This week's Sermon @ First B Jackson February 2nd 2025

February 2, 2025 · Acts

Series · Acts · Week 57 of 120

Scripture referenced 3 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his disciples they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

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Galatians 1

mentioned as a place to read about where Paul went after being sent to Tarsus

1 Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead),

2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—

5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;

7 and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.

8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.

9 As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

11 But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man.

12 For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God, and ravaged it.

14 I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

15 But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace,

16 to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood,

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days.

19 But of the other apostles I saw no one, except James, the Lord’s brother.

20 Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying.

21 Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

22 I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ,

23 but they only heard: “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.”

24 And they glorified God in me.

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Luke 7

story of the Roman officer whose valued slave was sick and the Jewish elders begged Jesus to heal him

1 After he had finished speaking in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

2 A certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and at the point of death.

3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his servant.

4 When they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for you to do this for him,

5 for he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us.”

6 Jesus went with them. When he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.

7 Therefore I didn’t even think myself worthy to come to you; but say the word, and my servant will be healed.

8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude who followed him, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel.”

10 Those who were sent, returning to the house, found that the servant who had been sick was well.

11 Soon afterwards, he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him.

12 Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.”

14 He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”

15 He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.

16 Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”

17 This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region.

18 The disciples of John told him about all these things.

19 John, calling to himself two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?”

20 When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptizer has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?’”

21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and to many who were blind he gave sight.

22 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

23 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

24 When John’s messengers had departed, he began to tell the multitudes about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously dressed, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.

26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.

27 This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

28 “For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in God’s Kingdom is greater than he.”

29 When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism.

30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves.

31 “To what then will I liken the people of this generation? What are they like?

32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace, and call to one another, saying, ‘We piped to you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned, and you didn’t weep.’

33 For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

35 Wisdom is justified by all her children.”

36 One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at the table.

37 Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.

38 Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” He said, “Teacher, say on.”

41 “A certain lender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

42 When they couldn’t pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?”

43 Simon answered, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.” He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

44 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head.

45 You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48 He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 Those who sat at the table with him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 He said to the woman,…

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This message walked through two parallel stories from Acts: Saul's early days as a new believer in Damascus and Jerusalem, and Peter's ministry in Lydda and Joppa. Pastor traced how God was clearly moving ahead of every human plan and every human fear. The two stories together make the case that the church grows when ordinary people trust that Jesus is actually doing what he said he would do.

What was said

Saul left Jerusalem for Damascus as a man on a mission, carrying letters from the high priest to pull followers of Jesus out of the synagogues there. Jesus stopped him on the road and humbled him completely. By the time Saul arrived in Damascus he was staying with the very people he had come to arrest, and he began preaching immediately in the synagogues, arguing that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. The Jews in Damascus could not refute him, just as they could not refute Stephen before his death, and that pattern was not a coincidence.

The response to Saul's boldness was a murder plot, so believers lowered him over the city wall in a basket. That is not the triumphant exit he had planned. When he arrived back in Jerusalem the believers there were afraid of him, which opened a question worth sitting with: are we afraid that Jesus cannot redeem someone? Barnabas stepped in, told the apostles what had actually happened to Saul on the road, and his willingness to vouch for a former enemy is what brought Saul into fellowship with the church in Jerusalem.

Barnabas had already been introduced in an earlier passage as Joseph of Cyprus, a Levite whom the apostles nicknamed "son of encouragement," and that nickname is the whole story. His role here was not dramatic. He simply told the truth about what God had done, and that was enough to open a door that fear had closed.

Meanwhile, Peter was traveling through the region and came to Lydda, where he met a man named Aeneas who had been paralyzed for eight years. Peter told him that Jesus Christ heals him and to get up and roll up his mat. Aeneas was healed instantly, and the whole population of Lydda and the surrounding plain of Sharon saw it and turned to the Lord. The preacher noted that nothing is said about Aeneas's character or faith, which puts the attention exactly where it belongs.

From Lydda, Peter was called to Joppa because a believer named Tabitha had died. She had spent her life doing kind things for others and helping the poor, and the widows she had cared for were in the room weeping and showing Peter the clothes she had made them. Peter asked everyone to leave, knelt and prayed as he had seen Jesus do, and told her to get up. She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. News spread through the whole town and many believed.

The preacher closed by pointing to the pattern across both stories: God is going ahead, preparing ground, and the church grows when believers are willing to present what they know of Jesus and to be interrupted. Peter did not turn away the messengers from Joppa because things were going well in Lydda. The people you will meet this week, the preacher said, are pre-Christian, not post-Christian, and God has already been at work in the circumstances of their lives before you arrive.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

The pastor asked whether we are afraid that Jesus cannot redeem someone we know. Is there a person in your life you have quietly written off that way, and what would it look like to stop doing that?
Barnabas vouched for Saul to the apostles when nobody else would. Can you think of a time when someone took a risk to speak up for you, or when you had the chance to do that for someone else?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Find in this transcript

0:00 Ought to go in two different sermons, maybe. One of them is about Paul and then the other one is a meanwhile back at the ranch about Peter. Okay? And that's the way acts goes. There's a story that is unfolding and Luke is doing his best to tell you, this is how it happened.

0:18 This is how the church was started, born, and this is Jesus building his church and these are the things that happened. So, it's history. It's a great narrative. There are two kind of different stories this morning. So, if you remember the conversion of Saul, the conversion of Saul, we talked about last week and he left from Jerusalem and he's headed to Damascus.

0:42 It's probably a 120, 125 miles and as he's going there, he has the paperwork. He has the documentation and he is going there and he's going there to take anybody who is following the way, followers of Jesus. He's going to the synagogues in Damascus. There are about 10 of them at the time. He's going there with letters from the high priest to appeal to the local synagogues to get the people of the way out of there.

1:12 They don't want this message spreading and so, Paul, Saul at the time, Saul crabs those papers, he's heading up but he's blinded on the way and he's humbled. And it says at the end of the sermon last week that Saul stayed with those very believers that he went to drag back in chains. He stayed with them. He hung out at their house. We my goodness.

1:39 What's happened here? This is a humbled man. Jesus spoke to him directly. Jesus spoke to him again through Ananias and Stall Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days and immediately immediately when Jesus got a hold of him, when he recognized Jesus for who he was and when he recognized the church for what it was, the body of Christ. The continuing body of Christ.

2:03 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Now, Saul was persecuting the church, the way. And immediately, when he got it, he began preaching, proclaiming the good news about Jesus in the synagogue. The highlight in the synagogues because we hear it often in the Pauline epistles where he says, first for the Jew, then for the Greeks, Gentiles, the outer most. And this is what he was saying, he is indeed the son of God.

2:30 I know all of your objections. I've got your objections. I understand them. I've been fighting your side for a long time. He is indeed the son of God.

2:37 This is what it's all about and all who heard him were amazed. You see a lot of amazement in the book of Acts. It's pretty crazy. We still see it and are amazed. Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus's followers in Jerusalem?

2:50 He was present at the stoning of Stephen, held the coats but was completely in agreement. Isn't this that same Saul who was there and caused devastation among the followers of Jerusalem? They, all who heard him, they, didn't he come to here to arrest them and to take em and change to the leading priest, the news of his coming have gotten out ahead of time in Damascus. So, Saul's preaching, his proclamation of the gospel became more and more powerful. As he engaged the Jews in the synagogues, every objection that they were raised in the Holy Spirit is allowing for Paul, Saul to communicate back.

3:35 So, more and more powerful and the Jews in Damascus could not refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. This reminds me of Stephen at his before his stoning, it said, and they could not refute. These Jewish folks from Cilicia and from the outermost parts, they couldn't refute the synagogue of the freedmen, could not refute Stephen's gospel message, and now, these folks in Damascus, the Jews in Damascus, the synagogues, the ones that there were believers among them, but he's speaking to the Jews in Damascus. Couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, And after a while, some of those Jews, some of them plotted to kill him. This is a common theme in Acts.

4:21 It's a common thing. We've had threats against the apostles. We've had one of the deacons who was really lynch mobbed, murdered, and now they're plotting together to kill him, but they're watching for him day and by day and night after night at the city gate so that they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall. This reminds me so much of this Sunday school.

4:52 I love this image. David c cook literature that we had when I was little was just this great cartoon page of what was happening and I was fascinated that a basket could hold a man. And they lowered him down over a wall. And that's that's not how he planned on leaving Damascus, is it? He planned on leaving Damascus as a conquering hero, dragging back prisoners back to Jerusalem where they'd be tried and probably found guilty.

5:24 He had seen it happen before. He was uttering threats. He was in a murderous rage when he left but when Jesus got a hold of him, there was peace in his heart and peace in his proclamation. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, now how did he how did you think he was gonna come back? How did he think he was gonna come back?

5:43 Hail the conquering hero. He tried to meet with the believers but they were all afraid of him. We've been praying for this guy not to wreak the destruction he's trying to wreak since he left, but they were afraid of him. I think there's something here for us like an application point. I don't have application slide at the end today, but there's something here about fear.

6:06 They're afraid of it. Are you afraid of anybody that Jesus can redeem? Are you afraid that Jesus can't redeem somebody? Maybe that's a better way to put it. I meet with people from all stripes all over, and there are some of them that I I probably do think.

6:23 Can God really get this one? I'm having a meeting this afternoon like that. I don't want to be fearful. If if I see what God is doing. They didn't believe he had truly become a believer.

6:37 Now, if they believed he truly became a believer, what's the best way to sneak in? What's the best way to infiltrate? Right? Act like you're a believer. That's what they thought he was doing was play acting.

6:46 But then Barnabas, oh Barnabas. You remember Barnabas? Carl preached about Barnabas. He had Barnabas as the good example before Ananias and Sapphira are the bad example. And this was the passage that Carl was presenting.

7:03 All the believers were united in heart and mind, and they felt that what they own was not their own. They felt like they were entrusted with by God, so they shared everything they had. They apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all, and there were no needy people among them because those who own land or houses would sell them. Bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. For instance, there was Joseph.

7:29 How many y'all remember Barnabas' name was Joseph? Yeah. I didn't. But isn't that great that you become known by your nickname when your nickname is son of encouragement? Yeah.

7:42 It's really really good. One of the apostles nicknamed Barnabas and it stuck. It means son of encouragement. Now, he was from the tribe of Levi which is the ministering tribe all the way back in the old testament and he came from the island of Cyprus. So there it is.

7:58 Israel as we know it today, those are current more current boundaries and Cyprus is right there in the Eastern Mediterranean. That's where he's from. Barnabas, Barnabas, the son of encouragement brought Saul with him to the apostles and he told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus just straight up narrative. We've already heard the story when it happened and then we heard it foretold again. We're going to hear it two or three more times but Saul just told him what happened and how the Lord had spoken to Saul.

8:33 Can you imagine how encouraging that would be? If you're a believer in Jesus and you're there and you're fearful about this guy. And then this encouraging dude says, when he spoke to him, said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And it was the believers that Saul had been persecuting. That would be encouraging for me.

8:56 Jesus considers me a part of his ongoing body. And let me tell you today, if you're a believer in Jesus, you are a part of his ongoing body. That's encouraging. I'm on the same mission that he was on. I had a professor, he's passed now in seminary and he taught a class called the mission of God.

9:15 The mission of God. There are a bunch of other things going on but the mission of God is a blessing for all peoples. He's a part of it. And how the Lord had spoken to Saul, he also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus and to whom he did it in the synagogue in Damascus. To whom and he preached, he did it to the Jews, and for the apostles and for the believers in Jerusalem, knowing that he had the courage in Damascus to go to the same congregations that he was going to and to speak the opposite side of the debate with boldness, also encouraging.

9:57 Endeared him to the apostles truthfully, so Saul stayed with the apostles and he went all around Jerusalem with them and he was preaching boldly in the name of the Lord and they saw it and he debated with some Greek speaking Jews but they tried to murder him. Now, Paul spoke Greek. I'm sure he spoke Aramaic and Hebrew and all kinds of stuff, probably Latin too, but he debated with some Greek speaking Jews and they tried to murder him. So when the believers heard about this, that the Greek speaking Jews tried to murder him, they took him down to Caesarea. They wanted to protect him.

10:34 He wanted to preach boldly in the name of Jesus, but when they heard about this, they said, man, it's probably better that you get out of here. This is a hotbed for you, and so they took him from Jerusalem to Caesarea maritime on the coast and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. Now that's up on the other side of Cyprus in current day Turkey, and that is the place where he had been brought up. He knew he probably had a library card. He knew every place in town.

11:03 He went to his old stomping ground. He'd blend in, I'm sure, but he had this new message, the the gospel was in his heart. You can go to Galatians one to see where he went from there but we're going to keep going. The church, the assembled body of Christ, the church triumphant as it's called in some places, is the continuing body of all believers who have put their faith in Messiah from all past generations. That generation and up to our day, the church.

11:33 It says, this at that time, the church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. We look at the map, Jerusalem surrounding areas, Judea, Samaria just north of that, Galilee just north of that. So far, that's what we heard of in Jesus' ministry except for over across the river in Decapolis. It's spreading from just like Jesus said it would by the way, in Acts one eight. You're gonna be my disciples in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts.

12:00 And it, the church, it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear, the reverence of the Lord. They were revering him. They wanted to do what he wanted them to do. They were open. They had received his spirit and they were ready to go forward with the mission that he had in their lives.

12:20 They became stronger as a believers lived in the fear of the Lord and with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers. So, this is the historical record of how the church grew specifically for this paragraph or these few paragraphs that was about Saul and then meanwhile, back at the ranch, Peter. Peter, the apostle is what? Traveling from place to place. Now, we already have record of when the when the gospel is spreading in Samaria, Peter and John went up to Samaria and they preached all the way back down from Samaria and Judea back to Jerusalem and then Peter heads out again.

12:56 He's traveling from place to place. He comes down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda. If you've been current day Israel, if you've been to the town of Lod, L O D. I'm from Georgia, forgive me for that pronunciation. L O D is Lod and it is right there where the green star is.

13:13 Jerusalem is kind of this pink pen down below. Lydda, there he met a man named Aeneas. Now, what type of a name is Aeneas? Aeneas is a original it's a Greek name. It means praiseworthy or commendable.

13:32 It's also like very Greek and that it's the legendary son of Venus and hero of Troy in Rome. So probably not Jewish. Maybe, but kind of doubtful. Maybe. Peter said to Aeneas, this man he just met who's paralyzed for eight years.

13:53 Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up, roll up your sleeping mat. Does that sound like anybody else we know? Peter is following in the footsteps of Jesus and he is and God's instrument. Now, it's interesting that Saul, Saul, Saul, Saul, Saul who Jesus said, go Ananias and tell him, this guy is my chosen instrument for the Gentiles and everybody that Saul has spoken to in this chapter is Jewish.

14:21 And then Peter, who we think of as Peter. He's the he's a good Jewish boy, fisherman empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church grows in Jerusalem. A lot of it had to do with his preaching under obviously the Holy Spirit. Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you, get up and roll up your sleeping mat. He was healed instantly and then the whole population.

14:43 This reminds me of Spanish because I think it's just a verbal thing. Could be the whole population. Absolutely every single person but when we say in Spanish that who was there? You know, who was there at the cowboy on Wednesday night? Everybody was there.

14:59 The whole population of Lida and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around. They've been watching him for eight years. He's paralyzed and they turned to the Lord. Amen. So that's from Lydda up towards Sharon.

15:14 Sharon's the whole plane. If there was a city, it'd be at the northern end of that orange circle right there or oval. And it says, now there was this believer in Joppa. Joppa is right there. It's not far from Lod or Lydda.

15:29 It's Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, the airport is there in Israel these days. It's a real place and its proximity just a few miles from Lydda. These folks in Joppa, there was a believer there. This believer was named Tabitha. It's an Aramaic name.

15:47 Aramaic, Hebrew name, Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas, Luke tells us. Both of those mean gazelle, possibly also gracious, Tabitha, but named Tabitha which in Greek is Dorcas and she was always doing kind things for others and she was always helping the poor. Now, what had Aeneas done to get a healing? Nothing. He just laying there, sitting there.

16:09 Doesn't say anything about him or his personality, anything else. Tabitha, Dorcas is always doing kind things for others. She's always helping the poor. This reminds me of a whole different gospel story. Do you remember when in Luke seven, Luke's volume one, Jesus was returning to Capernaum and at that time, there's a highly valued slave of a Roman officer who was sick and near death and when the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave, and they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man.

16:44 If anyone deserves your help, he does, they said. For he loves the Jewish people. He even built a synagogue for us, and it says that Jesus went. So that's the way it's she's always doing kind of things that sounds like she's worthy. Right?

17:01 If anybody deserves it, she does. Now about this time, she became ill and died. Well, gracious. We just got to know Tabitha and now she's dead. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room.

17:16 I think Aeneas was Gentile, I think, Greek and I think Tabitha was Hebrew. There are a lot of different things kind of point in that direction. This is one of them. The body was washed for burial, laid in upstairs room. That reminds me of a different gospel story.

17:30 There are a lot of these in here. They're reverberations of what Jesus has been doing but the believers, the believers, these are folks who had trusted in Christ. They heard that Peter was nearby, Lida. So, they sent two men to beg and please come as soon as possible like those Jewish emissaries. So, they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man.

17:50 They are begging Peter to come help. So, Peter returned with them. He was willing to be interrupted. That's the kind of application point right there. He was doing something else and things were going great.

18:01 I'm sure he was taking the opportunity to preach the gospel but he wasn't so busy that he couldn't go help. He returned with him as soon as he arrived. They took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who are weeping and showing Peter the coat. Look, she made me this coat and the other clothes that Dorcas had made for them.

18:21 Now, Peter asked them all to leave the room then he knelt and prayed as he had seen Jesus do. Turn into the body, he just said, get up Tabitha. Leap, you gazelle. Get up Tabitha. And she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

18:42 And he gave her his hand and he helped her up and then he called in the widows and all the believers and he presented her to them alive and news spread through the whole town and many believed in the Lord. So, the gospel is spreading out and we see kind of the reaches of it going, oh, Damascus, it's there. Now, now we know Saul just set out from Caesarea to Tarsus. It's if it's not there yet, it's about to be, right? And then, this is not that far from Jerusalem, but the news spread through the whole town.

19:16 Many believed in the Lord and Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon at Tanner Of Heaven. What a detail. Just like this is where he was. Good historian. This is what happened.

19:27 That's the end of the text actually. As I was considering this, and I'm praying over it, and thinking about it all week, I'm thinking, God is on the move. He is going ahead of us. He has steps that he is preparing the ground before we plant the seed. He's planted the seed in some places that we're supposed to go in water, and then in other places he has it ready for the harvest.

19:57 In Jesus name, we are the continuing body of Christ. I'm amazed by how fearful we can be when we know that the Lord is on our side. Do we really know it? Do we really believe that the Lord is on our side? Do we really believe that the gospel is to go forth to every tribe, tongue, and nation?

20:18 Do we really believe that that's the mission of God? And if we do believe that, are we on the mission of God? Mike Barnett, my professor. The mission of God, a blessing for all peoples. This area of Turkey where they went is mostly Muslim, mostly secular Muslim, mostly Muslim these days.

20:36 It is pre Christian again. It's ready for the gospel. The people that you meet in town today, if they're not Christian, they're pre Christian. God is going before you. You have no idea the circumstances of the lives of the people that you'll meet.

20:53 You have no idea of the interruptions that you will have this week. But I'd say if I were to take an application away from this, it is present what you know of Jesus. If you know him to be your healer, tell your story. If you know him to be your provider, tell your story. If you know the gospel, tell your story.

21:22 Be willing to do it. Be willing to be interrupted and help as many folks as you can. But always, always, always in the name of Jesus. Now, we come to the table right here. This is open table for anyone who has placed their faith in Christ.

21:40 Some of y'all placed it in Christ seventy five years ago and I know that. And some of y'all placed your faith in Christ in the last little while. I pray I pray that before the end of the day, there's someone who accepts him. I I pray it every day. That before the end of the day, Lord, would you get another one?

21:58 Would you pull somebody out of the kingdom of darkness and put them into your kingdom of marvelous light? This table is a celebration of the the live the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, burial, resurrection of Jesus. This table is open to all who have believed. So I'll invite the ushers to come forward and the band is to play something. What are we doing?

22:23 We're going play something good. By the way, the plastic cups that have both juice and the wafer in them are gluten free. If you're not gluten free, don't worry about that. Let that pass. The oyster crackers are a representation of the body of Christ and will pass again the cup representing the blood of Christ.

22:42 It's an open table for all denominations. Anyone who has ever placed their faith in Christ. If you trust in him. Now, Paul does give an admonition not to take this unworthily. He says, that you need to know that you are at peace.

23:00 With others when you do this. If you have to let it pass for that reason, I understand you and I'm praying for you.

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Being Interrupted Church Growth Fear Of Evangelism Peter Miracles Saul Conversion Sharing Your Faith

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