“Don’t Settle For Status Quo”
From The Church That God Blesses, by Jim Cymbala
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Revelation 1:9-16

Introduction: In the book “The Church that God Blesses,” Pastor Jim Cymbala, the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle says this: “Every advancement in the way people live has come about because someone saw what could be and was no longer willing to accept what is.”
If you think about it, virtually every invention that has come about has come into being because someone imagined something that was not yet visible, something that could impact our lives, and then they created it. These people were not necessarily geniuses, but they all had one thing in common: vision. They refused to yield to the idea that there was/ no better way to do things, and so they pressed on toward something better, even though the process often required years of hard work and many failures along the way. Consequently, countless people in the generations to follow benefited from their vision.

I. Don’t Settle for the Status Quo- (Matthew 28:19; John 15:8; Rev. 1:11)

a. Individuals who believe- So the starting point for advancement in
anything is to not settle for the status quo. You need to believe that there is something different, something better that can exist. This is true in the spiritual realm as well. Every revival in church history has been started by a pastor, or evangelist, or Christian, who was dissatisfied with the moral and spiritual climate around them. They knew from Scripture that God had something better for His people. From the great commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” in Matthew 28:19, to Jesus’ words in John 15:8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples,” it is evident that God wants us to be effective in our work all in our lives.
Along with that, all the great missionary movements have been spawned by men and women who became desperate to see God’s kingdom extended into new regions and to new people’s; to those who had not yet heard about Jesus. In fact, every time people really pray they are believing that God, by His divine power, can change what is, into something better!
Example- A number of years ago Peter Jenkins, of Walk Across America fame, searched all over for the perfect place to relocate. He wanted to get away from
the noise and from the pollution of urban life. He finally chose the quiet com-
munity of Spring Hill, Tennessee, near Nashville. However, not too long after he relocated, General Motors announced that it was building a brand new automobile plant for the new Saturn automobile. Where do you think they built the plant? ……In Spring Hill, Tennessee! (Amusing Grace, p. 450, #1702)
Life is full of change. The world is constantly changing. If we want to do ministry in this changing world, we have to not be satisfied with the status quo. The Bible is full of declarations about God’s desire to bring about dramatic change when his children are missing out on his promised blessings.
In the Old Testament, God’s ability to overcome all obstacles and help his people is illustrated time and time again through individuals such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David. These are just a few of many that stand out because they had faith and believed that God could do great things in times when others had unbelief.
b. Churches who believe- In the New Testament, however, the focus changes
from individuals to churches, and to the ministers who serve within them. Starting with the birth of the church in Jerusalem, which we see mentioned in the book of Acts, chapter 2, the gospel is preached (sharing about how God loves His people and died for them), and consequently lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and congregations are formed, and then these congregations are given shepherds who are put over them to guide them and feed them. This same spiritual sequence is repeated in city after city in the New Testament.
Through these local churches filled with spiritually transformed people, God works further change in ever-widening circles throughout the world. The book of Acts recounts these wonderful stories as the Lord’s message and power is spread throughout the Roman Empire.
Now, as I said before, the focus in the New Testament is on the churches. So even though individual lives are being changed by the message and power of God’s love, God’s special concern is always focused on the local churches. Why? Because it is the church that is called to spread the good news of God’s love and to bring new believers into God’s kingdom, and help to guide, teach and nurture these new believers. That is why the New Testament is filled with mostly letters sent to these local churches or to the ministers who exercise spiritual leadership.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus told John to write 7 letters to churches in various areas, which were to be from Jesus Himself! Revelation 1:11- “.. ‘Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” It is evident that nothing is more important to the Lord than the spiritual state of the local churches that bear His name.
Heaven’s great concern is not about the United Nations, or global warming, or the financial markets struggling; heaven’s great concern is for the extension of God’s kingdom, the spreading of the good news of God’s love, the world coming to understand who he really is; and all of this depends on local Christian churches to represent God, and to do God’s work, and to be God’s voice. He has chosen to work here on earth through His church.

II. The Condition of the Church- (1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 1:6; Revelation 3:20)

a. Spiritual condition- Now it’s important to understand that not all
Christian churches are in a healthy spiritual condition. And herein lies the problem. Some churches are mere infants, not ready for solid spiritual food as the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:1: “And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.”
A church is an infant when they are still trying to understand their spiritual purpose; when they still have many people who aren’t mature Christians; when they are not seeking to really do the will of God and reach out beyond themselves, when there is infighting and people are having trouble loving one another.
A church can also be in its infant stage when they are susceptible to following a false truth, a false gospel.
Example- “Your Hidden Potential,” Illus. Unlimited, p. 344- There is a story of an American Indian who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched and grew up with the chickens. All his life he grew up thinking he was a prairie chicken, and did what prairie chickens do. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects; he clucked; he cackled; and he only flew in brief/ thrashing his wings around no more than a few feet off the ground; just as Prairie chickens are supposed to fly. Many years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird flying in the sky above him. He was quite taken by the way the bird soared. “What a beautiful bird,” he thought. He asked his neighbor, “What is it?” The neighbor responded: “That’s an eagle—the chief of the birds. But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So the eagle never gave it another thought and died thinking he was a prairie chicken.
Paul says to us in Galatians 1:6, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” Following a false gospel is not just following a different religion. It isn’t just about being Buddhist, or Mormon, or Universalist. It also can be giving yourself over to worldly ways and not living out the teachings of Jesus. It can also be not believing you could ever be like Christ, and so you don’t try.
Even more, a church can be an infant by struggling when she faces the challenge of being in a hostile spiritual territory; struggling to stay faithful.
The Bible is always reminding us that things don’t have to remain the way they are. If God is given the opportunity, His blessings can bring about dramatic change no matter what our circumstances are. Negative situations, hostile environment, or shortage of people cannot keep the power of Jesus Christ from working in the church that is faithful to God and seeks to change for the better.
b. Ministry condition- Whatever the situation a church finds itself in, it can
always become better; it can always be more faithful and more fruitful. So when we tell ourselves “I can never change,” or “I don’t want to change,” WE PRESUME TOO MUCH AND BELIEVE TOO LITTLE. In Jesus Christ, God renders all of our preconceptions meaningless, because God can open all doors and liberate us to do great things.
Even to the church in the book of Revelations/ that God said He would vomit out of His mouth, He said to them later in Revelation 3, verse 20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
God is tender, and compassionate, and patient, and faithful….. wanting to make us the best church we can be. He desires for our church to do good things, because it is really His church, and His name that is being glorified when we do good ministry. He wants us to seek Him and ask: “Lord, what are we to be doing?”
It is up to us to open the door so that Jesus can come in and be with us. But
to open the door, we have to be willing to not accept that everything is fine around us. We have to understand that we need to share the message of Jesus Christ with all who don’t know Him. We have to reach out to our community and care for the sick, the homeless, and those who are struggling. We have to add people to our church as the church of the first century did, by being a giving people. We have to have the attitude that we exist because the Lord needs us.
This is the message every church needs to hear: “The Lord needs you.” We have a choice, will we accept this call from Jesus and follow Him and seek Him and be faithful to Him, or will we seek to get lost in the status quo? Let us not get overwhelmed by the thought of change. Let us not get complacent and leave everything the same.

Conclusion: I hope and pray that the Lord ignites in us a desire to see this church be all that God desires. I pray that we believe that we can soar like an eagle, instead of cluck like a chicken. I pray that our church can become a thriving multi-ethnic, community church that is a beacon of hope for all around. I pray that we will live in a way that is evident to all that we love the Lord!
The Lord is eager to make spiritual changes among us and shower us with his blessings. He wants us—His people—to experience the greatness of His power and the depth of His love in a new way. All He needs from us is a listening ear, and a heart that believes that with God all things are possible. I hope you will join with me
in this endeavor, because it will take all of us working together. If we can do this, then we can do great things for the Lord! Amen.

“Influence and Enmity”
Acts 5:12-42
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Introduction: These last few weeks we have been learning about the start of the Christian church just after Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. We have seen the courage, power, love, unity, and selflessness that were evident in this early church. Hopefully these passages have encouraged us and challenged us as a people of God. Hopefully these passages have reminded us who God desires us to be as His people and what is possible when we trust God.
This morning we see that our passage shows the power of God working through His followers, and how they were held in high esteem. By the works that were being demonstrated, people were drawn to Christ and being added to the church on a daily basis. I want us to look at how we can exhibit the power of God in and through our lives, and how when this happens God will draw people to Himself.

I. Being Courageous- (Matthew 26:31; Acts 5:12-18, 40-42)
a. Failure- Let me take a moment to remind you of who some of the
disciples were as they walked with Jesus. First, there is James and John, who were known as the “sons of thunder.” They were known this way because they were young, proud, and impressed with themselves. They sought to do things for themselves. Just a few days for Jesus was crucified, they were arguing for the places of prominence in heaven. But these would be 2 of the 12 apostles who would lead the church forward; who participated in the selling of property and giving to the needy as we talked about last week. What a radical change their was for James and John, going from wanting prominence, to this apostolic leadership.
Second, we have Peter. Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times, even cursing the slave girl who accused him of being a follower of Jesus. Yet it was this Peter who would preach with authority and power a few weeks later, that all must repent by the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names in heaven and on earth. Peter made it clear that Jesus was the only means to salvation.
These are just a couple examples of people who seemingly were failures. But Jesus knew this would happen, as He quoted the prophet Zechariah in Matthew 26:31, saying, “I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.” And we saw this come true. After Jesus was arrested, the disciples were confused and unorganized. They watched Jesus be flogged, tried, and executed, not even standing by Jesus in this time. They were hiding in fear after Jesus was crucified. They showed great weakness, feeling hopeless about their future. But now we see them as strong and courageous, filled with the Spirit, certain of their message and their witness.
HOW DID THEY CHANGE?
b. Courage- This is an important question, because I think it goes
along with the question how can we change? Most people don’t think of themselves as courageous for the kingdom of God. We need to understand that what is in the Bible is not just informative, but transformative. Meaning that as we read the Bible, it should lead us to change as well. We need to believe that God can change our weaknesses to strength, take us from feeling inadequate to becoming more than adequate. Help us to move past any sin and shame we may feel. Help us to be certain of what we believe and how we are to live. We should be able to move to that place where we are encouraged and challenged to be the best Christians we can be.
The last part of this scripture reading we just read in Acts 5 is probably the best way to see how the disciples went from failure in their being a friend to Jesus, to showing their courage. Let’s read it again, Acts 5:40-42: “And after calling the apostles in, the Sanhedrin flogged them and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So the apostles went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
They rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer. Now that is quite a change. They had been hiding before, now they were speaking even after they had been flogged. They rejoiced that they were being identified with Christ. They had a new conviction of what their life was to be about. It was not to be about themselves, but about Jesus Christ. They were compelled to share this message and to live this message.
The focus is on the world, and getting Jesus’ message out to the world. And by their lives we see how they were viewed. First, in verse 13, we are told that “the people held them in high esteem.” But we are also told in verse 18 that “their enemies laid hands on the them and put them in a public jail.” So in preaching the message, they experienced approval and rejection from the world. We have to be willing to receive both.

II. High Esteem- (Acts 5:12-13; Isaiah 55:10-11; 2 Corinthians 2:14)
a. Those who were blessed- As we just read in verse 13, there were
many who held the apostles in high esteem. We see this because multitudes of people were being attracted to them, and ultimately to Christ. The apostles were leading the people to the life-transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. They were winning friends and associates because they were changing their lives for the better. They were also changing the city for the better. People were feeling more hopeful about their lives and the world around them.
Each of us have to ask ourselves this question: “Do I believe that people can come to Christ through me?” This is an important question, because the answer needs to be “yes.” Jesus calls each of us to talk about Him to others. And by doing this, people will come to Christ. But it takes courage to do this. God will open doors for us and give us opportunity. More often than not, when people say “no” to this question, it’s not because they don’t want people to know Jesus, it’s because they don’t know how to tell people, or they don’t think they have the right words to say.
But let me give you a couple of verses that might help you with this. The first is found in 1 Corinthians 3:6, where the apostle Paul says: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” We aren’t responsible for people becoming Christians or not, we are just responsible for telling them about Jesus, and how Jesus died for them so that they have a way to heaven. Now let me read to you from Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” When we speak God’s word and not our own, we will see God working in people’s lives.
b. The shadow- Along with the signs and wonders that were being
done, Luke talks about how people were being healed by just standing in Peter’s shadow. How powerful this must have been for Peter. Think about healing people with your shadow! But if you really think about it, you would have to understand that it is all God. No one is powerful in their own right to heal others with their shadow. This power that was being exhibited through Peter led people to bring their sick from all over so that they could be healed. And it says that they were cured.
Think about this for a moment. I think that people were missing the point. I know that at times we miss the point. Just like the people there, we want healing for our own sake. We want healing because we want to avoid the frustrations that come from not being fully well. We don’t usually give God the glory He deserves when there is healing. And this is what is going on in Acts, they weren’t concerned with God, just themselves. They weren’t concerned about salvation or living for God. They weren’t concerned with the needs of others. They were only concerned about themselves, and having they own needs taken care of.
In verse 18 we see how the Council “laid hands on the apostles and put them in jail.” We have the power to heal with our lives, or power to hurt. If we are to be followers of Christ, then our lives need to bring healing. We actually have the power through God, to heal others just by our presence, if the Spirit of God is in us!

III. Enemies of the church- (Acts 5:18-33)
a. We’ve already talked about the end of the story, with them getting
flogged, warned, and released. But let’s go back to what happened before that. Here we see that there is jealousy on the part of the Council for what the apostles are doing. They are healing people. The power of God is exhibited through them. They are gaining popularity and notoriety. Because of this jealousy, they had to try and stop them somehow, and so they arrest them.
But an angel of the Lord comes to them while they are in jail and essentially breaks them out of jail. With the doors open, the angel tells the apostles to “Go and stand in the temple courts and tell the people about this new life.” Let’s stop for a moment. Even though this is an angel of God, and you are probably glad to be free from jail, you are being told to go out to a very public place and speak on behalf of God. Obviously you know that this will not go unnoticed, and that this will cause the Council to become even more upset at you.
So what do they do? The next day they do just that; they go to the temple courts and start to speak. At first it doesn’t get to the Council right away, because when they convene that morning, they send for the apostles. But they are told that the apostles are not in the jail because they are out in the temple courts speaking. So the captain of the officers goes out to get them. Force isn’t needed, since the apostles willfully go with the captain. They are brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the High Priest.
b. Dealing with the enemy- In this section we see how the enemy of
God acts. There is anger and denial: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name…Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s (Jesus’) blood.” The anger is seen in the phrase “we gave you strict orders.” The Council can’t understand why their authority is being challenged, and they are not happy with the apostles’ lack of obedience to their words. The denial is seen in their accusing the apostles of blaming the Council for Jesus’ death. They weren’t going to admit that they had any responsibility in getting Jesus killed, even though it was the religious leaders who influenced the people to demand Jesus be crucified.
Peter is unmoved by the words of the High Priest, as he responds like he did back in chapter 4 when he was arrested for healing a crippled beggar. Peter simply says: “We must obey God rather than human beings…” And then he goes on to emphatically say that they were responsible for Jesus’ death, “whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.” Peter was not going to be coerced by their anger and threats. Of course this only made the Council all the more upset.
It is obvious that the authorities here are ineffective. Motivation through threats is never the way to go, especially here where they are so driven by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Council tells them “You must not do so,” and the apostles keep saying “I will obey God rather than men.” We see here that in the face of opposition, one must stand their ground and follow God.

IV. The church tested- (Acts 5:33-42)
a. The temple- “Leroy and the Preacher,” (e-mail): “There is a story
of a man named Leroy who goes to the revival that is in town. While there he listens to the preacher’s words and is moved by them. At the end when the preacher asks if there are any who need prayer, Leroy goes forward. He waits in line until it is finally his turn. The preacher asks him, ‘Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?’ To which Leroy says, ‘Preacher, I need you to pray for my hearing.’ So the preacher lifts his hand up to Leroy’s ear and begins to pray. He prays for several minutes, and then finally removes his hand, stands back and asks, ‘Leroy, how is your hearing now?’ To which Leroy says: ‘I don’t know, Reverend, it aint til next Wednesday!’”
Well, the apostles had lots of prayer support for their hearing. And this was an important test for the church. That is because if the apostles gave in to the demands of the Council, and stopped speaking in the name of Christ, and stopped speaking the message of Christ, and stopped healing in Jesus’ name, then the church would be doomed. The apostles knew that they couldn’t give in to the demands of the Council. It didn’t matter if their teaching made the Council feel guilty. They were guilty. And the truth needed to be told, both of the Council’s guilt, and of the truth that Jesus had been raised from the dead!!
The Council should have allowed the apostles words to convict them of their guilt so that they could turn to Jesus for forgiveness. But they couldn’t humble their hearts. If we can’t humble our hearts, and ask for forgiveness, then we will experience ongoing guilt that often shows itself in anger.
b. Speaking the truth- The apostles concern was to be obedient to
God. And without this truth being spoken, people would not be convicted of their guilt, and they would not find repentance. The only way to repentance is through the acknowledgement that you have a problem. The Council members needed this truth as much as anyone. And so the apostles took advantage of their opportunity. Instead of trying to give themselves over to what the Council wanted to hear, the apostles were dedicated to speaking the truth. And when the Council heard this truth, they blamed the messengers for their guilty feelings.
As their consciences bothered them, it led them to want to kill the apostles. This is not unheard of. I’m sure that you, like me, have seen people who are convicted by Jesus becoming jealous, angry, or having feelings of guilt. We, as God’s messengers, can’t feel hurt by this, or inadequate by their not receiving our message. Like the apostles, the test for us is to speak the truth and be obedient to God.
A new message comes to the Council by one of the Pharisees names Gamaliel. He tells a story of a man who led a group of about 400 people, but once he was slain the followers dispersed. So Gamaliel proposed that they leave them alone, and in time their movement will go away. Then Gamaliel says in Acts 5:38-39, “…If this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them…you may even be found fighting against God.” This is why our obedience is a test. If we are God’s people, then when we are doing what God leads us to do, we will be successful!! That doesn’t mean we won’t have hardship; the apostles were flogged. That doesn’t mean we won’t have opposition; the apostles were jailed. That doesn’t our message will always be accepted. But it will mean that God will use us to influence others.

Conclusion: As a church, we need to ask ourselves, do we want to go along with society, or do we want to be obedient to God? To be obedient means that we must seek to influence others for God by speaking the message of God’s love and God’s salvation. People need to understand that it is my sin, and their sin, that put Jesus on the cross. But because Jesus went to the cross, and died on the cross, and was resurrected from the dead, we have forgiveness of sins, and we have salvation!
What leads you to have passion not only for the moment, but for a lifetime? Both as an individual and as a church it is having the privilege of being used by God. Sometimes this is challenging. Sometimes there is even some suffering involved. But in all things, it works out as a blessing, because God will use our faithfulness in powerful ways. If we want to see God alive in our lives and in this church, then we must speak the message of God, and let God work signs and miracles through us. Amen.

“Truth or Consequences”
Acts 4:32-5:11
Sunday, June 14, 2009

Introduction: In a world of moral relativism, where people think there is no hard fast truth, we stumble around in our lives and in our relationships. Truth is important, because without it there is no trust. In the gospel of John, 17:17 Jesus prayed to the Father: “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”
In our passage this morning, we see a lack of truth and integrity on the part of Ananias and Sapphira. We see here in their lives an incongruity between what they claim (to be followers of Jesus Christ) and their actions. We just read in Acts 4:32 how the believers were of one heart and soul. There was connection in the body of Christ, and a big part of that was in being truthful with each other. And the way we see this truthfulness come out is in their sharing of their property and wealth. They were living in community, in openness, in trust, and by living this way they were being a witness to Jesus Christ.

I. Living in Community- (Acts 4:32-5:11)a. Being generous- This description here at the end of Acts chapter 4 is
reminiscent of Acts chapter 2. In chapter 2 we se the coming together of church life after the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has come upon the believers, and because of this Peter is moved to speak a message from God. From his message, many more come to believe. And they began to live as the church. Acts 2:44 is a wonderful verse of living in this community: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
We have talked about the concept of tithing before, where we are called by God to give a tenth back of all that we have so that God’s work can be done, and God’s people can be cared for. Here in chapter 2 of the book of Acts we see the community go even farther than that; they were utilizing a community pot, where all the money and goods would go, and then the disciples would distribute it as people had need. This was an unbelievable level of generosity, where the concern was on meeting the needs of all!
In one sense it is kind of like falling in love. If you might remember a time when you fell in love with someone, there is great excitement. This excitement leads you to want to do everything you can do to care for that person and show them you love them. You spend a great amount of time with them, and spending money on them is if no concern at all. It’s almost as if anything they want, you will provide for them. And we see this same act of generosity that took place in chapter 2 happening here in chapter 4. There was selling of land and houses, and then bringing those proceeds to the apostles so that they could distribute the wealth to those in need.
Again, don’t miss the point that it was a spirit of generosity. There was not an expectation that this would happen, or that there would be any kind of punishment for not doing it. Because they were feeling of one heart and soul, they were giving out of love. It was about the freedom of being separated from the control that money and possessions has on a person.
b. Great fear- But then we have a great turn of events. An event
where the outcome is terrible. The fact is that Ananias and Sapphira chose to lie to the apostles and to the community. And because of this they dropped dead. Now an important point needs to be made here. Their sin led to their death, but they were believers. Their death was used by God to make a point to all. But we see how they were weak in the expression of their faith.
Remember back how all the believers were not claiming that anything was their own. There was this common agreement about sharing what they had. This was the level of trust, the level of truth that was expressed. But then Ananias and Sapphira come along and hold something back. Even more, they lie about holding it back. It is quite possible that their death was at the shock of being found out, of letting the community down, for there is no pronouncement of death on Peter’s part. We see how God used this as in both verses 5 and 11 great fear was experienced by the whole community.
Example- There is a story of a woman who was flying with her infant daughter. After they landed she and her baby were met by her father who took the baby while the woman went to get the luggage. While standing there waiting for the luggage she realized that she was still holding her baby’s pacifier. Then she noticed a flight attendant looking at her, and then at the pacifier. Finally the flight attendant spoke: “Excuse me, miss, is this your first flight?”
There is nothing like a pacifier to calm your fear, right? J There are different kinds of fear. The fear that is experienced here by the community of believers is their concern of whether or not God was the one who caused their death for their sin. But probably all the more, the fact that it is a serious matter to live untruthfully and to let others down. To live a life of deceit is to go against all that God would approve of. To live a life of deceit is to bring the name of God down. And in this, we should live with a bit of fear. This fear will keep us on the right track.

II. Hypocrisy and Unbelief- (Acts 5:3, 9; James 2:17-18)a. Shock- On more than one occasion I have heard stories of people who
were trying to quit smoking. I have been told by people that smoking is one of the hardest habits to break. So these people are trying to stop smoking, but they just can’t seem to break the habit. They may quit for a day or two, but then the stress comes back and they find themselves smoking again. But then one day they go to the doctor, and the doctor tells them that if they don’t quit smoking they will surely die in the not too distant future. WHAT DO THEY EXPERIENCE? Fear and shock. And this fear and shock leads them to ultimately quit smoking.
That is one of the reasons why this story of Ananias and Sapphira is in the Bible. It helps us to deal with the important issues of hypocrisy and unbelief. It helps to wake us up to the fact that God’s word is truth, and we really do need to follow it as best we can. We need to take seriously this whole aspect of obedience (that we talked about last week), and understand we shouldn’t take God and God’s truth lightly. The issues we are dealing with here are important.
So let’s look at little deeper at what happened, especially at the 2 questions that Peter asks in verses 3 and 9. To Ananias, Peter says in verse 3: “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?” Remember, Ananias and Sapphira were under no obligation to sell their property. In fact, Peter even says to them in verse 4: “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God.” Wow, powerful words. Shocking, as we said before.
There was nothing that told them they had to sell the property. And after they sold it, they could have given only a portion of the sale.
b. Hypocrisy- Peter is being straight with Ananias here, telling him that
what he couldn’t do was misrepresent themselves. Peter lets Ananias know, and the community of believers as well, that this lie has come about by letting Satan deceive him. The problem here is that Ananias is being a hypocrite. He wanted to have the reputation of being generous, as someone who was a faithful steward, as a person who cared for others. But he didn’t deserve that reputation.
What is it about us that makes us want to claim things that aren’t true of ourselves? Why do we long to be regarded as something we are not? One reason is the fact that we know who we are, and so by pretending we are something we are not, helps us to feel like we are what we are pretending to be. We want to be well thought of, praised, and cheered. Along with that, we are expected to perform a certain way in the communities in which we live. In other words, since we are in a community of believers, we want others to think that we are a true follower of Jesus Christ. And so in this pressure, we are actually encouraged to live out hypocrisy and deception.
The problem is that we can’t pretend to be a Christian. To be a Christian means that you give your heart, your life, to Jesus Christ. In doing this, you put yourself in a place where you allow God to mold and shape you by learning the truth of the Bible, and then seeking to live it out. In the book of James we read a very wonderful, yet challenging verse, 2:17-18, which says: “Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead,, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’”
To Sapphira, in verse 9, Peter says: “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test?” The idea behind this question is to challenge Sapphira in her thinking, that God doesn’t notice or care what His people do. That she has decided to test God in regards to His oversight of the church, and God’s righteous standards. She and Ananias had come up with a plan thinking that they could fool God and get away with sin.

III. How Free Are We?- (Matthew 6:24)
a. Giving up claim- One of the great challenges of life is to give up claim
to that which we feel we own. Ownership is a big part of our lives. So much so that we even feel at times like we own people. But when we have this level of ownership, there is a real tug on our hearts that keeps us from living a free life. That which we feel we own actually comes to have ownership over us. This is true when we try and give something away, only to find that we can’t. That is why Jesus told us in Matthew 6:24- “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one or the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
This is why it was important for God’s people, in this first Christian community, to have common property. To give up ownership is to give up its control of you. And even more, we cannot truly love God, follow God, or serve God, until we have given away all that we possess. We have to learn that what we have is owned by God, and then given to us by God.
Oneness of heart with other believers promotes godly stewardship. Meaning that when there is a need, we have a true spirit of generosity, and a true spirit of giving, because we have the heart and mind of God; not our selfish, sinful, possessive, heart and mind. It actually is a form of hospitality; a generosity of dispersing our goods to benefit those in need as God leads.
I remember when I was younger and working on the whole aspect of tithing. Even though I was only making $600 a month, and my rent was $300, I still was able to give the 10%; the $60 a month I wanted to give. The fact is, sixty dollars didn’t seem like that much. But as I got older, and my salary rose, so did the number that represented 10 percent. And now that I make around $50,000, to give $5000 a year is a big chunk of money. But if I trust God, then I can continue to be a faithful steward. And the truth is, God always provides for me, and I am blessed to know that the money I give is a blessing to those who have needs.
b. Permission to struggle- A second aspect of our lesson this morning is
for us to consider whether or not we give one another the permission to struggle. What about people like Ananias who want a reputation for doing well, but fall short in their actions? If someone admits to struggle, are they disregarded, set aside, or loved less? Ray Stedman, a professor from Fuller Theological seminary, in his commentary on the book of Acts, said this in regards to this passage: “The minute Ananias and Sapphira pretended to be something they were not—death! When we come to church we put on a mask of adequacy, but inside we are inadequate, and we know it. We are struggling with problems in our homes, but we don’t want to tell anyone about them. We can’t get along with our children, but we’ll never admit it to anyone. The pride that doesn’t want anyone else to know what is going on between husbands and wives, and between parents and children, keeps us from sharing. We come to a service, and put on a mask that says everything’s fine! Everything’s wonderful! Somebody asks us how things are going, [and we respond] ‘Great, great! Fine!’ ‘How’s everything at home?’ ‘Oh, wonderful! We’re having a wonderful time!’ The minute we say that and it’s not true, we die. Death sets in. Soon that death pervades the whole church.”(When the Church Was Young, 1970-71, Discovery Publ.)
We have difficulty being real with each other. In fact, we ask someone, ‘How are you doing?’, and if they actually tells us how they are doing we are surprised. We say this as a form of greeting. We don’t really want to know who they are and how they are doing. When we come to church, we get all dressed up and believe we have to act like things are all okay; no problems; no struggles; no sin. But this isn’t reality. And by doing this, we create an environment of untruth.
Lately I’ve been reading a book called Quitting Church, which looks at why people are choosing not to go to church. In one of the chapters I read, I was surprised to read about how many ministers are leaving the ministry because they feel like they are not allowed to be real. If the congregation sees that their pastor is struggling, or that their pastor has sin in their life, then they get judged for it. So the pastor puts on this façade of untruth. But then in time doesn’t like to live in this deception, so ultimately leaves the ministry. But wouldn’t it be nice if the church was actually a place where we could be real? Wouldn’t it be nice if the church was a place where we could share what is really going on, and not be afraid of being judged? Wouldn’t it be nice if the church was a place where we could reveal our struggles and know that we could get help?

Conclusion: Jesus said in Matthew 6:21- “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also…” Jesus came to free us from bondage. Part of the bondage in our lives is to money and possessions. A second bondage is the fear of rejection. This fear causes us to act in ways that are not true. In our passage in Acts 4 and 5 this morning, we see there is a challenge to us, a challenge to be a people like the early church, where we seek to care for others when they are in need. Where we care for others when they are struggling. Where we allow people to share openly so that we can love them, and encourage them, and help there.
I pray that as a people of God, we will start to head in this direction; the direction of giving over control to God, and let God shape us and mold us to truly be His people. If we do this, then we will start to see God more and more in our lives, and in our church. We will see people coming to this church to be loved and helped. Let us be like the first Christians; let us be people of truth. Amen.

“Obeying Men or God”
Acts 4:1-22
Sunday, June 7, 2009

Introduction: We just read about Peter and John getting arrested for speaking to the people about Jesus. But chapter 4 is actually a continuation of chapter 3, where they healed a cripples beggar. This teaching and healing in Jesus’ name, not only annoyed the Council, but put some fear into them, because they had hoped that after Jesus was killed, the whole Jesus movement would disappear. They are seeing here that this is not the case.
And so we see that they are taken to jail. In the midst of their being taken to jail, we see in verse four that “many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.” In trying to stop this movement by arresting Peter and John, the leaders actually helped the movement, by bringing attention to it and making it hard to ignore.
This morning, I want to use this passage to help us be challenged in our conviction for Jesus, and for us to become more determined to stand up for Jesus. If we want our faith to grow, and if we want to see others grow in faith, then we need to not hold back our speaking about what Jesus has done and is doing in and through us!

I. By the Name of Jesus- (Acts 4:5-12)
a. Peter and John stand strong- We see here the Council is observing the
confidence of Peter and John. Remember, this is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times. These are uneducated and untrained men (except for the training they received from Jesus). The Council recognizes Peter and John as having been with Jesus. And the man who had been healed was standing there with them. At first the Council didn’t know what to say. So they decided to send Peter and John out, and began to confer with each other what they could do. They felt like they had to do something, especially since they had arrested them.
Peter and John had told the Council that it was “by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene that they were teaching and healing. This was what concerned the Council. So when they brought them back in they commanded them not to speak or teach any more in the name of Jesus. Here we see the Council trying to put fear into Peter and John and the other followers. They believed that since they were the authority here in Jerusalem, the people would be guided by their commands. And normally this was true. People are often controlled by the fear that others put into them.
Peter and John’s response is very important for us, so let me read it again: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.” On the one hand, God has set up authority around us, and wants us to be subject to this authority. But by Jesus’ example, we see that there are times when what is right to do might go against what others believe is the right thing to do. Peter and John knew that this was one of those times.
b. Brother Andrew- Example: You may have heard of Brother Andrew. As a young man Brother Andrew joined the Dutch Army
looking for adventure, and was severely wounded in Indonesia. He talks about his time in the hospital there in his book, God's Smuggler.
One day while at the hospital he asked the nun who came to bathe him how it was that she and the other sisters were always so cheerful. "Why Andrew, you ought to know the answer to that--a good Dutch boy like you. It's the love of Christ." When she said it, her eyes sparkled, and he knew without question that for her this was the whole answer: she could have talked all afternoon and said no more. "But you're teasing me, aren't you?" she continued, tapping the well-worn little Bible that lay on the bedside table. "You've got the answer right here." Brother Andrew says: “So now, when my restless hand struck it again, I picked it up. In the two and a half years since my mother had given it to me, I had never opened it. But I thought about the sisters, their joy, their tranquility and their saying: ‘You've got the answer right here...’ I propped the little book on my chest, and... moved the pages backward until I got to Genesis 1:1. I read the story of creation and of the entrance of sin into the world. It did not seem nearly as far-fetched to me now as it had when our schoolteacher read a chapter each afternoon, while outside canals waited to be jumped. I read on, skipping whole portions, flipping through to get to the story again. At last, many days later, I came to the New Testament. Lying there encased in autograph-covered plaster, I read straight through the Gospels, catching dimly their terrible significance. ‘Could all this really be true?’ I thought.”
Andrew returned to Holland and continued what he calls his "incredible voyage of discovery.
God ultimately led Andrew into a lifetime of adventures. During the height of the Cold War, communist countries were keeping a tight control on their borders. But Brother Andrew knew he had to get Bibles to the countries behind the iron curtain. He did this on a regular basis, risking his life to get God’s word to people who needed it. Here’s a sample of one of the experiences Brother Andrew had:
“When I pulled up to the checkpoint on the other side of the Danube, I said to myself, ‘Well, I'm in luck. Only half a dozen cars. This Romanian border crossing should go swiftly.’ But when it took forty minutes to inspect the first car, I began to worry...literally everything that family was carrying had to be taken out and spread on the ground. Every car in line was put through the same routine. The fourth inspection lasted well over an hour. The guards took the driver inside and kept him there while they removed hub caps, took his engine apart, removed seats. ‘Dear Lord,’ I said, as at last there was just one car ahead of me, ‘what am I going to do?’ Any serious inspection will show up these Romanian Bibles right away. ‘Lord,’ I went on, ‘I know that no amount of cleverness on my part can get me through this border search. Dare I ask for a miracle? Let me take some of the Bibles out and leave them in the open where they will be seen. Then, Lord I cannot possibly be depending on my own stratagems, can I? I will be depending utterly upon You.’ While the last car was going through its chilling inspection, I managed to take several Bibles from their hiding places and pile them on the seat beside me. It was my turn. I put the little VW in low gear, inched up to the officer standing at the left side of the road, handed him my papers, and started to get out. But his knee was against the door, holding it closed. He looked at my photograph in the passport, scribbled something down, shoved the papers back under my nose, and abruptly waved me on. Surely thirty seconds had not passed. I started the engine and inched forward. Was I supposed to pull over, out of the way where the car could be taken apart? Was I ... surely I wasn’t...I coasted forward, my foot poised above the brake. Nothing happened. I looked out the rear mirror. The guard was waving the next car to a stop, indicating to the driver that he had to get out. On I drove a few more yards. The guard was having the driver behind me open the hood of his car. And then I was too far away to doubt that indeed I had made it through that incredible checkpoint in the space of thirty seconds. My heart was racing. Not with the excitement of the crossing, but with the excitement of having caught such a spectacular glimpse of God at work!"
Brother Andrew could have been controlled by fear. He could have decided that it was against the law to smuggle Bibles. But he did like Peter and John said: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.” They were guided by the name of Jesus Christ!!

II. By What Authority- (Acts 4:13-22)
a. Worldly authority- The Council was a formal body of Jewish leaders
that met in Jerusalem. It was made up of 72 members consisting of Pharisees and Sadducees who were priests, elders, rulers, and scribes. They had the most power, authority, wealth, and status. These are the men before whom Peter and John stand. It would be easy to have great fear in this circumstance.
The Council members should remind us of the Wizard of Oz. Remember how Dorothy and her companions came before the throne of the great Oz. A terrible voice thunders: “I AM OZ THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE.” Smoke shoots up, and they are all afraid; all except Toto, Dorothy’s dog. Toto goes over and pulls the curtain aside to reveal a man standing behind a contraption. They then hear, still in the thunderous voice: “PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN.” And they discover that the wizard is a fake.
In this situation, there was a sense that the Council was a fake, at least in regards to having authority over God. They issued threats, but the people knew that what they were accusing Peter and John of was not deserving of any real punishment. If we were to follow the story, we would see that the punishment would get worse, more jailings, hearings, and even an execution. But none of this produced obedience from the followers of Jesus.
Those who have earthly authority are often fooled. They believe that the power and authority they have, they have for themselves. Their pride comes in and controls them, and they use their authority often times for harm, instead of for good. Even if they started out letting God lead them, there comes a time when their own sinfulness starts to control them; the powers of this world controls them; their anger and fear begins to control them. And that is what we see happening to the Council. Instead of making decisions based on what God would have them do, they start to make choices based on what Rome and the other worldly powers would have them to do.
They really get blind to the truth. Blindness is a tricky business. We read in Mark 2:22- Jesus says, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins.” This is where it was tough for the Council. Jesus had come along and brought a new order, and a new authority. But they couldn’t comprehend this in their old wineskins. Only those who gave up the old wineskins could accept this teaching and authority from Jesus.
b. Godly authority- We see here that Peter and John are challenging the
authority of the Council. And they are bold in this challenge. Toss them in jail? No problem. Threaten them? Still no problem. Eventually they will be jailed again and beaten. No problem. Later in the book of Acts we see Stephen stoned to death for preaching about Jesus. They all knew that their authority came first and foremost from Jesus. Their authority was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.
So what can we learn from their strength?
Let me suggest three things: First, when Peter is accused, it says in verse 8: “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said to them…” We see here that Peter doesn’t fight back with the weapons the Council is using. The Council had wealth and political connections, and prominence on their side. Peter could not match that in worldly terms. Peter knew that the cause of Christ would be better served by fighting with the truth and the power of the Holy Spirit. By doing this, Peter confounded his enemies and they released him with a stern warning.
Second, verse 13 says that they had been with Jesus. Peter and John had listened to Jesus, traveled with Jesus, and watched Jesus die. By the witness of the Spirit they had now come to understand the things Jesus taught. Being with Jesus can make a person courageous, wise, humble, sensitive, and strong. We have this option as well of being with Jesus like they were. We find Jesus in Scripture, and we find Jesus in the hearts of other believers. We can be attentive to Jesus by spending time in prayer and in the word. We can listen, and learn from Him, and then apply these lessons that we are taught. If we are companions of Jesus, we will become as the disciples were, changed people as a result. This change will make us bolder.
Third, they acknowledged what they had heard from the Council, but then told them that even though the Council thought it was wrong, they had to follow the voice of the Lord. They had to make a choice of who to obey, and they were going to obey God. The priority in their life was to obey God when it differed from what the religious authorities commanded. And we too need to have this philosophy: “I will obey God rather than men.” When we have this thinking, it will make us bolder, wiser, more influential spiritually, and more authoritative in our speaking and our teaching.

Conclusion: Life has many choices. These choices can cause much confusion. But some of this confusion comes because we don’t know who to follow. Sometimes we follow God, other times we follow the world. And oftentimes it is our fear that leads us away from God to make choices God would not support. As we have looked at this passage in Acts 4, I want to encourage you to make a decision today; choose to obey God. This is not always easy. It will set us apart from our friends, our family, our co-workers. But the alternative is to continue to make the wrong decisions. It is about trusting God.
Example. There is a story of a mother who is baking a cake. As she is baking the cake she asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely, Mom, I love your cake." "Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck,"says her daughter. "How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!"To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why God would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! When we are obedient to God, God can take each event, and turn it into something wonderful. Let’s make that commitment today, and every day. Amen.