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Post by John on Jun 10, 2018 13:32:50 GMT -5
Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. BUT a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostle's feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Acts 4:37-Acts 5:11
During this period of time, in order to help spread the gospel to as many as possible as quickly as possible, many chose to sell all they had and share all the money so they could devote all their time to the ministry. If you were among the people that sold everything and gave into the fund, you were taken care of out of that fund. That is one reason why what Ananias and Sapphira did was such a serious sin. It was a type of fraud. They were going to reap all the benefits while holding back part of the price of the land they sold.
Ananias brought part of the price of the land and laid it at the Apostles' feet. It was revealed by God to Peter that he kept back part of the price. Peter tells Ananias that he wasn't guilty of lying to men, but of lying to the Holy Ghost, and says Satan is the one that filled his heart to commit this transgression. It is bad enough to commit fraud in the world, but when you try to cheat the Christian church, God considers it an especially serious sin. He must, because God struck him dead.
Later on, his wife shows up, supports her husband by repeating his lie, and she is struck down dead by God. Naturally, this led to great fear coming upon those who heard this story. I find it interesting because the modern church does everything possible to try to get us not to fear God. We are told God doesn't want us to fear him. We are told he isn't there with a hammer getting ready to strike us if we sin, yet look at what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. Yes, they committed a serious sin, but I doubt they realized they were lying to the Holy Ghost. In their mind, they were just keeping back part of the price of property they sold. They had to know they were doing wrong, but not in the way God looked at it. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We are also told that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments.
Are we really helping people when we teach them not to fear God? Is that really what God would desire his ministers to do? When we lie to people in such a way, we heal the hurt of people a little, but the end result may be their destruction. Rather than teaching people not to fear "Daddy God," I think we should be teaching them to have a healthy respect for God our heavenly Father. Stories like this are recorded for our examples. Why should we believe that this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore? How do we know that when someone suffers illnesses or dies prematurely, that it isn't because of their sins? That is certainly not always the case. Sometimes, it is just the result of sin coming into the world as a result of Adam's transgressions, but we need to realize that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and if he dealt in such a harsh manner with Ananias and Sapphira, there is no reason to think he doesn't still deal with people like that now. Let's remember this lesson from the Bible so we don't find ourselves being the next Ananias and Sapphira because of our sins.
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Cletus
Senior Member
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Post by Cletus on Jun 10, 2018 14:19:30 GMT -5
Amen. The problem with todays church and those teaching things contrary to scripture is this... they do not know God. God may have revealed Himself to them during salvation and they may recognize the presence of The Lord, They may be able to discern during worship when the Holy Spirit is there and peace is all in the air... But they have most likely not sought Gods face enough for God to really reveal Himself, they have more than likely not heard Him speak and i do not mean a feeling in your spirit, I mean actual words spoken. And even more, they probably have not been corrected by God. When i learned of The fear of The Lord, I was being corrected. My eyes bugged out like golf balls, my hands drew up together in front of and against my chest, and i began rocking back and forth like a crazy person. I experienced then... the greatness of God. And i must say, previous to my occult experiences, there is no devil that even comes close to the awesome-ness of God, no where near His power, and authority. When you are in His presence like this you know He has the power to speak... and it is so. When God was correcting me, He just kinda floated down over the house next to and i was on the back porch. I could not see Him. But i know He lifted His index finger, and said you see all this... I looked at the grass and the rocks and trees, and in that moment i saw the beauty in it when He made it. I responded yeah. I was in amazement at the work of His hands. Then... without saying a word He showed me His power to speak it in to existence. I was in awe at how great He is. then it switched to where He could unmake... and He let that settle in for a few moments. He raised His finger again and said, "Even You" this time his voice was very stern. In the moment He said even you I knew that if He spoke it, my own mother would not even have knowledge of me.... this is when my eyes bugged out. This is when I learned the fear of The Lord. There was much more before and after this story, but its to much to write. thats the problem we have in the church today. People who preach and teach and do not really know how awesome God is. They really do not know who He Is. and so the masses are fed this watered down version of who God is, and how we should look at Him, and quite possibly al they have to go on is what some school taught them, which is most often based on what a certain church holds as a belief on various topics. This is one reason why My favorite scripture is Hosea 6:6. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. God wants us to know Him, and many in positions of authority in the church stop at the peace part. I pleaded with God for years just to speak to me, even one word. Not because I doubted His existence but because The book says His sheep know His voice... but i didnt then. I was desperate to hear. The truth is, i am not special. while some of my stories may be moving, God does not respect persons... and we can have as much of God as we want... but we must pursue Him. We must never and can never arrive on the shores of knowing all there is to know of God in this life. And in a sense what i am actually talking about, is holding back from God. We have people Teaching things based on what they know and were taught. I encountered several people telling me that what I was preaching was wrong because the people are not ready t hear it and they needed time to grow. And yet it was the Holy Ghost that spoke thru my mouth. These people know better than The Most High? You see today most "ministry" is not ministry. Its people thinking they can help God, and do their part. The only part we have to play is to make ourselves available for The Holy Spirit to use us.... to do His work thru us. Most these days have no knowledge of this type of ministry., everything is perverted and watered down "these days." And its because of a lack of the fullness of God in us. Even a lack of the knowledge of God. and the sad part is the have had their schooling, they are educated. and you cant tell them a thing, even with Gods written Word. Closedmindedness is quenching The Spirit and it is stopping God from healing hearts, setting captives free, and growing the church. The truth is not something. Its SomeOne.
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Post by frienduff on Jun 10, 2018 15:12:13 GMT -5
When we teach men not to fear GOD , we dooming them and us who do so. JESUS flat out said it . Fear not man, BUT GOD ONLY . I WILL tell you WHOM you SHALL FEAR . FEAR HE who has power to cast that soul INTO HELL FIRE . YEAH FEAR HIM. Paul said , BEHOLD the GOODNESS and SEVERITY of GOD . PETER said pass the time of your sourjouning here in fear . WORK out that salvation in fear and trembling . ITS all over the place n the holy writings and gosples. And the beginning of wisdom IS fear of the LORD. Paul flat out go real specific. Don't be HIGHMNDED BUT FEAR , For if GOD spared not the natural branches , TAKE HEED lest he spare not you , CHURCH . I think folks don't realize WHO paul was talking too. Look at how simple this is . SEVERITY toward those who fell, but goodness toward thee, CHURCH , IF you continue In HIS GOODNESS otherwise , you get cast out SAME as the unbelieving ONES DID . I mean how simple is that. Their is no fear o GOD in many . As Cletus said. THE TRUTH is not something , ITS SOMEONE . AS IN GOD , as in CHRIST . and those apostels KNEW HIM . I am wore out with high minded men who change and twist those scrips , got no fear of GOD they change and omit the true pattern . DO we realize how scary and dangerous and prideful that is . I mean men preachin a JESUS that is NOT THE JESUS . walking around HS SAYINGS , as though he was the lesser and they and their preachers THE GREATER. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF. Folks don't realize the grave danger in that . Many will be told I NEVER KNEW YOU . FOR though they called him LORD , they did not DO as HE COMMANDED and COMMANDS . That is so scary for them. WHO are we to even ponder that WE can CHANGE HIS SAYINGS . THAT Is so scary for them. DO they not realize , JUST WHO JESUS REALLY IS . They actually flat out denying THE FATHER , when they DENY THE SON . fact , not fiction . THIS is real serious and dire dangerous things most men are doing . WE better take heed that we do not partake of their evil , sins . Peter was right . BEWARE lest you being taken in the ERROR of the wicked , FALL FROM your own steadfastness. THEM APOSTELS that KNEW JESUS , KNEW MEN COULD FALL AWAY . THEY KNEW IT .
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Post by 2fw8212a on Jun 10, 2018 16:16:06 GMT -5
Are we really helping people when we teach them not to fear God? Is that really what God would desire his ministers to do? To fear God actually is a good thing because it will keep you from doing evil.
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" - Luke 9:25
When people do not fear God they couldn't care less and just follow their own evil nature.
Then: Yes, fear Him!
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." - James 1:5Why should we believe that this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore? People who do evil and think that God is not seeing are just deceiving themselves and walking their way to hell.
"...unless you repent you will all likewise perish." - Luke 13:5How do we know that when someone suffers illnesses or dies prematurely, that it isn't because of their sins? It can be. The Lord gives chance for the person to recognize and repent but many have their hearts hardened and just insist on blaming God.
Repent, humble yourselves and the Lord will certainly come and make everything new.
"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14
God does not hate us, He loves us... But He is perfectly just and there is no partiality with Him.
"But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality." - Colossians 3:25
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." - Galatians 6:7
God bless you all in Jesus' name!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2018 17:36:51 GMT -5
Thanks Butero, that is very enlightening as to why the Lord judged Ananias and Saphira....it goes to show the benefit of a little bit of extra-biblical background knowledge I think, because I don't think that information is in the bible (as far as I know)....that they would have been living off church funds even though they had kept back some of their money. It makes perfect sense now and we dont' have to guess as to why the Lord dealt with them like that. And amen, the Lord is to be feared and revered, not trifled with...and He swiftly guarded the apple of His eye in this instance from being robbed and exploited.
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Post by John on Jun 11, 2018 12:23:47 GMT -5
Thanks Butero, that is very enlightening as to why the Lord judged Ananias and Saphira....it goes to show the benefit of a little bit of extra-biblical background knowledge I think, because I don't think that information is in the bible (as far as I know)....that they would have been living off church funds even though they had kept back some of their money. It makes perfect sense now and we dont' have to guess as to why the Lord dealt with them like that. And amen, the Lord is to be feared and revered, not trifled with...and He swiftly guarded the apple of His eye in this instance from being robbed and exploited. Believe it or not, I can derive that right out of the text of the Bible. You can see that they had all things common, and how people would sell all they had and lay it at the Apostles' feet, all voluntary of course. Not everyone in the church was doing this, and that was apparent based on how Peter told Ananias that while the money was in his possession, he could do anything he wanted with it. You would be surprised how many things are explained in the Bible, but they are subtle. You have to really be looking.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 12:49:53 GMT -5
Thanks Butero, that is very enlightening as to why the Lord judged Ananias and Saphira....it goes to show the benefit of a little bit of extra-biblical background knowledge I think, because I don't think that information is in the bible (as far as I know)....that they would have been living off church funds even though they had kept back some of their money. It makes perfect sense now and we dont' have to guess as to why the Lord dealt with them like that. And amen, the Lord is to be feared and revered, not trifled with...and He swiftly guarded the apple of His eye in this instance from being robbed and exploited. Believe it or not, I can derive that right out of the text of the Bible. You can see that they had all things common, and how people would sell all they had and lay it at the Apostles' feet, all voluntary of course. Not everyone in the church was doing this, and that was apparent based on how Peter told Ananias that while the money was in his possession, he could do anything he wanted with it. You would be surprised how many things are explained in the Bible, but they are subtle. You have to really be looking.
Butero, if that's what the Holy Spirit showed you in the scriptures, then amen....it has a ring of truth to me. It seems to make sense and rounds out the picture of what God did and why.
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