Introduction
Edmund P. Clowney was the first president of Westminster Theological Seminary from 1966 until he retired in 1984.
Many years ago, Dr. Clowney wrote:
“Never before has the world been so desperately asking for answers to crucial questions, and never before has the world been so frantically committed to the idea that no answers are possible.”
Those words are even more true today than when he first wrote them.
Christians believe that answers are possible.
Christians hold that God has given us his truth in his word, the Bible.
No matter how desperate or hopeless the situation may seem, I want to tell you today that Jesus still turns things around.
I want you to be optimistic about the world, society, work, family, and life because Jesus still turns things around.
Believing in the living, free, sovereign, loving Lord of the Book of Acts means living with the possibility that bad situations can turn around, perhaps when you least expect it.
Today, we will read about how Jesus turned things around through the ministry of the apostle Peter.
Scripture
Let’s read Acts 9:31-43:
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, 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 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
Lesson
Acts 9:31-43 shows us how Jesus still turns things around.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. Jesus Turned Things Around in Acts
2. Jesus Turns Things Around Today
I. Jesus Turned Things Around in Acts
First, let us notice that Jesus turned things around in Acts.
The persecution of the church began in Acts 8:1 after Stephen’s death: “And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
Then, in Acts 8:3, we read that “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”
That is how it was for some time.
Imagine yourself in that first-century church without legal protection, and all the power structures are indifferent or hostile to you.
Would you not be tempted to murmur and feel fatalistic?
You would say, as the other Christians at the time likely said:
“The Romans are against us.
“The Sanhedrin is against us.
“The priests are against us, and they even provide authorized letters to have us imprisoned and killed.
“This is how it will be for a long time. Nothing is going to change this. Nothing is going to turn this around. The momentum is too great. The powers of evil are too entrenched.
“There won’t be any peace in the church for a long time, if ever.”
That’s how we tend to be, except for a few faith-filled people.
But that is emphatically not how we should be.
Why?
Because Jesus is alive and turns things around.
He is full of surprises.
He is not locked into any fatalistic way of thinking.
He is infinitely creative and resourceful.
And he very much dislikes coming across as boringly predictable.
So suddenly, out of the blue, he takes the key player in the persecution of his people and turns him entirely around on the Damascus road.
The Saul who was breathing out threats and murder against Christians doesn’t just drop dead—which would have been a big enough reversal—he gets converted to Christianity.
He is not just converted but wildly converted beyond anybody’s imagination.
He is so clearly converted that he turns around entirely—from being the worst enemy of Christianity to the most vigorous advocate and most powerful missionary for Christ and Christianity.
Luke drives this home by showing the persecutor becoming the persecuted and the hunter becoming the hunted.
First, in Acts 9:23, Luke tells us that the Jews in Damascus plotted to kill Saul. The hunter becomes the hunted. But he escaped in a basket through the wall (v. 25).
Second, in Acts 9:29, Luke tells us that the Grecian Jews in Jerusalem were seeking to kill Saul. The hunter becomes the hunted again. But he escaped by taking a ship to Tarsus (v. 30).
What was the upshot of this remarkable turnaround?
With Saul, the chief persecutor of the church, now solidly converted to Christ and living in Tarsus, we read in Acts 9:31: “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
By converting the chief persecutor of the church to Christ, the church enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened.
Jesus turned Paul the persecutor around.
Then he sent him away to Tarsus.
Then, Jesus stopped the persecution and turned it into a time of peace.
But during the time of peace, Jesus did not stop being the Lord of surprises.
He did not stop turning things around.
Luke provides two stories about Peter's ministry to show how Jesus unexpectedly intervened to turn things around.
In verses 32ff, Peter went down to Lydda, northwest of Jerusalem, and found Aeneas, a paralyzed man.
Aeneas had been bedridden for eight years.
We don’t know the nature of Aeneas’s paralysis, but clearly, his situation was permanent.
So, Peter said to Aeneas, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed” (9:34).
Aeneas immediately arose and made his bed.
Jesus broke into Aeneas’ life and turned everything around. He healed him.
Then, in verses 36ff, Luke told us about a disciple in Joppa named Tabitha.
She died.
Tabitha’s Christian friends heard that Peter was nearby, and they quickly dispatched two men to find him and ask him to come to Joppa.
Peter went to Joppa.
When he arrived there, the mourners were also there. He asked them all to leave the room where Tabitha’s body was lying.
With apostolic boldness, Peter turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise” (9:40).
Jesus stepped into the situation and turned death around. Tabitha came back to life again.
Now, the questions that come to my mind are: Why did Jesus turn things around in these two instances? Why are these two miracles recorded here for us?
The answer is that Jesus turned things around in these two instances so that people might believe in him.
Notice how Luke records the results of Peter’s ministry.
He said in verse 35, “And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him [that is, Aeneas], and they turned to the Lord.”
He also recorded in verse 42, “And it [that is, Tabitha’s coming back to life again] became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”
Jesus turned things around so that people would turn to him and believe in him!
The miracles performed in the book of Acts were done to authenticate the apostles as the messengers of Jesus.
Their message was that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the one sent by God to be the Savior of the world.
As they proclaimed that message, people believed in Jesus.
I am convinced that Jesus is just as alive today as he was in the Book of Acts and is working to turn things around so that people will turn to him and believe in him.
II. Jesus Turns Things Around Today
Second, let us keep in mind that Jesus turns things around today.
Jesus is the same today as he was in the Book of Acts.
He is surprising people and nations all over the world.
Some sins may paralyze you in your life. There may be some secret sin or not-so-secret sin that has its grip on you.
You may even be spiritually dead; that is, you may not be a Christian today.
I want you to know that whether it is paralysis (as a result of sin) or spiritual death (as a result of unbelief), Jesus is alive, and he is still turning things around today.
Listening to the prophets of doom and gloom is annoying, especially when they predict that the Gospel cannot penetrate certain countries or people.
I want to ask: “How do they know? What kind of fatalism makes them say that a nation will be closed to the Gospel for many more years? Or will a particular people group be unreceptive to the Gospel?
Or that Jesus is unable to free people from sin and even spiritual death?”
Let me tell you some places where Jesus is still turning things around.
In 2,000, Pastor Yuriy, his wife, and three children believed that God was calling them to move from Ukraine to neighboring Transnistria, which was—and still is—under the control of Russia.
Pastor Yuriy said, “I was targeted by some people from the government, policemen, KGB, and gangsters. The worst, of course, was from the gangsters because they tried to kill me, they tried to kidnap my children. Once I was kidnapped, but praise God, God let me escape.”
He started preaching the good news about Jesus Christ. At first, it was slow going.
He was continually harassed for preaching the Gospel.
He planted a church that is called the Church of Christ Savior.
Earlier this summer, Pastor Yuriy said, “Each morning, I wake up, I say to myself, ‘Yuriy, you are still alive, and you have one more day to preach the gospel, one more day to do something for God’s Kingdom.’ ”
From those humble and, at times, nerve-wracking beginnings, the Church of Christ Savior is today the largest congregation in Transnistria.
“We have an unbelievable revival,” he says. “We are still alive 24 years later on the mission field; we are still alive!”
Hundreds pack the church each Sunday, many hearing the gospel message for the first time (https://www.godreports.com/2024/06/revival-breaks-out-in-russias-back-yard/).
Jesus is alive, and he is turning things around in Transnistria.
Or, I can tell you about Abraham Aquilar, a backslidden high school pothead. He attended the Potter’s House Church in Palmdale, CA.
He surrendered his sinful life to God.
He returned to his high school and “became an evangelizing machine as a senior at Palmdale High School.”
During this last school year (2023-2024), he shared the gospel with fellow students, and 895 students professed faith in Jesus Christ!
“There’s hope even when it seems like it’s impossible because addiction makes you feel there’s no other way,” Abraham told God Reports. “Jesus is the way, and nothing else in this world can be substituted for Jesus” (https://www.godreports.com/2024/08/one-high-school-student-leads-895-to-christ-at-his-school/).
Jesus is alive, and he is turning things around in Palmdale High School.
Or, I can tell you about tens of thousands of college students who are getting saved on college campuses.
“They’re coming in with guilt and shame—STDs, unwanted pregnancies, abortions. They’re carrying guilt from even last night, from pornography,” said Jonathan Pokluda of UniteUS, which is hosting meetings. “And they come here, and we’re showing them the One—the only One—Who can really deal with their sin, who’s Jesus Christ.”
Following a regularly scheduled chapel service on February 8, 2023, at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, the revival was sparked by students spontaneously staying in Hughes Auditorium. It went on for 24 hours a day for 16 straight days.
The revival started in 2023 across America and continues in higher education this year (https://www.godreports.com/2024/10/revival-continues-in-colleges-across-america/).
At our September Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of Southwest Florida, the Rev. Aldo Mondin updated us on his work with the Reformed University Fellowship at the University of South Florida.
He told us they averaged about 85 students at their meetings last year, and this year, they began with 180 students in attendance.
He noted that every RUF in Florida reported significant attendance increases.
One of our pastors noted that we should pray for God to send revival to our campuses and churches.
Friends, Jesus is alive and turning things around on our college campuses.
Jesus is doing the same thing today as in the book of Acts.
He is still turning things around.
He is reversing the course of human events.
The book of Acts is written to encourage us that Jesus is now alive with omnipotent power and continues to do what he started to do and teach when he was here 2,000 years ago.
He is turning things around worldwide—from enormous political upheavals to personal periods of discouragement over sin and unbelief.
The point of the Book of Acts is that Jesus is alive and in charge of the world and invades our lives and changes things.
He does not like fatalistic attitudes.
He does not like pessimistic cyclical views of history, personal life, or family life—views that say: “Things just go in circles; they don’t get anywhere. Things don’t change!”
But they do!
The world is not a machine.
It’s a drama.
There is a living author-director named Jesus who can and does jump on the stage anytime he wants to and boggle the actors’ minds who think they know the script.
Jesus is constantly rewriting the scripts of our lives to conform us to his plans and purposes.
That’s one of the reasons we gather for worship each Lord’s Day.
It is to hear God's word and to be re-scripted for the following week!
The primary means of grace is the word of God, and each week, we come to the worship service so that Jesus Christ can execute his office as a prophet through the ministry of the word, revealing to us by his Word and Spirit the will of God for our salvation.
I want to encourage you this morning with the truth that Jesus is alive and that he still turns things around.
I want you to have an optimism about life because Jesus is alive.
Conclusion
Well, then, what should we do?
I could say many things about our plodding, unexpected ruts and routine, religious lives.
But let’s stick with the text and close with verse 31: “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
The atmosphere into which Jesus broke in, turned things around, and caused many people to turn to the Lord was one of godly fear and spiritual comfort.
They seem almost opposites: fear and comfort.
But they are not opposites.
The fear of the Lord is that sense of awe that the Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely holy and mighty and that he may not be trifled with.
He can break in with indescribable, heart-stopping suddenness and power whenever and wherever he pleases.
The fear of the Lord is what the disciples felt when Jesus stilled the storm.
The fear of the Lord is what the disciples felt when Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead.
You do not make light of Jesus.
You do not dally with him, take his name in jest, or treat him as marginal or negligible.
He is living, powerful, unstoppable, and infinitely holy and wills the glory of his Father with white-hot passion.
You humble yourself, as Peter says, under his mighty hand.
That was the atmosphere of the early church, where Jesus broke in with authoritative power and turned sickness and death around.
The other feature of this first-century church into which Jesus broke in with such power was that they were in the comfort of the Holy Spirit (v. 31).
The believers were secure in the knowledge that they were right with God.
The Holy Spirit comforted them with the truth that they were sons and daughters of the living God.
The Holy Spirit assured them of the love and care of God.
The best picture we can have of the Christian life, where Jesus breaks in with power to turn things around, is the image of flying in the eye of a hurricane.
We live in Florida. We are all familiar with hurricanes.
Hurricanes are immensely powerful.
But the eye of the hurricane is eerily still.
So when Luke says in verse 31 that the church walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, I picture them flying in the eye of a hurricane of divine power.
Calm and peace are within, and the blue sky of hope is overhead.
And there is the fearsome power of the wind of holiness swirling all around.
What, then, should we do?
Rest in the eye of God’s love and care.
Tremble at the wind of his holy power.
And be alert in your life and the world for the utterly unique inbreaking of his might and power to turn things around.
Some sin may be in your life, paralyzing your walk with Jesus.
You may even be spiritually dead in your transgressions and sins; you are not yet a Christian.
Believe that Jesus still turns things around today.
Cry out to him and ask him to turn things around for you.
And when he does, remember that Jesus turns things around so you might turn to him and believe in him. Amen.
