Dear congregation, we spent several years together following the work of the Holy Spirit during the work of Christ's ministry in the Gospel according to Mark. You will recall that we noticed many times that Mark's account was based mainly on Peter's reports of what happened in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since we have been following Peter through the Book of Acts, we have also been witnessing together the ongoing and continuing work of the Spirit in Peter and through Peter. That Peter who once was often in trouble because of his mouth, that Peter who many times was speaking without thinking, That Peter, to whom the Lord Jesus had to say, Get thee behind me, Satan, you are not thinking my thoughts, but man's thoughts. That Peter, who with his words denied his master. That same Peter has now become, in the early chapters of Acts, Christ's great messenger. He has become the great preacher. The Holy Spirit has loosed Peter's tongue. He stands before huge crowds. He stands before the religious leaders of the day. He is unashamed of the gospel of Christ, and that's because Peter knows that that gospel is the power of God unto salvation. He is unashamedly calling sinners to faith and repentance. He is unafraid of the Sanhedrin, even with its powers to silence him. He tells them You have killed the Holy One of Israel. You have crucified the very Son of God. And when they tell Him and the other disciples, you are not allowed to teach anymore in the name of Jesus, then Peter boldly stands before them and says, well, whether to obey God or man, you tell us. But we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard. Not only Has Peter's tongue been loosed, but his hands have been loosed too? Working miracles, mainly healings, and the purpose there is to prove the truth of what the disciples are saying in that early church, that mission setting as the gospel begins to spread outward from Jerusalem. And those miracles are recorded in Holy Scripture so that we too may read it. And we too may see, yes, the Lord proves the message of his word even in this way. And the Spirit is blessing the preaching of the gospel in Jerusalem and beyond. The numbers in the early churches we have seen have grown from about 120 to 3,000. on the day of Pentecost. To 5,000 men, not counting women and children in Acts 4 verse 4. And now they're not even counting anymore, they're saying multitudes of believers. Acts 4 verse 32. The word has spread, the work is spreading beyond Jerusalem, beyond Judea, beyond Samaria, to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. There's where we saw Peter last time. going on a tour of the churches. He also came to Lydda, and there he found a man called Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for eight years. Peter says to Aeneas, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole. Stand up and make your bed. And Aeneas did it. And then we saw together that the Holy Spirit worked a marvelous result in that area. Acts 9.35, all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him and turned to the Lord. A marvelous result of hearing the word of God and seeing that the miracle performed, they turned to the Lord. Peter's work in that area is not quite finished. as we will see today in the closing section of chapter 9. That, by the way, is also the closing section of that early church work in Israel. Peter's work from this point on, and the disciples' work, the apostles' work, is going to broaden. It's going to spread beyond the borders to the Gentiles. But first, there's one more miracle. close to home. We will consider that today. From Acts 9 verse 36 to 43. Let me read just a few verses so we get the drift of the passage. Now, there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas, and this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. It came to pass in those days that she was sick and died. Then if you go down to verse 40, Peter kneeled down and prayed and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And verse 42, it was known throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord. The text is 36 to 43 and we consider this afternoon the miracle at Joppa. First we meet a disciple named Tabitha. Then we see a display of God's power and we witness together a definite response. The miracle at Joppa, a disciple named Tabitha, a display of God's power and a definite response. About 70 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea is a city called Joppa. Today it's called Jaffa, a harbor town. And children, we know Joppa from the Old Testament. That's where Jonah went and boarded the ship to go away from the Lord. Instead of going to Nineveh, he got on board a ship there to go to Tarshish. That's where today's story takes place. The gospel had come to this little town called Joppa. How had it got there? Who preached the gospel in Joppa? Read in Acts 8 verse 40. Philip was found at Azotus and passing through he preached in all the cities until he came to Caesarea. Azotus was also a town on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all the cities between Azotus and Caesarea included Lydda and Joppa. So it was Philip who had come and he had preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in the little town of Joppa. And people had come to faith. Men and women and boys and girls had believed the gospel. And a church was established. And among the believers in that church at Joppa there was a woman. She's introduced to us here as a certain disciple named Tabitha. That's a Hebrew or Aramaic name that means gazelle. And it is interpreted in Greek as Dorcas, which also means gazelle. A beautiful, graceful being. That's what her name means. Beautiful and graceful. There was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha. The word here, used for disciple, appears nowhere else in the New Testament except here. And it means a female disciple. The Holy Spirit inspired Luke to use that particular word here, a certain female disciple of the Lord Jesus, to draw attention to the fact that the Lord Jesus has many disciples, male and female. The Lord Jesus has as many disciples who follow him who are females as he has males following him. A female disciple. And that means here that there was a certain female disciple. There were more of them there. But this one was named Tabitha. A disciple. A follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. A student of Jesus Christ. A disciple of Jesus is a person who studies Jesus. Who is taught by Jesus. Who follows Jesus. Today, if you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a student of Christ. You study Jesus. In Jesus' days, when a rabbi had disciples, then those disciples, their goal would be to become like their rabbi. They wanted to speak like their rabbi. They wanted to behave like he did. They wanted to think like he did. That's what a disciple of the Lord Jesus wants, is it not? We want to become like Christ. To study Him. To follow Him. To do like He did. Well, this Tabitha, she knew the Lord Jesus Christ. She believed on Him. She trusted in Him. She believed that the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect obedience through His whole life had saved her too. Tabitha, like every other disciple of Jesus, was saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ. She studied Jesus. She knew Jesus. She had heard He is a man full of good works, which He did. what scripture says of him. And flowing out of her faith in Christ, flowing out of Christ himself, she followed Jesus and this woman, it says, was full of good works and alms deeds, which she did. She lived her Christianity in all that she said and did. She was known for her tireless work among the poor. She kept on doing deeds of kindness and compassion. Wherever she had opportunity, she cared for the poor. She was full of good works, a variety of good works, specifically alms deeds. She gave generously to the needy. That was her habit. She was known for this. She was busy in performing mercy deeds. We need to stop a moment. And notice that there is a connection. There's a connection between being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and these good works. I read one definition this week and I thought I should write this down so I remember. Good works grow from faith. They are the very word of God in its deed and fulfillment, which has been implanted in us by faith. There are a lot of people who are generous. There are a lot of people who look after widows. There are a lot of people who do alms deeds. But if it is not flowing out of faith in Christ Jesus, those good works are not to the glory and honor of God. Good works means that this person has been made spiritually alive by the Holy Spirit, quickening her new nature. She has sincere joy of heart in God through Christ, and her desire is to live according to the will of God in all good works. That's what a disciple of the Lord Jesus does. That's what a disciple of the Lord Jesus is. The Spirit here describes this dear female disciple, a woman full of good works, and alms deeds which she kept on doing. But there came an end to her good works. She was a servant to the end, but the end came for Tabitha. And we need to stop there a moment too and ask once, when will the end come for you? Or for me? When it will be said of us, he or she died. And then what will be said of us? Will it be said of us like it is said here of Tabitha? She was a disciple of Jesus. Or he studied Jesus. He followed Jesus. He was a man or a woman full of good works and alms deeds, which he kept on doing. It's what it says here in Scripture of this woman, and it's written there for a purpose, that we may look at our lives as Christian people, those of us who are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's more than just thinking about him, more than just having our minds set on the things above, but it includes living here. full of good works which she kept on doing, it came to pass in those days that she was sick and died. In those days. And that is put there so we will take notice. Taking notice of God's providential leadings here. In those days, while Peter was still at Lydda, Tabitha was very sick. So sick, children, that she died. And her good works were done. Her alms deeds that she had done, she had now done her last. And it says, whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. The Jewish people washed the bodies of their deceased Some say that was to express their belief in the resurrection of the dead. So her friends had washed her body, they laid her in an upper chamber that would be the coolest part of the home, the last place where they would put her before burial. And we've seen before that in those days and in those countries, burial was the same day or early the next morning. It came to pass in those days that she was sick and died. And we would think that's the last we hear of Tabitha. We're going to see a display of God's power. 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." Notice the providential facts here. Lydda is close to Joppa. The disciples know Peter is there. They have heard. They have heard that he healed Aeneas. The man who was paralyzed for eight years, they could walk there in about two and a half, three hours. If they walked fast, they could make it in two and a half. And these disciples, these followers of the Lord Jesus in Joppa, sent for Peter. They're acting in faith. They sent two of their men to get Peter. And we know from what follows that they persuade Peter to come with them. We don't know what they said to him. We don't know if they ask him, Peter, could you please come and do the funeral sermon? Or, could you please come and comfort all the widows in Joppa? Or, Peter, come and raise her from the dead? We don't know that. We do know that there's an urgency in their request. Don't delay to come with us. Hurry, Peter. Hurry. You're needed in Joppa and Peter arose and went with them. Peter was called to be a servant, a servant of his king, a servant of the church. And so he comes and he serves the Lord. He comes with them. And when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber. When he gets to Joppa, to the house there, they immediately take him straight up to the upper room. There's such urgency in the situation, there's no time to catch his breath and to take a drink, and no time to rest, straight to where the body of Tabitha is lying. And she is so sadly missed. Many people are weeping when she died. And we see even the details of what those good works, those deeds of mercy were. There stands Peter next to the dead body of that dear disciple. And all the widows stood by him, weeping. Not professional mourners, which you could hire in those days if you were rich, which is what Jairus had done when his little daughter had died. All the professional mourners and wailers where they're screaming and showing their great sorrow. And remember Jesus sent them all away. But here, these are women who are truly mourning. How sad they are, weeping because of their loss. Oh, how they will miss Tabitha. And it is the widows who are standing by Peter weeping. And that means that Tabitha had taken special care of the widows. She likely had often visited them and encouraged them. Which brings a question for us, too. Will the widows of our congregation weep when you die? Are they going to miss you? The widows of the congregation, will they miss you when you die? Will they miss your visits? Your words of encouragement? Will they miss the things you used to do for them? These widows are weeping, showing the coats and the garments that Dorcas had made. She had made so many articles of clothing for the widows, and now they show Peter, look Peter, she made this coat for me. And look at this garment that she sewed, you can see, you can feel the love in the stitches she sewed into this jacket for me. She was so kind. The coats and the garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them. And now she had become sick and died. And her body is there. But she is no longer with them. Take note of these words, my friends. While she was with them. There was only a limited time And dear believer, the same is true for you and for me. There's a limited time for us to do our good works and our deeds of mercy. And that limited time is now, while we are with them. When we die, it's over. What a touching scene. A lifeless, cold body of Tabitha. Just an empty shell, really. If we've seen a body of a dead person, you know that that's really what it is. An empty shell. There's no life in that. And all the widows surrounding Peter, weeping. And it seems to have a deep effect on Peter. And you can tell that because for once Peter is silent. He has nothing to say. Peter, though the Holy Spirit has now loosed his tongue and though he speaks boldly of the Lord Jesus wherever he goes right now, he's silent. He doesn't have a word in due season. He doesn't have an edifying word for these weeping widows. Peter doesn't know what to say. And so he says nothing. And that is good advice for us too. There are many times when we don't know what to say in situations like this. Then the best thing to do is say nothing and do what Peter does. You see in a moment he goes to pray. See? He is to be silent but he's not inactive. Though we have no words for these widows, how to comfort them, the Lord has something much better in store for them. And even though Peter doesn't know it yet, something much better in store, not only for these mourners who are gathered around this dead body, but for the whole region around Joppa. In fact, the Lord has something much better in store for us, too, this afternoon. Peter, verse 40, put them all forth and kneel down and pray. See, they're the proper place, the proper posture for a servant of King Jesus. In times when we are perplexed, not knowing what to say, not knowing what the Lord's will is, put them all forth No one there except you and your Lord in a time of private prayer. No one else around. A place where you can get on your knees. A place to pray. Do you have such a place in your house? Jesus called it your closet. I heard a sermon last week, and the man was saying, many people are planning to build new homes. And he said, instead of building that multimedia room that surrounds sound and a 52-inch whatever thing that is, that huge television, why don't you build an inner closet where you can go where you can go and be alone with the Lord. That's what Peter does here. He gets on his knees. He finds a place to pray. Peter puts them all out. They were so reluctant to leave there. But he needed to be alone with the Lord. And he got on his knees and he prayed. And we're not told what he prayed exactly. What words did he use? But we know Peter at this point doesn't know what the Lord's will is in this situation. And so, as a humble servant of the Lord, he's on his knees and he's asking the Lord to reveal his will in humble dependence on his God and on his King, Jesus. He prays to his Savior. He lays the case before the Lord. And the Lord gives him his answer. We don't know exactly how that worked, how that came about, but what we do know is the next thing that happens is the miracle at Joppa. And just like Elijah and Elisha and Jesus had done in the past, someone is raised here from the dead. You remember from the Gospel according to Mark, when Jesus raised Jairus' little daughter from the dead, what did he say? Talitha kum, little girl, arise, that meant. Here Peter turns to the body and he says, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes. And when she saw Peter, she sat up. Tabitha was sick and died. And here she opens her eyes and she sees Peter and she sits up and that sickness from which she died is gone. And she looks at Peter and Peter helps her to get up. Oh, Peter, what power he has, isn't it? No. That's not Peter's voice. That's not Peter's power. That is the promise and the power of Almighty God. That power that works in ways that we cannot comprehend. The Lord made Tabitha here. Tabitha arise. The Lord returned her soul to her body. The Lord did this in connection with the words that he causes Peter to speak at that very moment. He gave her his hand and lifted her up. And there she stands. Alive. Beside the bed on which her body had lain. The Lord has done here what they could not have even imagined. The Lord worked this miracle ultimately for his own glory, for the spread of the gospel. We'll see that in a few moments. Through this miracle, the gospel is going to spread all over. Peter and Tabitha don't keep it to themselves. When he had called the saints and the widows. Notice whom he calls? The saints. God's people. Come on, disciples. Come on in here. We have something to show you. You should see what happened. You should look. You should listen to who's here. He calls the saints. It's a special moment for the church at Joppa, and he calls the widows. They were especially affected by Tabitha's death, and now they're amongst the first to see her. Not just her dead body, they had seen that, but here it says Peter presented her alive. Saints and widows, I present to you Tabitha. She is alive. The greater contrast can't be imagined. From verse 37 to verse 41, she was sick and died. And here in verse 41, she is alive. It's not a stretch to say that a greater contrast is not imaginable in a sinner's life when we are made alive from the dead. A greater contrast cannot be imagined than what took place outside of Jerusalem where Christ was dead and the third day he arose and the cry went out, he is alive. Sometimes in scripture Now just a few simple words that describe the most dramatic events. You get that here? He presented her alive. A few calm words. But those immense facts speak for themselves. Oh, what joy there was among the believers. What joy in the church. What thanksgiving to God. but faith triumphant. All the Lord has something great in store through this. This raising of Tabitha from death to life, that's not an end in itself. That's not where it stopped. No, He has something much greater in store for the whole region around Joppa. something much greater for us, too. A disciple named Tabitha, a display of God's power and a definite response. We read several times in scripture of the Lord Jesus that his fame went throughout all Syria, for example, in Matthew 4 verse 24. In Mark 1 verse 28, His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. In Luke 1 verse 65, these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. In Luke 7 verse 17, this rumor of Him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all the region round about. And every time that phrase, throughout all that region, every time that phrase is used, it's talking about spreading news all over through spoken words. People told each other what they had seen, what they had heard. They couldn't turn on the radio to hear the latest news. There was no CNN, no headline news, not some supernatural method of spreading Christ's fame. In every case, it was one human being telling others. And in the book of Acts, we have the same thing. Almighty God using men and women to spread the news. That's 13 verse 49, the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. The same thing happens in our text this afternoon here. There's a certain disciple named Tabitha who had become ill and died. Peter was called. He came right away. He prayed and raised her from the dead. And then Peter calls the saints and the widows and presented her alive. And they began to speak. Tabitha is alive. Yes, she was really dead. We saw her. She was dead. But now she lives. We've seen her walking and talking and speaking. This is the work of the Lord. And they can't keep that good news to themselves. They went and told everybody. Everyone. That news spreads rapidly. Verse 42. It was known throughout all Joppa. Soon everybody knows. A miracle has happened. That lady from the Christian church, the one who's always doing things for the poor, she died and now she's alive. Peter, the apostle of Christ, has come and he's raised her from the dead. It's nothing short of a miracle. The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad. And the response to this is, many believe. and many believed in the Lord." What a glorious, clear, definite response that is! A clear, distinct response of faith! And not just a few here and there, but many believed in the Lord. That means that, that day, many people were saved in Joppa. Because when it says here, many believed in the Lord, that's the same phrase that's used in Acts 16 verse 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And that's what happens here. That day, many believed in the Lord. Many came to faith in Christ Jesus. We may not separate the first part of the verse from the second part. The first part says, "...and it was known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord." When it was made known throughout all Joppa, that was the means the Lord used to have these people believe. There was a message that went out. It was made known throughout all Joppa. Maybe some of the children are sitting here thinking, but Pastor, Joppa is way over there. on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. And this happened long ago. And we live here. And as far as I know, nobody has been raised from the dead around here lately. What are we supposed to do with this then? We need to see, don't we, how does this apply to us here in Niagara? I want to change the sentence. It was known throughout all Niagara. Like the saints and the widows of Joppa, we have good news to tell, don't we? We have better news to tell than Tavassa is alive. Our news is this to Niagara. God created the human race. He created you in His image. He placed you in a beautiful place in the Garden of Eden where you lived in perfect harmony with the Lord God Almighty and perfect communion with Him. But you and I, we decided to go our own way. We wanted to be our own God. And so we turned our backs on God and we said we want nothing to do with you. We will be our own gods, thank you very much. And God knew that we would do this. And He had already prepared a way to restore us again into His favor. He knew that we could not and would not ever come back to Him again. And so He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. He sent Him to this earth. And this Jesus loved God above all. He lived perfectly. He loved his neighbor as himself. And yet, despite his perfect life, despite his perfect obedience, God punishes Jesus for sinning. Not for his own sins, but for the sins of all of those who will come to him. The sins of all those who will believe in him. Jesus suffered. He died on the cross. He was buried the third day he rose from the dead. Our news is Christ is alive. He lives today and now he is ascended. He is in heaven. He is praying for all his people. And when you and I believe in him, we shall be saved. It was spread throughout all Niagara. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. He has done it. We simply receive his benefits by the faith that he gives to us. And today you too can be saved. In only one way. By repenting of your sins and believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. The members of HRC Jordan made it known throughout all Niagara, salvation is in Jesus Christ, complete salvation. Christ is all and in all. No, you can't save yourself, but you don't need to. Christ does it. Trust in Him. And no, you cannot keep yourself saved, but you don't need to. Christ does it all. Come to Christ Jesus today. He will not cast you out. Turn to the Lord like the people in Lydda. Believe in the Lord like the people in Joppa. Believe the gospel and you too shall be saved. Do we have a message for Niagara? Yes, we do. And it's much better than, Tabitha is alive. We may use that as part of God's holy word. But our message is Christ Jesus is alive. And because he is alive, you may live too. That's our message. And you see it here, the blessed result, the definite response, and many believed in the Lord. Do you think that when we prayerfully begin to make it known throughout all Niagara, each one of us in our own little sphere, whether that is a mother at home with her children, or people at school, or in college and university, or at work, or at the mall, or at Tim Hortons, to our friends, to our neighbors, just one at a time, to make this known throughout all Niagara. May we then not expect our great covenant-keeping God to bless that message, like he did in Joppa? But if we keep silent and we tell no one, what should we expect then? Sometimes we look around and we complain about the godlessness of our society. Oh, how sad it is that so few people in Niagara really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe we need to take a good hard look at ourselves this afternoon and say, um, what about us? Do we even believe the gospel ourselves? And if we do, have we made it known? throughout all Niagara? You see, the blessed result here, a definite response worked by Almighty God through the Holy Spirit, through the message that was spread. They believed in the Lord, many of them, as a result of the message they heard. One more thing to notice, and then we're going home. The Lord works to spread the gospel. He does not want it contained to a little group of people called the Jews. He wants it spread throughout the whole world to Gentiles. That's us. We are the Gentiles. It starts here in Joppa. Peter carried many days in Joppa with one Simon, a tanner. Peter stayed there in Joppa for quite some time yet. And the place where he stayed is remarkable. What a choice for lodging for a Jew. He stays with Simon who is a tanner. And a tanner is a person who works with leather, who works with the hides of dead animals. So he's an unclean one. He's despised by the Jews and here Peter the Jew stays with Simon Tanner. Why is that? Because Peter is beginning to realize something. Just like we saw this morning, there is no distinction among believers. No distinction between Jews and Gentiles. And that's the same thing here. There's none unclean in Christ Jesus. From Simon's place, from the roof of Simon's house, something is going to happen. We'll see that next Lord's Day. From there, the gospel is going to spread to the ends of the world. From there, it has come to us too. We have heard the message. And of us too it can be said, and many believed in the Lord. But as long as it says, many believed in the Lord, and not all of them believed in the word, God's people cannot be happy. Until all are safe. That's what Paul said. My heart's desire for you is that all of Israel would be saved. We say that to the New Testament church too. That is our heart's desire. Through the preaching of the gospel, every single one of us will believe in the Lord. Amen. Let's pray. Lord our God, one more time we may come before Thee. Again, Lord, we have spent precious time in Thy holy Word, that Word that testifies of itself that it alone is able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. That Word which is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit himself, that Word we know, is what is blessed to work faith that comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And we have seen together an example of that this afternoon, Lord, in the city of Joppa. That spread throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord. Lord, many of us also believe in the Lord. And we pray for those who do not yet. That this may be the day of Thy sovereign good pleasure, the day of Thy power to bring that word home to their hearts too. That it may take root there and bring forth fruit of faith and obedience. Lord God be with us this week in all the work that we are called to do. We pray that in everything that we do We may be mindful of the fact, as believers, we are already partly in heaven. Our life is hid with Christ in God. Lord God, we pray, draw our minds and our thoughts to the things that are above, where Christ is, at the right hand of God. And take, O Lord, away our thoughts of the things of this world. We may live unto Christ and out of Christ alone, even with our children. Lord, be mindful of them in Thy covenant mercies. Look upon them, too, in Christ Jesus. Bless us, we pray. Forgive our many, many sins, even the sins of this worship service. Blot them out in the precious blood of Christ Thy Son. In His name we pray, Amen.