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 imprison them, Jesus threw him off his
horse and blinded him for three days. Saw 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 Lida 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 (02:31):
Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
in a Year podcast. But before we began, I want
to let you know about a unique ebook that's yours
to download absolutely free today. Is called Breaking Free from Stress,
and my prayer is that it will help you conquer
the daily task and pressures and burdens that bring stress

(02:52):
in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
from Stress today by visiting Jack Graham dot org slash stress.
That's Jack Graham dot Org Stress. 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

(03:14):
Christians lives, but Jesus arrested him and took him himself
as a brand new believer and follower of the Savior.
When Saul came face to 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

(03:38):
we'll hear how the apostle Peter then journeys to take
the good news of the risen 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 multi dudes,

(04:00):
are embracing the message of Jesus Christ. So once again
let's hear our reading from the Book of Acts.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Peter walked the streets of Lida 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 sin. Yet there was a

(04:28):
specific 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,

(04:49):
he had been paralyzed and bedridden. Month after month, Eneus
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

(05:11):
a curious nod. I am Peter, sent by Jesus Christ.
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 feet. He leapt
for joy and ran outside, and all the citizens of

(05:32):
Lyddah rejoiced and came to know Christ. Meanwhile, in the
siny 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.

(05:53):
She reflected Christ in her city and set an example
for what 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

(06:13):
not believe that this beautiful soul would be taken from them.
So quickly they closed the door to the upper room
where Tabitha lay and went downstairs. They wept all night.
There was no ceasing to the heartache of death. Even
though Jesus had ridden the final sting of death. They
were still filled with sorrow over their loss. That was
until a stranger peeked in through the door. The man

(06:36):
was tall and broad. He held the wholy in quiet
demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the tattered
clothes of a fisherman. Is 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

(06:56):
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. 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

(07:17):
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 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,

(07:38):
Tabitha ariyes. The hand Peter held began to squeeze back,
and color was restored to Tabitha's face and limbs. Her
eyes slowly opened to see 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 stole to

(08:00):
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 (08:12):
We begin 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 named Aneas who had been confined
to his bed for eight years, eight years of pain

(08:32):
and suffering. 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
Aneas 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

(08:55):
Aneas was paralyzed and 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

(09:18):
to the Lord. Not just one city, but two, All
who lived there turned to the Lord. We then heard
of a woman in the nearby town 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

(09:40):
for the needs 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 died. Her friends were not ready to say

(10:02):
goodbye to Tabitha, however, so they cleaned their body and
later 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

(10:25):
on the healing ministry of 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

(10:46):
still cares 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

(11:08):
to hear the 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 to help people discover the power of

(11:31):
God in their lives. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we know
that you have come to bring healing and holness 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 in sharing this good news. For we

(11:53):
pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to
today's Bibleing of Year podcast. Before we go, I want
to let you know about a unique ebook that's yours
to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress,
and my prayer is that it will help you conquer
the daily task and pressures and burdens that bring stress

(12:15):
into your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
from Stress today by visiting jaggraham dot org slash stress.
That's jagraham dot org slash stress.