead, God is not finished yet.
Even when things appear to be dead, God is not finished yet.
Tabitha opened her eyes and sat up and Peter helping her to her feet, presented this back-from-the-dead saint to her overjoyed friends.
God’s not finished yet!
Take Away:
When things appear to be lost, don’t give up… don’t stop waiting on the Lord… don’t loose faith in the resurrection power of Jesus.
God has not given up on you so keep walking in obedience, keep living to honor the Lord, and don’t let this world trip you up.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
God’s not finished. He’s not finished with your faith, God’s not finished reaching your family, breaking addictions, breaking depression, healing diseases.
Regardless of the setbacks, God is not finished yet. This is not your battle to fight, let God fight your battles for you.