Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church
5/5/24 Sunday Worship Service
Proverbs 31:30KJV1900
- ReviewTurn to Acts 5:1-11.Persecution came to the church in Jerusalem, but rather than running away from their problems, the church determined to move forward together. Through the power of Christ, they were overcomers and would not be stopped. They chose to trust Christ through the adversity, and as a result, the church grew. It grew numerically, but even more, it grew in great unity, great power, great grace, and great commitment. They were “all in”. That’s the kind of commitment that God wants us to have as He has brought us together in this local church body.MessageRead Acts 4:36-5:11.Read slowly:If there’s one thing that I marvel at sometimes, it is at how relentless, how persistent evil can be in our world.James wrote in James 4:7, “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” and I believe that, especially applied in the context of the individual Christian life. But when I look at the world stage, I sometimes marvel at how tenacious evil can be - it just doesn’t give up! It is as predictable as the sun coming up - evil will always take the same course of action, it will always try to destroy that which is good. Its methods may vary, but the objective will remain the same and it won’t give up!I’ve been vividly reminded of it this week as I’ve read up on these anti-American, anti-Israeli protests that have been apparently orchestrated across these university campuses. They just don’t give up! Boldly, without any moral reservation they are going out there and proclaiming “death to America” and “from the river to the sea.” Anyone who goes out and encourages genocide of any nation or of any people must be condemned. But I’ve marvelled recently at how relentless these groups have been in boldly promoting their evil ideas.It reminds me of the father of evil, the Devil, because here in Acts chapter five we find that Satan relentlessly pursues one goal: to destroy the church at Jerusalem.In Acts chapter four, Satan tried to do it with physical attacks.In Acts chapter five, Satan tries to do it with spiritual attacks. Satan strikes again, but this time, it is with sin in the church.Next slide here:The sin conceived - Acts 5:1-2.Luke begins to tell the story in verse one and at first, everything seems just fine. Ananias was simply following the pattern. He was doing what Barnabas and a number of other folks were doing. They were selling their land and sacrificially giving it to the new church to be used for the Lord’s service. Ananias followed suit. He and Sapphira sold a property. No problem there.Between themselves, they decided to give part of the money and to keep part of the money. No problem there either. The money was theirs (verse 4) and they could voluntarily give all or even give none. Nothing was mandated by the church.The problem began when Ananias and Sapphira told the apostles that they were giving all when in reality they were only giving a portion. Ananias chose to lie and Sapphira, knowing what he was doing, refused to confront him about it. She was complicit in the crime. And so they lied, not only to man, but unto God.Application: there is an old cliche you might hear sometimes, “the devil made me do it.” I don’t know the origin of that cliche, perhaps it is based off this passage. But understand this, not even Ananias could say, “the devil made me do it.” Ananias chose to sell the possession and Ananias chose to lie about the proceeds of the sale.
James 1:14–15 KJV 1900 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.When I sin, it’s not because the devil made me do it, it’s because I chose to do it. Christian, if you want to move forward in your walk with God, if you want forgiveness, if you want victory, you must take responsibility for your sin!By the way, that’s just true in general. In a world that shuns responsibility, take responsibility for your choices and for your actions. Call your sin what it is. See it as a holy God sees it and hate it like God hates it!Ananias wouldn’t do that.Next slide here:The sin confronted - Acts 5:3-4.Verse three begins with three simple words, “But Peter said…”You see, while Ananias was laying the money at the apostles’ feet, Peter knew exactly what was happening. The Holy Spirit had revealed it to him. Peter was going to have to do something that had never been done in the church at Jerusalem. He would have to do something that every church hopes it never has to do, but that every church must inevitably do. He would have to confront sin in the church.Application: Church family, if the church at Jerusalem had to confront sin in the church, why are we shocked when churches must practice church discipline because of sin today?Think about this:The church at Jerusalem had the apostles pastoring it.The church at Jerusalem was a young church. It was like a church plant. Young churches have their own unique set of challenges, but that I know of, church discipline is not usually one of them.The church at Jerusalem was a growing church. Big things were happening here! In total, it seems that the church had everything going for it. It seems like no one would have dreamed that this would happen at the Jerusalem church, and then suddenly out of nowhere comes this crisis moment that could have destroyed this body of believers.Reality is, if it could happen to the church at Jerusalem, it can happen at Cornerstone. All it takes is for you or for me to think that we can manage our private sin and keep it under control. All it takes is for us to let our guard down and think to ourselves, “Oh, that would never happen here. A sin problem becoming a public matter? In our church family? No, that would never happen here.”An individual who thinks they can manage their private sin is an individual enslaved by sin. A church that thinks “it would never happen here” is a church on the edge of sudden destruction.Why? Because in either case, it is pride to think that we cannot be taken by the power of sin.Proverbs 4:23 KJV 1900 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.It all began so innocently, as it usually does. Ananias had the right to give or not to give money from the sale of his possession. He didn’t have to give anything. The problem was that he said he gave all, when he only gave a portion. He wanted to take credit for sacrificially giving, but he didn’t want the sacrifice of giving away all the money. So he lied and said that he gave all. It seems that he wanted praise like what Barnabas may have received. This was pride - and it was present in the early church.Pride craves attention.Pride wants credit for something done in the church.Pride leads to jealousy and resentment of anyone else who is active in the church - like that Barnabas.Pride destroys.Peter confronts Ananias about his sin. I don’t know if he had the chance, but Ananias might have responded, “But Peter, it really isn’t that big a deal. I just fudged the numbers a little bit. It was a mistake. Besides, we wanted a little extra money to do something special for our kids.”“No, Ananias! You lied to God!”The fact that God immediately struck Ananias dead strongly suggests that Ananias was unrepentant about the matter. It wasn’t that big a deal to him.The Bible reveals that God is a merciful God.Romans 9:15 KJV 1900 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.There are plenty of other instances in the Bible where God’s prophets confront sinners and God is merciful because they repent, but not here - not Ananias.Dear Christian, if you have been unwilling to forsake some sin, repent today! Change your mind today and confess your sin to God! He will forgive!Isaiah 55:7 KJV 1900 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.Be transparent with God and with a fellow believer that you trust. Get help. Get accountable. Get counsel. Don’t think that you can manage your sin alone.Next slide here:The sin and its consequences in their lives - Acts 5:5-10.Oh the difference that a few hundred or a few thousand dollars can make. In this case, it was a terrible difference just because Ananias wanted to keep some of the money. Lives were destroyed and a church was forever changed all because of some money.Money is a wonderful tool, but it is a horrible master. Ananias was determined to keep some money but lie about it. His choice brought permanent consequences.Read Acts 5:5-10.Ananias’ sin destroyed him, but perhaps the greater tragedy is that it destroyed his wife also. I haven’t mentioned Sapphira much so far this morning, but I want you to consider her role in this story for a moment.As I’ve mentioned already, she was complicit in the crime. She was in on the scheme, so she was guilty by her own choice. However, this whole situation causes me to reflect on my role as a husband. If Ananias had walked with God, it’s most likely that Sapphira would have lived a longer life. In this situation, Ananias lead her to sin.Application: Husbands and fathers, you better do a lot of thinking and praying as you lead your families. Whether you like it or not, God has made you the head of your home, so lead your home and lead it in righteousness! Lead your home to church! Lead your home in prayer! Lead your home in humility! Lead your home in confession of sin! Lead your home in conversations about God and what He is teaching you! Lead your home in walking with God!Because if you don’t, there’s always consequences. The consequences were very dramatic in the lives of this couple, usually they are more subtle in ours, but count on it: there are always consequences for sin.Next slide here:The sin and its conclusion in the church - Acts 5:11.We all know that in real life, some stories have sad endings. This story, indeed, has a sad ending in the deaths of this couple, but its effect on the church is a silver lining to this dark cloud. In the midst of the heartache that the church must have been experiencing, notice what Luke says in verse eleven.Read Acts 5:11.I wonder what their prayer meetings must have been like after this. I wonder what their testimony times must have been like in the weeks that followed.“We must not tolerate any sin in our lives!”“We must seek God!”“We need God!”Great fear came upon all the church and it even touched those outside the church. It even reached deep into the community. No doubt, God used it for good as others heard the news and then trusted in Christ.But the church? Oh, it changed the church. It was a quieter gathering for a long time after these events took place. It was a somber gathering for a while.But it was a pure gathering. There’s wasn’t anymore sin in the camp after this.It was a sincere gathering. There weren’t anymore hypocrites in that church.It was a committed gathering. They were “all in.” The ones who kept coming and didn’t leave the church when these things happened - you knew that they were committed.The sin in the church had some terrible consequences for Ananias and Sapphira, but God used it for good in the church. Now God could bless the church anew.Conclusion“Satan Strikes Again” - that’s how Acts chapter five begins. Can it get any more ominous? Just when you think the persecution might subside, just when you think that evil might tire out or let up for a bit, it returns in full force, only this time, with sin in the church.Church family, we must never let our guard down. Too much is at stake. Too many lives would be touched. Too many consequences to bear. Let’s have a tenacity in dealing with sin in our lives today.Evil is always on offense. I, for one, am tired of that. I’m tired of playing defense. That’s not God’s strategy - so why is it ours? You don’t win battles playing defense! You win battles by going on offense. It’s time we go after every sin - small and great.Don’t say, “it’s not a big deal.”Don’t listen to the devil’s lies!Don’t wave the white flag!Let’s deal with any sin in the church today.InvitationDon’t rush it. Don’t talk too much.
Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church
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