Your But Needs to Stop: Choosing Truth and Integrity

The contrast in Acts 5 starts with one little word: “but.” That “but” stands against Acts 4, where great grace rested on the believers, nobody lacked, and Barnabas, the son of encouragement, gave from a surrendered heart. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to look like they were part of what God was doing, but they held back truth while putting on the appearance of surrender. Their issue was not money. Their money was a tool, a representation of their heart.

Truth can feel bucket naked because it refuses to wear the raggedy clothes of a lie. Lie can look good, sound good, wear Versace, and get welcomed by the whole town, while truth gets laughed at for being exposed. The culture has become catfish acceptable, and the enemy keeps trying to make falsehood look normal, pleasing, and necessary. Truth still makes people free, but truth must be faced, meditated on, and received even when rejection feels stronger than reality.

Integrity is everything when God is building His church. Integrity refuses to fake, compete, use holiness as an image, or follow culture while calling it sanctification. The standard is Christ, not what gets attention, not what looks good online, and not what somebody else is doing. The “but” has to stop because a life cannot carry the son of encouragement on one side while faking on the other side.

God’s mercy is abundant, but mercy cannot be treated like permission to keep playing with sin. Humility asks, “Lord, where am I failing You? Where is there a but in my house, my family, my job, and my heart?” The Word cleanses the soul when it is meditated on, and it exposes the contrast between what is confessed and what is lived.

Obedience produces a different kind of anger. Acts 5 shows that when the apostles obeyed God rather than men, the enemy answered with jealousy, threats, prison, manipulation, and violence. Christ answered with angelic deliverance, boldness, healing, miracles, liberty, and a gospel that could not be shut down. The church becomes dangerous to darkness when it stops making excuses and starts doing what God called it to do, right where it is.

Holiness does not mean pretending to be perfect. Holiness means coming naked before God, dropping ego, fear, jealousy, reputation, and every lie clothing that keeps the heart hidden. Christ alone is worthy, and surrender to Him gives the strength to stop the contrast and look like the Word, not merely speak it.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Truth refuses the clothes of lies [24:51] Truth may feel exposed because it will not cover itself with what is false. Lies often gain acceptance because they look polished, but appearances cannot heal a heart. Freedom begins when reality is received without trying to dress it up. [24:51]
• 2. Integrity matters more than religious appearance [36:28] Integrity means that private motives and public confession are lining up. A person can praise, serve, give, and still hide a divided heart. God is not looking for a convincing image, but a surrendered life. [36:28]
• 3. Mercy is not permission to pretend [59:27] God is merciful, patient, and ready to forgive, yet His mercy should lead the heart into repentance. Presuming upon mercy turns grace into an excuse for delay. Humility stops playing with what Christ came to deliver from. [59:27]
• 4. Obedience makes darkness angry [01:02:40] The enemy reacts when faith becomes action, when captives are helped, and when purpose breaks out of fear. Bold obedience does not require perfect resources before it begins. God can use what is already in a willing hand. [62:40]
• 5. Christ must increase as ego decreases [01:06:54] Less ego, less fear, less jealousy, and less reputation-making creates room for Christ to be seen. A life laid bare before God can receive His mercy without hiding. The deepest freedom comes through submission, not self-protection.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [20:42] - Your Butt Needs to Stop
• [22:38] - The Contrast in Acts 5
• [24:14] - Truth and Lie in the Clear River
• [27:40] - A Catfish Acceptable Culture
• [32:24] - Facing the Whole Truth
• [36:28] - Integrity Is Everything
• [40:42] - Acts 5: Power, Prison, and Boldness
• [47:26] - Every Scripture Is God Breathed
• [50:30] - Barnabas and Ananias Compared
• [54:35] - It Was Never About the Money
• [59:52] - Stop the Contrast in Your Life
• [62:40] - Obedience Brings Healing and Liberty
• [67:40] - Look Like the Word
• [71:35] - Truth for a Deliverance Church

Bible Reading

Acts 5:1-11
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.' When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, 'Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.' And she said, 'Yes, for so much.' But Peter said to her, 'How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.' Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.”

Observation questions

1. What contrast is introduced between the generosity and unity at the end of Acts 4 and the actions of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5? [49:11]
2. What details in Acts 5:1-11 show that Ananias and Sapphira’s problem was more than simply keeping some of the money from the sale?
3. What questions did Peter ask Ananias and then Sapphira, and what do those questions reveal about the opportunities they had to tell the truth? [59:12]
4. How does Barnabas’s gift in Acts 4 help the group see the difference between surrendered generosity and giving for appearance’s sake? [52:09]

Interpretation questions

1. Why was the lie of Ananias and Sapphira such a serious matter at the beginning of the church’s growth? What was at risk if false appearance was allowed to take root among believers? [36:28]
2. The passage makes clear that the land and money were under Ananias’s control. Why does this show that God was dealing with deception and divided motives rather than demanding a certain amount of money? [54:35]
3. In what ways can a person want to be part of what God is doing while still holding back the most important part of surrender—the heart? [54:29]
4. How does the contrast between Barnabas and Ananias show that outwardly similar actions can come from very different motives?

Application questions

1. Where might there be a “but” or a contrast between what you confess publicly and what you are living privately—in your home, work, relationships, finances, or thought life? What would honest surrender to God look like there? [01:00:57]
2. Is there an area where you have been tempted to look more surrendered, holy, successful, or put together than you really feel? What fear, ego, or desire for acceptance may be underneath that image? [01:07:07]
3. What is one truth about yourself, your choices, or your relationship with God that may feel hard to face right now? How can you bring that truth to God without hiding or dressing it up? [30:39]
4. What lies have become easy to accept because they look good, sound normal, or receive approval from other people? What truth from God’s Word needs to be meditated on instead? [35:05]
5. God’s mercy invites repentance, not pretending. Is there a sin, habit, or compromise you have been delaying in dealing with because you assumed there would always be more time? What is one step of repentance you can take this week? [59:52]
6. Barnabas gave from encouragement and surrender rather than competition. How can you celebrate someone else’s blessing, gift, or opportunity this week without comparing yourself to them? [36:50]
7. What would it look like for Christ to increase while your ego, fear, jealousy, and concern for reputation decrease? Name one specific situation this week where you can choose humble obedience. [01:06:54]