Episode 9

Good morning everyone…what a great morning it is today! Welcome again, and welcome to all of the kids here this morning. I would like to take this time to invite all of our kids to gather in the back of the room and join together to attend kids church together. Isn’t it great that we have a group of adults who are excited to bring Scripture to our kids in a way that makes sense to them. I love that as a church we value everyone and where they are personally. That includes those that are joining us online right now. We would like to welcome you as part of our extended family right here at LRBC. As always, if you are joining us online and you are in Ogle county and looking for a church home, then I would like to personally invite you to come on over any Sunday at 9:30am. We have the best coffee, the most comfortable chairs, and an incredibly loving family right here ready to welcome you anytime.

You know one of the things about a family is that you share with each other as needed. You share your hopes and dreams. You share your struggles and fears. You even share your needs and resources. I love that, especially when you realize all of the people that we have been able to support as a church. When I say support, I mean physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is such a great thing that we are able to do as a church. You know that is actually something that we have in common with the early church.

Right now we are in the middle of a series about the early church. I called this series The Book of Acts: an origin story. We are currently on Episode 9, meaning that this is the 9th Sunday in this series, and we will have 1 more to go after today. So far in this series we have seen a few really key things. For instance we saw early on that Jesus gave a job to the church, we are called to be Jesus’ witnesses. Then we were challanged with the question Have you personally participated in the mission of the church? Next there was a really big thing that we saw early on. We saw that The early church devoted themselves to Spiritual growth and fellowship. Now, that is a pretty big deal right there…as a matter of fact, this idea of devoting themselves to Spiritual growth is a relatively easy thing to think about. Of coarse the early church should be focused on spiritual growth. However, the idea of fellowship is just as important as the concept of spiritual growth. You see, the fellowship together is part of spiritual growth. Today we are going to see that specifically. We are going to see an aspect of fellowship and how it actually does connect with our spiritual growth. Actually this morning we will have the opportunity to focus briefly on the unity that the early church actually experienced. Let’s take a moment and discover

What True Unity Looks Like

So we discussed this a few weeks ago briefly if you recall. We looked at this idea of the early church having all things in common. Something we discovered then was that this was not the socialist or communist ideal that some will claim. There have been in fact some that have claimed this concept was borrowed from the utopian ideas that was really pushed by the Greek philosopher Pythagoras. Let’s go ahead and look at this passage together and see what we can learn about Christian unity in the process.

Acts 4:32–35 (ESV)

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Now, as we read this passage there is something that is very important. You see, when reading Scripture context is one of the most important aspects of understanding what is happening. So while many have taken this passage specifically and used it as a proof text for a utopian society, or even used it as a prooftext to push some particular political ideology, that is not what is happening. You cannot divorce the words in Scripture with the context in which it is written. So, we must ask ourselves…What is the context?

Take a moment this morning and remember what we talked about last week. You see, last week we talked about the early church’s prayer for boldness. Remember they had experienced opposition and they were praying for boldness in the face of this opposition. Now, Luke is the author of this book and we have to consider the way he wrote this book as well. Remember he wrote this becuase he wanted to provide an account for people to know the truth about what happened and about how the early church started. That is the purpose here. That means that everything that is written has a purpose that revolves around the beginning of this brand new group of Christians. So, what do we know about this group? They have a job

The primary focus as a group is to participate in the mission of the church, which is to be Jesus’ witnesses. That is the the whole focus of the book of Acts. With that in mind, why did Luke include a section about how they lived when he has already talked about their unity and fellowship? Well, I believe Luke is reminding us here of something very important. You see, one of the later conversations that Jesus had with the disciples prior to his arrest is found in

John 13:34–35 (ESV)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Do you see a connection in this command from Jesus and the way the early church has chosen to live? Do you see a reason why this might be included after they prayed together for boldness? You see, the way they are treating each other is a direct response to the job they have been given as a group of beleivers. This is a pivotal aspect of their witness. This is not some utopian idea of a communal lifestyle, this is a group of believers that is choosing to actually care for each other for a purpose…so that all will know they are Jesus’ witnesses.

Let me prove this to you. Take a look at what Luke writes in v. 33:

“And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus...” (V.33)

You see, this concept of being witnesses of the Jesus’ resurrection is embedded in the description of this unity. Do you know why that is? Becuase of what Jesus said, “By this all people will know...” If their purpose is to be witnesses then a pretty powerful way of doing so is to care for each other. In a world, or a culture where this is not a common theme, Christians are called to be different. Christians are called to care for and meet each others needs. Listen, I believe this to be so true that I am confident within this family of believers that there will never be a need that is not met in some way.

Later in v33 we see that,

“... great grace was upon them all.” (v.33)

This is great, but what does it mean? Well, for a moment I would like to remind you of something that we saw earlier in this series. Let’s reread

Acts 2:47 (ESV)

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This passage parallels what we are seeing this morning. This morning we are seeing that they were giving testimony and great grace was upon them. Earlier we saw that they were praising God and had favor. So, what does it mean to have favor, and what does it mean to have great grace? Well, what we are seeing is that their generosity and unity within the church was fulfilling the job of being witnesses. So, the statement I made earlier was What True Unity Looks Like? Well, I believe we can see that true unity looks like personally participating in the mission of the church.

Now, we could end right here this morning. However, Luke is such a skilled author that not only does he show us a connection between the generosity of the early church, but he also shows us

Two Examples

of this generosity. Now, these examples are not exactly the same examples, and we will not look at all of the details at this time. However, I woudl like us to look at the two contrasting examples and what the results of these examples are. Let’s look at

Acts 4:36–5:2 (ESV)

Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

So we have Joseph first off. Actually in this book we will come to know Joseph as Barnabas, a very influential person in the life of Paul. Then we have Ananias along with his wife Sapphira. Now, Joseph or Barnabas is seen as an encourager. Barnabas will come to be a person that supports and kind of works behind the scenes. Barnabas is not the guy in front of everyone, but he is the guy supporting the person that God is using in various ways. Ananias however is not a person we will see after this section. There are two very district differences here.

Joseph is a man who set an example for others. There is nothing about this story that tells us this was obligatory. As a matter of fact every evidence is that the early Christian practice was wholly voluntary. There was no directive that told men to sell their property and sell it, they just did it. When there was a need specifically, they simply did what was needed in order to meet the need. That is actually specifically what is stated here. There was not a needy person, but those who had means supplied the needs when those needs arose. There was no demanding In the example of Joseph we see humility. I want to show you what Barnabas does in the story of Paul

Acts 9:26–27 (ESV)

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

You see, Barnabas could have simply made a name for himself. However, his focus was not on himself, but on the mission of the church. This is why in the example of Barnabas we can see humility. However, that is not the case with Ananias.

When is comes to the example of Ananias we see a man that sought to make a name for himself. His desire was to show everyone what he had done, however in doing so…he lied to God, and this is not something that is acceptable worship. You see, Ananias sold his field and then brought and gave the money to the feet of the apostles, just like Barnabas had done. However, look at Peters response to Ananias.

Acts 5:3–4 (ESV)

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

You see, Peter clarifies with Ananias that this is a wicked thing that is done. Peter reminds him that this was not obligatory. He did not have to sell his land. Even if he did sell his land he did not have to claim to have donated the whole amount. This was his money to do with as he wanted, but his desire was apparently to allow everyone to think that he was more generous than he was. Now, let me ask you a question…Would anyone have every known about this? Of coarse, this sale of this land was not done in a bubble was it? People talk and since this generosity was done as a witness to the resurrection of Jesus then this false generosity would give a false witness. As Peter points out, this is not lying to man, this was lying to God…the result as we continue to read is that “When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last”

There was a consequence to lying to the Lord, and that was not a one time consequence becuase later in this story as you continue to read you will see that Sapphira did the exact same thing. You see, this husband and wife conspired to withhold from the Lord in front of everyone. This husband and wife conspired to make themselves more than the Lord by valuing their wealth more than the Lord. This husband and wife conspired together to create an idol out of wealth and place themselves as the recipient of this glory. In other words, in the example of Ananias and Sapphira we see pride.

In this picture we see a clear contrast of Gospel humility and sinful pride. Gospel humility participates int he mission of the church while sinful pride participates in the mission of man. So the question that I want you to answer this morning is…Which example will I follow?

I know that there are a number of people here this morning that have been torn between these two examples for a very long time. Do I promote the Gospel in my life, or do I promote myself…that can be such an easy trap to fall into, especially when we think about what we “deserve”… Actually, that is a good point…let’s think briefly about what we deserve. You see, we read in Scripture that we all have fallen short of perfect. We have fallen short of God, that is called sin. We have seen that the price for sin is in fact death. Therefor what we actually deserve is in fact death. However, through God’s grace and the gift of Jesus, we have been offered life. Therefore we each have a choice to make. Will I choose what I deserve, which is death? Or will I choose what I have been offered, which is life? This morning as we close I want to challenge each of you hear this morning or joining us online to make your decision. If you are listening right now and you are not sure what to do, then I want to invite you to reach out online or connect with me or one of the Elders after the service. As a church our goal, our vision is to guide people to a life of faith in Jesus Christ. This morning I want to invite you to allow us to be your guide as you take the next step in your spiritual journey. If you are listening this morning and you have taken this step previously , then I want to encourage you to discover how you can be a Barnabas in someone else's faith journey.

Let’s pray