WEBVTT 00:00:01.269 --> 00:00:05.669 Open our Bibles together today to Acts chapter 00:00:05.669 --> 00:00:09.550 5. While you're doing that, let me introduce 00:00:09.550 --> 00:00:11.970 to you a friend who is here today that I've not 00:00:11.970 --> 00:00:14.890 met before, but he is a friend of some in our 00:00:14.890 --> 00:00:20.010 congregation. Bruce Sider is a missionary on 00:00:20.010 --> 00:00:24.309 deputation under overseas crusades, trusting 00:00:24.309 --> 00:00:26.850 the Lord to return to Central America as a full 00:00:26.850 --> 00:00:29.449 -time missionary. Bruce, would you stand up, 00:00:29.530 --> 00:00:32.850 please? there beside Paul Hubbard. Bruce is the 00:00:32.850 --> 00:00:36.850 one who led the missions trip last winter, wasn't 00:00:36.850 --> 00:00:41.170 it? In December, Paul went on in Guatemala and 00:00:41.170 --> 00:00:45.810 El Salvador. We heard lots about that trip and 00:00:45.810 --> 00:00:47.710 it felt like a great time. Good to have you here 00:00:47.710 --> 00:00:49.429 today. I think you ministered in our college 00:00:49.429 --> 00:00:51.469 small church this morning too, is that right? 00:00:52.149 --> 00:00:59.200 Good to have you. For our reading we will begin 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.819 back in chapter 4 with verse 36. Joseph, a Levite 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:08.299 of Cyprian birth who was also called Barnabas 00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:12.260 by the apostles, which translated means son of 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:15.599 encouragement, and who owned a tract of land, 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.599 sold it and brought the money and laid it at 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:23.799 the apostles' feet. But a certain man named Ananias 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:26.819 with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:30.659 and kept back some of the price for himself with 00:01:30.659 --> 00:01:34.140 his wife's full knowledge. And bringing a portion 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:38.400 of it, he laid it at the apostle's feet. But 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:41.959 Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.439 heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:48.719 some of the price of the land? While it remained 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:52.060 unsold, did it not remain your own? And after 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:55.730 it was sold, was it not under your control? Why 00:01:55.730 --> 00:01:58.329 is it that you have conceived this deed in your 00:01:58.329 --> 00:02:02.090 heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:07.870 As he heard these words, Ananias fell down and 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:11.949 breathed his last, and great fear came upon all 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:14.930 who heard of it. And the young men arose and 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:18.250 covered him up, and after carrying him out, they 00:02:18.250 --> 00:02:21.719 buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:24.379 about three hours and his wife came in not knowing 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:28.159 what had happened And Peter responded to her 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.919 tell me whether you sold the land for such and 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:34.659 such a price And she said yes, that was the price 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:38.479 Then Peter said to her why is it that you have 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.520 agreed together? To put the spirit of the Lord 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:44.639 to the test Behold the feet of those who have 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:47.080 buried your husband are at the door and they 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:51.090 shall carry you out as well and she fell immediately 00:02:51.090 --> 00:02:54.250 at his feet and breathed her last. And the young 00:02:54.250 --> 00:02:57.669 men came in and found her dead, and they carried 00:02:57.669 --> 00:03:00.969 her out and buried her beside her husband. And 00:03:00.969 --> 00:03:03.990 great fear came upon the whole church and upon 00:03:03.990 --> 00:03:08.509 all who heard of these things. Our Heavenly Father, 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:13.270 we pray that you would open our ears and that 00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:17.169 the Spirit of the Lord would show us the things 00:03:17.169 --> 00:03:21.770 of Christ. in this text, and we pray this in 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:27.969 Jesus' name, amen. Our text this morning portrays 00:03:27.969 --> 00:03:34.550 a startling, vivid contrast of characters. Certainly 00:03:34.550 --> 00:03:37.569 there is a thread of similarity which ties them 00:03:37.569 --> 00:03:41.849 together. All of the parties involved were professing 00:03:41.849 --> 00:03:45.889 Christians and were also members of the Jerusalem 00:03:45.889 --> 00:03:51.310 Church. All likewise were landowners who sold 00:03:51.310 --> 00:03:55.490 land in order to give proceeds to the leaders 00:03:55.490 --> 00:03:59.849 of the church for distribution to the poor among 00:03:59.849 --> 00:04:05.969 them. But the real story, the real lesson intended 00:04:05.969 --> 00:04:10.009 by the Holy Spirit in recording this is found 00:04:10.009 --> 00:04:13.650 in the contradistinction, in the contrast of 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:17.670 the parties involved. On the one hand, we have 00:04:17.670 --> 00:04:23.029 a husband and wife who are characterized by brazen, 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:28.949 calculated, premeditated hypocrisy. And on the 00:04:28.949 --> 00:04:34.389 other hand, we have a man, Barnabas, characterized 00:04:34.389 --> 00:04:39.449 by glistening, quiet, Christ -like integrity. 00:04:41.110 --> 00:04:45.949 The former, that is, hypocrisy, is a self -destructive 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:51.050 weapon. For the latter, integrity, is a mighty 00:04:51.050 --> 00:04:56.490 tool in the hand of God. Integrity in one's life 00:04:56.490 --> 00:05:01.269 is absolutely essential if God's blessing is 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:05.490 desired. And who of us would say we do not desire 00:05:05.490 --> 00:05:11.670 the blessing of God? If we want it then, it absolutely 00:05:11.670 --> 00:05:17.230 requires integrity. in our lives. Until we ask 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:20.949 the question, what is integrity? How is it defined? 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:26.290 Webster's dictionary says this, the quality or 00:05:26.290 --> 00:05:31.709 state of being sound in moral principles, uprightness, 00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:38.310 honesty, and sincerity. A good definition, but 00:05:38.310 --> 00:05:42.509 how does that look in real life? What does a 00:05:42.509 --> 00:05:46.149 person look like who is characterized by integrity? 00:05:47.649 --> 00:05:49.750 Well, it seems to me that in our text today there 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:52.670 are two elements of integrity that are revealed 00:05:52.670 --> 00:05:57.470 to us. The first one is that integrity means 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:03.370 being responsive to needs. Being responsive to 00:06:03.370 --> 00:06:09.490 needs. So the context of our text is this. Among 00:06:09.490 --> 00:06:12.069 the many thousands of people being converted 00:06:12.069 --> 00:06:17.350 to the Christian faith, there were truly needy 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:21.290 people. The immediate response of those who had 00:06:21.290 --> 00:06:25.230 the means to do so was to provide for those needy. 00:06:26.089 --> 00:06:29.889 We see in verse 34 the result of that. There 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:33.970 was not a needy person among them. For all who 00:06:33.970 --> 00:06:36.410 were owners of land or houses would sell them 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:39.449 and bring the proceeds of the sale. and lay them 00:06:39.449 --> 00:06:42.949 at the apostle's feet, and they would be distributed 00:06:42.949 --> 00:06:48.389 to eat as any had need." Our text then provides 00:06:48.389 --> 00:06:53.170 a specific example of one man, one man who did 00:06:53.170 --> 00:06:56.829 exactly what those verses just said. His name, 00:06:57.550 --> 00:07:03.310 Barnabas. Now why is he mentioned here? I think 00:07:03.310 --> 00:07:05.629 there are a couple of reasons why Barnabas is 00:07:05.629 --> 00:07:08.509 chosen. In the first place, Barnabas will later 00:07:08.509 --> 00:07:12.750 in this book become a main figure in its narrative. 00:07:13.529 --> 00:07:16.670 And Luke, being the good author and careful historian 00:07:16.670 --> 00:07:20.509 that he was, carefully planted the seeds about 00:07:20.509 --> 00:07:23.829 Barnabas early on in the book before he actually 00:07:23.829 --> 00:07:27.029 comes to the front of the stage in the narrative. 00:07:28.670 --> 00:07:32.269 But secondly, Barnabas illustrates the sterling 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:36.389 character of a disciple who genuinely follows 00:07:36.569 --> 00:07:40.529 the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we learn some things 00:07:40.529 --> 00:07:46.529 about him in verses 36 and 37. He was born on 00:07:46.529 --> 00:07:51.350 Cyprus. He was not native to Palestine. Cyprus 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:56.069 is an island in the north and eastern part of 00:07:56.069 --> 00:08:00.089 the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, we see that 00:08:00.089 --> 00:08:04.540 he was of Levi's ancestry. He was... of the family 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:10.279 of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob. As a Levite, 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:13.839 he was among those who were given responsibility 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:17.680 for the tabernacle, later the temple. They had 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:21.220 religious duty to care for the needs of that 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:25.879 place. Furthermore, originally the Levites were 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:31.959 not given land. God said, I am the inheritor 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:37.100 of the Levites. They don't need land. However, 00:08:37.139 --> 00:08:39.899 by the time the captivity occurred, which was 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:44.820 600 years or so before this record in the Book 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:48.379 of Acts, it was common for the Levites to own 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:52.899 land nonetheless. And we see here that Barnabas 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:58.740 owned a tract of land. His given name was Joseph. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:04.100 Very common. But his nickname was Barnabas. The 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:06.679 believers, and especially the apostles as seen, 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:11.620 enjoyed calling him by his nickname because that 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:16.700 name means son of encouragement. When you see 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:22.519 the word bar or the prefix bar in a name that 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:28.259 means son of, so he was the son of encouragement 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:30.980 or consolation. And it's interesting that whenever 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:33.700 you see this man in the book of Acts... He is 00:09:33.700 --> 00:09:36.919 encouraging somebody. A little bit later on, 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:39.799 right after the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:42.620 when no one would believe him and trust him. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:48.080 It is Barnabas who first extended his hand to 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:53.419 Saul as a friend. It introduced him as a brother 00:09:53.419 --> 00:09:56.840 and encouraged other believers to trust in him. 00:09:58.700 --> 00:10:01.360 And then a little bit after that, it is Barnabas 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:04.919 who has seen, along with Saul, taking some goods 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:08.139 from the church in Antioch down to the church 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:11.019 in Jerusalem because they at that time would 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:16.960 again have needs. And then we see him trying 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.100 to give his nephew, John Mark, a second chance 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:23.220 in ministry. I think you recall what happened. 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:29.379 He accompanied Barnabas and Saul. later called 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:32.980 Paul on their first missionary journey, and he 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:36.120 flunked out. He didn't make it. He went back 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.019 home. He didn't go with them to the work. It's 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:43.779 the way that the book says it. And because of 00:10:43.779 --> 00:10:45.639 that, when the second missionary journey was 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:48.360 being arranged, Paul refused to take John Mark 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:52.720 along. But Barnabas wanted to give him a second 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.620 chance, another opportunity to serve the Lord, 00:10:55.759 --> 00:11:00.549 and he did. So Barnabas is a man who is an encourager. 00:11:01.309 --> 00:11:03.629 He's a man who is responsive to the needs of 00:11:03.629 --> 00:11:08.850 others. He is a man of integrity. A man of integrity 00:11:08.850 --> 00:11:14.149 uses the ability that he has to respond to others 00:11:14.149 --> 00:11:18.970 in their genuine need. Now, how can we apply 00:11:18.970 --> 00:11:21.149 that to our lives? Well, I think that that's 00:11:21.149 --> 00:11:25.690 very obvious. That if we today intend to be men 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:29.169 and women of integrity, It means we must get 00:11:29.169 --> 00:11:34.710 our hands dirty. It means that we must make sacrifices 00:11:34.710 --> 00:11:40.629 to do what is necessary to get involved, to ease 00:11:40.629 --> 00:11:43.690 the hurt, to comfort the grief, to supply the 00:11:43.690 --> 00:11:47.549 want, to give for the needs of others around 00:11:47.549 --> 00:11:52.149 us. For any of us to perceive the crisis in another 00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:58.230 life is to take action. if in fact we are people 00:11:58.230 --> 00:12:02.990 of integrity. Now why is that? Because we know 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:07.269 something of the love of Jesus Christ. The Lord 00:12:07.269 --> 00:12:11.610 Jesus Christ came into this world because of 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:14.450 His great love for us and His desire to meet 00:12:14.450 --> 00:12:20.330 our needs that we might be saved. And now that 00:12:20.330 --> 00:12:23.389 we have trusted Him as Savior, that love is implanted 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:28.340 in us and it compels us to do for others as Christ 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:32.960 has done for us. Turn to the words of the apostle 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:43.399 of love, John, in 1 John chapter 3. In this third 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.779 chapter, John is contrasting the children of 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:50.299 the world, the unsaved, with the children of 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:57.179 God, the saved. He says in verse 13, Do not marvel, 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:00.820 brethren, if the world hates you. By the world, 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:05.419 he's talking about that evil system which controls 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:08.419 and manipulates the unregenerate people in our 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:12.860 world, a world system which is very, very strong 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:16.899 and organized. Now he says, don't be surprised 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:20.700 if that world system and those people who are 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:26.009 captivated by it hate you. We know that we have 00:13:26.009 --> 00:13:28.789 passed out of death into life because we love 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:34.649 the brethren He who does not love abides in death 00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:37.549 But he's saying there that if there is not love 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:40.730 in a person who professes to be a Christian That 00:13:40.730 --> 00:13:45.850 in fact his profession is empty Because one who 00:13:45.850 --> 00:13:49.850 knows Jesus Christ has love in him he says in 00:13:49.850 --> 00:13:53.870 verse 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a 00:13:53.870 --> 00:13:58.470 murderer. He follows in the train of Cain and 00:13:58.470 --> 00:14:02.450 Satan mentioned in previous verses. And you know 00:14:02.450 --> 00:14:05.730 that no murderer has eternal life abiding in 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:11.470 him. We know love by this, that he laid down 00:14:11.470 --> 00:14:14.970 his life for us, and we ought to lay down our 00:14:14.970 --> 00:14:19.980 lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:23.539 goods and beholds his brother in need and closes 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:26.940 his heart against him, how does the love of God 00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:32.279 abide in him? Little children, let us not love 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:36.960 with word or with tongue, but indeed in truth. 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:41.340 We shall know by this that we are of the truth, 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:46.980 and shall assure our heart before him. the assurance 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:50.799 of salvation should not come to you and me because 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.320 sometime way back whenever we bowed our knees 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:59.279 and prayed a prayer. Assurance of salvation really 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.259 is not found either in a baptismal certificate 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:08.139 or some indication of church membership. The 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:12.190 assurance of salvation is found in this. the 00:15:12.190 --> 00:15:15.610 fruit of Jesus Christ in our lives. Here he talks 00:15:15.610 --> 00:15:21.730 about love. He says, if we say that we love our 00:15:21.730 --> 00:15:25.490 brothers, but we do not have integrity to be 00:15:25.490 --> 00:15:29.049 responsive to their needs, there is reason to 00:15:29.049 --> 00:15:32.649 question whether we are genuinely converted. 00:15:34.450 --> 00:15:37.750 And so he exhorts us, don't love just with your 00:15:37.750 --> 00:15:43.440 tongue or in word, but with actions. truthfully. 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:46.960 And he says, from that we will know that we're 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.860 in the truth and our hearts will be assured before 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:54.600 God. To know a need and have within oneself the 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:58.419 ability to do something about it. And then to 00:15:58.419 --> 00:16:02.980 ignore the situation is to expose an absence 00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:08.539 of integrity in one's life. Integrity means that 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:11.480 I do what is needed in order to meet the needs. 00:16:11.710 --> 00:16:17.549 in someone else's life. Do you want God's best? 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:21.389 Of course you do, as one of God's children. That 00:16:21.389 --> 00:16:25.269 if we want God's best, integrity is required. 00:16:25.889 --> 00:16:29.269 And integrity means being responsive to the needs 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:35.570 of other people. There is a second element that 00:16:35.570 --> 00:16:38.230 is involved in real integrity, and that is being 00:16:38.230 --> 00:16:41.720 honest with God and with others. I want you to 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.980 notice that that is involved in our text, and 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:47.240 it's really the bulk of the text that we read 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:51.980 this morning. We have in the part of Barnabas 00:16:51.980 --> 00:16:56.480 an example of a man of integrity who was responsive 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:58.659 to the point of selling his property and giving 00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:02.059 his money away so that he could meet the needs 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:09.069 and the lives of others. Integrity also means 00:17:09.069 --> 00:17:11.450 being honest and actually what we have in our 00:17:11.450 --> 00:17:16.390 text is a contrast in the illustration for it's 00:17:16.390 --> 00:17:20.569 found in the lives of Ananias and Sapphira. You 00:17:20.569 --> 00:17:26.730 see Ananias and Sapphira also saw the need. They 00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:29.049 saw that there were people who were poor among 00:17:29.049 --> 00:17:33.869 them. They saw in addition to that the acclaim 00:17:33.869 --> 00:17:37.049 that apparently came to Barnabas and the others 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:40.789 who sold things and gave their money to the poor, 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:45.589 and they wanted some of that applause. In addition 00:17:45.589 --> 00:17:47.670 to all of that, it seems that they wanted to 00:17:47.670 --> 00:17:50.109 keep some of the money for their own purposes. 00:17:51.089 --> 00:17:54.589 And so to accomplish all of this, they agreed 00:17:54.589 --> 00:18:00.029 upon a scheme. Now the narrative here seems to 00:18:00.029 --> 00:18:03.829 fall out in four parts. Part one is the deceit, 00:18:03.849 --> 00:18:08.829 verses one and two. Ananias and Sapphira sold 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:12.329 the property and Ananias took some of the money 00:18:12.329 --> 00:18:16.130 for himself. The word kept back in verse 2 means 00:18:16.130 --> 00:18:22.230 he embezzled it. He kept it back for himself, 00:18:23.150 --> 00:18:25.369 his wife being fully aware of what was taking 00:18:25.369 --> 00:18:30.430 place. And then he brought a portion of the proceeds 00:18:30.430 --> 00:18:35.359 and he laid it at the apostles' feet. That means 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:40.519 he put it at their disposal. But in doing that, 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:44.740 he was a deceiver because he pretended to give 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:48.259 all of it when in fact he only gave a portion 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:52.980 of it. Please understand that the sin of Ananias 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:56.559 and Sapphira was not in keeping some of the money. 00:18:57.099 --> 00:18:59.200 Even Peter says, while it was in your power you 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.980 could do with it what you wanted. But the sin 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:06.759 of an anastasis of fire was in keeping some of 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:10.880 it and pretending to give all of it. That made 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:15.059 them hypocrites. And so we have the record of 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:20.759 the first two hypocrites of the Church. These 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:24.200 two tried to appear more spiritual than they 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:30.259 actually were. What is a hypocrite? The word 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:35.019 hypocrite in the Greek means a stage actor. The 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:41.759 verb means to reply or to give an answer. It 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.359 was used in that day of a person who would be 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:51.259 involved in a dramatic presentation. He would 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:56.819 have several masks for his use. And according 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:59.180 to the part that he played, he would pick the 00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:02.099 appropriate mask up and put it over his face 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:06.579 and change his voice. When that part was done, 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:08.799 he would put that mask down, pick up another 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:11.400 mask, put it over his face, change his voice, 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:16.480 and play the next part. That was the common way 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:20.559 of acting in that day. Thus, this word hypocrite 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:25.740 referred to stage actors. It is used, however, 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:28.839 in the Bible with a spiritual connotation that 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:34.200 is negative. It is used to refer to one who is 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:38.960 putting on an act, who is not living consistently 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:43.619 with what he really is on the inside. The Lord 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:47.519 Jesus, in fact, used this term. Turn back with 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:51.230 me to Matthew chapter 6. Notice that he used 00:20:51.230 --> 00:20:54.069 it exactly in the same way that it's being used 00:20:54.069 --> 00:21:05.029 in the context of Acts 5. In Matthew chapter 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:08.890 6 and verse 5, the Lord Jesus says, and when 00:21:08.890 --> 00:21:13.150 you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites. 00:21:13.630 --> 00:21:16.349 He's talking here about the religious leaders 00:21:16.349 --> 00:21:22.480 of that day. primarily the Pharisees. He says 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.660 they loved to stand and pray in the synagogues 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:31.319 and on the street corners in order to be seen 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:36.339 by men. Now notice that. Their desire is to put 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:41.799 on this show, this play, this drama. And so they 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:44.700 acted out something that was not genuine with 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:50.220 their hearts. Go down a few verses to verse 16. 00:22:03.099 --> 00:22:07.500 You see the emphasis is on the outward, upon 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:11.259 that which is seen. And so it is with the hypocrites 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:19.460 of Acts chapter 5. this money so that they could 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:26.259 also have the reputation of a Barnabas. They 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:29.900 gave a portion of what they had received and 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:33.680 pretended that it was all. That was their deceit. 00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:37.519 We notice then Peter's discernment, verses 3 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:42.400 and 4. God gave Peter this insight. It was quite 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:47.730 a confrontation. Peter did not say, thank you. 00:22:48.170 --> 00:22:51.670 He simply said, Ananias. Therefore he was known, 00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:56.049 you see. He was among them. He was not a stranger. 00:22:57.589 --> 00:23:00.250 Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the 00:23:00.250 --> 00:23:04.069 Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price 00:23:04.069 --> 00:23:07.710 of the land? Again, the word embezzled is used 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:11.210 in verse 3, keep back. You embezzled some of 00:23:11.210 --> 00:23:16.019 this for yourself. While it remained unsold, 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:19.420 did it not remain your own? After it was sold, 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.680 was it not under your control? Why is it that 00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:26.240 you have conceived this deed in your heart? You've 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.519 not lied to men, but to God. There's quite a 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.240 confrontation, and other people were around. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:37.220 It was a stripping of this man. It was an exposing 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:44.839 of his real deed and his heart. This was done 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:50.500 in other times in the Bible. For example, when 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:54.319 Nathan went before King David, pointed his finger 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.880 in David's face and said to him, you are the 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:01.839 man. And there before all of his court, David 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:06.619 in his sin was exposed. There is a lesson to 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:10.240 be learned here, and it's this, that sin is always 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:14.490 exposed. in one way or another. As the book of 00:24:14.490 --> 00:24:18.170 Numbers tells us, be sure your sin will find 00:24:18.170 --> 00:24:24.609 you out. We can cover it for a time. We can pretend 00:24:24.609 --> 00:24:28.150 and be hypocrites for a period. But there comes 00:24:28.150 --> 00:24:32.690 a day for all of us when our sin will be exposed. 00:24:34.269 --> 00:24:37.109 Is it not interesting, to say the least, to notice 00:24:37.109 --> 00:24:42.059 in verse 3 that Peter says you have been empowered 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:46.799 by Satan. Satan has filled your heart. The word 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:49.180 filled there is the same word as back in chapter 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:52.259 4 verse 31 for the filling of the Holy Spirit. 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:58.200 He suggests to us there that just as the Holy 00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:02.480 Spirit had empowered the believers earlier, so 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:07.299 now Satan had empowered Ananias, this man who 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:11.819 was at least a professing Christian. That does 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:14.279 not mean that the sin was totally from Satan. 00:25:15.099 --> 00:25:19.920 The scheme seems to have been hatched in the 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:26.200 heart of Ananias and his wife. But once the sin 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:31.819 was there and began to be developed, Satan empowered 00:25:31.819 --> 00:25:38.819 it so that it could be brought to pass. Beware 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:43.519 of that, my fellow believer. For when sin takes 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.480 root in our lives and we do not deal with it, 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:51.079 it is possible for Satan to empower us and to 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:56.500 bring about that sin and its awful fruit in us. 00:26:04.059 --> 00:26:07.400 In verse 4, he says, you have lied to God. What 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:11.960 does that tell us? It tells us that the Holy 00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:15.680 Spirit is God. There are people who try to teach 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.079 us that the Holy Spirit is but an influence, 00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:22.480 and they like to use a small s in their translations 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:25.539 of the Bible when the Holy Spirit is mentioned. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.619 My friend, when you lie to the Holy Spirit, you've 00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:33.480 lied to God because the Holy Spirit is God. When 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:36.180 you run up against somebody who denies the deity 00:26:36.180 --> 00:26:39.039 of the Holy Spirit, here's one text you can use 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:44.400 to argue against their false teaching. He further 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:47.980 says about their sin in verse 9, why is it you 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:50.859 have agreed together to put the Spirit of the 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:56.559 Lord to the test? That is strong language. He 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:01.569 is saying, you have presumed to sin. against 00:27:01.569 --> 00:27:05.910 the holiness of God. And so this husband and 00:27:05.910 --> 00:27:08.869 wife are absolutely exposed before everybody 00:27:08.869 --> 00:27:15.529 for their hypocrisy. Verses 5 through 10 talk 00:27:15.529 --> 00:27:22.109 about their death. After Peter had spoken to 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:25.049 Ananias, he says in verse 5 that he heard the 00:27:25.049 --> 00:27:30.569 words and then immediately he fell dead. Right 00:27:30.569 --> 00:27:34.910 there in the front of everybody, he died, smitten 00:27:34.910 --> 00:27:40.890 of God. He breathed out his last. You would expect 00:27:40.890 --> 00:27:44.029 Dr. Luke to use a medical term, and he does. 00:27:44.470 --> 00:27:47.710 This is a Greek medical term. It means to expire, 00:27:48.170 --> 00:27:52.750 in verse 5. So the young men arose and covered 00:27:52.750 --> 00:27:55.049 him up. Again, it's a medical term. It means 00:27:55.049 --> 00:27:59.319 to wrap or to bandage. They took him out. They 00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:04.900 buried him. And three hours went by. Now, why 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:10.299 his wife had not heard about the death, we do 00:28:10.299 --> 00:28:12.259 not know. Where she had been for those three 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:15.700 hours, scripture does not say. But the fact is 00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:18.640 that she came in ignorant of what had happened. 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:23.779 And so Peter immediately asked her to confirm 00:28:23.779 --> 00:28:28.000 or to deny what her husband had said. And she 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.420 confirmed the lie. And Peter said to her, why 00:28:32.420 --> 00:28:36.099 is it that you have agreed together? And verse 00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:42.099 10, she fell immediately at his feet and expired, 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:46.140 breathed her last. Now there are a couple of 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:48.839 things to say about this. Number one, this is 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:57.210 not church discipline. God never gave the church 00:28:57.210 --> 00:28:59.089 in the first place the right to kill anybody 00:28:59.089 --> 00:29:03.990 He has given the sword to the government Romans 00:29:03.990 --> 00:29:08.089 13 But not to the church probably a very good 00:29:08.089 --> 00:29:12.529 thing This is not church discipline what this 00:29:12.529 --> 00:29:17.269 is is the direct action of God it is divine judgment 00:29:17.269 --> 00:29:22.210 it is his intervention immediately into the facts 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:27.460 His exposing of them and dealing drastically 00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:32.859 with them You say well, why did this happen here? 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:35.740 Well all of us can thank God that this is not 00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:39.819 the norm for this age Because if God dealt with 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:41.960 every hypocrite in the church like he dealt with 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:45.299 the first two this room will be empty this morning 00:29:45.299 --> 00:29:49.539 Because all of us to some degree at some time 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:53.000 or another have played the part haven't we? So 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:56.119 we can thank God that He is merciful and gracious, 00:29:56.180 --> 00:29:58.700 but then the question comes, why did He deal 00:29:58.700 --> 00:30:02.440 with these two so severely? I think the best 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:05.819 answer to that is that it took place in a transitional 00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:10.640 period. What we see here is an illustration of 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:14.880 the way that God will deal with sin immediately 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:19.619 in the coming kingdom when the Lord Jesus Christ 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:24.309 rules on the earth. Isaiah 65 -20 intimates that, 00:30:24.509 --> 00:30:25.849 but rather than turning there, I'd like you to 00:30:25.849 --> 00:30:34.269 go back to Revelation chapter 19. Here we have 00:30:34.269 --> 00:30:37.509 the second coming of the Lord Jesus described. 00:30:39.529 --> 00:30:42.369 Using graphic but pictorial language in verse 00:30:42.369 --> 00:30:45.349 15 of Revelation 19, it says, and from His mouth 00:30:45.349 --> 00:30:49.509 comes a sharp sword. That refers to His words. 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:56.079 so that with it he may smite the nations, and 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:59.240 he will rule them with a rod of iron." Notice 00:30:59.240 --> 00:31:03.500 that phrase, with a rod of iron. The iron speaks 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:08.359 of judgment. The Lord Jesus will rule on the 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:10.859 earth for that thousand year period with a rod 00:31:10.859 --> 00:31:16.700 or a scepter of iron. What it means is that in 00:31:16.700 --> 00:31:20.329 the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, Sin will 00:31:20.329 --> 00:31:24.890 be dealt with immediately so that it cannot build 00:31:24.890 --> 00:31:33.690 up as it does in this age. In the kingdom, Satan 00:31:33.690 --> 00:31:36.710 will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit. 00:31:38.710 --> 00:31:41.069 And that apparently does mean all of his powers, 00:31:41.250 --> 00:31:44.730 all of his demons with him will be hindered, 00:31:45.190 --> 00:31:48.500 bound, unable to interfere. in history for that 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:52.920 thousand years. Those powers are not bound now, 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:55.960 however much some misguided theologians like 00:31:55.960 --> 00:31:59.460 to say that they are bound. They are free to 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:04.299 roam the earth to be involved in leading the 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:10.480 world system and creating warfare against God 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:13.980 and His purposes. But they will be bound in the 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:16.549 millennium. Nonetheless, there will be sin in 00:32:16.549 --> 00:32:20.029 the hearts of those unsaved people who will be 00:32:20.029 --> 00:32:24.890 born into the millennial period. But that sin 00:32:24.890 --> 00:32:31.170 will be kept under oppression. It will not be 00:32:31.170 --> 00:32:34.769 able to be expressed like men express sin today. 00:32:35.930 --> 00:32:38.569 There will be, apparently though, some who will 00:32:38.569 --> 00:32:42.140 openly express the rebellion. Even though Jesus 00:32:42.140 --> 00:32:44.880 Christ will be reigning visibly from His throne 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:49.599 in Jerusalem, there will be those who will openly 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:52.900 rebel against Him that fast. They will be struck 00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:57.819 dead so that rebellion cannot spread among men. 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:05.299 The rod of iron. What happens in Acts 5 is a 00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:08.660 preview of what it will be like in that period. 00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:14.480 For we are still very much a part of Israel and 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:17.039 the Jews and the offering of the kingdom at this 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:24.079 point in the book of Acts. Now notice the fourth 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:28.359 stage in the narrative comes in verse 11 when 00:33:28.359 --> 00:33:32.700 it says, In great fear came upon the whole church 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:35.519 and upon all who heard these things, a similar 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:38.839 thing said in verse 5. You don't have to have 00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:41.779 a whole lot of imagination to understand what 00:33:41.779 --> 00:33:46.579 it's saying. For if one person were to drop dead 00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:49.920 in this auditorium this morning, after having 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:53.420 his sin exposed as the sin of these two was exposed, 00:33:53.859 --> 00:33:56.980 it would create a tremendous amount of fear in 00:33:56.980 --> 00:34:01.140 us. Now there may be some here who would be tempted 00:34:01.140 --> 00:34:03.460 to say, well, let that happen. We need that kind 00:34:03.460 --> 00:34:06.839 of fear. Beware lest it be your sin that's exposed. 00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:13.940 When we understand something of the holiness 00:34:13.940 --> 00:34:16.539 of God, it will create fear in us whether we 00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:19.880 see this kind of immediate judgment or not, but 00:34:19.880 --> 00:34:24.159 this certainly served as an illustration. The 00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:27.559 dishonesty, the deception, the hypocrisy of Ananias 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:31.480 and Sapphira reveal the lack of integrity in 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:35.139 their characters. Integrity means being honest 00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:39.519 with God and with others, and these two, by their 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:42.539 actions, We're an illustration of the contrast, 00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:46.619 the lack of integrity. As I've said before, God 00:34:46.619 --> 00:34:50.380 doesn't always deal with hypocrites in the church 00:34:50.380 --> 00:34:54.760 as directly as he did with the first two. But 00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:58.960 the fact nonetheless remains that God does deal 00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:05.219 with them. Charles Ryrie said, all sin is judged, 00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:09.000 though God may not choose to do it always in 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:19.190 the same manner. Heaven's silence is not always 00:35:19.190 --> 00:35:24.690 heaven's consent. God hates sin in his people 00:35:24.690 --> 00:35:28.349 just as much today as when he demonstrated his 00:35:28.349 --> 00:35:34.030 hatred in this instance. There are some times 00:35:34.030 --> 00:35:38.030 when God will rather allow the hypocrisy to bear 00:35:38.030 --> 00:35:43.469 its awful fruit in one's life. That's what he 00:35:43.469 --> 00:35:49.210 did with David. You remember the hypocrisy of 00:35:49.210 --> 00:35:54.690 that man of God when he committed terrible adultery 00:35:54.690 --> 00:36:00.210 with Bathsheba and then schemed to have her husband 00:36:00.210 --> 00:36:07.349 killed and lied about all of it? Go back to Psalm 00:36:07.349 --> 00:36:10.489 32 and notice the words of David himself concerning 00:36:10.489 --> 00:36:17.960 it. For upwards to a year, David played the hypocrite, 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:25.860 just like all of us have done. Notice the fruit 00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:28.000 that came in his life because he would not deal 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:31.960 with his sin. He begins in Psalm 32 by saying, 00:36:32.099 --> 00:36:34.639 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, 00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:38.940 whose sin is covered. How blessed is the man 00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:42.079 to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. in 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:46.780 whose spirit there is no what? No deceit, no 00:36:46.780 --> 00:36:52.420 guile. He knew something about that because he 00:36:52.420 --> 00:36:57.280 had been a deceiver. Then he writes, When I kept 00:36:57.280 --> 00:37:03.179 silent about my sin, my body wasted away through 00:37:03.179 --> 00:37:07.760 my groaning all day long. For day and night thy 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:12.210 hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was drained 00:37:12.210 --> 00:37:16.989 away as with the fever heat of summer." What 00:37:16.989 --> 00:37:20.050 he's describing there in poetic language, the 00:37:20.050 --> 00:37:26.210 fruit of unconfessed sin, the fruit of hypocrisy. 00:37:26.909 --> 00:37:31.210 He says, it affected my body. He says, physically 00:37:31.210 --> 00:37:35.449 I was affected by the hypocrisy of that year 00:37:35.449 --> 00:37:39.489 when I lied to God and to other people. and would 00:37:39.489 --> 00:37:47.289 not admit my sin. He says, my vitality, my personality 00:37:47.289 --> 00:37:52.849 was drained away as though I were in the fever, 00:37:52.989 --> 00:37:57.389 heat of summer and exhausted. That is the fruit 00:37:57.389 --> 00:38:03.630 of sin and the life. Sometimes God allows that 00:38:03.630 --> 00:38:07.440 to take place rather than dealing directly. and 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:10.300 immediately with our hypocrisy. But, my friend, 00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:14.039 make no mistake about it. God will deal with 00:38:14.039 --> 00:38:17.780 it. And He did with David. God sent a faithful 00:38:17.780 --> 00:38:22.099 prophet to David. His sin was exposed. He goes 00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:26.019 on to talk there in Psalm 32 about acknowledging 00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:29.760 his sin and the joyous relief and freedom that 00:38:29.760 --> 00:38:33.699 came to him, the restoration that was his because 00:38:33.699 --> 00:38:40.070 he dealt with his sin. I guess the question I'd 00:38:40.070 --> 00:38:43.429 like to ask this morning of myself as well as 00:38:43.429 --> 00:38:50.329 you is this. What is your IQ? I'm talking about 00:38:50.329 --> 00:38:57.409 your integrity quotient. Are you a genuine person? 00:38:59.610 --> 00:39:03.889 Are you the same on Monday in the classroom or 00:39:03.889 --> 00:39:08.130 in the hall or at the office as you are on Sunday? 00:39:08.730 --> 00:39:14.489 Sunday school or church? Or are you deliberately 00:39:14.489 --> 00:39:17.429 exchanging masks, playing the role, picking up 00:39:17.429 --> 00:39:20.570 the mask of Christian on Sunday, and then when 00:39:20.570 --> 00:39:22.869 Sunday is over, putting that down and picking 00:39:22.869 --> 00:39:25.110 up the mask of whatever else you are the rest 00:39:25.110 --> 00:39:29.150 of the week? Understand that that is literally 00:39:29.150 --> 00:39:38.130 hypocrisy. Integrity means being honest. If we 00:39:38.130 --> 00:39:40.889 want God's blessing, we must be a people of integrity. 00:39:41.909 --> 00:39:44.929 It doesn't mean self -righteous. What it means 00:39:44.929 --> 00:39:49.130 is being responsive to the needs of others and 00:39:49.130 --> 00:39:52.670 being honest with God and with other people. 00:39:54.230 --> 00:40:02.730 Integrity is illustrated in this story. I ask 00:40:02.730 --> 00:40:08.869 you to listen closely as I read. Bad luck. The 00:40:08.869 --> 00:40:11.610 light turned red and I was trapped, standing 00:40:11.610 --> 00:40:14.929 at the corner. I prayed for it to change quickly. 00:40:16.250 --> 00:40:20.630 He was standing too close to me. And besides, 00:40:20.670 --> 00:40:23.230 it was cold and I was getting wet from the snow. 00:40:24.409 --> 00:40:28.849 Can I have something for my file, mister? He 00:40:28.849 --> 00:40:33.769 asked. This one was a crazy, no doubt about it. 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:37.659 The grimy box under his arm gave him away immediately. 00:40:38.340 --> 00:40:41.599 Crazies always carry something, usually a shopping 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:46.260 bag with handles. They can be unstable, but this 00:40:46.260 --> 00:40:50.840 guy looked pretty safe. Sorry, no money. I had 00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:54.559 repeated the old lie so often it came out automatically. 00:40:55.940 --> 00:40:58.940 I half expected to hear myself say, this is a 00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:01.139 recording, please shove off and don't try it 00:41:01.139 --> 00:41:06.170 again. Have you got anything from my file?" he 00:41:06.170 --> 00:41:10.929 repeated. Finally his message sank through. I 00:41:10.929 --> 00:41:13.070 fished in my pocket, pulled out a brochure, and 00:41:13.070 --> 00:41:17.730 handed it to him. No, he shouted. Then almost 00:41:17.730 --> 00:41:20.730 pathetically he finished. I don't have a file 00:41:20.730 --> 00:41:25.449 for that. I took it back and turned away. Come 00:41:25.449 --> 00:41:29.730 on, light change. I stepped over the curb to 00:41:29.730 --> 00:41:33.369 look for a break in the traffic. I'm Howard," 00:41:33.369 --> 00:41:39.849 he said. What's your name? Mark. One syllable 00:41:39.849 --> 00:41:42.550 was all the information I intended to give. I 00:41:42.550 --> 00:41:45.349 had no desire to have some crazy calling me all 00:41:45.349 --> 00:41:48.349 the time. I knew people had to change their telephone 00:41:48.349 --> 00:41:50.909 number to stop the calls. I liked my number. 00:41:53.309 --> 00:41:55.550 I chanced a quick look to see what he was doing. 00:41:55.630 --> 00:41:57.829 He had a pencil in one hand and was stooping 00:41:57.829 --> 00:42:03.099 to pick up a piece of paper from the snow. Just 00:42:03.099 --> 00:42:05.820 then the light changed and I took off. Halfway 00:42:05.820 --> 00:42:08.440 down the block I slowed down and looked back. 00:42:09.300 --> 00:42:11.820 The crazy had just closed his box and begun to 00:42:11.820 --> 00:42:16.579 look around for a new victim. A few days later 00:42:16.579 --> 00:42:18.800 I was walking the same route when I noticed an 00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:21.320 ambulance parked outside a dingy alley. I joined 00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:23.360 the crowd of onlookers to see what had happened. 00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:26.400 Two attendants in white jackets wheeled their 00:42:26.400 --> 00:42:30.079 stretcher out of the alley. It was the crazy. 00:42:31.300 --> 00:42:33.920 His face was showing, so I knew he wasn't dead, 00:42:33.940 --> 00:42:36.840 but as the attendant shut the door, I could tell 00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:40.179 by their conversation that he wouldn't stay uncovered 00:42:40.179 --> 00:42:45.420 for long. A policeman questioned some of the 00:42:45.420 --> 00:42:47.500 people in the crowd, but received no answers. 00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:50.380 Nobody seemed to care that much, not even the 00:42:50.380 --> 00:42:52.460 cop. It was just a little added excitement to 00:42:52.460 --> 00:42:55.780 an otherwise dull December day. The cop raised 00:42:55.780 --> 00:42:58.179 his voice and asked, did anybody know this guy? 00:42:59.619 --> 00:43:04.119 Nobody answered. Finally, I volunteered. His 00:43:04.119 --> 00:43:09.840 name is Howard. The people around me backed away 00:43:09.840 --> 00:43:12.400 as if knowing the crazy's name made me crazy 00:43:12.400 --> 00:43:16.360 too. The cop came over and began to pump me for 00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:19.300 more information. His name is Howard. That's 00:43:19.300 --> 00:43:22.880 all I know, sir. Well, at least there will be 00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:24.900 a name for the headstone. Thanks for your help. 00:43:25.059 --> 00:43:29.659 Oh, by the way, would you take this for me? picked 00:43:29.659 --> 00:43:33.019 up the crazy's box. I'd like to skip the paperwork 00:43:33.019 --> 00:43:36.400 on this one." He shoved the box into my hands 00:43:36.400 --> 00:43:38.900 and walked away before I could say anything. 00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:42.739 Why would I want this guy's garbage, I thought. 00:43:43.940 --> 00:43:47.900 I looked around for a trash can, but I couldn't 00:43:47.900 --> 00:43:51.739 just toss the box. Maybe it was the stories I 00:43:51.739 --> 00:43:54.099 had heard of millionaires who live like bums. 00:43:54.570 --> 00:43:57.650 Or perhaps it was just my slightly misguided 00:43:57.650 --> 00:43:59.909 sense of loyalty to the human race. Whatever 00:43:59.909 --> 00:44:04.889 it was, I opened the box. I was disappointed. 00:44:06.090 --> 00:44:09.929 There was nothing but old clothes and a file 00:44:09.929 --> 00:44:16.530 folder. I pulled out the file and dumped the 00:44:16.530 --> 00:44:19.969 rest of the stuff, and then I noticed the crude 00:44:19.969 --> 00:44:30.659 printing on the folder. It said, I opened it 00:44:30.659 --> 00:44:36.059 and looked inside. It held only one small scrap 00:44:36.059 --> 00:45:00.110 of paper, and on it was written, integrity, being 00:45:00.110 --> 00:45:06.190 responsive to the needs of those around us, and 00:45:06.190 --> 00:45:15.769 being honest with God and with others. I suppose 00:45:15.769 --> 00:45:18.809 all of us have been in the place where Mark was 00:45:18.809 --> 00:45:24.190 in that story, and it may be that even today 00:45:24.969 --> 00:45:30.969 There's a lack of integrity in your life. Would 00:45:30.969 --> 00:45:36.750 you write where you're seated? Confess to God 00:45:36.750 --> 00:45:42.130 what needs to be said, and like David, know the 00:45:42.130 --> 00:45:50.170 blessedness of being forgiven. Lord, I pray that 00:45:50.170 --> 00:45:56.650 we will be men and women of integrity. I pray 00:45:56.650 --> 00:45:59.050 that we will be responsive to those around us 00:45:59.050 --> 00:46:06.050 this week who have needs. And I pray that you 00:46:06.050 --> 00:46:13.650 will give us an honesty, an honesty with you 00:46:13.650 --> 00:46:22.789 as well as with others. I pray that we will be 00:46:22.789 --> 00:46:26.099 the kind of people you can bless. because of 00:46:26.099 --> 00:46:29.800 it. In Jesus' name, Amen.