Acts: Free from People Pleasing

Well, good morning.

We are studying our way through the book of Acts.

So I want to tell you two stories from Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

And I'll go ahead and warn you the first story is a doozy.

So remember, this first church has become incredibly brave, contagious with joy, bold, and generous.

Incredibly generous heart.

So in Acts chapter 5, we hear about a guy named Joseph who he sells a field that he owned and he sells it, and then he takes all the money, he gives all the money to the church.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

Now that's amazing, fantastic.

What a great model for some of this.

Then Luke, the writer of Acts, says, but there's this other guy, Ananias.

This other guy, he sells a field that he owns, and he gives some of the money to the church, and he keeps some of the money.

Fantastic, we think.

But this guy Ananias, the thing he does is he goes on to tell everybody that he gave all the money.

Right?

We have a word for this.

Lying.

So he said one thing and he did another.

So Peter, the church leader, he says to this guy Ananias, here's what he says in Acts 5, 3 through 4.

But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?

And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?

Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart?

You have not lied to man but to God.

Now the story goes on and it gets strange.

Verse 5.

When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last.

And great fear came upon all who heard of it.

So here's the church's first model for motivating tithing is the model that we're gonna perpetuate in our church, you're just gonna die.

Everybody's gonna be afraid.

Alright, the story keeps going.

It's interesting.

Three hours later, his wife, Sapphira, comes to Peter, verse 8, and Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.

And she said, Yes, for so much.

But Peter said to her, How is that you have agreed together to test 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.

Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her lines.

When the young men came in, they found her dead.

And they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

The word of the Lord.

I mean, that's just weird, right?

Strange.

I've always wrestled with it.

I've wrestled with the story every time I read it.

Because I don't view God like this.

I don't view God as vindictive, especially this side of the cross, where I believe all the wrath of the rightful justice of God toward our sin is absorbed in the cross.

So this story is the, ooh, is I mean, it's it's a strange one.

I'm not always sure what to do with it, but we have a few options.

Here's the first option we can do with a passage like this in this passage.

Option one, we can dismiss the Bible.

Or parts of the Bible.

That is an option.

It's not a good option, but it is an option.

You could just say, I'm not going to read any of the difficult parts of the Bible.

That's very limited, though.

And it's ignoring the way that the Bible's constructed and what we're supposed to do with the Bible, our role toward the Bible, of what the Bible's doing.

Now, when we read any passage of the Bible, we read that given passage in light of the whole Bible.

That helps a lot.

So that when we face an odd passage, an odd story, we're not sure how to fit it in, we think about it in light of the entire story.

And so these apparent exceptions, I would say apparent, because usually it's that we don't quite understand how it fits in or the context or something, the apparent exceptions to the whole story should be overwhelmed by the whole story.

So we read the micro in light of the macro.

And then we have to remember the context when we read the Bible.

These are not modern Western people.

This is ancient Near East thousands of years ago.

Our job is to try as best we can, and it's not easy, is to try to figure out what did this mean to these people at that time.

Now that's called hermeneutics.

So we do hermeneutics all the time.

We do it every Sunday morning.

You do it when you read your devotion.

You do it in a Bible study.

We do it all the time.

And hermeneutics is a very big, impressive word, I can tell you, so you think more of me, which means how to properly interpret the Bible considering its original context.

Because that means a big difference of just taking it and making it feel like what fits Western modern world.

Second option is this for this passage.

These deaths were an act of God.

Now that's the traditional interpretation of this passage.

Now, some theologians think this guy just had a heart attack.

Like he just he was found out and just plop.

She was found out, plop, right?

And think about this early church.

There's just one church.

This is it.

There's not like the Baptist church and the Methodist Church and like us and this old sock factory warehouse, right?

I mean, there's not all these options.

There's just one church.

Right?

One church, one shot.

As Eminem tells us.

You only get one shot.

Do not miss your chance to blow.

This opportunity comes once a lot.

You know I'm talking about it.

But that's what this is.

That's what this is.

It's just there's just one church.

It hadn't spread.

There's not multiple, there's not networks or denominations.

This is it.

Just this one group of people.

This is it.

And so the traditional view would say there's just one church, and God is preserving that church.

Now, I know that doesn't help with the harshness.

That doesn't help with what feels quite vindictive from our point of view.

But I also know this only a high view of God's justice can bring us the relief of God's grace.

God's grace doesn't mean anything unless we have a high view of sin and rebellion and justice.

And then it's like, oh, and yet God loves me?

Oh my God.

Amazing.

Third option is this.

I'm not sure.

I just call that the mystery view.

I think it's a good option.

I think options two and three together work pretty good.

I don't recommend option one.

But just add it to your list of questions that you have for God.

That is a legitimate option for you as a mature, smart Christian.

It is completely okay to say, I'm not, I don't know.

I'm not sure.

I'm not sure.

I have a growing list as I get older.

The greater question as we come out of this is what is this story?

What in the world could this story have to do with us and our hearts?

Point number one is this sin and judgment destroy, grace rescues and restores.

Sin and judgment destroy, grace rescues and restores.

About a year and a half ago, something amazing happened at the New York City Public Library.

From October of 2021 to February of 2022, 90,000 overdue books came in.

90,000.

I don't know if you're up to date on the data, overdue books, but that's a lot.

Like it was an insane amount of overdue books.

And some came back with notes.

One person wrote this.

Enclosed are books I have borrowed.

Borrowed.

And kept in my house for 28 to 50 years.

I am 75 years old now, and these books have helped me through motherhood and my teaching career.

Now, why all of a sudden?

Why all of a sudden this flood of 90,000 books?

Why all of a sudden?

I mean, this change of behavior.

Well, on October 6th of 2021, right before the flood of the books, the New York City public library system eliminated all eight fees.

Just abolished it.

It's gone.

Absolved.

The debt wiped away.

So the sin was real.

People stole books.

Right?

So there was clear destruction of the relationship between the reader and the library.

Clear distance that had been seen in the attendance of library participation.

I mean, some readers hadn't been to the library for years and years and years.

And then all of a sudden the debt is gone.

The judgment was removed.

The library, they absorbed the losses.

Which is what grace is.

Which is what Jesus did on the cross.

Our sin is put upon him.

His righteousness is given to us.

The library decided to be gracious.

You know what happened?

Books returned.

And people began to return to the library.

You know, this is what happened in church, it happens in churches.

All the time.

If a church decides it's going to stop trying to fix people, judge people, punish people, or strong-armed people into groups or discipleship, you know what happens?

People actually feel relieved to be there.

It's an amazing thing.

And if what they hear is the primary message, is the absolution of Christ upon their weary and beat-down, ashamed and burdened guilty souls.

It's amazing what happens.

For you to hear, for me to hear, what Owen said after in the greedy?

We're more broken than we originally thought.

We can confess that because we're more loved by God and Jesus.

We ever dare to dream.

That we are fully known and fully loved.

That grace of God changes us.

This weird story of Ananias and Sapphira shows us when justice is carried out upon our sin.

Without grace, sin and judgment destroy.

But the entirety of the Bible, the story of the gospel, shows us that God's abundant grace to us is relieving and Jesus is enough.

So I can't explain everything about Ananias and Sapphira, neither can you.

But what is clear is the one-way love of God to me and to you really is enough.

Point number two is this we are learning to live in honesty with God and others.

This tragic story happened through dishonesty.

Lies find you out.

That's why we teach our kids.

You know what we teach them?

Liar, liar, pants on fire, right?

Because lies find you out.

They're gonna get you.

Dishonesty erodes trust, which is the building blocks of relationships.

Theologian John Stott says that what Luke's trying to communicate here is that falsehood ruins fellowship.

Falsehood ruins fellowship.

It will in your marriage, your friendships, with your children, co-workers, neighbors, family.

Falsehood ruins fellowship.

Christians in East Africa have a saying, they say, we live in a house without a ceiling and without walls.

Meaning that we're trying, as best we can, we're trying to live with openness and honesty to God, and openness and honesty to each other.

That's a call of being a Christian.

Okay, second story.

These upset religious leaders, they arrested the apostles, they put them in prison.

During the night, an angel comes, opens the doors, and says to the apostles, Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.

And here's where the story picks up Acts 5, verse 24.

Acts 5:24

A bit of reading, I'm going to read down through 32.

Now, when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.

And someone came and told them, Look, the men whom you put in prison are staying in the temple and teaching the people.

Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

And when they had brought them, they set them for the council.

The high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name.

Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

So we're talking about the death of Christ.

Verse 29.

But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins, and we are witnesses to these things.

And so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

So the religious leaders wanted to kill these apostles.

And what we read as Acts 5 plays out is one guy one guy goes, ah, guys.

That always worked out.

Maybe something else.

And so they bring the apostles in.

They just beat them.

Just beat them really bad.

They don't kill them, just beat them, and then they charge them and said, you know, don't speak in the name of Jesus.

Stop this uprising.

You're throwing off the system.

And here's what happens in verse 41.

Then they, the apostles, left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

And every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

So how in the world?

Right, this is the question we keep coming back to when we read this story of this early church.

How in the world?

This is all this story also includes Peter, who was so wimpy there at the end of Jesus' life.

How in the world are they this brave?

Unto this measure of boldness, of a proclamation, obedience to God rather than men, even unto persecution.

And maybe for us, we don't think unto persecution, maybe, maybe not, maybe it's just even unto complete inconvenience, loss of friends, loss of a relationship.

And Peter says Acts 5, 29, we must obey God rather than men.

Point number three is this as we rest in our forever approval in Christ, we grow free from being a people pleaser.

So we could say because of Jesus, God is forever pleased and approves of us, and this actually changes everything else about your life.

Twenty years ago, at the University of Georgia, I had a large economics class, one of those big auditorium classes, huge auditorium, maybe 250 people in there.

And I got in class first day of school and I sat in the top row, top right, back row.

I'm a back row person, back row people.

That's where I would be.

If I wasn't paid to sit up front, I would sit in the back row.

I was the back right, you could oversee everything, quick exit, everything happens.

And then she walked in.

I wasn't married at the time, single, just to clarify.

This girl walked in, she sits down to my left section over.

Oh man.

She was beautiful.

Class ended.

We ended up both exiting out the same door with the chances, right?

We take the same sidewalk down to the Tate Center.

We get on the same bus to go to South Campus.

I can't believe it.

I'm aware of all this.

She's aware of none of this.

Clearly, clearly, why she was aware of none of it.

This is what I'm working with.

Same bus to South Campus.

We get off at the same stop.

We take the same sidewalk into the same building.

Thank you, Lord, for this bountiful provision.

Thank you.

This is my future wife.

I go home back to my roommates, and I tell them the situation that I have here.

This provision from the Lord.

And we formed my plan.

So the next day, come in class, I sit right next to her.

Right next to her.

Start to chit-chat, get her to laugh a few times.

Kind of played cool the rest of the class.

We exit out the same door, same sidewalk, but I'm not buddy buddy.

I'm keeping some distance.

We get on the same bus, still some distance.

We get on the same sidewalk, headed to the same building.

I kind of cruise up next to her.

Oh my gosh.

What are the chances?

We were just together.

And that was it.

We sat together, we walked together, we talked, I got her number, and then I brought her dinner one night.

She had a friend with her.

Now, as a girl dad, now I'm all for this.

Like, like I'm proud of this girl.

Safety first, right?

But I kind of knew what was playing out here.

I'm getting friend zoned, right?

I mean that's clearly what's going on.

But I kept at it.

I kept at it.

I worked so hard for a month.

So hard.

Nothing.

Nothing.

I couldn't cause her to like me.

Nothing.

And then finally just a retreat back over to the top right of the auditorium.

After an exhausting month.

Couldn't cause her to like me.

We do that, don't we?

We do it with a girl, we do it with a boy, do it with a group of friends, you can do it with a neighbor, do it with a boss, just somebody, will this person like me?

Could this person be pleased with me?

You know, do you approve of me?

Do you respect me?

See, like we all need a source.

We're all looking, craving for a source of approval and love.

And if that journey is not rightly placed and our approval from God to us in Christ, we just start looking for it all over the place.

It's exhausting.

1 Thessalonians 2, 4 through 6 says this.

Listen to the motivation for such boldness.

Listen to where the motivation comes from.

Verse 4.

But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, there it is.

So we speak not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.

God is witness, nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

So by living in our already secure approval from God, we actually live for God.

Now, just skipping over to go try to live for God, you will exhaust yourself.

We live from our approval from God.

And out of that we can relate in a calm confidence, a bravery, a boldness, joy grows in our hearts.

We learn to desire godliness and walk in it because of the grace given to us.

Almost 15 years ago, we had our first daughter of three.

Here's a picture of baby number one.

There she is, right there.

We're in the hospital, hours and hours of labor.

And then boom, just like that, baby's not coming, so we're in an operating room, getting a C-section.

She is not me, I'm watching.

And then they pull out that baby right out of the tummy.

Just reach in and just pull out that baby.

It doesn't look like that baby.

Like kind of purpley and gooey.

I look at Tracy and I'm like, we made that.

That's what we did.

And the first thing they do, right?

They go, I mean, stuff, I don't know the, I don't know the terms, lots of stuff going on.

And they cut the umbilical cord, right?

Because her source of life had it was coming from another human being, but for her to be her own being, they had to cut that cord.

See, we can't live and grow or obey when we're constantly attaching our metaphorical umbilical cords to other people.

Here's what my mentor, Scotty Smith, writes about this passage.

We'll close with this.

On one hand, there are people to whom I attach my umbilical cord, metaphorically speaking, and look to them for life.

Their praise is like an elixir of joy, sometimes more so than the gospel, and their disappointment or rejection can taste like a potion of self-contempt, causing me to withdraw, retaliate, or medicate.

Nobody deserves that much power over our hearts.

Because the gospel is true, I can freely confess these things.

Because the gospel is powerful, I have hope for change.

Let's pray together.

God, as we look at this story, we're called towards honesty and our fellowship, openness with you, openness with others.

And we're really challenged of what it means to obey you and not other people.

For our approval is rooted solely in you.

Our justification as the redeemed, our justification is worthy, is only satisfied in you.

Your grace to us, the work of the cross for us.

God, we confess that we as a church and a group of people and as individuals, we can pretend and we can be dishonest.

And we also proclaim that we don't want to be approval sucks and we don't want to be worn out.

So please forgive us.

Help us to grow deeper in your welcome of us and our identity in you.

And with the Holy Spirit do great work this morning.

And our hearts and all the places where we keep seeking to obey men and not you to be pleased by men and people and groups of people rather than you, and may our hearts be wooed by you.

To the great welcome we have in Christ.

The great justification.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.