Kingdom Advancing Spirit Empowered Restoration
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Broken Condition Gospel Solution
Broken Condition Gospel Solution
Jesus advances His kingdom and restores the broken by empowering His church to care for both the body and the soul.
Jesus advances His Kingdom by using Peter to restore Aeneas (Acts 9:32-35).
Jesus advances His Kingdom by using Peter to restore Aeneas (Acts 9:32-35).
As Peter was traveling from place to place, he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed,” and immediately he got up. So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Kingdom Advancing
Peter is fulfilling the Great Commission and Jesus’s promise that his disciples will testify beyond Jerusalem. Peter is moving out of Jerusalem and going place to place preaching the gospel. This is the mission of the church. We are to be doing what Peter was doing, going place to place telling the lost that Jesus has made a way to remove God’s wrath and save them from his judgement.
As Peter was making his way, he came down to the saints who lived in Lydda. Lydda was a coastal community near the plains of Sharon about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Peter came to see the saints. Saints refers to Christians, those who are set apart as God’s people. Referring to Christians as saints is rare in the book of Acts. Its only mentioned one other time in the book. It is likely that these saints are either those who fled Jerusalem during the persecution or they are new believers from Philip’s ministry when he journeyed from Azotus to Caesarea.
How does Jesus use Peter to care for Aeneas’s broken body?
He uses Peter’s compassionate initiative.
Peter found a man named Aeneas. We do not know much about this man. His name is Greek in origin. Luke does not tell us if he is a disciple like he does Tabitha, but it is likely he is because he was being visited in connection with the saints.
Peter finds the man bedridden. The text can read either read “bedridden for eight years” or “ “bedridden since he was eight years old.” The point is he was physically disabled long enough to feel its effects and for the community to know about it.
This man is a reminder to us that we live in a broken Genesis 3 world, and that at any moment our life can change. Aeneas once had use of his legs; either when he was a young boy or a young man. He once was “normal.” He was able to provide for himself. Go wherever he wanted. Run as fast as he could to the coast or stroll as slow as he wanted across the plains of Sharon. He could swim and fish at will. Things he took for granted, like going to the bathroom or rolling over, are now almost impossible. The man is broken, physically broken and emotionally broken.
Jesus tells us that we will have people like this man in our community and homes until he returns to make all things new. The poor you will always have with you. The broken, the helpless, those who live on their periphery of society will need to be ministered too in His name. Jesus didn’t leave it to the government to care for the hurting. He left it to the church.
Jesus spent almost all of his time with people like this man, and he had compassion on the disabled. he moved himself into their proximity with he intention of relieving their suffering. For example,
As He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for over 18 years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called out to her, “Woman, you are free of your disability.”
When Jesus saw her disability and took the initiative to do something about it. He had compassion on her, moved toward her, and freed her from her broken back. He cared about her physical needs and did no require her to clean up first or get herself together. He simply ministered to her.
Peter does the same thing in our text. He sees the man’s brokenness and moves toward him without being asked. Peter takes the initiative to bring healing to this man. That is what the spirit of Christ does inside of his people. He moves us toward the broken to have compassion on them and empowers us to do something about their brokenness. Peter was acting in the same spirit as Jesus when he moved toward the man who was bedridden, and we act in the same manner when we as a church intentionally moves toward the broken.
Peter uses Jesus’s Power
Notice it is not the power of Peter that heals this man. Peter tells the man, “Aeneas, Jesus heals you...” It is the power and authority of Jesus Christ who restores your body. It is Jesus the risen Son of God that comes to you and heals your broken legs and makes them like new. Peter uses the same language as Jesus used in Luke 5:23-24
Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He told the paralyzed man, “I tell you: Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
The difference is that Jesus is not invoking another name to heal the man. He simply commands him to get up and walk. Peter, on the other hand, says it is Jesus who heals you. Peter knows he has no power in and of himself to heal anyone. He knows its the Holy Spirit inside of him who works signs and wonders like restoring a man’s legs.
What baffles me about our culture is the idea that we can some how manifest supernatural brain power to help those in need. I see this on Facebook all the time. A person posts a tragedy on their Facebook feed.
It never fails that someone will say something to the effect, “Sending positive thoughts your way.”
Wait, what? How does that work? Thank you for thinking nice things on my behalf, but it does absolutely nothing for me. Prayer, however, to the living Christ can work miracles. Working works of compassion in the name of Jesus can turn a life upside down right side up. it wasn’t positive thinking that healed this man. It was the will of God under the authority of His power and determination through His obedient servant Peter.
We know it was the power of Christ because the man’s healing was immediate, complete and secure. Peter tells him to arise and make your bed, and the man does exactly that. Peter’s language and results looks almost identical to what Jesus said and did when he forgave the mans sins in the synagogue and healed his broken legs in Luke 5:23-24.
How does Jesus use Peter to care for the broken soul?
As result of Aeneas’s healing many turned to the Lord. Signs and wonders point people to Christ when they are done in Jesus name. It will do Aeneas no good to have his legs fixed if his soul is not right with the Lord. Jesus says,
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!
We know this is hyperbole, but the point still remains the same.
It does you no eternal good to have a healthy body with an unregenerate heart.
Too much of the western church has bought into the idea that doing good works is equivalent to sharing the gospel. That is nonsense. The gospel is a message about restoring both the body and the soul. We can build houses for the homeless. But if we do not call them to repent and believe the good that Christ provides the means of adoption into the family of God, they will perish with their house. If we feed the hungry and do not give them the Bread of Life, they will suffer a greater spiritual famine in hell. If we heal their wounds, but do not give them the balm of Gilead for their soul, they perish in their sickness forever apart from God. If we cast out demons and do not call them to receive the one true King, they will suffer the same plight as the devil himself.
Jesus cares for both the body and the soul. The church must always extend both compassion on the broken body and the gospel of Jesus Christ for the soul. When Aeneas was healed, many turned to the Lord. His healing served more than one purpose. it wasn’t to just make his body better, but it was to reach the hearts of the lost in Lydda and heal their sinful state and get them right with God. Jesus advances his kingdom to all nations by using his church to care for both the body and soul.
Jesus advances His Kingdom by using Peter to restore Tabitha (Acts 9:36-43).
Jesus advances His Kingdom by using Peter to restore Tabitha (Acts 9:36-43).
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. She was always doing good works and acts of charity. In those days she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who begged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.” So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed on many days in Joppa with Simon, a leather tanner.
How does Jesus use Peter to care Tabitha’s broken body?
Tabitha is a godly woman. It is likely she was somewhat wealthy. She had an upstairs room, which means her house may have been big enough to house a church. She was known in her community as a woman who was generous, especially with widows. It is likely she made clothes for them. She was such an asset to the church and the community that her death brought great grief to everyone, and created a massive deficit for the church. This may explain why Peter rushed so quickly to her aid. She was well loved by her church and community.
Jesus used the church’s hope and faith
The church exercised hope and faith. You will notice that when she died they washed her body, which was Jewish custom, but they placed her upstairs, which was not customary. They also called for Peter to come quickly. It was a three hour walk from Lydda to Joppa. The two men hurried to Joppa and begged Peter to come with them. The feeling of expectation seems like they wanted Peter to do more than just pay his respects. It feels like when Elijah raised the widows son in 2 Kings 4:33, or when Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus in Luke 8:54.
Once again, Jesus is the source of power to raise Tabitha from the dead. Raising Tabitha from the dead shows the church, community, and home the power Jesus has over life and death. Peter used almost the exact same command as Jesus did with Jairus’ daughter
So He took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!”
Peter said, “Tabitha, get up!”
Jesus used Peter’s prayer to raise Tabitha from the dead.
Peter comes into the room and prays for her. Prayer is the expression of total dependence on God. He prayed knowing God had the power to bring life to the dead. This echos back to
When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed. So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay on the boy: he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy’s flesh became warm.
Both Elisha and Peter pray for God to raise the dead and God hears them and answers their prayer with life. Pray reminds the church and world that not only does Jesus have power over life and death, but he uses the prayers of his people to exerciser power over life and death. I’m not sure what is more extraordinary, Tabitha being raised from the dead or God, in His sovereign wisdom, choosing to use Peter’s prayer to accomplish his will.
Jesus told his disciples
“I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
What does Jesu mean by “greater works than these?” He is saying than this disciples will do greater works than the works Jesus did on earth. Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons and raised the dead to life. The disciples works will not be works of their flesh or minds, but of the Spirit of Christ empowering them. We know this because Jesus says, ‘Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” It is Jesus working through His disciples to accomplish great works on restoration on earth so that His Father would get glory.
Maybe our prayers are not bold enough. Maybe the church seems powerless because we do not seek to use the spiritual gifts like healing, tongues, prophesy for the sake of the kingdom. One of the chief ends of signs and wonders and spiritual gifts, aside from glorifying the Father, is for the church to love better. It is to extend the grace of God in a way that restores, reconciles, and redeems the broken body and soul of humanity. Jesus says we will do the same works he did, even greater works those if we pray for them. Ask in my name and I will do it to the glory of the Father.
Does your prayer life reflect the power of the gospel?
Does it reflect the boldness of the prayer of Peter?
Does your prayer life for the church and the kingdom of God reflect confidence that whatever you ask in the name of Jesus, he will do it?
A church that exercises compassion on the broken in the name of Jesus is a church that must be in communion with Jesus. Jesus uses your prayers to accomplish great works for His kingdom.
How does Jesus use Peter to care for the soul?
First, as we have seen, is prayer. Peter prays and the dead come to life. That is true for both physical resurrection and spiritual resurrection. Second, we see the same result with Tabitha that we saw with Aeneas. Many people came to the Lord because of her resurrection.
Two Questions about signs & wonders
What is the purpose of signs and wonders?
There are at least five purposes for miracles. First, miracles confirm the gospel message. Jesus would often preach the gospel and then either heal a man or cast out a demon to validate his authority. Nicodemus acknowledged this truth
This man came to Him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him.”
Second, miracles prove that God is working to advance His kingdom. The Samaritan woman went and told her village to come and meet Jesus, the one who told her everything she ever did, and as a result many believed the gospel. In our text, when Aeneas is healed, many believe in Jesus. The same is true when Peter raised Tabitha from the dead.
Third, miracles reveal that the kingdom of God has come and working to restore everything. Jesus said
If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
Jesus exercises authority over Satan’s kingdom showing us one day Jesus will rule without any opposition. He says,
The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,
And the same authority Jesus has over sickness and Satan, he has given to his disciples
Summoning the Twelve, He gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal diseases. Then He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Fourth, miracles show mercy to those in need. Jesus healed two blind men when they cried out to him
There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him.
Finally, miracles bring glory to God. After Jesus healed a paralytic, the crowds
When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and gave glory to God who had given such authority to men.
When miracles are performed in the scriptures they serve a purpose. They testify of the greatness of God and hos power and initiative to work in the lives of human beings. And when we read of them in the scriptures, our hearts are captivated with the power and compassion of God worked out in Jesus Christ toward his image bearers.
Does God still work them today?
Does God still work signs and wonders today like he did in the book of Acts and through the apostle Paul? It is argued that there is a large concentration of miracles in the book of Acts and those signs were unique for the apostles. Many who hold to this position (many really good people who love the Lord and are rock solid in the faith) are called cessationist; those who believe the gits have ceased. They base their argument on scriptures like
The signs of an apostle were performed with great endurance among you—not only signs but also wonders and miracles.
They argue that this verse implies that others who were not apostles did not have the authority or could not work theses miraculous signs and wonders. Furthermore, they contend that these signs and wonders ceased after the apostles died. In this text, I think that Paul is trying to distinguish himself from non-Christians, not from other Christians.
Other texts that are important to the cessationist is
But when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.
They contend that the perfect is the cannon of scripture, the complete bible. The partial is the need for signs and wonders and certain spiritual gifts, like prophecy. There is more to their argument. we don’t have time this morning to work through it all, but I recommend you to read an article by Dr. Thomas Schreiner on the Gospel Coalition. He wrote a brilliant piece on why he is a cessationist.
I believe the gifts still exist today.
That makes me a continuationist, I guess. When I read
1 Corinthians 13:10 HCSBBut when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.
I take the “perfect” to mean when Jesus returns. Others interpret the “perfect” to mean the completed cannon of scriptures. I’m not convinced of this argument, at least not yet. I try to have an open mind about the gifts.
It is my conviction that the New Testament clearly teaches that God gives spiritual gifts to the church for the common good of the saints
And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person. A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages.
To empower her mission to evangelize the world
You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what My Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.”
“I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.”
I believe we are to earnestly seek them
Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you may prophesy.
Paul could have the Corinthian church, who was immature and misusing the spiritual gifts, that they should not pursue them because they will be gone with the apostles. Instead, he encourages them to continue seeking them.
Furthermore, the signs and wonders were not limited to the Apostles.
Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
I have never experienced speaking in tongues or healing a person, nothing extraordinary like that. My experiences however, does not validate my position one way or the other. I cannot help but be convinced that the Spiritual gifts are still of the church today because the scriptures seem clear to me that they remain and are to be pursued.
I think Jon Bloom’s advice is good.
Soak in 1 Corinthians 12–14, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. Read the book of Acts over and over until it ruins you for your worldly comfort and pursuits and fuels your desire to experience the reality of the kingdom you read there. Jon Bloom
Does God still work signs and wonders today? Yes, I believe so. I believe they are part of the testimony of the uniqueness of the church meant to display the glory of God. Does that mean we go out and promise hearing to every disabled person we meet? No. It may not be God’s will to heal them. Suffering has a place in the church, community, and home. But we never shy away from praying for God’s healing, and expecting God to glorify Himself through signs and wonders and accepting God’s will when he answers.
We must care for the body. As the church, we must run toward the broken, taking the initiative to compassionately restore their broken bodies in the name of Jesus Christ. Maybe God will do a miraculous work like he did with Peter. Maybe he will use our gifts and resources to help alleviate their suffering. Either way, he will be glorified most when we care with compassion for the physically broken in Jesus name.
5 Points Application
Never neglect the gospel when exercising compassion on the broken.
Take initiative to exercise gospel compassion on the broken.
Be urgent with your works of gospel compassion.
4. Exercise Gospel compassion on all peoples to the ends of the earth.
God moved Peter away from Jerusalem toward the Gentiles. Peter was going place to place sharing the gospel.
5. Pray radically for God to equip us for great ministries of compassion for the advancement of His kingdom.