A Generous Church

They had Everything in Common

Acts 4:32–35 “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. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. 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, and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.”

The Economy

Not to bring up a hot-button topic, but there’s a reason why finances are such a big deal in the world.

They are also a big deal to God.

Principle: How I see my relationship to money directly impacts my relationship to God.

It’s surprising how often those of us who follow Jesus often forget that wealth/economy and how we serve God are related….

Matthew 6:19–21 ““Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly gain/wealth.”

There are few things as powerful over the church life the power of wealth and finances. This is one of the major ways Satan uses to distract the church from our worship of God.

Think of the three temptations (Jesus) in the wilderness: Matthew 4:9–11 “And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.”

Ananias/Sapphira vs Barnabas

Acts 5:1–5 “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 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. “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? 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.” When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.”

Ananias and Sapphira believed what they did with their belongings was a private matter. And Peter says as much (Acts 5:4): It was a private matter until you tried to leverage what you owned to manipulate the Holy Spirit.

It was then that they opened a door of access to the spirit that does kill; Satan (Jn 10:10).

Principle: The Principle of Kingdom Stewardship is based on Psalm 24:1 “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord;”

Jesus is also making this point in Matthew 22:20-22… “Render unto Caesar (the economic systems of this world) that which belongs to Caesar & render unto God that which belongs to God (your life).

In other words, I refuse to allow the economies of this world to dictate how I live, how I give, and how I deal with money.

Compare: Barnabas

It occurs to me that these stories of Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira are designed to be quite parallel:

Both had property; Both sold property; Both gave to the church;

But only Barnabas was honest and forthcoming. He became a fierce advocate for the gospel; Ananias and Sapphira cheated and died. So I imagined a conversation between them:

Barnabas: I had such a happy feeling when I all I had to the community. I had such a sense of freedom and knew that this was the right way for me to be.

Sapphira: We wanted that, too, but we could not bring ourselves to do that.

Barnabas: What was it that held you back from generosity?

Ananias: We were afraid. We thought we would not have enough. Our fear blinded us to the power of the Spirit and made us vulnerable to temptation.

Barnabas: I wish you could have been free and not fearful because perfect love casts out fear; when we love each other fully, we do not need to act in fear.

Sapphira: I never thought that withholding money from the community would cause such a disaster for us. We have been seduced by the world to privatize and not share with the community.

Barnabas: Such privatism of money and property and life contradicts the good news of the gospel. The gospel invites to practicing solidarity with our neighbors and the other members of the community.

Sapphira: Clearly solidarity is a life or death matter, and we did not understand that in time.

So here is the good news. The church is God’s compassionately generous people who live in joy. The refusal of Ananias and Sapphira to deny their own fear ended sadly. They chose death; but we, like Barnabas, can choose life.

Wantonness - lacking restraint or control; an insatiable desire without restraint or control

Wantonness is a disease that causes us to believe the lie that God is not enough.

It goes against the very grain of the life of prayer Jesus taught us: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

It breads scarcity.

It breads fear that keeps us from becoming a generous people.

When Fear Controls our Finances

The enemy will steal your joy & peace through a “never enough” mindset.

Never really content; comparison

The enemy will steal your joy & peace through a scarcity mindset.

I can’t be happy about what God gives others because there’s not enough to go around.

The enemy will steal your joy & peace when we hide from God.

Adam and Eve hiding in the garden.

Shame sets in, breaking our intimacy with the Spirit.

A Giving Grace opens up God’s Radical Provision

Things no longer own you. We are now stewards, not owners.

You measure your life by contentment rather than possessions.

I’m more fulfilled by what I give rather than by what I have.

I shut the door of access to my home and life.