[2] Boy if there’s one thing that’s irritating its hypocrisy.
[Al Gore’s house, doctor’s office with ash tray examples.]
Hypocrisy is a hard thing to deal with. But you know what, all of us at one time or another find ourselves being a hypocrite. All of us at one time or another find ourselves not walking the talk. We say we believe this or that and yet we live contrary to what we say.
And sometimes that hypocrisy is on full display in the church. We come in here acting so holy, so together, so knowledgeable – and yet we aren’t living like we want others to think we are. Hypocrisy. It’s a bad thing.
Hypocrisy is also a dangerous thing because hypocrisy can grow into self-righteousness. Eventually, hypocrisy renders our lives powerless when it comes to the things of God. We find ourselves with a form of godliness but with now real power.
Now probably none of us here want that kind of faith. We don’t just want a superficial, put on, phony faith. We want the real thing! We want to walk with God. So what do we do when we find ourselves being hypocrites? Well, purge or be purged of the sin in your life.
You see God loves His children. And as a loving Father He disciplines His children when they’re harboring sin in their lives. Especially when they’re walking in hypocrisy. So either we can repent of our sinful ways and walk the talk or God will get our attention.
The early church that we’ve been studying about in the book of Acts had to go through some serious purging very early in their history. Even though the church was booming, God was still God and Father of His children there. Turn with me to Acts 4.
As we read about the early church we see an exciting church of [3] purpose. I mean this place was an incredible display of what it really meant to love God and love others.
[Read Acts 4:31-37.]
Now this was a great church. Remember, the leaders of the church had just been released from jail and had been warned not to speak about Jesus any more. But it didn’t intimidate them or slow them down in the least. They continued to boldly teach and preach about Jesus Christ in the face of persecution.
They had a great reputation amongst the non-church goers in the community.
They were completely unified as a church sharing “one heart and soul”.
And nobody in that church went without the necessities of life. Nobody got hungry, no one’s bills went overdue, everyone had a place to live and clothes to wear.
People who had means realized there were people who had needs and they did whatever it took to provide for others. Even to the point of selling off their houses and land that they didn’t need and giving the money to the poor.
Now this wasn’t compulsory. And this wasn’t some form of communism or socialism. People simply gave sacrificially to provide for others.
An example of that was given here of when Joseph the Levite sold a piece of land he owned to provide for others. His act of generosity was so impressive that they renamed him Barnabas which literally meant Son of Encouragement. (Remember that name Barnabas because he’s going to show up many times through the book of Acts.)
The point is, this was a happening church. They got together every day simply to express their love for God and for each other. And they didn’t just talk it – they walked it!
But then Ananias and Sapphira show up. Have you ever met or even heard of someone named Ananias or Sapphira? There’s a reason for that. They were the ultimate kill-joys at that church. Everything was going so good!
[Derek at Ben’s 21st birthday party.]
Ananias and Sapphira show up at church one day and literally killed the joy that was in that place – all because of their blatant hypocrisy. [4] So some purging had to take place.
[Read Acts 5:1-10.]
Now let’s make sure we understand what’s going on here. Peter calls attention to the fact that Ananias and Sapphira could do whatever they wanted to with their own land. The giving of money to the church was always a free-will thing. But at some point in time Ananias and Sapphira decided to sell their property and give the money to the church. And I’ll bet at church one day they got excited and made it public. “We’re going to sell our beach home and give you all the money so you can feed the poor!” (Yea!!! Pats on the back all around.)
But somewhere along the line they decided together that they’d give only some of the money to the church and keep the rest for themselves. Now that probably would have been alright if they would have been honest about it. But they acted like they were giving all their money to the church, when in reality they just weren’t that generous.
[Wave offering example, Ananias and Sapphira demonstration.]
Now you can lie to man – but you can’t lie to God. He knew what these two people were all about. And it seems that this wasn’t the first time they had done something like this.
[Read Acts 5:9a.]
In other words, you keep pushing to see just how far you can go with God’s grace?
If you’re a parent you understand this, don’t you? Kids constantly push the boundaries of household rules to see just how far they can go. Some push harder than others. But all want to know just how far they can go. (Because deep down inside all kids feel more secure when there’s clear boundaries given by their parents.)
So Ananias and Sapphira had been pushing the boundaries of God’s grace for some time. Now they weren’t pushing the boundaries of morality – they were pushing the boundaries of grace! They knew what they were doing was wrong. They just wanted to know how much they could get away with without God coming down on them!
Obviously they pushed too far and God purged them from the church.
[Read Hebrews 12:4-8.]
God will chasten His children. He doesn’t want us as individuals or us as churches to grow into spoiled, undisciplined, hypocritical believers.
So if we aren’t willing to purge ourselves from sin, He will. And depending on the sin, God will do whatever it takes to get our attention.
[Read I John 5:16-17.]
Sometimes our sin is so serious and so infectious that God decides enough is enough. Now, we can’t make that call. But the all-knowing God can.
Now before we go feeling sorry for Ananias and Sapphira remember this. From what we have here we know that they were Christians. So when the Lord ended their earthly lives, their eternal life with Him began. And they got to pretty much go at the same time which I guess is kind of romantic. Now, they lost a lot of heavenly rewards. They lost the opportunity to live amazing lives on earth. But they did go home to be with the Lord.
You know, we’ll get to see them some day. I wonder how many times people have gone up to them and said, “What were you thinking?!”
And they would say, “If I had a nickel for every time someone asked us that.” Then God speaks in the distance, “Ananias and Sapphira, I heard that!”
Anyway, the church’s purging had taken place.
Now some might say that this would be the kind of thing that could ‘kill’ a church. (Or at least lower the offerings…) But it actually had the opposite affect. You see when people are face-to-face with the reality of God, it causes us to do our best to walk the talk. We don’t want to be hypocrites any more. We want to walk with God! And when we do, the [5] power of God is evident in our lives!
[Read Acts 5:11-16.]
After the purging of Ananias and Sapphira, great fear came upon the church and even the towns people. God was evident in that place and everyone knew it.
Now this did keep some people away – people who really didn’t want to follow God. But for those who did want to know God, the Bible says that multitudes were coming to the Lord every day. The power of God was in that church and people wanted it! They were tired of their pointless, afflicted lives and wanted freedom.
The people were more unified than ever, their testimony in the city was as good as ever, and the power of God was evident in that church. People were being healed of their sicknesses and were even being delivered from unclean or demonic spirits.
You see, once you don’t have sin holding you back, the power of God can be more evident in your life. Sin is like a virus that works it’s way through your body. Until that virus is gone, you just can’t live like you want to live. You get the flu virus you feel sick and tired and nauscious and not like your normal self. But once that virus passes, your energy and focus comes back and you’re ready to start living again!
When we’re bound up by sin and start living the lie of hypocrisy, we don’t have God’s power to live like we should; like we could; like we want to. We’re too wore out and distracted by living the lie. And you know what, eventually God will have to chasten us if we won’t listen to the Spirit’s calling us to repent.
So again, purge or be purged of the sin that keeps you from walking the talk. When you feel the Spirit convicting you of your sin, repent and be forgiven before the Lord has to get your attention. He doesn’t want to have to go there. But as our heavenly Father, He will if He has to.
But what if we don’t feel any conviction over our sin? What if there’s no struggle to do right? What if there’s no discipline of the Lord? Then maybe you aren’t His child. The Bible says that God chastens His children and only His children. He calls everyone to salvation; He judges everyone; but He chastens only His children. If you can sin with absolutely no remorse, no conviction, no struggle and no consequence, then maybe you aren’t His child.
But the good news is, you don’t have to stay that way. God loves you and wants you to become His child if you will simply believe. “All that call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
[6] So as we come to the communion table, let’s take a moment to examine ourselves. Is there anything we need to deal with in our lives? Do we need to purge ourselves from any secret sin? Have we become hypocritical in some area? Or maybe today is the day that you call on the Lord for salvation. He wants to forgive and restore us if we’ll simply call on Him in faith. As you think on these things, listen to what Paul says in I Corinthians chapter 11.
[Read I Corinthians 11:23-32.] [Communion, closing prayer.] [7]
