This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Luke’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 11 May 2025. The Bible reading was Acts 9:36-43.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.

Introduction

When you see a certain picture, you know Banksy has been there. When you see a certain sculpture, you know Michaelangelo has been there. And when Trafalgar Square is bedecked in Red and White you know Sunderland AFC fans have been there! We’re famous for it! And in Acts 9, though it is more than five years since Pentecost, five years since Jesus has been seen, we know he has been there when Saul was converted, a paralysed man packs away his sick bed, and a dead lady breathes again.

1) Jesus is King over Physical Health vs31-35

In 9:31-35 (verses left out of the lectionary!) we read that Jesus is King over physical health. The Church at this point is in a good place – 5/6 years in and the believers are really conscious of Jesus’ presence with them and the Holy Spirit’s work in them. Vs31 summarises it like this: “Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” But even in the middle of such obvious spiritual progress and encouragement, normal life in a sin-cursed world goes on. And so, as the apostle Peter travels around the country, he comes across very normal and yet deeply upsetting circumstances that believers in Jesus find themselves in.

We are not entitled to good health simply because we are Christians – as Peter travelled around, he found believers struggling with all the brokenness that living in a sin-cursed world brings – we cannot bypass the effects of sin! But also, our saviour Jesus is all-powerful and is with us in the closest possible way. So, should we not pour out our need before him full of expectation that Jesus can say the word and our temporary and heavy burdens can be lifted?

How? Because Jesus, is completely sovereign over all things (Colossians 1 “in him all things hold together”, Hebrews 1 “sustaining all things by his powerful word.”) Physical illness, ageing and infirmity are no barrier to Jesus. This should give amazing confidence and peace to believers today – the same Jesus who chased away sickness in the gospels, who chases away sickness in Acts, is the Jesus who is present with us today.

If you are struggling under the weight of illness, ageing, or infirmity, then know this; Because Jesus is sovereign over it all and powerfully present in his Church, then when it comes to your illness or suffering you can know for certain that you can trust in Jesus for your well-being. Since you know Jesus is King of all things, since you know you belong to him, since you know he is working in His church then be stirred to faithful, consistent prayer, knowing that Jesus has the power to dramatically and miraculously heal.

2) Jesus is King over Life and Death vs36-43

In verses 36-43 Jesus isn’t just the King of health and illness, he is the King over life and death. In Joppa there is great sadness; a dearly loved believer called Tabitha (or Dorcus) who spent her life doing good and sharing God’s love with others had become ill and died.

For me the scene described in vs37, laying her in a room upstairs, is quite a familiar one with the tradition surrounding death that I grew up with in Sunderland. I remember vividly as a child, when my grandparents died, their bodies, in a coffin, were place in our front room for a few days whilst family and friends came to pay their final respects. They’d try to comfort one another, mourn together, have a drink, reminisce, cry. I wasn’t allowed in the front room – which I was quite glad about – but I remember having a few sleepless nights knowing there was a dead relative in the room underneath my bedroom!

Anyway, whilst the church family and others were remembering all the good things Tabitha had done, and sharing in the distress that death brings, some of the believers have a sudden thought – the apostle Peter is in Lydda, only 10 miles away, let’s go and bring him here! What did they think Peter could do? We don’t know for certain what they were thinking but it does seem that they had great expectations of  Peter’s ministry.

Vs38: “Peter went with them and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room” (surrounded by widows showing him the clothes she had made for them). Peter sends everyone out, he prays and then (so clearly reminiscent of Jesus bringing Jarius’ daughter back to life), simply says “Tabitha, get up.” And she does. This woman who was dead opens her eyes, sees Peter, and sits up. “He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.”

Can you imagine the joy that must have exploded in that house at that moment? And the amazement? And the awe? As the Holy Spirit works in this incredible way, it is Jesus who is work. Jesus is the one through whom all things were made.

Jesus is King over life and death. But don’t let us believe this in a dry, dull intellectual way, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us grasp hold of this truth to the very depths of our heart so that our whole attitude to life and death is altered. So that we can say with great confidence the words from Psalm 23 we read earlier: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.

Even though death is something each one of us will face at some point in our lives, it’s a topic we don’t talk about easily. However, I believe Christian’s can, and should, talk positively about death because of Jesus’ resurrection. Because when Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, He abolished the power of death once and for all and gives all of us a certain and sure hope that death is not the end but only the beginning.

This truth should fill us with a boldness and a determination to live lives that point others to the life-giving saviour King. The Jesus who breathed life into us at creation, sustains our life by his powerful word, raised Lazarus and others from the grave in his ministry, the moment he willingly suffered death on the cross tombs in Jerusalem broke open and many were raised from death, and three days later he strode out of tomb, defeating death forever and offering all who would put their trust in his resurrection life.

The Jesus who raised Tabitha from the dead, is the Jesus who meets with us right now is still the king over life and death. We belong to him, we are united with him, we are his body, he is with us, and he is the all-powerful God. Our lives belong to him, the day of our death is decided by him.

The moment each one of us came into this world, wasn’t just recorded at the Registrar’s Office, it was also recorded in Heaven. That’s what we read in Psalm 139:16: All the days ordained for me were written in Your book. Every birth is by divine appointment. From our birth to the moment of our death, God is accomplishing His divine purposes in and through us. And he will work in and through us until the day when the good work he began in us is finished and it is time to see him face to face and he utters those words: Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of the Lord. (Matthew 25:23).

Conclusion

We can respond to Acts 9 this morning in a number of different ways – all of them characterised by a deeper expectancy of what Jesus is able to do.

Firstly, in v42 following Dorcus being raised from the dead “This became known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord”. How are we to respond to the reality of Jesus himself working powerfully in our lives, in His Church? We are to turn to the Lord; we are to believe in him!  This is not simply an intellectual assent but a full-blooded trust that changes how we think about trials and difficulties – even death itself. Nothing will ever separate us from his love. Illness won’t. Death can’t.

Romans 8:35-39: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Secondly, we are to grow in expectant prayer for one another as a church family. Jesus is king over illness and so when a brother or a sister is ill, he is the very first person we should go to in faith about it. But how much are we to genuinely believe that Jesus will heal the person we are praying for? As I said at the Healing Service a few weeks ago healing comes if different forms: physical, emotional, psychological and we can’t under-estimate spiritual healing too.

Thirdly, the great thing about praying in faith to Jesus in the face of illness or death is the peace that it will bring in a believer’s life. We pray believing that God will answer our prayers according to His sovereign will for that person. If he does heal, we can be filled with joy and awe and if he doesn’t, we trust in him, anyway!

Knowing Jesus has absolute power over illness and death, knowing he is good knowing that he is both near and on our side, means we can press on looking forward to the day when all his people will see their ultimate eternal healing with their own eyes. That day, as Revelation reminds us, when there will be no more sorrow or pain or sadness and God will wipe every tear from our eyes.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.