Back on Track

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Series: On the Move: Overcoming the Obstacles to Growth

Title: Back on Track

Text:

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If you take the wrong path you’ll never get to the right place.

PLAY VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGFS9qiqhJU.

It doesn’t matter how far you drive, if you take the wrong path, you’ll never get to the right place.

BACKGROUND

The early church was definitely on the right path. They had obeyed the instructions Jesus had given them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. After many days of prayer, the Spirit came and the miracle of the church began. Peter preached a Spirit-filled sermon, 3000 people came to faith in Christ. Then those 3000 people started to follow the habits of a disciple that led to an outpouring of power and an internalizing of biblical Christianity that brought thousands more into the fold. Even though there was persecution the church prayed for boldness and power and the Holy Spirit was doing an amazing work through these disciples.

But, of course, Satan wasn’t about to take all of this sitting down. So, in chapter five of Acts, we read about his attempts to stop the growth of the church in its tracks. He wants to compromise it’s witness and rob it’s power so he inspires a couple in the church to become his comrades in arms. Though they probably didn’t realize the extent of what they were doing, if their sabotage was not arrested quickly, Satan would have gotten the church off of it’s path of growth and taken it down the wrong road. Read about this with me.

Acts 5:1–14 NKJV

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 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. 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? 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.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.” 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.” 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. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. 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. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

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? 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. 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,

Now I have to admit to you that these verse can be troubling. The death of two people simply because they misrepresented their gift to the church may seem a little harsh to you. In God’s providence, however, I believe that the action was absolutely necessary. You see, the church was at a crossroads. They had seen an amazing work of God and it needed to continue if they were to achieve the mission they had been given. But Satan had another path in mind. He wanted this kind of deceit to grow until distrust and dishonesty sabotaged the church’s witness. That’s why I believe the Holy Spirit revealed the sin of Ananias and Sapphira to Peter and gave him the courage to deal with it. And the Spirit didn’t just give him the courage to deal with it, he also gave him the wisdom to deal with it. In fact, in this account, you can see some actions that Peter and the church took that thwarted Satan’s attempted sabotage.

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And I really want you to listen this morning because Satan also wants to thwart your own progress spiritually and our progress as a church. Staying on the right path will never be politically correct. If we are going to stay where we need to be, we will have to be a church that exercises church discipline. That is not politically correct. Just tell some people that you practice church discipline and they will be the first to issue you a “cult card.” Staying on the right path will never be politically correct . . .

And it will always be socially challenging. It is not easy to confront sin and deal with problems in the church. It is so much easier not to confront wrong doing. It is easier to do the “southern gentleman” thing and just go along to get along. Staying on the right path is socially challenging, but that’s why you should listen today. Listen because staying on the right path is politically incorrect and socially challenging and then it is

Spiritually necessary. I fully believe that the only reason the church was able to do what it did in it’s earlier days was because it stayed on the right path. If you are going to make real Spiritual progress as a body of believers, you have to be in the place where God can fully bless you.

So just how does the church stay on the right path so that God can bless it? Well, right here from these verses let me give you three actions that keep a church on target. In the first place, a church stays on target when:

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A church stays on target when sin is confronted.

A church stays on target when sin is confronted.

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This account of the instant death of two church members shocks us. At first glance, we might be tempted to ask, “Well, what was so wrong with what Ananias and Sapphira did? I mean they sold a piece of property and brought part of it to give to God. Does that mean that, whatever I sell, i have to give it all or I will be struck dead? That’s worse than severe. That’s just ridiculous!”

What was the sin here? Well I think the text tells us that there sin occurred in three areas.

What was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira? Dishonesty.

First, there was the sin of DISHONESTY. V1 says 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. Now, when that verse says that they “kept back” part of it, that is an interesting word. It implies that there was something akin to embezzlement going on. The funds—all of the proceeds from the sell—had been pledged by this couple. The same word “kept back” is used in the Old Testament when we are told that Achan “kept back” part of the spoil from Jericho. God had told the people that everything in that town was to be destroyed and actually belonged to Him, but Achan “kept back” part for himself. It seems that Ananias and Sapphira had pledged all of the proceeds from this land to God, then withheld part, all while letting everyone think that they had given it all. They wanted to be seen as being more generous than they actually were. And that leads to the second sin they committed.

What was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira? Hypocrisy.

They also sinned through HYPOCRISY. One commentator said that they wanted the credit and the prestige of sacrificial generosity without the inconvenience of it, so, in order to gain a reputation to which they had no right, they told a ball-faced lie. They did not care about relieving the poor as much as fattening their own ego. But, as bad as that wasn’t, it was not the worst sin.

What was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira? Profanity.

You see, they were also guilty of PROFANITY. No, they didn’t Peter out verbally, I’m speaking of how their act spoke to their view of God. Peter asks Sapphira a very telling question in v 9. He asks: How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? That question reveals the real problem behind Ananias and Sapphira’s sin: They just didn’t think it was that big of a deal to misrepresent themselves TO GOD. They didn’t take God seriously; by lying to God they were either implying that God was not omniscient—that is that He didn’t already know that they were lying, or they were implying that God was not holy—that is that He knew their lie and didn’t really care enough to do anything about it. They were dead wrong—literally.

Acts 5:3–5 NKJV

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? 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.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.

Acts 5:10 NKJV

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.

Peter confronts their sin in v 3. Look at it: 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? 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.” v5 tells us that the DISCIPLINE this couple suffered was immediate. It says: 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. The same fate meets Sapphira in v 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last.

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Acts 5:11 NKJV

So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

And the impact of this instant, severe judgment had a powerful impact. V11 says So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. The reverence that Ananias and Sapphira had lacked was now present in the church. And here’s the point: it is this confrontation and discipline of sin that keeps this church on track so that she can continue to grow.

And hearing that may make you shake your head in disbelief. How is it possible that such a severe judgment could cause growth? It seems like it would cause just the opposite. Right? Well, there is SOME truth to that, yes. This kind of discipline will drive some people away. Hey! It did in this instance as well.

Acts 5:12 NKJV

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.

In fact, down in v 12 it says this, And they (that is, the Christ-followers) were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. (watch this!) Yet none of the rest dared join them. Yes, this discipline did keep some away, but who did it KEEP away? It kept away those who were not really serious about following Christ. They knew that they might die if they were only half-hearted, so they just didn’t go!

But, while some were kept away, v 14 goes on to say, And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. Far from discouraging true followers, the church continued to multiply, but those who came were serious about following Christ. I tell you, the church stays on target when sin is confronted.

Acts 5:14 NKJV

And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

But, while some were kept away, v 14 goes on to say, And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. Far from discouraging true followers, the church continued to multiply, but those who came were serious about following Christ. I tell you, the church stays on target when sin is confronted.

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So what does this mean for you and me? Well, in the first place, we need to have great reverence for God and refuse to take Him lightly. Do you? Do you take God seriously? Do you ever stop to think about what you are saying about God when you willfully sin against Him? Do you tremble before Him? I believe that one of the greatest missing ingredients in the church today is a deep holy reverence for Who God is.

But secondly, we also need to be willing to admit our wrong when we are confronted with our sin. So, what is it that the Holy Spirit, or a Christian brother has been confronting you about? Have you dealt with that thing? One of the first steps to genuine growth must be deep and reverent repentance. What would that look like for you?

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Well, you can be certain that our enemy, the Devil, will always be looking for ways to get the church off target. We will only defeat him when we are willing to keep dealing with the sin that comes up in our own lives and in the life of the church. The church stays on target when sin is confronted, and the church stays on target when:

A church stays on target when values are clarified.

D2 – VALUES ARE CLARIFIED.

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Now if you have any sense of spiritual awareness, I believe a question haunts the recesses of your mind when you read what happened here. It goes something like this: “If God took out everyone in the church who sought to have others think better of them than they really were on the inside, who would still be here?” Even further, “Would I still be here?” It truly is a sobering story, but one writer I read makes a good point: He wrote, After the Ananias and Sapphira incident, I wonder how long it took the apostles to realize God was making a point, not starting a pattern. Obviously, God doesn’t always meet this kind of sin with such a severe penalty, so why does He do that here?

Well I think you can find a part of the answer to that question in the Old Testament. You see, there is a story that parallels this one in the book of Leviticus. It also occurred in the early days of Jewish temple worship. You remember that Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu, were the priests. God had given the Israelites instructions on how to construct the temple and the people followed it to the letter. Finally, the Children of Israel were ready for the first worship service in the temple and that service was being conducted by Aaron and his sons. Do you remember the story? As they were offering the first sacrifices, the Bible says that Nadab and Abihu offered up “strange fire” to the Lord and fire came out from the presence of the Lord and killed them where they stood. Wow! Now I don’t know what exactly they were doing wrong. The Bible doesn’t say, but whatever it was, God was sending a message. At the very beginning of worship in the new tabernacle, He was making an important point. I think that the same thing is true in the story of Ananias and Sapphira. God is making an important point in Acts chapter 5.

And what point was God making? Well, I think He was clarifying some values He saw as being extremely important to the church and to it’s future. You get a hint of what values God’s awful judgment was seeking to protect. I see at least two.

This severe judgment of God sought to protect the TRUST of the church. You can’t read very far in Acts without realizing that the church was a very relational place. The essence of the church was built upon the accountable relationships of its members. That kind of relationship had to be based on transparency. They were not to seek to deceive one another. One of the most important ingredients in any relationship is trust. Marriages can sometimes survive if emotional attachment is missing. Frankly, emotional attachment can vary throughout a life time together. Marriages can survive if compatibility is lacking. It might create added stress, but couples can learn to work through that. But marriages do not survive a lack of trust!

That held for this church as well. Transparent trust was essential to survival, so God moved drastically to maintain it.

This severe judgment also maintained the reverence of the church. In vv 3-4, when Ananias tells this lie, Peter tells him that he is not primarily lying to men, he is lying to God. If you look in v9, Peter tells Sapphira that they have “tested” the Holy Spirit. This kind of test is not a test of faith but a demonstration of unbelief. They were not reverencing the God they claimed to follow. Peter tells them, in essence, that God is very concerned about certain values in this church and that He will move at all costs to protect them.

By the way, a church must be clear about the values it seeks to promote in it’s people. It is those values that will keep the church moving in the right direction.

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That’s why we as a staff and leadership sat down and laid out the biblical values we wanted to see produced in the Christ followers here. We realized that we could call for “discipleship” all week every week, but if we never took the time to define the qualities that distinguish disciples, people would flounder in their growth and the church would quickly move off-target. There were five values we finally agreed should define a disciple who connects here at Peace.

Pic - Bible reader

The five values that define a disciple: Love God - Am I meeting with God daily?

We said that a disciple must first and foremost, LOVE GOD. That love for God grows through your personal relationship with Him as you pray, read His Word and worship Him in private. The key question of this value was this: Am I meeting with God daily?

Pic - Worshiper

The five values that define a disciple: Love God’s family - Am I regularly spending quality time with God’s family?

The second value of a disciple flowed from the love of God. You see, a real disciple will LOVE GOD’S FAMILY. That relationship of love should be cultivated in life groups, discipleship relationships and other places where God’s family meet. It should flow out of serving with others in ministry and being used by God to meet the needs of one another as they arise. The key question of this value was this: Am I regularly spending quality time with God’s family?

Pic - Bible

The five values that define a disciple: Live truth - Am I being changed by God’s Word?

Third: A disciple must LIVE TRUTH. Please notice how that is worded. It isn’t enough to know it; you must live it. Living the truth of God means that there will be increasing freedom from sin and addictions, increasing humility in my relationships and increasing surrender to obey God. The key question is Am I being changed by God’s word?

Pic - Offering

The five values that define a disciple: Live generously - Am I a joyful giver?

Fourth: A real disciple will LIVE GENEROUSLY. He will consistently give financially to the work of God. He will discover his gifts and maximize those gifts as he gives time to serve in ministry. The key question of this value is this: Am I a joyful giver?

Pic - Cleaning Hearne

The five values that define a disciple: Live on mission - Am I reaching anyone who is far from God?

Last of all, a real disciple will LIVE ON MISSION. He will reach out to serve at home and around the world, capitalizing on his opportunities to make disciples one-on-one and in groups. The key question is, Am I reaching anyone who is far from God?

Just as the early church was kept on target through the values Peter speaks to Ananias and Sapphira, so this church must be kept on target by these values: Am I meeting with God daily? Am I regularly spending quality time with God’s family? Am I being changed by God’s word? Am I a joyful giver? And Am I reaching anyone who is far from God? When these values mark us, we will stay on target and be able to grow.

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The church stays on target when sin is confronted and values are clarified. Finally, the church stays on target when:

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A church stays on target when commitments are clear.

D3 – COMMITMENTS ARE CLEAR

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Several related things happened as a result of this judgment. Follow with me:

What happened as a result of this terrible judgment? Awe.

First, AWE happened! V11 says So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. . 12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. Now we read that and it may go over our heads, but imagine what it would be like if today in this auditorium, some one came forward and were told that they had lied to the Holy Spirit and that they were going to die and immediately they fell dead. Then their spouse came in and the same things happened. Do you think you might be a little bit afraid? I would’ve been! These people were filled with deep reverence for God.

Acts 5:11–12 NKJV

So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. 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.

First, AWE happened! V11 says So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. . 12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. Now we read that and it may go over our heads, but imagine what it would be like if today in this auditorium, some one came forward and were told that they had lied to the Holy Spirit and that they were going to die and immediately they fell dead. Then their spouse came in and the same things happened. Do you think you might be a little bit afraid? I would’ve been! These people were filled with deep reverence for God.

What happened as a result of this terrible judgment? Unity.

Acts 5:12 NKJV

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.

And that led to UNITY. V12 goes on to say that they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Solomon’s porch was an area of the temple complex where they gathered, but they were not just all gathered in the same place, they all had the same mind. When that verse says that they were all with one accord, it means that they were unified.

What happened as a result of this terrible judgment? Division.

O, but there was also DIVISION. This judgment clearly defined two groups of people. There were the ADMIRERS. They were grudging admirers of what was going on among the disciples but they realized that they were not serious and look what v 13 says about them.

Acts 5:13–14 NKJV

Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

It says, Yet not of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. On the other hand there were DISCIPLES, that is, those who were ready for an all in commitment. V14 says And believers were increasingly added to the Lord.

Now I believe the difference between the admirers and the disciples was COMMITMENT. The death of Ananias and Sapphira clarified the level of commitment required to become a Christ follower. You had to be all in! Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that some people were saved because, through their own effort, they lived up to some requirement that other did not. No! What I am saying is that those whom the Holy Spirit called knew that to follow Jesus might, indeed, cost them their lives, but the pull of the Spirit and their own desire FROM GOD to follow Him outweighed the cost that they paid. The church moved forward because the commitment required was VERY CLEAR and people were moved by God to make that commitment.

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Slide - Iranian woman

Can I just tell you that I fear it is the lack of a CLEAR commitment that is the problem with Christianity in America. We dumb down discipleship until any mumble of the sinner’s prayer qualifies you for eternal bliss without any temporary suffering. No wonder American Christianity is failing. Other countries may understand our plight better than we do ourselves.

An outstanding documentary about revival is entitled Sheep Among Wolves. It details the fastest growing church in the world which is located not in America but in (wait for it . . .) Iran. The documentary says The Iran awakening is a rapidly reproducing discipleship movement that owns no property or buildings, has no central leadership, and is predominantly led by women.” The is a mass exodus leaving Islam for Christianity. One unidentified church leader says on this film, “What if I told you Islam is dead? What if I told you the mosques are empty inside Iran? What if I told you no one follows Islam inside of Iran? Would you believe me? This is exactly what is happening inside of Iran. God is moving powerfully inside of Iran.”

The film says, Efforts by the ayatollahs to destroy Christianity have backfired, but have served to refine and purify the church.

“What persecution did was destroy the church that were not disciples, and destroy the church that were about converts,” the Iranian church leader noted. “All these church planters found out that converts run away from persecution, but disciples would die for the Lord in persecution.“So our model inside Iran is that we don’t convert to disciple, we disciple so we can convert.”

The film cites one Iranian couple that had the opportunity to move to the U.S. After living in America for a matter of months, the wife decided she wanted to move back to Iran, telling her surprised husband: There is a satanic lullaby here. All the Christians are sleepy and I’m feeling sleepy.

Let that sink in for a moment: Someone said about this: This woman is discerning a threat to her faith that is greater than the kind of persecution that happens in Iran. She saw that spiritual sleepiness is a greater threat to her faith than persecution.”

You see, there the commitment you have to make to follow Christ is clear and the clarity of that commitment keeps the church on target.

APP

But that leaves us with a question doesn’t it? We don’t live in Iran (Thank the Lord!) we live in America where Christianity is sleepy at best! How can we, in this environment, stay on target. Let me just offer these suggestions:

Application #1: We must be willing to confront sin.

First, we must be willing to confront sin. That means our own sin and the sin that may arise within the church corporately. We must examine our own hearts and judge ourselves so that we are not judged, but we must also be willing to confront the sin that arises in this body of believers. Yes, we must deal with it in love and with humility and transparency. Listen! It is not fun to do that! I am sure that Peter’s encounter with Ananias and Sapphira was not the highpoint of his week! It is never fun, but it is always right.

So is there any sin in your life that you need to deal with? Are you trying to live a lie like this couple was living? You may minimize your lack of honesty but God does not! Please repent before judgment comes!

Application #2: We must be willing to surrender everything.

Second, we must surrender everything. The cost of following Jesus is high. Even though the world is trying to rewrite the Bible to make the commitment level politically correct, we must stand on the word of God. We must be all in.

Application #3: We must be clear about what discipleship is.

Third, we must be clear about what discipleship is. It is not a class you finish; it is not even a weekly one-on-one session you attend. It is a relationship with God mentored by some of God’s children that produces in you at least five definitive qualities: Love for God, love for others, living truth, living generously and living on mission.

PLAY CHAN CLIP

You see, casual individuals and casual churches do not grow. Real growth requires an on-target church. An on-target church confronts sin, clarifies values and keeps the commitment clear. O, you can grow congregations without being on target, but you’ll never grow disciples without being on target. You’ve got to take the right path to get to the right place.