The Preaching Collaborative ep 12: Stephen Willis preaches on "A Spirit-Filled Life"

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Welcome to the Holiness Today podcast. I'm Stan Reeder, Regional Director of
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USA Canada, and we are partnering with Holiness Today to feature preachers from across the region.
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We hope these messages will encourage your daily walk with the Lord and help.
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Music.
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You feel connected with our region.
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Great. Look at your neighbor and say, you look great. I'm telling you,
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I'll look awesome. So if you have a copy of God's Word with you today,
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we're going to be continuing in our series in the book of Acts.
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And we're going to get as much through Acts as we can all the way up until Advent.
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And we're excited about that. And today we're actually going to be looking in chapter 5.
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And some of you who like to read ahead, you're like, I can't wait to get to
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chapter 5. I want to see what Pastor Willis says or Pastor Stephen says.
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And so for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about,
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you will know here in a second.
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So as we turn to Acts chapter 5, we today are grateful for the Word of God.
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If you're grateful for the Word of God, could you say amen?
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I want you to know today, before I read Acts chapter 5 to you,
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the Word of God is a dangerous book.
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I mean, it's dangerous in a good way, but it's a dangerous book.
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And I also want to say to you that the correct posture toward the Word of God is this.
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If you read something and you disagree with it, then you need to check yourself. You're wrong.
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Okay, like that's just the bottom line. I think, and this is not in my notes
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today, but I think one of the biggest problems with the culture today is we
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care too much about our own opinions.
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Okay. We think way too highly of our own opinion. We just think we've got it figured out.
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We would never admit that to other people because that would make us,
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you know, not humble, but it's just true.
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And so today, as we dive into Acts chapter five, we're going to wrestle with a little bit today.
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And, and I'm grateful today for the word of God. And once again,
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if you're grateful for it, would you say, hallelujah?
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Acts chapter five, we're going to read the first six verses today.
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It says, but there was a certain man named Ananias.
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You know anybody named Ananias? Probably not.
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Who with his wife, Sapphira, anybody go to high school with a girl named Sapphira? Probably not.
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They sold some property and he
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brought part of the money to the apostles claiming it was the full amount.
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And with his wife's consent, he kept the rest.
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And then Peter said, Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart?
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Wow, what a comment.
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You lied to the Holy Spirit and you have kept some of the money for yourself.
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The property was yours to sell or not to sell as you wished.
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And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away.
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How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us,
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but you were lying to God.
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And as soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died.
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Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up,
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wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him. How many of you are encouraged today?
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Very, someone said. I love that. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word today.
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And I just pray God today that you would just speak through me and in me and
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allow me to be hidden behind the cross.
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Lord, I got more to say today than I have time for. I'm not even sure which
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parts I'll say, but we just got to believe Lord today that you're going to be honored in it.
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Because you are good and you're faithful and your word does not return void.
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And for that, we are grateful. And all of God's people said, amen.
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Thank you for being a listener and sharing in the ministry of the Church of
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the Nazarene. Now back to the rest of your episode.
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Last week, I asked you a question. I kind of set you up. I said,
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when you think about the early church, like, you know, it said they were all
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together and one place early in the book.
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And then all of a sudden it says that they were in one heart and one accord
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and they were all united.
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And I ask you, how many people do you think was a part of the early church?
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And I got you to look at your neighbor and say how many people you thought it
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was. And I think that a lot of people think it was just, you know, a few hundred people.
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Where in reality, we realize it was a lot more than that because just in Acts
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4, verse 4, we hear Luke tell us these words. Let's look in that.
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It says, but many who heard the
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message believed. So the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000.
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So there was 5,000 men. And I made the joke last week that if you don't like
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megachurches, then you have a problem with the word of God, I guess,
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because there were 5,000 men being counted right there. That's a pretty large sum of people.
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And it's essential to get, it's not essential for us to get an exact number.
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That's not what it's about. But the thousands of people have come to Christ.
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And then as we look at the scripture very closely, we come to realize that the
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fact that there's thousands of people, this section of scripture actually has singled out two men.
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So out of all, there's 5,000 men just in Acts chapter 4, 4.
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But Luke, the medical doctor who wrote the book of Acts, He has actually singled out two men.
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And so today, let's look at it again in the first verse of chapter 5.
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But there was a certain man named Ananias.
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That's actually the second guy who Luke has singled out.
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Because at the close of last week's message, I talked to you about the other.
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You know, here's the thing that you need to know about Acts chapter 5.
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Preachers aren't lining up to preach on the life of Ananias.
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They're not like, I can't wait to preach on Ananias. and then I'll get to Sapphire.
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That'll be even better. No, we're not.
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However, being unwilling to wrestle with the text would prevent us from learning
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some powerful truths and lessons.
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And so just in the last two weeks or so, as I've been reading this,
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I've been challenged myself.
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But here's what you got to know. We talk about Ananias, right,
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in the first part of chapter five, but I need to go back and reclaim what we
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talked about last week because there's a second person, a second man that we need to look at it.
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And we find him in Acts chapter 4, verse 36.
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And some of you weren't here last week, so let me read it to you.
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So in the end of chapter 4, verse 36, it says, for instance, there was Joseph.
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And the instance is talking about generosity. Can everybody say generosity?
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That's what I preached on last week was about the importance,
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the power of generosity.
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And so in Acts 4, verse 36, it says, for instance.
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For instance, in the case of generosity, there was Joseph, of the one the apostles
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named Barnabas, which means son of encouragement.
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And he was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.
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He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
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Now, I want you to think about this for a second. Joseph lived such an incredible
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life that those who knew him renamed him Barnabas because that actually means
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the son of encouragement.
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So not only did others rename him Barnabas, but unknowingly to him, watch this,
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this act of generosity of Barnabas actually gets recorded into the best-selling
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book of all time, which is the Word of God.
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So Joseph goes from Joseph to Barnabas, so he gets his name changed temporarily.
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For the rest of his life to Barnabas, which means son of encouragement.
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And then the single act of generosity, Luke says, this is the example of generosity.
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Let's look at Barnabas, the son of encouragement, and let's record what's going
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on here. That's pretty amazing, right?
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Wouldn't you like for that to be you in history, right?
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Like, I don't know about you, but if you're gonna remember me,
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I would like for you to remember my very best moment in life. Can I get an amen?
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There are some things I'd care you not know about, amen? Like we're all there.
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So, but here's the thing though.
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The same can be said for Ananias on the opposite end of the ledger.
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Because Joseph, whose name becomes Barnabas, the son of encouragement,
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sells the field and gives all the money to the apostles and it's forever remembered.
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And Ananias is the opposite end of the spectrum.
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So then we realize, because what happens is, what Ananias does is Ananias and
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his wife Sapphira, they see what has happened in the life of Joseph,
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who's now Barnabas, and that he is getting applause.
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People are looking up to him and Barnabas can't go anywhere.
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Everybody goes, there's Joseph, who's now Barnabas.
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Yeah, he sold a field and he gave it all.
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And so what's going on here? What's going on here is Ananias is going, well, that looks fun.
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That looks awesome. And so what he does is him and his wife, they go and sell a field.
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And then instead of taking the money, which it was his field, and it was his money.
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So if they would have just simply sold the field and took the money and came
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to Peter and gave a portion of that money and said, yeah, we give 70%,
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we're keeping 30% for ourselves.
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It would have been absolutely fine. But what happened?
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Ananias and Sapphira decided to sell a field, which was a very good act,
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and then come to the apostles and actually lie about how much they sold the
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property for. And so there's the problem.
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You know, if we are faithful to the text, many of us will have questions that
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we can't fully answer today.
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I just want to say, I don't have any desire today to answer all your questions
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about Acts chapter 5 because I'm not capable of doing that.
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But what I do desire to do is extract truths and lessons to be learned from what is read.
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Right? Like, I will say a few things. Notice, read the scripture,
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Peter did not kill Ananias or Sapphira.
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Okay, so don't worry. I'm not planning on sneaking up on any of you.
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I would say that Peter was just as shocked as we were when we read it that he dropped dead.
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I don't think Peter thought that was going to happen at all.
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And there's a whole host of things that are going on in this text that people
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argue about all the time.
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But here's the trap for many of us. We want to get in and press in on the nature
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of God and try to understand all that God does.
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How many in the room today has figured out God? Would you raise your hand?
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And would you like to come up and speak for two hours about him?
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No, I wouldn't even let you if you raised your hand.
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But we can learn some truths about our own life through the example of Barnabas
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and through the example of Ananias.
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The first thing is this we need to know is that Ananias acted in deceit.
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At the close of verse 1, everything is good. Ananias and his wife sold the property,
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but then in verse 2, look what it says.
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He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. There's the problem.
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With his wife's consent, he kept the rest.
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Now, Ananias, I need to ask you, buddy, why would you do that?
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I mean, this decision was based on a desire to be sane and treated like Barnabas.
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I think that's why Luke connected the two men together. You have this massive
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church of at least 5,000 men, and Luke chooses to take out two examples.
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One is Barnabas, the son of encouragement, and the other one is Ananias.
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The sale of the property was less about generosity and more about fame,
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I would argue, for the life of Ananias.
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And as I sat and thought about the actions of Barnabas and Ananias,
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this came to my mind. Here you go. when Barnabas was selling his property,
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he thought about his fellow man.
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And when Ananias was selling his property, he was likely thinking about himself.
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So one of the big life lessons here for all of us is that we have been called to be the body of Christ.
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As a matter of fact, Paula, she sits near me.
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We're in the middle of worship. She patting me on the shoulder and said,
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you need to turn around and look at your church. And I turned around and I was like, wow.
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I thought all these people showed up here. How blessed are we that this many
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people in our first service would show up? And I'm grateful for that.
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Give God a clap offering for all of you showed up. Yeah.
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But what's happening here is Barnabas, when he sold his property,
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he was thinking about the body of Christ.
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And I talked about it last week about how I hurt myself and I was bleeding and
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how my entire body worked together to actually help my leg.
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Do you all want to hear something very, very ironic?
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I did the same exact thing yesterday on the other leg.
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Bled like a stuck pig. Yes, I thought, God, you are so funny.
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You really are. And I'm not going to go through that again.
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But Barnabas, Barnabas, when he sold his property, was thinking about the needs
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of his fellow man, thinking about the body of Christ.
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By Ananias' actions, he sold his property in hopes that maybe somebody would
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look at him and say, look how spiritual he is.
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And how do we know this? Look at verse three, it says, then Peter said,
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Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart?
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You lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept some of the money for yourself.
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The property was yours to sell or not to sell as you wished.
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And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away.
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How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us, but God.
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So what is Peter saying? He's saying it was your property. And once you sold it, it was your money.
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Why did you lie about it, Ananias? Why? And zooming in, we see Ananias and his
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wife Sapphira's actions. And when we zoom out, we see something completely different.
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You say, what do you mean by that? Well, let me explain it to you.
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When we zoom in, before we zoom in, there's a church of over 5,000 men.
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When we zoom in, we see the life of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. That's who we see.
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But when we zoom out deeper, what we really see is this.
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It's not even in your notes. It won't be on the screen, but note takers write
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it down. What you actually see when you zoom all the way out is you see a battle
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between two different kingdoms.
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What you see is a battle between two different kingdoms. You say,
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Pastor, what are you talking about?
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In the last chapter, we saw a guy named Joseph who was spiritually speaking, no ordinary Joe.
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He was completely committed to the kingdom of God, so much so that he was given
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the name of his son of encouragement and that he sold a field and he gave it all away.
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And then we turn the page to chapter 5 and we see a man named Ananias whose
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actions prove that his allegiance isn't to the kingdom of God,
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but to an anti-kingdom that finds its roots in sin and lies and the trappings of the world.
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When I reached this portion of my message planning, I did something that was really strange.
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When I got to this portion of my message planning, I found myself doing something.
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If you've been hanging around here long enough, you always have heard me say
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over the years that when we read scripture, one of the things we need to do
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in scripture is when we read scripture, We do not just need to see these people
00:16:07.128 --> 00:16:09.628
in Scripture as just third parties.
00:16:10.208 --> 00:16:12.828
Like when we read Scripture, we
00:16:12.828 --> 00:16:18.888
ought to ask God, God, would you reveal yourself to me in this Scripture?
00:16:19.148 --> 00:16:24.148
Are there characters in the story who I can identify with?
00:16:24.708 --> 00:16:27.828
Because it's in that that the word comes alive.
00:16:28.168 --> 00:16:31.208
Like we can say, oh, Ananias, what a dumb dude.
00:16:31.408 --> 00:16:36.268
He was stupid, right? And then walk away and never be changed, right?
00:16:36.888 --> 00:16:41.548
But when we look at the life of Ananias and we see his life,
00:16:42.228 --> 00:16:49.428
what if we said to the Lord, Lord, is there anything about Ananias' life that looks like mine?
00:16:51.468 --> 00:16:55.968
Ah, because ain't none of you in this room named Ananias. And ain't none of
00:16:55.968 --> 00:16:58.348
you in this room planning on naming your kid Ananias.
00:16:58.428 --> 00:17:02.588
If you are, you need to come talk to me because I will not do the baby dedication of that child.
00:17:03.448 --> 00:17:08.328
And this is what I did. I had no idea this was going to make it into my message, by the way.
00:17:08.708 --> 00:17:16.768
What I did is I just grabbed an envelope off my desk, Foster Fuels, a propane bill.
00:17:18.428 --> 00:17:23.888
Because I was going to go away from my message planning to soul searching for me.
00:17:24.668 --> 00:17:29.108
And so I wrote on this piece of paper, because it wasn't going to make it into
00:17:29.108 --> 00:17:36.348
my computer. Later, I wrote down on this piece of paper, why did Ananias have the lie?
00:17:37.488 --> 00:17:42.108
And then I wrote, sin equals the anti-kingdom.
00:17:43.296 --> 00:17:48.096
So watch, I said, when you zoom out, there is two kingdoms.
00:17:48.316 --> 00:17:53.056
There's the kingdom of God and there's the anti-kingdom, which is the kingdom of Satan.
00:17:53.716 --> 00:17:59.116
And so I wrote down sin equals the anti-kingdom. Now I'm still writing.
00:17:59.576 --> 00:18:04.296
None of this is going to make it to you, right? Because I'm still writing on a piece of paper.
00:18:04.756 --> 00:18:07.956
And then I find myself later going, that's the message.
00:18:08.076 --> 00:18:12.056
And I'm like, Lord, I need to be very careful what I say about myself because
00:18:12.056 --> 00:18:13.576
you might make me preach about it.
00:18:14.236 --> 00:18:18.876
And so then I was thinking, okay, so sin equals the anti-kingdom.
00:18:18.996 --> 00:18:23.876
And when I look at the life of Ananias, the first thing that I see is deceit.
00:18:24.876 --> 00:18:29.156
He lied. And if you're here today and you're like, well, I could never identify
00:18:29.156 --> 00:18:32.736
with Ananias. He's a very bad dude. I would say to you, have you ever lied?
00:18:33.076 --> 00:18:35.736
And if you're like, no, I've never lied. Oh yeah, you're a liar.
00:18:36.656 --> 00:18:42.236
Oh yeah, you are a liar. When I was a small kid, I lied just because I was good at it.
00:18:42.576 --> 00:18:46.676
I didn't even need a reason to lie. Like I looked for reasons to lie.
00:18:46.836 --> 00:18:49.116
And you're like, well, that wasn't me. Well, you have your own stuff.
00:18:49.116 --> 00:18:50.556
You just ain't preaching about it today.
00:18:51.116 --> 00:18:53.756
So whatever. Back off, would you?
00:18:55.016 --> 00:18:56.736
So deceit is he lied.
00:18:58.416 --> 00:19:03.436
That's the beginning. That's very obvious. I think I wrote it in here. You lied.
00:19:03.736 --> 00:19:09.196
So that's in verse 3. we know that to be a fact because in verse 3b,
00:19:09.696 --> 00:19:12.556
Peter said, you lied to the Holy Spirit.
00:19:13.556 --> 00:19:20.576
So we see that, right? We see that that's going on. And so then you lied to the Holy Spirit.
00:19:20.936 --> 00:19:23.676
Peter is saying, you not only lied, you lied to God himself.
00:19:23.676 --> 00:19:26.216
The offering you bring isn't for me, it's for God.
00:19:26.496 --> 00:19:31.856
However, Peter asked Ananias a question that is both revealing and unsettling. Let's look at it.
00:19:32.196 --> 00:19:34.796
And it says right after that, or right before that, it says,
00:19:35.016 --> 00:19:38.156
Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart?
00:19:39.120 --> 00:19:42.920
You know, this question reveals the two kingdoms that I mentioned earlier.
00:19:43.320 --> 00:19:47.280
There is a kingdom of God, and there's an anti-kingdom in complete opposition
00:19:47.280 --> 00:19:50.400
to the kingdom of God. And here's what you got to know.
00:19:50.780 --> 00:19:54.700
The kingdom of God is marked by purity and holiness.
00:19:55.420 --> 00:20:01.180
Write that down. The kingdom of God is marked by purity and holiness.
00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:05.800
And the anti-kingdom of Satan is marked by lies and sin.
00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:10.160
You see, telling lies is a part of the anti-kingdom.
00:20:10.340 --> 00:20:16.220
However, what other sins could be present that actually required Ananias to
00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:17.640
lie about it to begin with?
00:20:17.820 --> 00:20:21.560
And now we're getting back to what I'm talking about because what I was doing
00:20:21.560 --> 00:20:26.740
when I took this piece of paper out was I was in some ways searching my own heart,
00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:33.720
but I was also searching the heart of just any person too because we all battle with sin.
00:20:34.520 --> 00:20:39.600
And so as I continue to write, I've got it in note form, and I've also got it
00:20:39.600 --> 00:20:44.440
written on this piece of paper because I ended up taking from here and writing it to my message.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:48.160
So deceit equals lies to cover up truth.
00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:54.280
Like right now, if you are having to lie to cover up truth in your life,
00:20:54.580 --> 00:20:57.900
your heart is turned toward the anti-kingdom.
00:20:58.360 --> 00:21:00.520
And here's what you got to know about lying.
00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:04.200
Lies know no end because the truth of
00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:08.060
the matter is when you lie about something you
00:21:08.060 --> 00:21:11.160
gotta know that a matter of time
00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:17.220
you're gonna have to lie again to cover up the first lie and what the enemy
00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:23.220
of our soul tries to do is he tries to trap us in one lie and as a result of
00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:28.240
that one lie he tries to trap us continuing down there was a guy that once said
00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:30.920
if you get on a train headed in the wrong direction,
00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:33.340
get off on the very next stop.
00:21:33.820 --> 00:21:38.980
Because if you don't get off on the very next stop, the return fare is going to cost more.
00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:43.280
And I want you to know when the man said that, he wasn't talking about trains.
00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:48.780
When you find yourself on the wrong, headed in the wrong way,
00:21:49.060 --> 00:21:51.160
get off on the very next stop.
00:21:51.840 --> 00:21:56.120
Because if you stay on the train, you're going to continue to head in the wrong direction.
00:21:56.160 --> 00:22:00.160
And when you finally decide to get off on the next stop, I want you to know
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.140
No, the return fare is going to cost that much more.
00:22:03.760 --> 00:22:08.900
So if you're currently living in a life of deceit and lies, you are living as
00:22:08.900 --> 00:22:10.080
a part of the anti-kingdom.
00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:11.940
You need to get off the next stop.
00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:16.880
You need to repent of your lying and you need to walk in the light of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:22:17.560 --> 00:22:20.220
All right, let's keep going. I'm glad you really liked that one.
00:22:20.280 --> 00:22:21.420
There was one person who clapped.
00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:25.780
So I wrote down deceit. You know why? Because I've lied before.
00:22:27.066 --> 00:22:30.606
I've lied before. The next one that I wrote down, remember I'm writing,
00:22:30.606 --> 00:22:34.466
not thinking any of you are ever gonna see this. The next one I wrote down is fear.
00:22:34.846 --> 00:22:39.166
And I put fear equals, is God's kingdom enough?
00:22:40.886 --> 00:22:45.726
Like, I was talking to one of my close confidants here in the church.
00:22:45.726 --> 00:22:47.486
It's been with me from the very beginning.
00:22:47.986 --> 00:22:52.446
I was talking to him a little bit about some of the next steps that we are thinking
00:22:52.446 --> 00:22:55.746
about taking and planning as a local church.
00:22:55.746 --> 00:23:01.626
Big frontiers, taking steps of faith. And I was just lamenting to him about
00:23:01.626 --> 00:23:08.146
this next step and just sharing with him about some of the anxiety that I was feeling.
00:23:08.766 --> 00:23:17.146
And he just, in a very meek way, he said, Pastor, when you showed up here 20-something
00:23:17.146 --> 00:23:22.206
years ago, there was about 65 to 75 to 80 people.
00:23:22.746 --> 00:23:24.526
We had very little money.
00:23:25.186 --> 00:23:29.886
Has the Lord failed you yet? And I was like, I'm the preacher here. Shut your mouth.
00:23:30.586 --> 00:23:33.386
Let me just talk to you. But you know what he did?
00:23:33.526 --> 00:23:37.706
He put a finger on me. And there's nothing wrong with me pressing in and talking
00:23:37.706 --> 00:23:41.366
to deep confidants about things that I'm thinking about.
00:23:41.546 --> 00:23:44.546
There's nothing wrong with that. But there are some of you here right now,
00:23:44.706 --> 00:23:49.726
the reason you are in the shape that you're in is because your mind is living
00:23:49.726 --> 00:23:55.566
in the anti-kingdom of fear that's telling you that the kingdom of God is not enough.
00:23:55.746 --> 00:24:01.386
And I am here to testify today that the kingdom of God is enough in every situation.
00:24:01.846 --> 00:24:08.826
Yeah, let's everybody clap for that. The kingdom of God is yes for every situation.
00:24:09.346 --> 00:24:11.086
The next one I wrote down was greed.
00:24:11.746 --> 00:24:16.906
Greed equals I need more. That's what's going on with Ananias and Sapphira.
00:24:17.186 --> 00:24:20.146
I mean, the church is brand new, right church is brand new
00:24:20.146 --> 00:24:23.346
and there's all these amazing things that's happening in the church but
00:24:23.346 --> 00:24:26.126
i mean who i mean i mean ananias he probably
00:24:26.126 --> 00:24:29.146
went and sold the property and i don't know when he made the decision not to
00:24:29.146 --> 00:24:32.326
give it all but there's got to be a part of him where he was like calculating
00:24:32.326 --> 00:24:36.226
and he was like he sold the property he was like yeah well what if this kingdom
00:24:36.226 --> 00:24:40.006
of god thing don't turn out i mean the church is brand new well probably what
00:24:40.006 --> 00:24:43.746
we ought to do is we ought to we ought to hoard some for ourselves well because
00:24:43.746 --> 00:24:45.526
you know we you know rainy day,
00:24:45.766 --> 00:24:49.546
you know, things might not work out and persecution might come in greater forms.
00:24:49.686 --> 00:24:54.426
And so we better hold some back. It's this idea of what I call white knuckle living.
00:24:54.706 --> 00:24:59.486
It's like this idea that we live our whole lives trying to hold on and to grasp
00:24:59.486 --> 00:25:03.966
stuff because we have this desire for more and more and more.
00:25:04.286 --> 00:25:08.246
John D. Rockefeller is the greatest example of that. Somebody interviewed John D.
00:25:08.546 --> 00:25:12.726
Rockefeller in the height of his career. They said, which million did you make
00:25:12.726 --> 00:25:14.866
is your favorite million. And John D.
00:25:15.126 --> 00:25:18.446
Rockefeller said, the next million is my favorite million.
00:25:19.549 --> 00:25:25.049
Never have enough. So Ananias and Sapphira, there was a part of their heart. Why did they lie?
00:25:25.209 --> 00:25:29.189
Because somewhere in there was in the deep recesses of their soul, there was greed.
00:25:29.469 --> 00:25:33.389
Don't think for a second, I ain't dealt with that. You know how I can tell you about that?
00:25:33.489 --> 00:25:37.149
I grew up on the outer banks of North Carolina to a father who was a commercial
00:25:37.149 --> 00:25:39.529
fisherman and my mom who was a stay-at-home mother.
00:25:39.689 --> 00:25:43.689
There were weeks that my dad would go out to sea and he would work his fingers
00:25:43.689 --> 00:25:45.369
to the bone. And you know what he got?
00:25:46.249 --> 00:25:49.589
Bony fingers. Some of you old enough to know that song.
00:25:50.389 --> 00:25:56.009
I was poor. I was excited about the new bicycle I got one Christmas until my
00:25:56.009 --> 00:25:59.089
next door neighbor got a four-wheeler, right?
00:25:59.549 --> 00:26:04.369
And so in my life, in this Christian walk, I have to be careful that the enemy
00:26:04.369 --> 00:26:10.569
of my soul doesn't make me want more and more and more forsaking the kingdom of God.
00:26:10.729 --> 00:26:14.109
Greed. The next one is selfishness for those of you who remain.
00:26:14.249 --> 00:26:16.749
By the time I get to the end of this list, everybody will be gone.
00:26:16.909 --> 00:26:18.809
But remember, I'm talking about myself here.
00:26:19.629 --> 00:26:24.529
Selfishness. I'm the lead character in the story. That's what selfishness is.
00:26:24.929 --> 00:26:30.609
Oh, if me and my husband are getting in a fight, then it's obviously his fault
00:26:30.609 --> 00:26:33.069
because I'm the lead character.
00:26:33.369 --> 00:26:40.429
I'm the good guy in the story. And it's all about my world and everybody else is just living in it.
00:26:41.169 --> 00:26:45.169
Selfishness. I've confessed to you from the platform that one of the things
00:26:45.169 --> 00:26:52.749
that marriage had to reveal to me is that my wife is a whole lot more selfless than I am.
00:26:53.009 --> 00:26:58.329
And I've spent the last 20-something years of my life trying not to abuse my
00:26:58.329 --> 00:27:01.949
wife for this wonderful gift of selflessness that she has.
00:27:02.049 --> 00:27:05.829
Because the truth of the matter is, I can be selfish and not even try.
00:27:06.369 --> 00:27:10.549
I'm just automatically good at it. Can I get an amen from anybody else in the
00:27:10.549 --> 00:27:13.049
room? Like I'm automatically good at selfishness.
00:27:13.189 --> 00:27:15.529
I consider it one of my spiritual gifts. No, just joking.
00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:21.449
After selfishness is glory. I want the applause.
00:27:22.727 --> 00:27:27.187
That's what glory is. That's what Ananias wanted. Ananias was like,
00:27:27.487 --> 00:27:29.527
I see the way they're treating Barnabas.
00:27:29.627 --> 00:27:32.567
And his name was Joe. He was just an ordinary Joe.
00:27:32.887 --> 00:27:36.247
His name was Joseph. And then they changed his name to Barnabas.
00:27:36.367 --> 00:27:40.707
And man, they threw him up. I mean, they were just glorying all over him.
00:27:40.827 --> 00:27:43.667
So what I'll do is I'll go sell my field and I'll bring it back.
00:27:43.787 --> 00:27:47.567
And I'll lay it at the feet of the apostles and act like I gave it all so that
00:27:47.567 --> 00:27:49.687
they will glory in me as well.
00:27:49.867 --> 00:27:52.447
How about you today? You ever find yourself in that position?
00:27:52.727 --> 00:27:56.607
Were you just really wish that you could get the glory?
00:27:57.687 --> 00:28:02.947
Somebody sent me a message and said, Pastor, it was my birthday on Friday,
00:28:02.987 --> 00:28:04.507
for those of you who haven't bought me a gift yet.
00:28:04.987 --> 00:28:08.567
And just saying, and I was 39, for those of you who are wondering.
00:28:09.147 --> 00:28:12.747
Somebody sent me a message and said, I'm really sorry I didn't throw you a birthday
00:28:12.747 --> 00:28:15.867
party. And I just told them, thank you for not throwing me a birthday party.
00:28:16.407 --> 00:28:20.827
Because I'm just being really honest with you. I stand up here most Sundays.
00:28:21.727 --> 00:28:25.867
I went to the bank this week and had to fake it till I could make it because
00:28:25.867 --> 00:28:29.947
There was some girl back there who knew me like I was her grandfather But I
00:28:29.947 --> 00:28:31.687
hadn't seen her since she was a small kid.
00:28:31.867 --> 00:28:35.407
I still don't know who she is And if you're here today, would you come reintroduce yourself?
00:28:36.087 --> 00:28:38.727
I I just didn't know she's grown up. I didn't recognize her.
00:28:38.787 --> 00:28:43.647
I didn't know who she was You know what? Sometimes I I just I don't want any fanfare,
00:28:44.666 --> 00:28:48.046
Like when I turned 50, I left the country just to make sure.
00:28:49.586 --> 00:28:53.066
But you know what? There's this human element in all of us. Deep down inside,
00:28:53.286 --> 00:28:54.206
some greater than others.
00:28:54.386 --> 00:28:58.146
We just want to be under the lights. We want the fanfare.
00:28:58.366 --> 00:29:00.986
We want the glory. And that's what Ananias had.
00:29:01.406 --> 00:29:05.166
How about the next one? For those of you who are still remaining, a lack of faith.
00:29:05.766 --> 00:29:08.106
Can I really trust God?
00:29:08.886 --> 00:29:13.526
You know, over the years, I have taught you to look for yourself in Scripture.
00:29:13.526 --> 00:29:19.706
And I'm telling you that this exercise that I did actually hijacked my message
00:29:19.706 --> 00:29:21.306
because here's what you got to know,
00:29:21.486 --> 00:29:28.866
kingdom of God seekers, is that we can think that we are walking and we are
00:29:28.866 --> 00:29:32.686
celebrating and we are committed to the kingdom of God.
00:29:32.686 --> 00:29:38.266
But the truth of the matter is the Holy Spirit has to reign supreme in us.
00:29:38.346 --> 00:29:43.886
And if the Holy Spirit does not reign supreme in us, somebody else will.
00:29:44.526 --> 00:29:50.206
That's why Peter looked at Ananias and said, Ananias, how could you let your
00:29:50.206 --> 00:29:53.446
heart be filled with Satan?
00:29:54.266 --> 00:29:57.266
So here's what I want to talk to you about. You notice the whole sermon,
00:29:57.446 --> 00:30:00.826
I build up Barnabas, the son of encouragement.
00:30:01.066 --> 00:30:05.966
He's the man, right? He was Joseph. He was just born as an ordinary Joe.
00:30:06.186 --> 00:30:09.566
And now he's Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. And
00:30:09.566 --> 00:30:12.266
he was generous and he gave a fee he sold a
00:30:12.266 --> 00:30:15.266
field and gave it all to the apostle's feet and now it's written
00:30:15.266 --> 00:30:20.026
in the bible which is the best-selling book in the entire world ever like i
00:30:20.026 --> 00:30:23.406
built him up right and then i've been over here preaching this message about
00:30:23.406 --> 00:30:28.726
ananias man he's a no good loser he's a liar and he's selfish and he's greedy
00:30:28.726 --> 00:30:35.126
and he lacks faith and he's full of deceit do you know the difference between the two.
00:30:36.366 --> 00:30:40.586
Both of them were born as sinners. Can I get an amen? Both of them had a sin
00:30:40.586 --> 00:30:41.906
nature. Can I get an amen?
00:30:42.786 --> 00:30:45.746
Both of them are loved dearly by God. Can I get an amen?
00:30:46.486 --> 00:30:51.186
The difference between Barnabas and Ananias.
00:30:52.226 --> 00:30:59.186
Is that one allowed their heart to be filled with Satan and the other one allowed
00:30:59.186 --> 00:31:01.906
their heart to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
00:31:02.306 --> 00:31:07.286
I don't know if you've got it yet, But the book of Acts is about the Holy Spirit.
00:31:07.526 --> 00:31:13.006
And here's what you want to know. The Holy Spirit, he's just some frou-frou-y something spirit.
00:31:13.266 --> 00:31:15.026
You know, back when I was a kid, we called it the Holy Ghost.
00:31:15.166 --> 00:31:17.946
It scared me to death because the only good ghost I knew was Casper.
00:31:18.066 --> 00:31:19.686
And I didn't even really like him. Can I get an amen?
00:31:20.286 --> 00:31:24.446
Right. But many of us, we think about, listen, the Holy Spirit, you got to hear this.
00:31:24.826 --> 00:31:28.666
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity.
00:31:28.866 --> 00:31:33.126
And he is not the third person of the Trinity because he's third best.
00:31:33.126 --> 00:31:38.366
He's not the third person in the Trinity because he gets the bronze medal.
00:31:39.146 --> 00:31:43.186
No, the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity because that is the third
00:31:43.186 --> 00:31:44.846
one that is revealed in Scripture.
00:31:45.066 --> 00:31:49.806
And I want you to know today, if you try to live your life for God without the
00:31:49.806 --> 00:31:52.466
Holy Spirit, your name will be Ananias.
00:31:52.586 --> 00:31:56.606
But if you live your life filled with the Holy Spirit, your name can become
00:31:56.606 --> 00:32:00.566
Barnabas, which means the son of encouragement. Give God a clap offering.
00:32:01.486 --> 00:32:05.206
I had somebody call me this week A wayward guy,
00:32:05.986 --> 00:32:10.706
A guy that I've been praying for He called me out of the blue this week I was
00:32:10.706 --> 00:32:15.566
good to hear from him Like his name's been in my prayer journal Because it's
00:32:15.566 --> 00:32:18.186
just been wayward He called me this week.
00:32:19.166 --> 00:32:24.766
Pastor, I just want to let you know I'm walking in victory What he said I'm
00:32:24.766 --> 00:32:29.046
walking in victory, Pastor He said, I know you've been worried about me Because
00:32:29.046 --> 00:32:31.866
I've been wayward He said, but let me tell you something.
00:32:32.466 --> 00:32:36.486
God is doing a new thing in my life. And he said, guess what, Pastor?
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All my friends went out Friday night to get drunk at the bar. You know what I did?
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I just ordered food in and watched one of my favorite documentaries.
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He said, because I'm getting victory, Pastor.
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He said, but the reason I called you is because God revealed something to me
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this week that I never knew. And I said, do tell.
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He said, here's the thing, Pastor. He said, I think before now,
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the reason why I didn't do bad things or I did bad things was because I felt like that God,
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if I didn't do bad things, that God, he wouldn't love me as much.
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And he said, what God revealed to me this week is that even if I had went out
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the other night and gotten completely drunk out of my mind and act like a hoodlum,
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that God wouldn't love me any less.
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Would love me the same. But what I realized is my decision not to go out and
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get drunk out of my mind was me loving him back.
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That's what he said to me. And he said, I love it when I got a parishioner who pulls out scripture.
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He said, I'm not trying to bug you. I might have taken too much of your time.
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I'm leaping on the other line, like looking for clinics or some of to wipe my nose with.
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And he said, and pastor, and it's because of this revelation that he said that
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he gave me the scripture that I've always known, but I never really thought of it until now.
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He said, pastor, the scripture God gave me was Romans 12.1.
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Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy,
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to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
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This is your true and proper worship.
00:34:45.554 --> 00:34:54.254
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
00:34:54.254 --> 00:35:00.494
of your mind, you will be able to test and approve what God's will is,
00:35:00.774 --> 00:35:05.194
his good and pleasing and perfect will.
00:35:06.114 --> 00:35:11.254
You see, when we study chapter five, and it's fine, go study it all you want
00:35:11.254 --> 00:35:16.194
and decide, like, if you go online and you look and there are all these scholars, they were like,
00:35:17.074 --> 00:35:21.114
so did God kill Ananias immediately?
00:35:21.494 --> 00:35:24.634
And there's like, no, God didn't kill him. And there's like,
00:35:24.714 --> 00:35:28.994
someone's like said, he came and he was expecting all this praise.
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And when he, instead he got accusation, like he died of a heart attack.
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And there's all these arguments, like, why would God do that?
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You know, is that really the character of God and all these things.
00:35:40.454 --> 00:35:46.354
You can argue all that you want to, and you can either blame God or you defend God.
00:35:46.634 --> 00:35:50.954
The truth of the matter is, it don't matter because God's still God.
00:35:51.234 --> 00:35:55.894
He can do whatever he wants to because he is God. Can I get an amen?
00:35:56.874 --> 00:36:00.874
But the truth of the matter is, is which will you be?
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Will you be one who his heart is turned to the Holy Spirit, to the one Every
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morning I place my hand on my heart And I say Christ you are welcomed in this place,
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Like I was getting up at.
00:36:20.613 --> 00:36:26.453
4.59 this morning, and as I was climbing out of bed, my wife notified me that
00:36:26.453 --> 00:36:27.973
I forgot to change the clock.
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So it was 3.59.
00:36:31.073 --> 00:36:33.713
Wow, I need a nap. Oh, sorry.
00:36:34.773 --> 00:36:40.213
But at 3.59 this morning, as I placed my hand on my heart, I said,
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Lord, you are welcomed in this place.
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That's why from time to time, I catch myself having stinking thinking.
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Do you all have any of that? Do you every now and then have stinking thinking,
00:36:54.253 --> 00:36:55.813
thoughts that are not of God?
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That's why I try to live my life
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trying to take every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ.
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Do you know, for those of you who have a critical spirit of others,
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I want you to know that your critical spirit of others is what's sabotaging your own spirituality.
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Unholy thoughts, things that honor God, I immediately take them to God and say,
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God, I want to take this thought captive and make it obedient unto you.
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Because God, here's what I know.
00:37:25.773 --> 00:37:29.753
In and of myself, I can be a man of the anti-kingdom.
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I can be full of deceit, and I can be full of fear,
00:37:32.913 --> 00:37:36.373
and I can be full of greed, and I can be full of pride,
00:37:36.453 --> 00:37:41.333
and I can be full of selfishness and I can be full of my own glory and I can
00:37:41.333 --> 00:37:46.413
be full of my lack of faith and I could even live as a part of the anti-kingdom
00:37:46.413 --> 00:37:48.733
without even realizing if I was not careful.
00:37:49.133 --> 00:37:53.073
But God, I do not want to be one who has a heart like that of Ananias,
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but rather I want to be one who has a heart like Barnabas because in the end,
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I want to be defined as a son or daughter,
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of encouragement. Would you pray with me?
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I ask you today to just allow God to examine your heart this morning.
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Just let him examine your heart. Would you ask him, God, is my heart turned towards you?
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Just let him search you. Just for a minute, would you say, search me,
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oh God, and know my heart. Let's just pray that.
00:38:24.833 --> 00:38:26.633
Search me, oh God, and know my heart.
00:38:28.653 --> 00:38:36.613
Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me.
00:38:39.773 --> 00:38:45.753
Is there deceit in your heart? Is there fear? Is there greed?
00:38:46.453 --> 00:38:49.853
Is there selfishness? Is there glory?
00:38:49.853 --> 00:38:56.733
Is there a lack of faith right now would you invite the Holy Spirit to cleanse
00:38:56.733 --> 00:39:09.253
you to purify you to allow you through his spirit to make you a son or a daughter of encouragement,
00:39:13.033 --> 00:39:16.713
God we are so desperate today for your spirit.
00:39:17.040 --> 00:39:31.440
Music.
00:39:31.281 --> 00:39:31.441
Us.
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Now, God, may we invite your spirit into our hearts that we might also in turn love you.
00:39:40.720 --> 00:39:46.480
Music.
00:39:47.241 --> 00:39:50.801
Would you just put your hand on your heart this morning? If you're serious about
00:39:50.801 --> 00:39:54.041
doing business with God, just put your hand on your heart this morning and just
00:39:54.041 --> 00:39:56.301
say, God, I welcome you in this place.
00:39:58.501 --> 00:40:01.701
Reveal to me anything in my life that does not bring you honor.
00:40:04.901 --> 00:40:06.281
I know you love me, God.
00:40:09.621 --> 00:40:14.061
My actions, either positive or negative, doesn't affect the way you love us,
00:40:15.661 --> 00:40:17.481
but they do affect the way we love you.
00:40:19.561 --> 00:40:25.821
God, apart from you, we will be Ananias every single time. Apart from you, we will fail.
00:40:26.061 --> 00:40:33.141
We will be overridden with fear, a lack of faith, greed, deceit, all of the list.
00:40:33.961 --> 00:40:39.301
We will be full of it. But God, with your spirit living and abiding in us,
00:40:39.481 --> 00:40:43.801
we can become sons and daughters of encouragement.
00:40:45.041 --> 00:40:51.021
So may it be so in this church today. And may we leave this place today ever
00:40:51.021 --> 00:40:54.561
mindful of the importance of this, that we might be the husbands that you've
00:40:54.561 --> 00:40:56.961
called us to be, the wives you've called us to be,
00:40:57.121 --> 00:41:00.661
the sons and daughters you've called us to be, the co-workers you've called
00:41:00.661 --> 00:41:03.041
us to be, the grandparents you've called us to be.
00:41:03.501 --> 00:41:08.541
In all things, God, I ask that you would get the glory and that you would get
00:41:08.541 --> 00:41:11.101
the praise because you're the one who deserves it.
00:41:12.021 --> 00:41:16.981
We ask it and we pray it in your son's name and all of God's people's sin.
00:41:17.541 --> 00:41:21.301
Amen. If you're visiting with us today, please give us just a few minutes of
00:41:21.301 --> 00:41:24.001
your time at the Connect Drone. We would love to meet you.
00:41:24.381 --> 00:41:27.961
Stand to your feet and hug your neighbor, tell them they're loved and make it
00:41:27.961 --> 00:41:29.261
a great day. God bless you.
00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:40.720
Music.
00:41:41.081 --> 00:41:45.121
Thank you for listening to the Holiness Today podcast. If you enjoyed this production
00:41:45.121 --> 00:41:50.361
and wish to hear more, visit holinesstoday.org slash podcast or find us on Spotify,
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00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:58.488
Music.