Well, those were some good songs this morning, hey? A lot of good truth in there. Good morning to everyone. It's a beautiful morning—sunshine, nice weather, no bugs. Enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

I could begin this morning by asking you to turn to John chapter 17, John 17, and this is Jesus' high priestly prayer. I'd like to read a few verses beginning in verse 15. And Jesus says, “I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”

The great purpose of our lives is to bring the good news message of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, that they may believe that God sent Jesus to be their Savior. And as I've studied through the book of Acts in these first nine chapters, it has often made me think of the time that I spent in India a few years ago. I think the reason for this is that there's a great similarity in lifestyle today for our missionaries and friends in India to that of the disciples in the early church. 

There's a great deal of poverty in India, and no one really has a lot of resources, at least among the believers that I visited in the various villages. And this was the case in the church in Jerusalem for sure, as well as among those scattered out by the persecution that we've been studying. There is a great and precious fellowship among the believers in India—a very close-knit group of believers in the midst of that very pagan country. This was the case for the believers in Acts as well, helping one another, ministering to each other, and spending a great deal of time in fellowship.

Even the culture and the climate, I think, is very similar. I was impressed when I was there that so many were walking everywhere they went. Some walked for miles and miles—even days—to come to a gathering or service. The believers walked all over the country, or they rode mopeds or bikes to go out and evangelize. 

And that's the thing that probably strikes me the most about the time that I spent in India in conjunction with the clear purpose and mission that we see in the early church—and that is evangelism, witnessing. This was their daily pursuit, their way of life. They went about all around as they went preaching Christ, and this is what they did. This is now what the believers do around the world. 

It's a very convicting thing for me to study because it's so easy for me to become distracted with the busyness of life, with the cares of the world, and not be in the Word, not be in prayer, not looking for opportunities to share the gospel truth with lost people all around me, and just to go along my way not sharing Christ. But this is the very purpose for which we are here. This is the commission that Jesus gave to us, his followers, his brethren: to go into all the world and preach the gospel. 

That's the purpose he gives in John 17 as he prays to the Father for those who would believe by the words of the disciples, including us. And that's what we will see—that the disciples continued to do all through the book of Acts. In our text today, we're going to see again the ministry of Peter. 

And it's not going to be a great sermon preached to the Jewish leaders this time. It's not going to be a ministry to the masses and thousands before him, as we've studied before. But it's going to be a day in the life of Peter, an example to us of obedience and submission to the Spirit of God in the sharing of Christ as you go. 

Let's look at our text in verse 32. Acts 9:32 says, “Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lyda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.’ Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lyda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”

At Joppa, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds, which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. And when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lyda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 

Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room, and all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 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. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon a tanner.

Well, I've given you four points on your outline. First, we're going to see "As You Go." Second, we're going to see application: a personal application of the power of Jesus Christ. Third, availability. And fourth, agape: agape love.

Well, I'd like for you to focus in on three words in verse 32 as we begin. It says, “Now it came to pass that as Peter went.” These are significant words because they show us that Peter was going. He was moving; he was about the business of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

In Matthew 28:18, we're familiar with that passage where Jesus gives to his disciples the great commission. It says, "He came and spoke to them saying, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” 

Jesus gives these final words to his men as a command to go. "Go therefore," he says, "and make disciples." Literally, it says "as you are going" or "as you go." And I think this is so applicable for us because our tendency is to take the great commission and relegate it to some system or plan or missionary journey. 

It is great and wonderful and crucial that believers go into foreign countries and preach the word, that men make plans to go out and do evangelism and organize mission trips that are focused on this purpose. But for most of us in the local church body here in Winchester, Wisconsin, or down in Minocqua or up in Hurley, a mission trip may be a week of our lives or we may take an opportunity to do something special in our community to affect evangelism on a one-time basis.

But really, if we think that the great commission only involves missionaries in India or short trips to Haiti, then we are missing the main thrust of the command of our Lord. He says, “As you go, make disciples; as you go, preach the gospel to all creatures.” 

Where are you going, my friends? Where is it that you go as you are going? Well, you go to work. You go to the grocery. You go to the gas station. You go to social events, to family gatherings, to sporting events. 

I was thinking I'm pretty much on the farm all the time if I'm not going to a Bible study or preaching a sermon. But guess what? God brings people to me almost every day. I had four different people stop by yesterday. Kind of impedes work a little bit, but it's good that God brings them to me. They come to see the animals; they come to buy meat; they come for a visit. 

I go to town and I run errands and talk to people and I meet people. So what is the thrust of the great commission for me and for you? It is that as you are going— as you go, preach the gospel, make disciples, give out tracts. 

We don't have to have a lot of training in some deep, four-step method or intricate detailed plan of evangelism. We don't have to travel afar or meet foreign people in a foreign land. There are myriads of people right here in our communities that need the gospel, and we are called to bring it to them. 

This is our commission. This is our privilege. This is the purpose of our lives on this earth, the reason that Jesus left us here. As we go, preach the gospel to every creature. As Peter went through all parts of the country, he was about the country: moving, going with a mission. And as he went, he came to the saints in Lyda.

Now, you might not think at first that this is a passage about evangelism. What we see here is that there are some great principles for us to learn from Peter that will facilitate the spreading of the gospel and the salvation of men in our lives by the grace and power of God. 

The first, as we have been discussing, is that we must be going with a purpose in mind, with a mission for our everyday lives. And second, we see that our life and ministry and preaching must be Christ-centered and include an application of the power of Christ in the saving gospel. Look at verse 32 again, please. 

Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lyda. There, he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 

Look at verse 35: So all who dwelt at Lyda and Sharon saw him, and turned to the Lord. Here we see a man, Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Peter was not in this case preaching to thousands, but focused on one—one man for whom Christ died. 

And what Aeneas needed was a personal application of the power of Jesus Christ through faith. And here we see an example of physical healing by the power of Jesus. Notice, Peter says, “Jesus the Christ heals you.” He does not say, “I heal you.” Peter was not applying his own power here; he was a messenger—a minister of the power of Christ's physical healing in this instance. 

But remember the purpose of these miracles. We cannot do miracles today. We cannot heal; we cannot do signs and wonders. That is not in God’s economy or plan for us today, but it very much was in the book of Acts and for a specific purpose. Remember, Jesus said in Mark 16, he commanded the disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And in verse 20, it says, “And they went out and preached everywhere.” 

Listen now—the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. The purpose of the signs and wonders was to confirm the word that they spoke—the gospel of Jesus—the good news of salvation in him by grace through faith alone and what he accomplished, what he finished at the cross. 

We see the same truth in Hebrews 2. In verse 1, it says, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels”—speaking of the Law of Moses—proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him?”

Listen to verse 4 now: “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will.” 

There was no New Testament in Peter's day; God's word was yet to be completed. So God was bearing witness with signs and wonders to show men that what Peter and the other disciples preached was from Him—that it was truth that they could trust and believe and take for themselves. 

And so what we see is that Peter’s work here—Christ's work through Peter in the healing of Aeneas—was a sign, an affirmation, God bearing witness that the gospel is the truth. And the healing was not the end all; it was not really the main purpose. 

Verse 34 again: Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise, make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. In verse 35, it says all who dwelt at Lyda and Sharon saw him, and it says they turned to the Lord.

What is the essence of faith, my friends? What is the essence of repentance? It is turning to the Lord; it is looking to Jesus in faith. And when Jesus did this sign, this wonder, affirming and confirming that the gospel that Peter spoke was true and real and from him, it says that the people turned to the Lord. They turned to Jesus.

We hear a lot about repentance in preaching today, and we know that the essence of repentance is to turn—to turn from—to turn to. But if you listen to a lot of preaching today in evangelical Christianity, you might think that the essence of repentance is turning from your sins. In fact, with many, you might get the idea that you have to quit sinning or that you have to live up to some standard in order to be saved. And that’s what repentance means. And indeed, there is the truth of turning from what you were trusting in—turning from the sin of unbelief. 

But the essence of repentance is turning to the Lord. I’d like to just give you a couple of examples in the scriptures because some of you are grumbling about that in your minds. 

Second Corinthians 3: turn over to 2 Corinthians 3 with me, please, verse 11. Paul says, “For if what is passing away—the law—was glorious, what remains, the new covenant, is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.”

Look at verse 16: “Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

Salvation comes—the veil is lifted—when one turns to the Lord, when he, in his heart by faith, turns from self-righteousness and law-keeping, or whatever it is that he is trusting in, and turns to the Lord in faith—then he is saved, then the transformation is made.

Listen to 1 Thessalonians 1:8. Paul says, “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything.” 

Paul says, “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you,”—listen—“and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 

This is repentance; this is true faith—turning from idols to serve the living and true God and wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead. What a promise! He’s coming; he’s going to deliver us from the wrath to come.

We see that there must be a personal application of the power of Jesus Christ, and this is illustrated by the healing that Jesus performed through Peter in our text. But the real purpose of this was to bring the many who would turn to Jesus in faith—to bring them to salvation. They each had a personal choice to believe Jesus, to believe the message of the gospel that was preached so consistently by the disciples, or to reject him. And it says here that all in that place turned to the Lord, in their hearts made that personal choice to believe Jesus. 

So we see that we, as individuals, as ambassadors of Christ, must be going; as we go, we must be preaching the gospel; and we see that there must be a personal application of that truth in the heart of a man to be healed, to be saved spiritually, as he turns to the Lord in faith. 

And next, we see from the example of Peter that we must be available. Availability must characterize our life in Christ. Look at verse 36. At Joppa, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds, which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. 

When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lyda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room, and all the widows stood by him, weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 

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. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 

Again, we see another miracle, which God used to affirm the gospel message that Peter preached, and many believed on the Lord. That is the goal. This is the purpose of God. 

It was not to heal Tabitha. She would have been better off not being raised from the dead, wouldn't she? Think about that. She had to come back—not for her good really, but it was not necessary either to raise her from the dead for the sake of the ministry of the church there. It was nice for them. Obviously, they loved her and missed her, and she was a powerful witness and a great comforter and encourager to all the saints there, especially the women. 

She made them nice clothes; did nice things for them. But they would have gone on in God's strength without her. The real reason that Jesus chose to raise her from the dead was to confirm the message so that many would believe on the Lord. And that's exactly what happened, according to verse 42.

What I want you to notice from Peter is that he was willing to go. Verse 38 says, "And since Lyda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them." 

We know Peter was in Lyda, and it says that Joppa was near Lyda, and the disciples knew Peter was there. So, when Dorcas died, they did not bury her immediately—as was the Jewish custom—but washed her and put her upstairs. And they sent for Peter to come because they knew that Peter could raise her from the dead. It says it was not far; it was a little over 16 miles.

Now Peter was walking. The men were sent down to him 16 miles; then he was to walk 16 miles back to Joppa. I'd say that's a pretty good walk. It must have taken five hours or so to make that journey if you didn’t stop and rest. But Peter was willing. He was available. And when they came and asked him to come, it says he arose and he went. 

I'm guessing that Peter was busy. I'm guessing he had a lot going on. And this was really something that he could have pushed off. He could have said, “She’s dead, bury her and move on.” But they needed him. They wanted so desperately for him to come, and my friends, he was available to them.

This is such an important principle for us to see, to learn, to know. Many times in ministry—ministry to one another, to fellow believers—we aren't really sure what to do. We're not really sure what to say. There are difficult times that come: financial hardships, health issues, death. What do you say? What do you do? 

Pastor and I have had this conversation many times, and he always says to me, “All we can do is be available.” This is a paramount truth for me in my life in ministry. And I think it's for each of you as well. Be available. That’s what we do as believers, as ministers of Jesus Christ—to give of what we have, our time, our money, our wisdom from the Word, our prayers, the truth of Jesus. We just need to make ourselves available. 

And this is such a contrast with the world, with lost men. Men are ultimately selfish. They are self-centered. It is who they are in Adam. It ought not be so for us, my friends. For the agape love of Jesus Christ has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

Our life is all about giving ourselves, presenting ourselves to Jesus to minister in this world in any way that he has for us, to accomplish his will. We are to be available to others, especially to the brethren. Peter was available wherever the Lord would have him. And for some time, he would have him in Joppa. And this is a story of how he got him there. 

The believers were so happy to have Dorcas alive, to have her back with them, and they rejoiced and they shed tears. And most importantly, we see in verse 42 that God's will was accomplished and many believed the Lord. 

So we've seen in our text—“As you go” as you go about your life, in the natural course of your life, day by day, preach the gospel. We've seen the need for a personal application of the power of Jesus Christ. We've seen the need for us to be available; that availability should be the hallmark of our lives as Christians—ministering to one another and to the lost. 

And last, we see agape love. Look at verse 37, please. It says, “But it happened in those days that she became sick and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in the upper room. And since Lyda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room, and all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.” 

But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” 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. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 

Now please notice this little detail with me in verse 43. The Holy Spirit just tucks this in there. He says, “So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.” 

This is an interesting time in the life of Peter. As I thought about where we are in God's salvation history in Acts 9, I thought about how the gospel, how salvation in Jesus Christ changes so much in our lives. Certainly, it changes the essence of who we are—recreating us, giving us a new heart and a new spirit. 

But our thoughts are changed. The old is gone; the new has come; now all things are of God. Our perspective on the world has changed. Our thinking has changed. Everything has changed. Peter was in the midst of this process hardcore. 

We will see this coming up in Acts 10 in the next chapter. But already he had changed so much of his legalistic Jewish thinking and the way he had lived and thought—specifically about people: Samaritan people, Gentile people, and even Simon the tanner, the lowly tanner, who now lodged Peter the apostle in his home. 

And this was no small thing, my friends, because tanners were not exactly the muckety-mucks of high society. They were in a dirty, shall we say, unclean line of work—working with dead animals and skins and the whole stinky process of tanning hides and making leather. 

But Peter was no longer who he had been. He was a new creation. He was living under the new covenant. He had the Holy Spirit indwelling him. And the truth is, my brothers and sisters, there is no Jew or Gentile in Christ. We are all one. We are all equal. And anyone who will turn to faith in Jesus and believe him is a brother or a sister. And we have sweet fellowship in Christ. God is no respecter of persons, and neither should we be. 

Turn over to James 2 with me, please. James 2 at verse 1. James was greatly concerned about this issue. In James 2, he said, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings and fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand there or sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 

Listen, my beloved brethren: has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” 

I fear, my friends, that within many Christian circles there’s an amazing amount of partiality. I've seen it; I've heard it. And like Peter, God has had to work on me over the years to help me really understand my wrong thinking in this area. 

What makes a Christian is not how we look, or what we wear, or what our politics are. It is not our social standing, or our wealth, or our influence in the community. What makes us brothers and sisters is a common faith in Jesus Christ. 

And there should be no partiality in the church—no bias or prejudice, but rather a heart for men to be saved, for brothers and sisters who want to grow in Christ, to know and believe the word, to witness and minister to one another, to come together in fellowship with one heart, one purpose—to glorify God and to lead men to Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 2:11, Paul says, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

“For he himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and those who were near, for through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” 

This is the wonder of God's grace in Jesus Christ. We are all equal. We are all one in him. And God has chosen not the wise and the noble of this world, but he has chosen the off-scouring, Paul says, the weak, the outcast, the lowly, the poor. And he takes each one that will come to him and he places them into his body, the church, and builds all of us up together for his glory and for his purposes.

The grace of God, salvation in Christ, brings us to a place of humility, of understanding who we truly are, and it allows us to love all men with the love of Jesus. We’ll see more in the next chapter on the amazing, astounding truth that Gentiles are now equal to Jews in Christ. This would have blown the mind of Peter and certainly his legalistic cohorts. 

But I think there are some truths that we each need to ponder in the example of Peter before us this morning. We’ve seen, “As you go,” Peter was going into all the world and preaching the gospel—making disciples as he went in the natural course of his life. There was a personal application of the power of Christ in people's lives. Peter was characterized by availability. When opportunity came, he was available and he went. 

When we see agape love, impartiality now in the new covenant in the mind and heart of Peter, this is truly what Christ has freed us to do—to love one another, to exercise agape love as he empowers and lives his life through us, so that men might be transformed, that they might be changed, that they might live new lives, that they might walk in holiness and consistency with who they are, growing in Christ's likeness and being a witness to the world. 

As I wrote these words, a little old lady came to my mind. Augustine mentioned her when he was here. She lives in a leper colony where there's a church called Living Hope Church. As Augustine mentioned, funds were given by our church to build this place of worship years ago. 

I met this little lady when I traveled to India, and I preached in that little church. It was a wonderful place. I preached at night, and there were bugs swarming around all the lights on the walls, and these lizards were crawling all over the walls and eating those bugs. And then, in the middle of my sermon, the lights went out, and there we all sat in the dark. And a man came with a light, and he held it on my notes so that I could finish preaching. It was an interesting evening. 

But there was this special lady who lived there—a leper. She was maybe a little over four feet tall. She had very thick glasses, thicker than I’d ever seen in my life. Her nose was almost gone. Her fingers were just stubs. My friends, physically—in a worldly sense—there was nothing comely about her. But when we visited her house, she, from the first moment, had an absolute glow about her, an excitement and passion for Jesus Christ. She had no fancy clothes. I'm not even sure she had any sandals, and she certainly had no earthly possessions to speak of, but she was a fervent witness for Jesus. 

She was clearly, madly in love with Jesus, and she wanted to talk about nothing else. She had no money, but what she did obtain, she gave most of it to the church. I have to tell you, my friends, she was a lovely little lady—a sister in Christ, a fervent witness and faithful servant of her Lord. She would be a spectacle walking into some Baptist churches in America. But I have to tell you, I would love to spend time with her in fellowship again—anytime. 

We’re here to tell people about the good news of Jesus Christ, and we’re here to show his love—that unconditional agape love. And if any man will come to Jesus in faith, if he will believe him alone, then he’s a brother, and I love him. 

Let’s close in prayer. 

Father, we’re so thankful that you continue to teach us through your word, Lord, sanctifying us by your truth as Jesus prayed. Thank you for the example that we see in the book of Acts, the example here of Peter, and what we’ve seen of Paul, and the wonderful truth of just being available, Lord—seeking to tell people the truth, to preach the gospel as we go through the days of our lives, Lord—just to tell people the good news that they might believe and be saved and come and follow you. In Jesus’ name we pray.