Generosity for All

Study Notes

Open:

(story of no turning back, it has changed from here on out)

Point/Transition:

We have come to a major transition in the book of Acts and in our series.  When we allow the text to guide us, there is no turning back.  The next few chapters and the next few messages are centered within this new people, the Church of Jesus.  As we have seen, this has become a movement of 500o men plus the women and children.  We are getting acquainted with this new community, what we can call the creation of the Spirit-filled Community. 

Our text today is centered within this Spirit-filled Community, would you stand for the reading of God’s Word from Acts chapters 4 and 5.

Text:

Acts 4:42 through 5:11

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

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.

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? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

⁵ When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. ⁶ Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

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 conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! 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. ¹¹ Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Sermon Body:

If you recall, in the first sermon of this series I spoke about the book of Acts as both descriptive and prescriptive.  I mentioned that I have chosen texts that I believe to be prescriptive – meaning, that the texts we will look at and study apply directly to us today.  Our series, This is Us, calls that out – the prompting given to me in preparation of this series and the prayer for each of us (myself included) is that as we look backwards into our history as the “church”, we can in essence get a check-up and get our prescription for how we might need to change and grow as Lake Avenue Church.

Before we look in detail at the text we have just read, let me talk for a moment about a tension that we can come t when reading the Bible.  Are we supposed to read prescriptive texts literally?  Some of you are already there and about the walk out – is Jeff going to ask us to sell our homes and bring all the money from the sale and place them at the feet of the Ministry Council?  Is Jeff going to suggest that if we do not do this, that he will call us out and we will drop dead on the spot?

Without taking away the sting that is in these verses, let me tell you I do not think what we have in front of us is literally what needs to happen for us to be more “This is Us”.  You can breathe.

But do not take too deep a breath, because the call on us from this text is just as costly. Just as radical, and frankly, just as needed for us today…

The title for the Sermon is Generosity for All – so you see where this going.  Let us jump in and start exploring what this kind of generosity is all about.  There is a lot of verses we have read, we will get through all of them, but we are going to camp out pretty deeply in the first 6 verses we read, as they at minimum help us see 5 expressions of generosity in the first Spirit-filled church.

1. Solidarity

All the believers were one in heart and mind. (4:32a)

 

This is a pretty heavy text as it has what can feel like an unrealistic message for us today.  Remember what has just happened prior in the book of Acts – last week Pastor Chuck taught in prayer and part of that prayer is recorded a few verses earlier in verses 29 and 30:

²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

 

Have you ever thought that part of the signs and wonders of God is the very complexion of the church?  A group of different people, from different backgrounds, cultures, families – and then rebirthed into a new family – a new community of solidarity?  Being of one heart and one mind – for me, see one of the first miracles in the book of Acts – the very creation of this new family of Jesus followers. 

Now, I used the word solidarity intentionally – you can use unity if you want, but I like solidarity because it communicates a “commonness” among this church.  The word unity right now comes with baggage, because division is the call of the day – even this week how unraveled all sides and perspectives were that George Bush and Ellen DeGeneres are friends and sat together at a football game… fixation on what they shouldn’t be or that they can’t be in relationship, the differences are too large… because our world and frankly, the church as well, is quicker to identify across differences than commonness. 

Difference is important, it is actually critical to be the church as we will see soon in Acts.  Do not think that I am saying that this group of people saw everything the same and lived in some kind of Jesus centered utopia – what is important is that this first church was identified by what they had in common first and loudest – and that the saving grace of Jesus can make a diverse and different people be able to have a new identity – and one in which they become a people in solidarity together under the name of Jesus and with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Lake, how is our solidarity?  Is there something in here for us?  I sense that we need to grow into a people who first and loudest come together in solidarity in our commonness of children and God who are saved by Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit… we will get to the differences in coming weeks…but for today – this text – let’s see the Solidarity. 

2. Radical Attitude

No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. (4:32b)

 

This is a changed group of people.  They have become a new people… and their worldview has changed.  They have a new way of thinking about everything, and specifically, can we see how this radical attitude in regards to possessions?  There has been a re-ordering for them, as they no longer saw their stuff as their own, they saw them as for the community and generously shared…

I think as a follower of Jesus, there is one very difficult part of the English language: the use of the personal pronoun, especially related to our possessions. 

Me and Mine are difficult to claim when it comes to the way we think about our stuff… our homes, our money, our things… are they ours?  I think this first church communicates a radical attitude that is needed for us today… can you see your stuff as from God and although the title on your home or your car has your name, that the King of the Universe is the true owner who wants you to enjoy but to hold lightly what he has given to you – so you can share it, give it away, gift it to others?

3. Bold Witness

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (4:33a)

 

We will have a whole message on this Bold Witness coming up – but briefly for today I want you to see that this community was always proclaiming – they did not set up a separate enclave that simply lived and shared with each other…

They were always proclaiming, always evangelizing, always sharing the Gospel of Jesus.  The time they spent with one another was always connected to advancing the name of Jesus – “out there”. 

So, a group in solidarity, with radical attitudes, and with bold witness…

 

4. Sacrificial Actions

And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet… (4:33b-35b)

Now we get too difficult costs here… I do not see this as a case for communism, and let’s remember the tension with literal in these verses.  Here is what I want you to see:

• No needy persons among them
  • The experience on earth matters, human flourishing matters and is the work of the church
• From time to time… those who owned…
  • Not a rule or mandate
  • Occasionally – not an everyday thing, not a requirement of being in the community
  • Individual – if you don’t own land, you can’t participate –

So, some of you are breathing deeply – you are off the hook… but not so fast… because there is something in here for each of us – and it is simple to understand and takes a lifetime to obey.

Followers of Jesus are to give and be generous.  This is the truth, and we will see over and over again in the Bible and in the book of Acts the connection between money and faith.  This isn’t the message to get into the specifics about this – but let me be clear – if the way you view, use, and give money is not connected to your faith in Jesus – you are not living as God has called you.  Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount – that where your treasure is, is where you heart is also.

Have you trusted the Lord in this way, yet?  Do you have the practice and faith of giving regularly and generously to the Lord, to his church?

For me and Jenny, learning to give and living lightly and generously has been the fruit of our discipleship at this church.  Another time and in another sermon I am tempted to show you how much money we make a month and how we distribute it – from our bills, to how much we give back to lake, to the missionaries we support, to the other ministries’ we support – because this kind of candor and vulnerability was what was used for us to grow – and NO ONE goes there… our pronouns don’t allow for this… too private, that is personal… but let me be honest, we can grow as a church – there is room for many of us to give more than we are, to trust more than we do, and to allow for more resources to come in for ministry…

I don’t say this to cause guilt, I say this as your pastor who knows how fulfilling and joy filled life becomes when we give as the Lord teaches us too… In fact, our financial reality has changed in the past month… Jenny went back to full-time work and with the new role I ahev here, I was given a raise – THANK YOU by the way!

And with these changes, can I be honest with you as to what my first thoughts were?  I have thought about a lot, some trips we can more easily take, some things we can do at our home, and little things related like this… but honestly, the first 2 things I thought about started with the letter G.

1. Guacamole: I can get guacamole at Chipotle anytime I want now…
2. Giving: that we can hit the number we have been praying to reach in our giving to Lake, and we can begin to partner more significantly and proactively to STARS. 

Sacrificial Actions are hard at first, but sacrifice and the faithfulness of Jesus and they joy in obedience is better!

There is one final expression we need to see connected to this sacrificial actions – when we see from the first church as they were…

5. Prioritizing the Poor and Those In Need

… and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (4:35b)

 

Again, I will be brief here because of future messages, but notice this specific of the Christian church.  We give to God so it can be given right back out… to those in need and to reach those in need.

What follows are 2 stories to illustrate how this new Spirit-filled community lived all this out more intimately and specifically… and these 2 stories pitch Faithfulness and Foolishness alongside each other…

 

Example of Faithfulness in Joseph aka Barnabus (4:36)

This is a simple verse, introducing us to Baranabus (who will go on to be an important person in coming chapters and in our history as a people) – but the essence, is that he was a man who was faithful.  he followed the Lord, was obedient, and embodied the expressions we have just looked at.

Example of Foolishness in Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11)

And then there are these 2… a startling story and one that caused fear within the community in Acts and still causes fear in us today, why?

Goes to the literal… if you do not give money than God might kill you.  And although there are sermons that have been preached along this line, let me be clear – there is more to this story and its warnings are sharp – but do not reduce this down to dollars and death.  This is a story of foolishness… for us today, there are 2 aspects of the foolishness of Ananias and Sapphira. 

Foolishness:  Deceiving the Holy Spirit

Ananias was lying to the Lord.  We can see that. The Holy Spirit directed to him to obey by giving the money and he held back and was disobedient. And, it seems that we can see that he tried to come off as faithful when he was not – thus, trying to deceive the Lord.  Lying to himself and the Lord.   

Foolishness: Dishonesty within the Community

And in Sapphira, we see this same kind of dishonesty and not only to the Lord but to the church leadership and to the community.  With an opportunity to tell the truth, she chose to lie. Holding back because of fear or mistrust? 

The sin here in this story is that they said they were doing something they did not do.  They were dishonest to God and the Church and tried to come across as faithful. 

• Traded solidarity and the radical attitude for individualism
• Traded sacrificial actions for the community and kept for themselves
• Traded distribution to those in need for hoarding and holding for themselves…

This remains a strong story not because of the money per say, but because of 2 realities each of have to deal with still today:

• We too attempt to deceive God by lying to ourselves
• We too are drawn to be dishonest in this community

There is on more aspect I want us to see here… it is an important observation:

Did you notice Satan in this story?  Do you see that from the very beginning of this Spirit-filled community, Satan found his way in? The strategy was not to stop the movement exclusively “out there” but to destroy in from “within”.  

This is still the strategy brothers and sisters. Destroy our Solidarity… make our differences and disagreements louder than our commonness found in Christ… destroy the radical reorientation of the Gospel… make what is God’s ours… sound like Eden?  Destroy the bold witness of the church by keeping the drama... the dishonesty inside the community?  Destroy being generous people to tight fisted people… and destroy our mission to the poor – and keep for ourselves…

Application:

1. Be Alert

Wake up, do not leave.  Stay. (be ready for attacks on 1-5)

2. Loosen Your Grip…. are too tight…

3. Tighten Your Grip…are too loose…

Chinese Study Notes

序

我在APU班上的一個學生，這周與我分享說他們夫婦正期待著第一個孩子。他問我“你第一個建議或反應是什麼”—我回答“恭喜，作爸爸是好事，但我要坦白地說，你們的生活再也沒有回頭路了！”我們生活中有許多時刻…一些是計畫的，一些沒有計劃…這些時刻都會帶給我們某種變化、某種變遷，意味著，有些事已經永遠改變了。

要點/轉變

我們的講道系列來到了使徒行傳的一個重要的轉變之處。順著經文，沒有回頭路。接下來的幾章和內容都集中在耶穌的教會，一群新人。我們看到，這已經是一個有500男人加上婦女兒童參與的運動了。我們要熟悉這個新共同體，稱之為聖靈充滿的共同體。

我們今天的經文就是關於這個聖靈充滿的共同體，請大家起立。

讀經：徒4：32-5：11

4: 32於是那一群信徒都同心合意，沒有一個人說他所擁有的哪樣東西是自己的；相反，他們凡物共有。33使徒們大有能力地為主耶穌的復活做見證，並且在他們每個人身上都有極大的恩典。34他們當中沒有一個缺乏的人，因為凡是擁有田產或房屋的人，都賣掉了那些東西，把所賣得的錢拿來，35放在使徒們的腳前，按照各人的需要分給每個人。36有一個出生在賽普勒斯的利未人約瑟，使徒們稱他為巴拿巴——“巴拿巴”翻譯出來就是“安慰之子”；37他有一塊田地，也賣掉了，把錢拿來放在使徒們的腳前。

5：1有一個名叫阿納尼亞的人，和他的妻子薩菲拉賣掉了財產。2但他從價款中私自留下了一部分，把一部分拿來放在使徒們的腳前；他的妻子也知道這事。3彼得就說：“阿納尼亞，為什麼撒旦充滿了你的心，使你對聖靈說謊，從田產的價款中私自留下一些呢？4田產留著沒賣的時候，難道不屬於你的嗎？賣了以後，價款難道不也是由你做主嗎？你心裡為什麼存有這種念頭呢？你不是對人說謊，而是對神說謊了。”5阿納尼亞聽見這話，就僕倒斷了氣；所有聽到這事的人都大為恐懼。6有幾個年輕人站起來，把他的屍體裹好，抬出去埋葬了。7隔了大約三個小時，阿納尼亞的妻子進來，還不知道所發生的事。8彼得問她：“告訴我，你們賣田產的錢，是不是這麼多？”她說：“是的，就這麼多。”9彼得就對她說：“你們為什麼同心試探主的靈呢？看，埋葬你丈夫之人的腳，已經到門口了，他們也要把你抬出去。”10她立刻僕倒在彼得腳前，斷了氣。那些年輕人進來，看見她死了，也把她抬了出去，埋葬在她丈夫的旁邊。11全教會和所有聽到這些事的人都大為恐懼。

講道

如果你們記得，在本系列第一篇講道中我說過這本書既是指令性的，也是描述性的。我所選的經文是我認為具有指令性的，就是說可以學習並應用到日常生活。這個系列標題“這就是我們”就在我準備這系列時跳出來…我禱告：當回顧我們作為一個“教會”的歷史時，我們可以從根本上檢查自己，找到LAC改變和成長的處方。

在我們進入經文細節時，我們先看看這段經文的張力。我們是要摳字讀指令性的經文的話，你們可能有人已經準備走了---傑夫會不會要我們賣房，把錢放在教會事工委員會面前？傑夫會不會威脅我們，不這樣做就被趕出去然後立僕而亡？

      我不回避這是一段嚴厲的經文，但我不認為經文按字面臨到我們就更符合“這就是我們”的標題…你可以鬆口氣啦。

      但不要太放鬆，因為這經文確實呼召我們要付上代價、要擺上、要誠實，就今天而言，也是對症下藥。

      今天講道的題目是“對所有人慷慨”—你可以瞭解大概內容了；我們就開始看看這是什麼意思。我們讀了許多節，我們也會一一看它們，但我們要深入看頭6節，讓我們看到在第一個聖靈充滿的教會，慷慨有五方面的表達。

1. 團結一致

那一群信徒都同心合意 4：32a

      這段經文讀來沉重，我們感到不切實際。請記住之前剛發生了什麼…上周恰克牧師講到禱告，部分的禱告就在29，30節：

主啊，現在求你鑒察他們的威嚇，使你的奴僕們能滿有膽量地傳講你的話語。30求你伸出你的手，藉著你聖僕耶穌的名，使疾病痊癒，施行神跡和奇事。

 

      你想過那些神跡奇事就是教會的表徵麼？一群來自不同背景、家庭、文化的人，在一個新家庭裡重生，生在一個新型的團結一致的共同體！對我來說，使徒行傳的第一個神跡就是耶穌的信徒在一個新創造的家庭裡同心合意。

      我有意使用“團結一致”，你願意的話也可以用“合一”，但我覺得“團結一致”與教會的共同性更配；而“合一”在如今崇尚分化的時代更是一種信仰考量。比如本周沸沸揚揚的事就是喬治布希與艾倫成為朋友，坐在一起看棒球…許多人非議他們不該如此，或關係不該如此，因為他們的差異太大…坦白說，我們的世界，其實包括教會都是很快地評判差異性而非共同性。
      差異性的確很重要，對教會更是如此，我們很快就從使徒行傳看到這點。不要以為我是說這群人對待什麼都有一樣的看法，都活在耶穌為中心的烏托邦裡。我說的是，第一個教會首先也是最被認可的是他們的共同性---耶穌的救恩可以使多樣化的、不同背景的人有一個新的身份，靠著聖靈的能力，他們能在耶穌名下團結一致。

我們教會是怎樣團結一致的？我們有沒有這樣呢？我認為作為神的兒女，我們首先也是最需要在我們因耶穌得救、被聖靈充滿的共同性上團結一致…我們在以後的幾周會看到差異性，但今天讓我們看“團結一致”。

2. 基本態度

沒有一個人說他所擁有的哪樣東西是自己的 4:32b

 

      這是一個已經被改變的群體，他們都成了新人…他們的世界觀改變了，用一種新的眼光看待一切。我們能否看到，他們在對待財產上有怎樣一個基本態度？他們已經脫胎換骨，不再視自己的東西為私有，而是屬於共同體，所以可以慷慨分享…

      作為耶穌的跟隨者，我們在與自己財產有關的事情上，很難使用個人性的代詞，比如當我們想到自己的東西時，很難聲稱“我”和“我的”：我的錢，我的房，我的一切…那些是我們的嗎？我認為第一個教會共同體的基本態度正是今天我們所需要的。你今天的房子、車雖然是以你的名字登記的，但它們來自神的祝福，真正的主人是宇宙的君王，他願意你分享而不是緊緊抓住---你能夠分享、奉獻或給出麼？

3. 勇敢的見證

使徒們大有能力地為主耶穌的復活做見證 4；33a

 

      我們很快就看見他們勇敢見證的完整畫面，不過今天我想說的是，這個共同體常常傳福音，而不是在自己的小圈子裡孤芳自享…

      他們常常傳福音，分享耶穌的好消息，他們不是為了在一起而存在，是為了傳揚耶穌的名。

      一個團結一致的群體，有一個基本的態度以及勇敢的見證…

4. 奉獻的行動

在他們每個人身上都有極大的恩典。他們當中沒有一個缺乏的人，因為凡是擁有田產或房屋的人，都賣掉了那些東西，把所賣得的錢拿來，放在使徒們的腳前…

      這是我們很困難做到的…我不覺得這就是共產主義，讓我們從字面上看看其中的意思：

• 他們當中沒有一個缺乏的人
  • 在世界上，這種經歷顯明了教會的作為
• 凡是擁有田產或房屋的人，都賣掉了…
  • 不是一個規定或命令
  • 不經常 – 並非每天的事，也不是對共同體成員的要求
  • 個人性的 – 如果你沒有，你也不用如此

      你們有人可能呼吸急促了---但不要緊張…我們要看到對我們每一個人都重要的---很容易明白和在生活中遵守的。

      耶穌的門徒應該樂善好施，這是真理。我們會在聖經，在使徒行傳中看見關於金錢和信心的教導。我說得再清楚一點，如果你看待和使用金錢沒有與你的信仰相連，你就沒有活出神呼召你的生命，耶穌在登山寶訓中說過：你的錢財在哪裡，你的心就在哪裡。

      你有沒有這樣地信靠主？你有沒有實踐信仰，對主、對教會有慷慨固定的奉獻？

      我和珍妮在這個教會學到了簡樸和樂於給與的功課，是我們門訓的果子。我會找其它機會告訴你們：我們每月的錢如何分配，多少給教會，多少給我們支持的宣教士，多少給其它的機構---這種坦承也容易被批評：沒人這樣做啊，太個人性、這是你的隱私---但我要坦白地說，這是我們教會成長的必須，我們都可以給得更多，信靠主更多，讓更多的資源來支援神的工作…

      我這樣講並非要給你罪疚感，作為你們的牧師，我知道當我們照耶穌教導的去做，我們的生活就會充滿喜樂…事實上，上個月我們的財務狀況已經改善了，珍妮回到了全時間的工作，我在這裡也有了新職位---謝謝你們！

      我可以告訴你們面對這些改變，我的第一個想法是什麼嗎？我想過很多，比如可以有更多的旅行，可以在家裡做更多的事。似乎許多計畫都變得可能了…但坦白地說，我想到的頭兩件事是

1. 牛油果：只要我願意，我可以在Chipotle 每次都點牛油果；
2. 給與：我們可以給教會我們一直禱告的數字，我們可以開始更有意義、有計劃地參與STARTS 事工。

奉獻在一開始是不容易的，但是信靠耶穌、擺上自己會帶來更大的喜樂！

      還有一件與奉獻行動有關的事，我們需要從第一個教會看到…

5. 首先關注貧窮和有需要的

按照各人的需要分給每個人 35b

       因為以後還要看這個主題，今天就著重注意基督教會的這一特點。我們給神的很快反應出來，比如給了那些貧窮有需要的。

       接下來的兩個故事都展現了這個新的聖靈充滿的共同體是如何獨特地活出這些的…也展現了人的忠心和愚昧兩方面…

應用1：

放開掌控

• 我們有些人掌控得太厲害…
  • 私心? 什麼都是你的?
    • 金錢
    • 控制
    • 事工
    • 教會需要一些成功的計畫…由忠誠的人領導，我們當如何給新領袖一個寬鬆的環境去實現新時期的事工？
      • 鬆開轄制！
      • 放開掌控！

• 掌控太多—身份問題…你不知道你是誰，你屬於誰…對我們都適用

抓緊掌控

• 對一些事我們掌控得太松… 不存在!
  • 對聖靈充滿教會的委身…
  • 金錢…
    • 大多數人每年的奉獻低於1000美元
    • 建議…
      • 1. 我們中間有許多窮人 – 我們需要改變去滿足他們的需要… 我們需要認識他們
      • 2. 忠心地提高我們的奉獻…
    • 有些人認為奉獻是我們的“自信表決”—我覺得這種想法很危險，這導致我們對自己有錯誤的認知，以為我們是審判官可以做出判定…
    • 當我們讀下去時，經文也這樣說!

 

約瑟巴拿巴的忠心 （4：36）

這裡簡單地介紹了巴拿巴（他可是接下來幾章，也是我們歷史中的重要人物）---但關鍵是巴拿巴是有忠心的人，他跟隨主，順服主，有著上面我們剛剛談到的所有美德。

阿納尼亞和他的妻子薩菲拉的愚昧 （5：1-11）. 

      但也有這樣的兩個人…令人震驚的故事，不僅震驚了那個共同體，也震驚了我們，不是嗎？

      字面上…如果你不捐錢，神就會殺了你。可能有人是這麼講的，但我需要澄清，儘管這個故事很沉重，警告也很嚴厲，請不要簡單理解為給錢或死亡。這是一個關於愚昧人的故事…我們今天看到，阿納尼亞和他的妻子薩菲拉有兩個愚昧之處。

愚昧：試探聖靈

      阿納尼亞對主說謊。聖靈要他順服去奉獻，但他私藏不順服，而且還要裝出忠心的樣子來欺騙主—自欺欺主！

愚昧：在共同體中不誠實

      而薩菲拉也是一樣，不僅對主不誠實，對教會領袖和共同體也不誠實。她有機會說實話，但她選擇了說謊。私藏價銀是因為不敬畏主還是不信靠主？     

      這個故事中他們的罪在於，他們撒謊說自己沒有做那種事，欺騙神和教會，裝成一副信實的樣子。

• 為個人主義出賣了共同體的團結一致和基本態度
• 把給共同體的奉獻留作私用
• 只顧私利不給那些有需要的人

      這個故事發人深省之處還不是錢的問題，而是至今我們要面對的二件事：

• 我們受試探去欺騙自己，進而欺騙神
  • 你編造過什麼故事為自己對神的不忠開脫？

• 我們受試探對共同體不忠
  • 當我們彼此間鐵板一塊
  • 只報喜不報憂，只講結論不講掙扎的過程

      我想給出的要點是：承認自己是誰，在什麼地方。不要欺騙主！你騙不了聖靈---不要在這個共同體說謊，努力相信彼此，持守真理順服主…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

還有一點我盼望大家可以看見，這很重要：

      你意識到撒旦就在這個故事裡嗎？你注意到了麼，撒旦從這個聖靈充滿的共同體一開始就混進了！它的策略不是要教會停止外傳福音，而是要從內部摧毀教會！

      今天這還是它的詭計，就是破壞我們團結一致的心…讓我們更多關注我們的不同和差異性，而不是在基督裡的共同性…摧毀我們的福音定位系統，讓伊甸園的故事重演…藉著欺騙使人們對共同體不忠心來摧毀教會的見證…藉著我們有所保留來摧毀我們對窮人的事工…

應用2

要警醒: 起來，不要離開

看見仇敵的所為了吧？它要故技重施

就在此時此地

我們要預備回應它發動攻擊：

我們的共同性

我們的見證

我們的基本態度

我們對罪、對錢、對生活的看法

我們的優先順序…