“Fly high” – Acts part 3
On the Lighter side of Life: Funny pictures of pets
Opening Video Illustration – Flying high for the kingdom of God – two real life stories of what it means to sacrifice for the kingdom and for others:
From Blue Fish TV – Illustrate Volume 3 : David and Cynthia and Dooney.
Thesis: The book of Acts was written to show what God can do with people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and what happens to those who try to deceive the Holy Spirit.
Scripture Text:
Acts 4:32-37:
32All 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. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There 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 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts 5:1-11:
1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With 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.
3Then 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? 4Didn’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.”
5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9Peter 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.”
10At 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. 11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
Introduction:
In Acts 2 we heard Luke write that the church of Acts was so transformed after the Day of Pentecost and its outpouring of the Holy Spirit that they actually (The followers of Jesus who are filled with the Spirit) sold their possessions and gave the cash from them to those who were in need – Listen to Acts 2:44-45: “All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” As we progress on into chapter 4, 5 of the Book of Acts we see Luke sharing a few actual cases of one person doing it correctly and another case of it done incorrectly and the result.
As I sat and read this section of Scripture I was once again amazed at how changed and transformed these people were. Their possessions did not own them any more – they no longer lived for material things but instead they sold out 100% to God and God alone. Barnabas was a man who sold out for the Lord and gave up his possessions to serve the Lord. I also wondered what would happen if today a person was immediately held accountable for and attitude of sin and deception like Ananias and Sapphira.
3 people stand out in our Scripture Text - 1 Flew high in His relationship with the Lord this would be Barnabas and 2 others who were disciples in the Jerusalem church crashed and burned because of the sin of deception and lies.
Barnabas: He was a high flyer for the kingdom of God!
Holman Bible Dictionary states this about the Barnabas in Acts Barnabas was a Levite and native of the island of Cyprus, named Joseph (Joses), before the disciples called him Barnabas. He sold his property and gave the proceeds to the Jerusalem church (Acts 4:36-37). He introduced Saul of Tarsus to the Jerusalem church (9:26-27). The church chose Barnabas to go to Syrian Antioch to investigate the unrestricted preaching to the Gentiles there. He became the leader to the work and secured Saul as his assistant. They took famine relief to the Jerusalem church (11:19-30). On Paul’s “first missionary journey,” Barnabas at first seems to have been the leader (chs. 13-14). Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem to try to settle the questions of how Gentiles could be saved and how Jewish Christians could have fellowship with them (15:1-21). They agreed to go on another missionary journey but separated over whether to take John Mark with them again (15:36-41).
International Standard Encyclopedia article by H. E. JACOBS - bar´na-bas - “son of exhortation… He was a Levite from the island of Cyprus, and cousin, not “nephew” (the King James Version), of the evangelist Mark, the word (Col 4:10), being used in Nu 36:11, for “father’s brothers’ sons.” When we first learn of him, he had removed to Jerusalem, and acquired property there. He sold “a field,” and contributed its price to the support of the poorer members of the church (Acts 4:36ff). In Acts 11:24 he is described as “a good man and full of the Holy Spirit” (compare Isa 11:2; 1 Cor 12:8, 11) “and of faith,” traits that gave him influence and leadership. Possibly on the ground of former acquaintanceship, interceding as Paul’s sponsor and surety, he removed the distrust of the disciples at Jerusalem and secured the admission of the former persecutor into their fellowship. When the preaching of some of the countrymen of Barnabas had begun a movement toward Christianity among the Greeks at Antioch, Barnabas was sent from
Jerusalem to give it encouragement and direction, and, after a personal visit,
recognizing its importance and needs, sought out Paul at Tarsus, and brought him
back as his associate. At the close of a year’s successful work, Barnabas and Paul
were sent to Jerusalem with contributions from the infant church for the famine
sufferers in the older congregation (Acts 11:30). Ordained as missionaries on
their return (Acts 13:3), and accompanied by John Mark, they proceeded upon
what is ordinarily known as the “First Missionary Journey” of Paul (Acts 13:4,
5). Its history belongs to Paul’s life. Barnabas as well as Paul is designated “an
apostle” (Acts 14:14). Up to Acts 13:43, the precedency is constantly ascribed to
Barnabas; from that point, except in 14:14 and 15:12, 25, we read “Paul and
Barnabas,” instead of “Barnabas and Saul.” The latter becomes the chief
spokesman. The people at Lystra named Paul, because of his fervid oratory,
Mercurius, while the quiet dignity and reserved strength of Barnabas gave him
the title of Jupiter (Acts 14:12). Barnabas escaped the violence which Paul
suffered at Iconium (Acts 14:19).
Ananias and Sapphira: This couple crashed and burned while being a part of the Kingdom of God!
1. A DISCIPLE AT JERUSALEM FROM - International Standard Encyclopedia: Husband of Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10). He and his wife sold their property, and gave to the common fund of the church part of the purchase money, pretending it was the whole. When his hypocrisy was denounced by Peter, Ananias fell down dead; and three hours later his wife met the same doom. The following points are of interest. (1) The narrative immediately follows the account of the intense brotherliness of the believers resulting in a common fund, to which Barnabas had made a generous contribution (Acts 4:32-37). The sincerity and spontaneity of the gifts of Barnabas and the others set forth in dark relief the calculated deceit of Ananias. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. (2) The crime of Ananias consisted, not in his retaining a part, but in his pretending to give the whole. He was under no compulsion to give all, for the communism of the early church was not absolute, but purely voluntary (see especially Acts 5:4) Falsehood and hypocrisy (“lie to the Holy Spirit” Acts 5:3), rather than greed, were the sins for which he was so severely punished. (3) The severity of the Judgment can be justified by the consideration that the act was “the first open venture of deliberate wickedness” (Meyer) within the church. The punishment was an “awe-inspiring act of Divine church-discipline.” The narrative does not, however, imply that Peter consciously willed their death. His words were the occasion of it, but he was not the deliberate agent. Even the words in Acts 5:9b are a prediction rather than a judicial sentence.
2. Sapphira Aramaic for either “beautiful” or “sapphire”; Wife of Ananias (Acts 5:1-10).
T.S. - Lets look at what to do and what not to do to form a New Testament Acts church.
I. Barnabas was a high flyer for the Kingdom of God and we need to learn from his life.
a. Barnabas had a giver’s heart and it showed in his life and his actions.
i. Acts 4:36-37: Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
ii. His life reveals to us what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to have a heart of an encourager.
iii. He sold a field and gave it to the church in Jerusalem to be used to help out the poor who were part of the church.
1. Why would someone sell a precious possession – such as land and then give it to the church?
a. Because he cared about people and their needs,
b. Because he did not care about hoarding possessions when he saw people in need.
c. Because he was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit directed him to give it away.
d. Because he knew what really counted in life – giving to others and to the church of Jesus Christ.
i. He definitely was a man who was not controlled by his possessions but instead used them to bless others.
ii. He controlled them they did not control him.
2. Once again we see what happens when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit – they are transformed.
a. It is believed that Barnabas had been one of the seventy sent out by Jesus to do ministry.
b. Barnabas was part of the group either in the upper room or in crowd when Pentecost occurred and the Holy Spirit filled the disciples.
c. Either way after the day of Pentecost Barnabas surfaces to the top of the church as a transformed individual.
i. His first leadership action is to sell what he has his land and he gives it to the church in Jerusalem.
iv. Barnabas believed in supporting the Jerusalem church and its mission to reach the lost and hurting in society.
1. So he gave and he gave sacrificially.
2. He not only gave but he became actively involved in the church of Jerusalem.
v. His selfless action lands him in the Bible and he is viewed as a hero of the faith in the Jerusalem church and in the spread of the Gospel to the world.
1. He was a man who gave and in turn God used him to impact many others lives for the kingdom of God.
a. But notice he was a giver and the Jerusalem church re-named him “Son of encouragement.”
b. This says a lot about his character and his integrity to called one who lifts others up, one who comforts others, and builds up others. What a epitaph to go on your gravestone.
2. He was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things for the kingdom of the Lord.
a. How? – by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the having a genuine authentic love for the Lord and for His people.
b. Barnabas was man who saw the best in people and he stood beside them even when others did not. He was a defender a supporter of those who could not defend themselves.
i. Barnabas was instrumental in bringing the newly converted Saul of tarsus to Antioch, and very influential in having the other apostles accept the newly converted persecutor of the church.
1. He saw the changed man and stood behind his conversion.
2. He stood in the gap for Paul and verified that this man was transformed by the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
3. Acts 9:26-27: When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
a. Guy Caley – “Saul the former Christian Killer was being shunned by the church, but Barnabas, the encourager, takes him by the hand and brings him to the leaders and says let me tell you about the change in my brother Saul.
4. Barnabas was a true and genuine friend who saw the good in others. He encourage others like Paul and stood beside them and said, "I believe in him!"
5. The willingness of our hero of the faith helped to raise up Saul into Paul and he helped him get started in the ministry.
a. Barnabas and Saul renamed Paul were commissioned by the church in Antioch and Jerusalem to conduct the first missionary journey to the lost.
b. If Barnabas had not aligned himself with Paul then life would have been much more difficult for Paul but this man stepped forward and said “I believe in this man’s conversion and I stand beside him.”
ii. Barnabas also defended John Mark after his failure on the first missionary journey.
1. Acts 15:36-39: Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus.
a. Caley notes - Barnabas again sees potential in someone despite a past failure.
i. Let me ask you all a question today “Do you see the potential in people?” Or -“Do you only focus on people’s times of failure and conclude since they are not perfect then they should never be allowed to do ministry again?”
2. While on their first missionary journey things got tough for the missionaries and John Mark quit and returned home.
a. Paul was mad and upset over being abandoned by this young man on the road of ministry. So later on the two missionary’s decide to do another missionary journey and once again John Mark wanted to go with Paul and Barnabas.
i. I am sure John Mark felt bad about his failure and he wanted to redeem himself so Barnabas the encourager is saying, “Praise the Lord John Mark you can come with us!” But Paul was adamant – remember he was a Pharisee at one point and he said “Not as long as I am living will this drop out go with me!” But Barnabas the encourager – the man who sees the best in people stuck up for John Mark . But Paul and Barnabas argued and they separated each going to different locations but Barnabas stood his ground and he took with him John Mark and helped him to develop and mature in the Lord.
1. Do you remember who John Mark is? He is the author of the Gospel of Mark and later on in Paul’s writing he admits he was wrong about the young man. He stated that John Mark was a great help and blessing to him and the ministry.
2. Barnabas saw the best in John Mark and he helped it to come out by giving this young man support, encouragement and mentoring.
iii. Please note this - The ongoing friendship of Paul and Barnabas is obvious from Scripture as Paul frequently referred to Barnabas warmly in his letters. They may have disagreed here but they stayed friends and ministry partners.
1. I Corinthians 9:3-6: 3This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
2. Galatians 2: 1Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. 6As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. 7On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. 17“If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
3. Colossians 4:10: 10My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)
4. These two may have disagreed at certain points in time but they still loved each other and Paul learned a valuable lesson about forgiveness for one who fails and Barnabas received correction by Paul when he himself was influenced by Peter about circumcision and the Christian. These two corrected each other – challenged each other – and taught each other and they are role-models as to how leaders should act in the Body of Christ.
a. Let me ask you a question- the story of these two prominent men of God in the Book of Acts shows that men can disagree and be corrected by each other and yet still be friends. These two friends and ministry partners helped each other to grow more mature in the Lord and through it all they still loved each other and supported each other.
i. This is true friendship! This is servant leadership!
ii. This is what a New Testament Acts church should look like and be like!
c. Barnabas role-modeled servant leadership throughout his life and was a key figure in the birth of the Antioch church and the spread of the Gospel.
i. Acts 11:22-24: News of this [revival] reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
1. Notice how Luke describes this man of God -
a. “He was a good man…”
i. How good was he/ According to Lockyer “Barnabas struck the men of Lystra as being like God. In fact, the Lystran’s had a legend that if the ‘Father in Heaven’ came down to walk on the earth, He would be very like Barnabas. For whatever reason and however mistakenly, ‘they called Barnabas ‘Jupiter.’ A similar effect was produced at an earlier date. The people of Antioch were deeply impressed with the personality of this apostle, for as he lived and preached with the newly converted Saul of tarsus in the polluted streets of the city, the title by which we are now privileged to call ourselves, Christians, ‘Christ-men’ was then coined to convey the impression of the likeness of Barnabas and his companions to the Master they preached” (186).
2. He was filled with the Holy Spirit
a. The book of acts demonstrates what happens to a person when they are filled with the Holy Spirit.
b. The difference was the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I honestly believe that the primary focus in the book of Acts is not the Apostles but it is actually the Holy Spirit. I believe Luke penned this book as the Lord directed to show the church and His followers that their power and ability to do ministry and to be a witness comes from the Holy Spirit. It does not come from our own strength or abilities but from the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
c. The book of Acts tells me that if I want to do marvelous and supernatural things for the Kingdom of God then I need to yield my life to the Holy Spirit.
3. He was filled with faith
a. Holman states - FAITH Trusting commitment of one person to another, particularly of a person to God. Faith is the central concept of Christianity. One may be called a Christian only if one has faith.
i. Caley stated, “Barnabas encourages the new believers in their faith, he was a strong spiritual example. This is an important aspect of friendship that’s often overlooked. The most important part of us as human beings is not our bodies, but our spirits. A friend who helps physically but doesn’t offer spiritual help--sharing the good news about Jesus, encouraging others to follow the Lord--that friend isn’t really all that great of a friend.”
ii. “A great number of people were brought to the Lord.”
1. What a hero of the faith – What a legacy Barnabas left from his life!
2. He led others to Jesus because of his lifestyle and his servant leadership role.
a. He worked for the success of others – “How I can help you succeed?” - was his motto!
b. You can just see him saying, “I believe in you!”
c. Acts 11:25-26: Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
i. Notice once again this man and his disciples birthed the name “Christ-men” those who looked and acted like Jesus Christ.
ii. Notice – He and his disciples birthed the worlds designation for us today “Christians”
T.S. - The opposite of Barnabas was Ananias and Sapphira who lacked integrity and they allowed hypocrisy and deceit to fill their hearts.
II. Ananias and Sapphira could have become key leaders in the church of Jesus Christ but deceit filled their hearts and their example shows us what not to do.
a. They did not have a heart filled with giving but rather one filled with wanting recognition to elevate their standing in the church.
i. Their heart was motivated by pride.
ii. Their hearts were motivated by hypocrisy.
iii. Their hearts lacked integrity.
iv. Their hearts were filled with deceit.
v. Their hearts were deceived because they thought that they could lie to the Holy Spirit and get away with it.
b. They did not care so much about others, instead they cared more about how they looked to others.
i. They saw no problem in lying or deceiving others even when they did not have to lie.
ii. This is why they were judged so harshly by the Holy Spirit.
1. John Maxwell views this sad scenario in Scripture this way:
a. Leaders give of themselves liberally-at least, they did in the New Testament. The whole church enjoyed unity and generosity, and it all started at the top. The example of the apostles spread a spirit of generosity throughout the whole church. Unfortunately, a couple of pretenders, Ananias and Sapphira, sold some land and gave part of the proceeds to the apostles, reporting that they had given all the money to the church. God revealed their deception to peter and he called them on it. Their sin was not lack of generosity, but lack of honesty. They lied about what they had done, They wanted to be thought of as generous without paying the price. God would have nothing to do with it. He surgically removed the spiritual cancer from the church by taking their lives. “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things,” Luke says (Acts 5:11). Let’s look more closely at the problem and itemize it. Ananias and Sapphira…
i. Clung to their possessions.
ii. Agreed to lie about their giving.
iii. Pretended to be someone they were not.
iv. Thought they could get by with appearing to be generous.
v. Felt more concerned with their image than their relationship to God (The Maxwell, Leadership Bible page 1323).
2. The Spirit Filled Life Bible states this about the lessons to be learned from the crash and burn couple:
a. Ananias and Sapphira were judged for their hypocrisy and lying to God, not for their decision to retain some of their personal property for themselves (v. 4). The severity of the punishment for such a small offense may seem intolerant and graceless (see Luke 9:54,55), but it was necessary both to establish apostolic authority in the early church and to safeguard the church’s purity. A sobering lesson is that Satan has the power to distort the thinking of Christians (v. 3), thus affirming our need to allow him no place (Eph. 4:27). The believer’s best defense against self-deception is through mutual accountability to one another (especially to a local congregation, Eph. 5:21). Constant renewing of the mind through the Word and a sustained ‘fullness’ of the Holy Spirit are also safeguards (page 1633).
i. These two showed that even Christians can be deceived and therefore we must guard our hearts.
c. They never became leaders because they were hypocrites. There example is placed in the Book of Acts to warn other Christians about the danger of trying to lie to the Lord and to try to deceive others in Body of Christ for personal recognition and gain.
i. Out text ends with this statement about the Acts church: Acts 5:11: “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”
ii. I believe the church must be aware that “God will judge those who try to lie to Him and try to deceive others in the Body of Christ.”
Conclusion:
So what have we learned today?
We need to be like Barnabas! He flew high for the Kingdom!
1. Barnabas had a heart that was filled with generosity and a genuine concern for the needs of the church and the needy associated with the church.
2. Barnabas always saw the best in people and he was willing to stand behind those who had made mistakes and say, “I believe in you!”
3. Barnabas was a servant leader who lead many to Jesus and he also was instrumental in raising up other leaders who made a tremendous impact for the kingdom of God.
We must not become like Ananias and Sapphira they crashed and burned in the Kingdom!
1. They let their hearts be filled with hypocrisy.
2. They believed that they could lie to the Lord God and get away with it.
3. They allowed the spirit of deceit to take root in their lives.
4. They lacked integrity and paid the price for their dishonesty.
