Sound Doctrine

Guest (Male): Spiritual gifts. They are the vehicle by which the Holy Spirit travels in the lives of his people. Here's Pastor Jeff Johnson.

Jeff Johnson: He gave some apostles, and these are the gifts, prophets, some evangelists, and then pastor-teachers. Why? For the perfecting of the saints, for the growth of the saints, for the work of the ministry, that the ministry would grow and become strong. And then he says for the edifying of the body of Christ, that the body of Christ would be built up. How does that happen unless we are in God's word, unless God's word is getting into us?

Guest (Male): We're once again in the book of Acts today on Sound Doctrine as Pastor Jeff Johnson is showing us what the early church was all about. There is one common thread that we see. It was that Jesus received the glory. They knew their Lord and were happy to give all the glory and honor to him.

Christians today should follow in those footsteps. That's why we study the scriptures each and every day here at Sound Doctrine. By studying God's word, we learn about who our Lord is. And if we know him, we are then able to share him with those around us. Here's Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Johnson: Father, won't you speak to me? Oh, Lord, you know I'm listening. You know exactly what I need. So, Father, won't you speak to me? We're in Acts chapter nine this morning, that we're going to finish chapter nine.

As you're turning to Acts chapter nine, Isaiah said this, the prophet, in Isaiah 60, he said, in the last days, there's going to be darkness, it's going to cover the earth, gross darkness the people. I mean, just incredible what we're seeing today in our society and throughout the world.

But then Jesus comes and he says, but these signs shall follow them that believe. And then the word encourages us again and says, nothing is impossible with God. I just got done watching a movie called Facing the Giants. How many have watched that? You need to tell others to watch it. If they've missed this one, they've missed really the whole crux of the thing.

For you women that are afraid of football, it's not all about football. Football is there, but it's about life experiences. And the number one verse that came up over and over again is where nothing is impossible with God. And that goes through the whole thing. And by the end, you just go, yep, that's for sure.

Oh, what an encouragement. Saul has now been converted. I mean, this guy was making havoc of the church. He was killing Christians, putting them in prison, and now he's preaching Jesus. The psalm we read this morning, Psalm 40: he took me out of a horrible pit, out of a miry clay, and he put me on a solid rock and put a new song in my heart. When I was on self-destruct, when I was at a dead end, I was lost in my trespasses and sins. I was in the gutter, so to speak. God found me. Thank you for finding me. And he delivered me, and he saved me.

Saul's testimony was amazing to people. They couldn't understand it. What? It was like blackness, darkness, and light, just flip-flop. They were just blown away. And he confounded the Jews that he went into their synagogues and shared with them what happened to him. He confounded them, but none of them were getting converted. We talked about this.

Because he confounded them and they weren't being converted, they were angry. Saul is in danger. And when I thought about Saul's danger, I thought about that guy who just got killed, Steve Irwin, who handled the snakes. He amazed us with the alligators and the snakes. But there's a saying that he always said, and I heard it loud and clear as I was going through the scripture: danger, danger, danger. And that's what Saul was in: great danger.

And so they had to smuggle him out of the city. He was running for his life. He almost was a basket case. And yet God was reprogramming him, he was rewiring him, and that's what happens to all of us when we come to the Lord. He's reprogramming, rewiring us so he can use us mightily, as he was going to use Saul.

He was sent home for seven years. Seven years, he was depressed. He was bummed. What's all this about? Why am I going through what I'm going through? And yet God was in the midst of it. He was actually causing him to learn about submission and humility in his life, and he was teaching him about flexibility, being flexible, a whole range of things that he was learning.

Now, we won't see Saul, who had become Paul, until Acts chapter 11. And then the whole rest of the book of Acts is centered around Paul's life. Unbelievable. But we have now a little parenthesis, and in verse 31, it says this in Acts chapter nine: the church was being edified, built up, it was being multiplied, it was growing.

Really, when you look at the key of evangelization, the key of growth within any church is healthy sheep. The Bible says healthy sheep beget sheep. And what are the sheep? The sheep are every single one of us. We're sheep, we feed on the word. He's the shepherd, we're the sheep. We're not going astray anymore. No, now we're following the shepherd. And as we feed on his word, we are becoming healthy.

There's a key verse in Ephesians chapter four, verse 11: he gave some apostles, and these are the gifts, prophets, some evangelists, and then pastor-teachers. Why? For the perfecting of the saints, for the growth of the saints, for the work of the ministry, that the ministry would grow and become strong.

And then he says for the edifying of the body of Christ, that the body of Christ would be built up. How does that happen unless we are in God's word, unless God's word is getting into us? That brings growth, that brings health to any church. I don't think I need to tell you that we're in the last days, as Paul said to Timothy, in the last days perilous times will come.

We live in a very sin-sick, sad world, full of deception, full of men who say they are from God, who are going around as the prophets of old saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace. Saying, "It's okay, everything's fine. I'm okay, you're okay, we're all okay." That's not what the Bible says. We must be careful.

Many are perishing. There is a sickness that is permeating our society and a deathly lethargy that's coming over people that's taking people out left and right. A hopelessness that is spreading heartache. There's such sadness and sickness. It's everywhere you look. And I'm not just talking physical. The society that we live in, it's a sick society. All you have to do is turn on the TV to find that out. Shouldn't take too long. It's everywhere now and every channel.

We're sick. We need a physician. Thank God he's here. So back then, it's the same way as it is today, but I think it's a whole lot darker. Yes, it was tough then, and yes, there was deception, yes, there was guys going around in the name of God doing this, that, and the other, but I think it's way worse now because it's always darker before the dawn, and the day of the Lord is coming, so it's very dark right now. Gross darkness the people, Isaiah says.

What can we do? And why in the world are we here this morning? And who are we? We are the church of the Lord. We're the body of Christ.

So the question that we're going to get into and hopefully get some answers to in Acts chapter nine at the very end here is how can we be effective in these days that we're living in? What can we do, and how are we to do it? And he answers it very beautifully here in Acts chapter nine.

As we go back to Peter's ministry, and we see that he dealt with these same problems in his midst, and here we see the characteristics of the man or the woman that God will use, which we need to hold close to us and we need to follow after. Let's look at it. Acts chapter nine, verse 32: and it came to pass as Peter passed throughout all the quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.

The saints that dwelt at Lydda. Notice that Peter is on the move here. He's moving out. He's not stagnating or sitting, just twiddling his thumbs saying, "Lord, what do you want me to do? What am I to do?" There's an old saying and I think it's true: if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it.

He was a busy person. Peter was on the move. And this is why we continue to push body ministry here. That one of the greatest resources the church has never tapped even yet is the congregation. The people that are sitting week after week learning the word, receiving the scriptures.

Oh, how we need to be shook up. How we need to be taught and then not just taught, not just hearers, but doers of the word. And so you'll hear us at times even in the bulletin to exhort you to see all that God has given us here and take a step of faith and get involved in a ministry.

Get involved in teaching Sunday school. Do something for the Lord. Get involved in going on a short-term missionary outreach. And we're to the point as a church to where we help you even financially a little bit to get you motivated, to get you going in one of these outreaches that will change your life, your perspective on life, and hopefully get you hooked and get you addicted to the ministry of the saints. It's a great addiction.

But he was moving out. He took step one and God gave him step two and three and four and kept moving. So Peter's on his way to Caesarea. He stops by Lydda and Joppa to visit the brethren, to encourage them, but also he is on his way serving the Lord. So God is preparing him for the place he has prepared for him.

As you're stepping out, God's preparing you even more for greater things. Be faithful to the little; he'll give you more. So we'll see that in a moment. Lydda is located where Lod is today. Lod is the city in that area. It's kind of in between Tel Aviv, which is on the Mediterranean, and Jerusalem. It's a main road that ties them both together. It's in the Valley of the Sharon, beautiful valley.

And that's where the old airport and where the modern new airport is located today. What a beauty when we walked in there for the first time last year. We were blown away, the airport these guys have made. So modern, so incredible, breathtaking. It was unbelievable.

So Lydda. And then verse 33, he says, "There he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy." He finds this guy. Well, it doesn't take you long to find someone sick. We are living in a world of sickness. And again, I'm not talking just physically. There is a lot of sickness.

So here's Peter. He finds this sick man. He's paralyzed, he has palsy. And notice that this sickness has made him paralyzed. He can't do anything. He's just a problem to himself, to everybody. He's a burden on everybody. That's what happens when you're a sick person.

You're a problem. You need healing, you need a touch. And the Lord knows that. Now, the world's way usually looking at sick people: just let them alone, it's too bad that happened to them, and we'll help you a little bit, but we'll pray for you or whatever, it's just like, that's too bad, and they don't get involved.

It's the survival of the fittest after all. And that's how man feels. Now, when you look at hospitals, when you look at orphanages, where do you think they were brought forth from? Who do you think started the first orphanages and hospitals? It was Christians.

God's love, his compassion upon fellow man, that's what causes things to happen. Then the world says, "Well, we can make some money with this," and they're really gouging us now, aren't they? The world said, "Hey, we can become a part of that." And they're just, it's amazing what's happened to it now. But thank God that we do have hospitals and orphanages. But it started through God's love.

So this man, so limited, so out of it. And then I was thinking as I was thinking about what Christians started and how the church today is now getting away from the main thing. The main thing is Jesus. The main thing is the word of God.

It's so bizarre with all of this strange, weird things going on within the church, the emerging church. It's all a part of getting away from the scripture, from what the Bible says and doing our own thing. And the social gospel is a big part of that. And many in the church today have really got caught up in the social gospel.

That we want to just, we want to give them money, we want to give them medicine because that's the key. Education, it's the key. You just educate them and then they won't do that anymore. And there's huge movements going even into Africa and trying to stop the virus of AIDS and putting all their resources and everything that they have into stopping AIDS.

Well, what's going on? My question is, is this what Jesus would do? Isn't that a question we should all ask? What is the Lord want me to do? What would Jesus do? You've heard that before.

Would he have me do it that way or would he have me pray for the sick? To lay hands on the sick? To believe the word for those that are going through it in whatever area? Would he have me to teach the word about sexual sin and the devastation of fornication so that things like AIDS would not happen?

Is that the answer? Is that what would Jesus do? I think so, because that's the real root of it, isn't it? In Acts chapter one and verse one, Luke simply says of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.

And so the book of Acts is what he began to do and to teach, and it's now going from Jesus to the apostles to the disciples. And here we see the Lord's work continuing. I love that scripture in John in chapter 14 where Jesus is speaking here in verse 12: truly, truly, I say unto you, he that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also.

And greater works than these shall he do because I go unto my father. You'll do the same works and greater works. Wow, that's incredible.

So here we see it being handed down. And when Jesus, when he ascended up to the father, it says in Ephesians 4:8, he gave gifts unto men. The gifts of the Holy Spirit. A pastor-teacher, evangelist, I mean, and all the other gifts that he gave to the church to be effective.

Notice Peter did exactly as Jesus did. I want you to see that as we go through these next few verses. That's so important. Verse 34: and Peter said unto him, to this man Aeneas, "Jesus Christ makes thee whole. Arise and make thy bed." And he arose immediately.

Immediately. Notice he says, "Make your bed." In other words, get rid of it. Don't even give an opportunity to relapse here. You're not going to get healed and then go, "I wonder if I need the bed again." Get rid of the bed, man. You're whole. So just get rid of the bed, you're healed. I like that. No doubt about it.

So here's Peter. He's an apostle. He's known throughout the region. He's now in Lydda. He's the VIP. He's very important. He's busy about doing God's work with these groups that want him to come and speak and share what things that the Lord has shown him, and they're all excited.

But he did exactly what Jesus did, exactly what Philip did, and that's that he took time out for the individual. And he found this individual and he did exactly what Jesus did in John chapter five. You say, Jeff, what's that? Well, that's when Jesus went down to the sheep gate in Jerusalem and went down to that pool where there was sick, weak folk all around and there was some kind of custom and tradition that whosoever, when the waters in the pools that were sitting there would ripple, they said an angel came by and did his wings.

And if you just get down there and touch that water, you'll be healed instantly. And so they believed that. And as they moved and the first one that got in, it's kind of like a point of contact. They said, "I'm healed," and they walk away healed. It was amazing.

But a lot of people, you can imagine all the sick folk in Jerusalem were hanging around there. Jesus comes into that place because Jesus likes to go where there's a lot of sick folk. And he likes to be in the midst of it. And then he sees a guy in the way in the back. And he says, "You want to be made whole? Do you want to be healed?" The guy goes, "Hey, well, sure I do. I've been 38 years like this. What are you talking about?"

But every time that the waters go down like that, I try to get down there, I don't have anybody to help me down there. And all these excuses why he couldn't be healed. "I can't do it. Just can't make it down there." Jesus just simply looked at him and said, "Arise, take up your bed. You're whole." And he rose up and he was healed.

Incredible healing. Everybody was excited and he didn't even go down to the water. He was way in the back. And then some of the Pharisees and the Jewish guards that were in that area said, "Hey, what are you doing? It's Sabbath day, put your bed down. What happened?" "Oh, I was healed."

And they knew this guy was sick and for 38 years. "Well, who did this to you?" And he goes, "You know, I don't remember. I just know the guy told me to take up my bed and I just stood up and I was healed. I can't tell you who it was."

Then they said, "Well, we gotta find this guy." And Jesus eventually found the one that got healed and said, "You've been made whole, man. You're good to go. You're blessed." Kind of introduced himself, who he was. Incredible story. But Peter had his first experience with the lame man, remember, in Acts chapter three.

Remember he said, "Silver and gold have we none, but what we have." All of a sudden, their attention came to that lame man at the gate beautiful. "Silver and gold have we none, but what we have we'll give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk."

The man was healed immediately. So this is the second lame guy that he runs into. See, Jesus came so lame humanity could be healed. Jesus came that us that are here, that we're just a bunch of lamos. A bunch of lame people that got healed.

At one time we were so hindered. We were so paralyzed. We were so in our own world, so in darkness, and we were a burden on everybody and making a mess of things of our own lives, of those around us. And yet he came and he healed us. This is not about us. It's about the word of the Lord.

See, it's his word that's our enablement. His word is our enablement. Have you ever thought about your Bible that way? It's a gateway to a wonderful and powerful life.

Guest (Male): This is Sound Doctrine and we've been listening to a message based on Acts chapter nine titled Miracles in His Name! Shared by Pastor Jeff Johnson. Hear it again at sounddoctrineradio.org or oneplace.com. You can also listen through the Sound Doctrine Radio app.

Well, here at Sound Doctrine, we're committed to helping you build your life on the sound doctrine contained in God's word. And we have a special resource to recommend that can help you in that endeavor. It's A Passion for Jesus. This is a collection of easy-to-read daily devotionals written by Kay Smith, Linnea Hitzig, Karen Johnson, Sharon Reese, Karen Pulle, Gale Mayes, and others.

Ladies, you'll be greatly encouraged each day as they pour out their hearts, sharing personal experiences of God's faithfulness. I think you'll find it both edifying and encouraging at the same time. Available right now online at sounddoctrineradio.org. Then click on store or call us at 800-353-7553.

We're grateful for your prayers and partnership. Together we can help people all over the world have access to sound doctrine in God's word and grow as a result. You can make a secure donation online at sounddoctrineradio.org or call 800-353-7553.

If you find these daily studies encouraging, we'd like to know. Email us today at sounddoctrine@calvarydowney.org. And please mention the station that you listen to. That's sounddoctrine@calvarydowney.org. There's more to come at Acts and we'll pick up where we left off next time on Sound Doctrine with Pastor Jeff. May God richly bless you and strengthen you. This program is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Downey. Father, won't you speak to me?