Under Attack, From Every Side

Church, we have been walking through the book of Acts,

And we have seen some powerful things.

In Acts 2, the Spirit falls.

In Acts 3, power flows through the name of Jesus.

In Acts 4, persecution begins—but the church prays and gets even bolder.

But now, now we hit something deeper.

Because the enemy realizes something:

“If I can’t stop the church from the outside, I’ll try to destroy it from the inside.”

And what we see in Acts chapters 5 & 6 is,

—The church is growing,

—the power of God is moving,

—lives are being changed

—and at the same time, pressure is coming from every direction.

And here’s the truth I want you to hear today:

Any church that is truly moving with God will be a church under attack.

Not just from the outside,

But from within

And sometimes from distraction that looks harmless.

So today I want to preach on this thought:

Clean Hands,

Bold Hearts,

and a Clear Focus.”

Because if we’re going to be the church God has called us to be

We’ve got to know how to stand when the pressure hits from every side.

Acts 5:1–3 NKJV

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 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. 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?

The Bible introduces us to a couple—Ananias and Sapphira.

—They sold a possession

—They brought part of the money

—But they lied about it to make themselves look more spiritual than they really were.

Lets read what happened unfolded on that day in

Acts 5:4–11 NKJV

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.” 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.” 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.” 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. 11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

Peter said, “You have not lied to men but to God.”

And both of them fall dead.

Now let’s be honest—this makes people uncomfortable.

Because we like a God of grace,

But this showed us a reaction from a God of holiness.

And here’s what was happening at the time

The church was in a moment of explosive growth and supernatural power

And God refused to let hypocrisy poison what He was building.

Lets be sure we understand what happened here,

Their sin, Ananias & Sapphira, wasn’t about money.

It was about:

Image

Reputation

and trying to pretend they were something they weren’t

Now watch this

They wanted the appearance of sacrifice without the reality of surrender.

Church, hear me:

God is not impressed with what we pretend to be—

Rather, He is concerned with who we really are.

You can fool people.

You can fool a church crowd.

But you cannot fool God.

If God judged every lie like He did here

Some of us would not have made it through this week.

But don’t miss the grace in this moment:

God dealt severely with them here because He was establishing something sacred.

Listen and understand this church,

A compromised church cannot carry uncompromised power.

So the enemy tries corrupting the church, but the church stayed pure.

And a result of that is

the miracles increase

People are getting healed.

Crowds are gathering

Acts 5:12–16 NKJV

12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Now The power of God is undeniable

And the religious leaders are furious.

So, they arrest the apostles, and throw them in prison.

Church, I can honestly say, I am convinced that we now live in a an age and culture, in this country,

That if someone were to come on the scene right now, today and start healing people miraculously, say from cancer, from AIDS, or any number of debilitating diseases,

We would see the law come after them to shut them down,

But in our day, it wouldn’t be the temple priest, and scribes,

Rather, it would be persecution from the FDA, the EPA, and most likely even the CIA.

The world doesn’t want these miracles to happen because it would point to a miracle giver,

And the god of this world, can’t have that.

This is why our the Christian church is at the beginning of a new age of persecution,

The likes of which many of us are not prepared.

But make no mistake, the Bible says its coming, and this pastor believes we are seeing the beginning happening right now.

Thats what happened to the apostles when the hand of God began moving through their faith.

Acts 5:17–18 NKJV

17 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, 18 and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.

But our God is an awesome God, amen

In the middle of the night, God sends an angel, opens the prison doors And tells them:

Acts 5:20 NKJV

20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

Notice something?

God didn’t deliver them so they could run and hide,

He delivered them so they could go right back to preaching again.

But then of course,

—they’re arrested again,

—threatened again…

—And then beaten.

They weren’t criticized, nor did People stop following them,

But were Beaten.

But check this out, after they were beaten, they went away rejoicing that God counted them worthy to be beatne for his namesake.

Acts 5:41 NKJV

41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Rejoicing because they suffered?!

Church, we live in a time where:

People get offended if someone disagrees with them

People walk away from faith over inconvenience

But the early church said:

“If suffering comes with following Jesus, we’ll take the suffering.”

Listen,

You can threaten the church

You can try to silence the church

You can even hurt the church

But you cannot stop a church that refuses to stop preaching Jesus.

So what does the enemy try?

It tries corruption—but it also fails.

He tries persecution—and it backfires.

So now he gets more subtle.

He orchestrates division within the church,

How?

With complaints from within the church

Acts 6:1 NKJV

1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

Now we don’t see sin creep in

We don’t see persecution

But what we see is complaining.

Widows are being neglected in the daily distribution.

Now these complaints are real, and they matter.

And this could definately divide the church.

This isn’t evil necessarily, but it does serve as a distraction.

Now understand this, a distraction can destroy a church just as fast as sin or persecution.

Let’s read how the disciples handled this distraction in

Acts 6:2–4 NKJV

2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

They weren’t saying serving tables is unimportant…

They were saying: “We cannot abandon our calling.”

So they appoint men full of:

The Holy Spirit

Wisdom

Good reputation

To handle the need.

What was the result of this strategy?

Acts 6:7 NKJV

7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Church, hear me:

Not every problem a church faces is spiritual warfare,

Some problems require:

Structure

Leadership

and often overlooked, — Delegation

If the enemy can’t make you sinful,

And he can’t make you silent…

He’ll try to make you busy with the wrong things.

In these last two two chapters, the church faced three attacks:

1. Corruption – from within

2. Persecution – from without

3. Distraction – from within again

And how does the church overcome?

With holiness

With boldness

And With focus

Think of it like a fire.

If a fire is going to burn strong:

It has to be clean, (no contaminants choking it)

Next, It has to be fed, it has to be given something to burn, (oxygen and fuel)

It has to be properly contained, (or it spreads out wrong and dies out)

The church is the same way.

So let me ask you:

Are your hands clean before God, or are you pretending?

Is your faith bold, or silent when pressure comes?

Is your life focused, or distracted by things that don’t matter eternally?

ALTAR CALL

Maybe you’re here today, and if you’re honest:

You’ve been more concerned about how people see you,

Than who you really are before God.

That’s where Ananias and Sapphira fell you see,

If your heart wants to jump up and yell hallelujah, but you wont let yourself, then you aren’t being true to the spirit,

are you?

If you want prayer, but are embarrassed to come forward in prayer time, then you aren’t being true to the calling,

are you?

Even if your heart wants to give more to ministry needs, such as missions or other outreaches, but your mind is filled with distractions, then you aren’t being true to the spirit,

Are you?

Today is your moment to get real with God.

Maybe you’ve been silent about your faith,

You know what’s right, but fear has kept you quiet.

God didn’t save you to sit quietly—He saved you to speak life.

Maybe you’ve just been distracted…

Busy—overwhelmed—or pulled in every direction,

And you’ve lost focus on what matters most.

If you need:

A clean heart

A bold spirit

A clear focus

I want you to come up to the altar right now,

Let’s get back to being the church God has called us to be.

Amen