THE POWER OF GOD- Acts 9:32-43

Through human history, God’s power has been displayed in a variety of ways, including miracles as a way to authenticate new revelation.

“A miracle is an extraordinary event wrought by God through human agency, an event that cannot be explained by natural forces.”—John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos, 106

God’s power is observed in many ways in the Bible. In the first few chapters of Genesis, we see God’s omnipotent power in creating the universe and everything in it, spiritual and physical.

We see God’s power in the incredible deliverance of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. We see God’s power in the judges, in the kings of Israel and Judah, in the prophets, and then silence. For 400 years, God did not speak. God was at work (John 5:17), but the giving of Revelation had stopped.

Until God’s Son made His appearance, and everything changed. God speaks and acts. The Triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, worked in the redemptive act of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

Then, commissioned by the Lord Jesus, the apostles picked up His mantle and carried the good news to the people of Israel. We saw in the last sermon in Acts that God’s power was seen in the conversion of Saul, the persecutor of the church.

We have seen God’s power through miraculous events many times in this book (Acts 2:1-4, 43; 3:1-10; 5:12; 6:8; 8:4-8). We will see two more miraculous events in chapter 9, and hopefully discuss miracles in general and what we can learn from them today.

I. The Locations of the Miracles- 9:32, 36

As we leave Damascus and travel about 130 miles southwest, we come to the first of two locations in which these miracles occured. Peter was traveling around, as did many of the apostles. He comes first to Lydda, a smaller town northwest of Jerusalem. There were some believers there, and he came to visit them. He finds this man, Aeneas, and he has been paralyzed. We will discuss him next.

After that miracle news spread of Peter’s presence, and the disciples at Joppa (a coastal city) call for Peter. This is further north and west than Lydda. This is going toward Samaria, past Judaea and Jerusalem (cf. Acts 1:8). The reason I bring up the locations are twofold.

First, we cannot miss the fact that though initially the disciples failed to obey the Lord Jesus in Acts 1:8. The Lord providentially used the persecutions of the religious leaders (including Saul) to spread the disciples (remember 9:31?). The apostles, those ones commissioned by the Lord directly in 1:8 did not go out from Jerusalem. Acts 8:1 reminds us of this.

Acts 8:1 ESV

And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The Lord used the persecutions of the church to build His church. Now, the apostles, specifically Peter, is going out from Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria. We will see why miracles were used in our third point, but for now we cannot miss the geographical expansion of the Gospel.

II. The Particulars of the Miracles- 9:33-34, 37, 40

Peter heals two individuals, one man, one woman. One had problems with their physical body, while the other was torn away from her body through death. As Christ did during His time on earth, He gave His power through the Holy Spirit to work miracles. Remember our definition, “A miracle is an extraordinary event wrought by God through human agency, an event that cannot be explained by natural forces.” In other words, these events are humanly impossible. Though we have come a long way in medical and technological advancements, we have never done anything like this.

Aeneas was bedridden for eight years. Imagine how hopeless he must have become. For eight years he was unable to walk, work, or do anything that most of the people in his community were able to do. No doubt there was feelings of him being guilty of some sin (John 9:2). But in a moment, through the remarkable power of God, Peter heals this man.

That was a remarkable miracle. The next one, in my opinion, is even more remarkable. Tabitha (aka, Dorcas), was an incredible woman. She was “full of good works and acts of charity.” She became ill and died. This happens in life. There are godly people who are used by God for His glory and our good, and they are tragically taken away from us.

The saints in Joppa hear about Peter’s presence nearby, no doubt also hearing about the miracle, and send for him. He comes, prays, and then raises Tabitha from the dead. It is an incredible miracle! How wonderful this must have been for the disciples there.

God’s power rules over the detriments of sin. There is nothing outside of His power. What a comfort!

III. The Results of the Miracles- 9:35, 42

What were the results? A man was healed and a woman was raised from the dead! More than that, though, the miracles were tools to bring people to the LORD. “A;; the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the LORD.” They were saved!

And then in Joppa, the saints and widows say Tabitha raised, and then “many believed in the LORD.”

The results of the miracles, then, were not tied just to the miracles. There were pointing to the authenticity of Christ’s Gospel. They were there to prove the message of the apostles. This is consistent in Scripture, too. MacArthur discusses this fact in more detail, but in the two major parts of the OT (Exodus/Giving of the Law and the Prophets) great miracles accompanied the messengers. This is not to say that miracles only occurred during those two periods (Samson serves as an example to the contrary). However, it is brought up because for the majority of the time written about in Scripture, miracles were the exception, not the rule.

Miracles provided the proof of the pudding, so to speak. And as a result of this, many people (those in Samaria and Judea) believed the gospel. Now, before we end our time this evening with a look to the present, I want to highlight one point before leaving our chapter. Notice with whom Peter lodges: Simon the tanner. I will give you bonus points next Wednesday if you can tell me the significance of that description!

This leads us to our last point.

IV. Miracles Today

Why do we not see miracles today? I would argue that we do, though to a different extent and for a different purpose. As the Gospel spread to the nations and churches were established, we see a ceasing of miracles, particularly as the apostles begin passing away from the scene. The Scriptures are given by God through His prophets and apostles, and the Word of God is complete.

As such, the gifts of healing (i.e., miracles by an individual) have ceased. There is much more to this argument, obviously, and even with this thought there are incredibly godly men and women who view this differently. However, the gift of healing has ceased, and now we have the Word of God to authenticate the Gospel.

However, this in no way denies that miracles do occur. We hear of an individual who is diagnosed with cancer. There is no doubt that they have cancer, and the saints pray for this individual, and at the next appointment they are somehow cancer free. Other examples like this could be given, but I hope that you can see the difference.