Jesus Christ in His Church..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. We are going to be continuing with our series that we're doing, beloved brothers and sisters, on the Book of Acts, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Church. And we are doing this through the Book of Acts.

This evening we're going to be doing Acts, Chapter 5. So I'm going to get you to please open up your Bibles and go to the Book of Acts, Chapter 5. The Book of Acts, Chapter 5. But brothers and sisters, as you are going to Acts chapter 5 on your Bibles, and before we read the whole chapter together, as we usually do every time that we are going to be preaching the Word, let me please just give you a quick exhortation to the importance of the book of Acts. Oh, brothers and sisters, What a necessary duty is for every Christian, for every believer to study the book of Acts.

And of course, we are supposed to study the whole Bible and every single book of the Bible. And we should be diligent to be students of every single book of the Bible. Every one of them is of benefit for the soul of the believer. There is no such a thing, brothers and sisters, as a genuine Christian who does not read or who does not study, who does not pray over the Word of God. This is not even conceivable within genuine Christianity.

We are to be people of the book. We are to be diligent students individually and also as a church of each one of the Bible, each one of the books that are contained in the Bible, brothers and sisters, that we might not be found to be lazy, that we might not be found to be just complacent with the things that we know, that we might not be found to be indifferent with hearts that are cold or hearts that do not have a genuine desire to continue to learn more and more of the story of salvation that we have in the person of Jesus Christ, that we may not be found to be just passive when it comes to search the Scriptures and to know who God is in the person of Christ, what He has done for us. Sometimes it might be really easy for us just to place our attention and our efforts and things that are passing away. that we may have the same diligence to endeavor to be diligent students of the words of God of every single book of the Bible, which is everything that our soul needs to grow in conformity to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should do this individually, and also we should do this as a church, and especially as a church, we should be diligent in studying this Book of Acts.

This Book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles, or the Acts of Jesus Christ through His Spirit, the Acts of the Lord Jesus Christ through His Church in the early church, the Acts of the Risen, Ascended, Crowned, Victorious, Jesus Christ in the world through the church. We are the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have a book that tells us of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ascended Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, triumphing, reigning in heaven. and his works through the church, through his bride. This book has shown us many things, and this is the importance of this study that we're doing, not only as a church, but I hope that we may have the desire, each one of us, to do it individually.

There are so many glorious things that just in these first four chapters that we have learned about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Imagine, brothers and sisters, from the very beginning of this book, the Lord did not leave his people on their own, but rather, after his ascension, he gave his disciples the promise of the Spirit of God, a promise of empowerment to make the people, the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. Witnesses of the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Carriers, messengers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Witnesses of the words of Christ, but also witnesses of the power of Christ.

The power of Christ, not only in the accuracy of the message that they were communicating, but the power of Christ in them. Being the witness of Christ was not only to take the message, but also to be conformed to the person of Jesus Christ. To have Christ in them as they were spreading the message of the gospel. This is the task that was given to this humble group of fishermen that would gather together with women that were praying this 120 humble group, feeble group of people that society despised. They were low in society.

They received the promise of the Creator of everything, brothers and sisters. They received the promise of empowerment from on high by the Holy Spirit. And indeed, they received that promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost came upon them, it was poured upon them, and immediately they were filled with the power of Christ. Immediately when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were with the words, with the power of Christ in them.

Their mouths were open to speak of the great works of God. Peter, we saw in chapter two that he was given the boldness that he did not have. The boldness that he had not shown in the past. He was given this power to open his mouth and to speak face to face to the unbelieving masses with prophetic word, with eloquence in the scriptures and with wisdom in the gospel. It was by the power of the Spirit of God that had been poured upon the church that had been sealing the church that was given as the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ for the body of Christ.

Upon the preaching, the powerful preaching of Peter, we were told there in Chapter 2 that almost 3,000 people were added to the church. Brothers and sisters, how necessary it is for us to understand all of these things that we have been studying through the book of Acts. And more importantly, not only intellectually to understand them, but also by the grace of God to understand how important it is for the church, the power of the Spirit of God in each one of the believers individually, and also the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the congregation. Please, brothers and sisters, do not let the rich and many details of the different stories that we have gone through and that we will continue to go through in this book of Acts to blind us from a very important truth that runs, that it is kind of like the linking power within the stories that we have gone through from chapter one through chapter four. And that is that the power of the Holy Spirit, it is necessary, is necessary to be a church that is indeed a true witness of Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to be witnesses of Him to the uttermost part of the earth. And the power of the Spirit is completely, utterly necessary for a church, for the Church of Christ, to fulfill that mission, that commission to be a witness of Christ. All the things that we read and all the things that we see are done in the early church through and by the power of the Holy Spirit. All the stories and all the things that we have explained so far have been done through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is needed not only by them, the first century church, but it's also needed by us, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ before the coming of the Savior to judge the living and the dead.

We need the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in the same ways that the early church walked. And I don't know if you have seen already, The pattern, beloved brothers and sisters, of these four chapters that we have covered so far, there is a pattern that every time that the power of the Holy Spirit was given to the Church, every time that there was a visitation of the Holy Spirit to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, then great power was given to the Church for them not only to be bold to proclaim the gospel, but also to be conformed to Jesus Christ. And after that will come great power, manifestations of power, and the result of it will be persecution. The power of the Spirit is given to the church. The church works through that power great, great, great things, and they become more like the person of Jesus Christ.

And then it comes persecution, opposition by the system of the world. The power of the Holy Spirit makes the church more like Christ, and the Christ-likeness of the church becomes the reason why the world persecutes the church. This is the pattern that this book has given us so far and that it will continue into chapter 5 and 6. It is the passion of the Holy Spirit coming upon the church, as we saw in Pentecost, and immediately gospel proclamation there will be and salvation. Three thousand people will be added to the church, and immediately we will see Christ's likeness in the church.

We are told that they devoted themselves to the doctrine of the apostles, and they came in unity together. After that, great manifestations of the power of the Spirit among them and persecution will come. The attacks against the church will come. Exactly the same thing is the context of the chapter that we are about to read, chapter 5. The Spirit of God came upon the church.

The church develops even greater levels of Christ-likeness, not only individually, but corporately. And then will come the attacks to the church because of the Christ-likeness of the church, because of the offensive message that the church proclaims in the power of the Holy Spirit. We were told in chapter 4, in verse 31, before we are going to read this chapter 5, that the disciples were together, that they were praying and that they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and they continued to preach with boldness. Power was given to them through the Spirit. And then the response of the church to that was that they were of one heart and one soul, that they had the power to preach.

The manifestation, the visitation of the power of the Spirit produced in the church Christ's likeness. And after Christ's likeness and boldness to preach, then it will come, the attacks to the church. That is the context of the chapter that we have in front of us, brothers and sisters. We have a context in which now the church is filled once again by the power of the Holy Spirit. As he was explained in chapter four, the church is now growing not only in numbers, but it's growing also in union and unity.

They have one heart, one soul. They are one man in Jesus Christ. They have power to preach. The apostles are making and producing great signs and miracles and all of these things, the manifestation of the power of the Spirit and then the result of it. is going to be the opposition of the world.

That is going to be the main topic of Chapter 5. In Chapter 5, we're going to be given, brothers and sisters, three important stories. Three important stories. We have stories that we have read, of course, in the past, but there are three main stories that perhaps you have them divided there with the titles of your Bibles, which are very good divisions of the chapter that tells us how the narrative is moving and moving from one place to another. We have the story of Ananias and Sapphira opening the chapter from verse 1 to verse 11.

Then after that, in verse 12, we have the many signs and wonders and all the things that the apostles were doing from verse 12 to verse 16. And then from verse 17 until the end of the chapter, chapter five, we have the arrest and the miraculous liberation or freedom of the apostles. They were arrested, but they were also miraculously liberated from prison by the angel or by an angel of the Lord. These are the three stories that we have in chapter five. And as I said to you, this happens in the context of this pattern that is given to us by the author.

There is power of the spirit that comes upon the church. This power of the spirit in the church and each one in each one of the believers is manifested in Christ likeness that the church comes together. They are united as one man. And when they are united as one meant in the power of the spirit, then they become offensive to the world. So then the world and the system of the world will attack and persecute the church.

Two of the three stories that we have in chapter five are going to be primarily that, attacks to the church, attacks to the church. The first one, the story of Ananias and Sapphira is going to be Satan's attack to the church from within the church. This power of the spirit manifested in the people of Christ is now going to be attacked by Satan, by the devil from within the church. That is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Then we move on to the second story in this chapter, which is the sign and wonders of the apostles.

And this is going to be the confirmation of the power given to the apostles. This is going to be the attestation of their ministry. But then very soon after this confirmation of the ministry of the apostles of the office of the apostle, we have the second attack of Satan, at least in this chapter, because he has already done it before. We have the attack of Satan now to the church, but from outside of the church. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is going to be the attack of Satan to the church from within the church.

But the third story that we have, the arrest of the apostles that we have there from verse 17 until the end of the chapter, that is going to be the attack of Satan to the church from outside the church. That is the context of what we are about to read. We have these three stories in this chapter, and these are attacks of Satan. to the empowered church, the church that has been filled and has received the Holy Spirit, the church that is empowered from on high, that it is preaching the gospel, that great manifestations and signs and miracles are confirming the power of the Spirit among them and within them. And this power of Christ or this power of the Spirit within them is creating or producing Christlikeness that has made them a church of one heart, one soul.

They are united. They share all that they have. They share their possessions. They are concerned and genuinely from the heart about their brothers and sisters because it's not them anymore. It is the Spirit of God that is working within them.

So brothers and sisters, having that in our mind and having that context in our mind and having those three stories that are the ones that we are about to read. Let's read carefully chapter five, and let's try to get as many details as possible of the three stories that I have just described for you. So let's read together Acts chapter five from the words of God, paying much attention to each one of the details, each one of the words that we have in front of us. Let's read with reverent hearts Acts chapter five. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.

But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man, but to God.

When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young man rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.

And she said, Yes, for so much. But Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out. Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles, and they were all together in Solomon's portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on carts and mats, that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel. and sent to the prison to have them brought.

But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported. We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside. Now, when the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told him, Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charge you not to teach in this name. Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

And we are witnesses to these things. And so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.

For before these days, Theodas rose up Claiming to be somebody, a number of men, about 400, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him, Judas, the Galilean, rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or these undertakings of men, it will fail.

But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God." So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer this honor for their name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease, teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Amen. That is the Word of God. As I said to you, brothers and sisters, we have these three stories here, the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the story, the short narrative of the signs and the wonders of the apostles, and also the extended narrative of the arrest and the freedom or the miraculous, like the powerful liberation of the apostles. I said that two of these three stories that we have in chapter five are attacks of Satan to the church. The first one that we have, brothers and sisters, is the attack of Satan to the church from within the church.

This is the story. of Ananias and Sapphira, which starts with a comparison with the things that had happened before. This is going to be a contrast of the things that had taken place with the church that was of one heart, of one soul, that were united. But we have this story beginning here. And we have this couple, husband and wife here, Ananias and Sapphira.

We are told that they sold a piece of property with the purpose to bring that money to the apostles. That is, to bring that money to the church. Ananias, the husband, brings the money to the apostles first, and after that his wife is going to come in after he has died, as we have read now here in the narrative. Now, brothers and sisters, we are told that both husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, they consented, they agreed not to bring the full amount of the sale of the property. And not only that, but they were going not only to give the full amount, but they were also going to lie, and they lied to the apostles.

This is very important. We are told that Ananias did it with his wife, Nolush, in verse 2, that he did it in agreement with his wife, Nolush. Both of them, before they came to the apostles, they had planned this. They have thought about it. They have gone in their minds and come to an agreement in which they were going to do these things.

First, they were going to keep an amount of the sale of the property, and second, they were going to lie to the apostles. Those are the two things that they are doing. Now, when Ananias approaches Peter, we have here Peter, by the revelation of the Spirit of God, as an apostle, revealing the secret sin. Just pay attention to the confrontation as we have it in the narrative there in chapter 5, Beloved of Christ. Peter does not ask any question to Ananias, but rather there is an immediate confrontation.

The Spirit of God reveals the secret sin that was in the heart of Ananias. So the thing that comes out of the mouth of Peter is, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? Peter confront Ananias with the sin, his lie. Why have you lied to the Holy Spirit? And also with the fact that these men with his wife, of course, were keeping a part of the money that they had sold the property.

Now, in verse four, Peter is going to give us a very interesting explanation of the sin that these people have committed. He says, While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? After he has confronted Ananias with the scene, he says, while it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? This means the property was yours. You did not have to sell it.

You chose to sell it. It was an offering to the church. You were the one that decided to go and sell the property as an offering to the church. And then he even adds, the apostle adds, and after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? This means even after you sold it, the money was yours.

You could have done whatever you wanted with the money, but you chose to make that sale as an offering to the church. And Peter even continues, Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? Why, why, why is it that you have done this, that you have put this into your heart? That is, why then, if it was your own decision to make this an offering to the church, why did you decide to lie and also to keep part of it for yourself and for your wife? No, brothers and sisters, imagine the shock that Ananias would have had.

He's just coming to the apostles, bringing an offering. He has planned this with his wife in secret. There were no cameras back then, so there was no chance at all that someone would have known about the things that they had planned together. This happened in the secret of their marriage. They had planned this together with the knowledge of the wife.

He didn't know that anyone would know. He was wrong, of course. But imagine the shock as he approaches the apostle, not only that his sin had been exposed by the extraordinary way in which the sin was revealed. Brothers and sisters, we know that the wages of sin is death. So judgment came upon him because of his sin.

He breathed his last. Death came upon him. He died. Ananias died. Not because of the shock of the things that he had heard and the surprise of this revelation, but rather God sent the judgment upon him because of his sin.

And some young men came from the church and carried him out and buried him. Ananias is no more. He is dead. He did not even have the opportunity to open his mouth to articulate why he had done it. The Spirit of God had revealed to Peter the magnitude of the sin that had been committed.

And that sin deserved death. The wages of sin is death. And his accomplice, his wife, Sapphira, is not even aware that she's a widow. It takes like three hours. Three hours after that is when she comes.

And this time, Peter is not going to reveal the sin as he did it with Ananias. It's not that he's revealing through the spirit, but rather Peter here is going to give the opportunity to confess by asking her a question. He asked her a question. Tell me whether you sold the land for so much. This was the time in which he had the opportunity to be convicted and then confessed.

No, we did not sell the land for that much. We are lying about it. I'm sorry. But her conscience was seared. Her heart was hardened.

There was darkness upon her, and she did not relinquish the folly of her sin, but rather she continued. That was the desire that was in her heart, just as James says, and then when she's drawn away from their desire, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death. She said, Yes, we sold the land for that much. Lying.

In the same scene of her husband. Lying. We sold it for that much. Agreeing with her husband to lie to the Spirit of God and to keep for themselves part of the money of the sale that they had said that now belonged to the apostles and to the church. Again, the wages of sin is death, so she also breathed her last.

taken by the same young man that buried her husband to the same destination, the grave next to her husband. The wages of sin is death. But brothers and sisters, we have to ask ourselves, what is the evil that caused such a great judgment? What is the depth of the evil that caused their immediate death? What is it, just the lie or the fact that they kept money that was supposed to go to the church, that the apostles wanted to have that amount of money?

Was it the fact that they lied and they kept that for them? Brothers and sisters, the complexity of the whole story here is that we know, sadly, that in the current, in the present moment of the church, that we could say that there are Christians that not only continue to lie, to the church, but also that there may be people that also continue to keep for themselves money that they have said that they are going to give to the church, but they do not die like Ananias and Sapphira. So what is it? What was the evil that caused this sudden death, this sudden judgment? So, brothers and sisters, before we get into analyzing this text and, of course, the Bible and what Scripture says that helps us to understand what is taking place here, we have to acknowledge, brothers and sisters, and we must understand that always, always the wages of sin is death.

The result of sin is death. The fact that God does not execute us or the fact that God does not eliminate and destroy the world is not the rule, but rather the exception. Rather the exception, the fact that God does not destroy the entire world and every single human because of their sin, it is not the rule, but rather is the exception. And that exception finds place only because of the story of redemption in the person of Jesus Christ. If the world continues now with the amount of sin that there is, it's because God has a greater plan of redemption in which there's allowance for sin until the moment that comes for judgment.

Why? Because he has provided the Savior to redeem a people unto himself. So then the universe and existence becomes just simply a place where God is displaying His work of redemption. And in that, He is passing over temporarily sins that are going to be finding death as their wages. Always, the wages of sin is death.

So we should not be surprised that upon seeing that God decides perfectly to execute those who sin, what we should be asking is, why am I still alive if I'm a sinner? And the answer to that is found in the gospel and in the person of Jesus Christ. But of course, brothers and sisters, there is much more that is going on here. You see, brothers and sisters, the sin that they committed, it is not so much the lie or the money that they kept for themselves, but rather, pay attention to this, rather the sin beyond the lie and beyond, you know, keeping money for themselves and money that they said that it was going to be for the church and keeping it for themselves. Beyond that, the main sin is the condition of their heart, which is absolutely terrifying.

We are told by the Apostle Peter in this section of Scripture that their heart was filled by Satan. The heart of Ananias and Sapphira was filled by Satan. Their heart was overcome by Satan and filled with his lies. This made them do something horrible. It was not only that they lied, but brothers and sisters, these people intentionally decided to present themselves as godly followers of Jesus.

It's not that they just did it by mistake. They intentionally decided. to present themselves as genuine, godly, spirit-led, spirit-empowered followers of the person of Jesus Christ, doing the things that they had seen other people doing in the context of the church. The others were of one heart. They were of one soul.

They were giving things to the church. So they wanted and intentionally decided to present themselves as godly followers of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. They sold their property with supposedly the intention to give it to the Lord. So when they decided to do that, they didn't know. But when they decided and when they said, we're going to sell it, they entered into a vow in their heart with the Lord and transferred the property of that land to the Lord.

They didn't have to do it, as Peter said to them. The land and the property was theirs. But in the moment that they said, we're going to sell it and we're going to give it to the Lord, we're going to give it to the disciples, we're going to give it to the church. Then in their heart, they were entering into a vow with the Lord in which the property of the land was not theirs anymore, but out of their will, they decided to transfer it and to give it to the Lord. The Lord was not asking them to do so, but they wanted to present themselves as the one given this to the church.

So if they decided to do it, the Lord required them to do it out of a genuine heart. Brothers and sisters, we have to understand and recognize that the Bible is very clear that the Lord is not pleased with burnt offerings or sin offerings. He's not pleased with big amounts of money that people can bring to the church. He's not impressed. He's not pleased with things that we can give and things that we can do to the church.

He's not pleased with those things. He's pleased by genuine faith, Hebrews, righteousness and mercy. He's pleased with hearts that are genuine and that are devoted to Him, even if they bring one cent or one million dollars to the church. It is the heart that is the concern of God. And Satan had captured the hearts of these people.

He was taken captive by the demonic powers of Satan, so they were moved not only to lie, but to steal that which they had transferred ownership to the Lord and to the church, this external or this vow that they had made externally, not in their heart. Their heart was taken captive by Satan. But the problem and the sin, brothers and sisters, is even deeper. Because of the work of Satan in them and in their sin, they did not realize that actually they were not pleasers of God, but that they were pleasers of men. How on earth, after ye have seen all of the manifestations of the power of the Spirit through the apostles, how on earth a person may not accept and know that God knows all things?

They knew it, but they did not know it in their heart, they knew it in their mind. And because they did not know it in their heart, but they knew it in their mind only, they were pleasers of men and not pleasers of God. They thought that they could lie to the apostles and get away with it as good Christians that share their possession just as the others were doing. Imagine, their satisfaction was not in pleasing God secretly in their heart, but rather they wanted to please the apostles and they wanted to please Men, they wanted to please the eyes of sinful men that independently of the power that they may have, they're going to die, that they need a savior. They wanted to please the flesh.

They wanted to please men. They were worshipers of men and not worshipers of God. And because of that, they wanted to receive the worship of men rather than the worship of God. That is the contrast that Luke is trying to present to us between what we have just read in Sapphires and Ananias and the things that were happening with the church. The church was of one heart, was filled with power, was genuine offerings, as we read in the final part of chapter four.

Genuine offerings. People were going and selling their things, not because they wanted to show to men, but their heart was united in love and they could not find any other option but rather than to give themselves to the church and to the brothers and sisters. It was a genuine manifestation of what the Spirit of God was doing in their hearts. But the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira was not filled by the Spirit, but was filled with Satan. It was filled with Satan.

Satan was attacking the church from within. This is very important so we can understand what Satan is doing to the church. I said this is an attack of Satan from within. The attack of Satan is not only the sin that was entering to the church and now there is sin in the church of lies and the things that these people have committed. It's not only the sin of not giving the money and keeping some money for them and that they are lovers of money or they are lover of things and they want just to keep these things for themselves and they are not giving it to the church.

It is not even the presence of sin in the church in and of itself. It goes beyond that, brothers and sisters. The attack of Satan to the church. is that he's trying to bring division. Satan is trying to divide the church.

They had done things with one heart and with one soul after they had been visited by the Spirit. This was the Christ-like manifestation of the power of the Spirit in them. But Satan wanted to destroy that. Satan didn't want to destroy only a person or two. He wanted to Destroy the unity of the church.

Imagine if this couple gets away with their sin. People in the church would have now have their hearts divided. In this case, Ananias and Sapphira would have part of their heart for the Lord and part of their heart for their own. Hypocrisy would have been in the church already. False godliness, false sanctification would be in the midst of the church.

Deception and lies would enter the church. It was just a matter of time that this would have been transmitted, that passing to others and division would have entered the church. You see, the unity of the church is that every single member of the church was of one heart with the church in the Lord Jesus Christ. If one or two members in that church had their heart divided, had their heart taken by the things of this world and the things that were taken away, then the unity of the church was at risk. The unity of the whole body was at risk.

You could not say in fullness and completeness that these people were of one heart and one soul, that they were united. There was now hypocrisy and deception. We have to understand this as a church of this current time. The moment that we are more interested in us, our families, our own business and our affairs, the things that we do in this world, other or above the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church, we will have a divided heart. We will have a divided heart.

All the things that the Bible and the New Testament speaks for, this world, our husbands, our wives, our sons and daughters, the work that we have, the study that we have, the plans that we have, the projects that we have, all of those things are meant to be done in the Lord, in the Lord. in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. That which is not of faith is sin. Everything that we do, temporary things, are to be done in the Lord with the purpose of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ so that our heart will not be divided. so that the ultimate destination of our efforts will be always the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it will not be pleasing ourselves and our families and our endeavors and our projects and the things that we want to do and achieve that ultimately, but the heart of the Christian for the safety of his own or her own soul and for the safety of the church.

It is to have a heart that it is completely given to the cause of Jesus Christ and his church. So we can say that even though we love our wives, we love our husbands and our children and the things that we do, that we love the church, that we love the brothers, that we love the sisters, that we love the Lord Jesus Christ. that we don't have hearts divided, that we are not just seeking our own, and the benefit of our families, and the benefit of those who we like, and the benefits of those who are around us, that we are not just seeking our own interest, but that we are seeking the interest of Christ, the cause of Christ. And the cause of Christ is for His church. Satan wanted to divide the church.

But the Lord, by the power and revelation of His Spirit, not only protected the church, but also empowered the church. We are told, brothers and sisters, in verse 11, that great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. the reverential fear that is needed to grow in holiness and Christ likeness, the reverential fear that is needed to grow in unity in the church, the reverential fear that is needed to be holy as Christ is holy, the reverential fear that is needed to put away the works and the deeds of the flesh and the things of the flesh, the reverential fear that is needed for the Spirit of God to work and minister through us in power and fill us Constantly through his word and for the glory of Christ, that reverential fear was the blessing that was given to this church. Fear, not only because of the death of Ananias and Sapphira, but for the great works that the Lord was doing through the apostles. Imagine, just witness that, that this man who is a fisherman, when this person comes into the room, that he opens his mouth and that he reveals the secret of his heart.

And not only that, but after the truth that has been uttered from his mouth, the judgment of God comes upon the person with death. And there is a confirmation that what this man, Peter, has said, it was not his words, but were the words of God, revealing the secret sins of this. People who had been taken captive by Satan and the works of Satan that were trying to infiltrate the church has now been destroyed and removed. by the power of the Spirit working through this fisherman, an apostle. What a great manifestation of the power of God through the apostles.

So fear came upon the church, not only because of the sudden death of Ananias and Sapphira, but because of the great power that was ministering and operating through the lives of the apostles. In that tone and that in that order of ideas now brothers and sisters we move then to then our second story of this chapter which is precisely that the manifestation of the power of the Spirit in these fishermen, in these apostles. We are told in the text that many signs and wonders were regularly done by the hand of the apostles, regularly, ongoingly, constantly by the hands of the apostles, that these apostles had the power of the Spirit of God in them so that regularly at their will, they will have the ability to do all of these great signs and wonders. Not something that could be duplicated by the power of men, but something that was miraculous, something that was powerful. And all Christians were gathering together just as they were of one soul and one heart.

They were all coming together and we are told in Solomon's portico. But none of the rest, the Bible says, none of the rest, that is, the unbelievers wanted to join this group of Christians that by the leadership or through the leadership of the apostles were preaching the name of Jesus Christ, Solomon's portico. They did esteem them, but they did not want to join them. But we see here that the purpose of the power of these signs and these wonders that the apostles were doing by and through their hands and in the power of the Spirit was with the purpose that many souls will join them. We are told that the multitudes from women and men, that many were converted, even the more we are told, that even the more people were added and saved, that multitudes of men and women were added by the power of the Holy Spirit, that these fishermen were turning the world upside down, that these men who did not have the power to articulate great things now had the power in themselves to articulate the mysteries of God.

That was through the many wonders and signs that were regularly done by the apostles. The Spirit of God was attesting His work through the hands of the apostles, that this was not something that they were doing only once, or from time to time, but rather regularly. The power of the Creator of the universe was in these men. They were being attested. Their message was being confirmed.

This was the great confirmation that the message that they were preaching about this Jesus Christ was not only true, but was the message, the message that was coming from God, the great salvation in Jesus Christ, the Jesus, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, this great salvation that, as the author of Hebrews says, was declared at first by the Lord. this glorious message of salvation that was proclaimed by the Lord himself but then after that it was attested by those who heard him that is the apostles while God was bearing witness to the apostles by signs and wonders and various miracles and spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit Hebrews 2 chapter Hebrews 2 verse 4 it was the attestation of the Spirit of God, of the message that was not only the message of Jesus Christ. In other times, in diverse ways, in many ways, God spoke to the fathers, to the prophets. But in this last time, He has spoken to us through the Son. It says Hebrews 1.

1. But then in Hebrews 2, it says that this salvation that was spoken by this Lord through whom God speaks to us in this last time, it was attested and confirmed through those who heard Him. the apostles and the spirit bear witness to them by signs and wonders and various miracles and spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was doing this at his will through the apostles. This was the confirmation that these simple fishermen was not simply someone else with a new message, but rather they were messengers of God turning the world upside down with the power of the Spirit, not with the power of men, but with the power of the Spirit. The power of this simple fisherman is what sets the stage for the other attack of Satan.

It is in the midst of all of these salvations and miracles and people coming to see Peter and just wanting to be touched, just see the shadow of Peter, just to be healed. It's in the midst of this glorious transformation and this turning Jerusalem upside down. This is the stage in which the new and the third story of our chapter, it is placed before us. Now we have these children of disobedience, these children of wrath. This is what Satan is going to do now.

He attacked the church first from within the church. From he filled the heart of people that were within the church, trying to bring division to the church. But he's not satisfied with the power that now the church has and the encouragement and everything that they're doing through the power of this spirit. But now he is going to attack and continue to attack the church. And this time he's going to do it from the outside.

We are told that these children of Satan, these children of wrath, these children of disobedience, in this case in the high priest, The high priest, it says in verse 17, the high priest rose up and all who were with him. That is, that as the apostles were preaching and were manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit, and as there were many people were just being added to the church, that is, that the high priest rose up with the Sadducees in the temple. But pay attention to the description in verse one of what they experience. We are told that these people, the high priest and the Sadducees, they were filled with jealousy. The things that they had seen the apostles doing, the glorious transformation, the many souls that were being added and all the things that were taking place, they were filled with jealousy.

It was not zeal for their religion. It was not zeal for what they thought it was true. It was not zeal for what they thought the scripture said. It was not zeal for what they thought it was right or correct doctrine. They were filled with jealousy.

They were filled with envy. They were filled with a burning feeling inside, that burning feeling that is inside of the envious person that desires to be or to have what the other is or what the other has. That burning feeling that is inside of the person that is contentious and envious, that wants to have the things that the other has, or it is frustrated because he is not what the other is, or he does not speak as the other speaks, or he does not have the power that the other has. That sinful heat that it is from the bowels inside of the person that is causing from the very inside to the person just to hate the other just because they have something that they do not have. That's the feeling, that's the sin that they were filled with.

So, because they were filled in their emotions with all of these horrendous things, the apostles are put in prison. The apostles are sent to prison because they were jealous, so they needed to stop them. They sent them to prison. But we're told of a glorious story here because the confirmation of the support of God to these fishermen and the confirmation of the workings of God in and through them is going to come now, not only in their liberation, but in the coming of an angel of the Lord that is going to give them freedom. And not only that, but this angel is going to command them to go on to continue to preach.

This is the command of God given to them here. You are in prison by the authorities of this world. I'm going to take you out of the prison that the authorities of the world have placed you. And I'm telling you and commanding you, go and preach the message of salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. Go to the temple to continue to proclaim it.

they were given freedom by this angel of the Lord. Imagine the confusion and the whole thing that would have gone through their minds when they realized that the fishermen that were put in jail, they had been liberated. That is the new attempt to stop the apostles. Then the high priest and the others learned of the liberation of the apostles. They had no idea how it had taken place.

So very confused, they go to see that everything was what was happening in jail, and they found everything to be secure and locked, but the prisoners were not there. Imagine the shock, just similar to the shock that Ananias would have had, that everything is secured and everything is locked, but the prisoners, these fishermen that we have put in place in this prison, they are not there anymore. They learned that the fugitives now continue to preach. They are told by someone that the men that were in prison, now they are preaching again in the temple. They are continuing to preach the message for which you place them into jail.

Now they are continuing to preach that, and there are many people that are listening to them. So they go and get the apostles. But this time, as hypocrites that they are, they don't do it by force because they are afraid of the masses. They are afraid of people. They know that people are supporting them, and they know that people can witness the power of God in these men.

So as hypocrites and cowards, they go not by the force, but rather they just do it secretly and bring the people. or bring the apostles. Here, brothers and sisters, we have the confrontation of the ways of God and the ways of men. They said to the apostles, once they had been brought to the presence of the high priest and the other people, We told you not to preach in that name. Now you have filled Jerusalem with your teachings, and even you're bringing blame to our names.

They were not concerned about the teaching that they were spreading. They were concerned about their own reputation. They were concerned about not only this manifestation of this power, but that that power was not theirs. It was someone else, that God was operating in a miraculous way in someone else. And beyond that, that these men were accusing them of being the responsible for the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course, because of their jealousy, because of the envy that these people had within them, the high priest and these Sadducees in the temple, they were more concerned with themselves and their reputation. They were more concerned about the things that others would say. The Apostle answered, it is very important and it's going to teach us lots of things here. He says, we must obey God rather than men. They had received a commandment, not only in Acts chapter 1 to go and preach the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth, but once they had been in jail, once they had been under the power of the authority of men, in jail, under, let's say, the legal system of men, they had had a visitation of the angel of the Lord, and that angel of the Lord was the one that gave them freedom from the prison.

He's the angel of the Lord that came and opened the walls of the authority of men and gave them freedom. And not only that, but commended them and said, go and preach and continue to preach in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. When your sinful decisions go against the righteousness of God, we cannot obey you. We need to obey God. When your sinful actions, Sadducees and High Priests, when your authority imposed on us a contradiction with the ways of God, and when it is a contradiction to the direct and clear commands of God, then We owe to obey God and not to obey you, the glorious Jesus Christ of whom we are witnesses and by whom we have the Spirit of God that you do not have, the Spirit that has empowered us to be witness of this Jesus Christ, this Jesus Christ that is bringing salvation, the light, the leader and savior, the one that is bringing repentance to Israel and forgiveness for their sins, the satanic response.

of these people, of these Sadducees and the people in the table, they were enraged, we are told in verse 33. Verse 33, when they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. It was not sufficient in their heart to have jealousy and envy and love to sell, but now they were enraged and they were murderers. They were murderers at heart. They had this desire to hate them and to kill them, and they were enraged.

Now the law was upon them, but they were blind and they were deaf. They could not hear the testimony of Moses calling them guilty for the things that they were doing. These men, mainly Sadducees of the temple, were convinced, we are told from verse 33, of a very interesting story, because here we're going to see the work of God providentially, and through a very interesting discussion, God is going to, again, confirm the favor of God upon His church, the favor that He has and feels for His people, He's going to use. not a Sadducee, but he's going to use a Pharisee, Gamaliel, a great teacher of the law, to leave these fishermen go, to let them, give them freedom. You see, Gamaliel, as a person that knew the law, and it was very notionable of the things of the law, People come to ask him, or better he says, and he gives this very wise message.

And he narrates and says, you know, that there's been many people in the past, that there's been many people in the past, that they have had a name for themselves. And there has been even many people that have followed them. But when those people die, then all of their people were scattered. That happened once and twice and happened different times that a person arose and then they had a name and they had popularity and they spoke different words and people were following them. But in the moment that they cease to be, then the other people will be scattered.

He says to them, You don't want to find yourself with a similar situation here. If the thing that we're seeing with this fisherman is a thing of men, then this thing is going to come to an end, just as these other things in the past came to an end. But if this thing is of God, you may find yourself opposing God. You may find yourself going against God. I don't understand how upon that warning of a man like Gamaliel, they would have not been convicted and thought better the things that they were doing.

The response of the rulers of Israel is equally as sinful as everything that they've done so far. Yes, they agreed to let them go because they now were filled with fear, not with reverential fear that will bring them to repentance and to question if this is God that is moving through these fishermen, but rather, Fear, religious fear, religious fear of a God, of God doing something to them. Not the real God, but rather a religious fear, a fear that was only in man-made traditions and man-made things. So they agreed to let them go and illegally punish them and beat them. This is the attack of Satan to the church from outside the church.

And this attack of Satan was not only not fruitful, but ended up again, brothers and sisters, strengthening the church. One would have thought that after the church goes through these type of things, that people will just simply reduce their willingness and their desire to continue to proclaim Jesus Christ and to continue to be united in the church after they have been beaten and punched and all of these things that they have gone through in jail and suffering and pain and all of these things that they are going through. But rather, we are told in the last two verses of this glorious chapter, brothers and sisters, that then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer this honor for the name, for the name, that is the name of Christ. And every day in the temple and from house to house they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Count it all joy. Count it all joy. They had the ability by faith and in the power of the Spirit. Not to diminish their pain and their sadness and brokenness because of the things that were going on, but rather they were able to count it all joy, to rejoice in these things that were happening, and honor the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And not only that, they had the power of the Spirit to continue doing the things that we're supposed to do, preaching the gospel. Every day, not only in the temple, but from house to house, the preaching and the teaching of the name of Jesus Christ was happening, not only in the public place where people were gathering and people were coming together, but the apostles labored in the preaching, in the personal preaching, in the individual preaching and preaching to the families, bringing awareness and knowledge and growth in the name of Jesus Christ. I will build my church. and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her. I will build my church.

Nothing that Satan would do to you will be enough to prevail against you. I am the one that is putting you together. I am the one that is bringing every member from every corner of the world. I am the one, the Lord says, that is bringing every person, every elect, adding them to the church. I am the one that is building my bride.

And my promise is that upon the rock of Christ, this church is built so that the gates of Hades will not prevail against her. will not prevail against the bride. That is the pattern, brothers and sisters. Power of the Spirit. After the power of the Spirit, the individuals and the churches grow in Christ-likeness, unity and love, one soul.

And after that, opposition of Satan and the scheme of the world. The more that we become like Christ, individually, and the more that we become like Christ as a church, the more opposition that there will be of Satan, not only from outside of the church, but from within the church. Divisions of heart, lack of love, like storing up bitterness, envy, envy, storing up envy and bitterness and bad thoughts, storing up pride, divided hearts within the church. This is what Satan wants to have, to weaken the church, to divide the church. You see, it could not be externally divided.

It only takes that there is a heart, that it is just creating walls of lack of love. And the Apostle John considers that to be murder against the brother in his first letter. When there is a holding, a withholding of love and charity towards our brethren, This is the work of Satan dividing the heart of those who are within the church, attacking the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we have the promise that He will build a church. We have the promise that He will perfect the church.

We have the promise that He is the one that is going to present the church blameless, without a spot, without wrinkle. We have the promise that He is the one that is going to bring to completion the work that He has started in each one of His saints. We have the promise that He is the one that is going to bring to maturity the body. And we have the promise that the church has been equipped with everything that she needs. in order to fulfill the mission that she has been given to the uttermost part of the earth.

But also, brothers and sisters, we have been called to be strong and powerful, and to be mighty in the power of the Lord, and to give our battle for love and unity within the context of the Church, not to allow laziness, slothfulness, lack of love, indifference, not to allow those things to enter into our heart, because once one of the members of the church has been taken captive by Satan, then that church is not walking in the fullness of one heart and one soul, in the fullness of one love, of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the power of Christ in His Spirit that produces Christ-likeness and that creates genuine opposition to the world because the more that we are like Christ, the less that we are like the world. The more that we are like the Savior, the more that we die to self, the more that we are like Jesus Christ, the more offensive that we have to the system or we become to the system, of this world, and the more glory that we bring to the Father, because we produce fruits of righteousness that are in Christ Jesus for the glory of the One who gave us not only His Son, but also has empowered us through His Holy Spirit. Amen.