Is God Still Working?

Michael Howard

Acts: The Mission of God • Sermon • Submitted 5 months ago • Presented 5 months ago

Acts 9:32–43

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INTRODUCTION

Is God still at work in our world today?

Is God still at work in and through His church today?

These are questions we might ask as we observe the world and the Word.

We see so much evil and so many terrible things in the world.

Is God still at work in the midst of it?

And then we read the book of Acts and you see so many amazing and miraculous things and we might wonder, “Is God still at work in these powerful ways?”

Is the Word still spreading?

Is the Spirit still raising dead hearts to life?

Does the Spirit work the same way He did in the age of the Apostles?

And if not, how is He working now?

And more personally—will God use me? Will He use us?

We will seek answers to these questions in Acts 9:32-43 today.

CONTEXT

The last time we were all together in the book of Acts was way back at the end of October. We took a break for our Romans 13 series and our Christmas in the Psalms series.

The last thing we saw was Acts 9:31

Acts 9:31 ESV

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.

The Gospel has moved from Jerusalem at Pentecost to the surrounding region of Judea.

After the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, the church is dispersed by a heated persecution effort led by a man named Saul.

But as the church is scattered, they take the Good News with them.

The Gospel goes from Judea to Samaria, just as Jesus said it would in Acts 1:8.

In Acts 9, Saul is dramatically converted on his way to Damascus.

Instead of persecuting Christians, he becomes one and begins spreading the Gospel.

And with Saul’s conversion, the heated period of persecution comes to an end and the church is experienced the peace and multiplication talked about in Acts 9:31.

Today, we turn our attention to the remainder of chapter 9.

In it, we see the focus is back on the Apostle Peter, which is no surprise, because Peter is the most prominent figure in Acts 1-12.

After chapter 12, Luke’s narrative turns more toward the Apostle Paul.

I will read our text and then we will spend time seeing how:

God worked through His Apostles to continue the ministry of Jesus.

God worked through the faithfulness of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

God worked through the power of Christ to draw sinners to Himself.

And we will consider how God is still doing these things today.

Acts 9:32–43 ESV

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 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.” 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. 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. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

THE TWO MIRACLES

In this passage, we have two miracles that occur.

In verses 32-35, we have the healing of Aeneas.

In verses 36-43, we see the account of Tabitha, or Dorcas’, healing.

HEALING OF AENEAS (v. 32-35)

In verse 32, Peter is described as going “here and there among them all.”

This is referring to him being an apostolic missionary to the region that is described back in v. 31.

He is going throughout the churches in Judea, Galilee and Samaria and he is ministering and proclaiming the Gospel in the power of the Spirit—just as he has been doing since Pentecost.

He comes down to the saints at Lydda.

Lydda was on the way to the harbor city of Joppa that Peter will end up at by the end of the chapter.

It was about a day’s journey from Jerusalem.

There he finds a man who is named Aeneas who has been bed-ridden for 8 year because he is paralyzed.

Aeneas is probably a believer, considering his being mentioned in connection with the saints who live in Lydda.

His being paralyzed was probably the result of a stroke or a fall—those were the two most common reasons that someone would become paralyzed as an adult.

In verse 34, you see the miracle occur.

Peter calls him by his name and says, “Jesus Christ heals you...”

Peter speaks in the present tense, meaning, “Jesus Christ is healing you right now—He is at work!”

This makes it clear that it is not Peter’s power doing this miracle, it is the power of Christ, whose Spirit is working through His church.

And Peter tells him to “rise” and to “make his bed.”

Only the power of God could take legs that haven’t worked in 8 years and restore them in this manner.

And only the power of God could bring this man’s affliction to it’s end.

That is why Peter tells him to make his bed.

Other would have had to make Aeneas’ bed for him for 8 years.

But the affliction is over now. He can make it himself.

In verse 35, you see the effect on Lydda and Sharon, which was the coastal plains region of Israel around Joppa.

The people in that region would have known Aeneas.

They would have seen him in the marketplace as he was carried by friends.

They would possibly have seen him out doing ministry with the church—again, being moved around by faithful brothers and sisters.

To see this man that they knew to be paralyzed, upright and walking on his own, would have been a great testimony to the wonder-working power of Jesus.

It causes a multitude in the region to turn to the Lord.

HEALING OF TABITHA (v. 36-42)

The second miracle takes place in Joppa, the place Jonah fled to when he was running from his calling to preach in Nineveh.

There is a woman there named Tabitha—that is her Aramaic name.

Her Greek name is Dorcas.

In both languages, the name means “gazelle.”

Her life is summed up in a very complimentary sentence in v. 36—she was full of good works and acts of charity.

You see her works and charity on display in v. 39, where there are widows from the church weeping at her bedside, holding garments she had made for them.

The fact that she is able to give and she is making clothing for the widows may hint that she was a woman of some means.

And the fact that no husband is mentioned may indicate that she is a widow herself.

But sadly, we learn in v. 37 that she has fallen ill and she has died.

Her friends and family have washed her and prepared her body for burial.

But before they lay her to rest, they have two disciples go find Peter in Lydda.

They must have heard he was there—maybe even hearing the story of Aeneas’ healing and they seem to send for him with an expectation that he may be able to do something about the situation.

They urge Peter to come without delay and he does (v. 38-39). He goes with them and is taken to the room where this dear sister’s body is lying dead.

Peter’s actions are described in 7 Greek verbs.

The first five are all in verse 40.

1) Peter puts the widows out of the room (v. 40)

2) Peter gets on his knees (v. 40), demonstrating his submissiveness to God

3) Peter prays (v. 40), showing his reliance upon God’s power

4) Peter turns to Tabitha (v. 40)

5) And then Peter uses her Aramaic name and says, “Tabitha, arise.”

Arise—literally means “get up”

Then we have Tabitha’s reaction described in three Greek verbs.

1) She opens her eyes (v. 40)

2) She looks at Peter (v. 40)

3) She sits up (v. 40)

And then the final two actions from Peter in the healing:

6) He gives her his hand (v. 41)

7) He raises her up—or helps her up (v. 41)

And then he calls all of the widows and any other saints present back into the room and presents her alive.

He presents Dorcas a evidence of the amazing power of Christ to not just heal, but to bring the dead back to the land of the living as the Resurrection and the Life.

The response in Joppa is the same as it was with the healing of Aeneas in Lydda.

The news spreads and many believe in the Lord (v. 42).

THE APOSTLES’ ARE USED

This text is quite amazing. We can’t read things like this and gloss over it as “just Bible stuff.”

Either this happened or the Bible is telling us fantastical tales.

If these are fantastical tales then we cannot trust God’s Word.

If this really happened, then we cannot ignore the sort of power on display here.

Christ is at work in a powerful way this passage.

First of all—He is at work through the ministry of an Apostle.

1. God worked through the ministry of His Apostle.

I believe it is pretty clear that God is using this instance to show that the ministry of Christ is continuing through the Apostles of His church.

To really see this, we need to compare this passage with Matthew 9.

Here is how that chapter begins:

Matthew 9:1–8 ESV

And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

It is a very similar miracle to the one we see with Aeneas in Acts 9.

We have a paralytic being healed

We have the same sort of language—rise and pick up your bed

We have the witnesses of the miracle giving glory to God as a result

And then we have this in chapter 9.

Matthew 9:18–19 ESV

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.

Matthew 9:23–26 ESV

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

This is very similar to what occurs with Tabitha.

We have someone dying.

We have Jesus being requested.

We have a crowd being put outside

We have the dead girl being taken by the hand and rising

We have a region hearing about what has occurred

The parallels between these two passages are undeniable.

The question is—Why? Why would God want to have Peter work these two miracles in a manner that is so similar to Christ.

And why would it be important for this to happen at this juncture of the early church’s history?

In seeking to answer these questions, we must remember what Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The idea there is that Jesus will ascend and then the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the church.

And as the church goes forth witnessing, the Spirit of the Lord is working through them, carrying on the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Meaning, though Christ has ascended, He is still at work in the world.

But how can the church be sure? How can the Jewish people in Jerusalem and Judea be sure?

What evidence is there that the Jesus who claimed to the Messiah, died and rose again and is still using His power to build His Kingdom?

This is where the unique role of the Apostles come into play.

APOSTOLIC POWER

The healing and the resurrection that we see in this passage are unique.

The Bible only tells us of 10 resurrections.

All of them occur during the time of Elijah and Elisha or in the time of Jesus and the Apostles.

Why is this?

Because these are periods in redemption history in which it was important for God’s servants and God’s Word to be confirmed with the miraculous.

In the case of Elijah, the nation of Israel was on the brink of completely walking away from God.

The high volume of miracles in his generation demonstrated the power of the God Israel must return to—the God whose Word must be obeyed.

In the case of Elisha, the high volume of miraculous signs confirmed that he was carrying on the work of Elijah and that God’s love was still being poured out on His adulterous people.

Of course, the miracles of Christ showed that He is the Messiah—the Cornerstone who was foretold.

And in Acts, the miracles performed in the Apostolic Age attested to the fact that the foundation of the church was being laid and that though Christ had ascended, His Spirit was still building His Kingdom through His servants.

And lest we be confused about whether or not the Apostles are carrying on the work of Christ, we get this parallel with Matthew 9 and Acts 9.

It leaves no doubt that Peter is healing and resurrecting in the manner of Christ and in the power of Christ.

It leaves no doubt that the same Jesus is at work.

And this is especially important here in Acts 9 because of what is to come in Acts 10.

V. 43 says:

Acts 9:43 ESV

And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

As you get to chapter 10, God will speak to Peter at Simon’s house and call him to go to this guy Cornelius.

Peter is about to lead Cornelius, a full-blown Gentile, to Christ and he will receive the same Spirit that Peter and the Apostles did.

We will see that this will cause controversy in the church because many Jewish people just can’t believe the Hebrew Messiah is saving hellbound Gentiles.

But the fact that Peter is working in the same manner of Christ through the power of His Spirit shows that Jesus IS indeed doing this saving work among non-Jewish people.

The fact that Cornelius’ family will speak in tongues is evidence that they are receiving the same Spirit that the Apostles received.

A UNIQUE ERA

All of this serves to show us that the Apostolic age was a unique period of New Testament history.

We should not read the book of Acts and expect these sorts of things to be normative in the church today.

I am not saying God would not raise someone from the dead or that someone could never speak in tongues for the sake of confirming Gospel witness.

Instead, I am saying that those things would be exceptions to the norm and are not happening in the church today with the regularity that they were in the book of Acts.

You might wonder, why not? What has changed?

Well—we have the completed Word of God.

The full canon of the Bible is completed by end of the Apostle John’s life—the final Apostle to pass away.

And with the perfect, infallible, inerrant, complete Word of God in the hands of the church, the sign gifts were no longer necessary.

The foundation had been laid.

Ephesians 2:19–21 ESV

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Christ is the Cornerstone.

Peter and the Apostles lay the foundation along with the prophets of the early church.

But once the foundation is laid, the need for this sort of unique apostolic witness no longer remains.

We now have the power of God’s holy Word.

But make no doubt as you read these verses—the ministry of Christ was carrying on through His 12 and those who ministered in this incredible time of magnificent miracles.

He is the Resurrection and the Life.

He is the Great Physician.

BUT GOD IS STILL USING HIS CHURCH

That being said, we should not view the era we live in as “less than” because we do not have Apostles in the church today and because miraculous signs and gifts are not normative.

We should not understand all of this to mean that God is no longer working in His church.

To the contrary, Christ is still alive.

His Spirit still dwells in His people.

And His people are still serving Him, relying on His power as they are witnesses to the end of the earth.

The New Testament makes powerful statements about how God works through His Church.

We are ambassadors for Christ and God is making His reconciling appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20)

We are His body and He is empowering us with all sorts of spiritual gifts that are still operating and active (1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12:4-8; Ephesians 4:11-16)

We are described as a people that God is using to put His multi-faceted, manifold wisdom on display through (Ephesians 3:10)

We are going in the authority of Christ to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20)

These are just a few of the ways in which the Lord is powerfully glorifying Himself through His church.

And with the complete Word of God in our hand, we have the sufficient direction and revelation we need to carry on the work of Christ until He returns or calls us home.

In fact, Paul says that this is better.

1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

With the perfect Word of God coming to us, it is like we have grown up and graduated.

The believers of the early church would have longed to live with God’s full, self-revelation in their hands—complete and closed.

ORDINARY FAITHFULNESS IS USED

Along these lines, we can also find encouragement in this passage for how God loves to use ordinary, faithful people, whether it be in the Apostolic age or in this age.

We see this in Peter’s life, as well as a couple of other characters in this text.

2. God worked through the “ordinary” faithfulness of people to do extraordinary things.

First and most obviously, we have the leader of the church setting the pace in obedience to the Lord.

In v. 32, Peter is going around like a sort of pastor/missionary. He is going here and there, teaching and making disciples.

In v. 39, when the two men come and ask Peter to come with them to Joppa, he immediately goes with them.

In v. 40, as the healing is taking place, he is on his knees and praying, demonstrating that the power for this resurrection will come from Christ—not from Peter.

Secondly, we have Tabitha, or Dorcas.

Her entire life is about doing good works in the name of King Jesus and performing acts of charitable love to the world around her (v. 36).

And this is evidenced by these widows who are clutching the provisions she made for them as they weep over her (v. 39).

James 1:27 ESV

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

This is the sort of religion that Tabitha practiced.

And then we have the two brothers who went to go get Peter in v. 38.

A seemingly forgettable part of the story that is actually crucial.

They are the reason that Peter even knows of what is happening with Tabitha.

ORDINARY PEOPLE

I want to encourage you to remember that these are people just like you.

PETER: We have established that the Apostles were unique, but lets not forget that Peter was just a man. And a sinful one, at that.

This is a man who tried to rebuke Jesus.

This is a man who pridefully stated that he would never deny Christ, only to do it three times.

This is a guy who is depicted as being incredibly human by the Holy Scriptures.

And yet, he is being using throughout Acts in such a memorable way.

The miracles he performs in this text are incredible, but they are coming about through what some might call “ordinary” faithfulness.

A willingness to go.

A dependence upon God in his praying posture.

Spoken words.

TABITHA: Similarly, Tabitha, who has this incredible reputation, is not Wonder Woman.

She is not from a different planet.

She isn’t even an Apostle.

She is just a sister who is walking with God and executing justice in the world.

She is taking up the cause of the widow and the orphan because in Christ, God took up her cause.

Tabitha is like Chip Byrum or Margaret Powers or Colleen Ragans— widows from this church who are now in heaven.

They were just normal women, who were faithful to God in seemingly ordinary ways, but touched countless lives by simply obeying the Lord.

TWO MEN: And then there are the two disciples.

These guys are so ordinary that we don’t even know their names.

They were messengers. They were the Uber for the urgent news.

And just like you don’t remember the name of your Uber driver, Luke does not record the names of these men.

But how important is their willingness to go to Lydda and get Peter?

Not just for Tabitha, but for the glory of the Lord and for redemption history?

Without their obedience, Peter would not have known about Tabitha.

We would not have this glorious account of Christ confirming that He was working in power through His church, just as He worked in power when on the earth in the flesh.

Seeing how God will take the ordinary faithfulness of ordinary people to do extraordinary things should compel us toward a year of steady obedience in 2024.

You want to know if God is still working in the world?

Go obey His Word and you will find out.

You will be amazed at how He uses your life—your ordinary life—to do incredible things.

Your ordinary Upward coaching...

Your ordinary service in the kitchen...

Your ordinary church invite to the server at your favorite restaurant...

Your ordinary giving to the local church...

The reality is that we don’t know but a sliver of what God does with the faithfulness of our lives.

There are more gold and silver and precious jewels being wrought out of your obedience than you will ever realize in this lifetime.

But Judgment Day will reveal the trophies Christ has won through your obedience.

And in His grace, He lets us see and taste a little bit of it now as we see:

Lives transformed

Baptismal waters stirred

Hearts encouraged

Christ glorified

Don’t underestimate what God can and will do with your regular old life and your regular old obedience.

You have the Spirit of God in you. You are not as regular as you think you are.

GOD USED THE POWER OF CHRIST

God used His Apostle and He is still using His church.

God used the ordinary faithfulness of people and He is still doing that today.

And now our final point today:

3. God used the power of Christ to draw sinners to Himself.

Aeneas is healed—all the residents of Lydda and Sharon turn to the Lord.

All is hyperbolic here from Luke.

It doesn’t mean every person, but so many people that it seemed like the whole region had repented.

And then, in Joppa, Dorcas is healed and many believed in the Lord.

God uses the miracles of Acts 9 just as He used Christ’s miracles in Matthew 9.

He draws sinners to Himself through the display of His undeniable, mighty power and authority.

Who else can raise the dead, but the Lord?

Who else can make lame legs run, but the Lord?

These verifiable miracles left the people who witnessed them in awe of God’s power to heal.

They left them in awe in the Spirit of Christ’s power over death.

They were so in awe, that they agreed with God about the evil of their sin and they trusted in the name of Jesus.

MY OWN LIFE

I have never seen a dead man raised and I have never seen a lame man healed.

It doesn’t mean those things can’t happen.

Again—not normative in the church, but I believe God still works miracles.

However, I have seen the greatest miracle on display in front of my eyes and that is a spiritually dead man come to life.

I saw my father, who was a good man by worldly standards, come to Christ when I was 13 years old.

He was led to the Lord by a couple of guys at work.

He came home to my pagan family and he puts his resurrected spiritual life on display.

The music he listened to changed.

Sunday mornings were no longer for yardwork—they were for the local church gathering.

His feelings about possessions changed.

His feelings about alcohol changed.

He seemed to care much less about me learning how to play baseball and much more about me learning to read a Bible.

I remember wondering if it was a phase.

But it wasn’t.

And seeing his dead heart come alive and seeing him trust in God and rely on Him, led my mom and I to go with him and meet this Jesus.

IS GOD STILL USING THE POWER OF CHRIST TO DRAW SINNERS IN?

So is God still using the healing, saving, miraculous power of Christ to draw sinners to Himself?

Every. Single. Day.

And don’t ever forget that.

Church—you are a miracle.

You are walking evidence of how God will take a vile sinner and rescue them.

You are living proof that God’s saving power will change and transform people beyond recognition.

I remember being at a funeral of a dear sister in our church a few years back.

Her husband stood up and said, “You know how much she loved helping people. You know how I love helping people. And if you knew us before we met Christ, then you know it wasn’t always that way.”

He might as well have said, “Behold—look at the power of God.”

Now, when Christians are bespangled with holiness, our lives are walking Bibles.

Thomas Watson

Do not underestimate what God will do in putting His power on display in you.

He is still in the business of awing sinners with His power and drawing them to Himself.

Be a testimony to the divine power of the King of the Universe with your healed, resurrected life.

CONCLUSION

AS THE BAND RETURNS

So what about it? Is God still at work?

In the midst of this evil world?

In the midst of broken people?

In the midst of imperfect churches?

The emphatic answer is YES.

Christ’s ministry carries on through His Body—His hands and feet.

Christ is using the ordinary faithfulness of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Christ is using His power to draw sinners to Himself.

But is He working in you?

First of all, Do you know Him?

You must have His Spirit for His Spirit to be at work in and through your life.

Secondly, if you do know Him, are you walking with Him?

We can’t live like Atheists and think that He will pour out His divine power through our lives.

Maybe you need to repent and remember your first love today.

I urge you to do it.

Don’t think you are too busted and broken.

Bring the pieces of your life to Him and plead His forgiveness.

He loves nothing more than showing His power through weak vessels.

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