What can Jesus change?

August 28th 2022

Series: The Book of Acts

Sermon Title: What can Jesus change?

Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.

Key Passages: Acts 9: 32-43, John 14:12

Sermon Blurb: Often we wonder if Jesus will do big things in our lives. In this message we learn the reality that Jesus can change anything!

Sermon:

Well, hello everyone!

Fill them in on what we did in Cali

Thank Keith for preaching for me

Like normal for us, we pick up where we left off in the book of Acts.

If you have your Bible with you…open it back up to Acts 9

New Person Bible Talk

App Talk

If you are new or newer to family church we are so happy you are here today!

Let me catch you up.

We are on a journey through one of the books in our Bibles called Acts.

The book of Acts is a GREAT one for churches to study because it is all about how the early church operated right after Jesus launched it!

Let’s backtrack, let me remind you of some important details and walk forward today….

We saw Jesus in Acts 1 say to stay where they were and wait for Jesus to send them a helper.

We saw who that helper was in Acts 2, it was Jesus’ Spirit sent to live inside them and help them.

Then in Acts 2 all the way up to this point we have seen the church exploding in growth.

The regular church people, and church leaders, are telling everyone about Jesus and the church is growing.

BUT just because it is growing it does NOT mean the church has not had hard times!

Last week was all about this guy who was trying his best to destroy the church and KILL Christians!!!

But the church keeps moving no matter what the culture around it is trying to do to stop the move of God……

PAUSE

So with that background, we pick up today….

Right after the greatest prosecutor of the church has become a believer!

Acts 9: 32-43 Aeneas and Dorcas

(a-Knee-is & Door-Cus)

And let me say this right out of the gate….

If you are looking for some good kid’s names there you go!

A-Knee-Is and Door-Cus

As a kid, that first name could have worked for me because man I sure know my dad’s knee from all the spankings I got!

Door-cus could have worked for my older brother as well! LOL!

Come on let’s have some fun in church!!!!!!

PAUSE

Let’s start reading at verse 32….

32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Now I want you to pause here for a second and ask you something.

What do you think makes Peter think he can heal someone who has been sick for 8 years?

For real….

Anyone have a guess as to why?

Yes!!!!

Because Peter has LITERALLY seen Jesus do this!

Write this down and you can study it later……

In Luke chapter 5 and John chapter 5.

In both those chapters, Jesus LITERALLY does this!

In Luke 5 Jesus heals a guy with leprosy, which back then was uncurable.

In Luke 5 Jesus heals a guy who was paralyzed his whole life.

In John 5 Jesus heals a guy who was paralyzed as well!

BUT……that is Jesus…..

So it still begs the question…..

What makes Peter think he can heal someone like Jesus!

Peter is NOT the son of God.

Peter is NOT God made flesh.

Peter is a dude who has sinned a LOT in his life.

Peter is a regular guy like anyone in this room…..

So what makes Peter think he can do this……

PAUSE

Let me show you.

Listen to these words directly from the mouth of Jesus in John 14….

John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Why does Peter think he can heal a dude!

Because Jesus said…

Hey Peter….you will do the kind of things I did!

Oh and Peter…..not only that you will do even GREATER things!!!!

So Peter is just doing what Jesus said he could do….

PAUSE

Write this down….

Jesus can do miracles through me.

Repeat…..

Now I know……when I say that……there are a bunch of you in the room who do not believe me.

I know there are a bunch of you who think there is NO way God will ever do something crazy like this through you.

I know there are probably a bunch of you who think this kind of stuff does NOT happen in our modern world.

And so let me tell you…..

Yes, it does!

There are people in this church who have had cancer and then went to back to the doctor to talk next steps and it was GONE….

There are people in this church who have gotten into car accidents that should have massively injured them or killed them that walked away without a scratch.

There are people in this church who could not get pregnant….or had miscarriage after miscarriage…..that the doctors said you will never be able to have children….and now they have children of their own!

All those things Doctors and science would say are IMPOSSIBLE!

But God is the God of POSSIBLE!

And God does miracles today!

The reason a lot of us struggle with this……I think…..is because we also know people who God did not heal from cancer…

We know people who did not make it through the car crash.

We know people who cannot get pregnant….

And since across the board miracles do not happen for all people….. We thereby say…..it must not happen.

Today I think we far to often miss the miracles around us because for us it does not happen often enough or in our lives…

PAUSE

And I know it is hard to come to terms with why God does miracles for some people and not others.

***ADD a story like this for you

I mean I am a preacher with a son who has to go through horrible cancer treatments!

I mean I could say God….clearly you are doing something wrong because of all people in this church you should protect me and my family!

I could get mad at God for not miraculously healing my son…when I know God has for others…..

Or I can lean into God’s plan and will when I do not understand it.

I can lean with Wyatt into the truth that I know God has great plans for this cancer journey in Wyatt’s life!

PAUSE

I know God can do miracles through me…..

Jesus told Peter and all his followers that he has given them the power to do the things Jesus did!

But realize this and I will say this again….

Jesus did not heal every person he encountered.

Jesus will not heal every person you want him to either.

God’s will and direction is His and not ours…

And yes…. That is a hard pill to swallow…

But I would rather God’s will be done than mine….

Even in the life of me or my son….

PAUSE

Let’s keep reading….

36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.

38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed.

Pause here for a second….

Peter what Church….

Peter prayed….

Peter prayed…..again because Peter knows he can do nothing alone.

Peter can only do things through the will and power of God.

So Peter prays and aligns his heart and will with God…..

Then it says….

Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.

Pause here…..

Let me go back to the question I asked in the last passage…..

What makes Peter think he can do something this crazy!

I mean it is one thing for a person to be healed…

I mean we can all say…crazy but we can accept that…..

But…..this……

What makes Peter think he can raise someone from the dead…..

Does anyone want to guess again????

Hint….same answer as last time!

YES!!!!

Because Peter saw Jesus do this!

Because Peter also knew his Bible and knew God had done this through other people in past as well!

Again….write this down…since we don’t have time to read it all today….

In Luke 7, Luke 8 Jesus did this!

In 1 Kings 17, 2 Kings 4 other people did this!

So Peter being a guy who knew his Bible and knew Jesus…. He knew if this was God’s will he could do it!

So Peter prays….

Peter seeks God’s will….

Peter seeks God’s direction….

Peter must have felt God say to him…..Peter pray for her to wake up…

So Peter did!

And she did!

Peter should would have looked like a Dork-us if she had not!

LAUGH

See what I did there!!!!!! PAUSE

Church….I honestly think part of the reason why we do not see more miracles today….

Is because we do not want to look like a Dork-us.

So many of us want to believe God will do BIG things….

But we are afraid to make BIG steps of faith and then look stupid God does not show up….

So out of our FEAR of failure…..

We do nothing…..

Because nothing is safer….

Because nothing allows us to save face….

Because if we are honest….we hate to look like failures.

PAUSE

But can you imagine how much MORE powerful it is to see God move!!!!!

I mean can you imagine how REAL God would be to you if God did this kind of stuff through you!!!!!

I think we need to want to see God move MORE than we fear failure….

PAUSE

Because when we do……

Look at what happens….

Verse 42….

42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

This is now the 12th time God has talked about the church growing in the book of Acts….

Because of Peter….

Because of the early church….

Because of the people….were not afraid to step out on limbs and ask God to move….

God moved!!!

And when God moves…..

People come to faith!!!!!

And the church grows.

PAUSE

I want you to be encouraged today that the truth from the Bible we can see clearly is this…..

Write this down….

Jesus turns things around.

Repeat

PAUSE

My hope is that today as you process this message.

As you jump back in your car shortly and head back into the “real world” that you will look at the world with an expectancy!!!!

That you will look at tomorrow with excitement!

That you would look at your work.

That you would look at school.

That you would look at your sports.

That you would look at your homeschooling.

That you would look at the company you own or manage.

And I hope you will look at whatever is your NORMAL day to day and look at it with expectancy!

Why…..

Because Jesus can turn things around.

Even in bad situations, Jesus can turn them around!

Perhaps when you least expect it…..is when God will show up!

PAUSE

One of the most devastating feelings in the Christian life is fatalism…

What is fatalism?

It is the feeling that this is the way it is going to be forever, and nothing is going to change it and that's that.

It is when you say:

This is the way I am;

This is the way my spouse is;

This is the way my kids are;

This is the way my job is;

This is the way our church is;

This is the way society is;

This is the way my life will always be.

And that's that.

It's been this way for so long;

It's just not going to change.

It will go on this way forever….

And in reality it will probably get worse….

And that's that.

PAUSE

Church…..one of the messages we see VERY clearly in the book of Acts is that this perspective…. is simply NOT TRUE!

Jesus Christ is not dead!!!!

Jesus is not distant!!!!

Jesus is not silent!!!

Jesus is not weak!!!

Jesus is not uninterested in the world or you!!!!

PAUSE

Jesus very much cares about the progress of His mission and in your life!

Jesus is alive and what Jesus began to do in his earthly life Jesus will continuing to do!

Jesus is full of surprises for churches / families / individuals / companies / all of us!!!

PAUSE

Church I don’t want you to miss this today….

The persecution of the church in the book of Acts began back in Acts 8:1 after the death of Stephen:

Let’s read that again.

Acts 8:1-3 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

This was the reality for the early church!

It was NOT good!

It was rough for some time.

Imagine yourself in that early church with no legal protection.

Imagine living in a culture where ALL the power structures are hostile to you!

Would you not be tempted to murmur and feel fatalistic?

The Romans are against us.

The Jewish council is against us.

The priests are against us, I mean they even gave people like Saul authority to have us imprisoned and killed!

They could easily say:

This is the way it will be for a long time.

Nothing is going to change this.

Nothing is going to turn this around.

The momentum is too great.

The powers of evil are too entrenched.

There won't be any peace for the church for a long, long time, if ever.

PAUSE

Let’s be real in church….

Sounds like some of you with our culture today!

Man politics is evil and I don’t see it changing.

Man our culture is heading to hell in a handbasket and I am afraid of what it will look like for my kids or grandkids.

This is the way it will be for a long time.

Nothing is going to change this.

Nothing is going to turn this around.

The momentum is too great.

The powers of evil are too entrenched.

There won't be any peace for the church for a long, long time, if ever.

PAUSE

Do you see how we could say the same things they said back then….

That's the way we tend to be……

Except for a few chronically faith-filled hopers among us!

But that is not the way we have to be….or should be.

Because Jesus is alive!

Because Jesus turns things around!!!

Because Jesus is full of surprises!!!

Jesus is not locked into any fatalistic pattern of continuity.

Jesus is infinitely creative and infinitely resourceful.

PAUSE

And when we study the book of Acts we should all have HOPE!!!!

Take last week….

Out of the blue, Jesus takes the KEY player in the persecution of his people and turns him totally around on the Damascus road!!!!

Saul who was breathing out threats and murders against Christians doesn't drop dead…. which is probably lots of Christian were hoping would happen!

NO

He gets converted to Christianity!!!!!

And not just converted!!!!

But wildly converted, beyond anybody's imagination!!!

So converted that he turns his life around and does the OPPOSITE of EVERYTHING he had been doing! Saul went from the worst enemy of Christianity to the strongest advocate and most powerful missionary for Christianity!!!!

PAUSE

You might think God cannot turn around your job…. He can.

You might think God cannot turn around your marriage… He can.

You might think God cannot turn around your company…. He can.

You might think God cannot turn around your grades…. He can.

You might think God cannot turn around your kids…. He can.

You might think God cannot turn around your parents…. He can.

Jesus can turn around anything!!!!!

PAUSE

Nobody would have dreamed it could happen…

How did this happen so suddenly?

Persecution,

Violence,

Conspiracy,

Suspicion,

Scattering

And then suddenly, out of the blue, Jesus turns things around.

That's the way Jesus is and that is the way we should think about life.

PAUSE

The book of Acts is written to encourage us again….

And again that the Jesus who began this work….

Is still alive and well and Jesus continues to do what he began to do and teach through us!!!

PAUSE

The point of the book of Acts….

The point of the kingdom of God….

The point of the Christian life…..

Is that Jesus is alive and in charge of the world!

That Jesus does not look at what is going on and think WOE IS ME!!!!

Jesus is not pessimistic or cyclical.

Jesus’ view is NOT that things just go in cycles.

Jesus doesn’t think our world is a pendulum swinging back and forth.

PAUSE

The world is not a machine.

It's a drama.

And there is a live author / director, named Jesus!

And Jesus can and does jump on the set anytime he wants to and boggle the minds of the actors who think they know the script!!!!

I want to encourage you today…. that Jesus is alive and that Jesus turns things around!!!!

I want you to have a kind of open-ended expectancy to your life because Jesus is alive.

Jesus is who brought the church peace!

Jesus is the one who built up the church!

Jesus is the one who healed Dork-us!

Jesus turned Paul the persecutor around.

Jesus spoke through Peter….

And if Jesus could do it for them…he can do it for you….

PAUSE

So let me end with this…

What should we do?

How do we live in this reality?

Can I suggest….

Learn to rest in Jesus.

Learn to trust Jesus has the right timing….

Be on the alert….. in your life….. and in the world…… for utterly amazing moments of His turnaround.

Let there be in your life an open-ended expectancy that Jesus is going to act.

Live in the expectancy that Jesus is going to turn things around.

And when he does prepare to have your faith built!!!!!

PAUSE

So here is my challenge for you all this week.

Life Application: Take some time this week and ask Jesus what area of your life you have been hesitant to step out in faith and trust him to turn around. Step out in faith and see what Jesus does!

Prayer!!

Offering!