As a reminder, the four things we look for (i.e.,
desperately need) from the Holy Spirit are:
1) Power
– freedom to speak and teach the Gospel with impact,
2) Holiness
– changed lives that leave sin and desire God with true repentance,
3) Revelation
– a clarity of understanding of Scripture, and
4) Unity
– preferring others and sharing with one another in the work of the Church.
In previous weeks we’ve especially seen power, holiness,
and revelation in the preaching of Peter. This week we start with a clear view
of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring unity.
Acts
4:32-37 … Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul,
and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but
they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving
their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon
them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners
of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid
it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus
Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of
encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him
and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Some folks look at this behavior as if it were a form of
socialism but it was what happens when the Holy Spirit moves and people simply
give out of their excess to those in the body who have needs. Luke makes it
clear that this was not a special group of people but that it was a special
move of God. Luke says, “great grace was upon them all” and this means that
these actions were gifts and not works of their own merit. You can grieve the
Holy Spirit in the midst of this sort of move of God but you can’t manufacture
this sort of move of God.
This is an answer to the prayers of Jesus and, in fact,
when we have unity then it is an answer to the prayers of Jesus too.
John
17:20-23 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in
me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in
me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe
that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them,
that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may
become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved
them even as you loved me.
This is not conformity in which we must all be the same.
You can’t make this unity by enforcing some sort of conformity. You also can’t
produce this with an organizational structure or program. They were of one
heart and soul in response to the prayer of Jesus who is even now at the right
hand of God the Father interceding for us. Unity is a Holy Spirit produced
“oil” that is required for the Church to minister effectively. Psalm 133
describes it as oil of anointed on Aaron the high priest.
Psalm
133:1-3 … Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It
is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard
of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of
Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded
the blessing, life forevermore.
We are anointed for ministry as a church and God’s
blessing is commanded when we have unity. If we don’t have unity then we should
stop and ask God why we don’t have it. Often we have unease if we don’t have
unity. If you’ve ever been around a herd of nervous sheep there is plenty of
noise and the noise of the sheep doesn’t calm the sheep.
John Owen (1616 – 1683) once
said when preaching an ordination sermon that … the Holy Ghost thus promised,
thus sent, thus given, doth furnish the ministers of the gospel, according to
his mind, with spiritual abilities in the discharge of their work; and without
it they are no way fitted for nor able to it,--no way accepted with Christ in
what they do, nor can give any faithful account of what they undertake.
The unity that we see in the Church in the Acts of the
Apostles is evidence of the Holy Spirit and we, reading Scripture, much be
subject to a burden to pray and wait on God when we lack unity or any other
promised gift of the Holy Ghost for furnishing us to the work of the Gospel.
I would like to point out Joseph, who was called Barnabas
because he was such an encouragement. He, under the leading of the Holy Spirit,
sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the
apostles’ feet. It is terrible that many of us don’t know his name simply
because he did what God led him to do and did it right. When you see him in
heaven then please give him a hug. Instead we know about Ananias and Sapphira
who merely wanted others to think that they had done what Barnabas did but
without the cost.
Remember that Jesus had told the disciples that the
destruction of Jerusalem was soon to occur. He gave them some signs to watch
for and many Christians did watch and left Jerusalem before the Romans sealed
them in and the horrible events of AD 70 occurred. So to be fair, if Jesus told
you that Athens, GA was going to be destroyed by an invading army soon and even
gave you some signs to watch for … selling property while it is still worth
something (literally a pre-fire fire sale) would be an entirely reasonable
course of action. Why would you keep a piece of land you can’t keep while your
brothers and sisters go hungry? I hope you realize that your hearse will not
have a bumper hitch and will not pull a cargo trailer. Barnabas’ property may
or may not have even been in Jerusalem. Barnabas turns up repeatedly in Acts so
we’ll see his name again.
The list of people who were apparently believers that
have been struck dead by God (and the event recorded in Scripture) is not very long.
The list has worship as a common theme. Nadab and Abihu were struck dead for
worshiping God in a way that God had not commanded. Uzzah was struck dead for
touching the Ark of God. Uzzah and those with him were honoring God in a way
that God had not commanded. As R.C. Sproul once pointed out, if the Ark had
fallen in the dirt then it would have only fallen on something that was being
exactly what God created it to be; just dirt, sinless and without a rebellious
heart. Instead, Uzzah touched it with the hand of a creature that was born in
sin. He was constrained by the law but he was lawless none the less and thought
nothing of transporting the Ark on an oxcart when God had commanded otherwise.
And then Ananias and Sapphira managed to mess up when worshiping God with an
offering.
Even with the preaching of the Apostles and the
outpouring of the grace of God in the Holy Spirit, the Apostles didn’t have a
perfect Church. However, they did have a dangerous Church for Christians with
false worship to hide in. I pray our church will become so dangerous. We
already have members who are policemen and funeral directors so we are good to
go (I’m joking).
Acts
5:1-6 … But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of
property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the
proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But
Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it
remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not
at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart?
You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell
down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The
young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
First see the sin. He wanted to worship like Barnabas but
he wanted to keep cash for himself. So he wanted to have it both ways, he kept
the cash but indicated that he was giving all the cash to the Church.
Peter teaches things that we need to hear in these
verses. First, we have a responsibility to battle the enemy. The Holy Spirit
enables us for the fight and we are the ones to blame if we show up ill
prepared for the battle. Here Peter, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit,
rebukes Ananias first of all by asking, “How did the enemy convince you that
you could lie to the Holy Spirit?” You can’t lie to God any more than you can
move a star in space. It is a dumb idea. Also, if we are experiencing blessing
then we can expect the enemy to plot an attack. The enemy was attempting to
introduce lies and approval of lies into the Body of Christ. He is stronger
than we are but we can submit ourselves to God and resist him and that will defeat
him (James 4:7). Submitting to God is partly being bathed in Scripture as Jesus
showed us by quoting Scripture when He was tempted in the wilderness.
Second, Peter affirms private property. He says that
Ananias had the cash and could do whatever he wanted with it. Peter says, “Was
it not at your disposal?” Of course Peter isn’t inventing private property. The
eighth commandment says that we can’t steal. But Ananias wanted everyone to
think that he gave more than he gave. Ananias was grandstanding when he was
giving instead of worshiping.
Thirdly, our sin is against God. Ananias wasn’t just
sinning against the Church by telling the lie. He was sinning against God. We
can’t minimize our sins by trying to keep them among mankind. Not only do we sometimes
think our sins are just “local” (or against men) we also sometimes justify them
by comparison of our sins with the sins of others. That is all false thinking.
Your sin is treason against God. There lies your real trouble.
Acts
5:7-11 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not
knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the
land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her,
“How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and
they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed
her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her
out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole
church and upon all who heard of these things.
Peter gave Sapphira a chance to confess. He wasn’t going
to force her to lie but she holds to the lie. Peter just asks in wonder how a
husband and wife could agree together to test the Holy Spirit. So Sapphira
drops dead not for the sins of her husband but for her own sins.
Also, although they were subject to God’s judgment, they
were presumably Christians. So we’ll likely see them someday. They will be
saved “yet so as by fire” suffering the loss of heavenly rewards (1 Corinthians
3:15).
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