The Debbie Taylor Williams Podcast

Debbie Taylor Williams: Hi, this is Debbie Taylor Williams. Thanks for tuning in to my podcast. I'm so glad you're here and pray the Lord will speak to you through this message. Heavenly Father, we are reminded this week of the incredible gift of you, Jesus, and Holy Spirit extending eternal life. Your domain of glory, entrance into it, not just for the Jews but for all people. Oh Lord, we are humbled, we are grateful, and we celebrate it today.

Lord, I ask you, Jesus, to open your word, open our minds, open our ears, and open our hearts to receive everything you want for us today. We ask this in the holy name of Jesus Christ and for his glory. Amen. Okay, I bet you already have your Bibles open to Acts chapter 9, and if you don't, if you would turn to Acts 9:32. Beginning here, as with each week, we have been studying the acts of the Holy Spirit through the disciples.

We are looking at the acts of Jesus Christ himself. He is continuing to do the work that he did before he rose and before he was ascended. He is now working through people. He is working, I know, through you. I have been hearing accounts of how you are going to your neighbors, how you are speaking to your friends and family and loved ones. You are telling them about the hope and the security that can be found in Jesus Christ.

The work that Jesus did when he was on earth and the work that Jesus did through the disciples, he is continuing to do through you. Can I just say a big hallelujah for that? In particular today, we are looking at Peter's ministry. If you would just take a breath and a moment to think back to Peter, a fisherman. A fisherman, and now look at what Jesus is doing with his life.

If you have ever said or thought to yourself, "Well, I'm a nobody," or, "What could Jesus do through me? I'm not that educated. I'm not that sharp. I'm not that good of a public speaker," whatever it may be, look at what Jesus is doing. He is doing it through Peter in individual homes and in small towns. So, we are excited that Jesus can continue his work through us also.

Today we are looking in Acts 9:32-35 at how Peter heals paralyzed Aeneas, raises disciple Tabitha from the dead, and as we continue on into chapter 11:1-18, we're going to see how he preaches Jesus to the Gentile Cornelius's household and they are saved. Let's read beginning in Acts 9:32. Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up, make your bed." And immediately he got up and all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. This is a miracle and it's one of many miracles that we see that Jesus is doing through Peter.

We see our first point on our listening guide is that Jesus Christ is our healer. He is a physical healer and he is also our spiritual healer, and he calls us, he calls you to walk in newness of life. I like how it said that the scripture records that he told Aeneas, "Make your bed. Get up, make your bed. You're not going to be going back to your bed today."

In the same way, we are not to go back to our old way of living, to our old way of thinking. We are to walk in newness of the Spirit, in newness of life after we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. We see a second point and that is Jesus can use your changed life to bring others to salvation. It was because Aeneas had a change that it said that others came to salvation.

So ladies, let's get busy. Let's get started. Let's let our family members see a change: mother, grandmother, sister, friend, whoever it might be. If before we've had a problem with our countenance, if before we've had a problem with our attitude, if before we've had something going on, some animosity or rough feelings or unkind feelings towards someone, let's let family, friends, and others see a change in us this Thanksgiving season. Would that be nice, perhaps? Yes, definitely.

Now in Acts 9:36-43, we see Peter raises disciple Tabitha from the dead and many believe in the Lord. The reason I point out this word "disciple Tabitha" is because the scripture points out "disciple Tabitha." It doesn't say that about Aeneas, but it does about Tabitha. "Disciple" in the Greek means a learner, and we are called to be disciples of Christ. I know you are. You are here. I am looking at disciples of Christ.

I could say disciple Laney, disciple Penny, disciple Bonnie. You are a disciple. You're a learner of Christ. Let's read this passage because we see the end result is many turned to the Lord, as again we saw before. In Acts 9:36, now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which translated in Greek is called Dorcas. This woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.

It happened at that time that she fell sick and died. When they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him imploring, "Do not delay to come to us." So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room and all the widows stood beside him weeping and showing all the tunics and the garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

But Peter sent them all out. This is the part. I've wondered, when the disciples sent for Peter and asked him to come, that there was a lady who had died, what Peter was thinking. Was Peter sitting there and thinking, "Do you want me to go and comfort her friends? Do you want me to go and comfort people?" At what point did Jesus say, "I want you to raise a person from the dead"?

Have you ever felt like there was something that perhaps Christ was asking you to do and you couldn't do it? You felt like perhaps it was too hard. I can't imagine anything being harder than when the Lord whispered to Peter, "Raise the dead. Raise this dead lady." So you and I cannot say, "Oh Lord, I can't face that. That's just too hard." Yes, we can.

Notice the order in which Peter performed this incredible miracle. It says in verse 40, Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Our third point is turn to the Lord, kneel and pray before facing a person or a situation beyond your control. Friends, Peter was brought into the room where this dead body was and we know that it had been some time period that had passed because the disciples had had to send for Peter out of town.

He had had to get back. They'd already washed the body. We keep saying the word "body, body, body." She is dead. And there is Peter in the room with this dead body. And what does he do? He turns from the body and he turns to the Lord. There is where the Holy Spirit spoke and told him what he was to do. He was not there to comfort. He was there to do what it says he did then, turning to the body.

Do you see that? There was a physical turning to the Lord and now he is turning back to the body. When you have something tough going on in your life, you need to, I need to, physically turn to the Lord, pray, submit our will and the situation to him, and then and only then are we ready to turn and face that impossible situation before us. Peter spoke and he said to her, "Tabitha, arise."

It was in that prayer time that God told Peter what he was to do. A verse that I love is Isaiah 50:4, and it says, "He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens me to listen as a disciple." Oh, I hope, I hope that when you open your eyes first thing in the morning, even as you are awakening, that you pay attention to your thoughts, that you pay attention to what the Lord may be saying to you.

Because it is just in those early wee morning hours when we first open our eyes and we are awakening, this is what I pray. This is how I want to live. He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens me to listen as a disciple. You may want to write that verse down and pray that he awakens you morning by morning to listen as a disciple. We see that Jesus, Lord of life, has power over Satan's power of death.

Jesus will raise believers to eternal life. Jesus said, "I will raise them up on the last day." Friends, Jesus was good to give us a picture right here of not just himself being raised. It says in Acts 1, I believe 8 or 4, that he presented himself alive to the disciples, and now Peter is presenting Dorcas alive to her family and friends who are gathered there. One day you and I are going to be presented alive in Jesus's presence. Are you excited about that? Because Jesus has the power over death.

Now as we look at Acts 10:1-8, we have the incredible story of Cornelius. Our Women's Bible study coordinator, Pat Hannah, brought up a very good verse in our leaders' meeting discussion time. She brought up Isaiah 43:19 where the Lord said, "Behold, I am doing something new." It is right here in Acts 10 that this prophecy from Isaiah 43 is fulfilled. We are able to see the beginning of it being fulfilled.

The Lord answers Cornelius, who is a Gentile, not a Jew, and we see that Cornelius's prayers, although he is not a Jew, his prayers have ascended and his alms, his giving, has ascended as a memorial before the Lord. That word "memorial" means remembrance. So his prayers caused the Lord to remember him. Not that the Lord forgets or doesn't know anything, but friends, you need to know that when you are praying and when you are giving in the Lord's name, your gifts, your prayers are not just going into thin air. They are ascending before the Lord God. Revelation also talks about this. So many places do.

Let's read very quickly. We won't read all of this because of the time, but I want us to begin reading in chapter 10, verse 1. Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort. He was a man of high esteem, of responsibility. He had 100 people underneath him. But, but it says of him he was a devout man who feared God with all his household and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

This is the second time we have seen the word "continually" in our study this morning. Because what we are seeing and perhaps what you will want to take home with you as a challenge is that we are to be consistent in our walk with the Lord. It's easy to be inconsistent, isn't it? But we are seeing the examples of Dorcas, we are seeing the examples of Cornelius, and they had a lifestyle.

They were walking out their faith continually through their generous giving, through their prayers. We see here that he was praying at the ninth hour, verse 3 tells us, and as he was praying, he clearly, and this is emphasized, this wasn't something he conjured up, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, "Cornelius!"

Now what was Cornelius's response? "An angel! I'm so excited to see an angel. This is my first time to see an angel. Woohoo! I can't wait to tell my family." No, he was alarmed. He was alarmed. Anytime an angel presents himself in the scripture to a person, people are alarmed because an angel is not a little cherub like we hang up for Christmas decorations. They are not, and I can't imagine how insulted they are when we put these little cherub-looking things on our Christmas tree.

We need to picture instead gallant, large, imposing created beings of God doing his heavenly work. It says in verse 4, and fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said, "Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men..." and you know the story. You've read it, you've studied it.

He told him to send some men to Simon who is also called Peter, who is in a house of Simon the tanner by the sea. He is very specific, isn't he? We've talked about this last week. He doesn't need "find my friends," God doesn't, as an app on a telephone or on our iPhones. He knows exactly where we are and he says he's by the sea. You're going to be able to find him there.

Now this vision that Peter has is absolutely incredible. It would almost be as if you and I were asked to start worshipping Buddha or something like this, because he is being asked to do something that is 100 percent out of his comfort zone. But pay attention to the fact that Peter is a disciple. Peter is a learner. Peter is somebody who is following the voice of God, and this is who we need to be also.

We see in verse 9 that it says on the next day as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up to the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. We have seen Peter praying at the twelfth hour. We have seen Peter pray at the ninth hour. We are seeing Peter pray at the sixth hour. These were set times of prayer for formal ritual prayer. Do you have a set time that you always meet with the Lord to pray?

I hope you do, in addition to continually praying throughout the day and the evening as he prompts you and you speak with him. Peter was hungry. He was a man. He was waiting on lunch. A regular man, waiting on lunch, hungry. He had no idea, no idea what was going to happen next in his life, just like you and I have no idea what is going to happen next in our life.

While he was praying, he fell into a trance. Now a trance, I want to share with you what this word "trance" means when it's used in the Bible. It says it is by some sudden emotion a man is transported as it were out of himself, so that in this rapt condition, although he is awake, his mind is so drawn off surrounding objects and wholly fixed on divine things that he sees nothing but the forms and images lying there.

So he is seeing something of divine revelation, not heeding the things going on around him. And this is definitely what happened with Peter. The sky opened, an object like a great sheet came down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and in it were all kinds of unclean to the Jew things that the Lord then tells him to get up and kill and eat. And you know Peter's response.

Peter said in verse 14, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean." These were things that were given by Levitical law that they were not to eat. And if you study them, many of the things that God forbade the Jews to eat are things that we do not eat today. They are not healthy for us to eat. They are not good for us to eat. I spent some time googling and looking at several, "Can you eat...?" one of the things in Leviticus. "No, do not eat that. Can you eat...?" No, do not eat that.

So many of the Levitical foods that were prohibited from the Jews as they were wandering in the wilderness, they were not healthy for them to eat. They were not good for them to eat. The Lord was protecting them, not just being a God who says, "Eat that, don't eat that." There was reason behind what he said to eat and not eat. And here we see this happens three times, which in the Bible three times means confirmation.

You didn't just see it once and mistake it. You didn't even see it twice. It was by the witness of three people, three witnesses that something was confirmed, we're told in Deuteronomy. And so Jesus gives Peter this three times, this vision. I want you to see in verse 17, it says, "Now while Peter was greatly perplexed..." This means entirely at a loss. Peter is just, he doesn't know what is going to happen.

He is entirely at a loss. Say that with me. "Entirely at a loss." Have you ever been entirely at a loss about something, not knowing what you were going to do, not knowing what it means? That's where Peter is. He is greatly perplexed. But we see what Peter does, and it's instructive for you and me. While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men," we see this number again, "three men are looking for you. But..." and again we see these words "get up and go." Say it with me. "Get up and go."

When we leave this study of Acts, we are going to know the importance of getting up and going, right, when the Lord prompts us to do something. How many of you have felt the Lord prompt you to do something over the course of our study of Acts? And because we have seen the example in Acts of the Lord's disciples getting up and going, have any of you gotten up and went? Did you get up and go? I am seeing some hands here. How fantastic that is! Oh, that's exciting!

When Peter was reflecting, he's on this vision, he's said, "Get up and go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them myself." And we have a double there, emphasis. He could have just said, "I've sent them," but he said, "I have sent them myself." Jesus is talking to Peter and he is saying, "Go without misgivings." Verse 21, faithful Peter went down to meet the men and you know the story from there.

Let's look at some of these emphases on your listening guide. One of them I've already mentioned, our prayers and gifts rise before the Lord. Some of you know how much I love 2 Chronicles 16:9 that says, "The eyes of the Lord look to and fro throughout the whole earth." The eyes of the Lord are looking for the person whose heart is completely his. And your prayers and your giving rise before the Lord.

We see also that what is unholy we are not to consider unholy. And our seventh point is the word "while" is important in prayer. Would you please say that with me? "The word 'while' is important in prayer." The Lord speaks while we are praying. Do remember so many times we see while Jesus was praying at his baptism, the heavens were opened up and the Spirit descended as a dove.

While he was praying, Jesus, at the transfiguration, it says, "While he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed." Things happen while we're praying. Look at your neighbor and say, "Things happen when you're praying." Things happen when we are praying because the Holy Spirit is even interceding for us with words too deep or with groanings too deep for words.

Our eighth point is that when perplexed, reflect on what the Lord is saying. Do you see how we are told that Peter, in verse 19, "while Peter was reflecting, while Peter was reflecting, while Peter was reflecting"? Take time in your prayer time, take time when the Lord brings something to your mind to reflect on it. "Lord, what are you saying to me? What are you prompting me to do?"

Our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is two-way. We are in constant communion with him. The Lord had kept telling me to be sure and include this point about the importance of reflecting on what he is saying to us, and I hadn't gotten it into my notes and into my listening guide. He reminded me again a few days later, "Be sure and emphasize that word 'reflecting' right here, Debbie. I need you to be sure and emphasize that word 'reflecting.'"

I still had not done it. This morning I was praying and the Lord was like, "You need to really make sure you get that word 'perplexed,' that he was perplexed when you don't know what to do. When those ladies are just perplexed, totally not knowing what to do and they're praying, it's while they're praying I can speak into their minds and hearts what they need to do. It's while they're reflecting on my word. It's while they're reflecting on what I'm teaching them, I speak."

So will you slow down in your prayer time? That's why so many of you know I like to journal so much, because when we are writing things down that the scripture tells us or we're writing down a verse, we are reflecting on it at a deeper level than just verbal communication. And it is in that prayer time, it's in my journaling time, it's in the silence that the Lord speaks. We are able to hear him.

Slow down in your prayer time, slow down in your study time, slow down when you wake up and be mindful. Ask the Lord to awaken you to his voice. There are so many ways you and I can grow as a disciple. Now we know Jesus doesn't always tell us the ending, but we're to take the steps he shows us, and that is certainly what Peter did as he went to Cornelius's home and he tells him of Jesus's death and resurrection.

We're encouraged to know in verse 33 that when we gather right now, we are present before the Lord. Does that just excite you? Right this moment, you and I are present. Hello, Lord. You want to say hi to him? You can, just say, "Hello, Lord." We love you. Thank you for being here. Teach us, prompt us to obey you. We are present before the Lord. Don't you love that? Don't you love gathering with other believers? Oh, it's so precious.

In Peter's sermon, in Peter's message, he is just speaking conversationally with them. He's not preaching. He shares, and you can read the verses that tell the message that he gives, but he tells them in verse 34 that God is impartial, that he is peace, that who they're wanting to know about is Jesus Christ. He tells them that he is Lord of all.

He's talking about Jesus of Nazareth. He wants to make sure this Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power. He is good. He is healer. Crucified, dead, resurrected, visible, they ate with him. He was appointed by God. He is a judge of the living and the dead. He is the name by whom there is forgiveness. Woohoo! I'd say Peter has a mouthful, a heartful, a mindful of knowing what to tell people, and I think you do too.

All we need to do is be go-so Christians who open our mouths and share who we know Jesus to be. We see in verses 44-48 that while Peter preached, say that word with me, "while." Verse 44, "while Peter was still speaking these words..." while we are praying, while we are reflecting, while we are speaking, God makes things happen, girls. We've got to be women of action. Women who talk. Women who do. Women who reflect. It's so exciting.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit just... boom! It wasn't like Peter had to conclude and say, "Okay, now are there any questions? Or we're about... we've got five more minutes." No, it's like Peter's speaking and boom! The Holy Spirit. Boom! The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. Can you imagine? You're sitting there and you're listening and you're saying, "Yes, yes, I believe that. I understand that. Yes, I've heard that about Jesus," and then boom!

The Holy Spirit falls on you. Well, that did happen. If you're a Christian, that happened at the moment of your salvation. Boom! The Holy Spirit was poured into your heart, and now friends, it's time for us to let the Holy Spirit out, right? The Holy Spirit wants to consume more and more of our lives. The Holy Spirit wants to occupy a prominent place in us. The Holy Spirit wants to be a voice not just to us but through us.

I hope you're just super excited as you come to this study. Oh, it's so exciting! Now so we see our twelfth point is the word "while" is important when sharing our faith because you may not sense anything. You might like to think, "Oh, I would like to just feel so filled with the Spirit and then I'm going to go talk to my neighbor." Well, you may just go ring the doorbell and feel dead as a doornail. I mean, you may just not feel anything.

There are so many times that I start to stand up and speak somewhere and I'm just like, "Lord, I don't think I have anything to say." It's while we are obeying. While we are obeying, the Spirit moves. We have to take that first step. We have to take that first step. The Holy Spirit moves while we share our faith. And our last point, God pours the gift of the Holy Spirit on the one who believes Jesus is Lord.

I want you to just close and leave here with this Thanksgiving blessing that I would like for you to take home from our study today. Would you read aloud with me your takeaways? Thank you Lord Jesus. Read aloud with me. Thank you Lord Jesus, I can walk in newness of life and the Spirit rather than be in bed with my old nature.

Thank you Lord Jesus, I can be a disciple of Christ showing kindness and generosity to others. Thank you Lord Jesus, I can turn to you, kneel and pray when faced with an impossible situation or person. Thank you Lord Jesus, I can pray knowing my prayers ascend before God. I can spiritually influence my family and friends.

Thank you God, I can pray, reflect on my thoughts and hear the Spirit speak. Thank you Lord Jesus, I can be a part of divine appointments by obeying what you show me. Thank you Lord Jesus, I can repent of prejudice and see others as needing the gift of salvation. Thank you Lord Jesus, I can open my mouth and speak, trusting the Spirit to move as people hear the word.

Thank you Lord Jesus, I can celebrate the joy of salvation through Christ and that he will raise me to eternal life. Are you like Aeneas, walking in newness of salvation? Are you like Tabitha, a disciple of Christ, kind and generous? Are you like Peter, first turning to the Lord kneeling and pray before dealing with the impossible? Are you like Cornelius, offering prayers and gifts that rise to the Lord as spiritual influence on your family, opening your home for friends to hear the word? Do you like Peter have regular times of prayer to reflect on your thoughts and what the Spirit is saying? Reflect now, how is the Spirit speaking to you? Oh Father, yes we do. Thank you and we ask that you awaken our ears to listen as a disciple morning by morning. Amen.

Thank you for listening to this podcast. To learn more about how to grow in Christ or to be saved, visit www.debbietaylorwilliams.com. Connect with me on Instagram @DebbieTaylorWilliams. God bless you.