Sophia, Woman of Wisdom

TEXT: Acts 9:36-42

TOPIC: Sophia, Woman of Wisdom

Pastor Bobby Earls, Catawba Memorial Funeral Home, Hickory, NC

Friday, January 10, 2020, 2:00 p.m.

Well today is certainly a bittersweet experience. While it is wonderful to see many of our friends and former church members from days gone by; it is also one of the saddest and most difficult moments for us because of Sophia’s death.

Like each of you here today, Sophia was one of life’s best blessings for us. To have known her; to have been a part of her life in some way; to share the sweet memories of her life; her smile, her laughter, the joy she brought to every person she loved and sometimes even total strangers. Although I’m not sure Sophia ever met a stranger!

Our memories of her and our love for her will never end. Thank you, Elizabeth for remembering us and inviting us to share in this most precious moment with you and your family as we remember your mom and celebrate her life!

I know that we all prayed for a miracle of healing for Sophia. We had hoped God might choose to extend her days and give us just a little more time with us. But I also know that God makes no mistakes. Sophia is healed. She is alive. In fact, she is more alive now than she has ever been! Her smile is brighter than we can possibly imagine. She is laughing now with a delight and knowledge that must fill up all of heaven! I like to think of her that way.

There is a passage found in history book of the early Christian Church called the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles were the first emissaries or missionaries who were called by Christ and sent forth in the then known world to preach the Gospel 2000 years ago.

In Acts 9:36–42 (ESV) we read, 36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. (BTW, Dorcas means gazelle, a beautiful name. And so is Sophia which in the original Greek means wisdom. For example, we have all heard of the wisdom of King Solomon of ancient Israel. In Matthew’s Gospel chapter 12:42 (ESV), it says, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom (Sophia) of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”) Back to Acts 9. We are told that Dorcas or Tabitha……

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, (about 10 miles SE of 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.

Let me take a few moments to share with you why Sophia, like Dorcas or Tabitha as she was known by her friends in the church was so special. Why she was a woman of wisdom.

1. First, because Sophia was a Follower or a Disciple of Jesus Christ.

Verse 36 tells us there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha.

The word “disciple” means a follower, a student. I knew Sophia best when she was a follower, a student of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Mary, the sister of Martha, two other women who chose to give their lives to devotion to Jesus Christ, Sophia was a woman who had the wisdom to trust her life, her soul to Christ.

I knew her best as a child of God who loved to gather with God’s people at her church, at First Baptist Icard, where she worshipped enthusiastically. Where she fellowshipped lovingly. Where she served generously.

I don’t recall when or how Sophia gave her heart and life to the Lord Jesus, but I know she did. Her transformation was evident to all. Was she perfect? Are you? Did she make mistakes? Of course, she did. Just as we all do.

But she was perfected in Christ. She stood and stands now justified in His presence and will throughout eternity.

Elizabeth shared with me that Sophia had shared not long after she received her prognosis of cancer that she wasn’t afraid. That she knew where she was going.

Sophia Clark was a wise woman first because she linked her life to the One who is the only Eternal One, the Hope of the world, our only Savior, Jesus Christ. Have you done the same?

2. Second, Sophia was Wise because She was a Woman who Cared for Others.

The rest of verse 36 reads, She was full of good works and acts of charity.

The good works and charity of Dorcas or Tabitha was evident by her charitable gifts of clothing and coats she had made for her sisters in the Lord. Verse 39 describes this for us, All the widows stood beside him (that’s Peter) weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.

I believe that Sophia was a generous person. My limited time with her tells me that.

I remember one occasion when Sophia went with us for a few days of vacation in Myrtle Beach. While we were out enjoying ourselves, she asked me to pull through a local bank ATM. Now I’m not sure I had ever used an ATM before, but Sofi was in the back seat giving me experienced step by step instructions what to do. What was really funny was that when the option of how much money to withdraw came up on the screen she said, “Get me $100.” Then after a brief pause she said, “Nah, make it $200!” My daughter Jessie who was a teenager at the time broke out in laughter. So did Sophia and so did we all!

Like the widows who loved Dorcas for her gifts, I too have another story of Sophia’s generosity and love. Sophia had joined a number of our members at FBI in attending a F.A.I.T.H. evangelism training event, I think somewhere here in NC. We all were being trained to share the Gospel using the F.A.I.T.H. evangelism model.

During a break we were browsing through the F.A.I.T.H. materials and bookstore the training location had set up for us. I spotted a very nice F.A.I.T.H. jacket I liked. It was nice but it was a double XL and I thought it too large. But Sophia noticed I liked it; had me try it on and said, I’ll buy that for you. Now I would not have gotten that F.A.I.T.H. jacket that day more because of the expense than the size. (Because as you can see, I’ve grown into it over the years).

T/S—Sophia was a wise woman first, because she was a disciple of Jesus Christ and she was wise because she cared and shared with others, but finally,

3. Sophia was Wise because She Fixed Her Faith in the One Who is Able to Raise Her Up and Present Her to Our Heavenly Father.

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 my sanctified imagination, I can see this as if it has already happened. We see before us now the body of our dear friend, our sister in the Lord, your mother, a sister, who sleeps in death. But Jesus comes to her and says, “Sophia, arise.”

And she opens her eyes, and when she sees Jesus, she sets up, or she kneels down. And our Lord Jesus gives her His hand and raises her up.

The Bible tells us that for the child of God, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” The word “is” is in the present tense. She is, right now, this very moment with the Lord. Verse 42 says, And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

You are here today because you knew this woman of wisdom, Sophia Clark. But do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? As we close in prayer today I am going to give you an opportunity to pray a life-changing prayer of salvation I know Sophia wisely prayed as well.

Let’s us pray.