LAUGH 'N LEARN

An Encouragement Ministry of Verde Valley Christian Church Of Cottonwood Arizona
http://vvchristianchurch.net

Issue # 386 August 30,  2010

LAUGH

LEARN

Jim's Manuscript

August 29, 2010

"Ananias, Sapphira, and Aliesallure"

"Acts" Series Chapter 5

When believers are fatally attracted to hidden sin, they believe a lie that goes like this:  Nobody knows.  But that is a lie that causes them to act as if not even God knows.  When a person acts as if God doesn't know, or as if God will not act, in a sense they deny God's own deity. 

Every sin, no matter how hidden, and no matter how you convince yourself you are not hurting anybody--it just isn't true--God takes it personally, and it pains him.  Quit acting like God doesn't know.  He knows.  Not only does he know, he will demonstrate how his word is true, and you reap what you sow. 

Today we will look at a severe case, and a difficult case.  This passage of scripture is very troubling to many.  And since it is a heavy one, please allow me to start off rather lightly for a heavy subject. 

Lately, I've been singing this song to Joelle, my 3 month old granddaughter.  She likes it.  Here is the song.   Are you ready?   You have to listen closely to catch as many of the deep truths that Joelle is fascinated by. 

Ananias and Sapphira

Children's song:  Author Unknown

Ananias and Sapphira

Got together to conspire

A plot!

To cheat!

The church and get ahead.

They knew God's power

but did not heed it,

Tried to cheat the Holy Spirit.

Peter prophesied it,

And they Both Dropped Dead! (UH!)

God loves a cheerful giver,

Give Him all you've got.

He loves to see you laughing

When you're in an awful spot.

So when the odds are all against you,

And you cannot do a thing.

Praise God--to praise Him is a joyous thing!

We may not know the author of the song, but we definitely know where that song came from.  Today's title is Ananias, Sapphira, and Aliesallure.  Actually, Aliesallure is not really another person's name in the story.  It is the reason behind the story.  We will learning about A Lie's Allure today.  Break it up into 3 words.  A Lie's Allure. 

Our focus for this morning is this:

Focus:  Hidden sin is often fatally attractive.

Turn with me to Acts 5.

Acts 5:1-11 (NIV) 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.

Why The Severity of Judgment?

What's the big deal.  They didn't give all the money to the proceeds.  Let's say they only gave 80%.  We don't know what amount they gave.  We just know they lied and said they gave all when they held some back.  In a time and age of compromise like today, this Ananias and Sapphira thing is VERY troubling to many.  We just don't get it.  I hope that we get a little more after today.  But even so, there are very difficult issues to deal with that we might not be able to know for sure. 

Questions about Ananias And Sapphira: 

Were they Christians?  Or did they just think they were Christians?   Were they only fakers who wanted the praise of men?  

Did they go to heaven?  Was their sin covered by the cross or not?  Was this just to protect the church?   And they were called up to heaven immediately for the church's benefit.  Was that their purpose in life?  To be an example, albeit a bad one, so the rest of us would learn?  This is a tough passage of scripture to figure out.

Although there are many questions, there are also some clear concepts here that I believe we must consider, then hang on to for dear life! 

If you don't think this study is relevant, wake up!  This is extremely relevant for everyone here today.  Listen like your life depends on it.  It just might! 

I.        A Lie's Allure Is Often Fatal (5:1-11)

A.      Satan's Strategy (5:3; John 10:10)

Acts 5:3 (NIV) 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?

The Spirit revealed to the apostle that Satan was involved here.   What was Satan doing here?  His strategy was to weaken the church through hypocrisy, compromise, and sin.  That is still his strategy today. 

There was a particular danger here.  The church is in its infancy.  Satan is always seeking someone to devour.  And he enjoys stealing our joy.

John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

His strategy is to steal and kill and destroy.  He works on individuals, but what he wants is to steal from, and kill and destroy the church--The body of Christ on earth.  The danger here at this time is that the church was very vulnerable in its infancy.

B.      The Danger of Deception

Satan's # 1 strategy is deception.  The biggest danger of deception is this.  The deceived don't know it.  If there ever was a question that you can't answer it is this one, "Are you deceived?"  The deceived don't know they've been deceived.  This is even true when we deceive ourselves.  The deceived don't know HOW deceived they are even when they are self deceived.  That is why frequent exposure to truth is rather helpful.  It identifies those hidden lies we tend to view as truth. 

So many commercials are filled with lies that go something like this.  You won't really be happy until you....  When we buy into the lie...we buy into the product. 

But what about why someone tells a lie?

The Lie

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?:  Most of what Ananias and Sapphira said was the truth, but not all of it.  There was one portion of it that made it a lie.  We Sold Property, Here Are All The Proceeds From That Sale.  What's the big deal?  They did so much good.  This is what is so troubling about this passage.  Annanias and Sapphira did not have to sell that land.  They didn't have to give any of the proceeds.  There would be nothing wrong with selling it and giving only a portion of the proceeds.  The thing they did wrong was lie.  And I'm sure they viewed this lie as a "White Lie".  This lie would not hurt anybody.  Was it going to hurt the church to receive Ananias' and Sapphira's money?  I'm sure Ananias and Sapphira thought to themselves and probably discussed among themselves some of their rationale.  When we rationalize, we tell a rational lie.  Their rational lie sounded like to them was probably:  "What the church didn't know was not going to hurt them.  Besides they will benefit from our money".   Beware of  "White Lie" logic. 

They held money back from a sale.  There is nothing wrong with that by itself either.  They could have held 90% back and gave only 10% that's what is typically done now among the most devout.   The text does not tell us how much they held back, but I'm believe it was a smaller portion than the portion given.  So what is the big deal?

The big deal is this.  They held back, while pretending to give all.  That was the lie.  A white lie?  Not really, from God's perspective, it was a church killing lie, and something had to be done. 

The church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  The context shows us how it was operating with an amazing unity.  Everyone was the same mind and spirit.  Everybody was pitching in so that nobody lacked when they were in need.  Now, on the scene comes this hidden selfishness.  The very nature of the health of the fellowship is at stake here.  Their one act of secrecy and selfishness was an act that violated the very nature of this powerful fellowship.  It would be a killing cancer if it was left to spread.  There would be duplicity, selfishness, and hypocrisy hidden behind the façade of righteousness, presenting itself as one of the leading citizens, model citizens, or even leaders of the group.  But Peter sees this as something even more insidious!  It is a covert invasion of the enemy!

The Person Behind Every Lie is the Father of Lies--Satan (5:3)

Acts 5:3 (NIV) 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?

Though Satan is behind the lie, you need to understand that Satan is working with all the room that Ananias and Sapphira had given him to work.  Satan knew them well.  He knew which allurements to use.  He used just the right combination of allurements for Ananias and Sapphira.  

He always uses "Aliesallure" (A Lie's Allure)

Every dangerous lie has an allurement, or there is no power in the deception.   For Ananias and Sapphira the allurement was the praise of Men, and all the accolades, they saw Barnabas receive when Barnabas sold property and gave all the proceeds to help the needy.  

Acts 5:1 (NIV) Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.

"Now" and "also" connect this passage back to Acts 4:32-37 where Barnabas sold property.  Ananias and his wife NOW, because of what they have seen, wanted the same esteem of the people that was given to Barnabas.  There was one problem there.   They were not like Barnabas.  Barnabas really wanted to help.  Barnabas didn't have the problems Ananias and Sapphira had! 

The Tools Of The Tempter

There were many tools from their lives that Satan could use.  Satan is behind this, but that does not mean, "the devil made them do it."   Satan uses the tools we give him.  He uses the footholds we offer.  Give him a foothold and he will take the next handhold also. 

God held Ananias and Sapphira responsible for their own conduct, even if Satan is the person whispering the attractiveness of the lies.  Satan sends the allurements, and he knows what kind of allurements to use for maximum effect.  

Ananias and Sapphira are guilty of jealousy, unbelief, collaborative and premeditated deception, first to God ("this is for you God") then to man (this is all for the church), selfishness (giving for personal gain), love of praise, and the love of money.

One of Satan's power tools, is Darkness,  keeping others in the dark, the effort to hide the truth. 

MODERN EXAMPLES:  We see this more frequently today with the tools of technology:  Technology isn't bad.  It has a power for good.  But it is easily abused, and used by the enemy as a power for evil.  Here are some examples.

Pornography:  I have read that the Pornography industry is larger than all of professional sports combined.  The power of darkness is at work, as people hide their sin.  Parents need to be vigilant.  Kids are accessing this on their video gaming devices, Ipods, phones, as well as computers.  We need to remove the darkness by removing what can be done in secret.  Covenant Eyes is a company that sends a list of hits to accountability partners with a system of flagging questionable sites. 

Social Networking:--(FACEBOOK, MY SPACE, I jokingly refer to these as "Spacebook", and "My Face").  Although these could have a usefulness for good, when the networking falls prey to the hidden power of darkness.  Secret meeting places become traps.  These days married people going through difficulties, which every married couple does, are falling victim to social networking traps.  Marred people are hooking up with old boyfriends, girlfriends, or NEW ones though these networks.  Many are drawn into affairs through constant hidden contact. 

Texting:  Is producing some of the same allurements.  People are using constant hidden contacting to weave hidden webs of allurement.  When it moves from covert to overt use, it may even lead to what some call "sexting". 

The point is, technology is making what is hidden, and done in the cover of darkness, more readily available.  So we live in a more dangerous world because of technology.  It is called the world wide web for a good reason.  

C.      Satan's Strategy Thwarted (5:12-16)

Through God's swift and severe disciplinary action as a protective example, the impact of Satan's play on the church was diminished. 

Please notice that this plan was premeditated, something Ananias and Sapphira agreed upon together.  What we have here is a coalition of evil intent that has raised itself up against the togetherness of the Christian community.  So together Ananias, Saphira, and Satan now, whether they know it or not are together in a plot to violate the beautiful selfless togetherness of the fellowship.  In this episode we see a unity or coalition of evil that is plotting against the unity or coalition of good, and it has covertly infiltrated the church.  God dealt swiftly to remove it before irreparable damage was done.

More Signs and Wonders

Acts 5:12 (NIV) The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.

Protection from False Joiners

Acts 5:13 (NIV) No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.

This protected the church from false "joiners".  This kept the church strong in its infancy so that it could withstand the persecution against it.  This statement also make us wonder if Ananias and Sapphira were truly Christian to begin with.  Were they just a couple of "joiners" (5:13) who wanted in on the benefits?  There is no way of knowing.  But the point of this verse is that unbelievers were reluctant to join the church because that would be like playing with fire.  This God doesn't joke around.  This kept the church healthy in a time where the church's survival was at stake. 

And even though unbelievers were slow to "join", they highly regarded what was happening.  Slow to join was a good thing.  The next word is "Nevertheless".   

Healthy Growth After The Pruning

Acts 5:14 (NIV) Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

Despite God's severe mercy in the quick judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, the church continued to grow in number.  The growth that resulted was a healthy growth after the pruning.  Alhtough I'm not 100% sure which category pruned branch Ananias and Sapphira fell into, God pruned off one of three types:  either they were 1)  unhealthy branches (still Christians, and went to heaven), 2)  dead branches (apostate Christians who were judged and await their future judgment), or 3)  parasitic growth (imposters, never true believers, whether they thought they were or not) and like with a parasitic growth attacking a tree's health, they were swiftly removed.   

¹⁵ As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶ Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

So we see that the judgment against Ananias Sapphira helped the church flourish, but how much help was this to Ananias and Sapphira?  We want a way to thwart Satan's strategy against us as individuals also don't we?  And God does give us a Satan Thwarting Strategy.

II.       God's Remedy For Lethal Allurements  (5:17-42)

A.  The Best Option Is Preemptive

What do you mean?  I mean the best option is "Don't even go there!"

Because hidden sin is so often Fatally Attractive, God gives us his preventative program.

Isn't that how God framed so many of the 10 commandments?  Don't even go there!

Thou shalt not!  The best remedy is prevention.

God has also provided a remedy for us when we already went there.  He provides a remedy to rescue us from the snare of Aliesallure!

Do Not Follow Aliesallure

Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,

for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng.
 Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.

--Solomon, Proverbs 7:25-27 (ESV)

Whereas Hidden Sin is often Fatally Attractive, Exposed Sin loses its allure.

B.      The Next Option Is A Gift  (5:31-32)

1.  God Gives Repentance (5:31)

Acts 5:31 (NIV) God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Repentance includes Confession.   Expose the thing you are hiding!  Confession feels about as good as throwing up in front of someone.  Nevertheless, it helps to get the darkness out, and exposed to the light.  The power of pride is broken, when one confesses.  The gift of repentance is now being opened by the recipient.  Change is on its way.

2.       God Gives Forgiveness (5:31)

Acts 5:31 (NIV) God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

3.       God Gives The Holy Spirit To Those Who Obey Him (5:32)

A gift does not mean we do nothing.   I don't know how to put this other than to point you to the scripture.  

Acts 5:32 (NIV) We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

God gives the Holy Spirit.  It is not earned.  But you will notice who He gives the Holy Spirit to!  He gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him!!

If you have ever wondered why God feels far away.  It might just be because YOU MOVED.  You moved away from him when you started disobeying.  There are many who are caught by "Aliesallure" (A Lie's Allure).   Have you been caught by her?

God's remedy is that God gives himself, and his power to help you!

And now we move to the 3^rd Remedy.

C.      Eternal Attractions Cause Open Boldness (5:17-42)

We can but offer an overview of the last half of the chapter.  You will be studying this more carefully in Care Groups this week.  The last half helps us see amazing contrasts with the first half of Acts 5. 

Nobody simply turns away from "Aliesallure" (A Lies' Allure) unless the love of truth is stronger.  Eternal Attractions Are the Remedy for fatally attractive sins.

Whereas Ananias and Sapphira were busy hiding the truth even when the apostles (God's authorities) gave them ample opportunity to confess it, now we see a very interesting contrast.  The Apostles were busy telling the truth even though the Jerusalem council (worldy authorities) were commanding them to hide it.

Ananias and Sapphira are secretly attracted to sinfully hidden things.  The Apostles were openly attracted to godly eternal things.  Where sinful humanity are hiding for personal benefit, the godly are willing to suffer openly, to benefit others.

There is a similarity and a contrast.  The similarity is that each were dealing with things which were hidden to many!!   Both of these attractions are hidden from the onlookers. 

The contrast shows up now when the apostles are busy trying to REAVEAL hidden things to the onlookers while urged not to (see how the Jerusalem council wants them to hide the issues).

The role of the apostles form a sharp contrasting parallel with the role of the worldly council.  The apostle were urging Ananias and Sapphira to confess, and not conceal.  The Jerusalem Council were urging the Apostles to be silent and conceal. 

Annanias and Sapphira wanted the approval of mankind and put up a façade, a false front of righteousness, as did the Jerusalem Council.  The apostles wanted the approval of God, and didn't care if they suffered at the hands of men, to please God.  Their righteousness was from the heart, open for all to see.

So much is hidden from the onlookers to see and understand!  God exposes things so the onlookers can get a better view of what is really happening, and what is really true. 

Our focus this morning was stated in the negative, "Hidden sins are often fatally attractive", but we conclude today with the positive flip side.  It is the greater love for eternal attractions that free us from the Hidden sins.  Eternal attractions expose the lies.  Eternal attractions are the answer.  Turn from the temporal and look above.  Eternal attractions form a stronger attraction.  The bottom line, A GREATER LOVE for Christ wins the war against fatal attractions!

Because of God's true love, we are set free from the beckoning call of Aliesallure (A Lie's Allure).   The stronger love wins.  Truth like a light exposes things!  The allure is gone. 

Are you under the influence of Alliesallure (A Lie's Allure).  Confess it.  First to God, then to someone you trust.  Ask for the gift of repentance and forgiveness.  Ask him to fill you with his Spirit, so that you will fall in greater love with the hidden eternal attractions.  Then put yourself on a steady diet of truth, so you can expose the lies, and gain strength.  Take all the tools of the tempter out of his hand. 

(C) Jim Hammond

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