Sermon Tone Analysis
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There is a danger to preaching about giving.
There is a temptation on the part of the preacher to pile on heavy loads of guilt and shame, seeking to move the hears to give out of obligation.
So if I can make you feel guilty enough and convince you that God is really mad at you because you are not giving or not giving enough.
And then I give you the standards and measures to ensure your gifts are to the level they need to be,
Then you will respond by giving as you are supposed to.
The reason this is a danger is the says that each person must give “as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion”
To guilt-driven preaching is not Gospel-focused or grace-based.
There is a temptation on the part of the congregation to hear, even in the most grace-motivated message, a guilt-driven, greed-motivated sermon seeking to get in the pockets of the listeners.
Pastors are just concerned with my money and their salaries.
He is just making us feel bad so we will give more.
Guilt vs Conviction
Guilt is self-focused and self-directed.
When you respond out of guilt your goal is to take the heat off yourself.
To hide
To deflect
To defend
Conviction is cross-focused and Spirit-directed.
When you respond out of conviction you are seeking the better way and seeing the ineffectiveness of your sinful.way.
jn 16
Conviction is the realization that our lives do not match up to the ways of Christ.
It is realizing the emptiness of our pursuits and the better way of Christ.
My prayer today is that God’s Spirit will bring conviction where conviction that leads to repentance.
My prayer is that God would prevent us from falling into the temptation to hide or deflect, or defend out of guilt, and give us ears to hear His Word as the Good News it is.
Ananias and Sapphira
Insert Acts 5-1-11
Taking Generosity Seriously
Acts 5-11
This negative account follows a positive account of Barnabas, who had a parcel of land and after selling it, gave the proceeds to the Church.
Prior to the Barnabas account Luke paints a beautiful picture of the church at the time.
act 4:32
They “had everything in common”, meaning there was unity among them and commitment to one another in many areas of life, from their time to their treasures.
“There was not a needy person among them” meaning they took care of each other’s needs, selling possessions and giving to the Apostles in order that they could help those in needs.
There was a beautiful, God-honoring, selfless commitment to unity and community that was illustrated in the story of Barnabas.
Observations from Ananias and Sapphira
It is a story about two people that wanted to be known for their faith in Jesus and their love for others, but struggled to find there security and their identity outside of their financial means.
When they had the opportunity to commit to giving the proceeds of their land they we're perhaps some of the most excited to join.
But then when they got home and started to crunch the numbers they realized just how much that was.
When they had the opportunity to commit to giving the proceeds of their land they we're perhaps some of the most excited to join.
There is no indication that giving the proceeds of the land was required or expected.
Peter says:
It was yours until it sold and even after.
Yet you lied, not only to us, but to God when you committed the money to the church.
So when they got home and started to crunch the numbers they realized just how much that was.
Perhaps the conversation went like this:
Perhaps the conversation went like this: "Man Sapphira, I didn't realize how much we were talking about here.
We could really use that extra cash.
What if our health goes or the economy tanks?
What are we going to retire on if we give all this to the church?
What about our kids?
Maybe we should go to the apostles and talk to them about it, tell them we had second thoughts.
No then they would think we weren't very spiritual, they will call us greedy.
They don't really know how much that land is worth, why don't we just give them a portion of it.
No one has to know how much it was really worth.
We will still give, and we won't have to forfeit so much.
Besides we have worked hard for that land, don't we deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labour."
"Man Sapphira, I didn't realize how much we were talking about here.
We could really use that extra cash.
What if our health goes or the economy tanks?
What are we going to retire on if we give all this to the church?
What about our kids?
Maybe we should go to the apostles and talk to them about it, tell them we had second thoughts.
No then they would think we weren't very spiritual, they will call us greedy.
They don't really know how much that land is worth, why don't we just give them a portion of it.
No one has to know how much it was really worth.
We will still give, and we won't have to forfeit so much.
Besides we have worked hard for that land, don't we deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labour."
This isn’t a story about money and tithing.
It is a story about unity, commitment, and mission
It is a story about commitment, unity, and mission
Acts 5
They could have done
Ananias and Sapphira were members of the church in Jerusalem:
A group unified by their shared faith in Jesus.
They devoted themselves to knowing Jesus, following Jesus, and growing in grace.
A group committed to one another.
To loving one another, serving one another, helping one another, teaching one another, encouraging and rebuking one another.
They were committed to making sure there were no physical, emotional, or spiritual hindrances to the church following Jesus.
A group on mission to see others transformed by Jesus and brought into His family.
Thousands had joined and many more lives would be transformed as this people grew and impacted so many.
This is why the punishment is so severe for them.
This is where the severity of the punishment is grounded.
"Satan has filled your heart" "You have lied to God"
"Satan has filled your heart"; "You have lied to God"
By allowing Satan to tempt him and Ananias giving in to Satan's lure to find his security in money rather than in the Gospel, he allowed Satan to infiltrate the Christian Community, seemingly for the first time.
By allowing Satan to tempt him and Ananias giving in to Satan's lure to find his security in money rather than in the Gospel, he allowed Satan to infiltrate the Christian Community, seemingly for the first time.
This community had just been described as:
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Ananias and Sapphira threatened the unity and purity of the Christian community in Jerusalem.
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
Aninias and Sapphira threatened the unity and purity of the Christian community in Jerusalem.
Obviously the same punishment is not active today.
If it were our church membership worldwide would shrink weekly as we hold back financially from the Lord.
But I would argue that there is a judgement even today on how our greed and our drive for financial security affects the Church.
Obviously the same punishment is not active today.
If it were our church membership worldwide would shrink weekly as we hold back financially from the Lord.
It affects our ability to love and serve one another well:
Because love will, inevitably, COST US.
Either time, treasure, or emotional energy.
Lacking generosity in one area is often a sign that we lack generosity in many areas.
We see the church as an institution we can choose to support or not, rather than seeing that we are “One heart and soul” with those who are Christians in this place.
It shows in our “I earned it” attitudes.
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