Now, the word that I have today actually goes together
with the theme of this coming year.
When the Lord gave me this message, He gave it
to me together with the theme of the year.
And He said to me about this message,
how many truths that God has hidden in this story
and how this entire story has got to do, also,
with the coming year.
The whole event there has hidden meaning in it,
for a time such as this that we are in.
Praise the Lord.
Are you ready for the Word of God?
So let's look at this story here.
“At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha,”
“which is translated Dorcas.”
“This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.”
“But it happened in those days that she became sick and died.”
“When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.”
Notice this place Joppa, which is present day Jaffa,
near Tel Aviv. Jaffa or Joppa, where Jonah
took the boat to go away from what God was directing him to do.
Joppa or “yafe” or “yafa”, in Hebrew, is the word “beautiful.”
Today, when they talk about someone who is beautiful,
they will say: “yafa” or “yafe.”
It all depends on whether it's “handsome” or “beautiful”,
but it is the word “beautiful.”
When God gave me this passage, this is what I heard Him say:
“How to have beautiful days in this coming year.”
Okay? He is going to show us how to have beautiful days.
Now, I don't like to give titles to my sermons.
You know, I am not one of those that give titles for my sermons
but this is what I heard:
“How to have beautiful days this coming year.”
The Year Of Beautiful Days?
No.
God did not say that every day is going to be
beautiful days or good days.
but He says that there will be many good days.
Do you know how He gave that to me?
As I read this passage, right at the last part,
in fact, this verse here finishes the entire chapter 9.
And it ends with this verse:
“So it was that he (Simon Peter) stayed many days in Joppa”
“with Simon, a tanner.”
“So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa.”
“Many beautiful days,” God said.
God wants you to have beautiful days, good days.
Is that scriptural?
Is it biblical for a believer to believe God for beautiful days,
for good days in this coming year?
Is it?
Well, let's look at what the Bible says.
We must always go by what the Bible says.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:10
“He who would love life and see good days.”
“Let him refrain his tongue from evil.”
The very first area is to refrain your tongue from evil.
Notice: “love life.”
Is it wrong to love life?
Then why is God's Spirit encouraging us through His Word
to love life and to see good days.
Do you want to love life and see good days?
He is telling you about your future!
Do you want to love life in 2021?
Do you want to see good days in 2021?
The first area—watch your tongue.
Watch your tongue. Amen.
Okay, let's go back to Tabitha’s story.
Verse 38: “And the disciples had heard that Peter was there,”
“they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay”
“in coming to them.”
“Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come,”
“they brought him to the upper room.”
“And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics”
“and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.”
Let me tell you this.
And please understand where I'm coming from when I say this.
These widows meant well. Obviously, they loved Tabitha.
I was saying just now Tabitha is a woman of favor.
Praise God.
And she was a woman full of good deeds.
And obviously, Tabitha took care of these widows as well
and ministered to them.
And they showed Peter all the garments that Tabitha made.
All the tunics that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
But you see, friend.
It is like they are trying to convince Peter that because
of all her good deeds,
Peter ought to do a miracle in the name of Jesus for Dorcas.
How many know that when God blesses us, when God
does a miracle for us, it is not because of our good works.
God wants the church to be full of good works.
Don't misunderstand.
But it is not because of our good works that God blesses us.
It is because of what Christ has done at the cross. Amen.
Grace is the unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor of God.
Healing is a grace gift and you can't try to earn healing.
That's why in a healing meeting, many a times,
I've had pastors who tell me that the most undeserving person
gets healed of a condition, the same condition that someone else
who is faithful in the church for many years is not healed of.
Now that's not to say that God loves one more than the other.
No, God doesn't want the person— we do not know the
heart of the person. I’m in no place to judge.
But if you are looking at your long service,
if you're looking at how much you know,
if you're looking at yourself, any look at self will shut down faith.
You must look to Jesus. Amen.
So these women were trying to convince Peter by showing
him all the garments she made.
Look at what Peter did.
“But Peter put them all out.”
“Peter put them all out, 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.”
Now, he “put them all out.” “He knelt down and prayed.”
“And turning to the body he said.”
Whenever you hear negative news, you hear
people trying to say:
“This person is deserving of this miracle.” Like in this case.
Or you hear bad news, you hear news that stop you
from praying for someone
or if people are trying to discourage you,
you must learn to put them all out.
You must learn to put all these negative words out.
You must learn to shut down your social media,
to stop trying to travel from one bad news to another
on Facebook or watching the reruns of the
same bad news on TV, and in the media.
No, friend.
There comes a place where you got to stop that.
Put them all out, all out of your mind,
put them all out of your consciousness.
Before the miracle can happen, before God can turn your
bad days into beautiful days, you got to put all these out.
Put them all out! Say: “put them all out!”
“Then he turned to the body and said: ‘Tabitha, arise.’”
And the Bible says: “She opened her eyes.”
“And when she saw Peter she sat up.”
“Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up;”
“and when he had called the saints and widows,”
“he presented her alive.”
“And it became known throughout all Joppa”
Salvation.
“...many believed on the Lord.”
It became known throughout all this place of beauty,
Joppa means “beautiful.”
“And many believed on the Lord.”
That's what the Lord wants: Salvation.
And the last verse of the passage.
“So it was that he (Simon Peter) stayed many days”
“in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.”
This is the very last verse of the entire chapter.
And there's something so good here.
When I first read it under the anointing of the Holy Spirit,
when God was just opening up this passage to me and
telling me: “You’re going to preach this as the last Sunday sermon.”
And when I read this, the Lord said:
“Tell the people how to have many beautiful days.”
But then He says this:
“There are 2 Simons in this verse.”
Simon Peter, that’s the first.
“He who stayed many days” is Simon Peter.
“And he stayed with Simon, a tanner.”
So there are 2 Simons here.
Simon, a tanner.
A tanner is someone who treats the hides and
skins of animals and turns them into leather.
Okay? That's a tanner.
A tanner usually stays by the seaside.
In this case, in Jaffa even.
And by the way, I have been to that house.
There a house there and it is based on the house of
Simon, the tanner.
Okay? It's near the seaside.
Because you need that for water, alright?
To treat the skin of animals and turn them into leather.
So he stayed with Simon.
Now, what is God saying?
If you want to see many beautiful days like in this verse:
“He stayed many days.”
Or you can say:
“He stayed many beautiful days with Simon, a tanner.
A tanner treats the flesh.
Watch it now. Praise God.
He deals with the flesh.
He turns the flesh into leather.
The flesh is no longer vital in your life.
And how do you do it?
Simon and Simon.
Simon means “hearing.”
And there's a double hearing here.
Simon and Simon.
Simon Peter and Simon, the tanner.
There is double hearing here.
Remember when I taught before in the book of
Deuteronomy 28, as well as many other places,
when God says: “You shall diligently hearken.”
“You shall diligently hearken.”
Our English Bible says: “diligently harken.”
In the Hebrew, it is the word: “shema.”
Repeated twice.
Listen, listen.
In the Hebrew, they say: “shema v'tishma.”
“Listen, listen.”
“Shema v'tishma.”
“Listen, listen.”
Listen to the Word of God.
“Hearing hearing.” It is a double hearing.
So how do you have many beautiful days?
Keep on listening and listening and
listening to the Word.
And this listening is a listening not of the flesh.
Come on. The tanner talks about dealing with the flesh, the hide.
So it's not a listening of the flesh.
It is a listening of the Spirit. Amen.
It is hearing by faith. It is not just physical hearing.
And then it goes in, it goes out.
Like you're watching this right now, are you hearing with faith?
Yes. Say “amen” in your heart.
Say: “This is for me.”
“This is what I believe! this is what I am going to do.”
The Bible says: “but the word preached did not profit”
“the children of Israel who were in the wilderness,”
“not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”
They heard it.
But Joshua and Caleb, they said: “This is God's Word!”
“This is God's Word. This word is for me!”
“I believe it!”
But the rest heard God's Word but the rest did not mix it with faith.
Amen. So mix it with faith.
Simon, the tanner means that you deal with your flesh.
You deal with your flesh.
It's not a hearing of the flesh. It is a man who treats the flesh.
He turns it into leather.
A leather means it is dead. Gone.
The final produce is a handbag now.
It is a Lanvin handbag.
It is a Gucci handbag, Hermes handbag.
Gone. It is no longer the flesh of the animal.
It is now used to be profitable for beauty.
Praise God.
So it comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God.
My friend, may your coming days, the days of 2021,
may you have many beautiful days.
Through hearing and hearing the Word of God.
Amen.