TEXT: ACTS 9:36-42 #2788 PENTECOST 16 THEME: "HEROES AND HEROINES OF FAITH: TABITHA, A PICTURE OF BEAUTY" I. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL PERSON. II. SHE LIVE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. Phoenix - 9/28114 My dear fellow redeemed, A couple of weeks ago when I was driving down to church, there was a shiny, black, Cadillac Escalade in front of me, and it was being driven by a very dignified-looking, older lady who looked an awful lot like Helen Babineau, but I wasn't really sure. The lady's driving was fine. She was traveling at the posted speed limit, and she obeyed all of the traffic lights. She wasn't talking on her cell phone with friends, and she wasn't texting her grandchildren. She was really a conscientious and responsible driver. It was only when she signaled to make a right turn that I knew it couldn't be Helen. You see, that's when I first noticed the bumper sticker on her car. It said: "Women Who Behave Seldom Make the History Books," and it had a cartoon picture of a sultry-looking gal on it. Those of you who know Helen know that she always behaves, and in all of my extensive reading, I have yet to find her name in the history books. "Women Who Behave Seldom Make the History Books." That same thing could also be said of the "Heroine of Faith" that we meet in these verses which are now before us. To my knowledge, she isn't listed in the secular history books either. But her story is included in the Word of God for all of posterity, and I believe the Holy Spirit has made mention of her because she's such an inspiring example for all of us Christians who are living today. Her name is Tabitha, and this morning we're going to see that she is "A PICTURE OF BEAUTY." First, we will recall that I. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL PERSON. And then also that II. SHE LIVED A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. I. "In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha," we are told, "(which, when translated, is Dorcas)," v.36a. And she was indeed a picture of beauty. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL PERSON, beginning with her names, of which she had three. Tabitha was her given Hebrew name. But since she was living in the Greek-speaking seaport of Joppa, she was also known by the Greek name Dorcas, and both of those names translate into the English word "gazelle" - that beautiful, swift-moving, graceful antelope with soft, lustrous eyes. Maybe her parents gave her that name hoping that she would grow up to be beautifully active and kind, and if so, they certainly weren't disappointed. But this heroine of faith had another name too - one she didn't receive from her parents - and it was also a beautiful name for this beautiful person. Here she is simply called "disciple." That's what Tabitha was - a "disciple" of our Lord Jesus.... a person whose heart had been filled with love for her Lord and whose life was centered on Him as her Savior from sin. She was a Christian woman who called God "her Father" and submitted joyfully to Jesus as "her Lord" and was now honoring Him with her life. This was Dorcas, the disciple - Tabitha, the "gazelle." She was a beautiful person, and, like her namesake, the gazelle, she also had beautiful eyes. I don't know if they were large or small, if they were ebony, blue, brown, hazel, green, or some other color. But I do know that her eyes were beautiful, and they were beautiful not because of their shape or size or color, but because of what they were able to see. Thru the Gospel God had opened her eyes to see His love and grace and marvelous blessings in Christ, and then moved her to put into practice the words of Jesus when He said, "Freely you have received, freely give. " Thru the eyes of faith Tabitha saw that from Jesus she had received far more than she would ever have thought possible. From Jesus she had freely 'received the full forgiveness of all of her sins, and along with that the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. Seeing this, she definitely did "freely give." She "was always doing good and helping the poor," we are told, v.36b. She was a beautiful person with beautiful eyes - eyes which God had opened to see the needs of others around her ... eyes that were continually looking for ways to respond to God's grace by doing good, especially to the less fortunate in the family of believers. And not only that, Tabitha had beautiful hands too. I don't know if they were big or little, finely delicate or gnarled with arthritis, but they were beautiful hands. She was a living example of the woman described in the Book of Proverbs when it says, "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. " Hers were the hands the hymn writer had in mind when he said, "Lord, take my hands and let them move / At the impulse of your love." That's the way this heroine of faith was. She had busy hands. She was always quietly doing good and helping the poor. Whenever she saw something that needed to be done which she had the skill to do, she simply did it - without any hoopla or fanfare .... without any expectation of reward or recognition. She was really a beautiful person! She was a woman who "loved not with words or tongue, " as the Bible says, "but with actions and in truth. " The needs of the poor and the widows around her were real needs, and she used the talents God had given her to alleviate those needs by making "robes and clothing" for them, v.39. That's the way she was. Tabitha truly was a picture of beauty in the photo album of God's "Heroes and Heroines of Faith." But I think a more important question today is this: How is your picture as a 21st century disciple of Jesus now developing? What does it look like? Take your own eyes, for example. Are they those "beautiful eyes" that Tabitha had? Eyes that are fixed on your Lord Jesus and His love for you? Eyes that see clearly the truth of His words which say, "Whatever you dofor one of the least of these brothers of mine, you dofor me '"]Or are they eyes that focus instead onJy on yourself and look for excuses rather than looking for ways to express your love for Jesus by doing good to others? Excuses like this are always easy to find. It seems that Tabitha lived alone, and she could have used her isolation as an excuse for self-pity and callousness toward others. But she didn't. Instead, the Gospel of Jesus made her alert and active, quick to see the needs of others and eager to help them. "0 Lord," we need to pray, "help me to always see as you helped her to see." "And Lord," we should also add, "bless me with beautiful hands too." Take a look at your hands, my friends. Are they "beautiful hands" like Tabitha's? She was a capable seamstress and she used her talent for the glory of God and the benefit of others, especially the needy. What talents has God given you to use in His kingdom by which you can show your love for Him and your gratitude to Him for your Savior Jesus? Can you maybe mend some clothing or mow a lawn or make a meal? Can you drive a car or run some errands or do some shopping for those who can't? Can you make some time just to visit? A few hours each week or month to bring some cheer or break the loneliness of those who are home-bound? What can you do like Tabitha did in the service of your Savior and for the benefit of His brothers and sisters around you? There must be something. Right? Tabitha did what little she could and God considered that simple act of faith significant enough to record in His Word for all of posterity. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure andfaultless is this:" the Bible says, "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" "Do notforget to do good and share with others, " it adds, "for with such sacrifices God ispleased" That's a picture of beauty in His book! II. That's how it was with this heroine of faith. Tabitha was a beautiful person, and SHE ALSO LIVED A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. Hers was a life of compassion that expressed itself with actions - a life of service willingly rendered to others out of her love for the Lord. She "was a/ways doing good and helping the poor," St. Luke tells us. And that definitely is a beautiful way to live life - something we really need to see a lot more of in our own society. Mark Twain once said, "Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can read." And this is true. Everyone can understand the language of love and kindness. It can be spoken in any dialect and still be comprehended by every person from any nationality - by the rich and the poor, by the old and the young, by male and female alike. "Kindness," someone else had said, "is a universal language, for it does not speak to the intellect but directly to the heart." And in her life Tabitha spoke that language very well - very fluently .... the language oflove and kindness. She lived a beautiful life. But then, that's quite understandable, isn't it? I mean, she was merely following in the footsteps of her Savior Jesus, freely giving to others as she had freely received from Him, speaking the same language to those around her that she had heard from Him. It was Jesus who first "had compassion on the crowds, " the Bible says, which in the wide-angle picture included Tabitha and also you and me, and He expressed His compassion with actions. It was Jesus who saw our needs and was moved by His love to respond to them. Like the widows back in Tabitha's day, we were also in need of "robes and clothing," in a manner of speaking - the ''robes of righteousness" in which we might be properly dressed to meet our holy God and share His presence .... "the garments of salvation, " as the Bible calls them. To put it very simply, what we all needed more than anything else was forgiveness for all of our sins, and it was Jesus Himself who bought that for us at the cost of His very own life on the cross of Calvary. That's where we see His kindness fully in action - His compassion at its greatest. That's where we can hear the language of love spoken most clearly and distinctly - spoken as it has never been spoken before. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: " the Apostle Paul has written, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. " That really is the language of love, isn't it? "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - the righteous for the unrighteous; the godly for the ungodly .... the holy and sinless Son of God for us sinful and corrupt human beings .... so that we might be saved from God's wrath and punishment thru Him .... so that we might live forever with Him in the mansion of heaven. That's the language of love! That's what Tabitha heard and took to heart and applied to herself. That's what inspired her and empowered her to live the beautiful life she did. And now, my friends, you've heard it too - this language of love. Ipray that it will have the same effect on you as it did on Tabitha - that thru it you too will always be a beautiful person, and because of it you will always live a beautifullife ... that each of you will also be "a picture of beauty" in the photo album of God's "Heroes and Heroines of Faith." May God bless you in being this.

AMEN