From Gary... Does God exist?

Lizzie and I often take the dogs for a walk at night and when we do, quite often the sky is clear and the stars are visible.  But, there is so much light pollution in the sky that only a few of them are visible.  The other day, I came across this picture of the night sky and sent it to her via email and she loved it.  And to think, some people say all this came into being by accident!!!  Its no secret that over the past couple of years I have been interested in pocket watches and one of my favorite places to visit is Northernpartners.com.  The site has a video that I find most interesting, even though it is aimed at the younger set.  

Here is the link: http://kids4truth.com/Dyna/Watchmaker/English.aspx

The Psalmist has put it this way...

Psalm 8

 1  Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,

who has set your glory above the heavens!

  2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,

because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

  3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;

  4 what is man, that you think of him?

What is the son of man, that you care for him?

  5 For you have made him a little lower than God,^*n1

and crowned him with glory and honor.

  6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands.

You have put all things under his feet:

  7 All sheep and cattle,

yes, and the animals of the field,

  8 The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,

and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

  9 Yahweh, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

If even a watch needs a maker, then what about the skies?  And if that is true (and it is), then what about us?  Brother Daniel Stearsman preached this morning and the title of his sermon was something like: Does God exist?  What I had never thought about before was that the DNA that makes us what we are is a language. And since it is obvious that any language has to have intelligence behind it- there must be a designer. I remember Daniel saying that it took scientists thirteen years to decipher it.  Someday in the distant future we may actually understand it.  Until that day even the most unreasonable among us is forced to confess that it is something immensely complex. And if that is true, then the intelligence behind the DNA language must be equal to the task.  The truth is... That from the largest things we can imagine, to that of the smallest, God is there!!!!  Believe it, because its true.

From Jim McGuiggan... Hebrews 6 and 10 and falling away

Hebrews 6 & 10 and falling away

 Some readers were asking about Eternal Security and especially in connection with Hebrews 6 and 10. Listen, I’m convinced that the scriptures teach this: a saving relationship with God exists by faith. God’s grace and his sufficient work in Jesus Christ is the ground and inspiration of that faith that brings us into and keeps us in a saving relationship with God. We don’t get to it by moral grunting and sweating. It’s God’s work in us but it's notGod’s work independent of us. However we look at it (and this is the view of the centuries as well as the plain teaching of scripture) we stand in grace through faith! If there was no grace there could be no salvation or faith. If there is no faith grace doesn’t save us. It’s true that faith is a gracious work of God in us (Philippians 1:29, Romans 10:17, Acts 18:27 and elsewhere) but God doesn’t inject it into us and by its very nature it doesn’t exist unless it has our free and vital ongoing consent and commitment. The graciousness of the gift doesn't render us incapable of despising it and throwing it away from us. 

Salvation is an aspect of our relationship with God and our relationship with God is not, I repeat, it is not a legal decision! It is God’s holy and gracious work reconciling us to himself. He draws us in Christ to believe in and love him in and through Jesus Christ. We are at one with him—our hearts are in tune with him—it isn’t just a "status" it is a "relationship". But this relationship has the free consent of our hearts and minds. We aren’t zombies or automata. We are friends of God in Jesus Christ. And we can turn from him (2 Peter 2:20-22) and refuse to abide in him (John 15:5-6). To do that is to reject God and the relationship is ended. To say that we’re powerless to reject God and the relationship is to ignore the meaning of "reconciliation" and "friendship" with God.

There are verses which make this point but I think we should be looking more at the nature of our relationship in Christ, the nature of reconciliation and what it means to be at one with God. As soon as we drop the notion that it is some kind of once-for-all legal declaration of "acquittal" and see it as a free and glad surrender of our heart drawn to God in and through Jesus Christ it becomes clear that we can walk away. Then we don’t have to hunt for verses to prove this or that. Can we fall away from the grace that is in Christ and nowhere else? Yes! Galatians 5:4 expressly says so. But in saying that Paul was trying to prove they could fall away, he was proclaiming it. If they turned salvation into (in that context) Jewish national righteousness they fall away from God's grace extended to them in and through Jesus Christ..

Some of the Hebrews Christians were threatening to turn from Christ and some had already done it (Hebrews 6:1-4 and 10:25-26). They were going back to a sacrificial system that had served its temporary but important purpose and in doing that they were rejecting the sacrifice of Christ. The judgement on such people is clearly spelled out. Leave Christ and there’s no other sacrifice that will bring them to God. If they did that they were leaving their only hope of salvation. What awaited them was what Hebrew 6:8 and 10:27-31 lays out.

Twice the Hebrew writer says such people can’t get back or be renewed to repentance. But he makes those remarks on the assumption that they will continue to hold on to their old sacrificial and shadow system. It’s as if he said, "As long as they cling on to their old ordinances and sacrifices there’s no way back." He isn’t saying that it was literally impossible for them to hear the gospel again at some point and come to faith again. No! But he is underlining the danger that having drunk deeply of the truth about Christ and then blatantly rejected it, that there is no way back except by the one they’ve just betrayed. They saw him in all his glory and experienced him and then they walked away. What would it take to get them back? The only way back is through the One they just spurned. Looking for another way would always be vain and they’d never get back to God. They would have burned the only bridge by which they could get back to God.

You understand he could be saying it is literally impossible for them to be converted once they’ve fallen away under those circumstances, butthere’s no need to understand it that way. A thing may be "impossible" practically speaking given the actual situation, that is, if the conditions are so against them—see what Christ says about rich men, camels and needle’s eyes in Mark 10:24-27 and the parallel texts. As long as wealthy men adore their riches they can’t enter the kingdom and as long as those Hebrews clung to the old system to which they went back there’s no way for them to be saved. See what you make of the piece on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit also in this section.

This I know. The New Testament teaches the security of the believer. While we have faith in Christ we’re to be perfectly assured. If we walk away from Christ we should worry indeed. Hebrews 10:27-31.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan.... Hebrews 2:9, We see Jesus (2)

Hebrews 2:9, We see Jesus (2)

Unchanging appearances can kill hope. The same enemies year after year. The same difficulties time after time. Failed methods, failed plans, failed attempts can kill hope. "I keep trying. I'm tired of trying. Nothing changes, nothing makes any difference. The brutal fact is that nothing can be done about the way things are. I'm weary of pep talks and pop psychology. It all sounds great until I turn to face reality."

Is that so hard to understand? I've felt and sometimes feel like that. But if things are so bad, why do we still feel in our bones that they'll get better? How do we explain that renewed sense of hope even after months or years when everything seems to be such a dead heave?

We continue to hope because we've "seen" something. Someone! We see Jesus (Hebrews 2:9).

Though we haven't seen our Lord and Saviour with our eyes, like the brave men and women to whom Peter wrote, we continue to hope for our salvation. He spoke of a salvation not yet fully revealed, a goal for which they aimed, a hoped-for inheritance. See 1 Peter 1:3-6. In his second letter he described these hopeful people as looking for a new heaven and a new earth and they looked forward to this new world simply on the basis of the Lord's promise (2 Peter 3:13).

It's true they were travelling toward something they hadn't actually, or at least fully, seen, but they had seen enough to know their journey was well spent. Along with those who maintained their trust we can say:

We don't see all the crooks behind bars, but we see Jesus.

We don't see the porn industry permanently put down, but we see Jesus.

We don't see the drug bosses out of business, but we see Jesus.

We don't see the vice rings smashed for all time, but we see Jesus.

We don't see any reason to believe the world's getting better, but we see Jesus.

We see uncleanness in our hearts, but we see Jesus.

We see our trivial ways and pathetic goals, but we see Jesus.

We see broken promises and suffocating nations, but we see Jesus.

We see increasing numbers of the vulnerable aged, the depletion of natural resources and massive unemployment, but we see Jesus.

They looked their world right in the eye and saw it for what it was and with confident smiles got on with living. When all the props are taken from us, when our friends are gone, our money spent, our health deteriorating and our hope for a better society is smashed on the rock of human wickedness then we'll be thrown on to Christ. In utter dependence on him we'll be able to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8).

From the book, "Jesus: Hero of thy Soul," used by permission from Howard Publishing, West Monroe, Louisana, 1998

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Hebrews 2: 9, We see Jesus (1)

Hebrews 2: 9, We see Jesus (1)

 A reader wonders how it can be true that Jesus is Lord of all, having all things put under him when the Hebrew writer says (2:8) that we do not yet see all things subject to him. Ephesians 1:19-23, 1 Peter 3:22, Philippians 2:5-10, Matthew 28:18, from among scores of texts, affirm Christ’s established Lordship over all. Even Hebrews 2:8 says, "In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him." See too 1 Corinthians 15:27.

So have all things been subjected to him or not? Well, of course they have! That he hasn’t yet obliterated all his enemies is no proof that he isn’t the Lord of them. That he chooses to work in and through his enemies (and to work for many of them—see Peter 3:9) is no reason to deny his already existing Kingship. As Psalm 110 puts it, he rules in the midst of his enemies.

As yet we don’t see all his enemies destroyed or humiliated. But then there are a lot of things we don’t see or experience; but that doesn’t deny the truth and reality of them. We don’t see all the gangsters, corrupt politicians, sleazy landlords, porn and vice and drug barons, warlords, paedophile rings or financial tyrants exposed and punished—but we see Jesus!

"If Jesus were already Lord over all evil they would have been destroyed by now." Would it indeed? God has been God and Lord from the moment of the sinful Rebellion—why wasn’t it crushed right at the beginning? Maybe 2 Peter 3:9 and passages like it come into play here. One day we will see, that is, personally observe, in all its fruit, the already established Lordship of Jesus

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... The Conversion Of Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                 The Conversion Of Cornelius (10:1-48)

INTRODUCTION

1. Up to this point, the gospel had been somewhat limited in its
   outreach...
   a. It had spread throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria - Ac 9:31
   b. Other than Samaritans (who were half Jewish), it had gone only to
      the Jews

2. With "The Conversion Of Cornelius" the first Gentile is saved...
   a. A conversion noted not only because he was the first Gentile
   b. But also for the miraculous events that accompanied his conversion

3. As with Saul of Tarsus, we have more than just one account of his
   conversion...
   a. There is Luke's description, given as it occurred - Ac 10:1-48
   b. There is Peter's description, when he is called to defend his
      actions - Ac 11:1-18

[In this lesson, we will focus our attention to Luke's description of the
events as they occurred...]

I. LUKE'S ACCOUNT OF THIS CONVERSION

   A. CORNELIUS HAS A VISION...
      1. Cornelius, a centurion, is a very religious man - Ac 10:1-2
      2. The angel appears to him - Ac 10:3-6
         a. With an announcement that his prayers and alms have been
            noticed by God
         b. With instructions to send for Peter:  "He will tell you what
            you must do."
      3. Cornelius then sends two servants and a devout soldier to Peter
         - Ac 10:7-8

   B. PETER HAS A VISION...
      1. The next day, praying, hungry, Peter has a vision - Ac 10:9-15
         a. A sheet descends from heaven, containing all sorts of 
            creatures
         b. A voice tells Peter to "kill and eat"
         c. Peter objects, for he has never eaten anything common or
            unclean
         d. The voice tells him, "What God has cleansed you must not call
            common."
      2. The vision is repeated three times - Ac 10:16

   C. THE SPIRIT INSTRUCTS PETER...
      1. The men from Cornelius arrive as Peter contemplates the vision 
         - Ac 10:17-18
      2. The Spirit tells Peter to go, "doubting nothing, for I have
         sent them" - Ac 10:19-20
      3. Peter receives the men and takes brethren with him as they go to
         Cornelius - Ac 10:21-23

   D. PETER ARRIVES AT CORNELIUS' HOUSE...
      1. Cornelius has gathered his family and close friends - Ac 10:24
      2. Peter deflects an attempt by Cornelius to worship him - Ac 10:25-26
      3. Peter explains his presence is a violation of Jewish custom, but
         now understands "I should not call any man common or unclean" -
         Ac 10:27-28
      4. To explain why Peter was called, Cornelius recounts the
         appearance and instructions of the angel - Ac 10:29-32
      5. Cornelius and household were ready "to hear all things commanded
         you by God" - Ac 10:33

   E. PETER'S SERMON TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF CORNELIUS...
      1. He begins with a full perception that God shows no partiality 
         - Ac 10:34-35
         a. A perception started with the vision of the sheet and unclean
            beasts
         b. A perception continued with the Spirit's instruction to go 
            with the messengers
      2. Peter then proceeds to proclaim Jesus Christ - Ac 10:36-43
         a. As Lord who was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power - 

            Ac 10:36-38
         b. Who was killed, but then raised from the dead and seen by
            eyewitnesses who knew Him well - Ac 10:39-41
         c. Who has commanded the apostles to proclaim Him as ordained by
            God to be the Judge of the living and dead - Ac 10:42
         d. Through Whom remission of sins is offered to those who
            believe - Ac 10:43
   
   F. THE SPIRIT FALLS ON ALL WHO HEARD...
      1. While Peter was still speaking - Ac 10:44
      2. Astonishing those of the circumcision - Ac 10:45-46
         a. Jewish Christians who had come with Peter
         b. Because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on 
            Gentiles also
         c. Empowering them to speak with tongues and praise God

   G. PETER COMMANDS THEM TO BE BAPTIZED...
      1. How could anyone forbid water to those who had received the
         Spirit just as the apostles did? - Ac 10:47; cf. Ac 2:1-4
      2. So Cornelius and his household were commanded to be baptized in
         the name of the Lord - Ac 10:48; cf. Ac 2:38

[The events surrounding this conversion are certainly remarkable.  They
evidently were intended to convey important truths.  As we endeavor to
glean what those truths were, here are a couple of...]

II. OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THIS CONVERSION

   A. RELIGIOUS PEOPLE NEED SAVING...
      1. Many people believe that if you are religious, you will be saved
         a. That if you go to church, do good, etc., you have a hope of
            heaven
         b. That you will have earned the right to enter heaven
      2. Yet, though Cornelius was a man who...
         a. Was a devout man and feared God with his whole family - Ac 10:2
         b. Gave alms generously and prayed to God always - ibid.
         c. Still needed to be told "words by which you and all your
            household will be saved" - cf. Ac 11:14
      3. Clearly, being religious alone isn't what saves you
         a. Most examples of conversion in Acts involved religious people
         b. It is the blood of Christ that saves! - cf. Ep 1:7

   B. THE GOSPEL IS FOR ALL NATIONS...
      1. Peter perceived that God is no respecter of persons - Ac 10:34-35
      2. Indeed, God desires that ALL men be saved - cf. 

         Jn 3:16; 1Ti 2:3-6; 2Pe 3:9
      3. Therefore He has not predestined some to be saved and others to
         be lost!

   C. THE GOSPEL CULMINATES IN BAPTISM...
      1. It begins with the need to believe in Jesus - Ac 10:42-43
      2. It ends with immersion in water - Ac 10:47-48; cf. Ac 2:38;
         8:35-38; 22:16
      3. "Baptism is here [in Ac 2:38, MAC] a part of the proclamation of
         Christ. In an Apostolic sermon it comes as its logical 
         conclusion.  An effort ought to be made to restore this note in 
         our [Baptist, MAC] preaching." - George Beasley-Murray, Baptism
         In The New Testament, p. 393

CONCLUSION

1. There are other observations to be made...
   a. Which we will consider in the next chapter
   b. As Peter is called to account for his actions

2. While miraculous events surrounded "The Conversion Of Cornelius", his
   salvation was no different from what we have already seen...
   a. He had to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ - e.g., Ac 8:35
   b. He was taught to believe and commanded to be baptized - e.g., 

      Ac 2:36-38; 8:36-38

3. As Peter would later say, it is "through the grace of the Lord Jesus
   Christ" that both Gentiles and Jews are saved - cf. Ac 15:11
   a. We are saved by grace, not works - cf. Ep 2:5,8; Tit 3:4-5
   b. For it is not enough to be religious...
      1) Who could be more religious than Cornelius?
      2) Or the 3000 at Pentecost, the Ethiopian eunuch, Saul of Tarsus,
         Lydia of Thyatira?

4. The grace of God which saves does require a response, however...
   a. A response of faith - Ac 10:43
   b. Faith in Jesus that comes by hearing the gospel - Ac 10:42
   c. Faith which expresses itself in obedience - cf. He 5:9
      1) Particularly, repentance and baptism - cf. Ac 2:38; 3:19; 10:48
      2) Not as works of merit, but as acts of faith by which one 
         receives God's grace

Those of us who are not descended from Israel can rejoice in what God
revealed with "The Conversion of Cornelius". As properly concluded later
by Jewish brethren in Jerusalem:

  "God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." - Ac 11:18

Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift, by responding to the
gospel of Jesus Christ in faith, repentance, and baptism...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

 

From Mark Copeland.... Walking In The Comfort Of The Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

            Walking In The Comfort Of The Holy Spirit (9:31)

INTRODUCTION

1. In writing about the early church, Luke recorded:

"Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace
and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort
of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied." - Ac 9:31

2. In our previous lesson, we considered "walking in the fear of the
   Lord"...
   a. The need for having a proper fear of the Lord
   b. The role of the Word of God in producing this fear

3. With this lesson, we shall consider "walking in the comfort of the
   Holy Spirit"...
   a. What it meant to the apostles and the early church
   b. What it likely means for us today

[The phrase "comfort of the Holy Spirit" should naturally remind us of
Jesus' promise regarding...]

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT AS COMFORTER

   A. PROMISED TO THE APOSTLES...
      1. As another Helper (parakletos, comforter) for them - Jn 14:16-18
      2. To teach them all things, reminding them what He said - Jn 14:26
      3. Who Himself will testify of Jesus, together with the apostles -
         Jn 15:26-27
      4. To guide them into all the truth - Jn 16:12-13
      -- We should not presume what was promised the apostles was for all
         Christians

   B. PROMISED TO ALL BELIEVERS...
      1. As something new, to be given after His resurrection - Jn 7:37-39
      2. As a gift to those who obey God in repentance and baptism - 

         Ac 2:38-39; 5:32
      3. When they become sons of God through faith and baptism - 

         Ga 3:26-27; 4:6
      4. As an earnest, a down payment toward their full inheritance-Ep 1:13-14
      -- The Spirit has a significant role in the lives of all Christians

[While the role the Spirit in the lives of the apostles and believers
was varied, He was certainly a source of great comfort to all 
Christians...]

II. THE COMFORT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

   A. AS GIVEN TO THE APOSTLES...
      1. The Spirit came while they were in Jerusalem - Ac 1:4-5; 2:1-4
      2. Empowering them to be witnesses of Jesus' resurrection - Ac 1:8;
         2:32-33
      3. Confirming their word through signs, wonders, miracles, gifts -
         He 2:3-4
      4. Which they passed on to some through laying on of hands - 

         Ac 8:14-18; 19:6
      -- Again, we should not presume the apostles' experience was
         normative for all believers

   B. AS GIVEN TO ALL BELIEVERS...
      1. When baptized into one body, the church - 1Co 12:13
      2. Filling hearts with love, hope, and other fruits of the Spirit 
         - Ro 5:5; 15:13; Ga 5:22-23
      3. Though not all possessed the miraculous spiritual gifts then
         - 1Co 12:27-31
      4. Such were temporary, while faith, hope, and love would continue
         - 1Co 13:1-13        
      -- The Spirit did provide a degree of comfort for all believers 
         then

[With an appreciation of the Spirit's role in the life of the early
church, here are thoughts on what it meant then and what it means today
to be...]  

III. WALKING IN THE COMFORT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

   A. FOR THE APOSTLES AND EARLY CHURCH...
      1. The direct guidance of the Spirit in their lives - e.g., 

         Ac 8:29; 10:19; 13:2-4; 16:6-7; 20:23; 1Co 12:11; 1Ti 4:1
      2. All related to revealing and confirming God's Word - cf. 

         Mk 16:17-20; He 2:3-4
      -- The early church certainly enjoyed walking in the comfort of the
         Spirit as He guided them through the early years of establishing
         the church and revealing all truth to them

   B. FOR CHRISTIANS AND THE CHURCH TODAY...
      1. We have the benefit of God's Word completely revealed and
         confirmed
         a. Scriptures all-sufficient to instruct and guide us - 2Ti 3:16-17
         b. Providing all we need for life and godliness - 2Pe 1:3
         c. Revealed once for all, for which we must contend - Jude 3
      2. We enjoy the comforting presence of the Spirit today through
         the Word
         a. Which is the sword of the Spirit, an instrument used by the
            Spirit - Ep 6:12
         b. A source of great comfort and patience, creating hope - cf.
            Ro 15:4
      3. We enjoy the comforting presence of the Spirit today through
         His indwelling
         a. For our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in us
            - 1Co 6:19
         b. And the Spirit serves as God's instrumental agent to bless us
            - Ep 3:16,20-21
         c. For empowerment, comfort, bearing spiritual fruit - 

            Ro 8:12-13; 15:13; Ga 4:6; 5:22-23
      -- With the Spirit's indwelling in conjunction with the Word, we 
         can walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit!

CONCLUSION

1. Returning to our text (Ac 9:31), we note that the churches
   multiplied when they walked both...
   a. In the fear of the Lord
   b. In the comfort of the Holy Spirit

2. If we desire to experience such growth today, then we also need to...
   a. Develop the fear of the Lord and walk in it
   b. Experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit as we walk in it

Hopefully this lesson and the preceding one may encourage us to do both,
for the glory of God and His Son's church...!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

 

From Mark Copeland... Peter's Ministry In Western Judea (Acts 9:32-43)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

             Peter's Ministry In Western Judea (9:32-43)

INTRODUCTION

1. With the conversion of Saul, the chief instigator of persecution...
   a. The churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a reprieve
      - Ac 9:31
   b. They experienced peace, edification, and growth - ibid.

2. The apostle Peter took the opportunity to travel...
   a. Which may have included areas of Galilee and Samaria - Ac 9:32
   b. But definitely included regions of western Judea - Ac 9:32-43

[Especially two cities, Lydda and Joppa, where Philip may have preached
earlier (cf. Ac 8:40).  It was at those two cities, that Peter
performed two miracles that Luke recorded in Acts...]

I. AT LYDDA - HEALING AENEAS (Ac 9:32-35)

   A. THE CITY...
      1. Formerly known by its Hebrew name Lod
      2. Located eleven miles southeast of Joppa
      3. In the picturesque plain of Sharon - cf. Ac 9:35
      4. Built by Shemed of Benjamin - 1Ch 8:12
      5. Re-populated after the Babylonian exile - Ezr 2:1,33
      6. Where there was evidently a church ("saints who dwelt at Lydda")
         - Ac 9:32

   B. THE MIRACLE...
      1. Peter finds Aeneas, bedridden for 8 years and paralyzed - Ac 9:33
      2. Appealing to the name and power of Jesus, Peter heals him -

         Ac 9:34; cf. Ac 3:6
         a. Commanding him to arise and make his bed
         b. Whereby he arose immediately, healed instantly
      3. This miracle is reminiscent of Jesus healing the paralytic - cf.
         Lk 5:17-26
      4. All in Lydda and Sharon who saw Aeneas "turned to the Lord" - Ac 9:35

[The miracle served to confirm Jesus as Lord and Peter as His apostle
(cf. Mk 16:19-20).  The same would prove true at...] 

II. AT JOPPA - RAISING TABITHA (Ac 9:36-43)

   A. THE CITY...
      1. A harbor town on the Mediterranean Sea, today is known as Jaffa
      2. Located thirty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem
      3. From which Jonah boarded a ship to Tarshish - Jon 1:3
      4. It too had a church ("the disciples had heard") - Ac 9:38

   B. THE MIRACLE...
      1. There was a certain disciple named Tabitha - Ac 9:36
         a. Tabitha was her Aramaic name, Dorcas her Greek name
         b. Both literally means "gazelle" (a small, swift, long-horned
            antelope)
      2. She was full of good works and charitable deeds - Ac 9:36
      3. She became sick and died - Ac 9:37
         a. Her body was washed
         b. Her body was laid in an upper room
      4. Hearing that Peter was in Lydda, two disciples were sent for him
         - Ac 9:38
      5. Arriving, Peter was brought to the upper room - Ac 9:39
         a. Where widows stood by weeping
         b. Displaying tunics and garments Dorcas had made
      6. Peter raised Dorcas from the dead - Ac 9:40
         a. He put everyone out of the room - Ac 9:40
         b. He knelt and prayed
         c. Turning to the body, he said "Tabitha, arise"
         d. She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up
      7. Peter then lifted her up and presented her alive - Ac 9:41
      8. This miracle is also reminiscent of Jesus raising Jairus'
         daughter - cf. Lk 8:41-42,49-56
      9. It became known throughout Joppa, and many "believed on the
         Lord" - Ac 9:42

CONCLUSION

1. Peter remained in Joppa many days...
   a. Staying with Simon, a tanner - Ac 9:43
   b. From where he would be sent for by Cornelius - Ac 10:5-6

2. The effect of the two miracles in the two cities is expressed
   differently...
   a. In Lydda, it is said people "turned to the Lord"
   b. In Joppa, it is said people "believed on the Lord"

3. But these are simply two ways of saying the same thing...
   a. To turn from sin and self, and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ
   b. To place one's faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ

This is how evidence that Jesus is the Christ and Peter was His apostle
should affect us (cf. Jn 20:30-31).  With such evidence, not only here
in Acts 9, but throughout the Scriptures, shouldn't we be careful not
to neglect the great salvation that we have in Christ...? - cf. He 2:1-4  

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012