Illus: During the Oscars in Hollywood in 2004, the actors and actresses tried to give the impression that they cared about poverty. Listen, if they really cared about the poor as they pretend to care, instead of buying those dresses that some of the actresses paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for, they would have given the money to the poor.
Today, many are giving a false impression. They appear to be one thing and are really something else. Even our children learn how to make a good appearance at an early age. That’s why they want to wear the expensive name-brand clothes.
While many are learning to make a good APPEARANCE, they are not being taught that:
• A person can look like a king and not be a king.
• A person can look like a football player and not be a football player.
• A Person can even look like they love the Lord but not love Him.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Illus: A man met a beautiful young lady at the mall and immediately he asked her for a date. She said, “I’ll tell you what, you come to my apartment and I will fix you a nice meal and we will watch television and eat some pop corn together.”
He said that sounded like a good idea, so he showed up at her home at the appointed time.
She greeted him with a big hug and a kiss at the door. They had a lovely meal together and everything was going great, when he noticed a picture on a table of a man standing by the sofa they were sitting on.:
• He said, “Is that your brother?” She said, “No!”
• He said, “Don’t tell me that is your boy friend.” She said “No!”
• He said, “Don’t tell me it is your husband!” Again, she said, “No!”
She said, “Actually that is a picture of me before I had my sex change operation!” He threw up and went home.
In these days:
• What looks like a woman might be a man
• What looks like a man might be a woman
• What looks like a man or woman might be an “IT!
Illus: In 1884, a young man died, and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, President of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial, Eliot impatiently said, "Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship." "We were thinking of something more substantial than that... perhaps a building," the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple departed. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain pair had gone elsewhere and established a 26 million dollar memorial named “Leland Stanford Junior University”, better known today as Stanford! (Today in the Word, June 11, 1992)
We have people today who think that if they wear a certain brand of clothes, drive a certain kind of a car, or talk a certain way, they can fool everyone. The truth is, you can put a pig in a tuxedo but he is still a pig!
We live in an age when making a good appearance has become everything for some folks.
Ananias and Sapphira would have fit right into this age of ours. In the New Testament church, they tried to appear to love the Lord, BUT THEY DIDN’T!
There were two kinds of Christians in the early church:
• Some were dedicated Christians that loved the Lord so much that they sold their land and gave it unto the Lord. They were everything they appeared to be!
• Some of these were undedicated Christians that did not love the Lord. They sold their land and kept back part of it for themselves! Then they told the church they were giving all! They were NOT everything they appeared to be!
Let’s look at several things in the life of Ananias and Sapphira. We see -
I. THEIR DECEPTION
Christians should be noted for being HONEST and TRUTHFUL! Ananias and Sapphira were neither. They came up with a plan to DECEIVE everyone into thinking they were dedicated Christians that loved the Lord.
Illus: When architect Sir Christopher Wren designed the interior of Windsor Town Hall near London in 1689, he built a ceiling supported by pillars. After city fathers had inspected the finished building, they decided the ceiling would not stay up and ordered Wren to put in some more pillars. England's greatest architect didn't think the ceiling needed any more support, so he pulled a fast one. He added four pillars that did not do anything -- they don't even reach the ceiling. The optical illusion fooled the municipal authorities, and today the four sham pillars amuse many a tourist. - Nino Lo Bello, European Detours (Hammond).
Ananias and Sapphira wanted to appear as STRONG PILLARS in the church, but they are two that only appeared to be STRONG PILLARS in the church!
Look at Acts 5:1-2, we read, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet.”
Listen, they had several options:
• They did not have to sell the land at all
• They could have sold the land and given a portion of it
They chose to sell a piece of land and pretend they were giving all to the Lord like others had done, to give the APPEARANCE that they loved the Lord when they did not!
The scripture says they “kept back” a portion of the proceeds. These were two dishonest people!
Christians should be known for their HONESTY and TRUTHFULNESS!
Illus: The President of Moody Bible Institute tells this story: A young man from the school took the streetcar to class. But before the conductor came around to take the fare, he had gotten off at the school without paying.
Later on, he realized it. He thought, "That wasn’t right. I had my ride. I should pay the fare." So he went down to the station, found the conductor, and paid him the money.
• The conductor said, "You’re a fool for doing this.”
• The young man said, "No, I’m not. I got the ride. I should pay for it."
• The conductor said, "It’s my business to collect the money."
• The student said, "It’s my business to hand it to you."
• The conductor said, "I bet you belong to that Bible Institute.”
The President of Moody commented, "I have never heard anything said about our school that made me more proud than that one thing."
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was shopping at one of the Lowe’s in his town, and he greeted the cashier with a smile as he normally would do. This particular cashier had waited on him many times and seemed to like him. As she was checking the items out, she came to one item and looked around to see if anyone was looking and placed the item in his buggy without ringing it up on the cash register. He pulled it out and said, “You overlooked this item, and the woman looked at him as if he had slapped her face!”
He said, “Please do not be offended, but I have to sleep tonight. If I do not pay for that item, every time I see it in my home I will feel guilty for not paying for it!”
Illus: When Abraham Lincoln was running the country, he had lots of chances to make shady deals and enhance himself financially. But this is what he said about his Presidency: "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me."
One of the things that distinguishes the people of God is our HONESTY and TRUTHFULNESS. When people hear our name, they should immediately think of someone who is HONEST and TRUTHFUL.
Illus: A man sat down at a bar, looked into his shirt pocket and ordered a double scotch.
• A few minutes later, the man again peeked into his pocket and ordered another double.
• This routine was followed for some time, until after looking into his pocket, the man told the bartender he’d had enough.
The bartender said, "I’ve got to ask you -- what’s with the pocket business?" "Oh,"” said the man, "I have my lawyer’s picture in here, and when he starts to look honest, I know I’ve had enough to drink."
We Christians should be noted for TRUTHFULNESS. Ananias and Sapphira marched right into the house of God and lied!
Illus: Back in November of 1999, when Donald Trump announced he might run for president, he was asked what his qualifications were. He said, "I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I'm more honest and my women are more beautiful." (The New York Times, November 17, 1999)
The first thing that should pop into people’s minds when they hear the name of a Christian is that they are HONEST and TRUTHFUL people. Ananias and Sapphira were not HONEST or TRUTHFUL!
As we listen to people talk today, we hear them contradicting themselves. That is, they are reckless when it comes to truthfulness.
Illus: A young man applied for a job, and the boss of the company said, “If you're going to work here young man, there are two things we require:
We expect you to come to work every day clean, and we always expect truthfulness!”
The boss man said “Did you wipe your feet on the mat as you came in?" "Oh, yes, sir." responded the young man.
The boss man said, “How could you have wiped your feet on the mat when there is no mat?"
Both Ananias and Sapphira were in this together to make a GOOD APPEARANCE. Neither one was HONEST or TRUTHFUL!
We have looked at THEIR DECEPTION, but also let’s look at-
II. THEIR DILEMMA
They were out to fool everyone into thinking they really loved the Lord. They had this plan worked out in every detail. They were first class hypocrites.
Illus: A church had a capacity crowd one Sunday morning. Just before the preacher started his sermon, two men carrying automatic weapons entered through the rear of the church.
One of the men shouted, "Everyone willing to take a bullet for Jesus stay in your seats!"
The pews emptied, followed by the choir. The deacons, the choir director and the assistant pastor also fled, leaving about a dozen people in the pews.
The men put their weapons away and told the preacher, "All right, pastor, the hypocrites are gone. You may begin the sermon."
Listen, Ananias would have been the first one out the door.
Notice, they chose not to come together, but separately.
A. ANANIAS
Look at Acts 5:1-2, we read, “But A CERTAIN MAN named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet.”
B. SAPPHIRA
Look at Acts 5:7-8, we read, “And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.”
Together and individually they wanted to position themselves as people who loved the Lord. They were bent on DOING EVIL to make themselves LOOK GOOD!
Illus: Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, President Lincoln said:
"Well, let's see how many legs has a cow?" "Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly. "That's right," agreed Lincoln.
"Now suppose you call the cow's tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" "Why, five, of course," was the confident reply.
"Now, that's where you're wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow's tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." (Bits & Pieces, July, 1991.)
Calling EVIL GOOD to make a person LOOK GOOD is wrong.
Illus: They remind me of the story that Chuck Swindoll tells in his book called "Growing Deep in the Christian Life." He writes about a man who bought fried chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The attendant at the fast food outlet, however, accidentally gave him the proceeds from the day's business - a bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken.
After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to enjoy some chicken. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken - over $800! But he was an unusual guy. He quickly put the money back into the car and drove all the way back. “Mr. Clean” got out, walked in, and became an instant hero.
By then, the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, "I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money."
The manager was thrilled to death. He said, "Let me call the newspaper. I'm gonna have you and your wife’s picture put in the local newspaper. You're one of the most honest men I've ever heard of."
The man quickly jumped in: "Oh, no. Don't do that!" Then he leaned closer and whispered, "You see, the woman I'm with is not my wife. She's, uh, somebody else's wife."
Ananias and Sapphira looked like HONEST and TRUTHFUL Christians, BUT THEY WERE NOT!
We have looked at THEIR DECEPTION and THEIR DILEMMA.
Let’s also look at-
III. THEIR DESTRUCTION
Look at Acts 5:5-10, we read, “And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.”
Ananias was struck dead immediately and Sapphira was struck dead three hours later.
WHY DOES GOD PUT THE STORY OF ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA IN THE SCRIPTURES? Because God wants to show us how serious it is when people want to give the APPEARANCE OF LOVING HIM BUT DO NOT LOVE HIM!
That’s what makes the behavior of Ananias and Sapphira so BAD! Peter wasn’t angry at them because they didn’t give enough money. He was angry because they lied about it!
They wanted to APPEAR to love the Lord, but they really did not love the Lord. They cared more about looking good in the sight of man than the sight of God.
Conclusion:
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are tested every day. DO WE REALLY LOVE THE LORD or are we PRETENDING TO LOVE THE LORD?
Illus: Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a English pastor who got on the trolley Monday morning to go back to his downtown study. He paid his fare, and the trolley driver gave him too much change. The pastor sat down and fumbled the change and looked it over, and counted it eight or nine times. And he said to himself, "Praise the Lord! It’s wonderful how God provides!" He realized he was tight that week and this was just about what he would need to break even. Or at least enough for his lunch. He wrestled with himself all the way downtown. And by the time the trolley pulled up to his stop, he couldn’t live with himself anymore. He walked up to the trolley driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change. You made a mistake." The driver said, "No, it was no mistake. You see, I was in your church last night when you spoke on honesty, and I thought I would put you to the test."
As a believer, can you pass the test of HONESTY and TRUTHFULNESS?
At the end of the day, you have to live with yourself, and you have to live before God.
I. THEIR DECEPTION
II. THEIR DILEMMA
III. THEIR DESTRUCTION
