Charles Spurgeon said an arrow must be straight and well-feathered, but beyond that, the archer deserves all the credit for its effectiveness.
Frank Laubach writes that we are channels of God’s blessings. When I think of being a channel, I picture a garden hose. A hose may be useful, but if it is not connected to water, it cannot help what it is meant to serve.
Peter knew he was only an arrow in God’s hand, a channel of God’s blessing. So when God worked through him, all glory went to the One who gave him the power and grace to serve effectively.
A Paralyzed Man Walks
As Peter traveled, he found a man who had been paralyzed for eight years. Through God’s blessing, the man was healed and able to walk right away.
Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord (Acts 9:34-35).
Several years ago, I was in a group where the speaker was an inventor. After the meeting, we went out for coffee, and I learned more about his life. He was very gifted and skilled at creating things, yet he was like the paralytic in Peter’s story, trapped by alcohol addiction.
At one point, he walked onto a bridge in California intending to end his life. But the Lord spoke to his heart and said, “Do not give up. Give yourself to Me.”
He stopped on that bridge, turned around, and found the first AA meeting he could. There he said, “I want to get sober.” Then he found a church, Calvary Chapel, and gave his life to the Lord.
God used two sources of blessing to help him: the AA group and the church. Now, he is a channel of God’s blessing by inventing tools for mission work that help people and share the good news of Jesus Christ.
The Dead Raised to Life
As a channel of God’s blessing, Peter helped bring people to life and lead a community to faith in Christ.
At that time, Peter was in Joppa when Dorcas, a beloved servant of the Lord, died. The community called for him, trusting that God would work through him for her.
Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord (Acts 9:40-42).
Darrell Scott, the singer-songwriter, wrote a whimsical, though inaccurate, story about what happened to Lazarus. He titled it “Lazarus Dies Again.” While fictional, the story shares a truthful message about the fact that those like Lazarus and Dorcas ultimately died again.
There is another kind of resurrection that happens far more often than what happened to Lazarus and Dorcas. Spiritual resurrection occurs when people move from spiritual death to life in Christ. This is something we can all experience and praise God for.
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6).
The phrase “with Christ” is very important in the New Testament. It appears again and again. With Christ, we died. With Christ, we rose again. And with Christ, just as he ascended, we have the privilege of ascending to the presence of our Heavenly Father.
Frank Laubach learned the power of living with Christ. It shaped how he prayed and served every day. It also made him one of the most remarkable people of his time.
He became a channel of God’s blessing, which all of us can become because we have been spiritually raised from the dead to live with Christ and serve with him in this world.
Below is a sermon in which Laubach shares how this worked in his life. You will be blessed if you take the time to listen.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 9:32-43 on YouTube today.
