Challenges From Within

Introduction

Have you ever heard the phrase, “put your best foot forward”? What that really means is that we let others see the very best of us. This happens all the time in our culture. If you don’t believe just look at social media. Most people only put things up on Facebook or Instagram or another one of the million social media apps that show the world that we’ve got everything together just perfectly. We do not share the “real pictures” or “real instances” many times of the dark underbelly of our lives with the world wide web. We do not want our “dirty laundry” aired for all to see… at least most of us don’t. There may be some that do, but that’s a whole different sermon.

One of the things that I love about the Bible is that it tells everything… the good… the bad… even the ugly. Though the main character of the Bible — God — has it all together and is perfect, the people that He chooses to redeem and work through do not.

Noah = survived the world-wide flood and then got drunk

Abraham = The father of the faithful — chose to lie about his wife to protect his own life… twice

David = the man after God’s own heart — committed adultery and then had the woman’s husband murdered

Simon Peter = the one who spoke up first and confessed that Jesus was the Messiah — in the very next breath told Jesus that He would not go to the cross.

If I was writing the Bible, I’m not sure that I would have put those details in there. The Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of the Bible to include those details though. Through the Bible, God was not trying to make Himself look good but to proclaim truth and the fact that while we are all messed up by sin, we can be made new and whole through Him and His plan.

We are in a sermon series called “Unhindered,” and we’re looking through the New Testament book of Acts. We have seen how God launched His plan of the church with the purpose that His church would take the gospel to the ends of the earth and let the world know that God is calling us to Himself. Up to this point, things have been pretty good. We see God using the church in mighty ways and many people coming to faith in Christ and joining the team.

Last week, we saw that the church began to face some challenges from without as the religious leaders arrested Peter and John and told them to quit preaching about Jesus. Though they were threatened, we see that the early church kept doing what God had told them to do. The end of shares about although the church had some challenges from without, they kept moving forward and seeing God do great things.

Satan wants to silence the witness and work of the church because he knows that it is God’s plan. While his first attempts by using challenges from without didn’t work, we see that he moves to a different strategy: attacking the church by using those within its fellowship.

In , we see a different set of challenges arise. These challenges came not from outside, but they arose from within the fellowship. Satan

Acts 4:36–5:11 CSB

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 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. The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him. About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. “Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.” 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.” 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. Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

[PRAYER]

We can see that the early church came out of the first attack from without stronger and doing pretty well. The gospel was being shared wide, and those who had needs were finding hope and help from those within the church.

Joseph (Barnabas)

We first are told about how a man named Joseph used his resources for the Lord’s work. Now, we probably know him better by his nickname — Barnabas. This man was highly respected within the early church. His nickname means “Son of Encouragement” and was given to him by the apostles. How would you like to be known as one who is always encouraging others?

Barnabas was a person who had great wealth. We see this in that he owned land and enough of it to be able to sell off some to help others in need. Owning land in any time or culture shows that someone is doing pretty well in the financial department.

Barnabas was a cheerful giver as well. He was willing to part with his treasures to take care of the needs of others. The church had people from all walks of life in it. There were both “have’s” and “have not’s” within the church. We read about how they would take care of one another’s needs as the needs arose.

Barnabas was willing to part with some of his land and use the proceeds to help those with needs within the church. He was able to do this because he had an understanding that all that he had was given to him by the Lord to steward. When we realize that all that we have comes from the Lord and that He has a purpose for it, we can be more open to using our resources to further God’s Kingdom and do the work that is needed to be done.

When we realize that all that we have comes from the Lord and that He has a purpose for it, we can be more open to using our resources to further God’s Kingdom and do the work that is needed to be done.

Ananias and Sapphira

As we move into chapter 5, we notice that there was another couple mentioned that gave in a similar way that Barnabas did. Their names were Ananias and Sapphira. This was a couple that was part of the early church in Jerusalem. Like Barnabas, they possessed some wealth because they also sold some of it and gave some of the proceeds to the church to meet needs. This was a very generous gift, but it had a very different result.

We see that while Barnabas was praised over his gift, Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives over their gift. Why would the same gift bring about such different results? The answer to this question is an issue of motive.

An issue of motive

Two types of givers

Motive can be a very tricky thing. Most of the time, there is no clear way to see what a person’s motives are behind his or her actions. Motives lie deep within a person’s heart and only God can look into those depths. While we may not always be able to identify a person’s motives, we can see what those motives are by the fruit that comes from the actions.

In this passage, we see that as Barnabas gave out of his blessings, he did so with the intent to solely help those in need and be obedient to what God was telling him to do. There is not much mentioned about the results of Barnabas’ gift other than the assumption that the proceeds helped meet the needs of those within the church.

When it comes to Ananias and Sapphira’s gift, we get a peek behind the curtain per se into their hearts and motivation for giving as they did. It is apparent that they noticed the recognition that Barnabas received for his generosity. They wanted a piece of that pie.

Barnabas didn’t want the recognition, but it came his way anyways. It is not wronged to be recognized for your obedience. That may not set well with us, but it is the truth. While we want to make sure that we are walking humbly before God and keeping our egos in check, it is good when others acknowledge God working through us.

It is not wronged to be recognized for your obedience.

Matthew 5:16 CSB

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

In , we see that Ananias and Sapphira concocted a plan to sell a piece of their property and give a portion of the proceeds to the church for benevolence use. There was nothing wrong with that other than they told the church that they were giving all the proceeds.

Satan had tempted this couple’s hearts to lie. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote one time:

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.”

Satan filled the hearts of this couple with his native language.

In this passage of Scripture, we see two types of givers that were present in the early church.

John 8:44 CSB

You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

Joseph (Barnabas)

The first type of giver that we see in this passage is a man named Joseph. Now, we probably know him better by his nickname — Barnabas. This man was highly respected within the early church. His nickname means “Son of Encouragement” and was given to him by the apostles. How would you like to be known as one who is always encouraging others?

He was highly respected in the early church.

We can be tempted to think that a little lie won’t hurt, but that in itself is a lie as well. One problem with a lie is that is never comes alone. There are always more that have come to cover up the previous ones.

We may know this guy better by his nickname = Barnabas. He was given this nickname that meant ‘Son of Encouragement’ by the apostles.

Joseph was a person who had great wealth. We see this in that he owned land and enough of it to be able to sale off some to help others in need. Owning land in any time or culture shows that someone is doing pretty well in the financial department.

nickname means “Son of Encouragement” and was given to him by the apostles. He was well respected within the early church.

Many of us have been given nicknames for certain things in our lives. How would you like to be known as one who encourages others all the time? That was this guy was known for and called by.

We see four lies that unfold through these verses and ultimately try to get the church off-track

Joseph was a cheerful giver as well. He was willing to part with his treasures to take care of the needs of others. The church had people from all walks of life in it. There were both “have’s” and “have not’s” within the church. We read about how they would take care of one another’s needs as the needs arose. Joseph (Barnabas) was willing to part with some of his land and use the proceeds to help those with needs within the church. He was able to do this because he had an understanding that all that he had was given to him by the Lord to steward.

Many of us have been given nicknames for certain things in our lives. How would you like to be known as one who encourages others all the time?

4 Lies

1. Ananias lied to himself

We see that as Satan plants this lie within the heart of Ananias, it causes him to forget what he has said that he believed in. God is truth and demands truth from His followers. Ananias was a part of the local church there in Jerusalem and knew these things. He chose to cast them aside in order to get what he wanted (recognition from others).

2. They lied to each other

He owned land which was a sign of wealth in just about any time period.

He was a cheerful giver.

He was willing to part with his treasures to take care of the needs of others. The church had people from all walks of life in it. There were both “have’s” and “have not’s” within the church. We read about how they would take care of one another’s needs as the needs arose. Joseph (Barnabas) was willing to part with some of his land and use the proceeds to help those with needs within the church. He was able to do this because he had an understanding that all that he had was given to him by the Lord to steward.

Ananias and Sapphira

In , we are introduced to another kind of giver within the early church. It was the couple, Ananias and Sapphira. This was a couple that was part of the early church in Jerusalem. Like Joseph (Barnabas), they possessed some wealth because they also sold some of it and gave some of the proceeds to the church to meet needs. This was a very generous gift.

This first lie caused Ananias to bring his wife into the web of deceit. Somehow, he convinced his wife that this was a good plan and what they should do.

While there are some similarities between these two types of givers, we see some stark contrasts as well. We see that Ananias and Sapphira wanted recognition for their gift. No doubt, there was a buzz within the church when Barnabas gave his gift. This couple realized that they could

One of the biggest killers of a relationship is when dishonesty settles in. This leads to distrust. When trust is lost, it is just about impossible to regain.

The Difference Between the Gifts

3. They lied to the church

While there were some similarities among these two gifts and givers, there were also some stark contrasts. We see that while Barnabas was praised over his gift, Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives over their gift. The reason for this was that they chose to bring lies into the equation.

After they come together with this plan to get the recognition they thought they deserved, they sought to deceive the fellowship. They took their plan to the church, and it looked good. There were more resources now to meet more needs. The problem was that these resources came with fine print.

We see that this couple agreed together to say that the gift they were giving was the entire proceeds of the sale on their property. This was not true. They had no problem lying to the church about this issue. They wanted to be recognized more than bless others by their gift.

We do not like the fine print, do we? Most of the time, we have no clue as to what is in all that lingo. Many times though it is what is in the fine print is what pricks us the hardest. It is in the fine print where we find that the deal that seemed too good to be true is exactly that.

Matthew 6:1 CSB

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

If a church wants to thrive and see God do great and mighty things in her midst, there must be an atmosphere of honesty. The church should be a place where we are open and honest with God and with one another. It may not be pretty… It may not be all orderly, but honesty is the pathway to seeing God’s movement. When a church permits lying, it comes across as fake and sets up unnecessary roadblocks to what God would and could do.

An ultimate problem we see here is that this couple lied to God. Peter calls them each out and says that they have lied not only to the church but to God. They thought that they could keep the truth hidden.

4. They lied to God

In and 5:9, Peter reveals that their lies have been ultimately against God Himself. It was not so much an issue of robbing God of money. This couple’s lies were robbing God of the glory that was due His name. You do not mess with God’s glory.

We see that through these challenges, Satan tried to get the church off-track and snuff out what God wanted to do. He saw that he couldn’t do this through outside opposition so he moved from inward. This should be a warning to us to stay alert.

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

It was not so much an issue of robbing God of money. This couple’s lies were robbing God of the glory that was due His name. You do not mess with God’s glory.

Though Satan may be a prowling and roaring lion, God is in the business of shutting the mouths of hungry lions and putting them in their place… just ask Daniel from the Old Testament. We see that while tragedy came from this sin (and sin will always cause some form of tragedy), God kept the church on-point and reminded the church of who He is: He is the One who is in control.

Conclusion

While we may read this account and be tempted to shake our heads at the foolishness of Ananias and Sapphira, we need to examine our own lives and see if our profession is being backed up by our practice. Do we really believe that the Lord is who He reveals Himself to be in the Bible and knows all things? Do we really believe that He cannot let sin go unpunished? Do we really believe the truths that we sing here on Sunday mornings? The true answer to those questions and so many more are revealed in how we live each day of our lives.

God has a plan. That plan is to use the local church to take the gospel to all peoples of this world. The gospel of Jesus Christ will go forth unhindered. It will bring about the redemption that God desires, and we are called to respond to the gospel ourselves and then join in taking it forward.

There are challenges that will try to come against this plan both from outside and — as we have seen today in this passage — from within the fellowship. May we commit to being the people of God who are alert, sober-minded and walking in-line with God as He moves forward.