Now you'll turn again, please,
to the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 9, verse 31. Acts 9, 31. God gave these churches, believers,
rest. Rest from persecution. Rest in
the gospel. Peace. with God through Christ. And these were found in Judea
and Galilee and Samaria. And they were edified. Edified
with the gospel. Walking in fear and worship of
the Lord and in comfort. Comfort. Comforted knowing their
sin was taken care of in Christ. And they were multiplied. And
Peter It says in verse 32, it came to pass. Whenever I see
that phrase in scripture, I think of this. It came to pass because
God brought it to pass. It came to pass as Peter traveled
through these areas of Samaria and Judea and Galilee. He passed through these areas
doing what God called him to do. God called him and sent him. He said, I'll make you fishers
of men. You go and preach the gospel and I'll call my sheep
to that message. And Peter was busy about doing
just that very thing. Verse 32, And it came to pass,
as Peter passed through all quarters, or these different cities, he
came down to this one certain town, this town called Lydda. He came to this city and he met
with, notice what it says there, he came down also to the saints,
to these saints, to these believers. They're called saints here in
verse 32, and did you notice also in verse 41, when he called
the saints and widows, presented Tabitha a lie. Every believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ is a saint. It's not reserved for just a
few chosen. Every believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ is a saint. A saint in Christ. Now, hold
your place there and find Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter
4. Every believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ is a saint. That is, set apart, chosen, loved
of God. Philippians chapter 4, look at
verse 19. Philippians 4, 19. But my God
shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be
glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ. Everyone in Christ is a saint. Salute every saint in Christ
Jesus. The brethren which are with me
greet you. All saints salute you, chiefly
them that are of Caesar's household. Paul was in prison in Rome. The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. He's writing to
the saints and He's sending greetings from the saints and declares
unto the saints that God has met all our needs. according
to his riches in glory through the Lord Jesus Christ. I found
in scripture 61 times, turn to Romans chapter 1, I found through
the scriptures that 61 times in the New Testament believers
are referred to as saints. Romans chapter 1, notice if you
will verse 7, Romans chapter 1 verse 7, To all that be in Rome, beloved
of God, behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called sons of God. To all that be in
Rome, beloved of God, called saints. To be has been added. It reads better, I think, called
saints. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
said, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all, for you
all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
These saints were believers resting in the Lord Jesus. Now look back
at Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 9, and notice verse 13, when
Ananias is talking about Those who were persecuted for the gospel
sake, he refers to them in verse 13, Ananias answered, Lord, I
have heard by many of this man, referring to Saul of Tarsus,
how much evil he hath done to the saints at Jerusalem. These were believers
who took a stand for the gospel and were persecuted because of
their belief in Christ. Every believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ are sanctified in Him. Three things about sanctification. Set apart by God the Father,
find Jude chapter 1, Jude 1. Sanctified by God the Father,
that is chosen and set apart by Him in that special election
of grace, Jude, right before the revelation. Jude, we say
chapter 1, there's just one chapter, but verse Jude 1 verse 1. Jude chapter 1 verse 1 rather.
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them
that are sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Christ Jesus
and called. So we're sanctified, that is
set apart, chosen by God's sovereign electing grace. God set us aside
for His own purpose and glory. Secondly, we're sanctified by
God the Son. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. We're sanctified by God's electing
grace. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. And notice this, if you will,
verse 2, we're sanctified by the atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He put away our sin and made
us holy before God. Notice, if you will, this is
1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 2, under the church of God, which
is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called
saints. with all that are in every place,
call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the name of the
Lord, name of Jesus, our Lord, both theirs and ours. The blood
of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. So we're sanctified
by God the Father in choosing us. We're sanctified or cleansed
and forgiven of all sin by the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then thirdly, were sanctified
by God the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Now find 2 Peter chapter 1. 2
Peter chapter 1. You see in the work of salvation,
in salvation there is the work of the Father. who chose us,
the work of the Son who redeemed us, and the work of God the Holy
Spirit who regenerates us and makes us new creatures in Christ,
makes us holy before God with a new divine nature imparted,
implanted in regeneration. 2 Peter 1, notice verse 3, According
as his divine power, 2 Peter 1, 3, hath given unto us all
things that pertain unto life, and godliness, through the knowledge
of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are
given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." These
are the promises of the gospel. They're exceeding, they're great,
they're precious. "...that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. Those who are sanctified
by God the Holy Spirit no longer trust themselves They look to
Christ for all of salvation. So we're sanctified by God the
Father in that covenant of grace. He chose us. He set us apart.
We're redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified
in Him. And then we're sanctified by
the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, making us new creatures
in Christ Jesus. Turn to John 17. Our Lord prayed
about that for His people. John 17. John 17, verse 17, John
17, 17, he says, Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is
truth, as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also
sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself. He set himself apart that he
might sanctify us, that they also might be truly sanctified
through the truth. That's how we're sanctified.
You see, every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is a saint
in Christ Jesus. Now, that's what he's saying
here, and that's who he's writing to. The Lord Jesus Christ has
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and he is our
redemption in him. Now, back to Acts chapter 9. Peter came to visit the saints,
believers, and to preach the gospel to them. And verse 33,
as he came to this city, Lydda, verse 33, he found a certain
man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed for eight years. This
man had been sick and in bed for eight years. He had this
terrible disease. He could not walk. And Peter
said unto him, called him by name, and said, Jesus Christ,
make thee whole. Arise, make thy bed. And he arose immediately, and
he went walking, and I'm sure praising God. We have in these
verses a miracle of God's grace. both in the healing of Aeneas
and the raising of Tabitha from the dead, and in both those stories
we see a picture of how God saves sinners by His grace, His grace
alone. Let's look at the first story,
this man named Aeneas. First of all, we see four things
about him, but the first point is this. There was found in this
city a certain man, named Aeneas, who was sick. Now, I'm sure there
were other people in that city who needed help, who had health
problems and health issues. But Peter was sovereignly sent
to this one particular town, and somehow it was made known
to him that God was going to show mercy on this one man, and
he was directed to this one man's house, to this one man, to this
bed, this bedroom, to this one man, and he healed him. Isn't
that a picture of God's sovereign saving grace? God singled out
this one man to show mercy on him, and that's exactly what
he does when he saves us by his grace. He singles us out by the
covenant of grace. He sends us, just like in this
story, God sent Peter. God chose us in that covenant
of grace, and then in time, He sends us a gospel preacher to
tell us the truth. And we were just like this man,
Aeneas, the second thing we see about him. He was sovereignly
chosen, and God showed mercy on this man just as God blessed
us and saved us by His sovereign grace. And it is the grace of
God alone that makes us to differ. It's not by works of righteousness
that we have done, but according to God's mercy, He saved us. All of grace, His purpose, His
grace. The second thing we know about
this man in this, he was not only sovereignly chosen for an
object of God's mercy, and God did have mercy on him. The second
thing we see about this man, he was in bed, paralyzed for
eight years. He was unable to help himself.
He couldn't get up. He couldn't walk. He couldn't
do anything. Eight years he laid there. And you know what he was thinking
about those eight years? I'll tell you exactly what he's thinking
about those eight years. I sure wish I could walk. But
all of his wishing couldn't help him. And yet God crossed his
path, his condition was desperate, beyond the help of Aeneas, beyond
the help of man, but not beyond the power of God. And this is
our case, is it not? Spiritually before God? We are
crippled, spiritual cripples, unable to take one step toward
God. Matter of fact, all of our steps
are like all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone
to our own way. Our steps are not toward God,
but away from God. Unable. Just as this man was
unable to help himself, we're unable to help ourselves. We
are spiritual cripples, unable to believe, unable to repent,
unable to come to Him. He said, no man can come to Me
except the Father which sent Me. Draw him. It reminds me of
that story of Mephibosheth. You remember about him? Crippled.
Crippled. He was crippled on both feet. Lame. Couldn't walk. You remember the story? of how
he became crippled. When his father and his grandfather
were killed in battle And he was very young, his nurse took
him up to flee for his safety. And as she was fleeing, he wiggled
loose somehow and he fell and he was ruined. And that's exactly
our condition, ruined by a fall. Ruined by sin, unable to help
ourselves, unable to take a step. But the good news of the gospel
is the Lord Jesus Christ came to save so folks like my fellowship. Ruined, helpless, unable. Find 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy
chapter 1. Our Lord said, I didn't come
to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. I'm like Aeneas,
unable to save myself, unable to help myself. And God sent
the message. God sent the gospel. 1 Timothy
chapter 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1. And this is Paul talking about
his glorious experience of grace when God saved him. He says in
verse 13, Who is before a blasphemer? Who is before a persecutor? One
who caused injury? He said, I obtained mercy. I
was ignorant. I was in unbelief, but God singled
him out to show mercy on him. You remember, Anna and I said,
Paul, you're a chosen vessel. This is a faithful saying, verse
15, and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith
and love which is in Christ Jesus, verse 14. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am The chief offender. Sinners. Sinners. Who then can
be saved? Well, with men it's impossible,
but not with God. With God all things are possible. This man was sovereignly chosen,
and God sovereignly chooses whom He will. He said, I'll have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. I'll show grace to whom I will
show grace. It's not of Him that willeth, nor of Him that runneth,
but it's God that would show mercy. And this man was unable
to help himself, and I can't save myself, you can't save yourself. Salvation is all of grace, not
of works, lest any man would boast. The third thing we know
about this man is this. Verse 34, Peter said unto him,
called him by name, the Lord knows his sheep by name and he
calls them out, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. How is he made whole? By Christ. How is he healed? By the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ and His
gospel is the only remedy for our sin, our ruin. Turn back to chapter 4 of the
book of Acts. Do you remember this story in
Acts chapter 4? when Peter and John were being
questioned as to the healing of the cripple that was healed
that day at the temple. And when they were standing before
this council, and when they asked Peter, by what authority or by
what power had you done this? In Acts chapter 4 verse 7, when
they set them in the midst, they asked, by what power, by what
name have you done this thing? They were upset that this man
was healed. And here's what he said, being
full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, you rulers of the people
and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed
done to this helpless, impotent, powerless man, by what means
he's made whole, what means are we made whole? Be it known unto
you and all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, whom you crucified, delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification, whom God
raised from the dead, it is by Him that this man stands here
before you whole. How was Aeneas made whole? by
the Lord Jesus Christ dying for his sin. How is this sinner made
whole? By the Lord Jesus Christ dying
for my sin. By what means is he made whole?
By the Lord Jesus. Look at verse 11 of Acts 4. This
is the stone which was set at Nod of you builders, which has
become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there was no other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved." You see, this is a picture of
how God saves sinners in and by and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the only remedy for our
sin. In Adam, what happened? We were
empty. We were stripped. We were dead
in sin. In Adam, all died. What happened
in Christ? Made whole. Made whole. Find
Romans chapter 5. In Adam were empty. In Adam were
dead. In Adam were ruined. In the Lord
Jesus Christ were made whole. Romans 5. Romans 5 verse 12. Wherefore as by one man sin entered
into the world and death, death by sin, so death passed upon
all in whom all have sinned. In Adam all died. In Adam, I'm
emptied. In Adam, I'm stripped. Now look
at Romans 5, verse 19. But in Christ, I'm healed. With this Christ, we are healed.
I'm made whole through Christ, the Lord Jesus. Verse 19. For
by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. That's the
first man, Adam. In him, death, judgment. So by the obedience of another,
of one, shall many be made righteous. By the obedience of Christ. He
was obedient in all of his life, honoring God's law. He's obedient
even unto death, the death of the cross, satisfying the penalty
of that law. So by one man's obedience, the
Lord Jesus Christ, shall many be made whole, made righteous,
just like Peter says to Aeneas here, and it's the same message,
the Lord Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. If I stand before
God justified, it only will be on the merit and the blood, righteousness
and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Alone. By His stripes we are healed. The fourth thing about Aeneas
is this. Look back at the text again, verse 34, Jesus Christ
maketh thee whole, now arise, make your bed, and he rose immediately. Aeneas arose immediately, for
every action of God there is an immediate reaction. It says in the book of Psalms,
Psalm 33, He spake and it was done. He commands and it stands
fast. God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness has shined in our heart. One day God turned
on the light. One day God made me a new creature
in Christ Jesus. One day God raised me from the
dead and immediately I was made whole. Immediately I was made
to see the Lord Jesus Christ is all of my salvation. And that's
what he's saying here immediately. He made his bed and he arose. And we are raised from the dead
to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he does
this by his command. He speaks and it's done. He commands
and it stands fast. It cannot be changed. Whatsoever
the Lord doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it. Nothing
can be taken away from it. It is God that doeth it. Now, the result of that was this.
All that dwelled in Lydda and Sarum saw Him. They knew this
man. They knew this man was a helpless
cripple. And when they saw Him, and I'm
sure they not only saw Him, but I'm sure they heard what He said. how God had healed him, how God
had made him new, how God had made him whole. And when they
saw him, they turned to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. When God
saves His people by His sovereign grace, when He gives them life
and liberty in Christ in their soul, they are not ashamed to
own Him, to confess Him, and God uses the witness of His people
to turn others to the Lord. He does not. Turn back to Acts
chapter 5. Do you remember this? In Acts
chapter 5, when they were commanded, the apostles were commanded not
to teach or preach at all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and they suffered greatly being beaten. In Acts chapter 5, it
says, In verse 40, to him they agreed,
and when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they
commanded that they should not speak in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and they let them go. What did they do when they were
let go? They went everywhere. They departed
from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted
worthy to suffer shame for his name, and daily in the temple,
in public, and in every house. They went everywhere preaching
Christ. They ceased not to teach and
preach the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what God does today
when He saves a sinner by His marvelous, glorifying and sovereign
grace. He makes us new in Christ and
He gives us a witness in our soul that we might witness to
others of what God has done for us and point others to the Lord. Now, that's the first story.
And that's a good story. It is. And it's a picture of
how God saves sinners in Christ Jesus. But there's another story
here. The raising of Tabitha from the dead. And this also
illustrates salvation by the sovereign saving power of God. There was at Joppa, a certain
disciple. This lady was a lover of the
Lord Jesus Christ. A disciple means one who was
a learner of Christ. Her name was Tabitha, and she
was also known by the name of Dorcas. This woman, a believer,
now notice verse 36, this woman who believed the gospel, loved
the Lord Jesus Christ, she was full not only of Christ, but
she was full of good works and alms, deeds, which she did. She made garments for the poor
widows in her city, and she gave those garments to those poor
widows. And when she passed away, they stood around her body weeping,
remembering her kindness, her generosity. And that's what the
grace of God does in the hearts of God's people. He saves us
by His grace. We are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto... what? unto good works. Good works don't recommend us. Good works don't secure our salvation. But good works certainly are
the evidence of being a child of God. Faith without works is
dead. It's not real. Old Martin Luther
says, faith that saves is not alone. My pastor used to always tell
us that faith and conduct cannot be separated. God's people are
zealous of good works. Let's see if we can find that
in Scripture. Turn over here to Titus, the book of Titus. Right before the Hebrews, Hebrews,
Thylem, and then Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. God's people
are zealous like this dear woman Tabitha. She was a believer resting
in Christ, but she also had this grace of God not only saved her,
this grace of God made her gracious. And that's what the grace of
God does. It makes us gracious and loving and kind and forgiving
of others. Titus, the book of Titus, chapter
2, verse 11, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared unto all, all sorts of men, Teaching us that denying
ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly and righteously
and godly in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope
and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of what? Zealous of good works, good deeds. This lady was a believer. She
was a diligent laborer. But notice back at the story.
She was a believer, full of good works, generous heart, loving
heart, kind heart by the grace of God. And it came to pass in
those days that she was sick and she died. Believers are not
exempt from trial and sickness. This lady died in faith. Died in faith. She died believing
the gospel. Now, when she died, they heard,
her friend heard that Peter was in a neighboring city, and so
they called for the preacher. And oftentimes, there's nothing
wrong with that when you're distressed and when you have trials, when
you have heartaches, to call for your friends to encourage
you and to help you and point you to Christ. And Peter did
just as was requested of him. They desired him to come. And
he came immediately, it says, without delay. Verse 39, Peter
rose and went with them. He was concerned for them. They
were grieving. And he wanted to encourage them.
And they brought him to the upper chamber where the body of Tabitha
had been laid. And all the widows stood around
weeping and showing these garments that she had made for them. Verse
40, And Peter put them all forth. He put them all out of the room. And he kneeled down. And he prayed. Now Peter, as we read in Luke
chapter 8, Peter had experienced the same thing when the Lord
raised the son or the daughter of Jairus. Remember? He put them
all out of the room. And Peter kneeled down, verse
40, and prayed, turning to the body, and said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and
when she saw Peter, She sat up. A miracle of God's saving grace. He put all out of the room. He
prayed, seeking the Lord's will in this matter. And that's what
prayer is all about. Seeking God's will in this matter.
And it was the Lord's will that she be raised from the dead. For the furtherance of the gospel.
And God raised her from the dead. God sent her spirit and soul
back into her body, and it says in verse 41, Peter gave her his hand, lifted
her up, and when he had called the saints and the widows, presented
her. Presented her living and alive. All this was brought to pass
by the decree of God for his glory, for the furtherance of
the gospel. Remember, turn back to John chapter
11. John chapter 11, when Lazarus
had died. John chapter 11. That story of
Tabitha dying and being raised was for the furtherance of the
gospel. We'll see in just a minute. But also when Lazarus died, John
chapter 11 verse 4, Verse 3, Therefore his sister,
John 11, 3, sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest
is sick. And when Jesus heard that, he
said, This sickness is not unto death, but it is for the glory
of God, that the Son of God might be glorified. And that's the
same reason that God raised Tabitha from the dead. that the gospel
might have a hearing that many would believe the preaching of
Peter and turn to the Lord. Look back at Acts chapter 9 verse
42. And it was known throughout all
Joppa and many believed in the Lord. And it came to pass that
he carried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tamer. Now stay with me here. Many believed
in the Lord that day. There were many others in Joppa,
as Peter preached the gospel to them, it says, many days,
who were also raised from the dead. That's right. Tabitha was raised physically,
but as Peter preached the gospel these many days in this city,
many believed the gospel, many were raised from the dead spiritually
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to find the
book of Ephesians, and this is exactly what it takes to believe
the gospel. It takes life. Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." Ephesians chapter 1. What did it take to raise the
dead body of Tabitha that day? Now you can imagine walking up
to a body, dead cold, and that body, the next moment, life. Miracle
of God's power. You would have to say that's
a miracle of God's almighty power. No doubt in your mind. But what
does it take to raise a dead sinner spiritually and make him
alive in Christ? The same power. It's the same
power. Ephesians chapter 1. We believe
according to the working of His mighty power. Notice this. Ephesians 1 verse 16. We cease
not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what
the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and
what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe."
Now, how do we believe? A spiritually dead sinner cannot
see, cannot believe, cannot understand till God gives him life. We believe according to the working
of His mighty power. Now read on. What kind of power
is he talking about? Read on. Which He wrought in
Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Now we're talking about
this power that raises up the dead. This is the power of God
in the gospel when He raised Christ from the dead and set
Him at His own right hand in heavenly places far above all
principality and power and might and dominion. And every name
that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world
to come, and put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head
over the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that
filleth all in all. One more scripture. Turn to John
17. Back to John 17. Two pictures of how God saves
sinners there. In the healing of Aeneas, Jesus
Christ maketh thee whole. In the raising up of a dead body,
the raising to life, Tabitha. And God does that by His power,
by His grace. John 17. John 17, verse 2. As thou hast given Him power.
Aren't you glad our Lord has all power? If He does not have
all power, He can't give this dead sinner life. But because
He has all power in heaven and earth, He sends His gospel with
power and He quickens those who were dead in sin. As Thou hast
given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal,
that they might know Thee, the only true God, Jesus Christ,
whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the
earth. I have finished the work that
You gave me to do. And now, O Father, Glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was." Before the world was. Hebrews 7 says
this, He's able to save to the uttermost all that come to God
by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for us. Thank God. that the Lord Jesus
Christ makes us whole. He heals us, makes us new creatures
in Christ. Thank God He has all power to
raise us up and make us like His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's the power that He talks
about. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God and the
salvation to everyone that believes the gospel.