"Devoted" - Preaching at Harderwyk - Acts 5 - May 9, 2021

Resources For "Devoted" Series From Each Harderwyk Preacher

I. New For This Week

1) Basic Fear of God by Francis Chan - CLICK HERE to view a video by Francis Chan from his BASIC series.  He talks about how the fear of the Lord ultimately leads us to a place of security in Him knowing that the one we fear is for us, not against us.

2) "Sing Alleluia" With Believers in Hong Kong - CLICK HERE for the background mentioned in Celebration about a song sung both by Chinese believers and in our service today.

II. From The Commentaries On This Passage

From John Calvin in Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles

“For if, having weighed all the circumstances, we be desirous to know the sum, Luke condemneth no other fault in Ananias than this, that he meant to deceive God and the Church with a feigned offering. Yet there were more evils packed under this dissimulation: the contempt of God, whom he feareth not, though he knew his wickedness; sacrilegious defrauding, because he keepeth back part of that which he professeth to be holy to God; perverse vanity and ambition, because he vaunteth himself in the presence of men, without having any respect unto God’s judgment; want of faith, because he would never have gone this way to work, unless he had mistrusted God; the corrupting of a godly and holy order; furthermore, the hypocrisy itself was a great offence of itself.”

From John Stott in The Message of Acts - In Regards to the sin of Ananias and Sapphira and Satan’s Tactics

“It was not on this sin [the keeping back of the sale] that Peter concentrated, however, but on the other, hypocrisy. The apostle’s complaint was not that they lacked honesty (bringing only a part of the sale price) but that they lacked integrity (bringing only a part, while pretending to bring the whole). They were not so much misers as thieves and—above all—liars. They wanted the credit and the prestige for sacrificial generosity, without the inconvenience of it. So, in order to gain a reputation to which they had no right, they told a brazen lie. Their motive in giving was not to relieve the poor, but to fatten their own ego. ...

We have now seen that, if the devil’s first tactic was to destroy the church by force from without, his second was to destroy it by falsehood from within. He has not given up the attempt, whether by the hypocrisy of those who profess but do not practise, or by the stubbornness of those who sin but do not repent. The church must preserve its vigilance.”

From NT Wright. Acts For Everyone. p. 80

"We don't like those stories, of course, any more than we like Acts 5, but we can't have it both ways.  If we watch with excited fascination as the early church does wonderful healings, stands up to the bullying authorities, makes converts to right and left, and lives a life of astonishing property-sharing, we may have to face the fact that if you want to be a community which seems to be taking the place of the Temple of the living God you mustn't be surprised if the living God takes you serious, seriously enough to make it clear that there is no such thing as cheap grace."  

III. Ongoing Resources

1) Spiritual Formation Resources Page - CLICK HERE - This is still a work in progress, but be a part as we look to build

2) Scotty Smith’s Heavenward Daily Prayers - CLICK HERE to see the daily prayer blog of Scotty Smith.  You will see an option to have them delivered to your email inbox each day as well.  

3) Simple Lectio Divina Overview - CLICK HERE for a simple introduction of the spiritual practice of a more personal way of experience the Word through contemplation and reflection.