Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Grace Stoppers! Two Things that Destroy God's Work in Our Lives

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Grace Stoppers! Two Things that Destroy God's Work in Our Lives · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Did you realize that the Christian life is grace
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from beginning to end? We come to Christ by faith
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through grace. We live by faith through grace.
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But there are grace stoppers. There are two things
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that will destroy grace in your life. That's
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today on Living on the Edge. The early church
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was bold, unified, and growing by the thousands.
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And then something went wrong. It's something
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that remains a threat today. Today on Living
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on the Edge, Chip Ingram opens Acts chapter 5
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and puts a name to the two things that can quietly
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drain the power right out of a church or a life.
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And then later in today's program, Chip will
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let you in on a special opportunity happening
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this month only through our mid -year match.
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Stay tuned for that. Well, now here's Chip Ingram
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with a message titled, Grace Stoppers, Two Things
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That Destroy God's Work in Our Lives. Well, as
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we get started, I want to ask you a question.
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Have you ever had one of those, like, what happened
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moments? You know what I mean? A number of years
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ago, I visited where our family lived about 15
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years earlier. I had not been there in ages,
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and so I was near that town, and, you know, I
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was by myself. I thought, well, I'll just drive
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by the old neighborhood. Have you ever done this,
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any of you? So I drove by the old neighborhood.
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It was, you know, 10, 15 years later, and I'm
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sure part of it was my perception, but it seemed
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like a nice neighborhood when I lived there.
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And I drove back, and there were, like, weeds
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over here and a car like this and something else
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like this and a house that looked like this.
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I mean, the place was just like a dump. And I
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remember driving through and thinking, like 10
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years ago, this was kind of a, you know, not
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fancy, but it was a nice, clean little street.
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And I just, like, what happened? I mean, what
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happens like in 10 years that this thing just
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went completely south? Or maybe you've had this
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experience at a reunion or maybe you grew up
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someplace else and there's that family or that
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couple that just had a huge impact in your life
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and they were kind of like the kind of marriage
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you want to have some days and you met their
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kids and someday you want your kids to turn out
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like their kids and you go to a reunion or some
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event and you get back maybe at the old home
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church, wherever that is, and you say, hey, hey,
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is Bob and Mary here? Oh, no, no, no. Bob and
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Mary, they're not here. You haven't heard? Heard
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what? They got a divorce. What? They've been
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married like 33, no, it was 35 years. And then
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they just, after all they, yeah. And what do
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you say? Right, have you had some of those? What
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happened here? What happened? When I study with
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you Acts chapters one, two, three, four, and
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five, there's some things that I see. Just a
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casual observer, what I learned is the church
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in Acts is powerful. The church in Acts is bold.
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The church in Acts is ridiculously generous with
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one another. The church in Acts is loving. The
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church in Acts healed the brokenhearted, the
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outcast, the poor, and the rejected. The church
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in Acts, they just grew literally, not weekly,
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daily. The church in Acts expected and saw the
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miraculous. And when I... see the church in Acts,
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and I travel quite a bit, and I've been to churches
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here and all over the world, and I look at the
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anemic, selfish, inwardly focused, non -dynamic,
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basic church today, I look at this church, and
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I look at the church of Acts, and I say, what
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happened? Now, there's wonderful exceptions,
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obviously, but the research is overwhelming.
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Most Christians, quote, don't live like Christians.
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Most churches have very little impact. Most churches
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are filled with very religious people, but not
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people that make much of a difference in their
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communities. So what happened? How could that
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be? And what I want to suggest is the answer
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is in Acts chapter 5. Here's what I want you
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to see. The early church was birthed. Let's remember
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what happened. Acts 1, he ascended, the call
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to all. Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came. A movement
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was birthed. Acts chapter 3, they started taking
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baby steps toward what? The way God changes the
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world. Acts chapter 4, after those baby steps,
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there's some persecution and we're going to find
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them praying. And God does amazing things. And
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Acts chapter 5, these normal, regular human beings
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just like us. whom Jesus is now living inside
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of in the person of the Holy Spirit, expressing
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his words and expressing his love and caring
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for people. And now there's thousands of people
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that are living the way Jesus lived, caring the
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way Jesus lived, sacrificing the way Jesus did.
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And I mean, there's a revolution occurring, thousands
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and thousands of people. Now the church that
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Jesus gave birth to gets attacked. In the first
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16 verses, it gets attacked from within. In the
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verse 17 through the end of the chapter, it gets
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attacked from without. And what you're going
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to see is there are two things, two things that
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are grace stoppers. There's two things and they
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happen to good people like you and good people
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like me. Literally two specific things that will
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destroy God's work in your life. These two things
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will sap the power out of you, your small group,
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this church, and every church. You ready? Let's
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look at attack number one. To pick up the story,
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we need to back up just a little bit because
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you get a sense of what's going on at the end
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of Acts chapter four. Remember we had the persecution.
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They were warned and they were released and then
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they started back, gathered all the people together
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and they had a prayer meeting. And after they
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prayed, look at chapter four up at verse 31.
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After they prayed, the place where they were
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meeting was shaken. And they were all filled
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with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word
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of God boldly. So God is affirming what they're
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doing. And then it's though there was like a
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lens of the camera and it backs off and it kind
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of gives you this general picture of, well, what's
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it like to be in the early church? They met in
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big groups, they met in homes, but what was the
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spirit like? What was it like? And so the spirit
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of God gives us a snapshot of that. Verse 32.
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All the believers were one in heart and mind.
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No one claimed that any of his possessions was
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his own, but they shared everything that they
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had. With great power, the apostles continued
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to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
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and much grace was upon them. There was no needy
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person among them for from time to time, those
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who owned lands or houses sold them and brought
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the money from the sales and put it at the apostles'
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feet and it was distributed to anyone as he might
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have need. And then that big lens kind of zeros
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in, like, I wonder what that would look like
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in an individual's life. Verse 36, Joseph, a
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Levite from Cyprus, who the apostles called Barnabas,
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which means son of encouragement, sold a field
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that he owned, and he brought the money, and
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he put it at the apostles' feet. Now, in your
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Bibles, there's a chapter break, but probably
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would be nice to not have that there, because
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the story begins where I read it, and now we've
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heard of Barnabas. And now we're going to get
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another example, a negative example. Now, a man
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named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira,
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also sold a piece of property. With his wife's
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full knowledge, he kept back part of the money
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for himself, but brought the rest of it and put
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it at the apostles' feet. Then Peter said to
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him, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled
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your heart that you've lied to the Holy Spirit
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and you've kept back for yourself some of the
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money you received from the land? Didn't it belong
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to you before it was sold? And after it was sold,
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wasn't the money at your disposal? What made
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you think of doing such a thing? You have not
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lied to men, but to God. When Ananias heard this,
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he fell down and died. And great fear seized
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all who heard it and what happened. Then the
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young men came forward and they wrapped his body.
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They carried him out. They buried him. About
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three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing
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what had happened. And Peter asked her, tell
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me, is this the price that you and Ananias got
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for the land? And she replied, oh yes, brother
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Peter. Yes, we did. It was a big sacrifice. But
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we saw the needs of all the people and Ananias,
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after hearing about Barnabas and his generosity,
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we just felt like that's something God wanted
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us to do. We're actually pretty wonderful, aren't
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we? I'm reading into the text just a bit. But
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I do that because that's what's behind all this.
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Peter said to her, how could you agree to test
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the spirit of the Lord? Look, the men whose feet
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buried your husband are at the door and they
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will carry you out as well. At that moment, she
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fell down at his feet and died. Then the young
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men came in and finding her dead, carried her
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out, buried her beside her husband. And great
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fear seized the whole church and all who heard
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about these events. I guess so. Now, I didn't
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grow up as a Christian. I'd never opened the
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Bible until I was 18. In fact, my view of Christianity
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was very, very poor. But at 18, I went away to
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school and there was a bricklayer there that
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was a Christian and helped me begin to grow spiritually.
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And I soon learned that I really liked reading
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through the New Testament. And when I got to
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this part, it was like spooky and scary. Because
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I was thinking now, I mean, lying I know is bad,
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but death? And it was like, isn't that kind of
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harsh? Or worse, I was thinking, okay, now if
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I'm a Christian, if I lie and start pretending
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a little bit, I mean, am I going to get zapped?
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In other words, what's going on in this passage?
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What's really going on here? What's the attack?
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What was the sin? Why did God judge it so severely?
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And then maybe more importantly, what in the
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world's it got to say to you and to me today?
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We've given you the story, and I'll make a few
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observations in a minute. And then we're going
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to look at a temptation. We're going to look
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at the judgment, verses 5 and 10. You have a
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man die, and then three hours later, a woman
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dies. Then we'll look at the reason and the result.
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It's very interesting. The external attack follows
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exactly the same line, and I want you to catch
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that. So the story, a few observations is this
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is the first sin in the church. This is the first
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time Satan is introduced. We never hear his name.
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First time we see his name. This is a not, this
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wasn't a oops, I messed up. They talked about
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it. They came up with a plan. It was willful
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deception. This isn't that I was seeking to live
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the life and I blew it today. This is two people
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that came together and decided how do we, get
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people to think that we're way better and way
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more spiritual than we are. Fourth observation,
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it's a very interesting theological passage.
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You notice in verse two, he says you lied to
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the Holy Spirit and you drop down to verse four
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and then it says you lied to God. So this is
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a very important passage on the deity of the
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Holy Spirit, that God the Father, God the Son,
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God the Holy Spirit are co -equal, one essence,
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three persons. And then you get this amazingly
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powerful, harsh judgment. So what's going on
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here? Let me suggest that the temptation is to
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pose. It's to pretend. Failure to reach our ideals
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is not hypocrisy. We all fall short. Hypocrisy
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is deliberate deception trying to make people
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think we are more spiritual, more loving. More
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kind. It went something like this. They were
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in one of their home groups because they met
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in the big temples. And they were in one of their
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home groups. I'm reading into the text just a
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little bit. And people, there was a buzz. Hey,
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did you hear about Barnabas? Yeah. Yeah, it's
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like downtown Manhattan Island. That's what Cyprus
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was like. I mean, this was a very choice piece
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of property. He said, you know what? I've got
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a lot. These people don't have much. You know,
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I'm not going to. keep score and look at my gross
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or net worth. I'm going to take that and I'm
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going to sell it and I'm going to give it and
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help these people because all these slaves are
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coming to Christ and there's all this need. And
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then pretty soon people are talking, wow, man,
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that Barnabas is a generous guy. I mean, he really
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loves people. And I think Ananias and Sapphira
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were hearing that and what they wanted is they
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wanted the applause of people. They wanted the
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people to think really well of them. And the
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sin here is they pretend. The sin is they pose.
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We've all done it, right? We all pose. We all
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project. Oh, I would have called you back. I
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just missed you so much. When the fact of the
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matter is it was on your answering machine or
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you saw it on your phone and you're like, oh
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man, I'm so glad I didn't pick up on that one.
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Right? Oh, could you help us out? Oh, I really
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wanted to come. I really, really did. When you're
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thinking, I'm so glad I was out of town. I hate
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going to that stuff. Just the other day, I was
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texting a friend, and I learned in the last 24,
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36 hours that I had to change my schedule, and
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I meant to text him to let him know I had to
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change my schedule, and I procrastinated. And
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then last night, you know, I'm thinking, oh,
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it's tomorrow. I'm not giving him any notice.
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And so just before the service, I text him, said,
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hey, you know, I really need to change our time
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we're going to meet. And then I added this line.
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I just found out about it, and I'm really sorry,
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but... And now I'm preaching this passage, right?
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And I'm thinking, well, I just found out about
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it 24 hours ago, which I could have told you.
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But I was posing. I didn't want him to think
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that he was unimportant. I didn't want him to
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think that I would just not give him more notice
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if I could. I wanted him to think better of me.
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Any of you all do that? We all do that. And you
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say to yourself, well, if we all do that, why
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does God judge it so harshly? Because at the
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core of posing is hypocrisy. At the core of posing
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is, I will tell you this, this story tells us
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that Ananias and Sapphira reveal how seriously
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God regards his church as an authentic manifestation
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of his character. This is a brand new baby. And
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if he lets in a... and hypocrisy and people begin
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to play games and use the church as a political
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place and to get the applause of people. And
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if it's not for real, if the people aren't for
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real, if they don't live it out, then like cancer,
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the thing would have been gone in the first few
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years. God emphatically serious when he says
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the world should be able to look at the lives
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of his fellow servants who walk with Jesus and
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see something different, significant, perfect?
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No. But progressively Christ -like and honest
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and real. And when they blow it, they say things
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like, I blew it, I'm sorry. They own their stuff.
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See, it's the sin of pretending to be more devoted
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to God than we really are. It's the sin of portraying
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outward actions that don't correspond to inward
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reality. At the essence, it's playing games with
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God in order to gain the applause and the approval
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of people. And at the core, according to this
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text and the Holy Spirit, it's lying to God,
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it's lying to others, and it's lying to yourself.
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And here's the danger of posing. Once you start
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getting the applause of people for misrepresenting
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where you're really at with God, I will tell
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you what, you'll start believing your own stuff.
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And you'll start thinking you're really kind
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and you're really loving. And pretty soon there's
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this image, this almost spiritual hologram that
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you portray and the reality is back here. You
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know what Sapphira's name means? Beautiful. This
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is, her name means beautiful and her behavior
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is ugly. You know what Ananias' name means? God
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is gracious or God is generous. And he's one
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greedy dude in his heart. But he wanted to come
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off as gracious and generous. And when I do this
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and when you do this and it starts, I mentioned
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the texting, it starts in little things. Oh,
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I'll really pray for you. That's bigger. And
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then it's like, oh yeah, I really want to follow
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you, God, whatever you want me to do. But I'm
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not consulting your word. I'm not talking to
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you. I'm not reading. I'm not doing anything.
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But I just expect you to bless me. And then the
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pretension and the posing. And pretty soon, Who
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you are and what you purport to be tells two
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different stories. And when unbelievers get up
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close and they smell us and see us and you know
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what? They see that difference. They say, you
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know what? I don't believe in your message and
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I don't believe in your savior. That's why the
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judgment was so harsh. God was protecting his
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church. I've done this passage once with a group
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of pastors and I said, guys, you do understand
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that If God was acting like this, that most of
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us would have to change jobs and instead of being
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pastors, we'd have to be undertakers. And we'd
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just have to bury all these people in our church.
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And then I said, no, no, not really. Probably
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there wouldn't be any undertakers because pastors
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pose as much or more than anybody else. So it
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wouldn't be anybody around to bury people. But
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when God wanted to make the point and he wanted
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to stop the attack, and this is satanic, okay?
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This is serious. And some sins, once they get
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going, here's the problem. Since we know everybody
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else kind of poses, since we know that everyone
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else has levels of hypocrisy, we say stuff like,
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well, no one's perfect. God's not asking to be
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perfect. He's asking and demanding that you be
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authentic. Listen carefully. Purity is a prerequisite
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for power. You want to know why the church today
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or the small groups today aren't like the small
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groups and the church in Acts? It's opposing.
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It's lack of purity. I think it's also interesting
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as you look at this passage that it has to do
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with finances. I mean, Jesus talked more about
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finances than heaven and hell combined. You say,
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well, why? Because see, Jesus said in Matthew,
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you might jot this down, Matthew 6, verses 19
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to 22, according to Jesus. Wherever your treasure
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is, there's a chain connected to it, and that
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chain is connected to your heart. So wherever
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your treasure is, that's the revealer. That's
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the MRI, the x -ray machine of the Holy Spirit
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of God. If you ever want to know where you're
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at spiritually, just look at your money. Wherever
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your money flows, it tells you where your loyalty
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is. It says where your priorities are. It says
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what really matters. According to Jesus, are
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you ready for this? According to Jesus, the two
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gods are not God and Satan. He said, Satan's
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not a God, he's a tempter. He's a beautiful,
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powerful, created angel. You know what Jesus
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says? You read that passage in Matthew 6. Jesus
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says, there's me, God, or mammon. Those are the
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two things that are vying for your heart and
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my heart. It's money, it's materialism. Now,
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interestingly, you got your Bibles open, skip
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back up to verse 31, and after God is affirming,
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Them, right? Chapter 4, verse 31. It says they
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were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And that
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word literally means to be controlled by. And
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notice in verse 31 there of chapter 4, they're
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controlled or they're filled. There's one baptism.
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You trust Christ and you're put in the body of
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Christ. There's many fillings. So what happens
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to their behavior when Jesus is controlling their
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behavior? Look at verse 32, 33, 34. They have
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one heart, one mind, unity. Everyone says they
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don't claim anything as their own. This isn't
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socialism. They weren't in a commune. They didn't
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have to give anything. But it was since Jesus
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is living in them and controlling them and their
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values, it's like, look, all that I have comes
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from God. So if I have a lot and you have a little,
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of course I would share because that's what the
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Holy Spirit would do. And I know that he'll meet
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my needs. So there's generosity and then there's
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boldness and there's power when you're filled
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with the Spirit. Now skip down to about verse
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three or four. of chapter five, and Peter says,
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Ananias, how has Satan filled your heart? You
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ready for this? Same word. Exact same word. He
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was being controlled by. He was being influenced
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by. But where did it come from? It came from
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envy. It came from jealousy. It came from, I
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want people to think of me the way they think
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of Barnabas, but I don't trust God. I don't believe
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if I sold a piece of property that God will meet
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my needs. So I'm gonna keep control. It's not
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about money, it's about control. And it's about
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under the control, a lack of faith. So what I'm
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gonna do is I'm gonna pose and I'm gonna sell
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this, keep this for me. His sin was he said he
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paid this for the land. Before, he didn't have
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to sell the land. And after he sold the land,
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he said, Peter, tell you what, my wife and I
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have really been praying. we're convinced that
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4 .7 % of this ought to go to the church. And
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Peter would have said, thank you very much, appreciate
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it. He could have said 72 % of it. He could have
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said 5 % of it. But what he said was, we paid,
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this is what we got for the land and we're giving
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it all because we're so generous. Hypocrite.
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See, money is one of those things that, it's
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like real objective. You know what I mean? I
22:11
can say, oh, I get this really great feeling.
22:14
Man, when we worship, I get this great feeling.
22:17
Or I feel close to God when I did this or listened
22:19
to this song or prayed or I, and all that's kind
22:23
of subjective and I'm all for all those subjective
22:25
things. But let me tell you where there's no
22:27
power in the church. The average believer in
22:30
America gives 2 .8 % of their money to the church
22:35
of Jesus Christ. In America, across the board
22:39
of all the millions of people who go to church,
22:41
over half the people in any church give absolutely
22:44
nothing. See, there's this lack of connection
22:48
between, oh, my mouth. This is what Isaiah said
22:51
when he was bringing down the judgment of God
22:54
upon people. He says, Israel, you honor me with
22:56
your lips, but your deeds and your ways are far
23:00
from me. And so when I say I love God, you're
23:03
the most important person in my life, I have
23:05
these needs, I'm really praying, I really need
23:07
your help, and my money says what I love is me,
23:09
and I have all this debt, and I have all this
23:12
stuff, see, it's not about the money. It's about
23:17
who's controlling my heart, which desires are
23:20
getting fed, and then at the end of the day,
23:23
it's really about faith. Well, I would like to
23:26
be generous and help people, but... And then
23:29
the but is you just list, why is it that over
23:33
half of all the marriages that fail are around
23:35
financial issues? Money is never a problem in
23:39
marriage. Money just reveals values. And when
23:44
there's lots of debt, lots of stuff you can't
23:46
afford, lots of credit cards that you pay part
23:49
-time on, what you're saying is, I don't tremble
23:53
at God's word. Basic. biblical stewardship would
23:57
just have certain things like, God says give
24:00
the very first off the top so you remember that
24:02
I own it and so that my mission gets done. And
24:06
then he says things like, don't spend more than
24:08
comes in. That's a radical idea, you know? And
24:12
by the way, I own it all. And so what I want
24:15
you to do is it's not just about giving. I actually
24:17
want you to save, even if it's just a little.
24:19
I want you to actually invest, even if it's just
24:21
a little. And then what comes in each month,
24:24
I want you to keep the number that comes in bigger
24:27
than the number that goes out. You do that for
24:30
three years and then five years and then seven
24:32
years and 20 years and 30 years, I will tell
24:35
you, you will end up with surplus and greatly
24:38
blessed. Do you understand why? See, it's just
24:43
a revealer. Now, if you happen to be brand new,
24:45
by the way, or you're brand new in Christ, you
24:48
know, this is a journey. You know, this isn't
24:50
some big message on finances. You know why we're
24:53
talking about finances? Because we're in chapter
24:57
five. Okay? Chapter one, chapter two, chapter
25:02
three, chapter four. This is what happened. And
25:04
it is the greatest, clearest revealer of where
25:07
your heart is. Notice here. The reason, hypocrisy
25:11
kills the authenticity of the message and the
25:14
credibility of the messenger. Hypocrisy. When
25:18
people poke around and say, what are you doing
25:20
and where are you going and can you cam and we're
25:22
gonna do this thing or that thing and you say
25:23
yes or no based on this is what I can afford
25:26
or not afford. What my mouth and my time and
25:31
my energy and money, they need to be saying the
25:34
same thing. Not perfection, but hypocrisy, posing.
25:39
Posing like I love God, posing like I'm devoted,
25:42
posing like I really care about people. I mean,
25:47
deeply. I mean, like, to the point that I'm sacrificially
25:52
giving 1 .3 % of my income to really help others.
25:56
They mean a lot right here. You understand what
26:00
I'm saying? Now, I know this is a hard message
26:02
to hear, but do you now understand why the church
26:06
is anemic? Do you understand why some people
26:09
don't get specific, powerful answers to prayer?
26:12
Do you understand why marriages and kids that
26:15
have issues and relationships that you want to
26:17
come together, God uses and always will finances
26:21
to direct our energy and our priorities. In the
26:24
Old Testament, when people were just totally
26:26
out of whack, he said, you know something? You're
26:30
doing your own thing and neglecting my stuff,
26:32
and that's why you have a purse that has holes
26:34
in it. That's why you plant seeds, but you know,
26:37
then the blight comes. I will keep frustrating
26:40
you in this area because when he has our finances,
26:43
he has our attention, right? This is an alignment
26:48
where God wants our hearts directed. And really
26:51
what the issue is, will you trust me? Would you
26:54
believe that when I say I'll take care of you,
26:56
I'll take care of you? Notice what happened as
26:59
a result of this. We pick up the story. It says
27:01
a great fear seized those in the church. And
27:05
I mean, this is more, I'm gonna talk a little
27:06
bit about fear in just a second, but notice there
27:08
is this sense of, whoa, this isn't like Jesus
27:12
is my buddy and I think we'll do whatever we
27:14
want and I hope things work out and help my life
27:17
work out. I mean, this is like, woo, serious.
27:20
And then notice what happens. The apostles performed
27:23
many miracles and signs and wonders among the
27:25
people and all the believers used to meet together
27:27
in Solomon's colonnade. No one else dared join
27:31
them even though they were highly regarded by
27:33
the people. I love that. Christians were highly
27:36
regarded. They weren't weird. They weren't people
27:39
screaming on TV for people's money. They weren't
27:42
hypocrites. The people said, I don't want to
27:45
join that group because I'll tell you what, you
27:47
better be a for real authentic person or you
27:48
might die. But man, they love each other. They're
27:53
for real. They so reflect that person they say
27:57
they follow who came back from the dead, Jesus.
27:59
As a result, people brought their sick in the
28:01
streets and lay them on beds and Matt, so that
28:04
at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of
28:06
them as they pass by. Crowds gathered also from
28:09
the towns all around Jerusalem, bringing their
28:11
sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and
28:14
all of them were healed. Circle the word all.
28:17
All of them were healed. Now, very carefully
28:20
here, don't think that the Bible's teaching that
28:23
God heals all people all time. Notice how much
28:26
faith all these people had, by the way. If 100
28:30
% of the people were healed, see, it doesn't
28:32
say. Healing and faith doesn't always necessarily
28:35
go together. Three times in all of biblical history,
28:38
you see miracles as the norm. When the law is
28:42
given under Moses, when the prophetic ministry
28:45
of restoring Israel, Elijah and Elijah, and Jesus
28:48
and the apostles. Every time God gives new revelation,
28:51
the law. from Sinai. Then there's a season of
28:56
miracles, miracles, miracles, miracles, miracles,
28:58
parting of the Red Sea, the manna, the quail.
29:00
Why? To say that God's truth is here and you
29:03
can believe it. And then there is also when people
29:07
take the first steps of disregard, there's a
29:09
very harsh initial judgment that this is for
29:11
real. The same thing with Elijah and Elijah.
29:14
A great season where miracles were the norm.
29:16
The same thing here with the apostles. Now, God
29:22
still does miracles. God still does the supernatural.
29:25
He still wants to. But he does it as he chooses
29:28
and according to his will. But here's what I
29:31
want you to see. There was a great fear. We have
29:34
a lot of misguided thinking about fear. I've
29:37
heard people talk about, well, the fear of the
29:39
Lord, what it just means is reverential awe.
29:43
And I'm like, what's that mean? Awe. I mean,
29:49
I get what they're saying because the problem
29:51
is you don't want to be afraid of God because
29:54
he's your father. So how do we, let me give you
29:56
a picture that's helped me. Imagine, if you will,
29:59
being right on the edge of a tabletop out on
30:03
the Grand Canyon or like at Half Dome. And when
30:05
you get near to that edge and when you look down,
30:08
it's like thousands of feet down. And you can
30:13
be 20 feet back and you can see it all, reverential
30:15
awe, wow. Majestic. Amazing. Beautiful. And then
30:21
when you get closer, what do you instinctively
30:24
do? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, guys. One of you
30:27
guys want to grab my belt here? I want to see
30:30
over there. You mean you want to get that close?
30:32
I want to get real close. Okay? You got my leg?
30:35
Hey, dude, get my leg, okay? Hold on really tight.
30:38
And when you get near the edge, it is not reverential
30:40
at all. You are scared to death and your heart's
30:43
going. It gets even worse if you say, you know,
30:48
a little daredevil on you. I want to really get
30:50
the experience. You guys hold my belt and I'm
30:52
going to lean forward. And they hold your belt
30:54
out over it. And as they do, there's a lot of
30:58
reverential awe and tear. Listen carefully. Tozer
31:03
writes, because by the way, where there is no
31:05
fear of God, people sin. It's what the psalmist
31:09
said. The wicked sin because there's no fear
31:13
of God in their heart. Tozer wrote, in the olden
31:15
days, men were said to walk in the fear of God
31:18
and to serve the Lord with fear. However intimate
31:20
their communion with God, however bold their
31:22
prayers, at the base of their religious life
31:24
was the conception of God as awesome and dreadful.
31:27
The idea of God's transcendence runs through
31:30
the whole Bible and gives color and tone to the
31:31
character of the saints. This fear of God was
31:34
more than a natural apprehension of danger. It
31:36
was a non -rational dread, an acute feeling of
31:39
personal insufficiency in the presence of God
31:41
the Almighty. We've forgotten God is God. What
31:45
would it be like to come near the presence of
31:47
someone whose energy speaks a word and galaxies
31:49
come into existence? You don't walk up with hands
31:52
on your head and go, hey, would you give me a
31:54
little help? That's how we treat God. You wouldn't
31:58
walk up and say, yeah, I know there's this salad
32:00
bar of commandments. Hey, I think I'll obey two,
32:03
four, six, and eight, nine, and seven. I don't
32:07
think I'll be very fulfilled if I do those. He
32:10
goes on to say, Whenever God appeared to men
32:13
in the Bible, times and results were the same.
32:15
An overwhelming sense of terror and dismay. A
32:17
wrenching sensation of sinfulness and guilt.
32:19
When God spoke to Abraham, Abraham stretched
32:22
himself upon the ground to listen. When he spoke
32:24
to Moses, he saw the burning bush. He hid his
32:27
face and couldn't look upon him. When Isaiah
32:29
saw a vision of God. He rung out the cry, woe
32:33
is me. I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips.
32:36
Daniel's encounter with God was probably the
32:38
most dreadful and wonderful of them all. The
32:40
prophet lifted up his eyes and saw the appearance
32:42
of lightning and his eyes like lamps of fire
32:44
and his arms and his feet were like color polished
32:47
brass. And the voice of his words were like the
32:49
sound of a multitude of waters. And Daniel alone
32:52
saw the vision and afterwards he said, for the
32:56
men that were with me. did not see the vision,
32:58
but a great quakening fell upon them. So they
33:00
fled and they hid themselves. And I was left
33:03
there alone and I saw this great vision and all
33:05
my comeliness went out of me and I turned into
33:07
me to corruption. And then I heard the voice
33:10
of his words and it was, I went into a deep sleep
33:11
on my face and my face was toward the ground.
33:14
That's a different God then. Lord, you know,
33:17
could you help me out a little bit? I don't feel
33:19
like doing that today. Tozer later writes in
33:24
balance to this, which is so encouraging. Once
33:27
you get a honest, holy fear of God, the cross
33:32
becomes so rich and so beautiful because through
33:37
the blood of Christ, I'm invited in his righteousness
33:41
to come boldly before the throne of that God
33:44
in my time of need to find mercy and grace. And
33:50
this God who is that fearful and awesome and
33:53
holy and powerful, though exalted in majesty,
33:57
is eager to be your friend. He's transcendent,
34:01
but he's eminent. He's tender. He's compassionate.
34:06
He's the one that says to the woman who's had
34:09
five husbands and living with a guy, sin no more.
34:13
He's the one that says when you've blown it and
34:16
you realize that there is hypocrisy and sin and
34:19
addiction and you've said things and you have
34:22
an honest, honest time with God and you feel
34:25
so wretched inside and so unacceptable, in that
34:28
moment, you said, God, I bring nothing to the
34:31
table. How could anyone love me? And you will
34:34
be flooded with grace because he is near to those
34:38
who have a humble and contrite spirit. And those
34:42
who tremble at his word, he esteems. See, we
34:46
don't take the time to get honest. And because
34:49
you're not honest and I'm not honest, you don't
34:52
experience God. That's where the power is. The
34:56
church is devoid of power because of the hypocrisy
35:00
that we've learned not only to live with, but
35:02
to give one another a pass on so that because
35:04
no one really lives it out to any significant
35:08
degree, we say, well, I'm just like everyone
35:12
else. I assure you the Pharisees and the Sadducees
35:17
in Jesus' day were convinced they were not hypocrites.
35:21
And they knew their Bible. And they were religious.
35:26
And Jesus spoke the harshest words that have
35:29
ever come out of the creator's mouth. What happened?
35:35
Posing. Second attack begins in verse, 17, when
35:42
the high priest, this is from without, and all
35:44
of his associates and members of the party, the
35:47
Sadducees, were filled with jealousy, they arrested
35:50
the apostles. Now it's not just John and Peter,
35:52
it's all of them. And they put them in public
35:54
jail. But during the night, an angel of the Lord
35:57
opened the doors and he brought them out. And
36:02
he said, go, stand in the temple courts and tell
36:06
the people the full message of this new life.
36:34
On hearing this report, the captain of the temple
36:36
guard and the chief priest were puzzled, wondering,
36:39
What could come of this? I mean, they're scratching
36:41
their head. Then someone came and said, look,
36:44
the men you put in jail are standing in the temple
36:47
and they're teaching the people. At this, the
36:50
captain went with his officers and brought the
36:52
apostles and they didn't use force because they
36:55
feared that the people would stone them. Having
36:58
brought the apostles, they made them appear before
37:00
the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
37:03
And just imagine this. This is like going into
37:06
downtown Wall Street. Ivy League. I mean, these
37:10
are the power players. This is walking into the
37:13
Oval Office in their day. This is the most powerful,
37:16
educated, rich people in the world who call the
37:21
shots. And these basic blue -collar workers,
37:24
with the exception of a couple, are being called
37:26
in, and this whole place is filled, and you're
37:29
on trial. And we've already told you once to
37:31
stop doing this. So before you get these guys
37:34
as heroes who are just going to step up and do
37:36
the right thing, I want you to imagine the emotions
37:38
that they were going through. Having brought
37:41
the apostles in, they made them appear before
37:43
the Sanhedrin and they questioned them. And here's
37:46
what they said. You have filled Jerusalem with
37:51
your teaching and you are determined to make
37:53
us guilty of this man's blood. And Peter and
37:56
the other apostles replied, we must obey God
37:59
rather than men. The God of our fathers raised
38:01
Jesus from the dead whom you had killed by hanging
38:04
him on a tree. God exalted him to his right hand
38:07
as prince and savior that he might give repentance
38:10
and forgiveness of sins to Israel. These are
38:13
the most educated people about the Bible and
38:15
none of them have asked the question, I wonder
38:18
if maybe we're off. I wonder if we're in our
38:20
comfort zone. I wonder if maybe all those Old
38:22
Testament passages that we have memorized and
38:25
all the Mishnah and all the law and all religious
38:27
stuff, I wonder if maybe this could be the guy.
38:29
I mean, there's a lot of miracles going on here.
38:34
But you know what? They don't have any interest
38:36
in hearing God. They have interest in controlling
38:39
their position. Their perception by people and
38:43
their power. And by the way, when they do that
38:46
or when we do that, we do not experience God.
38:50
Notice what Peter says. God wanted to give repentance.
38:55
God wants to forgive people. God wants to love
38:58
people. And he does it through his son who he
39:00
raised from the dead. We are witnesses of these
39:02
things and so is the Holy Spirit. whom God has
39:05
given to those who obey. In other words, he's
39:07
saying, we saw him with our own eyes. And by
39:09
the way, all these miracles, Peter's saying,
39:11
this isn't me. When Barnabas gave that money,
39:14
that wasn't Barnabas. That was the spirit of
39:15
God prompting him to just act on that good impulse
39:18
and allow the life of Christ in him. When Peter
39:20
steps up and is bold in front of all these high
39:23
-powered people, that's not Peter. This is the
39:27
spirit of God flowing through an ordinary human
39:30
being just like you and just like me. And in
39:34
his yieldedness, the Spirit of God gives him
39:37
this boldness. The response is pretty negative.
39:40
When they heard these things, they were furious
39:41
and wanted to kill them. But the scene changes.
39:45
A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law
39:49
who was honored by all the people, stood up in
39:51
the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put
39:52
outside for just a little while. Then he addressed
39:55
the men of Israel, consider carefully what you
39:57
do with these men. Some time ago, Thetis appeared
40:02
claiming to be somebody and about 400 men rallied
40:04
to him and he was killed and his followers disappeared
40:06
and it all came to nothing. And after him, Judas,
40:08
the Galilean, appeared in the days of the census
40:11
and he led a band of people in revolt and he
40:13
too was killed and his followers were scattered.
40:15
Therefore, in this present case, I advise you,
40:17
leave these men alone. Let them go. For if their
40:21
purpose or activity is from human origin, it
40:26
will fail. But if it's from God, you will not
40:30
be able to stop these men. You will only find
40:33
yourselves fighting against God. That's where
40:38
I got the series title, Unstoppable. God's grace
40:41
is unstoppable. His purposes are gonna happen.
40:45
They're gonna happen in this nation, in this
40:47
world. His purposes are unstoppable and he has
40:50
an agenda. The only issue is whether you will
40:53
ride. that wave of grace and be a part of what
40:56
he purposed for you or whether you'll stand on
40:58
the sidelines out of fear and control and say,
41:02
you know what? I think I'm more concerned about
41:04
my agenda than God's. This is scary stuff, isn't
41:08
it? That requires faith in a big God. And I'm
41:12
glad these guys had it. His speech persuaded
41:14
them. He called the apostles in and then had
41:17
them flogged. So they, I mean, this isn't light
41:21
stuff. Flogged isn't like, you know, slap on
41:23
the wrist. If you saw the movie, The Passion,
41:25
this is a pole, multi lines of leather, steel
41:30
balls in the middle and some pieces of glass
41:32
or bone on the end. You got 12 guys holding on
41:36
to poles and they get their back ripped up. See,
41:40
just when we... This stuff that's been passed
41:43
around for the last 20 years that if you do exactly
41:45
what God wants you to do, everything will go
41:47
your way, you have a big house, you make a lot
41:49
of money, and prosperity gospel is absolutely
41:52
false. These people obeyed to the point, and
41:55
what happens to them? They get flogged. When
41:58
you do the right thing, what you get is the joy
42:00
of Christ, great spiritual reward, fulfilling
42:03
God's purpose, a love in your heart, and what
42:05
money can't buy. But it doesn't mean that circumstances
42:08
are going to be great. The apostles left the
42:12
Sanhedrin rejoicing because they'd been counted
42:15
worthy of suffering, disgrace for the name. Day
42:18
after day in the temple courts and from house
42:20
to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming
42:22
the good news that Jesus is Christ. The nation
42:26
has rejected the Savior. They flogged the disciples
42:32
and here's the reason. Courage in the face of
42:35
persecution authenticates the validity of the
42:38
message and the credibility. of the messenger.
42:42
Courage. The temptation is to compromise. Purity
42:47
is a prerequisite for power. Courage is the prerequisite
42:52
for impact. Compromise is the temptation we all
42:56
have to say it a little lighter, to say it a
42:58
little softer, to sort of step out, but not really
43:01
step out. When people see courage in the face
43:05
of persecution, it authenticates both the message
43:08
and the messenger. I think the last, I don't
43:11
know, maybe 20, 25 years, we've so wanted to
43:15
identify with people and let them know that,
43:17
you know, you can be a Christian, but really
43:19
be pretty hip and pretty cool and maybe really
43:20
hip and really cool. That somehow we never get
43:23
around to telling people the truth. And so we
43:26
got so near the culture we've fallen in and now
43:28
you can't tell a difference anymore. People say,
43:31
I love God and their behavior and their values.
43:33
People say, I don't love God, their behavior,
43:35
their values. These people, they come to me and
43:36
go, yeah, I have no interest in it. You guys
43:38
don't live any different than me. Your marriages
43:40
aren't any better than mine. You don't tell the
43:41
truth any more than I do. All you do is you got
43:44
this religious stuff and say, well, we're forgiven.
43:46
Well, you know, it doesn't work for me. It's
43:48
phony. Posing and compromise are at the heart
43:54
of power that's gone out. The result of these
43:59
men's courage is what? Power, perseverance, joy.
44:06
There was joy. There was joy. This was for real.
44:10
There was joy. There was a connection with God
44:13
that's unexplainable that said, I am fulfilling
44:16
what I was made to do in all the earth. And the
44:19
price was high. But there's something that occurred.
44:23
And that's what God wants for us. That's Chip
44:28
Ingram on Living on the Edge with the conclusion
44:31
of Grace Stoppers, two things that destroy God's
44:34
work in our lives. Chip has one more word for
44:36
us before we go about the mid -year match and
44:39
what it means to say yes to this moment. So stay
44:42
with us. They were flogged, and then they left
44:45
the Sanhedrin rejoicing. Why? Because they had
44:49
been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for
44:52
the name. That's not a natural response. That's
44:55
a supernatural one. And it's the same response
44:58
available to any follower of Christ who decides
45:01
that the approval of God matters more than the
45:04
comfort of the crowd. Every message you've heard
45:06
so far in our Jesus Revolution series is available
45:09
right now on the Living on the Edge podcast.
45:12
Subscribe today and share it with someone who
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needs it. Or find Chip's full -length sermons
45:17
on the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast wherever you
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listen. The apostles rejoiced because they knew
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the story wasn't over. And now here's Chip Ingram
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to remind you that this story isn't over either,
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and that right now in June 2026, you have a chance
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to be part of what happens next. If you're a
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supporter of Living on the Edge, whether frequent
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or infrequent, I want you to hear something directly
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from me. You are a valued partner in the Jesus
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Movement. Every message that goes out, every
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pastor who is encouraged, and trained, every
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young person who finds their faith, every marriage
45:55
that is saved, every believer who finally moves
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from sitting on the sidelines to living it out
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on the front lines at work and in their neighborhood
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and the coffee shop and when they drop off the
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dry cleaning. I mean, the kind of Christians
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that actually live like Christians. When you
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give to living on the edge, you are a part of
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the Jesus revolution. From Acts chapter 1 to
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Acts chapter 5, the early church turned the world
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upside down because ordinary people like you,
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yes, and ordinary people like me stepped out
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and made a difference. You know what I love about
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the book of Acts? Nobody in it knew how the story
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would end. They just kept saying yes one step
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at a time. And that's what we're doing at Living
46:39
on the Edge. And here's my question for you.
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Would you take the next step with us? Would you
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give to the mid -year match this June? And I
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would remind you, thanks to a small group of
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donors, every dollar you give this June gets
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doubled dollar for dollar. Let's find out what
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God can really do in the midst of this very chaotic
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world when ordinary people like you step out
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and say to Jesus, yes, I'm still in the game.
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Nobody in the book of Acts knew how the story
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would end. They just kept saying yes. Say yes
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today by joining the mid -year match. Your gift
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doubled, your step taken. Your part in the story
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secured. Go online to livingontheedge .org or
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call us at 888 -333 -6003. If you'd rather send
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your donation through the mail, just address
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your envelope to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box
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3007, Atlanta, Georgia 30024. Every dollar matched
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this month only. Again, just visit livingontheedge
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.org or call our team at 888 -333 -6003. Well,
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I'm Dave Drewy, and that's the end of today's
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program. We'll see you here next time for more
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insightful, practical Bible teaching on Living
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on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today's program
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is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.