hypocrisy at offering time

It is interesting to hear a text that goes to great length to discuss a lie, giving, and death and to hear Peter say, “was it not in thine own power”.

The passage is fairly straight forward,

The result of the boldness of the Apostles the church praide, the Holy Ghost confirms his work in an through them. The place shook and what shook loose? Their hold and desire and love for the things of this world.

Luke 12:32–33 KJV 1900

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

Jesus’ words to his disciples are now a way of life in the church. They were not bound by the things that had held their attention and now look for the opportunities to invest in the kingdom of God.

Luke 4:33–37 KJV 1900

And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.

At the center of this is a man named Barnabas, we think its his initial gift that started this epidemic of setting ones affection on things above. So moving was it that the Apostles had come to call him the “Son of Consolation” or son of comfort.

Then we read verse one of chapter 5 “BUT” - a decisive change in the story.

Seeing this Annanias and Sapphira come to up with a plan to look like those who had in fact given a great amount and yet had only given part. Subsequently, both are struck down in the church house.

I think this is such an abrupt feeling to us because we have been watching the church Triumphantly marching forward. But what Satan could not defeat by killing Jesus or stomping out the Apostles

What Satan cannot conquer he corrupts.

We can see it in the great lives of men like Samson, David and Solomon.

The Children of Israel could bring the walls of Jericho down without so much as firecracker and in the very next town Ai they couldn’t defeat a small army because of Achan sin.

Consider old Balaam that’s right of the talking donkey fame. He tried to curse the Children of Israel three times at the request of King Balak. All he had to do was declare a curse and Balak would have been eternally grateful. But he couldn’t do it… Everytime he opened his mouth a blessing would come out and finally a declaration of the coming Messiah. (Numbers 22-24) but it is in Revelation 2:14, we find out that when Balaam couldn’t directly curse Israel he could offer another solution.

Revelation 2:14 KJV 1900

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

You can’t beat Israel while God is on their side but you could tempt them away from God and then no one can help them.

So we find ourselves with this predicament at hand. Satan has put it in that hearts of these two to corrupt the good work of the Holy Spirit.

They

Inspired by Real Generosity

Desired Accolades of Genuine Faith

Conspired to Earn General Acceptance

Note that this is not what happens when someone is in real Grace. The by product of the Holy Spirits work is:

Acts 4:32 KJV 1900

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Here is the actual result of a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

A unity with believers - they become as family.

A generosity that borders on painful. “ought of the things which he possessed as his own.”

We have had people that were a part of South Knollwood try to use their finances as a means of control and earning favor. I’m grateful that they are no longer a part of our congregation because it isn’t the Holy Spirit of God that behaves that way with resources.

There is a spiritual principle that I should point out…

The more you grow in love for people the less you will love things. The more you love things the less you will love people.

That is not to say that if you have things you don’t love people. The spiritual truth is that like a teeter totter the higher you grow in your love for others the more your love and passion for stuff deminishes. You will grow in your love for people to the point where the stuff of this life is just a way to show love for people. I know some wealthy men and woman who look at their amount in their bank account as God’s gift to bless others. This is a by product of the transformation the Holy Spirit is doing.

I want you to understand that culture of this church.

Giving wasn’t being commanded it was happening ‘freely’.

How to part out ones possessions was decided by the giver.

Giving all was never a sign of Holiness or value in the church.

This was all happening in the church naturally and under no compulsion of the Apostles. They were living out our saying that if God has your heart he will never need to ask for your wallet because it already belongs to him to be used as he would desire.

So Peter asks in vs 4.

Acts 5:4 KJV 1900

Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

So we end up with these two pictures of how people deal with the Spirit.

Barnabas who responds with loosening his grip on the things of the world and comforting others with little to no regard for the accolades of others.

Annanias who leverages his possessions as a way to garner influence and prestige.

Sadly, this opens our eyes to a weakness in the church that is you and I cannot tell the difference between the genuine and the fake. But it then increases our reliance on the Holy Spirit, because we know that he can.

And we know that he can…

We saw it in Nadab and Abihu.

Ananias and Saphira & Nadab and Abihu

Offering rejected

Struck down suddenly

Bodies are carried out of worship

The whole assembly is struck with fear.

Acts 5:11 KJV 1900

And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

By the way we should be afraid of Hypocrisy in the church and in our own hearts.

This mockery of Real Genuine Faith is seen as a lie to the Holy Spirit.

We are to hate it in our lives and in our church. By the way Paul gave instruction to the church on how to handle this kind of sin.

1 Corinthians 5:4–13 KJV 1900

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

The Church is to be a place for genuine faith. We have an individual that comes to church here on a regular basis but I do not extend a hand of fellowship to him because he is exposed as a fraud. As long as he comes and looks on as an outsider that is fine but he is not among the number because we cannot have that in the body.

Then what do I do for the hypocrisy in my own heart. Well you heard what they said to do deliver it up. Go to that same Holy Spirit.

Understand this Comforter promised by our Savior.

This Gift of God

This Third person of the Trinity

This Spirit of Christ

This Spirit of Jesus

This Convector of Sin

This Overseer of Creation

This Superintendent of the Church

This Empower of Resurrection

This Pneuma of the Gospel

This Lord of the Harvest

This Spirit of Truth…

This last one is what Jesus calls the Holy Spirit when he promises to use the disciples to write the NT. He tells them that he would guide them into all truth.

Illustration: Like the tall trees of the forest, loggers will tell you that many times the tallest trees won’t get cut down they don’t even waste their time. Why I would think that you would draw more lumber and resources from a tall tree like they. The logger will tell you that those trees are many times rotten to their core so rotten rodents and bugs will make their homes there. and it isn’t worth the work to cut those down because they don’t have enough value. I tell you that hypocrisy is not an outward problem it is an inward problem. It is a problem that has to be dealt with at the core.

Jesus said that the Pharisees were hyporcrites because they would clean the outside of the cup but the inside was dirty. He said they were seplecures that got the gold star treatment someone really special must be buried there, someone really prominent must be buried there, someone really important must be buried there Jesus response - nope just bones. Those bones are no better than the bones next to it. Just a little outside polish. SO it is with the believer that is interested in looking the part, dressing the part, talking the part but has no desire to live in a geniune walk with God. They are hypocrites and we should be afraid that we would leave the hypocrite in our church unchallenged but we should be terrified that wed leave the hypocrite of our heart in place.

Brother and Sister let us purge any and all hypocrisy let us hate every fake thing, let us love genuine transformation. Simply, take the tool given to us by the inspiration of God where Holy Men of God Spake as they were moved by that Holy Ghost and take that Holy Spirit and shine it on our old wicked easily deceived hearts and surrender the hypocrite to the Holy Spirit. It wont do you any good to deny him before the Spirit he will see right through.

Hebrews 4:12 KJV 1900

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

No let the Spirit cut away those parts that need to be removed and allow him to shape us into the image of Jesus.

How will I know if he is the one doing it.

You will love people more and things less.

You will look like Jesus when he loved any people more than anything.