Acts 5: 1-16
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Chapter 4 ended with a reminder of how Believers have been liquidating their possessions and taking the proceeds to the apostles, and then the apostles would distribute the money to each that had needs. Then a man named Barnabas being singled out for selling a tract of land, and giving the money to the apostles.
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
but . . . a contrast is about to be shown between Barnabas, and this husband and wife
Someone give us the basic narrative of Acts 5:1-16 . . .
one of those “Wow” stories . . . what are your reactions, thoughts, quesitons?
we are going to key in on a few verses
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
Peter knew without being told by a human - gift called, a word of knowledge, gift of knowledge
seen it demonstrated a few times (not just someone has high blood pressure)
others and pastor Caver example
why has Satan filled your heart?
last week we said that being filled, is allowing control . . . allowing the Holy Spirit to have full control
looked at verse that said don’t be drunk with wine, but filled by the Holy Spirit
don’t be under the influence of drink, but under the influence of the HS
Ananias has allowed himself to be influenced by Satan . . . . other translations of this verse even translate it as, “why have you allowed satan to influence you?”
How did satan influence Ananias?
maybe pride - be highly respected like Barnabas
maybe greed - I can’t give that much
lie to the Holy Spirit
this is serious! not lying to people but lying to the Holy Spirit
Like MJ, God is saying, “I took that personally”
church business is God’s business, and God takes it seriously, personally . . . not pastor’s church but God’s church
so everyone should take things with the church seriously - say, do, act, respond, promise, duties, roles (even on a program), even cleaning the church
life hacks sermon reminder: treat God’s people right . . . God’s child, that’s personal
also, we have another clear indication that the Holy Spirit is a person, you can’t lie to a thing/it
4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Peter breaks it down
You didn’t have to sell it
and when you sold it, you could have done what you wanted with the money
Why did you conceive this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God
Peter equates the Holy Spirit to God = Holy spirit is a person, Holy Spirit is God
The problem with many of our sins . . . we don’t think about what we are REALLY AND ACTUALLY doing . . . I’m just . . .
buying stolen goods . . . not just getting a deal, you are encouraging someone to keep stealing, somewhere someone is trying to recover from their stuff being stolen (broken window, door, the hours they worked to buy it)
cheat on your spouse . . . not just having a fling, you are betraying the trust of your spouse, trust of your kids, allowing an outside person into your marriage, causing doubts about everything you have ever said
kids ignore parents calling them . . . I used to teach parents, it’s not just a delay in coming
it’s . . . I don’t want to come right now, please stop talking
I can ignore you 5 times, so I will ignore you 5 times
you are not the boss here, I am
they are rebelling
treat a Christian bad . . . it’s not trivial, you are treating God’s child bad (think about how you feel when someone does your children wrong)
if you are involved with a sin, being tempted to sin . . . think out what you are REALLY about to do
Ananias fell down dead and they took him out and buried him, three hours later the wife comes in
8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”
She did not know this was a last opportunity to save her life, an opportunity to repent
instead she confirmed her part in the plot
just like when we ask the child, “did you eat that cookie”
and they have crumbs all over their face
if they tell the truth, they will find some mercy . . . it’s the lie that makes it even worse
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”
again, the sin was worst than they thought . . . they thought they were lying to men, but REALLY AND ACTUALLY there were
lying to the Holy Spirit
putting the Holy Spirit to a test (I bet God won’t even know, He is not even watching)
and so she fell down dead also
v. 11-16
great fear came over the church . . . I bet it did!
other demonstrations of power (signs and wonders)
even Peter’s shadow was healing people
all of this lead to more people becoming Christians
God can get glory though you
God can get glory over you . . . “remember what happened to pastor”
Questions that come to mind
seems harsh, doesn’t it?
we don’t know all of the story, just a few details
sometimes actions reveal a serious heart problem (rebellion of kids example), and God looks at the heart
God has his reasons, we might not can understand now
As much as anything, one lesson of Ananias and Sapphira is that we often assume that there is always time to repent, time to get right with God, time to get honest with Him.
Any time given to repent and turn around is an undeserved gift that He owes no one; we should never assume it will always be there.
since they did that, were they saved, did they go to heaven?
we don’t know . . . the question is “were they saved in the first place?”
if they were, then they went to heaven
if they were faking, then to hell
example of Christians sinning and dying, but yet not losing salvation
29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.
king james version uses, eat and drink unworthily
in context:
it was a time of division, time to show which faction you were with
not thinking doing anything “in remembrance”
each bring their own meal, would not share . . . some even going hungry
they turned it into a party and got drunk
we have expanded it, because of scriptures about don’t give when you have something against someone else (certainly that would include Lord’s Supper)
planning revenge when remembering God’s forgiveness
so they were doing everything but thinking about Christ
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
so Paul said some people have gotten sick and even died because of this
v 32 shows that their death was discipline, but they were not condemened (hell)
Note: Peter did not kill them - just revealing what HS told him
questions and comments
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