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Beloved, I am pleased to share with you today the above theme from Acts 5:3. Indeed, we know that Satan has since ceased to be active in his act of corrupting theChurch. The spirit of imitation and the desire to give oneself an appearance of piety led to the lie Ananias and Sapphira. For Peter takes them back with holy indignation and they are immediately struck by the hand of God. Their eternal fate is not in question here. It is a manifestation of God’s government. That is why, under the pretext that we are the objects of His grace, let us not think that God has sin less in horror. For He is holy, and such must be His children (1 Peter 1:13-21).
Then a great fear takes hold of the assistants. It is a feeling that we must also cultivate vis-à-vis the One who reads our most secret thoughts. We note miracles of love performed “by the hands of the apostles” and also show us that it is not enough to admire believers; one must take the step oneself and join the Lord. For in Rev 21:1-8 the timid who refuse salvation are the first to be named among those who are eternally lost.
For one must not tempt the Lord God, put him to the test to know if he is faithful in what he says; it must be believed without proof. This is what Satan wanted to do with the Lord, when He urged Him to throw Himself from the top of the temple, since It is said in Ps. 91:11-12: “For he will command his angels to keep you in all your ways; They will carry you on your hands, Lest your foot hit a stone.” Jesus replied, “It is still written: You will not tempt the Lord your God,” which means, “Thou shat not do anything that would be intended to verify whether what God says is true.”
One must believe what God says because He is the one who says it. And if God had told Jesus to throw himself from the top of the temple, he would have obeyed, and God would have protected him, as the Psalm says. So by obeying God we are protected. For when we disobey, God must bring us back into the path of obedience, making us judge our own will, unless, as with Ananias and Sapphira, the sin committed is death (1 John 5:16-17). This is the sin that a believer can perform, and so serious that he must die under God’s government. Then Ananias and Sapphira are the first example in the Church. For it is the death of the body, as a discipline, and not the salvation of the soul.
“A great fear took hold of the whole assembly and all those who learned these things.” For the Holy Spirit acted not only to form the assembly, but also to purify it from the evil that could be introduced into it. The manifestation of his power produced fear in all. And the fear of God should be enough to preserve evil, without the need to produce it through the execution of judgment.
We read in the Psalms and Proverbs all that relates to the fear of the Lord, especially in fact blessings. For to fear God is not to be afraid of Him; it is to fear to displease him by disobeying him; it is a fear that stems from the love we are loved by God that we love in return. Because the more we love someone, the more we will avoid displeasing him.
So great was the power of the Spirit in Peter that the crippled were brought into the streets on small beds, “that when Peter came, at least his shadow would pass over some of them. And the multitude also of the surrounding cities gathered in Jerusalem, bringing the infirm and those who were tormented by filthy spirits; and they were all healed” (vs. 15:16). This is what is called in Hebrews 6:5 “the miracles of the coming century.” When the Lord establishes His kingdom in glory, the Holy Spirit will act with great power to deliver men from the consequences of sin and the power of the Enemy; we saw an example of this. This activity of the Holy Spirit operating on earth for the reign of Christ, is called “the rain of the last season” (Os. 6:3; Zach. 10:1). That of the first season took place at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon believers only, while at the establishment of Christ’s reign He will come for all and be poured out upon all flesh for the millennial blessing (Joel 2:28, 29). In the meantime, the powerful action of the Spirit by the apostles was a testimony to Christ whom the Jews had rejected and to the Word that the apostles preached. This miraculous action of the Holy Spirit is quite different from that which he carries out in the Church until the coming of the Lord. Its purpose is to build it up by occupying believers with the person of the Lord by means of his Word and by making the gospel proclaimed to the world. The miraculous action of the Holy Spirit ceased to be exercised in the Church from the moment it was established. If it were still practised, it would be in the midst of the pagans.
Peter, in the name of the apostles, formally takes on behalf of God, of Jesus, that of witness, in accordance with the Holy Spirit who, as a seal given to believers, gave testimony in the name of the Savior. However, there is no pride in Peter or his own will: he had to obey God; and he takes his place in Israel again—”The God of our fathers,” he says; —but the place of witness for God in Israel. Gamaliel’s counsel prevails to dismiss the Plans of the Sanhedrin (verses 33 and 35), for God always has His instruments prepared, perhaps without our knowledge, when we do His will; yet they beat the apostles, forbid them to preach, and send them away; and this fact that their persecutors did not know what to do, makes it all the more obvious that their will was opposed to the ways of God. How simple, on the contrary, is the way when one is sent from God and is aware of doing His will! “You have to obey God.”
It is therefore a question of showing that the providential care that God deployed, either miraculously by means of angels or by having men to accomplish his purposes, was exercised in favor of the Assembly, just as his Spirit bore witness and manifested his power there. The apostles, by no means frightened, return happy to be found worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus; and every day in the temple and in the houses they never ceased to preach and proclaim the good news of Jesus, the Christ. However weak they may be, God Himself maintains His testimony.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Sin against the Holy Spirit:
Isa 63:10 But they were rebellious, they saddened His holy spirit; And he became their enemy, he fought against them. Mt 12:31 That is why I say to you: All sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Mk 3:29, but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never obtain forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin. Acts 5:3 Peter said to him, “Ananias, why did Satan fill your heart, to the point that you lie to the Holy Spirit, and have withheld part of the price of the field? (Acts 7:51 Men with stiff necks, uncircumcised in heart and ears! you always oppose the Holy Spirit. What your fathers were, you are too); Ep 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption. 1 Th 5:19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. (Heb 10:29 Of what worse punishment do you think will be judged worthy if he has trampled on the Son of God, who has held the blood of the covenant, by which he has been sanctified, and who has outraged the Spirit of grace, will be considered worthy? 1 John 5:16 If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, that he prays, and God will give life to that brother, he will give it to those who commit a sin that does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death; it is not for this sin that I say to pray.)
- Satan’s evil work(Gen 3:1 The serpent was the most cunning of all the animals in the fields, which Jehovah God had done. He said to the woman: Did God really say: You will not eat from all the trees in the garden?)
-Push to disobedience: Gen 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman: You will not die; 5 but God knows that the day you eat it, your eyes will open, and that you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. (1 Ch 21:1 Satan stood up against Israel, and he excited David to count Israel.)
Accuse the saints: Jb 1:9-11
And Satan answered Jehovah: Is it in a selfless way that Job fears God?
10 Have you not protected him, his house, and all that is his? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his flocks cover the country.11 But stretch out your hand, touch all that belongs to him, and I am sure he curses you in the face.
Inflicts disease: Jb 2:7 And Satan withdrew from the face of Jehovah. Then he struck Job with a malignant ulcer, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.
-Opposes the righteous: Za 3. 1 He made me see Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
-Tempted Christ: Mt 4:1 Then Jesus was taken by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil. (Mt 4:3 The tempter, having approached, said to him: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves.)
Remove the good seed: Mt 13:19 When a man listens to the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away what has been sown in his heart: this man is the one who received the seed along the way.
-Sow the tares: Mt 13:38-39 the field is the world; the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 the enemy who sowed it is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels.
-Ruin the soul and the body: Lk 9:42 As he approached, the devil threw him on the ground, and waved him with violence. But Jesus threatened the unclean spirit, healed the child, and returned it to his father. (Lk 13:16 And should not this woman, who is a daughter of Abraham, and whom Satan had held bound for eighteen years, be delivered from this chain on the Sabbath?)
-Liar: Jn 8:44 You have the devil as your father, and you want to fulfill your father’s desires. He has been a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he utters the lie, he speaks of his own background; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
-Encourage men to sin: John 13:2 During supper, when the devil had already inspired in the heart of Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, the plan to deliver him, (Acts 5:3 Peter said to him: Ananias, why did Satan fill your heart, to the point that you lie to the Holy Spirit, and you have withheld part of the price of the field? 2 Co 12:7 And so that I might not be swollen with pride, because of the excellence of these revelations, i was put a splinter in the flesh, an angel of Satan to and prevent me from taking pride. Eph 2:2 in which you once walked, according to the train of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now acts in the sons of rebellion. 1 Th 2:18 So we wanted to go to you, at least me Paul, once and even twice; but Satan prevented us from doing so.)
-Seek to make men his prey: 1 P 5:8 Be sober, watch. Your adversary, the devil, prowls like a roaring lion, looking for who he will devour. (Rev 2:10 Do not fear what you will suffer. Behold, the devil will throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will have a tribulation of ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.)
- Characteristic of evil:
Stubbornness: Ec 8:11 Because a sentence against evil deeds is not carried out promptly, the hearts of the sons of man are filled in them with the desire to do evil.
-Folly: Ec 9:3 This is an evil among all that is done under the sun, it is that there is for all the same fate; so the heart of the sons of man is full of wickedness, and madness is in their hearts during their lives; after which, they go to the dead. For who is excepted?
-Depravity: Jr 17:9 The heart is tortuous above all else, and it is wicked: Who can know it?
-Extortion and excess: Mt 23:25 Woe to you, hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, and inside they are full of rapine and intemperance.
-Source of all evil: Mk 7:21 For it is from within, it is from the hearts of men, that evil thoughts, adultery, immodesty, murder come out,
Source of unbelief and lust: Hem 3:12 Beware, brother, that someone of you has an evil and unbelieving heart, to the point of turning away from the living God. 2 P 2:14 Their eyes are full of adultery and insatiable of sin; they initiate souls badly strengthened; they have hearts exercised to greed; they are children of curse.
- Harmful plans
Ps 36:5 He meditates on injustice on His bed, He stands on a path that is not good, He does not repel evil. Ps 37:7 Keep silent before the Lord, and hope in him; Do not be irritated against the one who succeeds in his ways, against the man who overcomes his evil designs. Pr 6:14 Perversity is in His heart, He meditates on evil at all times, He excites quarrels. Pr 14:22 Don’t those who meditate on evil go astray? But those who meditate on the good act with kindness and fidelity. Pr 16:30 He who closes his eyes to indulge in evil thoughts, the One who bites his lips, has already consumed evil. Pr 24:8 He who meditates on doing evil is called a man full of malice. Is 32:7 The weapons of the deceitful are pernicious; He forms guilty designs, To lose the unfortunate by false words, Even when the cause of the poor is just. Jer 18:12 But they say: It is in vain! For we will follow our thoughts, We will each act according to the inclinations of our evil heart. Ez 11:2 And the Lord said to me, Son of man, it is men who meditate on iniquity, and who give bad counsel in this city. Mi 2.1 Woe to those who meditate on iniquity and forge evil on their diaper! At the point of the day they execute it, when they have the power in hand.
- The bad guys are full of Deception:
-their words: Ps 36:4 The words of his mouth are false and misleading; He renounces to act wisely, to do good.
-their counsel: Pr 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are only fairness; The designs of the bad guys are nothing but fraud.
-their kisses: Pr 27:6 The wounds of a friend prove his fidelity, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
-their houses: Jr 5:27 As a cage is filled with birds, their houses are filled with fraud; This is how they become powerful and rich.
-their hearts: Mk 7:22 theft, greed, wickedness, fraud, disorder, envious gaze, slander, pride, madness.
From all the above, we note that thespirit of imitation and the desire to give oneself an appearance of piety led to the lie Ananias and Sapphira. But one must not tempt the Lord God, put him to the test to know if he is faithful in what he says; we must believe him without proof. That is why when we disobey, God must bring us back into the path of obedience, making us judge our own will, unless, as for Ananias and Sapphira, the sin committed is at death,for they are the first example of this in the Church. Then, a great fear takes hold of the assistants. And itis a feeling that we must also cultivate vis-à-vis the One who reads our most secret thoughts. We note miracles of love performed “by the hands of the apostles” and also show us that it is not enough to admire believers; one must take the step oneself and join the Lord. Let us develop the fear of the Lord; our prayers support you all in it.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you in a while about “Stephen’s jealousy and accusation of blasphemy. “
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.