Acts 4:32-5:11 Generosity vs Hypocrisy
American
Idol Are you a Fan? Boycotted the first season because I didnt like the
name
Americas talent
A)But since then I have
gotten into it Favorite this year Big Mike
B)Family sit together no
sex no violence Great talent Simon
C)If you watch the show
DVR on Wednesdays You have heard the judges say to a Contestant you have
the it Factor
The
early Church had the It factor as well!
A)Acts 2:42 Devoted to
Apostles teaching Word Prayer fellowship and communion.
B)God was working Healed
saved transformation was happening the Lord added to the Church daily!
1)Meeting house to house
C)Contagious
thing going on Something about those pp real authentic
D)Jesus
was alive Risen He was alive in them they were excited about it!
In
our text today we see 3 more attributes of the impact that Jesus was having on
the early Church. V.32 Now the
multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul;
#1
Unity of heart and of Soul!
A) The Scriptures use the word heart to indicate the center of our
being!
What we might call the Core{ Everything else connected to.
B)The deepest part of a human being
includes our emotions where we feel things what we are passionate about.
1)Involves the emotions
but is not limited to the emotions
C)So the Church in Acts was
united in the deepest part of its being.
Ever
meet someone who is just really in love with Jesus like they exude Jesus not
a put on. Passionate
A)And because you love Jesus
and our passionate about Jesus there is this instant connection. Richard Langworthy
B)So they were united in
Heart but also in soul is that the same or is that different.
C)The soul is the conscious
part of life, it is where we consciously live.
D)It
consists of the mind and the will, whatever is going on in your thoughts right
now.
1)You
look like you are listening to me, but it may not be true.
E)You have that smile on
your face because in reality you are at the beach! Eating a double double
thinking about later
Whatever
is going on in your thoughts right now is an activity of your soul.
A)Your
mind is engaged, and your will is
making choices; that is the soul.
B) Jesus was their central
passion and because He was their central passion he was the center of their
thought life.
1)He
was the driving force in their thought life their conversation
C)They were Jesus People! Unified around Him
No one has
explained this better than A. W. Tozer:
Has it ever occurred to you
that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to
each other? They are of one accord
by being tuned, not to each other,
but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred
worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer
to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity
conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.
D)They turned to Christ-
Focus was Jesus result Unity of Heart and soul.
#2
Great Power and Great Grace was upon them.V.33
And with great power the apostles gave
witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them
all.
A) Great Power literally,
mega-power. The root for the Greek word translated
power is the origin of our English word dynamite.-
Dunamis
B)V.33 With
explosive power they continued to testify to the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus.
C)Boldness as well as an
anointing with which they were sharing Christ
1)Plus moving in the
miraculous
D)Great power but also
Great Grace!
Boldness
by itself can be overbearing so it says that great grace was upon them.
A)Literally mega grace!
B)Christ
came to an empty people and poured his grace upon them. We are saved by grace,
healed by grace, nurtured by grace.
C)What is
Grace?
It
is a word that describes the enrichment of life that results from the love and
power of God. Divine Favor
G
-- God's
R -- Riches
A -- At
C -- Christ's
E -- Expense
Grace
is what God gives us to get us through!
A)Ever had a situation in
life you just needed to get through? I have had times like that!
B)Literally
one day at a time one hour one moment PTL for His Grace
C)Doctors give prescriptions
to make you well.
1)Employers
give pay checks so we can get current.
2)Teachers
give lessons so we can get smart
3)PT
gives exercises so we can get fit.
C)God gives Grace so we can
get through!
The
New Testament has a lot to say about Grace!
A)Ephesians 2:8 Saved by
Grace
Titus 2:11 Saving Grace has appeared to
everyone.
2 Corinthians 12:9 His Grace is enough
for us.
2 Corinthians 6:1 We need to do
something with this grace not receive
it in Vain.
Hebrews 12:15 Dont fall short of the Grace.
B)1 Peter 3:7 Husband and wife are heirs together of the Grace life.
2 Peter 3:18 Grow in Grace.
Titus 2:1 Be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus.
C)Romans 16:24 One of many
places where we are told - The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all amen!
Great
Grace was upon!
A)God was meeting them in
their need supplying them with what the need was at hand.
B)Great grace was upon them
Grace was coming out of them
C)Manifested itself in
Great Care for each other.
#3
There was an absence of self.
They were so into Jesus that
Self didnt matter!
V.32b neither
did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had
all things in common.
"The
company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that
any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in
common."
They
were not clinging to anything The word mine was not in their Vocabulary.
A)So Like Jesus - Philippians 2 Jesus didnt cling to his
right to be equal to the father.
B)He made himself of no
reputation in becoming a man made himself the servant of the father.
C)Are you clinging to
anything?
1)To
a material standard of living that
you insist on having, no matter what someone else is needing?
1
Timothy 6:10
For the love
of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have
wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. NLT
Signs that we love money:
When money thoughts
consume my day!
When the blessings of others
makes me jealous! resent their car /house / clothes
When success is determined by what I have
vs who I am in Jesus.
When my family is neglected
in my pursuit of money. Big retirement fund set fool
When I close my eyes to
the genuine needs of others.
When I am living in paralyzing fear of
losing my money.
When
I give to God my left overs rather than my first fruits
Chasing
after what I lost!
A)Clenching it so tight!
B)Are you clinging to status,
to personal ambition, or to something else?
C)Here is the posture of the
man who clings: He is hanging on with clenched fists. Mine not letting go!
E)Person not clinging open
hand here God do what you want!
They
werent clinging to anything sharing everything.
34 Nor was
there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or
houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and
laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had
need.
A)Those who
were blessed realized they were blessed to be
a blessing to others!
B) I know pp who are rich
been blessed who share their wealth tithe they help out those less
fortunate
1)They are so satisfied
C) Know others rich who
horde keep all for themselves they are miserable.
Now
there were many who were selling their land to bless the body!
A)We are told of one by
name! Barnabas Son of Encouragement.
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas
by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the
country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it
at the apostles' feet.
Love
his name! Son or daughter of encouragement
A)Took an outcast Paul put
him to use!
B)Took a mess up John Mark
2nd chance
C)Took his land sold it
what is mine is yours
D)None of this was forced
Socialism all equal Yours is mine Force us to be equal
1)Christianity { willing
what is mine is yours
Great Power Great Grace
Unity sharing Caring
So
the early Church sharing loving Great Power and Great Grace was upon them.
A)Satan wasnt successful
threats and persecution seeks to weaken from within. RD 5:1-11
B)Interesting
The wifes name was Sapphira, Aramaic for
beautiful, and the husbands name was
Ananias, which in Hebrew
means God is gracious.
The
problem with Annaias and Sapphira was not ownership it was fine that they owned
the land.
A)It was fine that they
wanted to keep some of the money for themselves
B)The Problem was Hypocrisy
they were pretending
to give it all.
1)They wanted to be esteemed
in the eyes of others Wow!
Hypocrisy
is not someone who believes something and falls short of it!
A)That
is called being a Christian that is us.
B)We have standards that we
are trying to live by that we fall short of.
1)That is called being human
we are imperfect people trying to serve a perfect God.
B)Christians
are not perfect we struggle with our flesh Every believer falls
short
1) So a Hypocrite is not
someone who fails to live what they believe
C)A Hypocrite is something
completely different.
The
word hypocrite means to wear a mask used of actors playing a part!
A)Poser
Pretending to be a Christian a Church living in an entirely different way
outside of the Church.
B)Hypocrite
is the business man fish on his truck/ card
window- who rips people off
George MacDonald rightly
said, Half the misery in the world is caused by
people trying to look rather than trying to be.
C)Their sin was hypocrisy
Lying !
1) Lie to men but not to
God.
D)V. 3,4 Interesting Peter
says V.3 Satan has filled your heart to lie to the HS V.4 Not lied to men but
to God! { HS
is God}
E)He sees He is not
fooled!
Why
such a Harsh punishment?
A) The answer to that question
lies in the principle of precedence that says:
God will make a strong statement at one point in time to be
remembered and applied to all points in time.
B)Joshua 6 Achan New
country
1)Purity no compromise
C)Acts 5 New Country new
Church
1)Purity No Hypocrisy
Take
away for us!
A)Be real! Not pretending
posing trying to look better in the eyes of others.
B)Biblical
Characters Drawn to: Used to be
David,
Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah
C)Woman with the issue of
Blood bleeding desperate.
1)Blind Bartimaes Jesus
only hope.
D)Father Lacking faith
Lord I believe help unbelief
E)Martha Lord where were
you
.not died.
Really:
David had his Problems
A)Moses insecure
B)Joshua Scared
C)Nehemiah comfortable
Can
we just be real today Lord here I am
A)Admire Barnabas But I am
Clinging scared
B)Lord Help me frustrated
1)Lord I believe lack
unbelief