Posted on 03/22/2018 8:59:06 PM PDT by Faith Presses On
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,
23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, help us to be better witnesses to what Your Son has done for us and to share Your Word with others. In Jesus' name, Amen
AMEN!!!!
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
This is a sad verse that shows that born-again, saved, washed-in-the-blood believers are capable of anything that a lost person can do, but their punishment is not to lose their eternal salvation - but rather “the destruction of the flesh.”
Some would say that this was extremely cruel on God’s part to strike them down . . . but the early church needed this object lesson to show the Christians that sin can often take us further than we ever meant to go.
God was gracious in the fact that He would rather take a saint home than to allow him/her to destroy their testimony completely.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
When God was dealing with the lost of Israel, much healing was evident. Yet, just a few years later Paul was instructing Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake and leaving Trophimas behind in Miletum because he was sick.
The sign gifts were intended to convince the Jews that the messengers were sent by God . . . and it was by the hands of the apostles that the miracles were wrought.
41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Suffering for God is a badge of honor and one that promises great reward, for if we suffer with Him shall we not also reign with Him!
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
AMEN!
No argument out of me on that one.
It is a blessing to know that God has a plan, that that plan is perfect ... and that He is sticking to it!
I can hardly wait until God begins working with the Jews again because it means that we will be enjoying our heavenly home and our loved ones that have gone on before.
Therefore, comfort one another with these words! as Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4:18.
Stephan did signs and wonders, and he wasn't an Apostle.
It is interesting that it seemed a choice of early believers to generally leave signs and wonders to the Apostles.:
Act 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. 5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
Also, to refute your point about signs and wonders being done for the Jews only, Paul did them on the island of Melita, where he was shipwrecked. The residents of Melita were barbarians.:
Act 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. 28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
The Jews demanded a sign to believe, even after witnessing and/or hearing of many astounding miracles that Jesus had preformed. On the other hand, for the faith filled believer, signs and wonders are to follow the preaching of The Gospel (providing they are believed of The LORD for them, as The LORD works through faith).
There are many who relish the idea that The LORD doesn't any longer, for whatever reasons, do miracles, signs and wonders. For one major thing, it leaves them comfortably unaccountable to have even the faith of a mustard seed. Not me, for I known too many to deny that The LORD still works amazing and wonderful things, things which are not able to be accounted for by the natural.
Yes, the early church did need that lesson. I’ve read a little bit about Ananias and Sapphira, but I’m not sure what to conclude about them. Of course, God acted justly. I don’t mean that. But about them, as Christians. I’m going to do some more reading about them.
Amen!
I do believe that the Lord does work through some signs, wonders, and miracles now, but that in our time and place, the needs of the church and many Christians are different than they were in the early church, so things aren’t the same, either. There was more of a need for visible signs, wonders and miracles at the time of the early church, just as there were reasons why Jesus did them, too, but there are still some need for them today, and they are, I believe, a part of a believer’s relationship with the Lord. And part of that, too, is what is, say, a miracle? To unbelievers, nothing short of something like parting the Red Sea or raising the dead is a miracle, while as Christians we know that probably the greatest miracle of all is someone’s heart being changed by the Lord, and that person being born again.
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