Agents of Restoration | Acts 9:31–43

(0:02) Amen, amen, amen. Hey, have a seat everybody. Get out your Bibles.

Acts chapter 9. Acts (0:09) chapter 9. We were there last week. We're gonna wrap up this chapter today. Acts (0:14) chapter 9. If you're using the house Bibles, they're underneath you or in (0:19) front of you or page 944.

Hey, I don't know if you if you did this growing up (0:24) as a kid. I used to always think, man, it'd be really cool to be a secret agent. (0:29) Anybody else? Secret agent? Yes, of course, right? Like, especially the way they were (0:36) portrayed in movies, because that's the right way, right? James Bond, Jason Bourne, (0:43) Ethan Hunt, Austin Powers.

I mean, there's so many we could go with. I mean, you get (0:50) the cool cars, you get the gadgets, you get the ability to take down warlords (0:54) and, you know, the bad guys with like a ballpoint pen, but there's so much more (0:59) to it than that, right? Like, you're sent on a mission and you're representing (1:05) something bigger than yourself and and you step into situations that most (1:10) people just run away from and hopefully when the mission is over, something is (1:15) better because you you showed up. Now, mostly because I'm not a British citizen.

I (1:21) don't expect to be recruited by MI6 anytime soon and I'm guessing you won't (1:26) be either, but if you're a follower of Jesus, you have been recruited into a (1:32) mission. You do represent someone greater than yourself and you are called to step (1:37) into places, painful circumstances where there's hurt and there's loss and (1:41) there's need and there's there's brokenness and we get to go in there (1:44) carrying the hope and the love and the care of Jesus. In other words, you and I, we (1:50) are agents, just not secret agents.

What I'm calling us today from our text is (1:57) agents of restoration. See, Jesus is restoring what sin and brokenness has (2:03) damaged and that doesn't mean that every painful situation, every painful (2:07) circumstance is going to just change immediately. Some of you know that very (2:12) personally, right? Like, you love Jesus but there are still things that that hurt a (2:17) lot in life.

Hanif, there's a big ring in my voice. Can you turn that down just a (2:21) little bit? Somebody else hear that or is that just me? Okay, thank you. But I want you (2:28) to know that those places are not forgotten by him.

Like, even though Jesus, (2:32) we see this all throughout Acts, even though Jesus has ascended into (2:35) heaven, his work still continues through, well, through the church, through (2:39) his people. And so here in the latter part of Acts chapter 9, Luke gives us (2:44) these two stories back-to-back that kind of kind of show us what his restoring (2:49) power looks like and the part that he's given us to play in that. One story (2:53) involves a guy who's been been bedridden, unable to walk for eight years, and the (2:58) other story involves a lady who died.

And into both situations, Jesus sends an (3:04) agent of restoration. We know him as Peter. But here's the thing, Peter can't (3:11) fix either situation.

Each situation, they both appear beyond hope, and yet Jesus (3:16) is still at work. In your Bibles, Acts chapter 9, verse 31 gives us the context. (3:21) We always want context before content.

This is the context of how our (3:25) story is gonna unfold. Verse 31 says, Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and (3:30) Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the (3:36) Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

The church has (3:43) come through some great persecution. Saul has been transformed and kind of sent (3:47) home, and now the church is being strengthened and encouraged, and she's (3:50) growing like crazy. That's the context through which we see (3:55) this story unfold.

Let's read more and see how. We're gonna read the rest of (3:59) chapter 9 and see how these things happen. Verse 32 says, As Peter traveled (4:04) about the country, he went to visit the Lord's people who lived in Leda.

There he (4:09) found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for (4:12) eight years. Aeneas, Peter said to him, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll (4:18) up your mat.

Immediately, Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Leda and Sharon (4:23) saw him and turned to the Lord. In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha.

In (4:30) Greek, her name, and I think the word should say unfortunately, means dorkus. (4:36) It's Greek. I mean, it's unfortunate, but it is what it is.

She was always doing (4:42) good and helping the poor. About that time, she became sick and died, and her (4:47) body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Leda was near Joppa, so (4:51) when the disciples heard that Peter was in Leda, they sent two men to him and (4:54) urged him, please come at once.

Peter went with them, and when he arrived, he was (4:58) taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying and (5:02) showing him the robes and other clothing that dorkus had made while she was still (5:05) with them. Peter sent them all out of the room.

Then he got down on his knees and (5:09) prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, Tabitha, get up. She opened her eyes (5:16) and seeing Peter, she sat up.

He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. (5:21) Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her (5:25) to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the (5:30) Lord.

Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. Father, this is (5:36) your word for us today. Help us to trust and obey.

Help us to hear what you're (5:43) teaching us about being agents of restoration, and use us, Lord, for your (5:48) glory and for the good of those you put in our midst. So teach us, for we are (5:53) listening. In Christ's name, amen.

I really love these two stories, but before we go (6:00) back through them, I want you to notice something that's really important for us (6:02) so we can understand them, and that's this. Again, Peter doesn't restore anyone. (6:09) Jesus does.

Peter is simply willing to be used by him, and I think that's an (6:14) important distinction for us, because if you're anything like me, when I start (6:18) thinking about becoming agents of restoration, about bringing the (6:21) restoration of Jesus to other people, I start thinking, well, I can't fix anybody, (6:26) and that's totally true. Neither can you. Neither could Peter, but here's the (6:32) truth that I want you to understand.

Jesus uses restored people to bring (6:37) restoration to others. Jesus uses restored people to bring restoration to others. (6:44) Peter knew that.

This is the same Peter who had denied even knowing Jesus, and if (6:49) you remember, the risen Jesus came to him and restored him and then called him (6:54) to love and care for his people. So Peter's not walking into these towns and (6:59) these circumstances as a man who's never been broken. He's walking into a man who (7:04) Jesus met in his brokenness, and that's where our part kind of begins, too.

(7:10) We move toward hurting people because Jesus moved toward us, or more (7:15) scripturally, if you like, we love because he first loved us, right? And some of you (7:21) need to hear that personally today. You've had a long week or a long year, (7:27) and you hear move toward people who are hurting, and you think, well, I am one of (7:32) the hurting people. I think it's important we acknowledge that, right? Like (7:36) we're not saying, hey, you better set your own hurt aside and just go take care of (7:39) people.

Maybe your first move is to let someone know how you're really doing. (7:45) Here's what I want you to know, though. We all need care, and we all have things that (7:48) God has given to us and enabled us to do to offer care to other people.

Sometimes (7:53) both are true in the same week or moment. And so I want us to walk back through (7:58) this text and these two stories, and I want us to notice three moves that (8:03) agents of restoration make regularly. The first one is simply this.

Agents of (8:07) restoration, they show up. They show up regularly. I love verse 32.

It just says (8:13) that Peter's moving toward people. As Peter traveled around the (8:16) country, he went to visit the Lord's people who happened to live in (8:20) Lydda. Lydda is a town about 25 miles from Jerusalem, closer to the (8:24) Mediterranean coast.

And evidently they're also there, the villages and (8:29) towns there, that when the apostles and when the disciples were all (8:31) scattered from the persecution, they preached wherever they went. And people (8:35) here in Lydda believed the gospel. They were turning to the Lord.

They responded, (8:38) and Peter decided to go to them, which is a novel idea, isn't it? I feel like that's (8:43) what we're commanded to do. He's not going to stay in Jerusalem and wait for (8:47) ministry to come to him. He's going to them.

He's visiting people. He's (8:50) going from place to place. And when he arrives in Lydda, he meets Aeneas.

Aeneas (8:56) has been bedridden for eight years because he's paralyzed. Eight years. Do you know how long (9:05) eight years is? Eight years ago was 2018.

You remember what you're doing in 2018? (9:11) Prince Harry, and of course you don't, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, they just (9:14) got married. The Eagles won their first Super Bowl. Sure.

Yay. Super Bowl. If you're (9:25) like us, we have someone who's a college freshman.

Eight years ago he was starting (9:29) fifth grade. That's what was happening eight years ago. Think about how much your (9:33) life has changed in eight years.

And for Aeneas, every single morning meant waking (9:39) up to the same limitations. Completely dependent upon someone else, watching (9:44) life move forward around him. Eight years of that until Peter shows up.

Then just a (9:53) few verses later, Tabitha dies in Joppa, and the disciples there, they (9:56) heard Peter was nearby, so they send some guys to go get him, and they said, (10:00) hey, would you please come at once? And verse 39 just says, Peter went with him. (10:04) It almost seems like something too small to even mention, but I don't think it is, (10:08) because we see Peter keeps moving toward hurting people. He keeps stepping into (10:12) places of pain.

Luke tells us they asked him to come, and he just went. He (10:18) didn't know what he was walking into. He just went.

And don't miss the simplicity (10:22) of this. Restoration often begins with just showing up. Moving toward brokenness.

(10:31) Being present. And this is really important, because if you're anything (10:35) like me, sometimes our instinct is to do the exact opposite, right? Broken (10:41) situations make us feel uncomfortable. Someone's grieving, and we don't really (10:45) know what to say.

Someone's life is messy, and we're not sure what stepping into (10:51) that might entail, and so we pull back. Oh, we've typed out the text, and then we (10:56) delete it. Oh, that's too shallow.

That's not gonna help. I don't know how to fix (10:59) anything. I don't want to bother them.

And you care for them, but you (11:02) probably can't fix things, and so you pull back. But what if Jesus isn't asking (11:09) you to fix anything? What if he's just asking you to show up? To send the text (11:16) message. Hey, I was thinking about you.

To make the call. To arrange the visit. (11:22) You don't have to show up with all the answers.

You just kind of show up (11:25) ready to listen. And many of you have been showing up where everyone else has (11:29) kept walking by. You've been to the appointments.

You've listened to the same (11:34) struggle more times than you care to admit, and you're tired, and you wonder (11:39) whether any of the things you're doing are making any difference. Can you hear me? (11:44) Please don't measure the value of your love by whether or not you see a (11:49) situation changing. Your presence matters even when you don't see progress.

And so (11:57) this showing up, for some of it means it means taking a step we've been avoiding, (12:00) and for others it means staying the course. Keep going. Staying faithful.

Agents (12:05) of restoration know they don't have to be the restorer. They just have to be (12:09) available to show up. A second move that they make regularly is agents of (12:14) restoration.

They always point people to Jesus. Did you notice what Peter said to (12:19) Aeneas when he got there? It might be helpful to notice what he didn't say. He (12:25) didn't say, hey Aeneas, watch what I can do.

He didn't say that. He didn't say, hey Peter (12:32) heals you. He didn't say that either.

Look at verse 34. Check it out. Aeneas, Peter (12:36) said to him, Jesus Christ heals you.

He couldn't make it any clearer. Peter (12:43) understood his role. He's not the source.

He's not the restorer. He's the conduit. (12:49) He's the agent acting under someone else's authority.

And immediately watch (12:54) what happens. Aeneas gets up. Then notice in verse 35, all those who lived in (12:59) Leda, all those who lived in the town and Sharon, the surrounding area, they all (13:02) saw Aeneas restored.

And what did they do? They turned to the Lord. Luke doesn't say (13:09) they all turn to Peter. That Peter became really popular and, you know, blew up on (13:14) Instagram.

No, they turned to the Lord. Peter names Jesus as the one who heals (13:20) and when people see what's happened, they turn to Jesus. That's what we want (13:25) too, right? We want people to know the one whose love and power has changed our (13:29) lives.

Now that doesn't mean you need to turn every act of kindness into a (13:34) sermon. When someone says thank you, I don't know what I would have done (13:38) without you. You can receive that warmly and be like, hey, really appreciate that.

(13:42) Thank you. I'm glad the Lord had me here. I love you.

And then as you have (13:48) conversation and you have a natural opportunity to tell them why (13:51) you have hope. Hey, you know, Jesus has met me in some really hard places too. I (13:58) love to share that with you.

And we can speak his name without pretending that we (14:04) have all the answers. We can offer to pray. We can tell the truth about what he (14:08) has done in our lives.

That's what it means to be a witness. Hannah reminded (14:11) us at the beginning, right? To testify to the good news of God's grace in our (14:16) lives. You see, because Agents of Restoration, the goal, it's not look at (14:21) what I did.

The goal is look at who Jesus is. And we've talked about this. That's (14:26) incredibly freeing because even though we've talked about it, some of us still (14:28) think we need to carry all the weight that Jesus has never intended us to (14:32) carry.

Ah man, I've got to save my kid. I've got to fix my spouse. I've got to (14:39) change this person's whole situation.

I have to have the perfect answer. Guys, (14:44) that's just not true. You are not the restorer.

That position has been (14:49) permanently filled. Your job is not to be Jesus for someone. Your job is to show up (14:58) and to love them and to testify to who Jesus is.

And so we encourage with the (15:04) hope of Jesus. We forgive because Jesus forgave us. We serve with the love of (15:10) Jesus.

We give generously because God so loved the world that, well, that he gave. (15:14) We step into brokenness because you and I know that that Jesus is the only one (15:18) who can heal those wounds. And that's what we see happening in both of these (15:22) stories today.

The restoration that points people to Jesus. And that's the (15:28) goal. To point people beyond ourselves to say, Jesus is the one that you need.

And (15:34) just so happens I know him. There's a third move we see in our in our text (15:40) today and that's agents of restoration. They always depend on Jesus.

I love this. (15:47) After Aeneas and Leta, Luke takes us to a town just a little while away and (15:53) introduces us to an incredible Jesus follower named Tabitha. Verse 36, man, just (15:59) gives us a tiny little description of who she was.

And who wouldn't want this (16:04) on their gravestone for everyone to see? She was always doing good and helping (16:08) the poor. That's the description of Tabitha we have for all time. Like, don't (16:15) rush past that.

Before Luke tells us about the miracle that happened in (16:19) Tabitha's life, he tells us about the good she was already doing. She was (16:25) doing what she was able to do. She was making clothes.

She was helping people. (16:29) She was seeing a need and doing what she could. And she got sick.

And she died. And (16:38) when Peter arrives, the widows gather around him crying, showing him the robes (16:42) and other clothes that Tabitha had made for them. Can you see that happening in (16:47) your mind's eye? Like the quilt that your grandmother made for you, or (16:51) the desk that your dad built, or that handwritten card you still have from a (16:56) dear loved person.

These widows, they're holding up (17:00) the evidence of Tabitha's love. Look, she made this for me. She saw me.

She (17:08) cared for me. She loved me. The clothes she made mattered because the people (17:13) she helped mattered.

And before there was a miracle for anybody to talk about, there (17:18) were people who had been loved. And this kind of love requires dependence on (17:22) Jesus. Because we need His compassion when we see pain.

We need His patience when (17:28) caring for someone takes longer than maybe we thought it would. (17:33) Or we need His wisdom when we really don't know what's actually going to (17:38) help in this situation. Peter needed Jesus, too.

Did you see that? Verse 40, (17:46) Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and he prayed. (17:50) Don't miss that.

Before Peter ever stood up and said anything, he knelt down and (17:55) he prayed. Peter had seen Jesus raise the dead before. But he also knew that just (18:01) seeing a miracle doesn't mean he has the authority and the power to do that (18:04) himself.

He turns to the Lord because Peter knows something that sometimes we (18:07) forget. There are things that only Jesus can do. You and I can love someone.

We (18:18) can't make them respond. You and I can parent faithfully. We can't control the (18:23) choices they make.

We can sit in the hospital room. We can't command the (18:29) disease to leave. You and I can do everything we know to do and still reach (18:35) a place where we have to say, Jesus, this is beyond me and hear me.

That's not (18:38) failure. That's faith. I think agents of restoration learn to live in this (18:47) tension, do the good you can, and trust Jesus with the rest.

So Peter gets down (18:54) on his knees and he prays and then he turns to the woman and says, Tabitha, get (18:58) up. And she opens her eyes and she sees him and he just kind of, she sits up and (19:05) he just kind of takes her hand, kind of in a, I just imagine this like in a (19:08) chivalrous way, like she was an amazing person. He helps her up and then he (19:12) calls everybody back in and Luke tells us that Peter presented her to them (19:16) alive.

Just let that sentence sink in for a moment. Peter walked into a room where (19:24) people were mourning someone who had died that they loved and now she's standing (19:28) there with them alive. The power of Jesus had reached into their grief.

I think (19:36) it's really important for us to also to recognize that some of you are in here (19:39) today and you hear this story with an ache in your heart because you prayed (19:47) and people showed up in your life and you asked Jesus to heal somebody that you (19:52) loved and you still had to say goodbye. This passage doesn't promise that every (19:58) hospital room is going to end the same way Tabitha's room did. It doesn't give (20:02) us a formula for making a miracle happen.

I also want you to hear me, an (20:08) unanswered prayer for healing doesn't mean that you you failed to pray well (20:12) enough. Like when someone's circumstances don't change, it doesn't mean that your (20:17) love and your presence, well they were wasted. I think, I want you to read this (20:23) through the idea that what we see happen here is a glimpse of the restoration (20:26) that Jesus will one day bring to completion.

Tabitha was restored to this (20:33) life. Jesus promises his people resurrection life beyond this life, (20:39) beyond the reach of death and so we can ask him boldly for healing now and we (20:44) can trust him for whatever happens next. We keep praying, we keep loving, we (20:50) keep showing up because our hope rests in him, the risen Jesus and the (20:55) eternal future that he promises to all who belong to him.

And before we wrap (21:01) this up, just don't miss verse 42. The restoration points people to Jesus. Again (21:06) this became known all over Joppa and many of people there did what? They (21:10) believed in the Lord.

Until the day when Jesus finally and completely restores (21:17) everything, he sends his people, the church, followers into this broken world (21:24) as agents of restoration. Not because you can make broken things whole, but (21:28) because you belong to the one who can. That's the mission and maybe that's (21:34) where you need to start today.

You've heard us talk before about belonging to (21:38) Jesus and maybe you're here and you're not sure that you do. You know there's (21:42) things in your life that you can't fix, there's sin that you can't undo, (21:45) there's guilt you can't shake. Jesus invites you to come to him.

He gave his (21:52) life for that sin. He conquered death. You can turn from your sin, you can trust in (21:58) him, he can deal with guilt, he can fix the brokenness, he offers forgiveness and new (22:03) life.

And if that's something you need, the next step you need to take, I'd love (22:08) to talk to you about that today. For those of us who do belong to Jesus (22:12) though, here's the question I want us to carry into this week. Where is there (22:18) brokenness within your reach? Where is there brokenness within your (22:25) reach? Maybe it's the person that you meant to text and you just haven't, or the (22:28) neighbor who's got some stuff going on, or the friend whose life has become (22:32) messy and if you're honest you kind of have stepped back because you're not (22:35) sure how involved you want to be getting it.

Well who comes to mind? What's the (22:40) situation within your reach? You don't have to have a plan for fixing (22:44) everything. What's one good thing that Jesus has enabled you to do, kind of like (22:50) Tabitha, that you can do to bring restoration into that situation? I want (22:54) you to take a moment and name the person. There may have been someone who's been (22:58) in your mind this entire morning, right? Before the day is over, take the first (23:06) step.

Before today ends. Say, before today ends. Some of you are looking at me like, (23:14) yeah, whatever, that sounds good, but no.

Now you've said it in front of everybody. (23:19) Like, hold them accountable. No, before today ends, do something.

And as you go (23:25) pray, Lord help me know how to love this person. Help me know how to point them to (23:30) you. Help us all to know how to trust you with whatever happens because we (23:34) really want to be in charge of what happens.

You don't have to walk into (23:39) this week pretending you can fix everything, or anything for that matter. (23:43) You aren't the restorer, but you know him. He moved toward you in grace and in love, (23:51) and he helps us to move toward other people in the same way.

So here's the (23:55) mission. Choose to accept it. Be an agent of restoration.

Show up. Point people to (24:04) Jesus and depend on him for the rest of it. Pray with me.

Father, I'm grateful for (24:13) this word today. I'm grateful that you stepped into our lives, into our (24:22) brokenness. You didn't leave us where we were, and we see Peter doing exactly what (24:27) you told him to do, to take care and to feed your sheep, to love them.

And I pray (24:35) you would remind us you'd give us the same charge, to show up in people's (24:41) lives, to be present, to point them to you, the only one who can save, and to depend (24:49) on you for all of it. I'm just reminded of John 15. Apart from you, we can't do (24:55) anything, but there's also nothing impossible for you.

You can do (25:01) immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, and so remind us of that (25:04) today as we step out of this building and back into real life, into next week, (25:10) as agents of restoration. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.