We have a game called Jenga that we like to play.  There are 54 wooden blocks stacked three side by side with each row turned a half turn.  The game starts out with a tower that is 18 rows high.  The object is to take a piece off on of the bottom layers and put it on top without having the tower fall over.  The highest JENGA tower on record stood 40 complete tiers with two blocks into the 41st.  The name JENGA was derived from a Swahili word meaning "to build".  As one can imagine, the tower becomes top heavy as blocks from the bottom are removed and placed on the top.  The tower falls because the bottom becomes weak.

                    I love the church.  Again, when I think of the church, I think of the whole body of people who truly believe in Jesus Christ.  I think of my Christian family.  I think of people who meet together to learn about Jesus and then go their separate ways to live for Him.  Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.

                    I deeply grieve when I see movies or hear stories on the news about “Christians” who do unchristian things.  This last week I heard a news reporter talk about Christians killing Muslims and Muslims killing Christians.  I don’t think the reporter would have distinguished between so called Christian who are truly born again and those who are not.  And it would not surprise me if truly born again Christians were involved.  We are so easily influenced by our culture and circumstances. 

                    I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to do anything that would hurt the church, that would unnecessarily grieve my Christian brothers and sisters.  And I would not want to do anything what would grieve my Savior, Jesus Christ.

                    The church has a job to do.  We are here to glorify God.  We should desire that the reputation of the Palermo Christian Church and of us as Christians be one that would glorify God.  We should be honest in our dealings, avoid backbiting and gossip, speak in such a way that people see, here, and feel the grace of God. 

                    We glorify God when we worship him.  Worship is showing God’s worth.  The worship service that we have is worship if it is a true reflection of what takes place outside the walls of this building.  If in our everyday life we reflect how important God is to us, then the worship service reflects the truth of our life.  But if the words “We worship you, Almighty God, there is none like you...” is not a reflection of our desires and our life, then no worship takes place.

                    We are here for one another.  God has put us into a body, put us into a family, to care for one another.  We are here for one another.  Your involvement in the lives of one another, whether it is in Sunday School, small group, ministry, or around a cup of coffee in your homes, is part and parcel of our purpose for being on this earth, to show love one to another.

                    We are here for the world.  The world stumbles over Christ.  They see a big difference between Christians and Christ. 

                    Where does the world learn about Jesus?  From us.  When we hear such a big disconnect between who Jesus is and who we are, it tells me that we are not getting the job done.  The word ‘gospel’ is ‘good news.’  But many people in our generation are not hearing good news or it they are, the good news is not about Christians; it is only about Christ, and that is distorted.

                    One truth that is evident is that Christianity is pretty well established, especially in America.  If one church goes bad, there is always another.  If one Christian misrepresents Christ, there is a chance that the next will do a better job.  But I don’t think you or I want to be in the church that goes bad or be the person who misrepresents Christ. But it can happen.

                    Last week we looked at one of the most heart-warming pictures of a church in the New Testament.  In Acts 4:31, we find that the Holy Spirit moved mightily in the congregation and the word of God was preached with boldness in the face of persecution.  In the message last week we found that the people were unified.  They were of one heart, one mind and one purse.  The love for people in the church went so deep that people were selling land and houses to raise money to give to the apostles to distribute to needy Christians.  It was an awesome church and an awesome experience.

                    In Acts 5, we find things starting to change.  This is a problem because this is the only church.  The difficulties they face would have ruined the only church, period.  If you think of the long-term ramifications of that, it is staggering.  We would not be meeting today if the church in Acts 5 fails.

                    Let’s take a closer look.

“1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.”

                    Right at the beginning Luke tells us that Ananias and Sapphira were plotting together to lie to the apostles.  They were going to sell the land, but they were going to keep part of it for themselves and not tell anyone.  You say, “How do we know that they were not going to tell anyone?”  Read on!

“3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?”

                    Peter answers that.  He confronts Ananias about a lie.  Ananias would not be accused of lying if he told Peter that he was selling his property and giving half of it to the church to help the needy.  His lie was that he created the impression or said that he was giving all of it.

                    A question I asked was, “How did Peter know this?”  God could have showed him.  The text does not say that, though it was possible.  The man they sold the land to might have told someone how much they bought the land for, so when Ananias came in and said, “See me?  I have sold all my land and am giving the proceeds to the poor!”  Peter looked at what was given and knew immediately it was not the full amount.    Or it could have been that Ananias or Sapphria could have told someone who told someone who told Peter. 

                    Notice what Peter is saying here.  He is not confronting them about their giving.  What made this church so wonderful is that people were volunteering to sell land and give to help others.  They were giving from the heart.  The apostles never commanded them to do this.  No one was looked down on or put under pressure to give.  This whole dialogue is not about money.

                    What this dialogue was about was lying.  It was about creating a false impression.  It was about ruining the Holy Spirit’s work in people’s lives by allowing deception.  If Peter knew they were lying, do you think others in the church knew that as well?  What example is set if Peter does not at least step up and confront the sin.  “But,” I can hear someone say, “you might lose Ananias and Sapphira and their money if you confront them on this issue.  Let it go.”  I will say that the church that thinks it honors God by permitting sin to go unchecked is a church that is beginning to die.  If we lose half the people in the church because we are preaching the word of God, then preach the word of God we must. 

                    Think about this for a moment.  Let’s say we decide not to preach the good news that Jesus died for sinners, but that those who reject God will perish as John 3:16 clearly says.  We don’t want to offend anyone.  Let me tell you what will happen.  We may not offend anyone in this life, but those who perish will ask in the next life why we didn’t warn them to flee from the wrath to come?  It’s like going to the doctor and telling him, “If you give me bad news, I will not come to you any more!”  We expect truth from the doctor, not lies to make us feel good.  The doctor is not helping anyone that he does not tell the truth to.  So also, the church must stand on the word of God, honor and please God first, before it seeks to please people.

                    Notice the real issue here from Peter’s point of view.

What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.

                    The issue was not the money.  The issue was not that he lied to Peter.  The real problem is that this is a lie to God.  This couple was voluntarily giving to God, not to people.  And when they gave to God, the lie they told people was really a lie to God.

                    Which bothers you the most?  Lying to people or lying to God?  I think for most of us, lying to God would create greater fear in our lives.  And that is what happened.   

5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died.

And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

                    What did Ananias die of?  It does not say that God stuck him down with a lightening bolt.  Did he die of a heart attack?  Was his awareness of God so keen that when he heard that he lied to God, fear gripped his heart?  We don’t know for sure.

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?

                    Can you see the attention of the crowd when Sapphira walks in?  They are all holding their breath.  No one speaks to her to warn her.  I am sure she felt that something was amiss, but did not know what it was.

                    Then Peter’s question came.  Her and her husband had agreed on the story.  It was so simple a lie that there was little chance that they would not support one another.  So she says, “Yes, that is the price.”

                    Obviously Peter had heard the whole story of how both of them plotted this plan.  For he says to here, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?”  He knew they were in agreement.  What he is saying to her and to women and men who are Christians is this:  Submission to one another does not mean agreeing to sin!  You have to draw the line in the sand when your spouse asks you to sin and say, “No!”  You cannot enter into any agreement that will 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.” 10 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.

                    She died.  What did she die of?  I don’t know, but Peter knew she would die before she knew it would happen.  Did she have a heart attack?  Was God behind this or was she overcome by the enormity of her sin and brought to the breaking point?

                    We do know the results.  This is the second time they are mentioned.

11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. Acts 5:1-11, NIV.

                    Great fear seized the church.  What did the church experience before this?  Great blessing, great willingness to serve God and help one another.  Now the mood changes and great fear seizes the church.

                    What were they afraid of?  I suggest to you that they were afraid of God.  If two people died after lying to God, what does God think of the lies we say every day.  If these two people died after lying to God, what will God do to us if we disobey his word? 

                    “12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No-one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.” Acts 5:12, 13, NIV. 

                    Why didn’t people dare join them?  Was it because of the fear of the Jewish leaders?  Or were they afraid because of what happened to Ananias and Sapphira? 

                    At a point where the early church could have taken sin lightly and affected the future of the church, God allowed serious measures to keep the church on track.  You see, sin is what brings people and the church down, holiness, living right before God and one another, is what brings the church up.

                    We know of blatant sin that has hurt the church.  We all know stories of pastors who have sinned and caused irreparable suffering among their congregation.  We have heard of fist-fights between deacons, people with guns coming back to a meeting, members embezzling money from the church treasury.  All of these hurt a congregation.

                    But there are more subtle sins we do.  We lie, we create false impressions of our walk with God, we hold back, but act like we are giving all.  What is even more difficult is that others are watching us.  They imitate us, they feed off us, they become somewhat like us.

                    Have you ever noticed that you feed off other people?  If someone comes into a room and is excited, you become excited.  If someone comes into a group with a sour attitude, the whole group is affected.

                    My encouragement to all of us today is to be honest with God.  We need to deal with our sin.  We need to get serious about God.  We need to have enthusiasm about Christ and warm our hearts to his plans and purpose.

                    The early church was characterized by boldness and great joy.  People were born again every week.  Wonderful things were happening because people were open to God.

                    Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you came to our meeting with an eagerness to know more about God?  Wouldn’t it be great if we were asking God, “Give me something today I can use right away for you.”?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all were coming in to worship and say through song what we have been thinking and living all week long!  How great would it be if we committed ourselves to looking like the loving, grace filled people that the world expects us to be.  Can you see what might happen?

                    Selah-----think on this!