It is time for a great harvest: Effective Ministry P/1

                                    A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                         PART V - VII

 "I, Peter, am so grateful to see how the Lord is changing lives through our preaching... For many people, men and women, are coming to faith in Him.... We meet daily in Solomon's Colonade....Not only do we see people come to faith in the Lord.. The Lord allows us to perform many miracles as well.... So many people are healed and delivered from demonic spirits.... The people coming to us are not only from Jerusalem... We have people coming to us from towns around Jerusalem.... Jesus cares about them too.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn what is happening through the ministry of the apostles....

                 ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                        PART V -VII

At that time the apostles saw the Lord perform many miracles through them as you can read in Acts 5:12

The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Columnade.

 And many more people became believers and were healed as you can read in Acts 5:14

.... More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

And many people were healed as you can read in Acts 5:16

Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

The minstry of the apostles was effective not just in Jerusalem but beyond Jerusalem.

Read Part Two HERE

 

God's standard is high: A Lying Couple P/6

 

                              A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                    PART V -VI

"I, Peter, had two believers come to see me today.... They are a couple.... Their names are Ananias and Sapphira.... Sadly they both lied to me... And God had to judge them for their lies to the Holy Spirit... They both have died.... Their sin must become known to the whole Church.... For all believers need to understand how important it is to live lives that are pleasing to God in every way..... Otherwise the Church cannot be a light in this dark world.... I and the other Apostles must, therefore, continue to live in obedience to God and His Word through our lives and our teachings.....This life of obedience must be continued beyond our lives....And this story of Ananias and Sapphira must continue to be shared as a teaching tool to help believers know that God cares how we live as believers.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that the Church at large learned what happened to Ananias and Sapphira....

      

                       ATTACHMENT  A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                     PART V - VI

Ananias and Saphira did not have to sell their property. Moreover, they did not have to give everything they had sold the property for. The land as well as the money they had received for the land was theirs and they could do with it as they wished. But they had lied, trying to look better in the eyes of the other believers than they were. As Peter had said, they had lied not just to the Apostles, but they had lied to the Holy Spirit of God. God is a holy God and He considers lying an evil act for which these two people had a pay a high prize; their very lives. What happened to them became, of course, known to many other believers as you can read in Acts 5:11

Great fear seized the whole church and all those who heard about these events.

God's standard was high then and it has not changed for God is a holy God. This means that even today God expects us, as believers, to live by His standart and not by the standard of the world around us.

Sapphira is judged too: A Lying Couple P/5

 Read Part One HERE

                                       A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                             PART V -V

"I, Peter, looked at Ananias' wife Sapphira.... She stood in front of me.... I had asked her if the money I had earlier that day received from her husband Ananias was the exact amount they had received for the sale of the land.... I waited to hear from her... I had hoped she would not have gone along with her husband's scheme to lie.... Sadly that did not happen... For she too lied to me....In fact, like her husband, she too lied to the Holy Spirit.... Consequently, she too was judged with the same judgement as her husband...She died.... The young men who had buried her husband came in to bury her.... What a sad day for me and for the Church."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn what happened to Sapphira after Peter exposed her deception to the Holy Spirit....

                   

                       ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                           PART V -V

Sapphira, like her husband Ananias, had not considered that the Holy Spirit had seen and heard everything she and her husband had conspired to do and He revealed to Peter her part in the deception. After hearing Peter's words she too fell down and died as you can read in Acts 5:9-10

Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

 Like Ananias, Sapphira was shocked to hear from Peter's mouth that she had in fact tested the Spirit of the Lord. And like him, her life was cut short as a consequence.

Sapphira is part of the deception: A Lying Couple P/4

Read Part One HERE

                                    A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                          PART V-IV 

"I, Peter, had one of the believers come to see me this morning... His name was Ananias.... He had come to present me with a financial gift... However, the Holy Spirit had shown me that he had not been honest about the amount.... He had told me he was giving me all that he had received for the sale of the land... But the Holy Spirit had let me know he had kept a part of the money for himself... He was free to do so... But he should not lie about... Sadly he had done so... Consequently, he had been judged by God.... And he had died.... A few hours later his wife Sapphira came to see me... I asked her if the money her husband had brought to me that morning had been the amount they had received for the land... I had hoped she would have spoken the truth.... Sadly she did not... She too lied.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Ananias' wife Sapphira came to see Peter....

 

                 ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                           PART V -IV

Ananias; wife Saphira went to see the Apostles a few hours after her husband's visit to them as you can read in Acts 5:7-8

About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?""Yes," she said, "that is the price."

Peter, knowing that Sapphira's husband had lied about the amount of money he had brought to them, asked Sapphira if the money he had received from her husband earlier that day, was the amount they had received for the sale of the land. Sadly she continued in the deception, thereby proving that she was an equal partner with her husband in this scheme of theirs.

Read Part Five HERE

Ananias fell down in response to Peter's words: A Lying Couple P/3

Read Part One HERE

 

                                     A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                           PART V -III

"I, Peter, just exposed the lies of one of the believers.... His name was Ananias.... He had sold a piece of land.... And he brought us the money.... However, he pretended he was giving us the full amount.... But the Holy Spirit revealed to me he had kept part of the money for himself... He was trying to impress us  .... But God was not impressed.... For God knew the truth...And He exposed this man's heart... He did not just lie to us... He lied to God... How could he do such a thing?... Did he not realise that God is not only a God of love?... But that God is a holy God as well?... Sadly it is too late for Ananias.... I could see in his face that he was extremely shocked when he heard what I had to say to him....He then fell down... And he died.... So we had him buried.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn hoe Ananias reacted to Peter's words to him...

 

                  ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                       PART V -III 

Ananias looked at Peter with great expectation for he believed Peter would be thrilled with his financial gift. But he then heard Peter speak words to him he had never expected to hear for he heard Peter expose his heart as led by the Holy Spirit. Ananias got such a shock when he realised that his lies had been found out that he fell down to the ground as you can read in Acts 5: 5

When Anaias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

Ananias fell down and died the moment Peter told him the truth about what he had done. He was then quietly buried.

Read Part Four HERE

 

 

Peter exposed Ananias' lies: A Lying Couple P/2

Read Part One HERE

                                       A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                        PART V - II

"I, Peter, had a very sad experience today..... One of the believers came to see me.... His name was Ananias... He brought us funds to be used for the the needy in the Church.... Other believers have done so.... One of them was Barnabas.... He sold a piece of land and gave us the money he had received for it... The Church was so blessed by his actions.... However, this time the money was not a blessing..... This time the motive behind the giving was not pure.... No doubt, Ananias had heard what Barnabas had done.... And how everyone was praising him for his generosity.... And Ananias must have wanted the praise of other believers as well.... However he was very deceitful in his dealing with us.... For he decided to keep part of the money he had received for himself... He had the right to do so.... But he pretended that he had given us the full amount.... The Holy Spirit revealed to me that was not the case... He showed me Ananias was pretending he had given us the full amount while keeping part of it for himself....I needed to address his deceitful actions... So I did.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of the deceitful actions of a believer named Ananias....

 

                   ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                          PART V - II

However, after Ananias had given that part of the money he and his wife had decided to give to the Apostles, something happened he was not prepared for; he had not considered that the Holy Spirit had seen and heard everything he and his wife had planned to do. And the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter the deceptive scheme of this  man and his wife as you can read in Acts 5:3-4

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirti and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

Peter spoke up after Ananias gave him the money and exposed the deception in his heart.

Read Part Three HERE

Ananias believed he could deceive the Apostles: A Lying Couple P/1

 

                                  A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                          PART V - I

"I, Ananias, have just come home ... I could not wait to tell my wife Sapphira what I have heard.... I have heard a story about Barnabas.... He is one of the believers.... And he had sold a piece of land.... That is not so amazing... But it is amazing what he has done with the money he has received for the land... For he has given all the money to the Apostles!!.... Everyone is praising him for his kind act.... So I have been talking to Sapphira about doing a similar kind act.... No doubt, we will then become known among the believers as well for our kindness.... Now, it is true, we might want to keep some of the money for ourselves....However, that should not be a problem... We can do so... And give the rest to the Apostles.... Moreover, we do not have to let anyone know that we are not giving the full amount to the Apostles....We can just pretend that we are giving everything away... That way everyone will be very impressed with our kindness....I will sell a piece of land tomorrow and afterwards go to the Apostles....I am sure they will be so impressed with us for our generosity.... I can already see their surprised faces in front of me.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn about the plan of Ananias and Sapphira to sell a piece of land....

 

 

                 ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                           PART V-I

One day a certain believer named Ananias and his wife Sapphira decided they would sell a piece of their property just as their fellow believer Barnabas had done as you can read in Acts 5:1-2

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but he brough the rest and put it at the Apostles' feet.

No doubt, Ananias and his wife Saphira had heard what Barnabas had done for the news of his kind act would have spread throughout the community of believers and everyone would have praised him for his generosity. Ananias and Sapphira very likely decided they too should perform such a kind act for it would be very nice to known among the whole community of believers because of their care for others. And yes, it was true, that they had decided they would keep part of the money they would receive for the sale of the land for themselves. But they did not need to tell the Apostles these exact details, is it now? They could just pretend they were giving the full amount even though that is not exactly what they had in mind to do. But it would look so much better if everyone believed they had given the full amount rather than part of the money. And no one, not even the Apostles would ever find out about their plan since they were the only ones who knew the details and they were never going to mention it to anyone else. And so Ananias and Saphhira sold a piece of land and Ananias took part of the money to the Apostles to give to them expecting great appreciation from the Apostle for his generous act.

Read Part Two HERE

 

 

                                   A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                        PART IV - XII

"I, Peter, am so encouraged by what I see happening among believers.... For to see such unity among them... And this unity is shown in the way believers care for each other.... Some of the believers are more wealthy... And they are taking care of those who are not well off.... They show their care in practical ways... An example is Joseph, whom we call Barnabas.... He sold a piece of land.... And he brought us all the money that he had received for the sale of the land....He did not have to do that.... He could have given us a part of the money.... After all, the money was his.... And he could decide what he wanted to do with it... But he chose to give us the full amount.... We were very grateful for his financial gift to the believers.... So we were able to bless those who were struggling to take care of their families."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn about the care believers had for each other....

                         ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                          PART IV-XII

There was great unity among the believers and they shared with each other their possessions as you can read in Acts 4:32-35

All the believers were in one heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. From time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

For example one of the believers, a man named Joseph, sold a piece of land and gave the money to be shared among all the believers as you can read in Acts 4:36-37

 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus,whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

No doubt, this generosity became known among the believers and everyone praised him for his willingness to share with those who were less fortunate than he was.