INTRO.- Together with his wife. This is the way it should be. A man and his wife should be together on things, such as going places, going to church, shopping, and buying lottery tickets!
ILL.- Fri Jun 29, 2007. Don Harvey and his wife, Joyce, just became millionaires and then some. OKLAHOMA CITY - Don Harvey’s long-haul truck had almost 2 million miles on it when its engine died this week. Now, he’s planning to ride the road in style, after winning a $105.8 million Powerball ticket with his wife.
Harvey and his wife, Joyce, said they will pay off bills, help family members and think about buying a new home with their winnings. They chose to receive a $33.3 million lump sum after taxes instead of the full amount paid out over 29 years.
The ticket was purchased at a Shell service station in Roland, about five miles east of Muldrow where they live in eastern Oklahoma, almost on the Arkansas border. It was a quirky thing that she won, she said, because she always had bought lottery tickets using the same numbers.
She said she recently bought a ticket, but the numbers "came out wrong." She said she decided to use those same numbers when she bought the ticket in Roland and bingo, it was a winner.
Joyce Harvey said she was in "absolute disbelief and shock" when she checked the numbers on her computer Thursday night and found she had the winner.
"Basically, I just broke down and cried," she said. The couple said they were "pretty satisfied with our life" and would have to think long and hard about what do with the money after first paying off bills. But they don’t expect things to change too much. (Ha!)
A truck driver all his adult life, the 64-year-old Don Harvey said he did not plan to stop working. "I’ve got to have something to do," he said. "I can’t go fishing all the time and I don’t play golf."
He said he would buy a fancier truck than the one that finally quit running after he rolled into Muldrow from a trip delivering air conditioners to Madison, Wis. But it won’t be a new one, he said, saying there is no reason to waste money, even if you’ve got it to waste, on a vehicle that greatly depreciates in its first two years.
Don Harvey and his wife, Joyce, now have $33.3 million after taxes. They said THEY WOULD HELP FAMILY MEMBERS.
Do you think they will? And if they don’t, what do you think God would think of this?
What do you think God thinks about how we deal with the money that He has given us?
Psalm 50:9-11 “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.”
God owns everything but He is also the giver of every good and perfect gift. James 1:17. He gives us every thing that is good. He gives us life, breath, money and material possessions, etc.
But I wonder what He thinks of how we use these things?
In our text, we have the account of a Mr. and Mrs. Ananias. And it’s not a very good account. In fact, it’s downright frightening.
PROP.- Let’s think about what they did and what happened to them and how this could apply to us today. In this text, I see:
1- Conspiring in evil
2- Lying to God
3- Dying in suddenness
I. CONSPIRING IN EVIL
Acts 5:1-2 “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
Ananias conspired with his wife Sapphira. They worked together. They plotted together. They planned together. Sounds like a Bonnie and Clyde thing to me.
ILL.- Bonnie Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were notorious outlaws in the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known nationwide. They captivated the attention of the American press and its readership during what is sometimes referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1935. Although this couple and their gang were notorious for their bank robberies, Clyde Barrow preferred to rob small stores or gas stations.
Were Bonnie and Clyde married? No, they weren’t. How thick were they? Thick enough to get into lots of trouble and die early in life: Bonnie at 23 and Clyde at 25. Most historians believe Bonnie joined Clyde because she was in love. From that moment on she would remain a loyal companion to him as they carried out their crime spree and awaited the violent deaths they viewed as inevitable.
Do we ever conspire to do evil? Yes, because we are not as bold by ourselves as when we’re with others.
ILL.- For example, I remember walking home from Jr. High school with a buddy of mine. That was a long time ago! We walked by an old building was run down, dilapidated, windows broken out, etc. And WE decided to throw rocks and break out some more windows. Whose idea was that? I don’t know but we did conspire to do that evil deed.
ILL.- I remember another time when I was much older. In fact, I was 18 years old and my friend was probably the same age when we wanted to experiment with drinking.
Now both of us had already tasted beer. We knew about that stuff. We knew what it would do to us but we wanted to know what the “stiffer” stuff would do. I knew a guy who was over 21 years old and we (I) asked him to get us a bottle of Vodka, a fifth of Vodka. Why Vodka? One reason was because we’d heard that you couldn’t smell it on a person’s breath. (And I wouldn’t bet on that now!)
That guy bought the fifth of Vodka and we paid him for it and then we got ever so drunk. WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE? I don’t recall but it’s called conspiring to do evil.
To do evil by oneself is bad enough but to get someone else involved is even worse. It intensifies the evil. It doesn’t double the pleasure, it doubles the evil!
Ps. 101:3-4 David of old wrote, “I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.”
When people have evil ideas and motives and want to get us involved we should quickly decline.
Someone says, “Let’s go do something even if it’s wrong.” Huh? And what do you say? I would say, “Go ahead and hang yourself. Enjoy it while you can.”
When people invite you to do evil, you have only once choice as a follower of Christ. And I’m thinking that perhaps Sapphira should have told her husband, “Honey, I love you but….I just can’t go along with this plan of yours.”
II. LYING TO GOD
Acts 5:3-4 “Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." You have lied to God. All sin is against God.
ILL.- Once when Lord Moynihan, great British surgeon, had finished operating before a gallery full of distinguished visiting doctors he was asked how he could work with such a crowd present. He replied: “You see, there are just three people in the operating room where I operate—the patient and myself.” “But that is only two!” his questioner commented; “Who is the third?” Moynihan responded, “The third is God.”
No matter where you operate, work, live, drive, play, etc. you have a guest.
ILL.- Dr. John Baillie made it a practice to open his course on the doctrine of God at Edinburgh University with these words: “Gentlemen, we must remember that in discussing God we cannot talk about Him without His hearing every word we say. We may be able to talk to our fellows, as it were, behind their backs, but God is everywhere, yes, even in this classroom. Therefore, in all of our discussions we must be aware of His infinite presence and talk about Him, as it were, before His face.”
ILL.- The President of Moody Bible Institute tells this story: A young man from school took the streetcar to class. But before the conductor came around to take the fare, he had gotten off at the school without paying.
Later on, he realized it. And he thought, "That wasn’t right. I had my ride. I should pay the fare." So he went down to the station. Found the conductor. And paid him the money.
The conductor said, "You’re a fool for doing this. The young man said, "No, I’m not. I got the ride. I should pay for it."
The conductor said, "It’s my business to collect the money."
The student said, "It’s my business to hand it to you." The conductor said, "I bet you belong to that Bible Institute."
The President of Moody commented, "I have never heard anything said about our school that made me more proud than that one thing." How commendable!
ILL.- One preacher told this story about himself. Recently, I sold one of my shirts on Ebay. And I was so happy because I could only sell it at Potterama for $1.50. And yet I found someone on Ebay who bought it for $7.99!
But then as I was folding the shirt to send out, I found some stains along one of the cuffs. And I tried washing it. I tried spraying it with Shout. But the stain wouldn’t come out.
At first, I was thinking, "Well, she paid for it already. Sometimes, you win some. Sometimes you lose some."
But God was telling me, "Marc, that’s not the way the people of faith do business. That woman bought the shirt for her husband. She didn’t know it was stained. You have to tell her."
So I emailed her and said, "I’m really sorry. I found a stain on the shirt that I didn’t notice before. And I can’t in good conscience sell you a shirt that I know to be defective. I can send your money back if you’d like."
She accepted the refund. And later on, she left this feedback on my seller page: "This is an HONEST Ebayer. The way all of Ebay should be."
He said, “That feedback meant more to me than the lousy $7.99. I may have lost the money. But I saved my reputation as an honest disciple of Jesus Christ.”
What about us? Are we honest before God and man?
III. DYING IN SUDDENNESS
Acts 5:5-6 “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.”
This is the part that we don’t like to consider, talk about or even think about. The judgment of God. Ananias and Sapphira died as a result of lying to God.
ILL.- Justice Gray of the Supreme Court once said to a man who appeared before him in a lower court and escaped penalty by some legal technicality: “I know that you are guilty, and you know you are guilty and I wish you to remember that one day you will stand before a better and wiser Judge.”
The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was lying to God. They tried to put on a “front” to the people around but they didn’t fool God. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool God any time.
Do we ever put on a “front” for people? Do we give the appearance that we are better than we really are? Or are we honest with everyone we meet? And in God’s presence?
ILL.- Preacher Warren Weirsbe said, “The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was energized by Satan (v. 3) and that is a serious matter. If Satan cannot defeat the church by attacks from the outside, he will get on in the inside and go to work. He knows how to lie to the minds and hearts of church members, to get them to follow his orders…”
He further said, “We must remember that their sin was not in robbing God of money but in lying to Him and robbing Him of glory. They were not required to sell their property and having sold it, they were not required to give any of the money to the church. Their lust for recognition conceived sin in their hearts and that sin eventually produced death (James 1:15).
What about this business of God striking them dead? It’s frightening, that’s what! This was not the first time God did caused the death of people.
ILL.- In Genesis 19 when God overthrew the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah He told Lot and his family to flee for their lives but not to look back (19:17). And what happened? You know the rest of that story. Mrs. Lot apparently didn’t believe what God said. She looked back and became a pillar of salt. She lost her life! (19:26)
ILL.- In Lev. 10 the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, offered unauthorized or false fire to the Lord and they were killed for it. It sounds pretty extreme and I guess it was. But it must also mean that God means what He says and He’ll do what He says.
What about the possibility of God killing someone today? I think it’s highly possible! I would say that we shouldn’t test God in order to find out.
Heb. 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
CONCLUSION-------------------------------
ILL.- Preacher J. Vernon McGee (1904 - 1988), related this story, one day, during his sermon, and, then, stopped and posed the question, "How many of you have ever been guilty of hypocrisy, deception, lying, and pride since becoming true believers? Raise your hand if you have!" McGee took a short pause as he waited. Almost everyone in attendance, that day, raised their hands!
McGee then said, "Man! What a crowd of evil people I’m ministering to today! By looking at the sheer numbers of hands raised, if God judged everyone today the way he did Ananias and Sapphira, I would not have anyone left to preach to! But, that’s all right! Come to think of it, I wouldn’t be here either because I have done all of these things myself!"
What about us? I think perhaps we’re all guilty of a certain amount of lying, deception, or hypocrisy and even since giving our lives to Christ. What’s going to happen to us? Is there any hope of salvation?
Ps. 103:8, 10 Says that God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love, and does not treat us as our sins deserve.
It is only by the grace of God that any of us are saved and will be saved. All we can do is live the best we can, confess our sins to the Lord, ask for mercy and put our trust in the Lord Jesus.
