INSIDE PURGING AND OUTSIDE PRUNING
In Acts 5:1-11 There is an account given of Anani'as and Sappahi'as, a couple who were no doubt devote followers of the teachings of the Apostles and of Christ Jesus, but who also allowed themselves to get caught up in the wisdom and thinking processes of men.
We all know the basic story on the surface of how they sold a parcel of land and brought the price and laid it at the Apostles feet as an act of love for those in need within the community in Christ Jesus. The problem was that in their mind they decided to keep back a portion of the price for themselves not telling anyone what they had done and yet announce to the church they were giving the entire price to the church just as Barnabas did. In their minds, it was only a small white lie, and yet it was to have great impacts on the church, and upon them.
This kind of thing seems to be a problem today as well when it comes to our mental attitude toward giving to God. They not only cheated God, and the people but they lied about it with the intent of gaining greater status among the members of the church. There was a great fear that came over the general populace when they heard the story of how they had given their lives because of the attempt to deceive the Spirit of God. Many people who may have tried the same thing in order to be a part of things actually pulled away out of fear they may have the same things happen to them. We need to understand something important here, and that is the fact that these people did not suffer punishment because they were not good enough to bring their offerings to God. It was not even because they held back a portion of the price from the offering. They lied to God and to the Church about what their intentions were.
We have many great opportunities today to be a part of the things that God has going on within our community. There are many times we have the chance to connect with others within the church for the practice of business ventures and to be able to gain in the world around us through various enterprises, but we need to remember that our first duty is to be of pure intent of heart when dealing with God's Spirit. We cannot allow the world to enter into our relationship with Christ in any way otherwise we too will become in danger of being in the same place as this couple was in.
I doubt if any of us can know just how serious God is about the deceit of any kind when it comes to dealing with our true intent of heart when it comes to our motivations. I believe that many of us have fallen into that trap of placing our earthly desires or the small things that we can fool everyone else with between us and our relationship with God. That is a dangerous place to find yourself. The circumstances may not be about money or giving to others at all, but it could be about holding back a portion of ourselves to God's Spirit that we have made a promise to Him about. This purging that we are starting to experience in the church today is first of all based upon the deceit that we are experiencing in our daily lives. It is about the things we are saying and what we are actually doing in private. The Lord has told us in Matthew 25:31-46 about His judgment on these things. Jesus tells us outright that " Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter into the Kingdom because of the intent behind what they have done and said; even though they have done these things in the name of Jesus.
When you think about it that becomes very significant when it comes to the truthfulness of our intent of heart toward God. I pray that during this time of yeyar we might remember these things as well while we give gifts to one another, and to God. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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