The Sermon Peter and His Shadow by David McGee
Mar 17, 2013
Peter and His Shadow (39:37)
Referenced Scriptures: Acts 5:1-16; Matthew 18:1-5
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
Acts 5:1-16
1) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession,
2) and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles‘ feet.
3) But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4) While you kept it, didn‘t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn‘t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven‘t lied to men, but to God."
5) Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things.
6) The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him.
7) About three hours later, his wife, not knowing what was had happened, came in.
8) Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." She said, "Yes, for so much."
9) But Peter asked her, "How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
10) She fell down immediately at his feet, and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband.
11) Great fear came on the whole assembly, and on all who heard these things.
12) By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. They were all with one accord in Solomon‘s porch.
13) None of the rest dared to join them, however the people honored them.
14) More believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
15) They even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mattresses, so that as Peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow some of them.
16) Multitudes also came together from the cities around Jerusalem, bringing sick people, and those who were tormented by unclean spirits: and they were all healed.
Matthew 18:1-5
1) In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"
2) Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them,
3) and said, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
4) Whoever therefore will humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5) Whoever will receive one such little child in my name receives me,
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Today we're looking at and asked chapter five and I I thought maybe I would do again. Continue this series that we been doing on Peter and it is interesting, as is you look back over the messages and perhaps if you would like to listen to them all over again there on the computer on first Assembly of God note with her Assembly of God, that's it. It all okay one member assembly .org barrio barrio. I I just type it up and hit it. I thought the only notable thing, but labor assembly .org and all the sermons are on there so and even even known audio and visual. So you doubly blessed that yes okay enough of that am doubly blessed but John the ideas to follow Peter McKay Peter Peter is a very interesting person and am. I think of him as perhaps a lot like us and he will yell as we go back in with being a little reflective over his life and his calling your thesis uneducated fishermen and Jesus calls them, and you'll like the other disciples. They all have their preconceived ideas about what Jesus is going to do for them, and how that Jesus is this new Messiah and nearly got to set up his kingdom, and there got to be rulers and things like that and I think of that in the context that you and I we have these preconceived ideas about religion about faith about our relationship about church things like that and those preconceived ideas generally stand in the way of what God really wants to do in our life and how then do we challenge those conceptions to get them out of the way so that we can proceed in our faith. They are our faith and our relationship with God seat faith and relationship, not religion, and getting in. It is faith in God forgiveness of God in our life, establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ, so we have Peter now peters this guy now exists impetuous Peter 's good word good combination for him and have this preconceived idea. Like the other disciples that Jesus Bush said the kingdom there Debbie W 's writer left, and they all are jockeying for position while we know that crucifixion came and peters the one who said I never denied Jesus and Jesus all alone tonight. Me three times and it's this type of situation we find Peter just sticking his foot in his mouth and things like that while the resurrection they still are not quite sure what all this means what it means for Jesus to be alive and what it means for them. As followers of Jesus. What they should be doing now they go fishing. Jesus appears to them and feeds them bread and fish along the shore and goes with Peter again over you love me feed my sheep. You love me feed my sheep. Three times he does this with Peter while they comes Pentecost Pentecost is the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is that unique person of the Trinity that is everywhere present, that is, speaks with each of us and to us in our hearts and our minds leads us and it's a challenge because it, we would say what you know Jesus were here. We could hear him, and we can listen to him. We would do that while the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God, and he is the person or persons I think he just doesn't talk to us about the word. He's the one the Holy Spirit of what we know about God. God taught us the misconceptions we have we learned them on ourselves. Now, we took them down generally in a negative context and set them in a direction that separates us from God. What the Spirit does in the word of God brings us to an understanding of God, in which we can apply our faith. Apply the Scriptures to our life. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world, Jesus came to save the world. Jesus is not condemning person are standing on our faults are failures are condemnations. Spirit has come to set us free the spirit of God has come to liberate us that we could become the person that God intended us to be if there were no sin in our life or no separation from God in our life. So God wants to free us up and how we can become that person that God intended us to be without doubts without fears without a condemning spirit without negativity without faultfinding and failures. God wants us to see how that he can work in our life and have faith, which is a belief that God is good to bring good things into our life. And when things don't work out. We believe that God is going to work in those things not working out to bring about good in our life. And so this is the way to God is at work and so we have Peter then peters gone through these all these different misconceptions and him, understandings and denials of Jesus and then empowered of Pentecost and Dan Pierce says up and preaches Jan on Pentecost and declares what has happened as a whole change in Peter 's life becomes transformed the spirit came into Peter 's life and transformed him, and kind of brought together his knowledge of what Jesus was teaching his knowledge of the Old Testament. What he knew, had been a good young supporter and in the synagogue, and he brought all that together and tear began to preach and to teach it and it's like, wow, everything opened up for him, one in today's lesson in math and in chapter five, when Ananias is the fire. Now here's Peter and what has happened in the yearly church is, they have decided you limited yourself. There together every day in their praying in their worshiping together, and people often they believe that Jesus is going to come back quickly if I saw him drop in heaven, and the early flock. Jesus to come back and yells bingo set up his kingdom is using his earthly kingdom. Whenever he gets back so they decided to sell a lot of individuals were selling what they belonged their belongings, their homes and their lands and putting it in to a common pot and every one in the event was a Christian, there was no food in enlarging and things taken out to take care of everybody. So they were summer working on a peer wasn't telling them to do this as individuals without that's what they should do because there were some very poor widows, beggars. They were part of the church and so they were taking care of them. Well, in chapter five we have Ananias and Sophia Roth now addresses the fiber where read about the little bit, but so please see the situation here. We have people who were taking their goods. Their lands selling them and giving them to the church now some of them would give everything and some of them would give a portion of whatever but they would what you put into common banking account. But a man named Ananias and his wife supply rough conniving in this with him. Thanks so the fire in an unlicensed firearm were conniving, we think that means they were scheming and this is Joseph Ira, they were steaming behind the scenes because people who were doing this work on elevated law aren't they really good Christians aren't they really good at what they do look at how they sold everything and put it in the bank so they were conniving, so that was another good that they had the comfort into their life. They were conniving in such a way that it wasn't any good. They sold a piece of land and secretly conniving and secretly are not good words using the same sentence. Okay yup. If you are conniving and doing something secret, you better watch out okay so they secretly kept part of the price for himself and they brought the rest of the apostles and made an offering of it now. It's not a bad thing that they had sold nor was it bad that they had only given a part that was not the problem. The part of the scheming, conniving, was we gave the whole thing, aren't we good will you please look at me with what I gave how good I am. But to fight. Don't you like me think while Ananias is a fire were doing this in order to gain popularity with the church and so we know that well, we've all heard that while you know I don't go to church because there's a bunch of hypocrites over there, well some people like to pretend that they are Christians. That's an active hypocrite is a factor and so there are people who act like Christians Pharm.D., public, and so they pretend to be something they're not as nice as the fire are pretending to be something they're not and will always win. God starts something new like this is that the dispensation of the church. The church age. This is the beginning of the church age, and what we find here is that God begins it with a bang. Okay God, together with a bang and I licensed the fire at all are representative of all those individuals who would go into a church situation pretending to be something they're not and can not being standing secretly to deceive. Now there's a difference between the conniving in secret, and people who are just human again people argument are people who make mistakes but human is not an excuse why you got excuse me understand this is me, everybody's as human eye is not excuse assistance reality, so people will fail. People will make mistakes. There is no one who is perfect as I typed that, but that's okay case you thought somebody was perfect. Are you thought you are perfect. I hate to burst your bubble, but Nagin hasn't happened. You're not perfect, so people are going to fail us. Our faith is not in people. Our faith is in God, and our faith is in God, and everyone were trying to do our best and we fail. Yes, and our people to use that as an excuse not to do their best. Yes see if you're looking for an excuse nor find a poor excuse is good is a good one has no excuses like that. So, Peter, there are miracles of mercy help going on in this in this local church in the early church. There's miracles of helping those miracles of taking care of widows in an envy or friends and people who had no one to take care of them. They come into the church and the church is his newly formed. I mean this is just right on the nose bleeds after Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit and theirs. This is tremendous sweep of the moving of God in a people remembering what Jesus taught and did, and now there's preaching that Jesus is alive and enters all these people who saw Jesus alive after the crucifixion, and they are telling everybody about what they size and fever are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah folder coming out of the woodwork all the people heard about among the people at seeing his miracles all the people who listen to his teachings. & crucified gave up hope. And now there is hope again in the resurrection. And it's true, and so they come together and are celebrating in their worshiping& really caught up in all the good things and diocese of fire and water ride the tide. Ride the tide of them. By the time until I got my billing so what happened. Roger Mannion, prudent plot and peters said. Now, how does Peter know what he's about to say. How does you know this information goes Ananias, condensate and get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part the price of the field. How did Peter know this member. This ignorant fisherman who's never had any formal education. Now is the leader of the early church, and there are thousands coming to the church daily there like five thousand. The one time three thousand and another in tears. The shepherd is the head shepherd of all these people. The other disciples were there and so here's Ananias and fiber coming in, and there is no peers overseeing the coming of the money and an elected Ananias, he says he knew when Ananias had done while in the gifts of the Spirit is called the Word of knowledge where knowledge is there certain facts in the mind of God that God will lead us in on that we had no way of knowing. We used to call it something would thought ESP extrasensory perception. Some women: women's intuition, and then some people just call paranoia, paranoia is I I think you're thinking bad thoughts about me that's not a revelation from God. Again, this is paranoia. The gift of the Spirit is that when you need to know something and you pray about it. The God King had up with that thought in your mind, what is the direction to go. What is happening when I was doing a lot of counseling and must walk quite a lot of counseling of it. I was set therein, and sometimes no talk. Individuals may be going off in the direction and I'm getting everything you know this is right. This is not where it's supposed to go, I'd say you know what about this and they go hunt you know that I sit calmly about this and what happened here who told you whoa, I just know that this is aware of rebelling. This is where we need to go now. Whether it's my ability to see or whether was God at all of him, but there was a way of knowing my mother, my grandmother. My grandmother was a preacher and down, and she didn't shouldn't have a church which he would speak the difference, revival services and things. My grandmother if you work if you don't want to be exposed. You didn't go to church with my grandmother was preaching because my grandmother would be preaching and she would look at somebody and say what you know, what about and she would just call out something that happened in their life or something that they did and no one know about it. It was a sacred thing, and she would just flat out said no or somebody had an illness that much. They hadn't told anyone about and she would call it out of sight but what about Nietzsche once say your liking in the television. They know what you know somebody out there has a problem in and there's the ten million people watching and one of them had this problem, my, my grandmother would go to a person and say you have this problem right in the hunt. You know, word of knowledge well here. Peter has that word of understanding the word of knowledge about Ananias and he says Ananias, how does they can get into you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back the price of the field he was. He knows and he blamed Ananias for allowing Satan to bring this thought into his life to law now is important that we understand lying is that which is deceptive and it destroys Phil, Jacob recognizes the fire is that they die while they die just dropdead in the peer doesn't say what you know you die for this. He said. And then they go while it ended, and that in this case, it's like while that's a pretty extreme consequence were just lying about something. While it represents that whenever we lie. We are, we are telling the truth and ever, and we can't build our love. We can build our lives online, they will destroy us. So we find that ended in this analogy, we know that everybody does live in church doesn't die immediately. Now I want to be blind church where else would you want to lie as a reasonably think about it. If people are liars. One alive in a dozen places available even what he is telling a lie fully notably to make a better one but is he people who are actors, people who are actors want to ask out a part, and they will what they will do whatever it takes to make their part work, so Ananias is an active, and he wants to perform for the community. He wants the community to elevate him to a position of honor, so he's in this for what he can get out of it, so he gives part of and says I give out I gave it all, that's why I gave it all I you look at me and elevate me so whatever it is. Why did you let Satan Satan got a few new secretly kept back part of the before you sold it. It was yours after you sold it. The money was yours. So what got into you to pull a trick like this you don't like to men. You didn't like the men would you like and this is the part that was when I think about our life, our life is something where we're in our life to live before God. We live our life before God, and that we're not here to pretend to be something I'm pretending to be a good Christian. I go to church. I will try to do the right things to see if we cannot be a Christian God 's help. You need God 's help, to live the Christian life elsewhere doing something wrong. We need God 's help to overcome that wrong. If we are wine stealing, cheating whenever breaking the law of God. We need to ask God for forgiveness. We need to ask God to break that habit in our mind in our spirits, and to overcome that weakness inside of us that says we've got to do this in order to present a picture of myself an actor. I am acting out a part, and therefore I am wanting to portray an image sold. Therefore, I want to do whatever it takes to make this actor, sixty, and God is saying is not that way is not that way at all. Be yourself. I know what kind of URI made you while you are yet in your mother 's will. My fourth of July gave you all the abilities and all the cloth you need for your entire life. I'm lying is not going to bring them out. The truth of my word is going to bring them out. I think God wants to bring out the truth then asked Douglas to bring out the life and God was to bring out the best in 's promise to bring out the things that he put inside of us that will benefit our life and the lives of the people around us. I don't want to bring this out. Thomas, but sometimes we feel we have to be enacted where Max the anybody can be an actor whether to work or school or at home it yet. We can be actors all the time presenting something that were not God wants us to believe for the impossible to bring out the qualities in our life that are very much a part of who we are. He doesn't reject those qualities he made, and he makes them, and then his spirit and his word come together to come together with that qualities and then to build that person, not a pretender, but a real person who is a contender, fat wet pretenders were contenders contenders applicant than ever. Okay, so now contending the second that I would want another Scripture. Matthew chapter eighteen. Beginning in verse one, the disciples are wondering who is greatest against the greatest father in heaven. Matthew we are working okay. I can't read my writing for levers, one is the greatest in the kingdom of God. The disciples want to know this. Like I and then he says financier Jesus called over a child. Police stood in the middle of the room and said okay, so what no disciples. There is greatest. They were again looking at Arizona's autonomous duties with gems. I for one of us out and tell us they were greatest among all the rest. What is Jesus did he take the child that is in the room with the child know okay with the child policy child and says I'm telling you what to do for all the less she returned to square one and start over like children. You're not even going to get a look at the kingdom of God. If you don't start your life over like a little child, nothing will work whoever becomes simple and elementary again like this child will rank high in God 's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike when you read see the childlike on my account. It's the same as receiving me. So when you receive this. What I am like a child we call being naïve naïveté means inborn character inborn character. The naïve child inside of us is one that accepts without question. What made me think of this was merely of Jackson with us and I was run over the last week, a week before whatever was not whenever Jackson was downstairs until the church and they were talking about Jesus and his miracles and humor. They are victims. The same study were talking about walking on water. Jesus walked on water. No problem so on. And Jessica 's opposition and super Grover came super Grover kicked super Grover showed up is like no, it is. Jesus was doing this Rolling Stone is super Grover- November shows up and then I even see the naïveté is the endpoint character of trust. I like to become as a little child that simple trust me know please. I know it's hard for us not to talk about rabbits that labor a and how that they can visit every home around the planet and bring everybody hates the first of all it got. I think it's okay for me, this is not doing this is the same, you know, there is a rabbit that lays eggs and their colored eggs and any rate, most everybody's house, but the minimize will basket and least chocolate there to yes with all so anyhow, but I'm thinking that if it is so the idea and it is that whenever we when we look at this. I have a question. There is doubt in our life often comes from faulty beliefs that don't control somehow believes somehow we believe that began justified the means that we all had somehow we have to tell lies the great happiness to our said troubles with this whatever records were growing up because yes, there is an Easter. There is these divine because look at there is a one. Yes we do color eggs in and we do have these Easter egg hunt, but somehow we have to look at this and know the difference between putting them on equal enthusiasm. And people believe because at some point in time, we're going to be responsible for both in the eyes of a child, and the challenge is in our own lives when we are challenged to have a childlike faith to believe something, our first response is what negative I'll adopt a child anymore. Why, because sometimes those childlike beliefs were proved to be invalid. Sometimes those childlike belief are proved to be invalid, and so we don't look at our faith anymore and our faith in Christ to know that God can do miracles in our lives and we we somehow have canceled out this inborn child. This inborn character that's inside of us to believe we canceled that out, because we believed too much in doubt. I didn't have super Grover when I was growing up so but it had invented super Grover Heights Superman and a half we had the superheroes and it's still that type of belief that now this business person can jump tall buildings in a single bound faster than a speeding bullet. Bullet and yell then stopped trains and oh wow, where he lived. Why came from krypton or someplace you know, oh, so there was this end, so inside of us whatever we check I sell to believe the simplistic principles of our belief, which is what they were already there. We don't have to create them. We canceled them out. We canceled them out and whatever we have to do is going on with Ananias of the fiber. We know that Ananias. He wanted to play a part in order to roll it out, ride the tide into the early church and the somehow elevated to a position that his character wasn't ready for. He wanted to be elevated to the position that his character wasn't ready for. And he was going to do it by lying and he died. And if we see and what do people do when they lie. They are generally trying to wide something to appoint to be something that they are not, so they have to lie lying will rob us of life. Why will rob us of life, your life will be built on the truth of God 's work safaris wife convinced and appears as occurred in the Jew. This is what happens, you'll gather at that she died. Is it doesn't matter how many people believe a lie if you originated is not intended to take away the truth and the truth is what wins short of the truth will set you free ally will destroy you, and then as we go on right after this. First, while the work of the apostles many God signs were set up among the people, and many wonderful things done, so there was like this total respect for God. There was this whole expectation that got to do anything until people never miracles gone online on all over the place and they were all met regularly. People got together, these thousands of people got together rightly in the home, there is a remarkable harmony on the Temple porch and named after Solomon is outside of the temple where they worship whether the sacrifices were also noted the people were gathered in. They were singing their songs and praising God and thanking God. But even though people admire them a lot. Outsiders were wary of joining them. There are some people who were coming in from the outside villages, and so on. They had heard of Jesus or whatever they were, little where he was going on, but on the other hand, those that put their trust in the master were added right and left. There were people added to the church daily. They kept hearing about Jesus, seeing what was going on in these people 's lives and being changed. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by, but what over they be touched by Peter 's shadow is that not an inborn character of faith that this holy man who represented God would walk by his shadow would touch them. It was all that they needed to be healed if we said that if we if that happened today, what would happen on that those people are crazy. They believe that the shadows, but I feel that the shadow knows now, as always, we outwitted what happened because we would look at that and discredited and I'm not saying that we have to well, what am I saying. I'm saying that it was kind of us is the ability to believe and trust. And somehow, someway we canceled it out somehow that that naïveté that in their quality of us that inborn character. Character character. Character the quality of the quality of person quality of individual that God created us to be that would trust him in life and in death trust him in difficulties and in good times that part of that God created us inside to be that one who would trust God created us to believe in him because he is our Creator and his spirit was in us the breath of life, and that's how were supposed to live with God 's breath in us that price inside of us is that quality of life and character that trust in front, and we have to teach ourselves not to trust how we teach ourselves not to trust when you know there's a super Grover and then of course peanuts in the Easter Beagle is the least of legally delivers eggs and the there is no what we trust in people and in working with the church. Some bison. They lie to me. You those that happen. But Jesus will never lie to us his word will give us life now and for eternity this forgiveness is complete, I confess my sin. Every sin of my life from now back is forgiven. Never remembered against the again. That's how complete God 's work in us eternal life is not something the date on the calendar out in the future. Eternal life is the quality of life that we live now making a difference. So what we have we have Jesus. We had him walking in our lives, helping us each moment of each day, and that his spirit is alive inside of us that inner character that inner quality, and we may have been hurt in the mapping that may have been challenged and canceled and all that stuff. But it still doesn't mean that we can't believe in. Whenever we begin to believe we begin to see God working in us and starts, father, forgive me price. He forgives us our name is written in his book of life, and we begin the eternal lifestyle. Now about the whereabouts of the super Grover I don't have a Superman, and I don't have a Easter Beagle, but I do have a Jesus that is given to us in the Scripture 's spirit is with us and just as Peter was changed from that fishermen and tour leader of the early church sold to I work you must do in our lives and we don't have to lie or pretend we just allow ourselves to be us, and God will do the molding and the making and the lifting and bringing out of the character say men. Less than seven father, we thank you for your blessing. We thank you Lord for that. The whole we have, and you and the life that we have a new God. We are grateful for that we are safe in the arms of our father that we are forgiven and that you did not come to condemn us. The Lord to come to set us free, and to give us life and the image was abundantly and for eternity. So let us God be receptive as a little child. We trust your word to forgive us, we confess our sin of God, and ask you to forgive us and them within the heart if we have sand in thought, word or deed, Lord, we ask your forgiveness. Bring us peace of God, give us your thoughts. Give us your presence. Take us from this day forward to growing our relationship with you. We pray God your blessing upon our lives for our families, they are spirit, teach us touch us embrace us hold us close to you. We pray in Jesus name we ask you, God bless youToday we're looking at and asked chapter five and I I thought maybe I would do again. Continue this series that we been doing on Peter and it is interesting, as is you look back over the messages and perhaps if you would like to listen to them all over again there on the computer on first Assembly of God note with her Assembly of God, that's it. It all okay one member assembly .org barrio barrio. I I just type it up and hit it. I thought the only notable thing, but labor assembly .org and all the sermons are on there so and even even known audio and visual. So you doubly blessed that yes okay enough of that am doubly blessed but John the ideas to follow Peter McKay Peter Peter is a very interesting person and am. I think of him as perhaps a lot like us and he will yell as we go back in with being a little reflective over his life and his calling your thesis uneducated fishermen and Jesus calls them, and you'll like the other disciples. They all have their preconceived ideas about what Jesus is going to do for them, and how that Jesus is this new Messiah and nearly got to set up his kingdom, and there got to be rulers and things like that and I think of that in the context that you and I we have these preconceived ideas about religion about faith about our relationship about church things like that and those preconceived ideas generally stand in the way of what God really wants to do in our life and how then do we challenge those conceptions to get them out of the way so that we can proceed in our faith. They are our faith and our relationship with God seat faith and relationship, not religion, and getting in. It is faith in God forgiveness of God in our life, establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ, so we have Peter now peters this guy now exists impetuous Peter 's good word good combination for him and have this preconceived idea. Like the other disciples that Jesus Bush said the kingdom there Debbie W 's writer left, and they all are jockeying for position while we know that crucifixion came and peters the one who said I never denied Jesus and Jesus all alone tonight. Me three times and it's this type of situation we find Peter just sticking his foot in his mouth and things like that while the resurrection they still are not quite sure what all this means what it means for Jesus to be alive and what it means for them. As followers of Jesus. What they should be doing now they go fishing. Jesus appears to them and feeds them bread and fish along the shore and goes with Peter again over you love me feed my sheep. You love me feed my sheep. Three times he does this with Peter while they comes Pentecost Pentecost is the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is that unique person of the Trinity that is everywhere present, that is, speaks with each of us and to us in our hearts and our minds leads us and it's a challenge because it, we would say what you know Jesus were here. We could hear him, and we can listen to him. We would do that while the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God, and he is the person or persons I think he just doesn't talk to us about the word. He's the one the Holy Spirit of what we know about God. God taught us the misconceptions we have we learned them on ourselves. Now, we took them down generally in a negative context and set them in a direction that separates us from God. What the Spirit does in the word of God brings us to an understanding of God, in which we can apply our faith. Apply the Scriptures to our life. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world, Jesus came to save the world. Jesus is not condemning person are standing on our faults are failures are condemnations. Spirit has come to set us free the spirit of God has come to liberate us that we could become the person that God intended us to be if there were no sin in our life or no separation from God in our life. So God wants to free us up and how we can become that person that God intended us to be without doubts without fears without a condemning spirit without negativity without faultfinding and failures. God wants us to see how that he can work in our life and have faith, which is a belief that God is good to bring good things into our life. And when things don't work out. We believe that God is going to work in those things not working out to bring about good in our life. And so this is the way to God is at work and so we have Peter then peters gone through these all these different misconceptions and him, understandings and denials of Jesus and then empowered of Pentecost and Dan Pierce says up and preaches Jan on Pentecost and declares what has happened as a whole change in Peter 's life becomes transformed the spirit came into Peter 's life and transformed him, and kind of brought together his knowledge of what Jesus was teaching his knowledge of the Old Testament. What he knew, had been a good young supporter and in the synagogue, and he brought all that together and tear began to preach and to teach it and it's like, wow, everything opened up for him, one in today's lesson in math and in chapter five, when Ananias is the fire. Now here's Peter and what has happened in the yearly church is, they have decided you limited yourself. There together every day in their praying in their worshiping together, and people often they believe that Jesus is going to come back quickly if I saw him drop in heaven, and the early flock. Jesus to come back and yells bingo set up his kingdom is using his earthly kingdom. Whenever he gets back so they decided to sell a lot of individuals were selling what they belonged their belongings, their homes and their lands and putting it in to a common pot and every one in the event was a Christian, there was no food in enlarging and things taken out to take care of everybody. So they were summer working on a peer wasn't telling them to do this as individuals without that's what they should do because there were some very poor widows, beggars. They were part of the church and so they were taking care of them. Well, in chapter five we have Ananias and Sophia Roth now addresses the fiber where read about the little bit, but so please see the situation here. We have people who were taking their goods. Their lands selling them and giving them to the church now some of them would give everything and some of them would give a portion of whatever but they would what you put into common banking account. But a man named Ananias and his wife supply rough conniving in this with him. Thanks so the fire in an unlicensed firearm were conniving, we think that means they were scheming and this is Joseph Ira, they were steaming behind the scenes because people who were doing this work on elevated law aren't they really good Christians aren't they really good at what they do look at how they sold everything and put it in the bank so they were conniving, so that was another good that they had the comfort into their life. They were conniving in such a way that it wasn't any good. They sold a piece of land and secretly conniving and secretly are not good words using the same sentence. Okay yup. If you are conniving and doing something secret, you better watch out okay so they secretly kept part of the price for himself and they brought the rest of the apostles and made an offering of it now. It's not a bad thing that they had sold nor was it bad that they had only given a part that was not the problem. The part of the scheming, conniving, was we gave the whole thing, aren't we good will you please look at me with what I gave how good I am. But to fight. Don't you like me think while Ananias is a fire were doing this in order to gain popularity with the church and so we know that well, we've all heard that while you know I don't go to church because there's a bunch of hypocrites over there, well some people like to pretend that they are Christians. That's an active hypocrite is a factor and so there are people who act like Christians Pharm.D., public, and so they pretend to be something they're not as nice as the fire are pretending to be something they're not and will always win. God starts something new like this is that the dispensation of the church. The church age. This is the beginning of the church age, and what we find here is that God begins it with a bang. Okay God, together with a bang and I licensed the fire at all are representative of all those individuals who would go into a church situation pretending to be something they're not and can not being standing secretly to deceive. Now there's a difference between the conniving in secret, and people who are just human again people argument are people who make mistakes but human is not an excuse why you got excuse me understand this is me, everybody's as human eye is not excuse assistance reality, so people will fail. People will make mistakes. There is no one who is perfect as I typed that, but that's okay case you thought somebody was perfect. Are you thought you are perfect. I hate to burst your bubble, but Nagin hasn't happened. You're not perfect, so people are going to fail us. Our faith is not in people. Our faith is in God, and our faith is in God, and everyone were trying to do our best and we fail. Yes, and our people to use that as an excuse not to do their best. Yes see if you're looking for an excuse nor find a poor excuse is good is a good one has no excuses like that. So, Peter, there are miracles of mercy help going on in this in this local church in the early church. There's miracles of helping those miracles of taking care of widows in an envy or friends and people who had no one to take care of them. They come into the church and the church is his newly formed. I mean this is just right on the nose bleeds after Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit and theirs. This is tremendous sweep of the moving of God in a people remembering what Jesus taught and did, and now there's preaching that Jesus is alive and enters all these people who saw Jesus alive after the crucifixion, and they are telling everybody about what they size and fever are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah folder coming out of the woodwork all the people heard about among the people at seeing his miracles all the people who listen to his teachings. & crucified gave up hope. And now there is hope again in the resurrection. And it's true, and so they come together and are celebrating in their worshiping& really caught up in all the good things and diocese of fire and water ride the tide. Ride the tide of them. By the time until I got my billing so what happened. Roger Mannion, prudent plot and peters said. Now, how does Peter know what he's about to say. How does you know this information goes Ananias, condensate and get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part the price of the field. How did Peter know this member. This ignorant fisherman who's never had any formal education. Now is the leader of the early church, and there are thousands coming to the church daily there like five thousand. The one time three thousand and another in tears. The shepherd is the head shepherd of all these people. The other disciples were there and so here's Ananias and fiber coming in, and there is no peers overseeing the coming of the money and an elected Ananias, he says he knew when Ananias had done while in the gifts of the Spirit is called the Word of knowledge where knowledge is there certain facts in the mind of God that God will lead us in on that we had no way of knowing. We used to call it something would thought ESP extrasensory perception. Some women: women's intuition, and then some people just call paranoia, paranoia is I I think you're thinking bad thoughts about me that's not a revelation from God. Again, this is paranoia. The gift of the Spirit is that when you need to know something and you pray about it. The God King had up with that thought in your mind, what is the direction to go. What is happening when I was doing a lot of counseling and must walk quite a lot of counseling of it. I was set therein, and sometimes no talk. Individuals may be going off in the direction and I'm getting everything you know this is right. This is not where it's supposed to go, I'd say you know what about this and they go hunt you know that I sit calmly about this and what happened here who told you whoa, I just know that this is aware of rebelling. This is where we need to go now. Whether it's my ability to see or whether was God at all of him, but there was a way of knowing my mother, my grandmother. My grandmother was a preacher and down, and she didn't shouldn't have a church which he would speak the difference, revival services and things. My grandmother if you work if you don't want to be exposed. You didn't go to church with my grandmother was preaching because my grandmother would be preaching and she would look at somebody and say what you know, what about and she would just call out something that happened in their life or something that they did and no one know about it. It was a sacred thing, and she would just flat out said no or somebody had an illness that much. They hadn't told anyone about and she would call it out of sight but what about Nietzsche once say your liking in the television. They know what you know somebody out there has a problem in and there's the ten million people watching and one of them had this problem, my, my grandmother would go to a person and say you have this problem right in the hunt. You know, word of knowledge well here. Peter has that word of understanding the word of knowledge about Ananias and he says Ananias, how does they can get into you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back the price of the field he was. He knows and he blamed Ananias for allowing Satan to bring this thought into his life to law now is important that we understand lying is that which is deceptive and it destroys Phil, Jacob recognizes the fire is that they die while they die just dropdead in the peer doesn't say what you know you die for this. He said. And then they go while it ended, and that in this case, it's like while that's a pretty extreme consequence were just lying about something. While it represents that whenever we lie. We are, we are telling the truth and ever, and we can't build our love. We can build our lives online, they will destroy us. So we find that ended in this analogy, we know that everybody does live in church doesn't die immediately. Now I want to be blind church where else would you want to lie as a reasonably think about it. If people are liars. One alive in a dozen places available even what he is telling a lie fully notably to make a better one but is he people who are actors, people who are actors want to ask out a part, and they will what they will do whatever it takes to make their part work, so Ananias is an active, and he wants to perform for the community. He wants the community to elevate him to a position of honor, so he's in this for what he can get out of it, so he gives part of and says I give out I gave it all, that's why I gave it all I you look at me and elevate me so whatever it is. Why did you let Satan Satan got a few new secretly kept back part of the before you sold it. It was yours after you sold it. The money was yours. So what got into you to pull a trick like this you don't like to men. You didn't like the men would you like and this is the part that was when I think about our life, our life is something where we're in our life to live before God. We live our life before God, and that we're not here to pretend to be something I'm pretending to be a good Christian. I go to church. I will try to do the right things to see if we cannot be a Christian God 's help. You need God 's help, to live the Christian life elsewhere doing something wrong. We need God 's help to overcome that wrong. If we are wine stealing, cheating whenever breaking the law of God. We need to ask God for forgiveness. We need to ask God to break that habit in our mind in our spirits, and to overcome that weakness inside of us that says we've got to do this in order to present a picture of myself an actor. I am acting out a part, and therefore I am wanting to portray an image sold. Therefore, I want to do whatever it takes to make this actor, sixty, and God is saying is not that way is not that way at all. Be yourself. I know what kind of URI made you while you are yet in your mother 's will. My fourth of July gave you all the abilities and all the cloth you need for your entire life. I'm lying is not going to bring them out. The truth of my word is going to bring them out. I think God wants to bring out the truth then asked Douglas to bring out the life and God was to bring out the best in 's promise to bring out the things that he put inside of us that will benefit our life and the lives of the people around us. I don't want to bring this out. Thomas, but sometimes we feel we have to be enacted where Max the anybody can be an actor whether to work or school or at home it yet. We can be actors all the time presenting something that were not God wants us to believe for the impossible to bring out the qualities in our life that are very much a part of who we are. He doesn't reject those qualities he made, and he makes them, and then his spirit and his word come together to come together with that qualities and then to build that person, not a pretender, but a real person who is a contender, fat wet pretenders were contenders contenders applicant than ever. Okay, so now contending the second that I would want another Scripture. Matthew chapter eighteen. Beginning in verse one, the disciples are wondering who is greatest against the greatest father in heaven. Matthew we are working okay. I can't read my writing for levers, one is the greatest in the kingdom of God. The disciples want to know this. Like I and then he says financier Jesus called over a child. Police stood in the middle of the room and said okay, so what no disciples. There is greatest. They were again looking at Arizona's autonomous duties with gems. I for one of us out and tell us they were greatest among all the rest. What is Jesus did he take the child that is in the room with the child know okay with the child policy child and says I'm telling you what to do for all the less she returned to square one and start over like children. You're not even going to get a look at the kingdom of God. If you don't start your life over like a little child, nothing will work whoever becomes simple and elementary again like this child will rank high in God 's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike when you read see the childlike on my account. It's the same as receiving me. So when you receive this. What I am like a child we call being naïve naïveté means inborn character inborn character. The naïve child inside of us is one that accepts without question. What made me think of this was merely of Jackson with us and I was run over the last week, a week before whatever was not whenever Jackson was downstairs until the church and they were talking about Jesus and his miracles and humor. They are victims. The same study were talking about walking on water. Jesus walked on water. No problem so on. And Jessica 's opposition and super Grover came super Grover kicked super Grover showed up is like no, it is. Jesus was doing this Rolling Stone is super Grover- November shows up and then I even see the naïveté is the endpoint character of trust. I like to become as a little child that simple trust me know please. I know it's hard for us not to talk about rabbits that labor a and how that they can visit every home around the planet and bring everybody hates the first of all it got. I think it's okay for me, this is not doing this is the same, you know, there is a rabbit that lays eggs and their colored eggs and any rate, most everybody's house, but the minimize will basket and least chocolate there to yes with all so anyhow, but I'm thinking that if it is so the idea and it is that whenever we when we look at this. I have a question. There is doubt in our life often comes from faulty beliefs that don't control somehow believes somehow we believe that began justified the means that we all had somehow we have to tell lies the great happiness to our said troubles with this whatever records were growing up because yes, there is an Easter. There is these divine because look at there is a one. Yes we do color eggs in and we do have these Easter egg hunt, but somehow we have to look at this and know the difference between putting them on equal enthusiasm. And people believe because at some point in time, we're going to be responsible for both in the eyes of a child, and the challenge is in our own lives when we are challenged to have a childlike faith to believe something, our first response is what negative I'll adopt a child anymore. Why, because sometimes those childlike beliefs were proved to be invalid. Sometimes those childlike belief are proved to be invalid, and so we don't look at our faith anymore and our faith in Christ to know that God can do miracles in our lives and we we somehow have canceled out this inborn child. This inborn character that's inside of us to believe we canceled that out, because we believed too much in doubt. I didn't have super Grover when I was growing up so but it had invented super Grover Heights Superman and a half we had the superheroes and it's still that type of belief that now this business person can jump tall buildings in a single bound faster than a speeding bullet. Bullet and yell then stopped trains and oh wow, where he lived. Why came from krypton or someplace you know, oh, so there was this end, so inside of us whatever we check I sell to believe the simplistic principles of our belief, which is what they were already there. We don't have to create them. We canceled them out. We canceled them out and whatever we have to do is going on with Ananias of the fiber. We know that Ananias. He wanted to play a part in order to roll it out, ride the tide into the early church and the somehow elevated to a position that his character wasn't ready for. He wanted to be elevated to the position that his character wasn't ready for. And he was going to do it by lying and he died. And if we see and what do people do when they lie. They are generally trying to wide something to appoint to be something that they are not, so they have to lie lying will rob us of life. Why will rob us of life, your life will be built on the truth of God 's work safaris wife convinced and appears as occurred in the Jew. This is what happens, you'll gather at that she died. Is it doesn't matter how many people believe a lie if you originated is not intended to take away the truth and the truth is what wins short of the truth will set you free ally will destroy you, and then as we go on right after this. First, while the work of the apostles many God signs were set up among the people, and many wonderful things done, so there was like this total respect for God. There was this whole expectation that got to do anything until people never miracles gone online on all over the place and they were all met regularly. People got together, these thousands of people got together rightly in the home, there is a remarkable harmony on the Temple porch and named after Solomon is outside of the temple where they worship whether the sacrifices were also noted the people were gathered in. They were singing their songs and praising God and thanking God. But even though people admire them a lot. Outsiders were wary of joining them. There are some people who were coming in from the outside villages, and so on. They had heard of Jesus or whatever they were, little where he was going on, but on the other hand, those that put their trust in the master were added right and left. There were people added to the church daily. They kept hearing about Jesus, seeing what was going on in these people 's lives and being changed. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by, but what over they be touched by Peter 's shadow is that not an inborn character of faith that this holy man who represented God would walk by his shadow would touch them. It was all that they needed to be healed if we said that if we if that happened today, what would happen on that those people are crazy. They believe that the shadows, but I feel that the shadow knows now, as always, we outwitted what happened because we would look at that and discredited and I'm not saying that we have to well, what am I saying. I'm saying that it was kind of us is the ability to believe and trust. And somehow, someway we canceled it out somehow that that naïveté that in their quality of us that inborn character. Character character. Character the quality of the quality of person quality of individual that God created us to be that would trust him in life and in death trust him in difficulties and in good times that part of that God created us inside to be that one who would trust God created us to believe in him because he is our Creator and his spirit was in us the breath of life, and that's how were supposed to live with God 's breath in us that price inside of us is that quality of life and character that trust in front, and we have to teach ourselves not to trust how we teach ourselves not to trust when you know there's a super Grover and then of course peanuts in the Easter Beagle is the least of legally delivers eggs and the there is no what we trust in people and in working with the church. Some bison. They lie to me. You those that happen. But Jesus will never lie to us his word will give us life now and for eternity this forgiveness is complete, I confess my sin. Every sin of my life from now back is forgiven. Never remembered against the again. That's how complete God 's work in us eternal life is not something the date on the calendar out in the future. Eternal life is the quality of life that we live now making a difference. So what we have we have Jesus. We had him walking in our lives, helping us each moment of each day, and that his spirit is alive inside of us that inner character that inner quality, and we may have been hurt in the mapping that may have been challenged and canceled and all that stuff. But it still doesn't mean that we can't believe in. Whenever we begin to believe we begin to see God working in us and starts, father, forgive me price. He forgives us our name is written in his book of life, and we begin the eternal lifestyle. Now about the whereabouts of the super Grover I don't have a Superman, and I don't have a Easter Beagle, but I do have a Jesus that is given to us in the Scripture 's spirit is with us and just as Peter was changed from that fishermen and tour leader of the early church sold to I work you must do in our lives and we don't have to lie or pretend we just allow ourselves to be us, and God will do the molding and the making and the lifting and bringing out of the character say men. Less than seven father, we thank you for your blessing. We thank you Lord for that. The whole we have, and you and the life that we have a new God. We are grateful for that we are safe in the arms of our father that we are forgiven and that you did not come to condemn us. The Lord to come to set us free, and to give us life and the image was abundantly and for eternity. So let us God be receptive as a little child. We trust your word to forgive us, we confess our sin of God, and ask you to forgive us and them within the heart if we have sand in thought, word or deed, Lord, we ask your forgiveness. Bring us peace of God, give us your thoughts. Give us your presence. Take us from this day forward to growing our relationship with you. We pray God your blessing upon our lives for our families, they are spirit, teach us touch us embrace us hold us close to you. We pray in Jesus name we ask you, God bless you