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August 20 - Acts 5 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday already.
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  It's the 20th of August. Cried to have your company as we
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  are going to do what we do every day.
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  We are going to read another chapter of God's Word.
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  And as you probably well know at the moment, we're reading
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  through that wonderful story, that book of Acts, the Acts of
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  the Apostles, hearing about our church growing from that first
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  moment of Jesus sending out his apostles all the way through to
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  Paul arriving in the heart of the known world into Rome.
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  And from there, the church spread all over the show into
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  your corner of the world. That's right where you are now.
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  You are only a member of this church and a believer because of
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  this story that we are reading today.
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  And today's reading has got a section which makes people a
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  little bit uncomfortable. You were going to hear about
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  people dropping dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit.
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  And this is included in here so that the readers would know that
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  this God, this is the same God with perfect standards that
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  we've seen in the Old Testament, this God of might and power over
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  all. Not some new soft version, but
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  the same mighty God who rules absolutely.
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  So let's buckle ourselves in, take a deep breath, and read
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  together Acts chapter 5. But there was a certain man
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  named Ananias who with his wife Sapphira, sold some property.
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  He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was
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  the full amount. With his wife's consent, he kept
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  the rest. Then Peter said, and a nice Why
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  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
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  yourself. The property was yours to sell
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  or not sell as you wished, and after selling it, the money was
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  also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like
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  this? You weren't lying to us, but to
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  God. As soon as Ananias heard these
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  words, he fell to the floor and died.
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  Everyone who heard about it was terrified.
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  Then some young man got up, wrapped him in a sheet and took
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  him out and buried him. About 3 hours later, his wife
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  came in. Not knowing what had happened,
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  Peter asked her, Was this the price you and your husband
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  received for your land? Yes, she replied.
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  That was the price, and Peter said, how could the two of you
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  even think of conspiring to test the spirit of the Lord like
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  this? The young men who buried your
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  husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you
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  out too. Instantly she fell to the floor
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  and died. When the young men came in and
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  saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her
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  beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire
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  church and everyone else heard what had happened.
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  The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and
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  wonders among the people, and all the believers were meeting
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  regularly at the temple in the area known as Solomon's
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  Colonnade. But no one else dared to join
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  them. Even though all the people had
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  high regard for them, yet more and more people believed and
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  were brought to the Lord. Crowds of both men and women.
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  As a result of the apostles work, sick people were brought
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  out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter's shadow
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  might fall across some of them as he went by.
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  Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their
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  sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all
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  healed. The high priest and his
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  officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
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  They arrested the apostles and put them in the public gaol.
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  But the Angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of
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  the gaol, and brought them out. Then he told them, Go to the
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  temple and give the people this message of life.
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  So at Daybreak the apostles entered the temple, as they were
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  told, and immediately began teaching.
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  When the high priests and his officials arrived, they convened
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  the High Council, the full assembly of the elders of
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  Israel. Then they sent for the apostles
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  to be brought from the gaol for trial.
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  But when the temple guards went to the gaol, the men were gone.
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  So they returned to the council and reported.
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  The gaol was securely locked, with the guard standing outside.
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  But when we opened the gates, no one was there.
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  When the captain of the temple guard and the leading priests
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  heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all
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  end. Then someone arrived with
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  startling news. The men you put in gaol are
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  standing in the temple teaching the people.
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  The captain went with his temple guards and arrested the
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  apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people
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  would stone them. Then they brought the apostles
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  before the high council, where the high priest confronted them.
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  We gave you strict orders, never again to teach in this man's
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  name, he said. Instead you have filled all
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  Jerusalem with your teaching about him and you want to make
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  us responsible for his death. Peter and the apostles replied
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  We must obey God rather than any human authority.
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  The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you
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  killed him by hanging him on a cross.
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  Then God put him in the place of honour at his right hand as
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  Prince and Saviour. He did this so the people of
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  Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.
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  We are witnesses of these things, and so was the Holy
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  Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.
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  When they heard this, the High Council was furious and decided
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  to kill them. But one member, a Pharisee named
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  Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by
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  all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent
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  outside the council chamber for a while.
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  Then he said to his colleagues, Men of Israel, take care what
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  you were planning to do to these men.
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  Some time ago there was that fellow Theodus who pretended to
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  be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but
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  he was killed and all his followers went their various
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  ways. The whole movement came to
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  nothing after him. At the time of the census there
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  was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but
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  he was killed too, and all his followers were scattered.
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  So my advice is, leave these men alone.
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  Let them go. If they are planning and doing
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  these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.
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  But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them.
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  You may even find yourselves fighting against God.
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  The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and
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  had them flogged. Then they ordered them never
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  again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.
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  The apostles left the High Council rejoicing that God had
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  counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.
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  And every day in the temple and from house to house, they
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  continued to teach and preach this message.
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  Jesus is the Messiah. Ah yes Jesus, the message about
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  you is so remarkable. It cannot be kept, it cannot be
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  hidden, it cannot be quieted. And this wisdom from this man
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  Gamaliel all those years ago, that if your movement was not of
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  you, of the living God, it would just soon Peter out.
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  And here we are, 2000 plus years later and your church continuing
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  to move and spread and grow and make a difference around all
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  corners of the globe. I think we can well and truly
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  say that Kamaliel was right and that you indeed are in your
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  church. Because no movement of man could
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  possibly do what you do. You, the incredible, almighty
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  living God who somehow chooses to love us, little old,
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  insignificant us. And right now, as we pray, you
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  bend your ear to hear what we say.
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  Ah, we love you, our wonderful God, and we are so grateful for
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  all that you have done for us, all you continue to do for us,
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  and all you have promised to do for us in the future.
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  So here we are, your people, so humbled, so grateful.
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  And we pray all of these things in the living and powerful name
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  of Jesus. Amen.