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The Secret of a Dynamic Church

Acts 4:32-5:11

The passage we read this morning tells us of the nature of the people who became a part of the first church in Jerusalem. In describing the church in Acts 2:44,45 Luke wrote, "All believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and good, they gave to anyone as he had need." Luke wants to elaborate on this point and this section gives some examples of what happened in the early church.

Verse 32 of chapter 4 seems to repeat this theme. All the believers were one in heart and mind. On one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. This gave great strength to the church. They were willing to help those in need especially those who were old. In those days there was no pension or special help given by the government. Families lived together and helped the older generation. In Japan several generations sometimes live together. This is very much the same as what happened in the Bible days. Perhaps it is the attitude of those living together which makes a big difference between the people in the bible era and today's generation. They demonstrated love and care for all. The greatest problem with several generations living together is the selfishness, lack of consideration and a demanding spirit which is often found in personal relationships.

I have been thrilled with the spirit of sharing which we have in our church. We do not just share our possessions but we share our skills and experience for the building up of the body of Christ. When we are faithful in little things God will entrust us with bigger things. Let me just mention a few examples of what I mean. Shortly after Mr. Fujii moved here he lent us his Wordprocessor to use for doing messages and for helping in the work. Since that time we have used it many many times. It may seem like a small thing but when we needed a ladder Mr and Mrs. Hamada lent us theirs. If we would have had to go and buy one it would have been expensive and we did not need it for very much therefore it was much appreciated. Others have given their time and energy and skills. There are other examples which I could give. We are very thankful for those who help and are willing to work together to make Christ known here in Itsukaichi, Japan

When there is unity and we are working toward the same goal there is great power. When people in a church are not co-operating the Spirit of God cannot work. It takes time and energy from sharing the gospel to reconcile the differences. Many times churches are split over very trivial matters and the testimony of the church is destroyed. Therefore I pray that we will continue in harmony and will be able to continue to be of one heart and mind here at this church.

The writer of Acts, Luke then went on to give a clear contrast of how we are to use our gifts for God. It contrasts the giving of two people. The first was called Joseph, a Cypriot born Levite, more commonly know by his nick name Barabas which means son of encouragement. The second example is that of Ananias and his wife Sapphira.

Baranabas' home town was in Cyprus an island in the Mediteranean Sea. Barnabas had been a Levite. This means that he was to help in the Temple duties. Since he lived in Cyprus he would commute to work when he was asked to come and help several times a year. The rest of the time he would live on the island of Cyprus and farm.

Barnabas had probably come to help at the temple for the day of Pentecost and on that day became a believer when he heard the testimony of the disciples. He decided to stay in Jerusalem to help with the disciples. He no longer needed the land he owned in Cyprus because instead of farming he would cultivate the spiritual growth of believers in Jerusalem. He saw the needs of those who believed and wanted to help so he sold what he did not need and gave the money to help those in need. What a wonderful example of a changed life. Barnabas realized that everything belonged to God and felt that he wanted to use that which God had given to him for God's people.

Baranabas' sacrificial giving was appreciated by the early church and the apostles' showed their appreciation for his thoughtfulness and kindness. In Romans 12 we are encouraged to use the gifts God has given to us. In verse 8 we read that if God has given to us the gift of contributing to the needs of others we are to do this with generosity. Ananias and Sapphira were also looking for the approval of others so they sold some of their land and brought some of the money to the apostles for use in the church. How many times to we try to imitate the actions of others to get the approval of those in authority. Perhaps Ananias lie because he was jealousy of Barnabas.

The story is not complete so we must try to understand the story from what Peter said. God had given the land to Ananias. (In the Old Testament there is a very clear teaching that land does not belong to people but rather it is God's and men are to be good stewards of what God has given us.) When Ananias brought the money he lied to the apostles and said that this money was a gift to the church from the sale of a piece of his property. Peter told Ananias that it was not wrong for him to own the land or to sell it. It was not wrong to keep some of the money from the sale of the land. There was no commandment that he had to give it to the church but it was wrong for him to lie about giving it all to the church when he had kept some of it for himself. God severely punished Ananias for telling this lie. It was not a matter of just trying to deceive the apostles to get their approval but in doing so he had lied against the Holy Spirit which indwelt him. God judged Ananias and he died at the apostles feet.

It is interesting to note that Peter said that Ananias lied against the Holy Spirit in verse 3 and then in verse 4 Peter says he has lied against God. Here Peter makes them equal. This is proof that the Holy Spirit is a part of God and a part of the trinity. JehovahWitnesses teach that the Holy Spirit is just a force and not a person. You cannot lie to a force but you lie to a person. Thus the JW's teaching is wrong.

The sin of Ananias and his wife Sapphira was also one of pride. They wanted to be recognized for something which they did not do. They were not sincere. They could fool other people but they could not fool God. God saw their secret sin. In Numbers 32:23 we read, "You may be sure your sin will find you out." When the people were entering the promised land they were not to keep anything for themselves but they were to give it all to God. Achan coveted and took some of the gold and silver for himself. (Joshua 7:20,21) God punished Achan and removed all sin from their midst. The people of God were to be pure and God judged those who sinned.

God judged Ananias and his wife for their covetousness. God's judgement brought fear into the hearts of the church. The church is to be pure, without spot or wrinkle. When Mr. Todani works in his dry cleaning he must take care to make sure that the clothes are clean and that they are pressed carefully before gives them back to the customers. So it is in the church, God wants to cleanse the church and sometimes we have to go through the cleansing process more than once. Sometimes there are wrinkles in our clothes (our lives) which need the heat and steam of God's grace and power to smooth that part of our lives.

We all want to be like Barnabas and encourage others by our generosity and kindness. However we have often acted like Ananias and Sapphira to hide the truth and cheat God. Perhaps you have robbed God of what belongs to Him. Let's read Malachi 3:8-11. I realize that for some of you it will be difficult to give a tithe to the Lord because your family members are not Christian and may not understand but God challenges us to put him to the test. If we are faithful God promises to bless us so much that you will not have enough room for it. (You will have to begin to give more away.) Our motive however should not be to get more but to give generously from a heart of gratefulness for what God has done for us. Second we do not just sit back and wait for the money to roll in after we give to God. Note that verse 11 of Mal 3 says that God will prevent pests from devouring your crops and vines in the fields will not cast their fruit. This means that God will protect us from things which will rob our profits. It still means that we will need to work hard to gather in the harvest.

As a teen I have promised God to be faithful in giving my tenth. Even when I was a student and did not have much money, when God provided we were faithful to him. We were careful with our money and God has given us financial freedom so that we can give to others when they are in need. It is not money that God is looking for but faithfulness. If we have been unfaithful like Ananias and Sapphira we need to repent and make the wrong right. We must realize that God is a just God and that He will punish wrong. Thus we need to confess and go back and make things right with God and our fellow man. This is difficult but God will reward us. If you are like Barnabas you will grow and later we read that Barnabas was a very important man in the church. God blessed him and used him in a mighty way. I trust that we will be good encouragers like Barnabas and not disobedient like Ananias and Sapphira.

CFC 7/25/82 WHC 10/2/88


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