BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 9

Deeds of the Heart

Acts 4:32-5:11

This particular passage being studied today has caused me to do so real soul searching. Although much of what is written here is a reflection of the past situation here at church. I am leaving these in this lesson as a warning of the dangers into which we can fall if we are not vigilant in our struggle against the wiles of the devil to destroy what has been accomplished over the last seven years. I have had to ask, have my words and actions been done with the purest of motives? Have I sometimes been more a part of the problem rather than the solution? I do not think that I am that much different than many of you. Many of the statements and questions in this study are the very ones to which I have given a great deal of thought. I am thankful to God that He just does not let us drift through life deceived by our own self-righteousness if we truly seek His face. In my mind I believe that I only want the best for our church, but is that always true or do I let my own desires and agendas cloud the issues we face. Paul really speaks to the heart of this matter when he talks about doing those things he does not want to do and not doing those things he wants to do. It is a struggle I face to keep my intentions pure and holy. Only by God’s grace can I hope to deal with my own heart issues and do any good.

(You may not want to use this section at all. It is a reflection of the experiences I have had at Bethany Place and where I believe we are right now. I do believe that we have hidden behind a mask of hypocrisy too long and we have lost our identity along the way. Hold onto your hats because here I go.)

These may seem like random thoughts to you but I hope it will present a bigger picture of where we are at Bethany Place. It should sadden all of us when we see so much continuing conflict and division in the church. While this is true of our church, it is happening in other churches as well. This does not take away from the fact that we must address the issues that affect us. It seems that the ways of the world have crept into the church to the point that we are no longer sensitive to the way that our words and actions are tearing us apart. We accept gossip as truth, rumors as something to be passed on and quickly join in the criticism when the difficult decisions by the staff are made. There are times when some are ready to believe the worse about others. Has our church focused more on those things and begun to see our foundation crumble instead of concentrating on growing our church stronger through worship, witnessing and discipling others?

If the undercurrent of discontent at work was seen for what it truly represents, we could then deal with it and move forward. We have all seen the affects of allowing it to fester for the last 24 years I have been here. This can be partly to blame for the reduction in attendance in our church from 600 and 700 each Sunday to less than 200 now. Our church members and others can place the blame on different things for our present condition. We cannot continue to hold responsible some “next issue or person” because in reality what we are dealing with is what has been going on all these years. It is a “heart issue”. We do not have to go back to the voting issues or personal problems but only need to look at recent events that have taken place to see that satan is still at work in our midst. You would think that after awhile we would stop running away and become so distraught over what is going on that we would fall our faces in complete humility and contrition and cry out to God to heal us.   If we do not purge this attitude, this sin from our midst it will destroy us as people.

After we look at the material for today I will share what the word has said to me.

4: 32-35

Luke in Acts has a way of sharing the history of the early church with all of its positive and negative attributes as a lesson for us in the twenty-first century. It is evident that even in a time so closely following the resurrection of Christ and the birth of the early church that they were not perfect and experienced some critical issues that could have made or destroyed the church.

In these verses there are four dynamics taking place in the early church that serve as examples to us. What were they? Why are they important for us to understand with our hearts and minds?

1. We see that they were had a sense of community.
2. They continued the practices seen in Acts 2.
3. They were of one mind and one heart.
4. There was no greed or hoarding taking place.
5. These strengths in the church provided the climate for a hearing of God’s word
6. The apostles were continuing the teaching and preaching about the resurrection of Jesus. This was done with Spirit filled power with the full conviction of what they believed.
7. Because of all that was occurring in the church, the sharing and teaching, God’s grace was being poured out on them.
8. There was not a needy person among them because others were providing for them by selling property and bringing the proceeds to the apostles.

4: 36-37

Barnabas now comes on the scene.

1. How are we introduced to him?
2. He was given the name of Barnabas because he was an encourager to those around him.
3. Like many others he sold property and brought the money to the apostles.
4. Why was he singled out by name from all of the others who had sold property and given money? Some possible reasons are.
5. He exemplified the character and nature of those in the early church.
6. He was to play an important role in the growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles.
7. He was an early mentor and ally of Paul and later became his travel companion on the first missionary trip.
8. Provide a stark contrast between a man of integrity and an encourager in the church to those like Ananias and Sapphira who we will meet in the next chapter.

5:1-11

In the next 11 verses we see the actions of Ananias and Sapphira and how the church dealt with them. This couple, like Barnabas and many others sold property to raise money to meet the needs of the church community. The only difference was they decided to keep part of the proceeds but tell Peter they had brought the full selling price. Before looking at Peter’s actions there are a couple of questions that should be answered if these two are like any of us in the church.

1. What character traits would cause these two to do what they did?
2. How were they different from Barnabas?
3. What could have been the consequences of their deception and lies?
4. How might their situation parallel that Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis?

Bringing this narrative closer to home:

1. If we are honest with ourselves, who are we more like Barnabas or the couple?
2. In what ways do we hold back when God calls for our very best?

When Ananias appeared before Peter he was asked two things and in a way three.

1. Although not written this way, it could said, “why did you allow satan to fill your heart?”
2. “Why did you give in and lie to the Holy Spirit?”
3. “Why did you keep part of the purchase price?”
4. “Before you brought your gift was not the money yours to do with as you pleased?”

Peter’s questions raise a couple more to be answered.

1. What percentage of the sale was Ananias and Sapphira actually obligated to bring to the church?
2. How did they think that they could get away with the deceit in such a close knit community?

What was Peter to do? He exposed what Ananias and Sapphira had done. The result was that both of them dropped dead. What caused their deaths?

1. The judgment of God
2. The guilt of being discovered
3. Dying from a heart attacked following complete humiliation

Ultimately we have to accept it was the judgment of God. So what kind of questions might we ask?

1. Why did God deal so harshly with these two?
2. What would have happened if they had not received the judgment?
3. In what way were the two given the opportunity to repent?
4. What was the result of their deaths?
5. In the Bible there are two different kinds of fear. The first would be defined as reverence or awe of God. The second would be terror or panic. Which type do we see manifested here?
6. How far reaching was this fear and what impact did it have on the greater community? This last question will set the stage for the next lesson.

Hopefully from what has been discussed today you will begin to try to understand how seriously God takes the condition of His Church. You can see the high standards He has set for it in the areas of holiness, purity and community. Here are some suggestions for you as you meditate on these areas.

• A search of the topic of holiness from the Bible would be a good place for you to start to see how you are doing. Books such as the “Pursuit of Happiness” by Jerry Bridges would be a good read.
• There needs to be a true soul searching to see if you have been part of the problem. You might look at the prayers of Daniel (Daniel 9:3-19), Ezra (Ezra 9:5-15), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4-11) and David (especially Psalm 51) to see how they viewed sin.
• Then there needs to be a true soul searching to see if you have been or are part of the problem. Take some extended time this week in prayer to reflect on your life. Ask the Lord to show you if there is any un-confessed sin in your life, any attitude that is not acceptable to Him, or maybe any relationship with someone that needs to be set right.

At this point we need to begin to look at Bethany Place as a community.

Here are some suggestions:

• Our actions and words should reflect a commitment to each other. We can do this by accepting the fact that we are truly responsible to each other for caring, discipleship and discipline.

 

This means that there are times when we should be there for each other when there is a need such as sickness. We may need to call on each other more often to find out how others are doing and volunteer to help.

This means that we should encourage each other in daily disciplines of Bible Study and prayer.

Finally it also means that there may be times when it is necessary to confront one another in love. For instance if there is gossip or listening to rumors, this needs to be confronted, but in a Christ-loving way. If there is an issue bothering us, we are to direct individuals to the leadership we now have in place.

• We need to guard the body of Christ.

We all need to make the conscious decision that selfishness and distrust do not have a place in the body of Christ.

As God continues to rebuild Bethany Place on His strong principles of the leadership of Jesus Christ who gifts some to shepherd His church, we should focus on our strengths and not our shortcomings. Let’s rejoice in those places where we see growth in our church.

There are those who may be saddened and still struggling with recent issues or those further in the past. Let’s encourage them and pray with them for God to bring healing.

 

Copyrighted

Richard T. Lipscomb

November 14, 2010