Bacon or Eggs Part 2
Scripture: Acts 5:1-10; Second Corinthians 9:7; Matthew 10:34-39
This is part two of my series “Bacon or Eggs.” Two weeks ago in part one of this series I shared with you that there is a difference between the hen and the hog that provide the eggs and bacon we eat for breakfast. The hen lays the egg but continues to go on with her life after because laying eggs is just part of her routine. Day in and day out she can produce one egg after another. This is not a big deal for her. Her life is separate from the eggs because the longer she lives the more eggs she can produce. Laying eggs is not a sacrificial gift for the hen because laying eggs is what she does. I told you that this is similar to the person who gives thousands of dollars to the Church or other charities annually because they have millions of dollars in the bank. To them, giving up a few thousands to charity is not a big deal.
However, this is not the case with the hog. The hog remains alive until it gives its bacon. The hog’s gift, his death, is a one-time sacrificial offering that can never be undone. When he gives his bacon his life ends. You see, unlike the hen which can produce eggs daily, the hog can only provide his bacon once. One and done. The hog lives his “best life” until he reaches the appropriate weight for which his “best life” would be required. In order for us to have “real bacon” the hog must die. As I said in part one, I want you to think of the hog as someone who is willing to give their all to God. This person is all in and is totally and unapologetically committed to God and gives Him their best. For this person, what God wants and needs comes first. God is not an afterthought.
In part one I told you that I could sum up what the Holy Spirit had told me in two words, forethought or afterthought. If you recall, by definition, forethought is a “careful thought in order to be prepared for the future.” Likewise, an afterthought is “something not thought of, said, or done originally, but added afterward.” What the Holy Spirit told me was that we can determine the relationship we have with God based on whether or not He is a forethought or afterthought. A person who thinks of the things of God first is one that has God as a forethought. God is never an afterthought, He is never an “oh yeah and God,” as this person places what God wants and needs from them before anything else. God is never an afterthought; someone they have to remind themselves to seek His heart.
This morning we are going to start with the story of Ananias and Sapphira as found in Acts chapter five. This is a story where two individuals decided with “forethought” to deceive the disciples which led to consequences that they never considered. Let’s begin with verse one of Acts chapter five. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2and kept back part of the price, his wife also knowing it, and brought a certain part, 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 part of the price of the land? 4While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied unto men, but unto God.” 5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and died: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6And the young men arose, wrapped him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7And it was about the space of three hours later, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8And Peter said unto her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’ And she said, ‘Yea, for so much.’ 9Then Peter said unto her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them who have buried your husband are at the door, and shall carry you out.’ 10 Then she fell down immediately at his feet, and died: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.” (Acts 5:1-10)
Ananias and Sapphira, sold a piece of property from which they had promised to give the proceeds to the Church. However, after they made the transaction, they decided to keep part of the money for themselves, which was fully within their rights to do. But the way they went about it had disastrous results. When Ananias came before the disciples to “donate” the money, the Holy Spirit had already revealed to Peter their decision to keep back part of the money. Peter said to “…..why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4) Remember what I said about forethought and afterthought. Ananias and Sapphira his wife had come into agreement that they would keep back part of the money. They made this decision after they had already promised to give all of the proceeds to the Church. What is important to note here is that Peter had no way of knowing what the land was sold for so the couple thought they could give him any amount and he wouldn’t know the truth about how much they really got for the land. However, the Holy Spirit is able to see in the heart. And New Light, this is the issue, not the amount of money the land was sold for. Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter and we know that Jesus called Satan the father of lies in John 8:44. They had allowed Satan to convince them that they could benefit more from the money than the Church could. The Holy Spirit revealed to Peter what was in their hearts. When Ananias and Sapphira came before Peter and lied, they were not lying to Peter, but to God. If you read the rest of the story, you know that both he and his wife were struck down dead for lying to God.
So, Pastor, how does this story relate to whether or not someone is giving bacon or eggs to God? When Peter talked with Ananias he said to him that they did not have to give all of the money they had made from the sale of their land, they could have kept some from themselves. All they had to do was be honest about it up front. When you consider this story, you can see why Paul said in Second Corinthians chapter nine that “Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.” (Second Corinthians 9:7) When you understand what happened here, Ananias and Sapphira had promised God bacon, promised God all of the proceeds from the sale, but when they came before Peter they brought eggs. Again, this was a heart issue. We are not told why they changed their minds. Maybe they sold the land for more than what they thought they could sell it for. Maybe it was always their desire to only give the disciples a portion of whatever they sold the land for. Regardless, in their hearts they did not want to give them the full amount. Again, this is about what was in their hearts.
There is another point I want you to see from this story. They were both disciples of Christ and members of the apostolic church, which means they truly had experienced salvation. We can conclude this because at this time in Church history, the Church was hated and anyone associated with it was placing themselves in mortal danger. This couple had accepted Christ as their personal Savior but they were not at the point of fully giving God their all. When Christians refuse to give God their all, they leave the door open for the enemy to walk into their lives and do what he does best – steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). This is what we see in this example. After Ananias and Sapphira sold the land, they allowed Satan to convince them to lie to the Holy Spirit about the price they sold it for. I say “allowed” because when Satan first tempted them with this option they could have resisted the temptation. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” That submission to God is giving God our all and New Light, submission must come first. Without it, there is no resisting the devil. Remember, God has made a way for us not to give in to temptation. First Corinthians 10:13 says, “There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Ananias and Sapphira, as children of God, had the resources available to them to resist this temptation and fulfill their vow to the Lord – but they didn’t use it. It could be said that they were literally trying to give God eggs (a partial amount) but not the whole amount (the bacon.) As I said, this was a heart issue – they had not fully given themselves to the Lord. If they had been honest and told Peter that they had changed their minds about the amount they would give, that would have been acceptable. But they tried to deceive him and we cannot deceive God. He knows all and He truly knows what resides in our hearts! God would have accepted whatever they had decided to give but they attempted to deceive the Holy Spirit versus just saying that they had decided to donate a lesser amount than what the land sold for. Their planned deception cost them their lives. And one more point before I move on: the vow that Ananias and Sapphira made was not to Peter and the Church, it was to God. It was a promise they had made to God. As a Christian, we need to understand that when we give our word to do something – and it is not limited to the Church – God will hold us accountable if we don’t keep it.
There is another story in the sixth and seventh chapters of the book of Acts about a deacon named Stephen. The sixth chapter of Acts opens with a complaint that came before the disciples as the Church was growing. At this time there were the native Jews who spoke Hebrew and the Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists) who had lived in various countries where Greek was spoken. The Hellenists complained that their widows were being neglected when the distribution of good were being made. When the complaint reached the disciples, the disciples summoned the multitude before them and said, “…..It is not reasonable that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-4) The disciples made it clear that it was not their job to tend to the physical needs of the people. Their job was to tend to the spiritual needs of the people. This is one area where the Church has lost its footing. The pastors are required to be everything to everyone and are not allowed to have the time needed to take care of the spiritual needs of the body. Where would our Churches be if the only job the pastors had would be to pray and study the Word of God in order to take care of the spiritual needs of the people?
So the disciples told the people to “….pick out from among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” These men would become the first deacons of the Church. Their jobs were primarily to take care of the physical needs of the Church but also be spiritually powerful. The term “full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” mean that these were not just men who were honest and had good reputations. No, these men spent time with God and had the Holy Spirit operating within them. One of the seven men choses was Stephen. Acts 6:8 says, “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” What Stephen was doing before the people confirmed the truth of the promises and signs that “all believers” should be doing. The performing of miracles was not just given to the disciples, but to all believers and the same hold true today. This is another reason that pastors should be spending more time praying and studying! Now of course, as Stephen went about his business taking care of the needs of the people while also sharing the Word and doing miracles, some people got offended and felt threatened by what he was doing and began to argue with him. Acts 6:9-11 says, “Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. 10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. 11Then they bribed men, who said, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.’” Because they could not get him legally, they bribed men to falsely accuse him of speaking against God and Moses so they could put him on trial and stone him.
Acts 6:12-15 says, “And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council. 13And set up false witnesses, who said, ‘This man ceases not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law. 14For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered to us.’ 15And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.’” Those men stirred up the people and created a mob scene where Stephen was grabbed and taken before the elders. While he stood before them, men who had been bribed made accusations against him. It was at this point that Stephen had a choice to make. Remember, he was a deacon whose primary focus was to take care of the physical needs of the people first. However, Stephen, while taking care of those physical needs also ministered to the spiritual needs of the people, something all deacons (and every Christian) should be doing. This is what got him into trouble. Stephen was in trouble because of the “eggs” he was giving Jesus. You see, the things he was doing were things he did as part of his ministry – his service. They were eggs. When he was taken, brought before the elders and accused of blasphemy, he now had to make a choice. He could modify his actions and still give God eggs, or he could go all in and give God his all and give Him bacon. His story is recorded in the Bible because he chose to give God bacon.
When the high priest asked Stephen to respond, Acts chapter seven records the “historical Bible lesson” that Stephen gave them. While Stephen did not deny that he had said some of the things he was being accused of, he proceeded to make clear what he had said in order to convince them, if possible, and bring them to repentance so that their souls could be saved. When you read what Stephen said, you see that he not only had wisdom from the Holy Spirit, he also had biblical knowledge. All deacons should have biblical knowledge in order to be able to give an answer when questioned. They need this knowledge in order to know how they are to act but also to enable them to speak to and assist in meeting the spiritual needs of the Church members. Stephen walked them through the history from Abraham to that day. When he got to the end of his message he told them in Acts 7:51-53, “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you. 52Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them who showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers. 53Who have received the law as delivered by angels, and have not kept it.” I am sure they were expecting Stephen to yield, apologize and beg for forgiveness. But that is not what happened. Oh no! Knowing that his life was on the line – and that he had a choice to continue giving eggs – Stephen chose to go all in and give God his bacon. He called them out for who they were, “….stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.” When he made this profession, his fate was sealed.
I want to read the final verses of Acts chapter seven because although his death was tragic, God took notice of it because he was giving his all. God allowed him to see where he would shortly be. Verse fifty-four begins, “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. 56And said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.’ 57Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ 60And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Stephen gave his all. He gave his life. He did not back down even though he knew to not do so would mean his death. But Stephen’s death did not end there. If you notice in verse fifty-eight, the men who stoned Stephen laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. This same Saul, would later be converted and have his name changed to Paul, would evangelized the Gentiles and write two-thirds of the New Testament. Do you not think that Stephen’s death had an impact on him when he reflected upon it after he was saved? I believe that it did for he said Acts 22:20, “And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the clothing of them that slew him.”
One final note on Stephen before I close. Stephen chose to give his all for Christ. It was not an afterthought; it was a forethought decision. When he accepted Christ, he made the decision, at that time, to go all in because the Church was being persecuted. He chose to give his life. When you read Acts 8:1 you see that after his death the persecutions of the Church increased and people fled. They were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. People fled persecutions, Stephen did not. Stephen gave God bacon, not just the eggs of service.
Remember in my message two weeks ago where I discussed the rich young ruler. Remember the question that Peter asked Jesus about what they would receive since they had walked away from everything? Jesus told him that everyone who walked away from something (from material things to relationships) would receive more in His kingdom. The act of walking away from things is giving God bacon. We are giving Him our lives. Stephen gave God his life, spiritually and ultimately physically. When we look at our lives, what have we given up for Christ? Football season is starting, will we give up missing part of a game for Christ or will we attempt to have both? Remember what I said about forethought and afterthought? If you set your DVR to record the football game because you might be late because you attended Church service or Bible study, then the things of God are a forethought as you place His things first. However, if you have notifications popping up on your phone during a Church service or Bible Study with the latest scores, then God is an afterthought because you are willing to interrupt your time with Him for football. And this is just not about football. Anything thing we put before God makes God an afterthought in that situation. Jobs, school, family, parties, etc. Whatever takes precedence in our lives ahead of God places God as an afterthought. Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38And he that takes not his cross, and follows after Me, is not worthy of Me. 39He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39)
Do you love Jesus more than anything else? These six verses carry a lot of information, but it speaks directly to our hearts and what is important to us. Jesus said if we put anything before Him then we are not worthy of Him. That’s what Jesus said. However, we say that as long as we give Him something (anything) then we are good. I can do whatever I want as long as I give God my eggs on time (service, money, good deeds.) God desires our bacon because if we are giving Him bacon, the eggs will follow. Are we giving God bacon or eggs?
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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