Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Children’s Ministry available.

I’m Pastor Marc… Thanks for joining us!

Calvary Chapel: Chapter-by-Chapter | Verse-by-Verse

If you would like to connect, please fill out a Welcome Card!

We are a Bible teaching church… if you don’t have a Bible… raise your hand…

We are also a praying church, so if you have prayer needs please let us know how we can pray for you.

And, if you have any anonymous prayers… there is a prayer basket.

Announcements:

Today at 4pm: Baptism & Pool Party @ the Kitch’s House

Come out for Burgers & Dogs…

If you can, please bring a side or dessert (& a lawn chair).

If you’re a believer and have never been baptized… this is a great opportunity to take that step of obedience.

Youth Group will be at the Kitch’s tonight as well.

Sun, July 3rd: Immediately after church… Summer Picnic in lieu of our Fellowship Lunch

Center Lake | Bixler Park

Bring your favorite yard games, and enjoy some great fellowship.

Youth Group will meet at the park July 3rd 6pm.

Women’s Bible Study begins Wed, July 13 to Aug 17… 6:30pm… meeting at Lisa Klaiber’s home (where we had the recent Bonfire).

Men… we would like to gauge interest in starting a men’s bible study, so please see me or Pete Klaiber if you are interested.

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Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 5. Acts 5:1-16 today.

Over the past two and a half months, we have been journeying in Acts where Jesus orchestrated the birth of the church with the Holy Spirit through the Apostles.

We’ve seen the power of the Holy Spirit…

especially through Peter.

Peter… who formerly denied Jesus three times… has become the bold voice of the early church…

Through his messages, thousands of people have come to accept Jesus as Savior.

Rom 10:17 states, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

And, true this was… as the church grew to well over 5000 people.

But, the religious leaders abhorred the disciples teaching in Jesus’ name… And, the Sadduccees especially did not like the teaching on the resurrection… a doctrine they rejected.

So, they arrested Peter and John… the first persecution of the church… and threatened them to be silent.

To which they boldly responded “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.

20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

(Acts 4:19-20)

A conviction we ALL should have.

Listening to God above all else… even if authorities threaten us to be silent.

Last week we concluded looking at the response of the disciples to persecution.

They sought Christian fellowship… talked and prayed with believers…

They didn’t retreat from persecution… instead they prayed for BOLDNESS to speak God’s word… and for God to use them for more miracles, signs and wonders!

Exactly what got them in troubles with the religious leaders in the first place!

And, at the end of Chapter 4… we see the church come together… what the enemy intended for evil… God used for good!

The enemy attacked the church from without… and that didn’t work.

So, in Acts 5… the enemy will attack the church from within…

The title of today’s message is “Purifying the Church.”

Let’s Pray!

In Acts 5, the early church established a voluntary system of sharing material possessions… to care for the most needy in the body.

In Acts 2: 44 we read, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”

How long was it before this went sideways?

We don’t have an exact timeline in Acts, but scholars seem to place the beginning of Acts around 29-30 A.D. and the end of Acts around 62 A.D. … so a stretch of about 32 years.

And, from Acts 2 where we first saw material sharing to Acts 5… when problems started to arise… scholars estimate less than a year had passed.

At the close of Acts 4… things were still going well with sharing material possessions… look at VSS 32-37 of Acts 4… “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And great grace was upon them all.

34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

They were sharing their possessions… they were of one heart and one soul… “one accord”...

They were powerful witnesses to Jesus… great grace was upon them… and no one lacked…

Luke could have just omitted Chap 5 and the struggles ahead.

He could have just penned, “And they lived happily ever after.

The end.”

It would have made for a nice story.

But the Bible is NOT a story.

It’s a factual account.

And hard chapters like Acts 5 … chapters that don’t logically make sense to us… their very existence testify of the veracity… the truthfulness of the word…

Before we get into Acts 5… keep the end of Acts 4 in mind.

When the Bible was written… there were no chapter and verse divisions…

It wasn’t until 1227 A.D. when Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury created chapter divisions…

About 200 years later in 1448 A.D. a Jewish Rabbi assigned verse divisions to the Hebrew OT.

About a hundred years later… in 1551 A.D. or 1555 A.D., verse divisions were assigned to the Greek NT.

The first entire Bible with chapter and verse divisions was a Latin Vulgate edition in 1555 A.D.

And, the first English Bible with chapter and verse divisions was the Geneva Bible (1560 A.D.).

I hope you are taking notes… There’s gonna be a test later.

I say all that to make a point… the end of Chapter 4 flows into Chapter 5.

They’re connected.

In the original draft, without chapter and verse divisions… the account in Chapter 4 would have flowed into chapter 5.

And, note Barnabas.

He stands out at the end of Chapter 4.

Barnabas selflessly sold his land… and laid the profit at the Apostles feet…

He will stand in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira who lie to God in hypocrisy.

They were actors… pretending to be more devoted to God than they were.

Let’s take a look…

Acts 5:1-2 “But [you could circle the word “but” and write “in contrast to Barnabas”] 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.”

Ananias and Sapphira…

The name Ananias means “Jehovah is gracious.”

Sapphira for Sapphire… root meaning “beautiful.”

Jehovah is gracious and beautiful.

If they only lived out the meaning of their names.

Please note: we read of NO mandate to give.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to give “as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”

In 2 Cor 9:7 Paul wrote, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Barnabas lived this out…

In contrast, Ananias sells his possession… which is identified as land in V8.

And, it would appear they coveted recognition… the “ooo’s and aaah’s” of man.

Did they perhaps observe Barnabas receive favorable recognition?

Were they like the Pharisees of whom Jesus said, “… they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Jn 12:43

That was me 18 years ago… I remember my first awards banquet… when I first started selling insurance in 2004.

I strongly desired to win awards… to be recognized in front of my colleagues.

I told my manager, “Next banquet I will be up there.”

I worked like a dog, and there I was… over and over again… winning awards… soaking up the praise of men.

The pride of life.

Now… all those awards… boxed up in the attic… meaningless.