March 18, 2012
Morning Worship
Text: Acts 5:1-16; Philippians 2:5
Subject: The Early Church
Title: Three Attitudes in the Church
I want to begin this morning by sharing what the Lord spoke to me on Friday. Here is how His word came to me. It wasn’t when I was at prayer Friday morning (though He did give me the sermon then), didn’t come while I was preparing my sermon. It came to me when I wasn’t even thinking about anything. The Lord just spoke. Here is what He said to me. “I am going to send revival to the church. There are many who have prayed and hungered for revival, yet there are many who just want to play church. Those who are hungry I will satisfy and take them and the church to new heights. Those who are satisfied with the status quo will have to make up their minds which direction they will go. Some will oppose the sovereign move of the Spirit I am about to send. Do not fear them and do not back away from where I am taking you. Those who oppose Me will be left behind. To those who are for Me – I will require something in return. It is time to decide which church you will commit to – the church that satisfies your own will, or a church that obeys my word.”
Now when I was at prayer Friday the Lord gave me this scripture. Philippians 2:5, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus… I’m really beginning where we are going to end up this morning. Let me share with you what the scriptures say about Christ’s attitude. 1) Luke 19:10, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
2) Matthew 20:28… just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,”
So as we see what the attitudes of Christ is I want to look at three attitudes of those who are in the church as we see in the story in Acts 5:1-11.
Read Acts 5:1-16
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I appropriate it to my life today
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
I. THERE ARE THOSE IN THE CHURCH WHO WANT TO LOOK GOOD TO OTHERS WITHOUT MAKING THE SACRIFICE… verses1-11. The story about Ananias and Saphira. In order to understand this story we have to look at how chapter 4 ends. Barnabas has sold a piece of property and placed the money at the feet of the apostles. He did it out of love for God and His people. His motives were pure. The name “Barnabas” means “Son of encouragement”. What he was called he was… He lived out what Paul wrote in Romans 12:3, For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. There are two common misconceptions that people in the church have about themselves. 1) Too many think that the church couldn’t exist without them. I have seen people leave churches thinking, “I’ll leave and take as many people with me that I can. That will show them…” And every time someone has left with that attitude (which by the way is NOT as Christ like attitude) the Lord brought someone else into the church to replace them. Sometimes God moves people out of the way so there is no roadblock to what God wants to do in that church. 2) At the same time, too often people use their own natural abilities or their lack of abilities, as an excuse to do nothing in the church. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus… In the story today Ananias and his wife Saphira were apparently well known in the church. They were probably even highly thought of. But they became jealous of the recognition that Barnabas received by giving money to the cause of Christ. I’m not going to try to explain why God saw fit to put them to death. It is probably because the church was young and He wanted everyone to understand how important it was to live a Spirit lead life and not a flesh led life. Here is the problem. They had purposed in their hearts to lie to the apostles about their giving. They weren’t just lying to the apostles, or to the church, but they were making it look like they were being led by the Spirit when in fact they were being led by their own selfish desires – pride and greed. God is not impressed with our works. We will be rewarded according to our works, but we will not gain entrance into heaven by our works. If Ananias and Saphira had just sold their ground and taken 10% to the apostles and said, "Here is my tithe on the ground we sold", would they not have been blessed? Malachi 3:10, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test Me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.” What does God expect from you? He wants you to be who you are; no pretenses; nothing fake. Just know who you are in Him and live it out without expecting recognition from anyone. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
II. THERE ARE THOSE IN THE CHURCH WHO REFUSE TO GET CLOSE TO GOD… Look at verse 13, No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. There are so many who have a connection to the church. I believe they even like being associated with the church. But they are never willing to really get right in the middle of what God wants for their lives. They stand on the periphery and watch what God is doing in the church. Sometimes they watch from a great distance while they are outside the church. Some may receive a blessing at the altar and then back away for fear of getting too close. They know how they should be living. They know that God wants their all. They sense the moving of the Holy Spirit on them to move them into a deeper relationship with the Father, yet they just can’t break away from their past, or from the spiritual forces that have control over them. These are the people that Jesus talked about in the parable of the sower in Mark 4, 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. You be the judge in this. What is keeping you from getting as close to the Lord as He wants you to be? 1 Samuel 2:30 says, Those who honor me I will honor… I quote this verse often to be an encouragement to those who are serious about God, but the rest of the verse serves as a warning to those who are playing games with God; but those who despise me will be disdained. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…
III. THERE ARE THOSE IN THE CHURCH WHO ARE WILLING TO BE WHAT GOD WANTS THEM TO BE… 12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed. Three things I want you to see here about the faithful believers. 1) The apostles were doing what God wanted… they performed signs and wonders among the people… 2) the believers were doing what God wanted… they were meeting together in Solomon’s colonnade. Many people who call themselves believers refuse to submit to others that God has placed in authority over them. They claim they don’t have to go to church. They can get everything they need just from reading their bibles and listening to Christian radio or TV. That’s fine – then the next time they heed counsel or help with their utilities or just someone to be a friend, they can just call the radio station and talk to someone Right? But believers placed themselves under the authority of the apostles and they met together to support one another. Here is another piece of evidence that some in the church were doing what God wanted. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. Somebody was faithful in their witnessing. Whatever you do God asks you to be faithful in it. Norman Geisler, as a child, went to a VBS because he was invited by some neighbor children. He went back to the same church for Sunday School classes for 400 Sundays. Each week he was faithfully picked up by a bus driver. Week after week he attended church, but never made a commitment to Christ. Finally, during his senior year in High School, after being picked up for church over 400 times, he did commit his life to Christ. What if that bus driver had given up on Geisler at 395? What if the bus driver had said, "This kid is going nowhere spiritually, why waste any more time on him?" Max Lucado, God Came Near, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 133. 3) God was doing what He wanted – through the hands of the church. Spiritual gifts were in operation. Healings, authority over demons, taking care of one another. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…1 John 2:6,Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
In closing I want to share some verses with you that tell us about our attitudes concerning God.
1. Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. It’s not about how good you are but how good God is…
2. Luke 1: 37, For nothing is impossible with God.” Your attitude about God’s power must be correct.
3. John 14:12-13, 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Your attitude about who you are in Christ must line up with the scriptures.
4. 1 John 2:6, Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. Holiness, power and authority… the same as Jesus because He has given it to you.
5. 1 Samuel 2:30, Those who honor Me I will honor…
6. Philippians 2:5, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…
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What is your attitude concerning Christ?
Are you more concerned about pleasing others in the church than pleasing God?
Are you afraid to get close to God?
Are you living in His power and authority in a “faith” relationship with Him?
That right relationship with God through Jesus Christ only comes with proper attitudes about Him.
Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation's deserts. All vultures see is rotting meat, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do.
Steve Goodier, Quote Magazine, in Reader's Digest, May, 1990.
Perhaps that is why some struggle to continue in the faith. They live off the rotting and decay of their past lives. But God desires to bring freshness to you through a life in Christ.
A chaplain was speaking to a soldier on a cot in a hospital. "You have lost an arm in the great cause," he said. "No," said the soldier with a smile. "I didn't lose it--I gave it." In that same way, Jesus did not lose His life. He gave it purposefully.
