The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter nine, verses 36 through 43.

Tony Clark: We can see that the loss of Dorcas was a serious blow to the widows and the church. It was serious because employment opportunities were extremely limited and widows without families to care for them were often left destitute. So it was a very serious blow when Dorcas died because she took care of the widows and those who were less fortunate.

These widows came up to Peter and showed him how much they needed her. Why? Because Dorcas was one who ministered in practical ways to them. She did good things for the people. She sewed clothing. She cared for them in very tangible ways. She was, as we would say, down to earth. She was real. She fulfilled what Titus 3:14 says: "And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful." Dorcas did this beautifully with those in need in the church.

There is nothing like having people like Dorcas around the church. When your car is down, or something is broken at the house, or you need a meal cooked for you because you just had surgery or just had a baby, you don't need a pastor per se to come over and quote you some scripture. You need somebody like a Dorcas to come cook a meal, clean a house, or fix something that is broken. That's who you need. You don't need somebody like me coming over there quoting a verse: "Oh, you just had a baby. Children are a blessing from God. The fruit of the womb is His reward." You need somebody who's going to clean the house for you because you are unable to, someone to minister in very practical ways.

So I want to say thank you to all the people who are like Dorcas here at this church. You are a blessing to many, many people because these things are needed. There are so many people struggling when they have surgery, or a baby, or their car is broken. I thank God for the guys who can look at a car, take it all apart, and put it all back together. God bless you for being able to do that. Those who can fix things, build things from the ground up, God bless you for being in the body of Christ. We need you. I just go pay somebody. My wife asks why I don't try to fix it, and I say no, because then I'll mess it up more and have to pay double for someone to come fix what I messed up. God bless all of you who are like Dorcas in the church.

Look at verses 40 and 41. It says, "But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive."

These are some incredible verses. After the widows crowded around Peter showing him all of the things Dorcas made for them, verse 40 says Peter put them all out. Now, why would he do that? Peter saw Jesus do this in Matthew 9:25 in the raising of Jairus's daughter from the dead. For Peter, could it be that he didn't want to put on a display before the crowd? Anything that would draw attention to him and take the focus off of the Lord.

Or it could be he put them all out because he just wanted a quiet place to pray and not just put on some kind of show. The crowds are here, and he's not out there shouting. He put all those folks out. He wasn't putting on some show for them. He put them all out, and I'm just so thankful that he did this. He was just trying to be like Jesus.

Notice how Peter, a true saint, never wanted the attention to be taken away from Jesus. So he did everything to let everyone know that he is only a humble servant of Jesus Christ. Does the attention always have to be on you? When you go somewhere, do you brag about how you're the life of the party? But you're just a big distraction. When you come into a place, you suck the air from it. You think people love to have you around because you're the life of the party, and you just don't know they're thinking, "Will you get this guy out of here?"

A true saint of God will do what Peter is doing here, making sure that he doesn't do anything that will draw attention to himself. So he put them all outside and he knelt down to pray. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." Peter seems to remember the healing of Jairus's daughter recorded in Mark 5:38-43. When Jesus brought her back to life, He said in Mark 5:41, "Talitha koum," which is Aramaic for "Little girl, I say to you, arise."

So here is Peter basically saying the same thing: "Tabitha koum, arise." Peter is just doing what he saw Jesus do, which is what saints, Christians, are supposed to do. We're supposed to follow in the steps of Jesus like 1 Peter 2:21 teaches. I was thinking about this this morning as I was going over my notes. Would people say this about you, that you're always following in the steps of Jesus? This is what saints do. I was reading this morning through 1 John and I was reminded of 1 John 2:6: "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."

Peter is demonstrating this in these verses. He was just doing what he saw Jesus do. That's all he was doing. So we see that Peter was not only available, but he also pointed people to Jesus, so he was humble. Third, he followed in the steps of Jesus. But also, number four, he was prayerful. When he prayed for Dorcas, the end of verse 40 says, "and she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up."

Prayer is essential to any successful ministry. Prayer acknowledges our dependence upon God. Prayer realizes that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or even think or even imagine. I'm reminded of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. I'm really reminded of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church. You know the choir, but you don't know their Tuesday prayer service that over 3,000 people attend. Before the doors are opened, lines are outside wrapped around the building. They're ready to get in there to meet with God. And when the doors open, they rush towards the front so they can be in the midst. They say when you're in there and hear those people praying, it sounds like thunder.

A prayer service where over 3,000 people come out to pray. People know the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, their Grammy Award-winning choir, but the secret behind that church is the Tuesday prayer meeting. That's the secret. When can you get 3,000 people to come out to pray? You can get 3,000 people out to a potluck or a barbecue. Folks are ready to walk away with their paper plates and their aluminum foil on the top, two or three plates, and walking away. You can get that. That's a given.

But 3,000 people to come out to pray? We're trying to turn up the temperature at our church here with prayer—our monthly prayer, our quarterly prayer, praying every day, and then Saturday nights. Whoever wants to come out to just pray for Sunday morning services, we're starting to get a few people come out. I'm not discouraged because I told them I only expect to be here. So if anybody else comes outside of me, it's victory for me.

But I would love to see this amount of people come out for prayer. Because if we really believe that we're praying and talking to the God who created the universe, through whom He said nothing is impossible with Me, I wonder why we don't see more come out for prayer. You know why? Because we really don't believe He answers prayer. We really don't believe it. Because if we do, we vote with our feet. We still vote with our feet. We really don't believe that God may hear prayers, but we don't believe He answers prayers because we show it with our feet.

Prayer is essential to the success of any ministry. Anything God is doing here is the result of prayer. God answering our prayers, we believe that here. That God is doing a work here. We keep it real simple. We don't have a flashy 200-member choir. We don't have some spectacular show. I'm not up here to wow and bedazzle you and walk across the stage and walk across the chairs. I'm not doing any of that. I'm up here just teaching you the Word. We worship God, we get taught the Word, and we go home and try to live it. There's nothing flashy. We don't have some big anything.

But people are coming from all over because Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." Oh yes, He was talking about being lifted up on the cross, we know. But when we lift Him up in the teaching of the Word of God, He draws all people to Him. You can look around and see all kinds of people, all kinds of ages and looks and shades of color. That's because that's what Jesus is doing through the teaching of the Word of God.

So prayer is essential. Every great man or woman of God that God has done anything through, they were people of prayer. Any church that you see God is just doing great things, I guarantee you prayer is somewhere behind the scenes. Many people in the early days of Calvary Chapels wanted to study Pastor Chuck Smith's church. So they would come from all over. "What is the secret of your growth? Oh, it's the contemporary worship music. Okay, let's note that. Oh, he just gets up and teaches. Okay, we'll write that down."

But Pastor Chuck says they don't see the 24-hour prayer meeting that we have, the all-men's prayer all night long. They don't see the prayer that's going on behind the scenes even right now. Many people traveled to see the great Charles Spurgeon back in the day. They went overseas because they wanted to hear the great Charles Spurgeon. So they came to the church early and they came peeking through the doors, and Spurgeon happened to walk up.

And they said, "We're here to see the great Charles Spurgeon." He said, "You want to know the secret of this church?" They said, "Yeah." He said, "Follow me." And he took them around and there were 700 people in the basement praying for the service that was about to take place. But all the attention goes on Spurgeon, the great prince of preachers, and it should be. However, what made Spurgeon Spurgeon was the prayer that was going on. Some rumors even say that as Spurgeon was preaching, there was a handicapped boy to the left of the pulpit on the stairs praying for Spurgeon as he was up giving the word.

Prayer is essential for the work that I know God wants to do through us in this area. It must be through prayer. It's going to be through prayer. And this is what we're trying to do, is turn up the temperature of prayer.

Look at verse 42. "And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord." In this verse, we see the greater purpose of why God wanted Peter to go and raise Dorcas from the dead. Because as a result, it became known throughout all of Joppa and many believed on the Lord. In other words, the entire city of Joppa heard the gospel of Jesus Christ as a result of what Peter did.

So Peter was not only available, not only pointed people to Jesus so he was humble, not only followed in Jesus's steps, and not only was he prayerful, but he was also, number five, he was fruitful. His ministry to one dead woman exposed an entire city to the gospel. We don't always know the plans of the Lord for the things He asks us to do for Him. Who knows the spiritually dead people God sends our way whom the Lord wants to revive through us?

So when you're in the children's ministry, teen ministry, or ministering to your children at home, as you read and pray or talk to them about Jesus Christ, you could be preaching, teaching, or praying for the next Billy Graham or the next great woman of God. Like Peter, you never know the fruit that will come from one dead person spiritually being brought back to life.

I'm reminded of when my parents made me go to church. Many of you had the same thing happen. And what little I heard, this is the fruit of it here. That they made me go to church. My dad said, "Boy, you better get in that car." It was not like what you do today. "Okay, you just stay at home, I'll be back." It was none of that. It was, "Boy, you better get in that car." It's none of that stuff about, "Well, I got a project." There's no waiting until Sunday morning church to do a project. You're going to do that project when you get back home. And matter of fact, it should have been done yesterday. So it was none of what y'all do today.

And because I was exposed to the gospel, here's the fruit of what you never know who you're praying with and talking with. Mordecai Ham was the one who shared the gospel with Billy Graham. And Billy Graham, through him, millions have come to know Jesus Christ. Somebody talked to you, or exposed you, or told you to get in that car. And you're here now as a result. You just never know.

Look at verse 43, the last verse. "So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner." Now, this verse is the bridge between these events we just discussed and the ones recorded in chapter 10. In this little verse alone, we see the sixth characteristic of being a saint, and that is Peter was flexible. He was flexible. Where did he stay? With Simon, who was a tanner.

Now, tanners were not someone who sat under lights and got a tan. Tanners were despised in first-century Jewish society because they dealt with the skins of dead animals, something forbidden by the law of Moses in Leviticus 11:27. Tanners were considered an unclean occupation. Now, in early Jewish society, a woman could not divorce her husband, but of course her husband could divorce his wife. The Mishnah, which was the oral law written down, says that a wife could divorce her husband if he were a tanner. It was looked down on that much.

And Peter was flexible because he put aside the prejudices of the day to hang out with those who were outcasts in society's eyes. Are you willing to put aside your prejudices to hang out with someone maybe of another race in order to win them to Jesus Christ? Are you flexible to the point where you're willing to stay after work to talk to a coworker in the break room that you spend a lot of time gossiping about people in? Are you willing to stay after work to talk with someone about Jesus Christ?

Or is it, "I'm out of here as soon that clock hit five o'clock, I'm gone. No, bro, we'll talk some other time. We ain't talking right now." The person says, "I understand you have some questions about God. I heard that you could maybe point me in the right direction." "Hey, you know what? It's five o'clock. I got to go."

The person that's flexible, they're willing to do what it takes. Look at Peter. Peter is staying with a tanner, something he would never do. But here's the thing: the ultimate test is coming up in the next chapter because he's about to go into the home of a Roman soldier, something the Jews would never do because they considered the Gentiles as being unclean. Some Jewish writings even said that they believed that the Gentiles were only created to keep the flames of hell going. They despised them that much. And Peter is about to be invited to go to a Roman soldier's house. Will he pass the test? We will see, God's will, next week.

Let me conclude with this. We have looked at the six characteristics of a saint lived out by Peter. Number one, he was available. Number two, he pointed people to Jesus, so he was humble. Number three, he followed the steps of Jesus. Number four, he was prayerful. Number five, he was fruitful. And number six, he was flexible. If this doesn't describe you as a saint, then maybe you ain't.

And the Bible is very clear on what a saint is and what he or she does. A saint is just another name for a true Christian. That's all it is. And if these things are nowhere near your life, they can be if you surrender your life to Jesus Christ. God is the one who will work these qualities in you so that those around you may see Jesus through you. And that's only as you surrender your life to Jesus Christ. And there's going to be some people available to pray with you about these things.

Father, thank You again that You have blessed us with Your Word. Oh, dear God, I pray that You would draw Your people to You today. Draw Your people to You by Your Holy Spirit. And Lord, I pray that You save souls. I pray that You bring those who have strayed away back home to You. Lord, I pray for those who don't see these things in their lives. God, I pray that we would draw ever so close to You so You will work these qualities, these characteristics, in and through our lives today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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