Sermon Brief
Date Written: October 10, 2011
Date Preached: October 16, 2011
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Sermon On Stewardship
Sermon Title: The Heart of True Stewardship
Sermon Text: Acts 5:1-11 [ESV]
1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." 5When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." 9But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." 10Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Introduction:
There are MANY subjects on which I could preach that would risk offending those here in our congregation. The subject of sex is a very sensitive subject and I will admit it is not a subject I have preached much about, but one that should be addressed more and more by the church as our culture is saturated more and more into a sexual context… but sex is not the most sensitive subject out there!
There is the subject of politics that seems to polarize the community of faith more than just about any other subject. There are those who believe the pastor should keep his mouth shut about politics and mind his own business… and there are those who think the pastor doesn’t say enough about who we should vote for or what we should vote against…
This is a touchy subject, but the pastor should NOT avoid this subject as it is vital to our congregation to know what God’s word has to say about citizenship and being a responsible believer… but politics is NOT the most sensitive subject out there…
Just a couple of weeks ago I made a statement in our church where I asked if we should welcome homosexuals to attend our church… there was an eerie silence that morning when I made that statement. While the homosexual lifestyle is an affront to God and a sinful choice by those who live in it… those people are not abandoned by God and we should not turn our backs on them OR any other sinner who comes thru our doors… or any other sinner we meet on the street!
God has called us ALL out of sin into His kingdom… we are all welcomed by God’s grace when we open our hearts to His love! But the subject of homosexuality or sexual sin is STILL NOT the most sensitive subject I could talk about from the pulpit…
Have you figured out what that subject is? Well the sensitive subject I am speaking about this morning is a subject that Jesus taught about MORE than any other subject. In fact if you take all the subjects Jesus taught about, this subject equals to the total of all the other subjects added together…
Jesus believed that teaching on this subject was VERY CRUCIAL to our spiritual growth and maturity… The subject I speak about this morning is the subject of stewardship… or more commonly referred to as MONEY or TITHES and offerings to the church…
I once heard a story about a preacher who was bound and determined to see more giving in his church so he wired the pews of the church to a powerful electrical current…
The next Sunday he challenged the congregation to give… “Who will give $500 to the Lord… STAND UP!” – then he hit the switch and 25 people jumped out of their pews!
That worked so well the preacher said, “Who will give $1000 to the Lord… STAND UP!” he hit the switch again and another 10 people jumped up! Getting excited he asked one more time, “Who will give $5,000 to the Lord!” The preacher hit the switch and all 25 of his deacons were electrocuted…
It seems as if NO ONE wants to hear the preacher speak about money! It seems that when the preacher preaches on the subject of Stewardship, many of in the church begin to cringe AND some even refuse to listen to what he has to say… their thoughts are that “All he wants is my money!”
What if the disciples had that same attitude toward Jesus? Did you know that if we add up all the teaching Jesus did on heaven and hell it does not equal the amount of teaching he offered on the subject of stewardship, more specifically the subject of money! Jesus knew and understood that money represented the stumbling block that would trip up many believers!
Jesus taught in his great Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:21) “Where your treasure is… there your heart is also!” In other words… what you treasure most will have a hold on your heart! So the question for all believers is simply this… what do you treasure MOST?
Do you treasure the God and Savior you proclaim to serve? OR do you treasure your money? Your way of life? You comforts? Your luxuries? Your excesses? Your desires? What is it that you treasure the most?
Jesus taught later in that same chapter that we should not treasure things but that we should seek God first and all the ‘things’ would be taken care of by the God we serve!
Last week we heard how Paul had LEARNED how to be content in whatever situation God placed him in… be it in want or in great abundance… Paul was content. Paul had learned that his focus had to be on Christ and not on the ‘things’ of this world.
So many of us today are FRIGHTENED out of our minds to surrender our finances to God… we are afraid that He is going to make us live the life of a pauper… that we will have to ‘scrape by’ and suffer all sorts of financial hardships!
But I want to share something with you… it is NOT about the money! It’s about your heart! God’s focus here is NOT on your pocket book but it’s on your heart and the attitude of your heart… where does your treasure lay? What do you value most? Is it Christ? Or is it THINGS?
In our story this morning we find 2 people who had a warped sense of giving… God saw through their false humility and His wrath was poured out on them! Their true heart was revealed in their actions… their love was NOT for Christ, but it was for themselves and the ‘things’ they wanted.
For this attitude, God punished them harshly… this punishment is meant as a warning to other believers on how serious of a matter ‘giving to God’ is… we are called to tithe, but even in our offerings above and beyond our tithe, we are called to give sacrificially and do so with an open and an honest heart and attitude!
Background:
To set this passage up… let’s look at a little background for this situation. Ananias and Sapphira were members of the early Acts church. At the end of chapter 2 scripture tells us…
“…44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need…”
This was the precedent set for the church… They were meeting the needs of all who had need and to do that they were willing to part with their possessions! This was serving Christ! Their hearts reflected what Jesus had taught about in Matt 6 about ‘treasure’ –
Their treasure was Christ and NOT their possessions, and that was reflected in their actions! With this mindset there were many people who wanted to give to the church and at the end of chapter 4 we find one particular man was praised for his generous nature and giving… Barnabas!
34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Many had made this sacrifice, but only Barnabas is named. It could be because his field brought a great price OR maybe it was ALL he had…the point here is clear! Barnabas had sold his field and then surrendered ALL of what he had made to the church…
This represented a total submission and surrender by Barnabas to the Lordship of Christ in his life! He laid his offering at the Apostles feet, meaning that he gave it all without reservation or designation… to the church… to God… for His purposes!
The Offering – Attitude behind the gift – v.1-2:
1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Others saw Barnabas’ gift and it was inspiring… but we find in the beginning of chapter 5 that there was a couple who had possibly witnessed Barnabas’ gift and they decided to give… now I don’t know the hearts of Ananias or Sapphira when they made the decision to sell their property, but let’s just say that their heart was in the right place…
I can almost imagine the service when Barnabas made his contribution… I can imagine the Spirit of the Lord running high in this service and hearts were being touch and the presence of the Lord was VERY EVIDENT. Ananias and Sapphira were probably there and were caught up in the emotion of the moment and decided that they had a field they could sell… and we will give it to the church as well!
Now Scripture only tells us what Ananias and Sapphira did when they gave their money to the church, it does not tell us the motives they had for selling their property… it could be that they started out with pure motives and the spirit of greed crept in and they decided to keep some of the proceeds for themselves…
The more likely answer is that they saw the attention Barnabas was receiving for his obedient and submissive act, and I believe they wanted to be known in the church as that sort of believer… one who gave all for Christ! I believe their downfall was not so much greed as it was a spirit of pride… but regardless of what led them to do what they did… it was not what God desired of them.
Scripture only tells us that “…with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it…” there was a plan in place when Ananias brought the offering to the church! There is an implication here that Ananias told the church that he had sold his field and this was ALL of what he had made… JUST LIKE BARNABAS!
I can imagine Ananias was waiting for the glowing reception that Barnabas had rec’d… to be lifted up in the fellowship… to be saw as one who was SPIRITUAL and loved God! This reveals an attitude behind the gift that they brought to the church.
Well preacher they were GIVING… what difference does it make as to why? People give to charities all the time for tax write offs… what is the difference? Well people, the difference is that our gifts to God are gifts of worship… gifts of praise… How can an act of worship be done with an attitude of selfishness?
Let me tell you this goes FURTHER than your tithe and offering! This includes everything you do for Christ! This includes your coming to church at all… WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Are you here because you feel you MUST be here… that it is an obligation for you? Are you here because you know if you are not people will talk? OR are you here because you have come to offer up your praise and worship to the One who has saved and sustains you each day? WHY ARE YOU HERE TODAY?
Have you ever thought about YOUR offerings are acts of worship on your part? What we give to God reflects our attitude about God. If we are stingy or frugal in our giving… then we are frugal and stingy in our praise to God! God tells us in 2 Cor 9:6-7, 6The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7Each one must give as he has decided in his heart,(E) not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
How CHEERFUL is your giving… or a better question to ask… how WORSHIPFUL is your giving? Is your giving an act of worship? OR is it an act of duty or obligation or an act of pride? In our passage from this morning we find Ananias and Sapphira giving out of reasons other than true worship of God!
If you are giving your tithe and your offerings for ANY other reason other than worship… you need to repent and make it right with God! Our giving MUST be part of our praise… our giving MUST be out of our love and adoration for God… our giving MUST be out of our WORSHIP of the God we serve! Is your giving “WORSHIP” today?
The Offering – Results of Wrong Attitude – v.3-11:
3But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." 5When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." 9But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." 10Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
When we read this many of us think privately, “This is TOO harsh! The punishment was FAR too severe, after all they DID give something to the church, what harm was it for them to hold some back for themselves!”
If you are thinking that way, your thinking is flawed because the object of this lesson is NOT how MUCH we give to God, but it is the attitude and heart behind our gifts!
The principal sin her by Ananias and Sapphira is NOT giving too little OR even holding back some of what they rec’d for selling their property… that has NOTHING to do with this! The principal sin was deception… they LIED about what they were doing, and in doing so not only lied to the church and to Peter, which is bad enough, but they tried to lie to God as well!
In the book of Exodus the commandments of God given to Moses on Mt. Sinai detail a very basic code of living for those who follow God, one of those basic codes is found in Exodus 20:16 where the commandment reveals that we are to NOT bear false witness against our neighbor… but it goes without saying that we should not bear false witness at all… we are called to be truthful in our dealings with others and with God.
This couple PLANNED to deceive the church… their statements were misleading and were false. They told the church, “Hey we sold this piece of property for such and such and here it is as an offering to the church…” BUT that was a false statement and it was something they had planned in advance to do… a willful deception on their part! A willful sin on their part…
What does scripture say about WILLFUL sin? Let’s go to a story Jesus told in Luke 12… Jesus taught in v.47 that there is a difference between sin and willful sin… both are punishable… but we are held MORE accountable for the sin we willingly commit! READ Luke 12:48 here…
This couple knew sin…knew what they were doing was wrong… and they were held to a higher standard! They WILLFULLY lied and attempted to deceive the church and ultimately God… and they paid a high price for doing so…
Conclusion:
My dear people… this morning I want to share with you that your giving is FAR more than you may think it to be… it is an act of your will… so what is your will toward your giving! Are you willfully sinning by giving with a bad attitude or hold back what you know God wants you to give? For those of us who have much… much is required is what Scripture says!
This is NOT speaking about having a lot of money or stuff… but when it says, ‘those who have much…’ it is speaking to those of us who have it ALL… we have Christ… we are Christians… we are expected to act and live a certain way… and when we make choices to NOT live or act as God has set forth… that is WILLFUL sin on our part and we are going to be held DOUBLY accountable!
We have heard about our financial woes, but I want to let you know DON’T give because you want to ‘save’ the church! Don’t give out of guilt or compulsion to do the ‘right’ thing! Our church will NOT be saved by large gifts of cash from our members… our church will only turn around when we begin to worship God in the manner HE deserves!
Our worship in giving must be to glorify HIM and NOT to save our church… you see because it is NOT our church… it’s HIS church! And as Scripture makes plain to us… God will NOT abandon those who obey and serve Him!
We can see from our passage this morning that it is NOT about our actions as much as it is about our ATTITUDE! We can go through the motions here at Oak Park if we choose to… but for us to do that is us continuing in sinful behavior… and doing so with a willing heart! Do you want to stand before God with WILLFUL sin staining your soul?
This morning God is calling you to repent… repent and make things right with Him by committing to a worshipful lifestyle that gives glory to God in every action within your life! Are you willing to do that today? If so, when Bro Ken begins to sing this morning… I call on you to come to this altar and make it PUBLIC… let the world know that you are committing your life to TRUE worship of God! To true giving of yourself to Him!
If you are here today and you do NOT know Christ as your Savior… today is the day He is calling you! Jesus said TODAY is the day of salvation… I want you to know that regardless of the sin in your life, Jesus wants to forgive you and heal your soul and save you for all eternity!
Today won’t you surrender to Him? Today won’t you confess your sin… and submit to the Lordship of Christ in your life? As Bro Ken comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation… I call on you to step out and come down to this altar to allow God to change you FOREVER! Won’t you come as we begin to sing…
