Now let's turn to Acts chapter 9.
When Alexander the Great conquered the world, he
left pockets of Greek culture throughout the world.
And so, these pockets of Greek culture became
very influential.
And even though the Roman Empire conquered the
Grecian Empire, yet the Grecian culture remained as
a dominant characteristic throughout the world.
So, the world was under the Roman Empire,
but it was dominated by Grecian culture.
Now, the Grecian culture was more towards the
arts.
And in contrast, the Hebrew culture was very
legalistic.
The Pharisees were representatives of the Hebrew culture.
Very strict.
Very legalistic.
And they tended towards the legal side.
Whereas, the Grecian was more cultural, more interested
in the various forms of art and all.
And thus, there was a real conflict in
these cultures.
Now, during this time, Israel was divided.
The Jews were divided into the Hellenist and
into the Hebrews.
All Jews, but the Sadducees were of the
Hellenist culture.
They were the materialists.
Whereas, the Pharisees were followers of the Hebrew
culture.
Thus, for a man to effectively reach the
Jewish people, he had to have an understanding
of the Grecian culture but he also needed
a keen understanding of the Hebrew culture.
So, God chose Paul as that instrument.
Paul was born in the city of Tarsus,
which was one of the centers of the
Grecian culture.
And up until the age of 14, though
he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, that
is, his parents were of the Hebrew culture,
very strong Pharisees, Paul's earliest acquaintances, friends, playmates,
were all of the Hellenist culture.
So, he became acquainted with the Hellenist culture.
But his parents, in order to shield him
from the Hellenist culture, when he was 14,
rather than send him to university there in
Asia Minor, chose rather to send him to
the Hebrew university in Jerusalem where he might
sit at the feet of Gamaliel, one of
the greatest teachers of that day and a
Pharisee.
And so, Paul became deeply imbued with the
Pharisaic culture, but yet he never did get
totally free of that Grecian cultural background that
he had as a child.
Perfect instrument that God needed to go out
into that world and to reach those of
the Hellenist culture with the straight truth of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And so, beginning in chapter 9, we have
God's apprehension of Paul.
And Saul, still breathing out threatenings and murders
against the disciples of the Lord, went to
the high priest and desired of him letters
that he might go to Damascus, the synagogues
there, and if he found any that were
of this way, an interesting description of the
Christians, whether they were men or women, that
he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus,
and suddenly there shined round about him a
light from heaven.
And he fell to the earth and heard
a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom
thou persecutest.
It is hard for thee to kick against
the goats.
Paul's apprehension.
He said, I have not yet apprehended that
for which I was apprehended.
Here is Paul's apprehension by God in a
very dramatic way.
Here is a man that God turns around
180 degrees.
Yet there are indications in the text that
God's Spirit was already dealing with this man.
As the Lord said unto him, it is
hard for thee to kick against the goats.
Now the goats were those instruments that they
put on the back of the plow or
on the front of the plow, so that
if the ox began to kick, it would
kick the goats and it would determine that
kicking wasn't so wise.
And of course, it would help protect the
fellow guiding the plow.
Hard for you to kick against the goats.
I believe that the death of Stephen had
a very remarkable effect upon Paul.
I think that as he watched Stephen die
and Paul said, I consented unto his death,
which means that Paul was a member of
the Sanhedrin and he voted for the death
of Stephen as a member of the Sanhedrin,
which brings up some interesting sidelights.
He had to be married to be a
member of the Sanhedrin.
And whatever happened to his wife, the Scripture
is silent.
There are stories that abound from the early
church that she left him when he embraced
Christianity and that they had two sons.
One went with Paul.
One went with her.
But that's all tradition.
We don't know.
But I believe that watching Stephen die, by
hearing the message of Stephen, for Paul was
there, heard his message, saw the face, saw
the anointing of God's Spirit, and yet, he
was determined as a Pharisee to stamp out
this new sect that was arising within Judaism.
And so, he went to the high priest.
Later on, writing of his testimony to the
Philippian church, he said concerning Zeal persecuting the
church.
And he came to Damascus when suddenly God
apprehended him there on the road.
Who art thou, Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom
you persecuted.
It is hard for thee to kick against
the goats.
Now, here's an interesting thing.
Paul was actually persecuting the church, wasn't he?
But notice how Jesus so completely identifies himself
with the church.
Any persecution that you may receive is directed
against him.
He is totally identified with his church.
He didn't say, you know, why do you
persecute my church?
Jesus said, why are you persecuting me?
Or it is, I am the one that
you are persecuting.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what
will you have me to do?
Instant conversion.
180 degrees.
And the Lord said unto him, Arise and
go into the city and it will be
told you what you must do.
Now, the command of the Lord to Paul
was very simple, wasn't it?
Remember last week we told you how God
gives us one step at a time?
So, rather than spelling out to Paul at
this time the whole future, he just said,
just get up and go on into the
city.
And it will be told you what you
are to do.
And so the men which journeyed with him
stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no
man.
Now, there are those who imagine a contradiction
in the Scripture here, because as Paul is
recounting this story in this 22nd chapter of
Acts, he declares that those that were with
him did not hear the voice.
But he uses a different Greek word there.
They did not hear the articulation of the
words.
They heard sounds, but they didn't understand the
sounds.
Though the Lord was speaking to Saul, they
heard a voice speaking, but they could not
understand the words.
And that's what Paul is referring to in
the 22nd chapter.
They did not hear the phonetics.
And so, no contradiction.
They stood speechless because they heard a voice,
but they didn't see anybody.
And Saul arose from the earth, and when
his eyes were opened, he saw no man.
So he was blinded momentarily by this experience.
And so they led him by the hand
and brought him into Damascus.
Now, his entry into Damascus was surely far
different than when Paul was imagining his entry
to be into Damascus.
He was going to come in, charging in
with the papers from the high priest and
start throwing people in prison who called upon
the name of the Lord.
But rather than coming in in this manner,
he is being led in, blinded, and being
led by his friends into the city.
And for three days, he was without sight,
and neither did he eat nor drink.
I believe that in these three days, there
must have been an awful lot going on
in Paul's mind.
God sort of cut him off from other
distractions, sensory distractions, that he might really help
him into trying to filter out exactly what
was going on.
And so he was without sight.
He did not eat or drink for three
days as he was just sifting through these
happenings that were taking place in his life.
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus.
Notice, not an apostle, just a disciple.
And his name was Ananias.
And the Lord said to him in a
vision, Ananias.
And he said, I'm here, Lord.
And the Lord said unto him, Arise and
go into the street which is called Straight,
which is the main street through Damascus, and
inquire in the house of Judas, for one
who is called Saul of Tarsus, for behold,
he is praying.
And he has seen in a vision a
man named Ananias coming in and putting his
hand on him that he might receive his
sight.
Then Ananias answered and said, Lord, I've heard
by many of this man how much evil
he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem.
And here he has the authority from the
chief priests to bind all of those that
are calling on Your name.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy
way, for he is a chosen vessel unto
Me to bear My name before the Gentiles
and kings and the children of Israel.
So, God needed a man with the background
of Paul.
A man who could address the Hebrews.
A man who could address the Grecian culture.
A man who could address kings.
And so he is a chosen vessel of
God.
So, Paul, later on, recognized that God's hand
was upon his life from his mother's womb.
That even in the early experiences, God's hand
was upon him, training him, developing him for
that work that God ultimately had in mind
for him to accomplish.
And so, with every servant of God, we
can look back in our lives and watch
the processes by which God was developing us
for the work that God had in mind
for us to accomplish for Him.
Paul, writing to the Ephesians, said, For you
are His workmanship created together in Christ Jesus
unto the good works that God has before
ordained that you should walk in them.
God knows what He has in mind for
your life.
God knows that ministry or that work that
He has in mind for you to fulfill
for the kingdom's sake.
Now, God, in the meantime, is working in
your life as He is preparing you for
that work.
And one day you'll discover that all of
this background that I have is all a
part of God's plan as He was preparing
that instrument to do His work.
And it's exciting then to realize that even
at times when I wasn't aware of God,
wasn't conscious of God, yet God was there
working in my life, preparing my life for
the work that God had in mind for
me to accomplish.
A chosen vessel.
And He is to bear my name before
the Gentiles and the kings and the children
of Israel.
And here to me is an interesting statement.
For the Lord said, for I will show
him how great things he must suffer for
My name's sake.
I wonder if I had been in his
shoes and the Lord would call me to
the ministry and show me in advance all
of the things that I would have to
suffer if I would have continued or would
have bowed out and said, Lord, why don't
you send someone else?
Why don't you call someone else?
I admire Paul.
The Lord showed him all of the things
he was going to suffer, and yet Paul
was ready.
In yielding his life when he said, Who
art Thou, Lord, that I may serve Thee?
What will You have me to do, Lord?
There wasn't any changing from that.
He made a contract with the Lord.
A binding contract.
One that he wasn't going to go back
on.
Because he realized that God's hand was upon
his life to develop him to this point.
And no matter what, Lord, I'm going to
go through.
So, Ananias went his way.
When God first said go talk to Saul,
he was sure that God had made a
terrible mistake.
Lord, I've heard about this fellow.
You can't be serious.
So, Ananias went his way and entered into
the house and putting his hands on him
said, Brother Saul...
I like that.
He immediately acknowledges him as a brother.
Receives him immediately into that fellowship of the
brotherhood in Christ.
Brother Saul.
The Lord, even Jesus.
Now, you remember, he said, Who art thou,
Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus, whom you
persecute.
And so, here Ananias is saying, The Lord,
even Jesus, who appeared unto you in the
way as you were coming, has sent me
that you might receive your sight and be
filled with the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Ananias is not an apostle.
He's only a disciple.
There in the church in Damascus of which
we hear nothing more about him after this
time.
Just an ordinary disciple, and yet God is
using him as the instrument to lay his
hands upon Paul that he might be healed,
receive his sight, and that he might receive
the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
And so, immediately there fell from his eyes
as it had been scales, and he received
his sight immediately and he arose and was
baptized.
And when he had received meat, he was
strengthened.
And then was Saul certain days with the
disciples that were at Damascus.
And immediately he preached Christ in the synagogues
that he is the Son of God.
Now, Paul had enough background in the Scriptures
that as soon as he realized that Jesus
was Lord, he was able to take his
understanding of the Scriptures and realize that God
had promised to send His Son.
He realized, according to the prophecy of Isaiah,
that a virgin shall conceive and bear a
son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, which
being interpreted is God with us.
For unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon His shoulder, and His name
will be called the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father.
And all of these Scriptures began to click
in Paul's mind.
And he was able to see now that
Jesus was the Son of God.
And so he began to go in the
synagogues and began to preach unto the Jews
that Jesus was the Son of God.
And all that heard Him were amazed and
they said, is not this the One that
destroyed those which called on this name in
Jerusalem?
And did He not come here for that
same intent that He might bring them bound
to the chief priests?
And they were amazed at Paul's preaching.
Now, between verse 21 and verse 22, there
is a gap of time.
It isn't indicated in our text.
But at this point, according to the Galatian
Epistle, Paul left Damascus not conferring with flesh,
but to really just wait upon God and
to really get His full instructions, he went
down to the wilderness area of the Sinai
and there for two to three years, he
was just waiting upon the Lord, being instructed
by the Lord concerning the way of truth
in Jesus Christ.
So Paul, writing to the Galatians, said that
after his conversion, immediately, I did not confer
with any man, but I went to Arabia
and there was taught directly by Jesus the
Gospel, the doctrine that He proclaimed.
And then later he said, I returned to
Damascus and then to Jerusalem where I stayed
with Peter for 15 days, but not to
be instructed by Him, but just to share
the things that had happened.
So, the three years in Arabia down near
the Sinai are not spoken of in the
Acts, but just passed over.
And if you want to put them in
the text, it's between verse 21 and 22
is Paul's journey to the desert for three
years.
Now, in verse 22, Saul by this time
increased all the more in strength.
That three years was a time of strengthening
in his life as he was just waiting
upon the Lord.
I get a little concerned about those who
come up and say, Chuck, I want to
go into the ministry.
And I say, well, that's fine.
How long have you been a Christian?
Oh, two months now.
You know, and they're looking for a pulpit
and somewhere to begin their pastoring.
Paul had a very rich background in the
Scriptures.
Yet he did not enter immediately in the
ministry, but took time to prepare himself as
he was there in Arabia for three years
being taught of the Lord.
God uses instruments that He has prepared.
But preparation is a necessary part to any
effective ministry.
I believe there is a great mistake that
takes place in the church by laying hands
on people too suddenly.
I think that a tragedy has existed for
years within the church.
Whenever some Hollywood celebrity makes a profession of
faith, immediately they are bombarded by every church
and every conference to come and to be
a conference speaker.
And they're going around constantly giving their testimony
week after week after week, here and there,
giving their testimony to excited crowds around the
United States.
Well, unfortunately, they're spending so much time traveling
around the country to give their testimony to
the crowds, the only thing they ever hear
is their own testimony.
And thus, they are never rooted and grounded
in the Word.
They never get a foundation.
And so many of these great celebrities who
have gone around with their sparkling testimonies, after
a period of time, you say, well, what
happened to...
Oh well, he's back into the old life,
you know.
Well, it didn't last or it didn't take
or something.
It's because the church has made a tragic
mistake of assuming that because a person is
a brilliant person in one field, that he
can immediately be a great theologian or a
teacher of the Word.
And that is a wrong assumption to make.
There have been some very brilliant scientists who
have accepted the Lord.
And of course, immediately, everyone wants to come
and testify of their conversion experience.
Well, you might be a genius in biology,
but that doesn't mean that you know anything
about the Word of God.
And so, Paul needed to get a foundation
established and thus he went to Arabia.
And that is just a wise move for
anybody.
Don't be in a hurry.
Make sure that you've dug deep and laid
a foundation.
Jesus talked about the two men building their
houses.
The wise man dug deep and laid the
foundation on the rock.
The foolish man just began to build immediately
on the sand.
And unfortunately, that's what a lot of people
do.
They want to get things going.
Let's get the building up.
Let's start the framing, you know.
And they haven't taken time to lay a
solid foundation.
And when the storm comes, the house is
destroyed.
So, take time.
Lay a foundation.
If God is calling you, God is not
in a hurry.
We are the ones that are in a
hurry.
And God wants to prepare those instruments that
he will use for his work.
And so, while he was there in the
wilderness, he increased the more in strength.
As he came back to Damascus, after this
three years, he was now a real dynamo
for God and he confounded the Jews which
dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the
very Messiah.
Again, he had his rich background in their
Scriptures and he could take their Scriptures and
by them prove that Jesus is the Messiah.
And that's not a difficult task.
It's very simple to take the Old Testament
Scriptures and to prove that Jesus is the
Messiah.
But there are none so blind as those
who will not see.
And after that, many days were fulfilled.
The Jews took counsel to kill him.
You see, though he proved that Jesus was
the Messiah, it only angered them.
And so they began to lay in wait
for him, but it was told to Saul
that they were ready to ambush him, going
to kill him.
And they were watching the gates of the
city of Damascus day and night ready to
kill him.
And so the disciples took him by night
and they led him down by the wall
in a basket.
And so he didn't have a very triumphant
exodus out of Damascus, a rather ignominious way
to leave over the wall in a basket,
escaping from those Jews that were plotting his
death.
And so it was at this point he
came to Jerusalem and first met the apostles.
So when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he
attempted to join with the disciples, but they
were all afraid of him.
And they believed not that he was a
disciple.
And this is a tragic thing.
How that he was rejected by the church
when he first returned to Jerusalem.
But Barnabas.
Now, you remember this man Barnabas who it
said he had a different name, but they
called him Barnabas, which means son of consolation.
And here you see why he got his
name.
Barnabas is a fellow to bring men together.
And Barnabas took him and he brought him
to the apostles.
And he declared unto them how that he
had seen the Lord in the way and
that he had spoken to Him and how
he had preached boldly at Damascus in the
name of Jesus.
And so he was with them coming in
and going out at Jerusalem.
And he spoke boldly in the name of
the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists.
But they went about to kill him.
Paul's ministry seemed to have that effect upon
people.
Everywhere he preached, it ended in either a
revival or a riot.
And people were moved by what he said
one way or the other.
Some adversely and some in a favorable way.
But Paul had a way of stirring people.
Now when the brethren knew that they were
planning to kill Paul in Jerusalem, what a
way to start your ministry.
The first two places you have to leave
town on the quiet because there are those
who are plotting against your life.
So when the brethren knew the plot, they
brought him down to Caesarea and sent him
forth to Tarsus or go back home, Paul.
And so they sent him back to Tarsus.
And then had the churches rest throughout all
of Judea and Galilee and Samaria.
I don't know that that rest was too
healthy.
Then had the churches rest.
They got rid of Paul.
Well, it meant that their witness wasn't as
bold as it was.
They began to live more peaceably with those.
And I don't know that is a sign
of a healthy church or not.
Now, Paul stayed at Tarsus for up to
10 years.
Just how long, we are not certain.
But most scholars believe that his going back
to Tarsus, he remained in obscurity for 10
years more.
No doubt, they were times in which God
was continually pouring into Paul the knowledge of
the grace and the goodness of God.
But they were silent years as far as
Paul's ministry is concerned.
The churches had rest throughout Judea and Galilee
and Samaria and they were edified as they
walked in the fear of the Lord and
in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
They were multiplied.
Now, we leave Paul at this point.
And the record goes back now to Peter.
It came to pass as Peter passed throughout
all of the quarters, he came down also
to the saints which dwelt at Lyta.
So at this point, Peter decided to go
around and to visit the various pockets of
believers that had sprung out throughout Judea.
And over towards the coast, the area of
Lyta which is the present city of Lod,
where the Ben-Gurion airport is, is the
area where Peter went to visit the Christians
there.
And he found a certain man named Aeneas
which had been in his bed, had been
confined to the bed for eight years.
And he was sick of the palsy.
And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ
makes you whole.
Arise, make your bed.
And he arose immediately.
And all of those that dwelt at Lyta
and Sharon saw him and turned to the
Lord.
Peter spoke to him the Word of Faith.
And there is power in the spoken Word
of Faith.
It's important that we find the balance.
There are those who take this teaching and
they carry it to extremes as they would
elevate man to the position of sovereignty.
You can have anything you want.
All you have to do is to speak
it.
And they speak of the rhema, the spoken
Word, and the creative power of the spoken
Word.
And so you speak by faith whatever you
want.
I want to be a millionaire, you know.
I want to drive a Mercedes.
I want to have a home on Lytto
Island.
I want...
And they tell you to speak the words
of faith.
Visualize what you desire.
Visualize yourself driving that little Porsche.
See yourself scooting in and out of traffic.
Visualize it.
And then, you know, you're putting these creative
forces to work.
And you can have whatever you want.
Did not God say, command ye me the
works of my hands?
And they talk about speaking the Word of
Faith and the visualizing of the things that
you want.
This is metaphysics.
You'll find the same things in Napoleon Hill's
book Think and Grow Rich.
Or the 13 Richest Men in Babylon.
It's a part of metaphysics.
And it is something that is...
There is creative power in the subconscious.
And so by visualizing and by putting up
your goals and by declaring your goals over
and over, you're planning these things in the
area of the subconscious.
And the subconscious begins then to develop schemes
and devise methods whereby these things might become
a reality.
And you're using the vast power of the
subconscious.
Of course, the spiritual writers say you're using
the vast power of the spirit, the fourth
dimension, and you're putting that power to work.
But it works without the spirit.
It works for men of the world who
want to follow these principles.
And you'll find many, many men who will
testify that their tremendous success in business and
all is attributable to Napoleon Hill's concepts in
metaphysics in Think and Grow Rich.
Same principles exactly.
Now, because of that, there is a tendency
for us to have a backlash against that.
Because it is such dangerous heresy, we are
prone to back away.
And that's wrong.
But we're prone to back away from what
God is wanting to do.
And from stepping out in faith.
And from declaring a word of faith.
Now, I am certain that before Peter said
this to Aeneas, that the Lord spoke to
Peter's heart to say it.
You remember when Paul was at Lystra, he
perceived that this lame man over here had
the faith to be healed.
And he said, brother, Jesus Christ makes you
whole.
Stand up and walk.
And the man who was lame for 40
years stood up and walked, because Paul spoke
the word of faith to him.
But before Paul spoke the word of faith,
the Spirit had already revealed to Paul what
the Spirit was wanting to do.
I do not direct the works of God,
nor should I ever seek to be in
that position of directing God's works.
They are God's works.
They always begin with Him.
It is important that I recognize what God
is doing.
It is important that I recognize the work
of God.
And herein is the real key.
And so, yes, there may be times when
the Lord would have us to speak a
word of faith to someone.
And have them act upon that word of
faith.
Jesus often did that.
Be strong.
And I'd like to speak that word of
faith to you tonight.
Be delivered.
Be set free.
Live a life of victory in Jesus.
Now you can take those as words of
faith and you say, yes, Lord, I will
be strong.
Yes, Lord, I will have victory.
Yes, Lord, I will stop it.
And they can be a word of faith
that you will act upon and you will
find victory.
You'll find strength.
You'll find God working in a dynamic way
within your life.
The work of God will be done.
And the word of faith is important.
It's wrong though to carry it to the
extremes that these men carry it to today.
So that's the balance.
And so often, because we are striking for
the balance, when we speak out against some
of the fanaticism that oftentimes accompanies these things,
people will then say, oh, well, Chuck said
that's wrong and we shouldn't do that.
But yet there is the balance there.
And it is important that we maintain the
balance.
Yes, God does work today.
Yes, God will work today.
Yes, there is power through faith.
Yes, we can see the work of God
accomplished in the lives of people.
And yes, we can speak the word of
faith to them.
And it's important that we do.
But it's also important that we don't become
extremists and just go around and try to
run the universe like suddenly I've found a
new dimension of power and now I'm in
control and now this is the way I
want things done.
God, over there.
Quick.
And I take away from that sovereignty and
that sovereign work of God by I am
in command now and I am going to
demand what's going on.
It's so easy to get on power trips.
And you've got to be careful about that
because there is something within us that likes
power.
And I like to feel that sense of
power and all.
And it's so easy to get exalted on
a power trip.
I was reading where the god Thor, that
Norse god, when he first discovered his power,
was so excited, he just jumped on his
horse and he began to ride across the
skies on his horse, pointing down at the
earth because as he pointed, he could cause
the lightning to come off the end of
his finger and flash across the earth.
And he had discovered this great power he
had of casting these thunderbolts and these flashes
of lightning.
And so he was just riding all over
the earth, throwing down the thunderbolts, causing the
flashes of lightning.
And he spent the whole day riding his
horse through the skies, throwing the thunderbolts all
over the world.
And as he got back to the north
country with this sense of power, he cried,
I'm Thor!
And his horse turned around and said, well,
why didn't you use a faddle, filly?
So be careful of the power trips.
Peter did speak the Word of Faith and
we can speak the Word of Faith and
we can see the power of speaking the
Word of Faith.
There is a legitimate concept here that we
can use.
We just shouldn't take it to extremes.
So, as a result of the healing of
Aeneas, people all over the area, the Sharon
Valley there, in seeing this man who had
been infirm for eight years healed, they believed
and turned to the Lord.
Now, in Joppa, about eight miles away from
Lydda, there was a certain disciple named Tabetha,
which by interpretation is called Dorcas.
The name means a gazelle.
Graceful, beautiful.
This woman was full of good works and
alms deeds, which she did.
And it came to pass in those days
that she was sick and she died.
Whom when they had washed, they laid her
in an upper chamber.
And inasmuch as Lydda was near to Joppa,
only eight miles, 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.
And then Peter arose and went with them.
And when he was come, they brought him
into the upper chamber and all of the
widows stood by him weeping and showing the
coats and the garments which Dorcas made while
she was with them.
And so here she was making things for
the poor, a very marvelous, beautiful woman.
But Peter put them all forth.
Now he probably took a page out of
the life of Jesus.
For he was there when Jairus had come
to Jesus concerning his daughter.
And as Jesus was on his way to
Jairus' house, the servants came and said, don't
trouble the Master any further.
Your daughter is dead.
And so, Jesus said to him, don't be
afraid.
Don't panic.
She's only sleeping.
And so when they came to the house,
all of the mourners were already gathered.
And they were wailing and mourning over the
death of this little 12-year-old girl,
the daughter of Jairus.
And Jesus said, she's not dead, she's only
asleep.
And they laughed him to scorn.
They mocked him.
And so he put them all forth.
He said, get up.
And he brought in Peter and John, the
inner circle.
And then he said unto her, Talitha, little
girl, arise.
And she sat up and looked around.
And Jesus took her by the hand and
led her out to the parents and said,
might give her something to eat.
But Peter had seen the Lord put away
those of unbelief and doubt.
And so Peter, because these people were all
just, though they were perhaps Christians, they were
yet just all into the mourning over her
death.
Look at the beautiful thing she made.
Oh, she was such a wonderful person.
Peter just put them forth.
Probably also what he was going to do
was so bizarre that he, in case nothing
happened, he didn't want to be embarrassed.
I would have done that.
So Peter put them all forth and he
kneeled down and he prayed.
And turning to the body, he said, Tabetha
Kumi.
Now, he called her by her name, Tabetha.
And notice how close it is to what
Jesus called the little girl Talitha, little girl
Tabetha, Gazeal, Kumi, arise.
Now, he's talking to a dead person, a
corpse that is there.
And that is rather bizarre, talking to a
corpse.
But he knelt down and prayed and then
he turned and said, Tabetha, arise.
And she opened her eyes and when she
saw Peter, she sat up.
And he gave her his hand and he
lifted her up and when he had called
the saints and the widows, he presented her
alive.
And it was known throughout all of Joppa
and many believed in the Lord.
And it came to pass that he tarried
there for many days in Joppa with one
Simon, a tanner.
Now, we are reminded of the words in
Jesus in the 14th chapter of the Gospel
of John when he said to his disciples,
He that believeth on me, the works that
I do shall he do also.
And even greater works than these shall he
do because I go unto the Father.
And if you shall ask the Father anything
in my name, I will do it that
the Father will be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything in my name, I
will do it.
So here's Peter doing the same kind of
works that Jesus did.
And here is a notable, remarkable miracle of
the raising from the dead of this blessed
saint there in the church in Joppa, Dorcas,
who God brought back from death.
So, we see the power still existing there
in the early church.
And that is, of course, one of the
marks of the early church.
That dynamic power of the Holy Spirit working
in and through the church.
Should we assume that God no longer works
in such dynamic ways?
I think that it is wrong to make
that assumption.
I think that Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.
I do not believe that we should fault
God for the lack of power in the
church.
I think that we should fault the church.
Fault ourselves.
I believe that this power is still available
today.
I believe in the power of God to
change lives, to transform lives, to turn people
around 180 degrees.
I believe in the power of God to
raise people out of beds of infirmity, to
deliver people from the bondage of things
that are destroying them, setting people free.
I believe in the power of God to
raise the dead.
I do not believe that there is any
lack with God or with God's ability or
even with God's desire to manifest Himself.
I do feel that the lack is on
our side.
And I think that as much as anything
else, it is the lack of being able
to handle all of the notoriety and attention
that would be drawn to the person who
had this kind of power.
I am certain that I could not personally
deal with that kind of power and notoriety
that would arise from it.
I do not trust myself.
I'm afraid that I would be lifted up
with pride.
I'm afraid that I would go out advertising
great miracle campaigns and would, you know, just
not be able to really handle all that
would result from having that kind of a
ministry.
Now, there were years when I fasted and
prayed for this kind of power.
And I desired to experience this kind of
power.
And the Lord finally spoke to my heart
and said, I have given you the more
excellent way, the path of love.
And I ceased praying for the power for
miracles.
Now, I have seen miracles.
And who can doubt but what the power
of God in changing a person's life, turning
him around, is not really the most desirable
and greatest miracle that we can see.
It would be much better that a person's
life be transformed by the power of the
Spirit of God from the bondage of sin
into a new life in Christ.
That is a more important miracle than, say,
raising the dead.
If that person, when he was raised from
the dead, would live a wicked life and
die in sin.
Or if through that miracle, you know, you'd
be lifted up with so much pride that
you would become useless to God.
So, God's hand is not short.
But we just see today more sham than
reality in the miracle services.
And those who are professing to have the
power are men that I wouldn't trust many
times behind my back.
I know them.
Now, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't seek
or desire it still.
I don't desire it for myself anymore because
God spoke to me about it.
But that doesn't mean that maybe God has
so worked in your life that He could
use you in this way.
And if so, I would praise God for
it.
And I would rejoice in the work that
God would do through your life.
I don't want to be in the position
of limiting God.
And I don't think that that should ever
be our position.
God is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think.
Now, I'm not going to try and get
into chapter 10 because there's so much here
that we want to cover.
It's quite a long chapter.
And it is an important chapter as it
deals with the beginning of the gospel among
the Gentiles.
And so, we'll begin this a week from
Sunday night.
Chapters 10 and 11.
Shall we pray?
Father, we thank You tonight for the power
of Your Holy Spirit.
And Lord, we pray for true demonstrations of
that power.
Touch lives.
Anoint lives.
And use them, Father, to display Your glory
through the world.
Lord, we offer ourselves to You such as
we are tonight.
As Paul, we would ask, what would You
have us to do, Lord?
And we make ourselves available unto You for
whatever You might have in mind.
Whatever purpose You would have us to fulfill.
Lord, You've apprehended us.
And when You did, You had in mind
a purpose for apprehending us.
Help us, Lord, that we might seek to
accomplish and to apprehend that for which we
were apprehended.
So, guide us.
Use us.
And through us, Lord, bring glory to Thy
name.
And we thank You.
Amen.