The Return of Reverence
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Review ALL IN series. Purpose for the series: how our discipleship process is just beginning like it was for them…
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.
33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),
37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and 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 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.
6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”
10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
Title: The Return of Reverence
Review last week: Unity of the Church
Introduce the Text:
Persecution, Prayer, Outpouring…
Outpouring led to Unity and that Unity was displayed through generosity…
Remember what we said last week, all parts of a healthy body contribute to the functioning of the body…
This is the principle of our giving. We are generous because we are part of the body.
I wouldn’t expect generosity out of someone who is not part of the body. Although this sometimes happens, it is not the rule it is the exception.
But for the body, generosity is an expected part of a healthy version of Christianity.
Not only as a part of Christianity, but this seems to be a pattern when the Holy Spirit is poured out…
Remember in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is poured out then this same thing happens… They start selling what they have to further the spread of the Gospel…
Now in Acts 4, the Holy Spirit is poured out again and they are given boldness, and a tighter bond of unity… and according to verse 32 there was also a fresh sense of generosity among them…
But if you look closely and read the parallel between the outpouring in Acts 2 and the outpouring in Acts 4, there is something missing…
In Acts 2 the bible says…
Acts 2:43 (NASB95)
43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe;…
I don’t think this was an oversight, nor was it implied in the text that the same sense of awe and reverence that occurred in the first outpouring was automatic in the second outpouring…
Yes, they had been touched… Yes, there were results of the outpouring… Yes, they were empowered to be bold…
But it is easy for the practicality of church to overshadow the importance of the reverence of the Almighty…
In other words, we can get so busy being on-mission that we get distracted from the source of the Call…
Explain the generational pendulum that swings back and forth as a reaction to each previous generation…
i.e. In the 1920s, Christian fundamentalism arose as a means to counter liberal interpretations of the Christian Bible and "secularizing" changes in society.
As a reaction to that came the modern secular movement which pushed for a society without religion.
In response Between the mid-1940s and early 1960s, the biblical theology movement emerged to counter both liberal and fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible.
The pendulum is then interrupted by World War 2, which is succeeded by what scholars call the “Fourth Great Awakening” when attention was put back on the spiritual aspects of the church.
In response to this religious vigor, New Age religion rises and pushes back on the Christian concepts of the day…
The New Age Movement emphasizes personal fulfillment, spiritual unity, and experimental healing methods, which develops into the hippie movement…
At this point some of you are taking a trip down memory lane, but stick with me…
In response to the drug and hippie scene, the Jesus People movement arises…
As a result of some success in that movement, the Church Growth movement is developed and suddenly the church is building bigger buildings than ever before, and it becomes a “come and see” style of ministry where the primary form of ministry happens inside stadiums and large buildings…
Contemporary music is on the rise, and at the same time the progressive christian movement pushes back against the mainline evangelical teachings in support of theological diversity, eclectic spirituality, and social justice.
See the pendulum? Back and forth, back and forth…
What we see during this time is that as a result of the strict, legalistic standards that were rekindled in the Fourth Great Awakening, the church recognizes a need for Jesus to be more approachable and begins this movement toward emphasizing Jesus as a friend…
The problem arises in the 90s when a movement of churches called the emergent church is revealed as groups sought to make Christianity "relevant" to a postmodern world.
Now, there is a whole generation of people who claim to be Christian that see Jesus as a buddy, God as a daddy, love as the ultimate judge, who are so concerned about making sure Jesus is “relevant” that they would skew the biblical account of Him to make Him fit their idea of who He should be…
What began as an attempt to bring balance to the legalism that was so prominent a few decades ago has developed in to a far left swing of the pendulum that believes only in what feels good and makes people happy.
Any version of the gospel that does not accept everyone, and make us all happy is deemed as bigoted and hate filled.
But can I submit to you this morning that there is an awakening happening once again that sees this washed out, watered down, fake gospel for what it is… a trick of the enemy to keep believers from experiencing reverence toward God.
There are some who think reverence toward God was reserved for an Old Testament context, removed from the grace offered in Jesus, but we must remember the story we read today is in the New Testament…
This is a Christian congregation we are speaking of…
This isn’t in some different theological age or covenant, this is after Jesus came, this is under grace…
Isn’t it interesting that there would somehow be this idea that because of the sacrifice of Jesus that God is somehow less just or less holy or less righteous…
But that’s not what the bible is teaching with this example…
There are two things that Ananias and Sapphira do that we as believers must guard against in our own lives…
Secret Conspiracy
Simulated Holiness
Look what happens…
Barnabas sees that there is a need in the church, so he sells a piece of land he owned and brought the money from it to the apostles…
Barnabas, through no compulsion from the Apostles, sold his land to help the need in the church…
Notice, he doesn’t make a big fuss, or shout it from the street corner, rather he brings it to the apostles and lays it at their feet…
There was no secret agenda, he wasn’t trying to get them to do anything for him, it wasn’t payment in exchange for anything… it was simple generosity.
On the other hand, Ananias and Sapphira conspired together, made a plan in secret, operated in the dark..
It was not that they kept part of the money, but that they conspired together to lie about it for the sake of appearances…
Their lack of reverence toward God allowed them to think that if they kept their secret hidden, that they could secretly conspire to lie and no one would know…
But the Jesus was clear:
17 “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.
A lack of reverence for God will fool you into thinking He will not reveal what you keep hidden…
Secret sin is still sin.
Secret sin is still sin.
This is the problem with lacking reverence. We get this idea that somehow God is okay with our sin, so long as it’s secret…
But God is righteous in in Him there is no darkness at all. That which is hidden will come to the light…
36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
Here’s the choice we have: Either we can bring it to Him, or He will reveal it for us.
The difference is, when we bring our flaws and imperfections and bad decisions and lay them before God in the light, he will heal us and deliver us…
But if we conspire to hide that which we want no one to see or know about, it will fester and rot…
And by the time God reveals it, it will be revealed for judgement…
Reverence for God will have us crying out like Isaiah:
5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
But when we reveal that which is hidden,
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A Return of Reverence will bring us to our knees in humble repentance before Almighty God, embracing the healing and deliverance He offers through Jesus…
It’s not just forgiveness He offers, it’s also cleansing…
This isn’t a, say sorry, then live the same way type of repentance.
Bringing our sins to Him in the light of day, repenting in full view, then allowing God to cleanse us is what He wants for us…
Hand in hand with their hidden, secret conspiracy was their simulated holiness…
Simulated Holiness
Simulated Holiness
Simulated holiness always tags along with secret sin…
Secret sin requires you to put on a face to appear like you’ve got it all together…
Ananias and Sapphira saw what Barnabas did and copied his actions, but with selfish intent…
They weren’t concerned about the church, they were concerned about their image…
They sought the recognition, the sought the accolades, they wanted the same attention and respect and admonition, but without going ALL IN.
In order to be recognized as being ALL IN, you have to actually BE ALL IN.
Commitment to the things of God are difficult because they aren’t in the spot of priority where you say they are…
What you deem as important will always be prioritized.
They wanted to be recognized for their commitment, but weren’t fully committed!
They stood before God in stark contrast to Barnabas, who was authentic in his desire…
He was authentic in his Christian walk…
Whereas Ananias and Sapphira only had simulated holiness…
Simulated holiness is looking right, appearing right, but not being right.
Simulated holiness claims to be ALL IN, but puts self in the number 1 seat.
Simulated holiness has the secret sin, but hides it well…
Simulated holiness goes to church regularly, claps during the welcoming songs, says amen during the sermon, and participates in the worship after the sermon, but has no lasting change at home…
Simulated holiness sees nothing wrong with its lifestyle so long as it goes to church to make up for it.
Simulated holiness thinks of Jesus as a safety net that keeps everyone from going to hell…
Ananias and Sapphira were simulating holiness and not sacrificing everything…
David Platt in a sermon says this:
David Platt Sermon Archive Two Options … > Essential Questions for Wholehearted Worship … Do I Value My Spiritual Appearance More than I Value My Spiritual Authenticity?
We’ve got to be careful in the church today not to create an idea that holiness and spiritual authenticity consist in going to church and worshipping, having nice regulations that we follow, and things that we do. That is not holiness. It’s not avoiding all of these major sins that we despise in the church and we don’t do those things, and therefore we’re holy. Holy is a gambling, a risking of our entire lives for the sake of the glory of Christ and His Church. That’s what holiness is, and that’s what spiritual authenticity is. Therefore we don’t sing without putting feet to our songs. That affects the way we worship.
What we have gathered together for this morning is not spiritual appearance. If it is, then we dishonor our God in worship. What we have gathered together for this morning is spiritual authenticity. How many times—I won’t ask for a show of hands—have you looked to the church and said, “There’s a lot more appearance there than there is authenticity.” God help us to show the world more than just spiritual appearance. Do I value spiritual appearance more than spiritual authenticity? God help us not to like the thought of being holy more than we like the sacrifice of being holy.
This is the result of a personal lack of reverence and fear of the Lord…
We begin to think that we can somehow hide our sins or hide our plans and not give everything to God…
Once we have conspired secretly in our hearts to keep back a portion of our life for ourselves, then we come to church and run through the motions and simulate holiness…
This lack of reverence convinces us and those around us that God turns a blind eye to sin and disobedience…
Worse, we are convinced that our own apathy is acceptable to God, but this cheapens the value of grace and makes our own desires in life an idol.
No, even in the wake of Jesus, sin is still sin, God is still Holy, His reign is still righteous, and it doesn’t matter what the culture or the world thinks about it…
God is still on the Throne!
Don’t be dismayed or take it as a your own pass to sin that the world is still acting like the world and seemingly getting away with it…
There will come a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord…
There will come a day according to Romans 2 that will be a day of righteous judgement for all those who are unrepentant!
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Even Jesus said…
36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
37 “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
These are all New Testament passages, written after Jesus came, not of the Old Law, but of the New…
He is still a Holy God, whose character is righteous…
A simulated holiness will not suffice…
Appearance alone will fail…
Unrepentant hearts will be judged…
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
Only those who walk by faith, sold out to the cause of Christ will be justified in His sight!
You’re either ALL IN or not in at all…
There’s no support in scripture for a half hearted, apathetic Christian by name only…
It’s time we had a revival of the fear of the Lord, a Return of Reverence…
We need a recognition of who God is in all His awesome glory in order that we might fully see what it is to be forgiven of our own wretched sinfulness…
Call Worship Team
But when we recognize Him for who He is with reverence and repentance…
When we follow His word and ABIDE in Him the bible says…
28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
If you will open up the darkest corners of your life and bring it to the light in repentance, He will heal you and set you free!
Are you ALL IN?
Or have you become complacent toward that hidden sin in your life?
Will you be ALL IN?
Or is your appearance worth the coming judgement?
Will you make the sacrifice of your own life, giving everything you are that He may heal you and deliver you?
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Will you repent of your apathy, of prioritizing your own wants over His calling?
Will you Return to Reverence?
