The Shed
12.1.2024 What Have You Heard
- I'm Covered
- power in the blood
- Are You Washed in the Blood
- Look what the lord has done
- I Want To Know More
- Review ALL IN series. Purpose for the series: how our discipleship process is just beginning like it was for them…Review where we are: just finished Peter’s second sermon in Acts 3…
Acts 4:1–13 NASB95 1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” 13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.PraySadducees denied the existence of angels and spirits, and said there was no resurrection (Acts 23:8; Matthew 22:23).Acts 4:2 NASB95 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.Acts Chapter 4They thought Jesus would stay dead. That would be the end of His teaching and would cause His followers to scatter. But now here were two of the once frightened disciples speaking out boldly, with everyone in the temple court listening to them, just as had been the case when Jesus performed His miracles there.
They weren’t just upset that they were preaching, they were upset that the version of the Messiah they were preaching about didn’t fit in their box…In every cult since, it’s always the deity or person of Jesus that is put in question…Mention Jehovah’s Witness and Mormonism as discussed in coffee with the pastors…People don’t mind that you preach Jesus, so long as it is a version of Jesus that agrees with their delicate sensibilities…How many times have you heard who Jesus is from someone who only wants the parts of Jesus that agrees with their perspective?I don’t mind Jesus so long as He’s just about love…I like to talk about Jesus flipping tables, so long as it’s not my table He’s flipping…Everyone wants God as love, but conveniently leave out He’s also Holy and Righteous and full of Justice…Its easier to take what we want and leave what we don’t…Jefferson Bible:Using a razer and glue… eliminated the supernatural in the life of Jesus…Though we may not make our own bible, and we may not even admit it, but how often do we do the same thing with our own beliefs and behaviors…We say we believe Jesus is Lord of all, but act like He’s a weekend hobby…We believe He is provider, but refuse to give our first fruits…We say we love Him, but neglect His bride…I think this is why so many in the Body of Christ are in an identity crisis…They don’t know what church is supposed to look like for them, because they aren’t sure who Jesus is to them…They aren’t sure what Jesus stood for, so they don’t know what they should stand for…Were we put in this situation, would we have the answer?Acts 4:7 NASB95 7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”What would your answer be?What is your answer daily?Why do you live this way?Why do you do the things you do?Does the way you live give rise to the question? Or would no one ever know you believe?Acts Chapter 44:8. Peter had once cringed before a girl in the courtyard of the high priest. Now there was a difference. As he began to speak, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. The form of the Greek verb indicates a new, fresh filling.
Acts Chapter 4This does not mean he had lost any of the power and presence of the Spirit he received on the Day of Pentecost. In view of the pressures of this critical situation, the Lord simply enlarged his capacity and gave him this fresh filling to meet this new need for power to witness.
I think what we need is a fresh filling… an expanded capacity…Unlike any other religion… Unlike the cults who deny who Jesus is…We have access to salvation that is offered to us through Him…Acts 4:12 NASB95 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”The real Jesus… Not a fabricated Jesus or a Jesus of our own making… Not a Jesus that always agrees with us…But a Jesus that came, declaring the Kingdom of Heaven is near, and it looks different than the broken world we live in…Acts 4:13 NASB95 13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.Expound on this verse.The only way you can reflect Jesus is to have spent time with Jesus…You can’t expect that you will reflect what you do not engage…Spending time with Jesus is not a passive, accidental thing…Psalm 34:4 NASB95 4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.I SOUGHT the Lord…Psalm 34:10 NASB95 10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.Hebrews 11:6 (NASB95)6 … He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.This isn’t a passive, wondering through life, stumbling on God type of seeking…Moses stumbled on God while he was out herding sheep, found his calling, and answered the call… All of this was God’s setup…But what we read in Exodus 33 is that once Moses got a taste of the presence, he couldn’t get enough…He trekked up the mountain to meet with God and although he found favor with God in that he could be in the presence without fear, he wanted more…Exodus 33:18 KJV 1900 18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.This isn’t a passive, let it happen kind of seeking…I BESEECH THEE! I beg you Lord.. I can’t do it without you… I need more of you!The enemy will do everything he can to keep you away from spending time with Jesus…Just when you thought you would finally find the time, someone calls and needs you…Just when you go to sit down the timer on the washing machine goes off…Just when you open your bible, your spouse wants breakfast…But I find often times it is not the devils, demons, or principalities that keep us from spending time with Jesus…Often it is the enemy in-a-me that stays busy and distracted, unable to focus on Him…When you sit down to read the word, all of a sudden every task on your list starts running through your head…You turn on the worship music while you drive to work, but wind up thinking about what you’re going to eat for lunch instead…You open the bible in one minute and find yourself waking up the next…Sometimes it isn’t the devil. Sometimes it is our own unwritten priorities that put spending time with Jesus somewhere down on the list rather than being primary over all.But the bible says, if we seek Him, we will find Him!Proverbs 8:17 NASB95 17 “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.Deuteronomy 4:29 NASB95 29 “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.Jeremiah 29:13 NASB95 13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.If you seek Him, you will find Him…When we purpose in our hearts to spend time with Jesus, He is there waiting on us…If we will admit, the reason we do not spend time with Him is not because of anything He has or has not done… It is because it takes a commitment from us that we have not conceded.You know what I notice, even in worship?There are different kinds of worshippers…One looks at the worship team and says, “If they do it just right and move me, I’ll get to the place where I can seek Him.”It’s these same people who always have a complaint about music style, or the volume, or the lighting, or the mix, or the song choice…And it’s always someone else’s fault that you can’t seek Him…Then there are those who look for God to move you…“Well if God wants me to move, He will move me.”And you can even make it sound spiritual… “He’s a big enough God to make the walls of Jericho fall. If He wants me to move He can do it.”In this way, you want God to seek you and find you and move you… as if God needs to cater to you…You’re the center of your own universe, but the scripture says we are to seek Him… Find Him… Worship Him…IF YOU SEEK HIM, YOU WILL FIND HIM!Maybe the reason you don’t reflect Jesus is because you don’t spend time with Jesus…You come in here hoping someone or something will move you out of your apathy, but seeking Him is your responsibility!He’s empowered you to do it, but He’s not forcing you.. He won’t make you love Him… He won’t make you seek Him…Just like He won’t make you speak in tongues… He will give you the words and you have to speak them… He will give you the ability to seek Him and it takes a move toward Him to activate it…Acts 4:13 NASB95 13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.You cannot be recognized as having been with Jesus unless you’ve actually BEEN WITH JESUS!Seek Him! Pursue Him! Spend time with Him!This is a posture of the heart, to live a life in pursuit of Him, seeking after His face… Looking for His glory!When we spend time in worship, it’s not about a show… it’s about seeking the face of the Master…Call Worship TeamMatthew 16:24 NASB95 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.Can I say this? You don’t accidentally take up a cross… You don’t accidentally put your flesh on the altar…Yes He empowers you to do it, but He won’t do it for you… You’ve got to wake up and make the decision for yourself!This isn’t legalism, it’s desire! You will seek after that which you desire!If you desire Him, you will seek Him… But if you desire things of the world, you will seek the things of the world…This isn’t a passive walk…The very first core value on our list as The Shed is intentional living…Everything we do expresses the mission and advances the vision…1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB95 31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.This is not me telling you to earn salvation… This is me saying the bible calls us to a life of intentional surrender to the King of Glory!We aren’t passively waiting for the second coming… We are on the war path, assaulting the strongholds of Hell on this earth, crying out as the prophet in Joel 2…Joel 2:1 NASB95 1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near,Sound the alarm! Posture yourself to receive from Him!He’s coming back and we have work to do! This is an intentional life of spending time with Jesus, in order that we may reflect Him to the world around us…Call to worship… Acts 5:11–14NASB95
Acts 5:11NASB95
Acts 5:11NASB95
Acts 5:12–14NASB95
Acts 5:13NASB95
Acts 5:13NASB95
Isaiah 64:6NASB95
2 Corinthians 3:18NASB95
Romans 10:9NASB95
Romans 12:2NASB95
Colossians 3:1–4NASB95
Colossians 3:5NASB95
1 Corinthians 10:31NASB95
Acts 5:14NASB95
Matthew 16:25NASB95
Romans 8:37NASB95
- firm foundation
- how great is our god
- thank you jesus for the blood
- Becasue He Lives
- Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
- Noel
- House of Miracles
- Review ALL IN series. Purpose for the series: how our discipleship process is just beginning like it was for them…
Acts 4:14–18 NASB95 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.Title: I Almost Gave Up…PrayHave you ever been in a place in your walk with God where you asked the question… Is it worth it?I’ve heard people say, “Well, God will never give you more than you can handle…”But, if you walk with God long enough, and go deeper than just “consumer Christianity,” there will come a point where you will look at all the pushback or the persecution or the difficulties of life and feel like Paul’s description of his time in Asia to the church in Corinth:2 Corinthians 1:8 (NASB95)8 … we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;2 Corinthians 1:8 NASB95 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;Expound on excessively, beyond our strength…The word despaired there in the greek can mean to be in utter despair, to despair completely, to be in great difficulty or to have great doubt…Which is exactly what Paul points out in the next verse when he says,2 Corinthians 1:9 NASB95 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;We did not trust ourselves… We were under so much pressure that we did not think we would survive…We didn’t think we had it in us to even keep going…We even doubted our own intent for living…In other words, they thought they were going to die, and were so pushed beyond what they could handle, they thought their only hope was that God could raise the dead…That’s a pretty grim outlook…But I thought the TV preacher told me if I would believe in Jesus, my life would be better?But that type of preaching is exactly why when life actually happens, and pain comes along, and hurt rears its head that so many give up on their faith, because they have been taught that the reward for believing in Jesus is a happy life…Did you know Jesus promised that if they hated Him they would hate us.?Did you know almost all of the apostles died as martyrs for the faith?They didn’t follow Jesus because it made their life easier…They followed Jesus because they believed He is the only way to the Father…He holds the words of life…He is the resurrection and the life…He’s not A way, He’s THE way…Maybe we would have fewer falling away from the faith if we told them the truth about how hard this walk is…Sometimes I feel like Paul, in such great anguish that he despairs of life itself…But look what he says at the end of that verse…2 Corinthians 1:9 NASB95 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;We didn’t trust in ourselves, but we trusted in God…2 Corinthians 1:10 NASB95 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,Whether in this life or the next, we have this hope that deliverance is coming!We set our hope on Him!So Peter and John are there, in the center, Peter is preaching the message, but in verse 14, we find out they brought the evidence with them…Acts 4:14 NASB95 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.Let it be said that we always have evidence with us…Either by miracle of healing or miracle of deliverance or miracle of salvation, we carry evidence with us..We were once dead in sin, but made alive… We should be walking evidence…But even presented with the evidence, they still valued their power and position and way of life over the truth…Acts 4:15–18 NASB95 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.There have only been two times in all my time in ministry that I seriously considered quitting…Only two times I almost quit…The first time was not long after I got saved and called into the ministry. I was traveling as an evangelist with another minister and we were in a meeting one night.The meeting was part of a revival we were doing that was themed “SHOUT FOR GOD HAS GIVEN YOU THE CITY.”At one point in the service, I knew God was speaking to the minister I was with to give the microphone to a young man in the pew next to me. Instead she gave it to me. When she did, I just turned and handed it straight to him without a word…He delivered the word, the Spirit fell and we had revival…Immediately after the service ended, with people still in the altars praying, that minister hauled me out into the lobby and gave me a stern talking to about order…If I was going to be a minister I had to learn order… Only she wasn’t talking about order like Paul talked about order when he spoke of spiritual gifts…She spoke of order in the sense that there was a pecking order and I needed to know who was in charge…Her and I never did see eye to eye on that, because in my mind God is in charge…I left that meeting heartbroken because I knew I could hear God and I knew He had spoken to me, but I was being persecuted because I did what He said rather than what was in “order”I almost quit, because if being in the ministry meant not obeying God when He spoke, then ministry wasn’t for me…In fact it was because of this incident and others like it that I experienced in my first few years that I swore I would never be a pastor…If you asked me, I would tell you I wouldn’t be a pastor because there are too many politics in ministry… And I don’t mean Washington.I almost quit…It may not seem like a big thing to you, but in that moment, when I was just learning what it meant to follow Jesus, being confident in His voice, only to have that shut down..I almost gave up…Peter and John are here in this moment, just figuring out what ministry without Jesus in the flesh would look like…They’ve had a great first run… Their confidence is at an all time high…They have seen 3000 get saved in one day after Peter’s first sermon…Now they have seen 5000 get saved after his second sermon, but now the religious leaders are telling them to stop..Even when they provide evidence that what they are saying is true, they still get shut down…It is at this point that they face a decision…Will they quit, or will they push on?Will they give up? I mean, this must ring as a sort of failure, they performed the miracle, they preached the sermon, but not all who heard believed…We all face a time when we have to make this decision…When plans don’t pan out like we wanted…When what we thought would be the solution only deepened the problem…When we feel like Paul when he said, “we were burdened excessively beyond our strength…”We were pressed beyond what we could bear…The weight was too great… The pressure too much… We wanted to give up…I almost gave up…It is in these moments of intense doubt… In these moments of complete despair.. When I think I must not be cut out for this…It’s in those moments when the enemy will whisper in your ear every negative thought you’ve ever had about yourself…You’ll think you’re not worthy and God couldn’t have chose you otherwise it wouldn’t be going like this…BUT what I find when I read through scripture is that we are not alone in our moments of despair…While He was on the ark, Noah started to think they would be there forever…While He was waiting for the promised child, Abraham thought he would never come…When Sarah found out her and Abraham were promised a child, she laughed at God…Jacob thought he was going to die at Esau’s hand…Joseph thought he would always be a slave or in the prison…Moses thought He could run away when life got hard…Israel thought they were better off dying as slaves than in the wilderness…Rahab said their hearts melted within them…But as I think about all these, I find out Hebrews calls them and more a “great cloud of witnesses” but only after describing them like this::By faith Noah… by faith Abraham… by faith Sarah… By faith Jacob… By faith Joseph… By faith Moses… By faith Israel… By faith Rahab…All these who came to the same point of decision, who doubted and despaired, who seem to have failed in their own way, but they aren’t described as a cloud of failures, but a cloud of witnesses…Witnesses who although had doubts and failures and who could all say this: I almost gave up…But BY FAITH!Call Worship TeamThe next night, I went back to the service and decided I would shut off my gift. If they didn’t like it there, I wouldn’t use it there…When the service started, I sat down on the pew and didn’t say a word…The worship leader is doing her best to lead, the pastor of the church is backing her up, but nothing was moving… it was a dead, dry service…Just like I hoped…See all the nights before that, we had themed it shout for God has given you the city… and the pastor would get up and read that passage from Joshua and I would take of shouting and being loud…Because I believed God could do exactly that and I was shouting in victory for that church, not to get anyone to move, but because I believed in what we were saying…So I would shout…But not on this night… Not after being reprimanded for doing what God said…So I sat.. and contemplated quitting…I sat… and stirred… and sat… and stirred…I don’t know how long I sat there… They only sang a couple songs so it couldn’t have been more than just a few minutes, but it felt like days…I sat and I stirred… And the longer I sat, the worse the stirring got…And I knew then how Jeremiah felt…Jeremiah 20:7–8 NASB95 7 O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. 8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the Lord has resulted In reproach and derision all day long.He is sitting and stirring. He could say, “I almost quit..”In fact Jeremiah would say, “I tried to quit…”Jeremiah 20:9 NASB95 9 But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.If I try to stop doing what God called me to do… If I try to walk away… If I try to quit…Then it becomes like a burning fire… SHUT UP IN MY BONES…I JUST CAN’T HOLD IT IN! I CAN’T KEEP FROM SPEAKING…So as I sat on my pew… Tried to quit… Tried to make a point…Tried to be somber and reserved…I tried to shelf it and put it away…But the harder I tried, the more it burned….And I sat and I stirred… and I sat and I stirred… Fire rising up in me that I cannot endure…And the worship leader recognized something was happening… And she called my name and said, SHOUT….And before I could think about it, or hesitate, or try and shut off the spout…SHOUT!I ALMOST GAVE UP, I ALMOST GAVE IN, BUT IT BECAME LIKE FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES!I ALMOST QUIT, BUT THE FIRE WOULDN’T LET ME…I ALMOST QUIT, BUT THE GLORY PERSUADED ME…I JUST CAME THIS MORNING TO REACH OUT TO SOMEONE WHO MAY BE SITTING AND STIRRING… SITTING AND STIRRING…I CAME TO TELL YOU SHOUT! DANCE! RAISE YOUR VOICE! SING YOUR SONG! LET THE FIRE LOOSE IN YOUR LIFE!DON’T SHUT DOWN! DON’T QUIT! DON’T GIVE IN! DON’T GIVE UP!!!OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND GIVE GOD THE GLORY! THE ENEMY IS DEFEATED!THE BATTLE HAS ALREADY BEEN WON!YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN YOU’VE BEEN BOUGHT WITH A PRICE!Acts 4:19–20 NASB95 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”I CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! I CAN’T STOP PROPHECYING, I CAN’T STOP PRAISING HIS NAME!IF I TRY IT BECOMES LIKE FIRE IN MY BONES… I CAN’T STOP! - Review ALL IN series. Purpose for the series: how our discipleship process is just beginning like it was for them…
Acts 4:31–5:11 NASB95 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. 32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. 34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. 36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. 7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.Title: The Return of ReverenceReview last week: Unity of the ChurchIntroduce the Text:Persecution, Prayer, Outpouring…Outpouring led to Unity and that Unity was displayed through generosity…Remember what we said last week, all parts of a healthy body contribute to the functioning of the body…This is the principle of our giving. We are generous because we are part of the body.I wouldn’t expect generosity out of someone who is not part of the body. Although this sometimes happens, it is not the rule it is the exception.But for the body, generosity is an expected part of a healthy version of Christianity.Not only as a part of Christianity, but this seems to be a pattern when the Holy Spirit is poured out…Remember in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is poured out then this same thing happens… They start selling what they have to further the spread of the Gospel…Now in Acts 4, the Holy Spirit is poured out again and they are given boldness, and a tighter bond of unity… and according to verse 32 there was also a fresh sense of generosity among them…But if you look closely and read the parallel between the outpouring in Acts 2 and the outpouring in Acts 4, there is something missing…In Acts 2 the bible says…Acts 2:43 (NASB95)43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe;…I don’t think this was an oversight, nor was it implied in the text that the same sense of awe and reverence that occurred in the first outpouring was automatic in the second outpouring…Yes, they had been touched… Yes, there were results of the outpouring… Yes, they were empowered to be bold…But it is easy for the practicality of church to overshadow the importance of the reverence of the Almighty…In other words, we can get so busy being on-mission that we get distracted from the source of the Call…Explain the generational pendulum that swings back and forth as a reaction to each previous generation…i.e. In the 1920s, Christian fundamentalism arose as a means to counter liberal interpretations of the Christian Bible and "secularizing" changes in society.As a reaction to that came the modern secular movement which pushed for a society without religion.In response Between the mid-1940s and early 1960s, the biblical theology movement emerged to counter both liberal and fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible.The pendulum is then interrupted by World War 2, which is succeeded by what scholars call the “Fourth Great Awakening” when attention was put back on the spiritual aspects of the church.In response to this religious vigor, New Age religion rises and pushes back on the Christian concepts of the day…The New Age Movement emphasizes personal fulfillment, spiritual unity, and experimental healing methods, which develops into the hippie movement…At this point some of you are taking a trip down memory lane, but stick with me…In response to the drug and hippie scene, the Jesus People movement arises…As a result of some success in that movement, the Church Growth movement is developed and suddenly the church is building bigger buildings than ever before, and it becomes a “come and see” style of ministry where the primary form of ministry happens inside stadiums and large buildings…Contemporary music is on the rise, and at the same time the progressive christian movement pushes back against the mainline evangelical teachings in support of theological diversity, eclectic spirituality, and social justice.See the pendulum? Back and forth, back and forth…What we see during this time is that as a result of the strict, legalistic standards that were rekindled in the Fourth Great Awakening, the church recognizes a need for Jesus to be more approachable and begins this movement toward emphasizing Jesus as a friend…The problem arises in the 90s when a movement of churches called the emergent church is revealed as groups sought to make Christianity "relevant" to a postmodern world.Now, there is a whole generation of people who claim to be Christian that see Jesus as a buddy, God as a daddy, love as the ultimate judge, who are so concerned about making sure Jesus is “relevant” that they would skew the biblical account of Him to make Him fit their idea of who He should be…What began as an attempt to bring balance to the legalism that was so prominent a few decades ago has developed in to a far left swing of the pendulum that believes only in what feels good and makes people happy.Any version of the gospel that does not accept everyone, and make us all happy is deemed as bigoted and hate filled.But can I submit to you this morning that there is an awakening happening once again that sees this washed out, watered down, fake gospel for what it is… a trick of the enemy to keep believers from experiencing reverence toward God.There are some who think reverence toward God was reserved for an Old Testament context, removed from the grace offered in Jesus, but we must remember the story we read today is in the New Testament…This is a Christian congregation we are speaking of…This isn’t in some different theological age or covenant, this is after Jesus came, this is under grace…Isn’t it interesting that there would somehow be this idea that because of the sacrifice of Jesus that God is somehow less just or less holy or less righteous…But that’s not what the bible is teaching with this example…There are two things that Ananias and Sapphira do that we as believers must guard against in our own lives…Secret ConspiracySimulated HolinessLook what happens…Barnabas sees that there is a need in the church, so he sells a piece of land he owned and brought the money from it to the apostles…Barnabas, through no compulsion from the Apostles, sold his land to help the need in the church…Notice, he doesn’t make a big fuss, or shout it from the street corner, rather he brings it to the apostles and lays it at their feet…There was no secret agenda, he wasn’t trying to get them to do anything for him, it wasn’t payment in exchange for anything… it was simple generosity.On the other hand, Ananias and Sapphira conspired together, made a plan in secret, operated in the dark..It was not that they kept part of the money, but that they conspired together to lie about it for the sake of appearances…Their lack of reverence toward God allowed them to think that if they kept their secret hidden, that they could secretly conspire to lie and no one would know…But the Jesus was clear:Luke 8:17 NASB95 17 “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.Luke 12:2–3 NASB95 2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.A lack of reverence for God will fool you into thinking He will not reveal what you keep hidden…Secret sin is still sin.This is the problem with lacking reverence. We get this idea that somehow God is okay with our sin, so long as it’s secret…But God is righteous in in Him there is no darkness at all. That which is hidden will come to the light…Matthew 12:36 NASB95 36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.Here’s the choice we have: Either we can bring it to Him, or He will reveal it for us.The difference is, when we bring our flaws and imperfections and bad decisions and lay them before God in the light, he will heal us and deliver us…But if we conspire to hide that which we want no one to see or know about, it will fester and rot…And by the time God reveals it, it will be revealed for judgement…Reverence for God will have us crying out like Isaiah:Isaiah 6:5 NASB95 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”But when we reveal that which is hidden,1 John 1:9 NASB95 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.A Return of Reverence will bring us to our knees in humble repentance before Almighty God, embracing the healing and deliverance He offers through Jesus…It’s not just forgiveness He offers, it’s also cleansing…This isn’t a, say sorry, then live the same way type of repentance.Bringing our sins to Him in the light of day, repenting in full view, then allowing God to cleanse us is what He wants for us…Hand in hand with their hidden, secret conspiracy was their simulated holiness…Simulated HolinessSimulated holiness always tags along with secret sin…Secret sin requires you to put on a face to appear like you’ve got it all together…Ananias and Sapphira saw what Barnabas did and copied his actions, but with selfish intent…They weren’t concerned about the church, they were concerned about their image…They sought the recognition, the sought the accolades, they wanted the same attention and respect and admonition, but without going ALL IN.In order to be recognized as being ALL IN, you have to actually BE ALL IN.Commitment to the things of God are difficult because they aren’t in the spot of priority where you say they are…What you deem as important will always be prioritized.They wanted to be recognized for their commitment, but weren’t fully committed!They stood before God in stark contrast to Barnabas, who was authentic in his desire…He was authentic in his Christian walk…Whereas Ananias and Sapphira only had simulated holiness…Simulated holiness is looking right, appearing right, but not being right.Simulated holiness claims to be ALL IN, but puts self in the number 1 seat.Simulated holiness has the secret sin, but hides it well…Simulated holiness goes to church regularly, claps during the welcoming songs, says amen during the sermon, and participates in the worship after the sermon, but has no lasting change at home…Simulated holiness sees nothing wrong with its lifestyle so long as it goes to church to make up for it.Simulated holiness thinks of Jesus as a safety net that keeps everyone from going to hell…Ananias and Sapphira were simulating holiness and not sacrificing everything…David Platt in a sermon says this:David Platt Sermon Archive Two Options … > Essential Questions for Wholehearted Worship … Do I Value My Spiritual Appearance More than I Value My Spiritual Authenticity?We’ve got to be careful in the church today not to create an idea that holiness and spiritual authenticity consist in going to church and worshipping, having nice regulations that we follow, and things that we do. That is not holiness. It’s not avoiding all of these major sins that we despise in the church and we don’t do those things, and therefore we’re holy. Holy is a gambling, a risking of our entire lives for the sake of the glory of Christ and His Church. That’s what holiness is, and that’s what spiritual authenticity is. Therefore we don’t sing without putting feet to our songs. That affects the way we worship.
What we have gathered together for this morning is not spiritual appearance. If it is, then we dishonor our God in worship. What we have gathered together for this morning is spiritual authenticity. How many times—I won’t ask for a show of hands—have you looked to the church and said, “There’s a lot more appearance there than there is authenticity.” God help us to show the world more than just spiritual appearance. Do I value spiritual appearance more than spiritual authenticity? God help us not to like the thought of being holy more than we like the sacrifice of being holy.
This is the result of a personal lack of reverence and fear of the Lord…We begin to think that we can somehow hide our sins or hide our plans and not give everything to God…Once we have conspired secretly in our hearts to keep back a portion of our life for ourselves, then we come to church and run through the motions and simulate holiness…This lack of reverence convinces us and those around us that God turns a blind eye to sin and disobedience…Worse, we are convinced that our own apathy is acceptable to God, but this cheapens the value of grace and makes our own desires in life an idol.No, even in the wake of Jesus, sin is still sin, God is still Holy, His reign is still righteous, and it doesn’t matter what the culture or the world thinks about it…God is still on the Throne!Don’t be dismayed or take it as a your own pass to sin that the world is still acting like the world and seemingly getting away with it…There will come a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord…There will come a day according to Romans 2 that will be a day of righteous judgement for all those who are unrepentant!Revelation 20:11–15 NASB95 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.Even Jesus said…Matthew 12:36–37 NASB95 36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”2 Peter 3:7 NASB95 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.Hebrews 9:27 NASB95 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,These are all New Testament passages, written after Jesus came, not of the Old Law, but of the New…He is still a Holy God, whose character is righteous…A simulated holiness will not suffice…Appearance alone will fail…Unrepentant hearts will be judged…1 John 2:4 NASB95 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;Only those who walk by faith, sold out to the cause of Christ will be justified in His sight!You’re either ALL IN or not in at all…There’s no support in scripture for a half hearted, apathetic Christian by name only…It’s time we had a revival of the fear of the Lord, a Return of Reverence…We need a recognition of who God is in all His awesome glory in order that we might fully see what it is to be forgiven of our own wretched sinfulness…Call Worship TeamBut when we recognize Him for who He is with reverence and repentance…When we follow His word and ABIDE in Him the bible says…1 John 2:28 NASB95 28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.Romans 8:1–2 NASB95 1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.If you will open up the darkest corners of your life and bring it to the light in repentance, He will heal you and set you free!Are you ALL IN?Or have you become complacent toward that hidden sin in your life?Will you be ALL IN?Or is your appearance worth the coming judgement?Will you make the sacrifice of your own life, giving everything you are that He may heal you and deliver you?Romans 12:1 NASB95 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.Will you repent of your apathy, of prioritizing your own wants over His calling?Will you Return to Reverence?