HealingStrong's Around the Word

Episode 80 - The Acts Series: One in Heart and Mind (Acts 4:32-37; 5:1-11)

• HealingStrong • Episode 80

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A church where nobody is in need sounds like a miracle, until you realize it starts with something simple and brutally hard: being one in heart and mind. We open Acts 4:32-37 and talk about the early Christian community, where unity and generosity flow out of the Holy Spirit’s power and the apostles’ testimony about the resurrection of Jesus. This isn’t a theory of money, it’s a picture of discipleship and biblical stewardship that shows up in real choices, real sacrifice, and real care for people.

Then the tone shifts as we step into Acts 5:1-11 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira. We slow down to name what the passage actually says: the problem isn’t that they didn’t give every dollar, it’s that they pretended they did. We explore why deception is so destructive in a faith community, how “small” lies train our hearts toward performance, and how fear can reveal a deeper lack of trust in God’s provision. Along the way, we reflect on Barnabas as the “son of encouragement,” why his background matters, and what it means to live with open hands.

By the end, we’re left with a question that hits close to home: what are we withholding from God right now, and how might that hidden place be keeping us from freedom and fullness in the Spirit? If you care about Christian unity, generosity, integrity, and the fear of the Lord, come join us around the Word. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

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One Heart And One Mind

SPEAKER_00

The church could learn so much from this, just the whole being of one in heart and mind. That's the opening sentence. Just to be one in heart and mind. Right. We're so divided on Sundays, still to this day. Denominations. Denominations, uh racially, culturally, instead of in heaven, it is going to be one big party. Right. One big group of people. One family. Yeah, one family, one heart, one mind, all worshiping Jesus.

Welcome And Passage Setup

SPEAKER_00

Well, hey everybody. My name is Cheryl, and you are listening to Healing Strongs Around the Word. We're friends sitting around a table who love God's Word and we love digging deep into it. Each episode, you'll hear us reading a Bible passage out loud, and then we start discussing it right there on the spot and what we're learning from it. Today we're reading from the book of Acts, chapter 4, verses 32 through 37, and then we're hopping over to chapter 5, verses 1 through 11 in the book of Acts. So join us around the word.

Shared Possessions And No Need

SPEAKER_02

We left off last time where the Holy Spirit had filled the room and the earth had been shaken. It was a big event. And verse 32, we start off with all the believers were one in heart and mind. I bet they were. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 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 that there were no needy persons among them. God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, this is an interesting scenario. Like a I mean, can you imagine this? That would be wonderful.

SPEAKER_01

It would be, yeah. I mean And if we were living in the Holy Spirit, there would be no poor people.

SPEAKER_00

You're right, you're right. You would help out your brother. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

We would be helping people. We wouldn't, we wouldn't be greedy. Yeah, you wouldn't be worried about storing up no for a future.

SPEAKER_00

Or he didn't do enough, but I'm doing all the work. It's amazing how or even scared to help somebody. Right. How often does that happen? Yeah, yeah. Because they may want more from us later on. Yeah, more than gosh, the enemy just so gets in at us in so many directions. Yeah, yeah. Just that it's it's very hard to do this because we've seen this done at extremes politically. And but you usually have a small sect of people that is like running the whole thing and everybody else fork. And then they're corrupt. Yeah. So yeah, very interesting.

SPEAKER_02

So what was happening here, we finish uh continue in verse 34 is 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, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Barnabas And Costly Encouragement

SPEAKER_02

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles call Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, sold a fill he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet. Gave us a specific example of it. And you know, I was thinking about that. I cannot imagine me selling a piece of land and taking it to the church and proceeds.

SPEAKER_00

That makes me sad. Well, this is reminding me also of Mary. She bought that really expensive perfume. Yeah, a year's worth of sales, and then just broke it on his feet and and used her yes, used her hair to like clean Jesus' feet with it. But that was a huge sacrifice to her because she loved him that much. So again, I think she was probably, you know, filled with the spirit or something, or at least moved by the spirit to do that. Right. You know, and you stop thinking about yourself, you know, when you have the Holy Spirit, you're operating in that fruit of the spirit. What is it, the fruit of the spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, control, yeah, self-control. Yeah, so there may be some faithfulness, yeah. But yeah, there you're not looking out for number one at that point. The church could learn so much from this, just the whole being of one in heart and mind. That's the opening sentence, just to be one in heart and mind. Right. We're so divided on Sundays, still to this day. Denominations, denominations, uh, racially, culturally, instead of in heaven, it is going to be one big party, one big group of people. One family. Yeah, one family, one heart, one mind, all worshiping Jesus.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, it says in in mine, it says that Barnabas was a Levite, a native of Cyprus. It does say a Levite.

SPEAKER_02

So that's why too.

SPEAKER_00

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles call Barnabas. I don't think I'd clued in his name was Joseph, you know, too. Like he goes by Barnabas, also called Barnabas, but Joseph. And a Levite, that means he's from the line of Aaron, the priestly. Right. Yeah. But a son of encouragement. What a great nickname. Yeah. I mean, he had to be like the one that was telling people, go get them, boys, you know, whatever. Right. If you're an encourager, that's a great person.

SPEAKER_01

What an encouragement that is. You sell your property and you give it to them.

SPEAKER_00

He was a Levite that owned property. Very interesting. How, unless he inherited, but hey, that's a very good point. For the listener, the Levites were not to own property. Right. The priestlies, yeah, from the Old Testament. But again, this is now the New Testament. This is right.

SPEAKER_01

But over the years, I think that people could have given property to them. To them.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Okay, that that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00

That's very cool. There's going to be some Jewish listener that's going to have the divine of it. So forgive us, we are not experts in Jewish culture, but yes. But very good point.

SPEAKER_02

Being a Levite is important because they had, they were taught and they were raised to believe in the benevolence of others. Right. The people would provide for their needs. They looked after the the tabernacle.

SPEAKER_00

So they already knew this context. They knew this.

SPEAKER_02

So um this is an example of of one that uh put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. Right. He had obtained a feel somehow, and he sold it and laid the money at the apostles' feet. And they weren't Levites. No, no. They were just apostles. They were fishermen. Right.

SPEAKER_00

And he laid that money at their feet. He's also from Cyprus, it says, in my in my version. So he's not from Jerusalem.

unknown

No.

SPEAKER_00

You know, so he's you know, that's another country. So that's very interesting, too. He's uh I don't he's not a gentile, he's a Jew that's a different thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

That is that is interesting because they all now are living in Jerusalem. Like if they have property, maybe they are going back and selling their property wherever they are and coming here because they think Jesus is gonna come back in their lifetime.

SPEAKER_00

What happens next with these people?

Levites And Learning To Trust

SPEAKER_00

Is it me? And she didn't want to read this.

SPEAKER_02

No, I didn't. Uh chapter five. Um, and there's a little title in my Bible, Ananias and Sapphira. Oh, great.

Ananias And Sapphira’s Choice

SPEAKER_00

Can I just stop you for a second? I had a friend that wanted to name both her bulldogs, Ananias and Sapphira. Really? I don't know why, but they're cute.

SPEAKER_01

Like, I mean, well, they name their kit their dogs goodness and mercy, because they will follow them all the days of their life.

SPEAKER_00

That's good. That's good.

SPEAKER_01

That's kind of cute, but not these two.

SPEAKER_02

No, I wouldn't not these names. Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. So here's one good example. Now we're going to see the bad example. Um, also sold a piece of property. 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. Then Peter said, because we know Peter is really filled with the Holy Spirit at this time, um, 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? 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

Why The Lie Is Serious

SPEAKER_02

God.

SPEAKER_00

Wow, so if you if you break this down, because let's just go in in modern day terms. Some people might be thinking, Well, dang, I mean, he's given something. I mean, why couldn't he keep part of it? Yeah, he's given something, but what's the big deal? I mean, he he didn't have to give anything at all. But I bet Peter would have probably said something like, we would have rather you not give anything at all than to lie about it. Right. Because he's acting like this is the entire proceeds of the sale. Right. And that was what was the problem, was the lie. The lie. The lie was the problem. I I hate to say it, but it feels like in this society, especially today, people just think it's okay to do a white lie or a little thing here and there. It's no big deal. I'm sparing you your feelings. I'm, you know, uh it it's I'm I'm doing a good thing here. I mean, they don't need to know that maybe I kept a you know a little small portion for me and Sapphira.

SPEAKER_02

And it's fine that you keep it, but don't say that you don't lie about it. Don't lie about it. Yeah, he could have just said, can we keep apart? That's all. When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear, no joke, and great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. They just got rid of him that quick. Well, that was the tradition. They had to bury before sundown. Yeah. And then verse seven, about three hours later, I don't know where she'd been shopping, spending that money, I guess. After three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land? Yes, she said, that is the price. 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. Oh my. So at that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Wow. Then the young men came in and finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

SPEAKER_00

Can you imagine like the pile of money at the apostles' feet after that? I'd be like, I'd be really here. Nothing. I'm not leaving anything. Did I forget a scent? Like something. I would be so freaking out.

SPEAKER_01

It's reminds me of that time they wanted to cast out a demon in somebody's name, and the demon actually pounced on them. And then the people believed they realized even the sorcerers and witchcraft people came and burned all their scrolls and things because they were so scared that they witnessed this crazy at your own church.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, if they had had a big altar call, you're all having the building plan fun. I don't know, or something like a campaign for the building. And they say, Bring what you say, you know, and and by the way, you come up and you're you're saying, Well, I told y'all that this is all I had, and you know that you're lying about it. And your preacher's like, You're lying, liar! Yeah, yeah. And then you fall down dead. And you fall down dead.

SPEAKER_02

Of course,

Modern Giving And Half Truths

SPEAKER_02

people are gonna freak out at that. What about if you like in modern day terms, you pledged an amount and you said, I'm going to give this, and you put it in writing. I know some churches do that, yeah. Pledges, and then you don't do it. Is that the same thing?

SPEAKER_00

I don't know. It's not, uh, I don't they they straight up lied, like it says in the beginning, with her full knowledge, so they agreed upon it, but then she had a chance, she had an out. All she had to do was tell the truth. No, we decided, you know, no, this is not all of the sale. Right. I'm sorry. We we and so she could have gotten out of it, I believe, at that point, and they would she would not have dropped dead. That's my thought. If she had just confessed it, uh and and been truthful.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I always wondered if they had a certain was there an agreement that I mean, they showed that example before of him doing a good thing. Maybe it was a certain group that had all agreed that they would go sell their land and we were gonna live together, something like that. And so they were saying, We we trust that you are gonna care for our needs in this community, but then they didn't trust. They were withholding, you know, they they said, Let's keep some of it because they didn't completely trust that the community would care for their needs.

SPEAKER_00

Again, the same thing if the three of us were entrusted to go sell some, let's say, bags of coffee. We all have the same amount, we split it and we go out, we sell it, and maybe someone's better at selling than the other of the three of us, but we come back and I lie about it and say, Well, I, you know, you say, Here's all that I made, you say, Here it is, and I say, Here's all I made, but I keep five, ten bucks out of it and don't tell you. There's something egregious going on then. It's it's you may be like, Oh, it's just lack of trust. It's it's lack of trust. It's so much worse. People don't realize what you believe. Yeah. She they may have not fully believed that God would take care of them in this kind of situation.

SPEAKER_01

I think it's pretty cool that we noticed about the Levite because that you're exactly right. That's what they did. They were trusting that the Lord was gonna care for their needs through the people. If they followed his word, if they taught his word, he was gonna care for every need. And then they and Lamb was a big deal to them.

SPEAKER_02

The opposite is Ananias and Sapphira that didn't trust. Right. They didn't trust that God was gonna care for everything.

SPEAKER_00

Hold something back, they may need it. Right.

What We Hold Back From God

SPEAKER_00

So the big question for all of us is what are we withholding from God? Right. Like what is there an area you can't hide that from him? No, and he knows it already. Let's um um, but I'm wondering what is the thing in your life that you're holding back from God? You're saying, I'll give you all of this, but I'm not giving you this area here. I bet you anything, that area you're withholding is probably not prospering very well.

SPEAKER_01

And it's keeping you filled with being filled with the Holy Spirit and able to do exceedingly more than yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I know this this also reminds me of that story with the Ark of the Covenant, where they're it's traveling along on a cart and it's about to fall over, and some guy touches it just to just to you know help it out. But yet he he drops dead immediately because it was the power of the Lord. And then David's like, Why'd you do it? Why'd you do it? He was all mad about it, too. But God's ways are just and pure and perfect, and we may not understand everything.

SPEAKER_01

Well, it was spelled out how they were supposed to hold that ark and they didn't put it on a cart, it wasn't supposed to be on a cart, they were supposed to carry it with the poles.

SPEAKER_00

So when you break the rules, there are consequences in in heaven's economy. Well, that's like Moses striking the rock, right? Then he doesn't get to go and speak into it. Yeah, can't go into the promised land, except he stepped foot into the promised land uh later on in the transfiguration. Oh, yeah. So he did technically later on after death get to do that, which is so cool to be.

SPEAKER_02

After death, he was in the promised land.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, he was, yeah. So lots to learn from Ananias and Sapphira and just uh this. So I encourage you as a listener to be thinking uh about your life. And if there's anything you're not being truthful with the Lord about, he knows it already. Just give it to him, just give it to him, trust him. He can be trusted with all of your possessions. Why? Because it's really his. He's the one that gave us it to you in the first place. Yes. Ooh, that was a deep discussion today, and so good. So, so good. I just like that we have these questions when we have these discussions, and we don't have all the answers, but I love that we are around a table and we're talking about God's word, and I'm glad that you're listening in too.

Support The Ministry And Close

SPEAKER_00

If today's conversation strengthened you, would you consider becoming a monthly hope giver to healingstrong.org. Your donation of any amount helps us continue bringing hope, truth, and encouragement to those who need it most. You can give at healingstrong.org slash donate. And thanks so much for being a part of this podcast community. Remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.