Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 4:32-5:16 Ananias and Sapphira KCC Nov 2020 Tell the Story At the end of Acts 4 the picture of the church is beautiful - the believers were one in heart and mind, sharing everything they had, Gods grace was upon them, and there were no needy people among them because those who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the church leaders saying - "give this to whoever needs It". Wow what an inspiring description of church. One man who did exactly this was called Joseph, he was from Cyprus. And because of his generosity, they changed his name and called him Barnabas - which means "Son of Encouragement" what a lovely accolade - "this is the man who sold his house to help our families" - what an encouragement to many. So it was all going great, but of course when mankind is involved, things aren't always going to go great and people are not always going to make great decisions. Probably inspired by Barnabas and presumably wanting some recognition for himself, we then read about a man called Ananias, who also had some property he was prepared to part with, so like Barnabas he sold it to give money to the church. But things didn't work out the way he had hoped. Lets read and see what happened. Acts 5:1-11 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount, with his wife's consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, "Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us but to God!" As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, "Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?" "Yes," she replied, "that was the price." And Peter said, "How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too." Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. That is a tough passage to read. Here is a couple who sold their house to give money to the church, that's a generosity that would put many of us to shame. Their only crime was to lie about the price they got for their house, and it cost them their lives. They were greedy for recognition. Here they were walking in the door, expecting praise for their generosity only to be met by death. The punishment seems a bit disproportionate. What is going on here? It is like a scene you would see in a horror story, where everything is great, people are getting on with their lives, then bang - out of no-where the grim reaper appears, people die and everyone else is left terrified. Well today, I want to show you that this isn't a scene from a horror story where God is trying to scare people into living right, but about him loving people, it is actually part of a love story. Analogy of Marriage When Claire and I got married we sat down and had a conversation about what we expected from our relationship. Claire said there was still an old boyfriend which she was pretty fond of. She hadn't seen him in years and currently had no plans to, but if he did turn up she hoped to go out with him on a date, and if that happened she wasn't going to tell me because it might make things difficult between us. So she would make sure I knew nothing about any money or time she spent with him. Basically she was saying "I love you so I am going to protect what we have together." I of course was absolutely fine with that - Not!! Can you imagine! She didn't actually say that! - if she did we would have been in big trouble. It is so important to start a marriage on the right foot. Mistakes along the way are inevitable, but there are certain things which must be honoured if the relationship is going to be healthy. Things such as: respect, honesty, trust, love - without these things you are not going to get very far. RELATIONSHIP As we work through the book of Acts, our series is titled, "the Church and the Spirit" We are considering how we as a church rely on and relate to the Holy Spirit of God. And here in Chapter 5 we are still observing the very beginnings of that relationship. The church is growing fast, people are getting healed, there are miracles, lives are being changed and it is likely to have been a very attractive movement to be part of. No doubt some were getting involved in the church primarily for their own benefit and prioritising what they could get out of it, over their relationship with God. Ananias and Sapphira being an example, they clearly wanted to be revered as being generous. God is not some disinterested sugar daddy to be used and disposed of! His priority towards us is deep genuine relationship and he will do what he needs to in order to protect that. Ananias and Sapphira are charged with lying to the Holy Spirit. Their punishment might seem extreme, but lets think for a minute of the consequences to the church, had they been allowed to behave this way. It would have communicated: * It is possible to deceive God, * God is there to be used - that popularity can be bought and its okay to put ourselves first * It would have given the impression that God was apathetic to our actions, or worse - impotent to respond to them when we do wrong by him. Declaration of Love These are lots of wrong images of God. God couldn't let that happen. He is still in the process of establishing a relationship with his people and he needs to make sure it starts in a positive and healthy way. He will not be mocked! What we see here is actually God going to extreme lengths to protect his church. He is saying "You mean something to me" - "church I love you!". Old Testament Examples We have seen God doing similar things before. * Lev 10 Aarons songs Nadab and Abihu who went against Gods commands and offered unauthorised fire before the Lord, it resulted in their death. * 2 Sam 6 Uzzah touched the ark of the covenant and was put to death * Joshua 7Achan, because of his greed in stealing some of the loot from the battle at Jericho was put to death. He is a prime example of how one person's sin can have a rippling effect on the community, and why it needs to be brought to account straight away. (As men died because of him) On each of these occasions, there was a sense of "new beginnings - new era" and so it was as if the Lord sat his people down and had a pep talk, a heart to heart with them saying, "here is a taster of what will happen if you go your own way - death" "you can't just live the way you want to live - it is not good for you and it is not good for Us. I am God! I am holy! I am awesome! And I love you!" We are familiar with the phrase - "God disciplines those he loves". (Heb 12:6) Do you know what that means - He will do what he needs to do to keep us on the right track. Will we learn from this story This story of Ananias and Sapphira put the fear of God into people, but as Prov 9:10 says "fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom" - it leads us to - reverence - honesty - integrity - that is a good thing. Ananias and Sapphira did not have that, we can learn from them and need to make sure we do. You are not likely to be struck down by God for your sin, but the example of how serious God takes it is already there for us. This isn't a story of God forcing us to love him and punishing anyone who fails to meet the standard - NO, he is highlighting the danger in pretending to love him. He is warning us against falseness and urging us into an honest relationship. What happens after this (vs 12-16) What we see happening after this account is that the church continues to be strong and significant. There are many miracles, healings, signs and wonders and people are getting saved. And vs 13 says "No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people." There was a new reverence for God inside and outside the church which resulted in pretenders and the half hearted keeping their distance. - they recognized the power of authenticity. Summary Today I want you to see Gods love and passion for you in this passage. He is not prepared to settle. Jesus is very clear when he says, "You can't serve (love) both God and money". (Matt 6:24) You can't have a mistress and a wife, it just doesn't work - that is a recipe for disaster. He wants to be our one and only. -Don't forget he paid the highest of prices, the most expensive dowry ever, To make you his bride, and to give you life. He loves you. This is not the time to throw that back in his face, or to cheat on him with other loves - whether they be wealth, acclamation, recognition, or anything else. This is the time for us all to throw aside all other loves and rejoice in this story of a bridegrooms commitment to protecting and keeping his bride safe. God is working for a genuine and passionate union. That is what He wants with you today. That is what you can have with him today, but there can't be lies, deceit, or pretence. Just Honest beautiful Love. PRAY It is so easy to take a glimpse toward God and get at wrong impression of who he is The world mis-understand God because they don't give time to learn about him through the Bible. Lord we need to know you and understand your "big picture" activity. Work in us.