Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyvert. I'm speaking this morning from
the ninth chapter of Acts on the story of Tabitha being raised
from the dead. And I've entitled this message,
Tabitha, a type of Christ. If you can get your Bibles and
read along with me in Acts chapter nine. In Acts chapter nine, beginning
in verse 36, last week we considered how Peter healed a paralytic. Now, this is the next event that
takes place shortly thereafter. We read in verse 36, now there
was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation
is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works
and all these deeds, which she did. And it came to pass in those
days that she was sick and died, whom when they had washed, they
laid her in an upper chamber. And for as much as Lydda was
nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there,
they sent unto him two men desiring him that he would not delay to
come to them. Then Peter arose and went with
them. And when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber.
and all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the coats
and garments which Dorcas made when she was with him. But Peter
put them all forth and kneeled down and prayed, and turning
him to the body, the dead body, said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes And when
she saw Peter, she sat up and he gave her his hand and lifted
her up. And we'd call the saints and widows presented her alive. And it was known throughout all
of Joppa and many believed in the Lord. Now, this story is
a type of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not just a miracle
that was performed to impress us, it's given to teach us the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord said in John chapter
five, verse 39, he said, you search the scriptures, and in
them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of me." Every scripture testifies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love the passage in Luke 24,
then beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to
them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. To him give all the prophets
witness. Every scripture, Old Testament,
New Testament, is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Every
narrative, every ceremony, every sacrifice, every parable, every
miracle is given to illustrate the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and there are no exceptions
to this rule. This book has one message, Jesus
Christ and him crucified. This is not the central theme.
This is the only thing. And until I see that, I've not
really understood the scriptures. Now, this story before us is
no different. Tabitha, the type of Christ. Now, beginning in verse 36, now
there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which
by interpretation is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works
and alms deeds, which she did. Now, what a special woman, and
that ought to describe every believer. somebody full of good
works and full of alms deeds. Now, we admire this woman that
the scripture speaks of. Verse 37, and it came to pass,
I love that phrase in the scripture, it came to pass, God purposed
it, it came to pass. That's true of everything. God
purposes it, it comes to pass. And it came to pass in those
days that she was sick, this woman who was full of good works
and alms deeds. She was sick and she died. We don't know what her sickness
was, but evidently it came on her suddenly, powerfully, and
she died. Now, what is the one reason for
death? Sin. That's the only reason for
death, sin. The reason this woman died is
because she was a sinner. Well, I thought the scripture
just said that she was full of alms deeds and good works. Well,
it did, but she was still a sinner and she died. And so, At that point, when they'd
washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber, verse 38, and
for as much as little was nigh to Joppa. And the disciples heard
that Peter was there. Now, Peter was one of the twelve.
And according to Matthew 10, verse 8, they were given the
power to raise the dead. Now, it's only God that raises
the dead. We both know that. But he would
use these men instrumentally to do it. Had Peter ever raised
the dead before? Well, we don't have any record
of it. Perhaps he did. We don't know. But they knew
that he had the power to raise the dead because he was an apostle. And they called for him. We read,
and they sent unto him two men desiring him that he would not
delay to come to them. Well, then Peter arose and went
with them. And when he was come, they brought
him into the upper chamber and all the widows stood by him weeping
and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas or Tabitha had made
while she was with them. Now you can imagine this sad
scene, these widows. In the Scripture, a widow was
someone that was completely dependent. They did not have a way of providing
for themselves. And Tabitha, while she was alive,
provided them with many coats and garments. Now, I know someone
else who provided his people with the coats and garments of
salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what lets us know that
she is such a type of Christ, and we're gonna see that more
as we go on. But Peter, verse 40, Peter had
everybody leave the room. Peter put them all forth and
kneeled down and prayed. He was praying that the Lord
would restore her life and evidently he was given some sign or assurance
that he would because after he prayed he turned to the body
the dead body of Tabitha, a corpse, a lifeless body, and he said,
Tabitha, arise. Now, I think of Tabitha at this
time. She's died and she's in the presence
of the Lord now. She is no longer a sinner. She's
beholding his face. Do you think she would have wanted
to come back? I dare say she wouldn't, but this was all a
part of God's purpose to teach us of the gospel. So here's what
takes place. Tabitha arise, and she opened
her eyes. Can you imagine seeing that,
a dead corpse all of a sudden open their eyes? And when she
saw Peter, she sat up. Now how surreal this must have
seemed, this dead corpse all of a sudden opening her eyes,
setting up. Verse 41, and he gave her his
hand and lifted her up. And when he called the saints
and widows, he presented her alive. And it was known throughout
all of Joppa and many believed in the Lord. It was well known. Now I've just given the story
of what took place, a mighty miracle. God used Peter to bring
this woman back to life. But here's my question, have
you heard the gospel? The answer is no, you haven't.
If I simply give the story, even accurately, and not preach the
gospel from it, I've missed it altogether. It's just another
miraculous story that I don't really understand. Now, what
I thought of to illustrate what I'm trying to say is if you go
back into Genesis chapter 16, and read what took place. That
is when Sarah told Abraham, look, nothing's happening. I know God
promised us a child, but we haven't had one yet. So here's what I
want you to do. I want you to go into my maid,
Hagar. and lay with her, and we'll have
a child through her, and thus God's purpose will be accomplished
through us doing our part." And Abraham said, okay. He went into
Hagar, and they had a son named Ishmael. God said, that's not the promised
seed. It's going to come through Sarah.
And Sarah ended up having Isaac. And Ishmael was never allowed
to be the heir. Now, you'd read that, and you'd
think, well, that's a strange story. But Paul tells us in Galatians
chapter 4 that that's given to teach us law and grace. Here's
law. Abraham doing his part and going
into Hager, God's promise won't take place unless we do our part.
That's law, that's salvation dependent upon us doing our part. And Abraham going into Sarah,
who had already gone through menopause and the miraculous
birth, that is grace. Paul tells us in Galatians chapter
four, you can read it for yourself, that represents the covenant
of works and that represents the covenant of grace. And we
look at every passage of scripture like that Every passage of scripture
is given to demonstrate the gospel, and this one is no different. Now let's read this, and may
the Lord enable us to see the gospel here. Now there was at
Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation
is called Dorcas. The woman was full of good works
and alms deeds, which she did. Now we admire her and would like
to emulate her. But there is only one who is
truly full of good works and alms deeds, and that is the Lord
Jesus Christ. He lived 33 years full of good
works and alms deeds. He kept God's law perfectly. He never sinned. He never had a sinful thought.
He never had a sinful deed. He never had a sinful motive.
He kept God's law perfectly. You see, he was born of a virgin. Tabitha wasn't. Tabitha was born
with a sinful nature that she inherited. The importance of
the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He did not
have Adam's fallen nature. He wasn't of the seed of Adam. Behold, a virgin shall be with
child. Isaiah chapter 7, 14, and Mary
was a virgin when she had the Lord Jesus Christ conceived of
the Holy Spirit, and he did not have a sinful nature. Thus his
life was full of good deeds, alms deeds. He never sinned. He lived 33 years without sin. Now we read in verse 37, it came
to pass in those days that she was sick and died. Now, we know
why she died. She was a sinner, because the
only reason for death is sin. But Christ never sinned. So the big question is, why did
he die? If the reason for death is sin,
and Christ never sinned, why did Jesus Christ die? Well, the answer is the same.
He died because of sin. Now, how is that true if he never
sinned? Well, 2 Corinthians 5, verse
21 says, For he hath made him to be sin, who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, on the great day of atonement,
You've probably heard the term scapegoat before, the one who
bears the blame. Well, that comes from Leviticus
chapter 16, this word scapegoat. And on the day of atonement,
there were two goats killed, the sin offering, and then there
was the scapegoat. And listen to what they did with
the scapegoat. Verse 21, And Aaron shall lay both his
hands upon the head of the live goat, known as the scapegoat,
and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins, putting them
upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand
of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon
him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited." Now, here's
the picture. The sins of God's people were
lifted off of them and placed on the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the Lord Jesus Christ. He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree. That is why he died. The scripture
says, all we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned everyone
to his own way, and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquities
of us all, all God's elect, all for whom Christ died, all who
believe, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the
tree. Now, this is such an awesome
thing to think about, but in Gethsemane's garden, when the
Lord was praying, and the scripture says he was sweating great drops
of blood as he prayed. And here was his prayer. Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not
my will, but thine be done. Now what was this cup? You know,
he said, the cup which my father hath given me to drink, shall
I not drink it? What was in this cup? All the sins of all of his people. He bore them in his own body
on the tree. God the Father took the sins
of those he gave to Christ and put them in that cup and had
Christ drink that cup. That is how he bore our sins.
Now, do I understand that? Of course not. Do I believe it?
Yes, I do. And what did he do by bearing
those sins in his own body on the tree? He put them away. He made complete satisfaction. Now, I deserve to be destroyed
by God. When Christ took my sins and
made them his own, he took my sins and my sorrows, he made
them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. When he took my sins and made
them his own, he actually became guilty before his father, and
that is why his father slew him. You see, God's no respecter of
persons. God is always going to be perfectly, impartially
just. And even when sin is in His Son,
you think if there was a time He could have let it go and looked
the other way, it would have been then. But God is no respecter
of persons. My sin became his sin. He became guilty of it. And God
the Father punished him. But the righteousness that he
worked out is given to everybody he died for. He took my sins
and he gave me his righteousness. And that's how I stand before
God justified. Now look in verse 38. She died, and forasmuch as lit
it was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter
was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring that he would
not delay to come to him. Then Peter arose and went with
them, and when he was come, they brought him into an upper chamber,
and all the widows stood by him, weeping, and showing the coats
and the garments Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth
and kneeled down and prayed. He was praying that the Lord
would restore her life. And turning him to the body,
said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and
when she saw Peter, she sat up. Now, I love the way Peter put
them all out. He wasn't going to have them
witness this glorious miracle. He put them all out. And when
the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, there were no
human witnesses when he arose. He was in that dark tomb, only
the Father, only the Spirit witnessed. There were no angels, no men.
God did this by himself. this raising from the dead. Tabitha
being raised from the dead is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when he died, darkness covered
the earth. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? Why? Because of sin, because
God's holy. And he died as a sin-bearing
substitute. But you know what he did? He
was raised from the dead. His father raised him from the
dead because he made complete satisfaction. He honored God's
law. He bore the penalty that God's
law claims against sin and he put it away and he was raised
from the dead because God was completely satisfied with what
he did. I love to think of him being
in that tomb and opening his eyes. The complete justification
of his people had been accomplished and he was raised from the dead. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Now, I understand
why Christ was raised from the dead. Because sin was completely
put away, and justification was accomplished. Now, you know what
justification is? I've heard people say justification
is just as if I've never sinned. That's no good because I have
sinned. Justification is not just as
if I never sinned. Justification is I've never sinned.
I have perfect righteousness. I'm perfectly pleasing to God. That's what the resurrection
of Christ represents. When Christ was raised from the
dead, sin had been put away. Righteousness established and
given to every one of his people. My sin was completely put away
and I stand before God just." Listen to this scripture. In Luke 18, verse 13, that poor
publican cried, God be merciful to me, the sinner. Now, Pharisee
had said, God, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men are. And
the other said, God be merciful to me, the sinner. Now listen
to the words of the Lord. I say unto you that this man,
this man who cried out, God be merciful to me, the sinner, went
down to his house justified. Justified. Not merely forgiven,
not merely pardoned, but justified without guilt because Christ
died for him. And that makes him justified,
just like that's what every believer is. Now, Peter put them all forth
and kneeled down and prayed, turning him to the body, said,
Tabitha, rise. And she opened her eyes. And
when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and
lift her up. And when he had called the saints
and widows, he presented her alive. Now, who did he present
her alive to? The saints and the widows. And
they really describe the same people. The saints are the sanctified
ones. That's what saint means, every
believer's a saint. Set apart to be holy by God,
the Father in eternal election. Declared to be holy by the Son
in his redeeming work of Calvary. made holy, literally, in the
new birth, being made a partaker of the divine nature. Those who
were saints and widows. Widows were people who were completely
dependent on the charity of someone else. And that would describe
every believer completely dependent. Oh, I'm so dependent upon the
grace of God. I don't have anything to bring
to the table. I'm completely dependent upon him for all things. Now, Peter makes this presentation
to the saints and to the widows. I love thinking of those garments
she made, and I think of the garments Christ made. You know,
salvation is described as being robed in His righteousness, isn't
it? Isaiah 61, 10, He hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness. Revelation 19, 8. fine linen, clean and white. This is the righteousness of
saints, this righteousness of the wedding garment. It's continually
in the scriptures described as a robe of righteousness. Christ
made these robes of righteousness and he makes this glorious presentation
where every believer is presented holy and unblameable and unreprovable,
Colossians 1.22. holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight." Now because of these garments that Christ made,
this robe of righteousness for all of His people, He now presents
them to His Father, every single one of them holy, unblameable,
and unreprovable in His sight. He presented this life, and my
life is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's my life
before God. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life No man cometh to the Father, but by me. And it was known throughout all
Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Let me say something about
what's going on right now, this coronavirus. God sent the coronavirus. There are secondary causes, tertiary
causes, I realize that, but God is sovereign. He is in control
of everything. He said in Isaiah 45 verse 7,
I form the light, I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. I, the Lord, do
all these things. And that's why I am at rest. I want to be careful, but He's
the one that sent this. And the second thing I'd like
to say is, this is not God's judgment upon the world. Now
God is holy and you and I deserve to be punished everlastingly
by him, but God's judgment is in hell, it's not on earth. If
you hear preachers try to scare people with this news of this
coronavirus, it's foolishness. God is in control of this. I
don't know what all his purpose is, but he knows. And this is
not God's judgment against certain sins. And anytime a preacher
presents himself like that, it's almost like he's exempt from
that judgment. Listen, I deserve God's judgment and so do you,
but judgment takes place in hell, not here on earth. And thirdly,
with regard to this coronavirus that God has sent
us, may we all be enabled to be like the Good Samaritan and
help in any way we can. And that is my take on this,
and I hope that's helpful. This is Todd Niverton. that God
will be pleased to make Himself known to you. Amen.