Stealing From God
Scripture Reference Acts 5:1-4 (KJV)
Acts 5:1-4 1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 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. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast though conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
There is certainly no doubt about the fact that God does not want His children to steal. The truth is that there should never be a reason to steal when we trust in Him with all of our heart.
When we trust in God with all of our heart He becomes our provider. He becomes responsible for making sure that we have all of the things that we need to continue to be able to exist on earth.
I, like you, wonder then why is there even such a thing as hunger? Why doesn’t He just demolish poverty once and for all? The answer to that question may be answered when Jesus comes back for a second time but as for now, Jesus has assured us that the we will always have the poor with us (Matthew 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.).
When a person sets their mind to steal what are they really thinking that they are doing:
1.) Deceiving the person that they are trying to steal from
2.) Convincing themselves that although they know that they are
wrong they will not be struck down by God immediately.
3.) Believing that there is an action that they can take, a place that
they can go or even a thought that they can think and God not
be right there with them
My dear friend I am here to assure that the only one of the three that they could possibly get away with would be the first.
The only person that they would possibly have a chance of deceiving would be the person that they are stealing from and believe me that if that person is a true believer then everything that they have has been insured by God. So the use of whatever it is that was stolen will probably bring the thief more harm than good.
In this particular passage of scripture Ananias and Sapphira, for some ungodly reason, were confounded by the idea of breaking their covenant and stealing from God.
According to (Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,) they sold some property or a possession in an act to bring the money and leave it at the Apostle’s feet. This is similar to what we do everyday.
Some of us go to work on jobs that we begged God for and during our plea for the job we promised him that we would tithe every payday.
We sometimes start out doing well but soon find ourselves putting the house note from the house that we pleaded for or the car note from the car that we pleaded for before our tithe. It seems that we think that we get away with this crime or that God doesn’t mind but I assure you saint that you are only fooling yourself because it is impossible to fool an almighty God (Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.).
Certainly with all of the people working together and no one lacking anything the apostle was probably very wealthy. It could have very well seemed that the chain of thought for Ananias was “Well, he’ll never miss it”. Many of us get caught up in this misconception. We perceive that the church seems to be doing well and our tithe and offering will certainly not be missed. Or better yet we say, “I’m not giving that preacher all of my money”. This will seem true for the consistent and faithful tithe payer because a tithe that starts out at $10.00 will quickly jump to $1,000, which in many cases seems like just too much money to give away.
Maybe Ananias was thinking that the price for his posession was just too much and maybe he could keep a portion of this great amount to buy his wife that expensive garment she always wanted. This concept may seem noble, however we must not forget our covenant with God. We promised God that if He would bless us, we would tithe consistently and faithfully of our first fruits.
This covenant action that is being discussed is not a one-way transaction. We as Christians are also living under a covenant or promise that God made to us. In (Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.) Paul wrote that “And if ye are Christ’s then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” This translates as; if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and savior, then you are a child of Abraham and you have inherited the promise that God made to Abraham.
For those who understand, this is enough to shout for joy but for those who don’t understand I will continue to explain.
Illustration:
Let’s say that your girlfriend had a rich and distant uncle and aunt living far away but you were very poor and struggling from day to day with your girlfriend. The thought of marriage had crossed your mind and the inspiration to get married was certainly there but because of your financial situation you had to hold off. However, suddenly the Spirit of God moved in your life causing you to move forward with your marriage to this person in spite of finances or anything else in the way.
One day while searching through some of your spouse’s old documents you find one that reads: If she were to marry, then she and her spouse would inherit one billion dollars from the uncle and aunt. Some may say that this example is a bit over exaggeration but I assure you that this does not even begin to compare to the riches of God. God said that he would supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory (Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.). So although one billion dollars is a great sum of money, nothing can compare to the peace of mind, the love or the understanding that God gives. These things are priceless even two billion dollars cannot compare.
CONCLUSION
We should all take a really close look at ourselves. Are we so bold as to think that we can steal from God?
If we steal from God do we honestly think that we are getting away with it?
Where do we think that we can run to? Where do we think that we can hide?
There are several planes that can move at very high rates of speed out there but is there a plane that can move so fast as to outrun the speed of God?
Saints the only person that is going to pay for your theft from God is you and believe me he has a penalty that you can not afford.
We need to stop stealing from God.
Let’s Pray
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minister Juan D. Lane
