Text:\u00a0 Acts 9: 36-42<\/p>\n
36 <\/sup><\/em>In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 <\/sup>About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 <\/sup>Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, \u201cPlease come at once!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n 39 <\/sup><\/em>Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. <\/em><\/p>\n 40 <\/sup><\/em>Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, \u201cTabitha, get up.\u201d She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 <\/sup>He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42 <\/sup>This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n This is a day when we think of our mothers.\u00a0 For my wife, Karen, and myself, our mothers are gone.\u00a0 The reason I bring that up is that we no longer have an opportunity to tell our mothers what we appreciated.\u00a0 There are many things I would like to say to my mom if I had the chance. You were right mom about that.\u00a0 Thank you for loving me when I hurt, even when I was a jerk.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry mom for that time I was disrespectful.\u00a0 Thank you for loving me enough to discipline me.\u00a0 Thank you for getting me baptized and helping me to know Jesus. <\/em><\/p>\n But of course, Karen and I can\u2019t say those things to our moms now.\u00a0 So my encouragement to you is this.\u00a0 Say those things to your mom.\u00a0 Say them while you can.<\/p>\n Today we turn our attention to a woman named Tabitha in the book of Acts.\u00a0 Luke does not tell us if she was a mother or not.\u00a0 When I read thi,s I picture her as a grandmother.\u00a0 But of course, I could be wrong.\u00a0 The one thing we can say is this:\u00a0 Tabitha was:<\/p>\n A Woman who gave glory to her Risen Savior 36 <\/sup>In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor<\/span>.\u00a0 Joppa was and is a seaport city not far from Jerusalem.\u00a0 Joppa is the place where the prophet Jonah got on a ship to flee the Lord\u2019s command to go and preach to the people of Nineveh.\u00a0 We know how that turned out.<\/p>\n Well much later lived this woman named Tabitha.\u00a0 She was a disciple, a believer in our risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Look at how she is described. A lot better than Jonah.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Always doing good and helping the poor. <\/span><\/p>\n You know, from time to time we get the idea in the church that being a Christian is all about reading our Bibles, coming to worship, giving our offering and sharing the gospel with people who do not know Jesus.\u00a0 It is about that.\u00a0 But then we read about judgment day when we will stand before our risen Savior.\u00a0 What will Jesus say to his people?\u00a0 \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, \u202635 <\/sup>For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 <\/sup>I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me<\/span>\u2026 And of course Jesus explains what he meant.\u00a0 Whatever you did for others you did for me.<\/p>\n What do we learn from Jesus words?\u00a0 Not that people gain heaven by doing good things.\u00a0 By grace we are saved through faith.\u00a0 No here\u2019s the point.\u00a0 When saving faith is in our hearts, we will do good things.\u00a0 And one of those good things is this.<\/p>\n Like Tabitha, we will help and care for people in need.<\/p>\n God makes that very clear in his Word.\u00a0 He pushes back against that natural selfishness that lives inside our hearts.\u00a0 Long ago Before God\u2019s people entered the promised land he told them this:\u00a0 11 <\/sup>There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.<\/span> (Dt15:11)\u00a0 That\u2019s what God expected of his Old Testament people then.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he expects of us, his New Testament people now.\u00a0 That we continue to remember the poor<\/span>.\u00a0 (Gal 2: 10)\u00a0 And not because we have to.\u00a0 God\u2019s people love, care, and help because Jesus loved, cared and helped us when we were worse than poor.\u00a0 We were dead in our sins.\u00a0 So he died for our sins.\u00a0 And now we live because of him.\u00a0 We will live and not really die.<\/p>\n That was Tabitha.\u00a0 She knew and trusted what Jesus had done for her. It filled her heart with a love that showed itself in generosity to people in need.\u00a0 And in this way her life pointed to Jesus.<\/strong> People knew that from being around her. Her life pointed them to Jesus.\u00a0 But not just her life.\u00a0 Her death also pointed to Jesus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 37 <\/sup>About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 <\/sup>Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, \u201cPlease come at once!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n 39 <\/sup><\/span>Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them<\/span>.<\/p>\n When people close to us die, we often hear stories about them.\u00a0 When my mother died, my godmother told me some things I never heard before.\u00a0 Pretty special.\u00a0 Well think of this woman.\u00a0 When she died the widows of Joppa came to the apostle Peter who had just arrived.\u00a0 Widows were often very poor.\u00a0 There was no life insurance or social security to fall back on.\u00a0 If there was no family to help you, you went without.<\/p>\n So imagine you were there with Peter as these widows came around.\u00a0 They are wailing.\u00a0 Tears are running down their faces.\u00a0 And one by one they show you the clothes Tabitha made for them.\u00a0 Not to enhance their wardrobe.\u00a0 But for them to have something to wear against the cold.\u00a0 And not made with a sewing machine.\u00a0 But by hand, spending many hours.<\/p>\n What precious words were spoken about Tabitha.\u00a0 What precious tears they shed over losing her.\u00a0\u00a0 So think about it.\u00a0 Even her death pointed to Jesus.<\/strong> For one thing they could not help recall about this loving woman.\u00a0\u00a0 She was a disciple, a believer in Jesus, her Savior.<\/p>\n And here is where the story usually ends.\u00a0 Friends, family gather.\u00a0 A funeral, a gravesite, a time of grief.\u00a0 We go back to our lives and deal with that empty chair.\u00a0 But the Lord had something\u00a0 special in mind for this day. \u00a0People must have starred in amazement and disbelief.\u00a0 Tears of sorrow turned to joy. \u00a0And here again we see a woman who glorified her risen Savior<\/strong>.\u00a0 God singled her out for a special purpose.\u00a0 For here:\u00a0 Her risen life pointed to Jesus.<\/strong><\/p>\n 40 <\/sup>Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, \u201cTabitha, get up.\u201d She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 <\/sup>He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive<\/span> Why did the Lord raise Tabitha back to life?\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 Not for Tabitha\u2019s sake.\u00a0 She was in heaven.\u00a0 We won\u2019t ever want to leave there.\u00a0 The Lord raised Tabitha for everyone else who would see this or hear about it.<\/p>\n Just imagine Peter bringing her before you.\u00a0 She was dead.\u00a0 Some of you had washed her body for burial.\u00a0 But now she stands before you.\u00a0 Now think about it.\u00a0 This is Jesus\u2019 apostle.\u00a0 He had prayed in Jesus\u2019 name.\u00a0 And Tabitha was raised by the power of Jesus\u2019 name. There\u2019s no question.\u00a0 \u00a0Her risen life pointed to Jesus<\/strong>.\u00a0 For what are we told? 42 <\/sup>This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. <\/span><\/p>\n What a powerful picture as I think of some of our moms this morning.\u00a0 \u00a0Tabitha reminds me that when Karen and I said goodbye to our moms, it was only for a time.\u00a0 Like Tabitha, our moms trusted in a Savior who has conquered death.\u00a0 They trusted in a Savior who will one day give us a happy reunion.<\/p>\n Until then, we live in a world where people suffer from hunger, poverty, disease and injustice.\u00a0 As children of God bought by the blood of God\u2019s own Son, it is our privilege to be there for them.\u00a0 Young or old, rich or poor ourselves, we \u00a0get to glorify our Savior by helping others. So Paul wrote to the Galatians:\u00a0 \u00a0Therefore as we have opportunity let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of faith.<\/span> Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Text:\u00a0 Acts 9: 36-42 36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>I.\u00a0 Her life pointed to Jesus
\nII.\u00a0 Her death pointed to Jesus
\nIII. Her risen life pointed to Jesus<\/p>\n