THE MAN WHO DROPPED DEAD IN CHURCH
Acts 5:1-11
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Neither Necessary
1. A pastor once met an old schoolmate and finding him a judge of good standing congratulated him upon his success in life. As they were parting, the pastor said to him, "And best of all, Judge, I find you are a member of our church."
2. "Well," said the judge, "that's more a matter of chance than anything else. You see, my wife and I thought we ought to join a church, so we settled down with a certain church. But they kept harping on faith and we discovered that they required more faith than we wanted to muster; so it became necessary to make a change.
3. “We joined another church. Here we found the demand was work, work incessantly; and it was presently apparent that they demanded more work than we wanted to perform. We concluded that we must change again.
4. “We looked around with caution, and at last we chose your church, and we’ve gotten along just fine with neither faith nor works."
5. This morning we’re going to look at a couple who were very similar to them.
B. TEXT
5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 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. 3 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? 4 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.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
C. THESIS
1. Many people have asked me about this passage. "Hey, isn't this the New Testament -- the age of grace?" "Why would God put someone to death for lying?"
2. "If God went through this church and rubbed out everyone who had lied in the last year, there probably wouldn't be anyone left."
3. Question is, "Why did this happen and what implications does this have for us today?"
I. GOD MUST HAVE A PURE CHURCH
A. IMPORTANCE OF OUR MOTIVES
1. THE SETTING. 32 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet” Acts 4:32, 34-37.
2. Barnabas and Ananias! Two persons may perform the same act, but in the eyes of God it may be far from being the same (Cain and Abel).
3. To those who looked on as A & S brought the money and laid it at the Apostle's feet, their action must have seemed pious and generous.
4. Even A & S themselves probably imagined that what they were doing wasn't really wrong; they were giving to the church, even if it was to gain status/respect.
5. But God was judging their motives. The lie to the Apostles and Church was really to lie to God!
B. DANGERS WITHIN & WITHOUT
1. This was a precarious moment for the Church -- it was so small and new that there was a real danger it could be stopped if the Sanhedrin moved quickly to execute its leaders.
2. YET the MOST DANGEROUS problem was INTERNAL:
a. If the Church, at its inception, became hypocritical, it would lose its spiritual power (like Samson did).
b. Only a pure Church could turn the world upside down; could in holiness, wield God’s power. God desired quality more than quantity.
3. God is more interested in your purity than about your prospects for the future. God is more interested in your motives than in what you do for Him!
4. You can do all the right things -- hold a Church position, give, attend -- but if your motives are wrong, it's not pleasing to God.
5. God must have a pure Church.
a. 2 or 3 drops of chlorine purifies a gallon of water. Why? Because it’s so pure.
b. A fly found in expensive perfume ruins it (Eccles. 10:1). [We must hate sin! An otter would rather die than get its coat dirty].
c. If a dead lizard was found in an earthen jar – the jar was defiled and had to be broken (Lev. 11:33).
6. God would rather have a small church that is pure, then a big church which doesn't represent Him. God is in charge!
7. The stronger God manifests Himself, the more purity He requires in the people He uses. The brighter the light, the more visible is the dirt on the floor, etc.
C. HUMOR
1. A rabbi was teaching his students a lesson on preparing for death and on repentance. One of the students asked, "Rabbi, when should a man repent?"
2. The rabbi responded, "Repent a day before your death." His students were confused. "How can a man know the day of his death?" they asked.
3. His answer: "He cannot, and since he may die tomorrow, it's all the more necessary for him to repent today."
II. THEY DIDN’T ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE MOVED
A. EARLY CHURCH – SEAT OF REVIVAL
1. If ever there was revival, it was in the early Church.
a. 3,000 saved at Pentecost.
b. 4:31; Place shaken by the power of God, all were filled with the Holy Spirit.
c. Miracles, gifts, manifestations!
2. But here is a couple, who were living right in the middle of Holy Ghost revival, but were unaffected by it. How frightening!
3. Ananias and Sapphira didn't realize what they had. They took "revival" and God for granted.
4. It's a terrible danger to linger around the fringes of revival without entering into it; it breeds numbness, in difference, no fear of God!
B. JUDGMENT BEGINS AT THE HOUSE OF GOD
1. The Scriptures teach the “Judgment begins at the house of God” 1 Pet. 4:17. God can't judge the world unless He gets His own house in order first. That's why He's going to purify the church before the rapture.
2. ILLUSTRATION
a. Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, a group of believers was meeting in a secret house church at night. Soldiers kicked in the doors and leveled guns at them.
b. "If you deny Christ, you can go. If you stay, you will die." The story goes that 3 or 4 of the "believers" denied the Lord to save their lives and left.
c. After they were gone, the soldiers put down their guns. "We are Christians too. But we had to know which of you were true before we could admit it." And they all worshiped together.
3. The good news is, you don't have to "drop dead" this morning. God already allowed His Son to die in your place. God is a God of love.
III. WHAT SHOULD HAVE MOVED A & S?
A. MOVED BY THE MAJESTY OF GOD
1. “I saw the LORD…high and exalted….seraphs …were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried….For I am a man of unclean lips…and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Isa. 6:1-5
2. “How great is God—beyond our understanding! At this my heart trembles and is moved out of its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice…He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.” Job 36:26; 37:1-3.
3. What was it that moved & shook Isaiah in the Temple? Or Elihu in the tornado storm? HOW BIG—HOW MIGHTY GOD IS! Even Moses said, “And so terrible was the sight…’I exceedingly fear and quake’” (Hebrews 12:21).
4. We’ve become so hypnotized by Hollywood’s theatrics, the accomplishments of science, and the compendium of man’s technology that we’ve ceased to see the majesty of God!
5. May God again restore our vision of the glory of God!
6. May we know the Eternal, unchanging, limitless Creator of the universe, Who alone possesses all knowledge and power beyond comprehension.
B. MOVED BY FEAR OF COMING JUDGMENT
1. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house” Heb. 11:7 KJV.
2. Noah’s belief in God’s coming judgment was so real and strong that it motivated him to keep working steadily on the ark for 100 years.
3. Today, many people, not just Christians, think the end of the world is near. Overpopulation, depletion of natural resources, weapons of mass destruction, and unbridled technology lead many to believe that the human race can’t keep going. Prophetic signs point to the fact that Jesus’ Coming is Near!
4. The nearness of the Coming of the Lord should move us! Are all our family members saved? Are we doing God’s will for our lives? What would you do if you KNEW the rapture would happen tonight?
C. MOVED BY JESUS’ SACRIFICE
1. Ananias and Sapphira should have been moved by the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus!
2. The Lord Jesus demonstrated his love many ways. He showed His love by coming to earth. He lovingly fed the hungry, healed the sick, and raised the dead. He was loving during his whole life. But Oh! His death demonstrated how surpassing his love is for us.
3. “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” John 15:13-14.
4. We should be moved by the Majesty of God. If not, we should be moved by fear of coming judgment. If not, at least let the pitiful suffering of Jesus, His gaping wounds, His tears and cries, His agonizing death on the cross move you. Perception, intellect, or heart; one.
5. Jesus’ going to the cross was the greatest sacrifice/ act of love any human could’ve ever shown us! Jesus did!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Repent
1. Genelle Guzman McMillan was the last person to be rescued from the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. She had been trapped in the rubble for 27 hours when at last fire fighters heard her calling and pulled her out.
2. This 30-year-old single mother had only been on the job as a Port Authority clerk for nine months when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
3. By her own description she was a Catholic who had become a "party-girl" and was living with her boyfriend in Brooklyn.
4. But when the North Tower collapsed, Genelle's thoughts immediately turned to the Lord and her 14-year old daughter. She prayed that her body would at least be found so that it could be buried.
5. Becoming bolder, she revised her prayer and asked the Lord that if she had to die, that she could at least make it to the hospital so she could see her daughter one last time.
6. But as faith seemed to bubble in her heart, she boldly asked her Heavenly Father to be rescued alive. "I was praying to God: 'God please save my life. Give me a second chance. I promise I will change my life and do your will.'"
7. Genelle kept her promise, turned away from her sins and has deepened her walk with the Lord. That’s true repentance!
B. THE CALL
1. Do you have any areas of hypocrisy in your life? Do you have any areas of sin that you have written off, that before today you thought God would overlook?
2. Some of you want to be more greatly used by God. It will require a greater consecration -- your life being set apart only to God. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." I would encourage you to surrender all this morning.
3. To repent means "to turn about." Like getting off the freeway, going under the underpass, and going back the opposite direction. Have you repented of your sins or are you just playing church?
4. Some of you haven't been “hearing” the voice of the Lord lately. It may be because you haven't prayed through and cried out to God. May I invite you to get in the altars today and "Tear your hearts and not your garments?"
