The Spirit of Truth

Have you ever got caught in a lie?

A lie, over time, will begin to unravel.

Truth is that solid foundation that will never unravel.

When we are truthful and honest about everything, when we live our life knowing that everything is exposed, nothing is hidden from God, when we aim to please God instead of trying to impress people, that’s how we live in real freedom.

But when we live in fear… fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of not having enough, fear of not providing enough for your family we live distracted.

That battle is very real and God knows our struggle and HE gives us grace so we have nothing to hide from God.

Last week we learned from the Book of Acts that the Holy Spirit will cause us to become more obsesses with HIS Kingdom and more generous with our resources.

At the end of Chapter 4 we see the evidence of the Holy Spirit filling the people in the church.

They were unified in heart and mind.

They did not see there possessions as their own

There was not a needy person was among them.

The Apostles continued preaching, teaching and testifying about the resurrection of Jesus.

Some people sold land and homes and gave the money to the church. Not everyone did… this was something that wasn’t commanded by apostles, it was a voluntary response… this radical generosity was something that the Holy Spirit was speaking to individuals. People like Barnabas who (37) sold one of his fields and brought the money to the apostles to help meet the needs in the church.

As we move on to Chapter 5, we see a bit of a transition… a stark contrast. This morning we will be learning about a married couple named Ananias and Sapphira.

Acts 5:1–11 (NIV)

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

PRAY

This couple wanted credit for their generosity so bad that they were willing to lie to the Holy Spirit.

They were unwilling to humble themselves, to be honest about their inability or unwillingness to give all that God wanted them to give. We can never fool God.

Jesus said that “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

How true is that when it comes giving and generosity. It’s easy to give out of our abundance, it’s hard to give when we have nothing left in reserves… in savings.

Spirit let generosity doesn’t have anything to the amount of money that you possess. It has everything to do our willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit and step out in obedience.

It’s normal for the Holy Spirit to drop an amount to give to missions, or building fund, our increasing our tithe to 20%…

The Holy Spirit will always stretch our faith.

How willing are you to obey God when HE tells you to sacrifice?

Do we believe God truly is our provider?

If God’s mission could be done by our own means then sacrifice wouldn’t be necessary.

God’s plan is to uses those who take HIM as HIS Word… those who faithfully and prayerfully seek God’s presence.

The lessons, the take aways that we must learn from Ananias and Sapphira is that God is always speaking but…

We must be open to hearing from God.

We see here in our text that this married couple spent time listening to God but they also listened to other things as well.

They listened to each other.

Acts 5:1–2 ESV

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

They conspired together to do this. They took the word of others over the word of the Holy Spirit. God wanted to stretch their faith but they doubted God’s ability to provide.

They kept some back for themselves, but laid the rest at the apostles feet.

It seems to me that the Holy Spirit spoke very clearly. It seems to me that A and S knew exactly what they were supposed to do but did not give everything that God told them to give.

We must know what God is speaking to us by putting ourselves in a place where we are hearing from God.

We must be aware of those other voices that cause confusion. Those things that mute God’s voice. Things like… fear, doubt, pride.

Listen to the one voice that truly matters… the Holy Spirit.

We must be willing to obey God even if radical faith is required.

Hearing from God is so important but obedience is even more important.

Picture in your mind a car…

Hearing from God are the wheels and the chassis. It’s not possible for this vehicle to move on it’s own, and I can only push it so far. Also, I can’t drive and push at the same time… I would need to rely on others for help.

Faith is the engine and obedience is the transmission. When Faith is engaged as we shift into drive and burn some rubber baby but we have to engage the transmission.

Faith will always involve risk and that can be overwhelming. It’s important to believe that God is able… God is our healer… HE is the resurrection and the life… God is our provider. We are more then conquers through HIM…

It took faith for A and S to obey the Holy Spirit but they did not completely trust God’s Word. Not only that…

They lied about how much they gave.

We wouldn’t lie to the IRS, if we do we will eventually get caught. God keeps a much better record then the government and HE is much more reliable.

Peter also had to confront an issue that the Holy Spirit revealed to him. He confronted it boldly and quickly.

Hearing from God and then engaging our faith through obedience may seem radical but it’s always worth it.

We must be more concerned about pleasing God then pleasing people.

This couple could have avoided instant death if they would have just been honest about what they gave instead of trying to influence their perception. They were more concerned about making themselves appear radically generous then actually being generous.

Peter said though the revelation of the Holy Spirit…

Acts 5:3–4 (ESV)

3 “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

Then 3 hours later, Peter then said to Sapphira…

Acts 5:8–9 (ESV)

8 “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

They were more concerned about how things were perceived versus reality. God see through the perception… God sees the heart… the heart of obedience… the heart of surrender.

God knows what we give and what we don’t give. God knows how much we tithe, God knows how much we spend on going out to eat, God knows what we spend on our vices, cigarettes, alcohol, parties, vacation, leisure, on frivolous things.

God knows how much we spend on His kingdom. Are we more invested in our kingdom versus HIS kingdom?

It think this carries over to more then just money… it’s important that we are honest about our time management, our priorities, social media, news intake.

Are we investing more on earthly things then eternal things?

Are we more concerned about pleasing people then pleasing God?

People are going love you or leave you but God is going to love you and walk with you as you walk with the Lord, as you seek to please our Father.

James 4:5–10 ESV

5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

God will is exalted when we submit ourselves through humility. Remember that God is a jealous God and he wants your full heart, not just a portion of it.

The death of this couple resulted in

Acts 5:11 ESV

11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

A fear of the Lord is a good thing, not a bad thing. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

When we have a real awareness of God being present in every decision that we make it will change our decision making process.

Take away:

God knows our heart, our weaknesses, our struggles. Take it all to HIM, don’t try to cover it up, don’t try to lie to God.

Be authentic

Be willing to be stretched in our faith: