Truth or Die
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
Announcements
Stick around for lunch & play practice (MEMORIZE YOUR LINES!)
Middle School Christmas Party (Dec. 12th, 6pm)
vs. 1
vs. 1
Context: God was moving in the early church, lots of great things happening, people giving incredible sums of money...
Who in particular did we talk about in the last two verses of ch. 4? (Barnabas)
What word in vs. 1 tell us things start going sour in the church? (But)
We’re introduced to two new people in vs. 1, who are they? (Ananias & Sapphira)
Ananias = “God is gracious”
Sapphira = “Beautiful”
What does vs. 1 say they did? (Sold a piece of property)
vs. 2
vs. 2
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
This is where things get dicey...
Where’s the start of the problem in vs. 2? (“he kept back part of the proceeds”)
Serious wording is used here! In keeping the money, the author, Luke, is saying they kept what was no longer theirs to keep, they were embezzling; same train of thought with Achan keeping the loot from Jericho...
Schemes to give selfishly (Explain their actions)
Do you think they were confident they’d get away with it? (Absolutely)
Here’s a thought, you’ll need your sanctified imagination for this, why do you think they wanted to sell their house in the first place? (Genuine? Pride/recognition (Barnabas was recognized), etc.)
You can just imagine the whole scene happening.
Anticipation is growing
Illustration: Our context
- Ananias holding the check all service thinking about all the acclaim he’ll get (“Maybe I’ll even get a nickname like Barnabas!”)
- End of the service comes… I surrender all starts playing, and Pastor Peter is moved of the Spirit to say, “If you have a burden to give towards the church, now is your time, come on up front...”
- Ananias walks through the aisle and drops the check...
- Sweat starts dripping, seeing Peter’s stern face.
vs. 3
vs. 3
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
“GULP”
Peter makes a pretty shocking statement in vs. 3, can you spot it? (Satan filled your heart)
I’m curious what your thoughts are on this. What do you think Peter means when he says Satan filled Ananias’ heart?
Can we, as believers, be possessed by demons? (I don’t believe so; He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.)
If believers cannot be possessed, how do you think it’s possible Satan filled Ananias’ heart? (INFLUENCE)
vs. 4
vs. 4
4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Can you put verse 4 into your own words?
Is it wrong to give only a certain amount of money? (No)
So, where’s the real sin in this? (Lied to God)
They were total deceivers! That’s the sin.
Before Peter so graciously exposed them, what perspective did the church have on Ananias? (Very positive, generous)
What was Ananias really like though? (Liar, selfish)
He was a hypocrite! Making others think he was more spiritual than he really was.
We don’t ever struggle with that, do we now?
When we are fakes, deliberately crafting a more favorable picture of ourselves to others, we’re doing the same thing Ananias and Sapphira did....
vs. 5
vs. 5
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
What’s God’s response to their sin? (Takes Ananias’ life)
Out cold like that!
Follow-up: What’s significant about that? What does that teach us about God’s character? (Holiness, omniscience)
Are we ever going to get away with our sin? (No!)
I believe we’ll see Ananias and Sapphira in heaven, and I know for sure they’d tell us that we will never get away with our sin! Numbers 32:23
23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
No matter how well hidden you think you are, no matter how good our schemes are, we can never escape God’s sight. God sees our sin and will punish it. God punished Ananias and Sapphira’s sin very quickly, but that’s not always the case. We allow ourselves to get in the dangerous mindset, that “ I just sinned but God didn’t just strike me down with lightning, so that means I can get away with it.” Let’s not be fooled if we don’t get judged as quickly for our sin as Ananias, just because we didn’t immediately get justice doesn’t mean we got away with it. God sees all our sin. Yes, God is faithful and just to forgive us our unrighteousness when we come to Him in repentance. But man, watch out if you’re abusing that grace, “Where sin abounded grace did much more abound. So I’m gonna sin so much so that grace abounds even more!”
vs. 6
vs. 6
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
How do we know for sure that we don’t get away with our sin based on vs. 6? (Carried Ananias’ body)
What a picturesque lesson! Pastor Andy gave us a visual illustration Wednesday, I hope it was helpful. Imagine getting this illustration today.
Dead dude...
- Guy brings enveloppe to Pastor Boss morning service
- Out of nowhere Pastor Boss Rebukes him
- And “WHAM!” the church member’s corpse lays on the floor
One guy said, if God acted in the same way today that He did in Acts 5, we’d have to have a morgue in every church and a mortician on every pastoral staff. We wouldn’t even have a pastoral staff!
- Deacons pick him up and bring him out
- Carrying the body past you, powerful picture presented...
vs. 7
vs. 7
7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
Imagine being Sapphira (Not Eastwood)
Using your sanctified imagination, what’s going on in your mind if you’re Sapphira? (Stress, anxiety, etc.)
She came in the house totally oblivious to what just happened!
vs. 8
vs. 8
8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”
What is Peter doing in vs. 8? (Giving opportunity for repentance)
God did the same thing in the Garden of Eden...
What do we learn about Sapphira from her answer? (Unrepentant, deceiver, VERY MUCH INVOLVED)
vs. 9
vs. 9
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together 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.”
Do you think Sapphira was guilty even though she wasn’t the one who gave the money?
Follow-up: What in vs. 9 would support that idea? (“you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord”)
God still holds us accountable even though we may not be the one calling the shots. You may be in the backseat of the car, but you didn’t tell the driver to not go to that party. You may not have made the final move on a hurtful and messy prank, but you were very much in the planning team. Even if we aren’t the primary person in the sin, we’ve still sinned if we have involved ourselves in it. Think of the Garden of Eden, God held Adam just as responsible as Eve, even though he watched her listen to the Devil and eat the fruit first.
Peter goes on, “Oh yeah, btw, your husband is dead. And it’s your turn now.”
She goes stiff as a board, “WHAM!”
vs. 10
vs. 10
10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.
Have you ever thought to yourself, “God seems to be a bit harsh here.”
Why do you think God judged Ananias and Sapphira so severely here?
Sin spreads fast like cancer, God does “spiritual surgery” to keep His church pure
What if they got away with it? Others would do the same!
There is sin leading to death 1 John 5:16
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.
Just like that, Sapphira is judged too...
vs. 11
vs. 11
I intentionally skipped the end of verse 5 for now...
(Have 2 people read at the same time)
11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
People were shook up! There’s a real eye opening feeling when you see someone prominent in Christian circles falling in sin.
Illustration: (DON’T SHARE NAMES!) Steven Lawson, Ryan Watson
Fear = Reverence, profound respect for
In sinning against the Holy Spirit, what do we demonstrate we don’t have (Reverence)
Proverbs 1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I won’t be able to gain any valuable knowledge and be able to apply that to my life if I don’t first get this one thing, the fear of God. When I reverence God, I understand who He is. I understand that He sees my actions and that I cannot get away with sin. When I fear the Lord, I hold Him as my #1 authority, and I want to please Him, not cheat Him. This is exactly what God was trying to teach the church, “Fear me so that you will walk in obedience.”
Application
Application
What can we learn from this passage?
God sees all our sin
You’re still guilty even if you didn’t pull the trigger
We need to fear the Lord!
