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[Music] good morning to everyone a number of announcements before we begin worship this morning first of all it's nice to have visitors with us this morning if you're out there in the pews we enjoy having new people with us any questions afterwards feel free to to ask away a few announcements first off it is the luncheon today actually first off if someone would with license plate gk7 zero-zero be just in case your keys are in your vehicle your back trunk was open the park just out front right here if you want to close that and maybe your keys are in there I don't know but your trunk was wide open there Shayne's out there waiting to make sure nothing is stolen but if that's your vehicle you might want to attend to it secondly it is our luncheon today so just a reminder with regards to that at the end of the service we will pray for the food and and then everybody is welcome visitors everyone is welcome to come to the back upstairs luncheon hall for lunch and good conversation a reminder that when you do go back after the service up to the luncheon halt or to line up for the food on the back wall so that we don't block the doorway so line up at the at the back when you do go up there also a reminder with regards to children running wild the church and that sort of a thing if we're able to to pull back the reins on that a little bit especially during the luncheon where it can be dangerous people sliding their chairs back we don't want to encase any child's cranium into the back of chairs and that when they're running around and and everything if you're able to to keep keep a good watch on them and also for the younger children if you're able to accompany them when they get the food just so it's an easier cleanup and that sort of a thing so sometimes it can get get a little messy in a little out of order so if you're able to again keep watch on that that would be very helpful to help things go smoothly finally the the directory project is almost completed we almost have everyone with photos taken and names collected and that sort of a thing there are a few people left on the list so if you haven't had your photo taken if you haven't submitted the directory information you can see Jonathan Jones after the service Jonathan's right up front here we're almost finished and we'd like to be finished by the end of October so for anyone remaining please see Jonathan at the end of the service well that's all of our announcements let's begin our worship now if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 67 Psalm 67 that will be our call to worship this Lord's Day morning Psalm 67 Psalm 67 beginning in verse 1 this is the Word of God to the chief musician on stringed instruments a psalm a song God be merciful to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us say 'la that your way may be known on earth your salvation among all nations let the peoples praise you O God let all the peoples praise you well let the nation's be glad and sing for joy for you shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations on earth say 'la let the peoples praise you O God let all the peoples praise you then the earth shall yield her increase God our own God shall bless us God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him amen let's stand and sing together the first hymn will be in the red Salter The Thin Red Trinity Salter will stand and sing Psalm 125 that Psalm 125 [Music] [Music] Oh please be seated let's go to our God in prayer let us pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in the opportunity and the freedom that we have to gather now in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit to gather in the name of the triune God to gather a Saints in Christ Jesus the Lord in this place to worship our great God and we do pray that you give us grace again Lord that you'd give us that presence of the Spirit to worship your right to worship you in spirit and in truth we long to be such worshippers and we do pray that you'd help us now to hallow your name we pray Lord God that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven we pray Lord God for your kingdom too common and we rejoice that you have that caused us to be able to gather in this place and freedom to worship you we account that a high honor and help us to do so as many throughout the world do not have the same opportunity to gather in freedom as Christians and we do thank you for this we thank you that we can hold full Bibles in our hands again there are many who do not have this freedom and opportunity and we pray that we would count at a high honor and to be in this place freely to worship freely to honor you freely to give you praise we thank you for Jesus Christ our precious Savior we rejoice in his victory his life of obedience to your law his victory upon Calvary's cross that perfect sacrificial substitutionary death upon the cross wherein he secured the salvation of a multitude which no man can UM which no man can number and that perfectly and we rejoice in the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ that a vindication of the perfection of his saving work and that glorious pronouncement that he is the son of God with power we rejoice in so great a gospel and so great a salvation knowing that we are not redeemed by deeds of righteousness which we have done but that a perfect work of Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation we thank you for our Savior and that in him we have that salvation that righteousness that forgiveness that avails with you we do pray that you would always cause us with great joy each every day when we rise in each and every day when we lay down our heads to rejoice and amazing and victorious grace and to sing the praises of so great a savior we do pray God that you'd be with those who need prayer for physical things as we prayed in this morning our the prayer meeting we think of many suffering physically Lord we pray that you would just bless our dear sister Linda help her Lord in the midst of her struggle to rejoice and you are God and to to find much healing from your hands we do just pray that you would richly bless her and that you'd be with Kris as well that you'd help him to be of a of an aid and of a comfort to his wife and we just pray that in these things you would be honored that you would be glorified and that you would Lord God because it is with you to do so that you would heal and that you would grant gains and strength we do pray for Dawn Neufeld for John Proctor we pray that you bless our dear brothers Lord that you'd strengthen them as they suffer affliction we pray that you'd heal them that in the midst of their pains you'd cause them to be resolved to your will that they would be resigned to your strength and to the the blessed reality that the God of heaven and earth does right according to his own will his own counsel and for the good of his people we do pray God that you be with others who are struggling help them to be healed to have those reprieves from pains and discomforts associated with disease and sickness and we pray this as physical affliction can can certainly plague the mind it can affect the soul we pray that you would lift up our dear Saints who are struggling that caused them in the midst of their afflictions to bless the name of their God and to find all comfort and their risen and exalted Christ we do pray Lord as we as we do each and every Lord's day for those who are struggling throughout the world under the the anger and the persecution and the opposition of of opponents of the of your church of the Church of Christ we pray for those who are being persecuted Lord that you'd be near to them that you would be their God of all comfort that in the midst of their suffering and in the midst of their trials Lord he would lift them up that caused them with eyes of faith to look upon the Lord Jesus Christ the Risen an exalted Christ to find faith and courage and and hurt in him and in the fact that he has been exalted to your right hand where he does rule and where he does reign but for the good of his people and for and over his enemies we rejoice in the fact that the nations of this world are the nations of our God and of his Christ and that we ought not to fret but we ought to be resolved to the fact that Jesus Christ rules and reigns and we do pray that you comfort your people throughout the world with that blessed reality God that you would deal with those who persecute them that you would save many by your grace and for your Glory's sake and that those who would remain in opposition that you would tend to them that you would bring temporal justice even upon them knowing that there will be the judgment and nevertheless in that great day where they will be cast into that lake of fire and we do pray for mercy for many Lord throughout the world that you would bring onto the end of unto the end of peace and unto the end of the making of friends we do pray Lord that you would cause your gospel to go forth that even those who are persecuting now would become by grace and the preaching of the gospel friends of those whom they formerly persecuted and we do pray unto the end of the of the Peace of a peace among the nations that among the rank of government and those who rule kings and those who are in authority we pray for the proclamation of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that many would come to a knowledge of our precious Savior and that we would see change even throughout the world but that righteousness and justice and equity would be the rule of the day and not the sanctioning of so many sins and so many abominations we pray Lord that you'd be with us in worship now we thank you so much that we can worship the Father Son and spirit in this place we thank you that we have the various elements of worship that we can participate in the reading of the scriptures the preaching of the word of prayer and singing of hymns and psalms and hymns and spiritual songs we do pray that you bless our time together that your Saints would be edified well instructed equipped to glorify your name to go into this week to live in light and in a manner worthy of the gospel we do pray Lord God that the gathering today for worship would also be unto the sinners that you would by your grace and for your glory sake bring forth those dead in their trespasses and sins to light in life in Jesus Christ our Lord do save mightily for the glorifying of your name Lord God in this place and we do pray for Jim Butler that you would bless him as he preaches we pray that you would strengthen him as he comes up here into this pulpit to preach your word we pray that you would give our pastor much strength and aid to do so we know as we pray each and every Lord's Day that ministers of your gospel do not rest upon their own strength their own ingenuity their own intelligence but they rest upon the strength that the triune God for affords ministers of the gospel and we do pray for that for pastor Butler and once again Lord all that we do today made it be done for your Glory's sake might this worship might this worship that we engage in might you be exalted upon the praises of the gathered assembly here and Lord everything that we do might have be done for your honor we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our precious Savior amen let's stand and sing again this time m42 hymn number 42 will stand and sing that together [Music] [Music] please be seated you can turn in your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Luke Luke 23 our new testament scripture reading when you get to Luke 23 you can turn to verse 26 that's where we'll begin Luke 23 beginning at verse 26 once again the word of God now as they led him away they laid hold of a certain man Simon a Cyrenian who was coming from the country and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus and a great multitude of the people followed him and women who also mourned and lamented him but Jesus turning to them said daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me but weep for yourselves and for your children for indeed the days are coming in which they will say blessed are the barren wombs that never bore and breasts which never nursed then they will begin to say to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us for if they do these things in the Greenwood what will be done in the dry there were also two others criminals led with him to be put to death and when they had come to the place called Calvary there they crucified Him and the criminals one on the right and the other on the left then Jesus said Father forgive them for they do not know what they do and they divided his garments and cast lots and the people stood looking on but even the rulers with them sneered saying he saved others let him save himself if he is the Christ the chosen of God the soldiers also mocked him coming and offering him sour wine and saying if you are the King of the Jews save yourself and an inscription also was written over him in letters of Greek Latin and Hebrew this is the King of the Jews then one of the criminals who were hanged blaspheme him saying if you are the Christ save yourself and us but the other answering rebuked him saying do you not even fear God seeing that you are under the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man has done nothing wrong then he said to Jesus Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus said to him assuredly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise now it was about the sixth hour and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour then the Sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn in two and when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice he said father into your hands I commit my spirit having said this he breathed his last so when the Centurion saw what had happened he glorified God saying certainly this was a righteous man and the whole crowd who came together to that sight seeing what had been done beat their breasts in return but all his acquaintances in the women who followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things now behold there was a man named Joseph a council member a good and just man he had not consented to their decision indeed he was from Arimathea a city of the Jews who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus then he took it down wrapped it in linen and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock where no one had ever lain before that day was the preparation in the Sabbath drew near and the women who had come with him from Galilee followed after and they observed the tomb and how his body was laid then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils and they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment amen well so much so much going on here one of the things we see just briefly as we see the amazing grace of God demonstrated in the midst of a solemn event the day of days the hour of hours was upon the world when the promised hero born of woman who would crush the serpent with this heel is crucified upon Calvary's cross and we have a demonstration of amazing and victorious grace in the saving of this one criminal that was crucified with Christ we have in the other Gospel accounts that this this thief this criminal also blaspheme the Lord Jesus both criminals the one crucified in there on the right and the one crucified on the left blaspheme Jesus but we have here in the instance of the crucifixion of our blessed Savior the fact that one was brought forth from death to life there was a sermon that Cyril of Jerusalem preached on the site of Golgotha he preached a sermon to his congregation and he engages in a in a bit of an interview with the saved thief and he asks the question what power o robber LED thee to the light who taught thee to worship that despised man that companion on the cross and his speaking as the thief in answer he says o light eternal which gives light to them that are in darkness but a blessed occasion that this man who dwelt in the region and shadow of darkness this man who was dead in his trespasses and sins in the eleventh hour has brought forth from darkness to light by amazing and victorious grace this is the same God 2,000 years removed in Chilliwack that that we worship the same God that brought forth that dead man from darkness that same light eternal is our light that same God eternal is our God and as we continue in worship let's reflect back on such a solemn day - such a joyful event in the midst of solemnity when this man was brought forth may God be pleased to bring forth sinners here this morning from darkness to light well let's pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in your word given to us we thank you for the account of the crucifixion of our Savior knowing that in that we have the forgiveness of sins and so great a salvation and we pray that we would rejoice in that as we continue in worship and we pray Lord God for your amazing grace to bring forth sinners young and old this morning by the preaching of your word by the power of the Holy Spirit might we see that act of salvation in our midst and might it be possible Lord because it is only possible with you that each and every tongue would leave this place this morning confessing Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior we pray that you'd be with the surrey church and with the vernon church this morning we pray Lord God that you would give those preaching in the pulpits that power from on high to do so well with clarity with courage and we do pray for churches throughout the world today Lord God that you're a full gospel would be preached that a blessed Christ would be set forth before a multitude of of listening years and Lord that many would come to a knowledge of our precious Savior and it's in his name that we pray amen let's stand again and sing our final him before the preaching this time we're gonna sing in the larger hymnal two forty two four zero let's stand and sing that together [Music] [Music] well please turn with me in your Bible coz backs Acts chapter 5 actually I'll pick up reading in Acts chapter 4 at verse 32 and will read to acts 5:11 so beginning in Acts chapter 4 at verse 32 now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own but they had all things in common and with great power the Apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all nor was there any one among them who lacked for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the of the things that were sold and laid them at the Apostles feet and they distributed to each as anyone had need and Joseph who was also named Barnabas by the Apostles which has translated son of encouragement a Levite of the country of Cyprus having land sold it and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles fee but a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira his wife sold a possession and he kept back part of the proceeds his wife also being aware of it and brought a certain apart and laid it at the Apostles feet but Peter said Ananias why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself while it remained was it not your own and after it was sold was it not in your own control why have you conceived this thing in your heart you've not lied to men but to God then Ananias hearing these words fell down and breathed his last so great fear came upon all those who heard these things and the young man arose and wrapped him up carried him out and buried him now it was about three hours later when his wife came in not knowing what had happened and Peter answered her tell me whether you sold the land for so much she said yes for so much and Peter said to her how is it that you have agreed together to task the Spirit of the Lord look the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last and the young men came in and found her dead and carrying her out buried her by her husband so great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things amen let us pray father we thank you for the written word we know it's given by inspiration of God that it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness and we pray now your spirit would guide us and lead us and help us to uncover the truth of Acts 5:1 to 11 help us to see what's at stake here and help us to see that you are in fact a great God a sin hating God a God who is holy a God who is righteous a God who is just may we stand in awe before you and may we as well thank you and praise you and rejoice in your goodness Ness how we thank you for the gospel of our salvation we know in our own strength according to our own deeds none of us could ever stand in your presence for God you are holy and we are utterly unholy but how we thank you for the Lord Jesus for the redemption that we have in him for his life and his death and his resurrection and we pray that sinners would hear of this today here and elsewhere and by grace sinners would come and taste and see that the Lord is good that they would believe the gospel and know the joy of being found in him not having their own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is from you received by faith alone do forgive us for our sins and our transgressions now cleanse us from all unrighteousness and that precious fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness and again fill us with your Holy Spirit and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen now I would submit that this passage in Acts chapter 5 1 to 11 is offensive to some because it demonstrates the truth taught in both the old and the New Testaments that our God is a consuming fire man even modern professor Christian man finds the justice of God and finds the wrath of God concepts that are not the most pleasant for him some wonder in fact why this passage is even here acts 5 1 to 11 some prefer to look at it as being legendary that it really didn't transpire this way that it was some legend that grew up alongside of the church and was inserted here into the text but I think the connection is clear notice in acts 4 at verses 32 to 37 Luke gives us a snapshot of life in the early church and for the most part it's a glowing report but in Acts chapter 5 verses 1 to 11 Luke also shows us that not all that glitters is gold in fact Ananias and Sapphira were fake they were hypocritical liars and so God killed them all so it shows us that the devil is at work among the professing people of God Luca rather Peter acknowledges that in acts 5:3 that the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour so in the midst of this altogether glowing report Luke wants us to see though that the devil is a real foe and that there aren't false professors within the context of the local church Christian man today prefers a nice and a tamed God versus a God who kills hypocritical liars if that is your mindset then I hope that your mind will be changed as we work our way through acts 5 verses 1 to 11 and will notice it under two considerations first the deceitfulness of Ananias and Sapphira in verses 1 to 4 and then secondly the death of Ananias and Sapphira in verses 5 to 11 we see that close connection between verses 1 & 2 here and verses 32 to 37 in acts 4 notice in 5:1 but a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira his wife sold a possession and he kept back part of the proceeds and his wife also being aware of it and brought a certain part and laid it at the Apostles feet just like what was happening previous to this as well Ananias serves or functions as the complete contrary to what we find in Barnabas remember Barnabas is introduced in verses 36 and 37 is a great and positive example of the kind of person who sold property brought the proceeds and laid it at the Apostles feet so they could distribute it to anyone who had need will Ananias Saul's property and then Ananias brings the proceeds to the Apostles now I think the context makes clear what's happening in this particular passage it wasn't wrong for Ananias to control the property prior to its sale it wasn't wrong for Ananias to control the proceeds after the sale but what was wrong was that Ananias tried to fool the Apostles Ananias was a hypocrite Ananias was a liar Ananias brought that money laid it at the Apostles feet and said this is the money that I got from the sale of my property he doesn't mention that he caps on back he was posturing he was engaged in an act of self-righteousness he wanted the right-hand to observe the left-hand in this instance of almsgiving he wanted persons to say wow what a benevolent and generous person he sold his property and he brought all of the proceeds to the Apostles so that they could dole it out to those who had mean that's the specific sin that's the specific issue in this particular narrative so he holds it back again Peter will make clear in verse 4 that private property is a reality in the context of the church the church does not sacrifice the eighth commandment people in the church have control over their own property and when they sell that property people in the church have control over those proceeds the problem in the tax is that Ananias said that this was all of the money that I made from the sale of this property and I am bringing it here for the apostles so they can dole it out that's what's in view in this particular passage now note that Peter rebukes Ananias in verses 3 and 4 in the first place he acknowledges Satan's influence notice 5 3 but Peter said Ananias why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit so you see Peter will later write in his first epistle that the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour this is the same sort of language employed by Luke in Luke 22 when the devil or Satan enters into Judas so that Judas will indeed engage in that act of betrayal and corruption now we need to understand the devil exercises influence here in the heart of Ananias but the responsibility for the sin is Ananias that's clear in verse 4 we cannot blame the devil for our sins we cannot say or suggest the devil made me do it we cannot get off with God because somehow the devil over influenced us to the place where when such and such never make that mistake the devil Israel the devil does seek whom he may devour the devil does exercise influence but the devil can't make us light of the Holy Spirit the devil can't make us sin against the Holy Ghost the devil can't make us keep back some of the proceeds from the sale of the property and then lie and suggest we're giving it all he can't do that Peter makes it clear in verse 4 the responsibility or the culpability lie squarely in Ananias and Sapphira Szyslak she's not some unwilling victim along the way either Asif IRA knew exactly what was going on in fact after she comes back Peter then indict her or Peter then questions her to show her responsibility in this she wasn't duped she wasn't ignorant she wasn't brought into this by a pushy man but she conspired alongside of her husband to try and make people think that they were really generous and really wonderful that's the crime that's the sin that's the problem they were doing precisely what Jesus said not to do when you give alms don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing you don't you know a sound of trumpet and call attention to yourself when you drop something in the Box you don't try to make people think that you're far more generous than you really are now before our hearts run in condemnation of Ananias think about what they're doing here they want to look better before others I would suggest that's probably a motivation in some of our hearts as well now perhaps we don't go this far and actually lie to an entire church and say all the money that I made I'm going to willingly give it to these particular persons but a desire to look better in the eyes of our fellows that's probably not a sin that's that's too far off with reference to our own hearts we need to be where we need to take heed we need to guard our hearts we need to make sure that it's the eye and the favor and the approval of God that we seek and not the eye and the favor and the approval of men that we see fact the Geneva Bible makes this observation he says or it it says in the study notes Luke shows by contrary examples how great a sin hypocrisy is especially in them which under a false pretense and cloak of zeal would seem to shine and be chief in the church now when you step back from the text for just a moment and you ponder the mindset of Ananias and Sapphira how did that conversation go at dinner what possibly got them to this point where they were going to try and dupe the church the Apostles specifically and the Holy Spirit into thinking that they were a great guy and a great girl it was just that they wanted to be seen as a great guy and a great girl why is it that we are like that why is it that we want to be viewed as great guys and great girls and I realized we don't want to wander down the street and have people throw tomatoes or dead cats at us I I get that but why is it that we are so Craven with reference to persons approval over us why is it that we function that way except for the reality the word paying lip-service perhaps to total depravity we're paying lip service to Sovereign Grace we're paying lip service to the doctrine of election and predestination see on the one hand we preach up those truths on the other hand we live contrary to those truths when we actually think there's something in us worthy of commendation brethren there's nothing in us worthy of commendation we as Calvinists ought to know that better than anybody we as reform believers who understand the doctrine of total depravity and total inability ought to be the last people on the face of the earth seeking to court the favor of men no I'm not saying be a bad employee I'm not saying be a bad clerk I'm not saying I'm saying be a bad at everything I'm saying that when we are craving other person's approval it may lend itself to this kind of conduct and we might be inclined to read this passage and say boy this seems to be a bit of overkill God destroyed them God killed them they were hypocritical liars and then when reflect upon ourselves and we might surmise I too am a hypocritical liar praise God for mercy Sean praise God Almighty that he doesn't typically judge this way he is free to it is appropriate for him to but he has opted not to in ninety-nine out of a hundred instances and we ought to praise him for that because how many times have we sought the favor of men and we should have been wiped out alongside of Ananias and Sapphira but we've lived to sin another day praise God Almighty from whom all blessings flow notice Darrell Bock or Darrell Bock makes this observation so the deceitful act was completely premeditated again we'll see that when Peter comes to deal with Sapphira she's not unwilling it wasn't the case that she had a terrible husband that forced her in to compliance with sin it was premeditated it was malice aforethought all of the things necessary to be a grievous sin were present he apparently motivated by Ananias and Sapphira to appear to be more generous than they truly are the desire for human praise is more important to them than being faithful to God now notice what Peter goes on to say verse 3 he acknowledges Satan here approves them on the lie and notice how here approves them Peter said to us a said Ananias why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself now this is intriguing isn't it he lied to the Holy Spirit what should we sort of infer from this the Holy Spirit is present among the people of God the Holy Spirit indwells the Church of God the Holy Spirit is indwelling the apostles of God such that when Ananias and Sapphira try to dupe the church and try to dupe the Apostles Peter rightly concludes that they have lied to the Holy Spirit of God brethren do you view the church that way do you see the church the blood-bought people of God gathered together on the Sabbath day as the place where the Spirit dwells because you should certainly the Spirit indwells his people we learn that from the Bible but the Spirit indwells the the Church of the Lord God Most High it's the spirit that is among us you know we oftentimes take that passage about treating our temples properly and not you know ingesting white flour and sugar or drugs or alcohol to excess because our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit and that's certainly true to be sure but I think the larger truth in view there in Corinth is that the Church of the Lord Jesus is the place where the Spirit dwells yeah don't smoke and don't drink and don't chew and don't run with girls who do because you'll affect the Holy Spirit that is indwelling you but I think Paul's bigger idea in there is that the church is the place where the triune God is and when us the people of the triune God fan visa V joining your members to a harlot 1st Corinthians chapter 6 you dishonor the very God who indwells that temple that's the point brethren the Holy Spirit has lied to in the person of the Apostles in the person of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ J Alexander says the reference then or the reference is then not merely to the presence and in habitation of the Holy Ghost in all believers 1st Corinthians 3 1st Corinthians 6 but to his special and authoritative acting through the apostles so that disobedience to their rightful apostolic Authority is represented as resistance to the Holy Ghost see this is why it is what it is again fight the temptation to say you know five-oh up 1 to 11 I I kind of wish it was a legend I kind of wish it wasn't in there it just seems to be harsh it just seems to be over-the-top funny that anybody who holds a whole Bible in their lap would ever think such a thing what happens when the Ark of the Covenant comes back to Israel after it's time with the Philistines it enters into the land of Beth Shemesh and we learned that God killed a great number of Beth Shemesh fights because they dared look into the Ark of the Covenant do you know what the Beth Shemesh i'ts that continued on said they certainly didn't say wow that was over the top that was overkill that was harsh that was severe that that's the kind of stuff Christians today might say to such incidents but they were constrained to say who can stand before this holy Lord God you see acts 5 1 to 11 ought to underscore in all of our minds and in our hearts that God takes sin seriously I think we forget that from time to time don't we because we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous yes and amen first John 2:1 yes and a man that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness John first John 1:9 yeah absolutely psalm 130 is a reality for the people of God if thy Lord should mark iniquities O Lord who could stand but there is forgiveness with thee that that thou must be feared those should be near and dear to our hearts but the reality of God's forgiveness ought never to be a means or a reason for our sinfulness what shall we say shall we continue in sin that grace may abound Romans 6:1 may it never be god forbid as the old King James has it which actually isn't a good translation of the phrase but it certainly conveys the horror of the implication you see we ought to realize that the church is God's and that if we are using the church so that we can look good or we can look generous or we can be seen with some degree of among our our fellows we are prostituting the church we are misusing the church we are turning the church into something other it's not our place for our exaltation it's God's place for his exaltation and I think the sooner we get that down the better off we're gonna be you know what the grand lesson in this passage is if I could just you know boil it all down you and I need to fear this holy Lord God because then that happen after Ananias breathes his last and after Sapphira breathes her last what's luke's commentary and then great fear came upon them it's one of those kinds of passages I think that Christians often times go to their Bibles and they want helps and hints on how to live a life or how to live their life they go to Ephesians 5 and they say okay I'm gonna love my wife the way Jesus loves the church they try that for about 30 seconds and they say praise God Almighty for salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord but we go to the Bible to mine out practical truths for practical living you look at acts 5 1 to 11 not a lot of mining out practical truths for practical living now certainly we can surmise don't lie to the Holy Spirit that's always a bad idea don't try to look good in the eyes of others that's a bad idea don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing that's a bad idea but you know the primary practical truth of Acts 5 1 to 11 you ought to fear God did Amen let's pray let's go eat why is that not a practical lesson for the church today the the fear of God why is that something that's you know just esoteric and abstract and and it's out there well that's probably why we're not holy like we ought to be because it's esoteric and it's abstract and it's out there rather than in our hearts where it affects us to live in a way that is pleasing to God most high this passage is about God notice he goes on in verse four to underscore something I've underscored in chapters 2 & 4 that private property survives in the new covenant era the eighth commandment is still for us today verse 4 indicates that what happens in acts 2 45 to 46 and what happens in acts 4 32 to 37 was voluntary and I think by that reality or by that understanding it exacerbates all the more Ananias is sin there was nothing compelling him to undertake this kind of activity now brethren let me just ask you for a moment not audibly think about this are you the kind of person that looks down on someone else because they don't give everything they have if the answer is yes you need to repent it's not amazing we want to tell everybody else on how they ought to live I still always go back to you know proverbs for keep your heart with all diligence spend your money with all rigor everybody's a champ it's spending everybody else's money Peter assumes that the people of God would not have been offended if Ananias and Sapphira sold their land took apart a portion of it and put it in their own retirement fund and then took a portion and gave it to the downtrodden and poor Peter assumes among the people of God this write-off and this expectation concerning freedom of ownership private property that's what Peter says in verse 4 notice to Ananias while it remained was it not your own we see the state wasn't there with a gun putting it to Ananias his head making him give it up and we see that the Apostles weren't there with guns giving a putting it to Ananias his head and saying you need to sell this great piece of property because we've got a lot of downtrodden poor and we need you to ameliorate the Peter says wallet was yours wasn't it under your control and after you sold it was it the proceeds on your control you see what this does there's no necessity for Ananias to do this there's no coercion in Ananias to do this there's just a sinful preys loving wretched heart in Ananias where he concocts this sort of scheme with his wife to keep back some but to tell everybody that we're giving it all Peter says no private property is a reality the church would have respected that and you had the opportunity to do so and then notice what he says at the very end why have you conceived this thing in your heart again the devil influences the devil helps the devil exploits the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he made it may devour but notice that Peter does not hinge this or or settle this sin or put this in on this on the devil why have you conceived this thing in your heart that's the problem Ananias and Sapphira your hearts are messed up your hearts crave the praise of man your hearts want people to say wow look at their hearts your hearts want people to applaud you and to to slap you on the back your hearts want a plaque you know from whatever wing that you donated your hearts want to be mentioned in the next newsletter concerning life in the church in Jerusalem and thanks to Ananias and Sapphira and their exceedingly an abundant you know a charity we were able to to ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor in this sector or this quadrant their hearts that the part that's the problem so everybody get that not to have all not the devil devil does stuff devil is a roaming about like a roaring lion seeking seeking whom he may devour sort of a fiend but he's not the one that Peter blames for this particular sin and then notice what he says concerning theology proper you have not lied to man but to God and yeah you need to understand that the way it says he lies for the holy spirit which shows the personhood of the Holy Spirit Jehovah's Witnesses deny that the Holy Spirit is a person they call Holy Spirit active force well you see got a problem with that because you can't lie to the wind but you can lie to a person you can lie to somebody that has personality but it's not only personhood that's underscored there's there's deity underscore when you lie to the holy spirit the holy spirit who indwells the Apostles and the entirety of the church you are lying to God himself again the passages in 1st Corinthians 3 1st Corinthians 6 evidence that and make it clear our confession I think is a wonderful outside of the Bible comment on this whole idea it says in this divine and infinite being God there are three subsistence Azure persons the father the word or son and the Holy Spirit of one substance power and eternity each having the whole divine essence yet the essence undivided so the light of the Holy Spirit is to lie to God Almighty now let's look secondly at the death of Ananias and Sapphira we see the death of Ananias and verses five and six and then Sapphira in verses 7 to 11 verse 5 then Ananias hearing these words fell down and breathed his last now brethren there are those who engage in evasive tactics to try to and avoid the obvious he died as a direct result of the judgment of God it wasn't a coincidence then the great fear that came upon the entirety of the church would have been at coincidences and how they just sometimes happen that doesn't promote the fear of God the fear of God promotes the fear of God and that's what's in view here even worse is the suggestion that that Peter killed them Peter you know how to had a shank or a shiv or something and he took Ananias and Sapphira out some suggest even more so with Sapphira no it's not coincidence it's not by the hand of Peter it is a direct act of the judgment of the holy and righteous God God's been lied to and Peter has evidence that and demonstrated that to Ananias Ananias here's the and now Ananias breathes his last he gives up the ghost he dies he is struck him down or struck down in the judgment of God Almighty now the New Testament as I mentioned the Bible doesn't everywhere tell us that God always acts like this with reference to sin but even the New Testament tells us that he does 1st Corinthians 11 you know what one of the reasons is is for you to engage in proper conduct at the supper it's so that you don't get sick or die do we ever think about that when it comes to the table I know that Pastor Porter and myself read that section for this cause many are sick among you for what cause for coming to the Lord's table in a way that is in affront to the Lord for this cause drinking to the point of drunkenness eating to the point of gluttony in the neglect of brethren for this cause many are sick among you and many sleep first Corinthians 11 attaches a very severe sanction against an improper taking of the supper that's just what we find 1st Corinthians chapter 5 and in 1st Timothy chapter 1 what does Paul do with sinners who affect the very people of God he delivers them over to the devil what's Paul do in Acts chapter 13 with Elemis the sorcerer there is a blindness that comes upon that man that that son of Satan that son of deceit again God doesn't always break out in Wrath this way but God sometimes does even in the Old Testament I know that persons think you know page after page after page after page in the Old Testament it's just this angry god this God just you know throwing things and killing people and destroy things that's not how it is the Old Testament covers quite a span of years he covers a long time that Old Testament highlights to us agents of God the long-suffering of God the mercy of God have any of you ever read the former prophets and thought for a moment man when is God going to stop these people not that you're second-guessing God I'm not suggesting we do that never do that but but you read it and it almost gets tedious because there's these endless cycles of sin and depravity and wretchedness and evil and then God breaks out in judgment everybody goes nuts oh god how did how could you ever kill such nice people they're not nice people they're sinners that have violated only God you know when we get to Sapphira Peter just gets right to the point someone actually says well you know Peter actually lacked pastoral experience if he would have had more time as a pastor as soon as he saw the fine rod he would have said oh oh by the way this is what happened to Ananias and and I just want to give you the opportunity no Peter just asks the question not because he lacks pastoral experience but because we need to learn to fear the living in the true God and that's what Ananias and Sapphira teach us the New Testament elsewhere recognizes similar judgments of God and my young brothers young men in the context of the local church note your task then Ananias verse 5 hearing these words fell down and breathed his last so a great fear came upon all those who heard these things and the young man arose and wrapped him up carried him out and buried him I'm not suggesting young man that on those occasions where God kills somebody in our midst your task is to make sure they find their way to Hendersons down the street but it is intriguing the Apostles didn't do this and the old men didn't do this young strong men ought to serve the church with their young strength I know that's probably a moralistic application of the passage that has nothing to do with that but it is intriguing that on both instances when there was a job to be done they didn't have to be her and they didn't have to be invited they didn't have to have a sign-up sheet they got up they wrapped the body they carted the body off and they buried the body and then they came back and they did it again now brothers young men serve in the context of the local church open the door for the ladies rise in the presence of the hoary head take seriously the responsibilities that scripture mandates for civil ethics we're losing that in society old people women they're not treated any more special or with any more dignity than the rest of the rabble but God's Word is different isn't it shouldn't we be to be distinguished by our commitment to and our allegiance to the instruction of God's Word versus the prevailing opinions of men today I think at times brethren we set a very poor example in this arena by not doing what God says when it comes to chivalry chivalry is biblical men are supposed to protect women I know that chauvinistic and I know you're probably triggered and you're gonna report me and Facebook me and tweet me and all that sort of thing but men are supposed to protect women it's just the way it is people are supposed to esteem the elderly but that's just the way it is and young men in the context of the church you shouldn't have to be harangue to do something in the context of the church get up wrap them take them bury them now note the response in verse 6 I'm sorry verse 5 then Ananias hearing these words fell down and breathed his last so great fear came upon all upon all those who heard these sayings Matthew Poole makes this very excellent observation he says some instances of God's extraordinary judgments upon sinners were in the beginning of the Jewish church as upon the man that gathered sticks on the Sabbath day numbers 15 and upon neighed a band a by who Leviticus chapter 10 now listen to what Matthew poole says at the very beginning of the Jewish church we see these sorts of outbreaks of God wrath against particular offenders again it's not the case that this is commonplace it's not the case that this happens all the time but it happens at that key juncture in the context of the Jewish church why because we need to learn something about our God I think that's a legit inform this text notice this is the infant church in fact Poole goes on and so here in the beginning of the Christian Church to be as marks to teach us to shun such sins and to teach us that the God with whom we have to do is greatly to be feared I think that's a good connection what we find in terms of Native in a bio offering up strange fire to the Lord and the Lord sending fire down from heaven to consume them not their sacrifice like he does in Leviticus 9 but them because they offered up profane fire and everybody's standing there gawking at these burning consumed bodies and God says to Moses and the company assembly by those who come to me I must be regarded as Holy I guarantee you brothers and sisters you wouldn't have forgotten the lesson of that day actually in light of what scripture says we probably would have you see those times where bail worship is exterminated from the land only to find a few chapters later they're bowing to bail again you know we are that bad I guess but but but that's the lesson underscored and it's the same sort of thing here in this infant church setting we see God send forth judgment upon Ananias and Sapphira so that we can learn both to a Shawn certain types of sins and be learned that our God is greatly to be feared now notice the death of Saphira verses 7 to 11 she was gone for three hours and did not know what had happened to Ananias again the Bible is sparse in its details it doesn't tell us that she was having tea with somebody in a different part of that we don't know why she didn't know we know she didn't know so she comes back in the convention there where it says in Peter answered her that's just a literary convention she didn't say anything to peter oftentimes that sort of language is used even for an initial address but peter answered her tell me whether you sold the land for it so much yeah right don't think that's indicative that he lacks pastoral experience i don't think it's anything to upgrade peter over he asks a simple question why is it that will come out of this passage and blame Peter and not her for perpetuating a lie that's who's at fault here isn't it you know Peter could have been a lot more wise and a lot more judicious she could have been a lot more honest let's blame everybody else except the two centers in the passage who God kills that's very common today too isn't it oh no it can't be that it can't be has to be you know everybody else I had to be Peters fault Peter should have you know went up to her and said you know they just did God just killed Ananias it's time to come clean with your with your scent well asking her the very simple question was giving her an opportunity to come clean of her scent she could have said no we lied she could have said no we said she could have said we concocted it over a bowl of soup a week ago she could have said any of those things but she didn't she continued to lie that's the problem she said yes for so much now notice Peter in verse nine he approved reproves her for her conspiracy to sin then Peter said to her how is it that you have agreed together that's conspiracy you've agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord how is it that you've done this same sort of thing with Ananias why did you do this there was no external force compelling you into this there was nothing that that would persuade you are or get into you to to make you think that this was the best possible option well why did you do this parents you know Peters heart right here don't you you kid does something and you say that why you do that you're not actually asking them so they'll give you ten reasons why it's an expression of the horror that you feel over the fact that they've engaged in such folly that's what Peter does how is it that you've agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord this wasn't a fact-finding mission for the Apostle this was an indictment by the Apostle this is upbraiding her as a result of her conspiracy to lie and the actual perpetuation of that lie even to this the eleventh hour in her life she held fast to the story oh yeah that that's how much we sold it for oh yeah that's how it went oh yeah everything we got we brought it to ameliorate the the downtrodden and the poor that that's it right there Peter we're great we're awesome don't forget how to spell Sapphira to bees when you write up our plaque that's what she's fishing for notice what Peter says the feet of those who have buried your husband again a literary convention feet don't bury people the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out verse 10 then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last and the young man came out came in and found her dead and carrying her out buried her by her husband again not coincidence not by Peter's hand but rather by a direct judgment of God Almighty for there having lied to God Almighty their hypocrisy their virtue signaling their desire for the praise of men has ended their lives brethren Matthew Poole again says the same sins meet with the same punishment God is no respecter of persons Jew or Gentile male or female there is an instance where men and women are treated equally a brethren this is the God with whom we have to do verse 11 underscores the great theme of the section so great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things I love that it's extended beyond the church border the pagans heard the unbelieving Jews heard the atheists heard they heard what if you go in and you worship among those people and you lie to their God their God may just kill you I don't think that pagans that atheists that the outsiders of the church today have any fear whatsoever concerning what goes on in the church and that's not because God's changed both Deuteronomy 4 and Hebrews 12 underscore the reality that our God is a consuming fire I would suggest it's the church that's changed the church has relegated the message of holy holy holy is Yahweh of hosts to nice nice nice is Yahweh of hosts we have forgotten that our God is a consuming fire we have forgotten that when we sing when we pray when we preach when we hear when we give we are to do so with a consciousness of who God is with an eye to his glory with an eye to our own conduct so that we don't come up short so that we honor and esteem him that we remember those words that were done or spoken at the at the the fire that was native an abaya by those who come to me I must be regarded as holy that's an aspect that's all but forgotten today we want encounters we want therapy we want feelings we want emotions when was the last time anybody ever measured a worship service this way we believe God was fee oh that's so puritanical yeah maybe because they were biblical in the way they did things no we measure worship services this way well I really really didn't do anything for me he preached long he preached loud he preached judgment he preached righteousness he preached justice I don't want that I want happy peppy joyous feelings that's what we want isn't it we got groups and scads of people that are dead of feeding that mentality I can't imagine Joel Osteen preaches acts 5 1 2 11 ever I bet some of those whacked-out prosperity guys do though it's a good way to try to beat fear into people so that they cough up all right if coughing up is the end game then we'll use the fear of God to try to get them to cough up so I could see that brethren we've got big problems in the professing church today we're offended by God we want tame we want cuddly we want kittens what's Lewis saying The Chronicles of Narnia concerning as lawn I'm not getting into the theology I'm not getting into the whole atonement none of that he ain't tame but he's good that's our God isn't it he ain't tame but he is good now when I say tame I mean by us God is constrained by his holy will God functions according to God but not according to us what will make you happy today church I I want to perform for you and and do everything it is that will make you complete that's the kind of God that the church has been preaching listen to Dale Ralph Davis this is his commentary on 1st samuel 6 verse 20 where the men of beth shemesh said say who is able to stand before this holy Lord God he says God's people too no longer have the Ark of the Covenant but we can fall into the same beth-shemesh mode of thinking we can forget that Yahweh is wholly in a word different and that he does not conform to our expectation of an easygoing God our culture does not help us to smash our graven image of the casual God our culture proclaims that God must be the essence of Tolerance he is Shami rather than holy the man upstairs rather than my father for Jesus sake so long as our novelty license plates declare that quote God is my co-pilot we can be sure that we have not yet seen the King yahweh of hosts as jonathan edwards noted it is the absence of a godly fear that signifies a lack of the knowledge of God do you imagine a church service where not only the church feared but Outsiders did too perhaps that is what we ought to be after not manufacturing not cultivating not manipulating not orchestrating or engineering but seeking to faithfully serve God the way that God has said by singing his word by praying his word by reading his word by preaching his word by seeing his word in the sacraments doing what he has said to promote in our hearts the fear of God so that we may with the men of beth-shemesh actually say who is able to stand before this holy Lord God or the prophet Isaiah what does he do when he's confronted with the holiness of God woe is me for I am undone I'm ruined I am disintegrating why because mine eyes have seen the glory of Yahweh of hosts you see brethren the church saw the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira and the church was afraid the world heard about it and they too were afraid in fact that might be some of the rationale behind verse 13 there were those who saw what was happening but were hesitant to join in with them why is that because if you lie to their God their God may kill you that's what we need from this passage in conclusion I would suggest a couple of thoughts and then we'll have soup first the imperfection of the church militant the imperfection of the church militant theologians church people Christians everywhere have always talked or made this sort of distinction between what's called the church militant and the church triumphant the church militant is the church here on earth fighting for every inch of ground she has fighting against the world in the flesh and the devil seeking to maintain reverence for God and joy in his presence and you know emphasize the preaching in the proclamation of the Word of God the church militant is where we find ourselves church triumphant with Jesus every tribe tongue people nation that one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church gathered together worshiping the Lord God Most High world without end amen the church militants always got problems doesn't she she's always got problems we need to get back to the early church which part of the early church when Ananias and Sapphira lied to God he killed them right before their eyes we get to first Corinthians and what's happening people are coming to the supper drunk and having been engaged in Gwaltney intriguingly Paul doesn't say stop eating and stop drinking he says do that at home how does that happen because we have sinned I know that that's probably you know after I die and they bury me he always told us we were sinners if that's what you get good you know I guess that's a good take-home message from a long ish ministry he always told us we were sinners but I hope he could also say and he always pointed us to Christ as a result of that but but but we see this yeah right there in the midst of this glowing report Barnabas Barnabas for 36 and 37 and then we have the Anti Barnabas in acts 5 1 2 11 brethren the moment you think the church militant is perfect you have you've gone over the edge there's always problems always imperfections always excesses always negligence always over whatever always under whatever always coming up short that's the nature of the church militant now we ought to see though the faithfulness of the church militant in this passage as well we see in the first place the holy spirit dwells there it's not a perfect group but that's where the spirit is Peter wasn't a perfect man the Apostles weren't perfect men but that's where the spirit is say what you will about the church militant Butler it being imperfect nevertheless the Spirit of God is there absolutely and I want to make sure we understand it it is the place where sin is dealt with oh the church is full of hypocrites they'll do it you know I like to think that when we find out about stuff we didn't try to deal with it you don't know about something you can't deal with it it is the place and I almost hesitate hesitate to add this again since I've already emphasized it in 2 & 4 but it's the place where private property is respected I find it intriguing that Peter assumes the people of God are mature enough that if a wealthy land owner in their midst sells a piece of his property and doesn't give every every drop of change they're ok with it they're not gonna try to guilt manipulate people see if there's a responsibility for the wealthy landowner in the context of the local church to be a man who's large hearted and generous and who doesn't trust in uncertain riches there ought to be a mandate with reference or a responsibility with reference to the poor that's a guilt manipulate not to expect things that are someone else's private property if they choose to give it to you praise God and they should choose and and we emphasize that first into these six but Peter assumes the reality in the abiding presence of private property in the context of the church as well within the church militant it is the place where discipline is carried out you see that right this wasn't excommunication well I guess it was but to the aunt the great it's a place where sin is dealt with what do we learn from that church shouldn't just be encounter groups Church shouldn't just be therapy Church shouldn't just be feel-good or in church shouldn't just be places where we see our buddies once a week but we're in if we sin and we are in penitent the hammer will fall so at the Oaks Lodge it's not the Moose Lodge it's not some social entity where anything and everything goes no you need to toe the line in the context of the church and it is the place where God is feared listen to Dennis Johnson on this concept of the fear of God he says in contrast to the abject terror evoked by some pagan conceptions of capricious and malevolent deities the fear of the Lord yet this is rooted in the assurance of His Holiness constancy and justice those who fear the Lord rejoice in His grace but are vividly aware that to violate His Holiness is dangerous if we feel that heartfelt joy and awe struck fear are incompatible incompatible emotions we have not grasped what it means to stand in the presence of the Lord of glory who is good and terrible at the same time sure you've heard that before fear and Trofeo and joy are not incompatible in the Christian heart track they go hand-in-hand together and I think Johnson's right we don't know what it is to to joyfully embrace the fear of God then we haven't stood in the presence of him who is both good and terrible at the same time and then in terms of the practical lesson beware of pride in hypocrisy beware of it be aware of wanting people to think you're great you know spurge and I think it was he said you know if somebody upbraid you for a particular sand don't get upset they don't know the half of it sounds like those those ticket takers at the deli counter you know just just take a ticket I mean you know the the lobbies full we got lots of things to discuss with reference to myself why is it that we're just so offended at the thought that anybody should ever think that were sinners and now what Christianity is for isn't that Golgotha a pastor Porter read in the in Scripture worship or in the reading of the scripture today why the passion because Jesus has come to help and already decent people know he came to die in our place because we're so bad the gospel isn't for good people it's for terrible people it's not for Polish people it's for despicable people can I get an amen I mean brethren that's what it's about and so why in the world would we court the favor of others so that they think somehow were a bit better than others we just need to get that out of our heads again I think it's very perceptive that Bruce says the desire to gain a higher reputation then is one's do for generosity or some other virtue is not so uncommon that anyone can afford to adopt a self righteous attitude toward Ananias oh it's be careful be careful all that terrible Ananias and then we do something today and we bang the alarm so people can see it praise God he doesn't break out in that kind judgment and I want to end on that kind of judgment it's legitimate it is legitimate it's not common it's not the norm it's not the way God has opted to work but it's legitimate because Ananias and Sapphira lied to God they sinned against God there was recently a thing a survey done by Ligonier ministries basic theology questions we talked about this a little bit yesterday morning in our Saturday meeting theology meeting and you know 78% of those polled believe that Jesus is a creature if you would have voted that way repent Jesus is not a creature he is the everlasting eternally begotten son of God true God from True God true light from light begotten not made the same and be same in substance in being with the father he is not a creature that same survey went on to ask about sin I didn't follow that part but I guess based on some things I've seen the answers weren't great we've forgotten the Westminster Shorter we just don't appreciate that the Westminster Shorter asks the question what does every sin deserve well modern man is prepared to say well some sins deserve this and other sins deserve that and my sins deserve nothing at all not so the shorter catechism every sin deserves God's wrath and curse both in this life and that which is to come the moment you start to rail against God's outbreak of judgment in this passage you've got big problems they send Peter doesn't have a problem with the lack of pastoral experience Sapphira has a problem with lying to an apostle of Jesus Christ that's the issue now the infrequency of these types of judgments I would submit highlight the mercy of God we don't get what we deserve do we there's another place can I get an amen praise God Almighty sometimes brothers older brothers younger brothers you'll say how are you doing and they'll answer better than I deserve it's a really good response we are doing better than we deserve that's the beauty of grace it's the beauty of grace thirdly the rationale here it is to underscore that we are to avoid sins certain types of sin well sin and to fear this God and and then the foreshadowing of the judgment to come let me just leave this thought with you before we bow our heads in prayer God is a consuming fire Hebrews 12 Deuteronomy 4 acts 5 1 to 11 it doesn't say in those verses our God is a consuming fire but it certainly demonstrates it in these verses our God is a consuming fire and if this God does this kind of judgment for one particular lie against the Holy Spirit in this historical situation what must the day of judgment look like fact John Calvin made this observation I thought it was very perceptive he says for if we consider what it is to be cast into eternal fire we shall not judge that this is the greatest evil and punishment of all to fall down dead before men in other words if you think concerning the judgment to come I say it reverently this is a bit of a walk in the park they fell down dead they were carted off and buried that's it it's not what the day of judgment is God will cast you into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels again this may not help you to digest your soup in the next few moments brethren friend think about this the men of beth-shemesh were not wrong who is able to stand before this holy Lord God the Psalms are filled with that ethic or something man who who can who can ascend into the Mount of the Lord who can stand in the the tabernacle of God well if you're answering the men of beth-shemesh or you're answering the psalmist in Psalm 15 and Psalm 24 you have to answer no one except no one except Jesus no one except him who is all together lovely and chief among 10,000 no one except him who always did what the father said no one except him who fulfilled the law of God perfectly perpetually continually entirely in every jot and tittle no one except for him who laid down his life at Calvary and who was raised the third day and who went back into heaven no one except for him and all those in him by faith the men Abass Shemesh were right you're not going to be able to stand before this holy Lord God unless by grace you're attached savingly to Jesus Christ through faith that's the God with whom we have to do and the God who has provided a way of access through his own beloved son well let us close in a word of Prayer father thank you for your word and thank you for your grace and thank you for your loving kindness and your mercy thank you for your justice and your righteousness and your holiness and forgive us God that at times we don't ever think about such things that there seems to be at times so little so little evident fear of God in our own hearts or in the hearts of our churches give us grace Lord to write this with a proper understanding of who you are and a proper understanding of who we are before you go with us now help us to bring glory and praise to you throughout this day throughout throughout our lives may we shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and may we with boldness hold forth your word of truth and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation our brother will play the piano then I'll come back up and we'll thanks to God for the food and then we can go upstairs to eat