A Beautiful Gift; Acts 4:32-5:11

Doug

Acts • Sermon • Submitted 5 months ago • Presented 5 months ago

Acts 4:32–5:11

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Introduction

Acts 4:32–5:11 (CSB)

32 Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common.

33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.

34 For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold,

35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement),

37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

3 “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

6 The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

7 About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

8 “Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.”

9 Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

11 Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

Pray!

It is good to love the church.

we should love the proclaiming of the word

we should love the fellowship

both with food and without

we should not look down on the bride of Christ

but we cannot be so caught up with the bride that we miss the groom

The Draw of Beauty

In Genesis three we see the first sin

Eve is tempted by Satan, did God really say

Genesis 3:6 “6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at…”

when it was beautiful, delightful to look at, she ate it

Not just visually beautiful, but experiential beautiful as well

Acts 4:32–37 (CSB)

32 Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common.

33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.

34 For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold,

35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement),

37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

This is a beautiful picture of what genuine Christian fellowship looks like

retell what this portion of the passage says

thousands of people now living together in community

people of all different walks of life

people who had money and land

people who had been beggars their entire life and had nothing

and everything in between

they brought everything together and took care of those who did not have

not forced to do so

they give out of love for their savior and each other

Barnabas is a perfect illustration of what the community looked like

Humanity was made for this type of community

in the beginning God created Adam and Eve and they were naked and not ashamed

we know that this is before Genesis 3, where they sin, bringing on the curse of sin to all of humanity

being sinless means they were not looking out for themselves

they were in perfect communion with God

they were in perfect communion with each other

this is how it was created and how it was intended to be

the early church might be as close as humanity has gotten to the relationship we had in the Garden of Eden

loving a group of people so much, you are looking out for their interest above your own

the grace of God abounding in every way

Humanity longs for this type of community

When God created Eve, he said that is was not good for man to be alone

now this is not because men would not be able to find anything if we didn’t have women.

but because we were created for community

the same way that God is in fellowship with himself

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

one God in three persons.

perfect communion with one another

we were created in their image, also to be in perfect communion

when sin entered the world, it not only caused death to enter the world but it broke our communion with others

it separated us from God only to be reunited with him through Christ Jesus

it separated us from each other

Adam and Eve both realized they were naked and felt shame

the perfect harmony and fellowship that they shared was now broken

Humanity has tried multiple ways of getting back to the community on their own

many different forms of government and systems have been instituted with the stated goals of a perfect society

all of which end up failing because humanity has a sin problem

there is always a desire for power, control or status

it boils down to selfishness and pride

The early church is something that should be studied and admired, but not something that we should attempt to be

because we do not chase after the idea of a perfect society

we do not chase after the beauty of the early church

we chase after a beautiful savior

The Danger of Beauty

When the kids were little Heather had them write a paper on why they would not listen

one of them said they could not listen because she was too pretty

Acts 5:1–11 (CSB)

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

The Fellowship of the early church was very attractive

when something is new and exciting it is natural for people to be drawn to it

we want to be a part of it

we are drawn to people that are enjoying things and where we see ministry happening

remember the 2nd chapter, they were devoted to the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer

so they were gathering in the temple, gathering in each others houses and continually doing things together

The attention of the apostles was attractive

They were performing miracles and teaching in a powerful way

people were listening to them, following them

two of them had stood before the Sanhedrin, spoke boldly to them and lived

now we find out not only were people selling their things and giving it to those who had need, but the process was laying it down at the apostles feet

now the somebodies, think you’re a somebody

Barnabas was known so well by the apostles that he had a nickname

If we cannot be an apostle, maybe we could be like Barnabas

restate what is happening in the passage

couple conspire to sell land, keep a portion of the profit and give the rest to the church while pretending that they gave the entire portion to the church

We see people all the time trying to pretend they are more spiritual than they are

the question is why do people do this

we would rather be seen as somebody by the world than by God

there is a sense of instant gratification when we are praised by people

If I am not getting an attaboy from God until I get to heaven, then how will people know

all of this reveals where our true love lies

we love the world more than we love God

we love ourselves more than we love God

we desire that we be praised, that we be worshipped

your need for God is just a means to an end

you worship him, so that you will be blessed

you praise him so that you can go to heaven

if that is you, you would be very disappointed in heaven

it is not about your likes and dislikes in eternity

it is about him

there is no need of a sun and moon in eternity, because his beauty lights up everything

Revelation 21:23 (CSB)

23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

meaning all revolves and centers on him, as it should be now in your life

the reason we get so caught up in this is because we worship the created over the creator

we look to the beauty of everything instead of the source of its beauty

The Source of Beauty

Describing Paul Tripp’s, “Awe”

Humans are hardwired for awe. Whether it’s the Grand Canyon, a beautiful work of art, or the birth of a baby, we love to be amazed. But there’s something—or Someone, rather—who surpasses all others: God himself.

we know this to be true, yet we constantly, like Ananias and Sapphira fall into worshipping other things