(Part 2)
“But there was a certain man named
Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of
the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s
consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan
fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money
for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And
after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a
thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” As soon as Ananias heard
these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was
terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out
and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had
happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received
for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”
And Peter said, “How could the two of
you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The
young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will
carry you out, too.” Instantly, she fell to the floor and
died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her
out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire church and
everyone else who heard what had happened.”-Acts 5:1-11
When we buy
into the lie that God is in some way holding out on us, it causes us to hold out
on Him. Ananias and Sapphira did just that. As the early church began to grow,
so did the needs of the people. In order to meet those needs, some of the
devout followers, sold pieces of property and brought in the proceeds to help
those in need:
“There were
no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell
them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.”-Acts
4:34-35
Ananias and
Sapphira also sold a piece of property, but rather than give it all to the
church, they decided to keep a portion for themselves; something they were well
within their rights to do. The problem, however, was they wanted to be
recognized like the others as having given the entire proceed from the sale to
the needy and crafted a lie regarding how much they received from the sale of
the property.
Peter pointed
out that I was within their power to do whatever they wished with the money,
but in order to appear as they were “All In” like many of the others that sold
land and gave it all to help those in need, they chose to hold back. Peter
declared to them, “You were not lying to us, but to the Holy Spirit.” Not
simply lying about how much money they gave, but were lying about their true
faith and trust in God.
We hold back
whenever we fail to trust God! We convince ourselves that God is going to
withhold something from us, so we must hold some back ourselves.
When I am
tempted to think that God is holding out on me, I look to the cross. The cross
is the ultimate evidence that God is not holding out on me. In fact, John 3:16
states: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
God sent His
One and Only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. The cross was a
place of extreme suffering and pain, which He endured for you and I. He didn’t
stop short. He didn’t hold back! He
could have called a 1,000 angels to get Him down, but He refused to come off
the cross until the very last drop of blood needed to purchase our redemption
was given.
Perhaps you
are reading this today and you’ve been living your whole life that way. You
believe in God, but you’ve never fully trusted in Him. You’ve held back. Or you
bought into that age old lie that God has been holding out on you and it’s
caused you to doubt His Word and His character. Let the cross stand as evidence
that God loves you and even refused to withhold His own Son in order to secure
your eternal salvation.
Pastor Scott
Burr
Dayspring
Community Church
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