Book of Acts

The Book of Acts—Chapter 8-9 
Week 17 -

Tonight is the last night for Acts. We will revisit in the New Year. However, we are going to start a new series next week called, The Gospel According to Isaiah.
(do not ask for prayer request at the beginning)
Sickness and death are the universal consequences of sin

All right, if you’ve got a Bible, go to Acts 9:32. We like to go through books of the Bible, and we find ourselves in the book of Acts.
As you’re finding your place, I’m gonna ask you some questions, and this is the audience congregation participation part of our service. You’re going to need to raise your hand if this question applies to you. It’ll feel awkward, but you’re welcome.
All right, so first question. In the last year or two, if you have lost someone, someone you know, someone you loved died, 
Number two, if you’re sick— injury, illness, chronic pain, infertility—
So, the first group, keep your hand up. Second group, keep your hand up. 
Third group, if somebody you know, somebody you love, somebody you care about, they’re sick—injury, illness, infertility— it’s a difficult season for them physically. 
All right, if you said yes to any of those questions, raise your hand. Look around the room for a second. You know what that is? That’s everybody— you can put your hand down— or almost everybody. What this tells us is that something has gone wrong. Something has gone terribly wrong. Something has gone fatally wrong.
And it’s not like we’re not trying to fix this problem of sickness and this other problem of death, amen? Health insurance, doctors, God bless all in the medical industry. We’re trying to extend our life. People are doing everything they can to have health and wellness and to extend their days. Yet here we are with sickness and with death, and it’s been this way, and there’s seemingly nothing we can do to ultimately prevent sickness and death. Something has gone terribly wrong, and that is, according to the storyline of the Bible, that sin has entered the world. It affects our soul and causes us to be separated from God; it affects our body, causes us to be sick, and ultimately die; and it affects our emotions, that we grieve, and lament, and mourn the fact that sickness and death are ever-present and seem to be overwhelming, especially in particular seasons.
Hope in the midst of tragedy
Well, knowing this, God made a promise way back in the book of Isaiah. I’ll share it with you. It was that Jesus was coming and that he would ultimately be our hope and He would conquer sin, and sickness, and death. And this was written 700 years before Jesus was ever even born. 
Isaiah 53:4-5 New King James Version
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

The promise is given to a world filled with sickness and suffering, a world filled with destruction and death, that hope was coming, that Jesus was coming, that he would physically suffer for us, that he would be beaten, that he would be pierced, that he ultimately would be crucified and he would die in our place for our sins so that our soul could be healed, we could be forgiven. That additionally, he would heal our bodies, that he would bring physical healing, and that ultimately, he would empathize with us emotionally, that he would understand our sorrow and our grief, that he would be a man of sorrows.
From this promise, for 700 years, God’s people were waiting. “Where is this Savior? Where’s this hope? Where’s this one who can deal with sin and its effects of sickness and death?”
Well, then Jesus arrives and Jesus does die for our sin and he does acquaint himself with our sufferings and with our grief. And Jesus heals people. This is an amazing part of Jesus’ ministry. He heals at least 27 different people that we read of in the gospels that are the accounts of his life. He heals 10 different groups of people, and we don’t know the exact numbers. And so healing is part of Jesus’ ministry. Spiritual healing, yeah. Emotional healing, yes. Physical healing in addition.
And so people come to him, and they gather around him, and they receive supernatural, miraculous health from him. And then Jesus dies on the cross, and he dies in our place for our sin, and he’s dealing with our sin problem, which ultimately is the root of all of our sickness and all of our death. Then he rises from death, and he conquers sin and death, and then he ascends into heaven.
What about now?
Then the question is, do we still have access to his power? Will he still forgive our sins if he’s not here with us? Will he still hear our prayers if he’s not here with us? Will he still heal our bodies if he’s not here with us? That’s the question. Once Jesus has gone, has the hope departed? Are we abandoned? Have we been left unto our own devices and God is no longer here to help us, especially when we’re sick and dying? 
And then the story picks up in Acts. 
Acts 9:32-35 NKJV
32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country so he’s traveling, visiting the Christians in the churches—, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas (a knee us), who had been bedridden eight years Okay, emotionally, I need you to connect with this guy. How many of you know someone who’s bedridden? Their life is contained in and constrained by a bed. That’s their whole life. Now, go back a few thousand years before all of modern-day technology and medicine. This is someone who can’t provide for themselves, they can’t travel, they don’t have any of the freedoms or luxuries. Their life is really reduced. Do you see that? For eight years.
and was paralyzed. Not only is he bedridden, he’s paralyzed. He can’t move, okay? 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. 
Who heals him? Jesus Christ. Peter doesn’t say, “I’ve got the gift of healing for a gift of $9.95. For a love offering to this ministry we’ll send you the hanky, and if you wave the hanky three times, then shazam, you’re all better. OR, We have this oil we got from Jerusalem, and for a small handling fee, you can put it on your injury and the Holy Spirit will—” nothing. Peter’s not taking any credit for this. Peter knows that if anyone is healed, it’s ultimately Jesus.
Arise To get up To get up is an act of faith, right? Some of you know you’re forgiven— you don’t walk in the forgiveness. Walking in your forgiveness, that’s faith. When God heals this man, walking in that healing, that’s faith. and make your bed.” How many of you don’t like making your bed? I don’t like making my bed, but this guy was really happy to make his bed because it’s the first time in eight years he could make his bed. Next time you make your bed, think of this guy. “Thank you Lord that I can get out of my bed and I can make my bed.”
Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Well again, here’s the medical doctor. And let me tell you this, that God works through the natural means of medicine and the supernatural means of miracle. We’re not against medicine. The medical doctor writes this, okay? We believe that you should go to the doctor and go to Jesus, the Great Physician. We believe that you should seek wellness in medicinal ways and also be praying for God to do the supernatural, amen? We believe in both. And so here, we have the medical doctor giving the medical report of the supernatural, miraculous healing, okay?
My question to you is, can God still do this? Can He still heal people, yes or no? 
Some theologies would say he doesn’t do that anymore. Other theologies would say he has to do this and he does this all the time. He doesn’t have to do anything, he’s God, and it’s not like supernatural, miraculous healing is something that is as frequent as maybe we would like, but it’s according to God’s decree. And the miraculous, supernatural healing power of Jesus from heaven is really on display through the book of Acts. 
There are 14 different miraculous healings in the book of Acts. Furthermore, 12 of the 28 chapters in this book have a supernatural, miraculous healing. So we do see that Jesus can and does heal. And he doesn’t do it every chapter for every person, but he does it sometimes according to his sovereign will.

Here the case study is—it’s actually in a location that’s basically the modern day Tel Aviv Airport. That’s basically where it’s at if you’re looking on a map. And you see this man, bedridden, paralyzed eight years. Do you think he’s prayed? Yeah. Do you think others have prayed? I’m sure they have. Do you think he’s stopped praying? Maybe. Do you think others have stopped praying after eight years? I’m sure at least some have stopped praying. And Peter knows that that is the day that Jesus has chosen to heal that man.
Two miracles
Two miracles happen here, did you catch the second one? The first one’s pretty obvious. What was the first supernatural, miraculous healing? The physical healing of the paralyzed man. 
What’s the second supernatural, miraculous healing? The healing of the souls of the people who turned to the Lord. They “saw him, and they turned to the Lord.” This is the healing of the soul. This is the depth of who you are, that sin has infected and affected our soul so that we experience spiritual death. It’s affected our body so that we experience physical death. And Jesus comes and heals this man’s physical body, and the result is that others turn to Jesus and they experience a spiritual healing of their soul. 
And let me tell you this, God saving someone is at least as much a supernatural miracle as God healing someone, okay? If you’re a Christian, you’ve experienced a healing miracle from Jesus. He’s healed your soul, he’s forgiven your sins, he’s changed you at the deepest level, the core of who you are.
Here’s the miracle, that God saves all of you, that God saves your soul, your immaterial, spiritual aspect of your being, that God saves your body, your physical flesh that you indwell. God also saves and heals your emotional life, and your well-being, and your mental state. When God saves someone, he saves the whole person.
We’re seeing here various aspects of Jesus’ supernatural, miraculous healing work. And one man’s body is saved and many souls are saved. 
Now, what this leads to is a question: How many of you hope that God still heals people, right? You need healing, right? 
As a pastor, there’s not a week that goes by that I don’t get a request to pray for someone who’s sick and/or dying. We hope that God hears and answers prayer. We hope that God heals and restores souls and bodies, whole people to whole health. When we see things like this in the Bible, God awakens in us some hope, like, “Maybe I could be healed. Maybe they could be healed. Maybe their life could be extended. Maybe my life could be extended. Maybe their life could be improved. Maybe my life could be improved.” And then this question arises often: can everyone receive healing in this life?

Bad teaching vs. good teaching in desperate situations
Jesus can heal. Even from heaven, Jesus can heal. Jesus does heal. The question is, can we make him heal? And this is where—and I want to be pastorally sensitive here. Sometimes when you’re suffering or someone you really love is suffering, you just want it to be better, amen?
We’re praying for healing. But is there anything we can do to make that happen? See, because when you’re hurting, you can become a little desperate. When someone you really love is suffering, you can become a little desperate. This is where people start to do things that are maybe out of character for them. They’re anxious, they’re fearful, they’re frightful. They’re just—they’re trying to make it better. And when they hear that Jesus can heal, then sometimes the question that comes is, “Well, how do we make him do that?”

Let me tell you this. You can’t make Jesus heal. You can’t make him heal. And this is the difference, friends, between Christianity and Paganism. In Christianity, Jesus is sovereign. He lived, he died, he rose, he ascended into heaven, he’s seated on a throne, he’s ruling and reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords, and you can’t make him do anything. He’s in control, he’s in charge, he’s the Sovereign, he’s the King. You can’t make him do what you want, otherwise you’d be in authority over him, and your throne would be above his, and then you could command him, and then he would have to do what you tell him, which means you’re the Lord. But we’re not the Lord, he’s the Lord. We can humbly make requests to the Lord and he could say yes and heal, he could say no, or he could say later. Those are his options.

Sometimes people want to know, “Well, how do I make the Lord heal?” And then sometimes hurting people in difficult, devastating, even desperate places, they then pursue teaching where the teacher will tell them, “Here’s how God will be forced to heal you. “Here’s how you can make Jesus say yes to the prayer and heal you.” And you can’t.
I don’t tell you that to discourage you. This guy had been waiting eight years. Maybe the answer for you is later. Maybe the answer for them is later. Maybe the answer is no. Maybe the answer is yes.

One of the guys in the Bible, in addition to Peter, in the New Testament who is associated with healings, and the supernatural, and the miraculous, is Paul and here’s what he says. 
2 Timothy 4:20 New King James Version
20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
What he’s saying is, “This godly guy was traveling with me, but I had to leave him behind because he got sick and couldn’t travel.” Paul’s a guy who, at other points in his ministry, you see God using him to pray for sick people and sick people are healed. Can he heal this guy? No.
So even in the Bible, when somebody is used of God to pray in faith, and God hears and answers the prayer and heals someone; sometimes there are people that the answer is no and God chooses not to heal them. And it’s not—it doesn’t say, “Because they lacked faith.” It doesn’t say, “Because they didn’t trust the Lord.” It doesn’t say anything was wrong. It doesn’t say that they did anything wrong. I need you to know, especially when you’re hurting and you’re suffering, that it may not be that you’ve done anything wrong, that sin has entered the world, that the curse is in effect, that it has infected and affected our emotional, our physical, our spiritual well-being. This is a godly man who is doing a godly thing and he’s not healed by God. Do you understand that? But it doesn’t mean he’s any less godly.
In addition, Paul has this to say this:
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 New King James Version
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, Paul’s talking about himself. Here’s a guy who prayed, and God answered, and healed people, and he can’t heal himself. a thorn in the flesh was given to me, Theologians have debated this for 2,000 years. Nobody knows exactly what this is. Some sort of physical pain, malady, injury, illness, something of that sort or kind.
a messenger of Satan to buffet me, This is an ungodly suffering. He’s being attacked. He’s not done anything wrong. Satan is opposing him. Just like Satan opposed Job and just like Satan opposed Jesus, here Satan is opposing Paul through his physical body.
lest I be exalted above measure. God’s using it. I want you to see this, that even when you’re hurting and suffering, it may even be evil, it may be Satan attacking you, but God can use it to grow you, and to keep you humble, and to make you more like Jesus.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. Did he pray about it? Yeah. Did he pray loud? Yeah. Did he pray earnestly? Yeah. Pleaded with the Lord” is an extended period of time, very honestly crying out, talking to the Lord. “It hurts. I’m suffering. It’s difficult. It’s Satan. I don’t like it. This is wrong. I don’t deserve it. I love you. I’m trying to serve you. Why is it like this? Why does it feel like this? Why does it hurt so much? Why does it not go away? Why don’t you just take it away?” That’s pleading with the Lord. You ever done that? He said, “Three times I got there.” This is where you’ve prayed about it and then you’ve reached a point where your praying has turned into pleading. This is like begging. “Please God, no more. Please God, make it stop. Please God, take it away. Please God, I can’t endure anymore.” That’s pleading.9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 
You will get through this, but not by your own wisdom, not by your own power, not by your fortitude. You’re going to have to lean into my empowering grace. You’re going to need me in a way that you’ve not needed me. You’re going to need me in a way that many people don’t need me. And you’re going to see that my grace is sufficient for you. I’m going to walk with you through this. And you are very weak, but I am very powerful and my power can work more heartily through your weakness than your strength, because when you’re strong, sometimes you get in my way.”
Did Paul want to be healed, yes or no? Yeah. Did Paul ask to be healed? Yes. Was Paul used of God in the healing of other people? Yes. Did Paul get healed? No, no, no. I tell you this not to discourage you. I want you to have hope, but I also want you to see that Jesus cannot be controlled or manipulated, that there’s nothing I can teach you that would cause you to have the spiritual authority to control him, okay? And sometimes, again, like I said, people who are hurting, people who are suffering, people who are dying or love people who are hurting, suffering, and dying, they get desperate. This is when, because of fatigue, or suffering, or emotional weakness, or mental anguish, we can open ourselves up to really bad teaching.
Bad teaching would say, “God doesn’t heal anymore.” That’s bad teaching. Or, “God has to heal, and here’s what you need to do to get him to heal.” That’s bad teaching. Good teaching is, “I’m going to ask him, and I’m going to keep asking him, and I might even plead with him a few times, and I’m going to accept his answer for me or for them. But I’m certainly going to let my requests be known to God.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
If he heals you, worship him. If he doesn’t heal you, worship him because his grace is sufficient for you.
A prayer for healing
I want to pause here. I don’t know if you noticed but we did not take prayer request at the beginning of the service. I want to take them now because I feel like this is a good place to pray: 
Father God, I pray for those who are hearing this. God, there are people who are hearing this that woke up today with chronic pain in their body. There are people who are hearing this and they are taking supplements and medication to try and correct injury, or illness, or sickness in their body. God, there are people who can’t be with us today because they are bedridden. There are people, Lord God, who went in for their chemotherapy treatments this week. Lord God, there are people here who know and love people who are hurting and suffering. Lord God, as we hear of you healing, so many of us see the face of someone that we love, and we’re asking, Lord Jesus, could it be them? Could you please, right now, touch them? Could you heal them? Could you make them whole and bring them back to fullness of life? Lord Jesus, we want to pray and plead as people who have hope, but we don’t want to pretend that we can manipulate or control you. And Lord God, I pray for us that we would believe and experience the truth that your grace is sufficient for us and that your power is made perfect in our weakness. Lord Jesus, when we see sickness and when we see death, it just causes us to long for the coming of the kingdom when these things are no more and they’re gone. Until then, Lord, let us walk by faith, even if we’re limping, even if we’re rolling in a wheelchair, even if we’re being pushed along in a hospital bed to the kingdom. Lord God, sin has infected and affected everyone and everything. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you deal with our sin problem, and that you heal our soul, and that you heal our body, and that you heal our emotions. So, Lord Jesus, as I continue to teach, please send the Holy Spirit to help us to learn how to think biblically so that we can hope eternally in Jesus’ good name, amen.

Power over sickness and death

Jesus can heal. Jesus can raise the dead
And then we see another miraculous, supernatural invasion of the kingdom of God, and that is that Jesus raises the dead. We read of this  Acts 9:36-43 NKJV 
36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. Here’s what we know about Tabitha. And you ladies, I want you to see this. I want you to see that God here takes a woman and puts her front and center as an example of exceeding godliness, okay? He lifts her up as a wonderful woman of God. 
This woman was full of good works — this means she helps people, she loves people, she serves people—and charitable deeds which she did. She’s very generous. She may have even been a wealthy woman. We don’t hear anything about her husband. She may have been single or a widow.
37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. So she had a battle with some sort of ailment or illness, and eventually she lost. When they had washed her, prepared her for burial—they laid her in an upper room. 38 And since Lydda 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. 
“Pastor Peter, she’s died. We need you to come, and pray, and be with us.”39 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, mourning, lamenting. When’s the last time you went to a funeral? Just emotionally, do you remember what that was like? People are awkward. They don’t know what to say, they don’t know what to do. Some people are crying, some people are trying not to cry, some people are out of control, some people just want to leave because they’re emotionally unsure how to respond. It’s like that. showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down—” really pastoral here—  and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 
Can you imagine that? You show up for the funeral, and the guy comes out and is like, “The funeral’s going to be short and Tabitha would like the cookies.” Wow, that’s amazing.
 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. God does the supernatural to encourage the saints but also to evangelize the non-Christians to consider Jesus.
43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.
That wasn’t a really respected profession, but here’s an honored man and he serves Peter.

Well, here’s what we know about this woman. She’s godly, full of good works. Ladies, it’s a great thing to aspire to be full of good works. She’s also very generous. She’s given gifts, even gifts she’s made with her own hands. Any of you ladies have a friend like that? You can’t go see that friend without walking away with a gift. They’re a giver. And a lot of what they give—maybe some of you have friends like this—whatever they give you, it’s something they made. You know, “Here’s food I cooked,” or “here’s a photo I took,” or “here’s a painting I made,” or “here’s a craft that I created, and I made it for you.” It shows that real, considerate, hand touch—right? This is that kind of wonderful woman. She doesn’t just give things, she gives things that are very personal, very intimate, that she made just for you out of love in her heart. Do you know anybody like that? All right, she’s a godly woman, she’s a generous woman. As a result, she’s very loved. She’s very loved. And when she dies, the widows that she has loved, and served, and been generous toward—these are older women who have lost their husbands, and as a result, maybe they’re in a difficult position financially. She’s helped them, she’s supported them, she’s loved them, she’s encouraged them, and so they are mourning the loss of this wonderful woman. 
Hope doesn’t end when life ends

So this group comes together to mourn the loss of their friend because she’s battled an illness for awhile. Do you know somebody like that, they’ve battled an illness for awhile? It’s a roller coaster, isn’t it? Hey, we got good news. We got bad news. We got more good news. We got more bad news. And then you see them take a turn. You’re like, “No, it’s downhill now. It’s bad news, and bad news, and bad news, and bad news.” And then she died.
I want you to see that hope doesn’t end when life does, okay? Hope doesn’t end when life does.
They take her body, prepare it, but what’s interesting is they put it in the upper room. It’s almost as if, just in case. This kind of thing happens in the Old Testament as well with prophets like Elijah, and things like this happen. So maybe these godly gals know the Bible and say, “He did it before, he could do it again. Let’s not put her in the ground yet. Let’s just wait and see.”
Then the call is made for Peter, and here’s a pastoral call. I’ll tell you, as a pastor, these are sacred moments that it’s a great honor to be invited into. They’re also very difficult. 

When you’re invited into these sacred moments in people’s lives where they’re saying, “We’re hurting because someone we love has died,” and you’re invited in as a pastor, it’s a great honor. It’s also incredibly difficult because everyone’s processing, and responding, and feeling in different ways. Pastor Peter’s invited into that.
I love how Luke tells the story. It says that he clears the room, right, partially because there are a lot of emotions, and it’s hard to get any clarity. Then I love the fact that it says that he knelt down and he prayed. 
In the Bible, you can pray standing up. A lot of times in the Bible people pray standing up. Sometimes they pray lying in their bed, so the psalmist will talk about praying to the Lord while lying on your bed. You can pray to God sitting down. But sometimes, when we kneel, our body is really saying a lot. We’re saying a lot physically. This is a theological statement, right? This is what happens when someone surrenders, and that’s a good posture to be in in the presence of God.
So Pastor Peter, even though he’s a great man and a great leader, he has great humility. He kneels down, and he prays for Tabitha, and he prays that God would bring her back from the dead. Then he commands, with the authority of Jesus, that her life would be restored, and it is. I love the way that Luke tells the story, because then it says that he gave her his hand. Don’t you love that? Can you see an older woman, perhaps, who’s been sick, and ill, and dying, and she’s in her bed? Have you been there when your grandma died? All right, Peter takes her hand and he helps her out of bed. She’s alive.
It says that people heard about this and they became Christians. 
Again, you see that her body was healed, and a lot of people hear about Jesus, and then their soul is healed and their sins are forgiven There are two miracles that happen here.
How many of you have prayed a prayer like this and the answer was later? Because any time you pray this prayer for a Christian— God answers prayer yes, no, and later— but if you pray this prayer for a Christian, “God, bring them back from the dead,” the answer is always yes or later, it’s never no. But how many of you have prayed this prayer and the answer was later, someday, in the kingdom, at the resurrection of the dead?

In this instance, the answer was today. Today. And the reason that Jesus brings Tabitha back from the dead is to show everybody else what the future holds. As they see Tabitha come back from death, they know that if their hope, and faith, and trust is in Jesus, one day, like Tabitha, they’re going to rise from the dead.

Let me theologically clarify this for you if I can. She was revived, not resurrected. Revive meaning she was dead, brought back to life, and she’d live for awhile, but eventually she’d die again, and then she’d be resurrected eternally, never to die again. So, she was revived to show that God can conquer death. But ultimately, there was a greater rising that was awaiting her, and that was the resurrection from death in the presence of Jesus.

Are you a Christian? Okay, if you’re not a Christian, you may not be thinking about this, but I want you to be thinking about this. What happens when you die? 

Some of you have opinions, but really all they are hopes. They’re not assurances. Only Jesus has gone through death and back with a resurrection to tell us that he awaits us on the other side and that the only way to pass through death into eternal life is with him.
So if you’re here, I don’t want this to be just for you, you know, an emotional examination of death and sickness, but also a consideration of Jesus, the one who conquers sin, and as a result, has victory over sickness and death.

All of this is a foreshadowing, it’s a foretaste of the kingdom of God. And what you need to know is that Jesus is a King, and he’s seated on a throne right now, and he’s ruling and reigning over a kingdom that never ends. We’re on our way to the kingdom, and some of us are limping, and some of us are walking, and some of us are running, and some of us are wheeling ourselves there in a hospital, and hobbling along on crutches. We’re not—we’re citizens of the kingdom, but we’re not home yet. We haven’t gotten home yet. We’re pilgrims, we’re aliens, we’re sojourners. We’re on our way, but we’re not there yet. And so the theologians will talk about the fact that we’re already citizens of the kingdom, but we’re not yet there. And occasionally, the kingdom invades this world and it shows up in supernatural, miraculous, inexplicable ways. And the reason that God does that is he drops glimpses, and hints, and vignettes, and foreshadowing’s, and sneak previews of the kingdom. “Oh, that’s what it’s going to be like. Oh, that’s what it’s going to be like. Oh, that’s what it’s going to be like when the world comes to an end, and the resurrection of the dead happens, and God’s people are in God’s presence forever.”

So our hope is not just that something better awaits us on the other side. My fear is that many of you might have the same prevailing myth that the culture does, and that is, “Oh, they died and went to a better place.” It’s not that easy. Just because you die doesn’t mean you go to a better place. Jesus talks of hell more than anyone in the whole Bible, and Jesus alone is the way into God’s kingdom.

I want to share with you two things about Jesus’ kingdom, and really, that’s what we’re seeing here with the healing of this man and the raising of this woman. Jesus is the King of the kingdom. 
I John 11:25 New King James Version
25 Jesus said to her, —this is Martha, another woman— “I am the resurrection and the life. You say, “What happens after death?” If you know Jesus, he’s the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
Here’s what Jesus says. “You’re going to die. Sin causes death. You’re a sinner, you’re going to die.”
What happens then? If you believe in Jesus, even though you die physically, you will not die spiritually. Even though you die temporarily, you do not die eternally. If you believe in Jesus, he is your life. He’s your eternal life and he is your resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from death, conquering sin, overtaking sickness, triumphing over death, so he’s your resurrection. He goes before you and you trail behind him. You see that?

So when Tabitha is raised out of her death, it is showing that she belongs to Jesus and this is what happens to those who die believing in Jesus, that death does not have a victory over them because Jesus has already forgiven them.

Some of you are young and you don’t think about death, and sometimes death comes very quickly and suddenly. If you don’t understand what happens when you die and you don’t know how to die rightly and to die well, you’ll either die with no assurance of what happens to you or you’ll live in absolute panic, and terror, and fear of death.
Let me tell you, the worst thing is not dying. The worst thing is dying without believing in Jesus. Because if you believe in Jesus, even though you die, he says you’ll live and you’ll enter into God’s kingdom.

The end of all suffering
I need you to know that there’s a day of resurrection coming. And oftentimes we don’t think about this, but Jesus’ resurrection was the first resurrection, and your resurrection if you belong to Jesus, it’s in the future. We read of this in the last book of the Bible, one of the last chapters in the Bible and I love this.
Revelation 21:4 New King James Version
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; How many of you, this life has included some tears? Physical pain, spiritual pain, emotional pain, you’ve shed some tears.
Tears are what happen as we hobble toward the kingdom, and once we get to the king, it says that he wipes every tear from our eyes.
One of the most precious, sacred moments that you have most likely experienced is when you have been able to wipe the tears from your spouse’s eyes, or your kids, or your grandkids. Right? 
Just think of those precious moments and according to this verse Jesus is going to do this for all of his people with nail-scarred hands. I mean, can you see that? The Bible says that if you die in faith, you’ll see Jesus face to face.
I can’t even imagine that. And that there might be tears in your eyes as you look back on life, and sin, and sickness, and death. And then you see Jesus’ nail-scarred hands, and he puts them on your face, and he wipes the tears from your eyes. And you never, never shed another tear because sin will be gone, and as a result sickness will be gone, and as a result death will be gone, and all of God’s enemies will be gone, and the enemies of all of God’s people will be gone, and you won’t need to wipe any more tears from your eyes. And the last time that tears are ever in your eyes, they will be forever removed by Jesus wiping away your tears. That’s the kingdom of God.

there shall be no more death, Can you even fathom a world like that? No death, no sickness because there’s no sin. You need to know that something has gone terribly, frightfully, fatally wrong in the world. People aren’t supposed to get sick, people aren’t supposed to die. That’s not the way that the world was when God concluded it and declared it to be very good. Something has gone very wrong.
There’s a day when death is no more. Parents, can you even imagine that day when you’re in the kingdom and you don’t worry about the people that you love and the children that you have getting sick, or getting hurt, or getting sinned against, or getting victimized, or getting killed, or getting injured, or nothing. All of those fears, all of those anxieties, all of those considerations gone, gone in the kingdom.
nor sorrow, nor crying. There’ll be nothing to complain about, nothing to cry about. 
There shall be no more pain, Can you imagine that? No pain. How many of you, it’s been a long time since you had a day free of pain? Free of pain. Some of you have chronic pain. No more, gone.
for the former things have passed away.”

 Sin, and the world as we know it, and the curse, and all of its effects, gone forever.
All of this kingdom truth is illustrated in these two miracles. God can heal and God can rise from death, amen? 
What I need this to be for you is an anchor for your soul and a hope for your future. I need you to think biblically, I need you to think theologically, I need you to think practically. I need you to understand that when you’re suffering, you worship a God who has suffered. When you’re dying, I need you to know that you’ve worshiped a God who died and he awaits you on the other side. Any pastor that doesn’t prepare you for the day of your death has not really done a good job in preparing you for anything.
I want you to spend some time, even this week, thinking, praying, considering, studying the kingdom of God and what it will be like, because what that will do, that will give you hope to continue marching forward to the presence of Jesus.
Eternal perspective
For the Christian, this life is as bad as it gets. For the non-Christian, this life is as good as it gets. That’s why I want you to know Jesus, and if you don’t, I want you to come to know him today.

If you are sick, be praying for healing. If someone is sick, be praying for their healing. If someone dies, it’s okay to pray for their resurrection, and the answer might be today or it might be on that day. 
An eternal life begins the moment you meet Jesus, and it continues forever, even through the grave.