The Presence
In 1955, one the hits on the secular music scene was a song sung by the McGuire
Sisters called, He. Do you recall the words?
He can turn the tides and calm the angry see
He alone decides who writes the symphony
He lights every star that makes our darkness bright
He keep watch all through each long and lonely night
He still finds the time to hear a child's first prayer
Saint or sinner call, and always finds Him there.
and though it makes Him sad to see the way we live
He'll always say, I forgive.
Fifty years ago, both in the secular world and in the religious world there was
an underlying hope of God’s hand being upon us for blessings. From that time
until now the doctrine of God’s presence and His divine help has been all but
banned in the secular realm … and it has been badly battered within the Church.
However, in a time of hurricanes, buses and houses burning, rising
gas prices, war in Iraq, terrorist, and politics on every hand … we all
need to be reminded of faith in God and have hope in what He can do!
A good place for encouragement is the Book of Acts. Though it is called
The Acts of the Apostles; it should have been called The Acts of the
Holy Spirit, for we read of God and man working together to reveal the
miraculous power of the name of Jesus.
Acts 9
32 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 Lydda. 33 There he
found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years
and was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus the
Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." Then he arose immediately.
35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
There is hope when things are difficult!
Peter came to the city of Lydda and did what he had seen the Savior
do so many times before when He encountered someone lame … he healed
him. Isn’t that what you would expect Jesus to do? That is what Peter
expected to happen! He spoke to the man, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals
you. Arise and make your bed.”
What would you do? Here was a man who was paralyzed who had been in
bed for eight years. Being bed-ridden would have taken a toll on his
health, leaving him with no strength, no muscle tone, pale from no sunlight,
and unable to move due to the paralysis. It was a drastic and pitiful
sight. Upon arriving in a new city, this probably would not be the first
person we would pick to pray for … but God did. And God healed him.
Sadly, we are often moved more by what we see than by our faith in Jesus name.
It’s easier to pray for a headache or a sore joint because we can’t see the
problem … and we don’t always expect a result! But when we are faced with the
impossible circumstance … whoa! Then it’s time for some REAL prayer! But not
Peter. He wasn’t looking at the circumstance, he wasn’t looking at the length
of time that it had been there, he was expecting God to do something for the
one who had a need.
Peter spoke to the man, but he used the name of Jesus … “Aeneas, Jesus
the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” There was an expectation,
a hope, a faith that Jesus was present to heal! Was this the result of
the time Peter had already spent praying? Without a doubt he had spent
time praying, meditating on the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit, and remembering
all the good things God had done. He was ready to pray and God was ready
to heal. There is hope regardless of the circumstances! And God wasn’t
through …. !
Acts 9
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. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and
died. When they had washed her, 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. 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, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made
while she was with them. 40 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. 41 Then he
gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints
and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout
all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 43 So it was that he stayed
many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.
There is hope when things are difficult!
There is hope when things are impossible!
Just when you thought you had faced the most difficult of circumstances
… the impossible calls your name! Have you ever been there? Peter prayed
and the paralyzed man was healed, but now he is called to the bedside
of a woman who has been dead for several hours!
What would you do? Everyone is weeping, Dorcas is lying there with
no life in her body, and they are all looking at you … what can you do?
Peter put all the grieving people out of the room, closed the door,
knelt down, and prayed! Before you do the impossible you need to know
what God is doing in the middle of all of this. Peter needed to hear
the Lord’s instructions. He prayed.
Then he acted in faith. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise.”
And she opened her eyes and sat up! It was a miracle! Peter had faced
a difficult situation with the paralyzed man … and then an impossible
situation with a dead woman … and God had provided answers in both circumstances.
There is hope for your difficult circumstance. And there is hope for
your impossible circumstances, too! But God was not finished in revealing
hope to His Church.
Acts 10
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion
of what was called the Italian Regiment,
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel
of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"
4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it,
lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have
come up for a memorial before God.
5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.
9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city,
Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.
10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made
ready, he fell into a trance
11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the
four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.
12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts,
creeping things, and birds of the air.
13 And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."
14 But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything
common or unclean."
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has
cleansed you must not call common." 16 This was done three times.
And the object was taken up into heaven again.
19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to
him, "Behold,
three men are seeking you.
20 Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I
have sent them."
24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting
for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive
that God shows no partiality.
35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted
by Him.
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell
upon all those who heard the word.
45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many
as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured
out on the Gentiles also.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter
answered,
47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who
have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
There is hope when things are difficult!
There is hope when things are impossible!
There is hope for the hard-headed.
I think it may be less difficult to raise the dead than it is to get
a hard headed person to change their mind! Have you ever had that experience?
Now you may think this is funny … but this was a pivotal point in church
history! Peter was not trained to believe that a Gentile could receive
the grace of God. The Centurion was not trained to believe in Jesus Christ
as his savior! A Jew and an Italian! If you notice, God explained only
once to the Centurion what He wanted him to do. It took three explanations
and some specific instructions before Peter was willing to change his
thinking about sharing Christ with the Gentiles!
Peter violated his training, violated his philosophy of life, and violated
known religious teaching in order to obey what the Holy Spirit was leading
him to do. As a Jew he was not to associate freely with a Gentile, he
was forbidden to enter the home of a Gentile, and he was not to eat with
the Gentiles. He did all of that in response to the leading of the Holy
Spirit.
Then while he is telling them the Gospel story of Jesus dying on the
cross for their sins, the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles and they
spoke in tongues and praised God! Peter had to concede that the same
Spirit had come upon them as what had come upon the disciples on the
Day of Pentecost. He said they should be baptized in water and received
as believers in the Church!
Have you been praying for someone to change? Have you been praying
for a hard headed person to become a Christian? Have you been praying
for a hard headed Christian to do the right thing?
God is in the business of healing bodies, raising the dead, and changing
minds!
We live in a world that can suck the hope right out of your heart,
but I want you to know that God has not gone on vacation … He is still
on the throne! If all of Arkansas blew away in a strong wind tomorrow
it would not change the faithfulness of God! He will stand by you in
the deepest and the darkest hours! He is faithful! He is comfortable
with causing the difficult to be made simple, He is familiar with the
impossible being made possible, and He can turn the hardest of the hard-heads
toward Him.
Like Peter, we need to close the door on all the distractions, get
down on our knees and pray until we hear the voice of the Lord giving
us directions, and then we need to get up and do what God tells us to
do!
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