Unity, Integrity, and the Call to Authenticity

We're in this series on Acts right now, and one of the subtitles of that is that we're on the same mission, and we are all doing the exact same things that they were doing back then. And I love when we get to those parts of Acts where it says they reached 5,000, they reached 3,000. They were just reaching everybody around them. And one of the other things that I love was that the gospel was opened up to everyone at that point in time. And the same is true today, and God has blessed this church. [00:27:12] (31 seconds)

This is all a part of what we were talking about a couple of weeks ago, the sovereignty of God. And that God has a choice to act and to pick and choose what he wants to do because he is God, but he's always going to do it correctly. And he disciplines in each and every situation how he sees best fit. In Deuteronomy 32.4, it says, he is the rock. His works are perfect and all his ways are just, okay? And that's something that we need to keep in mind today. [00:43:08] (36 seconds)

I think as we look at it, we shouldn't be walking around in fear. I think that's another question. If you're a younger believer here today and you're hearing this story maybe for the first time, and you're going, gosh, maybe I should just walk around and constantly be afraid of God. Is that what he wants? That's not what he wants. But we're going to learn what he desires as we walk through this together. And I would say that ultimately, I think it's a reverence for him that we should hold. It should cause us to evaluate. It should cause us to think about our own self. It should drive us to a place of seeking his holiness and who he is. [00:44:28] (40 seconds)

Because one of the things that we're going to note out of this, and if you go back to the Old Testament and you even go through the Ten Commandments, you see the character qualities of God. And one of the big ones that you see about God is that he doesn't lie. He can't lie. He's God. God. And in him, lying does not exist. Dishonesty does not exist. It is who he is. And so likewise, that is what we are supposed to seek is that exact same thing. Truth. And we are supposed to be just like they are. [00:45:08] (34 seconds)

Peter asks all the right questions. But then he lets him know really where he messed up. All right. You have not lied to men, though he did. And Peter is acknowledging that there's a lie that exists here. But he says, he lied to the Spirit of God. Okay. You deceived. [00:50:40] (20 seconds)

Just like God can't lie, Satan can't go without lying, and so he tries to deceive us, and he tries to draw us in. 1 John 1.8 says, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves. Isn't that an interesting choice of words? If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, and that's exactly what is happening in this moment because Ananias and Sapphira, they grieve the spirit of God at this point, all right? [00:54:00] (37 seconds)

The Holy Spirit is a person. Have you ever grieved someone? You've caused someone some pain? You've hurt somebody? We don't intentionally mean to do that, but it can happen sometimes, and maybe sometimes we do intend it. But when we grieve someone, we cause them pain and sorrow on the inside. And so when we sin, not only are we being irreverent towards the Holy God and who he is, not only are we kind of like pulling away from the very gift of salvation and the things that Jesus did for us on the cross, but we also begin to grieve the Holy Spirit who is a person. [00:55:47] (43 seconds)

Why did God step in so strongly in this example with this couple? I believe the reason why he did that was because there had been a completely new start with mankind. Jesus had died on the cross and he rose again. Before we see story after story after story in the Old Testament, God's people mess up, they come, they seek forgiveness, they make sacrifices, God forgives them, restores them, and they start again. And then what do they do? They mess up again. It's happening over and over. The story is still the same. You and I still do the same things. But this instance, it was a new church. It was a new time. It was a fresh start. Jesus had died on the cross. He rose again. And this was brand new. And I think in God's heart, he wanted to see this move forward without these kinds of things happening. [00:56:47] (62 seconds)

Peter didn't kill these two. He held them accountable. And I think that that's part of what we need to do as believers is hold each other accountable, encourage each other. Be like Barnabas. That was the other thing that Barnabas did. He didn't just give to the church. He came alongside people. [01:02:07] (22 seconds)