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THE TRAGEDY OF A TRICKERY
ACTS 5:1-11
This morning I want to preach on the matter, THE TRAGEDY OF A TRICKERY, In our text this morning we see how God the Holy Spirit dealt with pretenders and trickers in the early church.
I want you to invite you to walk with me back through the corridors of time as we zoom our cameras in on events that surrounded the swift and powerful judgement of God.
Things were progressing well in the first century church. Satan's attempts to halt the church backfired and failed miserably. The external attacks that he devised appeared to strengthen the growth of the church.
This tactic had proven ineffective in stopping the advance of the Gospel, therefore, adversary elected a different approach. Satan would now attempt an attack from within the ranks.
We know that it is a sad state of affairs when God's children allow
the adversary to use them to attack from within. Matter of fact, most problems that do most damage in the Church done from internal attacks.
< Deacons verbally attack the Pastor
< Members attack Leadership
< Committee members attack committee Chair
< Choir members attack the Director
< Usher board members attack the president
This is one of those passages that we tend to pass over because it
makes us feel very uncomfortable, perhaps because all too often we are able to find ourselves somewhere within the text.
The text even begins in a very unusual fashion. In most of our English Translations the narrative in this 5th Chapter begins with the little word "BUT." It is unusual to begin a sentence or a thought with this conjunction.
We know that a conjunction is used to conjoin two opposing thoughts. It is a complex sentence and logic true if and only if each of its components is true.
The text begins by saying "BUT A CERTAIN MAN"Luke, the Author of this New Testament book sets the stage for a study in contrasts. This husband and wife team - Ananias and Sapphira were most likely very well known and respected in their community and respected in the Church, the body of Christ.
The couple had apparently witnessed the power of the blessings of God first hand. They did not hear the stories of miracles and empowerment of Holy Spirit repeated, or recited for them, they witnessed the divine events first hand.
It is difficult for me to look down upon this couple - the motives of this couple were very ordinary - perhaps even defensible. Ananias and Sapphira were no different than we are today.
< A couple with dreams and aspirations
< A couple that set achievable goals
< A couple that desired to do even better in life
< A couple that had already achieved yet knew they could do better
< A couple that understood the importance of blessing God first
< A couple that heard the preacher proclaim - You Can't Beat God's
< Giving
I believe that the thoughts of this couple pertaining to giving stemmed from the generosity of Barnabas. The close of the 4th chapter calls to our attention that (read Vs. 34-37).
Barnabas sold a field he owned and gave the proceeds to help the needy and help to expand the Gospel. The text goes on to say that Barnabas "LAID IT AT THE APOSTLES FEET." Yet someone in the church, a husband and wife viewed the recognition that Barnabas received and they desired the same attention.
There are some in the church today that despise the praise of others.
< Grow angry when others receive a pat on the back
< Grow weary in well doing when others receive praise
< Criticize from the pews on Sunday morning when others are being
< recognized
Perhaps this couple found in our text thought they too would like to receive this same type of attention. They had land as well and decided to sell some of their properties.
The sin that this deceptive couple committed was not a sin of stinginess nor was it a fact of their holding back a portion of the proceeds they collected - after all it belonged to them. It was their free choice to sell various properties, their choice to use the assets any way they saw fit.
They could make their own decision as to how much if anything at all they would give to the Church. The sin was lying to the Lord. There is something even more insidious - subtle - dangerous found in their actions. If we look closely at the text we find Ananias was engaged in an act of worship.
The preceding chapter tells us that Barnabas had "LAID HIS GIFT AT THE APOSTLES FEET." This identical expression is used of Ananias - the `b'clause of Vs. 2 "?AND LAID IT AT THE APOSTLES FEET." By laying it at the Apostles feet indicated that their offerings were not merely to the apostles - but to God. Therefore, their motives and their very thoughts of their hearts were now God's concern. Sometimes we approach the Lord with the wrong motives, especially when it comes to our giving.
< They don't need my money anyway
< Probably giving my money to the bums on the street - they need
< to find a job instead of always running to the Church
< Money is probably going to the preacher anyway
< I don't trust the trustees, you don't know what they are doing
< with the money back there anyhow
< I don't see where my money is going - so I won't give as much as
< I should
Satan tempted this couple to sell some land and withhold some of the money on the pretense of giving all. He convinced them to pretend to be something they were not.
When we elect to lie, in an attempt to deceive Almighty God and his Church about our relationship with Him, we destroy our testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and What He is Doing and Working Out in our Lives!
We must learn how to be real with God. Need to be real in all aspects of our Christian walk.
Let me just say this - some of us need to just cut it out - we may be fooling our neighbor with our Holy talk but we are not fooling God. I was listening to two sisters not very long ago as they greeted one another, one asked the other how she was doing and she responded something like this - GOOD MORNING, HALLELUJAH, I AM BLESSED TODAY, PRAISE THE LORD, I AM ON MY WAY TO THE POST OFFICE, GLORY TO GOD, I AM ALREADY LATE FOR WORK SO I AM RUSHING, GLORY.
The problem I had was just a few days ago I heard the same sister "slamming" the leadership of the church where she attends because she did not like a decision that was made -- there were no Hallelujah's - Praise the Lord - Glory to God - or anything else, during that conversation. We need to get Real with the Lord!
How terribly solemn it is to read of the way in which Ananias and Sapphira were judged for their sin! The early Church had grown rapidly -- the first two powerful, Holy Ghost filled sermons by the Apostle Peter had brought in over 8,000 new converts, both the wealthy as well as the poor.
The Church rolls were expanding, the baptistery stayed wet. True believers were attempting to meet the needs of the less fortunate, they were a unified body in Christ. It must have been a marvelous congregation to have been a part of.
I believe that Ananias and Sapphira were true believers, because there is nothing in the text to suggest otherwise. Their problem was during this instance they talked the talk but they did not walk the talk and it would cost them their very lives.
This couple devised a plan together in an effort to deceive the Holy Spirit. This husband and wife agreed to travel to the Church, stand up give a testimony that was sprinkled with Dishonesty. I can't help but to wonder this morning,
If God judged His People today for their -- unreality - insincerity - hypocrisy - falsehood - pretense - how many of us would fall down dead? It is so easy to:
< Profess more than we Possess
< Blab it and Grab It
< Think of Ourselves More Highly Than We Ought
< Pretend to be Holier than we Are
The text tells us that the Husband fell dead and was carried out and buried. A few hours later his wife stopped by the church and she told Peter the same story. Peter's statement suggest to us that this couple had shared the plan, they agreed to this deceit.
Perhaps because this was the first appearance of Sin in the Church -
perhaps because it was to be a solemn warning to the Church that GOD IS NOT MOCKED and that He desires TRUTH FROM THE INWARD PARTS that God's judgment fell in such a fashion.
It was C.S LEWIS in "The Problem of Pain" wrote - "GOD'S ATTITUDE TO SIN IS ANALOGOUS TO THAT OF A SURGEON TO CANCER. THE DESTRUCTIVE TISSUE HAS TO BE REMOVED. GOD'S JUDGMENT IS LOVE AT WORK DESTROYING WHAT IS DESTROYING US."
Sometimes the divine surgery is radical - sometimes it's postponed. Ananias and Sapphira failed to embrace the fact that the Church does not belong to us nor does it belong to the Baptists - Methodist - Pentecostals - Apostolic - The Church belongs to God.
This couple therefore sinned against the Almighty God. This couple had a warped view of God and apparently felt that God would not accept them if they were imperfect.
I have learned my brothers and sisters that although God is Perfect He is not a perfectionist! Thank God that He deals with Imperfect People. If only Ananias and Sapphira had come to this realization during their private discussion.
God is a grower of persons and not in the business of mass production, therefore, there is no instant sanctification - we remain a work in progress!
As I hurry to a close, my brothers and my sisters, we need to understand that this was not the end of the Story. In the midst of this Tragedy - in the midst of this double negative - God steps in.
The Bible ends this narrative by telling us that all the people heard what had happened and they began to look at God with a sense of awe, and as we view today, the Church moved to another level and continues to grow.
I stopped by to tell you this morning that double negative equals a positive. We are not to focus upon what happened to this deceptive couple, but we should focus upon what God caused this tragedy to do for the Church.
God turned this double negative into a positive
GREATER IS THE END OF A THING THAN THE BEGINNING.
< We can never earn what we would inherit
< Just be who you are in the Lord
< Although this couple had been dealt with harshly - double
< negative equals a positive
< If you are here today and you have been Playing With God
< If you are here today and you have been Playing Church
< You need to understand that you are on Dangerous Ground
< Ananias and Sapphira head the list of those that Played in Church
< It may be too late for them to get it right with God
< It is not too late for you this morning
< Yes, you may have messed up
< You know right from wrong
< You have placed God on the back burner of your life
< Stopped by to let you know double negative equals a positive
< May have some Negatives in your life
< God has a way of turning your Negative situation into a Positive
< It is not too late, to get right with God
< Peter and disciples looked around on that Dreadful Friday
< Jesus was crucified on Calvary's Cross
< Disciples went into hiding, thought the situation was Hopeless
< After while, Jesus hung his head and died
< Not only did he die, but was buried in a borrowed tomb
BUT I'M GLAD THIS MORNING THAT DOUBLE NEGATIVE EQUALS A POSITIVE
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING, HE GOT UP WITH ALL POWER