From
Acts to Revelation
Part
12 – Lying to God
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
So far in the Acts of the Apostles, we have
seen the Apostles obey Christ's command, receive the Holy Spirit, preach the
Gospel, saving thousands of people, and start the first church.
We read about the Sanhedrin getting angry
with peter and John for healing the lame man at the temple gate, how they
threatened them to stop speaking about Jesus, and the response from the
Apostles was to pray for strength from God to continue to do what they knew was
right regardless of the dangers around them.
When then saw a new community emerging, and
the disciples and apostles taking care of each other by selling extra lands and
houses to give to those who were needy in the church, and take care of them.
This set a tone for the entire church,
fulfilling God's command to us, and His description of love in I
Corinthians 13, that we be charitable above all things, showing that we
truly have love.
We read how even the apostles were selling
land to care for those in need.
Today, we will see that not all of those
who are in the church are serving God. Not all of those who are eating and
worshiping with the church, are counted as sheep.
For there are tares among the wheat, goats
in the herd, and this will be until the end of this time.
But until God calls us all for judgment, we
will see that some actions among the children of God, reveal a persons heart,
thus revealing whom they really serve.
Is year heart for God, or have you made
satan your lord, doing his deeds of wickedness?
Or, perhaps you have made yourself lord,
following the desires of your own flesh?
Are you right now, sinning against the only
God who can save you?
SCRIPTURE READING
Acts 5:1-11
1 Now
a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of
property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the
money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so
filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for
yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t
it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at
your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to
men but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great
fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward,
wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what
had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias
got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit
of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door,
and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the
young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside
her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about
these events.
I.
LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. This story of
Ananias and Sapphira was placed here in scripture by the Holy Spirit as a
warning to the church.
2. Ananias and
Sapphira saw that others in the church were selling land and houses to bring
money to the Apostles
1. So that it could be
distributed to those in the church who did not have anything, and were in need.
2. We see in previous
verses, that even the Apostle Joseph, named Barnabas, son of consolation, sold
his land in Cyprus for the needy.
3. Community in the
church, and looking out for one another was first and foremost. We are one
body, and must take care of each other.
3. From the first
verse, we see a plan of deception was conceived by Ananias and Sapphira, and
carried out.
1. Their plan, for
whatever reason, was to sell their land, keep some of the money secretly, and
make it look to all as if they sold it and gave it al to the Apostles.
2. This false act of
generosity was for the praise of men, not service to the Lord, and therefore
was not acceptable to God, even if they gave the entire amount.
3. But where they got
in trouble with God, was the fact that they lied to the Holy Spirit, trying to
deceive everyone in the church into thinking their hearts were right, and they
were, as previous verses said, one in heart and spirit, with the rest of the
church.
4. No one was
instructed to participate!
1. We see in previous
verses, this act of selling land and houses to give to the needy was NOT
commanded by the Apostles. No one was told to do this, but many did this to
take care of their brother's and sister's in Christ.
2. Peter not only
points this fact out to Ananias before God strikes him, but also makes a few
other points to him.
1.
“Why have you allowed Satan to fill your heart to lie
to the Holy Spirit?”
2.
“The land was yours to do whatever you wanted with.”
3.
“After you sold it, the money was yours to do what you
wanted with.”
4.
“Why have you conceived this wicked thing in your
heart?”
5.
“You have not lied to men, but to God.”
5. Actions reveal ones
heart.
1.
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to
carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not
holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he
speaks his native language, for he is a liar and
the father of lies.”
2.
Ananias and Sapphira, although living and
participating among the church, were truly following another master. They served
Satan. They were the “tares among the wheat”.
1.
Matthew 13:30 “Let
both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles
to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
3.
The object of all sin is God.
6. In
verse 8, when Sapphira came in, she had an opportunity to tell the truth
1.
This shows that in the New Covenant,
although the husband and wife are one, if one sins against God, the other not
only does not have to participate, but also has the ability to be separate from
the spouse in that situation, and not be held accountable for another persons
sin.
2.
But, she lied as well, and so paid the same
price.
3.
In verse 10, God strikes her down.
II.
POWER OF GOD THROUGH THE APOSTLES
1. Remember, Apostles
had the signs, wonders and miracles
1. Where we rely on
prayer for God's power, the Apostle's had signs, wonders and miracles to show
that what they taught was directly from the mouth of God, and they were
specifically sent from God to teach these things.
2. This is how God has
always set His Prophets apart from all others, so that humankind would know,
these were the real-deal.
III. LESSON FOR THE
CHURCH TO REMEMBER
1. All your actions
must be genuinely from the heart, for the right reason.
1.
Remember, your intentions mean more than your actions.
1.
The widow was praised for giving 2 small coin, because
she gave all she had, while the other gave a little from his wealth.
2.
God tells us to give of our “First Fruits”
3.
God wants what is RIGHT, and what is LEFT!
2.
The word also warns us about doing things to show off
1. Matthew 6:2 “So
when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the
truth, they have received their reward in full.”
2. Listen,
we do not give to the needy to show off ~ that's pride
3. We
don't give to those in need to get praise ~ or that's your reward
4. We
don't give to others because we want something back ~ selfishness
5. We don't
give because “it makes us feel good” ~ self-centered
6. We
give, because it is the right thing to do! ~ Good Works from the Spirit
3.
Anything you do for any reason other than
serving God, is pointless.
2. Lying
to God comes in many forms
1.
We don't just lie to God when it comes to
our tithes
2.
We don't just lie to God when it comes to
charity
3.
We can lie to God about our sin, and that's
what Ananias and Sapphira essentially did...they had sin, was given the
opportunity to confess and repent, but chose to continue to lie to God...and
the result was death.
3. God
wants this to be an illustration to all those in the church.
1.
Not everyone in the church is going to
heaven.
2.
We all have sin, and we all have an
opportunity to confess that sin and repent
3.
The literal difference between our final
destination, either heaven or hell, boils down to one question...
1. Are you
ready to stop lying to God?
2. Confess
your sin, repent, and be forgiven.
CLOSING
Those who hear this scripture and say, “So
what? God wants us to sell everything and give it to the church?”, are lovers
of their money, and should evaluate where they have placed things of this world
in their life.
This story is about being “real”, and
“honest” with God about your sin.
Don't let your sin against God keep you from
all the blessings He has stored for you, in this life, and our eternity to
come.
Just because you go to church, does not
mean you will go to heaven.
Confess your sin against God, repent and be
forgiven.
Only then can God's Holy Spirit begin a
work in you, and change your life to be an instrument of Glory unto His Holy
Name!
