Acts 4:32-5:11
Acts: Jesus Teaching in action • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Recap
This is the chapter I have been looking forward to sharing on
Pray
Charity
Charity
The Joy of such a loving community
meeting the needs
When we first moved (our stuff in storage)
Ramein and Shereen
Money and resources
Buying our house
The parable of the Shrewd manager in Luke 16.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
If you can be trusted with little you can be trusted with a lot
God wants your full attention and it starts with what little we can offer.
Yet which master are you offering your time, talent, possessions and money to?
C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity - Book 3 Christian behaviour
4 Cardinal virtues and 3 theological
Cardinal - all civilised people recognise
(prudence - the need in life to be cautious,
temperance - the need in life to be disciplined
justice - the need in life for a fair hearing and
fortitude - courage in pain and adversity in life)
Theological - are those as a rule only Christians know about (Charity, Hope and faith)
Forgiveness overlaps - we are forgiven much so we should forgive much
So with our possessions, we are given much so how do we use it to benefit others?
this next bit I want to go over slowly because it is so rich
Charity - known for giving to the poor but C.S. Lewis defines it as ‘Love, in the Christian sense’ - not the emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.
He writes to become more charitable - the rule is simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking them more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking them less.
Of course, if you are doing so not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show how forgiving a person you are, or to put them in your debt, or simply to receive gratitude, you will be disappointed.
Equally, this spiritual law works terribly in reverse. For example, in the second world war the Germans, perhaps, at first ill-treated the Jews because they hated them; afterwards, they hated them much more because they had ill-treated them. The more cruel you are, the more you will hate; and the more you hate, the more cruel you become-that is the vicious circle forever.
Good and evil both increase at compound interest.
The behaviour of a small good act today can become a victory you never dreamed of.
An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today becomes the footing for an attack from the enemy previously impossible.
But the the Great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.
Charity is much more than simply giving to the poor, it is a behaviour of being trusted with the little things that leads to blessing the community.
Charity with the money and resources we are given is our choice to decide or discern how to use it.
The next part of this story shows what happens when we are untrusting.
This is the tale of Ananias and Sapphira (suh-fahy-ruh)
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
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.
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?
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.”
Sapphira commits the same lie
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
The story of Ananias and Sapphira is difficult. It can strike us harsh, a return to Old Testament retribution. “Why this swift act of judgment? Why no opportunity for repentance and restoration?” No amount of commentary will ever take the edge off this passage—and that may be the point.
In all the shock and awe of the couple’s fate, it’s easy to miss the “But/Now” which puts Ananias and Sapphira’s deceit and greed in contrast to the sincerity and generosity of the community of faith (4:32–37). There is euphoria and utopia in the scene described. “One heart and soul,” “everything in common,” “not a needy person among them.” “But a man named Ananias . . .” A dark cloud invades the scene. Greed and deceit enter the community like a virus. Amid the glorious expansion of the church, Ananias and Sapphira sneak in as a threat. Note, too, that Sapphira falls down dead at Peter’s feet (5:10), whereas Joseph brought all his money and laid it at the apostles’ feet (4:37). The generous disciple held God’s authority in high esteem and showed it by laying his possessions at his appointed messenger’s feet. Ananias and Sapphira did not, and God made his authority known by laying them down.
We also see strong parallels with Joshua 7.
Satan was trying to thwart the Spirit
The story is not normative
There is nothing in this story, Acts, or the New Testament as a whole that shows this is a pattern for how God acts. In fact, if it were, the pattern breaks in Acts 8 with Simon the sorcerer. Though Ananias and Simon’s acts and motivations are slightly different, Peter’s rebuke has a similar feel to it—and death is even warned. However, Simon responds with a repentant heart and is seemingly spared. It is better to take this as a unique moment of sudden divine judgment. The people’s great fear indicates this was not something they were accustomed to, either.
So how are we to respond today? when it comes to being Charitable again we can see here Jesus' teaching in action
Jesus taught us:
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’
But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Don’t go around making promises - simply be known for your yes to be a yes and a no to be a no.
This is missing in our culture today.
How easy it is to be distracted and over-commit -
But also this generation/we can all be no committal, not wanting to limit ourselves (FOMO) and that is also from the evil one.
Yes - make sure when you say yes
This may seem a contradiction
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Sometimes our yes is not a true yes and we lose sight of God in doing His Will for our life yet there is room for repentance.
No- make sure to say no to things, don’t let your life be run by others - Sabbath, we need rest
The race ahead of us - GLS - Kal Fease - Australian racing - Matthew fisher
Perseverance, effort, focus, integrity
Have you ever stopped to think about the things that you do.
Trying or training
Matildas - inspired so that more will train and reach that level
Are we inspired - are you clear on what God wants for you? Are you willing to give it your all or only part of it? your choice and once you commit you need to double down on that purpose.
What are you willing to lay down today, possessions, money, time or talent?
What do you need to say no to so you can say yes?
What are you worshipping (money, sport, possessions)? maybe start there by saying no
Are you in need? what are you willing to share or lay down for the Kingdom?