2013.12.29 Don´t be a Hypocrite
Acts 5: 1- 16
Good morning everyone….. We´re glad that you´re here!
This is the last meeting in 2013…. Has it been a good
year? Filled with joy? I want your new
year to be filled with deep joy….. The Word of God is going to help us find a deeper joy in our
lives this morning…. As most of you know we teach through the Bible verse by
verse….
Our text for this morning is Acts chapter 5…. This is a
difficult but an important text…..
The early days of the church were days of joy…… They were days full of genuine love
and fellowship….. Genuine Koininia……… They were united in their love for the Lord
Jesus…… They went everywhere telling those who were willing to listen….. The
Good News…… The Lord Jesus is risen! He is truly the Messiah….
By the time we get to Acts 5 …. There are about 20 thousand people who have
confessed their faith in Jesus Christ…. The
excitement was electric.... The church was filled with excited and serious
believers…..
Satan began to persecute the church….. As you remember, Peter and John and the man
born lame were the first to be arrested…… Peter was filled with a Holy Boldness
as he proclaimed the truth to the leaders of Israel….. They faced the
persecution without fear…..
The more they were persecuted the more they prayed and
cried out to the Lord for boldness…. The Lord answered their prayers and were
bold…… The bolder they became, the more
people believed and many were added to the church…... Jesus was alive and the Holy Spirit was working
powerfully to convince the people of their sins….
Not since Adam and Eve had there been such perfect
fellowship with God….. These men and women were born again….. God had
given them new hearts and a new Spirit living in them….. Just As Jesus had
promised in John 14v18….. I will not
leave you orphans… I will come to you….
And the church was Holy and pure and on fire…..
But I said that this is a difficult text….. It is
difficult because here we see the first incident of sin in the church….
It's the beginning of sin and hypocrisy inside the
church…. Sin in the church is Satan´s
weapon of choice today…. Sin has
continued to cause problems in the church all through the years….
This morning we will be taking communion together…. It is
a perfect time to examine our own hearts and ask the Lord to Purge out the sin in
our lives….. We want to live clean and innocent
lives as children of God…. Phil 2: 14,15 NLT…..
As we look at this text we are all warned of the danger
and destruction that Hypocrisy and sin can cause in our lives…. and we can clearly see the damage that sin
does to the testimony of the Church….
The Bible is full of real ordinary people…. People like
you and me can see ourselves in the pages of scripture…. It is so honest that
it rings true even to unbelievers….. The scriptures shows The Saints warts and
all….
The church is not perfect….. It is full of sinners who
have been saved by grace…. Although the text for today is sad…. It reminds us
of the seriousness of sin….. We all need to be very careful to Let the Holy
Spirit to use the Word of God to continue to cleanse and transform us into the
image of the Lord Jesus Christ…
As we look at this text I want to begin in chapter 4…..
It will give us a reminder of the context for this morning… v32
Acts
4: 32 NKJV Schlachter 2000
32
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.
32 Und die Menge der Gläubigen war ein Herz und eine
Seele; und auch nicht einer sagte, daß etwas von seinen Gütern sein eigen sei,
sondern alle Dinge waren ihnen gemeinsam.
V32…
they were experiencing genuine
spiritual unity……. They were actually
living out what Paul wanted the Philippians and the Corinthians to experience…..
They had one heart and one soul in the early church……... They truly loved the Lord and each other……. They were humble and thankful…. They put each
other first…. We see this here in v32…
Here we see this generous and humble attitude in action
in the early church…. whatever they owned they were willing to sell if someone
else had a need……
Remember many people had come to Jerusalem and been converted during Pentecost….. Many were pilgrims
from other lands…… They didn't want to leave the fellowship of the early church
so they stayed in Jerusalem….
The needs were real and these believers responded…. They
opened up their wallets and shared with their brothers and sisters…. This is the
proper perspective for us on all of our material possessions…… Everything
we have….. we have received from the Lord….. It all belongs to Him…. Even our lives belong
to the Lord Jesus….. We need to be ready to give and to share with others
out of the abundance that the Lord Has entrusted to us…. V33
Acts
4:33 NKJV Schlachter 2000
33
And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
33 Und mit großer Kraft legten die Apostel Zeugnis ab von
der Auferstehung des Herrn Jesus, und große Gnade war auf ihnen allen.
v 33a…
with great power…..
They were bold and filled with the Holy Spirit…. They were proclaiming the resurrection of the
Lord….. They were very busy…. They were loving and sharing with each other….. They
went everywhere proclaiming the Good News…. There was no time for gossip or
backbiting…… They did not waste their time criticizing each other or
finding fault with their brothers and sisters….
V33b…
and great grace….
God was pouring out His grace and mercy on this young
church… The church was united and devoted and generous…… They were vessels of
God´s grace….. Receiving and Sharing with others the Good News and when
needed…. They shared from their own personal wealth… What a list!
The
New Testament Church
1 one
heart..
2 one
soul..
3 great
power..
4 great
grace..
This is the way God wants a church to be….. We look at the church today and we wonder what
happened…… Sin is what happened….. Churches
struggle with greed and pride and selfishness…. We know very little of the unity and grace and love and power that we
see in the early church…. It´s a tragedy…. But when the church is truly
serving it´s God given purpose…. We are
gracious and generous and loving towards each other and the lost and dying
world around us…… We can and should help each other…When we do good things
happen… verse 34….
Acts
4:34, 35 NKJV Schlachter 2000
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.
34 Es litt auch niemand unter ihnen Mangel; denn die,
welche Besitzer von Äckern oder Häusern waren, verkauften sie und brachten den
Erlös des Verkauften
35 und legten ihn den Aposteln zu Füßen; und man teilte jedem
aus, so wie jemand bedürftig war.
This Holy Spirit caused attitude of sharing was
wonderful… There was not a needy person among them….. They
knew that they had more than they needed and they gave generously to the Lord´s
work…. That was life in the church...... What generosity and kindness… verse 36…
Acts
4: 36,37 NKJV Schlachter 2000
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.
36 Joses aber, der von den Aposteln den Beinamen Barnabas
erhalten hatte (das heißt übersetzt: »Sohn des Trostes«), ein Levit, aus Zypern
gebürtig,
37 besaß einen Acker und verkaufte ihn, brachte das Geld
und legte es den Aposteln zu Füßen.
Here's a wonderful picture of a Christian who knew that he held all
things in trust from God…… Joses (Joseph) didn't believe that anything that he
had was really his own…… And when he saw that others had needs…… he went out
and sold his land and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles' feet…... He was
a perfect example of a cheerful giver…..
His
name was Joses (Joseph) and he was a Levite…..
His name was Joseph but it became Barnabas (The Son of encouragement) because
that is what he was… an encourager to all….
Unlike the other Children of Israel…. Levites didn´t have
land as an inheritance…. The Lord was their portion….
And so Barnabus shows himself to be a great encourager to
his church family…. He was generous and selfless…
Barnabus went on to be a faithful minister and companion of the Apostle
Paul…...
The Lord´s people are bold and loving and generous…. They
are even sharing sacrificially and joyfully of the grace and mercy and
possessions that the Lord has given them…….
That takes us to Chapter 5… BUT…..
Acts
5:1- 5 NKJV
1 But
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. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias,
why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of
the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own?
And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived
this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5
Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great
fear came upon all those who heard these things.
Acts 5:1- 5 Schalchter 2000
1 Ein Mann aber mit Namen Ananias verkaufte ein
Grundstück zusammen mit seiner Frau Saphira,
2 und schaffte etwas von dem Erlös für sich beiseite mit
Wissen seiner Frau; und er brachte einen Teil davon und legte ihn den Aposteln
zu Füßen.
3 Petrus aber sprach: Ananias, warum hat der Satan dein
Herz erfüllt, so daß du den Heiligen Geist belogen hast und von dem Erlös des
Gutes etwas für dich auf die Seite geschafft hast?
4 Hättest du es nicht als dein Eigentum behalten können?
Und als du es verkauft hattest, war es nicht in deiner Gewalt? Warum hast du
denn in deinem Herzen diese Tat beschlossen? Du hast nicht Menschen belogen,
sondern Gott!
5 Als aber Ananias diese Worte hörte, fiel er nieder und
verschied. Und es kam große Furcht über alle, die dies hörten.
"But..." It is clear that the Holy Spirit
wanted to tell us about what happened
against the backdrop of what we have
just read about the early church…. There was so much that was going right….
Think about the love, the unity, the
sacrifice and the generosity that the church was experiencing as the Holy
Spirit worked in their hearts and lives…. But…… Here we move from the generosity
and unity of the Saints in love… to pride and hypocrisy and sin…..
Verse
1…. Their names mean Gracious and beautiful… Ironic oder?
They sold a piece of property….. Just like Barnabus right? Not exactly…. Their hearts were not right… because in verse
2 we see that they held back part of the price…
This story of Ananias is to the New Testament what the
story of Achan is to the Old testament… In both cases an act of sin and deceit does
great damage to the people of God……
Ananias and His wife had seen the way that Barnabus was
received by the church because of his generosity….. The church gave him his
nickname…. Son of Encouragement…. They also wanted to be perceived as spiritual
and godly and sacrificial…..
They publicly said that they were
going to sell a piece of land and they were going to give it all to the Lord…..
They were not giving out of a pure
heart… They wanted the praise and recognition of the others…. They wanted to be
held in esteem like Barnabus…. There were showing themselves to be hypocrites….
Giving for show…. Just like the Pharsees who gave alms publically so that
others would see tem…. That´s why Jesus said when you give…. Don´t let you
right hand know what your left hand is doing…. Many times Jesus warned against
hypocrisy…. Well these 2 were hypocrites…….. They wanted everyone to see them
as generous and Godly…..True Christians give out of love and it is joyful and willing sacrifice….
So they pretended that they were going to sell a piece of
land and give it all to the Lord…. The sin is not that they didn't give it all…..
The greek word is powerful here it means to steal…. It´s the Septuagent
word used of Achan in Joshua 7:21…. Achan stole those things and God judged
him…. Ananias and Sapphira also stole from the Lord… They said Lord it´s all
yours….. When they kept part of it back… They were stealing from God…. It
reminds me of Malachi Chapter 3…… Will a
man rob God?. God never asked for their land….. They could have kept it….. They didn't have to sell it…… They could have said that they were going to
give some….
The sin was that they lied and stole from God….. How
could they think that they could get away with that?
They pretended to give everything but in fact they held
some back…. Behind the lie was the secret sin of hypocrisy…..
We cannot see into each other’s hearts…. We can be fooled
and say…. Wow he´s a Godly man….. But The Lord sees the thoughts and intents of
the heart…. His is never fooled…. Our sins are not hidden from Him!.... They
wanted glory for themselves….. They were
hypocrites…..
God
hates hypocrisy….. God hates sin….. Peter confronts them in Verse 3……
Peter by the power of the Holy Spirit was able to discern
what was going on….. It was revealed to
him that Ananias was lying….. They
had all come together to worship the Lord……
Ananias walks up…. puts his gift down and says Here is it! Praise the LORD!….. And Peter confronts him right there in front
of everybody, "Why has Satan filled
your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?
You have lied to God… !!!!
Peter says… You could have kept it, it was yours….. After
you sold it you didn't have to say you were going to give all the money…… Why would you do that?"
He shows himself to be a hypocrite and a liar…. God's Judgment
is swift and certain….
Verse 5…
Acts
5: 5 NKJV Schlachter 2000
5
Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great
fear came upon all those who heard these things. 5 Als
aber Ananias diese Worte hörte, fiel er nieder und verschied. Und es kam große
Furcht über alle, die dies hörten.
He dropped dead, executed by God in front of the whole church….
Here God is moving quickly to cut out
the cancer from the body…… His Judgment
is swift and fatal……
Ananias
was struck dead by God under the load of his own sinful conscience…… Instead Peter's words and the power of God
stopped his heart…. Great fear came upon
all who heard about it……
What was the Lord saying to His church? He was saying I'm dead serious about
sin….. this is not a game….. God is not
mocked…. …… And they got the message….. Verse
6 says…
Acts
5: 6- 11 NKJV
6
And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7
Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had
happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so
much?”She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9
Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the
Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at
the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Then immediately she fell down at
his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead,
and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 So great fear came upon all
the church and upon all who heard these things.
Acts 5: 6- 11
Schlachter 2000
6 Und die jungen Männer standen auf, hüllten ihn ein,
trugen ihn hinaus und begruben ihn.
7 Und es geschah, daß nach ungefähr drei Stunden auch
seine Frau hereinkam, ohne zu wissen, was sich ereignet hatte.
8 Da richtete Petrus das Wort an sie: Sage mir, habt ihr
das Gut um so und so viel verkauft? Sie sprach: Ja, um so viel!
9 Petrus aber sprach zu ihr: Warum seid ihr
übereingekommen, den Geist des Herrn zu versuchen? Siehe, die Füße derer, die
deinen Mann begraben haben, sind vor der Tür, und sie werden auch dich
hinaustragen!
10 Da fiel sie sogleich zu seinen Füßen nieder und
verschied; und als die jungen Männer hereinkamen, fanden sie sie tot und trugen
sie hinaus und begruben sie bei ihrem Mann.
11 Und es kam große Furcht über die ganze Gemeinde und
über alle, die dies hörten.
They buried Ananias… and His wife came in three hours
later…. And Peter immediately confronts her…..
Now remember the people are all there……
She lied too…. She drops dead….. God is acting to remove sin immediately
in the early church….. The extreme seriousness of sin is plain for all to see……
The Christian life is not a game…. v11…
Acts
5: 11-16 NKJV
11
So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
12
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among
the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet none
of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And
believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and
women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on
beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on
some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to
Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean
spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts 5: 11-16 Schlachter 2000
11 Und es kam große Furcht über die ganze Gemeinde und
über alle, die dies hörten.
12 Durch die Hände der Apostel aber geschahen viele
Zeichen und Wunder unter dem Volk; und sie waren alle einmütig beisammen in der
Halle Salomos.
13 Von den übrigen aber wagte keiner sich ihnen
anzuschließen; doch das Volk schätzte sie hoch;
14 und immer mehr wurden hinzugetan, die an den Herrn
glaubten, eine Menge von Männern und Frauen,
15 so daß man die Kranken auf die Gassen hinaustrug und
sie auf Betten und Bahren legte, damit, wenn Petrus käme, auch nur sein
Schatten auf einen von ihnen fiele.
16 Es kamen aber auch viele aus den umliegenden Städten
in Jerusalem zusammen und brachten Kranke und von unreinen Geistern Geplagte,
die alle geheilt wurden.
V11 Great fear
came upon all who heard what had happened….
V12…. Hands of the Apostles…. Signs and wonders were
done…. They were with all with one accord in the Temple courtyards…. But look at verse 13,
V13 "None of
the rest dared to associate with them, however, the people held them in high
esteem."
The unrepentant
unbelievers respected them but they didn't join… It was clear that God was in their midst…. Just like in the OT…. The presence of God is a dangerous place
for unrepentant sinners to be…. people die in there….. you better be
serious…… The problems continues to
this very day…. James ch 4 contains
a stern warning against sin and hypocrisy…..
then in verse 8 He says…. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts
you double minded.…
V14…
believers were added…. It is clear that this tragedy had a
purifying effect on the church…. It also caused unrepentant hypocrites to think
twice about joining because it was cool to be associated with the church…. They
did not decide to be fans of Jesus…. It
was just too dangerous to fake being a genuine Christian…. But those who cried
out to God for mercy….. They were added to the list of genuine believers…
Multitudes of men and women! Praise the
Lord…
Notice here that the signs
and wonders were done at the hands of the Apostles…. And in verse 15 and 16….
It is again the Apostles who are being used in such a supernatural way….
Peter´s shadow was enough….V 16 say that multitudes came and all were healed…..
All were healed….. This is the Apostolic
gift of instant miraculous healing of all who came….. We know that God heals
today…. But this instant total healing of all who came is only found in the life of Jesus and these
NT Apostles who had been with Jesus…..
These
so called Apostles of today are not true Apostles of the Lord Jesus…. They
do not have the same gift to heal everyone who came to them….
Ananias
and Saphira show themselves to be Hypocrites and liars….. God deals with them
instantly and the church is cleaned of sin in a very powerful way….. So
far the Church has been pure and clean the way it should be….. But the struggle
with sin in the church was just beginning…
This is the last time we will be together in 2013…. As we
look forward to 2014…. We have an opportunity to search our own hearts and
rededicate ourselves to serving and loving the Lord with all of our hearts….. I
cannot imagine a better way to move into the New Year…. We are going to
celebrate communion together this morning…. Again what better way to end this
year and prepare ourselves for the new…..
Lord wants His church pure….. In Philippians 2:13 He
promised that He would finish the work that He has begun in us…. In our text for today….. the first time sin reared its ugly head….. God
shows the seriousness of sin….. in a very
public way by executing the two people who sinned… They had lied to God…. And
God is not mocked…
God is very patient… But God punishes sin eventually…..
And as 1 Peter 4:17 says, "Judgment
begins at the house of God."
God wants a pure and spotless church…...
That's why we come to the Communion table… We have to deal
with our own sin…...
The
message of Ananias and Sapphira is a warning that rings down through the years
to the Church today… The
Lord does not always deal as immediately and dramatically with the sins of the
saints… But the message is crystal clear….. God wants His church pure and
Holy.... As we celebrate…. Let´s be sure to let the Lord search our hearts….. Let´s confess our pride and selfishness….
He will wash us clean and restore the
Joy of His Salvation to us ….. Just like he forgave and restored David 3
thousand years ago… Most of us know
Psalm 51 very well… It is a great place for your quiet times with the Lord…. This
morning I want to read from Psalm 32….
We want to be happy and joyful believers don´t we? Our joy and God´s forgiveness are linked together…. David knew deep
sin…. and he also knew God´s mercy and forgiveness… Look at what he wrote…..
Psalm
32 : 1- 6 NLT
1 Oh,
what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose
sin is put out of sight!
2
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives
are lived in complete honesty!
3 When
I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.
4
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated
like water in the summer heat. Interlude
5
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I
said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”And you forgave me!
All my guilt is gone.
6
Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they
may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
Psalm 32: 1- 6 Schlachter 2000
1 Ein Psalm Davids. Glücklich ist der, dessen Sünde
vergeben ist und dessen Schuld zugedeckt ist.
2 Glücklich ist der, dem der Herr die Sünden nicht
anrechnet und der ein vorbildliches Leben führt!
3 Als ich mich weigerte, meine Schuld zu bekennen, war
ich schwach und elend, dass ich den ganzen Tag nur noch stöhnte und jammerte.
4 Tag und Nacht bedrückte mich dein Zorn, meine Kraft
vertrocknete wie Wasser in der Sommerhitze.
5 Doch endlich gestand ich dir meine Sünde und gab es
auf, sie zu verbergen. Ich sagte: »Ich will dem Herrn meine Auflehnung
bekennen.« Und du hast mir vergeben und meine Schuld weggenommen!
6 Deshalb sollen die, die dich lieben, dir ihre Verfehlungen
bekennen, solange noch Zeit ist, damit sie nicht in den Fluten des Gerichts
ertrinken.
We come to this table this morning needing to look at our
own lives and confess our sins. …..
As we prepare to share together in the time of communion,
this is a very important few moments……
It's time for us to confess our sins and ask for
forgiveness and cleansing…
1
Corinthians 11:23-26 NKJV
23
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord
Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had
given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken
for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the
cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s
death till He comes.
1 Corinthians
11: 23- 26 Schlachter 2000
23 Denn ich habe von dem Herrn empfangen, was ich auch
euch überliefert habe, nämlich daß der Herr Jesus in der Nacht, als er verraten
wurde, Brot nahm,
24 und dankte, es brach und sprach: Nehmt, eßt! Das ist
mein Leib, der für euch gebrochen wird; dies tut zu meinem Gedächtnis!
25 Desgleichen auch den Kelch, nach dem Mahl, indem er
sprach: Dieser Kelch ist der neue Bund in meinem Blut; dies tut, so oft ihr ihn
trinkt, zu meinem Gedächtnis!
26 Denn so oft ihr dieses Brot eßt und diesen Kelch
trinkt, verkündigt ihr den Tod des Herrn, bis er kommt.
No comments:
Post a Comment