Bedridden - The Book of Acts

In this Bible Story, we see the work of God through Peter. One man is restored from being crippled for eight years. Another is dead and raised to life. In this, we see the will of God moving people out of their beds into a life of purpose. This story is inspired by Acts 9:32-43. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Acts 9:34 from the King James Version.

Episode 224: Peter, walking the streets of Lydda preaching the Gospel to all who would listen, came to a man named Aeneas. Aeneas had been bedridden for eight years but God had sent Peter there to heal him. And at a word, Aeneas was healed and God used this healing to bring many people to Him. Meanwhile, in Joppa, a disciple named Tabitha became ill and died. Her friends sent for Peter at once and when he arrived he took Tabitha by the hand and told her to arise. God restored life to Tabitha’s body and many people celebrated God’s goodness with her.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus
Christ maketh thee whole arise and make thy bed, and
he arose immediately Acts nine thirty four. I want to
thank you, Lord for all the years that you've loved

(00:21):
me and guided me to get me to where I
am now. As I stand before others, May my testimony
serve as a badge of honor to your goodness and
faithfulness to those who love and serve you. Don't let
any one for one moment doubt your faithfulness and goodness

(00:43):
when they look at all that you've done in my life.
Like Tabitha and Aeneas in today's reading, I acknowledge that
you have given me the power to speak life into
people who have been bedridden and sidelined in life. When
I come face to face with these situations, I will

(01:04):
activate the same faith that Peter used to heal all
those he came in contact with. I will not doubt
whether or not it will happen. Instead, I will put
my faith in you and watch as your spirit fills
them so that you can get the glory in Jesus name. Amen,

(01:30):
thank you for praying with me to day continue listening
for an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible
in a Year dot com bedridden.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
In our last story, the evil intentions of Saul the
Persecutor were thwarted by the presence of Jesus himself. As
Saul was on the road to drag Christians out of
their homes and imprisoned them, Jesus threw him off his
horse and blinded him for three days. Saul wept in darkness,
but his sight was restored and he could see the

(02:12):
true light of Christ. Now we follow Peter on his
journey to Lydda and Joppa. There he visits the bedsides
of two specific people, people who would walk again to
experience joy everlasting. Inspired by the Book of Acts.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with another episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. Thanks for joining us. In
our previous episode, we heard of Saul's amazing conversion experience
on the Damascus Road. He was on his way to
persecute Christians to take Christian's lives, but Jesus arrested him
and took him himself as a brand new believer and

(02:54):
follower of the Savior. When Saul king faced a face
with Jesus, the very one that he was persecuting. Jesus
changed his life forever, and this man then embraced his
calling to take the Gospel to the world. He was
a chosen vessel. Today we'll hear how the apostle Peter
then journeys to take the good news of the risen

(03:15):
Savior around the world. Filled with God's power, he will
bring physical and spiritual healing to the sick and the hurting,
and the lame and the broken, even restoring one life
that had died. In all of it, God's name, the
name of Jesus, will be glorified as more and more
people multitudes are embracing the message of Jesus Christ. So

(03:36):
once again let's hear our reading from the Book of Acts.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Peter walked the streets of Lita with purpose. The small
city was filled with people who were not close to
the ministry of Jesus on earth, therefore in need of
hearing his gospel. There was a small community of believers there.
They ministered among the people, feeding the poor and preaching
liberty from the shame of Yet there was a specific

(04:02):
need that drew Peter there. A man named Eneus was
in the city. He was a man in need of
a miracle. Eneus sat up in his bed, looking out
the window. The sun peered in through the small space,
causing rays of afternoon sunshine to fill his bedroom. It
was the greatest part of his day. For eight years
he had been paralyzed and bedridden. Month after month, Eneus

(04:26):
would relive the same nightmare of pain and purposelessness. That
was until a stranger peeked in through the door. The
man was tall and broad. He held the holy and
quiet demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the
tattered clothes of a fisherman. Eneus, he asked. Eneus gave
a curious nod, I am Peter, sent by Jesus Christ.

(04:49):
It is him who heals you at this moment, Rise
up and make your bed. And immediately Eneus dangled his
legs over the side of the bed. With a small
leap of faith, he stood to his He leapt for
joy and ran outside, and all the citizens of Lyddah
rejoiced and came to know Christ. Meanwhile, in the sinny

(05:09):
of Joppa, there was a disciple by the name of Tabitha.
Her devotion to the character and ministry of Jesus was staggering,
and the whole city was blessed because of her. She
cared for the sick and lonely. She ministered to the
broken hearted, and she did so with joy. She reflected
Christ in her city and set an example for what

(05:29):
it meant to follow Christ. However, even the pure can
be sick, even the strong can become weak. In the
prime of her ministry, Tabitha became ill to the point
of death. Her friends washed her lifeless body. Tears filled
the upper room where she lay. They could not believe
that this beautiful soul would be taken from them. So
quickly they closed the door to the upper room where

(05:52):
Tabitha lay and went downstairs. They wept all night.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
There was no.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Ceasing to the heartache of death. Even though she Jesus
had ridden the final sting of death, they were still
filled with sorrow over their loss. That wasn'tuntil a stranger
peeked in through the door. The man was tall and broad.
He held the wholly and quiet demeanor of a caring priest,
but he wore the tattered clothes of a fisherman. As

(06:17):
this where Tabitha lays. The man asks the friends nodded,
skeptical of the man's intentions. I am Peter, and I
have come to see Tabitha. So they led Peter into
the upper room. They had heard of Peter the apostle
of Jesus. They knew that God was active in his life.
They knew that a miracle was not only possible, but probable.

(06:38):
Peter closed the door to the upper room. The room
was filled with incense to mask the smell of death.
Its musk made Peter's lungs feel heavy. Under the dimly
lit candlelight, Tabitha could be seen lying on a bed.
Peter took a few steps forward and knelt down slowly
at her side. He held her hand. It was cold

(06:58):
and callous, no doubt, she was a woman well acquainted
with hard work. From what Peter had heard, her hands
were used to the glory of God. Peter squeezed her
lifeless hand tightly and whispered, Tabitha, arise. The hand Peter
held began to squeeze back, and color was restored to
Tabitha's face and limbs. Her eyes slowly opened to see

(07:21):
Peter's smiling face looking back at her. Peter laughed, and
Tabitha wept with tears of joy. The two exchanged a
few words, but it was brief since an excited mob
of widows and believers stormed the room. They hugged and
kissed her. Words of her healing spread, and Tabitha wore
her testimony like a banner of God's faithfulness.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
We began today's reading in the city of Lida, many
miles to the north of Jerusalem. Despite increased persecution and
danger for the believers, Peter had not ceased to go
from place to place with the gospel message. In Lida,
he found a man Aneas, who had been confined to
his bed for eight years, eight years of pain and suffering.

(08:06):
He was stuck in his home with little hope of
being made well, but the Lord guided Peter to his house.
Peter entered the house and spoke to Aeneas, saying, Jesus
heals you, and told him to get up and make
his bed. If you've ever lived in a small town,
you know how fast word spreads, And that's exactly what happened.
In this little town. Everyone knew Aneas was paralyzed and

(08:29):
confined to his bed, so when they saw him walking
around completely healed, they were amazed and glorified God through
one physical healing. God then opened the door for spiritual
healing salvation for many people listened to what Acts nine
thirty five says, and all the residents of Lydda and
Charon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Not

(08:52):
just one city, but two, All who lived there turned
to the Lord. We then heard of a woman in
the nearby town out of Joppa named Tabitha. Tabitha was
a believer who was busy going about the work of Christ.
We're told that she was full of good deeds and
charity generosity. In other words, she cared for the needs

(09:14):
of people around her. Tabitha lived out the Lord's command
to love her neighbor, and yet she became sick and died.
Following Jesus does not automatically mean that the will of
God is easy with life and health and prosperity, or
even a long life, And so this woman dies. Her
friends were not ready to say goodbye to Tabitha, however,

(09:37):
so they cleaned her body and laid her in an
upper room, and then sent word to Peter, who came
right away. When he arrived, he went into the home
to the upper room, where Tabitha lay, just as Jesus
had done when he went to the home of Jyris
to raise his daughter from the dead. Peter spoke to Tabitha,
telling her to arise. Peter was carrying on the healing

(09:59):
ministry of j Jesus, even raising the dead to life.
Peter then presented Tabitha to her friends and family, and
many turned to the Lord as a result of her resurrection.
Today we are reminded that God's miracle working power has
the ability of drawing people to himself. God still cares

(10:19):
for those who are hurting. We saw the compassionate heart
of Christ going about doing good and helping those who
were hurting, and healing the sick, and even raising the dead.
And in the same way, there is a desire in
the heart of those of us who follow Jesus to
help hurting people, to bless those who need the blessing
of God, and especially those who need to hear the

(10:41):
witness of the Gospel and to turn to Christ. Our
mission as the followers of Jesus is to preach the
Gospel and to help people know and follow our Lord. We,
like the apostle Peter in this case, need to be
attentive and alert to opportunities all around us to share
the good news of Jesus. Let us always be available

(11:02):
to help people discover the power of God in their lives.
Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we know that you have come
to bring healing and wholeness to the world. May your
message of hope and salvation go to the ends of
the earth through your witnesses. May we, as your followers,
keep our eyes open for the opportunities to obey you

(11:23):
in sharing this good news. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download thepray
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(11:46):
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