Greetings

Greetings everybody! Welcome to Friday’s edition of EDiBS, and may the rich and abundant blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be upon each of you today.  As we continue our present series in the book of Acts, we’re closing in on the end of the ninth chapter of that book, and as we go back to the Scriptures in this session we’re in for a bit of a shift in focus. Let’s pray and get to it. 

Prayer 

Father, please be merciful to us, your servants. We are ever mindful of our sin, ever mindful that we are inadequate, ever remembering that even our acts of righteousness are filthy rags before you. We only come to you because of Jesus. He lived for us perfectly. He died for us sacrificially. He shed His blood to cleanse us from our guilt. And in all of that, He reconciled us with you. And so we come today not by our works, but by your grace. We come today not because we have an innate right to do so, but because in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son we have been given the gift to do so. We come as your children. And we come humbly, asking for your transforming touch upon our lives and for your Word to do its transforming work in our hearts and minds. Hear us today as we come in the name of Jesus, amen. 

Getting Started 

As we get things started today, we return for a while – from now to the end of chapter 12, actually – to the life and ministry of Peter. Our focus: God’s power wields powerful results. 

Acts 9:32-35 

32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. 

In the brief time that I worked as a church planter, one thing that I enjoyed doing was going to sister churches in my area to share about what God was doing in the local mission field. Sharing that story was important, because it reminded folks that people in their own backyards need the Gospel just like people a continent away do. It’s always great to go abroad to witness for our Lord Jesus, and I’m one of those pastors who believes that everyone benefits from a foreign missions experience. But since the United States is now the third largest mission field in the world, it’s critical to remember that we have work to do here as well. 

I’m reminded of that today as we look at the passage before us. We’re coming off of a time where we’ve seen a lot of missionary work going on in relatively far-flung places, at least by the standards of first-century travel. We’ve seen the expansion of the Gospel from Jerusalem. Through Judea and into Samaria we’ve seen a bit of Philip’s powerful ministry in various places north and south. We know from Saul’s time in Damascus and from Luke’s mention of the Galilean churches that places north and east have heard and received the Gospel as well. This is all truly great news! But now with this passage, and with the shift in the text to an emphasis on Peter, we’re coming back closer to home for a while…back to Judea. Today’s reading takes us to Lydda, a town about 25 to 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem, 10 miles from the coast. As Peter travels about the region, he goes to visit the saints — meaning the believers there — and it sets the stage for a great miracle and an even greater result springing from that miracle. 

We’ve seen this kind of thing before, haven’t we. Back in Jerusalem in the days following Pentecost Peter had healed a lame man, and we could go on and give an account of many, many miracles of physical and spiritual healing that have taken place to this point. I don’t want to give the impression that there’s nothing amazing about today’s incident, because the power of God is very definitely at work in an astounding way. But what I would have you focus on – and this is supremely important – is that this miracle done in Aeneus’ life has consequences far more reaching than the mere fact of his healing. That’s always the way it is when we see these early miracles in the first days of the Church: the act itself is most assuredly wonderful, but the purpose behind it is more about building the kingdom than it is about one individual. Go back and look at the aftermath of the signs and wonders we’ve seen thus far in this book, and in almost every case that’s what you’ll see. So briefly, what is the outcome, the result, of Aeneus’ healing? We’re told that all those who live in Lydda and Sharon see him and turn to the Lord. We simply can’t ignore the salvific element of it all, and that’s really what I want you to be aware of today. 

One other thing we might mention before we close our brief look at this brief passage is the wording that Peter uses in the moment of healing. I love this, because it clearly takes the attention off of him and puts it squarely where it belongs: “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.” Peter…this new, mature, spiritually assured Peter…makes a point to identify for Aeneus who it is doing the healing: Jesus the Christ. Peter is only our Lord’s instrument, and the fact that he understands and accepts that, the fact that he embraces it, shows us just how far he has come since the days of Christ’s earthly ministry. If I found myself with the ability to do such things in the name of the Lord, would pride creep in? Would self-importance rise to the surface? Would I begin to get puffed up? 

The fact that I’m even asking those questions shows, I think, my propensity toward those things, and maybe it’s the same for you. Indeed, knowing our own probable weakness in a situation like what we see here just serves to drive home even more for us how profoundly under the control of the Holy Spirit Peter has become in his ministry. Not that he’s without his faults, as we’ll see in good time. But here is a man in whom a great transforming work has been done by the living God – and oh, how I long in my inner man for the very same thing in life...and in your life too! 

Wrapping Up 

As we wrap things up for the day, have you thought much about your own local mission field lately — about how God may desire to use you in it to touch someone, to heal someone, through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus? There are a lot of hurting people out there who need the love of a Savior they’ve not yet met. You may be the Lord’s chosen instrument to introduce them to Him. Think and pray on that, won’t you? Have a terrific weekend of worship and service and rest, everyone, and God-willing and I’ll see you next week to pick things up again and continue. God’s peace, and take care!